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Nick Walker Presents GDE Summary Talk
After two-weeks of intense work, the GDE presented their summary talk on Friday morning. DESY physicist and GDE member Nick Walker found covering two weeks worth of work within the span of fifty minutes to be quite the challenge. “I hope that my talk will give you a feeling of the amount of work we accomplished over the last two weeks,” Walker said. “This workshop has been a great step forward in achieving the goals that we set out in the beginning.”
Walker discussed the list of top ten questions that the GDE needed to address during the workshop in order to move forward. “From these ten questions, addressing the luminosity and the gradient are probably the most important,” he said.
Global Group 1 recommended a nominal 500 GeV luminosity at 2 x 10^34 cm^-2 sec^-1. For a 500 GeV machine, based on the TESLA cavity, Global Group 1 recommends a qualified gradient of 35 megaVolts per meter and operating gradient of 31.5 MV/m with each linac 10.6 km long. For an eventual upgrade to 1 TeV, they recommend using higher gradient LL cavities having a gradient of 40 megaVolts per meter, which will add on 9.3 km to each linac. With the upgrade, the total length of the ILC would be about 40 km. “All 20,000 cavities will need a gradient of 35 megaVolts/meter, which will be quite a challenge,” Walker said. “We have a lot of work to do.”
While Walker could not cover all of the accomplishments made over the past two weeks, he emphasized the amount of progress made for the Cost and Engineering group. “They made very good progress on understanding how to do international costing,” said Walker. “I understand that they made a lot of progress in the last two weeks in putting down some guidelines and regulations.”
Between now and September, the GDE will collect and document all of the information that came out of the workshop. All recommendations will be posted on the ILC Web site. By mid-November, the GDE plans to produce a draft Baseline Configuration Design, which will also be available online. The BCD will be discussed at the next GDE meeting from December 7-10 in Frascati, Italy, where the final finishing touches will be made. “And then the real work will start,” Walker said. “We are all working very hard now, but it is nothing compared to what we have to do this next year.”
Walker concluded by thanking all of the Working Group leaders and conveners for their hard work. “The ILC project has attracted many of the best accelerator physicists and engineers from around the world. It is a great honor for me to be a part of this project,” he said. “Let us all continue to work together on this great adventure.” | <urn:uuid:995ad8ca-206f-48c0-a7ec-b20d0bbf80df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linearcollider.org/ILC/GDE/meetings/Snowmass-2005/GDE-Summary-Talk | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95514 | 628 | 1.554688 | 2 |
UN says Syrian regime killing, torturing children
|Publisher||Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|
|Publication Date||12 June 2012|
|Cite as||Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, UN says Syrian regime killing, torturing children, 12 June 2012, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4fdb2f65c.html [accessed 21 May 2013]|
|Disclaimer||This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.|
June 12, 2012
The United Nations has placed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime on a list of governments that kill and torture children, or force them into battle.
The UN's annual report on children and armed conflict says the Syrian government has become one of the worst offenders on its "list of shame."
It says Syrian Army troops, as well as pro-government Shabiha militia fighters, have intentionally targeted children as young as 9 in their deadly crackdown against the country's 15-month uprising.
Based on interviews conducted by UN monitors with children and former soldiers in Syria, the report presents evidence of children who have been victims of killing and maiming, arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, and sexual violence.
Children with the scars of torture described being beaten, blindfolded, forced into stress positions, whipped with heavy cables, and burned with cigarettes during interrogations.
It records one case in which Syrian authorities subjected a young boy to electrical shocks on his genitals.
The report also says children are being placed on Syrian Army tanks and troop transports to be used as human shields in battles against the opposition Free Syrian Army.
It describes one specific case – a March 9 attack by government forces on the village of Ayn l'Arouz in Idlib Province – in which Syrian troops rounded up dozens of young boys and placed them at the windows of busses carrying soldiers into the raid.
Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN's special representative for children and armed conflict, says she has rarely seen "such brutality against children" as the violence being carried out by the Syrian regime.
The report is the most comprehensive documentation of systematic abuses by the Syrian regime and Shabiha militia to emerge since the uprising against Assad's rule began 15 months ago.
Assad's regime prevents independent journalists from entering the country to report on the uprising.
But during the past month, video footage has emerged on social-media websites like YouTube showing civilian victims of massacres at villages like Houla, where dozens of women and children were hacked to death or shot in the head at close range.
UN monitors say evidence shows that the Houla atrocity was carried out by Shabiha militia fighters in a coordinated operation with Syrian Army troops.
One of the latest videos to emerge, reportedly shot on June 10, shows relatives of 10 dead children lamenting over their bodies in the village of Bakas near Haffeh, Syria.
Assad's regime has repeatedly denied responsibility for such massacres, claiming such killings are being carried out by opposition fighters at the behest of Western governments as part of a propaganda campaign aimed at overthrowing the Damascus government.
The UN's latest report on abuses does not implicate opposition forces in such massacres. But it does criticize the opposition Free Syrian Army for using children to carry water and medical supplies at the front lines of battles.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and the BBC | <urn:uuid:8eec2359-3b14-4489-b3df-ff977786ee37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=topic&tocid=4565c22538&toid=4565c25f455&publisher=&type=&coi=&docid=4fdb2f65c&skip=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961136 | 744 | 1.710938 | 2 |
This will reduce wear and tear on them and increase their longevity, thereby saving money. It also saves precious raw material: it takes 27 litres of crude oil to produce a new tire. Under-inflated tyres also increase fuel consumption by up to 10%. Check your tyres at least once a month. It takes but a few minutes.
More green tips | <urn:uuid:c165177b-7f54-47ad-a1bd-591ab11ce2c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data-providers-and-partners/geographic-information-management | 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 | 0.960676 | 72 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Sat September 24, 2011
Defense Leaders Make Their Case Against Budget Cuts
The congressional super committee has two months to come up with a way to slash more than a trillion dollars from the federal deficit, or risk deeper cuts that would be triggered automatically. Everything is on the table in the debate — including defense spending.
The Pentagon is on a mission to prevent the defense budget from taking the brunt of the cuts, and the threat of losing funding has both the military branches and the defense industry fighting back.
"It's safe to say that every single line of the budget is under scrutiny," said Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley at the Air Force Association's annual conference this week.
Discussion at the conference this year centered on how to survive the pending budget cuts. The Pentagon has already been ordered to cut at least $450 billion from its budget over the next 10 years, and that number could grow to over a trillion dollars depending on what Congress does.
Military Services Emphasize Their Strengths
The heads of each branch of the military are making their case and explaining why their service is special.
"We will continue to play a vital role in national security because of our reach, our vigilant situational awareness, our power," Air Force Secretary Donley said.
The word "reach" makes reference to the Air Force's ability to fly anywhere in the world, and fast. It uses the term to distinguish itself from the other branches of the military.
"The name of the game right now is differentiation," says Todd Harrison, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington.
In a recent letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos made his case for what sets the Marines apart. Amos wrote that the Marine Corps fills a unique role in America's armed forces and is not just "a second land army."
"You're going to see the Marine Corps trying to define themselves as something more than just a second land army," Harrison explains. "You're going to see both the Air Force and the Navy trying to define how they are relevant and how their capabilities are increasingly important in the future."
Defense Industry's Push
Another front in this defense budget battle is the defense industry, which is fighting for its future by conjuring up images of the past.
The PR campaign that the industry launched last week in Washington included video of the historic moon landing. Chief executive officers from some of the biggest defense companies were there to lobby against the cuts.
David Hess, president of Pratt & Whitney — a company that makes engines for military aircraft — said in a press conference with other industry leaders that deeper cuts now could cost America the ability to build the aircraft, warships and weapons of the future.
"This is not a discussion about commercial viability of the companies involved here," Hess said. "It's really a discussion about being able to maintain the industrial base that's absolutely critical to our national security."
The last line of attack in this budget battle is coming from the Pentagon's chief, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who went to Capitol Hill this week warning against across-the-board cuts.
Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina set the stage by asking Panetta what would happen if automatic triggers went into effect.
"If this supercommittee can't find the $1.4 trillion they're charged with finding in terms of savings over the next decade, there will be a trigger pulled to achieve that savings, and $600 billion will come out of the defense department ... on top of what you're trying to do," he said to Sec. Panetta. "If we pull that trigger, will we be shooting ourselves in the foot?"
"We'd be shooting ourselves in the head," Panetta replied.
Panetta says that defense cuts above the original $450 billion are unacceptable, and that if the super committee needs to find more cuts they should look outside defense, at programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
But unilateral cuts to those programs are, of course, where the White House draws its own line. | <urn:uuid:90984105-66f6-405c-b2f8-0115f85dcda2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wknofm.org/post/defense-leaders-make-their-case-against-budget-cuts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962724 | 837 | 1.539063 | 2 |
What is nexus and how does it affect QuickBooks users?
Did you know you are obligated to collect and remit sales tax where you conduct business? Have you heard of nexus and do you know what it means for your business? If the answer is no, you can be assured the taxman will explain it after your next audit. However, before you are at the mercy of the auditor, take a moment to discover how simple it is to manage nexus obligations and become sales tax compliant with Avalara’s AvaTax service and its seamless integration with Intuit QuickBooks.
For tax purposes, nexus is defined as the connection a taxpayer has with the taxing state, and we consider that nexus connection when determining our obligation to collect and remit tax in states where business is conducted. However, there is a range of ways nexus is created and these rules vary from state to state. Nexus determination can be confusing, whether you are new multi-state activities or have been doing business in more than one state for years.
To begin, almost every business has to calculate, collect, report, and remit sales tax. More than likely, you are already paying taxes in the state and local jurisdictions where your business is physically located. However, what happens when you sell something across state lines? Are you required to collect sales tax? How much sales tax should you collect? And to which state should you remit the tax?
Nexus rules are established by individual states and every state defines them in uniquely. Determining exactly how a rule applies to your business is critical. To safely navigate these challenging tax rules you should consult your accountant, tax attorney, or other qualified sales tax professional to conduct a nexus study for your particular business. Making the nexus determination on your own is difficult, confusing, and can lead to problems further down the road.
Once you have determined a state where nexus exists for your business, you are required to calculate, collect, report, and remit that state's sales tax when you have a transaction in that state. Most commonly, sales taxes are remitted based on the states where your business is actually located because it is typically the physical structure of your business that creates nexus. However, there are several other scenarios that can trigger a nexus situation and these should also be considered. Here are a few of the most common scenarios:
Scenario #1: Your business has stores in multiple states. In this case, you will more than likely have sales tax obligations in each location.
Scenario #2: Nexus can be created by employing sales people who work in other states. For example, if your employees or contractors conduct any work at a customer's out-of-state location, you may have nexus there as well.
Scenario #3: Regularly attending tradeshows or advertising in other jurisdictions beyond the physical location of your business can be considered nexus in certain states.
Here are a few additional factors that can create nexus:
- Property Ownership: Owning or leasing any real or personal property in another state
- Product Delivery: Having company personnel deliver products in another state
- Product Storage: Renting or owning out-of-state storage, warehousing or drop-shipping facilities
Paying sales tax may be inevitable, but the associated hassle is not. If you're paying sales taxes in several jurisdictions, selecting a Web-service-based sales tax management solution that performs behind the scenes of your current accounting or ecommerce application to comprehensively automate the sales tax compliance function for your business can save time and protect you from missing or making late payments. The selected service should work seamlessly behind the scenes, should integrate with the existing business accounting application and/or CRM application, and must automate the entire tax compliance functions of the business.
Avalara, one of the leading providers of sales tax management services, offers a broad range of calculation and compliance solutions that eliminate the tedious work and complexities involved with calculating, reporting, returning, and remitting transactional tax. As a Silver Developer through Intuit, the AvaTax service is fully integrated with QuickBooks and is a web-service-based sales tax solution that instantly and accurately calculates sales tax for clients and provides detailed, real-time reporting and automatically generates pre-populated sales tax returns. Currently, more than 21,000 licensed AvaTax users run an average of five to seven sales tax calculation transactions through Avalara's sales tax engine every second and that number is continually growing. AvaTax comes integrated with more financial applications and serves more businesses than any other solution on the market today.
Sales tax compliance is full of complicated rules and nexus is just one aspect with several other layers that must be considered in order to be truly compliant. With more than 12,500 tax regions across North America, and with rates and boundaries constantly changing, staying on top of your nexus responsibilities can be a substantial drain to your business and carries no benefit to your bottom line. An independent study of 551 accounting and financial professionals was conducted in 2008 and roughly one third of participants estimated their organizations spent more than 2 full business days (16 hours or more) preparing and remitting sales or use tax returns every month. Seventy-two percent of the individuals surveyed indicated having been audited by one or more taxing authorities in the past, with 70 percent of those audited being within the last 3 years. Currently the average penalty amount incurred is estimated at $34,000 per each audit performed. As a result of implementing the AvaTax service with Intuit QuickBooks, you can free yourself from much of the burden of managing sales tax compliance processes and can join the thousands of Avalara clients who focus on revenue generating activities. Avalara frequently offers free Webinars on issues related to sales tax compliance; please attend our next scheduled webinar on Thursday March 5, 2009. You can register online.
Avalara is transforming the sales and use tax compliance process for businesses of all sizes by delivering advanced technology solutions that provide fast, easy, accurate, and affordable way for companies to address their statutory tax requirements. Chosen by nearly 10,000 businesses throughout the U.S., Canada and abroad, and a trusted provider of over 100 million sales tax calculations annually, Avalara is a recognized leader in web-based sales tax services and solutions. Avalara files more than 240,000 sales tax returns and remits over $10 billion in sales tax filings per year.
For more information on AvaTax's integration with Intuit QuickBooks or any other of our transactional tax solutions, please contact us at 877.780.4848 or by e-mail at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:870e26bb-b027-48c6-9af4-5b0300ea8b20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.accountingweb.com/topic/quickbooks/what-nexus-and-how-does-it-affect-quickbooks-users | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958718 | 1,359 | 1.507813 | 2 |
So I just took my oldest daughter Shira, who graduated from High School a YEAR EARLY to my sisters house in California where she is going to live and start Junior College. I’m excited for her. Yes it was hard. But after a difficult divorce with her father and me, it was a positive change for HER. And now, my youngest, Leo and I get to spend some nice time together. Just us two. Which, being the youngest, he’s never had. Of course, we miss her.
But what happens if she ever decides to move back home?
I found this really great information about rules that are great to go by if YOU have a child that ever moves back home! check it out:
Eileen and Jon Gallo, consultants living in Los Angeles who specialize in family and money issues, urged parents to have this conversation before their offspring moved back home. Once your 20-something is ensconced in her childhood bedroom, it’s harder to set up a new structure that she may not be expecting, Mr. Gallo said.
He laid out four major overarching points that parents and children needed to discuss before the young adult moved back in:
¶ What is your role in the house? Nonpaying guest or member of the family? What chores are you going to do? Grocery shopping? Cooking?
¶ What are you going to do to earn money in the short term if you can’t get a job in your desired career? Flip hamburgers? Walk dogs?
¶ What are you doing to pursue your desired career goals? Vocational training? Internships? Career counseling?
¶ When are you going to leave? It’s good to set a time limit — three months, six months, a year, Mr. Gallo said. It can always be renegotiated.
The idea, Ms. Gallo said, is “to provide a temporary security blanket with some structure.”
One of the major issues that comes up is whether returning children should pay for the privilege of living in their parents’ home.
“I would encourage parents to charge rent, or at least a token amount — not necessarily the market rate — in recognition that the adult child is adding to the household expenses,” Ms. Newberry said. “It’s good for the adult child’s self-esteem to know he’s not a moocher, and that he gets in the habit of paying a monthly amount.”
One suggestion from experts is that even if you don’t need your child’s money, you charge her a reasonable amount depending on how much money she is earning, and put it in a savings account. The “rent” can then be given back to offset living expenses once she moves out.
Jacqueline Jolie, who lives in Alberta, Canada, and writes the blog singlemomrichmom.com, discussed the issue two years ago when her 22-year-old son moved back in.
“I’ve come to wonder if I’m hurting him rather than helping him not to expect him to pay for any of our household expenses,” she wrote.
Ms. Jolie updated me since she wrote that column. Her son is still living at home, is working hard and paying her $450 a month in rent. And she’s pleased with the situation.
“All I ever wanted him to have was goals,” she said.
But Ms. Jolie said she believed there were times when young adults shouldn’t be asked to pay rent. These include if they’re going to school full time; saving to buy a house or another major investment; have fallen on hard times, like an unexpected job loss (not just quitting a job because it wasn’t fun); or are helping a lot around the house.
Ms. Newberry added her own caveat: “If they have no money, they should work it out through manual labor — not just doing the dishes but painting the house or cleaning the gutters.”
One young adult who has moved back home, Rachel Unger, said she graduated from college in 2010 and was living at home rent-free while she saved to go to graduate school. Her 25-year-old sister has also moved back in.
But she said she handled most of her own bills, including car insurance, cellphone and the dentist.
“The rules in my house remain, ‘Clean up after yourself, and do what’s asked of you to help out when you can,’ ” she said in an e-mail. “I’m also responsible for occasionally cooking dinner.”
Ms. Unger, who is 24 and lives in Montclair, N.J., said she believed the rules were fair — even the one that prohibits her boyfriend from sleeping over in her room, although he can stay in a separate room.
“It would be nice to not have boyfriend rules, but I understand that it could be uncomfortable” for my parents, she said.
The boyfriend/girlfriend issue can cause almost as much angst as the rent discussion, Ms. Newberry said. One friend of mine whose daughter briefly returned home after college subscribed to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” motto when it came to the boyfriend spending the night.
But for those parents whose houses aren’t large enough to feign ignorance, or who simply want to prevent such activity, Ms. Newberry said it’s their right.
“It’s completely reasonable to say a partner can’t stay over,” she said. “But it’s not reasonable to say to the adult children that they can’t stay over at a boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s house. It’s the difference between making the rules inside or outside the house.”
This does bring up the issue of curfew. The question is not so much whether 21-year-olds should have to return home by midnight — when in college they might have been partying until the wee hours — but whether a parent should have to lie in bed, sleepless, waiting to hear the front door slam.
“A conversation needs to happen about curfew,” Ms. Newberry said. Perhaps, she said, parents and child can agree upon a general time, and if that slips, the child can text or e-mail (to avoid disturbing the whole house) to say, “I’ll be home around 2 a.m.”
For those families who can afford it, there are other ways to help children who have graduated from college but can’t quite make it financially on their own. Subsidize their independent living for a while.
This might not suit everyone, but as my friend Naomi said, “In the long run, it saves on family therapy.” | <urn:uuid:cf230f7b-038a-4847-9bdc-958e411fc029> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wil92.com/2012/08/04/kick-em-out-or-let-them-stay/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972457 | 1,463 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Profile: Alan Prokop
Alan Prokop was a participant or observer in the following events:
The prosecution in the trial of accused Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh (see 8:35 a.m. - 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995, August 10, 1995, and April 24, 1997) rests its case on an emotional note after having presented 137 witnesses. [Douglas O. Linder, 2001] The government presented what many legal analysts call a masterful case, moving far more quickly than anticipated and using witnesses to establish a string of facts that paint a strong picture of McVeigh’s guilt. The prosecution ends on a powerfully emotional note, presenting a number of first responders and survivors. Florence Rogers, a credit union employee who worked in the Murrah Federal Building, tells the jury of the moment when she lost seven of her co-workers in the bomb blast. She recalls the bomb going off with a “torrnado-like rush.” She was thrown to the floor, she recalls, and, she says, “everything else was gone.” Mike Shannon, chief of special operations for the Oklahoma City Fire Department, uses a diagram to show the jury how the bomb took an enormous “bite” from the north face of the building, and to show where rescuers finally freed the last survivor, 15-year-old Brandy Ligons, over 12 hours after the bombing. “To climb into” the area where Ligons was trapped, Shannon testifies, “it took people lying on their stomach, taking debris, pushing it down under their belly down between their legs. The second person would lay his head on the first person’s bottom and take that debris and pass it between his legs, and they would work their way into the pile. It was just big enough for just one person to wiggle through.” Dangling over Ligons and the rescuers was a 40,000-pound slab of concrete, ready to fall and crush everyone involved. Shannon testifies as to the difficulties of rescuing victims and removing the dead from a building whose front had pancaked into a heap of rubble. The effect was “like squeezing grapes,” he says. “Body fluids were dripping through, and it would just drip onto your gear as you were crawling through, onto your helmet.” Responder Alan Prokop tells jurors of the hand that rose from the rubble of the devastated building and grasped his, a hand belonging to a woman trapped under a huge slab of concrete. Prokop held her hand and felt her slowly die while rescuers tried vainly to free her. He recalls hearing the sound of what he thought was running water, and tells of a fellow rescuer saying, “It isn’t water, Alan, it’s blood.” Dr. Frederick B. Jordan, the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner, presents the jury with 163 death certificates for those who died in the bombing. He tells the jury how some of the victims were identified using the mangled remains of their bodies: a fingerprint from a resident alien card, a print taken from a box of Clairol hair coloring agent from a victim’s home, a scar on a little girl’s arm. The prosecution never mentions a contention by a federal grand jury that McVeigh and his co-conspirator Terry Nichols built the truck bomb at Geary Lake State Park in Kansas (see 5:00 a.m. April 18, 1995 and 8:15 a.m. and After, April 18, 1995); indeed, the prosecution does not attempt to prove how or where the bomb was built. The prosecution does not introduce a letter written by Nichols on November 21, 1994 that advised McVeigh to clean out two storage lockers (see November 5, 1994 - Early January 1995). After the prosecution rests, defense lawyer Stephen Jones moves for a summary acquittal, a motion rejected by Judge Richard P. Matsch. However, the judge says he may delete some portions of the indictment before giving the jury its final instructions. Those portions include references to the purchase of bomb components, the rental of some storage units, the construction of the truck bomb at the Kansas lake, and the robbery of an Arkansas gun dealer used to finance the bombing, another instance not cited by the prosecution (see November 5, 1994). “I had in mind some redaction of the indictment, or perhaps even more substantial changes, before submitting it to the jury,” Matsch says after the jury is excused for the day. “I think we’ll deal with it at the instructions conference as the most appropriate time.” [New York Times, 5/22/1997; Washington Post, 5/22/1997; Denver Post, 6/3/1997; Denver Post, 6/14/1997; Associated Press, 1/11/1998] Legal analyst Andrew Cohen will say that the prosecutors did not “bore” the jury with a morass of technical details, instead moving swiftly through technical testimony and pacing their witnesses so that each day ended with the emotional testimony of a victim or family member. Law professor Christopher Mueller says after the prosecution rests: “[T]his is a trial the way a trial ought to look.… I think the prosecution has presented a very strong, almost compelling case. The biggest payoff is in the abandonment of much of the scientific proof that would have been enormously distracting” to the jury. [Washington Post, 5/22/1997; Denver Post, 6/14/1997]
Entity Tags: Florence Rogers, Andrew Cohen, Alan Prokop, Christopher Mueller, Brandy Ligons, Timothy James McVeigh, Stephen Jones, Richard P. Matsch, Mike Shannon, Frederick B. Jordan, Terry Lynn Nichols, Geary State Fishing Lake And Wildlife Area
Timeline Tags: US Domestic Terrorism
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If you would like to help us with this effort, please contact us. We need help with programming (Java, JDO, mysql, and xml), design, networking, and publicity. If you want to contribute information to this site, click the register link at the top of the page, and start contributing. | <urn:uuid:4c7ac4c6-70dd-438f-905e-f9df3f64e3c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=alan_prokop_1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961811 | 1,337 | 1.601563 | 2 |
By David Peterson at Aug 10, 2006
For thousands of years, we Jews have been nourished and sustained by a yearning for our historic land. I, like many others, was raised with a deep conviction that the day would never come when we would have to relinquish parts of the land of our forefathers. I believed, and to this day still believe, in our people's eternal and historic right to this entire land.
But I also believe that dreams alone will not quiet the guns that have fired unceasingly for nearly a hundred years. Dreams alone will not enable us to preserve a secure democratic Jewish state.
---- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, addressing a joint session of the U.S. Congress on May 24, 2006. ("Address by PM Olmert to Joint Meeting of U.S. Congress," Prime Minister's Office, May 24, 2006.)
Whatever else they betray, Olmert's remarks here—and he may as well have been quoting Pope Urban II—have the virtue of candor. Precisely as do the Israeli state's current military campaigns. Behind Operation Summer Rain (against the Israeli Occupied Palestinian Territories) and Operation Change of Direction (against Lebanon—now advertised to be on the verge of serious escalation) lie the long-term objective of Greater Israel. And this remains the case, whether today. Or this coming weekend. Or years from now.
"Israel Okays Deeper Push into Lebanon," Charles A. Radin, Boston Globe, August 10, 2006
"Israel vows to expand its ground offensive," Ilene R. Prusher, Christian Science Monitor, August 10, 2006
"Israel to triple force on Lebanon front line," Tim Butcher et al., Daily Telegraph, August 10, 2006
"Israel to escalate Lebanon conflict with big push north," Harvey Morris et al., Financial Times, August 10, 2006
"Pessimism on deal amid clashes at UN," Oliver Burkman et al., The Guardian, August 10, 2006
"General sacked as Israel plans invasion," Julian Borger and Oliver Burkman, The Guardian, August 10, 2006
"'We thought Gaza was pretty tough...'," Conal Urquhart, The Guardian, August 10, 2006
"It is Lebanon, not Israel, that faces a threat to its existence in this war," Ahmad Samih Khalidi, The Guardian, August 10, 2006
"Israel set to invade Lebanon despite lessons of 1982 war," Donald McIntyre, The Independent, August 10, 2006
"Israel Readies Broader Push as Losses Rise," Henry Chu and Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times, August 10, 2006
"Arc of extremism," Neil Clark, Morning Star, August 10, 2006 [$$$$$ -- See below]
"Israel, Seeking Rocket Buffer, Sets Expansion," Steven Erlanger, New York Times, August 10, 2006 (as posted to the IHT)
"Israel orders new attack on Hezbollah as UN squabbles," Stephen Farrell and Ian MacKinnon, The Times, August 10, 2006
"Israelis Authorize Expansion Of Combat," Molly Moore and Jonathan Finer, Washington Post, August 10, 2006
"violations of Lebanese sovereignty committed by Israel," ZNet Blogs, August 7, 2006
"Greater Israel," ZNet Blogs, August 10, 2006
Update (August 11, 2006):
UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (S/RES/1701), August 11, 2006
"The situation in the Middle East" (S/PV.5511), Meeting Record, UN Security Council, August 11, 2006. (Also see the brief Corrigendum to this meeting record: S/PV.5511/Corr.1.)
"Security Council Calls for End to Hostilities between Hizbollah, Israel, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 1701" (SC 8808), Press Release, UN Department of Public Information, August 11, 2006
An important compilation of documents would assemble in one place hyperlinks to copies of every single one of these “meeting records” on the “situation in the Middle East” (i.e., it is standard usage at the UN to use this phrase to refer to all aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict) extending back through June (let us say—or however far back would be relevant to the current issues). I believe that since June 1, there have been no fewer than 18 different Security Council sessions devoted to the subject.
FYA ("For your archives"): Too important to let subscription fees and copyrights let it slip through our fingers.
August 10, 2006
HEADLINE: Feature - Arc of extremism;
BYLINE: Neil Clark urges us to all come together to stop Damascus and Tehran going the same way as Beirut
Spot the difference. Country A has its citizens kidnapped and killed by a "terrorist" group supported by Country B. Country A reacts by taking action to free the hostages and defeat the terrorists which Country B denounces as "disproportionate" and uses its influence to gain support from other countries for 78 days of air strikes on Country A.
Country C also has its citizens kidnapped and killed by a "terrorist" group. But, this time, Country B supports the measures Country C takes in response - even though, unlike in the first example, they involve attacking another sovereign state and killing hundreds of innocent civilians.
The double standards that Country B (the US) showed towards Country A (Yugoslavia) in 1998-9 during its battle with the Kosovan Liberation Army and Country C (Israel) today could not be more glaring, particularly when one considers that the trigger for the renewal of hostilities between the KLA and Yugoslav forces in October 1998 was the kidnapping by the KLA of two Yugoslav journalists.
No-one on the Sky News bulletin which I recently watched thought fit to ask James Rubin, the ubiquitous former press officer to Secretary of State Madeline Albright, why Yugoslavia had no right to carry out "anti-terrorist" action on its own soil in 1998-9, but Israel has the right to carry out its "anti-terrorist" action on another's soil.
An estimated 900 Lebanese civilians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, a third of them children under the age of 12. A million Lebanese have become refugees in their own country.
Don't, however, hold your breath for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to be indicted for war crimes or be sent, with his hands tied behind his back, on an RAF plane to stand trial at The Hague, the fate which befell Slobodan Milosevic.
Olmert knows that he can literally get away with murder, because he is supported by the most powerful and malevolent political grouping on this planet, Washington's neoconservatives, the very same people who championed the cause of radical Islamists in the Balkans in order to destroy Yugoslavia, now defend the killing of innocent Muslims and Christians in Gaza and Lebanon as a necessary part of the "war on terror."
It is revealing to compare the way the Western media has portrayed both conflicts.
Back in 1998-9, the KLA was depicted as a bunch of heroic freedom fighters battling to free its people from Serb oppression.
"The United States and the KLA stand for the same human values and principles," declared US Senator Joe Lieberman. Little mention was made of the group's links to organised crime and drug smuggling and the fact that, in the lead-up to war, the KLA had killed more ethnic Albanians in Kosovo than Yugoslav forces.
KLA links with hardline fundamentalist groups, including al-Qaida, were also glossed over. Yugoslavia, by contrast, was portrayed as a genocidal nazi-style dictatorship, even though its leader was a committed socialist and lifelong anti-racist who had won three successive elections held in a multi-party system.
All rather different to the way that Israel is depicted today. Although there has been criticism of Israel's actions, the country still benefits from favourable press coverage, especially in the United States and Britain.
Israel, we are repeatedly informed, is a modern, forward-looking democracy under constant attack from backward, fanatical neighbours hell-bent on its destruction.
Israel is an integral part of the West and an example for its virtues, declares the journalist and Tory MP Michael Gove, while fellow Tory Boris Johnson claims that Israel has moral superiority over its opponents on the grounds that, "when Israeli rockets kill civilians, they have missed their targets and that when Hezbollah rockets kill civilians, they have scored a deliberate hit."
Nowhere in this dominant version of events is mention made of Israel's huge military arsenal and the fact that it is the only country in the region to possess nuclear weapons or that the jails of the Middle East's "model democracy" contain over 4,000 Palestinians held without trial.
Despite's Israel's blatant aggression against Lebanon and their denial of rights to the Palestinians, it is the governments of Iran and, to a lesser extent, Syria who are denounced as the instigators of the latest Middle East conflict.
Yet Iran and Syria have far more reason to fear the US and Israel than vice versa. Prominent neoconservatives close to the Bush administration have made no secret of their desire to achieve "regime change" in both Damascus and Tehran.
To openly call for a nuclear first strike on Iran, as leading neoconservative Richard Perle has done, is considered perfectly acceptable, yet, when the Iranian president makes a speech condemning Western policy towards his country, there is a huge outcry.
Unfortunately for Milosevic and the citizens of Yugoslavia, international resistance to US-led imperialism was weak and unco-ordinated in 1999 and Yugoslavia's attempt to defend its territorial integrity was defeated.
Seven years on, though, things are different. As Israel's bombs were pounding Lebanon, President Chavez of Venezuela was completing a tour of sovereign states that still retain their independence. Closer co-operation, not just in trade matters but on defence and military issues too, is essential for these countries if they are to avoid the fate of others who refused to pay Danegeld. The pattern is clear. In 1999, Yugoslavia. In 2003, Iraq. In 2006, Lebanon.
If we don't want to see Damascus and Tehran go the way of Belgrade, Baghdad and Beirut, it's time for all humane, decent people to come together to stop the real "arc of extremism" - the one which stretches from Washington across to London and Tel Aviv. | <urn:uuid:0ba51d72-eccc-43ec-92e6-6f6fae833c68> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zcommunications.org/greater-israel-by-david-peterson | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957762 | 2,165 | 1.539063 | 2 |
If Iran gets a nuclear bomb it may actually use it, Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu said Monday, rejecting the notion that Tehran would act responsibly if
it became a member of the world’s nuclear “club.”
Netanyahu, in a meeting
with visiting Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, spelled out five things that
would likely happen, were Iran allowed to go nuclear: There will be nuclear
proliferation in the Middle East as various other actors will then want to have
a bomb; Iran will have a firmer hand on the “choke point of the world’s oil
supply,” namely the Strait of Hormuz; there will be a magnification of global
terrorism because the terrorists under Iran’s sway will believe that they have
immunity; and Israel’s cities will be rocketed even more because those firing
the rockets will feel that they enjoy a nuclear umbrella.
Iranians might actually use the bomb is a reality that cannot be denied,
“This is a regime that has broken every rule in the
book,” he added. “They very likely could use weapons of mass
Netanyahu said there was an illusion among many in the world that
if Iran acquired nuclear weapons, it would behave responsibly like the world’s
other nuclear states.
The prime minister, during the discussion dominated
by the Iranian issue, said Iran is governed by a “fanatical regime” that sees
itself on a sacred mission of global Islamic domination, and destroying Israel
was just one step toward its larger vision.
Everyone talks about the cost
of stopping Iran, “but they shouldn’t ignore the cost of not stopping Iran,” he
Netanyahu’s comments come a week after he said that the decision to
attack Iran would be taken by the country’s elected political leadership, and
not by the defense and security establishment.
Those remarks followed
media reports of Israel’s top security officials being opposed to an Israeli
attack without US backing.
In a television interview last week, Netanyahu
said that he sees “the regime of the ayatollahs declaring what it has etched on
its banner – to destroy us. It is working to destroy us, and is preparing atom
bombs to destroy us. As much as it is dependent on me, I will not let that | <urn:uuid:959c5df1-88cf-42a9-abf5-0cc00d51b97b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=280333 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963633 | 506 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Residents of Washington Heights in Manhattan are incensed by persistent noise from helicopters—after they were relocated from flying over Brooklyn Heights, Midtown and lower Manhattan. DNAInfo reports that in April 2010, the Economic Development Corp. instituted new routes for the noisy whirlybirds after consistent complaints from Brooklyn politicians. The new plan specified that tours from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport could not fly over those affected regions and instead, were directed north.
Now, uptown Manhattan residents are mounting their own petition against what they say is an excessive flight pattern. Sightseeing helicopters flying over the historic 155th Street and Riverside Drive corridor have created such a disturbance—one resident claims to have counted 67 flyovers in a three-hour period—that community members are asking for a ban on the helicopters. “It is like we live in a war zone,” said Renée Davis on Riverside Drive & West 156th Street.
Opponents point to the heliport’s $45 million contributed annually to the city’s economy. Read the full story here. | <urn:uuid:95b084a9-62bc-48e5-b72f-0a8dc3219a3f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/52122 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954318 | 216 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Report shows mining supporters gave more money
A mining project was proposed in Iron and Ashland counties, but the Wisconsin Legislature failed to pass mining legislation in the last session. Image by Mark Hoffman
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A new report finds that special interests that support easing regulations so a new iron ore mine can open in northern Wisconsin far outspent opponents.
The government watchdog group the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reported Monday that supporters of the mine donated $15.6 million to the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker between 2010 and June 2012.
The report says environmentalists who oppose the bill donated only about $25,500 over the same period.
Walker received $11.3 million from those who support mining while members of the Legislature got $4.25 million.
The single largest benefactor in the Legislature was Republican Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills. The report says she got just over $467,000. She spent more than $1.2 million in 2011 to defeat a recall effort. | <urn:uuid:0e6ba95e-2842-4917-886a-165478dbac34> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/188705201.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957648 | 210 | 1.554688 | 2 |
February 14, 2011
London Review of Books Covers for Kossovo Mafia
By DIANA JOHNSTONE
On January 25, the Council of Europe overwhelmingly endorsed the Report it had commissioned from Swiss Senator Dick Marty on longstanding but officially ignored indications that Kosovo Albanian separatist fighters extracted and sold vital organs from prisoners around the end of the 1999 NATO bombing war that detached Kosovo from Serbia. Specifically implicated was the Drenica section of the “Kosovo Liberation Army” (KLA) led by post-bombing Kosovo’s first and current President, Hashim Thaci. The Council of Europe, whose main function is to defend human rights, called for a proper judicial investigation, notably by the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX)
(For a thorough analysis of the Marty Report, see “Criminal Kosovo: America’s Gift to Europe”, by Diana Johnstone, CounterPunch newsletter, Vol. 18, no.1, January 1-15, 2011.)
The problem created by the Marty Report is the same as the one that gave rise to it. There is no clear judicial authority willing and able to undertake a criminal investigation of the organ trafficking charges. The charges first surfaced in the 2006 memoir of former Chief ICTY Prosecutor Carla del Ponte, who complained that she was not allowed to pursue investigation of evidence in Albania. It was because of this judicial void that the Council of Europe mandated Senator Marty to make his report, hoping to stimulate some sort of legal procedure. But the problem remains. Most of the alleged crimes took place on the territory of Albania, where the KLA operated bases and prisons, but the Albanian authorities have so far refused to cooperate with investigators. EULEX was sent to Kosovo to try to fill the judicial void left by secession. However, like all the international protectorate structures set up to construct “independent” Kosovo, EULEX is afraid of arousing the wrath of Kosovo Albanians and has great difficulty gaining their cooperation in criminal investigation.
Media coverage of the organ trafficking charges implicating Hashim Thaci has been far too muted to build pressure from public opinion on reluctant Western governments to take the issue to court. Human Rights Watch has called for an independent European prosecutor to pursue the case, but there has been no audible response from the governments concerned. Mr. Marty’s expressed fear that his report will remain a “dead letter” seems quite plausible.
Even as the Marty Report appears fated to join the Goldstone Report on Gaza in the limbo of good intentions, the counterattack was launched. Oddly, the London Review of Books chose to publish a five-page review of the Marty Report by someone with a strong vested interest in discrediting it: none other than Geoffrey Nice, who as assistant prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, led the prosecution of Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic. Nice’s only real achievement in the five-year-long trial was to outlive both the presiding judge and the defendant. The monstrous dimensions of the prosecution, aimed at blaming Milosevic for virtually all the woes of the complex civil wars that tore apart Yugoslavia in the 1990s, succeeded in sending Milosevic to his grave before he could present his defense, thus sparing the three judges the task of finding excuses to convict him, as they were hired to do.
The LRB review gave Sir Geoffrey (he was knighted in 2007 for his services) the opportunity to rehash the ICTY prosecution version of NATO’s Kosovo war (the “objective was to forestall a humanitarian catastrophe”) complete with the standard exaggerated figures (“at least 10,000 Kosovo Albanians killed”) and crucial omissions (Hashim Thaci “was chosen to go to Rambouillet in preferance to the Kosovan president, Ibrahim Rugova” – without saying by whom he was chosen, namely the U.S. State Department).
Nice’s main diversionary tactic was to center his attack on an unidentified “witness K144”. He titled his review “Who is K144?” and went on to answer the question by claiming that K144 was both the basis for the Marty Report accusations and non-existent creation of Serbian media propaganda. A hasty reader might overlook the parenthetical element in the following sentence: “Stories in the Serbian press suggest that many of these allegations came from a witness known as K144, although del Ponte never refers to this source in her book (and nor does Marty, directly).” In reality, there is no “witness K144” mentioned in the Marty Report. Nice’s citations from the Serbian press do not correspond to the Marty Report.
The Nice article was immediately echoed and amplified by an article in The Wall Street Journal, which enjoys a larger and more American audience. Under the title “Smearing Hashim Thaci: Are the organ-harvesting allegations part of a media campaign against Kosovo?” (conclusion: yes) British journalist and Member of Parliament Denis MacShane gave a rave review of Nice’s review. “Most troublesome, according to Mr. Nice, is that Mr. Marty’s narrative implicitly depends on an anonymous witness, ‘K144’, who Belgrade says has provided evidence of these atrocities, but who most likely does not exist.”
Denis MacShane is a prize attack dog from the kennel of Tony Blair’s poodle imperialism. He is a member of the Henry Jackson Society, a gathering of warmongers whose model is the “Senator from Boeing”, Henry “Scoop” Jackson, who in the 1970s, with the aid of the Richard Perle, championed aggressive anti-Soviet policies under a supposedly liberal banner. MacShane’s claim to be “on the left” seems to rest almost exclusively on his championing of “the only democracy in the Middle East”, which allows him to make up for the shortage of communist threats with Islamic terrorism. His “European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism” issued a 2009 report which undertook to define which kinds of criticism of Israel constitute anti-Semitism. These included describing the state of Israel as a racist endeavor and comparing contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis. He is on the board of “Just Journalism” whose aim is to oversee UK media reports on Israel.
Mr. MacShane was Labour Minister for the Balkans and then for Europe, but was suspended from the Labour Party last October 14 pending investigation of expense account padding. He reportedly became the first British MP to be reported to the police by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards concerning his claims on taxpayer-funded office expenses. MacShane’s claims over seven years totaled about £125,000, including nearly £20,000 a year for an office located in his garage, eight laptop computers in three years and over a dozen bills for “research and translation” by an elusive “European Policy Institute” which turned out to mean, basically, his brother Edmund Matyjaszek (for his professional life, MacShane dropped his father’s Polish name for his mother’s Irish name surname). He has also been involved in numerous minor scandals involving distortion of facts. None of this seems to have harmed his self-confidence or his career, which includes regular essays for Newsweek. From his writings one can gather that the only Muslims he really trusts are the ones in former Yugoslavia.
Aside from the K144 diversion, the Nice-MacShane attack on the Marty Report zeroes in on two factors that to readers unfamiliar with the case may look like serious weakness. The report, they stress, gives no names of victims and no names of witnesses. The explanation for this is simple. There are indeed lists of potential victims: missing Serbs and ethnic Albanians who are presumed dead after being taken prisoner by the KLA. Without material evidence, it is nearly impossible to ascertain the precise fate of missing persons over ten years ago in a country, Albania, where local authorities have refused to cooperate and have had ample time to dispose of evidence.
As for the names of witnesses, Mr. Marty refuses to disclose them except to serious judicial authorities with a witness protection program. This caution is absolutely necessary given the record of witness intimidation and even murder, notably in the case of Thaci’s rival in the KLA hierarchy, clan leader Ramush Haradinaj. Sir Geoffrey refers to this politely as “accusations of witness tampering”.
Geoffrey Nice concludes his review in the LRB by conceding that the allegations against Thaci need to be dealt with, simply because they make a bad impression. Mr. Nice compares Thaci to the West’s man in Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, accused by Italian authorities of large-scale cigarette smuggling. “Montenegro, like Kosovo, can readily be trashed as a criminal state; and also like Kosovo, it seeks membership of the EU. Djukanovic has just announced that he will stand down and cease to hold political office. This, some say, is intended to ease Montenegro’s entry into organizations that are prepared to negotiate with the likes of Djukanovic or Thaci when their states are emerging from conflict but want afterwards to deal with someone less compromised. Thaci might well have to follow the same path as Djukanovic if the current rumors continue to circulate.”
Taking into account the habitual understatement employed by Geoffrey Nice concerning the wrongdoings of “our side”, this can be read as acknowledgement that both NATO protégés are crooks to some degree or other, who were useful in wresting their lands away from the Serbs, but now had best step back to make way for more presentable puppets. Being prosecuted for those wrongdoings, whatever they may be, is, however, out of the question.
Human rights campaigners in the self-righteous Western democracies are intransigent when it comes to ending what they call “the culture of impunity” so long as it involves, say, Africa. But their own impunity and that of their clients seems more secure than ever.
Diana Johnstone is the author of Fools Crusade: Yugoslavia, NATO and Western Delusions. She can be reached at email@example.com | <urn:uuid:aedca356-7f29-4486-be6e-e0716cd4fe50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://markganzersblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/culture-of-impunity-nato-style.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967789 | 2,187 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Argentina and the IMF
Ecuador and the IMF
Turkey and the IMF
Uruguay and the IMF
República Bolivariana de Venezuela and the IMF
Free Email Notification
Transcript of a Press Briefing by Thomas C. Dawson|
Director, External Relations Department
International Monetary Fund
Friday, January 31, 2003
View this press briefing using Media Player
MR. DAWSON: Good morning, everyone. I'm Tom Dawson, Director of External Relations at the IMF, and this is another of our regular press briefings. As is standard, the briefing will be embargoed until approximately 15 minutes after conclusion, and we'll set a precise time at that point.
Before I take questions, I'd just like to offer a brief reminder related to the Global Linkages Conference, which began yesterday and will conclude today at Fund headquarters. The conference will wrap up with an Economic Forum entitled "The `Links' That Bind." The forum starts at 1:30 here in the IMF auditorium and will explore issues related to the transmission of economic activity across borders and their meaning for investors, policymakers, and international financial institutions. The forum panel includes Stefano Cavaglia of UBS Asset Management; Vincent Reinhart of the Federal Reserve; Randy Kroszner of the White House Council of Economic Advisers; and Anoop Singh, Director of the Fund's Western Hemisphere Department.
That is all I have for opening comments, and I will be happy to take any questions.
QUESTION: I want to know how are the negotiations with Uruguay going. And why haven't you disbursed the money that was due in December for them?
MR. DAWSON: We are still engaged in active discussions with Uruguay, and the discussions are taking a while. So I think that this is part of the natural process, and indications of when disbursements might be expected are always on the sort of notional basis. It depends on the status of the program. And I don't have any more recent update from the team.
QUESTION: Why haven't you recommended [inaudible] of the debt?
MR. DAWSON: I'm not quite sure what you mean. The issue of the debt burden in the country is an issue under active discussion down there, but I don't think we have a recommended position per se. It is clearly an issue that we have said that the authorities need to be aware of and have an approach for maintaining the debt sustainability. But we did not have a proposal that they are considering. They are dealing with the issue.
QUESTION: On the same topic about the possibility of a debt restructuring, there's been a lot of reports in the media that at least that is one of the topics that the IMF is discussing with the Uruguayan authorities. Can you confirm—
MR. DAWSON: Well, no, I don't really want—I mean, there are a number of issues being discussed. Clearly, the debt burden in Uruguay—and you can look at the numbers; they are transparent—is a significant burden. But I wouldn't single it out as the only issue under review, but it is one of the concerns.
QUESTION: A few questions about Turkey. First of all, could you publicly say that at this point Turkey is in violation of its Fund commitments and it's off track? And, secondly, do you have any comment on Turkish Banking Supervisory Council's Pamukbank decision? And do you have any time frame for return of the regular mission to Turkey?
MR. DAWSON: That's a series of very good and related questions when you talk about the return of the regular mission, because we do have a small group there now discussing fiscal issues. In terms of when the review discussions will continue, the government at the moment is working on their letter of intent, and we're discussing—and we can do this remotely as well—specific measures. And the mission will return when the authorities indicate they're in a position to continue those discussions. On the Pamukbank, that is, of course, one of the issues in discussion with the authorities, but I don't have more for you on that.
Did I miss another part of the question? Oh, you asked me about on track, off track. I couldn't and wouldn't say that. Clearly, we are talking with them about a number of issues, including the primary surplus target, which we think is—a 6.5 percent target we think is a good and appropriate target, and we think that achieving the target is fully feasible but will require prompt, strong, and decisive measures. And as I say, we are in active discussions with them, and they are taking a very active role in developing the letter of intent on their own. And so this is one of the reasons why the process is evolving in the way that it is, and this is what ownership is about. So I think this is a natural and to be welcomed process.
QUESTION: So you don't say Turkey's in violation of its commitment or it's off track?
MR. DAWSON: I do not say that. That is correct. But we are clearly looking at the calendar 2003 program, and the target that the authorities have set for themselves we think, as I said, is an appropriate and good target but will require—an achievable target but will require work to meet, and that's what they're doing.
QUESTION: Has the Fund been consulted at all by the Mexican Government about actions to try and control the fall of the peso?
MR. DAWSON: I am not aware of any formal contacts. I am aware of the statements the Mexican authorities have made, and they have an exchange rate system that has worked well for them, and that is what I understand they are pursuing. But I'm not aware of any contacts. If there are, we will let people know.
QUESTION: My understanding is that there's a delegation of senior Honduran officials here looking for a $350 million agreement with the IMF. Could you bring us up to date on that? What are the prospects for a deal? I understand Honduras has been looking for a deal for some time now.
MR. DAWSON: I will confess to not being briefed on that. We will have to get back to you.
QUESTION: Can you tell the present state of your talks with Argentina? Are there any talks with them or have you shelved the whole thing until elections?
MR. DAWSON: No, indeed, we are in regular contact with the Argentine authorities. There will be a mission joint with the World Bank going down there next week. And I would direct you at this point to the Argentine authorities' having published some of the documents regarding the actual program on their website which you could take a look at to see the sorts of measures that are contained in the program, and that can give you sort of a hint as to what is being worked on. But, in particular, the issue of utility prices is one the authorities have been actively working on, and we have been working with them as well. So there is still a dialogue going on.
I think there's a bit of a misnomer. I mean, while in a financial sense this is a, quote-unquote, rollover program, that is not to say that the program did not have measures in it, both in the financial sector in terms of the primary surplus and certain structural measures. So there is work continuing. We clearly recognize that in a number of areas it will be difficult to reach major breakthroughs or sweeping measures in the run-up to the election, and that's just a matter of realism. That's not to say that we aren't and the Argentine authorities aren't anxious to see what can be done in the period running up to the election. I thought maybe my Argentine group had fallen asleep here.
QUESTION: Not yet. I was wondering what you thought about all these articles that came out in the Financial Times, the Economist, Wall Street Journal, accusing the IMF of having given up to the Argentinean blackmail.
MR. DAWSON: I think, first of all, as I said, I would direct you to looking at what the content of the program is, and I think it is a program that looks to consolidate the gains that have been made and try to see what can be done in the pre-election process. I've certainly seen those articles, and some of them are the product of entrepreneurial efforts on the part of reporters, and that certainly is your job to try to, from your points of view, understand the Fund and how it works better. I think there is, however, a tendency in these articles to perhaps overdramatize the process, but that's part of what a free press is about so I'm not complaining. I've found a number of the articles quite entertaining.
QUESTION: I have a follow-up. What about the five abstentions, also has been presented like there was a lack of consensus on the Board and that this is very unusual?
MR. DAWSON: First of all, we do not discuss the actual positions taken by individuals, individual representatives in the Board. So I am not going to comment on that aspect of it. On the other hand, I think it's important to stress this was with the Board a very open exchange of views, of opinions, and I think people have a clearer understanding of how difficult the situation was. And if it turns out at the end of the day that different people have different—or different constituencies may have different positions, that's part of the way life is.
I don't think—as I say, I would not overdramatize it, but I think there's a—one thing there certainly is a consensus on in the Board is how difficult the Argentine situation has been, the experience that both the Argentine people, the government, and the Fund have been through. And I think everyone is committed to trying to find the best way to go forward, and I think that the position ultimately taken by the Board is the best that we could do at this point.
QUESTION: Could you just elaborate a little bit on what that mission, that joint mission with the World Bank is about?
MR. DAWSON: There may be more—there quite often is more than one mission going down, but there may be something going on that I'm not—that is my understanding that the Fund and Bank have a joint mission going down that will be discussing some of the utility pricing issues. There's other work that goes on all the time, too, so I wouldn't—I would identify that one, but there's other work going on, and the authorities are often up here visiting and so on. So it's a continuing discussion, but this particular mission I did point out is happening.
QUESTION: Following up again, what are some of the pending discussions on the utilities?
MR. DAWSON: Well, I mean, it is discussing the framework for going forward. I wouldn't describe it as particular issues. It's discussing the framework for going forward. And you are correct, the authorities have taken some measures in the last, I guess, 24 hours in that regard.
QUESTION: Yes, I also have a follow-up to this Board thing. How often does the Board actually vote in the everyday life of the IMF? And how often does it happen that there are so many abstentions?
MR. DAWSON: I don't keep a running count of it. As you may know, I was for a while a Board member, and I certainly was quite aware of a number of abstentions. I was quite regularly outvoted on salary issues when I was a Board member. But it does happen, and it is a fact. The fact that it gets to be public is also a fact that obviously people may view as being newsworthy. But it is not our position, the position of the staff or the management, to reveal individual countries' or constituencies' positions. That's, frankly, up to them. You know, the United States and some other countries quite often are explicit about their position on particular voting issues, more often on the policy side—or policy and the country side. So it is not unprecedented, but it is not an everyday occurrence either. I mean, but it happens throughout the year there are abstentions and even no votes on varying issues.
QUESTION: One of the things that seems odd about the Argentine program is that, as far as I could tell, there's only one number target in the whole program. That's the primary surplus. Are there other targets that we are just not being made aware of? Or was the sense that this was the only one that could be reached over the next month?
MR. DAWSON: Well, no, I think there certainly are—I would steer away from thinking that numerical targets are the only thing that people need to look at. I mean, that is a key target. Remember, this is a program of limited duration. But certainly there are issues in the financial sector side and others where we and the authorities are working to make sure, as I said, that the gains that have been reached have been consolidated. And since the program is essentially—what is it?—a seven-month program, I think the fiscal targets are, in fact, quite important. But there are other undertakings as well that may not be quantified in that sense, but that are part of making the whole program fit together.
QUESTION: Two questions on Latin America—one on Ecuador. Do you have an update on the mission that was working down there? And the second question is on Venezuela. As you know, Venezuela is facing a lot of serious problems. Did Venezuela make any kind of approach to IMF for help?
MR. DAWSON: On the Ecuador issue, it's my understanding that there may be something coming out later today from Quito, and I think it would be inappropriate for me to talk at this point but I think there's likelihood that there will be a statement later today, at which point we would have a statement as well. But I think it's appropriate for the authorities to make the first statement.
In regard to Venezuela, I am not familiar with any recent contacts in terms of the question as you phrased it was asking for help. I don't know what kind of help you were talking about. I am aware over the last few months there has been assistance of the sort of technical assistance nature taking place with elements of the government, I recall, including the central bank. But I'm not familiar with anything more in the last couple of months. I haven't heard. We'll get back to you on that as well. But certainly, had there been a request for another kind of assistance, I'm sure I would be in a position to answer that.
[Whereupon, the press briefing was concluded.]
IMF EXTERNAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT | <urn:uuid:3b4bc406-639e-493d-90a8-8accb3e7dcb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.imf.org/external/np/tr/2003/tr030131.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978786 | 3,114 | 1.640625 | 2 |
BAGHDAD (AP) — The speaker of Iraq's parliament declared Thursday that lawmakers are prepared to oust the nation's prime minister if he refuses to share authority with his political opponents and break a deadlock that has all but paralyzed the government.
The threat by the speaker, Osama al-Nujaifi, a leader in the Sunni-dominated Iraqiya political coalition, counters a claim last week by Iraq's president that there is not enough support in parliament to call a vote to push Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki from power.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, al-Nujaifi said he personally believes al-Maliki, a Shiite Muslim, should step down from the job that he barely won after national elections in 2010 failed to produce a clear winner.
Since then — and particularly after U.S. troops left Iraq last December — critics have accused al-Maliki of sidelining his political opponents and violating agreements to share power within a unity government.
The political deadlock has all but brought Iraq's government to a standstill so far this year.
Bickering between the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad and the self-rule Kurdish region in Iraq's north threatens to stunt vital foreign investment in the country's lucrative oil industry.
Provinces with majority Sunni populations have threatened to create their own autonomous regions. Political lethargy, combined with red tape, has delayed improvements in many areas, including the nation's electricity system, job creation and rooting out government corruption.
The deadlock has continued against a backdrop of sporadic but deadly bursts of violence: 120 Iraqis have been killed over the last 10 days alone in bombings mostly targeting Shiite pilgrims and security officials across Baghdad and beyond.
"This is a dangerous matter that if continued would lead to catastrophic consequences," al-Nujaifi said as parliament prepared to return to work after a six-week recess.
He said al-Maliki would be summoned for questioning in front of parliament within days. "And if there is a parliament majority that is not convinced with the results of the questioning, then the no-confidence vote will take place," al-Nujaifi said. He called the process "an attempt to put the country on the right track again."
In April, heeding complaints from his followers, hard-line Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr met with Sunni and Kurdish leaders in what was widely viewed as a summit to plot al-Maliki's ouster. But on Thursday, al-Sadr released a statement on his website saying "he tends not to intervene" in such matters.
Last week, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, said a preliminary count of lawmakers who want al-Maliki to step down fell four short of the 163 votes needed to force the issue. Al-Nujaifi denied that, saying that while a few lawmakers backed off, "the number is still enough."
Responding, the prime minister's media adviser, Ali al-Moussawi, said al-Maliki will answer parliament's questions and respects his opponents' rights to call for the no-confidence vote. "But we are confident that they will fail to secure the needed ... votes," al-Moussawi said Thursday.
Al-Maliki also has called for a special session of parliament to address lawmakers in public, said Safa al-Din al-Safi, the state minister for parliament affairs. A date for that session has not yet been set.
Al-Nujaifi also said he, too, would step down if enough lawmakers voted to expel him — a process he said was firmly guaranteed under Iraq's constitution.
"Iraq has efficient and qualified people and figures who can lead Iraq and who can take Iraq into a new horizon," he said. "Now we are in severe political crisis and we hope to get out of it."
Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Sameer N. Yacoub and Bushra Juhi contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:e5cc73b7-ed48-4ff1-b3da-8707cdb5535c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-parliament-speaker-threatens-oust-premier-143359068.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969608 | 828 | 1.539063 | 2 |
“Behavioral finance has always been really important when it comes to working with clients, but I think it’s just as important when it comes to coaching advisors,” said Jimmy Lee, a managing partner at Strategic Wealth Associates.
Lee works with 80 advisors and runs the firm’s advisor training program. To be successful in their roles as financial stewards (assuming a good financial plan is already in place) he said, advisors must suppress their own emotional reactions to the market and then convince clients to stay the course, too.
Hugh Massie, president and founder of DNA Behavior International, a coaching and consulting firm that specializes in behavioral research and profiling, said that whether or not an advisor is aware of it, his own perceptions of the market and of himself can impact the client. “Particularly, the advisor’s own blind spots can play a role here,” he said.
This could be detrimental to the client’s portfolio in terms of risk or timing, because, as Massie said, the clients can “eat” the behavior of the advisor. For example,with a high risk taking advisor, clients could end up in portfolios carrying an inappropriate risk level for them. Similarly, an advisor who is particularly fearful during market downturns could end up pulling client assets at the wrong time.
“Sometimes it’s hard as an advisor to separate your own emotions from the client,” Massie said.
However, Massie and Lee both said this is an issue that isn’t talked or written about enough in the financial advisory industry. “We spend so much time in this industry training these advisors on products and financial concepts, and we don’t spend nearly enough time on the advisors themselves when it comes to their own belief system, their own confidence level, how they see themselves and how that affects their subconscious,” Lee said.
And the client’s portfolio performance isn’t the only thing at stake if advisors don’t manage their own behavior. According to Lee, an advisor’s productivity is deeply connected to his self-confidence and how the advisor sees himself. “I think it’s just as important for client performance as it is for advisor productivity,” he said.
To help advisors succeed, Lee said, trainings must also focus on advisor behavior because it trying to help an advisor become a high producer isn't effective if he can’t envision that. “So we have to peel back the onion a little bit and focus on the foundation of who these advisors are and how they see themselves, today and in the future,” he said. “And if they want to see themselves differently, can we help them with that in a positive direction? How can we help them perform better and execute on their goals.”
At the end of the day it’s a lot about confidence, Lee said. The more confident advisors are, the more comfortable their clients will be with the plan they’ve worked on. As far as coping with emotional investor behavior, advisors must work to manage client expectations from the outset and remain confident in the plan when the clients want to deviate.
Massie agreed that confidence plays a big role in a successful advisor-client relationship. “It’s confidence in yourself, it’s confidence in the strategy, in the markets, but also confidence in the clients and how they are going to behave, which is about getting the clients to understand themselves and to balance out their own emotions and irrationality,” he said.
To avoid advisor behavior pitfalls, advisors must be aware that their behavior could impact their clients in a negative way, Massie said. “The more that the advisor has an understanding of themselves and an understanding of the client, the less likely it will be that these problems come up,” he said. | <urn:uuid:d4f2df57-80ee-43ed-b47f-3a7639c3e1f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.onwallstreet.com/blogs/Forget-Investor-Behavior-What-About-Advisor-Behavior-2681735-1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975394 | 809 | 1.664063 | 2 |
To apply for all clinics, please use the Clinic Application and Matching System (CAMS).
NYU School of Law offers the following year-long clinics. Each of these clinics is 14 credits and therefore accounts for roughly half of a student's courseload for the academic year. (Exceptions are the Civil Rights and Constitutional Transitions Clinics, which carry 12 and 10 credits, respectively.) Please select from the links at the left to learn more about each clinic.
Civil Rights Clinic
Over a full, intensive year, students in the Civil Rights Clinic handle litigation involving police accountability, most frequently racial profiling cases but also first amendment and due process in criminal justice and police matters. The clinic and cases are supervised by Chris Dunn, associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union and by Alexis Karteron, Senior Staff attorney at the NYCLU. Students handle their cases out of their offices at the NYCLU, where they act as members of the legal department staff. The clinic also develops the students’ litigation skills through a seminar program that includes a full trial advocacy component and that uses the students’ own cases as the basis for their study of litigation and other strategies for change, and for their critical examination of the institutions that their clients are involved with.
Community Reentry and Reintegration Clinic
A number of individuals will be released from state and federal prison annually. Many of these individuals will return to neighborhoods with scarce resources to provide them safe, affordable housing or viable employment. In addition, because of their criminal record, these individuals could be denied public housing, certain kinds of jobs, public assistance, educational student loans, and voting rights. Given the complexity of legal and practical barriers faced by individuals returning from prison to the community, the Community Reintegration and Reentry Clinic will focus both on individual assistance to clients, as well as policy reform aimed at facilitating the reentry process of individuals being released from prison.
Constitutional Transitions Clinic and Colloquium: The Middle East Revolutions (for J.D.s)
The Constitutional Transitions Clinic and Colloquium: The Middle East Revolutions is a joint project of Constitutional Transitions and the Cairo office of International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), an intergovernmental organization that supports sustainable democracy worldwide, with 27 member states. IDEA’s mission s to support sustainable democratic change by providing comparative knowledge, and assisting in democratic reform, and influencing policies and politics. Taught by Professors Sujit Choudhry and Katy Glenn Bass.
Criminal and Community Defense Clinic
This clinic, taught by Professor Kim Taylor-Thompson, explores the responsibilities and challenges involved in providing holistic and community-based public defense. The course focuses on individual representation, examining client-centered advocacy and explores methods for giving clients voice in the criminal justice system. In addition, it explores the various forms of advocacy available to community-oriented defenders, such as media advocacy, community advocacy and legislative advocacy. Students will be assigned to work in a neighborhood-based defender office where they will engage in activities related to the representation of individuals charged in the criminal justice system. Students will also work closely with defenders and community activists developing and facilitating their collaborative efforts to exercise greater control over criminal justice issues as they affect low income and of-color communities.
Employment and Housing Discrimination Clinic
In this clinic, taught by Professor Laura Sager, students represent plaintiffs in state and federal court on claims of race, sex, national origin and disability discrimination. Students meet with clients, draft pleadings, discovery requests and motions, take depositions, and appear in court for hearings or trials. They also participate in seminar discussions of substantive and procedural issues related to the clinic's cases, and in simulation exercises to develop written and oral litigation skills.
Family Defense Clinic
This clinic works to prevent the unnecessary break-up of indigent families, and to protect the rights of poor and minority parents to due process and equal treatment by government authorities. Students in the clinic represent parents in Family Court, handling all aspects of litigation in child abuse, neglect, and termination of parental rights proceedings. Fieldwork includes substantial advocacy in and out of the courtroom, as well as policy projects designed to reform the foster care and Family Court systems. The clinic includes both law and graduate social work students and emphasizes the importance of approaching child welfare from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Federal Defender Clinic
In this clinic, students represent indigent misdemeanor defendants in Federal Magistrate Court in the Eastern District of New York in all stages of the litigation, from arraignment to hearings, pleas, and trials. Additional fieldwork includes assisting attorneys at the Federal Defenders of New York in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York in their representation of indigent felony defendants.
Immigrant Rights Clinic
This clinic advances the rights of immigrants through direct representation of immigrants and community-based organizations in agency and federal court litigation, legislative advocacy, and community organizing support.
International Human Rights Clinic
(Not offered 2013-14)
The International Human Rights Clinic provides students with an opportunity to explore multifaceted approaches to human rights advocacy in both domestic and international settings. Students focus on a wide range of issues at the heart of struggles to ensure fundamental rights, substantive equality, and economic and social justice. In the fieldwork component of the Clinic, students use cutting-edge tools to investigate and document rights abuses and formulate legal, policy, and community-based responses to current human rights problems. Students work closely with grassroots human rights organizations, international NGOs, and U.N. human rights experts and bodies. In the seminar component of the Clinic, students develop practical tools for human rights advocacy, such as: documenting and publicizing human rights violations; bringing claims before domestic, regional, and international human rights mechanisms; and managing trauma in human rights work. Students also address questions of ethical, political and professional accountability and are encouraged to reflect critically on the difficult questions of what it means to practice human rights in domestic and transnational contexts. Taught by Professor Smita Narula.
Juvenile Defender Clinic
This clinic represents young persons accused of felony offenses in juvenile delinquency proceedings in the New York Family Court. | <urn:uuid:494d7145-bd7c-44a9-8530-b38d5f2bf31b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://law.nyu.edu/academics/clinics/year/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937946 | 1,266 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Endgame: Syria Explores The War in Syria
Auroch Digital are using rapid-game development methods to do something rarely seen in the game industry: present an opportunity to explore current day news headlines in the form of a game. While it might be controversial to consider Endgame: Syria a game given the premise of it, Auroch’s Tomas Rawlings explains his feelings on getting those who might be in the dark about current world news involved.
“We wanted the events and actions in the game to mirror the real situation. So while creating this experience, we were also continually looking at the news and adding or removing components to keep the content current.”
“As game developers, games are a natural way for us to express our thoughts on the world around us. Games don’t have to be frivolous or lightweight; they can and do take on serious issues and open them up to new audiences.”
“If the word ‘game’ is troubling then we’re happy for this to be called a ‘simulation’ or an ‘interactive experience’. For us, the point is that we’re using this medium as a means to express and explore the uncertainties of this situation. A game allows you to re-explore the same territory and see how different choices play out and understand that those choices have far-reaching consequences.”
Endgame: Syria allows players to make choices that not only have an impact on events that occur during the game but the overall outcome. During the two week development period, the team reports that many changes had to be made due to constant changes in the events surrounding the Syrian war.
[Source: Auroch Digital] | <urn:uuid:525e77ca-944c-4d1f-927e-07307159d2bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vividgamer.com/2012/12/13/endgame-syria-explores-the-war-in-syria/ | 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 | 0.946837 | 359 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Memories of Green
by Jesse Darland
The first to go were the tangerine trees. That broke papa's heart; citrus fruits, he had always told us, were the kings of all fruits. Despite all our efforts to brush the ash from the leaves, the tangerines died, and then the grapefruit, and the limes and lemons, and at last the mangoes, too.
Papa hated growing mangoes, but they were something the tourists always lingered over when they stopped at our stall by the side of the road. He thought they tasted awful, and anyway they were too much trouble to eat. But if they brought in money -- well, even he couldn't argue with that. But once they started to succumb at last, something changed inside him. He quit coming outside in the mornings with my brothers and I to pile dead branches and try half-heartedly to run through our chores without looking up at the sky. Instead, papa stayed inside the house and drank one beer after another. Mama told us not to worry. He'll be back together again soon, she told us. Everyone will be back together again soon.
I couldn't even pronounce the name of the volcano back then. Eyjafjallajökull: everyone can remember it now. It's all we have left to remember, since after all the trees weren't the only plants that died under the thick blanket of ash and clouds. The grasses all withered, too, along with the shrubs and cacti and vegetables and perennials and wildflowers and everything else. All we have now are lichens and mosses, and blurry photos of the vast underground greenhouses that grow what could be salvaged from the Svalbard Vault -- but of course the Army won't let us close to those. National security, and all that.
So all I have to remember now is the morning that papa finally roused himself, and took the axe out to the row of mango trees and hacked them down one by one. Then, with my brothers and I watching, he dragged their ruins together and lit them on fire. The trees' bodies burned bright orange against the black sky, while my father wept. | <urn:uuid:4a9c22a9-f12a-416e-a54b-133f4dc2fc1e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fictionaut.com/stories/jesse-darland/memories-of-green | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98022 | 459 | 1.84375 | 2 |
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT SITING IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2004 -- (House of Representatives - June 15, 2004)
Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 672, I call up the bill (H.R. 4513) to provide that in preparing an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement required under section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 with respect to any action authorizing a renewable energy project, no Federal agency is required to identify alternative project locations or actions other than the proposed action and the no action alternative, and for other purposes.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from West Virginia for yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill and express my opposition to the other energy bills we are considering today and tomorrow as part of what the Republican leadership is calling Energy Week.
I would like to start with this bill, the Renewable Energy Project Siting Act. As the Members know, I am co-chair of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, so some may wonder how I can be opposed to the bill. And the answer is that the bill is not what it claims to be, and I oppose it for what it really is.
Voting against the bill does not mean opposing the development of clean renewable energy technologies. Instead, it means being opposed to rushing the development of energy projects without first subjecting them to the full environmental and public health review required by the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.
In my experience and my understanding of the history, environmental analysis has not held up siting of a sound renewable energy project; so there is no need for the bill. If we look at the simple purpose of NEPA, it is to require that the Federal Government looks before it leaps to make sure that the benefits of a project do not come at the expense of the environment.
That is a sound rule, and it should be maintained. So for that reason I cannot support this bill.
At this point let me, if I might, briefly discuss the other energy bills on this week's agenda. There is no doubt that we in the Congress need to pass a comprehensive energy bill. But the bills we will be considering this week will not address the real problems we face today, high energy prices and finite supplies of fossil fuels. Instead, at most it merely postpones the inevitable transition from hydrocarbons that we need to make by subsidizing oil and gas production at the expense of cleaner and more efficient technologies. Drilling in the wildlife refuge in Alaska will not help us get out of this bind, which is again one of the reasons I will oppose that bill when it is considered tomorrow.
And the other bill we will consider tomorrow, to make it easier for refineries to restart and be developed in areas of high unemployment by relaxing environmental regulations, will not do anything to affect oil prices and could create environmental hazards for the residents of these areas.
Mr. Speaker, the fact that the Republican leadership is forcing this debate on these bills we have already considered not only indicates a lack of imagination but also an admission that they have no plan to address rising gas prices and the energy needs of this country.
This appears to be an exercise in politics, not policy. If we get serious in this House about addressing our energy concerns and developing a real energy policy, I know we can find common ground. But this week's showboating is not serious. I urge my colleagues to oppose these bills. | <urn:uuid:08647e66-567e-4ad9-8317-b8077055c5b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://votesmart.org/public-statement/43783/renewable-energy-project-siting-improvement-act-of-2004 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941009 | 732 | 1.757813 | 2 |
A guide to succeed in the UK: 2 The right market place?
Of course it is – or else you wouldn’t be doing it. However, it is important to decide if you are targeting just one market (the UK) or using it as a gateway to Europe and, possibly, the wider EMEA market. For example, a company from Brazil may choose to set up in Portugal, or one from Quebec may favour France. The language and business culture factors in these cases may seem perfectly logical, but offsetting those decisions could be the difficulties of setting up in those countries, combined with non-flexible employment legislation.
Points in favour of the UK are the universal business and science language of English and the ease of doing business with the UK ranked fourth in the world (World Bank Doing Business 2011; www.doingbusiness.org).
Related Blog Posts
Paul adores tea - however he is not your "typical Brit". He despises bad customer service, does not come from either Oxford, or Cambridge - has good teeth, and speaks eloquently. He represents a UK accounting firm that concentrates on helping US companies enter the UK and succeed! Paul provides general UK tax, accounting and cultural insights in a light-hearted and practical way. He is, The UK Voice. | <urn:uuid:ea6f6831-e015-4847-95f8-16a7d797c0ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.accountingweb.com/blogs/paulbeare/uk-voice/guide-succeed-uk-2-right-market-place | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950171 | 265 | 1.632813 | 2 |
I wish I had read Oscar Casares’s debut collection of stories when I was living in New York and feeling homesick; I read this in one sitting! Set in Brownsville, Texas, Brownsville definitely captures the essence of life in the Rio Grande Valley. The Texas-Mexico border is at times a world all of its own, and Casares certainly uses this to his advantage throughout his work.
The protagonists in each of the stories vary widely, from a little boy working at Mr. Z’s fireworks stand, to an older woman whose prized bowling ball is stolen. Yet each of these characters are so incredibly recognizable to people living in south Texas. I was especially delighted at the language and incorporation of local pronunciations of Spanglish (some of it is hysterical).
My favorite stories were “Mr. Z” (about the little boy working at the fireworks stand), “Domingo” (about the old man working in the U.S. to send money back to his wife in Mexico), and “Big Jesse, Little Jesse” (about a man whose son was born with a slight deformity).
After reading this collection of stories, I very much look forward to reading Casares’s debut novel, Amigoland. | <urn:uuid:17773f88-4189-4796-b9cb-74cb6b76d1f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://feministtexicanreads.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/brownsville-stories/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968349 | 264 | 1.640625 | 2 |
An Interlocal Partnership is a formal agreement for economic development that exists between the state and local units of government. It allows those local economic development corporations to appoint a representative to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Board, which evaluates the performance of the MEDC and reviews the acts of the MEDC Executive Committee. Click here to see the Interlocal Agreement and a listing of MEDC's Interlocal Partners.
The MEDC recognizes and appreciates that there are numerous other types of economic development agencies that also work very closely in partnership with the MEDC. These partners include various local agencies, utilities, and non-profit economic development organizations. To recognize these partnerships, the Corporate Partnership agreement was developed, which states that both entities will cooperate and assist each other in implementing economic development strategies that promote economic growth. Click here to see the listing of MEDC's Corporate Partners. | <urn:uuid:2d6d92c5-167c-4b47-902b-95b8abe9f2bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.michiganadvantage.org/Regional-and-Local-Development-Partners/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94421 | 172 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Profile: Leonard Ginter
Leonard Ginter was a participant or observer in the following events:
Gordon Kahl. [Source: Anti-Defamation League]Posse Comitatus (see 1969 and 1983) member and anti-tax protester Gordon Kahl (see 1967 - 1973) and three Posse members gun down two US marshals who are attempting to arrest Kahl in a confrontation near Medina, North Dakota. The two marshals are among a group of six attempting to apprehend Kahl in a 1977 income tax case after he violated his probation by refusing to file a tax return (see 1975 - 1981); he has been a fugitive since 1981.
Initial Attempts to Negotiate Peaceful Surrender Fail - In that year, Kahl refused to turn himself over to North Dakota federal marshal Harold “Bud” Warren after a number of telephone conversations in which Kahl insisted that he had been “illegally” convicted by the “forces of Satan.” Warren decided that Kahl’s probation violation was “hardly a serious crime” and decided not to pursue it, partially because he knew Kahl was a crack shot and feared he would lose officers in any attempt to arrest him.
Increasing Involvement in Posse Activities - Kahl moved to Arkansas, where he visited the compound of the white supremacist Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord organization. A member of that organization, Leonard Ginter, hid Kahl from federal authorities. Kahl’s wife, under tremendous stress from the situation, tried and failed to negotiate a settlement with the IRS, resulting in her excoriation by her 23-year-old son Yorie, who accused her of cooperating with “the tithing collectors of the Jewish-Masonic Synogogue [sic] of Satan.” Kahl became more and more involved in Posse Comitatus activities, traveling to Kansas and Colorado.
Return to North Dakota, Confrontation with Police - In January 1983 he and Yorie Kahl returned to North Dakota with the intention of setting up a Posse “township” near Medina, which they envisioned as being free from state and government control. Kahl’s station wagon is observed by Stutsman County deputy sheriff Bradley Kapp, who informs the Marshal Service in Bismarck. Warren’s successor, Kenneth Muir, authorizes Kahl’s arrest, and drives to Medina with Deputy Marshal Carl Wigglesworth to join two other deputy marshals, Robert Cheshire Jr. and James Hopson Jr. Kapp is spotted by some of his Posse colleagues, who quickly join him in planning to forcibly resist any arrest attempt. They receive the assistance of Medina police chief Darrell Graf, who is a Posse sympathizer. Kahl, Yorie Kahl, and Posse members David Broer and Scott Faul flee Medina in two Posse members’ cars, but the ruse only briefly confuses the marshals, and two police cars with flashing lights quickly apprehend Kahl and Broer. One car is driven by deputy police chief Steve Schnabel; the other by Muir and Wigglesworth. Kapp, Cheshire, and Hopson are close behind in a third vehicle. Kahl and Broer turn off the road into a driveway, and Kahl, armed with a modified Ruger Mini-14 assault rifle, prepares to open fire on the approaching police officers. The others leap out of their cars and, armed with Mini-14s, take up positions in a ditch. When the marshals arrive moments later, they get out of their cars and order the Posse members to lay down their weapons. One of the Posse members opens fire, and in the 30-second volley that ensues, Kahl and his fellow Posse members lay down a deadly fire that inflicts heavy damage on the outgunned marshals. Kahl wounds Kapp and Schnabel with two shots, and kills Muir with a shot to the heart. Muir fires off a single shot that gravely wounds Yorie. Hopson is struck in the head by a ricocheting bullet that causes permanent brain damage. Rifle fire from Yorie and Faul fatally wounds Cheshire. Kapp, severely injured, manages to shoot Yorie three more times, then takes cover. Kahl executes the dying Cheshire with a shot to the head, then points his rifle at the downed Schnabel, but chooses not to kill him, instead taking his police cruiser and fleeing the scene. He takes the injured Yorie to a Posse member, Dr. Clarence Martin; Yorie and Kahl’s wife Joan are arrested later that night at the hospital, and Yorie tells FBI agents some details of the confrontation. Faul, Broer, and Posse member Vernon Wegner are also arrested; Faul refuses to tell police or FBI investigators where Kahl might have fled to. Police find Schnabel’s abandoned police cruiser. Two days later, police surround Kahl’s farmhouse and bombard it with tear gas, only to find it abandoned. They do find a store of weapons and ammunition, and a collection of Posse Comitatus pamphlets and related documents. Kahl’s family insists that law enforcement efforts to apprehend Kahl are unfair, and complain that he is being “hunted like a dog.” Joan Kahl appears on television and tearfully pleads with her husband to surrender, to no avail. FBI and US Marshals descend on the local Posse Comitatus headquarters, and offer a $25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, but Kahl has disappeared into the shadows of the far-right militia network. [Ian Geldard, 2/19/1995; Southern Poverty Law Center, 12/2001; Levitas, 2002, pp. 194-200; Nicole Nichols, 2003; Anti-Defamation League, 2011] Kahl’s murder of the marshals will be used by Posse Comitatus leader James Wickstrom to promote the anti-tax movement (see February 14-21, 1983). Four months later, Kahl will die in a bloody standoff with police officers in Arkansas (see March 13 - June 3, 1983).
Entity Tags: Leonard Ginter, Posse Comitatus, Robert Cheshire Jr, Yorie Kahl, Steve Schnabel, Vernon Wegner, Scott Faul, Joan Kahl, Kenneth Muir, James Hopson Jr, Carl Wigglesworth, James Wickstrom, Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord, Clarence Martin, David Broer, Darrell Graf, Bradley Kapp, Gordon Kahl, Harold (“Bud”) Warren
Timeline Tags: US Domestic Terrorism
Gordon Kahl, an anti-tax protester, Posse Comitatus member (see 1967 - 1973 and 1975 - 1981), and federal fugitive who killed two US Marshals in a February shootout in North Dakota (see February 13, 1983 and After), arrives at a farm in Mountain Home, Arkansas. The farm owner, Arthur Russell, is a member of another white supremacist organization, the Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord (CSA), and willingly hides Kahl, who is facing a second warrant for his arrest issued March 11. Kahl spends two months hiding at Russell’s farmhouse, studying the Bible, watching television, and spending time with Russell’s daughter Karen. While Kahl is in hiding, his family and colleagues in the Posse who were involved in the shootout are tried in May 1983; his son Yorie Kahl and colleague Scott Faul are convicted of second-degree murder and six other related charges; David Broer is convicted of conspiracy and of harboring a fugitive; and his wife Joan Kahl is acquitted of conspiracy and harboring a fugitive.
FBI Learns of Kahl's Whereabouts - In late May, after the convictions, Kahl leaves the Russell farm with his CSA friend Leonard Ginter and Ginter’s wife Norma. Ginter, an unemployed carpenter, belongs to a small anti-government group called Americans for Constitutional Enforcement, but is not too ideologically rigid not to accept food stamps for himself and his wife. Kahl and the Ginters drive to Smithville, Arkansas, a tiny Ozark town where the Ginters have a concrete house with a vegetable patch and a chicken pen. After Kahl leaves, Karen Russell calls the FBI and informs them of his whereabouts.
Final Confrontation - On June 3, FBI agent James Blasingame organizes a group of US Marshals and local lawmen at the Lawrence County courthouse to plan how best to apprehend Kahl and the Ginters. Twenty-eight law enforcement officials, including 15 US Marshals, six FBI agents, three state police officers, and four county lawmen descend on the Ginter home. While en route, they encounter Ginter, driving away from the house in a car with a rifle in the backseat; he has a cocked and loaded pistol in his lap. Ginter is apprehended without incident, but lies to the police, saying Kahl is not at the house. Unfortunately, the officials believe his story. At the officials’ request, Ginter drives back to the house, with five officials behind. Ginter parks his car, as do the officials; Ginter gets out and shouts: “Norma, come out. The FBI wants to talk to you.” He emphasizes the word “FBI” as loudly as possible, alerting Kahl to their presence. Norma Ginter comes out and is escorted away. Lawrence County Sheriff Gene Matthews, departing from the plan, enters the house through a utility room off the garage, with US Marshal James Hall and Arkansas State Police investigator Ed Fitzpatrick following him. Kahl is waiting in the kitchen, armed with a formidable Ruger Mini-14 assault rifle. When Matthews enters the kitchen, the two men see each other and open fire simultaneously; Kahl wounds Matthews fatally with two shots to the chest and Matthews kills Kahl with a bullet to the head. Hall and Fitzpatrick, unsure of what has happened, begin firing wildly, striking Matthews with buckshot. Matthews manages to get to a police cruiser before collapsing, and gasps, “I got him.” But the other officials are unsure if Kahl is actually dead, and if others may be in the house as well. They open fire on the house and let loose a barrage of tear gas. They then set the house afire with a can of diesel fuel; the fire ignites several thousand rounds of ammunition stored inside the house and the house is all but gutted by the conflagration. Eventually, officials are able to enter the house and find what remains of Kahl’s body in the kitchen. Posse Comitatus leader William Potter Gale, asked by a reporter about Kahl’s death, says that Kahl was murdered for helping farmers and belonging to the group. Another Posse member, Richard Wayne Snell, will later claim that Matthews had been killed by FBI agents after interrupting them during their torture of Kahl. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 12/2001; Levitas, 2002, pp. 217-220; Anti-Defamation League, 2011]
Episode Destabilizes Posse Comitatus - The Kahl episode receives national attention and helps destabilize the Posse Comitatus (see 1984). The media quickly learns of Kahl’s racist and anti-Semitic past, and reprints a letter he wrote the same night he killed the marshals and later sent to reporters. In his letter, Kahl announced that it was time to begin killing Jews: “We are engaged in a struggle to the death between the people of the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of Satan. We are a conquered and occupied nation; conquered and occupied by the Jews, and their hundreds or maybe thousands of front organizations doing their un-Godly work. They have two objectives in their goal of ruling the world. Destroy Christianity and the White race. Neither can be accomplished by itself, they stand or fall together.” In an attempt to exonerate his son and Faul, Kahl took credit for all the fatal shots. Kahl’s espousal of violence and anti-Semitism causes a backlash when some Posse Comitatus members attempt to portray him as a martyr. [Southern Poverty Law Center, 12/2001; Levitas, 2002, pp. 217-220]
Entity Tags: Ed Fitzpatrick, Scott Faul, William Potter Gale, David Broer, Arthur Russell, Americans for Constitutional Enforcement, Richard Wayne Snell, Posse Comitatus, Yorie Kahl, Leonard Ginter, James Blasingame, Gordon Kahl, Gene Matthews, Covenant, Sword, and Arm of the Lord, Norma Ginter, James Hall, Karen Russell, Joan Kahl
Timeline Tags: US Domestic Terrorism
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Jane McGonigal will discuss her firsthand experiences designing, directing and performing in the supergaming genre. She proposes that massively scaling digital communities is not only possible, but that scaling leads to the emergence of important changes in our understanding of the network, of the possibility of digital community, and indeed of "community" itself.
The massively-scaled ludic worldview is a design imperative for social software engineers, game developers, network designers and all the other architects of digital community: more, more, more play and players.
Why more? "The more the better" - players experience phenomenological pleasure in being part of a much larger, co-present whole. "More is different" - unexpected things happen when you scale up. "More is needed" - to become exponentially more powerful, to pass the coveted threshold to "super," you need to connect as many individual parts as possible. These three tenets comprise the more, more, massively more connectivity she dreams of for playful network communities in the today's new media landscape. Massively more is a vision of digital social networks designed and deployed to produce more pleasure, more emergence, and more superpower through a massive scaling of gamer communities.
This vision flies in the face of one of social software's favorite conventional wisdoms: digital communities don't scale well. But recent San Francisco-based cluster of pervasive play and performance practices - the urban superhero adventure the Go Game, flash mobs, flash mob supercomputing, and the flash mob gaming missions in the massively-multiplayer alternate reality game I Love Bees – suggest otherwise. Together, these experiments in massively-scaled, public collaboration comprise the avant-garde of an emerging constellation of network practices that are both ludic, or game-like, and spectacular - that is, intended to generate an audience. She calls this tactical combination of network-based play and spectacle supergaming.
Jane McGonigal is a game designer and games researcher, specializing in massively collaborative games played in everyday spaces. She is a Ph.D. candidate in performance studies at UC Berkeley, researching collective play and practicing design for collaboration as a member of the Berkeley Institute of Design and the Alpha Lab for Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. She is also a creative designer for 42 Entertainment, where she most recently served as community lead and puppetmaster for the Halo 2 alternate reality game I Love Bees, which won the 2005 International Game Developers Association's Innovation Award and was named by the New York Times' "Year in Words" one of the most influential and touchstone catchphrases of 2004. Her previous pervasive gaming and collaborative play projects include Place Storming (Intel), the Place Storming/Wi-Fi Bedouin Mash-up (commissioned for the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art), The Go Game (Wink Back, Inc.), Organum (BID lab), and Tele-Twister (Alpha Lab). Jane has taught game design as the San Francisco Art Institute and game culture at UC Berkeley, and is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. She is currently working with the MacArthur Foundation on an educational gaming initiative and is on the Interactive City programming committee for ISEA 2006.
-- As of 3/14/04 | <urn:uuid:84caab99-0b85-4b74-b892-693b81e5f5a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://atc.berkeley.edu/bio/Jane_McGonigal/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937453 | 657 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Skratch Labs Exercise Hydration Mix, Everyday Hydration Mix, Flip Lock Tin
It's easy to envy Allen Lim. He's been everywhere important in the bike world. He's worked with not only the best teams, but the best riders. He has most journalists eating out of his hand, literally. And his best advice seems to be of the no-nonsense kind. Why isn't someone with scads of power doing better at bike races? 'It's that you're a shitty bike racer,' he once told Velo.
Lim is mostly off the road these days, but he's coaching top cyclists and running a business called Skratch Labs. Skratch Labs drink mixes, both their Exercise Hydration Mix and Everyday Hydration Mix, follow this kind of format. They've got a lot of thinking behind them but essentially they're the simple execution of a simple idea. Make simple drink mixes that have natural ingredients and are easy to digest. Easy, right?
We've all been to this place before. It's 90-degrees out and a little more than halfway into what should be a four-hour ride. You ran out of the home-mixed fluids in your bottle five miles ago, your throat is dry, you can't eat, and you want something that satisfies. So when that first convenience store appears, slam on the brakes, go in and get a liter of Gatorade, possibly more. Drink half a liter standing still, then fill the bottles and go.
A few miles down the road, you're still thirsty and the beverage of the Florida Gators is warming up and sticky and not terribly enjoyable, but it has electrolytes and calories and is liquid so you drink away. You get a terrible feeling in your stomach, what some call 'gut rot.' There doesn't seem to be a choice; it just seems to be a side effect of riding too far or too hard in weather that's too hot.
It's easy to pick on the drink that created the category, but it's not the only one it happens with. We think that just about everyone has had this experience with at least one brand of sports drink, if not several.
Lim was trying to make something that didn't do the above for his charges on the pro teams he worked with. Someone once told us of Lim, "he has a Ph.D., but he's mixing water bottles." Now we know why.
Here's an explanation from the man himself.
To us, this feels a little too simple to explain how a complex system like the body works, especially since human bodies vary. But this is one of the ways Lim shines. The word you need to know is osmolality. It's the concentration of chemicals (think electrolytes) in the blood. According to the NIH, "Normal values range from 275 to 295 milliosmoles per kilogram." It gets higher when you're dehydrated. If the concentration of chemical particles in what you're drinking is greater than that of your blood, then you'll get further dehydrated because it will draw water away from the rest of your body. Osmosis is a concept most are familiar with and how the body achieves equilibrium. This is that heavy feeling your stomach can get. If the solution you're drinking has a lower osmolality, then your body can absorb the liquid more easily and quickly with less distress.
So, Lim was trying to make a drink that had lower osmolality and still delivered the electrolytes people need. 280 was the goal, so the concentration would mimic what the body already has, but yet slightly lower osmolality, making it easier to get absorbed by the body. To get it down to this number, he cut calories and increased electrolytes compared to most sports drinks. Here's his much longer explanation.
Cut calories from your sports drink. This, in some circles, is controversial. Some people believe it's easiest to get calories through liquid. Lim believes in separating nutrition from hydration. Extending this idea to other on-bike fuels, he thinks gels are bad. "Gels are one of the worst types of foods you can consume. I tell athletes to never use gels unless they are absolutely desperate, it is cold out and they are not dehydrated, or if it's in the last hour of a race where they can find a toilet to relieve themselves sooner than later." As for the problem of eating on a hot day, "Generally speaking, in the heat, there's competition for blood to deliver oxygen, cool, and also digest food. So there's definitely more of a burden in the heat. That being said, that only makes highly concentrated gels and fluids even harder to absorb. So while it may also be harder to digest regular food, it's even harder to absorb highly concentrated fluids and gels."
The Exercise mix works for us. Riding hard in hot weather has always presented challenges. We've tried lots of mixes over the years and have begun preferring ones with higher electrolyte content (saltier rather than sweeter) for the past few. It's easy to drink anything at the start of a ride when you're hydrated and the bottles are cold. A few hours in, when you're getting bottles at a feed or stopping at a store, you start to learn what works for your body.
The taste, we tried Pineapple, is light. More like slightly salty flavored water than a syrupy drink. The pineapple flavor is present but more like a strong hint then pineapple juice. It goes down well when cold or warm. And it was hard for us to get tired of drinking it, another good sign. Maybe we've drunk the KoolAid, but having switched from Skratch Labs to store-bought mixes mid ride, we can feel the difference, and have resolved to cut the drinks with water on our mid-ride fuel breaks, even if that means the electrolyte balance is off—better than water we figure.
It's also worth noting that we went with the one-pound sack rather than the single sticks. With the sticks you can shove them in your pocket for mid-ride refueling, but we prefer having them in our race bag to make assembling drinks at races easier.
With the sealed sack, you need a container to put the opened mix in. Lim is opposed to waste and thus uses minimal packaging and leaves it up to you to find a home for the powders. You could put it in a Ziploc bag, you could put it in their Flip Lock Tin, or anything else. We put the exercise mix in a Chinese take-out soup container. Light, reusable, seals well. To remember what was inside, we peeled the information sticker off the sack and stuck it on the container.
We tried Skratch Labs Everyday Hydration Mix as well. The basic idea behind it makes sense to us. A mix that has some salt, magnesium, potassium, and a little flavor for when we're not exercising. Considering that we can consume three liters of water a day at home, the idea of not diluting our blood too much, not tickling the edge of hyponatremia, seems wise. We don't know how hard it is to get there, but we'd rather not find out the hard way. Besides, we've already been using Nuun, Zym, Hammer Endurolytes Fizz, etc. for the same idea—in our case, it's having a little flavor in water so as not to get bored.
For us, there wasn't quite enough flavor to the Everyday. We could taste the electrolytes and get the faintest whiff of flavor, but couldn't place it. The serving size is 40 calories per 500ml. When we upped the serving size by 50%, up to 60 calories per 500ml, we could tell that the flavor we had was Lemons and Limes. Interestingly, the others come across with a stronger flavor and with fewer calories, but also not as much in the way of electrolytes. Though the others use artificial sweeteners to pump up the taste and reduce the calories. As a point of comparison, an eight-ounce glass of orange juice has 112 calories, so 500ml worth is closer to 130.
Another great touch of Skratch labs is that a single scoop equals a single serving. And that single scoop is all you need to fill a regular water bottle. More drink mix companies should follow this lead.
The only thing we had a problem with was the Flip Lock Tin. It might have been the particular one we got, but our jar doesn't seem to seal as well as our used soup container. The result is that the mix in the tin hardened to the point that we need to use a knife to break it up before scooping. It could also be our moderately humid location. Lim has seen few problems with the tin in arid climes, but it doesn't seal well enough for humidity. Look for a locking glass jar with a thick rubber seal to be coming from Skratch Labs, soon.
If nothing else, Skratch has changed our thinking on hydration. Definitely for harder rides and hot weather, we're going with lighter drinks in the future. | <urn:uuid:a67c5d54-2e57-4dac-8cfa-f0e8bf9e1426> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=PRODUCT_REVIEW&ARTICLE_ID=4554&RETURN=Skratch%20Labs%202013%20Skratch%20Labs%20Everyday%20Hydration%20Mix%20page&RETURNLINK=%2Fza%2FCCY%3FPAGE%3DBUY_PRODUCT_STANDARD%26PRODUCT.ID%3D11426%26CATEGORY.ID%3D45%26MODE%3D%26TFC%3DTRUE | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972478 | 1,895 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Jewish World Review Dec. 18, 2000 / 21 Kislev 5761
http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- IN PERHAPS the supreme irony of the month-long legal olympics to determine the outcome of the presidential election, last week, liberals were lamenting judicial activism, defending states rights and insisting, "Just because the Supreme Court says something is unconstitutional, that doesn't make it so."
For years, they've been telling us the opposite: That the Constitution means whatever a majority of the court says its means, even if their interpretation is contrary to the document's clear meaning and the Founders' intent.
States rights? -- the concept is as archaic as the law of primogeniture, they insisted. "Judicial activism" was dismissed as a right-wing fantasy meant to divert the courts from their divinely ordained function of protecting civil liberties.
They're having second thoughts. "Bush Prevails. By Single Vote, Justices End Recount," whined the front-page headline in Wednesday's New York Times. But Stenberg v. Carhart, handed down in June, which overturned the laws of 27 states banning partial-birth abortions, was also decided by a single vote. This was based on a reading of the First Amendment so creative that Justice Stephen Breyer's majority opinion deserves a Nobel Prize for literature.
Of course, the liberals got it wrong again. Tuesday's Supreme Court decision was anti-judicial activism -- a move to restrain a panel of black-robed politicians who'd turned their courtroom into a legislative chamber.
The Constitution gives Florida's legislature -- not its courts -- the power to determine how electors are chosen. The state's election law provides a deadline for certifying votes (that was nullified by the Florida Supreme Court in November). It allows manual recounts under specific circumstances that had not been met.
The Florida court's majority decision -- overruling a state circuit court, awarding hundreds of votes to Vice President Al Gore and ordering selective hand recounts -- was too much for three of the seven justices, all Democratic appointees.
In a scathing dissent, Chief Justice Charles Wells charged the majority's decision, "has no foundation in the law of Florida as it existed on November 7, 2000, or at any time until the issuance of this opinion."
By a bare majority, the high court prevented its Florida counterpart from making Gore president by fiat.
However, on those frequent occasions when the Supreme Court's swing votes have swung the wrong way, the court has engaged in activism every bit as outrageous.
They have barred state voters from limiting congressional terms. A voter-enacted amendment to the Colorado constitution pre-empting gay rights was overturned on the grounds that it was motivated by "animus" toward homosexuals (in violation of the Constitution's anti-animus clause?).
A nonsectarian prayer at graduation and student-led invocations at high-school football games are tantamount to the establishment of a national church, the judicial left held.
Lower federal courts have thrown out referenda making English Arizona's official language and preventing illegal aliens from receiving tax-funded services in California.
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit decided that Cleveland's voucher program -- by which 4,000 inner-city kids are given the means to escape the Arctic wastes of public education -- is unconstitutional because some of the funding goes to religious schools. A federal judge in Detroit determined the University of Michigan's admissions plan, which awards a 20-point bonus (on a 150-point scale) to minority applicants, is perfectly constitutional, its blatant racism notwithstanding.
Vermont's Supreme Court found a right to gay marriage in the state's 18th-century constitution, and the supreme court of New Hampshire overturned that state's system of funding education on equally spurious grounds.
For decades, justices and judges have been merrily usurping the authority of legislatures, overriding the will of the electorate and generally giving democracy a kick in the backside -- all to liberal acclaim, because it's the only way to enact the more radical components of the left's social agenda.
And now they have the gall to gripe about justices interceding in an election. Well, my
friends, live by the court, die by the
JWR contributing columnist Don Feder's latest books are Who is afraid of the Religious Right? ($15.95) and A Jewish conservative looks at pagan America ($9.95). To receive an autographed copy, send a check or money order to: Don Feder, The Boston Herald, 1 Herald Sq., Boston, Mass. 02106. Doing so will help fund JWR, if so noted. He is also available as a guest speaker. To comment on this column please click here. | <urn:uuid:5751ba00-fa92-48c6-8a54-20c72b54fbbb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/feder121800.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952745 | 976 | 1.828125 | 2 |
etd AT Indian Institute of Science >
Division of Earth and Environmental Sciences >
Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (caos) >
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
|Title: ||Measurements And Modelling Of Internal Waves In The Northeastern Arabian Sea|
|Authors: ||Kumar, G V Krishna|
|Advisors: ||Vinaychandran, P N|
|Keywords: ||Waves (Oceans) - Models|
North Eastern Arabian Sea
Internal Wave Model (IWAVE)
Internal Waves - Modelling
Internal Waves (IWs)
|Submitted Date: ||Jan-2008|
|Series/Report no.: ||G22443|
|Abstract: ||Internal waves (IWs) owe their existence to the stratification in the medium. These waves affect acoustic transmission greatly. Impact of these waves on acoustic transmission in deep water is fairly well understood due to better performance of well-celebrated Garrett-Munk (GM) model. However, in shallow waters, predicting these waves is not as easy, because of interactions with the bottom and surface. Hence two experiments, one during October 2002 and the other during October 2004 were conducted to characterize IWs in the shallow waters of northeastern Arabian Sea. The first experiment was carried out during October 2002 south of Gulf of Kutch (GOK) and the second experiment during October 2004 both south and north of GOK. During these experiments CTD moorings were deployed and temperature and salinity (TS) data were collected at 5 seconds interval. CTD Yo-Yo collected vertical profiles of TS at a sampling interval of 2.5 minutes for 3.5 hours during October 2002 and 1 hour during October 2004 experiment. In addition, during the first experiment, currents were measured using a vessel mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), and in both experiments CTD TS profiles were taken from the ship. This data set has been used for characterizing internal waves in the northeastern Arabian Sea.
Experiment conducted during October 2002, south of GOK has revealed large tidal ranges. The barotropic tidal range at the experimental site was 1.5m. Current observations made using the vessel mounted ADCP, along the shore and across the shore, showed signs of first mode (baroclinic) oscillations; currents in the top and bottom layers were in opposing directions. They were found to be southwesterly in the top layer and northeasterly in the bottom layer. Time - depth sections of TS profiles from CTD yo-yo data, revealed the presence of high frequency internal waves and solitons overriding on low frequency trend. Moored CTD time series of temperature records showed the presence of internal solitons, which caused a vertical displacement of about 8m in the isotherms, which is equivalent to 3OC change in temperature, in less than 10 minutes. Passage of internal solitons induced vertical mixing causing the mixed layer to deepen by about 10m and current speed increased by about 0.1 m/s. Internal solitons were traveling towards northwest and current vectors suggest that they were generated when the internal tide is reflected from the bottom. Vertical displacement spectra agreed well with GM spectra when solitons were not present. However, when the solitons were present the displacement spectra had higher energy levels compared to the GM spectra.
Another experiment was done in October 2004, mainly aimed at characterizing internal solitons and to verify the consistency of the results obtained during October 2002 experiment. This experiment also showed that IWs of both high and low frequency along with internal solitons were present at the experimental site. It was found that internal solitons were more energetic during spring tide than the neap. The observed amplitudes of these solitons were around 12m and were not rank ordered suggesting that the experimental site is close to the generation point. It is believed that, generally, solitons get phase locked to the barotropic tide’s trough and travel. Such phase locking was not observed at the experimental site. They were observed riding on both troughs and crests of barotropic tide.
One of the aims of this thesis is to develop a simulation model based on Garrett-Munk steady state internal wave spectrum. Hence, an internal wave model IWAVE was developed to simulate the sound speed structure due to internal waves. Sound speed structure is simulated instead of TS structure, because of their direct utility in sonar range prediction models. Since the GM model is a deep-water and mid-latitude model, it was calibrated to suite shallow-water tropical environment by incorporating the site and region specific parameters. EOFs and Dynamical modes estimated using TS profiles were used to identify the site-specific parameters of the GM model. Values for characteristic mode number and spectral slope used in the GM model are 3 and 2 respectively. However, it was found that they are different in the northeastern Arabian Sea. At this site, the characteristic mode number was found to be 1 and the spectral slope was found to be 3. The modified model was validated against the measured sound speed profiles. In the first case, the first sound speed profile (TS) of the CTD yo-yo data (20 October 2002) was used for predicting the remaining profiles and compared them with observations. This was done to verify the model’s ability to predict high frequency case (TS profiles are measured at every 2.5min.). In the second case, during October 2004, TS profiles collected at every one-hour for 24 hours were used. This gives an idea of the model’s performance for the low frequency case. The variances of the measured and simulated sound speed profiles matched well in both cases with the modified GM model.|
|Appears in Collections:||Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (caos)|
Items in etd@IISc are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. | <urn:uuid:0fb3e95f-3c02-4ccc-a112-bd15098e9769> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://etd.ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/handle/2005/849 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964597 | 1,238 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Topic: Protests in Syria
MOSCOW, June 9 (RIA Novosti)
- Syria on Brink of Civil Conflict - Russian Foreign Minister
- Clinton, Annan Discuss Syrian Political Transition Strategy
- U.S. Delegation Visits Moscow as Syria Crisis Deepens
- Lavrov Guarantees 'No External Intervention' in Syria
A bus carrying Russian passengers came under fire in Syria on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
“Today a bus that was carrying Russian specialists was attacked in western Damascus,” Lavrov said, noting that it was not the first such incident.
Yesterday a building in Damascus where Russian specialists live was fired at from a grenade launcher.
“One grenade hit the second floor wall, causing damage to the building. Fortunately, no one was injured,” Lavrov said.
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Image Galleries: Traditional Hutsul Wedding in Western Ukraine
Infographics: Jeans: From Classic Designs to Extreme Incarnations
Cartoons: Polar Explorer Day
The growing outright rivalry between the United States and China gives Russia more foreign policy weight, enabling it to assume the role of a balancer. So far it has been doing so rather skillfully. Today it may participate in a joint naval exercise with China that Beijing positions as outwardly anti-American. But tomorrow it can team up with the naval forces of the Old World. | <urn:uuid:782eee6f-b41c-4f79-9e56-75ff8e66a4f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.rian.ru/world/20120609/173939252.html | 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 | 0.9389 | 302 | 1.5 | 2 |
William F. Jasper
Following several earlier failed attempts, the Idaho Senate, in the closing hours of the legislative session, passed a bill aimed at limiting the state's "discretionary" participation in the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, commonly known as ObamaCare). HB 298 passed the state Senate on April 5 by a vote of 24-11, before the legislature adjourned for the year on April 7. The bill, which had earlier passed the House on March 30 by a vote of 50-17, is being called "nullification lite" or "grandson of nullification" by some pundits. But Senator Monty Pearce, the original sponsor of the effort to stop implementation of ObamaCare in Idaho, calls it a "one-toed bill."
By a vote of 64 to 5, the Idaho House of Representatives on April 5 approved legislation declaring a state of emergency, due to the "uncontrolled proliferation" of Canadian wolves introduced by the federal government under the Endangered Species Act.
Dr. Michael P. Farris (pictured) is Chancellor of Patrick Henry College and Chairman and General Counsel of the Home School Legal Defense Association. Since founding HSLDA in 1983, Dr. Farris has used his extensive experience in both politics and appellate litigation to defend parental rights and help grow the organization to over 80,000 member families with a staff of sixty. As a constitutional attorney, Dr. Farris has argued before the United States Supreme Court, seven U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, and ten state supreme courts.
Thomas E. Woods, Jr., is a senior fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from Harvard and his M.Phil., and Ph.D. from Columbia University. He is the author of eleven books, most recently Rollback: Repealing Big Government Before the Coming Fiscal Collapse and Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century. His other books include the New York Times bestsellers Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse and The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, as well as Who Killed the Constitution? The Fate of American Liberty from World War I to George W. Bush (with Kevin R.C. Gutzman), and Sacred Then and Sacred Now: The Return of the Old Latin Mass.
In the annals of politicized science, Trofim Lysenko provides a supreme example of ignorance and ignominy wedded to power. Lysenko was a two-bit horticulturist who rose to great prominence in the Soviet Union under dictator/mass murderer Joseph Stalin, becoming director of the Soviet Academy of Sciences's Institute of Genetics. Subjugating science to communist ideology and personal whim, Lysenko succeeded in outlawing biological research that was not in accord with his crackpot notions of genetics.
In 1987, homosexual activists Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen penned a provocative manifesto entitled "The Overhauling of Straight America", which was published in Guide Magazine, a homosexual publication. Their essay outlined an aggressive agenda to popularize acceptance of homosexuality. The co-authors further developed their plan of "subversion" and "propaganda" (their words) in their 1989 book, After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear & Hatred of Gays in the 90s.
The effort by Idaho lawmakers to nullify Obamacare has suffered some temporary setbacks, but is scheduled to be introduced in the Idaho House State Affairs Committee on Monday, February 7. House Bill 59 (H.B. 59), sponsored by Representatives Vito Barbieri and Judy Boyle, and Senators Monty Pearce (photo at left), Steve Vick and Sheryl Nuxoll, declares the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 ("Obamacare") to be "not authorized by the Constitution of the United States," and therefore, "null, void and of no effect regarding any Idaho citizen."
John William Finn was an amazing man. He passed away earlier this year just shy of 101 years of age. He was a military hero admired by the tens of thousands of service men and women who met him over the years, as well as the many thousands of people who never had the opportunity to meet him, but who had heard of, or read, his story. He was also a much-beloved husband, father, foster father, uncle, and neighbor. Alice, his devoted wife of nearly 60 years, died in 1998. He continued to live the simple rural life in the rustic home on their Pine Valley ranch near the California-Mexico border east of San Diego.
The circumstances of today's $700 billion bailout are eerily similar to those of FDR's New Deal, and today's Pied Pipers are playing the same bipartisan, power-grabbing tune.
General Vang Pao, the heroic anti-communist leader of the Laotian Hmong, was laid to rest early in February during a six-day funeral held by his people in Fresno, California. Mourners from various parts of the United States were joined by some from as far away as Europe to bid farewell to the man who became somewhat of a patriarch of the Hmong people. Vang Pao was 81. | <urn:uuid:70100f44-633e-42a5-898e-4b29b815c7cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/faith-and-morals/itemlist/user/53-williamfjasper?start=250 | 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 | 0.963288 | 1,096 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Trend Micro: The Only Anti-virus (and Vulnerability-Stricken!) Biggie on MS' Certified for Vista List
Why is it the only one there? It sure isn't because of its track record of popping up in US-CERT for vulnerability warnings, at least as of today!
My former colleague and security blogger hero, Ryan Naraine, pointed out today that Microsoft's just-released list of Vista-compatible apps lacks the anti-virus heavyweights: CA, Symantec, eTrust, McAfee. The only recognizable AV name on the list is Trend Micro.
How ironic is this: four buffer overflow vulnerabilities listed on US-CERT's recent vulnerability notes list, all in Trend Micro's ServerProtect product? ServerProtect provides anti-virus scanning for servers, detecting and removing viruses from files and compressed files in real time.
The flaws are all stack-based buffer overflow vulnerabilities. Here are where they're located, how they're triggered, and where the advisories and patches are:
1. A flaw in the ENG_SetRealTimeScanConfigInfo()routine can allow an overflow if triggered by sending a specially crafted RPC packet to an affected ServerProtect installation. Here's the advisory. This could let in a remote, unauthenticated user, who could send out arbitrary commands. Trend Micro has a patch here. 2. The CMON_ActiveUpdate() and CMON_ActiveRollback() routines have flaws that can set off overflows if triggered by a specially crafted RPC packet sent to an affected installation. Here's the advisory. Here's the patch.
3. The CMON_NetTestConnection() routine has a flaw that can be used to set off an overflow if a specially crafted RPC packet is sent to an affected installation. The advisory is here, and here's the patch. 4. The ENG_SendEMail() routine has a flaw that can set off an overflow by if a specially crafted RPC packet is sent to an affected Trend Micro ServerProtect installation. The advisory is here, and the patch is here.
Of course, it's just a coincidence that Trend Micro's got four stack-based buffer overflows showing up on the same day it made the Vista-compatible list. As for the rest of the AV biggies, I only managed to get CA on the phone, since I was curious about it, and the company's explanation, at least, is perfectly reasonable.
Sam Curry, vice president of security management, pointed out that there are several degrees of certification from Microsoft. The first one is "Works with Windows Vista," which CA has. CA has it by virtue of being a strategic Microsoft partner and having participated in the Vista beta program.
The second level of certification is "Certified with Windows Vista." This one requires that all components be Microsoft components, or Vista-specific components. In CA's case, you use a third-party installation software to plug CA's applications in, which makes them ineligible for the "Certified With" label, but we can safely assume it doesn't mean "Won't work worth &^%$ with Vista." | <urn:uuid:5be4b9da-93e4-4089-acd9-8aec7239b752> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eweek.com/security-watch/trend-micro-the-only-av-and-vulnerability-stricken-biggie-on-ms-certified-for-vista-list.html | 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 | 0.942356 | 644 | 1.671875 | 2 |
First, let me say that I'm thrilled with the great work that's being done on Mint, and consider it one of the very few "sane" (and darned good) desktop Linux OSes out there. I use it on two machines.
My question is this:
Linux Mint's installer and web site prominently say that it's the "4th most widely-used OS in the world." I got curious about this, since I found it somewhat unexpected, and did a fair bit of searching for which OSes have which market shares. I wanted to know if this claim was really true, and what the other OSes were. Also, I wanted to know whether, for example, all Windows OSes were being lumped together to get this result.
Surprisingly, after a half-dozen searches on Google, I couldn't find any OS usage chart that even mentioned Linux Mint (rather than simply, "Linux") when compared to non-Linux operating systems. So, how did the folks at Linux Mint come up with this statistic? I understand that LM is the most popular Linux distribution in the world (with good reason, IMHO), but if we're lumping all Linuxes together, then it's equally fair to lump all Mac OSes and Windows OSes together. Therefore:
2) Mac OS
4) Unix and others
I suspect that you all can see the problem with this. Can someone please set my overactive brain at-ease about this issue? | <urn:uuid:4e977cd9-f8bc-418a-bcbb-5111cf963405> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?p=657958 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958269 | 306 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Dealing with Potentially Contaminated Land in Milton Keynes
Site Investigation - Guidance for developers
Site Investigation - Guidance for developers of small sites
Contaminated land Strategy
Contaminated Land Public Register
The Contaminated Land Regime
Milton Keynes Council Contaminated Land Strategy
Milton Keynes Council has published a Contaminated Land Strategy
explaining how it is dealing with potentially contaminated land within its area.
Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990
1. Local Authority Responsibilities under the Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990
The principal responsibilities are to:
2. Strategy for the inspection of the local authority’s area.
- Cause their areas to be inspected in order to identify contaminated land and prepare reports on local contamination
- Determine whether any particular site is statutorily contaminated land (over 600 sites have been assessed and prioritised for inspection; seven sites have already been determined as contaminated land and remediated to deal with the problem; applications have been made to central government for funding which has enabled the detailed intrusive investigation of two former gas-works sites)
- Act as enforcing authority for all contaminated land (with very few exceptions)
- Establish who may be the appropriate person or persons to bear responsibility for remediation of contaminated sites
- Decide, after consultation, what remediation might be required in any individual case
- Ensure that such remediation takes place, either through agreement with the appropriate person, or by serving a remediation notice if necessary, or carrying out the work themselves
- Determine who should bear what proportion of the liability for meeting the costs of the work where a remediation notice is served, or the authority itself carries out the work
- Record information on a public register about their regulatory actions.
The statutory guidance says that the local authority should take a strategic approach to the identification of contaminated land. In developing its strategic approach it has to consult with the Environment Agency and other appropriate public authorities. The local authority must set out its approach as a written strategy, which had to be adopted and published in 2001.
The strategic approach should:
- Be rational, ordered and efficient
- Be proportionate to the seriousness of any actual or potential risk
- Seek to ensure that the most pressing and serious problems are located first
- Ensure that resources are concentrated on investigating in areas where the authority is most likely to identify contaminated land
- Ensure that the local authority efficiently identifies requirements for the detailed inspection of particular areas of land
- Take into account local circumstances of receptor types, geology, hydrogeology, available information on contamination, potentially contaminative industries, past redevelopment and remediation, interests of other regulatory authorities etc.
The published Milton Keynes Council Contaminated Land Inspection Strategy is available here
3. Action taken by this council to discharge its duties under the contaminated land regime.
The Environment Team within the Regatory Unit has two officers with expertise in dealing with contaminated land (Dr Steve Moorhouse, Team Leader; Ms Nicola Adshead, Scientific Officer). As a major part of our strategy in dealing with contaminated land we have developed an Environmental Information Database, with data derived from a wide variety of sources including historical information, planning files, public registers etc. This database currently includes details of over 600 potentially contaminated sites linked to the Mapinfo Geographic Information System to allow visual display, data manipulation, printing of maps etc.
This information has been used to allocate a numerical score to each site so that the inspection of sites may be prioritised with those sites that potentially present the greatest risk being inspected first. This process of inspection is now underway and is expected to last for some years.
The inspection phase has already resulted in seven sites being recognised as statutorily contaminated land. All of these sites have since been satisfactorily remediated and are now fit for their current use.Details of these sites are on the council's Contaminated Land Public Register.
For further information about Contaminated Land issues in Milton Keynes contact The Environment Team
Contaminated Land Public Register
Click here to download a summary version of the Contaminated Land Public Register. | <urn:uuid:eb9905ff-736e-4545-a316-1b7219f307c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.milton-keynes.gov.uk/environmental-health/displayarticle.asp?id=17327 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933005 | 845 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Late at night when the room is dark and I have just crawled under the covers after killing a bunch of noobs in COD4 the voice is there. "Nathaaaan. We have famous people in space Nathaaaan. play our game because we send DNA into space." I hate that voice. The voice of NCsoft
's announcing another celebrity participating in Operation Immortality. This time it is Stephen Hawking. While I fully respect Mr. Hawking's decision to participate in the program and I realize it is a dream come true for someone who cannot travel into space because of the limits of today's technology I have a beef with NCsoft
. Please stop using this program to promote your games and business and please stop clawing on the foot board of my bed. I'm starting to get splinters.
Stephen Hawking Sending DNA into Space to Promote the Archon X PRIZE for Genomics
Renowned physicist to participate in NCsoft’s Operation Immortality, hoping to raise awareness of how disease can be better managed, cured and prevented through fully sequencing the human genome
AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 23, 2008—Stephen Hawking, best selling author of “A Brief History of Time” and the children’s book “George's Secret Key to the Universe” written along with his daughter Lucy, will be sending his digitized DNA into space as part of NCsoft’s® Operation Immortality™. Lucy Hawking is also participating in the project. Together, the father and daughter are hoping the project will raise awareness of the Archon X PRIZE for Genomics, a competition that will award $10 million to the first person or team that can sequence 100 human genomes within 10 days or less.
Operation Immortality is a project intended to collect and archive the very best of what humanity has accomplished by sending a digital time capsule of the human race, including messages from people around the world and DNA samples from some of our brightest minds, musicians, athletes and video game players.
Hawking’s DNA will be transported into space by celebrated video game developer and longtime member of the X PRIZE Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Richard Garriott, who is traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) in October. Garriott, whose most recent video game project, Tabula Rasa®, depicts the destruction of mankind by an alien invasion, will take Hawking’s digitized DNA as well as an electronic copy of “George’s Secret Key to the Universe” on a storage device called the Immortality Drive where it will be placed on the ISS.
This is not the first time Hawking and Garriott have teamed up for high-flying adventures. In 2007, Garriott hosted Hawking aboard a zero gravity flight where Hawking was able to experience a weightless environment.
“Richard and I share the same dream of traveling into space,” said Stephen Hawking. “And we both realize the incredible importance of DNA to life in the universe.”
In actuality, Hawking would like to have sent his completely sequenced genome into space. Current science however, is not yet capable of producing low-cost, fully sequenced genomes. By participating in this project, Hawking hopes to highlight the need for inexpensive, fully sequenced human genomes so that scientists and doctors can begin to better understand ways to identify, treat and prevent disease.
Richard Garriott said, “This is simply one of the most exciting honors of my life. To have Stephen Hawking participate in my space flight project is incredible and it makes this once-in-a-lifetime experience even more meaningful and exciting. If our world did meet an early end, anyone who finds the Immortality Drive will certainly find the best that humanity has to offer.”
The "Immortality Drive," is currently in the process of being loaded with information from people all over the world at the OperationImmortality.com website. Players in Garriott's latest game, Tabula Rasa, will also have their character information downloaded onto the drive.
Mankind is encouraged to submit their suggestions for humanity's greatest achievements, and leave their immortalized message for future generations. A select few may also have their DNA chosen to join Garriott, Hawking and other icons on an out-of-this-world experience, and possibly become the future of mankind.
The Hawking’s book, “George’s Secret Key to the Universe” takes young readers on a rollercoaster ride through the vastness of space. In the midst of this exciting adventure, the book shows the mysteries of physics, science and the Universe with George, his friends next door, and a super-intelligent computer called Cosmos, which can take them to the edge of a black hole and back again. For more information on “George’s Secret Key to the Universe” and Stephen Hawking, go to: www.hawking.org.uk.
About NCsoft Corporation
NCsoft North America is headquartered in Austin, Texas and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Korea-based NCsoft Corporation. NCsoft, with its own development and publishing offices in Texas and California, also works with other NCsoft subsidiaries and third party developers throughout North America to develop and publish innovative online entertainment software products. The company has successfully launched multiple online titles in the last three years and continues to support its franchises, which include Lineage®/Lineage II, City of Heroes®/City of Villains®, Guild Wars®/Guild Wars Factions®/Guild Wars Nightfall®/Guild Wars: Eye of the North™, Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, Dungeon Runners™ and Exteel™. More information about NCsoft can be found at www.PlayNC.com.
NCsoft, the interlocking NC logo, PlayNC, Lineage, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions, Guild Wars Nightfall, Guild Wars: Eye of the North, Tabula Rasa, Operation Immortality, Dungeon Runners, Exteel and all associated logos and designs are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. | <urn:uuid:bd02edbd-0f19-428d-b924-8d7ff6519d55> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gamingnexus.com/FullNews/Stephen-Hawking-IN-SPAAAAAAAAAAACE/Item10084.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941851 | 1,281 | 1.679688 | 2 |
WASHINGTON, DC - Tuesday marked another somber anniversary here in Western New York - four years since the crash of Flight 3407 in Clarence Center.
Still, families find themselves fighting for air safety regulations to actually be put in place by the federal government.
About 50 family members of the victims are in Washington, D.C. Many of them say that the FAA has failed to act in making flying more safe like the agency is supposed to do.
The lawmakers are hosting the families of the Flight 3407 crash victims to commemorate the anniversary. They will also push the federal government, particularly the Federal Aviation Administration, to move forward with two critical flight safety regulations that the families and New York delegation fought hard to pass as part of the Airline Safety Act.
The familes held two vigils to mark the Anniversary. One took place in Washington, DC at 5:50pm, the other in Clarence Center at the scene of the crash at 10pm. | <urn:uuid:f34d2ba4-4786-41bd-81dc-ce633938a11a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=200657 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959485 | 194 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Keeping Your Kids Catholic - CD Set - Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio
Keeping Your Kids Catholic
by: Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio
Talk One: The Family as the Domestic Church
The second Vatican Council echoing the Early Church Fathers, teaches that the family is the domestic church. If we understand what the church really is, the implications are enormous! This talk lays out the vision of what the Catholic Family is called to be in a way both challenging and inspiring.
Talk Two: The Art of Parenting: It's All About Balance!
So practically, how do we make it happen? How do we raise kids who are truly Catholic, with a commitment to holiness and mission? This talk abound with nitty-gritty suggestions on how to strike the balance between formal religious education in the home, and teaching by example, between affection and discipline, the role of parents and the help of other adults. You’ll walk away with clear strategies that you can implement in your own family life.
For the audiocassette version of this set, click here
Free shipping on orders over $45! No sales tax outside of Texas!
Within the United States
Retail Price - $15.00 | <urn:uuid:9940f1c0-1ca2-4d82-aa92-a9b67f1f89f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://crossroadsinitiative.com/resource_info/80.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930867 | 257 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Legislature observes tornado anniversary, passes sales tax holiday
Published: Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 5:47 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 6:38 p.m.
MONTGOMERY — Gov. Robert Bentley on Thursday used a sales tax holiday bill signing to remember the April 27, 2011, tornadoes that ravaged Alabama and killed 253 people.
Bentley said images from his tour this week of tornado-damaged areas gave him a different perspective from a year ago after 62 tornadoes became the worst natural disaster in state history.
“In a year, I’ve seen improvement,” Bentley said after signing a bill waiving state sales and use taxes on certain emergency supplies.
The governor proclaimed today as a “Day of Remembrance” and Saturday as a “Day of Service” to observe the first anniversary of the deadly tornado outbreak.
Bentley said he’ll begin the observance at 9 a.m. today by participating in a prayer service on the Capitol steps. He’ll later travel to Tuscaloosa, the largest city in Alabama to receive significant damage last year.
Today’s “Day of Remembrance” calls for a statewide moment of silence at 4:27 p.m. in the memory of those who died and to pay tribute to thousands who survived.
Bentley said a year into the recovery is only the beginning. “When we talk about a long-term process, it might be five years,” he said.
The Legislature convened Thursday and paused to recognize the anniversary of the tornadoes that injured thousands and destroyed or damaged more than 20,000 residences.
The House paused for a prayer by Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville. Senators co-sponsored and approved a resolution by Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, citing the “outstanding efforts by first responders.” The Senate later put finishing touches to a bill by Rep. Bill Poole, R-Northport, that creates a state sales and use tax holiday for disaster preparedness supplies such as batteries, flashlights, first-aid kits and even portable generators.
The amended bill was sent back to the House where it passed 87-0 and then to Bentley who signed it.
“This is fortuitous,” Bentley said. “I’m glad we had this today.”
The sales tax holiday on certain items would be July 6-8 this year and then the last full weekend in February beginning in 2013.
The new law also will allow cities and counties to waive their local sales taxes on the tax holiday weekend.
“It’s going to raise awareness across our state regarding disaster and emergency preparation,” Poole said. “We all have a responsibility to protect our families, our neighbors and our communities in a natural disaster or any other disaster.
Sen. Greg Reed, R-Jasper, handled the bill in the Senate.
“We all recognize at this time a year ago, we were headed for one of the most critical challenges in the history of Alabama,” Reed said. “We had tornadoes come through our communities that caused heartbreaks for many of our citizens.”
The Legislative Fiscal Office said the emergency preparedness sales tax holiday could cost the Education Trust Fund $2 million a year, a figure equating to $50 million in sales.
The Senate amended and passed a bill by Rep. John Merrill, R-Tuscaloosa, that would create the crime of looting during a state of emergency and make the crime a Class C felony, the lowest level felony. A Class C felony is punishable by a prison term of between one year and 10 years and a fine of up to $15,000.
Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, amended the bill to provide stealing emergency food and medical supplies or other necessities as a positive defense against the looting charge.
“If a storm destroys your town and you’re thirsty and the store is totally destroyed and money’s no good, what’s wrong?” Singleton asked.
Singleton said he knows emergencies leave people “in pain and in hurt,” but the bill provides too much punishment for people who themselves may be affected by an emergency “trying to save their families instead of trying to steal something.”
“It could be getting water or milk to feed my baby, not necessarily the looting aspect,” Singleton said. “In those desperate times are desperate measures. The intent of the person has to go into this.”
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged. | <urn:uuid:962147f3-8f0f-4839-8224-cff35ee05e17> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20120426/NEWS/120429828/1202/section/search03 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95435 | 1,015 | 1.539063 | 2 |
By Susan Froyd
By Byron Graham
By Robin Edwards
By Bree Davies
By Josiah M. Hesse
By Bree Davies
By Susan Froyd
By Kate Gibbons
Breaking the Mold. In 2003, Connecticut collector Virginia Vogel Mattern donated some 300 pieces of contemporary American Indian art to the Denver Art Museum. For one of the special shows inaugurating the new Frederic C. Hamilton Building, Native Arts curator Nancy Blomberg has selected over a hundred works for the impressive Breaking the Mold: The Virginia Vogel Mattern Collection of Contemporary Native American, which is installed in the Martin & McCormick Gallery on level two. Mattern began collecting in 1988, when she purchased a miniature pot by Delores Curran in Santa Fe; though she remained interested in miniatures, she also pursued prize-winning pieces from annual American Indian art shows, focused on multiple generations of the Tafoya and Nampayo families and explored through pottery, textiles and paintings the interrelationships of the Navajo, Zuni and San Ildefonso peoples. But Mattern was also interested in innovation -- the "breaking the mold" of the show's title -- with such pieces as Hubert Candelario's coiled clay jar with holes cut into the sides so that it's non-functional, but beautiful. Through August 31, 2007, at the Denver Art Museum, 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway, 720-865-5000.
Colorado Classic Architects, et al. Many of the finest buildings in town were done by firms with offices right here in the Mile High City, and they're the subject of Colorado Classic Architects, a handsome and informative exhibit in the Western Art Gallery on Level 5 of the Denver Central Library. With plans, drawings, sketchbooks, memorabilia and photos from the library's collection, the show zeroes in on architects whose careers span the last century and represent a range of aesthetic visions -- from historical revival style to doctrinaire modernism. Some pieces are unforgettable: the very arty nighttime view of the Denver Gas and Electric Company Building, by H. W. J. Edbrooke; the sublime interior shot of the long-gone Albany Hotel by Burnham Hoyt; and a meticulous drawing of Eugene Sternberg's 1960s Denver General Hospital before its character was lost through insensitive additions. On Level 1, as an added bonus for architecture buffs, Michael Graves and the Denver Public Library includes the original model that won the architectural competition. Both shows run through December 31 at the Denver Central Library, 10 West 14th Avenue Parkway, 720-865-1111.
Dale Chihuly. Last year, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center had a record-breaking show that attracted over 80,000 visitors to see the work of Dale Chihuly. Inspired by this, the CSFAC subsequently acquired more than forty pieces by Chihuly for $2 million. These treasures are now on display not at the venerable old building -- the galleries there are closed while an addition is built -- but in a satellite facility called the FAC Modern housed in a building downtown. The Chihuly pieces, selected by director Michael DeMarshe with the artist's guidance, survey his long and distinguished career, beginning with works inspired by American Indian baskets done in the 1970s and continuing through the Venetian-derived vessels of today, including his famous Macchia bowls. In addition, the CSFAC has acquired several Chihuly chandeliers, which are installed in the old building, and a Persian wall relief displayed in the Jazz Bistro; the collection also includes a selection of Chihuly's works on paper that are less well known than his glass. Through January 7 at the FAC Modern, Plaza of the Rockies, 121 South Tejon Street, Colorado Springs, 1-719-634-5581.
ERIKA BLUMENFELD: Enduring Light. Rule Gallery, owned by Robin Rule, includes minimalism and its stylistic progeny among its specialties, as exemplified by ERIKA BLUMENFELD: Enduring Light. This is Blumenfeld's first solo show at Rule -- she was previously in a group outing at the gallery -- as well as her first one in Denver. Blumenfeld currently lives in Santa Fe, where she's been for a dozen years. Beginning in 1998, she began to experiment with reducing photography to its essentials: light and photo-sensitive surfaces. Without using a camera -- though she does employ some special equipment of her own invention -- Blumenfeld exposes film, paper or digital media to the sun or moon in order to record the light they emit. The process produces unbelievably subtle graduations of light against dark grounds. She often lines up a series of prints that record a process of some sort, like light streaking across the sky or coming and going. The show is extremely elegant and looks great in Rule's newish digs, a crisply finished long, narrow space. Through December 9 at Rule Gallery, 227 Broadway, 303-777-9473.
MEL STRAWN: All Together Now, 1940s-2000s. The Denver Central Library's Vida Ellison Gallery is hosting an important show saluting one of the most important artists in Colorado. In its content, All Together Now is a retrospective, but because of the way it's installed, it does not take that distinctive form. The paintings are hung as though they were shuffled like a deck of cards, with each one played right where it randomly came up. This prevents an easy reading of Strawn's development, though it's clear he underwent a series of stylistic changes, from abstraction through pattern painting and into a digital-inspired representational approach. Strawn was born in Idaho in 1929 and began painting when he was twelve. While pursuing his education, he worked with the likes of Rico Lebrun and Richard Diebenkorn. In 1969 he took over as the head of fine arts at the University of Denver, where he remained until the 1980s. Twenty years later, he's still active. Through November 24 at the Vida Ellison Gallery, Denver Central Library, 10 West 14th Avenue Parkway, 720-865-1111. Reviewed September 28.
Terry Maker, et al. The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art is presenting its crop of winter exhibits with Terry Maker: New Work occupying the large West Gallery. Maker is well known in the area for her unusual three-dimensional mixed-media wall pieces that would be paintings if she used paint instead of cut, rolled and otherwise altered papers. In the East Gallery is the elegant Jimi Billingsley: Transit Glyphs, which is made up of color photographs depicting graffiti etched into the windows of subway and elevated trains in New York. This makes the backgrounds -- and not the tagging -- the principal subject of the pictures. In the Union Works Gallery is DJRABBI: Society of the Spectacle (A Digital Remix), a DVD collaboratively made by Mark Amerika, Rick Silva and Trace Reddell. The piece combines political and pop-cultural references, with visuals by Silva, sound by Reddell and edgy subtitles by Amerika. The opening reception for all three exhibits is scheduled for Friday, November 3, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Through January 27 at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th Street, Boulder, 303-443-2122.
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city | <urn:uuid:416c34f0-521d-4487-b80a-d6d1d2158931> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.westword.com/2006-11-16/culture/sketches/full/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956272 | 1,569 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Three reasons why president can be a bigger man than Boehner and McConnell.
Lots of lines are being drawn in the sand these days in Washington. On Monday, President Obama said, "The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip" when it comes to extending the nation's borrowing limit. Republicans, with equal firmness, have said that revenues are no longer on the negotiating table.
But sand being the fragile substance it is, these lines need not be viewed as immovable. In fact, because Obama was viewed as the victor in averting the "fiscal cliff" crisis, he could be in a better position to give ground on the debt limit extension and the implementation of the automatic spending cuts.
For starters, this president — unlike his Republican negotiating partners, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — no longer faces re-election.
McConnell is up in 2014, and Kentucky Tea Party activists are breathing down his neck. The Senate candidate he endorsed in 2010 was beaten in the state's GOP primary, and McConnell is well aware of the fate of two his colleagues, Utah's Bob Bennett and Indiana's Richard Lugar, who were denied a chance at re-elections recently.
Boehner now treads on the knife edge of political disaster. He courted calamity with his "Plan B" on the fiscal cliff when it was rejected by his Republican colleagues and incurred an uncomfortable amount of opposition in his own party for his re-election as speaker.
When the president confronts the next fiscal deadline, his weakened Republican negotiating partners might simply not be able to settle for what, if anything, he offers them.
The president has already thrown out a number of informal clues as to what he would be willing to do to get a deal on more spending cuts and the borrowing limit. Obama has hinted that he might accept a statistical adjustment in the consumer price index that would reduce the cost-of-living increases received by Social Security recipients. Back in 2011, as part of the "grand bargain," he was said to have been willing to raise the eligibility age for Medicare. The president was also said to agree with Boehner in December for $1 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years and pledged to take on tax reform in the next Congress.
Although there was some grumbling in liberal circles over the fiscal cliff deal, Obama faces less of a revolt by striking a deal with the GOP than Republicans face in giving ground to Obama. You can count the number of successful leftist insurrections in recent years on the fingers of one hand. The Republican base is angrier and has been successful in bringing down big-name party members.
Finally, the president would be at pains to deny the $16 trillion debt, which Republicans will wave in his face as one potent political symbol. The public was aroused by the leniency placed on the top 2% of taxpayers, but Americans also experience anxiety at the size of the country's indebtedness.
What keeps Democrats up at night is the obvious connection between the size of the debt and the cost of entitlements.
A feather, not a sword
Why would Obama, after a triumphant election, throw out a lifeline to endangered Republicans?
First, should the automatic spending cuts activate, it would cause an immediate spike in unemployment and smother the economic recovery.
Second, if McConnell and Boehner were to suffer election defeat, their replacements would likely be more intransigent.
Third, as then-Sen. Barack Obama noted in his 2004 speech at the Democratic National Convention, he deplores the idea of "two Americas."
If dodging a debt default and tempering the harshness of the automatic spending cuts are what the president wants, those lines in the sand have to be drawn with a feather and not a sword. Obama, not the Republicans in Congress, has the wiggle room to show his magnanimity, which in the current environment might also turn out to be good politics.
Ross K. Baker is a political science professor at Rutgers University and a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.
In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors. | <urn:uuid:bcfa445f-eb22-49f8-b992-ba56ef35b3f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/01/14/debt-ceiling-obama-republicans/1834179/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974745 | 861 | 1.820313 | 2 |
About DJ Controllers:
With DJ technology moving towards the digital world, enabling smaller, more mobile systems, the DJ controller is rapidly becoming an essential piece of gear. Designed to emulate the traditional mixer/turntable/CD deck setup, modern controllers are aimed at integrating smoothly with powerful software like Serato or Traktor while maintaining the flow and feel of a traditional setup.
Digital DJ controllers are frequently aimed at a specific software package (e.g. the Pioneer DDJ-T1 and S1 are set up for Traktor and Serato, respectively), most are reprogrammable to work with virtually any software package, as the controls are all mapped to MIDI messages. While it's always good to start with a controller designed for the software you prefer, it's good to know that you can change if the need arises.
Controllers almost all have built-in jog wheels to emulate the experience of vinyl or CD deck control, with a variety of sizes and schemes to match almost every DJ's needs. But even if you're a vinyl hardcore, you can still get the advantages of digital systems by using control vinyl on actual turntables that feeds timecode to the software to give you turntablist action on a digital system.
From systems designed to work with a mobile phone or tablet to massive four- (or more) deck virtual systems, DJ controllers hit such a wide range that the best way to approach them is find the hardware/software combination that you're most comfortable with, whether you're just starting or moving over from a more traditional analog system. Having that giant virtual crate of music stacked up in the computer and more control than ever before can make your sets just that much more exciting. | <urn:uuid:dcfa4a2b-4b26-4c52-89a5-3d14e90ebe36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.guitarcenter.com/DJ-Controllers---Interfaces-DJ-Gear.gc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931033 | 350 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Federal authorities have approved hundreds of millions of dollars of funding to help New York State buy out homeowners in threatened shore...
The New York Times takes a look at the effort by homeowners in the Hurricane Sandy impact area to elevate their houses.
Battered by hurricanes and nor’easters, N.C. 12—the Outer Banks’ fragile lifeline—is on life support.
Congress authorized funding for Hurricane Sandy emergency relief in January. But the actual money hasn’t started flowing yet.
From small-time scams to major misappropriation of relief money, government is on the lookout for crooked use of rebuilding funds.
In the Barnegat Bay, side-scanning sonar and “picker” boats are the tools for a tedious cleanup.
My hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey is about 110 miles north of Atlantic City, where Tropical Storm Sandy made landfall on Monday evening. We only received a couple of inches of rain here, and are far enough away from major rivers and the shoreline that flooding was minimal; on the other hand, wind damage was extensive. During a recent walk through Elizabeth and neighboring Roselle Park and Union, I saw numerous trees – primarily oaks – which had been blown down onto power lines and houses (see slide show). On street after street, trees crashed into homes, power lines, transformers, street lights, and poles carrying communication lines. Many streets remain closed, and the ones that are open are a maze of dangerous electrical wires and precariously-hanging poles and tree limbs that drivers must navigate through.
In anticipation of the storm, I bought a small Honeywell 2000-watt inverter/generator to run basement pumps. While I never needed the pumps, we don’t have power, and I’m glad I bought the generator – I use it to power our frig, charge cell phones, and keep us connected via internet and TV. To keep it fueled I siphoned gas from my truck, since only a few gas stations are open. There the lines are long, with police officers queuing drivers and keeping the scene civil. I’ve heard that power will be restored soon, but I haven’t seen many repair crews. I suspect that they’re working on the infrastructure further upstream, and that it’s going to be a while – possibly quite a long while - before power is restored to many homes.
We do most of our work in Hoboken, which is in the flood plain of the Hudson River; there, ninety percent of homes there are without power. The National Guard is still rescuing some residents as I write this, so it might be weeks before we get back to work. Unfortunately, overhead expenses do not stop when work slows or stops, and it’s going to be hard to invoice for work completed from clients with their own new financial and family safety problems. We don’t have emergency funds to pay worker’s salaries when there is no work, though we offer two weeks of paid vacation and personal time annually that can be used while we’re shut down. Our employees may also be able to take advantage of temporary unemployment insurance. Until receivables and new revenues start coming back in, we may have to tap into our $100,000 line of credit. We also have a number of estimates pending, but I expect that the disaster will slow down the decision-making process for most clients.
It looks like there will be plenty of insurance work around here, but I’ve never felt our operation was structured for its pricing schedule and time horizons, and we’ve done little of it. However, we’ve been rooted in Hoboken for over twenty years now, and are one of the go-to companies for remodeling work there. The next few weeks will be tough, but after that I think that we’ll be right back on track.
Rob Corbo is a contractor in Elizabeth, New Jersey. | <urn:uuid:89b70e4e-1266-48e6-8cf1-4c1af41ce62d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jlconline.com/hurricanes/after-the-storm--new-jersey.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95669 | 823 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Wednesday night I slipped out of work early to head uptown to visit the New York Ceramics Fair, which is being held this Antiques Week at the Bohemian National Hall on the Upper East Side.
This year's Ceramics Fair brought together thirty dealers of historical to contemporary porcelain, pottery, and glass from across the United States and England. The Fair was a bit smaller this year, with a handful of notable absences from its roster of dealers. I wonder, is it because the public's taste for fine ceramics is waning, or is it a function of a still-ænemic economy?
|The woman wearing the shroud of black in this photograph is a regular|
attendee at all the New York City antiques shows.
I've seen her prowling the aisles of them for many years . . .
The Ceramics Fair is being held for the second (or is it the third?) year in the spacious, two-storey auditorium of the Bohemian National Hall, with dealers' booths spread across the main floor of the room and also the balcony above.
|Mr. John Howard|
Our first stop was at the booth of John Howard, hailing from Oxfordshire, England. Mr. Howard specializes in early English ceramics and has been the source of a number of our purchases over the years. Two years ago we bought from him a superb early-19th-century pearlware bust of the Goddess Minerva, in the Classical taste. It is one of the treasures of our collection at Darlington House.
|This magnificently scaled, dry-body jug in|
John Howard's booth was a jaw-dropper!
This year Mr. Howard was joined by a friend and colleague named Ms. Myrna Schkolne, who is an expert in English Staffordshire ceramics of the 1780-1840 period. Ms. Schkolne is a noted author on the subject (we bought one of her books from her that evening) and is about to come out with the first of a four-part series—likely to be the definitive one at that—on English Staffordshire pottery of her specialist period. I am looking forward to adding her series to our reference library.
|Ms. Myrna Schkolne|
Mr. Howard's booth features a delightful selection of Staffordshire animal figures this year.
Including several early and rare examples, such as this eighteenth-century lioness:
I was quite taken with this pair of monkeys, too, also from the eighteenth century:
Mr. Howard is also featuring an extensive selection of eighteenth-century creamware:
The pair of hirsute, early nineteenth century pearlware busts shown in the following photograph were right up my alley, but I resisted their temptation and hurried on before my resolve of fiscal conservatism melted away. Our time at the fair was short, as we arrived only forty-five minutes before closing time, and there was still much left to see!
Our next stop at the fair was at the booth of Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge (now based in Maryknoll, New York), where we were greeted by the affable Paul Vandekar, who owns and runs the business today.
|Mr. Paul Vandekar|
|The Earle D.Vandekar of Knightsbridge booth|
I admired an early-nineteenth-century silver luster bust of the Empress Josephine. It reminded me of ones featured in a post (since taken down) by Aesthete's Lament that were (then) being sold by the American dealer R. Louis Bofferding, a friend of the author. The ones in Aesthete's Lament's post were shown in photographs taken in the 1930s in a house in Lake Forest, Illinois, designed by David Adler and decorated by his sister, Francis Elkins. Some provenance!
|You, too, can own a Francis Elkins-approved|
silver lustre bust!
I also found myself lusting after a pair of early nineteenth century recumbent pearlware figures of Anthony and Cleopatra, in the Classical taste, as shown in the following photograph. They would look perfect sitting on one of the fire-surrounds at Darlington House. But no, Dear Reader, I remained steadfast in my fiscal resolve and forced myself onwards!
|These figures are of substantial scale, each measuring approximately|
a foot in length. Very impactful, indeed!
I became weak-kneed, however, in the very next booth to Mr. Vandekar's where I spied a large early-19th-century English pearlware Gothic castle, seen in the following photograph. Of a substantial scale (it probably stands more than a foot tall), it is decorated on all sides, including front and back, as it was designed to sit in the middle of a dining table. How I would have loved to take it home with me to grace ours at Darlington House! But again, fortitude reigned. I didn't even dare ask the price, in case I was even more sorely tempted! In retrospect, I suspect that I shall always remember the little castle as one of the "ones that got away." If only I had room for such a thing. Ah well . . .
|Every man wants to own his own castle, doesn't he?|
In addition to dealers specializing in the ceramics we collect, the Ceramics Fair has dealers specializing in wares outside our collecting sphere. We were particularly impressed by the large, mid-19th-century English footed majolica urn shown in the next photograph.
|Boy and an urn|
After pausing to admire the majolica urn we then made a bee-line to the booth of the good ladies Moylan-Smelkinson/The Spare Room Antiques of Baltimore. They also specialize in English ceramics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (do you notice a theme here, Dear Reader?), and are a must-see destination of ours at these (and other) shows. Not only are the ladies knowledgeable and carry a large inventory, but they are delightfully charming, too.
|Ms. Jacqueline Smelkinson and Ms. Marcia Moylan|
Moylan-Smelkinson always have lots of beautifully decorated tablewares on display.
They also have a large assortment of delightful figures and delicious decorations to choose from.
Along with several shelves of pretty ceramic snuff and patch boxes.
But the standout in their booth this fair, at least in my humble opinion, is a gorgeous English ceramic tulip-shaped and decorated coffee service from the first half of the nineteenth century. It is breathtaking.
After a delightful few minutes chatting with the Moylan/Smelkinsons we tore ourselves away and ran upstairs to the balcony level of the Bohemian Hall's auditorium to visit the other dealers there. Time was short! It was almost closing time! Standing at the edge of the balcony before diving into its booths we paused to take in the excellent view of the main floor below:
Our destination on the balcony was the booth of Linda Willauer Antiques of Nantucket. We enjoy visiting her marvelous, jam-packed shop whenever we visit the island (where we have found a number of treasures in years past). We are also sure to look her up whenever she comes to New York for shows.
|One view of Linda Willauer's booth at the Fair|
Ms. Willauer is justifiably well-known known for her extensive offerings of Chinese export porcelain and English Staffordshire.
This year Ms. Willauer had a pair of pistol-grip Chinese export urns on display, one of which is shown in the following photograph:
I thought this pair of Staffordshire hound spill vases were charming.
And with that, the closing gong rang and it was time to tear ourselves away from the fair!
|Mr. Nicholas Dawes|
Where we introduced ourselves to Nick Dawes of "Antiques Road Show" fame. He was exceptionally pleasant and friendly.
After leaving the Ceramics Fair we stopped in for cocktails and hamburgers at the nearby Finnegan's Wake, a friendly neighborhood Irish pub and a regular cheap 'n' cheerful destination of ours (Reggie doesn't only dine at the likes of La Grenouille, Dear Reader!). I can't recall whether I drowned my sorrows at "F.W." (as we call it) for not buying a thing at the Fair, or because I was celebrating my willpower for not doing so. In any event, the martini (or was it two that I had?) was a delicious topper to a most enjoyable tour of this year's New York Ceramics Fair.
Please note: Dear Reader, should you find yourself in a position to go to the Ceramics Fair, you had better hurry up and do so as it closes this afternoon at 4 p.m.
All photographs by Reggie Darling | <urn:uuid:160db0c2-6eca-4fde-bc33-ab1e21770198> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reggiedarling.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/antiques-week-2013-at-last-part-iii.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968135 | 1,887 | 1.523438 | 2 |
La Plata Electric Association is asking residents to be on the lookout for anyone stealing copper wire.
The metal can fetch a high dollar, so thieves steal it from electric substations, railroad signal lines and construction sites to sell, sometimes on the black market.
A theft occurred overnight Sunday at BC Fabrication, a business in Bayfield, according to a news release from LPEA. The thieves took about 20 feet of copper wire.
“The thieves cut into the live conduit and it burned up part of the equipment, but that didn’t stop them,” said Steve Gregg, LPEA manager of operations. “They were determined to get the wires.”
Utility trucks are well-marked, and workers carry identification, Gregg said.
If residents see suspicious activity around utility boxes, they are asked to call 911. | <urn:uuid:4949da25-1cd9-48c1-8a49-ba784f27e7c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://durangoherald.com/article/20130122/NEWS01/130129879/0/NEWS04/Metal-thieves-target-local-electric-co-op | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948611 | 176 | 1.5 | 2 |
If the latest results aren't posted by 10 a.m. on the most popular page of Pennsylvania's World Wide Web site, some of the page's most ardent followers will call Larry A. Olson's office in Harrisburg.
While Olson doesn't physically update the page, he is the commonwealth's deputy secretary for information technology, making him the state's first chief information officer. So the callers are certainly starting near the top.
Some state lottery players are like that.
As disheartening as it may be to those who see the Internet as a great tool of democracy, there's no doubt that the lottery results have been, by far, the most visited page on the state's Web site since the site began in October 1995.
When things are working well, the site has the previous day's lottery results posted by 10 a.m., plus lottery results, by month, day by day, dating back to when the state site went on line.
The number of visits to the state's Web site -- "hits" in Internet slang -- average about 600,000 a month, and this month, the site expects its 5 millionth electronic visitor.
The Web site was one of Olson's first tasks when Gov. Tom Ridge named him deputy secretary for information technology in June 1995.
"Pennsylvania was one of eight states that didn't have a Web site," said Olson. "I wanted to make sure we weren't the last."
Fortunately for Olson and his staff of six, Pennsylvania doesn't hold that distinction. While some official state sites don't mention when they came on line -- Pennsylvania's does --West Virginia was one of the last, beginning last June.
The Web site is only one aspect of a growing number of tasks for Olson who oversees the state's main data network, the Central Management Information Center, and is responsible for setting information technology policies for all state agencies under Gov. Ridge's jurisdiction -- roughly 87,000 employees.
The work hasn't been easy, Olson said. Very little work was done to analyze or connect different state agencies electronically before Olson became the state's chief information officer.
The Web site at http://www.state.pa.us was the first major accomplishment, Olson said, but there are other changes that aren't as obvious.
"The major barrier was bureaucracy," Olson said. "Basically, the way technology was funded prior to the Ridge administration was that each department or agency had their own silo of information. There was very little interoperability (between the computers of different agencies) or communication (between computer users in those agencies). There were no shared resources or initiatives."
As an example, Olson points to a high-speed, fiber-optic communications network, the Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), which links state agencies in and around Harrisburg. The network was built four years ago. When Ridge took office two years ago, six state agencies directly under the governor's jurisdiction, out of 40, were using the network.
As of last month, 39 of the 40 state agencies were connected to MAN. The only agency not connected, the Historical and Museum Commission, can't connect to the system because of a contractual problem, according to Scott Elliot, a press officer for the Office of Information Technology. Officials hope the commission will be linked later this year.
Other independent state agencies, such as the state Office of the Attorney General, are expected to connect to the system by this month, Olson said.
The state already has benefited from the change, Olson said. Because of the interconnectivity, 1.2 million reports that were once filed manually are now filed electronically.
Being connected to the same computer system means that an official with the necessary security clearances can access files in other agencies' computers.
"That's just one example," Olson said. "We're starting to understand how to use these resources more effectively."
Olson was also one of the architects of the Ridge administration's $121-million Link-to-Learn program, which aims to establish a statewide, community-based telecommunications network that should benefit schools, businesses and local governments.
He also is overseeing the first comprehensive database of available telecommunications infrastructure in the state. Once that database, being compiled at the University of Pennsylvania, is complete, the state will look at filling in existing gaps in the infrastructure.
"What we're doing is unique in the nation," Olson said. "There is a lot of value in this, not only for education but for economic development. A lot of companies that are looking to locate to the state are not just asking about highways and work force. They are also asking about telecommunications availability." | <urn:uuid:2e7bec05-eae3-4fdd-8f0b-64f9b7d8a7ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.mcall.com/1997-07-03/features/3165524_1_olson-lottery-results-state-agencies | 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 | 0.969308 | 951 | 1.570313 | 2 |
The #1 Success of Networking is to Show Up
When you join a group or an organization, it is very important that you commit to the group, and attend the meetings on a regular basis. Weekly or monthly depending on the group you choose.
In order to build relationships with other members, they need to meet you more than once, and you need to meet them more than once. The more times you attend the meetings, the more you will get results you will achieve. At each meeting, you will learn a little more about them and their business, and they will learn more about you. The more they see you, the more they know about you, the more they trust you, the more referrals they will give you.
2. Always Arrive Prepared
Conduct some research before you decide to attend an event to know what kind of people will be attending. Are they in your target market, will you face a lot of competitors or do you have a clear way to stand out from the crowd?
Spend some time on the website of the group that organized the event to learn about them. Do they specialize in a specific industry? Does the group focus on small and intimate events? Or do they pack the room with hundreds of people?
Sometimes I have people who come to my events, and are surprised to see only 12 to 15 people, but it is mentioned on the website that is what makes Biba4Network and our meetings different from other groups’ meetings and programs. On our home page we mention : “Because networking is more than just shaking hands and collecting business cards, most of our events are limited to 15 people, to drive better results. There’s more time to introduce yourself and your business to the group, more time to get to know each other, so more time to get business.” So if they had taken a look at the website first, they would have known our style and wouldn’t have been surprised or disappointed.
When you go to an event, it is also very important to have one or two important goals in mind. Are you looking for leads, partners, new clients, services? You will not approach people the same way, and you want to be sure to send the right message and use your time wisely.
3. Never Leave Home Without Your Business Cards
Wherever you go—to a networking event, to the dentist, to the movies, to a party, always bring business cards with you. You never know where you will meet an interesting new contact, and you don’t want to miss the opportunity to exchange cards. Writing your telephone number or email address on a piece of paper or a napkin, doesn’t look very professional.
Always carry a pen, or some people will prefer a PDA, to take notes on the back of the cards you receive—something you would like to remember about the person, something they said, and something you promise to send them.
Use your business card as a marketing tool to help you stand out from the crowd.
Don’t put only your name and address, but add your logo. I know it may sound obvious but many professionals don’t have a logo at least on their card. Add your website address, so people can check it later to learn more about your business. Add your tagline which explains your business in one line; if you don’t have a tagline or slogan, it is time to think about it.
Let’s say you are a coach or a financial advisor, no doubt, you have a lot of competition. What makes you unique and special? When people see your card, they will probably say, “Oh, another one!” but if you mentioned your specialties on your card, it will make a difference immediately.
Take my business card as an example. Very often, when people receive it, even before they read it, they say “Nice card”. First, because of the quality of the paper, very thick, glossy, you can see that I didn’t print the card myself with my printer. It is very colorful and matches my website. The card mentions “Seminars, Workshops & Networking” which explains exactly what I do, and my tagline “Build Your Business While You Build Friendships” which is the purpose of the networking meetings that I organize to help people build relationships to grow their business through networking.
You can also use the back of your card, to provide more details about your business.
Use bullet points to emphasize the purpose of your products and services. Show how you can be a problem solver to others, to make sure that they will call you the next day.
A business card is a “space ad”. When you pay for an ad in a newspaper you pay a lot of money so you try to use all the space, to get the most benefit. Do the same with your business card; use the most space available.
4. Have an Effective 15 to 30 Second Elevator Pitch
We talked about this earlier in the book, but this is one of the keys to successful networking. Remember to introduce yourself, and tell them the old adage “What’s in it for me” or more accurately, “what’s in it for them.” Learn how to “sell” yourself before you sell your services and products. People want to learn about you - what you’re about, what you can do before they make a purchase or consider referring you to one of their valuable contacts.
When you tell others about your business, be passionate, energized and energetic. Personalize your story so that your new contacts can picture themselves as part of your story. This will help them become a part of your mission.
Then once they know you and trust you, they will either buy your services or if they don’t need what you offer; they will [hopefully] refer you to someone else. They will actually do the selling for you. If they trust you, this trust will appear in the message they send to others.
When a friend tells you how much they loved a book, a restaurant or a product, they put such passion in their message that most of the time, you will buy the book or the product because you want to have the same feeling. Do you personally know the author of the book? No, but you buy it anyway. So your friend did the selling, not the author. Do you see what I mean?
Clearly introduce yourself, in 15 to 30 seconds, so people will understand exactly what you do; that will help you attract your target market and you will not lose potential clients. Don’t have only one elevator pitch but 3 or 4, to be able to adapt your message depending of your audience.
5. DO NOT SELL
I said it before, but I will repeat the point again; DO NOT SELL. Networking events are not places to sell. Do not give a sales pitch. Just introduce yourself, who you are, what you do, how you can help people. You attend these meetings and gatherings to get contacts and build relationships, not to sell. That is the ONE AND ONLY purpose of a networking meeting. The buying will come later on.
6. Meet People, Make Connections, Ask About Their Business or Services. Be curious, Ask About Them.
People love to talk about themselves, so ask questions and more importantly, listen to their answers. Use those answers to see how you can help them, how you can assist them, what resources you can share with them…And, as I mentioned earlier, this will always come back to you. People you meet will also be able to help you, give you referrals and resources, even if is it not today, the time will come.
7. Be a Problem-Solver
People will be more interested in you if you tell them how you can solve their problems and challenges instead of just telling them your story. Blah, blah, blah. Stand out from the crowd. Over the long run, you’ll win all the business you desire.
Go to People; Don’t Wait for Them to Come to You
Some people are very shy, and they will be happy if you make the first move. Remember, people attend networking meetings to meet other people and expand their circle of contacts. Help them ; make it easier for others to meet you.
9. Go to Events with a Friend, Colleague, or Client, and Introduce People to Each Other
You will be considered a “Pro Networker.” People will think that you know almost everyone, and others will come to speak with you. This tactic puts you in the center of the group and brings people to you.
10. Project a Professional Image
Maintain a brochure and/or a website. Some people will probably want to learn more about your business later, so give them the opportunity to get the information they are looking for in a format they can digest and on their own timetable. Make it easy for people to get to know you.
I get very frustrated when I meet someone and can’t understand what they do. Sometimes the reason is that we met only for a few seconds and other times because they were not very clear when they described their business or because I just didn’t understand. Remember English is not my first language, so sometimes I can get “lost in translation.” When I return home and want to look at their website to learn more about them, I notice that they don’t have a website. If you don’t have a website now, put this task high on your to-do list. In the meantime, at least create a brochure.
Personally, I don’t like brochures. I realized that a brochure wasn’t the best medium for my business. I use postcards instead. Postcards are relatively small, more eye catching than a brochure and easier for people to read quickly. Postcards send your message immediately.
I increased by 20% the number of members as soon as I started using postcards. It is an intro to learn more and to invite people to visit my website. I don’t like to receive brochures either, because they take up too much room, and I don’t know what to do with the paper once I get home. I already have hundreds of business cards in my organizer; that is enough.
This is my personal opinion. For some industries brochures work very well.
11. Project the Right Image, Make the Right Impression, and Create the Right Impact
What makes you unique? Every person I have ever met is different from all the other people I know. Everyone is unique in one way or another. This carries over into the business you create. When you display your individualism- your best traits- you will stand out from the crowd. When you are proactive, you will meet many new people, and you will ensure that others remember who you are.
12. 24-48 Hours After an Event, Send a "Thank
You" Note or Email to Your New Contacts.
Thank them for their time and reintroduce yourself in a few lines. They probably met many people during the event and your business card cannot say everything about you, especially if you had a meaningful conversation with the person. So, it’s worthwhile to reinforce your introduction and reestablish that connection.
Give them the link to your website, so they can learn more about you and your business. Tell them about your newsletter if you have one, and invite them to subscribe. That will be the best way to stay in touch on a regular basis, so they will always know what you are up to. Hopefully, they will forward your publication to others and this will expand your network further.
13. Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up
Schedule follow-up meetings with people you had a good connection with, or if you think that you can help each other. Put an organization and a follow-up system in place; don’t become overwhelmed with all your business cards, be organized; put your cards in a binder, for example a business card file or portfolio. Or, use a database system like ACT® or Microsoft® Outlook ®.
Send follow-up emails; contact your new contacts on a regular basis; again sending your newsletter is often the ideal way to stay in touch. Develop your A, B, C lists to know how often you should contact people and reconnect with them. Follow up as soon as possible, when someone gives you a referral. Your contact took the time to give you a referral, so don’t spoil it; contact the referral source to thank them and then let them know how your interaction went. If the association works well, they will be glad to be part of the success and more than happy to give you more contacts in the future. Volunteer to give them contacts in return.
14. Look at the Big Picture – Create Partnerships
Instead of looking for a potential client, and working with people one at a time, look for other professionals with whom you can create partnerships.
Look for others to cross-promote your business. Entrepreneurs who have businesses that complement yours, but who are not competitors. Someone who has the same or similar target market as you. So if you cross-promote each other, instead of having access to one potential prospect at a time, you will have access to their entire mailing list, 100s or 1000s of people, who are your exact target.
Organize events together: seminars, workshops, teleclasses. You will get more exposure in less time.
15. Do It Again and Again
You will see how networking will expand your contacts and will definitely help you grow your business.
About the Author
Biba F. Pédron,marketing consultant,
is the founder of Biba4Network, that specializes in Networking
for small business owners in the greater New York Area; and
Focus on Career, that helps solo entrepreneurs start and
grow their businesses.
Biba is the
author of “Start Your Dream Business Today! The
Proven 11 Steps to Start and Grow Your Own Business”.
For more information or to receive Free Networking tips please visit us. | <urn:uuid:5551dd13-92f3-4356-bb28-d4ad714535ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://creativelatitude.com/articles/article_200607_pedron.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961544 | 2,991 | 1.5 | 2 |
As the debate over reauthorization of the State Children?s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) heats up in Washington, a new survey of leaders in health policy and health care finds that large majorities feel the program has been successful in increasing access to health care for low income children (71%) and in reducing the rate of uninsured, low-income children (65%).
Across the board, leaders feel that coverage should be expanded. In fact, 91% of respondents think SCHIP should be made available to legal immigrant children whose families meet income requirements. Eighty-two percent favor allowing families with higher incomes to buy into SCHIP, and 80% believe that states should be allowed to extend coverage to parents of children covered by SCHIP in states where there is no comprehensive coverage for the uninsured
While health care opinion leaders favor expansion of the program, they also support new provisions to the program?s structure that would help the U.S. provide high-quality health care for all children. Four of five survey respondents (81%) were in favor of establishing federal performance standards and outcome measures for all children in SCHIP, and 69 percent favored measuring and reporting on the frequency and quality of developmental screening. Health care opinion leaders also support innovative mechanisms to encourage insurance plans and health care providers serving SCHIP families to provide higher-quality care. Seventy-eight percent of respondents favored requiring states to reward managed care plans and providers that meet benchmark levels of performance on developmental screening, preventive care, and follow-up treatment.
“Leading health care and health policy experts have clearly stated that SCHIP is a success and should be expanded,” said Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis. “These opinion leaders have also expressed strong support for leveraging that success to create more value, and they make it clear that SCHIP should ensure high quality standards to ensure that children receive the preventive and developmental services that contribute to their healthy growth and development.”
It would cost an additional $12 billion to $15 billion over five years to maintain the current level of services provided under SCHIP. When asked how additional SCHIP expenditures should be financed, there is no clear favorite. About a third (37%) of opinion leaders say financing should come from raising federal taxes or fees, 27% say funds should be redirected from other programs and 25% say an exception should be made to the “paygo” rule for coverage of children. However, only 3% support retaining the current allocation as a financing solution.
The survey of leading health care experts with a diverse range of professional and ideological perspectives is the tenth in a series from The Commonwealth Fund, and the second conducted in partnership with the publication Modern Healthcare. Commentaries on the survey findings by New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt, and a data brief authored by Fund staff, Health Care Opinion Leaders? Views on Priorities for the State Children?s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization, are posted on the Fund?s web site.
Opinion leaders surveyed include experts from four broad health care sectors: academia and research organizations; health care delivery; business, insurance, and other health industry; and government and advocacy groups. Elected officials and media representatives were excluded. The online survey was conducted by Harris Interactive? on behalf of The Commonwealth Fund and focused solely on SCHIP. The survey was completed online by 170 experts. | <urn:uuid:1f76cc3e-3740-4f35-81fc-b62bf0526d1d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.spiritindia.com/2007/health-insurance-schip-has-been-successful-overall-should-be-expanded-8822/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961646 | 691 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Internet calls are fast replacing traditional voice calls, but they still make up the major source of revenue for telecommunication firms like TeliaSonera (News - Alert). In an effort to deal with this challenge, the Swedish telecommunications firm has decided to introduce charges for mobile internet calls.
In a recent press release, TeliaSonera AB announced that it will soon release the details of new plans that incorporate charges for Web-based telephone calls (or VoIP-calls) through services such as Skype (News - Alert) and Google Talk.
“We plan to provide more exact details about these plans towards the end of the summer, sometime in August,” TeliaSonera spokesperson Anna Augustson noted in a statement.
There is good news for current TeliaSonera subscribers, though, who do not have to pay any additional fees for using VoIP services and will continue to enjoy free Internet calls, that is, until their current contract with TeliaSonera expires.
“Also, we will continue to offer subscription packages where VoIP calls are included in the subscription price,” Augustson added.
VoIP calls have become increasingly popular, as high-speed third and fourth generation mobile network technology have been gaining traction. Under this backdrop, firms such as TeliaSonera are apprehensive of losing a large chunk of revenue, which still come from traditional voice calls.
TeliaSonera has already introduced special charges for VoIP calls in Spain, where its subscribers pay EUR6 (almost eight dollars) a month for 100 megabytes worth of VoIP calls, equaling five to 10 hours of talk-time. The company will follow more or less the same pricing model for their other markets, company CEO Lars Nyberg revealed.
The company is furthermore set to launch its own VoIP-service.
VoIP over mobile networks has lately become a political issue with Swedish telecom operators, who want to implement technologies to prevent those in Sweden from making free calls using services like Skype and Viber. Last year, the European Commission launched a probe into telecom firms who block Internet communications services like Skype.
Earlier this year, TeliaSonera announced its selection by Rostelecom (News - Alert), Russia’s leading long distance operator, for managing a strategic new link between Russia and Europe as well as managing its new backbone network between Kingisepp, Russia and Stockholm, Sweden. The next-generation managed optical network provides connectivity between the cable landing points of the Baltic Cable System, Kingisepp and Kotka, implemented over TeliaSonera International Carrier’s wholly-owned fiber-optic infrastructure to Stockholm, Sweden. The platform, with an initial 600 Gbps capacity, is scalable up to 3.2 Tbps and provides a guaranteed service life of at least 10 years.
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.
Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.
Edited by Allison Boccamazzo | <urn:uuid:dace771d-58c5-4ab0-af79-a86981a7dfed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sip-phones.tmcnet.com/topics/sip-phones/articles/296565-teliasonera-introducing-voip-charges-this-summer.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936159 | 720 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Learn the local rules of business first and more practical advice on expanding your company's footprint in China, Japan and South Korea.
By Katherine Ryder, contributor
The future may well lie with the United States, as President Obama reiterated during his State of the Union speech earlier this week, but that doesn't change the fact that many U.S. executives are still grappling with how to do business with an empowered Asia.
Maxims about how to succeed in Asia are everywhere -- but judging by the high failure rate of U.S. companies in Asia, there is clearly more to the game than delivering your business card with two hands. Now U.S. and European business schools are seizing on the demand for good information about Asia, putting greater emphasis on educating future executives about Asian business culture.
Michael Witt, a professor of Asian business and comparative management at the Singapore campus of INSEAD business school, and an Associate in Research at Harvard's Reischauer Institute, is at the forefront of an emerging field called "Comparative Business Systems." Witt doesn't focus solely on macroeconomic trends, but rather teaches MBA and EMBA students how to capitalize on opportunities by understanding the differences between workforces in different Asian markets.
And the differences, he says, are stark. "Everyone is playing ball," Witt says, "but they're playing very different games."
It all comes down to understanding how people think. "Culture is not how you pick up the chopsticks," says Witt. "It's how you make sense of the world." In other words, the ways in which people interpret facts have a huge impact on how decisions are made and how businesses are run. One way to evaluate culture is to consider how business leaders view the role of the firm in their economy.
In Witt's latest research, he asked senior executives in both the U.S. and Asian countries why their firms exist. Most Americans answered quickly that firms exist to "create shareholder value" -- a mantra in the U.S. business world at least since the early 1980s. But across Asian countries, Witt found, the answer to this simple question varies widely. How top management in China understand their world, for instance, differs starkly from the views of their counterparts in Japan. "When firms partner with each other, they are thinking about what the other side wants," says Witt. "We're adding a key piece of information: it depends on the country."
Private firms in China exist to provide shareholder value -- like their U.S. counterparts -- but only for people at the very top. The function of the firm in the private sector in China is mainly about generating family wealth. Most of China's new class of millionaires comes from profitable family-owned businesses. Thus, the idea of most of these businesses is to squeeze as much as possible out of the workers for the benefit of the owner, which is why many large Chinese companies are governed more hierarchically than their Western counterparts.
What foreign firms need to think about carefully when buying or partnering with a private Chinese firm is whether highly valued products are being created. "If you're thinking about taking over a Chinese company," says Witt, "you need to think about what you're really acquiring once the family is out of there."
Executives in state-owned enterprises, which are ubiquitous in China, have their own set of rules and incentives. These firms are considered the strategic tools of the state, and managers often view their positions as steps in their career within the communist party. The overriding objective for many of these managers, Witt says, is to supply resources and compete in global markets in order to propel the country's economic reemergence.
International competitors operating in China should know that they won't be operating on a level playing field, says Witt. Additionally, the dynamics for starting a business in China are completely different from what Western business people might expect. A company might not make quality products, but state assistance helps them in all sorts of ways.
One risk of partnering with Chinese firms, Witt says, is that they might attempt "to find out how you do it and take your business from you in the long-term." Danone's (GDPNF) foray into China ended in 2009 after its partnership with the multi-billion dollar beverage company Wahaha dissolved into an ongoing public brawl, with Danone accusing Wahaha of operating parallel businesses selling virtually identical products.
General Motors (GM), by contrast, has fared quite well in China. The firm is the first carmaker to sell more than two million cars in China and its success is due largely to local partnerships. The company just signed another deal with its Chinese partner, SAIC, to work together to crack India's market. As the once-struggling carmaker knows very well, despite the rocky experiences of some Western firms, the most dangerous thing about dealing with China can be refusing to deal with it at all.
Like in China, the purpose of the Japanese firm is not solely to maximize shareholder value -- but Japanese firms commonly assume a more family-like focus and strive first and foremost to take care of their employees. This is often a major constraint for foreign firms considering operations in Japan -- given the labor practices often don't mesh well with those of Western counterparts. Many Japanese firms entering a merger insist on retaining their entire workforce as a condition of sale. Companies think of themselves as serving society. "I interviewed someone who said, 'The first thing we need to wonder about is why does society permit our company to exist?'" says Witt.
This focus often translates to weak shareholder rights. Japanese firms provide benefits to employees like stable employment and a good livelihood, but this practice can be a major deterrent for foreign firms. "If you acquire a Japanese firm," says Witt, "you'll find it to be extremely resilient to any changes you would introduce." Firms will make decisions in order to avoid mass layoffs, he says, since questions about staffing levels are built around the assumption that employees will stay with a company for life.
This distinct corporate culture stems from the fact that many of Japan's firms, like Mitsui, trace their existence back hundreds of years. "For a manager, the most important thing is not to improve the business during one's time," remarked one of the executives Witt interviewed in his research. "Rather, I think it is extremely important that when one passes things on to the next manager, to what extent the firm is one whose shape is accepted by society and that one can ensure the permanence of the firm."
Although Japanese firms may enjoy an acceptable return on sales -- and some, like Honda (HMC), Canon (CAJ), and Toyota (TM), may rise to global prominence -- Western business people commonly find themselves surprised by the assumptions of Japanese executives.
South Korea, according to a number of corporate executives, resembles Europe more closely than it resembles either Japan or China. The South Korean executive's primary rationale for the existence of corporations is the generation of profit, says Witt. Yet very much like China, the East Asian country boasts its own graveyard of Western companies who have tried to enter the market and failed.
Any Western executive considering work in South Korea should know first and foremost that South Korean labor unions are some of the fiercest in Asia. "When the unions are on strike, it's basically war," says Witt. In 2009, the World Economic Forum cited the difficulty of hiring and firing employees as the reason that Korea dropped so dramatically in its business competitiveness rankings.
Both Carrefour and Wal-Mart (WMT) were unable to strike a balance with union demands and left South Korea in 2006. The top management of both firms hailed either from France or the U.S., and industry-watchers say neither company successfully built a trusting relationship with Korea's unions.
The main thing to understand about a South Korean firm, Witt says, is that it has an eye towards its three major stakeholders -- employees, shareholders, and society. (Samsung's former motto, for instance, is: "We do business for the sake of nation building.") If a foreign firm isn't able to strike a balance and please all three stakeholders, then doing business in South Korea can be extremely difficult.
Also on Fortune.com:
Storytelling in business can just as easily save the day as it can make a sticky situation even stickier. Here are a few lessons learned from people who have turned to stories in their work.
By Vickie Elmer, contributor
Ed Fuller tells of a dinner he had with eight Japanese bankers in the 1990s.
"I am the only Gaijin at the table, meaning white devil," he said with a small laugh. MOREDec 3, 2010 12:28 PM ET
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|Ashton Kutcher: 'Media @&$#%! Twitter up'| | <urn:uuid:40af91ba-4da4-437e-95a8-fd41de41b186> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://management.fortune.cnn.com/tag/japan/ | 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 | 0.969175 | 1,848 | 1.570313 | 2 |
AntiSec, a splinter group of the popular hacktivist group Anonymous, has claimed that it was recently able to break into FBI’s servers. As a result of this breach, the group claims, it obtained more than 12 million Apple UDIDs. It has now leaked 1 million of these on the web.
The group claims that it was able to break into the notebook of a FBI agent who belonged to the FBI Regional Cyber Action Team and New York FBI Office Evident Response Team. The breach was achieved by exploiting the AtomicReferenceArray vulnerability in Java.
During the hack session, it was found out that a certain file titled ‘NCFTA_iOS_devices_intel.csv’ was contained on the machine. AntiSec downloaded the file, only to find that it contained the device IDs of some 12 million Apple users. The UDIDs were accompanied with names, zip code, phone numbers as well as other information. AntiSec has posted 1 million of these UDIDs online over here.
What this suggests is that the data has been handed over to FBI by Apple. Apple is known to be quite friendly and complacent towards security agencies. The file name contains the acronym ‘NCFTA’ which probably stands for National Cyber Forensics & Training Alliance. NCFTA “functions as a conduit between private industry and law enforcement.”
In other words, it is a body that lets security agencies gather all kinds of user data from private companies. And Apple seems to be a part of it. It is quite disappointing to note that while on the face, most tech giants blatantly argue that they would never divulge any user information to the security agencies, things seem to be different behind the scenes.
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Each year the University of Georgia’s Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication selects 12 students to be named McGill Fellows for the McGill Lecture and Symposium. Through their participation, the students will also have the opportunity to help select the winner of the McGill Medal, which will be presented to an American journalist whose career has exemplified journalistic courage. This year, Thomaston native Ryan Williams was selected to be one of the Fellows. He was the 2009 Valedictorian at Upson-Lee and is currently a senior at UGA and is pursuing a double major in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science. He is the son of Ms. Deborah Williams and Dr. Ben Williams.
“It is an incredible honor to be one of the few selected,” said Williams. “To be the only broadcast journalism student to represent that branch of the Grady Department-it’s something that I never expected. I’ve gone to the lecture the last two years and seen the other fellows, but never thought I’d be one of them.”
For more than 30 years, the McGill Lecture has brought significant figures in journalism to the University of Georgia to honor Ralph McGill’s courage as an editor. McGill, while editor and publisher of The Atlanta Constitution, was regarded as the conscience of the South, using the newspaper’s editorial pages to challenge segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. McGill was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1958 for his long, courageous and effective leadership.
Williams is part of the sixth class of McGill Fellows, that is made up of 10 undergraduate and 2 graduate students. He was selected by a committee of Grady faculty, who made their decisions based on students who showed strengths in academics, leadership and practical experience. In addition to Williams, this year’s class includes seniors Julia Carpenter, Jacob Demmitt, Amanda Dixon, Maura Friedman, Parys Grigsby, Mariana Heredia, Elayna Rose, and Kavi Vu and junior Gina Yu – as well as graduate students Jessica Luton and Stephen Morgan.
The McGill Fellows will start their day on October 24 with the McGill Symposium, which brings together students, faculty and leading journalists to consider what journalistic courage means and how it is exemplified by reporters and editors. They will then attend and be introduced at the McGill Lecture, which will be presented by PolitiFact Editor Bill Adair. Williams stated he is most interested in hearing the lecture, but is also glad for the experience that will allow him to meet many professionals and better understand how to get on their level career-wise.
When asked if he felt he has had the opportunity to work on a piece that demonstrated journalistic courage, Williams said the one story that sticks out in his mind is when he was able to interview Andy Miller, who is the Editor and CEO of Georgia Health News, for a class that also produces a live news show two days a week.
“I was able to talk to him about how hospitals are becoming more local oriented and are transitioning from typical health care to outpatient oriented, from surgical to wellness center,” said Williams. “The story actually centered on the impending Medicaid and the decisions states will have to make in reference to the Affordable Care Act.”
After he graduates in the spring, Williams is considering going to grad school or law school before starting his career. He feels that having a double major of both journalism and political science will be beneficial work hand in hand for whatever path he may choose. He is very interested in judicial politics and being a political correspondent and ultimately, his dream job would be to work in Washington, D. C. | <urn:uuid:86994742-71a3-407a-9670-4421491748dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thomastontimes.com/pages/home/push?rel=next&class=&per_page=5&x_page=59 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973345 | 755 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Johan Reinhard's discovery of the 500-year-old frozen body of an Inca girl made international headlines in 1995, reaching more than a billion people worldwide. One of the best-preserved mummies ever found, it was a stunning and significant time capsule, the spectacular climax to an Andean quest that yielded no fewer than ten ancient human sacrifices as well as the richest collection of Inca artifacts in archaeological history.
Here is the paperback edition of his first-person account, which The Washington Post called "incredible…compelling and often astonishing" and The Wall Street Journal described as "… part adventure story, part detective story, and part memoiran engaging look at a rarefied world." It's a riveting combination of mountaineering adventure, archaeological triumph, academic intrigue, and scientific breakthrough which has produced important results ranging from the best-preserved DNA of its age to the first complete set of an Inca noblewoman's clothing.
At once a vivid personal story, a treasure trove of new insights on the lives and culture of the Inca, and a fascinating glimpse of cutting-edge research in fields as varied as biology, botany, pathology, ornithology and history, The Ice Maiden is as spellbinding and unforgettable as the long-dead but still vital young woman at its heart. | <urn:uuid:976047e1-37e4-4072-93c5-cc95b201b8f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.randomhouse.com/book/140232/ice-maiden-by-johan-reinhard/9780792259121/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938035 | 268 | 1.742188 | 2 |
8. January 2012 09:19
If you work with message files in your C++ project, you may have encountered the following error:
CVTRES : fatal error CVT1100: duplicate resource -- type:MESSAGETABLE, name:1, language:0x0409
fatal error LNK1123: failure during conversion to COFF: file invalid or corrupt
I wrestled with this error recently, and for nearly 12 hours, it drove me crazy. There is a lot of speculation on the internet regarding this error, with lots of "try this or that"
Here is a concrete solution to my problem:
- I had included the message.rc file in my C++ project, along with the project's .rc file.
- The message.rc file is also listed as an included resource in the project's .rc file.
- Solution: Remove the message.rc file from your project, but leave it as an included resource in your project's .rc file.
- Reason: The resource compiler dutifully includes the message.rc. The linker then dutifully tries to link in the compiled message.res file included in the project; ergo, duplicate resource!
- If you are going to include the message.rc as a resource in another .rc file, then you should not add message.rc to your solution.
Put this down as a hard lesson learned. How hope my experience aids another developer. | <urn:uuid:c0424127-acdb-4b4b-b39d-c570a7f34373> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.codewiz51.com/blog/post/2012/01/08/Resolving-CVT1100.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931724 | 303 | 1.546875 | 2 |
This website is no longer being updated. Visit Dartmouth Now for all news published after June 7, 2010.
Andrew R. Seal '07
November 29, 2006
Throughout its history, Dartmouth has seen itself as a "small college," and has always taken pride in that fact.
It is because Dartmouth is a small school that racism, sexism, and classism are so important to speak out against, for they are not confined in their effects just to their intended targets-although that alone should be enough to require action of all of us-they prevent a real sense of community from forming-a sense of community which, if created and maintained, would truly be doing Dartmouth and its ideals proud.
Yesterday a new Facebook group was formed. Called Friends Don't Let Friends Work for The Dartmouth Review, it was clearly a joke, but it highlighted an interesting fact-we all have friends who, while they may not work for The Review, don't find a problem with racist jokes or attitudes. We all have friends whose sense of entitlement is so outrageous that it never occurs to them that they owe some modicum of self-restraint to the many people at this school who are not permitted to develop even a nascent sense of entitlement, who are in fact consistently told that they are not entitled even to our respect as peers.
Dartmouth is a small campus, yet you might not know it. We walk past the same people day in and day out with the expectation that neither of us should ever act like we belong to the same community. We unthinkingly accept the idea that deep divisions at our school along various lines, and the power dynamics that create those lines, are natural facts of our school. It is this ready acceptance that leads to incidents like those we have seen this term, and it is that unthinking acquiescence that has allowed these incidents to go unaddressed-and unredressed-for this long.
It is as I have said, a small College, and there are those who love it and who are not willing to see it further divided by distrust, bigotry, and arrogance. When we take action, it should be actions that seek to cut across the lines that have bitten into our community, that seek to find friends and allies in places we never thought we might. We are a small College, and we should act like it. | <urn:uuid:3d03cd4a-7a66-486f-859f-179771ae57a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/features/rally/seal.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980868 | 478 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Sugar brings a Southern African-American town vividly to life, with its flowering magnolia trees, lingering scents of jasmine and honeysuckle, and white picket fences that keep strangers out--but ignorance and superstition in. To read this novel is to take a journey through loss and suffering to a place of forgiveness, understanding, and grace.
I didn't know what to expect from Sugar as I read the opening scene of a horrendous murder of a young black girl named Jude and the devastated mother she left behind named Pearl. The year was 1940, the place was a southern black town, and it was the era of segregation...
"No one cared except the people who carried the same skin color"
Bernice McFadden made me feel the anguish of a mother who lost her child; the injustice of the times as it was known nothing was going to be done about it... And then she whisked me ahead 15 years. Pearl is still mourning the loss of her daughter, Jude, in her quiet reserved manner... But there's a new girl in town, and her name is Sugar - a young prostitute looking to change her life. Sugar exudes sex, with her short short skirts, spiky high heels, and BIG attitude. Pearl is a quiet obedient church-going wife. Their unlikely friendship creates amazing changes in both of them... much to the dismay of Pearl's church going friends, but to the delight of Pearls family.
Bernice is a master storyteller. Her prose is beautiful. As the layers of this story unfold, of murder, secrets, jealousy and pride, Bernice seamlessly weaves it all together to an amazing ending. I felt a whirlwind of emotions as I read Sugar; I laughed, I cried and I felt anger. I saw past those short skirts Sugar wore and found a little girl struggling to catch her breathe. And I walked through a small town scared to open its arms to someone who obviously wasn't 'one of them'... or was she? I kept turning those pages... Graphic in nature at times, but not gratuitous, you will appreciate Sugar's sincerity. You'll appreciate the rich, complex and strong female characters fully fleshed out and who don't shy away from sharing their feelings. Bernice has also captured the feel of small town life, with the soft whispers heard between small clutches of people. The story will grab your attention, and your heart, and will not let you go until the very last page.
Sugar is friendship... it's honesty wrapped up in the poetry of words... it's redemption and it's powerful...
Would you like to read an excerpt? Read the first chapter at the publisher's website! You can also learn more about Bernice and her writing at her website, bernicemcfadden.com. There you will also find discussion questions, because Sugar would make an excellent reading group pick! I want to thank Bernice for sending me a review copy! I just loved reading Sugar! And I want to thank Bernice for also letting me know that there is a sequel to Sugar! The story continues with This Bitter Earth! I'm so happy because I wasn't quite ready to give up visiting Bigelow, Arkansas and spending time with Sugar! A wonderful story & wonderful characters, what more can you ask for?! | <urn:uuid:d78af198-80f9-4480-ac1c-c37298ee13bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chickwithbooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/sugar-by-bernice-l-mcfadden-review.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969835 | 679 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Magic Tree serves more than children
Priscilla Williams and owner Iris Yipp of The Magic Tree Bookstore are ready to assist readers of all ages. | Meredith Morris~for Sun-Times Media
Other gift picks this holiday? From Magic Tree, Yipp recommends a Memory Challenge game, Book Lovers’ Edition, for adults, and 500-piece jigsaw puzzles representing works by Frank Lloyd Wright, Charley Harper and other artists.
For kids, a nice selection is the latest Olivia the pig story, Olivia and the Fairy Princess, which Yipp considers the best. And for young adults, Days of Blood and Starlight, the new Laini Taylor novel, and Every Day, by David Levithan, a tale about a young man who wakes up in a different body, in a different location, every day.
Updated: January 7, 2013 6:14AM
OAK PARK — Malcolm X — A Life of Reinvention and the latest novel by Ken Follett. The library? Borders?
Think again. The Magic Tree Bookstore, 141 N. Oak Park Ave., which isn’t just for kids.
“We’ve had adult things for many years. People don’t always know it,” said Iris Yipp, an Oak Park resident who’s owned and managed Magic Tree for 28 years.
Yipp caters to adults with a selection of books, cards and games, including a new section of the store devoted to family issues, such as healthy eating and raising a teenager.
“The nice thing is, because we have such a limited selection of adult books, we have the cream of the crop,” she said.
Adult selections are based on recommendations from fellow independent bookstores and with significant input from Magic Tree employee Priscilla Williams, also of Oak Park, who came to the shop about two years ago after more than 10 years at Barbara’s Bookstore.
Williams coordinates a Magic Tree book group for adults who enjoy reading young adult fiction. Composed of a core handful of members who meet from 7-8 p.m. every second Thursday, the group’s reads have included popular teen novels, some dealing with issues such as bullying and identity dystopia.
“From what my members have told me, they enjoy young adult (novels) more because it flows easier and it’s faster to get to the point,” Williams said. “You can read 300 pages of nothing in an adult book, but in young adult, it’s intense.”
The group will welcome T.M. Geoglein on Dec. 13, author of the novel Cold Fury.
“I like that we all have a genuine love of reading. I’ve been in book clubs where it’s all about the wine and cheese,” Williams said.
Teens and younger children remain the bread-and-butter audience of Magic Tree. The store is invitingly packed with children’s books, games and other finds, such as stuffed animals and stickers. Against one windowed wall is a comfortable seating area for story-telling.
“I love this store and I like to shop local,” said one Oak Park customer, Sarah O’Neill, who brings her 3- and 6-year-old children to story time. She enjoys the shop’s selection for her own children and for gift-buying.
Customers Adrienne Eyer, from Oak Park, and Megan Swift, visiting from out of state, appreciate Magic Tree’s well-informed assistance.
“We have advanced readers,” Swift said, referring to both women’s first and third graders. “To have a place when they have such a knowledge of the content of the book, you know your child is going to get something challenging to read but age-appropriate.”
Too often, the women explained, books that challenge their children contain unsettling subject matter.
“Books are magic, but you’ve got to get them the right magic. Emotionally, it has to be appropriate,” Eyer said.
Especially when gift-shopping, Yipp encourages mixing a book with a matching non-book item.
“We like to connect things,” she said. For instance, a good choice this holiday might be a book and a board game from the popular Wimpy Kid book series.
Yipp also offers an array of books by local authors. Some titles include Oh, No!, a picture book by Oak Parkers Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann, and Bad Apple, an illustrated story by Edward Hemingway, grandson of Ernest.
The Magic Tree Bookstore is open Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; and Sunday, noon-4 p.m. | <urn:uuid:8f642c9c-b6f0-401f-97d8-2838e79f4361> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oakpark.suntimes.com/news/16702817-420/magic-tree-serves-more-than-children.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944832 | 1,048 | 1.5 | 2 |
This is a letter from my kids' principal today, 12/14/12 the day of a horrific school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
I know most of you have heard about the terrible tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. Our hearts go out to the entire community there. Please know that our staff will not discuss this with students or bring it up in front of them. They will not hear of this from school. If there is a discussion to be had it will be with family.
Please be assured that we do everything to keep your children safe in in caring hands.
Please take care and give your children an extra hug from me."
And this is why I'm not going to pick up my kids early from school. My kindergartener is safe at home already but I also have a first and second grader. I want to hug and kiss them and give them cookies right now, but they don't need that. What they need is a normal day at school. A normal, safe day playing with their friends. A day that 18 children will never get to experience ever again. My kids get to come home and light the candles for the menorah and their friends get to play in front of and enjoy the beauty of their Christmas tree. There are parents in Connecticut who have gifts under the tree that will never be opened. My heart is breaking for them.
But I will not shed tears in front of my kids when I pick them up. I will try my hardest. That would only scare them. An hour ago I whimpered reading something on Facebook and my 5 year old asked what was wrong. I immediately pulled it together. He has Autism and this would be very confusing for him. His teacher is on medical leave, so school is already an upheaval for him right now, and he doesn't need to know that school can be even more unsafe.
If my kids ask of course I will discuss this topic with them. But I will spare them as many details as possible and let them know that their school is safe. When they come home today the news will be turned off and I will have a marathon of Chopped (my favorite cooking show) on the t.v. Their t.v. will have cartoons. We will celebrate Hanukkah and they will go to bed. And my husband and I will go to bed grateful beyond belief. | <urn:uuid:4dbf1d37-2622-4203-a702-85c7fb659f77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sanramon.patch.com/groups/charlottes-blog/p/bp--why-im-not-picking-up-my-kids-early-from-school-today | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983263 | 482 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Is it all about WHO you know and not WHAT you know? The answer is yes and no. WHO you know can help get you in the running for that promotion, that job, that piece of new business. WHAT you know will help you turn possibilities into reality.
Studies over the past couple of years have proven that larger, diversified networks have a significant impact on your career and your earning capability. The relationship between network size, quality and expected wages is positive. The results of studies over the past 20 years reinforce the fact that wage rates of the most well connected are 15% to 25% higher than those with few connections.
The importance of growing your network cannot be overstated. But the value of your network lies not solely in the numbers. The quality of its members is a vital component. Two of my past posts focused on growing your network and building your tribe. But what about the quality of your network?
Your network consists of two categories of members: those with whom you have close ties and those with weak ties.
Close ties are those relationships where people know you well and understand what you do. You already know many of their contacts and the type of information they can provide. Generally, you travel in the same circles, belong to many of the same social groups, and may even work in the same company or industry.
Weak ties are the opposite. You know them but are not close. You don’t travel in all the same circles therefore you are not familiar with their networks. Because they are not in your immediate circle, they have information and contacts that may prove to be valuable for you, your career and your business. In fact, it’s through weak ties that the majority of leads are disseminated regarding employment and business opportunities. In short, weak ties enable you to reach populations and audiences that are not accessible via strong ties.
Not to confuse things but “followers” on social media networks do not generally fall into the category of weak ties. Although the broad definition of weak ties may fit, you still have to have some form of relationship built on trust, contact, or experience in order for there to be any form of information and contact sharing that extends beyond the superficial. Unless you build a relationship beyond 140 characters your followers cannot be considered weak ties.
What can you do to increase your network in a purposeful way?
First and foremost, ensure that you continue to deepen your close relationships so that you can each act as brand ambassadors for the other. Although they may have more limited resources to share it’s always valuable to have people who are “in your corner.” Their role as advisors, supporters, and cheerleaders is vital to maintaining your confidence and continued professional growth.
To grow your network of weak ties, seek out opportunities where you can meet people from different backgrounds:
- join organizations not related to what you do
- volunteer at nonprofits outside your immediate community
- keep in touch with former colleagues since their network will be different once they leave
- strengthen relationships with “followers” and LinkedIn connections so there can be more meaningful reciprocity in sharing information and contacts
- attend events that interest you and are outside your immediate sphere of influence
- take new classes and expand your horizons
Grow WHO you know with purpose so you can showcase WHAT you know.
What other ways do you grow your network? | <urn:uuid:2890332c-81ae-42d4-a283-238521339580> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://yourcareerbydesign.com/20120522/success-is-it-all-about-who-you-know/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963241 | 695 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Bio not provided
Nice Blog post Marty.
It should be noted that blasphemy is not only a victimless crime, it is a fundamental Human Right. Without the freedom to blaspheme, the rights to Freedom of Conscience, Freedom of (& from) Religion and Freedom of Expression all get whittled away to such extremes that they become close to meaningless.
Ignoring the atheist perspective it is often impossible for adherents of any religion to promote their own view point without blaspheming others. A Muslim automatically blasphemes Christianity by denying the divinity of Christ. A Christian automatically blasphemes Islam by asserting the divinity of Christ. Many Catholic ideas are blasphemous to many Protestant denominations, vice-versa, and many Orthodox ideas are blasphemous to both. In Islam we have similar divides. Should Aisha or Ali be celebrated or vilified? You will get a pair of very different answers depending on if you ask a Sunni or a Shia.
All this is only looking at the issue of blasphemy from the view point of the dominant trends of the two largest religions. Do we also include criticism of Guru Nanak in our blasphemy laws? I have no idea by what criteria I could unwittingly blaspheme Zoroaster! Should the British high court be charged with blasphemy because it ruled in 1988 that Scientology is a cult?
Blasphemy has to be a fundamental human right because it not being so can only lead to chaos or tyranny. Give religions exactly the same legal protections from criticism, mockery and ridicule that are given to political parties. After all, both religions and political parties are nothing more than a collection of ideas and the people who subscribe to them.
7 months, 1 week ago on Anti Blasphemy Laws – Pakistan, Greece and Australia
Can't fault the rhetoric. It is convincing and powerful. Sad though that their are so many humans for whom rhetoric wins over facts and reason. For anyone with critical thinking skills or a basic grounding in the scientific method, I agree though, this is real "head explodes from hyper-pressure of cognitive dissonance" stuff!
I especially like the claim that it is Creationists who like to teach children "How to think, not what to think". Wow! I guess the Christians were right about Hypatia, Galileo and Bruno. Let's burn the works of Asimov and Sagan!
8 months, 1 week ago on Bill Nye vs Those Who DeNye – A Discussion | <urn:uuid:e99fc436-cf1e-49a8-bca3-93b0c06cfb08> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.livefyre.com/profile/5935294/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931593 | 498 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Kenneth Hilbert Champney, a lifelong Yellow Springs resident and businessman, and friend to Antioch College, died gently Friday morning, April 15, at home with family members.
Ken was born in 1930 to Horace and Ava Champney. At age 5, to the amazement of his parents, Ken taught himself to read a storybook he wanted to finish, knowing only the letters of the alphabet. He went to the Antioch School, with a year of public elementary thrown in for good measure.
The summer before he entered high school, Ken attended Circle Pines camp in Michigan, which was to become perhaps the major formative influence of his early life. Run by the Cooperative Movement, the camp transformed an old farmland into a working farm and camp with a series of work projects. Altogether Ken spent four summers at Circle Pines, and one school year in the area. It gave Ken an overall liberal outlook on life, and introduced him to the concept of intentional community.
He spent his last two years of high school in Yellow Springs, where he was very active in recreational softball, and was the reigning high school ping-pong champion.
Ken attended William Penn College, a Quaker college in Iowa. He was influenced by its president, Cecil Hinshaw, and his pacifism. Pacifists at that time believed that if the military draft was reinstated, the United States would inevitably get involved in unnecessary wars. They advocated total noncooperation with it. But Ken wound up back in Yellow Springs after Hinshaw was dismissed by the college over administrative differences.
Then began what Ken cited as the most significant thing in his life: in 1949, as an apprentice printer at the Yellow Springs News, he began what became a 45-year career as printer, publisher owner, and, for a time, editor of the News. The struggling paper had recently been purchased by Ernest Morgan and the Antioch Bookplate Company, and Ken apprenticed there for a year. He learned how to run and maintain multiple complex pieces of machinery, each of which required a seven-year apprenticeship by industry standards. But none of it would have been possible without the active help of his new wife, Peggy Palmer of Delaware County, Pa., who dropped out of Antioch College during her first year there to print the newspaper with Ken.
As committed as they were to the paper, Ken and Peggy were equally committed to Ken’s belief in draft resistance. Inevitably, Ken was sent off to prison where he served for 20 months, while Peggy produced the paper every week, with minimal assistance. Following his prison term, Ken continued a long and successful partnership with editor Kieth Howard, while Peggy spent most of her time at home raising a family.
In one of the notable events for the paper, they fended off a challenge from the right-wing, McCarthyist Yellow Springs American, which attempted to buy the News in the 1950s, and when they were refused, tried to no avail to drive them out of business with a rival paper.
In his time at the News, Ken employed and mentored many local young people. In family life, Ken and Peggy were integral early members of the intentional community The Vale, which is still going strong today, and in which Ken was active until the end, serving as its treasurer until a few months before his death. They cared for children from needy neighboring homes, and adopted a child as well.
In the 1960s they took on a simple life, living as much as possible off of the produce of their garden. A common dinner for the family in those days was one chicken, feeding nine people, along with many vegetables (and occasional ice cream). They instilled their love of music in their children, and it became an important part of all of their lives or professions.
Ken and Peggy were also very active in the local Quaker meeting. Ken’s social activism continued with the Peacemakers, a group dedicated to nonviolence. Ken and Peggy volunteered their printing services for the group to start its newsletter. It published writings by Gene Sharp on nonviolent resistance, which many years later, in 2010 and 2011, were used by protesters in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East to pull off their largely nonviolent regime change action of the last several months. Ken was gratified to learn that these early efforts of the Peacemakers had paid off in such a significant way.
Ken also believed in resisting the income tax, since such a large part of it goes to fund the military. He confronted the IRS by refusing to withhold taxes on his employees in what he judged to be the military portion of the amount, and continued this practice even under threat from the IRS. However the IRS did not find any grounds to sue him. Personally, he kept his income low enough, and his charitable contributions high enough, to stay under the taxable limit year after year. In his later years, Ken devised an investment system which enabled him to avoid income taxes.
Ken served on the boards of several businesses and local organizations. He managed the scholarship endowment fund for Friends Music Camp, which was co-founded by his wife Peggy who has run the camp for 32 years. Recreational activites of chess, bridge and music were important to Ken. He was a regular supporter of local chamber music, and took up the piano after his retirement.
He was an avid reader of periodicals of multiple points of view, always keeping up on current events. He became very busy with bridge upon his retirement in 1995, regularly attending advanced weekly playing groups in Springfield, Dayton and Yellow Springs. He became an international grandmaster, accumulating enough points despite never travelling farther than Cincinnati to play, until he and his partner Ralph Welton won enough to get invited to the nationals in Los Angeles. He became close and lasting friends with members of his local and area bridge groups.
Ken is survived by his dear wife of 60 years and partner in all endeavors (other than bridge), Margaret P. Champney; a brother, Tim Champney, of Washington, D.C., sons Carl Champney (Charlene Prestopino) of Yellow Springs and Eric (Kimberly) Thomas of Jeffersonville; daughters Rebecca (Thomas) Hodgkins of Centreville, Va., Wendy (Matthias) Enderle of Zurich, Switzerland and Heidi Champney of Monkton, Vt.; and several grandchildren.
Ken requested that any contributions in his memory be made to Friends Music Camp, to Hospice, or to either the Sierra Club or the Rainforest Action Network for their actions in opposing mountaintop removal mining practices.
A memorial service is planned on Tuesday, May 3, 7:30 p.m. at Rockford Chapel in Yellow Springs. | <urn:uuid:eedd8b81-bd8f-40b9-8372-16809f2b0331> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://antiochcollege.org/news/obituaries/2392.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98772 | 1,373 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Title / object name
|Maker ||Role ||Date |
|Driver, Don ||artist ||1982 |
plastic, fabric, bone, steel, iron, rubber, leather, paint, wood and straw with audio componentMaterials
steel, plastic, wood, bone, straw, cloth, rubber, iron, hair
|Overall ||1760 (Height) x 2210 (Length) x 2480 (Width/Depth) mm|
sculpture, installations, assemblages
Purchased 1989 with New Zealand Lottery Board funds
Ritual is a large-scale sculpture by Don Driver consisting of ten 44-gallon drums surmounted by doll figures with goat-skull heads all set on a dray. Hay on the ground completes the work, which has an enigmatic relationship to art and the gallery. As Jim and Mary Barr wrote in 1999: 'Ritual seems to have a more sinister purpose, trekking endlessly through the order and mock neutrality of twentieth century, white cube, art galleries. Somewhere, at some time, these gods took the wrong turn . . .'
Two traditions of art
Two traditions of art meet in Ritual. One tradition is the custom of ritual parades of powerful religious or fetish figures before a crowd of believers - common to many cultures with which Driver is familiar. The other is the modern western art practice of bricolage - the use of diverse objects in art gallery assemblages. Driver's installations often suggest that the functions of the fetish and the artwork are not significantly different from each other.
A controversial work
Driver's Ritual has been a controversial and confrontational work since it was commissioned by the National Art Gallery in 1982. When it was first installed, the gallery's education officer assured visitors that 'The artist insists that the work has no black magic or sinister overtones.' It was also noted that a security guard working in the gallery was in the habit of modestly adjusting the genital-revealing skirts of the doll figures.
Te Papa owns twenty works by Driver, including other installation works and large wall hangings. | <urn:uuid:7c0217c8-37be-4c98-b12c-2539ac61576c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?oid=40799 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942034 | 424 | 1.539063 | 2 |
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, January 6, 2012 – A new Instrument Landing System (ILS) has been installed at Wiley Post Airport (PWA) giving pilots more capability to land at the airport during inclement weather conditions. The new ILS will be the second system installed at PWA and is located on the south end of 35R, the airport’s primary runway. The other ILS is located on the north end of 17L, the other primary runway. With this addition, instrument-equipped planes have all-weather availability to the Oklahoma City airport.
An ILS is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision course and glide path information to an aircraft that is approaching or landing on a runway when low ceilings or reduced visibility, such as fog, rain or blowing snow, are present. In Oklahoma, these conditions can occur frequently in late fall and winter impacting a large number of operations at Wiley Post. Prior to the addition of the new ILS, planes approaching from the north during inclement weather would not be able to land and would divert to Will Rogers World Airport; a potentially costly occurrence to pilots and corporations.
“The new ILS provides a significantly higher level of service for Wiley Post Airport,” says Tim Whitman, General Aviation Manager for Wiley Post and Clarence E. Page Airports. “Our tenants are thrilled with the new system. For many, if they can’t fly into the airport, they can’t do business, so this system is not only important to them, but to the airport overall.”
The added ILS may also attract new business to the area. Two ILS systems at general aviation airports are rare, so for PWA, this is a very attractive amenity to corporate flight departments and general aviation pilots looking for airports to call home.
The system was commissioned by the FAA, and the Oklahoma City Airport Trust managed the construction. The total cost of the project was $3.1 million. The majority of the project was funded by corporate excise tax revenues received from the sales of aircraft in Oklahoma. The remaining was funded by The Oklahoma City Airport Trust and The Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission. Now that the project is complete, the FAA will operate and maintain the system.
Wiley Post has over 480 aircraft based on the airport. The majority of the aircraft are equipped with the instruments needed to utilize the ILS systems.
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The full cost for the projects totals nearly $35 million.
Will Rogers World Airport has about 30 active oil wells, and the land surrounding Wiley Post has five active wells.
Construction began Aug. 18 on the $17.5 million project to reconstruct the 3,800-foot center section of pavement, which dated back to 1967. | <urn:uuid:2b2fecc4-1a85-404d-a155-4a909251b840> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/10613804/second-ils-put-into-service-at-wiley-post-airport | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953608 | 602 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Remember all the websites which had IPOs in the 90s? It sure got people talking! All company owners wish they could file for an IPO someday. However, not all companies are best served by public offerings. That could be in reference to businesses with a solid core who are experiencing a momentary financial setback. Businesses who need an influx of capital can do so without much turbulence when they allow private individuals to invest in their company. When stock is sold only to private individuals, the sale is considered a private offering. Almost every filing of this nature is filed by a private offering attorney.
The Securities and Exchange Commission won’t permit a private offering to proceed unless the involved entity is Regulation D eligible. In general, the process of obtaining Reg D status is not especially complicated. That said, many times it is not. Thanks to the right attorney, a business can be saved. With laws only getting more complicated, lawyers are getting equally more training.
All educational institutions which teach law ensure that their attorneys reach high standards of training. Your private offering attorney will go through a great deal of effort, but can handle it thanks to their education. Consequently, the majority of lawyers in this specialty are knowledgeable and reliable. Nonetheless, one should insist on doing business with a legal agency that boasts a good name in the community. Consult LoreLawOffice.com if you are interested in obtaining details regarding Regulation D attorneys. It’s vital that consumers rely on only the finest legal professionals for aid.
Nothing feels better than being clean! This is the reason personal wipes are on many emergency kit checklists. If water has stopped flowing, or it’s full of germs, wipes are the last resort.
Countries where disasters have changed the landscape substantially get these wipes as aid. Dirty water is a haven for disease, which is why wipes can be so helpful. In these situations, hygienic wipes actually work to rebuild the user’s peace of mind. Even those who have nothing left will at least be clean.
There are more basic uses for wet wipes as well. Moms eager to maintain the pH balance of their infants’ skin while cleaning after diaper changes love these wipes. Nurses even utilize them on their patients. These wipes are a prime choice for performing on-the-spot cleanups at park and playground locations that offer ample opportunities for kids to get dirty. Material that can handle rough use like the lotion-containing expensive brands might help.
When you want multipurpose wipes, turn to Veloshine.com. Cleaning wipes are available for purposes that go beyond personal hygiene. They’re also intended for cleaning a bicycle and disinfection. Those which deal with greasy messes are used professionally. Consumers can find a variety of potential uses for each of the many disposable wipe versions on the market. Check out Veloshine.com to find out more.
It’s not simple to be a hotel owner! It is important to encourage your customers to come back again by providing an experience they will remember. eco friendly hotel amenities are a perfect solution. Hotel guest amenities that are eco-friendly are healthier for the planet and for your patrons. These supplies conserve water, electricity and expenses. Those who want to better their business shop on GreenSuites.com.
When you want to save time and money along with being green, turn to Green Suites. Guests often visit the bathroom just to see what awaits them. Hair care and bath products are examples of items intended for personal care and included as guest amenities. The staff will be in better health due to this switch, too. They have all types of cleaners, all of which save on labor costs. Examples of products for room attendant use are rug and glass cleaning formulas, surface sterilizers and EcoCloths. The ecosystem and your wallet will benefit from reduced use of water and electric power. All it takes it the right fixtures and dispensers. Products offered by GreenSuites.com aren’t all that different from what is used in hotels everywhere. The sole distinction: “green” supplies are safer for your patrons, your housekeeping staff and the planet itself.
Use of eco friendly hotel amenities is increasing. Guests, staff and owner will all be pleased. GreenSuites.com wants your hotel to be successful.
When it comes to earning an income, being a restauranteur is undoubtedly a dream job. Even during the worst economic times, consumers will continue to eat out. Although public tastes may lean towards less expensive eateries, our society will never abandon its well-documented love affair with dining in public. Thanks to the tremendous opportunities of online shopping, it’s now possible for even humble restaurants to feature four star restaurant tables. Although the food industry has done remarkably well relative to other sectors, competition remains fierce. Every day, many restaurants close their doors and lay off their workers.
Even the darkest recessions can be glorious times for those who are self-sufficient and daring. Less imaginative businesses quickly fall by the wayside. This attrition rate seems most pronounced in the world of coffee shops and small, cosmopolitan cafes. Whatever type of restaurant you run, quality furniture is requisite for success. We suggest that you scour the Internet for deals on beautiful outdoor restaurant tables. In addition to looking good, these tables must be able to withstand the continual battering of the elements. AmTradeCo.com is a trusted seller you can turn to with your restaurant furniture requirements.
Too often owning and running a restaurant can seem to offer little reward. Your progress is obstructed by strict health codes and needless regulations, while governmental tax rates makes things even worse and often discourages businesses from expanding or hiring new employees. But, there is a fulfilling nature to working in the service business. We make a better world for ourselves by serving others.
The perfect valentines day basket will be targeted to the recipient. While there are many pre-arranged options, some retailers permit you to customize the items in your chosen basket. If so, shoppers can mix items in a basket to create a gift that is tailored to the recipient.
Chocolate is an especially popular item for giving on this day. You can often find it housed in a box shaped like a heart. If the box is on the small side, it will probably fit nicely within the gift basket. If not, you can just buy a few choice pieces and include them in the basket before giving it to the recipient.
Anyone who wants to give gifts year-round should consider fruit baskets. A gourmet food and fruit basket is an especially popular gift for individuals as well as corporate gift giving opportunities. The happy owner of this kind of gift basket can enjoy sampling fresh fruits for days. They’ll also likely want to share with other members of the family, which everyone should surely appreciate.
Anyone searching for the perfect gift must seek out a Valentines Day basket which will match the sentiment you have for the recipient. If you don’t find what you are looking for right away, ask the clerk there whether there are better options available. Baskets are fantastic presents and you may find you wish to give them out every year from here on out.
All furnace systems use some kind of furnace filters between the unit and the ducts that circulate the heated air. These filters catch tiny particles of dust, soot and other allergens and prevent them from reaching the rest of the home. A homeowner needs to change these filters regularly or problems will develop with the furnace. Home furnace air filters clog up over time. Clogged filters prevent air from flowing smoothly through them, putting strain on the fans and blowers required to move the air. This increases your electricity bills and wears out these furnace components.
Clean, new furnace filters also improve your family’s health. An old and clogged unit can not catch as many fine particles as a clean one. More dust and soot escapes into the interior air supply. Inhaling these particulates irritates the sinuses and lungs. Children and adults with asthma or allergies often find it hard to breath in a home with dirty home air filters. Replacing your filters at least every year ensures that the air inside the home is as clean as possible.
Even custom air filters are inexpensive and easy to order. Just take the measurements of the filter slot on the duct or furnace for an accurate fit. Most furnaces use standard size furnace filters, but some call for custom made units. Trying to fit the wrong size model into your heating system will cause serious problems. Gaps left between the filter and the duct opening will allow air to escape around it instead of through it. This means nearly no particles will be captured from the air. Check your furnace for thickness recommendations and try to avoid using a filter that is too thick. This slows down air flow just like a clogged filter. If you need better filtration, buy a HEPA model in the right dimensions.
Whenever the lights go out, honda generators 6500 help. They will keep everything running for hours or days. While generally reliable, there are some things that can render a generator inoperative. Perhaps the generator is refusing to run, or does not have the right electrical output. Read the following tips to get it running again. The switch needs to be flipped to on. Make sure that there is enough gasoline in your generator’s fuel tank. Gas has to be 86 or greater. A full tank that won’t work means the gas inside is degraded. If this is the case, emptying the fuel reservoir and refilling with new gasoline is recommended.
If the weatherman is predicting storms for your area, be sure to stock up on fuel. Do this to avoid the problem of running low on gas if you need to refill the fuel tank on your generator. As long as the equipment operates without a hitch, you’ll have enough fuel to run it for a good length of time. Make sure that the carburetor is actually getting gasoline. Measure the oil in the motor. Top up the oil, if necessary. Take off the cover housing the spark plug. With a wrench made especially for the purpose, remove the spark plug. Remove any debris or rust that has accumulated around the generator’s spark plugs. Look at the spark plug for damage. If you find it’s damaged in any way, you’ll have to swap it out for a new one, which is why you should always have spark plugs in stock. Make sure the breakers are on. Check that the voltage setting on the generator is adjusted correctly.
Maintenance is key to keeping a generator running for years.
There are a few details to be thought about before you open an eatery. You have to make a list of everything you require for service. You must to take the time to find the right items to ensure they look good and function well. The equipment needed might be things like utensils, glassware, pans and mixing bowls for baking, bar drink mixes, or accessories such as trays and other decorative items. ShopAtDean.com offers superior bar and restaurant supplies.
You are sure to find anything you want for your restaurant or bar at this website. ShopAtDean.com provides top brands such as Libbey, along with other varieties of dishware, utensils and serving supplies. Items such as appliances, glasses, napkins and decor can enhance your bar. They even have baking and kitchenware; for example – baking pans, dough cutters, measuring utensils, cutting boards, pizza supplies, spices and seasonings. Some of the other products are various signs and menu boards as well as clothing for chefs. It is apparent, then, that ShopAtDean.com contains everything you must have to open a restaurant or bar. You can save money with the monthly ad, and to make your shopping experience fast and easy, you can use the quick cart.
Depending on your entrepreneurial venture, the food and drink supplies will change. After determining the items you require, enjoy the ability to place your order right from the same site. Now you are a step closer to opening you own bar or restaurant and realizing your dream,
Kids literally blossom before our eyes. Part of this metamorphosis is the emergence of the child’s unique personality. They’re checking out their surroundings, learning new things and even looking different week after week. It is difficult to keep the memory of each change for even a short month or two.
How can you remember this journey for an eternity? Through the work of an amazing photographer. children’s photography portland studios are ready to document your child’s life.
Your child’s constant growth will make it ever more important to have the cherished memories of his earlier years. When it comes to children’s photography Portland professionals are the best. We know how to make every photograph a masterpiece. Our expertise can help you achieve optimal results for Portland child photography.
We can photograph your child like no other. We are some of the best photographers that Portland has to offer and you will not be disappointed! We understand these memories are something you’ll cherish for a lifetime, so you can be assured we’ll handle them very delicately. Find a generous sampling of our results by exploring our official site. You will be very pleased with the photos you see when you stop by our Portland photo studio and have a look at our work for yourself.
Cheerleading is a very popular sport among girls of all ages. It gives them the chance to be expressive, make friends and have fun. Cheerleading is not just about pom poms and yelling out cheers. Cheerleading also includes dancing and gymnastics. So it is important that the right equipment is used for this sport. This will help the cheerleaders to practice in a fun and safe manner. One type of equipment that is necessary is a spring floor. A spring floor gives cheerleaders an area to practice their cheers and moves. The spring floors will help them to move and tumble more, but catch them when they fall. Gymnastics-Equipment.com offers the cheerleading spring floors necessary for this sport!
Gymnastics-Equipment.com sells many spring floors, including Baltic Birch, Complete Gymnastics and Cheerleading Spring Floor Systems, and Complete Gym & Cheer Tumble Strips. The special floors will really help in cheerleading and also reduce risk of getting hurt. This website also offers cheerleading mats, such as the Standard Rolls 2 inch mat and the Gym and Cheer Flexible Rollable Home Mat.
Gymnastics-Equipment.com also carries gymnastics equipment. The equipment includes mats, beams and bars. The cheerleading and gymnastics equipment can all be ordered off of Gymnastics-Equipment.com and shipped to the necessary location.
The cheerleading spring floors will come in very handy for cheerleading practice and competitions. Cheerleaders can get all of the practice they need without increasing their risk of injury. | <urn:uuid:2f9b4d7c-47f5-4f47-8714-2adfee730fc4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.irtsblog.com/ | 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 | 0.952114 | 3,092 | 1.710938 | 2 |
More Jews Enter ‘Illegal Settlement’ in Eastern Jerusalem
Another Jewish family Tuesday ignored U.S. President Barack Obama’s declaration that Jewish neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem are “illegitimate settlements.” The family moved into their new home in the Shimon HaTzadik neighborhood, after the High Court ruled that land is owned by Jews. However, an Arab family remains in a part of the multi-unit building.
President Obama has called on Israel to stop Jews from moving into eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods and to halt all construction for Jews. Official U.S. government policy considers eastern Jerusalem to be “occupied,” but officials have not commented about another 300,000 Jews who live in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods in the city that were restored to Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967.
Twenty-eight properties in the Shimon HaTzadik neighborhood are registered in the name of the Sephardic Community Committee but fell into Arab hands during the War for Independence in 1948. United Nations, Jordanian government personnel and Arab families have been squatting in some of the homes since the war and have remained there after the Six-Day War. They claim to own the properties.
The court determined more than 35 years ago that the Sephardic community is the legal owner of the land, but the judges allowed the Arabs to remain there as legal squatters. However, they have refused to pay rent, and long legal battles recently have concluded with their eviction.
Police escorted the new family into their home on Tuesday even though one Arab family refuses to move out, despite the court approval for the Jewish family to take over the property. Police are at the scene to prevent a confrontation by protesting Arabs and pro-Arab groups and are trying to convince the Arab family to leave peacefully.
Pro-Arab sympathizers last week packed up their protest tent, where they have been demonstrating for several weeks opposite the Jewish neighborhood. | <urn:uuid:63f28ff1-2a7e-4f08-af46-a727844871d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/134213 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97566 | 395 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Over the next few days, millions of Americans will make resolutions to better themselves in the new year.
They will then promptly begin breaking those same New Year's resolutions -- some before the sun rises on the first day of 2013.
Depending on which survey you believe, somewhere around three-quarters of us won't even make it three months. Another survey -- apparently there are no shortage of them when it comes to resolutions -- by the University of Washington suggests that less than half of that successful quarter of resolution-makers succeed on the first try.
If you're anything like us, that math has your head spinning and considering another New Year's resolution.
Of course, some resolutions are harder to keep than others, and which ones you choose will make all the difference in your chances of having to make the same promise to yourself next year ...
No. 5: This year I'm going to do more ...
One of the biggest mistakes people make with their New Year's resolutions is biting off more than they can chew.
Many people vow to do more in the new year. More traveling, more reading, more anything. And while these are great goals if you spend a lot of time doing nothing, for most people that's not the case.
We are already overcommitted. How much free time would you say you have right now? Now factor in some time-consuming resolution into your plans? Do you really think you're going to be able to stick with that resolution now? | <urn:uuid:20652746-5d6a-464f-af2c-79bfe6eaea0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kcci.com/holidays/5-New-Year-s-resolutions-you-will-break/-/16992212/6700254/-/201cm2z/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972122 | 301 | 1.664063 | 2 |
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina environmental regulators on Tuesday issued a needed permit for a $35 million cruise passenger terminal in Charleston saying allowing the terminal doesn't change what is happening on the waterfront of a city that has had a port for centuries.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management issued the permit allowing the South Carolina State Ports Authority to drive pilings beneath an old riverfront warehouse for the new terminal.
There has been debate over the city's growing cruise industry for several years and two public hearings on the permit earlier this year drew hundreds of people. The controversy has sparked lawsuits in both state and federal court.
"We all have our personal beliefs and perceptions about what we wish were the case," DHEC director Catherine Templeton told The Associated Press. "But at the end of the day, our commitment is to look at what the law requires. And at the end of the day, five pilings do not allow more ships or bigger ships."
The port area has been an industrial and commercial area for centuries and "putting in the five pilings doesn't permit more" ships, she added.
The permit does incorporate a voluntary agreement between the Ports Authority and Charleston limiting the number of cruise stops to 104 a year. The authority would notify the city and neighborhood groups and hold public hearings if that number were to change.
"We are highly disappointed that the permit was issued with no caveats and based on a legally nonbinding agreement by which the SPA will merely provide the city with notification of any changes. At that point it is a done deal and the horse will be out of the barn," said Carrie Agnew, the executive director of a nonprofit called Charleston Communities for Cruise Control.
But Templeton said by including the agreement as a condition of the permit state regulators could technically, if the agreement is not upheld, require the Ports Authority to rip out the foundation for the terminal after it is built. The authority wants the pilings to support elevators in the new terminal.
"This is another positive step toward advancing Charleston's new passenger terminal, which will provide numerous benefits to the community while more efficiently supporting our port's cruise business," said Jim Newsome, the president and CEO of the Ports Authority.
He said while legal challenges remain "the concept plan and the terminal's design are the result of more than 100 meetings with the community and stakeholder groups as well as the approval of the city's Board of Architectural Review."
The permit requires that contractors use environmentally sound procedures in building such as using low-emission vehicles, turning off equipment when it is not being used and requiring those vehicles to use ultra-low sulfur fuel.
The dispute over the cruises has been raging several years. Back in 2010, Carnival Cruise Lines permanently based its 2,056-passenger liner Fantasy in Charleston, giving the city a year-round cruise industry. Before that the city only had a handful of seasonal cruises.
Opponents say the added tourists, traffic congestion and smoke from the cruise liners are destroying the historic fabric of the city. | <urn:uuid:fb6b4e14-e7d3-4ae9-9e66-65827b8c66d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hudsonhubtimes.com/ap%20travel/2012/12/18/apnewsbreak-state-issues-permit-for-sc-terminal | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965136 | 640 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Plans to Allow Corporates to Open Banks
India's finance ministry is planning to issue licenses to corporates to enter the banking sector in the country which is so far dominated by state-run banks.
India's big corporate houses such as the Tata Group and Reliance had already expressed interest to enter the sector, though the final rules are yet to be completed.
The delay in finalising the rules revolves around disagreements between the government and the central bank regarding whether the traditionally more financially volatile sectors of property and brokerages should be allowed to apply for licences, which the central bank opposes, the Reuters reported.
"The RBI has drawn up draft guidelines, guidelines say that more licenses will be given to the private sector. .. the governor told me he will give out guidelines in two weeks," Palaniappan Chidambaram, India's finance minister told Reuters television earlier.
"If the guidelines are made out and transparently spelt out and if a corporate satisfies those guidelines, I don't see any reason why a corporate should not be given a license".
The Reserve Bank of India's misgivings in the matter was even shared by the International Monetory Fund (IMF) which in its note on India in January mentioned that the risks may outweigh the benefits.
The reasoning behind the move is to facilitate wider inclusion of India's 1.2 billion people, half of which is outside the banking sector as well as to provide fresh impetus to the economic growth that is lagging behind neighbour China.
Since 2004, the Indian government had not given licenses to the private sector banks and with the new rules many private financial firms would be able to apply for license.
However, critics of the development are worried that the reform could backfire and trigger a broader crisis if lending from one branch of a firm to another goes bad.
Among the possible applicants, L&T Finance, part of construction major Larsen& Toubro, Anil Ambani's Reliance Capital have disclosed that they are interested in applying for the license. Some of the other hopefuls include Mahindra Finance, Bajaj Finance and Shriram Capital, all are part of India's corporate houses.
To contact the editor, e-mail: | <urn:uuid:3eef404e-7553-41e7-8e1f-8ae8dadbc79e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/433713/20130211/indian-banking-sector-tata-group-rbi-reliance.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958341 | 457 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Ducati's Diavel CarbonEnlarge Photo
Critics say the move makes no sense, as Ducati really doesn’t add to Audi’s current business model. Stefan Bratzel, director of the Automotive Center at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergische-Gladbach, called the purchase “just a trophy in the wall cabinet.”
On the other hand, the purchase does give Audi access to Ducati’s engine technology, which may be adaptable to future small Audi models. It also gives Audi the ability to go head-to-head with BMW in a second market, even if Ducati’s product line doesn’t exactly match the diversity of BMW’s motorcycle division, BMW Motorrad.
Other suitors named over the course of the sale included Daimler, who quickly denied interest even though AMG has a co-marketing agreement in place with Ducati, and Fiat heir Lapo Elkann. Elkann wanted to buy the brand in a fit of nationalistic furor, but didn’t want to pay anywhere near the billion-euro asking price.
In the end, the biggest justification for Audi’s purchase may have been simply that Volkswagen Group’s chairman, Ferdinand Piech, has a passion for the Ducati brand and its designs. When the purchase is finalized, Ducati will become the 12th company in the Volkswagen Group’s portfolio, which now includes everything from supercars to full-size trucks. | <urn:uuid:b24263c7-64b2-4765-abf9-40f8048eabe5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1075498_its-official-audi-really-is-buying-ducati | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934246 | 313 | 1.585938 | 2 |
507 Employee Complaints and Grievances
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance to school district employees as to the appropriate manner in which staff may participate in community activities.
II. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY
A. The School Board will encourage the administration to: discover and practice effective means of resolving differences that may arise among employees and between employees and administrators; reduce potential areas of complaints and grievances; and establish and maintain recognized channels of communication between the staff, administration, and School Board.
B. The administration will establish and the School Board will approve procedures for the prompt and equitable adjustment of grievances.
In this context, a grievance will be defined as:
...a disagreement involving the work situation in which an individual or group of individuals believes that an injustice has been done because of lack of policy, or because of a policy that is unfair, a deviation from or misapplication or misinterpretation of a policy or contract. The development of a new salary schedule is not a grievance.
A. Such procedures will provide for the resolution of grievances at the lowest possible administrative level and for ultimate appeal of any unresolved grievance to the School Board.
B. Hearings at all levels will be:
1. Conducted in the presence of the administrator who made the ruling which is the subject of the grievance and in the presence of any other staff member personally involved.
2. Held only after due written notification to all persons concerned.
3. Free from interference, coercion, restraint, discrimination, or reprisal.
4. Held in private, with only the persons involved and/or their representatives present.
C. At all levels, the employee group, or the administrator involved will have the right to be represented by an organization and/or by legal counsel. Either party to the dispute will have the right to call and cross-examine witnesses.
D. Reasonable time limits, as set forth in the procedures for implementing this policy, will be observed by the person or group presenting the grievance, by the administration, and by the School Board.
E. No employee or staff group or organization will suffer a reprisal or reduction in status as a result of having presented a grievance for review or of having represented an employee in a grievance.
Adopted: November 10, 2008
Independent School District No. 15
St. Francis, Minnesota | <urn:uuid:12fab09b-b04b-4595-9af9-ed25390a3b94> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stfrancis.k12.mn.us/page.cfm?p=1028 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933465 | 480 | 1.664063 | 2 |
In 2001, four Pakistani Britons, Ruhal Ahmed, Asif Iqbal and Shafiq Rasul and another friend, Monir, travel to Pakistan for a wedding and in a urge of idealism, decide to see the situation of war torn Afganistan which is being bombed by the American forces in retaliation for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Once there, with the loss of Monir in the wartime chaos, they are captured by Northern Alliance fighters. They are then handed them over the American forces who transport them to the prison camps at the Guantánamo Bay base in Cuba. What follows is three years of relentless imprisonment, interrogations and torture to make them submit to blatantly wrong confessions to being terrorists. In the midst of this abuse, the three struggle to keep their spirits up in that face of this grave injustice. Source
This movie is a great documentary depicting the harsh treatments and conditions that our country is imposing on supposed terrorists or links to terrorists in Guantánamo Bay. If this doesn’t change your mind about Guantánamo, and how no matter what wars we are fighting, there is a need to treat people, at the very least, with the respect of being a fellow human being, you have no heart. I have no idea how anyone could support such a place in the name of freedom and safety.
Note: This post is over 2 years old. Although it's not a fresh post, feel free to comment or share your thoughts anyway. I read and enjoy every comment that is posted here. | <urn:uuid:6fd42f96-a84f-484f-a9bc-486358da367b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shane-holden.com/watched-the-road-to-guantanamo | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961748 | 315 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Guilty. That’s what Jesse Jackson, Jr., former congressman, pleaded in court yesterday.
Fraud. That’s the name of his crime, though it was a particular kind of fraud, the taking of campaign contributions for personal use.
Partnered. The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s famous son was not alone, nor did he merely “fall into” crime out of lax record-keeping. His wife was also involved in the pattern of embezzlement and tax fraud, and the level of their misappropriations was not trifling.
Sandra Jackson admitted to not reporting $600,000 of income, and the couple confessed to using re-election campaign funds to
- buy a gold-plated Rolex for more than $40,000;
- purchase $5,000 worth of fur capes and parkas;
- over $9,000 worth of children’s furniture.
This is corruption, the most obvious kind to which a democratic republic is susceptible.
It is only made more frequent and more expensive in our modern times by the enormous power a congressman can hold over Washington’s tossing about of billions and trillions of dollars.
Who even notices the millions?
Jesse Jackson, Jr., isn’t alone in wanting a piece of the Washington action. Nor is he alone in thinking about himself first, and . . . well, not having time to think about anything second.
I’ve even seen this happen to minor-party candidates. It’s too easy to see a political campaign as about the candidate and not the principles — about personal advancement, not representation.
We’ll never have perfect people in public office, but we can do a whole lot better. And it’s good to see the guilty caught and prosecuted.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob. | <urn:uuid:e770a275-3e7a-471f-998e-eec42e1fd867> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thisiscommonsense.com/tag/jesse-jackson-jr/ | 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 | 0.961123 | 392 | 1.789063 | 2 |
…is our Yiddish word of the day. Pronounced UUN-ge-poch, it means ‘a little too much,‘ as in ‘all the shmuz around my blog was ongepatsht, so I deleted a few things.‘
Back in the day we dreamed about exchanging deliverables so we could stop reinventing the wheel and start standing on each other’s shoulders. It’s odd something so basic as a repository hadn’t been established (I don’t think competitive advantage explains it in our open community). There is a collection of links on the IAwiki, and [...]
One of my favorites.
IDEO’s Method Cards look quite cool. I’m planning a research-and-testing class for newbies at work, and these could be more effective and engaging than slides or a handout.
Developing Best Practices for Distributed Networks of Sites: Heuristics, Design, and Politics (PDF) by Jeffrey Veen of Adaptive Path and Carolyn Gibson Smith of PBS sets a great example of improving web design and encouraging certain practices across a large, decentralized organization. One particular aspect I like is that by distributing templates and building examples [...]
You can relive 5 minutes of Thom Haller’s Information Overload: A Love Story (quicktime) which explores multiple and unexpected facets of labels.
Check out the CSS-powered lists.
Some terse notes from the free bits of Seth Godin’s Survival Is Not Enough. I find his prose a bit wordy, but I think he’s trying not only to communicate the ideas but also to inspire. Evolution in business is a theme…‘Extinction is part of the process of creation. Failure is the cornerstone of evolution’ [...]
This Usability.gov page succinctly captures the qualities of different testing methods. I keep encountering people who want to run surveys (to keep the customer at arms length?) instead of one-to-one usability studies. The mnemonic I’ll keep in my head to remember this difference in meetings is behavior vs. opinion, qualitative vs. quantitative.
Mark comments, ‘This is one of the sad things about the computer world right now: everybody knows better, and hardly anybody seems willing to do the work.’ and yet… ‘This is one of the great things about computer science right now: you can walk in off the street, roll up your sleeves, and with a [...]
‘ About five years ago, Farmers moved from this ad-hoc approach to projects to the implementation of a release methodology that ensures monthly delivery of one of three concurrent releases on a 90-day software development lifecycle, for a total of 12 throughout the year. According to Fridenberg, the business and IT arrive at defined deliverables, [...]
The pyrotechnic birthday celebration by and for Central Park, Light Cycle, was awesome. What it lacked in size and shape it made up for in experience as thousands of New Yorkers huddled together in the rain around the reservoir to witness the show. It was wonderful to see fireworks in a new composition, different than [...]
Walking through the park today, we saw four or five wedding parties taking photos in one area. I started snapping photos of them, and walking on each corner we turned produced more brides .
I’ll be in San Francisco Sept 8-10 for Seybold. Give me a shout if you’d like to hang out. The main purpose of my visit is to speak on the topic of Content Models and Information Architectures along with the lovely Ann Rockley, co-author of Managing Enterprise Content. If you plan to register for the [...] | <urn:uuid:45d9603c-93af-4d9a-b8b2-a60c59a39e60> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://noisebetweenstations.com/personal/weblogs/?m=200309 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938282 | 776 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Lexington, Virginia • March 4, 2009
Robert W. Gordon, Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and Legal History at Yale Law School, will deliver the keynote speech at Washington and Lee University's Legal Ethics Institute on Friday, March 27, at 4:30 p.m. in Classroom A at the Washington and Lee University School of Law (Lewis Hall).
The title of Gordon's talk is "Are Lawyers Guardians or Subverters of the Rule of Law?" It is free and open to the public.
Gordon will discuss why lawyers' interests and ethical orientations "sometimes reinforce and sometimes subvert the rule of law, and how professional ethics and actions might be brought into closer alignment with public values."
Gordon is currently visiting professor at Stanford Law School. He has written extensively on contract law, legal thought and on the history and current ethics and practices of the American Bar Association (ABA). He has served on several ABA and Connecticut Bar Task Forces on professional ethics and practice and on the Advisory Board of the Legal Profession Program of the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation). He also is a past president of the American Society for Legal History.
Gordon's law teaching career began at SUNY/Buffalo Law School. He later taught at the University of Wisconsin and Stanford Law Schools, and as a visitor at Harvard, Oxford and the University of Toronto, before joining the Yale faculty in 1995.
He received his A.B. from Harvard University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. | <urn:uuid:26c6da49-4d80-47a0-a93b-d4f81f401ee6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wlu.edu/x31358.xml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961318 | 307 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Literature Ministries International
- By Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
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THE CROSS IS PROCLAMATION
...to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins....
The cross, thank God, is not only exposition. The cross is also proclamation, a mighty declaration. I like the word that the apostle uses there in Romans 3, and especially the way in which he repeats it. He likes it himself obviously. "Whom God hath set forth," he says "to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins...to declare, I say..." (Romans 3:25-26). Have you got it, have you heard it, were you listening? says the apostle. Wake up, you sleepy listeners. ď...to declare, I say....Ē Have you heard the declaration? Have you heard the mighty proclamation? What does this blood declare to me?
Let me sum it up in another word that this same apostle used in 2 Corinthians 5:19,21. This is the declaration: ďGod was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them....For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.Ē What does all this mean? Let me put it in modern terms. The cross tells me that this is the declaration. This, it says, is Godís way of dealing with the problem of manís sin. It has already said that there is a problem. It is a terrible one; it is the greatest problem of all time and of the whole cosmos. There is nothing greater than this. There is the exposition of the problem. Then comes the mighty declaration. This, it says, is Godís answer.
Now our Lord had been saying that in His teaching, but they could not understand it. They were blinded, even His own disciples. They were thinking as Jews, in terms of a kingdom on earth. Man will always materialize the great and glorious blessings of Godís kingdom.
A Thought to Ponder
The cross, thank God, is not only exposition. The cross is also proclamation, a mighty declaration.
From The Cross, p. 161.
Today’s devo is taken from Walking with God Day by Day © 2003 by Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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For their rigorous reports on flawed regulation of the nation’s oil pipelines, focusing on potential ecological dangers posed by diluted bitumen (or "dilbit"), a controversial form of oil.
For his riveting exploration of the physical and emotional challenges facing American soldiers severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan during a decade of war.
For their exposure of questionable practices on Wall Street that contributed to the nation’s economic meltdown, using digital tools to help explain the complex subject to lay readers.
For his incisive work, in print and online, on the hazardous use of cell phones, computers and other devices while operating cars and trucks, stimulating widespread efforts to curb distracted driving.
For “PolitiFact,” its fact-checking initiative during the 2008 presidential campaign that used probing reporters and the power of the World Wide Web to examine more than 750 political claims, separating rhetoric from truth to enlighten voters. (Moved by the Board to the National Reporting category.)
For their lucid exploration of Vice President Dick Cheney and his powerful yet sometimes disguised influence on national policy.
For his revelations that President Bush often used "signing statements" to assert his controversial right to bypass provisions of new laws.
For their carefully sourced stories on secret domestic eavesdropping that stirred a national debate on the boundary line between fighting terrorism and protecting civil liberty.
For their disclosure of bribe-taking that sent former Rep. Randy Cunningham to prison in disgrace.
For his heavily documented stories about the corporate cover-up of responsibility for fatal accidents at railway crossings.
For its engrossing examination of the tactics that have made Wal-Mart the largest company in the world with cascading effects across American towns and developing countries.
For their revelatory and moving examination of a military aircraft, nicknamed "The Widow Maker," that was linked to the deaths of 45 pilots. (Moved by the Board from the Investigative Reporting category to the National Reporting category, where it was also entered.)
For its comprehensive coverage of America's war on terrorism, which regularly brought forth new information together with skilled analysis of unfolding developments.
For its compelling and memorable series exploring racial experiences and attitudes across contemporary America.
For its revealing stories that question U.S. defense spending and military deployment in the post-Cold War era and offer alternatives for the future.
For a series of articles that disclosed the corporate sale of American technology to China, with U.S. government approval despite national security risks, prompting investigations and significant changes in policy.
For their reporting that disclosed dangerous flaws and mismanagement in the military health care system and prompted reforms.
For its coverage of the struggle against AIDS in all of its aspects, the human, the scientific and the business, in light of promising treatments for the disease.
For her coverage of the tobacco industry, including a report that exposed how ammonia additives heighten nicotine potency.
For stories about working conditions in low-wage America.
For stories that related the experiences of Americans who had been used unknowingly in government radiation experiments nearly 50 years ago.
For his revealing articles on the life and political record of candidate Bill Clinton.
For their critical examination of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For reporting that disclosed hundreds of child abuse-related deaths go undetected each year as a result of errors by medical examiners.
For coverage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and its aftermath.
For their 15-month investigation of "rifle shot" provisions in the Tax Reform Act of 1986, a series that aroused such widespread public indignation that Congress subsequently rejected proposals giving special tax breaks to many politically connected individuals and businesses.
For his series of reports on a secret Pentagon budget used by the government to sponsor defense research and an arms buildup.
For its exclusive reporting and persistent coverage of the U.S.—Iran-Contra connection.
For coverage of the aftermath of the Challenger explosion, which included stories that identified serious flaws in the shuttle's design and in the administration of America's space program.
For their investigation into subsidized housing in East Texas, which uncovered patterns of racial discrimination and segregation in public housing across the United States and led to significant reforms.
For his enterprising and indefatigable reporting on massive deficiencies in IRS processing of tax returns-reporting that eventually inspired major changes in IRS procedures and prompted the agency to make a public apology to U.S. taxpayers.
For his series of articles that examined the dangers of farming as an occupation.
For reporting on a wide variety of scientific topics of national import.
For its balanced and informative special report on the nuclear arms race.
For the uniform excellence of his reporting and writing on stories of national import.
For their investigation of the Church of Scientology.
For a series on unsafe structural conditions at the nation's major dams.
For disclosing large-scale corruption in the American grain exporting trade.
For their series "Auditing the Internal Revenue Service," which exposed the unequal application of Federal tax laws.
For his initiative in exclusively disclosing President Nixon's Federal income tax payments in 1970 and 1971.
For his disclosure of alleged irregularities in the financing of the campaign to re-elect President Nixon in 1972.
For their disclosure of Senator Thomas Eagleton's history of psychiatric therapy, resulting in his withdrawal as the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee in 1972.
For his reporting of American policy decision-making during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.
For their documentary on the life and death of a 28-year-old revolutionary Diana Oughton: "The Making of a Terrorist."
For disclosures about the background of Judge Clement F. Haynesworth Jr., in connection with his nomination for the United States Supreme Court.
For his inquiry into the future of our national parks and the methods that may help to preserve them.
For his reporting of unsanitary conditions in many meat packing plants, which helped insure the passage of the Federal Wholesome Meat Act of 1967.
For his series of articles, "Crisis in the Courts."
For their investigative reporting of the connection between American crime and gambling in the Bahamas.
For his distinguished coverage of the civil rights conflict centered about Selma, Ala., and particularly his reporting of its aftermath.
For his enterprise in reporting the growth of the fortune of President Lyndon B. Johnson and his family.
For his outstanding coverage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
For his distinguished reporting of the proceedings of the United States Supreme Court during the year, with particular emphasis on the coverage of the decision in the reapportionment case and its consequences in many of the States of the Union.
For their exclusive disclosure and six years of detailed reporting, under great difficulties, of the undercover cooperation between management interests in the coal industry and the United Mine Workers.
For his analysis of a timber transaction which drew the attention of the public to the problems of business ethics.
For a series of articles exposing the extent of nepotism in the Congress of the United States.
For a series of articles that focused public notice on deplorable conditions in a Florida migrant labor camp, resulted in the provision of generous assistance for the 4,000 stranded workers in the camp, and thereby called attention to the national problem presented by 1,500,000 migratory laborers.
For his persistent inquiry into labor racketeering, which included investigatory reporting of wide significance.
For his dramatic and incisive eyewitness report of mob violence on September 23, 1957, during the integration crisis at the Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
For his distinguished national correspondence, including both news dispatches and interpretive reporting, an outstanding example of which was his five-part analysis of the effect of President Eisenhower's illness on the functioning of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.
For his original disclosures that led to the resignation of Harold E. Talbott as Secretary of the Air Force.
For publishing a series of articles which were adjudged directly responsible for clearing Abraham Chasanow, an employee of the U.S. Navy Department, and bringing about his restoration to duty with an acknowledgment by the Navy Department that it had committed a grave injustice in dismissing him as a security risk. Mr. Lewis received the full support of his newspaper in championing an American citizen, without adequate funds or resources for his defense, against an unjust act by a government department. This is in the best tradition of American journalism.
For his exclusive publication of the FBI Report to the White House in the Harry Dexter White case before it was laid before the Senate by J. Edgar Hoover.
For his article called "The Great Deception," dealing with the intricate arrangements by which the safety of President-elect Eisenhower was guarded enroute from Morningside Heights in New York to Korea.
For his exclusive article of April 21, 1951, disclosing the record of conversations between President Truman and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur at Wake Island in their conference of October, 1950.
For his series on the clearing of Communist charges of Professor Melvin Rader, who had been accused of attending a secret Communist school.
For consistent excellence covering the national scene from Washington.
For his stories on the plan of the Truman administration to impose secrecy about the ordinary affairs of federal civilian agencies in peacetime.
For their aggressive coverage of the deadly national outbreak of fungal meningitis traced to a compounding pharmacy in suburban Boston, revealing how the medical regulatory system failed to safeguard patients.
For their fresh exploration of how American drones moved from a temporary means to kill terrorists to a permanent weapon of war, raising issues of legality and accountability
For his diligent exposure of federal regulators easing or neglecting to enforce safety standards as aging nuclear power plants exceed their original life spans, with interactive data and videos used to drive home the findings.
For her compelling examination of aggressive debt collectors whose often questionable tactics, profitable but largely unseen by the public, vexed borrowers hard hit by the nation’s financial crisis.
For his revelations of how life insurance companies retained death benefits owed to families of military veterans and other Americans, leading to government investigations and remedial changes.
For its examination of the disastrous explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, using detailed reports to hold government and major corporations accountable.
For their tenacious reporting on how design flaws and weak federal oversight contributed to a potentially lethal problem with Toyota vehicles, resulting in corrective steps and a congressional inquiry.
For their examination of the nation’s financial collapse and notably on the involvement of Goldman Sachs.
For their relentless exploration of America’s network of immigration detention centers, melding reporting and computer analysis to expose sometimes deadly abuses and spur corrective steps.
For their exhaustive reports on how political interests have eroded the mission of the Environmental Protection Agency and placed the nation’s environment in greater jeopardy, setting the stage for remedial action.
For its highly detailed coverage of the collapse of America’s financial system, explicating key decisions, capturing the sense of calamity and charting the human toll.
For its stories about CIA interrogation techniques that critics condemned as torture, stirring debate on the legal and moral limits of American action against terrorism.
For his wide ranging examination of complicated racial issues in America, from the courtroom to the schoolyard.
For their investigation of a 1989 execution in Texas that strongly suggests an innocent man was killed by lethal injection.
For their disclosure of mismanagement and other abuses in federally-subsidized programs for disabled workers, stirring congressional action.
For his tenacious, thoroughly researched stories on the bureaucratic inertia that led to the fatal injury of American soldiers in Iraq who lacked protective armor.
For its relentless, unflinching chronicle of abuses by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
For their groundbreaking reports on the failure to curtail the growing illicit use of methamphetamines.
For her candid, in-depth look at how Mexican immigration transformed an all-white Midwestern town.
For its masterly, richly detailed stories on how hidden decision-makers make life-and-death choices about who gets health care in America.
For its engrossing exploration of the fall of Arthur Andersen, a once proud accounting firm.
For "Rim of the New World," her masterful accounts of young immigrants coming of age in the American South.
For its tenaciously reported and clearly written stories that exposed and explained corruption in corporate America.
For their series that suggested that university research on new drug therapies is being tainted by relationships with profit-seeking drug companies.
For his enterprising and nuanced reporting that disclosed Senator Bob Kerrey's role in a massacre during the Vietnam War.
For their series on the extreme commercialization of college sports.
For its comprehensive review of death penalty cases in Texas and nine other states that pointed out fundamental flaws in the system by which Americans are executed for crimes.
For her quietly powerful stories of Mexican women who come to work in North Carolina crab shacks, in pursuit of a better life.
For their series on the growing lucrative privatization of jails and foster programs for troubled youths.
For their reporting on the pitfalls faced by elderly Americans housed in commercial long-term facilities.
For a revealing series on the destruction of housing and the threat to the environment posed by the Formosan termite.
For his dogged reporting on the Church of Scientology, particularly its questionable relationship with the Internal Revenue Service, which granted the organization tax-exempt status.
For his fresh and revealing coverage of the U.S. military and the challenges facing it in the post-Cold War world.
For his resourceful reporting on the federal Witness Protection Program illustrating how the program's secrecy and lack of oversight has led to abuses and risks to the public.
For his comprehensive political coverage during the presidential election year.
For their reporting on lenient handling of sexual misconduct cases by the military justice system.
For their accounts of the way the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives played out during 1995.
For his analytical reporting on Washington developments and the national scene.
For their stories about the origins and impact of violence in America.
For her coverage of the Midwestern flood of 1993 and other stories.
For their investigation that identified rampant abuses of America's nonprofit tax laws.
For their investigation of the pharmaceutical industry and its role in the soaring costs of prescription drugs in the United States
For documenting the clandestine effort of the U.S. government to supply money and weapons to Iraq in the 1980's and up to the weeks before the Gulf War.
For their series "America: What Went Wrong?" which examined the public policy failures that have diminished the American middle class.
For her coverage of national politics and its personalities.
For his series describing child labor abuses in nine states.
For a series examining the problems and failures of the Medicaid health care system.
For incisive reporting of abuses of power committed by members of Congress.
For reporting that disclosed how the American blood industry operates with little governmental regulation or supervision.
For his insightful coverage of the presidential campaign of Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.
For his reporting on abuses in America's kidney dialysis program.
For stories about contaminated poultry, which revealed deficiencies in USDA inspection procedures and prompted legislative action.
For their series of articles that profiled corruption and mismanagement in Federal Indian programs nationwide and helped generate a Senate investigation.
For its series "Divided We Stand," about the resurgence of segregation in American schools.
For articles that consistently exposed covert government operations in the Reagan Administration.
For their persistent and thorough investigation of self-proclaimed mass murderer Henry Lee Lucas, which exposed him as the perpetrator of a massive hoax.
For his exclusive stories about he CIA's production of two manuals for Nicaraguan rebels--stories that led to an internal investigation and a congressional inquiry.
For its thorough coverage and analysis of the 1984 Presidential campaign.
For his series on the difficulties doctors face in making life-and-death decisions regarding their patients.
For his series "Dirty Work," which disclosed the existence of temporary slave labor camps throughout the southwest United States.
For his reporting on the impact of the recession on communities across the nation.
For his series on the persistence of racism in the "New South" and, in a second nomination, for his reporting on the consequences of atomic testing in America.
For its coverage of the attempted assassination of President Reagan.
For their series on live-birth abortions.
For their series on the state of U.S. military preparedness.
For their series "Energy Anarchy." | <urn:uuid:58d2fa11-5b1d-4ce0-a3a4-2e9deb018692> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/National+Reporting | 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 | 0.962325 | 3,391 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Information on new prescription diet pills
We have included some information on topiramate for those who are interested in finding out more information on this particular ingredient that goes into making up Qnexa.
Qnexa was studies at different dosages. These are the amounts used in the various clinical tests.
Low Dose Qnexa: 3.75mg phentermine (IR) + 23mg topiramate (CR)
Mid Dose Qnexa: 7.5mg phentermine (IR) + 46mg topiramate (CR)
High Dose Qnexa: 15mg phentermine (IR) + 92mg topiramate (CR)
(IR) Immediate Release Formulation
(CR) Controlled Release Formulation
Never attempt to mix these medications yourself.
If you have ever had a seizure due to epilepsy your doctor may prescribe you a medication known as topiramate. This is an anticonvulsant, that is, it prevents seizures by reducing the abnormal electrical activity in the brain which leads to a seizure. So it could be given for epilepsy in children or adults, or for developmental conditions in children that cause seizures, such as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Topiramate can also be given for other conditions such as migraine headaches, and other uses are being found for it all the time.
Topiramate is the active ingredient in the pill: there are several manufacturers of pills containing it, under different brand names. Some of these names include: Topamax®, Topiragen®. Common doses of Topiramate are 25mg, 50mg, 100mg, and 200mg pill sizes. Read more on topiramate at the Topiramate Wikipedia page.
Topiramate is available in tablet or sprinkle capsule form. The medication is usually taken twice daily, in the morning and evening. If you tend to get an upset stomach when taking medication you are advised to take it with food, though this is not always a requirement. It is important that the medication is taken around the same time each day. Patients have stated that topiramate has a very bitter taste. For that reason you should be sure to swallow the pill whole. Splitting, chewing, or crushing the pills will leave a very horrible taste in your mouth.
If you are uncertain of how to use the medication you should ask your pharmacist or doctor right away. As with all medication, in order for it to work you should make sure that it is taken in the correct dosage. Taking too little would not help you, and taking too much could have very negative effects.
Another important fact is that you should tell your doctor and pharmacist what other medicines you are taking. There are medicines with similar effects as topiramate: sometimes these are used together for better control of the condition. But certain medicines should not be used together: this is why you should never take medication not prescribed by your doctor, and why you should always tell your doctor of all the medicines you are taking.
Your doctor will go over a dosage plan with you prior to prescribing the medication as most patients start with small doses and increase them with time.
Can Topiramate Completely Cure My Condition?
While the medicine is prescribed to help control your seizures or migraines you must remember that topiramate is not a cure to your condition. For this reason it is important that you take the medication even if you have not had a seizure for some time. Never stop taking it until you have consulted with your doctor. Some side effects are common, but it is important that you do not stop taking the medication until you've spoken with your doctor, as you could run the risk of having more seizures.
It is possible that while taking topiramate you could begin to lose weight. If this should occur, it is important to speak with your doctor about possibly increasing your food intake. You must also speak with your doctor prior to changing any of your eating habits as well as joining any weight loss programs. A special diet that you must not follow while taking the medication is one of the ketogenic diets which are high fat, low carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet.
Important: Forgetting to Take Medication
If you have forgotten to take a dose it is very important that you take it the moment you remember. Also important to remember is that if you remember your missed dose less than six hours prior to your next scheduled dosage you should skip the missed dose and then continue your routine for taking your medication. Never take two doses at once to make up for the dose that you missed.
Possible Side Effects
Below is a list of side effects caused by topiramate. Some of them may be temporary, and may only last for a little while after you start taking it: if they do not go away, or are very unpleasant, contact your doctor for further instructions.
- Difficulty remembering things
- A numbing, burning, or tingling feeling typically in the hands or feet
- Slow reactions
- Lack of concentration
- Problems speaking and remembering words
- Feeling downhearted
- Discoloration of the skin or skin irritations
- Flakes in scalp
- Loss of hair
- Increased hair growth in uncommon places
- Lack of energy
- Uncontrolled movements and shaking
- Uncontrolled eye movements
- Destructive behavior
- Severe thirst
- Loss of weight
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Abdominal gas
- Lack of sense of taste
- Gum overgrowth
- Dry mouth
- Excessive salivation
- Difficulty swallowing
- Bleeding nose
- Watery or dry eyes
- Pain in the back, bones, or muscles
- Change in menstruation cycle
- Heavy menstrual bleeding
- Sounds of ringing in the ear
- Difficulty in sleeping or sleeping too much
- Swelling of parts of the body
- Problems urinating or pain during urination.
There are more serious side effects that you should not wait to call your doctor about. If you experience any of the following you should immediately contact your doctor:
- Fuzzy vision
- Impaired vision
- Pain in the eye
- Increase in the intensity of seizures
- A slow heart rate
- Abnormal heartbeat
- Pain in the chest
- Difficulties breathing
- Rapid breathing
- Extreme fatigue
- Abdominal pain
- Lack of appetite
- Severe back pain
- Frequent urination
- Fever, chills
- Loss of consciousness.
Topiramate can also cause a medical condition called osteoporosis which causes bones to break easily, while in children it can predispose them to abnormal bone growth known as rickets. This could potentially stunt the growth of the child. This is why it is stressed that you must ask your doctor about all the risks that come with taking topiramate so that you can look out for early signs of them.
Even though the list of side effects may sound scary, it should be remembered that only a very small number of people ever experience them: most patients take topiramate quite happily. It is a very effective medication to control very unpleasant symptoms as long as it is taken responsibly. | <urn:uuid:688dce8d-21b7-48b2-ab8f-d4a36fc8b967> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.new-prescription-diet-pills.com/topiramate.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944312 | 1,483 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Under normal circumstances, I don't think that there is a problem. As you indicated, so long as there is enough yeast left in the dough at the time of baking to give a good oven spring and the dough has not overfermented, your results should be fine. Once the dough temperature gets above about 140 degrees F in the oven, it will be killed in any event.
Marco may best answer your question in the context of a Neapolitan style dough, but, as you may recall from a post he rendered in response to one of yours, he encouraged you to use tiny amounts of yeast (he recommends less than 5% preferment by weight of water--which can be even less when measured with respect to flour) and long, slow fermentations. Under those circumstances, you are unlikely to get significant dough expansion, even after 12-15 hours at the ideal room temperature. I suspect that the enzyme performance may be better with the longer fermentation times even though the incremental flavor-enhancing byproducts of fermentation may not be all that noticeable--at least not to my aging tastebuds. What you want to avoid as much as possible is going out too far on the fermentation time scale. Otherwise, the protease enzymes may overly degrade the gluten structure and water locked up in the dough can be released that you end up with a wet and gummy dough that will not perform well in the oven. Also, as scott has noted, if you go out too far on the time scale you can end up with a crust that is more sour (but to a lesser degree with the Camaldoli) because of the predominance of acetic rather than lactic acids and their related compounds. This is where experience and practice and knowing how to manage the preferment and how best to adjust ingredient quantities and temperatures to adapt to the circumstances come into play.
My recollection is that you have been using about 10% preferment with a period of cold fermentation sandwiched between the two room-temperature rises. As you know, Marco advocates room temperature fermentation only. Under a room temperature regimen, and given the effects of altitude where you live, I suspect you could cut the amount of prefement in half and get good results, all else being equal. You might get good results even with your current use of cold fermentation.
When I baked up the pizza using the dough that tripled in volume, it was very good. The crust was a bit fluffier than usual but I had used a much thicker dough to begin with to compensate for that fact that my home oven doesn't do as well with very thin Neapolitan style doughs. | <urn:uuid:ece2acc1-35b0-4656-9400-39d5d9bc9606> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=2951.20 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958488 | 535 | 1.796875 | 2 |
We live in a world of dissention and turmoil. We live in a world of haves and have-nots. We live in a world of love and fear. We live in a world where fear is used to manipulate people. What does all of this have to do with names? Knowing how to interpret a Read More
just released a list of the most popular boy and girl names for 2012. What do these names show us as trends and expectations for our society? Based on Neimology® Science, which indicates personality traits based on names, our ...
What can you know about a stranger
? Nothing, except what you read or hear from others, right? Wrong.
There are many methodologies that shed light on who people are, including (1) handwriting analysis, (2) face reading, (3) astrology, (4) numerology and (5) ...
What soft drink was a hit in the US but not in Spanish speaking countries?
Do names really matter? You bet they do, especially when the name of the product is great in one language but the same word offensive in another language. Take for example the name of the soft drink Fresca which had problems when it ...
Romance is always a risk. We put ourselves out there, and hope that the other person will treat us gently. It takes a brave and self-confidnet person to engage in relationships as we become vunerable. Consider all of the people whom you know that are simply existing and not ... | <urn:uuid:26581aac-3148-4bf6-a826-0573e64b0914> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yourtango.com/experts/SharonLynnWyeth/articles | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945305 | 310 | 1.609375 | 2 |
PARIS soars to Guinness World Record
Highest paper plane launch ever – official
Fans of our Paper Aircraft Released Into Space (PARIS) mission will doubtless want to join us in raising a glass today to our Vulture 1 aircraft – now officially the holder of the record for the highest launch of a paper plane in the history of aviation.
Yes indeed, PARIS has been awarded a Guinness World Record, and we have a lovely certificate to prove it.
We actually applied for the record some time ago, then completely forgot about it. Last week, we got an email from Guinness World Records asking for clarification on a couple of technical points of our audacious mission, and it was only then that we realised we'd made it into the history books.
As soon as the official bit of paper arrived, PARIS launch team members José María Pita and Ernesto García García (codename "Tito") rolled up to quaff a couple of well-deserved celebratory beers:
It's only right and proper that we salute other vital PARIS personnel who couldn't join us, and here we have radio man Steve Daniels (left) and John Oates (far right), seen before the historic launch with yours truly and Tito:
Naturally, you'll be wondering just how our Vulture 1 pilot - the fearless Playmonaut - received the news. Pretty well, evidently, since he sent us this snap of his own celebration, apparently taken at a Swedish lesbian enclave:
Well done that man. For the record, the Guinness World Records query regarding the "couple of technical points" was prompted by rival paper plane teams who'd been in touch asking just what they'd have to do to challenge the record.
We have no further information on who these upstarts might be, but we say come and have a pop, if you think you've got the Right Stuff:
More about the lovely PARIS
- Our dedicated PARIS section is right here.
- If you don't understand what PARIS was about, try this mission summary.
- Our Flickr page contains all our PARIS snaps, as well as images from our ongoing Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) mission.
- All of the Special Projects Bureau videos live down at our lovely YouTube channel. | <urn:uuid:1b278d0f-e079-437e-b0e4-b858254a6548> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/17/paris_guiness/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945272 | 476 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Koh Samui Communication
Even just a few years ago you could see the looks of disappointment on visitors faces as they waved their laptops about only to be met with blank stares from hotel receptionists all over the island. But in the last few years things seems to have caught up and it is now quite impossible not to be able to keep in touch by e-mail.
One word of caution: don't expect the same sort of connection speed that you are used to back home. Broadband has only been generally available for a few years and is 99% of the places are running with no more than the basic package of 1 Mbit/sec.
Although this is fine for e-mails and general web-browsing, what you won't realise is that each of the 'pipes' (the lines that groups of customers are connected to) are cheerfully over-subscribed. The result is that you'll often experience a 'stop start' connection, with bursts of connectivity mixed in with a few minutes of everything coming to a halt.
If you really need a rock-solid and super-fast connection (maybe for some business whilst you're here) then you'll need to get yourself over to Lamai where the Sawasdee company run an optical line.
Samui doesn't have much in the way of actual cafes that have WiFi access (other than Starbucks, of course) but it does have a thousand shops of all descriptions which have desktop PCs available for Internet access. In fact, if your resort doesn't have a free PC terminal, either hardwired or WiFi, then you've probably gone back to nature and are renting a hut in the middle of nowhere.
Wireless Hot Spots
Things are rapidly picking up in this area and very many resorts are providing WiFi for their guests. This is usually free, although we know of several of the smaller bungalow resorts that are charging quite high hourly fees for this. But the opposite is true too, and you'll come across small restaurants where the only price of WiFi is your custom for an hour or so.
For a free wireless connection try Big C department store in the restaurant area (situated on the ring road between Bo Phut and Chaweng). And, of course, Starbucks in the middle of Chaweng Beach Road.
There are international pay phones outside most 7-11s and you'll need to buy a card from inside to use them. The cost is slightly cheaper than using a mobile phone to call abroad, but more expensive if you call to another mobile. Few people use these now, as there are cheaper and easier alternatives.
How about bringing your mobile phone with you? You can then buy a Thai SIM card for 49 Baht, and pay as you go. The SIM will fit your UK phone. You will obviously have a specific phone number for that SIM, but for calling home and SMS this is the best way.
However, you will probably have a phone with a contract tied to a service provider like Vodaphone or AT & T, and that means your phone will be locked against the use of a Thai SIM card. There are two simple ways round this.
One way is to buy a neat little device before you come. This is a 'SIM Unlock Card' which is available all over EBay for as little as 2 Euros. It's easy to use - you simply place it in contact with the Thai SIM card and slot them into your phone sandwiched together. This then by-passes your own service provider and allows you to use a Thai SIM. Naturally, you will have a new (Thai) number to go with this, but you can anticipate this and send a group SMS to all your friends back home with you new and temporary phone number. This is quite safe and works perfectly without messing up your phone settings.
The other way is to go to Tesco Lotus or Big C and buy the cheapest phone you can find (If it is a used one then ask the shop to set it to the English (etc) language for you.) It will cost from 800 baht and when you leave you can either sell it or leave it as a gift for one of the new friends you've made on your holiday!
Using Thai SIM cards
Thailand has a simple system. You go to a phone shop such as one of those dotted around the streets or in Tesco Lotus and ask for a 'One-2-Call' SIM card. This will cost you 49 baht and there's no paperwork involved. It will come with its own phone number and with 20 baht of free calls on it. You ask for a top-up at the same time and the shop will put anything up to 1,500 baht of credit on it for you. When this runs out you go to any 7-11 and ask for another 'One-2-Call' card - they'll do it for you there, too!
Real feel 39 °C
Wind 19 KPH
5 Day Weather Forecast | <urn:uuid:e93c5139-7368-46bd-9693-91a52a2a0b92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.koh-samui.travel/communication.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96583 | 1,034 | 1.515625 | 2 |
What You'll Learn
A simmering pot of soup. A sizzling pan of onions. These aromas are wonderful, but the moisture, grease, odors and heat their preparation produces aren't as pleasant. Some of these cooking by-products can be destructive. Steam, for instance, will condense on windows and inside exterior walls, leading to rot. And carbon monoxide -- the result of combustion from a gas range -- is life-threatening if it builds up. The best way to protect yourself and your home is with good mechanical ventilation. In an island or peninsula cooktop installation, the hood extends down from the ceiling. This unit, the Luna from Abbaka ($6,479), is specially designed for heavy-duty use. It's equipped with a remote-mounted ventilator with four-position speed control. Venting Options Basic wall-mounted units start at about $50. In the $200 to $400 range, you'll find hoods equipped with multiple lights, timers and easy-clean surfaces. For a little more money, you can get a slim hood that slides out from beneath the cabinetry above the range and is practically invisible when not in use. Another style integrates the vent system with a microwave that's installed on the wall over the range. Downdraft systems present an unobtrusive option. These "pop-up" models usually are incorporated into the range and remain even with the cooking surface until needed, when they rise 8 to 10 in. above the cooking surface. In other models, the vent is located on the surface of the range near the burners. Downdraft units must work harder to remove air from the kitchen, and they can be ineffective on the burners that are farthest away and on steam and odors from tallstockpots. The fan (some use more than one) pulls the air through a filter and down into the plenum. From there, the fan moves the air through ductwork beneath the floor or along the cabinet kick space. This arrangement makes a downdraft unit more expensive to install. Still, in some situations, a downdraft vent may be the best choice. For example, when the cooktop is located on an island or peninsula, an overhead range hood can be impractical or fill what was designed as open space. Cooktops that include downdraft ventilation at the rear start at about $900. Separate downdraft units retrofitted to existing cooktops start at about $600. Another option is to put the vent hood on center stage in the kitchen. Trimmed with tile, wood panels or stainless steel, a range or cooktop hood can be the focal point of a big kitchen. Such semicustom and custom hoods run from $800 to $2,000, or even more, depending on the power of the exhaust system and the details of the design. One type of vent hood you should avoid is the recirculating range hood. "These aren't really ventilation systems at all," says Dale Rammien, director of the Home Ventilating Institute, a trade organization that represents manufacturers of ventilation equipment. At an average cost of about $50, a recirculating hood seems a bargain because it doesn't require ductwork. But it doesn't really provide ventilation -- it merely pulls the cooking effluent through a filter and sends its back into the room, noxious gases and all. "They do next to nothing to filter the air," Rammien says. | <urn:uuid:31b420a7-468a-4faa-8224-d750ac639cb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,220906,00.html?xid=pbs-ask1003-hood-buying | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932694 | 708 | 1.765625 | 2 |
|<< Psalm 144 >>|
World English Bible
1Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to battle:
2my loving kindness, my fortress, my high tower, my deliverer, my shield, and he in whom I take refuge; who subdues my people under me.
3Yahweh, what is man, that you care for him? Or the son of man, that you think of him?
4Man is like a breath. His days are like a shadow that passes away.
5Part your heavens, Yahweh, and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.
6Throw out lightning, and scatter them. Send out your arrows, and rout them.
7Stretch out your hand from above, rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters, out of the hands of foreigners;
8whose mouths speak deceit, Whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9I will sing a new song to you, God. On a ten-stringed lyre, I will sing praises to you.
10You are he who gives salvation to kings, who rescues David, his servant, from the deadly sword.
11Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hands of foreigners, whose mouths speak deceit, whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12Then our sons will be like well-nurtured plants, our daughters like pillars carved to adorn a palace.
13Our barns are full, filled with all kinds of provision. Our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields.
14Our oxen will pull heavy loads. There is no breaking in, and no going away, and no outcry in our streets.
15Happy are the people who are in such a situation. Happy are the people whose God is Yahweh. A praise psalm by David. | <urn:uuid:15f320fd-8ad1-4b3c-b9c3-4a69602de5fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://worldebible.com/psalms/144.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947022 | 406 | 1.734375 | 2 |
J. Ernest Wilkins Jr., who received a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Chicago as a 19-year-old in 1942, will be honored by the University at a special event beginning at 2 p.m. Friday, March 2, in room 209 of Eckhart Hall, 1118 E. 58th Street.
Among his many achievements, Wilkins in 1976 became the second African American to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest honors an engineer can receive.
“The University of Chicago Mathematics Department has extremely high standards. It’s been an outstanding department for quite some time,” said Robert Fefferman, Dean of the Physical Sciences Division and the Max Mason Distinguished Service Professor in Mathematics at the University of Chicago. “It’s extraordinary for someone 19 years old to get a Ph.D. from a department of that quality in a very rigorous subject.”
The University will commemorate Wilkins’s achievements by hanging his portrait and a plaque in his honor in the Eckhart Hall Tea Room, one of the most elegant spaces in the Physical Sciences Division.
The following speakers will present brief remarks at the event:
- Robert Fefferman, Dean of the Physical Sciences Division, University of Chicago;
- Kenneth Warren, Deputy Provost for Minority Affairs and Research and the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor in English Language & Literature, University of Chicago;
- Walter Massey, President of Morehouse College in Atlanta and a Trustee of the University of Chicago;
- Johnny Houston, Executive Secretary Emeritus of the National Association of Mathematicians and Senior Research Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina.
“I believe this event will not only honor Dr. Wilkins, but it will be a great opportunity for the University,” Fefferman said. “He is such a fabulous role model that his example should encourage brilliant African American mathematics and science faculty members and students to choose Chicago as their academic home.”
The history of the physical sciences at the University of Chicago is rife with significant contributions from individuals of widely diverse backgrounds. Just two examples include Alberto Calderón of Argentina and theoretical astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar of India. They were two of the most influential thinkers in their fields during the 20th century, Fefferman said.
Without such people, “this would be a very different university in math and science,” Fefferman said. “We would probably be lucky to be in the top hundred science universities in the United States, maybe even in the top 200. It’s just so absurd not to welcome everyone who wants to participate in what I consider a very compelling and noble adventure, discovering great science.”
Wilkins, 83, was born in Chicago to J. Ernest Wilkins Sr., a lawyer who served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor from 1954 to 1958, and Lucile Beatrice Robinson, a teacher. The younger Wilkins enrolled at the University of Chicago at the age of 13 in 1936. At age 17 he received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics ranked in the top 10 in the Putnam Competition, a national undergraduate mathematics contest. Wilkins remained at the University of Chicago for graduate study in mathematics, receiving his master’s degree in 1941 and his Ph.D. in 1942.
Wilkins conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., then joined the faculty of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he taught from 1942 to 1944. He returned to Chicago in 1944 to work on the Manhattan Project, the U.S. effort to build the atomic bomb. At the Manhattan Project, Wilkins worked with future Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner and made contributions to nuclear-reactor physics now known as the Wilkins effect and the Wigner-Wilkins spectrum.
Following the Manhattan Project, Wilkins worked as a mathematician for the American Optical Company in Buffalo, N.Y., designing lenses for microscopes and ophthalmologic uses. He held a variety of positions at the United Nuclear Corporation from 1950 to 1960. As manager of United Nuclear’s Research and Development Division, Wilkins oversaw a staff of approximately 30 scientists who did contract work for the Atomic Energy Commission.
During this time Wilkins entered New York University to obtain formal training as a mechanical engineer. There he earned a bachelor’s degree, with magna cum laude honors, in 1957 and another master’s degree in 1960. For the next 10 years, he managed additional nuclear-reactor projects for the General Atomic Company in San Diego.
For much of the 1970s, Wilkins served as a Distinguished Professor of Applied Mathematics and Physics at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He took a sabbatical leave in 1976 to become a visiting scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. From there he became a vice president at EG and G Idaho Inc., in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Wilkins returned to Argonne as a Distinguished Fellow in 1984.
He retired in 1985, but continued to work as a technical consultant and adviser to a variety of organizations. Wilkins returned to academia in 1990 when he became a Distinguished Professor of Mathematics and Mathematical Physics at Clark Atlanta University in Georgia, retiring again in 2003. | <urn:uuid:2a1ab7e7-bd48-4d16-8165-0009bd2397f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/07/070227.wilkins.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952615 | 1,110 | 1.773438 | 2 |
With over 100,000 copies in print, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
has proven that people want to bake their own bread provided they can do it easily and quickly. Knowing that people are changing the way they eat and bake because of health concerns or lifestyle choices, the authors took their established method and applied it to breads rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. That is where Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day
comes in. Health-conscious bread eaters need homemade options more than anyone else. They want delicious bread, but they can't find the healthy ingredients they'd like to use in traditional bakeries, or in traditional recipes. Whether you are looking for more whole grains, whether you're vegan, gluten-free, training for a triathlon, trying to reduced your cholesterol, or just care about what goes into your body, this book delivers.
For all who discovered artisan bread through the first book and for health-conscious breadlovers everywhere, this book is a must-have.
Includes Recipes for:
• Whole Grain Pizza with Roasted Red Peppers and Fontina
• Turkish-Style Pita Bread with Black Sesame Seeds
• Cherry Tomato Baguette
• Gluten-Free Rosemary Parmesan Bread Sticks
• Spicy Chile Whole Grain Snack Crackers
• Quinoa Bread
• Pistachio Swirled Brioche | <urn:uuid:aa89cd9e-d49c-4c3e-beb2-2d376342499d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bookphaze.com/food-recipes/1564-isbn-0312545525.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932352 | 284 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Husted, a Republican, had previously come under fire for trying to limit the duration of early voting in the state. Federal courts intervened, directing the state to offer more days than the state had planned.
"I made sure that the rules were the same in all 88 counties because in the past counties would vote by different sets of rules. I made them uniform," he said. "People should be reassured that what I'm going to is administer the law of the state of Ohio and run the elections according to that law."
Officials from the Obama and Romney campaigns said they would be ready to file legal challenges if need be in Ohio and elsewhere. | <urn:uuid:caad015b-05ef-4f3c-8c6b-2e2d9cd45f1d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wesh.com/news/politics/Ohio-secretary-of-state-defends-election-decisions/-/11788048/17280256/-/item/1/-/hqwv05/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989938 | 131 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Corker says deal will pass, predicts $500,000 threshold
Fiscal solvency hasn't been dealt with, Corker says
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee sought to assure Americans on Sunday over the looming fiscal cliff, expressing full confidence that most people won't start off the new year with new taxes.
In an interview on CNN, the Republican senator also predicted the income threshold for tax increases will be at least $500,000 per year, rather than President Barack Obama's proposal of $250,000.
While he's "disgusted with where we are" in the deficit-reduction debate, Corker said "there's no question" that Congress will reach some kind of deal "in the next few days or in the next few weeks."
"I would bet my life that over the next very short period of time (that) 98 to 99% of people in the country are going to be rescued," Corker told CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley.
The Senate reconvened on Sunday as leaders and aides worked to hash out a fiscal cliff deal that will pass in both chambers of Congress. One of the main sticking points is a disagreement over who should pay higher tax rates in order to generate more revenue.
While Obama has called for tax increases on incomes above $250,000, discussions have involved the possibility of raising that figure to a $400,000 threshold, along with a push to keep estate taxes low. Democrats have said they might be open to one such scenario, but not both.
Corker, who earlier this month was among the first in his party to support a tax rate increase for the wealthy as part of a deal, said he doubts any compromise will include the $250,000 figure, listing several Democratic senators who he says want a higher number as well.
"My guess is we're going to be ... at least $500,000," he said "My guess is it's going to happen and it's going to pass."
And though it may pass, Corker joined many Republicans in saying that the fiscal debate has lacked serious discussion about "real reductions," such as entitlement reform. "I think that is totally irresponsible."
"We're going to deal with this tax issue," he continued. "We're going to deal with it either before midnight tomorrow or in the next couple of weeks, but nobody in the country - 99%, 98% of the people in the country should not be worried about revenues. But what they should be worried about is we still haven't tackled the issue of fiscal solvency."
Copyright 2012 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:dfe93612-da49-47c9-bfee-ddedfde2a233> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wcti12.com/news/politics/Corker-says-deal-will-pass-predicts-500-000-threshold/-/13530382/17950330/-/view/print/-/hc21g9/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980621 | 549 | 1.515625 | 2 |
DETROIT (AP) -- The Belle Isle aquarium has reopened and is trying to stay afloat as the future of the Detroit's island park is debated.
The Detroit News reports Sunday that supporters of the aquarium that reopened in September are watching what happens with a dispute over whether the financially struggling city should lease the park to the state of Michigan. The City Council is expected to decide this week amid arguments on both sides.
Meanwhile, the aquarium that had to close in 2005 for financial reasons is doing what it can with what it has. It's been surviving on volunteers, grants and donations -- including $12,000 it received Saturday from a fundraising effort.
The aquarium has 14 tanks filled with fish. Empty ones are used as displays for donors and exhibits. | <urn:uuid:c454f894-523d-44ab-bd09-72a0aed6d239> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wilx.com/news/headlines/Belle-Isle-Aquarium-Treading-Water-Amid-Dispute-188619461.html?site=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967931 | 154 | 1.742188 | 2 |
News: Campaign to help bring missing children home
Release Date: Tuesday, May 25 2010, 04:30 PM
A global campaign help bring them home was launched today in an initiative led by the AFP and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.
This year’s campaign focuses on parental child abduction and its impacts, and was launched by the Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor.
"It’s a tragedy that two to three children are abducted from Australia each week and about 650 parental child abductions happen in Australia each year," Mr O’Connor said.
"As a parent, I can only imagine the torture of not knowing where your child is and if they are safe and well. I really feel for families in this situation. We can all do our part to ease their pain."
The campaign aims to educate people across the world about the issues associated with missing children and strengthen global efforts to find them.
One of the hidden impacts of parental child abduction is the emotional and sometimes physical toll on a child who is taken by someone they trust.
Under the auspices of the Global Missing Children’s Network, nine countries from four continents have joined in the campaign to raise awareness of missing children and to emphasise the issues surrounding parental child abduction.
An interactive web portal and an international community service announcement, both developed by the AFP, are key elements of the campaign, where anyone in the world with internet access can go online and release their own balloon of a missing child.
The AFP Commissioner Tony Negus, Attorney-General Robert McClelland, stakeholders and families of missing children attended the launch at the National Museum of Australia.
Attendees released balloons displaying photos missing children from countries around the world in the hope that someone, somewhere, would recognise them.
"Just because the child is with a parent, it does not necessarily mean that they are safe," Commissioner Negus said.
"We are very proud to be leading this global movement together with International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children."
"We are particularly excited to be launching a virtual balloon release micro-site so that anyone around the world with access to the internet can view the profiles of missing children online and release a balloon with us to commemorate the day."
You can help the campaign by releasing a virtual balloon at the AFP-developed website.
A 30 second community service announcement produced by the AFP has also been distributed throughout participating countries to encourage people to visit the website.
helpbringthemhome.org.au is an interactive, social networking-driven campaign designed to raise awareness of missing children and help find them. Six children from each country have been profiled as part of the campaign. | <urn:uuid:fe8ab536-46f1-44b9-8c5f-15e77ecd4a0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.afp.gov.au/media-centre/news/afp/2010/may/campaign-to-help-bring-missing-children-home | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959123 | 556 | 1.695313 | 2 |
September 15, 2011
When Cliff Robertson, one of sixties television’s most persuasive and sought-after leading men, died over the weekend, I noticed a factual inaccuracy repeated in several obituaries, most prominently the Washington Post’s. As we’ve seen in earlier cases, like that of Sidney Lumet, otherwise impeccable obituarists tend to get their feet tangled in the murk of early television. Let’s set the record straight on this one.
Robertson’s most famous film role, at least at one time, was the one for which he won an Oscar – Charly (1968), the mentally retarded man made super-smart by science, which he had first played in a 1961 United States Steel Hour called “The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon.” In its obituary for Robertson, the Post set the stage for Charly with these paragraphs:
While acquiescing to studio demands in a run of undistinguished films, Mr. Robertson found more compelling work on live television. He played a pool shark in “The Hustler” and a married alcoholic in “Days of Wine and Roses.”
When it came time to cast the film versions, he was overlooked in favor of bigger stars: Paul Newman and Jack Lemmon, respectively. “I was starting to get a reputation as always a bridesmaid, never a bride,” Mr. Robertson said decades later.
It’s a catchy factoid: Robertson, the perennial also-ran, loses out on not one but two key film roles he had originated on television, then wises up and buys the movie rights to a third, to great triumph. But it’s wrong.
Robertson did give an extraordinary performance in the Playhouse 90 broadcast of “Days of Wine and Roses.” But Robertson was not in the live television version of The Hustler. In fact, there was no live television version of The Hustler.
Walter Tevis first wrote the story of pool shark Fast Eddie Felson as a Playboy short story in 1957, turned it into a novel two years later, and saw the Paul Newman film come out two years after that. No video incarnation was produced during that four-year stretch.
So from where did this persistent bit of misinformation originate? Possibly from Robertson himself. In Shoptalk: Conversations About Theater and Film With Twelve Writers, One Producer – and Tennessee Williams’ Mother (Newmarket, 1993), Robertson told author Dennis Brown that
Back in the late 1950s I did several shows on live television, things like Days of Wine and Roses and The Hustler, that went to other actors when they were made into movies. I came to the conclusion that in order to get a great role, I had to develop it for myself.
Was Robertson inventing his association with The Hustler – embellishing his resume with a role he didn’t get? No, but he was stretching the truth a bit.
Robertson did star in a television anthology segment about a nervy young pool hustler who faces off against a fat, cocky old pro (Harold J. Stone). The show was called “Goodbye, Johnny,” and it was first aired on Alcoa Theatre on February 9, 1959. But “Goodbye, Johnny” was shot on film, not broadcast live; the characters’ names are all different from those in The Hustler; and Walter Tevis’s name appears nowhere in the credits. A number of reference books have identified “Goodbye, Johnny” as an adaptation of The Hustler, but that’s plainly inaccurate. The only connection that one might establish between them would be a charge of plagiarism against the writer of “Goodbye, Johnny,” Leonard Freeman. (I’ve seen both the film and the television episode, but not recently enough to take a position on that subject; and I haven’t read either the short or the long version of Tevis’s text.)
Clearly Robertson felt there was a link between “Goodbye, Johnny” and The Hustler. That’s probably because Robertson auditioned unsuccessfully for the role of Fast Eddie Felson; and, according to at least one source, it was “Goodbye, Johnny” that got him that audition. So maybe for Robertson, Johnny Keegan really was just the TV version of a movie role he never got. But for the rest of us, it’s just sloppy fact checking.
As a postscript: I greatly enjoyed learning, as I researched this piece, that our new friend Gerald S. O’Loughlin played a pivotal role in the Charly story, and that Robertson was a big fan of his. O’Loughlin was in the cast of “The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon,” and, as Robertson tells it in his Archive of American Television oral history,
Gerald O’Loughlin had a profound impact. He was one of the wonderful character actors; still is. We were doing the TV version of Charly . . . and he said to me, in the middle of the week, “Cliff, you’re doing a hell of a job. Who do you think’ll do the movie?” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “Well, you know, every time you do a good job on television, whether it’s Days of Wine and Roses or what, some movie star comes along and buys it or gets it and you’re watching it and you’re not [in it]. Who do you think’ll get the movie?” And I said, “Well, knowing Hollywood, maybe Debbie Reynolds,” just to be kidding. So that was Gerry O’Loughlin, also a member of the Actors Studio. Great actor.
And one more for the road: The Los Angeles Times claims that thirty-year All My Children star Mary Fickett, who died on September 8,
found steady work in television in the 1950s and ’60s, including the anthology programs “Kraft Theatre,” “Armstrong Circle Theatre” and “The United States Steel Hour,” as well as “The Edge of Night,” “The Nurses” and other prime-time series. When “The Nurses” was turned into a daytime drama in 1965, she continued her role.
Wrong: Fickett was a guest star on a 1963 episode of the prime-time The Nurses called “A Dark World,” playing Karen Gardner, a nurse who transfers to the psych ward as part of the recovery process from her own breakdown. (Ah, medicine!) When she joined the daytime The Nurses in 1965, Fickett took over the leading role of senior nurse Liz Thorpe from the original star, Shirl Conway. | <urn:uuid:cfae9fe8-b517-4b0a-8da2-d628f5ff9923> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://classictvhistory.wordpress.com/tag/charly/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972738 | 1,469 | 1.617188 | 2 |
How to pick a tax preparer
You are ultimately responsible and liable for the accuracy of the information, so choose wisely.
The Dallas Morning News
Choosing a tax preparer is something you should do with care.
After all, this person will prepare a document containing the most personal details of your financial life. What’s more, you will personally need to certify to the government that the document is accurate to the best of your knowledge.
You want a person who knows what he or she is doing. Even though you’ve hired someone to prepare your income-tax return, you are responsible and liable for the accuracy of the information.
Here are tips on how to pick a tax preparer and protect yourself:
• Check the preparer’s experience: You want somebody who’s experienced, trained and is up to date on tax-law changes and who can suggest tax-saving ideas for the current or future years.
“Taxpayers may want to ask if preparers are affiliated with a professional organization and attend continuing-education classes,” the IRS said. “If your preparer is an enrolled agent, a certified public accountant or an attorney, they have passed a high-level test to earn their title. These are the only three types of tax professionals who can represent you before all offices of the IRS.”
• Does the preparer stand behind his or her work? Do they guarantee the accuracy of the tax return; if you’re audited, will that person be around to assist you?
• Check the preparer’s history: Check if the preparer has a questionable history with the Better Business Bureau. Also, check for any disciplinary actions and licensure status through the state board of accountancy for certified public accountants; the state bar association for attorneys; and the IRS Office of Enrollment for enrolled agents.
• Ask early about the preparer’s service fees: Avoid preparers who base their fee on a percentage of your refund or those who claim they can obtain larger refunds than other preparers
• Protect your refund: Make sure any refund due is sent directly to you or deposited into an account in your name and not a preparer’s bank account.
• Provide appropriate documents: Reputable preparers will request to see your records and receipts and will ask you questions to determine your total income and your qualifications for expenses, deductions and other items.
“Do not use a preparer who is willing to electronically file your return using your last pay stub before you receive your Form W-2,” the IRS said. “This is against IRS e-file rules.”
If you’re claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit, preparers must file IRS Form 8867.
• Never sign a blank return, and avoid tax preparers who ask you to do so.
• Review the entire return before signing it: Before you sign your tax return, review it and ask questions. Make sure you understand everything and are comfortable with the accuracy of the return before you sign it. | <urn:uuid:e9b49df3-1200-4204-b2b9-6de8df901cef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020361289_pftaxpreparerxml.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939253 | 638 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Bills may be going up for Pinellas County Utilities customers.
On Thursday, county leaders discussed proposed increases in water, sewer and reclaimed water rates over the next several years.
They directed the county staff to bring the matter back to them next month. That's when they'll decide whether to advertise a public hearing on the increases.
The proposals don't call for a hike in monthly water rates for the county's approximately 112,000 retail customers in fiscal year 2012. But if the proposals are approved, the base rate water customers pay will go up $1 in each of the following three years. Rates charged for the quantity of water used will not change.
Conservation of water and the economic downturn have contributed to the need to raise rates, said Kevin Becotte, the interim utilities director
"We're working towards seeing how we can come through this and still maintain our system with the integrity we need to for our customers," Becotte told commissioners.
Besides unincorporated residents, the county utilities department also serves customers in Seminole, Kenneth City, Largo and most beach communities south of Clearwater.
Increases are the result of a variety of factors, including Tampa Bay Water rate increases and decreases in water sales, he said. From 2007 to 2016, the county projects a 30 percent decrease in water sales, he said. Much of that is related to three of its wholesale customers, Tarpon Springs, Oldsmar and Clearwater, which are developing their own water supplies.
The county is also looking at borrowing about $23 million down the road for facility improvements and other upgrades, Becotte said.
Wholesale customers, which include a number of area cities, would see a 4 percent rate increase each year over the next four years, according to the proposals. Those cities could decide to pass the rate increase on to their customers.
The proposals also call for a 6 percent increase in sewer rates for retail customers each year for the next four years. The typical retail customer, who uses 5,000 gallons of potable water per month, would see an increase of $1.78 each month in sewer bills in the next fiscal year. That increase would begin Oct. 1 of this year.
Reclaimed water rates for the county's unmetered customers would go up $1 each year as well.
If county commissioners agree to advertise a hearing, the rate proposals would come back before the board on Sept. 27. If approved, the legislation would take effect Oct. 1. | <urn:uuid:a0055f22-38e0-45d4-b295-48636cd3dee1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/pinellas-county-considers-raising-utilities-rates-in-coming-years/1174503 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961718 | 510 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Category Archives: Techniques
OK, this was so fun. I’m going to order more mold making goodies and start scouring the planet for fun things to make. I already have a few ideas.
The first thing I did was firmly affix the original to the bottom of my tray. I sealed it around all of the edges with modeling clay. Then I also sealed along the bottom of the tray, since the joint between the walls and the bottom of the tray was not tight.
I followed the instructions that came with the mold making stuff to mix up the silicone and apply it. I didn’t take any pictures during this part – I was trying to work quickly, measure accurately, and not let either very curious child make a mess. But here’s what it looked like after I finished pouring in the silicone.
Four hours later…
Of course, I could not resist making a quick bar of soap, so I remelted some leftover soap pieces I had from a different project.
The melted soap was all full of air bubbles, and so the resulting soap is a little messy.
So – I’m so excited! Han Solo in Carbonite soap, chocolates, and candies!!
I just re-found this blog post from the Soap Queen about the psychology of shopping, as it relates to craft fairs (and, I suppose, to life in general). Enjoy!
Personally, I throw everything in the washer (on hot) and dryer (on high) as soon as it gets home before folding it and storing it neatly on the shelf with other similar fabrics. That way, when I decide I want to use a particular fabric, I don’t have to wait while it washes and dries. Plus, nearly everything I make is washable – I assume customers are going to wash it, and that they probably won’t be using the gentle cycle. So I treat the fabric as harshly as I can when prewashing it – if it’s going to fall apart in the laundry, I’d rather it fall apart here!
But you can head on over to True Up and read up on the pros and cons of prewashing.
So this is the last of the things I wanted to try out with the dye before starting on real projects.
This is a baby nightgown. I dyed it orange, intending to leave it that way. Then decided that was kind of boring, so I tossed the bottom half into the red dyebath.
Purple clothes. Now, see, the pants and one shirt were intended to be dyed such that they went from really light purple at the top to dark purple at the bottom. I’ve read online several places that it’s just a matter of how much time the item spends in the dyebath, but then I’ve read a few other places that it really requires three shades of whatever color you want. I personally didn’t have much success with the “more time in the dyebath” method, as you can see here.
And more prefolds. See, this red is the best I could get with the fade-out dye goal. It goes from dark red to pretty much white over about one quarter inch. Not quite what I wanted. The orange one behind it is a little better, but not much.
So, there you go. I feel a little more confident about dyeing things for the shop, for projects, etc.
So the last few weeks, I’ve been trying out batik. It’s so much fun. Wow. I am using soy wax, which is not what is traditionally used in batik, but it’s nontoxic and has a lower melting point. Plus, it washes out in the laundry. Regular batik wax can give off toxic smoke, has to be hotter to use, and needs to be boiled out. Not really a good idea for us preggos or for working around small children.
So this is a dandelion design I totally copied from a project I saw on Craftster. It was one of the first things I put the wax on, and I learned really quickly that I need to watch the initial blob when brush meets fabric. You can see that I got better as I went, but I think I need a different applicator to get really smooth thin lines.
This one I batiked first, then dyed it purple, then washed out the wax and dyed it yellow. You can see the times when I let the wax get too cool while I was using it – it doesn’t saturate the fabric as well, so more of the purple dye got through. I also continued to struggle with smooth, thin lines. That continues to be a frustration, actually. You can also see how the yellow overdye changes the color of the purple just slightly.
Well, when I was at my computer printing off a few designs to test out in batik, Wally saw the batman logo in my folder of saved clipart and got all excited about making a batman hankie. So here it is. This one was first dyed yellow, then batiked and dyed black. This is where the soy wax really shows its drawbacks. Because of its lower melting point, it’s not as stable as traditional waxes. It doesn’t hold up as well in the dyebath and can’t be used in very hot dyebaths. To get a dark black, you need to leave fabric in the dyebath, particular after adding the soda ash fixer, for a fairly long time. But leaving the soy wax in the soda ash solution for very long will ruin the design. So you’re supposed to limit the amount of time the batiked design sits in the soda ash solution, thus limiting the amount of time the black has to darken and set. So you (or I, at least) end up with this kind of dark gray instead of true black. Close enough for me.
The dragon. My favorite. Batiked it (still struggled with the glob problem, you can see on the rightmost foot). Then dyed it in red, leaving the top corner out of the dyebath. Then dyed that corner in black. I really like how it turned out.
This one was really an experiment for a Christmas present I’m planning to make for my nephew. The flames have a bit more crackling than I’d like, so I need to think about that one a bit, but overall I’m pretty happy with it. It was a LOT of work. I dyed it yellow, then batiked on some flames. Dyed it Orange. Washed it. Batiked on the flames a bit bigger. Dyed it Red. Washed it. batiked on the flames bigger. Dyed it Black. When I dyed it black, I tried to keep the bottom flame design OUT of the dyebath, and I think that’s what I should have been doing all along.
But what I’m most unhappy with is the way the black is not really black, it’s really dark maroon, because it’s black over red. I’m not entirely sure how to prevent this from happening, but might give it a try with some sort of technique like I used with the dragon hankie.
And two baby shirts. A rooster and a spider. The spider didn’t turn out as well as I wanted it to, but I also was rushed when I was doing it, so it makes sense. Also, see the light gray there in the middle of the spider shirt? Yeah, dummy, UNSNAP the shirt before dyeing.
So batik was really super fun and I hope to be able to do more of it soon!!
Along with the last batch of tie dye, I tried some items using various low water immersion dyeing techniques. I will say, I love the results, but there was one big hitch.
The two on the left were done with the items, dry, in a bowl, then pouring in two different colors of dye, one on each side of the bowl, simultaneously. The results are much more subtle, with more blending and gradation.
The two on the right were done with the items in small mason jars. First a small amount of dye in one color, then squish in the item, then pour a second color on top, adding water to completely cover the item. The results here are much less blended.
This is the items in their dyebaths.
so, the big drawback? Cloth diapers are very absorbent. Duh, right? When tie dying, they don’t come into contact with much liquid, so the absorbency isn’t a problem. In low water immersion dying, they soak up a LOT of liquid. So much so that I had a really hard time rinsing out all of the darker colored dyes. I rinsed one for about 20 minutes and still didn’t have all the dye out. I was really tired and decided it would be OK in the washer as long as I took it out right away.
But then I fell asleep.
And it sat there with all the other items I’d dyed that day and rinsed.
On top of some of them.
And it of course bled all over them. That’s the stray spots of color on a few of the diapers from the previous post. I was sooo mad at myself. But at least I didn’t do something that stupid on something I really really cared about. I mean, diapers…they’re really just to catch poop, so if they have some stray spots, no biggie.
OK, THIS is really fun. Impractical on a large scale, but FUN.
Shaving cream dying. I was pretty convinced that I had ruined the whole thing. Almost from the get-go, until I hung it up on the line to dry. But it turned out really really nice, and now that I know it works and I was doing it right, I can experiment with more interesting color choices than just plain solid yellow.
Basically, this involves mixing dye with shaving cream, drawing with this dye/cream solution on a bed of cream and water, laying the fabric on it, then keeping it moist for several hours while the dye sets. Then you have to scrape the shaving cream/dye/water solution off the fabric to reveal, finally, your design.
Because, see, it looks like a wad of crap while it’s in progress.
I decided to go ahead with my second batch of tie dye on Monday. I still don’t feel confident enough to work on the nice clothing blanks I purchased, plus I’m waiting for my soy wax flakes to arrive so I can do some batik on them, so I decided to continue experimentation with my prefold diapers. I know people dye them solid colors all the time, but I’ve never seen someone tie dye them. Now, maybe there’s a good reason for that, I don’t know.
I was afraid that the thickness of the diapers would prove to be problematic, but it wasn’t as much of a problem as I’d anticipated it being. What I hadn’t anticipated was how difficult the super absorbency of the diapers would make the process!
This is easily one of my favorites. It’s a flat-fold diaper, folded into a flag fold, held in place by chopsticks, and then dyed. I had intended to dye this one yellow and red, but it was the last one I did and I was all out of already-mixed red dye, so I just did yellow. It occurred to me afterwards that dying a cloth diaper a mottled yellow might not be the way to go, but I do like how it turned out. See the smudge of blue there? More on that later.
This first one here is a preemie size, I tied it up, then rolled it in some spilled yellow in a really random pattern, then applied the red dye. Not my favorite. The second one was Shibori style, but the diaper’s thickness really came into play here, with the dye being unable to penetrate down to the bottom layers. I will probably overdye this later.
The fourth one is accordion-folded with red and yellow dyes overlapping. Wally helped with this one and squirted red in a few places where it wasn’t supposed to go, but it’s not bad looking overall. The last one I love, except for that wayward spot of blue near the bottom. Again, more on that in the next post.
Tie Dye’s been something I’ve wanted to try for years, but never have. I usually hesitate to start new hobbies, you know? Not only do I not need more things to occupy my time, but I also hardly need more supplies to store, right? But I’ve wanted to get a screenprint kit for a while, and I always browse at Dharma Trading Company and dream of the possibilities. And then many friends and fellow bloggers have written or spoken about tie dye lately, and Dharma sells a tie dye kit, and one thing led to another and before I knew it, um, I had a bunch of clothing blanks and dyes and goodies in my cart.
My first attempt was NOT bad, and it was definitely a learning experience.
This one on the left turned out quite nicely, though I anticipated the middle being a lighter green. Too much Dark Blue, overwhelmed the yellow, to make a dark green rather than the grassy green I envisioned. The one on the right, I like. Your typical bulls-eye tie dye pattern. The colors didn’t mix together as much as I thought they would. (like, I thought it would be orange there in the second ring, not yellow and red.)
This swirl turned out way better than I anticipated. The hankie was hardly bulky and I had a hard time getting the rubber bands tight enough, so the whole thing was kind of floppy while I was dying it. Turned out nice, though. The one on the right is supposed to be Shibori, but it’s, uh, not very good. I like how it turned out, but it’s completely not what it should look like…
I love this one.
This is a little outfit. I like how it looks, but this was a good lesson for me. The green totally overwhelmed the yellow. I really wanted these to be mostly yellow, but put on too much green and blue, which, being darker, completely overwhelmed it.
So I want to combine batik and tie dye. I was having trouble getting the wax hot enough and I was doing this at home alone with Wally, so was reluctant to get out the hot plate to keep it warm at my table like I should probably do. I gave up on the wax and used Elmer’s gel glue, which I’d read about online. My mistake was, I’m pretty sure, I put the glue on the piece AFTER I soaked it in the soda ash solution. It kind of spread/ran more than I really thought it would. The octopus image is totally muddy. But the idea, in general, is not a bad one. If the lines could have been crisper, I would be happier, but it was a good first try with this. I’m not unhappy with it.
So these are all for me. Next time, I hope to be making stuff for the shop. I don’t plan to offer just tie-dyed items, I’ll be doing various things with the items to make them a bit more interesting. | <urn:uuid:fc02d7a3-f068-454c-a2e4-75d75a5fd550> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wallypop.wordpress.com/category/techniques/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971925 | 3,324 | 1.734375 | 2 |
[From H-Law, we have the following report of the announcement of the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation Fellows at the recently concluded annual meeting of the American Society for Legal History.]
In 2009, the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation made available a number of awards intended to support research and writing in American legal history. (The Foundation was established in 1930 to promote and encourage scholarship in legal history, particularly in the colonial and early national periods of the United States.) The number of awards to be made in any year, and their amounts, is at the discretion of the Foundation. In the past four years, the trustees of the Foundation have made three to five awards annually, in amounts up to $5,000. Preference will be given to scholars at the early stages of their careers.
The William Nelson Cromwell Foundation* makes available of a number of fellowship awards intended to support research and writing in American legal history. The number of awards to be made, and their amounts, is at the discretion of the Foundation. In the past four years, the trustees of the Foundation have made three to five awards, in amounts up to $5,000. Preference is given to scholars at the early stages of their careers. The Society's Committee for Research Fellowships and Awards reviews the applications and makes recommendations to the Foundation.
[The recipients for 2009 are:]
Kevin Arlyck, B.A. New College of Florida; M.A. The New School for Social Research; J.D. New York University School of Law; Ph.D. (candidate) New York University. Mr. Arlyck is completing a dissertation that analyzes the role of lawyers and federal courts in American foreign policy during the first decades after independence.
Mark Hanna, B.A. Yale University; Ph.D. Harvard University; Assistant Professor, The College of William & Mary. Mr. Hanna works on the law of piracy in colonial America.
Kelly Kennington, B.A. Tulane University; M.A. Duke University; Ph.D. Duke University; Post-Doctoral Fellow, School of Law, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Ms. Kennington is working on a study of slavery and freedom in antebellum America by examining lawsuits for freedom filed in the border city of St. Louis, the site of the Dred Scott case.
Felicity Turner, B.A., Monash University (Australia); M.A. LaTrobe University (Australia); Ph.D. (candidate), Duke University. Ms. Turner is in the midst of a dissertation on infanticide in the nineteenth-century United States as a way to probe the changing legal status of women and their relationship to the state.
Kyle Volk, B.A. Boston College; M.A. University of Chicago; Ph.D. University of Chicago; Assistant Professor, University of Montana, Missoula. Mr. Volk studies majority rule and minority rights in the decades before the American Civil War.
Hat tip: H-Law | <urn:uuid:b4b22927-bc0a-4127-9b03-65cca614963f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/cromwell-foundation-fellowship-awards.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934775 | 622 | 1.828125 | 2 |
MP supports farmers clearing snow
Local MP Andrew Bridgen has spoken in Parliament to highlight the vital role farmers are playing to keep roads clear this winter.
Andrew raised the issue of farmers being banned from using vehicles running on red diesel for clearing highways. After this intervention, a relaxation in the rules has been announced that means farmers can use non-road-worthy fuel to power their tractors when on snow clearing duty.
HM Revenue and Customs say that during extreme weather, farmers can use red diesel in their tractors to spread grit and clear snow from public roads.
The MP for North West Leicestershire says: “ I am pleased that Government has acted in this matter. This means farmers are better able to clear snow and grit to provide emergency access to schools, hospitals or communities cut off by ice and snow.
“Farmers have played a vital role in keeping our roads open and safe to drive in this tough winter, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude.” | <urn:uuid:83e60265-3153-4dfb-9861-05e06a3968ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.andrewbridgen.com/content/mp-supports-farmers-clearing-snow | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97034 | 203 | 1.789063 | 2 |
WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has approved an Air Force plan to begin lifting flight restrictions on the F-22 stealth fighter jet, following the ongoing correction of oxygen deficit problems that grounded and restricted the fleet for months.
Pentagon press secretary George Little said Tuesday that the Pentagon has "very high confidence that we've identified the issue" with the mysterious oxygen depletion problem that caused some F-22 pilots to feel dizzy and experience other symptoms of hypoxia. The Air Force now believes that a key problem was a valve in the pilots' pressure vest that caused it to inflate and remain inflated, triggering breathing problems.
In mid-May, Panetta ordered that F-22 flights remain "within proximity of potential landing locations" so pilots could land quickly if they experienced a lack of oxygen.
As of Tuesday, after a briefing from Air Forces leaders on Friday, Panetta has given the Air Force the green light to begin easing the restrictions, as changes are made to the fighter's oxygen system. The Air Force is replacing the valve and increasing the volume of air flowing to the pilots by removing a filter that was installed to check for contaminants in the system.
Little said Panetta also authorized the deployment of a squadron of F-22s to Kadena Air Base in Japan. He said that the jets will fly to the base under altitude restrictions, but after that the Air Force will begin resuming most longer-duration flights. The precautions for the Japan flight, said Little, are part of the measured approach the Air Force is taking to gradually return to normal flights.
Over time, the Air Force also plans to install a new backup emergency oxygen system, add sensors and put in an improved pilot oxygen center.
Once the changes are complete, the Air Force will seek approval to remove the flight restrictions that limit it from flying at high altitudes.
"The secretary believes that pilot safety is paramount. The gradual lifting of restrictions will enable the Air Force to resume normal F-22 operations over time, while ensuring the safety of the incredible airmen who fly this critical aircraft," said Little.
Little said he does not know the exact timeline for the return to normal operations. He noted that the flights to Japan will be at lower altitudes so that the vests would not have to be used.
Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff, told Pentagon reporters that extensive testing has concluded that the problem was the amount of oxygen the pilots were getting, not the quality of the oxygen. And he said that the Air Force will modify and test the modified equipment "under the most demanding conditions," over the coming months and then will go back to Panetta for final approval to lift the flight restrictions.
The problem came to light when pilots complained publicly about the oxygen depletion, prompting Panetta to order the flight limits.
The F-22, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is the Air Force's most-prized stealth fighter. It was built to evade radar and is capable of flying at faster-than-sound speeds without using afterburners.
Asked why the problem was not discovered during its lengthy testing and development, Schwartz acknowledged, "we missed some things, bottom line."
He said that the early testing did not reveal the shortcomings, and noted that some physiology and engineering expertise in the Air Force has diminished over the years.
So, Schwartz said the lesson is that the Air Force needs to pay better attention to the "man-machine interface" of its aircraft. | <urn:uuid:f90688cb-aa3e-4e72-bcec-e0e43604b428> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wdtn.com/dpps/military/panetta-oks-plan-to-lift-f-22-limits_4248504 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955704 | 711 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Jim Hudson likes to think back to the day a good friend used to urge him to close his hardware store on Sundays. After all, the friend pointed out, Sunday is the Lord’s Day.
But his conscience had been pricked. He searched the Scriptures — and discovered “quite a few” passages suggesting his friend was on to something.
The Bible “didn’t give any wiggle room at all,”
So, on Jan. 1, 2000, Jim Hudson took a leap of faith and made his store a six-days-a-week operation. He only asked the Lord to replace the income he would lose for his family of six children. What came after still amazes him.
“I really feel we were blessed. There was a change of
In our day, such shop-owner sacrifices are nothing short of heroic.
Sundays have become just another day in the secular culture around us. Much of this owes to the elimination of state and county “blue laws,” which long prohibited the sale of nonessential items on Sundays. Nowadays you can hardly find a place to park on any given Sunday at any given department store. In most states, you can even buy liquor on the Lord’s Day.
Jonathan Gruber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Daniel Hungerman of the University of Notre Dame recently studied the effects of repealing blue laws. They discovered that, in states that had done away with blue laws, church attendance declined, while drinking and drug use increased significantly among young adults.
And the biggest changes in behavior occurred among
those who frequently attend religious services, according to a report on the
study published in the Sept. 14, 2006, edition of the
An awful lot of Americans, it seems, now make a beeline from the church parking lot to the shopping mall — where they spend untold hours soaking in consumerist culture at its most aggressive and on its home turf.
Father Shane Tharp of
“When you repeal blue laws and don’t protect religion, you end up with self-gratification,” says the priest. “We all want to be happy, but we’re willing to exchange gratification for happiness rather than stopping and asking what fulfills us at the deepest level.”
The last time Father Tharp brought up the subject of Sunday rest in his blog, responses ran all over the spectrum.
“Most people acknowledged it was a good thing, but said it wasn’t realistic. But it’s a choice,” he says. “Even God, when he created us, said six days are for work, not seven. It’s ultimately for our good because, if we don’t stop and give thanks to God and give a portion of ourselves to him, we forget that we received all these things as gifts and we start assuming it is of our own making. That makes us God, and that’s the danger.”
How to counter the tide?
The priest suggests turning Sunday into a “family enclave” — guests invited: “We celebrated the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection at Mass, and now we are going to have cornbread and chicken and talk to each other.”
Professor Jonathan Reyes, president of the Augustine
“Of all the things that have become secular, time is the most precious,” explains Reyes. “Without the Day of the Lord, we cannot exist. We stepped into it not quite knowing what it meant. But there’s something fundamentally special about it.”
The Reyes family prepares for the Sabbath on Saturday evening, sharing a meal with special bread they make to consecrate the Day of the Lord. They light candles, sing hymns and recite the Covenant Community Lord’s Day Prayers (published by Tabor House Press), which are based on a set of Jewish prayers. They spend the rest of the evening in family fellowship and reading.
Sunday morning after Mass, Reyes makes brunch for the family and they are often joined by young adults and other guests from the college community.
The afternoon is spent in some sort of recreation, like bike riding or board games. They end the day with a light dinner and family Rosary.
“We do everything we can to guard Sunday,” says Reyes. “The goal is that I don’t work or travel on that day. We don’t go shopping if we can avoid it. It sets us free.”
“I can’t say enough about how setting the day aside has transformed our lives,” adds Reyes. “When you consecrate time to the Lord, he honors it with graces. It helps my relationship with my wife and with the children. It takes a leap of faith because the week is usually brutal, so it forces you to rest and recollect.”
Last November, Cardinal Francis Arinze reminded Catholics about the need to keep Sundays sacred.
The prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship
and the Sacraments made the comments in
“Sunday is not a day for wholesale shopping, but a day to give more attention to God, and should be emphasized as such,” he said. “We want to clarify that Sunday is not merely a part of a weekend when we can do all those things we didn’t get around to doing during the week, such as sleep longer, go to the mountains, go swimming, go to the seaside.
“All these things are good,” explained the cardinal, “but they are not the point of the Lord’s Day.”
What is? Honoring and glorifying God in prayer, quiet, adoration and contemplation.
Relaying a message sent by Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Arinze said: “Sundays remain the fundamental seedbed and the primordial nucleus of the liturgical year … a fragment of time pervaded by eternity, because its dawn saw the Risen Christ enter victoriously into eternal life.”
Sunday, for the Catholic shop-owners of the world, a good day to close the shop.
For all Catholics, it is a good day to open our doors to God. Whatever our material need, it can probably wait until Monday.
Barb Ernster writes from | <urn:uuid:4a48afbe-d2d9-434f-a43b-9fece31f859f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/on_the_seventh_day_god_rested/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965884 | 1,332 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Ohioans are poised to pick the next president — just as soon as we make up our collective mind how we’re going to vote.
Political analysts, party leaders, and pollsters agree that as the race between President Obama and Mitt Romney has tightened to a virtual tie nationwide, barely a week before Election Day, it’s increasingly likely that Ohio will contribute the decisive vote that provides the tipping point in the Electoral College.
“Ohio is central enough to the electoral math that it now seems to matter as much as the other 49 states put together,” Nate Silver, the New York Times’ election forecaster, said last week. He told Toledoans: “I am not sure whether I should be congratulating you or consoling you.”
Bob Bennett, the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, is even more emphatic. “Ohio will elect the next president,” he declares. He quickly adds: “And it’ll be Romney.”
That last part isn’t so clear. According to a poll out today, sponsored by The Blade and the state’s other largest newspapers, likely Ohio voters are split right down the middle: 49 percent for the President, 49 percent for his Republican challenger. (Our endorsement of Mr. Obama’s re-election appears on the adjacent page.)
So Ohio could well determine the outcome of this year’s election, just as Florida did in 2000 on a razor-thin vote margin. Remember those thrilling days? Butterfly ballots, hanging chads, and dimple dents? A month of lawsuits and recounts? The U.S. Supreme Court — on a 5-4 vote — essentially naming George W. Bush president over Al Gore?
If the eyes of the nation and world are going to focus on our state, we don’t want it to be because of a similar fiasco here. So the state and local officials who run Ohio’s elections need to do everything they can to make the voting machinery work flawlessly.
That means no screw-ups by the Lucas County Board of Elections, in handling provisional ballots or anything else. That means the state officials who had to be ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court to open early voting in person to all eligible Ohioans next Saturday, Sunday, and Monday don’t allow anyone to be disfranchised.
That means that the record number of absentee ballots Ohioans are likely to cast this year get counted efficiently, and the tally is announced promptly. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted doesn’t want to worry about who will play him in the made-for-HBO movie.
That means no tolerance of self-appointed “poll watchers” who try to intimidate voters. It means no reprise of Ohio’s electoral golden oldies: long lines of people still waiting to vote at poll closing time, supposedly state-of-the-art voting and vote-counting machines breaking down, poorly trained election workers directing voters to the wrong precinct.
There’s already been a hiccup: The Ottawa County election board sent an announcement to voters in three precincts that not only identified a wrong location for their polling place but also gave a date for Election Day that was two days late. Not a fatal error, but it had better not set a trend.
Some observers worry that if the Ohio vote is so close that election officials here can’t declare a winner until they count provisional ballots, the next president’s identity might remain unknown until after Thanksgiving. Mr. Bennett says that’s unlikely; he predicts that Mr. Romney will carry Ohio by a larger margin than current polls suggest, so that the outcome won’t have to turn on provisional votes.
In any event, he says he’s confident that Ohio won’t become this year’s equivalent of Florida a dozen years ago.
“Common Cause, which is not a conservative organization, ranked Ohio in the top five [states] in election laws and voting,” he told me. “And vote fraud is not a big issue in Ohio. Does it occur? Maybe a little bit. Will it make a difference? Probably not.”
Two polls released last week — one by Quinnipiac University for CBS News, the other by Time magazine — gave Mr. Obama a comfortable five-point lead over Mr. Romney in Ohio. But they were the exceptions. Most other polls place the advantage for either the President or Mr. Romney within the margin of survey error — that is, a toss-up.
The Ohio newspaper poll suggests that President Obama enjoys a sizable advantage among early voters. That’s not surprising; research from past elections shows that early-voting Ohioans tend to be female, older, poorer, less educated, and urban. That generally makes them more likely to vote Democratic. Of course, then-Gov. Ted Strickland won the early vote in 2010 — but ultimately lost to Republican challenger John Kasich.
The GOP credits its ground game in Ohio with turning out early voters in numbers that are exceeding the party’s expectations. Democrats say that the other party is bluffing and that they are doing even better in early voting than they did four years ago. Take your pick.
Five weeks ago, Mr. Obama had a five-point lead in the Ohio newspaper poll; now it’s a dead heat. The new poll suggests that Republican voters in our state are more enthusiastic about the election than Democrats, but that Democrats are more strongly committed to voting.
Ohioans prefer the President to make foreign policy but back Mr. Romney on the economy. Women tend to side with the President, men with Mr. Romney. Older and better-educated voters tend to support Mr. Romney; African-American voters overwhelmingly back Mr. Obama.
The President’s role in the auto industry bailout gives him an edge among independents, who represent about 10 percent of Ohio voters. But such voters also are slightly more likely to think that Mr. Romney won the debates.
That is, Ohio voters remain all over the map. But this year, Ohio is the map.
So make sure you vote, fellow Ohioans. And to the folks who will count the votes: Please get it right.
David Kushma is editor of The Blade. Contact him at: email@example.com | <urn:uuid:ffae3bcb-89eb-4a16-ab0f-8c9d72059cd1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.toledoblade.com/DavidKushma/2012/10/28/Count-on-Ohio-and-count-our-votes-right.print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957801 | 1,330 | 1.5 | 2 |
I’ve written before about John William Bonner (1762 – 1817), who (according to Ancestry) was my first cousin six times removed. John William was the son of Captain Michael Bonner, a mariner, and Frances Gibson. Frances was the sister of my 5 x great grandmother Elizabeth Gibson, who married Joseph Holdsworth, and both were daughters of Lieutenant John Gibson and his wife Mary Greene, daughter of goldsmith Joseph Greene. Elizabeth Holdsworth nee Gibson and her nephew John William Bonner are both buried in the Greene family vault in the churchyard of St Dunstan, Stepney.
I’ve found some new information about John William, which helps to flesh out the background of my ancestors’ lives in 18th century London. John William Bonner was born early in 1762, in the second year of the reign of George III, in Darby Street, which ran between Rosemary Lane and the churchyard of St Botolph’s, Aldgate (see map below); he was christened in the parish church on 17 January. He was the elder of the two sons of Michael and Frances Bonner: by the time John’s younger brother Michael was born six years later, the family would be living in Bird Street, Wapping.
I’ve found an entry in the Register of Duties Paid for Apprentices’ Indentures which appears to refer to John William. The entry was made on 6 November 1776 (the year of the American Declaration of Independence), when ‘our’ John would have been fourteen years old. The name of the apprentice is given as John William Bonner, while the ‘master’ is a merchant of Lime Street, London, with the curious name of ‘Other Winder’. Is this a mis-spelling of ‘Arthur’ or is something else meant by the word ‘other’ here? At any rate, the only merchant by the name of Winder that I can find in contemporary directories is Joseph Winder, who is listed in Wakefield’s Merchant and Tradesman’s General Directory for London of 1790, as a ‘stock broker financial/broking services’ between 1776 and 1800, and whose address is given as Garraway’s Coffee House in Change Alley, Cornhill (opposite the Royal Exchange). Lime Street is somewhat to the east of this, between Leadenhall Street and Fenchurch Street.
Five years later, on 22 December 1781, two months after the British surrender to George Washington, and when John William Bonner was within a month of his twentieth birthday, he married Sarah Ford at St. Mary, Whitechapel. Both John and Sarah were said to be ‘of this parish’. One of the witnesses to the marriage was Susanna Ford, and from this information I’ve been able to build up a likely family tree for Sarah. Sarah and Susannah were both daughters of John Ford and his wife Elizabeth, who lived for most of their lives in Rupert Street, which was to the east of Goodmans Fields and ran south from Aycliff Street towards the Rosemary Lane area where John William Bonner was born (see map above). I haven’t been able to discover John Ford’s occupation, but there are a number of contemporary wills for mariners of that name, and it’s possible the Fords were friends or associates of the Bonner family.
It’s possible that John and Elizabeth Ford are the couple who married at St Leonard, Shoreditch in December 1748. Their first child, Hannah, was born in 1751; Mary was born in 1755; Edward in 1757; Sarah, born in 1759, was their fourth child and Susannah, 1760, their fifth; their last child, Ann, was born in 1763. All of these children were born in Rupert Street and christened at St Mary, Whitechapel.
Susanna Ford was one of three witnesses to her sister’s marriage to John William Bonner. One of the others was George French, who may be the person of that name born in Shadwell in 1763, the son of mariner George French and his wife Ann.
But it’s the name of the first witness to the marriage that is most intriguing. There are three words, but from the digital image (see above), it’s difficult to be sure if these constitute one name or two. The second and third words are definitely ‘Jno Gibson’, but the first word could either be a prefix to this, or another name followed by a dividing line. This first word certainly begins with a capital ‘B’ and is followed by an ‘o’, but is that third letter a ‘w’ or a ‘u’, and is there a loop to the final line, making it a ‘y’ or even a ‘g’? Is this John Gibson’s title, and if so, what on earth is it?
The John Gibson who springs immediately to mind is, of course, John William Bonner’s maternal grandfather, the father of his mother Frances. We don’t have a definite record of his death, so it’s possible he was still alive in 1781. However, since he married his wife Mary in 1729, he would have been an old man, probably around seventy years old, by this time. At the time of his marriage he had the rank of Lieutenant, but by this time he might have acquired a different status. Or is this witness a completely different John Gibson? | <urn:uuid:f6c73bca-4cc5-4351-a5e0-b4beaeab6e46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mprobb.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/john-william-bonner-apprenticeship-and-marriage/?like=1&_wpnonce=9501e873bf | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981016 | 1,185 | 1.75 | 2 |
The aim of the St Vincent de Paul Society is to tackle poverty in all its forms through the provision of practical assistance to those in need.
The concept of need is broader than financial hardship, so visiting the sick, the lonely, the imprisoned form a large proportion of the Society's work.
The Society operates in small groups, called "Conferences", based on local parishes which meet regularly and their work is usually concentrated on local visiting.
However over the years, the SVP has responded to social changes, provides a range of additional services depending on the prevailing need. Today, these “Special Works” include shops, resource centres, provides accommodation to vulnerable people and various holiday schemes amongst other things. | <urn:uuid:7062f943-ea9a-4d41-84f1-fe70fb77918f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.svp.ie/about-us/what-we-do.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958756 | 145 | 1.820313 | 2 |
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1. Tough times never last, but tough people do. - Robert H Schuller 2.
Like many of us, you might feel that there's a true purpose to your life but you haven't yet found or discovered it, especially when trapped within a life that's unfulfilling or feels out of synch with your true purpose for being. Teachings of Eastern mystics say each of us have a particular purpose in life, though we might not know how to recognize it. Interestingly, some new research suggests ways to discover and pursue your true purpose. Moreover, having a purpose in life is found to help you protect yourself from mental decline -- not a bad byproduct. Some are awakened to it from an event or moment of illumination that opens the way.
by Lori Deschene “I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.” ~Joseph Campbell As I write this, I am two hours away from my first weekly acting class in Los Angeles. I’ve been here for almost two years now, and though I loved Community Theater as a kid, I never so much as researched acting classes until a couple weeks back. I frequently said I wanted to do it, along with painting classes, which I’m starting next week, but I always made excuses not to start either.
This article was featured in Times Magazine, 5 November . There's a shorter version in the Ideas Bank section on the current Wired magazine .
post written by: Marc Email Don’t try to be perfect. Just be an excellent example of being human.
The day has come, one of my oldest projects Enlightr.com has finally come to an end after 5 years. As a recap for those who aren’t sure what Enlightr was, as a short description, Enlightr.com was a service which takes self improvement blogs and then conveniently summarises them for you. The reason I’ve decided to shut it down is because I’ve been neglectful for over 2 years. The site security has been breached 4 times since then which requires extensive rewriting, and upgrades. And on top of that, due to my neglect, incoming traffic has reduced 99% from its 2010 glory year.
photo: *clairity* We’re all capable of the occasional social blunder. Of course, some of us seem more prone to it than others, but even the savviest people aren’t impervious to such gaffes.
While most exercise is focused on strengthening and improving your physical body and muscles, there is very little focus on keeping your brain sharp and healthy. This is interesting because the brain is obviously the most important organ in your body, not only controlling the muscles people spend hours working to build up, but also your memory, thought process, attitude, etc. Don’t get me wrong, abs are great, but the brain needs to be supplemented too.
It is been said that it takes about 30 days to form a habit. The ones that are good for you require cultivation and determination.
As a lanky, gangly human being with rather large hands and feet — I’m the physical epitome of awkward. In addition, I’m often tentative, unsure of myself, indecisive and sporadically shy. This results in the occasional awkward moment when I’m in a social environment.
Success is each to his or her own, but let’s call it like we see it: when you survey the landscape of your creative world, your industry, your career or hobby–whatever field you’re in– there are several fundamentals to achieving success, regardless of the measure. There are commonalities that are undeniable. So here’s a list of thirteen such things that you should be doing right now – let’s call it your hit list:
Photo by Casey David By Gail Brenner “The amount of happiness that you have depends on the amount of freedom you have in your heart.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – Ben Franklin, famously “Put no trust in the benefits to accrue from early rising, as set forth by the infatuated Franklin …” – Mark Twain
post written by: Marc Email Be true to your values. Be honest.
Are you ready to clean up your life? The Clean Sweep Program is a checklist of 100 items which, when completed, give one complete personal freedom. These 100 items are grouped in 4 areas of life with 25 in each group: Physical Environment, Well-being, Money and Relationships. | <urn:uuid:e58ef665-646f-4e59-af55-15575118feb5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pearltrees.com/jamespigott/self-improvement/id5276083 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959677 | 987 | 1.523438 | 2 |
We went on the Legal Studies walk this AM and our guide did a fine job in describing the workings of the Inns of the Court. The system of solicitors, barristers, and Queen's Councilors (senior barristers) seems a bit complicated but I understand better now after the tour. We actually saw many wonderful old buildings, one which was actually built in 1490 and it is still used daily.
The afternoon was spent at Ole Baily which is also known as Newgate prison. The building is actually a courthouse and prison with extensive history and most of the people tried there now are charged with murder. Our tour guide was a Sergeant with the City of London police department and he was great. He shared a great deal of history about London and the development of the courts. We toured from the depths of the old dungeons all the way to the roof top of Ole Baily; by far, it was the best tour I have been on sense in London. The courthouse was especially beautiful on the main floors and sitting in the courtroom was a little eerie as I considered how many people in the past had been tried in those chambers and then taken out to be hung until dead. | <urn:uuid:3a8bbef2-bc39-4aac-997c-b29cddcfa0c9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bigbucketsofbangersandmash.blogspot.com/2011/05/lincoln-inn-and-ole-baily.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987439 | 242 | 1.664063 | 2 |
A homoerotic vision of Christ’s Passion has been created by German photographer Robert Recker.
“Judas Kiss,” pictured above, shows the moment of betrayal when Judas uses a kiss to identify Jesus to the soldiers who will arrest him. In Recker’s version, Jesus looks stunned, like a deer caught in the headlights, as a dark-skinned Judas kisses his cheek.
Recker’s gorgeous, transcendent “Passion of Christ” series includes the Last Supper, Jesus washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus praying while his disciples sleep around him, Judas throwing away the coins silver coins he received for betraying Jesus, and Jesus carrying his cross.
Based in Berlin, Recker contributes regularly to the European press and media world with portraits, fashion, editorial and fine arts photography. The Passion photos originally appeared in the French gay magazine PREF’s May/June 2007 issue.
To see Recker’s whole “Passion of Christ” series, go to www.robert-recker.de, click on “mode,” and then click on “passion.”
Update in April 2011: For another artist's view of the subject, click here to see "The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision," a series of 24 paintings by Douglas Blanchard. | <urn:uuid:3065b46e-3544-4f16-aa0a-dd6f9adc16d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jesusinlove.blogspot.co.uk/2009_03_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948684 | 288 | 1.71875 | 2 |
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