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Kinship Center offers mental health services in the following locations. Click on the location link to see what services are offered in your area.
Please note: Kinship Center provides a continuum of services that create and sustain permanent families for children who need them. Please refer to the left navigation bar to explore additional programs and services.
Kinship Center offers specialty mental health and counseling services to children and families touched by adoption, foster care, relative caregiving, or legal guardianship. Kinship Center’s clinics include a variety of family-based services, including traditional mental health therapies for youth and their families, an Early Intervention Program, and counseling for adult adoptees, parents, siblings and birth families. Kinship Center is particularly noted for its in-depth education and support for parents and caregivers.
The clinics are staffed by experienced therapists who provide individual, family, and group counseling to children 0-21 years of age and their families. Other services available are psychological testing, medication support, in-home therapeutic behavioral services, occupational therapy evaluations, and parent education. The staff has knowledge of infant, child, and adolescent mental health that is utilized in a family strengths-based approach.
Some common problems that are addressed at the clinics include adjustment to adoption or other forms of permanent placement, adjustment to being raised by relatives, attachment issues, depression and grief, anxiety, attention deficit disorder, behavioral difficulties, anger management and family conflict.
At age three, Jorge was abandoned and found wandering down a busy street at night...
Review the online and live course offerings for parents, caregivers and child welfare professionals...
Support groups in locations throughout California provide hands-on help...
You can make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of children by making a tax-deductible gift... | <urn:uuid:2a6f2902-ed79-4cb7-b70b-a1457e083d75> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kinshipcenter.org/services/mental-health.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948769 | 367 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Buy tickets for music, comedy, theatre, film, festivals and much more - with the best service in UK ticketing
We've been working since our inception way back in 2000 to use as little paper as possible, and ensure our ticket system is environmentally friendly. A study published in March 2013 demonstrates the advantages of our system over a paper ticket sent in the post - and to a print-at-home ticket or printed confirmation email.
View the full report here.
A paper ticket sent in the post emits 107 times more carbon than our system, when the email is not printed. When a confirmation email is printed it produces 42 times more carbon than if it wasn't - so we're asking all our customers not to print their confirmation emails.
Just think, we could fill the O2 Arena (20,000 tickets) and emit less carbon than a printed ticket event selling just 186 tickets would.
Please help us do our bit for the environment: do not print your confirmation email when buying from us - reducing carbon emissions, that's the ticket! | <urn:uuid:069eb0f3-f78e-44f4-880d-af0d1e3e764a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wegottickets.com/about/reducingcarbonemissions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93303 | 214 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Physical and sensory disabilities
Bexley Care Trust - working in partnership to ensure the best health and social care for the community.
Who can get help?
If you have a physical or sensory disability we can arrange services to help you.
You may require day care, respite care or services to help you at home. You may need equipment to help with everyday tasks or adaptations to your home to help you get about more easily
We can also arrange help for carers of people with a physical or sensory disability.
What help can I get?
We offer a range of services to people in need including advice and information, and services to help you to continue living in your home. We provide services for people who need full-time care, we can arrange day care placements, or training opportunities for disabled people under 65 years of age.
How do I get help?
You can contact social services 020 8303 7777.
You can also get information from Inspire Community Trust (website link with information and contact details is provided on the right).
We will ask you questions about your home life and about the difficulties you have. We will also ask you what your wishes are. So that we can assess the help you might need it is important to tell us as much as possible about your difficulties. If you need emergency help we can arrange that at once.
Anything you tell social services staff will be in strict confidence. We will not pass information to anyone else without your permission. Your carer can have a separate assessment of their needs if they wish.
What services are available?
We arrange a range of services for people with physical and sensory disabilities, and their carers.
Social work advice and support
Social workers offer counselling, advice and help in dealing with life's crises, such as serious illness, a death in the family or other major changes. Such problems can cause a great deal of distress to you and your family and can put relationships under a great deal of strain. Some people may even be at risk of harm from the people they live with.
They will help you get the services and support you need. If your needs are greater, we will put you in touch with 'Care Managers', who will assess your needs and put together a care plan which meets them.
Social workers will help you to continue to live in your own home for as long as you can. When this is no longer possible, they will help you to find and move to the best alternative accommodation and care.
Sensory impairment services
The Sensory Support Service provides services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, those who have visual impairment and those who are deafblind. Find out more about the Sensory Impairment Service by on our Sensory Support Service webpage (a link has been provided on the right).
Home help and personal care
This service provides practical help and personal care to help you look after yourself at home. This may include help with washing and using the toilet, help to dress and undress and help with housework.
Meals on wheels and freezer meals
We can bring hot food or freezer meals to people who are not able to make themselves a hot meal. If you do not have a freezer, we can lend you one so that you can have freezer meals delivered. Freezer meals are cheaper than meals on wheels and give you more choice.
Help with everyday living
We can arrange or provide special aids and equipment for people who are disabled. These help you with everyday tasks and will enable you to live safely and independently in your own home. If you need adaptations to your home, we will arrange these. We will tell you have much you may have to pay, if anything. We will also tell you about any grants that you may be able to claim and how to apply for them.
There is a short waiting list at the moment, because of the great demand for this service. The more urgent your situation, the sooner you will receive help.
The Whitehall Centre provides day activities and services to adults under 65 who have physical or sensory disabilities. The Centre offers arts and crafts, work skills and training courses, as well as advice and information.
Patient support service
This service is available to blind and partially sighted people attending hospital for registration and support with sight loss. Advice and information is available about community services.
Having a break
If you live alone you may be entitled to a break from looking after yourself. If you are being cared for by a friend or relative, you and your carer may welcome the opportunity to spend some time apart. We may be able to provide respite care for just a couple of hours or a couple of weeks.
You may be entitled to either a bus pass or a blue badge. For more information, contact 01322 344823.
Moving to a nursing home or residential care home
Most people would like to continue to live in their own home for as long as possible. However, sometimes people need a level of care that can only be provided in a nursing home or a residential care home. We will assess your situation and help you decide what is best for you.
If you think you need residential or nursing care, we will visit you and assess your needs and those of your relatives or carers. If you do need this type of care we will help you choose a suitable place and help you apply.
How much will these services cost?
This depends on your income and the level of services you need. We will explain the cost before services are provided. You may be entitled to benefits and we will help you to claim them.
Who should I contact?
For more information about any of these services, contact Bexley Social Services on 020 8303 7777.
If you are an adult with a learning disability the Council's supported employment project, Bexley Twofold, may be able to help you take up paid employment. Find out more about Bexley Twofold by following our link in the right hand menu.
Local voluntary organisations can also give advice, support and practical help to people with learning disabilities and their carers. To find out more about voluntary services, contact the Bexley Voluntary Service Council (see right hand menu for their website).
Your opinion counts!
The government wants to create an Office for Disability Issues - a new body to co-ordinate disabled people's interests. The government also wants to set up a National Forum for Organisations of Disabled People. Use the Directgov - Office for Disability Issues link provided on the right to find out more and for a chance to give your feedback. Thank you.
- Bexley Care Trust NHS Full details for Bexley Care Trust NHS | <urn:uuid:8f34af57-dfbe-43e0-ac10-30b915732fa6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bexley.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4076 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957325 | 1,382 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Chris Lehmann, the principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia (who gave a fabulous TEDx talk, “Education is Broken“), has written an open letter to Natalie Munroe, the Pennsylvania high school English teacher whose blog, replete with invective, insult, and profanity directed toward her students, was found by one of those very students, shared with school administrators, and has prompted a public outcry. Strangely and sadly, there are many who are actually supporting Munroe, so I offer for my blog post today what I consider to be a beautifully crafted response. Here’s just a brief excerpt:
“You must teach because you want to help students achieve their dreams. You must teach because you care almost as much as much about the children in your class as you do about your own children. And you must approach the job with the humility to know that what you are trying to do – to help children grow up wisely and well in an ever-more-complex world – will tax you to the limits of your being. It should – it will – demand the best of you. If you can engage in that reflection… you will understand why you must apologize deeply and profoundly to your students… because you would never want another person to hurt your students as I imagine you have hurt them.”
Thanks, Chris Lehmann, for these eloquent and wise words.
Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, Above All, Be Kind, and The Power and Promise of Humane Education
My TEDx talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
Image courtesy of Chris Lehmann via Creative Commons. | <urn:uuid:c691167d-5e31-4c83-b679-796aaec3a4b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://coopcatalyst.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/an-open-letter-to-natalie-munroe-from-chris-lehmann/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=9e4b539e19 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971536 | 350 | 1.757813 | 2 |
The Dabbawala Supply Chain
I'd never heard of the dabbawalas until a month or so ago, when I read an article on them the always entertaining Economist (July 12, 2008).
For those in the dark, dabbawalas are delivery men (barefoot and mostly illiterate, by the way) who bring Mumbai office workers a nice warm lunch to their offices. In the good old days, these meals were home-made; in today's world, a good proportion are catered. (Remember, this is India: think outsourcing.)
Each day, about 5,000 dabbawalas deliver a total of roughly 200,000 meals - all through a hyper-efficient, color-coded supply chain that relies naught on technology. Their results are spectacular: a Six Sigma delivery rate! That's one slip-up in every 6 million deliveries - the vaunted and often elusive "six nines" quality. (And I'm guessing that, when there's a mistake, the mistakee ends up with a pretty good meal, anyway.)
In the dabbawala logistics system , dabba-gatherers pick up the lunches, which are in transported - via bicycle - to railway stations, where they're bucketed by destination, and placed on the train.
When they reach their destination, dabba-deliverers grab their buckets and get them to the office workers who ordered them.
All the dabbawalas receive the same rate - ghastly by our standards, but a way out of abject poverty for the poor, illiterate folks who hold these jobs.
Interestingly, dabbawalas have developed something of a business school cult-following - there's even a Harvard Business School case study about them.
Also interesting: although they don't rely on technology to work their supply chain, the dabbawalas are not lacking in tech savvy, and they have their own web site - www.mydabbawala.com - which you will be "warmly welcome[d]" to.
We the Dabbawalas , have been known to provide excellent services without any technological backup. However with the advent of technology and internet in particular we have decided to be part of this info way. On one part our core job of supplying the Dabbas to the people of Mumbai from their home to office will still be carried on without any technology or IT support but we will be using IT in general and Internet in particular to provide value added services to our prestigious customers.
For starters, they're using their site to make sure that complete and correct information about them is "passed on to the world." Apparently, they have plans to let people order their dabba online, as well.
Like the US Postal Service, dabbawalas are rain-snow-sleet-hail kind of guys - just substitute "monsoon" for snow-sleet.
The site is also used to promote the careers of the dabbawalas, noting their typical characteristics - hard working, honest, reliable, and low paid. "So its [sic] cost effective to employ a Dabbawala."
So in case you need to employ a person with these characteristics you may employ a Dabbawala. A Dabbawala may be recruited in many companies like security agency, courier industry , small offices , big companies,etc. The Dabbawala will be happy to get a better job and this will ensure good life for the family of Dabbawala.
Note: When a Dabbawala gets a job , first he has to bring a replacement Dabbawala in his place and then only he ,may join a company. This ensures that our system works properly.
Please contact us with your requirement to employ a Dabbawala. We will be very happy to serve you.
I guess that the closest thing we have to a dabbawala is the bicycle messenger, who ride pell-mell around city centers, scattering pods of wary pedestrians who may be foolish enough to step off the sidewalk on a one-way street and fail to look in both directions.
Somehow, I don't think that I'd ever actually hire a bicycle messenger. I would, however, consider hiring a dabbawala if I had the need. And, of course, if I lived in Mumbai.
I also wouldn't mind having a nice curry delivered just about now. Or a lamb vindaloo. Some nan. A couple of pakoras... | <urn:uuid:8149a2d5-e397-46a8-a54f-178d6ddf3482> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pinkslipblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/dabbawala-supply-chain.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961396 | 945 | 1.75 | 2 |
Joining MDC'S forces to help Haiti after quake
Nitin Motwani, Helen Aguirre Ferré, Julie Grimes, Lisa Torres and Scott Burnotes.
In the aftermath of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti on Jan. 12, Miami Dade College has rallied its many forces to help the devastated nation both immediately after the tragedy and in the difficult weeks and months that have followed.
First MDC’s Emergency Preparedness Team consulted with humanitarian and governmental agencies to determine the best actions to take; then the team coordinated all relief efforts. Next MDC established an emergency relief fund to raise donations for relief agencies to buy the supplies they needed.
Truckloads of first-aid supplies
The College also immediately began a drive to bring in medical supplies. In January and February, students delivered truckloads of first-aid supplies to Mercy Hospital as part of a collaboration with Mercy and Sister Emmanuel Hospitals.
On Jan. 26, in a symbolic gesture of support, all eight campuses held candlelight vigils that included memorials, tributes, a moment of silence, a celebration of life ceremony, music and poetry. Working with Snead State Community College in Boaz, Ala., students in MDC’s Student Development Program Cultural Exchange and Civic Responsibility Student Engagement Program raised funds and helped with other efforts to aid Haiti.
As a result of the college’s fundraising efforts, MDC President Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón presented a Haiti Relief Campaign check for nearly $42,000 on behalf of employees and students to World Vision’s Operation Hope for Haiti, a South Florida-led initiative selected by MDC for its commitment to uniting the South Florida community in relief efforts.
Resuming Haiti's education goals
Also at a recent Clinton Global Initiative University meeting, President Bill Clinton approached Dr. Padrón to help aid Haiti in coordinating a structured effort to resume the country’s higher education goals. Numerous people and institutions in the United States offered aid to Haitian colleges and universities, but there had not been a consistent overall plan to move forward. Drawing upon his extensive experience with higher education and his position as chair-elect of the American Council on Education, Dr. Padrón agreed to lead the effort. Details are now being worked out. | <urn:uuid:16822b02-24e3-46e8-bff8-07e4aa3fd5ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mdc.edu/main/collegeforum/archive/vol14-3/features/haiti.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941683 | 474 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Advising & Orientation (A&O) sessions provide new students their introduction to the UW community. Every A&O session combines academic advising, course registration, and an introduction to campus resources. We offer many of different session types that cater to the wide ranging needs of our student body.
Each year the University selects a book relating to an issue of social importance in an effort to create a shared exercise in inquiry. The 2012 common book is Respect by Dr. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot. Upon arrival at the University, students can find opportunities to engage in the themes and ideas of the book through classes, discussion, events, and activities.
The Commuter Commons helps student living at home and commuting to the UW create a sense of identity within the larger University community. The commons focuses on programs and outreach services for students who do not live on campus or the University District.
Each autumn, the UW campus begins the quarter with Dawg Daze, a week of welcome with more than 250 welcome events designed to help new and returning students connect with the campus, explore opportunities, and get involved with programs and services that relate to their interests.
For more than 20 years, Freshman Interest Groups (FIGs) have helped students to seamlessly transition to life at the UW. FIGs allow first year students to enroll in the same schedule as 22 other new students. In addition to the same schedule, FIG students also participate in a seminar taught by trained FIG Leader and designed to position new students to take full advantage of the UW.
The Freshman Seminar program offers first-year students the opportunity to engage in an academic topic with a UW faculty or staff member. The Seminars, often with interdisciplinary topics, are small discussion-based courses usually reserved for junior or senior undergraduates.
We involve UW faculty and staff members in planning each year's FIG/TrIG courses to create clusters of courses that will complement each other, and allow students to experience some of the university's most exciting course offerings in their first quarter.
Husky Adventures are one-day excursions that occur at the end of August through September. They are intended to give new students a chance to meet others and get to know a professor in an informal off-campus setting.
Whether your student is coming to the UW from 5 or 500 miles away, Parent Orientation will provide you with the presentations, contacts and information you need to support your student during their transition to the University of Washington.
The UW Student Planner is a compact and sturdy spiral-bound calendar, packed with information about UW events, but with the space that students need to keep track of their busy schedules during the year. All entering UW students receive a complimentary Student Planner at their Advising and Orientation (A&O) session, while returning students and family members can purchase the Student Planner at the University Book Store.
Transfer Interest Groups (TrIGs) are 2-credit courses taught in the autumn and winter by currently enrolled students who themselves transferred to the UW. These courses are designed to assist students with the transition to the UW by conveying information about campus services, majors, and academic resources. TrIGs allow transfer students the opportunity to meet other students with the same academic interests.
Undergraduate Academic Affairs
University of Washington
120 Mary Gates Hall
Seattle, WA 98195-2825
Hours: 8am–5pm (PST)
Phone: (206) 543-4905
The UW is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, education and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation, contact the Disability Services Office (DSO) at least ten days in advance of the event at: (206) 543-6450 (voice), (206) 543-6452 (TTY), (206) 685-7264 (FAX), or firstname.lastname@example.org.
Undergraduate Academic Affairs | <urn:uuid:63159aa3-5edc-42d5-bb7d-5bd4f6ed9347> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fyp.washington.edu/about/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938602 | 811 | 1.617188 | 2 |
U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, R-Mo., shared his thoughts on today's political environment with St. Louis Agribusiness Club members and guests at a lunch, co-sponsored by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). NCGA CEO Rick Tolman was on hand to thank the senator for his work on behalf of U.S. agriculture, and draw attention to the lengthy list of unresolved issues that concerns farmers.
"When big decisions are being made, government stands still," said Sen. Blunt, R-Mo. "We are going to have to decide who we as Americans want to be. Do we want to follow Europe's path and have government outgrow our economy, or do we want a government we can afford?"
As ranking member of the Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, Sen. Blunt played a vital role in writing and passing the 2012 agriculture appropriations bill. The senator conveyed his pride in being able to maintain vital support for research and extension at land grant universities, capacity building grants for non-land grant colleges of agriculture, and competitive funding under USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.
When asked if he thought a farm bill could be completed this year, Sen. Blunt said he thought some extension of the current bill was more likely. "Although something could be accomplished in the Senate that we could live with, that won't happen in the House," Blunt said.
Because of his background as a history teacher and university president, Blunt brings a unique perspective to his work in public service. He commented on government's lack of progress these past two years, and pointed out similar junctures during the administrations of Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, both Roosevelts, Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan. He said he believes that we will have another year of gridlock before government will be back to business and make the necessary hard decisions it is now avoiding. | <urn:uuid:d2180b0c-b361-4f26-9ca1-03f386cd5eda> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/Senator-addresses-agriculture-economic-challenges-147373695.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96896 | 404 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Mount Sinai Hospital’s Senior Services program was created to give the elderly patient the extra attention and help that can make all the difference in their care. Through our thoughtful staff, comfortable facilities and focus on finding financial assistance for those who need it, we meet the senior patient right where he or she is—helping them benefit from a healthier, more healing environment.
Thoughtful Care Every Step of the Way
Someone from Senior Services greets the patient at arrival to Sinai, then double-checks appointments and escorts them to where they need to go. If the patient is making more than one stop—for tests or follow-ups—someone will help them get from place to place.
Most senior appointments at Kling Clinic are on the fourth floor, so Sinai has created a special senior waiting room there, complete with comfortable seating, television, magazines and health information and fresh-brewed coffee, tea and snacks. While the patient waits, our helpful staff checks to see how they’re doing and fills out any forms needed for their visits. With this extra attention, seniors build relationships with our staff—a helpful tool in allowing us to know when a patient needs special services such as help paying for medication, Meals on Wheels visits or homemaker assistance.
Specialized Needs and At-Risk Patients
For more specialized needs, Sinai has a geriatric social worker that identifies and resolves problems that affect a patient's state-of-mind and well-being. These can include emotional issues, suspected neglect or abuse or the need for social services, ranging from housing assistance to home care. By acting as an advocate with public or community agencies, locating needed resources or providing psychological support, the social worker creates an improved medical experience for the patient.
If a senior’s mental or physical conditions keep him or her from seeking care, Sinai will go out to them. The Senior At-Risk Program responds to calls from concerned neighbors or community agencies. A registered nurse visits the senior's home and evaluates medical, psychological or social service needs. The nurse and staff then make recommendations, arrange needed medical assistance and link the senior to other community services and resources.
One of the biggest barriers to getting seniors the medical attention they need is cost. Far too often, they don't see a doctor or take medicine because they think they can't afford it. Tragically, this means they put their health at risk, even though Medicare, Medicaid, the Illinois Circuit Breaker prescription-assistance program and other plans will cover most or all of the expenses. To reverse that trend, Sinai's Senior Services staff works aggressively to make sure that certain money issues don't become health issues. Outreach workers are in the community daily to conduct health screenings and spread the word about financial assistance programs. In our clinics and at Mount Sinai Hospital, Senior Services workers discuss the options and help seniors fill out the forms.
For more information on Sinai Senior Services please contact Lasharon Williams:
Phone: (773) 257-5292 | <urn:uuid:57876a51-ef9d-464c-9ac2-faded852fc4c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sinai.org/node/6033 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943671 | 610 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
Fri December 7, 2012
Hamas Leader Khaled Meshal Returns To Gaza Strip After 45-Year Exile
Originally published on Fri December 14, 2012 9:14 am
For the first time since his exile in 1967, the leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshal, returned to the Gaza Strip today. He arrived through the border with Egypt, kissing the ground in celebration and as NPR's Philip Reeves reports, Meshal received a hero's welcome as well as military one.
It was a bright, dusty day and as Meshal's convoy worked its way through the narrow streets of Gaza, he was flanked by the military arm of Hamas. Some of the members of the al-Qassam brigades were wearing black masks, others held rocket-propelled grenades. Some of them arrived in pick-up trucks outfitted with machine guns.
Israel tried but failed to kill Meshal in 1997. Reuters posits that the show of force by Hamas' part had something to do with that, despite the fact there were no indications from Israel that it would attempt a strike against Meshal today.
"I consider this moment my third birth, and I pray to God that my fourth birth will be the moment when all of Palestine is liberated," Meshal said, according to the BBC. "Gaza has always been in my heart."
Reuters frames the visit as the return of an "emboldened leader."
"His visit was to celebrate the 25th anniversary on Saturday of the founding of Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has also risen to power in neighboring, vital Egypt and has been a key to the Arab 'awakening' that has shaken old alliances throughout the Middle East.
"Mr. Meshal also will celebrate what Hamas considers a victory over Israel in the recent conflict here, eight days of fighting featuring Israeli airstrikes and shelling and Hamas rocket launches against Israel. The Israeli government considers that it sharply reduced Hamas' military capacity, destroying storehouses of rockets and weapons and killing the operational commander of the Hamas forces, Ahmed al-Jaabari, at the outset of the fighting."
Hamas and Israel negotiated a cease-fire through Egypt, which the Times says, could represent greater international recognition for Hamas.
The Jerusalem Post reports that Fatah accepted Hamas' invitation to celebrate the anniversary. This is important because Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, controls the West Bank and is Hamas' rival party. The invitation and acceptance may signal a step toward unification.
The BBC reports this is a three-day tour. The higlight is expected to be a huge rally on Saturday:
"Mr. Meshaal is scheduled to address the rally in Gaza City and will talk about the organisation's future strategy towards Israel.
"He is also expected to discuss reconciliation moves with the Fatah movement, which Hamas removed from Gaza by force in 2007 after winning elections there. Fatah now rules parts of the West Bank." | <urn:uuid:d638fa4a-df56-4971-93bb-771bced5a05a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wuky.org/post/hamas-leader-khaled-meshal-returns-gaza-strip-after-45-year-exile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968154 | 606 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Environmental group launches campaign to unseat Michigan congressman
The Washington Post reports that Michigan Congressman Dan Benishek, R-Crystal Falls, is one of the League of Conservation Voters’ “Flat Earth Five.”
The group that promotes pro-environmental policies and candidates targeted Benishek in a $1.5 million campaign to unseat five House climate change deniers in November. Benishek’s district encompasses the Upper Peninsula and the northeast Lower Peninsula. Democrat Gary McDowell, who’s running against Benishek, says greenhouse gases contribute to climate change, the Post reported.
“Representative Benishek’s extreme views put him at odds with scientists, his constituents and the Pentagon, which has called climate change a national security issue,” said Jeff Gohringer, national press secretary for the league. “He has had some rather outlandish statements regarding climate change.”
The organization references an iCaucus interview Benishek gave in 2010 to iCaucus, an organization that vets candidates on their conservative values. Benishek called the scientific research on climate change into question when asked about the issue, and said “it’s just some scheme.”
“It’s all baloney,” he said in the interview. “To spend trillions of our dollars on this unproven science stuff is ridiculous.”
The response troubled the League of Conservation Voters.
“We can’t count on him to solve a problem that he can’t even admit exists,” Gohringer said.
When asked about the designation, Benishek’s communications director, Raffi Williams, sent this email :
“It is troubling that Gary McDowell and his Washington allies would rather attack Dr. Benishek than explain to Northern Michigan families why he supports Nancy Pelosi’s failed policies such as the national energy tax that would destroy millions of jobs and raise gas prices. While Dr. Benishek has been fighting to help this country become energy independent now and for future generations, Gary McDowell would rather tax Northern Michigan families into the ground with his Cap and Trade boondoggle.”
The Michigan congressman joins New York Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, R- Onondaga Hill on the league’s list. Three more incumbents will be named later – one a week. | <urn:uuid:aacb0081-a9ad-40ed-9183-52766b869f7a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://greatlakesecho.org/2012/07/25/environmental-group-launches-campaign-to-unseat-michigan-congressman/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944411 | 513 | 1.53125 | 2 |
When you get to that la st moment and you think of all the happiness you spent with that person and there sick and you realize.Wow! This isn't happening it's a really bad dream but it's not it's real life and its happening. When you lay down and shut your eye's hoping the world will just disappear a single tear that you've been trying so hard to keep in slowly slides out of your eye. But you don't do anything you let it roll down to your lips. Why you say with a sad helpless voice. I miss you so much why did you leave me. But what you don't realize is, that person didn't leave you. They live inside of you, inside your heart, your mind, your thoughts, your soul. You think you'll never get over what has happened. But sometimes you just gotta keep going, that person wouldn't want you sad, wouldn't want hurt, wouldn't wanna see you cry. There is always going to be someone to ask you if your Okay. You may put a fake smile on and say your fine. But its not what your words say, it's what your eye's tell. Who could say goodbye to there loved one's and how can you say goodbye when they don't say it back. Think of them and I'm positive you'll feel that there listening. If you love them let them go cause one day you'll see them again. | <urn:uuid:e7f67fce-22c3-43a5-94db-fedd402c9b5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.teenink.com/hot_topics/what_matters/article/508530/Death-is-not-Negative/ | 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 | 0.988492 | 289 | 1.539063 | 2 |
This is a blow hole on the island of Savai’i, Samoa. If you look closely, or click on the image, you can see man near the water plume. He lived near the blowhole and would throw coconuts into it for a few dollars. In the photo, you can see a small black dot in the water which is the coconut. The coconut would get launched about 150 feet into the air and would smash on the rocks below. Great fun.
Daily Travel Photo – Savai’i, Samoa
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Subscribe to my email newsletter to get a FREE 100 page ebook of my favorite travel photos. | <urn:uuid:ab04ce01-e159-4f86-8c91-8977a1fada69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://everything-everywhere.com/2008/01/08/daily-photo-savaii-samoa-3-x/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935566 | 147 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Poll: Support Still Strong for NASA’s Space Exploration Vision
American support remains strong for NASA's plan to complete the International Space Station (ISS), retire its shuttle fleet by decade's end and move on to the Moon and Mars, according to poll results released Monday.
The new survey - the last of a three-part series sponsored by the industry group the Coalition for Space Exploration - found that more than two-thirds of Americans polled support NASA's stepping-stone approach to returning astronauts to the Moon, provided the effort's cost does not exceed more than one percent of the federal budget.
"I think the stability of the numbers over time is probably the most significant thing,"Jeff Carr, chairman of the Coalition of Space Exploration, told SPACE.com of the three surveys. "Our mission is to help broaden the public's awareness of the value and benefits of space exploration."
NASA's vision of space exploration calls for the U.S. space agency to complete ISS construction - which resumed this month during the STS-115 shuttle mission - by 2010, then retire its shuttle fleet to make way for the new Orion spacecraft and its Ares boosters. The next crewed missions to the Moon are slated for 2018 under the exploration plan.
The Princeton, New Jersey-based Gallup Organization conducted the new poll for between Aug. 2 and Aug. 19 in a telephone survey of 1,000 adults of age 18 or older. The new poll follows similar surveys in March 2006 and June 2005.
In the most recent poll, more than 60 percent of those surveyed stated they supported NASA's human space exploration efforts.
Of the 63 percent of those polled stating that the U.S. should continue to fund NASA's space exploration efforts, 32 percent said exploration should continue at the current funding level, while 22 percent supported a slightly increased level and nine percent preferred a significant funding increase.
NASA's Fiscal Year 2007 budget request calls for about $16.8 billion to support space exploration - a one percent increase over 2006 - and represents a cost of about $58 per year for the average taxpayer, coalition officials said.
The new Gallup poll also found that about 69 percent of those surveyed agreed that the risks of human spaceflight were worth the technical and scientific advancement stemming from such an endeavor. A similar 69 percent also reported little or no concern that the U.S. will lose its space leadership role to China, which has announced plans to send probes to the Moon by 2017, with manned missions to follow by 2024.
"What we're finding is that, simply given the information the public response is extremely favorable," Carr said. "And that's a terrific sign for the vision."
MORE FROM SPACE.com | <urn:uuid:2f8a57a6-3c09-402f-a828-8eef99918b3e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.space.com/2939-poll-support-strong-nasas-space-exploration-vision.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939299 | 547 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Florida's Fishing Legends and Pioneers is a new book that's drawing praise as a compendium of colorful characters who contributed to Florida's 100-year-plus recreational fishing boom. Rather than a tedious compilation of bios and stats, the book provides entertaining stories and interviews about the eclectic personalities.
Some of the book's better-known anglers include Ernest Hemingway, Ted Williams, Stu Apte, Lefty Kreh, Joan Wulff, Roland Martin and Guy Harvey. One of the more remarkable lesser-known characters is Jesse Linzy, an early 1900s black fishing guide from Ponce Inlet who stood six feet, eight inches tall - and so strong he was the only guide in the region who could row out of the inlet against the tide. Many of the book's images have never been published.
"This project, like the building of a matchstick house, began as a thousand scattered pieces and gradually evolved into an exciting ride for me through Florida's angling history and lore," said Doug Kelly, the Florida-based author. "I think you'll feel the same way after reading Florida's Fishing Legends and Pioneers."
The book is published by the University Press of Florida and contains 352 pages and 120 historical images. To learn more, visit www.FloridasFishingLegends.com. | <urn:uuid:b6e7ee97-2904-4b37-8691-8b28d95356d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sportfishingmag.com/news/new-book-explores-florida-fishing-legends?quicktabs_most_popular=0&quicktabs_community_side_bar=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9422 | 272 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Skip Rutherford interviewed Congressional Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi Thursday in Little Rock for a Clinton School current events discussion. Pelosi said she is praying former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will run for President.
Organizers say a film screening Wednesday on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock could be the start of an initiative to empower women in the state through educational opportunities.
The National Weather Service in Little Rock says a strong cold front is heading for the state and is expected to bring precipitation and cold temperatures.
The front is expected to move across the region on Thursday, but meteorologists say no severe storms are in the immediate forecast. Temperatures are forecast to drop by as much as 35 degrees behind the front on Friday.
The Arkansas Health Department is reminding residents that tick season is starting and people should be mindful that the insects can carry diseases.
The agency said Wednesday that more than 900 cases of tick-borne diseases were reported in 2012 and that many more went unreported. Five people died as a result.
Officials say four diseases are most commonly spread by ticks - anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and tularemia. Some of the infections can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system if left untreated. | <urn:uuid:5fe15822-3742-453a-a0ac-907a9d2acc77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ualrpublicradio.org/news/91091-ark-senator-delays-vote-on-drug-testing-bill.html?page=17 | 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 | 0.958838 | 254 | 1.554688 | 2 |
In 1970, the Somerset Art Association (SAA) was founded in Bernardsville, NJ by a small group of dedicated artists who envisioned a place where they could gather, work and share ideas. Finding a dearth in the community for such a place, membership grew steadily. Art instruction was initially the sole focus. Exhibits were organized soon thereafter to provide artists with exhibit opportunities and exposure to new ideas and concepts. Other programming including lectures and bus tours to tri-state area museums were added as membership grew and a support structure developed to fund and manage each new program. In 1990, SAA was outgrowing its cramped, rented facility and launched a capitol campaign to renovate an historic c. 1912 schoolhouse in the nearby town of Bedminster, NJ. The location became the art center’s official home in 1995 and participation in the art center’s multi-faceted educational visual arts programming soared. Today, the once local art association has grown into a year-round vibrant art center enjoyed by artists and art appreciators of all ages who cross geographic boundaries to participate in the center’s award-winning educational visual arts programming.
In 2010, to mark the art center’s 40th anniversary and in celebration of what has been accomplished and looking toward an even brighter future, the Board of Trustees announced the next evolution in the art center’s life cycle. On October 9, 2010, the Somerset Art Association officially became The Center for Contemporary Art.
The Center for Contemporary Art (The Center) is driven by the desire to broaden, deepen and diversify participation among audiences; challenge and inspire students, teachers, artists, enthusiasts and members of the community through opportunity to study, experience and create the multiple languages of the visual arts; and create a culture of the highest standards and expectations for artistic exploration, interpretation and perception.
By harnessing the power of the visual arts, The Center will greatly enhance our community culture by weaving the benefits of artistic activity into the fabric of our daily lives. The Center is meant to be experienced and enjoyed by everyone and as such we welcome your participation as we embark on this exciting journey. | <urn:uuid:cf8c70c9-a881-4f67-8df3-c629de10d2c4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ccabedminster.org/about-cca/history/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961777 | 438 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Upgrading applications when prompted may seem like a no-brainer, but joint research funded by Microsoft’s Skype, security vendor Symantec and GPS maker TomTom released on Monday found that nearly half of Americans polled don’t bother.
International Technology Upgrade Week
Granted, the findings (see below for Infographic)justify “International Technology Upgrade Week” (happening now, who knew?), during which the members will provide “helpful content about the benefits of upgrading”. Still, the survey, sent to a representative sample of the 350,000 members who participate in YouGov surveys, found that 42% of Americans don’t bother upgrading their software. That number dropped slightly abroad - 41% in the U.K. and 37% in Germany - where presumably more folks understandd the benefits of doing so.
The survey - with more than 5,000 total respondents - found that while three quarters of adults received notifications on their computers telling them to update their software, more than half said they needed to see a prompt between two and five times before downloading and installing an update, Skype said.
Most software upgrades are released in the form of patches, fixing vulnerabilities. Others tweak the code to add additional features or modify other elements of the software.
The survey found that those who did upgrade at least understood the security implications of their choice: 76% of those surveyed said that they upgraded to keep their computer secure against malware and hackers, and 67% said they chose to upgrade to eliminate bugs. Only 47% said they did so to add new features and capabilities.
“Only by regularly upgrading are consumers able to enjoy the benefits of improved voice and video calling quality, longer mobile battery life and bug fixes, in addition to new features that we regularly add across our product portfolio,” said Linda Summers, director of product marketing at Skype, in a statement.
Fear Of Upgrades
So why in the world would users not upgrade? Ironically, the reason is once again: security. Almost half (45%) of those who responded worried that the upgrade would introduce new vulnerabilities, or else they didn’t trust the patch itself. In fact, unfamiliar software update alerts are often mistaken for malware threats.
The remainder of the reasons not to upgrade seem related to ignorance or inconvenience: 27% said upgrades take too long to do, 25% didn’t see a benefit, 26% didn’t know what the upgrades would do, and so on. In the latter category, at least, the mobile market appears to have an advantage, with both Apple and Google publishing details of what the upgrades accomplish before the users download the patch.
From Symantec’s standpoint, upgrades are both routine and essential. The maker of Norton security software said that it blocked more than 5.5 billion malicious attacks in 2011, an increase of 81% over the previous year. Signature-based anti-malware packages download updates at least once daily, and sometimes even more frequently than that.
There Have Been Problems
Marian Merritt, a Norton Internet safety advocate with Symantec Corporation, said that consumers do and should update their software, to mitigate the effects of malware and keep them from spreading.
But Merritt also acknowledged that those users who resist downloading updates have a case, too. “There have been some conflicts,” with drivers, for example, she said. “People have some trepidation about being first.”
Rarely does a patch actually remove functionality or harm the user, although it does happen occassionally.
The best course of action, Merritt recommended, is for users to make sure they know what’s in the patch “and make a good informed choice” before downloading.
Prompts are important, the survey revealed, because About a quarter of respondents reported that they didn’t know how to check if their software needed an upgrade. And - if it matters - men apparently will upgrade more frequently than women after prompting, the study found. | <urn:uuid:5691d7f2-21d2-406a-8085-cd6990152c8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://readwrite.com/2012/07/24/infographic-why-software-users-upgrade-and-why-they-dont | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95721 | 835 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Coastal dept OKs new Navi Mum airport plan
04 November 2010, Times of India
MUMBAI: The changed plan of the Navi Mumbai airport got a nod from the Maharashtra Coastal Management Zone Authority on Wednesday. The proposal will now be placed before the expert appraisal committee of the union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) on November 10. The state government and the union civil aviation ministry are hopeful that the permission would come before the end of November. As a result, only 99 hectares of mangroves will be destroyed and the entire Waghivali Island, which has mangroves will be declared a highly protected area. Sources in the government said that as per MoEF's direction, the Gadhi river will not be diverted while the City Industrial Development Corporation will have to divert Ulwe river. According to CIDCO officials, the costs will increase by at least ` 4,500 crore if Ulwe is not diverted. The distance between the two runways has been reduced from 1.8 km to 1.5 km to avoid the diversion of Gadhi river. Non-aeronautical activity will now take place on another piece of land. Following the MoEF's instructions, the mangroves on Waghivali island will not be touched and the CIDCO has been told to take steps to conserve them. Officials in the state environment department said that Ulwe river will have to be diverted. The Central Water and Power Research Station had prepared a plan for diversion without much damage to the environment. The MoEF expert appraisal committee had visited the site in September and suggested changes to the plan. The appraisal committee is also quite firm that the Ulwe river must not be diverted.
CIDCO submits airport report to ministry a day late
04 November 2010, Hindustan Times
MUMBAI: The City Industrial and Development Corporation (CIDCO), in charge of the Navi Mumbai airport project, missed its meeting with the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) on Tuesday. It went with the airport compliance report a day late, on Wednesday. “Our officials went with the report on Wednesday. We are aware that it was supposed to be given on Tuesday, but it took time,” said CIDCO managing director, Tanaji Satre. CIDCO’s delay has miffed officials in the central ministry considering the importance of the project and the pressure mounted by both the state government and civil aviation ministry for clearance. According to MOEF sources, it has been constantly pointed out that the existing Mumbai airport, with a carrying capacity of 40 million passengers, will reach saturation point by 2013 and that CIDCO’s proposed new airport is expected to handle 60 million passengers. “Yet, they did not turn up,” the source pointed out. The compliance report that CIDCO submitted consists of all changes proposed by the Experts Appraisal Committee that visited the Navi Mumbai site on October 18. Apart from re-aligning the runways by reducing their distance by 250 metres, shifting the 400-hectarenon-aeronautical area to the south, there were soil and water testing reports along with water drainage methodology reports that were required to be submitted. On October 27, Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh met civil aviation minister Praful Patel and had indicated that a compromise had been arrived at and the latter had promised to comply with all environmental adjustments put forth by the MOEF.
New airport inches closer to green nod
10 November 2010, Times of India
MUMBAI: A 10-member experts’ appraisal committee (EAC) of the union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) will meet on Wednesday in New Delhi to finalize its recommendations on granting environmental clearance to the proposed airport in Navi Mumbai. Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh had said after the EAC’s site visit in October that 65% of the environmental issues had been resolved. Based on the EAC’s recommendations, the final decision will be taken by the MoEF led by Ramesh. Cidco had accepted to shift the runway and airport 300 metres towards south to avoid diversion of Gadhi river near the site and also on the Waghivali island where a thick mangrove lagoon will be created. However, there are objections over as to how the Ulve river, comparatively smaller than Gadhi, will be diverted and whether the demolition of hillocks will block the underground natural water streams around Ulve. EAC is also keen on saving rare species of birds that come to the area which lies close to Karnala bird sanctuary. The state government says that most of Ulve length that will fall inside the site area has saline water, which can be accommodated by creating a huge pond in Waghivali. “Cidco will divert the river from the mouth outside the site, from where fresh water gets mixed with saline. Similarly, underground natural streams of Gadhi and Ulve will be channelized towards the rivers,” said a state government official. However, all eyes are on the EAC as to what recommendations it makes to the MoEF while granting eco-clearance. “We have already shifted a huge commercial area to the south of the site. Further, not diverting Ulve may affect the financial feasibility of the project, which may keep international investors at bay,” said an official. The project with two parallel runways is estimated to cost over ` 9,600 crore.
Decks cleared for city to get second airport
11 November 2010, Hindustan Times
NEW DELHI: It looks like the city’s second airport at Navi Mumbai has cleared green hurdles and is closer to becoming a reality. On Wednesday, a Union environment ministry panel, the Experts Appraisal Committee (EAC), gave the airport site the much-delayed conditional clearance. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh is expected to announce his decision in the next few days. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in Mumbai that the second airport near Panvel, which will cater to 36 million people every year, has got the green nod, but Ramesh told HT: “Not yet done”. He refused to elaborate. The airport had been a bone of contention between the ministers for a while now. EAC chairperson Naresh Dayal said: “Most issues have been resolved.” Ministry officials said several conditions have been imposed on the City Industrial Development Organisation (CIDCO), which will build the airport. It has been asked to ensure that the Gadhi River is not diverted, a415-hectarebiodiversitygreen zone is created and all non-aeronautical functions that were to come up on the green zone in the north are shifted to the south. An interesting condition is that the airport cannot be made operational until better public transport a dedicated road or mass rapid transport system corridor to access it is built The EAC has also asked the state to constitute a panel to keep a check on the implementation of the plan. What remains is a nod from the National Coastal Zone Management Authority, the meeting for which is on November13. “We will put forth our recommendations within the next three days,” Dayal said.
Green nod for 2nd city airport likely today
22 November 2010, Hindustan Times
MUMBAI: The ambitious Navi Mumbai airport, touted as the solution to Mumbai’s flying woes, is likely to get the much awaited final approval from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on Monday. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh is expected to make an announcement to this effect along with Union Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavanin Delhi. Chavan, who left for the capital on Sunday evening, has a scheduled meeting with Ramesh on Monday. Sources in the MoEF said the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the agency implementing the project, had addressed most of the green concerns and the Experts Appraisal Committee, which is scrutinising the project, recommended the approval to Ramesh last week. However, the approval will come with a strict rider that all environmental concerns must be met post-clearance during the implementation stage. MoEF is likely to insist on a foreign consultant to handhold the state to carry out all environmental safeguards during the actual construction phase. It may take another year before the project finally takes off and work contracts are handed out as the proposed changes will take time.
THE PROPOSED AIRPORT
1,140 hectares : Spread over 1,140 hectares of land at Panvel. The airport will have two parallel runways, capable of independent operations and full-length taxiways.
40 million : In the first operarional year, it will have the capacity to absorb 10 million passengers annually. By 2030, it will be able to handle 40 million passengers.
26 percent : The airport will be built through public-private partnership in which CIDCO/AAI will hod a 26% stake. The rest will be with the private developer.
4 years : The time it will take to build and open the airport for operations.
Green hurdle cleared, 2nd city airport on fast track
23 November 2010, Hindustan Times
NEW DELHI: The Navi Mumbai airport has finally crossed its toughest hurdle. The Union environment ministry, on Monday, granted the long-awaited environmental clearance for Mumbai’s second airport. A formal announcement was made by environment minister Jairam Rameshat a joint press conference, along with civil aviation minister Praful Patel and chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in Delhi. The clearance, mandatory before any construction begins at the green field airport, comes after months of hectic negotiations with Ramesh, who was wary of the damage to the ecology due to the project, mainly the destruction of mangroves and diversion of two rivers. “Some environmentalists may still be unhappy, but I am firmly of the view that this optimisation is the best possible solution. The emphasis should now be on ensuring commitments made by Cidco and conditions stipulated by the MoEF are fulfilled,” Ramesh said.The clearance comes with a strict rider asking the project developer, City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) to comply with 32 safeguards. Cidco will also have to seek the permission of the Bombay High Court and the central forest ministry in order to cut down mangroves on 98 hectares for the project. Earlier, Cidco had redesigned the airport plan to reduce the distance between the runways to avoid the diversion of Gadhi river. It had also agreed to shift its 400hectare non-aeronautical zone to the south of the site to save dense mangroves and tidal mudflats. HT had first reported on this compromise between the environment ministry and Cidco on August 22. Cidco will develop a 678-hectare mangrove park around the airport. It will take eight months to a year before Cidco can complete its bidding process and award work contracts for the construction, Chavan said. WHATNEXT CIDCO WILL HAVE TO GET PERMISSION from the HC as the airport plan requires hacking of 98 hectares of mangroves. The agency plans to move court next week. IT ALSO NEEDS APPROVAL from the forest ministry separately as per an earlier court order, as mangroves have been declared as protected forests. MoEF has assured speedy clearance. SOME ESSENTIAL safeguards like rehabilitation, construction of mangrove parks, flooding mitigation plan, base line survey of fauna at the site will have to be complied with before construction begins. IT WILL TAKE AN ESTIMATED eight months to a year to finish the bidding process and hand over work contracts for actual construction of the airport to begin. THE NEWAIRPORT It will initially absorb 10 million passengers annually. By 2030, it will be able to handle 40 million passengers. The cost of the project: ` 9,770 cr. The first phase will be completed by 2014-15 and will cost ` 4,000 crore. : The environmental clearance for the Navi Mumbai international airport is likely to make property prices in Navi Mumbai go through the roof. Manish Bhatija, director of Paradise Group, said: “It’s nice to know that the airport has finally been approved. We had been looking forward to it for a long time. The property market in Navi Mumbai will get a boost.” He added: “Residential property prices will rise by 15 to 20 percent, while commercial prices will rise 25 to 35 percent. Kharghar, Ulwe, Panvel and Kamothein particular will see a huge rise in property prices due to their proximity to the airport.” Suresh Haware, president of the Maharashtrian Builders’ Forum, said, “The City and Industrial Development Cooperation (CIDCO) and builders have been telling clients about the airport for the past 15years. It’s a milestone in terms of infrastructure.” He added: “Expect a 20 to 25 percent increase in prices. The hotel and tourism sector will also benefit. The airport will generate two lakh new jobs in Navi Mumbai.” Devang Trivedi, director of Progressive Builders, agreed. “With the airport, Navi Mumbai will become a self contained, complete city. There will be nothing that it lacks in terms infrastructure. Not only from Mumbai, but people from other areas such as Pune will come to reside here. Property prices will rise by 15 percent within a month. Also, less populated nodes such as Kalamboli, Khandeshwar and New Panvel will be in the limelight.” Manohar Shroff, general secretary of Navi Mumbai Chamber of Housing said the township was already a realty destination because of the facilities offered, smaller population and lower cost of living. “Navi Mumbai is now an education and commerce hub, which is attracting home buyers. The airport approval will accelerate this influx and impact the property market,” he added.
THE STORY SO FAR
23 November 2010, Hindustan Times
1997 NOV: Centre studies need for second airport, committee appointed suggests Rewas Mandwa as the site.
2000 OCT: State writes to civil aviation ministry suggesting Navi Mumbai site because of better infrastructure.
DEC: Ministry asks state to undertake detailed studies on the site.
2001 SEPT: City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) submits techno-economic feasibility study to ministry.
2007 JULY: Union Cabinet gives in principle approval. AUGUST: Ministry of Environment and Forests returns CIDCO proposal saying it is not permissible under Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) norms.
NOV: Environment ministry asked to amend CRZ notification to enable airport construction.
2009 MAY: CRZ amendment making airport permissible, subject to certain measures, issued. CIDCO gets exemption from Bombay High Court.
JUNE: Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh raises concerns about irreparable damage to coastal ecology.
DEC: Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC)visits site after CIDCO submits proposal to the environment ministry seeking terms of reference.
2010 FEB: EAC seeks additional details of environment impact study.
MAY: Public hearing for airport is held.
AUG: Compromise worked out after consultations between environment and aviation ministries.
AUG-OCT: Deliberations begin to satisfy Ramesh’s demand to save mangroves, minimise diversion of water bodies.
OCTOBER: EAC visits site again, asks for redesign to prevent hacking of mangroves, diversion of at least one of the two rivers on the site. CIDCO agrees, shifts non-aeronautical zone to the south to save 400 hectares of mangroves, reduces distance between runways to prevent diversion of Gadhi river and minimise impact on Ulwe river.
NOVEMBER 20: Ramesh gets final recommendations from EAC granting approval on the condition that 32 environmental safeguards are met.
NOVEMBER 22: Final environment clearance issued.
Navi Mumbai airport finally takes wing
23 November 2010, Times of India
NEW DELHI: The country’s financial capital will have a second international airport at last, with the Union ministries of environment and aviation and the Maharashtra government’s Cidco shifting their positions to meet each other half way. The direly needed and much-delayed project has finally got the green clearance from the environment ministry and the tendering for the project will start soon. The ` 8,722-crore Navi Mumbai airport project, which will handle 60 million passengers per year by 2030, will take off soon, with civil aviation minister Praful Patel saying the project could be clubbed into two phases, instead of the originally planned four, to try to make up for some of the lost time. The project is expected to handle 25 million passengers annually by 2020. “The first phase should be completed by 2015. One runway at the existing airport will be under daily repair from next year,’’ Patel said.
Cleared For TAKE-OFF
The Navi Mumbai airport will be built through public private partnership on 1,160 hectares of land between Panvel creek and Karnala hills.
Around 9,000 cr
Will handle 10 mn passengers per annum (MPPA) by 2015, 45 MPPA by 2025, and 60 MPPA by 2030
Compromises By Cidco
No hotels, non-essential facilities will be on site t Distance between the two parallel runways will be cut. Will not divert Gadhi river t Grow 615 ha of mangroves.
Environment Ministry Climb down
Allows part diversion of Ulwe river t Gadhi will be untouched, but one of its channels will be filled up t Permits 90-metre hillock to be levelled t Allows comprehensive and new EIA report to be filed later despite changes.
Environment ministry may help state sidestep lengthy process to obtain mandatory permission from the Bombay high court to cut mangroves. Global bids to be floated to appoint a developer. Project work likely to commence after 8-12 months. First phase could be ready by 2015.
Will ease congestion at existing airport
Project could create 2 lakh new jobs
City could get a trans-harbour link
Real estate prices around airport site will shoot up
TWO OF A KIND
Max passenger handling capacity
Mumbai airport: 40 mn (by 2015)
Navi Mumbai airport: 60 mn (by 2030)
MoEF lays down 32 conditions on Navi Mum airport project
Environment minister Jairam Ramesh, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and civil aviation minister Praful Patel came together on Monday in New Delhi to announce the clearance. As part of the grand bargain, the environment ministry dropped its green objections on several fronts while, Cidco changed its plans to meet the environmental norms halfway. The ministry has put 32 conditions on the building of the project, which include shifting out of all the non-essential elements of the airport away from the mangroves. As per the agreement among stakeholders, one of the two rivers Ulwe, flowing through the airport site, will be diverted to accommodate the airport runways. The other, Gadhi, will remain untouched though one of its channels will be filled up. The fallout for the two rivers was a major issue with the environment ministry which cited the havoc caused by the diversion of Mithi river to insist that the course of the two streams should not be changed. Ramesh said he was 85% satisfied that the environmental concerns had been met. The environment ministry has allowed Cidco to cut 98 hectares of mangroves on the location but the project developers will have to plant 615 hectares of mangroves as biodiversity parks as compensation. The environment ministry also backed off on the levelling of a 90-metre high hill. Ironically, the climb down was facilitated by rampant mining on the hill that had brought down its ecological significance considerably. The minutes of the meeting of the expert appraisal committee show that though Jairam Ramesh was initially bent upon sticking to the law, the ministry softened its position for the sake of the airport project. The environment ministry has turned many of its concerns into conditions that Cidco has to meet. The requirements include preparing a new environmental impact assessment report and a detailed traffic management plan, setting up of a highlevel advisory and monitoring committee reporting to the airport management authority and a review of impacts on biodiversity along with the Bombay Natural History Society. “I have also asked the state government to set up a high-level advisory and monitoring committee to oversee the implementation of the environmental conditionalities at various stages,’’ Ramesh said. Chavan said that the state government would expedite rehabilitation of the 3,000 families along with securing of the land for the site still in private hands.
State to seek exemption to cut mangroves
23 November 2010, Times of India
NEW DELHI: In a bid to avoid another lengthy delay, the Maharashtra government will approach the Bombay High Court for an exemption from its order requiring a forest clearance to cut mangroves at the Navi Mumbai airport site. The environment ministry has approved of this move to side-step the need for yet another protracted clearance process. On Monday, the ministry gave the environmental clearance under the Environment Protection Act to the second international airport at Navi Mumbai. But the project could have been stalled for much longer if the environment ministry had insisted that the state government also seek a forest clearance as required under a Bombay HC order. In January 2010, the HC had ordered that all mangroves in the state should be treated as forests and accordingly project developers should seek clearance under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, before the forests are chopped off. The clearance can take almost six months even if expedited as the proposal has to move from the lowest rung of the state forest department at the divisional level and then through successive layers to even reach the Centre for final clearance. The project, even after the scaled down version, requires clearing of nearly 100 hectares of mangrove land. The environment ministry has now suggested that the Maharashtra government approach the HC for an exemption and that the Centre would support it in its stance before the judiciary. The expert appraisal committee of the ministry has also embedded the need for a clearance from the HC as one of the 32 conditions it has imposed while giving clearance to Cidco for the ` 8,722-crore project that will cater to 10 million passengers annually by 2014. On Monday, in a joint press conference, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan did mention that the state government would approach the HC, though he or Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh did not refer to the contentious forest clearance.
Second airport: Too little, too late?
23 November 2010, Times of India
MUMBAI: For an airport slated to be born in the 2010s, Navi Mumbai airport doesn’t really pack a punch in terms of capacity. Going by current projections, the city will actually need a third airport by 2030 as the second airport does not present long-term solutions to the city’s ever-increasing air traffic demands. In 2015, when it will be ready for use, Navi Mumbai airport will have a passenger handling capacity of only 10 million/year. This is less than Bangalore (13 million/year) and Hyderabad (12 million/year) airports started with when they began operations a few years ago. Comparing it to airports internationally, it is only in 2030 that Navi Mumbai will be able to handle the massive load Tokyo’s Haneda handled in 2009—61 million passengers.
New airport to be saturated in two decades
Navi Mumbai airport will reach its saturate at 59 million passengers/year in 2030. For Mumbai airport, the saturation point is 40 million in 2015. “According to current economic projections, Mumbai is expected to get 85 million passengers by 2025. By 2029, the city will cross the 100-million passenger mark, saturating both airports and putting up a demand for a third one,’’ said an aviation analyst. One could argue that most mega cities have more than one airport and so Mumbai having three airports in the 2030s only conforms to the global trend. But Mumbai’s case is different. The reason? Unlike Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports, the third airport would have to have scope for future expansion, like several other big-city airports have (they are not located in the heart of the city, like Mumbai airport is). For example, London’s Heathrow, which handled 66 million passengers last year, will add a third runway and a sixth terminal building in coming years to push up its capacity.
“But the airports of Mum are land-locked. So the city’s fate hangs on the third airport. After all, to keep up with the growth, a city cannot go on adding airports for every 30-40 million passengers. It has to have at least one main airport that can handle over 100 million passengers,’’ the analyst added. If Navi Mumbai airport has to expand, it would have to move a railway line, a state highway and SEZ land, all of which is nearly impossible. So the third airport would not just have to look at the next 20-30 years, but would need the capacity to go beyond. What will stand out in the 2030s is Mumbai’s unique standing as a city with a number of “small airports’’. In a decade from now, Dubai’s new Al Maktoum airport is slated to come up with a passenger handling capacity of more than 160 million. The Beijing airport handled 65 million passengers in 2009 itself. “Most main airports of cities like Hong Kong, Seoul, Beijing, Dubai and Singapore already have a saturation passenger-handling capacity of about 100 million/year. Delhi airport is planning a capacity of 100 million passengers. Mumbai, on the other hand, needs two airports just to touch that figure,’’ the analyst said. Another feature that will distinguish the Mumbai airports would be passenger profile. “Unlike Dubai, Singapore and Heath row, Mumbai is not a hub, and is not likely to be. So a majority of its passengers would not be transit passengers. The growth in passenger traffic for Mumbai’s airports would largely come from increasing domestic air traffic,’’ said an airport source. It will go the Dallas, Denver way.
Planting mangroves a tough ask, say experts
23 November 2010, Hindustan Times
MUMBAI: Environmental experts said the plantation of 370 hectares of mangroves around the Navi Mumbai airport site to compensate for the mangroves that would be destroyed for the project would not be easy. The environmental clearance specified that 678 hectares of mangroves would have to be in place before the airport work begins. About 370hectares of mangroves would be planted, while the rest already exist and will be preserved. “To plant mangroves over 370 hectares, you require an investment for the next 30 years both in terms of money and monitoring. A project of this scale would need a budget of ` 40 crore, but only a fraction of that has been allocated,” said a marine biologist, who did not wish to be named. Around 98 hectares of mangroves will have to be chopped for the two runways. To compensate, City and Industrial Development Corporation will develop anew 60-hectare mangrove park, adding to it 310 hectares of mangroves to the north-east of the airport site. Bombay Natural History Society has been given the task of mangrove plantation. The mangrove park is likely to have a bio-diversity park and a lagoon. According to experts, the plantation will have to be done taking into account that 60% to 70% of the mangroves will die every year and will have to be planted afresh in stages. The budget will have to be drawn up accordingly. For instance, to ensure that 100 hectares of mangroves survive, you have to plant saplings over an area of 1,000 hectares. This means planting one lakh saplings. Assuming a50% mortality rate in the first year, you would have to plant 50,000 saplings the following year. “Scientists will have to work backwards keeping mortality in mind. The newly - planted mangroves will have to be looked after for at least 20 years before they start self-sustaining,” said another expert.
LESSONS FROM GUJARAT
- To arrest coastal degradation, Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) undertook mangrove plantation at Gandhar along the Dhadar river embankment in Gujarat.
- In its fourth year, 11 lakh saplings were planted across 100 hectares/
- The next phase of the seven-year project will cover 400 hectares.
- Seedlings were grown in a nursery close to the site, taking into account the existing structure of mangroves.
- Since seeds of various species were planted, the average growth time for seedlings was 6 to 18 months.
- Once stable, the saplings were planted at the site and monitored.
'There is strong erosion, hence the need for dense, compact plantations.' - Deepak Apte, Assistant Director, BNHS
Getting there a problem
23 November 2010, Hindustan Times
MUMBAI: The second international airport is being heralded as the new gateway to Mumbai, but poor connectivity could turn the dream into a nightmare. The airport will be 30 to 35 km from Mumbai but, with the current transport infrastructure, it could take up to two hours to reach it. The Sion Panvel Highway is crowded with trucks going to and coming from Navi Mumbai, as well as Pune, the Konkan and Goa. “Supporting infrastructure is critical. I hope the agencies concerned build infrastructure for better connectivity to the airport,” said South Mumbai MP Milind Deora. Three projects have been lined up to provide fast connectivity to the airport. However, all three the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), the Sion Panvel Highway Expansion and the Navi Mumbai Metro are dormant due to government inaction. MTHL, 22-km a sea link between Sewri and Nhava in Raigad, is stuck due to a feud between Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) over who should build the bridge. Both have staked claim to the project and have submitted different proposals for it. “MTHL will improve connectivity to the airport. It is up to the government to decide on who should build it,” MMRDA chief Ratnakar Gaikwad said. In April, then chief minister Ashok Chavan asked Urban Development Department Secretary TC Benjamin to prepare a report recommending which agency should get the project. The report was submitted, but no decision was taken. The Sion-Panvel Highway, which was to be expanded from six lanes to 10 lanes, was stuck in litigation and work is unlikely to start before next year. Transport experts said the government is only building additional roads that will put more cars on the roads instead of building an efficient public transport system. “What’s needed is a high-volume, high quality, low-cost public transport system which can get people to the airport. However, the government has no such project planned,” said transport expert Ashok Datar. “For a project of this size, you need a functional public transport system in place a year before the project starts,” he added. The only public transport system planned is the ` 4,000crore Belapur-Kharghar-Taloja Kalamboli Metro, which will be extended to the airport in the future. However, this line will help only those coming from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, while those coming from the city will have find their own way through gridlocked traffic. The new airport is expected to handle 10 million passengers ayear in the first phase and 45 million passengers by 2022.
WHAT THE NEW AIRPORT WILL HAVE
1,160 HECTARES Total area of the airport. It will have two parallel runways. The terminal will be built in the middle of both runways and will have complete access from either side.
1 LAKH Number of new jobs the airport will create directly. Another 1 lakh jobs will be created indirectly.
` 8,722 CRORE Likely cost of the project.
11,000 Number of vehicles the car parks will hold
11 Number of hangars the airport will have. The airport design will allow it to meet the ever growing needs of aeronautical technology and accomodate large aircraft such as the A380.
276 HECTARES Area for non-aeronautical activities such as a mangrove park.
10 MILLION/YEAR Number of passengers it will handle by the end of 2014. It will handle 25 million passengers a year by 2020.
60 MILLION/YEAR Number of passengers the airport will be able to handle by 2030.
150 Number of passenger counters the airport will have.
Projects that could improve connectivity to the new airport, but are stuck due to government inaction or litigation.
MUMBAI TRANS HARBOUR LINK : The 22 km sea link will provide connectivity from South Mumbai to the airport. Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) both want to build the project. MSRDC plan includes 8-lane bridge for private vehicles, costing ` 7,761 crore. MMRDA plan includes 6-lane bridge with a Metro, costing `9,729 crore. MMRDA also plans a 28-km road up to Khopoli. This too would have a Metro attacked to it.
Status : No gevernment decision yet.
SION-PANVEL HIGHWAY : Plan to expand road into 10-lane highway. Plan floated a decade ago but was stuck in litigation and has now finally got the goa ahead. Work likely to start on expanding this 23-km stretch, but there is no high-volume public transport system planned for it.
Status : Work unlikely to begin until next year.
METRO : ` 4,000-crore Belapur-Khargar-Taloja-Kalamboli Metro, which will be extended to the airport in the future, planned. However, it wil help only those coming from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region; those coming from the city will have find their own way through gridlocked traffic.
Status : Construction to begin next month, first corridor to open by 2013.
CITY AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORTATION (CIDCO) is the nodal agency for the project
MUMBAI INTERNATINAL AIRPORT LTD. A consortium by GVK Industries that runs the existing airport, has first right of refusal for building the project.
LOUISE BERGER GROUP is the prime consultant.
There’s still a long way to go
24 November 2010, Hindustan Times
MUMBAI: The long awaited environmental clearance for the Navi Mumbai international airport is a big step forward, but it’s not the final approval required for the project to takeoff. City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the project developer, has the unenviable task of procuring three more approvals from the Central Ministry of Forests, the Bombay High Court and Union Ministry of Defence before work can begin. The project developer would also have to acquire 436 hectares of land to rehabilitate the 3,000 families from the surrounding villages that will be displaced by the project. This too must be done before work orders are issued. All this is in addition to the 32 stringent conditions and environmental safeguards specified by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. These include developing a mangrove park, getting anew Environmental Impact Assessment plan approved, putting together master plan to ensure against flooding and a security plan to safeguard against 26/11-style terror attacks. These will require additional funds and expertise. The authorities have only eight to 10 months to comply with all these conditions and initiate the bidding process. “We need separate clearances from the Bombay High Court for cutting of mangroves and another from forests ministry. We hope to get all the clearances within six months,” said Principal Secretary (Urban Development) TC Benjamin. From the air force and navy, a no-objection certificate will have to be sought. CIDCO officials plan to move the high court for the approval next week. The clearance from the forests advisory body is normally along-drawn-out process that can stretch for years, but officials said Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh had assured the mof quick sanctions. Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel asserted that the clearance could come within 48 hours since all the parameters had been discussed at length for the environmental go-ahead. But, many officials were skeptical of files moving that fast. International airports have been built faster, but can the state government meet the 2015 deadline? “India built its first green field airport at Cochin, followed by Hyderabad and Bangalore. There is no reason why CIDCO can’t learn from these experiences and build atop-class airport in four years. The key is to get consultants of repute right from the beginning, for the bidding process as well as environment mitigation,” said former bureaucrat V Ranganathan. On its own, he added, CIDCO would not make the cut.
GETTING A MOVE ON
The much-delayed airport at Navi Mumbai was granted environmental clearance on Monday. Here are some of the changes the original plan underwent
- THIS WAS WHERE the non-aeronautical zone was planned earlier. The site is covered with mangroves and tidal mudlflats
- THIS IS WHERE the non-aeronautical zone will now come up. It will have customs offices, emergency services, commercial areas.
- AERONAUTICAL ZONE, which will house two runways and the terminals
- 90-METRE-HIGH hillock will have to be flattened. Environment ministry allowed this since it had been substantially quarried.
- GADHI RIVER WILL no longer need to be diverted since distance between runways has been reduced, minimising possibility of floods.
ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY CONDITIONS
90-METRE-HIGH HILLOCK to be demolished without causing adverse environmental impact.
NO DIVERSION OF GADHI RIVER, course of Ulwe to be changed without flooding low-lying areas.
NON-ESSENTIAL FACILITIES to be shifted out of main project.
ALL CONSTRUCTION WORKERS to get good living facilities.
3,000 DISPLACED VILLAGE FAMILIES to be rehabilitated, villages to get the best possible infrastructure.
NOISE POLLUTION to be below permissible levels.
20% OF ENERGY must come from renewable sources.
THERE SHOULD BE a Metro line connecting airport to city.
MOST OF THE AIRPORT should be constructed with fly ash.
CIDCO MUST SUBMIT a plan on protection against floods and surface drainage since the airport site will be elevated while the surrounding area will be at a lower level.
FRESH ENVIRONMENT IMPACT Assessment report to be submitted, taking into consideration change in design, new hydrological scenario, mangrove lagoon, etc.
The environment ministry has said that villages around the airport will have to get modern infrastructure
LOTS TO BE DONE
The state government must seek these approvals before it can start construction of the airport at Navi Mumbai
Bombay High Court
City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) will have to move the court for permission to cut 98 hectares of mangroves. This follows a 2006 order that banned the hacking of mangroves and froze construction in a 50-metre radius around mangrove land.
CIDCO will have to ask for clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests again, this time under Forest Conservation Act since a recent high court order declared all mangrove areas as protected forests. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has assured speedy clearance.
The airport project will also require a no-objection certificate from the air force and the navy. | <urn:uuid:0bd94c4d-fc44-48d4-ad7c-f750a9cc15bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://envis.maharashtra.gov.in/envis_data/?q=enmianws_nov10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9519 | 8,438 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Value Line is regarded as the best independent research available. More than just recommendations, Value Line provides the rationale behind its picks for greater understanding.
- Don D., California
From the Small- and Mid-Cap Survey: Fortinet, Inc.
Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT) was incorporated in 2000 and went public in November 2009. The company offers a wide range of network security products and services designed to protect data delivered via the Internet. As of December 31, 2011, Fortinet had delivered over 850,000 appliances to more than 10,000 distributors and over 125,000 end users worldwide, including a majority of the Fortune Global 100 companies. According to International Data Corporation, Fortinet is the market leader in unified threat management (UTM), with 17% of that portion of the broad Internet security market.
Through its products and subscription services, Fortinet provides broad protection against security threats. It also simplifies information technology security efforts for businesses, service providers, and governments. Its FortiGate appliances offer security and networking functions in areas such as firewall, virtual private network (VPN), antivirus, intrusion prevention, Web filtering, and antispam. The basic FortiGate models provide perimeter protection for small businesses and remote offices of bigger firms. The most complex appliances furnish network security to large customers and provide high speed networking, wide area network (WAN) and storage connectivity, and the flexibility to add extra firewall or intrusion prevention features.
Fortinet also offers security services, such as updates for virus signatures, attack definitions, and scanning engines that it sells under the FortiGuard name. Customers buy security services in advance, typically for one-year terms, to obtain updates for software run on FortiGate appliances. The firm also offers technical support services for its software and hardware, training, and consultation for deployment of its products. In the first quarter of 2012, revenues were derived about 54% from services and 46% from appliances.
The company does not manufacture any of its products, relying instead on outside contract manufacturers. While that poses a small risk, Fortinet offsets it by making some forward commitments. But the contract manufacturing industry is so competitive that we do not see its reliance on outside suppliers as a real risk. Similarly, almost all sales are to system creators that put security packages together for the ultimate end users. As the company with thousands of these “middle men’’, risk seems low in this area, as well.
Fortinet’s earnings have risen dramatically since its initial public offering and figure to rise at around 25% a year for at least a few years. Although the overall Internet security market may grow at perhaps 10% a year, the company’s niches, especially UTM, should see higher growth, and it will probably gain market share, as well. The unified offering simplifies the task of Internet security by giving customers just one supplier for most Internet security needs.
Major competitors include Check Point Software (CHKP), Cisco Systems (CSCO – Free Cisco Stock Report), Juniper Networks (JNPR), SourceFire (FIRE), Symantec (SYMC), Verisign (VRSN), and the McAfee division of Intel (INTC – Free Intel Stock Report). While a number of its industry peers are considerably larger than Fortinet, it reports beating out several of them on recent contracts.
Fortinet and its industry should benefit from customers’ need to lift spending on Internet security, to repel more cyber attacks, accommodate higher traffic as companies require or permit more use of mobile devices, and meet more stringent compliance requirements, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. It has no debt and $600 million in cash, giving it ample firepower for acquisitions, though almost all of its recent growth has been internal, through a significant increase in its headcount. Thus, while Fortinet looks like a great company, the question is whether it constitutes a good investment at around 48 times this year’s forecasted earnings. On that score, we think FTNT does merit a place in growth portfolios, though even a minor earnings miss could result in a steep selloff.
At the time of this article’s writing, the author had no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. | <urn:uuid:3bc41c5e-04cd-46b4-9907-5235bf18abc8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.valueline.com/Stocks/Highlight.aspx?id=13213 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954835 | 873 | 1.671875 | 2 |
If all muscles were completely relaxed what would move the body? I think this might be the formation of a better Hypothesis 3.
Well, if all muscles were completely relaxed, I wouldn't worry about moving, but about not falling on my face.
So I have to agree with Dave: muscles are needed to move the body. The problem with all this IP/IS stuff, though, is that it does not feel like the muscles are used to move the body. You feel more like your body is some elastic entity, with the dantien controlling the tensions in that entity to generate movement.
Or to put it more broadly, the problem with muscles w.r.t. IS/IP is that what the body does physiologically (Not that I know anyone that fully grasps the physiological side of IP/IS, btw.) is very different from what it feels like and from what it takes to get people to move in a IP/IS way.
Which is not that weird, I have heard a similar thing about the pose running technique: it requires you to lean forward from the ankles, but if you tell people to lean forward from the ankles, they will do all sorts of things, except lean forward from the ankles...
Which is the same points as ChrisMoses was making, I think. And sure, there's a way "to intellectually understand what is happening, even if we can't do it, or feel it", but then I would feel more comfortable talking about a balloon man than about muscles, which may not pass your standards of intellectual rigour. | <urn:uuid:a8e703f2-e502-4e7d-a1c4-3ae14577c720> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showpost.php?p=319517&postcount=77 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975617 | 325 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Dec. 16, 2009
Sean Kirst, columnist
Based on what he witnessed as a teen-ager, Mirza Tihic decided to go into medicine. Tihic comes from Bosnia. He lost 60 male relatives, he said, including his grandfather, in the Serbian "ethnic cleansing" of the 1990s. With his parents, he escaped to Germany. From there, the family came to Syracuse, where Tihic sought a peaceful way of pushing back against the forces that tore apart his family.
"The goal was to be a doctor, to help humankind," he said. "In a war, when the doctor shows up - even if the doctor has no tools - people feel more secure."
Yet he was disappointed with his studies toward becoming a physician. Too much of the emphasis was on individual profit, he said. He stepped back and thought it over. Across Central New York, refugee families were having trouble with their new lives, in no small part because jobs were difficult to find. Tihic's father, in Bosnia, had operated both a store and a contracting company. His mother had been an urban planner. Tihic focused on another way to make a difference.
He would become an entrepreneur, and he would teach his fellow immigrants to succeed in the same way."He's tireless," said Larry Bennett, a colleague of Tihic's at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. "Mirza is probably one of the most productive yet underestimated people I've ever met."
Tihic, who turns 30 today, was a teenager when the Serbs raided his neighborhood. His father did not want to flee. He took his wife, son and daughter away, fully intending to return within a few days. It was too late. The war soon consumed their house and neighborhood. The family had no choice except for leaving the country.
Ten years ago, Tihic was learning his first words of English through the refugee assistance program of the Syracuse city schools. Today, he has a master's degree from SU, and he is program manager of entreprenuerial practice at Whitman. He is deeply involved in programs to create jobs in Central New York. Noticing how his father's spirits plummeted during their difficult early years in Syracuse, Tihic partnered with his dad in starting a company that restores and sells once-crumbling houses in Onondaga County.
He has also gotten underway with his larger dream. Over the past few years, Tihic said, hundreds of families from Iraq, Somalia, Burma and other nations have poured into Syracuse. Many settle on the North Side. Parents who were skilled professionals in their home countries lack the language or cultural comfort to find similar jobs here. They take any low-paying work they can get, which often forces them to leave their older children home at night.
On the North Side, the streets call out to these lonely and frightened kids.
As an answer, Tihic joined with five friends in starting what they call the North Side Learning Center, for refugee families. It is located in an old building in the Butternut Plaza. The space is being provided at a low rent by the Pavone brothers, Frank and Angelo, Italian immigrants and entrepreneurs known throughout the area for their pizza parlor.
"We ourselves are immigrants, and the North Side is dear to our hearts," Frank said. "When we got here, there was no work or anything else. So we hope some of these kids will be able to create a future through an education."
Tihic divides his time between teaching, his business, his young family and the learning center, which is already offering after-school child care and several adult classes, some in partnership with SU. His goal is to see the North Side as it was 40 or 50 years ago - a district where immigrants restore old homes and commercial buildings by starting businesses that appeal to customers throughout the region.
"It's a circle, really," Tihic said. "You start fixing these neighborhoods up, they become more attractive, they bring more people in and you're keeping money in the community."
To him, that's more than common sense. It's medicine.
The North Side Learning Center, which helps refugee families in Syracuse, is looking for volunteers, donations of used furniture and other assistance from the community. For information, call 378-4818. | <urn:uuid:8eb0a6f2-7cd7-4a9a-ba94-6cb4d404614d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.syracuse.com/kirst/index.ssf/2009/12/post_18.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988657 | 897 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Last year, I published a list of notable documentaries that many readers found helpful. In these next few weeks, between eating and unwrapping, I get a chance to catch up on the documentaries that everyone is buzzing about. Netflix has always been a proud home to some of the world’s great docs, and if you’re a fan too, here are 12 great ones that will give you plenty to talk about at those big family dinners.
1. The Invisible War - Director Kirby Dick (This Film Not Yet Rated, Outrage) takes on the sexual abuse of women in the U.S. military in this hard hitting and rage-inducing documentary. The doc is on the short list for a Best Documentary Feature nomination at this year's Oscars, and has already racked up honors around the world since its debut at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.
2. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is another shortlisted 2013 Oscar favorite. Director Alison Klayman explores the complex world of Chinese artist and political activist Ai Weiwei. As the power of social media and art challenge the old guard in China, this film explains the limitations of art and the politics of suppression. Amazing archival footage and Klayman's unparalleled access make this one of the great films of the year.
3. The Queen of Versailles is equal parts “Honey Boo Boo” and “Too Big To Fail.” You will laugh and cry as you look at American consumerism and the complexities of the banking system through the eyes of one family, who happened to be trying to build the largest private home in the world. Lauren Greenfield (Thin) directs this riches to rags story that became an audience favorite at Sundance last year.
4. Marley - Perhaps the finest music documentary ever made, this intimate and fascinating look at the far-too-short life and career of reggae superstar Bob Marley was directed by Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void, The Last King of Scotland) and studies the influence Marley has had on music and global politics. If you don’t like music docs, don’t worry, this is so much more than just a music doc. Even big fans of Marley will learn something new about this artist and the mark he has left on the world.
5. Into The Abyss - Famed director Werner Herzog follows up last year’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams with a look into the equally cavernous topic of the human soul. He explores why we kill and why the state kills in this perfectly balanced look at the death penalty. We see crime and punishment from all angles in the style you have come to expect from Herzog.
6. Art of Flight - Red Bull Media does for documentaries what it does for soft drinks…adds a kick. The images in this extreme sports doc are drop dead gorgeous and the soundtrack rocks. This is a great one to just relax and watch. It is also a great way to show off that new HDTV to visiting family members. Enjoy!
7. Kevin - Jay Duplass directs this film portrait of his Austin music hero Kevin Gant, who seemingly disappeared from the world he was rocking in 1995. Jay makes no bones about his subjectivity here, he is a Kevin worshiper and wears it on his sleeve. The intimate look at the private life of this nearly unknown artist is artful and direct. Jay and his brother Mark are fine directors who emerged from Austin’s film scene, so he has a pretty interesting view of this near miss/near hit tale.
8. Jiro Dreams of Sushi - This film chronicles the comings and goings of a $300 per meal, 10 seat restaurant in Tokyo that has become a bucket list destination for foodies worldwide. More importantly, it is the tale of a father and son, the pursuit of excellence, and legacy. It is as small as the restaurant itself, but packed with passion and perfection. David Gelb directs.
9. 30 for 30: Jordan Rides the Bus - The 30 for 30 series is packed with great films, most of which are available to stream. Filmmaker Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, Tin Cup, White Men Can’t Jump) directs this film that captures one of the oddest moves in sports history, when NBA superstar Michael Jordan’s came out of retirement to play minor league baseball. It is a deeply human look at an icon from a feature director with style.
10. 30 for 30: The Two Escobars - International soccer star Andres Escobar and drug lord Pablo Escobar might seem as different as two men could be, but this amazing installment of the award winning ESPN documentary series explores the many similarities of these two high profile figures. Michael and Jeff Zimbaslist (Favela Rising) direct this great film.
11. Indie Game: The Movie - We have all heard about indie film and indie music, but this doc is a rare exploration of the world of Indie video games. We meet the people behind games like FEZ, Braid and Super Meat Boy, as well as the people who play them. It is a surprisingly engaging peek at the place where art and technology meet.
12. 6 Days to Air: The Making of SouthPark - This is no bonus feature. Director Arthur Bradford takes you behind the scenes for a week in the life of Trey Parker and Matt Stone as they put together an episode of the long running Comedy Central series “South Park.” It is great fun to look at the unique creative process of these crazy, dirty geniuses and experience first hand how they lampoon pop culture.
Well, there you have it, 12 great docs for the year. You keep watching and we’ll keep bringing them to you.
Chief Content Officer | <urn:uuid:c2f901f0-d6c3-475f-9872-4ccdc9db6a1d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.netflix.com/search/label/two%20escobars | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947388 | 1,196 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Sew on and sew forth
Cortez shop owner finds her niche and passes along her expertise
Sam Green/Cortez Journal Kathy Young receives instructions from Sharleen Odell at a class at Sew By So.
Those who can't do, teach.
That's not the case with Sharleen Odell. Not only can she do, but she can teach, which she does with a friendly passion.
Odell possesses a talent for sewing. She was taught by her mother at the age of 7 on an early Singer machine with a foot treadle. Her long journey through sewing was met by advanced machines and an array of possibilities.
Now, armed with some of the best equipment, Odell is passing on her skills for a practical art that isn't as commonplace as it used to be. Her recent endeavor, Sew By So, is located at 117 N. Pinon Street. Within her small shop, Odell offers quilting, embroidery and sewing classes for anyone interested in learning or advancing their knowledge and skills. She also sells items she has created - quilting pieces and accessories for sewing machines and projects.
"I'm here for the community to help people who want it," Odell said. "I am just offering my knowledge to whoever will appreciate it."
And her knowledge is broad. With over 40 years of experience, Odell has evolved with the practice of sewing. Her machine is her friend and she has had several over the years. They just keep getting better over time.
In the front of her store is a long arm machine used for quilting. The machine is quite intimidating to the novice, appearing more like a torture device than a sewing machine. But Odell explains the process with ease and simplicity. The range of the long arm's capabilities are endless. Free-hand stitching or stitching boards with patterns, can create any size quilt up to king size. Another perk of the long arm is the computer monitor attached to the top containing hundreds of patterns. A quilter can choose one, set up their material and guide the machine without having to measure stitches. In fact, they don't have to pay much attention at all until it comes time to move the blanket forward.
Even with the extent of her knowledge, Odell is still uneasy with the long arm.
"It's been three years since I operated a long arm, so I will be playing with it more before I start offering classes for it," she explained.
Odell is laid back and open minded. She may need some alone time with the long arm, but she invites any curious person to come hang out with her in the shop. She encourages sewing enthusiasts to get to know their machine. If they want to bring it to her, she is more than willing to show them the details.
She is up for learning more about her craft and continues to gather tips from her students, some of who travel from Farmington, Aztec and Towaoc to participate in her day-long courses.
After living in Farmington working as an insurance agent for 25 years, Odell, at the urging of her husband retired in 2005. A year later she was back to work giving sewing and quilting classes to Farmington residents at the Bernina Sewing Center. Her short-lived retirement was not in vain, because Odell was given the opportunity to pursue her hobby. So when she left Bernina in 2012 to move to Cortez with her husband, loyal students followed.
"It makes me feel good that they travel so far to spend their day with me," Odell said appreciatively. "It tells me they have a lot of confidence in me."
As a San Juan County fair participant, Odell has more ribbons than a May Pole. She's also been on the other side as a judge, and taught within the San Juan 4-H family. She is hoping to break into Montezuma County by becoming the 4-H leader for the girls' sewing division.
"I think sewing is a necessity and should be appreciated by all generations," Odell said. "It's good to have those skills in case someone is not able to go to the store and buy something ready made."
Odell can alter clothing, custom make items or offer suggestions on how to do it yourself. Her main goal is to extend her teaching skills by offering more classes throughout the week. Currently, she has one class every few weeks, but as interest spreads she will add on. One thing she is persistent about, is flexibility.
"I am here all the time, so when I get a group of ladies who want to participate in a class I say 'OK when!' At the moment I can work with their schedules," Odell said.
She also added that private lessons are negotiable for a higher price. Her group classes are $10 each, and the individual must bring their own material and machine.
Sew By So is open Monday through Friday, but if Odell is asked to come in on a Saturday, it's not a problem. If someone would like an evening lesson, why not? Odell is pushing to provide exceptional customer service because this is her passion. It isn't work, it's fun.
As the year goes on and weather becomes more pleasant, Odell plans on having classes every week. All types of sewing machines are welcome. Odell said the truth lies in the manual. Just like a textbook, you can't come to class without it.
"I work on a Bernina machine but all I need is a manual," she proclaimed. "They all operate the same, and if there is a difference, the manual will help me help them."
Her next class will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Because of her store size, Odell can only take eight people at a time.
Interested parties can contact Odell at 570-5057 for any questions on her classes and her abilities.
Sam Green/Cortez Journal Carol House, Pauline Price and Shirley Olbert confer on a sewing project during a class at Sew By So. | <urn:uuid:2d4812ce-1f79-490e-904b-16eb9cf32426> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20130204/NEWS05/130209957/0/Lionngowls-735-series.html/Sew-on-and-sew-forth | 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 | 0.977725 | 1,269 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Bananas, tanks, Ukraine and SudanJune 29, 2012
What do bananas, tanks, Ukraine and Sudan have in common?
Actually nothing, but I attempt to make a case that they should have something in common – binding international treaties.
Anmesty International have just produced a report in which Ukraine is identified as a sinner for supplying at least 75 T72M1 (and many more T54/55′s) battle tanks to Sudan via nefarious routes through Kenya and Uganda, and the usual opaque shell companies normally associated with State companies of Ukraine to siphon off backhanders.
In this case, State owned Ukrinmash and two shell companies involved in the “shipping” of the tanks, UK registered Marine Energy Trading Company LLP and Isle of Man registered Ace Shipping.
The instances, it should be pointed out for the purposes of fairness, occurred between 2007 – 2009 and therefore are not transgressions that can be placed at the current governments door, but of the last one. It should also be pointed out that Ukraine stopped this trade with Sudan after heavy pressure from the USA behind closed doors, with the Tymoshenko government denying any such trade until confronted with satellite photographs by the US.
Well that takes care of Tanks, Ukraine and Sudan, what about bananas?
Well here is an interesting and yet difficult to believe fact.
There are absolutely no global binding international treaties (yet) on the sale of conventional weapons and small arms (less any UN resolutions which are indeed rare events given the vested and normally opposing interests of the UNSC). In fact the WTO goes out of its way to exclude such weapons from its scope.
Bananas on the other hand, are subject to 3 globally binding international trading treaties and a strictly adhered to voluntary codex as well.
Here is a list of those existing (or not in the case of small arms and conventional weaponry) international globally binding treaties.
The question then must be asked, where, behind my wife’s friend Svetlana, are all the tanks on the tracks at Odessa docks heading (which was taken only a few days ago)?
Somewhere transparent or another nefarious transaction? We would certainly know if they were bananas! | <urn:uuid:b6e8762f-b6ac-4ece-8290-1900a40a4796> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://odessablog.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/bananas-tanks-ukraine-and-sudan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952354 | 455 | 1.539063 | 2 |
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So Far, so Good
The temperatures have been mild so far and we gotten a few more rains. The fescue is still green. But...the weather prediction for tomorrow sounds more like winter!
Several years ago we switched from weaning in a solid piped corral: calves far away from their mothers; to fence-line weaning: cows on one side, calves on the other.
...click here to compare and contrast the two styles. Read what a difference fence-line weaning makes.
A contracted semi-load of steers going out this morning. Their contemporary heifer mates come up to see what's going on. We are out early to beat the predicted heat of over 105 today. | <urn:uuid:da9909e7-6939-45e3-94da-6d72299d826f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ankenmanranch.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949919 | 251 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
George Allan England’s Empire in the Air
A pioneer aviator named Kramer is attempting to set a new world altitude record when he suddenly disappears. Completely. No wreckage, no explosion, just one minute he’s there and the next he and his plane have vanished. Almost as if they’d been sucked into the Fourth Dimension.
Which is of course exactly what happened!
Scientists at the Observatory in Boston were tracking the flight on an array of high-tech (by 1914 standards) instruments but they are mystified by the vanishing aircraft and aviator.
His girlfriend Ethel immediately swoons and falls into a coma.
Then something even more uncanny happens. A strange greenish transparent globule appears in the Observatory and leaves a mysterious message purporting to be from Kramer. One of the scientists at the Observatory, a man named Keane, also receives a visit from the globule, and another message - in Kramer’s own handwriting!
Further messages are received through the unconscious Ethel who speaks in Kramer’s voice. Kramer’s message is a frightening one. The earth is on the brink of invasion from the Fourth Dimension! But there is hope, if Kramer’s instructions are followed.
The first stage in the invasion comes soon afterwards. Millions of globules spread death and destruction across the entire globe. Boston is devastated, but Keane survives and makes contact with Ethel’s doctor, Dr Rounds. Between them they determine to carry out Kramer’s instructions - it is the only hope for humanity’s survival.
A team of flyers will need to ascend to 20,000 feet where they will be transmuted to the Fourth Dimension. There they will make contact with Kramer and do battle with the invaders. Keane and Dr Rounds find another ally in Hildreth, an Army Aviation lieutenant and a friend of Kramer’s. The future of the world rests on their shoulders, and on the shoulders of the handful of men they manage to collect from the Watertown Arsenal.
While the ideas in this tale are fairly outrageous the energy and urgency of the story-telling are enough to allow for the necessary suspension of disbelief. There’s plenty of excitement and heroism, and Kramer is battling to save not just the world, but the woman he loves.
George Allan England (1877-1936) was a lifelong socialist, something that was apparently very obvious in a none-too-subtle way in some of his other science fiction writings, but curiously enough this book seems to say more about the virtues of good old American rugged individualism than the joys of collectivism although he also manages to suggest a somewhat chilling belief in the necessity of dictatorship in a crisis. This was of course (and still is) a common failing of intellectuals when responding to crises.
Luckily though politics doesn’t intrude very much on what is basically a fun pulpy story. Recommended. | <urn:uuid:b91a9bcc-b32e-43e9-8fff-91567b441080> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vintagepopfictions.blogspot.com/2012/05/george-allan-englands-empire-in-air.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947132 | 608 | 1.789063 | 2 |
CAMDEN —Collaboration between legal writing, clinical, and pro bono programs is one way law schools can meet the market demand for more practice-ready law graduates while fulfilling their public service missions.
This collaboration is becoming a national trend and was the topic at hand during the 2012 Empire State Legal Writing Conference at SUNY Buffalo Law School, where Rutgers–Camden clinical law professor Sarah Ricks delivered the keynote address.
“Students benefit from increased opportunities for experiential learning,” says Ricks, a Philadelphia resident. “It motivates students to know that their legal analysis will be used by a real outside lawyer instead of going into a recycling bin. Experiential opportunities in law school can help students develop professional skills, such as learning to orally present a legal analysis or to peer review another student’s work. Practical experience in law school classes can help improve students’ market value.”
In her comments to more than 50 legal writing professors from across the country, Ricks highlighted the national trend toward overlap among legal writing, clinical, and pro bono programs, and focused on the Rutgers School of Law–Camden’s leading role in that trend.
Each year, clinics at the Rutgers School of Law–Camden handle hundreds of cases with student attorneys providing free legal services to the Camden community.
Ricks is a co-director of the Pro Bono Research Project at Rutgers–Camden, which offers free legal research services to law practitioners. Since 2003, up to 20 students annually complete real legal research assignments through the program for nonprofit organizations, government agencies, or lawyers working pro bono.
Ricks says law schools benefit from increasing student opportunities for experiential learning.
“Collaboration among legal writing, clinical, and pro bono programs responds to calls to make students more practice-ready, exposes students to sophisticated legal issues they may not see in summer jobs, and helps achieve the public service mission of the law school,” she says.
In 2009, Ricks created a class based on the Pro Bono Research Project model by adding research training, casting students as peer reviewers of one another’s written work and oral presentations, and offering academic and intensive writing credit.
Ricks is the author of Current Issues in Constitutional Litigation: A Context and Practice Casebook (Carolina Academic Press, 2011), a textbook that integrates the teaching of skills and doctrine.
She has presented at both regional and national conferences on her integrated clinical/writing course and on teaching research, writing, and professional communication skills through pro bono programs, including the 2012 conferences of the American Association of Law Schools (with Eve Biskind Klothen, assistant dean for pro bono and public interest programs at Rutgers–Camden) and the Legal Writing Institute.
Ricks co-chairs the Section 1983 Subcommittee of the American Bar Association Civil Rights Litigation Committee; serves as commissioner on the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, the City’s antidiscrimination agency; is a member of the American Law Institute; and is a Women’s Law Project board member.
For more information about Rutgers–Camden news stories, visit us at news.rutgers.edu/medrel
Media Contact: Ed Moorhouse | <urn:uuid:4c2d7e63-6ae8-46fd-8f60-a2686333311e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/news/rutgers-camden-law-professor-discusses-national-trend-collaborating-legal-writing-clinical-and?page=15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940764 | 673 | 1.507813 | 2 |
A topping out ceremony has marked a major milestone in the construction of a new state-of-the-art materials recycling facility at AmeyCespa’s Waterbeach site.
The facility, on the Waterbeach Waste Management Park, will contain state-of-the-art sorting equipment to separate mixed materials so they are ready for recycling. It is being built by VINCI Construction UK Ltd, with the mechanical sorting equipment being supplied by Masias Recycling SL.
Work began on the new facility in February and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. With the outer shell of the building now in place work will now focus on installing the innovative sorting equipment and machinery.
The new facility will initially have the capacity to process approximately 60,000 tonnes of recycling material each year, accommodating recycling from both households in South Cambridgeshire and local businesses.
The plant could process up to 100,000 tonnes each year if needed– including recycling from neighbouring councils, providing a local facility for the region.
The event, held on Friday 7 September, was attended by representatives from VINCI Construction UK, AmeyCespa and South Cambridgeshire District Council.
Following a short presentation, guests were taken for a ride in a scissor lift, with Councillor Sue Ellington, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services SCDC being given the honour of securing the final piece of cladding to the building.
Sarah Clover, Account Director for AmeyCespa East, commented; “It is great to see the new building completed and the works progressing so well. Our new MRF will allow us to sort and process a wide range of materials from a larger network of homes and businesses, providing a local recycling solution for the county. It will complement our existing Mechanical Biological Treatment plant and In-vessel Composting facility, which treat all of Cambridgeshire’s kerbside collected residual, kitchen and garden waste.”
Cllr Sue Ellington, cabinet member for environmental services for South Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “We’re really looking forward to this new centre being ready for our residents’ recycling, and the topping out ceremony is a major step toward the plant being completed. We’re proud to have some of the most dedicated recyclers in South Cambridgeshire but we are always aiming to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.”
Grahame Shirreffs, Senior Contracts Manager from VINCI Construction UK also commented on the project; “It has been great working on the Waterbeach Waste Management Park and to improve the recycling facilities for the Cambridge area. With such a modern facility, we hope it will really make an impact in the local community and will make recycling more efficient for all.” | <urn:uuid:36004e03-679c-4013-afc7-5770f98d662e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vinciconstruction.co.uk/News-and-Downloads/VINCI-Construction-UK-'Tops-Out'-new-recycling-facility-in-Cambridgeshire.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947493 | 589 | 1.671875 | 2 |
FRESHMEN DEFEATED YALE
By Score of 3 to 1 In Poorly Played Game.--Sortwell Excelled.
The Freshman hockey team defeated the Yale freshmen in the Boston Arena on Saturday afternoon by the score of 3 to 1. The 1914 forwards played better together than their opponents but lost many good chances to score through poor shooting. The Harvard defence, however, was at all times clearly superior to Yale's.
After a few minutes' indecisive play Sortwell shot the first goal, at short range. A little later Evans carried the puck down the rink and from a scrimmage in front of the goal tied the score. Three minutes before the close of the first period Hopkins shot the second goal for the Freshmen on a pass from Sortwell. In the second half the poor condition of the ice made accurate shooting and passing difficult. Sortwell shot the only goal towards the close of the period. A number of substitutes were sent in for Harvard but the Yale forwards could not get past their opponents' defence.
For the Freshmen Sortwell, Carnochan, and Hopkins played well, while Chauncey and Evans excelled for Yale.
The teams lined up as follows: Score--Harvard 1914, 3; Yale 1914, 1. Goals--Sortwell 2, Hopkins, Evans. Referee-- Linnerton. Assistant referee-- Hoey. Time--Two 20-minute periods.
Score--Harvard 1914, 3; Yale 1914, 1. Goals--Sortwell 2, Hopkins, Evans. Referee-- Linnerton. Assistant referee-- Hoey. Time--Two 20-minute periods. | <urn:uuid:3739652b-6aac-4128-bd51-9dcb937447a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1911/2/13/freshmen-defeated-yale-pthe-freshman-hockey/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94141 | 337 | 1.523438 | 2 |
It started off as a letter, but for former Marine Joshua Boston it was more than that. It was about his freedom.
The Afghanistan veteran wrote an open letter to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, saying that he would not register his weapons with the government even if a ban on assault weapons is passed. The letter started on CNN iReport and gained mass attention online, obtaining a quarter-million views as of Friday evening and appearing on several other news outlets.
Boston said he was inspired to send in the iReport because he felt as though some gun owners were being unfairly targeted. He is angered by "the fact that I'm supposed to be punished for doing nothing more than owning a rifle that looks scary because its stock isn't made out of wood," he said.
Feinstein has said she plans to introduce a bill in January that would place a ban on assault weapons. Gun rights legislation gained renewed attention after an armed gunman killed 20 children and six adults in the Newtown school shooting.
The bill aims to revisit a 1994 ban on assault weapons. The prohibition, which expired in 2004, did not eliminate them, but restricted their features, limiting magazine capacity to 10 rounds and regulating pistol grips, bayonet attachments and flash suppressors.
Boston said he served in Afghanistan twice and Iraq twice between 2004 and 2011. Although no longer serving in the military, the 26-year-old said he still owns guns and believes the government does not need to know what guns he owns; he believes weapons registration would lead to confiscation.
Many of the people who posted the more than 1,400 passionate comments about the letter said they agreed with Boston. Both pro- and anti-gun supporters weighed in on the idea of registering weapons in the United States and the use of assault weapons.
"I, like you am a former Marine corporal and I support you 110%," wrote CNN iReport user TMuttDaddy. "It's nobody's business how many guns I own. I also support restoring the gun ownership right for felons. Provided the crime was nonviolent and not repeat offenders. I do think we need to address how firearms are stored and secured. We need to require owners to secure their weapons in such a way that makes them difficult to steal. I suggest gun safes and trigger locks. We need to do all we can to keep guns off the street."
Str8shot wrote, "This is absolutely the best response to the attack on civilian gun ownership that I've seen in some time." "I'd stand, proudly, with this man in preserving our rights. He clearly understood his pledge to protect the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic and sounds like he'll do it. I'm right there with him!"
Despite the number of mass shootings in the United States in 2012, Boston said he believes the laws already set in place for gun control are plenty. He adds that more laws will simply remove a means of defense for people. | <urn:uuid:dd715312-f735-418e-b5a9-beeca6dd19ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wlwt.com/news/national/Marine-to-senator-I-won-t-register-my-guns/-/9837944/18018726/-/item/0/-/5e8bi7z/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986045 | 604 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The Future is Human
By Jez Frampton
If 2011 was about upheaval and uncertainty, 2012 has been about transition. Last year, dissent was in the air as protestors took to the streets from Tahrir Square to New York City, a nuclear crisis in Fukushima reignited a worldwide energy debate, and ongoing issues in the banking industry have brought — and continue to bring — deficiencies to the fore.
Like it or not, we are entering a new world. Connected, networked, hyper-aware, and fraught with contradictions, this new world is complex and confusing, but rich, intimate, and alive. It is, for brands, full of promise and boundless possibility — if organizations can learn how to tap into this vast intelligence. The inexorable rise of digital consumers, further accelerated by the mobile and tablet revolution, is radically shifting the dynamics of the marketplace. Facebook, which has forever altered the way we communicate and relate, went public this year. The London Olympics was not only the greenest Olympic event ever staged — but the most digital to date. Welcome to the future.
Information has leveled the playing field, but has also complicated it. Though data — and lots of it — is available to all, that doesn't mean everyone understands which bits of information are important or how they can be strategically applied. Today's customers are skeptical, vocal, savvy — and have everyone competing for their attention. Any brand that becomes fixated only with the data, and forgets that the numbers are people, will be punished swiftly. Big data facilitates personalization, not a return to broadcast. Only brands that stay transparent, actively engaged, and true to their promises will manage to capture hearts and minds, earn trust, and command loyalty and premium.
Today's best brands are in touch with their own humanity and the humanity of others. They listen to consumers, employees, and investors alike and respond to the messages they receive. They want to know how people really feel about their company, they gather input and use it to drive innovation, and they realize that there is a lot to be learned from the wisdom of crowds. The challenge for brands is to respond quickly and with sincerity, or they risk compromising the relationship.
After all, brands evoke emotion. They are personal. They fulfill and delight us. They are reliable, familiar, exciting, surprising, and ever in the backdrop of our lives. They are woven into our memories, fantasies, and dreams. They have the power to touch and change us precisely because they are human creations, invented in response to both our deepest and most practical needs and desires.
The principles that build and maintain strong brands still hold true, but sometimes we forget that people are really at the center of it all. Resonant symbols, cultural images, emotional attractors, behavior definers … a brand is a living business asset: a concept, a feeling, a differentiating promise that grows, evolves, and will never die as long as a brand is kept alive in the minds of people. In order to succeed, brand owners must become more sensitive to the needs and desires of informed and discerning customers who demand high degrees of engagement — and consistency. And increasingly, the capacity of brands to deepen existing relationships and develop new ones relies on their ability to leverage new technology.
Those who manage the Top 100 Best Global Brands understand the role they play in peoples' lives and respond accordingly — building on successes and making up for mistakes. They are constantly nurturing their brands to keep pace in a rapidly changing world; they know that every market is different, every interaction counts, and every individual matters. Quite an achievement in such turbulent times. These strong, highly innovative brands have earned the respect and loyalty of many individuals who, collectively, contribute to their power and prosperity. They have also earned our respect and admiration, as well as a place in our report.
Global Chief Executive | <urn:uuid:a512e760-3d53-42df-a203-c39885f29595> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.interbrand.com/EN/best-global-brands/2012/the-human-issue.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966185 | 786 | 1.78125 | 2 |
October 28, 2012
If there's a ground zero in this presidential campaign, it might just be the parking lot of a downscale shopping center in North Columbus, Ohio, halfway between Papa John's Pizza and Payless Shoes.
Here, in the empty shell of a former Kohl's department store, Franklin County has set up an early polling station where voters can cast ballots without waiting for election day. A hundred feet from the door, in the parking lot, is a line of trucks festooned with banners — the mobile headquarters of each campaign, ready to press sample ballots on passing voters.
Ohio is the state each candidate covets most, the state most likely to tip the balance of electoral votes and anoint a winner. The most recent average of polls compiled by the Real Clear Politics website shows President Obama with a two-point lead in the state. But the GOP and its allies are pouring millions into last-minute television advertising. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have spent more time in Ohio in the last few weeks than anywhere else — enough to prompt Obama to come back too, and to bring Bill Clinton with him.
Columbus, the state capital, is a disputed region in a battleground state. The city votes Democratic, but its suburbs vote Republican. As of Friday, more than 133,000 Franklin County residents had voted early, either by mail or in person — almost one-quarter of the total number of votes cast there in 2008. And there's still more than a week of early voting left.
The Obama campaign says that's a good sign for them; early voters are more likely to be Democrats. "Early vote helps us get out low-propensity voters, people who haven't voted before, less-likely voters," Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said last week, using euphemisms for minority voters, young voters and low-income voters, all important segments of Obama's base of support.
A poll conducted by Time magazine confirmed her point. It found Obama and Romney tied among Ohioans who haven't voted yet — but showed Obama way ahead, 60% to 30%, among those who have voted already.
Republicans concede that the Democrats have put more time and energy into urging their supporters to vote early. "I'm not sure how many of our people even know you can vote [early] in person," Scott Jennings, the Romney campaign manager in Ohio, told me.
But that doesn't mean Republicans are ceding any ground; GOP voters, Jennings said, are more likely to show up on election day or vote by mail. Still, in the last few weeks, Republicans have belatedly begun exhorting their supporters to vote early too.
One afternoon last week, a shiny blue Romney campaign bus pulled into the Kohl's lot and disgorged half a dozen GOP luminaries, all female and led by Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor. They were met by exactly 13 Republican voters — plus six blue-shirted Obama supporters.
"If you vote early, we'll try to get your name off the list so you won't get any more phone calls," Taylor urged. But several GOP voters said they'd rather wait until election day, even though they were right outside the polling station. "I'm a traditionalist," said Angela Lanctot, 35, a lawyer.
Three hours later, a second bus pulled into the parking lot, this one carrying 28 students from the nearby campus of Ohio State University. The College Democrats lured them to the polls with cupcakes, chocolate milk and four singing ukulele players.
"First time voting!" declared Alexandra Piccioni, 20, of Pittsburgh. She said the Obama campaign helped her register as a voter in Columbus thanks to her status as an Ohio State student.
The Obama campaign appears well organized, but it needs to be; this year's get-out-the-vote effort is an old-fashioned grind, a long way from the delirious wave that swept the president into office in 2008.
In fact, the Obama campaign's biggest achievements in Ohio may have happened months ago. One was building a massive field organization in all 88 Ohio counties at a time when Romney and other Republicans were entangled in a long and bitter primary campaign. "Incumbency has its advantages," an Obama aide noted.
The other advance, little noticed outside the state, was in a federal courtroom. Last year, Ohio's Republican-led legislature voted to restrict early voting days; Democrats sued to block the law's implementation, and won.
In an election this close, the decisive battles may not be over issues but over the rules. And they may not be over yet.
More than 1.6 million Ohio voters have requested absentee ballots this year, in part because of a decision by state officials to send an application to every voter. If some of those 1.6 million now decide to vote in person, they'll be required to cast provisional ballots — and their ballots won't be counted unless the election is close.
What that means, Ohio State law professor Edward B. Foley has warned, is that a candidate who falls just short on election night may ask for the provisional ballots to be counted, and that could take days. In 2008, Foley noted, about 207,000 provisional ballots were cast, enough to change a close election's outcome. The conventional wisdom holds that provisional ballots lean Democratic, since many of them are cast in urban precincts. This might be a scenario under which Obama could seek a longer count if election night doesn't go his way.
So if Ohio is as close on election day as it is now, this presidential election could take much longer than one night to decide.
Follow Doyle McManus on Twitter @DoyleMcManus | <urn:uuid:acf3046d-2846-4130-b93b-29f9be77427c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kwch.com/la-oe-mcmanus-column-ohio-early-voting-20121028,0,6427335,print.column | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972041 | 1,171 | 1.625 | 2 |
Less than two weeks after they were struck by suicide bombers posing as guests, the Ritz Carlton and JW Marriott hotels in Jakarta have re-opened for business despite a tense security environment in which other hotels have been threatened.
The two hotels were attacked on July 17 by terrorists who are believed to be associated with a violent Islamic extremist group. The men detonated their devices in the restaurant areas of the adjacent hotels at approximately 7:45 am.
The nearly simultaneous bombings left nine people dead and injured 53 others, including both locals and foreigners.
Both hotels sustained serious damage to their ground floor areas. After extensive repairs and the implementation of new security procedures, the two properties reopened today at 10 a.m. and both already have guests booked to stay the night.
A spokesman for the hotels (which are both managed by Marriott) would not reveal exactly how security had been tightened, but local news reports said that cars and individuals were being individually screened by dozens of security personnel and bomb-sniffing dogs.
Read Peter’s take on safety in Indonesia with The Travel Detective on the Jakarta Hotel Bombings.
Hotel representatives also would not say whether or not any Western tourists or business people had booked rooms at either hotel, but locals were seen dining in the hotels’ restaurants today. Both hotels are popular with foreigners who come to do business in the Indonesian capital.
Coincidentally, the reopening is taking place on the same day that someone has finally come forward to claim responsibility for the blast. A blog entry appeared on the Internet this morning in which a group calling itself al-Qaeda in Indonesia took credit for the bombings.
Authorities are investigating the legitimacy of the statement, which said that the targets were American businessmen and the British soccer team Manchester United. The team was scheduled to stay at the Ritz later in the week, but ended up canceling their trip in the wake of the bombings.
Indonesian police believe the attacks bear the hallmarks of Noordin Top, a Malaysian-born fugitive who leads the Jemaat Islamiya terror group. Noordin is allegedly behind several attacks on Western targets that occurred between 2003 and 2005 in Indonesia.
Read the news report on Two Jakarta Hotel Bombings Rattle Indonesia.
Several other Jakarta buildings have been subjected to bomb threats over the last few days, including the Kempinksi hotel, a local shopping center and office buildings. So far they have all turned out to be hoaxes, but authorities are taking no chances and are thoroughly investigating each one.
Security has also been heightened around the city to reassure tourists and locals alike that they have nothing to fear. The Indonesian capital is a regional hub for business and tourism, and officials are keen to portray the city as a safe place to visit.
In fact, to encourage more visitors, the government plans to spent approximately $9.4 million this year to help the tourism industry, which could use the help right now.
Although local hoteliers say the bombing seems to have scared away a small percentage of visitors, it did not have as severe an impact on the industry as the Bali nightclub bombing of 2002, when tourist arrivals declined by up to 70 percent in some places.
So far, no foreign countries have issued travel warnings advising their citizens not to travel to Indonesia.
By Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.
Read about one of Indonesia’s most special places in Grateful Traveler: Mount Bromo, Indonesia.
Or learn more about Indonesian cuisine with Global Gourmet: Food Gifts From Around the World. | <urn:uuid:5e58638d-d520-4631-99f7-c7a55e66cb50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.petergreenberg.com/2009/07/29/jakarta-hotels-reopen-amid-security-concerns-in-indonesia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972711 | 726 | 1.609375 | 2 |
This section summarizes important information related to the academic work of the institution. Students must be familiar with the information in this section. It is the responsibility of each student to be certain that academic requirements necessary for graduation are completely fulfilled. The catalog for the year in which a student enters Longwood University governs academic regulations, general education, and graduation requirements. Transfer students may choose the catalog which applies to continuous full-time students at their class level. If a student re-enrolls in Longwood University after an absence of two or more semesters, the applicable catalog will be the one in effect at the time of re-enrollment.
Students may elect to graduate under the provisions of any subsequent catalog. In all cases, students must have been duly admitted to Longwood and an academic program of study and meet all of the requirements for graduation in one catalog. Students may not select partial requirements from more than one catalog. Students will be assumed to be under the catalog in effect at the time of admittance unless they notify the registration office, in writing, that they wish to adopt a subsequent catalog. Once a student has selected a subsequent catalog, they may not revert to an earlier catalog.
Catalogs are in effect for a six-year period. Students who do not complete the degree in six years may elect any subsequent catalog. If they fail to elect a particular catalog, they automatically become subject to the catalog in effect in their seventh year.
The purpose of assessment at Longwood is (a) to help individual students develop to their fullest potential and (b) to improve the educational programs of the institution. In the case of both the student and the institution, we intend to assess how effectively consensually-developed goals are being achieved, and based on these assessment data, we intend to generate recommendations and plans of action that will help achieve these goals.
In 1986 the Virginia Senate adopted Joint Resolution 83 directing state institutions of higher education to "establish assessment programs to measure student achievement." Additionally, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools requires for accreditation that an institution "must define its expected educational results and describe how the achievement of these results will be ascertained." (Criteria for Accreditation: Commission on Colleges, Section III: Institutional Effectiveness, 1989.)
Student participation is therefore required. Students who fail to participate may lose their priority ranking for registration and housing. The institution may withhold transcripts for three months for graduating seniors who fail to participate.
For administrative purposes, Longwood University is divided into three colleges, each headed by a dean. Any academic rule or regulation making reference to a dean or specifying with the Dean's permission is referring to the dean of the college in which the student's major program of studies is associated.
Students who have not declared a major are in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Longwood's advising program provides informed academic counseling which makes effective use of the assessment, career planning, student development, and software resources available. Although course selection is important, advisors are trained and prepared to counsel or refer advisees on such matters as the following:
- assisting students in understanding their abilities, interests, and limitations;
- helping students clarify their values, developing an educational program consistent with these values, and relating their educational plans to their career plans;
- referring students to academic and student affairs support services;
- providing information about college and departmental policies, procedures, and resources;
- reviewing opportunities for academic involvement, internships, research with faculty, honorary societies, etc.;
- and, assisting students in evaluating their progress toward their educational goals.
Newly-admitted students who have declared their intention to pursue a degree in a particular discipline are assigned advisors in the appropriate college. The assignment of the advisor generally is not changed unless the student changes his/her degree program. Students who have not declared a major are advised by a special group of advisors who participate in the Longwood Seminar program.
Prior to registration, students are required to consult with their assigned academic advisor regarding course selection, career goals, and relevant academic policies. Advisor signatures are required on all registration forms. Note: Students who do not consult with their advisor prior to registering for class may be prohibited from using web registration.
Although the academic advisor assists students with curriculum decisions and options, the student bears full responsibility for meeting graduation requirements.
Declaration of Major
Students may declare a major upon entering Longwood. Undeclared students who have completed at least 45 credit hours must declare a major prior to registration. To change a major, a student must complete a Change of Major form available in the Office of Registration.
The courses listed in this catalog that are numbered between 100 and 199 are designed primarily for first and second year students; those between 200 and 299 are for first, second, and third year students; those between 300 and 399 are for second, third, and fourth year students; and those between 400 and 499 are for third and fourth year students. Courses numbered from 500 to 599 are for graduates and advanced undergraduates; courses numbered 600 to 699 are for graduates only.
- Course numbers between 000 and 099 indicate foundation-level courses. These courses may be required of some students to master deficiencies in certain fundamental skill areas prior to enrolling in courses requiring those skills. Foundation level courses do not carry credit toward an undergraduate degree.
- Other courses offered Internships (1-18 credits) - 292, 392, 492; Directed or Independent Study (1-18 credits) - 390, 391, 490; Seminar - 461; Honors Research - 498, 499; Special Topics (1-6 credits) - 295, 495, 595; Study Abroad (1-18) - 311, 312.
Selected undergraduate Honors courses carry the designation Section 50 in the Master Schedule of Classes.
Longwood University is organized on the semester plan whereby the credit hour, abbreviated as credit, is the semester hour. Freshmen normally carry 15 to 17 credits, but may carry 18 credits if they earned at least 2.0 on their previous semester's work. Upper class students normally carry 15 to 18 credits, but may carry up to 21 if they earned at least 2.0 on their previous semester's work. Students on probation or readmitted after suspension may not enroll in more than 15 credits per semester. A schedule beyond these limits requires special permission from the student's dean or department chair. Students must take at least 12 credits to maintain full-time status.
Undergraduate students are expected to register in person with their advisor, in person in the Office of Registration or via WIN during one of the opportunities provided during the academic year:
Students may make schedule adjustments (adds and/or drops) until the close of business on the sixth day of classes. A consultation with the advisor is encouraged for any change made during this period. Courses dropped during this period do not appear on the transcript.
No Academic Penalty Withdrawal Period (Free "W")
Students may withdraw from individual classes with a grade of "W" (not computed in the GPA) through noon on the 35th day of regularly scheduled classes. Residential students who fall below full-time status with such a withdrawal will be referred to the Vice President for Student Affairs for special permission to remain in the residence hall.
Appropriate dates for the last day to drop/add, and last day to withdraw without academic penalty are included in the official college calendar and in the Master Schedule of Classes for regular semesters.
Appropriate dates for last day to drop/add, and last day to withdraw without academic penalty are included in the summer school class schedule and in the appropriate descriptive literature for other classes not meeting on a regular semester pattern.
All registration and drop/add transactions must have the approval of the academic advisor and must be processed through appropriate procedures by the deadline to become effective.
Students are expected to attend all classes. Failure to attend class regularly impairs academic performance. Absences are disruptive to the educational process for others. This is especially true when absences cause interruptions for clarification of material previously covered, failure to assume assigned responsibilities for class presentations, or failure to adjust to changes in assigned material or due dates.
- It is the responsibility of each instructor to give students a copy of his or her attendance policy in the course syllabus.
- Instructors may assign a grade of "0" or "F" on work missed because of unexcused absences.
- Instructors have the right to lower a student's course grade, but no more than one letter grade, if the student misses 10 percent of the scheduled class meeting times for unexcused absences.
- Instructors have the right to assign a course grade of "F" when the student has missed a total (excused and unexcused) of 25 percent of the scheduled class meeting times.
Students must assume full responsibility for any loss incurred because of absence, whether excused or unexcused. Instructors should permit students to make up work when the absence is excused. Excused absences are those resulting from the student's participation in a college-sponsored activity, from recognizable emergencies, or from serious illness. Faculty may require documentation for excused absences in their attendance policy. Student Health Services can provide documentation only for students hospitalized locally or absent at the direction of Student Health Services personnel.
Written comprehensive examinations are given at the end of each course. For the regular session, two and a half hour examination blocks are scheduled during the final examination period which is indicated as part of the official college calendar. This scheduling is based on the course meeting pattern and is published with the Master Schedule of Classes for the semester.
During the summer session and for courses not offered according to the traditional semester format, the examination is normally given at the time of the final class session.
Students may withdraw from individual classes with a grade of "W" until noon on the 35th day of regularly scheduled classes. After that date, withdrawals from individual classes are not permitted except for medical or other non-academic emergencies. A student who withdraws, for medical reasons, from the College or from a class after the 35th day of regularly scheduled classes must, by noon of the last class day, have a letter sent to the Dean of the student's college by the student's personal physician, detailing the nature of the illness and recommending withdrawal for medical reasons. In extenuating circumstances not related to academic performance, the Dean may grant a withdrawal if a written request from the student is received by noon of the last class day. If the Dean approves the request, the Dean will send a copy of the request or letter to the Office of Registration and all affected grades for that semester will be noted as "W" on the student's transcript. The Dean will notify the student's faculty members of any grade changes.
Students withdrawing from the institution should go to the Dean's Office of their respective major to initiate the college withdrawal process. Undeclared students and special undergraduate students should report to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
For classes held in non-traditional time frames, such as summer school or for off-campus offerings, students may withdraw with no academic penalty during the first half of the course, but may not withdraw during the second half of the course except for medical or other non-academic emergencies.
The deadline to withdraw without academic penalty should not be confused with any deadline to withdraw and receive a full or partial refund of charges. Please see the "Expenses and Financial Aid Refunds and Charge Adjustments" section of this catalog for information related to refunds and charge adjustments.
It is the responsibility of any student wishing to withdraw from Longwood (either during a semester or between semester periods) to initiate the official withdrawal process with the institution. Students withdrawing from the institution should go to the Dean's Office of their respective major to initiate the college withdrawal process. Undeclared students and undergraduate special students should report to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. This procedure is necessary only for students voluntarily withdrawing, and does not apply to students being suspended, graduating seniors, seniors going to off-campus field placements in their last semester before graduation, students who are participating in study abroad programs, or to students taking the final year at another institution under one of the cooperative degree programs. Any specific questions about withdrawal from the institution should be directed to the respective Dean's Office.
Students in cooperative programs must notify the Office of Registration of their acceptance at the participating institution in order to ensure accurate record keeping during the final year and to initiate any appropriate refunds.
Longwood will suspend or expel any student who fails to meet the standards of the institution and the Student Government Association. In such a case, refunds may or may not be made at the discretion of the Vice President for Student Affairs. A student who is subject to an immediate disciplinary suspension shall receive a grade of "W" in all courses regardless of the time of the semester.
The achievement of a student in a course is indicated by the grade that is received. Grades for courses taken for undergraduate credit are recorded as follows:
- A: Superior work
- B: Above average work
- C: Average work
- D: Below average, but passing work
- P: Pass
- F: Failure
Plus and minus grades may, at the discretion of the instructor involved be recorded, but do not affect the computation of the grade point average.
- I: Incomplete. The grade of "I" indicates that because of illness or for other good reason the work of the semester has not been completed. When this work has been completed, a final grade will be reported. A grade of "Incomplete" will revert automatically to a grade of "F" if the necessary makeup work has not been completed and the grade recorded by the published date in the middle of the subsequent regular semester.
- P: This grade indicates that the student has received credit for the course on a pass/fail grading option. This option is generally limited to elective courses and to certain courses offered only on a pass/fail basis.
- AU: Audit. This symbol indicates participation on a non-credit basis by students who meet certain minimum standards set by the course instructor. Students wishing to audit must have permission from the chair of the department in which the course is offered and are subject to the same tuition and fees as students enrolled for credit.
- W: Withdrawal. This symbol indicates withdrawal without academic penalty. It is automatically assigned for withdrawal from the end of the drop period (first six class days) through the 35th day of regularly scheduled classes of the semester and for other documented withdrawals (See paragraph on Withdrawal Policy.)
Students may take certain courses under the pass/fail system approved by the faculty in 1974. Pass/Fail courses are open to undergraduate students with 30 or more credit hours. A student may take a maximum of three courses; these courses may not be those which are required for general education or for major or minor requirements. Special non-degree students may also elect the pass/fail grading option.
The student must do satisfactory work in order to obtain a passing grade. Satisfactory work is defined as "C" work or better. Courses taken under the pass/fail option will not be included in the calculation of the grade point average. Students who wish to take a course for Pass/Fail credit must notify the Office of Registration of that fact by the end of the first six weeks of classes in the semester, or the equivalent portion of a summer session. Once this declaration is made, grading status cannot be changed.
In addition to the elective pass/fail grading option described above, certain courses in the college curriculum are designated for pass/fail grading. Such courses do not ordinarily satisfy general education, additional degree requirements, major or minor requirements (except for internships/practica which may, at the department's discretion, be graded pass/fail.) The students enrolled do not need to make any special declaration and are subject to no restrictions.
Class size permitting and with department approval, a student may register for a course on an audit basis. Auditing a course means that a student enrolls in a course but does not receive academic credit. A student who registers for audit may be subject to other course requirements at the discretion of the instructor. Audit students are charged the regular rate of tuition and fees, and an audit course is counted as part of the student's semester load. (For purposes of enrollment certification for VA benefits or other programs requiring "for credit" enrollment, audit courses will not count toward the minimum number of credits required for full-time status.)
A change in registration from "audit" to "credit" or from "credit" to "audit" must be effected by the end of the add period. A course taken for audit cannot be changed to credit at a later date, nor can a course taken for credit be changed at a later date to audit.
Quality Points/Quality Hours
The quality of work completed by a student is recognized by the assignment of points to the various grades, commonly referred to as the Four-Point System.
Under this system, 4 quality points are given for each credit on which an "A" grade is made; 3 quality points are given for each credit on which a "B" grade is made; 2 quality points are given for each credit on which a "C" grade is made; and 1 quality point is given for each credit on which a "D" grade is made. No quality points are given if a grade of "F" is made.
The term quality hours refers to the total number of hours on which the grade point average is calculated. This measure is derived from hours attempted by subtracting the equivalent credits for those courses that are foundation-level courses which are taken as pass/fail or under any other grading option which excludes calculation in the grade point average, those in which a grade of "I" was awarded, those in which a grade of "W" was awarded, and those which were taken for graduate credit.
Under the four point system, a student's grade point average may be computed by dividing the total number of quality points by the total number of quality hours.
A student's grade point average is based only on work taken at Longwood. Grades received in affiliate programs shall be counted in the student's GPA only if the student registered through Longwood.
Students may repeat courses. All enrollments and grades appear on the transcripts. For the first five repeats, the most recent grade will replace the original in grade point average calculations. After the fifth repeat, both the original and repeated grade will be included in grade point average calculations.
During the regular session, grade estimates are available to all first-year students, upperclass students making a "D" or "F", and students who are not making satisfactory academic progress (all students with a cumulative GPA less than 2.0). Estimate grades are due to the Office of Registration by noon on Monday of the 30th day of regularly scheduled classes and are available to students via WIN (Web Information Network) and academic advisors via the student information system or FIN (Faculty Information Network).
Estimates are not recorded as part of the student's permanent academic record. They are, however, an important warning of academic risk to students and advisors.
The faculty of Longwood University is unequivocally committed to the principle that evaluation of student work and assignment of grades is a responsibility and a prerogative to be exercised solely by the individual instructor.
However, should a student feel the final course grade received was unfairly or inaccurately awarded, the student first should see the instructor involved, for an explanation of why the grade was assigned. If the student continues to feel the grade is unfair, the student may file a written appeal with the department chair giving the reasons why the grade should be changed, with any available supporting evidence. The Department Chair/Dean will forward a copy of the appeal to the faculty member and will invite the faculty member to make a written response. For grades awarded in the fall semester, the written appeal must be submitted no later than February 1; for grades awarded in the spring semester and in summer school, the appeal must be filed no later than September 15. Appeals filed later will not be considered.
The Department Chair/Dean will within two weeks hold a joint consultation with the student and the faculty member awarding the grade. If the matter cannot be resolved, the Department Chair/Dean will within one week of the joint consultation, request in writing that the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate appoint a committee to review all matters pertinent to the appeal. The committee will consist of three members of the full-time faculty in the same or related discipline(s). The Department Chair/Dean will send a copy of the request to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. When the committee has been named, the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate shall inform the Department Chair/Dean, who will forward to the committee members the student's original written appeal, a course syllabus, any written response from the faculty member, and all other materials pertinent to the appeal. Through the Department Chair/Dean, the committee may request other materials from the student or faculty member. The committee shall decide that the grade originally assigned will remain unchanged or that it will be changed to a grade decided on by the committee. The decision of the committee is final. The committee will report its decision in a letter signed by all three members and addressed to the Department Chair/Dean, with a copy to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the appropriate Dean, the faculty member, the student, and the Office of Registration, who will record the grade. The review must be completed so that the grade will be final by the end of the eighth full week of classes.
Should the appeal involve a grade assigned by a Department Chair, the Dean of the appropriate College will assume the role normally assigned to the Chair. Should the appeal involve a grade assigned by a Dean, the Vice President for Academic Affairs shall assume the role normally assigned to the Dean.
Students should be aware of the fact that the review procedure may result in a grade being raised, lowered, or remaining unchanged.
Policy on Modification of General Education or Additional Degree Requirements
Modification to an additional degree (e.g. B.A. or B.S, etc.) requirement or general education requirement for any student is done through a petition submitted to the Faculty Petitions Committee through the Office of Registration. A standing committee of the Faculty Senate, the Faculty Petitions Committee is empowered to handle appeals from students for exemptions or variations from any university-wide academic rule or regulation.
A student petition must include the following:
- specific rationale for the exemption or variation
- the plan for degree or general education modification
- supporting documents when appropriate
a. If the exemption or variation is sought for a general education or additional degree requirement that is specified by the major, the petition must include a letter of support from the department chair.
b. If the exemption or variation is sought due to the impact of a disability, the petition must include verification of the following:
i. The Director of Disability Support Services, in conjunction with the instructor or department representative, evaluated whether reasonable accommodations could be made to allow the student to complete the requirements of the course and determined that accommodations which would not alter the essential function of the course were not possible.
ii. Appropriate documentation is on file with Disability Support Services (for example, the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing [C-TOPP] would currently be required for a petition to waive General Education Goal 10.)
The petition should be filed before an application for degree is submitted. All decisions of the Faculty Petitions Committee are final. Students may request a review based only on new information.
Longwood University recognizes superior scholarship through its President's List which is published at the end of each semester. Students whose names appear on it are those who have earned a semester grade point average of 4.0 on a minimum of 12 semester hours work taken. Students eligible for the President's List must complete all courses in the semester for which they are registered. A grade of "I" on a student's record prevents consideration for this honor.
Longwood University recognizes outstanding scholarship through its Dean's List which is published at the end of each semester. Students whose names appear on it are those who have earned a semester grade point average of 3.5 - 3.99 on a minimum of 12 semester hours work taken with no grade below "C-." Students eligible for the Dean's List must complete all courses in the semester for which they are registered. A grade of "I" on a student's record prevents consideration for this honor.
Academic Probation and Suspension Policy
Continued enrollment in Longwood is a privilege that is granted a student who is making satisfactory academic progress. A degree-seeking student enrolled in Longwood is in good standing unless placed on academic suspension.
Students are placed on probation based on their cumulative grade point average at the end of the fall semester and at the end of the last summer session. Students with cumulative grade point averages below 2.0 at the end of the spring semester will be notified that unless they raise their cumulative grade point average by the end of the last summer session they will be placed on probation at that time. Probation indicates serious academic difficulty and notice is placed on the student's academic record. Students on academic probation may not take more than 15 credits per semester and are encouraged to seek assistance in the Learning Center.
Students will be suspended from Longwood University if:
- They remain on academic probation for two consecutive regular semesters (fall is a regular semester, spring and summer are combined as a regular semester except when a student has been readmitted after suspension); or
- Their cumulative grade point average falls below 1.0 with 1-23 quality hours at Longwood; or
- Their cumulative grade point average falls below 1.5 with 24 or more quality hours at Longwood.
Students are suspended at the end of the fall semester and at the end of the last summer session. Students with cumulative grade point averages that qualify for suspension under the above criteria at the end of the spring semester will be notified that unless by the end of the last summer session they raise their cumulative grade point average so that they no longer meet any of the above criteria they will be suspended at that time. Suspended students may not enroll in classes at Longwood for academic credit.
The first academic suspension means required withdrawal from the institution for the semester (fall or spring) immediately following the semester in which the suspension occurs. A student may elect to attend summer school after sitting out spring semester, however, the student will be subject to the probation and suspension policy at the end of the summer. A second suspension means required withdrawal from the institution for a minimum of five calendar years. Notice of suspension is placed on the student's academic record.
Under extenuating circumstances, appeals for readmission or other exceptions to academic policies may be presented to the Faculty Petitions Committee. Students must contact the Office of Registration for information and deadlines for submitting an appeal.
Readmission after Suspension
Suspended students may apply for readmission to Longwood for the semester following completion of the suspension period. The student must apply at least 60 days before enrollment to the Admissions Committee, which will review the student's record and citizenship at Longwood as well as courses taken elsewhere. A student denied readmission may appeal in writing through the Office of Admissions to the appropriate dean(s). Readmission to the institution is not automatic, even if the student has raised his/her cumulative grade point average.
A student readmitted after suspension must satisfy the following conditions until the student's cumulative grade point average is a minimum of 2.0:
- enroll under the status of academic probation,
- maintain a minimum semester grade point average of 2.0 in each semester (spring and summer are not combined and a student can be re-suspended at the end of a spring semester), and
- may not enroll in more than 15 credits.
If a student fails to achieve the minimum grade point average of 2.0 in any semester before achieving a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0, the student will receive a second suspension.
Longwood Policy On Student Recors And Annual Notification
Longwood student record policies comply fully with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, as amended, enacted as section 438 of the General Education Provisions Act. The accumulation, processing, and maintenance of student data by the institution is limited to that information, including grades, which is necessary and relevant to the purposes of the college. Personal data of students will be used only for the purpose for which it is collected.
Student data, whenever possible, shall be collected directly from the student; every effort will be made to ensure its accuracy and security. It shall be the express responsibility of the student to notify the Office of Registration of any changes in status. Any student who initially or subsequently refuses to supply accurate and complete personal information, as is legally allowed, may jeopardize their current student status. Falsification of records with the intent to give untrue information is a violation of the Longwood Honor Code.
Longwood University designates the following categories of student information only as follows: as public or "Directory Information," Such information MAY be disclosed by the institution at its discretion.
- Directory information may include the student's name, local address, Longwood e-mail address, local telephone number, major field of study, classification, participation in officially- recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and dates of field experience. A student may inform the Office of Registration in writing that any or all directory information may not be released without prior written consent. A student who desires to restrict directory information from the public must complete the Student Directory Information Restriction form (available in the Registration Office) at the time of registration for the current academic year. Forms received after the last day to add a class for any semester, including summer, will not become effective until the following semester.
- To the students themselves.
- To authorized Longwood personnel (administrative officers, faculty, or their designees) who have legitimate educational interests as determined by the institution, such as instruction, advising or educational research, or in performance of other duties promoting necessary functions and management of Longwood as approved by the records access control officer.
- To a third-party agency as expressly designated in writing by the student.
- As required by judicial order or court subpoena, or as may be required or permitted by law.
- In a situation of emergency in which the knowledge of confidential student information is necessary to protect the immediate health or safety of a student or other persons.
- Student arrest and charge information classified as public information.
Under FERPA, Longwood is not required to provide prior notification to a student when responding to a Federal grand jury subpoena or other law enforcement subpoena, which specifies that the student not be informed of the existence of the subpoena.
In cooperation with the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia and its efforts to support assessment, Longwood University will provide student transcripts to any public high school or community college in Virginia, which the student has previously attended, or to any agency charged with the responsibility for collecting and/or analyzing data for the purpose of educational assessment for such a unit. The receiving agency will be charged with responsibility for protecting the student's right to privacy and for appropriate disposition of the records.
Eligible students are permitted to inspect and review educational records of which the student is the sole subject. Longwood policy regarding the inspection and disclosure of educational records is in compliance with the federal statute. To obtain a copy of the Family Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Section 438) or a copy of the college's policy on student records, contact the Office of Registration, Longwood, 201 High Street, Farmville, VA 23909.
Student access to all personal records shall be permitted within 45 days of a written request, during normal office hours. Students may also obtain copies of most parts of their records for a nominal fee. All records shall be available and in a form comprehensible to the student, except for:
- Medical records which, upon written authorization, shall be submitted to a psychologist or physician designated by the student.
- Confidential financial statements and records of parents as excluded by law.
- Third-party confidential recommendations when such access has been waived by the student. Where a waiver has been given, parents, as well as students, are excluded from viewing such confidential information.
During normal office hours, Longwood shall provide an opportunity, for a student either in person, or by mail with proper identification, to challenge information believed to be inaccurate, incomplete, inappropriate, or misleading. All personal data challenged by a student shall be investigated by Longwood officials. Completion of an investigation shall result in the following actions:
If Longwood concurs with the challenge, the student's records shall be amended or purged as appropriate; all previous record recipients shall be so notified by the institution.
If the investigation fails to resolve the dispute, the student shall be permitted to file a statement of not more than 200 words setting forth the student's position. Copies of the statement will be supplied, at the student's expense, to previous and subsequent recipients of the record in question.
If a student wishes to make an appeal of the decision, the student may do so in writing to the President of Longwood.
The names, dates of access, and purposes of all persons or agencies other than appropriate Longwood personnel given access to a student's personal records shall be recorded and maintained. Student records are retained by the institution for at least one year after completion of work at the institution. Permanent academic records from which transcripts are derived are maintained indefinitely. A student may request and receive information concerning the record of access to official Longwood records filed under the student's name.
Inquires concerning student records should be directed to the following departments.
When applicable, schedules of fees for copies of these records are available from that office.
- Academic Records/Transcripts - Office of Registration, Barlow Hall
- Disciplinary Records - Office of Honor and Judicial Programs, Lancaster Hall
- Financial Records - Office of Student Accounts, Lancaster Hall
- Financial Aid Records - Office of Financial Aid, Lancaster Hall
- Medical/Health Records - Office of Student Health, Graham Building
- Mental Health Records - Office of Counseling Services, Lancaster Hall
Access to Student Information
To comply with the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (as amended), Longwood University will not release education records or personally identifiable information contained therein without the student's written consent. Individuals seeking access to your records should include a copy of your written consent when requesting non-directory information.
Release of Transcripts
Requests for transcripts of academic records should be directed to the Office of Registration. Upon written request by the student, an official transcript of the academic record will be issued to the person or institution designated, provided that all the student's obligations to Longwood have been satisfactorily settled.
The only circumstances in which a student's transcripts are released in the absence of a written authorization are those specific exceptions stated in the preceding policy on student records.
Written requests for a transcript generally require one week for processing.
Statement of General Transfer Policy
In general, credits are accepted from institutions that are accredited by the appropriate regional accreditation agency provided such credits carry a grade of "C" or better and are comparable to courses offered at Longwood University (see exceptions listed in Specific Policies). Transfer of credit does not necessarily imply applicability to specific degree requirements.
Transfer Articulation Agreement With The Virginia Community College System (VCCS), Richard Bland College (RBC), The Maryland Community College System (MCCS) and Other Approved Out-of-State Associate Degree Programs.
An accepted transfer student who has earned an Associate in Arts degree (AA), an Associate in Science degree (AS) or an Associate in Arts and Sciences degree (AA&S) from the VCCS, RBC, MCCS or other approved out-of-state associate degree program, prior to entering Longwood is considered to have satisfied the Longwood's General Education Goals 1 - 9 and 11, is guaranteed junior class status, and is guaranteed that all credit earned for that degree will transfer (including D grades unless otherwise restricted for native students). The student must then meet major and degree requirements, except where those requirements have been met as part of the two-year college curriculum. Re-admit students cannot enter under the Articulation Agreement.
Goal 10. The ability to communicate and function in a globally interdependent world as developed through foreign language study (three credits). NOTE: Students who complete a foreign language course at the 202 level or above as part of the Additional Degree Requirements are exempted from this goal. Goal 10 is not fulfilled through articulation agreements. Foreign language study must be a the 201 level or higher.
All other associate degrees will be examined individually for applicability of transfer credit.
Specific Policies for Transfer of Credits
- Students wishing to transfer VCCS "General Usage Courses" (such as cooperative education, seminar and project, and supervised study) will have to provide a college evaluator with additional information about the specific content of such courses.
- No transfer credit is granted for developmental work.
- No transfer credit is granted for orientation courses, or grades less than "C", unless the student has earned the AS, AA or AA&S from the VCCS, RBC, or MCCS.
- Two courses with essentially the same content cannot both be counted toward the same degree.
- Hours or fractions in excess of those carried by Longwood courses for which equivalency is made are counted as free electives. Hours or fractions waived in accepting course equivalences must be made up by elective credits to meet the total semester-hour requirements for a degree.
The cumulative grade point average of each student will be calculated only on work taken at Longwood. Transfer credit accepted from other institutions will be used to reduce the number of credits required for graduation, but it will not enter into the calculation of the grade point average.
Additional Transfer Policy for Current and Former Longwood Students Taking Courses for Credit at Other Institutions
Any regularly-enrolled undergraduate who wishes to take work at another institution to transfer to Longwood must secure permission from his/her Dean prior to enrolling in such courses. Prior approval provides the student the opportunity to have the course reviewed to determine:
- whether the course will transfer;
- whether the course will satisfy a particular requirement; and
- whether the course might be considered a duplicate of a course already taken at Longwood.
Upon completion of work, official transcripts must be sent from the host institution to the Office of Registration.
A maximum of 14 semester hours of correspondence course credit may be applied toward a degree.
WARNING: Correspondence courses should not be started after the beginning of the senior year, and must be completed and documented by no later than April 15 of the senior year, since failure to complete correspondence work is a frequent cause of failure to meet graduation requirements. Longwood does not accept, for transfer, credits earned through correspondence courses in the natural and physical sciences and certain other subjects. Students must obtain approval to include in the degree program correspondence and extension courses prior to enrolling in them. Otherwise, Longwood can assume no responsibility for accepting such grades on transfer.
The institution cannot grant a student permission to enroll in a correspondence course until after the student has attended this institution for at least one full summer session or a semester.
When a student is enrolled in Longwood University and also enrolls in a correspondence course, the credit to be earned in the course will be counted in the total load of work that the student is permitted to carry. | <urn:uuid:a62dec69-7113-4b90-ac68-87d961bf9628> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.longwood.edu/academicaffairs/21381.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948418 | 8,222 | 1.75 | 2 |
The legislative log jam in Congress has been brutal. Since the administration of President George W. Bush, the anti-immigrant establishment has stymied every attempt to enact comprehensive immigration reform. During the same period, nativists have conducted a drive in the states to re-write legislation and make Latino immigrant’s life exceedingly difficult. In the words of the state legislation’s principal author, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, its goal was “attrition through enforcement.” Translated it meant that if you made life miserable for immigrants they would “self-deport.” The archetype of this state legislation was to be Arizona’s SB 1070, written to avoid the constitutional pitfalls that had sunk California’s Proposition 187 and Hazelton, Pennsylvania’s local ordinance before it.
The Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights (IREHR) is a national organization with an international outlook examining racist, anti-Semitic, white nationalist, and far-right social movements, analyzing their intersection with civil society and social policy, educating the public, and assisting in the protection and extension of human rights through organization and informed mobilization. | <urn:uuid:411389ce-14ee-4553-bab2-9f1536374362> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://irehr.org/issue-areas/tea-party-nationalism/the-report/origins-of-the-tea-parties/itemlist/tag/Minuteman%20Project | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940025 | 237 | 1.789063 | 2 |
As leaders around the state grapple with the early release of thousands of non-violent prisoners to reduce the cost and crowding of state prisons, the governor offered another option in Sacramento Tuesday – send them to Mexico.
During a question-and-answer session at the Sacramento Press Club, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested paying Mexico to build new prisons to house illegal immigrants currently incarcerated in California.
"We can do so much better in the prison system alone if we can go and take inmates, for instance the 20,000 inmates that are illegal immigrants that are here, and get them to Mexico," Schwarzenegger said.
It costs half as much to build and operate prisons in Mexico compared to California, he said.
"That is money -- $1 billion right there -- that could go into higher education," Schwarzenegger said.
Schwarzenegger's idea had not been vetted, according to the Sacramento Bee. The Governor's Office was unable to answer, for instance, whether he would like to send all illegal immigrant prisoners to Mexico or just those who have Mexican citizenship.
The idea was first proposed by Jim Nielsen, a former head of the state's parole board and now an assemblyman, in the 1990s, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Prisoners will be released over the span of two years. Authorities say the prisoners slated for release will be low-risk felons who earned the right to be released after educational and rehabilitation programs. | <urn:uuid:97fef5b0-fdcc-41b2-9fe7-ef661d329a85> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/politics/Gov-Suggests-Building-Mexico-Prisons-82694317.html | 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 | 0.96661 | 292 | 1.765625 | 2 |
There are two choices when it comes to building a wooden garden shed: You can buy a kit--and put up with the manufacturer's choice of materials and layout--or you can design a structure to suit your own particular needs and tastes. This approach may cost more and take longer, but it's the best way to get what you want. We had in mind a basic 9 x 13-ft. shed built with decent materials and conventional framing methods. Material costs for our project came to around $2400.
Click on link for high-resolution version of the plans. (Illustration by Eugene Thompson) | <urn:uuid:6c084363-fb34-4393-bc8c-1515f583e373> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/sheds/1276536 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95356 | 123 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Despite the growing momentum of the LibreOffice fork of OpenOffice, the ASF (Apache Software Foundation) is urging the community of volunteer developers to rally around the OpenOffice code base as the canonical version of the open source software suite.
The OpenOffice project is now officially an Apache Podling, which is the first step in becoming a full-fledged Apache project, the organization announced Friday. In June, Oracle submitted the OpenOffice.org code base to Apache as a possible project.
[ Discover what's new in business applications with InfoWorld's Technology: Applications newsletter. ]
"There is ample room for multiple solutions in the marketplace," a statement from the ASF read, while adding that "the way to move this forward is via the ASF, which owns the OpenOffice.org trademark and official code base. This is our chance to be able to pull together our talents towards a cohesive goal and protect the project's ecosystem."
Apache made the announcement on the week of the Document Foundation's LibreOffice conference, taking place this week in Paris.
LibreOffice was created in September 2010, when OpenOffice developers, then worried about Oracle's control of the code base, started the Document Foundation to develop a separate version of the software.
Since its launch, LibreOffice has been widely adopted, and has attracted its own army of developers apart from the OpenOffice effort. The organization estimates that there are now over 25 million LibreOffice users, which can be downloaded for free and comes bundled with many popular Linux distributions such as Ubuntu. Earlier this week, the Document Foundation announced that various agencies of the French government were shifting 500,000 of their desktops from OpenOffice to LibreOffice.
LibreOffice has also attracted the contributions of 270 developers and another 270 localizers, who tweak the program for use in different languages.
When Oracle donated the OpenOffice assets to ASF in June, the Document Foundation asserted that Apache may not have been the best home for the project. "The Apache community, which we respect enormously, has very different expectations and norms -- licensing, membership and more -- to the existing OpenOffice.org and LibreOffice projects," a Document Foundation's statement read.
The ASF is now saying that, while its approach is different from the Document Foundation's, it can work well for OpenOffice.
OpenOffice is different from other Apache projects in a number of ways, the ASF admitted. For instance, OpenOffice, in terms of both users and developers, is larger than the typical Apache project. The OpenOffice.org Podling project management committee, as well as the number of code submitters, are nearly 10 times greater than those of other projects in the Apache Incubator.
Also, the ASF, which has been active for 12 years, typically oversees projects that serve more technical needs, such as the Apache Web server software and the Hadoop data analysis platform. OpenOffice, on the other hand, has a wide base of non-technical users. First released in 2001, the software was created as an open source alternative to commercial office suite products, most notably Microsoft Office. | <urn:uuid:46e6d3eb-6b21-46c0-869c-6582619bb348> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infoworld.com/d/applications/apache-asserts-openoffice-stewardship-176140?source=fssr | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943452 | 637 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Via the Japan Times:
If you're the kind of person who likes to cruise the local music scene, Kansai is a good place to live. Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, and Nara are jam-packed with small, homegrown bands and artists either just doing their own thing or trying to make it big. Having musical friends who fit either or both categories, I've been to a number of concerts at various venues over the past year.
There's been a distinct fragrance permeating the air over the last couple of weeks. It's the smell of きんもくせい (kinmokusei), which is Japanese for Sweet Osmanthus, also known as Tea Olive, Sweet Olive, or Fragrant Olive (thank you, Wikipedia).
The other day I was teaching a lesson on illness and injury - how to say "I have a fever" and "My head hurts" and that sort of thing. On one of the worksheets I made, I presented three patients with their complaints, and the students had to write some advice, using the "(Person) should ..." format. One of them was Spiderman, saying that he had gotten into a fight with a thief who had punched him in the face, and now his tooth hurt (excuse the implausibility - I know Spiderman would never sustain an injury from such a lowly foe). After a few minutes, when we were checking the answers, some of the more vocal boys started giggling. I asked one of them for his answer, and he offered "Spiderman should go see MJ." It took me a second to process, and then I chuckled. "Mary Jane?" I asked. "Yes, MJ! Mary Jane-u!" the boys laughed.
Fall is finally noticeably here, marked by cooler weather and shortened days. Soon the leaves will be changing (and perhaps they have already begun in some locales). In Japan this is called 紅葉 (kōyō). I particularly like this kanji construction: 紅 (crimson) and 葉 (leaf).
Humility is regarded as an admirable quality by many cultures. If you know much about the Japanese language, no doubt you are aware at least of the existence of various patterns of speech that are used to convey different levels of politeness and formality. There are humble and honorific forms (which are a pain to learn) and all kinds of super-polite expressions and phrases. But that's not what this post is about.
One of the teachers sitting in the row in front of me is clipping his nails at his desk (and not over the trash can). I don't want to generalize, but I've seen a lot of tacky nail clipping here - at work and also on the train. The other day I was riding a morning train home and some woman was clipping her fingernails at her seat and just letting the clippings fall onto the floor. Not only gross, but annoying. That clipping sound grates!
(Photo by Gobbler) | <urn:uuid:d965073e-7462-4560-9a97-d0ad127a8ddc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jadij.com/2009_10_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981904 | 629 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Tomas K.South Meadow School, NH, United States
Brian W.South Meadow School, NH, United States
Pauline Y.South Meadow School, NH, United States
12 & under
Lisa FoleySOUTH MEADOW SCHOOL, NH, United States
Sports & Recreation
Teacher Resources (Lesson Plans, Worksheets)
In the beginning, Brian and Tomas really just wanted to tell stories about their fishing adventures and got off topic a lot. Tomas says, “If I had been in Pauline’s shoes at the beginning of this project I think I would have killed me Brian for not working when we had all that time to get all our information and research”. We were not getting a lot of work done and we were falling farther and farther behind the rest of the class. But with the help of our coach and our teacher we managed to make a plan and we got caught up with our research. Tomas and Brian helped alot by really trying hard to get their part done and not to tell stories or get off topic. It took a while, but Tomas really started to get organized and helped Pauline to get everything back together. We didn’t exactly get to where we wanted to be with our website in terms of decoration, but it came out pretty good anyway.
We all used our strengths in different areas. It turned out that Pauline, was really good at organizing the work and learning the technology we needed to make a successful website. She researched Bass and when to fish. She also got some interesting pictures. Tomas got his share of the work done, a good amount of pictures, plus a little extra work. He also tried to help Brian succeed in finishing his part of the research, (which Brian never quite finished). Tomas researched Trout and different Area’s to fish. Brian got most of his research done and got a few pictures. He researched Northern Pike, and The Top five Baits to use when fishing for Northern Pike, Bass, and Trout. The pictures from Pauline, Tomas, and Brian really helped to jazz up our website and illustrated some of what we were writing about. Our site is now looking pretty nice has a lot of good information for fishing in it, and some good fishing pictures. Plus we are all very proud of what we have accomplished. I do not think that we could have done it without each other. At least I don’t think any of us could have done it at the level that it is at now. I think it would be fun to do Thinkquest again next year if we could all stay on topic do all of our work, and maybe organize everything better. Over all I think we worked pretty well together (except in the beginning). We had a good time working together and we think that we worked really hard on this website.
Our team is very different in lots of ways. Pauline is a very good learner. That is why we chose her as our team leader. Brian is good at getting pictures. Tomas is good at getting work done and helping Pauline to get organized. He also helped Brian with his work. We all get along pretty good; we all have a lot of enthusiasm for fishing. Another thing that makes our team different is that we have boys and girls on it and we still work well together. It also effected our website because of our different Qualities. With Pauline’s ability to learn how to use the website program “golive” and Brian and Tomas’s knowledge on fishing, we have created a pretty good website. We used a lot of places to gather all of our information. We used websites to look at the format, and we used both websites and books to get the info that we needed. Making this website was very challenging, but we are looking forward to doing it again next year. Pauline’s team was made up of three people, two boys and one girl. Each of us enjoys fishing. Brian like to fish in ponds, lakes, bogs and streams. Some of my favorites are Forest Lake and Dublin Lake. Tomas likes to fish in lakes, streams, oceans, rivers and ponds. Pauline likes to fish in lakes, ponds and rivers. Each of us enjoys fishing. Brian said “I like ponds, lakes, bogs and streams”. Some of Brian’s favorites are Forest Lake and Dublin Lake. Tomas likes lakes, streams, oceans, rivers and ponds. Pauline likes lakes, ponds and rivers. Tomas’s strength is gardening, hunting, fishing, and baseball, hiking and cooking. My strength is fishing, hiking, basketball and cooking. Pauline’s strength’s are school, cooking, and fishing, grading and reading. Brian’s learning style is by hearing, Pauline’s style of learning is hearing. Tomas’s style of learning is seeing it. It enhanced our website by doing different fish. Two of us are also hunters and one is not a hunter. Pauline likes fishing for bass. Tomas likes fishing for trout. Brian like fishing for northern pike. We all have different style of fishing. Tomas fishes with small hooks and small bait. Pauline likes fishing with medium bait and large hooks. Brian likes fishing with big hooks and large bait. We all are good in different subjects in school. Like Brian is good at physical education. Tomas is good at math. Pauline is good at reading. | <urn:uuid:4a187efd-991d-4406-92ff-3d5b2e285385> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thinkquest.org/pls/html/f?p=52300:100:3284134878309132::::P100_TEAM_ID:457289921 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976822 | 1,120 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Foreclosure Wave Averted as Doomsayers Defied: Mortgages
Stockton, California, has the highest U.S. foreclosure rate. It also has a housing shortage.
The number of homes for sale in the city fell 42 percent in October from a year earlier. Listings routinely attract multiple offers. Prices are on the rise.
When banks pulled back on foreclosures two years ago following a government investigation into allegations of faulty practices, market researchers, academics and Wall Street analysts said that a surge of delinquent homes would deluge the U.S. market once lenders resolved the claims and worked through backlog, driving down prices for years to come. RealtyTrac Inc., a seller of property data, warned a year ago of a “new set of incoming foreclosure waves.” Susan Wachter, professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, said in February that a logjam may be “unleashed” and destabilize the market.
In fact, the flood failed to materialize, even after the five biggest U.S. mortgage servicers reached a $25 billion settlement with federal and state regulators in February. Instead, the number of properties for sale shrank to the fewest in a decade, prices appreciated at the fastest pace since 2005, and the gradual healing of the housing market helped boost consumer confidence and the economy.
“We don’t have enough homes now to meet the needs of the market,” Paul Jacobson, a Stockton native and real estate broker for 22 years, said as he cruised the city’s northern fringe, where suburbia meets farmland. “People see a foreclosed home for sale in this area and they’re going to jump on it.”
Banks have stepped up foreclosure alternatives to avoid legal challenges. They’re forgiving debt, modifying payment plans and approving short sales that allow homeowners to sell for less than they owe.
The federal government, criticized by consumer activists for failing to prevent more than 4.7 million homes from being lost to foreclosure or short sales since President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, is also helping to stem the crisis. Expanded loan-modification programs have gained traction, and the Federal Reserve has kept bank interest rates near zero. Investors including Blackstone Group LP (BX) and Colony Capital LLC are purchasing thousands of foreclosed homes in bulk before they even hit the market, further limiting new supply.
“Many of us, myself included, feared a wave of foreclosures when the settlement came,” Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at Wharton in Philadelphia, said in a telephone interview. “I was wrong.”
Slowing the foreclosure process has allowed banks to avoid booking losses on non-performing loans, said Joshua Rosner, an analyst with Graham Fisher & Co. in New York. U.S. banks reduced their net charge-off rate on mortgages to 0.77 percent in the second quarter, the most recent available, from a high of 1.81 percent at the end of 2009, according to data Rosner compiled. That drop occurred as the rate of non-current loans declined to 9.77 percent from 10.15 percent in late 2009.
“The goal all along -- from the banks, the servicers and the government -- was sort of to slow walk the whole thing, bleed it through over time,” Rosner said in a telephone interview.
The strategy may be paying off. Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose 3 percent in September from a year earlier, the most since 2010, the S&P/Case-Shiller index showed this week.
An index of pending home resales climbed 5.2 percent in October, exceeding the highest estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median price of an existing home sold last month jumped 11 percent from a year earlier to $178,600, the steepest annual increase since November 2005, according to the group. The number of previously owned homes on the market in October fell 1.4 percent to 2.14 million, the fewest since December 2002.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimated that as many as 1.8 million properties would be taken back by banks in 2012, according to a January speech by President William Dudley. Through October, there have been about 559,000 home seizures, indicating a pace of about 650,000 for the year, according to Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac.
The so-called shadow inventory of pending foreclosures, which may be larger than the visible supply of previously owned homes for sale, is shrinking as new defaults decline and banks work through their backlog of bad loans. Home loans that were more than 90 days late or in the foreclosure process, a proxy for the shadow inventory, fell to 7.03 percent of properties with a mortgage in the third quarter, the lowest share since 2008, the Mortgage Bankers Association said two weeks ago.
While lenders may bring more distressed properties to market over the next year, it won’t be enough to depress values, said Vishwanath Tirupattur, housing strategist at Morgan Stanley in New York.
“I don’t anticipate a flood that will take the market down with it,” he said in a telephone interview. “It will be a much more managed process.”
The shadow inventory -- which also includes properties owned by banks but not for sale --- fell from an estimated 8.8 million homes in 2010 to 5.36 million as of this month, a faster decline than expected as fewer loan modifications re-defaulted, according to Tirupattur.
Changes to Obama’s loan-modification program had the biggest impact on reducing pending foreclosures since late 2010 by creating a template that lenders followed, Wachter said. That included incentives to compensate loan servicers for reducing principal on loans for delinquent borrowers. In January, the administration tripled the award to 63 cents for every $1 in writedowns.
“The loan modifications were successful in this new wave,” she said. “Transformative steps were being put into place in the loan modification process. I underestimated how transformative those reforms would be.”
An estimated 1 million homeowners qualify for payment-plan changes with principal reductions under Obama’s guidelines, according to Wachter. Assuming a redefault rate of 25 percent, that would result in almost 750,000 sustainable modifications, Wachter wrote with Mark Zandi, Celia Chen and Cristian deRitis of Moody’s Analytics Inc. in a report published in May.
“Along with those that would take place in any event, this is about the number needed to forestall any further house-price declines,” they said.
Since the February settlement, the five largest U.S. mortgage servicers provided loan relief to 309,385 borrowers, including trial plans, according to a Nov. 19 report by Joseph Smith, monitor of the deal. Almost 22,000 borrowers had principal forgiveness totaling $2.55 billion. The companies, which include Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), agreed to short sales for 113,000 borrowers for another $13.1 billion in principal write downs, Smith’s report said.
The settlement helped stabilize prices, in part, by encouraging alternatives to foreclosures, including principal forgiveness and short sales, said Nela Richardson, senior economic analyst with Bloomberg Government. Modified loans have a high default rate and may eventually show up as foreclosures or short sales, she said.
“In this sense, I think the shadow inventory is still looming but it does not look like it will come out of the shadows all at once,” Richardson said in an e-mail. “Rather, properties will trickle out into the market.”
About 940,000 modifications will be completed this year, including 100,000 resulting from the $25 billion mortgage settlement, according to a Nov. 21 report by JPMorgan analysts led by John Sim. The pace will fall next year to about 530,000 as the pool of eligible borrowers shrinks.
Short sales made up 9.3 percent of transactions in September, up from 7.8 percent a year earlier and 5.8 percent in September 2009, according to CoreLogic Inc., an Irvine, California-based real estate data firm.
“The best, lasting legacy of the crisis is that the industry has created a more nuanced approach to loss disposition,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist of CoreLogic. “I don’t think the idea of evaluating a delinquent borrower for all different alternatives goes away after we’ve dealt with the shadow inventory. I think that’s here to stay.”
In Stockton, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) east of San Francisco by car, the foreclosure crisis is easing after a plunge in home values that has left prices down 60 percent from a 2006 peak. The city earlier this year became the largest in the U.S. to file for bankruptcy protection from creditors after the collapse of the housing market left it with mounting retiree health-care costs for employees and an eroding tax base amid accounting errors that overstated municipal revenues.
One in 67 of Stockton’s households received a foreclosure filing in the third quarter, the highest rate of any U.S. metropolitan area with a population of more than 200,000, according to RealtyTrac. The number of filings of default, auction or repossession fell 21 percent from a year earlier.
William Hoeurn, a teacher’s assistant in Stockton, last month won a $337,906 principal reduction on his mortgage from Bank of America, reducing monthly payments on his three-bedroom house to $884 from $2,362. Hoeurn fell behind on his loan payments after his wife lost her job and two of his grown children, who helped pay the mortgage, moved out of the home.
“Before, I was having bad dreams that I am losing my house,” Hoeurn, 66, a refugee from Cambodia, said during an interview in his kitchen. “Now, I feel very happy.”
The number of bank-owned homes listed for sale in Stockton plunged 72 percent in September from a year earlier, according to MetroList Services Inc., a Sacramento, California-based listing information service. Short sale listings fell 63 percent to 155 homes.
Re-sale prices rose 14.6 percent in the 12 months through October to $179,570 in San Joaquin County, where Stockton is the county seat, according to the California Association of Realtors.
Peter Lemos, code enforcement field manager for Stockton’s police department, said he suspects banks are delaying foreclosures to reduce the supply of houses on sale and keep prices higher.
“If they flooded the market, prices would go down,” Lemos said during an interview in his office. “So they’re getting more for what they’re selling. At the same time, it’s making more work for us.”
There were 6,650 properties with unresolved code violations as of Sept. 30, about two-thirds of which were vacant because the owners walked away and banks hadn’t foreclosed, Lemos said. His team stages night raids to oust squatters from abandoned properties. To give the appearance homes are occupied, they paint dry lawns green.
“Under servicing agreements and investor guidelines, we generally are compelled to move defaulted loans through the foreclosure process and bring them to market without undue delays in order to curtail servicing costs and recover as much of the investment for the owner of the loan as possible,” Simon said in an e-mail.
The inventory of potential foreclosures remains a threat across the U.S. and could result in a new wave of defaults and depress home values, especially if the economy slows, said Robert Shiller, an economics professor at Yale University. Homeowners who owe more than their properties are worth are more likely to default if they lose a job, need to move for employment, or simply decide to walk away, he said.
“I’m still worried about home-price declines,” Shiller, and co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes, said in a telephone interview. “It’s funny how people have so much confidence in the recovery. History shows that these markets are hard to predict.”
Delaying the process may also be hindering a faster recovery, said Anthony B. Sanders, an economics professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
“The best cure for any market meltdown is to let prices fall to whatever level is needed to clear it,” he said. “Instead, we’re sitting here in 2012 and we’re still not out of the woods yet. The wisdom of delaying foreclosures etc. was more of a political act than an economic act.”
Mortgages on homes seized by banks averaged a record 708 days delinquent in September, up from 624 days a year earlier, according to Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS) The U.S. average was 367 days in December 2008, before Obama took office and launched an alphabet soup of programs to help struggling homeowners keep their residences.
The February mortgage settlement restricted lenders from so-called “dual-tracking” -- simultaneously pursuing a foreclosure while borrowers were in the process of applying for a loan modification -- a limitation that prolongs the time it takes lenders to repossess a house.
“In hindsight, by delaying and prolonging the foreclosure process, that gave the market time to stabilize and get back on its feet,” said Blomquist of RealtyTrac. “Maybe bureaucracy is actually helping, in this case, to diffuse the impact of the foreclosures. Talk about unintended consequences.”
Low interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve prevented a wave of defaults that would have been triggered by resets for borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages, said Karen Weaver, head of market strategy and research at Seer Capital Management LP in New York.
“With very low interest rates, that’s been completely finessed,” Weaver said in a telephone interview. “That’s another reason we haven’t had the tsunami.”
An Obama program begun in February allowing refinancing for Americans with more than 125 percent negative equity also has reduced incentives for underwater homeowners to abandon their property. The higher threshold opens the door for about 5 million borrowers to refinance, according to CoreLogic.
More than 100,000 borrowers a month, most of whom have no equity in their homes, have been able to get lower interest rates through the Home Affordable Refinance Program.
“We were originally skeptical,” Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist for Capital Economics Ltd., wrote in a note sent last week. “But we have to admit that it has made a significant difference.”
The foreclosure slowdown took place as the broader economy began to heal. The unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September, the lowest since Obama took office.
Household formations increased to an annual pace of 1.15 million in the third quarter, driving down the vacancy rate for rental homes to its lowest rate since 2002, while the vacancy rate for owner-occupied properties dropped to 1.9 percent, a level last seen in 2005, according to the Census Bureau.
Homes that are seized by banks are attracting investors, many of which aim to turn them into rentals. Private-equity firms are raising as much as $8 billion to buy single-family homes, often purchasing at auctions or directly from banks before the properties are publicly listed for sale. New York- based Blackstone, the world’s biggest private-equity firm. has been buying $100 million of houses a week, Chairman Stephen Schwarzman said during an Oct. 18 earnings call.
For those foreclosed properties that do hit the market, investor purchases are rising. All-cash sales represented 29 percent of existing-home deals in October, according to the National Association of Realtors. Investors, who account for most cash sales, purchased 20 percent of homes in October, up from 18 percent the previous month and a year earlier.
Some hot markets are seeing even more demand. In Arizona’s Maricopa County, home of Phoenix, investors accounted for a third of home purchases, including those at auctions, said Michael Orr, director of real estate research at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business.
Investors and other homebuyers are moving east toward Stockton from the San Francisco Bay area, where the technology industry has kept property values high, said Jerry Abbott, president of Grupe Real Estate, a Stockton-based sales and development company that has acquired more than 1,000 rental homes since 2010.
“My guess is 50 percent of the active closings are investors,” Abbott said in a telephone interview. “Everybody and his uncle wants to get in at low prices.” | <urn:uuid:59dac9b7-92ba-40de-a490-5024595ed94c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-29/foreclosure-wave-averted-as-doomsayers-defied-mortgages.html?cmpid=wsdemand | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962062 | 3,620 | 1.609375 | 2 |
A while ago, one of my oldest and dearest friends, was writing an International Gluten-Free cookbook. Michael’s question to me was what could he include that would be truly Canadian. To me, the answer was very simple. With apologies to the entire state of Vermont, anything with Maple Sugar or Maple Syrup is as Canadian as it comes.
When I was growing up it was such a part of Canadian culture that, as young children, one of the great treats after our long winters was when ‘Sugaring Off’ parties took place. When the sap rose in the early spring. off our entire school class would go to the country and to farms and woodlots where they gathered the syrup from our national symbol, the Maple. They’d tap the trees with metal spigots, attach long aluminum pails to them and the syrup would drip from the trees. It’s a clear liquid and looks and tastes very much like sweetened water. Once they’d collected enough, it would be put into caldrons and set over wood fires where it thickened and turned amber. For our visit, the syrup was poured over wooden troughs of snow, where depending on its thickness, it formed maple candy. We ate so much of the stuff that most of the ride back to the city was punctuated by the moans of the overeaters and vows never to do that again. Until, of course, next year. | <urn:uuid:e6540a29-bc8c-4b52-a7af-c16bf1d0bb58> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chewingthefat.us.com/2011_01_09_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985032 | 303 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s Christmas message to the Christian world was broadcast on Britain’s Channel 4.
In his message, which began with the “in the name of God the most glorious”, the Iranian president said:
"Upon the anniversary of the birth of Jesus, Son of Mary, the Word of God, the Messenger of mercy, I would like to congratulate the followers of Abrahamic faiths... All Prophets called for the worship of God, for love and brotherhood, for the establishment of justice and for love in human society. ... All the problems that have bedeviled humanity throughout the ages came about because humanity followed an evil path and disregarded the message of the Prophets. ... The crises in society, the family, morality, politics, security and the economy which have made life hard for humanity and continue to put great pressure on all nations have come about because the Prophets have been forgotten... If Christ were on earth today, undoubtedly He would stand with the people in opposition to bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers.”
Ahmadinejad stated that greed and desire for power, self-interest and selfishness lay at the heart of the present crisis.
Toward the end of his address, Ahmadinejad told the Christian world of the return to Earth of the Prophet Jesus in the End Times in which we are living and said that he and Hazrat Mahdi (as) would bring peace to the world.
"We believe Jesus Christ will return, together with one of the children of the revered Messenger of Islam [the Mahdi] and will lead the world to love, brotherhood and justice.
The responsibility of all followers of Christ and Abrahamic faiths is to prepare the way for the fulfillment of this Divine promise and the arrival of that joyful, shining and wonderful age.
I hope that the collective will of nations will unite in the not too distant future and with the grace of the Almighty Lord, that shining age will come to rule the earth.”
As mentioned in Ahmadinejad’s address, it is most important for all believers to make preparations to welcome the Prophet Jesus and Hazrat Mahdi (as). To that end, Muslims must wage an intellectual struggle against all godless systems that oppose the moral values of the Qur’an and lead to corruption on earth. The more that satanic deceptions that set people at one another’s throats and regard and portray slaughter as justified are exposed, then by Allah’s leave this ideological framework of the system of the Dajjal will collapse.
The Golden Age foretold in the verses of the Qur’an and the hadith of our Prophet (saas) is rapidly approaching. Aware of this, Mahmud Ahmadinejad has told people of this opportunity to usher in this historic new period.
Hürriyet, 26 December 20082008-12-25 00:00:00 | <urn:uuid:b75ef4b9-98fd-48b6-8eba-0fa00939beb2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.harunyahya.com/en/Turkiyeden-Yankilar/121306/In-his-Christmas-message-to-Christians-Ahmadinejad-stated-that-the-Prophet-Jesus-would-return-and-together-with-Hazrat-Mahdi-(as)-fill-the-world-with-justice | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941531 | 607 | 1.539063 | 2 |
In this feature, Roger Eglin presents the business benefits of acting responsibly. Using the example of B&Q (part of the Kingfisher Group) who, after identifying three business critical issues, responded by developing programmes and initatives to tackle the issues. These were forests/timber, chemicals and working conditions of employees. Kingfisher were highlighted in Article 13's latest research, Business Unusual, as an example of best practice in addressing business critical issues.
The mining company, Anglo Amercian were also highlighted for their extensive social activities, ranging from programmes to encourage business start-ups to a whistle blowing campaign called Speakup, where employees are encouraged to report business violations on legal or ethical concerns.
The article concludes that social responsibility and business performance can co-exist because dealing with business critical issues are a matter of business survival. Furthermore, the costs of delivering these programmes are far lower than that of a damaged reputation or collapsed supply chain. | <urn:uuid:c2df5150-e955-4ff4-8d14-5650fe0ab807> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.article13.com/A13_OurPress.asp?strAction=GetPublication&PNID=933 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95787 | 193 | 1.84375 | 2 |
The start of the new financial year is the ideal time to minimise your tax payments, writes Jeff Salway
TAX avoidance may be the target of another government crackdown, yet millions of people are giving too much money to HM Revenue & Customs because of missed opportunities to cut their tax spend.
Chancellor George Osborne described tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance as “morally repugnant” in last month’s Budget speech as he outlined plans for a new anti-avoidance rule.
For the humble taxpayer, however, the new tax year presents a fresh chance to avoid giving the taxman more than necessary.
By failing to take advantage of allowances, benefits and credits, UK taxpayers will gift HMRC some £12.6 billion (£421 per taxpayer) more than they need to this year, according to unbiased.co.uk.
But the dawn of the 2012/13 tax year creates new opportunities to redress that balance.
New tax year measures that came into force on Friday will almost certainly have an impact on your finances.
While personal allowance increases taking effect last Friday and on 6 April next year will reduce the tax bill for many low and middle-income earners, thousands of Scottish families will be hit by restrictions on child benefit from next January.
Thousands of families on modest and middle incomes have also lost their child tax credit, while many working couples on less than around £17,000 a year are losing their working tax credit.
Other measures to take effect include the lowering of the lifetime allowance for pension funds from £1.8 million to £1.5m. Those breaching the limit and who haven’t taken steps to retain their £1.8m allowance face a 55 per cent tax charge when their benefits are taken.
Then there are cuts in the basic rate tax threshold, which leaves many middle-income Scots facing the 40 per cent tax rate for the first time.
The number of people in the higher-rate tax bracket is set to hit five million in the next two years, up from 3.7 million last year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates.
But reducing the amount you give to HMRC each year isn’t a challenge only for those at risk of facing a higher tax rate. There are numerous ways of mitigating tax, many of which are straightforward yet very effective.
Here are a few:
One option is to pay more into your pension or, if you don’t have one, to start contributing to one, whether a personal pension or in the workplace.
Keith Mackie, a certified financial planner at Acumen Financial Planning, explained that pension contributions can help increase the amount of income received at the basic rate.
“For example, say you earn £45,000: the amount over the £42,475 threshold is liable to tax at 40 per cent. However, a monthly pension contribution of £250 gross has the effect of keeping you outside the clutches of higher-rate tax,” he said.
Pension contributions can also help families retain their child benefit payments, which from next January will be phased out where at least one earner is on £50,000 or more, being removed entirely at £60,000.
The relevant figure will be the “adjusted net income”, meaning payments such as those to pensions and gift aid can reduce that net income.
Mackie said: “That means you could hold on to all of your child benefit if you make pension contributions or donations to charity to take the biggest earner’s net income below £50,000, while still obtaining higher-rate tax relief on these pension contributions and donations.”
This is where you agree with your employer to exchange some of your salary for other benefits in order to reduce your taxable income.
The most common way of doing this is through pensions, although childcare vouchers are also popular.
For example, if you earn £43,000 a year (just in the higher-rate bracket), reducing your salary by £2,000 and allowing your employer to pay that £2,000 into your pension instead will allow you to remain in the basic rate band not only this year, but also when the threshold is lowered again next April.
But bear in mind that reducing your salary could have an adverse effect on payments based on the salary amount – such as maternity leave payments – and on transactions such as mortgages, personal loans and credit cards.
You can now save up to £11,280 a year in a tax-efficient Individual Savings Account (Isa) – including up to £5,640 tax-free in a cash Isa – following an increase in the annual allowance that took effect on Friday.
However, savers will miss out on more than £400m this year by failing to use their Isa allowances, according to the Tax Action report from unbiased.co.uk.
Other tax-efficient options tend to be aimed at investors happy to take a certain amount of risk in return for the potential for growth.
Income tax relief of 30 per cent is available on enterprise investment schemes (EISs) and venture capital trusts (VCTs), both of which are aimed at boosting investment in small companies, and the individual investment limit has been doubled to £5m, as of Friday.
VCTs and EISs offer inheritance tax and capital gains tax (CGT) benefits too, although they are suitable primarily for affluent, sophisticated investors due to the high risk level.
Use your allowance
The annual Isa entitlement is perhaps the most obvious, but there are others on offer. The CGT threshold remains frozen for the new tax year, but £10,600 in gains can still be taken before tax is charged at 18 per cent (if the taxable gains and income are below the basic rate limit) or 28 per cent.
One common oversight is a failure among married couples and civil partners to save tax by using each other’s unused CGT allowance.
Neil Mitchell, tax partner at Mazars in Edinburgh, said: “Where one spouse is paying higher-rate tax and the other does not utilise their full basic rate band, it is worth considering whether any balancing of income can take place.”
Check your tax code
Around one in six of the UK’s 30 million taxpayers paid the wrong amount of tax in the 2010-11 financial year as a result of being given the wrong tax codes.
Neil Whyte, tax partner at PKF in Edinburgh, recommends checking your tax code for the new tax year as soon as you receive it.
“Tax codes for 2012/13 have been recently sent to millions of people across the country, but most will have been automatically generated by HMRC’s computer systems and will not have been checked manually by tax officers – potentially resulting in significant numbers of taxpayers either underpaying or overpaying tax.”
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Weather for Edinburgh
Friday 24 May 2013
Temperature: 3 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North east
Temperature: 7 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: West | <urn:uuid:40b819e7-ec60-41f2-b568-a5ab966ecaa8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/money/no-need-to-overpay-the-taxman-1-2222756 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956754 | 1,480 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Vice Chancellor of research and international relations at the Russian Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Academy, Evgeny Bazhanov, spoke with RT about China’s overwhelming growth and the challenges it faces.
The Chinese economy is overheating and it has been overheating all the time, said Bazhanov, because “they have disproportions between the sectors of the economy which grow very fast, for example industry, and at the same time they do not have enough resources.”
As for China’s role in global politics, Bazhanov said it is crucial, and in most cases very positive, as China tries to bring peace and stability to the world.
“They need it because they are preoccupied with internal problems, with their internal development, and they need a peaceful environment,” Bazhanov said.
As for Russia-China relations, Bazhanov said they have never been better.
“Even when we were allies in the 1950s, we didn’t have such cooperation as we have now and I think it’s because our relations now are based on a very solid basis. First of all, we have the same outlook as far as the international system is concerned: we want it to be multi-polar and they want it to be multi-polar, not controlled by the US or the west, but based on the UN, on international law, and on collective decisions of all countries of the world,” he said.
“Secondly, on most concrete international issues we have similar positions – on Korea, Iran, the expansion of NATO, the Middle East, etc. In addition to this, we did have problems left from history – all those issues were solved. Another factor is that we don’t have ideological differences which existed in the Soviet times. As I said, we were allies, but then, because of the ideological differences and geopolitical differences, and the border issue, etc., we became enemies. And to add another factor which helps to improve and promote relations between Russia and China, is the economic factor. We have economic interdependence.”
“Some people in Russia say that China is growing too fast and it is becoming stronger than Russia, so the balance of power is changing in the Chinese favor so China can become a threat. But I reply to those people that, back in the beginning of the 20th century, there were people in Russia – quite a few, by the way – politicians, journalists, writers, who used to say that China was going to be threat number one for Russia in the 20th century. Instead of this, we did have two wars against our Christian brothers in the west and we didn’t fight with the Chinese,” Bazhanov said.
By posting your comment, you agree to abide by our Posting rules | <urn:uuid:400b8b61-f090-4ba4-943f-9226bffbe2ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rt.com/news/china-growth-evgeny-bazhanov/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979397 | 586 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Approximately a year ago, Google blogged about its new copyright piracy policies and the steps the company committed to undertake. Today we offer a report card and comprehensive evaluation of each of the specific commitments. Please find the report card here.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) recently issued an authoritative report on rogue sites bills currently pending in both houses of Congress. The author, ITIF Senior Analyst Daniel Castro, concludes that “the claims by opponents of the legislation that the bills would ‘break the Internet’ or lead to censorship are unfounded” and offers a detailed response to many of these claims (with special attention on DNS filtering). It also puts forth five suggestions to Congress, stating, “Finding a reasonable solution to the problem of online piracy and counterfeiting is too important to let hysterical, ideological posturing and threats influence public policy. It is time for policymakers to take a deep breath and consider this issue on the basis of facts and rational argumentation.”
We encourage you to read this compelling report which can be found here.
More than 15 organizations and companies representing America’s country and gospel music communities wrote to Congress this week asking members to support H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA Act). Those artists, songwriters, producers, publishers, engineers and other music industry workers add their voices to an enormous network of creators and businesses -- large and small -- that have endorsed rogue websites legislation to help protect American creators, innovators and workers from unscrupulous foreign rogue websites that illegally counterfeit American goods.
Read the full letter to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives here. | <urn:uuid:c46c1a02-660d-4636-9ead-ac399f6396e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://riaa.com/news_room.php?content_selector=riaa-news-blog&blog_type=&news_month_filter=12&news_year_filter=2011 | 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 | 0.950116 | 338 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Corporate lawyers frequently advise clients that “shareholders’ interests come first.” They also tell companies to pursue shareholder approval as quickly as possible after signing a merger agreement. But in a deal between highly regulated companies, the shareholder vote can come a year or more prior to a closing. And sometimes that’s not such a great outcome.
Duke Energy’s merger with Progress Energy forming the largest electric utility in the country may become Exhibit A for letting shareholders have the full picture before being required to vote. Duke and Progress announced the completion of their merger Tuesday morning, 18 months after the deal was first announced.
The shocker in that announcement was that although the merger agreement and many filings since had indicated that William Johnson, the CEO of Progress, would act as the combined company’s CEO, Johnson resigned “by mutual agreement.” Instead, Jim Rogers, the pre-merger CEO of Duke, will step into that role.
It was always anticipated that Rogers would be executive chairman of the combined company and the Duke directors would get to choose the “lead director”. With the switch in CEOs, the deal now looks even more like a takeover of Progress by Duke rather than a merger of equals. In fairness, Duke never called the deal a merger of equals in any of its filings although other commentators had referred to it as such.
The lead director of Progress who stepped down Tuesday as part of the closing called the deal a “semi-merger of equals.” The relatively modest 7% premium for Progress shareholders lent support to that characterization.
The identity of the CEO was clearly a critical issue throughout the transaction. In early August of 2010, just ten days after the two companies signed a confidentiality agreement:
Members of the Progress Energy board of directors noted that they viewed the strategic emphasis on the regulated utility business as critical to the value of the potential transaction, that the corporate governance and organizational structure of the combined company created by the combination of Duke Energy and Progress Energy would have to support that strategy, and that they viewed having Mr. Johnson as the chief executive officer of the combined company as an important element in ensuring implementation of that strategy (emphasis added),
according to the companies’ joint proxy statement issued a year ago. Rogers for his part had volunteered that he would be receptive in stepping back to being just executive chairman and having Johnson be CEO in his first meeting with Johnson on the deal on July 18, 2010.
The identity of the CEO was arguably considered extremely important—material in securities law speak. The CEO arrangement is discussed in ten different sections of the merger proxy issued in July of 2010 (including on page two of it). And it appears in the first article of the merger agreement.
So the switch from Johnson to Rogers as CEO has come as quite a shock—particularly to former lead director of Progress John Mullin who has lambasted the replacement as “corporate deceit.” and “an incredible act of bad faith”
Did the directors of the newly constituted company do something wrong? Unless they had reason to believe they planned to make this switch at the time of the shareholders meeting in August 2011 (in which case the proxy used for the meeting was misleading), not at all. Directors have the right to change their mind. Indeed they always have to examine what is in the best interests of shareholders. If they conclude they need to change course for that reason, they are required to do so. Things are always changing in business, and directors should reexamine their business. We do not know what caused the directors to change their mind, but Duke was not contractually obligated to retain Johnson as CEO pursuant to the merger agreement.
What went wrong here was the system, not the decision-making process. In utility mergers and other transactions with lengthy regulatory clearance processes, the parties almost always require shareholders to vote on the transaction relatively early in the process and not at the end when all the facts are known.
Another good example of this phenomenon was in the ill-fated bidding war between Hertz and Avis to acquire Dollar Thrifty Group. Neither party was nearly ready to close a transaction or knew what terms they would agree to with the antitrust authorities (indeed they both eventually walked away from the acquisition), but shareholders were forced to choose between the two bidders when the main issue between them was who had more antitrust risk. The answer to that question would have been known with certainty if shareholders had been permitted to wait to vote.
Parties to a merger agreement force the early vote because it is generally believed that once shareholders vote, the “fiduciary out” of the board—allowing a board to take a higher bid or recommend rejection of the deal if something happens to make it unattractive—can terminate. Thus, there is rush to obtain the shareholder approval to eliminate that deal risk.
But that approach raises the question of whether shareholders should have an opportunity to see the whole picture before they vote. That is hard to do when the vote occurs almost a year prior to the closing. Things change, regulators can demand their pound of flesh and directors can change their minds.
Why shouldn’t shareholders have the right to wait to be asked for approval after these things happen?
Send questions, comments or story ideas to Dealpolitik@gmail.com. | <urn:uuid:2eb3ac9e-dd67-4b99-9987-e04a77a69365> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2012/07/06/dealpolitik-duke-ceo-switch-raises-shareholder-approval-issues/?mod=WSJBlog | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98121 | 1,095 | 1.710938 | 2 |
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IDG News Service - As mobile broadband takes off, Wi-Fi hot spots will become as irrelevant as telephone booths, Ericsson Chief Marketing Officer Johan Bergendahl said Monday.
Mobile broadband is growing faster than mobile or fixed telephony ever did, Bergendahl said.
"In Austria they are saying that mobile broadband will pass fixed broadband this year. It's already growing faster, and in Sweden, the most popular phone is a USB modem," said Bergendahl, who was the keynote speaker at the European Computer Audit, Control and Security Conference in Stockholm.
As more people start using mobile broadband, hot spots will no longer be needed. "Hot spots at places like Starbucks are becoming the telephone boxes of the broadband era," said Bergendahl.
A couple of factors will accelerate the move to mobile broadband. In countries such as Austria, Denmark and Sweden, the average price for a mobile broadband subscription is only €20 ($31) per month, Bergendahl said.
Also, support for HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), favored by Ericsson, is being built into more and more laptops. Ericsson recently signed a deal to put HSPA technology in some Lenovo notebooks.
"In a few years, it [HSPA] will be as common as Wi-Fi is today," Bergendahl said.
But challenges still remain. Coverage, availability and price -- especially when someone is roaming on other networks -- are all key factors for success.
"Industry will have to solve the international roaming issue," Bergendahl said. "Carriers need to work together. It can be as simple as paying €10 per day when you are abroad."
Not knowing how high the bill will be after a business trip is not acceptable for professional users, according to Bergendahl.
Coverage will also have to improve. In the room where Bergendahl spoke, there was no 3G coverage. However, operators are looking at ways to provide better signal coverage, particularly indoors and in rural areas.
But Ericsson's CMO also suspects a conspiracy.
"They would never admit it, but I think hotels are stopping the radio signals. They see data access as a business opportunity," he said. | <urn:uuid:edc70b93-f873-43e2-8842-3ef41f1d6ccd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/031008-ericsson-predicts-demise-for.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960098 | 497 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Islamabad: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi visited Pakistan on Monday and met with his Pakistan counterpart President Asif Ali Zardari and the both heads agreed to foster political contacts in order to take bilateral relations “to a higher trajectory. The two countries will hold biennial summits to intensify political interaction.
Morsi was on a daylong visit to Pakistan, the first by an Egyptian leader in over five decades. He is also visiting neighboring India.
The Egyptian president’s focus during the South Asia visit will be on bolstering trade and investment links.
A joint statement issued at the end of Morsi’s visit said that the two leaders have “agreed that high-level political interaction and exchanges are vital to take their relations to a higher trajectory” and fulfill their desire for a “new and glorious chapter of bilateral relations.”
The Foreign Office described Morsi’s visit as a “watershed and a landmark” in bilateral relations.
The two countries established diplomatic ties in 1951 but their relations were lukewarm most of the times.
Pakistan and Egypt may have a number of similarities, but the important role played by their militaries in political affairs found a reflection even in the FO statement on the visit.
Morsi may have been leading a high-powered delegation which included two cabinet ministers, but the name that figured prominently was that of Egyptian Commander-in-Chief General Mohamed Abdel Fatah El-Sisi. And from the Pakistani side, the meeting, other than the one between Zardari and Morsi that found a mention, was Pakistani Army Chief General Parvez Kayani’s call on Morsi.
General Kayani had a separate meeting with General El-Sisi.
For increasing trade and commercial links, the two sides agreed on convening the inaugural session of Pak-Egypt Joint Business Council and holding the 4th Session of the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) in Islamabad.
They were of the view that there are numerous opportunities for enhancing investments and undertaking joint ventures in various sectors, the FO statement said.
The volume of bilateral trade is close to $400 million which is believed to be far less than the potential.
President Zardari sought Egyptian investment in key sectors, including infrastructure, energy, mining, textiles and real estate. He also proposed a free trade agreement.
The two presidents witnessed the signing of seven memoranda of understanding. They are: cooperation in postal services; cooperation in the field of merchant shipping; promotion of investment between the Board of Investment of Pakistan and the General Authority of Free Zones and Investment of Egypt; cooperation between Middle East News Agency of Egypt and Associated Press of Pakistan; cooperation between the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority of Pakistan and the Social Fund for Development of Egypt; scientific cooperation between Quaid-i-Azam University of Pakistan and Cairo University of Egypt; and 3rd Executive Program for Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
President Zardari urged Morsi to work closely with Pakistan for “ending the bloodshed in Syria and finding a peaceful solution to the crisis.” | <urn:uuid:2a85a753-44d0-4ab9-a863-d2a6b13d6525> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.islamonline.com/news/articles/27/Morsi-meets-Pakistani-counterpart-both-agree-to-e.html | 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 | 0.954727 | 630 | 1.734375 | 2 |
CHANDIGARH: Breaking the monotonous schedule of campus life, PEC University of Technology students will now facilitate the brightest of government school students in the city to crack a prestigious talent search exam.
The UT education department along with its National Service Scheme (NSS) wing and UT's higher education department have come up with a plan wherein they have offered PEC's NSS students to bring down the failure rate in clearing the National Talent Search Exam (NTSE) among government school students. This national-level scholarship programme is organized by the NCERT each year.
"It was found that school teachers failed in preparing students for the exam and it was felt that PEC students were the most suitable for teaching school kids, particularly for the mental ability part of this scholarship exam," said Chanchal Singh, deputy director (school education), UT education department. The top five 'brightest students' from class IX in all government colleges will be chosen by their respective schools and the students will be tutored by PEC students.
"We have designed a plan in which PEC students will teach these students twice a week from 3 to 4pm after school. Class IX students will be prepared for a span of six months and they will appear in the exam once they enter the next class," said an official of the UT NSS wing. UT officials said that the success rate of government students cracking the NTSE exam was on the decline and hence this plan. Singh said that the project will commence on August 13. Meanwhile PEC students are in the process of forming a team for this mission. "We will seek guidance from the PEC director," said Sushant Sameer, NSS programme coordinator at PEC. | <urn:uuid:1ecff479-142b-4830-94eb-be35a7fa6aab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-13/news/33181952_1_pec-students-pec-university-pec-director | 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 | 0.973405 | 351 | 1.648438 | 2 |
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Obama to China: Help rein in North Korea
SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama urged China on Sunday to use its influence to rein in North Korea instead of "turning a blind eye" to its nuclear defiance, and warned of tighter sanctions if the reclusive state goes ahead with a rocket launch next month.
"North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or provocations," a stern-faced Obama said after a tour of the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas resonant with echoes of the Cold War.
Such a launch would only lead to further isolation of the impoverished North, which much show its sincerity if on-again-off-again six-party aid-for-disarmament talks are to restart, Obama told a news conference in the South Korean capital.
Seoul and Washington say the launch will be a disguised test of a ballistic missile that violates Pyongyang's latest international commitments. North Korea says it merely wants to put a satellite into orbit.
Even as Obama warned North Korea of the consequences of its actions, he spoke bluntly to China, the closest thing Pyongyang has to an ally, of its international obligations.
Obama said Beijing's actions of "rewarding bad behavior (and) turning a blind eye to deliberate provocations" were obviously not working, and he promised to raise the matter at a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Seoul on Monday.
"I believe that China is very sincere that it does not want to see North Korea with a nuclear weapon," he told a news conference in Seoul before a global summit on nuclear security. "But it is going to have to act on that interest in a sustained way."
It was Obama's sharpest message yet to China to use its clout with North Korea in a nuclear standoff with the West, and dovetails with recent calls for Beijing to meet its responsibilities as a rising world power.
In an election year when Republicans have accused Obama of not being strong enough with Beijing, talking tough on China is seen as a potential vote-winner after three years of troubled diplomacy in dealings with Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
China is host to the six-party talks, which involve Japan and Russia as well as the two Koreas and the United States.
Obama earlier visited a U.S. base on the edge of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as a solemn North Korea came to a halt to mark the 100th day after "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il's death.
"You guys are at freedom's frontier," Obama, wearing an Air Force One bomber jacket, told about 50 troops crammed into the Camp Bonifas mess hall at one of the world's most heavily fortified frontiers.
He spent about 10 minutes on a camouflaged viewing platform at the DMZ, talking with some of the soldiers on guard and peering with binoculars across the border into North Korea as flags flapped loudly in the brisk, cold wind.
The White House cast Obama's first visit to the DMZ, which has bisected the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953, as a way to showcase the strength of the U.S.-South Korean alliance and thank some of the nearly 30,000 American troops still deployed in South Korea.
The 4-km (2.5-mile) wide DMZ was drawn up at the end of the 1950-53 civil conflict, which ended in a truce that has yet to be finalized with a permanent peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas in effect still at war.
ROCKET LAUNCH CONDEMNED
Washington has condemned next month's planned rocket launch as a violation of North Korea's promise to halt long-range missile firings, nuclear tests and uranium enrichment in return for a resumption of food aid.
Obama said that if the North goes ahead with the rocket launch, a February food aid deal could fall apart and Pyonygang could face a tightening of international sanctions.
Obama said he was sympathetic to China's concerns that too much pressure on North Korea could create a refugee crisis on its borders, but insisted Beijing's approach over the decades had failed to achieve a "fundamental shift" in Pyongyang's behavior.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a military official on Sunday as saying the main body of the rocket had been moved to the launch site on North Korea's west coast. The launch will coincide with big celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of the state's founder, Kim Il-sung.
North Korea's defiance is clouding Obama's much-touted nuclear disarmament agenda, which is also being challenged by Iran's persistence with nuclear research in the face of sanctions and international criticism.
Obama will join more than 50 other world leaders on Monday for a follow-up to the inaugural nuclear security summit he organized in Washington in 2010 to help combat the threat of nuclear terrorism.
While North Korea and Iran are not on the guest list or the official agenda, they are expected to be the main focus of Obama's array of bilateral meetings on the sidelines.
NORTH KOREA MOURNS
Obama's visit coincided with the end of the 100-day mourning period for Kim Jong-il, who died in December. Tens of thousands of people crammed into Kim Il-sung Square in central Pyongyang to mark the occasion.
The state's new young leader, Kim Jong-un, the third member of the Kim family to rule the state, bowed before a portrait of his father at the palace where he lies in state. He was joined by his uncle, Jang Song-thaek, and military chief Ri Yong-ho.
Standing alongside South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Obama told reporters it was difficult to get an accurate impression of how the succession process was going because it was not clear who was "calling the shots" in the North.
The young Kim himself made a surprise trip to the DMZ in early March. He looked across the border through binoculars and told troops to "maintain the maximum alertness since (they) stand in confrontation with the enemy at all times".
(Additional reporting by Jack Kim in Seoul; Editing by Jeremy Laurence and Nick Macfie)
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Racism is alive and well in the American church. Charles and Teandrea Wilson learned the hard way that Christian charity did not extend to them when they were banned from marrying at First Baptist Church in Crystal Springs in Mississippi. Charles and Teandrea, who attend First Baptist (but are not members) had sent out wedding invitations for their special day when the church’s pastor called with some devastating news.
“The church congregation had decided no black could be married at that church, and that if he went on to marry her, then they would vote [the pastor] out the church,” Charles Wilson told Fox 6 in Alabama.
Teandrea said “I was not brought up to be racist. I was brought up in the church all my life to love and care for everybody.”
Dr. Stan Weatherford, the pastor of First Baptist Church, was told by congregants that he would be fired if he performed the ceremony in their building. Instead, Weatherford married Charles and Teandrea at a nearby local church.
Watch interview below: | <urn:uuid:e88380a0-5770-4bec-ac68-29420ace9baf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oldschool945.com/142108/black-couple-banned-from-marrying-in-white-baptist-church-video/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985572 | 222 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Rent stabilized tenants can rest assured their apartments will remain on regulated rolls for another three years.
The City Council approved a three-year extension of rent stabilization by a vote of 48 to 2 on Tuesday -- action that has been pro forma since the 1960s. Council members Jimmy Oddo and Vincent Ignizio, both Republicans from Staten Island, voted against the extension.
A ritual since 1967, the city's rent regulation laws keep about 47 percent of the city's rental housing stock affordable, say advocates. It covers more than a million units.
The extension of rent regulation can only be approved by the City Council if the city is in a state of "housing emergency," which is defined by a vacancy rate of less than 5 percent. The more apartments that are vacant, the more likely the market will lower rents.
In New York City, the market -- being incredibly competitive -- drives rents up, not down. Hence, the city's vacancy rate, which is based on figures between February and June 2008, is 2.88 percent -- down from 3.09 percent from the last survey done in 2005.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn said the affordable housing problem is getting worse, making it necessary for the council to continue rent control.
"They are the laws that keep housing living and affordable for working and middle class families in our city," said Quinn, greeted by cheers from the approximately 75 tenants and advocates who attended the council's meeting. "New York is a city for renters and is a place that we want to make sure that renters of all incomes have access to homes and apartments."
Some, like Oddo, would rather see the free market control rents, arguing regulation only creates a disincentive for small business owners.
"Rent control and the system in New York City is the reason why we have the dearth of affordable housing," said Oddo. "It's an archaic system."
Just the First Step
Though advocates cheered on the City Council from its second floor chamber balcony during the vote, some said this legislation was only the first step. Many plan on lobbying Albany to repeal vacancy decontrol -- the process that allows vacant stabilized apartments to become market rate. Advocates also will urge the State Legislature to give the city power to draft its own rental policies -- a power afforded only to Albany currently under the Urstadt law.
These proposals have also made it to the City Council's agenda. Quinn said the council would vote on two resolutions next month urging Albany to adopt these policies.
Units under rent stabilization can only become market rate if they are vacated and their monthly rent is more than $2,000. Advocates say landlords have an incentive to push rent-stabilized tenants out of their apartments if their rents are approaching the cut off. A proposal in Albany would increase the rental cap to $5,000 for vacancy decontrol, bringing back thousands of apartments to rent stabilization, say advocates.
The State Assembly has approved both the vacancy decontrol bill and the Urstadt repeal. Advocates hope, since the State Senate has been handed over to Democrats, that that body will do the same.
For years, the number of rent stabilized or controlled units have been on the decline, spurring talk from advocates to revise the current system. According to the City Council, 17,000 units -- or 1.6 percent -- fell off the rent stabilization rolls between 2005 and 2008.
Michelle O'Brien, the executive director of Housing Here and Now, said the extension of rent stabilization is crucial, but the real priority this year is repealing vacancy decontrol.
"We really see the repeal of vacancy decontrol as the single most important step that can be taken this year to save rent regulation and affordable housing in New York City," said O'Brien.
Last Updated (May 22, 2013) | <urn:uuid:6cca6441-730c-4ff8-b117-09a42db70736> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/topics/176-council-extends-rent-stabilization | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965054 | 783 | 1.5625 | 2 |
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Video: Patient Testimonials
'I wanted to be around to see my kids grow up.' Frank learned he had early signs of diabetes, the same disease that took his father. With three young kids of his own, that diagnosis was his turning point.
'I didn't know I was miserable. But I was.' The day Lauren's doctor told her she had gained another 17 pounds, she cried the entire way home. Then she made an appointment at Valley. | <urn:uuid:63548e8a-33e9-4489-b08e-da8873820c30> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://obesitymd.org/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975757 | 337 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Mitch Fitzgerald, a South St. Paul teenager, thought he could take a walk with a friend on a snowy March evening. Then a St. Paul police dog named Sarik attacked the young man, then 13 years old. Nobody claims the attack was provoked.
Mitch suffered a lip gash requiring three stitches to close at Children's Hospital of St. Paul. Sarik also ripped open Mitch's arm, which required 13 more stitches to close. And then Mitch had to endure taunts at school about being a "dog toy," reports the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
The South St. Paul police did not cite off-duty St. Paul police officer Isaac Rinehart for unleashing Sarik in a public park, reports the Pioneer Press.
So why did it take until moments before trial to settle, when, as Mitch's mother Terri Fox-Fitzgerald told the St. Paul Star-Tribune, the parties were only a few thousand dollars apart after two separate mediations?
To compound the mystery, this particular police dog had attacked someone by mistake once before, reports the Pioneer Press. The dog bit a man in 2007 while Officer Rinehart responded to a fight in downtown St. Paul.
Minnesota's dog bite statute, 2010 Minnesota Statutes sec. 347.22 imposes strict liability on owners of dogs who make unprovoked attacks.
Under familiar strict liability principles, the responsible party must compensate the victim for all the damages proximately caused by the attack, regardless of fault.
And here are a couple of riddles. Why wasn't Rinehart disciplined, beyond the three-day administrative suspension imposed right after the attack? St. Paul PD simply reassigned Rinehart to patrol. And why is Sarik, the St. Paul police dog known now to have attacked two humans unprovoked, still on the force?
The case of Mitch Fitzgerald and the St. Paul police dog begs one final question. Did Mitch Fitzgerald and his family get good value for all the trial preparation and delay after that last mediation, to achieve a settlement that was only $3,500.00 higher than the City's last offer?
- Dog/Animal Bites--Overview (FindLaw)
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- Dog Bite/Animal Attacks (FindLaw)
- Dog/Animal Bites--FAQ (FindLaw) | <urn:uuid:84fbd9c1-406d-475a-bbb7-adf5455b4e82> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2011/05/st-paul-settles-with-k-9-bite-victim-16.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943702 | 506 | 1.5 | 2 |
Let us now praise famous geneticists. President Obama did the right thing Thursday by nominating Dr. Francis Collins, the "genome guru" in the mellifluous words of the Associated Press, to head the National Institutes of Health. Collins is highly likely to receive Senate confirmation and become one of the world's most influential scientists, with an annual budget of almost $30 billion to use in support of human flourishing.
Collins, 59, is best known for directing the successful effort to sequence the humane genome, the DNA that makes up the human physical blueprint. But there's more: Earlier this year, I heard him before a sophisticated New York audience speak of his personal faith in Christ, and he did so credibly and winsomely. He said it would require more faith not to believe in "a designed universe" than to see it as God-made.
So, is Collins a proponent of Intelligent Design (ID)? Perish the thought! Yes, he speaks of "pointers to God from nature," including "the precise tuning of 15 physical constants-if you tweak their values by a tiny fraction, it doesn't work." But he takes pains to argue for "theistic evolution" and recently set up the BioLogos Foundation, funded with a Templeton Foundation grant. According to its website, BioLogos "is the belief that Darwinism is a correct science."
Let's be clear here: Collins is not an atheist like many Darwinians. He told the New Yorkers that "atheism is the least rational of all the choices." He's not a deist: He believes not only that God got the ball rolling, but that miracles can happen, although not very often. He believes in Christ's resurrection. But he doesn't seem to have a high view of Scripture, which is where we primarily learn about Christ's resurrection.
Here's just one example: Collins's BioLogos website declares, "It seems likely that Adam and Eve were not individual historical characters, but represented a larger population of first humans who bore the image of God." Many subsequent figures in the Bible, preeminently Jesus, referred to Adam as an individual: Were they deluded? But I'm not so worried about Collins's theological statements: Many readers can exegete them and come to their own conclusions.
What I and many others need help with is the science. Collins is a busy man, but I'd love to see a discussion between Collins and an ID expert like Steve Meyer, a Cambridge University graduate and the author of a new, highly praised book, Signature in the Cell (HarperCollins). A discussion between two intelligent, influential guys would help all of us to sort out truth from falsehood. | <urn:uuid:de771a48-7f1a-4b23-a50d-35fcec7d9b23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldmag.com/2009/07/theistic_evolutionist | 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 | 0.969188 | 551 | 1.71875 | 2 |
What Does Obama’s Call for Change and Europe Have in Common?
By: J.J. Jackson
Barack Obama’s much touted campaign cries for “Change We Can Believe In” and the response of the everyday citizens of Europe to the recent “no” vote from the Irish are raising the same questions on two continents. What are the questions?
Average Americans are not fully aware of the machinations of their own political system so when it comes to European politics they are largely in the dark. Admittedly most Europeans feel they are in the dark now too since the Irish vote to ratify the Lisbon Treaty was shot down on June 12, 2008.
The short version is that the Lisbon Treaty would set the pace for national elections in the EU that would get them a pres and vice pres etc and thus be governed more uniformly. This of course is not the only provision of the treaty but it is the one that eschatologist and some US political pundits would be most interested in. It is out of the first few rulers or presidents over the EU that the bible’s Antichrist will emerge.
Oddly the cry following the Irish “no” vote to the treaty has been a call for more passion and boldness and of course change. Across the board Europeans are demanding change and some think the change will positively affect not only the EU but the entire world. Some EU citizens have voiced their opinions which run relatively parallel across the board in news and blogs sites to those found in America. Typical are the comments found in news sites like the EU Observer.
“Whatever the result of the Irish referendum, the fact remains that a substantial number of EU citizens are unhappy. The root cause is the EU’s democratic deficit and the solution could be a European Movement for Democratic Change, argues Peter Sain ley” Berry. EUO June 13, 2008
“The succession of crises that the world is currently facing should encourage members of the European Parliament to develop new political philosophies to move Europe and the world along a more sustainable path.” EUO May 23, 2008
In America Sen. Obama’s stand for same sex civil unions and his support for Roe V. Wade are running right along side the impassioned promise from Brussels that it will provide strong no sexual orientation discrimination measures for the continent and its satellite members. In fact those measures and abortion rights are now already entry requirements for new members to the EU.
Besides gearing up for the planned blockade of truckers around the city of Brussels to protest high gas prices it seems Europeans don’t want any intervention from the government regarding their sexual preferences, habits, proclivities or outright perversions. America may be a few paces ahead of Europe in the common-hood of all that is raunchy but the EU and America are more tag partners than competitors.
With Hollywood leading the way with new all gay TV offerings and programs that flaunt everything salacious like “Sex and the City” not to mention the “Lifetime Achievement Award” to be awarded to Playboy’s Hugh Hefner; it would seem America should be checking the world’s supply of latex for condoms instead of oil for our cars.
It is impossible not to hear the echoes of Billy Graham’s now legendary proclamation that if God doesn’t judge America he will have to resurrect Sodom and Gomorrah and apologize.
Judgment; now there’s a word America has all but forgotten. But that’s not all America has forgotten.
Obama’s rallying cry for change may be sweeping the young blood of our nation to a heart that is choked off and undergoing a cardiac arrest just as it did in Mao’s China or Hitler’s youth movements. The now generation can hardly be expected to remember the dangerous conditions that prevailed over five decades ago. They are busy fighting germs, stains, and odors or dealing with the new trendy maladies the drug companies have informed us about like E.D. or America’s collective national sexually bent O.C.D. If there is any time left after that we might be found watching American Idol or attending a lively Obama campaign rally.
With plenty of attitude those who only recently broke away from mom will muster the mood, momentum and misinformation that drives the wave of “change” along its inevitable course. Forget that all waves eventually dissipate or crash violently to the shore. Give us buckets for our slaughtered unborn babies and freedom for our sexual deviance in all its forms and forget the invisible forces of gravity and the waxing and waning of the moon that pulls the ocean around like a dog on a leash.
The most highly educated generation in American history fully understands how unseen, undetected and voiceless gravity moves the mighty ocean around like water in a bottle. But they can’t discern that they are being led willingly by the hidden Prince of darkness pulling the tide of humanity to a day of reckoning. Forget the warnings of the Bible thumpers, preachers and prophets who would interrupt the dance before the music is gone. Change is the keyword, the rallying cry, the secret catch word that when heard calls the crowds to break from the milling and dull repetitions of the slow and tiresome past.
Much like the waves of the ocean are the tasteless repetitive, derogatory and wholly tiresome jokes and allusions to Sen. John McCain’s age on late night comedy shows. Unlike the EU, age discrimination is not much of a problem in the US but it should be. Maybe its time the cowardly purveyors and philosophers of PC let the O word catch up to the N word. It is time to understand that time is still the most powerful teacher known to man and if hindsight is truly 20/20 then McCain comes out as the visionary not Sen. Obama.
In thirty five years of teaching the Bible tenants of the second coming of Christ (eschatology) I have heard the question “do you think he could be the Antichrist” asked thousands of times about dozens of people. Now I see the question being asked about Sen. Obama on blogs and websites and in fellowship halls more than any other name to date.
I don’t believe that he is the Antichrist because according to scripture the Antichrist comes from and rules over Europe. But since the false prophet who aids the Antichrist comes from a completely different nation I am watching Obama’s meteoric rise with that fact in mind.
We who love America and its constitution and original purpose are disgusted beyond measure with what is happening to our nation. We who love God and trust his word are seeing prophecy unrolling right before our eyes. It doesn’t make it any easier to swallow but we are always thankful that warnings were part of Gods grace to us so we wouldn’t be easily deceived or overcome. Christ comforted those who were to see the ugliness of the last days bring the world to its knees with a saying that calls the big cry for change for the sake of change what it really is; a cunningly attractive deception.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. MT. 24:24
Rev Michael Bresciani is an author and columnist for several online sites and magazines. His articles are now read throughout the world. For more articles, news, movie reviews and more visit The Website for Insight at http://www.americanprophet.org
J.J. Jackson is a libertarian conservative author from Pittsburgh, PA who has been writing and promoting individual liberty since 1993 and is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. He is the Pittsburgh Conservative Examiner for Examiner.com. He is also the owner of The Right Things - Conservative T-shirts & Gifts The Right Things. His weekly commentary along with exclusives not available anywhere else can be found at Liberty Reborn. | <urn:uuid:5ad2f136-2d67-47c3-998a-17daabbb1b2f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thelandofthefree.net/conservativeopinion/2008/06/22/what-does-obamas-call-for-change-and-europe-have-in-common/ | 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 | 0.948398 | 1,660 | 1.71875 | 2 |
THE BLEAK I don't spend much time in Halifax. I rent a Sebring convertible—nominally a sports car, in reality a quasi-hearse—and drive to the western shore of the island. Here Digby produces the world's most exalted scallops, and Acadians remain a strong presence despite a nearly successful effort to ethnically cleanse them in the 18th century.
The British expulsion of the French Nova Scotians gave rise to Longfellow's tearjerker, Evangeline, and it's hard to take a step on the North Shore without encountering this theme. The highway here follows the Evangeline Trail. You can shop at the Evangeline Mall. You can buy little bound copies of Longfellow's poem in the most unlikely places—grocery stores, for instance. I sympathize with this, as a Jew: You made us wander, and we're not going to let you forget it.
The exiled French made their way down to Louisiana, where Acadian became Cajun. Those who stayed in Nova Scotia, or returned, share with Cajun culture an indomitable pride in the face of poverty and minority status, and a cheerful addiction to improbable cuisine. Here the defining dish is rappie pie, a heavy potato concoction forged in Vulcan heat and served in roadside shacks. Not bad stuff, actually. Poutine, another characteristic preparation, is generally dire: french fries embalmed in congealing, greasy cheese and gravy.
This delicacy aside, I have a great fondness for all things French-Canadian: those oppressed by Anglo Canada often find personal redemption (or at least wild, Continental abandon) through encounters with the French. It's not unlike white America's complicated relationship to black culture. Montreal, for instance, was the city in Canada where I first glimpsed the remote possibility of not being eternally miserable.
Acadian cheerfulness on the North Shore arises in opposition to a physical environment that is, for long stretches, unremittingly bleak: low, scrubbed land eroded by a tide that is in places the highest in the world. It is a bleak to be celebrated, however; the American poet Mark Strand particularly recommends the weather-bitten churches. I am torn between the weather-bitten baroque (Catholic) and the weather-bitten austere (Protestant): both represent high points in Eastern clapboarding. | <urn:uuid:503be32e-be47-4978-971d-17addbf244ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/canadian-gothic/2 | 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 | 0.935193 | 501 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Kent State University School of Art Gallery Presents “Beautiful Data”Posted Nov. 5, 2012
Exhibition shares the intersection of math, science, technology and art
Kent State University School of Art Gallery will present “Beautiful Data: Technology and the Creative Process,” curated by Director of Galleries Anderson Turner. The exhibition runs through Nov. 16 in the School of Art Gallery.
“Beautiful Data” has been curated in support of this year’s inauguration of the iPad initiative in the School of Art. The iPad is the only materials requirement for students — usually first-year students — two-dimensional composition classes beginning this fall semester. This exhibition provides examples of people who use math, science and technology in an artistic way.
“Many of our students coming in as freshmen have very little understanding of what being an artist means or can mean. If they have any concept at all, it tends to sway toward a more traditional bent,” says Turner. “It is my hope that as our students grow in using technology, they can find ways to integrate aspects of contemporary society into their work. This iPad initiative, launched by Assistant Professor Mark Schatz and other faculty teaching 2-D composition, is an important step for our students and our school. This show has been curated with the students in mind and in the hopes that it will help to expand upon the new experiences they are having this semester.”
This exhibition features the work of Jerry Birchfield, Bruce Checefsky, Ellen Hoverkamp, Fathom and Form, Nathan Selikoff, Nicholeen Viall, Elizabeth Whiteley and Ye Zhao. This group of scientists and artists are using math, science and technology to create results that are visually interesting. In some cases the original intention was not artistic, but the result is visually intriguing.
These individuals and their research have been chosen for this exhibition to inspire imaginations and encourage our students — and all of us — to be open to visual expressions originating beyond the artist’s studio.
The School of Art Gallery is located in the Art Building at 400 Janik Dr. on the Kent Campus. Hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 330-672-7853 or visit http://galleries.kent.edu. | <urn:uuid:ce64e3ef-806d-4419-a696-6618458f67cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kent.edu/news/newsdetail.cfm?newsitem=C16DBD52-C29D-3D0F-261159BB7F11BFFB | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942388 | 482 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Reframing the Mandate
Sarah Kliff points us today to yet another Kaiser poll on Obamacare, which yet again finds that people hate the individual mandate. However, the Kaiser folks also find that some arguments in favor of the mandate reduce the level of opposition:
This got me thinking. I just finished reading Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow, which naturally got me thinking about Prospect Theory, one of my favorite socio-econo-behavioral theories of the past few decades. There's a lot to Prospect Theory, but its most famous aspect is its focus on loss aversion. Most people, it turns out, aren't so much risk averse as they are loss averse: they prefer a sure gain over a gamble for a bigger gain, but they prefer a gamble when the alternative is a sure loss. Bottom line, people really, really hate to lose things that they already have.
This sounds obvious, but it turns out to have a lot of useful and nonobvious applications. And now, I'm wondering how it could apply to the mandate. In its usual form, the individual mandate forces people to take a guaranteed loss. Basically, this is the question people are being asked:
Would you rather take a sure loss now (i.e., be forced to pay for health insurance) or take a gamble that you'll be healthy for the next year and won't have to pay anything?
Put that way, people tend to be loss averse and they dislike the mandate. So here's the question: is there a way this can be reframed into a sure gain vs. a gamble for a bigger gain? If it can, then most people will prefer the sure gain. However, I'm not very creative and I can't really think of anything. It would probably be something along these lines:
Almost everyone gets sick eventually. Would you rather be guaranteed proper treatment when you get sick, or take a gamble that you'll never get sick and you'll come out ahead on health insurance premiums?
That's not very convincing. But maybe the hive mind can think of something better. There's not really much going on for the rest of this week, so this is as good a question to ponder as anything. | <urn:uuid:f7a8883f-24a0-4e6e-9c18-4fc6e5a08778> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/12/reframing-mandate | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976298 | 457 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Super Bowl celebrations don’t have to mean an evening of gluttony resulting in a “food hangover” the next day, the result of consuming too much fat, sugar or salt.
Rose Reisman, a registered nutritional consultant based in Toronto, has some ideas on which foods to minimize during your football-watching soiree.
If you’re planning to dine out or order in, she has plenty of tips for helping make smarter choices in her book “Rose Reisman’s Choose It and Lose It” (Whitecap Books, 2012).
The main reason she wrote the book — her 17th — “is because I watch the obesity epidemic.” She was part of a panel convened by Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews that just handed in a proposal on how to reduce obesity in kids. Reisman is also an adjunct professor at York University’s department of health.
“I realized this is a real problem. And the problem is that you can’t tell people not to eat out because our lifestyle is such that people don’t have the time to be preparing food at home, so I stopped barking up that tree and I said, ’You know what? It’s like the old line — if you can’t beat them join them.”’
Reisman says fast food is a reality of our busy lives. But in her book she explains how to make informed decisions about “better-for-you” options at more than 60 fast-food restaurants, coffee shops and restaurant chains. She lays out which menu items to avoid, which to indulge in and explains why one choice may be better than another.
“You can still have everything you want — just the better choice, is all,” Reisman explained in a telephone interview.
If you’re hosting a gathering to watch this Sunday’s big game in New Orleans, you can control the calories, fat, sugar and sodium in homemade food and offer healthy choices in takeout or prepared items.
“People feel obligated at Super Bowl or big parties to bring the most fattening, disgusting foods ever and you can really try to make up some fabulous foods,” said Reisman. “You can take a flank steak and drizzle on a teriyaki sauce and serve it as a main course and it’s way better for you than the deep-fried wings.”
Many football fans think the day wouldn’t be complete without wings. Opt for a barbecued version rather than breaded and deep-fried, which adds more calories and fat.
Reisman suggests a sandwich buffet with a variety of rolls, roasted turkey, meatballs and lots of veggies. “Let people make their own rolls up. That’s always fun for people to do.”
Most guests will enjoy a bowl of hearty chili. Make it with lean turkey or chicken or extra-lean beef.
“It’s really shocking the difference when you have a medium-ground beef versus lean or extra lean,” said Reisman. “You can jazz it up by adding a little extra cheese at the end, a little low-fat sour cream, some avocado. You won’t notice the missing fat in the beef if you choose a leaner cut. Also you’ll see when you’re serving your chili an inch of oil on the top if you’re serving a fatty meat.”
A lot of people can’t tell the difference between ground beef and ground soy, which doesn’t contain saturated fat, an unhealthy fat that’s naturally found in foods from animals such as fatty cuts of meat, poultry with the skin on and higher-fat milk, cheese and yogurt, according to the EatRight Ontario website.
“The foods you want to minimize are piggies in a blanket, anything that’s made with puff pastry — that’s usually a form of lard. Little hotdogs — it’s really not even made of real meat,” Reisman noted.
Salami is not only high in fat but contains nitrates, a type of preservative.
Ranch or cheese-based dips are a killer in calories, Reisman said. Instead, put out hummus, salsa or a light salad dressing with crudites and baked rather than fried chips.
Learn the lingo on menus.
“When you see lightly breaded, that always means deep-fried. When you see the words creamy, puree, ask whether it has butter or cream in it,” she said. “Lightly sauteed” also usually means deep-fried.
Reisman found when researching the book that much of the online information can be deceiving and some websites are easier to decipher than others.
“They won’t tell you they’re not counting the sides or the salad dressing or the roll, so people will eat that meal in a restaurant and have no clue that those extra things aren’t what the calories are showing or the fat.”
The real shocker, she found, was salads. “We were all led to believe, ’Have salads and you’ll be healthier.”’
But the moment a “crispy something” or cheese or eggs are added, that raises the unhealthy quotient.
“The other thing I learned: you never allow them to control your dressing,” Reisman said. Always ask for it on the side so that you can moderate how much you use.
A main-meal salad such as romaine lettuce with vegetables, chicken and croutons can have up to 75 millilitres (1/3 cup) of dressing.
“When it’s a caesar-type dressing most of that is all fat. You’re putting 600 or 700 calories away of nothing food and that’s one of the reasons you’re having trouble with your weight.” | <urn:uuid:8ca2af38-3d9e-4e91-a0b9-eb68e2d0377a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vancouversun.com/health/diet-fitness/cookbook+author+rose+reisman+offers+winning+tips/7893790/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942158 | 1,276 | 1.703125 | 2 |
The digital publishing industry will hit a significant milestone this year when for the first time it will book more ad revenue than all print newspapers and magazines.
The really bad news for print media, even those with robust web operations, is that most of the revenue is going to non-print publishers such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook and others.
In the five years from 2005 to 2010, the newspaper industry in the U.S. saw its advertising revenue fall by nearly 50%, or $25 billion. Where did it go? Part of the decline could be blamed on the recession, but to a great extent, advertisers and readers were fleeing the print versions of newspapers for the web.
Paywalls don't produce enough
As I mentioned in a recent post, many more newspapers in the U.S. are adding paywalls to generate revenue from their web operations -- some 500 new paywalls in two years alone. But they will not begin to replace the revenue they have lost to the digital publishers mentioned above. (See PaidContent's analysis of Gannett's paywall plan.)
Ken Doctor has published an excellent piece in the Nieman Lab blog on the metrics to watch for as print media make the inevitable crossover to digital.
Traditional print media had made such handsome profits for so long and had so much capital investment tied up in their old business model that it was difficult for them to change their own culture and convert to a digital model.
John Paton, CEO of Digital First Media, is one of the few news executives who has made the kind of radical changes that others have talked about. He has taken over two newspaper groups and redefined them as 800 multi-platform products.
In the process Digital First is selling off buildings, trucks, printing presses and other capital assets in order to invest more in the news and sales operations, and focusing both news and sales teams first on their digital offerings.
He has ruffled a lot of feathers with his speeches criticizing newspaper executives, but he has lived by his words.
Whether Paton's tactics and strategies are correct will be tested over time. He is the first to admit that he does not have all the answers. But he has made the digital crossover; the readers and the advertisers have already beaten publishers to it.
More paywalls won't save journalists' jobs
Language barrier helps publisher paywalls
Google takes magic out of advertising sales process
Social media challenge Google for news distribution
Facebook to overtake Yahoo in display advertising
Total users and pageviews are misleading measures of web traffic
Robert Niles: How to Make Money Publishing Community News Online | <urn:uuid:9fdac772-ffd9-4b6e-9df3-c0494da38cde> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newsentrepreneurs.blogspot.com/2012/03/its-digital-first-from-here-on-in-news.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963469 | 533 | 1.5 | 2 |
In Toxic Charity – How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help (and How to Reverse It), Robert Lupton describes the harmful unintended consequences of the way we usually do charity.
In 1981, he moved into the neighborhood where he was serving. On Christmas Eve, he was visiting the home of some new friends.
Mom, dad, and the kids were anxiously awaiting visitors. There was one strand of lights on the small artificial tree in the corner. The nicely dressed people from the suburbs arrived with armfuls of nice presents wrapped so pretty.
In the midst of the unwrapping, the father slipped out of the house. Later one of the kids asked where he was. Mom said he had to go to the store.
Actually, he was embarrassed that he could not provide nice things to his own children and rich people from far away had to take care of his kids.
The message he heard loud and clear? He’s not capable of providing for his family.
In my family, we have the economic capacity to take care of my wife and son on just my earnings. We are so blessed. I could not begin to imagine how much it would hurt me to have other people provide to my son all that nice stuff that I put under the Christmas tree all these years.
I am positive the visiting family had nothing but the best intentions, high compassion for the unfortunate, and an intense desire to make life better for disadvantaged people. They walked away feeling good about what they had done.
On page 32, Mr. Lufton says:
But after organizing these kinds of Christmas charity events for years, I was witnessing a sight I had never noticed before: a father is emasculated in his own home in front of his wife and children for not being able to provide presents for his family, how his wife is forced to shield their children from their father’s embarrassment, how children get the message that the ”good stuff” comes from rich people out there and it is free.
Destroying a father’s sense of manhood. Showing his wife that he’s not a good provider. Creating an entitlement attitude in their little children. How’s that for a great set of unintended consequences?
What’s the alternative? Here is Mr. Lufton’s suggestion.
How about the people in the community organize a Christmas gift co-op? They could arrange for suburban families to drop off all those wonderful gifts, provided so graciously, at the co-op. Members of the co-op could arrange the gifts, manage the operation, staff the store, and sell the goodies. Price them at five cents or ten cents on the dollar. Let members of the co-op shop there and invite people from the community to shop as well.
That way the dad who is barely making a living sufficient to put food on the table can go to the co-op. He and his wife can buy some really nice gifts for a few dollars, wrap them, and give his children Christmas presents that he bought with his own money.
On Christmas morning he will have the joy of seeing his children open presents that he and his wife provided. Thet kids get nice stuff from their mom and dad.
Ladies, you may or may not understand the punch-to-the-gut from this story. The men reading this already got it.
We need to come to terms with the unintended consequences of our charity. There are alternatives. Read Toxic Charity for a new way to see the world. | <urn:uuid:7fd8281e-1174-41c8-a0bc-2f1dd6c3390f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nonprofitupdate.info/2012/01/23/how-to-emasculate-a-man-and-walk-away-feeling-warm-and-fuzzy-unintended-consequences-part-3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982721 | 733 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The Tablets Of Gilgamesh is an album that I was inspired to make after reading the Epic Of Gilgamesh online. I honestly didn't know of its existence until I unintentionally found it on a website describing all the 11 true tablets. The 12th tablet was a blur and didn't seem very believable so I dropped that one.
I read and studied it carefully and was truly fascinated by the story, the fact that it was the very inspiration source for such stories are Homers Odyssey... I felt like it was the father of early literature work, so I HAD to throw myself at it. After choosing how I would explain the emotion and story of each tablet, I noticed that certain story points were a bit one dimensional for music composing, so I decided that some tracks should cover several tablets for best experience of the story.
Hmm... as for style... I love progressive metal and I love symphonic music. I believe symphonic music is the absolute best way to tell a story with music for old time movies, but the tension and diversity of metal adds a certain massive edge to it all. So I mixed the two, and I think it worked out pretty good! I wanted the cinematic imagination of the story to come forth with the symphonic part, and the vicious imagination to come with the heavy metal part... What better way to describe danger than to kick drum your way with a solid energetic flow of sustain.
The Great Flood, the first track, the opening track... I choose this one to open because the story about the Great Flood happened BEFORE the tablets... pretty self explanatory really. There are a lot of returning themes throughout the album, if you listen carefully, I am sure you can find all of them, they really make a stronger unity in the story.
As for the recording process... it's too realistic to be fun, so have fun listening! Thanks for reading :) | <urn:uuid:9f76c258-dfa9-4f01-b98b-3aae6c2bce4c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/danjohansen1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972481 | 386 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Many of us have different views on this issue. The usual context we discuss this in is if Churches should be allowed to exclude homosexuals. A church is not a public accomodation like Kentucky Fried Chicken. It is an organization devoted to meeting the spiritual needs of its congregants. All religions have their points of exlusion and pretending otherwise is naive.
Most of the Christians I know follow the notion of love the sinner hate the sin. The reality is that there are minimal rules of behaior in most religions and in society as well. Our country is governed by Civil and not religious law. Yet the notion of if a house of worship as a private organization has the right to determine who its members are is a matter of a different sort. A church does have the right to determine who is a member. One can choose another Church with a less restricive view of scripture.
The Duck sees nothing wrog with freedom of association when a Communist school takes the unprecedented step of interviewing parents. The Duck sees nothing sinister about placing prospective parents through a litmus test. The fact that the religious schools he scoffs at are less elitist has gone over the Ducks head. A religious school like a college interviews people based on ability. The students ability is the sole critera for admission.
People like the Duck tend to ignore communist elitism . The admission process at the notorious Elizabeth Irwin School of treason resembles an elite prep school more than a Yeshiva. Religious school do not need empty words about the working class because most of their students are from the working class.
Beamish in 08 | <urn:uuid:46441bfb-ce2c-498f-8dcb-53d55f5fae55> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thebeakspeaks.blogspot.com/2007/03/freedom-of-association-and-hypocrisy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959151 | 327 | 1.710938 | 2 |
For it has pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
Treasury of Scripture
Acts 11:27-30 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem to Antioch...
2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15 Moreover, brothers, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia...
Galatians 6:6-10 Let him that is taught in the word communicate to him that teaches in all good things...
Proverbs 14:21,31 He that despises his neighbor sins: but he that has mercy on the poor, happy is he...
Proverbs 17:5 Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
Zechariah 11:7,11 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took to me two staves; the one I called Beauty...
Matthew 25:40 And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers...
Matthew 26:11 For you have the poor always with you; but me you have not always.
Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be you poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
Luke 14:13 But when you make a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
1 Corinthians 16:15 I beseech you, brothers, (you know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first fruits of Achaia...
2 Corinthians 9:12 For the administration of this service not only supplies the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings to God;
Philemon 1:5 Hearing of your love and faith, which you have toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints;
James 2:5,6 Listen, my beloved brothers, Has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith...
ContextPaul's Plan to Visit Spain and Rome
23But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come to you; 24Whenever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. 25But now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. 26For it has pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. 27It has pleased them truly; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in carnal things. 28When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain. 29And I am sure that, when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. 30Now I beseech you, brothers, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; 31That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 32That I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. 33Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Parallel VersesAmerican Standard Version
For it hath been the good pleasure of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints that are at Jerusalem.
For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a contribution for the poor of the saints that are in Jerusalem.
Darby Bible Translation
for Macedonia and Achaia have been well pleased to make a certain contribution for the poor of the saints who are in Jerusalem.
King James Bible
For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
Young's Literal Translation
for it pleased Macedonia and Achaia well to make a certain contribution for the poor of the saints who are in Jerusalem; | <urn:uuid:e8198971-3491-409a-85f4-1a108b9345a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://biblebrowser.com/romans/15-26.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963684 | 932 | 1.632813 | 2 |
"...as Trichet started to speak, his ECB troops stepped into the market to buy as many peripheral bonds as they could, particularly Portugal and Ireland. Started evidently in bidding for 10 -25 mln € clips and then moved onto 100 mln € clips … which is very rare indeed."
"Spain's former leader Felipe Gonzalez warned that unless the European Central Bank steps into the market with mass bond purchases, the EMU system will lurch from one emergency to the next until it blows up....
Arturo de Frias, from Evolution Securities, said the eurozone will have to move rapidly to some sort of fiscal union to prevent an EMU-break up and massive losses on €1.2 trillion of debt lent by northern banks to the southern states....The market will keep selling until the yields of Spanish and Italian bonds (and perhaps Belgian and French also) reach sufficiently horrendous levels. ("Mounting calls for 'nuclear response' to save monetary union", Telegraph)
"If Europe is going to "resolve" the current crisis in an orderly way, it is going to have to move very quickly – not just for the obvious financial reasons, but for much narrower political reasons. I am pretty sure that the evolution of European politics over the next few years will make an orderly solution progressively more difficult.For ten years I have used mainly an economic argument to explain why I believed the euro would have great difficulty surviving more than a decade or two. It seemed to me that the lack or fiscal centrality and full labor mobility (and even some frictional limits on capital mobility) would create distortions among countries that could not be resolved except by unacceptably high levels of debt and unemployment or by abandoning the euro. My skepticism was strengthened by the historical argument – no fiscally fragmented currency union had ever survived a real global liquidity contraction…...The eurozone is maneuvering itself into a position where it confronts the choice between two alternatives considered "unimaginable": fiscal union or break-up." ("The rough politics of European adjustment", Michael Pettis, China Financial Markets)
"The Irish "program" solves exactly nothing – it simply kicks the can down the road. A public debt that will now top out at around 130 per cent of GDP has not been reduced by a single cent. The interest payments that the Irish sovereign will have to make have not been reduced by a single cent, given the rate of 5.8% on the international loan. After a couple of years, not just interest but also principal is supposed to begin to be repaid. Ireland will be transferring nearly 10 per cent of its national income as reparations to the bondholders, year after painful year.
This is not politically sustainable, as anyone who remembers Germany's own experience with World War I reparations should know. A populist backlash is inevitable. The Commission, the ECB and the German Government have set the stage for a situation where Ireland's new government, once formed early next year, rejects the budget negotiated by its predecessor. Do Mr. Trichet and Mrs. Merkel have a contingency plan for this?" ("Ireland's Reparations Burden", Barry Eichengreen, The Irish Economy)
"...given the debt burdens in the periphery, some combination of monetisation and default is the most likely eventual scenario for Europe. Ireland, for example, cannot grow nominal GDP at or above the 5.8% interest rate on offer under the bailout terms. Unless the country sheds its bank debt guarantee as I recommend, default is likely. Therefore, the ECB will have to step in or Europe will risk a meltdown and dissolution." ("Brynjolfsson bets on spread convergence...", Edward Harrison, Credit Writedowns)
"What should be done now? My ideal solution “from the perspective of the euro zone“ would be a common bond to cover all sovereign debt to be followed by the establishment of a small fiscal union; furthermore, banks should be taken out of the hands of national governments and put under the wings of the European Financial Stability Facility. That would clearly solve the problem.
If this is not going to happen, what can Ireland do unilaterally now?...First, Ireland should revoke the full guarantee of the banking system, and convert senior and subordinate bondholders into equity holders." ("Will it work? No. What can Ireland do? Remove the bank guarantee and default", Wolfgang Münchau, The Irish Times)Sure, the experts know what needs to be done, but nothing will come of it. German voters will never support stronger ties with the other EU nations which they have already dismissed as profligate spenders. Nor will the other countries surrender more of their own sovereignty when they see how Ireland and Greece have been treated. That means, the EU is probably headed for the dumpster. And, maybe, that's a good thing. After all, behind all the public relations hoopla, the real goal of the EU was always to create Corporatopia, a place where bankers, business chieftains and other elites lined their pockets while calling the shots. Just look at the Lisbon Treaty fiasco back in 2008, when the EU's corporate Mafia used every trick in the book to push through an agreement that ran roughshod over basic democratic principles and civil rights. Fortunately, the Irish people saw through the ruse and sent the Treaty to defeat. Here's what a spokesperson for the "No Campaign" said at the time:
"The Irish people have spoken. Contrary to the predictions of social and political turmoil, we believe that hundreds of millions of people across Europe will welcome the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. This vote shows the gulf that exists between the politicians and the elites of Europe, and the opinions of the people. As in France and the Netherlands, the political leaders and the establishment have done everything they could to push this through – and they have failed. The proposals to further reduce democracy, to militarize the EU and to let private business take over public services have been rejected. Lisbon is dead. Along with the EU Constitution from which it came, it should now be buried." | <urn:uuid:2841c4e3-3ab7-45bf-b935-cab0b98817e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://webabuser.blogspot.com/2010_12_06_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956436 | 1,271 | 1.609375 | 2 |
0844 493 2201
The garden of Greenbank House is an educational garden to inspire and educate visitors on how to grow a very wide range of more unusual plants which are available in the trade.
A wide collection of Narcissus, currently 447 different named forms are grown here
Various plant trials are conducted here for 'Gardening Which?' (The horticultural arm of the Consumers’ Association)
The National Collection of Bergenia (108 named forms)
Over 3,700 different plant forms currently on the stock record
The Walled Garden is divided into 30+ domestic-sized themed gardens including seasons, colours and senses
Garden, parklands or rural site
FREE to members - Join NowAdult £5.50, Family £15, Single Parent £10, Concession £4
Two assisted-use wheelchairs are available for visitors. There are 8 steps to the door of the house, then it is level. (Upper floor not open). Gentle slopes in garden with mainly lawn grass paths.WCs are in the courtyard adjacent to reception/shop/tearoom. The shop and tearoom have level access. Sections of the garden are planted with scented/textured plants and there is sound from water features. | <urn:uuid:e05105b7-66dc-4187-892b-95155e826a20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.culture24.org.uk/am374950 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934347 | 268 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Get ready for an Arctic blast! Cold winds to blow snow showers in from the north as temperatures dive by more than 10C
- Thick fog to make way for frosts, snow and sleet by the weekend
- Gritters stocking up supplies in readiness for imminent cold snap
- Daytime temperatures are not expected to reach double figures
- Eighteen flights cancelled at London City airport due to fog today
- Brings number of aborted flights in south-east to 300 since Monday
Days of thick fog, mist and cloud shrouding Britain are set to be blown away by Arctic winds that will freeze most of the country by the weekend.
Gritters are being readied to cope with a widespread cold-snap, with most of the UK expected to have frosts and Scotland and northern England told to prepare for snow.
The unseasonably warm weather, allowing some areas to enjoy temperatures of up to 20C during the day and no less than 10C at night, will be gone within 48 hours.
Scroll down for Met Office weekend forecast
Stocking up: Redcar & Cleveland Council prepare their fleet of snow and gritting vehicles at the Boulby Mine - the second deepest salt mine in Europe - as snow threatens the region
On standby: Gritters are being readied to cope with a widespread cold-snap, with most of the UK expected to have frosts
Ready to roll: The unseasonably warm weather, allowing some areas to enjoy temperatures of up to 20C during the day and no less than 10C at night, will be gone within 48 hours, say forecasters
But over the coming days forecasters predict daytime highs of just 4C in the north and 8C in the south, falling to -2C in places at night.
That will be good news for children, at least, as half-term tobogganing could be on the cards with snow expected in the Scottish Valleys and parts of northern England.
Forecasters say showers in the north of England and Scotland on Friday will fall as snow and sleet while Saturday will be bright and cold across much of the UK.
Cloud will then build bringing outbreaks of rain and more snow, especially north of the border.
'For most of us, it will be the end of the week before the sunshine returns and when it does the weather will be far from warm,' a spokesman for the Met Office said.
Tough driving conditions: Thick fog reduces visibility for motorists in Loftus, East Cleveland as the first blast of winter is forecast later in the week
Cold snap looms: Days of thick fog and mist are expected to be blown away by Arctic winds by the weekend
On the way out: The fog is set to be replaced by showers in the north of England and Scotland on Friday which will fall as snow and sleet
'By Friday, much colder air from the Arctic will spread across the UK, bringing drier and clearer weather, but much lower temperatures.
fact, daytime highs will struggle to reach double figures by the weekend
and there may even be a few wintry showers across north-eastern parts
of the UK.
'It will be cold and frosty overnight too and for many of us this will be the first cold snap of the season.'
In the exercise, drivers will experience, among other things, skid control, the best ways of spreading salt and how to 'read' the weather.
Meanwhile, ongoing poor visibility has led to another slew of disrupted flights, both inbound and outbound, with airports such as London City, Luton and Leeds Bradford affected.
Eighteen flights were cancelled at London City airport today, bringing the total number of aborted journeys in the south-east to 300 since Monday.
Gloomy: A three-day forecast which shows how the fog will start to lift by the end of today and be replaced by rain clouds tomorrow
Some flights at Luton were experiencing delays of up to an hour today, but so far has not had any cancellations.
Passengers are being advised to check with their airlines for further details.
Heathrow, however, said journeys were not being affected by the fog.
A spokeswoman said: 'Everything is
running absolutely fine and there have been no delays. There is still
fog here, but operations are back to normal.'
Five flights have been cancelled today, but she said this was likely due to other reasons.
Yesterday, hundreds of flights were
Some Heathrow passengers had been waiting 32 hours for their flights, hundreds were forced to rebook flights and many slept overnight in the airport as nearby hotels were full.
Explosion of colour: Amid the gloom, visitors to the The National Arboretum in Gloucestershire to a spectacular autumnal scene today
Fun times: Theo Howells (green jacket), six, and his brother Zachary Howells, three, play among the stunning autumnal acer trees at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum in Gloucestershire
Fallow the leader: A herd of deer come out in force on a dank afternoon in Windsor Great Park
With snow expected on Scottish mountains and sleet in other areas, the Gritit company is holding a skid-prevention training event at Donington Park race track in Derbyshire tomorrow.
Gritit said: 'With forecasters predicting a significant drop in temperatures this weekend, we are expecting our teams to be out gritting for the first time this season.'
Gritit’s operations director, Nikki Singh-Barmi, added: 'The driver safety training day at Donington is part of our annual preparations for the coming season.
'By the nature of their job, our drivers are required to be on the road during the most challenging and sometimes treacherous conditions, so it is vital they have the skills needed.
'We have a duty of care not only to our team and clients, but also the general public, and by introducing this practical training two years ago we’ve significantly reduced the number of incidents our drivers are involved in.'
A jet sits on the apron at London City Airport as fog swirls around the top of near-by tower blocks yesterday
Passengers have faced heavy delays at Terminal 5, Heathrow, as the airport operated on reduced capacity because of foggy conditions
A survey of nearly 2,000 drivers carried out by the RAC found that 28% were planning a holiday or a short break this autumn.
As a result, the breakdown service said it was gearing up for an autumn 'roads rush' by scheduling an extra 10 per cent patrol hours on October 26 as well as for the expected rise in return-to-work call-outs on Monday November 5 from people who have left a vehicle - often a second family car - unused for a week.
RAC technical director David Bizley said: 'The expected extra half-term traffic will have a significant impact on congestion on the roads.'
The RAC is advising motorists to listen to the weather forecast before making any long journeys and to ensure they are ready for adverse conditions on the road.
It hasn't been doom and gloom in all areas, though.
Visitors to the The National Arboretum, Gloucestershire. Westonbirt, have been treated to a spectacular burst of autumnal colour from its world-renowned acer trees. | <urn:uuid:1dc45807-c4e8-4edc-911f-c93b850d6427> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2222392/UK-weather-Cold-winds-blow-snow-showers-north-temperatures-dive-10C.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962638 | 1,525 | 1.5625 | 2 |
|I, Too, Shall Follow
Author: notwolf PM
Now COMPLETE. Severus copes with life, Death Eaters, and his father in his sixth year. Lucius has his own problems with Narcissa and Voldemort. A continuation of Beginnings of a Death Eater, about 3 years later.Rated: Fiction K+ - English - Drama - Lucius M. & Severus S. - Chapters: 87 - Words: 359,402 - Reviews: 1,097 - Favs: 137 - Follows: 55 - Updated: 05-03-12 - Published: 12-14-07 - Status: Complete - id: 3945566
|A+ A- Full 3/4 1/2 Expand Tighten|
I, Too, Shall Follow
(Please note this story takes place approximately 2 ½ --3 years after The Beginnings of a Death Eater, and is basically a sequel, since the characters and past references are derived from that story. It places more emphasis on Severus Snape, while continuing with Lucius/Narcissa. Severus is 16, in his sixth year at Hogwart's, and Lucius and Narcissa have been married since the summer of their graduation.)
A young Severus Snape huddled in the shadows next to a potions supply store in Diagon Alley, squatting down as he watched people go by. Not ten feet away, a man Apparated with two children clutching his arms, all three of them as pale and blond as Severus was dark. The girl kissed the man's cheek and scampered off. To the boy, he pointed his cane at the bench outside the shop.
In a smooth, deep drawl the man said, "I have business to attend to. Sit there and wait for me, then we'll go get your school supplies."
The boy wrinkled his brow in what Severus thought was the beginning of a tantrum. Instead, he merely said, "You let Aphrodite go off alone. How come I can't?"
"She's fifteen, you're twelve." The cane pointed commandingly once more. Severus noticed the head of a serpent on its end.
Still the boy resisted, which made Severus catch his breath. He'd never dare defy his father that way!
"It's not fair," the boy sulked, unmoving. His unbound, chin length hair swirled in the wind.
In a flash the cane came around to whack him hard on the upper thigh, eliciting a stifled yelp. The man leaned over, face impassive, his hand gripping his son's shoulder in what looked to be a painful manner.
"If I have to take you home, I'll teach you a lesson you won't soon forget," he murmured.
The boy gave a tiny nod, the man let him go. The lad stomped over, threw himself onto the bench, and crossed his arms. His father shot him one last warning look, then walked off. Severus hesitated for several moments as he peeked intently at the blond boy, then he slinked out of the shadows. He reached into his pocket for a thimble-sized tin he always carried with him and thrust it at the boy, who gave a startled jerk at being intruded upon.
"Here," said Severus. "My mum made it. It's really good for taking away bruises."
The boy cast a disdainful glower on the smaller lad. "I don't want to buy anything."
"I'm giving it to you. For that." Severus pointed at the mottled bruise along the boy's jawline. It looked to have been there two or three days.
Slightly confused and disconcerted, the blond boy lifted a hand to the indicated area, which did feel sensitive to the touch. He whirled to view his reflection in the store window, and his gray eyes grew wide with horror. He spun back around, evidently mortified. "I don't need it," he snapped, staring straight ahead.
"I use it when my dad hits me," Severus offered.
This statement had the desired effect. The boy lowered his defensive shield to peer at Severus. "Who are you?"
"I don't recognize the name. Where do you live?"
"At Spinner's End."
The boy shrugged. "Where's that?"
"I don't know. Here." He pressed the tin into the other boy's hand. This time he took it and slipped it into his pocket.
"Thanks. I'm Lucius Malfoy." For a second it looked like he meant to get up, thought better of it, and extended a hand.
Severus shook it, feeling an odd warmth in his chest. He'd always been shy, standoffish, and here he was meeting a boy from the richest family he'd ever heard of! He had a sudden urge to run his fingers over the fine, evidently expensive cloak Lucius wore, but wisely restrained himself.
"You don't go to Hogwart's, do you? No, you're too young," Lucius answered himself. "I'll be starting my second year in a few days. How old are you?"
"I'm eight," said Severus with dread in his voice. Now Lucius wouldn't want to talk to him, he'd think him a baby!
"Hmm," was all he said. He seemed unfazed.
"My mum teaches me magic at home. I even have my own wand," Severus revealed proudly. "And she teaches me potion making."
"I hate Potions class," Lucius remarked. "I'd rather be flying. Father said I could try out for the Quidditch team if my marks are high enough." His mouth twisted ruefully, though his eyes twinkled. "I'm going to try out anyway. Once I'm on the team, he won't mind how I got there."
A petite woman with dark hair and a very pregnant midsection exited the shop. Catching sight of her son, she called, "Come along, Severus."
She didn't even glance his way, she'd already started waddling off in the opposite direction. "I'm in a hurry, son. I'd like to get off my feet."
"Bye," Severus mumbled as he ran to catch up with his mother. He looked back to see Lucius opening the tin, smelling the cream, then delicately spreading it on his jaw.
Severus woke with a start, almost toppling off his stool as he sat perched at the Potions table. Had that been a dream? No, he remembered it well, his first meeting with Lucius Malfoy had happened exactly that way. They'd become friends that day; Lucius had owled him the next morning to thank him formally for the cream, which had completely erased his bruise, and to invite him to visit Malfoy Manor before school started. It was so many years in the past, why would he be dreaming about it now? Odd.
He closed his eyes again, shutting out the drooling ninnies in his class attempting to formulate the stipulated potion of the day. He'd not heard from Lucius for some time, which wasn't unusual, but maybe he should send an owl to make sure everything was alright. No, that was silly. If Lucius needed him, he'd be in contact.
He let his mind drift back to the manor, the first time he'd seen it from one of the fireplaces where he'd come in via floo powder. He'd been astounded that such luxury even existed, yet as often as Lucius taunted others with his wealth, he'd never once in all these years lorded it over him. He'd treated Severus as an equal, which was saying a lot, considering how the Malfoys valued pureblood superiority so highly.
"Mr. Snape." The name was repeated more forcefully a few more times before he lifted his head.
He blinked several times, remembering where he was, and pushed his shaggy black hair off his face. "Yes, Professor?"
The other students tittered and snickered at his apparent bewilderment.
Slughorn pursed his lips in a tiny frown. It wasn't like Severus to drift off during Potions class. "See me after class, please. Miss Evans, can you answer my question?"
"Stir in three drops of distilled wolfsbane in a counterclockwise motion," she rattled off. "Exactly eight stirs."
"What happens if you continue to overstir the concoction, Mr. Nott?" asked the teacher to the boy assiduously following Lily's advice.
Nott raised his head, surprised. Slughorn never called on him! "Um, I…don't know, sir." Nervously he gave the potion a few extra twirls; it began to froth and foam until it spilled like lava over the sides of his cauldron onto the table and over the edge to drip on the floor. "That?"
"Yes, that," sighed Slughorn. He waved his wand to scourgify the mess. Ordinarily he'd make the student clean it up, but with Nott it was best not to take chances. He might end up exploding the place. "Place your potions in labeled vials, you know the drill. Mr. Nott, that's a zero for you. Again."
"Yes, sir," the boy said. For being at marginally above Troll level, he seemed remarkably unconcerned.
Severus, who'd finished, bottled, and labeled his potion half an hour ago, placed it on the desk alongside the rest, which he viewed with distaste. If he didn't know better, he'd swear the oafs had bottled their own urine in lieu of doing the assignment. Then again, he hadn't been watching them… eeewww, he grimaced. Most of the potions didn't even approach the copper sheen it should have, although a few were varying shades of brown or yellow. Only Lily's came close, and if he hadn't been so hopelessly enamored of her he would definitely have found fault with hers as well.
"Severus, come here," said the professor. The lab was empty now save the two of them. "Is everything alright?"
Severus' lip curled as he considered the question. The girl he loved had begun dating the boy he hated more than anyone on Earth, the Marauders made his life a living hell at every opportunity, his only friends were either Death Eaters or Death Eater-wannabes, and Christmas holiday was around the corner, which meant going home to Spinner's End. In a nutshell, things sucked ass!
"Fine, sir," he mumbled.
"I'd like to ask you a favor."
Snape perked up a bit.
"I'm behind on restocking my supply closet. Don't think I'm flattering you to say you're the finest potions master I've ever known, especially for one so young. Do you have time to help me brew some potions this week?"
"Yes, sir, I'd like that," answered Severus, truly honored to be singled out for this chore, and highly complimented besides. Lord knows, none of those other dolts in class would last through a basic stain removing cream! "When would you like me to begin?"
"Whenever you're available. And Severus," he went on, lowering his voice, "I'm sorry about Miss Evans."
"W—what do you mean?" Snape sputtered.
Slughorn began sorting through his students' vials, clucking his tongue and shaking his head. "I'm a man, Severus. I notice things, people—loves, hates, rivalries, they all play out in my class. You and Lily used to be close, now you speak only if necessary."
"That's her fault."
"Nonetheless, the tension between you is plain to see. I feel bad for it." Quill in hand, he rapidly marked things down on a parchment, then handed it to the boy. "Here's a list of potions I need. I'll let you get on to lunch."
Snape wandered out into the empty hall, perusing the list, hoping for something challenging. The concoctions they made in Advanced Potions were ridiculously simple, hardly worth his time, and if he had anything better to do, he would. At the bottom of the list, to his astonishment, he spied Anti-inhibition Potion. The very one he'd brewed for Lucius three and a half years ago, the one responsible for three students being expelled, Lucius nearly being number four. He had no idea they kept elixirs like this on hand! At least it would be a diversion, if not a real challenge.
A hard shove from the side sent him spinning off balance. He struck the wall with a thump and crumbled to the floor, his books and the parchment scattered about him. Sirius Black stood over him, arms crossed, laughing. Surprisingly, none of his cohorts were lurking about.
"So sorry, Snivellus. I guess I didn't see you."
Snape surreptitiously slipped his wand from his pocket. Before Sirius had a chance to catch sight of it, he aimed a silent stupefy at him, propelling him off his feet to land with a thud on his back. He lay there winded, gasping for air.
Severus stood up and brushed off his robe. "I most definitely saw you," he replied, sneering happily. Today wasn't shaping up so badly after all.
Abraxas paced impatiently in the foyer for Lucius, rapping his cane on the floor each step of the way. His son hadn't come down to breakfast, neither he nor Narcissa, and he'd hoped to speak to the young man before leaving for work—without Narcissa around. He loved the girl, she was proper and sweet and everything she ought to be… except with child. His own wife had conceived their first son only four months into the marriage, their daughter three years later, and Lucius three years after that. Surely he'd waited long enough to have this talk!
"Lucius!" he bellowed. "We'll both be late for work!" He realized the futility of shouting through a house the size of Malfoy Manor, but in any event it gave him an outlet for his agitation.
Lucius came sauntering in wearing a satisfied smirk. He was, as always, immaculately groomed, long blond hair pulled back in a black ribbon, robes adjusted just so. "You screamed, Father?"
Abraxas scowled. "Don't mock me, son."
"I wouldn't dream of it," drawled the youth, entirely serious. The very sound of his father's cane tapping the floor brought back a slew of very painful memories. "Did you want to see me?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. I've been putting off discussing this, but now is as good a time as any. I'm not getting any younger."
His son peered at him, not quite sure what he was getting at and wondering what this was a prelude to. "That's kind of how aging works. You get older. You're only forty-six… or forty-seven, I get confused," he confessed.
"Let me start again. You've been married almost two and a half years, and I still have no grandchild. I thought you were so anxious to perform your, ah, marital duties."
Lucius smiled slyly. "Why do you think I'm late coming down?"
Abraxas averted his face, actually blushing. "That's not something I needed to know."
Sensing his father's discomfort, he pushed on, "We have sex constantly, Father. Nearly every day, sometimes twice—"
"Lucius! A gentleman does not speak about his personal relations this way," he said, tight-lipped, embarrassed at his own embarrassment.
"But you asked, sort of," Lucius contended. "I don't know why she isn't pregnant."
"Are you sure she isn't using a potion to prevent it?"
"No! I mean, I don't think so." He thought back to conversations they'd had about children, all of them positive and hopeful. "She wants a baby as much as I do."
"Lucius, you're still here?" Narcissa came in to where she'd heard the voices, brows drawn in a frown. She wore only a deep blue dressing gown, cinched at the waist, reminding the men of Lucius' recent boast. Her husband's eyes lit up and a warmth rushed over him; Abraxas, on the other hand, suppressed the urge to order the woman to dress decently in common areas of the house. She wasn't a peasant, after all.
"Yes, my love," cooed Lucius, taking her hand to kiss it. Had his father not been standing directly beside him, he might have snatched the robe off her and gone for it right there in the foyer. "Father was asking me if you—"
"Son, this isn't the time," interrupted Abraxas.
"If I what?"
Lucius looked questioningly at his father, whose glance bounced back and forth between the couple, then he let out a disgruntled sigh. May as well spill it.
"Narcissa, I asked my son if you've been using a contraceptive."
All sound stopped, save the ticking of the wall clock, which reverberated through the deathly silent room.
Finally Narcissa addressed Lucius. "What did you tell him?"
"I said you weren't, of course," said Lucius, very much wanting to ask if he was right, yet absolutely certain he'd better not.
An icy breeze seemed to waft through the room as Narcissa's blue eyes glowered coldly at the two of them. How dare they stand around discussing the intimate details of her marriage! Abraxas—well, he was far kinder than she'd believed before moving into Malfoy Manor, but this subject matter wasn't something one spoke of in polite conversation! And Lucius should know better than to chat blithely about their love life!
"Might I ask both of you why or how this topic surfaced?" she said with a sweetness capable of producing tooth decay while her eyes blazed daggers.
Lucius literally flinched. He knew that tone, and he didn't like it one bit. His first instinct was to point accusingly, which might be interpreted as a bit juvenile. He was, after all, twenty and a half years old; he was more mature than that.
"Father brought it up," he tattled.
Abraxas shot him a look that very succinctly said 'thanks for covering your own ass while hanging me out to dry'. Lucius cocked his head, shrugging and offering a sheepish smile. "Narcissa, please don't think I'm being nosy or overstepping my bounds. I have no desire to hear about your… lovemaking. I'm only concerned because you haven't yet—typically couples conceive within a year, and…"
"And I'm abnormal," she finished for him.
"No, I'm not saying that."
"But it's true!" she exclaimed, stamping a bare foot on the stone floor. "Do you think I haven't wondered why? It's just like Bella! She's been married for years longer than us and she never got pregnant, either." Her lips started to tremble, bringing Lucius rushing to hold her.
"Honey, it's okay. I'm sure it'll happen," he said softly, crushing her to him.
"What if it doesn't? What if there is something wrong with me?"
"There's not, you're perfect."
Abraxas cleared his throat, drawing their attention. "It wouldn't hurt to see a medi-witch, would it? To make sure."
"Father, please," Lucius pleaded. His wife was already upset, he didn't need a complete emotional meltdown. He had to get to work at the Ministry, and he was already late, which would reflect badly since he'd been promoted from entry level to second tier only a month ago, an honor only familial connections could have bought. Even so, it wasn't that he didn't have time to deal with the issue; the fact was, the expression of hurt on his wife's lovely face made his own heart contract painfully.
Abraxas held up his hands in surrender. "I don't wish to be meddlesome. I'll be going."
"Brax, wait," said Narcissa.
The man halted in mid-stride, his back rigid. On her wedding day he'd invited his daughter-in-law to call him Father or Abraxas; she'd opted for Abraxas. Until this moment, the last person to ever call him Brax had been his beloved wife, whose death eighteen years ago had shattered him.
"You're a healer as good as any medi-witch. Why don't you evaluate me?"
"That's an excellent idea, Father," Lucius chimed in.
Unaccustomed to being blindsided—at least since Lucius had completed his headache-inducing, trouble-ridden schooling and come back to live at the manor where he could be watched—Abraxas looked like a deer caught in Muggle headlights. He wasn't entirely sure whether Lucius was agreeing with Narcissa to spite him or because he honestly felt it was a good idea. He resisted the urge to smack him on general principles.
"Son, I wouldn't feel comfortable treating your wife in that manner."
"But I trust you," Narcissa insisted.
"She's practically your daughter," added Lucius.
"Exactly my point!" Abraxas exclaimed, growing red in the face again. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been repeatedly embarrassed, but he knew he didn't like or appreciate it. "The examination involves touching a woman in intimate ways only her husband should touch her. I wouldn't have agreed to handle Aphrodite that way, either."
"Father, you're being childish," admonished Lucius with a sage shake of his head.
There was a pause, as if determining whether he'd heard right, then the older man's head swiveled toward his son, his astonishment evident. "Excuse me?"
Lucius took a big step backward, dragging along Narcissa, who was still clinging to his breast. Now seemed like a good time to re-think his hasty statement. It may be true, but that wouldn't prevent a pop upside the head. "I mean, we're all adults here. Neither of us would think you perverted."
"Perverted," Abraxas repeated. "Funny how the word jumps to your mind, though."
For God's sake! Lucius grumbled inside. "Father, unless I believed in your skill, I wouldn't let you within a mile of my wife!" The phrase 'Grow up!', thankfully didn't leave his lips. He rather liked his lips the way they were, especially as compared to puffy and bleeding.
"Fine!" his father barked back. "I'll do it this evening, but if you so much as hint, even in jest, that I'm depraved, I'll knock you through the wall!" He stalked past them out the door and Disapparated.
Narcissa stared after him, then gazed up at Lucius. "That could've gone better. You don't think he meant it, do you? About knocking you through the wall?"
With an impish twinkle in his gray eyes, he pulled her in and kissed her deeply. "Yes, my love, he most assuredly meant it." He kissed her again, harder, and pressed his body against hers. If only he had time for one more shag! "I have to go. I'll see you this evening." He stepped outside and Disapparated as well.
To alleviate any suggestion of impropriety, Abraxas had ordered his son present while examining Narcissa, a chore he wholeheartedly abhorred. Nevertheless, he refused to shirk his duty, and had duly performed the necessary incantations and charms while lightly skimming and tapping his wand on her abdomen and laying hands on her in a—to his mind—wholly inappropriate manner. The entire process took no more than a quarter hour. When he finished, he grunted a directive for her to get dressed.
He scourgified his hands, put his wand back in his pocket, and slipped his robe over his clothing. The grim set of his face didn't bode well. "I wish I had good news," he said quietly.
Narcissa, still only half dressed, burst into tears. Lucius, not quite comprehending yet, dropped to his knees beside her to comfort her. When the realization that he'd never have children finally hit home, he clenched his jaw to fight back a torrent of his own. No family, no son… no heir. The enormous weight of the situation threatened to crush him. His brother had died at the age of seventeen, his sister three years ago. He was to be the last of the Malfoy line. | <urn:uuid:db792f7d-d457-4cc4-bc01-68c0cf4d258d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3945566/1/I-Too-Shall-Follow | 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 | 0.988126 | 5,320 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Most of the working class chooses to subscribe to the 9 to 5 paradigm yet many question why they chose this path. If you are stuck in a job you do not like or have wondered how to become a business owner read on. There is more going on behind the scenes than you may be aware of.
First of all you are where you are because you have made the choices to get you there. If you are not content with your circumstance it is within your control to make a change. When addressing change however one must also address the risk associated with that change. In the corporate world as well is in our personal lives we make the changes we do because the reward outweighs the risk. We do not make certain changes because the perceived risk is too great to justify the effort. This is especially true in organizations that have more of a groupthink dynamic in place.
So, the reason you haven’t broken out on your own and started a business is because the benefits of said business do not outweigh what it will cost you to get it going. I don’t blame you, the 9 to 5 paradigm offers many securities that a budding entrepreneur won’t be able to have when starting out. Things like insurance, consistency, and retirement plans work together to make a 9 to 5 a comfortable place to be.
I want to explore this reality a little further by applying the 6 layers of resistance to the proposition of starting up a small business and see if we can conjure up a few more insights as to why the majority of people choose not to break out on their own. These layers come to us from the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and fit into the basic three questions TOC seeks to answer; what to change, what to change to, and how to cause the change.
Layers of Resistance
- Lack of agreement of the problem
- Lack of agreement on the possible direction for a solution
- Lack of agreement that the solution will truly address the problem
- Concern that the solution will lead to new undesirable effects
- Lack of a clear path around obstacles blocking the solution
- Lack of follow-through even after agreement to proceed with the solution
Lack of agreement of the problem
The question of starting one’s own business often comes from circumstance. Think about this for a while, the better you can understand your problem (the thing that got you thinking about starting a business in the first place) the better you will be able to provide a solution. When did you first start thinking about starting a business? What is it you thing a business will bring you? Why do you want that? Before moving forward really try to nail down what you consider your “problem” to be.
Lack of agreement on the possible direction for a solution
A lack of contentment or the existence of an opportunity can lead to a person wanting to start a business but is a business really the direction you should go? When a person finds themselves contemplating starting a business they should understand a business is not the only possible solution. Starting a business can offer desirable outcomes but not always. Is starting a business truly going to solve your problem? How is starting a business going to help solve that problem? Are there other solutions that can solve your problem? For some professionals perhaps a change of company would align them with what they want. Or, perhaps it is a “job type” issue. If you don’t like working with customers perhaps you could work in the warehouse to get things ready for the retail side of things.
Lack of agreement that the solution will truly address the problem
It may be possible that a business could be your answer but is there also any possibility that it won’t solve your problem? For example many people believe a business will bring in the money and the lack of money is their problem. Well, while it is true businesses can be profitable they often require a good deal of startup capital and sometimes aren’t profitable for a few years. So, if say you just had a baby and need a quick influx of cash starting a business is probably not the answer you are looking for.
Concern that the solution will lead to new undesirable effects
Businesses can come with baggage. They require both financial and human capital in order to succeed and managing such capital is in itself a task. Additionally a business exists to fundamentally meet a need, what will be required of you to meet such a need. Small business startups are often service based, and generally speaking you will be the one providing that service so, you will probably spend a good deal of time on your new venture. Liabilities will also be a concern. If you are offering a professional service to others there will be an inherent level of liability put on your shoulders.
Lack of a clear path around obstacles blocking the solution
Whatever the obstacles are for you how you address them may not be clear. To continue off of the previous undesirable effects, you may not want to sacrifice time away from your family so you can concentrate on your venture. Or, perhaps you were looking at something like cleaning windows but have a huge fear of heights. No matter what obstacles stand in your way there are ways around them but it is your job to clearly define these paths and be ready to take them if the undesirable effects pop up.
Lack of follow-through even after agreement to proceed with the solution
Once you have decided that a business is indeed what you need to pursue you will need to put your feet to the pavement and get it done. Nothing will come without a good deal of work so be ready to put in some long tough hours in order to see your vision come to life. This follow through will also pertain to those in your social sphere such as family and friends. They may have supported you up to the point of you actually taking the plunge but once you do you may need to remind them of the sacrifices involved in getting a business off of the ground.
As I look over the above points I sort of feel as if starting small business comes off as an impossible task but I want to stress that it is not. It is demanding, won’t come easy, and will require a lot of time but for those who can put forth the effort I suggest you do so. The above considerations are simply points to consider when getting started which I hope will increase your probability for success. If you can adequately provide an answer to each layer of resistance you will be that much more prepared for the road ahead. Best of luck to you all and let us know how you are doing on your ventures. | <urn:uuid:aedc2da1-42e6-42d4-9c89-1e06d3d7ceda> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shyentrepreneur.com/starting-a-business/how-to-become-a-business-owner-the-layers-of-resistance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968355 | 1,346 | 1.679688 | 2 |
An American roofer made an astonishing leap of faith for a co-worker by jumping into a vat of nitric acid to save his life.
Martin Davis, 44, fell 40 feet into a tank of nitric acid while working on the roof of a metal tube manufacturing plant in Clifton, New Jersey, US, and was in severe danger when he became fully submerged in the waist-high liquid.
Fortunately Mr Davis was saved by the actions of quick-thinking colleague Rob Nuckols, who jumped into the vat after him, pulling him out with the help of three other colleagues. Rescue workers cut Mr Davis out of his clothes and doused him in water to limit burns and he was later airlifted in hospital.
He was said to be incoherent and in shock after sustaining a broken rib, a punctured lung and burns on his legs and side in the fall. Despite his injuries his brother John Davis remained defiant, telling ‘The Record’ that “he will fight right through this”.
“They had him on a breathing apparatus,” he said. “His condition is not so good. But he’s a young guy. He’ll pull through.”
Co-worker Rob Nuckols declined to comment after the incident but told firefighters, “I had to get him out of there”.
Fire officials heralded the bravery shown by Mr Nuckols, who suffered burns on his legs and abdomen in the incident but was later released from hospital. | <urn:uuid:0c8954ba-bec0-4666-be47-7945b6be53a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://omaymen.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/roofer-dives-into-vat-of-acid-to-save-colleague/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988857 | 318 | 1.625 | 2 |
Not the Crime But the Cover-Up: A Deterrence Based Rationale for the Premeditation-Deliberation Formula
Northern Kentucky University - Salmon P. Chase College of Law
August 25, 2009
Indiana Law Journal, Vol. 86, p. 879, 2011
Beginning with Pennsylvania in 1794, most American jurisdictions have, at one time or another, separated the crime of murder into two degrees based on the presence or absence of premeditation and deliberation. An intentional, premeditated, and deliberate murder is murder of the first-degree murder, while second-degree murder is committed intentionally but without premeditation or deliberation. The distinction was created in order to limit the use of the death penalty, which generally has been imposed only for first-degree murder.
Critics have attacked the premeditation-deliberation formula on two fronts. First, they have charged that the formula is imprecise as a measure of the relative culpability or dangerousness of intentional murderers. The premeditation-deliberation formula, the critics tell us, is incapable of segregating out the worst murderers because it is both under- and over-inclusive. In addition, critics have pointed to the courts’ inability or unwillingness to apply the premeditation-deliberation formula in any coherent fashion. Many courts have held that the premeditation and deliberation required to transform a mere intentional, second-degree murder into first-degree murder can be formed in the instant before the killing. Thus do many courts fail meaningfully to distinguish one degree of intentional murder from the other. This second failing appears inextricably related to the first: since many unplanned but intentional murders are as bad as or worse than many planned killings, and their perpetrators at least as dangerous, courts contort the meanings of premeditation and deliberation to allow the most culpable and dangerous murderers to be punished most harshly.
These criticisms are founded on the premise that the distinction between first- and second-degree murder is grounded solely upon principles of retribution and incapacitation. What the critics have overlooked is that there is a powerful deterrence-based rationale for distinguishing premeditated, deliberate murders from those that are unpremeditated or non-deliberate. Where a murder is premeditated and deliberate, it is much more likely that the murderer has not only planned out the crime itself but has developed a plausible way to avoid or delay detection. Because the value of punishment as a deterrent depends in large part on the likelihood and swiftness of punishment, crimes that are less likely to be punished swiftly, all other things being equal, ought to be punished more severely. Thus, given two equally dangerous and culpable intentional murderers, we are arguably justified in punishing more severely the one who, by virtue of better planning beforehand, is more likely to escape or delay detection.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 60
Keywords: Criminal Law, Murder, First-Degree Murder, Premeditation, DeliberationAccepted Paper Series
Date posted: August 26, 2009 ; Last revised: July 13, 2011
© 2013 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This page was processed by apollo5 in 0.563 seconds | <urn:uuid:f03bf3a7-53c0-4955-86e7-2f703375fa00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1461708 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935886 | 662 | 1.625 | 2 |
A joint project between the town and the Fairfield Museum and History Center now gives those interested in nearly four centuries of Fairfield history a way to tour significant historic sites and landmarks clustered around the Town Hall Green area.
New signs erected in the spring provide visitors with some background on the history.
"There are nine all together," said Michael Jehle, head of the Fairfield Museum and History Center. "We worked with the town to obtain some grant funding to do it, and we pitched in some money as well so it didn't cost the town anything."
Jehle said the green has "wonderful history and natural resources and we just wanted to share that background and history and make the town green area a wonderful community area."
He said free pamphlets for a self-guided tour of the historic venues are available at the museum at 370 Beach Road as well as at the Fairfield Public Libary. | <urn:uuid:3027e3eb-db0f-4d99-b413-66509cc876f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fairfieldcitizenonline.com/news/article/New-signs-of-historic-times-in-Fairfield-3847955.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965379 | 188 | 1.75 | 2 |
MONTROSE – When Montrose's curbside recycling program was discontinued for 2012, two local high school students saw an opportunity to help.
Montrose High students Samantha Oman and Kelly O'Meara, members of the school's Family, Career and Community Leaders of America club (formerly Future Homemakers of America), learned in January that the City of Montrose could no longer fund its curbside recycling program, and that pickups had ceased.
The city had provided the free service for three years, and Oman and O'Meara didn't want the momentum behind recycling to die with the program.
It was at that time that they realized they had found a community service project.
"For that club, you have to do a community service-related project to compete at state," Oman said. "We thought we'd help the elderly and people with young children by taking their recycling to the recycling center."
The girls made flyers, set pickup dates and headed into local neighborhoods to promote the project. Interested participants were asked to fill their city-provided recycling containers, and put them on the curb each Saturday for pickup. Extra bins were available through the city.
On their first Saturday, 50 homes participated. Now, there are about 250, Oman said.
"I was a little concerned that it was a big undertaking, but I also knew they were very capable and dedicated," said Leila Koenig, advisor for FCCLA.
Each Saturday, the two girls head out at about 7 a.m. in a mini van sectioned off inside, with cardboard, to provide sorting areas. They currently cover the neighborhoods of Woodgate, Otter Pond, Friendly Hills and areas around Townsend Ave., near Safeway.
As part of their FCCLA project, Oman and O'Meara put together a 45-page portfolio about the project, and created a 10-minute presentation on what they had accomplished and its effects on the community.
"It made us sad that there wasn't as much recycling getting done – and that's a lot of energy being lost," Oman said. "We saw it as a benefit to the community and the environment."
The girls took their project to the state FCCLA competition, where it placed first in a field of two-dozen projects, giving them an opportunity to showcase their efforts at the National Conference in Orlando last weekend.
At that competition, they received a nearly perfect score of 99.6 out of 100 in the Environmental Ambassador category, said Koenig.
"Time was their number one challenge," she said, of the girls’ administration of the project. "But they are very dedicated students, and I think in accomplishing their projects, they were very committed and very environmentally involved."
Oman said she hopes their recycling effort, which they expect to continue until the city relaunches its program, inspires others to help continue recycling in their neighborhoods.
"For people to do something similar in their neighborhoods would really help," she said.
City staff is in the process of negotiating a single-stream recycling contract with Cornerstone Waste and Recycle, its current trash, and former recycling, transfer station.
The city expects to launch that new program by January 2013, but it is dependent on how soon all the essential program elements fall into place, according to city staff.
During the July 17 Montrose City Council meeting, a motion to approve a contract for the purchase of 90-gallon recycling carts failed, 2-2 with one absent, as councilors showed concerns at the possibility that a program couldn't be in place at that time, and buying bins was putting the "cart before the horse."
Staff assured councilors that a program would be possible by that time, but more discussion on the matter will take place at the Aug. 7 regular council meeting.
Kati O'Hare at email@example.com | <urn:uuid:173369ab-3c55-41ee-aca1-22c2d56b134e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marketplace.telluridewatch.com/view/full_story/19452761/article-Teens-Pitch-in-on-Recycle-Program?instance=storybullets2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986143 | 802 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Yesterday was actually the 100th anniversary of Louis Blériot’s historic flight from Calais to Dover, and it was the coverage of the celebrations in the media that reminded me of two postcards in my collection which show the memorial on the spot where Blériot landed.
On the excellent Times Archive website you can view details (from the 26th July 1909 edition) of the preparation for the flight, a report of the flight given by Louis Blériot himself and details of the heroes’ welcome that Blériot received everywhere he went.
The first postcard (above) is a printed example with an illustration of Blériot’s aircraft in the top-left. The second (below) features the same picture, but is a real photographic card. The first one was postally used, with a Belgian stamp, but sadly the date of the postmark is not readable.
These two cards are from my collection of hill figure postcards, mostly white horses, but a few other figures such as giants feature. It was whilst dusting of this album that I got the idea that perhaps I should set up another blog to showcase some of my other postcards, especially my collection of Stonehenge cards, perhaps when I run out of other things to do…. | <urn:uuid:f470aec8-a711-489f-8b26-b7e19a42a96c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wanderinggenealogist.wordpress.com/2009/07/26/100th-anniversary-of-the-first-flight-across-the-english-channel/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=c49b096ccc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971274 | 261 | 1.710938 | 2 |
For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame. 7 For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
Being Serious, But not Sad
There is a big difference between being serious and being sad. The opposite of sad is happy. But the opposite of serious is glib (or joking). So you can be serious and happy at the same time. In fact, C. S. Lewis said, "There is a kind of happiness and wonder that makes you serious." Everybody knows the difference between what a comedian makes us feel and what a friend who lays down his life for us makes us feel. Most people know the deep difference between a day at Disney World and a day at the Grand Canyon.
It seems to me that the book of Hebrews has a special way of making us serious. It is a very sobering book. It is not a sad book. But it is a serious book. If you hear what it says, it blows away glib, trite, trivial attitudes about life. It does this not to make us sad, but to make us unshakably happy in God (see 10:34; 12:2; 13:17).
A Kind of Happiness that will Kill You
One of the ways that Hebrews does this is with warnings about false security. There is a kind of happiness that will kill you. And the book of Hebrews is relentlessly loving in exposing this dangerous happiness and warning us to flee from its deceptions and pursue the solid happiness that will never let us down. In other words, Hebrews is written to deepen and strengthen the joy of our assurance in God, and one of the strategies of the book is to expose false assurances and fleeting pleasures.
That's what we are reading in Hebrews 6:4-8. This passage says that there is a spiritual condition that makes repentance and salvation impossible. And it says that this condition may look in many ways like salvation, but it isn't. And it leads to destruction. And so this text is a warning to us not to assume that we are secure when our lives have some religious experiences but no growing fruit. And the reason for showing us this serious situation is so that we will flee from it, and move to solid ground and lasting joy.
Let's look at the flow of thought. Hebrews 6:1 said, "Let us press on to maturity." And verse 3 said, "This we will do if God permits." In other words, whether we have the grace to overcome our natural pride and rebellion and unbelief will depend ultimately on God.
Now verses 4-8 illustrate this utter dependence on God by showing that there is a situation where repentance and pressing on to maturity is impossible. And since it is impossible, we should shudder at the prospect of being in this situation and we should see how utterly dependent we are on the sovereign God of verse 3.
When Repentance is Impossible
What is this situation where repentance is impossible? It is described like this:
For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame. (Hebrews 6:4-6)
The situation is this: first, someone receives great blessings and has high religious experiences (verses 4-5). And then second, that same person falls away and, in doing so, re-crucifies the Son of God and puts him to an open shame. And then third, it is impossible to renew that person to repentance.
Let's look at these three parts of the situation.
1. There are great blessings and high religious experiences.
He mentions four. First, a person may be "enlightened" (verse 4). Second, a person may have tasted the heavenly gift and become a partaker of the Holy Spirit (verse 4). The heavenly gift probably is the Holy Spirit. Third, a person may have tasted the good word of God (verse 5). And fourth, the person may have tasted the powers of the age to come (verse 5; see Hebrews 2:4).
2. In spite of all these blessings and experiences, this person then falls away (verse 6).
That is, he falls away from Christ and the Spirit and the word and the powers of the age to come. He turns his back on the worth of these great realities and goes after other things with his heart. The effect of this is to re-crucify Christ and put him to open shame (verse 6b).
Why is that called re-crucifixion? There are at least two reasons why this kind of apostasy is re-crucifixion of Christ.
One is that Christ was crucified the first time to make his people pure and holy. That's why he shed his blood. Hebrews 13:12 says, "Jesus also suffered outside the gate that He might sanctify the people through His own blood." He died to sanctify us. He died to make us pure and holy and devoted to him (see Hebrews 9:14; Titus 2:14). So when we turn our backs on purity and holiness and devotion, which his cross was designed to bring about, we say yes to the impurity and worldliness and unbelief that nailed him there in the first place. Which means we crucify him again.
There is another reason this kind of falling away is a re-crucifying of Christ. When a person chooses against Christ and turns back to the way of the world and the sovereignty of his own will and the fleeting pleasures of earth, he says in effect that these are worth more than Christ is worth. They are worth more than the love of Christ and the wisdom of Christ and the power of Christ and all that God promises to be for us in Christ. And when a person says that, it is the same as saying: I agree with the crucifiers of Jesus. Because what could shame Christ more today than to have someone taste his goodness and wisdom and power and then say: No, there is something better and more to be desired. That puts him to a public shame.
It is one thing for a stranger to the faith to resist Christ. But it is another thing for a person who has been in the church and has been enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift and become a partaker of the Holy Spirit and tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the age to come—it's another thing for that person to say after all those blessings and all those experiences: I think what the world offers is better than this. That is a re-crucifying of Jesus and a putting him to public shame worse than any outsider could, who never tasted the truth.
3. Which leads, to the conclusion that "it is impossible to renew [such a person] again to repentance" (verse 6).
We saw an illustration of this last week from Hebrews 12:16-17. There it speaks a similar kind of warning as here:
[Let] there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.
Will genuine repentance be rejected by God? Don't make the mistake of thinking that Esau genuinely repented and was rejected by God. God does not reject genuine repentance. The text says plainly that he found no place for repentance. In other words, he couldn't repent. He was so hardened (see Hebrews 3:8,15; 4:7) that he cried out for things to go better in his life, but inside he would not submit to God's terms. He was, as verse 16 says, "immoral and godless."
This is an illustration of what the writer has in mind in Hebrews 6:6 when he says it is impossible to renew this person again to repentance. This is the terrifying prospect behind all the warnings of this book not to drift but to take heed and consider Jesus and to exhort each other every day and to fear unbelief and carelessness. Why? Is anything really at stake? The prospect exists that you and I who believe we are chosen and called and justified might slide into a slow process of indifference and hardening and eventually fall away and reject Christ and put him to an open shame. We may actually come to a point where there is no return, because we have been forsaken utterly by God. That's what the word "impossible" means in verse 6. and Oh, how it should put you on an urgent pursuit of mercy this morning!
Can One be a "Partaker" and not be Justified?
Now the question we all ask here is whether the person who falls away like this was ever truly "saved" or "justified" or "called" or "born again." Can you taste and be a partaker of the Holy Spirit and the word of God and the powers of the age to come and not be justified? In other words, is this text teaching that you can lose your standing as a truly saved person and be lost? Or is it teaching that you can have these experiences in verses 4 and 5 and never have been saved? Both teachings are shocking and sobering. Which is true?
Without weakening the seriousness and the warning of these verses I want to argue that it is possible to have all these blessings and all these experiences and not be justified or born again or saved. I will mention only five reasons, all of them taken from Hebrews—and there are many more outside Hebrews (Romans 8:29-39; Jude 24-25; Ephesians 1:3-14; 1 John 2:19; 1 Peter 1:5; Philippians 1:6; 2:13; 1 Corinthians 1:8-9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; Ezekiel 11:19; 36:27; Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 24:7; 32:40).
1. Consider verses 7-8. Here the situation with those who fall away is put in a picture. After verse 6 says that repentance is impossible for the apostates, verses 7-8 say,
For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it [this drinking of frequent rains is a reference to all the blessings of verses 4-5: the light, the Spirit, the word the powers] and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
So the picture is not of a field that had life and vegetation and then lost it. The picture is of two different kinds of fields—one is fruitful and blessed; the other is barren and cursed. I think the point is: if we have sat in church with the light and the Spirit and the word and the work of God coming to us and blessing us and even shaping us in some degree, but then turn our back on it, we are like a field without vegetation and will come into judgment. The rain we have drunk (light, Spirit, word, powers) produced no life in the field.
2. Consider verse 9. After holding out the real possibility that some in the church might commit apostasy, he says,
But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way.
The key phrase is "things that accompany salvation." The "better things" that he is confident about are things that always go with salvation (literally, are possessed by salvation). They belong to salvation. So what he is saying is that he believes they really are "saved" and that therefore they will not commit apostasy and be a barren field. They will bear fruit. They will not fall away. The phrase "things that accompany salvation" shows that the writer really believes that they have salvation and therefore will have the things that always accompany salvation: persevering faith and fruitfulness. He does not believe that fruitlessness and apostasy accompany salvation. Better things do.
3. Consider Hebrews 3:14 (and 3:6).
We have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.
The key thing here is the tense of the verb, "we have become partakers of Christ." Not we "will become partakers" and not "we are now partakers," but: "we have become partakers of Christ—if we hold fast our assurance." In other words, perseverance in faith proves that you became a partaker in Christ. Which means that if you do not persevere in faith, it does not show that you fall out of partaking in Christ, but that you never became a partaker in Christ. If we hold fast to our assurance, we have become partakers of Christ; and if we do not hold fast, but commit apostasy (as Hebrews 6:6 describes) then we have not become partakers of Christ. (The same argument holds for the tense of the verb in Hebrews 3:6.) Therefore, it seems clear that this writer does not believe you can be in Christ and then out again.
4. Consider Hebrews 10:14.
By one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified [present tense, ongoing action].
If Hebrews 6:6 meant that you could be justified by the blood of Christ and then lose that standing with God, this verse would seem to have no meaning. It says that for those who are now being sanctified (that is, who are now indwelt by the Spirit and born of God and are growing in holiness by faith), the offering of Christ on the cross has perfected that person for all time. For all time! In other words to become a beneficiary of the perfecting, justifying work of Christ on the cross is to be perfected in the sight of God forever. This suggests that Hebrews 6:6 does not mean that those who re-crucify Christ were once really justified by the blood of Jesus and were really being sanctified in an inward spiritual sense.
5. Consider Hebrews 13:20-21.
Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Verse 20 speaks of an eternal covenant sealed by the blood of Jesus. That is the new covenant which this book has made much of in chapters 8 and 9. The new covenant is the promise that God will put a new heart in us and cause us to walk in his ways and not turn away from doing us good (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:27; Jeremiah 24:7; 32:40). So in verse 21 he says that it is not finally dependent on us whether we persevere in faith and bear fruit. It is finally dependent on God: He is working in us that which is pleasing in his sight. He is fulfilling the new covenant promise to preserve us.
This means that Hebrews 6:6 would contradict the new covenant if it meant that people could be truly justified members of the new covenant and then commit apostasy and be rejected. That would mean that God did not fulfill his promise to "work in them what is pleasing in his sight." He would have broken his new covenant promise.
For these five reasons I conclude that if a person falls away and re-crucifies the Son of God, he has never been justified. His faith was not a saving faith.
What Then Do These Verses Mean for Us?
I'll be very personal, to give it it's sharpest point. If in the coming years I commit apostasy and fall away from Christ, it will not be because I have not tasted of the word of God and the Spirit of God and the miracles of God. I have drunk of his word. The Spirit has touched me. I have seen his miracles and I have been his instrument for a few.
But if, over the next ten or twenty years, John Piper begins to cool off spiritually and lose interest in spiritual things and become more fascinated with making money and writing Christless books; and I buy the lie that a new wife would be exhilarating and that the children can fend for themselves and that the church of Christ is a drag and that the incarnation is a myth and that there is one life to live so let us eat drink and be merry—if that happens, then know that the truth is this: John Piper was mightily deceived in the first fifty years of his life. His faith was an alien vestige of his father's joy. His fidelity to his wife was a temporary passion and compliance with social pressure; his fatherhood the outworking of natural instincts. His preaching was driven by the love of words and crowds. His writing was a love affair with fame. And his praying was the deepest delusion of all—an attempt to get God to supply the resources of his vanity.
If this possibility does not make me serious and vigilant in the pursuit of everlasting joy, what will?
The practical conclusion of this awesome truth is given in next week's text. In the meantime, I pray that you will not be glib, but serious, about whether Christ is your highest joy. If you really bank your hope on him and in him, he will not let you go. | <urn:uuid:a7256f33-4a52-4080-bad0-30bedd0dabc5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/when-is-saving-repentance-impossible?turn_off_admin_bar=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973173 | 3,840 | 1.65625 | 2 |
December 8, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
An agreement signed between the U.S. and Canada will make traveling between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Seattle, Wash., faster and more efficient.
The "Beyond the Border" accord, signed by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama, includes provisions for pre-clearance. That means, among other things, that travelers heading south from Vancouver will no longer have to undergo inspections in both Vancouver and Blaine, Wash. The inspection functions will be consolidated in Vancouver.
From the Cascadia Center's official statement in support of the accord:
By eliminating duplicative inspection functions and increasing the speed of travel between Canada and the U.S., the Beyond the Border accord serves as a long-awaited landmark agreement. ... By December 2012, with pre-clearance a reality, the region will benefit from one - instead of two - inspections, meaning a faster and more efficient train travel experience. The decision is also better for the inspection officers who will be able to consolidate their efforts in Blaine, Wash., to one central location in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In conjunction with the Canada Border Services Agency's decision in August to permanently waive the inspection fee, the Beyond the Border accord points to a brighter future for the Amtrak Cascades service.
The official statement supporting the agreement can be found here.
4:18 PM | Permalink | <urn:uuid:485875b8-7663-4a24-beaa-97ab2a8a7c28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cascadiaprospectus.org/2011/12/us-canada_agreement_will_speed.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933738 | 288 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Poor guy. The apostle who said, "Let us also go [to Jerusalem] with him, that we may die with him.", never gets remembered for that display of chutzpah. The apostle who came around and made that confession of faith, "My Lord and my God", never gets recognized for it. Unless, of course, your music director played the Adoro Te Devote (perhaps as a Communion hymn) at today's Mass. In it, Aquinas wrote those beautiful lines:
Plagas sicut Thomas, non intueor;Deum tamen meum te confiteorFac me tibi semper magis credere,In te spem habere, te diligere.I do not see the wounds, as Thomas did,and yet I, too, own you as "My God."Grant that I believe in you more and more,that I put my hope in you and that I love you.
Of course, today has another lesson within it.
If we satirically label Judas, "The first person to leave Mass early", then Thomas was the first to "arrive for Mass late". Those of you who know people who habitually get to Mass late and then insist on making you get up so they can squeeze into your pew, whisper "Happy Feast Day" to them (it'll make them think). Seriously, today is the day that the Gospel should have a special relevance for them:
- Thomas missed out on seeing Christ in His resurrected glory for the first time with the other Apostles. Yes, he would see Him plenty of times, but never that first time with the other ten. Some opportunities come only one and are gone forever.
- The following week, you can bet Thomas learned from his mistake and made sure he got there on time. In fact, if you read today's Gospel with a certain tone of voice, Jesus' conversation with Thomas could almost have been a chiding of the doubter. In that light, Thomas' response to Jesus could also have been an apology.
On another front, I will be away next week, so there won't be new blog entries. But I'll be back by the weekend, of that there can be no doubt. | <urn:uuid:d607927b-fb4c-497d-95d1-e53a6f63fb20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://youngfogeys.blogspot.com/2009/04/plagas-sicut-thomas-non-intueor.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96941 | 461 | 1.835938 | 2 |
And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.
And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.
And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:
But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.
And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.
Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.
But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.
For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.
For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.
Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:
For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;
And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.
And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.
And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.
And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,
And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.
And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.
And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.
And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.
And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:
Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.
He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.
And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.
And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.
And they did all eat, and were filled.
And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.
And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.
And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.
And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.
And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.
And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.
But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:
For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore.
And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him,
And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.
And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.
Public Domain Software by www.johnhurt.com | <urn:uuid:508fbe44-99ca-4c64-8976-4f69baaeb2d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kingjamesbible.com/B41C006.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991347 | 1,681 | 1.84375 | 2 |
A Kennedy dinner brings Sandy victims together
(Page 2 of 2)
“Most teachers gave the kids a moment to catch up,” DiGiovanni said. “It’s amazing how a tragic event can bring everyone together.”
DiGiovanni and his colleagues Malori Steinhauer and Sarah Cullen prepared food for the dinner, making penne a la vodka with roasted chicken and Caesar salad. Students had baked apple pies, which were available to attendees to take home.
While some food was prepared at the school, other dishes were donated by parents. The local business community also contributed, said Jesse Richheimer, a senior and the vice president of the student government. The school received donations from Piccolo Ristorante, Zorn’s, Bagel Boss and Suburbia Prime Meats. PTA Co-President Elaine Coluccio played an instrumental role in getting vendors to contribute to the dinner, DiGiovanni added.
While helping spread trays of food and drinks before the dinner, Richheimer said that he and other students were looking forward to spending the evening together and thinking about something besides rebuilding their broken homes.
“I like being able to help out the community and get my mind off of what’s going on at my house,” he said. “Everyone is going through a really hard time.”
Steinhauer, a family and consumer science teacher, said she thinks students feel comfortable talking about the hard times after the storm because faculty members have similar stories to tell. She explained that when teachers acknowledged that they were staying with relatives or that their cars were destroyed, students knew they weren’t alone.
Hosting a dinner was a great way to reinforce unity, Steinhauer added. “Kitchens are usually on the first floor, and that was often the area of the home that was destroyed,” she said. “Doing the dinner this way makes your home down the hallway.” | <urn:uuid:53dfd209-3915-4327-8c4e-96bc8bfb93ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.liherald.com/merrick/stories/A-Kennedy-dinner-brings-Sandy-victims-together,44549?page=2&content_source= | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980248 | 414 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Bremen is one of the most beautiful cities in Germany and one of the factors that hugely add to the popularity of Bremen is its old and oval shaped town, surrounded by a river and known as Altstadt. The beauty of Bremen is magnified by the flow of the Weser River by its side, the reason why you would find all the posters of Bremen to be full of eye capturing natural beauty.
There are varied options for putting up the posters of Bremen as they are available as art print, canvas print and framed art. Whatever piece of art you love, from the extensive natural beauty of Bremen, you can have your poster in that particular pattern. The eye catching landscape, the creations of people since several centuries and the enthusiastic people of Bremen are the things that will definitely drag your attention towards having a poster of Bremen.
The town hall also called Rathaus, which is well known for its beauty and fine architecture since 1410, is one of the most popular entities for a poster of Bremen. If you are an ancient architecture admirer, you will sure like to place a poster of the Rathaus in your room. There are certain other architectural beauties in Bremen that would enhance the beauty of your walls on which they have been placed. You will find a number of beautiful statues and squares in Bremen too that would make a great poster or print. | <urn:uuid:70a3e63b-bd0d-469d-9c1a-c248fc5062f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artflakes.com/en/bremen-poster/p/canvas/c/landscape | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972003 | 294 | 1.625 | 2 |
So, for everyone who feels that guns are “a scourge on society,” they should probably take note that firearms accounted for less than one half of one percent of all deaths in 2011. I’m not trying to trivialize anyone’s suffering since death, in any instance, is tragic. However, we have a political class that is dead set in abolishing the Second Amendment. We’ve all heard the figures. Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine features a segment where he reads the butcher’s bill for gun crimes in Europe and Asia, which he then compares to the awful United States. Yes, it’s high. However, it’s hardly enough to push for radical new gun laws. AWR Hawkins at Breitbart wrote yesterday that:
…in 2011, the total number of gun-related deaths was 8,583.
Taken by itself, out of context, that number seems overwhelming. But taken in the context of overall deaths in America from–including natural causes–that number represents only .34 percent of all deaths for that year.
In other words, the percentage of deaths that were gun-related in 2011 does not even equal half of one percent of the 2,513,171 overall deaths for that year.
And if you really want to see how exaggerated the current anti-”assault rifle” rhetoric is, just look at 2011 numbers for the percentage of rifle-related deaths.
That figure is .012 percent of the overall deaths in America in 2011.
Meanwhile, the percentage of overall deaths that were the result of falling off things like rocks and ladders was 1 percent, or nearly three times the percentage of deaths that were gun-related: 26,631 versus 8,583.
Hawkins mockingly calls for ladder control at the end of his post. Nevertheless, this is policymaking. Are we willing to let representatives in Congress chip away at our rights because less than one half of one percent of all crimes involved a gun? | <urn:uuid:d6580ed4-619f-4c90-a6ee-04a96547f2cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/01/16/guns-accounted-for-less-than-one-percent-of-all-deaths-in-2011/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974493 | 415 | 1.640625 | 2 |
FCC chairman bows to corporations on “net neutrality”
6 December 2010
Earlier this month, US Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski set out proposals for new regulations scheduled to be voted on at the commission's December 21 meeting. The proposals, while claiming to advance net neutrality, in reality mark yet another accommodation of the Obama administration to the demands of big business.
Genachowski claimed the rules “are consistent with President Obama's commitment to keep the Internet as it should be―open and free.” Central to the outline given by the FCC chairman, however, was the decision not to reclassify broadband Internet service under the Communications Act as a Type II telecommunications service, which would make it subject to tighter controls. Without this designation, any action by the FCC is open to legal challenge.
The remarks also indicated that wireless carriers would be exempt from most of the new rules, as demanded by Google and Verizon in their joint statement in August this year.
Net neutrality refers to a set of principles designed to prevent restrictions by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and governments on content, sites, platforms or the kinds of equipment that may be used to access the Internet. Wireless Internet, fast becoming the most popular means of accessing the Internet, is still to be exempt from the rules. Not only that, but Genachowski left open the possibility of allowing broadband providers to charge for bandwidth usage.
Genachowski stated, “Reasonable network management is an important part of the proposal, recognizing that what is reasonable will take account of the network technology and architecture involved. Our work has also demonstrated the importance of business innovation to promote network investment and efficient use, including measures to match price to cost such as usage-based pricing.”
Under the framework of “usage-based pricing,” this language opens up the possibility of a multi-tiered Internet with faster speeds for those who can pay and slower, more basic services for those who can't―that is, the opposite of net neutrality.
In the context of the ongoing dispute between Internet backbone provider Level 3 Communications and cable giant Comcast, the chairman’s remarks also expose the fraudulent character of the FCC claims that it will prevent broadband companies from blocking certain types of traffic or applications.
Level 3 issued a statement November 29 that it was being forced to pay recurring fees to Comcast in order to deliver Netflix Watch Instantly content, thus contravening a basic principle of net neutrality.
In the statement posted on its web site, Level 3 states, “Level 3 believes Comcast’s current position violates the spirit and letter of the FCC’s proposed Internet Policy principles and other regulations and statutes, as well as Comcast’s previous public statements about favoring an open Internet.
“While the network neutrality debate in Washington has focused on what actions a broadband access provider might take to filter, prioritize or manage content requested by its subscribers, Comcast’s decision goes well beyond this. With this action, Comcast is preventing competing content from ever being delivered to Comcast’s subscribers at all, unless Comcast’s unilaterally-determined toll is paid―even though Comcast’s subscribers requested the content. With this action, Comcast demonstrates the risk of a ‘closed’ Internet, where a retail broadband Internet access provider decides whether and how their subscribers interact with content.”
As an appointee of President Barack Obama, Genachowski is keen to have some kind of rules in place prior to the Republican takeover of the House in January in order to proclaim the fulfillment of one of Obama's key election campaign promises. Any rules based upon the December 1 statement will, however, will do nothing to protect net neutrality.
The remarks have been received favorably by corporations and lobbyists. National Cable and Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow said that previous negotiations had “produced a rough consensus on a number of points, which we believe are reflected in the order circulated today.”
The wireless industry lobbying group CTIA added, “While we maintain our belief that any action in this area is unnecessary in the dynamic and rapidly evolving wireless environment, we understand and are pleased that the proposed rules have moved away from broad Title II regulation and toward a more tailored approach that recognizes the unique nature of wireless services.”
AT&T, after lobbying heavily against net neutrality rules, welcomed Genachowski's remarks. “While any final statement of position by AT&T must await a careful reading of the actual order and rules when issued, we are pleased that the FCC appears to be embracing a compromise solution that is sensitive to the dynamics of investment in a difficult economy and appears to avoid over-regulation," the company said in a statement.
The five-member commission consists of three Democrats and two Republicans with opinions largely divided along party lines. Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell said that the commission is set to vote to “upend three decades of bipartisan and international consensus that the Internet is best able to thrive in the absence of regulation.” McDowell said, “By choosing this highly interventionist course, the Commission is ignoring the will” of Congress.
Internet rights campaigners are placing hope in the two remaining Democratic commissioners to secure genuine net neutrality rules. The “Save the Internet Coalition” are running a banner add on their web site stating “Demand REAL NET NEUTRALITY―Accept No Substitutes.” The site appeals for people to submit a letter to Copps and Clyburn, stating. “They still have the power to save the Internet before it’s too late.”
To place hopes in any section of the political establishment to safeguard the open Internet is a big mistake. Whatever their pronouncements in favor of net neutrality, the Democrats are no less beholden to big business than the Republicans.
Commissioners Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn have been the most outspoken members of the FCC in favor of net neutrality. Copps responded to Genachowski's statement by again calling for the broadband providers to be reclassified as Title II telecommunications.
For her part, Clyburn said she was “anxious to begin my review of the Chairman’s agenda meeting item that seeks to preserve an open and free Internet.” Avoiding any criticism of Genachowski's remarks, she added, “The Internet is a crucial American marketplace, and I believe that it is appropriate for the FCC to safeguard it pursuant to our duties and obligations. As noted by the Chairman in his remarks this morning, clear rules of road are absolutely necessary for consumers to be protected and for broadband providers and other users of the Internet to be able to further innovate and invest. ”
There is nothing in this statement that indicates opposition to the proposals of Genachowski.
The issue of net neutrality is crucial to the future of the Internet as an open platform. Since its development 20 years ago, the World Wide Web as a democratic platform for free speech has already been seriously undermined by commercialization and censorship laws. Neither side in the contending corporate entities can claim to be upholding democratic rights in the net neutrality debate, and neither can their political representatives, whether Republican or Democrat.
The free and open Internet is incompatible with a system based on the private accumulation of profit and private ownership of key components of the Internet itself. As new technologies develop and new business sectors emerge, there is a struggle for control of new markets and channels of distribution, and the Internet becomes evermore central to this.
For the giant corporations, the Internet is a means to an end―profit. For their political representatives, the Internet as a free and democratic platform is seen more and more as a liability. Alongside the commercial threats to the future of the Internet is the even greater threat from government censorship. As witnessed in the attacks on WikiLeaks, the Democrats and Republicans are united on this central issue.
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Google-Verizon deal undermines push for an open Internet
[20 August 2010] | <urn:uuid:132e85b9-8ff9-4482-a669-f1c26dfff408> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2010/12/neut-d06.html | 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 | 0.949831 | 1,637 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Put the village on hold. For the time being, it’s gonna take a parent, a councilman and a developer to raise a child.
Flashback 2003: Attending the New Partners for Smart Growth conference in New Orleans, I caught the keynote from Larry Beasley, planning director for Vancouver, British Columbia. Now, under normal circumstances, I don’t suppose I’d remember much of what he said but, at the time, my daughter was just over three years old and something Larry used as the overall framing for his making Smart Growth work presentation really resonated with me.
“If it works for kids,” he said, “it works for everyone.”
He went on with a series of slides showing a neighboring child from his downtown building taking to the streets, visiting a shop, playing in a tot lot. I remember being quite inspired by the idea and I imagine others were too, as it wasn’t too much later that “the popsicle test” — the ability of an 8 year old to safely get somewhere to buy a popsicle, then make it home before it melts — became the go-to elevator speech for a lot of New Urbanists making their case.
Now jump ahead to 2011. Just last week, in fact. Doing some work in Canada, I stumbled into a conversation on “the Vancouver model” — typically characterized by the pencil-thin towers that brought new density, and new life, to Vancouver’s revitalizing streetscapes — when something funny happened. “If you were to ask Larry Beasley today, in retrospect, what he sees as the biggest shortcoming of his legacy there,” someone said, “he would say it was the failure to bring kids downtown.”
WTH? (see first image on right)
The ultimate culprit, it was suggested, was that the model of development defining Vancouver in that era was most conducive to smaller unit types that were most appealing to the young, the single, the childless. Not families. But the larger point was this: Even in a place where attracting families was supported, even championed, by local leadership, making it happen fizzled.
Bottom line, doing right by our kids is no small task. And we can’t do it alone. But perhaps we need to redefine exactly who it is we need — especially in the here and now — to help us through.
For too many years, we’ve tried to purchase our way to happiness for our kids and, quite responsively, the marketplace of products and ideas has made it all too easy. Surely a well cared for child shouldn’t have to share a bedroom, right? No problem, just move outside the city and get more house. Need a second income to pay for it? Again, no problem. There are plenty of daycare centers to fill in while you’re away. Afraid your older, unsupervised kids will spend aimless hours outside with nothing to do? Problem solved! The internet and all its associated tech gadgetry will keep them safely indoors with all the entertainment options anyone could ever want.
But what about their well-being, you ask? Fuhgeddabowdit! If you want them well-rounded, with opportunities to explore their interests, just pop open iCal and fill their calendar to your heart’s content. And if you find all the shuttling from place to place seems to steal the little remaining time a child would normally be playing, just swing by McDonald’s for lunch. They’ve got a PlayPlace there.
That may sound cynical, even unnecessarily snarky, but it’s also fair. The Atlanticthis month describes college deans now dealing with these kids, whose every move has been scripted, every moment scheduled, every unpredictability or challenge sidestepped, and every decision made for them. Their term for them? “Teacups, because they’re so fragile that they break down anytime things don’t go their way.”
Maybe I’m in the minority, but that doesn’t sound like doing right by anybody. And I’m not the only one who feels that way.
For quite a while I’ve been following the great advocacy of people like Lenore Skenazy, with her Free-Range Kids movement, and Mike Lanza, on his quest to re-establish the culture of “Playborhoods.” A lot of other parents are doing likewise. These are folks who realize that, for a child, having increasing opportunities to navigate the world around them, explore, invent, fall down, scrape knees, make decisions, screw up, get into — and solve — conflicts and, ultimately, achieve a sense of personal identity and self-sufficiency is a good thing. The right thing.
But you can’t do it easily just anywhere. Place matters. It matters in the design of the streets and the things they connect to. It matters in the variety of uses, opportunities and activities. It even matters in the diversity of housing types. After all, smaller homes or accessory units end up housing people who appreciate, and want to be able to afford, the prospect of being a stay-at-home parent. Or seniors offering options for drop-off babysitting. Not because it’s their corporate value proposition and you’re paying them a thousand bucks a month but because they’re your neighbors and they care about you.
Now here’s the rub: There’s only so many neighborhoods that offer this type of environment and, more often than not, they’re historic. That means, on the lower end, that they often come with crime, poor schools and disinvestment issues or, on the upper end, are cost prohibitive for everyday, middle class people.
There’s just not enough good ones to affordably meet a demand which, as talk ofteacups finally brings down the era of helicopter parents, will only grow over time.
That brings us back to where this post began. Talk of how it takes a village to raise a child sounds — and feels — good but, to make it work, you need a village to start with. Which means you need politicos willing to allow it, and developers willing to build it.
Want to do right by your kids? Then cuddle up with your councilperson until they see the value of compact, mixed-use, walkable, kid-friendly neighborhoods and bake a plate of cookies for the first developer who shows up to build it.
Scott Doyon is principal, director of client marketing services with Placemakers, a planning, coding, marketing, and implementation firm. This article was also published on PlaceShakers and NewsMakers. | <urn:uuid:3c1d4f77-b414-40ed-b616-813c995e86ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bettercities.net/news-opinion/blogs/scott-doyon/14916/smart-growth-smart-parenting | 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 | 0.96563 | 1,427 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Created on Friday, 04 January 2013 11:45
Written by David Lev- Arutz Sheva
President Shimon Peres, who in a speech on Sunday claimed that a large majority of Israelis supported setting up a Palestinian Authority state in land liberated by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War, is apparently behind the times. A poll released Thursday shows that, for the first time, a plurality of Israelis now oppose the “two-state solution.”
The poll, by the highly respected Geocartographia organization, 45% of Israelis are against the idea of setting up a PA state in Judea and Samaria. Forty percent said they support it, and 14% did not respond to the question.
The question was asked as a part of the latest poll by the organization on whom voters plan to choose on Election Day. The poll showed that the Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu list continued to weaken, while the Bayit Yehudi party continued to strengthen. In a defining speech at Bar Ilan University three years ago, Likud leader Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed his solid support for the establishment of a PA state in parts of Judea and Samaria.
In his speech Sunday, IPeres said that Israel had “no choice” but to pursue the “two state solution with Abu Mazen (PA chief Mahmoud Abbs) representing the Palestinians, because he is the only Palestinian leader that agrees with many of the basic thing Israel seeks in a settlement.” Peres added that a “final status settlement with the Palestinians must be completed without delay.
There is clear majority among Israelis for the two state solution. I know Abu Mazen for 30 years. We do not support every word he has said and we have some criticism, but I know the reality, and the reality is that Abu Mazen is the one and only Arab leader who has said that he is in favor of peace and against terror,” Peres said.
Peres was slammed by the Likud and others on the right for expressing a political position on such a sensitive issue, since as President he is supposed to be non-partisan. | <urn:uuid:7c90addf-4def-4b3d-bc7e-faca1b0d2ff6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.voiceofthecopts.org/index.php/categories/news/9534-poll-shows-two-state-solution-losing-steam-among-israelis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970785 | 448 | 1.5 | 2 |
Reporting Tony Hanson
Filed underCrime and Justice, Government, Heard On, Local, News, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Politics, Syndicated Local, Watch + Listen
By Tony Hanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The US Supreme Court today ruled that life sentences without parole for juveniles are unconstitutional, because they violate the 8th Amendment’s protection from “cruel and unusual punishment” (see related story).
The decision — related to excessive sanctions and the precept of justice that punishment for crimes should be graduated and proportioned — could have the biggest impact here in Pennsylvania.
Bradley Bridge, a Philadelphia public defender and veteran attorney, says the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has the most juvenile lifers of any state, by far, and most of them were sentenced in Philadelphia.
“All the sentences in Pennsylvania — there are some 480 juveniles that have been sentenced to life without parole — were the result of a mandatory determination that they must get life in prison without parole because they were found guilty of either first-degree or second-degree murder,” he explains. “There was no discretion to the sentencing judge in that circumstance, and that is precisely what the United States Supreme Court found to be improper.”
The ruling is certainly no guarantee of release, now or perhaps ever. But Bridge says the Supreme Court has ruled that these lifers must be given a meaningful opportunity to obtain release — and that means going before a parole board.
The high court’s 5-4 decision is in line with related issues the court has decided, including ruling out the death penalty for juveniles and life without parole for young people whose crimes did not involve killing. | <urn:uuid:09b8f909-b7a9-426d-afbd-9f754998d377> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/06/25/us-supreme-court-says-juvenile-murderers-must-have-eventual-chance-at-parole/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969944 | 344 | 1.617188 | 2 |
In August of 2011, Brigadier General Charlotte L. Miller, California’s first Army female general, was “involuntarily separated” from the California National Guard for what she feels are invalid reasons. In fact, when the order originally came down there weren’t much by way of reasons even given. At last Miller is speaking out and making some pretty serious charges against Major General David Baldwin, the man that fired her, by testifying before the California State Senate Rules Committee against his nomination to head the Calif. National Guard.
Last June, Miller was informed by The Adjutant General’s office (TAG) that she was being removed from her position and cast out of the California National Guard after over 30 years service and a near spotless record. What made matters worse was that, according to Miller, the TAG cited no authority or statute that authorized her removal nor was any proof of the specific charges made offered.
Miller further notes that her own due process was violated by the sudden dismissal and she says several military statutes were violated in the separation. Miller also reports that she has never been allowed access to copies of any investigations or findings that the TAG claims it based her dismissal upon.
A story in the Sacramento Bee from Feb 14makes all sorts of accusations against General Miller and states that Gen. Baldwin fired her because he “lost confidence” in her. But it seems that many of the accusations contained in the Bee article are incorrect, misleading or flat out untrue.
For instance, the Bee article says that Miller failed to detect crimes while commander of the Recruiting and Retention Command and left the impression that she was the officer that created and implemented a policy called “RIP-O” (Recruiting Incentive Program-Officers) saying that malfeasance was “echoed in her own policy.” The RIP program was not one upon which she had oversight as it was a federally mandated incentive program. She left command for another assignment within six months of the mandate.
Miller also claims she never had any notice that any investigations and findings of fault were made against her during the 2006 program in question.
Baldwin himself has a chequered career. He was allegedly involved in a cover up of the loss of several automatic weapons that ended up being recovered by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, members of his office were discovered altering their timecards in order to hide any “double-dipping” they might have engaged in, and it appears that he’s used state military funds to create new positions for his close associates creating an atmosphere of a crony military.
Gen. Miller says that Gen. Baldwin has violated due process on removals and subsequent promotions and that he’s created an air of favoritism that could paralyze the Calif. National Guard’s command structure. The act of favoritism, Miller says, “is one of the quickest methods to erode confidence in leadership by subordinates.” Cronyism of this type “compromises the strength and integrity of the Guard leadership.”
Miller will appear before the committee this Wednesday.
1:30 p.m. – Room 112 (Room 112) | <urn:uuid:df836eeb-ebf1-43f1-9bc1-b5d7247aa1f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rightwingnews.com/democrats/a-crony-military-jerry-browns-man-fires-californias-first-female-army-general/ | 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 | 0.978997 | 662 | 1.585938 | 2 |
The eurozone has slipped into recession for a second time in four years, as the sharp fall in activity in debt-ridden southern Europe economies weighed on output across the region.
Eurostat's first reading of gross domestic product for the three months ended in September showed a contraction of 0.1% in the eurozone, after a decline of 0.2% in the second quarter -- confirming the 17-nation currency area is back in recession for the first time since 2009.
Efforts by governments and households to reduce debt, rising unemployment and uncertainty over the fate of weaker members of the eurozone are depressing activity.
Leading economies Germany and France managed to eke out modest growth, but the pace of German economic expansion slowed to 0.2% in the third quarter, from 0.3% in the second, confirming evidence of a deceleration seen in export and industrial production data.
France delivered a positive surprise, posting growth of 0.2% compared with expectations for a flat performance. But Italy remained stuck in recession and economists warned that the near-term outlook for the region was poor.
"Today's GDP figures clearly demonstrate that the eurozone economy as a whole is in desperate need of macroeconomic stimulus," ING economist Martin van Vliet said Thursday.
"With policymakers seemingly reluctant to engineer a coordinated pull-back from fiscal austerity, more monetary stimulus and a weaker currency is likely to be needed to put the eurozone back on a path of sustained growth," he added.
The European Central Bank last week held interest rates at 0.75%, citing balanced risks to inflation, but acknowledged there was a risk growth would be downgraded and underscored it stood ready to use the full range of monetary policy instruments at its disposal.
The European Commission has slashed its forecast for 2013 growth to just 0.1%. The ECB issues its own revised forecasts next month.
"Europe's current policy settings seem incompatible with a notable economic recovery over a meaningful time frame, and in peripheral markets the outlook is for depression rather than recession," Nomura economists said in their global outlook this week. "Needless to say, Europe's inability to grow means that solvency concerns will remain elevated in the peripheral economies in 2013."
The ECB calmed market nerves about the eurozone crisis earlier this year with its plan to buy the bonds of heavily indebted governments, provided they apply for a formal bailout program.
The bank's Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program, as the bond purchase plan is known, drove down yields and kept open access to international markets for countries such as Spain.
But spreads on sovereign debt some of the southern European states have begun to widen again recently as investors worry that the austerity measures are becoming self-defeating, meaning fiscal targets won't be met.
The yield on Spain's 10-year bonds has increased to around 5.9%, still below the peak of over 7.5% hit in July, but up from around 5.3% a month ago.
The European Union avoided recession in the quarter, registering growth of 0.1%, after a decline of 0.2% the previous quarter. The EU was helped by a stronger-than-expected performance in the United Kingdom thanks to one-time factors such as the London Olympics.
The Bank of England warned Wednesday that the U.K. economy may contract in the fourth quarter due to the effects of the eurozone crisis. | <urn:uuid:dabce7b9-f636-4b4a-b556-10c24d782e75> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news4jax.com/news/money/Eurozone-slips-back-into-recession/-/475848/17415012/-/juje6iz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960418 | 693 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Mashable takes a look at some of the early examples, and it is good to see that other news operations have been placed on the Twitter Lists of other newsrooms.
Twitter Lists have only been available for a short time and I, like many, put together a list (see @thisfrenchlife/france) but wondered what more could be done.
This example of using a list for breaking news is a great use of the service, but I could also see lists being created for other reasons:
- Conference or event coverage
- Local and national election campaigns
- Meet-ups and networking events
As an added extra it would be a simple task to run the list through the Twitter widget that lets people display their own and others' tweets elsewhere on the web.
It would require someone to gather together the Twitter accounts to place on a list, but it could also help people cut through some of the hashtag mayhem that can occur when people gather round a subject. | <urn:uuid:07f5cc75-42d4-40cf-88f7-7087428c5a4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.craigmcginty.com/news/2009/11/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961088 | 200 | 1.664063 | 2 |
"Using our proprietary technology platform, we continue to make important progress in our collaboration with Baxter, the leader in hemophilia therapy," said Jens Schneider-Mergener, Jerini AG's chief executive officer. "We are encouraged by the identification of these molecules and the evaluation of the potential to treat hemophilia using a non-intravenous therapy with molecules that can be synthetically produced."
Scientists from Baxter and Jerini used proprietary tailored screening and analysis methods to design molecules with the ability to promote the coagulation of blood. Following further analysis, several principal molecules that showed promising activity in mouse models of hemophilia were selected for further development.
Because blood-clotting proteins are large, relatively unstable molecules, current hemophilia therapies can only be administered intravenously, which is an invasive and technically demanding procedure. It is presently not possible to administer these molecules by non-intravenous routes because of poor distribution or rapid inactivation of the molecule in the body. Therefore, potential non-intravenous therapy must be able to reach its target site quickly and effectively without being inactivated in the process.
"We are very pleased by the progress to date in this collaboration with Jerini," said Friedrich Scheiflinger, PhD, senior director of discovery research and technical assessment for Baxter's BioScience business. "This partnership builds on Baxter's rich history of innovation in hemophilia therapy development and underscores our long-term commitment to improving therapies for peo
Contact: Deborah Spak | <urn:uuid:f92e548f-fe56-4ddc-8fcc-4c0fea20bdc9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-3/Baxter-and-Jerini-advance-program-to-develop-non-intravenous-haemophilia-therapy-4208-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931426 | 310 | 1.648438 | 2 |
In the bleak National Intelligence Estimate, the government's top analysts concluded Iraq has become a "cause celebre" for jihadists, who are growing in number and geographic reach. If the trend continues, the analysts found, the risks to the U.S. interests at home and abroad will grow. ...
[Press secretary Tony] Snow said the report confirms the importance of the war in Iraq as a bulwark against terrorists. "Iraq has become, for them, the battleground," he said. "If they lose, they lose their bragging rights. They lose their ability to recruit."
The document has given both political parties new ammunition leading up to November's midterm elections.
For Republicans, the report provides more evidence that Iraq is central to the war on terrorism and can't be abandoned without giving jihadists a crucial victory.
For Democrats, the report furthers their argument that the 2003 Iraq invasion has inflamed anti-U.S. sentiments in the Muslim world and left the U.S. less safe.
I think they're both missing the bigger threat: Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism and a primary source for the ideology of Islamic totalitarianism. Iran has been waging a war against us for decades, from the 1979 taking of American hostages to today's support the insurgency in Iraq (see below). We can't simply make Iraq a "bulwark against terrorists," as the White House put it. We need more than defensive fortifications. We need to offensively take the war to the source.
Also from CNN: Military official: Iranian millions funding insurgency.
A Shiite Muslim militia involved in the warfare between Sunni and Shiites in Iraq has received "millions of dollars" and an assortment of weaponry from Iran, a senior U.S. military official says. ...
The official said that high-grade military explosives and specialized timers are among the "boutique military equipment" moving from Iran into Iraq.
Some of the equipment is of the same type that Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shiite militia, used against Israeli forces in Lebanon during the summer, the official said.
The origin of the weapons was easy to discern because of Iranian markings on it, he said. Because Iran maintains tight control over armaments, he said, shipment of the weapons into Iraq had to involve "elements associated with the Iranian government."
The official said Iran wants "control of surrogates" in Iraq, not an easy task because Iraqi Arab nationalist groups, not pro-Iranian groups, have more grass-roots support.
Iran has "only has a window of opportunity" before historic animosities between Arab Iraq and Persian Iran prevail, he said.
President George W. Bush jokes that he'll study the body language of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf at the dinner table on Wednesday to see how far their relationship has frayed.
Karzai respectfully calls Musharraf "my friend" and "my brother," yet the two are constantly at odds when it comes to how to deal with Islamic extremists. Over dinner, Bush will play referee.
For months, Karzai and Musharraf have been trading barbs and criticizing each other's efforts to fight terrorists along their long, remote, mountainous border.
Under Musharraf, Pakistan was a key supporter of Afghanistan's Taliban militia before it was ousted from power by a U.S. military campaign in late 2001 for harboring Al Qaeda. But it quickly distanced itself from the Taliban following the Sept. 11 attacks and aided the Americans.
Afghan officials allege that Pakistan is letting Taliban militants hide out and launch attacks into Afghanistan. Pakistan bristles at such charges. Without the United States playing mediator, the relationship between the two U.S. allies would be tense at best. ...
Karzai said his government has not stopped the Taliban from committing acts of terrorism because of the country's police and military structures have been weakened from years of war. Afghanistan would be "heaven in less than a year" if it received the US$300 billion (euro236.31 billion) the United States had spent in Iraq, Karzai says.
In a veiled reference to Musharraf, Karzai said some people in the region are using extremists to maintain their own political power like "trying to train a snake against somebody else."
Hot Air has an interesting post: Video: Karzai responds to reporter’s question about terrorism. (via LGF)
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday defended her husband in an ongoing war of words with conservatives over whether the administration did enough to fight terrorism.
The exchange started during a Sunday TV interview in which President Clinton defended his efforts to track down and kill al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
"I think my husband did a great job in demonstrating that Democrats are not going to take these attacks," Sen. Clinton said.
"You know, and I'm certain that if my husband and his national security team had been shown a classified report entitled 'Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States' he would have taken it more seriously than history suggests it was taken by our current president and his national security team."
During his interview with Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday," President Clinton also said he came the closest to killing bin Laden and suggested that his administration took the threat of terrorism more seriously than the Bush administration did before the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Clinton also lashed out against "the right-wingers who are attacking me now," saying the same people had accused him of being "obsessed" with bin Laden.
"They ridiculed me for trying. They had eight months to try. They did not try. I tried. So I tried and failed," he told Wallace.
He added that he "left a comprehensive anti-terror strategy" for the Bush administration.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has taken on former President Clinton, strongly rejecting that notion. (Your e-mail: The Clinton-Rice war of words)
"What we did in the eight months [between Bush's inauguration and 9/11] was at least as aggressive as what the Clinton administration did in the preceding years," Rice told the New York Post in comments published Tuesday.
"The notion that somehow for eight months the Bush administration sat there and didn't do that is just flatly false."
But Rice told the Post that "we were not left a comprehensive strategy to fight al Qaeda."
Hot Air has the video and more.
UPDATE -- Sept. 29: From NRO: Did Clinton Really Give Bush A “Comprehensive Anti-Terror Strategy?” The former president says he did. The record says he didn’t by Byron York. (via TIA Daily)
And from the Los Angeles Times: Clinton Doth Protest Too Much; The ex-president's tirade on Fox News reveals a politician insisting on a legacy he doesn't deserve. by Andrew Klavan.
To put it in his own terms, Clinton has never understood what the meaning of "is" is, the fact that some things happened and others didn't, that some things are true and others simply are not. He believes that his legacy will be created in the spin cycle of history rather than in the fitful but persistent human search for history's truth.
Of course he panics and rages like a child when the spin goes the wrong way, when he is given his portion of the blame for encouraging Bin Laden through his military retreat from Somalia or for allowing the terrorist to escape by refusing to put a kill order on him.
He thinks reality itself is being wrestled away from him, that he can wrestle it back and mold it into the shape he wants it to have.
But he's wrong. That's just "is" being is. That's just "truth" bearing away the victory.
President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan attempted to convince President Bush today that a deal he approved with tribal leaders in one of the country’s most lawless border areas would result in driving Al Qaeda and Taliban forces out of the area, rather than give them more freedom to operate. Skip to next paragraph
Mr. Bush and his national security aides were clearly skeptical, according to administration officials, but at a press conference, Mr. Bush appeared to take Mr. Musharraf’s assurances at face value. Mr. Musharraf knew that there were enough questions in the air about what amounted to a face-saving retreat for the Pakistani Army that he felt compelled to explain, “This deal is not at all with the Taliban. As I said, this is against the Taliban, actually.’’
At the heart of the discussion in the Oval Office was a fear among American officials that Mr. Musharraf, whose political hold over sections of his own country is tenuous at best, is only episodically engaged in the battle against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. That has been an increasingly contentious issue between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Afghan leaders complaining that many of the attacks launched against Afghan targets are originating from Pakistan’s side of the border.
The visit marked the fifth anniversary of the radical change in Washington’s relationship with Islamabad after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, but the uneasiness of the alliance created out of those events was on full display today.
To see more Newsmaker Caricatures by John Cox, click here.
Regular readers will be familiar with our weekly feature Newsmaker Caricatures by John Cox. John has been working on his own caricature commissions, and two of them were just unveiled by the publishers.
American Compass, a conservative book club, commissioned John to create 12 caricatures and the cover for their 2007 desk calendar. The cover and one of the interior caricatures (Alexander Hamilton) are below. You can learn more about the calendar at the Compass Points blog.
Matt Margolis and Mark Noonan have a book due out soon titled Caucus of Corruption. John illustrated the front cover (see below) and the back. To learn more about the book, go to the Caucus of Corruption Web site.
Accusing the Islamic militant group Hamas of backtracking, moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned on Saturday that his efforts to set up a national unity government that is acceptable to the West are "back to zero."
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said Friday he would not lead a coalition that recognizes Israel, dealing a blow Abbas' attempts to form a power-sharing government between his ousted Fatah group and Hamas.
On Saturday, Hamas officials suggested that Abbas had oversold the emerging coalition to the international community, portraying it as more conciliatory toward Israel than it was meant to be. Despite Abbas' pessimism, Hamas insisted a deal could still be struck.
Abbas is to meet with Hamas leaders in Gaza on Monday.
The latest setback comes at a time of growing tensions between Hamas and Fatah, particularly in the Gaza Strip, where some Fatah members have accused Hamas of involvement in the assassination of a Fatah-allied security chief last week. If the rival factions fail to reach agreement, more violent confrontations appear inevitable. ...
Hamas fears it will lose popular support if it softens its hardline positions too much and becomes indistinguishable from Fatah. Recent polls indicate that a majority of Palestinians don't want Hamas to recognize Israel, perhaps as a matter of pride, even though two-thirds also want Abbas to negotiate a peace deal with the Jewish state.
UPDATE -- Sept. 24: From FoxNews: Hamas, Fatah Talks on Forming Palestinian Unity Government Break Down.
Rivals Hamas and Fatah called off top-level talks Monday on forming a Palestinian unity government that might ease crippling international sanctions, the latest indication of difficulties in bridging their ideological differences.
From CNN: Chavez: Bush 'devil'; U.S. 'on the way down'.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tore into his U.S. counterpart and his U.N. hosts Wednesday, likening President Bush to the devil and telling the General Assembly that its system is "worthless."
"The devil came here yesterday," Chavez said, referring to Bush, who addressed the world body during its annual meeting Tuesday. "And it smells of sulfur still today."
Chavez accused Bush of having spoken "as if he owned the world" and said a psychiatrist could be called to analyze the statement.
"As the spokesman of imperialism, he came to share his nostrums to try to preserve the current pattern of domination, exploitation and pillage of the peoples of the world. An Alfred Hitchcock movie could use it as a scenario. I would even propose a title: 'The Devil's Recipe.' " ...
John Bolton, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, dismissed the speech, saying, "I think that [Chavez's] rhetoric today shows exactly what kind of man he is."
Bolton said: "We're not going to address that sort of comic-strip approach to international affairs.
"The real issue here is he knows he can exercise freedom of speech on that podium and, as I say, he could exercise it in Central Park, too. He's not giving the same freedom to the people of Venezuela."
From Front Page Magazine: Dancing with the Devil by Ben Johnson.
Internal repression and censorship have followed [other fascist developments]. A report released last month by Freedom House found: “Venezuela's scores have dropped across the board in all four indicators of good governance addressed in the study: accountability and public voice, civil liberties, rule of law, and anti-corruption and transparency. In fact, only Nepal, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria have experienced a greater net change for the worse.” [Venezuluelan President Hugo Chevez] has, in fact, cracked down on “disrespect for government authorities” (a crime expressed in language evoking another Western hero: Cartman from “South Park”) and has created a “blacklist of political opponents.”
From The Washington Post in March 2005:Chavez's Censorship; Where 'Disrespect' Can Land You in Jail by Jackson Diehl.
[On March 18, 2005] Chavez handed [Venezuela's minister of communication and information Andres] Izarra a still-bigger stick: a new penal code that criminalizes virtually any expression to which the government objects -- not only in public but also in private.
Start with Article 147: "Anyone who offends with his words or in writing or in any other way disrespects the President of the Republic or whomever is fulfilling his duties will be punished with prison of 6 to 30 months if the offense is serious and half of that if it is light." That sanction, the code implies, applies to those who "disrespect" the president or his functionaries in private; "the term will be increased by a third if the offense is made publicly."
There's more: Article 444 says that comments that "expose another person to contempt or public hatred" can bring a prison sentence of one to three years; Article 297a says that someone who "causes public panic or anxiety" with inaccurate reports can receive five years. Prosecutors are authorized to track down allegedly criminal inaccuracies not only in newspapers and electronic media, but also in e-mail and telephone communications.
This cover illustration was for the December 2003 edition of The Intellectual Activist magazine. We first posted it in January 2004; I'm reposting now because of the news item below.
From The Age:Muslim nations must have nukes: Mahathir.
Muslim nations in the Middle East should arm themselves with nuclear weapons to deter Western enemies from attacking them, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said.
"They should have tanks, warplanes, warships, guns and missiles," Mahathir said.
"Yes, they need to have nuclear weapons too, because only with the possession of such would their enemies be deterred from attacking them."
Mahathir, 81, who retired as prime minister in 2003, remains highly respected and influential throughout the Muslim world. ...
When asked whether Muslim nations in the Middle East should acquire nuclear weapons, Mahathir replied, "Well, if you allow Israel to have them, why should the others not have them too?"
In original "The Moderate Mahdis" cover story, Robert Tracinski wrote:
The Madhi [of Sudan in the 1880s] was a wild-eyed fanatic who, the encyclopedia notes, "moved from orthodox religious study to a mystical interpretation of Islam." But his vision was essentially the same as that offered by Mahathir: to strike back at the West and expel the "colonialist" infidels, restoring the original might of the Islamic empire.
Mahathir is, in effect, offering his vision for a new, modern, "moderate" Mahdi -- in the form of a business-suited autocrat seeking battleships, ballistic missiles, and nuclear bombs.
And that is precisely what makes Mahathir and his ilk all the more dangerous. The "extremists" like the Taliban doom themselves to insignificance by the very fact of their consistent adherence to their religious philosophy. But those who can make compromises with the demands of this world -- those who embrace the same moral and religious precepts, but implement them in a more reasonable, practical form -- are much more dangerous. They give their irrationalist philosophy some degree of power in the world.
But the biggest threat to the West is not the moderate Mahdis. It is the failure of our leaders to identify the malevolence of the Muslim "moderates" and see them as a threat.
From Bloomberg:Iran's President, in U.S., Calls Nuclear Issue 'Not Important' by Marc Wolfensberger.
Iran's nuclear program is "not an important subject," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said as he arrived in New York to attend the 61st United Nations General Assembly. ...
Iran ignored an Aug. 31 UN Security Council deadline for the Islamic Republic to suspend its uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to make nuclear fuel or build a bomb, or face possible sanctions.
With Ahmadinejad back at the U.N., it's important to remember what happened last time: The Mystical Menace of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by Daniel Pipes.
When addressing the United Nations in September , Mr. Ahmadinejad flummoxed his audience of world political leaders by concluding his address with a prayer for the Mahdi's appearance: "O mighty Lord, I pray to you to hasten the emergence of your last repository, the Promised One, that perfect and pure human being, the one that will fill this world with justice and peace."
On returning to Iran from New York, Mr. Ahmadinejad recalled the effect of his U.N. speech:one of our group told me that when I started to say "In the name of God the almighty and merciful," he saw a light around me, and I was placed inside this aura. I felt it myself. I felt the atmosphere suddenly change, and for those 27 or 28 minutes, the leaders of the world did not blink. … And they were rapt. It seemed as if a hand was holding them there and had opened their eyes to receive the message from the Islamic republic.
Maybe sparks will shoot out of the top of his head this time.
UPDATE: No sparks. Just the usual morally inverted view of reality. From CNN: Iranian president takes on U.S., Israel at U.N..
From AP: French leader proposes Iran compromise.
President Jacques Chirac proposed a compromise Monday to kickstart talks between Iran and the international community, suggesting the threat of U.N. sanctions be suspended in exchange for Tehran halting its uranium enrichment program.
"I don't believe in a solution without dialogue," Chirac said in an interview with Europe-1 radio. He suggested the international community suspend the threat of U.N. sanctions and that Iran, in turn, suspend enrichment while the two sides talk.
"I am not pessimistic," Chirac said. "I think that Iran is a great nation, an old culture, an old civilization, and that we can find solutions through dialogue."
Upbeat about the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program, Chirac said in the wide-ranging radio interview that he was pessimistic about the outcomes in Iraq and Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region.
And from Little Green Footballs: Chirac Springs Into Action, Expresses Mild Disapproval of Hizballah.
To see more Newsmaker Caricatures by John Cox, click here.
From FoxNews: Pope Says He's 'Deeply Sorry' for Reaction to Islam Speech.
Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday that he was "deeply sorry" about the angry reaction to his recent remarks about Islam, which he said came from a text that did not reflect his personal opinion.
Despite the statement, protests and violence persisted across the Muslim world, with churches set ablaze in the West Bank and a hard-line Iranian cleric saying the pope was united with President Bush to "repeat the Crusades."
An Italian nun also was gunned down in a Somali hospital where she worked, and the Vatican expressed concern that the attack was related to the outrage over the pope's remarks.
Benedict sparked the controversy when, in a speech Tuesday to university professors during a pilgrimage to his native Germany, he cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam's founder, as "evil and inhuman."
On Sunday, he stressed the words "were in fact a quotation from a medieval text which do not in any way express my personal thought."
Little Green Footballs has much more on the Muslim reaction...
Hamas Lectures Pope on Islam
This Just In: Muslims Furious
CAIR Blasts Pope, Invites Americans to Learn About Islam
Palestinians Attacking Christian Churches
Somali Cleric Calls for Pope's Death
Saudi Grand Mufti: "These Are All Lies"
London Arabic Paper: Pope = Bin Laden/Hitler
Misogynist Medieval Murderers Want Pope to Apologize
RoP's Iraq Branch Threatens Pope with Suicide Attack
The Pope's Non-Apology
WELL, here it is, five years late, but here just the same: an apology from an Arab-American for 9/11. No, I didn't help organize the killers or contribute in any way to their terrible cause. However, I was one of millions of Arab-Americans who did the unspeakable on 9/11: nothing.
The only time I raised my voice in protest against these men who killed thousands of innocents in the name of Allah was behind closed doors, among the safety of friends and family. I did at one point write a very vitriolic essay condemning their actions, but fear of becoming another Salman Rushdie kept me from ever trying to publish it.
Well, I'm sick of saying the truth only in private - that Arabs around the world, including Arab-Americans like myself, need to start holding our own culture accountable for the insane, violent actions that our extremists have perpetrated on the world at large.
Yes, our extremists and our culture.
Every single 9/11 hijacker was Arab and a Muslim. The apologists (including President Bush) tried to reassure us that 9/11 had nothing to do with Islam, but was a twisting of a great and noble religion. With all due respect, read the Koran, Mr. President. There's enough there for someone of extreme tendencies to find their way to a global jihad.
UPDATE I -- Sept. 18: We regret misspelling "regretted" in the cartoon. It's now fixed. Thanks to Charles Johnson for the catch.
UPDATE II -- Sept. 19: Well, here's a Phil who really did suggest that Muslims protest against terrorism, not criticism: Stand With Pope Benedict XVI by Phil Orenstein.
But where is the Muslim outrage at the violence, the firebombing of churches, the cold-blooded murder of a Nun, the rampages in the name of Allah over the forthright words of the Pope? Where is the outrage at Iranian president Ahmadinejad’s statement to "wipe Israel off the map" or Nasrallah along with top clerics throughout the Middle East chanting the war cry "death to America?"
If so-called moderate Muslims living in America and the free world wish to appear as all good people of faith whose beliefs can civilly mesh with reason and moderation rather than violence and extremism, they must stand in solidarity with the Pope together with Jews and Christians, although they may dispute his statements. If they cannot mount a show of solidarity, strong enough to confront the radical instigators of Muslim wrath and vengeance toward those who express opinions which may not be to their liking, then theirs is not a faith but an ideology of hate and intolerance that must be condemned as an assault against American ideals and those of all free peoples. They must stand up and make that choice if they are to remain as participants in a civilization that protects the free speech and religious liberties of all.
The 9/11 conspiracy theorists (or "truthers") were out in force at Ground Zero on the 5th anniversary (see photos here, here and here). We touched on this issue in our Sept. 8th cartoon but decided to devote a cartoon to it, as well as compile more links (there are new links below plus the links from the previous post).
Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up To The Facts by David Dunbar and Brad Reagan, both editors at Popular Mechanics, is the must-read book on the subject.
The New York Post published an editorial by Popular Mechanics Editor-in-Chief James B. Meigs that sums up the book: Conspiracy Cranks.
The Glenn & Helen Show have a podcast interview with the book's authors.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology issued a detailed report on their investigation of the collapse of the World Trade Center. The Web site not only has the report but photos and video of various fire experiments and computer simulations.
Democracy Now TV featured a debate between the authors of Debunking 9/11 Myths and the most prominent 9/11 conspiracy theorists, makers of the film "Loose Change." Hot Air posted the video (see final update with four videos).
Screw Loose Change by Mark Iradian is an excellent site dedicated to debunking the "Loose Change" film frame by frame.
This Web site details some of the contradictions in "Loose Change," but it also highlights the crass, sadistic manner in which the filmmaker blames victims for being in on a conspiracy (hat tip Tman in Tennessee). You can hear the comments in this video, also by Mark Iradian, which contrasts the recorded comments with photos that put things into perspective.
It's bad enough that these guys are defiling the very victims of the attacks by laying blame on them and their government. But they are also giving a pass to the Islamic fundamentalists who committed the murders and whose ideological brothers want to continue murdering us. These conspiracy "theories" find fertile ground in the Middle East as this video from MEMRI documents: The Arab and Iranian Reaction to 9/11 -- Five Years Later. One quote from the film: "I have a sneaking suspicion that George W. Bush was involved in the operations of September 11, as was Colin Powell."
And finally, Little Green Footballs posted a conspiracy theorist's personal account of his 9/11 "truth" protest at Ground Zero: The Mind of a Truther.
Some Jew looking dude in a suit came up to me and asked "where are you from?" I said "PA", and he said "you should go back to PA, asshole" and walked away. It took me by suprise, and I started laughing, I thought about saying "you should go back to Israel" but instead just shouted to him "you have a nice day too sir" and smiled.
UPDATE -- Sept. 15: More links:
Screw Loose Change blog has lots more information debunking the movie.
Other notable debunking sites:
Debunking 9/11 Conspiracy theories and Controlled Demolition Myths
9/11 Myths ... Reading Between The Lines
eSkeptic posted a report this week: 9/11 Conspiracy Theories: The 9/11 Truth Movement in Perspective by Phil Molé, who attended a "truther" meeting in Chicago. (hat tip David Tribble)
ImplosionWorld.com has posted an analysis (in pdf form): A Critical Analysis of the Collapse of WTC Towers 1, 2 & 7 from an Explosives and Conventional Demolition Industry Viewpoint by Brent Blanchard. (hat tip Tim Sumner who has additional commentary: Liars descend on 9/11)
Editing changes made by ABC to the first part of its miniseries "The Path to 9/11" were cosmetic and didn't change the meaning of scenes that had angered several former Clinton administration officials, a spokesman for the former president said Monday.
As for Clinton, he didn't bother watching the movie that angered so many people who once worked for him.
From Little Green Footballs: Clinton Hangs with Loony Left Bloggers.
To see more Newsmaker Caricatures by John Cox, click here.
The White House quarreled with Democrats Tuesday over whether President Bush was trying to win political points by using a September 11 anniversary speech to defend the war in Iraq and his war on terror. ...
Democrats, in a campaign to win control of Congress from the president's Republican Party, charged that Bush was using a national day of mourning for partisan gain. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Tuesday that Bush was "more consumed by staying the course in Iraq and playing election-year politics." ...
In the speech broadcast in prime time on the fifth anniversary of the terror attacks, the president described a brutal enemy still determined to kill Americans, perhaps with weapons of mass destruction if they get the chance.
"If we do not defeat these enemies now, we will leave our children to face a Middle East overrun by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with nuclear weapons," Bush said. "We are in a war that will set the course for this new century and determine the destiny of millions across the world." ...
With his party's control of Congress at stake in elections less than two months away, Bush suggested that political opponents who are calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq would be giving victory to the terrorists.
"Whatever mistakes have been made in Iraq, the worst mistake would be to think that if we pulled out, the terrorists would leave us alone," Bush said from the Oval Office ...
While Democrats have been using public opposition to the Iraq war to argue for a change of leadership in Congress, Bush's prime-time address showed how he has been able to use the power of incumbency to command public attention and make his points. Democrats objected to the tone.
"The president should be ashamed of using a national day of mourning to commandeer the airwaves to give a speech that was designed not to unite the country and commemorate the fallen but to seek support for a war in Iraq that he has admitted had nothing to do with 9/11," Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, said in a statement. "There will be time to debate this president's policies in Iraq. September 11th is not that time." ...
[Bush spokesman Tony] Snow noted that Emanuel, Kennedy and other Democrats attacked the speech shortly after the president was finished speaking, suggesting they were the ones who injected politics. "It appears that there had been a desire immediately after the speech to go ahead and make partisan points," he said. ...
Bush delivered a message to bin Laden and other terrorists who are still on the run. "No matter how long it takes, America will find you, and we will bring you to justice," Bush said.
Also from CNN: Bush's 9/11 speech sparks bitter partisan squabbles.
John's alternate title for this cartoon: "Snakes on a Train."
UDPATE I -- Sept. 13: From The Boston Herald: Letter across the divide by Jules Crittenden.
But enough about me.Some questions for you: Do you actually think our own president is a greater menace to world peace and stability than our opponents would be with nuclear weapons?Are we to accept the word of tyrants that they were well-intentioned and not engaged in weapons programs when all the evidence has convinced our leaders and intelligence agencies that they are?
UPDATE II -- Sept. 15: At least one Democrat has a plan for the War on Terrorism. John Kerry offered Five Priorities for Keeping America Secure, the first steps being to "redeploy from Iraq" and "re-commit to Afghaniston" (hat tip Antonio E. Gonzalez). Once, at the very end, Kerry manages to use the phrase "Islamic extremists," which is the only mention of Islam. Hamas gets a passing mention, but conspicuously absent is Iran. The expected multilateralism is there though:
*Work Through Global Institutions. Working through global institutions doesn't tie our hands – it invests in our aims with greater legitimacy and dampens the fear and resentment that our preponderant power sometimes inspires in others.
I certainly don't agree with that assessment, but Bush might.
According to Adnkronos International, the Taliban is now "calling the shots in North and South Waziristan." The Taliban and Pakistan have agreed on a truce that ensures the Pakistani Army "will not carry out operations against them" in North Waziristan. The tribal Jirga confirms this, and Pakistani troops have now withdrawn from North Waziristan.
These truces are fueling the resurgence of Taliban and al-Qaeda in Pak=
istan, and by default Afghanistan.
***Scroll down for video update.***
The statistics from September 11 only hint at what was taken from so many on that horrible morning. Making the death toll less abstract is the Web site 2,996: Honouring the Victims of 9/11 which has organized bloggers to post a tribute to the life of each victim. On this the fifth anniversary, let us remember.
INSERTED UDPATE: In Memoriam: Jim White (A special thanks to Denise Lewis for her tribute.)
Once he took a friend to the top of the Empire State Building. As they looked out across the skyline, Jimmy pointed out the Twin Towers. He said, “One day, I’m going to work there.” There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that he would.
In the book Never Forget, Steven Bienkowski gave his eye-witness account of the World Trade Center as viewed from a helicopter:
"It was pretty clear that people were trapped. There was nobody on the roof. About 80 percent of the roof was engulfed in black smoke. People were hanging out of the building, gasping for air. Some were jumping and others were accidentally being pushed by the people behind them who were just trying to get out of the smoke and get to the air. Everything I've seen in my seventeen years as a police officer became minuscule. The past became insignificant. It was just so much more horrible than anything your mind could have ever conjured up."
Vanity Fair published a story about Mike Rambousek, a father who sees his son, Luke, in the above photograph: The Man In The Window by David Friend.
The photo was a revelation -- even to the photographer. "I didn't know I had that picture until I blew it up on my computer," says Jeff Christensen, a freelancer for Reuters, who took the shot with a 300-mm. lens from six blocks away. "It's only about one-tenth of the original [frame]. In the whole image you can see where the plane went into the building." Christensen, whose shot ran in various publications before being largely relegated to the Internet, estimates that it was taken at a horrendous juncture: 15 minutes after the south tower fell and 15 minutes before Luke's building would do the same.
UPDATE -- Sept. 11: Joe Katzman at Winds of Change has a large compilation of 9/11 links: 9/11 Comprehensive Roundup 2006: Five Years In - And So It Begins...
UPDATE II: Here are a number of must-see 9/11 video links:
Charles Johnson posted a rare amateur video showing the World Trade Center burning and the fate of those inside, and he asks us to Bear Witness.
Hot Air compiled hightlights from CNN's coverage of that day and also posted an incredible amateur video shot close the WTC just after the first attack: Video: 9/11, as it happened.
And from James Lileks: September 11, 2001.
We've added a panel to this cartoon every year since 2002. Sadly this year could have been a repeat of last year, because not much has changed in regard to Iran -- Bush is still waging a war of words, and Ahamadinejad is coming to New York again. Instead, for the fifth anniversary, we're highlighting people who seem to prefer deflecting responsibility for 9/11 over identifying and confronting our enemies.
Little Green Footballs notes that the Council on American Islamic Relations is Pressuring Schools to Whitewash 9/11. Quoting an article from the The Sacramento Bee:
Some Muslims say the texts unfairly paint all people of their faith as terrorists. They say frequent references to “Arab terrorists,” “Muslim terrorists,” “Muslim extremists,” or “Islamic fundamentalists” give schoolchildren a negative impression of their religion.
“Because these terms are repeated so many times, it’s very alarming,” said Maren Shawesh, of the Sacramento chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations. “We don’t want these younger students to grow up with that perception of Islam and Muslims.”
The ABC miniseries movie The Path to 9/11 apparently puts some of the blame for that day on inaction by the Clinton administration. Democrats have complained about the fictionalizing of historical details, and now Variety reports: Pols pound 'Path'; Under fire, ABC mulls yanking mini. Dick Morris has responded to some of the complaints. And even The New York Times praised The Path to 9/11"
I can't comment on the movie, but if it's essentially accurate in the required summation and fictionalization of events, then the movie should stand whether the particulars match history or not. "Fake but accurate" is not an acceptable standard for journalism, but it is absolutely necessary for art. And this is a movie not a documentary.
And lastly, five years later there's no shortage of conspiracy theories about 9/11, one even from a Florida Democratic candidate. It shouldn't even be necessary, but some people are vigilantly debunking of the deniers:
Screw Loose Change by Mark Iradian is an excellent site dedicated to debunking a video known as "Loose Change" that propagates leftist 9/11 conspiracy theories.
MEMRI has just released a new online documentary: The Arab and Iranian Reaction to 9/11 -- Five Years Later. It uses footage from Middle East television and is narrated by actor Ron Silver. One quote from the film by an Middle East columnist: "I have a sneaking suspicion that George W. Bush was involved in the operations of September 11, as was Colin Powell." (See YouTube trailer here.)
UPDATE -- Sept. 11: Michelle Malkin has more on the conspiracy theorists or, as she more aptly calls them, the 9/11 tinfoil hat brigade.
UPDATE II: Hot Air has an excellent video debate between the "Loose Change" conspiracy nuts and the Popular Mechanics editors, who wrote the book Debunking 9/11 Myths. The value of this video is its demonstration of how conspiracy theorists operate, which is to take their subjective, ignorant assertions and cloak them in scientific jargon, all the while presenting no evidence to support their "theories" and completely evading contradictory evidence. In other words, a total disregard for reason.
UPDATE III -- Sept. 12: Watching the bonus video included in the Hot Air link above, I realized that describing the "Loose Change" guys as "nuts" was far too kind. An 11-year-old boy was killed on one of the 9/11 flights. Prior to the flight, the boy expressed a fear of flying, and his father reassured his son about death. Perfectly normal behavior, and utterly tragic in hindsight. Yet one of the "Loose Change" guys takes this as "evidence" that the father was in on some conspiracy. They mock the death of the boy, the grief of the father, and all those who died and lost loved ones that day. The word for that is not "nuts"; it's sadistic.
UPDATE IV -- Sept. 13: If you had any doubts that the "Bush Did It!" seniment existed, see this photo at LGF.
In every single case, we found that the very facts used by conspiracy theorists to support their fantasies are mistaken, misunderstood or deliberately falsified.
From The Boston Herald: Furor at Harvard: Khatami visit part of anti-Israel tilt? by Brett Arends.
A furious row has broken out at Harvard over the decision to invite Mohammad Khatami, the pro-Hezbollah former president of Iran, to speak on Sunday.
And it has revived growing questions about whether the university itself is falling under the sway of anti-Israel sentiment.
"I've been getting e-mails and calls from alumni and students from all parts of the world," university rabbi Hirschy Zrachi said yesterday. "People are shocked and offended. This man has no place speaking at a place like Harvard."
He added: "It is unfortunate that some people don't have the moral compass to condemn evil."
Students within the university are organizing a demonstration against Khatami for when he arrives.
Ruth Wisse, Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature, noted: "The most preposterous part of the invitation is the subject on which he is allowed to speak." That subject: "The Ethics of Tolerance in the Age of Violence."
The dean of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government yesterday defended the decision to invite Mohammad Khatami to speak on the eve of Sept. 11, saying the United States needs dialogue with its enemies.
From Front Page Magazine: Khatami's Academic Enablers by Joseph Puder.
Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government welcomed former Iranian President Muhammad Khatami last week. The current Iranian government led by its anti-Semitic, Holocaust-denying president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has sent Khatami on a “charm offensive” to neutralize America’s resolve to seek sanctions against Iran. ...
Cognizant of the deceptive “charm offensive” by Iran’s theocrats, U.S. Representative Brad Sherman, D-CA, appealed to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to deny Khatami a visa to the U.S. In his letter to rice Sherman pointed out, “ A visit by the so-called reformist president would no doubt be utilized for maximum propaganda benefit by the Iranian government in the current standoff over Iran’s nuclear program.” Sherman added:
Khatami was president of a country labeled the number one state sponsor of terrorism by the State Department every year during his presidency…Khatami showed no interest in curtailing his country’s support for terrorism during his tenure as president, and certainly has not shown any now. He was and is a strong proponent of Iranian government material support for such terrorist organizations as Hezbollah, HAMAS, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Terrorist activity, including providing material support for terrorist organizations, is grounds for denying a visa.
From The American Thinker: Welcome to the Land of the Great Satan, Smiling Mullah by Amil Imani. (via Iran Press News)
1. Thousands of dissident students, intellectuals and journalists were systematically arrested, imprisoned and tortured for the sole crime of speaking up against the repressive rule of the mullahs. Many are still languishing in prisons, some have died, and some have simply vanished with no records of what happened to them.
2. During this turbaned fascist’s watch, many students’ lives were extinguished for daring to express their opposition to the stone-age regime. Shamelessly, during the 9 July of 1999 students demonstration, for instance, this man called the Tehran university students “A bunch of hooligans,” while his storm-trooper hooligans, with police support, brutally attacked students in their dormitories throwing some students out of the windows of the dorm’s third floor. Now, he is welcomed at Harvard University to lecture its “hooligans” and faculty on practicing tolerance.
3. Arrested dissidents were denied the due process of law. Those who were granted perfunctory hearings before receiving the guilty verdict were not allowed legal counsel. The few who were granted legal counsel saw even their attorneys imprisoned for defending them.
4. Prisoners of conscience were routinely tortured to extract confessions about the crimes they did not commit. Some of the victims were permanently incapacitated while others died under the brutal torture.
Meanwhile, what has Khatami had to say so far? From AP via The Register-Guard: Khatami uses visit to bash Bush.
As a backdrop to the new Brownback bill, former Iranian political prisoners and their relatives gave grisly testimony Thursday of torture under the regime of former president Mohammad Khatami, who is currently visiting the United States.
They were introduced by Reza Pahlavi, son of the former shah of Iran, who called the meeting "an unprecedented gathering" and applauded his compatriots for setting aside partisan political differences to work together to "liberate" their country from clerical rule.
He blasted Khatami "who for eight years personally forwarded the agenda of the regime that has inspired, funded, directed, and sponsored militancy internationally and suppression at home."
UPDATE II: Satire on Khatami vist The People's Cube: "If he's good enough for Chavez, he's good enough for Harvard!"
UPDATE III -- Sept. 9: From the Ayn Rand Institute: Khatami's Harvard Visit Is a Disgrace by Yaron Brook.
For [Kkhatami] to lecture Americans on ethics and non-violence is as obscene as a child molester instructing his victims on the importance of respecting individual rights.
Harvard defended Khatami’s visit, claiming we must have an “open dialogue” with Iran and allow for a “free exchange of ideas.” But there can be no “free exchange of ideas” between a killer and those he seeks to kill--or between a brutal dictatorship and the free nation it seeks to annihilate.
Let’s stop appeasing Iran and make it clear that those who threaten the United States will not receive an “open dialogue,” but swift destruction.
UPDATE IV: The Boston Globe prints letters to the editor where one can see the "let's have a dialouge with those who want to kill us" mentality. Fortunately you'll also see a letter from Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, who says in part:
ROMNEY'S COMMENTS about Khatami's visit to Massachusetts were entirely apt. It was outrageously offensive of the US State Department to extend an invitation to such a criminal against humanity. Apparently Foggy Bottom's appeasement of archaic religious zealots, while wronging a distinct majority of Iranians fighting for a secular and peaceful Iran, is its trendy version of democracy.
UPDATE V -- Sept. 10: On the occassion of Khatami's visit today to Boston, from The Boston Herald: Time to send message to Iran by Jules Crittenden.
UPDATE VI: From The Boston Herald: Former Iranian President denies all on feel-good tour by Jessica Fargen. (Hat tip Jules Crittenden)
President Bush on Wednesday for the first time acknowledged the use of secret CIA prisons outside U.S. borders to hold top suspects captured in the war on terrorism.
In a speech at the White House, Bush said captured terror suspects have been the best intelligence source in efforts to stop new attacks and listed attacks blocked because of this intelligence.
The CIA program has "saved innocent lives," the president said.
Bush said torture was not part of the program and he had not authorized any form of torture, saying American law forbids it.
Bush said locations of the prisons will remain secret.
"They are in our custody so they cannot murder our people," Bush said of the detainees.
The program "helped take potential mass murderers off the streets," Bush said.
Bush said that alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is among 14 high-level detainees to be transferred from CIA to Pentagon custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where, with congressional approval of new military tribunals, they would face trial.
From the International Herald Tribune: Iran's Ahmadinejad calls for purge of liberal university teachers.
Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged students Tuesday to push for a purge of liberal and secular teachers from universities, in another sign of his determination to stamp a strong Islamic fundamentalist revival on the country. ...
Earlier this year, dozens of liberal university professors and teachers were sent into retirement, and last November, Ahmadinejad's administration for the first time named a cleric to head the country's oldest institution of higher education, Tehran University — drawing strong protests from students.
His administration also has launched crackdowns on independent journalists, web sites and bloggers.
Still, the latest call was another sign that Ahmadinejad is determined to remake Iran — which still has strong moderate factions — reviving the fundamentalist goals pursued in the 1980s under the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, father of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran.
"It's horrible. I did not expect at all that Ahmadinejad, who during his presidential campaign said he is also a university teacher, would try to deprive others from their jobs because of political differences," said Reza, a university graduate who did not wish to be identified further.
His call Tuesday for a purge was, in some ways, an eerie echo from the days of the revolution.
"Today, students should shout at the president and ask why liberal and secular university lecturers are present in the universities," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during a meeting with a group of students.
Ahmadinejad complained that reforms in the country's universities were difficult to accomplish and that the educational system had been affected by secularism for the last 150 years. But, he added: "Such a change has begun."
It was not clear if Ahmadinejad intended to take immediate specific measures, or if he was just urging the students to rally.
Iranian propaganda, compliments of CNN: Ex-Iranian leader blames Bush policies for terrorism.
U.S. foreign policy is furthering terrorism in the Muslim world, and negotiations are the only way to resolve the impasse over Iran's nuclear ambitions, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami told CNN while on a two-week visit to the United States.
The reformist leader is widely viewed as moderate compared with new President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As president, Khatami favored stronger U.S. ties.
In an interview Sunday with CNN, Khatami said American policies have "only increased, and will only increase, extremism in our region."
In the interview, he also broke with his hard-line successor by saying he does not call for Israel's destruction.
But he defended Iran's support for Hezbollah, calling the Lebanon-based militant group a resistance organization. And though Hezbollah used Iranian weapons in its recent war with Israel, Khatami denied that Iran contributes to violence in the Middle East.
A "reformist" and "moderate" who doesn't support the destruction of Israel yet somehow does support Hezbollah whose purpose is the destruction of Israel? Yeah, right.
Here are some informative articles about Khatami. From The New York Sun editorial page: Khatemi at Harvard.
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, fresh from having established itself as a headwater of anti-Israel agitation, is choosing to mark the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks in an astounding way — by hosting Mohammed Khatemi, a former president of Iran, an enemy state levying a terrorist war against America. Mr. Khatemi has been invited to speak on, of all things, "Ethics of Tolerance in the Age of Violence." The title insults the intelligence of all those who would attend. What in the world is a man who presided over the July 9, 1999, crackdown on Tehran University, where hundreds of students were arrested and tortured, doing speaking about "tolerance" at a university? ...
• Mr. Khatemi told CNN in January 1998, "The impression of the people of the Middle East and Muslims in general is that certain foreign policy decisions of the United States are in fact made in Tel Aviv, and not in Washington." ...
• Mr. Khatemi told CNN, "I regret to say that the improper American policy of unbridled support for the aggression of a racist, terrorist regime does not serve the United States interest, nor does it even serve those of the Jewish people." ...
• Mr. Khatemi has spoken of "the criminal Zionist regime." ...
• In April 2001, the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Mr. Khatemi as saying, "As a parasite, Zionism is founded on the fallacious concepts of superiority and the transgression of human rights."
From Front Page Magazine: : Just Say No to Khatami by Ken Timmerman.
Just one year into his term, his intelligence service murdered in horribly brutal fashion Darioush and Parvaneh Forouhar, leaders of the Iran Nation’s Party, then the best-organized opposition in Iran. The following year, Khatami quashed the student rebellion that began at Tehran University among INP members and sympathizers including Marzeporgohar (Iranians for a Secular Republic) and quickly spread to 18 other cities across Iran.
That was just the beginning of a crackdown on domestic dissent that occurred on Khatami’s watch and on his orders. ...
In 1984, as minister of culture and Islamic propagation, he presided over the creation of Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy army of terrorists in Lebanon and elsewhere. He thought that was exactly what the Islamic Republic of Iran needed to do to expand its influence around the world.
As president, Khatami never opposed Iran’s development of nuclear weapons technology, or long-range ballistic missiles to deliver them. On the contrary, it was on Khatami’s watch that Iran accelerated its once-secret nuclear weapons development, and flouted its success to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The latter two links are via Iran Press News.
UPDATE -- Sept. 5: From MEMRI of a 2005 interview with Khatami: Iranian President Khatami: I Expect No Change in US-Iranian Relations; We Love Hizbullah; Chirac Told Us He He Never Called to Disarm Hizbullah. (via Iran Press News)
From ABC News: Iraqi group uses Michael Moore film to mock Bush.
An Iraqi militant group has produced an elaborate video of what it said were attacks on U.S. troops, in the latest example of the increasingly sophisticated propaganda war being waged by Iraqi insurgents.
"The Code of Silence" was posted on the Internet by the Rashedeen Army, thought to be a relatively small Sunni group which has produced videos in the past of attacks it claims to have carried out.
At almost an hour in length, it is the longest and most professionally made of recent postings by mainly Sunni militant and insurgent groups fighting the U.S.-backed government. ...
Lifting scenes from Michael Moore's anti-war film "Fahrenheit 9/11," Rashedeen's narrator taunts President Bush in softly spoken English over graphic images of Humvees being blown up by roadside bombs, and purportedly dead U.S. troops. ...
At one point, the documentary cuts to a scene from Moore's 2004 award-winning film where he lobbies on the steps of the U.S. Congress in Washington.
"After all, there are honest and influential guys in America and if Mr Moore can talk to you like that, so can I," the Rashedeen narrator says. | <urn:uuid:0c2c7427-8085-4741-831a-b9bfda0d61e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/2006_09.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964461 | 11,853 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Annie Lowrey has a post about the year-long battle over unemployment insurance, well worth reading. The battle to get growth instead of austerity is one I take seriously, and you should too. The long term impact of high unemployment for our country is difficult to measure, but we have every reason to believe it is quite damaging.
Take, for instance, this paper, Short-run Effects of Parental Job Loss on Children’s Academic Achievement by Ann Huff Stevens and Jessamyn Schaller of UC Davis (my underline):
We study the relationship between parental job loss and children’s academic achievement using data on job loss and grade retention from the 1996, 2001, and 2004 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation. We find that a parental job loss increases the probability of children’s grade retention by 0.8 percentage points, or around 15 percent. After conditioning on child fixed effects, there is no evidence of significantly increased grade retention prior to the job loss, suggesting a causal link between the parental employment shock and children’s academic difficulties. These effects are concentrated among children whose parents have a high school education or less.
Job losses impact a child’s learning. It’s something you probably assumed already, but here it is confirmed in the data. The study finds this result even after controlling for all kinds of additional variables, including income, race, parents in household, parents divorced, recent moves, etc. There’s some additional stress of being unemployed that impact’s children’s education that is above and beyond simply being poorer for a longer period of time.
I was interested in this statistic from the paper: “The first column of Table 8 includes only the state-level unemployment rate three year average, without the individual job loss indicators. A one percentage point higher unemployment rate leads to a 0.3 percentage point increase in the probability that a child repeats a grade.”
There are roughly 55 million students in K-12 in the country right now. If unemployment is 1% higher that means, roughly, 165,000 additional years of schooling will be repeated. This will fall disproportionately on poorer school districts as the effect is higher for people below the median income, and it doesn’t get an empirical handle on second-order effects of poor school performance such as crime and drugs, though it is easy to imagine they go up as well. This is even before letting teachers and school infrastructure decline.
It is the little numbers like these that stay in my mind. In ‘cost-benefit analysis’, it is always very easy to get a solid number on the cost; the benefit is much harder to quantify. 4 years of unemployment 1% higher than it normally would be is half a million children, particularly those below the median income, needing to repeat schooling that they otherwise wouldn’t have. That’s just one slice; there’s the effect on long-term wages in addition. These things add up for our country. I highly doubt that is on the Federal Reserve’s or the GOP’s mind as we start to move into austerity-mania.
Right now the 10-year bold is under three percent. Money is free yet corporations don’t want to build or expand. The household is repairing its balance sheet. The government can employ people and build out additional stimulus. The Federal Reserve can buy and hold bonds. It’s urgent to do so – a long period of painfully slow growth will have long term damages for our country. | <urn:uuid:3654bd26-9950-44da-985e-52886560824a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rortybomb.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/the-little-but-real-effects-of-unemployment/ | 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 | 0.952752 | 731 | 1.820313 | 2 |
John Reibetanz is good on grief: "You, mother,/ dying, left what was hard first:/ bones weeping into/ / your veins like flutes, teeth/ vanished on some hospital/ lunch tray" This conjunction of a profound sense of loss with the clearest-eyed observation and acceptance of the entropy of the mundane is characteristic. His poetry has a cultural breadth seldom seen in Canadian writing. He sees the pageantry of the Bayeux tapestry with the eyes of a rural quilter, whose son died beneath a tractor, who would focus on "the spear - strayed from the main design -/ / that takes a wide-mouthed Tabourer aback,/ and recognize the pain/ of someone caught in the wreck/ of a vast, wayward machine."
His lucidity and eloquence have earned the praise of such celebrated poets as Richard Howard and Richard Wilbur. But it is always the heart's music which most informs his poetic craft: and that is what keeps it true.close this panel | <urn:uuid:667c3fc1-b068-4d54-89c3-ed61f0874cc5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://49thshelf.com/Books/M/Mining-For-Sun | 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 | 0.96048 | 213 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Acting Locally, Naturally
We believe that in order to make the world a nicer place to live, we need to start at home. That's why we support, and are actively involved in, several community initiatives in our hometown of Durham, North Carolina and right here in Australia. These range from social responsibility and sustainability to overall well-being and the list is growing.
In January, General Manager Emma Atkinson and National Merchandising Manager Jeff Belli spent a day at the Developing Leaders Day for the AIESEC student leader’s conference – click here to www.aiesec.org
With Burt’s Bees help, the conference committee went over their logistics and re-jigged their ‘greenery’ to incorporate recycling bins for compostable material, plastic and glass. They were also able to use compostable plates and cutlery for their catering requirements and post consumer recycled paper for their notepads.
It’s a great example of how a little extra thinking can go a long way for our planet.
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is our latest partner in Australia. As with their counterparts in the United States, being part of “a hand up, not a hand out” is a very special, happy feeling for everyone involved with Burt’s Bees Australia. It’s a very Australian sentiment too, and in these tough times, we’re looking forward to thinking up new ways to help Habitat for Humanity spread the joy this year.
Because of the lack of affordable housing in Australia it’s getting harder and harder for low and moderate income families to realise the great Australian dream of owning their own home. Habitat for Humanity Australia wants to change that. The charity helps break the cycle by helping Australians own their own homes through a subsidised purchasing program. So far in Australia, 82 homes have been built and there are another 37 under construction nationally.
This is a charity where volunteers and partnering organisations actually donate their support in the form of muscle power and time. Some volunteers involved have already taken part in Habitat for Humanity building projects overseas and are keen to get together with likeminded supporters back home in Australia. The charity mixes skilled and unskilled tasks according to available volunteers so there’s work for everyone and always something new to learn.
That meant Burt’s Bees Australia General Manager Emma Atkinson and the Burt’s Bees team from all over Australia gathered together on a muddy morning in July to do their bit helping to build a new home in a northern Adelaide suburb. Given Burt’s Bees commitment to sustainability, it was fitting that their team focus was on insulating the new house which will increase its energy efficiency and long term liveability for its new owners. (It also kept them away from the power tools, but that’s another story.)
There’s nothing quite like getting your hands dirty and giving directly of your time and effort to a cause like this.
Habitat for Humanity Australia’s Scott Langford says people often feel as though challenges such as this are just too big for one person to be able to make any real difference.
“But being involved in a house build, and doing the actual work, gives people a rare chance to see what a difference each of us can make. It’s empowering for everybody involved as well as directly helping a family move forward.”View Today Tonight’s story on a Habitat for Humanity building weekend here
Barbara Hardy Centre for Sustainable Urban Development
We’ve also set up a partnership with the wonderful folk at the Barbara Hardy Centre for Sustainable Urban Development, staff and students at the centre are highly focused on ‘citizen science’, which is all about communicating with the community about issues such as water, green space and biodiversity and the role they play in healthy urban environments. That put the whole Burt’s Bees Australia team in Adelaide on a sunny summer’s day in January, helping to collect bugs of all sorts for inclusion in a catalogue of the city’s wildlife. Amongst the 800 plus invertebrates brought in was a native sun moth not seen for over 70 years and a brand new species of ant.
Recycling at its very best, all the venomous spiders went off to a centre to be loved and cherished – and produce venom to make anti-venom.
Orana – Building Lives Boosting Business
Burt’s Bees Australia is pleased to be able to support Orana by utilising their services, currently we are able to outsource work to them in the construction of some of our packaging requirements and they are also able to construct some of our sustainable merchandising materials.
For over 50 years Orana has been providing people with disabilities the opportunity to live and work within their local community, develop their personal skills, fulfil their dreams and become valued and productive community members.
Providing employment to people with disabilities is possible because Orana’s commercial customers send them work. Growth and success in these businesses translates into more employment opportunities and therefore better lives for Orana’s people, which is why Orana is about building lives for people and boosting business for their customers.
Planet Earth Celebration, Respect Your Mother
We are proud to be a presenting sponsor of the Annual Planet Earth Celebration in Raleigh, N.C. This local Earth Day event is designed to bring together organizations and individuals dedicated to creating sustainable innovations.
Colony Collapse Disorder
Our work to fund research and spread awareness about Colony Collapse Disorder, the mysterious disappearance of honeybees, has brought our message to movie theaters, Congress and the public.
Building Green Homes
We work closely with Habitat for Humanity of North Carolina in by building homes and a playground in first affordable green housing community in the state.
Getting Involved in Our Community
We believe that it is important to be active where we live, work and play. It's part of living The Greater Good. | <urn:uuid:6fdcf2a9-43bb-420b-a0be-8ba507669d7b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.burtsbees.co.nz/c/community/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949823 | 1,244 | 1.773438 | 2 |
For a woman who has taken Uttar Pradesh by storm and inspires fear and awe among her political opponents and supporters alike, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati's alma malter still finds it difficult to comprehend how the "timid" girl managed to reach where she is today.
"She was such a timid girl. She seldom mixed with others and was reticent, in fact was even scared of the teachers. I am at a loss at times to explain this complete turnaround," recalls JB Anand, the administrative officer of the city's Kalindi College.
"There has been a drastic change in personality. Din aur raat ki farak hain, (a difference between day and night)," exclaims Anand, who has been associated with the college right from inception in 1967.
Anand vividly recalls the day when Mayawati's father Prabhu Das came looking for admission in July 1972, a reserved 16-year-old girl holding on to him, after traveling from Inderpuri in south-west Delhi.
"We gave her admission to a BA (Pass) course with electives including Hindi Political Science, Economics, Hindi and English."
"She was not very academically inclined and got through with a third division," says Anand.
The administrative officer, who retires in August this year after a 40-year long association, maintains that the family sometimes even found it difficult to pay the then monthly college fee of Rs. 15.
Just some years ago, Mayawati who has effected a far-reaching change in the political calculus of Uttar Pradesh by empowering the lower castes, celebrated her birthday in grand style, bedecked with diamonds and a flashy salwar-kameez and cutting a 50-kilogram cake.
"See where she has reached now. Now, I hear she is going to be the chief minister for the fourth time. All of us at the college are happy for her," Anand said.
The college's one regret is that Mayawati has not come back even once to call on the teaching staff or enquire about the college.
"I met her once in Lucknow some years back and she treated me with respect," says Anand.
"I hope she comes this time. There will be celebrations if she comes calling on us. It will truly be a proud moment." | <urn:uuid:6618b530-350c-4aff-9580-206bbbdf02cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/UttarPradesh/Mayawati-was-a-timid-reserved-student-in-college/Article1-221932.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978421 | 494 | 1.585938 | 2 |
|My DIY Giant Rainbow for VBS. (That's my "Boog." She said she wanted to be "under the rainbow!")|
Remember that rainbow I told you I wanted to make out of swim noodles? Well, I did it! I'm hoping that it will enhance my Victoria Falls room. I consider this a prototype, and I'm sure you'll think of better ways to do it, but here are the directions for how I made mine.
1. Gather your materials:
- 2 of each color swim noodle (6 were from Dollar General, and 2 came from Wal-Mart, each at under $2 each. I did see them at Dollar Tree, though, so you could cut your expense in half!)
- fishing line ( I used 15 pound from Wal-Mart at under $3)
- glue gun and sticks (NOT the mini one - tried that first and it failed)
- wire coat hangers (straightened)
- scissors (I used the heavy duty ones that came with my kitchen knives)
- cotton batting (fiberfill, polyfill)
3. Where the noodles touch, trim one of them to have an angle, so that when you push them together, they have a little arch.
4. Hot glue the two noodles together, end to end. (Yes, you're right. Hot glue DOES melt swim noodles, and I sort of knew that going in, but we've had such a rainy day here that I couldn't imagine how long it would take for craft glue to dry. So I went forward with the plan!) I will say that the Dollar General noodles were much more tolerant of the hot glue, while the Wal-Mart ones melted like wet cotton candy. No matter, I did pick up a few tricks to help...
- Don't let the tip of the glue gun touch the foam.
- If you have a colossal fail, trim the yucky parts off, get a clean edge, and start over.
- You may need to trim the end of the noodle into a doughnut shape in anticipation of the foam melting flat.
- Drop the glue from a couple of inches above so it can cool a little.
- Hold the pieces tightly together for at least a minute. Then lay them gently down and hope for the best. You'll be surprised at how it will eventually work.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 for each color you have.
7. Align the seams of all noodle sets in a rainbow design and use the fishing line to weave over and under each noodle about 6 inches to the left of the seams. Knot then ends and apply a dot of hot glue. You'll need to pull the line tightly while the glue dries so it doesn't slip out. Repeat this about 6 inches on the other side of the seams and then about every foot on both sides.
8. Push the foam in and thread a little fishing line under one of your fishing lines. Knot it and glue it to create a hanger. You can do this wherever you like.
9. For the clouds, I just widened a hanger and shoved batting here and there until it was covered and cloud-like. Then I pushed the hanger hook through one of the noodles and rearranged batting to cover it.
In all, I have about $18 invested and am happy with the results! It wasn't exactly easy, but I think it will make a great addition to my Victoria Falls room.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I'll happily help as best I can. You can visit this post to see more VBS Victoria Falls ideas. Also, I'd love to hear of your ideas for making an indoor rainbow.
UPDATE: I finished my room! Click here to see the blog post and picture. | <urn:uuid:0c97c17c-9087-4481-962c-7d6c98754bac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://momsbestnest.blogspot.com/2012/06/vbs-giant-diy-victoria-falls-rainbow.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95627 | 788 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Talk:Introduction to Wikiversity
Feel free to ask questions here
OK, I'm a total noob here, so please explain me: what's the difference between Wikiversity and Wikibooks? --188.8.131.52 19:06, 12 January 2008 (UTC)
- Hello, please have a look at the FAQ, section "What is the difference between Wikiversity, Wikibooks, and even Wikipedia?"
- As it says in the motto of Wikiversity: Open Learning Community. Everything you do normally involves learning. More info you can find at: Wikiversity:What is Wikiversity?, Template:Welcome ----Erkan Yilmaz (Wikiversity:Chat, wiki blog) 19:19, 12 January 2008 (UTC)
Thanks. But after reading, what you linked, I am still thinking that it should be still a part of Wikibooks. Just for ME, it gone too far. See ya' --184.108.40.206 23:59, 12 January 2008 (UTC) That was me. You know, I would be going around to see if I mistaken. Maybe I would change my mind --Xar' 00:12, 13 January 2008 (UTC) | <urn:uuid:d174a0f1-83cf-4b13-aa75-2ca03116f43a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Talk:Introduction_to_Wikiversity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939419 | 252 | 1.703125 | 2 |
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