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This will be no less than heresy to some of my politically progressive friends who consider them new-era heroes but after watching the protests yesterday, I am now completely convinced the Occupy Movement is an utter failure.
The first responsibility of any political candidate or movement is self-definition, providing answers to the following questions: (1) Who am I? (2) Why am I here? (3) What am I going to do or advocate? (4) By what means?
Examples of movements that did this well? Anti-Apartheid in South Africa, independence in India, Moratorium to end the Vietnam War here in the U.S.
The Occupy movement? Hates corporate capitalism and greed. (Hates greed. Really? How do you feel about sloth? Lust?) Wants to do something or other in pursuit of undefined social and economic “justice.” Camps out in city parks. Performs street theater and drum circles. Wastes precious media time engaging in pointless and fruitless arguments about police tactics, which is not the point of the movement. At least, I don’t think it is.
Occupy’s sole concrete result has been reflected in recent reports that some Wall Street firms are working to refurbish their public images. More work for PR firms; great accomplishment.
That some still consider the people of the Occupy movement heroes of the working class puzzles me.
Want to see what a real hero of the working class looks like? This is Jack Balestreri (below), the last living person who worked on building the Golden Gate Bridge, the construction of which cost 11 lives. Balestreri passed away last week at the age of 95. The Occupy movement had plans to shut the bridge down yesterday, in protest of something or other, but decided against it at the specific request of the Bridge’s union workers, preserving, for the moment, the work and sacrifice of real working people, like Jack Balestreri. | <urn:uuid:df950a21-ec90-49d9-9969-1b76ee5274d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sanfranciscoba.wordpress.com/tag/occupy-movement/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936197 | 408 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Country’s needs trump
political party affiliation
To the Editor:
Here we go again. Can it be true that FEMA is running out of funds necessary to take care of the victims of Irene? I heard this morning that there is “probably” enough money to meet Irene’s needs, but that means “suspending” the help still desperately needed to complete work in New Orleans (remember Katrina? Recovery still not finished after six years), rebuilding in Joplin and other states’ spring tornado damage.
How can we be out of money for our country’s natural disasters, yet always seem to have plenty of money for some international disaster? Disasters in other parts of the world are also devastating, but how about we take care of our country first? Thirty-one times FEMA has been granted additional needed funding. If the Republican Party holds up funding for FEMA’s needs if “equal” cuts are not found, perhaps the Republican Party should look at its own salaries, the wars it started and cutting the obscene tax subsidies to big oil, etc.
It all really comes down to taking care of our own. Shouldn’t our country’s needs be the primary focus on the minds of Americans, regardless of political party affiliation?
Maffei has record of support for women
To the Editor:
Ninety-one years ago, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was enacted, after women and the men who respected them successfully fought to win women the right to vote.
Since 1920, progress has been made toward the goal of women having opportunities and rights commensurate with men’s. Today, women lead large corporations, sit on the Supreme Court and shape foreign policy for our nation. Despite these notable accomplishments, in general, women earn only 78 cents for every dollar a man makes in America, and their right to birth control is under attack by, among others, the current representative of New York’s 25 Congressional District, the barely-elected, right-wing extremist, Ann Marie Buerkle.
As if that slap to her gender wasn’t enough, Buerkle has voted to continue corporate subsidies for big oil companies, while at the same time voting to take away money from WIC, a USDA program that provides supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutrition education for low-income pregnant or postpartum women with infants and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk.
Dan Maffei has the right priorities for our congressional district. His track record demonstrates support of issues important to women, such as children’s health, nutrition, and education, and women’s rights to self-determination. He promotes women’s ability to support themselves with such legislation as the Paycheck Fairness Act.
After experiencing Buerkle’s radical anti-woman agenda, thinking women will cast their ballots for the congressional candidate who will vote for them: Dan Maffei.
Voters must challenge
the Republican Party
To the Editor:
Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle and those members of the tea party wing of the Republican Party who voted against raising the national debt ceiling seem to have created their own set of facts to justify their actions. Defending her vote, Buerkle said: the bill was rushed; she did not have enough information; it would not protect the troops.
Rushed? Was it a secret that the Aug. 2 deadline to raise the debt ceiling was upon us? Not enough information? It is hard to believe that a member of Congress cannot retrieve the information needed to make a decision. Protect our troops? Buerkle seems to have a penchant for wrapping herself in the flag, and her excuse was irrelevant to the matter at hand.
On Aug. 24, former congressman Dan Maffei announced that he would challenge Buerkle in 2012. While Buerkle will do her best to paint Maffei as a “liberal spendthrift,” his record shows him to be a “moderate” and, most of all, one who will work
to heal the divisive atmosphere in Washington.
I believe that if re-elected, Buerkle will support legislation that will end Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and other social programs as we know them. Who knows what “pledge” she will sign next?
It is time to end the rancorous partisanship in Washington. I believe that Maffei will bring sanity and a spirit of bipartisanship and cooperation back to Washington. It is clearly time for the majority of the voters of the 25th Congressional District to send a message to the Republican Party.
will help community
To the Editor:
I wanted to commend the village of Camillus residents for taking the issue of government modernization to the voters. I would especially like to recognize the village mayor and board of trustees for looking at the issue from a logical point of view instead of with the emotion of protecting the status quo. As a resident in the town of Camillus and a local Realtor who is a member of the Government Modernization Task Force with CenterState Chamber of Commerce, the village’s decision to take up this issue shows vision.
This will make the village a more popular place to buy a home. A house assessed at $100,000 will see a minimum $450 reduction in taxes when you take into account the Citizens Empowerment Tax Credit and the proposed increases in the village tax rate. This, combined with the fact that the citizens will see no reduction in services, allows the homeowners in the village to maintain the same great services while also reducing their taxes.
The village of Camillus has roughly 50 percent rental property, due in large part to the tax burden created by multiple layers of government. This action will provide incentives for homeownership in the village. Home ownership is essential to building and maintaining the character of a place like Camillus. I support this action by the village and encourage village leaders to move forward with modernizing their local government.
George A. Mango | <urn:uuid:f523ed86-7400-405a-94d0-968aa69d0bfb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2011/09/thursdays_letters_1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959506 | 1,250 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Guys, last year one of my cousin really suffered from neck pain. we consult to many doctors but all in vain, then some body suggests us to Singapore Medical Clinic. They were specialists in Arthritis, Knee Pain, Neck Pain, Heel Pain, and Shoulder pain.
Absolutely no way! and it is totally unecessary. If you live in Sydney there are many good Neurosurgeons who could look at your cousins neck problem. You need to tick all the boxes first, GP, investigations, conservative managment, no good then request a referral to specialist. If money an issue then attend a neurosurgical outpatient clinic.
I would like to know you that most exercises for neck pain will make the problem worse. If you are suffering neck pain, you need to be aware of what not to do, as much as what you need to do.
Exercises for neck pain need to relax and balance the muscles effectively. The muscle you will work on is not the important ingredient. When you stretch and how you stretch is most important. Timing is everything, fail to get this right and the muscles will tighten again, neck pain will return.
You have whiplash and should see a doctor a chiropractor is very good under these conditions, although you can't afford a doctor see an attorney they will send you to one, if you have insurance and med pay is on your policy use it and avoid attorney you can settle this matter without one
Muscle strain or tension often causes neck pain. The problem is usually overuse, such as from sitting at a computer for too long. Sometimes you can strain your neck muscles from sleeping in an awkward position or overdoing it during exercise. Falls or accidents, including car accidents, are another common cause of neck pain. A soft tissue injury to the neck, is also called neck sprain or strain.
For those of you who are suffering from neck pain, keeping optimal posture or as close to it as possible is vital to reduce stress on your neck. Generally it is recommended to see a physiotherapist for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. In the mean time, I've included a few links below which you may find useful:
2 of the most common causes of neck pain:
Facet Joint Sprain
Hope that helps,
Physiotherapists are experts in the treatment of neck pain and headaches. It is one of the most common problems we treat and is usually as a result of poor posture , akward working positions or a whiplash injury following a motor vehicle accident. Check out: http://www.ffphysiotherapyryde.com.a.../head_neck.htm for further details on causes of neck pain, how physiotherapy can help and what treatment will usually involve. | <urn:uuid:49a43350-7fd3-477b-bc8c-131d0d3c5aa2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.injuryupdate.com.au/forum/showthread.php?9886-Neck-Injury-and-Pain&p=54538&viewfull=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960356 | 568 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The conference will feature topics ranging from teen pregnancy, helping children with special needs, mental illness, bullying, dating violence, social media and Internet safety, helping kids learn about money, and talking to children about substance abuse, Those attending will also learn more about how to save money on energy, parenting styles, empowering children, developing literacy skills, Common Core State Standards, and adult education. The conference will offer workshops presented in Spanish focusing on behavior, dealing with trans-cultural language, teaching your child the value of money and the program “STOP and See Your Future." All workshops will be offered in 45 minute blocks throughout the event. More than 26 workshops have been planned for the conference.
The conference's roots are anchored in the organizing team’s shared vision of improving the lives of children and families of the Rome/Floyd community. “We started with the goal of building a partnership between parents, schools and community agencies that would connect these vital resources for the benefit of children,” stated Tina Black, parent involvement specialist for Floyd County Schools. "If we face these issues as a community, we will uncover solutions as a community."
It is very important for you to register, if you plan to attend. Your registration will help organizers know the number of lunches to provide. You may register on–line by visiting the Floyd County Schools website at www.floydboe.net. “Click” on “Vision and Voice Conference” listed under “Quick Links”. A listing of all presenters along with a brief description of the workshops can also be found on the website. To register by phone, contact Tina Black at the Floyd County Board of Education office at 706-234-1031. The first “Vision and Voice Family Engagement Conference” has been generously supported by: Rome ReSale, Amerigroup Scholastic, Rome Rotary Club and Seven Hills Rotary Club.
Click here to read additional press releases on RN-T.com. | <urn:uuid:507baa3f-a2d7-4c6d-be43-b31294d48ef9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rn-t.com/bookmark/21546880 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940667 | 412 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Apiculture center will help Logar farmers to increase their incomes
26.10.2011 / 11:00
A new center for Logar beekeepers is under construction in the provincial capital of Pol-e Alam.
The project is coordinated by the provincial Department of Agriculture and Livestock and funded by the Czech PRT.
The main goal of the project is to support Logar beekeepers, whose number is constantly growing. "Currently there is one cooperative in the province, which is focused on apiculture. It consists of some 400 people who are full-time beekeepers. According to our information, the project will also impact their families, this means some 2800 persons," said Pavel Burian, agriculture adviser from the civilian PRT.
The new building will serve for the breeding and reproduction of bees as well as for quality control of honey and wax. It will include a consultancy center, training rooms and a workshop for beekeeping equipment repairs. Thanks to the project the cooperative will create 20 new jobs for people from the town.
The facility will be unique in the province, especially thanks to the technologies used. "There is nothing of this kind in Logar, neither in the neighbouring provinces, farmers have no place to produce quality honey and wax," Pavel Burian said. For example, the Logar beekeeping cooperative is based in a private house, which serves for production, packing and logistics.
"The new center will help the farmers to increase their income, higher quality products will be marketable at better prices," Burian commented. The quality control will also prevent low quality and unhygienic products from reaching the market.
Apiculture is a traditional element in Afghan agriculture, but years of war disrupted its development. The Czech PRT has already supported some 100 beekeepers by providing trainings and supply of basic equipment. Beekeeping will be a subject taught at the new agriculture high school, which has been currently under construction with the support of the Czech PRT.
Filip Moravec, civilian PRT Logar | <urn:uuid:e75677aa-d8bc-4881-86e2-fcadba00603d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mzv.cz/jnp/en/issues_and_press/events_and_issues/press_releases/apiculture_center_will_help_logar$2548.html?action=setMonth&year=2012&month=12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960129 | 416 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Friday, 08 December 2006 00:00
Congress passed legislation Friday that will expand drilling for oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico. Republican Florida Senator Mel Martinez says he believes Florida beaches will be properly protected.
Eight-point-three million acres of Eastern Gulf will be opened up for new drilling leases. But Florida will have a 125 mile no-drilling zone off the state’s west coast. Senator Martinez helped craft protections for Florida in the bill. He says more drilling was inevitable.
"What we can do with this bill is provide a zone of protection so that that activity occurs in what we believe provides Florida the most buffer of any."
The House passed the Senate bill by slipping it into a larger tax extension bill that modified some regulations of Medicare. Fort Myers Republican Connie Mack, who has opposed drilling in the past, voted for the overall package. Supporters hope the legislation will increase domestic supplies of fuel and eventually ease prices for consumers.
Friday, 28 July 2006 01:00
The Senate is debating a bill that would open up more than eight million acres of the Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas drilling. Republican Florida Senator Mel Martinez says Florida will be protected and supports the bill. But Florida Democrat Bill Nelson is concerned the U-S House could change the legislation. From Capitol Hill, Terry Gildea reports.
Friday, 30 June 2006 01:00
Last night (Thursday), the U-S House of Representatives passed a bill that would lift a federal ban on off-shore drilling. Unable to come to a consensus on whether to support or reject the bill, the Florida delegation splintered its vote. But Fort Myers Republican Connie Mack says the bill does not give Florida the protection it needs. From Capitol Hill, Terry Gildea (gil DAY) reports.
Friday, 05 May 2006 01:00
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee met yesterday to decide whether Dirk Kempthorne should be confirmed as the next Secretary of the Interior. President Bush chose the Republican Idaho Governor to succeed outgoing secretary Gale Norton. But Florida’s Senators are concerned Kempthorne will move ahead with a plan that could open up the eastern gulf to off-shore drilling. From Capitol Hill, Terry Gildea reports.
Friday, 17 February 2006 00:00
The Senate Energy Committee is considering legislation that would open up millions of acres in the Gulf of Mexico to drilling for oil and natural gas. Republican Florida Senator Mel Martinez was at a hearing Thursday offering a solution to protect Florida’s coastline. From Capitol Hill, Terry Gildea reports.
Thursday, 03 November 2005 00:00
Republican Congressman Connie Mack and Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz joined forces Wednesday. They met with members of the House Resources Committee to debate the pros and cons of opening up the Eastern Gulf to natural gas drilling. From Capitol Hill, Terry Gildea (gil DAY) has more.
Thursday, 20 October 2005 01:00
As Hurricane moves closer to the state’s coast, Florida Republican Governor Jeb Bush testified before a Homeland Security Committee on Capitol Hill Wednesday. He responded to questions about how the military should work with state and local governments in responding to disasters. From ouR Capitol Hill Bureau, Terry Gildea reports.
Monday, 10 October 2005 01:00
Friday, 30 September 2005 01:00
With natural gas prices at record highs, pressure is mounting to increase drilling in the Eastern Gulf. Part of a new bill would open up the entire outer continental shelf to natural gas companies almost immediately, but Fort Myers Republican Congressman Connie Mack says he won’t let that happen. From our Capitol Hill Bureau, Terry Gildea reports.
Thursday, 15 September 2005 01:00 | <urn:uuid:9cba622a-6c74-4100-b314-b71a9649afed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wgcu.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=user&id=202 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932078 | 761 | 1.773438 | 2 |
View Full Version : Fish Oil - What does it do?
03-17-2005, 06:45 PM
I've read a couple of posts where people were asking about underrated supplements and in most of them someone replied with fish oil and I was just wondering what it does in terms of health and bodybuilding.
03-18-2005, 02:08 PM
Fish oil is a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are the "good fats" that people talk about which can improve circulation, improve the bodies ability to absorb certain vitamins and are great for your heart.
03-22-2005, 09:21 AM
This is a great supplement because of the many benefits that it provides. Although it is no wonder drug, it does what it says it can do. Fatty acids serve a number of benefits which include: Improved Cardiovascular health, healther skin and hair, Increased ability to absorb nutrients, increased ability to utilize fat as an energy source. When the body is recieving the proper fats it needs to function, it no longer produces fat internally. Thus intern your body will brun more fat, knowing that it is getting a proper supply of the correct fatty acids it needs to function.
03-22-2005, 11:57 PM
whats the best brand of fish oil? also does it matter if its the liquid or the softgel kind?
04-02-2005, 03:20 PM
"whats the best brand of fish oil? also does it matter if its the liquid or the softgel kind?"
Eww. What do you do with the liquid kind? Drink it with a teaspoon? Ewww.
Softgels are available as regular, double strength, or deoderized, from a variety of manufacturers. IMO its not important which brand you get. The double strength ones do have the advantage that you get twice as much Omega-3s for the same amount of oil consumed. Predictably, they are more expensive, but not quite twice as much so.
04-02-2005, 03:32 PM
Everyone else summed it up nice....... it also helps out joints from what i read... | <urn:uuid:9ddc3dcc-2003-4ff4-9296-6b69b892f938> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forum.bodybuilding.com/archive/index.php/t-436142.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953152 | 445 | 1.570313 | 2 |
We often recommend to set lighttpd in front of apache to handle http requests (more about http://www.mysqlperformanceblog.com/2006/05/21/speedup-your-lamp-stack-with-lighttpd/ ) , redirect dynamic requests to apache and handle static files by itself. I just gathered step-by-step instruction how to do that in 10 minutes, as it may be not so obvious.
Recently I had a case with a web server farm where a random node went down every few minutes. I don’t mean any of them rebooted except once or twice, but rather they were slowing down so much that practically stopped serving any requests and were being pulled out from the LVS cluster. The traffic [...]
This week I helped dealing with performance problems (part MySQL related and part related to LAMP in general) of system which does quite a bit of content delivery, serving file downloads and images – something a lot of web sites need to do these days. There were quite a bit of mistakes in design for [...]
I already wrote kind of about same topic a while ago and now interesting real life case makes me to write again Most Web applications we’re working with have single tier web architecture, meaning there is just single set of apache servers server requests and nothing else – no dedicated server for static content, no [...]
As you probably know PHP “mysql” extension supported persistent connections but they were disabled in new “mysqli” extension, which is probably one of the reasons some people delay migration to this extension. The reason behind using persistent connections is of course reducing number of connects which are rather expensive, even though they are much faster [...]
Apache Web server could frequently be bottleneck for your LAMP stack, or you might be wasting resources on your web servers. The problem with Apache server comes from “client per process” architecture which you have to stick to at least for dynamic content served by PHP or ModPerl. With “client per process” you end up [...] | <urn:uuid:ecc897c1-d844-4a5e-9816-9c1d744156dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mysqlperformanceblog.com/search/lighttpd%2Bhandle%2Brequest/ | 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 | 0.963919 | 426 | 1.59375 | 2 |
This is my first post and I am not a beekeeper yet but am taking the 8 week class my county offers this winter and hope to start in 2013 :-)
Over the summer I bought an old Langstroth located here:
I think I can still use it with minimal repairs.
I have a few questions. I understand how the deep brooding supers work. However the small honey suppers have a different kind of frame, like a three sided upside down frame. Or do I need new frames for those small supers?.
Also the telescoping cover has a screen inside that i will probably replace. Is this for pests?
I will need to make an inner cover but is there a way to make a queen excluder? I was thinking maybe a frame with hardware cloth or something.
I was also thinking about splitting this Langstroh up into possible two hives and make another telescoping cover and two medium supers to put on top of one each of the large brooding supers.
Your opinions and suggestions would be greatly appreciated and excuse me if I am confused with the terminology. | <urn:uuid:e45497f6-c761-40ce-9c36-ca771e81340a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?275537-Just-bought-an-old-langstroth-your-opinion-appreciated&p=881319 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960945 | 224 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Sometimes it is easier to start on a little project and then work your way around the room to get to the monster project. Or, maybe slowly work on bits and pieces of that monster project over time, breaking everything down into more manageable chunks. Manageable chunks are good. Overwhelmed homeowners are not.
The easiest way to do this is to take a small job and plan it to perfection. And, then actual implement it. Here are a few examples.
- Spice cabinet or drawer. First of all, spices do not last that long, less than a year. If you can’t remember when you actually bought it or the last time you used it, toss it. Another test is the smell. If you can’t smell it, toss it. Clean out the drawer, especially the spilled vanilla. Try and group like spices together. Sweet ones, ones you use more frequently than others. Alphabetize it, if you want. Aaah! Doesn’t that feel better. Baby steps. You spent all of 10 minutes getting that drawer or cupboard to shine. Good job.
- Another easy project should be your craft area. Obviously, this will be fun for you but separate out each “type” of craft paraphernalia and group together. All the pens in one spot, the markers in another and the scissors last. You could even get everything out that you need for your next project. In fact, if your project is scrapbooking, you need to get to work. The less time you wait to crop the better, Those stacks of pictures are only adding to your clutter and disorganization.
- Those dog gone computer cords are always tangled and exposed to little hands. Head over to your favorite organizational store and get the right gear to tie up all those loose ends. You can separate cords behind the desk as well as label them for easy identification later on. You can also run a protective cover up or down the wall. You can even paint it to match your wall color, now that’s impressive.
- Another great place to start small on your organizational journey is to pack up your child’s out of season clothes. Going through the drawers can bring back a lot of memories but take this opportunity to learn something about yourself. How fast can you sort, purge and pack? How fast can you get the next tub of saved clothes and sort for the wash and the new drawer space? Actually, pulling out all the items that our older children wore is always fun. You can pack away what is too small or out of season, or you can donate it to a friend or a shelter. They always appreciate the extra effort.
|Learn more about 30 Days to an Organized Home
Other Ebooks by Moms In A Blog
30 Days to Stress Free Holidays
Creating Cherished Christmas Memories
Fun, Free Family Activities | <urn:uuid:ea4f1b85-61a1-4528-8512-d27431615803> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eagerlearner.com/home-organization/organizing-the-little-things/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939242 | 592 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Sofia Princess Hotel is a 4 star hotel. The Facility is 0.2 km from Sofia city center.By staying at Sofia Princess Hotel, you will be close to many attraction and landmarks such as Central Bath House ...
After you make your Bulgaria hotel reservations, it is best for you to know better about where you are going. So, here are the facts about Bulgaria. Bulgaria is situated in Southeastern Europe in the Balkans. It shares borders with Romania to the north, with Serbia and Macedonia to the west, with Greece and Turkey to the south and with the Black Sea to the east. The country has a dynamic climate type. It changes according to the districts. The interior area has a continental climate with cold winters and hot summers. The coastline has a temperate climate with mild autumns and springs, cool winters and breezy summers.
Today’s Bulgaria was a cradle of the earliest civilizations in Europe. The towns of the country were influenced by mainly Greek culture. These towns and cities were established between 6th-2nd century BC in Thrace, Misia. By the 1st century AD, all these lands became a part of the Roman Empire. After the Roman Empire was scattered, the Bulgarian lands came under the control of the East Roman Empire, called Byzantium.
Events, Landmarks, Activities
There are many Bulgaria city hotels in its most popular districts, offering you an unforgettable vacation. There are also some other things which will amaze you here. You should start your journey with visiting the Aladzha monastery near Varna. It is an old cave monastery built within chalk cliffs surrounded by a forest. Hiking is a very popular activity in Bulgaria. You can go hiking for a day or plan a route for a longer period. The best time for hiking in the highest parts of the mountains is in summer. Explore more of the country by choosing cheap hotels in Bulgaria. Find the right Bulgaria hotels for you at otel.com as it offers the best selection reservations and lowest rates in cheap hotels.
If you search for discount hotels in Bulgaria, you search for the best way to travel here. Because of its being a small country, domestic flights are not frequent. So, bus is the fastest way of transportation in the country. Buses go from and to every bigger city; but, most of the bus station agents or the drivers know only Bulgarian. Train is another cheap way of travel, but it is slower of course. Trains are most useful when traveling along the two major train routes: Sofia - Varna and Sofia - Bourgas. | <urn:uuid:19efd941-443f-49fc-8abf-c9170b32522e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.otel.com/hotels/bulgaria.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957193 | 529 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Friday, August 6 - 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 8 - 2:30 pm
Wednesday, August 11 - 7:30 pm
Friday, August 13 - 7:30 pm
Perhaps the most popular musical of the 1950s, My Fair Lady came into being only after Hungarian film producer Gabriel Pascal devoted the last two years of his life to finding writers who would adapt George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play Pygmalion into a musical. Rejected by Rodgers and Hammerstein and Noël Coward, Pascal finally turned to the young duo of Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner. The musical opened on Broadway in March 1956 with Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews in the lead roles and ran 2,717 performances, at that time the longest run in Broadway history.
While monumental and certainly definitive, the Harrison My Fair Lady -- especially as captured in the 1964 film version -- has had an unfortunate stultifying effect on many subsequent productions of this great work. A major artistic goal of director Richard Jessup is to interpret the musical anew without losing any of its timeless qualities. With OFAM favorites William Mark Hulings and Shirley Andress in the lead roles, we have no doubt he will succeed magnificently! | <urn:uuid:f251b854-6c5f-44f5-9e3a-fa3b712f03f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ofam.org/divP/festival.aspx?series=652&event=660 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957123 | 249 | 1.609375 | 2 |
India's Shiv Sena party began handing out the knives so women could better defend themselves after a gang rape on a New Delhi bus caused the death of a woman.
Media reports are saying that an Indian political group is distributing knives to women in Mumbai after a gang rape on a Delhi bus resulted in the death of a young woman in December.
The group, Shiv Sena, is a Hindu nationalist party based out of Mumbai. According to Agence France-Presse, the party intends to distribute 21,000 knives, which it claims will be for protection. The party also handed out small bags of chilli powder which they wanted women to throw into their attacker's eye.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Ajay Chowdhary was quoted in media reports as saying, "The government has failed to provide security to women, so we are distributing these knives to help them to defend themselves."
Chowdhary was also quoted as telling supporters, "The way you cut vegetables, cut the hand of the person who touches you the same way." He said women should keep the three-inch blades in their purses.
Shiv Sena handed out Chinese retractable knives to women at a function in Mumbai Wednesday on the birth anniversary of the group's late leader, Bal Thackeray, who died in November, the Indian news magazine Outlook reported.
"Thackeray used to say women should prefer a Rampuri (a switchblade-type knife) in their purse rather than a lipstick," Outlook quoted Chowdhary as saying. Currently only Shiv Sena's south Mumbai wing is distributing the knives, but other wings might follow.
Mumbai police are currently investigating the knives and considering legal action.
"This is a symbolic gesture," said Shiv Sena spokesperson Rahul Narvekar, adding that a knife that is shorter than six inches in length does not fit the definition of a weapon. "It's only to pass a signal to eve-teasers, anti-social elements and perpetrators of crime against women that women are empowered and they can take care of themselves," Narvekar said. In India, the term "eve-teasing" is a euphemism for public sexual harassment or molestation of women. Eve-teasing is a rampant problem in India.
Chowdhary said that a team of nine advocates would protect women from any potential court cases that might arise from using the knives.
A 23-year-old physiotherapy student was beaten and raped on a moving bus on Dec. 16 in New Delhi before being thrown bleeding on an expressway. The attack caused public outrage at the failure of the police and government to protect women in a country where one rape is reported on an average every 20 minutes. More women have started taking up self defense classes and are carrying pepper spray to protect themselves from such attacks.
Information from Reuters is included in this report.
MSN News on Facebook and Twitter | <urn:uuid:ec7c8a16-548a-479e-8ca1-5830065951d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.msn.com/world/indian-political-party-gives-knives-to-women-for-protection | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967741 | 593 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Before opening up The Melting Pot, Cogen was a stay-at-home mother of three, until she discovered that her passion for “batik,” the hand-dyed clothing, could be transformed into a business venture. The Melting Pot will be celebrating it's 40th anniversary on Saturday, Oct. 20, and Sunday, Oct. 21, with a two-day event bringing the community together.
The celebration event will feature demonstrations, workshops and entertainment.
The specialty store, which is located at 492 Atlantic Avenue, is run by Cogen and her daughter Tammy Johnson, who joined her mother in the business in 1990. Both women hand make the batik-style t-shirts that are sold in the store.
Over the past 40 years, clothes from the shop have been features on “The Cosby Show,” “The Door in the Floor,” and “Rachel at the Weeding.”
Now as the store celebrates its ruby anniversary, Johnson hopes to see it through the next 40 years. Cogen handed the reins over to her daughter in 2006, but she continues to work alongside Johnson describing herself as a “semi-retired volunteer.”
Both women take pride in the fact that all of the products produced at The Melting Pot are made using all-natural fibers. The graphics that have been features on the t-shirts over the years include renderings of dragons, hearts, flowers, birds, pandas and other animals, with around 70 basic patterns in rotation.
“The Dragon t-shirt was practically a uniform for St. Ann's School in the 1970s,” Cogen said. “Parents liked it for the quality of the fabric and kids were drawn to it for the bright colors and the image of a happy, smiling one-fanged creature whose tail continues to the back of the shirt.”
But The Melting Pot isn't limited to shirts, with a line of pillows, totes, scarves, baby items and other accessories for children and adults. “Perhaps the most fun we had was when we designed men's underwear,” Cogen said.
During the anniversary event, the store will give workshops on Oil Pastel Resistant Watercolor drawing from 2 to 4 p.m., and everyone will be invited to partake in the 40 percent-off sale. There will be face painting for children and cookies will be distributed during the events.
And expect to see Cogen around the shop whenever she can make it.
“I'd feel guilty just sitting at home,” she said. | <urn:uuid:8b4d2525-3015-4fb2-9ccd-534aea4c1a19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.queensledger.com/view/full_story/20431832/article-Local-clothing-store-celebrating-40-years | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972079 | 543 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Pulmozyme should not be used in patients who are allergic to any of its ingredients. Pulmozyme should be used in conjunction with standard therapies for CF.
When starting Pulmozyme therapy, patients may experience change in or loss of voice, discomfort in the throat, chest pain, red watery eyes, rash, dizziness, fever, or runny nose. These side effects are usually mild and short-lived.
There is a limited amount of information available concerning the usage of Pulmozyme in patients who are younger than 5 years. The decision to use Pulmozyme in these patients is made after considering the potential for a benefit in lung function or in decreasing the risk of RTEs.
Important Safety Considerations
The safety of Pulmozyme given by daily inhalation for 2 weeks has been studied using 98 CF patients with 65 of them aged 3 months to <5 years (younger group) and 33 aged 5 years to ≤10 years (older group). The PARI BABY™ reusable nebulizer (which uses a face mask instead of a mouthpiece) was used in patients who were unable to show that they could breathe in or out using their mouth throughout the entire treatment period. There were more reports of cough, moderate to severe cough, runny nose, and rash in the younger group of patients. Other reported events tended to be of mild to moderate severity. The kind of side effects reported was similar to that of Pulmozyme when used in the larger trials that studied older patients.
For further information, please see the Pulmozyme full prescribing information. If you have questions, please discuss them with your CF healthcare team. | <urn:uuid:fdc215d3-f459-48a7-8e79-adf8b87246b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pulmozyme.com/info/safety.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949981 | 339 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Actionable SEO – The Fresh and Historic Indexes
The Internet has no API. The only way to find out how many links there are is by counting them. However, some ways of counting are faster than others and it is unlikely that any two ways of counting will result in the same number. For example, there are many ways for calculating the world’s population. If two people start counting the population of earth in different places, e.g. Ohio and Paris, but they visit each country in a different order, it is unlikely that they will get the same totals for any city due to births and deaths.
In order to get all of our data, we use a combined processing power to crawl the web. Unlike our competitors, our data is stored in two indexes; the Fresh Index and the Historic Index. They contain information on how sites on the web link together. Our tools then access these databases in order to generate reports which help people understand the flow of organic traffic to their own websites, and those of their competitors.
So Why two indexes? From a technical perspective we can update the fresh index far quicker which allows people to see more update information. However whilst it may seem confusing at first this technique also has a huge benefit to you, the user, instantly in with the same tool at a glance you can see the impact that a page has had on the internet (the historic link count) as well as the current state of affairs with regards to a pages link profile (the fresh link count). All of a sudden backlinks tools with only one count start to seem inadequate!
What is it?
Our Historic Index is one of the most comprehensive on the web, and at the time of writing contains over 4 trillion unique URLs and goes back over 5 years. Due to the size of this database and the build time, it can only be updated on a monthly basis.
When should I use it?
The advantage of the Historic Index is that it contains a huge amount of data, so is great for mapping links over time and getting a link profile of a site .The Historic Index can help to give great insights on seeing how links are developed over time, such as the New and Lost Links tabs allowing you to see when links are found or lost. It also helps to find links that have been removed with a very accurate first found date. A very powerful tool to use with the Historic Index is the Backlink History Tool which shows the acquirement of backlinks visualised on a graph over time so you can see how your link building has developed and are able to see spikes which could relate to an event such as a press release, as well as dips which could be a result of problems on your site.
You can also see the Flow Metrics of a site to see how trusted it is, which due to the huge size of the index will give accurate results.
What is it?
Due to the long build time of our Historic Index, we created the Fresh Index which has links added throughout the day and updates on an approximately daily basis. Our Fresh Index is a real game setter and we believe puts us ahead our competitors. One thing to remember with the Fresh Index is the ‘Memory Effect’ – which can lead to occasionally idiosyncrasies, especially on pages with a first seen date close to the start of the index. We suspect this effect influences all site explorers ( but some companies are more open than others ), meaning although the Fresh Index is fantastic for really up-to-date data for data mining you may want to consider using the Historic index.
When should I use it?
The advantage of Majestic’s Fresh Index is how new the data is, meaning it can be used to monitor links as they appear such as with a press release. The Fresh Index is great to see the flow of links as they appear like a ripple through the web.
Tools such as the New links tab allow you to view it as it happens, seeing when links where added as well as the type of links that they are (image, no follow, etc.) and ultimately where the link is from as well as the Anchor Text used. | <urn:uuid:21d938e9-b53c-43f3-bd43-ef155c36354c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.majesticseo.com/training/actionable-seo-the-fresh-and-historic-indexes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967852 | 849 | 1.585938 | 2 |
During holiday breaks, myself and my coworkers in the Animal Care Department experience a very real reminder of just how much of our workload in covered by our volunteers. Many of them take holiday breaks from school and leave us for a few weeks, and we scramble to keep our animal collection healthy and happy. By the numbers, our volunteers contribute 70% of the total hours worked in Animal Care. This year, I got some extra help with one part of my job right as volunteer numbers were starting to dwindle.
Near the end of December one of my dedicated volunteers, Tyson White, took a bold step and did one of the two public demonstrations that our department gives each day.
Tyson, a senior at Champlain Valley Union High School, chose to work for us as part of Grad Challenge, a public service learning requirement at his school. In addition to learning all the in's and out's of our Sunday afternoon Animal Care duties, Tyson developed a bond with Winston, the Eastern ratsnake that lives in our Animal Care room. He first learned how to comfortably handle the snake and watched my version of "Meet the black ratsnake" demo. For his presentation, Tyson added some information about breeding time for the snakes and brought this information to a small crowd gathered to meet Winston. He did a great job, speaking comfortably with a four and a half foot snake in his hands. I enjoyed myself as Tyson's supervisor, mentor, and audience member.
Next week, ECHO celebrates our volunteers who keep us running. Stop by and help us thank them for all they do! | <urn:uuid:b6492ac2-cf9c-45a7-b16e-240c8167b02b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.echovermont.org/2011/12/snake-charmer.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975813 | 319 | 1.695313 | 2 |
When news happens, text SDE and your photos or videos to 80360. Or contact us by email and phone.
Thousands of homes lose water in Ringwood
12:50pm Wednesday 13th February 2013 in News
THOUSANDS of people in a Hampshire town were without water for nearly four hours yesterday due to a burst pipe.
Sembcorp Bournemouth Water said the pipe burst around 5.15am in Spittlefields, Ringwood, leaving around 3,500 homes without water or suffering low pressure.
Engineers restored the supply by 9am.
Bob Taylor, director of operations at Sembcorp Bournemouth Water said “quite a lot” of water was lost from the pipe.
“There was localised flooding around Spittlefields at the back of properties. The pipe burst on a public footpath and people would have suffered low pressure or lost their water supply initially,” he said. “We were on the case very, very quickly – we can tell almost straight away when this happens. Supplies were restored to homes in around one and a half hours from a different location. “I went there myself and there is minimal damage to property but still a bit of water lying on the road draining away.”
Mr Taylor said there had been around eight or nine inches of water in the worst-affected places. | <urn:uuid:d7443726-29de-4a1b-8f14-9810325dbd66> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/10224850.Thousands_of_homes_lose_water_in_Ringwood/?ref=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973575 | 285 | 1.523438 | 2 |
For middle-income retirees, health care and the costs associated with it are a major theme in their retirement. A survey released July 11 by Bankers Life and Casualty Co. Center for a Secure Retirement asked retirees what they had learned since they’ve retired, and health care-related issues were a big surprise.
More than half of retirees said health care cost more than they expected in retirement, and 33% said their prescriptions were more expensive. However, it seems many retirees underestimated the cost of basic expenses overall. Forty-one percent said groceries cost more than they thought they would and 38% said transportation costs were higher than expected.
Retirees seem to have a pretty fair assessment of their tax burden, however. Just 2% said they were paying more in taxes than they thought they would when they retired.
Although 55% of retirees said they were paying more for health care than they thought they would be, almost a quarter said they were surprised by how healthy they are. Unfortunately, the second most common surprise retirees said they encountered after retiring was unexpected health issues (18%).
While traveling was most often cited as retirees’ top goal, other goals demonstrate that health and wellness is top-of-mind. Twenty-one percent of retirees said improving their health was a top goal, and 15% said they would like to lose weight or get physically fit. Improving their financial security ranked No. 10.
The survey was conducted in April by The Blackstone Group for Bankers Life and Casualty. The firm surveyed 300 retirees between 55 and 75 with an annual household income between $25,000 and $75,000.
The current survey,“Listening to Middle-Income Americans: Health and Happiness,” is part of a larger series on middle-income retirees. An earlier survey, released in June, focused on advice retirees would give younger generations.
The most important piece of advice current retirees would give to younger generations was to save for the future. Nearly 40% said saving was the most important thing young people could do. However, other tips were more philosophical. The second and third most common tips retirees said they would pass on were to be happy and to live life to the fullest.
Regarding retirement specifically, retirees again stressed the importance of saving. Almost all respondents said young people should start saving early, and 84% said they should contribute to their employer's retirement plan. Just 37% suggested younger generations should get professional advice when planning for retirement.
Other advice included investing conservatively (39%), living frugally (30%) and working for as long as possible (22%).
The high value retirees place on saving is no surprise, considering the topic they wish they knew more about is how to make their money last. One-quarter said they wanted more information about maximizing their returns. Of their top 10 concerns, though, four were regarding health or health-related issues. Health insurance and Medicare was the second most common topic retirees wanted to know more about. Healthy aging was No. 5, followed by health care and health care costs. | <urn:uuid:bf2c4d49-a6d6-45e2-a2cf-69f1fd77746f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.advisorone.com/2012/07/17/biggest-shock-for-retirees-is-health-care-cost | 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 | 0.990926 | 627 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Consider this post to be your daily reminder to check your social network privacy settings–too much transparency could cost you your insurance benefits, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation:
Nathalie Blanchard, a Granby resident, says she’s suffering from severe depression that has made it impossible for her to work full-time for the past 18-months.
She says her sick leave payments were cut after insurance giant Manulife obtained profile pictures on Facebook showing her at bars, whooping it up during her birthday and on a beach holiday.
Blanchard, who lives in Quebec province, said her doctor told her to go have some fun, but apparently her insurer thought she was having too much to be depressed. According to another CBC article, the moments of revelry didn’t cure her condition:
“In the moment I’m happy, but before and after I have the same problems” as before, she said.
She’s taking them to court, in what should be an interesting case to test social media’s reach into the real world. The case suggests a host of other difficult questions: Can insurance companies raise your premiums if they see a picture of you smoking a cigarette on the internet? Will the court decide you can make a medical diagnosis from a Facebook picture? What about a weekend’s worth of happy tweets?
Another take home lesson, kids, is that should you make headlines, for whatever dubious reason, your Facebook pics will also be on the news. However in this case, Blanchard offered up her photos to get her story to the media. ABC News has a short video interview with Blanchard on their site.
Discoblog: Desperate For Facebook Friends? Buy Some!
Discoblog: Computer Program Can “Out” Gay Facebook Users
Reality Base: Charged With a Crime? Better Check Your Facebook Pictures | <urn:uuid:9124d124-4c83-4afc-906e-bee15cb63181> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/?p=4078 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959623 | 395 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Volkswagen 412 is the name of the Volkswagen Type 4 produced in 1973. It replaced the former Volkswagen 411 but there were only few changes done so there is little difference between the two models.
The first notable change is the bigger and sharper bumpers and turn lights which are actually not so pleasing. The look of the car turned somewhat disproportional. Those changes were evident for the US produced Volkswagen 412 partly because it is required by the US auto policies and regulations. The bumpers, both the front and rear, were also positioned higher than usual. Other changes included the improved safety steering wheel and stronger suspension and brakes.
Aside from the notable changes on the front and rear bumpers, the taillights were also made smaller as compared to the hugely designed headlights of the first Type 4 series produced which was then branded as the Volvo 411.
The last VW 412 built in May 1974 retained the twin carburetors paving way to the increase in the power output of the power train. All in all, 355,163 Volkswagen 412 units were sold with the sedan and station wagon versions included. Although production was stopped, the engine used was later on modified to be the standard power train of the Volkswagon Vanagon.
The Volkswagen 412 is one of the most favorite classic collectibles among enthusiasts. Owning such type of classic car nowadays is a great pleasure but it may be a little costly considering its care and maintenance. Some parts are even hard to find so it may take your time and energy. Good thing, Partstrain is around to ease out the hassles and difficulties that you might possibly go through. Browse our comprehensive online catalog for the Volkswagen part that you need may it be for replacement, maintenance, restyle or restoration. Check it out now and see it for yourself. | <urn:uuid:7e5af411-221c-4d78-9f32-716345ca9673> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.partstrain.com/ShopByVehicle/VOLKSWAGEN/412 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970335 | 363 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The good news: The presidential election will be over Tuesday. The bad news: Not much will change.
On Wednesday, the country still will be divided almost down the middle, the Republicans still will control the House, the Democrats still will control the Senate, and President Barack Obama will be back in the Oval Office.
“If that happens, you’ll see a continuation of a political food fight,” said Brian Farmer, professor of politics, government and social studies at Amarillo College.
The political air in Washington has been especially toxic the last four years, and will only get worse — each side digging in their heels, lots of rhetoric, lots of finger-pointing, nothing done.
That’s especially true if Obama is re-elected. He likely will be in a tight race where he might lose the popular vote in an outcome that will be anything but a mandate. It’s not so much Obama as it is the party that’s in the Oval Office is not the party in power in Congress. Neither side will give an inch.
“If Obama is re-elected, it’s going to be hard to hit the reset button and erase the last four years,” said Dr. Reed Welch, head of the department of political science at West Texas A&M University.
There’s a perception the political gulf in the country is wider than it has been in a long time, but it’s probably not true. Social media, where anyone can argue, stump or pass on misinformation, has made it seem that way. Vietnam in the 1960s and early ’70s and the New Deal in the ’30s were hugely divisive, more so than Obamacare.
But what is true is the two-party chasm in Congress is greater than ever before. And if there is change in the next four years, it’s to only get wider. The two-party system is healthy because, in theory, it keeps power in check.
Once upon a time, there was still an understanding of give-and-take, of middle ground, of working toward the same goal while agreeing to disagree. Now there’s only rancor, mistrust and disgust.
“You don’t want to be seen as someone who works with the other side,” Welch said. “There’s a candidate for Congress in Indiana, and his quote is, ‘I don’t compromise. I win. Compromise means you lose.’”
Congress has never been Kumbaya around the campfire, nor should it, but in the days of Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill, they could disagree on 80 percent of issues, but put aside partisan politics for a crucial 20 percent.
Those days are long gone. How did we get that way? Many little reasons, all of which add up. Farmer points to the social shift in the parties, remembering the 1970s when there were still some liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats who worked together more often.
He cites the end of the 38-year Fairness Doctrine in 1987, which ended the equal time policy on political views. That paved the way for Limbaugh and others, and the slant of MSNBC and Fox News for what once passed as objective coverage.
Then there’s the “persuadable voters,” which have shrunk to 3 to 7 percent, Farmer said. A Republican strategist in 2004 said because of that, it was better to fire up the hard-core base for voter turnout than move to the middle and play it safe.
WT political science professor Dave Rausch said many in Congress jet home for the weekend now rather than remain in Washington, where they used to socialize across the aisle for dinner or cards. Compromise, he said, takes work.
“Compromise is viewed by Congress as a way to lose the next primary election,” Farmer said.
But really, in this political landscape, why move across the aisle, unless it’s to get in someone’s face? Gerrymandered safe seats are throughout Congress.
“If you’re Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), what’s the benefit of working with the Democrats?” Welch said. “His challenge will be working with them too much, that he’s not Republican enough. Now multiply that over a couple of hundred similar situations with both parties.”
Said Farmer: “The likelihood that Thornberry would lose to another Republican in the primary is much higher than losing to a Democrat in the general election. His only fear is a Ted Cruz-type rises up in his district, a guy that’s viewed by the base as more conservative than he is.”
To be fair, Obama and the Dems have been no more willing to throw out the olive branch than the GOP.
“Politicians do what is in their best interest,” Welch said. “If they think it’s in their best interest to cut across party lines, they’ll do it. If not...”
Our elected officials’ decisions are governed by one overriding principle — how to stay elected. In this climate, that’s done by digging in your heels.
Jon Mark Beilue is a Globe-News columnist. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org or 806-345-3318. His blog appears on amarillo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jonmarkbeilue. | <urn:uuid:0d0f5e5a-e084-4f38-9ba1-4782b6565cd3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2012-11-03/beilue-compromise-way-lose-election | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962765 | 1,168 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Beith wrote:NicDhomhnaill = "NickGohnil" as we would say it in Irish. The mh is silent in the modern language but prob would have been a 'v' sound in earlier tongues and the palatalisation on the ll is reduced to "nil" sound.
Wren (just if you didn't know it already) - the nic or ní is short for iníon "daughter of". For a boy you'd use "Mac" (sometimes spelled Mc) "son of" Domhnaill.
(I find a couple ofglasses of wine helps pronunciation tremendoushshhhly! hic!)
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest | <urn:uuid:10d7268a-cea1-430f-931f-1b6a456921bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.druidry.org/board/dhp/viewtopic.php?p=203489 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940164 | 149 | 1.8125 | 2 |
During the much anticipated Angkor Photo Festival 2010 in November, the first ever Asian Women Photographers’ Showcase was held. 15 of Asia’s most promising women photographers in the field of photojournalism, documentary and investigative visual story-telling, displayed compelling images of life through their lens.
Curator of the showcase, Yumi Goto, proposed to do it because “in Asia this kind of work being produced by female photographers is still not very recognised and I think it is important for us to do such a showcase.”
What is most interesting to me is that if you only looked at the images, you can’t really tell if men or women produced them. Originally, I had expected to see work that appeared feminine, but in the end, I really didn’t feel any influence by gender at all. Perhaps, this means that it really doesn’t matter if the person taking the photo is a man or woman.
Below are the works from each photographer with a summary of their project.
Night Shift by Burcu Göknar, Turkey
Just as the women of their family have done for generations, the two sisters in Burcu Göknar’s story have worked as belly dancers in Istanbul nightclubs since they were eleven years old. To bring home enough money to support their family, they perform in five or six different venues every night, returning home with the sunrise. Gradually, their lives have diverged; one is now a celebrity who dances on TV, while the other continues to dance in nightclubs.
Echoes of Christian Jerusalem by Gali Tibbon, Israel
Thousands of pilgrims from across the world flock to Jerusalem to retrace the last steps of Jesus, walking the Via Dolorosa that ends at the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where Jesus is believed to have been buried and resurrected. A kaleidoscope of colors and shapes, Gali Tibbon’s photographs offer a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the church, home to six ethnic Christian denominations.
Women of Isfahan, Ten Years Later by Isabelle Eshraghi, Iran/ France
Born in 1964 in Iran, Isabelle Eshraghi and her family immigrated to France when she was three, and did not return until 1996. Regular trips to Iran since then have allowed to her to compile a long-term project, and in this essay, she examines what has changed there in the last ten years through the daily lives of these women. Her intention is to show through their faces and gestures the essence of their femininity. Although some behaviour has changed along with a new way of consumption, the future is still uncertain.
Korea’s Forgotten Women: Comfort Women for the U.S. Army by Jean Chung, South Korea
After being treated as pariahs for decades, some elderly women have begun speaking out about their experiences as prostitutes in camp towns constructed around American military bases in South Korea. Through their testimonies, it has emerged that “Comfort Women” were not just provided to the Japanese Imperial Army as sexual slaves, but also to American military servicemen from the 1960s to 1980s. Part of the lowest social strata, these retired, semi-enslaved prostitutes now live alone in shanty houses, surviving on government welfare checks and collecting recycling.
Prison by Mariam Amurvelashvili, Georgia
Since 2005, Mariam Amurvelashvili has been documenting the conditions in Georgian prisons. Ortachala prison was notorious for its poor living conditions, housing ten times more prisoners than it was built to contain. In 2006, it was destroyed and replaced by a new facility where each prisoner has a bed, good food and hygiene, medical care, a library, and visiting hours. These improvements ensure that the prisoners, no matter what their crime, retain their human dignity.
The Life of Peasants in Armenia by Mery Agakhanyan, Armenia
The life of a peasant in Armenia is a hard road, unchanged for decades. They have no power, no choice, and no hope of securing a better station in life as the months and years pass. Their faces reflect ancient memories, filled with fatigue and exhaustion. The soil is as tired as the farmers, and they merge together into one arduous life.
We Are Farmers by Huiying Ore, Singapore
Up until recently, a typical household in Singapore had several generations living under the same roof. Huiying Ore grew up with a hundred extended kin living and working together on a farm. Rapid industrialization and the resulting rural-urban shift has since changed that lifestyle, and now, most Singaporeans live in compact high-rise apartments which house on average four people. Her family fought to stay together, relocating their farming business and re-establishing it. Currently, three generations continue to work on the farm – a vanishing way of life in Singapore. This project documents the struggle as they toil on the land, and explores their hopes and dreams.
To Conquer her Land by Poulomi Basu, India
In September 2009, India’s first ever group of female soldiers in The Border Security Armed Force were deployed on the infamous India-Pakistan border. Poulomi Basu spent time with these young women at boot camp, in their homes, and on their journey to the border, documenting their transformation from woman to soldier. By following women from different parts of the country, castes and social backgrounds, she brings to life not only the challenges and struggles of ordinary Indian women, but also how these women face the reality of being a soldier.
Oil Village by Rena Effendi, Azerbaijan
In Azerbaijan, Soviet-era industrialization programs and the economy’s heavy dependence on the oil sector have attracted people to the capital, Baku, in search of work. Nearly four million people, half of the country’s population, now live in Baku, which is imploding through overpopulation and urban decay. Communities in the city and the suburbs – called Oil Village – live dangerously in makeshift homes, abandoned factories, and oil fields. Living in inhumane conditions for two decades, the air they breathe, the water they drink, and even the playgrounds where their children play are contaminated and hostile. And yet, life goes on.
Ano Basyo Kara: From That Place-The Voice of Being by Saori Ninomiya, Japan
Saori Ninomiya has long wanted to join the cause of raising awareness about the suffering of rape victims – in part because she was raped herself, but also because she felt a deep need to do so. She believes that healing takes place during the process of photographing.
End of Labor Town: Dumping Ground of Old Men in Japan by Shiho Fukada, Japan
Once a thriving day laborer’s town in Osaka, Kamagasaki today is home to about twenty-five thousand people, mainly men, of whom about 1,300 are homeless. This “welfare town” is considered a dumping ground of old men. Alcoholism, poverty, street death, suicide, TB and most of all, loneliness prevail here. They have no family ties, and live and die alone as outcasts from the mainstream “salary man” culture. Japan’s economy, once the world’s second largest, is deteriorating rapidly; it is now difficult if not impossible for the greying men of the construction industry to find work.
Sites of Terror by Suruchi Dumpawar, India
Suruchi Dumpawar’s body of work documents the sites of a series of bomb blasts that shook Ahmedabad in Gujurat, India, on 26 July, 2008, killing forty-nine people and injuring more than 150. She explores the tenacious link between landscape and memory through the medium of photography and text derived from newspaper reports of the blast. Her work is a reflection on a horrifying past seen in the rather ordinary landscape of the present, thus commenting on the banality of terror itself.
Russia: Alcohol Abuse by Tatiana Plotnikova, Russia
The per capita consumption of alcohol in Russia is among the top ten highest in the world, and the problem continues to grow. The Balashov Narcological Clinic in the Saratov region is one of many clinics scattered all over Russia that treats alcoholics. Many patients have already experienced the terrible torture of delirium tremens but cannot stop drinking, as very often, entire families drink habitually, from generation to generation.
Form and Home: Young Generation in Beijing by Wenjing Wang, China
Growing up under the one child policy amidst the recent frenzy of economic growth in China, the new generation has different values on life, wealth, and their future. At the same time, faced with an ever-changing environment, they also feel confused and solitary. Wenjing Wang photographs each person standing and lying down to represent the contradiction between what society demands of the youth and their own self-awareness.
The Heartland by Ying Ang, Singapore
In a rapidly modernizing China, the rural heartland and its inhabitants are often overlooked. A skewed demographic of mostly the very old and very young in villages contrasts with the city-centres’ ever-growing populations of unemployed youths. Like communities who have lost their young men to war, this toothless and infant-dominated population is left to fend for itself amidst a swathe of cross-provincial issues like climate change, water pollution, and the rising cost of land. Ying Ang photographed her family’s homestead on Hainan Island, where seven generations of blood relatives live and continue to do so.
If you would to exhibit The Asian Women Photographers’ Showcase, you may contact the curator Yumi Goto: g.youme[at]gmail[dot]com.
For more information on the showcase, check out:
- Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/Asian.Women.Photographers
- Photography for Change: http://www.photographyforchange.net/festivalhome.html | <urn:uuid:0b5a21a9-f2af-47e1-a0e9-863fae321f31> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chiqclicks.com/?tag=ying-ang | 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 | 0.959421 | 2,082 | 1.71875 | 2 |
March 2, 1940 – Nov. 28, 2012
Spain Rodriguez, a Buffalo-born artist who exerted a tremendous influence over the development of underground comics in the United States, died Wednesday in San Francisco after a long bout with cancer. He was 72.
Mr. Rodriguez’s work is the subject of an ongoing retrospective exhibit in the Burchfield Penney Art Center, which runs through Jan. 20. The exhibit captures his formative years on the streets of Buffalo, his work for underground publications such as the East Village Other in the late 1960s, his eventual creation of the cult hero known as “Trashman” and finally his influence on an entire generation of comics artists, including his friends and fellow underground comics creators R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman.
“We mourn the passing of this great American artist, author, activist, and son of Buffalo,” Edmund Cardoni, executive director of Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, wrote in a Facebook post, “but are glad we got his career retrospective at the Burchfield Penney Art Center here in Buffalo done just in time, and that he and his family were able to be here for opening weekend back in mid-September, where he was able to connect with old friends, introduce his work to new audiences, and see his work treated with the respect it so richly deserves.”
Despite the respect his work received in the world of underground comics, Mr. Rodriguez never quite attained recognition of the form’s household names such as Crumb or Harvey Pekar. But that seemed to suit him just fine. “I’ve always been kind of content to labor in obscurity,” he told The Buffalo News in September.
Manuel “Spain” Rodriguez was born in Buffalo and grew up on Humboldt Parkway. After a stint at art school in Ohio, he spent time as a member of the legendary Road Vultures motorcycle club in Buffalo and worked at various factory jobs. At 27, he moved to New York City, where he drew covers and comics for the East Village Other. Later, he moved to San Francisco – the home of the legendary publication Zap Comix, to which he was a frequent and prominent contributor – where he remained until his death.
Mr. Rodriguez also wrote and illustrated a biography of Che Guevera that has been widely translated and praised, as well as various projects exploring the history of military and class struggles.
Spiegelman, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel “Maus,” called Mr. Rodriguez a seminal figure in the underground comics movement and a member of “the great tradition of proletarian artists.”
“He brought a lot that became signature to that moment in comics that affected a lot of what’s come since. I don’t know that there would be such a thing as these nice gentrified graphic novels that I’m associated with, as well, if it weren’t for the energy unleashed with such vehemence by Spain, Crumb and others at Zap Comix,” Spiegelman said, adding that his gritty, hard-edged style defined his work to the end.
“Spain,” he said, “vehemently and courageously and continually refused to be cleaned up.”
Funeral arrangements were incomplete Wednesday.
– Colin Dabkowski | <urn:uuid:7a0b35df-d3ad-4a67-aa01-2912b8c7a7f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121129/CITYANDREGION/121129238/1032 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983116 | 705 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Recent News Articles
Budget cuts of imaging scans may backfire
Researchers said the length of the average U.S. hospital stay increased at the same time as use of medical imaging scans declined.
Dr. Richard Duszak, chief executive officer and senior research fellow of the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, said it is unclear if the trends are related but potentially important, as hospital admissions are among the largest and fastest growing healthcare costs.
Since 2006, there have been $6 billion in funding reductions for imaging diagnosis and treatment planning, Duszak said.
More research is needed to assess the potential effects of government and private insurance imaging reductions on overall medical costs and patient safety because imaging scans have been shown to reduce the number of invasive surgeries, unnecessary hospital admissions and length of hospital stays, Duszak said.
“Lawmakers, regulators and medical professionals are making medical imaging policy decisions without fully understanding or examining their downstream effects, which may include an increase in hospital stays, associated costs and other adverse events,” Duszak said in a statement.
“We need to examine imaging, as it relates to a patient’s overall continuum of care, to ensure that decision makers don’t create imaging cost reduction policies which paradoxically raise overall costs, create barriers to care and ultimately harm patients.”
Copyright 2012 by United Press International | <urn:uuid:0e85148d-db4d-4530-af49-a01e56dc1723> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.onlinejournal.com/health/budget-cuts-of-imaging-scans-may-backfire/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936975 | 286 | 1.734375 | 2 |
It’s hard for me to remember when I didn’t know Robert Creeley’s poetry, or at least some of his poems. His image was fixed in my mind in my undergraduate days from the Gerard Malanga photograph, where Creeley’s single eye, shining out from under a wonderful eave of Sixties hair, was echoed in the adoring eye of his dog. I must have seen him speak or read, shaken his hand, exchanged greetings, a dozen or so times over the past fifteen years. He took me out to lunch once in Buffalo, so that I could ask him questions about Louis Zukofsky – questions he answered with deliberation and warmth, though I’m sure he was aware he was repeating the same anecdotes he had told in his various essays on Zukofsky. But those were the moments by which he wanted his friend remembered, moments of large and small kindnesses, acts of humanitas – the older poet interesting himself not merely in the work, but in the personal welfare of the younger.
Ever since my first poetry teacher, Wyatt Prunty, handed me a copy of his essay “Emaciated Poetry” – a savage excoriation of the meagre lines of Creeley and A. R. Ammons from the standpoint of a dyed-in-the-wool partisan of the pentameter – I perversely enough decided that Creeley was (like Saul) “one of the prophets.” It came as something of a revelation to me to learn (but I have always been a slow learner) that this man, friend to Olson, Zukofsky, Duncan, had never removed himself from the flows of contemporary poetry; from his chair at Buffalo, he remained in touch with the most lively currents of writing, encouraging the young, learning from them. He became a model for me of one who was growing old in poetry without growing out of touch.
For those who heard Bob speak more than once, or who had engaged him in any length of conversation, it was all too easy to gently mock his favorite words: “company” the noun, “dear” the adjective. But it didn’t take long to recognize the depth of emotion with which he invested those sometimes hackneyed words; an investment much like that of his later poetry, which strove to reinvest the simplest of forms and diction – forms and diction that so many of us, the younger generations, regarded only with scorn – with emotional immediacy. Dear, dear man. Light of our company. | <urn:uuid:f67f3f2f-9634-4ffd-b004-1c43028502ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kulturindustrie.blogspot.com/2005/04/company.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98771 | 536 | 1.585938 | 2 |
The past 15 years have seen major changes in the size and shape of our wine industry.
Cast your mind back to when screwcaps on wine were a rare sight; there was more chardonnay in our vineyards than sauvignon blanc and just over a dozen wineries down in Central Otago. How things have changed, with the past 15 years witnessing the most radical transformation of New Zealand's wine industry in its entire history.
Sauvignon blanc and pinot noir may be the undisputed flagship white and red varieties in New Zealand today, but 15 years ago our vineyards harked back to an era when the country was still getting to grips with what it could grow best.
Chardonnay was our most widely planted variety, although sauvignon blanc was hot on its heels and just hectares away from pole position. Now it's 12,000 hectares ahead of any other variety and has grown by over 1000 per cent. It was also a time when we had more mundane muller-thurgau in the ground than prize-winning pinot noir, while cabernet sauvignon was our number one red.
It has been a period when New Zealand wine has really started to be taken seriously.
In 1997 we shipped 25 per cent of our wine overseas, while today it's 75 per cent, and worth $1.2 billion, becoming a major export industry.
As well as this success encouraging local wineries to proliferate - from 262 to 698 in this time - it also whetted the appetite for international investors. This saw some of New Zealand largest labels, such as Montana, Nobilo and Matua Valley, gobbled up by global drinks conglomerates.
There's also been a green revolution in the vineyards with the commercial introduction of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand in 1997. Now encompassing more than 95 per cent of the country's vineyard area, SWNZ has helped drastically cut chemicals used on our vines and inspired a growing number to join the ranks of our rapidly increasing organic wine movement.
We're drinking more wine now, with a per capita increase of 50 per cent in the past 15 years. And we're drinking more of our own labels, assisted by a five-fold increase in our wine production, the fact that we now produce world class reds as well as whites and that these have largely never tasted so good!
I caught up with wineries who are also celebrating 15-year anniversaries this year, to discover what the past decade and a half has held for them:
Steve Smith MW
Director of Wine and Viticulture, Craggy Range
"1997 was an interesting time: just before the real boom in Marlborough and Central Otago happened, Martinborough was very much centred on the township, and no one outside New Zealand knew of the Gimblett Gravels. It was a time of untapped possibilities particularly driving the New Zealand wine story outside Marlborough.
"When Terry Peabody approached me to set up Craggy Range in 1997, I knew the area soon to be known as the Gimblett Gravels was special, while Martinborough would create New Zealand's most serious pinot noirs and some very good sauvignon blanc - so away we went. It was unbelievably exciting, a chance to really create something special.
"At the time people thought we were mad buying such large parcels of the Gimblett Gravels in Hawkes Bay and Te Muna in Martinborough, at the time they were pioneering. The approach we took to viticulture and winemaking, and the cornerstone principal of 100 per cent single vineyard was different and it's worked. I would have bet a very large amount that syrah would not have been the most famous wine in our portfolio, but look what happened. It endorses the 'anything's possible' attitude!"
Winemaker, Felton Road
"Back in 1997 when we released our first wine, Felton Road was only a dirt track and wasn't even on the local council's 10-year plan to be sealed. With the increase in traffic and other vineyards being developed it was tar-sealed two years later. It was a time when there were just 151 hectares of vineyard planted in Central Otago (today there are more than 1500ha).
"Felton Road always had solid aspirations to make the best possible wines and to be distributed internationally. However, we had no idea that the quality had the potential to be so globally recognised and accepted as some of the most interesting wines of the world. We are now in 35 countries in distributors' portfolios that contain the world's best wines.
"The image of Central Otago wines in general has certainly helped immensely to establish such premium positioning. Being quickly globally recognised for the quality of our wines put us amongst a peer group where organics and biodynamics is almost a given. This inspired us to explore this area in 2000, begin our conversion in 2002 and become fully organic/biodynamic by 2006."
President & CEO, Sileni Estates
"When Sileni was established in 1997, there were just over 200 registered wine producers and apart from the UK, New Zealand sauvignon blanc had not really been discovered in other export markets. Sileni did not have a sauvignon blanc until 2002 as we believed it would become a commodity and at the time preferred to use semillon as our New Zealand white wine.
"Our aspirations were to build a strong export-oriented company, but not having sauvignon blanc from the outset was recognised as a major mistake. From 2004, when we had reasonable quantities and we picked up three trophies for the Cellar Selection Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2004 at the London International Wine Challenge, this acted as a calling card and allowed us to more readily establish export markets in over 60 countries.
"The NZ wine industry has grown enormously on the back of Marlborough sauvignon blanc, as reflected in export earnings today of over $1 billion annually. Sileni has also grown, now ranking in the top 10 New Zealand wine companies, not a bad achievement in 15 years and considering there are now over 600 wineries!"
Co-founder, Staete Landt Wines
"When me and my partner, Ruud Maasdam bought our derelict apple and cherry orchard on Rapaura to change into a state-of-the-art vineyard, Marlborough was the only place that had already some internationally well known brands.
"But back in 1997, it was still filled with orchards and sheep paddocks, and the bank manager of one of NZ's biggest banks didn't shake hands with me as a woman.
"The Marlborough wine region was relatively small; the Awatere barely existed; there was no Southern Valleys water scheme so the Southern hills were hardly planted and Ward, Blind River and the North Bank didn't exist as wine growing regions.
"We did intensive soil research, which was one of the first times it was ever undertaken to that extent. The multi-block irrigation system that we installed following this was regarded as innovative and resulted in us winning the Environmental Award by the Marlborough District Council in 1998 for the economic usage of a scarce resource such as water.
"The last 15 years have been such an exciting ride in this industry, to watch it grow and to grow with it, the co-operation, respect, shared knowledge, support and friendship among most wineries.
"We have arguably the youngest wine industry in the world yet we are one of the biggest success-stories in the wine industry in the 20th century."
lorraine Leheny and Warren Gibson
Founders and winemakers, Bilancia
"We returned to New Zealand at the beginning on 1997 after making wine overseas. The wine industry seemed to be in a very positive, forward motion.
"Lots of new companies were established over the next five or so years, both big and small. One fortunate break for us was to secure a small parcel of pinot gris in 1998. There were less than 10 producers of pinot gris at that time and early success with that variety continues to be associated with our brand.
"The 15 years since establishment have been an interesting highway. We made the first wines under the Bilancia label from the 1997 vintage, released these wines in 1998, purchased the land for the la collina vineyard in 1997 and we began planting in 1998. Planting syrah, particularly on a hillside in 1998 now almost seems pioneering.
"Syrah remains the reason we will leave our winemaking roots in Hawkes Bay. Good Hawkes Bay syrah is one of New Zealand's truly unique wine styles."
FIFTEEN YEARS IN FIGURES
* In 1997 there were 262 wineries, this has grown to 698 in 2012.
* 1997 saw the wine industry with 8455 hectares of vines. This has rocketed to 33,600 hectares in 2012.
* The value of wine exports in 1997 stood at $75.9m. The value in 2012 is now at $2.1bn.
Staete Landt Annabel Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 $24
An elegant sauvignon that's seen a small portion spend some time in older oak for texture, with delicate notes of elderflower and nectarine underpinned by zesty lime and chalky mineral. (From Caro's, Fine Wine Delivery Company, Glengarry.)
Bilancia "la collina" Hawkes Bay Syrah 2009 $95
The past 15 years has seen the emergence of one of the country's flagship syrahs, hailing from Bilancia's precipitous hillside site. Elegant and velvety textured, the latest la collina delivers impressively pure and fresh damson fruit infused with notes of black pepper and liquorice. (From Fine Wine Delivery Company, Caro's, Point Wines, La Barrique.)
No. 1 Family Estate Cuvee No 1 Blanc de Blancs Marlborough Methode Traditionelle NV $35-$40
Daniel Le Brun established his specialist sparkling No. 1 Family Estate vineyard in Marlborough in 1997 - the source of this fine chardonnay-based NV with its classic citrussy and green apple blanc de blancs freshness, backed by richer nuances of bread crust, almond and cream. (From Glengarry, Fine Wine Delivery Company, selected New World stores and fine wine shops.) | <urn:uuid:f557ba52-02c0-4d1f-b090-e5f48225f9fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10815840 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966499 | 2,191 | 1.648438 | 2 |
This is the third in a series of posts I've been doing this week showcasing some animated shorts I created at FableVision for the documentary The Powder and The Glory. It appears in the film when they are discussing a moment in the midst of the Great Depression when Helena Rubinstein cleverly managed to buy back her company from Lehman Brothers (that's right, the now defunct Lehman Brothers)---and made a huge profit to boot! You might notice her height deficit. Rubinstein was only 4' 10", so I couldn't help but play up her Napoleonic stature.
I stepped out of black and white with this one, and decided on a washed out palette of greens, reds, and browns, to match that look of early 1930s Technicolor. It tends to read as a limited palette, but those of you who are familiar with the color Fleischer cartoons from the 30s will know what I'm talking about. The audio (as with all of these shorts) is rough cut, so the final version includes sound effects and whatnot.
Click PLAY to view the animation below. A note to those of you in RSS reader land to hop on over to my site to watch it here (the Flash embed doesn't show up in Google Reader for some reason).
Cartoonist, illustrator, co-creator of Heeby Jeeby Comix, and Director of Art & Animation at FableVision Studios. Drip! is the official blog of Jinx the Monkey —home to doodles, artwork, and a lot of rambling courtesy of yours truly. | <urn:uuid:778fa4c3-15ec-4826-ac2a-92bdce58ded4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bobjinx.blogspot.jp/2008/10/helena-rubinstein.html?showComment=1224818280000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955626 | 328 | 1.585938 | 2 |
So statements must disclose the late fee, payment deadline and any rate increase that will apply as a result of a late payment.
Payments made at local branches will count as payments made on that day.
Over-the-limit fee: Like late fees, overlimit charges must be reasonable to the offense. The law cracks down even further on overlimit fees and caps them at one per billing cycle.
Consumers will no longer be surprised by overlimit fees. The law mandates that issuers cannot charge consumers overlimit fees unless the cardholder has elected to let the issuer approve overlimit transactions. People without fixed limits can only be charged an overlimit fee if a transaction, not a fee or finance charge, pushes the cardholder over the limit. Cardholders can later cancel their election.
Arnold isn't impressed by the notion of hard credit limits. He says he's enjoyed fixed limits on his cards for years -- by calling his issuers and asking them not to approve any transactions over the credit line. "Most of your issuers are going to honor that these days," he says.
Balance transfers: The law doesn't cap balance transfer rates or fees.
Promotional rates have to last for six months, and no APRs can increase the first year after account opening, unless one of the four exceptions for rate increases applies. Variable rates, for example, may change with index movement even inside of the promotional rate.
Arnold predicts that a year from now consumers will have a tough time finding a decent balance transfer offer. Zero percent balance transfer offers, with no transfer fee and a zero percent interest rate for six months or more, are going to cease to exist, he says.
Cash advance: The law doesn't cap cash advance rates or fees.
Payment-related fees: Fees charged for processing payments over the phone, Internet, mail, electronic transfer or any other means will be banned under the new law except for "expedited service by a service representative of the creditor." So you may still have to spend a few bucks to pay the bill through a live human being.
Other fees: The law does limit the fees charged on subprime cards. Issuers of these cards can't use up more than 25 percent of the credit limit with nonpenalty fees during the first year after the account opening.
Other than that restriction, the Credit CARD Act doesn't crack down on miscellaneous fees, leaving plenty of room for issuer creativity. "I have a feeling that they will find loopholes or they'll find ways to impose fees," says John Pachkowski, a senior banking analyst at CCH Inc. based in the outskirts of Philadelphia. "Just as long as they disclose them, they can add on something."
Depending on whom you ask, annual fees are one such charge that consumers could see tacked onto their accounts.
Annual fees are already popping up on credit card offers. Solicitations for cards with annual fees increased in volume to 27 percent during the first quarter of 2009, up 9 percent from last year, according to Mail Monitor, the direct-mail offer tracking service from global market research firm Synovate.
Arnold contends that annual fees could show up on some rewards cards and other cards with low interest rates, but other rewards cards and most "plain Jane" credit cards will remain without annual fees. "I don't expect mass annual fees to crop up overnight at all, nor in the next six months," he says. | <urn:uuid:d4f111b9-aaa5-4697-b4dd-c7f7ad762279> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/new-credit-card-law-will-impact-terms-2.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964088 | 711 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Hong Kong’s competitive position in high-tech logistics markets will get a major boost when new infrastructure linked to factories in neighboring South China and Macao is completed, DHL Supply Chain executives said on Monday.
The Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge and Hong Kong Shenzhen Western Express are due to be completed in 2016, according to latest government projections.
Tom Wong, managing director for Hong Kong and Macao at DHL Supply Chain, said the projects would enable the rapid shipment to Hong Kong of the high-tech products increasingly being produced at factories in Shenzhen and Zhuhai, boosting the city’s competitiveness in air and ocean markets versus rival gateways in mainland China.
“If they proceed on time I think we will have more business than we can handle,” he said on Monday.
Earlier in the day, DHL opened a new Hong Kong headquarters for its supply chain business to meet the anticipated demand growth. The $77 million Tsing Yi facility has 900,000 square feet of warehousing space and includes ramp access floors for large inbound and outbound volumes, cargo lift floors as well as temperature controlled facilities.
Contact Mike King at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:d43dae24-0a50-4f72-8a26-c80f523ec5d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.joc.com/economy-watch/dhl-eyes-high-tech-growth-hong-kong_20120717.html?qt-webcasts_podcasts_whitepapers=1 | 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 | 0.949148 | 252 | 1.539063 | 2 |
My next book is going to be on the Dart programming language, lovingly entitled Dart for Hipsters.
- Dart looks to be an interesting language
- Google is not evil for proposing Dart
- Follow along daily in this blog or sign-up for the mailing list
For the past several years, I have developed something of an obsession for speed. One of the things that drew me to node in the first place was the speed promised (and more or less realized). After node, I began to look at HTTP as a bottleneck for responsive applications. The result, of course was The SPDY Book. Even as I grew to understand and appreciate the power offered by SPDY, it became apparent that it only solves part of the problem. It gets stuff to the browser blazingly fast, but does nothing to speed up application boot and execution.
I see many parallels between SPDY and Dart. With SPDY, rather than trying to work around the limitations of the status quo, (e.g. HTTP "optimization"), Google produced a completely different protocol adapted for the modern web. With Dart, it seems that Google is once again trying to do something completely different rather than patch more cruft onto a language barely newer than the internet itself.
I am not buying the argument that Dart (or SPDY) are Google's attempt to subvert the web. Google has been very good about embracing the community with SPDY. Google has been extremely open about the standard. I could not have written The SPDY Book if they were trying to keep tight control of SPDY. Surely Amazon could not have used SPDY to power the Kindle Fire if Google were hell bent on tight control of the protocol.
But it has potential. And it's trying something different. And it's inherently different than the status quo.
That makes it worth learning.
Join me as I blog about this every day for 3+ months straight. At the end of January, an alpha version of the book will be available to purchase at a discounted rate. At the end of February, the beta will arrive. The first edition will be available at the end of March. Want more? Sign-up for the mailing list. | <urn:uuid:687a5597-212a-45b7-961d-be06181c9500> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://japhr.blogspot.com/2011/12/why-dart.html?showComment=1325185424893 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96149 | 447 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Attention winter graduates: It might still be cold outside, but it's time to heat up your job search. Take charge and make your degree work for you by following these six tips to help you stand out:
[See our list of the 50 Best Careers.]
1. Start with a plan. The real world might seem intimidating, and that's normal—but don't just throw yourself out into the job market. Come up with a plan (or two or three) for your job search. Your plan should include the direction you want to go, possible ways to head in that direction, and a tentative timeline to keep you on track.
Focus on a larger objective (i.e., "work at midsize public-relations firm specializing in healthcare") and smaller, detailed tactics to help achieve the objective (i.e., "set up five informational interviews with firms that interest me" or "go to two networking events per month"). Be specific with your plan and set attainable goals and deadlines.
2. Research. You did it many times as an undergrad, and now it's time to bring back those research skills. When you're applying for jobs, research is key at every step. Research positions in your desired field and what each position requires; research people who have a job that you want and how they got there; research companies you're interested in and how they hire. When it comes to an actual application or interview, make sure you've done research on the position, the company, and your interviewer. Being prepared and well-informed is essential to blowing away your competition.
Great research tools to get this information are Google, the company website or job board, LinkedIn, and even calling the company and asking to speak with someone (for more on this, see tip #6).
3. Get connected. You've heard it before, but it's worth repeating: Networking is key in a job search. Networking should be continuous, whether you're employed or not. In today's digital age, connecting with people on social networks is a great opportunity to network beyond your immediate area. Use Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to connect with people and companies, join groups, and start conversations. Social media is also an excellent way to build your personal brand—a key part of standing out to employers.
Though online social networking is necessary to build your connections, don't disregard the importance of networking in real life. Nothing replaces a face-to-face introduction. Meet people at networking events or through mutual connections. And remember: Networking is all about creating a mutually beneficial relationship, so make sure to give as much as you get.
4. Focus on accomplishments. Relevant experience, such as internships, will surely help new graduates stand out in the job market. Make your experience shine by presenting the right information to the right people; make sure to tailor and personalize application materials (i.e., cover letter, resume, writing samples, etc.) for each and every position for which you apply. No cookie cutter resumes, please.
Focus on your accomplishments and achievements in your cover letter and resume, rather than simply listing duties of a previous experience. For example, instead of saying "pitched media to get client coverage," which is a duty, say something like "secured client coverage in top-tier media including the New York Times and TIME Magazine," which are specific accomplishments. Numbers work great for this purpose, too. For example, "managed a team of 60 people" or "raised profits by 32 percent in the first quarter." Focus on what you can bring to the table for a future employer. This will surely make you stand out.
[In Pictures: 10 Surefire Ways to Annoy a Hiring Manager]
5. Clean up your act. The transition from college to the job market is tough, but those who work to make a smoother transition will stand out in a crowd. Take your wardrobe, language, schedule, and online presence from college to the real world by cleaning it all up.
Avoid slang, jargon, and foul language when talking in a professional setting—this will make you look unprofessional and immature. Ditch the sweatpants and Uggs in favor of a professional wardrobe for such situations; every new grad should invest in a nice suit for interviews. Pry yourself out of bed at a reasonable hour to get started on your job search. Remember, searching for a job is a full-time job.
Last but not least, clean up your online presence. Make sure any and all information about you online is not only appropriate, but professional. Use privacy settings when necessary, but remember that social networking is great for a job search, but if you're on lockdown, you can't network. "Google" yourself periodically to monitor your online presence.
6. Get informed. When it comes to finding a job, think of the informational interview as the Holy Grail. Informational interviews combine in-person networking and research by allowing you to not only meet people at a company you're interested in, but also ask questions about the company, position, or industry. Plus, you get to make a great impression and become more than just a name on a resume.
Research online to find the right person to contact at a particular company, and send a brief, personalized message asking for a few minutes for an informational meeting. Treat this meeting as if it were an interview for a position by coming prepared, dressing professionally, and bringing your resume. Come prepared with questions to ask and definitely take notes. Also, don't forget to follow up with a handwritten thank-you note. Remember, this person is taking time out of their day to answer your questions.
How are you making yourself stand out in your job search? What's your favorite tip?
Heather R. Huhman is a career expert, experienced hiring manager, and founder & president of Come Recommended, a content marketing consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and employers. She is also the author of Lies, Damned Lies & Internships (2011) and #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle. | <urn:uuid:0a8bf77d-7cd7-4eb4-a455-ef825e5d74f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2012/01/20/how-to-stand-out-as-a-winter-graduate | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95085 | 1,257 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Can newspapers transition to digital?
It is all but certain that falling advertising sales, declining readership and rising costs will begin killing off some print newspapers in a matter of weeks, months or years.
If so, the choice for their publishers will be either to migrate to strictly digital operations or to shut down altogether. The problem for publishers hoping for digital reincarnation is that most are seriously unprepared to be full-on interactive competitors.
In but one measure of the staggering challenge they face, analyst Tom Corbett of Morningstar calculated that publishers recaptured just 1.7 cents in online ad revenue for every $1 of print advertising that they lost in the first nine months of 2008. In other words, publishers last year took 100 steps backward and 1.7 steps forward.
To be sure, not all print operations are doomed. Where there is sufficient demand for printed papers among readers and advertisers in the future, they will continue to be manufactured (though not necessarily on all seven days the week).
Where the expense of producing and distributing the physical product outstrips the ability of publishers to profitably produce it, then printed papers will succumb. How long can even the mighty Hearst Corp. afford to spend $10 per copy to print and deliver the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle to subscribers who pay only $20 for a weeks-long promotional subscription?
As discussed in the earlier installments of this series, newspaper companies in a post-print world would have to rebuild almost every fundamental aspect of their businesses, from their capital structures and revenue streams to their audience bases and products. (For a second opinion, see this prescription from Dr. Mark Potts.)
It is difficult to imagine how a newspaper company forsaking print today could avoid defaulting on the billions it borrowed to fund ill-starred acquisitions or avoid further erosion in the deeply discounted values of their franchises.
In light of the highly constrained economic resources likely to be available to them, digital-only newspapers would be hard pressed to maintain the depth and breadth of professional journalism produced by even today’s most minimally funded newsroom.
If newspapers are going to be saved in a semi-recognizable form – whether in print, online or some other way – then a number of changes have to happen fast to restore the economic well being of an industry that has failed for nearly two decades to adapt to radical changes in technology, demographics and consumer behavior.
Here’s what needs to be done, urgently:
:: Newspapers should do everything they can to sustain a profitable print business as long as they can to fund the development of a diversified portfolio of media-agnostic publishing brands. While it is fine for them to produce papers (ideally in outsourced production facilities), they should be equally open to exploiting web, mobile and other delivery platforms. The only factor that should matter is whether the medium is profitable.
:: Newspapers should leverage their content-creation and marketing resources to create cost-effectively produced niche products geared to carefully selected audiences attracting a sufficiently large group of advertisers to assure commercial success. Newspapers that find it unprofitable to publish Monday or Tuesday should endeavor to develop new weekly niche products to replace them. They may or may not carry the flagship newspaper’s brand.
:: Newspapers have to abandon their all-but-exclusive dependence on display and classified advertising in favor of modern interactive formats than enable marketers to efficiently target customers on a pay-per-acquisition basis. The new media should include, but not be limited to, contextual advertising, search advertising and Yellow Pages-style directories. Newspapers should be leaders, not followers, in deploying (but not building!) advertising-delivery systems targeted to the demographics, expressed preferences and behavior of consumers.
:: Because the revenues associated with cost-per-acquisition advertising are going to be lower than the print and online rates typically charged by newspapers, publishers will have to sell advertising to far more small and medium advertisers than they historically have done. Because the value of those orders will be smaller than the schedules purchased by large advertisers, newspapers will have to develop efficient inside sales teams, rather than making the costly in-person sales calls they favored in the past. Telephone sales can be readily outsourced, affording significant cost savings in many cases.
:: Publishers also can reduce their sales expenses by developing Google-style systems that empower merchants to create, buy and pay for advertising without human intervention. To get there from here, newspapers will have to invest in acquiring (but not building!) the systems to support such services. They also will have to market aggressively their do-it-yourself ad services to both customers and potential customers.
:: Newspapers should become interactive media consultants, providing content-creation and marketing services to their client base. This would include everything from producing videos and blogs for customers to managing their search-engine optimization and keyword advertising campaigns on third-party sites. Papers should outsource SEO and SEM services to companies with that native skill.
:: The unlimited distribution of free content has to stop. While teaser snippets may be offered to strategically whet the interest of casual readers who can be turned into paying customers, newspaper companies must reassert their right to be paid for the content they create. It makes no sense to focus on driving page views when banner ad rates are deteriorating because advertisers favor targeted interactive formats whose results can be verified and measured.
:: With generic news and information freely available on the web, the only way newspapers can successfully charge for content is by creating unique and valuable information. To do this, they have to adequately staff their newsrooms. Starving this vital operation will be strategically disastrous, because weak content will turn off loyal readers and repel new ones.
:: Newspapers cannot afford to author everything they publish. They must develop compelling content by aggregating and editing data that can be easily and appealingly acquired by consumers who are overwhelmed with too much information. Aggregation sites should be combined with personalization technology and smart ad systems, thus giving consumers control of the user experience and the publisher targeted advertising inventory that can be sold at premium rates. Newspapers also should acquire algorithmic publishing systems to turn government records and other raw data into compelling new products like Everyblock. In each case, the newspaper should buy and not try to build the relevant technology.
:: Newspapers have to make their sites truly interactive. There is a strong desire among consumers – particularly young ones – to contribute to and comment on the news. Newspapers can leverage the crowd for everything from investigations to self-help forums and from hyperlocal news to restaurant reviews. In developing the portfolio of products suggested above, the middle-aged managers who make most of the business decisions would be well advised to consult young staffers – or students at the nearest high school or university – for insights into the types of products that are likely to fly.
If newspapers have a prayer of getting where they need to go, their managers will have to abandon their stubborn attachment to print-centric thinking. Here’s what I mean:
The Poynter Institute, which rightly is esteemed as a major thought leader in the newspaper industry, owns Congressional Quarterly, which is exactly the sort of profitable and growing niche publication that a publisher would be thrilled to operate.
But the Poynter Institute also owns the St. Petersburg Times, which, like other newspapers, reportedly has been losing money as a result of the long-running secular decline in advertising and the particularly nasty downturn in the economy in Florida.
So, what does Poynter do? It puts the profitable and growing CQ up for sale to raise money to subsidize the newspaper.
Because the Poynter Institute is organized as the sort of non-profit foundation that so many people think can save newspapers (a belief I do not happen to share), the institute’s charter may leave its directors no choice but to sell CQ to support the paper. Or, the decision may reflect the desire to support the paper at all costs because it probably generates 10 to 20 times more revenue than CQ.
Whatever the reason Poynter was forced to act, it shows how an over-dependence on print for too long has brought the industry to the biggest crisis in the 300 years it has existed on this continent. | <urn:uuid:f195a935-15fd-4392-9acd-a561204b0325> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newsosaur.blogspot.com/2009/02/can-newspapers-transition-to-digital.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954217 | 1,686 | 1.757813 | 2 |
British Prime Minister makes unexpected visit to Libya
By CASSANDRA VINOGRAD
The Associated Press | February 01,2013
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, right, listens to Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron as he delivers a speech in Algiers on Wednesday.
LONDON — British Prime Minister David Cameron made an unexpected visit to the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Thursday and announced that U.K. police officers will travel to the North African nation to investigate the Lockerbie bombing.
He also held bilateral talks to explore what support and expertise Britain can offer to Libya to strengthen its security and defeat terrorism.
Cameron told a press conference in Tripoli he was “delighted” that police would be able to visit Libya and “look into the issues” around the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town. The attack killed 270 people, many of them American.
The death last spring of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi — a former Libyan intelligence agent and the only man convicted over the Lockerbie bombing — renewed pleas from victims’ relatives for further investigation of the bombing. After the 2011 fall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Britain asked Libya’s new rulers to help fully investigate.
Cameron also said Britain was prepared to provide training and advice to Libya amid growing concerns over security in the region, pledging to help Libya’s police and army.
The prime minister’s visit to Tripoli — which came shortly after a stop in Algeria, where he struck a security partnership — also was just days after the U.K. Foreign Office warned of a potential threat against the British embassy in Tripoli.
Just before that, Britain joined other governments in urging its citizens in Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city, to evacuate in response to what was described as an imminent threat to Westerners.
The Foreign Office on Thursday would not comment on the status of those threats but said it was “taking appropriate measures.”
But Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan described the calls for British and other European nationals to leave Benghazi as “sort of a precautionary measure,” telling reporters at a joint press conference with Cameron that “the situation is not worth worrying over.”
He accused “anti-revolutionary” forces for being behind all the talk about Benghazi’s deteriorating security situation.
“The security situation is fine, recovering and improving,” Zidan said, praising Cameron for visiting Libya and calling him a “responsible and a courageous man who cares about his country’s interests.”
Earlier Thursday, locals greeted Cameron as he toured Tripoli’s famous Martyrs’ Square amid tight security.
Cameron also visited a police training center on the outskirts of Tripoli, telling police recruits it was “very good to be back.” He last visited Libya in September 2011, just after the fall of Gadhafi.
“I will never forget the scenes I saw in Tripoli and Benghazi,” Cameron said, according to Britain’s Press Association. “The British people want to stand with you and help you deliver the greater security that Libya needs. So we have offered training and support from our police and our military.”
The U.K. will double the number of advisers working on training Libyan forces to 16, bring the number of police advisers to three and embed another expert with Libya’s ministry of the interior.
Members of the Libyan navy will be invited to attend a five-month training course in England, and the U.K. will fund a 4.5 million-pound ($7.1 million) job creation package focusing on ex-militia.
After Libya, Cameron travels to Liberia for a development conference. | <urn:uuid:cbdc16ce-d77a-4f24-a0ea-699fdca1b444> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130201/NEWS04/702019975/0/SPORTS2008 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956963 | 793 | 1.65625 | 2 |
US 6108799 A
Disclosed is a system and method for automatically generating at least one instance of a computer macro virus that is native to or associated with an application. The method includes steps of (a) providing a suspect virus sample; and (b) replicating the suspect virus sample onto a least one goat file, using at least one of simulated user input or interprocess communication commands for exercising the goat file through the application, to generate an infected goat file. A further step can be executed of (c) replicating the infected goat file onto a least one further goat file, using at least one of simulated user input, such as keystrokes, mouse clicks and the like, or interprocess communication commands, to generate an additional instance of an infected goat file. The step of providing includes a step of determining attributes of the suspect virus sample, and the steps of exercising employ simulated user input or interprocess communication commands that are selected based at least in part on the determined attributes. As a parallel process the steps of exercising include steps of detecting an occurrence of a window, such as a pop-up window that is opened by one of the application or the macro virus; and using at least one of simulated user input or interprocess communication command(s) for closing the opened window. In this manner the replication process is not halted by a window that requires input from a user.
1. A method for automatically generating at least one instance of a computer macro virus associated with an application, comprising steps of:
providing a suspect macro virus sample; and
replicating the suspect macro virus sample onto a least one goat file, using at least one of simulated user input or interprocess communication commands for exercising the goat file through the application, to generate an infected goat file.
2. A method as in claim 1, and further comprising a step of:
replicating the infected goat file onto a least one further goat file, using at least one of simulated user input or interprocess communication commands, to generate an additional infected goat file.
3. A method as in claim 2, wherein the step of providing includes a step of determining attributes of the suspect macro virus sample, and wherein the steps of exercising use simulated user input or interprocess communication commands selected based at least in part on the determined attributes.
4. A method as in claim 2, wherein the steps of exercising include steps of:
detecting an occurrence of a window that is opened by one of the application or the macro virus; and
using at least one of simulated user input or interprocess communication commands for closing the opened window.
5. A method as in claim 2, wherein the steps of replicating each comprise a step of interpreting a plurality of scripts to generate a plurality of application commands.
6. A method as in claim 5, wherein the application commands are comprised of application open, application close, and document manipulation commands.
7. A method as in claim 2, wherein the steps of replicating include a step of comparing an exercised goat file to a secure copy of the goat file to detect the creation of new macros or the modification of existing macros in the exercised goat file, and declaring a changed goat file to be an infected goat file.
8. A system for automatically generating at least one instance of a computer macro virus associated with an application, comprising a memory for storing the application, a suspect sample containing at least one macro, a replication engine comprising a plurality of scripts representing an application command file and a command interpreter, a plurality of goat files, and databases including a database for storing at least information expressive of predetermined user input required for implementing certain of said commands; said replication engine operating to interpret said command file for generating a plurality of application commands, and for sending at least one of corresponding predetermined simulated user input or interprocess communication commands for exercising a goat file through the application, said system further comprising means for comparing an exercised goat file to a secure copy thereof to detect the creation of new macros or the modification of existing macros in the exercised goat file, and for declaring a modified goat file to be an infected goat file containing a replicated macro virus.
9. A system as in claim 8, wherein said replication engine is further operable for replicating an infected goat file onto a least one further goat file, using at least one of corresponding predetermined simulated user input or interprocess communication commands, to provide a further generation of the macro virus.
10. A system as in claim 9, wherein the macro virus is a polymorphic macro virus, and wherein the further generation of the macro virus differs from the replicated macro virus.
11. A system as in claim 8, and further comprising means for determining attributes of the suspect virus sample, and wherein said interpreter selects user input or interprocess communication commands based at least in part on the determined attributes.
12. A system as in claim 8, and further comprising means, operating in parallel with said interpreter, for detecting an occurrence of a window that is opened by one of the application or the macro virus, for determining in accordance with a windows database whether the opened window is a standard window, and for using at least one of simulated user input or interprocess communication commands for closing the opened window.
13. A system as in claim 8, wherein the application commands are comprised of application open, application close, and document manipulation commands.
14. A computer program stored within a memory device for execution by a computer that comprises an operating system and an application of interest, said computer program directing said computer to automatically generate at least one instance of a computer macro virus that is associated with the application of interest, and comprising a program portion that is responsive to a suspect macro virus sample for replicating the suspect macro virus sample onto a least one goat file, said program portion employing at least one of simulated user input or interprocess communication commands for automatically exercising the goat file with the application of interest to attempt to generate an infected goat file.
15. A computer program as in claim 14, and further comprising a program portion for automatically detecting an occurrence of an opening of a window, and for automatically closing the opened window.
16. A computer program as in claim 15, wherein the program portion automatically closes the opened window by performing a soft close.
17. A computer program as in claim 15, wherein the program portion automatically closes the opened window by performing a hard close.
18. A computer program as in claim 14, and further comprising a program portion for automatically identifying a presence of an infected goat file, and a program portion for using the identified infected goat file to attempt to generate another instance of an infected goat file.
19. A computer program as in claim 14, wherein the suspect macro virus sample is comprised of one of a document template, a global template, or a document.
20. A computer program as in claim 14, and further comprising a program portion for automatically closing any instances of the application of interest that may be running, and for automatically opening at least one instance of the application of interest.
Priority is herewith claimed under 35 U.S.C. Provisional Patent Application 60/066,382, filed Nov. 21,97, entitled "Automated Sample Creation of Polymorphic and Non-Polymorphic Macro Viruses", by J. Boulay et al. The disclosure of this Provisional Patent Application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
This invention generally relates to the automatic analysis of computer viruses and, in particular, to automatic methods and apparatus for creating a plurality of samples of a computer virus.
The replication of a computer virus is an important first step before an analysis of the virus can begin. If the replication is correctly performed it provides the researcher with: (a) proof that a suspected virus is indeed a virus, and (b) samples of the virus, on which the researcher can base his or her analysis. For example, samples of the virus may be used to extract a "signature" of the virus that remains invariant over all instances of the virus.
Over the past several years a number of different classes of computer viruses have been recognized. A class of computer viruses of most interest to this invention is a class referred to as macro viruses, so named because they are intended to execute in an application's macro language. This is in contrast with binary file and bootsector viruses, which instead run in machine code directly under the machine's operating system.
Computer macro viruses require their target application to be loaded and active to function. These viruses are restricted in their functionality insomuch as the application restricts the operation of macros. In practice, the macro languages, the intended target of macro viruses, are hardly restrictive in the actions they allow macros to execute.
When a document or other data sample that is suspected of harboring a computer macro virus, hereinafter referred to simply as a `virus` unless misinterpretation is deemed possible, is received in a computer virus laboratory for analysis, it is important to produce as many and as diverse samples as possible from the received suspected sample. Traditionally, this is done manually by loading the sample in its appropriate application and exercising the sample until it produces infected files (additional copies of itself). If this fails, the alleged virus is pronounced non-viral. If there is doubt about the analysis, the suspected virus can dissected by the researcher to determine by hand the nature of the virus.
If the suspected virus does replicate, it is important that enough samples be generated, and that the generated samples are of a divergent nature. This can be accomplished by various labor intensive processes. To achieve diversity, the researcher can repeat the replication process on various versions of the target application, including foreign language versions. This is an important consideration, as different versions of the same application program can produce different binary representations of the same virus. Likewise, the virus may take on different characteristics on different versions of the application, while still maintaining its viral nature.
Although it is typically not necessary to produce more than, for example, six samples per application version, in some cases more must be produced. In particular, if a large degree of divergence is observed between the text of the macros, it is necessary to produce an order of samples more to insure correct analysis and testing in later stages of the analysis.
One problem with conventional approaches is that the virus analysis can be a lengthy, labor intensive process if done correctly. If shortcuts are taken the number of samples generated may be insufficiently diverse, or just too few in number, which deficiencies will negatively affect the ensuing analysis.
A polymorphic macro virus is one that is capable of "mutation", that is, changing the virus code either during or after its execution in order to make it more difficult to compare with an original version of the virus.
Reference may be had to the following commonly assigned U.S. Patents for teaching various computer virus (not necessarily macro virus) detection, removal and notification techniques: U.S. Pat. No.: 5,440,723, issued Aug. 8, 1995, entitled "Automatic Immune System for Computers and Computer Networks", by Arnold et al.; U.S. Pat. No.: 5,452,442, issued Sep. 19, 1995, entitled "Methods and Apparatus for Evaluating and Extracting Signatures of Computer Viruses and Other Undesirable Software Entities", by Kephart; U.S. Pat. No.: 5,485,575, issued Jan. 16, 1995, entitled "Automatic Analysis of a Computer Virus Structure and Means of Attachment to its Hosts", by Chess et al.; U.S. Pat. No.: 5,572,590, issued Nov. 5, 1996, entitled "Discrimination of Malicious Changes to Digital Information Using Multiple Signatures", by Chess; and U.S. Pat. No.: 5,613,002, issued Mar. 18,1997, entitled "Generic Disinfection of Programs Infected with a Computer Virus", by Kephart et al. The disclosures of these commonly assigned U.S. Patents are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, in so far as the disclosures do not conflict with the teachings of this invention.
It is a first object and advantage of this invention to provide a method and system for automatically replicating computer viruses, in particular, macro viruses.
It is another object and advantage of this invention to provide a method and system for automatically replicating a suspected macro virus such that a diverse population of infected files is produced to facilitate an analysis of the suspected macro virus, thereby increasing the probability of detecting and identifying the presence of a polymorphic macro virus.
The foregoing and other problems are overcome and the objects and advantages are realized by methods and apparatus in accordance with embodiments of this invention, wherein an automatic method is provided for generating a sufficient number of diverse samples of a suspected virus to permit an adequate analysis of the virus.
The method of this invention controls an application that is native to the virus in such a way as to produce samples with a high success rate. The method produces samples under various versions of the application that produce differing representations of the virus and/or different behavior of the virus, resulting in different text representation of the virus. In the case of the virus producing intentional stochastical variations in the virus text, the method identifies this case and produces additional samples.
Disclosed herein is both a system and a method for automatically generating at least one instance of a computer macro virus that is native to or associated with an application. The method includes steps of (a) providing a suspected virus sample; and (b) replicating the suspected virus sample onto a least one goat file, using a sequence of commands comprised of at least one of simulated user input, such as keystrokes, mouse clicks and the like, or interprocess communication (IPC) commands for exercising the goat file through the application to generate an infected goat file. A goat file is considered herein to be a file that is `sacrificed` to the virus. The method may further include a step of (c) replicating the infected goat file onto a least one further goat file, using a sequence of commands comprised of at least one of simulated user input, such as keystrokes, or interprocess communication commands, to produce an additional infected goat file. The step of providing includes a step of determining attributes of the suspect virus sample, and wherein the steps of exercising use simulated user input or interprocess communication commands that are selected based at least in part on the determined attributes.
As a parallel process the steps of exercising include steps of detecting an occurrence of a window, such as a pop-up window that is opened by one of the application or the macro virus, and then closing the opened window such as by using at least one of simulated keystrokes or interprocess communication command(s). In this manner the replication process is not halted by a window that requires input from a user.
The steps of replicating each comprise a step of interpreting a plurality of scripts to generate a series of application commands such as application open, application close, and document manipulation commands.
The steps of replicating include a step of comparing an exercised goat file to a secure copy of the goat file to detect a modification of the goat file, such as a modification of existing macros or the creation of new macros in the goat file, and declaring such a changed goat file to be an infected goat file thereby generating an instance of the macro virus for subsequent analysis.
The above set forth and other features of the invention are made more apparent in the ensuing Detailed Description of the Invention when read in conjunction with the attached Drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a logic flow diagram of a global macro virus replication process in accordance with this invention;
FIG. 2 is a logic flow diagram of a method for processing a command file;
FIG. 3 is a logic flow diagram of a method for the execution of a file manipulation command, which forms a part of the method of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a logic flow diagram of a method for performing a sanity check of a command, which forms a part of the method of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a logic flow diagram of a pop-up window killer routine which is started by and which runs in parallel with the method of FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a logic flow diagram of a method for restoring the system;
FIG. 7 is a logic flow diagram of a method for replicating a sample, which forms a part of the method shown in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 8 is a high level block diagram of a sample replication system in accordance with the teachings of this invention.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention an application of interest, i.e., one that supports a macro language subject to viral infection, is installed on a PC running under, by example, Microsoft Windows NT™. However, any operating system that offers the correct functionality to run the application may be used advantageously to implement this invention. A scripting language that is capable of sending Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) and Object Linking and Embedding (OLE), both of which are examples of interprocess communication commands, and system commands, as well as sending simulated user input such as keyboard and mouse events, is preferably used to control the application. The application runs under the control of the script, which also insures the application is terminated if an error in the virus or any other error causes the application to abnormally terminate or "hang". The script also detects an occurrence of pop-up windows from the virus, or a case where the application must be closed in order for a replication engine (see FIG. 1) to continue executing correctly.
In general, the hardware environment is one that is capable of hosting the application and the operating system that the application is dependent on. The hardware might be an International Business Machines (IBM) Personal Computer with, by example, an Intel 80386 compatible central processing unit (CPU), or it could be an Apple Macintosh™ computer with a Power PC™ CPU. However, these are but examples, and it will be understood that the use of this invention is not limited to only these hardware embodiments, and further that any hardware platform capable of executing the application of interest may be advantageously used.
The teaching of this invention is described in the context of an application known as Microsoft Word, which is employed as the target of infection for the replication process. Again, this is not to be construed as a limiting case, as the teaching of this invention can be applied in an analogous way to other applications that use macro languages, such as Microsoft Excel™. Those skilled in the data processing arts will readily understand that the methods described in detail below can be applied to various applications in order to successfully replicate viruses written for that application.
The invention is embodied at least in part in a script that is used to control the application and monitor the system.
Suitable scripting languages are C, PERL, and Visual Basic™, as they allow access to the Microsoft Windows™ DDE application programming interface (API), and to the Microsoft Windows OLE API, as will the Microsoft Windows system interface that allows simulated keystrokes and mouse events to be sent to the application. However, those skilled in the art will understand that these are but examples of suitable scripting languages, and that other scripting languages may be advantageously used separately and in combination. The script may also be advantageously implemented as a set of scripts, as should be understood by those skilled in the art.
In the ensuing description the scripts form a part of a Replication Engine (RE).
Referring briefly to the conceptual block diagram shown in FIG. 8, a computer system 1 includes: an operating system (OS) 2, such as Microsoft Windows NT; the Replication Engine 3 which is comprised, in the preferred embodiment, of an interpreter 3A for the scripting language and the scripts 3B themselves; an application 4 of interest, such as Microsoft Word; and a data sample to be analyzed such as a document containing at least one and typically a plurality of macros 5 (macro-1, macro-2, . . . , macro-n), one of which is shown having an associated virus. The infected macro (in this case macro-2) is referred to herein as a macro virus 6 or simply as a virus 6.
The RE 3, in one aspect, operates to automatically simulate a user's interaction with the application 4 by interpreting in turn scripts representing individual ones of commands in a command file and generating simulated input, such as keystrokes, mouse activity and the like for exercising the application 4 and the macros 5 in an attempt to stimulate the macro virus 6 into exhibiting viral behavior.
Additionally, the RE 3 can use interprocess communication commands (specified in the command file) instead of simulated input, etc., where these fail to provide the desired result or where it would be otherwise advantageous. The commands of the command file may also represent a combination of simulated input and interprocess communication commands. A desired goal is the generation of additional, preferably diverse, samples of the virus 6, shown as a plurality of infected goat files 7. The infected goat files 7 can then be further analyzed, which is the desired result. The RE 3 attempts to provoke the virus 6 into replicating by executing commands that are known to trigger replication.
By example, in Microsoft Word, hereafter referred to simply as `Word`, the macros 5 can be divided into two classes of macros: automacros and standard macros. The automacros are run by Word automatically when Word is started (AutoExec), Word is shut down (AutoExit), Word opens a document (AutoOpen), Word closes a document (AutoClose), and when Word creates a document based on a template (AutoNew).
The automacros are very attractive to virus writers as they limit the amount and type of user action needed to trigger the infection mechanism to those operations that the user must perform when manipulating a document.
If a standard macro has the name of a built-in Word command, it is run when the user starts the command by clicking in a menu on an item associated with the command, or by typing the keyboard shortcut for that command.
For example, if a document with a FileSave macro is active in an English language version of Word, this macro will be run each time that the user clicks on Save in the File menu, or presses the Control and S keys. Standard macros can also be called by other macros, or can have a keyboard shortcut assigned to them.
In accordance with the teaching of this invention the replication process includes performing miscellaneous operations with several files, aimed at calling the standard macros of the virus 6 and triggering the automacros. These actions include: starting Word, exiting from Word, opening files, saving files, saving files with different names, closing files, creating new files, and writing text files.
The simulation of keystrokes is used in two ways. A first way is to simulate the typing of the shortcut keys associated with some Word commands that call or trigger the virus 6 macro(s) and thus make it replicate. For example, pressing the Control key and O calls the FileOpen macros of the virus 6 in English language versions of Word, if the virus 6 has such a macro. The second way is to send information required by some dialog boxes displayed by Word. By example, depressing Control and O typically causes a dialog box to appear, in which the user is expected to type the name and location of a file to be opened. The RE 3 waits for such windows to display, and then sends the required information to them by simulating keystrokes.
The keyboard keys are simulated either by sending special Window Messages to the dialog boxes through the Win32 API, or by using built-in functions provided by some programming languages.
The Data Dynamic Exchange (DDE) is used to send WordBasic instructions to Word, which then executes the instructions. In general, DDE is used in Microsoft Windows as a form of interprocess communications that uses shared memory to exchange data between applications. Applications can use DDE for one-time data transfers and for ongoing exchanges and updating of data. The use of DDE with the teaching of this invention enables two kinds of actions to occur: (a) forcing Word to directly execute some commands that generate errors when they are executed through the virus 6, and (B) navigating through a file and editing its contents.
With regard to the first type of action, when commands are sent through the DDE they are executed by the Word built-in commands, and do not trigger the standard macros. The automacros can be prevented from being triggered by sending a DisableAutoMacro DDE command before running the other command. Then, running DisableAutoMacro again enables the automacros.
These types of actions are useful in order to circumvent certain problems in macro viruses which would otherwise make the replication method fail. For example, a given macro virus 6, in English language versions of Word, may contain corrupt macros that generate errors when it is desired to perform a special action on a file, e.g., an open, save, or close. However, sending the open, save, or close command through the DDE enables a corrupt macro or macros to be bypassed, enabling the process to continue.
With regard to the second action, i.e., navigating through a file and editing its contents, it is noted that some WordBasic instructions enable the cursor to be moved to the end or the beginning of a file, which is useful when it is desired to add text to a goat file and to thereby better simulate the range of normal user behavior which the virus 6 may expect to observe. The same effect can be obtained using Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) commands, except that Word can be ordered to shut down through DDE, but not through OLE. As was noted above, both DDE and OLE are examples of possible interprocess communication commands.
However, any suitable type of interprocess communication may be used to implement the teachings of this invention.
As was noted above, the preferred embodiment of the RE 3 is comprised of the interpreter 3A for the scripting language and the scripts 3B themselves. Those skilled in the art will realize that the same effect could be accomplished differently. For example, one monolithic program could be used.
The preferred embodiment of this invention also employs a number of databases 3C. Still referring to FIG. 8, these databases include the following: (A) a goats database 8, which stores cross references between an alias and the active and backup copies of goat files 8A, such as documents, used in the replication process; (b) a command cross reference database 9, which cross references a command with the national language versions of the keystrokes and the DDE command; and (C) a standard windows database 10, which contains identification information for various regular dialog boxes and windows together with the appropriate keystrokes needed to interact with the windows. Memory locations are also employed for storing an application's process ID and window handle, referenced as block 11, as well as a Word Activity (WA) variable 12. The use of this stored data is described below.
The goats files 8A may be comprised of Word files that are significantly different from one another to diversify the results of sample creation and maximize the chances of infection. They may be of different types (documents, templates and global templates), and contain one or more macros or no macros. The documents may have different sizes, and may contain different text.
The RE 3 begins with a `clean` system 1 and a suspected virus 6 sample, which will be referred to simply as a sample. Referring now to FIG. 1, at 1.1, the attributes of the sample are determined, for example the language and type of document (e.g., template or plain document). This information is useful in optimizing the replication process, and selecting the correct national language version for Word, keystrokes, and DDE commands. In some cases, this information may be provided with the sample, otherwise the information is derived in 1.1 by analyzing the sample.
The virus sample may be provided as one of different types of files. The manner in which the virus sample has to be loaded into the application or the sets of commands necessary to make it replicate may depend on its type. In this case, each type has special sets of replication commands associated to it.
For Word viruses, the virus sample may be a document template, a global template, or (for some versions of Word) a document. Documents are files that the user opens in the application and to which the user writes text. They may contain customizations (macros for example) for the most recent versions of Word. Document templates are files created by the user, in which the user can store customizations (macros for example). These customizations are active when the template is active. The user also can write text to templates. The global template is a special template in which Word stores customizations (macros for example) that are required to be active whenever Word runs. It is loaded automatically by Word on startup, without any user intervention. If the sample is a document template or a document, it will be opened once Word is running. If the sample is a global template, Word's global template is replaced with it before running Word.
The processing is slightly different for plain documents and document templates. In Step 1.2 the method determines if the sample type is known. If yes, replication proceeds in Step 1.3 (see FIG. 7). If the sample type is not known, an attempt is made at Step 1.4 to replicate the sample onto a document. If this is not successful in producing infected goat files, (Step 1.5) an attempt is made at Step 1.6 to replicate the sample as a global template. If this fails (Step 1.7) the sample is most likely not a virus 6 and is marked for manual analysis at Step 1.8.
A goat file may be identified as being infected by detecting a change or a modification of existing macros or the creation of new macros. For example, some viruses change files without infecting them, simply by modifying their text. One such virus is known as the Wazzu Word virus, which adds the word "wazzu" randomly in the text of a document. However, this virus also infects documents by copying to them a macro known as `autoclose`. Continuing with this example, a particular goat file may be identified as being infected if the autoclose macro is found, where it did not previously exist, or if an already present autoclose macro is found to have been overwritten with the Wazzu Word virus autoclose macro.
If an infected goat file 7 is found to have been generated at Steps 1.9, 1.5 or 1.7, a determination is made at Step 1.10 if a sufficient number of infected goat files 7 have been produced to be analyzed. The actual analysis of the infected goat files 7 does not form a part of this invention, and is not discussed in any detail herein. The precise number of infected goat files 7 depends on the nature of the virus 6 and the methods used for analyzing same. In general, five or six infected goat files may suffice for analysis purposes, although more or less than this number may be used.
In order to produce further samples (and further generations of samples) it is preferred to use the infected goat file 7, as opposed to the original sample itself, to repeat the replication process. In this case one of the infected goat files is chosen at Step 1.12, and control returns to Step 1.3. The method then iterates through the current pool of infected goat file samples (Steps 1.3, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12) using the attributes that were derived in Step 1.1 or through the analysis made in Steps 1.4 and 1.6.
A failure of the sample to adequately replicate is determined by the lack of sufficient samples in Step 1.11. One likely cause of this is a damaged virus 6. However, this condition is preferably judged manually at Step 1.8. Likewise, if no infected goat files are found to have been produced in Steps 1.4 and 1.6 the manual analysis is indicated as being required.
As it is fundamentally impossible to determine if a given sample is a virus 6, if the process described in these embodiments fails, one cannot simply assume that the sample is not a virus, however unlikely. As such, manual analysis is required.
Reference is now made to FIG. 7 for a discussion of the replication process, as referred to in Steps 1.3, 1.4, and 1.6 of FIG. 1. Replication is comprised of loading a command file that matches the attributes of the virus 6 and running it in the interpreter at Step 7.1 (see FIG. 2). The individual commands of the command file are then interpreted in turn in an attempt to replicate the virus 6. After it has run, the method compares back-up copies of the goat files 8A to the active goats (7.2) using the goats database 8. The goats database 8 correlates the goat files 8A that are used in the replication process (active) with protected copies of same stored out of access from Word.
Tools are used to compare the macro regions of the goat files, which indicates whether a goat file may have been infected. If some of the goats are found to be infected at Step 7.3 the system is restored at Step 7.4 (see FIG. 6) and a return is made. If none of the goat files are found to be infected at Step 7.3, the method determines at Step 7.5 if a different command file exists that matches the attributes of the virus 6. If yes, control passes back to Step 7.1, otherwise the system is restored at Step 7.6 and a return is made with a `no infected goat file` produced indication.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the command file interpreter 3A begins at Step 2.1 by loading the goats database 8, which also contains the aliases that are used in the command files to index the goat files 8A. Next it reads the first command at Step 2.2 and determines the nature of the command at Step 2.3. The command may be an ordinary command to manipulate a document, a start Word command, or a close Word command.
If the command is to start Word, control passes to Step 2.4 to close "hard" any currently running instances of Word. By closing "hard" it is meant that the command file interpreter 3A uses Windows API calls to kill the process, which is the most secure way of closing the process. Word is then started at Step 2.5 and its process ID and window handle are noted at Step 2.6 and are stored in memory block 11 at Step 2.7. A pop-up killer (see FIG. 5) is then started at Step 2.8 which uses the window handle of Word to locate the original copy of Word. This process, which runs in parallel to the main replication process, is responsible for removing any stray pop-up windows that may appear as a result of, typically, virus 6 activity, and that are not handled by the command file interpreter 3A itself.
If the command is determined to be a close Word command at Step 2.3, a "soft" close approach is first tried. At Step 2.9 the keyboard focus is set to the original Word instance, based on the previously stored process ID and window handle 11, and appropriate keystrokes are sent to the instance of Word to close same at Step 2.10. This method is used first in an attempt to better simulate normal user behavior, and allows any virus 6 that is expecting the receipt of these keystrokes to infect or complete infection.
If Word is determined to have been closed by this technique at Step 2.11, then the process is finished, and control passes to Step 2.18. If Word was not closed, an attempt is made at Step 2.12 to close Word using DDE to disable automacros and to then close Word. This approach is preferred in that some virus macros interfere with the correct termination of Word, while DDE allows Word to terminate naturally but avoids the interference from the macro virus. If Word is determined at Step 2.13 to be closed, control passes to Step 2.18. If Word has still not closed, then a "hard" close is performed at Step 2.14 (see Step 2.4).
If the command is determined to be an ordinary Word command at Step 2.3, control passes to Step 2.15 to execute the command (see FIG. 3) and then to Step 2.16 to determine if the name of the manipulated goat, which is determined from the command's arguments, has changed. If so, the goats database 8 is updated at Step 2.17, and control passes to Step 2.18.
The infection of document goats by the virus sometimes results in changes to the suffix of the goat file name, which may become `dot` instead of `doc`. If such a change occurs, the goats database 8 is updated at step 2.17, and the control passes to 2.18. If any other change occurs, for example from `anydoc.doc` to `document doc`, the RE 3 assumes that some type of failure occurred and ignores the change.
At Step 2.18 the command file interpreter 3A makes a determination if another command exists. If yes, control passes back to Step 2.2 to execute the next command, otherwise control passes back to the calling routine.
Reference is now made to FIG. 3 for a description of the method to execute a file manipulation command in the Step 2.15 of FIG. 2. When interpreting a command the method employed at Step 3.1 retrieves the appropriate keystrokes from the command cross-reference database 9 and the attributes of the sample. The command cross-reference database 9 is comprised of a table (represented in row and column format) of keystrokes and DDE commands, where each column represents a version of Word and each row a command. The command cross-reference database 9 is used since different keystrokes are needed for different national languages and other versions of Word, as is the case for many programs with which the invention can be used. The DDE command is also cross-referenced for later use.
At Step 3.2 a plausibility (sanity) check of the command is made, i.e., if the command can still be executed correctly (see FIG. 4). If the check fails, the method proceeds to the next command. Otherwise, at Step 3.3 the keyboard focus is set to the Word instance and keystrokes are sent.
A determination is made at Step 3.4 if the command currently being processed expects a window. If yes, a check is made at Step 3.5 to determine if the expected window actually appears. If yes, control passes to Step 3.6 to send the required keystrokes to terminate the displayed window. At this time the window should have been removed, and a determination is made at Step 3.7 if the window is still present. If no, control passes to Step 3.8 to determine if the command succeeded, using the assertions that accompany most commands (an empty assertion is always true by default). If the window is determined to still be present at Step 3.7, control instead passes to Step 3.9 where a hard close of the window is performed. On the other hand, if the expected window did not appear at Step 3.5, or if the window appeared but had to be closed hard at Step 3.9, or if the assertions were determined to have failed at Step 3.8, control passes to Step 3.10 to retrieve the DDE equivalent to the command, disable automacros, send the command, and then enable automacros. A return is then made to process the next command.
A variety of techniques may be employed to determine the existence and state of windows. For example, the Win32 API offers many functions to manipulate windows. Some of these functions, such as FindWindows and FindWindowsEx, return a handle (an identification number) for a window that has special characteristics (title, type, process, etc.), if such a window exists. Another function, GetLastActivePopup, retrieves the handle of the last pop-up window created by a given process. Other functions return the properties of a window, given its handle.
In accordance with an aspect of this invention the pop-up killer uses such functions to determine if Word has created any pop-up windows, and to obtain the characteristics of a window (such as title and class) necessary to determine whether the window is a regular window or not.
The RE 3 can employ the same functions, but instead of determining if the window is a regular window, determines whether the window is an expected window.
Referring to FIG. 4, the sanity check (Step 3.2 of FIG. 3) itself involves a first Step 4.1 of retrieving the goat file name from its handle using the goats database 8, and checking at Step 4.2 if the original instance of Word is still running, using the pre-stored process ID and window handle 11. If this is not the case, a return is made with an error indication. If the original instance of Word is still running, the method proceeds to Step 4.3 to determine the nature of the command. If the command involves opening a file, Step 4.4 is executed where a determination is made if the target file can be opened for read and write accesses. If yes, a return is made with a success indication, otherwise a return is made with an error indication. If the command instead involves manipulating a file, control passes to Step 4.5 to determine if the document to be manipulated is the same as the document currently loaded in Word. The current document can be queried by using system calls or alternatively by interprocess communication commands. If yes, a return is made with a success indication, otherwise a return is made with an error indication. If the command instead involves creating a file, the method exits immediately with a success indication.
In the foregoing description references were made to restoring the system (e.g., Steps 7.4 and 7.6 of FIG. 7). The object of restoring the system is to clean the replication engine 3 of any traces of the virus 6. Referring now to FIG. 6, at Step 6.1 all instances of Word are closed "hard". At Step 6.2 that part of the file system that Word has access to is "scrubbed" by removing all extra files and replacing any changed files with backup copies. Finally, at Step 6.3 the system user profile is restored to its original state.
A description is now made of a presently preferred technique for handling pop-up windows. When the virus' host application is run by the main replication process, some dialog boxes and pop-up windows can appear. These windows can be of various types. By example, "standard" windows are created by the application to require some information in response to a command (for example, in the U.S. English version of Word the Open dialog box appears when a user chooses to open a file from the file menu, or when the user presses the Control and O keys). In another example, windows can be created by the virus 6. These windows require an intervention from the user (clicking on a button or pressing some keys) and would otherwise stop the automatic execution of the RE 3.
If the window is a standard window, the main replication process of the RE 3 has access in the standard windows database 10 to the information required by the window to close same, and can send the information to the window using, for example, simulated keystrokes as described above. However, if the window is of viral origin, or is a standard that has failed to close, it is necessary to close the window to enable the automatic replication process to proceed. The pop-up killer routine (started at Step 2.8 of FIG. 1) that runs in parallel with the other operations of the RE 3 is responsible for closing such windows.
The pop-up killer is also responsible for two other tasks whose purpose is to prevent the RE 3 from hanging. These other tasks are killing (terminating) unknown instances of Word, if some are found to running, and killing Word if it is found to be hanging. In the context of this invention Word is considered to be inactive when it consistently fails to open documents, or close the current document. The RE 3 can become aware of this condition by measuring how long the current document has been open, or for how long no document has been open.
Further in this regard, if Word is hanging it no longer reacts correctly to the commands sent by the RE 3 By example, when the RE 3 sends a DDE command to Word it waits for a signal from the OS 2 indicating that the application received the command. If Word is hanging the signal is not sent, and the RE 3 would wait indefinitely unless interrupted by a timer or some other mechanism. However, if Word is not running then an error code is immediately sent back to the RE 3 from the OS 2, which can then resume its operation. As was discussed previously, these various cases are handled by the scripts that form the command file executed by the RE 3.
The pop-up killer routine is initiated when Word is first started in Step 2.8 of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 5, it is comprised of a loop that starts at Step 5.1 with a close of all unknown instances of Word (i.e., instances of Word that do not have a corresponding process ID and window handle 11). A determination is then made at Step 5.2 if the desired instance of Word is still running. If not, the routine exits. If the desired instance of Word is still running, a determination is made at Step 5.3, using the Word Activity variable 12, whether Word has been running or has been inactive for more than some predetermined period of time. This step involves checking and updating hardware or software timers for Word activity and total running time of Word. If Word has been running too long or has been inactive for too long, a hard close is made at Step 5.4, and the routine terminates, otherwise a determination is made at Step 5.5 for the existence of pop-up windows. If there are none, a check is made at Step 5.6 if the active document has changed, in which case the Word Activity variable 12 is set at Step 5.7 for indicating that Word is active. Otherwise, the Word Activity variable 12 is set at Step 5.8 for indicating that Word is Inactive. In either case control passes back to the top of the loop at Step 5.1. The Word Activity variable 12 is used at Step 5.3, as described above.
If a pop-up window is determined to have appeared at Step 5.5, control passes to Step 5.9 were a determination is made, using one or more of the above described windowrelated functions, whether the pop-up window is a standard window as listed in the standard windows database 10. If the pop-up window is listed, an assumption is made that the existence of the pop-up window is the result of the main execution process. In this case a delay is made at Step 5.10 for the window to close. At Step 5.11 a determination is made if the pop-up window is still present. If it is the window is closed hard, as it is also closed if the pop-up window is not found in the standard windows database 10 at Step 5.9. Control then passes to Step 5.7. Closing the popup window hard may be an indication that the pop-up window was not expected to appear at the time it appeared, or that the pop-up window could not be closed in a normal fashion. If the window is instead found in Step 5.11 to have closed "naturally" after the time delay of Step 5.10, control passes to Step 5.7 to set the Word Activity variable 12 to indicate Word activity.
It should be apparent that the teaching of this invention provides a novel and useful technique and system for replicating macro viruses through the use of simulated user input, such as keystrokes, mouse clicks and the like, as well as through the use of interprocess communication commands and system level commands that are not available to a typical user.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. | <urn:uuid:08506599-dc3b-4261-bccc-b85cd6a11f93> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.google.ca/patents/US6108799 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933352 | 10,086 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Complete Nominee List
The Nominated Movie Trailers
Far from the eagerly anticipated and globally televised event it is today, the first Academy Awards ceremony took place out of the public eye during an Academy banquet at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Two hundred seventy people attended the May 16, 1929 dinner in the hotel’s Blossom Room; guest tickets cost $5. It was a long affair filled with speeches, but Academy President Douglas Fairbanks made quick work of handing out the statuettes. There was little suspense when the awards were presented that night: the recipients had already been announced three months earlier. Continue reading
- “Wings” was the only silent film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.
- The event was held a full three months after the winners had already been announced.
- In 1929, the average cost of a movie ticket was 25 cents.
The ceremony was a great success, apart from the sometimes off-color humor of the host, Billy Crystal. Nonetheless, the event was well-worth the time. As I predicted, The Artist won Best Picture, and rightly so; telling the story of what movies (and life) are all about: love, hate, heart-break, and survival. Ever since I first saw the film, I have not been able to describe it without becoming emotional. The Artist will be remembered as one of the greatest movies in the history of film-making.
Seth McFarland's jokes, as Host, were sometimes off-color, and not as memorable as previous MC's; but, he managed to carry the show on with (a modicum of) dignity. HIGHLIGHTS: Charlize Theron dancing with Channing Tatum; Jennifer Hudson singing "You're Gonna Love Me"; and Michelle Obama announcing the Best Picture. LOWLIGHTS: The entire Captain Kirk future-predition segment with Seth McFarland; the Visual-Effects winner for "Life of Pi" who's microphone was cut-off for going on for far-too long; and Mark Whalberg and that bear via sattelite. | <urn:uuid:a9b3f97c-cb56-41b2-812e-a0abec31d87f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://deanguelo.blogs.com/chocolateblog/1929/05/the-academy-awards.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969339 | 432 | 1.578125 | 2 |
What do Digvijay Singh, Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kumar Chamling have in common? A simple answer would be that they are all chief ministers. But they have more in common than just that. Some time back, in February to be precise, we put all three on the cover of Down To Earth . These three, we felt, were a new breed of Indian politicians who were concerned about the environment. They also felt that taking care of the environment would help them improve the lot of their people and earn them good dividend in the form of votes.
Down To Earth arrived at these names after an extensive survey of environmentalists, readers of the magazine and organisations working in several states. By then Digvijay Singh had already proved that he could beat the anti-incumbency factor. A team of reporters who went to Madhya Pradesh found that this was due to the impact of Digvijay's grassroots programmes and his passing on power to the people to take care of their local resources. In some cases, the state government even bypassed the panchayats and went directly with funds to more transparent people's institutions like g ram sabhas .
Today, Chamling, who was ranked as the greenest chief minister ( cm) in India by the respondents to the survey, and Naidu, who was ranked very high by the readers of the magazine, have also vindicated themselves. Naidu won even though certain poll pundits had forecast that he may not be able to do so. Chamling, on the other hand, has almost swept the polls. Out of 32 members in the legislative assembly he romped home with 24. An impressive victory indeed.
Naidu has initiated two major programmes -- the introduction of Clean and Green Campaign and the setting up of the Van Samrakshan Samitis for the protection of forests. The Clean and Green Campaign is mainly being carried out in cities while the Samitis have proved successful in managing forest resources in the districts of Anantpur, Adilabad and Mahboobnagar of Andhra Pradesh. Chamling, for his part, has sought the panchayats' help to implement social forestry schemes. Besides, he has shown a keeness to tap renewable energy sources.
This is a message for other politicians in India as well. Take care of the environment and the environment will take care of the people who, in turn, will take care of you. It is a well-known fact that if the environment is degraded, the people in the area will be poor and conditions of life, hard. But if the environment is lush and green, the people will be prosperous, farming and animal care will thrive and the local community will earn and live well. It was only after the confirmation from scientists at the geological Survey of India ( gsi) that the finding was first published in Current Science , a science journal.
These dinosaurs who roamed the area around 178 million years ago are believed to be plant-eaters and lived in the forests among medium-sized trees. "The head and teeth revealed that they were herbivorous," he says. The unearthed bone pieces contained more than twelve spindled shaped ones with length and diameter ranging from 10-15 cm and 9-10 cm respectively. | <urn:uuid:af6a6740-0054-4402-bf66-49f42655286c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/20695 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977937 | 671 | 1.796875 | 2 |
The objective of this study was to analyze the incidence of and risk factors for healthcare-associated infections (HAI) among hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients, and the impact of such infections on mortality during hospitalization.
We conducted a 9-year (2001-2009) retrospective cohort study including patients submitted to HSCT at a reference center in São Paulo, Brazil. The incidence of HAI was calculated using days of neutropenia as the denominator. Data were analyzed using EpiInfo 3.5.1.
Over the 9-year period there were 429 neutropenic HSCT patients, with a total of 6816 days of neutropenia. Bloodstream infections (BSI) were the most frequent infection, presenting in 80 (18.6%) patients, with an incidence of 11.7 per 1000 days of neutropenia. Most bacteremia was due to Gram-negative bacteria: 43 (53.8%) cases were caused by Gram-negative species, while 33 (41.2%) were caused by Gram-positive species, and four (5%) by fungal species. Independent risk factors associated with HAI were prolonged neutropenia (odds ratio (OR) 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04-1.10) and duration of fever (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.12-1.30). Risk factors associated with death in multivariate analyses were age (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.43), being submitted to an allogeneic transplant (OR 3.08, 95% CI 1.68-5.56), a microbiologically documented infection (OR 2.96, 95% CI 1.87-4.6), invasive aspergillosis disease (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.1-4.3), and acute leukemias (OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.3-3.6).
BSI was the most frequent HAI, and there was a predominance of Gram-negative microorganisms. Independent risk factors associated with HAI were duration of neutropenia and fever, and the risk factors for a poor outcome were older age, type of transplant (allogeneic), the presence of a microbiologically documented infection, invasive aspergillosis, and acute leukemia. Further prospective studies with larger numbers of patients may confirm the role of these risk factors for a poor clinical outcome and death in this transplant population.
International Journal of Infectious Diseases 03/2012; · 1.94 Impact Factor | <urn:uuid:5ec68bc9-5494-4529-8fe8-238a87a7bf6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.researchgate.net/researcher/72231608_Mendes_ET/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940396 | 545 | 1.601563 | 2 |
by James J. Murtagh
American Reporter Correspondent
October 8, 2009
AMERICA NEEDS 'MOORE' DEMOCRACY, FEWER CLICHÉS
LOS ANGELES -- Michael Moore has a knack for juxtaposing key moments in history. His new film starts with the fall of Rome, intercut with the collapse of American industry.
Could Rome have acted differently when they knew their end was coming? Moore suggests, return to democracy! Moore shows societies are not sustainable with a widening gulf between "those who have everything, and those that have nothing." The oligarchs of Rome were poisoned by more than lead in their wine: selfishness and decadence, and disdain for common folk plebeians led to self-destruct.
Moore sounds an alarm, as once did Winston Churchill: "The era of procrastination is coming to a close. We are entering a period of consequences." Our heads must come out of the sand, or our children will amazedly wonder why America slept as the coming storm darkened the sky. Unbridled, unregulated, swindling, corrupted, anarchy capitalism has strangled itself. Only a return to real democracy and a commitment to moral values and advancement of the middle class can save it.
Now for a shocker. Many conservatives (with whom I sometimes travel) privately agree. If the business of America is business, regulation is essential. America needs markets, including customers from a vibrant middle class, to avoid a death spiral for American business. Greed is not good - unless carefully regulated to protect the average man, to make competition fair and to safeguard democracy.
In truth, the fundamental core of Republicans believe in is very much rooted in the core values of this film. Moore quotes rock-solid conservatives, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Jesus. All were against usury, speculation, and distrusted banks.
Senator John McCain stressed that real conservatives are "Teddy Roosevelt Republicans." TR's vision was a government big enough to play "honest umpire," and to swing a big stick both at home and abroad, and a Big government able to protect Big Business from itself.
But since the era of Ronald Reagan, the death of regulation decimated the middle class, and in turn, decimated our industry. True TR conservatives want a stable business environment, not the roller coaster. Regulation of our economy is necessary to protect conservative values.
The other Roosevelt remarked that saving capitalism was like saving a drowning man with a top hat. The drowning capitalist refused to thank FDR, but instead complained that he had lost his hat!
So it is today. Herodotus showed the rich pursuing more wealth and, in the process, destroyed the very societies that created wealth. Sophocles may have heard heard the turbid ebb and flow of tragedy long ago on the Agean. Mathew Arnold may have seen the sea of capitalism that once ringed our globe, but like any other faith, ours may be replaced as ignorant armies clash by night.
Lee Iacocca bluntly states, "our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs." Iacocca asks: "Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. This is America, not the damned Titanic." Lee, like Moore, faces up to inconvenient truths. Something is deeply rank and wrong, and our body politic needs stiff medicine.
Moore, like Roosevelt prescribes principles to restore honesty amid our society, a kind of "re-moralization": "The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit," FDR said.
Conservatives don't like Moore's style, appearance, or theatrics, but moral and true conservative ideas are at the heart of his movie. Sure, his citizen arrests of CEOs may be off-putting to some. But hey, it is a movie, and Moore needed to sell tickets. No capitalist could criticize Moore for needing to make a buck.
I've said before that Moore can and should broaden his appeal. In 1968 college students scrubbed up to "get clean for Gene," so their candidate, Eugene J. "Gene" McCarthy would have national appeal. Moore' could consider small style changes so his substance would shine brighter. If we are going to get the airplane of reform off the ground, we need both wings. Winston Churchill liked to say that democracy is the worst of all possible systems of government - except for all others that have ever been devised.
A country divided against itself without a middle class cannot stand. When rebellion comes, "do not send to ask for whom the bell tolls," as John Donne wrote so long ago, since everyone suffers and foots the bill.
Can America foresee and avoid the collapse Rome suffered?
Will business heavyweights like Lee Iacocca team up with Moore before it is too late?
Bluntly, can capitalism be saved from the capitalists themselves? If we fail, we face not just a new Great Depression. We are looking at a new Dark ages. Given the vast expansion of humankind, a new Dark Ages may be far darker than anything in history.
Have we learned anything in the 16-odd centuries since the fall of Rome? This is not a time for "sunshine patriots." Now, the Right and the Left must unite for love of our country. In 10 years, let's not wonder why America slept, as JFK famously wrote. Instead, this can and will be America's finest hour, as FDR claimed Wowlrd War II was. Moore's prescriptions - a return to democracy, morality, and protection of the middle class- make eminent sense. Frankly, we don't have any choice but to face the provervial coming storm now.
Imperial Rome probably would have thrown soothsayer Michael Moore to a lion. Let's hope America doesn't make this mistake. Moore may be a genuine documentary-philosopher king, and we need him. James Murtagh spent 20 years as an ICU physician. | <urn:uuid:c41d51ee-875c-44d2-951e-090b26eb7074> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.american-reporter.com/4,656W/672.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952636 | 1,241 | 1.578125 | 2 |
JACKSON, Miss. — It was a Wednesday morning in front of the last abortion clinic in Mississippi. C. Roy McMillan was camped outside, as he almost always is.
He tapped on the car window of a woman who had just been inside the Jackson Women's Health Organization. Knock knock. "Ma'am?" he petitioned sharply, in his croaky Mississippi drawl. The African-American woman declined to acknowledge him. "Ma'am?"
So McMillan, 69 and white, yelled the words he has yelled at thousands of women — words that this self-professed civil rights advocate employs to link the great struggle of his state's past with what he sees as the great struggle of its present:
"Mommy, Mommy — I have a dream!" he shouted, assuming the voice of the woman's unborn child. "Please don't cut my dream short like they did for Dr. King!"
Two days earlier, on April 16, Republican Gov. Phil Bryant had signed a bill imposing regulations on the clinic that the owner said might put her out of business. If the clinic indeed goes under, Mississippi will become the first state to have achieved a de facto ban on elective abortions. Every other private obstetrician here is either morally opposed to the procedure or too scared of people like McMillan to perform it.
Despite the signing, the patients kept coming. So McMillan kept coming as well. McMillan set out signs decorated with photos — one of a healthy baby, another of a dead fetus — and unfolded a chair at the corner of quiet side street where patients turn to reach the clinic parking lot. This was a consultation day. The next day, after the mandated 24-hour waiting period, abortions would be performed.
"This week, they'll kill 50 people," McMillan said.
If McMillan wants to tap on patients' car windows to spread his message, he knows being on that corner is his only choice. A federal judge has permanently barred him from going within 50 feet of the clinic.
According to court documents, the injunction was the result, in part, of McMillan's statements to one of the clinic's former doctors. "Your days are numbered," McMillan told him.
And: "You may die today."
And: "Are you prepared to meet your maker?"
• • •
Mississippi's anti-abortion forces have been among the most effective in the nation, lobbying for laws and creating a climate that helped whittle the number of providers from 14 in 1981, to one today.
State laws mandate parental consent for minors and an ultrasound. They prohibit state tax dollars from funding abortion and school nurses from discussing it. Drivers, for an extra $31, may have a "Choose Life" license plate that benefits anti-abortion counseling clinics.
Now, with the new law, doctors at the clinic must have admitting privileges at a local hospital. Clinic owner Diane Derzis has said that will be difficult because many of her doctors fear harassment and live out of state.
Few have advocated for an end to abortion as long, and with as much intensity, as McMillan. Yet some allies disagree with his tactics. Before the trial of Michael Griffin — the activist convicted of murdering abortion provider Dr. David Gunn in Pensacola in 1993 — McMillan signed a statement calling for Griffin's acquittal. The statement also justified the use of lethal force to protect an unborn child.
Terri Herring, Mississippi's leading anti-abortion lobbyist, credits McMillan with spurring her interest in the abortion fight. She worries, though, that his shock tactics are not representative of mainstream Mississippians.
Roy "is not what we want as a poster child!!" she wrote in an email. "But he has been faithful for years. … Roy is the father of the Mississippi movement. He is either loved or hated, but often misunderstood.
"Did he tell you that he was left as an infant on the doorstep of a church?"
• • •
The National Abortion Foundation, in 2010, documented the violence directed at abortion providers from 1977 through 2009 in the United States and Canada: eight murders, 17 attempted murders, 41 bombings, 175 arsons and 100 attacks with butyric acid. None of this is his style, McMillan says.
His position on killing abortion providers can seem muddled: "I wouldn't condemn someone who did. But I can't condone it."
He added that he could never do such a thing himself. "I'm scared of the repercussions," McMillan said. "I'd much prefer women were talked out of abortion."
He believes he has saved thousands of babies by talking. Some of the children born after his interventions are as close as grandchildren, he says. He's taking a few on a Florida vacation in June.
When he sees a man accompanying a woman to the clinic, he might challenge his masculinity. Be a real man. Save her baby.
Around 9:30 a.m. a woman in a Honda Civic rolled past McMillan.
"Female!" he yelled to the other counselors.
As the woman walked from car to clinic, one chatted her up from the other side of the fence. "Excuse me, ma'am. Are you okay? Ma'am, we want to help you any way we can. Please help us love your baby." | <urn:uuid:42a9b3c3-792f-4bd9-8852-97120bcfc5ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/activist-keeps-up-protests-at-mississippis-lone-abortion-clinic/1231031 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977548 | 1,123 | 1.546875 | 2 |
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — When it was built in 1944, the William V. Haskell Community Center immediately became a place where youth and adults could gather to exercise, hold meetings and conduct other activities.
Now that 68 years have passed, the facility is showing its age. The three roofs on the building are leaking and the floor joists are beginning to rot, the electrical service is outdated, asbestos is in the wall and ceiling panels, the chimney is cracked and breaking up and more.
In 2006, the community began sketching plans to replace the 7,200-square-foot building, but those plans were hampered due to the downturn in the economy.
Anxious to secure the center’s future, the City Council has turned the issue over to the voters.
On Nov. 6, a referendum question on the ballot will read, “Do you favor the construction of a new community center to replace the current facility?”
If the referendum is approved, the city will proceed with plans to build the new center, but only after fundraising efforts bring in a minimum of half of the $6.8 million project costs. Approximately $3.75 million of the remaining cost will come from taxpayers.
If the referendum is defeated, the city will repair the current recreation center to meet minimum health and safety standards.
The existing Haskell Center on Main Street has a gym and a lounge as well as office space.
It would cost an estimated $877,000 to make minimum repairs and meet Americans With Disabilities Act requirements, according to figures provided by the city. At the same time, those repairs would not ameliorate additional issues with the Main Street center. At this point, the small size of the building limits programming opportunities, and there is inadequate parking and spectator seating. It also is located in a high traffic area, which compromises safety.
If voters support a new center, it will be located on 8 acres on Chapman Street. The site was chosen because of its closeness to the downtown, the outdoor pool, the bicycle path and Riverside Park, which is where the Presque Isle Recreation Department holds its soccer program.
Originally, the architectural plan for the new facility called for it to be a $10 million, 37,000-square-foot, two-story facility. That was scaled back due to the downturn in the economy. The revised plans call for a 30,000-square-foot, single-story facility.
City officials said that it will meet community needs for the next 70 years, with expanded space for all age groups. It will feature a teen and senior center, walking track, gymnasium, multipurpose room, locker rooms, art room and kitchen facilities.
Proponents also said that it would provide a safe place for families to gather, along with offering more activities for youth and seniors. It also will increase traffic in the downtown area, discourage outmigration, encourage healthy lifestyles and combat obesity.
The city secured funding several years ago to clean up the Chapman Street land and make sure it is free from contaminants.
Further details about the project, along with architectural drawings and plans, can be found on the city’s website. | <urn:uuid:84a88b6f-816f-47ea-bc02-4222c1e95458> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bangordailynews.com/2012/10/28/news/aroostook/presque-isle-voters-to-decide-future-of-community-center/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96485 | 655 | 1.539063 | 2 |
We support both claimants and professionals. These are just some of the organisations who have subscribed to Benefits and Work:
- Royal College of Nursing
- Spinal Injuries Association
- Chesterfield Law Centre
- Stephenson’s Solicitors
- Birmingham Citizens Advice Bureau
- Manchester City Council Sensory Provision Team
Charities propose changes to ESA – but would they make matters worse?Created on Thursday, 13 January 2011 13:19
Category: Latest news
13 January 2011
Three leading charities have submitted proposals for changing the mental health test for employment and support allowance (ESA). However, the proposals run the risk of making things worse for claimants and, at the same time, the charities may have already fatally undermined any influence they once had.
Mind, Mencap and the National Autistic Society (NAS) were asked by Professor Harrington, who carried out the recent review of the work capability assessment, to come up with ideas for improving the mental health test for ESA.
The charities have now submitted a 34 page document to Harrington which will be scrutinised and then passed on to ministers.
The charities have not suggested any radical reform of the test.
Instead they have argued for keeping the current activities broadly as they are, but switching to a very much more complex scoring system.
Under the current system there are ten mental health activities with 51 descriptors for which points can be scored.
Under the proposed changes the combination of possible scoring descriptors would rise almost fivefold to 225.
This complexity is achieved by having three sets of scores for most activities and then multiplying them together to come up with a final score for that activity. For example:
1) Learning Tasks:
a) Has difficulty learning tasks that are:
moderately complex (2)
b) To the extent that learning such a task is:
very difficult (2)
c) After learning the task, they would be able to repeat it no more than
a day later (3)
a week later (2)
a month later (1)
If axbxc is less than 4 = 0 points
If axbxc is between 4 and 8 = 6 points
If axbxc is between 9 and 12 = 9 points
If axbxc is more than 12 = 15 points
Such a complex scoring system, adapted from an Australian model, would lead to extremely complicated claim forms – if they were to truly reflect the scoring system. Appeals would also be likely to be much more arduous with so many more variables potentially open to dispute. And, with the proposed cuts to legal aid, claimants would struggle to find advisors who had a clear understanding of the scoring system.
Potentially, the proposed scoring system is much more flexible and could lead to better outcomes for claimants. But as the three agencies admit themselves in their report, the DWP could adopt their system but simply raise the minimum number of points needed, leaving claimants no better off. Indeed, such a flexible and complex scoring system would allow the DWP to continually tinker with and fine tune the points needed for an award, in order to get precisely the number of failed ESA claims that suited their budget at any given time.
Rather than accepting that it is reasonable to use computer guided assessments and a points system, this was an opportunity for these agencies to ask for a radical overhaul of the entire work capability assessment. This might have included insisting that compulsory activities and benefits sanctions have no place in a system intended to help and support people with mental health conditions and learning difficulties into work.
In theory, the voluntary sector are not without bargaining power at the moment: the Coalition is desperate for charities to be heavily involved as subcontractors in the Work Programme to be introduced later this year in order to give it legitimacy.
If the chief executives of all the major charities had refused to be involved in the Work Programme without a radical overhaul of the WCA that would have exerted considerable pressure on the government. This would not have been unreasonable, given that, in their report, the three charities say plainly of the current work capability assessment that:
It is mechanistic, impersonal and inflexible.
Applicants are being pre-judged based on factors like appearance and
attendance rather than simply on the basis of the assessment.
A huge number of applicants with substantial difficulties are scoring zero
points on the assessment.
Too many applicants who should be in the Work-Related Activity or
Support groups are being declared ‘Fit for Work’.
Even if the proposed changes are introduced, it will be long after the summer when the Work Programme begins. Yet two of the three charities, Mind and Mencap, are part of the Disability Works UK consortium bidding to be subcontractors from the outset of the Work programme.
It is clear then, that the government has not got a great deal to fear in terms of opposition from agencies that are willing to take part in a system that imposes compulsory activities and benefits sanctions on their own wrongly assessed members.
Still, it was probably never on the cards that a large number of chief executives would revolt. Not when you consider that the head of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations is Stephen Bubb, fancy tie connoisseur and passionate supporter of the voluntary sector winning as many government contracts as possible.
Or, rather, that should be Sir Stephen Bubb, as he was the very proud recipient of a knighthood for services to the voluntary sector in the Coalition’s first New Year’s honours list.
Arise Sir Stephen, defender of the poor, sick and disabled.
Read about Sir Stephen’s Duchamp tie and about his fun meeting at the reform club and about his knighthood.
Download the proposed amendments to the WCA. | <urn:uuid:c032828c-3d92-4314-94a2-9167c847b491> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/members-only-news/1284-charities-propose-changes-to-esa--but-would-they-make-matters-worse | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964002 | 1,188 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The Ethics of Love Spells
by Mike Nichols
by Mike Nichols
To gain the love of someone: On a night of the full moon, walk to a spot beneath your beloved’s bedroom window, and whisper his/her name three times to the nightwind. –Ozark love spell
It seems to be an immutable law of nature. You are interviewed by a local radio or TV station, or in some local newspaper. The topic of the interview is Witchcraft or Paganism, and you spend the better part of an hour brilliantly articulating your beliefs, your devotion to Goddess and nature, the difference between Witchcraft and Satanism, and generally enlightening the public at large. The next day, you are flooded with calls. Is it people complimenting you on such a splendid interview? No. People wanting to find out more about the religion of Wicca? Huh-uh. People who are even vaguely interested in what you had to say??? Nope. Who is it? It’s people asking you to do a love spell for them!
This used to drive me nuts. I’d take a deep breath and patiently explain (for the thousandth time) why I won’t even do love spells for myself, let alone anyone else. This generally resulted in my caller becoming either angry or defensive, but seldom more enlightened. ‘But don’t you DO magic?’, they ask. ‘Only occasionally,’ I answer. ‘And aren’t most magic spells love spells?’, they persist. That was the line I really hated, because I knew they were right! At least, if you look at the table of contents of most books on magic, you’ll find more love spells than any other kind. This seems as true for the medieval grimoire as for the modern drugstore paperback.
Why? Why so many books containing so many love spells? Why such an emphasis on a kind of magic that I, personally, have always considered very negative? And to make matters even more confusing, the books that do take the trouble of dividing spells between ‘positve’ and ‘negative’ magic invariably list love spells under the first heading. After all, they would argue, love is a good thing. There can never be too much of it. Therefore, any spell that brings about love must be a GOOD spell. Never mind that the spell puts a straightjacket on another’s free will, and then drops it in cement for good measure
And that is why I had always assumed love magic to be negative magic. Years ago, one of the first things I learned as a novice Witch was something called the Witch’s Rede, a kind of ‘golden rule’ in traditional Witchcraft. It states, ‘An it harm none, do what thou will.’ One uses this rede as a kind of ethical litmus test for a spell. If the spell brings harm to someone — anyone (including yourself!) — then don’t do it! Unfortunately, this rule contains a loophole big enough to fly a broom through. It’s commonly expressed, ‘Oh, this won’t HARM them; it’s really for their own good.’ When you hear someone say that, take cover, because something especially nasty is about to happen.
That’s why I had to develop my own version of the Witch’s Rede. Mine says that if a spell harms anyone, OR LIMITS THEIR FREEDOM OF THOUGHT OR ACTION IN ANY WAY, then consider it negative, and don’t do it. Pretty strict, you say? Perhaps. But there’s another law in Witchcraft called the Law of Threefold Return. This says that whatever power you send out, eventually comes back to you three times more powerful. So I take no chances. And love spells, of the typical make-Bobby-love-me type, definitely have an impact on another’s free will.
So why are they so common? It’s taken me years to make peace with this, but I think I finally understand. The plain truth is that most of us NEED love. Without it, our lives are empty and miserable. After our basic survival needs have been met, we must have affection and companionship for a full life. And if it will not come of its own accord, some of us may be tempted to FORCE it to come. And nothing can be as painful as loving someone who doesn’t love you back. Consequently, the most common, garden-variety spell in the world is the love spell.
Is there ever a way to do a love spell and yet stay within the parameters of the Witch’s Rede? Possibly. Some teachers have argued that if a spell doesn’t attempt to attract a SPECIFIC person into your life, but rather attempts to attract the RIGHT person, whomever that may be, then it is not negative magic. Even so, one should make sure that the spell finds people who are ‘right’ for each other — so that neither is harmed, and both are made happy.
Is there ever an excuse for the make-Bobby-love-me type of spell? Without endorsing this viewpoint, I must admit that the most cogent argument in its favor is the following: Whenever you fall in love with someone, you do everything in your power to impress them. You dress nicer, are more attentive, witty, and charming. And at the same time, you unconsciously set in motion some very powerful psychic forces. If you’ve ever walked into a room where someone has a crush on you, you know what I mean. You can FEEL it. Proponents of this school say that a love spell only takes the forces that are ALREADY there — MUST be there if you’re in love — and channels them more efficiently.
But the energy would be there just the same, whether or not you use a spell to focus it.
I won’t attempt to decide this one for you. People must arrive at their own set of ethics through their own considerations. However, I would call to your attention all the cautionary tales in folk magic about love spells gone awry. Also, if a love spell has been employed to join two people who are not naturally compatible, then one must keep pumping energy into the spell. And when one finally tires of this (and one will, because it is hard work!) then the spell will unravel amidst an emotional and psychic hurricane that will make the stormiest divorces seem calm by comparison. Not a pretty picture.
It should be noted that many spells that pass themselves off as love spells are, in reality, sex spells. Not that there’s anything surprising in that, since our most basic needs usually include sex. But I think we should be clear from the outset what kind of spell it is. And the same ethical standards used for love spells can often be applied to sex spells. Last year, the very quotable Isaac Bonewits, author of ‘Real Magic’, taught a sex magic class here at the Magick Lantern, and he tossed out the following rule of thumb: Decide what the mundane equivalent of your spell would be, and ask yourself if you could be arrested for it. For example, some spells are like sending a letter to your beloved in the mail, whereas other spells are tantamount to abduction. The former is perfectly legal and normal, whereas the latter is felonious.
One mitigating factor in your decisions may be the particular tradition of magic you follow. For example, I’ve often noticed that practitioners of Voudoun (Voodoo) and Santeria seem much more focused on the wants and needs of day-to-day living than on the abstruse ethical considerations we’ve been examining here. That’s not a value judgement — just an observation. For example, most followers of Wicca STILL don’t know how to react when a Santerian priest spills the blood of a chicken during a ritual — other than to feel pretty queasy. The ethics of one culture is not always the same as another.
And speaking of cultural traditions, another consideration is how a culture views love and sex. It has often been pointed out that in our predominant culture, love and sex are seen in very possessive terms, where the beloved is regarded as one’s personal property. If the spell uses this approach, treating a person as an object, jealously attempting to cut off all other relationships, then the ethics are seriously in doubt. However, if the spell takes a more open approach to love and sex, not attempting to limit a person’s other relationships in any way, then perhaps it is more defensible. Perhaps. Still, it might be wise to ask, Is this the kind of spell I’d want someone to cast on me?
Love spells. Whether to do them or not. If you are a practitioner of magic, I dare say you will one day be faced with the choice. If you haven’t yet, it is only a matter of time. And if the answer is yes, then which spells are ethical and which aren’t? Then you, and only you, will have to decide whether ‘All’s fair in love and war’, or whether there are other, higher, metaphysical considerations.
Document Copyright © 1988, 1998 by Mike Nichols | <urn:uuid:c1f13967-ea7e-490a-a8e3-faa58d16843f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://witchesofthecraft.com/tag/services/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94765 | 1,980 | 1.5 | 2 |
I’m Karen, the Fixodent Community Manager, and I’m glad you enjoy Fixodent Free! To remove residue from your mouth, I recommend rinsing your mouth with comfortably hot water and gently brushing your gums with a soft-bristled toothbrush and toothpaste. You can also rinse your mouth with a mouthwash such as Scope. Try not to pick the residue from your mouth, as this could cause irritation. And as previously suggested, try using less adhesive. Three small strips on your top and bottom denture are enough to provide all day hold.
Since you mentioned you have to tug to get your dentures out, rinsing with comfortably hot water will loosen the seal to help remove them. If you still can’t get them out, rinse your mouth with water again and blow up a balloon or blow a whistle. This should do the trick!
Since you’re new to dentures, I’d like to send you a little something through the mail. Would you mind sending me an email with your name & address? Please send it to firstname.lastname@example.org and include Denture Living 2132 in the subject line. | <urn:uuid:165cd260-c994-4309-bbc5-e26ea65d42ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dentureliving.com/denture-community/posts/report/2143?f=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935565 | 249 | 1.734375 | 2 |
At the ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Diego, a standing-room-only panel focused on how e-books will affect the future of libraries. From research and pilot programs to digitizing efforts, libraries have long helped prepare the way for e-books. But now that the consumer market for e-books has taken off, are libraries in danger of being marginalized?
On the panel was Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive as well as the Open Library project, a digitizing program for library e-books that now includes more than 150 libraries and two million, mostly public domain, digitized books available for online lending. Kahle urged librarians not to give up their traditional roles, and not to let the promise of vendor-managed, licensed access turn libraries into agents for a few major corporations. "What libraries do is buy stuff and lend it out," he says, suggesting that libraries "digitize what we have to, and buy what we can."
PW caught up with Kahle to talk about e-books, sure to be a hot topic at the ALA Annual Conference.
Libraries have been at the cutting edge of e-book development, especially in the academic setting, but with trade e-books now surging, where do public libraries stand in this transition?
E-books are no longer a going-to-happen thing—they've happened. And libraries are now trying to figure out how to support their traditional roles with e-books. Already an enormous amount of library book budgets go to, or will soon be going into, e-books. So far, though, there is pretty much Overdrive serving public library e-book needs. Now, Overdrive is quite good. But having one vendor become the gateway to e-books for libraries is probably not the best thing, at least not for libraries. What I want, and what we find libraries want, is to buy e-books. And when I say "buy," I mean like we buy print books. We write a check, and in return we get a copy that we can preserve long-term and lend out to one patron at a time. But so far, we're finding that a lot of publishers get confused when we talk to them about buying e-books. We'll say, "We want to buy your e-books, how much money do you want?" They'll say, "What do you mean ‘buy'?" It seems weird to have to explain what "buy" means, but we've all grown so accustomed to having digital transactions be accompanied by a 20-page license agreement.
Some publishers are nervous about letting digital copies out of their control, even to libraries, and how free library e-books will affect growing e-book sales. How do you ease those concerns?
Let's get some checks being cut. Let's get more authors and publishers making more money. Let's create more people who can stand up and say, "I got rich selling e-books to libraries." The big message I have to deliver is: libraries are interested, readers are interested, and right now, this is the time to kick things into high gear. This should be the library's day. There's been lots of talk, and lots of experimentation in the past, but readers are ready, the technology is ready, so let's get some money flowing. Let's get lots of books being read in lots of different ways. It is important that we not squander the digital opportunity we have right now because we want to wait to see what might happen.
When you say now is the time, do you also get the sense that the clock is ticking? That if libraries can't deliver e-books to the devices of their readers, especially readers growing up reading almost exclusively on screens, the public might lose interest in libraries altogether?
Yes. I think this is a ticking time bomb. I have two kids, and they're not using libraries the way I did growing up. More and more, the only things our children read are the things they find online, and the very best that we have to offer them is not online. If we let this go for five or 10 years, we'll get a generation that is going to be satisfied to learn from whatever Internet resources they can get hold of, and that's not going to be a pretty picture. And it will be our fault. We're the librarians, publishers, and authors. It is our responsibility to put the best we have to offer within reach of our children. And right now, we are failing at that. The challenge before us is to deliver the voices of the 20th century to the next generation and to build digital libraries that aren't just collections of old stuff but also offer access right up to the current day. There's a way to thread this needle, but it requires some experimentation.
What do you make of some major publishers not selling e-books to libraries at all, and HarperCollins's 26-lend limit?
I realize that everybody doesn't have to jump at once. But when it comes to e-books, we have more money sitting off the table right now than passing over into publishers' and authors' hands, and that just doesn't make sense to me. Right now, we have some publishers that aren't willing to sell their products to libraries, and some that are, and, yes, we are buying some e-books, but not nearly as many as we'd like. I understand we probably have to figure out pricing, but let's get the money flowing and figure it out. There's hundreds of millions of dollars to be made selling EPubs to libraries, but so far it is slow going.
Is there a compromise in perhaps selling digital editions of popular books to libraries at higher prices, rather than unwieldy lend limits?
Libraries are used to paying a bit more for library versions, whether it's with a library cover on a book, like in the old days, or an institutional journal subscription, where libraries pay more than the cost of a personal subscription. If e-books have to cost a little bit more, okay. I can't imagine why any publisher would turn down the billions of aggregate purchasing dollars out there. Let's test some models. | <urn:uuid:15908112-cc78-4a06-90db-013df2165979> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/trade-shows-events/article/47448-brewster-s-millions-ala-preview-2011.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970956 | 1,287 | 1.695313 | 2 |
I think that one very important advantage is that students feel less anxious when they're being helping by a peer. But that may vary form culture to culture. I ask students to compare their answers with a peer, for example, before commenting on the correct answers. That's just one way. There are many more I use.
- For Teachers | <urn:uuid:2ab01870-3088-4503-9e8e-10ba3916092f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/teaching-english/16944-collaborative-learning-pros-cons.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977146 | 69 | 1.625 | 2 |
In the states, bunnies are not allowed to be sedated for flight!
Good thing anyway. I talked to a vet about sedating bunnies for flights and they don't recommend it, as they are so small and the effects of the sedative mixed with high altitudes can be unpredictable. Besides, you wouldn't be able to monitor them. I think they should be ok in cargo and on a plane in general. I didn't realize you were driving across the country - wow! When I fly across I usually ship my stuff via Greyhound, it's much cheaper and it's pretty fast. They also deliver straight to your door.
Bella - I just looked at pet airways' website, only humans are restricted! So they should be able to fly bunnies! You can ask your family/friends to drop off the bunnies and you'll receive them at LA!
I agree. Sedation is not good for bunnies. If I remember correctly, I was told rabbits are pray animals and feel safest when they can be alert to what happens around them. Tranquilizers might cause more stress on rabbits because rabbits might struggle against the effects. I think best to allow them to snuggle with each other in a good carrier so they can observe the world while feeling hidden from it!
^ i thought that they weren't taking bunnies yet- just dogs and cats?
no airline will let me put them in the same carrier either- separate carriers! :(
transporting bunnies is an ordeal!!!
edit: just rechecked- only dogs and cats can book as of now :(
Arrrggh! It's complicated isn't it. Hope you can figure it out.
In addition to our flying cats across Australia, we did once take Miss Minnie in the car the 15 hours between our place and my mother in law's. She wasn't too bad really. She just slept in the cage. We stayed at a motel overnight, put the sandbox in the 'loo area and she just followed her normal routine. She was about 9 years old at the time. Australia is full of desert too. It was hot, but we did it. She yowled for about 20 minutes out of the whole 15 hours. She also enjoyed the motel. So it can be done. As long as you get your air-con checked, there should be no problem. You said you are travelling with another person, so you can take it in turns to sit next to the bunnies and tickle them through the bars.
Anything is possible really when you need to do it. Your new life is waiting!
I'm here!!! we've chatted away about our bunnies!!!
Delta and Northwestern both claim to have "special animal programs" for pets flown as cargo. Anyone have any experience with either of them?
Can you get the emotional support letter for delta to carry them in cabin. I got one already just in case. They are good for a yr. It was pretty easy to get. Hubby changed tickets with delta on his flight back to italy last year when I got sick. It was a 2.000 ticket and they just made him pay 200.00 change fee. Did you do that?
I just read about Raffie. I am so sorry. I know there is a lot that you have been dealing with. I will pray for you that you will be ok. You are such a good bunny mom and they know you and your family loved them. The tatoo is adorable and such a wonderful way to remember them.
Actually, I got super lucky. Since I cancelled within 24 hours I got a full refund minus $35!
^ PMing you about the letter!
anyone buy from Bunny Butt Apothecary? They are like Lush. Less products, new line. I love them and have an order on the way! The owner loves bunnies and there is even a soap where 50% of proceeds go to the HRS. Everything is organic/vegan and non animal tested. They do ship internationally as well! http://www.bunnybuttapothecary.com/
guys i think i over-furminated Binky.. lol.. he has a thinning spot now on his back, no signs of flaking or irritation, and its not bald yet but i think i'll ease up now on the brushing.. it does grow back right??
^Ha ha over-furminating? That's a funny thought. Evander almost runs away when he sees me coming at him with the brush, but he's got this annoying "ruffle" of fur on his backside, where the fur is so much thicker! I keep trying to brush as much of it away as possible but he gets irritated and the fur keeps coming out! | <urn:uuid:a950314e-5a2e-402a-b0c4-d9c819f7f6cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forum.purseblog.com/animalicious/bunny-lovers-chat-part-2-a-482551-2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980368 | 1,003 | 1.5 | 2 |
Interesting story by the Canadian Press on the French-American naval exchange program’s role in Libya:
U.S. Navy Lt. Patrick Salmon is getting ready for another day at work, strapping himself into the cockpit of his strike jet and roaring off this French aircraft carrier for his daily attack mission against Moammar Gadhafi’s ground forces.
He’ll be launched into action by Kyle A. Caldwell, another U.S. Navy lieutenant who operates the flattop’s catapult systems. When Salmon is ready to set his plane back on deck, yet a third U.S. Navy lieutenant, Philip Hoblet, will be standing by in a French rescue helicopter, hovering just off the ship’s bow in case any of the returning pilots are forced to ditch into the sea.
The United States, which originally led the Libya campaign, has been steadily reducing its role over the past two weeks. On March 31, it handed over command and control of the international campaign to NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and shortly after that it ceased all attack missions over Libya — setting of a search by NATO for more planes capable of carrying out precision strikes against Gadhafi’s forces.
- Midrats this Sunday, May 17 2013 – Episode 167: Intellectual Integrity, PME, and NWC
- Remembering our Fallen Coast Guard Shipmates and their Families
- On Midrats 10 Mar 13, Episode 166: “Expeditionary Fleet Balance”
- Guest Post by LTJG Matthew Hipple: From Epipolae to Cyber War
- For Strength and Courage: Neptunus Lex | <urn:uuid:fcceeb79-9b86-4583-8ecf-7f0e9ac59fdb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.usni.org/2011/04/16/navy-pilots-flying-attack-missions-over-libya-in-french-aircraft | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944482 | 341 | 1.585938 | 2 |
A Former Crack Kingpin On The Economics Of Illegal Drugs
The academic argument against drug criminalization goes like this.
When you make a drug illegal, you make it harder and riskier to produce. That makes it more expensive.
But demand for many drugs is what economists call inelastic: No matter what drugs cost, people will still pay. So making drugs more expensive through criminalization just sends more money to drug dealers.
That's the theory, anyway.
To test the claims of the academic theory, I spoke with "Freeway" Rick Ross, one of L.A.'s biggest crack dealers in the '80s and '90s. Ross was arrested in 1996, and paroled in 2009. So he's a perfect real-world test for the academic theories.
First, I asked him about claim number one: Making drugs illegal drives up the price.
Ross told me that he once grossed $3 million in a single day.
"When I sold drugs, if they'd told me they were going to legalize it, I'd have been mad, because I knew that was going to drive the price down," he said.
Claim number one: Confirmed.
Next up, claim number two: When drugs are illegal, criminals get rich.
"I had guys around me that were ruthless and were tough," Ross said. "If I gave the word, they would hurt you."
And Ross's money wasn't just going to his own crew. He'd also hand out cash to other players around the neighborhood.
"I had a fund where I'd take care of what's called the big homies, the shot callers, the guys that ran the neighborhood," he said. "Because you know, they kidnap drug dealers in South Central. ... They were robbers, they were killers. Jackers, as we called them."
Claim number two: Confirmed.
These days, Ross says he's trying to undo all the harm he did to his community by selling crack. He talks to schools and youth groups. He says a big part of the reason he got into drug dealing in the first place is that he was illiterate. (He learned to read in prison.)
Talking to Ross, you realize there was another incentive that doesn't always show up in the economics literature. At least when you get to Ross's level, drug dealing is not only lucrative; it's complex and engaging.
Ross was a CEO, a manager, a publicist, an accountant. Society had done everything it could to make Rick Ross hate his job and give up. His product was illegal. His costs were enormous. He was a hunted man.
And yet, he says:
I loved it. I felt like I was on top of the world, I felt I was powerful. ... It was every man's dream to be free. ... You love the feeling that you're good.
So does all of this mean, we should legalize drugs like crack and heroin? If we really wanted to make the Freeway Rick Rosses of the word miserable, we'd take away their earning potential.
And some of the economists I spoke to said, yes: Make them legal.
Other economists weren't so sure. Peter Reuter has written many, many pages on the topic of drug criminalization. And he says, if you legalize drugs, sure, crime would go down. But drug use would go up.
"How do we compare the bad outcomes in the two cases — a very large increase in addiction, with a very large decrease in crime?" he says. "I take them both to be real, but I don't know ... which is better."
That choice is a value judgement, he says.
Listen to our podcast, "A Former Crack Dealer On The Economics Of Drugs" Copyright 2011 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. | <urn:uuid:dee98ca2-cd41-4197-a2b2-30c28c09ceb7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://weku.fm/post/former-crack-kingpin-economics-illegal-drugs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988337 | 805 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Minneapolis is poised to become the first city in the Midwest to adopt an energy benchmarking and disclosure rule for commercial buildings.
The City Council’s energy and environment committee unanimously passed a proposal Monday (video) to require large commercial building owners to annually measure and report energy consumption data.
Council Member Elizabeth Glidden, who proposed the ordinance, said it’s about using market forces to capitalize on the “untapped potential” of commercial building energy savings.
“The intent of this ordinance is to use market force — not performance or design mandates — to increase energy efficiency in existing commercial and city-owned buildings,” said Brendon Slotterback, the city’s sustainability program coordinator. “It’s also intended to provide consistent, transparent reporting on energy and water use data, not just to owners and managers, but to tenants, potential tenants and the public at large.”
It’s also designed to promote green job growth. Slotterback said energy service companies in cities with similar ordinances have seen up to 30 percent increases in activity as building owners sought to improve their scores.
How it works
The proposal originated from a Twin Cities green jobs committee called Thinc.Green, which is made up of business, union, nonprofit and city leaders from Minneapolis and St. Paul. It’s modeled after similar ordinances in half a dozen other cities, including New York, San Francisco, and Austin, Texas. In the Midwest, Chicago is also considering a commercial benchmarking and disclosure policy.
The reporting would be completed using Energy Star’s free, online Portfolio Manager software, which is already used by more than 4,300 commercial building owners in the Twin Cities area, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The city would disclose data on its own buildings in 2013. Only the largest commercial buildings — over 100,000 square feet — would need to comply in 2014, and the program would extend to 50,000-square-foot in 2015. In total, the ordinance would cover 630 buildings representing about 75 percent of the city’s total commercial square footage.
The city would wait one year to publish the first results so that owners would have a chance to make improvements.
Supporters at Monday’s public hearing included representatives of Fresh Energy, the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (members of RE-AMP, which also publishes Midwest Energy News), as well as energy efficiency consultants who said the policy would help create jobs.
Stephen Todd, a Twin Cities sustainability consultant, said his firm would likely hire another employee and more contractors to help Minneapolis building owners improve efficiency before they need to start reporting energy use. That’s in part based on his experience working in Austin, Texas, where a 2011 benchmarking and disclosure policy is already having an impact.
“What I see down there is that it has motivated many commercial real estate organizations to look at what they can do to optimize the performance of their buildings and try to improve the relative efficiency,” Todd said. “They anticipate more market pressure… on behalf of tenants in evaluating office space.”
‘Green premiums’ vs. ‘brown discounts’
While building owners usually pay for things like windows and HVAC systems, tenants are typically the ones who pay the energy bills. That’s created a split-incentive problem in commercial real estate.
Giving tenants better information for comparing building energy use gives building owners more incentive to invest in efficiency. Some may be able to charge a “green premium,” but Todd said what’s more likely is a “brown discount,” in which an existing tenant might be able to use a building’s relative inefficiency to negotiate better lease terms.
The impact of Minneapolis’ ordinance would have potential to extend beyond the 630 buildings required to report, Todd said. If it’s successful, tenants could start to expect Energy Star scores from anyone before signing a lease.
“If that information is readily available in Minneapolis, they’re probably going to ask the same questions in St. Paul and Bloomington,” Todd said.
The Minneapolis Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) encourages members to benchmark energy use — its “Kilowatt Crackdown” competition generated 13 million kWh of energy savings — but it opposes mandated disclosure.
“We question whether the proposed building rating system would add to the success of market forces already in play and are concerned about the potential for unintended negative consequences,” said Kevin Lewis, executive director of BOMA Greater Minneapolis.
Lewis described a hypothetical building with outdated systems that couldn’t afford expensive retrofits. “Could they lose tenants and could they go out of business?”
David Dabson, general manager of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, asked that the published disclosures only identify buildings by an ID number or address, not by name, so that the scores don’t “misrepresent” tenants who names appear on the building.
Council Member Glidden said the ordinance is about taking best practices already used by some and spreading them across the city.
“It’s been through BOMA that there’s been a light shown on the great practices already in place by a lot of building owners… of what can happen through voluntary participation in these energy saving programs,” Glidden said.
Buildings under financial distress, buildings with less than 50 percent occupancy, and buildings with less than two years of occupancy would be exempt.
The annual report would take between two to five hours to complete using the Energy Star website. Owners or managers enter information on the buildings size and use along with metered utility data. From that information, the city would publish online an energy intensity rating, an estimate of annual greenhouse gas emissions, and the building’s Energy Star score, which is relative to other buildings in the country.
The city has already received a grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for training building owners who would be required to use the tool.
The full City Council is expected to discuss the measure Feb. 8.
Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said the policy would apply to commercial buildings 25,000 square feet and above. The policy would only apply to commercial buildings 50,000 square feet and above. | <urn:uuid:75ff58e8-80ac-4891-a6b8-204a55c5ac7e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.earthtechling.com/2013/02/minneapolis-set-to-adopt-building-energy-benchmarking/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955375 | 1,324 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Welcome to the Math Center! If you want help with your math classes this is the place to come!
The Math Center is located in KAP 263. (Kaprielian (KAP) is the building on Vermont that is next to gate #6 and across the street from parking structure A.) It is a suite of rooms where you can get together with friends to study, use the computers, and get help with your math classes. Math graduate students, faculty, and assistants are available to help you.
During the Spring and Fall semesters, the Math Center is open Monday to Thursday 8am to 7pm and Friday 8am to 5pm. It is run informally and is designed for easy drop-in usage. It works best to use the Center as a study room. It’s a good place to meet up with your study partners and work on homework. If and as you need help, ask one of the graduate students, faculty members or assistants. It’s as easy as that!
The graduate students and faculty are there to help you with your math assignments. Click on consulting hours to find out when the graduate students are available. Notice that the graduate students are listed according to which mathematics class they are assisting, and classes that cover similar material are grouped together. As a first choice, try to get help from a graduate student that is assisting a class that is grouped with your class.
The Math Center assistant on duty can help you with questions about Mathematica and Matlab. They can also help you identify the graduate students and get the help you need.
PLEASE NOTE: The Math Center is closed for all university holidays and during the first week of classes each semester. It will open as a study room during the second week of classes but during that week there will be no formal schedules indicating when the graduate students are available (your TA should have told you when he/she will be in the Center but you'll have no way of knowing when other TAs are in the Center). Starting the 3rd week of classes, there will be schedules (click on Consulting Hours to see them) showing when all the TAs are in the Math Center. You are free to get help from a TA that isn't your own TA.
Click here to go back to Department of mathematics | <urn:uuid:30fccda4-bbdf-4241-a2ee-0927471cc703> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dornsife.usc.edu/mathcenter/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969871 | 471 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Located a very short distance from Bern, Switzerland's capital, the Bernese Oberland boasts beautiful lakes, picturesque villages and, of course, the magnificent Swiss Alps. Here are the Big Three, all stunning jagged granite peaks--the Eiger, the Jungfrau and the Mönch. This being Switzerland, you can ride a comfortable train to the top of the Jungfrau and enjoy kaffee und kuchen without using ropes and pitons.
One of the great undiscovered pleasures of European travel is bicycle touring in Switzerland. The scenery is glorious, the roads perfectly-kept and superbly marked. The country is small enough to cover a lot of ground in a short time and there are excellent maps available. The trip can be a strenuous climb through bare mountains or a relaxing roll through alpine meadows. And everything is so well-organized that you do not really need to go to the expense of a group tour to enjoy a bike trip.
Acting on the advice of a railway brochure "Rent a Bike," we elected to go for big hills and great scenery. A short train ride from Bern took us through Thun and alongside the Thunersee, a beautiful lake ringed with snow-capped mountains. At Spiez, the train turned south and uphill, towards Brig. We got off at the attractive town of Frutigen with our bicycles and looked around for a while before grabbing a Postbus.
Frutigen had been around for a while since the church was originally built in 1421. One of the most charming aspects of the town, along with the flowers so characteristic of Switzerland, was the use of beautiful wrought-iron signs over the shops. There was a wonderful pair of glasses for an optician, some scissors at the hairstylist's, a hammer and pliers for the hardware store. We had never seen such elaborate metalworks, clearly the design of one person, in a small town before.
Frutigen also had an airport, or, more accurately, a substantial runway. There was no sign of a terminal building or other related services. It did not appear to be one of those secret mountain Swiss Air Force bases, particularly since it was within the town boundaries. Perhaps it was a case of "Well, we have enough money for a runway or a terminal, but not both."
The Postbus awaited at the railway station. Smaller Swiss towns in the mountains are served by these buses, which are an extension of the train service using the same tickets, on a regular basis. At the back of our modern bus was a rack with hooks for bicycles. It was just a matter of hanging the bikes by the front wheel and then sitting back in comfort as we made the definitely uphill drive to Adelboden, about 30 kms away from Frutigen.
As we continued climbing past little towns on a narrow and busily- travelled road, we became apprehensive about cycling back downhill. The traffic would be enough of a problem, but then came several long and extremely dark tunnels. Non-cyclists do not realize how unattractive it is to bicycle with insufficient light through a black, narrow tunnel with water dripping everywhere and cars rapidly approaching from behind. However, the Swiss, in their efficient way, have made provision for bicycles by routing them along a different, and safer, path.
The bus continued to grind its way up, up and up. The scenery changed from rolling hills to the narrow Engstligen valley, with lush green pine forests leading to grey mountains capped with snow all year. One final turn and we reached our cycling jump-off point, Adelboden.
Adelboden was everything you expect a Swiss resort town to be. It was filled with gorgeous wooden chalets and restaurants with terraces and umbrellas and more flowers. At nearly 1400 meters above sea level, the air was sparkling clean and the views down the valley looked like they were from a chocolate box. Behind the village loomed the mountains, with their great grey ridges and ancient glaciers.
Everyone in Adelboden was in a holiday mood and the whole place was buzzing. It turned out that we were there on the day of a half-marathon race, and Adelboden marked the finish. Hundreds of runners had made the trip from Frutigen uphill on narrow mountain paths, the same paths we were about to ride downhill. No question as to who would have the easier time!
In spite of its freshly-scrubbed, resort appearance, Adelboden did boast some cultural treasures. The church was 550 years old and contained a modern stained-glass window by Augusto Giacometti.
We rode around Adelboden, taking in the sights. There was a huge public swimming pool, with a panoramic view, and cable cars to take you even higher up, to Silleren or Hahnenmoos, about 9 kms away and 600 meters higher. It is possible to take bicycles on some cable cars and ride back downhill, but it would probably be best to use mountain bikes for this.
With the last runners staggering in to the town square, we began our downhill run to Frutigen. Signposts included the familiar red arrows known to every cyclist in Switzerland. Our route was "the Vogellisi Panorama" and they weren't joking about the panorama part. Our progress was continually impeded by the need to stop and take another photograph of the breathtaking scenery. Soon we discovered a breathtaking upward climb. Trudging uphills is normally a dismal experience for cyclists, but with scenery like this, it was a pleasure to linger a little longer.
The road was about the width of one-and-a-half cars and was not just a bikepath. It was actually used by cars in both directions, necessitating some reversing into driveways. Cyclists should take care because there are many, many curves in the road.
Once past the big hill and having drunk our fill of mineral water and views of Adelboden, we discovered something else. Painted on the road was a picture of a bicycle with the words "Ride Carefully" in German. We quickly learned that every time one of these signs appeared, we were about to be treated to a roller-coast downhill ride, with plenty of hard curves. The road sent us screaming down over little bridges and cold, glacier-fed streams, around tight bends and through cool, pine-scented forests.
Every time we caught our breath, the road dropped out from under us again. Our exhilaration was tempered somewhat by the smell of our scorching brakepads and the knowledge that there could be a car coming uphill just around that sharp corner. The wheel rims became almost too hot to touch from the friction of the brakes and our wrists became numb with the exertion of holding down the brake calipers.
Down, and down and down we went, with the valley falling away straight down from the left edge of the road, no barrier obstructing the view. On the right were more forests and ski chalets and little farms offering homemade cheese. Finally, the road became so steep we could not hold back the bicycles anymore and for the first time ever we had to walk downhill while trying to keep the bicycles away from their determined tryst with the force of gravity.
The path continued for nearly 30 kms, almost all downhill. We met almost no others, just a few hikers, several motorists and a determined mountain biker going uphill past us. How the marathoners could run to Adelboden on this route was a complete mystery. Or too awful to contemplate...
Riding our bikes once again, we quickly reached Frutigen. While filling up our water bottles at a flower-encircled public fountain, we learned from another cyclist that rather than riding alongside the main route into Spiez, a busy highway, we would have a more enjoyable trip by going around the airport and going through the towns of Reichenbach and Wimmis. He said that there would be one short uphill climb and that while we would have a headwind, it would be bearable. Other cyclists, especially locals, are always a valuable source of information when bicycle touring since the best roads for biking are not heavily-travelled.
Sure enough, our first stretch past the airport was uphill, but compared to the mountains around Adelboden, it was very easy. Then downhill we went again, through gentle green meadows. Reichenbach quickly appeared, with its ancient church tower and long row of 18th century wooden houses. There was a small but elegant hotel, the Gasthof Bären, which dated back to 1542 but looked as if it had always been impeccably maintained.
The road went downhill faster now. We crossed under the highway, passing one of Switzerland's famous funicular railways and then a slight uphill gave us another superb view of the countryside. The terrain became quite flat and we sped past summer cottages and more small farms until the road forked, left to Wimmis and right to Spiez.
Spiez and its railroad station was our destination. The station was easily found and had its own panoramic view. It overlooked a steep hill leading down to the ancient town, the harbour and the Thunersee beyond. Sailboats were everywhere on the sparkling blue lake and the grey mountains once again provided a dramatic backdrop.
Leaving the bikes in the rack in front of the station, we walked downhill, past the municipal swimming pool and the marina, and strolled past the shops and outdoor restaurants along the lake promenade. Looking down on us was the Schloss, the brooding medieval castle whose keep dated back to the 10th Century and which looked a bit incongruous in the cheerful sunlit lakeside setting. The church was endowed by King Rudolf II of Burgundy at the turn of the millennium. More to our liking was the lakeside restaurant, where the successful conclusion of our great downhill excursion was celebrated in fruity, clean (and well-deserved) Swiss wine. | <urn:uuid:7da4b21d-badf-4724-828c-d3e1ff74ab4f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trentobike.org/Countries/Switzerland/Tour_Reports/Berner_Oberland.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978535 | 2,102 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The first film from Pixar with a female protagonist is well worth seeing, even if only to celebrate a positive and complex portrayal of the mother-daughter relationship represented in the film.
The story, which screenwriter Brenda Chapman said was fashioned in the style of The Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Andersen, is of headstrong Scottish princess Merida (voiced by Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald) who, in a desire to stay free from an unwanted betrothal, inadvertently casts a spell that she must find a way to break before the cursed changes take hold permanently.
The odyssey to find that way leads to an exciting and charming series of scenes, many of which boast new advancements in animated special effects. As an expert in animation art, it is impossible for me to watch the film without marveling at what I know to be major improvements, but even the casual viewer will notice things like the river water or Merida's hair. They are so lifelike they make the ocean in "Finding Nemo" or Sully's fur in "Monsters Inc." seem like the cartoon equivalent to Tetris or Pong.
In order to advance the look of the film, Pixar rewrote its animation system for the first time in 25 years. Among other things, to reproduce the look of the Highland landscapes, they created over 350 new custom brushes in Photoshop.
Some will brand this movie lesser Pixar, below "Up," "Wall-E," and "Ratatouille."
Certainly the overall plot is fishhook thin, which makes the characterization all the more essential to its appreciation and long-term shelf life. You may notice it is a film with a princess but no romantic interaction. The focus is all on the familial relationships. That alone should pique your curiosity, no?
While it isn't quite up to the greatness of Pixar's best, three aspects of the movie make for wonderful repeat viewing. One is the affecting (and heretofore unique) positive representation of mother-daughter love and inspiring relationship growth. The other two are the great characters of Merida, who is an enjoyably complex and unique heroine, and a big brown bear character (the film was originally titled "The Bear and The Bow") that must have been both a hoot and a challenge to animate.
Don't let the fact that "Brave" is a Pixar release that has fairy tale elements deter your viewing. It's a charmer, and the bear in the film is so well animated, you might want to see it more than once to catch all the nuances in the character. With any luck, this will have the same success and staying power as another famous Disney redhead.
Also, look for the delightfully charming Academy Award-nominated short "La Luna." It will put a warm fuzzy smile on your face before the feature even begins.
About this column: Leslie Combemale, "Cinema Siren", is a movie lover and aficionado in Northern Virginia. Alongside Michael Barry, she owns ArtInsights, an animation and film art gallery in Reston Town Center. She has a background in film and art history. She often is invited to present at conventions such as the San Diego Comic Con, where she has been a panelist for The Art of the Hollywood Movie Poster and the Harry Potter Fandom discussion. Visit her gallery website at www.artinsights.com and see more of her reviews and interviews onwww.artinsightsmagazine.com. | <urn:uuid:85e51106-074b-4119-8803-5a869ab92d8b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://delray.patch.com/articles/movie-review-brave-449e9331 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95482 | 707 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Oliver Wallen (3/26, Letters, “The soaring price of smoking”) implies that we nonsmokers will be hurt financially by his and others’ quitting smoking. We’ll have to pay more taxes to make up for the tobacco taxes the smokers and tobacco companies will no longer be paying.
What he does not know is that we’ll be more than happy to pay those additional taxes because they will be easily offset by the health-care dollars that those same smokers will no longer be taking from us because of their super-expensive use of health-care facilities.
Insurance is already too expensive. Why should we continue to subsidize the smokers’ extravagant waste of precious health-care resources?
Oliver Wallen threatens that the increased taxes on cigarettes will cause smokers to quit smoking. The “downside” to that is that all these new former smokers will live healthier, longer lives, they’ll have much more money in their pockets, they’ll no longer walk around smelling like ashtrays and they’ll cause less of a strain on the U.S. health-care system.
And the problem with that is? | <urn:uuid:2cb0d83b-a5dc-4609-a4a4-ce7cb0ce5bf3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2009/03/we-hope-smokers-quit.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 | 0.963254 | 248 | 1.570313 | 2 |
You can't cure a culture of secrecy with more secrecy.
Yet that's what's proposed in House Bill 290. This legislation purports to bring more accountability to child protection in Kentucky, but it would layer even more secrecy onto a system that has lost the public's trust because it has been so secretive.
This won't work, which is why Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, and his House Health and Welfare Committee should give HB 290 a makeover.
Sponsored by Burch, the bill moves in the right direction by ensuring that an independent review panel would have access to the unredacted records of child deaths and serious injuries that it needs to do its job.
The legislation would put into law a process for reviewing the most serious abuse and neglect cases and recommending improvements in the system.
Gov. Steve Beshear created the review process through executive order and his panel has met twice. Its work has been impeded by the Cabinet for Health and Family Service's withholding of information.
Burch's bill would allow more information to flow to the panel but it imposes restrictions on what the panelists would be allowed to discuss in public, would close records that should be open under the Kentucky Open Records Act and allow the cabinet to destroy records.
It would require the review panel members to sign a confidentiality oath restricting what they could say in public.
It's possible to protect sensitive information, such as the identity of people who report child abuse, without erecting another wall of secrecy around the child protection agency.
HB 290 also would attach the review panel to the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. If the panel is to be truly independent and effective, it should be attached to an agency outside the administration.
Just as only light can drive out darkness, an open view of how Kentucky responds to child abuse and neglect is the only way to improve the system and protect our state's most innocent citizens, who are also its future. | <urn:uuid:821918ff-aa1f-4e5c-92c0-63da8a43e61b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/14/2516195/no-added-secrecy-about-child-deaths.html | 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 | 0.967296 | 396 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Bill Clinton predicts Obama will win 'handily'
Published: Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 1:45 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 4:16 p.m.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Barack Obama and former President Clinton talked for two hours on Thursday, their first meeting in a White House race that had once bitterly divided them. Clinton predicted that Obama will win the presidency "pretty handily."
Their conversation started with small talk about the former president's commute to his Harlem office and ended after a lunch of sandwiches, flatbread pizza and salad from Cosi.
"They discussed the campaign briefly, but mostly talked about how the world has changed since September 11, 2001," their spokesmen said in a joint statement. The meeting came on the seventh anniversary of the attacks and shortly before Obama was to visit Ground Zero with Republican presidential rival John McCain.
Reporters were allowed in at the beginning of the meeting in Clinton's 14th floor office, but the former president kept his answers short when he was asked about his involvement with Obama's campaign this fall. He noted an already announced trip Sept. 29 to Florida.
Obama said, "We're putting him to work."
Asked if he would be campaigning beyond that, Clinton said, "I've agreed to do a substantial number of things, whatever I'm asked to do."
Before reporters were ushered out, Clinton was asked where he sees the race between Obama and McCain.
"I predict that Senator Obama will win and win pretty handily," he said.
Obama interjected: "You can take it from the president of the United States. He knows a little something about politics."
Obama and Bill Clinton appeared less friendly toward each other at times during Obama's Democratic primary battle with Clinton's wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. After Obama clinched the party's nomination, both Clintons gave strong speeches in Obama's favor during the party convention in Denver.
Obama's visit to Clinton's Harlem office, which overlooks Central Park, sparked excitement in the neighborhood, with people crowding around police barricades that shut off the block. The two men briefly appeared in front of the building, where a large group had been waiting for hours in hopes of a glimpse.
People screamed loudly and snapped cell phone pictures when the two emerged. Obama ducked back in the building with Clinton after a few waves but without shaking hands.
Their spokesmen said the two men were complimentary of each other's work, with Obama praising the Clinton Foundation, and Clinton applauding the candidate's campaign.
"They also spoke about what the next president can do to help make the economy work for all Americans, as it did under President Clinton, and ensure safety and prosperity far beyond the coming the election," their joint statement said.
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Comments are currently unavailable on this article | <urn:uuid:ff283775-eaec-4637-8f2d-6d88bdb436e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20080911/NEWS/809110276?Title=Bill-Clinton-predicts-Obama-will-win-handily- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981284 | 620 | 1.570313 | 2 |
22 Jun 12 - Mar 13
Hear Auckland youth expressing their vision for the city’s future. Six groups from around Auckland have tackled the big issues: employment, housing, culture, education, economic well-being and environment. Join us in November to see them express their solutions for our future through screenprinting, soundscapes, spoken word, photography, theatre and graffiti art.
30 Sept 2011 - 12 Aug 2012
16 Dec 11 – 6 May 2012
9 Mar - 9 Sept 2012
Anne Frank was one of more than one million Jewish children who died in the Holocaust. This exhibition draws on material from her famous diary, written while in hiding from Nazi persecution, and over 200 Frank family photos to tell Anne’s story. | <urn:uuid:aa054249-f945-4f5e-ac7d-33d0987b1bf1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/1749/2012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959581 | 153 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Karl Whelan, Contributor
I am an economist covering news on European macro issues.
June’s meeting of the Euro area’s leaders was one of the rare summits that produced a concrete breakthrough that was welcomed by most observers as a genuine step forward. The summit statement began with the bold sentence
We affirm that it is imperative to break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns.
And then asserted that
When an effective single supervisory mechanism is established, involving the ECB, for banks in the euro area the ESM could, following a regular decision, have the possibility to recapitalize banks directly.
This decision was widely viewed as crucially important for Spain’s economic future. With the risk of significant banking recapitalization costs weighing heavily on the market’s assessment of Spanish debt sustainability, the announcement was seen as a crucial step by Spain’s Eurozone partners towards sharing the risks associated with its banking sector.
Today, in a joint statement, the finance ministers of Germany, Netherlands and Finland have effectively asserted that, despite the bold words of the statement they agreed to in June, Spain will remain caught in a the vicious banking-sovereign circle. The statement articulates some “principles” for how ESM should operate. Two of the principles are particularly important. The first:
the ESM can take direct responsibility of problems that occur under the new supervision, but legacy assets should be under the responsibility of national authorities
In other words “if it happened under your watch, it’s your problem”. Given that by definition all of the banking problems that are afflicting Europe today occurred under national supervision, this statement effectively tells Spain to drop dead.
direct bank recapitalisation by the ESM should take place based on an approach that adheres to the basic order of first using private capital, then national public capital and only as a last resort the ESM.
This approach suggests that ESM can only invest in banks as a last resort when national public capital cannot be used. In other words, countries need to be effectively bankrupt and locked out of financial markets before ESM can be used. This new “principle” appears to enshrine the vicious circle as official policy rather than get rid of it.
This statement also has bad implications for Ireland. June’s summit statement had included a commitment that
The Eurogroup will examine the situation of the Irish financial sector with the view of further improving the sustainability of the well-performing adjustment programme.
The Germany-Netherlands-Finland statement now rules out the ESM investing in the banks acquired by the Irish state, thus ruling out relief on half of the costs incurred by Irish taxpayers. This leaves a renegotiation of the infamous Anglo Irish promissory notes with the ECB as Ireland’s only possible source of debt relief.
Why are Germany and their allies reversing their earlier willingness to share banking risks with the Eurozone partners? One possible explanation is the law of unintended consequences. Perhaps their attitude now is: “If Mario Draghi is willing to buy lots of Spanish debt, then why should we worry about Spain going bust next year? Let the ECB look after Spain.” In the Eurozone, it appears that no good deed goes unpunished. | <urn:uuid:1d6ffd47-2601-4e6a-8ac8-d9de117b2cd8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.forbes.com/sites/karlwhelan/2012/09/25/germany-to-spain-and-ireland-drop-dead/?commentId=comment_blogAndPostId/blog/comment/2276-619-95 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950582 | 684 | 1.789063 | 2 |
§ Mr. Lammy
In England, there are 12 air ambulance services provided by 12 independent air ambulance charities. Fund raising for air ambulances is organised by independent local charities. In most cases the national health services also supports the services by providing fully trained paramedics to crew the aircraft when they respond to emergencies. In addition, in 2001–02 the Government allocated £1.3 million to Five of the 12 charities. Consideration is being given to further Government funding in 2002–03. | <urn:uuid:baa26947-d5d1-4e4b-a69c-5911b8aa3f82> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/2002/dec/02/air-ambulances | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951039 | 98 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Lots of information was thrown at the Assembly Select Committee on Inland Empire Transportation Issues when it met at the former Norton Air Force Base on Thursday.
Speakers were limited to a few minutes each, so some of the statistics flew by awfully fast. Here are a few highlights:
Passenger volumes at Ontario International Airport (ONT) have sunk to 1987 levels, although the population served by the airport has grown by 600,000. That, Ontario Councilman Alan Wapner said, just doesn’t make sense.
Budget airlines like Spirit, Allegiant and Virgin America — which normally operate out of secondary airports like ONT — chose LAX instead of ONT when initiating service in recent years.
The number of passengers at ONT is not expected to rebound to 6.4 million (the pre-9/11 level) until 2030, while at LAX, the numbers are expected to top their legal limit of 78 million by 2018 and overflow to 108.6 million by 2030.
Los Angeles World Airports officials like to blame ONT’s problems on changes in the airline industry. And it’s true airlines are consolidating and cutting back on flights at secondary airports to reduce empty seats.
That doesn’t explain why ONT lost 33 percent of its passengers while Bob Hope lost only 9.4 percent — and John Wayne actually grew 11 percent, Palm Springs 18 percent and Long Beach 388 percent (no, that’s not a typo!).
It also doesn’t explain why passenger traffic at LAX is rebounding while ONT continues to lose. The city of Los Angeles operates both.
ONT General Manager Jess Romo added spiking jet-fuel prices to the reasons for ONT’s decline. But I’m glad he admitted no one knows for sure why ONT has suffered disproportionately.
When I’ve written about local-control efforts for ONT, one commenter has said passenger service should skip ONT and go to San Bernardino International Airport.
But there are good reasons service should be rebuilt at ONT, rather than built from the ground up at SBIA.
First, the infrastructure is already in place at ONT: rental cars, shuttles, public transit, hotels. None of that is present at SBIA.
Airlines already serve it, even though some have left and others are whittling down the number of flights they offer. None serve SBIA.
A freeway interchange at Archibald Avenue was rebuilt to serve ONT, and the airport’s visibility from Interstate 10 puts it miles ahead of SBIA.
SBIA is accessible by surface streets. But it’s not visible even from the nearest major artery, Tippecanoe Avenue. It’s hidden behind giant warehouses and looks alarmingly deserted.
ONT also has advantages over other Southern California secondary airports: It has no restrictions on hours of operation, as Bob Hope (formerly Hollywood-Burbank), John Wayne (Orange County) and Long Beach have.
Add it all up, and ONT’s nosedive makes no sense.
Local control could curb ONT’s soaring costs, provide incentives to airlines to return and offer loyalty rewards to passengers.
L.A. should give it back.
Cassie MacDuff can be reached at 951-368-9470 or cmacduff@PE.com or facebook.com/PE.CassieMacDuff | <urn:uuid:b7ff7d56-3f2f-41f7-8fca-473810b31e70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pe.com/local-news/columns/cassie-macduff-headlines/20120413-region-statistics-show-ontario-airport-shouldnt-fail.ece | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937998 | 723 | 1.773438 | 2 |
If you are looking to learn more about cell-signaling mechanisms involved in cancer, keep up with the latest news in cancer research, and follow clinical trials, then might I suggest the BioOncology HD app by Genentech. This sleekly designed app covers these things and more, such as a list of useful web links, as well as information about upcoming conferences and funding sources. A nice feature of the clinical trials resource is that it covers both Genentech and non-Genentech trials (though the default display is Genentech only). The “research” section of the app contains very nice animations depicting signaling pathways involved in cancer, such as apoptosis, angiogenesis, and the Hedgehog pathway. The “explore” feature is not too exciting—it only allows one to zoom in to the image—but the video animations make up for this shortcoming. | <urn:uuid:867d7b9a-5ff8-4d73-b4c7-d065adec6964> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.genengnews.com/best-science-apps/biooncology-hd/56/?kwrd=Cancer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952773 | 184 | 1.71875 | 2 |
I have a project to do for school. Its purpose is to show how the media serves as a 4th branch of government by regulation what the government can do.
I have to show this through the pentagon papers, and show how it affected people and the government.
Also through pictures, political cartoons and videos if possible. Ive been researching but its been difficult to find stuff like that.
Oops i meant: by regulating* | <urn:uuid:26b57656-6326-4a32-a12c-6bdff490e4a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.peejeshare.com/general/how-did-pentagon-papers-affect-peoples-opinions-about-vietnam-war-through-media-59497 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981711 | 90 | 1.546875 | 2 |
All-year round destination
Weatherwise, Denmark is an all-year-round getaway, with four distinct seasons. Cultural events are spread throughout the year with things to warm you in winter and refresh you in summer.
The summers are warm and everyone comes outside to enjoy the long evenings. The sun doesn’t set until after 10pm in June. Danish school children return to school in August, so late August is a great time to visit for good weather and less crowds.
Though the days are shorter in the winter, the country is often covered with snow, so there are loads of opportunities to enjoy a natural winter wonderland. During the winter, some attractions and services close. For example, Tivoli Gardens is closed from the middle of September to the middle of April. It opens with gusto, however, over Christmas (except 24 and 25 December) and Halloween.
See our section on Denmark’s Climate for more information. | <urn:uuid:a773e059-c77f-41c5-b6d4-7e40e05a9a15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.visitdenmark.com/en-us/a-z/6241/9908 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963334 | 195 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The Brooklyn artist Patrick Smith began creating strange, subtle online games ten years ago. Now redesigned for the iPad, his immersive worlds are pushing the limits of what a tablet is capable of.
A still from Feed the Head
No longer the shiny novelty it was at its 2010 launch, Apple’s iPad has begun to settle in among the other high-tech furniture. But if the device has lost some of its dazzle, it may be because so few apps take full advantage of the platform’s possibilities. The most impressive apps on my iPad are by Patrick Smith, a 36-year-old Brooklyn-based artist who produces work under the rubric Vectorpark. First published on his website, Vectorpark.com, as Flash productions between 2001 and 2009, Smith’s creations have been so far ahead of the technical and cultural curve that, rebuilt for iOS, they immediately stand among the best examples of what a touch-enabled tablet can—and should—do.
Smith’s work speaks in a playful, mysterious visual language that has emerged from his explorations in painting, sculpture, and drawing to yield a new kind of interactive art. As a high school student in the early 1990s, Smith made drawings and collages influenced by artists such as Francis Bacon and Joseph Cornell. At Washington University, his paintings proceeded from actual still lifes to imagined still lifes of toylike images. For his thesis, he leapt from painting to sculpture. Building the fanciful three- dimensional objects he had already been painting seems, in retrospect, like a logical step, but Smith also wanted to avoid the historical baggage of painting. “I get kind of overburdened working in a medium where there’s a history to it and expectations,” Smith says. “So I wanted to break and get directly to this language.”
During a postcollegiate internship at an information-graphics firm, Smith learned how to construct and modify vector-based images in Adobe Illustrator—a first step toward his later Flash experiments. Inspired by artists like Chris Ware and Jim Woodring, Smith also drew narrative comics, and in 2000 he cofounded The Ganzfeld, initially a mixed-format McSweeney’s-esque print journal, with two former classmates.
Experimenting with Flash, Smith began to design an elaborate website for the magazine. “At some point while making it,” he says, “it was clear to me that I didn’t want it to be for The Ganzfeld. It needed to be its own thing.” The result was Vectorpark, Smith’s first interactive project (since retitled Park, and now part of the larger website). A mysterious nighttime landscape spied through a telescope, Park is less a game than an immersive environment. For an artist desperate to avoid historical baggage, the budding medium was irresistible. “It was even newer than comics,” Smith says. “Nobody knew what the hell I was doing. I liked that.”
Stills from Park
Smith’s was not the first Flash-based confection to hit the internet, but even some gamers were confused. Comments from 2002 on a tech website’s message board ranged from appreciation to consternation: “What a very strange game, I don’t think you can ‘Win,’ ” read one. This was very much the point. Richard McGuire, an artist who has since collaborated with Smith, remembers the impression Park made. “I loved the fact that you’re not told anything,” McGuire says. “It really is respect for the viewer, because [Smith] assumes you’ll figure things out. It seems to be connected more to an art experience than a game experience, because it’s experiential and not goal-oriented.”
Smith followed Park with the more traditionally gamelike Levers, which challenges users to balance a cascade of plummeting objects: a snowman, a birdhouse, a recalcitrant squid. Each new object has to be placed on a lattice of wildly pivoting scales, which are vexed by an anarchic trio of birds who unbalance the arrangement and contribute a lifelike organic quality. “I remember it was a big step for me,” Smith says. “Going from Park to Levers is me learning how to program something. The animation is largely driven by physics.”
Levers brought Smith some online fame among the technocenti on websites like Metafilter. “Suddenly, a hundred thousand times more people were seeing it than had seen anything I’d ever done before,” he says. “And I think that kind of spooked me.” The artist who had pursued digital media to avoid expectations was now faced with the expectations generated by his own success. He could imagine the possibilities of an entirely interactive world, but, instead, he turned away from the computer and began painting again. Smith produced a number of canvases depicting undulating graphic landscapes populated by geometrically rendered, biomorphic forms.
One of Smith’s paintings, and a still from Feed the Head
“And then, finally, I was still painting, and I started getting this idea for a head you could interact with.” The result, 2007’s Feed the Head, is more comical than Smith’s other projects, and it draws on his love of animation, particularly of Chuck Jones’s metafictional classic “Duck Amuck.” “You’re manipulating this thing, and it’s not really enjoying it,” Smith says of the titular head. “It’s stoically tolerating it because it has no choice.” The animation is particularly subtle, as when the user removes the head’s nose in a minute tug-of-war.
In 2009 Smith released Windosill, his most elaborate work to date. Windosill begins in a darkened space that responds mysteriously to clicks and swipes. Graham Linehan, creator of the tech-oriented British sitcom The IT Crowd, recalls his first contact with Windosill: “It was while I was ‘working’ that I discovered the opening Windosill level, with the five or six odd, unconnected objects in the darkness. I may have actually gasped when I clicked the lightbulb.” It reveals a Cornell-like toy box, the first of Windosill’s many surprises.
Stills and drawings from Windosill
Drawing on imagery from Smith’s paintings, Windosill prompts the user to navigate a small, toylike vehicle through a series of interactive spaces. Tonally, the piece echoes the contemplative world of Park. Each space abounds with interactions: trees that seem decorative can be made to shed their leaves; when touched, a cloud drips rain. “I love everything about it—the way objects ‘feel’ when you pick them up, the tiny puffs of smoke from the train,” Linehan says. He hired Smith to design Windosill-based menu screens for a DVD of The IT Crowd, as part of a series of game-themed interfaces.
But Linehan’s praise raises the question of whether Vectorpark belongs in the history of games at all. Although Smith’s work is usually structured loosely around a series of puzzles, the games are not difficult, and neither competition nor point accumulation is at stake. The principal reward for engagement is, ultimately, a rich and surprising aesthetic experience. There is no easy description for work like this. Jesse Fuchs, a teacher at the NYU Game Center, identifies Windosill as “something in that gray area that uses game elements to structure interactivity.” McGuire, the artist, likens Smith’s productions to “sculptural toys.” Chris Ware sees him as “working with touch, weight, sound, metaphor, and symbolic relationships in a way that can’t be referred to as anything other than poetry.”
Vectorpark’s sculptural qualities are emphasized by their reconfiguration as touch-enabled iPhone and iPad apps. Detecting a new platform—and a new marketplace—for his work, Smith painstakingly rebuilt his major projects from scratch in Objective C, the native language of iOS, between 2009 and 2011. The process was both technical and conceptual. “I do think about the mouse in a Flash game as being kind of your extension of a finger,” says Smith. “Even with the similarities, I had to rethink a lot.” Smith’s world of generous interaction becomes more immersive in a tactile interface. “The physicality was already there,” McGuire says. “It’s even more impressive now that you actually have to touch and interact with it, and everything seems to have more weight and more reality.” Smith acknowledges as much: “I actually think this is the way to play it now.”
Smith’s work falls between categories because it is grounded in an artistic, rather than commercial, practice. “I’m trying to create something that has the nuance, the sensitivity of a brushstroke or a drawn line,” he says. That nuance is engineered into the interactivity of each Vectorpark element, the organicism of Smith’s vector-based shapes, and the convincing naturalism of his otherwise surreal animation. Now, through a touchscreen, users are able to bring their own nuanced gestures into Smith’s world—and experience the pleasure that comes when Vectorpark responds in kind. Smith describes Vectorpark as “a remote place. Anybody getting there is journeying there.” With his work remade for portable devices, we can now take Patrick Smith’s remote place with us, and journey there at will.
Bill Kartalopoulos, a contributing editor for Print, is a Brooklyn-based critic, educator, and curator who has taught classes about comics and illustration at Parsons the New School for Design. He is a co-organizer of the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival and SPX: The Small Press Expo.
You might also be interested in The Designer’s Web Handbook, now on sale at MyDesignShop.com. | <urn:uuid:471d9f80-de49-4567-a591-5dda69aecb57> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.printmag.com/article/touch-and-go/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965531 | 2,166 | 1.648438 | 2 |
10 Questions You Should Never Ask In A Job Interview
Career experts agree that asking questions during a job interview is the best way to determine whether the organization is the right fit for you. Questions are also a great way to show the employer that you've done your homework and that you're enthusiastic about the job opportunity. However, they will only work to your advantage if they are the right questions.
Here are 10 questions you should never ask during a job interview. Keep in mind that asking bad questions might be worse than asking none at all. | <urn:uuid:b8e408c7-5809-4239-9aa6-34333d45a96a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.forbes.com/pictures/fehk45elee/10-questions-you-should-never-ask-in-a-job-interview/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970169 | 110 | 1.648438 | 2 |
‘Burn Quran Day’ an outrage to Muslims
By Akbar Ahmed
Editor’s note: Akbar Ahmed is professor and Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington. He is author of “Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam,” Brookings Press 2010.
(CNN)—In less than a month, Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida plans to host “Burn a Quran Day” to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The pastor, author of the book “Islam is of the Devil,” is using the burning to urge American Christians to “stand up” to what he describes as a monolithic Muslim threat. A Facebook page for the event has accrued thousands of “likes” and Jones has said people have been mailing him Qurans to burn.
As a Muslim scholar, an adherent of one of the Abrahamic faiths—Judaism, Christianity and Islam—and as someone committed to interfaith understanding, I urge Jones to cancel this event. Not only are the actions of Jones contrary to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, but they are also against the ideals of the American Founding Fathers.
The planned burning has already caused alarm in the Muslim world, with the pre-eminent Sunni university, Al-Azhar in Cairo, Egypt, condemning it as “stirring up hate and discrimination.”
At a recent dinner in Washington, a host for one of Pakistan’s top TV channels confided in me that he “didn’t dare” report the story because if he did, “not a single American would be safe in Pakistan.” He and the cameraman were quivering with anger as they asked me to explain why Americans hated Islam.
I tried my best to explain this was not the case, but Jones’ burning will have great symbolic significance to a Muslim world already feeling under attack by the United States. It will cause undue harm to U.S. relations with the Muslim world and particularly the war effort.
Gen. David Petraeus, the head of American forces in Afghanistan, has repeatedly expressed the need for winning the “hearts and minds” of local people by treating them with dignity and respect. When Afghans see that their holy book is being burned, it will cause riots and attacks that will put U.S. troops further at risk. There will be similar riots and attacks in neighboring Pakistan and Iran. It will inflame the entire Muslim world and fuel acts of terrorism.
Video: Preacher wants to burn Qurans http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/08/20/ahmed.quran.burning/
It could also inflame anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States, especially in the context of the anger over the proposed Islamic center near ground zero in Lower Manhattan.
Many American Muslims will feel as if they are second-class citizens and it could push some angry young men toward violence.
On my recent fieldwork trip to 100 mosques in 75 American cities with a team of American researchers for the book “Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam,” we documented that many mosques had been attacked, sometimes bombed. In May, not far from Jones’ church in Gainesville, a pipe bomb exploded in a mosque in Jacksonville.
As objectionable as the prospect of Jones’ Quran burning is, it may not cease with the holy book of the Muslims. I have always maintained that this kind of vitriolic hatred of one religion is a descent on a slippery slope, as no one can say who will be next. I was not surprised, therefore, when I heard Jones recently agree, when asked to do so in an internet podcast interview, to burn “a couple of copies of the Talmud” too.
Not only does the burning of holy texts reflect the darkest days of medieval Europe and Nazi Germany, but it is hard to think of anything more un-American, by the definition of the Founding Fathers themselves.
George Washington welcomed the Jews to America as the “stock of Abraham” while John Adams showed the utmost respect for Islam, naming the Prophet Mohammed as one of the greatest truth seekers in history. Benjamin Franklin called him a model of compassion.
The Founding Fathers read and honored the same Quran that Jones is now seeking to burn. Thomas Jefferson kept the same Quran in his personal collection and it informed his decision to host the first presidential iftaar during Ramadan.
The Founding Fathers were also inspired by Christian thinkers like John Locke, who declared that the true Christian’s duty was to “practice charity, meekness, and good-will in general toward all mankind, even to those that are not Christians.”
I consulted many distinguished Abrahamic friends for this article, all concerned with the drift toward intolerance exemplified by Jones’ threat, who were happy to endorse this article’s content and language.
They include the Episcopal bishop of Washington, the Right Rev. John Chane; Senior Rabbi Bruce Lustig of the Washington Hebrew Congregation; Imam Mohamed Magid, executive director of the ADAMS Center in Northern Virginia; Pastor Dr. Robert Norris of Palm Beach, Florida’s, Royal Poinciana Chapel and member of the Presbytery of Tropical Florida; the Rev. Carol Flett of the Washington National Cathedral, the Rev. Dr. Clark Lobenstine of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington; Sister Maureen Fiedler, Sister of Loretto and host of Interfaith Voices, and too many others to name.
At the core of the Abrahamic faiths, these esteemed figures represent the need to show compassion and understanding of others. By threatening to burn the holy books of two of these faiths, the Quran and the Talmud, Jones is violating the basic tenants of all the Abrahamic faiths and doing something that is unacceptable by any standard of religion.
As an adherent of one of these faiths, Islam, and one who respects the other faiths, I implore Jones as a Christian and an American to cancel his burning event, follow the true teachings of Jesus by loving his neighbor, and engage in respectful dialogue instead. | <urn:uuid:dbdf5e2b-2704-446b-a0cd-256b74f8a393> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/print/burn_quran_day_an_outrage_to_muslims | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949812 | 1,286 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Where: St. Francis 311 SE 12th, Portland Oregon, 97214 (Dining Hall)
Want to know more about how to have more effective strategy and tactics in political organizing and direct actions? Then please come to this training workshop, which will provide an introductory overview of the nature of activism, political organizing and direct actions. Pulling from a diverse history within multiple disciplines and traditions we will integrate concepts of conflict resolution, radical strategies, black block tactics, nonviolent struggle and more! There is something for everyone, and the purpose of this workshop is to inform the community about the wide variety of tools available in the activism tool box, as well the insight to know when and how to use which tool in a given situation.
This will be a highly participatory workshop format and there will be food! Hope to see you all there.
For questions, or to register as a presenter at this workshop please email: occupyeverywherepdx@gmail.
This workshop has been endorsed by Spokescouncil and OPDX General Assembly. | <urn:uuid:70a83390-990b-450b-91de-cf527b41ccd4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://occupyportland.org/2012/06/07/workshop-radical-geometry-strategy-street-tactics-101/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93341 | 214 | 1.5625 | 2 |
We're basically just talking about "rules of thumb" here. From Wyeast's website: "A rough rule of thumb is to double pitch rates above 1.065 and triple pitch rates above 1.085. Or, more technically, a million cells per milliliter are needed for a 20degree plato"
Pitching the "standard" rate of 0.75m/ml/*P for ales is as much a "rule of thumb" as what Wyeast recommends. There's no way the "standard" rate will give you the optimal fermentation in every type of beer.
Right, this is something that's good to mention. Even in brewing texts and the commercial world, pitching rates vary from place to place and style to style.
The Mr. Malty calculator assumes 0.75 million cells/ml/Plato for ales and twice that for lagers. Wyeast basically claims that because this is fresh, lab grown yeast and not harvested yeast from a previous batch, you can get away with less for low gravity ales. You can see that they recommend a lower pitching rate for beers under 1.060, while advocating using a higher rate closer to the commercial "standard" (if that truly exists) for high gravity beers. They also rationalize their lager recommendations based on warm pitching, which is a great way to make a fruity lager unless you really have the ability to cool the beer fast in the first few hours after pitching.http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_pitchrates.cfm
Given that yeast is not always shipped in optimal conditions, and may be sitting around for a month before you get it, I'm not sure that it's really true that you can pitch less because the yeast is fresh. Homebrewers have had great success using Jamil's pitching rates.
I do think that Mr. Malty's yeast viability estimates are very pessimistic. | <urn:uuid:793e0846-23e0-4c13-b2df-31d59b0dc2d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=9684.msg119049 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962556 | 401 | 1.578125 | 2 |
A major reconstruction of the 41st Street and Sheridan Road intersection has reduced the heavy traffic jams that once occurred daily at the intersection. The intersection was rebuilt with concrete and had right-turn lanes added for the remaining three directions (eastbound already had such a lane). A new traffic signal was installed, and the left-turn medians were removed. The intersection was part of a larger 1991 sales tax project that widened and reconstructed Sheridan Road to five lanes between the Broken Arrow Expressway and 42nd Street. Work began on this section of Sheridan Road, which originally was four lanes with a median, in 1997 and was completed in 1998. A separate 1991 sales tax project added a center turn lane to Sheridan Road between 42nd and 50th streets by adding a half lane to each side and then restriping the roadway. In the background, work is under way on replacing the I-44 bridges as part of the work to widen the interstate to six lanes in the area. The old bridges still are in use, and their piers can be seen as those that are slightly closer to Sheridan Road. The outer portions of the new bridges are being constructed first, and traffic will be detoured to those sections while the old bridges are demolished and replaced with the remaining portions of the new bridges. Photo taken May 1999.
Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections. | <urn:uuid:1c202eb1-8af1-4cc4-9270-98ad4d9be69a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cdm15020.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15020coll4/id/1421/rec/7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981653 | 277 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Nightly News | May 30, 2011
>>> we close on this memoriam day with a story about some four-legged friends who aren't exactly the cute and cuddly type. we all remember it was an elite unit of navy s.e.a.l.s who led the raid on osama bin laden 's compound in pakistan, but they announced one of their canines played a big role that night. they call them war dogs , and tonight, we have been given acassociate to a facility where those dog s become true fighters.
>> reporter: a training mission in the nevada desert . a simulated high-stakes overnight raid. the 99th ground combat squadron, heavily armed, but one of their best soldiers doesn't carry a gun. these four-legged warriors, pursue, attract, and attack.
>> what they bring to the fight for us cannot be overstated. their senses are what are literally saving people's lives.
>> reporter: today, 2,700 war dogs are on active duty . leaping into battle outfitted for war. radio callers relay orders, kevlar vests, goggles to sheer their eyes, but it's their senses the military depends on. able to smell six times better than humans, they're the best bomb detector the military has. nbc news was given access during the intense training. only the best of the best would be deployed. during their near lly month-long training at this facility, the canines and their handlers will go through virtually every scenario before they head out.
>> the team has been together for years. the war dogs are fiercely loyal to their leaders. tech sergeant julian carlos spends more time with his dog than his family back home. 300 canines have died in the line of duty since the vietnam war . war dogs , more than man's best friend . a special breed of soldier. miguel alvarez . | <urn:uuid:6f45148b-5028-46b8-b0be-c210b074b81e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/43218816 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975798 | 400 | 1.84375 | 2 |
LOUIE F. BARNEY, M. D. - Dr. Barney has won secure place as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of his native state, where his father was a pioneer in the same line of professional endeavor, and he is engaged in active practice in Kansas City, the capital and metropolis of Wyandotte county, where he has gained special prestige as a surgeon, and where he controls a large and profitable practice, the same standing as voucher for his technical skill as well as for his personal popularity in the community. The Doctor has depended upon his own resources in making the battle of life, has shown the determination and integrity that denote the strong and loyal nature, and has therefore never been denied the full quota of popular confidence and respect.
Dr. Louie F. Barney was born at Cherokee, Crawford county, Kansas, on the 19th of November, 1876, and was the second in order of birth of the two sons and two daughters of Dr. James K. and Susan (Fundenberger) Barney, the former of whom was born in Illinois and the latter in Ohio. The father died in 1902, at the age of fifty-five years, and the mother now maintains her home near Cherokee, Kansas. Dr. James Knox Barney carefully fortified himself for the work of his chosen calling, as he was graduated in the old St. Louis Medical College, at St. Louis, Missouri, an institution now known as Washington Medical University. From this college he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1871, and his initial work in his profession was done at Marmaton, Bourbon, county, Kansas, where he remained for a brief interval. In 1872 he removed to Cherokee, Crawford county, where he continued in practice until 1877, when he established his home at Weir, Cherokee county, where he followed the work of his profession until his death. He was a man of sterling character and much ability and as one of the pioneer physicians of Kansas he ministered with all of devotion and self-abnegation to those in affliction. He did not accumulate a fortune through his earnest labors, but he left the gracious heritage of a good name, the while his memory is cherished by the many whom he served so effectively and unselfishly. He was identified with various medical societies and in politics was a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Republican party.
Dr. Louie F. Barney was afforded the advantages of the public schools of Weir, Cherokee county, including a course in the high school, and he suplemented this by a course in the Pittsburg Business College. For three years thereafter he was a successful and popular teacher in the public schools of his home town of Weir, where he was principal of a school and had five other teachers under his direction before he was twenty-one years old, the enrolment of pupils in the school having been about two hundred and fifty. He thus early showed his pedagogic powers as well as his ability as an executive. In gaining his education he depended upon his own exertions for maintenance and incidental funds demanded, and in this connection he turned his attention to any honest employment that would afford his adequate returns. Thus it may be stated that for a time he was employed in a drug store and that he also did effective service as a driver of teams used in stripping the soil from coal lands, as a preliminary to the development of the properties. It may well be understood that a young man of so definite energy and ambition would early formulate plans for his future life work, and thus Dr. Barney was led to adopt the profession which his honored father had followed. With this end in view he finally entered the Kansas City Medical College, at Kansas City, Missouri, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1903, and from which he received his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. In a competitive examination at the time of his graduation Dr. Barney and one of his classmates gained equal standing in a race for first prize. Following graduation he secured the position of physician at St. Margaret's Hospital, Kansas City, Kansas, an incumbency which he retained for fifteen months. For a period of about seven years he was assistant to Dr. George M. Gray in the department of surgery at St. Margaret's Hospital, and his marked skill in surgery has caused him to devote special attention to this branch of practice, in which his success has been on a parity with his recognized ability. The Doctor is a valued member of the Wyandotte County Medical Society, the Kansas State Medical Society, the Kansas City (Missouri) Academy of Medicine, the Northeast District Medical Society and the Southwest Medical Society, besides which he is also identified with the American Medical Association.
Though essentially broad-minded and progressive in his civic attitude, Dr. Barney has found neither time nor inclination to enter the turbulence of so-called practical politics, and he gives his support to men and measure meeting the approval of his judgment, without regard to strict partisan lines. He is affiliated with the Scottish Rite body of the Masonic fraternity, and it is worthy of note that he received his degree of Master Mason in Wyandotte Lodge, No. 3, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of its founding.
On the 20th of February, 1907, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Barney to Miss Minnie C. Wahlenmaier, who was born and reared in Kansas City, Kansas, and who is a daughter of William and Caroline Wahlenmaier, the former of whom died about twenty-five years ago and the latter of whom still resides in Kansas City. Mr. Wahlenmaier came from Germany to America when a boy and he eventually gained place as one of the pioneer lumber dealers in eastern Kansas. He was one of the honored citizens and influential business men of Wyandotte county, and accumulated a substantial estate through his well directed endeavors. His widow Caroline erected the Wahlenmaier block at the corner of Eighth street and Minnesota avenue, in Kansas City, Kansas, and the same is one of the best modern business blocks of the city.
Home Page for Kansas
Search all of Blue Skyways
The KSGenWeb Project | <urn:uuid:0313c38a-1efe-4051-8974-d4d03bef82b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.skyways.org/genweb/archives/wyandott/history/1911/volume2/b/barneylf.html | 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 | 0.989895 | 1,269 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Social Innovation in Seattle (SIIS) participants explore the program themes of social innovation, leadership, and personal development through four modes of learning: integrated seminars, a professional site placement, site visits, and personal inquiry.
Each week, SIIS participants learn about social innovation and leadership through integrated seminars taught by experienced leaders in the field. The seminars are very participatory and enable SIIS participants to deepen their understanding about how to initiate and lead social innovation in their businesses and communities and, more importantly, where their passion lies for being a part of this work.
Integrated seminars help to weave together the experiences from the entire SIIS program, and serve as the foundation for the strong community of learning that grows over the four week program. Seminars are led by iLEAP staff and supplemented by guest speakers who come from the local social business and innovation community. Integrated seminars take place 2 to 3 times each week.
Professional Site Placement
For the entire month program, SIIS participants are assigned to a professional placement with a Seattle-based social business, institution, agency or nonprofit organization working in a field relevant to their interest. Like an internship, this Site Placement takes place 2 to 3 times each week, for the during of the working day. The specifics of the Site Placement work will vary from placement to placement and the needs of the collaborating business or organization.
Some past Site Placements include:
Over the four week program, SIIS participants attend a number of Site Visits to local organizations and businesses who are engaged in various forms of social innovation--including around Fair Trade, organic foods, sustainability, corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, women's issues, homelessness, and more. These visits offer SIIS participants a unique opportunity to witness business practice from the “inside” and speak directly with those leading this work.
Some past Site Visits include:
Consistent with iLEAP’s mission, iLEAP staff and advisors work closely with each SIIS participant to help cultivate clarity around personal and professional direction through Coaching and Advising. This typically is nurtured through coaching sessions with a professionally certified coach and in advising sessions with the main seminar instructor. This is an opportunity for SIIS participants to better understand themselves, their dreams, and the way forward for their lives.
For many SIISers, it is the Coaching and Advising part of the SIIS program that has the greatest impact and that leads to this program being a signficiant "turning point" in their lives. In the SIIS program, we place a high priority on getting to know each participant and how we can best support their personal growth and professional development. | <urn:uuid:1fb61d10-dc09-4acc-ad5c-6957fad7087d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ileap.org/programs/siis/curriculum/ | 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 | 0.956967 | 545 | 1.5 | 2 |
The town of Jonesborough has been awarded a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant for a $1.4 million wastewater improvement project that will move discharge from the town’s wastewater treatment plant out of Little Limestone Creek and into the Nolichucky River.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced the award Thursday along with CDBG grants totalling more than $7.5 million for infrastructure improvements in 14 communities across the state. The grants include $500,000 for water systems improvements in Rogersville, $421,200 for a waterline extension in Greene County and $321,687 for water system improvements in Baileyton.
In Jonesborough, the CDBG funding is designated for phase two of a water treatment expansion project that will allow the town to extend outfall lines from its treatment plant on Britt Drive about six miles beyond the creek to the river, which Town Administrator Bob Browning said is a much larger and better receiving stream.
“Our town is growing and our treatment stream is growing. This is the state telling that as our treatment stream increases, we have to get it out of Little Limestone Creek,” Browning said.
Extension of the lines is planned as phase two of a major expansion of the plant that got under way in May and is expected to be completed next spring.
The $5.5 million project includes the construction of two 500,000-gallon wastewater treatment basins that Mayor Kelly Wolfe said will triple capacity for growth of the county industrial park in Telford. The project is being funded through a combination of $2.2 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Rural Development, $1.5 million in Rural Development loans and a $500,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission
In announcing the awards Thursday, Haslam said, “Community Development Block Grants allow communities to complete projects that will ultimately lay the groundwork for future economic development opportunities. I am pleased the state of Tennessee is able to partner with our local communities to make these projects a reality. Having the proper infrastructure in place can lead to additional jobs and investments for a community and enhance the quality of life for its residents.”
According to the governor’s office, additional CDBG grant awards will be announced throughout October. | <urn:uuid:deaa7757-7aeb-44ea-81c0-69047690ff98> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?id=102728 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951045 | 472 | 1.75 | 2 |
WASHINGTON - A plan to bring dozens of electricity-only taxicabs to the region has hit a roadblock.
A new company called EV Taxicabs wanted to operate electric cabs equipped with WiFi hotspots and iPads in the back for passengers.
The company promised to put up charging stations around Arlington County to keep the cabs going.
It would have been the very first all-electric taxicab fleet in the U.S., but the Arlington County Board voted 3-2 against the plan.
County Manager Barbara Donnellan recommended the plan, but the transportation commission gave it a thumbs down.
The Arlington County Board was worried about things, such as how far the cabs could travel on a charge and the time it would take to recharge them.
The board will allow other county cab companies to add a total of 22 taxis to help meet a growing demand for them in Arlington County.
Friendly Cab has permission to add 12 taxicabs to its fleet, and Red Top and Blue Top can now add five wheelchair-accessible cabs each.
For more information about EV Taxicabs visit the website.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
Oreo's new flavor is getting a ton of buzz. So we tried it.
Meet the newest liligers - mom's a liger and dad's a lion. (Photos)
Don't look for the movie about Jodi Arias to be about her trial. (Video)
This U.S. city is buying $30M worth of iPads for its students. | <urn:uuid:bf2713c8-8039-4388-9c06-87eb92d417b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wtop.com/139/3151811/No-electric-only-cabs-for-Arlington | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946653 | 323 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Houston County Lake VFD announces lowered ISO rating
Houston County Courier
By Lynda Jones
The efforts of the Houston County Lake Volunteer Fire Department (HCLVFD) over the past 30 months to reduce its ISO fire insurance rating has come to fruition. Officials report an ISO representative visited and reviewed the department in June, and the result is a reduction that will enable some homeowners to get a reduction in their fire insurance rates. As of Oct. 1, the volunteer fire department’s ISO rating was changed from a 10 to a split 9/10, department officials reported. According to a department press release from Training Chief Richie Rankel, the HCLVFD began working in April 2010 to reduce its ISO rating by addressing various training, administrative and equipment/gear issues. The Oct. 1 rating change means that homeowners and businesses less than five road miles from the fire station may have their insurance premiums may be lowered by their insurance carriers, according to Rankel, who explained the rating of a nine is good only for five road miles from the fire station. “We may have the option to further obtain an 8B rating in the year to come which may reduce premiums even lower.,” the press release states. “Be advised that this process at the state level does take time to take affect - normally at least 4-6 months. So, if this does affect your residence or business, keep an eye out on your premiums this coming year and/or contact your own insurance company to find out further information,” officials caution. The HCLVFD thanks all of its firefighters that helped over the past few years with training and equipment to get the department to its new rating. The department’s next “big” project, Rankel reported, is raising approximately $60,000 for a new booster truck to replace one that is a 1978 Chevy and at the end of its usefulness. | <urn:uuid:b8e82eba-b192-40aa-830f-8012e84c9af6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.easttexasnews.com/Courier/News/Ind/October2012/story4.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973955 | 388 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Alice Mary Smith
1839 - 1884
Also known by her married name of Alice Mary Meadows White, Alice Mary Smith was a pupil of Sterndale Bennett and George MacFarren at the Royal Academy of Music. Her major works include two symphonies, five overtures, an Introduction an Allegro for Piano and Orchestra, works for chorus and orchestra (including an operetta), and a considerable body of chamber music, including four piano quartets and three string quartets. Smith's Clarinet Sonata (HPC #09870) received its first public performance in December 1870; the work entitled Duo Concertante for Pianoforte and Clarinet in A was premiered by Henry Lazarus (1815-1895) with the composer at the piano. Smith was a professor at the Royal Academy of Music and was elected a Female Professional Associate of the Royal Philharmonic Society in November 1867. She received an honorary degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London in 1884. See also #09919 for her String Quartet. | <urn:uuid:f99b2d24-132a-4be4-bd02-d80ee6c3329b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hildegard.com/composer_detail.php?id=175 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967756 | 216 | 1.765625 | 2 |
As we've seen in college athletics scandals, the concept of student-athlete too often pays meager heed to the student part.
What we're surprised to learn is that the shortchanging of academics may begin long before talented athletes hit the college campus. Many high school athletic programs also are free to overemphasize sports at the expense of studies.
In the Cumberland County schools, students can play sports, take part in clubs or play in the band if they maintain a lowly 0.75 grade point average. The meager requirement has caught the school board's eye, and members will vote Monday on a proposal to require a 2.0 GPA to participate in extracurricular activities, including sports.
Even Superintendent Frank Till Jr. was surprised to how low the bar was set for athletics. "We assumed that there was a higher GPA," he said. "Although it probably won't impact a number of students like it would have a couple of years ago. It's more symbolic for us. We are moving toward a new standard."
Good. We hope the school board sets that standard for middle school students as well. At that level, there is no GPA requirement for extracurricular activities.
Leon Mack, the school system's director of student activities, applauded the school board's move. "I would support anything that is put in place to ensure that student-athletes' primary focus is academics first," he said.
We concur. And we wish the North Carolina High School Athletic Association would too. It requires student-athletes to take a minimal class load and to pass the courses, but there is no minimum GPA even recommended. The association, commissioner Davis Whitfield told an Observer reporter, "feels that a GPA requirement could preclude some young people from participating in interscholastic athletics, and many times these are the young people who need to have participation opportunities ..."
In all likelihood, they also need academic preparation, and if they get it, they will have a better chance of succeeding in life, and not just on a football field. We would expect that all educators, including those who teach on ball fields and in locker rooms, would agree with that.
But even if state athletics officials resist the higher academic requirements, we're pleased that Cumberland is likely to join the majority of the state's major metropolitan school systems in adopting the 2.0 minimum GPA for athletics. That's the right thing for our children. | <urn:uuid:f67f6237-72ff-416e-aa6c-f5bb1cd803f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2012/12/06/1222231?sac=fo.opinion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972622 | 498 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The following are notes takes during the session.
Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
Five Principles We Must Teach Members
1) Don’t Believe Everything You Think
We all have a mental illness. It’s called sin. This means we can’t trust what we ourselves even think.
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
We have an amazing ability to lie to ourselves.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)
The upcoming generation places great value on authenticity. But it’s important to see that you’re not authentic until you can publicly admit how inauthentic you are most of the time.
Reasons we can’t trust ourselves:
- We all have blind spots.
- We don’t stop to really think.
- We fail to notice important details.
- We have background biases.
- We jump to conclusions.
- We get trapped by categories.
- We miss the big picture.
- We see what we want to see.
2) Guard Your Minds from Garbage
A wise person is hungry for truth, while the fool feeds on trash. (Proverbs 15:14, NLT)
Nutritionists will tell you that there are three kinds of food: brain food, junk food, and toxic food. The same is true with what you see and hear. We need to fill our minds with the right things.
I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. (Psalm 101:3, ESV)
How do you guard your mind against garbage? There are two ways from Philippians 4:6-8:
- Conversational prayer (“pray about everything”)
- Concentrated focusing (“fix your thoughts”)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.... Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:6-8, NLT)
One of the keys to overcoming temptation is not to resist it, but to replace it. It’s “the expulsive power of a new affection” that helps us overcome temptation.
3) Never Let Up on Learning
Growing churches require growing pastors.
The mind of a smart person is eager to get knowledge. The wise person listens to learn more. (Proverbs 18:15, ICB)
Wise men store up knowledge . . . (Proverbs 10:14)
One of the ways you can store up knowledge is to start a godly family library and leave it as a legacy to the next generation.
You should read 25 percent of your books from the first 1500 years of church history, 25 percent from the last 500 years, 25 percent from the last 100 years, and 25 percent from recent years.
Those who get wisdom do themselves a favor, and those who love learning will succeed. (Proverbs 19:8, NCV)
The Five Levels of Learning
- Knowledge - “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6, NIV)
- Perspective (Wisdom) - “I don’t think the way you think, and the way you work isn’t the way I work.” (Isaiah 55:8, MSG)
- Conviction - “Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.” (1 Thessalonians 1:5, NIV)
- Character - “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NLT)
- Skills - “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed. But skill will bring success.” (Ecclesiastes 10:10)
You only believe in the part of the Bible that you actually do. We’re supposed to be doers of the word and not hearers only. The problem today is that we are teaching too much. We’re learning more than we can do. There’s a wide gap between knowing and doing in American Christianity. It’s because we’re teaching too much.
4) Feed Yourself Daily with God’s Word
Another problem is that we’re not teaching people to be self-feeders. We’re not teaching them to study the Bible on their own.
Interpretation without application is abortion. We have huge heads but little hands and hearts and feet.
People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every Word of God. (Matthew 4:4, NLT)
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you! (Isaiah 26:3, NLT)
5) Let God Stretch Your Imagination
Nothing happens till somebody starts dreaming. What we need today are great dreamers.
Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:8)
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. (Acts 2:17, NIV)
What is your dream for your next ten years? For your church? Your family?
Innovators see what everyone else sees but they ask questions that no one else asks.
Why do we do this? For the glory of God.
Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. May he be given glory forever and ever through endless ages because of his master plan of salvation for the Church through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 3:20-21, LB)
Some of you are naturally great thinkers. Some of you are naturally great doers. Those of you who are thinkers, you need to do more. Those of you who are doers, you need to think more. It’s not one or the other. It’s both / and.
I want us to have a covenant together. It’s a mental covenant for the mind.
Test every thought.
Helmet your head.
Imagine great things.
Nourish a godly mind.
Keep on learning. | <urn:uuid:5a95c076-1dd7-44fc-9a73-6b7a432eeeb0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/the-battle-for-your-mind/print?lang=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938985 | 1,561 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Iran's supreme leader has rejected a proposal for direct talks about its nuclear program with the United States, saying negotiations will not solve anything.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement posted on his website Thursday that the U.S. wants to talk while threatening to punish Iran, and that his country will not be intimidated.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said during a security conference on Saturday in Munich that the United States is open to directly engaging Iran if it is serious about negotiations.
The supreme leader's message comes a day after U.S. sanctions targeting Iran's oil industry went into effect. The White House has pledged to continue to pressure Iran as long it seeks to develop a nuclear weapon and violate human rights.
Some Western nations, including the U.S., believe Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.
Iran and the so-called P5+1 contact group - the United States, France, Russia, China, Britain and Germany - are set to hold a new round of talks about Iran's nuclear program later this month in Kazakhstan. | <urn:uuid:3025e7f6-f05f-43e0-997b-765f193fbc98> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-rejects-direct-nuclear-talks-with-us/1598841.html | 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 | 0.966089 | 227 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Stopping IRS misconduct
by Richard W. Rahn
Do you fear the Internal Revenue Service, even though you have done nothing wrong? Most Americans do, and for good reason.
For decades, the courts, congressional hearings and the press have documented a steady stream of abuses by IRS personnel and federal prosecutors dealing with tax cases. Last week, a federal judge dismissed charges against 13 former employees of the accounting firm KPMG because the government had violated their rights, in what had been billed by the government as its biggest-ever tax shelter case.
The basic functions of government are to protect person and property and to ensure liberty. Far too often, the IRS unjustifiably takes people's property and denies them their liberty. The KPMG case is a prime example of such behavior by IRS personnel and Justice Department lawyers. KPMG had been selling advice regarding certain tax shelters, which no court had ever found illegal.
The IRS nevertheless indicted KPMG partners and others for selling the tax shelter advice and went on to threaten the firm if it paid for the legal defense of its employees as it was obligated to do.
KPMG, remembering what happened to the accounting firm Arthur Andersen in the Enron case, agreed to a plea deal. (Even though the Arthur Andersen firm was found to be innocent of wrongdoing by the courts, the government actions before the case was settled caused the firm's collapse, resulting in tens of thousands of innocent people losing their jobs and pensions.)
In dismissing the case against the KPMG defendants, U.S. District Court Lewis Kaplan said, in part: "Their [the government prosecutors'] deliberate interference with the defendants' rights was outrageous and shocking in the constitutional sense because it was fundamentally at odds with two of our most basic constitutional values — the right to counsel and the right to fair criminal proceedings." The judge quoted a previous, famous decision regarding proper prosecutorial conduct: "[A prosecutor] is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy, but of a sovereignty whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all; and whose interest, therefore, in a criminal prosecution is not that it shall win a case but that justice shall be done."
When you read the statements of the prosecutors for the IRS and Justice Department in this case, you realize how indifferent to the concepts of "innocent until proven guilty" and fundamental liberty, let alone adherence to the Constitution, have become to all too many who serve in government. Despite overwhelming evidence of disgraceful and illegal government behavior (in the private sector it would be called extortion), the government has decided to appeal the case. Have they no shame?
These rogue prosecutors and IRS agents continue behaving poorly because there is no penalty for them doing so. So what, if they force innocent people to spend millions of dollars defending themselves against bogus charges, or destroy productive and upstanding businesses and those who work for them? They know they are unlikely to be held accountable for their misdeeds since they are protected by "sovereign immunity" and civil service protections.
They will not be demoted, fired, fined and jailed as they would be in a more just society, and many will go on to get high-paying private-sector jobs. In fact, some prosecutors, despite having many white-collar cases thrown out of court or overturned on appeal, after causing great hardship to many innocent people, get themselves elected to high office — New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer is exhibit A.
Two decades ago, extensive congressional hearings were held concerning abuses by the IRS, which resulted in passage of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. There was some improvement in IRS behavior for a while, but now they have drifted back to traditional form as we have seen in the KPMG case and others.
Thus, in order to protect the constitutional liberties of the American people from abusive tax enforcers, there are only two alternatives:
(1) The first is to greatly reduce "sovereign immunity" and civil service protections from government agents and prosecutors so they can more easily be fined and sent to jail for violations of the law and Constitution.
(2) The second is to largely get rid of the IRS because attempts at IRS reform never work. As long as the tax code is so lengthy and complex (more than 60,000 pages) no single person can understand it, it will continue to serve as an instrument for abuse by all too many in government. The tax code can be simplified by putting in a simple flat-rate system, or, better yet, a national sales tax that would not require the IRS to know anything about any individual other than his or her Social Security number.
Congress can make the necessary reforms to the justice and tax systems to keep innocent people from being bankrupted, fined and even jailed by rogue prosecutors. But necessary action by Congress will only occur when enough citizens demand it.
Richard W. Rahn is chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth. | <urn:uuid:986a350b-40dd-4f37-9011-4ec49e7d9fa1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fairtax.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8349&news_iv_ctrl=2182 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970832 | 1,014 | 1.515625 | 2 |
I’ve found that I am often inspired by the people and things I see on the internet. After watching a YouTube video on something, I will often want to try to match the talent of various ‘YouTubians”.
For example, after seeing Cupquake paint on her channel, I decided to go back and do some more digital art. Music covers by people such as Roomie have made me want to try my hand at making covers of my own (though I haven’t attempted one yet). Last but not least, all of the fantastic game commentators ( The Yogscast, Kevin, CaptainSparklez, etc.) have lead me to creating my own commentaries.
Okay, so there’s nothing wrong with being inspired, right? We’re all inspired by someone at some point. Inspiration helps make us who we are and help us to do what we do. However, we must be careful not to confuse inspiration with envy.
Do I want to make art, music, and commentaries just so I can be awesome like other people? This is a question that I often ask myself. However, I find that I genuinely enjoy doing the things I do. What’s the point in doing them otherwise?
So what’s the big deal? Why do I care so much about not being envious? Well, God tells us right in the tenth commandment, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 17). I believe that “anything” also include others’ talents and abilities. I shouldn’t want to be awesome just because someone else is awesome; I should want to be awesome because being awesome will benefit both me, God, and/or others.
Be careful not to mistake envy for inspiration. | <urn:uuid:9e83818c-c28d-4517-a327-822f05a5d5c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://geekofgod.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/inspiration-vs-envy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966604 | 411 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Note: This was originally a challenge put on by http://16systems.com/zero/index.html -- not Hostjury.
Q. What is this?
|Q. Why are you doing this? |
A. Because many people believe that in order to permanently delete data from a modern hard drive that multiple overwrites with random data, mechanical grinding, degaussing and incinerating must be used. They tell others this. Like chaos, it perpetuates itself until everyone believes it. Lots of good, usable hard drives are ruined in the process.
|Q. What exactly is the challenge? |
A. You or your company or your organization or your group of researchers can have a crack at the drive. You don't actually have to recover any data to win the challenge, just tell us the name of one (1) of the two (2) files or the name of the one (1) folder that existed in this screen shot before the dd command was executed.
|Q. What kind of hard drive is it? How much did it cost? Is it new? Does it work? How did you format it? Why did you buy this drive? |
A. Western Digital (WD800JB) 80GB hard drive. We paid roughly $60 USD for the drive. It is new. Yes, it works. We did a default initialization and NTFS format from within Windows XP. It was the smallest and least expensive hard drive we could purchase new. It's also a very plain, common drive. Data recovery firms should have a lot of experience dealing with this type of hard drive.
| The Terms were updated on January 16th, 2008. The underlined portions have been added |
Q. May I enter the challenge?
A. Sure... here are the terms of the challenge: Send a self-addressed, postage-paid box you pay shipping both ways with packaging material to the address listed below along with a sixty $60 USD deposit United States Postal Service Money Order only and we will mail the drive to you.
When you receive the drive, you have three (3) consecutive days beginning on the day of receipt to analyze the drive. You must return the drive to us immediately on the end of the third day. The drive must be returned in the same condition that you received it in. Photos will be taken before shipment. It will be demonstrably functional before shipment. So, don't break it. If you damage the drive, then your deposit will not be returned. The challenge will last exactly one (1) year and will end immediately should someone win.
THE CHALLENGE BEGAN ON JANUARY 15th 2008.
THE CHALLENGE ENDS ON JANUARY 15th 2009 OR WHENEVER SOMEONE WINS.
You may not write any data to the drive or disassemble the drive. If the challenger is an established data recovery business located in the United States of America (We would need to see Articles of Incorporation, a current business license and one other form of business identification in order to determine that they are indeed a professional, for-profit, established data recovery business) or a National government law enforcement or intelligence agency (NSA, CIA, FBI), then we will allow these type of organizations to disassemble the drive and to keep the drive for thirty (30) consecutive days. Fair enough? If you object to these terms, then don't participate or suggest changes.
Challenges are accepted in the order in which they are received at this address:
16 Systems, LLC
P.O. Box 356
Blacksburg, VA 24063
|Q. How do I win the challenge? |
A. You must identify the name of one (1) of the two (2) files or the name of the one (1) folder that existed in this screen shot before the dd command was executed. You do not have to actually recover any data from the drive, but you can if you are able to. You also must publicly disclose in a reproducible manner the method(s) used to win the challenge. Here is the answer to the challenge. It's a TIF screen shot that shows the original contents of the root folder of the drive before the dd command was executed. It's PGP symmetrically encrypted using GnuPG. The key will be released at the end of the challenge or when someone wins. Should someone win, they get to keep the drive. They also will receive $40.00 USD and the title "King (or Queen) of Data Recovery".
Q. Is this a scam? | <urn:uuid:8e46978c-7e36-4ab9-bd7e-67f7b1eb8852> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hostjury.com/blog/view/195/the-great-zero-challenge-remains-unaccepted/comments-page-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957477 | 957 | 1.617188 | 2 |
New anti-tax coalition established
April 22, 2009 by Personal Liberty News Desk
A new coalition called Citizens Against Net Taxes (CANT) aims to bring consumers, industry leaders and nonprofit organizations together to protest against new taxes on digital goods and services downloaded to PCs or mobile devices.
CANT launched its campaign on Monday and has an online petition which can be signed on its website.
"States are facing a real budget crisis, but legislatures must carefully evaluate the consequences of any legislation that will raise tax rates on consumers," says Larry Darby of the American Consumer Institute.
"While taxes on digital goods may appear to be an easy way to generate revenue, in reality they will work at cross purposes with efforts to stimulate the economy and protect jobs," he adds.
In urging taxpayers to sign the petition, CANT says states that impose taxes on digital goods can expect online retailers move to states with lower or no taxes.
The taxes are also likely to raise online-theft rates as consumers turn to tax-free and illegally downloadable materials, it states.
Finally, it believes the added taxes threaten to limit the use of high-speed broadband and wireless services that could help lower energy costs and further stimulate the economy. | <urn:uuid:cf0a7f58-3d2f-4517-bad8-b3310e57eb9c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://personalliberty.com/2009/04/22/new-anti-tax-coalition-established-19134874/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952998 | 248 | 1.664063 | 2 |
HAZARD — Several county clerks have banded together to help take care of veterans in Kentucky, and on July 10 made a hefty donation to the Eastern Kentucky Veterans Center.
Starting several years ago, Letcher County Clerk Winston Meade began looking for a way to help raise money to donate in honor of the veterans in the area. He came across some birdhouses made out of old license plates and bought one. His father-in-law then took the idea and ran with it, making hundreds if not thousands of bird houses himself.
Over the years these $20 birdhouses have added up, and the proceeds have led to some pretty incredible things for veterans centers and organizations.
The birdhouses are sold across the state in different county clerk’s offices. Meade said that the expenses on the birdhouses is low since his father-in-law does all of the work for free.
“The only expenses that we have out of the birdhouses are the expense to buy the lumber and the nails,” said Meade. “All the labor and everything is donated by my father-in-law, and he works it like a job.”
Currently, the birdhouse fund is working towards giving $5,000 to each of the veterans centers in the state. The first of these centers to receive this money is the Eastern Kentucky Veteran’s Center in Hazard.
“We have raised thousands of dollars that we have spent on them,” said Meade.
Other county clerks and judge-executives have all chipped in and are working to take care of area veterans. Perry County Clerk Haven King works with his organization, Coal Mining our Future, to help purchase items for the center regularly. This time they donated several televisions, razors and other items the center needs.
Along with the work that these clerks have done on their own, one of the major projects of the Kentucky County Clerks Association is the HAVE program. HAVE, or Help A Veteran Everyday, was started by the clerks of Kentucky in 2005.
The money that is a part of the HAVE program is put into a trust fund for the Kentucky Department of Veteran’s Affairs. But for some organizations, funding cuts have created an immediate need for money.
The Eastern Kentucky Veterans Center is one of those organizations that have seen the effects of across-the-board budget cuts throughout all levels of government. Because of this they are relying more on donations.
“Their money is down, and they needed certain things,” King noted.
Along with selling the birdhouses and receiving donations from coal companies, the clerks in the area also host an annual golf scramble that helps to pay for the center’s Christmas party. Letcher County also recently hosted a fundraiser at the Isom IGA that raised $4,500 for veterans.
King said that he and the other clerks feel it is important to take care of our veterans since they have taken care of America.
“It is a shame the thought of our veterans having to do without anything,” said King. “That money is not there, but these veterans shouldn’t have to do without.”
Along with the money and items donated to the Eastern Kentucky Veterans Center on July 10, the clerks and judges also traveled to the Disabled American Veterans buidling in Perry County and donated $1,000.
Anther organization working to help the veterans of the area is the Letcher County Veterans Museum. The museum donates money, but also works to preserve the military history of the area. The museum is open to the public and accepts donations. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from nine am to four pm.
One of the major items that the officials at the Eastern Kentucky Veterans Center need are phone cards. Many of the veterans at the center have some from as far away as Louisville, and are not able to get many visitors on a regular basis. The center is accepting donations of phone cards to help keep these veterans in touch with their families.
Along with keeping in contact with their own families, King said that many of the veterans would just love the opportunity to have visitors, and volunteers just to come and spend time at the center are always welcome.
“We need people to come over here and look and see,” King said. “Just spend a little time talking to the veterans. They would enjoy that.” | <urn:uuid:70452332-b712-4688-a3b3-f2b6ebb4c64b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hazard-herald.com/pages/home/push?rel=next&per_page=3&class=&x_page=158 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974535 | 915 | 1.757813 | 2 |
When I got AIM in high school, I was suddenly thrust into a whole new world that connected me to the goings on of my friends and peers. My face-to-face conversations were limited by my hearing loss. I am grateful for my hearing loss in a way because it spared me from a lot of teenage drama.
Since then I’ve made online friendships through message board forums, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. It helps having that instant connection to people on a global scale. I had a conversation with someone from Belgium in the virtual world, Second Life, about health care in the US vs. Belgium. It was really cool.
Virtual interactions are also helpful for establishing professional connections. I’ve done a good bit of networking through email, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Virtual conferences are popping up here and there. Such a great thing for the mobility-challenged.
I love all this instant connection, but I feel so distracted and fragmented all the time. I may start to do something, then forget what I intended to do a few seconds later.
This phenomenon is becoming a bigger and bigger issue because people, disabled or not, are losing productivity time by constantly checking email, news sites, and social networks.
I’ve been reading some articles about minimalism, and about how to manage time more effectively. Zen Habits is a great blog for this topic.
For people with disabilities, technology can go either way. If it is accessible, then it provides a convenient way to socialize and connect with others, but that may lead to mindless checking and dependence if it isn’t kept in check. If not, then it leaves them in the dark and they can’t access information or establish important social connections.
So, the key here is acknowledging the issue. It is REALLY hard to get away from technology now that we have so many options through our phones, tablets, computers and convenient wi-fi locations.
Some great advice from Zen Habits: Simplify. Only check email and social networks once or twice a day. Limit yourself to a few social networks. Personally I’m finding that Facebook has become one big brag and advertisement fest, so there’s no real benefit to being on it anymore. I never use Pinterest. I’ve tried a few recipes from it, but they were…meh.
My personal favorite is Twitter. It keeps status messages short, provides links to interesting articles, and facilitates conversation on both personal and professional levels. There are a lot of funny parody accounts as well.
I also love GoodReads because I’m a voracious reader. This is a great way keep lists of books you want to read, and see what others are reading to get ideas. My reading selection has grown into genres I never would have considered otherwise.
Virtually I can assume a whole new persona free of limitations due to hearing and vision. I hope to one day live in a place that provides more opportunities for face-to-face meetings on accessibility.
Think about what sites you find useful and enjoy, and try to pare them down to those. This year I will be focusing on cutting excess both in real life and virtually. I believe my brain will thank me. | <urn:uuid:39cd115f-39f7-44bc-bc14-232c79a59230> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.accesstechgeek.com/2013/01/09/balancing-face-to-face-and-virtual-connections/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952629 | 674 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 17A of chapter 184 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1998 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-
If an individual, firm or corporation holds funds entrusted to him pursuant to a written agreement for the sale of real property and the written agreement expressly authorizes the individual, firm or corporation, as escrow agent, to continue to hold the funds in the event of a dispute between the buyer and seller concerning entitlement to the funds, no claim shall be maintained against the individual, firm or corporation, as escrow agent, whether as trustee, stakeholder or otherwise, if the escrow agent has complied with the mutual written instructions of the buyer and seller, if any, and any order or judgment of a court or final decision of an arbitrator with regard to accounting for or disbursing the funds. In an action commenced with regard to entitlement to such escrowed funds, a party to the action may file a motion seeking an order to have the funds paid into court by the escrow agent. Written notice of the motion shall be given by the moving party to all other parties and to the escrow agent. The escrow agent shall pay the funds into court within ten days of receipt of such order or within such other time as provided by the court.
SECTION 2. This act shall apply to agreements for the sale of real property entered into or executed on or after the effective date of this act. | <urn:uuid:a7b21839-73fc-4582-b08d-e11e70c9032d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2000/Chapter103 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937544 | 324 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. This
year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?
Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he
observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth; son; patron saint, Matthew.
"Forrest, Marjorie; daughter; patron saint, Cecelia.
"Rudledge, Carrie; twins; patron saint.... give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."
The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a handicapped child a mother who does not know laughter? That would be
"But has she patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment
wears off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independance. She'll have to teach the child to live in her world and
that's not going to be easy."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
"No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."
The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't seperate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, there is a woman I will bless with
a child less then perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.' She
will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know
it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations.
"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see --- ignorance, cruelty, prejudice --- and allow her to rise above them. She will
never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here
by my side."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in midair.
"A mirror will suffice." | <urn:uuid:e5fc1cb3-66a5-49ab-aadc-368a7491e3c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.downsyn.com/bombeck.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976118 | 579 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Boil advisory for Etowah neighborhood
Published: Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 9:18 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 9:18 a.m.
Water was restored this morning to customers in the Greenwood Forest neighborhood in Etowah following a water main break, according to a news release from the city of Hendersonville.
The city is advising customers to boil water used for human consumption until further notice.
Residents experienced low or no water pressure Wednesday beginning at about 11:30 p.m. due to a broken water main on North Greenwood Forest Drive near the intersection of Brickyard Road.
The water main was shut down for repairs, and crews restored water pressure by 5 a.m. today.
Periods of low to no pressure in the area increase the potential for back siphonage and the introduction of bacteria into this portion of the city’s water distribution system, the city said.
Hendersonville Water and Sewer staff collected bacteriological samples in the affected area for testing Thursday.
The N.C. Division of Water Resources advises that when water is restored, water customers boil all water used for human consumption — including drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation — or use bottled water.
Vigorous boiling for one minute should kill any disease-causing organisms that may be present in the water.
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:646af2e3-0478-4581-9256-27ee8996e4d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20121115/NEWS/121119882/section/section/classsvcs | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937529 | 326 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Helping young people reach their goals.
Other Mencap sites
Hi all, it's been very educating and at times heart-wrenching reading all your posts and life experiences. Im quite embarassed to admit that I hadn't realised Learning Difficulties was actually classed as a mental condition- i always thought it was just a term to describe less able kids during school years. My 20 yr old sister has been diagnosed with this after a huge breakdown in which she ended up in a mental health unit for a week. Although she's always had special needs at school, things took an unbelievable turn for the worse recently and we're finding that social workers and support are a continual let-down.
My family have never known where to go for support over the years & until this day we've still not been able to get a proper diagnosis. Docs, schools & NHS have been one big let down after another, and a family break-up in between caused my sister to i guess be neglected, so support over her teen years had been next to nothing.
It has been a relief to find out about Mencap, and my hope now is that i can join this community to find some advice off you people who have lived amazingly self-sacrificing lives to support your loved ones. I hope that I can contribute with my experiences, and anything positive I can bring, even if at times it's just to say 'hi, you're all amazing people and keep going..' after all, we all need encouraging & upbuilding from time to time. Im going to ring my sister's social worker tomorrow- i really dont know where to start as I've said,but i want to ask them why on earth they promised her 16 hours of support per week, lifeskills coaching etc and nothing has come of it! It just doesn't make sense..
Hi Daniel C,
Welcome to the forum! I hope that you find it useful, and I'm sure that the experiences you have had will be shared by others who will be able to offer advice and support.....keep us posted about your sister's support and the input of social services....
Learning difficulties are not classed as a mental health problem, but some people who have learning difficulties ALSO have a mental health problem. Learning difficulties themselves can vary from very mild to very severe. It is a huge spectrum..
Thank you DanielC and xxsuexx for your postings and welcome to you both.
I want to share with you and others a new website I think you will find very interesting www.clearthoughts.info
The Clear Thoughts project was funded by the Department of Health and undertaken by ARC-Association for Real Change.
The aim of the website is to provide People with Learning Disabilities and their families and front line staff with information about mental ill health in Learning Disability, being mentally well, and maintaining positive mental health. There will be a newsletter on the website starting December 2008, and the Clear Thoughts project has just launched their CD resource.
0808 808 1111
Lines open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
Charity number 222377 (England, Northern Ireland and Wales); SCO41079 (Scotland) | <urn:uuid:68af763e-f862-42ed-94a9-f582d1cbe9f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mencap.org.uk/node/11166 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978235 | 657 | 1.65625 | 2 |
By Dan Hamilton
The FDIC’s quarterly banking profile, providing data for quarter 2, was released today.
The number of 2010 United States bank failures will likely exceed the 2009 failures, the FDIC reported. This was as I reported in this space back in May. Thus far this year there have been 118 bank closings, which compares to about 80 by the same time of year in 2009. The number of banks on the problem list is still rising. It is now at 829 banks.
Net charge-offs have improved a bit (from $53.5 billion in quarter 1 to $49 billion in quarter 2), but they remain very high.
Some banking indicators have improved, namely earnings and credit quality. Twenty percent of insured institutions lost money in quarter 2 compared with 29 percent in quarter 1. I suspect that earnings are supported in part by the Fed’s policy of paying interest on excess reserves, which I point out, for the umpteenth time, is a contractionary monetary policy. Credit quality has also improved. The massive pace of net charge-offs, $50 billion per quarter for the past 5 quarters, has thankfully led to this improvement in credit quality.
We have revised our prediction for the total number of bank failures this year. Our most recent prediction from June 22 was 160. Our current projection is 158, which is based on 40 more failures yet to occur this year or about ten more failures on average each month for the remainder of the year. The monthly profile will likely be declining with September and October greater than November and December. This compares with 140 failures in 2009. | <urn:uuid:058ffd2d-c10b-42df-9b79-9275675297e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seekingalpha.com/article/223206-predicting-this-year-s-bank-failures?source=nasdaq | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971606 | 329 | 1.570313 | 2 |
The Ronald Reagan Library has commissioned a statue of the former president riding his favorite horse, El Alamein.
The life-size bronze statue will be located next to the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley.
"One of our favorite memories of President Reagan is him astride his favorite horse, riding," said Lisa Hartsock, director of foundation and corporate relations. "He loved to ride."
Under the current design, Reagan won't be wearing a cowboy hat, Hartsock said. The library did not release a rendering of the work, which will be at ground level, so people can get close to it and take photos.
Bob Huber, mayor of Simi Valley, said the statue will be a fitting addition to the library.
"To have him there in a western setting, on a horse — that will be a real nice touch for the library," Huber said. "And very appropriate."
Donald L. Reed, a sculptor with River's Edge Foundry in Wisconsin, will create the statue. Reed, who could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon, also has done a statue of Reagan as a young man, before he became president, Hartsock said. That statue is in Dixon, Ill., where Reagan grew up.
"He has some experience and also the passion to represent President Reagan," Hartsock said.
The statue, which is expected to cost $1.75 million, will be paid for with a fundraising campaign, Hartsock said. The campaign started two weeks ago and has contacted some potential donors but hasn't raised any money yet, she said.
Mike Sedell, Simi Valley's city manager, said the statue will be a fitting addition to the library.
"It helps tie things together," he said.
The statue is expected to be unveiled in early 2013. | <urn:uuid:b063eefd-88cf-4e57-8a7b-06b64428541e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/apr/13/reagan-library-commissions-statue-of-former/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974782 | 388 | 1.59375 | 2 |
|Home Users Matthew Dickerson|
Matthew Dickerson lives, writes, and teaches in Vermont. He is the author several books including most recently "A Hobbit Journey: Discovering the Enchantment of J.R.R.Tolkien's Middle-earth" (Brazos Press, 2012) and "The Mind and the Machine: what it means to be human and why it matters" (Brazos Press, 2011). Among the several books he has written or co-written about the literature of C.S.Lewis and J.R.R.Tolkien are two focusing on the interplay of theological and environmental aspects of their writing: "Ents, Elves, and Eriador: the Environmental Vision of J.R.R.Tolkien" and "Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: the Environmental Vision of C.S.Lewis." He has a new novel due out in early 2014, tentatively titled "The Rood and the Torc." | <urn:uuid:bcd8df23-24dd-4efe-9af9-2844e9248b72> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thehighcalling.org/users/matt-dickerson | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937423 | 202 | 1.625 | 2 |
There are those who think credit cards are nothing less than a road to financial disaster. They're missing out.
A new FTC study and a recent segment on '60 Minutes' have many wondering if their credit reports contain errors that can damage their credit and whether those errors can be fixed.
These common misconceptions could derail you from understanding and maximizing your credit scores.
Some think that asking a potential mate about his or her credit rating is a must very early on in the process, even on the first date.
Good credit habits will translate into lower interest rates and down payments and will help protect you from identity theft.
Here's an excellent reason to pull your 3 major credit reports every year.
Some situations in life require that you closely monitor your credit reports.
VIDEO ON MSN MONEY
Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.
All hail the bull market, which ended the week with a big rally. But it also is starting to look a little like 1987, which suffered an epic blow-out.
The Market Dispatches column has been discontinued. Here's where to find the latest stock and business news on MSN Money, and the latest from market writer Charley Blaine.
MONEY & POLITICS
Breaking up big banks is an untested solution to the too big to fail problem that attempts to isolate and dismantle large, troubled institutions while protecting the rest of the economy.
The IRS is struggling to combat identify thieves who file fraudulent tax returns in the names of older residents who don't need to file. | <urn:uuid:a40da4e1-5a6b-4417-bd63-ad2144205b30> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://money.msn.com/keyword.aspx?tag=credit%20ratings | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933813 | 433 | 1.617188 | 2 |
For art lovers, Ibiza offers some interesting options. The Contemporary Art Museum, numerous galleries in which local and ex-pat artists, many of whom are of international renown, exhibit their most recent works.
The Ethnological Museum, Puig des Molins Monographic Museum, which is the most important in the world in representation of the Phoenician-Punic period.
Throughout the year, Ibiza stages a multitude of cultural events of great interest: plays, modern music concerts, rock, classical music, craftsmen's exhibitions, etc. Not forgetting each and every local fiesta organised in each municipality.
Eivissa underwent particular artistic and cultural growth in the thirties. People from all over Europe, some fleeing from the political overturning of that time, joined together on the island that had hitherto been anchored in the past, and had very reasonable prices. Figures from the European vanguard, such as Raoul Hausmann and Walter Benjamin, were attracted by the island of tolerance and beauty, with elements such as peasant houses, traditional housing the characteristics of which interested architects from the modern movement such as Josep Lluis Sert.
These illustrious intellectuals were pioneers in what today is a consolidated tourist industry, but, above all, they made a decisive contribution to the cosmopolitan nature of the island, seen again at the end of the fifties onwards, with successive waves of artists who answered the island's call, a hippy movement that found a reference in Ibiza, that still inspires fashion design today, and contributes its spirit to leather handicrafts and jewellery.
All this effervescence bubbled up into what is now the open, and surprisingly varied cultural environment on Ibiza today. Artists, writers, photographers and thinkers seek refuge on an island in which art exhibitions flourish, and where the person having a coffee on the table beside you may be a writer on the crest of a wave, or a well-known artist. | <urn:uuid:c3fdd46f-06e9-4058-a34d-74760e1d802b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.travel2ibiza.com/content/view/22/13/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956253 | 400 | 1.84375 | 2 |
The fundamental rule of chic informs that if no one is doing it, then it must be a good thing to do! So wear a Fedora. Firstly for practicality, to protect yourself from the elements, be it rain or sun. Secondly, for the chic factor mentioned above.
In the following series of exchanges, with bespoke hat maker Fernand Sebbah of Paris, we will learn how to choose, style, fit, and wear one of the most misunderstood elements of dress. In Part one of the series we will take a look at fundamental hat models.
I admit to being a hat wearer most of my life, for better or for worse. And what seemed like a good way to keep warm and dry grew into a passion for sculpted felt. Clearly, you won’t remain inconspicuous wearing a hat, but if you have the right stuff inside and the presence, you can remain dry in style. | <urn:uuid:4951d76f-893e-4f08-a405-91d4b06f9cac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dresswithstyle.com/2009/11/23/bespoke-clothing-the-classic-hat-styles/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931437 | 188 | 1.726563 | 2 |
The search engine, Scour.com, provides a different service from other engines in hopes to be more relevant. By allowing users to comment on the websites that appear in results, it gives them a voice.
Sherman Oaks, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/03/2013 -- Even though not everyone has heard of Scour.com, it is not a new search engine. It’s been around since 2007, but is developing a new presence with the users of today. It used the idea of social searching long before the concept became popular elsewhere. Today, it takes the idea that people pay more attention to other people just like them than to so-called experts. For Scour.com, this means combining the usual search results from Google, Yahoo, and Bing with votes from average users. The result is a more relevant website based upon search terms.
Scour.com is set up to allow people to become members and vote on search results that they are given. This then influences the site the next time someone enters a similar search. Over time, websites that are voted down end up lower on the list or may not even appear at all. Websites that people see value in will rank at the higher end of the list and will be rewarded for providing valuable content.
Users can make comments along with voting to give other searchers information about the website. Scour.com wants to make this relevant so they watch for anything that does not appear legitimate such as spam or non-human searches. Anyone who does not contribute to the site in a positive way can be banned. Scour.com is not the place to vent personal feelings or give unfounded opinions, but to provide concrete information that other users can utilize with regards to their own searches.
Scour.com expects comments to be clear and detailed, providing information that is worthwhile to the community. They do not allow people to use the site for their own gain or to treat it as an instant messaging service. The site wants to be seen as a serious search engine so it strives to ensure that users contribute in a meaningful way.
If you want to learn more about Scour.com and how it can help in searching, check out their website.
Founded in 2007, Scour was originally named Aftervote.com, a search engine with an AJAX backbone with one mission: to deliver the most relevant results as efficiently as possible. Almost exactly 1 year later, Aftervote was acquired by Internext media, owner and operator of the ABCSearch Network and re-branded to Scour.com.
Scour's purpose is to bridge the gap between searchers and relevant results. By providing a platform for the user to vote and comment on relevancy, searchers connect with one another creating a true social search community, attained through innovative solutions to meet the needs of today's web searchers.
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Contact Us: 888-4-SBWIRE (US) - 920-321-1250 (International) | <urn:uuid:7f7e2e4f-a3a3-4d2d-84a2-e7b60b474786> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/scourcom-allows-users-to-comment-on-websites-192649.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940717 | 653 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Why Bank of America fee touches a nerve
The announcement of a $5-a-month debit card fee has provoked a consumer backlash. Did the big bank miscalculate?
This post comes from Richard Barrington at partner site MoneyRates.
Bank of America earned itself a barrage of customer complaints and negative publicity by announcing a $5-a-month fee on debit cards recently. Banks raise fees all the time, so why has Bank of America's decision touched such a nerve?
Here are four thoughts to help put this in perspective:
Bank of America is ignoring the Netflix example. Customers will get on board with new fees if the change seems incremental; when the change seems too radical, there can be a backlash. Netflix recently alienated a sizable portion of its customer base with an overly aggressive fee increase. That gaffe was well-publicized, but apparently Bank of America did not take notes.
There is a political element to Bank of America's actions. Bank of America is under a variety of financial pressures, but the proximate cause of the debit card fee is the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act, which limits the amount that large banks can charge retailers for processing debit card transactions. The high-profile way in which Bank of America (and some other banks) announced the new fee seems at least partially motivated by a desire to make a political statement about the cost of regulation. Post continues after video.
A political statement can spark a political backlash. Of course, by making such a high-profile statement, Bank of America opened itself up to public reaction, and the resulting negative publicity has almost certainly been more than Bank of America anticipated.
The marketplace will ultimately decide who is right. New fees can spark a sense of moral outrage, but in the end it's a financial decision. Is having a debit card worth paying $5 a month? Possibly -- but probably not as long as you can get the same thing for free somewhere else.
For now, Bank of America is in the minority in charging a monthly debit card fee, and that's a disadvantage because customers have plenty of alternatives offering free checking accounts and debit cards. As much as Bank of America will miss the revenue they used to get from higher transaction charges to retailers, they may find themselves missing even more the customers who now walk away.
More on MoneyRates and MSN Money:
This whole idea of raising prices, somehow has to be turned around. I have in front of me a copy of my Telephone, TV, & internet bundle. FCC ADMIN FEE-$.07 SALES TAX-$1.51 FRANCHISE FEE-$1.11 BROADCAST TV SURCHARGE-$1.09 INTERNET SALES TAX-$.51 END USER COMMON LINE CHARGE-$6.50 FEDERAL EXCISE TAX-$.20 FEDERAL UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND-$.96 REGULATORY COST FEE-$.16 TELEPHONE SALES TAX-$1.89 STATE E911 SURCHARGE-$.80 TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE PLAN-$.06 TELECOM ASSISTANCE FUND-$.06 STATE PUC FEE-$.04 TOTAL TAXES & FEES --$14.96
When I asked the lady in the office, "how I could tell if these were legitimate charges," her eyes glazed over and she could not answer me. The whole system has terminal cancer.
Didn't we bail these good ole boys out? It's time for their over paid CEO's to take a cut and fix their bank internally! I think they could give up a couple of their 3 martini lunches.
bank of america probably you think you are going to earn $60 per year per client, and some might pay that, but you are going to need more customers to compensate for all the customers that will leave.
just incase anyone from BofA is reading this, which I doubt!
It is going to take the people of america to show bank of america that we are sick and tired of all these fees,nobody is working for the people.banks are getting rich with these fees,as I read earlier head to your local credit union,we'll show them(banks)that we're not putting up with this crap.
It appears that many people are jumping ship. I called the Credit Union where I have my auto loan, and she said that so many people are opening accounts that they had to bring in more people in each branch to take care of new accounts. It will take a bit to transfer all the direct deposits, and the changes to each credit card to amend the account etc, but it is worth it. We are not wealthy, but with each member of our home changing, it will reflect multiple savings and checking acocounts. I voted with my account...and it appears that BOFA might begin to get the message..... "you are too big and we are ready to do something different". THIS IS NOT A DAY OF POSH AND PLENTY, IT IS A DAY OF HELPING OTHERS AND GETTING THROUGH THE MESS.
B of A is waiting a 2 year period to file bankrupcy, so their execs dont get prison. Take your money out ASAP, FDIC may not be able to cover those loses as govnt is running on debts.
I wrote a very similar sentiment, as the one expressed in the article above, just a few days ago on another thread. This one is comparing B of A to Netflix, while in my example, I was writing about Costco increasing its membership fees and comparing it to Netflix.
In both cases, the underlying principle is the same....that of raising fees in an economy where the public is pretty much p.o.'d already,.... is a move that may backfire on you.
@Irmopinion...it's not $5 per transaction, it's $5 per month. But still, it's ridiculous. And BoA loves to "fee" people to death.
The decision was easy, especially since Bank United offers 1.00% per month (yes, per month) on direct deposit amounts up to $1,500, as long as I maintain a corresponding CD or savings account of $15,000. Even when averaging the lower CD return with the 1% per month on $1,500, it's still a good deal.
B of A, the same bank that lost $14,000 of my US Saving Bonds for my kid’s college. Can you believe a bank can loose your Safe Deposit Box? B of A did. Then they tried to say I never had an account with them. I showed them my Deposit box key and the manager said it was the banks key alright. Then she asked if she could have it. Can you believe it? I told her hell no you can’t have it, it’s the only tangible evidence I had to try and straighten out this mess. B of A never did fix the problem. I had to confront the Treasury Department. And believe me! That’s a whole nother chapter in the reality of crooked business. Took almost 1.5 years and you’d better have kept good records. They sure won’t go out of their way either.
In God I Trust, who else is there?
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ABOUT SMART SPENDING
Editor Bev O'Shea lives and works in the foothills of the Appalachians. A former copy editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Orlando Sentinel, she joined MSN Money in 2007. She's a fan of sunsets, college football and free shipping, among other things.
Having worked as a writer, reporter and editor for more than 25 years, Editor Julie Tilsner is the sort of person who can't help but correct grammar in Facebook postings and on billboards. She's written for BusinessWeek, the Los Angeles Times, Parenting, Redbook, AOL and others. She lives in Los Angeles County with her family and loves to drink wine and practice yoga, although not generally at the same time.
A writer for MSN Money since January 2007, Donna Freedman won regional and national prizes during an 18-year newspaper career and earned a college degree in midlife without taking out student loans. She also writes about smart money tactics for magazines and on her own site, Surviving and Thriving.
Mitch Lipka has been warning people about scams and shining light on questionable business practices for more than 20 years. Mitch, the consumer columnist for The Boston Globe, has also been a reporter and editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Consumer Reports, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and AOL. He won the 2010 New York Press Club award for best consumer reporting online and was honored in 2011 for his reporting on child product safety.
Marilyn Lewis is an award-winning writer with a passion for getting readers clear, straight information that helps them stay out of financial trouble. A former reporter for The San Jose Mercury News, she works from her home in Port Townsend, Wash. Contact her at MarilynLewis@Outlook.com.
LATEST BLOG POSTS
A single mom who says she was forced to accept a fee-heavy 'payroll card' instead of a check or direct deposit is taking a McDonald's franchise to court. | <urn:uuid:9e34ab2f-4c80-4130-b3ec-56c6a259f281> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://money.msn.com/saving-money-tips/post.aspx?post=e346be44-74c0-4b5c-a857-f8d5d9437668 | 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 | 0.960018 | 2,073 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Calls for Olympic-style drug monitoring in footy
Australia's football codes are under more pressure to lift their game in the area of drug testing. Some within the world of Olympic and amateur sports are comparing the rigorous testing conducted in their pursuits, against the relative lack of consistent testing in football.
Source: PM | Duration: 3min 36sec
TIM PALMER: Some within the world of Olympic and amateur sports are comparing rigorous testing conducted in their pursuits, against the relative lack of consistent testing in football. Swimmers, are among those who think the situation is wrong.
As Jeff Waters reports
JEFF WATERS: An unwritten code of silence has descended on Australia's footy world. Few in the know are willing to talk publicly about the full extent of banned performance enhancers. But player manager Peter Jess, who represents players in the AFL and NRL says the abuse is endemic.
PETER JESS: I would think that anything that makes you feel good, makes you train harder, makes you play better is going to be talked about and used systemically throughout all codes.
JEFF WATERS: If so, how could players get away with it? Perhaps quite easily, due to comparatively low levels of testing according to Peter Jess, at least.
PETER JESS: They've got to up the ante. We have to be serious about it, which means multiple testing, pre-game testing and then we can get the message across.
JEFF WATERS: The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency agrees. In an interview with the ABC in London, John Fahey said more testing in the codes was necessary.
JOHN FAHEY: Having the minimum program doesn't necessarily get you to the root of your problem or the problem more generally. And all of them can do more, it's a simple fact.
JEFF WATERS: And John Fahey wants to know why top footballers all aren't made to keep the same sort of biometric passports used by Olympians to record tests over time.
The actual details of testing in the codes is kept largely secret. The Australian Sports Anti Doping Authority, ASADA, for instance, won't release any documentation or figures.
But the ABC understands the average AFL or NRL player only gets tested once or twice a year. And then, only if they're at the top level of their sport.
That's obviously different to amateur sports like athletics or swimming, for instance, where testing happens before every state, national and international meet. Then place-getters are tested again and all competitors have to let authorities know their whereabouts, so they can be tested randomly out of competition.
Swimmers too say they want an explanation. The president of the Australian Swimmers Association is Brenton Rickard.
BRENTON RICKARD: Once you get to that kind of level of being an international swimmer and starting to represent your country, you just assume that half a dozen tests per year is pretty much the minimum. Obviously they've got a larger player group than we do, but at the same time, I think you kind of expect the number to be bigger than that.
JEFF WATERS: The codes say their testing, of just over a thousand a year in AFL and just under a thousand in NRL, is rigorous enough. And that's supported by the former head of the Australian anti-doping agency, Richard Ings who helped set up the system.
RICHARD INGS: Certain substances have certain windows of detection and at the AFL the elite players are tested multiple times per year and ASADA, if they have any intelligence, has the opportunity to target test. To do more testing on individual players. This is not a testing issue. This is just pointing out the complex nature of fighting doping in sport and the need to investigate as well as test.
TIM PALMER: The former head of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, Richard Ings. | <urn:uuid:d02524e5-7677-46c6-8ddd-82cb249c7c87> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-13/calls-for-olympic-style-drug-monitoring-in-footy/4517456 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963153 | 818 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Tensions deepened Thursday on the Korean peninsula as South Korea accused North Korea of firing a torpedo that sank a naval warship, killing 46 sailors in the country's worst military disaster since the Korean War.
President Lee Myung-bak vowed "stern action" for the provocation following the release of long-awaited results from a multinational investigation into the March 26 sinking near the Koreas' tense maritime border. North Korea, reacting swiftly, called the results a fabrication, and warned that any retaliation would trigger war. It continued to deny involvement in the sinking of the warship Cheonan.
"If the (South Korean) enemies try to deal any retaliation or punishment, or if they try sanctions or a strike on us .... we will answer to this with all-out war," Col. Pak In Ho of North Korea's navy told broadcaster APTN in an exclusive interview in Pyongyang.
An international civilian-military investigation team said evidence overwhelmingly proves a North Korean submarine fired a homing torpedo that caused a massive underwater blast that tore the Cheonan apart. Fifty-eight sailors were rescued from the frigid Yellow Sea waters, but 46 perished.
Since the 1950-53 war on the Korean peninsula ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty, the two Koreas remain locked in a state of war and divided by the world's most heavily armed border.
The truce prevents Seoul from waging a unilateral military attack.
However, South Korea and the U.S., which has 28,500 troops on the peninsula, could hold joint military exercises in a show of force, said Daniel Pinkston, a Seoul-based analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank.
South Korean and U.S. officials also said they are considering a variety of options in response to the warship's sinking, ranging from U.N. Security Council action to additional U.S. penalties.
The exchange of war rhetoric raised tensions, but the isolated communist regime — already under international pressure to cease its nuclear weapons program — often warns of dire consequences against South Korea or Washington for any punitive steps against it. Its large but decrepit military would be no match for U.S. and Korean forces.
The impoverished country is already chafing from international sanctions tightened last year in the wake of widely condemned nuclear and missile tests. U.N. sanctions currently block funding to certain officials and companies, while North Korea is barred from exporting weapons and countries are authorized to inspect North Korean ships suspected of carrying illicit cargo.
South Korea "will take resolute countermeasures against North Korea and make it admit its wrongdoings through strong international cooperation," Lee said during a call with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the presidential office said. Lee convened an emergency meeting for Friday.
The White House called the sinking an unacceptable "act of aggression" that violates international law and the 1953 truce. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama declared his support for South Korea, calling North Korea's actions "inexcusable."
China, North Korea's traditional ally, called the sinking of the naval ship "unfortunate" but stopped short of backing Seoul.
Pyongyang continued its steadfast denials of involvement in the sinking.
"Our Korean People's Army was not founded for the purpose of attacking others. We have no intention to strike others first," Col. Pak, the naval spokesman, told APTN in the North Korean capital. "So why should we attack a ship like the Cheonan which has no relation with us, no need to strike it and we have no significance in doing so."
North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission warned the South against provocative acts near their border, and urged the U.S. and Japan to "act with discretion," the state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch monitored in Seoul.
North Korea has waged a slew of attacks on South Korea since the 1950-53 fighting ended, including the 1987 downing of a South Korean airliner that killed all 115 people on board.
Pyongyang has never owned up to the attacks.
North Korea also disputes the maritime border drawn unilaterally by U.N. forces at the close of the Korean War, and the waters have been the site of several deadly naval clashes since 1999.
Detailed scientific analysis of the wreckage, as well as fragments recovered from the waters where the Cheonan went down, point to North Korea, investigators said.
The bending of the ship's keel backs the theory that an underwater torpedo triggered a shockwave and bubble effect that tore the ship apart, the report said.
The report also cites fractures on the main deck, statements from survivors and a sentry on a nearby island, and fractures and lacerations on the remains of deceased sailors.
Pieces of the torpedo "perfectly match" the schematics of a North Korean-made torpedo Pyongyang has tried to sell abroad, chief investigator Yoon Duk-yong said.
A serial number on one fragment is consistent with markings from a North Korean torpedo that Seoul obtained years earlier, Yoon said.
"The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the torpedo was fired by a North Korean submarine," he said. "There is no other plausible explanation."
At Seoul's main train station, scores of people watched raptly as the investigator laid out the evidence against North Korea.
"I'm afraid," said Naima Vela, 26-year-old student from Italy. "I still have a month or two to stay in Seoul and I don't know if I should."
Near the Demilitarized Zone, tourists peered across the border into North Korea.
"As a mother of a boy who is serving his military duty right now, I don't want a war to break out," Jeon Bok-soon said in Paju as she looked across the border into North Korea.
"However if (North Korea) keeps mentioning war, I think we should also show our strong military power," she said.
Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington, Jay Alabaster in Tokyo, Kelly Olsen and Claire Lee in Seoul, and Chi-Chi Zhang in Beijing contributed to this report.
© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:e2e59ab6-b249-4931-a8f8-ebc3f3df0a3f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/AS-SKorea-Ship-Sinks/2010/05/20/id/359596 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958491 | 1,284 | 1.726563 | 2 |
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