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Tiny kitty named Squirrel never gave up hope. She was rescued at birth and has come a long way ever since.
“Squirrel is the lone survivor from a litter of kittens that were dumped in front of the New York Animal Care and Control facility in Manhattan. Her eyes were shut and her umbilical cord still attached, but she embraced life with gusto and hasn’t looked back! Never sick or sad for a moment, Squirrel has a wonderful forever home now!” said Lisa V.
When Squirrel was rescued
Eyes start to open
Photos by ©Lisa V.
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NATO backs Turkey in growing standoff
NATO is ready to defend Turkey, the alliance's top official said Tuesday, in a warning to Syria after a week of cross-border artillery and mortar exchanges escalated tensions between the two countries.
Ankara has sent more fighter jets to reinforce an air base close to the frontier with Syria where shells killed five Turkish civilians last week. Syria has defended its shelling of neighboring Turkey as an accidental outcome of its 18-month-old civil war.
The comments by NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen were the strongest show of support to Turkey since the firing began Wednesday — though the solidarity is largely symbolic..
U.S. leaders unfazed by insider attacks
The killings of more than 130 U.S. and allied forces by Afghan troops or those dressed like them is not deterring NATO countries from the war in Afghanistan, two senior U.S. defense officials said Tuesday.
As NATO defense ministers gather this week, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan will tell worried allies today what the U.S. is doing to stop the attacks.
The officials said that so far NATO ministers attending the conference here have not used the meeting to threaten any additional withdrawals of troops.
U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, are expected to assure the ministers that commanders have come up with a range of ways to reduce the attacks. And they will insist that while the Taliban has seized on the attacks as a way to derail the fight and the trust between allied and Afghan forces, it is not yet a threat to the war strategy.
Prime minister calls for early elections
JERUSALEM — Israel's prime minister Tuesday ordered new parliamentary elections in early 2013, eight months ahead of schedule, setting the stage for a lightning quick campaign that likely will win him re-election.
For nearly four years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presided over a conservative coalition that has proved stable in a country where governments rarely serve out a full term. Re-election could grant him a fresh mandate to continue his tough stance toward Iran's suspect nuclear program and further stall the peace process with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu said he was forced to call the snap polls after his coalition could not agree on a budget. He is riding a wave of popularity and his opposition is fragmented.
Exploding shells rock military test site
MOSCOW — A series of blasts from exploding shells rocked a Russian military test site on Tuesday, breaking windows and releasing giant clouds of smoke over the city of Orenburg near the Kazakhstan border.
The emergency services said one military officer was hospitalized, but no other injuries were reported.
Military prosecutor Yevgeny Ivanov said the explosions were set off by a fire that may have been caused by someone smoking. | <urn:uuid:4e1caf64-799e-4f77-83f8-7cdd8f82707f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/oct/09/wbriefs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968544 | 566 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Curbside recycling likely will begin sometime in 2009 By David Lias
Editor It��?s been nearly two months since Vermillion citizens, in a close election held Nov. 4, confirmed they approve of the idea of implementing a curbside recycling program within the city. It may be several months, however, before the program is up and running. In other words, residents won��?t have to worry about journeying out in the currently bitter cold weather South Dakota is experiencing to place containers of recyclable materials out on their curbs. ��?When the item was referred, we couldn��?t allocate any funds toward implementation of the project, so we literally now have to go out and purchase the truck and some things like that,� City Manager John Prescott said. ��?It��?s probably going to be several months into 2009 by the time we get all of the equipment lined up, and hire the staff we will need to operate the truck.� The city will also hold educational sessions so Vermillion citizens fully understand how they can take advantage of the recycling program once its operational. ��?We will produce some educational materials, and people will know ahead of time what they will need to know as a homeowner, such as what day recyclables will be picked up in their neighborhood, and other things like that,� Prescott said. This new recycling service is being made possible in Vermillion thanks to a grant/loan package from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that will help offset the costs of needed equipment. The recycling program will need to generate enough income for Vermillion to pay back the low-interest loan. Vermillion residents will be charged a monthly fee to help cover both fixed and operating costs of the program. City Manager John Prescott, in a memo to city aldermen, noted that city staff is working to develop multiple income streams to help fund the program due to the unpredictability of the recycling market and fixed costs, such as fuel. The initial monthly fee for homeowners is anticipated to be $3.30 plus applicable sales tax. ��?The package is a $35,000 grant and a $175,000 loan at 2.5 percent interest for seven years,� said Phyllis Packard, Vermillion��?s solid waste director, told the Plain Talk last summer. ��?It would cover the costs of curb sorter trucks, pickup, hydraulic dump trailer, the school trailer, and contingencies and other equipment needed for a total of $210,000.� Packard noted that the curb sorter truck will feature seven separate sections, with each holding a different recyclable material routinely collected by the city. Her research shows that Yankton, Mitchell and Brookings currently have curbside recycling, and the average charge in those communities for the curbside service is between $3 and $3.25 monthly. Opponents referred the idea to a public vote, stating that Yankton, which shares the use of the Vermilllion landfill through a joint powers agreement, isn��?t doing its fair share of recycling. | <urn:uuid:925ebb25-8f40-4635-8c78-ad6e332b9aaa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://plaintalk.net/2008/12/curbside-recycling-likely-will-begin-sometime-in-2009/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952291 | 677 | 1.695313 | 2 |
If you are a self-employed parent starting to think about generating interest in your business, the media is a good way of getting a message to your target audience.
Newspapers, magazines and websites, have a target audience and tailor the editorial and advertising content towards these people. If you have a business that fits with the target audience of a wide reaching publication, then getting editorial space can give your business a real boost.
Publications have space to fill and deadlines to meet, and it could be your story or business that will fit page space.
But don’t just blindly attack the media. Spend time carefully researching a variety of publications and build a database and plan. Cultivating relationships with journalists is a good way of getting in the news and also getting back in the news.
Before approaching the media do your research. Build your own database of publications that you think your consumers match. Does the publication’s target audience fit with your customer profiles?
Publications all have their own unique editorial identity and style. If you think you have found one that suits you, take out the contact details of the relevant staff members.
Find out the best way or best person to contact with your news or product. A quick call – frequently to the editorial assistant – will help you find out who to approach. The right numbers are usually found inside the magazine or the contact section of a website.
If the journalist needs a press release, this isn’t difficult to do. There are plenty of websites out there offering free guides. Remember to include the who, what, why and when of your news and full contact details. If it is a news story, get it into the first two lines of the press release. Journalists receive hundreds of them every day and life is short.
If you are giving them information about a product do include a web link to the product, details, price and stockist.
Send low-res images in the first instance and copy the press release text into the entire email. Some publications or news rooms will not open an attachment. And others hate press releases in the form of a graphic image.
Do not send a press release out and then go on holiday.
Try not to send the same press release to every publication. Or if you do, write the covering email carefully to make it relevant to them.
Do not address your opening salutation to the editor of Prima Baby if you are emailing Mother and Baby.
If you are offering competition prizes do be aware that many publications will either charge a fee or have a minimum prize value. This can be anything from a basic £20 admin fee right up to a couple of hundred pounds minimum prize value for glossy mags.
If you get a phone call from their advertising department, be aware that to make your advertisement worth it, you will need to run it for a few months. Ask for a media pack and never pay rate card prices. Make sure you haggle down or ask for some free editorial. But do be aware they are a business too. Good will does not cover business rates.
The media love the Mum Behind… style stories. Sell yourself too for a chance of some free editorial.
If you are offering products for review, don’t expect them to come back again. If you want them back, make sure you let the journalist know before you send them.
Be aware of time frames. Monthly magazines can work many months in advance, newspapers a day and websites sometimes hours. If you don’t want your news to come out before a certain date then put an embargo on it. If you want to be considered for magazine Christmas issues, September – October is about the latest you will want to send your press release. Big businesses have their Christmas media events in July.
After you have sent an email or left a voice mail message, do follow it up if you hear nothing back. Be persistent but don’t pester. Yours will be one of hundreds that the journalist has received today. | <urn:uuid:54d30469-e57a-43f4-ae7d-2bcffcaf0382> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chopsybaby.com/magazine/?p=13968 | 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 | 0.933384 | 824 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Fewer discounts on high street
Big discounts in the Christmas shopping rush were harder to find this year as high street chains fought to protect their margins, a report has said.
Combined with the ongoing caution of UK consumers, business advisory firm BDO's December sales tracker points to "steady but unspectacular" trading.
The report, which studies like-for-like spending at non-grocery retailers with annual sales of between £5 million and £500 million, showed sales growth of 1.9% on a year earlier, despite a drop of 3.7% in the week to December 16.
BDO said tighter stock planning and better strategies for discounting meant firms were able to achieve an improvement in margins on a year earlier.
The report said: "Although experiencing relatively modest year-on-year sales rises, many retailers will still count December as a success."
Non-fashion was the strongest sector, with growth of 7.1% thanks to increased sales of Christmas "gifting" items from well-established brands and stores. Fashion sales were flat year-on-year due to poor weather and strong figures for the same period a year earlier.
Much of the growth came from the internet, with BDO reporting a 30.9% year-on-year rise in non-store sales as shoppers became ever more comfortable with online purchasing - especially from big name brands - as well as making use of growing wi-fi and 4G coverage to pick up bargains while on the move.
BDO's national head of retail Don Williams said: "Last year we saw several stores having to slash prices to levels that really hit their profits after getting caught with too much stock.
"This year there has been a clear focus on protecting margins. By building up to Christmas early in a planned and measured way there has been less knee-jerk discounting.
"At the same time consumers are continuing to feel the pinch of hard economic conditions and are being much more careful about when and where they spend their money."
- Making and manipulating tubes at Accles and Pollock in 1953
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- Priceless Victorian marvel put on public show for first time in 162 years
- Schoolboy soccer stars of over fifty years ago
- A West Bromwich mystery On the trail of William Arthur Seymour Part Two | <urn:uuid:a8e0ffb6-96ce-41d1-adc1-b1ec7f2bbd92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blackcountrybugle.co.uk/Home/Fewer-discounts-on-high-street-0-3843758.xnf | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971617 | 502 | 1.523438 | 2 |
for more articles
How the Writer Survives
|So itís your dream to write novels? Be a freelance writer and make a living off of your articles? Or maybe you nurture an ambition to write and sell enough short fiction to put bread on the table, like those writers of the golden age of the pulps?
Well, those are all noble dreams to have. Iím smitten by the writerís glamour myself. Also Iím grateful for the others who were, those authors whom I love to read and return to time and again. Iím grateful that they possessed not only their artistic vision, but also the sheer stubbornness and will to persevere and see their dreams become reality.
So weíve settled on the fact that we want to be writers, and that no other dream will do. Now letís take a look at what this is likely to mean in terms of the sacrifices weíll have to make along the way.
Make no doubts about it Ė even those closest to us may not understand or even sympathize with our dream. Young authors still in school or living at home should prepare themselves for the advice of well-meaning but frightened parents; which typically will be encouragement in ANOTHER direction. With all that time spent on the computer, you could build a career as a typist. How about data entry? Web design? They have a lot of great courses at the college for that.
Adult writers can oftentimes expect a similar reaction from their significant others; though in this case, the motivation might be someone different. Why donít you pursue something that thereís a FUTURE in?
People who give this sort of advice are doubtlessly well-steeped in all the lore of the suffering artist. Parents donít want to see their children go through it; husbands and wives arenít all that eager to see their spouses get caught up in that trap either.
But the real question here is this: are YOU ready to believe in yourself enough to persevere even in the face of this negative (though well-meant, perhaps) feedback?
2. A social life? Whatís that?
To finish a novel could easily take up a thousand hours or more of your time. That means almost three hours a day if you want to get it done in a year. And this is a modest estimate. Now maybe youíre willing to give up T.V. time, leisure reading, evenings out with your sweetheart, etc. You want to be a novelist that badly. But wait! The trials donít stop there.
Your friends and family will want explanations. WHY canít you go over to Luckyís and hang out tonight? Why do you never pick up the phone at night (or in the morning or whenever you write)?
Now itís one thing to have college papers to write, or mid-terms to study for, or overtime hours at work. Those are all socially acceptable obligations. But tell your friends that youíre staying in every evening to write and probably the best reaction you can hope for is a blank stare.
Are you ready to say: ďToo bad if they canít understandĒ?
3. Rejection upon rejection.
Letís say we pass the first two hurdles. We donít listen to peopleís attempts (however well-intentioned) to dissuade us, and we plug away at our stories even though it means we canít enjoy the leisure and down time of ďnormalĒ people. We put those thousand-odd hours into our work, and when itís all done weíre proud of it. We write query letters, mail submissions, and sit back and dream of that fat advance, the book signing tour and the movie offers.
Then the unthinkable happens. We get one return letter after another, and all of them are variations of this: ďThank you for sending us [our work]. It was indeed interesting, but not quite what weíre looking for at this time.Ē
This happens to everyone. It has happened to me numerous times, and if it never happens to you then you will be entered into the history books of publishing. You may reach the point where a PERSONAL rejection letter instead of a pre-printed rejection feels like an accomplishment.
Remember the dream. Remember the passion that drove you to devote all those hours to writing in the first place, at the expense of your social life and leisure. Then send your work out again, because you didnít pass the first two tests for nothing. When and if you get feedback, see if thereís anything constructive within it and learn for next time. Youíll be another rung up the ladder to success.
We writers survive and find our way because we werenít meant to BE anything else.
Seth Mullins is the author of ďSong of an Untamed LandĒ, a novel of speculative fantasy in lawless frontier territory. Visit Seth at http://authorsden.com/sethtmullins
This article is free for republishing
|Seth Mullins is the author of "Song of an Untamed Land", a novel of speculative fantasy in lawless frontier territory. His nonfiction includes dissertations on the craft of writing, as well as the inner meanings of mythic and fantasy stories. | <urn:uuid:4db1fba6-b22f-490b-93cd-2e22b1150d29> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thesportsmansedge.com/resume/how-the-writer-survives.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945325 | 1,107 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The PTC Council majority vs. the rule of law
This opinion column begins with some assumptions: We are a nation of laws, not men; we are a state of laws, not men; we are a city of laws, not men. (Ladies, you are included in these variations of John Adams’ famous declaration that he wrote into the 1780 Massachusetts constitution.)
Here in Peachtree City, we have gone off the legal track, and our City Council majority is acting as a government of men, not as a government of laws.
In this column I will show you why I believe the council majority has committed the following violations in taking the recent legislative action that reduced the pay of Mayor Don Haddix from $750 a month down to $75 a month:
1. Violation of the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against a bill of attainder.
2. Violation of the Georgia Constitution’s prohibition against a bill of attainder.
3. Violation of the plain-language prohibition against altering the salary of a mayor or council member contained within the City Charter, the founding legal document of Peachtree City — our local “constitution.”
Here are the relevant passages:
“No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law will be passed” — Article I, Section 9, paragraph 3, The Constitution of the United States.
“Paragraph X. Bill of attainder; ex post facto laws; and retroactive laws. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, retroactive law, or laws impairing the obligation of contract or making irrevocable grant of special privileges or immunities shall be passed.” — Article I Bill of Rights, Section I Rights of Persons, Paragraph X, Georgia Constitution.
“Sec. 2.10. - Compensation of mayor and council members as fixed; expenses of office allowable. (a) The mayor shall receive an annual salary and each council member shall receive such annual salary as shall be established by ordinance during the proceeding term for which such official shall have been appointed or elected. Said salaries shall be paid in twelve (12) equal monthly installments on or before the last day of each month.” — City Charter of Peachtree City, Section 2.10. (http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=11414)
In addition, the charter specifies the oath of office to be taken by each member of council: “I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will well and truly perform the duties of (mayor) (mayor pro tem) (council member) of Peachtree City by adopting such measures as in my judgment shall be best calculated to promote the general welfare of the inhabitants of Peachtree City and that I will support and defend the Charter and ordinances thereof as well as the constitution and laws of the State of Georgia and of the United States of America. So help me God.”
So, Councilman Eric Imker and his three council supporters — Kim Learnard, Vanessa Fleisch and George Dienhart — have sworn an oath to support and defend the charter, its ordinances, and both the Georgia and U.S. constitutions.
Did Mr. Imker and his cohorts “support and uphold” those basic governing documents, or did they violate all three of those documents?
For review, what’s a bill of attainder? Let’s see what the U.S. Supreme Court said in a couple of cases:
In a 1965 case before the U.S. Supreme Court, the court ruled, “The prohibition embodied in this [bill of attainder] clause ... is to be interpreted in accordance with the designs of the framers so as to preclude trial by legislature, a violation of the separation of powers concept.”
“The clause thus prohibits all legislative acts, ‘no matter what their form, that apply either to named individuals or to easily ascertainable members of a group in such a way as to inflict punishment on them without a judicial trial. ...’” the high court said in a 1946 case. Notice the phrase, “no matter what their form.”
So, how is what Mr. Imker and supporters did a bill of attainder?
They specified one individual out of the entire city and cut that person’s pay by 90 percent.
Their idea was to take back about $10,000 in legal fees the city treasury paid for the mayor’s legal fees in a libel case.
Was it a legislative act? Yes. Was it aimed at one individual? Yes.
Was it a penalty or punishment? It was an involuntary taking of a lawfully designated salary that, when fully implemented by the council majority, will amount to a taking of $10,000. The answer is yes, it was a penalty, a punishment.
Was there a judicial trial with appropriate due process? No. The council majority in legislative session initiated the action and passed it 4-to-1.
Mr. Imker, though he had cross-examined the city attorney like a hostile witness the previous meeting about the disbursement, framed the legislative action as a “budget” matter.
Though Mr. Imker in his letter to the editor asserts that he and the majority allowed Mr. Haddix due process, the assertion is laughable in its ignorance of what true due process means.
“Due process,“ Encyclopedia Britannica says is, “a course of legal proceedings according to rules and principles that have been established in a system of jurisprudence for the enforcement and protection of private rights. In each case, due process contemplates an exercise of the powers of government as the law permits and sanctions, under recognized safeguards for the protection of individual rights.”
In the taking of money by Imker and cohorts, where were “the rules and principles that have been established in a system of jurisprudence for the enforcement and protection of private rights”?
One of the essential elements of due process is an impartial tribunal. Justia.com says, “Just as in criminal and quasi-criminal cases, an impartial decision maker is an essential right in civil proceedings as well. ‘The neutrality requirement helps to guarantee that life, liberty, or property will not be taken on the basis of an erroneous or distorted conception of the facts or the law. ... At the same time, it preserves both the appearance and reality of fairness ... by ensuring that no person will be deprived of his interests in the absence of a proceeding in which he may present his case with assurance that the arbiter is not predisposed to find against him.’”
Does any resident of Peachtree City truly believe that Mr. Imker and his three supporters represented “an impartial tribunal” that was “not predisposed to find against” the mayor?
Indeed, in his letter to the editor, Mr. Imker said this about Mayor Haddix: “I did, however, see a deceitful mayor try to steal $10,000 from the taxpayers. ... I’m not the one having their salary reduced because I tried to steal $10,000 from the citizens.”
Mr. Imker is explicitly stating that he and the council believed the mayor was guilty of theft and that the council took its pay reduction step to recover stolen funds. But they swore out no warrants, filed no legal action before a legally constituted court, indeed never specified what law, ordinance, rule or policy the mayor allegedly violated.
Instead, Imker, Learnard, Fleisch and Dienhart acted as complainant, magistrate, prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner in the case they dubbed “Taxpayers vs. Haddix.” Under Imker and cohorts, a legislative body morphed into another branch of government, the judiciary.
And that’s Mr. Imker’s idea of “due process.”
I contend that by passing a “budget adjustment” aimed to penalize one person, Mr. Imker and his band of three have violated both the U.S. and Georgia constitutions’ prohibitions against a bill of attainder and, further, have trampled on Mr. Haddix’s rights to due process concerning his city salary, previously set by ordinance.
The council’s action also seems to “impair the obligation of contract” that existed between the city via its charter and a duly elected official who has an expectation that he/she will be paid per the charter’s specifications.
The council majority court also may have violated this provision of Georgia law. OCGA 36-35-6 (a)(2)(C), “Limitations on home rule powers” of cities says a city legislature cannot pass an ordinance “providing for fines and forfeitures in excess of $1,000 ...”
I would argue that a $10,000 taking of an elected official’s salary could be seen as an illegal forfeiture under this state law, all the more so since the council was acting in an impermissible judicial capacity. It would have been a forfeiture made up on the spot, applicable to only one individual. Never mind that the council majority court of four made no finding of the mayor’s violation of any specific state law, city ordinance or city policy.
Now let’s deal with Mr. Imker’s assertions of having done his homework. He must have skipped reading this part of the city charter: “such annual salary as shall be established by ordinance during the proceeding term for which such official shall have been appointed or elected. Said salaries shall be paid in twelve (12) equal monthly installments on or before the last day of each month.” Thus Mr. Imker and followers violated the charter in two regards.
They can’t alter the salary because it was established by ordinance “during the preceding term” (meaning before Haddix was elected mayor) and that set salary, per the charter, must be paid in “12 equal installments” (going from $750 one month to $75 the next month does not meet the “equal” requirement set by the charter).
The underlying principle is that salary changes can only be implemented in the term following the change by ordinance. In this case, “term” would mean the full four years for which Haddix was elected.
(The council does have the power by ordinance to change the salary of the next mayor — just not this one, and only if they do it before the next mayor is elected or appointed.)
And the council, even if it were unanimous, does not have the unilateral power to change the city charter by “budget adjustments,” whatever the members’ intentions.
Mr. Imker and cohorts could amend the city charter first to allow for the change in the salary of a public officer, but they would have to follow the state law requiring that such a charter amendment be advertised over a period of weeks and the measure itself would have to come up for a council vote in two consecutive council meetings.
And even then, if they were successful, they would run afoul of the constitutional prohibition against bills of attainder. They would just have enshrined the official bill of attainder in the city charter ... until any court got hold of it.
Thus, Mr. Imker, Ms. Learnard, Ms. Fleisch and Mr. Dienhart have — in my opinion, as demonstrated above — violated the city charter.
Now to their oaths of office: Mr. Imker, Ms. Learnard, Ms. Fleisch and Mr. Dienhart swore an oath to “support and defend” the city charter and the constitutions of Georgia and the United States.
According to the Official Code of Georgia, “16-10-1, Violation of oath by public officer — Any public officer who willfully and intentionally violates the terms of his oath as prescribed by law shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years.” That’s obviously a serious matter.
In passing what seems on its face to be an unconstitutional bill of attainder and in what seems to be an open-and-shut case of violations of the city charter provisions concerning pay of elected officials, have the four elected officials violated their oaths of office?
In his letter, Mr. Imker explicitly takes credit for introducing the measure: “I took no pleasure in being the one to make the motion to reduce the mayor’s salary. But somebody on council had to do it, so I did. If you know anything about me by now, you know that I refuse to be politically correct. ... Did you not see a motion made and voted 4-1? ... There clearly is no hearing required. Substantive notice was given at the proper time by adding it to the agenda packet the week before. We did not try to hide what was happening.”
Mr. Imker, by his own words, certainly meets the “willfully and intentionally” part.
Imker further says, “Again, I did my homework, but remember, I am not a lawyer. I asked about case law regarding the city’s responsibility for the mayor’s personal slander against the former mayor.”
My question is this: Did Mr. Imker bother to consult the city charter, which should have been his first stop, and which should have stopped him and his trio of supporters from further mischief? If he did consult the charter, he seems to have ignored what he found.
Much of the chatter about this case of an unpopular mayor and a pandering council majority has dealt almost entirely with the ends and has ignored the legality of the means.
Some seem to say, “I don’t care how they get that $10,000 back from Haddix, what’s important is that they get it back.” Pragmatism and public unpopularity thus overrule governing principles and the rule of law.
Dear citizen, to go down that path is to leave the rule of law behind. Down that path lies tyranny.
[Cal Beverly is editor and publisher of The Citizen.] | <urn:uuid:065cf6d4-85dd-4ca3-97ce-6a977df8033b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thecitizennews.com/blogs/cal-beverly/06-17-2012/ptc-council-majority-vs-rule-law?quicktabs_3=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965926 | 2,999 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
Shots - Health News
Thu January 3, 2013
Utah And 6 Other States Get Feds' OK To Run Insurance Exchanges
In a surprise, the Obama administration said Thursday that it has given Utah a conditional OK to run its own health insurance marketplace.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican, has resisted making major changes to the state's existing marketplace, which was built before passage of the federal health law and is geared to small business.
"Generally, I would prefer a state-based approach if I were to have the flexibility to stay true to Utah principles," Herbert wrote Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last month asking for approval.
Acknowledging that Utah's exchange was "atypical," Herbert suggested it serve as "the minimum standard for all federally compliant exchanges."
Today, the feds announced that Utah was one of seven states to gain conditional approval.
What happened? Did they cave on some of the law's standards to placate a Republican governor?
Well, not exactly. At news conference, HHS officials said Utah would still have to meet all of the law's requirements to get final approval, including offering coverage for individuals, and hiring so-called navigators to help consumers make decisions about what coverage to buy.
HHS expects a progress report from the state no later than Feb. 1.
Utah's approval could prove fleeting. Herbert's office released a statement that appeared to give no ground.
"Utah's position on our state health exchange has not changed and it will not change," said Ally Isom, deputy chief of staff for the governor. "Because it's consumer-driven, market-based and flexible, Utah's model is the right solution for Utah. Of course we'll review the HHS announcement and determine if the conditions are acceptable or reasonable for our state exchange—and that includes sitting down with legislators—but there is nothing about Utah's path that changes as a result of today's announcement."
The insurance exchanges are scheduled to open for enrollment Oct. 1 with coverage beginning January 2014. The exchanges are a key way the federal health law will extend health insurance coverage to as many 30 million people starting next year.
All told, the administration has approved the applications for state-run exchanges in 17 states and the District of Columbia.
Besides Utah, officials announced Thursday they had given approval to state-run insurance exchanges in California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Vermont. Previous approvals had been given to Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Minnesota, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington.
The latest tally means the majority of states will have exchanges run entirely or partly by the federal government. The law requires the feds government to step in if states fail to set up exchanges.
"States across the country are working to implement the health care law and build a marketplace that works for their residents," Sebelius said in a statement. "In ten months, consumers in all fifty states will have access to a new marketplace where they will be able to easily purchase affordable, high quality health insurance plans, and today's guidance will provide the information states need to guide their continued work."
States had until Dec.14 to apply to run a state exchange and have until Feb. 15 to apply to run one in partnership with the federal government.
HHS also announced that it approved state-federal partnership exchanges in Arkansas and Delaware.
Cohen noted that Mississippi's application to start its own exchange is also still pending. He said the agency hasn't decided how to handle it because it is unclear if the state insurance commissioner who made the application has the authority to move forward in the face of opposition from Gov. Phil Bryant. | <urn:uuid:645d499f-4572-491d-b1d8-7d0a7a5198d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kunm.org/post/utah-and-6-other-states-get-feds-ok-run-insurance-exchanges | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967965 | 763 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Colombia holidays : introduction
We have current Colombia articles here: News
Colombia is an entrancing country of superb beaches and mountains, emerald rainforest, historic sites and the world’s best coffee.
The romantic walled city of Cartagena, with its colonial buildings and narrow cobbled streets, is beautifully situated beside the Caribbean. It was immortalised by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in his novel Love in the Time of Cholera and is just as magical today. Literature lovers can plan their trip to coincide with the De Indias festival, organised in partnership with Hay-on-Wye!
A little further east is Santa Marta, famous for its lovely bay, coral reefs, Simón Bolívar’s mausoleum, and the oldest house in the Americas. It’s also the access point for nearby Tayrona National Park, in the shadow of the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada and a varied haven for wildlife, with dense jungle and sandy beaches where turtles come to lay their eggs.
The capital Bogotá, built on a high Andean plateau, has an attractive colonial quarter, with fine museums and art galleries. Nightlife pulses with rumba, salsa and cumbia rhythms. By contrast Medellín is a modern metropolis with lively street markets, fascinating museums, a renowned flower festival and a delightful climate. Between the two is the Magdalena valley and Colombia’s coffee region, where a stay at a traditional hacienda provides yet another dimension on a visit to this friendly and welcoming country.
Climate and when to go
The climate largely depends on altitude, since Colombia lies between the Equator and 12 degrees north. The dry season, from December to June, is known as 'summer', and the rainy season as 'winter', although rainfall never lasts long and it usually a welcome relief in the hotter areas.
“Colombia is so beautiful, and the people are so kind. Thank you very much!” - JD
“We returned on Monday from a memorable and marvellous fortnight in Colombia. We are so glad that we ignored the rather intimidating title of your company, 'Last Frontiers', and decided to 'go for it'. You gave us a brilliantly varied and interesting itinerary - from Bogota on its high plateau to the coffee plantations around Hacienda San Jose to the lovely city of Cartagena and finally to the beach-and-jungle paradise of Tayrona. I took nearly 450 photographs, which tells its own story, and very many of them seem fabulous indeed in the context of this grey English winter! We found that the Colombians amply justified their reputation for friendliness and happiness, we saw plenty of armed police but no guerrillas and very few mosquitoes, we enjoyed our meals and plenty of South American wine - and we suffered no ill consequences of our self-indulgence.So thank you very much indeed for organising such an excellent journey for us!” - PT | <urn:uuid:00c96d61-dca4-4cd8-b9ea-0930115ae584> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lastfrontiers.com/countries.php?c=colombia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945925 | 624 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Insure your car, home and valuables with iWYZE
by John Cartwright and Clifford Shearing (Mercury)
With its bright cover and unusually colourful presentation style, this little book shouts at us to think more carefully and more strategically about the high crime rate in the country and not just focus on reactive measures and leave everything to the government and its stretched police service.
The authors are well-travelled Cape Town-based academics who have both been involved in civic affairs and safety and security, and have researched and written on not only South Africa but several other countries, including Brazil and Northern Ireland.
To quote one of their key paragraphs from the 150 pages, we have to give fresh thought to where specific problems come from in our communities, who has the knowledge to help resolve them and how this knowledge can be mobilised and made effective.
With widespread criminal activity also being a product of political/social transition, the authors wish us to imagine the country we would like to be living in and then figure out steps to reach that situation.
By the way, the “chicken” in the title is not linked to the chicken run to Perth but something that is quite the contrary in terms of thinking constructively about the causes of crime and possible solutions involving the whole of society. – Carl Peters | <urn:uuid:8bcedacf-c999-49cc-a3c1-62e2147e63d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/lifestyle/where-s-the-chicken-making-south-africa-safe-1.1353431 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9689 | 270 | 1.5 | 2 |
If waiting for test results was hard – and really how could it be that difficult, especially when the media – or the folk who had commissioned them then decided to ramp up the expectation by saying they would “announce them next Monday” then it’s obviously not thought to be a problem for others to have to wait: demonstration of a distinct lack of empathy.
I mean, you’d’ve thought as soon as it was confirmed they’d let everyone know wouldn’t you?
And it’s not as if it was a matter of life or death – death was certain – (yes I know, it is for us all, but in this case it WAS certain).
Even so, it was exciting to learn that after five hundred years, and DNA testing, for which there was apparently only a small window when it could have been successful, requiring as it did, both the methods to be sufficiently sophisticated and the existence of descendants (both of whom, apparently, have not procreated, and after their deaths the DNA will die out) that the body found under a Leicester car park really and truly, beyond doubt, was that of Richard III, who died in 1485, age 32.
Take it Away (Tuesday) If waiting for test results was hard.... | <urn:uuid:2cfcb0bb-a398-4832-a777-51b2791e0fe2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thinkingten.com/profiles/blogs/a-topical-death | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986263 | 268 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Scott Bernstein, CNT’s President, recently made a presentation about the need to redefine housing affordability at the Home Depot Foundation National Partners and Federal Government Officials Convening in Washington, D.C. When people shop for home or apartments, they don’t necessarily have the full knowledge of the true costs of a location. The current definition of housing affordability is 30% of income, which does not take into account transportation costs. Our research shows that for a working family, those earning $20,000-$50,000, housing takes 30% while transportation takes up to 27% of income, and in the exurbs, transportation can easily exceed housing costs. Read more »
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
The U.S. Green Building Council –Chicago Chapter and its partners are recruiting up to 25 more projects for analysis in year 2 of the Regional Green Building Case Study Project. If interested in enrolling an Illinois LEED project in this multi-year study, please visit the project recruitment web site then submit a completed authorization form.
During the project’s first year the U.S. Green Building Council—Chicago Chapter and its partners collected and analyzed data from 25 projects across the state. With the generous support of the Grand Victoria Foundation and the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, we will re-engage the initial 25 projects while adding 25 more projects, for a total sample size of 50. This is one of a few post-occupancy studies with such a broad scope of metrics and is among the first to collect multiple years of data and provide ongoing analysis to participants.
Click here to learn more about year 2 of the Regional Green Building Case Study, including eligibility requirements.
Click here to learn more about CNT’s work on the year 1 of the Regional Green Building Case Study.
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Today, President Obama addressed a delegation from the U.S. Conference of Mayors on strengthening the economy and creating jobs in communities large and small.
It is clear from his remarks that the President is committed to investing in sustainable communities. He recognized the relationship between transportation, housing, and energy policy. President Obama is making strides to put forth federal policies and spending that put people to work and “help rebuild and revitalize our cities and metropolitan areas for the future.” Read more »
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
All seemed fairly routine when the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency hosted a meeting at their offices to provide an update on the study of green infrastructure practices and regulations the Agency is required to conduct under P.A. 96-0026, the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act. But it was not expected that during the meeting, Marcia Willhite, Chief of the IEPA Water Bureau, informed the 100 or so people in attendance that the IEPA Water Bureau “needs to rethink some things, part of which is how to promote green infrastructure and innovative environmental projects” through the funding of projects with State Clean Water Revolving Fund money. Willhite said she intends to establish an advisory committee to revise revolving fund criteria to ensure that green infrastructure projects receive greater priority.
Read more »
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
A new analysis by CNT, Smart Growth America, and U.S. PIRG shows that in the first ten months of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), investments in public transportation have created twice as many jobs per dollar as investments in highways. The new report shows that by mimicking funding levels for transportation set out in ARRA, the Jobs for Main Street Act (H.R. 2847), passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in December, missed an opportunity to create additional jobs where they are needed most.
The report, “What we learned from the Stimulus”, is available here.
Read more »
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
Lessons Learned from Recovery Act Show Superior Job Creation from Spending on Public Transportation
WASHINGTON, D.C.— A new analysis by the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Smart Growth America, and U.S. PIRG shows that in the first ten months of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), investments in public transportation have created twice as many jobs per dollar as investments in highways. The new report shows that by mimicking funding levels for transportation set out in ARRA, the Jobs for Main Street Act (H.R. 2847), passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in December, missed an opportunity to create additional jobs where they are needed most.
The report, “What we learned from the Stimulus, and how to use what we learned to speed job creation in the 2010 jobs bill”, is available here: www.smartgrowthamerica.org/stimulus2009.html
The Jobs for Main Street Act provides $27.1 billion for the Surface Transportation Program (STP) versus just $8.4 billion for Public Transportation even though public transportation investments under ARRA created twice as many jobs per dollar of investment. The Senate plans to take up its version of the jobs bill early in 2010, and the report shows that if the Senate version ensures funds are invested equally in public transportation and highways, the same level of overall investment would produce 71,415 additional job-months, equivalent to year-round employment for 5,951 more workers than from the House bill.
“This is a no-brainer. The Senate can ensure that more jobs are created across the country building the transportation system we need for the 21st century,” said Geoff Anderson, President of Smart Growth America. “If we are serious about creating jobs and bringing about the economic recovery our nation desperately needs, members of the Senate will insist on investing a greater percentage of the transportation funds in public transportation. Who is against more jobs?”
The data compiled by the states shows that every billion dollars spent on public transportation produced 16,419 job-months, compared to 8,781 job-months for every billion spent on highway infrastructure. Public transportation projects create more jobs than road projects because they spend less money on land and more on labor, and because projects are often more complex, whether laying rack or manufacturing vehicles.
The report also uses the data from ARRA to refute the idea that public transportation projects are not as “shovel-ready” or able to be launched as quickly as highway projects. Nationally, public transportation and highway infrastructure projects are spending money at about the same rate. But because public transportation projects spend more of those dollars on more labor, equivalent spend rates produce more and faster jobs from public transportation.
“As the Senate prepares to take up a jobs bill, lawmakers should learn the lessons of the Recovery Act,” said Phineas Baxandall, Senior Analyst for U.S. PIRG. “We cannot afford to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results. The fact is investments in public transportation will produce more jobs quicker and will address billions of dollars of unmet needs.”
“Public transportation is a lifeline for communities big and small across the country” said Scott Bernstein of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. “Too many people could not get to their jobs without public transit. But even as demand for service is up, systems everywhere face budget shortfalls forcing layoffs, reduced service and fare hikes. Increased local reinvestment is essential to preventing these cuts that will cripple our workforce and increase expenses for working Americans. In passing the Jobs for Main Street bill to tackle the continuing crisis, Congress can learn from the ARRA experience, putting the money where it will do the most good, and leaving no job, no family and no community-in-need behind.” | <urn:uuid:c7269eec-dda2-4213-834b-b729ff60cdfe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnt.org/news/2010/01/ | 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 | 0.948569 | 1,611 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Latest Example of Unlearning Liberty: Fresno City College
October 10, 2012
by Joseph Cohn
Want the latest example of students unlearning liberty on college campuses? Well, here it is, coming to you from Fresno City College, where student senators in the Associated Student Government (ASG) apparently impeached fellow student senator James Demaree for criticizing some of his colleagues in student government in a YouTube video.
According to an editorial in The Rampage, the school's student newspaper, Demaree offended his student government colleagues when he referred to a decision they made as a "dumb-ass decision" and declared that his colleagues "F**ked up" (YouTube video at 4:28 and 5:06 respectively) and promptly found himself the target of impeachment by fellow members of Fresno City College's Associated Student Government as a result. Apparently the impeaching student government officials deemed Demaree's criticisms to be "Behavior unbecoming of an ASG senator."
Sadly, Demaree's run in with retaliation for speech has shaken his belief in democracy. Thank goodness, however, that the editorial staff of The Rampage recognizes the importance of the principle of free speech at stake and have penned a defense—not of Demaree's choice in language or viewpoint—but of his right to express it as he saw fit. As the editorial staff of the Rampage so eloquently explains:
The editorial staff of the Rampage does not endorse any of the content of Demaree's speech, and many of us strongly disagree with the things he has said, but we too believe that freedom of speech is worth fighting for, and if we don't fight for it at the lowest level, how can we complain when it is violated on bigger stages?
Hopefully, the Fresno City College students and the students they elected to the Associated Student Government will ultimately recognize the wisdom of protecting free speech, and the ASG will reinstate Demaree on appeal. We could happily do without any more examples proving Greg's thesis in Unlearning Liberty correct. | <urn:uuid:076dc4ac-9e36-40ea-9ded-e304febc3445> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thefire.org/article/14987.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954312 | 413 | 1.570313 | 2 |
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On the Article, And in One Holy Ghost, the Comforter, Which Spake in the Prophets.
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.…Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit, &c.
1. Spiritual in truth is the grace we need, in order to discourse concerning the Holy Spirit; not that we may speak what is worthy of Him, for this is impossible, but that by speaking the words of the divine Scriptures, we may run our course without danger. For a truly fearful thing is written in the Gospels, where Christ has plainly said, Whosoever shall speak a word against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come19701970 Matt. xii. 32.. And there is often fear, lest a man should receive this condemnation, through speaking what he ought not concerning Him, either from ignorance, or from supposed reverence. The Judge of quick and dead, Jesus Christ, declared that he hath no forgiveness; if therefore any man offend, what hope has he?
2. It must therefore belong to Jesus Christ’s grace itself to grant both to us to speak without deficiency, and to you to hear with discretion; for discretion is needful not to them only who speak, but also to them that hear, lest they hear one thing, and misconceive another in their mind. Let us then speak concerning the Holy Ghost nothing but what is written; and whatsoever is not written, let us not busy ourselves about it. The Holy Ghost Himself spoke the Scriptures; He has also spoken concerning Himself as much as He pleased, or as much as we could receive. Let us therefore speak those things which He has said; for whatsoever He has not said, we dare not say.
3. There is One Only Holy Ghost, the
Comforter; and as there is One God the Father, and no second
Father;—and as there is One Only-begotten Son and Word of God,
who hath no brother;—so is there One Only Holy Ghost, and no
second spirit equal in-honour to Him. Now the Holy Ghost is a
Power most mighty, a Being divine and unsearchable; for He is living
and intelligent, a sanctifying principle of all things made by God
through Christ. He it is who illuminates the souls of the just;
He was in the Prophets, He was also in the Apostles in the New
Testament. Abhorred be they who dare to separate the operation of
the Holy Ghost! There is One God, the Father, Lord of the Old and
of the New Testament: and One Lord, Jesus Christ, who was
prophesied of in the Old Testament, and came in the New; and One Holy
Ghost, who through the Prophets preached of Christ, and when Christ was
come, descended, and manifested Him19711971 At the end of this section there
follows in the Coislin ms. a long
interpolation consisting of two parts. The former is an extract
taken word for word from Gregory of Nyssa, Oratio
Catechetica, ii. c, which may be read in this series:
᾽Αλλ᾽ ὡς Θεοῦ
δύναμιν. Of the second
passage the Benedictine Editor says: “I have not been able
to discover who is the author. No one can assign it to our Cyril,
although the doctrine it contains is in full agreement with his:
but he explains all the same points more at large in his two Lectures
(xvi. xvii.). The passage is very ancient and undoubtedly older
than the eleventh century, which is the date of the Cod. Coislin.
Therefore in the controversy of the Latins against the Greeks
concerning the Procession of the Holy Ghost it is important to notice
what is taught in this passage, and also brought forward as a testimony
by S. Thomas (Aquinas), that “The Holy Ghost is of the Godhead of
the Father and the Son (ex Patris et Filii divinitate
existere).” To me indeed these words seem to savour
altogether not of the later but of the more ancient theology of the
Greeks, and to be earlier than the controversies of the Greeks against
This second passage is as follows:—
“For the Spirit of God is good. And Thy good Spirit, says David, shall lead me in the land of righteousness. This then is the Spirit of God in which we believe: the blessed Spirit, the eternal, immutable, unchangeable, ineffable: which rules and reigns over all productive being, both visible and invisible natures: which is Lord both of Angels and Archangels, Powers, Principalities, Dominions, Thrones: the Creator of all being, enthroned with the glory of the Father and the Son, reigning without beginning and without end with the Father and the Son, before the created substances: Who sanctifies the ministering spirits sent forth for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation: Who came down upon the holy and blessed Virgin Mary, of whom was born Christ according to the flesh; came down also upon the Lord Himself in bodily form of a dove in the river Jordan: Who came upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost in form of fiery tongues; Who gives and supplies all spiritual gifts in the Church, Who Proceedeth from the Father: Who is of the Godhead of the Father and the Son; Who is of one substance with the Father and the Son, inseparable and indivisible.”.
1164. Let no one therefore separate the Old from the New Testament19721972 Cf. Cat. iv. 33; vii. 6. Irenæus, Hæres. III. xxi. 4; IV. ix. 1. In Eusebius, E.H. V. 13, Rhodon says that Apelles attributed the prophecies to an adverse spirit and rejected them as false and self-contradictory. Similar blasphemies against the holy Prophets are imputed to Manes by Epiphanius (Hæres. lxvi. 30).; let no one say that the Spirit in the former is one, and in the latter another; since thus he offends against the Holy Ghost Himself, who with the Father and the Son together is honoured, and at the time of Holy Baptism is included with them in the Holy Trinity. For the Only-begotten Son of God said plainly to the Apostles, Go ye, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost19731973 Matt. xxviii. 19. The same text is used with much force by S. Basil (De Spir. S. cap. xxiv.).. Our hope is in Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost. We preach not three Gods19741974 Cat. xi. 4, note 3. See Newman’s notes on Athanasius, Contra Arian. Or. I. viii. 1; Ib. Or. III. xxv. 9; Ib. xxvii. 3. Marcion’s doctrine of three first principles (τριῶν ἀρχῶν λόγος) is discussed by Epiphanius (Hæres. xlii. 6, 7). See also Tertull. Contra Marcion. I. 15; Euseb. Hist. Eccles. V. 13.; let the Marcionites be silenced; but with the Holy Ghost through One Son, we preach One God. The Faith is indivisible; the worship inseparable. We neither separate the Holy Trinity, like some; nor do we as Sabellius work confusion.19751975 συναλοιφήν, iv. 8; xi. 16; xv. 9. But we know according to godliness One Father, who sent His Son to be our Saviour; we know One Son, who promised that He would send the Comforter from the Father; we know the Holy Ghost, who spake in the Prophets, and who on the day of Pentecost descended on the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues, here, in Jerusalem, in the Upper Church of the Apostles19761976 Cat. xvii. 13. Epiphanius (De Mensuris et Ponder. c. 14): “And he (Hadrian) found the city all levelled to the ground, except a few houses, and the Church of God which was small: where the Disciples, on their return after the Saviour was taken up from the Mount of Olives, went up into the upper chamber: for there it had been built, that is on Sion.” Cf. Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, c. xiv. 3: “Within the precincts of that Mosque (of the Tomb of David) is a vaulted Gothic chamber, which contains within its four walls a greater confluence of traditions than any other place of like dimensions in Palestine. It is startling to hear that this is the scene of the Last Supper, of the meeting after the Resurrection, of the miracle of Pentecost, of the residence and death of the Virgin, of the burial of Stephen.”; for in all things the choicest privileges are with us. Here Christ came down from heaven; here the Holy Ghost came down from heaven. And in truth it were most fitting, that as we discourse concerning Christ and Golgotha here in Golgotha, so also we should speak concerning the Holy Ghost in the Upper Church; yet since He who descended there jointly partakes of the glory of Him who was crucified here, we here speak concerning Him also who descended there: for their worship is indivisible.
5. We would now say somewhat concerning the Holy Ghost; not to declare His substance with exactness, for this were impossible; but to speak of the diverse mistakes of some concerning him, lest from ignorance we should fall into them; and to block up the paths of error, that we may journey on the King’s one highway. And if we now for caution’s sake repeat any statement of the heretics, let it recoil on their heads, and may we be guiltless, both we who speak, and ye who hear.
6. For the heretics, who are most profane in all things, have sharpened their tongue19771977 Ps. cxl. 3. against the Holy Ghost also, and have dared to utter impious things; as Irenæus the interpreter has written in his injunctions against heresies19781978 Irenæus is called “the interpreter” in the same general sense as other ecclesiastical authors (Cat. xiii. 21; xv. 20), on account of his frequent comments upon the Scriptures. The full title of his work was A Refutation and Subversion of Knowledge falsely so called (Euseb. Hist. Eccles. V. c. 7). Cyril’s expression (ἐν τοῖς προστάγμασι) is sufficiently appropriate to the hortatory purpose professed by Irenæus in his preface. But the Benedictine Editor thinks that the word προστάγμασι may be an interpolation arising from the following words πρὸς τὰς.…The meaning would then be “in his writings Against Heresies,” the usual short title of the work.. For some of them have dared to say that they were themselves the Holy Ghost;—of whom the first was Simon19791979 Cat. vi. 14, note 10., the sorcerer spoken of in the Acts of the Apostles; for when he was cast out, he presumed to teach such doctrines: and they who are called Gnostics, impious men, have spoken other things against the Spirit19801980 Irenæus (I. xxix § 4; xxx. § 1)., and the wicked Valentinians19811981 Ib. I. ii. §§ 5, 6. again something else; and the profane Manes dared to call himself the Paraclete sent by Christ19821982 Cat. vi. 25.. Others again have taught that the Spirit is different in the Prophets and in the New Testament.19831983 Cat. iv. 33. See § 3, note 3, above. Yea, and great is their error, or rather their blasphemy. Such therefore abhor, and flee from them who blaspheme the Holy Ghost, and have no forgiveness. For what fellowship hast thou with the desperate, thou, who art now to be baptized, into the Holy Ghost also19841984 i.e. as well as into the Father and the Son.? If he who attaches himself to a thief, and consenteth with him, is subject to punishment, what hope shall he have, who offends against the Holy Ghost?
7. Let the Marcionists also be abhorred, who tear away from the New Testament the sayings of the Old19851985 See Dict. Christ. Biography, Marcion, p. 283; and Tertullian (Adv. Marcion. IV. 6): “His whole aim centres in this that he may establish a diversity between the Old and New Testaments, so that his own Christ may be separate from the Creator, as belonging to the rival god, and as alien from the Law and the Prophets.. For Marcion first, that most impious of men, who first asserted three Gods19861986 Cf. § 4, note 5, above., knowing that in the New Testament are 117contained testimonies of the Prophets concerning Christ, cut out the testimonies taken from the Old Testament, that the King might be left without witness. Abhor those above-mentioned Gnostics, men of knowledge by name, but fraught with ignorance; who have dared to say such things of the Holy Ghost as I dare not repeat.
8. Let the Cataphrygians19871987 Phrygians, or Cataphrygians (οἱ κατὰ φρύγας) was the name given to the followers of the Phrygian Montanus. See the account of Montanism in Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. V. xvi., and the note there in this Series. also be thy abhorrence, and Montanus, their ringleader in evil, and his two so-called prophetesses, Maximilla and Priscilla. For this Montanus, who was out of his mind and really mad (for he would not have said such things, had he not been mad), dared to say that he was himself the Holy Ghost,—he, miserable man, and filled with all uncleanness and lasciviousness; for it suffices but to hint at this, out of respect for the women who are present. And having taken possession of Pepuza, a very small hamlet of Phrygia, he falsely named it Jerusalem; and cutting the throats of wretched little children, and chopping them up into unholy food, for the purpose of their so-called mysteries19881988 The charges of lust and cruelty brought against the Montanists by Cyril and Epiphanius (Hær 48) seem to rest on no trustworthy evidence, and are not mentioned by Eusebius, a bitter foe to the sect.,—(wherefore till but lately in the time of persecution we were suspected of doing this, because these Montanists were called, falsely indeed, by the common name of Christians;)—yet he dared to call himself the Holy Ghost, filled as he was with all impiety and inhuman cruelty, and condemned by an irrevocable sentence.
9. And he was seconded, as was said before, by that most impious Manes also, who combined what was bad in every heresy19891989 On Manes, see Cat. vi. 20. ff.; who being the very lowest pit of destruction, collected the doctrines of all the heretics, and wrought out and taught a yet more novel error, and dared to say that he himself was the Comforter, whom Christ promised to send. But the Saviour when He promised Him, said to the Apostles, But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high19901990 Luke xxiv. 49.. What then? did the Apostles who had been dead two hundred years, wait for Manes, until they should be endued with the power; and will any dare to say, that they were not forthwith full of the Holy Ghost? Moreover it is written, Then they laid their hands on and they received the Holy Ghost19911991 Acts viii. 17.; was not this before Manes, yea, many years before, when the Holy Ghost descended on the day of Pentecost?
10. Wherefore was Simon the sorcerer condemned? Was it not that he came to the Apostles, and said, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost? For he said not, “Give me also the fellowship of the Holy Ghost,” but “Give me the power;” that he might sell to others that which could not be sold, and which he did not himself possess. He offered money also to them who had no possessions19921992 Acts viii. 19. ἀκτήμοσι. Cf. § 19: ἀκτημονοῦσι, and § 22: ἀκτημοσύνην.; and this, though he saw men bringing the prices of the things sold, and laying them at the Apostles’ feet. And he considered not that they who trod under foot the wealth which was brought for the maintenance of the poor, were not likely to give the power of the Holy Ghost for a bribe. But what say they to Simon? Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought to purchase the gift of God with money19931993 Ib. v. 20.; for thou art a second Judas, for expecting to buy the grace of the Spirit with money. If then Simon, for wishing to get this power for a price, is to perish, how great is the impiety of Manes, who said that he was the Holy Ghost? Let us hate them who are worthy of hatred; let us turn away from them from whom God turns away; let us also ourselves say unto God with all boldness concerning all heretics, Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate Thee, and am not I grieved with Thine enemies19941994 Ps. cxxxix. 21.? For there is also an enmity which is right, according as it is written, I will put enmity between thee and her seed19951995 Gen. iii. 15.; for friendship with the serpent works enmity with God, and death.
11. Let then thus much suffice concerning those outcasts; and now let us return to the divine Scriptures, and let us drink waters out of our own cisterns [that is, the holy Fathers19961996 The words ἁγίων πατέρων are not found in the mss. Mon. 1. Mon. 2. Vind. Roe. Casaub. nor in Grodecq. Whether meant to refer, as the Benedictine Editor thinks, to the writers of the Old Testament, or to Christian authors, they are an evident gloss.], and out of our own springing wells19971997 Prov. v. 15.. Drink we of living water, springing up into everlasting life19981998 John iv. 14, quoted more fully at the end of the section.; but this spake the Saviour of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive19991999 Ib. vii. 38, 39.. For observe what He says, He that believeth on Me (not simply this, but), as the Scripture hath said (thus He hath sent thee back to the Old Testament), out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, not rivers perceived by sense, and merely watering the earth with its thorns and trees, but bringing souls to the light. And in another place He says, But the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of living water springing up 118into everlasting life,—a new kind of water living and springing up, springing up unto them who are worthy.
12. And why did He call the grace of the Spirit water? Because by water all things subsist; because water brings forth grass and living things; because the water of the showers comes down from heaven; because it comes down one in form, but works in many forms. For one fountain watereth the whole of Paradise, and one and the same rain comes down upon all the world, yet it becomes white in the lily, and red in the rose, and purple in violets and hyacinths, and different and varied in each several kind: so it is one in the palm-tree, and another in the vine, and all in all things; and yet is one in nature, not diverse from itself; for the rain does not change itself, and come down first as one thing, then as another, but adapting itself to the constitution of each thing which receives it, it becomes to each what is suitable20002000 Compare a similar passage on rain in Cat. ix. 9, 10.. Thus also the Holy Ghost, being one, and of one nature, and indivisible, divides to each His grace, according as He will20012001 1 Cor. xii. 11.: and as the dry tree, after partaking of water, puts forth shoots, so also the soul in sin, when it has been through repentance made worthy of the Holy Ghost, brings forth clusters of righteousness. And though He is One in nature, yet many are the virtues which by the will of God and in the Name of Christ He works. For He employs the tongue of one man for wisdom; the soul of another He enlightens by Prophecy; to another He gives power to drive away devils; to another He gives to interpret the divine Scriptures. He strengthens one man’s self-command; He teaches another the way to give alms; another He teaches to fast and discipline himself; another He teaches to despise the things of the body; another He trains for martyrdom: diverse in different men, yet not diverse from Himself, as it is written, But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another gifts of healing, in the same Spirit; and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discernings of spirits; and to another divers kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will20022002 Ib. vv. 7–11..
13. But since concerning spirit in general many diverse things are written in the divine Scriptures, and there is fear lest some out of ignorance fall into confusion, not knowing to what sort of spirit the writing refers; it will be well now to certify you, of what kind the Scripture declares the Holy Spirit to be. For as Aaron is called Christ, and David and Saul and others are called Christs20032003 See Cat. x. 11; xi. 1., but there is only one true Christ, so likewise since the name of spirit is given to different things, it is right to see what is that which is distinctively called the Holy Spirit. For many things are called spirits. Thus an Angel is called spirit, our soul is called spirit, and this wind which is blowing is called spirit; great virtue also is spoken of as spirit; and impure practice is called spirit; and a devil our adversary is called spirit. Beware therefore when thou hearest these things, lest from their having a common name thou mistake one for another. For concerning our soul the Scripture says, His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth20042004 Ps. cxlvi. 4.: and of the same soul it says again, Which formeth the spirit of man within him20052005 Zech. xii. 1.. And of the Angels it is said in the Psalms, Who maketh His Angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire20062006 Ps. civ. 4.. And of the wind it saith, Thou shalt break the ships of Tarshish with a violent spirit20072007 Ps. xlviii. 7.; and, As the tree in the wood is shaken by the spirit20082008 Is. vii. 2.; and, Fire, hail, snow, ice, spirit of storm20092009 Ps. cxlviii. 8.. And of good doctrine the Lord Himself says, The words that I have spoken unto you, they are spirit20102010 John vi. 63., and they are life; instead of, “are spiritual.” But the Holy Spirit is not pronounced by the tongue; but He is a Living Spirit, who gives wisdom of speech, Himself speaking and discoursing.
14. And wouldest thou know that He discourses and speaks? Philip by revelation of an Angel went down to the way which leads to Gaza, when the Eunuch was coming; and the Spirit said to Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot20112011 Acts viii. 29.. Seest thou the Spirit talking to one who hears Him? Ezekiel also speaks thus, The Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and said unto me, Thus saith the Lord20122012 Ezek. xi. 5.. And again, The Holy Ghost said20132013 Acts xiii. 2., unto the Apostles who were in Antioch, Separate me now Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Beholdest thou the Spirit living, separating, calling, and with authority sending forth? Paul also said, Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me20142014 Ib. xx. 23.. For this good Sanctifier of the Church, and her Helper, and Teacher, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, of whom the Saviour said, He shall 119teach you all things (and He said not only, He shall teach, but also, He shall bring to your remembrance whatever I have said unto you20152015 John xiv. 26.; for the teachings of Christ and of the Holy Ghost are not different, but the same)—He, I say, testified before to Paul what things should befall him, that he might be the more stout-hearted, from knowing them beforehand. Now I have spoken these things unto you because of the text, The words which I have spoken unto you, they are spirit; that thou mayest understand this, not of the utterance of the lips20162016 Ib. vi. 63. The Holy Spirit is more than words pronounced by the tongue, even than our Lord’s own words, which he called spirit., but of the good doctrine in this passage.
15. But sin also is called spirit, as I have already said; only in another and opposite sense, as when it is said, The spirit of whoredom caused them to err20172017 Hosea iv. 12.. The name “spirit” is given also to the unclean spirit, the devil; but with the addition of, “the unclean;” for to each is joined its distinguishing name, to mark its proper nature. If the Scripture speak of the soul of man, it says the spirit with the addition, of the man; if it mean the wind, it says, spirit of storm; if sin, it says, spirit of whoredom; if the devil, it says, an unclean spirit: that we may know which particular thing is spoken of, and thou mayest not suppose that it means the Holy Ghost; God forbid! For this name of spirit is common to many things; and every thing which has not a solid body is in a general way called spirit20182018 Origen, de Principiis, i. § 2: “It is the custom of Holy Scripture, when it would designate anything contrary to this more dense and solid body, to call it spirit.”. Since, therefore, the devils have not such bodies, they are called spirits: but there is a great difference; for the unclean devil, when he comes upon a man’s soul (may the Lord deliver from him every soul of those who hear me, and of those who are not present), he comes like a wolf upon a sheep, ravening for blood, and ready to devour. His coming is most fierce; the sense of it most oppressive; the mind becomes darkened; his attack is an injustice also, and so is his usurpation of another’s possession. For he makes forcible use of another’s body, and another’s instruments, as if they were his own; he throws down him who stands upright (for he is akin to him who fell from heaven20192019 Luke x. 18.); he twists the tongue and distorts the lips; foam comes instead of words; the man is filled with darkness; his eye is open, yet the soul sees not through it; and the miserable man gasps convulsively at the point of death. The devils are verily foes of men, using them foully and mercilessly.
16. Such is not the Holy Ghost; God forbid! For His doings tend the contrary way, towards what is good and salutary. First, His coming is gentle; the perception of Him is fragrant; His burden most light; beams of light and knowledge gleam forth before His coming20202020 In this contrast between the evil spirit and the Spirit of God Cyril’s language rises to true eloquence, far surpassing a somewhat similar description, which may have been known to him, in Euseb. Dem. Evang. V. 132.. He comes with the bowels of a true guardian: for He comes to save, and to heal, to teach, to admonish, to strengthen, to exhort, to enlighten the mind, first of him who receives Him, and afterwards of others also, through him. And as a man, who being previously in darkness then suddenly beholds the sun, is enlightened in his bodily sight, and sees plainly things which he saw not, so likewise he to whom the Holy Ghost is vouchsafed, is enlightened in his soul, and sees things beyond man’s sight, which he knew not; his body is on earth, yet his soul mirrors forth the heavens. He sees, like Esaias, the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up20212021 Is. vi. 1.; he sees, like Ezekiel, Him who is above the Cherubim20222022 Ezek. x. 1.; he sees like Daniel, ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands20232023 Dan. vii. 10.; and the man, who is so little, beholds the beginning of the world, and knows the end of the world, and the times intervening, and the successions of kings,—things which he never learned: for the True Enlightener is present with him. The man is within the walls of a house; yet the power of his knowledge reaches far and wide, and he sees even what other men are doing.
17. Peter was not with Ananias and Sapphira when they sold their possessions, but he was present by the Spirit; Why, he says, hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost20242024 Acts v. 3.? There was no accuser; there was no witness; whence knew he what had happened? Whiles it remained was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart20252025 Ib. v. 4.? The unlettered20262026 Ib. iv. 13. Peter, through the grace of the Spirit, learnt what not even the wise men of the Greeks had known. Thou hast the like in the case also of Elisseus. For when he had freely healed the leprosy of Naaman, Gehazi received the reward, the reward of another’s achievement; and he took the money from Naaman, and bestowed it in a dark place. But the darkness is not hidden from the Saints20272027 Ps. cxxxix. 12.. And when he came, Elisseus asked him; and like Peter, when he said, Tell me whether ye 120sold the land for so much20282028 Acts v. 8.? he also enquires, Whence comest thou, Gehazi20292029 2 Kings v. 25.? Not in ignorance, but in sorrow ask I whence comest thou? From darkness art thou come, and to darkness shalt thou go; thou hast sold the cure of the leper, and the leprosy is thy heritage. I, he says, have fulfilled the bidding of Him who said to me, Freely ye have received, freely give20302030 Matt. x. 8.; but thou hast sold this grace; receive now the condition of the sale. But what says Elisseus to him? Went not mine heart with thee? I was here shut in by the body, but the spirit which has been given me of God saw even the things afar off, and shewed me plainly what was doing elsewhere. Seest thou how the Holy Ghost not only rids of ignorance, but invests with knowledge? Seest thou how He enlightens men’s souls?
18. Esaias lived nearly a thousand years ago; and he beheld Zion as a booth. The city was still standing, and beautified with public places, and robed in majesty; yet he says, Zion shall be ploughed as a field20312031 Micah iii. 12; ascribed by Cyril to Isaiah., foretelling what is now fulfilled in our days20322032 Cf. Euseb. Dem. Evang. vi. 13: “In our own time we have seen with our eyes the Sion of old renown being ploughed by Romans with yokes of oxen, and Jerusalem in a state of utter desolation as the oracle itself says, like a lodge in a garden of cucumbers. As Cyril at that time saw the Prophet’s prediction fulfilled, so we also to the present day see most plainly the fulfilment of the divine oracle, and Sion ploughed before our eyes: for except the Church of the Apostles, with the houses lying around it, and the house of Caiaphas and the cemeteries, all the remaining space of this hill, lying without the city, is under plough.” (Jerusalem Editor).. And observe the exactness of the prophecy; for he said, And the daughter of Zion shall be left as a booth in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers20332033 Isa. i. 8. ὀπωροφυλάκιον is the hut of the watchman who guarded the crop when ripening for harvest. Σικυήλατον is explained by Basil in his comment on the passage of Isaiah as “A place that produces quick-growing and perishable fruits.” This agrees with the etymological sense of the word as “a forcing-bed for cucumbers” (Hippocrates apud Fritzsche, “Der Brief des Jeremia,” v. 70). On the form σικυηράτῳ, see the notes on the Epistle of Jeremy in the Speaker’s Commentary.. And now the place is filled with gardens of cucumbers. Seest thou how the Holy Spirit enlightens the saints? Be not therefore carried away to other things, by the force of a common term, but keep fast the exact meaning.
19. And if ever, while thou hast been sitting here, a thought concerning chastity or virginity has come into thy mind, it has been His teaching. Has not often a maiden, already at the bridal threshold20342034 παστάδας. On the meaning of παστάς see the notes on Herodotus, II. 148, 169 in Bähr, and Rawlinson. Here it appears to mean the cloister or colonnade which gave access to the bridal chamber, θάλαμος., fled away, He teaching her the doctrine of virginity? Has not often a man distinguished at court20352035 ἐν παλατίοις., scorned wealth and rank, under the teaching of the Holy Ghost? Has not often a young man, at the sight of beauty, closed his eyes, and fled from the sight, and escaped the defilement? Askest thou whence this has come to pass? The Holy Ghost taught the soul of the young man. Many ways of covetousness are there in the world; yet Christians refuse possessions: wherefore? because of the teaching of the Holy Ghost. Worthy of honour is in truth that Spirit, holy and good; and fittingly are we baptized into Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. A man, still clothed with a body, wrestles with many fiercest demons; and often the demon, whom many men could not master with iron bands, has been mastered by the man himself with words of prayer, through the power which is in him of the Holy Ghost; and the mere breathing of the Exorcist20362036 Compare Procat. § 9; Cat. xx. 3. becomes as fire to that unseen foe. A mighty ally and protector, therefore, have we from God; a great Teacher of the Church, a mighty Champion on our behalf. Let us not be afraid of the demons, nor of the devil; for mightier is He who fighteth for us. Only let us open to Him our doors; for He goeth about seeking such as are worthy20372037 Wisdom vi. 16. Compare the saying in Clem. Alex. Quis dives salvetur? § 31: αὐτὸν ζητεῖν τοὺς εὖ πεισομένους ἀξίους τε ὄντας τοῦ Σωτῆρος μαθητάς. The Jerusalem Editor quotes from Origen (Prolog. in Cantic.) a passage which may have been known to Cyril: “This Comforter therefore goeth about seeking if He may discover any worthy and receptive souls to whom He may reveal the greatness of the love which is in God.” and searching on whom He may confer His gifts.
20. And He is called the Comforter, because He comforts and encourages us, and helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered20382038 Rom. viii. 26., that is, makes intercession to God. Oftentimes a man for Christ’s sake has been outraged and dishonoured unjustly; martyrdom is at hand; tortures on every side, and fire, and sword, and savage beasts, and the pit. But the Holy Ghost softly whispers to him, “Wait thou on the Lord20392039 Ps. xxviii. 14; xxxvii. 34., O man; what is now befalling thee is a small matter, the reward will be great. Suffer a little while, and thou shalt be with Angels for ever. The sufferings of this present time art not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us20402040 Rom. viii. 18..” He portrays to the man the kingdom of heaven; He gives him a glimpse of the paradise of delight; and the martyrs, whose bodily countenances are of necessity turned to their judges, but who in spirit are already in Paradise, despise those hardships which are seen.
21. And wouldest thou be sure that by the power of the Holy Ghost the Martyrs bear their witness? The Saviour says to His disciples, And when they bring you unto 121the synagogues, and the magistrates, and authorities, be not anxious how ye shall answer, or what ye shall say; for the Holy Ghost shall teach you in that very hour, what ye ought to say20412041 Luke xii. 11, 12.. For it is impossible to testify as a martyr for Christ’s sake, except a man testify by the Holy Ghost; for if no man can say that Jesus Christ is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost20422042 1 Cor. xii. 3. Μαρτυρῆσαι, “to bear witness by death.”, how shall any man give his own life for Jesus’ sake, but by the Holy Ghost?
22. Great indeed, and all-powerful in gifts, and wonderful, is the Holy Ghost. Consider, how many of you are now sitting here, how many souls of us are present. He is working suitably for each, and being present in the midst, beholds the temper of each, beholds also his reasoning and his conscience, and what we say, and think, and believe20432043 Codd. Monac. Vind. Roe. Casaub. add καὶ τί πιστεύομεν.. Great indeed is what I have now said, and yet is it small. For consider, I pray, with mind enlightened by Him, how many Christians there are in all this diocese, and how many in the whole province20442044 The terms παροικία, the See of a Bishop, and ἐπαρχία, the Province of a Metropolitan, were both adopted from the corresponding divisions of the Roman Empire. See Bingham, Antt. Book IX. i. §§ 2–6. of Palestine, and carry forward thy mind from this province, to the whole Roman Empire; and after this, consider the whole world; races of Persians, and nations of Indians, Garbs and Sarmatians, Gauls and Spaniards, and Moors, Libyans and Ethiopians, and the rest for whom we have no names; for of many of the nations not even the names have reached us. Consider, I pray, of each nation, Bishops, Presbyters, Deacons, Solitaries, Virgins, and laity besides; and then behold their great Protector, and the Dispenser of their gifts;—how throughout the world He gives to one chastity, to another perpetual virginity, to another almsgiving, to another voluntary poverty, to another power of repelling hostile spirits. And as the light, with one touch of its radiance sheds brightness on all things, so also the Holy Ghost enlightens those who have eyes; for if any from blindness is not vouchsafed His grace, let him not blame the Spirit, but his own unbelief.
23. Thou hast seen His power, which is in all the world; tarry now no longer upon earth, but ascend on high. Ascend, I say, in imagination even unto the first heaven, and behold there so many countless myriads of Angels. Mount up in thy thoughts, if thou canst, yet higher; consider, I pray thee, the Archangels, consider also the Spirits; consider the Virtues, consider the Principalities, consider the Powers, consider the Thrones, consider the Dominions20452045 S. Basil (De Spiritu S. c. xvi. § 38), after quoting the same passage, Col. i. 16, proceeds—εἴτε κυριότητες, καὶ εἴ τινές εἰσιν ἕτεραι λογικαὶ φύσεις ἁκατονόμαστοι. The last word shews that Basil had in mind this passage of Cyril, who after the names of nations in § 22, adds καὶ τοὺς λοίπους ἀκατονομάστους ἡμῖν.;—of all these the Comforter is the Ruler from God, and the Teacher, and the Sanctifier. Of Him Elias has need, and Elisseus, and Esaias, among men; of Him Michael and Gabriel have need among Angels. Naught of things created is equal in honour to Him: for the families of the Angels, and all their hosts assembled together, have no equality with the Holy Ghost. All these the all-excellent power of the Comforter overshadows. And they indeed are sent forth to minister20462046 Heb. i. 14., but He searches even the deep things of God, according as the Apostle says, For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the thing of a man, save the spirit of the man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God20472047 1 Cor. ii. 10, 11..
24. He preached concerning Christ in the Prophets; He wrought in the Apostles; He to this day seals the souls in Baptism. And the Father indeed gives to the Son; and the Son shares with the Holy Ghost. For it is Jesus Himself, not I, who says, All things are delivered unto Me of My Father20482048 Matt. xi. 27.; and of the Holy Ghost He says, When He, the Spirit of Truth, shall come, and the rest.…He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you20492049 John xvi. 13, 14.. The Father through the Son, with the Holy Ghost, is the giver of all grace; the gifts of the Father are none other than those of the Son, and those of the Holy Ghost; for there is one Salvation, one Power, one Faith; One God, the Father; One Lord, His only-begotten Son; One Holy Ghost, the Comforter. And it is enough for us to know these things; but inquire not curiously into His nature or substance20502050 In regard to the caution with which St. Cyril here speaks, we must remember that the heresy of Macedonius had not yet given occasion to the formal discussion and determination of the “nature and substance” of the Holy Ghost.: for had it been written, we would have spoken of it; what is not written, let us not venture on; it is sufficient for our salvation to know, that there is Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost.
25. This Spirit descended upon the seventy Elders in the days of Moses. (Now let not the length of the discourse, beloved, produce weariness in you: but may He the very subject of our discourse grant strength to every one, both to us who speak, and to you who listen!) This Spirit, as I was saying, came down upon the seventy Elders in the time of Moses; and this I say to thee, that I may now prove, that He knoweth all things, and worketh as He will20512051 1 Cor. xii. 11.. 122The seventy Elders were chosen; And the Lord came down in a cloud, and took of the Spirit that was upon Moses, and put it upon the seventy Elders20522052 Num. xi. 24, 25. “Modad” is the form of the name in the LXX.; not that the Spirit was divided, but that His grace was distributed in proportion to the vessels, and the capacity of the recipients. Now there were present sixty and eight, and they prophesied; but Eldad and Modad were not present: therefore that it might be shewn that it was not Moses who bestowed the gift, but the Spirit who wrought, Eldad and Modad, who though called, had not as yet presented themselves, did also prophesy20532053 The apocryphal book of Eldad and Modad is mentioned by Hermas, Shepherd, Vis. ii. § 3. S. Basil, Liber de Spir. S. cap. 61, referring to Num. xi. 26, says that the Spirit rested permanently only upon Eldad and Modad..
26. Jesus the Son of Nun, the successor of Moses, was amazed; and came to him and said, “Hast thou heard that Eldad and Modad are prophesying? They were called, and they came not; my lord Moses, forbid them20542054 Num. xi. 28..” “I cannot forbid them,” he says, “for this grace is from Heaven; nay, so far am I from forbidding them, that I myself am thankful for it. I think not, however, that thou hast said this in envy; art thou jealous for my sake, because that they prophesy, and thou prophesiest not yet? Wait for the proper season; and oh that all the Lord’s people may be prophets, whenever the Lord shall give His Spirit upon them20552055 Num. xi. 29.!” saying this also prophetically, whenever the Lord shall give; “For as yet then He has not given it; so thou hast it not yet.”—Had not then Abraham this, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph? And they of old, had they it not? Nay, but the words, “whenever the Lord shall give” evidently mean “give it upon all; as yet indeed the grace is partial, then it shall be given lavishly.” And he secretly alluded to what was to happen among us on the day of Pentecost; for He Himself came down among us. He had however also come down upon many before. For it is written, And Jesus the son of Nun was filled with a spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him20562056 Deut. xxxiv. 9.. Thou seest the figure everywhere the same in the Old and New Testament;—in the days of Moses, the Spirit was given by laying on of hands; and by laying on of hands Peter20572057 Acts viii. 18. On this passage of Cyril, see the section on “Chrism” in the Introduction. also gives the Spirit. And on thee also, who art about to be baptized, shall His grace come; yet in what manner I say not, for I will not anticipate the proper season.
27. He also came down upon all righteous men and Prophets; Enos, I mean, and Enoch, and Noah, and the rest; upon Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for as regards Joseph, even Pharaoh perceived that he had the Spirit of God within him20582058 Gen. xli. 38.. As to Moses, and the wonderful works wrought by the Spirit in his days, thou hast heard often: This Spirit Job also had, that most enduring man, and all the saints, though we repeat not all their names. He also was sent forth when the Tabernacle was in making, and filled with wisdom the wise-hearted men who were with Bezaleel20592059 Ex. xxxi. 1–6; xxxvi. 1..
28. In the might of this Spirit, as we have it in the Book of Judges, Othniel judged20602060 Judges iii. 10.; Gideon20612061 Ib. vi. 34. waxed strong; Jephtha conquered20622062 Ib. xi. 29.; Deborah, a woman, waged war; and Samson, so long as he did righteously, and grieved Him not, wrought deeds above man’s power. And as for Samuel and David, we have it plainly in the Books of the Kingdoms, how by the Holy Ghost they prophesied themselves, and were rulers of the prophets;—and Samuel was called the Seer20632063 1 Sam. ix. 9.; and David says distinctly, The Spirit of the Lord spake by me20642064 2 Sam. xxiii. 2., and in the Psalms, And take not thy Holy Spirit from me20652065 Ps. li. 11., and again, Thy good Spirit shall lead me in the land of righteousness20662066 Ps. cxliii. 10.. And as we have it in Chronicles, Azariah20672067 2 Chron. xv. 1., in the time of King Asa, and Jahaziel20682068 Ib. xx. 14. in the time of King Jehoshaphat, partook of the Holy Ghost; and again, another Azariah, he who was stoned20692069 Ib. xxiv. 20, 21.. And Ezra says, Thou gavest also Thy good Spirit to instruct them20702070 Neh. ix. 20. Ezra and Nehemiah form one book “Ezra” in the Hebrew Canon.. But as touching Elias who was taken up, and Elisseus, those inspired20712071 πνευματοφόρων, used only twice in the Sept. (Hosea ix. 7; Zeph. iii. 4), and in an unfavourable sense. With Cyril’s use of it compare Theophilus, Ad Autolyc. ii. 9: Θεοῦ ἀνθρώπους πνευματοφόρους Πνεύματος ἁγίου. and wonder-working men, it is manifest, without our saying so, that they were full of the Holy Ghost.
29. And if further a man peruse all the books of the Prophets, both of the Twelve, and of the others, he will find many testimonies concerning. the Holy Ghost; as when Micah says in the person of God, surely I will perfect power by the Spirit the Lord20722072 Mic. iii. 8.; and Joel cries, And it shall come to pass afterwards, saith God, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh20732073 Joel ii. 28., and the rest; and Haggai, Because I am with you, saith the Lord of Hosts20742074 Haggai ii. 4.; and My Spirit remaineth in the midst of you20752075 Ib. v. 5.; and in like manner Zechariah, But receive My words and My statutes which I command by My Spirit, to My servants the Prophets20762076 Zech. i. 6.; and other passages.
30. Esaias too, with his majestic voice, says, And the Spirit of God shall rest upon Him, 123the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and godliness; and the Spirit of the fear of God shall fill Him20772077 Is. xi. 2.; signifying that the Spirit is one and undivided, but His operations various. So again, Jacob My servant,…..I have put My Spirit upon Him20782078 Ib. xliv. 1; xlii. 1.. And again, I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed20792079 Ib. xliv. 3.; and again, And now the Lord Almighty and His Spirit hath sent Me20802080 Ib. xlviii. 16.; and again, This is My covenant with them, saith the Lord, My Spirit which is upon thee20812081 Is. lix. 21.; and again, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me20822082 Is. lxi. 1., and the rest; and again in his charge against the Jews, But they rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit20832083 Ib. lxiii. 10., and Where is He that put His Holy Spirit within them20842084 v. 11.? Also thou hast in Ezekiel (if thou be not now weary of listening), what has already been quoted, And the Spirit fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the Lord20852085 Ezek. xi. 5.. But the words, fell upon me we must understand in a good sense, that is “lovingly;” and as Jacob, when he had found Joseph, fell upon his neck; as also in the Gospels, the loving father, on seeing his son who had returned from his wandering, had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him20862086 Gen. xlvi. 29; Luke xv. 20.. And again in Ezekiel, And he brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldæa, to them of the captivity20872087 Ezek. xi. 24.. And other texts thou heardest before, in what was said about Baptism; Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you20882088 Ib. xxxvi. 25; Cat. iii. 16., and the rest; a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you20892089 Ib. v. 26.; and then immediately, And I will put My Spirit within you20902090 Ib. v. 27.. And again, The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord20912091 Ezek. xxxvii. 1..
31. He endued with wisdom the soul of Daniel, that young as he was he should become a judge of Elders. The chaste Susanna was condemned as a wanton; there was none to plead her cause; for who was to deliver her from the rulers? She was led away to death, she was now in the hands of the executioners. But her Helper was at hand, the Comforter, the Spirit who sanctifies every rational nature. Come hither to me, He says to Daniel; young though thou be, convict old men infected with the sins of youth; for it is written, God raised up the Holy Spirit upon a young stripling20922092 Susanna, v. 45.; and nevertheless, (to pass on quickly,) by the sentence of Daniel that chaste lady was saved. We bring this forward as a testimony; for this is not the season for expounding. Nebuchadnezzar also knew that the Holy Spirit was in Daniel; for he says to him, O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, of whom I know, that the Holy Spirit of God is in thee20932093 Dan. iv. 9.. One thing he said truly, and one falsely; for that he had the Holy Spirit was true, but he was not the master of the magicians, for he was no magician, but was wise through the Holy Ghost. And before this also, he interpreted to him the vision of the Image, which he who had seen it himself knew not; for he says, Tell me the vision, which I who saw it know not20942094 Ib. ii. 26, 31.. Thou seest the power of the Holy Ghost; that which they who saw it, know not, they who saw it not, know and interpret.
32. And indeed it were easy to collect very many texts out of the Old Testament, and to discourse more largely concerning the Holy Ghost. But the time is short; and we must be careful of the proper length of the lecture. Wherefore, being for the present content awhile with passages from the Old Testament, we will, if it be God’s pleasure, proceed in the next Lecture to the remaining texts out of the New Testament. And may the God of peace, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, count all of you worthy of His spiritual and heavenly gifts:—To whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
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The Museum makes a significant contribution to the regeneration of Falmouth and Cornwall. We work with partners: the community, the local authorities, the Business Improvement District and the Town Forum. Here is a flavour of this important work, taken from discussions at our monthly business breakfasts. Please be aware that some of the content may now be out-of-date and is simply a reflection of the discussion which took place at the time.
Based in a disused quarry in Penryn, BF Adventure’s staff are out in all weathers to offer the best experiences to young disadvantaged people across the county.
As the BID enters its third year, there are some key focus areas for the year ahead. The BID is having a real impact and is being used as an example of proactive and innovative schemes.
January 2013 - Heartlands was first conceived in 2003. With a large investment from the Lottery’s Living Landmarks scheme in 2007, a great community based project was born.
November 2012 - Cornwall Chamber has members ranging from the smallest to the largest businesses in Cornwall, across all sectors of the economy. Its purpose is to improve the prosperity of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and to help businesses through the difficult economic climate.
October 2012 - The legacy of the Olympics has created an increased interest in many sports, sailing included but how do you keep young people involved once they show an initial interest?
September 2012 - Tremough has greatly benefitted from Convergence funding and the Innovation Centre is the latest success story. Situated adjacent to the Tremough campus, TIC focusses on support for businesses from the creative, media, eco and environmental science sectors.
August 2012 - Over the years, Falmouth has seen many tall ships visit and has hosted some spectacular events. Each of these races brings millions of pounds into the local economy as well as tens of thousands of extra visitors into the town.
July 2012 - The Museum and Falmouth Marine School have worked together since the Museum opened and they use part of our site at Ponsharden. Their new Employment and Enterprise Office is doing great work to match students with local employers and to meet gaps in the sector.
June 2012 - The subject of whether to dredge or not has been debated in Falmouth for many years. A trial dredge will take place to assess the impact of dredging on the marine environment. The results of this trial will have an impact on the town’s future as a gateway port.
July 2011 - Falmouth leads the way with the Ambassador scheme
July 2010 - Falmouth has the third biggest urban population in Cornwall (over 31,000) and has many strengths…
June 2010 - Our local sailing clubs and the local economy are much more closely connected than you would think…
April 2010 - The idea for Business Improvement Districts came from the United States where businesses would work together to raise money for their town or local area.
September 2009 - It is a well known fact that although Cornwall is surrounded on three sides by the sea…
October 2009 - Despite the very gloomy picture that has been painted in the press recently, the recession and the economic downturn have not had such a big impact on the Cornish economy as was anticipated
August 2009 - The theme of August’s Falmouth First Friday breakfast was the proposed Strategic Investment Framework for Falmouth and Penryn.
July 2009 - For the Museum, it is business as usual this summer…
June 2009 - The Museum has had a good May. We have beaten the record for our busiest day in May and we had our third busiest day ever. | <urn:uuid:8d4cb82f-2e68-435f-b4b4-811d65c29148> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nmmc.co.uk/index.php?/aboutus/our_town | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967061 | 738 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Queen's speech flops with worst viewing figures
VIEWING figures for the Queen’s speech this Christmas fell to the lowest of recent times, with just 5.5 million people watching it on BBC1 and 1.5 million on ITV1.
Despite the Queen being more forthright than usual in her traditional festive broadcast this Christmas, the fall in viewers follows a well-established trend.
Appealing for tolerance and understanding between religious and cultural groups, the Queen warned that extremists threatened to wreck peace and progress in a multicultural society. She said: "Religion and culture are much in the news these days, usually as sources of difference and conflict, rather than for bringing people together. But the irony is that every religion has something to say about tolerance and respecting others."
The first speech to be broadcast across Britain, by George V, was on radio in 1932, with the first live TV screening coming in 1957.
The viewing figures, from the official Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, also revealed that the BBC soap EastEnders defeated ITV’s Coronation Street on Christmas Day, pulling in an audience of 12.3 million, compared with the Street’s 11.3 million.
But there was bad news for the terrestrial channels as the figures showed that this Christmas, for the first time ever, BBC1 and ITV1’s combined share of the television audience fell below 50 per cent, with BBC1 winning a 27.2 per cent share, compared with just 22 per cent for ITV1.
Programmes on digital, satellite and cable accounted for 29.1 per cent of the audience over Christmas week, up 20 per cent on the previous year.
Brian McNair, a professor of journalism and communications at Strathclyde University, believes that the figures fit a pattern that is almost certain to continue.
He said: "There has been a trend to move away from the main terrestrial channels in recent years.
"It does not necessarily mean that there has been a movement away from the traditional shows that feature on BBC and ITV, as Christmas editions of popular shows like the Vicar of Dibley still do well.
"Most significant is that there has been a move away from the big movie premiere being shown on terrestrial channels at Christmas.
"It used to be that most people wouldn’t have seen the films by Christmas, but with the growth of DVDs, as well as channels like Sky Movies, most people have already seen them."
Prof McNair suggests that the audience is much more fragmented than ever before.
That has been to the advantage of the BBC’s portfolio of digital channels, which achieved higher viewing figures than ever before.
BBC3 was the most-watched channel during peak time in multi-channel homes on Christmas Day. BBC4 increased its audience share by 20 per cent and was the most watched factual channel over the Christmas week.
Also, there was success for BBC3’s cult comedy Little Britain, which took up three places in the top ten programmes watched on non-terrestrial television this Christmas. It achieved its highest viewing figure on Christmas Day, with an audience of 890,000.
The only programmes on non-terrestrial television to get higher viewing figures were live football matches on Sky Sports 1, with four English Premiership matches gaining in excess of one million viewers. The most-watched festive fixture was the Newcastle-Arsenal match, with an audience of 1.65 million.
The BBC’s news channel, BBC News 24, was the most-watched news channel.
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Tuesday 21 May 2013
Temperature: 6 C to 17 C
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An Air Force F-15E jet practices for an air show in Cocoa Beach… (Red Huber, Orlando Sentinel )
WASHINGTON — As air-show flyovers go, this one would be huge: a NASA space shuttle riding piggyback atop a massive 747 airliner.
That sight already has wowed crowds this year in New York and Washington, and local promoter Bryan Lilley figured that Florida residents — specifically, those at his air show — should get one last shot at seeing the shuttle before NASA completes its delivery of the retired orbiters to museums nationwide.
So Lilley gambled.
Rather than schedule the Cocoa Beach Air Show during its usual time slot in late October, he moved the event to mid-September in hopes the timing would coincide with the transfer of shuttle Endeavour from Kennedy Space Center to a Los Angeles museum.
But it didn't — he missed by at least two days — and now Lilley is pulling every string he can to convince NASA to delay Endeavour's departure so that the orbiter and its 747 can take a star turn at his two-day air show, which starts Sept. 22.
"People will come from all over the country to see something like this," said Lilley, president of the air show.
So far, Lilley has recruited the help of Florida's two U.S. senators, Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio, as well as U.S. Reps. Bill Posey of Rockledge and Sandy Adams of Orlando. The four lawmakers earlier this year asked NASA chief Charlie Bolden to change the Endeavour departure date to accommodate the air show, as well as to honor KSC.
"The event would not only provide a larger audience for the flight, it would give the dedicated Space Shuttle workforce a final chance to bid farewell alongside their Space Coast friends and family," the four Florida legislators wrote Bolden.
So far, though, NASA has said no.
"In order to maintain delivery schedules and minimize cost, logistical complexity, and liability, NASA does not plan to have the Orbiter … take part in the air show, though the Agency appreciates the invitation and interest," the agency wrote.
Endeavour is the last of four orbiters headed to a museum. Discovery is at a Smithsonian complex near Washington, and Enterprise is on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid in New York. Atlantis is being prepped for a place at the KSC visitor center.
The transfers to Washington and New York, which included flybys of the National Mall and Statue of Liberty, drew huge crowds in the middle of the week.
An early timeline indicated that Endeavour would leave KSC on Sept. 20 and arrive a few days later in California, although NASA said the schedule still is being finalized. A parade and other celebrations are planned for its arrival and eventual rollout through the streets of Los Angeles to the California Science Center.
Agency officials noted that the Space Coast still would get a dramatic flyover. When NASA flew Discovery from KSC to the Washington area in April, the 747 pilots looped around the center's beaches; NASA plans a repeat performance with Endeavour.
NASA just won't commit to the air show, where tickets range from $19 to $149.
Lilley said the inclusion of the shuttle would increase attendance "exponentially" — from at least 60,000 last year to as many as 250,000, he estimated. Planned for this year are demonstrations by an F-22 Raptor and stunts by a seven-aircraft formation known as the Black Diamond Jet Team.
But Lilley is quick to point out that most attendees — "95 percent of people," he said — don't buy tickets and just watch from the beach. "It's not about revenue to the air show; it's about economic impact to the community," he said.
But even if NASA remains stubborn, there's a chance that air-show fans still could get a shuttle sighting.
Weather delayed the transfer of Enterprise to New York for several days, and another string of bad — or good — luck could mean air-show attendees could get a glimpse anyway.
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ALBANY During his third State of the State address, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo outlined plans to bring economic growth to upstate New York.
Citing decades of decline in upstate New York, Mr. Cuomo cited several plans to revitalize the region.
Upstate New York needs more investment, Mr. Cuomo said. Economic development is the engine that drives the state.
In particular, the governor called for the development of innovation hot spots across upstate New York that train students for high-tech jobs and pair private industry with public universities for research and development.
There are 210,000 unfilled jobs in New York because companies cant find workers with the skills they need, Mr. Cuomo said.
When you look at the job growth in upstate New York, frankly, it is sad and it is troubling, he said.
Over the past 10 years, upstate New York has seen a job growth rate of 5 percent while the state as a whole has seen job growth of 11 percent. New York City has seen a growth rate of 16 percent on its own, and the nation has maintained a 9 percent rate.
The nations growth leads upstates growth, Mr. Cuomo said, That is just unacceptable.
North country state legislators were cheered by the message.
We need to pay specific attention to give additional resources to those who are truly in need, said state Sen. Joseph A. Griffo, R-Rome. The statistics show that upstate is in need.
Mr. Cuomo said 10 higher education centers will be chosen to become innovation hot spots and will become tax-free zones where startups will not be subject to business, real property and sales taxes.
I think that we stand to be very successful in attracting one of these hot spots, said Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Theresa. Thats something that I will be looking to work with the governor on to identify potential partners within the north country region.
The governor also proposed a plan titled Market NY that will focus on marketing the regions natural beauty and produce.
If they see upstate New York, they will come back but we need to make that introduction, Mr. Cuomo said.
The Taste NY program will aggressively market the states wine, beer and yogurt.
We will create duty-free stores, Mr. Cuomo said, all across the state to promote New York grown and produced products.
Im excited to join with the governor in promoting products that are unique to New York specifically upstate New York, state Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, said in an email statement.
Mrs. Russell also cheered the governors efforts to promote local products.
In coordination with legislation clearing red tape from producers, Mrs. Russell said, Mr. Cuomos proposals could help us unlock the productive capacity of upstate New York.
Mr. Cuomo said there also will be a more concerted effort to market the states regional attractions. Under the existing model, the state funds county tourism boards, but Mr. Cuomo said this has fostered unhealthy competition between them.
We want counties being part of regions and developing regional synergy. We will have a competition among regions that will actually bring the counties together to come up with a coordinated marketing plan to develop and market those assets in those regions, Mr. Cuomo said
A $5 million advertising incentive will be added for the best regional marketing plan.
Mr. Cuomo also again asserted his support for a constitutional amendment enabling the establishment of full-fledged casinos across the state. | <urn:uuid:865cebc0-68c1-405a-adb8-b5dce8dfd89d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20130110/NEWS03/701109842/2291 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956718 | 722 | 1.710938 | 2 |
While BEAUTY CULTURE continues to break attendance records here at the Annenberg Space for Photography, we thought now would be a good time as any to publish a post on one of featured photographers, Lauren Greenfield and the documentary film, also titled BEAUTY CULTURE, that accompanies the show. The 30-minute film was directed by the award-winning photographer herself.
Produced by her husband and producing partner, Frank Evers, Greenfield filmed the documentary over the course of several months in Los Angeles, New York and Paris. Her intent was to create a film that focused on the sociological and psychological perceptions of beauty from a cross-cultural viewpoint.
Regarding her work on BEAUTY CULTURE Greenfield says, "A lot of the things I photograph are interconnected: from the young girls and the kind of precocious sexualization of young girls, to the vanity of teenagers and the kind of struggle to establish your identity as a teenager, to women and older women facing the challenge of getting older in a youth-obsessed culture. So this project, BEAUTY CULTURE, allowed me to kind of bring the work full circle and look at all aspects."
The film has been met with resounding praise from many guests here at the photography space citing Los Angeles--with its Hollywood machine and incessant promotion of the billion-dollar cosmetics industry--as an ideal location for a film addressing warped ideals of beauty.
BEAUTY CULTURE is certainly not Greenfield's first foray into filmmaking. Her documentary Thin premiered on HBO in 2006, also screening at the Sundance Film Festival. A film dealing with eating disorders of young women, Thin went on to earn Greenfield an Emmy nomination for Best Director of Non-Fiction Programming. Her follow-up doc kids + money, also broadcast on HBO, won the Audience Award for Best Short Film at the AFI Film Festival among other honors.
The film, which features interviews with Jamie Lee Curtis, Tyen, Crystal Renn and many others, screens throughout the day at the Space. Make sure you come see it before the exhibit closes next month.
As for Greenfield, she will return to the Space as our IRIS Nights lecturer on Thursday, October 13, in what is sure to be a standing-room only event! | <urn:uuid:ccfc0ce8-4ebf-4cb4-9721-3e1ead0fd04e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org/the-shot-blog/lauren-greenfield-comes-full-circle-beauty-culture?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952935 | 473 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Tennis balls aren’t only for tennis games. They can be make a seat. Wool balls aren’t only for knitting purposes. Consider them as ready-made pieces of carpet.
That’s right, Belgium designer Diane Steverlynck brought this nice idea up. Her Modul_le is a flexible carpet made of felted wool balls. Each round unit is independent from the others. To stick them together, just pin them on the velcro layer. What is great in this big puzzle is that everyone could change the pattern of his carpet and its form itself.
One suggestion: Use bigger wool balls to expand the carpet depth. Or weave them around a cardboard core to make them harder. (via the style files) | <urn:uuid:d414190f-b3b3-4c5d-83e9-52c9d535645d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cocolico.info/design/wool-balls-carpet | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956425 | 153 | 1.515625 | 2 |
It looks like Apple is gearing up to launch iOS 6 at WWDC later this month. We’ve already ran through what we’d like to see, but there’s one big change on everyone’s radar: Apple looks set to ditch Google Maps for a service of its very own. Question is, is that a good move?
The above shot is a newly leaked image of what’s reported to be Apple’s new mapping service, which it’ll stuff into iOS 6 as a means of weening itself off of its reliance on Google.
The service is the culmination of Apple’s acquisition of a few select mapping companies and technologies, and rumour has it that the new app will provide fully 3D maps akin to Google Earth. Sounds good, but it’ll no doubt be a bit of a shock to many users who’re used to the big G’s service.
Image via 9to5Mac | <urn:uuid:a440eb4d-0a6e-4075-9825-5bd4d7903fce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2012/06/01/ios-6-will-you-miss-google-maps-on-your-iphone/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951964 | 202 | 1.5 | 2 |
That was Isaac Asimov's blunt dismissal of religion. And its appropriateness is never more evident than in this pitifully sad article currently on CNN.com, in which the point is made that "when it comes to saving lives, God trumps doctors for many Americans."
More than half of randomly surveyed adults — 57 percent — said God's intervention could save a family member even if physicians declared treatment would be futile. And nearly three-quarters said patients have a right to demand that treatment continue.
When asked to imagine their own relatives being gravely ill or injured, nearly 20 percent of doctors and other medical workers said God could reverse a hopeless outcome.
Here's the utility of religion spelled out: it continues to persist, more than anything, as an anodyne against the fear of death. Say what you will about its role in building a sense of community for its followers, or the repeated testimonials from believers about God giving them a sense of direction and purpose in life. What it boils down to is that religion is mostly used by people to manage their most profound insecurities and fears. And nothing is more devastating than the loss of a loved one, except perhaps, for some people, the prospect of their own eventual death.
In a sense I can understand the desperation here. There are harsh truths few people have the courage to face. But where I think believers would tell you that their faith gives them the courage to face those truths, I see the opposite in play: they're clinging to their faith like a drowning man clutching at a reed, to justify their ongoing denial of truth, simply because facing it involves taking an emotional body blow that the thin shield their faith provides really would buckle under the force of it. And they know it, deep down.
What, apart from people's innate fears, keeps this practice of clinging to hope of miraculous divine intervention in the face of very real tragedy alive? Well, the fact that, on occasion, people do bounce back for any number of reasons from death's door. And these rare occasions are justification enough for the religious mind. All it takes is one cancer patient branded terminal to go into remission instead, and the instant that person's family starts braying about God's miraculous cure, a million other people going through the same pain are cruelly given false hopes, only to see them dashed more often than not. It's exactly the mentality of people who habitually play the lottery: "Sure, the odds are pretty long, but you never know."
I remember a caller to the show back when I was host, a nice young woman who asked what we felt about such a hypothetical cancer patient, and if such events were or were not a good reason to consider the likelihood of God. I replied that I would have even more moral qualms about a God like that existing, as I would be troubled by the thought of why God would choose to save one dying mother, but not all the other dying mothers and fathers and children who were doubtless languishing in that hospital's very same oncology wing, with family members keeping vigil by their sides with just as much pain in their hearts. Why not grant miracle cures to everyone all at once? It would hurt no one, relieve many of their emotional suffering, and give believers much stronger evidence of miracles to point to when talking to the unconverted. The caller admitted she hadn't thought of it that way.
I think it's good to see doctors (and frankly, if I'm ever hospitalized, I sincerely hope not to get any of the ones in that 20 percentile) dealing realistically with patients' families in their stubbornness about godly intervention that isn't coming. While it's important to be respectful — no, not of the irrational beliefs, but of the very real pain and confusion that's feeding them — it's doubly important to guide these people towards an acceptance of the reality we will all have to face in our lives, that our loved ones die, that we too will die. As one woman interviewed in the story, who tragically lost her children in an accident, begrudgingly admits, "I have become more of a realist. I know that none of us are immune from anything." It's terrible she had to go through such an awful experience to learn such a lesson. I guess that's why they're called lessons.
Take each day as it comes and appreciate it to the fullest. If it's a particularly shitty day, make an effort to do something to make it slightly less shitty. Take a walk in the park, jam out to your favorite album, hug a dog, excuse yourself from the presence of people who are being assholes to you. You don't get to do this one again, and no miracle will be coming to let you hit the reset button. If nothing else, at the very end, you can say to yourself and to those who don't want to see you go, "Don't be unhappy. I lived." | <urn:uuid:d286bb67-ded2-455d-b90c-1c60456bc45c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://atheistexperience.blogspot.com/2008/08/thumb-to-suck-skirt-to-hold.html?showComment=1220033640000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978813 | 1,014 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Strom Thurmond's secret daughter dies
Essie Mae Washington-Williams dies at age 87
Essie Mae Washington-Williams, the biracial woman who revealed nine years ago she was the illegitimate daughter of former segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond, died Monday, her family's spokesman said. She was 87.
Washington-Williams kept her father's identity secret until six months after Thurmond, a segregationist leader for decades, died in June 2003 at age 100.
"I never wanted to do anything to harm him or cause detriment to his life or to the lives of those around him," Washington-Williams said at a 2003 news conference, six months after her father died at the age of 100.
She died at her Columbia, South Carolina, home of natural causes Monday morning, according to Frank Wheaton.
Thurmond ran for president in 1948 on the ticket of the States' Rights Democratic Party, or Dixiecrats, a breakaway faction of Southern Democrats who believed strongly in racial segregation and were opposed to their party's civil rights program. Thurmond joined the Republican Party in the 1960s and ultimately turned away from his segregationist past.
"My father did a lot of things to help other people, even though his public stance appeared opposite," Washington-Williams said. "I was sensitive about his well-being and career and his family here in South Carolina."
Washington-Williams said she went public only at the urging of her children, but rumors had persisted for years.
An attorney for the former senator's family confirmed in 2003 that Thurmond fathered a child with a teenage black housekeeper in 1925. Her mother, Carrie Butler, worked as a maid at the Thurmond family home in Edgefield, South Carolina.
At the time of Washington-Williams' birth, Butler was 16 and Thurmond was 22, unmarried and living in his parents' home.
Butler's sister took the girl to live in Pennsylvania when she was 6 months old. She did not meet Thurmond until 1941, when she was 16.
Her mother, who was ill and died a short time later, had insisted on introducing her to Thurmond, who acknowledged her as his daughter, the Washngton Post reported in 2003.
Throughout the years, the two kept up a relationship despite the divide over race, Washington-Williams said.
"When my father became a United States senator [in 1954], his communication and support continued" she said, and "his financial support was constant during various phases of my life. I knew him beyond his public image."
She said she tried -- to no avail -- to dissuade him of segregationist positions, which produced "mixed emotions" for her.
"I never did like the idea of his being a segregationist, but that was his life, and there wasn't anything I could do about that," she said.
Copyright 2013 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:28a7d71d-98ba-4eef-b758-3c70f76e8f89> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wyff4.com/news/national/Strom-Thurmond-s-secret-daughter-dies/-/9324256/18419274/-/view/print/-/m5xfkm/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990495 | 615 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Does becoming a Nobel laureate mean an instant life of glamour, with champagne-soaked parties, product endorsements and paparazzi?
Not quite, according to Tom Cech, a University of Colorado distinguished professor who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry 23 years ago.
"I had a wonderful obscurity in my personal life in town, and it went from that to people asking for my autograph in King Soopers," Cech said.
He doesn't get stopped as much these days but said colleague and CU physicist David J. Wineland, who won the Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday, can expect to be in demand in the more rarified air of politics and culture than in the gaudy churn of the celebrity press.
Cech said his 1989 prize, awarded to him and Canadian-American chemist Sidney Altman for their discovery of the catalytic properties of RNA, changed his professional life "almost not at all" -- he was already well respected and well funded in his field -- but did allow him to speak at new venues. Recently, he was invited to address a group of U.S. senators on Capitol Hill in Washington about the benefits of federally funded scientific research.
"It does give you an opportunity to represent the scientific community at a high level," Cech said. "There are a lot more requests to chime in on national and international political and ethical issues."
CU professor and JILA chairman Eric Cornell, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in physics for his work in creating a new form of matter called Bose-Einstein condensate, said laureates end up being "traveling goodwill ambassadors" in their fields. And doors to academic opportunities and further funding open a little wider.
"If I want to go visit a university, I immediately get invited," said Cornell, who shared his prize with former CU professor Carl Wieman and German physicist Wolfgang Ketterle. "If I write a grant proposal, it's easier to get that grant proposal funded."
Winning the Nobel isn't completely
"They do everything to make you feel like a movie star," he said.
And then there's the money. Cornell split a million-dollar prize with his two co-winners, and Cech took home $200,000 as his half a dozen years earlier. Wineland is set to net half of the $1.2 million -- split with physicist Serge Haroche of France -- that comes with the prize.
Both Cech and Cornell said the money is nice but not enough to enable a life of luxury.
"It's a lot of money, but it's not enough to retire on," Cech said.
Contact Camera Staff Writer John Aguilar at 303-473-1389 or email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:088467c9-b6e5-4131-9c7e-a0a9b3f1cc74> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_21736039/boulders-nobel-laureates-have-found-themselves-more-demand?source=pkg | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97676 | 571 | 1.578125 | 2 |
"I have a sense that Broadway hasn't entered into the 21st century," Star Trek legend George Takei, whose musical Allegiance is now Broadway-bound, said on stage at TEDxBroadway. "Broadway hasn't boldly gone where it needs to."
Like many presenters at the event, held for the second year at New World Stages on January 28, Takei focused on how technology can improve Broadway. The epic Twitter and Facebook user, who said his following grows by "40, 000 new friends a week," sold out the premiere of Allegiance, at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, by growing his social media audience long before the production opened. The show broke every box office record in The Old Globe's 77-year history, and Takei now has more than 558, 000 Twitter followers and 3.4 million Facebook page "likes." He argued that Broadway needs to get with the times, and follow suit.
"Broadway [will be] at its best when it embraces all of the technological advances of the times, especially on social media," Takei said. "Then Broadway will live long and prosper."
After Takei left the stage, took photos with adoring fans, and entertained a group of visiting college students, TheaterMania cut in to chat about how viral cat photos relate to Broadway sales.
How can the rest of Broadway cultivate the kind of social media audience you have?
Well, [I] started from scratch too. Well, mostly from scratch: I had a core base of sci-fi geeks and nerds. You find whatever you have that can engage a group of people in a conversation. You know, Star Trek and sci-fi are totally unrelated to what we were putting together [Allegiance, which is set during the Japanese American internment], but you find what it is that you do have, and establish that. Then you start growing by expanding the topics you're talking about. That's the amazing thing about social media. You begin anywhere, with whatever base you have… and eventually you start embracing and absorbing and swallowing other groups, until you have a large enough group to talk about what you really want to talk about. I now have a huge audience that knows about Allegiance.
So is it more about personality than the subject of the show?
You work with what you have, even if it's totally unrelated to what you're trying to sell. But it is [about] content, what you talk about. And I talked about Star Trek, to begin with, and then broadened it to science fiction. Then I discovered that funny posts, especially with cats, get a lot of likes and shares. I started talking about GLBT rights, and then the dark chapter in American history where [Allegiance] takes place, when my family was shipped across the country to Arkansas from Los Angeles and locked in a barbed wire prison for four long years for looking like the people that bombed Pearl Harbor. I now have a huge audience that knows about the internment, and that there is a show coming to Broadway about the internment. I mix that [serious content] with funny photos of cats.
You said in your talk that Broadway has not entered the 21st Century…
I use the contrast between Hollywood and Broadway. Hollywood has a movie, but before they release it, they start building an audience for it, early on, so that when it is released, the audience is there. How many musicals do you go to – not West Side Story, but new musicals – that open and it is months before the general public becomes aware of it? They have it backwards. What you need to do is start getting and building an audience before you open…You try to get your audience eager, waiting, excited and anticipating, and then you open the show, so that you are filling your seats, rather than staggering through the first few months with a half-full house.
A common theme presenters addressed today was accessibility, and the need to make Broadway available to more people, people who cannot afford current ticket prices. Do you have any ideas about how to achieve this?
When I was a student, and absolutely enamored with the theater, living in Los Angeles, I made friends with the house manager at the Biltmore Theater, which was the place where all the Broadway shows stopped, and I asked [him], ‘Do you need an usher today?' And he'd say, ‘Yeah, and bring a couple of your friends with you.' We'd go and usher and see the show for free. But with the young people here, while you do have…these last-minute sales that they squat on the sidewalk for, there should be a more organized plan to make theater accessible for young people. One of the speakers today [David Sabel] talked about making a theater performance at the National Theatre something you can watch on YouTube, or right here" [Points to phone]. So there are many schemes that could make it more accessible to all.
National Theatre Live is an interesting example because it was actually met with a lot of criticism. Critics even said that live broadcasting would be the death of theater.
You know, there are always complainers and snipers, but then there's the people who haven't complained, who got access to it, and were thrilled by it. You can't make your decisions based on the naysayers. Think of the large group of people that benefit and put the naysayers in perspective with that. | <urn:uuid:edba44c2-5067-4a61-9165-9676bfffef88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/01-2013/broadway-hasnt-boldly-gone-where-it-needs-to-go-ge_64234.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972573 | 1,130 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Washington, D.C., April 14, 2005 -- California patients suffering from serious mental illness will now have the benefit of having their inpatient care managed by psychologists with full hospital privileges.
New state regulations issued by the state's Department of Health Services (DHS), recognizes California psychologists' expertise in diagnosing and treating mental disorders which allows them to serve their patients in acute care hospitals as attending practitioners. The California agency's new rules allow both psychologists and psychiatrists to direct patient care as a member of the hospital medical staff, including decisions on when to admit, transfer, and discharge patients. The new regulations are a result of longstanding efforts by organized psychology to enforce laws already on the books. The new regulations resulted from recent negotiations between DHS and Psychology Shield, a non-profit organization devoted to improving patient care in California's state-operated mental hospitals. Psychology Shield is supported by the American Psychological Association, the California Psychological Association, and other individuals and organizations including the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 2620.
"California psychologists working in hospital settings, and well within the scope of their licenses, will be able to fully serve their patients as attending clinicians," says Russ Newman, Ph.D., J.D., executive director for professional practice, American Psychological Association.
In 1978, California enacted a law granting psychologists full clinical privileges in hospitals and the authority to direct patient care as members of hospital medical staffs. In 1990, the California Supreme Court affirmed the law in CAPP v. Rank and ruled that psychologists have the legal authority to practice independently in both private and public health facilities. In spite of the Court's ruling, over the past 15 years, psychologists were prevented from directing patient care in California state mental hospitals.
The California legislature and courts have been leaders in recognizing the important role that psychologists can and should play in mental hospitals. Seventeen other states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws allowing psychologists hospital privileges.
Source: Eurekalert & othersLast reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you.
-- Carl Jung | <urn:uuid:08f6c84e-913e-4714-a14f-e422745687ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://psychcentral.com/news/archives/2005-04/apap-aan041405.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954283 | 448 | 1.710938 | 2 |
U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Advanced Manufacturing Office – Industrial Distributed Energy
$150 Million in Tax Credits Available for Clean Energy Manufacturers
February 13, 2013
The U.S. Departments of Energy and the Treasury on February 7 announced the availability of $150 million in Advanced Energy Manufacturing tax credits for clean energy and energy efficiency manufacturing projects across the United States. The program supports manufacturing of a range of clean energy products, from renewable energy equipment to energy efficiency products. Established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the initial round provided $2.3 billion in credits to 183 projects across the country. The $150 million in tax credits are being made available because they were not used by the previous awardees.
The tax credits will be allocated on a competitive basis. Projects will be assessed by the Energy Department based on the following criteria: commercial viability, domestic job creation, technological innovation, speed to project completion, and potential for reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The Department will also consider additional factors, including diversity of geographical locations, technology, project size, and regional economic development. See the Energy Department Progress Alert. | <urn:uuid:7dfaefca-b16b-47a0-b3de-fb1a4dabcf98> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www1.eere.energy.gov/manufacturing/distributedenergy/printable_versions/news_detail.html?news_id=19009 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945362 | 239 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
Wed September 7, 2011
Wildfires Still Raging In Texas, Arson Suspected In One, Two More Deaths
"As wildfires continued to torch homes and the drought-stricken landscape across Central Texas on Tuesday, officials said two bodies had been found among the charred ruins of the fires in Bastrop County," Austin's American-Statesman reports.
As we reported Tuesday, an earlier fire killed a young mother and her 18-month-old child in northeast Texas.
Meanwhile, the American-Statesman adds that:
"Police in Leander said they are looking for four teenagers who were seen running from the area where a fire started Monday. They think arson might have been the cause of a wildfire that consumed 11 homes and displaced hundreds of people."
According to The Associated Press, "more than 180 fires ... have erupted in the past week across Texas, marking one of the most devastating wildfire outbreaks in state history. The fires have destroyed more than 1,000 homes, caused four deaths and pulled the state's firefighting ranks to the limit."
The only break firefighters have gotten, the AP says, was "a reprieve Tuesday from winds pushed in by Tropical Storm Lee that whipped the blaze into an inferno over the weekend." | <urn:uuid:5b24e203-4877-4bab-8e50-c32816503c8e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ketr.org/post/wildfires-still-raging-texas-arson-suspected-one-two-more-deaths | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965777 | 257 | 1.796875 | 2 |
The Food and Drug Administration has approved two new diet drugs, but both have restrictions about who can -- or should -- take them.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved two new diet pills in a week -- the first new obesity drugs to be approved in 13 years. The agency, usually dry about its approvals, practically gushed about the pent-up demand for new obesity treatments in a country where more than two-thirds of the population is overweight or obese and steadily getting fatter.
“These prescription medications would be taken for the rest of a person’s life,” the FDA says on its website.
“For many people, obesity is a life-long condition, but we don’t always think of it -- or treat it -- as such,” said Dr. Amy Egan, deputy director for safety in FDA’s Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products
But don’t expect to be able to get either drug easily. Each of the new drugs -- Belviq and Qsymia -- is being restricted in a different way. And consumer advocates say dieters should think twice about taking either.
The FDA was so worried about Belviq, approved last week, that it has asked for the Drug Enforcement Administration to control its use, like it does opiate painkillers. The DEA must now decide what restrictions to put on the pills, a process Belviq’s maker, Arena, says could take several months.
Qsymia, approved on Tuesday, won’t have these restrictions. But the FDA and drugmaker Vivus have worked out a plan to try to ensure that doctors don’t start running diet pill-mills.
“The only way the doctors will be able to prescribe Qsymia is through a certified pharmacy,” Vivus vice president Dr. Barbara Troupin said in an interview. That means they won’t be able to stock it themselves -- and they’ll be barraged with educational materials, Troupin said.
Vivus will track which doctors are prescribing the drug, and which ones undergo training. “If a prescriber wants to write for (prescribe) the drug, they can write for the drug. But we will have their information and continue to inform them about the risks and who the appropriate patients are,” Troupin said. “Hopefully, they won’t view it as being tormented.”
But the FDA and Vivus understand that people are likely to be clamoring for the drug, and there are clear guidelines on who should take it. Women who might get pregnant shouldn’t, for one -- the drug causes birth defects including cleft palates. Nor should people with overactive thyroids or who have heart disease risks such as an irregular heartbeat.
Approved patients should be obese, meaning they have a body mass index -- a measure of height to weight -- of 30 or greater. The National Institutes of Health has a BMI calculator here. A person 5 feet 5 inches tall is considered overweight at 150 pounds and obese at 180 pounds. People with BMIs of 27 may be eligible if they have a weight-related condition such as high cholesterol.
Doctors will be asked to monitor patients closely, watching heart function and looking for signs that a patient may become suicidal --a side effect of drugs related to topiramate, the seizure drug included in the two-drug Qsymia cocktail.
These precautions do not satisfy Dr. Sid Wolfe of Public Citizen, who has campaigned against Qsymia and Belviq.
“I would be very surprised if either of these drugs stays on the market very long,” Wolfe said in an interview.
Food and Drug Administration officials approved the diet drug Qysmia this week.
He points to the long list of withdrawn diet drugs, from Dexatrim, which caused fatal strokes, to fenfluramine, withdrawn in 1997 because it could damage heart valves, and ephedra, banned in 2004 after it was found to cause deadly heart attacks, strokes and other ills. Wolfe was disappointed when Qsymia won approval.
“There are a bunch of problems with it,” he said. “One is there is not remotely any kind of failsafe way to keep pregnant women from using this drug.”
Americans and drug companies are looking for an easy way out, but study after study shows good, old-fashioned careful eating and exercise works better than any diet pill, Wolfe says. And healthy eating and exercise have the added bonus of lowering the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis and even Alzheimer’s disease. Wolfe's group approves of carefully designed programs that help people do that.
“People are just so desperate to approve something because they haven’t done anything for 13 years,” Wolfe said. One of Qsymia’s components, phentermine, is on the market as a diet drug. The only other diet drug on the market is orlistat, which stops the body from absorbing fat. A low-dose version, Alli, is even available without a prescription. But that’s it. The only other option for severely obese people, besides diet and exercise, is surgery to limit how much they can eat.
It is possible to get a home-made version of Qsymia. Any licensed doctor can prescribe phentermine together with certain versions of topiramate, the epilepsy drug, although the FDA doesn’t recommend it.
- FDA approves new weight loss drug
- FDA approves first new weight loss drug in 13 years
- Craving a safe diet drug | <urn:uuid:f2c6c520-cec6-4295-82cb-2fa86143e556> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/19/12820853-why-you-wont-be-getting-the-new-diet-drugs-any-time-soon | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952733 | 1,181 | 1.8125 | 2 |
(This score available as
a MIDI file)
Pennywhistle notation and Dulcimer tab for this song is also available
I've Got No Use for the Women Now, I've got no use for the women; A true one can seldom be found, They use a man for his money, When it's gone, they'll turn him down. They're all alike at the bottom, Selfish and grasping for all. They'll stay by a man when he's winning And laugh in his face at a fall. My pal was an honest young puncher; Honest and upright and true. But he turned to a hard-shooting gunman, On account of a girl named Lou. He fell in with evil companions, The kind that are better off dead; When a gambler insulted her picture, He filled him full of lead. All through the long night they trailed him, Through mesquite and thick chaparral. And I couldn't help think of that woman As I saw him pitch and fall; If she'd been the pal that she should have, He might have been raising a son, Instead of out there on the prairie, To die by the ranger's gun. Death's sharp sting did not trouble, His chances for life were too slim, But where they were putting the body Was all that worried him. He lifted his head on his elbow; The blood from his wounds flowed red. He gazed at his pals grouped around him, As he whispered to them and said: "Oh bury me out on the prairie, Where the coyotes may howl o'er my grave. Bury me out on the prairie, But from them my bones please save. Wrap me up in my blankets, And bury me deep in the ground. Cover me over with boulders Of granite gray and round." So we buried him out on the prairie, Where the coyotes can howl o'er his grave, And his soul is now a-resting, from the unkind cut she gave; And many another young puncher As he rides past that pile of stone, Recalls some similar woman And thinks of his moldering bones. Recorded by Burl Ives and (I think) Tex Ritter RG
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition! | <urn:uuid:436bef8b-2e98-4284-8340-868ff4d026a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiNOUSEWMN;ttNOUSEWMN.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975033 | 466 | 1.625 | 2 |
hello everyone... i want to earn money on my own either by working for few hours from home or through internet.. so that i can earn enough money for my insulin, medicines and doctor's fees..... please recommend me few ways for this....... (may be a kind of part time job so that i get enough time for my studies)
Working from home is mostly a bad online game. Most of the money to be made doing this is by telling other people they can make money online, and selling them the information that hardly works at all.
There is much more money to be made offline, and the jobs are much healthier. Sitting at a desk is deadly. (imo) At least if you are doing that at work, you can get some exercise with the commute. (I commute by bicycle.)
Even working at a fast food place will normally have you standing and moving enough to help a person's health.
Hi, you can probably work as a HR consultant - I know a lot of others do the same so you can work in that field. Also, other way to work from home is to work on freelance projects by registering yourself on freelancer dot com or sites like elance dot com, odesk dot com. You could do just simple things like writing articles for blogs, etc or help others. There are a number of categories in those sites. I would suggest you check out those. By the way, it would help to suggest if we know what is your background or what are you studying for. - Sai.
Have you ever considered tutoring?
there are already 22 tutoring institutes in my area and home tutoring is not considered to be safe for girls here in India....
Amazon allows you to work at home from the internet at various duties with it's Mechanical Turk initiative (www.mturk.com). Some people feel it doesn't pay well. Some of the stuff is just mindless labeling of photos and stuff. But it is work. I've never done it, so take my recommendation with a grain of salt.
ok i will search for it... thank you.. :)
If you want to consider tutoring, then you might want to check out http://learnsocial.com/ which I came across through another person recently. Here you can take classes or give classes at your leisure I guess.
The mechanical turk mentioned above is known for very low rates. In the forum I spend time in, no one is interested in working for them, but they do post jobs to be done by them. I haven't used them either way, but that is the consensus.
If you are interested in writing, there is a service that hires paid forum posters. It is usually used when a forum is new. Paid people can put up a lot of posts and make it look busy enough that people want to join. (Anyone here working for them? :) )
A writer I know said she worked for them starting out and made several hundred dollars a month. She doesn't work for them anymore, but still recommends them to people looking for work.
I just collected the links to the 4 main forum pages that give you the information you to apply, but it is a slightly private forum and the links will not go directly to the pages. They only go to the home page, so you will have to find your way there.
This is the link to the forums part of the site. paidforumposting.com/forums/
Once you are there, click on the 'proving grounds' forum link. Read the 2 sticky topics at the top and you will have enough information for a start, and to apply for a position.
I happen to like posting in forums and applied about a week ago. I was turned down for going off the topics that I had posted in. It's not a big deal. If I feel like it, I can try again.
The proving grounds forum is sort of a practice forum. To start, you sign up and make 7 posts (precisely). Then you go to the sticky topic called 'Got 7 posts?' and make a post there that you do. They email you in a couple of business days with their decision.
The forum posting there was actually a bit of fun. There are a lot of topics.
You would not be accepted if you posted there the way you do here. There is a sticky on grammar rules, but they can be learned.
Edit: just found the link where they advertise their services, at attention writers
It gives more info and I wouldn't be surprised if other people here were interested too.
Take a look at a book called The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau. It's full of examples of people who started and run successful business with very little up-front cash. While it won't necessarily tell you everything you need to know to start a business it should give you a bunch of ideas. | <urn:uuid:7b50dcb7-5bb6-4d6a-bedd-dd98ed21ce41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tudiabetes.org/forum/topics/how-to-earn-enough-for-my-medicines | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972877 | 1,010 | 1.539063 | 2 |
TEAR Fund New Zealand has been running in New Zealand for more than 30 years. TEAR Fund partners with local organisations in developing countries to work directly with the poorest people to help them find their own solutions to overcoming poverty. Their key activities are child sponsorship, Microenterprise, community development projects and disaster relief.
With the many fundraising projects here in New Zealand, and multiple aid partners in developing countries, TEAR Fund has a large number of stakeholders who need to be managed and communicated with effectively to ensure that TEAR Fund can maximise the impact that they can make.
Late last year TEAR Fund was a benefactor of the TechSoup NZ programme, adding the Microsoft Dynamics CRM tool to their suite of technology.
TEAR Fund General Manager, Jon Horne says that before taking up the TechSoup NZ package the organisation was using a number of different systems.
"We used to cobble together a number of different tools to manage our stakeholder relationships, but now the Microsoft Dynamics CRM package has allowed us to streamline our systems and processes so that we can take our supporters on a deeper journey.
"With the CRM tool we are able to garner and build a better understanding of our supporters and their individual needs, and as such we can tailor and personalise our relationship with them. This means that we can target our messages and communication, and create a deeper connection which ultimately leads to positive action and advocacy for the poor.
"Without TechSoup NZ, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM package would have been out of our reach, and we may not have considered it as an option, and instead continued on with our many systems; which in the long run would have been more costly in time, effort and expense.
"So, while technology isn't the most glamorous thing, it's really the engine room. And having the right tools is really helping us to improve our operations, our accountability and most importantly our relationships so that we can focus on helping people in developing countries overcome poverty." | <urn:uuid:93161015-40f6-415c-b343-6d0dc30ee7db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techsoup.net.nz/case-studies/tear-fund-new-zealand | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964857 | 410 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Computer Science Prof Emphasizes Relevance
Longtime UT Dallas Faculty Member Gets Students' Vote as Favorite Instructor
June 1, 2009
More than 95 percent of the students in Subbarayan Venkatesan’s Advanced Computer Networks class last fall ranked his course as good, very good or excellent – a pretty good indicator to any oddsmakers that students might vote him their favorite computer science instructor for the just-completed academic year.
Which they did.
Several students said they look forward to each of Dr. Venkatesan’s computer science classes, and one explained exactly why: “Prof. Venky (as we call him) breaks down the toughest subjects and concepts into such simple elementary components that, when all is said and done, nothing is impossible.”
No newcomer to academia, Dr. Venkatesan, an associate professor of computer science, has been perfecting his teaching technique at UT Dallas for two decades.
“I believe in connecting what students learn in the classroom with what is going on in industry to show the relevance and usefulness of what I’m teaching,” he said. “I also think it’s important to have a positive attitude in the class and encourage students to have the same – and to keep students challenged throughout the course while ensuring that they enjoy the class.”
He also had praise for the students themselves.
“UTD’s student body is unique, with students from all over the world, and many also already have industry experience,” he said. “Their experience and maturity is very helpful when teaching, and I strive to meet and/or exceed their expectations.”
In addition to teaching, Dr. Venkatesan pursues research in the areas of wireless sensor networks (and their application to medical instrumentation), cognitive radio networks, mobile ad hoc networks, vehicular ad hoc networks, fault tolerance, distributed algorithms, telecommunication networks and mobile computing. And he has supervised a number of Ph.D. students over the years.
The last word goes to another one of this fans, though: “One of the best instructors I have had in my life,” wrote the student. “Thanks for being my professor.”
Media Contact: The Office of Media Relations, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2155, email@example.com | <urn:uuid:fab73de0-907e-432d-84c8-65f9e217143f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2009/06/01-001.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960931 | 502 | 1.5625 | 2 |
There are so many things I want to learn more about. Learning more about my camera, about taking great photographs, from composition to lighting to exposure and aperture- all things that will help me get the most from my camera. There are so many books I have seen but they don’t always click with me (yes, pun intended) and I’ve come to realize that is greatly in part to my being a visual learner….and a hands-on learner.
I’ve been wanting to find some quality online courses that can help me to learn more about not just photography but about my camera, and what I can do with my camera…and eventually, how to make the most of the photo editing software I have and don’t use nearly enough of simply because I don’t understand it. I recently was given the chance to review the lynda.com online training library , which offers a HUGE library of training courses to take, on a range of subjects including:
- 3D & Animation
- Web & Interactive
Right now, my priority is learning things to help me take better photos. You can have the best camera in the world and take the worst photos, and you can have the worst camera in the world and take the best photos…and I want to be able to get great photos no matter what I’m shooting with. The online training library at lynda.com has a huge selection of photography courses to take- from foundations of photography (which is what I’m starting with) to photo assignments…some courses on taking photos with your iPhone…and so much more. I was really happy to see that they have some courses to help with Photoshop Elements 10, which is what I have- and love- but I KNOW I am not using to its full potential.
Not into photography? There’s offerings for website design- which so many people have these days and need to learn. Including me…I may be a blogger but coding and HTML baffle me to no end and I’m always unsure of myself. I have a huge library to look to with my membership to lynda.com to find the answers I need- and even to enhance and improve my site on my own! I’ve been wanting to make a mobile app for my site and thanks to lynda.com that can happen, or I can at least learn some of the skills so that I can start to make that happen.
There are so many options to choose from on lynda.com. I love that I can simply click a button to add a course I’m interested in to my queue- and I can move things up and down in the queue as my interests change. This means if I happen to see a course that catches my eye but I’m looking for something else, I can quickly add it to the queue and not “lose” sight of it. In fact, while poking around today, I found a whole course on family trees from Ancestry.com – which I’d probably not stumble on again, but it’s in my queue and I can go back to it at any time!
Lynda.com offers so many ways to learn something new or enhance what you already know. There are several subscription options for you to choose from- so you can opt to be a monthly member, or pay an annual rate. There are options for just course content access and also options for the course content plus exercises. Since I’m hands-on I like the exercises. Like homework. I always did love homework! I do like the options with and without the exercise files, because I think it makes lynda.com affordable. Joining lynda.com will benefit so many- bloggers, writers, developers, photographers, everyday folks like me who just want to take nice photographs, and more.
I’ll be following up in several weeks with another post about my courses from lynda.com…with a full membership giveaway valued at $375!
I received a membership to lynda.com to facilitate my review. Opinions are my own. | <urn:uuid:b7399738-8b57-44d5-95ff-5ddb7ffd9f46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mamalovesherbargains.com/2012/08/lynda-com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963353 | 856 | 1.523438 | 2 |
November 25, 2012
Each year, in anticipation of Black Friday, retailers try to predict hot ticket items and holiday trends; how much consumers will spend and on what. But thanks to big data analysts like Rhiza, guesswork is becoming so twentieth century.
Retailers now track customer purchases closely, whether through customer loyalty programs or information purchased through a third party, such as credit card providers. By analyzing data on how different types of consumers behave, and at specific times of the year, businesses are better able to suggest new purchases that fit their buying profile. Retailers can even anticipate their customers’ needs and suggest appropriate upcoming purchases.
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but if the old dog in question happens to be an ingrained consumer habit, you may not have to teach new tricks to be satisfied with the old dog’s actions. You can just tailor your actions to suit the client better.
To capitalize on all that amassed data, however, businesses need to identify what kind of data they need and the questions they want to answer. At Rhiza, we work with our customers to help make it possible. | <urn:uuid:1fc0b367-93b9-4115-a5f1-aacf0d7e43d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rhiza.com/category/blog/analysis-commentary/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949466 | 236 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Originally Posted by liquidsky617
iOS is built from Mac OSX. IOS and the Mac OS are slowly merging (Lion, Mountain Lion) so OSX could in theory work with touch screens in the future or now. I wouldn't say "never".
Indeed, but OS X will never be on a tablet or touchscreen officially. OS XI will; of that I'm 100% certain.
Many customers have been asking for an iPad with a file system versus the closed and controlled iOS. I just keep hearing this over and over.
Nope. You hear it from Androiders that never actually use it and people who wouldn't buy an iPad anyway. Meanwhile, tens of millions of iPads keep being sold and everyone else (the ones with apparent filesystem access) languish.
The mobile mouse-free market wasn't even a reality in 2004. First iOS device was in 2007.
Sure it was. It wasn't a reality because Apple hadn't made it one yet.
I still think a touch screen laptop with a removable keyboard and the Apple file system would appeal to content creators and creatives.
You don't need trees. You don't need drag and drop. You don't need any of that.
How do I know? Because I created a better means by which to access one's files. Me. I'm just a guy who has taken HCI classes. I don't work for Apple (yet), so you can imagine how much better their solution will be than mine, created alone (It's just a paper prototype presently; I've not yet made a Photoshop interpretation thereof).Take a step back and realize that you're simultaneously wanting to spearhead the death of the mouse, a 29-year-old mechanism by which to access your files and demanding the inclusion of folder trees, a 29-year-old mechanism by which to access your files introduced on the SAME DATE as the mouse.
Don't you find something odd about that?
The mouse is nearly 30 years old and touch screen is the future
I'm in full agreement. Can't come soon enough. | <urn:uuid:df3fa2bd-4428-4bca-9891-03d4ed7d7345> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.appleinsider.com/t/145866/why-is-there-no-keyboard-less-touch-screen-air | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976533 | 430 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Writers Talk About Writing
Five Years in the Web of Language
University of Illinois linguist Dennis Baron is a regular Visual Thesaurus contributor, and we have been proud to feature selected pieces he has written for his site, The Web of Language. Today WOL celebrates its fifth anniversary, and Dennis has commemorated the occasion by looking back on some of his most notable posts.
The Web of Language is five years old today.
The first post — "Farsi Farce: Iran to Deport All Foreign Words" — appeared on August 17, 2006, which in digital years makes it practically Neolithic. To protest American meddling in the Middle East, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad banned all foreign words from Farsi: pizza would become "elastic bread," and internet chats, "short talks," because chatters wouldn't have much time to talk before they were hauled off to prison.
In retaliation, the United States expelled all the Persian words it could find, including pajamas, calabash, dervish, diadem, divan, gherkin, indigo, jasmine, marzipan, mummy, naphtha, organdy, pagoda, paradise, saffron, sandal, sherbet, talc, talisman, and tulip, except for checkmate — 'the shah is dead' — which had diplomatic immunity.
In the end, Ahmadinejad's linguistic purge went largely unnoticed in the West. Instead of deporting all those English words, the Iranian president might have done better to take them hostage and trade them for enriched uranium.
There have been 275 Web of Language posts since its debut. Some of them get reposted on other sites, and a few have even appeared in print, for those who still read hard copy. For the blog's fifth anniversary, here's a retrospective of some of the most popular posts, plus some of my own favorites.
WOL's first big hit was the unlikely "Commas Gone Wild," a medley of various comma stories: Pres. Bush's statement that the Iraq war was a historical comma; a Canadian lawsuit in which millions of dollars seemed to hinge on a comma; and a misguided book about a panda who walked into a bar. I didn't know it, but punctuation is always hot.
"A Spelling Reformer Writes to Mr. Lincoln" details the efforts of an abolitionist minister to explain to Abraham Lincoln both the evils of slavery and the advantages of phonetic spelling. The nineteenth century saw a number of proposals to replace the apparent chaos of English spelling with a rational system. A. B. Pikard told Mr. Lincoln, "I trust u wil hav no difikulti in redin dis; — u se it is ritn in de Fonetik Alfabet, and if u deturmin a letr in eni plas u deturmin it in evri plas." Whether or not Lincoln had "no difikulti in redin dis" (no difficulty in reading this), he left the alphabet as he found it, though he did abolish slavery.
Perhaps the most popular Web of Language post is one that I wrote years before WOL went online: "The Noun Game." It's the story of a young Indian boy whose world view clashes with his teacher's views of good grammar. In the noun game, students take cards with nouns on them and place them in buckets labeled "person," "place," or "thing." When Ganesh placed "horse" in the "person" bucket, his teacher marked him wrong. But Ganesh, who grew up in India before moving to Ohio, knew that living creatures weren't things, that they had more in common with people than they did with inanimates. Is the point of the noun game to see whether students recognize possible nouns as nouns, or whether their view of the universe agrees with the teacher's? Is education fitting things into buckets, or wondering why the categories don't fit the facts? Does education consist of grading you on how well you can play a game? Alas, most people who click on the post are probably not looking for a critique of how the schools teach grammar, but a game to help their children learn that nouns name persons, places, and things.
"Should Everybody Write?" confronts critics who want to limit the exploding author's club made possible by the internet. In the old days, writers had to prove their chops before they could publish. Now all you need to be a writer is a laptop, a Wi-Fi card, and a place to sit at Starbucks. There may be too much to read now, but even in the days of the great library at Alexandria there was too much to read. The best way to deal with too many writers and their textual overload isn't to license authors and limit their production. Just close the book, hit the off button, or avert your eyes.
Finally, there's "The Gender-Neutral Pronoun: Still an Epic(ene) Fail." Wordsmiths have been coining gender-neutral pronouns for a century and a half, to supply a missing word, prevent grammatical error, and restore gender balance to the English pronoun system, all to no avail. Coiners of these new words insist that they are indispensable, but users of English stalwartly reject, ridicule, or just ignore these proposals for what truly is "the word that failed."
That's only a small part of what the Web of Language has been up to during the past five years. You can read all these posts and more, plus all the ones to come, by clicking on the Web of Language. And you can say happy birthday to the Web of Language by tweeting @DrGrammar. | <urn:uuid:423588f9-39b9-4847-a583-597816b7f375> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wc/five-years-in-the-web-of-language/ | 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 | 0.964387 | 1,192 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Twitter resists US court's demand for Occupy tweets
Twitter is contesting a US court order ordering it to hand over the message history of one of its users.
A New York state court has called on the firm to release tweets written by an activist who took part in the Occupy Wall Street protests last year.
The micro-blogging service disputes a judge's ruling that messages are owned by the firm rather than its users.
The American Civil Liberties Union commended the company for defending free speech rights.
Twitter's lawyer, Ben Lee, said: "Twitter's terms of service make absolutely clear that its users 'own' their own content. Our filing with the court reaffirms our steadfast commitment to defending those rights for our users."Boston march
The case centres around Malcolm Harris, managing editor of the New Inquiry website.
He was arrested on 1 October along with hundreds of other campaigners during a march across Brooklyn Bridge.
Prosecutors claim tweets by Mr Harris would reveal that he was "well aware of police instructions" ordering protesters not to block traffic.
Mr Harris's lawyer had tried to block access to the postings, but a judge ruled that once the messages had been sent they became the property of Twitter, meaning the defendant was not protected by Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful search and seizure.
Twitter's lawyers argued that the judge had misunderstood how the service worked, noting that the Stored Communications Act gave its members the right to challenge requests for information on their user history.Constitutional rights
"This is a big deal," said the American Civil Liberties Union in a blog post.
"Law enforcement agencies... are becoming increasingly aggressive in their attempts to obtain information about what people are doing on the internet.
"If internet users cannot protect their own constitutional rights, the only hope is that internet companies do so."
One media analyst said Twitter's action also reflected its wider desire to avoid becoming caught up in litigation.
"Twitter, like any internet service provider, wants people who upload material to be responsible - it doesn't want to be in a position where it has to review all of the tweets," Benedict Evans from Enders Analysis told the BBC.
"It sees itself as being like an email provider and doesn't want to have to worry about issues of copyright (and) libel about other matters relating to what people post.
"That said, it can't totally avoid the issue. We have seen cases of US courts forcing email providers to hand over evidence, and Twitter has access to the data." | <urn:uuid:1d563731-a6a9-4f28-bd4d-e6bf219e0150> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18002548 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97361 | 508 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Cumbria-based Energy4All enables anyone to invest in renewable energy, provided that they have at least £250. It does this by helping communities to set up co-operatives that own wind farm capacity, and by carrying out regulated offers to sell the shares. By guiding through the many financial, legal and technical hurdles, it takes the pain out of the process of setting up a co-operative. Energy4All now manages eight co-operatives with 7,690 members, who collectively own the equivalent of over 20 MW of capacity in UK wind farms. In 2011 this generated over 45 GWh of electricity, saving 19,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions. | <urn:uuid:499b26f5-54bf-4890-95b1-7c01a26fb902> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ashden.org/winners/energy4all12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959425 | 136 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Squak Mountain timber plan concerns conservationists, neighbors
February 8, 2013
By Warren Kagarise
NEW — 12:05 p.m. Feb. 8, 2013
High on Squak Mountain, pink plastic strips tied to trees mark 216 acres of forest as a timber harvest area.
Since a timber company purchased the forest and started the process to permit logging on the site, conservationists and nearby residents mobilized to fight the proposal to clear cut the land. The logging opponents said cutting trees on the land could lead to more flooding downhill, damage sensitive fish and wildlife habitat, and add a timber harvest site near conservation lands.
The proposal from Eatonville-based Erickson Logging to harvest timber on 216 acres on the mountainside above Renton-Issaquah Road Southeast galvanized residents on Squak Mountain and near May Creek, a destination for runoff from the mountain.
The land, in unincorporated King County, is about a mile southwest of Issaquah city limits along Renton-Issaquah Road Southeast. The site includes four parcels in the former Issaquah Highlands Camping Club and, uphill, a 103-acre triangular parcel once owned by AmericanWest Bank.
(The former camping club is not affiliated with the Issaquah Highlands urban village or highlands developer Port Blakely Communities.)
People familiar with the sale said Erickson Logging purchased the parcels for about $2 million late last year.
Kurt Erickson, Erickson Logging founder and owner, did not respond to requests for comment.
In January, residents and the Issaquah Alps Trails Club launched a campaign, called Save Squak, to attract attention to the logging plan and encourage the timber company and King County to set aside the land for preservation.
David Kappler, Issaquah Alps Trails Club president and a former Issaquah city councilman, is leading the effort through the trails club to organize residents and lobby public officials to purchase the land for conservation.
Throughout the years, trails club members spearheaded successful efforts to set aside areas on Cougar, Squak and Tiger mountains for conservation and recreation.
The logging opponents said a timber harvest on the site could eliminate century-old trees and increase runoff into May Creek, a flood-prone creek stretching through the May Valley area south of Issaquah, between the East Renton Highlands and Newcastle.
May Creek often floods and puts homes at risk. Residents in the creek basin said more water to pour into the creek during rainstorms, because development in recent decades has reduced the amount of water soaking into the ground and increased the amount of silt in the stream.
“It’s a big part of the mountain that drains into May Creek,” Kappler said. “This area is the main headwaters of the creek that comes from a heavily forested, undeveloped area. The rest of May Creek has headwaters that are in developed areas.”
On the mountain, rainwater filters through trees and organic material and into the forest floor, rather than all rushing into the creek.
“It’s definitely a real high-quality source of water for May Creek,” Kappler said. “It’s cold, because it’s forested and the water tends to be colder, which is really good in the summer, because cooler water holds more oxygen. There are definite advantages to that.”
The potential impact to fish and wildlife is another source of concern for logging opponents. Kappler and others said increased water flow and soil erosion following deforestation could damage May Creek habitat for salmon and other fish.
Homeowners in the High Valley area on Squak Mountain near the proposed timber harvest site said the area is a haven for birds and large mammals, including black bears, bobcats and cougars. In 2008, a King County biodiversity report indicated the presence of rare tailed frogs in the same area.
“We hope that the logger who now owns this land will work with King County and other entities to preserve, in its wild state, all of this acreage or at least the upper triangle where we see the best habitat and hiking potential,” High Valley resident Cathy Brandt said in a statement. “With King County increasingly losing wild open spaces, it is more important than ever to retain what we have. Since this area is so close to our cities, it can easily provide a quick respite from our busy lives.”
The state Department of Natural Resources is the entity responsible for deciding whether Erickson Logging can harvest timber from the site.
Officials in the Department of Natural Resources’ South Puget Sound Region office prescreened the area to assess possible risks if logging proceeds. The agency did not foresee issues if the state allowed the Squak Mountain timber harvest.
The application for a state forest practices, or logging, permit to harvest can take up to 30 days for approval.
The review conducted by the Department of Natural Resources is less stringent than the environmental review required under the State Environmental Policy Act — a source of concern for Kappler and Squak Mountain residents.
If the 30-day period passes without objection, then a timber harvest is approved and logging can start.
The logging opponents also called for King County to consider purchasing the land for conservation.
Doug Williams, spokesman for the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, said the county is considering options for the land and should reach a decision in March.
“I think that it’s location as being right in between a couple of existing amenities, existing parks properties, gives it, certainly, a pretty good boost,” he said.
The property meets many of county-mandated park acquisition ranking criteria.
The old-growth trees on the property and proximity to the Cougar Mountain-Squak Mountain Corridor — a 795-acre expanse linking county-run Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park and Squak Mountain State Park — could boost the chances for acquisition.
“It’s kind of the sandwich piece between Cougar Mountain and Squak,” Williams said.
Some county dollars could come from Conservation Futures Funds or voter-approved parks and open space funds. The county lacks the resources to purchase the land outright, so staffers started the process to apply for state grants to fund a possible acquisition.
“I think the property is fairly familiar to folks, and we just need to make some internal decisions about whether we want to pursue acquisition,” Williams said.
Kappler acknowledged the difficult position the county is in, with parcels countywide under consideration for conservation and limited dollars available to purchase open space. The trails club president joined county staffers and Erickson to tour the land last month.
“There’s no question that there are parcels that are more important to the Mountains to Sound Greenway and the county and all of that — that have been in the works for years, that they’ve been trying to acquire for a long time,” he said.
In the past, county officials acquired land near or adjacent to existing conservation areas for preservation. Williams cited the county decision to purchase a former farmstead near North Bend last year to plug a gap in the Three Forks Natural Area.
“Issaquah has a remarkable amount of public land encircling it,” Williams said. “I think Issaquah is unique in that regard, in that there is a lot of public land nearby.” | <urn:uuid:50729f0f-68cc-46a2-bc0e-b10c24971ec8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.issaquahpress.com/2013/02/08/squak-mountain-timber-plan-concerns-conservationists-neighbors/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940095 | 1,546 | 1.796875 | 2 |
The Big Sound
CAT # OJCCD-651-25
1. Blue Hymn 12:37 2. The Real McCoy 8:33 3. Cheek To Cheek 4:49 4. That's All 13:58
Some of the most successful recorded jam sessions in all of jazz were made for Prestige in the 1950s under the name and leadership of tenor saxophonist Gene Ammons. The Big Sound was one of the most celebrated. Ammons's big sound was equaled by his inventiveness throughout the session. The passion of his work on "That's All" was a big reason for the album's popularity. Another was the good feeling between Ammons and his guests, flutist Jerome Richardson and saxophonists Pepper Adams, Paul Quinichette, and John Coltrane, the latter in his only known recorded solos on alto saxophone.
Blue Hymn, The Real McCoy, Cheek to Cheek, That's All
with John Coltrane, Jerome Richardson, Paul Quinichette, Pepper Adams, Mal Waldron, George Joyner, Arthur Taylor
Find out more about Gene Ammons' All Stars | <urn:uuid:2cd48f36-71d4-43dc-83bf-b0adbfb661a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.concordmusicgroup.com/albums/The-Big-Sound/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966744 | 245 | 1.664063 | 2 |
|Joint bulk purchasing of essential drugs - Achats groupés de médicaments essentiels (A.C.A.M.E. - WHO/AFRO, 1999, 28 p.)|
1. Organization of the purchasing trial
For purposes of the joint bulk purchasing, a meeting bringing together CAMEG (Burkina Faso); the essential drugs unit of TOGOPHARMA (TOGO); Pharmacie Nationale d'Approvisionnement (PNA), Senegal; PCG (Guinea); SARL JAMAKA KENEYA (JKK); (GIE Mali); and Pharmacie Populaire du Mali (PPM) was held in Bamako in November 1997. The Office National de Produits Pharmaceutiques, Niger (ONPPC) and CPA (Chad) could not attend the meeting but authorized the participants to represent them.
The one-day meeting helped reach an agreement on the conditions for organizing, managing and awarding contracts. The meeting was aimed at adopting a common position on the following issues: type of invitation to tender, choice of drugs to be purchased and their technical specifications, method of assessing-tenders, award of contracts and the articles and conditions of the contract.
Owing to the multiplicity of suppliers and the difficulties involved in managing such a restricted tendering in which only the best ten suppliers of each central medical store could compete, all central medical stores that attended the Bamako meeting submitted a list of 10 suppliers. After analysis, a shortlist of 25 suppliers was authorized to bid.
To produce the final list, the specifications and the quantity to be purchased, each central medical store was requested to provide information on 10 drugs in high demand. ONPPC, PCG, SARL, JKK and PPM provided the required information which was used as a basis for compiling a list of five suppliers.
The type of contract agreed upon involved the pooling of drug purchases in order to have a single CIF price, with goods delivered to the purchasers. Each purchaser signs a contract with the selected supplier. These arrangements make it possible to adhere to the laws and regulations in force in each country. The supplier is paid 30% upon the delivery of drugs and 70% after quality control is done.
The Niamey laboratory in Niger (Regional quality control laboratory) was selected to conduct drug quality control. For communications and cost reasons, however, the Laboratoire National de la Sante du Mali carried out the tests. A tender assessment commission comprising procurement managers of the central medical stores of participating countries was set up. The ONPPC representative could not participate in the work of the commission.
PPM was requested to prepare a schedule of specifications that took into account the key issues above and to start the tender invitation process.
The draft schedule of specifications was submitted to the central medical stores that approved them in January 1998. The cost of the schedule of specifications was fixed at 100 000 CFA francs.
The invitation to tender was launched in March 1998 and the processing and analysis of bids took place in July 1998.
2. Processing, analysis and results
Out of the 25 suppliers invited to submit tenders, 20 tender files were purchased and 12 bids were received. It should be noted that none of the four local suppliers invited submitted bids, for unknown reasons. It is considered necessary to know the reason(s) for this failure.
On the whole, three countries (Guinea, Mali and Niger) participated in the test on the following five generic essential drugs:
(i) Cotrimoxazole tablets 400 + 80 mg
(ii) Benzylpenicilin 1 MU
(iii) Ampicilin injection 1 g
(iv) Amoxycilin tablets 500 mg
(v) Chloroquine tablets 100 mg Base
At its August 1998 meeting the Committee based examined the bids in stages. The first stage consisted in examining whether the submissions were done in conformity with the administrative rules in force. The second stage involved an assessment of the technical conformity of those bids which had met the set conditions in the previous stage. The tender documents of suppliers who had fulfilled this condition were thus examined for technical conformity. The third stage entailed the examination (macroscopic and packaging) of samples. The last stage involved the classification by price of samples deemed to be of good quality.
The provisional award of tenders was based on the quality of the sample and their price. The final award was made after two conditions are fulfilled: the quality of the services of the supplier (delivery time) and the result of the sample quality control.
The results obtained (annexes 1 and 2) were 7 to 27% lower than the lowest prices each of the participating countries had obtained for over 3 years for any of the five drugs.
Although some suppliers met the conditions in all the stages they were not awarded the contract due to delays in delivery (over 8 months) in one of the purchasing countries. This approach is expected to compel suppliers to be more prompt in executing contracts.
The preparation of tender documents and the tender committee's expenses (accommodation, food and per diem) were fully covered by the costs of tender documents.
For each central medical store, it would be worthwhile making a comparative assessment of the difference between the profit obtained from the joint bulk purchasing and the expenses incurred in organizing it. ACAME was charged to conduct this analysis at the beginning of 1999.
In conclusion one may state that the success of joint bulk purchasing depends on the following:
2.1 a firm commitment will of managers of central medical stores backed by the support of ministers of health;
2.2 the preparation and signing of an agreement defining the applicable rules during the entire tender period; this agreement must cover all matters concerning drug marketing;
2.3 transparency in the implementation of the framework agreement in order to assure suppliers.
3. Other achievements of ACAME
Apart from the study visit to Morocco and Saudi Arabia as well as the implementation of the joint bulk purchasing trial by the ACAME member countries (Guinea, Mali and Niger), the association also undertook the following activities:
3.1 Exchange of information between Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad on suppliers.
3.2 Exchange of stocks of drugs: between Mali and Niger; between Burkina Faso and Niger; and between Benin and Niger.
3.3 Participation in the third meeting of ministers of health of countries of the CFA Franc zone held in Libreville, Gabon from 23 to 26 March 1998.
3.4 Participation in the regional meeting organized by WHO in September 1998 in Praia, Cape Verde on the local production of essential drugs in the WHO African Region.
3.5 The establishment of a data bank for the ACAME member countries.
4. Subsequent ACAME activities
The main activity will be the organization of a third general assembly to be held in Dakar, Senegal from 22-27 November 1999. This assembly will be a milestone. Indeed, apart from the two crucial issues (joint bulk purchasing and the control of illicit drugs), English-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries will, for the first time, participate in an ACAME meeting. As in the past, WHO will be contacted for its financial and technical support. | <urn:uuid:4a530894-27b8-4275-ae0d-506489a5fc61> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-00---off-0whoedm--00-0----0-10-0---0---0direct-10---4-------0-1l--11-en-50---20-preferences---00-0-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-10-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&c=whoedm&cl=CL1.1&d=HASH34212899d2344f74d45656.3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953467 | 1,506 | 1.71875 | 2 |
DISPOSAL STATION #15 - LONGSDON PIT
The site is located at the northwest corner of Chapman Avenue and Harbor Boulevard in the City of Garden Grove.
Dates of Operation and Closure
The County operated the refuse disposal station from 1957 to 1960.
Size and Types of Waste
The 14.4-acre refuse disposal site was constructed on an abandoned sand pit excavated in the 1920's. Waste materials disposed at the site are from household, commercial, industrial, agricultural and recreational sources. The amount of waste has been approximated at 525,000 cubic yards.
1957 The 10-acre site was formed when the Garden Grove Sanitation District pit merged with privately owned 4.4-acre Longsdon Pit.
1957-1960 County operated site as a refuse disposal station.
1960 County ceased operation and closed refuse disposal station.
1985 HOTOB Owner’s Association installed perimeter gas collection system.
1988 County completed an air Solid Waste Assessment Test (SWAT) questionnaire.
1991 Golf driving range was developed on the northern section of site.
1993 A water SWAT conducted at site and report submitted to the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB).
1998 Pursuant to RWQCB approval, all groundwater monitoring terminated and monitoring wells abandoned. 2003 Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) approved work plan with conditions for HOTOB Owner’s Association replacement and installation of three landfill gas (LFG) monitoring probes. LEA and City’s consultant discussed a City proposal to construct residential housing on the driving range portion of the site. No further discussion held on this topic per the LEA.
2004-2006 No activity at site.
2007 LEA issued City a Notice and Order to reduce methane levels in perimeter probes to below 5% regulatory limit.
2008 Golf driving range closed preparatory to change in land use for a parking lot extension for the hotel. City submitted a Report of Interior LFG Wells and a Long Term Monitoring and Operational Plan to the LEA. A change in ownership was recorded of the Embassy Suites Hotel from Ashford Anaheim LP to Inland American Lodging Garden Grove Harbor, L.L.C.
2009 LEA requested City submittal of a written status report of proposed on-site development and expansion of Embassy Suites Hotel. LEA also requested City submittal of replacement probe design plans and basis of design report to meet present industry standards since existing perimeter LFG probes do not meet present industry standards.
2010 Construction of replacement LFG probes completed. LEA is currently reviewing the Long-Term Monitoring and Operational Plan (LTMOP) submitted by the owner.
2011-2012 The parking lot expansion adjacent to the Embassy Suites Hotel is on hold.
Inland American Lodging Garden Grove Harbor, L.L.C and City of Garden Grove jointly own the site. | <urn:uuid:a9c6781f-08e1-4f42-a637-5f3020e3d7e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oclandfills.com/landfill/closed/longsdon | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930601 | 589 | 1.601563 | 2 |
'Adaptive Reuse' and Transit in Australian Art + Architecture
24. April 2007
7 pm, at Taut Saal
Introduction: Katie Hepworth (AUS)
Speakers: Miriam Mlecek (DE/AUS), Isabelle Toland (AUS) and Jasper Knight (AUS)
The Transit Lounge is an artist-in-residence program for Australian + Berlin-based artists and architects, which aims to blur the boundaries between the disciplines through a focus on short, process-focused, interdisciplinary collaborations. The program challenges artists to rethink their approach to art-making by encouraging them to adapt, reuse, evolve and even destroy the work of previous artists in the space.
Isabelle Toland, Jasper Knight and Miriam Mlecek are all artists-in-residence at the Transit Lounge. They will discuss their own work in reference to the process of the Transit Lounge, and to the broader context of contemporary Australian art and architecture.
Photo: Untitled Work by Miriam Mlecek
(Photo: Katie Hepworth)
Organized by www.transitlounge.org.
The Transit Lounge is a series of overlapping residencies for Australian and German artists and architects in Berlin, initiated by Miriam Mlecek and Katie Hepworth. The DAZ is a cooperative partner of transit lounge, providing its facilities for talks. | <urn:uuid:721a708b-060e-48be-9d5a-742e270aab5d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.daz.de/sixcms/detail.php?object_id=&area_id=37&id=164131&template_id=76 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932727 | 289 | 1.546875 | 2 |
m-ID pilots and overcoming obstacles – Question from Zack Martin, NFC News0
Many European countries have e-ID programs in place, are there any pilots in place to move away from smart cards and put these credentials on mobile devices?
What are some of the obstacles around placing credentials on the mobile and being able to use them for secure online identity?
This is an interesting query as it raises the issue of trust for mobile as a platform. As we move towards a future of increasing reliance on our mobile devices (with NFC payments replacing our credit cards, to give just one example), are we prepared to entrust our entire identities to a phone?
In fact, there are not just pilots, but already a number of commercial deployments and government programs using mobile ID (m-ID). Countries such as Finland, Moldova and Oman are have already deployed, or are in the process of deploying, an m-ID infrastructure.
Securing m-ID is all about ensuring that the mobile device is connected wirelessly to the same Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI) as an e-ID card. To maintain the same security level as a smart card you must ensure that the information is placed on a PKI SIM card. Thankfully, all NFC-enabled SIMs are also PKI SIMs, meaning anyone with an NFC-enabled handset can safely carry their ID on their phone with the same level of security as if it were on a smart card.
So, Zack, in answer to your question, there are some obstacles involved in m-ID adoption, but the advancement and adoption of NFC technology is breaking down these barriers. For this reason, we expect to see many more deployments of m-ID over the coming years as our mobile devices continue to play an ever greater role in our everyday lives. | <urn:uuid:36563882-409d-4f7c-b056-e9e9e37b1ffc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.gemalto.com/blog/2013/02/26/m-id-pilots-and-overcoming-obstacles-question-from-zack-martin-nfc-news/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958648 | 366 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Sunday, October 4, 2009
The New York Times has an interesting chart showing that retail stores of liquor, restaurant expenditures and computers are up, and almost everything else is down.
Why liquor? I believe liquor always goes up during a financial crash (as do things like Pepto Bismal, which treat stomach jitters).
Why computers? Well, during the Great Depression, the sale of movie tickets skyrocketed, as movies provided cheap entertainment and escape from the economic misery.
Movies are now fairly expensive, but there is alot of free entertainment on the web. So - in addition to any business reasons for buying new computers - I think computers will be the escape of choice during this downturn.
Why restaurants? Many families are opting for "staycations" (vacations in one's own town instead of traveling).
My guess is that many families are saving a lot of money by skipping vacations away from home, but are eating out a little more as their big splurge. In other words, they may be saving thousands by staying home on vacations, and spending an extra hundred of dollars or so on meals out - to make vacationing at home seem a little less mundane.
Similarly, instead of buying that bigger house or that new car, my guess is that many families are staying with what they've already got, but splurging on meals out. | <urn:uuid:c1413c65-270f-4d19-877c-1300d50d936a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2009/10/liquor-restaurants-and-computers-up.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 | 0.971289 | 282 | 1.820313 | 2 |
7th NZ Parliament
The 7th Parliament of New Zealand was in session April 25 to May 25, 2011. The membership was set by the April 25 parliamentary elections. This parliament witnessed the return of a single-party majority but also saw political re-alignment take place nearing its later stages.
Just prior to the parliamentary elections, the Red label Party was PTOed. The vast majority of its members flocked to the Free Texas which had renamed itself Stranka Srpskog Korpusa (SSK) following the influx of members. This gave the party a huge voter and for the first time since the "Aotearoa" times a party captured a single-party majority.
The Ranginui returned to Parliament in a strengthened position, having won two additional seats and became the second largest party in Parliament. It remained on good ties with the SSK and therefore was able to cooperate with it on various legislative proposals.
The third party to win representation was the Peace 'n' Prosperity Party (PnPP), which returned to Parliament after a one month hiatus. The party was no longer identified as an "opposition" party and instead had developed working relations with the SSK and Ranginui. It benefited in the May Presidential election when former CP Don KronoX joined the PnPP and was elected, with both Ranginui and SSK support.
The seventh Parliament brought about major changes in the NZ economy and military, thanks in large measure to the Argentina-New Zealand War which occupied much of its later stages. The Parliament supported the KronoX administration by cutting import taxes on food and weapons, by signing MPP's with leading ONE nations and purchasing defense systems for the Otago and later Canterbury regions. It did suffer membership in late May when some SSK members rejoined the RLP, after its former PP loader returned to take the helm. | <urn:uuid:e434ca85-4e08-4b3f-bdc8-0762664b0b40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wiki.erepublik.com/index.php/7th_NZ_Parliament | 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 | 0.983196 | 388 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Guest posting by Frances Rankine, Curator, Word & Image Department
‘I was fortunate enough to be in the Daiwa Foundation gallery on my own when I went to see Sian’s exhibition for a second time. The objects were hung in a lovely sunny room and it added to the wonderful sense of stillness and quiet that the images bring to me.
When I sat down to write my contribution to Sian’s blog I was re-reading Tim Travis’ essay in the exhibition publication ‘Of Dust’. Up until then I had puzzled over something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on with the images and then I saw the words ‘submarine twilight’ and it came to me that the images of the tea house models are like submerged, underwater buildings. The images strike me as being very quiet and mysterious, rather distant, abandoned spaces frozen in time. Sian’s use of the lacquered surface and the process of dusting the image with pure silver or gold powder to bring out the image on the paper seems to me to contribute to this effect of depth and ‘wateriness’. Although the process is very two dimensional it has produced this very deep, three dimensional effect. I get a real sense of looking down, and rather than the images registering as small and intimate, they produce almost the opposite effect on me – I experience them rather as something large being seen from afar – they have a kind of monumental quality that is disorientating. They also have an ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’ effect which gives you the impression that you could dive into the pieces and be in a very different and safe place, which takes me back to the idea of ‘sanctuary’ as a place of safety and refuge, a place which is enclosing and protective. The mirror effect the lacquer produces also harks back to Sian’s preoccupation in her exhibition ‘Gaze’ with reflections and the sense of distancing but at the same time beckoning. There is feeling that one wants to be drawn into the spaces but the mirror-like surface keeps one at a distance.’ | <urn:uuid:a789eaeb-1328-4a2a-a545-49c3cb404aae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vam.ac.uk/b/blog/journey-within-journey/submarine-twilight | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969347 | 450 | 1.578125 | 2 |
BETHANY, OK (January 31, 2013) - Most holiday trips consist of visiting families and exchanging gifts, but not for those involved in the annual Commission Unto Mexico trip that took place over the 2012-2013 Christmas break.
Commission Unto Mexico is a “Work and Witness adventure for all ages” that has been taken annually for the past 24 years, since 1989-90.
This year 160 people from a wide variety of areas across the United Sates and professions, from students to medical workers, crossed the border into northeastern Mexico in the city of Monclova. The group worked with four congregations, a children’s center and a nursing home, among them was SNU professor Howard Culbertson.
“A primary goal of the trip is the creating of relationships. Sure, we do some construction, some medical work (our medical teams this year treated 310 patients), VBS-type ministries for children and even soccer clinics. However, the welding together of the Body of Christ from different cultures and even different languages is a key goal,” stated Culbertson.
The coordinators for this year’s trip were SNU alumni Roberto and Rhesa Rodriguez.
Southern Nazarene University's mission is to transform lives through higher education in Christ-centered community. As a Christian community of scholars, we model the hospitality of grace, the pursuit of truth and the practice of discipleship, all within the Wesleyan-holiness tradition, as we prepare graduates who THINK with clarity, ACT with integrity and SERVE with purpose.
Thu, January 31, 2013
by Sarah Roberts filed under | <urn:uuid:f4847a7e-f4ad-4618-881b-c6e8816a316a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hallofwitnesses@snu.edu/commission-unto-mexico-2012-2013-recap | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961336 | 338 | 1.570313 | 2 |
and politeness, seeing they were increasingly struck by the virile dignity of his face.
Guilhern then mounted the traveler's horse and followed the chariot that Joel led, urging on the oxen with his goad. They were in earnest haste to reach the shelter of their house: the gale increased; the roar of the waves was heard dashing upon the rocks along the coast; streaks of lightning glistened through the darkening clouds; all the signs portended a stormy night.
All these threatening signs notwithstanding, the unknown rider seemed nowise thankful for the hospitality that Joel and his son had pressed upon him. Extended on the bottom of the chariot he was pale with rage. He ground his teeth and puffed at his mouth. But keeping his anger to himself he said not a word. Joel (it must be admitted) passionately loved a story, but he also passionately loved to talk. He turned to the stranger:
"My guest, for such you are now, I give thanks to Teutates, the god of travelers, for having sent me a guest. | <urn:uuid:f25d5f19-e18f-4b2d-9957-ba3d4f3130ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://manybooks.net/titles/sueeugen3175231752-8.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988425 | 224 | 1.601563 | 2 |
There is an undeniable fact that most people have this great chance to travel abroad for some time in their lives. For some reasons, others go abroad for work. Whatever the purpose of that travel abroad is, see to it that you make yourself safe from whatever hassles and be prepared for the whole trip. These are the tips you have to bear in mind so that you would not have a hard time for traveling is intended to be coated with fun and excitement. What are these tips? See to it that you have signed the right passport and visa, double check everything for these are the most important things you have to secure before anything else. And be sure to fill in the information intended for the emergency page. More readings would definitely help you out. Get to know the country you want to visit. The Consular information sheets would surely be very essential as a reading material. You really have to get to know the country you choose to go to.
My Other Shops | <urn:uuid:57d75f5e-65af-4e09-8012-4b4b2ab0fa70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.commissionshops.com/shop/my-travel | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968558 | 196 | 1.617188 | 2 |
On October 18, Majid Mohammadi, one of the worker activists of city of Sanandaj was attacked by masked armed men of the Islamic Republic and got wounded seriously. At the present, he is in Amir Alam Hospital in Tehran.
The worker-communist Party of Iran strongly condemns this criminal act. The Party will use its entire means in Iran and abroad to organize a strong line of protest against this new crime of the Islamic Republic. The WPI calls on all libertarian women and men to protest against this act.
The use of masked terrorists against workers is the continuation of defeated efforts of an exhausted regime in order to terrorize the society and the workers who form the front line of the struggle to topple the Islamic Republic. The widespread wave of public executions and stoning, the attacks against women under the pretext of women’s disobedience from Islamic dress codes, attacks against worker activists, teachers, and student leaders, sentencing worker leaders to lashes and imprisoning and torturing of student activists have fallen short to terrify and pull back the struggle of the people in Iran against the regime. On the contrary, these atrocities have caused widespread international support for the people of Iran. The protests in defence of Mahmood Salehi and Mansoor Asanloo on August 9 that was held in several cities around the world, widespread demonstrations on September 7 and October 10, and the divulgement of the Islamic regime for its atrocities and crimes is the answer that the Islamic Republic received from the international community. The response of the people inside Iran against these atrocities has been even stronger. The protests against Ahmadinejad in Tehran University on October 8, the united march of Haft-tape workers demanding their rights, prevalent meetings and demonstrations in defence of children rights the biggest of which was held in Sanandaj; all these show that despite its barbaric acts the Islamic regime is facing extensive and rising popular protest and resistance. These protests are leaning towards left and are getting more organized every passing day and carry the stamp of the working class. The Islamic Republic has already lost this battle on the political front. The Islamic regime looks for its only way to persist through inventing new types of atrocities and terrorizing the public.
The attempt to murder a worker activist from Sanandaj should be placed within this context. So understood, confronting this criminal act becomes even more important. We should show to the Islamic Republic that use of such means would cause massive international protests. All libertarians of the world, especially those in Sanandaj should protest against this crime and should condemn the Islamic regime; they should embrace Majid Mohammadi’s family in solidarity. The youth and the students should protest the assassination attempt against Majid Mohammadi on a nationwide scale and should demand the arrest and punishment of those responsible. Everybody should go to visit Amir Alam Hospital to show that this crime will be answered by massive waves of protests. Workers all around the country should openly condemn the murder attempt of Majid Mohammadi in their communiqués, pamphlets and in their general assemblies; they should demand immediate and unconditioned release of Mahmood Salehi, Mansoor Asanloo, and all political prisoners. The Islamic Republic should face the fact that an attempt to murder a worker activist will not terrify the public but will cause a wave of massive and extensive protests. This is the only way to confront the dirty means of assassination that is used by the Islamic regime.
The Worker-communist Party of Iran wishes quick recovery for Majid Mohammadi and deeply sympathizes with his family and comrades. The WPI works in order to organize extensive and massive protests against this barbaric act and against the Islamic Republic internationally. The Worker-communist Party of Iran calls on all libertarians, worker unions and progressive organizations all around the world to actively protest the assassination of worker activist, Majid Mohammadi.
Worker-communist Party of Iran
October 19, 2007 | <urn:uuid:c9079d1a-8499-4ac7-b49e-1d6e8dabd143> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freethoughtblogs.com/maryamnamazie/2007/10/21/condemn-the-attempt-to-assassinate-a-labour-activist-from-sanandaj/ | 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 | 0.963135 | 796 | 1.585938 | 2 |
New Professor of Plant Microbiology
Phil Poole will join the Department as Professor of Plant Microbiology 1st September 2013.
Phil is currently a project leader at the John Innes Centre and has made ground breaking discoveries about the physiology of symbiotic bacteria. http://www.jic.ac.uk/profile/philip-poole.asp
Finalist in BBSRC “Impact” award for 2013
The Department of Plant Sciences was one of six finalists selected in the BBSRC’s “Activating Impact” competition, part of the BBSRC’s “Fostering Innovation” awards for 2013. The awards are designed to raise awareness of how biosciences can contribute to society and the economy, and Plant Sciences, together with Oxford’s Research Services and Isis Innovation, was recognized for the teamwork that supported research by Professor Sarah Gurr. It is hoped that Professor Gurr’s research will produce a safe and effective antifungal to treat major crops, and the behind-the-scenes work in the Department, for example, to help with the contracts this has required, came to the attention of the selection panel. There is more information about the competition here http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/news/people-skills-training/2013/130201-pr-impact-award-finalists-announced.aspx
Graduate student presentations
Last month 5 of our first year graduate students gave presentations to a group of Administrative and Technical support staff within the department.
The presentations were held at the Oxford Botanic Garden and gave the students the opportunity to showcase their research to a non-specialist audience, highlighting the real-world relevance of their DPhil projects. (This session formed part of their assessment module entitled "Getting the public excited about your science".)
The afternoon was a great success and was rounded off with tea and cake in the Conservatory at the Oxford Botanic Garden. | <urn:uuid:cc28e4e8-8ff7-4bca-b704-452ca54939c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.plants.ox.ac.uk/plants/(A(4KXMN-o6ywEkAAAAOGY1OTcwYTMtZjc3Ni00Yjg0LTk1YzgtOWE1OGQ5NjdiMDdh0Q-qMd-omvHmSO6ADgw-v96LUn01))/news.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941202 | 412 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The Comstock Laws of 1873, the most successful censorship regime, were used by Republicans to banish reformist impulses under the Civil War Thesis that reached its peak under then-President Grant. (That's Anthony Comstock himself to the right, from Wikipedia.)
If you can't describe the sexual violence and degradation attendant to the rise of industrial New York, you can't possibly change it.
The great successes of the Progressive Movement, such as Jacob Riis' classic How the Other Half Lives, lay in describing this reality so it could be addressed. Forcing attention on what needed reforming required defying what had become the common concept of the law.
The Hays Office, and the motion picture code of the 1930s, was also intensely political. (That's Will Hays there, from Wikipedia.) While it was first proposed as an attempt to put down liberals during the Flapper Era it eventually became a key tool for New Deal Liberalism, which used movies as propaganda, both to sell the New Deal itself and, later, the fight against Adolph Hitler.
As media choices expanded, the rise of a new Political Thesis is accompanied mainly by an attempt to ride one side's ideas out of broadcasting. The censorship of the Smothers Brothers was just one example, as popular rock acts were ridden off broadcast TV and exiled to the new FM band. This did not impact their popularity -- it actually made the musicians more money -- but the political aim, to take rock's political ideas out of the "mainstream" debate -- was accomplished.
During any time of political crisis, when media executives become unclear on what the rules are, where the boundaries should be, the dominant entertainment form becomes pure fantasy. The Jack Benny Program was a fantasy. The TV shows of the late 1960s -- whether comedies like Green Acres or nominal dramas like I Spy -- were fantasies. Today's reality shows, like American Idol, are fantasies. Such shows become popular because people aren't certain what can be said, or should be said, about the underlying reality of the times.
It's in this historical context that we should see the Imus flap. For the first time in literally decades, left-wing pressure has halted a right-wing show. A boundary has been set, on the right, against political speech. Ritualistic personal abuse now draws a red flag. People are on the lookout.
Which is why the right is now so obsessed with trying to go after ghetto rap and Rosie O'Donnell. Al Sharpton is happy to work with them on the first -- gansta rappers are his political enemies far more than they are Fox's. The attempt to go after O'Donnell is an attempt to create an equivalency, to restore the status quo ante, to TV's political debate.
As I mentioned yesterday, liberals smell blood in the water. Can we really ride Hannity and Limbaugh and Beck out by saying that racial or sexual or personal abuse won't be tolerated, then squeezing down on their acts until they're either forced out or neutered? This is the right's fear.
My fear is that we risk going too far, as in Tim O'Reilly's attempt to create a "voluntary code of conduct" for this medium, which in fact would be mandatory, enforced by companies like Typepad and ISPs. (That's Tim O'Reilly to the left, from his blog.)
There are laws against harassment and every blog post, every
comment on a blog post, creates a record under which existing laws may
Trying to squelch speech we fear doesn't squelch the thoughts which give rise to the speech. I'd much rather have the evidence of your evil heart out in the open, where it can be prosecuted later, in the fullness of time, when you either act-out your inanity or seek some position of trust in society.
Let censorship remain the limited tool of riding people out of the
mainstream. Don't try to clean the corners of thought. That way lies
Real censorship is
like mandated prayer in schools. As Orson Scott Card said on that
issue, if it's strong enough to do good it will do harm. And if it's
weak enough not to do harm, it can't possibly do any good. | <urn:uuid:b79b54a5-4933-4b98-8c86-df9d4233295b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.danablankenhorn.com/2007/04/the_politics_of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969025 | 880 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Case closed: Dick Tracy artist retires
Detective comic strip will carry on.
He has been thrown out of helicopters and off skyscrapers, buried inside drainpipes and underneath highways, dumped in hot wax and sealed in coffins. But Dick Tracy never surrendered. His artist wouldn't allow it.
"Never show him slumping, never show him blue, never show him depressed and never show him defeated," said Dick Locher, who spent 32 years drawing the world's most famous gumshoe. "He's in charge. People expect that."
Next month, someone else will take charge of Tracy. Locher, 81, of Naperville, Ill., will turn over the strip to a new artist and writer. He will leave behind a character who is more than just a square-jawed action hero vanquishing villains on the funny pages.
Dick Tracy is a living, breathing person, Locher said. He is a husband and father. And to Locher, he is a close friend.
"He's a great human being who happens to have a great crime sense," Locher said.
Locher was 28 when he began assisting Chester Gould, who created the Dick Tracy character in 1931 and continued writing and drawing until his retirement in 1977. Locher left after four years in 1961, then returned in 1983, the same year that he won a Pulitzer Prize as an editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune. In 2005, Locher became the strip's artist and author.
Just as Gould based characters on residents of his hometown of Woodstock, Locher used real Naperville residents for inspiration. Naperville's mayor, George Pradel, and police chief, David Dial, have both appeared in the strip, although not under their actual names.
One of Locher's recent "Dick Tracy" characters — David Dierdorf D'Buckworth, a wealthy man who pretends to be homeless — is based on Scott Huber, a homeless man who lives on the streets of Naperville.
The community's police provided fodder for Locher and his son, who took turns riding in squad cars overnight to get color for the strip.
Last year, a 9-foot bronze statue of Dick Tracy was installed on the city's Riverwalk to honor Locher. Three years after the closing of the Chester Gould-Dick Tracy museum in Woodstock, Naperville is also considering opening a Dick Tracy gallery featuring panels by Locher and Gould.
The comic strip is more challenging now than it was for Gould, Locher said. Although Gould used five rows of panels for his Sunday strip, Locher must tell the story in only three. And though Gould's readers had few other entertainment options, the digital revolution has left Locher's readers with many.
The strip appeared in more than 650 newspapers by the 1960s. Tribune Media Services, which along with the Chicago Tribune, is part of Tribune Co., declined to say how many papers run "Dick Tracy" today, although the Tribune reported in 2008 it was about 50.
For fans, the news of Locher's retirement has prompted mixed feelings. They credit Locher with creating memorable villains and keeping the strip alive by returning in 1983 after the death of its previous cartoonist, Rick Fletcher, and continuing after the death of Locher's collaborator, Michael Kilian, in 2005.
"He stepped up out of friendship for his old mentor, out of love for the character, and out of an old-school loyalty to his employer," said Jim Doherty, a "Dick Tracy" fan who works as a railroad officer in the Chicago area.
But fans also said they were excited about artist Joe Staton and writer Mike Curtis taking over the strip. Their work will appear in papers the week of March 14. "Dick Tracy" fan Beau Kaelin, 30, of Shepherdsville, Ky., said that in recent years the strip "has felt empty," and police procedure "has come across as questionable."
Dick Tracy is known for staying current or even ahead of his time. He used forensic science long before the advent of "CSI" television shows. His two-way wrist was an early precursor to cellphones.
In recent years, the strip addressed such contemporary social issues as job security and sexual harassment. In 2006, Locher introduced a character called Al Kinda, a terrorist who was shot and killed before he could blow up the U.S. Capitol.
Yet Locher was careful not to shake things up too much. Every turning point in the storyline could spark controversy. In the early 1990s, when Tracy and his wife, the former Tess Trueheart, temporarily divorced, Locher got calls from reporters and dozens of letters from Dick Tracy readers.
Locher continued to create the strip through illness and heartache. Twelve years ago, he underwent radiation for nasal lymphoma, but never took time off. In 1986, his son, John, who was also his assistant, died at age 25.
Locher established a scholarship in his son's name for the best college cartoonists in North America. There have been more than 20 scholarship recipients, with 13 currently working as artists, including Steve Breen, who has won the Pulitzer Prize twice.
But the memory of his son still aches.
"He had more talent than I did," Locher said. "He was sharp. He knew story lines, knew how to fit the action to the story. He had so much to offer. There isn't an hour that goes by that I don't think about him."
Sam and Sara Lucchese create handmade pasta out of their kitchen-garage adjacent to their Ballard home. Here, they illustrate the final steps in making pappardelle pasta.
(The Associated Press) Fuel rules get support A Consumer Federation of America survey conducted in April found that a large majority of Americans R...
Post a comment | <urn:uuid:f79bd3f4-bf19-46a8-a0e5-de762994469e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seattletimes.com/html/books/2014320453_tracy28.html?prmid=related_stories_section | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977106 | 1,211 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Racism in Singapore
Recently the outcry against racism is getting louder. Many, even a minister, are raising issues of racism openly. Yes, there are incidents of racism in this island and there is nothing to hide, or better to sweep them under the carpet. The case of this elderly man berating his Indian neighbour for unpleasant smell, unhygienic lifestyle, and turning his flat into a squalor, has been given special prominence by the minister in his Facebook posting. What is the intent of the minister, to prove that there is racism, to use this as an issue in the national dialogue or to say that racism exists in little pockets in the society?
Short of saying that this elderly man’s IQ or EQ is suspect, that he did not find anything wrong complaining to Minister Shanmugam who is obviously an Indian, I just dunno what to say. With such a strange behavior from an elderly man, it is equally strange to trump this as a good example of racism. And the case only helps to confirm the mindset of those who see racism as a big issue in this island. And some took the opportunity to beat drums and gongs to the screams of, hear, hear, there is racism in Sinkieland.
And the drum and gong beaters are raising their pitch higher, which is very unfortunate. No one in his right mind will deny that there is racism here and everywhere in the world. It is a matter of degree and seriousness. No one will accept the racial slurs by the elderly man even he if he is not the average Sinkie man one encounters in the island and thus not excusable.
The point is this, is racism really a big issue in the island? Since 1969, has there been any racially incited conflict or killings, of people being attacked physically or verbally abused in public because of race? There were a handful of racist postings in the blogs by some hot young men and they were immediately taken to task by the police. And these were about the most serious incidents of racial discrimination one could find. It is quite embarrassing really.
What more can you ask for? For those who believe that this island is a racist place populated by a racist majority victimizing the minorities, why not choose a country that has a more pleasant environment where different races live in better harmony than in this little island? No we are not perfect, but trying to.
Yes, I am offended as a Sinkie. I seeing more accusation and agitation of racism in this country I called home. And no, I am not saying that there is no racism, but when they manifest, they are so mild and so few in between to warrant the sounding of a tsunami coming. There are bound to be a few bad hats in all communities. But the bad hats here don’t beat up people or shoot people with guns. This is Singapore, a multi culture and racial city state with no equals in the world as far as race relations is concerned.
Sinkies should feel offended when people keep harping about racism in the city and tell the racist off. Only racists go around seeing everything racist using their racist lens. | <urn:uuid:c800a7f6-3f0d-471b-89ae-0d1b3c734feb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2012/08/racism-in-singapore.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977847 | 646 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Granny says, "Kill dem Taliban, kill `em all...
Shot Pakistan girl Malala Yousafzai 'symbol of courage'
29 October 2012 - Doctors at the Birmingham hospital have said Malala is still weak but could make a good recovery
See also:Pakistan's interior minister has said a 15-year-old schoolgirl activist who was shot in the country by the Taliban is a "symbol of courage and determination" against "extremist ideology". Malala Yousafzai is recovering in hospital in Birmingham after being shot on school bus on 9 October. Doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital said she could make a good recovery. On Monday she was visited there by Pakistan minister Rehman Malik and UK Foreign Secretary William Hague. Mr Hague and Mr Malik, who were also accompanied by United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed, met surgeons and Malala's father Ziauddin.
'Acts of cowardice'
Mr Malik said the attack on Malala was "meant to tarnish the true face of Pakistan and to discourage those struggling for human liberties and for the democratisation of our society". He added: "Let me reassure our international friends that such acts of cowardice will not deter us and the whole Pakistani nation stands behind Malala and her cause." Mr Hague said Malala's "swift and full recovery is our absolute priority" and thanked the doctors at the hospital.
He added: "The people of Pakistan have paid a high price from terrorism and extremism. "We will stand by all those who, like Malala, are courageously defending the rights of women in Pakistan and around the world." Malala's father arrived at the hospital on Friday to visit his daughter, saying he believed she would "rise again" to pursue her dreams. He had revealed how the Pakistani president had taken the decision to move Malala because of the need for a safe environment for her recovery.
Doctors in Birmingham have said Malala is still weak but stands every chance of making a good recovery. The Pakistan Taliban said it carried out the attack because Malala was "promoting secularism". She had campaigned for the rights of girls to have an education and had written a diary for the BBC Urdu service when the Pakistan Taliban controlled her home area of Swat in 2009. Since the attack, the teenager has received thousands of goodwill messages from around the world.
British, Pakistani, UAE Officials Praise Wounded Pakistani Girl's 'Courage'
October 29, 2012 - Officials from Pakistan, Britain and the United Arab Emirates have visited the hospital where a Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban is being treated, calling her a symbol of courage and determination.
Pakistani Taliban gunmen opened fire on Malala Yousafzai on October 9, as she returned home from school in Pakistan's northwestern Swat Valley. The teenager was internationally known for speaking out in favor of girls' education and against the militant group who had taken over her hometown three years ago. On Monday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed and Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik visited Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the British city of Birmingham. Malala Yousafzai has been at the hospital for the past two weeks and remains in stable condition after being shot in the head and neck. She is able to talk and to walk with help.
The British Foreign Office said the ministers met the hospital's medical director and Yousafzai's father, who arrived in Britain last week with the girl's mother and two brothers. He said Malala will return to Pakistan after she recovers. Hague told reporters Monday ``I pay tribute, first of all, to her, and to the extraordinary example that she has shown to everybody across the world in the cause of education, the rights of women, I think she is an inspiration now not only to the people of Pakistan but all over the world.'' Zayed said the people of the UAE were "appalled" by what happened to Malala and that is why the UAE provided the air ambulance to transport her from Pakistan to Britain for further medical treatment.
Zayed added that "Malala's courage inspires us to reinforce our commitment to rejecting ideologies rooted in intolerance and extremism." The minister said "by helping Malala, whose courage we applaud, the UAE is also voicing its firm belief in the right of girls to education everywhere." Pakistan's Rehman Malik said his government is thankful to Britain and the UAE for their "strong support to Malala and to Pakistan." Malik said the attack on Malala was "meant to tarnish the true face of Pakistan and to discourage those struggling for human liberties and for the democratization of our society." The Pakistani interior minister said "such acts of cowardice will not deter us, and the whole Pakistani nation stands behind Malala and her cause." He noted that "we will do whatever possible to take Pakistan on the path of peace and moderation, as envisioned by our founding fathers." | <urn:uuid:566f6478-8b37-45e2-9080-edfbb7289d5f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thepoliticalforums.com/threads/7287-Tens-of-Thousands-of-Pakistanis-Demonstrate-Against-Taliban?p=183025 | 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 | 0.96866 | 1,013 | 1.773438 | 2 |
By Derrick Perkins
Not quite a month after the election, West End residents Veronica Calzada and Hector Pineda sit at their table and wonder whether affordable housing will become a forgotten issue, discarded on the campaign trail.
“They have all of these promises, but once they’re in office, they ignore us,” said Calzada, speaking through a translator. “This is the same kind of attitude [taken] by other city council members in the past. They don’t seem to care. We are asking that they have a more humanitarian attitude.”
Pineda, president of the tenants association, studiously folds and refolds a scrap of paper while his wife speaks. He occasionally shushes the couple’s children when they get too noisy playing video games in the Beauregard corridor apartment they have shared for about eight years.
Since real estate giant JBG bought the property, rent has risen along with everyday fees, Pineda said. Residents struggled to make ends meet even before city officials approved a plan in the spring that paves the way for the neighborhood’s redevelopment.
If the increased cost of living doesn’t force them out, the new development outlined in the controversial Beauregard small area plan will, Pineda said.
City planners, working with the area’s major property owners, envision more open space, retail opportunities and traffic upgrades in exchange for increased density. But redevelopment also will mean the displacement of thousands — perhaps tens of thousands — of residents.
Estimates vary depending on who provides the figures. Officials admit redevelopment will push out as many as 2,500 residents during a 30-year period but ultimately will preserve upward of 1,400 affordable apartments. Critics contend around 10,000 neighborhood residents will be forced out of the corridor.
At stake is one of the last bastions of naturally affordable housing in the city. In 2001, Alexandria was home to about 18,000 apartments deemed affordable — attainable by a family making 60 percent or less of the region’s median income — but the supply has dwindled to around 5,600 units this year.
The Beauregard debate highlighted the city’s delicate balancing act to preserve affordable housing. By offering incentives — like increased density — officials secured apartments for low-income residents. Those same units might disappear if landowners opted for by-right redevelopment, which officials have little to no control over.
“Development is going to occur if we do nothing or if we adopt this plan,” said Mary Lyman of the planning commission in May. “The city is very limited in what it can do.”
Pineda understands the mayor — or any member of the city government — can’t simply snap a finger and create affordable housing or prevent neighborhood redevelopment.
But they could try harder, he said.
“Where [is] the local government … to protect this community? I know they can’t do whatever they want, but they can also ask [for more],” Pineda said. “Let’s work together.”
While the Beauregard corridor debate forced the issue of affordable housing — and the lack thereof — into the city council and mayoral debates, Calzada and Pineda worry newly elected and re-elected officials will forget about affordable housing and the neighborhood.
“As residents, as human beings, we’re fighting for something that belongs to us,” Calzada said. “We live in this city; we pay our taxes here. I don’t want to move. I want to live here.”
Though they have faced the brunt of resident criticism for fostering redevelopment, city officials recognize the loss of affordable housing — natural and subsidized — in Alexandria.
They unveiled a multipronged strategy to staunch the bleeding Friday, the culmination of a years-long effort to draft a comprehensive housing plan. The blueprint calls for — among other initiatives — a mix of incentives for private developers to set aside affordable units; teaming with Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority and local nonprofits to rehabilitate units and fund new construction projects; and loans and financial counseling for residents.
But rebuilding Alexandria’s affordable housing supply will take time, said Mildrilyn Davis, director of the office of housing.
“One of the problems is that the market-rate affordable units, which we have no control over, have really been dwindling,” she said. “Anything we do, we’re playing catch-up. … We’re hoping to preserve what’s already there.”
A redevelopment project spearheaded by Arlington-based AHC Inc. on East Reed Avenue represents a lone bright spot. City Hall agreed to give the nonprofit a $250,000 loan in October, which will go toward erecting a 77-unit building — the largest infusion of affordable housing in recent memory.
The loan, which will only be paid back if the project succeeds, is a tactic the housing plan encourages, Davis said.
But officials learned about the potential sale of Hunting Towers — another bastion of naturally affordable housing — the same week that AHC’s project went before the planning commission. While redevelopment of the riverside complex remains unlikely, new owners could raise rents, officials warned when news broke about a buyer.
There’s little time to protect affordable housing in those shoreline buildings, Davis said, but given the lengthy schedule to redevelop the Beauregard corridor, opportunities to help residents may arise.
“Beauregard is going to play out over a very long period of time, and there may be some things in this plan that will result in more units that will [serve as] a replacement housing resource for some of those people,” she said. “We’re also working separately on Beauregard. Hunting Towers, we don’t know yet what precisely is going to happen, but we certainly will want to be involved in finding a solution.”
Organizing for the future
City officials, Davis among them, will host a series of town hall meetings to get the public’s reactions to the affordable housing blueprint, beginning early next year. But Calzada, Pineda and their neighbors want to keep the issue — and the plight of Beauregard residents — in the spotlight.
Joined by their neighbors, the West End couple protested outside of a Commercial Real Estate Association event in Washington honoring JBG in October. During the lead-up to the election, tenants handed out fliers at debates and forums, highlighting their struggle.
And they have more demonstrations planned, including an event Monday to coincide with Human Rights Day. The situation is growing desperate, Pineda said.
“We want to enjoy the new area — the new schools, the new fire station. I see the future, but I don’t think the future is for this community,” he said. “The community that lives here, I don’t think there is a future for our community.” | <urn:uuid:cca2f38a-3e6a-4ea7-b559-cdf1495df3ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://alextimes.com/2012/12/residents-fear-displacement-as-city-releases-master-housing-plan/?pagenum=4&sort=id&dir=DESC | 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 | 0.949774 | 1,485 | 1.757813 | 2 |
And you have to wonder why Enfield designed the Pattern 1914 if the LE was so great?
Can't let that one go ... I have discussed this many times in the past. The reason was that a faction within the British MOD and Ministry misunderstood the success of some Boer tactics during that war and attributed it to the rifle - namely the Mauser. This was inherently wrong, but the power play that existed at that time led to a push by certain factions within defense to attempt a rifle based on the Mauser design.
Please note, that as soon as WW1 started, as soon as the SMLE saw action in the first few weeks of the war, reports from soldiers and commanders at the front, overwhelmingly approved the success and superiority of the SMLE. This is precisely why the P14 never saw the light of anything but rear echelon duty after that, and at best a limited sniping role. The P14 was a home guard weapon in the end.
If the P14 was such a success, why did Britain not take the time to tool up for mass production of the P14 during the intervening peace years leading up to WW2? It is because the SMLE was a proven battle rifle in ruggedness, accuracy and design. Instead, the MOD merely tweaked the existing Lee Enfield to produce the rifle No4 Mk1 - there had been zero continuing interest in the P14 since the early weeks of WW1.
So a better question for this argument would be ... and you have to wonder why Enfield did not pursue the P14 if the P14 was great? The P14 was a short lived experiment ... it was a dead end as far as the British MOD were concerned as soon as the SMLE got into action during the early weeks of WW1.
( For anyone else who encounters arguments about the P14 in future, feel free to cut and paste the text above - I do get tired of retyping it every 6 months ... ) | <urn:uuid:de442c1f-395c-422d-a4a0-607861bccdc0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5235713&postcount=107 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982136 | 403 | 1.570313 | 2 |
I am having a hard time keeping my 9 year old son under control. I was searching around on the web, and I found this discipline plan that I think might work for him. Has anyone else ever used this? (I am not sure what it called, but I will put the link below) http://Lynmccartney.vidgraphpri.click2sell.eu
He is not really "bad" just likes to be the center of attention ALL of the time.
I am a professional counselor and the best online resource is Dr. Hyde's One Week Parenting Miracle. Major universities have done research, it is simple, straight forward, worth your time.
Remember that negative attention will increase negative behavior. The best thing to do for a nine year old boy is to set clear expectations and clear consequences. That sounds simple, but you must follow through.
I really like the timeout principle, but it must be done a certain way. I prefer to ahve parents use the bathroom for the time spot. It is boring and they cannot use the excuse "I have to go to the bathroom to get out" Boring is a great consequence for a child seeking attention. After the time out review what happened and tell him you love him.
Remember that you can always increase time if they do not change their behavior.
Here is that resource. | <urn:uuid:7d990e3e-a240-4789-913f-96f74a8ff61c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.parenting.com/showthread.php?35101-Discipline-!!&p=115491 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948586 | 277 | 1.601563 | 2 |
NEW YORK, NY.-
March 15th kicks off the fifth year of Asia Week New York
, the extraordinary eight-day extravaganza that brings to New York a glorious array of prized Asian works of art, displayed in specially-curated simultaneous exhibitions at 43 galleries throughout the metropolitan area. The event draws an international coterie of collectors, curators and enthusiasts from every corner of the globe. Says Henry Howard-Sneyd, Chairman of Asia Week New York 2013 and Sotheby's Vice-Chairman Asian Art, Americas: Asia Week is a crescendo of events we are proud to bring to New York. They augment the citys already rich cultural holdings with worldclass Asian art exhibitions, many of which might be worthy of display in any one of the city's top-tier museums.
Asia Week New York unites an illustrious roster of 43 international Asian art specialiststhe largest number to datealong with five major auction houses and 17 world-renowned museums and Asian cultural institutions. All work together towards a singular purpose: that of weaving Asian art into the cultural fabric of New York and beyond. Asia Week New York is a cosmopolitan event, says Howard-Sneyd, so it's only fitting that it takes place in one of the world's most cosmopolitan and cultured cities. For discerning, in-the-know collectors, curators, scholars and Asian art enthusiasts from all around the world, it has become an essential destination in March.
According to Howard-Sneyd, Asia Week New York launches with a private, by invitation only reception at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Asia Week New York exhibitions, which are open and free to the public, will reveal the rarest and finest Asian exemplars of porcelain, jewelry, textiles, paintings, ceramics, sculpture, bronzes, prints, photographs and jades, representing artistry, ingenuity and imagination from every quarter and period of Asia. Organized by category, Asia Week New Yorks participating galleries are:
CHINESE ANCIENT THROUGH CONTEMPORARY ART
By way of Los Angeles appears Treasured Objects of Contemplation, organized by the Asian Art Studio and on view in the Fuller Building at 41 East 57th Street, 7th floor. Among the riches is a very rare 17th-century gilt-copper hand-warmer, signed Yunjian Hu Wenming Zhi and dating from the Ming Dynasty. This is the only hand-warmer by the renowned artisan of such unusually large size and shape.
At Dickinson Roundell, Inc., 19 East 66th Street, Dr. Robert R. Bigler proudly cuts the ribbon on Art and Faith at the Crossroads: Tibeto-Chinese Buddhist Images and Ritual Implements from the 12th to the 15th Century. The display is the culmination of 10 years of investigation on the part of the dedicated Swiss dealer-researcher and the first privately organized comprehensive exhibition on this topic. Sixty objects will be on view, most for the first time, including a Ming bodhisattva dating from the second quarter of the 15th century.
Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc., 724 Fifth Avenue, 10th floor, presents Spring Exhibition of Chinese Art, which possesses a particularly noteworthy objet d'art: a fine late-17th-century Chinese Imperial blue and white quadrangular porcelain vase decorated with scenes and verses from The Ode to the Red Cliff and bearing the very rare Kangxi reign mark. Of the two other known examples, one is in the Shanghai Museum, and the second is in the private collection of an American.
To beguile the eye of discerning Asia Week New York collectors, China 2000 Fine Art, 177 East 87th Street, Suite 601, unveils Recent Acquisitions and Selections From the Gallery Collection, featuring a Jade Scroll Weight from the Yongzheng period (1722-1735). This weight has an unusual characteristic: a secondary purpose as a scroll holder. It is itself designed to resemble the shape of a half-opened scroll, revealing a carved branch of plum blossoms, bamboo and rock.
Contemporary artist Tai Xiangzhou shines fresh light on classical Chinese art forms as evidenced by Magnificence Within: New Ink Paintings, an exhibition of 15 new ink works, three of them in the highly coveted hand-scroll format, at The Chinese Porcelain Company, 475 Park Avenue at 58th Street. Since Tais American debut at Asia Week New York two years ago, subsequent exhibitions of his intricate masterpieces have never failed to win applause due to the sheer beauty of his work and dedication to time-honored techniques of Chinese art, with a contemporary twist. All works in this exhibition drew inspiration from a single scholar's rock, which stands a mere two inches tall and will be on view at the show.
Through the auspices of Nicholas Grindley, who divides his time between New York and Beijing, lands a gilt bronze figure of Avalokitesvara, the only piece of sculpture in an exhibition of Chinese Scholars Objects at Hazlitt Gooden & Fox, 17 East 76th Street. The 17th-century figure is seated and clad in finely cast robes left open at the chest to reveal an ornately jeweled necklace above the waist-tied dhoti, the borders incised with floral scroll. On the broad face are downcast eyes and crisp features, surmounted by an elaborate tall coiffure and a tiered crown. Originally from the collection of Robert and Jean Shoenberg of St. Louis, Missouri, this was practically the only piece of Chinese art in a collection that included important African and Oceanic art and important modern American paintings. The sculpture has recently been in a private collection in Hong Kong.
Chinese Works of Art & Paintings, presented by Michael C. Hughes LLC at the Mark Murray Gallery, 39 East 72nd Street, 5th floor, has as its centerpiece a rare calligraphy handscroll dated 1849 and bearing the inscription Imperial Brush, meaning that the Daoguang Emperor painted it himself. The four large characters, inscribed on a gold-leaf-flecked paper, read Yong Shou Fan Li (blessed by prosperity and happiness).
Unfurling a rich array of Chinese snuff bottles, jade and Buddhist works of art is Portland, Oregon's Jadestone. In their exhibition From Curiosity to Devotion, on display at the Fuller Building, 41 East 57th Street, 9th floor, a star specimen is a fine overlay glass snuff bottle from Yangzhou, China, dating from sometime between 1830 and 1890. This exquisite object stands 2 1/8 inches tall.
Exhibiting at the Mark Hotel, 25 East 77th Street, Andrew Kahane, Ltd. of New York, is pleased to show a selection of Chinese Ceramics from American private collections that are particularly strong in the Song period. One of the less common forms is a small Junyao pale blue-glazed bud-form jar dating from the 11th-12th century, which typifies the subtle refinement of shape and color of monochromes of the period.
Kaikodo LLC at 74 East 79th Street, Suite 14B, salutes Asia Week New York with Welcoming the Spring, an exhibition of traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean paintings and works of art. One of the rarest paintings being offered is a beautifully preserved 12thcentury Chinese figure painting of a scholar in a spring garden setting. In addition two contemporary artists will be featured: Luo Jianwu and Zhu Daoping.
At J. J. Lally & Co., 41 East 57th Street, 14th floor, extraordinary vases, wine ewers, tea bowls and other vessels produced during the Golden Age of Chinese ceramics will delight viewers at the exhibition Song Dynasty Ceramics: The Ronald W. Longsdorf Collection. Created by an American who began to acquire Chinese art more than 30 years ago, the collection includes examples from some of the most famous kilns of the Song period (960-1279). One highlight is an elegantly carved openwork Qingbai-glazed porcelain censer.
Empress Dowager Cixi was a formidable and charismatic lady who unofficially but effectively controlled the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China for 47 years, from 1861 until her death in 1908. Thanks to Santos-London and its exhibition 16th- to 19th-Century Chinese Export and Imperial Porcelains at the Arader Galleries, 29 East 72nd Street, Asia Week New York participants can clap eyes on a Chinese Imperial porcelain bowl that bears marks indicating that it was made for the storied empress's palace. Dressing this winsome vessel are peonies, branches entwined with wisteria and a myna bird, all produced in opaque enamels and all in the delicate Famille Rose palette.
Chinese Abstraction Now is Martha Sutherlands focus at her eponymous gallery, M. Sutherland Fine Arts, Ltd., 55 East 80th Street, 2nd floor. No painting epitomizes the title of her show more than Abstraction No. 4, 2007, by Zhu Jin Shi, one of the few Chinese artists to practice German Abstractionism during the Cultural Revolution and a living bridge between the China of Mao and the China of now. His painting technique is characterized by highly saturated color and almost impossibly thick impasto.
Headquartered in Brussels at the Sablon, Wei Asian Arts treats Asia Week New York participants to two exhibitions at Trinity House Paintings, 24 East 64th Street, 2nd floor: Devotion and Protection: Miniatures from Mongolia & Buriatia gives prominence to a fine group of miniature thangkas from Mongolia and Buriatia, while Works of Art from Ancient China places a rare Guanyin Bodhisattva Bronze at center stage. It is from Yunnan Province and dates to the 13th century.
Zetterquist Galleries, 3 East 66th Street, unwraps a collection of Jizhou ceramics, mostly from one Asian collection, that were judiciously assembled over the last 25 years. The gallery's exhibition, Jizhou Ceramics Song-Yuan Dynasty, offers a rarefied opportunity, be it in a gallery or a museum setting, to view more than 30 masterworks from the Northern Song through Yuan Dynasties, all originating from a single type of kiln.
INDIAN, HIMALAYAN, AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN WORKS OF ART
Walter Arader Himalayan Arts gilt bronze figure of the Bonpo deity Kunzang Akhor stands out in his exhibition, Fine Himalayan Bronze, at 1016 Madison Avenue. This 13th-century bronze is, according to Jeff Watt, founding curator of the Rubin Museum of Art, one of the finest known works of Bonpo art and by far the largest known statue, evidencing the characteristic broad shoulders, muscular physique, honey-brown patina, and well-defined toes and fingers unique to the Khasa Malla Kingdom of West Nepal.
Showing at Isselbacher Gallery, 41 East 78th Street, is Art Passages of San Francisco and its exhibition Krishna: The Divine Dalliance. Evoking a particularly compelling allure is the painting Krishna Watches Radha, circa 1760. It was painted in the mature Kishangarh style of the mid-18th century and has a wonderful mystical and atmospheric quality.
Direct from Paris alights Galerie Jacques Barrere, offering The Kaufman Collection at Gallery M&M, 34 East 67th Street. One of the highlights is Green Tara, a gilt bronze from Tibet that was created between the 14th and 15th centuries. Aristocratic, athletic and willowy all at the same time, Tara is seated in a position of royal ease with her right leg extended, attired in a noble costume. Bracelets of opulent jewels that adorn her arms, wrists and ankles complete the bewitching effect.
Prahlad Bubbar, here from London, is unveiling Indian Court Paintings: Recent Acquisitions, at 1016 Madison Avenue. Among the many breathtaking offerings is one of very special significance: A work dated 1823 that is an exceptionally rare and arresting example of a painting (depicting a gentleman named Seth Manekchand) in the traditional miniature style but executed in quite a large format at 29 by 21 inches.
The Berlin-based gallery Buddhist Art at the Arader Galleries, 29 East 72nd Street, is putting on display 15 Centuries of Chinese, Khmer and Southeast Asian Art, featuring a 14th-century bronze head of Buddha from the Lanna Kingdom in what is now known as Thailand. Bearing no damage and no restoration, and formerly in a renowned Thai collection, this life-size, museum-quality piece impresses with spectacular detail and patina.
Fine Himalayan and Indian Art Central Asian Textiles will be on view at 1016 Madison Avenue, 4th floor, courtesy of the Brussels-based gallery of Carlo Cristi. Of particular note is the richly saturated Heruka mandala made for the Bardo ritual, the transitional stage time between death and reincarnation. Among the very earliest mandalas known to exist, this one is from the early 13th century and has distinctions not seen in later mandalas.
The London gallery of Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch, Ltd is mounting Indian Painting 1580-1850, featuring Vishnu and Lakshmi Flying Through a Landscape on the Wings of Garuda and landing just in time for Asia Week New York at 9 East 82nd Street, Suite 1A. Artist Achhai Ram of Bikaner, India, created this enchanting miniature watercolor, heightened with gold on paper, sometime around 1675 to 1700. The desert kingdom of Bikaner produced remarkable court painters, and Ram's work is among the best.
Christophe Hioco sails in from Paris with An Amazing Diversity of Ancient Indian Art: Recent Acquisitions of Dong Son and Champa Pieces, on view at 29 East 72nd Street. Among the best objects is an exceptional bronze Vietnamese pitcher with a makarahead spout from the Giao-Chi era, a period lasting from the first century B.C. to the third century A.D. Two similar examples reside in the Brussels Museum and the Metropolitan Museum, in ceramic and bronze respectively.
Gods and Monsters: Recent Acquisitions of Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asia Works of Art is the intriguing title bestowed on the Asia Week New York offerings by Nayef Homsi at 1016 Madison Avenue, 3rd floor. Among the highlights is the Cult of the Stupa, a gorgeous 2ndcentury carving from the ancient region of Gandhara, depicting a donor figure and a Bodhisattva worshiping at either side of a richly ornamented stupa with a Corinthian capital motif above intertwining snakes and overflowing pots.
Krishna Lifts Mount Govardhan is a compelling and powerful painting among the works in Cherished Gods at Kapoor Galleries, Inc., 1015 Madison Avenue. The circa-1750 portrayal from Basohli, India, depicts Krishna hoisting Mount Govardhan aloft as cow herders and cattle scurry underneath for shelter from the torrential rains brought down upon them by Indra. A magnificent composition rendered by the hand of an unknown master, this painting comes from the collection of the pre-eminent scholar, Dr. Alice Boney (1889-1981).
In an exhibition entitled Jewels from the Asian World at Valentina Gallery Inc., 960 Madison Avenue, 2nd floor, London jewelry specialist Susan Ollemans Oriental Art will offer a top-tier collection of Chinese jewelry that spans the 11th to the 16th centuries, bookended by the Liao and Ming Dynasties. Among the spectacular jewels is an 18th-century navaratna necklace from North India with nine stones, each representing a planet and which, in concert, are believed to bring harmony to the wearer.
The exhibition Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art at Carlton Rochell Asian Art, 121 East 71st Street, touts among its 25 sculptures and paintings Scenes of Milarepas Life, a late 17th-century Eastern Tibet work that was exhibited in the Rubin Museums 2009 presentation of Himalayan art from the prestigious collection of David R. Nalin. Published in the accompanying catalog, the work depicts one of the most beloved figures of Tibetan Buddhism, Milarepa, who was able to overcome the despair of a troubled youth and attain enlightenment as an adult.
In an exhibition organized by London's John Siudmak Asian Art and titled Indian and Himalayan Sculpture, an Andagu plaque takes the spotlight. On display at C.G. Boerner Gallery, 23 East 73rd Street, this rare work in pale yellow phyllite from Burma shows the eight stages of the life of the Buddha and dates from around the 12th or 13th century. It is one of about 20 recorded complete examples, of which several are in American museums, with the rest divided between the Potala Palace in Lhasa and various locations in Burma.
Under the title After Alexander: Works of Art from Hellenized Asia, the Dalton Somaré Gallery from Milan pulls back the curtain on a thematic exhibition featuring 23 Indo-Greek, Greek-Bactrian and Gandharan works of art, all on view at the Pace Gallery, 32 East 57th Street. Among the exemplars of this collection is a spectacular gold wreath with oak leaves created in one of the Greek settlements in Bactria around the 2nd century B.C.
At Arader Galleries, 29 East 72nd Street, London's Jonathan Tucker Antonia Tozer Asian Art is mounting an exhibition entitled An Important Group of Sculptures from India and Southeast Asia. Among them is a large terra-cotta head of a Bodhisattva in Hadda style from the 4th or 5th century. The Gandhara head bears a tranquil, dreamlike expression, has wavy, swept-back hair and wears heavy pendant earrings.
Nancy Wiener Gallery presents Recent Acquisitions this year at the Jack Tilton Gallery, 8 East 76th Street. Highlighted here is Krishna and Radha in a Moonlight Tryst, an illustration of the famed 12th-century Indian epic poem The Gita Govinda, which recounts the story of the god Krishnas relationship with his human lover, Radha. This exquisite folio is from the acclaimed circa-1775 series widely recognized for its unparalleled artistic excellence.
A Kubera of black schist plays a starring role at the exhibition Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art, Chinese Snuff Bottles and Japanese Netsuke, originating from the San Francisco-based Xanadu Gallery and on view at the Arader Galleries, 29 East 72nd Street. This item dates from the Pala dynasty in 11th-century India and is an exceptionally fine and very rare carving of the god of wealth and regent of the North.
JAPANESE AND KOREAN ANCIENT THROUGH CONTEMPORARY ART
Gallery Schlesinger, 24 East 73rd Street, 2nd floor, is home to Japanese Art: Pre-Modern and Beyond, brought to these shores compliments of BachmannEckenstein JapaneseArt of Basel, Switzerland. A standout of particularly striking beauty is an ink and color silk hanging scroll signed and sealed by its creator, Chinese and haiku poet Fukuda Kodojin (1865-1944). The verse on the scroll reads: Cold stones in the water/Green pine trees in a deep valley/Two recluses beneath a pair of pine trees/What a good luck: footprints on the stones!
The golden age of ceramic-making in Japan comes vibrantly alive in Chinese Ink/Japanese Clay: The Best of Two Worlds, presented by Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd. at Hollis Taggart Galleries, 958 Madison Avenue. The highlights include works by Nagae Shigekazu, Wada Morihiro, Kawabata Kentaro and Nakamura Takuo, whose Water Jar, made of stoneware with enamels and gold lacquer, is pictured. Juxtaposed with the ceramics are 30 ink paintings by master artist Li Huisheng.
Present Meets Past: Japanese & Chinese Works of Art & Koichiro Kurita Platinum Photographs is New York-based Carole Davenports exhibition at Leigh Morse Fine Arts, 22 East 80th Street, 5th floor. Sublime platinum-palladium photographs by Koichiro Kurita create the backdrop for a selection of traditional Japanese and Chinese works of art. Round360, which atmospherically captures nature untouched by man, was executed in 2001 in Boundary Water, Minnesota, using vintage techniques and large-size negatives, Kurita's signature approach to photography.
Quiet renderings in pastel enamels of Mount Fuji rising over huts, pines and a waterwheel: this bucolic tableau decorates a pair of spectacular silver-mounted cloisonné vases, courtesy of Flying Cranes Antiques, Ltd, whose exhibition, Recent Acquisitions: Treasured Artwork from 19th-Century Japan, can be seen in Gallery 58 at 1050 Second Avenue, New York. Presented in 1932 as a 10th anniversary prize from the Horse Association in Nagoya, the foot-tall vases are enclosed in a velvet-covered box with original wood stands and enticingly evidence moriage and musen techniques. They were created by Gonda Hirosuke, a premier cloisonné master.
At Kang Collection Korean Art, 9 East 82nd Street, a selection of paintings, screens and scholars objects will be on view under the inviting title Royal Splendor: Decorative Court Paintings of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). One of many highlights is an early 20th-century, eight-panel, ink on color paper folding screen from Korea, depicting Books and Scholar Accoutrements. Such screens were used to symbolize knowledge and wealth, particularly during the reign of King Jeongjo (1776-1800), and were found behind the desks of notable men, and of those who aspired to be such.
Hailing all the way from Melbourne, Australia, is Lesley Kehoe Galleries, treating Asia Week New York visitors to Deconstructing Tradition: Contemporary Japan Maio Motoko & Unryuan Katamura Tatsuo, on view at 41 East 57th Street, 5th floor. Pictured is Fleeting Moments, a pair of folding screens, one of eight panels and the other of five, by Maio Motoko. Through a dazzling use of antique silk textile fragments, the artist explores the diverse and momentary constituents of human existence.
Objects Revered: Korean Art from American Collections, presented by KooNew York at the Mark Murray Gallery, 39 East 72nd Street, 5th floor, features choice works assembled by private mid-twentieth-century collectors who lived abroad in Korea. On view are exceptional Buddhist sculptures and paintings dating from the Joseon Dynasty (1392~1910), along with a wide offering of unique pottery and roof tiles from the Three Kingdoms Period (57 BC~668 AD). Highlights heralding from a private Florida-family collection include a rare Pair of Polychrome Wood Buddhist Attendants and a Gilt Lacquered Wood Seated Buddha. Among only a handful of extant examples to discovered in the West, these three noteworthy 18th/19th century sculptures exemplify the Buddhist devotional ritual for placing sacred texts and objects inside a reliquary statue following its carving.
Concluding its year-long 35th-anniversary celebration, New York-based Joan B. Mirviss Ltd, 39 East 78th Street, has something extra special to spotlight: Seven Sages of Ceramics: Modern Japanese Masters, a ground-breaking exhibition of 40 major ceramic works that showcase the range and depth of seven modern masters of clay whose work is enormously celebrated in Japan but, until now, has remained largely unknown in the West. Pictured is a large vessel with blue enamel glazed banding created in 1976 by Kamoda Shoji (1933-1983), one of the featured artists who drew upon centuries of tradition to create a new vision of function through innovative designs that have inspired countless contemporary artists.
Scholten Japanese Art at 145 West 58th Street, Suite 6D, presents Asia Week New York enthusiasts with The Nightlife: Entertainments of the Floating World, a captivating compendium of images illustrating traditional Japanese leisure activities like kabuki, sumo wrestling and taking tea at a teahouse. The highlight is a lovely small 17th-century six-panel screen that depicts female shrine dancer Izumo no Okuni, who is credited with originating Kabuki Theater, which, ironically, later became restricted to male actors only.
Taisho Period Screens and Scrolls | Contemporary Sculptures by Sueharu Fukami, on view at the Erik Thomsen Gallery, 23 East 67th Street, will feature a stunning pair of six-panel folding screens, which are sure to grab the attention of Asia Week New York attendees. These screens, entitled Vying Peacocks, date from the Taisho Period (circa 1929) and are from the masterful hand of Ishizaki Koyo (1884-1947), who used ink and mineral colors on a silk ground with gold leaf to complete these masterpieces of Japanese decorative art. Each measures 67 inches tall by 190 inches wide.
All the way from Kyoto arrives a scroll landscape painting on silk by Nakabayashi Chikkei (1816-1867). It's one of the Selections of Japanese Art that Hiroshi Yanagi Oriental Art will have on view at Arader Galleries, 1016 Madison Avenue, 2nd floor. The painting, dated 1861, is one of Chikkei's largest works, and in contrast to his other efforts (mostly in ink and in a subdued palette), this one is fully and vibrantly colored. | <urn:uuid:70b3ba6e-c851-4333-8999-14dd278cfad9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=60692&int_modo=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930556 | 5,440 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Barnet Rubenstein 1923-2002
I recently received a wonderful essay from a former student of Barney Rubenstein who is generous and kind enough to share some of his experience studying with Barnet Rubenstein. Barney (as he was known) was an important figurative painter in Boston, painting primarily still-life, often painting take-out food containers, cardboard boxes, jars of cookies, and arrangements of fruits and flowers. Barney taught at the Boston Museum School for 30 years. He showed at Boston’s Alpha Gallery and had a show at the Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts in 1979 as well as a major retrospective at the Rose Art Museum in 1997 showing four decades of work.
Regretfully, I could only find limited amount of his work online, as I find more images I will put them up here at some later date. I would love to include any information or images that anyone might wish to share. There is an excellent obituary and tribute written by Carl Belz at his Left Bank Art Blog. Carl Belz is Director Emeritus of the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University. Carl Belz stated in this blog post that:
Throughout his life—in his art, in his teaching, and in the stories he memorably told—Barney communicated a deep respect for art’s recent and distant past. In this he followed the model he learned as a student at the Museum School more than a half century ago, and he in turn gifted it to the generations of aspiring artists who studied with him, just as he gifted it to countless colleagues and friends, which was always with boundless generosity. He extended the same respect to the humble objects he painted—the fruits and flowers, the cookies and jars and boxes—patiently articulating each of them with nature’s life-giving light and attendant color. We know the pictures came about through painstaking effort and were hard to part with, but we don’t feel that effort when looking at them. We feel instead their joy and wonder, how they justify themselves by merely existing, and we in turn feel as though their maker was grateful simply for the opportunity to bring them into being. Such is the gift of art when it is practiced at its highest level, which is the way Barney practiced and gifted it, and a supreme gift it remains.
REMEMBERING BARNEY RUBENSTEIN by Richard Dean
Before saying anything about Barney I should first say that I’m very aware that (a) memory is fallible, (b) it was a long time ago, and (c) plenty of other people knew Barney better and for longer than I did. Maybe some of them, reading this, will come forward with their own memories and reflections. I hope so.
The Boston Museum School in the mid- 70s was a pretty rough and ready, free and easy kind of place. Once they got the exorbitant $3000 or so that it cost to go there in those days you were pretty much on your own. Students came and went, no one kept a register of attendance, staff brought booze into tutorials and basically you did what you felt like doing, which in my case was goofing off, mostly.
I wasn’t very happy at the Museum School but I stayed for two years and the main reason I stayed was so I could hang around Barney Rubenstein.
Barney (nobody ever called him “Barnet”) was the benign presence around which the noise and life of the Museum School swirled. You might not know who the Principal or the Dean or whatever he was called was, but everyone knew Barney. With his moustache drooping over his mouth, to which a cigarette was permanently attached, his glasses hanging from a chain around his neck, with his Staff ID worn upside down and his, um, deeply relaxed dress sense, you couldn’t miss him. He spoke in a low, slow, drawling voice and you listened because he had been everywhere, had met everyone and had seen everything, apparently. He’d been to France! He lived at the Chelsea Hotel! He knew famous artists! Wow, this guy is the real deal, we thought, and we were right.
As a teacher Barney had no particular agenda; he showed up, he talked, you listened and you learned. He dropped hints, made suggestions, he negotiated with you. “Why do you put that black line around everything?” he asked me once. Because it makes the picture look modern, like a Léger, I said. “Well, it doesn’t. It’s kind of… boring. Maybe, um, you shouldn’t do that”; which from Barney meant that you should absolutely, definitely, positively cease and desist at once from what you were doing and never, ever, return to that particular piece of folly. I dropped that black line like the bad habit it was.
Barney wasn’t one to grab the brush out of your hands and show you “how” to do it. We understood that Barney knew all about how to do it and the various ways one might do it and he wanted us to learn for ourselves how it might be done, not to just obey orders from some authority figure. As a serious artist, he treated his students as colleagues to be consulted, not as inferiors awaiting his instruction.
Grapes, Pear, Apple, 1984, pencil and colored pencil on paper, 10 x 15
Sunflowers and a Rose, late 1990′s, pencil and colored pencil on paper, private collection
He was the least egoistic of teachers; he wanted to hear about your ideas and intentions a lot more than he wanted you to hear about his. We were mostly young kids, fresh out of high school. Barney was the first grown up who ever took us seriously and was interested in what we were saying and that means a lot to a young person.
In art, Barney had very broad taste. Personally he liked Peto and Harnett and Balthus but he also liked Rauschenberg and Guston and Alice Neel and Richard Estes and Robert Smithson. He told me about how good Sylvia Mangold, who was just starting out then, was but he told me about Robert Mangold too.
He made us laugh. “What were you doing, living for so long in Aix-en-Provence like Cézanne?” someone asked. “Looking for his paint rags” Barney said. One night Gabriel Laderman arrived at some Boston Museum event in this flaming red shirt. “So, are you a follower of Garibaldi now?” asked Barney. I didn’t quite get the reference but I knew it was funny.
Interior / Exterior, oil on canvas, 1981-87
For his students Barney became a model for what a real artist should be. Real artists should work hard, should be open to ideas and experience, should ask questions and look for answers. Real artists didn’t take anything too seriously except for their work, which was absolutely serious and real artists didn’t pay any attention to fashion or fame. Real artists looked at everything and knew the whole history of art and kept on learning, always. Art was slow and real artists took their time.
In those days the Museum School and the Boston MFA were boiling hot beds of Greenbergian formalism. According to the Contemporary Art Department of the MFA the only people who mattered were Tony Caro and Ken Noland and Jules Olitski and any painting that wasn’t Color Field didn’t matter, especially if it was representational. Barney paid no attention to any of that stuff, he built an 8 foot square wooden frame and divided it with a grid of string and set it up on the studio floor between his still life set up and his painting table and got to work like it was 1500 and he was Albrecht Durer.
Once Barney painted ocean liners and race horses but latterly he did still lives and interiors. Simple subjects; jars full of biscuits, pieces of fruit, the view from his window, a pile of cardboard oyster pails and he painted them really, really slowly. Fruit would rot and plants would wither before Barney had even got close to finishing his paintings of them.
There’s no painterly rhetoric in Barney’s work, no slapped on paint or busy brushwork or compositionally convenient drips. Everything is restrained and steady, everything has been thought about. He might have studied with Kokoschka but there’s no angst or hot emotion in what Barney does, it’s all much more subtle, considered and cumulative. Everything is there for a reason. His pictures took a long time to make and they can take a lot of looking. That the longer you look, the more you see is a cliché but in Barney’s case it’s absolutely the truth.
Barney drove dealers and collectors nuts because he didn’t work to make them happy and that, along with his more or less total indifference to furthering his “career”, is probably why he wasn’t better known in his lifetime. He could have been but he didn’t care about that stuff, not really. He cared about painting and smoking and talking, especially about painting. Always painting.
Richard Dean attended the Museum School from 73-75, then moved to New York and went to the Art Students League before moving to the UK where he’s lived for the past 20 years, teaching at the art school in Canterbury as well as working at the Canterbury College. | <urn:uuid:abc0f1e9-c9a7-41c8-a549-d34169eea4a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://paintingperceptions.com/contemporary-realism/barnet-rubenstein-1923-2002 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986559 | 2,010 | 1.640625 | 2 |
On Tuesday Michelle Obama is going to appear on the Biggest Loser as part of her Let’s Move! campaign. This comes after she has spent the last 2 years as the First Lady of the United States continuing to add to the ever growing amount of fat stigma in our society. Bringing up the problematic portions of her campaign normally ends with most people saying that she still has good intentions. Most people, even when they are causing harm, have good intentions but acknowledging the portions of the campaign that cause more harm then good is not ignoring the positive aspects. The problem with the Let’s Move! campaign has far more do with the way that it is framed and the reality of where it came from.
The announcement of the Let’s Move! campaign coincided with a report from retired military leaders titled “Too Fat to Fight,” which called on schools to remove junk food from their cafeterias because once children were becoming old enough to enlist in the military 40% of them did not fit into the BMI standard set by the military. FLOTUS’s relationship with the military has been extensive during her time with the campaign. She has spoken about how fat bodies are a national security risk continuing the link between body size and lower acceptance into the military. This has continued to happen without even acknowledging that the very BMI standards that the military uses increases the risk of service members of having or developing eating disorders Some say they are three times as likely as the general population to develop an eating disorder. She has also visited Fort Jackson military base in South Carolina to promote the campaign.
While her campaign continues to work towards creating access to fresh foods and getting children moving in their bodies, she is also speaking out nationally about how she plans to stop childhood ‘obesity’ in a generation, that fat people are more likely to be bad employees or need extra sick time, and has continued this with her support of the program the Biggest Loser. The reality is that this isn’t a show that is trying to make people healthy; their primary goal is to make people thin by using some pretty horrific tactics.
She might have good intentions in creating a better society to live in but in reality her efforts will always fall short if she continues to frame it around the idea that fat bodies are inherently unhealthy while also not acknowledging that we don’t know how to make people lose weight long term. Looking past all of these issues by believing that her intentions are good doesn’t mean that the harm she causes is invalid or that they don’t matter. Harm is still harm it still changes lives.
Further Reading (Aside from all of the links above), | <urn:uuid:d2afcbc2-92f1-4040-8a9c-05c6da658318> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fatbodypolitics.com/2012/04/04/the-road-to-hell-consequences-of-good-intentions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982343 | 545 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Business Issues -> Quality
By: Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst, Interarbor Solutions
Published: 24th February 2011
Copyright Interarbor Solutions © 2011
Nearly two months ago, we announced the formation of The Open Group Trusted Technology Forum (OTTF), a global standards initiative among technology companies, customers, government and supplier organizations to create and promote guidelines for manufacturing, sourcing, and integrating trusted, secure technologies.
The OTTF’s purpose is to shape global procurement strategies and best practices to help reduce threats and vulnerabilities in the global supply chain. I’m proud to say that we have just completed our first deliverable toward achieving our goal: The Open Trusted Technology Provider Framework (O-TTPF) whitepaper.
The framework outlines industry best practices that contribute to the secure and trusted development, manufacture, delivery and ongoing operation of commercial software and hardware products. Even though the OTTF has only recently been announced to the public, the framework and the work that led to this whitepaper have been in development for more than a year: first as a project of the Acquisition Cybersecurity Initiative, a collaborative effort facilitated by The Open Group between government and industry verticals under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Defense (OUSD (AT&L)/DDR&E).
The framework is intended to benefit technology buyers and providers across all industries and across the globe concerned with secure development practices and supply chain management. [Disclosure: The Open Group is a sponsor of BriefingsDirect podcasts.]
More than 15 member organizations joined efforts to form the OTTF as a proactive response to the changing cyber security threat landscape, which has forced governments and larger enterprises to take a more comprehensive view of risk management and product assurance. Current members of the OTTF include Atsec, Boeing, Carnegie Mellon SEI, CA Technologies, Cisco Systems, EMC, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, IDA, Kingdee, Microsoft, MITRE, NASA, Oracle, and the U.S. Department of Defense (OUSD(AT&L)/DDR&E), with the forum operating under the stewardship and guidance of The Open Group.
Over the past year, OTTF member organizations have been hard at work collaborating, sharing and identifying secure engineering and supply chain integrity best practices that currently exist. These best practices have been compiled from a number of sources throughout the industry including cues taken from industry associations, coalitions, traditional standards bodies and through existing vendor practices. OTTF member representatives have also shared best practices from within their own organizations.
From there, the OTTF created a common set of best practices distilled into categories and eventually categorized into the O-TTPF whitepaper. All this was done with a goal of ensuring that the practices are practical, outcome-based, aren’t unnecessarily prescriptive and don’t favor any particular vendor.
Best practices were grouped by category because the types of technology development, manufacturing or integration activities conducted by a supplier are usually tailored to suit the type of product being produced, whether it is hardware, firmware, or software-based. Categories may also be aligned by manufacturing or development phase so that, for example, a supplier can implement a secure engineering/development method if necessary.
Provider categories outlined in the framework include:
In order for the best practices set forth in the O-TTPF to have a long-lasting effect on securing product development and the supply chain, the OTTF will define an accreditation process. Without an accreditation process, there can be no assurance that a practitioner has implemented practices according to the approved framework.
After the framework is formally adopted as a specification, The Open Group will establish conformance criteria and design an accreditation program for the O-TTPF. The Open Group currently manages multiple industry certification and accreditation programs, operating some independently and some in conjunction with third party validation labs. The Open Group is uniquely positioned to provide the foundation for creating standards and accreditation programs. Since trusted technology providers could be either software or hardware vendors, conformance will be applicable to each technology supplier based on the appropriate product architecture.
At this point, the OTTF envisions a multi-tiered accreditation scheme, which would allow for many levels of accreditation including enterprise-wide accreditations or a specific division. An accreditation program of this nature could provide alternative routes to claim conformity to the O-TTPF.
Over the long-term, the OTTF is expected to evolve the framework to make sure its industry best practices continue to ensure the integrity of the global supply chain. Since the O-TTPF is a framework, the authors fully expect that it will evolve to help augment existing manufacturing processes rather than replace existing organizational practices or policies.
There is much left to do, but we’re already well on the way to ensuring the technology supply chain stays safe and secure. If you’re interested in shaping the Trusted Technology Provider Framework best practices and accreditation program, please join us in the OTTF.
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Faith, Hope, and Charity are known as the three great Christian virtues. And while we may feel as though we know how to exercise faith or extend charity, too many of us are overlooking hope — even though it is exactly what we are seeking.
Hope is more than an attitude of good cheer or a generalized faith in God. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf defined hope as “the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to us.” In Look Up, My Soul, Elder Gerald N. Lund leads us through a discussion of the doctrine of hope in such depth and detail, and with such love, that we may be surprised at this unexpected and under-appreciated power that is available to us.
Elder Lund talks about the realities of life in our day, the reasons many of us lack hope, and the need for hope in our time. He shares his insights on such questions as:
Included in the book are inspirational and enlightening stories — from Church history, the scriptures, Elder Lund's own life, and the lives of others who were willing to share their stories of hope — that invite us to look up and to find joy in the promises the Lord has made to us.
Hope is more than just a wish that things will get better; it is a power that makes things better. It is a spiritual gift from God, and with His help, we can make hope a vital and vibrant part of our everyday life and of our eternal spiritual survival.
- Size: 6 x 9
- Pages: 378
- Published: 03/2012
- Book on CD: Unabridged
- Number of Discs: 9
- Run Time: Approx. 11 hrs.
About the Author
Elder Gerald N. Lund received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in sociology from Brigham Young University. He also did extensive graduate work in New Testament studies at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, California, and studies Hebrew at the University of Judaism in Hollywood, California.
During his thirty-five years in the Church Educational System, the author served as a seminary teacher, an institute teacher and director, a curriculum writer, director of college curriculum, and zone administrator. His Church callings have included serving as stake president, bishop, and teacher. Elder Lund served as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 2002 to 2008.
Elder Lund is a prolific author; his novels include the Work and the Glory series, the Kingdom and the Crown trilogy, Fire of the Covenant, and The Undaunted. He has also written several books on gospel topics, including Hearing the Voice of the Lord and Divine Signatures.
He and his wife, Lynn, are the parents of seven children. For more information, please visit Gerald Lund’s website (Click Here)
“It Is Better to Look Up”
In the October 2011 general conference, Elder Carl B. Cook, of the Seventy, told of an experience he had during his first week as a General Authority. It had been a particularly tiring week, and his briefcase was overloaded and his mind preoccupied with this question: “How can I possibly do this?” As he stepped onto the elevator, his head was down and he stared at the floor.
The elevator stopped on another floor and someone else got on. Elder Cook didn’t look up to see who it was. As the door closed, the person asked, “What are you looking at down there?”
Elder Cook instantly recognized President Thomas S. Monson’s voice. He looked up and responded, “Oh, nothing.”
President Monson smiled, pointed heavenward and lovingly suggested, “It is better to look up!” As the elevator continued downward, President Monson explained that he was on his way to the temple.
They both got off the elevator and parted ways. Elder Cook said this, “When he bid me farewell, his parting glance spoke again to my heart, ‘Now, remember, it is better to look up.’”1
Surprised by Hope
People often ask me if I’m working on a new book. If I say yes, they invariably ask me what it is about. When I told them I was working on a book on hope, I typically got one of three reactions:
• A generic “Oh,” which I interpreted to mean, “Nice, but not too exciting.”
• A surprised “Really?” followed by, “That’s good. There isn’t much written on hope out there.”
• A fervent “When will it be out? It’s a really hard time for me (or my son, my daughter, a neighbor, my best friend, etc.) right now. I really need something like that.”
The genesis of this book was a class I taught in our ward. I was sensing that there seemed to be a lot of people out there struggling with life. They were pressed down by it and trying to cope with chronic discouragement. So I decided to devote a class to the topic of hope. I was a little taken aback by the response. An unusual number of people came up afterward to express how much they needed that topic right now and how relevant it was to what they (or people close to them) were going through. I decided to look into it further to see if there was enough to sustain a book.
Many years ago, C. S. Lewis, the famous Christian writer from England, wrote a book called Surprised by Joy, which included the story of his conversion to Christianity. I must admit, as I started to explore the topic, I was “surprised by hope.” One thing became immediately evident. It seemed as though I wasn’t the only one sensing this pervasive gloom and dejection. In addition, the Brethren were speaking frequently on the subject in conference. So much for there not being much material out there.
Another thing that surprised me was just how central hope is to the gospel of Jesus Christ. How had I missed that all these years? I knew it was one of the “big three” Christian attributes—faith, hope, and charity—but I had always secretly wondered why hope took precedence over other things like repentance or personal revelation. I don’t wonder about that anymore. Instead, I am filled with a sense of wonder—along with some embarrassment that it took me so long to get here—at what I have come to understand about hope. It has expanded my understanding of the entire gospel plan and deepened my appreciation for the love and wisdom of our Heavenly Father.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to those whose stories are included either in a chapter or in an additional section between chapters. Good teaching always involves two major objectives: We teach for understanding and we teach for application. The chapters in the book try to teach the principles and doctrines related to hope. Without that understanding, we cannot fully appreciate hope. But the stories and examples used herein are meant to illustrate how those principles are actually applied in our lives. They make the doctrine of hope more tangible and alive.
Many of those who shared their stories chose to remain anonymous, but that does not lessen the value of their contributions. I thank them for their willingness to share what, in many cases, are painful and tender things.
One small housekeeping matter: I often emphasize key words or phrases in scriptural passages or quotations with italics. Rather than tediously indicating each time that the emphasis is mine, I have only specified when the emphasis was in the original.
This has been a difficult book for me to write, and my first attempts fell far short of where I wanted the book to be. I wish to express my thanks to those who read the manuscript early on and gave me input. Their honesty, forthrightness (always served up with a generous dose of tactful kindness), and considerable wisdom and insights have had an enormous impact on the end product. My deepest thanks to each of you.
As usual, I owe much to the consistent support, encouragement, and solid efforts of the Deseret Book staff. It takes a tremendous amount of diligence and care to edit, design, publish, and market a book such as this. Once again, they have done so with their usual commitment to excellence.
Though I never saw this coming, as it turns out, this book completes what could be considered a somewhat loosely linked gospel trilogy. Hearing the Voice of the Lord (2007) focused on personal revelation. Divine Signatures (2010) showed how personal revelation—especially those events we called “divine signatures”—can expand our understanding of God’s nature and deepen our faith and trust in Him. Look Up, My Soul (2012) takes that concept one step further.
In this book, hope is defined as not just trust in God, but trust in His promises. We learn of those promises through revelation, and it is through revelation that the promises are confirmed. Thus, the three books stand together as a witness of the reality, majesty, perfections, power, and glory of our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son.
To Them, I owe the greatest debt of all.
“Look Up, My Soul”
Early in my life, I learned to love the hymns we sing. As I moved into adulthood, I came to realize that they are like the scriptures in some ways. The lyrics are filled with eternal truths, contain concepts that inspire, and have the power to heal the wounded soul (see Jacob 2:8). I can remember one of those moments many years ago when I was weighed down by a particular difficulty. Then in sacrament meeting, we sang a hymn that I wasn’t familiar with: “Before Thee, Lord, I Bow My Head.” I immediately fell in love with the words, but it was the third verse that hit me with particular force.
Look up, my soul; be not cast down.
Keep not thine eyes upon the ground.
Break off the shackles of the earth.
Receive, my soul, the spirit’s birth.2
That is my hope for this book. May it help us all to remember President Monson’s counsel, “It is better to look up.”
Worth a reread!
by Sherrie - reviewed on January 29, 2013
A great resource. Gerald Lund teaches with clarity and provides numerous quotes and personal experiences to help us identify the need and role of hope in our lives.
by Customer - reviewed on February 19, 2013
There is so much strength to be found in this book. I am ordering a second for a young adult in our ward who is facing many challenges.
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Earn points on every purchase, plus get other great benefits. | <urn:uuid:82b7a008-97d5-4ad9-9616-77db4eedd803> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://deseretbook.com/Look-My-Soul-Divine-Promise-Hope-Gerald-N-Lund/i/5076981?s_iid=hprtr1_6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974897 | 2,303 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Joint diseases, particularly osteoarthritis, have been identified as the main cause of movement limitation and disability among Americans. It is estimated that around 50 million people are suffering from these conditions and this expected to increase as more people advance in age. These conditions have also been the number reason for most hip replacement surgeries.
While many patients may have resumed their previous quality of life with total hip replacement, taking this option is really a big decision. A lot of factors must be considered before deciding to have that life-changing surgical procedure.
Even if the doctor may recommend hip replacement surgery, the patient has to weigh the risks and benefits of such a procedure. Very important in making that big decision is consider how much the disease hurts and how it is affecting the patient’s quality of life.
Indications that it may be best to have that surgery may include the following:
1. You are no longer able to perform routine daily activities such as dressing, eating, and going to the toilet without assistance.
2. You are experiencing pain that keeps you awake during nights, does not ease with medications, and pain that keeps you from making any movements.
3. Your pain does not seem to improve with conservative methods of treatments and you doctor believes that less-complicated operations may not be enough to address your condition.
4. Your condition has advanced to a stage where damage to the joints is extensive and is affecting your life physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Even if these conditions are satisfied, you may still want to consider the risks in light of the alarming failure rates of the metal-on-metal hip implants such as the DePuy ASR hip replacement systems. You may refer to DePuy Recall News Center for more information on this matter which will hopefully help you in making that big decision.
According to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, women may be more at risk to experience hip replacement failure. This is one of the reasons why recipients of these hip implants are filing lawsuits against some of the orthopedic companies, for instance, Stryker hip recall lawsuit.
The study which was funded by the Food and Drug Administration found that women are 29 percent more likely to have a revision hip surgery to correct the adverse effects of metal-on-metal hip implants.
There were almost 35,000 patients who participated in the study and they all had undergone a hip replacement operation. Dr. Art Sedrakyan, co-author of the study suggested that women may be at higher risk from all these failing implants due to the fact that women’s physical anatomy requires them to have smaller hip implant devices which are prone to dislocate and wear.
The FDA said that the metal fragments from these all-metal hip implant devices may harm the soft tissue near the implant. This condition is known as metallosis. It is considered dangerous as it may seep into the bloodstream and may damage other body organs.
Aside from women, the FDA also released a list of other patients who may be at risk for adverse tissue reaction. They include patients with suppressed immune systems, high doses of corticosteroids, severely overweight, and those with bilateral implants among others. | <urn:uuid:b042c5aa-cfdb-4105-866d-49b6ef9e4125> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itsnormal.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959208 | 653 | 1.71875 | 2 |
English departments, hotbeds of fashionable schools of literary criticism, are slowly emptying out, and William Deresiewicz, examining some of the proximate causes, suggests that the discipline lacks a survival instinct. Conservatives conversant with the bitter struggles over the literary canon and the various theoretical fads that have buffeted the discipline might indulge in a few reveries tinged with schadenfreude, consoling themselves with the thought that perhaps the relativists and radicals are finally receiving their just due; perhaps, however, the causes are more mundane. Perhaps no one really cares anymore:
...the number of students studying English literature appears to be in a steep, prolonged and apparently irreversible decline. In the past ten years, my department has gone from about 120 majors a year to about ninety a year. Fewer students mean fewer professors; during the same time, we've gone from about fifty-five full-time faculty positions to about forty-five. Student priorities are shifting to more "practical" majors like economics; university priorities are shifting to the sciences, which bring in a lot more money. In our new consumer-oriented model of higher education, schools compete for students, but so do departments within schools. The bleaker it looks for English departments, the more desperate they become to attract attention.
Helen Rittelmeyer, Yale student and bright young paleoconservative, comments on Deresiewicz and the emerging apologetic for a liberal education in the modern university, writing that
...apologists like Kronman pose a greater danger to their side than overzealous multiculturalists. To spend so much energy explaining why literature and philosophy are worth four years’ study indicates some anxiety about the answer. After all, business and engineering professors rarely take the time to justify their departments; they assume their students understand that a high salary is directly correlated with ability to purchase goods and services. The benefits of literature and philosophy are less material, but men no more need to be convinced that wisdom is desirable than that love is, or power, or happiness. To presume that students need to be talked into believing literature matters supposes that this is an open question, when really neither side of the canon wars ever doubted that literature was important enough to be worth the fight.
Certainly the articulation of an apologia might be indicative of a crisis of confidence, an intimation that something once taken for granted as having its place in the world now stands in need of explicit justification. And those concerned for the fate of the humanities in a world more than ever determined by cruder, more calculating forces, whether of right or left, would be well advised to formulate more compelling visions of life, as opposed to tacitly conceding the very point that draws so many away from those fields. I'm not persuaded, however, that this is the whole story. I might grant that it is better than half of the story, but, to my way of thinking, excluding the social conditions of the humanities gives one an incomplete picture of of the problem.
Consider Rittelmeyer's words: "...men no more need to be convinced that wisdom is desirable than that love is, or power, or happiness." In point of fact, I do believe that some men require persuasion that wisdom is desirable on its own account, and, moreover, that they require persuasion that wisdom is not merely an instrumental good, something useful for success in practical endeavours, such as amassing wealth. One might protest that I am here talking about knowledge, which is distinct from wisdom, but that is precisely the point: a society such as ours does not make the distinction. We dwell in a society in which such instrumental and pecuniary considerations dominate discourse, in which those who represent such values shape society more profoundly than any intellectuals. Any bright student growing up in such a milieu might not understand that wisdom is an intrinsic, noninstrumental good.
Beyond that, even precocious youngsters interested in the humanities, and appreciative of the importance of humane thought and wisdom, yet cognizant of the sort of society in which we live, might decline to enter those fields, accepting this as a sort of tragic necessity. Certainly, I have known such students. This is not, in the main, a question of the meagre rewards that often accrue to holders of degrees in the humanities; students worried about such things probably tend to fall into the first category, of those who simply don't get the humanities in the first instance. No, students falling into this second category understand the importance of the humanities, and might even be willing to labour in those vineyards for the compensation afforded. What they cannot abide, however, is doing so unrecognized, unrewarded by the recognition of the wider world that what they are sacrificing for is important. No one needs to be persuaded, unless he is mad, that such recognition is a good, just as no sane man needs to be persuaded that love, power, and happiness are goods. And why would you desire to devote your life to such an endeavour if, in the end, it will be, not your learned disquisitions on justice that influence society, but rather the calculating, instrumentalist thoughts of the economist, the average business executive, or the scientist who conflates "can" and "ought"? Conservatives have erred on the side of exaggeration when they have criticized various left-wing professors on grounds of their alleged resentment of business elites; such resentments, if they ever existed, are quite irrelevant to the deeper questions at stake, of whether society will be shaped by utilitarian, quantifying metrics, or substantive, ethical considerations that regulate our necessary material pursuits. In other words, if the social order itself communicates that what one does in the humanities is a mere aesthetic preoccupation, and not something of such gravity that it should shape the way we live, why bother? Why be an irrelevance? Better to take the money and suppress one's misgivings and regrets with a bout of consumerism.
Hence, while I take the point that conservatives and other defenders of the humanities would do well to cease carping about relativism, coming up with appealing alternatives to fashionable decay, I don't believe that this is the only solution. We do need, as a society, to rediscover that there are other goods than the material, and that these former goods possess an authority that the latter do not. A society which forgets this reality has no place for the humanities anyway, save as an atavistic survival, or denatured as consumption goods. | <urn:uuid:3b9992f5-f22c-4213-b598-1ec3060292af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whatswrongwiththeworld.net/2008/04/why_bother.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962398 | 1,336 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Alex Salmond laid a wreath at a ceremony in Edinburgh
Events have been held across Scotland to honour servicemen and women killed in past and current conflicts.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I.
In Edinburgh, a two-minute silence took place at 1100 GMT at the Stone of Remembrance. A bugler and a piper marked the end of the silence.
The first minister laid a wreath at the memorial and attended a service at the city's St Giles Cathedral. Services were also held in Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Alex Salmond said: "Remembrance Sunday marks an important time of remembrance and reflection.
"It is a time when we give pause for thought and pay tribute to the many Scottish servicemen and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of our country.
"It is the sacrifice of all those who have served in the forces which preserved our values and enabled us to enjoy the freedoms which so many of us take for granted today.
The Labour leader Iain Gray attended a wreath laying ceremony in his East Lothian constituency.
Speaking at the Royal British Legion ceremony in Prestonpans, Mr Gray said: "It is so important that we always remember those servicemen and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in past and present day conflicts."
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Reverend David Lunan, said: "Remembrance Day gives each of us, from all walks of life, from every cultural background, and from every corner of the nation, the opportunity to stop, and reflect, and give silent thanks.
"For there are still those who today risk their lives for our sake." | <urn:uuid:94902d18-1eeb-4b7b-affe-4d6a11933bab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7717943.stm | 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 | 0.953648 | 355 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Cyber Crime: Can You Afford to Ignore It?
Are you worried that hackers in China might put you out of business? Do you have a business continuity plan? If not, you’d better keep reading. Your company’s financial well-being depends on it.
Thanks to human nature, we all tend to ignore low-probability dangers, even if they pack a high penalty. That's why people live in Florida where hurricanes can clobber them, or in California where earthquakes can swallow them. That's why you probably don't have a good computer backup scheme.
But what if you're wrong about how likely the threat is? Can your business survive if your computer, hard drives, or data are destroyed by hardware failure, hurricane, earthquake, or hackers?
New Ways to Ruin Your Day
Last week a supposedly helpful antivirus program update shut down thousands of computers every time users tried to restart. Computers in homes, companies, hospitals, libraries, government offices, and elsewhere suddenly became useless thanks to a routine process that quarantined an essential system file. There was no criminal intent, but the accident ruined a lot people's day.
After we sold our flying business a few years ago, a contractor claimed the web shopping cart we'd paid him to build only belonged to us personally, and the new owner would have to pay a license fee. When we disputed his claim, showed him emails he’d sent us stating the company could use it forever, and reminded him that we'd paid with company checks, he broke into the site through a “back door” and shut it down in the middle of the holiday gift buying season.
Disgruntled employees, angry students, unruly mobs, and even enemy operatives have all destroyed computers and stolen information. But someone doesn't have to steal your computer or blow it up to threaten your livelihood…or your life.
An informer's name showed up on a police department's payroll printout, an innocent administrative document. Only one problem — a drug dealer's girlfriend was the computer operator, and she recognized the informer’s name. He soon became a former informer.
The folks who designed and built the first ATMs were worried someone would hack into the machine’s phone lines and tell it to spew bills. So they built in a sophisticated encryption algorithm. But unsophisticated crooks, oblivious to the sophistication, circumvented the fancy protection system. They backed a water truck up to the machine, filled it with water, and the money floated out.
That was years ago, and both computers and computer criminals (and ATMs) have become much more sophisticated. Today, a single data breach can cost a company millions of dollars and remediation can be several times that.
Russian cyber-criminals and organized crime hackers in the U.S. cost PayPal so much they were forced to develop expensive software to watch for patterns that would help them identify the culprits. It helped, and Homeland Security borrowed a page from their book and they’re using the same approach to look for terrorists.
Chinese hackers (apparently government sponsored) sent an instant message to a Google employee in China. They enticed her to click on a link that led to an apparently innocuous, but dangerous, website. The site allowed the intruders access to her PC, and through hers into the computers of a cadre of developers at Google headquarters in the U.S. Finally, they managed to break into a software library where they left a few lines of code that would allow them to return whenever they wanted to snoop for other vulnerabilities. Google (as far as they know) found it all within hours and plugged the holes.
Think about this for a minute: What if you batch out your credit card terminal at the end of the day and the funds go to somebody else's account? What if you received a letter, apparently from your bank, saying that your line of credit has been called, the funds are due within 15 days? What if you received an email saying, "I know what you're doing, and you won't get away with it"? (And what if your spouse received a copy too?)
All bad enough, but trivial compared to what could happen if someone hacks into our national financial system, power grid, air traffic control network, or even our traffic light systems.
What if Internet servers suddenly became confused and couldn't figure out the right destination for digital traffic? Think about that in the context of your website shopping cart, banking, and credit card services, and even your company’s electric service. For that matter, spend some time thinking about how you'll get your medicine and groceries when stores can't communicate with warehouses or shippers, when gas pumps can't approve a credit card or pump gas without communications or electricity.
In 2007, CNN ran a dramatic video that showed a huge generator being destroyed when vulnerability in its control software was exploited.
In 2008, a war erupted between Russia and Georgia. The first salvo was a denial of service attacks aimed at Georgian websites including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and national banks. The Georgians retaliated by attacking RIA Novosti, a Russian news agency and other sites. And then it became a shooting war.
Today, new aircraft have radars than can inject destructive digital code into enemy radars, and the USAF is in the process of setting up a 6000-member 24th Air Force to support 1000 cyberwarriors.
Should you be worried if Russia and Georgia duke it out in cyberspace? Maybe not. Should you plan for the possibility that someone will decide 9/11 didn't have enough impact and then carry out an attack on our power grid? Maybe you should.
About 5000 attacks occur against just government and military websites every day, so this isn’t hypothetical. Smart kids gone wrong, cyber criminals, and foreign agents are busy trying to find vulnerabilities they can exploit when the time comes. But this isn’t just a military problem. Oil companies have been attacked, and financially sensitive information on the location, quantity, and value of oil discoveries has been stolen. And there’s Google and PayPal, and Visa and Mastercard, and yes, even American Express. In a low-level way, they’re all constantly under attack. And you are too. If you have a computer and connect it to the Internet, within 20 minutes it’s infected even if your anti-virus programs don’t know it.
Business Continuity Plan
How do you stop this kind of threat? You don't. You manage it, and you make sure you have a way to continue operating while under attack.
In 1947 Albert Einstein famously said, “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” If a cyberwar breaks out or a hacker decides to strike, do you have paper and pencil procedures that will help you to stay in business, at some level, until sanity is restored?
A business continuity plan can mean the difference between survival and failure. Depending on nature of your business such a plan could be the result of an afternoon’s thought and a few pages filed away, just in case. But the time will be well spent.
For bigger companies, the plan could be the culmination of an analysis of threats and their effect, a thorough asset management review that identifies available and relocatable resources (including manual work-arounds) and a cost effective disaster recovery solution. Such an extensive plan will also include a testing phase designed to convince your organization that it can work.
Such a plan was developed by the Washington, D.C. Police Department, and I was asked by the Chief to help test a small part of it: their computer facility’s security and emergency operating plan. It didn’t go well.
When I arrived, there was big sign pointing toward the computer center, a side door into a halfway protected with a cipher lock was propped open with a trash can, and I walk in unchallenged by waving an IBM badge. I put my briefcase next to their central processing unit, and called the Chief to tell him I was already in the computer room and had left my harmless but “suspicious” briefcase next to their multi-million-dollar computer. Things got exciting very quickly, but went according to plan. You’ll have trouble finding the computer center today, and I guarantee you’ll have trouble getting in, even if you’re from IBM.
Do You Have a Plan?
Do you have a plan if hackers flood your website with bogus purchases or a hurricane floods your computer? Do you have a plan if The Big One happens? Do you have a way to conduct business entirely with cash if Chinese hackers decide to shut down our Internet?
You’re right, it’s not very likely. But neither was 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Northridge earthquake. And what about the Geological Survey estimate that a quake measuring 7 or greater has a better than 50% chance of occurring within 75 years, and will cost $390 billion. Is your company figured into those costs? | <urn:uuid:8a356eb6-a2ca-47bd-833b-1a0d1904dcf9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wisebread.com/small-business/cyber-crime-can-you-afford-to-ignore-it | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961896 | 1,906 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Where No Vultures Fly (1951) is, in many ways, an overlooked Ealing film of the early 1950s, being released after the one-two hit of The Lavender Hill Mob (June 1951) and The Man in the White Suit (August 1951), and belonging to a genre - colonial action-adventure - that is less well-covered in histories of the studio. Yet it was an important film in late 1951/early 1952: a huge financial hit for the studio (one of the top performing British films of 1952), screened for the 1951 Royal Command Performance, and a re-assertion that colour cinematography once again had a place within the Ealing production schedule. (three years after initial experiments with colour in the 1948 films Saraband for Dead Lovers and Scott of the Antarctic)
Released as Ivory Hunters in the US, the film is a dramatisation of the work of Mervyn Cowie and his colleagues, who fought for the formation of the National Parks of Kenya. The story was developed by director Harry Watt and melds influences from documentary filmmaking (the travelogue-style sequences of animals, landscape and tribal customs) with action-adventure tropes (including a rhino attack, tribal confrontation, and a car chase to the border). Bob Payton (Anthony Steel), his wife Mary (Dinah Sheridan) and son Tim (William Simons) head into the bush when he convinces the government to set up Kenya's first national game reserve. With a tiny patrol force, Payton struggles to prevent the death of the animals under his care, fighting against native and Western hunters, and ivory poachers.
The film looks amazing, even in the unrestored print available commercially. Like The Love Lottery (1954) before it, a fully restored version of the 3-strip Technicolor would be amazing to see, but even without that, the vibrant blue skies, verdant greenery and the striking array of colours in the tribal outfits pop off the screen. Of course, the danger of the colour cinematography is that it can create a spectacle around the black population, given it is the scenes of native dancing, singing and celebrating that feature the strongest colour imagery: and the film as a whole could be accused of presenting Africa (and Africans) as a spectacle, an 'other' place of vast savannahs, waterholes, and exotic animals and peoples. Given the time period, there is no sense that the film explores the black perspective - the central characters are all white (Bob Payton is a third generation East African settler), and it is those colonial interests, hopes, fears and beliefs that the film presents (or challenges). We are presented with cunning (and corrupt) tribal leaders, skilled hunters and trackers, brave patrolmen, and noble savages: not a blanket perspective by any means, but still a limited (and largely visual) point of view of this other culture.
Not that white culture is presented as entirely positive. The convivial photographer Mannering (Harold Warrender) is also the chief villain, the leader of an ivory poaching ring who regards Africa as a country to be stripped of its useful resources, and then abandoned. (This is hardly a spoiler: Mannering's villainy is telegraphed early on by virtue of being the only other white character with more than three lines). This sets up a rather obvious binary between Payton as the 'good' colonial figure, and Mannering as the 'bad,' with Payton fighting for a 'new' Africa and a new relationship with the black communities (although, with white leadership), while Mannering wants to strip mine the same communities and leave them to it.
I've talked many times in this blog about the strength of Ealing's location filming, and that comes to the fore in this film: shot completely outdoors, with no studio work. As noted above, there is a travelogue quality to the film, but that adds to the sense that the film was physically in these locations, with these animals, rather than simply intercut with scenes shot on Ealing Common a year later. Although other films and television wildlife shows in the six decades since this film was released may have inured audiences to many of the shots achieved here, the images of the elephant stampede (and waterhole bathing), the swift-editing that creates the rhino attack on the Payton's truck, the cheetah attack on Payton, and the baby giraffe that licks Steel's face, offer spectacular imagery that underpins the film's narrative interests.
Produced over the same period as The Man in the White Suit (1951), and released three months later, it is tempting to try and draw parallels with that film, and other Ealing productions: Where No Vultures Fly features a little man tilting at the windmills of big government and shady private enterprise, he has to use cunning and subterfuge to put his plans in motion (and keep them going), and to convince the local population that this is the best route forward.
Of course, unlike the Alec Guinness film, Payton is successful in his endeavour, and is a resolutely moral and straight-forward individual throughout, so the parallels are only so compelling. Other critics (notably Charles Barr and George Perry) have noted a connection between Where No Vultures Fly and the classic American western, with Payton bringing civilisation to the wilderness and fighting off (and with) an indigenous population. Yet, even with the wide-open spaces of Africa, tribal face-offs, and Payton's regular horse-riding skills on display, this comparison feels more tortuous, as what Payton creates is hardly a civilisation - if anything, he is trying to fence off and retain the wilderness, to banish the advances of man (the telescopic rifle and the bulldozer are dismissed as bad technologies in an early montage), rather than engage with them. Payton is hardly your typical loner Western hero, with Mary and Tim's sub-plots developing ideas around how to survive in the bush.
The trouble with both explanations is that they cannot contain the full range of narrative, thematic, and visual elements of the film. As the New York Times noted in its review, it is 'both a documentary and an essentially dramatic yarn... the cameras have captured the game and its habitat as befits the "stars" of this adventure.' (A.W., NYT 19 August 1952) The travelogue and documentary impulse works hand-in-hand with the plot and characterisation, rather than fighting against them, and creates a unique piece of filmmaking that doesn't resemble any of the Ealing films I've watched so far (although I have yet to delve into their Australian productions, which are often lumped in with this one).
In fact, it is so different that the next blog will look at the film's sequel, also starring Anthony Steel and directed by Harry Watt, West of Zanzibar (1954)...
Follow Dr Keith M. Johnston on Twitter: www.twitter.com/keithmjohnston | <urn:uuid:a0f55b50-197d-42a0-96d8-949b61f97c0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-keith-m-johnston/ealing-film-studios-80_b_1146731.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955935 | 1,450 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Amidst MC calls for more revenue, Delhi commission to study its financial status
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With the Municipal Corporation's seeking an increase in revenue share from taxes collected in the city, the Fourth Delhi Finance Commission has decided to conduct a study on the civic body's financial status. Hired consultants are set to examine the financial accounts of the Administration and the MC for the last five financial years and based on a report, the civic body's revenue share will be decided. Tenders, to hire the consultants, were floated recently.
Among other things, the consultants will ascertain the Municipal Corporation's revenue deficit in each financial year, keeping in view the civic body's functions. The list of taxes, duties, tolls and fees would be classified into two segments: into those that have been effectively exploited and the other where full potential of assigned resources is yet to be achieved.
The expenditure, incurred by the Municipal Corporation in rendering services like collection and disposal of solid waste, water management, streetlighting, among others, will be looked into while a list of debts, indicating details and dates of repayment, will be prepared.
When members of the Delhi Finance Commission visited the city last year, the MC had demanded an increase in share of taxes that it receives from the Administration. The Commission now wants to look into the projected resource gap and the efforts made by the Municipal Corporation in making use of sources of revenue. Along with this, the resources and development plans of the city as a whole would be looked into to decide on the grant-in-aid from the Consolidated Fund.
The Municipal Corporation receives grants from the Administration apart from generating revenue from its own departments. The primary source of revenue generation for the civic body is through water bills, sewerage cess, estate receipts and property tax on commercial property. The estimated income amounts to Rs 123 crore. Over the past few years there has not been a substantial increase in the revenue receipts of the civic body. In fact even the expected revenue is not collected in toto.
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- 2 weeks after harassment, Haryana schoolgirls return, cops in tow | <urn:uuid:87b4ff8a-e8e2-4efd-a75b-804925fa8a83> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indianexpress.com/news/amidst-mc-calls-for-more-revenue-delhi-commission-to-study-its-financial-status/1054387/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940673 | 612 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Posts Tagged ‘placement’
Name-brand products make regular appearances on television shows, where they are typically written into a drama, comedy or reality program. “American Idol” viewers, for example, have come to expect to see a Coke cup in front of a judge on the show, Simon Cowell, as he berates contestants.
But TV news?
In recent weeks, anchors on the Fox affiliate in Las Vegas, KVVU, sit with cups of McDonald’s iced coffee on their desks during the news-and-lifestyle portion of their morning show. The anchors rarely touch the cups.
Executives at the station, one of 12 owned by the media company Meredith, say the six-month promotion is meant to shore up advertising revenue and, as they told the news staff, will not influence content.
The arrangement does raise questions about potential conflicts between the intended message and news content. The ad agency that arranged the promotion said the coffee cups would most likely be whisked away if KVVU chooses to report a negative story about McDonald’s.
Neither the agency nor KVVU would reveal the price of the six-month deal.
What a society we live in. Everything you can think of is reduced to its commercial value. | <urn:uuid:82c1c17b-3887-40dc-97c3-981d2c7a4cb4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eideard.com/tag/placement/ | 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 | 0.947167 | 270 | 1.703125 | 2 |
January 18, 2010
HE WAS THE CHANGE:
If you're disillusioned with Obama, you don't understand how he won: The distance between the aspirations he raised and his record a year on is the distinction between the electoral and the political (Gary Younge, 1/18/10, Guardian)
First, Obama was never a radical. He won on a decidedly middle-of-the-road Democratic platform. Beyond the Iraq war, which he opposed and she supported, there was little to chose between him and Hillary Clinton in terms of their programmes. They had voted the same way in the Senate 90% of the time.Posted by Orrin Judd at January 18, 2010 6:40 AM
True, he represents a dramatic progressive shift in direction from the previous eight years. But in almost any other western country his policies on the Middle East, gay marriage, trade and capital punishment would cast him out of polite leftwing company. Yes, there are grounds for disappointment. Bush's torture infrastructure has been left largely intact, the Iraq withdrawal has been extended by two years and the healthcare reform debate might have panned out differently had he led more decisively. But there is a world between that and accusations of betrayal and treachery. In Afghanistan in particular, the problem was that he kept his campaign pledge whereas many of us wish that he had broken it. [...]
These are early days. But the risk at this moment is twofold. First, that Obama ends this year with no progressive legislative victories. Second, and arguably worse, that he embraces legislation that sounds progressive but does not substantially improve people's lives. People don't want healthcare reform; they want affordable healthcare. They don't want a stimulus bill; they want jobs. The time for lofty rhetoric has long gone. The time for measured analysis has been too long coming. | <urn:uuid:f8b1cdd0-e875-44a5-b38e-2886c900ed17> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://brothersjuddblog.com/archives/2010/01/he_was_the_change.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986737 | 373 | 1.609375 | 2 |
So how do all these genres add up? What’s the picture of crosswords today?
To answer that question, I’ve taken a small survey of 100 puzzles from this blog (August of last year). Just a few weeks ago, I was informed of a much larger survey by Kevin McCann, covering 2700 puzzles, which promptly disabused me of the cherished notion that I was the first to categorize crosswords on a really grand scale. McCann runs Cruciverb.com, which draws its survey data from more conservative sources than the Fiend.
McCann’s divisions and terminology sometimes disagree with mine, and I feel like this series already threatens to be too confusing. So I’ve reworked McCann’s categories into the ones in this series, as well as I can. Results are imperfect, but we’ll glean as much information as we can from them… and review the categories we’ve established at the same time.
McCann’s Data: Major Categories
Crossword Fiend Sampler: Major Categories
Themelesses might be underrepresented in McCann’s survey, which claims to be about “theme usage,” but includes four categories I identified as themeless. You might recall that we divided themelesses into four types: the artily-constructed Mieses, the vocabulary-driven seed patches, the homogenized puddings, and the wide-open, wildly-answered anything-goes.
McCann’s “Grid Design” category corresponds closely to the Mies, but his “stacked 15s” could be a Mies or seed patch, depending. Unlike my survey so far, he notes the “mini-theme,” two related entries in an otherwise themeless puzzle. And I’m putting his “other” in the seed patch category, where it may or may not belong… but it seems the most likely match. There were no puddings or anything-goeses in the blog survey, and there likely weren’t many in McCann’s data, as anything-goeses are barely extant and puddings rarely make the papers.
There’s an additional problem defining the Mies: the standards for puzzles keep changing as the software, and the use of software, improves. Once upon a time, two double stacks of 15s might qualify as an unusual, artsy grid, but today that’s more likely to register as a seed patch. For that reason if no other, the Mies will probably remain on the frontier, the seed patch at the core of the puzzle fans’ themelesses, and the pudding in the amateur ring. I continue to hope the anything-goes gains more traction among puzzles’ avant-garde, but we’ll just have to see.
Fact-finders make a respectable showing in both polls, coming in third and second, respectively. The commemorative (defined by McCann as both “tribute” and “holidays and special occasions”) naturally doesn’t see as much usage as the less time-dependent listmaker, corresponding roughly to the largest single category in McCann’s original survey, which he defines as “category types.” There’s no way to sift out the half-fact-based, half-wordplay-based Marian from McCann’s categorizations: some Marians might fit “category types” and others his “combined” division.
McCann’s Data: Subcategories
Crossword Fiend Sampler: Subcategories
The Fiend surveys several sources that supply nothing but themelesses. But surprisingly, themelesses aren’t even the top subcategory of crosswords in its survey– that distinction goes to the camouflage, which has developed in a wide variety of ways to hide everything from phonetic strings to anagrams to fact-themed groupings to rhythmicpatterns to accompaniers to monostrings. They’ll hide these all in one piece, or in merger, parenthetical, initial or blended configurations. Along with the similarly varied algebraics and freakshows, and the relatively straightforward punsters, they make up the wordplayer category, easily the most popular of the lot in either survey.
Algebraics further subdivide into the fairly self-explanatory additives, subtractives, substitutionals and cut-and-pastes. Freakshows split into pure accompaniers, pure anagrams, monoclues, straight-answer patterned-clues, pure etymologicals, pure cryptogrammatics, pure palindromics, theme letter banks, homogenous letter banks and chimeras.
Punsters split right into the Groucho and the Burns and Allen, but the former further splits into root-phrase, conversion and clue themes. McCann’s divisions don’t always observe the Groucho/Burns and Allen distinction, and a couple of them merge a camouflage and freakshow category (anagrams, accompaniers). But all in all, it maps rather well, and both surveys seem to be in agreement that the wordplayer in all its varieties is doing fine.
McCann’s Data: Subsubcategories
Crossword Fiend Sampler: Subsubcategories
Run-ons and tricksters make just minor appearances in each survey– 7% and 5% in McCann’s data, and 5% and 4% in the Fiend’s. Among the run-ons, McCann doesn’t distinguish between quotes and improvs, and I’m not entirely sure of myself when I map his “punchlines” category to narratives. Riddles make a small appearance in the McCann data, but not multi-parters, and neither of those are anywhere to be found in the Fiend sample.
Among tricksters, both surveys cite rebuses as one of the most popular subgenres, with the Fiend putting them neck-and-neck with the Moriartys (from a very limited sample) and McCann putting them clearly ahead, with Vector Threes in second place and Moriartys nowhere to be seen. McCann’s data also has nothing that maps to a single-shape or off-grid Vector Three, though, only a multi-shape one. Had I included the contest crossword in the Fiend survey it would’ve represented 4% of the total, but since every contest crossword is also part of another genre, I thought it best to leave them out. The McCann data doesn’t mention contests either. With only a few examples extant, the variable crossword makes neither survey. And forget the squeezeboxes and vowellesses.
While you’re at it, forget all the mutants. Cryptics, rows gardens, snake charmers, spirals, marching bands, petal pushers, stacked grids, cubic crosswords, acrostics, vocabs, fill-ins, diagramlesses, Blankouts, diagramless fill-ins, split decisions, crossnumbers, gryptics, word squares, double word squares, arrowwords, barred crosswords, barred and boxed crosswords, cipher crosswords, and experimental crosswords? These surveys don’t serve their kind. Most of these are kept alive in markets that the New York Times solver finds unusual– either foreign countries as in the cryptic and arrowword, big sections for the puzzle lover as in the acrostic and diagramless, or individual keepers of the fire as in the split decision and gryptic. Only the vocab puzzle has a wide American audience, and advanced solvers are inclined to discount it.
It seems fair to say that the American solver today likes a little extra cleverness in his puzzle– hence the greater popularity of the wordplayer, compared to the more straightforward fact-finder and nearly generic themeless– but not too much, hence the minority status of tricksters and mutants. The particular challenges of the run-on format make it as demanding of the solver as some of the more advanced forms, but it’s a rare one that can match them for cleverness. I suspect they’re only more popular than tricksters because they’re easier to build and their gimmick is easier to communicate without giving the whole game away.
Crosswords are at a crossroads. The traditional newspaper, long their greatest source of support, is in trouble itself, and slashing production budgets left and right. Will Shortz has preserved the New York Times crossword’s brand to the point where the paper invests significant resources into it, but it’s the exception that proves the rule. Independent crossword-makers have attracted devoted but modest followings.
Will the future of the field move more to the themeless or to the mutant side of the spectrum? More puzzles for all comers, or more specialized exotic beauties for the aficionado? Will crosswords be married to their current demographics or come to aggressively court a younger generation? Will they continue to encourage, and reward, knowledge of the current wide variety of trivia topics, or will they grow more specialized, more slanted?
I wish I had any answers, but hard experience has taught me that grand predictions go stale very quickly. All I can do is all that any of us on the creative side can do– continue to invent.
Next week, in our grand finale, we’ll look into the experimental crossword a little more closely– and discuss how to make the genres of tomorrow. | <urn:uuid:5d9798b0-4020-44c9-ab5c-04da842d8f94> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.crosswordfiend.com/blog/2011/08/21/cts-25-state-of-the-union/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932848 | 2,015 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies Healthy Hoops®
Healthy Hoops® focuses on two critical childhood health conditions: asthma and obesity. The program is the winner of NCQA’s Innovation in Multicultural Health Care award and the Public Relations Society of America Health Academy Innovation Award – Excellence in Community Relations, Special Events, and Observances. Healthy Hoops is an NCQA accredited program and is a trademarked outreach program of AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies.
Healthy Hoops teaches children with asthma, their parents, and their extended families how to manage their asthma and weight, through the appropriate use of medication, proper nutrition, monitored exercise and recreational activities targeting children three through eighteen years of age. With the guidance and supervision of celebrity basketball coaches and medical experts in asthma disease management, nutrition and weight management, the program includes asthma control screenings; health awareness exhibits; entertainment; asthma, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and obesity health prevention; and basketball activities in local sports venues.
The top five objectives of Healthy Hoops are reflected and noted throughout peer-reviewed literature on Pediatric Asthma. Program objectives include:
- Increase in preventive medication use/decrease in rescue medication use;
- Improvement in forced expiratory volume and forced vital capacity;
- Decrease in ER visits;
- Weight reduction;
- Improvement in overall fitness, as demonstrated by completion of exercises.
Removing Barriers to Deliver Guideline-Based Asthma Care
All Healthy Hoops events are open to AmeriHealth Mercy Family of Companies members and the community. Using clinical guidelines based on the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the program offers the following innovative approaches to removing barriers to delivering asthma care:
- Important clinical support for asthmatic children and their families including one-to-one education for parents, children and adult members about asthma, asthma care, high blood pressure, obesity and related issues, through health assessments and clinical monitoring.
- Educational seminars on asthma prevention and management throughout the year.
- Home visits, providing opportunities for environmental education and remediation of asthma triggers.
- Transportation for the entire family, as well as child care for siblings.
Building Local Capacity to Deliver Integrated Community-Based Care
The Healthy Hoops Coalition Program offers integrated community based care by:
- Hosting professional development sessions, where approximately 70 Philadelphia School Nurses and four Keystone Mercy Health Plan (KMHP) nurses participated. Sessions were led by University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing faculty members.
- Hosting (through various community, county and celebrity stakeholders), one day mini-Healthy Hoops Programs, where over 760 children and their families were engaged in asthma education, weight management, and nutrition counseling. In addition, health screenings (blood pressure, height, weight, BMI,) and spirometry, peak flow and spacer education were provided.
Improving Capacity to Identify Those in Most Need
Recent statistics on pediatric asthma in Philadelphia show that:
- Approximately 22% of Philadelphia children under 18 have been diagnosed with asthma, much higher than the national rate of 14%.
- Over half (51.3%) of Philadelphia children with asthma went to an emergency room at least once in the past year due to asthma, versus over one-third (33.8%) of children in Philadelphia’s surrounding suburban counties. 1
The keys to the program are the physical assessment and screening of each of the children participating in the program and monitoring by the medical staff at all of the Healthy Hoops program sites. Diagnostic tests include: spirometry readings, vital flow, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and breath-sounds to identify wheezing, all of which help reduce disparities in asthma among Philadelphia youth.
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Overall, the program has shown significant clinical improvements among program participants. In the Philadelphia area, a total of 590 children were screened in 2011. This is the highest number of children receiving full screenings in the history of Healthy Hoops.
The following outcomes represent complete information available from clinical measures and claims data:
Medical Utilization Summary for 2010 KMHP Healthy Hoops Members:
KMHP 2010 Healthy Hoops pre and 12 months post-event data:
- IP Utilization Cost decreased 20.30%
- Specialist Visits decreased 39.76%.
Medication Summary for 2010 Healthy Hoops Members
Prior Post-Change (%)
- Controller Rx Count 44.44% (increased)
- Rescue Rx Count 8.82% (decreased)
- Decrease in school absenteeism, as reported by parents/guardians, by 20%;
- Decrease in nocturnal awakenings by 70%, as reported by parents/guardians;
- Daily nutritional improvement, as demonstrated through pre/post-program surveys; and
- Higher self-esteem, as demonstrated through pre/post-program surveys. | <urn:uuid:fa85b3d3-bd7c-40bc-b499-2572fb97e266> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ahip.org/AmeriHealthHealthHoops/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941323 | 1,026 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Welcome to Taft Community School!
Taft Community School, by providing a quality education, will be a source of empowered, successful members who reinvest in the community they create.
We are Taft Community School. Our students, parents, staff, and community members work together to ensure every student meets or exceeds academic standards. Building on diverse backgrounds, providing educational opportunities and resources, and fostering successful learning experiences, we are dedicated to being lifelong learners and contributing members of a global society.
Taft Community School offers a rich learning community where academic rigor is combined with science enrichment, art, singing, instrumental music, dance, gardening and environmental studies, field trips, social justice projects, and after school programs. Taft has outstanding teachers and staff who have help students make academic progress at a rate achieved by only a handful of schools in the state of California. Taft promotes student success by focusing on the broad community context in which eduction and learning happen. The fundamental belief guiding this approach is a conviction that schools, families, and communities can work together for their common good. As a community school, Taft draws from several disciplines such as education, community development and youth development.
The principal and teachers at Taft firmly believe that all children can and will learn given the right environment. The staff operates on the principle that that it takes time and perseverance to discover the different learning styles of a diverse group of students, but that it does happen. Careful planning, collaboration and communication are the keys to student success.
The curriculum at Taft Community School complements the California Standards curriculum, and the school focuses on exemplary staff development, high achievement expectations, and addressing each student's needs. The Taft community believes that each individual student can perform at grade level or above and will progress academically throughout the year. All instruction and assessments are aligned with the California State Standards and each child is provided with the necessary support to help them access our standards-based curriculum. The staff is dedicated to providing a strong supportive, enriching learning environment that is designed to give students the best opportunity for success, both in school and in their futures.
You can read more detailed information about Taft Community School in its Comprehensive Schoolwide Program Plan (SPSA), and in its School Accountability Report Card (SARC).
Our new website
We recently updated our school website, and we are very excited about some of the new features we can now offer parents, staff and the community. To read about some new and exciting features that we will be implementing, click here.
Headlines & Features | <urn:uuid:62a1dce0-0b0f-4de8-833d-a629801a104e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rcsd.k12.ca.us/Page/2230 | 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 | 0.954628 | 523 | 1.742188 | 2 |
How to Organize Your Work Space
Work space is important especially for those who work from home or take some work to be done at home. It’s easier if you have a special room for that but there are various of organizing your work space. Pick the quietest room in the house where no one would disturb you. It can be your bedroom or even living room. You also won’t need a lot of space. Organization is the key to effective work space.
First of all, if you lack much space opt for a space-conscious table or the one that has plenty room for storage. Table makes a large part of your work space so you need to make sure it is effective, functional and convenient. A comfortable office chair that can be adjusted and regulated to suit the table height is a great option for long hours of work.
Keep your table clean and organized at all times. If the most space of the table is occupied by your work computer then make sure your table has additional drawers to store papers and files if you need that.
Lighting is important for work. Table lamp can be a great source of direct light that will help you preserve your eye sight and work effectively. The lamp should stand at your left side. The lighting that hangs above your table should not hang too low or too high.
Shelves above the table can be great for storing books or work papers and files. Bookshelves and drawers should suit your needs because if the shelf is too small you’ll need another storage furniture and if it will be too big and half empty it will only occupy your precious space.
Put all the important things you use most often at the hand’s reach. So that whenever you have to work again you’d be able to reach them fast. Sort the papers and files by folders and keep them at alphabetical or numerical order. If you don’t need to work with papers, keep everything except your computer or other tools you use away from the table in order to avoid distraction and mess.
You may also consider integrated tables and shelves for effective space management. Also try to keep everything work-related in the work space zone to prevent mess and losses. When you get your work stuff around the house it’s very easy to lose some important things and create mess. So try to be as organized as possible and choose the furniture that will help you in this.
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Leave a Reply | <urn:uuid:21bdd61d-8e05-4df4-b388-b46eef6092d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.interiorholic.com/homekeeping/organizing/how-to-organize-your-work-space/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938256 | 564 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Celebration to Mark Juneteenth Day at UT Dallas
Multicultural Center Plans Music, Games, Food and a Bake-off
June 13, 2008
The Multicultural Center will hold its annual Juneteenth celebration, “A Family Reunion UT Dallas Style,” in the Student Union Galaxy Rooms on Thursday, June 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The festivities will include:
- A live DJ.
- A bake-off for the UT Dallas faculty and staff.
- Local artists and poets, some of whom have participated in SUAAB’s Underground Poetry Circus.
- Card games, dominoes and sack races.
- Educational information table.
- Free food.
Black Music Month
|Earlier in Juneteenth week, the Student Union & Activities Advisory Board will celebrate Black Music Month.
The event is at 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 17, at the Pub. Check the Comet Calendar for details.
Juneteenth honors the day that federal troops arrived at Galveston Island under Union Gen. Gordon Granger to implement emancipation of slaves in 1865. The news of the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t reach Texas until almost two years after it was enacted.
“In the African American community, reunions are celebrated around this time,” said Arthur Gregg, the assistant vice president for multicultural affairs.
The UTD Juneteenth Planning Committee has worked to strike a balance between fun and education for attendees.
“Something that is unique about the committee is that it is a cross-section of students, staff and faculty. This is a real collaborative program,” said Gregg.
The UT Dallas community and public are welcome to attend.
Media contact: Office of Media Relations, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2155, firstname.lastname@example.org
|An Austin Juneteenth celebration in 1900.|
General Order No. 3
“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.” | <urn:uuid:9a02ad45-907b-4813-84c8-a3441a1fe8e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2008/06/13-001.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934358 | 474 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Social media marketing has become one of the most powerful and cost effective strategies to promote your business online, WITHOUT having to spend a large amount of advertising dollars. According to The Marketing Data Box report by HubSpot, Blogs and Social Media have the lowest cost per lead generation compared to SEO, PPC and other marketing channels.
Why is social media marketing so effective?
By creating quality content on a range of social networking sites you are able to:
- Share and publish your message to the world
- Engage with customers
- Establish yourself as an authority on a topic so people will see your business as trustworthy
- Increases your brand exposure and build leads
- Generate quality back links to your website and improve your SEO ranking
- Drive massive amounts of traffic to your website through social media sites
AWebStudio can help your business harness the power of the social media-sphere so that you get found by more potential customers, develop meaningful relationships with others in your industry, and position yourself as an expert in your field. Social networking applications help you engage and grow your audience by giving them a sense of identity and ownership.
Social Media Optimization
Social Media Optimization (SMO) is related to Search Engine Marketing, but differs in one key way; SMO primarily drives traffic from sources other than search engines. Improved search ranking is also a benefit of successful SMO. Social Media Optimization is in many ways connected as a technique to “organic” marketing (meta tag keywords, description and page content) where word of mouth is created not through friends or family but through the use of networking in social bookmarking, video and photo sharing websites. In a similar way the engagement with blogs achieves the same by sharing content through the use of RSS in the blogosphere and special blog search engines.
Social Media Optimization is considered an integral part of an online reputation management (ORM) or Search Engine Reputation Management (SERM) strategy for organizations or individuals who care about their online presence.
AWebStudio can help:
- Create customizable profile pages
- Connect your business with current and potential clients
- Display favorite media, blogs
- Exchange private messages
- Form groups around their favorite topics
AWebStudio SMO services are priced based on your needs and requirements. | <urn:uuid:ac597bc1-796f-41c6-9aab-94ff91794c70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.awebstudio.com/services/social-media-marketing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936937 | 469 | 1.507813 | 2 |
The loon symbol on state income tax forms has gone away; the DNR Secretary hopes donations to endangered resources programs won't disappear, too.
The legislature has voted to remove all icons from the state tax forms. That includes the loon symbol next to the line where people can donate to Wisconsin's Endangered Resources Fund. The fund has historically helped pay for efforts to restore species like the bald eagle and trumpeter swan. DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp contends losing the loon icon won't mean a lot of lost donations. "I think the folks who have been so wonderful will continue donating or find other ways to donate. I appreciate the Department of Revenue trying to simplify forms."
The DNR put out a press release this week publicizing the disappearance of the loon from the tax forms, but reminding people they can still donate money. Secretary Stepp says she earlier shot a video promoting donations to the Endangered Resources Fund. But now, Stepp says her agency will talk about whether to have her shoot a new video. | <urn:uuid:22a82e7d-c8ef-41d1-a702-0af9d993e250> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wpr.org/news/display_headline_story.cfm?storyid=63966 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958651 | 210 | 1.65625 | 2 |
- Contract Packaging
- Packaging Leaders
- Calendar of Events
Article | May 31, 1995
How State Chemical cleans up
Cleveland-based chemical packer modernizes its filling lines with induction sealing, and with a computer program that helps put customer service first.
Citrus tough to pack State Chemical may be an 84-year-old company but it has a very contemporary attitude that keeps it in tune with its customers. Platek proudly showed Packaging World the company's pollution prevention policy. In no small way that policy-and the marketplace-led State to reformulate many products to use water-based or citrus-oil-based cleaners. Although the products are better for the environment they can be very troublesome to contain. State manufactures a line of orange oil products that it packs into F-style gallon jugs of high-density polyethylene. Platek discovered that this combination of product and package was causing some returns because of leakers. "I'd estimate we were getting about a dozen returns each month because of leakers" says Platek. "Since we were shipping out tens of thousands of containers the percentage wasn't terribly significant. But it reflected badly on our company." The issue was on his mind as Platek visited Pack Expo 92. The use of induction sealing to avoid leakers wasn't at the top of his list of solutions. First State investigated the use of different components and even altering the package for example to a bag-in-box style. "In the end induction sealing was most attractive because it still let us use all our present equipment it's a noninvasive process that has no moving parts and we could use the same bottles and closures. So it appeared to be the most economical" Platek notes. The company contacted the three leading manufacturers and it began to examine the different systems. State's engineers preferred the Foiler from Pillar which was then a brand new model. One main advantage to this model is that the entire unit isn't water cooled just the actual sealing head. This makes it easier to use State's plant engineers say. It also permitted the company to make its first Foiler portable. "Before we added our second and third induction sealers we were using the sealer to attack only the bottles we knew had leaker problems" recalls Platek. "So I asked our maintenance people to find a way to make the sealers portable so we could move it from line to line." The mechanics devised a rack that holds the sealing head and a way to slide that rack and the base unit onto a forklift truck. It worked well but it was soon superseded by State's desire to add seals to more bottles. Not just for leakers The company was so impressed by the results of the seals on its gallon jugs that it decided to try induction seals on its other sizes as well. Although the quart line had no noticeable problem with leakers the company began to see the inner seal as a recognized package improvement. And customers really liked it. The second Foiler was added to the quart line and the third sealer was added last year to State's "newest" line one that runs bottles sized from a 1-oz sample up to 16 oz. Although there is some new equipment on that line it also contains older equipment from other packaging lines. While the units are more or less permanently installed on each line they share an advantage that was originally developed to make the unit portable. Because each sealing head is mounted to a floor-mounted rack it's independent of a conveyor line. That means it's unaffected by the conveyor's vibration and shock so it's less likely to need adjusting. With a handwheel height adjustment it's easier to position the seal head properly for the different heights of containers or closures. On the gallon line for example the heights of the rounds and F-style jugs are different; on the quart line the bottles are the same height but the closures aren't. State uses a flip-top cap on some products that is taller than the regular screw caps. "We mark the proper positions for all these caps on the units so adjusting is quick" Platek says. "We also have the top of the sealing head marked to show the proper position over the conveyor. These have to be canted a bit from the line flow to ensure the magnetic flux is applied to the entire cap." That he says is the only disadvantage of not installing the head onto the conveyor; if it gets moved a bit it has to be repositioned. State has five lead operators who are responsible for line changeovers and are trained to understand which machines have to be adjusted for a different container. Backing them up a Quality Control inspector always checks out finished packages before a new run can go into production. Solving other problems Since all of State Chemical's bottles are HDPE it expected it could use the same inner seal material for all. What the company found is that not all bottles are created equal just as all products don't have the same characteristics. When State began to seal the necks of quart bottles it discovered that the seals weren't always reliable. After investigating further it found the problem was being caused by out-of-spec bottles: the top flat surface of the bottle finish the land was too narrow. "We discovered that the land area on some bottles was too small clearly not within our written specification" Platek recalls. "This solution also remedied another related problem. We had been using a gasket-type seal on the bottles that we topped with flip-top caps. But the seals weren't as consistent as we wanted. By remolding the bottles with the land area in spec we now had enough surface to get uniform seals with gasket liners." State Chemical has various sources for inner seals or for closures. Most of State's liners are a lamination of aluminum foil/polyester/low-density PE. 'Missing' seals Not all problems with seals were traced to out-of-spec bottles. State was filling a variety of products into gallon bottles that received the induction seals through the Pillar units. And in fact State Chemical sales people were actively promoting the seals as an improved feature to customers. Customers for some products simply didn't receive bottles with intact seals. More care was taken to adjust the height of the seal head properly during package changeover and in-plant quality checks were more frequent. Yet their inner seals remained inconsistent. So the company sent staff out into the field to perform a seal audit. The team discovered that although orders went out from Cleveland with seals in place a week or two later the seals were completely gone when the product arrived at the end user's location. Eventually the culprit was identified: the high alkalinity of some products. "Our chemists found that the highly alkaline products were actually 'eating' the foil seals on the bottle" reports State's vice president for materials management. "So we've gone back to foam seals on these products while we try to find a material that is compatible." Ironically those same products packed into quart bottles didn't have the missing-seal problem. The only difference between the two containers is that the quart bottle closures have a pulp backing while the gallon caps do not. And the polyethylene layer is a bit heavier too says Platek. Customers appreciate seals The response from State Chemical customers has been all positive the company says. And not just because returns have been reduced. "There's also a safety factor on their side. They know they can depend on receiving our bottles intact and the inner seals can prevent problems in their use. They don't always handle them carefully. "Our sales people have been using the seals as a marketing advantage over our competition" Platek points out. "We know it's helped us grow this business." The cost of returns caused by leakers is tremendous he says. Every time you have to reship an order it costs your company an average of $100 to rehandle that order. Still buying the sealers was hard to justify just from an economic standpoint Platek recognizes. "It's customer satisfaction that really improves. Not only do our customers appreciate fewer packages with seal problems but so do our shippers." Since the company started adding the inner seals the level of all types of transit damage has dropped by 60 to 70%. The incidence of leakers alone has declined by at least 90% the company reports. "This is worth a lot of money to us" Platek says. "We're convinced it's worth it. Several of our customers called our service representatives to say it was a good safety idea." Cheaper materials While the company admits that it costs more money to add the seals it has found that the liners themselves are less costly than the previous nonsealing liners it used. This even surprised Allen Platek. With the induction-sealable liner in place screw caps for gallon jugs average 0.7¢/unit less than caps with foam liners. Costs are closer for the screw caps for State's quart bottles 0.2¢/unit less than caps with pulp liners. Caps in a variety of sizes with a range of liners is just a small part of the container purchasing responsibilities at State Chemical. Containers from one ounce up to gallons and even into intermediate bulk size must all be managed as well. Until four years ago this was a monumental task that was leading to ever larger parts inventories. At the same time the company was trying to modernize its production scheduling for the seven packaging lines. With the help of Arthur Andersen Consulting Services State installed a computer software program called MAC-PAC® OPEN that Platek says is both a materials and a manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) system. This custom program has done wonders for State Chemical's scheduling and purchasing functions. Working from its AS-400 mainframe computer from IBM (Armonk NY) the program uses historical data and forecasts that State keys in. From this information the software generates production schedules for the packaging lines as much as four to five months ahead. Later the program offers even more specific scheduling needs six weeks ahead. "At that time the MRP system tells us what raw materials and packaging components we need to order" says Platek. "When necessary it will alert us even sooner for example where we have 20-week lead times on materials or package components." The key to the program's success is that it keeps space freed up in State Chemical's warehouse. "It really helps us keep inventory levels down. Even though our sales have grown dramatically in the last few years our inventory levels of finished goods or raw materials have remained constant or even gone down" Platek reports. That's critical to State Chemical because warehouse space is at a premium in its landlocked area. This has also meant that State works more closely with vendors to get better service. "We're negotiating with our suppliers to give us less-than-truckload deliveries at truckload prices" Platek states. "To gain that cooperation we're concentrating our purchasing with fewer vendors. So we're saying 'We'll be buying more from you. We just want it in smaller quantities.' Our primary corrugated supplier delivers several times a week to us. That really helps us keep our inventory levels low. "Just a few years ago we used to package in runs as long as possible to put as much product in the warehouse as possible" says Platek. "Today the philosophy is only to make as much product as the program tells us will be needed. Not only does this lower our inventory levels it creates a high inventory turnover rate."
In offices manufacturing plants and other institutions around the country chances are the maintenance staff has used cleaning products manufactured by The State Chemical Mfg. Co. Cleveland OH. This venerable producer operates seven filling lines at its main headquarters plant almost exclusively filling high-density polyethylene bottles from 1 oz to gallons and even larger. Although it operates out of several buildings in an aging industrial area of Cleveland it's working hard to deliver better products in a more timely fashion to its customers. State's packaging lines are a combination of new and existing equipment with a healthy dose of manual labor. That's necessary because the company packs so many different products in so many different sizes and it tries to do so while keeping minimum inventories in its warehouse. How can it accomplish this? * To upgrade the quality of its packaging State began an extensive program thatled to the purchase of three induction sealers from Pillar Technologies (Hartland WI) on its most productive packaging lines. It made the first sealer portable so it could be moved from line to line. The mouth seals were so well received by customers that the plant added two more to its other production lines. * With bottle seals State found that some seal laminations were not compatible with certain highly alkaline products. As a result the company uses foam liners on a few of its products. * For the last few years State has relied on a unique computer program for production forecasting and scheduling. The Manufacturing Resource Planning Two (MRP II) computer program developed with Arthur Andersen Consulting (Chicago IL) helps State plan not only its production but also its purchases of both raw materials and packaging components. Keeping up with State's regular flow of new products under the State and subsidiaries' private labels is a big enough job. Keeping track of containers decorating foil seals and product formulations is a real challenge particularly with 2 SKUs. It's also been a labor of love for Allen M. Platek vice president materials management.
E-BOOK SPECIAL REPORT
45 Best Package Designs
Sign up to receive timely updates from our editors and download this e-book consisting of our editors' picks of most notable package designs. | <urn:uuid:31665a9a-931a-45ac-bc79-80ea443719df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.packworld.com/machinery/tamper-evidence-machinery/how-state-chemical-cleans | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971338 | 2,776 | 1.507813 | 2 |
...toward peace between Jews and Arabs.
Today, I took that small step - and my Arab neighbor took one in return. Will this be the first of many steps, in an effort to build an everlasting peace between Jew and Arab?
In a building that has 6 Jewish families, there is but one apartment of Arabs - and yet, the Arabs number almost as many as the Jews. There has been some animosity, usually kept under a tight lid; with an occasional flare-up, usually meant to disturb the otherwise peaceful lives. These flare-ups sometimes lead to responses, which lead to greater disruptions: But in the end, all returns to a tense quiet.
But today was different. Today's historic event, the opening of the door to a brilliant future, may be looked back upon one day as the catalyst for a lasting peace. Today, all the rubbish was removed, as that door was opened - and held open - by a team. A team that is rarely seen, but a team nevertheless: A team of Jew and Arab.
Today, I am proud to say that I took that small step and opened that door - and my young Arab neighbor took a small step herself and held that door open. I let her in, and she returned the favor.
Yes. Today, I took out that garbage: And on my way out, I let in that Arab neighbor. She then held the door for her Jewish neighbor, me, as I maneuvered the garbage outside. It was incredible, and it was touching. It was a moment that will live in Kew Gardens Hills history.
My wife is happy, too. | <urn:uuid:8dcdbdf3-18a5-4944-91d2-3dfa80f269d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://serandez.blogspot.com/2006/01/one-small-step.html | 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 | 0.988417 | 334 | 1.625 | 2 |
Members of the Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation Authority have painted the two football fields at Riverview Park behind the levee using pink paint in honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness month.
The yard lines and boundary lines were made pink prior to Tuesday night’s slate of youth football games with help from Sherwin-Williams, which partnered with the RFPRA and donated the paint.
“Breast cancer affects a lot of people, and we’re just trying to do our part,” said Todd Wofford, RFPRA parks superintendent.
“Youth sports are so important to the kids and a lot of adults. Out there you have kids that are fighting for a touchdown while, at the same time, you can have moms in the stands who are fighting for their lives,” he said.
The idea to make the lines pink came from the city’s experience of using pink lines with certain breast cancer awareness events that were sponsored by Shorter University.
Wofford said they wanted to expand that and increase awareness by using the theme on the youth football fields.
“The kids see it on television during NFL games with players wearing pink shoes and gloves, so this allows them to be a part of it,” Wofford said. “We hope it’s something we can do every year as we go forward.”
The fight against breast cancer also resonates on a personal level with the RFPRA.
Rick Haase, who is the youth football sports coordinator, has been working for the authority for more than 25 years. His wife is a two-time survivor of breast cancer.
“It is very treatable, and if you catch it early enough you can beat it,” Wofford said.
The fields will remain pink through the end of the month, and Wofford said he has received text messages and emails from people saying it looks great.
“Rick was there on Tuesday night and said it was real neat to have it,” he said. | <urn:uuid:93d10010-49cb-44bf-8f2e-00bba603f237> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.romenews-tribune.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Youth+fields+go+pink+for+breast+cancer+awareness%20&id=20527777 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977818 | 429 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Tweet What do you do if the power is out, but you need to charge your cell phone to make an emergency phone call? In this episode of DIY Hacks & How To’s, I show you how to tap the power flowing from your phone line. There is a small amount of electricity that is [...]
I am going to make use of this so much! One Tab is a Chrome browser extension that saves your open tabs as a list that you can recall one by one if needed. The purpose of this extension is to reduce memory usage — from many tabs being open to just one tab being open — and reduce clutter overall if you need a clean slate for the day. Awesome. Get it here, it’s free.
On the ground, sometimes its easy to lose track of the fact that hundreds of airplanes are flying overhead at any given moment. A new company, FlightRadar24, is developing nice aggregation tools to observe the traffic jams in the sky. Before, live views of aircraft like this were the domain of aviation professionals. Sure, it may not be the most useful new app–unless you’re an aviation fanatic–but the real time tracking of aircraft is undeniably cool.
FlightRadar24 uses public Federal Aviation Administration data in the United States and pulls data from automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) responders elsewhere. Since only about 60% of passenger-carrying airplanes are equipped with ADS-B, there are some flights missing. Regardless, you’ll most likely be able to track where your friend’s flight is if he or she is flying a major American airline. Like most new internet services, coverage is best in the United States and Europe (the other continents don’t have as many ADS-B responders on the ground.) A glance at the continental United States through FlightRadar24′s website reveal a phalanx of crisscrossing flights.
Like most new internet services, coverage is best in the United States and Europe. Also, there’s a pretty cool iPhone app associated with the service. It provides the same data in a mobile package, but the coolest feature is an augmented reality trick that allows you to point your phone at a plane and learn all the associated details with that flight, such as flight number, destination, and expected landing time. Wolfram Alpha’s apps have allowed you to see flights overhead using the same data, but the augmented reality layer is a nice touch. Head over to FlightRadar24 to try it out.
Not every website can be a Google. No; not in terms of scale but in terms of the speed with which it loads up in our browsers. Minimalism is great, but it does not go with the need to put more content and animated ads on the webpage. It is sometimes a trade-off which every web designer has to make.
Creating faster webpages is one of the commandments of great web design. A slow loading speed not only indicates poor design but is also a huge turn-off for visitors. Slow loading webpages could also be symptoms of bugs or any other bottleneck.
The first step you can take to optimize your website is to put it through a speed test. These ten tools are few of the many which can help test loading speeds and give cues to create faster webpages. | <urn:uuid:3675d0e2-a3bb-46e5-aa95-7202e3c441db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ianscott.biz/category/webdev/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94505 | 684 | 1.8125 | 2 |
In our rehearsals lately, we’ve been focusing on two big things, both of which are seemingly basic, yet difficult to master. They are: 1.) Follow the first thing, and 2.) Take note of any anomalies.
The first one is easy to understand: whatever is first initiated, that’s what you’re scene is about. Don’t start one way then bail on it 6 lines in because you saw something better. In fact, if you saw something “better” at that point, then you were doing yourself a disservice to begin with because you might not have made a strong choice at the top.
ANYWAY… we’re really talking about the second one. With this credo, you want to play with a level of concentration where you notice anything out of the ordinary. You want to play as an “anomaly cop,” ever ready. That way you can work it into the pattern of the show, changing any “mistakes” into intentional-looking “non-mistakes.” (For example: if for some reason a teammate says the word “rubber” as “rud-bubber,” it is your job as an anomaly cop to notice it — because everyone did — and work it into later scenes). You have to be so aware of what the current pattern is that any changes pop out like fireworks.
In other words, improvisers should notice differences the way my toddler son does around the house.
Henry must spend his entire day staring at our bookshelves, stove, electrical outlets, TV’s, computers, cupboards, chairs, clothes, soaps, towels and everything else we own with ferocious intensity. He knows the way the rooms “should” be so well, that to move anything gets a reaction like you’d expect from moving the furniture in a blind man’s house.
The “anomaly copping” occurs most often after sleep. He’ll wake up from either his nightly sleep or his mid-day nap, trounce around the apartment to get some food or a drink, and occasionally be stopped by something out of the ordinary, emitting a high-pitched “Ah!” and a pointing finger. “That wasn’t there two/ten hours ago,” he’s telling us, and he’s absolutely correct. In order to childproof our home, we’ve gone to the lengths of removing the AV cables from our TV (they plug in the front) and the knobs on the stove (which just makes sense). If we leave either of these big-ticket items in during his waking hours, he lets us know. This is fortunate, because his “Ah!” gives us a 2.5-second window of opportunity before his feet compulsively draw his pudgy hands closer to the anomaly.
This is how I want to play on stage: always in the moment, instantly aware of any changes in the pattern, and with my feet (or my mind feet) ready to take me toward the anomaly.
I’m working on it. All day. Every day. With breaks at night and after lunch and a diaper change. | <urn:uuid:45fbfe0c-1e19-4280-b79c-65d128e88df2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ussrocknroll.com/?p=5441 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965299 | 684 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Back in August, Bustler published the twenty shortlisted entries of ONE PRIZE 2012: FROM BLIGHT TO MIGHT, the open international design competition for transforming cities with innovation. Today, Terreform ONE announced the final competition winner, as well as three honorable mentions. The main prize went to the project 'MADE IN LOWER EAST SIDE (MiLES)'. — bustler.net
Terreform ONE has announced twenty finalists of its open international design competition, ONE PRIZE 2012: FROM BLIGHT TO MIGHT. The competition drew 115 teams and 655 team members from more than 20 countries and five continents. Many questioned the American Dream and offered new 21st century possibilities. Several projects called for a rethinking of the boundary between the derelict area and its adjacent urban fabric. — bustler.net
Terreform ONE has announced the winners of ONE PRIZE: Water as the 6th Borough, the open international design competition to envision the sixth borough of New York City. ONE PRIZE is an annual design and science award to promote green design in cities. The 2011 edition turned its focus to New York and its waterways, re-imagining recreational space, public transportation, local industry, and native environment in the city. — bustler.net
SUBMIT NEWS: submit in 60 seconds! | <urn:uuid:82fef873-cac0-460d-ab22-cb00e0354959> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archinect.com/news/tag/23228/one-prize | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941335 | 269 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Just a few weeks ago, progressive health-care reform looked like a done deal. And the so-called "public plan"—a government-run insurance option beloved by the Democratic Party's most liberal faction—was to be the legislation's centerpiece.
But thanks to some inconvenient analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and increased public worries about government spending in general, reform efforts are now in disarray. Although an expensive overhaul of the health-care system is still on the front-burner, the once-preordained inclusion of a public plan is now in jeapardy. If it fails, the result will be a huge loss for the Democratic Party's liberal wing and a victory for those who want to keep the government out of the health insurance business. How did a sure thing turn shaky so fast?
Ever since the politically disastrous defeat of President Bill Clinton's HillaryCare in 1994, progressive health care advocates have been itching for a legislative rematch, digging through the wreckage in search of lessons for future battles. One of the key ideas to emerge was a "public option"—a government-run insurance plan that, advocates said, would compete with private plans, providing Americans a cheaper insurance option while exerting a downward pull on private insurance premiums. More crucially, unlike HillaryCare, it would accomplish this without directly forcing individuals off their current insurance plans.
The public option was credited by supporters with having almost miraculous properties. Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle, a one-time frontrunner to head up the Department of Health and Human Services and one of the Democratic Party's most prominent health-reform advocates, penned a piece for Newsweek claiming that it would simultaneously lower costs, expand choice, and improve patient access. Given such expectations, it was hardly surprising to see pundit and longtime universal health care booster Ezra Klein write that for progressive reformers, the inclusion of a strong public insurance option was "the single most recognizable marker for victory."
For a while, things seemed to be moving in that direction, with President Barack Obama making health care one of his top legislative priorities, and Democrats everywhere proclaiming that the time for reform had finally come. As Michael Cannon, a health policy analyst at the Cato Institute, argues, "The administration wanted to create an aura of inevitability."
But starting this month, the advocates' confidence began to shrivel. The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn, whose 2007 book Sick made a passionate plea for universal coverage, wrote on June 17 that reformers should be worried, topping his blog post with a picture of a lit-up panic sign. The next week, the same magazine published an article by Clinton health-care pollster Stanley Greenberg worrying that the public mood was bearing an eerie resemblance to 1994. And Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) warned on June 21 that Obama might not have the votes this year to pass the biggest item on his legislative agenda. Much of the newfound criticism centered on objections to the public plan.
What let the air out of their tires? The answer, to a large degree, lies in the unexpected power emanating from three little letters: CBO.
That would be the Congressional Budget Office, a straight-laced bureau whose job is to ground congressional fantasy in budgetary reality. And when it comes to health care, fantasy was more or less what the reformers were hoping for. Unfortunately for them, says George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen, "CBO scoring is biased toward the certain and the real and the measurable." That attitude led the office to decline to score some of the untested cost-saving measures included in the bill.
On June 16, the CBO slapped the Senate Finance Committee's draft legislation with a staggering $1.6 trillion price tag over the next 10 years—an outlay which the office further predicted would only cover about two-thirds of currently uninsured people. Given recent polls suggesting increased public wariness over excessive spending, it was a number big enough to give pause even to a government on a record-breaking spending spree.
The CBO didn't actually score a public option (though that didn't stop some Republicans from inaccurately saying it did). But generalized sticker shock seems to have opened the way for already skeptical legislators, including some centrist Democrats, to express concerns about the government getting heavily into the insurance market.
There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of a public plan. The most discussed objection is that it would cause many people to move off their current employer-sponsored policies. The government wouldn't force anyone to switch, but would be providing an incentive for workplaces to drop current coverage altogether. Businesses that did so would likely be required to pay into a pool to finance insurance alternatives, but for many, particularly those with older, less healthy workforces, dropping current coverage options would still prove an attractive option.
The other, somewhat less-discussed problem, is the potential for free riding. Any public plan would be subject to regulations known as guaranteed issue and community rating. These regulations would require plans to be open to all comers and prohibit plans from discriminating based on price. That would be an extremely attractive option for the chronically sick. But the presence of the very sick, and thus the very expensive, would drive up total costs—potentially pushing healthy people away from private plans. As Cowen explains, the result would be a sort of federal high-risk pool, "a vehicle through which you can pay more money to cover some high risk people."
So without ever actually scoring it, the CBO brought concerns about the public plan to light. The likely end result of this, thinks Cowen, is a dramatically scaled-back bill with either no public option or one that's largely toothless—restricted from bargaining down prices with medical providers, or perhaps subject to a "trigger" mechanism that would only allow a public plan to come into being if private plans failed to control costs or increase coverage.
Public-plan champions such as Robert Reich and Jacob Hacker, the latter of whose 2007 Economic Policy Institute paper "Healthcare for America" was influential in the push for a public option, have been ramping up pressure, pleading in a June 23 conference call with reporters for Obama to use the bully pulpit to support a vigorous public option. But although Obama voiced some support for the public option in a press conference later that day, he refused to say that its inclusion was non-negotiable—a message reiterated by White House senior advisers over the weekend. The implications for the public plan were crystal clear: Despite all the reformers' hopes and work, it's no longer inevitable. | <urn:uuid:2acf74f8-4d14-4c7a-841a-140bca452401> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reason.org/news/printer/how-the-public-option-of-healt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964412 | 1,338 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Is it better to supervise an Islamic forum or to read Qur’aan and do acts of worship?
We are supervisor women to a female forum. Men can be on it but with limits and in specific sections only. We sit for hours arranging and deleting topics. This forum is Islamic, Alhamdulillah. Is what we do considered acts of da’wah? Is it better to spend this time reciting Quraan and worshipping Allah?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Calling people to Allaah is one of the greatest of righteous deeds and beneficial acts of worship and obedience that bring benefit to others. Hence the one who does it and busies himself with it is treading the path of the Prophets and Messengers, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): “This is my way; I invite unto Allaah (i.e. to the Oneness of Allaah — Islamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me (also must invite others to Allaah, i.e. to the Oneness of Allaah — Islamic Monotheism with sure knowledge). And Glorified and Exalted be Allaah (above all that they associate as partners with Him). And I am not of the Mushrikoon (polytheists, pagans, idolaters and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah; those who worship others along with Allaah or set up rivals or partners to Allaah)”
“And who is better in speech than he who [says: ‘My Lord is Allaah (believes in His Oneness),’ and then stands firm (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allaah’s (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: ‘I am one of the Muslims’”
Many texts in the Qur’aan and Sunnah enjoin da’wah or calling people to Allaah, such as the hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever calls others to guidance will have a reward like that of those who follow it, without that detracting from their reward in the slightest” Narrated by Muslim (3674).
And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah, His angels and the inhabitants of heaven and earth, even the ant in its hole and the fish, send blessings on the one who teaches the people good.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2685); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
The ways of calling people to Allaah are many and various, such as speaking directly, in khutbahs (sermons), speeches and lectures, or on tapes; and by writing in letters, publications and on forums.
That includes setting up useful forums and supervising them, and directing their members and commenting on their articles and contributions. All of these are ways of calling people to Allaah and teaching the people good.
Indeed these forums have become a prominent means of teaching, guiding, calling people to Islam and enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, and those who are in charge of them will have a great reward, according to their intentions, actions and efforts.
Based on this, you should seek reward with Allaah for the time that you spend in following up on these participants and commenting on them and guiding them, but you should be careful not to let that distract you from things that are more important and beneficial, such as looking after your husband and children, acquiring shar’i knowledge, regularly reading Qur’aan and reciting wird (dhikr), because some people become distracted by forums from doing more important things and greater acts of worship. Fiqh means understanding priorities and giving precedence to that which is more important.
How wonderful it is when a person manages to have a share pf every kind of booty, so he has a share of this and of that, and he pays attention to that which will benefit him and others, and he strives to improve himself in terms of knowledge and action, and he spends some of his time to benefit others and call them to Islam and guide them, so he does not let one duty distract him from another, or let one good thing keep him from doing another. Hence Allaah causes his words to be effective and his advice to be beneficial, because he has accompanied his words with actions, and his slogan is: “I wish not, in contradiction to you, to do that which I forbid you. I only desire reform to the best of my power. And my guidance cannot come except from Allaah, in Him I trust and unto Him I repent” [Hood 11:88].
Taking care of oneself requires proper understanding and wisdom, so a person should take advantage when he had energy and is able to focus and make the most of his time. So sometimes he reads Qur’aan and does a lot of naafil acts of worship, and sometimes he attends circles and classes or studies books of knowledge, and sometimes he goes to forums and supervises them. The best kind of worship is that which one feels inclined towards and feels at ease with it when there is a need for it.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) wrote some useful words about priorities with regard to acts of worship, and we will quote some of it. For example he said: “… The same applies to the person’s state of mind. When he is in the state of mind that helps him to achieve the purpose for which he was created, then that state of mind is much nobler than any other. And the same applies to actions. Any action which helps him to get closer to the purpose for which he was created is better than any other. Hence prayer and jihad are among the best of deeds because they bring one closer to that aim, and this is how it should be, because the closer a thing is to the goal the better it is than that which is far away from it. The action which prepares the heart and mind to know Allaah and His names and attributes, and to love Him, fear Him and put one’s hopes in Him is better than that which is not like that. If a number of deeds have this quality in common, then the best of them is that which brings one closest to this goal. Hence acts of worship have this goal in common, so they are required for the sake of Allaah and sins have in common the fact that they block the heart and prevent it from reaching this goal, so they are forbidden. The effect of acts of worship and sins depends on their degree. This is something to which attention must be paid, which is that a particular deed may be better for one person than another.
For example, in the case of a rich man who has acquired much wealth and is reluctant to spend of it, his giving charity is better for him than spending the night in prayer (qiyaam al-layl) and observing naafil fasts by day.
In the case of a brave man who can strike fear into the enemy’s heart with his whip, his spending an hour in the ranks and fighting against the enemies of Allaah in jihad is better than Hajj, fasting, giving charity or doing naafil acts of worship. In the case of a scholar who knows the Sunnah, halal and haraam, and the ways of good and evil, his mixing with the people and teaching and advising them about their religion is better than his withdrawing and spending his time in prayer, reading Qur’aan and tasbeeh. End quote from ‘Uddat al-Saabireen, p. 93.
He also said:
The best act of worship is striving to please the Lord at all times by doing whatever is suited to that time and expected for it. The best act of worship at times of jihad is jihad, even if that means forsaking regular naafil actions such as praying qiyaam at night and fasting by day, or even if it means not offering the obligatory prayers in full as one does at times of peace and security.
The best act of worship when a guest comes is fulfilling his rights and taking care of him rather that reciting the mustahabb wird. The same applies to fulfilling the rights of one’s wife and children.
The best act of worship at the time before dawn is to occupy oneself with prayer, Qur’aan, du’aa’, dhikr and asking for forgiveness.
The best act of worship when guiding the seeker of knowledge and teaching the ignorant is to focus on teaching them.
The best act of worship at the time of the adhaan is to stop what one is doing of wird (dhikr) and respond to the muezzin.
The best act of worship at the time of the five daily prayers is to strive sincerely to perform the prayers in the best possible manner, and to hasten to pray when the time for prayer begins. Going out to the mosque even if it is far is better.
The best act of worship at times when someone needs help is to use one’s position, physical capabilities and wealth to help him and to answer his call, and to give that precedence over reciting your wird and staying alone.
The best act of worship at times of reading Qur’aan is to when one’s mind is focused and one is in the right frame of mind to ponder its meanings and understand it, until it is as if Allaah is addressing you, so you can focus on pondering it and understanding it and resolving to implement its commands more than a person would focus if he received a letter from the ruler.
The best act of worship when standing in ‘Arafah is to focus on beseeching Allaah, du’aa’ and dhikr, and not to fast which would make one too weak to focus on that.
The best act of worship during the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah is to do a lot of acts of worship, especially reciting takbeer (“Allaahu akbar”), tahleel (“Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah”) and tahmeed (“al-hamdu Lillaah”). This is better than jihad for the one for whom jihad is not an individual obligation.
The best act of worship during the last ten days of Ramadaan is to spend a lot of time in the mosque, and to be alone and observe i’tikaaf without mixing with people and being distracted by them. It is even better than focusing on teaching them knowledge and Qur’aan according to many scholars.
These are the people whose worship Allaah in every sense of the word; other people worship Him in a limited sense (i.e., the people who are mostly focused on one type of worship, such as qiyaam al-layl or reading Qur’aan or fasting). When one of them stops doing the kind of worship that he is attached to, he feels as if he is falling short and has stopped worshipping, so he worships Allaah in just one way. But the one who worships in every sense of the word is not more inclined to one type of worship than another, rather his aim is to seek the pleasure of Allaah wherever it lies.
So his worship is based on that, and he keeps moving through different stages of worship, and every time he strives to reach a certain status, he keeps himself busy with that, until he sees another level that he wants to reach, so he persists in that until the end of the course. So if you see the scholars you will him with them, and if you see the worshippers you will see him with them, and if you see the mujaahideen you will see him with them, and if you see those who remember Allaah you will see him with them, and if you see those who give charity and do good you will see him with them, and if you see those whose hearts are devoted to Allaah you will see him with them. This is the one who worships Allaah in every sense of the word, who is not restricted by one type in exclusion to others, and his actions are not based on what he is inclined towards and what he finds pleasure in, rather he chooses the act of worship that pleases Allaah most, even if his joy and ease may be in some other act of worship. This is the one who truly fulfils the meaning of Iyyaaka na’budu wa iyyaaka nasta’een (“You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything)” [al-Faatihah 1:5]). End quote from Madaarij al-Saalikeen (1/88).
To sum up: Supervising this forum is a kind of calling people to Allaah, so you should not give it up, but the Muslim should organize his time, giving some time for da’wah and some time for reading Qur’aan and some time for prayer, and some time for his wife and family, and so on, giving each its rights.
We ask Allaah to help and guide us and you.
And Allaah knows best. | <urn:uuid:7fa3cf29-2330-4e00-bf5d-1639edbba5a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://islamqa.com/en/cat/85/ref/islamqa/101732 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975511 | 2,831 | 1.835938 | 2 |
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This joint project between the Royal Society, Academy of Medical Sciences, British Academy and Royal Academy of Engineering explored potential enhancements arising from advances in science and engineering that are likely to impact on the future of work.
The report from a workshop which brought together policy-makers with leading experts from across engineering, science, social science, the humanities and industry was published in November 2012.
The speakers at the workshop provided an overview of a range of potential enhancements arising from advances in science and engineering that are likely to impact on the future of work. Attendees also discussed the associated opportunities and challenges that may arise from these developments.
The workshop was the first example of these four academies combining their expertise to consider the policy implications of developments in a diverse range of research fields.
Workshop reportpublished November 2012.
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A St. Francis Goshen class is learning about history, geography and sports all at once as a second-grade teacher prepares to run the Boston Marathon.
Madelyn Blue will be competing in the prestigious race for the third time when the gun goes off at 10 a.m. today (Monday).
Athletes must run qualifying times to enter the Boston Marathon or fundraise for a charity position.
Blue is integrating the event into her classroom at St. Francis, including teaching about the course’s many famous landmarks.
Blue and her students use a SmartBoard — an electronic whiteboard — to spot different landmarks along the course map.
They help Blue find the Newton Hills section of the course, a series of four climbs famous for Heartbreak Hill, which challenges many runners at mile 21.
The marathon course goes from Hopkington, Mass., a city west of Boston, and through five other cities before ending in downtown Boston.
Blue’s students find the different spots where her time will be posted live on the internet — roughly every three miles — through an online athlete tracking system.
The class also calculated what her time needs to be at the halfway point to hit her goal of 3:30.
Other math-related tasks have included tracking Blue’s mileage in training and the course’s elevation chart.
Students also learned about Patriot’s Day, the Massachusetts holiday on which the race is held.
Because of the Monday date, Blue will be out of the classroom Monday and Tuesday.
Even an acrostic poem using the word “marathon” challenged students to come up with different words that fit the theme.
They’ve also talked about the elite runners who will be competing for the title — Blue said her students have asked several times if she’ll win or at least earn second place.
Instead, students learned about past champions and the push in recent years by American runners to place high in the race. Last year, the second place men’s and women’s finishers were both Americans.
Blue won’t be first, although she hopes to better her own best time at this year’s event with pacing help from Prospect resident Mark Schoenegge, one of her training partners.
Blue, 30, qualified for this year’s race when she ran the Boston Marathon last year.
She finished the race in 3:34:50, more than five minutes under the qualifying time for her age group, and set a new personal best.
Almost 24,000 people finished the 2011 race.
However, race standards will be tougher for the 2013 event — about five minutes faster for most age groups. Women 34 and younger must run a 3:35 at a sanctioned marathon to qualify; men in the same age group must run a 3:05.
After the Boston Marathon, Blue will continue training for several triathlon events she plans to complete this year.
In June, she’ll travel to California for the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon, where competitors swim 1.5 miles from Alcatraz Island to shore. Blue will then tackle an 18-mile bike race and an 8-mile run.
While the overall distance isn’t a worry, the rough, chilly ocean swim has Blue nervous.
Blue will also complete several other triathlons this summer as training for Ford Ironman Louisville. The 140.6-mile event includes Oldham County in its course and takes place Aug. 26.
It will be Blue’s fourth Ironman-distance event.
Blue enjoys the opportunity to share her training and racing experiences with her students, who are excited to see how Blue does in the Boston Marathon — one student even wore a Boston shirt to show support last week.
The Boston Marathon begins at 10 a.m. April 16. Check back for finishing times for Blue and other local runners. There are nine local runners registered for the event, including Crestwood residents and Naphtali Tate, Pewee Valley resident Dannis Hughbanks and Prospect residents Frank Cupolo, Brian Jones, Mark Schoenegge Ellen Thimme and Brooke Vernon. | <urn:uuid:8213c997-3c64-4bb5-8a19-e2d5a0890b14> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oldhamera.com/content/st-francis-students-will-track-teacher-boston-marathon?quicktabs_2=0&mini=calendar-date%2F2012-12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939702 | 870 | 1.648438 | 2 |
To some extent just one we have well-known that Gog and Magog almost definitely are perfectly found on the Caucuses region, to begin with you leap into hastening ideas permit study additional famous referrals to aid us choose the beginning your scientific expedition in Mission of Gog and Magog…
Make browse as a result of similar personal references on the websites from the Syrian beginning Sterling Star relating to Alexander (circa 480 to 520 Advertisement):
(144) An manipulate by Alexander, the boy of Philip the Macedonian, demonstrating how he travelled on on the comes to an end on the planet, which made a door of golf club, and shut it industry by storm north of manchester the wind, that the Hunaye might not exactly occur up to go bad the places (through the manuscripts in your house with the microfilm with the kings of Alexandria).
(148) And Alexander looked to your Western side, and the man identified a huge batch that descends, as well as its identity was excellent Musas (could be Mount Ararat in Chicken, which has been called Musas which Gilgamesh was shown to have risen quite a few Gilgamesh figures grew to be Alexander legends, just like the Moses misconception of your companion fixed adrift within a gift basket to escape a massacre of youngsters started to be a Queen-Arthur-and-Mordred myth) plus the troopers originated it and arrived on the scene upon Install Klaudia, and got loaf of bread there.
(149) They occurred to your method of obtaining the Euphrates, and in addition they learned that it came up up at a cavern and so they stumbled on Haluras, the location where the Tigris runs to fruition like the supply that becomes a slow, and they had breads in Haluras. And they departed from thence and attended the water Kallath and they also originated the hill called Ramath, the place we have a look at-tower system. And Alexander and his troopers were standing after the peak of the mountain and found normal quarters in the heavens. And Alexander said, us go forth furthermore for the north and in addition they stumbled on the constraint with the north, and entered Armenia and Adarbaijan and Inner Armenia… And Alexander handed down by means of every one of these destinations and that he moved and approved Support Musas and came into an obvious that is Bahi-Lebta, and hubby went and encamped because of the entrance on the fantastic off-road. Now there was obviously a street throughout it where good sellers joined the essential international locations, by it do Alexander encamp.
sends heralds out, requesting that 301 adult men state-of-the-art in years go to meet up with him. These adult men inform him that this area is part of Tubarlak, master of Persia Alexander told them, far does the off-road infiltrate in this direction? They clarified him, off-road offers without a break up, transferring with the marine of Michele-Katraye, and keeps going and concludes in outer Persia around Indian… Alexander claimed, hill is greater plus much more dreadful than many of the mountain tops which I have seen The earlier guys, residents of the us, thought to the queen, by your majesty, my master the master, or we neither of them our dads have already been qualified to goal a step about it, and men do not climb it frequently on that part or on this, for it is the border which God has despatched among us and the international locations there Alexander mentioned, would be the countries through this huge batch where i am searching? The residents of the country reported, are Huns He stated in their mind, are their nobleman? The old men explained, and Magog and Nawal the nobleman on the kids of Japheth… lot of titles accepts:
(153) When Alexander received heard just what the outdated gentlemen explained, he marveled significantly on the fantastic ocean which encased all generation and Alexander believed to his military, you seek that we need to do a thing wonderful in this property? They said to him, thy majesty commands we’ll do The california king explained, us generate a checkpoint of metal and up close this violation His members of the military said, majesties will is our orders we And Alexander led and fetched 3, 000 smiths, laborers in metal, and 3200 adult males, laborers in brass. And they also put down brass and in terms of iron, and kneaded it as being a male kneads when he works clay courts. Chances are they helped bring it making a entrance, the capacity of that was a dozen cubits and its particular width 8-10 cubits. Plus they developed a decrease patience from off-road to huge batch, the capacity of which has been a dozen cubits and they hammered it to the boulders on the foothills, and it also was fixed within brass and iron…
(154) And queen Alexander fetched an engraver and engraved with the gate: The Huns should go out and overcome the nations with the Romans as well as the Lambkins, and would solid arrows… and will come back and key in their own personal property. Also I’ve got published that, at the conclusion of ten $ 120-half dozen years, the Huns should certainly go forth by the narrow way which matches on other Haloras, whence the Tigris should go out just like the steady stream which turns a mill, they usually will increase the risk for the planet tremble by their intending forward.
(Facts are provided of nov the checkpoint, which should herald the completed on the planet).
(155) And whenever the Huns have gone up, as God has led, the kingdoms in the Huns plus the Napoleons and also the Arabs, the twenty-4 kingdoms that happen to be written in this publication, shall come from the finishes in the air and slip in the other person, along with the the planet can soften over the bloodstream and dung that face men.
This is one more version from an Islamic viewpoint:
he carried on his way until eventually he reached the place where the sun riseth and then he found it to on others on to which we had not granted nearly anything wherewith to refuge their selves there from. Thus it was and that we comprehended with this awareness the aids which were with him. And the man punished his journey from south to upper, right up until he came regarding the two mountain ranges, down below that he uncovered others, who could rare know very well what was stated. And in addition they reported: O Zul karnein, verily Gog and Magog waste the area would we hence spend thee homage, on ailment that thou build a rampart in between us and them? The electricity wherewith my Master had strengthened me surpasses your gratitude but allows me strenuously, we set a substantial divider amongst you and also them. Provide me in terms of iron in substantial parts, until finally it floods in the room involving the two attributes of these mountain ranges. And he asked the workmen, knock back with the bellows, till it have the metal in demand as shoot. And then he explained additional, deliver me molten steel that we might dump after it. Wherefore, once this walls was completed, Gog and Magog can’t machine it, or could they search through it. And Zul karnein mentioned that is a whim from my Lord: but when the conjecture of my Head of the family would come to be content, he should certainly decrease the wall membrane to dust as well as prediction of my The almighty applies. — Quran, xviii
I Also observed there also many individuals that dined on the weed of mankind and consumed the blood stream of pets (and beasts) like drinking water with regard to their inactive they hidden not, but consumed. And whenever I beheld these kinds of completely incredible international locations and terrifying that by means of a really eating habits some may pollute the environment… I besought the facility previously mentioned and proceeded with drive against them, and many of them I put to the blade, as well as their terrain I lower to subjection… Two-and-30 ended up the nobleman them over, and I pressed hunt for all of them pressure till they fortified independently into two good mountain tops the Bosoms in the Upper, without any other exit or entry than involving the above great foothills, magnificent in height since they do above the confuses of paradise, and advancing like two walls about the appropriate in addition, on the kept where the truly amazing Seaside underneath the Ansos (i.electronic. the Arctos, and the Carry Legend – with regards to the Arctic Ocean) as well as the land of the dark. And I looked into many contrivances to prevent them from issuing up through the excellent mountain range into which ended up powered. The the front between your fantastic foothills actions 6-8-and-forty five royal cubits. Once more thus importuned Providence above and my prayer was listened to. For He instructed the two foothills they usually rocked and walked about in competition jointly a yardage of a dozen cubits.
And then there I built entrance of steel… and the identical entrances I overspread with asociton that neither flames nor precious metal or any device in the least might be able to unbronze the throughways for fireplace when helped bring around it’s going out, and aluminum crumbles. And just outside of these most horrendous gateways I build a different shape of rocks each one finding the thickness of eleven cubits, the peak of 20 or so cubits, and along 58 cubits… that nothing at all could possibly get to master this sort of entrances, i referred to as the Caspian Throughways. Two-and-20 nobleman I shut in the administration area. And the bands from the countries are Magog, Kynekephaloi, Nounoi…
My very own dedication is that there is a give somewhere within the Caucuses region in one particular mountains that will in some way produce Gog and Magog location. Could this cavern be sort of a site that leads completely to another dimensions?
Wear produce a decision however, since there is much more in the future in Gog and Magog 3 that can have an overabundance of convincing equipment why a clinical dispatch will need to adhere to after a long controversy across the Story of Gog and Magog. | <urn:uuid:da9cc30c-98d9-40b3-821c-d5a5a4176314> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thehunsyellowpageswebs.org/gog-and-magog-ii-3/37/ | 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 | 0.966447 | 2,162 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Does Your Boss Want You Dead?
I teach several ethics courses where we discuss ethics in the workplace. Did you know that your employee can take out a policy on your life without you knowing about it? Check out this article by Liz Pulliam Weston from MSN.
‘Dead peasants’ insurance pays your employer a secret, tax-free windfall when you die. Insurers have sold millions of policies to companies such as Dow Chemical.
Right now, your company could have a life insurance policy on you that you know nothing about. When you die — perhaps years after you leave your employer — the tax-free proceeds from this policy wouldnt go to your family. The money would go to the company.Whats more, the company might use this policy to pay for retirement benefits and other perks not for you or your fellow workers, but for your companys top executives.
Sound outrageous? Such corporate-owned life insurance is also big business:
- Companies pay a whopping $8 billion in premiums each year for such coverage, according to the American Council of Life Insurers, a trade group.
- The policies make up more than 20% of the all the life insurance sold each year.
- Companies expect to reap more than $9 billion in tax breaks from these policies over the next five years. The policies are treated as whole life policies. So, companies can borrow against the policies (though the IRS won’t let them write off the interest). And the death benefits are tax-free.
Hundreds of companies — including Dow Chemical, Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart, Walt Disney and Winn-Dixie — have purchased this insurance on more than 6 million rank-and-file workers.
These policies, nicknamed dead janitors or dead peasants insurance, soared in popularity after many states cleared the way for them in the 1980s. Congress recently tried to crack down on the practice, to the howls of the insurance industry — which earlier this year managed to derail reforms.
The policies have generated lawsuits by survivors who got little or nothing when insured workers died. A couple of examples: | <urn:uuid:3c1199ec-87ef-4a15-8a0f-103e74106fcd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://drdianehamilton.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/does-your-boss-want-you-dead/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950772 | 433 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Smartphone cameras have gotten to the point of being able to stack up well against digital cameras — at least when viewing the photos at smaller sizes. Zoom in, and there’s still a pretty big gap in quality due to the smartphone’s smaller lens and sensor. BuzzFeed’s John Herrman writes that the emergence of ultra-high res displays displays is converting people back to digital cameras:
Sometime in the last year, I gave up on carrying a camera. My phone is compact, quick, has the ability to share photos directly, and, at least to my eye, produces photos that are nearly comparable to my $700 interchangeable lens camera. In most contexts, I stand by that — on Facebook, in iPhoto, or on Instagram, my iPhone photos look fine. Great, even.
But one thing I noticed when I first used a Retina iPad, which automatically pulled in my old iPhone shots from the cloud, was that these “good enough” photos looked awful. Grainy, blotchy, and even kind of blurry. Evidently the new Retina MacBook has the same effect. Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper, says it’s driving him back to his DSLR.
According to Nikon Rumors, Nikon has introduced a new Unilateral Pricing Policy on DSLR gear sold in the US that will take effect on October 16th. Saying that the policy is “designed to allow customers to make purchasing decisions based on service provided and not have to worry about hunting for a better price”, Nikon plans to withhold sales to any store caught pricing equipment below “national prices” that the company will set for each product. Read more…
CNBC ran this short segment a couple days ago in which they invited CNET’s Dan Ackerman to explain the changing landscape in the digital camera industry. He thinks point-and-shoot cameras may soon become extinct due to the rise of camera-equipped phones, but also that DSLRs are the cameras here to stay. A recent study found that phones have replaced digital cameras completely for 44% of consumers, and that number seems bound to rise as the cameras on phones continue to improve.
My guess is that in five years, we’ll see digital camera users divided into three camps: mobile phone, interchangeable lens compact, and DSLR. What’s your prediction? | <urn:uuid:d0e8d36a-f482-4341-86fa-a8c5d17a040f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://petapixel.com/tag/consumers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955766 | 490 | 1.648438 | 2 |
I love running. That said, I am often frustrated that I am only a beginner and I have days where I just suck or moments where I can't even get motivated to get out the door. In these moments, I often look to my community of peers for support. Sometimes, and this is possibly a running nerd confession of some sort- I look to Pinterest. There's a plethora of inspirational quotes, photos, posters etc for runners- and runners constantly are posting this kind of stuff around them to get inspired. Things like:
Yes, they are a bit cheesy- but in a very real way they are motivating me to go out and run. I think part of it is that a poster on some level is a form of establishing your identity. I put a running poster up- all of a sudden, I'm the real deal- someone who cares about running. On another level, it truly is a constant reminder to stay focused and not lose faith in what I want to do.
I got to thinking a bit about how this same motivational strategy could be applied to webmaking and people who are learning code. Frankly, I made this connection because despite what I say, learning how to design and program for the web is new and can be hard to do. Sometimes, you just need that little dose of inspiration. I wonder, what motivational sayings we could dish out to the newbie webmaker, to keep them motivated while simultaneously allowing them to self identify as webmakers:
* note: thanks to Charley Miller for wordsmithing the Keep Calm Code On poster | <urn:uuid:b17ed907-5b26-4286-8b1a-d7e4ddbaf927> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jessicaklein.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/keep-calm-and-code-on.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971891 | 320 | 1.609375 | 2 |
By Kathy Kiely and Matt Kelley, USA TODAY
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Monday proposed additional measures he says will jump-start the economy and protect investors, including tax credits for businesses that hire new workers and penalty-free withdrawals from retirement funds.
"Right now we face an immediate economic emergency that requires urgent action," the Illinois senator told an audience in Toledo, Ohio. "Congress should pass this emergency rescue plan as soon as possible."
In a conference call with reporters, Obama economic adviser Jason Furman said that the Democrat's proposals, combined with earlier economic stimulus proposals, would cost $175 billion over two years and would increase the federal deficit — a move Obama is willing to make to respond to the economic emergency.
"Our biggest priority next year is to avoid a very deep recession," Furman said.
McCain advisers criticized the Obama proposals as spendthrift and counterproductive.
"More spending is going to make the situation worse," said Rob Portman, a former budget director for President Bush. Allowing retirement fund withdrawals, he said, would only encourage Americans to cash in their stocks at their lowest value.
McCain's senior policy director, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, said McCain will unveil additional ideas for dealing with the economic crisis today. McCain is scheduled to speak in Blue Bell, Pa.
Key elements of the Obama plan:
• Penalty-free withdrawals of up to $10,000 from IRAs and 401(k)s in tax years 2008 and 2009.
• A $3,000 tax credit for every new full-time job created in the USA by businesses in 2009-10.
• A requirement that banks benefiting from the federally funded bailout provide a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures to give homeowners time to work out a payment plan.
• Empowering the Federal Reserve to provide short-term loans to state and local governments caught in the credit crunch.
Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at the consulting firm Global Insight, gave Obama's proposals an overall grade of B. He gave the most favorable reviews to the Democrat's plans for giving Americans more flexibility with their retirement funds and for helping cash-strapped state and local governments. He questioned the value of a foreclosure moratorium, however, pointing out that most mortgages have been resold so many times, "it's unclear who's actually holding the assets."
With the election three weeks away, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill also sought to be responsive to the economic slowdown. All 435 House seats and 35 of the Senate's 100 seats are at stake this fall.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said further congressional action to stimulate the economy "should not wait until January." Boehner proposed a series of tax cuts, including one that would lower or eliminate taxes on corporations that buy distressed assets like mortgage-backed securities and another that would extend the $250,000 capital gains tax exemption to investment property.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at a news conference, said Democrats will hold hearings in coming weeks on various economic proposals. She was non-committal on whether she would call lawmakers back to town after the elections for a lame-duck session.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, who joined Pelosi at the briefing, said his committee will consider "sensible regulation" of derivatives, financial instruments that contributed to the crisis. They amount to bets between financial institutions on the value of stock prices, index or underlying assets. "A failure to regulate the economy appropriately is what led to this mess," said Frank, D-Mass.
In an interview, Frank criticized Boehner's proposal as being too focused on business. "It's time to give direct help to average citizens and that just doesn't do it," Frank said.
Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more. | <urn:uuid:30c8b6f2-892a-456b-b74e-abc42b0ef156> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-10-13-obama_N.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966058 | 815 | 1.515625 | 2 |
by Dr.M.A.Mohamed Saleem
“You are with us or against us” and many other slogans President Bush used after 9/11 to force an alliance. In the forthcoming local elections, The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) position is better described as ‘with you and also against you.’ The SLMC joined the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to get the 18th Amendment through Parliament, for which the party was rewarded, although the SLMC had backed Sarath Fonseka in the last Presidential Elections and the United National Party (UNP) in the parliamentary elections.
The SLMC has no rational explanation as to how and who decides flickering party positions, and it continues to assume people can be fooled all the time.
Alliance will not yield favours
During the last parliamentary elections the SLMC vehemently ridiculed the Mahinda Chinthana, and the Rajapaksa-regime was considered most Muslim-unfriendly. Ironically, the SLMC is now governed by Mahinda Chinthana but, given Parliament majority, the UPFA does not need the SLMC for implementing the Chinthana. The SLMC no longer can extract special favours, and even with other Muslim MPs in the UPFA, in reality, no one has critical bargaining powers with the government to benefit the community.
In the upcoming Provincial Elections, the SLMC has allied with the UPFA in the North-Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces, and contests independently in the Muslim majority Eastern Province. The UPFA didn’t opt for Bush-choice: you’re either with us or against us, but is going along with the SLMC in the East because the SLMC cannot be independent of the UPFA as long as it is in the central government alliance.
With the end of LTTE terrorism, the threat to the Muslim voice is removed. Although being victims of discrimination, Muslims have not been consistent in articulating grievances. After M.H.M.Ashraff, the SLMC demonstrated structural disarray and functional inability to provide a policy glue to hold together candidates chosen by the people to the Parliament. Under Rauff Hakeem, the party shifted between UPFA and UNF Governments, and most SLMC members, on entering Parliament, have preferred to join the government for power and perks. As a result the SLMC, a party formed to unify the Muslim voice and redress grievances, in reality, has become disgruntled splinter groups thorough internal rift and conflict, and a laughing stock of other communities.
Sri-Lanka is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and poly-lingual country and all citizens should have equal rights and opportunities to pursue life-goals without fear of intimidation. So far these ideals have not been faithfully upheld. The formation of the SLMC in the ‘80’s, with ethnic overtones further polarized Muslims from the main stream, and with it, search for consensus building across other communities on common issues also closed. Today, the SLMC has neither interest nor the capacity to mobilize expertise to debate/support national development strategies and use sensitive pressure points for collective bargaining, which the government is obliged to respond. The late Ashraff realized the danger of advocating a communal slant on every issue, and therefore, found reason to form the National Unity Alliance (NUA) for accessing the main stream. Today, Rauff Hakeem in his own wisdom finds it useful to resurrect Ashraff only in election posters.
Desist from dividing the community
Sri-Lanka paid a heavy price to overpower terrorism but, peace cannot be won if the level of estrangement and enmity between different communities in this country are allowed to prosper under the thrust of communally motivated slogans. It is in this light Rauff Hakeem and his party will have to review the future. Muslims are citizens of this country, and therefore if they are denied any of the constitutionally awarded civic rights, which other communities enjoy, every civic conscious person (from all communities) will have to be mobilized to give voice to this constitutional violation and discriminatory dispensations of rights.
It will not always be helpful for the SLMC to be testing its strength against other parties. The SLMC may have calculated going alone as the only way to regain lost grounds (Chief Minister (CM) for instance) in the Eastern Province. Given essentially a tri-party (TNA, SLMC, UPFA) competition and the likelihood of no clear winner, it is unclear how much of the lost grounds the SLMC can regain. In the un-likely scenario of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) going into coalition with the UPFA, there is a possibility of the SLMC being sidelined in spite of its securing more seats by a party. What if the SLMC is thrust with a TNA or UPFA coalition, without the SLMC claim for CM or a CM being externally imposed as a compromise candidate?
Thus, in spite of the President’s blessings for going alone the SLMC may have plunged into deep waters. Once again the SLMC has reassured everyone it is not a serious partner for exploring common strategies for nation building. Instead, it will always be guided by parameters of party interest. Protecting the tree symbol seems more important to the SLMC than any other considerations. Given the flickering policy stance the SLMC adopts and decamping of members to other camps, once elected under the SLMC ticket, the ‘ Sacred Tree’ may not withstand political storms anticipated in the future.
In a market oriented globalizing world trees are valued, and nurtured dearly as long as they are growing and bearing fruits. Once trees begin to outlive the time and stop bearing or show signs of no new growth they are cut down and displayed either as decoration pieces or end in a pyre. Compared to a healthy tree, wood from a decaying tree has no value and there will only be few takers even if put out on a clearance sale. Those who are fixed with trees should firmly decide: to be in or out of alliance. Either way the decay has set in. courtesy: Ceylon Today | <urn:uuid:412615ea-ecd2-4d61-95bf-67522edaa256> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/10289 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957323 | 1,274 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Hungarian grassroots student union Hallgatói Hálózat (Student Network) started a blog that curates freedom of information requests related to higher education. The blog, titled Transparent Education [hu], is using the Hungarian public freedom of information request service KiMitTud [hu] to track down the allegations of misuse of funds by university student governments. The blog's author Dániel G. Szabó was the one who sued the Faculty of Law at ELTE University in order to publicize the information on the Faculty's student government spendings. The aim of the blog is to promote the use of freedom of information requests, and to make the spending of public funds transparent at Hungarian colleges and universities.
Latest posts by Atlatszo.hu
11 March 2013
Students from the Faculty of Law at ELTE University in Hungary sued the faculty's student union after they denied a freedom of information (FOIA) request. The students wanted to know who received bonus payments from the union's monthly budget of around $3,300. They wrote on their blog ÁJK HÖK Figyelő (Faculty of Law Student Union Monitor)[hu] that the student union head unilaterally decides on bonus payments. The initiative of the law bloggers gained support of the Hungarian National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information as well, and their first court hearing [hu] attracted some 30 members of the public.
26 February 2013
According to a report published by a Hungarian TV channel, members of the student union of one of the universities in Budapest allegedly kept tabs on students’ religion, ethnic background and political affiliation.
24 January 2013
In December 2012, Hungarian university and high school students united to protest against the large cutbacks in higher education admission quotas. Their fight for tution-free slots continues.
22 December 2012
Atlatszo.hu published [hu] a hidden camera video of Fruzsina Tóth, a protester representing the students (she is also a first-year sociology student), talking to a woman who claimed to be a journalist of the Hungarian Radio. At the Dec. 17 protest, students demanded the Hungarian Radio to read their 5 + 1 points live. The hidden camera video was recorded when Ms. Tóth entered the building to hand the students’ petition to the radio's presenters. The woman on the video was defending the Hungarian government's decisions. More »
29 August 2012
Some 45-50 people have been living in their makeshift shacks in the abandoned woods of District X in Budapest. Some of the residents have built up self-supporting farms, but in June 2012 the local municipality started to move them out, which is not a unique phenomenon in Hungary's capital.
22 July 2012
Faulty and out-of-order fire hydrants made it difficult to control a fire that broke out in the Kutya mountain, close to the town of Nagykovácsi in Hungary. This inspired the founder of a community news site Nagykovácsi.net Dávid Fáber to launch a community-driven data gathering initiative to document all of the town's fire hydrants through his website's registered users.
23 June 2012
Vastagbőr blog [hu] is promoting the use of atlatszo.hu's new website KiMitTud ['WhoKnowsWhat'], which allows users to send freedom of information requests to any institutions responsible for spending public funds in Hungary. Vastagbőr wrote: “Those who have ever asked themselves these questions, ‘I wonder how much this cost?’ or ‘Who has been contracted to do this?’ should not wait but try to find out the answers themselves!” KiMitTud runs on Alaveteli.org’s engine and follows the examples of the UK-based WhatDoTheyKnow and AskTheEU, which is promoting transparency in the EU.
9 May 2012
József Ángyán, the former Hungarian State Secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development, resigned in January and since then has been trying to draw attention to the shady relations between the government and some Hungarian 'oligarchs'. It's a sensitive issue, and he is facing retaliation of the powers others had also tried to call into account.
14 February 2012
In October 2010, a toxic spill from a red sludge reservoir in Kolontár caused the greatest environmental disaster in Hungary's recent history. Atlatszo.hu and Greenpeace are now drawing attention to another hazardous waste reservoir, in the town of Almásfüzitő, which is "leaking like a sponge" and is already causing grave environmental and health damage. | <urn:uuid:1724adfa-3cee-41ae-bbf2-aca31bc37724> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://globalvoicesonline.org/author/atlatszo-hu/ | 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 | 0.951525 | 985 | 1.625 | 2 |
Lucia Matibenga from Morgan Tsvangirai’s party MDC-T, was sworn in as Minister of Public Service in the inclusive government by Robert Mugabe yesterday. She is a founding member of the Movement for Democratic Change and a veteran trade-unionist. She was the vice president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and has also been the president of the Southern African Trade Union Coordination Council.
In an interview, earlier this year, with Africa Contact Lucia Matibenga talked about her personal experiences with political violence.
“I was at an MDC meeting when suddenly a group of young men came. People started running, but I am old I could not run away from them. They hit me and I fell. Then they cut me with a knife here in my head”, she told Africa Contact while pointing at the top of her skull.
According to The Zimbabwean, a local newspaper, this is not the only incident experienced by Lucia Matibenga,
“In 2005 thugs from ZANU PF attacked her in her ZCTU (Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions) office and broke her arm. The same arm was broken again in 2006 during another attack by state security agents and this has left her hand deformed.”, they write.
“We must target the youth”
When Africa Contact asked Lucia Matibenga about how political violence should be addressed in Zimbabwe, her answer was clear,
“The perpetrates are young, they are poor and unemployed and they perpetrate for just a little amount of money or even drugs. Therefore we must give them something to do so they can be educated and be employed instead of joining youth militias”, she explained
Women’s Rights defender
She also told Africa Contact about the importance of including women in the political decision-making processes. She stressed that women from across the political spectrum should fight together against the male dominated world of politics.
It is unclear whether her opinions will be reflected in her actions as minister of public service. Her area of responsibility does not invite her to address political violence directly since it lies with the minister of -women’s affairs, -justice, -youth and ultimately with the president who, to a large extent, is in control of the security sector. But hopefully she will raise her voice to those ministers and demand a politically induced investigation of the past years violence and impunity of the perpetrators. | <urn:uuid:bbe0e1b4-55b7-4693-bf2b-bd9aa98e3124> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://akcampaign.wordpress.com/tag/lucia-matibenga/ | 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 | 0.974928 | 507 | 1.554688 | 2 |
HAZARD – About 30 people, ranging from officials with local government to local churches, met at City Hall in Hazard Tuesday to begin the process of finding a solution to get the Corner Haven homeless shelter back on its feet.
It was in May that administrators with Community Ministries, the nonprofit organization in Hazard that operates the shelter, were forced to halt services during the daytime hours due to a lack of adequate funding. At present, the shelter only offers emergency housing from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. each day. And as the winter months quickly approach, officials in Hazard say help is needed now to get the shelter back up and running 24 hours a day.
The most pressing issue for Hazard Mayor Nan Gorman is that the people utilizing the homeless shelter, about 80 percent of which are typically from Perry County, need somewhere to go when the temperatures begin to drop in the next few weeks.
“We have to find shelter,” Gorman said during Tuesday’s meeting. “That’s the main thing, because winter’s coming.”
Community Ministries director Adrienne Bush said she is awaiting to see the results of a funding application from the state, but she estimates that Corner Haven needs about $50,000 above and beyond funding already secured to fully staff the shelter during the winter months.
“Our biggest cost is personnel to keep it open,” Bush said, but added that the cost of feeding people who use the homeless shelter is a major cost as well.
Several ideas were floated during this week’s meeting, including one from state Sen. Brandon Smith that he and state Rep. Fitz Steele, who also attended the meeting, could work to develop a reimbursement plan where state funds could be used to reimburse local government funds used helping the shelter. Other ideas, from fund drives to asking church congregations for help, were also mentioned.
Several local church and civic leaders were also in attendance, as were officers with the Hazard Police Department, who said they see every day the immediate effects of cuts in services at the shelter.
“There’s not a day that goes by that you drive through Main Street and you see someone sitting there that’s homeless, and you know that they’re homeless because you’ve seen them up at the homeless shelter,” said HPD officer James East. “They have nowhere to go, nothing to do, no way of providing for themselves.”
When operating at full capacity, Corner Haven offers more than just a shelter from the weather. Many of the people who used the shelter full time were consequently able to hold down jobs at local businesses during the day, while the shelter also served as transitional housing until people could find residency elsewhere.
But for now, East noted, there is an immediate need to get the shelter back open full time, and he thinks this week’s meeting is a good first step in appealing to the community for help.
“We came up with some great ideas of how funding can help in the future, about how they’ve already applied for funding, got funding possibly in line to go forward,” he said. “But there’s an immediate need. The shelter is only operating at 50 percent.”
Adrienne Bush noted that while the City of Hazard did give money to Community Ministries last year, the organization can routinely expect to obtain funding from the federal and state governments each year. So far, however, the missing piece of the puzzle is from local government, and she thinks there is a role for local city and county governments in this region to play in forming a long term solution.
“If we can get both of our local governments on board in both Hazard and Perry County, then I think we can say, we as Hazard and Perry County are asking the rest of you in the Kentucky River Region – Knott County, Breathitt County, Letcher County – to contribute,” Bush remarked, adding that it will take the community, and not just Community Ministries, to address local issues of homelessness.
“I think that if we are going to work on helping people who are experiencing homelessness, it’s going to take everybody,” she said.
Financial troubles at homeless shelters aren’t exclusive to Hazard and Perry County. Shelters in Harlan and Bell counties have also hit hard times, noted Sen. Smith, and with unemployment still high has the local coal industry continues to struggle, it is imperative that the community pulls together to help ensure the shelter in Hazard gets back to normal.
“The battleground has finally fallen all the way back to us, and we absolutely have to hold the line,” Smith said.
A second meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday, Sept. 25 at City Hall at 9:30, following the monthly chamber of commerce meeting. Anyone who may be concerned about this issue or who may have ideas is urged to attend. | <urn:uuid:8e648dc5-051f-4a34-9156-45dfffaded92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hazard-herald.com/pages/home/push?class=&x_page=70&per_page=5&rel=next | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974396 | 1,029 | 1.539063 | 2 |
- What form do I use to file a Missouri Fiduciary Income Tax Return?
- When is the Missouri Fiduciary Income Tax Return due?
- What is a nonresident estate or trust?
- How do I extend the time to file a Missouri Fiduciary Income Tax Return (Form MO-1041)?
- What are additions to tax and interest charges?
- Do I need to make estimated tax payments?
- How does Missouri treat Electing Small Business Trusts?
- How do I get a Missouri tax identification number?
A fiduciary return is due on the 15th day of the fourth month following the close of the calendar or fiscal year.
An estate or trust would be considered a nonresident estate or trust if it does NOT meet one of the following:
- The estate of a decedent who at death was domiciled in Missouri;
- A trust that was created by a will of a decedent who at death was domiciled in Missouri and has at least one income beneficiary who, on the last day of the taxable year, was a resident of Missouri;
- A trust that was created by, or consisting of property of, a person domiciled in Missouri on the date the trust or portion of the trust became irrevocable and has at least one income beneficiary who, on the last day of the taxable year, was a resident of Missouri.
If you receive an extension of time to file your Federal Fiduciary Income Tax Return, you will automatically be granted an extension of time to file your Missouri Fiduciary Income Tax Return. Attach a copy of your filed federal extension, Form 7004, to your Missouri return.
If you expect to owe tax, file an Application for Extension of Time to File (Form MO-60) with your payment by the original due date of the return. An extension of time to file does not extend the time to pay. A 5 percent additions to tax penalty will apply if the tax is not paid by the original due date, provided your return is filed by the extension due date.
Additions to tax are imposed for failure to file or failure to pay. Additions to tax are imposed for failure to file by the due date at the rate of 5 percent per month, not to exceed 25 percent of the unpaid balance. Additions to tax are imposed for failure to pay by the original due date at the rate of 5 percent of the unpaid balance.
Interest is imposed on the portion of your Missouri tax liability that is not received on or before the due date. Simple interest is charged on all delinquent taxes. Click here to obtain current or previous interest rates.
Missouri does not require estimated tax payments for estates or trusts.
Missouri follows the Internal Revenue Service guidelines for Electing Small Business Trusts (ESBT), with the following exceptions:
- Deductions created from ESBT income can only be used to offset ESBT income;
- The ESBT income is taxed through the normal tax rate table.
Missouri does not issue tax identification numbers for estates or trusts. The Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is also used for the filing of a Missouri Fiduciary Income Tax Return. You can request a TIN by completing an Application for Employer Identification Number (Form SS-4) on the IRS website.
Can't find an answer to your question(s)? Email us! email@example.com | <urn:uuid:88b33aab-d179-4bf9-b59c-3d594651bfcc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dor.mo.gov/faq/personal/fiduciary.php?style=mobile1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957184 | 725 | 1.539063 | 2 |
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