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Last Saturday we took a family trip to Millville, Indiana for Brennan's Famous Hoosier Project.
His famous Hoosier is Wilbur Wright.
It was a great experience because we had done the same for Thomas two years ago when we visited Lew Wallace's home in Crawfordsville.
Wilbur Wright was born in Millville and the family lived on the property for a few years before moving further south in Indiana and then to Dayton, Ohio where Orville was born. They had older siblings and a younger sister. Their father was a Bishop.
I did not realize that Wilbur died so young - just a few years after the historic flights at Kitty Hawk. Orville lived 35 years longer and got to see the impact their solo flights made on the rest of the world.
The Famous Hoosier project is an important one in the boys' 4th grade class. The project includes a site visit, a detailed research project where they learn to use 8+ ways of getting sources on a working field trip to the public library (microfilm, older materials in "the stacks", reference books, biographies, magazine searches...), a long research paper, and a 3-sided poster and presentation. All of the photos at the site visit have to be taken by the student if they're going to be used in the presentation.
Good thing Brennan's a pro with a camera now.
I looked online and decided that Saturday, March 31st would be a good day for us to go.
I had NO IDEA that the Museum and buildings weren't open until April 1st!
The gentleman who works there let us in anyway and opened up everything for us.
We were so grateful!
In addition to the many monuments on the property and the Welcome Center, there are several buildings still standing including the family home, sheds, barn, etc.
In the museum there is a fantastic video, including details of their historic first flight on December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk.
I'm glad we got to tour Wilbur Wright's birthplace as a family.
Brennan was very professional, introducing himself to the docent and explaining the project.
I'm sure he'll do a great job on the remainder of the project! | <urn:uuid:9f7d3a54-2646-4da0-8f8e-1b80f3c0c71f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theboatwrightfamily.blogspot.com/2012/04/wilbur-wright-birthplace-photos-by.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975761 | 461 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Word Can't Wait Protests Obama Drone Wars at DNC
On Sunday September 2nd the World Can’t Wait hit the streets of Charlotte, NC. A small but determined crew participated in the March On Wall Street South. World Can’t Wait was there to protest Obama’s drone wars and challenge the “lesser of two evils” argument. The crew of activists had a drone replica which they wheeled through the streets of Charlotte. The drone replica drew much attention, press, and conversation. The activists chanted “When Drones Fly, Children Die!” and “Obama, Romney, All the Same, No More War Crimes in Our Name!” For a time a group of young people marched along with the World Can’t Wait crew and on the spot came up with the chant “Drone Strikes Are War Crimes, Obama Should Do Prison Time!”
At one point the protesters were waiting to proceed with the march and a World Can’t Wait activist began to agitate to the delegates to the DNC and residents of Charlotte gathered on the side walk about the grim realities of Obama’s drone wars for the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen. It was during this point that the 12 Steps to Overcoming the Addiction to Voting for the Lesser of Two Evils was read to the crowd of an enlarged copy which had also drawn much attention through out the day.
Tuesday, World Can't Wait joined with others from Vets for Peace and Occupiers from around the country to stage an unpermitted march to Free Bradley Manning and End the Wars. Energetic, impassioned, and outraged by the restrictions on free movement (and thus free speech) in downtown Charlotte, people gathered at the newly formed Occupy encampment and marched until stopped by lines of police. World Can't Wait brought out the drone again, added a visual element to the march that many felt was almost too creepy to endure... disturbed and disgusted by the hidden though horrific reality of flying death robots. St. Pete for Peace brought an illustrated anti-drone banner which completed the story of drones with images of some of the children who have been killed in these bombings.
In Chicago, protesters also gathered Tuesday to "Reject President 1% and End Obama's Wars on the World's 99%," also bringing a replica drone to the streets of downtown.
Links to media coverage here. | <urn:uuid:809b67c4-08b9-4823-ae9b-44759ffe18b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://warisacrime.org/content/word-cant-wait-protests-obama-drone-wars-dnc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958388 | 498 | 1.703125 | 2 |
As early as 1871, Charles Darwin argued that sympathy is our strongest instinct. Today, "kindness scientist" Dacher Keltner and his team at the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, are proving that kindness is biological - it is a part of human nature. And, that kindness and compassion makes you happier and healthier!
KarmaTube is a project of ServiceSpace, an all-volunteer run organization. Our aim is to enable individuals to contribute in meaningful ways to the world around them. Together, we hope to "be the change we wish to see in the world." | <urn:uuid:ced8b25b-eb9e-4d46-887b-f0dfbc3ed5d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=3035 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935781 | 126 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Chapter I. (To know all manner of things Past and Future, which be not however directly opposed to God, and to His Most Holy Will.)
First take the Symbol in your hand, place it (upon the top of your head) under your hat, and either you will be secretly warned by the Spirit, or he will execute that which you have the intention of commanding him to do.
(This next instruction is given in the MS. as relating to Chapter II., but it evidently is more appropriate to:--)
Chapter III. (To cause any Spirit to appear, and take any form, such as of Man, Animal, Bird, etc.)
Take in your hand the Symbol, and name the Spirit, who will appear in the form commanded.
(The next following information evidently has reference to the Symbols of the Fifth Chapter, but there is no number subjoined as in the other cases in the original MS.:--)
Chapter V. (How we may retain the Familiar Spirits bond or free, in whatsoever form.)
We must understand that every man may have Four Familiar or Domestic Spirits, and no more. These Spirits can serve you in many ways, and they are granted unto you by the Sub-Princes.
The First hath his period of power from Sunrise until Noon.
The Second, from Noon until the Setting of the Sun.
The Third, from the Setting of the Sun until Midnight.
And the Fourth, from Midnight even unto the Sun-rising of the following Day.
He who possesseth them is free to avail himself of their services under whatever form may be pleasing unto him.
Of this kind of Spirits there s an infinite number, who at the time of their fall were condemned to serve man; and to each man there be four of them destined and each one is obliged to serve during a period of Six Hours, and in the case of your giving one over unto some other person, you can no longer avail yourself of his services, but in order to replace him during his time of service, you may call upon some other Spirit. And should you wish to send away one of the said Spirits before the Six Hours during which he is on Guard be expired, it sufficeth for you to make him some sign that he can go, and at once he will obey. But when the Six Hours of their Guard be expired, the aforesaid Spirits will depart of their own accord without demanding your permission, and the next in rotation will successively take the place (of his predecessor). But if you have given one away (unto another person), you will employ one of the common kind in his place. 1
Chapter VIII. (To excite Tempests.)
If you should wish to excite Tempests, give the Signal above your head (and touch the Symbol on the top); and when you wish to make them cease, you shall touch it on the underneath side.
Chapter IX. (To transform Animals into Men, and Men into Animals, etc.)
Let the being, whether Man or Animal, see the Symbol, and then touch them suddenly with it, when they will appear transformed; but this will be only a species of Fascination. When you wish to make it cease, you shall put the Symbol upon the head (of the being) and strike it with the Wand, and the Spirit will then restore matters to their former condition.
Chapter XI. (To cause all kinds of Books to be brought to one, and whether lost or stolen.)
Our predecessors, from the commencement of the World, have written many and divers excellent Books of the Qabalah, whose value surpasseth that of all the riches of the World. These Books have been for the most part lost by the Providence or Command of God, who hath not been willing that His High Mysteries should be made public by such means; seeing that hereby through such Books the Worthy and Unworthy can equally arrive at the enjoyment and possession of the Secret things of the Lord. Some also have been burned in fires, or swept away by the Waters, and other similar accidents (have occurred) through the Evil Spirits, who are jealous of Man's possessing such great treasures, and of being obliged to obey him. But this Third Part (of this Book), that is to say the Sacred Magic, is that which hath not been entirely lost, but the greater part hath been hidden and built up within a wall, and this hath happened by order of the Good Spirits, who have not permitted this Art to altogether perish, being willing that he who should (desire the same) should employ honourable means to obtain the same from the True and only God, and not from that Perfidious One and Deceiver, the Devil, and his following.
This Operation being completed in the proper manner, you will be able to see and to read these Books; but it is not permitted unto you to copy them, nor to keep them in your memory more than once. As for myself I have made every effort to copy them, but as
fast as I wrote, the writing used to disappear from the page; whence you may conclude that the Lord knowing our nature, which is inclined unto Evil, doth not wish that such great Treasures should be employed to serve unto that end, 1 and unto the destruction of the Human Race.
Chapter XII. (To know the Secrets of any person.)
For this Operation it sufficeth to touch the Symbol, for at once the Spirit doth whisper the reply in your ear; but should you comprehend by such a means anything vile, whatever it may be, as you love the Grace of the Lord, see that you keep yourself from making manifest that which (you have obtained by the use of) the Symbol, seeing that by so doing you might work harm unto your neighbour. Every time that you touch the Symbol you should mention by name the person whose Secrets you desire to know.
Chapter XIII. (To cause a dead body to revive, and perform all the functions which a living person would do, and this during a space of Seven Years, by means of the Spirits.)
I can in truth both say and affirm that a man who hath just died is divided into Three Parts, viz.: Body, Soul, and Spirit. The Body returneth unto the Earth, the Soul unto God or unto the Devil, and the Spirit hath its period determined by its Creator, that is to say, the Sacred Number of Seven Years, during the which it is permitted to wander hither and thither in any direction; at length it taketh its decision, 2 and goeth straightway
unto the place whence it came forth (at the beginning). To change the condition of the Soul is impossible, but the Grace of the Lord, for many causes and reasons which it is not here permitted unto me to make manifest, hath been willing to permit that, with the aid of the Spirits, we may force the Spirit to return and to conjoin itself again with the Body, so that for the space of Seven Years it can operate any matter. And although this Spirit and the Body joined together can perform all the functions and exercises which they used to execute when the Body, the Soul and the Spirit were together, yet is it only an imperfect Body, being in this case without the Soul.
This Operation is, however, one of the greatest, and one which we should only perform in extraordinarily important cases; seeing that in order to accomplish it the Chief Spirits have to operate.
Nothing else is necessary than to be attentive to the moment when the Man is just dead, and then to place the Symbol upon him towards the Four Quarters of the World; 1 and at once he will lift himself up and begin to move himself. He should then be dressed; and a Symbol similar to that which hath been placed upon him should be sewn into his garment. Know also that when the Seven Years be expired, the Spirit which was conjoined with the Body will at once depart, and that we cannot further prolong the period of the aforesaid Seven Years. I made proof of this Operation in the Morea for the Duke of Saxonia, who had only children who were minors, and the eldest was between twelve and thirteen
years of age, unfit for the government and management of his estate, the which his own relatives would have seized upon and appropriated unto themselves; and by this means I provided (against the contingency), and prevented that estate from falling into other hands.
Chapter XIV. (The Twelve Symbols for the Twelve Hours of the Day and of the Night, to render oneself Invisible unto every person.)
To render oneself invisible is a very easy matter, but it is not altogether permissible, because that by such a means we can annoy our neighbour in his (daily) life, for we can easily employ the same for producing various effects, and we can also work an infinitude of evils (herewith). But, honestly speaking, we must not do the latter, such being expressly forbidden by God. This is wherefore I entreat you to avail yourself hereof always for a good and never for an evil end! You have in this Chapter Twelve Symbols, for Twelve different Spirits submitted unto Prince MAGOT, who are all of the same force. You should put the Symbol (upon the top of your head) under the hat or bonnet, and then you will become invisible; while on taking it away, you will appear visible again.
Chapter XV. (For the Spirits to bring us anything we may wish to eat or to drink, and even all kinds of food that we can imagine.)
As for this Symbol, and all like ones appertaining unto this Chapter, when you shall wish to make use of them, you shall put them between two plates, dishes, or jugs, closed together, on the outside of a window, and before a quarter of an hour shall have passed, you will, find and will have that which you have demanded. But you must clearly understand that with such kind of viands you cannot nourish men for more than two days only; for this food, although it be appreciable by the eyes and by the Mouth, doth not long nourish the body,
which hath soon hunger again, seeing that this (food) giveth no strength to the stomach. Know also that none of these (viands) can remain visible for more than twenty-four hours, the which period being passed, fresh ones will be requisite.
Chapter XVI. (To find and take possession of all kinds of Treasures, provided that they be not at all magically guarded.)
Should you wish to discover or to take possession of Treasure, you must select the Symbol which you wish, whether it be of a common or of a particular Operation, and the Spirit will at once show it unto you, of whatsoever kind, or after whatsoever fashion, it may be. Then shall you place the Symbol which is referable unto it thereon, and it will no longer be possible for it to disappear into the ground, nor for it to be carried away. Furthermore, the Spirits destined unto the Guard of this Treasure will flee, and you can then dispose of it as you wish, and take it away.
Chapter XVII. (To fly in the Air and travel anywhere.)
Name the place whitherunto you wish to travel, and place the Symbol upon your head, under the bonnet or the hat; but take well heed lest the Symbol fall from off you through negligence or want of caution. Do not journey at night-time unless necessity or some pressing reason thereto compelleth you, but select the day-time, and that serene and calm.
Chapter XVIII. (To heal divers Maladies.)
Undo the bandages of the sick person, and clean them, and having applied the unguent and the compresses, put them again upon the sick person; and place the Symbol upon them, 1 and leave it thus for about a quarter of an hour, then take it away and keep it (for
use on another occasion). But if it be an internal malady, you shall place the Symbol upon the bare head of the patient. These Symbols may be seen and examined without any danger, howbeit it is always better that they should neither be seen nor handled by any other person than yourself.
Chapter XIX. (For every description of Affection and Love.)
Chapter XX. (To excite every description of Hatred and Enmity, Discords, Quarrels, Contentions, Combats, Battles, Loss, and Damage.)
On request, and by the intermediary of the Spirits, we can obtain love, goodwill, and the favour of Princes and Sovereigns, on this wise: Name aloud the person or persons by. whom you wish to be loved, and move the Symbol answering to the class under which they fall; because if you be operating for yourself in matters falling under the heads of love, friendship, etc., you should absolutely name aloud the person, and move the Symbol. But if you name or operate for two other persons, whether it be for love or for hatred, you should expressly name both, and move the Symbols answering to the classes under which they fall. Also, if it be possible, you can touch them with the Symbol, whether it be general or particular. Under this heading are included all classes of goodwill, among the which the most difficult by far is to make yourself beloved by religious persons. 1
Chapter XXI. (To transform oneself, and take different Faces and Forms.)
In this Transmutation, which is rather a Fascination, the method of operating is as follows: Take the Symbol in your left hand, and with it stroke your face. Now
were it some (ordinary) Necromancer who was transformed by the working of some Diabolical Art, he would soon be discovered (by you). It is certain, however, that if he who operateth be instructed in the True and Sacred Magic, like yourself, that he 1 could produce no effect upon you; because against the Grace of the Lord, by whomsoever received, no Operation can take effect, whether for Good or for Evil; but should such be Diabolical Operations by express pacts and similar Sorceries, it is certain that you would soon bring them to shame.
Chapter XXII. (This Chapter is only for Evil, for with the Symbols herein we can cast Spells, and work every kind of Evil; we should not avail ourselves hereof.)
All these Symbols are to be either buried in the ground, or placed under doors, steps, or buried under paths and other places by which people do pass, or whereon they lean; in this latter case it is sufficient merely to touch (such places) with the Symbol. It must be here remarked that we can work much evil against our enemies, and if you know for a certain fact that they are attempting your life, there is no imaginable sin in availing yourself of (these Symbols for protection). But should you do this to please some friend, you would not escape easily with impunity from (the disapproval of) your Guardian Angel. Use then this Knowledge as a Sword against your Enemies, but never against your neighbour, which would be without any result but that of bringing hurt to yourself.
Chapter XXVI. (To open every kind of Lock, without Key, and without making any noise.)
Should you wish to open anything locked, such as ordinary Locks (Bolts) 2 Padlocks, Coffers, Cupboards,
[paragraph continues] Boxes, and Doors, you shall touch them with the side of the Symbol which is written upon, and immediately they will open without any noise, without being in any way damaged, and without exciting any suspicion of their having been broken open. When you wish to again close them, you shall touch them with the back of the Symbol, that is to say, with the part thereof not written upon, and at once they will refasten of their own accord. And in no way should this Operation be employed in Churches, or for the committing of Murder. Also (remember) that this Operation can be used for all manner of wicked ends; wherefore we should obtain (permission) first from our Guardian Angel, so as not to irritate him, and abuse the Grace of God, which we have received. Neither should this (Operation) be employed to aid in the commission of Rapes and Violation of Women; but only for (laudable) effects, and other (permissible) ends.
The Child of whose services you avail yourself for the conclusion of this Operation should not be more than Seven Years of age; it should be able to speak clearly, it should be active, and should comprehend what you teach it to do, in order to serve you. And fear not that this Child may be able to reveal and tell unto others anything of what he doeth; also he will not in the least remember that which he shall have done, and you can make trial thereof yourself by interrogating him after the seven days be past, and you will find that he will be able to tell you nothing of that which hath passed; the which is a very remarkable thing.
When you shall have thoroughly decided to give this present Operation unto any, and which should only be given as a free gift, as I have already said; remember to make such person give you Seven Florins, the which you shall distribute unto Seven poor persons with your own hand, And such poor persons must genuinely be in want. Them shall you straitly charge, to repeat for
[paragraph continues] Seven days the Seven penitential Psalms, or the Pater and Ave seven times a day, praying unto the Lord for the person who hath given (the florins) unto you to distribute unto them, that He would deign to come unto his assistance, and to grant unto him for ever such strength that he may never transgress His Holy Commandments.
While in the performance of the Operation, be certain that each person (undertaking the same) is subject unto very great temptations to prevarication, and in particular unto great disquietudes of mind, to force the abandonment of the Operation. For the Mortal Enemy of Man is grieved that he should make the acquisition of this Sacred Science, the which also he receiveth from God Himself, Who hath by this means closed the way against the DEMON, this being the only object and end of this Sacred Science. For the Enchantments whereof the Evil Enchanters and Sorcerers make employ, are in no way wrought by the true method, and they only have power to execute their end in proportion to the Tributes, Sacrifices, and Pacts, rendered in return, which latter evidently bring about the loss of the Soul, and very frequently that of the Body as well.
Consider that it is the pride of (the DEMON) which hath chased him out of Heaven, and think what a heartbreaking thing it is for him to see a Man, made of vile earth, command him who is a Spirit, and who was created noble, and an Angel (as well); and also that it is necessary that he should submit himself unto Man, and obey him, not of his own free will, but by force, and by a power of command which God hath given unto Man, to whom he is forced to humiliate himself, and to obey, he, who had the greatest difficulty in submitting himself unto his Creator. And yet, notwithstanding all this, he is obliged by his most profound humiliation, and by his most severe suffering, to submit himself unto Man, for
whom further is destined that Heaven which he himself hath lost for an Eternity.
Wherefore you should continue the Operation, and have recourse unto the Lord, and in no way be troubled, for you shall vanquish every difficulty, seeing that the Lord never faileth those who put all their confidence in Him.
You may only give this Sacred Operation unto two persons; and in the case of your giving it unto a third, it would hold good for him, but you yourself would be for ever deprived of it. I beseech you in grace to well open your eyes, and thoroughly examine him unto whom you shall give so great a Treasure, so that he be not one who will make use of the same to make a mock of God, which is a sin so great, that we Jews are a living proof thereof. For since our predecessors began to make use of this Sacred Magic for Evil, God hath granted it unto so few among us, that in my whole lifetime, ourselves included, we be but the number of Seven persons who by the Grace of God possess the same.
When the Child shall warn you that your Guardian Angel hath appeared, then shall you, without moving from your place, repeat in a low voice Psalm CXXXVII., which beginneth: "Confitebor Tibi Domine, in toto corde meo," "I will give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, with mine whole heart," etc. And, on the contrary, when you shall convoke for the first time the Four Chief Spirits, you shall say Psalm XC.: "Qui habitat in adjutorio Altissimi," "Whoso dwelleth in the defence of the Most High," etc.; and this not in a low voice as in the preceding case, but (aloud) as you usually speak, and standing where you happen to be.
Chapter XXVIII. (To have as much Gold and Silver as one may wish, both to provide for one's necessities, and to live in opulence.)
And whereas I have allowed the Twenty-eighth
[paragraph continues] Chapter to pass without notice, I now refer hereto. Place the Symbol of the Money you require in your purse, let it remain there for a short time, then put your right hand in your purse, and you will there find Seven pieces of the class of Money which you have intended to obtain. But take heed to perform this Operation only thrice in the day. And the pieces of Money whereof you have no longer need will disappear at once. This is why when you have need of small change you should take heed at the same time not to ask for large pieces. I could have here set down other values and Symbols, but I have only given those which I have found the most necessary for a beginner, and partly also to avoid confusing you. And also it is not right that I who am only a mortal man should give further instructions hereon unto you who are about to have an Angel for Master and for Guide.
We have already said that providing he recogniseth a God, any Man, of any Religion soever, may arrive at the possession of this Veritable Wisdom and Magic, if he employ right and proper ways and means. Now I say further that unto whatever Law 1 he who operateth may pertain, he can observe the feasts, etc., thereof, provided that they hinder not the Operation, with a firm and true conviction that he shall have from his Angel greater lights as to the points wherein he may be liable to err. Wherefore you shall be ready and willing to correct your faults, obedient in all things, and on all occasions, unto his precepts. And you should observe exactly and inviolably from point to point, everything touching the regimen of life, the practice, and other counsels given in this Book.
As we have already said, if by chance some slight indisposition should overtake you after the commencement
of the Operation, you shall observe that hereinbefore laid down; but should the illness become very much worse, so that remedies become necessary unto the health of the body, and that you have to undergo blood-letting; then do not harden yourself against the Will of the Lord, but having made a brief prayer, thank Him for having visited you in this manner. And having made use of remedies which oblige you to leave off the Operation already begun, so as not to become as it were your own murderer, and notwithstanding that it grieveth you to the heart to be forced so to do, yet nevertheless conform yourself unto His Holy Will. And when you shall have regained your accustomed health, in His own good time shall you return unto the Operation, feeling sure that He will grant you His aid. Such a forced desistance doth not hinder you from awaiting a fitting time, when you may recommence; seeing that such interruption is not in any way voluntary, but forced by necessity. Whereas, had this interruption occurred through pure caprice, you ought never to think further of (recommencing), because we must not make a Mock of God.
There be two kinds of sins which are infinitely displeasing unto God. One is Ingratitude, and the other Incredulity. I say this cursorily, because the Devil will not fail to insinuate a thousand ideas into your head (such as) that this Operation may perhaps be (a real thing) and perhaps not; that the symbols are badly drawn, etc., so as to make you comment upon the subject. This is why you must have Faith, and that you must believe. Neither should you dispute concerning that which you understand not; remember that God out of nothingness hath created all things, and that all things have their being in Him; watch, work, and you will see.
In the Name of the Most Holy ADONAI, the True and Only God, we have finished this Book in the best
order and with the best instruction which has been possible to me. Know also that it is only in God that you will find the sole and certain Way to arrive at the True Wisdom and Magic, but yet also by following out that which I have written down in this Book with such exactitude. Still, however, when you shall have put anything into practice, you shall, manifestly know how great and immeasurable hath been my paternal affection; 1 and in truth I dare to say that I have done for love of you what no one in our times hath undertaken, and in especial in that I have declared unto you the two Symbols, that of the Child, and your own particular one, 2 without the which I swear unto you by the True God that out of an hundred persons who might undertake this Operation, there would be only two or three who would actually attain unto it. I have, however, removed most of the difficulties, (therefore) be now tranquil, and despise not my counsel.
It need not appear strange unto you that this Book is not at all like unto so many others which I have, and which are composed in a lofty and subtle style; because I have composed this (work) expressly in order to spare you so much labour, and to enlighten therein the difficulties which you might (otherwise) have encountered in order to comprehend its meaning. And so that it might not be at all necessary for it to pass into other hands (than your own), in making this Book I have in no way availed myself of eloquent but peculiar expressions, which those who write such works usually make use of, and even then
not without mystifications. But I have employed a certain manner of arrangement, making a mixture of the subject matter, and dispersing it here and there in the Chapters so that you may be forced to read and re-read the Book many times, and also the better so to do, to transcribe and imprint it in your memory. Render then your thanks unto the Lord God Almighty, and never forget my faithful advice, even unto the day of your death. Thus will the Divine Wisdom and Magic be your wealth, and never can you find a greater Treasure in the World. Obey promptly him who teacheth you that which he hath learned by his own experience; and I pray and conjure you by that God Who is my God, to observe summarily and inviolably the three following heads which should serve you as guides and limitations until you shall pass the gulf of this Miserable World:--
(1) Let God, His Word, all His Commandments, and the Counsel of your Angel, never depart from your heart and from your mind!
(2) Be the declared enemy of all the Evil Spirits, their Vassals, and Adherents, during the whole period of your life. Dominate them, and regard them as your Servitors. 1 If they make propositions to you, demanding from you pacts, or sacrifices, or obedience, or servitude, refuse them with disdain and menaces.
(3) It is more than evident that God can know the heart of men, the which 'none else can do. You should therefore force yourself to test severely for some time him to whom you intend to give this (knowledge). You shall closely note his method of life and habits; you
shall discuss the subject with him, seeking to discover in the clearest way and as far as possible, whether he would use it for Good or for Evil. Also in giving this Operation you shall fast, eating only once a day, and he who shall receive it shall do the same; see also what we have said in the Third Chapter, 1 and elsewhere. It is also true that one who would suffer much in health by fasting in such a manner, may if absolutely necessary supplement the same by paying one or several persons to fast in his stead and to intercede for him. 2 (The whole object and end of) this should be both to give and receive this operation unto the Glory of the Great God, and unto one's own good and that of one's neighbour, whether friend or enemy, and unto that of all things created.
The Ten Florins of Gold 3 shall be distributed by your own hands when you shall have received the money, unto Seventy-two poor persons who know the Psalms, as mentioned in a preceding Chapter; and see also that you fail not in this, for it is an essential point.
Furthermore you shall demand from him to whom you shall give the Operation, some pleasurable gratification which is in harmony with the Operation, at your choice. But see that you demand not money, for for this you would be deprived entirely of the Holy Wisdom.
Every time that you shall desire to make a fresh command, 4 you shall thrice repeat the Psalm XC., "Qui habitat in adjutorium Altissimi," etc., "Whoso dwelleth in the aid of the Most High," etc.--because this Psalm
possesseth so great a virtue that you will be astonished when you comprehend it.
If you know that you, as a man, have offended your Creator, in anything regarding the Tables of the Law; perform no operation until after having made a general confession of your sins unto God; the which you shall observe unto the day of your death. By thus acting the Mercy of the Lord will never depart from you.
Unto the which Lord be Praise, and Glory, and Honour, for the Gifts which He hath granted unto us. So be it!
THE END OF THE SECOND BOOK.
142:1 Notwithstanding these Numbers are here given, it will be found that the Instructions do not include all these Chapters, and, on the contrary, give information concerning some of those not here specially mentioned.
143:1 It is of course evident that the number Four of the Familiar Spirits = one for each of the Four Elements of which Man is composed, ruled by the Holy Name of Four Letters, IHYH, Tetragrammaton.
145:1 I.e., the Evil.
145:2 "Se resont," in the MS. "Resoudre," like our word "resolve," also may imply to reduce to its chemical constituents. These three parts of the person, which Abraham calls Body, Soul, and Spirit, are designated in the Qabalah by the respective terms of "Nephesch," i.e., the animal part; "Neschamah," or the Soul, that is to say, the Higher Aspirations, and "Ruach," i.e., the Mind or Spirit. But besides these, the Qabalists also recognise certain higher principles, p. 146 of which Abraham the Jew does not here speak, nor yet of the faculty of reincarnation of those principles. Reincarnation is a subject much treated of by the Oriental Sacred writings, and was undoubtedly a fundamental doctrine of the Ancient Egyptian Magic, from which, be it well remembered, the Hebrew Qabalah has been derived. The Esoteric Buddhists divide the personality into Seven Principles, instead of the Three given above.
146:1 I.e., The Four Cardinal Points,
148:1 I.e., the bandages.
149:1 In the Original MS., "despersonnes religieuses". This expression would include monks, nuns, and also people bigoted in religion.
150:1 I.e., such Evil Magician.
150:2 "Serrures," which implies bolts as well as locks.
154:1 I.e., Religious denomination.
156:1 Here Abraham the Jew is evidently especially addressing himself to his son Lamech.
156:2 These two Symbols are probably those which are placed at the extreme end of the Third Book, i.e., the Magical Squares with the Names ADAM and URIEL returned therein, and of which the Squares of numbers above are evidently intended for the reverse sides; ADAM being applied to the Child, and URIEL to the Guardian Angel of Lamech.
157:1 Again let the practical Occultist remember that this counsel applies principally to Adepts; for the ordinary man can not command the Demons, seeing that he has not yet learned to understand and control even all his thoughts; and the Adept can only command such beings through the knowledge of his Higher Self, and of his Guardian Angel.
158:1 I.e. of the Second Book.
158:2 I think this system of substitution should be very rarely practised. He must be a very spiritless person who would be dissuaded by the prospect of fasting for a day or two.
158:3 Before alluded to in several places.
158:4 This would apparently apply to a command given to the Demons, and not to an Aspirant for the Sacred Wisdom. | <urn:uuid:05b9d013-0ca2-41f7-8a16-f8c7f72fddfc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sacred-texts.com/grim/abr/abr043.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962583 | 7,110 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Eco-friendly Flooring Made of Peach Pits?
Think "eco-friendly home design" and a lot of different options come to mind, but I'm willing to bet fruit pits as flooring isn't one of them.
Alla le Roux feels differently however, and after being inspired by personal experience has started a business (Stone Fruit Floors) that designs and sells handmade flooring created out of peach pits. The pits are sanded down (to get rid of sharp edges and make them more comfortable to walk on) and set into the floor by hand along with glue, sand, and a resin mixture. The end result looks like a strange mix between hardwood, tile, and linoleum.
Interesting... I'm not really sure what else to say about this!
Via Luxury Housing Trends
Gallery: Stone Fruit Floors | <urn:uuid:bbbf68ca-47d9-4595-b48e-3921bafea746> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.luxist.com/2008/03/22/eco-friendly-flooring-made-of-peach-pits/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963993 | 176 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Census Data Show Immigrants Moving to Suburbs
12/15/2010 - 18:00 ||
It used to be that immigrants flocked almost exclusively to large cities. No more. According to current census data, new arrivals are hitting suburbia and small towns in bigger numbers for the first time ever.
Why? In a word, jobs. Growth in the food and construction industries is happening not in already developed cities, but rather in places that are still expanding. That means that new-arrival numbers for places like Los Angeles, which has always been a huge magnet for Latino immigrants in particular, have been flat in the past decade, while the suburbs outside Atlanta and other cities have seen as much as 60 percent spike.
Of all the 13.3 million new suburbanites, Latinos account for more than a third, outpacing Blacks (2.5 million) and Asians (2 million).
The report also showed that the U.S. population is diversifying at a staggering rate. Almost 50 percent of babies born last year were members of minority groups, compared with just a fifth of Americans over the age of 65. While that is a positive for Latinos, it also brings up concerns over the cost of health care and the lag in education for our future. | <urn:uuid:487030ca-2c0b-47c7-99b1-09e3ed65b1e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.latina.com/lifestyle/-news/census-data-show-immigrants-moving-suburbs?source=suggested | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9648 | 259 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Moonlight was Alanna of Trebond's first horse, a mare, bred by the Bazhir. She was gold colored, with a white mane and tail. Alanna bought her from George Cooper in autumn of her second year as a page, 431 HE, at the same time as Jonathan bought Darkness. George sold her the mare for much less than her real price, making Alanna only pay ten gold nobles for the horse and tack. Jonathan insisted upon paying the rest with a sapphire ring behind Alanna's back. Moonlight was trained as a warhorse. | <urn:uuid:a406140b-33ef-4008-96ff-4f0cb028bf52> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tamorapierce.wikia.com/wiki/Moonlight | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976563 | 121 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Broken rail cause of 2010 CP derailment
County Council Briefs: From the May 7 meeting
A Canadian Pacific (CP) railway spokesman told council a broken rail caused the August 2010 train derailment.
Three farms were evacuated for four days as a result of the derailment, which took place one kilometre north of Airdrie.
Twelve cars were involved, with a second block of cars derailing because of the force at the primary site. Nothing was spilled and no one was injured in the incident.
As a direct result of the accident, CP is implementing a number of safety enhancements including adding an extra ultrasonic track inspection every year, bringing the total to seven.
According to Mark Seland, CP’s general manager of corporate communications and public affairs, the company reimbursed any expenses related to the derailment to the City of Airdrie, businesses and private citizens.
The company will continue to discuss making a donation to enhance Airdrie’s emergency preparedness plan.
Council was provided with an update of the Calgary Regional Partnership’s (CRP) amended Calgary Metropolitan Plan (CMP), which will be voted on by members this summer.
The CMP was first accepted by CRP members, including Airdrie, in June of 2009.
The amended plan includes several changes such as an update on the density requirement for members seeking regional water and wastewater servicing.
The proposed amendment gives municipalities more leeway by allowing them to stage in the required densities, of between eight and 10 units per acre, over time.
Another amendment includes changes to the CRP’s decision-making process.
Two-thirds of the membership representing 50 per cent of the population is still required to reach a consensus in a split vote. However, wording was added that only forces dissenting members to follow the majority when the decision pertains to amending the CMP or regional infrastructure, such as transit, water and wastewater servicing.
Mayor Peter Brown said although there was some initial resistance from some of the CRP’s 14 members when the changes were suggested, he was pleased with the amendments.
Staff presented an update on the City’s census hosting service, which will earn a profit of $92,000 this year.
In 2007, the City’s IT department created an online census application which has moved Airdrie towards a nearly paperless annual census.
The City and its staff have received a number of national and international awards for the software and have begun to market it to other municipalities.
This year, the application is being used in a number of other communities including Cold Lake, Fort Saskatchewan, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and Vegreville.
Other communities are currently in talks with Airdrie to use the census tool next year.
“There is easily opportunity for us to expand,” said Corey Halford, with the City of Airdrie. | <urn:uuid:9341db0f-1696-481b-afba-a1db684706fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.airdriecityview.com/article/20120509/ACV0801/305099953/-1/acv/broken-rail-cause-of-2010-cp-derailment | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964997 | 605 | 1.625 | 2 |
(AREA) -- The 22nd annual Michigan Harvest Gathering campaign is underway. Secretary of State Ruth Johnson encourages residents to donate nonperishable food items at their local Secretary of State branch offices, continuing a long-standing tradition of giving to families in need. Examples of food items include canned meats, dry beans, soups, beef stew, pasta products, peanut butter and tuna. Baby food or formula, diapers, soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, and monetary donations will also gratefully accepted.
Since 1990, when the Michigan Harvest Gathering campaign started, more than 19 million meals have been provided to Michigan residents. The 2012 goal is 300,000 pounds of food and $1 million. In 2011, Michigan Harvest Gathering collected more than 140,000 pounds of food and $531,000. The campaign runs through October 15. However, donated items can be dropped off at any Secretary of State branch office through November 30. The campaign is coordinated by the Food Bank Council of Michigan, which supplies the state's regional food banks through donations of food and money. | <urn:uuid:47e2bebb-9673-46ca-985f-6fe5db5d81d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sanilacbroadcasting.com/in-our-newsletter/item/191-providing-a-helping-hand-secretary-of-state-offices-collect-food-for-harvest-gathering | 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 | 0.947484 | 216 | 1.648438 | 2 |
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This warld's wealth, when I think o't, Its pride, and a' the lave o't, Fie, fie on silly coward man, That he should be the slave o't.--BURNS
In another week Mr. Edmonstone and his eldest daughter were to depart on their Irish journey. Laura, besides the natural pain in leaving home, was sorry to be no longer near Philip, especially as it was not likely that he would be still at Broadstone on their return; yet she was so restless and dissatisfied, that any change was welcome, and the fear of betraying herself almost took away the pleasure of his presence.
He met them at the railway station at Broadstone, where Mr. Edmonstone, finding himself much too early, recollected something he had forgotten in the town, and left his daughter to walk up and down the platform under Philip's charge. They felt it a precious interval, but both were out of spirits, and could hardly profit by it.
'You will be gone long before we come back,' said Laura.
'In a fortnight or three weeks, probably.'
'But you will still be able to come to Hollywell now and then?'
'I hope so. It is all the pleasure I can look for. We shall never see such a summer again.'
'Oh, it has been a memorable one!'
'Memorable! Yes. It has given me an assurance that compensates for all I have lost; yet it has made me feel, more than ever before, how poverty withers a man's hopes.'
'0 Philip, I always thought your poverty a great, noble thing!'
'You thought like a generous-tempered girl who has known nothing of its effects.'
'And do you know that Guy says the thing to be proud of is of holding the place you do, without the aid of rank or riches.'
'I would not have it otherwise--I would not for worlds that my father had acted otherwise,' said Philip. 'You understand that, Laura.'
'Of course I do.'
'But when you speak--when Guy speaks of my holding the place I do, you little know what it is to feel that powers of usefulness are wasted--to know I have the means of working my way to honour and distinction, such as you would rejoice in Laura, to have it all within, yet feel it thrown away. Locksley Hall, again--"every door is barred with gold, and opens but to golden keys.'"
'I wish there was anything to be done,' said Laura.
'It is my profession that is the bar to everything. I have sold the best years of my life, and for what? To see my sister degrade herself by that marriage.'
'That is the real grief,' said Laura.
'But for that, I should never have cast a look back on what I relinquished. However, why do I talk of these things, these vain regrets? They only occurred because my welfare does not concern myself alone--and here's your father.'
Mr. Edmonstone returned, out of breath, in too much bustle remark his daughter's blushes. Even when the train was moving off, he still had his head out at the window, calling to Philip that they should expect a visit from him as soon as ever they returned. Such cordiality gave Philip a pang; and in bitterness of spirit he walked back to the barracks. On the way he met Mrs. Deane who wanted to consult him about inviting his cousin, Sir Guy to a dinner-party she intended to give next week. 'Such an agreeable, sensible youth, and we feel we owe him some attention, he took so much pains to make apologies about the ball.'
'I dare say he will be very happy to come.'
'We will write at once. He is a very fine young man, without a shade of vanity or nonsense.'
'Yes; he has very pleasant, unaffected manners.'
'I am sure he will do credit to his estate. It is a very handsome fortune, is it not?'
'It is a very large property.'
'I am glad of it; I have no doubt we shall see him one of the first men of his time.'
These words brought into contrast in Philip's mind the difference between Guy's position and his own. The mere possession of wealth was winning for Guy, at an age when his merits could only be negative, that estimation which his own tried character had scarcely achieved, placing him not merely on a level with himself, but in a situation where happiness and influence came unbidden. His own talents, attainments, and equal, if not superior claims, to gentle blood, could not procure him what seemed to lie at Guy's feet. His own ability and Laura's heart alone were what wealth could not affect; yet when he thought how the want of it wasted the one, and injured the hopes of the other, he recurred to certain visions of his sister Margaret's, in days gone by, of what he was to do as Sir Philip, lord of Redclyffe. He was speculating on what would have happened had Guy died in his sickly infancy, when, suddenly recollecting himself, he turned his mind to other objects.
Guy was not much charmed with Mrs. Deane's invitation. He said he knew he must go to make up for his rudeness about the ball; but he grumbled enough to make Mrs. Edmonstone laugh at him for being so stupid as to want to stay hum-drum in the chimney corner. No doubt it was very pleasant there. There was that peculiar snugness which belongs to a remnant of a large party, when each member of it feels bound to prevent the rest from being dull. Guy devoted himself to Charles more than ever, and in the fear that he might miss the late variety of amusement, exerted even more of his powers of entertainment than Lady Eveleen had called forth.
There were grave readings in the mornings, and long walks in the afternoons, when he dragged Charles, in his chair, into many a place he had never expected to see again, and enabled him to accompany his mother and sisters in many a delightful expedition. In the evening there was music, or light reading, especially poetry, as this was encouraged by Mrs. Edmonstone, in the idea that it was better that so excitable and enthusiastic a person as Guy should have his objects of admiration tested by Charles's love of ridicule.
Mr. Edmonstone had left to Guy the office of keeping the 1st of September, one which he greatly relished. Indeed, when he thought of his own deserted manors, he was heard to exclaim, in commiseration for the neglect, 'Poor partridges!' The Hollywell shooting was certainly not like that at Redclyffe, where he could hardly walk out of his own grounds, whereas here he had to bear in mind so many boundaries, that Philip was expecting to have to help him out of some direful scrape. He had generally walked over the whole extent, and assured himself that the birds were very wild, and Bustle the best of dogs, before breakfast, so as to be ready for all the occupations of the day. He could scarcely be grateful when the neighbours, thinking it must be very dull for him to be left alone with Mrs. Edmonstone and her crippled son, used to ask him to shoot or dine. He always lamented at first, and ended by enjoying himself.
One night, he came home, in such a state of eagerness, that he must needs tell his good news; and, finding no one in the drawing-room, he ran up-stairs, opened Charles's door, and exclaimed--'There's to be a concert at Broadstone!' Then perceiving that Charles was fast asleep, he retreated noiselessly, reserving his rejoicings till morning, when it appeared that Charles had heard, but had woven the announcement into a dream.
This concert filled Guy's head. His only grief was that it was to be in the evening, so that Charles could not go to it; and his wonder was not repressed at finding that Philip did not mean to favour it with his presence, since Guy would suffice for squire to Mrs. Edmonstone and her daughters.
In fact, Philip was somewhat annoyed by the perpetual conversation about the concert, and on the day on which it was to take place resolved on making a long expedition to visit the ruins of an old abbey, far out of all reports of it. As he was setting out, he was greeted, in a very loud voice, by Mr. Gordon.
'Hollo, Morville! how are you? So you have great doings to-night, I hear!' and he had only just forced himself from him, when he was again accosted, this time in a hasty, embarrassed manner,--
'I beg your pardon, sir, but the ties of relationship--'
He drew himself up as if he was on parade, faced round, and replied with an emphatic 'Sir!' as he behold a thin, foreign-looking man, in a somewhat flashy style of dress, who, bowing low, repeated breathlessly,--
'I beg your pardon--Sir Guy Morville, I believe!'
'Captain Morville, sir!'
'I beg your pardon--I mistook. A thousand pardons,' and he retreated; while Philip, after a moment's wonder, pursued his walk.
The Hollywell party entered Broadstone in a very different temper, and greatly did they enjoy the concert, both for themselves and for each other. In the midst of it, while Amy was intent on the Italian words of a song, Guy touched her hand, and pointed to a line in the programme--
Solo on the violin . . . . MR. S. B. DIXON.
She looked up in his face with an expression full of inquiry; but it was no time for speaking, and she only saw how the colour mantled on his cheek when the violinist appeared, and how he looked down the whole time of the performance, only now and then venturing a furtive though earnest glance.
He did not say anything till they were seated in the carriage, and then astonished Mrs. Edmonstone by exclaiming--
'It must be my uncle!--I am sure it must. I'll ride to Broadstone the first thing to-morrow, and find him out.'
'Your uncle!' exclaimed Mrs. Edmonstone. 'I never thought of that.'
S. B. Dixon,' said Guy. 'I know his name is Sebastian. It cannot be any one else. You know he went to America. How curious it is! I suppose there is no fear of his being gone before I can come in to- morrow.'
'I should think not. Those musical people keep late hours.'
'I would go before breakfast. Perhaps it would be best to go to old Redford, he will know all about him; or to the music-shop. I am so glad! It is the very thing I always wished.'
'Did you?' said Mrs. Edmonstone to herself. 'I can't say every one would be of your mind; but I can't help liking you the better for it. I wish the man had kept further off. I wish Mr. Edmonstone was at home. I hope no harm will come of it. I wonder what I ought to do. Shall I caution him? No; I don't think I can spoil his happiness--and perhaps the man may be improved. He is his nearest relation, and I have no right to interfere. His own good sense will protect him--but I wish Mr. Edmonstone was at home.'
She therefore did not check his expressions of delight, nor object to his going to Broadstone early the next morning. He had just dismounted before the inn-yard, when a boy put a note into his hand, and he was so absorbed in its contents, that he did not perceive Philip till after two greetings had passed unheard. When at length he was recalled, he started, and exclaimed, rapturously, as he put the note into his cousin's hand,
'See here--it is himself!'
'My uncle. My poor mother's own brother.'
'Sebastian Bach Dixon,' read Philip. 'Ha! it was he who took me for you yesterday.'
'I saw him at the concert--I was sure it could be no other. I came in on purpose to find him, and here he is waiting for me. Is not it a happy chance?'
'Happy!' echoed Philip, in a far different tone.
'How I have longed for this--for any one who could remember and tell me of her--of my mother--my poor, dear young mother! And her own brother! I have been thinking of it all night, and he knows I am here, and is as eager as myself. He is waiting for me,' ended Guy, hurrying off.
'Stop!' said Philip, gravely. 'Think before acting. I seriously advise you to have nothing to do with this man, at least personally. Let me see him, and learn what he wants.'
'He wants me,' impatiently answered Guy. 'You are not his nephew.'
'Thank heaven!' thought Philip. 'Do you imagine your relationship is the sole cause of his seeking you?'
'I don't know--I don't care!' cried Guy, with vehemence. 'I will not listen to suspicions of my mother's brother.'
'It is more than suspicion. Hear me calmly. I speak for your good. I know this man's influence was fatal to your father. I know he did all in his power to widen the breach with your grandfather.'
'That was eighteen years ago,' said Guy, walking on, biting his lip in a fiery fit of impatience.
'You will not hear. Remember, that his position and associates render him no fit companion for you. Nay, listen patiently. You cannot help the relationship. I would not have you do otherwise than assist him. Let him not complain of neglect, but be on your guard. He will either seriously injure you, or be a burden for life.'
'I have heard you so far--I can hear no more,' said Guy, no longer restraining his impetuosity. 'He is my uncle, that I know, I care for nothing else. Position--nonsense! what has that to do with it? I will not be set against him.'
He strode off; but in a few moments turned back, overtook Philip, said- -
'Thank you for your advice. I beg your pardon for my hastiness. You mean kindly, but I must see my uncle.' And, without waiting for an answer, he was gone.
In short space he was in the little parlour of the music-shop, shaking hands with his uncle, and exclaiming,--
'I am so glad! I hoped it was you!'
'It is very noble-hearted! I might have known it would be so with the son of my dearest sister and of my generous friend!' cried Mr. Dixon, with eagerness that had a theatrical air, though it was genuine feeling that filled his eyes with tears.
'I saw your name last night' continued Guy. 'I would have tried to speak to you at once, but I was obliged to stay with Mrs, Edmonstone, as I was the only gentleman with her.'
'Ah! I thought it possible you might not be able to follow the dictate of your own heart; but this is a fortunate conjuncture, in the absence of your guardian.'
Guy recollected Philip's remonstrance, and it crossed him whether his guardian might be of the same mind; but he felt confident in having told all to Mrs. Edmonstone.
'How did you know I was here?' he asked.
'I learnt it in a most gratifying way. Mr. Redford, without knowing our connection--for on that I will always be silent--mentioned that the finest tenor he had ever known, in an amateur, belonged to his pupil, Sir Guy Morville. You can imagine my feelings at finding you so near, and learning that you had inherited your dear mother's talent and taste.'
The conversation was long, for there was much to hear. Mr. Dixon had kept up a correspondence at long intervals with Markham, from whom he heard that his sister's child survived, and was kindly treated by his grandfather; and inquiring again on the death of old Sir Guy, learnt that he was gone to live with his guardian, whose name, and residence Markham had not thought fit to divulge. He had been much rejoiced to hear his name from the music-master, and he went on to tell how he had been misled by the name of Morville into addressing the captain, who had a good deal of general resemblance to Guy's father, a fine tall young man, of the same upright, proud deportment. He supposed he was the son of the Archdeacon, and remembering how strongly his own proceedings had been discountenanced at Stylehurst, had been much disconcerted, and deeming the encounter a bad omen, had used more caution in his advances to his nephew. It was from sincere affection that he sought his acquaintance, though very doubtful as to the reception he might meet, and was both delighted and surprised at such unembarrassed, open-hearted affection.
The uncle and nephew were not made to understand each other. Sebastian Dixon was a man of little education, and when, in early youth, his talents had placed him high in his own line, he had led a careless, extravagant life. Though an evil friend, and fatal counsellor, he had been truly attached to Guy's father, and the secret engagement, and runaway marriage with his beautiful sister, had been the romance of his life, promoted by him with no selfish end. He was a proud and passionate man, and resenting Sir Guy's refusal to receive his sister as a daughter, almost as much as Sir Guy was incensed at the marriage, had led his brother-in-law to act in a manner which cut off the hope of reconciliation, and obliged Archdeacon Morville to give up his cause. He had gloried in supporting his sister and her husband, and enabling them to set the old baronet at defiance. But young Morville's territorial pride could not brook that he should be maintained, and especially that his child, the heir of Redclyffe, should be born while he was living at the expense of a musician. This feeling, aided by a yearning for home, and a secret love for his father, mastered his resentment; he took his resolution, quarrelled with Dixon, and carried off his wife, bent with desperation on forcing his father into receiving her.
Sebastian had not surmounted his anger at this step when he learnt its fatal consequences. Ever since that time, nothing had prospered with him: he had married and sunk himself lower, and though he had an excellent engagement, the days were past when he was the fashion, and his gains and his triumphs were not what they had been. He had a long list of disappointments and jealousies with which to entertain Guy, who, on his side, though resolved to like him, and dreading to be too refined to be friends with his relations, could not feel as thoroughly pleased as he intended to have been.
Music was, however, a subject on which they could meet with equal enthusiasm, and by means of this, together with the aid of his own imagination, Guy contrived to be very happy. He stayed with his uncle as long as he could, and promised to spend a day with him in London, on his way to Oxford, in October.
The next morning, when Philip knew that Guy would be with his tutor, he walked to Hollywell, came straight up to his aunt's dressing-room, asked her to send Charlotte down to practise, and, seating himself opposite to her, began--
'What do you mean to do about this unfortunate rencontre?'
'Do you mean Guy and his uncle? He is very much pleased, poor boy! I like his entire freedom from false shame.'
'A little true shame would be hardly misplaced about such a connection.'
'It is not his fault, and I hope it will not be his misfortune,' said Mrs. Edmonstone.
'That it will certainly be,' replied Philip, 'if we are not on our guard; and, indeed, if we are, there is little to be done with one so wilful. I might as well have interfered with the course of a whirlwind.'
'No, no, Philip; he is too candid to be wilful.'
'I cannot be of your opinion, when I have seen him rushing into this acquaintance in spite of the warnings he must have had here--to say nothing of myself.'
'Nay, there I must defend him, though you will think me very unwise; I could not feel that I ought to withhold him from taking some notice of so near a relation.'
Philip did think her so unwise, that he could only reply, gravely--
'We must hope it may produce no evil effects.'
'How?' she exclaimed, much alarmed. 'Have you heard anything against him?'
'You remember, of course, that Guy's father was regularly the victim of this Dixon.'
'Yes, yes; hut he has had enough to sober him. Do you know nothing more?' said Mrs. Edmonstone, growing nervously anxious lest she had been doing wrong in her husband's absence.
'I have been inquiring about him from old Redford, and I should judge him to be a most dangerous companion; as, indeed, I could have told from his whole air, which is completely that of a roué.'
'You have seen him, then?'
'Yes. He paid me the compliment of taking me for Sir Guy, and of course made off in dismay when he discovered on whom he had fallen. I have seldom seen a less creditable-looking individual.'
'But what did Mr. Redford say? Did he know of the connection?'
'No; I am happy to say he did not. The fellow has decency enough not to boast of that. Well, Redford did not know much of him personally: he said he had once been much thought of, and had considerable talent and execution, but taste changes, or he has lost something, so that, though he stands tolerably high in his profession, he is not a leader. So much for his musical reputation. As to his character, he is one of those people who are called no one's enemy but their own, exactly the introduction Guy has hitherto happily wanted to every sort of mischief.'
'I think,' said Mrs. Edmonstone, trying to console herself, 'that Guy is too much afraid of small faults to be invited by larger evils. While he punishes himself for an idle word, he is not likely to go wrong in greater matters.'
'Not at present.'
'Is the man in debt or difficulties? Guy heard nothing of that, and I thought it a good sign.'
'I don't suppose he is. He ought not, for he has a fixed salary, besides what he gets by playing at concerts when it is not the London season. The wasting money on a spendthrift relation would be a far less evil than what I apprehend.'
'I wish I knew what to do! It is very unlucky that your uncle is from home.'
Mrs. Edmonstone was frightened by the sense of responsibility, and was only anxious to catch hold of something to direct her.
'What would you have me do?' she asked, hopelessly.
'Speak seriously to Guy. He must attend to you: he cannot fly out with a woman as he does with me. Show him the evils that must result from such an intimacy. If Dixon was in distress, I would not say a word, for he would be bound to assist him but as it is, the acquaintance can serve no purpose but degrading Guy, and showing him the way to evil. Above all, make a point of his giving up visiting him in London. That is the sure road to evil. A youth of his age, under the conduct of a worn-out roué, connected with the theatres! I can hardly imagine anything more mischievous.'
'Yes, yes; I will speak to him,' said Mrs. Edmonstone, perfectly appalled.
She promised, but she found the fulfilment difficult, in her dislike of vexing Guy, her fear of saying what was wrong, and a doubt whether the appearance of persecuting Mr. Dixon was not the very way to prevent Guy's own good sense from finding out his true character, so she waited, hoping Mr. Edmonstone might return before Guy went to Oxford, or that he might write decisively.
Mrs. Edmonstone might have known her husband better than to expect him to write decisively when he had neither herself nor Philip at his elbow. The same post had brought him a letter from Guy, mentioning his meeting with his uncle, and frankly explaining his plans for London; another from Philip, calling on him to use all his authority to prevent this intercourse, and a third from his wife. Bewildered between them, he took them to his sister, who, being as puzzle-headed as himself, and only hearing his involved history of the affair, confused him still more; so he wrote to Philip, saying he was sorry the fellow had turned up, but he would guard against him. He told Guy he was sorry to say that his uncle used to be a sad scamp, and he must take care, or it would be his poor father's story over again; and to Mrs. Edmonstone he wrote that it was very odd that everything always did go wrong when he was away.
He thought these letters a great achievement, but his wife's perplexity was not materially relieved.
After considering a good while, she at length spoke to Guy; but it was not at a happy time, for Philip, despairing of her, had just taken on himself to remonstrate, and had angered him to the verge of an outbreak.
Mrs. Edmonstone, as mildly as she could, urged on him that such intercourse could bring him little satisfaction, and might be very inconvenient; that his uncle was in no distress, and did not require assistance; and that it was too probable that in seeking him out he might meet with persons who might unsettle his principles,--in short, that he had much better give up the visit to London.
'This is Philip's advice,' said Guy.
'It is; but--'
Guy looked impatient, and she paused.
'You must forgive me,' he said, 'if I follow my own judgment. If Mr. Edmonstone chose to lay his commands on me, I suppose I must submit; but I cannot see that I am bound to obey Philip.'
'Not to obey, certainly; but his advice--'
'He is prejudiced and unjust,' said Guy.
'I don't believe that my uncle would attempt to lead me into bad company; and surely you would not have me neglect or look coldly on one who was so much attached to my parents. If he is not a gentleman, and is looked down on by the world, it is not for his sister's son to make him conscious of it.'
'I like your feelings, Guy; I can say nothing against it, but that I am much afraid your uncle is not highly principled.'
'You have only Philip's account of him.'
'You are resolved?'
'Yes. I do not like not to take your advice, but I do believe this is my duty. I do not think my determination is made in self-will,' said Guy, thoughtfully; 'I cannot think that I ought to neglect my uncle, because I happen to have been born in a different station, which is all I have heard proved against him,' he added, smiling. 'You will forgive me, will you not, for not following your advice? for really and truly, if you will let me say so, I think you would not have given it if Philip had not been talking to you.'
Mrs. Edmonstone confessed, with a smile, that perhaps it was so; but said she trusted much to Philip's knowledge of the world. Guy agreed to this; though still declaring Philip had no right to set him against his uncle, and there the discussion ended.
Guy went to London. Philip thought him very wilful, and his aunt very weak; and Mr. Edmonstone, on coming home, said it could not be helped, and he wished to hear no more about the matter.
|Art of Worldly Wisdom Daily|
In the 1600s, Balthasar Gracian, a jesuit priest wrote 300 aphorisms on living life called "The Art of Worldly Wisdom." Join our newsletter below and read them all, one at a time.
Shakespeare wrote over 150 sonnets! Join our Sonnet-A-Day Newsletter and read them all, one at a time. | <urn:uuid:3b635605-9d95-458e-b12e-8d28f40157e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.online-literature.com/charlotte-yonge/heir-of-redclyffe/11/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991728 | 6,193 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Poet: Robert Frost
Volume: West-Running Brook
Year: Published/Written in 1928
Poem of the Day:
Sep 19 2002
Comment 3 of 3, added on January 31st, 2011 at 8:23 AM.
aleah from Philippines
Comment 2 of 3, added on March 27th, 2006 at 9:35 AM.
i really like the quality work and rhyming methods of this poem
christi from United States
Comment 1 of 3, added on June 23rd, 2005 at 1:56 AM.
it rocks i did a year 7 assignment on this poem
hugo from Cuba
Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Atmosphere, has received 3 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. | <urn:uuid:71720335-e3eb-4dbc-bd54-5ab1faf87124> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/12127 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962193 | 176 | 1.679688 | 2 |
|Film Title/Year and Description|
Richard III (1995)
Richard III (Ian McKellan) died a fiery death in this modernistic adaptation of the Shakespearean play, set in a fictional, fascistic Britain set some time in the late 1930s. (See also Laurence Olivier's original British version of film, Richard III (1955)).
In the film's conclusion in an abandoned industrial site, Richard III refused to be captured and told his rival - in a line written by Shakespeare in King Richard III, Act V, Scene 3:
[In Shakespeare's play, the line was delivered before battle, not immediately before Richard's death.]
Then he lifted his right gloved hand as if to wave, and fell backwards into the inferno to his death. His demise was accompanied by the unusually-cheerful song I'm Sitting On The Top Of The World (Ray Henderson, Joe Young and Sam Lewis).
Director David Fincher's crime thriller ended with a unforgettable, nail-biting, concluding climax.
Maniacal serial killer John Doe (Kevin Spacey) led arrogant, hotshot replacement Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) and retiring veteran Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) to a remote desert area, promising to reveal the last two bodies and give his confession.
There, another sick and gruesome crime and souvenir - "her pretty head" in a bloody box was delivered by a van. It proved to ultimately demonstrate one of the last two of the Seven Deadly Sins (gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy, and wrath).
Doe confessed to the sin of Envy, having killed Mills' wife Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow) and having her severed head (never shown) delivered to their location in a cardboard box:
To demonstrate Wrath, anguished and angered Lt. Mills (Brad Pitt) shot Doe (Kevin Spacey) repeatedly, emptying his gun, in revenge for his pregnant wife's beheading.
His partner Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) begged him not to:
Doe kept pressing:
Even though Somerset advised: "If you kill him, he will win," Mills executed Doe. The film ended with Somerset quoting from Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls:
There were three remarkable death (or killing) scenes in director Roger Donaldson's science-fiction thriller, about a deadly half-human, half-alien seductress. Pretty nymphomaniacal alien Sil (Natasha Henstridge) wished to be impregnated in order to reproduce her own kind and unleash alien spawn, as she insatiably stalked suitable mates in Los Angeles. When aroused or threatened, the murderous creature would often turn into her alien self - a scaly, bipedal tentacled creature.
Strange Days (1995)
In the violent conclusion to Kathryn Bigelow's cyberpunk, dystopian tech-noir thriller, everything converged an hour before the dawn of the New Millennium at the downtown LA Bonaventura Hotel.
The film's backstory was that the public revelation of the covered-up murder of 27 year-old outspoken militant black rapper Jeriko One (Glen Plummer) (not due to gangbanger-related violence as originally blamed) would ignite a catastrophic race riot, if the truth came out. It was revealed that there had been a "hard-line" death-squad conspiracy - two rogue LA cops ("two loose-cannon cops") had killed him in cold blood.
The film's protagonist Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes), peddler of illegal virtual reality "clips," planned to trade the "lightning bolt from God" tape showing Jeriko's murder, in exchange for ex-girlfriend and aspiring singer Faith Justin (Juliette Lewis). Lenny viewed a tape, thinking it was another rape/strangulation tape of Faith's murder, but then realized it was an erotic-asphyxiation sex scene between Faith and her secret lover - Lenny's own best friend and PI Max Peltier (Tom Sizemore). The wily, long-haired, and menacing ex-cop had betrayed Lenny. Max was the main villain behind the film's many murders. He quipped: "The world's gonna end in ten minutes, anyway."
When Max set up Lenny to take the fall for various murders (the murder of Gant and Iris), the two fought to the death in the hotel room and onto its balcony, high above the revelers. Max precariously hung onto Lenny's tie until Lenny cut off the tie with the knife stuck in his back - sending Max hurtling to his death on the street below.
To Die For (1995)
In the conclusion of director Gus Van Sant's dark comedy, ruthless, manipulative and icy blonde WWEN-TV weathercaster Suzanne Stone Maretto (Nicole Kidman) was killed off-screen.
The murderer was a "Hollywood producer" (David Cronenberg in a cameo, credited as "Man at the Lake") who was hired by father Joe Maretto (Dan Hedaya) (with Mafia connections), to seek revenge for her plotting to successfully kill her husband Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon). Sociopathic Suzanne had seduced a student named Jimmy Emmett (Joaquin Phoenix) to commit the deadly deed. Although Suzanne was brought to trial and there was taped evidence of a confession, she walked free when police were accused of entrapment.
She was later seen dead under the ice of a frozen pond as Larry's sister Janice (Illeana Douglas) skated and performed twirls and pirouettes on the frozen lake (literally dancing above the location of the frozen body), to the tune of Donovan's "The Season of the Witch."
12 Monkeys (1995)
Director Terry Gilliam's science fiction film featured plot twists, time-travel, and unusual efforts to thwart a devastating plague.
Having successfully enlisted the help of psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe), she and delusional, time-traveling prison convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) (from the year 2035) donned disguises. He glued on a mustache and wore a tropical-designed shirt, and she dyed her hair blonde. They were planning to fly together to a dream vacation destination - the Florida Keys.
At the airport, they both realized that red-haired, pony-tailed bio-terrorist and "apocalyptic nut" Dr. Peters (David Morse) had just taken a sticker-covered carry-on suitcase through security in front of them that contained live samples of a deadly virus. When gun-brandishing Cole pursued the madman through security (with Dr. Railly not far behind), he was fatally gunned down in the film's climactic ending (filmed in slow-motion) by airport police, as madman Peters escaped and boarded his plane to San Francisco and other worldwide cities to unleash a doomsday virus.
Cole's repeated dreams/memories were now made clear - as a young boy (Joseph Melito), he had witnessed the shooting (and his own death), with his newfound lover Dr. Railly (from the 1990s) grieving above him - who at one point knowingly noticed young Cole when their eyes met.
(chronological by film title)
Intro | 1915-1929 | 1930-1933 | 1934-1938 | 1939 | 1940-1942 | 1943-1945 | 1946-1947 | 1948-1949
1950-1952 | 1953-1955 | 1956-1957 | 1958-1959
1960-1961 | 1962-1963 | 1964-1966 | 1967-1968 | 1969-1970
1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977-1978 | 1979
1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989
1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1994 | 1995 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1998 | 1999
2000-2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | <urn:uuid:41e30bfb-08b1-45f9-9a95-119f353b4b93> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.filmsite.org/bestdeaths44.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940297 | 1,687 | 1.765625 | 2 |
August 8, 2011
London, UK (RPRN) 08/08/11 — Over 1.8 million adults in the UK often miss out on sweet treats just because they are vegetarian but a new brand, Jealous, has brought out a range of candy gifts to meet the needs of vegetarians and also those with religious and ethical dietary requirements.
One of the complaints that vegetarians often have is that they avoid certain types of food at all costs, including gummy style sweets, to be sure that that aren’t consuming anything derived from an animal. Founders of Jealous, Imran Ali Merza and Tahzeen Basunia, encountered the problem with friends and family, and couldn’t believe that more products were not available for those who have a vegetarian diet for health, religious or moral reasons.
The gummy fruit sweets, which only hit the shelves of Selfridges, as part of a six week exclusivity deal, on July 27th, contain no pork or beef gelatine and as director, Imran, explains, the ‘Sinfully Sour’ box is also suitable for vegans:
“When we realised there was a huge gap in the sweet boxes market and a vegetarian range of jelly sweets was where we wanted to start, we quickly decided to take it one step further, ensuring we had a box that was completely organic and another box that was also suitable for vegans. Even some vegetarian sweets contain beeswax so vegans get left out a lot and with no artificial flavouring or colour, Jealous sweets are as natural and guilt free as you can get.”
Director, Tahzeen, continues: “In just over one week of selling the halal sweets in Selfridges’ Oxford Street store, we have had a great response from everyone about the taste, packaging and ranges but those with dietary requirements have been delighted we have thought about their needs as well. I have seen the eyes of vegetarians light up in front of me and their hand has gone straight to the sample tray!”
For more information on Jealous, and to purchase the sweets online, visit www.thejealouslife.com or to join in the conversation about all things yummy and vegetarian, follow @thejealouslife or search for Jealous Sweets on Facebook.
Notes to editors
Jealous is a manufacturer of sweet-gifts which are free from artificial enhancements, are gluten and gelatine free and also suitable for vegetarians. The concept is the idea of Imran Ali Merza (a former City trader) and Tahzeen Basunia (chartered accountant) that used the recession as an opportunity to launch a new business and brand after spotting a gap in the confectionary gift market for sweets. Launched at London’s Selfridges store in July and available online from www.thejealouslife.com, Jealous sweet boxes will shortly be on the shelves of other major retailers.
For further information, please contact:
Georgina, Keredy or Gina on email@example.com or telephone 01858 411 600.
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When he debuted in 1941, Captain America was part comic book hero, part World War II propaganda tool. In his first run of comics, the star-spangled hero was created with an experimental serum to aid the US war effort. And aid he did, fighting Nazi collaborators to help win WWII.
Over the past few decades, Captain America was reintroduced as a member of the Avengers, the modern-day superhero group that also includes Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk. However, Sega is taking the shield-wielding hero back to his WWII beginnings in the forthcoming game Captain America: Super Soldier. The game will be based on the eponymous film, which stars Chris Evans (Fantastic 4), Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men), and Samuel L. Jackson (Iron Man 2). The movie had been titled Captain America: First Avenger.
Like the comics, Super Soldier will see Captain American facing off against his nemesis, the Nazi agent Red Skull. Beginning during the height of WWII, the third-person action adventure will be set in a sprawling castle complex and will feature foes from the comic books, including the Iron Cross and members of the terrorist group HYDRA. Gameplay will have an emphasis on hand-to-hand combat involving the superhero's indestructible shield as well as platforming sequences.
Captain America: Super Soldier is in development at Canadian studio Next Level (the new Punch-Out) and will ship for the Wii, DS, PSP, PS3, and Xbox 360 sometime in 2011. Sega's Thor game is also expected next year alongside its own filmic inspiration. | <urn:uuid:e3249121-1d26-4550-b4d4-bcfcfd37c756> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.gamespot.com/news/captain-america-wwii-game-due-in-2011-6280783 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957722 | 330 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Welcome to world of Betta keeping! Just fair warning, they are very addictive.
That would be a bubble nest alright. Male Bettas originally build these nests for breeding purposes, but they can also make them quite randomly. Even females have even been know to make bubble nests. Generally speaking, they are a good sign! A healthy and happy Betta is usually more likely to build them. It should be noted that having a male that doesn't build bubble nests doesn't mean he's unhealthy. Some are very picky or just not interested in making them. | <urn:uuid:b3b0751a-4bc2-490c-b6a9-bcdc978180ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=1052925 | 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 | 0.987123 | 114 | 1.664063 | 2 |
How many of you performed the parikrama yesterday. I could tell how you are all perfroming a kirtan of congregational coughing, which is certainly a symptom of your sincere parikrama yesterday. The unlimited glories of Krishna are non different than the unlimited glories of the hill named Govardhan. Just as Lord Krishna descended from the highest plant in the spiritual world Goloka, so did the forests of Vrindavan, Yamuna Devi and Sri Giriraj Govardhan. The Garga samhita tells a beautiful story of how Govardhan hill manifested in the spiritual world. Of course everything in the spiritual world is eternal without a beginning and without an end, but for the sake of lila there is incredible and often time inconceivable varigatedness for only one purpose which is the singular purpose of life for Krishna the supreme absolute truth to exchange love through his please potency and through his infinite parts and parcels. And for each part and parcel to taste Krishna’s love and to exist simply to offer love. This world which is a perverted reflection of spiritual world is place where people forgetful that the real objective of all love is the supreme soul the all attractive rasavihari Sri Krishna try to find satisfaction by reposing our need to find pleasure in the various temporary objects animate and inanimate within this creation, only to be inevitably frustrated.
Krishna tells in gita
punar ävartino ‘rjuna
mäm upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate
From the highest planet in the material existence to the lowest they are all essentially places of misery because everything is temporary…janma-måtyu-jarä-vyädhi-duùkha-doñänudarçanam..who ever we are, we must pass through birth, old age, disease and death. Krishna is explaining form the perspective of the creator. We can have philosopher, poets, novelists, prophets, academic scholars, scientists write hundreds of millions of books about how this creation is working. But its achintya it is inconceivable. And the reason why it is inconceivable it is the manifestation of Krishna who is inconceivable ..oà pürëam adaù pürëam idaà..this phenomenal relative world, its source is Krishna and Krishna’s maya is ruling over this material existence
daivé hy eñä guëa-mayé
mama mäyä duratyayä
mäm eva ye prapadyante
mäyäm etäà taranti te
This maya is Krishna’s energy and she is all powerful. So Srila Prabhupada was very strong to repeatedly assert this point that if actually want to transcend the suffering of material existence if we want to go beyond the inevitable fate of the body which is death, we must receive knowledge from the source of all knowledge…
vedaiç ca sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedänta-kåd veda-vid eva cäham
Krishna says I am the compiler of Vedas and I am the knower of Vedanta, by all Veda I am to be known. Krishna knows every minute detail of how His existence is working vedähaà samatétäni…Krishna knows everything that has ever happened in the past of all the universe in all the creation. He hears every word, He hears thought, He sees every action of every tree every plant, He knows exactly how each grain and stone is moving about or not moving about. Krishna knows everything, He is in between every atomic particle and besides that nothing could happen unless sanctioned directly or indirectly by his energies. When Krishna is telling us in Bhagavad Gita how this material existence works its not someone else’s opinion its statement of creator. Therefore His words are absolute because He is absolute…éçvaraù paramaù kåñëaù sac-cid-änanda-vigrahaù…Krishna is the supreme controller of all controllers. He has three eternal features – His all pervading impersonal brahman which is the ultimate desitnation of those who seek the impersonal form of mukti feature. The Paramatma the Lord seated in the heart of every living being as our ultimate friend and benefactor. And Bhagavan whose body is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss, who is living in a spiritual realm where he invites all living beings into His beautiful pastimes. Kris means attraction and na means unlimited. Krishna means unlimitedly attractive. To the extent we experience even a drop of Krishna ‘s fathomless oceanic beauty, even the greatest pleasures of the world, Yamunacharya said, things we are all so attached to, he said even at the thought of it my lips curl in distaste and I spit at the thought. What is that spitting? Its not the spitting at the things of the world, its the spitting on the selfish egoistic motivation of wanting to be the bethe enjoyer, because the tendency of wanting to be the enjoyer is the source of all pain..
jïätvä mäà çäntim åcchati
Krishna tells in Gita, if you just understand these three simple principles you will be happy forever. Krishna is the propereitor of everything, then our greatest fulfillment is in utilizing who ever we are and what ever we have for Krishna’s pleasure and knowing that in every situation when we turn to Krishna he is always our most intimate and loving well wishing friend.
As Krishna is all attractive in Goloka his pleasure potency Srimati Radharani is all attractive. She is the ultimate source of attraction for Krishna. So Radharani Krishna and Gopis were sitting together in Goloka Vrindavan. Now before I tell the story another philosophical observation. Srila Prabhupada told us that one of the features of the spiritual world beyond the three modes of material nature is that time is conspicuous by its absence. But you read in scriptures how Yashoda mayi is waiting for Krishna with Nanda maharaj and all the gopis as They are out herding the calves through out the day. And when Krishna is with the gopis in the night the cows and the calves are waiting and dreaming for that moment, for the sun to rise when they will be with Krishna and all the gopas in the pastures again. So when we use the word when in the context of the spiritual realm, time is conspicious by its absence because the time of the spiritual realm is working under the power of yoga maya. In the material world Krishna showed time in its very blatant truth as virata rupa and Arjuna saw everything being devourved by this universal form. Krishna said “Time I am” By the power of time and for us in our relative tininess…when I give a lecture it looks like a really long time though its only a couple of hours. But the reality is that even the great Himalayan mountains, the rocky mountains, the swiss alps in just a matter of little bit of time they will be down to fine dusty powder. All the oceans will be utterly dry, the sun will fizzle out like a little match and all the planets of the universe disappear. Now from the absolute perspective all this happens many many times in the extent of the time when Krishna inhales and exhales as Mahavishnu. But in the spiritual world since everything is sac-cid-ananda, time is an energy of yoga maya simply to facilitate the rasas the sweet nectar of loving relationships between Krishna and the devotees and all the devotees with each other.
So one day, Radharani turned to Lord Krishna in the spiritual world of Goloka and said “My dear Shyamasundar if You are pleased with my love, with all the gopis love, if You are pleased with all the enchanting forests of Vrindavan and with our rasalila then I have one desire that I wish You to fulfill.” Lord Krishna smiled and said “what ever you desire is the love of My life.” Srimati Radharani said, “we desire that you create the supreme most pleasing place for us to perform our pastimes.” Of course we learn from Sri Caitanya Caritamrita that Sri Radha and gopis when they expressed their desire their only desire is Krishna’s happiness. They make themselves beautiful only for Krishna’s happiness. They are happy only because that makes Krishna happy. Some times in separation they cry only to give Krishna happiness, because what ever they do is simply an expression of love. “So please create a supremely enjoyable place for all of us to perform our pastimes.” Krishna smiled and said “so be it”, and then He turned his mediation, his full attention into the very core of His heart. Where He mediated upon the deepest essence of His own love. And that love manifested from Krishna’s heart in the form of a seed and appeared to be made of fire, earth and water and that seed entered into the ground where the rasa lila would take place and right in front of everyone’s eyes that seed began to grow. And within moments it became a hill and then a magnificent mountain with kalpavrksha trees by the millions and each tree bearing sweet flowers and fruits. There were waterfalls, lakes and birds singing. Seeing this the greatest joy came upon Radha Gopinath. And Krishna took Radharani by the hand and the gopis followed and they explored this incredible hill that was the manifestation of Krishna’s love and that was Govardhan hill in the spiritual world..
We read in Srimad Bhagavatam how Krishna promised to descend into the material world..yadä yadä hi dharmasya…Krishna expressed to Sri Radharani into the material world He was going to descend and He wanted her to descend with Him to reveal the pastimes of the highest expression of Spiritual realization of prema bhakti. Once in a day of Brahma 8billion 640 million years do Radha-Krishna appears from Goloka Vrindavan to manifest their pastimes. Very special! Sri Radharani told Krishna “I will not find much happiness without the forest of Vrindavan, Yamuna and Govardhan hill”, because these are Krishna’s favorite places. And these are so dear to Krishna because they are Radharani’s favorite places. And they are so dear to Radharani because they Krishna’s favorite places. Therefore these place are so ever increasingly giving happiness to Radha Gopinath. Krishna told Sri Radharani that the forests of Vrindavan, the river Yamuna and the Govardhan hill have already descended into this world to facilitate our pastimes.
The puranas tell how Giriraj descended from Goloka, just west of Bhartavarsha and he was the son of Dronachala. When he appeared every mountain in the whole universe realized that this mountain has descend from the spiritual world of Goloka and they all worshipped him did parikrama of Govardhan hill and accepted Govardhan hill as the kings of all mountains. Now there may be differnet types of kings of mountains but Giriraj is the king of all kings because he is non different from Krishna and simultaneously he gives the greatest pleasure to Krishna. This took place long ago in the satyayuga, Pulatsya muni one of the greatest sages, went to this area called samaladweep and there he saw the beauty of govardhan and felt so much happiness and asked Dronachaal “I wantto take your son with me. I have been doing a yatra all over the world and my place of residence is Kashi, the river Ganges is also there. But i want to take Govardhan and sit on top and do my meditation.” Now on one hand its like Vishwamitra muni asking for Rama, Dronachala was thinking, “ How can I give up the association of my son, who is more dear to me than my life”, but at the same time he did not want to make an offense to a great sage. Govardhan understood what his purpose in life was it was to come to vraja bhumi. So he made his plan. He said, “My dear father, I want to go with this great sage” “But how will you take me” Pulastya muni said, “I will carry you on my right hand by my mystical powers” At that time Govardhan was very very big size. Govardhan said, “I will go with you on the condition that if you put me down any where I will stay there”, Pulastya muni agreed and he lifted Giriraj and by his mystical powers he could travel in the sky and he came all the way from Samala dweep across to Vraja bhumi. Giriraj was thinking this is my eternal residence and he became heavy and Pulastya muni had to come to rest to put Giriraj on the ground. But then by Krishna”s inconceivable arrangement…Krishna can perform most historical episodes in history in such simple ways. Suddenly by Krishna’s arrangement, He is the controller of all controllers, Pulastya muni had to respond to the call of nature. We all know what that is like. But he is a yogi and he knows how to control these impulses by his yogic powers. But k is yogeshwara, He is the supreme master of all yogis and he can conquer any yogi. So he needed to pass water and he lost his intelligence and just was focused on that alone and put Govardhan down and went to the side and passed water an when he came back to pick him up Giriraj did not move. He forgot sarvasya caham…
Krishna says in the Gita I am the source of remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. And in this case Krishna was source of his forgetfulness. And if Krishna wants you to forget, it doesnt matter how many brain cells you have and if Krishna wants you to remember it doesnt matter even if you dont have a brain at all. If you in an ICU with a brain hemorrhage and in coma, if Krishna wants you to remember you will be seeing His pastimes in Vrindavan and everyone else is thinking my poor loved one. Pushti marg the path of grace, Bhakti is the path of grace. If Krishna is pleased by the sincerity of our service and sincerity of our endeavor, those two fingers we have been discussing, if we just serve with genuine sincerity and enthusiasm with the right motivation than we attract Krishna’s mercy and ultimately that mercy is our only qualification.
bhaktyä tv ananyayä çakya aham evaà-vidho ‘rjuna…only through devotional can I be seen as standing before you…premanjana curita…when our eyes are decorated with the ointment of bhakti than Krishna reveals Himself. So in this incredible pastime, the greatest kings of all mountains who has descended from the spiritual world, found its place in Sri Vraj bhumi through this incredible pastime of Krishna.
Pulastya muni became angry and cursed Govardhan, “because you are not coming with me to kashi I will curse you that everyday you will shrink in size, the length of a mustard seed.” Now for us thats not much, but when you are thinking of millions of years its a lot. Now this is Krishna’s arrangement. This was Satyayuga and Krishna was coming in Dvapariyuga and Govardhan hill was just too big to have such pastimes. In those days Govardhan hill’s dimensions were huge, its peaks were above the clouds. So Pulastya muni was an agent of Krishna’s will so that when Krishna came to this world he was just the right size for his calves to go up and down and for the gopas and the gopis. And Giriraj was just waiting
Treta yuga came and the Supreme Lord Krishna appeared as Lord Rama. And we know the story how Rama,Sita and Lakshman were banished into the forest for 14 years and while they were living not far from Mumbai or Pune in Pancavati, Surpanaka came and she wanted to cause harm to Sita, so Lakshman cut off her nose. And from that time on that place is called Nasik, one of the four places of Kumbha mela, where the river Godavari comes together with the river Kapila. Anyways it was there in Nasik that Ravana stole Sita and brought her to Lanka. And Hanuman discovered her and with all of the great army of the Vanaras and the bears they were building a bridge 800 miles long and 100 miles wide across the Indian ocean from Rameshwaram to Lanka. We know the story of the little spiders and squirrels that were kicking little grains of sand, ad Rama wsa accepting their service every bit as he was Hanumann and the very powerful monkeys lifting up entire mountains to float in the waters for the bridge. And they were so enthusiastic, they were going all the place picking up these mountains and giant rocks. And in Vrindavan we hear this story how Hanuman came here and went to pick up Govardhan. And compared to the some of the other mountains Hanumanji was lifting Govardhan was not so big or heavy in size, but he could not get Govardhan off the ground. So Hanuman understood by his pure unalloyed love and devotion to Sri Rama that this mountain is sacred, worshippable. So he offered his dandavat pranams and began to worship Giriraj with love and devotion and asked permission “please allow me to lift you up so I can help build the bridge to reconnect Rama with Sita.” And Govardhan said “I will make my self light and you may take me”. And when he was just about to go Hanuman heard a voice that we dont need any more mountains as the bridge is complete.
Govardhan was sad, “I wanted to have darshan of Sri Rama, please tell Rama my heart”. So Hanuman went back and after they built the bridge and everything happened in Lanka, he came back to Govardhan to give Rama’s message. “Rama is going to descend in his original transcendental form of Krishna in Vrindavan and here you will facilitate the inner most intimate loving pastimes of Sita Rama as Radha and Krishna and all of their gopas and gopis.” So Govardhan waited.
We discussed on the day of the Govardhan puja, how Krishna showed the incredible faith of vrajavasis. We cant explain this too many times, in His own child like way at the age of 7, He put their lives at total risk. For generations this Indra puja was going on, becasue they need rain. And please understand in those days, people understood the devatas as factual personalities. Today if you tell some one, “Dont worship this demigod because you should do something else”, “ well we dont know if it works anyway. We just do it. We think they are there. Some body told us they are there, they might be there. Just in case they are there.” But these were very highly elevated beings in the Dvapariyuga. They knew as a fact that Indra was suppling the rain and Krishna said “forget Indra. He is just the instrument of our karma take all of this paraphernalia and all of the food and offer if to the Govardhan and the cows and the brahmanas.
The vrajavasis wanted to show their ultimate state. They were not concerned with life or death, they were just concerned with pleasing Krishna. “And if this is what that pleases you Krishna, we’ll do it. There is no other consideration.”
ataù pumbhir dvija-çreñöhä
The real success of whatever our duties may be – spiritual, occupational, domestic – is that we please Krishna. Sarva dharman parityajya… and in this very simple way, Nanda and Yashoda and all Brajavasis manifested this abandon all varieties of religion and just surrendered to giving pleasure to Krishna and they didn’t even know he was God. So beautiful! They just loved him!
And Indra sent his rains and Krishna lifted Govardhana hill, but before doing that He manifested as Govardhan hill. He manifested a huge form and said, “I’m the hill Govardhan.” So we understand in truth that Giriraj is Krishna, absolutely non different from Krishna, a self manifesting deity of Krishna, and every single little part of Govardhan is Krishna himself. But the saint and scriptures tell we can’t take this whimsically. We cannot just take a stone from Govardhan hill and take it home with us. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave his Govardhan shila to Raghunath Das Goswami who was the prayojana acharya. It is the highest most serious type of worship in pure unalloyed love. To take any single pebble away from Govardhana hill is an offense. unless we have profuse blessing, permission from the spiritual master and it is given to us as a gift with those blessings. So please, it is not a souvenir. It is Krishna’s body and we cannot disconnect even a single pebble from Krishna’s body with out profuse blessings, permission and instructions and the giving of the heart of the great souls.
At the same time, Srimati Radharani in Srimad Bhagavatam, declares Govardhan hill as Haridasa varya. HH Giriraj Maharaja has described this very eloquently a few days back. In essence, our scriptures tell that Haridasa varya means the greatest devotee of Krishna. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna in the mood of Radha. Krishna who is playing the role of His supreme devotee, to taste the sweetness of her devotion and to also personify and distribute the sweetness of that love to the people of this world. Namo maha vadanyaya… Rupa Goswami understood Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, His inner heart and His purpose. Sri Caitanya Manobhistam… when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu embraced Rupa Goswami, seeing his humility and devotion, He actually empowered Rupa Goswami’s heart with His own love, with Sri Radha’s love. And Rupa Goswami is telling that of all incarnations, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the most munificent. Becasue He is exemplifying and distributing the love of the Gopis of Vrindavan in this age of Kaliyuga to the most unqualified people. He is patita pavana hetu tava avatara. He is the avatar that is reaching down to the lowest people and giving then the highest gift. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu played the role of the highest devotee and similarly Govardhana is playing the role of a devotee and who knows what a devotee is than the supreme ultimate devotee Srimati Radharani. And she is speaking in Srimad Bhagavatam. It doesn’t have her name but acaryas like Vishwanath Charkavarti Thakura and Bhakti Vinod Thakura identify that it is Radharani speaking, that of all the devotees, Govardhan is the greatest because his whole existence is finding happiness only in making Krishna happy. And what makes Krishna most happy is making Krishna’s devotees happy and facilitating devotional service.
The cows! Krishna loves His cows, and the cows love Krishna. In the morning the cows won’t give any milk until Krishna comes. They are just stamping their hoofs and wanting for Krishna and mooing and mooing, and when Krishna comes, in their own sweet cow voices they are chanting Krishna’s names. And they give unlimited quantities of nectar like milk. Govardhan hill in the ecstacy of service his hair were standing on end in the form of blades of grass. And every single blade without exception, because understand Giriraj is the supreme person in the role of a devotee, as a servant of the servant of the servant. Every single blade of grass is meticulously being offered with qualities of sugandha. It is intoxicatingly fragrant. So fragrant that the cows go mad in ecstasy on smelling it. And sukomala, which means each and every blade of grass is a unique special offering that is so soft. It not only tastes delicious but feels so good in the mouth of the cow. How many of you have really herded cows in your life please raise your hand? In my early days as a devotee for about 6 years I have herded cows. With a little stick we try to take them where the best grass was. Sometimes the grass is really dry and stuck on the ground and they just sometimes chew on it and just let it fall out, because it is not very good. But at Govardhan hill, it practically jumps into their mouth, so soft, so nectarine, sweet and so fragrant. The Cows are in ecstasy they are intoxicated eating grass. It is also pushtivardhana, every single blade of grass makes the cows healthy, full of enthusiasm, strong and happy. Each single blade of grass is dugdha sampak which means it produces the most intoxicating beverage of milk. And cows are reciprocate with Govardhan, by eating the grass, they are in ecstasy and the grass is turing into ecstatic liquid prema an the cows water the grass with their milk. That is Giriraj’s offering.
And the stones on Govardhan hill, in summer they are cool, and in winter they are warm. Any calf, any cow, any Gopi, Krishna Balaram, Radharani – anyone who steps on them, immediately the stones become soft like butter, just to give pleasure to Krishna. And waterfalls, lakes! Our scriptures tell us that the nectar of the demigods is nothing in taste and fragrance compared to every drop of water from every lake and waterfall of Govardhan hill. And when the gopas and the gopis and the cows drink it they are so much surcharged with happiness because it is Govardhan’s love, premananda, a manifestation of his tears of love in the form of all the waters. And when the Gopas drink it they roll on the ground in the dust screaming out the names of Krishna. Sometimes the Gopis, “How fortunate is Govardhan hill, that if we want to embrace Krishna it’s a very special secret, but Giriraj is embracing Krishna with the water of lakes”. And the caves of Govardhan hill are perfect places for Radharani and Krishna and Krishna and gopas to take rest. Krishna has furniture made of precious jewels beautiful mirrors.
In this way, and the most thorough ways, Giriraj is there to give every detail of pleasure to facilitate all of Krishna’s devotees to be happy. And this is such an important philosophical principle. Haridasa varya means he is most dear to Krishna. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught us Gopi bhartur pada kamalayor dasa… the highest aspiration He was yearning for, in the mood of Sri Radha, is to be the servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord of the Gopis. Mad bhaktah puja… Krishna says, “to worship My devotees is more pleasing than worshiping Me.” So when Radharani is declaring Govardhan to be Haridasa varya, the devotee that pleases Krishna the most, she wants the whole world to know that this is what is meant by to please Krishna – to utilize one’s whole body, words and mind to serve those who Krishna loves. To facilitate others to give happiness to Krishna. Govardhan is not trying to show “I’m giving better pleasure than others.” Govardhan is taking the most lowest position at everyone’s feet, to give pleasure to those who are giving pleasure to Krishna, to facilitate others to give pleasure to Krishna and when Krishna sees that that is our real happiness – to facilitate other devotees to giving pleasure to Krishna – then that makes us more dear to Krishna. If we try to step on others’ heads to give pleasure to Krishna, we don’t understand. Giriraj lets everybody walk on his head so that they could give pleasure to Krishna and therefore he is most dear to Krishna.
In Bhagavad Gita Krishna says that “those who give this message to My devotees(and ultimately everyone is Krishna’s devotee) are most dear to Me” To bring other people to Krishna and to find happiness in other people, Giriraj’s greatest happiness is seeing Radha and Krishna dancing in the caves of Govardhan doing Rasalila. To see Krishna and Balarama herding the cows and looking at all the cows looking at Krishna lovingly and the Gopas playing beautiful games. And just to be supplying water and supplying some rocks for them to play is his greatest happiness.
You see, if we want to understand what Vrindavan is, we must understand this principle – what gives pleasure to Krishna? To facilitate everyone to give pleasure to Krishna, is what will make us
dear to Krishna. How Srila Prabhupada manifested that! We were discussing on Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day. While some people were here in Vrindavan circumambulating the Govardhan hill, Srila Prabhupada was circumambulating the whole planet, 11 times. Just to facilitate people the great happiness of loving Krishna. That is Haridasa varya! That is the spirit of Sri Vrajabhumi. Govardhan facilitates endless lilas, and inspires great personalities to broadcast his glories all over the world.
Now with your permission, we’ll take you on a brief parikrama of the Govardhana hill!
Yesterday many of you worshiped Sri Giriraj by going on the parikrama. For some it is an austerity, for some it is an ecstasy, for others it is both, according to our realizations. But Giriraj is Krishna. Ye yatha mam… according to our consciousness, as we approach Krishna, Krishna is going to reciprocate accordingly. We have all come to this yatra as humble beggars.
If you think you are great, you have zero standing in Vrindavan. Rupa and Sanatana Goswami when they first met Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they proclaimed themselves to be the lowest of the low, the most fallen of all fallen, trnadapi sunicena… We cultivate love for Vrindavan, love for Krishna through the chanting of the holy names. And in order to approach the holy dham, the holy form of the Lord as the deity, or in His supreme form as the holy name, we must cultivate humility, forgiveness, and learn how to respect others from the heart. So to come to Vrindavan in the proper mood is to come as beggars. What can we give to Krishna, except we are begging to Krishna to accept our love. So when we come to Vrindavan, we shouldn’t come thinking I’ll enjoy. We should come thinking I’ll become purified. Now I didn’t tell you this before you came because I didn’t get to talk to you before. But is really the essence of why we come here – to become purified. And sometimes purification really seems to be fun, and sometimes it appearers to be really painful. Have any of you experienced that during the yatra? Your coughing kind of answers that question.
We are 5000 of us. So sometimes crowding in the buses or here and there, it is not the only way for it to be done, but if that is happening to you in Vrindavan, it is very fast track purification. Because whether we are all alone in Vrindavan or 5000 people standing in the line to get prasad, what ever the situation may be, if you take shelter of Krishna that “ I have come here to love You and serve You and to please You”, then you’ll make such great spiritual progress. That is why we have come.
So yesterday, many of you with your bare lotus feet performed the parikrama. Some of you from Bombay, Pune or London or New York, or other such places, you are not accustomed to going bare feet so it may have been an austerity. But I would like to cite a poem from a great vrajavasi poet. He said, “When I’m walking bare feet in Vrindavan, I feel ten million times more happiness than the happiness of being liberated in the supreme brahman. And I feel ten million times more happiness than brahman realization every time a sacred thorn pierces my foot.” Haribol! I’m sure that realization gives you solace. Every thing is according to our perception. Srila Prabhupada quotes Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakur, if some body bites you it hurts. Now sannyasis dont know much about this but according to the acaryas when your lover bites you, it feels really good. Because you don’t feel just the teeth, you feel the love. So similarly when there is pain in Vrindavan, if we understand that it is Krishna’s loving way of purifying me, if you see it that way, tat te nu kampa… And gratefully if you fold your hands and say “Thank you Krishna. I am yours” then you become happy. But if you see it from a mundane perspective about Krishna, you are getting purified but you are losing such a great opportunity to get so much more. We should be thankful to Krishna for whatever happens to us in Vrindavan, and to turn to Krishna in humility to thank him as we loudly call out his holy names.
Today we’ll begin a parikrama through sound vibration because transcendental sound is non different from the object of the names. When we chant Krishna’s names, Krishna is dancing on our tongue and entering into our ears and into our heart. Similarly Harikatha, talks of Krishna are non different than Krishna. So simply taking a parikrama through describing different holy places around Sri Giriraj, is doing parikrama together while your lotus like feet are relaxing, and the congregational coughing carries on. We’ll begin at Manasi Ganga. Sri Rupa Goswami recommends, of course you can begin Govardhana parikrama anywhere, but according to Sri Caitanya caritamrita thats where Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu began. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to Vrindavan, he came to Govardhan and the first shila He saw He embraces it and bathed it with the tears of His love. He went to Manasi Ganga, first he took his bath.
The history of Manasi Ganga begins with a beautiful story from Srimad Bhagavatam. If you remember, a few days ago in our description of Gokul Mahavana, after Krishna was bound by the ropes of love of mother yashoda and the Lord crawled through the yamala arjuna trees and the trees broke, that was a major disruption. Soon after that all the leading cowherd men met together and Upananda, the eldest brother of Nanda Maharaja, who was his chief minister, spoke with great love “Mahavana is no longer a safe place. So many difficulties are coming upon us. First there was Putana Raksasi, then Shakatasura, then Trnavarta. Now we see these gigantic trees are falling. Any moment Krishna can be harmed. By the grace of Visnu he is being protected. This is not a safe place. We should all move to the forest of Vrindavan.” he explained that between Mahavan and Nandeshwar is the forest of Vrindavan. So immediately everybody accepted. This is the way vrajavasis are. One person says “Let’s go” and all the gopas and gopis and the entire village moves. They loaded the ox carts, they put the old people, the ladies and the babies on the ox carts and put the cows and the calves and the bulls in the front. Krishna was only about three and a half years old, as was Balaramaji. The whole while as they were moving they were all chanting Krishna’s names, singing Krishna’s beautiful pastimes. And when they came to the Vrindavan forest, Krishna and Balarama were especially charmed to see the beauty of Govardhana hill, Yamuna as she was flowing through the forest and the wonderful Kalpa Vraksha trees everywhere. Very soon after Krishna was given the charge of the calves, because he and his friends were less than 4 years old. Srila Prabhupada explains in a beautiful purport how Krishna is the supreme controller of all universes but in Vrindavan He is not fit to take care of the cows. So He is given charge of the calves. And even though Krishna and Balarama are the sons of Vrajaraj and Vrajarani still He does His seva.
So Krishna and Gopas with Balarama would go out everyday with so many calves. And they played. After they got away from home and came to the pastures and forests, they would see ripe delicious fruits up on the trees and they were so attracted. Sometimes they would take a piece of stone and tie a rope to it and throw the stone and make it wrap around the fruit and pull the string, and eat the fruits. Some of them didn’t even bother with the string. They were so good at aim that they would throw the stone and the stone would hit the fruit and it would fall and all the gopas would say “well done well done”. And other times they would get these amalaki fruits, which were like balls and they played so many ball games. Baseball, football, basketball, and even cricket are all perverted reflections of amalaki ball that the gopas would play with Krishna in the spiritual world. They would run, jump and play hide and seek and imitate movements and sounds of different animals and birds.
One day an asura named Vatsasura. He was so cunning, devious and cruel that he took the form of a tiny innocent looking little calf. His only intention was to kill Krishna and Balarama. Now what is more innocent and helpless looking than a calf? They are very small, always look kind of scared, they have beautiful little glistening eyes and they look at you with innocence. The calves like to chew on your dhotis and saris because they see everyone as their own mother. This calf was following Krishna and Balarama and Krishna turned to Balarama and indicated to him, “You see this sweet looking innocent looking calf? He is a monstrous demon who has come to kill us.” Krishna and Balarama, very slowly, quietly, discreetly walked behind Vatsasura, suddenly Krishna grabbed him by his hind legs, he started twirling him around faster and faster until Vatsasura died of dizziness. Sri Krishna Bhagavan ki jai.
After Vatsasura was liberated, what was left of his body, Krishna threw it twirling it into the sky and Krishna very specifically aimed him, because Krishna likes to do many things with one act. Krishna saw a Kapita tree and Kapita trees are very high and fruits are very hard to get. And Krishna knew that Gopas love Kapita fruits. Vatsasura landed right on top of a kapita tree and he grew into his gigantic enormous monstrous size and in doing so he made all these fruits fall down. And all the little Gopas were clapping their hands, and jumping up and down, crying out “Well done! Well Done!” And the Devatas were showering flowers on Krishna. And then all the Gopas enjoyed the fruit.
Bhakti Vinod Thakur explains, Vatsasura explains a childish mentality that is prone to bad association, which can divert us from true path of devotional service. Sometimes, what can be so critical to our spiritual wellbeing, we don’t really take note of. Unless we have proper discrimination, we can easily be misguided by things that seem harmless but can ultimately create great diversion.
Srila Prabhupada gave us so many of his books and as we heard from His Holiness Sachinandan Maharaj, By Sheshsaiva prabhu, His Holiness Giriraj Maharaj, how Srila Prabhupada emphasized, he put his heart and life, his ecsatsies, all the essence of the knowledge of Krishna and all the goraksha, all the knowledge in his books; and how important it was for us to read them. To whatever capacity we have to do so, so that we have proper intelligence to discriminate between what is favorable for devotional service and what is unfavorable.
It doesn’t mean that we disrespect people. But we have to be very careful to understand what can divert our attention away from path of pure devotion.
“ Mahatseva…. “
The 5th canto of Bhagavat, tells us that association of great souls opens doors to liberation. But indiscriminate association with people too much attached to the material ego and material sense enjoyment can open the doors to bondage
“ Niskinchanasya Bhajano… “
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explains that to associate with people too addicted to these things is like poison. We can give association but we have to be very very careful not to allow this Vatsasura which seems to be such an innocent thing to create havoc in our lives.
So certainly throughout the day we have to, many of us have to work, many of us have so much family, so many people we associate with, but if we have strong sadhana, strong association with sadhus, with holy people, if we have strong discrimination by nourishing ourselves by reading Srila Prabhupada & holy books, then we can actually elevate people and not be dragged down by the Vatsasura.
We should be childlike but we should not be childish.
So after this the cowherd boys said to Krishna that “We don’t want to play with you now because you just killed a calf.”
Krishna said that “that calf was a demon”.
They said that “We know it was a demon but still it was as calf. So you should purify yourself.”
Krishna said, “What should I do?”
They said, “You should take bath in river Ganga.”
Krishna said “Well I don’t want to live Vrindavan. So I will bring Ganga here.”
So Krishna sat down and meditated, Manasa, with his mind and suddenly from his mind, Mother Ganga sprang out from his mind, to form Manasa Ganga, the Ganga that manifested from Krishna mind.
Then Krishna bathe in Manasi Ganga and Gopas bathe in Manasi Ganga and the calves drank water from Manasi Ganga, and it became a very very beautiful place and that is how Manasi Ganga manifested in Brij Bhoomi.
One day Nand Maharaj was with the other cowherd men, and cowherd ladies, they were hearing some Brahmins describe the glories of River Ganga. And they heard how Garuda captured a snake with his tail in his claws, he was flying away with it and he happened to fly through the river Ganga and the tail of this snake happened to touch mother Ganga and at that moment the snake turned into the 4 arm form of resident of spiritual world. And when Garuda saw that he became ecstatic, he took that body, who used to be a snake; he put that spiritual body person on his back and flew him nonstop to Vaikuntha the spiritual world.
Nanda and cowherd men said that “we must go to the Ganga to take a bath. It is very very holy!”
So they started arrangements for this pilgrimage, males putting things on the ox cart and arranging and packing things for the long journey.
And Krishna asked, “Where are you going?”
Nand Maharaj said, “We are going to the Ganga to take holy bath”.
And Krishna said “you don’t have to go out of vrindavan. All the holy places in the whole universe are here in Vrindavan including mother Ganga.”
And Nanda Maharaj said, “You are just a small boy. What are you talking? How is Ganga here? Ganga is in the Himalayas. We are going to the Ganga”
“No! No! No! You must understand!”
Nobody believed him and he said “just come with me.”
And Krishna took Nanda and other Gopas and Gopis to Manasi Ganga.
And just at that moment, the presiding deity of the Ganga, Ganga Devi emerged from Manasi Ganga riding on a crocodile and she smiled. And she offered her Pranams and her worship to Little Krishna and as she was offering her Pranams to little Krishna, all the Brijwasi were bowing down and offering their worship to them and they understood, this is Ganga.
But for the residents of Vrindavan, it is more than just a Ganga; it is Ganga plus a Manasi Ganga
Not only does it liberate us from our sin, but because it emerged from heart of Krishna it is saturated with Krishna’s love and it awards us that love.
According to Srila Jiva Goswami, Krishna had so many past times at Manasi Ganga,
One time, Srimati Radharani and her principle Gopis were carrying milk and yoghurt and butter on their heads and they had to pass the Manasi Ganga and it was getting late at night and there was only one boat with a boat man who was covering himself with disguise. They bargained over the price and it was agreed and Srimati Radharani and the gopis got on the boat. And when they somewhere were in the middle of the Manasi Ganga, the boat man said, “I’m too tired and too hungry. I cannot go any further. Give me your sweets and butter and yoghurt.” And they started feeding him and feeding him and feeding him and he took few more strokes. And he said, “I ate too much. I cannot row over. I need to take rest.” And he said, “Please while I’m resting, massage my arms and legs.”
And they said, “We will take your arms and legs and throw you to Ganga, unless you take us to other side.”
So he started rowing again and he started shaking the boat in so many ways to make it look like it was sinking and said, “There is too much of weight in the boat. We are sinking.”
And they said, “Now what are we supposed to do?”
He said, “All of the pots you have including the butter and the yoghurt, throw it out of the boat, offer it to mother Ganga, because otherwise we will sink.”
They were in the middle of this and in those Manasi Ganga was much much bigger than it is now. So they were throwing and throwing into the Ganga. He rowed some more and then he stopped and said, “There is Still too much weight, take off all your jewels and throw it”
So they did that. He started rowing and shaking and said “But Still too heavy!”
And the Gopis said, “Now what are we supposed to do?”
He said, “Take off all your clothes and throw them to Ganga.”
They said, “We will throw you into Ganga and compensate for the weight of our clothes, unless you take us to other side.”
So he started rowing again and by his yoga Maya mystic potency , all of a sudden, Giant clouds were formed in the sky and heavy winds and the boat was going this this way and that and rocking and water was getting in. And Srimati Radharani spontaneously by the Lila Shakti of the lord, it appeared that they were in helpless situation in the middle of this lake she said, “O boat man, save us!”
As soon as she touched Krishna in this way, all the clouds disappeared and it was a beautiful night, the moon arose, and then Radharani realized that it was Krishna and the gopis looked down as she took his flute and showed it to them. And for the rest of the night they were having boat past times according to Jiva Goswami in the lake Manasi Ganga.
After Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu bathe there he went to temple of Hari Dev.
The story is that one time Srimati Radharani and gopis were on the banks of Manasi Ganga, waiting to meet Krishna, but Krishna did not come. In separation they started crying out “Hari Dev., Hari Dev, Hari Dev!” again and again and again. And their separation was intensified and as they were chanting the names of Krishna it was like adding pure ghee to the fire of separation, the fire was burning harder and harder and higher and brighter, until they were literally on the verge of death crying out “Hare Dev, Hari Dev, Hari Dev” In loving separation and at that moment Krishna appeared in the form of Haridev, a deity of 7 yr old lifting the Gowardhan hill with his left hand. And the gopis worshiped that deity and each day they would come back and worship that deity of Krishna. And later on, in the exact spot where that past time took place, the Great Grandson of Krishna, Vajranabh installed the deity of Haridev.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu began his parikrama in this way, first taking his bath in Manasi Ganga, then having Darshan of Hari Dev. And for hours and hours Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita describes Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu beholding the beautiful form of Giridhari and lord was dancing in great ecstasy attracting all of villagers of Gowardhan to join him as he chanted the holy names
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Then Lord Chaitanya turned towards brahma kund which is also in area of Manasi Ganga.
Brahma Kund, we discussed, From Srimad Bhagavatam how after Krishna lifted Gowardhan hill and defeated Indra’s pride, Indra along with all the major Demigods came to offer Abhishekam Ceremony to Krishna and the water that the various Devatas bathe Krishna with, formed 108 different kund. Some of them still exist.
One is Brahma Kund, the water of Brahma with which he bathe.
There is a murti, of presiding goddess of this western section of this Brij bhoomi. Her name is Manasi Devi. Vajranabh installed 4 devis in 4 directions of Brij.
There is Yogmaya Devi in Vrindavan, there is Pataleswari Devi in Mathura, There is Vrinda Devi in Kamyavan and Manasi Devi at Gowardhan.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and also Nityananda Mahaprabhu, it is described, they both rested at that place of Brahmakund before going on with their parikrama of Sri Vrindavan.
On the banks of Manasi Ganga is Chakaleswar Mahadev.
Vajranabh installed 5 Principle Mahadevs, forms of Lord of Shiva in 5 different areas of Vrindavan to preside over.
There is Gopeshwar Mahadev in Vrindavan.
Kameshwara Mahadev in Kamya Van
Bhuteswar Mahadev in Mathura
Nandeshwar Mahadev in Nandgaon and
Chakaleswar Mahadev at Gowardhan
Sanatana Goswami, he made his bhajan kutir on the banks of Manasi Ganga just beside Chakaleswar Mahadev.
It was there that Sanatana Goswami; from there he would perform Gowardhan Parikrama each day. With Dry leaves at night, he will burn, to get light to his write books and as well as throughout the day.
He would chant the holy names, totally absorbed in loving devotional service.
Mosquitoes were starting to bother him. And Sanatana Goswami because we accept what is favorable for devotional service and reject what is unfavorable, so he decided, he wasn’t a person who uses coils and all that. In honor of the mosquitoes, he would rather live and go to another place.
At that moment, Chakaleswar Mahadev, not able to bear the separation of such a great Mahatma as Sanatana Goswami. He approached Sanatana Goswami in the disguise of a Brahmin and requested, “Just try one more night and no mosquitoes will bother you.”
To honor Brahmin, Sanatana Goswami stayed and meanwhile Lord Shiva summoned the demigod in charge of mosquitoes and ordered him “no more mosquitoes there”. Sanatana Goswami lived there for many years and it was there at Chakaleswar Mahadev and at the banks of Manasi Ganga that Sanatana Goswami departed from this world; at guru purnima and to this day, Brijwasi consider that he is the guru of Vrindavan, his love and compassion for everyone.
Mukharvinda, according to Gaudiya Vaisnava, is the mouth of Gowardhan and there, we visited there yesterday, I don’t know how many thousands of liters of milk are offered to Giriraj every day to his mouth. Should I continue, “Hari Bol!”
As we move forward, we come to Danghati. These are very intimate, very special past times of love that have been revealed in puranas and by our beloved Acharya. When Raghunathadas Goswami, Rupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, when they revealed these beautiful stories, they are simply giving witness to what they see.
When our eyes are actually anointed with love, Krishna reveals his past times to us.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu especially sent Roopa, Santana, Raghunathadas Goswami, and the 6 Goswamis to Vrindavan, to reveal Krishna’s loving, intimate past times to the world.
“Sri Krishna Chaitanya, Radha Krishna nahi anye…”
Who knows the past times of Vrindavan better than Radha Krishna who has appeared as LC and he has summoned the intimate loving associates from spiritual world to come to reveal the past tines of Vrindavan, the holy places of Vrindavan, and also through their writings, through their example, how to access the mercy by which we can connect to those past times, realize and love of Krishna that is within our heart.
And the Danakeli Kamodi, by Rupa Goswami, he describes various past times that took place at Krishna Veti or Dan Ghati. It was a very narrow lane, between two mountainous areas, and Krishna would perform his past times of taxing the gopis there.
Krishna had a parrot, Radharani had a parrot, Vrinda devi was in charge of parrots and they would all get the news, special, See they did not need these damn cell phones those days, they didn’t need these dumb internets, they had parrots.
With ecstatic love, Vrinda Devi, she would feel like the censor control and all messages were carried out in every moment in such loving special ways. Krishna would block the way and there would be such expressions of love through jokes and arguments.
In vrindavan, everything, every word, every action, every thought is exchange of pure unmotivated love
As we move a little further, where we started off the Parikrama yesterday was Dana nivartana Kund. Sri Raghunatha Das Goswami, when he was living at Radha Kund, Rupa Goswami sent him a book that he had wrote, Lalita Madhava.
When he was reading about the separation between Radha and Krishna; he was so overwhelmed, Radharani deep intense love of separation, that Raghunatha Das Goswami could not eat. He was already eating hardly a little pot of butter milk every day and now he could not even eat that. He was becoming emaciated, he was weeping. And the devotees wrote to Rupa Goswami, and Rupa Goswami sent him another book, the Danakeli Chintamani, which describes the beautiful past times of Radha Gopinath together. When Raghunatha Das Goswami read that he started laughing, and he started crying in happiness and started eating his little pot of butter milk every day. Beautiful story.
How there was a sacrifice taking place at Govind Kund
And the story was, anyway who offers a pot of Ghee at Govind Kund is going to get all the desires fulfilled. And Srimati Radharani and Gopis only desire is Krishna’s happiness.
So with the permission of Purna Masi, the guru of vrindavan, the yoga Maya Devi, Srimati Radharani and her principle gopis were going with pots of some ghee; butter to that place and on the way Krishna blocked the way with Madhu Mangal, Subala and other gopas.
And Krishna said, “For so many days you have been passing with all of these valuables, but you have never paid tax. But the Emperor of love Kama Devi has sent me to tax me. Now for each Gopi I want several handfuls of diamond, and Srimati Radharani you have to pay extra tax for every beautiful limb of your body.”
And Raghunatha Das Goswami goes into details of each tax. And there was an argument that ensued. Lalita Sakhi said that “if you don’t let us go, we are going to go and tell Kamsa on you.”
And Krishna said, “One of these days, I am going to drag Kamsa right from his thrown and beat him to death”. That was a prophecy but nobody took him seriously.
And then Krishna said “all right, if you insist I will allow everybody else to go but keep the Lalita Sakhi in hostage until you all come back with your taxes.”
Nandi mukhi, she is a Brahmin gopi, disciple of Purna Masi, She appeared and she said to Krishna that “they will pay their taxes, but at the same time you will have to let them go just to protect their dignity and their reputation as being very Chaste and pure ladies. So Let them go and I promise that tomorrow at this time they will come back to pay their tax.” So Krishna agreed.
But then, Lalita, vishaka and other gopis, they gathered earlier than scheduled time at Dana Nivartana Kund. When Krishna and Subala and Madhumangal and few cowherd boys came with their stick, just as tax collectors, hundreds of Gopis surrounded them and tied them to trees and in sweet loving words chastised them like anything.
And Krishna was conquered by their words. Please understand this is Krishna. His universal form, he could eat the universe. Krishna, he is massive armies he conquered, Jarasand. But for the gopis, he was like a scared little child. “Please don’t hurt me.”
And the gopis said, “Actually you owe tax, because she is Vrindavaneswari, she is the queen of Vrindavan and everyday your cows are eating her grass. So you owe her a tax. The tax is you fall at her feet and you surrender to he and accept her as your queen.” And they took him before Srimati Radharani and with tears of love he bathe her lotus feet and put his head at her feet.
And through this beautiful story we learn that love conquers the beloved. Krishna is Madan Mohan. He conquers the mind of Cupid. Srimati Radharani is Madan Mohan Mohini. Her love conquers the supreme conqueror. And Lord Chaitanya is Radha giving that holy name to all of us through the chanting of the holy names…
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
We will continue the parikrama another day. I will just tell one small story. From Dan Nivartan Kunda we carry on to what is known as Anakuta Kshetra. It is between Dan Nivartan Kunda and the village of Anayor. According to our acaryas this is several miles. And this is where the brajvasis made their mountains and mountains and mountains of Prasad for Giriraj under Krishna’s instruction. Can you imagine? It’s about 5 miles of mountains and mountains of kundas and rivers of Prasad. And Giriraj ate it all within a moment and cried out Anayor, Anayor, which means give me more. What could fill Krishna? Krishna is unlimited. In Sri Caitanya Caritamrita there is a beautiful story, where Advaita Prabhu invites Lord Caitanya to have Prasad at his house. This is when they were living in Jagannath puri. And Lord Caitanya came to his house and he saw there was so much Prasad. Same kind of lila took place in Shantipur also. He saw that Advaita had massive quantities of Prasad in his house, and was all in front of the deities. And Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu said just give me a leaf plate, and I will take some little sabji and rice. I’m very happy to see that Krishna ate all this. And Lord Caitanya in the role of a devotee was teaching us that our happiness should be in seeing Krishna enjoying. And this is actually a test of how much we are actually developing love for Krishna. Srila Prabhupada wrote, told us many times, that when you love Krishna, when you see Krishna dress beautifully with garlands and jewels, you have have no inclination to dress yourself so nicely because you are just happy to see Krishna like that. And if Krishna is happy to see you dress nicely then you will do it too. But you are happy with Krishna’s happiness. When we see Krishna getting such wonderful bhoga that gives us happiness.
I remember once at the community I was living I was the purari. And for a while it was the rule that for the raj bhoga offering every day there were 64 offerings. 365 days a year, 64 preparations. Because I was the pujari I got to make the plates. There was a plate for gaur nitai, plate for the gurus, plate for radha vrindavanchandra, plate for jaganath-balaram-subhadra and another plate for the shaligram shila. There was 5 plates with 64 items on each plate. Anyways, it didn’t last that long. But we really tried. It lasted about a year – 64 items every day for the raja bhoga. And every other offering was about 10-12 of them. 6 offerings a day. And I remember in my own life, on one hand just knowing Krishna.. and each preparation was incredible opulent preparation. Practically everything you could think of was offered. There was every raja bhoga offering. There were kachories, and samosas, and milk puras, and I think about 15 sabjis. And about 6 chatnis. And there were Laddus. There was Gulab jamuns. Rasa gullas. And Sandesh and halwa. And on one hand just seeing Krishna eating all these things was so happy. And just making the plates and helping to cook the offerings and then cleaning all the plates just so busy that we didn’t’ have time to think about eating. Just absorption. And just Krishna eating. Wonderrul!! It’s actually the hgher taste. When we are so absorbed in giving Krishna happiness, then we just neither have the time neither have the time or even the will to enjoy separately. Now with Srila prabhupada’s expertise even neophytes devotees keep us engaged in making Krishna happy. And there is a higher taste in that even for new devotee. And I remember one time Srila Prabhupada during this period Srila Prabhupada came to.. and was looking at Radha Vrindvavan Chandra. Very gravely during srimad bhagavatam class. He said that your Radha vrindavanchandra look very happy. He said, they have appeared as the beautiful most boy and girl just to attract all of you American boys and girls. And he said they look very happly. And then he became very grave. He said, in this Bhakti marg, the path of devotion, there are two tracks like two rails on the railway line. There is pancharatriki videhi, the worship of the deities by making offerings, by dressing them, by singing for them, by performing the aratis, singar. And there is bhagavata marg viz., hearing and chanting. Performing harinama, performing japa, reciting and hearing srimad bhagavat, bhagvad gita. This is bhagavad gita. He said if you rare not very strongly absorbed in hearing and chanting the glories of the lord and performing your sadhana, the day will come when you will look at the deities and think why has my guru left me with this burden? Why has my guru left me with this burden of taking care of a temple and the deities? Because unless we are very very serious about taking shelter of hearing srimad bhagavatam and chanting the holy names in the association of devotees, then we lose our vision, we lose our taste. Deity worship is such a divine blessing. Rupa Goswami explains 5 of the most important limbs of devotional service. Associating with devotees, chanting holy names, hearing srimad bhagavatam, visiting holy places, and worship of the deities. Deity worship gives us an opportunity to very personally render service to become attached to the form of the lord which awakens our eternal attached to form of the lord through service – cleaing, cooking, dressing whatever is done whether we are washing a pot or we are offering arati at midnight on Janmasthami, Krishna accepts our love. He accepts the intention of our devotion. Radhyshyam prabhu, he is the president of our temple in Pune. And they are building a magnificent temple there. And every day I see him scrubbing the pots here at the Yatra. And they are not little pots. They are huge pots. Pots for 1000s of people. And he is just down there scrapping. And Murlidhar Prabhu who is a very accomplished dental surgeon in Mumbai with a very very prominent successful dental clinic in Mumbai. And yet everyday I see him on his hands and knees covered in soot scrubbing pots in the yatra. And I’m thinking this is what it means to be transcen-DENTAL. In Krishna consciousness there is no high or low. All there is, is devotion. There is love. King Pratap Rudra was the king but he won lord Caitanya’s heart when he took the role of a street sweeper. But lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted him to remain a king too. whether you are sweeping the street or whether you are king of an entire kingdom, Krishna doesn’t care what your position is. It’s that attitude of personal service and love that is everything. So in Anayor Krishna ate all the offerings. And gave it all back. I know where I was. Advaitacharya. He had all these offerings for Krishna. And lord Caitanya was absolutely happy and in ecstasy that Krishna is eating so nicely. Now give me some sabji. And Advaitacarya said no no taste everything. Everything that Krishna had you should also eat. He said no no no, I just want to have a little sabji. I’m happy to see Krishna. How much can I eat? And Advaitacarya said I know how much can you eat. In Dwarka, 16108 palaces, and all your queens are offering you big feasts, all at the same time and you are eating all of it. And during Govardhan puja, you ate all those miles and miles and miles of massive mountains of food. And you ate it all at once. And you still wanted more. And Jagannath, there is 100s of cooks making 100s of preparations every hour practically. And you are eating all of it. This is just a little bit that we are offering you. I know how much you could eat my Lord. But then lord Caitanya ate a little but advaita kept giving him more. And lord Caitanya said no no I can’t eat anymore. I can’t eat any. So this is Krishna. There is a beautiful story. Once Sivananda Sen offered Lord Caitanya so much nice food, Lord Caitanya couldn’t stop eating it. But then his son invited him back to the house, back to the house, sivananda sen’s son, and then offered him dahi, yogurt, with some black pepper and ginger powder, and all these bitter things for digestion. Because the boy understood that lord Caitanya ate too much and the lord has indigestion. So therefore I’m going to give him ayurvedic foods that increase digestion. So who wants to eat salty little paddies? But Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, it was nectar to him. Because he was seeing the purpose in which it was offered. This is Bhakti. You can give Krishna mountains of billions of tons of food. And Krishna can eat it all at once time and say give me more. Or you could give Krishna a feast and to reciprocate with you love he will get serious indigestion and discomfort and ask for some herbal remedies. It’s not the food. It’s the variations of how Krishna reciprocates with his devotes. So this is the annakuta Kshetra, which is just close. And actually on November 3rd, we are going to be preparing a beautiful offering. 100s and 100s of devotees will have the opportunity to cook. Be prepared for a very purifying experience because the smoke of all the cowdung and wood will be very much in your eyes. But those tears will, those tears of tapasya will give special, not the tears themselves, but the tears of your tapasya of the heart will give special flavor to the food. And we will be offering it right close to… right in the actual place of annakuta Kshetra, where the brajbasis are eternally making their offering to Krishna. Sri giriraja. And at this time, I would like to invite two people to the stage one at a time. I would like to invite Malati Devi to come and share some of her memories with Srila Prabhupada. Especially she was cooking for Prabhupada here at govardhan hill. Were you not? Since we are talking about cooking, many of us are going to be doing cooking day after tomorrow, and we will be actually offering all the bhoga, hopefully over a 1000 preparations will offer it in mountain to govardhan himself. We are not gong to be offering to photos. We are going to be offering directly to the mountain of govardhan. And we are going to have many many appointed guards with sticks. To somehow or other atleast try to encourage the monkeys to be patient. And last time we were here we did this it was a very very beautiful experience. And at this time I would like to request malati devi to come up and discuss about cooking for Prabhupada here at Govardhan hill and any other story she wants to share. And then HH Sacinandana swami maharaj wil lead us in one of his very, very famous enthralling dancing sankirtan. Thank you very much.
[HG Malati Mataji]
Hare Krishna. Please accept my humbly offered obeisances. Agtsp. I was going to come yesterday to join. But by the time I heard you had started parikrama it was too late to catch up with all of you. And I was lamenting that I was not able to be in the dust of all of your lotus feet. In the beginning of the Indian Yatra, when we were invited by Srila Prabhupada to come to India to collectively begin the world sankirtan movement or the world Sankirtan party, it was just a small group of us. When we first came to India there was only one thing that we did, because we didn’t have a zip code. We didn’t have an address address. We didn’t have any temples. We wandered here and there with Srila Prabhupada performing harinam sankritan. And then Srila Prabhupada would speak or he would ask some of us to speak. And then we would go from one place to the other like this. And we didn’t come to Sri Vrindavan Dham until we had an invitation from Srila Prabhupada to come. And there was this _____ program, so that when we came here we would be performing some service. And our service was to spread the mission of lord caitanya’s sankirtan through harinam. Srila Prabhupada would take us to 1 or 2, 3 spots, select spots each day and then we would return to our ashrams. And just like tonight HHRNM was taking on a partial parikrama through hearing. And through that hearing we were understanding everything and actually seeing everything very clearly. Similarly, Srila Prabhupada would speak to us Krishna katha to help purify our hearts, and our minds and our consciousness, in hopes that somehow or other his dancing white elephants would also be able to see sri vrindvavan sham in the proper mood in the proper perspective. So one of the select places that we travelled with Srila prabhuapda. When we came to vrindavan, we travelled in a bus. And I was describing the bus the other day to some devotees. I was invited to go to the final closing ceremony in the braj mandal parikarama. So I was there and Giriraj Maharaj was also there. So both of us were in the original plane that had come from the west with 11 devotees coming to India on Prabhupada’s request. So when we came, the few of us who came initially with Srila Prabhupada to Vrindvaan, at that time our numbers had gone somewhat, maybe there was 20 or 25 of us at that point. We came in a bus from Delhi. Srila Prabhupada came in a very quaint ambassador car. And our bus was a luxury bus. It was air-conditioned. And I was explaining the type of air conditioning this bus had, it meant there were no windows. So that way we were getting the breeze. We started travelling to Vrindavan. And the quaint little ambassador promptly broke down. And Srila Prabhupada got out of the ambassador and he joined us in our air conditioned bus. And in this way we travelled with Srila Prabhupada to Vrindavan. So one of the occasions he brought us to Govardhan hill. And of course in ignorance we were looking up looking for the hill. Looking where is the hill? You know Krishna book wasn’t in our hands yet. We didn’t know so many of the details. And somewhere along the parikrama marg Srila Prabhupada had a stop and he would each day take his massage, take his bath and then we would all have our lunch together. So while he was having his massage and bath, I was his cook. And I would have a little metal trunk with the bhoga and the little stoves, these kerosene stoves that you would pump up and they blow up in your face and you lose your eyebrows. And sometimes I would have a little bucket. And in the little bucket we would put cowdung, paddies in it. And that was kind of exciting because we had heard about the process of cooking with cowdung paddies. But now on this govardhan hill we could actually had the opportunity to apply the process. So we stopped at one little spot there was a row of doors, a nice little veranda. And may be it was approximately 1 and a half times as long as this stage was. And there were some doors. So Prabhupada indicated he was gonna go and take his massage. In the ________ on the other side of the _______. Across the other side of the marg there were a couple of kundas. I’m sorry, I don’t recall the names of the kundas. But you know in the early 70s, things were very very clean and pure and you didn’t have. You had the fiery monkeys but you didn’t have all the human monkeys chasing you around, and selling things. And you didn’t have the loudspeakers blasting all kinds of ecstatic loud noise. There wasn’t any noise pollution like that. It was much simpler. And there weren’t even so many buildings. So the devotees were going across the street to these little kundas. There were two of them, and they were kind of connected more or less. The ladies were going to one, the men were going to other. And Prabhupada was going to take his massage and bath. And I was going to sit on the front porch with a stick – the stick was for the monkeys – and prepare the cooking. So when Prabhuapda opened the door, one of the things I remembered was that he opened the door, his servant opened the door, I was naturally expecting there would be some type of a room behind the door, but actually the whole thing was like a façade. There were no rooms. There were just doors. And when you open the door there were just some fields. And so they opened the door. And Prabhupada stepped through, as if he was going into his grand palace. And they shut the door. The business went on. And I sat down and did my business. And then the door opened. And by that time the devotees had returned also. They were lined up. The women on one side, the ladies on the other side. The door opened Prabhupada stepped through. And he went took his seat. And then that indicated I should bring the Prasadam. As soon as I came with the plate of prasadam, two other devotees from the dham suddently started rushing towards Srila prabhupada. And these were two of the dogs of the dham. And these dogs were really the typical dogs of the day. They were full of sores. They had hardly any hair on their body. And they were big huge teeth they were showing. And I’m not into making sound effects, so I… maharaja is really excellent at this. I can just tell you they sounded really terrifying because both of them were snarling and growling and barking. And their teeth were looking really big. And they were just headed right for Prabhupada; specifically for the plate of prasadam. So simultaneously naturally some of the devotees sitting by Prabhupada immediately started to raise up. And they had, young sanyasis, so they had some weapons in the form of their dandas. So they were ready to take care of these dogs. It seemed like in one hand everything was happening really fast, and on the other hand, it was kind of slow motion. I’m putting the plate down, the dogs are coming, they are snarling and growling, the sanyasis are standing, starting to stand up, their sticks were standing up. And then suddenly Prabhupada didn’t exactly stand up, but it was like he was going to stand up but didn’t. He stopped them. He stopped them with indicating with his hands. And he picked up one of his chapattis which frightened me, because I only had a little bit of chapatti dough left that day. So I’m thinking, O its going to happen here. He took this chapatti. He tore it in half and he flipped out to the two snarling dogs, who caught these chapatis. And then he said jao jao. And I was expecting them just to keep coming. But they took the chapattis from the hands of a pure devotee and suddently they just became very satisfied turned around and walked away. And then Srila Prabhupada gave us a very good lesson. He turned around and said to all of us. You never know who they may be in the dham. So we understood we were seeing two terrifying dogs. And he was seeing 2 hungry devotees. So that was a wonderful lesson. On that day at Govardhan with Srila Prabhupada. Now, we have sacinandana maharaj who will teach you how to dance. Hare Krishna. Srila Prabhupada ki jai.
[HH Sacinandana Maharaja]
There are different forms of worshipping Krishna. For instance, by arotika, and by the regular procedure of the pancharatrika vidhi. But Raghunath Dasa Goswami says that better form of worship of Giriraj, of giridhari Krishna, is through the method of bhajan. The method of bhajan composes 5 nectarean activities. One is to hear about the pastimes, as we have been doing under the guidance of HHRNM. That’s a worship. You are sitting down and hearing pastimes, it’s not for your own entertainment. it’s for worship. Another form of worshiping the deity is through bowing down. And another form of worship is through remembering or meditating about the activities of the deities. Now one of these nectarean activities is the chanting of the holy names.
Now I know how many of you think when they hear chanting. O No!! Now he will ask us to get up. And then I’m already so tired. I could die. And he wants us to dance exuberantly. If I only think of dancing, it’s like thinking of breaking of bones. I’m really not into it. This is sometimes how we feel at the end of a day of pilgrimage when many things happened.
But I would like you to think about kirtan as something else. Kirtan is the glorification of Krishna. It comes from the syllable ___. To glorify. And so kirtan the person whom you glorify comes into the presence. The lord says he is present where his devotees chant. But the chanting must be done in a special way. That is with affection. You can perform Bhakti with nectar and without nectar. Most of you do it without nectar. That’s why you get tired. But if you perform bhakti with nectar, you don’t get tired so easily. Tiredness also will happen. But if you do it with affection, you will do it in a very inspired way. Think of a mother who takes care of her child. The moment she thinks that the child is a burden, she will become very very tired and very reluctant. Think of a mother in opposition who takes care of the child with affection. At that times the mother will run around, she will not mind the long hours into the night, when she takes care of her child, because affection will motivate, strengthen, invigorate or juicen up her practice. So chanting its very important you don’t think it’s a tongue activity, it’s a muscle activity. Chanting is a heart activity, where you offer your glorification and affection for Krishna. Having said this I would request you to get up. Don’t worry nothing wild will happen. Hare Krishna. So who are the mrdanga players. This will be the mrdanga players? Wow!! You look very young. Who will control the mrdanga players? No response? Not so fast. We want to chant with affection. Giriraj Maharaj ki jai. Srila Prabhupada ki jai. Sri Sri Gaur Nitai ki jai. Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar ki jai. | <urn:uuid:ab6f42f4-9763-423f-8c0e-7e5942b9702a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.radhanathswami.net/yatras/vrindavan-yatra/vrindavan-yatra-2011-day-11-lecture-by-radhanath-swami | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973289 | 18,606 | 1.640625 | 2 |
By Sarah Traylor
All moms hope for the best for their child, and desire to raise well-behaved children.
But obviously just hoping for the best isn’t enough. After all, we’ve all seen “that” kid. You know, the one that’s running around the restaurant during dinner, or throwing a tantrum in the grocery store? The one who has to be pacified with a portable electronic device so mom can shop, or bribed with candy to allow mom five minutes in the store without a meltdown?
So how do you avoid being that parent? Or, if you’re in that situation, how do you handle it?
Scenario #1: You push your loaded cart full of groceries toward the checkout line. Just as you begin to unpack your groceries at the checkout, your toddler sees the big assortment of candy strategically placed at his eye level. You calmly tell him that you will have a snack when you get home. Within seconds you see that the situation is about to explode. The checkout attendant can’t swipe your groceries quick enough!
It’s in these moments that you have a quick, and usually tough, decision to make. Do you reach for the nearest candy bar and give it to your child? Do you let your child scream, and try to block out the obvious stares from other shoppers in the store? Or, do you leave the line and take your child out of the store?
The answer is the latter. If you see your child reaching code red, don’t be afraid to abandon your cart of groceries and leave the store. Go to a restroom, or back to the car, and discipline your child. Next time you are ready to go grocery shopping, here are a few things to remember.
Set clear expectations. Say something like, “Mommy needs to go to the grocery store to buy a few things. We won’t be too long, but I expect you to sit in the cart and behave while mommy shops.” Don’t ramble on and offer an in depth explanation of what you want. Keep it simple. Say where you’re going and what you expect.
Keep a routine. Toddlers thrive on routine and knowing what to expect each day. Try not to schedule a trip to the grocery store during lunchtime or naptime; you’re just setting yourself up for failure.
Scenario # 2: You took your little girl to story time at the library, but it’s time to leave. You tell her that story time is over and it’s time to leave, and then it happens: stomping the feet, yelling “No!”, or running in the opposite direction. You’re not alone. (If you were, there wouldn’t be a whole section of books at Barnes and noble on parenting!) So what do you do?
Don’t count! “One, two, two and a half, two and three quarters…I’m serious, don’t make me come over there… one..” And so it goes as the child laughs and runs off. Counting is not a good idea when trying to get your toddler to recognize, understand, and respect your authority as a parent.
Enforce appropriate discipline without excessive warnings. It’s crucial in these early years that you teach your child that there are consequences, both negative and positive for their behavior. It’s during these times that you can help your child understand that different types of behavior produce different results—some pleasant, and some not so pleasant.
On the negative side, a time out may be appropriate, or a spanking applied with love and restraint. When it comes to some behavior, like stomping feet, you may want to try a more creative approach. When you get home, stand your child outside and tell them you want them to stomp their feet for two-minutes. Next time, stomping might not be so appealing.
Scenario #3: You put your toddler down for a nap, but she clearly doesn’t want to take a nap. She stands in the doorway throwing a tantrum and yelling. How can you make it stop?
Take control. If you’re home, sometimes the best way to handle this kind of tantrum is to simply ignore it. Yes, I said ignore a screaming toddler. Easier said than done, right? But when you consistently try to reason with your child to take a nap, you’re letting that child manipulate you. You’re sending the message that they’re in charge, and that they’re controlling the situation. Instead, make a conscious effort to be nonchalant. Try to busy yourself with some laundry or something else.
Be consistent. You’ll find that if you’re consistent with this approach, you’ll send the message to your toddler that no matter how long they stand there crying and screaming, you’re not coming. Effective discipline always involves consistency. If your child sees that if they yell long enough, you’ll cave and go to them, you’re not being consistent.
Proverbs 22:6 tells us to “Train a child up in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” This is so true. But it’s worth mentioning that you can tell your child what to do all day long, and see no results. You have to model what you teach.
If you want your child to quit yelling, then don’t raise your voice at your child. If you want them to be kind, then model kindness. If you expect your child to be patient, and wait in line at the store without fussing, then you need to model patience.
Be sure to recognize and celebrate their good behavior and right choices, too. I’m not saying you should offer your child a reward for every act of obedience; that’s just creating selfishness, and another set of problems down the line. Instead, reward good behavior by celebrating as a family. Go get ice cream after dinner at the end of the week because little Johnny and his sister Suzie have worked together to pick up their toys consistently throughout the week. This reinforces their good behavior, AND fosters family time. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how your kids react to well placed encouragement, along with structured routine and discipline. | <urn:uuid:67433d17-0364-4bc2-99ff-095c29bc4542> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drenda.com/family/tips-dealing-toddlers-tantrums/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949282 | 1,357 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Cooling winds did give Texans a mini-break from the scorching temperatures. But, according to a report from KFDX News 3, people in RVs are working extra hard to stay cool. One reason, the air conditioners aren’t built for this kind of heat.
As they put it, they are surviving, but they wish their AC’s were blowing cooler air. All they can do now is just look ahead to fall’s cooler weather.
RVs are sturdy and reliable while traveling, but their air conditioning systems aren’t designed for triple digit heat day in and day out. And it’s something Michelle Smith and her husband are temporarily dealing with.
“My husband got a job here and we had to move out here rapidly and we didn’t have a place to live or stay so we bought an RV and just came out,” said Smith.
Smith said coming from California they were prepared for the heat, but their AC unit wasn’t.
“We’re doing pretty good except for our air conditioning unit. We only have one air conditioning unit and it only cools down about 20 degrees from what’s outside,” she said.
The average temperature in their home is about 80 degrees. And when she needs to feel some frost, Smith gets in her car and turns the AC on full blast.
But it’s not only the soaring temperatures getting to these campers, it’s also their soaring electricity bill.
“The AC’s are working overtime,” said Dean Carner, an RV camper.
Not only is it toasty inside, but Carner’s refrigerator isn’t able to keep up and is only able to chill down to 56 degrees. So he’s had to figure out other ways to keep cool at home.
“I closed up the windows and bought some auto shades, but because the windows are tinted, it intensifies the heat,” said Carner.
Both Smith and Carner say water and fans are the only way they are making it through this summer. | <urn:uuid:e5956258-32d7-4126-9f16-7449fc69a259> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rvbusiness.com/tag/texas-heat-wave/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966068 | 450 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Sure, I could write about Halloween. That would be the easy thing to do. I could write about trekking over to a local park with my spouse, sister, and nephew, and the absolute mania that comes when you mix kids, adults, costumes, and free stuff. People will stand in line that long for a free hot dog? Really? People will then argue over which kids gets a hot dog first? Really?
That last part I just imagined. We didn't stand in the hot dog line. We have hot dogs at home. And they're better quality.
We did stand in the face painting line, because it was relatively short, and my nephew loves to have his face painted. Apparently, lots of kids like having their faces painted. Hmm. I could write a post that talks about our fierce desire to be someone else--by dressing up in costumes, by having our face painted. Or is it really just the age-old quest for adornment?
I could write about the fact that it's Reformation Sunday. But I've already written several posts on my theology blog (go here, here, or here, if you're in the mood for something more spiritual).
But no, I'd rather write about how today is the birthday of Juliette Gordon Low, born in 1860, founder of the Girl Scouts. What a different world we would have if she, or someone like her, had never founded the Girl Scouts.
In our current world, when we have more females finishing college degrees than males, when more female wage earners are hanging on to jobs than certain male wage earners, it's hard to remember a more constrained time that females endured not so long ago. Along came Juliette Gordon Low, a female artist who like sculpture and working in iron.
The Girl Scouts as I experienced them are designed to expose girls to a wide wealth of experience so that they can discover their passions. Thus a girl could earn a badge in any number of the arts--or in computing, or environmental concerns, or in more traditional areas. In my day, you could earn badges in sewing and certain homemaking arts.
Our Girl Scout troop went camping periodically, at Girl Scout camps, where we slept in huge, canvas tents permanently set up on wooden platforms. We used our cookstoves that we'd made out of coffee cans and for flame, we'd rolled corrugated cardboard around the inside of a tuna can and drenched the whole thing in paraffin. We put our dirty utensils and plates in a mesh bag and dunked the bag in soapy water and clean water.
Older girls went backpacking--back in the days when going into the wilderness truly meant being off the grid. Later, during the summer after my first year of college, I was a backpacking counselor at a Girl Scout camp. There were 3 of us. We went out into the woods, and a week later, someone picked us up. In between, we were on our own. Happily, we endured nothing worse than a huge thunderstorm and weeping girls on the very first night of the trip.
The sun came out the next day, and we dried out our gear. The girls had a great time in the Chatooga River as they swam from South Carolina to Georgia and back again. We all learned some self-reliance and endurance. We didn't cave in to the girls who wanted to call it quits and go home. We hiked onward, and I suspect that we all remember it as a high point of our lives, now that we're all ensconced in office jobs and family responsibilities.
A few years ago, I came across a picture of the three counselors. I didn't recognize myself. I looked so young and fierce, so tightly honed. What happened to that body?
Well, the body may have sagged and gained some weight, but my fierceness remains. I have a self-determination and a rugged endurance that many of my female peers do not have.
You might argue that I had those qualities before, and that's what led me to Scouting. You would be wrong. I took that Girl Scout camp job at Congaree Girl Scout camp because I didn't have any other prospects for summer employment. The pay was miserable, but I felt I had no other choice. I couldn't even find a fast food job. I came to Girl Scout camp feeling like the world's biggest loser--what kind of teenager couldn't even find a job in fast food? And I had experience--I'd worked at Wendy's! And that didn't help.
I remember feeling a cowering fear that I couldn't possibly be responsible for these girls. And yet, I was, and I rose to the occasion.
And that's the beauty of Girl Scouts. We find out that we are made of sterner stuff than we thought. We find out that we have infinite capabilities, and the sorrow of our lives will be that we only have time to tap into some of them. We discover that we have vast reservoirs of strength and courage. So, thanks Juliette Gordon Low--thanks for not believing the lies your culture fed you about womanhood, and thanks for blazing a trail for the generations that came after you.
Darkness Sticks to Everything
6 days ago | <urn:uuid:990e7717-3fd9-4326-9a83-8a6730811267> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kristinberkey-abbott.blogspot.com/2010/10/sure-i-could-write-about-halloween.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978542 | 1,095 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Two days after the marathon health care arguments ended at the Supreme Court in March, the nine justices met alone in a room and cast their votes in the historic case. It would be easy to think that all the hard work was done—the justices had read the briefs, questioned the lawyers, and made up their minds about the case. Which might explain why Washington was abuzz about a rumor that the Court would issue its judgment before Memorial Day.
It didn’t. And it probably won’t issue one until the term ends in late June.
For the justices, everything is in the writing, and judicial writing takes time. Policy wonks care about the bottom line, but the Court cares about the future. Choosing one line of legal reasoning instead of another can influence a spate of future cases. And the case challenging the Affordable Care Act contains three core issues that, depending on the decision, could have big effects beyond health care. “The justices are attuned to the fact that these decisions will be quoted for years to come, if not decades to come,” said Steven Engel, a partner at the Dechert law firm and a former law clerk for Justice Anthony Kennedy.
In the post-argument conference, justices are assigned to write the majority and dissenting opinions. But even a justice who chooses her words carefully must win over four colleagues if she wants her written opinion to carry the day. The Court’s traditional deadline for the circulation of first drafts is June 1, which means that the justices may just be reading the first version of the majority opinion in the case this week. If they don’t like what they read, they’ll make their views known, also in writing. Draft opinions and memoranda are still circulated on paper, hand delivered in manila envelopes. The memos are typically addressed to the justices using their first names, except for the chief justice, who is called Chief, former clerks say.
In cases where most members of the Court agree, this process can be fairly streamlined. But close cases often require more back and forth. Because there’s little wiggle room in the event of a five-justice coalition, each justice’s comments will require detailed attention, lest they stray from the majority position. (It’s not clear whether all or part of the decision in the health care case will turn out to be 5-4 splits, but many legal analysts believe that Kennedy’s vote will be critical in determining key issues.) It also means the opinion must be carefully constructed to please the least convinced party in the coalition, which can be tricky. In Miranda v. Arizona, the 1966 case that forced police to read criminal suspects their rights, Justice William Brennan submitted 21 pages of revisions to Chief Justice Earl Warren’s original majority draft. “This will be one of the most important opinions of our time, and I know that you will want the fullest expression of my views,” he wrote, according to Storm Center, a book on the workings of the Court by University of Virginia political scientist David O’Brien. Brennan’s changes were incorporated.
Tom Goldstein, a lawyer who frequently argues before the Court and who publishes the Supreme Court news site SCOTUSblog, said that it’s helpful to think of the justices as nine separate law firms, each with its own staff and process. “They have the right to review everything and make their own comments,” he said.
Decisions in high-profile cases like this one care frequently contain dissents written for posterity. Justices are more likely to write in dissent, use rhetorical flourishes, or provide a detailed parade of horribles that will result from the majority’s view. (Sometimes, such dissents are written with an eye to attracting an uncertain justice to switch sides.) Dissent writing typically doesn’t begin until the majority draft has circulated, but the majority author may want to address key points in the dissents through additional revisions. Rinse, repeat. “It’s an iterative process,” said Kevin Walsh, an associate professor at the University of Richmond School of Law who clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia. “The bigger the case, the harder the issues, the more iterations.”
The health care case is more complicated than even the typical blockbuster. The justices asked to consider more questions than they normally do; more lower courts than usual have weighed in; and the briefing pile (thanks to the litigants, outside lawyers hired by the Court, and a record number of friend-of-the-Court submissions) is enormous. Law clerks working on the case may have to read thousands of pages before they’re up to speed—far more than in a typical case. Meanwhile, the justices and their clerks are also managing the Court’s other cases; more than 15 decisions are expected before the end of the term, according to SCOTUSblog.
And even when the sides seem settled, sometimes they’re not. About once per term, according to former clerks, a justice changes his mind during the process of writing, reading, and revising. That’s what happened in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 abortion decision for which Justice Anthony Kennedy switched sides midstream, ultimately writing to preserve key parts of Roe v. Wade. Sometimes, a justice in the majority will be moved by a persuasive dissent. Other times, the justice writing the majority opinion will realize, once she sits down, that an argument that sounded superficially appealing just doesn’t hold together, said Carrie Severino, who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and is now the chief counsel and policy director of Judicial Crisis Network.
All of which is to say: These things take time. The health care case is likely to stretch into the very last week of the Court’s term. If the justices’ current schedule holds, smart gamblers would bet on a June 25 decision.
This article appears in the June 9, 2012, edition of National Journal. | <urn:uuid:f8ba56b6-e784-455a-b000-bfb2a6b8c6a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/how-the-legal-sausage-is-made-20120607 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959255 | 1,247 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Cooler temperatures helping local anglers
Published: Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 8:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, October 18, 2012 at 8:58 a.m.
Cooler weather is here and local anglers have been hauling in catches this week.
Despite the lower temperatures around the area, anglers are having success catching redfish and speckled trout in recent days.
The redfish action continues to look good, and the speckled trout fishing is starting to coming out of its slow migration period stage.
Bill Lake of Bayou Guide Service said anglers are being helped by the cool temperatures on local waterways.
"It just keeps getting better and better every week," Lake said. "Every little cool front that comes in, it lowers the water temperature. People are catching fish everywhere. Right now is a good time to be on the water. It's almost impossible to come in with no fish right now. It really is."
While the fishing has slowed down around the coast, Buggie Vegas of Bridgeside Marina in Grand Isle said a few anglers had success grabbing blackfin tuna, yellowfin tuna and flounder in recent days.
"People are not fishing much, but they are still catching them in the marsh," Vegas said. "It's slow, but they still have a few boats going out there to go fishing and making some catches."
Lake said his crew continues to enjoy a good success on the waters, catching between 60-to-75 fish a day.
"Redfish is still going strong," Lake said. "We've been limiting out on redfish for the last eight weeks. With the speckled trout fishing getting better every day, it's going to be super in November and December coming up. It's going to be a great. The fishing is as good as it gets right now. It's fantastic."
Best spots: Lake Decade, Lake Mechant, Sister Lake, Lost Lake, Lake Boudreaux and Madison Bay.
Best baits: LSU Bayou Chubs, swim baits and chicken-on-a-chain for redfish; shrimp under a cork and sparkle beetles for trout.
Although the speckled trout fishing is still slow in this area, anglers are catching plenty of redfish.
Best spots: Catfish Lake, Sister Lake and area duck ponds.
Best baits: Minnows, bait shrimp, plastic baits and gold spoons.
The fishing remains slow in this area, but there are reports of a few anglers catching sac-a-lait, perch and bass.
Best spots: Brady Canal and Orange Grove Canal.
Best baits: Blue-white and black-chartreuse tube jigs, spinner baits, worms and night crawlers.
While few people are heading to Grand Isle to fish this time of year, Vegas said the ones who hit the waters are finding some good fish.
"There were two charter boats that went out 25 miles off the coast and caught 30-40 speckled trout," Vegas said. "The weather is supposed to stay nice throughout the week. They'll probably continue to catch lots of redfish."
Best spots: Caminada Bay, Timbalier Bay and coastal marshes, beaches and marinas.
Best baits: Live minnows for trout and flounder and pogies for redfish.
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:0c7a4e73-9f0b-4a93-a281-5e33eb4bcf28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20121018/ARTICLES/121019687/1279/sports11?Title=Cooler-temperatures-helping-local-anglers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957089 | 750 | 1.515625 | 2 |
As one of the world's most successful companies, Google allows its engineers to spend 20 percent of their time working on their own personal ideas.
But would that work for a small company in Cincinnati? Or would it be wasteful?
An upcoming innovation conference will help local business people find the best ways to promote new, fresh ideas in their company. While many people think innovation is a mysterious or even mystical talent, the presenters have a more concrete message.
“Innovation is a skill, not a gift,” says University of Cincinnati marketing and innovation professor Drew Boyd. “It’s not something that you’re born with, and that surprises people.”
Boyd is co-writing a book about innovation with a professor at Columbia's business school who has been researching innovation through thousands of years of human history. He said a few specific patterns of innovation have been repeated over time.
“It’s just a process that can be learned like anything else, like playing a guitar or speaking a new language,” Boyd says.
Boyd, along with directors from Procter &d Gamble, SunnyD and GE Aviation, will be speaking at the “Energizing Innovation” conference on Nov. 17 in the METS center in Northern Kentucky. The event’s organizers said the one-day conference will teach best practices of innovation and how to foster a culture of innovation.
"A big piece of this conference is about culture, and opening the door to allow people to think creatively inside a company,” the event’s co-creator Will Krieger says. “And allowing them to share ideas without thinking that they're taking too big a risk in doing so.”
Eight speakers, most of whom are based in Cincinnati, will draw from their experiences with innovation.
David Linger, a technology director for GE Aviation, will discuss ways to leverage in-house research with on-line communities and how to track and evaluate innovation initiatives. Cindy Tripp, a marketing director for Procter & Gamble, will discuss “design thinking” skills like “deep human empathy” and “collective curiosity.” She will also share case studies demonstrating simple ways to bring innovation to an office.
Krieger says that, according to his own web research, Cincinnati has more fortune five hundred companies per million residents than any other city in America. That means the town is thick with opportunities, but local businesses need to open themselves to new ways of thinking in order to capitalize on them.
"Ultimately there needs to be more risk taking happening,” Krieger says. “You can stick to doing traditional things, but eventually you've got to innovate, and in order to do that you have to take risks."
The conference will be hosted by the local chapters of the American Marketing Association and the Product Development and Management Association. Registration information is available at energizinginnovation.com
By Henry Sweets | <urn:uuid:6c13663e-52b3-40d1-a0ff-79ba7d5f6d13> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://soapboxmedia.com/innovationnews/?page=5&city=ba9ee8bf-12e1-47bb-ae54-d5c24dd8cf59 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957134 | 620 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Arafat ready to meet Sharon, for negotiations; Hamas, al-Jihad for escalation of resistance
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 1/30/2003
The Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has announced he wishes to meet with the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon immediately and to return back to the negotiations in order to end the conflict.
Meantime, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movements and the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine called for escalating resistance operations against the Israeli occupation.
In an interview with the Israeli TV on whether he will sit with Sharon after his winning the elections in Israel, Arafat said that the Palestinians are persistent to return back to the table of negotiations as soon as possible. Arafat added that he is ready for "general truce." He continued that the Palestinian leadership had announced such a truce repeatedly, hoping to have peace established in the "land of peace." Meantime, the founder of the Hamas movement Sheikh Ahmad Yassin said that Sharon had, being in power in Israel for the two past years, failed to meet his promises to bring security and economic prosperity for the Israelis and because of that, there is no need for Israel to celebrate his re-election."
UN envoy voices serious concern over demolition of palestinian property in west bank
Palestinian shot by Israelis, settlers burnt Palestinian al-Awqaf headquarters
UN chief expresses concern over Israeli aggressions against Palestinians, killing of nine Palestinians
Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.
| Advertise on ArabicNews.com. MyFlowers.com sold more than $2700 of flowers in one month advertising on ArabicNews.com! Make your company, and products a success. Special rate for new and small business. Inquire!Advertising Info | <urn:uuid:f0353d9d-9e8e-4e74-a969-5889832ef7b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030130/2003013019.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946499 | 378 | 1.53125 | 2 |
New Juvenile Justice Program Begins In Salina
- Fri 06:18 AM 10/05/2012
The goal is to confront an offender with consequences of an apparently small crime. Victims have expressed satisfaction at having participation in the justice system and a chance to tell their story to the one who caused the problem.
Some Salina area juvenile offenders will now have to face up to their crimes – and to their victims. Saline County Attorney Ellen Mitchell has authorized referrals of certain juvenile cases to the Salina Initiative for Restorative Justice (SIRJ). At Mitchell’s urging, the program has been in the planning stages for more than a year. It is now funded by a six-month grant from the Salina Regional Health Foundation. Juvenile prosecutor Norman Davidson, Assistant County Attorney, referred the first cases to SIRJ this week.
Similar programs across the country and around the world have had documented success in crafting agreements and reducing the chance that juveniles wind up in trouble again. The goal of the process is to confront an offender with the greater consequences of an apparently small crime. Many victims have expressed satisfaction at having more participation in the justice system and a chance to tell their story – often quite forcefully – to the one who caused the problem.
Davidson will decide which cases to refer to the SIRJ program from Judge Jared Johnson’s courtroom. Davidson will focus on first-time offenders. If the youth participates in the program and successfully completes a “justice plan” – worked out in a mediator-assisted dialogue between victim and offender – Davidson will ask that the case be dismissed, and the youth’s record can remain unblemished. The justice plan will be designed to repair the damage, physical and emotional, caused by the crime. The program costs the offender $50 to participate. Victim participation is voluntary and free.
In August, twenty-one individuals – mediators and other community members – participated in a twelve-hour training program provided by the Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (KIPCOR) from Bethel College. Training was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Corrections and hosted by the Saline County Sheriff’s Office. One mediator and one community member will be assigned to facilitate each victim-offender dialogue. Salina Police Department, Community Corrections and the Saline County District Court have expressed their support for the project. The non-mediator community mediators are referred to as co-mediators. One mediator and one co-mediator will be assigned to each case and will meet, first, with the offender, second, with the victim, and then jointly to work out the justice plan. | <urn:uuid:c0e8f2fe-3ac8-4d7e-bfe9-937f1640bec7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ksallink.com/?cmd=displaystory-reportcomment&comment_id=35791&story_id=23919 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953686 | 546 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 10:23 am Post subject: Keynote Address on Minimising Food Wastage
The opening session on food waste management at the Australasian Waste and Recycling Expo (AWRE) featuring one of Australia's most influential figures on environmental issues, Jon Dee, founder of Do Something! and the NSW Australian of the Year 2010. Jon will deliver an opening keynote address about the need to minimise the resources, fuel and energy that we waste in producing our food.
This will be followed by a panel discussion covering a commercial organics collection trial in Sydney CBD undertaken by the Better Buildings Partnership, the opportunities offered by the benefits of compostable polymers in packaging to reduce food waste and what has and has not worked in Council collections in Australia and the United Kingdom.
You'll also hear more about the inspiring and practical BASF organics recovery program being trialled at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre during the Expo.
If you're in the food industry and you want to find out how to make a difference you must attend!
When: Wedneday, 21 November 2012 (8.30am - 10.00am)
Where: Seminar Theatre 1, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum | <urn:uuid:f6a22f97-ac01-42d4-8f39-1ee4ed03b62b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.veg-soc.org/cms/html/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1629&view=previous | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941765 | 293 | 1.78125 | 2 |
by Bill McBride on 7/18/2012 08:30:00 AM
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
From the Census Bureau: Permits, Starts and Completions
Housing Starts:Click on graph for larger image.
Privately-owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 760,000. This is 6.9 percent above the revised May estimate of 711,000 and is 23.6 percent above the June 2011 rate of 615,000.
Single-family housing starts in June were at a rate of 539,000; this is 4.7 percent above the revised May figure of 515,000. The June rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 213,000.
Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 755,000. This is 3.7 percent below the revised May rate of 784,000, but is 19.3 percent above the June 2011 estimate of 633,000.
Single-family authorizations in June were at a rate of 493,000; this is 0.6 percent above the revised May figure of 490,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 241,000 in June.
Total housing starts were at 760 thousand (SAAR) in June, up 6.9% from the revised May rate of 711 thousand (SAAR). Note that May was revised up from 708 thousand. April was revised up slightly too.
Single-family starts increased 4.7% to 539 thousand in June.
The second graph shows total and single unit starts since 1968.
This shows the huge collapse following the housing bubble, and that total housing starts have been increasing lately after moving sideways for about two years and a half years.
Total starts are up 59% from the bottom start rate, and single family starts are up 53% from the low.
This was above expectations of 745 thousand starts in June. This is another fairly strong housing report.
Posted by Bill McBride on 7/18/2012 08:30:00 AM | <urn:uuid:41609721-df65-487b-b208-cd27dcdf26a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/07/housing-starts-increased-to-760.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CalculatedRisk+%28Calculated+Risk%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980972 | 450 | 1.726563 | 2 |
The bills, authored by Assemblyman Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, aim to revoke the constitutional birthright to citizenship for children whose parents are not U.S. citizens and eliminate other rights for undocumented immigrants.
"Most people don't think that just because you happen to be in this country and have a baby, it should be a citizen," Huff said. "What is it that inherently entitles that person to all the rights that belong to people here legitimately?"
Harry Pachon, professor of public policy at USC, said the bills are too extreme and not well thought-out.
"It's posturing to a certain ideology that believes unauthorized immigrants are the root of all problems," he said. "Drafting draconian proposals on them is easy, because who speaks for the unauthorized immigrant?"
Huff said many countries do not provide automatic citizenship to those born on their soil. He added the 14th Amendment right was created to negate an infamous court decision that denied Dred Scott, a 19th century black slave, citizenship rights.
"It was never voted on by Congress for its current usage," he said. "The way it's being used now has never been talked about."
Huff's five-bill package would eliminate bail for illegal immigrants suspected of violent crimes or gang ties and
Another bill would revoke business licenses of employers who hire illegal workers, a bill supported by the California Small Business Association.
Betty Jo Toccoli, association president, said small business owners who follow the law are at a disadvantage because an underground economy creates unfair competition.
"He wants to level the playing field, and we support the bill," she said.
Pachon said the consequences of such legislation could be dire.
Money sent home by workers in the U.S. is vital to the economies and stability of many Latin American countries.
"That flow of money is keeping economic stability in many Latin American countries," he said.
If the source of funds were jeopardized, Pachon added, there could be social upheaval and even greater flows of unauthorized immigrants moving across the border.
Local authorities said requiring police agencies to cooperate with immigration officials could lead to crimes going unreported and eyewitnesses refusing to come forward due to fear of being deported.
West Covina police Chief Frank Wills said departments are already strained and said immigration issues are rarely a priority.
"With the volume of cases you're investigating, it's not a conscious decision to enforce or not enforce laws," he said. "You have to deal with front burner issues by necessity."
He added that police rely on all community members to help them keep streets safe, regardless of immigration status, and said such a bill could have a chilling effect.
Pachon said the bills are mostly symbolic.
"They either haven't thought fully through as to what the negative aspects are, or they haven't read the Constitution," he said.
Huff, who is running for a senate seat currently held by termed-out Sen. Bob Margett, R-Arcadia, acknowledged that the bills are not likely to pass but said they are necessary to help resolve the state's looming fiscal crisis by stemming the flow of undocumented immigrants.
"We add some huge costs to our state," Huff said, "because of our immigration problem."
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2236 | <urn:uuid:5e352cee-e412-435f-92d2-11fb6a3587d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_8589688?source=rss_viewed | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97611 | 691 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Understanding the Book of Mormon
What does the Book of Mormon teach? How does it compare to the Bible? Why does this book appeal to many people? Former Mormon Ross Anderson addresses these and other questions, guiding readers in an exploration and assessment of the Book of Mormon and offering a Christian response to its teaching. | <urn:uuid:b7c9ce24-8330-4aeb-b3b5-086dbc0c4c22> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://zondervan.com/9780310283218 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951508 | 62 | 1.546875 | 2 |
A short sale is when a property is sold for less than its remaining mortgage principal balance, and executed as a way for both the existing homeowner and mortgage lender to reduce their respective losses.
Typically, although not always, short sales are reserved for situations of extreme financial hardship; just prior a bank beginning foreclosure proceedings.
Short sales are not automatic, however. Homeowners must often prove the merits a short sale to their lender, which often involves documenting that selling the home for less than its worth is the best and most viable option for all parties involved.
The short sale process starts with a letter of hardship.
To prove your short sale worthiness to the bank, you’ll be asked to submit a cover letter which explains your hardship, and to provide full financial disclosure. You will also need your original purchase contract, a balance sheet of your income and expenses, your asset statements and proof of income, and two years of federal tax returns.
Lenders prefer handwritten letters and are more apt to agree to a short sale for homeowners who may have lost jobs or encountered significant medical bills, as opposed to those who engaged careless spending.
Draft a compelling letter and avoid extraneous details. Be short, be thorough, and be complete.
In addition, note that the following traits can help speed your short sale approval :
- The home is marketable
- A second lien holder, if one exists, is amenable to short sale proceedings
- A foreclosure is not scheduled within the next four months
Choosing to short sale your home in Woodstock or anywhere else , though, is not something which a homeowner should pursue alone.
The process of selling a home in a “distressed” state is significantly different from selling a non-distressed home. Homeowners selling in a short sale should seek the advice and counsel of an experienced real estate agent. | <urn:uuid:990dcfd4-4445-4cf7-a7ec-83dabaad06c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://maxsell.net/short-sale-hardship-letter/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959845 | 381 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Providing Effective Help
Through the last twenty years, Scientology Volunteer Ministers have provided emergency service at 185 worst-case disaster sites. Today, they are among the most recognized independent relief organizations in the free world.
A Scientology Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. A Scientology Volunteer Minister is a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by helping restore purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.
Volunteer Ministers live by the motto that Something Can Be Done About It. | <urn:uuid:8bc31cb4-d19e-46a0-bb16-2e308e771a97> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scientology.org/videos/category/vm/providing-effective-help.html?org=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936239 | 110 | 1.703125 | 2 |
ABU DHABI – “The excavations of the Danish archeologist in 1959-1961 provided the first glimpse of a time 4,000-5,000 years ago when this part of the Arabian Peninsula was at the centre of a vibrant, rich culture that managed the production and distribution of vast amounts of copper to the ancient world,” said Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Advisor for Culture and Heritage in the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Director General of ADACH.
Al Mazrouei was speaking in a press conference held yesterday in the Intercontinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi on ADACH upcoming exhibition “The Dawn of History: Revealing the Ancient Past of Abu Dhabi” that will start on 2nd February, 2011 until May 2nd near Al Jahili fort in Al Ain.
The exhibition is a jointly produced by ADACH and Moesgård Museum in Denmark and supported by The Sheikha Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation in Abu Dhabi.
The press conference was attended by Dr Sami El-Masri , Deputy Director-General for Arts, Culture and Heritage and Director of Strategic Planning and Development at ADACH, Mohammed Al Nayadi Director of Historical Environment at ADACH, Dr Walid Yassin, Archeology manager at ADACH and researchers media representatives.
Al Mazrouei said “We are very proud to present the archaeological heritage of the UAE to the local, Arabic and international public. We will display some of the most important archaeological collections in the region, and we hope that this exhibition will demonstrate the importance of international cultural cooperation”
In support of the Authority's strategy to protect and maintain our rich archaeological sources, ADACH will organize an international conference on archaeology in the UAE. Local and international experts will participate in this event to be held in Al Ain City on 30 and 31 March 2011, according to Al Mazrouei.
Also he reveled that ADACH is working on a comprehensive project which aims to prepare maps showing the locations of sites where fossilized animal remains have been found in Abu Dhabi. Most of these sites are located along Al Gharbia (the Western Region).
“We also intend to intensify our efforts to document the archaeological sites that are scattered throughout large areas of Abu Dhabi, in order to determine different locations of interest and record them in a comprehensive database” he added.
Poul Hoiness Danish Ambassador to UAE said “Archeologists from Denmark have played a crucial role in uncovering the rich historical past of the UAE. More than 50 years ago they carried out the very first archaeological expeditions to the Arab Gulf countries. They discovered an ancient, long forgotten civilization, which played a crucial role in the region and beyond. These archeological pioneers proved that more than 4.000 years ago, the lands along the Gulf were a hub of commerce and a fulcrum of dialogue between civilizations. The Danish Archeologists were privileged: They enjoyed the strong and active support of late Sheikh Zayed, other members of the ruling family, and of the local authorities”.
The Moesgård Museum had explored the archaeology and traditional cultures of the Gulf countries for almost 60 years in cooperation with the local authorities, underscoring the importance of highlighting the UAE civilisation which is highlighted in this exhibition.
In 2013, Moesgård Museum will open a grand new exhibition building with an entire section dedicated to the early history and culture of the Arabian Gulf.
The history of excavations made in Abu Dhabi by a team of 34 Danish archaeologists led by P.V. Glob and T.G. Bibby dates back to 1958 when they were invited to search for long vanished civilizations in the emirate, whose society had been deeply traditional back then. In the 1950s and 1960s, all finds were shipped to the museum in Århus to be conserved, recorded and studied. They were then returned to Abu Dhabi after the opening of the National Museum in Al-Ain in 1971.
Since the start of excavations at Umm Al Nar, it was revealed that this small island played a big role in the cultural interaction between the ancient civilizations of the Near East. The island also provided these civilizations with a means of communication. On the island, which contained the remains of buildings and houses dating back to the third millennium BC, a large cemetery of more than fifty tombs was discovered. They were built in the form of great monuments, and these beautiful geometric designs have put the site amongst the ranks of some of the most celebrated and developed funerary architecture in the ancient world, that has been recognised throughout the ages.
The Al Ain National Museum is hosting this exhibition, whose design was inspired by the round shape of the large Hilli cemetery. On display are 147 artefacts and an array of other traditional pieces.
The exhibition includes a rich educational program for students and guide tours for visitors in English and Arabic.
Umm an-Nar settlement
The excavations at Umm an-Nar reveals a completely new civilization dating back to about 2400 B.C. Many traces of copper production and manufacturing were found.
The merchants of Umm an-Nar lived and traded in a well-organized world with several internationally recognized systems of weights and measures, including the Mesopotamian system. The trading colony was in close contact with the farming communities.
The people of Umm an-Nar lived a good life from hunting and fishing. They were hard workers as many bones show indications of hard labour in the form of muscle traces, fractures and wear, as would be expected in sailors and fishermen.
In 1958, Professor Glob first found tools made of flint in Umm an-Nar. Other Stone Age sites were later located at Jebel Hafit, Hili and Qarn Bint Saud. These rare finds are estimated to be five to eight thousand years old. They are some of the oldest traces of humans in Abu Dhabi.
The Hafit graves
In 1970, Karen Frifelt discovered that the pots in these graves were 5,000 years old and that they came from ancient Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq. The discovery was a proof of long-distance links between Abu Dhabi and the ancient cities of Mesopotamia at this very early time.
There was also proof that trepanation was practised at this early time. Similar trepanation procedures are known from India and Pakistan in the same period, indicating that ideas were exchanged in addition to goods.
Hili Grand Tomb
The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God bless his soul, then Governor of the Eastern Region, directed the Danish archaeologists to this monument in 1962. The size and the quality of the architecture and the excellent stone masonry make this the most magnificent burial in the Umm an-Nar culture. It is almost 4,500 years old. The monument has become an icon in Gulf prehistory and a symbol of Abu Dhabi’s archaeology and heritage.
It was from The Hili Tower that defence of this important oasis settlement was organized. In Mesopotamia, this land was called Magan, a country rich in copper and timber, hard stone and semi-precious stones.
Around the tower the excavators found pottery similar to that from the Hili Grand Tomb. This showed that the people buried in the tomb were the same ones who had built the tower.
Qarn bint SaudIn February 1970, the Danish team made an excursion to this rock and found it covered with stone graves. One of these yielded rich finds from the Iron Age.
In Rumaileh, a small excavation in 1968 indicated the presence of a settlement with remains of well preserved houses and pottery dating to the Iron Age, 900-600 BC.
Archaeologists Michael Beck and Bo Madsen came across the remains of another Iron Age settlement west of the rock of Qarn Bint Saud. Al-Ain museum later excavated this important site, where a 3,000-year-old subterranean irrigation channel, a falaj, was also found. | <urn:uuid:846b31d7-99b9-4969-806d-3a08d55e5bea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=43914 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966866 | 1,659 | 1.78125 | 2 |
"I'm Wilfredo Rojas Yurivilca, but I shorten my name and work with the artistic name of W. Rojas Yuri to identify myself with my designs. I was born on September 8, 1966 in San Pedro...
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W. Rojas Yuri
"I'm Wilfredo Rojas Yurivilca, but I shorten my name and work with the artistic name of W. Rojas Yuri to identify myself with my designs. I was born on September 8, 1966 in San Pedro de Cajas, in Tarma province where I lived until I graduated from high school. I love this town and its people, whom I carry in my memories.
"San Pedro de Cajas is Peru's artisan capital. I was just a child of seven when I made my first sketches on the looms that I could reach. These were my first artistic flashes of the continuation of Andean textile artistry. I remember I was so small and curious, but the looms were so large I couldn't reach them. So I'd climb on a chair and watch the older people work on a huge loom of more than four meters.
"When I was ten, I wove my first tapestry completely by hand without anyone's help. It depicted a tree surrounded by birds of different colors. My family was impressed by the finishing I'd given it and, when they sold it, they wanted me to make more. I used this design to enter a contest for children with talent in artisan design, and it was one of the best for my age. I won an invitation to Venezuela but, because of school and how young I was, I couldn't go. And I had no one to travel with me.
"My artistic vocation comes from my maternal grandparents, Angélica Oscanoa Amaro and Don César Yurivilca Román, my best guide and teacher. He led me toward this wonderful world of art even though my mother, Grimalda, also had a great influence on me. Born in 1924, my grandfather is a living legend in the art of hand-weaving in San Pedro de Cajas. In 1998, the government awarded him the degree of Grand Master of Peruvian Handicrafts. In addition, for many years he taught various generations of San Pedro weavers in his home town. It was because of him that I had ascended in my professional formation, and he taught me the secrets of textile art.
"I also learned a great deal from the Grand Master of Peruvian Textile Art, Máximo Laura, whom I met in 1995 when I participated in a workshop-course in Lima. There was good chemistry from the start, and maestro
Laura and I began a great friendship. I sincerely admire his works with unimaginable designs. I was fortunate to be invited to work in his workshop, where I stayed for five years, until I set out to find my creative independence. In the workshop-course, I not only met artisans from all over the country, but also learned many things such as dye percentages, designs for globalization, and worldwide color trends with handmade Peruvian products.
"I inherited the last name Yuri as a shortened form of the maternal name that I place in all my creations. I'm currently exploring new alternatives, but I follow the rules of the old weavers from Tarma. I search for more complicated geometric patterns, combined with cubism. I like to create new designs and styles within what is my own.
"When I was 19, I moved to Lima in search of getting ahead intellectually and economically to be able to support my family. I studied for a technical degree in accounting, and took other courses such as design, dying, innovation in handicrafts, fashion with pre-Hispanic style, etc.
"I work with my family – my mother, my brothers and uncles. I have a number of handlooms and, when I have lots of work, I don't keep to any schedule. I work day and night without rest until I fill my orders. And I'm not careless in their elaboration – I try to perfect my work and deliver my very best in each weaving.
"I've shown my designs in Peru and also in Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the U.S. and a little in Europe. Articles in the magazine Mundo Textil
(Textile World) have focused on my artistic life.
"I'd like to leave a modest message to the youth of our country. If you have the vocation, then live the continuation of this great cultural legacy our ancestors have left us." | <urn:uuid:b1ee3793-93da-4820-9e95-5b26112bd17b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.novica.com/artistdetail/index.cfm?faid=6756&sortby=name | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977079 | 956 | 1.585938 | 2 |
EVENING PRIMROSE OIL
INCI: Oenothera biennis Seed Oil
EXTRACTION: Cold Pressed to retain nutrients and Integrity
STATUS:100% Pure & Organically produced
SHELF LIFE: Up to 1 year, if kept in optimum conditions ie in a cool dark place. Best refrigerated after opening.
DESCRIPTION: Evening Primrose is a wildflower that grows all over North America where it has been used traditionally for centuries as both a food and as a medicine for stomach upsets and respiratory infections - it is thought that it's anti-inflammatory properties would have been it's key benefits. The oil is found in the plants seeds and is rich in the essential fatty acid - gamma linolenic acid (GLA) It is said to be nourishing, regenerating and protective and is often used to relieve itchiness in skin conditions such as dermatitis and eczema.
Other traditional uses include reducing breast tenderness, calming of PMS, conditioning dry and mature skin, soothing inflammation and adding to dandruff preparations. Small amounts are often added to other carrier oils to fortify and enrich them for massage.
Colour: Medium Yellow
Aromatic Description: Evening Primrose oil has a very slight sweet odour; but remains characteristic of most carrier oils
Consistency: Slightly thick but typical and characteristic of Carrier Oils
Absorption: Evening Primrose Oil leaves a slight oily feeling on the skin. | <urn:uuid:96645102-662b-443d-af65-9d7a51cdce3d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thebidefordapothecary.co.uk/Evening-Primrose-Oil.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94242 | 303 | 1.796875 | 2 |
|Attendees at Friends of Africa Conference|
Somaliland Sun- The night was full of smiles and laughter, hand shakes, business card swaps and an overwhelming feeling of optimism and drive. Being on the "inside" of modern Africa you feel one of the privileged. Privileged in the sense that I know the potential that Africa offers, the truth, the politics, the stability and the gains to be had all round, not just for foreign investment but most importantly for the Africans themselves. I am beginning to build an understanding of just how progressive the continent is, and also how BIG.
There are more than 50 countries in the African continent, each one has its own feel, its own opportunities for business, its own music, art, passions, agriculture, technologies, minerals, retail, construction. No longer should Africa be tarred with a mud hut and machete stereotype. No, Africa is a CONTINENT, not just ONE country with just ONE problem, no like any continent (America, South America, Europe...) it is full of diversity, change, retail, resources and an eagerness to grow.
When I went to Uganda in November this year, it was not what I expected. I'm an academic at heart, I'm also a creative entrepreneur. What I heard, and importantly saw for myself, really has made me think. We in the West, are, as Mark T Jones said in his speech last night, are stuck in a misconception, in a "Band Aid timewarp". Problems exist of course they do, but they tend to overshadow the whole of Africa to the detriment of REAL SUSTAINABLE development of Africa. There is, as Mark put it, a "Knowledge Deficit" in the west. And we are missing out. Big time.
From all the speakers last night, representatives of countries, High commissions, Associations, Ministers from Africa, the one message was singing loud and clear. Africa is rising, and it is rising fast. The infra-structures are being improved every day, from roads to technologies.
The opening speech from Michael Adekoloye, Director of Lancaster Investments UK Ltd, was energised and passionate. He stressed, and the same message was repeated by speakers throughout the night: "Africa is a face to face society and if you want to invest, you would need to get up and go to places like Abidjan, Accra, Lagos spend time to understand the community and understand the needs of the people." Lancaster Investments and Conferences host these events to support the dissemination and integration of businesses into Africa (next summits are in Nigeria and Togo in 2013).
We all know that there is a lot of investment from the Chinese, and there is no competition. The Africans want competition. The shift in Africa is indeed seismic. And if you're an investor, why aren't you there? Hydrocarbons, oil, minerals, agriculture. Did you know 60% of the world's available cropland is in Africa, BUT it produces the lowest in the world. There's opportunity there. The gas fields and oil in Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, Zambia... There are improvements in surfaces (retail) and I can't even begin to outline the potential market there in terms of retail. Did you know that by 2030 the middle class will form the majority in Africa with consumer spending set to soar. Africans are the key to unlocking African business, connecting with responsible brokers who ensure your business interests are met and the people benefit will bring ongoing dividends for you and for them.
Ebele Ogbue, CEO of UBA Capital Europe Ltd (United Bank of Africa, est 1949) said that there are phenomenal steps being made for inclusivity and regional integration across the region, empowering the local people. Again the same message: Local knowledge is key.
Clive Carpenter, said that by 2050, 1 in 4 of the worlds population will be in Africa of working age. What does that mean for us? It means it could point to strong long term business growth. Telecomms are set to grow with annual spend increasing 40% a year. Once again, I heard "Meetings face to face are most important, you need to build relationships over several meetings." Personal interaction builds up the trust. From a UK point of view, we have a common language, we have historical links, we are liked over in Africa, our education processes are similar. For a UK investor we have advantages, but again I was hearing, we are not making use of them. In Nigeria for instance, the UK is their preferred partner.
When I was in Uganda, I was surprised by the number of people using mobile phones, in the city right into the bush. Base stations are shrinking in size. We've all seen those massive constructions blotting the landscape. Now we also have so called "raspberry pies", if you don't know what that is, Google it! These are tiny electonic computers which can be made for about £30. Which importantly means people can afford them and these are set to accelerate the opening up of computer and mobile connectivity ALL over Africa. Don Onwunumah whose background is a risk analyst, brokers these into Africa, he is also an advocate that technology is advancing growth. So where are all the UK technology firms? Get in there! Call up Don and see what you can do.
So what's the advice I would give? Do your research. Start learning about Africa. It's a huge continent. Stop calling it a country and call it what it is, a rich continent. Find out about the music, the technologies, the resources. Go there. Meet with the people, talk to them, learn from them. You'll find answers to questions that will blow your preconceptions out of the water. It is important to recognise that aid is good, but sustainable businesses are the way forward to help the people in Africa grow and become long term partners in business, the arts and tourism.
There is also a lot of fabulous energy in Africa. From Nigeria to Mozambique. There is a state in the north-west Nigeria, where The Honorable Malla Dahiru Maishanu told us is a real place of stability and opportunity. Not only in Sokoto is there free education, free health and a stable government, but also there are high quantities of minerals. The Sultanate of Oman have just invested US$200 million to set up processing factories for copper. These partnerships are good. Where are the UK businesses? His state was also recognised last night for the development work for people in Africa.
I accompanied on photographic assignment, the charity "Born to be Beautiful" to Uganda earlier this year, and it is doing what these ministers are saying but in microcosm. Sarah Glover and her team teach the women a vocational skill which means they can then earn money and grow. Each woman was enthused, were full of ambition and entrepreneurial spirit and had a lot of self respect and pride. Education is the way forward. Education, support and communication is the way forward. For them and for us. Go to Africa, chose a country and go. You'll love your experience, the people and come back excited planning your return visit. And, you know what, your heart will be richer for it too, as the warmth, laughter and love of the people is the one thing that permeates the whole continent.
Lord Hastings (Global Head of Citizenship, KPMG): "The primary purpose of building business is to strengthen communities and their future." If you have a business, are looking for export partners, wholesale, distributors, are technology brokers, look to Africa. Do your research, talk to people, talk to experts, go there. Not only will you have an amazing time out of the office exploring the beauty that each of the African countries have, but you will also gain a huge advantage in business and know that you are making a difference to people on the ground and on a global scale. Be different. Be part of the African business revolution. | <urn:uuid:bcdc06a3-f592-4d46-be1e-a1400e3e17a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://africanresourceinvestor.blogspot.ca/2012/12/africa-is-opening-up-and-its-time-for.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967602 | 1,648 | 1.585938 | 2 |
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Obama Uses His Press Conference to Set a Tax Cut Trap for House Republicans
President Obama used his press conference in order to set a trap for House Republicans that will leave them in a lose/lose situation on the Bush tax cuts.
President Obama was asked about caving on Bush tax cuts in 2010, and why Republicans and the American people should believe him that he won’t cave again. Obama answered that the economy was in a different situation two years ago. He mentioned the unemployment tax and payroll tax cut extensions, but as he said back then this was a one time only proposition. We cannot afford to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy but we can make sure middle class taxes don’t go up. Obama prodded Republicans again to immediately pass tax cuts for 98% of individuals and 97% of small businesses. The president said we have to look at entitlements. Obama said, “When it comes to the top 2% what I am not going to do is extend a tax cut for folks who don’t need it.” The president added that we can’t afford to spend $1 trillion on tax cut for the rich, and the math doesn’t add up when it comes to just closing loopholes. Obama said that the issue was debated extensively during the election, and the majority of Americans agreed with him. The president said he wanted a big deal, a comprehensive deal.
Later on, Obama was asked if the Clinton tax rates are the bottom line, and if there would be no deal if tax rates did not go back to Clinton era levels. The president answered, “I am open to new ideas.” He continued, “If Republicans or Democrats have new ideas to raise revenue, reduce the deficit, protect the middle class, I am not going to slam the door in their face.” The president recognized that we will have to compromise, but what he won’t do is have a process that is vague that will sort of, kind of raise revenue. Obama said he does not want to find the country in a situation where the wealthy don’t pay as much as they should, and middle class folks are bearing the burden.
The president made it clear that he wants the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy gone. As far as raising revenue, the president repeatedly said that he is open to new ideas from all sides.
Some on the left hear this kind of talk and immediately freak out, but this is a strategic move on the part of the White House. By opening the door to new ideas from all sides, the president is putting the ball in the House Republicans’ court. He is forcing them get serious about cutting a deal. Obama’s offer isn’t a display of weakness.
The president is setting a trap.
He understands the results of the election. The American people want moderation and compromise. Obama is setting the GOP up to either give the American people what they want, or be held responsible for a deal not being reached. Obama repeatedly mentioned the middle class, and said that he has a middle class mandate.
Obama has been beating House Republicans for a year by defending the middle class. The president defeated Mitt Romney by being a champion for the middle class, and now he is setting up the same dynamic and daring House Republicans to defend the rich. This is a familiar strategy from Obama, and it works.
If Republicans refuse to budge on taxing the rich, they will fall right into the president’s trap. House Republicans are in a lose/lose situation. If they defend the rich, all taxes will go up on the middle class. Should Republicans sacrifice the 98% for tax cuts for the rich, Obama warned that they could jeopardize the 2012 shopping season. Republicans will lose with their base if they cut the deal that Obama wants, and they will also lose if they sacrifice the middle class in order to defend the rich.
This isn’t 2010 anymore. Obama doesn’t have to run for reelection, and the president is poised to press his advantage to the max. | <urn:uuid:f5e659e9-609e-43eb-9887-dfdcbfaf1030> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.politicususa.com/obama-press-conference-set-tax-cut-trap-house-republicans.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967871 | 866 | 1.507813 | 2 |
US 4202110 A
Azimuth and elevation adjustments in a geodetic instrument are provided by systems which include coaxial locking and two-speed adjustment control knobs. In each such system, the control knobs are accessible at both the front and rear of the instrument to facilitate operation in either of the forward- or back-sighting mode.
1. In a geodetic instrument comprising a stationary base, an enclosed alidade standard rotatable on said base about a central vertical spindle, and a telescope rotatable in said standard on a transverse horizontal axle, an improved system for effecting precise, minute displacement of said alidade standard or telescope, said system comprising:
(a) an arm member associated with said spindle or axle and extending therefrom in a direction transverse to the axis of said spindle or axle, said arm member being arranged to normally pivot freely about said axis;
(b) locking means associated with said arm member for effecting firm engagement between said arm member and said spindle or axle;
(c) means communicating between said locking means and the exterior of said alidade standard for transmitting operating force to said locking means;
(d) a shaft member supported for rotation in said alidade standard and extending in a direction transverse to said axis and said arm member, said shaft member being situated proximate the distal end of said arm member and having at least one of its ends communicating with the exterior of said alidade standard;
(e) externally threaded advancing means encompassing said shaft member in the zone proximate said arm member and being arranged for rotation therewith;
(f) drive means threadedly engaging said advancing means and being displacable axially of said shaft member upon rotation of said advancing means;
(g) means linking said drive means with said arm member distal end to thereby transfer said drive means displacement to said arm member and effect pivotal displacement of said arm member and engaged spindle or axle about the axis thereof;
(h) a first control member affixed to said communicating end of said shaft member whereby rotary motion may be imparted to said shaft member; and
(i) a second control member arranged coaxially with said first control member and engaging said means communicating with said locking means whereby operating force may be applied for transmission to said locking means.
2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said locking means comprises:
(a) a jaw member pivotally mounted on said arm member in such a manner as to be capable of being pivoted forcibly into contact with said spindle or axle to thereby clamp said spindle or axle between said jaw member and arm member; and
(b) means responsive to the application of operating force to effect said forcible pivoting of said jaw member.
3. A system according to claim wherein said force responsive means comprises screw means extending between said arm member and the distal end of said jaw member.
4. A system according to claim 1 wherein both ends of said shaft member communicate with the exterior of said alidade standard at the front and rear faces, respectively, of said instrument, and wherein third and fourth control member duplicate said first and second control members, respectively, at the opposite end of said shaft member.
5. A system according to claim 1 wherein said advancing means is normally freely movable upon said shaft member and is linked to said shaft member for rotation therewith by rotary lost motion means, whereby the initial rotation of said shaft member subsequent to a change in direction of rotation is independent of said advancing means, and wherein said independent rotation of said shaft member actuates means displacing said advancing means axially of said shaft member.
6. A system according to claim 5 wherein said lost motion means comprises:
(a) a first collar affixed to said shaft member for rotation therewith;
(b) a second collar affixed to said advancing means for rotation therewith;
(c) means associated with one of said collars and extending closely adjacent the other of said collars; and
(d) means associated with the other of said collars and situated to engage said extending means only after movement of either of said first and second collars through a substantial portion of the first rotation thereof in one or the other direction.
7. A system according to claim 5 wherein said axial displacing means comprises:
(a) a housing including an axial bore encompassing said shaft member for normally free rotation therein; said shaft member comprising a threaded section situated within a bore;
(b) a drive member within said housing bore encompassing and in threaded engagement with said shaft member threaded section, said drive member being restricted to axial movement with respect to said housing;
(c) a first pair of ball members seated in respective sockets in said housing and said drive member and disposed on substantially diametrically opposite sides of said shaft member;
(d) a lever piece loosely encompassing said shaft member and comprising a pair of diametric V-grooves individually disposed on opposite axial faces of said lever piece and running in orthogonal directions with respect to one another, one of said V-grooves receiving said first pair of ball members;
(e) a second pair of ball members received in the other of said V-grooves and disposed on substantially opposite sides of said shaft member; and
(f) a pair of sockets situated in an axial end of said advancing means and each receiving a respective one of said second pair of ball members.
8. A system according to claim 1 including means indicating the relative disposition of said drive means along the maximum available course of axial displacement thereof within said instrument.
9. A system according to claim 8 wherein said indicating means comprises:
(a) a window visibly communicating with the interior of said instrument;
(b) an indicator arm pivotally mounted within said instrument, the distal end of said arm being linked to move with the axial displacement of said drive means; and
(c) an indicator rod affixed to said indicator arm for displacement therewith, an end of said rod being so disposed as to be visible through said window to provide said indication to drive means dispostion.
In geodetic instruments, such as transits and theodolites comprising a stationary base, an alidade standard which rotates upon the base about a vertical spindle, and a telescope supported by the standard to rotate about a horizontal axle, means are normally provided which will enable precise, minute displacement of the alidade standard and the telescope about their respective axes during the acquisition of a target under observation. Such adjustment systems usually comprise means for clamping an extending arm member to the axle or spindle, and means, usually including an advancement screw member, for displacing the distal arm end to achieve the desired adjustment. This type of "tangent screw" system particularly adapted for use in a transit surveying instrument is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,093,904.
In such earlier adjustment systems the respective locking means and screw advancement means were positioned about the instrument in relatively widely separated locations; however, such arrangements were not then inconvenient, since the operator was required by the external scale arrangements to move about the instrument when taking readings and could thus not normally maintain a casual stationary position at the eyepiece of the telescope. With the advent, however, of the electronic geodetic instrument, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,927, having digital readout means located in the vicinity of the telescope eyepiece, the operator is able to maintain a working position behind the instrument and as a result has come to demand that the displacement adjustment controls be located together at a near face of the instrument.
Those utilitarian demands were in part satisfied by the coaxial adjustment controls described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,327; however, their location at one side of the instrument resulted in a somewhat inconvenient displacement from right to left side during the plunging and reversing of the telescope. In the present invention, however, this shortcoming is eliminated in that matched control knob pairs by which each of the elevation and azimuth adjustment is effected are situated at both of the opposite working of the instrument, thereby enabling the operator to directly control adjustment regardless of the position of the telescope with respect to the alidade standard. Further, an additional advantage of this arrangement of control knobs in the faces of the instrument, rather than the side plate, is realized in that the adjustment system remains operative during maintenance procedures which normally require removal of the alidade side plate to obtain access to the instrument interior.
In the present adjustment control system, coaxial knob and force tranfer mechanisms such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,327 are located, with respect to each of the azimuth and elevation tangent arms, at both the "front" and "rear" faces of a geodetic instrument. From these force transmitting elements there extend internally of the instrument the control rods and shaft which operate the locking and advancement mechanisms in order that the instrument adjustment may readily be accomplished by the operator at the instrument face immediately before him regardless of the forward or reverse disposition of the instrument telescope in the alidade standard.
Thus either of the pair of locking knobs may be utilized to engage the tangent arm firmly upon the desired axle of rotation and either of the advancement knobs may be utilized to rotate the main screw shaft by which an internal drive collar is put into motion to displace the tangent arm to effect the desired elevational or azimuthal displacement adjustment.
The present system also provides a means by which a two-speed coarse and fine adjustment may be obtained from a single adjustment control knob. This two-speed system represents a substantial improvement over that generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,093,904, particularly in its capability of operation from the bilaterally disposed control stations and its mechanical arrangement which realizes economical commonality of parts and ensures a sealed dust-free environment for the working elements of the system and the geodetic instrument as a whole.
In the accompanying drawing FIGURE a portion of the alidale cover plate of a typical geodetic instrument, such as an electronic theodolite, is cut away to reveal in partial section the elements of the adjustment system of the present invention as applied to control the elevation of the telescope of the theodolite.
The construction and operation of the adjustment system of the present invention will readily be seen in the drawing which depicts a typical theodolite geodetic instrument comprising a telescope 10 which is supported in alidade standard 20 upon an axle 12 to rotate about a transverse horizontal axis. Alidade 20 is in turn supported upon the stationary base 30 to rotate about the vertical axis of a central spindle (not shown). The theodolite instrument shown in the drawing is of the type which utilizes electronic indexing and scaling systems, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,927, and comprises electronic digital display means 40 located at each of the front and rear faces for ready observation by the operator regardless of whether the telescope is in the normal or plunged position.
In addition to coaxial elevation control knob sets 21, 22 associated with that system to be more specifically described below, the instrument includes knob sets 51, 52 associated with an identical system (not shown) which is situated within the instrument in a generally horizontal plane and is arranged to engage the vertical spindle to effect azimuthal adjustment.
The control knob sets comprise a locking knob 21 journaled for rotation about axially bored stud 39 supported in standard 20, and advancement knob 22 made fast to control shaft 26 by means of screw 27. The locking drive train comprises spur gear 23 fixed upon knob 21 and enmeshed with spur gear 24 supported in gear housing 25. Loosely received within the square cross-section axial breach of spur gear 24 is the key end 18, also of square cross-section, of drive link rod 17 the opposite key end of which is received in a square cross-section axial breach of locking bushing 15. An identical assembly situated at the opposite face of the instrument also engages locking bushing 15 by means of a rod 17. As shown, rotation of either locking knob 21 results, through the gear and link rod drive train, in the rotation of bushing 15.
Encompassing axle 12 in a manner to normally effect free rotational movement therebetween is tangent arm 11. Near the distal end of arm 11 there is located a bore in which locking bushing 15 is located for free rotational movement under the influence of drive link rods 17. Pivotally mounted upon and straddling a machined portion of arm 11 is bifurcated jaw member 13 in the distal end of which is located a threaded bore in which is engaged the threaded end 16 of locking bushing 15. Normally biased away from axle 12 by means of compression spring 14, jaw member 13 will be pivoted against such bias by the advancement of threads 16 of rotating bushing 15 to press knuckles 19 into firm locking engagement upon telescope axle 12. Thus, engagement and release of arm 11 with axle 12 is effected by rotation and counter-rotation of locking knob 21.
While telescope 10 is normally free for unlimited rotation about the horizontal axle of axle 12, the locking of tangent arm 11 upon axle 12 will limit elevational movement of telescope 10 to that provided by the advancement mechanism of the present adjusting means. Such means, as shown, comprise a drive shaft 26 journaled for free rotation in the bores of studs 39. To the ends of shaft 26 are affixed control knobs 22, and a split collar 28 is made fast to shaft 26 to restrict the axial movement thereof. A section 41 on the shaft comprises an external thread which engages that of the tapped bore of displacement block 42, the axial movement of which is thus directly controlled by rotation of either of knobs 22. Encompassing block 42 and matching its configuration with an eccentric bore is housing 43, such eccentricity normally restricting rotational movement of block 42 to thereby force axial displacement upon initial rotation of shaft 26. A pair of balls 44 are seated in respective conical sockets in block 42 and housing 43 and are at the same time received in respective transverse V-grooves of floating lever piece 45. Through this arrangement a minute tilting displacement is imparted to lever piece 45 upon rotation of control knob 22.
An externally threaded sleeve 47 in which shaft 26 is normally freely rotatable includes a flanged end which fits within the bore of housing 43 and closely adjacent to lever piece 45. A pair of balls 46 are generally diametrically disposed about shaft 26 in a line substantially orthogonal to the line between balls 44 and are received in conical sockets in the flanged end of sleeve 47 and in respective adjacent parallel V-grooves in lever pice 45, thereby restricting and rotational movement between lever piece 45 and sleeve 47, and additionally forming a bearing for the application to sleeve 47 of lever force generated by the tilting of lever piece 45. Thus the rotation of control knob 22 is translated through the threaded displacement of block 42 and the described lever action to effect an axial displacement of sleeve 47.
In threaded engagement with the exterior of sleeve 47, and thus moving axially therewith, is drive collar 48 in the circumference of which is affixed stud 49. The V-groove wall 29 of a radial bore in the distal end of lever arm 11 is biased into engagement with stud 49 by the urging of tension spring 35, thereby causing arm 11 to smoothly follow any movement of stud 49 longitudinally of shaft 26. The levered displacement of sleeve 47 constitutes a fine adjustment in the system and is thus transferred, through collar 48 and stud 49, to tangent arm 11.
Tightly encompassing shaft 26 is a split collar 31 around a circumferential face of which is formed a rabbet 32 extending over about 340 the circumference. Similarly made fast to sleeve 47 is a split collar 33 from one face of which extends a pin 32 into near proximity to the walls of rabbet 32. As a result of this arrangement, shaft 26 with its affixed collar 31 is able to rotate freely within the bore of sleeve 47 through a maximum of about 340 engages pin 34 to force the concurrent rotation of sleeve 47 with shaft 26. Prevented from similar rotation by the engagement of stud 49 in groove 29, drive collar 48 is caused to advance longitudinally of shaft 26 along the engaging threads of sleeve 47 with resulting displacement of tangent arm 11.
In a preferred embodiment of the adjusting means of the present invention, a 32-pitch thread is employed between sleeve 47 and collar 48 in order to derive a coarse adjustment, while a 56-pitch thread in section 41 of shaft 26 is combined with a 0.25 lever factor arrangement to yield the fine instrument adjustment. As a result of this combination the coarse-to-fine ratio approximates 10:1.
In order to provide the operator with an indication of the general position of collar 48 along the maximum available course of longitudinal travel and thus allow for optimum initial instrument set up, one end of a pivoted arm 37 is arranged to engage a stud element on the surface of collar 48. The extent of displacement of arm 37, and thus collar 48, is indicated by the relative position, in window 38, of indicator rod 36 attached to arm 37. As a matter of practice, advancement knob 22 would normally be rotated to bring the visible end of rod 36 to the center of window 38, thereby indicating general centering of collar 48 along the available threaded length of sleeve 47, prior to actuating knob 21 to bring jaw knuckle 19 into locking engagement with axle 12.
As earler noted, a substantially identical arrangement of elements is employed to lock a tangent arm upon the vertical center stud of base 30 about which alidade 20 rotates, such azimuthal adjusting system being under the control of locking knobs 51 and advancement knobs 52.
Citas de patentes | <urn:uuid:d53216f7-93e1-4f61-8c8a-d5dfcb9b8a9c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.google.es/patents/US4202110?dq=flatulence | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948825 | 3,750 | 1.828125 | 2 |
WASHINGTON – A top White House economic adviser said on Friday that the lower U.S. jobless rate in September showed the economy was continuing to recover but that more steps were needed to dig out of the deep hole created by recession.
The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to a near four-year low of 7.8 percent in September, a potential boost to President Barack Obama's re-election bid. The Labor Department said unemployment fell last month by 0.3 percentage point to its lowest point since January 2009 as employers added 114,000 jobs.
"While there is more work that remains to be done, today's employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression," Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement.
(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Vicki Allen) | <urn:uuid:56c36ccc-ce79-4d7e-af37-d5ebc7f82b12> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/08/03/white-house-says-jobs-data-shows-economy-recovering/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97523 | 194 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Be Stress Free
OK, so you've heard about how stress is bad for you and how it can literally make you sick. You also know how important it is to get a little quality relaxation time. Maybe you tried meditation, exercise and yoga, and it didn't work -- you're still stressed out. So now what do you do?
The fastest thing you can do to reduce the impact of stress is to learn self-hypnosis. It's easy to learn and with a little practice you can be deeply relaxed in just a few minutes and feel rested and refreshed in 15 minutes or less. For many that's all they need to address their symptoms and they're done in one session. Those struggling with chronic stress or anxious feelings may experience some symptom relief but may not achieve the level they want. If that happens then a few more sessions may be needed.
Why? It's because more than 90% of what you think, feel and do is automatically driven by a part of the brain you have no conscious control of. In the case of chronic stress or anxious feelings, many of these automatic thoughts subconsciously trigger a stress response. Basically you're body's responding to what it sees as a stressful situation even though you're not consciously aware of it.
Using hypnotherapy we uncover these automatic thoughts and transform them so they no longer trigger the stress response. Usually this takes 1 – 3 sessions but there are some situations where it may take a little longer.
Hypnosis is one of the fastest and most cost effective ways to relieve stress, so call now for a free consultation. You'll be glad you did.
Lastly, here are a few links on using hypnotherapy for stress just in case you want a little more information.Practice Self-Hypnosis for Stress Relief
Reduce Stress: Top 10 Stress Relievers
Use Hypnotherapy to Reduce Stress
3 Ways to Manage Stress with Self-Hypnosis | <urn:uuid:d706b5f9-ab9b-4726-b3ee-ff79fefea849> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mindsighthypno.com/Reduce-Stress-Anxiety-Hypnosis.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953306 | 392 | 1.78125 | 2 |
I love magnets! Sure, cards come in handy but they bend and tear. Little miniatures are fun too but they get lost and aren’t easily to transport. I have an unnatural hatred of felt, so unlike felt, magnets are easily moveable and don’t fall off the board when the board is upright.
Rather than spending a lot on supplies, I made tons of picture magnets that could be used during group and individual therapy for many years. They are useful for everything from retelling stories to articulation practice. I got most of my pictures from large photo/sticker books I found in the discount section of Borders. This was one of them. Or search for “Super Stickers” or “Editors of Southwater” on Amazon.
Over the course of about a year I cut out pictures, laminated them, then stuck a sticky magnet strip on the back. If you do a few a day, it actually isn’t that time consuming. I made hundreds. I got about 6 years of use out of my magnets before I started the doctoral program. The main dry erase boards in the classrooms were magnetic, the magnets lie flat, and are light, so these easily traveled from class to class. I also had a magnetic board in my therapy room. I grouped mine into various common categories shown in the drawers. I think I got this drawer container at Target in the hardware section. It is supposed to be for nails and screws and such, but I think my magnets put it to good use too. I also liked that it didn’t take up too much room in my therapy room. | <urn:uuid:0d1a7259-e5aa-4946-aae1-159867538e0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://missdanasgames.wordpress.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972301 | 337 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Much has been made lately of the Heartland’s Institute’s implosion over it extreme position on climate change. In February there was the revelation of internal strategy documents that included a plan to promote climate change scepticism in schools. In early May they unveiled a billboard equating those who believe in global warming with the Unabomber.
In the resulting uproar, nearly 50% of the Heartland Institute’s projected corporate donors for 2012 have pulled out. The funding drop has been so dire that at Heartland’s latest climate change sceptics conference in Chicago last month, Heartland president Joe Bast was reduced to asking the audience to find a ‘rich uncle’ to fund future conferences.
But the most telling outcome may prove to be the defection of Heartland’s entire Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate division. As team leader Eli Lehrer told the Guardian
"As somebody who deals mostly with insurance I believe all risks have to be taken seriously and there certainly are some important climate and global warming related risks that must be taken account of in the insurance market. Trivialising them is not consistent with free-market thought. Suggesting they are only thought about by people who are crazy is not good for the free market."
Now coming out and agreeing with every major national science academy in the world may not sound so revolutionary. But it is for a number of reasons.
Firstly “free market” think tanks like Heartland and many of their conference co-sponsors have been a driving force behind the entire push to confuse the public over climate change science for more than 20 years. Driven by a fiercely ideological opposition to the regulation of corporate activity, most in the free market movement would rather subscribe to quack science than accept the need for the kind of government intervention mitigating climate change will require. Such a public acknowledgement of the seriousness of the climate crisis from within is therefore extremely rare.
Secondly is the fact that the move was clearly driven by pressure from insurance industry donors (who were among those who pulled their funding from Heartland). Historically, denial of climate change has proven lucrative in attracting donors. Heartland and their conference co-sponsors have collectively received over $67 million from the fossil fuel industry over the years to spread their message of climate confusion. Suddenly another major donor group - the insurance industry has the second biggest lobbying spend in federal politics – is pulling their funding because of these activities. As happened with Heartland, other think tanks could find themselves having to choose between these two important donor groups.
Then there is the potential credibility loss this represents to Heartland and likeminded think tanks’ claims of representing free market interests. As Lehrer rightly points out, denying a scientific reality with potentially far reaching economic consequences “is not good for the free market”.
What Heartland is doing is the opposite of good free market policy. Information, not ignorance, is key to the market functioning properly. For years Heartland and company have distorted the market in favour of the fossil fuel industry and prevented potentially life saving and profitable alternative energy markets from emerging.
By downplaying the risks of climate change, they continue to distort vast sectors of the economy, from transportation to manufacturing and of course insurance risk assessment. If this message that climate change denial “is not good for the free market” can become widespread, it greatly undermines Heartland’s authority and policy recommendations regarding these various industries.
Finally there’s the fact that within a week of the Unabomber billboard going up Lehrer and his team had already left and formed a new think tank , implying that this unrest has been growing for some time.
While positive, these developments are not enough for climate activists to jump for joy. The Heartland case is somewhat unique. Among the confidential documents acquired in February was a list of Heartland’s corporate donors. Exposing this usually confidential list allowed environmental groups to name and shame specific companies to great effect. Without knowing donor identities, targeting other think tanks could prove difficult.
Another unusual aspect of the Heartland case is that it took an especially offensive billboard (and to a lesser extent their school curriculum plans) before donors found their association with Heartland to be too toxic.
This is similar to the case a few years ago where it took a staffer at the US Chamber Of Commerce calling for a Scopes monkey trial of climate scientists before the likes of Nike and Apple led a member exodus. Until the very notion of denying climate science becomes an outrage, the above cases show it may take a bit of scandal to scare off donors.
What is clear is that for climate change activists to have any chance of getting timely mitigation policies in place, they must curb the impact of free market think tanks. It is these groups who create the ‘echo chamber’ of seemingly independent experts who appear on TV, testify before Congress and pump out the overwhelming majority of climate change denial literature. For example, without the likes of Heartland, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Institute and dozens of others, the expertly spun and hugely damaging ‘Climategate’ scandal would never have happened.
What the Heartland situation demonstrates is that for those seeking to diminish the impact of free market think tanks in the climate debate, what works best is not science or reason but pressure from donors. In particular, while climate change activists may occasionally get lucky and acquire a list of donors to name and shame, the insurance industry situation is different. It exposes a potentially expensive and embarrassing conflict of interest for Heartland and other think tanks that feed at the troughs of both the insurance and fossil fuel industries.
Should similar pressure be brought to bear at these other think tanks, they may just find themselves in the unenviable position of having to either soften their climate change denial stance or be left pleading for the invention of a rich uncle, both of which would be huge victories for climate change activists. | <urn:uuid:27dbe5cb-e184-4674-af6c-153a70a3a714> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.desmogblog.com/print/6348 | 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 | 0.958773 | 1,222 | 1.671875 | 2 |
I've always imagined that it would be so much fun to own my own ball winder... to be able to make those adorable little perfect yarn cakes. But I was astounded at the cost. I decided to do a bit of research first to make sure I chose wisely before purchasing.
In the meantime, I learned a very simple technique for winding a centre-pull ball of yarn... and it cost me nothing. I'm not going to be buying a ball winder now! I have no need for one... I am totally happy with this method.
All you need is a cardboard tube and your own two hands!
The perfect size tube is the inner roll from toilet paper. Now I have learned that there are two different types of people in this world... there are those who happily recycle these cardboard tubes for any purpose... and there are those who see them as germ-infested breeding grounds, which must be disposed of immediately!!!
These photos are a tiny bit blurry... because it's actually quite difficult to photograph yourself while your hands are busy winding yarn...
I have taken the tube from inside a roll of baking paper, and will need to cut it down to about one third of the size. So it is about the size of a toilet roll!
Make a small snip in the end of the tube.
Tie the start of your yarn in a knot.
Slip the knot inside the snip you made at the end of the tube.
Slide your thumb inside the tube, and hold the yarn in place with your finger as shown.
Begin winding your yarn.
Wind it three times around the tube. See the way the yarn runs diagonally across the tube? Look carefully... it is moving up and to the left. This is intentional.
Tug gently on the yarn, and let the tube rotate a little on your thumb. Allow it to make about 1/4 turn, and then wind diagonally three more times.
Again tug gently on the yarn, and let the tube rotate a little on your thumb. Allow it to make about 1/4 turn, and then wind diagonally three more times.
Keep going... wind, wind, wind, tug... wind, wind, wind, tug... wind, wind, wind, tug... I find it easier to hold the yarn still in my left hand, and wind the tube around the yarn. Probably sounds crazy... but that's what works for me!
See the way I am always moving the yarn diagonally across the ball...
Continue in this manner until done. Once you develop your own technique, you will find that the tube moves easily in your hand, and you no longer consciously turn it. It feels a bit awkward at first... but persist with it until you work out a rhythm... it really is easy!
Tuck the end of your yarn under a couple of strands to secure (but not hide) it.
Free the knot from the snip at the end of the tube.
Carefully slide the ball from the cardboard.
Squish the sides of the ball to ease the tension on your yarn.
Ta-da! Tuck the centre yarn end inside the ball. Leave the knot there... it will make the centre end easy to locate when you are ready to use the ball. | <urn:uuid:2b40af34-a850-4d13-8b95-939f190799d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://laughingpurplegoldfish.blogspot.com/2008/08/winding-yarn.html?showComment=1250057594689 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952093 | 682 | 1.742188 | 2 |
One of the commandments of the Torah is that it is incumbent upon every Jew to love his fellow Jew. Not just one or two -- all of them. Even after a decade of being involved in Torah Judaism and leading a religious life today, I still have a problem with that one. I have to be honest: I don't like every Jew I've ever met. And I certainly don't love every one of them either. I've met some that I like (my friends, my Rabbi, etc.) and ones that I love (I'm married to one of those.) But not the whole lot.
Total strangers -- fellow Jews all -- would see my kippah and reach out to me, desperately trying to reconnect with their Jewish roots.
I never understood exactly how a person could love all of his fellow Jews until I started wearing my kippah all the time. It was then that total strangers -- fellow Jews all -- would see my kippah and reach out to me, desperately trying to reconnect with their Jewish roots. Roots from which they had become terribly disconnected.
While I had certain ideas in my mind about what to expect when I put on a kippah full time, having Jews come out of the woodwork to connect with me (of all people!) never even made the Top 100 list.
This phenomenon first manifested itself in, of all places, a Rite Aid drug store. It was a Friday afternoon and I was waiting to make a return in one of those classic, long "drug store lines" that somehow never seems to move. I was watching the clock, as it was getting close to candle lighting time for Shabbat, when I noticed an elderly lady watching me, and smiling. I sensed that she wanted something, but it was late, I had a headache, and like everyone else in Los Angeles, I didn't want to get involved. I just wanted to be left alone, in peace, to make my return.
But it was not to be. The next thing I knew, she was at my side. "It's like waiting to go up on the bima isn't it?" she asked.
Her accent told me she was from Long Island or Queens or something of the New York variety. I did one of those cartoon character double takes. "Bima?!" I said incredulously in my mind. "Bima?" Using the "code word" of "bima," the Hebrew word for the table in the middle of the synagogue upon which the Torah is placed when the congregation reads from it, was her way of letting me know that she was Jewish.
Now, understand, in L.A. no one talks to one another in line. And certainly no one reveals their religion to perfect strangers (unless they can't help it as in the case of guys like me who wear kippahs). So, I found it fascinating that for some reason this elderly woman felt it was important for me to know that she was Jewish.
I didn't want to leave her hanging after her putting out there that she's a fellow tribesman, so I acknowledged our kinship using her "code." "Yes," I said, smiling, "like waiting to go up to the bima."
She nodded, noticeably happy that she succeeded in making the Jewish connection with me. She then told me how she was raised religious, but had drifted away from it after moving to California and how seeing my kippah reminded her, suddenly, of her childhood and the warm memories she had in the community she lived in wherein all the men wore kippahs.
Here was this woman pouring her heart out to me in the middle of Rite Aid because she felt she needed a connection at that moment with another Jew.
My heart softened towards her. Suddenly, I was not so concerned about the clock, my return or my headache. Here was this woman pouring her heart out to me in the middle of Rite Aid because she felt she needed a connection at that moment with another Jew.
"That's nice," I said. "Those are some very nice memories."
"Yeah, they sure are," she said.
It was finally my turn at the register. I made my return and headed for the door. Before I got there, I stopped and turned around to see that woman still smiling at me. I smiled back at her. I decided to reach out back to her, again, using a code we both understood. I felt that it would mean something to her. "Have a good Shabbos," I said.
Her eyes lit up. "Thank you. Thank you very much. And a good Shabbos to you, too!"
These experiences happen to me everywhere -- not just Los Angeles where there are lots of Jews. Sometimes God puts me in a place where there are very few Jews. This happened most recently when I was in Lancaster, of all places, on business. For those of you unfamiliar with Lancaster, California, it is a place that is sort of on the outer edge of civilization as we know it. It is so far from anything that you wonder how anyone lives out there.
As I approached the freeway in my car to get myself back to the safety and security of "civilized" Los Angeles, I noticed a Costco. I needed bottled water (they sell it really cheap) and I figured that the lines would be short there since, well, there just aren't that many people out that way!
I entered the Costco and stopped to peruse the books on display for sale. All of the sudden, I got that feeling. The feeling I'm being stared at again. "Well," I thought to myself, "kippah-wearing guys are pretty rare out here (as are kippahs in general for that matter), so it's no wonder someone is staring at me". I looked up and saw a man staring at me. He had a smile on his face as he slowly walked towards me.
"Are you the rabbi?" he asked, sort of stammering to get the words out.
"Am I the rabbi?!" I thought to myself. "I'm not even A rabbi, so how could I be THE rabbi?!"
"No, I'm not," I replied. His face sort of dropped.
"But you're wearing one of those…" he stammered, making circular motions on top of his head.
"A kippah," I finished for him.
"Yes! A kippah," he said excitedly, as if we were both secret agents and I just gave the correct "countersign." Once again, there were two Jews connecting using their "code."
"But if you're wearing a kippah and you're not the rabbi, then who are you?"
"Who am I?" I said to myself. Okay, a fair question. Certainly one I've asked myself. Kind of existential, though, for a Tuesday afternoon.
"I'm… uh… just an Orthodox Jew. That's all."
Apparently, that was enough -- enough for this man to take the connection to the next level.
He told me how he was raised Orthodox -- even went to yeshiva until the 6th grade -- but then his father moved the family to Lancaster for a business opportunity. "Now," he told me with sadness in his voice, "I'm just like everyone else here -- not very Jewish. I sometimes miss it, you know, all of the things we used to do when I was a kid, but out here…well, you understand."
He smiled at me. I smiled back. I did understand. I wasn't religious all of my life. My Jewishly connected family moved from New York and Baltimore out to the "boondocks" of the West Coast and lost their connection to their religion as well.
I didn't know what to say so I didn't say anything. I just smiled at him and nodded understandingly.
"Well, it was nice talking to you," he said, and he turned to go.
I stayed at the book display thinking about our conversation for a few minutes and then realized that I should have done something. Here was a Jew who had lost his connection to Judaism and was reaching out to me, trying desperately to reconnect. And I just let him leave. I should have invited him and his family for Shabbos or something. I decided that I would -- that I had to.
But when I went to look for him, he was no where to be found in Costco. I purchased my bottled water and headed back to Los Angeles.
At that moment they realize the need to reach out to a fellow Jew and say, "Hey -- I'm still a Jew! I am!"
At first I used to wonder why Jewish people were so drawn so often to my kippah. Lately, it's been making sense: they are trying to connect with something Jewish. Plain and simple. The people that approach me are all people who, for one reason or another, have become disconnected with Judaism. When they see someone wearing a kippah, someone who has the connection they lost, they suddenly realize that their soul misses that connection to God. The kippah reignites their Jewish soul and suddenly they realize how lonely that soul has been. So they reach out. They reach out to the only thing that is "authentically Jewish" and close by -- me -- and they try to reconnect. It is as if at that moment they realize the need to reach out to a fellow Jew and say, "Hey -- I'm still a Jew! I am!"
Perhaps it is also a message to themselves. They have felt lost for so long and suddenly the beacon of a kippah helps them find their way back, even if only for a few minutes, in a Rite Aid or Costco.
I leave those experiences being amazed at how much I can care for a perfect stranger that I just met. I leave those experiences also being reminded, once again and in a profound way, how important it is for all of us -- whether religious or not -- to reach out to our fellow Jews and help them all find their way back home. Hey -- maybe I do love all of my fellow Jews after all. | <urn:uuid:b0676eba-fa2a-413c-b9d3-8a650a37816f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aish.com/jw/s/48901807.html?s=rab | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990003 | 2,110 | 1.523438 | 2 |
I want to make all of you aware of some recent news that has come to my attention from Paul Milner, one of our Genealogy Program speakers.
This is a very timely notice mainly geared to anyone that is doing British research.
Paul has indicated that fees to order key vital records data will be increasing significantly starting on April 6, 2010. All of the details are in the text sent to me by Paul. His text that came from his e-mail is in Italics in this post following my preface.
If you were planning on ordering any material for these British Vital Records, you may want to accelerate your order to take advantage of the still lower costs to do so. On April 6, 2010 the costs appear to be increasing by about 50%.
Read Paul’s text contained in this post and act now to save yourself some money.
Schaumburg Township District Library
Have you been putting off getting those birth, marriage and death certificates for your English and Welsh ancestors? Here is an incentive to motivate you. The British government announced March 1 that effective 6 April 2010 the cost of obtaining a certificate will increase from 7 pounds ($10.60 ) to 9.25 pounds ($14).
You can read the full story at www.ips.gov.uk/cps/rde/xchg/ips_live/hs.xsl/1569.htm.
You can obtain any birth, marriage or death certificate for any event since 1 July 1837 in England and Wales. You don’t even have to prove a relationship to the person.
So how can you quickly do this? I would suggest the first place to start is FreeBMD at www.freebmd.org.uk. The big benefit here is that this is a computerized index of the entries in the national civil registration indexes. This pulls out all entries for a given name you are seeking, with options to limit the search parameters (time, location, etc). This index covers a lot of entries up into the 1930’s, the later in time period the less complete the coverage is so check the coverage statistics if you can’t find here what you are looking for. When you find what you are looking for confirm that the information given matches what is provided in the original index by viewing the digital scan of the index. If you make a mistake you won’t get the certificate you are seeking.
If you can’t find what you looking for here you can see digital scans of the pages from the national indexes at Ancestry – www.ancestry.com and at FindMyPast – www.findmypast.com Both of these are subscription services provide access to the civil registration indexes. In addition they provide access to indexes and images for the 1841 through 1901 census returns. Additionally, FindMyPast is the only place you have access to the 1911 census. Using the census returns in conjunction with the civil registration records will help you expand the family information you have.
When you have found the index references you need you can order the certificates online at
http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/ and pay with your credit card.
You will get your certificates back in about 10 days. So between now and April 6 you have time to order some certificates and get them back in time to order another batch, for you know each certificate will produce another lead to follow.
I ordered the first batch of my own certificates last night.
This message is brought to you as a timely courtesy update. | <urn:uuid:34f88628-0465-4fb7-ab31-6ac486eac520> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://genealogywithtony.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/british-and-wales-birth-marriage-and-death-certificate-document-fees-are-increasing-significantly-on-april-6-2010/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=c589d5bcbb | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939589 | 735 | 1.539063 | 2 |
|Death: ||Dec. 24, 1864|
Union Civil War Sailor. He was a married tinsmith living at 91 North Broad Street, Newark, New Jersey when the Civil War started. His wife was Susan Abos.
Enlisted July 20, 1862 in Company A, 7th New York Volunteer Heavy Artillery. Mustered in as 1st Sergeant on August 18, 1862. Discharged due to disability at Fort Reno, Washington, DC on May 25, 1863.
He enlisted in the Union Navy on May 24, 1864, and served as a Landsman on board the USS Juniata, dying during his service.
On April 25, 1865 his file Susan Abos filed for a US Navy Pension (Application #668, Certificate #775).
Susan A. Abos died on March 17, 1872 in Albany, New York.
New Bern National Cemetery
North Carolina, USA
Plot: , 168
Maintained by: Russ Dodge
Originally Created by: US Veterans Affairs Offi...
Record added: Mar 04, 2000
Find A Grave Memorial# 3257706
Added: Apr. 30, 2012
Theodore AbosResidence was not listed;... Enlisted on 5/28/1864 as a Landsman....On 5/28/1864 he mustered into US Navy He died on 12/24/1864 |
Added: Mar. 12, 2007 | <urn:uuid:05579544-1e73-4f3f-b950-a9400378879c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3257706 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942024 | 293 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Former Director of the Mecklenburg County Building Standards Department Ed Woods has died after a lengthy battle with cancer. Woods served as Director of the department now known as Code Enforcement for over 26 years between 1968 and 1995.
Woods had the vision for computerizing plan submission and field inspections. Electronic plan submittal and review are now the cornerstones of what Code Enforcement does, increasing efficiency and accuracy.
Woods earned his Professional Engineering registration in 1962 after earning his Civil Engineering degree from North Carolina State University.
“Ed was the prototype of a servant leader,” says Mecklenburg County General Manager Bobbie Shields. “He was a quiet visionary who always kept in mind that he was working for the public. The public is better because of his service to the County.”
A service to celebrate Ed’s life will be held at Carmel Baptist Church in Matthews on Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. Visitation and a reception will follow the service in the Carmel Gathering Space. | <urn:uuid:aa6df90c-c9ec-4cee-8dad-899e49e8ca21> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/MediaRoom/PR/2012/Pages/CountyRememberslong-timeexecutiveEdWoods.aspx | 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 | 0.974895 | 215 | 1.570313 | 2 |
That’s the latest from a fiscal impact statement the White House released this weekend. Head Start provides federally-funded early childhood services to about 15,600 low-income families in Indiana.
Services won’t disappear overnight, says Indiana Head Start Association executive director Cheryl Miller. But she says there’s a lot of uncertainty right now among program directors who aren’t sure what shape the cuts will take.
“What happens to us on March 2? What happens next week if the cuts go through?” says Miller. “Do we have to find a way to save all that money if we’re halfway through our fiscal year?”Though the funding would disappear immediately should the automatic cuts take effect, it’s not clear what impact that would have on March 1.
As Miller first told StateImpact in November, Indiana Head Start would lose an amount of funding that’s roughly equivalent to what they need to support about 1,000 students — but that doesn’t mean sequestration cuts would send 1,000 students home right away.
Miller says many programs will start trimming their budgets by cutting days of service, wrapping up in April instead of May.
“It’s one thing to talk about losing slots, but we know a lot of programs are going to try to avoid that,” says Miller. “They’re going to try to avoid lowering their enrollment.”
Miller says she’s being told this week she’ll have to cut her budget by 5.2 percent — less than initially predicted, but still a strain for already-tight Head Start budgets.
If the sequester happens, programs will have to reduce the number of classrooms and teachers in the future. Indiana could lose as many as 200 Head Start positions.
“One of the things that happens in especially rural communities — they may only have one classroom,” says Miller. “So if that Head Start classroom shuts down, for those families and that community, they won’t have access to Head Start at all.”
Miller says she can’t even be cautiously optimistic about rumors that Head Start might be spared the deepest cuts in favor of taking more from other federally-funded initiatives.
“OK, if Head Start gets less of a cut, one of these programs over here that helps the same families is going to get a larger cut,” she says.
Special Education Cuts Likely To Leave State On The Hook
We’ve written before that no Indiana school district stands to lose more than 3 percent of its overall revenues if Congress misses the looming budget deadline.
But Indiana schools will have to continue providing constitutionally-protected services for students with special needs, even if the federal government cuts funding.
Jason Delisle, who heads the New America Foundation’s Federal Education Budget Project, told StateImpact in December the latest cuts follow years of reduced spending on education.
Few special education programs are “going to be in a strong position to weather an 8 percent reduction in federal funding. It’s not like they’ve had flush years lately,” he says.
The latest from the White House puts the cost of those programs at $12.4 million. You can check out the rest of Indiana’s sequestration fact sheet here. | <urn:uuid:11bede2a-09bf-45f8-899a-f51620e99b9f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2013/02/26/some-communities-could-lose-head-start-programs-if-automatic-federal-cuts-kick-in/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954489 | 699 | 1.648438 | 2 |
PHOENIX - The overall number of violent crimes increased in Phoenix by 4.7 percent last year but decreased in Tucson by nearly 10 percent, according to preliminary FBI data released Monday.
The biggest disparity between Arizona's two largest cities was in the number of forcible rapes reported. Rapes dropped by 22.2 percent in Tucson, but rose by 3.2 percent in Phoenix.
Phoenix had 14 more murders last year, 234 compared to 220 in 2005. Tucson saw a 5.5 percent drop in the number of murders in 2006, going to 52 from 55 in 2005, the FBI reported.
Tucson Police Capt. Michael Garigan attributed the lower crime rate to better community policing, a police unit that aggressively targets violent offenders and gangs and more targeted use of intelligence data.
Phoenix police Detective Bob Ragsdale cautioned that looking at increases in raw numbers could be misleading because the city's population increased by more than 50,000 last year.
A police analysis of crimes per 100,000 people showed the city's crime rate actually increased by only 1.2 percent last year, Ragsdale said.
Rapid population increases and demographic changes could be driving Phoenix's increasing violent crime rate, an expert said.
"One thing is there are a lot more people in Phoenix. Another thing is population movement in the Phoenix area," said Arizona State University Criminology and Criminal Justice Professor Scott Decker. "When there's a lot of change, you don't know your neighbors."
Reported crime decreased in nearly every possible category in Tucson, although the city saw a 13 percent jump in the number of motor vehicle thefts.
But in Phoenix, only nonviolent crime decreased slightly, according to the FBI report. Larcenies decreased by about 5 percent and vehicle thefts and burglaries both decreased by about 2 percent.
Among Arizona's nine largest cities, only Tucson and Mesa saw decreases in violent crime, the FBI said.
Nationally the violent crime rate increased by 1.3 percent, the second year in a row that it's gone up. | <urn:uuid:cc06af3f-2758-44aa-bee6-a9901fda5826> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/news/article_2bed6ede-44a3-5e68-bb2b-709078167ca2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951335 | 420 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Sexist school institutes 'no-cursing' policy for girls ONLY, boys can stay vulgar
I've heard of sexism in the Catholic community before but the latest example of it takes the whole thing to a new, disturbing level. A Catholic high school in New Jersey has now implemented a "no cursing" rule that's ONLY for girls.
That's right, apparently girls are the only ones who are not allowed to say vile words while the boys of the high school are still allowed to say the F-word and any other vulgarities, though apparently they're encouraged not to say those words "when girls are near." If this isn't the most blatant form of discrimination and sexism, then I don't know what is!
According to NBC Philadelphia, this all started because of Lori Flynn. She's a teacher at Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington, New Jersey and is responsible for organizing the campaign that asked girls to take a "no-cursing" pledge at the request of school administrators while males were not asked to take any such vow.
This is an absolutely horrible form of sexism, in my opinion. Apparently teacher Flynn says that the school wants "ladies to act like ladies" and the girls of the school have the foulest language. Well, I have to ask, why not just ask everyone to not curse? As one student points out, shouldn't boys behave more like gentlemen if girls have to be more like ladies? Why are these girls being held to a higher standard of never uttering a single vulgarity while boys can keep going around and sounding like a-holes while saying the word a-hole?
Read more ¿Qué más? Craziest dad ever lets HUGE python babysit his son!
Honestly, I may be a bit biased because I have quite the potty mouth. I'm not shy about cursing when and if it is an appropriate way to express my feelings (typically when I am outraged and mad about something, like this story, which makes me want to curse--A LOT!). However, despite my own preferences, the really horrible thing here is that boys are allowed to say vulgar things and girls are not. Why is it attractive for a boy to curse and it's completely unattractive if a girl curses? This is a double standard that should absolutely NOT be allowed, and particularly not in a school. And I seriously hope that this school, if they're really committed to a "no-cursing" policy, institute it for ALL teens and not just the ones that don't have a penis.
Image via Thinkstock | <urn:uuid:6ad5f8a8-d525-4368-8c19-d01d1be072a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.mamaslatinas.com/in_the_news/110152/sexist_school_institutes_nocursing_policy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962324 | 530 | 1.53125 | 2 |
As a new or even semi-new associate at a law firm, you will take on many assignments with varying degrees of difficulty and sometimes conflicting deadlines. Assignment management -- time management in law firm speak -- is probably the key to success for a junior associate.
The stories of the following three associates at a fictional firm illustrate the traps of taking on too much work, blowing deadlines, failing to adequately communicate, and missing the mark on the assignment instructions.
Jen is a new associate at the firm who did a public interest fellowship for a year before starting in the fall. She received an assignment from Jane, a sixth-year associate in the litigation department, to perform research and submit a memo at the conclusion of her research. She was given a week to complete the assignment.
Jen met with Jane, took notes on their conversation, and then began her research. She utilized the library and Westlaw to guide her search and submitted the assignment on time. Jen misunderstood one sub-issue that Jane had not clearly explained, but that issue ultimately did not affect the conclusions in Jen's memo. After Jane reviewed Jen's memo, which was written clearly and concisely, she was able to provide it, with little revision, to the partner and client manager, who in turn provided it to the client.
Jim is a first-year associate who came to the firm in the fall immediately after graduating from law school and taking the bar exam. Jim was a summer associate the previous year and maintained relationships with a few associates that he had befriended during his summer, so he had a sense of what cases were active at the firm and who was working on them.
Jane also gave an assignment to Jim, similar to the one she had given to Jen. Jim discussed the assignment with Jane and left her office thinking he knew where to begin his research. After talking to another junior associate on the case, Jim had some follow-up questions for Jane, so he went back to her to get clarification on two issues. He handed in his memo a day before the deadline, told Jane how much he enjoyed working on the case, and asked if she had any follow-up assignments that he could handle.
John is a new associate who clerked after law school graduation, immediately prior to joining the firm. John enjoyed the pace of his clerkship but was excited to begin his career of practicing law at a firm. John was also placed in the litigation department, where he received a research assignment from Jane similar to those given to Jen and Jim.
John's assignment was a bit more complicated and in-depth, so he was given two weeks to complete it. John checked with Jane a few days after he began to ensure he was on the right path. A week before his assignment was due, the assignment manager in the department called him to see if he could work on a document review that the partner estimated would require a significant amount of time over the next few weeks. John, without mentioning how complex his research was for Jane, agreed to work on the document review. He began the document review and continued to work on his memo for Jane.
The following week, the deadline for the document review was moved up by a few days and John had to allot more time than he originally anticipated to it. At that point, he was working extremely long hours around the clock. John went to Jane the afternoon before his deadline and asked for an extension to finish her assignment over the weekend, rather than Friday, the original due date.
WHO DID BEST?
Jen, Jim, and John were each able to answer the questions presented to them and complete solid research memos. However, they managed their assignments in different ways. Only one associate was subsequently assigned to the case team and given follow-up assignments; not surprisingly, that associate was Jim.
Jim did exactly what senior associates and partners are looking for in new associates: He utilized other junior associates on the team to get some additional background information; he followed up with Jane throughout the process to make sure he was on the right track; he submitted the research on time; he expressed interest in the project; and he offered himself for further matters on the case.
Jim's use of colleagues is commendable. Even though there is no such thing as a "dumb question," you can still run the risk of sounding dumb if you, for instance, ask a senior partner who assigned you work for the phone number of the Westlaw hotline or other questions you could easily answer on your own.
Learn to use the firm's resources wisely. Find out who the secretaries are and get client-matter numbers from them. Find out who the other associates are on the case and go to them when you have a factual question, when you want to discuss a legal argument you are considering, or even when you just want to commiserate after a difficult day. Make friends with the librarians to help you guide your research. Talk to your neighbors near your office, as they are going to be some of your best resources to learn about which partners come in early, work late or have specific preferences when it comes to working with them. Use your assigned and unassigned mentors to navigate the ropes.
WHAT WERE THE MISTAKES?
Jen did not make any serious errors, but her failure to follow up with Jane during the entire week she was given to complete the assignment made Jane question if Jen was interested in the assignment. This lack of communication also prevented Jen from realizing that she had misunderstood a small part of the assignment -- a mistake that could have been easily rectified. In the end, Jen's work product was quite good and her error was minor, but because she did not discuss the work with Jane over the week, she ran the risk of handing in the assignment on time but having it completely wrong.
The error (although minor) also may have caused the partner to believe she (or the assigning attorney) did not pay attention to detail or engaged in sloppy analysis, while a client receiving the memo may have relied on the mistake or interpreted the mistake to mean that the firm did not understand the client's business. Further, since Jen did not express any enthusiasm for the subject of the assignment or offer to work on any follow-up assignments on the case, she potentially signaled to Jane -- whether intentionally or not -- that she was not interested in getting further work on the matter or in working further with Jane.
John, on the other hand, started out on the right foot, but when he was asked to work on another assignment, he should have told the assigning partner the due date for his memo and the amount of time he anticipated that it would take. His critical mistake, however, was waiting until the last minute to tell Jane that he needed an extension. When John's other assignment changed scope, he should have gone to both assigning attorneys and talked through the conflict. He probably could have gotten someone else on the document-review team to take a greater portion of the documents so that he could complete his memo on time, or he could have spoken to Jane earlier in the week about an extension.
For this reason, it is likely that Jane would be reluctant to work with John again. Deadlines are not arbitrary. Whether there is a deadline for the court, the client or the partner on the case, deadlines are given for a reason. As a junior associate, it is your job to make use of your resources -- Outlook, paper calendars, the firm's docketing system, task bars, to-do lists, etc. -- to ensure deadlines are met. If the assigning attorney does not give a concrete deadline, it is your job to ask when the work product is due. This is the first step, and you must follow it for absolutely every assignment that you are given. If possible, get into the habit of submitting your work product before the deadline, which will reinforce your reliability and motivation to those with whom you work.
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY
Because Jim managed his assignment better than Jen or John, he earned the currency that is key to law firm success: credibility and repeat work. Although as a junior associate you may not be working directly for clients, get in the practice of treating every senior associate and partner as if they were your clients.
The best client is always a repeat client, and your job as a new associate is to cause senior associates and partners who gave you one assignment to give you the next assignment, too. You do that by producing quality work product free of any mistakes on a timely basis. You should not submit a "rough draft"; everything you hand in should be your best possible work.
A rule of thumb is to act like your work product is going straight to the client or the court and in that respect, there is no room for errors -- especially grammatical ones that will cause the reviewing attorneys to question your analysis, reliability and attention to detail. Partners remember when they must perform an extensive re-write of an associate's work, especially when that work impacts other deadlines they have.
There is even more advice that new associates should seek out to succeed in the often-confusing game of associate life at a law firm, but assignment management is still probably the key to success. All other tactics -- like seeking out mentors, taking ownership of your career, asking questions, working hard, building trust -- are second to learning how to manage your assignments and turn in a quality work product every time. If you master managing your assignments and hitting your deadlines, you are on your way to winning. First prize? More assignments.
Colleen P. France is the director of associate recruitment and development for Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis. She is responsible for the firm's hiring of incoming associates, managing associate assignments for the business services and litigation departments, and the training and professional development of associates firmwide. France was ecently elected to serve as the NALP regional coordinator representing law firms in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Joseph J. Anclien is an associate in the firm's litigation department. His practice focuses primarily on issues and appeals. He has drafted briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court, the 3rd Circuit, and the Pennsylvania appellate courts. Anclien is also active within the firm, serving as a member of the firm's hiring and summer committees and as a mentor to junior associates.
This article originally appeared in the "New Associates" supplement to The Legal Intelligencer [paid subscription required]. | <urn:uuid:b5bed942-7dbe-49aa-9d2b-3e8a1353abd4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202464821574&How_to_Handle_Assignment_Management_as_an_Associate&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982942 | 2,129 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Fabulous Adventures In Coding
Eric Lippert is a principal developer on the C# compiler team. Learn more about Eric.
C# requires that every method be in some class, even if it is a static method in a static class in the global namespace. Other languages allow "top level" functions. A recent stackoverflow post asks why that is.
I am asked "why doesn't C# implement feature X?" all the time. The answer is always the same: because no one ever designed, specified, implemented, tested, documented and shipped that feature. All six of those things are necessary to make a feature happen. All of them cost huge amounts of time, effort and money. Features are not cheap, and we try very hard to make sure that we are only shipping those features which give the best possible benefits to our users given our constrained time, effort and money budgets.
I understand that such a general answer probably does not address the specific question.
In this particular case, the clear user benefit was in the past not large enough to justify the complications to the language which would ensue. By restricting how different language entities nest inside each other we (1) restrict legal programs to be in a common, easily understood style, and (2) make it possible to define "identifier lookup" rules which are comprehensible, specifiable, implementable, testable and documentable.
By restricting method bodies to always be inside a struct or class, we make it easier to reason about the meaning of an unqualified identifier used in an invocation context; such a thing is always an invocable member of the current type (or a base type).
Now, JScript.NET has this feature. (And in fact, JScript.NET goes even further; you can have program statements "at the top level" too.) A reasonable question is "why is this feature good for JScript but bad for C#?"
First off, I reject the premise that the feature is "bad" for C#. The feature might well be good for C#, just not good enough compared to its costs (and to the opportunity cost of doing that feature instead of a more valuable feature.) The feature might become good enough for C# if its costs are lowered, or if the compelling benefit to customers becomes higher.
Second, the question assumes that the feature is good for JScript.NET. Why is it good for JScript.NET?
It's good for JScript.NET because JScript.NET was designed to be a "scripty" language as well as a "large-scale development" language. "JScript classic"'s original design as a scripting language requires that "a one-line program actually be one line". If your intention is to make a language that allows for rapid development of short, simple scripts by novice developers then you want to minimize the amount of "ritual incantations" that must happen in every program. In JScript you do not want to have to start with a bunch of using clauses and define a class and then put stuff in the class and have a Main routine and blah blah blah, all this ritual just to get Hello World running.
C# was designed to be a large-scale application development language geared towards pro devs from day one; it was never intended to be a scripting language. It's design therefore encourages enforcing the immediate organization of even small chunks of code into components. C# is a component-oriented language. We therefore want to encourage programming in a component-based style and discourage features that work against that style.
This is changing. "REPL" languages like F#, long popular in academia, are increasing in popularity in industry. There's a renewed interest in "scripty" application programmability via tools like Visual Studio Tools for Applications. These forces cause us to re-evaluate whether "a one line program is one line" is a sensible goal for hypothetical future versions of C#. Hitherto it has been an explicit non-goal of the language design.
(As always, whenever I discuss the hypothetical "next version of C#", keep in mind that we have not announced any next version, that it might never happen, and that it is utterly premature to think about feature sets or schedules. All speculation about future versions of unannounced products should be taken as "for entertainment purposes only" musings, not as promises about future offerings.)
We are therefore considering adding this feature to a hypothetical future version of C#, in order to better support "scripty" scenarios and REPL evaluation. When the existence of powerful new tools is predicated upon the existence of language features, that is points towards getting the language features done.
UPDATE: More thoughts on considerations motivating this potential change here.
I'm sorry if anyone was offended by my "flamefest" label, but I stand by it. There were a number of comments that cannot be defined as anything but. For example:
> I'd hate for the C# language to become a cluttered, horrible mess just for the sake of "progress".
(actually, that whole comment was like that)
> I will stop programming in C# or .NET -once Microsoft tries to take this kind of direction.
> Top level functions leads to a completly messy and almost unmanageable/understandable code.
This is not to say that I consider all replies that disagree with my POV to be such. There were many reasonable replies with interesting arguments, including yours. My surprise was solely at a clearly knee-jerk, strictly emotional reaction some people here exhibited.
When all is said and done, there are definitely other features way higher on the priority list for me (and, I'm fairly certain, the C# team as well), many of which have already been named. I'm just not a great believer in OOP for OOP's sake.
+1 for doing..
It is the one thing that I would most like to be more compatible with Python and F#!
You know what I'd like to see? Easier integration of different languages in one project. .NET makes it technically possible to use (say) C# and F# in the same assembly through the use of modules (it's all bytecode, after all), but Visual Studio offers no support for this scenario. If you want to do this, you have to create one project per language, divvy up all the dependencies and tie the assemblies together, which is usually too bothersome.
Currently the framework is brimming with domain-specific languages which are implemented through designers, but I can't mix in an *actual* language for a specific purpose if my project requires it. Why can't I script the scripty parts with JScript.NET or use F# for the parts best expressed functionally and write the stuff I want component-based in C#? Then I wouldn't need a "one size fits all" C# that's chock full of things you selectively ignore (it isn't there yet, but I agree with others that it's moving in that direction with unsettling speed).
Of course, using multiple languages in one project makes it harder to maintain, and requires developers with a broader skill set. But in this case the trade-off is obvious an up-front. If on the other hand you have a language that wants to be everything to everyone (C++, the PL/I of our times), then for any project it's a crapshoot what approach it takes and what sort of developers will be proficient with it, and it also encourages idiosyncratic "geniuses" to reinvent everything at any given opportunity because the language lets them.
I think people are deceived into overlooking the cost of multiple-paradigm development by extending single languages slowly -- boiling frog and all that. There is a real need for it, but there's a cost, and having one enormous language for your development obscures that. If you could mix multiple languages more readily, you both serve the need and make the costs clear.
Revisiting this topic and the comments after your new post, I'm particularly struck by JM's comment which just precedes this one. I'd rather forgotten that it was possible to have a multi-language assembly, although at one point I was watching that development with considerable interest.
In my opinion, if you really want to take a script-like approach for some items of functionality and a more obviously strongly-typed approach for others, then supporting different languages within a single Visual Studio project would be the way to do it. Requiring the use of a different language, in a different source file, with a different icon, etc., is a type of encapsulation that would make it easier to delineate the boundaries between one approach and the other. Better doing that than blurring the lines within a language.
I take your point about considering all the possibilities, and recognise it's a good thing; but of course you're aware of the danger of diluting the things admire about C# for niche benefits. I hope the feedback you get from positing these things online is helpful; from outside Microsoft, the chance to comment is greatly appreciated.
I also hope the feeedback here reflects the bigger picture, since it agrees with my opinions ;-)
I was going to give a +1 for multilanguage assemblies, but think through what would be required for that in terms of dependency resolution. Assume you have a class F written in F#, with dependencies on a class C written in C#, in turn with dependencies on class F. With the language compilers being separate executables (hence each class would need to be compiled, incompletely, by a different program), think of what it would take to compile this. If it takes compiler changes, now realize how limited your language interop scenario becomes.
+1 for multi-language assemblies. THIS is where the future of interoperability lies.
The main scenarios for multi-language assemblies would not require circular dependencies, so leaving them out and calling it a limitation would not significantly reduce the usability of the feature.
Regarding multi-language assemblies - getting basic VS support for this would be a good start. I had a Connect ticket opened for that:
Note that this doesn't talk about adding full-fledged VS support. You'd still have to muck with .proj files directly in this scenario (though once done, VS build would happily use that).
However, for now, its resolution is rather disheartening - apparently, "the customer impact of doing this is fairly small" - which may well be the case, since I'm just one guy asking for a feature, and have no means of knowing how many more would find it useful. So - if you want it, go ahead and vote for it, send your usage scenarios, and so on.
Goodness, that's some heated debate out there!
Now, how about remembering one of the cornerstones of the modern society? Yes, I'm talking about TOLERANCE.
Will you stop programming in C# if Microsoft takes the direction you don't like? Will you stop driving if one more jerk cuts you off? Will you stop breathing if someone dares to pass winds in your presense? Be my guest!!!
Now, Microsoft has money and resources to make BOTH sides of the barricades happy: those who LOVE the top-level functions, and those who HATE them. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT??? What do you do whe you don't like some kind of music? You don't listen to it. What do you do when you don't like some movie genre? You don't watch it. So, if you don't like some new language feature, DON'T USE IT. That's all...
Though I certainly appreciate the sentiment, I think you might be missing the point of the people who are opposed to this change. Yes, the argument "I find this feature distasteful" is countered by "so don't use it". But the more important argument is "I think this feature will lead many other people to write bad programs that are buggy, hard to read, hard to maintain, have high cost of ownership, and trade short-term relatively unimportant benefits for long-term pain and expense." This argument is not countered by "so don't use it", because the problem is the mess made by other people.
We are well aware of this class of problems; I've blogged before about how we want C# to be a "pit of quality" language; that is a language where the constraints on the language naturally lead you to write well-factored, high-quality, robust, versionable, correct programs. A language where it is hard to write spaghetti code, memory leaks, or buffer overruns is, in our opinion, goodness. At the same time, we want to still support the features that lead to those negative outcomes, because arbitrary branching, deterministic finalization and direct access to memory are powerful and sometimes necessary. This is why we restrict the use of "goto" to never branch into a block. This is why we have the "using" statement. This is why we make you mark code that could overrun a buffer as being "unsafe".
The problem with designing a language where "a one-line program is one line" is that it makes it easy -- maybe too easy -- to write ten-thousand-line programs as though they were one-line programs. Whether the benefit of the former is worth the potential cost of the latter, and how to mitigate those costs while maintaining the benefits, are debatable points, and I welcome that debate.
Although I have known quite a few people who strife to BAN the music or the movies they don't like: they are all quite ingeniuos when it comes to finding pretexts: it's violent, it's sexually explicit, it's this, it's that... Can't we, the IT crowd, who all have the IQ above average, rise above that sort of things?
Eric, thanks very much for your thoughtful comments.
I am certainly not against a healthy debate about finding the proper balance between the language's power and safety, although personally I tend to remember that good ol' Ying-Yang symbol: both can grow or shrink, but neither can become larger than the other; a language can be either powerful, like C++ which, by the way, used to be my native language until my comparatively recent move to C#, or safe, like Java, where you cannot print anything without writing a native-code extension, but it can NEVER be both. If it's powerful, then its power, like any other power (see any fantasy novel for reference), can be used for good or evil: to create elegant solutions or to introduce awful bugs; if it's safe, it tends to put you under the glass and never let you out. The choice, then, is still yours: what do you value more, power or safety? Freedom or order?
In politics, this is the most common argument against freedom of speech: what if someone, somewhere, some day will say something that someone else does not like, and then that someone else will grab a bomb, and..! :-) It's also an agrument in favour of removing anything that can potentially cause any kind of controversy from the school program; as a result of that, I have met a few British nationals who had no idea who Rudyard Kipling was, and I also have to read Jack London's Tales of Southern Seas from the Internet because some of his passages are now considered politically incorrect and so the whole thing has been removed from the print.
But -- back to the topic. A debate about the best choice between the power and safety of C#, or any language, is welcome so long as it does not become religious, or ideological: THAT was, basically, my point. Now and again, I see people become so passionate about the "principle" of something that, in their eyes, that priciple becomes more important than the thing itself; hence, threats to ditch C# altogether is it's no longer "pure". And years before that, I knew some who used Borland C++ rather than Visual C simply because they hated, hated, HATED Microsoft (Grrr!!!) :-) By the way, even now Europe is full of people who use Linux and curse Windows for the same very reason. How childish is that??? All those operating systems, programming languages, browsers, and the rest of it, are just TOOLS that serve some PURPOSE, and, in my opinion, getting so passionate about a tool that you forget its purpose is, to put it gently, immature.
The decision between safety and power is not one or the other. Rather there is a continuum between them, the more power you have, the less safe you are (for the most part), and vice-versa, The trick of language design is to determine what level of safety you are willing to give up for what level of power. That is what the blog post and the comment debate is about, and I see nothing wrong with it. Nor do I think that the level of debate has come anywhere close to the point of invoking Godwin's Law. Nor do I see what Rudyard Kipling of Jack London have to do with any of this.
It's not the more power you HAVE the less safe you are; its' more like, the more power you USE the less safe you are. That is, in essense, my point: if someone is not comfortable with a certain level of power, he is free NOT TO USE it; it does not mean that he SHOULD NEVER HAVE AN OPTION to use it, should he change his mind.
I'm sure your car has something like 160 mph or 260 kph on its speedo; have you really gone that fast on a public road? Or should we now declare any car that POTENTIALLY CAN reach that speed dangerous and ban them all outright? It's the same with a language: it does not FORCE you to use all its powers, and there are always "some others" who may find the powers we avoid (for the safety's sake) extremely useful. So who is any one of us to decide for EVERYONE ELSE what's right and what's wrong for them? The more powerful the language is, the more of us are able to decide it FOR OURSELVES, and I see nothing wrong with that.
As for Kipling and London, they are just examples of how the fear of controversy, manifesting itself in the so-called "political correctness", criples the culture: just because they occasionnally used some words, and rised some subjects, that someone, somewhere might find offensive, their works are disappearing from people's memory. I would hate to see C#, or any other good and powerful language, cripled out of fear of its power.
It seems YOU (and not commongenius) are the one missing the point.
When dealing with a business development environment, is can be impossible to ENFORCE the useage of only "authorized" constructs. Code reviews do NOT ENSURE that they will not be used, only automated tools can hope accomplish this [and I have previously posted about the lengths some programmers will go to circumvent these, eve in the face of being fired].
Once it is POSSIBLE to use something, you have to assume that it may be used. Then you have to start figuring out how to make sure it is used corredtly.
I am NOT a ludite, and actually vote in favor of many of the features. I KNOW that the team at Microsoft (especially Eric) understands this COST.
You statement of "The more powerful the language is, the more of us are able to decide..." is the exact opposite of what heas been thre repeated experience of nearly every long term developer. The ONLY people who are truely qualified to make a decision (on any subject) are those who fully understand 100% of the alternativies and the risk/rewards of each. And the larger the required knowledge base is the smaller the percentage of people that will have the full knowledge.
As you yourself say, "the ONLY people who are truly qualified to make a decision (on any subject) are those who fully understand 100% of the alternatives and the risk/rewards of each."
Now, the question is, WHO are those people? ARE there any such people, ever???
As I move to software architecture and project management after slaving away as a developer workhorse for 19 years, I know how tempting it is to Command And Control: to Show Them All Who's The Real Boss, to finally get your vindication. I also remember how much resentmen such methods inspire: THAT is the true reason behind the ridiculous "lengths some programmers will go to circumvent these [automated tools enforcing the coding standards], even in the face of being fired". So I say: yes, work with your team on the GUIDELINES for best coding practices, but understand that life CANNOT be totally formalised and there is ALWAYS a situation in which the law is meant to be broken.
Like in a game of chess: as soon as you program your chess-playing application NEVER to place a knight in the corner, for example, it immediately runs into a situation in which such a move is the only chance to win (or not to loose).
Also, more trust in your people will not hurt: they will not push the boundaries more than necessary, UNLESS YOU LIMIT THEM more that necessary. Think Scrum: empowered, self-organizing team. I've just got my CSM certification, so I still remember...
And once again: NO ONE understands 100% of the ramification of each alternative, so it just might be convenient to keep them all handy, just in case the law we lay down proves to be wrong, and there is an urgent need for an alternative. | <urn:uuid:3b1ee717-f916-48c7-92f5-6212722bb805> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ericlippert/archive/2009/06/22/why-doesn-t-c-implement-top-level-methods.aspx?PageIndex=4 | 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 | 0.958968 | 4,554 | 1.789063 | 2 |
, once frowned upon as an unsavory dialect in the UK, has endured over the centuries, becoming a hallmark of London's East End culture. Though the demographics
of that area have changed within recent decades, the rhyming slang of old still persists in that region's streets - on ATM machines
posted by Smart Dalek
on Feb 14, 2013 -
A software engineer blogs about the inept and insecure way
in which a bank asks customers to file a claim when they're the victim of fraudulent transactions. Dozens of customers chime in with similar experiences, over the course of months. The bank in question contributes nothing to the conversation, and the system remains both insecure and broken today
[that last link is probably blocked by your browser or operating system, but don't worry - the form on the page doesn't work anyway].
posted by subpixel
on Nov 25, 2009 -
ATMs for Jesus.
A Georgia pastor has created a business that brings churches further into the digital age- for a few grand and a $50 monthly fee, now your congregation can have the convenience of a debit kiosk inside your church. (via Pandagon)
posted by XQUZYPHYR
on Sep 28, 2006 -
Face Recognition ATMs
In Australia, a tech company is developing face recognition ATMs, which operate on biometric technology (face, voice, and lip-movement). This technology could be an alternative to PINs. Is this idea really convenient or really freaky?
posted by MeetMegan
on Oct 12, 2001 - | <urn:uuid:a01b3333-c109-4743-a0ac-89369e7f3416> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.metafilter.com/tags/ATM | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942445 | 322 | 1.820313 | 2 |
There is an interesting article published earlier this week in The New York Times, an op-ed piece by columnist David Brooks titled “What the Words Tell Us”, where he analyses the shift in the usage of words over the last century and tries to understand what this implies with respect to social behavior. He writes, “Over the past half-century, society has become more individualistic. As it has become more individualistic, it has also become less morally aware, because social and moral fabrics are inextricably linked. The atomization and demoralization of society have led to certain forms of social breakdown…”
We can see moral values across the world deteriorating with each passing year. Increasing individualism and a singular focus on the self, cause people to think only about themselves and not of the society at large, this increasing narcissism fostering greed…of all kinds!
Beyond a certain level in the corporate world, people truly believe they are God’s gift to mankind. Which is perhaps why Mr. Phaneesh Murthy couldn’t keep it inside his pants. And while most people’s sexual dalliances don’t become public fodder, he has turned out to be twice unlucky. Which is what happens when you become greedy.
When someone promises a 24–36% return on investment, he is obviously smoking weed. I am happy if I see a 12% yearly return and if this happens to be post-tax, that’s cherry on top. And yet, year after year, whether it is the Saradha group or other similar companies that start pyramid schemes, people in their greed fall prey to promises of quick returns. The first few probably get their money back while the rest are then left holding lemons. The liars are clearly greedy wanting to make a fast buck by exploiting others…but those who get conned are equally at fault…and equally greedy.
People gamble all the time. It may be the addiction, the adrenaline, or the greed of wanting to make quick money with the least effort.
Currently, the IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal has all of us riveted, especially since it is so well played out. Even the police and those involved in finding the truth make sure that there is just one new story that comes out everyday, so that it makes the front page of the newspapers and keeps the news-channels busy and holds our attention.
The show is better than any soap currently on television and feeds our greed as voyeurs wanting to know all the gory details day after day about those who were greedy…and stupid enough to get caught.
Those following the Cobrapost exposures will have seen how easy it is to manipulate banks and financial institutions especially if you want to bring unaccounted money into the system. It is as if the entire system is greedy, wanting to make money for itself, by helping other greedy people find avenues to manage their concealed income, whatever its source may be.
And it goes on. It is greed that makes a pharmaceutical company churn out substandard and adulterated generic drugs and fool the regulatory authorities consistently. The same greed makes building owners cut corners leading to a collapse, killing over a 1000 sweat-shop workers. And the same greed makes builders build extra floors when the FSI does not exist.
All of this, bit by bit, tears away at the fabric that holds our society together. With each passing year, this rent only keeps growing bigger…one day it will become impossible to stitch it back and then we will have nothing but anarchy! | <urn:uuid:3956cc0c-8854-4393-84dd-62e1e6debcda> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://manfrommatunga.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960351 | 734 | 1.742188 | 2 |
22 Nov 2012 from Warren Forsythe
Genealogy121 (at) fairpoint.net
Page 94 of “Damon Family of Scituate, Mass.” by Richard A Damon Jr. and D. Bradford Damon
says nothing about spouse nor descendants for Mason Damon b. 1803 Fairfax Maine,
Even though lots of descendants are compiled there for his adjacent siblings:
John Damon born 1801, and Rebecca (Damon) Woodward born 1805.
For Mason Damon born 1803, page 94 of above genealogy says only
“#1786 Mason b. Fairfax [Maine] June 26, 1803; settled in Oshkosh, Wisc. (DBD)”
[the DBD refers to co-author D. B. Damon (1901-1992), meaning that Richard A Damon in 2000 reports DBD info., even though the surviving co-author found no confirmation about Oshkosh]
Indeed, 1830 is the last public record I, Forsythe, find that confirms Mason Damon b. 1803 had a wife and family: 1830 US census of Howland, Penobscot Co. Maine, Mason Dammon with aged 20-29 female, two males aged 20-29, male aged 0-4, female aged 10-14.
1840 us census
HOWEVER YESTERDAY --I, Forsythe, notice the following 1880 county history
Tells of a Nancy Damon/Damman born Apr 1830 in Maine (Penobscot[?now Piscataquis?] County)
She was on the Douglas/Douglass side, a 1st cousin once removed to her husband; so probably many of these Douglas/Damon kin migrated from Maine to Wisconsin about 1840-1842
From the “History of Dane County, Wisconsin-1880” there is a biographical sketch under the ‘Town of Dunn’ for J.F. Douglass, farmer, Sec.27; P.O. Stoughton; was born in Penobscot Co., Maine, in July, 1822, and in the autumn of 1840, he emigrated with his parents to Vermillion Co, IL; in July, 1842, they came to Dane Co., Wis., and located in the town of Rutland, and in 1845 removed to the town of Dunn, and settled on Sec. 14; three years later he bought and removed to this farm in Sec. 27; He now owns 160 acres of Secs. 22 and 27. Mr Douglass has been Town Treasurer one term, and a member of the Town Board two terms. He was married in the town of Rutland, Dane Co., Wis, in 1846, to Nancy Damman, a native of Penobscot Co, Maine, born in April 1830; their children are Robert A, who enlisted in the 8th W.V.I., February 1864 and died at Vicksburg, in June 1864; Jeremiah, who now lives in this town; Marilla, now the wife of William Hulse, who lives in Ohio; Margaret, now Mrs Albert Southerland, who lives in Fremont Co, Iowa; Orra A, now Mrs William Neye, and lives at Syrene, Dane Co, Wis; Cornelia, Mrs George Green, who lives in Nebraska; Carrie, Mason, Edward, Flora and John. Mr & Mrs Douglass are Free-Will Baptists.
SO WE SEARCHED FOR RECORDS OF WIFE&KIDS FOR MASON DAMON born 1803:www.familysearch.org
, the Salt Lake Family History Library, cites vital records of Lee, Maine
-two ancestry.com public member trees tell a similar story, sometimes with slight documentationhttp://trees.ancestry.com/tree/10491922/person/-631002564?ss...
and the less-credible undocumented assertion that Mason d.1891 Sheridan,Dunn Co.,WI athttp://trees.ancestry.com/tree/26013157/person/5001175934?ss...
SO NOW WE POST DESCENDANTS OF SABRINA & MASON DAMON athttp://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=REG&d...
Best to look there to see documentation and updates, but 22 nov 2012 initially it said:
Descendant Register, Generation No. 1
1. Sabrina was born 11 MAR 1806 in probably of,,Maine, and died ABT 1839 in probably either,,Maine,Wisconsin. She married Mason 1786#Dick DAMON BEF 1830 in probably near,Penobscot,Maine, son of Seth ofPittstonby1801 688#Dick DAMON and Margaret Douglass Margaret DOUGLAS. He was born 26 JUN 1803 in Fairfax,Kennebec,ME,of Penobscot Co., and died AFT 1840 in asserted either,Winnebago,WI,Dunn.
Children of Sabrina and Mason 1786#Dick DAMON are:
2 i. William DAMON was born 28 JUN 1829 in ,Penobscot,Maine,maybe b. Lee ME.
+ 3 ii. Nancy DAMON was born APR 1831 in Lee,Penobscot,Maine, was christened in FreeWill Baptist, and died AFT 1879 in Dunn,Dane,WI.
4 iii. Jacob DAMON was born 30 JAN 1834 in Lee,Penobscot,Maine.
5 iv. Seth DAMON was born 13 MAR 1836 in Lee,Penobscot,Maine.
6 v. Labaron Lebaron DAMON was born 27 MAR 1839 in Lee,Penobscot,Maine.
Descendant Register, Generation No. 2
3. Nancy DAMON (Sabrina1) was born APR 1831 in Lee,Penobscot,Maine, was christened in FreeWill Baptist, and died AFT 1879 in Dunn,Dane,WI. She married Josiah F Douglass DOUGLAS 1846 in Rutland,Dane,WI or md. 1845,1880DaneCoWIHist, son of Jeremiah Douglass DOUGLAS and Margaret SMART. He was born 8 JUL 1822 in ,Penobscot,Maine, was christened in FreeWill Baptist, and died AFT 1879 in Dunn,Dane,WI.
Children of Nancy DAMON and Josiah F Douglass DOUGLAS are:
7 i. Robert A 8th_WI_Vol_Inf DOUGLAS was born 1846 in ,Dane,WI, and died JUN 1864 in Vicksburg,,MS,Civil War.
8 ii. Jeremiah DOUGLAS was born 11 FEB 1849 in ,Dane,WI, and died 11 APR 1892 in ,Dane,WI.
9 iii. Marilla Marietta DOUGLAS was born ABT 1850 in of Dunn,Dane,WI, and died AFT 1879 in then living,,OH. She married William HULSE in probably,Dane,WI. He was born ABT 1845 in maybe once of,,WI, and died AFT 1879 in then living,,OH.
10 iv. Willard DOUGLAS was born ABT 1852 in of Dunn,Dane,WI.
11 v. Margaret DOUGLAS was born ABT 1854 in of Dunn,Dane,WI. She married Albert SOUTHERLAND in probably,Dane,WI. He was born ABT 1845 in maybe once of,,WI, and died AFT 1879 in then living,Fremont,Iowa.
12 vi. Sarah DOUGLAS was born ABT 1856 in of Dunn,Dane,WI.
13 vii. Oradine Orra A DOUGLAS was born ABT 1856 in of Dunn,Dane,WI, and died AFT 1879 in of Syrene,Dane,WI,alive there then. She married William NEVE in probably,Dane,WI. He was born ABT 1850 in once of,,WI, and died AFT 1879 in of Syrene,Dane,WI,alive there then.
14 viii. Cornelia DOUGLAS was born ABT 1859 in of Dunn,Dane,WI, and died AFT 1879 in then living,,Nebraska. She married George W GREENE 23 DEC 1877 in ,,WI. He was born ABT 1850 in by 1877 of,,WI, and died AFT 1879 in then living,,Nebraska.
15 ix. Carrie DOUGLAS was born ABT 1861 in of Dunn,Dane,WI.
16 x. Mason DOUGLAS was born ABT 1863 in of Dunn,Dane,WI.
17 xi. Edward DOUGLAS was born ABT 1866 in of Dunn,Dane,WI.
18 xii. Flora R DOUGLAS was born ABT 1868 in of Dunn,Dane,WI.
19 xiii. John DOUGLAS was born ABT 1870 in of Dunn,Dane,WI. | <urn:uuid:8f0529c0-59c1-4c56-96c6-d2a2bdb920f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.wisconsin.counties.dunn/3400/mb.ashx?pnt=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954983 | 1,973 | 1.726563 | 2 |
In Japan, parents make bento lunches for their kindergarten kids. To make a healthy lunch look as appetizing (or rather, "fun") as possible, many parents make them as cute as possible. As a parent of two boys, I've tried to make cute bento lunches, with the key word being "tried".
The materials you are working with—well, food—aren't ideal. Still, Japanese food companies do sell pre-cut Pokémon seaweed paper, veggie cutters that create adorable shapes, and edible powdered dyes to alter the color of white rice. Even with that help, I haven't turned anything one millionth as impressive as the hand-made lunches AnnaTheRed has churned out over the years.
What makes her bento lunches so damn great isn't merely that she can make pretty much any video game, anime, or manga into a lunch, but that AnnaTheRed, who grew up in Japan, uses the types of food you actually find in Japanese kids' bento lunches. (Sometimes, bento makers in the West use food that people in Japan would find, well, odd in a lunch box.)
Kotaku has previously posted a handful of her bento work (here, here, and here). And now, here are many, many more. I've probably posted too many from her blog (which you should read), but hopefully she won't mind! Just wanted to share. | <urn:uuid:2792ee12-0891-451a-9dc7-819b4a3307f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kotaku.com/5919496/this-is-the-greatest-cute-bento-maker-on-earth/?tag=manga | 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 | 0.977155 | 301 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Friday, March 1, 2013
Ours is an exterior culture. We like to fix things, make things right—things we can see with our eyes, touch with our hands, and deal with in concrete terms. There’s nothing wrong with any of that; there are a lot of things in this world in need of repair. However, there is another brokenness that calls out to us from our innermost depths—that of the human heart, the life of the spirit.
Unseen and largely unnoticed, this “inner dialogue” of the wounded soul contributes greatly to the collective, exterior troubles of the world at large, which are really only symptoms of a much deeper problem.
Doubt. Anger. Malice. Sorrow. Fear. These are just a few of the spiritual trials that afflict the human heart—and if not faithfully and reasonably confronted, they can lead to great distress interiorly and exteriorly, individually and collectively. Our rich Catholic tradition offers us reliable guidance in this respect—not to remove our trials, but to transform them by God’s grace into good, for ourselves and the world around us.
This book contains five pieces originally published by Abbey Press as titles in the Catholic Perspectives CareNotes series. Presented are pieces of valuable insight into some of our spiritual trials, and the inspiration which can lead to renewed and strengthened faith, peace, mercy, joy, and love. We hope that you will read and reflect on them with the ear of your heart, so that God may be all in all (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:28).
NOTE: Above is the Introduction to Through Spiritual Trials, one title in the new Path of Life Publications book series called Pathways which I have edited. Each five-chapter volume focuses on themes originally published in the Catholic Perspectives CareNotes series. For more information on each of the three books published in the series thus far, please click on the corresponding title: Through Spiritual Trials; In Times of Grief; and When Life Is a Struggle. -- Br. Francis
Posted by Br. Francis de Sales Wagner at 9:24 AM | <urn:uuid:d12a9569-f611-44f7-b6c6-98e36435a8d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pathoflifeblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/pathways.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944411 | 434 | 1.625 | 2 |
EDIT 16/05/12 – NICE has now approved this drug. More here.
Today the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence – NICE, the body that decides which drugs the NHS should pay for – has given a preliminary ‘thumbs down’ to a new prostate cancer drug, abiraterone (Zytiga), after it failed to agree a pricing scheme with its manufacturer.
As regular readers will remember, we played a key role in this drug’s development, from pioneering lab work, through pre-clinical studies, all the way up to early patient trials.
This is a deeply disappointing and frustrating decision. Since it became available last year, abiraterone has become one of the most requested drugs on the NHS Cancer Drugs Fund. Both patients and doctors alike value the extra months it gives men with their families, if their prostate cancer comes back after chemotherapy.
Chiefly, we’re upset that the healthcare authorities and the drug’s manufacturers, Janssen (part of Johnson & Johnson), can’t agree a fair price for the drug.
We also think there are some issues with NICE’s calculations, which we’ll discuss below.
Thankfully, this decision isn’t final, and
can be appealed NICE is now asking for comments through its consultation process. But we’re dismayed that this will mean another long wait of many more months before there’s any hope of progress. And while we wait, there will be men in the UK who will be denied a drug that could help them.
Here’s a video of our chief medical officer, Professor Peter Johnson, explaining what he thinks about the decision:
We need to be clear: abiraterone isn’t a cure for cancer.
But for the thousands of men diagnosed every year with prostate cancer that has spread, it has the potential to ease suffering in the late stages of a terrible disease, and give men more time with their families. The average survival time for these men is just 11 months. Trials have shown that abiraterone could give them an extra four.
Some will say that we’re only upset because Cancer Research UK stands to earn money from sales of abiraterone. And we do have an interest here: thanks to the way we licensed our initial discoveries to the pharmaceutical industry, we stand to receive royalties from the drug’s sale.
But those funds would be ploughed back into our urgent search for better ways to treat this terrible disease. We receive no government funding for our research – almost all our income comes from the public’s generosity. Things are tight for everyone, and we’re having to seriously prioritise our research funding. Every penny counts.
On top of this, it’s hard to tell our supporters that a drug whose development they helped to fund isn’t going to be available to patients. More recently, to try to prevent this situation arising, we’ve been much more forensic in contracts we sign with the pharma industry, to encourage them to market the resulting drugs at a price suitable for the NHS.
But we signed the original agreement to develop abiraterone in the late 80s, long before NICE was even a twinkle in the Department of Health’s eye.
Our motive is not self-interest. At Cancer Research UK we passionately believe that to help people with the disease, we have to understand what makes cancer tick, and use that knowledge to develop better treatments.
Abiraterone is a shining example of this vision. In the 1990s, we helped fund researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research to identify the molecular machinery that helps prostate cancers use testosterone to grow and spread. They developed chemicals that could interfere with this process. They tested and refined these chemicals into a drug that could make a difference. And they conducted early trials of this drug.
We watched proudly as others at The Institute of Cancer Research, with Janssen’s support, built on that platform, rigorously testing the drug in clinical trials. These trials proved that the drug could improve things for the people who really matter – patients.
So hearing that men are to be denied this drug as a routine choice is a huge let-down, and a real blow to the morale of everyone who shares our dream of conquering cancer through scientific research.
Where did things go wrong?
First, let’s look at NICE’s calculations.
Around 37,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the UK. Of these, about 10,000 are diagnosed with advanced disease.
But abiraterone is only currently intended for men with advanced prostate cancer who have already had chemo, which isn’t suitable for all men. We’ve spoken to a range of experts who agree that the true figure is probably fewer than 7,000 men – and we think this number is low enough for the drug to be assessed under NICE’s end-of-life guidance, which has less-stringent rules over cost.
So we think the overall cost could be more manageable than NICE’s initial calculations appear to have indicated. They disagree with us, and issued a statement to say so. But all the evidence Janssen gave them backs up our point of view; they appear to have dismissed this on the advice of a single expert.
The drug’s high cost is perhaps a more significant factor. We’re well aware that abiraterone is an expensive drug* – it costs about £3,000 for one month’s supply – and we live in straitened times. But the challenges of the current economic climate need to be shared. Janssen have offered the NHS a discount, but clearly not enough. We want them to agree a discount scheme that reflects the current financial constraints on the NHS.
If NICE tweak their sums, and Janssen are willing to compromise, we desperately hope abiraterone will be allowed to enter routine use.
Men in England with advanced prostate cancer can, of course, consider asking their doctor to apply for access to abiraterone through the Cancer Drugs Fund. But this is a finite pot of money that’s only available until 2014. It has to service the needs of patients with many other types of cancer. We mustn’t overload it, or others will suffer.
And crucially, the Fund doesn’t apply to men in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland (the Scottish drugs watchdog, the SMC, say they aim to appraise abiraterone by March 12th).
How long will the appeal take?
Appeals need to be submitted NICE want to hear from other experts by February 23rd, and say a final decision should be made by May. And this highlights a wider problem – NICE’s system still appears to be overly reliant on economic, rather than clinical, values. As we discussed in December, the Government is planning to reform drug pricing in the UK, through a proposal called ‘value-based pricing’. We want this new system, however it works, to be faster, more transparent, and focused on delivering positive outcomes for patients.
But that’s for the future. In the here-and-now, we’ll be consulting with our colleagues at other clinical and research organisations. If you have anything you want us to highlight, please leave your thoughts below. As well as people affected by prostate cancer, we’re also keen to hear from the people who look after them – clinicians, nurses, GPs and other carers.
We hope that the
appeal is successful, responses to this consultation convince NICE and Janssen that the drug represents a real step forward for men with prostate cancer, so it can be made available on the NHS for those could benefit from it.
*Edit 03/02 – we’ve added more details about the cost of abiraterone above, in response to a request on Twitter
Edit 06/0 – after discussion with NICE, we have slightly amended the wording of a few points above. | <urn:uuid:068e913e-66c8-4617-8fca-8750fdb05970> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2012/02/02/why-todays-prostate-drug-decision-makes-no-sense/?shared=email&msg=fail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957641 | 1,699 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Young Muslim women will definitely save money on bikini wax and suntan lotion at the beach this year.
That's because the burkini, the latest in swimwear for Muslim women, is making its appearance and creating quite a stir on Australia's beaches, famous for their scantily-attired females. A hybrid of the Islamic burqa and the Western world's much-beloved bikini, the lycra, two-piece bathing suit covers its wearer from head to foot, showing only the hands, feet and face.
The full-length swimsuit's designer, Lebanon-born Aheda Zanetti, told the media her lightweight creation is meant to allow Muslim women to enjoy water sports, while still remaining modestly dressed. The burkini also differs from other Muslim swimwear for females already in existence, Zanetti said, in that it is the first two-piece suit incorporating a head covering. Up until now, Muslim women have been wearing heavy robes and dresses to the beach unsuitable for swimming. (Who says there isn't progress being made for women in the Islamic world?)
While the burkini's appearance may elicit jokes (one wag has described their wearers as ninja wannabes), one has to question whether it represents a loosening up of restrictions on Muslim women to allow them to swim, as the sale of almost ten thousand burkinis, each costing $140 to $160, attests, or is it still just another embarrassing tactic to oppress them and to further institutionalize Muslim gender apartheid. Whatever the case, when one examines the facts of the eeny-weenie burkini story, there is nothing teensie-weensie about it.
Admittedly, the burkini has benefits. It liberates thousands of young Muslim women to enjoy the beach and a previously denied opportunity for healthy exercise with extra protection from the sun's ultra violet rays. It also protects them from men's unwanted stares, which has also prompted some non-Muslim women to buy the burkini. A few burkini-clad women have even been accepted for life guard training, an Australian institution, furthering their integration into Australian society. Especially after the Cronulla Beach riots of late 2005 between white Australians and Lebanese, this is welcome.
But it is outrageous that these young Muslim women still have to cover up in order to go into the water. It violates the Western concept of freedom of choice that these women are not allowed to choose what kind of swimsuit to wear. After all, there is no similar restriction on young Muslim men. But this is the same culture that allows the men to have four wives; grants male suicide bombers 72 virgins in heaven; doesn't allow women to drive a car in Saudi Arabia; and forces cliterectomies on defenseless girls, among other gender horrors.
Besides, it wasn't the Muslim women but rather Lebanese men making offensive, sexual comments to white Australian girls that were one of the roots of the Cronulla riots. The Muslim women know how to behave when having fun in the sun. However, the perverted, sick attitudes of some of their male counterparts towards the opposite sex were starkly exhibited in the horrific and sadistic Sydney gang rapes of 2000, in which nine mentally degenerate Muslim Lebanese men received altogether 244 years in prison for the planned, savage gang rapes of Australian women, some as young as fourteen.
It sends a message. The onus is still on Muslim women to cover up if they do not want to be treated like Australian women on the beach or, even worse, like the Australian women were in 2000. In their sexually repressed religious culture, Muslim women are held responsible for the men's behavior. If a man loses sexual self-control, then the woman must not have been modest enough in dress and behavior, and is to blame. Even the controversial Mufti of Australia confirmed this twisted attitude when, blaming women for rape, he said: "The uncovered meat is the problem." The Mufti also went on to describe women as weapons of Satan to control men.
And even though the burkini covers Muslim women from head to foot, it still may be too revealing, for no Muslim religious leader in Australia, says Zanetti, has endorsed it (except for the above-mentioned mufti who is probably exercising damage control for his outrageous comments). In fact, Zanetti says she has received heavy criticism from some Muslims regarding her creation and even a death threat. It seems a well-turned ankle and the visible curves of a burkini-clad woman are still too much for some of these eternally-angry Muslim men who fear succumbing to ungovernable sexual desire at the sight of a Muslim beach babe.
The same arguments can also be used regarding the burkini's wearing as for the Muslim headscarf and veil in Western European countries. Firstly, this non-revealing swimsuit can be viewed as another sign of the creeping Islamization of Western society, as it represents a concession to the sharia legal order, which calls for the covering up of women (burkinis will soon go on sale in Europe and most likely will eventually make an appearance on American beaches). As well, like the veil and the head scarf, the burkini would also represent a conscious self-segregation of its Muslim wearers from the Western society, in which they live, and its values.
Nevertheless, the burkini has gone to the beach in Australia - and maybe soon to one near you.
Click Here to support Frontpagemag.com. | <urn:uuid:42da223b-3b95-4490-a061-57471157a0db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=333 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969799 | 1,146 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Approval for Private Aids to Navigation (PATON) is regulated by U.S. Coast Guard under Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 66 (33CFR66). For the Eleventh Coast Guard District, California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah this responsibility lies with the Aids to Navigation Branch.
A Private Aid to Navigation is a buoy, light or daybeacon owned and maintained by any individual or organization other than the United States Coast Guard. These interests include private citizens, marina and yacht clubs, municipal and state governments, construction and dredging companies, research and non- profit organizations, beach front associations, and large industrial companies. Private aids to navigation are designed to allow individuals or organizations to mark privately owned marine obstructions or other similar hazards to navigation, or to assist their own navigation operations. Private aids to navigation are required to be maintained by the owner as stated on the U.S. Coast Guard permit.
The term Private Aids to Navigation can be confusing in some instances. The confusion exists because much of what we permit is not really an aid to navigation, such as a mooring buoy or a string of swim area buoys: they do not aid navigation in any way, although they warn the mariner to keep away from them. The PATON permit process is still the method we use to evaluate the navigational safety of the object placed in the water, and to determine if it should be lighted and/ or placed on the chart.
The Coast Guard generally leaves management of mooring buoys to state and local authorities. The local and not-so-local authorities can include the Army Corps of Engineers, the State Lands Commission, the local Coastal Commission, various conservation districts and the local Harbormaster. The Coast Guard gets involved when there is not a designated mooring area and a buoy may need to be placed on the chart, but only after local authorities have approved the placement. We are also involved in large commercial mooring buoys that need to be lighted and charted
Temporary: Those aids that will be on station 6 months or less. An application is not required for a temporary aid, however, plans for any temporary aid should be submitted for review before it is established. The Coast Guard will publish the location of these temporary aids in the Local Notice to Mariners.
Permanent: Those aids that will be on station longer than 6 months and that require a completed and approved application.
Private Aids on navigable waters regulated by the federal government require a Coast Guard permit. The application for a permit, form CG-2554, can be obtained by contacting the PATON Program Manager.
The PATON Program Manager provides applicants with assistance in processing their paperwork. Copies of federal regulations (33CFR66) governing aids to navigation and copies of previously issued permits are available. You may also obtain illustrations of standard markings used on navigable waters under the U.S. Aids to Navigation System. There is no longer a uniform state waterway marking system. Buoys and markers used inland and within state waters should be the same as the U.S. Aids to Navigation System. Contact or email the Program Manager to obtain an application or to submit any Temporary Private Aids to Navigation Plans for review prior to establishment of any temporary aid.
Download a Private Aids to Navigation Application (Form CG-2554) and Application Instructions.
Owners are reminded of their responsibility for the proper operation and maintenance of their private aids to navigation. When owners receive discrepancy reports from the Coast Guard, they are obligated to take immediate action to correct the discrepancy.
Mariners are reminded that they have a responsibility to report discrepant private aids to the nearest Coast Guard unit. All aids to navigation in the Eleventh Coast Guard District, both private and federally maintained, are user monitored. The failure of a mariner to report a discrepant aid to navigation may result in casualties to others. The Coast Guard issues broadcast notice to mariners for reported discrepancies which remain in effect until the discrepancy is corrected or is published in the Local Notice to Mariners. | <urn:uuid:c3c286ee-e7f2-41c2-9187-3c785f89478e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uscg.mil/D11/dp/PatonOne.asp | 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 | 0.94129 | 841 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Parts of Canada Secrecy Law Struck Down
BETH DUFF-BROWN / AP | October 20 2006
A court struck down sections of a Canadian anti-terrorism law Thursday, in a ruling that threw out warrants used to search the home of a reporter covering U.S. efforts to secretly send a Canadian terror suspect to Syria for interrogation.
The Ontario Superior Court judgment quashed three sections of the so-called leakage provisions of the federal Security of Information Act, which passed following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The provisions were directly drawn from the decades-old Official Secrets Act and dealt specifically with the unauthorized communication of intelligence by officials who are bound to secrecy.
In her ruling, Justice Lynn Ratushny said the provisions were vague and violated the constitutional rights to justice and freedom of the press.
"They arbitrarily and unfairly and with a blunt club of criminal sanction restrict freedom of expression, including freedom of the press," the ruling said.
David Paciocco, a lawyer for Ottawa Citizen reporter Juliet O'Neill, told The Canadian Press that Thursday's ruling underscores the media's role in protecting democracy.
"It's a tremendous affirmation of the importance of freedom of the press and freedom of expression," Paciocco said after reading the judgment.
Squads of Royal Canadian Mounted Police combed through O'Neill's home and office in January 2004 in an attempt to find the source of information about the Maher Arar affair.
Arar, a Syrian-born Ottawa engineer, was traveling on a Canadian passport when he was detained at New York's Kennedy Airport in 2002 during a layover on his way home to Canada from a vacation in Tunisia. After his release from a Damascus prison in 2003, Arar made detailed torture allegations.
Arar was exonerated of all suspicion of terrorist activity last month by a Canadian commission of inquiry. The inquiry found that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had told U.S. authorities that Arar was an Islamic extremist suspected of links to al-Qaida.
The RCMP launched a criminal probe in the weeks following publication of a Nov. 8, 2003 story by O'Neill. The story cited a "security source" and a leaked document offering details of what Arar allegedly told his Syrian captors.
The Mounties believe O'Neill published her article "based on the receipt of secret classified information."
Paciocco said the court ruling effectively renders the warrants null and void, paving the way for the return of O'Neill's seized papers, notebooks, contact lists and computer files.
Prosecutor Robert Frater said there was no immediate decision on whether to appeal.
Infowars.com is Copyright 2006 Alex Jones | Fair Use Notice | <urn:uuid:be85d5f5-91fc-4f5d-b604-c2f898dea388> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infowars.com/articles/ps/canada_parts_of_secrecy_law_struck_down.htm | 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 | 0.949376 | 556 | 1.585938 | 2 |
In the July 30 Dallas Voice, I wrote about the confusion over whether the law allows a citywide election to override previous elections. Carolyn Beck of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission sent over state regulations indicating that if a Justice of the Peace district holds a wet/dry election, that election supersedes any city election. Only another JP district election can override the previous election.
In the article, I mentioned two previous wet/dry elections affecting Oak Cliff, but upon further research I found two others.
In the 1890s, the city of Oak Cliff went dry. In 1960, JP District 7, which includes Oak Cliff, voted to remain dry. But two other elections occurred in the interim.
In 1944, 11 years after the repeal of Prohibition, Dallas County held a countywide election to make the entire county wet. In 1956, another election turned Oak Cliff — and all areas south of the Trinity River — dry. That’s more than JP District 7.
But the 1960 election was a JP district election and to overturn that election, a new JP district election would have to be held. The law clearly states that only a JP district election can overturn a JP district election on wet/dry issues. | <urn:uuid:ec258e72-01eb-4aa7-9a99-c15bdd36d416> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dallasvoice.com/tag/repeal-of-prohibition | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959808 | 247 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Israel approves 1,100 settler homes in Gilo, Jerusalem
27 September 2011
Israel has approved the construction of 1,100 homes in the Jewish settlement of Gilo on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
The move comes days after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called for full UN membership for a Palestinian state.
There has been widespread condemnation of the move by Palestinian and Western powers, including the EU and US.
Almost 500,000 Jews live in settlements on occupied territory. The settlements are illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians are deadlocked over the issue of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Also on Tuesday, three UN special rapporteurs called for an immediate end to the demolition of Palestinian-owned homes and other structures in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The plan for construction in Gilo includes the construction of small housing units, public buildings, a school and an industrial zone, according to the Ynet news website.
"It's a nice gift for Rosh Hashanah [Jewish New Year]," Yair Gabay, a member of the Jerusalem planning committee, told Ynet.
The authorities have now approved the building of almost 3,000 homes in Gilo over the past two years.
Mr Erekat said the decision represented a rejection of a proposal by the Quartet of Mid East negotiators - the US, the EU, Russia and the UN - for new talks between the Palestinians and Israelis.
"With this, Israel is responding to the Quartet's statement with 1,100 'NOs'," he said.
The US said the move was "deeply disappointing" and "counterproductive".
The EU Foreign Policy Chief, Catherine Ashton, noted that the Quartet had called for parties "to refrain from provocative actions".
"It is with deep regret that I learned today about the decision to advance in the plans for settlement expansion in east Jerusalem," she said in a statement.
"This plan should be reversed. Settlement activity threatens the viability of an agreed two-state solution and runs contrary to the Israeli-stated commitment to resume negotiations."
The US and UN have criticised earlier announcements of building projects.
France and the UK also voiced concerns.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged Israel to revoke its decision.
"Settlement expansion is illegal under international law, corrodes trust and undermines the basic principle of land for peace," he said in a statement.
Israel built the settlement at Gilo on land it captured in 1967. It later annexed the area to the Jerusalem municipality in a move not recognised by the international community.
Israel says it does not consider areas within the Jerusalem municipality to be settlements.
Gilo lies across a narrow valley from the Palestinian village of Beit Jala. It became a target for militants during the second Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in 2000.
Meanwhile, the UN rapporteurs on housing, water, sanitation and food rights said there had been a "dramatic increase" in the demolitions this year.
"The impact and discriminatory nature of these demolitions and evictions is completely unacceptable," they said in a statement.
"These actions by the Israeli authorities violate human rights and humanitarian law and must end immediately." | <urn:uuid:207c0579-2005-4943-987f-235cbc27c4bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blendzpolitik.blogspot.com/2011/09/israel-approves-construction-of-1100.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949409 | 670 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Given a choice between anonymous bloggers (and commenters) and those who sign their real names, I prefer to deal with those who use their real names. In part, this is because I admire their willingness to stand behind what they say regardless of the possible consequences. I do understand that it's easy for a tenured Professor to say this but I've never hidden behind anonymity even when I was an undergraduate, a graduate student, a postdoc, or an untenured Professor.
Greg Laden discusses anonymous bloggers in Some of my best friends are pseudonymous bloggers. I pretty much agree with his position. His posting is well worth reading.
I also agree with his stance on arguing from authority. In the real world, it makes a difference if someone is someone is putting forth an argument based on years of experience in the field or not. Nobody has time to evaluate all of the facts on every issue. We have to learn who we can trust and who we can't. The connection between this and anonymous blogging is obvious.
Please do not interpret this as a blanket recommendation to trust everyone in a position of authority. Similarly, I'm well aware of the fact that non-experts often make insightful contributions to a debate. The issue is much more complex than that. We don't need to list all the exceptions to the general principle that wisdom and experience usually count for something.
[Cartoon Credits: (top)Anonymity and Sovreignty (bottom) Cerebral Kitchen Productions] | <urn:uuid:9a3c87d0-5283-41f7-8cbe-8cf044729cd6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2008/04/i-prefer-people-who-sign-their-names-to.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971797 | 302 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Libertarian blogger Kurt Johnson lives in the Des Moines area.Tweet
8:10 PM, January 10, 2013
Johnson: Supreme Court made right call in dental assistant case
In a free society, individuals should be allowed to voluntarily choose who they wish to associate with, or not associate with. In an employment relationship, both the employer and employee should be free to terminate the employment relationship with or without notice, and for any reason or no reason – unless they contractually agree to something else.
In the recent case of the dentist who fired his dental assistant, the Iowa Supreme Court was correct in its decision to not penalize the dentist. The dental practice was the private property of the dentist. There was no employment contract between the parties, so the employment relationship could properly be terminated by either party.
People who disagree with what the dentist did are free to peacefully protest against the dentist, and they can try to peacefully organize a boycott of his practice. Remaining employees of the dentist are free to quit or to organize a peaceful strike against him if they wish. But, no one should be able to use force, even a majority through government, to dictate the terms of the employment relationship or penalize either party for terminating the relationship.
If a government had been the employer, it would have been a completely different situation. Governments are created by all of the people to serve all of the people. Government employers should only be allowed to discriminate based on factors related to job requirements and job performance. But peaceful people acting voluntarily should be left alone by government to decide for themselves whether or not to enter into any relationships with one another and to set the terms of those relationships.
A Better Iowa
This is a virtual town hall to focus on the greatest public service issues confronting Iowa. Consider it a digital gathering of community conversations where your ideas, opinions and solutions will be shared, studied and even debated.
We will share content that tackles Iowa's challenges and celebrates its successes.
But we need you, too. Bring your brain. Share your ideas. Add your voice.
Opinions & Editorials from around Iowa
- Iowa's Top Tweeters | <urn:uuid:2578ca8a-a501-40d1-baaf-9a4e27ddc183> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://abetteriowa.desmoinesregister.com/2013/01/10/johnson-supreme-court-made-right-call-in-dental-assistant-case/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96068 | 435 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Book Announcement: Field Guide to the Jewel Beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) of Northeastern North America
December 6, 2012 19 Comments
It’s not often that I anticipate the release of a book as much as I have with the soon-to-be-released Field Guide to the Jewel Beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) of Northeastern North America. Fortunately, the wait is now almost over—Morgan Jackson, author of Biodiversity in Focus and co-author of the book, has just announced its planned released in early 2013. Even better, he has provided a sneak peak at its contents that is as smartly designed as the book itself.
Obviously, as a serious student of the family Buprestidae, this book would make it into my bookshelf no matter what, and I plan to do a more detailed review of the book once I have a copy permanently in my hands. However, I can tell you that I am already very impressed with the design of the book and the quality of the product. I was fortunate to meet up with Morgan at last month’s Entomological Society of America meetings in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Morgan kindly allowed me to leaf through the carefully guarded copy he had with him (it was difficult handing it back to him). The Prezi preview for the book covers some of the more important features that will set this book apart from other field guides, but worthy of special mention are: 1) the minimum/maximum size silhouette figure in the upper left-hand corner of each species treatment—a tremendously useful feature, 2) inclusion of the both the author and date of the original description of the species (to keep us more taxonomically inclined happy), 3) super high quality dorsal and lateral habitus photographs and of additional key features to aid in identification, 4) geographical range maps coded to show both presumed and recorded ranges, and 5) keys to all treated species, richly augmented with high quality photographs.
There is another reason I am so excited about this book, and that is the authors chose my photograph of Buprestis rufipes (red-legged buprestis), one of North America’s most striking jewel beetle species, to grace the cover of the book. I also provided specimens of a number of uncommonly encountered species which were used for the photographs in their respective species treatments.
Quite remarkably, this book will be available at NO COST—including free shipping anywhere! As a consequence, the book will not be available from commercial book and literature sources. You can request your copy by emailing your mailing address to Morgan at firstname.lastname@example.org. I don’t know how many copies of the book are being printed, but I have a feeling that supplies will not last long, and in the coming years one will have to beg/borrow/steal from a kindly old colleague to get a copy (you can have my copy when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers!).
Copyright © Ted C. MacRae 2012 | <urn:uuid:ef896642-8cc8-4a82-a52e-565ab9214b16> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://beetlesinthebush.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/book-announcement-field-guide-to-the-jewel-beetles-coleoptera-buprestidae-of-northeastern-north-america/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961419 | 636 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Locked-Area.com began developing OpenCrypt in 2002 and proudly announced the initial release in 2005. Locked-Area.com was started in 1999 to distribute the software, Locked Area. Locked Area is a piece of user management/password protection software written in Perl for use on Internet web sites which allows the owner of a web site to setup a secure content area on their web site. Using the software the web site owner can then allow visitors to register to access the secure content area. This is very useful if for example, they would like to know who is accessing their web site content. OpenCrypt was released as an advanced alternative to Locked Area, intended to offer a comprehensive range of new options and facilities for the web site owner, including the option to charge web site visitors to access their content. This has proven very popular due to declines in profits from Internet advertising.
OpenCrypt is user management and membership software which enables you to manage all of your user management, online shopping and e-commerce tasks with one centralised management system.
What makes OpenCrypt unique is how it brings together all of your web site functions and tools into one system, enabling you to manage your users, ecommerce, content, affiliates, helpdesk, surveys and more with one software package.
The advantages of using a centralised system are endless, for example when using the OpenCrypt helpdesk you are immediately shown relevant account details and product purchases when a customer contacts you, and can even see exactly what content they've viewed on your web site. Having this information available immediately not only improves your efficiency, but also the quality of your service.
How does it work?
OpenCrypt is written in a programming language called Perl. Perl is widely known as "the duct-tape of the Internet" and is very popular for any web site based task which for example, requires a great deal of data processing. OpenCrypt also uses a system known as Apache .htaccess Authentication to help password protect secure content areas. This is an authentication system which is part of the Apache Web Server which is currently the most popular web server software for use on the Internet. OpenCrypt also uses PHP for a wide-range of optional/additional content interfaces and offers a PHP login interface as an alternative to the traditional pop-up login method. Using a combination of Perl, PHP and HTML, OpenCrypt provides a simple system for web site membership management. | <urn:uuid:9daff399-1377-4f24-b6fd-5162fa3e4a7b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.opencrypt.com/newvisitor.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942007 | 491 | 1.84375 | 2 |
NY Towns Ban All Drilling, Not Just Horizontal Fracking
Residents who live in New York townships that can’t seem to wait to ban drilling should be aware of something. These bans are bans of all gas drilling, not just horizontal hydraulic fracturing. That’s what residents in Enfield (Tompkins County), NY found out on Wednesday at a meeting with the town attorney. The Enfield town board plans to vote to enact a one-year moratorium in late April or early May, and the moratorium is on vertical as well as horizontal gas well drilling.
Residents got answers from town attorney Guy Krogh on Wednesday evening about a proposed one-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing and a possible outright ban.
The town board voted in February to move forward with a moratorium on the drilling process used for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale rock formation so it has time to shore up the town’s legal protections.
On Wednesday, Krogh summarized the intent of the draft legislation he authored, which used other towns’ moratoriums and bans as a model.
"It’s essentially a temporary ban on three components of the gas industry — exploration, extraction and support activities like trucking yards related to drilling — and it will last for one year," he said. "This gives the town time to put in place legislation to ensure continued vitality of town resources."
Krogh agreed with Newfield Supervisor Richard Driscoll that it’s important the town have a time line for steps to protect the town at the outset of a moratorium, so that in a year actions like adopting road-use laws could be finished.
Board member Debbie Teeter said she was upset that the moratorium would temporarily ban all gas drilling, not just hydraulic fracturing. "This is not what I expected the law to be," she said.
Krogh explained that to avoid the risk that courts will view a ban on just hydraulic fracturing as an attempt to regulate the mining industry, which is reserved for the state, the law is written to ban all oil and gas mining.
"You run a different set of risks if you attempt to ban only a certain mining process," Krogh said. "But that’s an open question that should be explored: Can we just ban hydrofracking or do you have to ban all gas wells?"*
Vertical gas well drilling in upstate New York has been going on for decades. In attempt to stop horizontal fracking, towns are now “throwing the baby out with the bath water.” Such is the mindset of environmental extremists.
*Elmira Star-Gazette (Mar 1, 2012) – Enfield addresses gas drilling ban | <urn:uuid:31fcbf9c-3f80-4dc4-8c55-27de603b8f9e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marcellusdrilling.com/2012/03/ny-towns-ban-all-drilling-not-just-horizontal-fracking/ | 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 | 0.953542 | 555 | 1.828125 | 2 |
CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, recently released a special Tax Briefing following the Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of President Obama’s health care reform law. Supreme Court Upholds Healthcare Law; All Tax Measures Preserved focuses on the tax impact of the Court’s decision and provides related advice and tips.
In a historic 5-to-4 ruling, the Court found the law to be constitutional and concluded that it is within Congress’ authority to require individuals to pay a penalty for failure to carry the minimum essential health insurance. The Court decided that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act should move forward. Additionally, it was decided that the methods used to impose expansion of state Medicaid benefits was unconstitutional.
“Many were surprised with what Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his opinion, stating that imposing a penalty on individuals without health insurance is within the authority of Congress to levy taxes,” said Mark Luscombe, JD, LLM, CPA, and CCH Principal Federal Tax Analyst. “But it’s still not certain how the IRS will interpret parts of the law and, even with pledges by opponents to repeal the law, taxpayers have to assume key provisions will begin going into effect next year.” | <urn:uuid:b6a14367-c5b9-4ce9-8401-b1141837716a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/news/10737343/cch-analyzes-supreme-court-health-care-ruling-in-new-tax-briefing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958871 | 270 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Hewlett-Packard, also known as HP, is a household name in the computer and consumer electronics world. They make everything from computers to printers and also offer other brands through their shopping portal. The HP shopping site expands well beyond what a customer might assume HP has to offer. While their computers, printers and other products take up a great deal of the shopping real estate, other products and brands can be found there as well.
The HP computers are divided between desktop, laptop and Netbook computer categories. The desktop computers are prebuilt systems that cover a wide range of needs from basic computing up to high performance gaming. The laptops also have the same type of category spread, with a budget range that accommodates many different people. The Netbook computers are low-cost laptops that do not have the same computing powering as the other systems, but they do offer a very affordable option for people who do not need a great deal of computing power.
The printers suit many different needs, whether a photo printer or an all-in-one model is needed. These printers are one of HP's most well known products. Customers can also purchase printer ink and other accessories for the printers in this section.
The electronics section contains many other brands that HP offers. The televisions, cameras, calculators, photo frames, and more encompass a wide variety of product offerings. While customers can find these particular products elsewhere, the convenience of having it all on one site is quite handy.
HP also provides a section for businesses, with computers and related products that are suited toward business needs more than consumer level demand. These computers and peripherals are made to stand up to constant, mission critical use. This section is a good starting point for any company that needs to figure out what it needs for its information technology requirements.
The accessories category contains products that provide an added value to the computers that HP offers. These products range from routers to additional storage. While customers don't need any of these accessories to use their HP products, many are helpful in certain situations.
HP is a household name for a reason. Their computers are built well and their technical support provides help with any problems that customers have. The shopping portal provides any product that the customer needs to get on their feet with a computer or other form of consumer electronic. The stock changes frequently, and HP provides coupon codes at many different times. When a customer is looking for a computer, he can compare many different types of products to find the system that exactly suits his needs. These computers are built to last and perform in many different situations, with a flexibility that provides plenty of value. The HP shopping portal knows what its customers are looking for, and how to deliver on that with service and selection. | <urn:uuid:a54f5d43-b560-4157-8bda-862113758842> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.couponcraze.com/coupons/hp-coupons | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967057 | 555 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Fifth runway, taxiway extension planned for Charlotte Douglas
Published: August 28, 2012
Time posted: 11:50 am
A fifth runway and a taxiway extension have been announced for Charlotte Douglas International Airport, two projects that will expand the world’s sixth-busiest airport.
At Monday’s City Council meeting, Jerry Orr, the airport’s director, told council members that a fifth runway is being planned. That project is expected to cost about $160 million, with construction possibly starting in 2014.
Also Monday, the council approved spending $6.9 million for the taxiway extension, which will be funded with $5.23 million in a Federal Aviation Administration grant and $1.74 million from the airport’s discretionary fund. The project will include drainage, paving and lighting work for the 2,900-foot taxiway extension and another connecting taxiway. Charlotte-based Talbert & Bright Engineering and Planning Consultants drew up plans for the project. | <urn:uuid:38180977-dfc7-42dd-a562-38945896e043> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mecktimes.com/news/2012/08/28/fifth-runway-taxiway-extension-planned-for-charlotte-douglas/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930103 | 205 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Online shoppers could soon be paying sales taxes as part of the new state budget being negotiated by Gov. Paterson and the Legislature.
Lawmakers are considering a proposal first pushed by disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer to require out-of-state companies like Amazon.com to charge New York state and local sales taxes the same way New York companies online must.
Spitzer had estimated the change would raise $47 million.
Critics and even some supporters expect legal challenges, citing a 1992 US Supreme Court ruling they say prohibits a state from forcing a company with no physical presence in a state from collecting the state's sales tax.
GOV GOES ONLINE TO RAISE SALES TAX | <urn:uuid:b33d9be0-430a-4245-bf85-7c8c57d38234> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2008/04/more-new-taxes-this-time-online.html?m=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946883 | 142 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Substandard pools are likely to sideline domestic swimmers from the 2012 London Olympics, so says the Tanzania Swimming Association (TSA) secretary general, Noel Kiunsi.
The TSA official said swimmers might be excluded from the Olympic show next year if they are not practicing at the Federation of International Swimming Associations (FINA) recommended pools.
Kiunsi said only those swimmers who would meet the pre-set standard by FINA sanctioned games held at 50-metres sized pools are eligible to win the Olympic berth next year.
Tanzania and many other African countries do not have 50-metre sized pools as most of them are undersized to 25 metres and below.
Kiunsi said swimmers are likely to experience difficulties to meet FINA qualifying terms for the 2012 Olympics.
He rued the wasted opportunity to feature in the just ended All Africa Games in Mozambique as some if not most of the Tanzania swimmers would have met the qualifying standard.
“The Maputo Games would have been the good opportunity for our swimmers to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics as the event has been sanctioned by FINA to meet qualifier berth,” said Kiunsi.
The TSA official said swimmers have been advised to look for swimming competitions outside the country and work hard to qualify and win the trip to London for the show.
In an effort to assist the swimmers, TSA has written other African countries that have 50-metre swimming pools to allow Tanzania swimmers to compete at their tourneys.
“We have no other option besides asking other countries that have 50-metre swimming pools to permit our swimmers to compete at their tournaments, so as to qualify for the Olympics,” he said.
Alternatively, Kiunsi said if there will not be swimmers who would meet FINA pre-set qualifying standard, then there is only two slots one each for a male and a female swimmer to appear for the Olympics as a special dispensation by the International Olympic Committee. The swimmers are supposed to be accompanied by a coach.
He also ruled out that the forthcoming East and Central Africa swimming championships to be staged in Uganda would be used to gauge Olympic-bound swimmers.
The championship is within FINA calendar and sanctioned but not for Olympic qualifications. | <urn:uuid:e78082e4-bb70-4a2c-bd17-5f32237f3b01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php/d.tom/wwm_paper_topics/war/term_paper_topics/wall_street/nl/numpwa/?l=33886 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975392 | 478 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Home > Articles > Mitt Romney Drowns Out... Font size: Tell a friend
Mitt Romney Drowns Out South Carolina Competition With Robocall CampaignWednesday, January 18, 2012
(Huffington Post)Direct Link here
By Sam Stein
WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney's presidential campaign is running a drown-out robocall campaign in South Carolina in hopes of closing out the Republican primary in the Palmetto State.
Over the past week, the former Massachusetts Governor has placed far more calls than any of his fellow candidates. Shaun Dakin, the anti-robocall advocate who keeps the one of the most comprehensive databases of robocalls being made, estimated that Romney was making five robocalls in South Carolina for every one being made by the rest of the field combined -- though recent reports suggest Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) is closing that gap.
Oftentimes, the calls are being leaked to the press for maximal impact. When Gov. Nikki Haley recorded one call, pitching Romney as the one candidate who was "not a creature of Washington" it was provided by the Romney campaign to several media outlets.
Occasionally, however, it is a stealth operation, and save for the work of reporters on the ground, it would be impossible to know the extent of what is transpiring.
"It is Romney far and away who's placing the most calls according to everyone I talked to," said Ben Szobody, a reporter at the Greenville News, who has done some of the best work in documenting the robocall effort.
Robocalls tend to be one of the least-effective methods in moving voters. But according to Dakin, the Romney campaign has begun applying new technologies to tactic, with calls featuring the former governor greeting the recipient by name before launching into the actual script.
"It is probably the most sophisticated robocall strategy they have used this cycle," said Dakin, who suspects that the campaign either had Romney record a number of common names or used audio technology to make it sound like his voice.
The robocall campaign has served multiple purposes. Romney has used robocalls to spread the word about campaign events, and he has also used them as a defense against attacks on his social-conservative credentials.
As compiled by Szobody, one call featured Mary Ann Glendon, an anti-abortion activist from Massachusetts, declaring that Romney has been "steadfast about protecting the unborn and defending our values" and "worked hard to protect the sanctity of life in liberal Massachusetts."
In another, Pat Neal, the former chairman of Florida's Faith and Freedom coalition, praises Romney for staring down "activist judges and hostile lawmakers" while not bending "on his commitments to the things we hold dear."
The robocall effort has also served a more provocative, attack-oriented function for the Romney campaign. And more often than not, the target's been former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).
In one call there is a southern sounding gentleman, claiming to be a Romney volunteer, criticizing Santorum for joining "liberal senators in Washington" to stop right-to-work legislation. "That worries me," says the man, emphasizing the word worry.
In another one, another southern sounding gentleman named "David" relays his concern that Santorum "came to South Carolina in 2010 to criticize [Senator] Jim DeMint's work" to stop earmarks. "That's just not right," he says. "I'm not going to forget what Rick Santorum did to Jim DeMint."
The Romney campaign, which was not immediately available for comment, has even put up a call replaying Santorum's endorsement of Romney in 2008 -- much to the chagrin of current Santorum backers.
Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has also been a target of the robocall drown-out. In one Romney call, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) accuses the former House Speaker of deploying "dangerous anti-capitalist rhetoric used by the Democrats" in his attacks on Romney's private equity days.
"He is using talking points straight out of
Barack Obama's playbook,"
McCain says. "But it is finally time we sent
him a strong message: this
behavior is unacceptable."
That McCain would be part of the effort seems particularly ironic. In the 2000 GOP primary, the Arizona Republican was on the receiving end of a vicious campaign in South Carolina suggesting, among other things, that he fathered a black child out of wedlock. But Dakin noted that there's a technical difference between then and now. "Those were not really robocalls. Those were push polls," he said, referring to calls disguised as polls that are really meant to spread a political message. "Obviously it is in the general category but slightly different."
The Huffington Post wants to know about the campaign ads, town halls, robocalls, mailings and other election news happening where you live. Email us your tips, videos and photos to email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:180b173c-b93e-41d1-aeb5-b39c604df35a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stoppoliticalcalls.org/ht/d/ArticleDetails/i/319848 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966815 | 1,042 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Alexis Sinduhje is accused of insulting President Pierre Nkurunziza (above)
The leader of Burundi's opposition Movement for Security and Democracy has been imprisoned, accused of insulting the president.
Alexis Sinduhje was sent to the central prison in the capital, Bujumbura, after appearing briefly before a magistrate.
Police had already detained him for nine days for holding an unauthorised meeting with about 40 followers.
By sending him to prison, Burundi defied appeals from the EU and the US for his release.
Mr Sinduhje's lawyer said at the court appearance that the charge of insulting the president was unexpected.
The BBC's Prime Ndikumagenge reports from Bujumbura that Mr Sinduhije is best known for having founded a popular private radio station, the African Public Radio.
He has also received several international awards for his investigative reports and his campaigning for freedom of speech.
Many people in Burundi regard his arrest and detention as being politically motivated, our reporter says, coming less than two years before the next general elections.
Mr Sinduhije is one of several opposition and civil society figures in the central Mpimba prison.
Ex-rebel Pierre Nkurunziza was elected president in 2005 under a deal to end years of conflict between the Tutsi army and Hutu rebels.
About 300,000 people were killed in more than a decade of civil war. | <urn:uuid:e6e7c46a-f812-4617-803b-3c9b5f1400cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7722976.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975539 | 306 | 1.59375 | 2 |
If we are not learning, we are not growing. For a journal writing exercise tonight, list some things that you would like to learn more about. Don’t edit yourself. Write down anything you have an interest in. Don’t worry about what it would take to educate yourself about these topics. What are you interested in? What have you always been curious about? What do you feel like you never really got as a youth in school and would now like to understand it better?
Here would be a few things on my list- I want to learn more about:
That’s my list. Your turn…..
Debra : ) | <urn:uuid:7ae2dfee-c947-45e9-be17-5e5057679415> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thewarmmilkjournal.com/tag/education/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980151 | 134 | 1.515625 | 2 |
WASHINGTON — Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, one of the Bush administration's most steadfast allies in South America, was allegedly a "close personal friend" of slain drug lord Pablo Escobar and worked for his Medellin cartel, according to a newly released U.S. military intelligence report.
The 1991 report by the Defense Intelligence Agency describes Uribe, then a rising star in Colombian politics, as "dedicated to collaboration" with the Medellin cartel, at the time the world's richest criminal organization and the source of most of the cocaine imported into the U.S.
The memo devotes a single paragraph to Uribe and his alleged narcotics involvement, listing him 82nd among 104 of the "more important Colombian narco-traffickers."
The allegations about Uribe, who was elected president in 2002, were strongly repudiated by the Colombian government, the State Department and the Pentagon.
All three described the memo, released to a nonprofit research group under a public records request, as uncorroborated information contradicted by Uribe's strong support for efforts to wipe out cocaine in Colombia and extradite drug suspects to the United States.
Under Uribe, Colombia's production of coca, the source of cocaine, has dropped by more than 50% through intense, U.S.-funded fumigation efforts, and more than 160 suspected drug traffickers have been indicted, U.S. defense officials said.
"We completely disavow these allegations against President Uribe," said Robert Zimmerman, a spokesman for the State Department's Western Hemisphere Affairs Bureau, which monitors Colombia. "We have no credible information that substantiates or corroborates the allegations."
News of the memo comes at a delicate time for Uribe, who is negotiating a peace deal with right-wing paramilitaries involved in drug dealing and is seeking a constitutional amendment to allow him to run for a second term in office.
The memo, which was made public today, appeared likely to resuscitate rumors about Uribe's controversial past, including his alleged connections with the drug trade. It also feeds perceptions of pervasive drug corruption in Colombia, which nearly felled former President Ernesto Samper in the 1990s, when it was discovered that his presidential campaign had received drug money.
"This is a very hard blow," said Daniel Garcia-Pena, a former Colombian government peace negotiator and left-leaning political analyst. "Being an official report from a U.S. agency, this is going to reopen a chapter that Uribe thought he'd closed. It's grave, grave."
Uribe isn't the only popular figure listed in the memo. No. 89 is Carlos Vives, then an aspiring actor and now a Grammy-winning pop star. The memo describes Vives as being "involved in narcotics trafficking" and said he worked closely with an uncle who was a trafficker in the Medellin cartel.
Vives, who has lived in Miami since the early 1990s, could not be reached for comment Sunday. Sources said he was a favorite performer of traffickers from his coastal region of Santa Marta, who would invite him to perform at their parties. The same sources said they doubted that Vives was directly involved in trafficking.
Pentagon and State Department officials took pains to deny the validity of the information in the document, which was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the National Security Archives, a nonprofit research group in Washington.
A Pentagon spokesman said the memo consisted of unconfirmed allegations and did not represent an official position of the Department of Defense. The spokesman said he knew of no other intelligence reports linking Uribe to the narcotics business.
"It's not a smoking gun. The reliability and validity of this raw data is very suspect, to say the least," said Army Lt. Col. Chris Conway, a Pentagon spokesman.
One U.S. intelligence official said that the memo, produced shortly after President George H. W. Bush ordered the military to begin tracking drug trafficking more closely, was based on a single confidential informant in Colombia.
The official noted that such information is typically passed on unedited to military intelligence analysts in Washington to avoid misinterpretation of the raw data.
This explanation is backed up by the presence of several errors in the report. One drug trafficker is listed as Fidel Castro with an alias of "Rambo" -- an apparent mix-up with Fidel Castano, a legendary onetime assassin and paramilitary fighter who went by that moniker.
"The one thing you don't want to do is sanitize the information in a report like this," the intelligence official said. "You want to keep it [as] close to raw intelligence as you can."
Colombian government officials denied that Uribe had dealings with the drug trade. They said the charges were similar to attacks Uribe faced during his 2002 presidential campaign and questioned whether the source for the document had political motives. | <urn:uuid:d2a91571-1c21-4fdb-b64b-7fdbed770263> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.latimes.com/2004/aug/02/world/fg-drugprez2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976589 | 1,003 | 1.570313 | 2 |
(KXAS) - A non-profit group is helping female veterans adjust back to civilian life.
"Grace After Fire" outreach coordinator Michelle Rosales-Kneubuhl, a Marine, says the group helps veterans "know that there's someone else out there that they can call and talk to and, in confidence, be able to share what it is that they're going through and realize they're not alone."
According to the program, eight out of 10 female veterans report needing support for post-traumatic stress disorder, injuries or military sexual assault.
Groups such as Grace After Fire blend the military approach with reality.
"It's a mission -- you're going to have to go through some stuff, and you're going to have to get to a certain point where it's going to be OK," Rosales-Kneubuhl said. | <urn:uuid:dfc49ae5-2d80-4b61-b407-3da237b1ff91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=222332 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964023 | 179 | 1.546875 | 2 |
1. Oil and the Global Economy
After nearly a month of steady increases, oil prices had a down week falling from circa $110 in NY and $125 in London to close out the week $2-3 a barrel lower. There was a spot of excitement on Thursday when a fire near the Saudi's massive oil export center of Ras Tanura was reported by the Iranian News service, Press-TV, as an attack on a major oil pipeline. This sent oil prices surging with London reaching a high of $128.40 a barrel, the highest since July 2008. The excitement ended when a spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry announced that there had been no sabotage of its oil facilities. Other sources say there was a fire, which did not affect oil production, in an industrial area of Safwa where there has been unrest among the Shiites in recent days.
The rapid price spike reflects how nervous the markets have become in wake of the ongoing Iranian confrontation and the reduction in spare capacity to produce oil. A similar price spike occurred in February 2006 after the Saudis repelled an attack on the Abqaiq oil processing facility.
A number of factors seem to have contributed to last week's price drop. The Iranian confrontation was relatively quiet as Iranians went to the polls to elect a new parliament. The euro ended an up and down week sharply lower, taking oil prices with it as disagreements over the Eurozone bailouts continue to erupt and the ECB handed out $700 billion in loans to its member banks. It now seems that the Greeks will only receive half the $170 billion bailout they were promised until they make more progress on getting their economic affairs in order. The ECB loans were seen by some as tantamount to "quantitative easing" or printing money. The price of Brent crude as expressed in euros is now at €82 -- higher, in euros, than during the 2008 price spike. Another factor keeping a lid on the price of oil is simply the high price of oil which many, including the IMF, are saying could cause more economic harm than the Eurozone debt crisis.
2. The Iranian Confrontation
The confrontation may reach a turning point this week when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu meets with President Obama on Monday. Netanyahu is said to be bringing an ultimatum that either the US promises to attack Iran whenever Tehran acquires the capability to build nuclear weapons, or Israel will attack unilaterally this spring. The Israelis believe they have a limited window of opportunity to undertake an effective attack on Iranian nuclear facilities by themselves after which so much of Iran's nuclear program will be moved underground where it would be invulnerable to the Israelis. At that point Israel would have to rely on Washington to stop any Iranian effort to build nuclear weapons.
The US currently holds the position that the red line is an Iranian attempt to actually build a nuclear weapon and not just acquire the capability to build one. Last week in speeches and interviews Obama laid out the case that the Israelis should be patient. The US believes the sanctions are beginning to work and that an unprovoked attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would not only swing world opinion to Tehran's side, but would also set off a chain of hostilities in the region which would probably lead to much higher oil prices as the Iranians retaliated.
Israeli public opinion, however, is said to have accepted the idea that war at this time would be better than confronting a nuclear armed Iran that could wipe out Israel with a small number of nuclear weapons, and appear ready to back their Prime Minister in confronting Washington on the matter. The situation is further complicated by the US elections with the President's opponents seeing political advantage in demanding a harder, more threatening US stance against Tehran.
For some time, the US has been assessing the likely Iranian response to an Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities. While missile attacks on Israel by Tehran or its allies in Lebanon and Gaza seem likely, it is believed that Tehran would be careful in calibrating whatever it does to attack US, EU, and Arab interests in order to avoid a major US or even NATO military riposte. Such an attack would not only be likely to destroy their nuclear facilities, but could also wreak untold damage on their military forces and economy. Tehran would therefore probably act through proxies rather than engaging in direct military confrontation with US or other western forces.
Where Middle Eastern oil exports would come out in all this is an open question, but the likelihood of a reduced flow of oil from the Gulf is high. While the Iranians have repeatedly threatened to block the Straits of Hormuz in retaliation for any attack, they have many other options such as "proxy" attacks on the extensive oil export facilities in the region.
Over the weekend, Iran held parliamentary elections. As "reform" candidates and parties opposed to the current policies were not allowed to take part, the election was between the hardline and still more hardline. Initial indications seem to be the President Ahmadinejad's followers lost badly against the even more hardline candidates, a development that most believe will reinforce the government's position against compromise.
In the meantime, the US, EU, and UN sanctions seem to be having an effect as more of the workarounds that Tehran has been using to conduct its foreign trade are being closed. With foreign ships reluctant to visit Iranian ports, Tehran has been forced to turn to its own fleet of 26 tankers to deliver some of its crude. As the war drums beat louder, more of Tehran's customers are having second thoughts about their dependence on Iranian crude and are looking for other sources.
Current indications are that the President is unlikely to give in to Israeli demands. Polling in the US indicates that close to 50 percent of Americans say the US should support Israel. However, most seem to support continuing talks and as yet no one has clearly pointed out the consequences to the US, in terms of oil prices, of an attack on Iran. The most recent bluster from Tehran, by the way, has oil going to $440 a barrel in the wake of any attack.
In addition to the confrontation with the West and Israel over nuclear weapons, Iran seems to be increasing its involvement in the Syrian uprising by providing military equipment and advisors to the Assad government -- its last true friend in the region. As the situation grows worse, Iranian meddling in the conflict is likely to lead to repercussions that further complicate the Middle Eastern situation. It looks like a dangerous year ahead which is not good for oil supplies or prices.
3. Gasoline and Election 2012
The incessant rise in gasoline prices, up 30 cents a gallon in the last month, is to show up in the US political debate. The $4 psychological barrier has already been breached in several parts of the country and with premium already averaging above $4.50 in California; $5 does not seem that far away. With the average US prices close to, or above $4 a gallon last spring and in the summer of 2008, $4 gasoline no longer comes as a shock to the motoring public. Many businesses have already factored gas prices into their plans and US gasoline consumption is down by 1.5 million barrels per day in the last five years. Nonetheless, a dollar a gallon increase in gasoline prices, if maintained over the year, takes about $100 billion out of the US economy.
Sensing a good political issue, Republican candidates have been trying to tag the Obama administration as the reason for the high prices. So far Newt Gingrich has taken the lead in blaming the President in an effort to distinguish himself from his rivals. The Gingrich plan to return gasoline prices to $2.50 a barrel involves lots of drilling in Alaska, off both coasts, in the Gulf, and in the interior. Lost in such plans is the point that the oil companies are already fully booked and that it would be 10 to 20 years before significant quantities of oil would emerge from a major increase in drilling. The President's refusal to issue an immediate permit for the Keystone pipeline is another favorite target for criticism.
Of interest is a recent analysis saying that completion of the keystone pipeline would actually increase gasoline prices in the Midwest. The reasoning is that the pipeline would drain the current glut of crude coming from Canada and the Bakken shale to the Gulf coast where it would be refined or exported. This would bring West Texas Intermediate prices back to parity with world prices and result in more expensive crude for Midwestern refiners.
The American people and many commentators seem to be catching on that there is very little any US President can do to control gasoline prices, especially in the short run. Many are starting to understand that the troubles in the Middle East, when combined with increasing demand for oil from Asia, and the lack of a significant increase in global production, is behind the higher prices. Indeed, a recent Pew Poll shows that only one in five mention the President when asked the cause of high oil prices.
A few Democrats are calling for releases from the Strategic Petroleum as a way to lower prices, but with the possibility of more troubles looming in the Middle East, the administration and most members of Congress do not think this would be a wise move.
Gasoline prices still have the potential of becoming a key issue in this fall's elections. With three months to go until the annual late-spring price peak, it seems that we are on our way to $5 gasoline in at least some parts of the country. The refinery shutdowns in Pennsylvania suggest that the highest prices will probably occur along the heavily populated coasts where they will have the most political impact. If some easily understood event such as a curtailment of Middle Eastern oil supplies should happen this year, the voters may be less inclined to blame the administration than in a situation where numerous small and not understood factors combine to drive prices higher.
We are certain to hear a lot more about this before election day in November.
4. A New EIA Report on East Coast Refining
Last week the US Energy Information Administration issued a 27 page report that delves more deeply into the problems that the closure of several refineries serving the US East Coast could cause before the year is over. The report notes that since last September two refineries in the Philadelphia area (363,000 b/d) and one refinery in the Virgin Islands (350,000 b/d), that has been supplying the East Coast, have been closed down. In addition a fourth (335,000 b/d) Philadelphia-area refinery is due to close in July unless a buyer can be found. The three Philadelphia-area refineries comprise about 50 percent of the refining capacity on the US's East Coast.
So far there has been little disruption to East Coast refined product supplies, in part due to the restarting of a Delaware City refinery (182,000 b/d) in October after being closed for two years. The EIA warns however, that should the third and larger Philadelphia refinery close in July, "petroleum markets in the Northeastern US could be significantly impacted."
The US has sufficient refinery capacity along the Gulf coast to supply the Northeast; the problem will be constraints on the transportation system. The pipelines to the northeast from the Gulf are already maxed out, and the current pipeline system in Philadelphia is designed to unload crude for refineries, not finished products for distribution to consumers. While the crude oil pipeline system can eventually be modified to take oil products from ships and send them on to refinery distribution pipelines, this will take a year or more and nobody is willing to invest in the expensive modifications until the fate of the third Philadelphia refinery is known.
The situation is further complicated by the US law, the Jones Act, which says that only US owned, flagged, and manned tankers can transport oil products from the Gulf Coast to US ports. There are only 56 tankers meeting the Jones Act standards and these usually are chartered out months in advance.
If the last Philadelphia-area refinery closes in July, replacing the lost supply of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) is likely to be the major problem as it can only come from the US Gulf Coast. Additional supplies of gasoline can be imported from refineries in Europe and Asia -- provided crude is still coming out of the Middle East in sufficient quantity. Pennsylvania and Western New York are most likely to be affected by the refinery shutdowns as nearly all of their oil products come by pipeline from the Philadelphia area.
Yet another complication is the new requirement in New York State that all heating oil be switched to low sulfur beginning this July. This means that the demand for low sulfur distillates in the region could increase by 35-50 percent next winter over the base ULSD demand of 360,000 b/d for transportation fuels. The closing of the three refineries would result in a loss of 150,000 b/d in USLD production and the closing of the Virgin Islands refinery has already reduced USLD shipments to the region by 15,000 b/d.
The use of 10 percent ethanol in 1.5 million b/d of gasoline consumed in the northeast region is still another problem. As ethanol and ethanol-laced gasoline cannot be shipped by pipeline, refiners now have to prepare a blend stock which is gasoline minus its ethanol, then ship it to blending terminals where the ethanol is blended in prior to distribution by truck. The problem is further complicated by the need for two types of blend stocks, one of which meets specification for reducing ozone. About 70 percent of the gasoline sold in the Northeast is of the low-ozone variety.
Gasoline imports from overseas to the Northeastern US averaged about 560,000 b/d last year, with about 250,000 b/d coming from Europe. With Europe scheduled to lose about 600,000 b/d of Iranian crude by July and the US possibly looking to increase gasoline imports at the same time, there is a good chance that the gasoline supply in Europe will be a lot tighter and more expensive this summer.
All the foregoing suggests why gasoline prices seem on their way to record levels and why the EIA is right to be concerned about the fate of the third Philadelphia-area refinery -- which by the way is owned by Sunoco. Should the refinery be closed and shortages develop, $5 gasoline may look pretty good.
Quote of the week
"...any discussion of rising gas prices that does not include the words "China" and "India" is not a serious discussion. Though short-term fluctuations have many causes, the underlying story on gas prices is that the world has a limited supply of oil, but a growing supply of people who want to use oil. That makes prices rise."
- Ezra Klein, Washington Post
The Briefs (clips from recent Peak Oil News dailies are indicated by date and item #) | <urn:uuid:a8b111ce-aade-42fd-9d02-cb50348aea77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.energybulletin.net/print/61327 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97112 | 2,994 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Everyone now days knows the need to secure his computer with millions of virus and other forms of malware running amok on the internet. In this post I will try to recommend the tools that I use for securing myself. By the way, if you have a Anti-virus running do not think that you are safe. Even if you have firewall running, still do not think yourself as safe. I have many security softwares running and I do not consider myself safe from harm. I am going to recommend a few software that I use in order to secure myself. Some of these are free and some are paid versions.
Avira Antivirus: I use Avira antivirus ( free-edition ) to protect myself from viruses. Avira is probably best free the fast anti-virus with very high detection rate (my opinion). I actually researched a little before selecting this as the anti-virus to shield myself with. See my post on anti-virus selection : My quest to select a good Antivirus for the year 2008.
One downside of using Avira is the nag screen which itself looks like adware. Avira would pop up a screen a few times a week where it would advertise for its paid version. And that ad looks horrible. Everything else is good. If you do not want the nag screen to be there then buy it. I did not.
By the way, Avira has already paid off, as I have been protected several times from virus attack by it.
I have used Norton, Zone Alarm and all other crap firewall at point in my life. But for last few years I have switched to better firewalls. I use Outpost Security Suite which gives me superb granular control over the network access of my computer. But before I discuss that I would like to point to the one below
Comodo Firewall Pro (Freeware): Comodo is a free online security company which sells SSL certificates, Identity Projection etc. They give you a barrage of free security softwares which includes free firewall, free anti-malware and free anti-virus. Now that is what I call a deal, you cant beat free! I have not tried their anti-virus or the anti-malware but I have used their firewall for almost a year and it is rock solid. At that time only outpost had anti leak support. Comodo was the other firewall that gave such detailed control. Now if you are someone who wants to see what is going on at your network then this the the firewall for you.
Check this out: Screenshots of Comodo Firewall Pro running.
Now you might be be thinking … what is their business model and why am I getting a free firewall that is so awesome. This is what they are saying at their web site
“You must be wondering - how can we stay in business by giving away high quality solutions that all other software vendors sell. Simply, Comodo's main revenue comes from authenticating web business with SSL certificates (e.g. we put the padlock on websites).”
Outpost Security Suite (Not Free): I was instantly in love with the Outpost Firewall. Later on I decided to buy the security suite they provided. And I am still using it. It is so far the best firewall I have seen. Outpost monitors everything – and by everything I mean everything there is to be monitored. It can run in a very easy mode for a novice user or a very secure highly detailed mode for the advanced user.
It has 3 level of rules, Low Level Rules, Global Rules and then the Application rules. You can modify each. It has superb host projection and critical system components like registry and startup items protection. Here are a few screen shots of the host protections configurations screen and the web control configuration screen and finally the application configuration screen.
Also outpost has extremely powerful network connections and log views.
Outpost is my first choice, but if you do not want to spend money then you still have option to use Comodo.
Even after you have used anti-virus and firewall software there could be unknown malwares hidden in your PC (outpost detects keylogging attempts usually). Someone could have written a custom keylogger software that no anti-virus would be able to detect. Such event could be your worst nightmare. Not only the hacker will have access to you computer password but he may have your office email passowrd, your personal email password, your credit card number, your paypal account password, your facebook password etc. Think of what would your life if someone has those and used your logins for his benefits. So it is best to have anti keylogging software installed.
Keyscrambler (Free and Paid): KeyScrambler is a software that installs as a kernel mode driver and encrypts the keyboard strokes and decrypts them at the application that you are using. So any keylogger software that is trying to get a hold of the keystrokes will have a set of scrambled meaningless junk.
The free edition of Keyscrambler support IE, Flock and Firefox browser and that should take of most of you. However I use Opera as my primary browser, and flock as secondary browser and do not use IE at all, so had to buy the paid version to support Opera and the messenger softwares like, MSN, GTalk, Yahoo, Skype. The paid version also supports outlook, thunderbird, office applications.
When ever you are using internet on a non secured connection a hacker might intercept the data and steal you data and passwords. Also your ISP can track what site you are visiting, they can see your email messages and IM chat text if they want to. However you can avoid this unsecured scenario with a VPN service. When you are connected to a VPN connection the data is encrypted and cannot be decrypted. There are many VPN services available. When you connect to these VPN service the data is decrypted at the VPN server and sent from there, so no one can track your internet footprint.
I use a 1 year VPN service from a commercial VPN provider and when ever I access sensitive information I connect to the VPN service. One cool thing about this provider was access to Pandora music web site. Pandora only allows you to listen if you are in the US. Since the VPN service is at US, when I connect to it, it detects my location to be in US and lets me listen to songs.
Password Manager & Encrypted Disk (Freeware)
KeePass: There are several password managers available but I use KeePass, an open source password manager which seemed most advances and robust. Try it.
True Crypt: I also use TrueCrypt to mount a drive where I can store all my sensitive data in encrypted format. Truecrupt is also a free open source application. One good feature in TrueCrypt is plausible deniability. You can create hidden volumes within a TrueCrypt volume where you will store the real sensitive data and in the outer volume you can store some sensitive looking files. If someone tortures you and asks you for password then you can tell them the password to the outer volume and they will think you have given the abductor the right password.
FreeOTFE: For storing sensitive data one windows mobile phones you can use Free OTFE which lets you have encrypted drive in a windows mobile phone.
I hope this post have been helpful to solve your security problems. | <urn:uuid:4e7f9b36-5724-4eca-8bf1-30b62500b01a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shafqatahmed.com/2008/09/secure-yourself.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 | 0.952121 | 1,533 | 1.648438 | 2 |
- Buyer's guide
Understanding Environmental Implications Of CIPP Rehab Technology
The question going forward is, have installers been missing any required permitting? In the short term, the requirements have resulted in some of the installers not bidding the DOT’s projects while they sort out these new requirements. Others continuing to bid the work claim pricing has approximately doubled since implementation on the new rules. The environmental costs to transport the water used in the CIPP processing (increased engine emissions, diesel usage, etc.) have not been quantified. It is logical to conclude, however, that there has been a negative environmental and economic cost to the new requirements. Is this added cost technically justified?
In the newly issued NASSCO Guideline for the Use and Handling of Styrenated Resins in Cured In Place Pipe, it was concluded that “All that CIPP resin systems require is that good housekeeping be practiced by the installation team on the project site.” Further, provisions must be made by the contractor in advance for containing any accidental spillage of the resin on the work area. By law, spills less than the hazardous materials “regulated quantity” of 1,000 pounds of styrene (2,500 pounds of resin) are to be handled in a responsible manner by the contractor. Absorption with an inert material and placing in an appropriate waste disposal container is the industry standard for handling small spills like this on the ground. Oil dry, kitty litter and sand work well for this action. If the spill occurs on a hard surface, the area should be scrubbed with soap and water after the bulk of the spill has been cleaned up by the absorbent material. If the spill gets into a waterway, the spill should be contained using a temporary dike. The resin can then be picked up by vacuuming the resin into a vacuum truck and subsequently placed in an appropriate waste disposal container.
It is imperative that the processing of the liner, whichever method of curing is used, is properly completed. Properly cured liners release little or no styrene to the environment. Thermocouples placed strategically in the liner host pipe interface are a must. A written curing schedule developed for a CIPP system acknowledging the conditions that can be present in the curing environment and the resin system proposed will lead to a proper cure and a long CIPP life; and, in this author’s opinion, no measurable environmental impact.
In the NASSCO guideline, proper curing and handling of CIPP systems is recommended to be implemented using the following steps: | <urn:uuid:7c697eef-9118-43ec-9dc0-845f7a7d785f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ucononline.com/understanding-environmental-implications-cipp-rehab-technology?page=7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938229 | 526 | 1.523438 | 2 |
With all of the interest around the violent video game case, Schwarzenegger v EMA, we get questions daily on the process, the case, the legal principals, our amicus brief, others’ briefs, and what is going to happen on the day of oral arguments and beyond. While we hope that the following information will shed some light on the oral argument process, we also routinely refer folks to the Supreme Court website, as well as to relevant articles on GamePolitics.
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS or Court) building is an impressive edifice and celebrated its 75th birthday just last week. While it is open to the public, as are the SCOTUS oral arguments, seating is extremely limited for the public in the courtroom. There are somewhere between 50-100 seats available in total. Guests of the Justices and a certain number of lawyers for and guests of the named parties, members of the SCOTUS bar, and members of the SCOTUS press corps all are allowed in first. Both the bar and the press corps are made up of folks in those professions, who have gone through the process to become a member of their respective SCOTUS professional group.
Then, after all those folks go in, any remaining seats may be filled by people who line up outside the court building. Some people line up the night before, but most people begin showing up a little before 8:00 am. The public is allowed in at 9:30 to begin the security process, and the first oral argument always begins at 10:00 am. Schwarzenegger is the first case on the docket for November 2nd.
Additionally, sometimes groups stage rallies on the SCOTUS steps. It is common and routine for consumer advocacy groups like ECA, AARP, NARAL, NOW and others to put on such rallies on important constitutional questions.
Once everyone is seated, the entrance doors in the back of the courtroom are closed. Recording devises and cell phones are forbidden, and the oral arguments are not broadcast outside the room live. Within 24 hours, the official court reporter’s transcript is put online at the SCOTUS website. While SCOTUS’ blog (http://ussc.blogspot.com) recently announced that SCOTUS would routinely begin offering radio feeds of oral arguments in the weeks after the fact, they still will not be offering video.
Everyone in the audience sits waiting in hushed silence. Then three doors on the other, far side of the room open, the court marshal comes out and asks everyone to rise and stand for the entry of the Justices. Everyone rises to their feet and the Justices file in wearing their long black robes and take their seats at the bench, and everyone else sits and the court is brought to order. It’s a tremendously impressive process, especially when one visits the courtroom for the first time.
The first case for the day is called, here Schwarzenegger v EMA, and the attorneys for the two sides are called forward. First the Petitioner speaks for approximately 30 minutes giving their argument; in our case, it will be the California Attorney General. The Justices break in to ask questions in a rapid-fire Q&A. Then the Respondent has approximately 30 minutes to argue their side; in our case, it will be Paul Smith from Jenner & Block representing the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). Again, the Justices break in and there is some back and forth with questions and answers.
That’s it. It’s very fast and almost before it began, the oral arguments in the case are all over.
Then the waiting begins again. The court generally hands down its decisions during its then-current term, which in our case ends June 30th 2011. By way of comparison, last term’s decision in the landmark First Amendment case, US v Stevens, was handed down over seven months after oral arguments. The timing of the decision relates to a lot of considerations like who writes the opinion, how split the Justices are, are there any dissent(s), and how backed up they are with other cases. There’s really no way to tell. All we can know is that there will be much nail biting and head scratching between the oral argument in a couple of weeks and the decision being handed down in a number of months.
If you’re interested in participating in the case, keep an eye on our website for more information about the rally. We also maintain a dedicated page that highlights relevant coverage. And the consumer petition that is referenced in the ECA’s amicus brief is available here along with a bunch of social networking tools and ways for you to spread the word about the petition and case.
Jennifer Mercurio (herself a member of the SCOTUS Bar) is the Vice President & General Counsel for the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA), the nonprofit membership organization that represents gamers in the U.S. and Canada.
Disclosure: GamePolitics is a publication of the ECA | <urn:uuid:bb9c7da8-1e3f-4e7c-ad29-646a2e4d487a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gamepolitics.com/2010/10/25/guest-column-eca-general-counsel-outlines-road-ahead-schwarzenegger-case | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949337 | 1,030 | 1.523438 | 2 |
By John Reifsteck – Champaign, Illinois (www.truthabouttrade.org)
Remember in high school when the math teachers said to “show your work”? Even if you answered the questions correctly, they wouldn’t award full credit unless you also included the proof that you knew what you were doing.
That’s how a lot of farmers are reacting to last week’s decision by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to deregulate GM alfalfa: He came up with the right answer, but the way he got there was all wrong.
So although he deserves partial credit, this was no A+ performance.
The good news is that farmers who choose to plant genetically enhanced alfalfa won’t have to put up with burdensome federal regulations that try to dictate what they can grow and where they can grow it. Instead, USDA has acknowledged the truth of science: GM alfalfa, as Vilsack put it during a press conference, “is as safe as traditionally bred alfalfa.”
Alfalfa growers now will enjoy access to a 21st-century technology. Consumers will benefit in all sorts of ways, from food that costs less to milk that tastes better.
The problem is that Vilsack let politics hijack the regulatory process. He very nearly capitulated to a small group of outspoken activists who think that the retrograde methods of organic farming should take precedence over just about every other form of agriculture, including highly productive methods that are essential if we’re serious about keeping people fed and food prices in check. These militants insisted that Washington enforce their unreasonable demands through job-killing and innovation-stifling rules of the very sort that the Obama administration recently has claimed to disavow.
Vilsack said that he wanted to create a way for GM alfalfa farmers and non-GM alfalfa farmers to coexist without resorting to litigation. This was bizarre because farmers who grow different kinds of the same crop already know how to coexist without interference from lawyers or bureaucrats.
Almost every winter, I get calls from neighbors who ask what type of corn I’m planning to grow in fields next to theirs. They aren’t nosy--they’re just trying to make decisions about where to put their own seed corn. I’ve grown alfalfa in the past and I’m certain that neighbors who plant this crop can work together without any help from federal overseers.
If Vilsack had accepted the junk-science claims of activists who say that biotech crops threaten to “contaminate” organic fields, he would have established the principle that GM crops are always suspect, even when there’s no evidence to suggest that they should cause any concern. This would not have decreased litigation, as Vilsack argued. Instead, it would have encouraged organic farmers to sue their non-organic competition. Legislators, regulators and judges would be wise to recognize statutorily that pollen flow is a force of nature, not the opportunity for frivolous legal action.
Preventing unnecessary lawsuits is important, but it’s hardly the only issue at stake. When it comes to biotechnology, the world is watching us. The United States should convince other nations to let their farmers use the tools of modern science. On a humanitarian level, we must encourage developing countries to adopt practices that thwart hunger and malnutrition. On an economic level, we must persuade our trading partners that the food Americans produce is safe to purchase and eat.
One thing is certain: If our own USDA begins to express unscientific fears about biotech, so will people in other countries.
Here at home, the battle over biotechnology will rage on. Because Vilsack revealed himself as susceptible to political pressure from special interest groups, farmers will have to keep a close eye on USDA and a series of upcoming decisions. Vilsack’s agency soon will rule on GM sugar beets and a type of GM corn used in biofuels. It can choose to let farmers grow safe and healthy crops approved through a science-based regulatory system--or it can appease those who would pervert the institutions we’ve built.
The enemies of biotechnology won’t quit. They haven’t even given up on alfalfa. They’re already threatening more litigation: “All farmers should be on notice that we will be suing again,” warned one of them, according to AgriPulse.
Now they’ll have to allege that the USDA’s 47-month, 2,300-page environmental impact statement on GM alfalfa is not adequately comprehensive.
Our first line of defense should be to insist that they show their work.
John Reifsteck is a corn and soybean producer in western Champaign County Illinois. He serves as a Board Member of Truth About Trade & Technology. www.truthabouttrade.org | <urn:uuid:1c1c25c5-5035-469f-abce-3e2539ab8e9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.agweb.com/livestock/beef/blog/the_truth_about_trade/?Year=2011&Month=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953874 | 1,035 | 1.578125 | 2 |
So I'm working on building my first box... It's for a single jl10w0. JL recommends 0.75cubic at 125rms. I'll be feeding it 150rms, so as I understand it, I can make the box a bit smaller (say around 0.7)? Now, does it matter how I design the outter dimensions as long as the internal volume is the same? ie: Will a 0.75 box be the same regardless of how the outer dimensions are built?
What's the best way to seal the edges of the box? I was planning to use wood glue and screws to hold it in place and then maybe some silicon caulk along the inside seams. Will that work ok?
Also, is there any way I can mount the box in my car wihtout having to drill through anything? any sort of velcro setup or something? | <urn:uuid:dae4a7d5-4aa7-403b-9a79-d085a86d8cdc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.caraudio.com/forums/enclosure-design-construction-help/47107-i-am-box-building-retard.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955569 | 185 | 1.710938 | 2 |
There was a time when rushing a thousand-page bill through Congress so fast that no one has time to read it would have provoked public outrage. But now, this has been attempted twice in the first 6 months of a new administration.
The fact that they got away with it before, with the "stimulus" bill, may have led them to believe that they could get away with it again.
But the first bill simply spent hundreds of billions of dollars. The current "health care" bill threatens to take life-and-death decisions out of the hands of individuals and their doctors, transferring those decisions to Washington bureaucrats.
People are taking that personally-- as they should. Your life and death, and that of your loved ones, is as personal as it gets.
The mainstream media are again circling the wagons to protect Barack Obama, but this time it may not work. One of those front-page editorials disguised as a news article in the New York Times begins: "The stubborn yet false rumor that President Obama's health care proposals would create government-sponsored 'death panels' to decide which patients were worthy of living seemed to arise from nowhere in recent weeks."
Nowhere? Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel is "Special Advisor for Health Policy" for the Obama administration. That's nowhere? He is also co-author of an article on Americans' "over-utilization" of medical care in the June 18, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Is that nowhere?
Dr. Emanuel's article points out that Americans do not visit doctors or go into hospitals more than people in other industrialized countries. In fact we go to both places less often than people do in those other countries, which include countries with government-controlled medical care.
As the article points out, "It is more costly care, rather than high volume, that accounts for higher expenditures in the United States."
There are more Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) devices per capita in the United States, more coronary bypass operations and Americans use more new pharmaceutical drugs created within the past 5 years.
Americans also have more of what the article calls "amenities" with their medical care. "Hospital rooms in the United States offer more privacy, comfort and auxiliary services than do hospital rooms in most other countries."
In other words, it is not quantity but quality that is different-- and more expensive-- about American medical care. This is what Dr. Emanuel's "over-utilization" consists of.
Carney: Okay Fine, Senior Officials Knew the IRS Report was Coming, but Nobody Told Obama | Guy Benson | <urn:uuid:c3b84581-4442-4849-b254-83045e3d6d4a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2009/08/18/whose_medical_decisions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963659 | 533 | 1.640625 | 2 |
When someone mentions Spring Cleaning, you may imagine Martha Stewart beating her rugs and cleaning her windowsills with a toothbrush. Maybe you fantasize about hiring an army of cleaning women to scrub your house from ceiling to baseboard, ridding every space of cobwebs, dust bunnies, and dust. Or, maybe you are imagining me pulling everything out of my closet, dusting the shelves, vacuuming the carpet, and neatly reorganizing it in homage to Mother Nature.
Maybe you are sitting here, wondering as you read this, whether I have a calendar handy to tell me that is actually Fall – not Spring. Actually – I am well aware that we are in the midst of the Fall season, but I’ve discovered that doing a little deep cleaning is a great way ease the transition from season to season while also providing nourishment for my mind, body and soul.
Fall Cleaning can work for you, too. Here are some suggestions to help you get started:
For your Mind:
- As you fall clean your home and dig into every nook and cranny you are able to take an inventory and put things where they belong.
- As you fall clean your home, you can make a list of repairs that need to done.
- As you fall clean your home, you can evaluate your rooms for redecorating. A great project for winter when it’s too cold to be outside. (Also, January is typically when most stores run their “white sales” on home goods like linens.)
- A clean house will make you feel more relaxed and provide a better environment for reading, thinking and dreaming.
- Love to throw holiday parties? Put your mind at ease of the last minute hustle and bustle of whipping your house in shape for company by doing it now. When it’s time for your guests, you’ll just need to give the house a lick and a promise.
- Cleaning out closets gives you the opportunity for gift ideas for your loved ones.
- Cleaning out your closet gives you an opportunity to evaluate what you need for winter.
- Donations to Goodwill are tax deductible.
- Hiring someone to help with – or do – some heavy cleaning stimulates the economy.
- While you’re cleaning your physical space, pause to take five minutes to clean your mind with a brain dump.
For Your Body
- Cleaning is good exercise.
- The physical removal of excess items in your life – old computers, clothes that don’t fit, and unused appliances – is even better exercise.
- Think of your fridge as a display box for meals. Having an organized, sanitized, sparkling clean fridge can help you make healthier eating choices.
- Deep cleaning your home frees it from mold, mildew, dust and bugs. These things can wreak havoc on your health, especially with cold and flu season around the corner.
- The removal of excess clutter in your home reduces the chance of household injuries from trips and falls.
For Your Soul
- Stuff has psychic weight. De-cluttering your space to only what you love will make your heart feel lighter.
- When your surroundings are serene, your soul will be able to create.
- Sunlight is precious in the winter months. Fall cleaning will mean your space will embrace sun-kissed air.
- As you prepare for a new season, it allows your soul to shift.
- The holidays are coming – and coming fast! Creating clean, uncluttered spaces allows you to focus on the spiritual side of the season.
- Planning for 2012 is easier to do when you can connect to your heart – instead of being distracted by mess and clutter.
And if deep cleaning your whole home holds no appeal, may I suggest you deep clean – and de-clutter – just three vital spaces?
For your Mind – Clean your desk
This is where you work. This is where you create. Give yourself the gift of clean, uncluttered space. Clean out your drawers. File all your papers. Dust and polish the surfaces. Clean your computer, including your keyboard.
For your Body – Clean Your Kitchen.
Every meal that nourishes you and your family begins here. Stress eating is common for folks, especially during the holiday season. Having a clean, organized kitchen will encourage you to make better choices.
For your Soul – Clean Your Closet.
Every piece of clothing you wear says something about your sense of style. Your sense of style creates your personal brand. Bring your winter clothes to the front of your closet and the summer clothes to the back. Remove everything off of shelves and give them a good dusting. If you haven’t worn it in a year, toss it. If it doesn’t fit, toss it. Then when you go to get dressed each day, you have a serene space of items for the amazingly perfect canvas: you.
Too simple? Maybe on the surface. But I can promise you that giving some time and attention to your physical space will work wonders in stepping towards living in the zone. So, what about you? Do you plan to do a little Fall Cleaning?
(Image is “It’s a Fresh Breeze” by Gil Elgren) | <urn:uuid:2eb010fc-cf9e-41c7-afcb-c3e49390e3e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://debrasmouse.com/fling-into-fall-cleaning/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933365 | 1,106 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Perhaps it is just me –
but I have been thinking quite carefully lately about the words I use…..and the power they carry with them, the message they carry with them, the legacy perhaps they leave.
And I realize, I have been very sloppy with my word choice.
If I say something I do is amazing and showcase this to a teacher who I might be working with on just learning a new opportunity or concept — what have I just stated, what challenge have I just offered??
If I say something you do is excellent — and then say something someone else does is excellent — and then again say something someone else does is excellent — is that truly possible, feasible, even truthful??
If I say that was the best keynote I have every heard — does that diminish all the rest of the keynotes I have heard in their effectiveness, and will every keynote from then on be a disappointment?
I think the problem here are “adjectives”.
I appreciate a direct message I received from Jon Orech today that basically echoes my current thoughts regarding the fact that we need to stop using adjectives and start using action words.
For me — first of all — I need to start working on accuracy rather than gushing.
For me — second of all — I need to set my bar higher for what is truly excellent, amazing, and superb.
For me — third of all — I need to stop thinking that perhaps I am doing better than I actually am and stop toting myself and let others assign “adjectives” to what I do.
I want to work on being a person of action — not adjectives.
I want to work on “helping” and “encouraging” and “showcasing” and “promoting” and “learning” and “working” and “continuing” and “progressing” and “growing”.
I need to stop pointing out the excellent (which is probably not accurate) and start recognizing the good (which is truly much more accurate and realistic).
And constantly keeping in mind that if so much is amazing, truly where would we go from there?
Just my thoughts. | <urn:uuid:67595998-3fef-4962-9752-578e4d70c753> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://projectsbyjen.com/blog/?p=1739 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972134 | 465 | 1.609375 | 2 |
|ETCSLtranslation : t.1.6.1|
1-6. Created like An, O son of Enlil, Ninurta, created like Enlil, born by Nintur, mightiest of the Anuna gods, who came forth from the mountain range, imbued with terrible awesomeness, son of Enlil, confident in his strength, my sovereign, you are magnificent -- let your magnificence therefore be praised. Ninurta, you are magnificent -- let your magnificence therefore be praised.
7-12. Sovereign of all the lands, in your massive might, warrior of Enlil, in your great might, fierce warrior, you have taken up the divine powers which are like heaven, son of Enlil, you have taken up the divine powers which are like the earth, you have taken up the divine powers of the mountains, which are heavy as heaven, you have taken up the divine powers of Eridug, which are huge as the earth.
13-15. You have made the gods prostrate (?) themselves before you. You have made the Anuna salute (?) you. Ninurta, you are made complete by heroic strength.
16-17. The utterance of the sovereign is a storm ……. The word of Lord Ninurta is a storm …….
18-23. To the hostile mountains ……. To the fortress of the rebellious land …….
24-25. His angry utterance made a corpse of the mountains. His fierce countenance …….
26-29. Horned wild bull ……. Wild ram and stag ……. The great wild bull of the mountains …… from its ……. He put his ……, the strength in battle, in his belt.
30-40. The sovereign, with his heroic arms, Ninurta, the son of Enlil, in his great might, brought forth the Six-headed wild ram from the shining, lofty house. He brought forth the Warrior dragon from the great fortress of the mountains. He brought forth the Magilum boat from …… his abzu. He brought forth the Bison from his battle dust. He brought forth the Mermaid from the limits of heaven and earth. He brought forth the Gypsum from the soil of the mountain range. He brought forth the Strong copper from the shattered mountain range. He brought forth the Anzud bird from the ḫalub-ḫaran tree. He brought forth the Seven-headed serpent from the …… of the mountains.
41-46. He mustered them all before him ……. He spoke ……. He was unhappy ……. He spoke ……. He seized the axe ……. He took his …….
47-51. The warrior …… made a corpse of the mountains. Lord Ninurta, who destroys (?) ……, made a corpse of the mountains. He piled up ……. The sovereign, with his heroic strength, wreaked his vengeance (?). The warrior Ninurta, with his heroic strength, wreaked his vengeance (?).
52-54. On his shining chariot, which inspires terrible awe, he hung his captured wild bulls on the axle and hung his captured cows on the cross-piece of the yoke.
55-63. He hung the Six-headed wild ram on the dust-guard. He hung the Warrior dragon on the seat. He hung the Magilum boat on the ……. He hung the Bison on the beam. He hung the Mermaid on the foot-board. He hung the Gypsum on the forward part of the yoke. He hung the Strong copper on the inside pole pin (?). He hung the Anzud bird on the front guard. He hung the Seven-headed serpent on the shining cross-beam.
64-69. Lord Ninurta stepped into his battle-worthy chariot. Ud-ane, the all-seeing god, and Lugal-anbara, the bearded (?) lord, went before him, and the awesome one of the mountains, Lugal-kur-dub, the …… of Lord Ninurta, followed behind him.
70-72. The lion who …… from the abzu, who …… An's awesomeness and radiance -- the Anuna, the great gods …….
73-75. As the sovereign swept on like the deluge, as Ninurta, storm of the rebellious land, swept on like the deluge, he rumbled like a storm on the horizon.
76-79. When, at Enlil's command, he was making his way towards E-kur, the warrior of the gods was levelling the Land; and before he had yet approached Nibru from afar, Nuska, the chancellor of Enlil, came forth from the E-kur to meet him.
80-82. He greeted Lord Ninurta: "My sovereign, perfect warrior, heed yourself. Ninurta, perfect warrior, heed yourself."
83-86. "Your radiance has covered Enlil's temple like a cloak. When you step into your chariot, whose creaking is a pleasant sound, heaven and earth tremble. When you raise your arm ……."
87-91. "The Anuna, the great gods ……. Do not frighten your father in his residence. Do not frighten Enlil in his residence. May your father give you gifts because of your heroic strength. May Enlil give you gifts because of your heroic strength."
92-97. "O sovereign, shackle of An, first among the gods, seal-bearer of Enlil, life-source of E-kur, O warrior, because you have toppled the mountains your father need send out no other god beside you. Ninurta, because you have toppled the mountains Enlil need send out no other god beside you."
98-101. While these words were yet in Nuska's mouth, Ninurta put the whip and goad away in the rope-box. He leaned his mace, the strength in battle, against the box and entered into the temple of Enlil.
102-107. He directed his captive wild bulls into the temple. He directed his captive cows, like the wild bulls, into the temple. He laid out the booty of his plundered cities. The Anuna were amazed ……. Enlil, the Great Mountain, made obeisance to him, and Ašimbabbar prayed to him.
108-112. The great mother Ninlil, from within her Ki-ur, spoke admiringly to Lord Ninurta: "O wild bull, with fierce horns raised, son of Enlil, you have struck blows in the mountains. Warrior, Lord Ninurta, you have ……. You have …… the rebellious land."
113-118. Lord Ninurta answered her: "My mother, I alone cannot …… with you ……. Ninlil, I alone cannot …… with you, for me alone ……. Battle arrayed like heaven -- no one can rival me (?). Like the deluge ……. Smashing the mountains like reed huts ……."
119-124. "My battle, like an onrushing flood, overflowed in the mountains. With a lion's body and lion's muscles, it rose up in the rebellious land. The gods have become worried and flee (?) to the mountain ranges. They beat their wings like a flock of small birds. They stand hiding in the grass like wild bulls ……. No one can confront my radiance, heavy as heaven."
125-127. "Because I am the lord of the terraced mountain ranges, in every direction ……. Because I have subjugated these mountain ranges of alabaster and lapis lazuli, the Anuna hide like mice."
128-134. "Now I have reestablished my heroic strength in the mountains. On my right, I bear my Mows-down-a-myriad. On my left, I bear my Crushes-a-myriad. I bear my Fifty-toothed-storm, my heavenly mace. I bear the hero who comes down from the great mountains, my No-resisting-this-storm. I bear the weapon which devours corpses like a dragon, my agasilig axe. I bear my ……."
135-139. "I bear my ……. I bear the alkad net of the rebellious land, my alkad net. I bear that from which the mountains cannot escape, my šušgal net. I bear the seven-mouthed mušmaḫ serpent, the slayer, my spike (?). I bear that which strips away the mountains, the sword, my heavenly dagger."
140-145. "I bear the deluge of battle, my fifty-headed mace. I bear the storm that attacks humans, my bow and quiver. I bear those which carry off the temples of the rebellious land, my throw-stick and shield. I bear the helper of men, my spear. I bear that which brings forth light like the day, my Obliterator-of-the-mountains. I bear the maintainer of the people in heaven and earth, my The-enemy-cannot-escape."
146-151. "I bear that whose awesome radiance covers the Land, which is grandly suited for my right hand, finished in gold and lapis lazuli, whose presence is amazing, my Object-of-trust. I bear the perfect weapon, exceedingly magnificent, trustworthy in battle, having no equal, well-suited for my wrist on the battlefield, my fifty-headed mace, I bear the weapon which consumes the rebellious land like fire, my fifty-headed club."
152-158. "Let my father therefore bring in my battle trophies and weapons for me. Let Enlil bathe my heroic arms. Let him pour holy water on the fierce arms which bore my weapons. Let him set up a holy dais in the throne room for me. Let him set my heavenly chariot upon a pedestal. Let him tether my captured warriors there like butting bulls. Let him have my captured kings make obeisance to me there, as to the light of heaven."
159-163. "I am the strong one, unopposed in the mountains, I am Ninurta -- let them prostrate themselves at my name. I am the exceedingly mighty lion-headed one of Enlil, whom he engendered in his strength. The storm of heaven, shackle of the gods, I am the one whom An in his great might has chosen."
164-167. "I am the ……, the life-source of Inana. I am the warrior, destined with Enki to be suited for the fearsome divine powers. Let my kingship be manifest unto the ends of heaven and earth. I am most able among the gods -- let me be imbued with great awesomeness."
168-174. "Let my beloved city, the sanctuary Nibru, raise its head as high as heaven. Let my city be pre-eminent among the cities of my brothers. Let my temple rise (?) the highest …… among the temples of my brothers. Let the territory of my city be the freshwater well of Sumer. Let the Anuna, my brother gods, bow down there. Let their flying birds establish nests in my city. Let their refugees refresh themselves in my shade."
175-179. As Ninurta went out from Enlil's temple, the most bright-faced of warriors, Ninkarnuna, having heard the favourable pronouncement of Ninurta, stepped before Lord Ninurta and prayed to him:
180-186. "My sovereign, may you be well-disposed towards your beloved city. Lord Ninurta, may you be well-disposed towards your beloved city. May you be well-disposed towards the sanctuary Nibru, your beloved city. When you enter E-šu-me-ša, your beloved temple, alone, tell your wife, young lady Ninnibru, what is in your heart, tell her what is on your mind. Make an enduring favourable pronouncement to her for the king."
187-194. The content of that prayer of the offspring of a prince, Ninkarnuna, his sprinkling Ninurta's heart with an offering of cool water, and the matter of prosperity about which he spoke were pleasing to Ninurta's heart as he went in procession to E-šu-me-ša to manifest the eternal divine powers. Lord Ninurta gazed approvingly at Ninkarnuna.
195-198. When Ninurta entered E-šu-me-ša, his beloved temple, alone, he told his wife, young lady Ninnibru, what was in his heart, he told her what was on his mind and he made an enduring favourable pronouncement to her for the king.
199-201. The warrior, whose heroism is manifest, Ninurta, the son of Enlil, has firmly grounded his greatness in Enlil's sanctuary.
202-207. Lord who has destroyed the mountains, who has no rival, who butts angrily in that magnificent battle, great warrior who goes forth in his …… might, strong one, deluge of Enlil, Ninurta, magnificent child of E-kur, pride of the father who engendered him, it is sweet to praise you.
208. Šir-gida of Ninurta.
© Copyright 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 The ETCSL project, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford | <urn:uuid:7052b736-bedf-43d2-b1e7-69627b420dbd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.6.1&display=Crit&charenc=gcirc&lineid=t161.p34 | 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 | 0.948495 | 2,879 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Global Crime Wave?
This article originally appeared on TomDispatch.
In all catastrophes, there are always winners among the host of losers and victims. Bad times, like good ones, generate profits for someone. In the case of the present global economic meltdown, with our world at the brink and up to fifty million people potentially losing their jobs by the end of this year, one winner is likely to be criminal activity and crime syndicates. From Mexico to Africa, Russia to China, the pool of the desperate and the bribable is expanding exponentially, pointing to a sharp upturn in global crime. As illicit profits rise, so will violence in the turf wars among competing crime syndicates and in the desperate efforts by panicked governments to put a clamp on criminal activity.
Take Mexico, just now in the headlines. In late March, during her first trip there as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton was repeatedly asked about the burst of narcotics-related violence in that country, the thousands of deaths that have gone with it, the patent inability of the Mexican military to contain, no less repress, the drug trade and the possibility that the country might be at risk of becoming a "failed state." Mexico itself may not be in danger of collapse, she replied diplomatically, but a very real danger threatens both countries from a rise in violent crime along the US-Mexican border. "The criminals and kingpins spreading violence are trying to corrode the foundations of law, order, friendship, and trust between us," she declared at a press conference in Mexico City. To counter this danger, the secretary of state promised a militarized response that reflected the level of danger she imagined--a significant increase in US anti-narcotics assistance, including the expedited delivery of Black Hawk helicopters.
The Mexican drug trade itself is nothing new. The illicit export traffic to the United States and the ensuing bloody competition among drug traffickers for access to the US market have long concerned US and Mexican law enforcement authorities. In the last two years, however, the violence associated with this commerce has grown to unprecedented levels as the leading crime syndicates--the Juarez Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas--have successfully resisted a fierce government crackdown, while fighting among themselves for control over key border access points. According to Mexico's Attorney General, Eduardo Medina-Mora, 5,376 Mexicans were killed in drug-related violence in the first eleven months of 2008 compared to 2,477 during the same period in 2007, an increase of 117 percent. And as times get ever tougher for ordinary Mexicans, recruiting for the trade grows ever easier while the killings only multiply. US law enforcement officials now believe inter-gang warfare is spilling into the United States in a serious way, producing rising murder rates in border states like Arizona, California and Texas.
The ongoing slaughter in Mexico may be monopolizing overseas crime headlines, but other parts of the world have also seen sharp rises in criminal violence in 2008 and the early months of 2009 as the global economic crisis has deepened. With legal jobs disappearing, growing numbers of unemployed youth are unsurprisingly drawn to what's still available--illicit professions or jobs in the military and police that, in many countries, are ill-paid but allow access to bribes. Just such a process appears to be under way in impoverished parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Drug Traffickers and Pirates
In fact, it's an irony that, as global trading and other aspects of economic globalization are breaking down, crime may be globalizing. Consider recent developments in Guinea-Bissau and Peru, when it comes to the growing reach and savagery of Latin America's drug traffickers.
On March 1st, in Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony on the west coast of Africa, unknown assailants killed Army Chief of Staff General Batiste Tagme Na Waie and President Joao Bernardo Vieira within hours of each other. The two men had long been political rivals, and it is widely believed that President Vieira was behind Na Waie's assassination and was then killed in retaliation by members of the country's security forces.
Guinea-Bissau, however, has also become an important way station for the transshipment of illegal narcotics from Colombia to Europe. Many observers believe that the assassinations were tied to infighting among the drug cartels and their associates within Guinea-Bissau's political and military elites. While the killings may have been sparked in part by "personal hatreds [and] ethnic rivalries," said Joseph Sala, a former State Department official with knowledge of the country, a factor was also "the growing involvement of Latin American drug cartels."
In Peru, the pervasive lure of illicit drug profits is reflected in the re-emergence of the Shining Path guerrilla movement--this time as a cocaine smuggling operation. Originally a revolutionary Maoist organization, the Shining Path largely disappeared after its messianic leader, Abimael Guzman, was captured by Peruvian antiterrorist agents in 1992. Recently, however, a surviving faction of the group has reappeared in a remote, impoverished jungle redoubt, promoting the growing of coca and its refinement into cocaine. Although still professing loyalty to its Maoist roots, the guerrilla faction appears to devote most of its time to fending off efforts by the Peruvian military to suppress drug trafficking in the area. The result has been a spike in armed violence with at least twenty-two soldiers and police officers killed in the region in 2008, the highest death toll in almost a decade.
As times get tougher, increased criminal violence is also evident in two other striking ways: as rising levels of piracy on the high seas and as a spike in capital punishment in China.
The increase in piracy has gained particular notoriety since Somali pirates hijacked the Sirius Star, a Saudi supertanker carrying more than $100 million worth of crude oil, in November 2008. In some sense, Somalia may be the poster child for what lies in store for far wider regions in a new era of criminalization. As a genuine failed state, after all, it has been experiencing the local equivalent of a great depression for years. While it has led the way on piracy, the phenomenon is on the rise elsewhere as well. The taking of the Sirius Star was only one of 293 incidents of piracy in 2008--the highest number since the Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) of the International Maritime Bureau began compiling such records in 1992. According to the PRC's annual piracy report, 889 crew members were taken hostage in 2008, 11 were killed, and 21 are still missing and presumed dead; guns were fired in 139 of the incidents, up from 72 in 2007.
When it comes to China, whose booming economy was a global wonder until world trade took a tremendous hit last year, it's hard to gauge the level of violent crime, as officials there are said to systematically under-report it. However, there are indications that it is on the rise and that organized crime has secured a stronger presence in the country. In what is evidently an effort on Beijing's part to combat this trend, the government has vastly stepped up its executions of criminals found guilty of capital offenses. In 2007, according to Amnesty International, at least 470 convicted criminals were executed and another 1,860 (or more) sentenced to death. The just-released figures for 2008 show an enormous increase: 1,718-plus executions and another 7,003 people sentenced to death. Some of those killed may have been political prisoners falsely charged with criminal offenses, but most were, presumably, common criminals put to death to intimidate others who might engage in similar behavior. | <urn:uuid:5e7495ff-5c1c-4867-8e8a-a27c65e26bad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenation.com/article/global-crime-wave | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965038 | 1,568 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Troy Davis and the meaning of innocenceSitting on death row in Georgia, Troy Davis has won a key victory against his own execution. On Aug. 17, the U.S. Supreme Court instructed a federal court in Georgia to consider, for the first time in a formal court proceeding, significant evidence of Davis’ innocence that surfaced after his conviction. This is the first such order from the U.S. Supreme Court in almost 50 years. Remarkably, the Supreme Court has never ruled on whether it is unconstitutional to execute an innocent person.
By: Amy Goodman, Hearst Newspapers, The Jamestown Sun | <urn:uuid:21a680d4-449b-474c-b748-d745e7f03a2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jamestownsun.com/event/contentEmail/id/92143/contentType/article/ | 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 | 0.957546 | 128 | 1.578125 | 2 |
It's not too strange anymore, it was art & needed propaganda to rid the US approved junta in Greece
I've see the film when Jules was in New York City in 2002 or'03. Was there any other movie made that tells what happen then. The Greek programs here in Nyc had done retrospect's on is, but only in Greek. My questions are: why isn't this movie out so more can view it???? It makes no sense, to keep this in the vaults. I love is work but What was Dassin thinking to not release this?????I would like to buy the movie & show it. It's very a important history especially for younger people to know what their peers did in Greece for freedom. Most people still don't know or very little about why happened then. I am still an AIDS activist with ACT UP in NYC since 1988, I don't see enough committed young folks in fighting AIDS etc. WE NEED THEM MORE THAN EVER, knowing our freedoms are being striped away in the name of so called terrorism. The anti-war marches had plenty of youth, there's got to be more out there more of everybody.That 20th airplane terrorist was just put away for life just for knowing of the plans to use planes, etc. And what about trying & convicting our leaders for knowing also ahead of time too and did nothing to stop 9-11? Something up here. We not going to find the true out at this pace. We got learn from history, and teach our youth to question and not just accept things as they are,and just go back to our personal lives and seeking only the pleasures in life. Let's not be so passive in this country. Thanks, George
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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The first time I read the Bible all the way through, I was 8 years old. Needless to say, I didn’t understand everything I read back then, but as I grew in Christ and became more knowledgeable, I realized that consistent study of the Word equips you in ways you never imagine. The Bible is, after all, the sword of the Spirit. You don’t usually internalize something just from reading it or hearing it only once. So regular study is a discipline that I have resumed this year. Ideally, I’d like to set aside quiet time for it daily, but I give myself the grace to miss a day here or there.
In 2007 I attended a 9-week women’s bible study on the book of Esther, right around the time the movie One Night With the King, (somewhat based on Esther), was released. I still have those notes, but decided to study the book again for another 9 weeks using Beth Moore’s guide, entitled Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman. Moore approached the book in a totally different way, and I’ve just finished it. My initial hope was that I would gain a lot of insight into Esther’s redeeming character traits, plus anything new revelations God wanted to send my way for this season in my life. After all, a lot has happened in my life since ’07.
One of the things that strikes me, despite no mention of God in the whole book, is His presence in Esther’s life from beginning to end. She was a female, an orphan, and a Jew– three things that would normally give someone of her time unfavorable status. Although she was very beautiful, she was also wise and humble. God’s favor and His hand in her life were apparent from the very first mention of her in Chapter 2 (there are 10 dramatic chapters in all). It started with the position Esther took on (she was crowned Queen of Persia in 479 B.C.), wisdom in conflict “for such a time as this,” (Es 4:14) and the resulting establishment of the Jewish celebration of Purim (473 B.C.).
God’s presence and providence are shown throughout the book, as several ironies unfold and scripts are flipped. I specifically remember in these last few years how God turned my feelings of depression, entrapment, hopelessness, and discouragement to happiness, freedom, hope, and optimism. (Followers of this blog can see my progression.) How has God turned the tables in your life of late? If you’re coming up blank, what would you like to see change?
Below are some notes from Moore’s study that I think can stand alone without the context of the story of Esther. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, these snippets won’t give it all away. I encourage you to read it for yourself– you’ll be blessed.
Meanness always identifies a threat, whether it’s real or imagined. (Haman)
Because Satan has a limited leash where believers are concerned (God and Satan > Job 1), his most powerful tactics are psychological. He can profoundly and destructively influence our thoughts (if we let him).
God designed conviction to be uncomfortable so that we would hurry to repentance and find relief in restoration.
God told His people (the Israelites) from the time of Moses that He’d protect them and fight their battles for them as long as they worshipped Him only. If they forgot Him, He would still love them but not shield them; He used their enemies to turn His people back to Him. [God has blessed me tremendously, but He never lets me go too long without reminding me, through various circumstances, that I need Him every day of my life.]
We are significant. We may not have the title of “King/Queen,” but we are royalty and have been placed in our own sphere of influence no matter how great or small, “for such a time as this.” (See also Ephesians 1:1.) [Our lives matter more than we know, hope, or realize!]
You are not called to live an easy life, but a purposeful one. When you walk in your purpose, you will have to make some of the most difficult decisions of our lives. Just when we think we can’t do it, God steps in and does something miraculous, and we become something that we’re not, and “Who knows?” becomes “I know.”
Fasting with prayer allows you to wholeheartedly focus your petition before God. Refusing sustenance demonstrates desperation and sincerity to receive direction and deliverance.
In a crisis situation, there is no neutral position. Failure to decide brings personal loss and misses the opportunity to fulfill God’s purpose. [No decision is a decision.] Failure to decide is to decide on failure.
Our distrust of God tells our enemy exactly how to get to us.
Ironically, a person is never less aware of divine intervention than when s/he has been chosen to render it.
We don’t realize that our stronghold can be a person until it is one. A person becomes a snare to us anytime s/he consumes an excessive or unhealthy space in our thoughts (negative or positive). [Who is your obsession?] It’s not the person that emotionally masters us– it’s our thoughts about the person that emotionally master us.
Admitting you have an area of brokenness is a huge first step toward wholeness.
If the Jews had been annihilated, Jesus could not have come from their bloodline. Why do you think Satan tried so often to destroy the Jews? Jesus was a threat to him.
God cannot break His promises. His Word is not only His bond but His very breath.
There is shelter in the Most High (see also Ps 91), in whom we find our significance and the only satisfaction of our insatiable need to be noticed.
In the end, people don’t get away with murder or its premeditation.
Sometimes God wants to show us what we can do rather than let us find someone who can do it for us.
Getting the credit is the wrong reason to do the right thing.
Every time God shifts us/our circumstances around, He’s not just fulfilling His own pleasure (Phil 2:13) but He’s also working every detail, good and bad, for our good (Rom 8:28). No matter what evils schemes come against us, God will work it out, work it in, and work it well. (God specializes in reversals.)
I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining.
I believe in love, even when I do not feel it.
I believe in God, even when He is silent. ~ Author Unknown
How you ever been were you aware of being placed in a situation or position for a critical purpose (“for such a time as this”)? Did you expect God to use you? Have you ever seen Him turn the tables and ‘flip the script’ in your favor? | <urn:uuid:d5b6946f-6206-401e-956a-a54a9b5329d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dareesinsights.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/position-purim-and-providence/ | 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 | 0.966262 | 1,505 | 1.625 | 2 |
The National AIDS Authority of Panama (CONAVIH) held its quarterly session on 26 June 2012. The meeting reviewed the stock out of antiretroviral (ARV) medicines that has been affecting the country in the past months.
The First Lady of Panama and Chair of the CONAVIH, Ms Marta Linares De Martinelli highlighted the need for all partners involved in the national AIDS response to undertake the necessary actions to provide ARV medications regularly and permanently. “It is a matter of life or death,” Ms Linares stressed.
The meeting brought together high level government representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education as well as civil society leaders and people living with HIV. UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Programmes, Dr Paul De Lay participated in the session at the special invitation from the First Lady.
Dr De Lay commended the authorities on the progress made in scaling up access to antiretroviral treatment but also stressed the need to identify new mechanisms for the distribution of ARVs to avoid stock outs in the future. “Timely and uninterrupted provision of medications to people living with HIV is a matter of commitment to human rights” affirmed Dr De Lay.
The ARV stock outs that occurred in the country were attributed to delays in the ARV purchase due to complex institutional regulations. Participants at the meeting agreed to establish a coordinating committee to identify existing barriers to purchase and provide ARVs. This committee will include representatives from civil society, pharmacists and physicians from health service institutions.
The need for a more precise calculation of annual ARV requirements was also seen as key to avoid stock outs together with a faster process for import, legalization and distribution of medications to the 15 local health facilities where people living with HIV are attended. Currently there are around 11 000 people living with HIV in Panama of which 6 000 are receiving ARV treatment.
Eliminating new HIV infections among children
Dr De Lay congratulated the First Lady´s leadership in the implementation of the national strategy to eliminate new HIV infections among children and keeping their mothers alive. "This country may be one of the first countries in Latin America to achieve the goal of zero new HIV infections among children by 2015," expressed Dr De Lay. “Panama has everything that’s needed to reach this goal even ahead of 2015. However, it is still necessary to expand the current 76% coverage of HIV testing to all pregnant women, especially in rural areas" he added.
The First Lady stressed her commitment as the Chairperson of the National AIDS Commission to scale up the coverage of prevention of mother-to-child transmission services to all women in need throughout the country. “We will increase our efforts in order to achieve the target of zero new HIV infections among children.” concluded the First Lady. | <urn:uuid:a2c4e419-edcc-4614-a06f-54e9dc120666> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hivhaven.com/2012-04-13-23-02-40/north-america-hiv-news/1916-panama-to-sort-out-challenges-in-delivering-antiretroviral-medicines | 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 | 0.951351 | 581 | 1.710938 | 2 |
As I visited the Frankfurt Book Fair last week, Ebooks and Ebook services seemed to be omnipresent. From E-readers to E-publishing experiments and from POD and software services to E-braries, the publishing value chain finally seems to have lost its fear when it comes to the embracing of the Ebook. This has lead to the rise of new digital service and platform providers, which I will reflect upon in a later post.
The opening speeches of the book fair can now be found online here. Two of them, one by Prof. Dr. Gottfried Honnefelder, the Director of the German Publishers & Booksellers Association and one by the famous Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, specifically talked about Ebooks. Interestingly enough, both of them see it as inevitable that in the future digital book content will be available for free. As Professor Honnefelder states:
“The existing business model doesn’t apply any longer. The publishers, who have worked with digital content for some time now, know this of course. The others have to learn how to handle it and accept that “Open Access” prevails time and again, and that Internet users don’t have any patience when the “free flow of information” runs into walls. A development towards this new openness is the future job of publishers and bookstores. In doing so, one must be ready to adopt new financial and publishing models and not always insist on copy being paid for. We are talking about new book-minded financial models which reward the publishers’ work in new, perhaps indirect ways. “
Paulo Coelho envisions a similar future:
“There’s an important element to this which most people are not fully aware of: people are sharing what they deem pertinent in a free way and they expect the same thing to occur in all systems of mass communication. (…) Yet, given that books as media are still widely used, why not share the whole digital content of books for free? Contrary to what common sense tells us – and common sense is not always a good guide, otherwise publishers, booksellers and writers would probably be doing something more profitable – the more you give, the more you gain.”
However, although Honnefelder thinks free will eventually prevail, he does seem to be afraid of the exploitment of online digital content, fearing piracy and copyright infringements:
“Education, knowledge, content – these are the resources of a modern society. But how do we keep it this way? These resources must be protected! Anyone who steals a book out of a bookstore can expect consequences. Why should there be different laws on the Internet? Simply because this book is not printed on paper and bound?”
On the other hand, Paulo Coelho (or his alter ego “The Pirate Coelho”), sees more creative (and economic) possibilities in the sharing of content and information on the net:
“Yet, there are still two problems to tackle: copyrights and the sustainability of the publishing industry. I don’t have a solution, but we are facing a new era, so either we adapt or we die. However, I did not come here to share solutions, but my own experience as an author. Of course, I make a living out of my copyrights, but at this very moment I am not concentrating on this. I have to adapt myself. Not only by connecting more directly with my readers – something unthinkable a few years ago – but also by developing a new language, Internet-based, that will be the language of the future: direct, simple, without being superficial. Time will tell me how to recover the money I myself am investing alone in my social communities. But I am investing in something for which every single writer in the world would be grateful: to have his texts read by a maximum of people (…) The Internet has taught me this: don’t be afraid of sharing your ideas. Don’t be afraid of engaging others to voice their ideas. And more importantly, don’t presume who is and who is not a creator – because we all are.
This discussion clearly reflects how important it is to think about new ways to create revenue from free and in this respect the book business has a chance to create a progressive system, learning from the experience of the other digitized media (music, film). Before giving pirates the overhand, we should try to create a system that creates value of and that benefits from free, at least we should strive to do so. At least to me this seems better than fighting a movement that claims to follow the main mechanism of the Internet, based on the free sharing of information, and in this respect has already won beforehand. | <urn:uuid:5534732b-60f5-4bb0-b017-0bb4791fdab3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://openreflections.wordpress.com/2008/10/20/frankfurt-book-fair-i-free-ebooks-copyright-and-piracy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954837 | 985 | 1.554688 | 2 |
The survey would cover higher educational institutions including universities, research bodies, statutory councils for higher education, state governments and other academic
bodies to get a proper perspective of the present status of higher education, said sources in the HRD Ministry.
Suggestions and opinions of experts and academicians would also be elicited during this exercise, they said.
The findings would help the government carry forward its reform agenda in this sector as it eyes to achieve the targeted gross enrolment ratio of 30 percent by 2020, they
At present, the gross enrolment ratio in the country is only 12.4 percent while developed economies like the US and Russia have an enrolment ratio of 82 percent and 75 percent
According to a report prepared by Ernst & Young in association with FICCI, spending in the higher education sector in the coming 10 years is projected to go up to Rs 1.50
lakh crore, up from 46,200 crore at present.
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal had earlier said the country would require 800 universities and 40,000 to 45,000 colleges to be built in 10 years to achieve its enrolment target.
The task force, sources said, would basically facilitate the survey, explore mechanism to conduct the exhaustive exercise and identify an implementation agency to execute it.
The 13-member task force would be headed by Additional Secretary in the Department of Higher Education under the ministry.
The information generated from the survey would also be critical for planning the growth and development of the sector keeping in mind the increasing requirement of quality human resources in driving the 21st century knowledge economy, the sources said.
The task force will submit its preliminary recommendations to the HRD Ministry to operationalise the survey within two months from the date of issue of the
notification in this regard.
New Delhi: Amid plans to conduct a pan-India survey of the higher education sector, the government has decided to set up a task force to carry forward the process and identify a surveyor.
First Published: Sunday, November 14, 2010, 09:42 | <urn:uuid:3f6e40a1-e401-4437-9c24-e9f380fe81f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/task-force-to-facilitate-survey-of-higher-education-sector_667954.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958172 | 417 | 1.5 | 2 |
by Randolph T. Holhut
Chief of AR Correspondents
March 21, 2011
DON'T GET MAD AT THE PLUTOCRATS. GET EVEN!
DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Forbes magazine recently put out its "Rich List" for 2011. Several numbers stood out.
There are now 1,210 billionaires in the world, 200 more than last year.
There are now 413 billionaires in the United States, the most of any country in the world.
The total wealth of all the billionaires on Forbes' list is $4.5 trillion.
David and Charles Koch are on the list, and the billionaire brothers who have bankrolled nearly every anti-worker, anti-global warming and anti-democracy initiative that's come down the pike have a combined total wealth of $44 billion.
In fact, the Koch brothers had a splendid 2010, amassing $9 billion more in wealth.
Meanwhile, courtesy of Michael Moore, I'll throw out this statistic that Forbes neglected to mention: The bottom 60 percent of American households own less than 2.5 percent of the total wealth in this country. If you figure that the total net worth of every American household is around $53 trillion, this means the bottom 60 percent possess about $1.25 trillion of that amount. The other 40 percent have the rest.
Forbes also neglected to mention that since 1980, the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans have seen their share of total after-tax income increase by 32 percent, while the bottom 40 percent of households have seen virtually no income growth in three decades.
How badly out of whack is our economy?
In the mid-1960s, the average CEO earned about 50 times the minimum wage. Today, the average CEO earns about 821 times the minimum wage. And that CEO is paying much less in taxes. Over the past 50 years, tax rates for the bottom 80 percent of wage earners have stayed mostly unchanged, while the richest Americans saw their tax rates go from 91 percent in 1960 to 35 percent today.
That's why, of the 33 most advanced economies in the world, the United States ranks 31st in income equality. The gap between rich and poor is greater here than it is in places such as Guyana, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
This is also why Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced the Emergency Deficit Reduction Act last week. It would impose a 5.4 percent surcharge on Americans who annual incomes exceed $1 mllion. It would also eliminate tax breaks for oil and gas companies.
Together, these two actions would raise close to the $61 billion that House Republicans (and a few conservative Democrats) want to chop from programs such as education, nutrition, heating oil subsidies for the poor, environmental regulation and reproductive health.
Sanders' bill barely scratches the surface of what needs to be done. Unfortunately, too many politicians of both parties in Washington are either unwilling or too afraid to make the rich pay their share of the cost of recovery from the economic collapse they helped to create.
This is how bad it is in Washington right now. A modest attempt at doing something for the common good has absolutely zero chance of passage.
We're approaching the three-year mark since the housing bubble burst and $11 trillion of household wealth - most of it the home values and retirement savings of the middle class - vanished. There are still about 26 million Americans who are either jobless, can't find full-time work or have given up looking for work.
Yet these are the people, along with the rapidly thinning ranks of the middle class, that are being asked to pay the cost of cleaning up the economic mess.
Consider that, as of last of last spring, non-financial corporations in the U.S. have $26.2 trillion in assets, or nearly double the national debt of $14.1 trillion. Or that few corporations in America pay the theoretical top tax rate of 35 percent.
According to a study from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office, 83 of the top 100 publicly traded corporations that operate in the United States exploit corporate tax havens. Some of the most profitable companies, including ExxonMobil, General Electric, Bank of America and Citigroup, paid a grand total of $0 in federal income taxes in 2009.
It's estimated more that $1 trillion in revenue is lost each year to loopholes and tax breaks to corporations. But the politicians won't act on closing tax loopholes and making the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share until we, the people, force them to act.
There is a new movement emerging called US Uncut (http://www.usuncut.org). It is inspired by UK Uncut, the anti-austerity movement that is fighting Britain's Conservative-led government and its attempts to impose the most extreme cuts to public spending that the country has seen since the 1920s while at the same time extending huge tax breaks to major corporations.
In Britain, there have been peaceful occupations of stores and banks by people who are fed up with the fat cats getting tax breaks while the public sector is decimated. Social media, such as Twitter, is used to organize the events. This style of open-source protesting had no leaders, and no predictable tactics.
The message of UK Uncut, which has been adopted here by their American counterparts, is a simple one: If individuals pay their fair share of taxes, why not corporations? If corporations paid their fair share of taxes, just as ordinary people do, we wouldn't have to fire teachers, firefighters and other public servants.
Bank of America has been US Uncut's first target. Other corporate tax-dodgers are still to come. And, on March 26, a global day of action is planned as Uncut groups from Australia, Canada Uncut, Mexico, France, the Netherlands and Sudan join their British and American counterparts in a coordinated protest.
How effective has US Uncut been? They recently achieved the ultimate accolade: a lengthy attack by Glenn Beck during his tv program last week. The timing of Beck's assault was significant. It came just a couple of days after organizers from US Uncut crashed a Bank of America investor conference and got a chance to put their message before 300 hedge-fund managers, institutional investors and asset managers.
Direct action is what it will take to turn the tide. It will not be easy. It will take a long time. And there will be setbacks. But what we're seeing is the start of a new movement to take back our economy from the oligarchs and plutocrats.
As Michael Moore told a rally in Madison on March 5, "We aren't broke, Wisconsin is not broke. The country is awash in wealth and cash. It's just that it's not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks and the portfolios of the uber-rich."
It's time to take our economy, and our government back.
Chief of AR Correspondents Randolph T. Holhut has been a journalist in New England for more than 30 years. He edited "The George Seldes Reader" (Barricade Books). He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:202670b3-2fc1-4d71-bdab-f1e3b8ca3cd7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.american-reporter.com/4,632/292.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961756 | 1,490 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Detroit Office Employees Present Cost-Saving Ideas
The report, "A Stronger Detroit for Our Kids: A Proposal for Stronger Detroit Public Schools," was prepared by the Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees. It calls for union-management collaboration to reduce student absenteeism, centralized record keeping, and other efforts to improve service, lower costs and raise revenue for DPS. If implemented, the report says, these proposals could add about $130 million to the school system's bottom line and result in more fiscally sound, better-run public schools for the children of Detroit. (The Jan. 21 issue of the Detroit Free Press carried a story on the union's report.)
The report was developed with assistance from professor Hal Gueutal, a nationally recognized expert and author of several books on human resource management and business practices. It was prepared after extensive consultation—including one-on-one conversations, group meetings and surveys—with Detroit school office employees, who already have been working to implement improvements in their schools.
"I wasn't surprised our members came up with some great ideas," says Ruby Newbold, president of the Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees (DAEOE) and an AFT vice president. "They work in the schools every day—they know what works and what doesn't. Our proposal paints management a clear picture of what is possible through teamwork."
"A Stronger Detroit," which was presented to the school system's Emergency Financial Manager, calls for the formation of labor-management committees to further explore the ideas presented by the office workers' union. These committees would be comprised of union members, managers and senior administrators who would work together to explore ways to improve workplace efficiency, working conditions and service.
The report highlights the cost savings of four main suggestions:
1. Reduce absences and keep our children in school. Student absenteeism costs DPS millions in state aid every year. DAEOE members know the students and their families, and so have the best ideas on how to keep students in school. If the union and management work together to draw on this experience, student enrollment can be increased by 1 percent per year, which would generate $92 million for DPS over the next five years.
2. Reduce waste in purchasing supplies and equipment. DPS currently spends $67 million annually on supplies. DAEOE proposes reducing this expenditure by 3 percent per year over the next five years, for a total savings of $29 million.
3. Ensure that answers to frequently asked questions are readily available. An average of three hours per week is wasted in searching for information that should be readily available. This results in almost $1.5 million per year in lost work time, or $7.3 million over five years. Working to centralize student records and other information would greatly reduce or eliminate these costs.
4. Reduce photocopying costs. DPS spends an estimated $1.5 million annually for black-and-white copies and $600,000 for color copies, or a total of $2.1 million per year. By making an effort to centralize photocopying, $2.25 million could be saved over the next five years.
In addition to outlining ideas that work, "A Stronger Detroit" notes that privatization of the services provided by school office employees would be a mistake and would not lead to the needed cost savings and service improvements. "The track record thus far at DPS and elsewhere demonstrates that privatization has failed to produce the promised cost savings, and has instead proven to be an inefficient and wasteful strategy for providing essential services," the report says.
"Privatization would squander an undervalued resource. Eliminating dedicated employees who are invested in the children and schools of Detroit is not the right solution to Detroit's struggles," Newbold says.
AFT executive vice president Lorretta Johnson underscored the need for union-management cooperation in Detroit's struggling economy. "Teachers, school office employees and support staff, principals, administrators, elected officials, parents—we all need to be talking about how we're going to make our schools work in tough economic times."
More information about the plan also is available online at A Stronger Detroit for Our Kids. [DAEOE press release]
January 20, 2010 | <urn:uuid:9442845c-9b7b-46af-aed1-c03dde9b9d01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://aft.org/newspubs/news/2010/012010detroit.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961656 | 870 | 1.820313 | 2 |
VintageWare > iMac
Game Wizard > FAQs
The iMac Game Wizard
Who makes the iMac Game Wizard?
The iMac Game Wizard was designed and
sold by Micro Conversions Incorporated (MCI). The company went
out of business in May 1999.
The card was manufactured by G-Links
under contract to MCI. After MCI went bust G-Links was left with
components in stock which had been bought for the cards. They
used these to make more cards which they sold themselves.
Is the iMac Game Wizard still supported?
No. After MCI disappeared, 3Dfx Interactive
(the chipset manufacturer) released unsupported Mac drivers for
Voodoo2-based cards. Unfortunately they were written for the
PCI slot versions of the card and don't work properly with the
special iMac mezzanine slot card. In December 2000 3Dfx effectively
dissolved their business so there will be no updated drivers
from them. In addition the card's drivers won't work at all under
Mac OS X, although they still work fine with Mac OS 8 or 9.
What does the Game Wizard do?
Modern computers offload a lot of the
graphics processing, especially in games with 3D graphics, to
the video chip. This is commonly called hardware rendering, as
opposed to software rendering where all the graphics calculations
and drawing is done in software running on the computer's main
What's wrong with the built-in video
The ATI Rage IIc video chip the original
iMac uses was already too slow for many of the 3D-accelerated
games that were appearing back in late 1998 when the iMac was
introduced. Simpler games like Tomb Raider run fine on a Rage
IIc, but games like Unreal and Future Cop run far too slowly
and have to be played in software mode. Thanks to the iMac's
fast processor they are playable with software rendering, but
have to be played at a lower resolution, with fewer colours and
fewer special effects. To make matters worse the original iMac
only included 2 megabytes of video memory. Most 3D games require
at least 4MB, so even the games that can run on a Rage IIc often
won't unless the video memory is upgraded. Fortunately the memory
can easily be upgraded to 4 or 6MB.
The revision B iMac used the much faster
Rage Pro chip and included 6MB of video memory. This chip is
good enough for more recent 3D games, but is still not as fast
as the Voodoo 2.
How good is the Game Wizard?
Very good. It's about three times faster
than the Rage Pro, and about 10 times faster than the poor Rage
IIc! It has 8MB of video memory on the card. The iMac didn't
get an equivalent 3D accelerator until late 1999 when the slot-loading
CD iMacs were released. They use an ATI Rage 128 with 8MB of
How does it work in a computer without
The Bondi Blue iMac (both A and B revisions)
has an internal expansion connector called the mezzanine slot.
In Apple's own words:
"there is an additional
slot that was used by Apple during iMac development (often referred
to as the mezzanine slot). This slot is for Apple use only. Apple
has not published the specifications for this slot and is not
recommending that any company develop products that rely on it."
Naturally enough several companies
did develop products that used it, the most famous of which is
the iMac Game Wizard.
VintageWare > iMac Game Wizard > | <urn:uuid:b1c7cb64-2760-44a2-84cf-73d52e584119> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vintageware.orconhosting.net.nz/game_wizard/faq.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957217 | 780 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Brian and I went the other day to see the 2007 Oscar nominated animated short films at the Michigan Theater. This outfit here is Madame Tutli-Putli, from the short named after her, alternately titled by Brian “the Silent Hill short” for its surreal, creepy atmosphere. The way the short was produced was stunning (and eerie, with those human eyes tracked on the puppets) but the content seemed to be trying too hard to be deep. Yes, she’s timid, yes she’s got all that “baggage,” yes, it’s depicting an acceptance of death, but the aliens removing livers was a little beyond me. (And no, I don’t think it was a literal account of an organ-harvesting ring, as I’ve read elsewhere…)
All we know about the gown from the book is that it is white silk and adorned with coral (two pins in her hair, her sleeves looped up with coral strings, and a coral necklace.) There’s no firm date given for the events of the book, but I’m dating this gown to 1852, based on this page, which makes it sound as if the strike in the book was based on the historical strike at Preston in 1853, a year before the book began to be serialized. Then, this was the gown that Margaret also wore for her cousin’s wedding, which was at the beginning of the book. It’s an inconvenient date — right there between the Regency gowns and the hoopskirt at its height. I used this page for reference, mostly.
It may sound like the book is some sort of Civil War drama, but it refers instead to the differences between the slow-paced farming communities of the south of England and the upstart industrial cities of the north. For this reason I found it a rather odd book somehow; it starts off with a wedding, a silly mother, a pastor father, a suitor for Margaret and a good bit of walking, gardening and drawing, and we Jane Austen fans think “Oh, I know where this is going.”
(Unrelated: while chatting with a woman working at the bookstore the other day, she told us she had been talking to someone who lamented, in all seriousness, that Jane Austen hadn’t written anything lately.)
But just as the reader is getting acquainted with Helstone and its inhabitants and charms, there’s a crisis: Margaret’s father loses his faith in some way, enough that he feels that he must renounce his living and find other employment. This revelation is never truly explored in the book, as Margaret seems rather afraid to ask for any more details, and instead throws herself into the mundane details needed to keep the family together. So they move to Milton, a factory town, and her father becomes a private tutor. And all of a sudden, this book which had seemed to promise a lightly romantic comedy of manners, brings in questions of religious faith, chapters upon chapters of class conflict, lingering illness, murder, deception, lies, grave misunderstandings and lots and lots of death. (And why the one character I would have liked to see die never quite made it there, I have no idea.) This is all separate from the story of Margaret’s love interest, which is its own little torment; they must spend thirty chapters thinking of each other, misunderstanding each other, and being miserable, before it is all finally resolved in the last page of the book.
I enjoyed it thoroughly, even with the heaps of melodrama, as Margaret herself is a fascinating and admirable heroine, and the depiction of the class conflict is easily more important than the romance. The strike, the union and the millowners are all treated evenly and sympathetically, and the inclusion of such themes makes the novel so unique.
I’m so far outside the targeted age group that it’s rather an embarrassment to admit, but I’m fond of Naruto. (Brian calls it the “screaming ninja children anime,” and he’s really right on the mark.)
This cloak is the uniform of Akatsuki, the group of powerful, outlawed ninja whose members become the primary antagonists in the later part of the series. Even if they are ruthless and pursuing world domination, they’ve got a little more fashion sense than most of the ninjas in Konoha (where most of the protagonists are from), where the hot styles of the day involve bulky olive vests and far too much fishnet.
I’m back, and with a shiny new Masters degree in Teaching English as a Second Language! I found it fascinating, met a lot of great people and now I’m tutoring and rating the TOEFL iBT writing section. Besides that, I’ve been moving to a great new apartment, cooking, reading, keeping my husband fed as he starts his own business and indulging my cats.
What I haven’t been doing is drawing paperdolls, and I think it’s high time that changed.
I graduated in December, and the color of the hood is just what mine was. The dress underneath is green, in honor of EMU’s colors, green and white. The wacky Masters gown sleeves are… sort of an approximation. (I can almost hear my mom telling me that the PhD gown sleeves are easier to draw.)
Anyways, I’ve missed doing paperdolls — I’ve spent far too much time thinking about doing them, and far too little time actually drawing them. I think I’m going to go back to the old Paperdoll Blog format — that is, paperdolls based on whatever I’m watching, reading, listening to or thinking about. I might shoot for one every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I’m so out of practice, though… so we’ll see. ;) | <urn:uuid:68609f28-974f-4188-96b6-01a0d884dd58> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://joechip.net/liana/2008/02/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962302 | 1,246 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former Congressional Budget Office director was interviewed on the PBSNewsHour and said, “It’s been noted for 10 years by the CBO among others that we cannot grow our way out of this, we can’t tax our way out of this. It’s an entitlement spending problem that has to be brought under control.”his has been noted for the past ten years, then that brings us back to the Bush years when deficits resulting from tax cuts didn’t matter. The point of tax cuts was to shrink government, a decades old Republican ideology promoted throughout the sixties and seventies by economists like Milton Friedman. Reduce taxes, reduce government and let the free market reign. Doing so will being economic harmony and success for the country.
After decades of letting the “free market reign” with tax cuts and sub prime junk bonds wrecking the economy, now, the new scapegoat on the block is: it’s the “people” and their entitlement programs causing all the budget woes.
Focusing solely on cutting entitlement programs blinds them from focusing on jobs creation. So far, the only action Republicans have taken on creating jobs, has been tax cuts for the filthy rich “jobs creators” with very few protections for the workers. Has anyone given any thought to the long term damage high unemployment will bring to the future?
High unemployment is a concern for the Federal Reserve, the central Bank. Maybe the bankers, the real money people, understand high unemployment is the biggest threat to the future, not “entitlement spending”.
Banks and corporations are sitting on trillions, refusing to invest in the future, while billionaires like hedge funder Pete Peterson peddle propaganda to convince a majority that economic salvation is not through jobs, but cuts in Social Security. The real objective behind their focus on the “entitlement spending problem” is the elimination of Social Security; which has been a Republican goal since the Reagan era. | <urn:uuid:8fde086d-a548-4475-a871-344878a76863> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.norwichbulletin.com/community/blogs/holmes-and-co/x1671800603/Republicans-realize-their-goal | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952739 | 416 | 1.609375 | 2 |
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|Arabic to English translations [PRO]|
Social Sciences - Education / Pedagogy
|Arabic term or phrase: بحوث عمليات|
|This is a course name offered at a Libyan Institue for Management.|
|Operations Research or "OR"|
Greetings... taHaiya Tayyiba wa b3ad...
The fairly-standard rendition heard in universities in the US, UAE and Saudi Arabia tends to be "operations research," often abbreviated as just 'OR.'
FYI, OR and its methodologies were sometimes combined with a parallel methdology called "systems anaysis," a paring that led to an akward abbreviation of "ORSA," pron. as in English "ore-saw."
IIRC, the field of "systems engineering" (SE) encompasses major parts and features of both OR and SA. In view of the prevalent use of SE in a number of international technology-related firms, SE seems to have overshadowed both OR and SA.
Khair, in sha' Allah.
Stephen H. Franke
San Pedro California
Selected response from:
Local time: 02:35
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
4 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +7 | <urn:uuid:67db0a84-2fe6-4846-83fd-c0eda9029a1d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.proz.com/kudoz/arabic_to_english/education_pedagogy/955204-%C8%CD%E6%CB_%DA%E3%E1%ED%C7%CA.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946085 | 340 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Annual Report 200102/01/2002
- 1. Introduction
- 2.1 Priorities of Inspections Performed in 2001
- 2.2 Overall Surveys of Results of Control
- 2.3 Results of Controls of the Microbiological Requirements
- 2.4 Results of Analyses for Contaminants
- 2.5 Controls of Labelling and Quality
- 2.6 Thematic and Extraordinary Inspections
- 2.6.1 Inspections focusing on food safety
- 2.6.2 Inspections focused on adulterations
- 2.6.3 Complex and other inspections
- 2.7 Inspections in production
- 2.8 Inspections in trade network
- 2.9 Suggestions
- 2.10 Penalties
- 3 Laboratory Activities
- 4 Certification Activities
- 5 Internal Information System
- 6 Personnel Training
- 7 Activities in the Field of Legislation
- 8 Cooperation with Other Authorities and Institutions
- 9 International Relations
- 10 Public Relations
- 11 Conclusion
- 12 Abbreviations and Explanations
Food for special dietary use on the herbal extract basis
Within the scope of an ordinary control of food for special dietary use, the CAFIA laboratories detected values of lead, cadmium and mercury in a few food supplements many times exceeding the set MRL. This was the case of tablets imported from India and produced on the basis of herbal extracts. Moreover, the Ministry of Health had never issued for this product an approval allowing its release into circulation. The contents of heavy metals identified in the above food supplements represented a serious risk to the consumer health.
E.g., in the product called Astrum Ma Madhulene, with a specified date of production of 2001-04-09, the identified contents of lead were 41,500 mg per 1 kg of food (the set limit is 8mg/kg), and the contents of mercury identified were 2,950 mg per 1 kg of food (the set limit is 0.5 mg/kg).
The importer was immediately forbidden to put the specified food into circulation and the general public was informed through numerous press releases relating to the above matter.
Fennel tea suspected of containing seeds of toxic thorn apple
The inspection of fennel tea was focusing on food safety, the purpose of which was to confirm whether the tea contained or not admixtures of seeds of a toxic thorn apple (Datura stramonium), and consequently the toxic thorn apple alkaloids scopolamine and hyoscyamine.
The total of 758 shops and warehouses were inspected within the scope of the control action. Altogether 19 samples of fennel tea or other products containing fennel (including spices) were taken for laboratory analyses.
The analyses for the admixtures (in thorn apple) identified 8 samples as nonconforming. In all those cases the products were imported to the Czech Republic from other foreign countries. The weight spectrometry also proved in these samples the values of thorn apple alkaloids. The batches of products risky to public health were immediately withdrawn from circulation and destroyed. Also in this case the consumers were informed continuously through media.
Polyaromatic hydrocarbons in olive oils
In March and April 2001, CAFIA identified a many times exceeded hygienic limit for polyaromatic hydrocarbons in samples of olive oils imported from Spain.
Immediately a ban was imposed on circulation of the nonconforming batches and the importers were ordered to withdraw the nonconforming products from the market. The actions that CAFIA adopted made the competent Spanish authorities perform a series of laboratory analyses that resulted in a similar decision, i.e., to withdraw immediately the nonconforming oil from the distribution network all over the Spanish territory and to suspend production of these products. The values of polyaromatic hydrocarbons exceeding the hygienic limit were detected mainly in the inexpensive olive oils produced from the residues of the already ground and squeezed olives. Also in this case CAFIA continuously kept the general public informed.
3-MCPD contaminant in soy sauces
An extensive survey carried out by the British FSA (Food Standard Agency) focusing on the identification of the 3-MCPD contaminant (3-monochlorine-1,2-propandiol) in soy sauces served as a suggestion for a series of tests performed in a number of European countries.
The SPPI (Slovak Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority) detected 3-MCPD in a sample of soy sauce produced in the Czech Republic. Based on this suggestion CAFIA carried out analyses of several samples of soy sauces both of domestic and foreign origins. Their results confirmed findings of the SPPI. The contents of 3-MCPD in soy sauce of the Czech manufacturer were several times higher than the maximum limit set in accordance with the EU Directive No. 466/2001. A ban of sale was imposed on the nonconforming products and they were withdrawn from the market. Also this case was published and got in the centre of attention of the general public.
Dried fruit and fruit with added sugar
The purpose of these inspections was to control food safety of dried fruit and fruit with added sugar with respect to the contents of additives, namely preservatives (sulphur dioxide, benzoic acid and sorbic acid) and synthetic dyes, including their declaration on the label for the consumers, and to control whether the declared name of a particular product conforms with its character.
In total 36 samples were taken, of which 27 samples (75 %) did not comply with the requirements of the currently valid legilation. The problem applied in particular to the sulphur dioxide and dyes, about the use of which the consumers were not properly informed from the labelling, to wrongly given name and in a few cases to the missing information on the ingredients (added sugar).
Bottled drinking water
These inspections focused on the control of food safety from the perspective of the microbiological and physical requirements. The inspections took place in all the Czech producers of bottled natural water, bottled table and infant water. Within the scope of this control also samples of imported bottled water were analysed.
Of the total number of samples 3 were evaluated as nonconforming. The reason was a hygienic limit exceeding contents of nitrites and nitrates, and the non-conformances in the declared contents of fluorides on the label.
The results proved that the non-compliances in food safety in this commodity occur rather sporadically and, in general, we may say that quality of the traditional bottled water (mineral, infant and table) is high. | <urn:uuid:4a7a634b-d418-41bd-a536-f224c9c521f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.szpi.gov.cz/en/docDetail.aspx?nid=11444&docid=1004739&chnum=8 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950919 | 1,374 | 1.6875 | 2 |
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