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Someone hacked the e-mail of George W. Bush’s sister. But it revealed something more fascinating than the e-mails regarding his father’s health.
More fascinating than the e-mail from Fox News talking head Brett Hume complaining about President Obama’s reelection: “Election outcome disappointing, but there are many silver linings”.
Fair and balanced? Maybe not!
There may be not one single Western artist that has painted a self portrait of himself in his own bathtub. Or shower.
Edgar Degas painted plenty of robust women bathing themselves. With obvious admiration. Jacques-Louis David painted a portrait of his friend Jean-Paul Marat dying in his bath. But that was based on fact. The revolutionary leader was actually assassinated in it.
There is always something fascinating to me about amateur art. From those who have not yet learned to control the image, it oftentimes becomes more self revealing than the artist is aware of. It can be a psychological portrait.
The art of the mentally ill is also revealing in the same way.
So in the case of George W. Bush, why the bathroom? The one place where nothing is hidden. Where the lighting is often bright and unflattering. The surfaces cold and aseptic. Unmercifully revealing.
Is it a work of ego? Or a reflection of something else?
(Via The Smoking Gun)
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U.S. intervention on EU opens rift in UK leadership
LONDON (Reuters) - An outspoken intervention by a senior U.S. official who said Britain should not leave the European Union opened up a new rift between Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy on Thursday.
Cameron played down any suggestion of a disagreement with Washington over Britain's EU membership, but Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, his junior coalition partner, said U.S. concerns over Europe were spot on.
Both men were reacting after Philip H. Gordon, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, told a media briefing in London the previous day that Washington feared a British exit from the EU would run counter to U.S. interests.
Gordon's intervention, a rare foray into an emotive domestic debate, made front-page news in Britain, where Cameron is preparing to deliver a speech setting out his plans to try to renegotiate the country's relationship with the EU and then put the deal to a vote.
Cameron faces a dilemma. Many MPs in his own ruling Conservative Party are pressuring him to call a fully fledged referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU, a demand backed by opinion polls which show a majority of Britons would, if given the chance, vote to leave the 27-nation bloc.
But business leaders in Britain have said they are strongly opposed to the prospect of the country radically downgrading ties with its biggest trading partner, while international partners from the United States to Germany and Ireland have made it clear they oppose a British EU exit or "Brixit" and think such a move would isolate and damage Britain itself.
Speaking on Wednesday, Gordon stressed that it was up to Britain to determine its relationship with the European Union and said the United States and Britain would always have a "special relationship".
"At the same time," he added, "we have a growing relationship with the European Union as an institution which has an increasing voice in the world and we want to see a strong British voice in that European Union.
"That is in the American interest. What is in the British interest is for the British people and British government to decide."
Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic often refer to ties between Britain and the United States as the "special relationship", a phrase coined by former British prime minister Winston Churchill, whose mother was American.
But in recent years some analysts and politicians have questioned how closely the United States listens to Britain and whether the days of a privileged alliance are in the past.
Asked on Thursday whether Gordon's comments that the United States wanted Britain to stay in the EU were appropriate, the response from the prime minister's official spokesman was dry.
"He was setting out his views," he said.
"What Philip Gordon was setting out yesterday was that the U.S. is strongly in favour of an outward-looking European Union with Britain in it and that is very much our view."
The defensive response contrasted with that of Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, the junior member of the two-party coalition government.
The two coalition members have clashed on everything from reform of the upper house of parliament to cuts in state handouts but have pledged to continue to govern together in the knowledge that they would lose an election to the opposition Labour party if such a vote was held today.
Clegg, who has derided Cameron's idea of repatriating some powers from the EU as "a false promise wrapped in a Union Jack", has made clear his party does not want to see Britain distance itself from the EU at all.
"In one sense it's entirely unsurprising," he said of Gordon's comments. "Americans have been saying for generations now, for ages, since the 1950s, that Britain and the special relationship between Britain and America … is one that is partly based on the fact that we are valuable to our American friends," Clegg told LBC radio.
"They are perfectly entitled to say ‘look if you're interested in the American perspective, we think Britain stands taller in the world if you stand tall in your own neck of the woods'."
Tim Bale, a politics professor at the University of London told Reuters, pressure was building on Cameron to "decide which side of the fence he's on" over Europe.
"The American intervention has made that all the more urgent," he said.
In Dublin, Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the EU executive, talked up the value of Britain being an EU member, detailing policy areas where its influence has been positive.
"We believe it's very much in the interests of the European Union to have Britain at the centre of the European project," he said. "Many of our, let's say achievements, from the deepening of the single market to enlargement ... were possible also because of British commitment."
The head of the German parliament's influential EU Affairs Committee took a different approach, warning Britain against trying to "blackmail" other countries in its push to fashion a new relationship with Europe.
Gunther Krichbaum's comments came after the prime minister's spokesman reiterated Cameron's determination to try to alter the nature of Britain's relationship with the EU.
"The prime minister's view is that he wants a change in Britain's relationship with the European Union and to seek fresh consent for that," the spokesman said.
The U.S. comments raised hackles elsewhere. Dominic Raab, a lawmaker from the Conservative party, told the BBC Britain needed to do what was in its own interests and "not what is convenient for the Americans".
Nigel Farage, the leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, which has surged in the polls on the back of eurosceptic sentiment, was more blunt.
"The UK is a good and candid friend of the U.S., but having a historic special relationship should never mean being America's poodle," he said in a statement.
Daniel Hannan, a Conservative lawmaker in the European Parliament and a prominent eurosceptic, was equally scathing.
"Of all the bad arguments for remaining in the EU, the single worst is that we should do so in order to humour Barack Obama, the most anti-British president for nearly 200 years."
(Additional reporting by Luke Baker in Dublin; Editing by Giles Elgood, Philippa Fletcher and David Brunnstrom)
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Could a Dog Derail Mitt Romney's Presidential Campaign? Newt Gingrich Hopes So
In 1983, Mitt Romney packed the station wagon with his family to drive from Boston to their vacation home in Ontario, Canada. The dog came too, only he didn't ride in the car. The Irish setter, Seamus, rode in a kennel strapped to the roof.
Romney had built a windshield for the dog, but the dog did not seem to enjoy himself. Partway through the 12-hour drive, one of Romney's sons noticed brown goopy stuff coming off the top of the car. Seamus had had diarrhea, likely from the stress of bombing down the highway at 60 mph. Papa Romney's solution? At the next service station he took the contraption down, got the dog out, hosed everything off, put the dog back in, and continued on his way.
An interesting article on the ABC News website talks about the physics of the situation — in other words, how uncomfortable it likely was for Seamus. Between the extra pressure exerted on him (equivalent to having an extra three pounds of weight on his head) and the wind whipping around the windshield at unpredictable velocities, it was probably a very stressful ride for the pooch. (There's no word about where the dog rode on the return trip.)
Oh, and from what I've read, the dog didn't get a bathroom break. Well, not one at speeds under 60 mph at least.
The issue came up in the last presidential election, and now Newt Gingrich — clinging on for life in South Carolina — is bringing it up again in a big way. His people have created a new web ad called For the Dogs. Check it out below. (The dog part comes a little bit into it and continues to the end)
If Romney had owned up to the fact that it was a stupid idea by a busy family man who didn't know better in that day and age — and it was a different world for dogs back then — maybe wouldn't be taking the hits he is now on various blogs and forums. But he has defended his actions, saying Seamus enjoyed it up there, and joked that it was better than riding with his kids. And in the video above, he says the dog was in an "airtight" kennel. It's not easy to breathe in an airtight anything.
What do you think, Dogsters? Would this affect your vote? Why or why not?
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Experts call for change to industry guidelines following Radiohead stage collapse tragedy
Industry veteran Lars Brogaard has called for a fundamental change to stage erection guidelines following this month's fatal stage collapse at a Radiohead concert in Toronto.
Brogaard, who has been production manager for Rod Stewart since 1985, recommended that the use of steel roofs should become an industry standard.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, he insisted: "You need to go to steel. The shows nowadays are getting heavier and heavier with the lighting and the video screens. These aluminium roofs, they can't take the weight."
According to Brogaard, the roof above the stage at Toronto's Downsview Park appeared to made of aluminium, which is still commonly used in North America because, being lighter than steel, it is cheaper to transport.
Drum technician Scott Johnson was killed after a stage collapsed an hour before Radiohead's concert in Toronto on June 16. Three other people were injured in the incident, which has forced the band to reschedule seven European shows while they await replacement equipment.
Four companies, including concert promoter Live Nation and Radiohead's Ticker Tape Touring, have been asked to comply with an investigation by the Canadian government into the stage collapse.
According to veteran promoter John Scher, standard operating procedure for large outdoor concerts such as Radiohead's Toronto show suggest that Live Nation would have been responsible for the erection of the stage.
Also speaking to Rolling Stone, Scher said: "It's not a theatre, it's not an arena, so you've got to go to a company that builds outdoor stages. Hopefully you'll check and make sure they've got the experience and references. It's the promoter's responsibility to be able to hire somebody who can deliver the specifications that the production manager and the act ask for."
It is not known how long the investigation into the stage collapse will take, but spokesman Matt Blajer said: "This is a very complex one and it'll take some time."
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The GBK Cookbook
The British Food Trust
After over 10 years of providing this website as an entirely free service the Trust now hopes that small donations from our viewers will allow the site to continue following its next review in July.
The British Food Trust Website
This website is a major resource for all those in the UK and around the world who are enthusiasts for British cooking, its past traditions and future potential. Most of the 1,210 recipes here are indeed traditional and, taken together, define the legacy of British Cuisine. But of course cooking and recipes are ever-changing, no more so than with British cooking, which has always been hugely influenced by other cultures, many of which are now part and parcel of our contemporary cuisine. Our overriding interest, then, is not that everything in the Kitchen should be the pre-War idea of British, important though that foundation is, but to share and enjoy the rich diversity of the culinary life that is readily found in the British Kitchen today (wherever in the world that Kitchen may be!).
With that in mind, we would like to give a very special thank-you to Helen Gaffney, the selfless originator of this Cookbook, and to the Dairy Diary, which helped her with recipes and photographs.
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Set in the beautiful Yorkshire countryside, Ryedale Family History Group brings to you transcriptions from the Parish Registers of the villages in the area. What do their epitaphs say on their memorial inscriptions? Were they mentioned in the parish magazines? Did they attend Lady Feversham’s school in Helmsley?
If you are searching for the baptisms, marriages and burials of your ancestors from this part of the country, then look at what is available below.
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Academic recognition for Jacksonville's iconic badboy artist, Lee Harvey
Controversial Jacksonville artists gains recognition
Lee Harvey has produced genuine and important art in many different mediums. His paintings, spectacularly colorful, can be divided into three main groups: Non Objectivist, Political Satire, and Faux Decorative.
Some of his art shows have involved the police or worse, and his gallery in Five Points created a volcano of activity credited with emasculating the local censorship movement when it was raided by police in the 90s.
His political art has been scathingly satirical and challenging to both the Right and Left of political center, leading to some very amusing moments in journalism both here and abroad. During exactly the same time that the Chicago Tribune was excoriating Lee's work as the most offensive art in the country in an article entitled "Republican Nazis?" FolioWeekly was handing out the brickbats to Lee because they had mistakenly been given the impression that Lee himself had come out of the closet as a Nazi. (Apparently the telephone technology which would have allowed them to fact check their brickbat before publishing had not yet been developed at Folio prior to 2004.)
Similarly, his constant production of political stickers has been noticed on more than one occasion, and in 2009, the political commentary associated with his work has merited inclusion in an academic museum at St. Lawrence University. Here is the listing of the work and why it was included in the collection.
This is the second time that one of Lee's political stickers have been included in a national collection of political street art. Title CIA Approved Fox News Illuminati Mind Control. The image itself was turned into a successful line of t shirts that are sold both by QuelQuesoIt.Net and Jello Biafra. Its fascinating to see Lee's street art work get recognized in so many places. Congratulations to Mr. Harvey.
The Techfest 2009 Show-specific images from the Gallery’s CONTENTdm Web site will be presented, including:
- Wall Street, New York photograph by Paul Strand
- Altar inside the Norbulingka, Tibetan Buddhist Monastery photograph by Alison Wright
- My Squad, Quang Tri Province photograph by Patrick T. Stearns
- FOX News sticker by leeharveyinc.com
- A selection of 63 Vietnam War-era photographs from the United States and Vietnam that are part of the University’s Permanent Collection will also be presented, as well as a larger selection of 211 photographs from the Permanent Collection.
Article by Stephen Dare; photo/graphic by Stephen Dare for www.metrojacksonville.com
- For more detailed information on Lee Harvey
- East Village Arts District
- Should Arts Be Partially Self Sustaining?
- Community (or) The Single Greatest Weapon Against Apathy
Copyright 2012 by MetroJacksonville.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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FUNDER - Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation is one of the largest private philanthropic institutions in the world, with a mission to encourage initiatives by those living and working closest to where problems are located; to promote collaboration among the nonprofit, government and business sectors; and to ensure participation by men and women from diverse communities and all levels of society to help build common understanding, enhance excellence, enable people to improve their lives and reinforce their commitment to society.
Open Society Foundations
The Campaign for Black Male Achievement was launched in 2008 as a three-year, cross-program campaign to provide expanded resources to address, and help reverse, the ways in which African American boys and men are stigmatized, criminalized, and excluded from the U.S. economic and political mainstream.
Washington Koen Media Productions (WKMP) is a full service video production and media company focused on creating high impact media that boast socially responsible messages. We produce short-long form documentaries, presentations and other media for television, Internet, corporations, curriculums and private use. WKMP was started in 2006 by filmmakers, Ouida Washington & Derek Koen.
WKMP began with an expressed interest in producing stories that reflect the communities of color need for media to connect to their everyday issues and triumphs. It is a part of our mission to supplement the mainstream media’s news and information with short form projects that speak specifically to diverse cultural viewpoints. Some of our work includes “This is My Home”, documentary on the fight for public housing in New Orleans (Advancement Project, Current TV, Conference on Race, Amnesty International, High Schools and Universities) “More than 41 Shots”, documentary on police brutality (IFP-Current TV film festival Winner, colleges, community organizations) “Safe Return”, a narrative on domestic violence, (US Dept. of Justice, Vera Institute of Justice), “Path to the Future”, presentation on closing the racial wealth gap (Ford Foundation, Insight Center for Community Economic Development, colleges and universities), “Building on a Legacy”, short documentary on the building of the African Burial Ground Monument (Current TV)
Ouida Washington - Producer
Ouida holds a BFA in Communications Design from Pratt Institute. She worked several years as an accomplished Music Video Producer, producing award winning videos for such top recording artists as Brandy, Biggie, R. Kelly, Jodeci, D'Angelo and others. Ouida has provided producing services to several feature films, 'Francesca Page' (selection for Sundance Film Festival), "A Woman Like That" (winner at Urban World Film Festival), "Love Poem-Un Easy", and "Ghetto Fabulous". She has produced short works including commercials, corporate videos, documentaries and narratives. Ouida's distinct background includes Associate Producer of the documentary components at the National Civil Rights Museum, Producer of high profile fundraiser for AAIA (African Americans in Advertising), and Director of the Intel Computer Clubhouse, a creative technology program for children 11-19yrs. She was a member of the Advisory Board of the American Museum of Natural History's After- School Technology Instructors Guide.
Derek Koen - Director
Derek began his career with Amen Ra Films East, producers of HBO’s "Disappearing Acts" and the documentary chronicling the life of the professor and scholar Dr. Yosef A.A. Bjen-Jochannan, affectionately known as "Dr. Ben". At Amen Ra, acclaimed documentary filmmaker St. Claire Bourne mentored Koen. Koen wrote, produced and directed the short films "When Good Food Goes Bad", and "When Does it Stop" a visually poetic portrait of a parent’s pain when losing a child to the never-ending cycle of violence in the street. "When Does it Stop" was screened at several film festivals and has been screened by public school children in New York and New Jersey. Koen was Production Coordinator for the Harlem-based documentary film company Roja Productions, working on the PBS series "Matters of Race", award winning documentary "Citizen King", "Bones of Our Ancestry", and others. Derek is an experienced Digital Videographer and Editor with credits that include music videos, commercials, short form documentaries, short films, Internet sports talk show, as well as producing and directing the feature film " Ghetto Fabulous".
Joe Bly - Associate Producer
Bly is a Producer specializing in television documentary, having worked with PBS, A&E, and CNN Working for WVPT- PBS in Virginia, he Co-Produced a historical documentary about religious conscientious objectors of WWII – the first television documentary on the subject. .” In 2008 his independently produced documentary “Marketing the Message” won festival titles, enjoyed worldwide broadcast on the newly launched Al Jazeera English Network and aired on PBS stations across the country. Joe was recently nominated for a NY Emmy for his work at Bronxnet.
Cliff Charles - Director of Photography
An Emmy nominated Director of Photography, and founder of The People's DP Inc. Charles has lensed numerous television, feature, music video and commercial projects, working with artists such as Mos Def, Faith Evans, Mudvayne and Britney Spears and brands such as State Farm, TNT, Olay, Lifetime TV and Anheuser Busch. Charles’ feature film credits include the 2006 Spirit Award nominee and winner of the 2005 LA Film Festival, "Jellysmoke", the award winning romantic comedy Thirty Years to Life, the underground cult hit "Shottas", the Hip Hop slacker film "Planet Brooklyn" and the HBO documentary "When the Levees Broke", which lead to his 2007 Emmy Nomination.
Derek Koen - Additional Camera
Octavio Warnock-Graham - Sound Recordist
Matt Bryant - Sound Recordist
Derek Koen - Editor
Norris Mingkhamsavath - Assistant Editor
Yasmin Mistry - Designer / Animator
Rusty Haner - 3D Animator
Diana Panfil - Logo Design
David Perini - Website Design
Norris Mingkhamsavath - Production Assistant
Vincent Carpio - Production Assistant
Jamel Bell - Production Assistant
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Nine (9) unit residential development reaches city council for approval tonight, 7/9/12. The property has a creek running though it. Six (6) years and lawsuits later the project might be approved.
San Mateo Daily Journal/Michelle Durand, 7/9/12. "Six-year development battle comes to head."
"The original 2006 project proposal led to a November 2009 lawsuit against the city by The Friends of Cordilleras Creek and Finger Avenue Pride Committee. On May 19, 2009, the Planning Commission voted 3-2 to certify the mitigated negative declaration but voted to deny the project itself. The City Council denied the first appeal of the decision but, after revisions to the plan, it voted 6-1 that October in favor based on a less-stringent mitigated negative declaration.
|Cordilleras Creek, Redwood City|
The new plan, which was an alternative offered to the original project in the final EIR, calls for a 25-foot creek setback to meet the city’s adopted storm water control ordinance and ease concerns raised in the lawsuit about runoff and erosion. The blueprint also calls for no size increases in four of the lots, no decrease in front yard setbacks for those lots’ garages and no tree removals other than the 10 already proposed." Read more.
Related creek description. "Beginning in the foothills, Cordilleras Creek flows in its natural bed before being confined to a conduit near El Camino to end in the San Francisco Bay. Like most California creeks, it slows to a trickle in rainless summer weather, but Cordilleras usually does flow year round." Waymarking,com.
Related creek article. "In the El Niño winter of 1998, Cordilleras Creek topped its banks, causing severe erosion and property damage. The event prompted the City Council of Redwood City to meet with property owners and watershed residents and seek a solution to flooding. Many of the residents involved in the flood strategy process expressed an interest in keeping the creek in as natural a state as possible. In support of the residents’ position, the city funded a watershed program coordinator who will work with residents to identify the needs of Cordilleras Creek and plan for natural flood control, restoration, and ongoing creek care." Cordilleras Creek Organization/Whitney Knueppl article and picture.
Posted by Kathy Meeh
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Religion versus Atheism in Nigeria
According to a recent worldwide poll called The Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism, Africa is the world’s most devout region. Even with a global decline in religiosity, the black continent has the smallest number of self-proclaimed atheists in the world. I think this poll clearly mirrors the state of religion and atheism in the region. Nigeria trails behind Ghana in terms of religiosity with 93 percent of the respondents saying they were religious. I guess fewer Nigerians would identify themselves as religious if there were assurances of safety and no victimization if they proclaimed and declared themselves atheists. In Nigeria, people who do not profess any religion or belief in god find themselves in a perilous predicament. They are ostracized, maltreated and discriminated against. But the situation of atheists is not the same across the country. How one is treated as an atheist depends on so many factors, such as the part of the country where one is living – is it in the Christian dominated South or in the muslim dominated North? Is it in the rural or urban areas? It also depends on one’s family background, gender, level of education, employment and income. Male atheists who are highly educated and are financially independent face less risk than their female counterparts.
In Nigeria, atheism is a taboo. It is abominable for anyone to proclaim openly that god does not exist. It is not safe and normal for persons to admit being atheist. The reactions include sardonic incredulity, shock, anger, and hatred. Atheism goes with huge costs – social and political consequences – which many people cannot afford. Generally atheists are not accorded respect. They are not treated as human beings with equal rights and dignity. In fact in Nigeria it is better and more socially acceptable to profess a belief in any god or any religion than to profess no religion and lack of belief in god. Many people will not welcome an atheist to their homes. The general misconception is that atheists are horrible human beings, the agents of the devil who lack common moral decencies. Many people are made to believe that atheists can corrupt their minds or ‘souls’, cause them to derail from the path of truth and righteousness, and lead them to hell fire and eternal damnation. In fact the whole idea of atheism is scary to many Nigerians. Most people would want not to be associated with that label or perspective. Most Nigerians believe all initiatives should be founded on god, no matter how absurd or vaguely conceived such an idea is.
Again, most Nigerians socialize and marry along religious and theistic lines. The issue of the religion or belief in god plays prominent role when marriages are contracted. So atheists – self proclaimed atheists – may find it difficult to get partners unless they are ready to convert or to renounce atheism or to conceal their atheism. Unfortunately the dream of most young Nigerians is to marry in churches or mosques or to have their marriages blessed by a clergy even when such marriages are contracted in a court or registry. There are no indications that ‘blessed marriages’ succeed better than those contracted without such theistic theatrics.
In Nigeria, anyone who goes open and public with his or her atheism risks losing family support, care and solidarity. In 2003, a Muslim woman from the North who is acclaimed nationwide as liberal and progressive in her views visited our humanist stand during an event in Abuja. After a short brief on what humanism was all about, she said she would have nothing to do with any of her children who renounced Islam. Many children are not ready to go against what is often perceived as the divine will of their parents particularly when it comes to religious or theistic matters. They prefer to pretend and to present themselves as religious and theistic. In Nigeria, family and community links are very strong and important. The Nigerian state is not as developed as states in the western world, and many people rely on their families and community members for care and support. So, families often tyrannize over the lives and choices of members. For example , most people who are born in Christian families are brought up in a christian way, attend christian schools and marry christian partners. Parents regard it as a duty to bring their children up in a religious and theistic way. For a child to profess atheism is generally seen as a mark of parental, family and societal failure. Atheism goes with a stigma which most families abhor and do not want to associate with.
Even in the area of education atheists face so many challenges. Schools in Nigeria were originally started and are still managed mainly by religious – Christian and Islamic – bodies. Religious indoctrination is quite dominant in the school system. There is a mixture of the schooling and faith traditions. Teaching and preaching, instruction and brainwashing go together. In fact the classrooms and lecture halls are extensions of churches and mosques. Atheists in Nigeria have no choice but to receive faith-based ‘godly’education or no education at all.
But I must state that the situation is worse in Muslim-dominated communities in Northern Nigeria. Muslim majority states in this part of the country are implementing sharia law. And under sharia law, apostasy is a crime punishable by death. To be an atheist is more or less to be an apostate – or an infidel or a criminal. There is really no space for atheists to be and to operate. Being an atheist is a matter of life and death. In fact in Muslim sharia-implementing communities in Nigeria, there are two places an atheist can be – in the closet or in the grave. Proclaiming oneself an atheist is like passing a death sentence on oneself. Being an atheist is like handing oneself over to be executed.
In addition, atheistic expressions are often regarded as blasphemy, and blasphemy is another offence punishable by death or long prison sentences. Any expressive atheist could be branded a blasphemer. Such a person risks being imprisoned or murdered in cold blood by Allah’s self proclaimed foot soldiers. In 2007, a Christian teacher in Gombe state was murdered by a Muslim mob for defiling the Koran. In a region charged with Islamic fanaticism and bigotry, atheists are an endangered species and cannot survive in the open and public space. So in Muslim communities, atheists live in constant fear of their lives. They are socially and politically invisible. Atheists are treated as third class citizens who should be neither seen nor heard.
Still atheists in Nigeria have a long way to go before they can be treated with full dignity and respect. Atheism is the most commonsensical of all commonsense notions. But like any progressive development against the backdrop of religious opposition, improving the situation of atheists will not be an easy feat to achieve. It requires – and will require – a lot of courage, sacrifice and struggle.
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Mississauga, incorporated in 1968, is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With a population of 668,549, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality,and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades. Mississauga's growth reached a peak between the census years of 1986-1991, with the largest population growth in Canada (89,500). Sustained population growth has continued since, but at a somewhat slower pace. Mississauga is now the fourth most populous city on the Great Lakes, surpassing both the cities proper of Milwaukee and Cleveland over the last decade.
Mississauga has had only three mayors in its history. Dr. Martin Dobkin was the city's first mayor in 1974. He was then followed by Ron A. Searle. Searle was defeated by then-city councillor and former mayor of Streetsville, Hazel McCallion. McCallion is regarded as a force in provincial politics and often referred to as Hurricane Hazel, comparing her political force to the devastating 1954 storm that struck the Toronto area. McCallion has won or been acclaimed in every mayoral election since 1978, and in recent years has not even campaigned. In October 2010, McCallion won her twelfth term in office with over 76% of the votes. McCallion is the nation's longest serving mayor and was runner-up in World Mayor 2005.
Mississauga is bounded by Oakville and Milton to the west/southwest, Brampton to the north, Toronto to the east, and Lake Ontario to the south/south-east. Halton Hills borders Mississauga's north-west corner. With the exception of the southeast border with Toronto (Etobicoke Creek), Mississauga shares a land border with all previous mentioned municipalities.
In 2006, with the help of Project for Public Spaces,the city started hosting "My Mississauga" summer festivities at its civic square. Mississauga planned over 60 free events to bring more people to the city square. The square was transformed and included a movable stage, a snack bar, extra seating, and sports and gaming facilities (basketball nets, hockey arena, chess and checker boards) including a skate park. Some of the events included Senior's day on Tuesday, Family day on Wednesday, Vintage car Thursdays, with the main events being the Canada Day celebration, Rotary Ribfest, and Beachfest. The civic square is currently being reconstructed using federal stimulus money and will feature a permanent stage, a larger ice rink, media screens, and a permanent restaurant. Mississauga also boasts one of the largest shopping malls in Canada called Square One Shopping Centre, which is surrounded by manybars and restaurants, as well as City Hall, the Central Library, and Playdium. Mississauga also hosts a cultural festival named Carassauga each year to celebrate the diverse population.
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By Megan Chance
Three Rivers. 417 pages. $14.95
Kitsap County historical novelist Megan Chance has written about 19th century Gotham before, and she returns to that time and place in her new book, "The Spiritualist."
Evelyn is the heroine in this whodunit, and despite her working class roots, she has recently married into the Atherton clan, one of the wealthiest families in New York City. Her husband, Peter, provides for her every material want, but he remains aloof from her emotionally. While he claims to be overwhelmed with work at his law practice, he does find time to attend spirit circles. Calling up the great beyond is all the newest rage in New York.
Evie is skeptical, but she attends one of the circles with her husband in an effort to get closer to him.
It is an ill-starred evening in any event — somebody's gun discharges during the seance. Despite everyone else's claims that it was an accident, Peter believes otherwise, and he tells Evelyn he intends to get to the bottom of the matter that very evening.
When he does not return the next day, she is unconcerned — he often works late and spends the night in his office. But several days go by with no word from her husband — until one day there is a knock at the door. The police have arrived to tell Evie that Peter's body has been found in the East River, and he appears to have been murdered.
Evie is the chief suspect, and her in-laws quickly turn on her, as does most of the rest of high society.
It is only the efforts of her husband's handsome law partner, Benjamin Rampling, and the generosity of an eccentric but wealthy widow who regularly sponsors spirit circles in her own home, that keep Evie from being locked up in jail until her trial date. Instead, she is allowed to live under house arrest in the widow's opulent mansion.
Michel Jourdain, the enigmatic medium who also shares the wealthy widow's home, offers his help. Evie is uncertain that he can be trusted, but with her life on the line, she can't afford to turn down help.
Since Peter thought that the shooting at the seance had not been an accident, she may find his murderer by uncovering what was really going on the night the "accident" took place.
Author Chance writes about this era with relish — this is New York City during the lavish Gilded Age, of course, but society has a tarnished underbelly. Deceit and scandals fester just beneath the glittering surface. Lust roils through the story. Laudanum and other spirits warp the characters' responses. And the utter dependence of women upon the charity of men is the most sickening condition of all.
Even when Evelyn eventually learns to tap into a source of power that she previously had discounted, readers will discern that this comes at a significant cost.
All sorts of things happen behind closed doors in this book. You'll have to open the covers to find out.
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Get a child in need a pair of shoes for free
A phrase that kept repeating itself at the media walkabout of the Soweto Theatre was that this was a place for, and about, the people of Soweto.
They’ve stuck to this promise by inviting a group of young artists, all linked by their studies and ongoing participation at Soweto’s Funda, to show off their work in this magnificent setting in celebration of the new theatre.
This is one of the many acts at this exciting new venture, but it makes a strong statement, as it engages the whole arts community in what has to be a historic occasion.
The work currently shown was first launched at the Africa Museum a few months back, titled Liberation of Mind, Body and Soul. The aim of this creative conglomerate is not only to celebrate their creativity and learn from one another, but also to act as mentors for younger artists trying to enter what is a very tough and sometimes closed environment.
That’s what they love about this current exposure. It’s from the heart and tells the story of artists from this area. It also underlines the mission of the theatre which is a result of the clamours of a community whose artistry has been celebrated around the world but not showcased often enough on home ground.
For the theatre this is about the youth especially and a determination to include them in all programming. This is a giant step.
• The art currently on display is by the Ubuhle Bobuntu Arts which includes Mzie Gojo, Mzikayise Nyathi, Lehlohonolo Mkhasibe, Thulani Zondo, Thulisile Shongwe, Tomas Moremi, Velaphi Masondo, Virginia Ramouha, Bongani Khumalo and Joseph Monnatlala.
They are also looking at mobile exhibitions in the future. E-mail firstname.lastname@example.org. – Diane de Beer
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The Cardigan Chronicles: Build It, and They Will Come
Cardigan Reservation's 75th anniversary
by Peter Bronski
Appalachia, Summer/Fall 2009
Standing outside Cardigan Lodge on a sunny afternoon, looking up toward the three peaks of the namesake mountain, a hiker can relish the foresight of the Appalachian Mountain Club and the volunteers who lobbied to create what became the cornerstone of the club's lodge and high mountain hut system. Now, the year of Cardigan Reservation's 75th anniversary, is a good time to revisit its history. But to do this means to go back in memory to one deep winter long ago, when the skiing movement was taking off in New England and within the AMC.
Throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s, when the reservation and Cardigan Lodge came into existence, skiing was a nascent sport in North America. Skiing had grown popular in Europe and was rapidly gaining a foothold in the United States, particularly in New England as well as at points farther west, such as Colorado.
In New England especially, skiing was on the rise, thanks largely to the outing clubs of Dartmouth University and other colleges. Soon, the AMC would join that effort. In 1925, the club led its first ski trip. In 1927, skiing became a regular part of its winter program. By 1930, club member Park Carpenter began publishing Ski Bulletin, and the club led annual weekend ski trips to Mount Moosilauke. In 1931, the AMC prompted the Boston & Maine Railroad to run Sunday Snow Trains. And by 1933, the AMC established a new Committee on Skiing, with William Fowler as its first chairman.
One of Fowler's first tasks was to begin scouting the mountains for a skiing headquarters. Aside from the obvious need for skiing potential, the site had to fit two basic criteria: it should be located within 125 miles of Boston, and it should be closer than Pinkham Notch.
Mount Cardigan—for which Cardigan Lodge is named—is southern New Hampshire's second highest peak, behind only Mount Monadnock. Originally believed to stand 3,121 feet tall, Cardigan's elevation was later upwardly revised to 3,155 feet, still leaving it ten feet shy of Monadnock's 3,165 feet. Once known as Old Baldy by area locals, Cardigan is actually a three-peaked mountain, with Cardigan the highest, flanked by the neighboring summits of South Peak and Firescrew.
Before the first days of Cardigan Lodge, most attention had been focused on the mountain's western slopes. It wasn't until the AMC began looking for a base for ski operations that anyone gave real attention to the eastern slopes of Cardigan.
The first serious steps toward locating and selecting a site came in November 1933, when John Carleton suggested the club look into the Shem Valley, near Alexandria, New Hampshire. Carleton was the former captain of the Dartmouth Outing Club's Ski and Snowshoe Team, and he went on to compete in a variety of ski events. By 1933, he was a lawyer living in Manchester, but he still skied regularly, including on the eastern slopes of Cardigan.
The AMC enlisted Duke Dimitri von Leuchtenberg to lead the initial forays into the Shem Valley in November 1933. The Duke was a noble of Russian lineage, who came to the United States by way of Bavaria. In New England, he had been busy laying out many of the Civilian Conservation Corps trails. In the Shem Valley in particular, he saw real potential. He chose a cabin site for the AMC at the foot of what today is known as the Duke's Trail, and "he pointed out to us with a graceful wave of his arm the extensive skiing possibilities of the region," wrote Fowler in 1935.
One month later, in December 1933, the Duke helped the AMC to realize that skiing potential by blazing a ski route from the meadows of Shem Valley up to Firescrew. That same winter of 1933 to 1934, Fowler and others explored some of the skiing potential of the area, following the Manning Trail down from the summit of Firescrew, bushwhacking through the overgrowing pastures of the Shem Valley, and skiing another nearby hill known then as Clark Pastures. And although these initial forays were the first time the main club set its sights on the Shem Valley, in truth the then-Merrimack Valley Chapter of the AMC had already been active in the area, including the cutting of the Manning Trail one decade earlier.
With its site chosen, the AMC first had to acquire land in the Shem Valley. An 1855 fire for which Firescrew earned its name destroyed much of the valley's buildings. But the buildings of the Shem Ackerman farmstead, dating to 1853, had survived the fire and seemed the obvious choice. The AMC's Helen F. Kimball Fund held $3,000 designated for the "purchase of reservations." The club used some of those funds to buy an initial 500 acres (some sources say 600 acres, as the official survey and unofficial actual acreages varied) for $1,000, the equivalent of a little over $16,000 in 2008 dollars. Club members closed on the mortgage in February or early March 1934, in a ceremony on snowshoes halfway up the Manning Trail on Firescrew. Work on the new Cardigan Lodge could soon begin.
Fowler originally lobbied for naming the new AMC property Cardigan Reservation, a name that would embrace both winter and summer seasons. He lost out to the club's significant ski contingent, who succeeded in naming it the Cardigan Ski Reservation. It's now known simply as Cardigan Lodge and Reservation, so perhaps Fowler's original desires have been realized with time.
Beginning that spring of 1934, club members volunteered their time straight through summer and deep into fall. A core group of 15 members did much of the work, though many more people laid their hands on the project before the lodge was complete. Fred Markus, an AMC member, served as architect for the project. Although the Shem Ackerman farmstead survived the Firescrew blaze, it still didn't leave Markus much to work with. The original farmhouse "was one of those black, weather-beaten, patched, forsaken New Hampshire farmhouses," wrote Helen Welch in 1934. The property also had a ramshackle woodshed, leaky roof, condemned chimney, barn in bad disrepair, and dilapidated carriage sheds. What's more, the main house was occupied by John Yegerman, a hermit with a one-eyed dog (Yegerman peaceably relocated to a nearby shack).
The real work began on May 1, as soon as the muddy roads sufficiently dried out. There was much demolition, and not all that much construction, in the beginning. AMC volunteers camped in a field up the road where they were close to water and away from the dirt and debris of the construction.
The Cardigan Lodge was eco-friendly decades before its time—the AMC volunteers built an addition onto the main Ackerman house constructed entirely of reclaimed materials: timbers from the carriage house, windows, a door, as well as "every pile of second-hand brick between Boston and Bristol." (Though, admittedly, this circumstance was motivated more by thrift than by "green" building principles.)
By July 1, the midges and mosquitoes and flies proved unbearable, and workers moved into the dilapidated barn. Amazingly, the club hired out only two jobs to professionals: installing new window sashes, and laying brick for a new fireplace and chimney. The rest of the work was done by the AMC volunteers—men and women alike—in a true it-takes-a-village community effort.
As the end of August neared, the lodge showed true progress. A second story dormer was complete, filled with three rooms and eighteen bunks. The workers moved yet again, this time into the relative comfort of the lodge house itself. By November 1, most of the major jobs were done, and later that month, the club declared Cardigan Lodge complete. It's worth noting that Mount Cardigan also features the High Cabin, perched just below treeline at the saddle between Cardigan and South Peak. Located two miles by trail above Cardigan Lodge, it has a similarly long history, dating back to 1931, and was renovated in 2004. In contrast to Cardigan's relative luxury, High Cabin is self-service and fully rustic.
Finishing the construction of the lodge allowed the AMC to shift its focus to continued trail clearing, which had already started, partly under the auspices of the CCC. The CCC had been quite active in the Shem Valley, resurfacing and extending the road leading to the ski reservation, finishing the Duke's Trail, and cutting the Alexandria Trail. (Some sources suggest the Alexandria Trail was cut during the summer of 1934. Others say 1935. Both agree the CCC did the work.) Then, in December 1934, the AMC added the Kimball Trail, named in honor of Helen Kimball, whose funds had allowed the AMC to buy the property.
Finally, the AMC and its members could stand back and admire their work. "With all of us who have shared in the work . . . there is no such thing as modesty about our accomplishments," wrote Welch in late 1934. "We are ready to purr with satisfaction whenever anyone mentions the improvements made. Indeed, we are frankly proud of our handiwork, as well we may be, for very charming and satisfying is the transformed Shem Ackerman Farm, now Cardigan Ski Lodge. Behind the lilacs on a small knoll sits a little gray shingled Cape Cod house, trimmed with white," She added that it had "an enclosed porch, waiting to store skis and poles."
And store skis and poles it did. That 1934–1935 winter proved fortuitously snowy, almost too much so. The first skiing had actually already taken place on October 12. The "real" snow began to fall in late November and didn't stop for much of the winter, permitting continuous skiing from December 19, 1934, until April 22, 1935. Cardigan welcomed her first guests, though, in December 1934, using blankets borrowed from Pinkham Notch. Husband and wife Wendell and Eleanor Stephenson served as the first caretakers, cooking and serving meals (though guests helped to wash the dishes).
Compared with today's skiers, who hunt for fresh powder, Cardigan's early skiers sought to pack down the snow runs. The smoother the better and more beautiful, in their eyes. In fact, a snowstorm on Christmas night 1934 covered the practice hill, and skiers described having to "break it out" to make it a great, skiable run once again. Skiers revealed that same aversion to powder a few days later, when ten inches of fresh snow fell. Seven skiers broke trail up the Duke's run. But rather than ski in the tracks of the person breaking trail ahead of them to preserve the powder, each person made sure to have at least one ski in the fresh snow, so that together they could smooth out the run for the descent.
With the new lodge, and the epic snowfall, skiers came to Cardigan in droves to schuss the beginner, intermediate, and expert runs, which ranged from 16 degrees steep to 30 degrees or more. "We were positive we had landed in the mythical snow-belt when people from all over New Hampshire came driving in and crowding our hills and trails," wrote Fowler. Skiers felt that the Cardigan-Firescrew ridge was a natural snow trap, intercepting clouds from the northeast and dumping the snow into the Shem Valley.
They may have been right. At one point, so much snow fell that skiers were trapped at the lodge, forced to wait until a plow could get them out. A plow did arrive, its driver bursting into the lodge late one night around 11:30 p.m. He told the guests that unless they wanted to stay until the next plow arrived four days later, they should go with him then. The wind was so strong it would drift over the road in snow as fast as the plow could open it, he said. Six cars hurriedly filled with guests and got in line behind the plow. One car had to be towed by another stronger vehicle. Yet another car had to be towed by the plow itself. Everyone made it out and back to points south, including some who arrived in Boston around 7:30 a.m. the next day.
Plows weren't always able to keep the road open, and guests sometimes skied the last mile or more to the lodge. There, they were treated to "ideal skiing conditions rewarding those who struggled in," wrote Fowler.
On March 24, 1935, Cardigan hosted its first ski carnival. It may have been the biggest day of the year, when more than 50 cars lined the road leading to the lodge. By the end of that first season, 884 people had lodged or eaten at the Cardigan Ski Lodge. Who knows how many more skied the slopes surrounding it?
One year later, for the 1935–1936 winter, the AMC added a rope tow to one of the beginner slopes. Cardigan's popularity continued to grow, such that by 1938, the crowds strained its capacity (the lodge was built to accommodate 24 guests at a time). The AMC had aspirations of using the adjacent barn, but it proved unsuitable. They salvaged the barn's wood and used it to build a new lodge that was completed by December 1939.
The Cardigan Lodge remained popular through World War II. Also during the 1940s, Cardigan installed a rope tow powered by a 1940 Ford sedan. By 1962, that Ford sedan had been replaced by a Ford tractor. That 1962–1963 ski season, eighteen-year-old Steve Smith, a native of Alexandria, New Hampshire just down the road from Cardigan, got his first job running the rope tow. "I earned $25 per week, plus room and board," he remembers. "Cardigan was a winter-oriented place at the time. Hardly anything happened there in the summertime."
Smith had Tuesdays and Wednesdays off work. Thursday was devoted to food shopping in Laconia. By Friday, guests and lodge staff alike were arriving. And by Saturday morning, skiing was in full swing. Smith walked a half-mile from the lodge to the base of the rope tow, carrying two five-gallon fuel cans, which he tied to the rope. Smith then hiked to the top of the runs, powered up the tow, and hauled up the cans of fuel. Meanwhile, the rope tow's lone ski patroller—who always wore orange—inspected the safety release for the tow. The particular concern was small children, whose wet gloves would often freeze to the rope. Unable to let go, if the safety release malfunctioned, they could potentially be pulled into the tractor system (fortunately, that never happened).
Despite the early popularity of Cardigan's rope tow, the post–World War II era also saw the return of 10th Mountain Division soldiers (and others), who founded larger, more modern ski areas. Cardigan's popularity waned. Bankruptcy loomed, and the AMC needed a way to salvage the reservation and its lodge. The solution: summer.
By the late 1960s, the AMC had unveiled a series of summer programs that resurrected Cardigan's popularity. In fact, Cardigan remained prosperous enough to use its profits to acquire additional land, which today totals 1,200 acres. That land abuts another 5,000 acres of the Mount Cardigan State Forest, which too has grown from an original 3,000 acres in the 1930s.
Tom Kehoe, a Manchester, New Hampshire, native who joined the AMC as a boy scout in 1963, worked at Cardigan for eight summers throughout the 1980s. (He later went on to become a committee member, and then committee chair, for Cardigan in the 1990s.) He remembers fondly those summers, not only for the many AMC members who came to hike at Cardigan, but also for the activities that took place at the lodge: "There was something every weekend," he recalls. "Football and Frisbee. Square dancing in the evening. The Boston chapter ran a sailing weekend on a nearby lake. There were fall foliage hikes. And we had six weekends of different themes: English country summer/fall 2009 103 dancing, Scandinavian dancing, Dixieland jazz. It was all about hiking during the day, music at night, and not a heck of a lot of sleep." On summer Sunday afternoons, lodge staff offered a barbecue, complete with hand-cranked homemade ice cream.
Cardigan began as a place defined by winter, but its long-term survival was ultimately achieved thanks to summer. Nowadays, the lodge and surrounding reservation have embraced all the seasons, and Cardigan has become a genuine year-round destination that's as popular as ever. Rick Silverberg knows that fact firsthand. An AMC member since 1976, he's been the director of the New Hampshire chapter's winter and spring schools at Cardigan since 1981. "Whether you're snowshoeing or skiing in winter, or hiking in summer, the setting is perfect," he says. "You don't have to travel anywhere but out the front door of the lodge." What's more, he notes, is that "it's a destination with a really long history. The lodge and the CCC trails add a lot of mystique."
It's the kind of mystique that brings people back again and again, not just on a person-by-person basis, but generation after generation. "We regularly have people come whose grandparents came, and then whose parents came, and now they come bringing their kids," Silverberg says. As a point in fact, consider that Smith—who ran the ski rope tow in the early 1960s—saw his own children go on to become a part of the summer crew at Cardigan decades later. When it comes to tradition and legacy, it seems that Cardigan's runs deep. N ow, with backcountry skiing more popular than ever, and with a renovation of the Cardigan Lodge completed in 2005, Cardigan should prove as popular as ever. It is an historic winter playground for the AMC and its guests, who now begin to write the next 25 years of history for a destination that already has 75 years of stories, memories, and adventures to tell.
Peter Bronski (www.peterbronski.com) is an award-winning writer and frequent contributor to Appalachia. He is the author of Powder Ghost Towns: Epic Backcountry Runs in Colorado's Lost Ski Resorts (Wilderness Press, 2008).
This story appeared in the Summer/Fall 2009 Issue of Appalachia.
Photo: AMC Files
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A recent question asked for pointers for writing for games, and the gist of the answers was that it's not very unlike writing books. The underlined differences were only superficial. There's a plotline to follow and obstacles to conquer. You write the plot and develop essentials and let the programmers handle dynamics and interactivity.
That might be fine if you work at Valve, writing games that are great fun to go through the first time, a little fun the other time when you discover hidden tastes, and then interesting the third time when you enable the developer commentary. Then there are challenges and multiplayer that make it great arcade fun, but the storytelling part is entirely exhausted.
Now what if I want to write something like Tsukihime? 1
I will not spoil the details of the plotline of Tsukihime, but let me just say it is meant to be played exactly five times, and only on fifth walkthrough you will be able to fully appreciate the depth and hidden meanings of everything recurring throughout your prior walkthroughs. More interestingly, while the first two walkthroughs pretty much follow the same storyline, staying just to two sides of the barricade, starting with the third you open up a wildly straying tangent that completely abandons the first premises.
And this is still fairly linear. What about games like Morrowind, where outside of three entirely different ways of getting the main quest done, you get a wild tangle of intersecting, conflicting, synergizing, complementing or opposing quests for various factions? Three vampire clans at war, join any. Imperial Temple vs Tribunal Temple, distrusting and hostile, join any again. Become a werewolf or fight werewolves.
A book has a progression from beginning to end, a storyLINE. Events follow in logical progression of cause-effect.
How can you write something where you have a storySPAGHETTI to create?
In particular, you have a number of smaller plotlines. Call them quests, questlines or story arcs if you like. How to
- manage their interconnections - hold a tight grip over how they influence (or break!) each other? 2
- handle their prerequisites to avoid both circular dependencies and stupid limitations. 3
- do this all from most mundanely technical viewpoint - How to write down multiple (lengthy) entries that have no apparent order and a wild web of connections, especially keep these connections visible and easily editable, and easy to follow? Keeping tab of limitations and prerequisites for these to be possible? Not getting lost and holding it whole in my head, while the player just holds the current walkthrough?
1 Example chosen as striking the middle ground between linear and convoluted beyond hope, balancing great story with considerable nonlinearity; for the latter example try Kagetsu Tohya, nearly impossible to get through without a guide, and no, I don't think it's a good idea.
2 I will never forgive Oblivion with its four(!) guild questlines, after Mages Guild questline making me the Archmage, to have the Thieves Guild questline have me steal a magic staff from myself to convince myself that I, the Archmage should recall my battlemages to better protect my guild from myself, the thief.
3 I've got a scroll of Raise Dead, I don't get what's so bad about the assassin getting caught after killing the victim!
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Ready for a Bush hug?
A new friendship blossoms, but there is a risk that the Americans may expect too much of the Germans
DESERTED streets, drains welded shut, fighters patrolling the sky. Germans still recall vividly George Bush's meeting with Gerhard Schröder in Mainz in February 2005. What got lost amid the security was the message the American president had hoped to send. For Mainz was where his father had in 1989 offered Germany a “partnership in leadership”.
Next week Mr Bush visits Germany again, en route to the G8 summit in St Petersburg. He will go to Stralsund, a medieval town on Mecklenburg-West Pomerania's Baltic coast. On July 13th, after greeting the mayor and visiting a church, he will meet a hand-picked crowd in the marketplace (anti-Bush rallies will be held at a safe distance). Later he will enjoy a barbecue in Trinwillershagen, a model village often visited by communist dignitaries. The aim is to show that German-American relations are back on track—thanks to a new chancellor, Angela Merkel.
Stralsund is a good choice. Located in the heart of Ms Merkel's own constituency, it is her version of Crawford, Texas—but with a small apartment and an office rather than a ranch. It is also a rare eastern German success story. Unemployment is high, but the mayor, Harald Lastovka, has turned the place into a tourist attraction and UNESCO world heritage site. He did this with public money, but also some unorthodox policies: he even tried to privatise the municipal savings bank.
Most Germans are happy that the low point in German-American relations, when Chancellor Gerhard Schröder noisily opposed the Iraq war in 2002-03, is behind them. But they remain unpersuaded by Mr Bush's charm offensive. Some fear that Germany may again come to seem too close to America. A few fret that the Americans could lure Germany into a “coalition of the willing” against Iran. Still others worry that the Americans overestimate what Ms Merkel can deliver.
No love was lost between Mr Bush and Mr Schröder. But broader relations between the two countries were never quite so bad. The CIA was helped by two German spies in Baghdad during the early days of the Iraq war. And relations have improved since then. Indeed, with Tony Blair a lame-duck British prime minister, Germany could take on Britain's role as America's favourite partner in Europe.
The rapprochement partly reflects Mr Bush's pressing need for allies in Europe. To get the Germans on board, Mr Bush has even showed some comprehension, albeit awkwardly expressed, for their opposition to the war. “I've come to realise that the nature of the German people are such that war is very abhorrent (sic)”, he said in an interview with a German tabloid. “The point now is, how do we work together to achieve important goals?”
Personal chemistry plays a role. Ms Merkel lacks Mr Schröder's flamboyance, but she impresses with her unassuming civility and directness. Mr Bush seems also to see her as living proof of America's victory against communism: without the fall of the Berlin Wall, she might still be a mere physicist. He appreciates that freedom looms large in her political thinking, which shows no trace of anti-Americanism. The two leaders talk often on the phone, sometimes several times a week. It is not just spin when insiders say that the relationship is as close as that between George Bush senior and Helmut Kohl.
Besides a more diplomatic chancellor, a less visible shift is happening. Slowly but surely Germans are shifting from idealism to realism, particularly over Iran. They are convinced that something must be done about the country's nuclear programme. The recent Pew poll of global attitudes found no country with a higher share of the population opposed to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons than Germany. “Germans know how dangerous a madman at the helm can be,” comments Gert Weisskirchen, a foreign-policy guru for the Social Democrats. No party other than the Left Party would oppose “smart” sanctions if Iran rejected the western package of incentives for it to remain non-nuclear. If there were a threat to Israel, Germany would help to defend it “without batting an eyelid,” says Mr Weisskirchen.
Is old-fashioned Atlanticism getting a second lease on life? Not so fast, says Karsten Voigt, the government's co-ordinator of German-American co-operation. It helps if the two leaders get on, he concedes. But the cold war is over, so Germany is inherently less dependent on America. “Chancellor Willy Brandt couldn't have said no to the Vietnam war.”
There are many issues on which Germany will never side with America, and plenty of others that will rankle. Germany is unlikely to increase defence spending, a long-standing American demand. And the Germans strongly favour multilateralism. The secret American programme to track bank transfers, its nuclear deal with India, and CIA flights in Europe are all seen as evidence of America's unilateralist instincts. Most Germans prefer France as their main ally in foreign policy. As for Mr Bush, he could walk the Baltic from Stralsund to Sweden and still be the most unpopular American president since polls began.
Almost all of Germany's political leaders have toned down their criticism of the war in Iraq. But though the 1968 generation of Joschka Fischer, Mr Schröder's foreign minister, is on its way out, that does not mean the transatlanticists are back. Foreign-policy making is increasingly influenced by younger pragmatists, says Karl-Theodor Freiherr zu Guttenberg, of the Christian Social Union.
Ms Merkel is herself more pragmatic than many Americans realise. She has adjusted Germany's bilateral relations, but the substance of foreign policy has changed little. And, as in domestic politics, there is a risk of overestimating what she can do. She may be Europe's most powerful leader now, but could she deliver her country (or the rest of the continent) if it came to tough action against Iran? Domestically, her position may also weaken if her reforms disappoint or upset voters—as this week's health-care plans may do.
Here, indeed, lies the big danger to American-German relations: that America may expect too much help from Germany, whether on Iran, the Balkans or Russia. Ms Merkel has repaired ties with Washington at the same time as showing that she is no poodle, criticising Guantánamo and pushing the Americans to talk directly to Iran. But even this political acrobat could lose her balance if she is hugged too hard.
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Their famous Paris subway performance on YouTube has received more than five million hits.
On Wednesday, Naturally 7 will give two free concerts at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. in the gymnasium of Scibelli Hall at Springfield Technical Community College.
This group is said to bring new definition to a capella, as their voices are not only the melody, but also the “instruments.”
Anyone listening to one of their many CDs might assume the group is accompanied by strings, percussion and other instruments; however, the audience will see that the only instruments are the singers.
The group refers to this style as “vocal play,” which goes beyond beatboxing, to create the sounds of such instruments as flute, horns and drums.
The group’s website, http://www.naturallyseven.com/, quotes member Roger Thomas as thinking, “If the human voice truly was an instrument, it shouldn’t matter which instrument it needed to be.”
The site defines the difference between vocal play and a capella as a capella “as singing without instruments while vocal play “is singing as instruments, and becoming an instrument with the voice.”
When Thomas, who says his favorite books are the Bible and John Milton’s “Paradise Lost, and his brother Warren were growing up in the Bronx, their mother wouldn’t give them permission to buy a drum set.
In an unusual response, Warren decided to become a set of drums, or at least sound like one. He is now the group’s “drummer.”
Naturally 7 has performed on the Today Show, the Tonight Show, the Tavis Smiley show, and at the Vancouver Olympics.
They helped celebrate Quincy Jones’ 75th birthday in Montreux in Switzerland, and participated in the BET Honor Awards Tribute to Herbie Hancock.
Chris Martin heard them in London and the next day had them perform with Coldplay. They met Prince Charles, and they’re comfortable at home in Madison Square Garden.
Naturally 7’s music has been called faith-infused, although it encompasses secular as well as religious melodies, and includes soul music, rap, rock, R&B, jazz and folk, as well as their own compositions.
Thomas, born in Manchester England but raised in the Bronx and Queens, is the group’s musical director, arranger, first baritone, and rap.
Warren Thomas is percussion, guitar, clarinet, and third tenor.
Rod Eldridge, born and raised in upstate New York, is first tenor, scratching, and trumpet.
Polo Cummings, from Staten Island, is four tenor and guitar.
Dwight Stewart, from Brooklyn, is second baritone.
Garfield Buckley, from London, England, is second tenor and the harmonica.
And Armand “Hops” Hutton, from Takoma Park, Maryland, is the bass and the bass (instrument and voice).
Free parking for these performances is available in off-campus lots.
Parking passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis at the college’s human resources office in Garvey Hall, room 249.
For the 10 a.m. performance, passes will enable people to park at the Trolley Lot on Boylston Street off Main Street; the college shuttle vans will bring these people to the gym on campus.
Parking for the 6 p.m. show will be in the gated parking lot at the corner of Union Street and Walnut Street; shuttle vans will bring people to the gym.
Naturally 7’s appearance is sponsored by the college’s diversity council and made possible by Baystate Health, MassMutual Financial Group, Peoples Bank, An African-American Point of View, Unity First.com, the Springfield Department of Health & Human Services, and WTCC 90.7FM, the college’ radio station.
For more information on the performances or to bring a group, please contact Myra Smith at the college at (413) 755-4414.
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Lisbon: The Western allies have agreed a plan to bring their war in Afghanistan to an end within four years, and won over a cautious Russia to the cause of a European anti-missile shield.
The nations of the NATO-led force struck a deal Saturday with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to begin putting the battlefield under his control in early 2011 and to move Western troops to a support role by 2014.
While the allies agreed to the target date to end offensive operations, the United States warned that “some hard fighting remains ahead” and did not rule out keeping some GIs in combat after 2014.
But the coalition’s second largest troop provider, Britain, set a “firm deadline” of 2015 for withdrawing its fighting force, and Spain said its own involvement could be over as soon as 2012.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen vowed the allies would stand by Kabul after its combat mission ends, and US President Barack Obama said some American forces could stay on a little longer.
“But my goal is to make sure by 2014 we have transitioned Afghans into the lead, and it is a goal to make sure that we are not still engaged in combat operations of the sort that we’re involved with now,” Obama added.
“Certainly our footprint will have been significantly reduced.”
A top White House aide said individual NATO countries would choose when to end combat operations but he said the United States had not yet taken that decision.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban scoffed at NATO’s plans.
“It has become clear that after nine years of occupation, the invaders are doomed towards the same fate as those that tread this path before them,” the hardline Islamist group said in an emailed statement.
NATO commanders want the allies to send enough funds and military trainers to allow them to boost the total size of Afghanistan’s national security forces to 306,000 from 256,000 within the next 12 months.
Karzai surprised his allies this week by urging US forces to scale down operations and halt hated night raids by special forces, but after the summit he suggested the row had been smoothed over.
“I hope that as we move forward, many of these difficulties will go away and that then our movement to the future will be one without the difficulties that we are encountering,” he said, when asked about the raids.
Obama acknowledged his conversations with Karzai are often “blunt”, but insisted US forces must be allowed to protect themselves while helping their Afghan colleagues build up their strength.
The number of ordinary Afghans killed in the conflict rose by a third in the first six months of 2010 to 1,271, with most deaths caused by Taliban insurgent attacks, the United Nations reported in August.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said after the talks he had told Karzai that Canada’s support was conditional on a fight against corruption.
Harper told Canadian television: “What I and others told President Karzai was the support of our governments and indeed our populations depend on the government of Afghanistan’s respect for and its acting upon basic principles – respect for democracy, for the rule of law and fair elections, for human rights, for good governance and for cleaning up corruption.”
Meanwhile, the Alliance held a separate summit with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, their first such summit in two years, striking a new cooperation deal on Afghanistan and on a new missile defence shield.
Rasmussen said NATO had struck an agreement with Moscow to allow shipments of non-lethal supplies on Russian railways into and out of Afghanistan — including, for the first time, of armoured vehicles.
“A period of very difficult tense relations has been overcome,” Medvedev said. “We have ambitious plans, we will work across all directions including European missile defence.
“Everyone believes the atmosphere is different. Everything we wanted to tell each other but were afraid to, today we said it and this makes me an optimist. After this summit I am a bigger optimist than I was before.”
But Medvedev warned there was no firm agreement on how Russia would take part beyond studying the European offer, and that Moscow would only take part if it is treated as an equal partner.
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The original recipe called for a small can of peaches in light syrup, two ripe, fresh peaches, peeled and cut up, a cup of heavy cream, and a teaspoon of honey.
I didn't have any fresh peaches, and if I had, I would have wanted to eat them on their own, anyway. And, I only had large cans of peaches, so I had to modify the recipe somewhat.
What I ended up with was:
- one large can of peaches in light syrup,
- one pint of heavy cream,
- and two tablespoons of honey.
I pureed them in the blender, poured them into popsicle molds, and popped them into the freezer.
After filling our available molds (enough to make 8 popsicles), I still had just under a half gallon of creamy peach puree left. So, I decided to turn it into ice cream, instead. The little ones helped me with the "coffee can ice cream" making (you can read about that process, here).
Making ice cream this way is one of my favorite summer time, activity/dessert combos.
Once we'd gotten a good work out, rolling the icy bucket around the yard, I brought the half gallon container in to harden in the freezer. But first, I tasted it, and decided it needed more sweetener, so I stirred in an extra two tablespoons of sugar.
I continued checking it, and stirring it, every half hour or so, until it had hardened completely.
The ice cream got a total thumbs up from the family, but the children were not as excited about the less sweet creamsicles. They were quite creamy, and peachy, though. And, if you're the health food type, you'd probably even find them sweet enough.
As for us, next time I think I'll add the extra sugar right from the beginning.
It's great to be a homeschooler.
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Armed with a hell of a lot more data than President Bush had when he took us to war with Iraq, Bristol Myers Squibb gained FDA approval for their new protease inhibitor (PI) atazanavir (Reyataz®). It's the first new protease inhibitor to hit the market in almost 3 years (lopinavir/r, Kaletra®, was approved in September 2000). And it's the first once-daily, low pill count PI ever. For the treatment naive, atazanavir will be dosed at 400 mg QD (once a day). That's 2 pills once a day. Got that? 2 pills, once a day. Any of you that are on PIs know that this is an antiretroviral drug class revolution. So, you're asking yourself, "what's the catch?" Well, it's not a miracle in the resistance arena, but it does have a unique resistance pattern that emerges after its initial use, that leaves all other PIs as viable options. It also may offer some folks with mild to moderate PI resistance some choice. And boosted with ritonavir, may have a role in salve therapy. We'll discuss all of this below. It also causes this annoying increase in one's bilirubin levels. You know when babies are born with jaundice and have to be put under special lights? That's because their bilirubin levels are high. Atazanavir tends to cause the same thing (so can indinavir). For some people it can make their skin or eyes appear yellowish, for others it does not. This too, we'll discuss below. That's about as bad as the news gets.
The good news is that atazanavir does, or should I say doesn't do what the rest of the PI class does -- and that is, it doesn't raise cholesterol and triglycerides! So, for those of you who are suffering from through the roof lipids that cause you to have to take additional medications in order to stay on the drugs that control your HIV, this is very good news. For those of you who already have risk factors for heart disease, this is good news. And of course, for those of you who are sick of taking fifty million pills a day and don't have high level PI resistance, this is good news. One more piece of good news, atazanavir crosses the blood brain barrier and is found in cerebral spinal fluid and seminal fluid (cum).
Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has clinical trial data from several studies. Before we get into the lipid profiles and bilirubin issues, we'll look at the virologic results from the treatment naive trial BMS 034 and 008; and the treatment experienced trial BMS 043 and 045. Don't forget to refer to the glossary on page 8 (see PDF) for terms and abbreviations.
|Table I: ATV Efficacy Data|
Atazanavir should be taken with food (a light meal) once a day.
Mean HIV RNA log drop over 2 weeks (ATV alone) = 1.27 log10.
Mean HIV RNA log drop over course of 008 trial (triple combo) = 2.51 log10.
|BMS 034: ATV vs. EFV. Percent participants with VL <400 at week 48|
|BMS 008: ATV vs. NFV. Percent participants with VL <400 at weeks 48 and 108.|
|(Nukes: d4T/3TC)||Arm||ITT||OT (at wk 108)||CD4 (at wk 108)|
|Tx Experienced Trials BMS 043 and 045
BMS 043: ATV 400 mg QD vs. Kaletra 400/100 BID Plus 2 Optimal Nukes (previous failure of 1 PI). Percent of participants with VL <400 at week 24.
|BMS 045 (Optimized tx background): Percent with VL <400 and <50 at week 24 (Highly treatment experienced, significant resistance, with previous use of all drug classes).|
|n= 120||QD||ATV 300/RTV 100||64||39||83|
|n= 123||BID||LPV 400/RTV 100||62||42||90|
|n= 115||QD||ATV 400/SQV 1200||44||23||59|
From the data in Table I you can see that atazanavir performed as well as efavirenz and nelfinavir in the treatment naive trials. Atazanavir as a single agent did not perform as well as lopinavir/r (Kaletra) in the 043 trial, but that's to be expected. Remember that Kaletra is 2 drugs in one formulation -- 133 mg lopinavir/33 mg ritonavir in each capsule (3 caps twice a day is the typical dosage). Kaletra is an already boosted PI. The more direct comparison is shown in the early (24 wk) results of the 045 study with highly treatment experienced individuals. In that study, at least to this point, ATV/RTV appears to be competing well against LPV/RTV. 24 week data is less than 6 months. We'll have to wait and see how the next 6 months go before the salvage therapy jury comes in.
Simply put, if you're treatment naive and you didn't get infected with protease-resistant virus, atazanavir is a good first-line, or first PI-based treatment option. It may also be a good second-line PI on its own. But by the time you're resistant to several PIs, you'll have resistance to atazanavir as well. For those individuals who experienced treatment failure and had geno/phenotypable viral load, all had the I50L mutation which caused resistance to atazanavir, but increased susceptibility to other protease inhibitors. The I50L mutation also creates a "less fit" virus, meaning atazanavir resistance HIV does not replicate as well as wild-type virus. For treatment-experienced individuals, who already have protease inhibitor-resistant virus, atazanavir falls in line with the current body of knowledge regarding multiple PI mutations. Nelfinavir is the 1st to go, indinavir, ritonavir and saquinavir next, then amprenavir and lopinavir are last to go in the line of class cross-resistance. Of course, when PIs are boosted with ritonavir, the level of drug that is achieved in the blood can overcome low- to mid-level resistance. And don't forget, resistance is never all or nothing. It is a sliding scale of effectiveness that requires expertise to evaluate.
Editor's note: Please make sure your health care provider is not just reading the genotype report that says "resistant" or "sensitive." S/he needs to be able to evaluate the actual mutations or have someone with whom s/he consults in order to interpret a genotype. Phenotype results require less expertise to read because they are actually testing your virus against individual drugs.
Now that we've looked at the virologic efficacy of atazanavir compared with efavirenz, nelfinavir and lopinavir/r, let's take a look at the lipid info. Lipids are blood fats -- cholesterol and triglycerides that affect an individual's risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke. We have solid clinical evidence that protease inhibitors, as a class (and efavirenz), tend to increase blood fats in individuals who take them. This is no news flash to those of you on these meds, who may also be taking things like Pravachol® or Lipitor® to counter these side effects. Although there is still a lot of controversy amongst HIV experts as to how much elevated lipids (that are caused by antiretroviral therapy) contribute to increase risk for heart and vascular disease, there is no doubt that we know that if people have elevated lipids in the non-HIV world they have an increased risk for CHD. And, if our health care providers weren't worried, then why add additional drugs? So controversy aside, besides the low pill count and somewhat unique resistance profile, the main advantage of atazanavir over the rest of the PI class will be its favorable lipid profile. So let's look at that data, keeping in mind, that if you need to take a ritonavir-boosted ATV regimen some of the lipid benefits will be lost, but probably not all.
|BMS 034: Change in Lipids From Baseline ATV vs. EFV|
|At Week 24||ATV||EFV|
|LDL-c (bad stuff)||+1%||+18%|
|HDL-c (good stuff)||+13%||+24%|
|BMS 043: Change in Lipids From Baseline ATV vs. LPV/r|
|At Week 24||ATV||LPV/r|
|BMS 044: Improvement in Lipids After Switch From NFV to ATV|
|At Week 24||NFV -> ATV|
The biggest adverse event with atazanavir is the fact that a majority of people who have taken the drug have experienced elevated bilirubin levels. Bilirubin is a biproduct of liver function. Sometimes high bilirubin levels indicates that there is something wrong with the liver, sometimes it does not. Previous existing liver problems should be considered when starting atazanavir or any other medications that are metabolized in the liver. With atazanavir, the increased bilirubin levels are not associated with liver toxicity, but can cause some individual's skin or eyes to turn yellow. This condition is known as jaundice. When jaundice is associated with hepatitis or cirrhosis, it's a serious indicator of poor liver health. When it is associated with atazanavir use it is not dangerous. About 10% of people in atazanavir studies experienced jaundice; only about 1% of study participants stopped taking atazanavir as a result of jaundice. Up to 50% of people had low-level increases in their bilirubin; 25% had higher levels. Indinavir (Crixivan®) has a very similar mechanism and has been manageable for most individuals. The most important thing is to know that if you start ATV and wake up one morning with yellow eyes, don't panic. Call your doc and discuss how you want to go about managing the problem. In the treatment naive trials <1% of individuals discontinued therapy due to hyperbilirubin levels.
Along with good consumer and health care provider education, it is very important that case managers, social workers, mental health providers and substance abuse treatment providers understand this side effect. Far too many times our clients are accused of using drugs when, in fact, they are experiencing side effects from meds or other conditions. Just for the heck of it, imagine a diabetic, former drug user who comes into her/his substance abuse support group with an elevated blood sugar level that makes her/him drowsy and out of it and her/his eyes are yellow. Instead of a shot of insulin and a call to the doctor for out-of-control blood sugar and PI side-effect, s/he could wind up in detox. Crazier things have happened.
Other adverse events included the usual associated with protease inhibitors, but to no greater degree and often times lesser degree than other PIs. You know the drill, nausea, vomiting (very rare), diarrhea, headache. All in all, if you don't get the jaundice, ATV is looking like a very tolerable PI.
The old ddI wafers lower the amount of atazanavir in your body. I would have to ask, why are you still on the old formulation? However, if you are, take your ATV at least two hours after or one hour before your ddI. If you're on Videx EC the only reason to separate them is that you're supposed to take Videx EC on an empty stomach and ATV with food.
ATV and EFV: Unfortunately efavirenz lowers atazanavir levels. So the recommendation is to take ATV 300/RTV 100 with EFV 600 all together once a day with food. Do not take ATV and EFV together unless ritonavir is added to boost the ATV. This still allows for QD dosing, but may undo some of the lipid benefits.
ATV and SQV: Atazanavir increases the amount of saquinavir in your blood. So to mix these two you'll have to adjust the dose. This could be a good thing if you need higher levels of saquinavir to fight HIV. It also allows SQV to be dosed once a day. However, it can also increase side effects when a drug is boosted, so use with caution and under an HIV experts care.
ATV and RTV: Obviously, this is the boosted version of atazanavir therapy. The recommended dose is ATV 300 mg/RTV 100 mg. This is what is being studied in the trial BMS 045 reported on in Table I.
ATV and TDF: Again, unfortunately, tenofovir (TDF) appears to affect atazanavir levels. This is unfortunate because they are both very tolerable QD drugs. The studies to gain insight into exactly how to use these two drugs in combination are still ongoing. However, at the recent International AIDS Conference in Paris, Kate Squires, M.D. (from USC) reported on this drug to drug interaction. When 300 mg TDF is combined with 300 mg ATV/100 mg RTV (boosted regimen), ATV levels are reduced approximately 25%. However, this still gives blood levels of ATV that are 5 times higher than unboosted atazanavir. Therefore, she recommends using the 300/100 boosted dosing (like in the 045) study, in combination with tenofovir in treatment naïve individuals. Using TDF and ATV together without a ritonavir boost could lower ATV levels enough to risk treatment failure and development of resistance. If you are treatment experienced and have some protease resistance then it may take some more tweaking and consultation with resistance experts to figure out how to combine these two meds right now. There are studies underway that will address this issue. Keep in mind that these recommendations are from clinical experts, but are not yet FDA approved and do not appear in the package insert for atazanavir.
Do not take atazanavir with the following meds. Interactions could cause serious side effects or death:
Benzodiazepines: Versed®, midazolam, Halcion®, Triazolam
Ergot Derivatives (migraine Medications): dihydroergotamine, ergonovine, methylergonovine
GI Motility Agent: Propulsid® (cisapride)
Neuroleptic: Orap® (pimozide), Camptosar® (irinotecan), Vascor® (bepridel), Mevacor® (Lovastatin), Zocor® (Simvastatin), Crixivan® (indinavir)
Do not take atazanavir with the following meds because they lower the atazanavir level:
Rifampin, St. John's Wort, and AcipHex®, Nexium®, Prevacid®, Prilosec®, or Protonix®.
There are many other drug-to-drug interactions that require close monitoring or dose adjustment. The package insert that comes with your prescriptions (and that you need the hubble telescope to read) lists all of these interactions. This insert is also available on line at FDA.gov or BMS.com, or we can e-mail it to you. Send an e-mail to email@example.com and I'll shoot you a PDF file of the package insert.
Shelley Cohen Mckittrick is the Editor of Resolute! and The Director of Treatment Education at The PWA Coalition Colorado. She may be reached at 303.329.9379 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
Back to the Resolute! Summer 2003 contents page.
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Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson are visiting North Korea, despite opposition to the trip from the U.S. State Department. The pair say they are on a private, humanitarian mission.
David Chance from Reuters reported, "Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt began a controversial private mission to North Korea on Monday that will include an effort to secure the release of an imprisoned American.... The delegation comprised Schmidt, his daughter, Richardson and Google executive Jared Cohen, according to South Korean news media and it arrived in Pyongyang on a flight from the Chinese capital, Beijing."
CNET's Jonathan Skillings noted, "The U.S. State Department last week expressed dismay at the prospect of the trip, with a spokesperson saying: 'We don't think the timing of this is particularly helpful' given a recent, controversial missile launch. North Korea, controlled by dictator Kim Jong-un, is a pariah state with nuclear power ambitions."
According to Choe Sang-Hun with The New York Times, "In a one-sentence dispatch, the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency confirmed the American group’s arrival in Pyongyang, calling it 'a Google delegation.'" Sang-Hun added, "Mr. Schmidt and Google have kept quiet about why Mr. Schmidt joined the trip, which the State Department called unhelpful. Mr. Richardson said Monday that Mr. Schmidt was 'interested in some of the economic issues there, the social media aspect,' but did not elaborate. Mr. Schmidt is a staunch proponent of Internet connectivity and openness."
The Huffington Post's Jean H. Lee added, "Richardson, speaking ahead of the flight from Beijing, called the trip a private, humanitarian mission. 'This is not a Google trip, but I'm sure he's interested in some of the economic issues there, the social media aspect. So this is why we are teamed up on this,' Richardson said without elaborating on what he meant by the 'social media aspect.'"
One of the ways around the issues of security and control that make some businesses wary of cloud computing is to build a private cloud -- one that remains within the corporate firewall and is wholly controlled internally. Private clouds also increase the agility of IT an organization's IT infrastructure and make it easier to roll out new technology projects. Download this eBook to get the facts behind the private cloud and learn how your organization can get started.
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By Joseph Beare, manager of communications for corporate citizenship, Microsoft Silicon Valley
Though it feels like our calendars turned just yesterday, the first month of 2013 is nearly behind us. Unfortunately for many among us – including yours truly – that means a few of those New Year’s resolutions may have already fallen through the cracks. They key to a healthy and successful resolution is finding ways to keep it all year long – to make it habit and ultimately, part of your routine.
While 45 percent of Americans say that they usually make resolutions every year, only about 8 percent say they manage to actually keep them. A new approach to annual resolutions is in order, so here’s an idea: -- flip a traditional resolution on its ear, and channel your good intentions into something that benefit our community. For example, if you usually resolve to:
- Eat better. Why not support a Bay Area nonprofit that helps others eat better, too? Microsoft Silicon Valley is a huge fan of Hidden Villa, which, among its many agricultural programs, donates approximately 25 percent of its organically grown food to local low-income families. Support this organization by purchasing your own food from its farmer’s market or by getting your hands dirty and planting crops on their farm.
- Get active. If it’s for a good cause, even better! Microsoft sponsors the annual Friends of Stevens Creek Trailblazer Race, and our staff participates in walk/runathons like Team in Training or Tough Mudder to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and The Wounded Warrior Project.
- Save money. Local nonprofits like Acterra can help you save money while preserving our environment. We’re long-time supporters of this organization on a mission to bring people together in creating environmental solutions for our planet. Acterra’s Green@Home program trains and sends volunteers into the community to conduct in-home energy conservation assessments. Look into it for your own house! Also, simple acts of environmental consciousness – carrying a reusable water bottle or coffee tumbler for a discount at most coffee shops – are a great way to give back to our planet, too.
- Help others. While this is a popular resolution, it’s not easy to know where to begin. Try translating what you’re passionate about into community service. Can you tutor a young person in reading, science, math or tech skills? Do you have business expertise that could help provide guidance to young adults deciding whether to attend college, or what career path to follow? Year Up is your chance to inspire—and be inspired by— up and-coming talent in your community. Explore mentorship opportunities at the organization, as well as the Boys and Girls Club.
- Spend more time with loved ones. In my experience helping to manage Microsoft’s charitable activities, giving back alongside friends, family and colleagues has been one of the most rewarding experiences. Kick start your own group’s community activity this year by checking out Hands on Bay Area’s website for the many volunteer opportunities the organization coordinates. Giving activities that are well suited for groups include planting a tree with Canopy or building homes through Habitat for Humanity.
At Microsoft Silicon Valley, we passionately support our community all year round, and we’re always looking for ways to help others get involved, too. I hope to see you out lending a hand in your neighborhoods and to your local nonprofits. Let’s make 2013 a year of great progress and success for Palo Alto!
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A new study published by PriceWaterhouseCoopers reports that new patent lawsuit filings reached an all-time high in 2011, with a 22% increase over the number of patent lawsuits filed in 2010.
The study contains many useful data points. Interesting facts include:
- over the past five years, the annual median damage award for cases that reach a final a decision was approximately $4 million;
- average damage awards in favor of non-practicing entities were nearly double those for practicing entities over the last ten years;
- the average time to trial in a patent case is 2.5 years, although significant variations in speed exist among the District Courts.
The increased number of patent filings may be attributed in part to the passage of the America Invents Act, which limited patent holders’ ability to sue multiple defendants in a single lawsuit. After the law passed, patent holders were often required to file multiple lawsuits against single defendants, rather than a single lawsuit against multiple defendants. However, because the AIA took effect in September 2011 and thus only affected patent filings during the last four months of the year, the AIA alone is unlikely to be the sole factor that caused the spike.
The complete report is available on the PWC website.
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Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, said its Kazakh oil venture, Tengizchevroil, plans to invest $20 billion through 2016 to increase oil production by as much as 40%. Tengizchevroil is already Kazakhstan's largest oil producer, having pumped 25.9 million tons of crude last year.
The venture is hoping to increase its annual oil production to 36 million tons, which could result in investments of $15 billion to $20 billion. California-based Chevron (CVX) is the largest stakeholder in the project.
Kazakhstan, which produced 79.5 million tonnes of oil and gas condensate in 2010, is the second-biggest oil producer of the countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union, trailing only Russia, the world's largest oil producer, Reuters reported. The country has ambitions to raise production to 100 million tons by 2015 and 130 million tons by 2020, according to Reuters.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) the largest U.S. oil company, is also a partner on the venture as are KazMunaiGas, the Kazakh state-run oil and gas producer, and Russia's Lukoil.
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Book Description: National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist for Biography A New York Times Notable Book Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year In this riveting landmark biography, Frederick Brown illuminates the life and career of the author of Madame Bovary. He describes Flaubert's fraught relationship with his longtime mistress Louise Colet, his liaisons with many other women, and his friendships with luminaries such as Turgenev and Zola. Here too is Brown's description of Flaubert's meticulous compositional habits, his painstaking search for the sentence that is deeply, rhythmically right. Brown brings his subject remarkably and fully to life, illuminating not only the novelist but also his milieu--the Paris and Normandy of the revolution of 1848 and of the Second Empire--with arresting clarity and a deepening sense of Flaubert's time and place. Flaubert is a sophisticated, thorough, and utterly absorbing re-creation of the life and times of the man who is arguably the architect of the modern novel.
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DCCC to host Central Piedmont Emergency Services College
Published: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at 11:08 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at 11:08 a.m.
Davidson County Community College will host its 29th Annual Central Piedmont Emergency Services College — an event that not only will help train and prepare those who serve in emergency services and public safety, but also will serve as a great opportunity for families to learn about fire education and safety prevention.
Classes will be held Feb. 15-17 at the DCCC Davidson Campus; family educational events will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Public Safety Building parking lot.
Those who take part in the Emergency Services College will have the opportunity to select from a variety of classes related to firefighting such as firefighter I & II classes as well as specialty rescue and medical classes. Some of the specialty classes include hazmat level I, agricultural rescue, NIMS, wildland fire suppression, vehicle fire investigations, LP gas fires, thermal imaging, driver operator classes, hot topics by Bob Page and many more.
"Responding emergency personnel must be prepared to manage the different situations they encounter on the job. This can only be achieved through continuous training," says Dwight Freeman, fire and rescue coordinator on the DCCC Davidson Campus, in a press release. "Every effort is made to make the Emergency Services College a success by providing up-to-date instruction on current topics of interest and importance."
Also important is family safety, which is why the three-day event offers a day of activities for families to learn about the importance of fire safety and safety prevention. Some of the activities for families include the opportunity to ride the Operation Lifesaver Train; meet Smokey the Bear, Sparky the Fire Dog and Stormy (the DCCC mascot); climb aboard fire trucks, medical helicopters and ambulances; tour the Child Safety Trailer and State Medical Assistance Team Trailer; sit in the Walmart NO-ZONE tractor trailer; put out fires in the fire simulator; as well as have car seats checked and children's fingerprints taken.
"Our family educational events are also especially important," Freeman adds. "Not only do we want our emergency services and public safety personnel well-trained, but we want parents and children to learn important safety tips that could save their lives in emergency situations."
Courses for the Emergency Services College will be held on the DCCC Davidson Campus, located at 297 DCCC Road. Registration for classes is requested by Feb. 1.
In case of inclement weather, family educational events Feb. 16 will be held on the second floor of the Conference Center.
For additional information, registration forms and class listings, visit www.davidsonccc.edu/emergency-services-college, or contact Dwight Freeman at firstname.lastname@example.org or 224-4802 or Becky Daley at email@example.com or 224-4513.
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.
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- The Enterprise
- The Recorder
Preservation community rips commission
By ERICA MITRANO
Land preservationists blasted the Charles County Planning Commission on Wednesday for accepting, without revision, a “property rights” group’s land use proposal instead of one suggested by county government staff. But other speakers lauded the Balanced Growth Initiative’s map for saving land values by preserving the right to develop rural land.
Discussion of the countywide “septic bill” map dominated the monthly public forum before the Charles County commissioners in La Plata. The 2012 state law, formally the Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act, directs county governments to divide their territories into four “tiers” for septic system and sewer use and to submit the plan to state government agencies by the end of the year.
The tiers comprise areas with sewer systems, areas where sewer systems are planned, areas where major subdivisions are permitted on septic systems and “preservation and conservation” areas where new major subdivisions will not be approved.
Wednesday’s controversy stemmed from the planning commission’s decision to allow major subdivisions to be built in swaths of the county’s rural areas that planning staffers recommended be included in the map’s conservation tier. The BGI proposal adopted by the planning commission removes about 65,000 acres of land from conservation, as suggested by county staff, and designates the areas for development with either sewer or septic systems.
The shifts endanger the health of the Mattawoman Creek, Mattawoman Watershed Society President Jim Long said. Runoff and pollution from developing farm and forest land would doom the struggling creek, where populations of smaller fish, like river herring, already are falling, he said.
“I hope you all know, the overall fish community in the Mattawoman is declining alarmingly. This includes especially the migratory fish. Fisheries scientists have sounded the alarm that the bass may follow. The Mattawoman is at a tipping point,” Long said.
Long’s comments were echoed by Dave Gardiner, director of the Port Tobacco River Conservancy, who said development threatens the survival of the Port Tobacco River, as well.
Chuck Jackson of Port Tobacco objected to the map on procedural, not environmental, grounds, saying the planning commission should have held a public hearing before approving BGI’s map.
“We understand this map was prepared by an outside party and adopted by the planning commission with little or no review by staff or the public,” or by the planning commission attorney, Jackson said. “Given these procedural flaws, we ask you to reject this map. In essence, we would like you to send this map back to the planning commission and ask them to do their homework before they send their work.”
Farmer Dave Lines of La Plata dismissed these concerns as those of “a small but vocal segment of our county” that was overstating the harm development does to nature, especially compared to major pollution events like sewage treatment plant overflows.
“From a farmer’s perspective, I can tell you any land placed in [conservation] tier 4 is too much because it devalues land without any compensation,” he said.
Farmers should at least be allowed to build as many homes as they need to continue working the land, and the fate of the land should ultimately be the owners’ to decide, said David Hancock Jr. of La Plata.
“I would like to, actually, from a farmer’s point of view, ask you to accept BGI’s proposal. The reason I say that [is] I’ve had people ask me, ‘Why would a farmer support that?’ We do support conservation, obviously; if a farmer is in the business of making a living off the land and all the land is developed, you’re not going to be doing a lot of business that way,” Hancock said.
Former state Del. Murray Levy, now a paid BGI lobbyist, defended the professionalism of the people who drafted the group’s proposal.
“What the opponents of that map are doing is not fair. If it’s the county government’s belief that that land should be preserved, pay for it,” he said.
Final approval for the tier maps will come from the county commissioners, and commissioners’ President Candice Quinn Kelly (D) stressed that the drafting process is not over.
Maryland Department of Planning staffers are commenting informally on the map, and the board could opt to send it to MDP for a formal review before adopting it, she said.
“That lets everyone know that there will be some other eyes on this. There are other aspects of this we’ll all have the opportunity to reconvene and reconsider,” Kelly said.
In interviews Thursday, two members of the planning commission majority that adopted the BGI map defended the decision as best for property rights and criticized county staffers for, they said, not following the planning commission’s instructions when drafting their proposal.
“Generally speaking, the staff failed to provide the planning commission with a map that reflected the intent of the planning commission. They failed miserably. ... I think the alternative [BGI] map that was recommended to the county commissioners, I think, better represents the interests of all the people in the county to include the farmers,” said planning commission Vice Chairman Joe Richard.
The map can be changed later, Richard and member Lou Grasso noted.
Grasso said people concerned about the land should protect it themselves.
“What you have is a lot of people that have a dream for what they want Charles County to be, and they want to finance that on the backs of the people that own the land. So again, I’ll go back to you, if they want to do that, they [should] pay for it themselves. Otherwise, let’s just go to everyone in the development district, in St. Charles, and bulldoze half of their house. We’re not going to pay them for it because we want more drainable area, more pervious area. See how they like it,” Grasso said.
Staff writer Paul S. Warner contributed to this report.
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He's back, with all his contempt for the media intact. Now Donald Rumsfeld is proposing a “21st-century agency for global communications” that would use blogs, social networks and talk radio to visit verbal shock and awe on Muslim extremists.
Addressing an "information warfare conference" co-sponsored by such defenders of free speech as Boeing, Lockheed and Curtiss Wright, Rumsfeld said the US is “sitting on the sidelines” in a global battle of ideas and "barely competing.”
When Sharon Weinberger of Wired asked what his new agency would do, the former Secretary Defense referred nostalgically to the good old days when the Army paid locals to plant stories in the Iraq press until American media spoiled the fun by reporting about it.
Rumsfeld insisted that his new propaganda ministry would not interfere with traditional journalism.
“It doesn’t mean we have to infringe on the role of the free press, they can go do what they do, and that’s fine,” he said. “Well, it’s not fine, but it’s what it is, let’s put it that way.”
What the architect of the Iraq war wants to do now is “tell the story of a nation that was carved from the wilderness and conceived in freedom” to those benighted souls who live under regimes that don't respect our First Amendment, as he does.
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Upon further reflection and continued readings, I may remove Malcolm Gladwell’s book from my favorites of non-fiction. His is among the most popular in a trend of high-concept quirk non-fiction; books investigating social phenomena in macro, boiled down in easy-to-digest case studies.
For instance: I was intrigued by the preview for “Freakonomics” this fall, but when the movie got mediocre-to-poor reviews, my interest waned and I decided why not just read the book instead? And what an exercise in frustration that turned out to be. The concept is intriguing – unearthing the hidden and strange truth behind all sorts of conventional wisdom – and every chapter title contains a clever idea – comparisons of school teachers and sumo wrestlers, or Ku Klux Klan and real-estate agents. The introduction to the book dazzled me enough to write in the margins: “Why isn’t all writing this exciting?”
Let's Get Our Freak On
Oh for short-lived enthusiasm. On page four, I wrote, “Uh-oh. My skepticism meter is acting up.” On page nine, talking about political contributions, they state, as if we all know this already, “Chances are you’ll give the money in one of two situations: a close race, in which you think the money will influence the outcome; or a campaign in which one candidate is a sure winner…” My note: “How did they arrive at this position?” It may well be true, but they haven’t explained how they know it’s true (and now wait a second now that you mention it, isn’t that assumption itself another instance of conventional wisdom?). By page 31, I was downright annoyed and I took it out on the paperback’s margins: “By writing complicated things as forgone conclusions you a)don’t respect your readers and b)turn the inspiration behind the book into a gimmick.” Settle down, self.
My frustration continued throughout the book, although there are some very interesting ideas and case studies in it. I’m just not so sure that they mean exactly what the writers want them to mean. Often they draw general conclusions from a single situation, instead of providing further investigation to see how anomalous that situation is/is not. Again, I think they are right about some of this stuff, but they don’t convince us. In fact, they fall into the very trap the book professes to condemn. It doesn’t shatter the notion of “conventional wisdom,” it substitutes a new unfounded or poorly investigated conclusion for another.
Sometimes, though, it was frustrating how bold the illogic was. Near the end of the book, talking about common first names, they list the Top 20 names that signify low-education parents (minimum 100 occurrences) and the the Top 20 names that signify high education parents (minimum 10 occurrences). Unless there was a typo- in the book, there is a problem here. The charts tell us that certain names tend to have poorly- or well-educated parents. The low education names are normal-ish names while the high education names are all very obscure. Hmm… of course they are. The way a name gets on the list, after all, is not dependent on the number of times the name comes up, it’s dependent on the education of the parent. By requiring at least 100 occurrences for low-income names, you ensure that the names on the list will be more common. If there were only 11 occurrences of poorly-educated parents naming their kids “Clementine” or “Waverly,” (both names on the well-educated list), it would not make the low-education list, because there weren’t enough occurrences. The inverse is true as well. By requiring fewer occurrences of a given name for the high-education list, while using the parent’s education, not the child’s name, as the basis for inclusion, you basically create the conclusion you want: well-educated parents’ kids have unique names while poorly-educated parents’ kids have common/bland names. The lists would look different if you made the requirements equal, but it probably wouldn’t create the kind of disparity that the authors wanted to include. As a result, the book posits a more dynamic gap between the poorly- and well-educated. The only problem, of course, being it’s not necessarily true. I don’t think this is some kind of conspiracy, I think more likely it’s the kind of combination of sloppy research mixed with faulty logic that fills and plagues the book.
It may be human nature to desire difficult things to be simplified and made easier to digest. There is value and validity to moving slowly during introductions to difficult concepts, such as in classroom settings. But over the last decade especially – and I point here to a correlation (though not necessarily causation) between this and the sheer amount of mew media (which does, incidentally include blogs like this one) and the emphasis on the push to share the same information in as many different sources as possible – the simplified version of events, of analysis is often the only one offered (on one hand) and the only one sought (on the other). It’s an ironic, ugly trend. It overlooks important aspects, leaves much unexamined, and presents complicated, intriguing things as boring-shaped, limitation-based digestibles… in more formats than ever before. It’s like the not-so-harebrained scheme from Ryan on “The Office” to link up every conceivable communication portal through one system: WUPHF!
And again, look no further than this blog. My twitter feed is available on the right side, and my twitter links to my blog, as does my Facebook. But that’s a tiny example. I’m talking about when people require a single to device to be phone, iPod, word-processor, GPS, camera, edit-bay, Television, video-game console, credit card machine, and live-in lover. Or when something needs to go from a website to twitter to phone apps to Facebook group. Or that cool-looking commercial with the guy who insists on watching his movie in every room of his house while he gets a drink of water. Pause the fucking movie! You’re not giving it your full attention anyway!
It goes without saying that there are people in every avenue providing depth of content. Some of them shy away from new media completely, some utilize it better than anyone. But are those the exceptions or the norm? Most of what bombards us is any combination of cheap, fast, simple, and bland. But there is so much of it that everything, from art to politics to how we live our lives, is entrenched in it. And it’s yet another difficult, maybe impossible job to figure out exactly how everything influences and affects the others. I can’t bring myself to listen to music on the radio anymore. Most “indie” movies are just as monotonously plodded as studio films (because more and more indie movies are studio films now, or at least they’re made with the same mentality: SELL YOUR MOVIE, MAKE A PROFIT!!!). And Oh My God Reality TV is a bigger, more destructive evil than the Venom symbiont.
I tell ya, I don't believe he really has that many arms.
A recent Newsweek article discusses the notion that the modern presidency is a larger responsibility than one man can handle. That the country is too diverse in its needs, the political culture too complex for one man to successfully handle, even if he has the support of Congress. “Lincoln had time to think…That kind of downtime just doesn’t exist anymore.” There are too many programs, too much activity. And while I voted for an Obama I believed (and do still believe) could be the leader of change by navigating those complexities through delegation and intelligent government programs for jobs, welfare, and education, many of his biggest enthusiasts are learning that their notion of Obama as a one-man presidential rock-show was not only naive, it was downright anachronistic.
Meanwhile, 24-hour news channels simplify more and more for more and more minutes of every day. And hey, maybe they have to. How do you cover everything everywhere when all of it is happening at the same time all the time? A better question might be, is it an intelligent aim to seek to report accurately and extensively on everything that happens? Is everything news worthy? Right now the answer is, Yes, if a given story is important to the other major stations, or if it isn’t important to the other major stations but there’s the possibility that the right spin can make it appear as though it should be.
Who is getting frustrated, by show of hands? Overwhelmed? Now that’s progress you can count. Nobody wants to be frustrated, or to feel like they don’t understand fully. It’s psychic numbing (a fascinating subject explored in the great documentary, “Reporter,” which is currently not available). But we don’t understand fully and feeling like we do only exacerbates the extent of our un-understanding. In the same way that the problem is the fault of both sides, so will be the solution. More complex, insight-filled reporting won’t help if no one wants to avail themselves of it, because they get overwhelmed. We need to get over being overwhelmed. Maybe if we’re frustrated for just a little while, we can start to see things more clearly and fully and then work to not be so frustrated and overwhelmed.
(Warning: more Jonathan Franzen praise ahead) Back to the book. Sometimes broad strokes are enough, but research shouldn’t be one of them. To make sure I wasn’t insane, I looked over Jonathan Franzen’s great 2003 collection of essays, How to Be Alone, which includes a brilliant, in-depth essay about the Chicago postal system. It was written in 1994 (Yeah, I know!). It’s 40+ pages long and is, essentially, a case study. But the difference is in the idea. Freakonomics feels like a newspaper article, stretched out to a book. It moves too fast and doesn’t cover enough ground. Franzen’s is an essay. It’s considerate of all sorts of different angles, it comments, it derives meaning from detail. It allows for complications and difficulties and doesn’t make an attempt to tie everything up. Let’s observe an engaging passage:
When postal workers hang out together, they talk about who slept with whom for a promotion, and which handler was found dead of natural causes on a sofa in the employee lounge. They speculate about the reason [Postmaster General] Marvin Runyon’s eyes weren’t blinking during an interview, about whether it was due to medication for his back pain. They revel in dog lore. I’m advised that if I’m ever set upon by a pack of strays I should Mace the one that barks first. I’m told the story of a suburban carrier who was forced to take refuge from an enraged German shepherd in a storage mailbox that he’d been throwing his banana peels and milk cartons into all summer.
This looks AWESOME.
Either way, I’m done with the book and have moved on to the staggeringly good Michael Chabon novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. It’s about comic book writers during the 40′s & 50′s and it takes its cue from their profession. The book is littered with interesting characters: magicians, circus performers, Nazis, Salvador Dali even makes a brief, near-death appearance. The book’s two heroic comic book creators follow in their characters’ footsteps and the title’s promise and have exciting, dramatic, suspenseful, rich adventures. And to complement it, I’ve been taking short breaks to read some classic comics. I took in “Batman: HUSH,” which was dark and dense and great, as well as the Fantastic Four reboot from the mid-90′s, “Heroes Reborn.” This is one of the few times it’s really paid to have a comic enthusiast as a roommate. The FF storyline was expertly drawn, and the stories were just what I was looking for: ridiculous. Every single villain either turns into a super-monster or has a super-monster laying-in-wait to do its bidding. Giganto, the massive whale?! Moleman and his total control of underground elements?! Super-Skrull?! I can’t make this shit up, but someone else didn’t have a problem doing it. Every threat extreme, every situation dire, every character a symbolic sculpture of the best of mankind. In other words, fantastic.
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In a few weeks, China will claim to have completed its economic survey and announce a growth rate for 2008. The only thing we know for certain is that figure won’t be accurate.
Today, the People’s Bank tipped growth of 9.3% for the year. The final official figure could be 9.1% or 9.4% but it will be close to that.
Today also brought a reason, courtesy of the official China Electricity Council, to think real economic growth was much lower. It put growth in power demand last year at only 5.2%.
Power demand numbers may not be entirely reliable, either, but we know something of the relation between official economic growth and power demand growth: in previous years, official power demand growth was much faster. It was 3.4 percentage points faster in 2007, 2.9 points faster in 2006, 3.6 points faster in 2005, and so on.
This year, however, we will be told economic growth is much faster than power demand growth. It’s certainly possible there was a change due to the global slowdown. But China is going to report economic growth only 2 percentage points lower than the blistering pace in 2007. That can hardly explain a full flip where power demand was considerably faster than the economy for years, but now is suddenly much slower.
The last time this happened was 1998, when China reported the Asian financial crisis caused power demand growth to drop to 2.8% while economic growth stayed at 7.8%. It is widely understood that true economic growth that year was far lower.
It’s 1998 all over again. True growth for 2008 won’t be clear even when all numbers are tallied, but our first glimpse says it was in the 7% range, at best.
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SUMMER MUSIC INSTITUTE
How to Audition for SMI
Auditions are required for all Summer Music Institute applicants except students applying as percussionists. The audition should consist of two pieces in contrasting styles. Auditions may be submitted on cassette, CD, VHS, or DVD; however, it is highly recommended that they may be uploaded to http://digitalaudition.bw.edu. Piano and voice applicants are strongly encouraged to submit video auditions. All materials must be received, with the application and $200 deposit, by April 1, 2013.
If a student is accepted, the submitted audition will be used for placement with a private lesson teacher. Students should choose material they know well and enjoy playing or singing. Doing the most difficult piece does not always showcase the students' abilities to their best advantage. Conversely, picking material that is overly simple will work against a student because it is difficult to gage his or her playing ability accurately. Consultation with one's private lesson teacher is always a wise move when determining audition material! Always remember, those listening to your audition are listening for potential not perfection.
Applications will be available January 2013.
Theory Placement: All SMI students will take a brief music theory placement exam on Registration Day, the first Sunday of the Institute. Results are used to place students at the instructional level best suited to their current abilities and backgrounds.
Chamber Ensemble Placement for String, Woodwind, Brass and Percussion students AND Choral Ensemble Placement for Voice students: All students will have a scheduled audition on Registration Day. Chamber music coaches and private lesson teachers hear all auditions and place students in chamber and/or large ensembles according to playing ability. All students should bring a prepared piece for auditions, including vocalists.
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Teams walk to fight Lou Gehrig's Disease
People were lacing up their walking shoes to help find a cure for Lou Gehrig's Disease Saturday.
Hundreds of people took part in the eight annual Walk To Defeat ALS at Warrior's Path State Park Saturday.
Organizers say the money raised will help local patients with care and support, as well as research to help find a cure or cause.
News 5 learned there's a reason for the walk, "Because you can has been our motto. The people that have ALS very quickly are not able to walk anymore, so it just makes sense to have a walk because we can still walk," said Brenda Hrivnak with Tennessee ALS Association.
We're told more than $115,000 was raised at this year's walk.
Copyright 2013 by WCYB All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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(Press Release): R-CALF USA Animal Identification Committee Chair Kenny Fox provided a written response last week to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS’) recent blog article by Dr. John Clifford, APHIS’ Deputy Administrator and Chief Veterinary Officer. In that article, Clifford staunchly defended the agency’s new mandatory animal identification plan that would remove the hot-iron brand from the list of official animal identificati on methods universally available to U.S. cattle producers.
Fox said Clifford’s article is a perfect example where actions speak louder than words.
“Clifford claims his agency is complying with promises made by Agriculture Secretary Vilsack in February 2010 and his agency recognizes the value of brands,” Fox said adding, “But, Clifford’s article indicates USDA has materially altered its position, is demoting the brand, is reducing flexibility for producers, States and Tribes, and these changes constitute a broken promise.”
Fox cited USDA’s February 2010 explanation of its new plan that contains a promise to provide cattle producers with the flexibility to choose the type of identification device that works best for them, including the choice to continue using a hot-iron brand.
“Under Dr. Clifford’s altered plan, the choice to use a registered brand to ship cattle in interstate commerce is no longer an option for individual cattle producers, nor is it an option for individual States or Tribes,” Fox explained.
“Instead,” Fox wrote in his response to Clifford, “the option to continue using brands to identify cattle in interstate commerce will only be available if two States and/or two Tribal Nations mutually agree to continue using the brand despite its demotion from the list of approved official identification devices.”
Fox added, “Individual cattle producers are being left out in the cold because while they may have the ability to influence their own State’s or Tribe’s decision to continue recognizing brands, they certainly have no influence over the second State or second Tribe that also must grant permission before brands can be used for identification. This is a bad deal for independent U.S. cattle producers.
“Your blog makes it clear that USDA intends to break its promise to U.S. cattle producers and we find such a dishonorable action not only unbecoming of a federal agency, but also, unacceptable,” Fox concluded in his response.
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Widespread hopes that the outrage over last year’s infamous gang rape would spark lasting change in India receded further still this weekend, as the attack of a Swiss tourist in central India made headlines around the world. The victim, a woman from Lausanne, Switzerland, who is reportedly 39 years old, was camping for a night during a bike tour with her husband in the state of Madhya Pradesh when she was sexually assaulted by several men around 10 p.m. on Friday. The men robbed the couple and fled. Several Indian media outlets reported that police arrested five men in connection with the attack Sunday, though there have been conflicting statements from officials.
While unusual because of the victim’s nationality, the incident is one of hundreds of cases of rape that have come to light in the three months since Dec. 16, when a 23-year-old student was fatally raped and assaulted on board a moving bus in the Indian capital. The government responded to the ensuing massive protests and collective outcry over the attack with a flurry of measures designed to improve safety for women in the capital and increase punishment for rape and other gender-related violence, including making rape that results in death a capital offense.
What lasting impact those measures will have — particularly beyond the streets of the capital — is still unclear. The same day that the Swiss tourist was attacked, Indian media reported that another woman in Madhya Pradesh’s capital was gang-raped aboard a moving bus during the middle of the day. Widespread mistrust of police, understaffed forces and the stretched capacity of the courts are seen as contributing to what seems to be an increasing sense of impunity on display in these exceedingly violent sexual assaults. In New Delhi alone, of more than 600 rape cases filed last year, just one resulted in a conviction. “There is an overwhelming feeling [among sex offenders] that you can get around the system,” says Rajat Mitra, a clinical psychologist and director of the Swanchetan Society for Mental Health who has worked extensively with sex offenders in New Delhi.
So far, the high-profile trial of five of the six men arrested in connection with the Delhi rape case has not served as much of a deterrent to would-be offenders. (The sixth suspect in the case, a juvenile, is being held and tried separately.) After laws were toughened up in February to allow for capital punishment, the five men on trial in a special fast-track court in New Delhi all faced the death penalty. The delivery of swift justice and harsher punishment, however, faced an unexpected complication last week when the alleged mastermind of the crime, a bus driver named Ram Singh, was found hanged in his jail cell in Delhi. His lawyer and family members have said they suspect foul play, and an inquiry has been launched into his death.
The Swiss government has requested a swift investigation into Friday’s attack. Local police have reportedly detained some two dozen people for questioning about the assault that they say was carried out by between five and seven men. Police have told Indian media that the attackers beat and restrained the man in the camp the couple had set up for the night, and several of them raped the woman in front of her husband. They stole a laptop and cash from the couple before fleeing the scene. After the attack, the couple reported the crime to police and sought treatment in a local hospital.
With all eyes once again on India, local police are under pressure to respond to this case quickly — more quickly, no doubt, than other low-profile cases similar to it that are being reported on a near daily basis. But officials’ comments in the past two days still echo some of the early reaction to the Dec. 16 rape case, when many people initially blamed the 23-year-old woman for not taking responsibility for her own safety when she boarded an unmarked bus at night. Over the weekend, a senior official in Madhya Pradesh told the Times of India that the Swiss couple erred by staying in a place where there is a higher ratio of men to women. “They apparently lost track and took a wrong turn and decided to halt for the night by the side of a village brook little realizing that the district with 85:100 men-to-women ratio is not the safest place for women,” he told the daily. Running a speedy investigation in the glare of the international spotlight is a start to addressing this problem in India, but that’s the easy part. Changing these deeply entrenched attitudes about sex crimes will be the longer and harder fight.
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Advice On Entry Level Mechanical Engineering Jobs
If you are a highly technical person with above average math skills and an interest in science it is possible to dwell on gaining a course on engineering. The versatile outlook of entry level mechanical engineering jobs seems to be on the bright side.
Also click for information on Recruitment Software
The various disciplines linked to engineering can be under your belt with the proper skills and training. Details of work comprise of installation of heat, gas and water systems. Electric generators, manufacturing machines or robots, elevators and engines of different kinds are part of their scope. Entry level mechanical engineering jobs are in demand especially if you know the industry to go to. Consultation and development has been far reaching and thus employment is variable. Growth in this field has been shown to increase around 11% annually. New graduates have salary offers that average around a decent $58,880 a year.
Mobilization and competition has anchored junior engineers to have a larger area of responsibility and technical know-how. Managerial skills already accompany of entry level mechanical engineering jobs that have constant update on project scheduling and status as well to assume cost of operations. Some are required to be adept in creating drawings, 3D models and even coordinate with designers. Reports and conduct testing is essential with the right documentation. In fact these tasks are challenging and require a versatile and flexible work shift.
Globalization has taken a firm grip in realizing the goals of engineering in the real world. Many have taken advantage of the internet for engineering skills to be worked at. Manufacturing and design go hand in hand to provide goods at an efficient rate without the high cost. The human or analytic side has paved the way for a productive and improvisational career that will not limit itself to technology alone. A specialized area can further one’s advancement in entry level mechanical engineering jobs. The amazing rate of success depends on the output much like a worthwhile building of an efficient plant or a great handling of product packaging to consumers. From biotechnology, nanotechnology and power producing machines this interest comes out as heavily equipped with ideas put to good use.
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Monday, July 23, 2012
By Samuel Rubenfeld
The White House late Friday issued an executive order targeting those who impede on Somalia’s political transition.
Similar to how it approached Yemen in May, the White House didn’t designate anyone with the issuance of the executive order, which went into effect at 2 p.m. Friday.
The executive order on Somalia grants the Treasury Department greater power to impose sanctions on those found misappropriating state assets. It also targets political or military leaders who recruit children as soldiers, and those committing violence against Somali citizens, including sexual or gender-based violence.
“By expanding our ability to impose sanctions on those engaged in despicable acts of violence in Somalia, the United States is once again demonstrating its full support for the Somali people,” said David Cohen, undersecretary of Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement.
The executive order also targeted a key revenue source for al-Shabaab, the Somali group designated by the U.S. as a foreign terror organization and that has close ties to al Qaeda.
It imposed an embargo on imports of charcoal from Somalia into the U.S., and granted the Treasury Department the authority to slap sanctions on those involved in the import or export of charcoal from Somalia after Feb. 22, implementing a United Nations Security Council resolution passed that day.
“It is crucial that the trade in charcoal from Somalia be prohibited to diminish this source of al-Shabaab’s revenue and further discourage the group from engaging in terrorist acts,” Treasury said in the statement.
Somalia has become a priority for the Obama administration as it combats terrorism. The country hasn’t had an effective government in more than 20 years, and it’s become a haven for terrorists, pirates and warlords.
In addition to flying drones in the region, the U.S. has reportedly operated secret sites there. Treasury has also been active in slapping sanctions on those contributing to the conflict there.
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Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
Americans have made a grave mistake in electing Barack Obama to the presidency. Yet America herself remains great and is not a mistake, which is why so many of her citizens will continue, with even greater energy and determination, to defend her founding principles.
The man elected to the Presidency said during the campaign that he does not know when a human being starts to have human rights. How can one govern from that starting point of ignorance? Governing is about protecting human rights; to do it successfully, you have to know where they come from, and when they begin.
The President-elect has already failed that test miserably.
The American people do not share Barack Obama’s extreme and offensive views on abortion. They never have and they never will. The coming four years will see a widening gap between the people and their President on this fundamental issue. As Americans come to know how extreme his position is, the intensity of the struggle to protect these children will only increase.
The pro-life movement has made significant gains in the courts and in the law in these last eight years. For the next four, the movement will work to prevent the erosion of that progress.
It would be a serious mistake for people to think that this election means the pro-life movement has no political power. All politics is local. Political power is about people. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was once told that given the political realities, civil rights legislation would be impossible to pass. “We’ll just have to see about that,” he replied. And the civil rights movement was born, stirring the hearts of the people to lead the nation to the victory of justice.
So it is with our movement. The vast majority of Americans are pro-life. They will fight abortion on the local level, opening pregnancy centers and closing abortion mills, activating their Churches and educating their children, proclaiming the message in the media and demonstrating in the streets. The pro-life movement is winning this battle in the hearts and minds of the American people, as opinion polls show and as the shrinking number of abortion mills and abortion providers prove.
Political races are always a swinging of the pendulum. As soon as you win, you begin to lose, and as soon as you lose, you begin the ascent again to winning. In the next two election cycles (2010 and 2012) the pro-life movement will make up for political ground lost in this one.
It is all right to be disappointed at the end of an election season, but one must never walk away. Amidst disappointment is abiding hope in America, where everything remains possible, and where a new chapter of the pro-life movement has just begun. The efforts that were made, and the sacrifices endured in this election season made a difference, and we will build on that difference to see another day when the work and the ballots of pro-life people will dismantle the Culture of Death. We will keep marching toward that pro-life America we seek, and won’t stop until we get there.
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HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE
KATHMANDU: Frequent strikes across the country have hindered the government’s plan to promote Visit Lumbini Year 2012 by erecting milestones at the local level.
A budget of Rs 15 million has been provided for the event and locals are mainly expected to carry out the promotion campaign.
Publicity campaign at the the international level is yet to be carried out although the Visit Lumbini Year was inaugurated on January 14.
“We have planned to install retro-reflective light radium prints in 108 locations of the country,” said Laxmi Bhatarai, official at the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT). “However, only 35 milestones have been installed due to frequent strikes and closures in the country,” he said. “We are going to complete it within two weeks if there is no strike.”
President Dr Ram Baran Yadav officially inaugurated the Visit Lumbini Year 2012 in Lumbini on January 14 in a bid to spread Gautam Buddha’s message of peace to the world through tourism. Prime Minister Babu Ram Bhattarai had declared the event at a cultural function organised on December 1 in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha.
According to the Ministry of Federal Affairs, Constituent Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture (MoFACPAC), a Cabinet meeting last year had approved the plan to mark the year 2012 as Visit Lumbini Year. The event will be jointly organised by the MoFACPAC, the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) and the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation
“Though late, promotional activities have been carried out in China, South Korea, and Sri Lanka,” said Bhattarai. “The flow of tourists has increased compared to last year,” he claimed.Some 750,000 foreign tourists visited Nepal in 2011 against its target of 1 million visitors during Nepal Tourism Year 2011, according to government sources. Out of a total of 426,250 visitors in Lumbini in 2011, 128,259 were international tourists, 63,079 were Indians and the remaining were domestic visitors.The LDT has estimated a total cost of Rs 130 million for celebrating Visit Lumbini Year. The LDT will bear Rs 110 million while it had asked the government to provide Rs 20 million for the purpose, MoFACPAC sources said.The main objective of the programme is to develop Lumbini as a peace city and a Buddhist centre of the world, MoFACPAC officials said.The Culture Ministry and the LDT have planned to publish postage stamps, organise cultural and peace-related programmes, develop the concept of peace city, inscribe information on Lumbini in different languages and display notice boards depicting Lumbini in major cities and highway intersections across the country.The LDT has formed a 108-member organising committee with Prime Minister Bhattarai as patron and Culture Minister as coordinator, and another 13-member executing committee to mark the event successfully.
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September 4, 2012 2 Comments
I had to bite my tongue in class when the topic of war came up.
I find that my views on war and violence are often quite controversial. I suspect that it is because they are controversial, that people are not always willing to hear them. Furthermore, people seem to not like opinions which span more than one sentence. They like black and white views on life–I am a Democrat, I am a Calvinist, I am a Cessationalist, I am a capitalist etc. More often than not, people don’t have the patience or time to hear a full exposition of how my view of war has been formed and evolved through time to arrive at what I believe in this. With this in mind, I think with any opinion there is a time to voice them, and there is a time to be silent. I also think there are clear opinions on war, that are reflected in our society.
It is unfortunate, because I would argue that the evolution in the history of someone’s thought is immeasurably more interesting than the final opinion that one finally arrives at. John Piper in Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian talks about how his initial views on race were shaped and influenced by growing up in a conservative culture in the South. As he grew up, he began to realize and change how he saw the world in a profound manner.
The Status Quo Read more of this post
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This past Sunday, The Washington Post published a troubling front-page article about Social Security's financial status and its future. The article repeated widely held misconceptions and used biased language to create the impression of a system in crisis.
In response, a number of progressive leaders have spoken out on blogs and in statements provided to Media Matters.
Dean Baker, economist and co-founder of the Center for Economic Policy Research, writes:
News outlets generally like to claim a separation between their editorial pages and their news pages. The Washington Post has long ignored this distinction in pursuing its agenda for cutting Social Security, however it took a big step further in tearing down this barrier with a lead front page story that would have been excluded from most opinion pages because of all the inaccuracies it contained.
Economist, Nobel laureate, and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman writes:
Dean Baker is angry at the Washington Post for spreading disinformation about Social Security. He's right, of course -- and it's shocking that a well-known fallacy is the subject of a "news analysis" that purports to inform readers.
You see, the WaPo makes a big deal of the fact that Social Security is currently taking in less in payroll taxes than it's paying out in benefits. Yet this means nothing, except as a favorite point used to create confusion by those who want to kill the program.
What you can't do is insist that the trust fund is meaningless, because SS is just part of the budget, then claim that some crisis arises when receipts fall short of payments, because SS is a standalone program. Yet that's exactly what the WaPo claims.
This is what you call negative journalistic value added.
In a post at Campaign for America's Future's blog, Richard Eskow writes:
How can a 2,363 word piece in on Social Security be so densely packed with inaccuracies, falsehoods, and downright lies?
It almost takes a cryptographer to unpack the deceptions contain in an article published Saturday with the headline, "The debt fallout: How Social Security went 'cash negative' earlier than expected."
The piece's author sits us down by the campfire, holds the flashlight up to her chin, and spins a yarn filled with quotes from right-wing ideologues from both parties. Most of her "sources" have a long history of trying to gut Social Security, often under the employ of billionaire former Nixon Cabinet member Pete Peterson (whose own organization, Fiscal Times, provides financial journalism services for thePost. Coincidence? You decide.)
How many quotes are included from the organizations and groups defending Social Security? None.
How many quotes from economists like Paul Krugman, Joseph Stiglitz, and Dean Baker, who have a proven record of accuracy of domestic economic matters? None.
How many quotes from truly nonpartisan observers like Harry C. Ballantyne, the Chief Actuary for Medicare and Social Security appointed by Ronald Reagan who coauthored a report which put the lie to many of these claims? None.
A director of the AARP is quoted, but only so that he can be characterized as the spokesperson for an 'interest group.' conducting a "public relations campaign."
In a letter to the editor of The Washington Post obtained by Media Matters, Max Ritchman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, wrote:
On behalf of millions of Americans who have worked for and earned their Social Security benefits, I take strong exception to Sunday's front-page piece by Lori Montgomery titled "Social Security adding billions to U.S. budget woes." This story is so riddled with factual inaccuracies and biased rhetorical flourishes it has no business in the news section of a major, or that matter, any newspaper.
The entire premise of the piece is built on a foundation of falsehoods that have been perpetrated for decades by those who oppose Social Security with virtually no balance provided for the reader. Bias reported as fact is the hallmark of this story. For example, Social Security's short-term shortfall is not a "treacherous milestone," but indeed a natural consequence of the programs' funding mechanism. Surpluses have been built up in Social Security since the last major reforms in 1983 precisely so funds would be available to pay benefits of the baby boom generation as they began retiring
I strongly urge the Washington Post to limit its editorializing to the appropriate editorial pages and stop disguising opinion as news reporting.
Statement from Edward F. Coyle, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans:
We cannot allow politicians or those in the media who have never liked Social Security to use this budget climate as political cover for misleading attacks on a great American success story that has kept generations of seniors out of poverty. Social Security has amassed a $2.6 trillion surplus to prepare for upcoming retirements, and the Treasury Department pays interest to the Social Security Trust Fund on what it borrows.
Statement from Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP Washington Bureau and senior vice president for advocacy and policy, obtained by Media Matters:
The Washington Post Sunday front page article on Social Security was particularly troublesome in that it recklessly presented erroneous data that led to faulty conclusions on a matter crucial to so many elderly, disabled and young Americans. The article omitted important information about the practice of the government raiding the Social Security Trust Fund at its most robust times. If the American public reading this article had been informed of these strategically important facts, they too would find themselves echoing Harry Reid's words when he asked the detractors of the program to "simply leave it alone."
Statement from Heather Ansley, director of veterans policy at VetsFirst, a program of the United Spinal Association, obtained by Media Matters:
Our veterans have paid into Social Security and that it must be there for our wounded warriors and for veterans entering retirement. Also, we know that Social Security does not contribute to the deficit and believe that it should not be part of the supercommittee discussions.
Statement from Daniel Mintz, campaign director of MoveOn.org, obtained by Media Matters:
More than a year ago, MoveOn sent an email to our 5 million members listing the Top 5 Social Security Myths and debunked them. This Sunday, the Washington Post published a front-page article that, incredibly, managed to present all five myths as if they were fact. This wasn't an accidental misstatement of a detail or two. It was, instead, just the latest instance of a continued campaign in Washington to force an austerity agenda down the country's throat to protect the 1% at the expense of the 99%. Those who subscribe to the Washington Post deserve better, and at the very least, they deserve the truth. The Post should issue a retraction immediately, and needs to keep opinion pieces where they belong, on the opinion pages.
Statement from Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, obtained by Media Matters:
The campaign to reduce Social Security benefits is an attack on women, since women rely on Social Security for more years and for a larger share of their income than do men; women are also the majority of Social Security recipients. That the campaign has been able to lease space on the front page of the Washington Post is insidious. The scare headline and language, not to mention the misstatements of the current strength of the system's finances, mislead the public. That the Post's editorial page represents the 1% and not the 99% is well known, but the incursion of the editors' views onto the news pages by masquerading an opinion piece as news is a step too far.
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US Politics correspondent Lee Haddigan writes:
As EA has looked at some of the races, and issues, that will determine who will control the US Congress come 3 November, large numbers of voters have already gone to the polls and cast their ballot. Procedures vary from state to state, but estimates suggest that fully 30% of the votes in these mid-terms will be made before the traditional focus of Election Day.
Some states require a reason for issuing a voter with an absentee ballot, others grant upon request. Usually, absentee voters either submit their form by mail or go in person to special polling places . Voters seem to appreciate the convenience; Oregon now runs all its state-wide contests with a 100% mail-in system after the measure was approved by an initiative in 1998. And Washington State possesses in all but one county an all-mail process. In Illinois, where it can get a trifle chilly in November, there is the option to vote from the comfort of your own home, as activists illustrate, naked.
The consequence of this early voting, and the modern trend of instant news and punditry, is that, as Florida Democrats recently e-mailed in a notice to supporters: "Today is Election Day. No, that's not a typo, because every day between now and November 2 is Election Day." That has brought the establishment of ever more sophisticated grassroots "Get Out The Vote" operations by the two major parties and their allies.
Democrats especially view the growth of early voting as a positive factor. Both Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid and Michelle Obama --- the President will vote on an absentee ballot) ---recently cast their votes, promoting the benefits and ease of the system to Democrat supporters. Alluding to Democrats' success in 2008 of the tactic, the First Lady commented in Illinois last week, "I want to encourage people to do early voting because that's really the part that the polls don't check. So folks have to be fired up, just like they were two years ago, because the same things are at stake."
There is no valuable prediction of how this is re-shaping the outcome, however; some news sites are reporting early voting giving the Democrats the edge, and others that Republicans are gaining the most. But early voting is worth noting because it is contributing to a major shift that is occurring in American politics: the increasing inability of politicians to present themselves, or act in Washington as, moderate politicians.
In progressivism and Tea Party conservatism, we have seen two political viewpoints with few areas for compromise. Cable news, radio talk shows, instant news analysis, politically opinionated blogs, well-funded think tanks, Google, YouTube, 501(c) advocacy groups, and now early voting are all creating a climate where a willingness to negotiate with political opponents is becoming seen as a weakness. If every day is Election Day, and every action taken by a politician is immediately scrutinized for its adherence to the party line, the opportunity for measured compromise, especially in the US Senate, becomes almost impossible.
This is a problem for a political system that is built on a theory of checks and balances and the need for negotiation for legislation to get passed. Consider the words of Mike Pence of Indiana, a senior Republican figure in the House of Representatives, who last week stated on a conservative radio show: "Look, there will be no compromise on stopping runaway spending, deficits and debt. There will be no compromise on repealing Obamacare. There will be no compromise on stopping Democrats from growing government and raising taxes. And if I haven’t been clear enough yet, let me say again: No compromise.”
Pence is not an isolated figure on the far right of the Republican Party. There have been rumours lately that he may stand for election --- with an outside chance of winning --- as House Speaker if the GOP takes the lower chamber in the midterms , and he is a darling of the Tea Party movement who may make a long-shot run for the Presidential nomination in 2012. Pence is not just grandstanding to voter concerns in this election cycle; he is signaling a long-term commitment to building an ultra-conservative base within the Republican caucus.
Pence’s words were echoed last week by Ken Buck, the Tea Party-backed Republican candidate for Senator in Colorado. In an interview with The Washington Post, Buck promised his supporters, "I think it's wrong to compromise your values to fit in with the social climate in Washington, D.C. When it comes to spending, I'm not compromising. I don't care who, what, when or where, I'm not compromising."
There are currently eight toss-up contests in play in the Senate in these midterm elections. The Republicans need to win 7 of those to gain a majority, and in each race there is a clear contest between a liberal and conservative candidate. Winning 7 of those too-close-to-call elections, or even 2 or 3 under current Senate rules, would give the Tea Party movement a clear mandate to take their “no compromise” message to Washington and, well, not compromise. Republicans already in Congress are keen to stress that the GOP’s new-found ideological purity and a majority will not lead to a government shutdown, or impeachment proceedings against the President, but this is new and fascinating territory we are entering.
The liberal magazine American Prospect published an article last week that declared: “When the dust settles on the night of Nov. 2, we're likely to be left with a uniquely polarized Congress.” The report cited as evidence the analysis of researchers who compile the DW-NOMINATE system, which measures the extent of ideological differences in Congress.
And now the eight toss-up elections, with the latest polling figures, which will decide which party controls the next Senate --- currently there are 57 Democrats, 2 Democrat-allied Independents, and 41 Republicans. We profiled Nevada and Kentucky last week; here are the six others:
California: Barbara Boxer (D) 45.2% Carly Fiorina (R) 43.4%
Boxer is a three-term incumbent Senator facing a backlash from voters alarmed at how the economic meltdown has hit the state especially hard. President Obama won the state 61-37 in 2008, and Boxer won by 20 points in 2004, but she is seen as an establishment liberal Senator (she voted for a bill to censure George W. Bush) when the national mood is to remove incumbents. Fiorina is a former Hewlett-Packard CEO, running on her record as a successful business executive to bring experience to the problem of restoring fiscal responsibility in Washington.
Colorado: Ken Buck (R) 46.3% Michael Bennet (D) 45.3%
Bennet was appointed Senator to finish the term of Ken Salazar when he became Secretary of the Interior earlier this year. Despite the fact that Bennet has never run for a competitive statewide election, he has been the victim of the general anti-incumbent trend. Ken Buck is a district attorney, with no legislative record, running on the general Tea Party message. The Colorado governor’s race, which may affect the outcome of this contest, will be discussed later this week.
Illinois: Mark Kirk (R) 41.3% Alexi Giannoulias (D) 39.5%
The winner will take the seat of Ronald Burris, the tarnished appointee who replaced Barack Obama when he became President. Kirk is not particularly regarded as a Tea Party candidate, but Illinois is a traditionally Democrat state and a victory for the Republicans would be an embarrassing loss.
As with much that involves Chicago and politics this is a race that is witnessing more than its fair share of personal scandals. (Do politicians never learn? Kirk was caught exaggerating his military record.) Real Clear Politics made the unusually acerbic observation: “By the time this is over, Illinois voters may be wishing there were a 'none of these candidates' option, as there is in Nevada.”
Pennsylvania: Pat Toomey (R) 46.3% Joe Sestak (D) 43.5%
The winner of this election will replace Senator Arlen Specter, who switched allegiance from the Republican Party to the Democrats in 2009 to avoid a primary challenge from the conservative Pat Toomey, only to lose to Joe Sestak in the Democrat primary. This race deserves especially close attention because the liberal Sestak has been steadily eating into Toomey’s once-healthy lead. If the Democrats are to defy the predictions and avoid a landslide defeat, then Sestak’s numbers will provide a useful indicator of unexpected support.
Washington: Patty Murray (D) 49.0% Dino Rossi (R) 46.8%
The polls have been swinging back and forth in this election, and no one is quite sure what the trend is. Murray is a three-term incumbent with a liberal voting record, facing Rossi, who has twice lost races for Governor. With Washington's all-mail voting system, covering all but one county, it will be interesting to see if his method can help Democrats overcome the nationwide antipathy for incumbents and re-elect a liberal in a traditionally Democratic state.
West Virginia: Joe Manchin (D) 45.8% John Raese (R) 44.3%
Another race, like Colorado, that is tied to the mechanics of the gubernatorial election. Manchin is currently Governor of West Virginia and a social conservative with enormous personal popularity in the state. West Virginia, however, does not support Obama as much as it likes its Democrat governor. The theory here is that West Virginia will send Raese to Washington to oppose Obama and keep Manchin as their state leader.
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Some news on a phase II trial of estriol in the US. I'm adding it to the pipeline, don't know why I hadn't done that already...
New Trial for MS Drug
January 29, 2007 - The Press-Enterprise - People living with multiple sclerosis have to use injections to help control the disease. The method is the only anti-inflammatory treatment available.
But a new clinical trial, which is seeking participants, may help women with MS get rid of the needles.
Researchers hope an estrogen called estriol will help women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. It marks the first large-scale trial of a sex hormone to treat the disease, according to the National MS Society.
"Pregnancy makes a variety of autoimmune diseases get better," said Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl, who is heading the study at UCLA.
One of the diseases it helps is multiple sclerosis, a disease that attacks the central nervous system. In MS, the myelin sheath around nerves which helps conduct electrical impulse is lost in multiple areas and replaced with scar tissue.
Relapsing-remitting MS is the most common form of the disease, according to the national society. It involves bouts of acute downslides in neurological function, followed by partial or full recovery periods in which the disease no longer progresses.
Voskuhl and a team at UCLA, as well as six other universities around the country, will start enrollment at the end of February for a two-year clinical trial of estriol with about 130 nonpregnant women with MS.
The disease affects two to three times more women than men, according to the National MS Society.
About four years ago, Voskuhl did a small-scale study of estriol with 12 women who had MS.
"We saw an improvement in cognitive functions," she said.
The study also saw an 80 percent reduction in inflamed regions in the brain.
Voskuhl hopes the new estriol study will yield positive results of protecting the nerves and reducing lapses, and not just act to help inflammations.
Estriol is taken in pill form, which would ultimately be cheaper than current treatments. Voskuhl said injection treatments can cost a patient anywhere from $12,000 to $20,000 each year.
Leon LeBuffe, president of the Southern California chapter of the National MS Society, said that the cost and needles are two of the biggest objections patients have to current treatment.
Throughout the study, women will take a daily shot of the anti-inflammatory drug Copaxone as well as an estriol pill or a placebo.
"Nobody gets less than the standard of care," Voskuhl said.
The estriol trial is one of the prominent research projects going on for multiple sclerosis, and has a price tag of $4.7 million, according to the Southern California Chapter of the National MS Society.
The chapter has promised to raise the money for the study and has already made a "rescue" pledge of $667,000 to start the trial, said Marni Deckter, communications director for the chapter.
"For us, it's a huge task to raise this much money," LeBuffe said.
Enrollment for the study is slated to begin in late February at UCLA, Wayne State University in Detroit, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Chicago, University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey and Ohio State University in Columbus.
http://www.pe.com/lifestyles/stories/PE ... 216bd.html
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Address: Clarafield Road, Croydon 4871 QLD
Croydon Cemetery dates from the latter part of the 19th century, the earliest inscriptions extant being 1889. Peter and Karen Patterson-Kane visited the cemetery in May 2010 and made digital images and notes of every visible inscription. Peter comments that that the grounds are very neat and tidy and well maintained by the Croydon Shire Council.
Peter's images may be downloaded from the list of all inscriptions for this cemetery. That list was compiled from his images and with reference to the Queensland indices of births, deaths and marriages and to the Australian War Memorial online military rolls for additional information.
Peter advises that The Visitor Information Centre at Croydon has a local Genealogy Database, with over 15,000 names of families that once called Croydon ‘home’ including information about unmarked graves.
How to find it
From the Gulf Development Road (Savannah Way) at Croydon, head south via Allridge Street and Clarafield Road for 2.5km.The cemetery is on the left (eastern) side of the road. Lat -18.22604 Long 142.244024
The Croydon Cemetery is administered by the Croydon Shire Council. Enquiries should be directed to Manager Heritage, Culture and Tourism; phone 07 4748 7152; email: email@example.com.
The number of inscriptions for this cemetery is 202
The listing was last updated on 2010-06-03
The listing was complete as at 2010-05-22
Search for a specific family name in all cemeteries.
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Martial arts performance offered as thanks for a bountiful harvest every summer in Ishigaki, Okinawa. The Senkaku islets are part of Ishigaki.
Archive for the ‘Martial arts’ Category
Posted by ampontan on Sunday, December 16, 2012
Posted by ampontan on Saturday, November 24, 2012
THE BBC website offers a text version of a piece Mariko Oi did for the BBC World Service called Japan’s ninjas heading for extinction. It’s a reasonable overview of who the practitioners of the martial art of ninjutsu actually were and what they actually did.
The article concludes, however, with the statements from modern-day ninja masters that they will not appoint successors.
Both Kawakami and Hatsumi are united on one point. Neither will appoint anyone to take over as the next ninja grandmaster.
“In the age of civil wars or during the Edo period, ninjas’ abilities to spy and kill, or mix medicine may have been useful,” Kawakami says.
“But we now have guns, the internet and much better medicines, so the art of ninjutsu has no place in the modern age.”
As a result, he has decided not to take a protégé. He simply teaches ninja history part-time at Mie University.
Despite having so many pupils, Mr. Hatsumi, too, has decided not to select an heir.
“My students will continue to practice some of the techniques that were used by ninjas, but [a person] must be destined to succeed the clan.”
There is no such person, he says.
Note that Mr. Kawakami says there is no place for ninja in the modern age because of guns, the Internet, and better medicines. But there were guns, telecommunications, and better medicines when both men started practicing the discipline. That explanation seems a bit inadequate.
One of the first posts I presented at this site was a profile of Hatsumi Masaaki. It contains more detail on the man and the practices at his dojo than the Oi piece, and has an overview of one of the lesser-known aspects of the art of ninjutsu.
That post also contains quotes from Glenn Morris, a university professor and business consultant who trained for many years in Japan with Mr. Hatsumi and wrote three books about his experiences. (I read the first two; the third seems to have been slapped together to fulfill a publishing contract.)
In one of those books — written about 15 years ago — Morris specifically addresses the succession issue at Mr. Hatsumi’s dojo. He said succession to the role of grandmaster leapfrogs generations, and he thought he had an idea of who the next designated successor would be. He even discussed the matter with other foreigners at the dojo whom he respected and thought were perceptive people.
But why then would both of these men publicly announce that a secretive tradition several centuries old was coming to an end?
This will make sense to people who have been in Japan for a while (and of course to Japanese), but Morris thought the reason Mr. Hatsumi became interested in recruiting foreigners to his dojo to begin with was to save the art from extinction. Contemporary Japanese youth weren’t interested in ninja tricks — old fuddy-duddy stuff. But it would intrigue those younger Japanese inclined to ignore ninjutsu in favor of other martial arts if foreigners came from around the world to his dojo to practice. (Remember that the films of Kurosawa Akira became well-known among the Japanese public only after he received overseas acclaim.)
In other words, Mr. Hatsumi used foreigners as a recruiting tool to attract Japanese practitioners.
Perhaps he thinks he has accomplished that mission and intends to enshroud the whole business in secrecy again. The public comments to the BBC would be meant to discourage new foreigners from coming.
Does anyone really think that a Japanese man who has spent his whole life in this tradition would so casually let it die? (Without hunting down the precise number in one of the Morris books, I think Hatsumi Masaaki is the grandmaster in about nine different lineages.) Now consider that the essence of this martial art is secrecy and deception.
Here’s another thought: Perhaps the reason for going underground again is that this is a traditional Japanese martial arts version of going John Galt.
In my first post, I quote the Japanese proverb, Uso mo hoben, or circumstances may justify a falsehood. This seems to be an excellent opportunity to quote it again.
Can the BBC story be taken at face value, or was Mariko Oi used as a messenger girl who brought two men together to say the same thing at the same time? Purely by coincidence, of course.
I know which one of those two options I choose.
Posted by ampontan on Wednesday, March 7, 2012
JUST because the warts of the overseas media and the commentator-bloggers who rely on them think their folderol is insight doesn’t mean you have to fall for it. The national decline of Japan, if it exists at all, is greatly exaggerated. Here are a few short snorts testifying to the national vitality. The first is a translation of a brief article, while the rest are summaries.
Japan Air Commuter, a small Kagoshima-based airline serving the prefecture’s outlying islands, has hired its first female pilot, Hamada Eri (29). Her maiden flight was as co-pilot on two round-trip flights between Kagoshima Airport and the islands of Amami and Tokunoshima. After returning in one piece, Hamada said, “It was different from training. I sensed the weight of the responsibility for carrying passengers. I was very nervous, but it was a lot of fun and I was relieved when it was over.”
Her ambition to become an aviatrix originated when she was a student at Ryukyu University (Okinawa). While flying on commercial airlines to her home in Sendai (the northeast part of the country), “I discovered I liked the scenery from the cabin window and wanted to see the view from the front.” She enrolled at a flight school in Miyazaki City after graduation. She chose to work at JAC because she enjoyed her many flights over Kyushu during training, and because she wanted to repay the many people in the industry in Kyushu for their help.
The flights to the outlying islands are a lifeline for the people living there. “I was spurred by a desire to be of service on these flights, which are so important for their daily life.”
The Tohoku earthquake struck while she was still in training. The family home was washed away by the tsunami. While her parents were safe, a grandmother living in an institution died in the wave. She wanted to be near her family, but her parents encouraged her by saying, “We’re fine. You work hard in flight school.”
“I’m far from the stricken area (about 740 miles), but I decided to put forth my best effort along with all the people who suffered as they head toward recovery.”
Ms. Hamada is the 13th female pilot in the JAL group. “I intend to gain experience and become a full pilot, not only for my benefit, but also for the women who follow.”
A Japanese sentiment permeates every sentence of that article. For contrast, imagine how much self-importance it would have contained had the story originated in the Anglosphere instead of Kagoshima.
Tokushima seaweed comes home
Last year’s Tohoku disaster was also a disaster for Sanriku wakame, a noted product of Miyagi. To help rebuild the industry, a Tokushima Prefecture maritime research institute in Naruto sent local fishing co-ops some wakame spores last October that the Miyagians raised in Kessennuma Bay. The first harvest was last week.
It was a homecoming in a sense for the wakame because the folks in Miyagi shipped the Tokushima institute some of theirs in 2004 for cross breeding. The spawn from that mating is what Tokushima sent back. The spores grew to a length of two meters, though the water temperature this winter was lower than ideal. The quality, color, and thickness of the seaweed is good enough for it to appear on your dinner table soon. Local watermen harvested 400 kilograms on the first day. The harvests will continue until the beginning of April, when they expect to have hauled in a total of 3,400 tons.
Off to see the Iyoboya
The big maritime product in Niigata is salmon. The Niigatans like it so much, in fact, they established the nation’s first salmon museum in Murakami called the Iyoboya Museum.
Niigata was the Murakami domain during the Edo period, and it was there that salmon were first successfully bred in Japan. Since then, salmon has been an important part of local culture. Iyoboya is the name for the fish in the local dialect.
Iyoboya fanciers say the best part of the museum is the mini-hatchery. Starting at the end of October, the museum recovers salmon eggs and fertilizes them. The eggs hatch two months later. Visitors get to see the fingerlings, and if they’re lucky, the hatching itself. The museum is now raising 50,000 fish, give or take a few, which it plans to release in the Miomote River at the beginning of next month. The museum also offers views of the river through glass windows.
There’s a restaurant on the museum premises. Guess what’s on the menu!
Snow fun in Kamakura
The Kamakura winter festival has been underway since 21 January at the Yunishikawa Spa in Nikko, Tochigi. The event is held in small snow huts in a gorge along the banks of the Yunishi River, which sounds like just the ticket for those who get off on nose-rubbing. This is a hot spring town, so visitors can enjoy both the hot and the cold of it, dipping in the spa waters for relaxation after all the fun with snowmen, snow slides, snow hut barbecues (reservations required) and musical performances. If you’re in no hurry for spring to start, the festival will last until 20 March.
Let 100 dragons soar
There’s a lot of snow in Hokkaido, too — probably more than in Nikko — but that didn’t stop Sapporo kiters from holding their 35th annual kite-flying contest in the city’s Fushiko Park. The winner this year was Tanaka Mitsuo, whose design featured a 100-meter-long chain of 100 linked kites.
Mao Zedong once said, “Let a hundred flowers bloom”, but that’s got to be easier than getting 100 kites up in the air. Each of the hundred was 60 x 42 centimeters, made of bamboo and washi (traditional Japanese paper), and designed to look like a dragon. This is Dragon Year in the Chinese zodiac.
They’ve been repairing the Izumo Shinto shrine in Shimane lately, the first major renovations in more than 60 years. The local carpenters know just how to go about it, too — the Izumo shrine has been rebuilt 25 times, the last in the 18th century, and also moved several times.
It’s the oldest shrine in the country, but ranks only number two in order of importance. (The enshrined deity is Okuninushi no Mikoto, the nephew of the Sun Goddess.) There’s still a fence around one part where mortals may not enter.
The repairs are being made in conformity with the original construction techniques. That includes softening thin sheets of Japanese cypress by soaking them in water, and then using them to thatch the 600-square-meter roof with bamboo nails. Preparations began in 2008 and the work won’t be finished until next year, though the current phase ended in February. Had I finished this post when I intended, readers nearby might have been able to glimpse the main hall. Alas, I was sidetracked by other work and projects, and now the hall won’t be on view for another 60 years. Attendance also required a dress code: t-shirts, sweatsuits, or sandals will not do for a visit to the abode of Okuninushi, even though the divinity was moved to a temporary site on the premises in 2008 for the duration.
Naruse Masayuki of Tamana, Kumamoto, has presented a paper on the safety of his single pedal automobile system to the Society of Automotive Engineers in the United States. Mr. Naruse operates a company that makes industrial materials, one of which is One Pedal. That’s an all-in-one pedal for controlling the gas and the brake to prevent accidents caused when drivers step in it by stepping on the wrong one. There’s an attachment on the right side of the floor pedal for acceleration, which drivers hit with the right side of their foot to move forward. Stepping on the floor still brakes the car.
The pedal’s been around for awhile — the old Transport Ministry conducted trials that demonstrated its safety. Mr. Naruse has custom-fitted nearly 200 cars in Japan with the device, but the major automakers don’t seem interested. Said Toyota, “Technicians have studied it, but we have no plans to adopt it now.” One complaint is that it’s more difficult to keep one’s foot against the gas pedal to maintain a constant speed than it is to downpress a pedal. Nevertheless, SAE plans to hold trials in Tamana with 70 drivers of all ages and foot sizes.
Hokkii rice burger
Tomakomai in Hokkaido has the largest haul of the surf clam — that’s the spisula solidissima for you shellfish enthusiasts — in Japan. They’ve got to eat them all somehow, so they’ve begun promoting a clam rice burger made with what’s called a hokkii, which is also the city’s “image character“. (The name isn’t derived from the hockey puck shape.) It was created by college students who liked the clam and made it for their school festival, and used rice for the bun instead of bread. City officials must have stopped by for a taste, because they adopted the idea and sold 1,600 at a three-day event last year. They then conducted trial tastings and questionnaires to get the perfect recipe, and shops around town began selling it in mid-December. There are several varieties with different condiments, but most sell for around JPY 400 yen, which is not a bad price. The idea is to get more people to come to Tomakomai.
They’ve got as many goya in Kagoshima’s Minamiosumi-cho as they have surf clams in Tomakomai, so a local hot spring resort developed a way to incorporate them in senbei rice crackers. They slice and dice them and knead them into the batter. Reports say they give the crackers a slight bitter taste. That makes sense — the goya is also called the nigauri, which means bitter melon. Several groups in the city, including the hot spring resort and the municipal planning agency, created the snack as a way to use non-standard goya and gobo (yeah, that’s a vegetable) that can’t be sold on the market. They’re cooked by Yamato-ya, a Kagoshima City senbei company, and 40-gram bags are sold for JPY 315 yen. That’s a bit steep, but some of the proceeds go to local welfare services. Give them a call at 0994-24-5300 to see if they have any left.
Instead of clams or goya, Shimanto in Kochi has a strawberry surplus. That was the inspiration for a sake brewer in the city to combine the berries with their sake and create a liqueur with two varieties, one dry and one sweet. The employees even filled the 500-milliliter bottles by hand, and you’ve got to wonder if they had the temptation to sample some. There were 1,000 bottles of the sweet stuff and 2,000 of the dry type going for JPY 1,600 apiece. The idea is to sell it to “people who normally don’t drink sake”, which is code for young women. They’re even selling it outside of the prefecture, so if the idea of strawberry sake appeals to you, input 0880-34-4131 into your hand-held terminal and ask for some.
The more serious drinkers in Aira, Kagoshima, don’t fool around with fruity beverages, and demonstrated it by starting shochu study sessions last month. Some stalls specializing in that particular grog have been set up near the Kagoshima Chuo station, and the people who will operate the stalls attended three training sessions. One of them included lessons in the local dialect for dealing with customers. (Kagoshima-ben requires listeners to pay close attention, and even then you’re not going to get all of it, sober or sloshed. That includes their Kyushu neighbors.) The scholars also examined the traditional process for distilling it, listened to lectures on the origins of satsumaimo (a sweet potato variety) and how it came to be used in the local shochu, and visited the Shirakane brewers. Now that’s dedication for being a liquor store clerk. There’ll be 50 of them working in 25 shops at the stall complex.
If the last story didn’t convince you that Kagoshimanians are serious about shochu, this one will. They’ve just marketed a new brand called Uchudayori, or Space Bulletin, made with malted rice and yeast carried aboard the international space station Endeavor last May for 16 days. It was developed by researchers at Kagoshima University and the Kagoshima Prefecture Brewers Association. (The university has a special shochu and fermenting research institute for students, and I sniff a party school subtext.) There are 12 different varieties because 12 companies used the base materials to distill their own well-known products, including those made with satsumaimo and brown sugar. Those interested in getting spaced out can buy a set of 12 900-milliliter bottles for JPY 24,000 yen, which is reasonable considering the transportation costs for some of the ingredients. Sameshima Yoshihiro, the head of the research institute, says it has a better aroma than normal. No, he didn’t say it was “out of this world”.
Did that space travel bring back an alien life form? The shochu kingdom of Kagoshima is about to get its first locally brewed sake in 40 years. Hamada Shuzo of Ichikikushikino (try saying that after a couple of hits of shochu) announced they have started brewing the beverage. They’re the only sake brewery in the prefecture, and the first to go into the business since the last one shut down in 1970.
Hamada Shuzo remodeled their shochu plant last year by adding facilities for producing 60 kiloliters of sake annually. An affiliated company used to make sake in Aichi until 1998, so they’ll blow the dust off the old notebooks and apply those accumulated techniques and expertise. A Shinto ceremony was held to receive the blessing of the divinities before they began fermentation with 20 kilograms of rice from other parts of Kyushu. (Kagoshima rice doesn’t work so well.) The company hopes to cook up 800 liters by March.
The company says Kagoshima’s higher temperatures — it’s Down South — make sake brewing difficult, and the shochu culture took root several hundred years ago. I have first-hand experience that Kagoshimanians drink shochu in situations where other Japanese drink sake, and it took about a week to recover. Statistics from the Tax Bureau support that anecdote. They say 36,767 kiloliters of shochu were consumed in the prefecture in 2010 compared to 1,379 for sake.
The company’s idea is to use sake brewing techniques for shochu product development. They might begin full scale production later, but the sake is now being brewed primarily for research. Didn’t I tell you these guys were serious? They’ve also got a restaurant/brewpub on the premises, and they hope it attracts customers who’ll also take a shine to their shochu. Sales in the restaurant begin in May, and in shops after that.
Build it and they will come
Former sumo grand champion and now slimmed down stablemaster Takanohana announced he was starting a program to build sumo rings throughout the country to promote the appeal of sumo. The first will be in Shiiba-son, Miyazaki Prefecture. (Takanohana’s wife, the former newscaster Hanada Keiko, is a Miyazaki girl.) Mr. T believes that sumo helps build character, and he wants to see the rings restored at primary schools and other sites around the country. The Shiiba-son municipal government will contribute funds to the project and manage the ring once it’s built. The construction will be handled by the local Itsukushima Shinto shrine under the guidance of the Japan Sumo Association.
Mr. and Mrs. T sometimes visit a local juku that seems to be more of a character training institute than an academic enhancer. When they were in town to make the announcement about the sumo ring, they attended a lecture by the head of the juku on the Yamato spirit. (Yamato is the older name for the original ethnic group of Japan.) The lecture included this message:
Live as the cherry blossom, blooming vividly with full force and quickly falling from the branch.
We cannot see the color, shape, or size of the spirit, but a person’s spirit manifests in his way of life, deeds, and words.
There are three important things in the way of the rikishi and the way of sumo: form, greetings, and etiquette.
That old time religion is still good enough for plenty of Japanese, and not just old guys who drink shochu and watch sumo. This month, a team from Saga Kita High School in Saga City was one of two selected for the grand prize in an annual calligraphic arts competition in Nagano conducted for high schools nationwide. It was the 17th year the sponsoring organization held the event, and the 17th straight year Kita High School won the grand prize. Kita students also won 11 of the 65 awards in the individual division. Teams from 273 schools participated and submitted 15,420 works.
The Kita girls have been getting ready since October. They practiced every day after school until 7:30, and voluntarily give up their free Saturdays. Said second-year student Koga Misaki, the calligraphy club leader, “We encouraged each other while being aware of the heavy pressure of tradition, and I’m happy we achieved our goal.”
And don’t forget Okinawa!
Posted in Food, Martial arts, New products, Popular culture, Science and technology, Shrines and Temples, Traditions | Tagged: Fish, Hokkaido, Japan, Kagoshima, Kochi, Kumamoto, Liquor, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Okinawa, Saga, Shimane, Shinto, Tochigi, Tokushima | Leave a Comment »
Posted by ampontan on Thursday, June 26, 2008
THOSE READERS living in Tokyo have a chance to see a remarkable exhibit of the Japanese swordsmith’s art at the Seikado Bunko Art Museum until July 27. Those who live elsewhere can read about the exhibit in this well-done and informative article in The Japan Times.
The museum is showing 30 swords from its collection of 120. The oldest in the exhibit dates from the 10th century. And the entry fee is cheap!
The cultural articles in the Japan Times, by the way, are usually superb–in marked contrast to what passes for political reporting on their pages.
Posted by ampontan on Tuesday, December 18, 2007
MANY PEOPLE OUTSIDE JAPAN have become aware of the martial art of kendo, in which the participants use bamboo sticks as sword substitutes in a competition that resembles a fencing match.
Yet few people even in Japan know of the martial art of iaido, which uses real swords. Even the most basic acts can be dangerous:
Intense scrutiny is also paid to the drawing and sheathing of the swords — “it’s easy to lose a thumb if you do that wrong” — and to the spiritual aspects of the samurai code.
UPDATE: Reader Tomojiro passed along a link in English for koryu, or the older martial arts. Read more about them here; I recommend the Ryu Guide page. I’ve also added this link to the right sidebar.
Posted by ampontan on Thursday, May 3, 2007
AFTER STUDYING BUDDHISM in Hong Kong for 40 years, Stephen Ho immigrated to San Francisco and decided he wanted to open an American branch of the famed Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of both Zen and Kung Fu.
The temple’s abbot in China gave Ho his permission and dispatched a monk who had trained at the temple for more than 20 years to help.
But Ho—who never trained at the Shaolin Temple himself–thinks the monks from China don’t perform enough sitting meditation or hold enough “philosophical discussion”. He plans to cut them off and find some priests more to his liking.
For their part, the Shaolin monks live in a rundown former rooming house in Oakland, and are presenting some astonishing demonstrations of the effectiveness of Qigong practice, such as withstanding sledgehammer blows to the arm while steel bars beneath are broken.
An aide to the San Francisco mayor says the Shaolin monks don’t know much about Buddhism, but others retort that neither the political aide nor Ho, a retired IBM engineer, know much about Shaolin. The monk’s defenders say Shaolin kung fu is indeed a form of meditation.
Here’s the full report from the San Francisco Chronicle.
For more on the connection between mysticism, the martial arts, and Qigong, here’s a previous Ampontan post about the Japanese ninja master, Masaaki Hatsumi.
And this is apparently the website for the Shaolin Temple in China, complete with photos of a Vladimir Putin visit. They don’t seem to be averse to a little commercialism, but as an article on the site explains, they can’t even use the term Shaolin Temple in Japan because someone else holds the trademark.
Posted by ampontan on Friday, January 5, 2007
Skeptics suggest the ninja and the techniques they practice are more myth and mutant turtle than martial arts, dismissing it as Oriental dirty fighting taught by frauds. But the skeptics might be surprised to know that ninjutsu is still alive and kicking at the Bujinkan Dojo near Tokyo in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, taught by 76-year-old Hatsumi Masaaki. This 34th linear grandmaster of the Togakure Ryu, who is also the keeper of eight other martial arts traditions, calls himself the world’s last ninja.
Hatsumi is more than just muscle and guile—he’s an accomplished man by anyone’s standards. After graduating from Meiji University, where he studied theater and osteopathic medicine, he opened an osteopathic clinic in Noda and practiced until 1990 when other commitments began taking up too much time.
The soke, to use his title within the art, has written more than a dozen books, some of which have been translated into English, and countless magazine and newspaper articles. In addition to more than 40 training videos, he wrote, directed and acted in 50 episodes of Jiraya, the most popular children’s television program of its time in Japan. He was the martial arts advisor for the James Bond movie, “You Only Live Twice”, appearing in an uncredited cameo as Tanaka’s assistant on the train, and the American miniseries Shogun.
He has conducted training seminars for the FBI, CIA, and Mossad, and for police in Britain, France and Germany. And while you’re catching your breath, I’ll add that he is a past President of the Writers Guild of Japan, a singer and performer on the guitar and ukulele (in night clubs with a Hawaiian band), and an accomplished painter and calligrapher.
At this point, you may well be wondering if he also walks on water, but some people wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand. In martial arts circles, legend has it that Hatsumi has the ability to control the weather, heal broken bones at his dojo by touch, and correct deficient eyesight without lifting a finger.
From one perspective, mythomania seems to be a character flaw endemic to martial artists, who delight in relating incredulous stories of strength or skills. But the more one peels back the layers of this particular onion, the more mysteries are revealed.
One clue comes in this straightforward newspaper feature that appeared on Hatsumi last year. (The report of his age as 76 may be incorrect; the biographical blurb in one of his books published in Japanese says he was born in 1931).
The article describes Hatsumi’s test for students wishing to attain the fifth dan, or ranking. Dan are a more important indicator of one’s martial arts proficiency than belts. The belt system is primarily for children and adult beginners, and black belts are often bestowed on boys and girls of middle school age. They signify simply that the student has learned the rudimentary skills, shows up to practice regularly and on time, and listens to the teacher without goofing off. Training in a martial art begins in earnest after one has received a black belt.
Here’s what happens at the test for fifth dan at Bujinkan:
Going for his fifth-level ranking is Phil White of England, who kneels on the floor with his eyes closed. Behind him stands Hatsumi, clutching a padded wooden sword [the shinai used in kendo] that he plans to bring down on White’s head. If White – with his eyes still closed – manages to dodge the sword, he passes; if not, he takes home some bumps. Twice the staff cracks on his head before he slumps out of the way on his third try – enough to satisfy the master. “I’m still shaking,” White says afterward, while being barraged by congratulatory slaps on the back. “I didn’t feel like I was moving. You feel like you’re being blown by the wind.”
That last sentence is the key. It is almost identical to the description given by the late Glenn Morris, an American college professor and martial arts enthusiast who passed the same test.
What the author of this article fails to mention, but Morris explains in detail, is that the martial arts in East Asia are not just the province of people looking for exercise by training in a traditional sport, but a vehicle to enlightenment for those who combine them with the esoteric practices of chi kung and kundalini. In his book Path Notes of an American Ninja Master, Morris defines chi as bioelectrical or subtle energy:
As you study the literature left by the great martial artists of the East, there is always reference to the a number of concepts that may seem strange to Western eyes, particularly when after what seem to be stupendous physical exploits, someone says something like, “and then I learned about chi kung and really began to learn and understand what I was doing.”
The opening to (bioelectrical) energy and being able to move your center out into the fields often results in experiences that could be considered “psychic”, such as sharing another person’s perceptions, thoughts, and feelings.
This suggests Hatsumi’s fifth dan test may be about something more than mere martial arts skills. Might it not be about verifying esoteric energy skills that have generated spiritual development? The people who practice these techniques believe that enlightenment, or satori in Japanese, is an actual biological process.
Morris’s description of his own kundalini awakening is one of the highlights of his book. He quotes J.C. Cooper for a definition of kundalini:
“…the serpent that lies coiled at the base of the spine in the chakra known as the muladhara and which lies dormant until awakened by yogic and spiritual practices when it begins to ascend through the chakras, bringing increasing powers into play, until it reaches the highest point in total awareness and realization. It is latent energy; unawakened being; the sleeping serpent power; the primordial shakti in man. To awaken it is to break the ontological plane and attain the sacred Center: Enlightenment. The symbolism of the kundalini is associated with that of the serpent, or dragon, or spine, the world axis.”
Morris points out that in the ancient world, secrecy was a wise policy for those using the techniques for the combined development of bioenergy and enlightenment.
By now, you’ve connected the dots and realize that Hatsumi may not be just an old geezer running around in black pajamas and flinging shuriken. It seems likely that he has mastered these techniques as a way to master his art, and ultimately, himself. Morris mentions that he heard Hatsumi mention chi only once during a seminar, when he said, “To make this (technique) work, you must move your chi down to your feet”. Typical of ninja secrecy, the statement was edited out of the video that was later issued.
Morris also discussed kundalini awakening with Hatsumi. The grandmaster told him it was such an intense experience that he had to live on yogurt for 18 months.
But in his own book, Ima Ninja (roughly, A Ninja Today), published only in Japanese, Hatsumi tells a different story. He says that he had to spend 18 months eating yogurt because of a duodenal ulcer caused by overwork.
Where does the truth lie? As the Japanese proverb has it, Uso mo hoben, or circumstances may justify a falsehood. Was Hatsumi playing the ninja and keeping the real story from Morris, or from his Japanese audience? And was Morris engaging in his own mythomania when he claimed that after Hatsumi’s silent intervention, his eyesight improved so dramatically he no longer needed glasses?
Or is Hatsumi really just an entertainer? In one of his stories from Ima Ninja, he says that he once had a contest with a pupil to see who could move his bowels more quickly. (He claims this also was a martial art in the old days.) They enter the restroom together and start the contest. The student is fast, but Hatsumi is a split-second faster. When asked by his student for his secret, the grandmaster plays off another Japanese proverb that says the difference between genius and madness is paper thin. He tells his student that they are equals in speed, but that he claimed victory because he purposely neglected to wipe his butt after he finished. The lesson for his pupil? The difference between victory and defeat is paper thin.
I’ll leave an assessment of Hatsumi up to you. One thing is certain, however: Few men his age are physically fit enough for the behavior shown in this YouTube video clip. All that energy has to come from somewhere, and it ain’t pushups.
For those interested in Chi Kung, a good introduction is The Way of Energy by Lam Kam Chuen, easily available from the usual merchants on the Web. And if you want to try some kundalini techniques, this website has a lot of information.
Just remember to keep your tongue up.
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Here we go. Missouri State lawmakers see dollar signs in their eyes and they are using the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut to push for legislation that would require parents in the state to notify the schools their children that they own a firearm within 30 days or face a fine.
This doesn’t just apply to public schools either. According to SB 124, which is put forth by two female Democrat State Senators Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis) and Maria Chappelle-Nadal (D-University City), it would apply to all charter and private education institutions. Interestingly enough, Nasheed is a Muslim.
The legislation can be summarized by stating that if a person is the parent or guardian of a child under the age of 18, he or she knows the child possesses a firearm in violation of the law, and he or she fails to stop the possession or report it to law enforcement. This would be considered a Class A misdemeanor. However, if death or injury result from the firearm possession by a minor it will be considered a Class D felony.
Anytime a child is enrolled in a school, the parent or guardian must send the school a notification that they own a firearm to the school their child attends within 30 days or face a $100 fine. If the gun is used in a crime by the child at school and the parent or guardian failed to notify the school about the firearm and it results in injury or death, the parent will face a $1000 fine and possibly other penalties.
I wholly believe in the 2nd Amendment, that everyone should have the right to bear arms, but the 2nd Amendment does not say that a 12-year-old can shoot a 12-year-old — there is no protection for that,” Chappelle-Nadal said. “What we are trying to do here is address what is happening in our urban cities.”
State Senator Brian Nieves (R-Washington) calls the bill alarming stating, “I think it goes squarely against what most Missourians would believe is the right thing to do. I can tell you (that) this bill will not become law – I think that’s something we need to be very clear about and make sure that Missourians know that this bill simply will not become law.”
Additionally, the legislation lays out what is considered “proper storage.” The bill reads:
(1) The firearm is stored in a securely locked container or in a location that a reasonable person would believe to be secure;
(2) The firearm is equipped with a cable lock, trigger lock, or other safety device that cannot be readily removed from the firearm;
(3) The firearm is on the person’s body or in such proximity to the person’s body that he or she could retrieve it as easily and quickly
as if carried on his or her body.
While I am in agreement that parents need to be responsible for proper storage and teaching their children about firearms, the fact that they must notify school systems about firearms is not a good idea. It is an invasion of privacy and it is none of the school’s business what people have in their homes. That is part of the Fourth Amendment:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
While technically the legislation would not be a search or seizure, it is mandating that you tell them you own a firearm.
Chappelle-Nadal indicated that her legislation will more than likely not pass the State Senate. Additionally she indicated that any NRA-backed gun legislation would be targeted for filibuster.
Also, requiring cable locks, trigger locks and other safety devices does render the firearm virtually useless when needed. Again, this is an attempt by government to impose things they should not be imposing. In short, it’s a bad law.
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If you’re stuck in town this Labor Day weekend without so much as a roof to grill on, wipe that hangdog look off your face: Maggots, worms, metal, plastic and even a razor were just a few of the objects that horrified callers said were in their hot dogs in complaints lodged with the U.S. Department of Agriculture between 2007 and 2009.
Back in 2009, this reporter filed a Freedom of Information Act request asking the U.S.D.A. to give up its dirty-dog logs. The 64 case files finally came in this week, just in time for the holiday! Consider them food for thought if you’re planning to grill during these last dog days of summer.
The documents (viewable here) tell numerous cringe-inducing tales of foreign objects disrupting all-American meals. Band-Aids, a rubber glove, and even a lock washer (used to secure a bolt) are all described in snappy detail.
One report told of a “winged insect that resembled a dragonfly inside the package of hot dogs,” and noted that the insect’s “head, eyes, and wings are visible. Insect is black in color, over 1-inch long.”
In the vast majority of cases, U.S.D.A. investigators determined that the gross-out did not indicate a pattern of neglect at the packing plant, and simply notified the company that handled the hot dog.
But on at least one occasion, even the federal officials in charge of inspecting food became the subjects of an investigation. As one document from June 13, 2008 reveals, a Food Safety Inspection Service employee bit into a rogue hot dog at an “F.S.I.S. Unity Day” cookout in Maryland.
According to the report, the employee “looked down into the hot dog and saw a soft piece of plastic like the type they use for bread, thin plastic. Looked circular, maybe about 14-and-a-half inches in diameter with a line of black ink, printing on the plastic. No injury noted.”
The Local thought this was a real man-bites-dog story, but a spokesman for the Hot Dog and Sausage Council, speaking frankly about the matter, said foreign objects in hot dogs were a very rare occurrence, especially given the roughly 20 billion wieners made every year. According to the Council, between Memorial Day and Labor Day — known as “hot dog season” within the industry — roughly 818 hot dogs are consumed every second.
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For various reasons we've been considering adding hydronic radiant floor heat to some parts of our circa 1910 foursquare. Access to those areas is excellent as we have a full unfinished basement, so installation is not a worry for me, but instead efficiency. In the few places I've had to tear up a floor it seems to me that my old house has significantly more wood than most new homes, and I was wondering if the increased r-value would make radiant floor ineffective. I didn't measure my flooring when I had it torn apart, but from memory it seemed like my subfloor (fir or pine) was at least 3/4" or more, with my douglas fir flooring above it about as thick. Obviously if I install it I will heavily insulate below the tubing to increase efficiency.
Does anyone have experience retrofitting hydronic radiant floor heating into antique floors? If so, are you happy with it? Are there any dangers that I'm unaware of with this; such as the heat drying out/damaging the wood? Any knowledge would be greatly appreciated!
You already know the BIG downside, over time the heat will shrink, check and generally screw the floor up.
I was just guessing, I have no knowledge of this. Is there anything that could be done to prevent this? I assume the problem would be caused by the moisture level changes between a humid Iowa summer and then baking the wood dry in winter? What if the water temperature of the hydronic were slightly lower, such as 85-110 degrees instead of 120-140?
Dropping the water temperature would greatly increase the cost of heating the room and isn't a way to go given the current energy cost situation.
I've seen many attempts at hydronic floors with wood floors, including plywood glued to the joist, and have yet to see a really good system. About the best you can do involves constructing a thermal slab on top of the wood floor. This involves insulating with foil faced foam and then installing the PEX. There is a gypsum product that works well for the slab, and ceramic tile can be directly adhered to it.
The reason we are considering adding radiant floor heating is because we have an ideal location to install a solar collector on our property (that wouldn't even be too ugly!). If we are building a pre-heater for our domestic hot water, it is only marginally more expensive to size the collector to also act as a supplement to our gas forced air furnace, hence the radiant floor heat. We aren't really expecting it to heat our house with solar during the dead of winter, hopefully just keep the furnace off for a little while longer in the fall and spring, and maybe take the edge off in winter. Picked up a really neat vintage thermostat at an auction in a box of junk, and we would have the radiant floor set up completely independent of our forced air system.
With that in mind, and since the "heat" would be free (solar) I wouldn't mind losing some efficiency by running lower temperatures if it would save my floors.
Would lower temperatures save my floor, or will they still be damaged by the large moisture content swings?
Frankly I don't see your proposed plan as a winner in any respect since it amounts to basically converting your 1½"± floor into a wood drying kiln. Wood by its nature is not a thermal conductor, and fastening PEX to wood in a manner that turns the assembly into a radiating surface is a task that has escaped everyone I ever saw try it. Without 100% contact PEX will give off little heat.
Now that you add in the existing hot air heating system and solar availability, My suggestion would be to create a solar heated storage battery in the cellar or even in an insulated bunker next to the house.
Solar can give you 200° stored eutectic fluid 3 seasons of the year, with the only energy cost being circulation, A modified A coil can be placed in the plenum of the existing HA furnace to deliver heat to the house from the storage.
Systems of this design were installed in Pennsylvania's ABE area in the late 80s. They employed off peak electric at very low KWH rates to heat the fluid. Solar would be an easy substitution for electric resistance heating in a storage tank.
Interesting idea, I will look into it!
Perhaps I'll limit my radiant floor dreams to the kitchen and bathroom, which will eventually be tiled...
I would like to counter some of the other comments I observe in these posts regarding your (worthy) interest in underfloor hot water radiant heat. As you know it is the most comfortable heat ever developed and was used in villas in ancient Rome. Hydronic radiant heat is used extensively throughout europe with excellent results. Now, regarding your desire to employ it underneath existing wooden floors you should know that it is indeed quite possible to carry out. In order to ensure no drying or shrinkage occurs to your floors, the circulating water temperature should be limited to about 80 degrees F. Counter to the comments seen elsewhere here, there are numerous examples of this type of system in use in historic homes with good results. For you to go forward with your idea it is recommend that you consult with a professional engineer experienced in such work. He will measure the thickness of your floors and compare it to the heat requirements of each room to determine their ability to radiate heat based upon your location and the heating requirements for your area. I would like you to know that I am myself planning to install underfloor radiant heat throughout a 6000+ SF 1838 estate that I am restoring and I have complete confidence in the way it will operate.
I hope that you do not give up so easily on your dream of warm floors and the freedom from radiators or baseboards around your home. Please let me know if you would like any suggestions about with whom you could consult.
Thank you for the vote of confidence in the system! I have decided to try to have it both ways and see what happens. I'm going to downsize the plans for my solar collectors (I can always add more later) and heat storage tank and experiment on my kitchen and dining room. The floors in both of those rooms are in pretty rough shape and we have talked about replacing them anyway (one has SEVERE pet damage and the other had another layer of floor glued and nailed every 4 inches). If the radiant heat ruins those floors I figure I'm not out much, and then I won't install it in the rest of the house! If it doesn't bother it, I'll increase the size of my collectors and install it in the rest of the house.
I am really glad to have been of some help to you in this respect. Do you have access to Natural Gas in your area? The combination of the latest technology fully-modulating gas boilers together with a properly designed underfloor radiant heating system will result in the most comfortable as well as competetively priced heating available. One last comment: the capital cost of these tends to be higher but that is mainly due to the high labor cost of installing all of the PEX tubing and aluminum frames, etc, under each floor. If you like to do reduce costs, you may like to partner with a licensed contractor and/or engineer to perform some of the labor intensive work yourself. This can be inspected and tested by the contractor after installation and before it is concealed - with this acting to reduce costs on your side. Once installed, underfoor radiant heat syatems are less expensive to operate than conventional systems.
Do you have any heating already, like radiators? We had the same thought process as you. Full basement, access to all the 1st floor floors, but once you consider the age of the floors and the fact you are going to subject them to an unusual environment, you may be opening a can worms. So we elected to stay with the radiators. I could not find any solid information that radiant floors were a good idea in our case.
However, I would certainly look into using solar to heat any water for your heating system.
I am going to dig into several books at home and pull out references if helpful for you and Johnathan - will revert later on. Am not sure if you meant for me to respond or Johnathan since he began this discussion, but my house has old and obsolete radiators which I will be removing. My house was heated with 12 fireplaces in its original service and the radiators were added in the 1930s. For underfloor radiant heat, the floors in old houses are frequently and for many years exposed to 80 degree temps in the summer time - with sunny spots even getting direct exposure. Mild warmth from below will not affect old dry wood. Heart pine - with fewer pores that trap air will transmit heat better than a lesser quality wooood.Will send some additional information on this later.
Yes, we have a ten year old LP gas furnace. In our case, the hydronic floor heat would only be supplemental, heated with the solar collectors we are planning on installing anyway to preheat domestic hot water. I'm going to oversize the system a bit and try it out on the floors I consider expendable.
I agree, I am concerned with the effects of underfloor heat. I am hoping that if I keep the water temperature low enough it will be ok. Yes, I'm quite sure that in the summer time my floor, when exposed to direct sunlight, is exposed to temperatures quite a bit higher than I am planning for my radiant floor heating. On the other hand, the amount of moisture in the air that is available to that floor is also significantly higher in summer.
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Classified ads are always a full page whenever I read broadsheet newspapers. Classifieds ads are considered as a form of advertising. Since it is one advertising media, a lot or every business owners (small to big business enterprises) are taking advantage of free classifieds or paid classifieds.
What classified ads can do? Classified ads or pages in newspapers or online can greatly help people, sellers and buyers alike. For sellers, products and services, promoting your business through classified ads is already a great exposure. A lot of people are reading newspapers, and a lot more are using the internet to find something they want to buy or find services appropriate for what they need.
As for buyers who are looking for something, it is will be an easier search with the help of classified ads, like looking for a pet shop at the Pets Classifieds section of any classified ads can already be a great help. Or you are on a job hunting for quite sometime now, but if you try searching jobs at Jobs Classified you might end up bagging the dream job you always want.
It has advantage for both parties. So, if you want to look for something, a job or products or services, don’t forget to hit the classifieds pages too for your searches.
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by A. H. Nayyar
Balochistan is burning and needs our special and urgent attention. For the fifth time the people of Balochistan have been forced to take up arms as an expression of defiance against their continued exploitation. Each time the state of Pakistan embarked on military action to crush the resistance rather than to seek a reconciliation with the Baloch.
The state atrocities on the people of Balochistan have now reached unbearable proportions. So many have faced extrajudicial killings. Thousands of young men have disappeared at the hand of state agencies. Common people are being humiliated everyday by the Pakistani law enforcement agencies. Most young men in Balochistan have become totally alienated from Pakistan. If we continue to keep quiet we will commit a gross injustice to our Balochistani brothers and sisters. We must speak up now.
We the citizens of Pakistan must express solidarity with the people of Balochistan. The enclosed statement is meant to do just that. It also suggests steps that we the citizens feel the government must take in this regard.
We are approaching you to seek your help in this campaign.
A web-based signature portal is also being created. But we are all aware that as a vast majority of Pakistani citizens do not have access to such portals. Hence a need for signatures on a printed statement. The statement is in both English and Urdu, and we would deeply appreciate if some friends translate and print it in other languages, and get signatures.
Please join the campaign by collecting the maximum possible number of signatures on the statement, beginning with the members of your organization but also reaching out to as many others as possible. After obtaining these signatures, please mail the signed copies of the statement to the address printed at the bottom of the statement.
Please read below some facts about Balochistan that highlight the reasons underlying the intense resentment among the common people of Balochistan.
Economic Deprivation of Baloch People
- 18 out of the 20 most infrastructure-deprived districts in Pakistan are in Balochistan.
- The percentage of districts that are classified as high deprivation stands as follows: 29 per cent in Punjab, 50 per cent in Sindh, 62 per cent in the NWFP, and 92 per cent in Balochistan. If Quetta and Ziarat are excluded, all of Balochistan falls into the high deprivation category. And Quetta’s ranking would fall if the cantonment is excluded from the analysis.
- The percentage of population living in a high degree of deprivation stands at 25 per cent in Punjab, 23 per cent in urban Sindh, 49 per cent in rural Sindh, 51 per cent in the NWFP, and 88 per cent in Balochistan”.
- Province’s 48 percent of the total population lives below poverty line whereas 26 percent in Punjab, NWFP 29 percent, and 38 percent urban and 27 percent rural population in Sindh.
- The national literacy rate in Pakistan is 50 percent, the province has 23 percent literacy rate with only 7 percent female literacy rate.
- Only 4 out of total 30 districts have gas supply while the province has been a major producer of gas for the total domestic, commercial and industrial needs of the country from early 50s. The capital of the province, Quetta, was provided gas in 1986.
- 78 percent population has no electricity.
- 79 percent has no gas facility while the province has a very low gas consumption of the country especially as compared to 64 percent of Punjab.
Mega development projects
- The local population remains largely deprived of the benefits of mega development projects such as Gwadar port, Mirani dam, Kachhi canal, coastal highway, cantonments, and Pasni oil refinery plant etc.
- Mostly outsiders benefit from such development schemes. The province has witnessed an influx of more than 5 million people to Gwadar port and other development areas.
- Non-Baloch technicians and workers are hired while Balochs are only hired as unskilled workers.
- Out of 1200 employees at Saindak copper-gold project, only 50 belong to Balochistan. Similarly, 130 engineers from Balochistan were trained at Karachi to be employed at Gwadar Port but they were denied jobs.
- Land developers and investors from outside Balochistan are allowed purchase of Balochistan land.
1. Conflict-generating history
- The current military operation in Balochistan is the fifth in the series. The first one was in 1948, the second in 1958, the third in 1962, the fourth in 1973. All the operations were to curb resistance to interference from the Central Government.
- Historically, Balochistan or Kalat has never been a part of Indian state.
- After the British conquered a part of the State of Kalat in 1839, the British pledged to respect the independence of Kalat and also gave it subsidies to maintain local loyalty for protecting British interests.
- Mir Ahmed Yar Khan and the people of Balochistan supported the movement for the creation of Pakistan but at the same time they envisioned Kalat as a separate, independent and sovereign state after the departure of British from India.
- Quaid-I-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah himself was the champion of independence and sovereignty of Kalat. In 1946, Mr. Jinnah pleaded before the Cabinet Mission for complete independence and sovereignty for Kalat as it existed before the agreements and treaties of 1841, 1854 and 1876 with the British. The Marri and Bugti Tumandars also joined the plea demanding their regions to be included with the Kalat federation. Quaid-i-Azam won the case.
- Thus Kalat and Pakistan signed a standstill agreement on 4th August 1947 in which Pakistan recognized Kalat as an independent sovereign state, while future relations between Kalat and Pakistan regarding defense, external affairs and communications were to be negotiated later.
- While Pakistan announced its independence on 14 of August 1947, Kalat announced its independence on the very next day, 15 August 1947.
- But soon after independence, Kalat was pressurized to merge itself with Pakistan in the ‘interests of both’.
- The Khan of Kalat refused to agree and tabled this desire of Pakistan in the Kalat State Houses of Parliament, Dar-ul-Umra and Dar-ul-Awam, which unanimously refused to merge Kalat with Pakistan. However they partially agreed to have an agreement with Pakistan for having a joint currency, defense and external affairs while keeping Kalat an independent and sovereign state.
- The members, however, pledged to strongly resist any coercive action from Pakistan even with force.
- Pakistan illegally annexed Kalat’s sub-states Makran, Kharan and Lasbella.
- Pakistan ordered its garrison commander to invade Kalat and keep the Khan under house arrest until he signs the document of annexation.
- Khan eventually went to Karachi and signed a controversial but conditional merger document with Pakistan on 27th March 1948 in his personal capacity despite strong opposition of both Kalat legislators.
- This forced annexation gave birth to this conflict erupting in a low-scale resistance in Kalat led by the younger brother of Khan, Agha Abdul Karim, who was governor of Makran that had been part of Kalat for 300 years. However, the rebellion was overcome by military as the resistant leaders were arrested over a deceptive agreement on Holy Quran but were imprisoned as well as fined. Agha Karim spent seven years in prison.
- In a personal meeting in 1958, President Iskandar Mirza asked the Khan of Kalat to mobilize sardars for the restoration of the Khanate of Kalat., and then on the pretext of this activity, sent in Pakistan Army under the command of Tikka Khan. The army arrested the Khan and sent him to an internment in Lahore. As soon as Ayub Khan took charge, he sentenced Prince Karim to another 14 years of jail term. In May 1959, Nawab Nauroz Khan Zehri came down from mountains on assurance of amnesty on Quran. He was immediately arrested together with his sons and grandsons and sent to Hyderabad jail, where they were tried for treason. Seven of his associates, including his sons were sentenced to death and hanged in Hyderabad. The ninety years old Nawab Zehri died in captivity in Hyderabad.
- In 1962, Ayub Khan sacked Ataullah Mengal, Nawab Khair Bukhsh Marri, and Nawab Akbar Bugti from their hereditary positions as sardars of their tribes. This led to resistance, which was again quelled with an army action, arrests, long incarcerations, etc.
- From this resistance emerged a movement (1962 to 1968) which resisted the one unit regime imposed by Ayub Khan in West Pakistan to provide population parity between the two wings of the country. One unit was finally disbanded in 1969 and Balochistan gained the status of a province in 1970.
- Another resistance started in 1973 when the federal government of Z. A. Bhutto sacked the elected government of Balochistan on the flimsy charge of conspiracy against the state. The Army again went in to crush the resistance, but this time with the help of the Shah of Iran, and using most sophisticated equipment including helicopter gunships. It was the bloodiest conflict. The resistance ended when General Zia ul Haq’s military dictatorship announced a general amnesty in 1978.
- The current resistance and military action started during the military dictatorship of General Musharraf in response to the assassination of Nawab Akbar Bugti.
A. H. Nayyar
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said he has not conceded ground, but it remains true that Pakistan has taken little action to demonstrate its intention to tackle terror.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy
MP, Rajya Sabha, Spokesperson, BJP
‘We went to Sharm el-Sheikh as a victim of terror and returned from there as someone accused of sponsoring terror’
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s decision on two recent occasions — on climate change and Baluchistan — confirms that he has opted for a kind of unilateralism which has made even his partymen uncomfortable. Even If we treat the 2°C cap as an aspirational commitment and ignore it for a while, we can’t condone his action to incorporate Baluchistan into the the text of Indo-Pak joint declaration signed at Sharm el-Sheikh.
The monumental lapse has eroded the consistent foreign policy pursued by the Indian government. While we appreciate the stand of the government to endorse former PM A B Vajpayee’s policies, the two can’t be equated. The January 6, 2004 joint statement between Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Musharraf was a landmark initiative but we did not budge when issue of terror was brought up in Agra and even allowed the talks to fail.
The first dilution of the Vajpayee line was seen in 2006 at Havana where Manmohan Singh made an effort towards reviving parity between India and Pakistan when he pointed that Pakistan was also a victim of terror. A moral equivalence was sought to be brought between India and Pakistan by him by equating both as victims of terror — ignoring the fact that terror remained Pakistan’s major export to India. The major lapses by the Prime Minister negated Vajpayee’s philosophy completely. Sharm el-Sheikh brings out two lethal lapses by India’s foreign policy negotiators.
First, incorporating Baluchistan in the joint statement was a conscious and deliberate move on the part of Pakistan with the obvious intent of pointing an invisible finger at India. Apparently, after Sharm el-Sheikh, the blame of sponsoring terrorism was shifted to India and we became a sponsor of terror overnight. Before Sharm el-Sheikh, Baluchistan never figured in any diplomatic text between the two nations.
The second major lapse was to de-bracket action on terrorism from the composite dialogue process. The joint statement overemphasised the need for dialogue, but delinked dialogue from action against terror. Shockingly, the Prime Minister, on his return to India on July 17, dramatically changed his statements with regard to what happened at Sharm el-Sheikh.
The condition precedent for a composite dialogue on January 6, 2004 was not to allow its territory to be used for terrorist activities against India. The Prime Minister has now weakened his position on July 27. The condition to not allow its territory to be used for terrorist activities against India is now only for full normalisation of relations and no longer a prerequisite for commencing a composite dialogue with Pakistan. The joint declaration at Sharm el-Sheikh implicitly means that the dialogues can commence without terror as a connection.
The Congress party’s stand on this issue is ambivalent and it reluctantly came out in support of the Prime Minister. Though the Congress President on July 30 supported the Prime Minister for his statement, she was reluctant to endorse the joint statement. Perhaps, she was aware that press conferences have no locus in international affairs and signed statements are the only texts that matter.
Manmohan Singh’s recent stand does not represent a continuity in India’s foreign policy. The NDA’s foreign policy was to negotiate from a position of strength. The Sharm el-Sheikh declaration is a negotiation out of fear and a dialogue minus the issue of terror. The Prime Minister erroneously told the nation that there are only two options — dialogue or war. The fact remains Sharm el-Sheikh was an episode of shame. The paradox is that India went to Egypt as a victim of terror and returned as an accused.
P C Chacko
MP, Lok Sabha, Congress
‘We will decide when to have the composite dialogue — and this will resume only after Pakistan takes action on terror’
Instead of criticising the joint statement between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani, our political opponents should hail it as a major diplomatic success of India vis-à-vis Pakistan.
Pakistan initially refused to admit that its citizens had attacked Mumbai. However, after having been pressured by India, it has admitted for the first time, that terror activities against India are being planned on its soil. Pakistan had already arrested five terrorists who had links with the Mumbai attack. We are still not happy or satisfied. Our Prime Minister told Pakistan in unambiguous terms that it had to book everyone linked to the Mumbai attack. The Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafeez Sayeed has to be brought to justice. Though Pakistan is on the defensive, it had initially claimed it had nothing to do with the attack.
This is just the beginning but it is a beginning in right direction. Earlier, we could not convince other countries that Pakistan always emerged unscathed after committing grave crimes against India. But Pakistan is now on the defensive and we have been able to mobilise world opinion in our favour. The BJP government could not even achieve one-tenth of what this government has accomplished today.
The opposition has completely misinterpreted the ‘delinking of dialogue and terror’. India has a very clear and firm position. We will go for a composite dialogue only if Pakistan takes concrete action to book all the culprits responsible for the Mumbai attack. It is our prerogative to schedule the composite dialogue. In plain language it means that, dialogue or no dialogue, we want Pakistan to take action; we want Pakistan to immediately proceed with anti-terrorism measures while the composite dialogue will take place later.
The BJP is also making a hue and cry over the mention of Baluchistan in the joint statement. Baluchistan is an internal affair of Pakistan. If Pakistan wants to mention Baluchistan, why should we oppose it? I do not understand the logic of the BJP’s argument. We have not contributed to the problems in that region. If Pakistan’s prime minister talks about his concerns, it doesn’t bind us. If he feels that he has some information about Baluchistan, let us have it. We condemn terrorism in any form, in any part of the world, perpetuated by anybody in unmistakable terms.That is the message of this text.
The BJP is taking an opportunist stance. During the NDA regime, it continued a dialogue with Pakistan even after the Kargil war and the attack on Parliament. Is it India’s position that it will not talk to Pakistan or any other country? Certainly not! There was a lot of hype over former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee’s trip to Agra to meet President Musharraf. What happened after that? He went back without having signed a joint declaration. He returned to Pakistan after having accused India.
We want to see if Pakistan behaves as a responsible nation. That is the message we give them. I cannot think of a better joint statement between India and Pakistan at the moment. The BJP claims our foreign policy has developed cracks like the Delhi Metro’s pillars. The foreign policy pillars of this country were not shaken when the Prime Minister returned from Sharm-el-Sheikh but they were shaken when the former Prime Minister went in a bus from here to Lahore. When he reached Lahore, our foreign policy pillars were shaking because all this while Pakistani soldiers were infiltrating into Kargil.
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Even as Brooktrails voters consider an increase in fire district fees, a growing number of lot owners are walking away from their properties.
Brooktrails has 5,502 lots being assessed for fees and taxes. Of these 4,089 are vacant lots. An ever-increasing number of lot owners have discovered they cannot sell the lots and appear to be walking away from them.
Some lot owners have turned over the lots to the township as part of its lot consolidation program when they found the lots could not be sold; others have merged lots with adjacent property owners.
The current recession, combined with the years of water uncertainty and the current $24,000 for new water and sewer connection fees, has likely convinced a number of lot owners to just stop paying taxes and fees.
In 2010 there were 40 Brooktrails lots offered at auction by the county due to failure to pay five years of taxes. After five years the properties owed about $50,000 in taxes, $43,000 in Brooktrails fire, sewer and water fees, and nearly $110,000 in penalties. None of the properties sold at auction.
This year the same 40 properties that failed to sell last year will be joined by a new batch of 42 additional Brooktrails properties looking to be sold at auction, with a similar rack-up of debt.
Property owners paid no taxes or fees on 590 of the 4,089 vacant lots in Brooktrails, or 14.4 percent of the properties, in the 2009-2010 tax year. No taxes were paid on 50 of the improved properties as
While the county received no money on these properties, the county continued paying Brooktrails Township its cut of the property taxes owed and the $120 per property in fees through the Teeter Plan. The township fees in 2009 amounted to an annual subsidy of $73,000 to Brooktrails by the county.
With the township proposing to increase the annual fees to $180 for most lots, this could increase the county subsidy to $115,500 for properties currently in default. The increase in fees might also prompt even more property owners to stop paying altogether.
As shown by recent auction results, by the time the county can attempt to collect on the defaulted property and recover out-of-pocket expenses, the property debt for Brooktrails lots exceeds the current value of the property.
Property taxes assessed on typical Brooktrails lots currently in default averaged about $250 each in 2009, although individual tax assessments ranged between $96 and $508.
Mendocino County Assessor Sue Ranochak acknowledged current valuations for Brooktrails lots need to be reassessed, and that while it is a department goal to address them, there still is a backlog of properties around the county being reassessed by her office.
Ranochak and Mendocino County Treasurer Shari Schapmire acknowledge the growing problem, but when asked why the county cannot stop paying fees to Brooktrails for properties which will never recover the costs, they both said current system regulations does not allow the county to do this.
Brooktrails can continue to raise fees on abandoned vacant lots and the county must continue to pay, adding to the growing Teeter Plan debt.
They also said while it may make since for the county to turn over the defaulted properties to the township as part of its lot consolidation efforts, the current system does not allow this.
And the problem appears to be growing. Schapmire acknowledged the number of Brooktrails properties in default for the most recent tax year is likely to be even higher than the 2009-2010 season her office provided to TWN.
In the 2004-2005 tax year there were only 73 delinquent properties in Brooktrails; by 2005-2006 this had grown to 120; in 2007 it grew to 171; 2008 to 217; and to 444 in 2009.
Currently unimproved lot owners pay 60 percent of the fire department costs and single-family property owners pay 30 percent. Under the proposed new fire tax, the unimproved lot owners will be taxed to pay 72 percent of the cost and single-family residences only 22 percent.
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Texans - not to mention Sen. Whitmire and Rep. Madden who shepherded the plan through the Lege - should be proud of that accomplishment, which inarguably saved the state billions of dollars.
It wasn't long ago that official predictions foresaw Texas needing 17,000 prison beds by the end of the next biennium. An additional 17,000 inmates would require issuing bonds to spend billions for several new prisons, plus about $612 million per biennium (at $18K per inmate per year) for staff costs and upkeep. But before the crisis ever materialized, Madden and Whitmire indefinitely forestalled those looming costs by convincing the Lege to invest $200 million per biennium mostly in probation and treatment programs.
I've little doubt diversion programs "worked" because of the dog that didn't bark - Texas prisons would already be bursting at the seams if probation revocation rates hadn't declined significantly in most of the largest jurisdictions.
But if there's one regret I have about Texas' new treatment regimens, it's that the state did not, from the start, establish a mechanism to gather program data for evaluation and improvement. Don't get me wrong - I'm as much to blame as anybody since I and other advocates for diversion programs weren't raising the issue at the time. I'm not assigning blame so much as identifying a shortcoming that still can be fixed post hoc.
I was reminded of this omission before the holiday upon reading a New York Times piece decrying the shortage of "evidence-based" support for many drug treatment programs ("The Evidence Gap," Dec. 22). Reported the Times:
Every year, state and federal governments spend more than $15 billion, and insurers at least $5 billion more, on substance-abuse treatment services for some four million people. That amount may soon increase sharply: last year, Congress passed the mental health parity law, which for the first time includes addiction treatment under a federal law requiring that insurers cover mental and physical ailments at equal levels.It's not that there aren't evidence-based programs out there, said the Times:
Many clinics across the county have waiting lists, and researchers estimate that some 20 million Americans who could benefit from treatment do not get it.
Yet very few rehabilitation programs have the evidence to show that they are effective. The resort-and-spa private clinics generally do not allow outside researchers to verify their published success rates. The publicly supported programs spend their scarce resources on patient care, not costly studies.
And the field has no standard guidelines. Each program has its own philosophy; so, for that matter, do individual counselors. No one knows which approach is best for which patient, because these programs rarely if ever track clients closely after they graduate. Even Alcoholics Anonymous, the best known of all the substance-abuse programs, does not publish data on its participants’ success rate.
When practiced faithfully, evidence-based therapies give users their best chance to break a habit. Among the therapies are prescription drugs like naltrexone, for alcohol dependence, and buprenorphine, for addiction to narcotics, which studies find can help people kick their habits.Even programs adopted because they're "evidence based" must be rigorously re-tested on an ongoing basis to ensure they continue to be relevant and effective. That's not happening in Texas, particularly since the demise of Tony Fabelo's Criminal Justice Policy Council (victim of a line-item veto by the Governor in 2003). For example, the last outcome study measuring the effectiveness of Texas' in-prison SAFP treatment program was published in 2003.
Another is called the motivational interview, a method intended to harden clients’ commitment upon entering treatment. In M.I., as it is known, the counselor, through skilled questioning, has the addict explain why he or she has a problem, and why it is important to quit, and set goals. Studies find that when clients mark their path in this way — instead of hearing the lecture from a counselor, as in many traditional programs — they stay in treatment longer.
Psychotherapy techniques in which people learn to expect and tolerate restless or low moods are also on the list. So is cognitive behavior therapy, in which addicts learn to question assumptions that reinforce their habits (like “I’ll never make friends who don’t do drugs”) and to engage their nondrug activities and creative interests.
Even "evidence-based" programs imported from other jurisdictions will require tweaking to make sure they work well in each jurisdiction's unique environment, and the only way to do that is to measure inputs and outcomes in an ongoing fashion.
If Texas is going to spend $200 million plus on prison diversion strategies, it makes a lot of cost-benefit sense to spend at least 1% of that amount on program monitoring and evaluation - not to play "gotcha" with providers who aren't doing well but to identify and promote what works and discard ineffective strategies.
BLOGVERSATION: Scott Greenfield at Simple Justice comments on the Times article.
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CentOS 5 | SendMail
Can TLS certificates be shared between multiple sendmail MTAs? I'm using a CA-signed cert and would prefer to not purchase new certs for each additional sendmail host.
Most likely not, if your certificate is not wildcard one (has * in the host name). I assume your hosts are actually named differently, right?
The only way I can think of will be able to use it is to terminate TLS on a load balancer put in front of the multiple sendmail hosts.
Of course all of the above is predicated on the clients doing real verification on the certificate. If they ignore the name mismatch issue, then you can use it without a problem, but it will get you no real security, as MiTM can intercept such connections.
Certificates can always be shared between different hosts; as long as you have their private keys, you can always copy them to other servers (otherwise, how could you rebuild a server in a disaster recovery scenario?).
This is quite common f.e. for load balanced web servers; SMTP with TLS is in no way different from that.
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Im not personally convinved that that whatever "hell" is supposed to reference to is death. Im not sure that makes sense
"And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into [death]."?
what? everyone must "die"...im not sure thats what is implied
Hi Ninja, you are right in this case.
WW is correct about hell meaning "grave" or "state of the dead". But that is not all the meanings of "hell".
You really need to read some in-depth studies on hell to figure this all out.
Here is a quick summary: Hell is translated from 4 words:sheol
- means "grave" or "state of the dead" in hebrewhades
- means "grave" or "state of the dead" in greekgehenna
- means valley of hinnom or valley of gehenna - this is a place where the garbage and criminals were burned up - can be used as a metaphor for judgement.tartarus
- used one time to refer to the abyss
Yet all of these are translated as "hell" in many bibles.
Too make matters worse, in the KJV, sheol/hades is translated as "grave" about half the time and "hell" about half the time.
The verse you mention above about it being better to cut off your hand than enter hell is talking about "gehenna". Jesus was talking about judgement: it is better to cut off your hand (spiritually) than enter the lake of fire. He was talking about how we need to corrected and purged - spiritually. We need to cut out of the part of heart (spiritually) that causes us to sin. Cut out our spiritual eye, spiritual hand, etc. If we don't we will go into judgement where it will be done for us.
Either we do it now in this life (judged in this life), or do it later in the lake of fire (judged in the lake of fire). One way or another we are judged into righteousness (Isaiah 26:9).
Sorry if I'm rambling a bit here, its getting late....
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Here at ScienceBlogs we regularly take The Huffington Post down a notch by pointing out such cutting edge lunacy as vaccine denialism or pseudoscientific spiritualism masquerading as health advice. Now the latest in a long list of unsubstantiated crazy is on full display.
Some writer named Eric Michael Johnson, who clearly thinks he’s so self important as to include his middle name, has published an article called “Haiti’s Political and Economic Earthquake” on the US and World Bank role in maintaining Haiti’s poverty.
Since 1990 there have been two US-supported military coups, a series of economic “readjustments” at the behest of the World Bank, and a US corporate trade bill that have all served to return the former slave population to economic serfdom. Up until the earthquake on January 12, two-thirds of Haiti’s exports were apparel products contracted by multinational companies such as K-Mart, Wal-Mart and the Walt Disney Company. And while the Magic Kingdom was stocked with goods made in Haitian sweatshops, 80% of the residents lived below the poverty line and earned less than $2 a day.
But we all know that couldn’t be. Especially when The New York Times reported on Sunday that:
Western donors invested hundreds of millions of dollars in state-building. But Mr. Aristide and the new elite he promoted proved as contemptuous of popular welfare as their predecessors. In 1998, the World Bank reported that “political instability, woefully poor governance and corruption” had again frustrated hopes for reform.
Sounds like a lot of woo. I make it a policy to never read the articles at Huffington Post, so you’ll have to let me know what you think of it here.
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Archive for August, 2011
Two business owners compete against one another in the same field.
Business Owner #1 has worked in his niche for 30 years; he has a massive list of contacts; his reputation is impeccable; his clients are among some of the most satisfied in the industry. His expertise is unmatched. Word of mouth has been a friend to his business, but his niche is very specialized, which means that his name doesn't come up at many dinner parties.
Business Owner #2 is relatively new to the industry, also working in the same specialty niche. She's still in the process of building her contact list; her clients are largely satisfied, but the verbal buzz hasn't elevated yet…she's simply too new.
Which business owner do you think has realized the largest profit in the last 12 months?
Would you be surprised to learn that it's Business Owner #2?
How could that be?
One word: Marketing
Business Owner #2 invests whatever she can afford to lose in marketing campaigns, while Business Owner #1 simply can't seem to get past the initial dollar amount of the marketing expenses, and so, simply doesn't "get the word out".
As a result, the first business remains steady, but stagnant. The second soars.
Business Owner #2 possesses a Millionaire Mindset. Here's what's going on inside her head:
• Marketing is an investment. Even if one campaign costs $4,000 (which is a significant amount of money for her fledging business), she anticipates that just one resulting sale will pay for the ad.
• She views the campaign as an investment in her most valuable commodity – herself. Because she has completed the research and knows that there's a noted demand for her product, she purchases each new ad with a faith that can only come from believing in herself and her business. She thinks, I'm the best investment I'm ever going to make.
• She never invests more than she can afford to lose. Financially, she only invests what her business can survive without. Emotionally, she only invests what she can lose and still hold on to a sense of hindsight without depression.
• She doesn't ruminate over the dollar amount of each marketing endeavor. Rather, she concentrates on its potential return. She understands that she'll realize direct returns, as well as future, residual ones.
• She knows that she'll never reach millionaire status by pinching pennies.
• She understands that by pulling out her cash and throwing it against the wall of cash that has become frozen in this, a stagnant, economy, she's multiplying her chances of getting a return. Unless she spends money, the wall of cash will remain rigid, eliminating a large portion of potential profit.
• Though it was difficult for her to accept the idea of investment versus cost in the beginning, she becomes more willing to spend money with each profitable marketing campaign. Because of this realization, she has committed to educate her clients about the benefits of marketing, which will contribute to the stimulation of the economy.
Investment and return will never be a chicken and egg debate. Without investment, there can be no return. The return will never come first…in fact, it simply won't come at all.
If you want to find your own millionaire mindset, you must separate yourself from the competition's aversion to marketing and getting your name out there.
You could spend your disposable income on a new car, or a summer home, or a vacation. Or…you could invest that cash in an marketing campaign…so you can afford all three.
I'd love to share more about what it takes to Create A Successful Business That Works For YOUR Life, and makes a DIFFERENCE to others. I'm running a FREE teleseminar series exactly on that topic. Join me by registering here: www.clientmagnets.com/successcallsTweet
The X-factor – the secret ingredient to success beyond your wildest dreams…
FREE Preview Training Calls!
Wednesday 7 September, 2011 8pm UK Time
with Bernadette Doyle of Client Magnets
Join us by calling direct or listening in on your computer
Why do some people own businesses that really take off while others just chug along despite all their hard work? What is the difference that makes the difference? I call it, “The X-Factor”.
Between the 7-figure masterminds I participate in, through to hanging out with multi-millionaires –including Richard Branson – on Necker Island, I've concluded that the “X-Factor” is the common denominator for people who are really achieving BIG success. But you don't have to wait until you're a millionaire to discover this secret – I'll be sharing it on this call!
You don't have to wait until you're a millionaire to discover this secret – I'll be sharing it on this call!
I've already been getting rave reviews about this special free teleseminar series. If you haven't registered already: Be sure sign up for Call 2: http://www.clientmagnets.com/successcalls/
In this FREE teleseminar series I’m going to show you how to create a successful business that works for YOUR lifestyle, makes a big difference in the world and rewards you handsomely too.
Even if you can’t make the calls, I urge you to register because you’ll get the details of all the other content-packed calls, plus how to access the recordings.
Read all about them here: http://www.clientmagnets.com/successcalls/Tweet
Imagine the following scenario. It’s Wednesday afternoon. You and a friend are having lunch at your favourite restaurant. After lunch you might go for a stroll, visit a local attraction, or just go home and read. It doesn’t matter which. Your phone and email are switched off, work is the farthest thing from your mind, and you’re committed to nothing more than simply relaxing. You return to the office the next morning, guilt-free and feeling rather energetic.
This is what Strategic Coach Dan Sullivan describes as a Free Day, a 24-hour period completely free from work-related problem-solving, communication, and action.
It’s not so easy to imagine, is it? For most business owners, the whole notion of free time, particularly midweek, is nothing less than far-fetched. How can you possibly take free time when there’s so much work to be done, money to make, commitments to be kept?
Most people think of Free Days as a reward for hard work. I don’t. Now I see Free Days as an essential precondition for achieving success and optimum productivity. The key to free days is recognizing that it means booking time to rejuvenate before — not after — your productive periods. Several years ago I started to notice that many of the successful business owners I admired talked about the importance of ‘downtime’ and blocking out periods of time where they did absolutely nothing.
Because I was interested in replicating their results, I paid attention and started to wonder how I could incorporate ‘free days’ into my own schedule. It wasn’t easy at first. On any given day, most business owners would consider themselves extraordinarily lucky (or seriously pressured) to be able to squeeze in a bit of free time, let alone a whole day. It happens only IF they can first get “a few things” done, IF there are no unexpected crises, and IF they can just clean up a few “little messes” around the office. Not surprisingly, this seldom, if ever, happens.
But if you want to improve the quality of both your work and personal life, you need ‘Free Days’. So how can you incorporate free days into YOUR schedule?
Right now, most of us figure out how much time we need to work and make money. Then, if there’s anything left over, we devote it to free time. But this concept doesn’t work for time any more than it works for money.
Successful savers know that you have to work out what you want to save, take it off the top of your income, and live on the rest. If you don’t, you’ll get to the end of the month and find there is nothing left. Free time is just like savings: it has to come off the top. So you need to plan your Free Days first, and then work everything else around them.
It won’t come easy at first. You’re not used to it. Like anything else, Free Days take time and practice. But it gets easier when you see free days as a necessity, rather than a luxury. When you’re running a business YOU are the most important asset. In the words of Coachville founder Thomas Leonard ‘Without you, there is nothing.’ So you need to make taking time out for relaxation, rejuvenation and what Stephen Covey calls ‘sharpening the saw’ a priority.
How should you use a Free Day? Well that all depends upon YOU. Some people are rejuvenated by engaging in highly energetic activities. They need to be out and about, on the go all the time. Others (like me) are just the opposite. They just want to relax, curl up with a book, listen to music, get a massage, lie on a beach, or have a good conversation. Whatever you choose, your Free Day should allow you to be in a different world, away from responsibilities, concerns, worries, and goals.
Start NOW. Don’t let this be a ‘good idea’ that you’ll get around to ‘when you have time’. Take out your calendar and mark out your next ‘free day’. Keep it sacred! If a whole day seems like too much to start with, then start with an afternoon. I promise that when you make a habit of ‘free days’ and you notice your creativity and productivity soar as a result, you’ll be hooked. So start TODAY.
Want to know how To Create A Successful Business That Works For YOUR Life, Makes A BIG Difference And BIG Profits Too'? Register for my FREE Training Calls … http://www.clientmagnets.com/successcalls/Tweet
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By Kevin Meyer
We all know how easy it is to jump to the quick and easy conclusion that people are the cause of problems. We see it every day in every organization - verbal warnings, written warnings, terminations. Off with their heads! As if that is doing anything about the problems itself.
The reality is that virtually no one wants to create or cause a problem. It happens, but it's exceedingly rare. Ineffective, confusing, or contradictory processes are generally at the root of the problem.
The FAA appears to understand - thankfully as it's a critical function that I rely on a few times a month. The headline sounds ominous... until you read deeper.
New numbers released by the Federal Aviation Administration show reports of air-traffic errors have nearly doubled in three years. The number of reported incidents in 2007 was 1040, and that number rose to 1887 in 2010, an 81 percent increase.
Egads! But here's the good news.
Diane Spitaliere, manager of media relations for the FAA, told Fox News that passengers should not be alarmed by the increase in errors, because part of the increase was due to better reporting methods implemented in 2008. The new method protects controllers from punishment for errors they voluntarily report.
Since the non-punitive culture of error-reporting went into effect, the FAA says it has been receiving about 250 reports a week. “The FAA’s mission is to keep air travelers safe," Spitaliere said. "Over the past several years, the FAA has transitioned to a non-punitive error-reporting system at its air traffic facilities.
What's the real benefit?
This cultural change in safety reporting has produced a wealth of information to help the FAA identify potential risks in the system and take swift action to address them.
"The FAA takes all errors seriously but we believe increased reporting will result in an even safer aviation system.” The chairman of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Steven Hansen, apparently agrees. He has said that if authorities don't know about the problems, they don’t know what to fix.
To fix the process you must first understand the failures occuring in the process. If you focus on the person caught up in the failed process you won't learn about many of the failures and therefore won't have the ability to even start to fix and improve the process.
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Discovering Hawaii's Big Island
Away from the Big Island’s perfectly pruned resorts lies a savagely spectacular landscape of forbidden valleys, primal lava fields, and mysterious beaches strewn with gemstones. No better place, decides Anthony Doerr, to shed his careful, connected, grown-up self and, brother in tow, be a boy again (let there be cookies for breakfast!)
I call my forty-three-year-old brother, Mark, in Ohio. I say, “Do you want to go to the Big Island? In three weeks?” He’s thinking. He’s smiling. He’s picturing little paper umbrellas and big icy drinks. I say, “Not the dry side. The wet side, land of geckos and ferns and rain. Black cliffs, green walls, waterfalls, African tulips.
Spotlights of sunshine dropping godlike through platinum clouds.”
He’s quiet. In the background I hear a phone ringing, a file drawer closing.
I say, “And we’re walking. Lots of miles every day. On our feet, dawn to dusk, sleeping outside whenever possible. We’ll get rained on. We could drown. We could fall off a cliff.”
He says, “Let me think about it.”
I say, “It’ll be like we are boys again.”
He calls back fifteen minutes later. “I’m in.”
Three weeks later, we stand at the end of Hawaii Route 240, on the rim of the Valley of the Kings. It’s an hour after dawn and we are jet-lagged and out of cell range. Beyond the rail, cliffs plunge nine hundred feet to a gunpowder beach. Beyond the beach, whitecaps stretch 2,500 miles to the Aleutians.
The Valley of the Kings, or Waipi‘o (think Y-P-O) Valley, is twenty miles shy of the northern tip of the island. Here, says my guidebook, you’ll find the only place in Hawaii that isn’t friendly. Here, you stay on trail, respect private property. Here, you obey kapu (the ancient Hawaiian system of religious taboos) or else. Here, when drivers wave hello—if they wave at all—they raise only one finger off the steering wheel, as if to say, “Yes, I see you and your big backpack, haole, but let’s not pretend I want you here.”
A sign at the overlook reads, “If not invited, please respect this sacred valley by enjoying its beauty from this lookout here.” Behind it three other signs say, “Falling Rocks!” “Hazardous Cliff!” and “Flash Flood!”—each featuring a cartoon man suffering spine-shattering mishaps.
Mark says, “Were we invited?”
I say, “Depends what you mean by invited. . . .”
We each carry about forty-five pounds of stuff—couscous, water filter, Chips Ahoy, plastic canteen of vodka, Mark Twain’s letters from Hawaii. Below us begins what must be the steepest road in the United States. What to do but go down, as quietly as we can.
It’s a mile-long ribbon of asphalt, twenty-five-percent grade, laid into the cliffside. The two battered trucks that pass us are angled so steeply upward that their drivers look like astronauts strapped into rockets.
We pass a boulder strewn with offerings. The men who built this road supposedly pushed the boulder off the edge one evening, only to find it sitting back at the top in the morning.
On the valley floor, trees grow up through the twisted wrecks of a half-dozen cars. A wild horse canters across puddles. A barefoot, empty-eyed man in a full monk’s cowl—the only other human we see—steps out of the leaves. I try an aloha. No response.
At the fringe of the beach, “Burial Site—Stay Off” signs are nailed to trees. But what’s currently knotting my stomach is not the spooky entrance road or the echoes of ancient spirits, not the heavy rain clouds dragging over the valley walls or even the clear sight of the trail we’re about to climb, its sharp switchbacks scratched like a bent Z on the west wall at the far end of the beach; it’s something more banal: two creeks.
The first is just ahead, Wailoa Stream, a cool, shallow river slashing across the beach and dumping into the waves. After big rains up valley, I’ve read, this creek can become a full-fledged torrent: chest deep and boiling. Its bottom is stacked with algae-slick, ankle-snapping basalt cobbles; the water is quick and cloudy and particularly dislikes visitors from the mainland.
Every hour the previous night, I awoke to sporadic downpours on the roof of our rental house. Every hour I imagined this stream growing, getting deeper, preparing to knock us out before we had barely started.
The creek riffles in long, hypnotizing undulations as it sweeps into the sea. Mark says, “It doesn’t look so bad,” but I’m thinking of shattered bones and titanium screws; I’m thinking we should dump the Twain, the vodka, the tent—everything but the cookies. Instead, we offer a silent prayer to the spirits of Waipi‘o, unstrap our hip belts, face upstream, and start across.
I harbor two selves. One is the boy I used to be, the boy who grew up in the woods of northeast Ohio, throwing Nerf footballs and hunting fossils and starting fires with a magnifying glass. I used to spend hours catching bluegill and garter snakes and fireflies in the closed traps of my palms. Beneath colossal, buzzing utility towers, my brothers and I would gather blackberries as big as thumbs until our forearms were shredded and our mouths were purple. We raised kittens and winged ants; we kept a wounded mallard in our garage for a month.
To be a child then, in that last earthly era before the invention of video games, was to live a life of kick-the-can and bicycle wrecks and daydreams; every day we played outside as long as we could, as hard as we could, and when sleep came, it came like a burlap sack over the head.
But—how did this happen?—now there is this second self, this Grown-Up Me, an insomniac who always awakes for work at the exact same minute; who gets the oil changed every three thousand miles; who fixes the sprinklers and calls the accountant and buys sunscreen with numbers on the bottle that exceed his age. Grown-Up Me has a surgically repaired knee that clicks and creaks. Grown-Up Me stares at backlit screens for nine hours a day. Grown-Up Me forgets how to daydream, how to do nothing, how to see; Grown-Up Me keeps himself up nights worrying about things like stream crossings.
“We look at the world once, in childhood,” wrote the poet Louise Glück. “The rest is memory.”
I’ve been to Hawaiian resorts and found myself hypnotized by the green of the foliage and the impossible white of warm beach towels. But after a few nights, I find myself feeling overfed, sleepy, contained; I catch myself staring longingly through the watered, imported, pruned leaves into the true landscape of the islands, up to where the clouds drag tentacles of rain across the summits of the volcanoes. Grown-Up Me starts mumbling about Wi-Fi and dental appointments; Grown-Up Me takes the kids surfing and spends half the time worrying about the rental-car keys roasting unguarded atop the beach blanket.
So here was my hope: to try, for a week, to leave Grown-Up Me on the mainland. To fly on a burst of petroleum to one of the most isolated landmasses in the world and do three walks: one at the southern tip of the island; another near the planet’s most active volcano; and this one, down from the parking lot of the Waipi‘o overlook, over a dozen drainages and into a place that even the most urgent e-mail cannot penetrate—to find tiny ferns no bigger than a fingernail growing from a vertical wall of frozen lava, to walk out into the solitudes of the backcountry and stare up at the infinity of stars.
To play. To look. To chase wonder. And to do it with my brother, who did it with me when we were young.
The spirits of Waipi‘o are merciful. We wade into Wailoa Stream and start jabbing rocks with the tips of our trekking poles, and in thirty seconds we’re high-fiving on the other side. Then we cross the beach and hike the Muliwai Trail—nine up-and-down miles that constitute one of the most truly wondrous walks I’ve ever walked. We start by switchbacking up the sheer west wall of Waipi‘o, climbing through Java plum and domestic-looking impatiens, through Christmas berry, through maile-scented ferns that make the trail smell, for twenty or thirty paces, as if someone is spritzing fresh vanilla inside a sauna.
The trail winds through realms of massive albizias, trees from Indonesia that grow with unfathomable speed here (some only eighty years old are easily a hundred feet tall and as wide across in their canopies), then through groves of ironwoods that carpet the ground so thickly with needles that the sound of our footsteps disappears.
We enter a rhythm: Descend into hot wet gullies, climb to dry wind-cooled ridges. Each time we’re struggling, sweating, laboring the hardest, the Muliwai Trail gives us what we need: a devastating view of the Pacific; or a cluster of strawberry guavas, just within reach, sour and sweet and refreshing; or a cold green pool beneath a little cascade where we can soak our feet.
After six hours of steady grinding, we come out over the only Hawaiian valley that may be more sacred, less accessible, and more beautiful than the Valley of the Kings: Waimanu. We’re 1,100 feet up on the valley’s eastern wall. Below us, the ocean teethes at a black beach. Behind the beach, acre after acre of marsh grass tosses in the wind; above that, 1,080-foot Wai‘ilikahi Falls spills like sifting sugar down the sheer wall opposite us, while three or four larger falls come off the valley’s rear walls beyond that, including Waihilau Falls, which, at 2,600 feet, is the tallest in the United States.
“Wow,” says Mark.
“Wow,” I say.
“Wow,” we say together.
Below us a sightseeing helicopter chucks through the valley like a tiny blue toy. We pick our way along the slick, root-veined descent, passing leaves the size of car doors and prop-rooted trees with fruits that look like psychedelic Circus Peanuts candy.
At the bottom waits our second crossing: Waimanu Stream. Backpacking lore is littered with stories of people who have reached the end of the Muliwai Trail only to find this final stream too high to traverse, a prospect akin to the Griswolds reaching Walley World only to find a plastic moose saying, “Sorry, folks! We’re closed!”
But—joy! relief! gods be thanked!—Waimanu Stream is low, only to our thighs, and we climb out of the tea-colored water dripping and drop our packs at our campsite. For a long moment, we hear only songbirds and surf and the pounding of our own hearts.
That first evening, my plan to ditch Grown-Up Me doesn’t work. He’s there, readjusting the rain fly, double-checking the Chips Ahoy supply, powering up the iPhone to see if it might, miraculously, have a signal. “Searching,” it says, which sounds about right.
Just after dusk, we find a centipede as long as a hunting knife sashaying along outside the tent door. I’m kept up half the night imagining the squirmings of its brethren, and by the rain, and the ironwoods hissing over our tent, and the lines I’ve read in Twain just before lights out about being bitten by a scorpion during his first nights in Hawaii, then finding a tarantula “on stilts” beside his bed. Grown-Up Me worries whether he has boiled the drinking water long enough, whether his brother is comfortable, whether he is firmly in control of his sanity.
Dawn comes. We unzip the tent and stagger onto a rain-damp beach. Clouds float like big pink battleships across the horizon. Behind us, the multiple threads of thousand-foot waterfalls slip inaudibly down the valley walls. Mark says, “Let’s try the fishing rod.” So we do, scrabbling around on the slick lava cobbles at the west edge of the beach. We fish, we watch strange caramel-colored ants forage in long streams down the vertical cliffs. In the old and feral groves deeper in the valley we find breadfruit, coconuts, a single lemon; we find behemoth mango trees with trunks as thick as Volkswagens. The smell beneath them is pungent, and the trail is slick from burst mangoes. I’m thinking of the wild pigs that live in Waimanu, and wondering how delicious a pig who eats a diet of squashed mangoes must taste, when I hear a whistle and slap high in the branches above me. I sidestep off the trail just as a mango drops a hundred feet through the leaves and explodes beside me. Mark laughs. “You almost became Mango Head!” Grown-Up Me thinks: concussion, fractured skull, med evac, but I manage to smile. Here I was worried about stream crossings when the real danger is Waimanu trying to give you too much to eat.
In the early afternoon, we take water bottles and a handheld scoop-net and wind past the mango groves through alternating pools of scent: kukui nuts, ferns, the sweet, muddy odor of bogs thrumming with insects. Mark continues to display a special gift for inadvertently wrapping the trail-spanning webs of Asian spiny-backed spiders around his face.
Here and there we find the remnants of walls. How old are they? A hundred years? A thousand? One can almost hear the lost stories of this place spiraling up through the leaves.
As we push toward the back of the valley, maybe a mile and a half from our tent, where the trail becomes more of a bushwhack, the air cools and the sounds ahead become like the sounds of the ocean behind: moving water, lots of it. We push through a last stand of tall grasses, and there is the bottom of Wai‘ilikahi Falls, the lowermost of its three huge plunges, this one dropping maybe four hundred feet into a pool made absolutely turbulent by the force of what’s happening to it.
From such a height, water does not fall in a steady stream but rather billows and smokes as wind and gravity throw it down the face of the cliff. Huge shock waves unload into the pool; when we finally summon the courage to swim out, we cannot turn our faces toward it. It feels as if my eyeballs are being pressure washed.
In the plunge pool beneath Wai‘ilikahi Falls—two miles from our tent, fifteen miles from our rented Hyundai, somewhere around ten bazillion miles from our lawn-mowing, bill-paying, snow-shoveling lives—I finally stop worrying. I stop thinking at all. With a stick and the scoop net, we hunt prawns in the creek below the falls. The prawns are quick and not, ultimately, like the crayfish we used to hunt in Ohio, but soon the act of stalking them strips away all other thought: You become a pair of eyes, scanning, scanning. In what might be one hour—or three?—we capture enough for an appetizer and hike back to our campsite. Mark assembles “thrones” for us out of big cobbles of lava—stone recliners with armrests and footrests—and we sit on them and steam the prawns and stare at the waves hammering the beach. The sun comes out and starts lighting patches of forest willy-nilly in a green so intense that it’s as if we can watch the photosynthesis happening.
We eat; we squeeze wild lemon into our vodka. Grown-Up Me evaporates. The waves come in, the falls come down, the forces at work in this valley are larger than we will ever understand.
Two days later, we’re seventy miles southeast, riding in a Honda Pilot with two geologists from a guiding outfit called Volcano Discovery. We’re driving on top of Kalapana, a town of swank beach homes that was partially engulfed—houses, swing sets, black sand beach, a legendary surfing break—by lava from Kilauea in 1990 and 1991.
This might as well be a different continent from Waimanu’s. The Big Island, after all, is the craziest and most colorful natural history museum ever constructed, an entire planet in miniature. In a single day here you could—if you were insane—swim in a tropical waterfall, cross a snowfield, lie on a powder-sand beach, and dodge Cadillacs in the Walmart parking lot in Hilo. You can cross from rain forest to desert in the time it takes to listen to a couple of Beatles tunes. And now there’s this: billowy, tangled pavements of arrested pahoehoe lava, square mile after square mile.
We step out into an alien world. “Cheapest real estate in Hawaii,” jokes Arthur Wierzchos, one of our guides, but in my mind I’m hearing Faulkner: The only alternative to change is death.
We ask, “How long is the trail?”
Arthur and our principal guide, a speed-talking geophysical encyclopedia named Philip Ong, smile at each other.
Philip says, “There is no trail.”
We start across the buckled, ropy, warped, veined, shining, treeless, extraterrestrial world that is the coastal plain west of Kalapana. It’s so black it shines; it stretches for miles like some terrible black, iridescent cake frosting. Over the former gardens of Kalapana, Philip explains, the lava averages about thirty feet deep.
Geology is a science that demands imagination. The time scales of rocks are huge, and human lives are appallingly brief. See the hanging valleys of Yosemite and the mind has to labor to conjure the ancient glaciers that carved them. But here on the Big Island, change happens fast enough for the mind to readily appreciate: Year to year new species take up occupancy, year to year the volcano adds new acreage, year to year the sea bashes it away. Every part of this island—even Waimanu Valley, with its two-thousand-foot walls and greenery sprouting from every surface—once looked like where we now walk.
Soon we’re stepping on ground younger than our children—raw country, ankle-turning country, nothing alive in sight—headed toward a seam of smoke maybe two miles farther on, backlit in the afternoon sun, rising as if from a tear on Kilauea’s shoulder. Gradually we crunch over newer and newer lava. Out over the sea, a patch of rainbow shows itself in the evening like a stained glass window. Mark and I sweat. Ahead, a long line of heat shimmers at the horizon. Just before the sun dips, the surface of all this cold lava turns a magical gold.
We walk just shy of three miles. Then we stop on earth that is only weeks, days, hours, minutes old.
“Gentlemen,” whispers Philip, “meet Pele.”
Hawaii’s goddess of fire is right in front of us: wet, bright-orange lava. It oozes in brilliant veins, in little slow-motion cataracts, in big eerie scallops. Deep inside the glowing crimson heart of it, as the day turns to night, we can see ultra-fine threads of black, something like the complex neuronal networks inside a magnified cross-section of the brain. It is the very matrix of creation.
And listen, lava makes noise. It pops and tinkles and creaks and crackles; it is the sound of thin glass ornaments being crushed over and over, something like a campfire with an alien edge to it, and holds a similar power over the eye: You stare, you go mute, you are transfixed.
Even Philip, who all day has been speaking approximately sixty words per second, teaching us enthusiastically about “seismic swarms” and “hazard maps” and “magma chambers,” who has spent thousands of hours out here watching Kilauea effuse lava onto his island, goes silent and lets the magic of the place work on us.
Here is a scale beyond scales: Here is the measure of the world. If you want to understand, right in your gut, that your credit card bill is ultimately unimportant, come here. If you want to understand what amazement is, kneel in front of a slowly expanding rivulet of lava and feel the intensity of its heat touch your cheeks, your eyebrows, the moisture in your eyes.
For hours we watch the world make itself. It’s 9:30 p.m. when we start back to the truck to drive the forty miles to Volcano Village, where we’ll spend the night. A headwind is coming up, rain is making a silver spray in our headlamps; we become a little pilgrimage of four lights amid all that immensity, picking our way through the folds and upheavals and depressions, leaving behind the flows to do their steady, relentless, inhuman work.
Mark says nothing. We are both drained.
Places + Prices
Anthony Doerr reports on the spots to check out along a great hike on the Big Island.
A mile or so before the road, we begin to see little Asiatic sword ferns again, tiny bits of green in our headlamps, incredibly verdant against the black. We stop before a first ōhi‘a sapling. The beads of nectar in its vermilion pom-pom–shaped blossoms glisten in the light of our headlamps: the very first step in the hundred-thousand-year journey toward transforming all this lava into something that looks like Waimanu Valley. “Within three or four months sometimes,” says Arthur, “we find plant life starting on a flow.”
By the end of the week, my right knee is twice the size of my left and Mark has to turn sideways to go down steps, but we are in the groove now, we are waking at dawn and walking miles every day. I have not looked at my e-mail in four days, a personal record. Our final morning finds us as far south as the United States gets: South Point. It’s just after dawn and the sun is low and the wind is high and no one else is out as we start our last walk: the wind-scoured braids of a rutted four-wheel-drive road.
Mongooses cross the road here and there; we startle up from the grass little songbirds that go keening off into the wind. We keep a five-strand barbed wire fence on our left. Ahead looms a big, raw, desolate mound: the tops of the cliffs above Papakolea Beach. The pleasure on this particular walk is color. There are no trees, no shade, but everywhere is color: pitch-black basalt piled up at the shore, sepia-colored dust blowing in our eyes, ivory sea foam exploding to our right, and of course the turquoise sea, cut by twenty thousand whitecaps. It heaves; it surges; it stretches 6,500 unbroken miles to Antarctica. There’s one more color too. Here, at what feels like the end of the world, the sand of a half-dozen little beaches is green.
Papakolea Beach—nowadays most folks call it simply Green Sand Beach—is the most famous of them. We crest a last rise, come out over a ledge, then half-slide, half-stumble down a plunging gray-green slope and take off our shoes.
It’s the green of a wet Ionian olive, and it comes from the semi-precious stone olivine, a crystal born deep in magma chambers on Mauna Loa long ago, then carried out to sea by lava flows, and slowly beaten off the cliffs by the waves. The lightweight black lava gets dragged away; the heavier crystals remain.
Guidebooks often say to skip this place. It’s too exposed, they argue, too hard to get to. Old-timers in Hilo say the sand here used to be more green—emerald green, Slytherin green—but that weathering and tourists have hauled too much away.
I think it’s dazzling. Especially if you get up early enough to be alone on it: The tide erases the previous day’s footprints; you feel like a discoverer. When you run your hands through the sand, it’s like watching ten thousand infinitesimal gemstones spill between your fingers, each sparkling individually.
I sit on the beach and daydream about the mangoes of Waimanu Valley; I hear the crackle of molten lava on the coastal plains; I think of the oldest Hawaiians, the first Polynesians who crossed the seas in flotillas of sailing canoes carrying wayfinders, navigators who had been training since birth to read the humidity of the skies, the direction of the waves, and the pattern of birds, who could detect the presence of islands beyond the horizon by watching swells pass the bow of a canoe. Those were such elemental people, more deeply engaged with the physical world than I could ever hope to be. And yet could they have imagined, in their most outlandish visions, an island where a person could hike up into snow and peer down into smoldering lakes of lava, a place where waterfalls drop two thousand feet and beaches are paved with green jewels?
Within an hour the first trucks start making their way out to the beach, locals in battered pickups who charge thirty dollars a head to bounce tourists two miles through the dust. But to walk the walk, I think, that’s the real thing. To come into a place at the proper speed, and with the proper effort: to remind yourself that, like everything, this too will someday be gone. That’s a kind of respect, isn’t it?
In a week my brother and I saw the rose-colored plume atop Kilauea caldera rising into a trillion stars. We pulled on a hardware store utility glove and caressed the red-hot skin of Pele. We floated over sofa-size coral heads in the unsettling, magical blue of the sea. We spread peanut butter with a machete. We ate Chips Ahoy for breakfast. We set these things in memory, layering new flows down atop older ones, so that when we got back to our families, to landscapes where the ground does not open to show the raw, crimson heart of the world beneath, to 451 new e-mails and a broken dishwasher, to our grown-up selves, those visions would still be there, whole and glowing, ready for us to draw them back up.
“If the house would only burn down,” Mark Twain wrote to a friend in 1881, pining for his months in Hawaii, “we would pack up the cubs and fly to the isles of the blest, and shut ourselves up in the healing solitudes of Haleakala and get a good rest; for the mails do not intrude there, nor yet the telephone and the telegraph.”
Isn’t that ultimately why we travel? To escape from the tyrannies of the familiar? To see the places we go to—and the places we left behind—with new eyes?
We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory. Even now, weeks later, I think back to a moment in Waimanu, when I was rinsing the dishes knee-deep in the surf, a full ten minutes during which I stopped doing anything except looking: the enclosing arms of the cliffs around me, the cobbles piled up in their millions, the tourist helicopters gone, the ocean empty of lights, and behind me our tent lit from within by my brother’s headlamp as he read, a tiny cradle of light against the huge, darkening backdrop of the valley.
I stood and watched Waimanu go dark, a light rain starting to fall, until all I could see were the white slashes of the waterfalls on the back wall, and then I climbed into my sleeping bag beside my brother and slept the sleep of a very tired boy.
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SLRC’s Craig Collins joins California Assemblymember Mike Gatto, and LA City Councilmembers Tom LaBonge and Eric Garcetti, along with some local neighbors, in dedicating the new Tesla walking path on Wednesday, October 10th, 2012.
The Conservancy presented certificates of appreciation to those that made the new walkway possible, including the crew from the Department of Water & Power. The walkway, which now means pedestrians don’t have to share the street with automobiles, also features a small parklet with benches. It’s now open for all to enjoy! Here’s a pic of the parklet, located in a small grove of trees:These two guys led a dedicated team which was instrumental in making the Tesla Path and Parklet a reality—Marty Adams, water operations manager (R), and Don Keen, construction supervisor (L), of the LA Department of Water & Power:And here’s a link to coverage of the big event in the EASTSIDER, CURBED LA and the PATCH, including more pix:
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500,000 pilgrims visit 'Angolan Lourdes'
Posted Sunday, August 5 2012 at 23:42
Around 500,000 Angolans flocked Sunday to the Catholic shrine of Muxima in the southern African country's largest pilgrimage.
The faithful travelled from all corners of the oil-rich nation to pray to a statue of the Virgin Mary in a quaint white church that dates from 16th century Portuguese colonial rule in the small town.
"Muxima could become a renowned global shrine like Fatima in Portugal or Lourdes in France," said the rector Father Albino Reyes Gonzalez.
The town, which counts only 3,000 permanent residents, is in the middle of the Quissama National Park, on the banks of the Kwanza River 150 kilometres (90 miles) southeast of the capital Luanda.
But it has grown in popularity over the years, as three out of five people in the nation are Catholic.
This weekend around 500,000 people swamped the rural town, according to police and Church estimates.
The Our Lady of Muxima church has become a venerated site in the country since the 19th century.
Muxima means "my heart" in Kimbundu, one of the national languages.
Usually held the first weekend in September, the pilgrimage was moved ahead a month because of general elections on August 31, which also happened in 2008 polls.
Pilgrims fervently followed prayers and mass, many of them women wearing colourful shawls and clothes with images of the Virgin Mary.
And the town was transformed in a massive psychedelic tented camp where every family ate and slept over several days.
Numerous government infrastructure construction projects have also helped to bring the area out of isolation.
Last year a bridge across the river was inaugurated, and provincial authorities this year built two roads to the site. Plans to construct a basilica are also in the pipeline.
Whereas in previous years pilgrims prayed for fertility, today they seek health, success, or employment for their loved ones -- symptoms of the social realities that confront most Angolans today.
"I've come to ask the Virgin that things work out with my husband," 31-year-old Isabela Nunes told AFP, echoing this year's pilgrimage theme of "reconciling families".
The UN children's agency UNICEF estimates that 87 percent of the urban population lives in shacks, even though the nation's oil riches have turned Angola into one of the world's fastest-growing economies.
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Guy Kawasaki, one of the most prominent venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, as well as one of the original marketers of Apple, has struck out on his own and self-published a book (which fittingly enough, is about self-publishing). APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur explores the pitfalls and successes of self-publishing from the vantage of a Guy (sorry) who knows a thing or two about success in the digital age.
He’s recently compiled a list of “do’s and dont’s” for independent publishers, which can be quite helpful to consider when you’re embarking on your next big independent publishing project. All of them are particularly smart things to keep in mind, and are questions that one should definitely revisit each time you publish a book.
His bottom line, however, is that when it comes to publishing independently, nothing is set in stone. So with that in mind, here are a couple of additional pieces of advice to consider, especially for keeping yourself in a good state of mind when entering the wonderful world of independent publishing.
1) Let it work for you. You will need to make a decision on how much effort and time you devote to the project. If you would like to make a living off of independent publishing (which is still very hard to achieve), then you will need to give it your all. If you are only able to give half of your attention, then recognize that the results might not be as great as you expected. Keep your expectations in line with your effort.
2) There is no magic formula. Some books take off, others languish. Some of your success will depend on conditions out of your hands. So, even giving it your all might not be enough. Recognizing that we have yet to crack the magic formula of independent publishing is huge.
3) Write because you love it. Kawasaki touches on this a little bit, but I really want to stress that this is the most important part of writing. Love the act, even if it hurts sometimes. Remember that this is your passion, as well as a possible way to make some money. Here, I offer a great quote from poet Rainer Maria Rilke on how you now if you’re called to be a writer:
Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write.
This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple “I must,” then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse.
-Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
4) Be your worst critic/best champion. Be hard on yourself — push yourself to get your book into shape, polished, and something that you really want the world to see. But once you do it, then make sure you are your best champion. You need to believe in your book before anyone else will.
As independent publishing continues to expand, the litany of advice will continue as well. What are your best inspirational tips? What has helped you avoid mistakes? What was the best advice about independent publishing that you ever received? Let us know.
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May 22, 2012
Syria suffered its worst terror attack in decades this month when two car bombs exploded near a military intelligence branch in Damascus, killing 55 people and wounding hundreds more. Syria's state-run news agency was quick to publish gruesome pictures of the victims of the attack, which President Bashar al-Assad's regime pinned on "foreign-backed terrorist groups."
At first, the Syrian regime seemed to have evidence to back up its case. On May 12, a video was distributed on YouTube, purportedly from a Palestinian branch of the jihadist group Jabhat al-Nusrah ("The Victory Front" or JN), claiming credit for the attack. But the release turned out to be a fake: On May 14, JN released a statement denying that it was behind the video. At the same time, it did not deny conducting the attack. Rather, JN's media outlet said it had yet to hear from JN's military commanders if they perpetrated the bombings.
Whether or not JN was involved in the Damascus attack, the organization has become a real force in recent weeks -- and one that threatens to undermine the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the loose network of defectors and local militia fighting the government. Its main goals are to awaken Muslims to the atrocities of the Assad regime, and eventually take control of the state and implement its narrow and puritanical interpretation of Islamic law. To that end, in the past month alone, JN has perpetrated a series of suicide bombings and IED strikes -- and the pace of attacks seems to be growing.
JN originally announced its existence on Jan. 23 in a video released to global jihadi forums, featuring the group's spokesperson, al-Fatih ("The Conqueror") Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani. In addition to repeating the usual jihadi platitudes, Jawlani accused the United States, the Arab League, Turkey, Iran, and the West in general for collaborating with the Assad regime against (Sunni) Muslims. The video shows tens of individuals training with AK-47s in unknown desert and wooded locations and posing with large flags similar to the banners used by Sunni fundamentalists across the Middle East, featuring the shahadah (the Muslim testament of faith).
While JN's attacks might pack punch, they represent a miniscule portion of the Syrian rebellion and have no known association to the FSA. But members of al Qaeda's premier online forums have been elated over the creation of a new jihadist organization in Syria. In addition to its online grassroots supporters, JN has gained the stamp of approval from key jihadi ideologues, including Shaykh Abu Sa'd al-‘Amili (a prominent online essayist), Shaykh Abu al-Mundhir al-Shinqiti (one of the most influential ideologues worldwide), Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Tahawi (a prominent Jordanian Salafi), and Shaykh Abu al-Zahra' al-Zubaydi (a popular Lebanese jihadi). All have called on Muslims to support JN's cause by aiding them financially or joining them on the battlefield.
This level of excitement, which has not been seen in jihadi circles since the height of the Iraq war, can partly be attributed to the sectarian nature of the struggle: Jihadis do not see the Assads as true Muslims because they are Alawites -- members of a heterodox version of Shiism. As such, jihadis view their role in repressing a Sunni Muslim majority as particularly reprehensible. "Oh Allah made it possible for our brothers in Jabhat al-Nusrah, and bless them and make the hearts of the people join them," one online jihadi enthused.
Unable to quell Syria's domestic uprising, Assad still maintains that Syria is fighting foreign terrorists. And, although Syria's homegrown protest movement clearly makes up the overwhelming majority of the opposition, there are a multitude of reports -- see here, here, here, here, and here -- of non-Syrian Muslims going off to fight Assad. Fighters from al Qaeda in Iraq have also reportedly crossed the border to assist their Sunni compatriots -- presumably by way of the same networks they have long used to smuggle people and goods from Syria into Iraq.
Although there is no hard evidence that these fighters are joining up with JN, there is circumstantial evidence to suggest new recruits -- either foreign or local -- are bolstering its capabilities. While JN only conducted three operations from January through mid-April, the pace of its attacks in the past month has raised the specter of fresh support. On April 20, it conducted a suicide attack on a Syrian military unit allegedly responsible for a massacre in al-Latamina, a village outside Hama. A few days later, on April 24, JN bombed the Iranian Cultural Center in Damascus. Then on April 27, JN claimed responsibility for a suicide attack during Friday prayers in the Midan neighborhood of Damascus. And those aren't the only attacks that JN has attempted: From April 20 to May 5, it planted sticky improvised explosive devices to cars in a series of attempted assassinations against Syrian officials, and also detonated two IEDs under trucks at the Syrian military headquarters on Damascus's Revolution Street.
JN has also released three other videos since the message announcing its existence. The first video, which was posted on jihadist forums on Feb. 26, claimed responsibility for a twin suicide car bombing at a Syrian security forces building in Aleppo earlier that month, as well as an attack in early January in central Damascus. Appealing to the broader Syrian society, JN explained that it executed the attacks to safeguard the women of Syria, who have been brutalized and raped by Assad's security forces. The next video, which was uploaded in mid-April, contained a sermon exhorting individuals to join the jihad against Assad and his Alawite followers.
JN's most recent video was published in late April and provided yet another emotional appeal for individuals to take up arms to join its cause. It showed anti-Assad demonstrations in the cities of Deraa and Homs, the Assad regime's brutal destruction of Homs, and widows and mothers wailing over the deaths of their sons and husbands. JN spokesman Jawlani claimed responsibility for a "revenge" attack against the Syrian forces in Homs, and the video showed "martyrdom" messages from two of its suicide bombers. Jawlani linked JN's cause to that of 'Omar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph, who completed the conquest of Syria that the Prophet Mohammad started in the 7th century. Jawlani's mention of 'Omar is notable because Shiite tradition considers him a traitor to Muhammad and a usurper of the right of Ali, Muhammad's cousin, to become caliph. Jawlani undoubtedly understands this, and his words are sure to stoke more sectarian tensions.
Syria's nascent jihadist organization has also bitterly opposed Kofi Annan's attempts to orchestrate a ceasefire between rebel and government forces, calling his efforts "deception" and a "magician's trick." JN called out Annan for his failure to prevent massacres in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and it said the proposed truce with the Assad regime was merely a way for Western countries to undermine the Syrian people's ability to defend themselves while allowing the Assad regime to continue to shell its citizens. As a result, its argument goes, one cannot trust the West to provide assistance in the fight against the regime. Rather, it is imperative that Muslims join JN's battle, since it is the only true defender of Syrians and the Sunni community.
It is noteworthy that JN has focused solely on military targets in its insurgency against the regime. Perhaps it has learned from the experience of AQI, which found that killing civilians alienates potential supporters. Nevertheless, even if JN may be recruiting individuals at a higher rate, its vision for Syria's future remains far outside the mainstream. As such, it will continue to be a nuisance not only for the Syrian regime, but also to the FSA, which is attempting to bolster its international legitimacy in order to gain supplies and weapons from supporters of its cause. Amid the chaos in Syria, it represents a spoiler in a conflict with no foreseeable end.
Aaron Y. Zelin is the Richard Borow Fellow in the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute.
To view this article on our website, go to:
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I’ve known people that thing toes and feet are gross. I get it; toes often walk on dirty floors or shoved into smelly socks. I’ve even known people who think toes are weird looking– but I’ve never meet anyone who has though their toes are fat.
A new “condition” called “toe-besity” have brought about a new type of plastic surgery. “Good Morning America” recently spoke to Dr. Oliver Zong, a surgeon in New York City who specializes in toe “reshapings.” Dr. Zong started out doing toe shortenings (yikes!) and now also slimmes down fat toes.
This type of surgery is completely elective, so none of it is covered by insurance. The procedure can cost anywhere from hundreds up to $2,500.
Other doctors disagree with Dr. Zong’s willingness to do these types of surgeries. Says Dr. Hillary Brenner, a member of the American Podiatric Medical Association:
I don’t think it’s ethical unless you’re having pain. You’re undergoing risks — there’s the risk of anesthesia, infection, deformity of the toe if the surgery is not done right, a risk of reoccurrence and the risk of surgery in general. It’s trauma to the foot.
Dr. Brenner goes on to explain that she has had women wanting to have their pinky toes removed in order to fit into smaller shoe sizes, but she always refusing, saying “Why fix something that’s not broken?”
Dr. Zong’s retort:
I think it’s the same as if you would ask for any kind of cosmetic surgery. They’re very embarrassed by the situation and afterward, they gain self-esteem and feel more confident. Some people have said they’re so embarrassed that their boyfriends have never seen their feet.
What do you think, Lovelies? Would you ever have your toes ‘reshaped?’
top image via weheartit
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Marsh Creek Lake, lined with verdant shores and rolling hills, bobs with fishing boats, kayaks, sailboats, and windsurfing boards. About 535 acres of azure waters bejewel the surrounding 1,705 acres of hiking trails and picnic areas. Throughout the day, Marsh Creek Watersports leads one-hour pontoon-boat excursions that take guests through a history lesson of the park and surrounding region, leaving time for peaceful moments spent gazing at the natural wildlife. During the summer months, Marsh Creek also hosts kids' sailing camps to acquaint young ones with the techniques and safe practices of aquatic navigation, such as defending against Peter Pan attacks.
Valley Forge Bikes—the land-based arm of Marsh Creek Watersports—sends hoards of cyclists into the miles of trails snaking through Valley Forge National Historical Park. Among its network of paths carved from converted railroad beds lies a 5.5-mile paved loop adjacent to the Schuylkill River Trail. Visitors can amble through these thoroughfares on foot or aboard an assortment of mountain, racing, or combo bikes, as tots ride behind on trailer bikes and buggies.
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Do you use cell phone constantly? Are you worrying about the effects of cell phone radiation? Would you like to guard yourself against radiation by reducing cell phone radiation? Over usage of cell phone causes huge amount of radiation. This cell phone radiation is harmful for humans. More »
Are you confused between tablets and smartphones? Are you thinking to buy a technologically advanced personal assistance? Do you wish to know more details about Tablets and smartphones? Smartphones are more useful on a personal end where it is very efficient for texting, calling and gaming. More »
Researches confirm that desktop computers will be out of dated in near future. The arrival of technologically advanced laptops and mobile devices lessens the need for a desktop computers at home and office. Since the laptops or tablets could be carried easily they are the most preferred options for computing these days More »
You want to buy an effective antivirus software but don’t know which one to go for. You’ve heard names of many popular antivirus software and can’t really decide how to choose one from so many good ones. Well, there’s always a way out.
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If you are looking for a free YouTube mp3 converter then the easiest way to find one is to type “YouTube to mp3 converters” into an internet search box and shop around for the most promising website. Compare and contrast these websites based on registration status or requirement, fees, download speeds, format, legality, daily limits, etc.
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Technically speaking, any YouTube mp3 converter website is legal; however YouTube and Google like to think otherwise. In fact, they have even begun cracking down on sites like these and gave even went as far as sending out cease-and-desist letters to some websites to try and get them shut down. This did work on a few websites, while others shut down voluntarily. The important thing to look at here is how users are using the converted mp3’s once they have them in their possession. Technically by copyright law and fairness doctrine, individuals are allowed to have the converted YouTube mp3 in their possession to listen to.
However, if they burn or rip the mp3 onto a CD either for themselves or to give to someone else, then they have in a way committed a big no-no! Copyright laws can really be a huge headache, so some individuals have chosen to opt out of using these types of converting websites altogether to save themselves from getting in trouble. Whether or not you use a converter website is really a matter of personal preference, as well as what you are willing to risk, should the website you are using get in trouble in the future. So be sure to weigh the pros and cons and to shop around for the safest, most reputable converter website before investing in a converted mp3.
Ever since it was first released, the popularity for the iPod has done nothing but continue to climb higher and higher. This is also true for a variety of the multimedia, gaming, and entertainment applications that have been created to work with this device. There are over 500,000 hit title applications that can be obtained from Apple’s App Store. To name a few of the ones that are considered by many people to be among the best iPod apps to be acquired includes the following:
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Enhancing the overall experience you receive on what is considered by many users to be one of Apple’s most popular devices is simple when you have such a large amount of application options to choose from.
If you are unsure of which applications you should select, you will find there are numerous reviews on the internet in regards to various applications that are considered by lots of users to be the best iPod apps available today. Many of them contain detailed information that can help to answer any questions you may have in mind.
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We’ve never experienced such smooth connectivity before, especially while we were on vacations or small trips downtown. This service is unbelievably cheaper as compared to Skype or other services. Last time they charged me a mere $0.28 towards an ISD call that lasted for 0:8:41 as depicted in my handset.
My husband has always maintained using products or services that have a strong refund policy to back them up. Not just digging shallow on your pocket, this communication mode seemed more reliable to us that our past providers. We saved more than what we did when we used Skype.
It is natural for you to get confused between the solutions provided by a web proxy (anonymizing) and a VPN while seeking online security. It will take some time before you understand their difference and the time to use each one.
You often face a tough challenge while choosing between a web proxy and a VPN. One of the foremost steps you must take is to create a list of reasons for which you need to protect your identity and for protecting the online connectivity. For you, the most important thing is to identify the direct problem in easier terms. This article is meant to guide you and protect your interests.
Ever since the first tablet was introduced, most of the biggest computer companies followed suit with similar devices many businesses have wondered if the tablet could possibly replace the laptop. Well, simply put, both the laptop and the tablet have specific uses that they handle well and in most cases tablets and laptops compliment each other; rather than acting as rivals who are on a crash course to destroy one another. There are certain things that each device does better than the other, but instead of these things being considered pros and cons they can actually be looked at as two entities working together to get all sorts of work completed.
One of the key reasons why so many users of one of Apple’s most popular devices are learning how to jailbreak iPhone 4s is because it is a convenient and easy way to gain access to a long line of customization features and applications that cannot be found as the standard features designed on these phones. Most all users of this innovative cell phone run across various apps and features that they would like to have the opportunity to enjoy on their own phones. While there are several different choices in cool features and applications that can be acquired from the App Store, a majority of users have determined that they can be very limiting. When you jailbreak iPhone 4s, it is a process that completely removes the limitations and restrictions that often hinders the use of these phones.
There are a lot of reasons to try and find a carbonite offer code 2012. The problem is that some people still think that information is just magically kept safe without any effort on their part. The thing that you want to remember is that information is always susceptible to danger, especially when it is stored on computers. Here we will talk about why an offer code can be so good to use.
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Founded in 1866, Towson University is recognized as one of the nation's best regional public universities, offering more than 100 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs in the liberal arts and sciences, and applied professional fields.
Located in suburban Towson, eight miles north of Baltimore, our beautifully landscaped, 328-acre setting offers a pleasant environment for study and a diverse campus life, as well as easy access to a wealth of university and community resources.
Towson University's educational experience branches out to off-campus locations throughout Maryland, including a number of online options.
With nearly 22,000 students, Towson University is among the largest public universities in Maryland. As a metropolitan university, Towson combines research-based learning with practical application. Our many interdisciplinary partnerships with public and private organizations throughout Maryland provide opportunities for research, internships and jobs. Towson University is a founding member of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU).
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Angels are generally retired executives who invest their own money in young and/or growing companies, but like to have a say in business operations. They look for opportunities to add significant value and leverage to their investment dollars by using their contacts, industry knowledge or personal areas of interest. They can be great coaches and mentors, but unlike commercial cash sources, they’re investing their own money.
- Equity capital from knowledgeable sources.
- They generally come with industry and related contacts.
- They generally insist on tougher corporate governance and stronger business processes.
- They usually offer excellent opportunities for mentoring and executive coaching.
- They often have pre-formed opinions about how to grow your business that may not dovetail with your own.
- They can be hands-on partners, and if you’re not equipped emotionally for this, you’ll invite problems into the boardroom and corner office.
- With their requirements for belt-tightening and changes in business processes, you’re no longer the last word.
- Giving up equity can cut deeply into your returns if the business is only mildly successful.
Sophisticated Financial Partners
Private Equity Firms
So-called PE firms are great sources of growth capital, but most want to take equity and ownership control. They can be an excellent choice in a succession plan or to exit a business. It’s common for PE firms to rack up multiple players by targeting “fragmented” business arenas, those in which a given company isn’t much different from its many competitors.
PE firms often put their funds to work through such higher yielding instruments as mezzanine debt and equity. Again, they’re ultimately interested in gaining control of, or influencing, the exit of the business altogether.
- As with angels, they can bring tremendous resources and contacts to help with sales, manufacturing, financing, communications and media relations.
- They have deep pockets to assist in difficult times as a company grows and experiences downturns in business or the economy.
- They’re the most sophisticated financial experts on the planet and play for keeps. They generally invest for economic gain over time, and control or heavy influence. on the overall direction of the business and its exit.
- This is a succession-plan financing decision, so be prepared to let your baby go!
Venture Capital Firms
In recent years, VC firms have moved to investing in later-stage growth because of a backlog of companies looking for strategic exit strategies that don’t include IPO’s (see below). They’re generally interested in businesses that have clear buyers, strategic investors or PE Firms as next-stage investors that might provide liquidity. But unlike other equity investors, VCs tend to specialize, investing only in business areas they understand and where they can have a heavy hand in getting returns on their investments.
- Like angels and PE Firms, VCs bring tremendous resources and contacts.
- They have deep pockets and relationships they tap to keep you going.
- They play for keeps.
- Serious financial risk takers, they expect returns and will change anything in the business to get them.
- They’ll insist on board seats, voting rights, influence on value creation and exit events, etc.
- They’re judged by their own investors on ability to turn their investment in you into a 30 percent+ internal rate of return (IRR). It can get pretty hot in the boardroom even when things are going well.
- You’re less important to them than the business itself – this puts you at additional risk.
These companies are interested in your company’s technology, team, customer base, geography, brand, differentiation, etc. They can provide significant funding, but often only with strings attached that may not be desirable in the long run. This is also the most common form of business exit – selling to a company or player in your space. The strategic partner might be a competitor, a collaborator, or a selling or manufacturing partner.
Identify these possibilities as early as possible in your business development. Extend yourself to these partners early on and, like banking relationships, be sure they’re part of your audience as you enter the market or increase market share.
- They need your product or service.
- They’re less interested in return on their investment and more interested in what you can bring to their top or bottom line.
- They will be more forgiving on terms and valuation when negotiating the financing.
- They could preclude a channel opportunity with another potential partner.
- They could deter an exit opportunity for you with one of their competitors.
- You may have to give up valuable rights to get their money.
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The search for Brewery Number One and some answers about Tsingtao
We were having dinner in a favorite Chinese restaurant in Manhattan. My companion, food and beer critic Jim Leff, ordered a Tsingtao. That is what one does in a Chinese restaurant in the Western world. There are other Chinese beers, of course, but they come and go like snowflakes. Indeed, wasn't one of then called Snow Flake? I think it was, but it came and went. On the other hand, everyone has heard of Tsingtao. It has never seemed to me a great beer, but I always thought it had a decent hop character. Until that recent dinner. As Jim pointed out to me, our New York sample was as bland as a fortune cookie.
The only adequate response was to take a plane Beijing. A further hour's flight South of Beijing and a similar distance North of Shanghai, I found myself in the city of Tsingtao, where the beer was born. Tsingtao, today usually transliterated as Qingdao, is in the province of Shandong (Shantung), once known for its trade in silk.
The city, on a peninsula jutting into the Yellow Sea, embraces a small island. Quingdao means "green island." It is a centrally-positioned, ice-free, port, providing easy access to Taiwan, Korea and Japan.
It grew as a colonial-style town, with its own German brewery, established in 1903.
At the turn of the century, China granted a trading rights in this province to Germany. The port of Tsingtao/Quingdao was intended to offer Germany the sort of oriental outpost that Hongkong provided to the British or Macao to the Portuguese. It grew as a colonial-style town, with its own German brewery, established in 1903. The nearby marble and granite hills provided good brewing water, and the Germans planted hops. It was not only a port but also a resort.
The German period lasted only a decade or two, the city being occupied in the Sino-Japanese conflict, and later by the Americans in World War Two. The brewery was nationalised in 1945, and is now a state-private enterprise, with shares on the Hongkong stock exchange and a very small percentage in the hands of Anheuser-Busch.
The ride from the airport into the city revealed that Quingdao is no longer the romantic spot it sounds to have been. It now has six or seven million people: "A medium-sized city in China," explained the guide (I had joined a party of visiting brewers from Germany).
Brewing remains a very important industry, but no one I met knew anything about hops having been grown locally. (They are now cultivated in the West of China). Domestic electronics is a newer industry, and grapes are grown for wine.
As the tour bus negotiated the late afternoon traffic on the road from the airport, the guide pointed out "Tsingtao Brewery Number Two," and said we would be visiting it next morning. Given that the company has four or five breweries in the area, and almost 20 nationally, several with their own maltings, I could not expect to see them all. However, I had travelled thousands of miles to check out the original source: "Brewery Number One." When I explained this, I was told that there would not be time for that. My impression was the Tsingtao wanted to show us state-of-the art technology, not a brewery that we might consider "old."
At Number Two, built in the late 1980s, I learned that the plant accommodated six-to-eight brews a day, using single decocotion, at a batch size of 920 hectos, totalling two million a year. I was told that the malt was made from Chinese and French summer barley (though German, Canadian, U.S. and Australian had been used over the years). The regular Tsingtao beer had 11 degrees Plato; 25 per cent rice adjunct (some lighter Chinese beers have 40 per cent); 3.4 per cent alcohol by weight; and 20-plus units of bitterness. Process time was said to be 30-35 days. My hosts vehemently denied that the level of bitterness had been lowered in recent times, or that a less hoppy version was made for the United States.
A version called Tsingtao Gold had 45-50 days, but a similar level of bitterness, I was told. The product I most enjoyed was a Black Beer of 14 Plato (4.3 per cent alcohol by weight), made from three malts. This had a wonderful balance of malty bitterness and sweetness, and the full flavours and oiliness of a strong Viennese coffee. The Tsingtao beer for export, and the Black Beer, were both made at Brewery Number One.
The young manager next to whom I was seated seemed less than passionate about such matters. He was keener to discuss Goethe and Schiller, quoting from each in their own idiom.
Over dinner, with a group of youngish, German-speaking, Chinese managers from Tsingtao, there were many toasts. As the beer went down, my requests to see Brewery Number One gained in volume and frequency. The young manager next to whom I was seated seemed less than passionate about such matters. He was keener to discuss Goethe and Schiller, quoting from each in their own idiom. I have never had such a conversation with a brewer in Germany (nor, for example, discussed the nuances of Shakespeare with a beer-maker in Britain, though I can think of an American micro where Raymond Carver occasionally cuts through a stuck mash).
Next morning, we were taken on a tour of the old city: the hillside mansion that had been the Germans' headquarters and later a guest-house for visitors such as Chairman Mao (his sharpened pencils still on his desk); a 1908 Protestant church, its clockface inscribed with the names of the German makers...the former Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm streets were pointed out...there was talk of seeing the German botanical gardens, the railway station and a Catholic Church. I was beginning to wonder whether I would ever see Brewery Number One.
Finally,the bus stopped in the city-centre. Just two of us, both journalists, were allowed a quick tour of Brewery Number One. I loved the goldfish pond and fountain designed to look like beer glasses surrounding a bottle of Tsingtao (even the label was beautifully executed), but that was only six or seven years old. The brewhouse we saw was from 1992. Together with a 1982 brewhouse in an adjoining building, it produces two million hectolitres a year. These two brewhouses replaced one dating from 1940, at which we briefly peeked through a window. This may in future be turned into a museum. Near the gate, two small original buildings still stand, well maintained; one an office, the other serving the workers children as a kindergarten.
However big and largely modern it was (and, in the event, similar to Brewery Number Two), I felt that I had connected with beer history. I am still not sure, though, how Tsingtao in New York has gotten to taste so bland.
Published Online: SEPT 18, 2000
Published in Print: APR 1, 2000
In: Ale Street News
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I wrote the following
article for the April 1998 issue of CQ-VHF magazine. They published it as
their "Mobile Special" on pages 24 .. 28 of that issue.
Why Put a Perfectly Good Ham Rig on a Bicycle?
A ham cyclist looks at the benefits of combining his
two favorite hobbies -- benefits to both cycling and ham radio.
Why would anyone put a ham radio on a bicycle? Sure, there are a few
interesting people who have done some very innovative things, such as Steve
Roberts, N4RVE, who built a large computer/radio trailer on his bicycle, which
he calls the "Behemoth" (see this month's cover and Steve's article
in this issue -- ed.). But is this really bicycling? Is this
really ham radio?
Useful and Valuable
As a bicyclist for 28 years and a ham for seven, I have proven to myself that
ham radios belong on bicycles. They're useful and sometimes critically
valuable. They're fun and unobtrusive enough that even the most die-hard
racing cyclist can easily afford the weight penalty. In fact, I entered
the amateur community because I am a bicyclist and saw what ham radio could do
for me. But most ham/cyclists I know have followed a different path.
They were hams first who became interested in bicycling later.
In this article, I'd like to share with you what excites me about the
bicycle/radio combination and, hopefully, get you thinking about joining the fun
yourself. I'll talk about:
- Why I find putting a radio on my bicycle to be fun, and what's in it for you
in your daily routine?
- The bicycle/radio setup. It's actually quite simple!
- The innovative fringe. Want to try bicycle-mobile HF, CW, or packet?
- My own "shack-on-a-bike"
Why "Ham-on-a-Bike" is Fun
I'm a creature of leisure just like the rest of you. If I'm not having
fun, I won't do it. I don't bicycle in the rain, and I am certainly not an
"exercise freak." My radio is on the bike because that's where
it belongs: it's fun to use and very useful while I am pedaling.
Most of my conversations are social, but I've also arranged a few rendezvous
as I've ridden, sometimes with hams I've never met before. I've lso
started out riding toward areas with different weather and checked the forecast
along the way (the weather at the San Francisco Bay can be very different than
the weather at points only 30 miles away). And I've used my radio to call
for help, both for myself and for others, as well as to telephone home because
I'm having too much fun to arrive for dinner on schedule. I rode on Field
Day last year and limited myself to only contacts which were made while in
motion. My score of less than 10 won't break any records, but I was doing
the ride for fun and didn't operate much.
Frankly, I only put my radio on my bicycle because it is useful to have and
fun to use. And these two hobbies complement each other nicely.
Sometimes I'll ride quietly and just monitor the radio; sometimes, I'll actively
chat with friends on the repeater, much as you would do when commuting in an
automobile. Other times, I'll seek out other unusual people to chat with
(the simplex calling frequency of 146.520 MHz is good for this). Last
summer, I was bicycling through the suburbs while talking with a friend on top
of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park (100 air miles away), as he related the
previous evening's ham-assisted helicopter rescue. That was a memorable
ride, and it wasn't because of the route that I took!
I haven't tried to work the Mir space station while riding, but I do have a
QSL card from the NASA special-event station celebrating the 20th anniversary of
the Pioneer 10 space probe. I particularly like this card because it
doesn't say "special event station" and it appears to be from the
space probe itself ... plus, it confirms "bicycle mobile." This
is DX on a whole new level!
What Kind of Station?
Getting the most out of your bicycle/ham setup takes a bit of preparation,
but the rewards are well worth it. Try to answer for yourself the five
questions below. If you're not sure of the answers, the BMHA (Bicycle
Mobile Hams of America, see "resources") can help.
- Do I want to use my radio while in motion, or only while stopped
somewhere? (I use mine in motion.)
- If it's to be used just while stopped, is a simple HT/rubber duck
combination enough? (I use an HT, but with a 1/4-wave whip antenna).
If so, then stick the radio in a jersey pocket or handlebar bag and start
- If in motion, how do I keep control of the bicycle while using the
radio? (The BMHA has zillions of suggestions on this topic.) I
use a handlebar-mounted radio and an elaborate but inexpensive setup
consisting of a PTT (push-to-talk) switch on my handlebars and an in-the-ear
"intra-aural" microphone that is extremely easy to use.
- How will I power my radio? HT battery packs or something more
robust? (I use the standard battery packs that came with my Kenwood
HT, and pack a spare in my handlebar bag.)
- Will I operate just VHF, or do I want to try HF/CW/packet or other
modes? (I'm just a VHF mobiler, on 2 meters and 70 centimeters, and
although I have occasionally brought along my packet station, I'm too
chicken to type on the keyboard while in motion.)
Public Service Aspects
Not all of us are involved in ARES/RACES or other public service groups, but,
here in the San Francisco Bay Area, the next big earthquake is always on our
minds. My own town of Sunnyvale, 50 miles south of San Francisco, would be
chopped into seven separate areas if the bridges were to fall. Automobiles
would be useless, but a bicycle can go anywhere where you can carry it. A
bicycle-mobile radio will become a priceless asset when we experience the
A non-automobile mobile radio is useful in almost any public safety, outdoor,
or crowd-control event. In my area, the main events are bicycle tours,
equestrian events, and large gatherings in which areas of several city blocks
square are closed to automobiles. In each of these situations, it's a real
asset for the hams to be mobile, but automobiles are not a viable choice. Putting the ham on a bicycle is the ideal alternative: we have the
mobility of motorized traffic, but can thread our way through the densest
packing of event-goers. We have the presence of a pedestrian, but the
staying power and mobility of the fully-supported vehicle.
The next time you participate in or monitor the next local event, listen for
situations reporting in as "Bicycle One" or "Bicycle Mobile
Two" -- and see what they can do. I'm sure you'll be amazed and
Personal Safety and Public Safety
But using a radio on a bicycle is a responsibility. You've all read
newspaper articles about automobile accidents caused by one or both drivers
becoming distracted by a cellular telephone. This is publicity that we
don't want in the bicycle community! And an accident caused by inattention
on a bicycle can really ruin your day -- probably more than an equivalent
transgression inside a better-protected automobile.
Ham radio on a bicycle, just like ham radio inside a moving car, can be very
safe. You simply need to follow several simple rules:
- Always fasten your seatbelt (OK this one doesn't apply to a bicycle -- I
left it here to show just how simple and universal these guidelines are --
if you don't have the discipline to fasten your seatbelt in your automobile,
then I don't want to meet you on a bicycle.)
- Keep both hands on the handlebars. Your first responsibility to to
keep control of your bicycle. If you have a separate speaker-mic or
handheld radio, then you have to take one hand off of the handlebars in
order to use it. This is fine on city streets, but please stay off the
air (and in control of your vehicle) while descending the local mountain
- Your microphone has a dangerous cord. You don't want it to get
tangled in your front wheel if you drop it; it's gonna ruin your day if it
does. I've used two approaches to reduce the risk:
- a microphone cord which isn't long enough to reach the wheel, and;
- a cord which is fragile enough that it will break easily if caught and
not tangle in the wheel.
My current choice is Option #2 (with a secure mounting setup at my
helmet). Neither of these options has to be elaborate. To shorten
my microphone cord and get it in the right position, I've simply taped the
middle of the cord to my brake cable above the handlebar -- now the mic will
dangle an inch or two above the front wheel if dropped. Similarly, my
in-the-ear microphone is attached to my helmet strap with a large paper clip.
- Watch your local laws concerning earphones. My state allows you to
cover one ear, but not both. In fact, my style of earphone also lets
me hear background sounds, so I have "open ears," with one ear
augmented by radio speech. "Walkman-style" headphones can be
dangerous, not only because they cover both ears, but also because their
users often turn up the volume to drown out local sounds. Be
responsible: you are listening to communicate; not to distract.
Communications audio does not need to be loud enough to drown out local
traffic noise, and you'll be safer if it doesn't.
- Have Fun. You're doing this because you enjoy it. If it
isn't fun, you won't pay attention, and you won't be getting or providing
any value. Experiment with your setup. Find a relationship with
your bicycle and your radio that works for you. I can assure you that
it will become a life-long passion.
Cell phones as a Substitute -- Not!
Cellular telephones are becoming incredibly popular. They're easy to
use and don't even require an FCC license. They'll take over what ham
radio is doing, right? WRONG! While cell phones have their benefits,
they don't match what a ham radio can do, particularly in the RF-difficult areas
where many bicyclists like to ride.
A few months ago, I wrote an article for the BMHA newsletter (see
"Resources" to get a sample copy) that discussed this topic. It
was called "The Cellular Ham" and was later reprinted in several more
club newsletters. My points seem to have made a hit with these respective
editors, so I'll repeat them briefly here:
- Safety -- RF from both ham radios and cell phones is not much of a
worry. Safety from dropping your microphone into your front wheel is
of greater concern and has been covered above.
- Size and Weight -- Ham radios and cell phones are now small enough
and light enough that size and weight are no longer an issue if you're
buying a unit specifically for bicycling use.
- License -- An FCC license is required for a ham HT, but not for a
- Cost -- Cell phone service costs a lot (particularly here in the
San Francisco Bay Area, one of the most expensive cell phone markets in the
nation). Ham radio service costs nothing, although it is considered
good form to join one or more repeater groups and pay nominal dues.
- Where they work -- Both work in most areas. Both are
virtually assured of a connection in metropolitan or high-traffic
areas. In the mountains, however, ham radio has the edge because of
where hams tend to mount repeaters, and the ham has a choice of target
frequencies (and, therefore, locations) to contact, while the cell phone
user only has access to the system's antenna towers, usually located along
- Emergency use -- the cell phone can dial "911" (which
will most likely connect you to the Highway Patrol), while the ham can
choose whom to contact. But the ham has to know who to contact, or
this advantage is removed.
- Ham radio is "open" -- a cell phone is easier, and more
private, for calling home, but ham radio is a many-person experience.
The whole group can hear what is said (you can call over the mountain with
"This is AA6WK, can someone tell me what the weather is like over at
the beach?" or perhaps "AA6WK broke a spoke, is there anyone who
has an old-style Regina freewheel tool?"). With a cell phone,
such inquires are difficult, expensive, or just plain impossible.
- Preference -- I ended my article with "your mileage may
vary," and you may a prefer either a cell phone or a ham radio while
you bicycle. I am lucky enough to own both, but my cell phone stays
home while my ham radio is a faithful companion on my bicycle whenever I
The Innovative Fringe
In my role as an assistant newsletter editor for the BMHA, I've seen a number
of interesting applications of ham radios and bicycles. I have already
mentioned Steve Roberts, N4RVE, and his "Behemoth" bicycle.
There are also many BMHA members who take QRP (low-power) rigs into the woods
and mountaintops on bicycle tours and have a tremendous time with both the sport
of bicycling and the hobby of ham radio. Many of these intrepid souls hang
up small solar arrays as they bicycle and recharge their batteries for the next
night of calling "CQ."
Several have found handheld transceivers that operate on the world-spanning
HF bands and can make contacts several thousand miles away while pedaling
along. And a few brave souls have even mounted CW paddles on their
handlebars. They don't use a straight key (one of my favorite quotes is
"don't use a straight key -- you'll sound as if you are trying to send
CW while pedaling a bicycle"! How true.) As I mentioned
before, I'd even tried bicycle-mobile packet. Your opportunities are
limited only by your imagination.
I'm pretty much a low-key radio/bicyclist. Because bicycling is my
"first love," I've built my radio setup to match my riding style
rather than vice-versa. In the equipment department, I use a Kenwood
TH-77A dual-band HT connected to an in-the-ear microphone (trade name "EarTalk"
that I purchased via mail-order). My antenna is a homebrew 1/4-wave whip,
but I've also used 1/2-wave AEA "Hotrod"
antennas with lots of success. I use the radio's standard battery pack (I
carry a spare) and, as I mentioned, my microphone cord is fragile enough (by
design) that it will break away in an accident.
How do I mount it all? I used to carry my radio in a handlebar bag, but
a few years ago, I decided to carve up an ole headlight holder, which now holds
the radio mounted nicely on my handlebar where I can see and manipulate it with
ease. My antenna mount design is where I was most creative; the base of my
antenna is cabled to the bottom of my handlebar bag, and it projects up through
a loop in a piece of string which is attached to both brake levers. This
provides a soft-but-sturdy two-point suspension to hold the antenna securely, on
even the bumpiest of roads, without putting much strain on the radio or the
What Are You Waiting For?
It's time for you to start riding and hamming. Start now. Have
fun. You can put your radio on your bicycle, and you will
have fun. Contact the BMHA and they'll get you started in the right
direction. As a local advertising slogan says, "I guarantee
it." I hope to see you on the roads and on the air.
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A Collectors Eye: Cranach to Pissarro is a unique exhibition of paintings from a stunning private collection.
Running from Friday 18 February to Sunday 15 May 2011 at the Walker Art Gallery
, Liverpool, A Collectors Eye: Cranach to Pissarro exhibits five centuries of art and 64 works ranging from tender 15th-century devotional images to 19th-century French Impressionist landscapes. Old Master artists Rubens, El Greco, Delacroix and Cranach are included alongside Impressionists such as Pissarro and Sisley.
A Collectors Eye: Cranach to Pissarro features works from the Schorr Collection assembled by private collector David J. Lewis for his family interests. This privately held collection has been built up over the last 35 years and now numbers over 400 paintings. While numerous individual pieces have been loaned to many public institutions in the UK and abroad, this is the first time such a large part of the collection has been shown in a single exhibition.
The Walker Art Gallery built its world-class collections on the generosity of benefactors and 19th-century philanthropists. Carrying on this tradition David Lewis is keen to exhibit part of his familys collection at the Walker, including works already there on long term loan, and share these masterpieces with the public.
David Lewis says: The public need and deserve an opportunity to see and experience objects of art from all ages, collected objectively to educate, to inform, and create the basis for public enjoyment and enlightenment irrespective of economic considerations. Over the years a high proportion of the collection has been loaned to institutions, normally on a long term basis. We have sought to satisfy our own intellectual curiosity, but also to have the satisfaction of assisting many public bodies to fill gaps, or complement existing holdings, for public benefit.
As well as being an exhibition of great breadth and depth of style and time periods, it is also a story of how a collection grows and develops, and how the taste of the collector changes and diversifies.
Lewis began to build up this collection in the early 1970s when he bought Impressionist works for his family interests. By the 1980s however he was developing a more diverse collectors eye and had in the collection many gems, including Guido Renis St. Mark, Salvator Rosas A Philosopher and El Grecos St. John the Evangelist, all on display in this exhibition. The collection has continued to expand and outstanding acquisitions include Battle of the Amazons by Rubens, Pommiers dans une prairie by Pissarro and Port-Marly sous la neige by Sisley.
When collecting Lewis explains that there are certain responses he must feel on viewing the painting: intellectual, emotional and aesthetic. He uses a musical analogy to describe his selection:
One may find a piece of music difficult to the ear, but fascinating in its place in musical history or development, and of inexplicable emotional impact. Or it may be delightful to the ear, but of little emotional impact or historical interest.
Reyahn King, director of art galleries at National Museums Liverpool says: This fantastic exhibition pays tribute to the visual and intellectual curiosity of a collector whose acquisitions now form one of the largest collections of Old Master paintings amassed in England since World War II. While individual paintings have been widely lent to institutions, this exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery is the first show dedicated to the Schorr Collection, and we are extremely grateful for the generosity of the Lewis family interests.
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writer: Will Linto
contact: Andrew Lentini
Athens, Ga. – RecycleManiacs have returned to the University of Georgia to celebrate the 13th annual RecycleMania Tournament. This year, the Office of Sustainability is partnering with the Facilities Management Division services department to host a competition to help motivate the university community to reduce waste and increase recycling. From Feb. 25 to March 29, eight campus buildings will compete for the highest recycling rate.
Andrew Lentini, program coordinator for the Office of Sustainability, said he hopes this competition will make recycling forefront in the minds of the campus community. “If participating in Recyclemania forces our community to think about putting that can or newspaper into a recycling bin rather than one destined for a landfill, we think that’s a great success.”
While everyone on campus is encouraged to participate, he said, several academic buildings in particular will compete to help the university meet its recycling goals: journalism, psychology, chemistry, biological sciences, Miller Plant Sciences, Aderhold Hall, Lamar Dodd School of Art and Hugh Hodgson School of Music. The buildings were selected to promote healthy competition and for logistical reasons such as a convenient place to store recyclables until they can be weighed by student volunteers. The winning building—and its building services staff—will receive prizes.
In addition to academic departments, University Housing will participate by separating and weighing recyclables from individual residence halls. Joel Eizenstat, work management supervisor for University Housing, said he is “excited to get UGA Housing students directly involved in this year’s Recyclemania challenge.”
Student participation is also encouraged through the Greek Green Cup Challenge, a waste reduction and recycling competition among fraternities and sororities. The Greek Green Cup Challenge will specifically target aluminum cans and the collection of gently used shoes; proceeds will benefit Bear Hollow Zoo in Athens and Soles4Souls.
For more information on RecycleMania at UGA and other initiatives of the Office of Sustainability, see http://www.sustainability.uga.edu/. For more information on the nationwide RecycleMania competition, see http://recyclemaniacs.org/.
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Even if you’ve been driving for years, odds are you feel a little less confident driving at night. Driving after dark can be challenging for the most experienced drivers. Did you know that while just a quarter of driving occurs at night, this is the time when half the vehicle related deaths occur? Surely this has a lot to do with popular evening festivities and also limited visibility. Being a safe driver means being able to maneuver roads whether it is day or night. We’ve come up with 7 simple tips to improve your driving after dark.
1.) Adjust your Headlights
One of the quickest fixes to improve driving at night, is to take the time to check the alignment on your lights. When driving at night it’s essential to have your headlights pointed in the right direction. If you think your lights aren’t illuminating enough of the road, bring them to a professional or pull up to a wall at night to check them yourself. continue reading…
It may surprise you to hear, but that car alarm you just had to have doesn’t necessarily protect your vehicle from theft. A motor vehicle is stolen every 33 seconds in the United States. That’s according to an infographic released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which also states that 72% of all motor vehicles reported stolen are passenger cars. Yep, plain Jane passenger cars, not the amazing sports cars or high line coupes like you would imagine would be on the top of thieves’ wish lists.
This infographic has a couple of interesting tidbits about vehicle theft in the U.S., including the top 10 states and cities for car theft. You may be surprised to see New Jersey is tied for number 10 on Top U.S. States for Car Theft. Luckily, this infographic also provides a few tips on how to prevent vehicle theft.
One of the first things you learn as a new car owner is the importance of oil. Most people know that if you let your car run out of oil, you will be in a heap of trouble. Years ago, you knew that every 3 months or 3,000 miles it was time to change your oil. Today’s cars no longer adhere to that old rule. Instead, cars can go as many as 10,000 miles before requiring an oil change. With this much time in between changes, it’s important to check your oil levels. We recommend checking your oil at least once a month, more often if you notice it regularly low.
To many people checking your oil is an easy process. They would be correct, but for novice car owners, it can be a daunting task. We’ve created this simple step-by-step guide to checking your oil.
The New Year is here and Coops Cars is starting 2013 with a bang. If you missed our First Annual Sale, we still have many affordable cars on our lot. As an added bonus, from now until the end of January when you come in for a test drive, you can enter to win a new IPad Mini. No purchase necessary!
We have a great selection of gently used cars ranging from $5,000 to $45,000. Ask us about our 3 month unlimited mileage warranty and our flexible financing options. When you’re in the market for a new to you car, choose Coops Cars, and get a different car buying experience.
Today is the last day to take advantage of our excellent price cuts. We are wrapping up our first annual sale and we’ve saved the best for last. Our featured cars of the day are a 2008 Chevy Equinox for $11,143, a 2007 Honda Accord for just $12,813 and a 2004 Chevy Colorado for $5,995!
2008 Chevrolet Equinox LT
Color: Granite Grey Metallic
Mileage: 86,232 miles
This SUV is the ideal family car! It gets 17 mpg city and 24 mpg highway. Plus it’s all wheel drive, so you can have some fun with it on the weekends. It’s got many more miles to go and you can get there comfortably with all the extra space.
Coops Cars First Annual Sale is going strong and today we have 3 great cars with significant discounts. Check out this stylish 2007 Audi A6 for just $17,312, the gas sipping 2006 Hyundai Sonata for $8,996 and this durable 2007 GMC Envoy that’s a steal for $10,813.
2007 Audi A6 3.2 Quattro
Color: Oyster Grey
Mileage: 79,140 miles
Get used to driving in comfort when you take this Audi A6 out for a spin. Leather interior, power moonroof and unmatched handling. You’ll enjoy driving again when you’re behind the wheel of this car. It’s 3.1L V6 engine plus quattro and all wheel drive ensures responsive driving. continue reading…
In case you haven’t heard, Coops Cars is holding their First Annual Sale this week and we have some amazing deals on like-new vehicles. We are celebrating our one year anniversary at our South River location with big discounts for our customers. Stop by today to test drive the car of your dreams.
Today we are featuring a 2009 Cadillac CTS for $24,995, a 2005 Toyota Sienna for $12,995 and a 2003 Land Rover Discovery for $8,000.
2009 Cadillac CTS AWD w/1SB
Color: Black Raven
Mileage: 53,864 miles
With a 3.6L V6 engine this car can get up and go! Travel in luxury with individual climate settings, and a double-sized sun roof. Save nearly $2,000 when you buy this weekend.
For the second day of our First Annual Sale, we are showcasing 3 different gently used cars. Today we are featuring a 2007 Ford F150 for just $16,049, a 2004 Toyota Camry Solara for $10,456 and a 2006 Mini Cooper S for $14,143.
2007 Ford F-150 XLT
Mileage: 120,225 miles
This truck is ideal for running errands or tackling some serious work. Its 4 door crew cab allows for easy access and ample leg room. The fiery 5.4L V8 engine makes hauling a snap and the towing package is already installed.
Coops Cars is having our First Annual Sale and we want to celebrate with some great deals on quality cars. Stop by our dealership this week to find deep discounts on highly desired cars. We have decided to feature 3 great cars each day, January 2nd through January 7th, 2013, each at an additional discounted price. You can find out which vehicles are being featured by tuning into 1450 The Voice and listening for our commercials, or by checking back to our blog where we will showcase the featured vehicles. So stop by for a test drive and help us celebrate our first annual sale.
The cars featured today are a 2010 Cadillac CTS V for $43,664, 2007 Honda Accord for $11,800 and 2004 Mazda 3 I for $6,995. continue reading…
No one wakes up in the morning and says, “Oh boy, I hope I get a flat tire today!” It’s just not a fun experience, especially in winter weather. If you’re traveling at high speeds, a blowout flat tire can be dangerous. That’s why we decided to find 6 ways to prolong the life of your tires.
1. Keep Your Tires Inflated
When your tires are inflated to the correct pressure, they wear the way they’re designed to and you’ll get the most miles out of them. Check your owner’s manual to be sure that your tires are inflated to the correct pressure. If your tires are over-inflated, your vehicle will be difficult to handle and the ride will be rough. If your tires are underinflated, more of the tire touches the road surface and they wear more quickly, as well as reduce your fuel efficiency.
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Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (Ryla) Rotary Float In Rose Parade
Rotary Village Corps Still More Rotary Firsts
ROTARY FRIENDSHIP EXCHANGE
An interesting Rotary program of fellowship is the Rotary Friendship Exchange. This activity, originally recommended by the New Horizons Committee in 1981, is intended to encourage Rotarians and spouses to visit with Rotarian families in other parts of the world. It may be conducted on a club-to-club or district-to-district basis.
The idea is for several Rotarian couples to travel to another country on the Rotary Friendship Exchange. Later the hospitality is reversed when the visit is exchanged. After a successful pilot experiment, the Rotary Friendship Exchange has become a permanent program of Rotary.
The Rotary Friendship Exchange is frequently compared to the Group Study Exchange program of The Rotary Foundation, except that it involves Rotarian couples who personally pay for all expenses of their intercountry experience. Doors of friendship are opened in a way which could not be duplicated except in Rotary.
Rotarians seeking an unusual vacation and fellowship experience should learn more about the Rotary Friendship Exchange. Some unusual Rotary adventures are awaiting you!
ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARDS (RYLA)
Each summer thousands of young people are selected to attend Rotary-sponsored leadership camps or seminars in the United States, Australia, Canada, India, France, Argentina, Korea and numerous other countries. In an informal out-of-doors atmosphere, 50 to 75 outstanding young men and/or women spend a week in a challenging program of discussions, inspirational addresses, leadership training and social activities designed to enhance personal development, leadership skills and good citizenship. The official name of this activity is the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program (RYLA), although the event is occasionally referred to as Camp Royal, Camp Enterprise, Youth Leaders Seminars, Youth Conferences or other terms.
The RYLA program began in Australia in 1959, when young people throughout the state of Queensland were selected to meet with Princess Alexandra, the young cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. The Rotarians of Brisbane, who hosted the participants, were impressed with the quality of the young leaders. It was decided to bring youth leaders together each year for a week of social, cultural and educational activities. The RYLA program gradually grew throughout all the Rotary districts of Australia and New Zealand. In 1971, the RI Board of Directors adopted RYLA as an official program of Rotary International.
ROTARY VILLAGE CORPS
One of the newer programs in Rotary's panoply of worldwide service activities and projects is the Rotary Village Corps. This new form of grass roots self-help service was initiated by RI President M.A.T. Caparas in 1986 as a means of improving the quality of life in villages, neighborhoods and communities. Frequently there is an abundance of available labor, but no process to mobilize men and women to conduct useful projects of community improvement.
A Rotary Village Corps-or Rotary Community Corps as they are called in industrialized countries-is a Rotary club-sponsored group of non-Rotarians who desire to help their own community by conducting a specific improvement project. The Rotary members provide the guidance, encouragement, organizational structure and some of the material assistance for the Rotary Village Corps, which in turn contributes the manpower to help their own community. Thus, the Rotary Village Corps provides a totally new process for Rotarians to serve in communities of great need.
Rotary Community Corps have been organized mainly in depressed ghetto areas of major cities where groups of individuals need the organizational and managerial skills of Rotarians to undertake valuable self-help community projects.
The Rotary Village Corps program offers a totally new dimension to the concept of service to improve the quality of life.
Interact, the Rotary youth program, was launched by the RI Board of Directors in 1962. The first Interact club was established by the Rotary Club of Melbourne, Florida. Interact clubs provide opportunities for boys and girls of secondary school age to work together in a world fellowship of service and international understanding. The term, Interact, is derived from "inter" for international, and "act" for action. Every Interact club must be sponsored and supervised by a Rotary club and must plan annual projects of service to its school, community and in the world.
Today there are over 7,200 Interact clubs with more than 155,000 members in 88 countries. "Interactors" develop skills in leadership and attain practical experience in conducting service projects, thereby learning the satisfaction that comes from serving others. A major goal of Interact is to provide opportunities for young people to create greater understanding and goodwill with youth throughout the world.
After the success of Interact clubs for high school-age youth in the early 1960s, the RI board created Rotaract in 1968. The new organization was designed to promote responsible citizenship and leadership potential in clubs of young men and women, aged 18 to 30. The first Rotaract club was chartered by the Charlotte North Rotary Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1994 there were more than 149,000 members in more than 6,500 Rotaract clubs in 107 countries.
Rotaract clubs emphasize the importance of individual responsibility as the basis of personal success and community involvement. Each club sponsors an annual project to promote high ethical standards in one's business and professional life. Rotaract also provides opportunities leading to greater international understanding and goodwill. Rotaractors enjoy many social activities as well as programs to improve their community. A Rotaract club can exist only when continuously sponsored, guided and counseled by a Rotary club. The programs of Rotaract are built around the motto "Fellowship Through Service."
ROTARY FLOAT IN ROSE PARADE
The Rotary International float in the annual Tournament of Roses Parade is undoubtedly the largest public relations project of the Rotary clubs of the United States and Canada. Since 1924 a Rotary float has been entered 18 times including every year since 1981. The famous Pasadena, California, parade is seen by an estimated 125 million people via worldwide television.
Funds for the construction of the Rotary parade entry are voluntarily given by Rotarians and clubs in the U.S. and Canada. The cost of designing, constructing and flower covering a Rose Parade float begins at about $120,000.
A multi-district Rotary committee in Southern California coordinates planning of the Rotary float and provides hundreds of volunteer hours of service. The Rotary float must portray the annual parade theme, usually depicting one of the worldwide service programs of Rotary International.
Each New Year's Day, Rotarians take pride in seeing their attractive float and realize they have shared in its construction by contributing a dollar or two to this beautiful public relations project.
STILL MORE ROTARY FIRSTS
Rotary first presented "Significant Achievement Awards" in 1969 to clubs with outstanding international or community services projects.
Rotary's first Interact club was organized in Melbourne, Florida, in 1962 to become the pioneer for about 7,200 Interact clubs in 88 countries.
Rotary's first convention held in the Southern Hemisphere was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1948.
Rotary was assigned the copyright on the "4-Way Test" in 1954 when its author, Herbert Taylor, became president of Rotary International.
Rotary's first Community Service project took place in 1907 when Chicago Rotarians led a campaign to install a public "comfort station" in the city hall.
1964-65 was the first year when The Rotary Foundation received total contributions of a million dollars in a single year. Today more than $45 million is given annually. Contributions since 1917 total more than $750 million.
Rotary's first appeal for aid to disaster victims was in 1913 when $25,000 was given for flood relief in Ohio and Indiana.
Rotary's motto, "He Profits Most Who Serves Best," was first expressed at Rotary's very first Convention in Chicago in 1910.
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I've played this prelude so know it well.
First, let me say that I think the most prevalent error in playing No. 15 is taking too fast a tempo in Part A and its later reprise. The faster it goes, the less the sostenuto effect to the ear. Also a more restrained tempo there brings out through the ostinato figuration the sense of a gentle rain falling on a gloomy day.
As for Part B, Chopin himself gives no indication by using a tempo marking per se, nor does he place a direction there such as piu mosso or agitato. We all need to take note of that fact. In the Paderewski Edition, there is nothing written in the editorial board's commentary concerning measure 28 at the start of Part B, and their comments through measure 75 concern themselves with notational details only. Part B, of course, is more like a heavy squall in comparison to the opening gentle rain. It starts sotto voce but soon builds in tension and bombast with the crashing chords and octaves at the height of the storm. This in itself is an aural departure from the subdued and lyrical Part A, thereby creating its own drama.
Having said that, some pianists do pick up the pace there. My own opinion is that if you choose to do so, it probably should not be a radical departure from Part A, but could certainly be enough of an increase in tempo so as to be noticeable and assist in the change of mood there, but not so much as to sever the connection to Part A and its reprise. Those thunderheads developed out of the very same clouds earlier producing the gentle rain. Had Chopin wanted an audacious change there, he certainly would have called for it. Thus, you'll need to meld your interpretation to take your desired liberty there, but also to serve the composer above all else.
That's my 2 cents.
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After nearly a year of painstakingly preserving university negatives that were slowly starting to deteriorate, 50 images have been chosen for the exhibit titled, "Preserving our Past in Images, 1930-1999."
The display began Oct. 3, and the will remain on display at the W.H. Over Museum, Sletwold Hall, Vermillion, until Oct. 21.
According to Gayla Koerting, special collections librarian, "Our greatest challenge in preparing this exhibit was picking 50 photographs from a collection of this magnitude. The exhibit represents an educational opportunity for the public, showcasing images of superior quality while emphasizing the preservation concerns for this important collection."
"The USD Photograph Collection consists of over 300,000 negatives and is the first collection in South Dakota to be preserved utilizing sub-zero preservation. In this exhibit, we have included images not only of historical campus events, but also people of broader interest such as Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Howe, Robert Penn, and Jimmie and Clifton Daniels," said Sarah A. Hanson, photograph collection manager and curator.
To accompany and commemorate this occasion, a catalogue of exhibition will be available for sale at the W.H. Over Museum, USD Archives and Special Collections, and other locations yet to be announced.
Catalogues of the exhibit are also available online for $18.50 and may be ordered at www.usd.edu/library. The Archives and Special Collections office will also be offering for sale two limited edition portfolios.
G.A.R. Hall in Yankton will be the next location hosting this exhibition, Jan. 4-30, 2006.
The exhibit will then travel to The Center for Western Studies in Sioux Falls in February and March of 2006 and is scheduled to be on display at the Museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society in Pierre during July and August.�
Call Sarah A. Hanson at (605) 677-5450 or email firstname.lastname@example.org for more information or to book an exhibit.
This exhibition was provided for in part with generous contributions from the Mary Chilton Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution through the Mary Chilton DAR Foundation, Sioux Falls.
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Since the inception of the MotoGP class last season, it seems that the primary focus of the top race teams has been horsepower. The bikes that are winning races are primarily those with the most horsepower, and many teams and riders outside the top five routinely admit to being “down on power”.
The recent success of Ducati’s MotoGP effort has been tied to its V-4 motor (rumored to be even more powerful than Honda’s V-5), and of course Honda is rumored to be building a V-6 prototype to replace the RC211V. According to MotoGP rules, bikes with 6 or more cylinders must be 10kg (22lbs) heavier than 4- and 5-cylinder machines, and 20kg (44lbs) heavier than 2- and 3-cylinder bikes.
With the current factory V-5s probably making in the neighborhood of 230 wheel horsepower, it might seem crazy to add even more weight in exchange for more power. But if Honda does build a V-6, then someone obviously thinks a 341lb bike with power figures north of 250 wheel horsepower will go quicker than the current 319lb V-5. It would also indicate they believe that this horsepower advantage would negate the probable corner speed advantage of the lightweight 3-cylinder Aprilia Cube, which this season may finally approach its 297lb minimum weight.
Is outright horsepower that much more important than handling and corner speed as far as winning MotoGP races? Can tire manufacturers handle a heavier, much more powerful MotoGP bike? Only time, and possibly a new Honda V-6 machine, will tell.
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Despite the fact that its late revelation embarrasses the FBI - who failed to tell anyone, including the 9/11 Commission, about it - the latest http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20110908/ARTICLE/110909586/2055/NEWS?Title=FBI-investigated-another-Sarasota-link-to-9-11&tc=ar - story of Atta's Florida friends (reminiscent of Hopsicker's reporting) was presumably released to remind Americans of the Saudi connections to the September 11 attack, a big part of the official mythology required to divert attention from the real perps. Short summary: Atta hangs out at home of people, related to a prominent Saudi family, who suddenly disappear before September 11. Of course, if you think about the details, the story falls apart (which is presumably why the FBI didn't use it until a big Saudi reminder was needed for the tenth anniversary). The problem details:
These facts don't hang together with being part of a conspiracy with Atta. If they knew what was going on, why leave in a mad rush, but two weeks early? It doesn't make sense. It appears that something terrified them into leaving immediately, but that something didn't have any direct connection to September 11. It is likely they were set up, introduced to Atta and then warned that their lives were in danger if they didn't immediately disappear. In other words, they were meant to be part of the mythological connection of the attack to the Saudis.
- The family disappeared two weeks before September 11.
- They left so hurriedly they didn't have time to pack anything.
It is common to see these strands built up connecting various groups as scapegoats to be used after the event. For example, the JFK assassination is full of such strands, various frames of guilt to be used as and when necessary by the real conspirators. This one is an obviously faulty story, so it wasn't used until they needed a last-minute anniversary distraction. http://xymphora.blogspot.com/ - xymphora
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After listening to all of the negative propaganda about the supposed “Evils” of Universal Health Care from many on the Right Wing Side of the American Political Spectrum, does it surprise anybody that most Conservative parties in most of the countries in the Civilized World actually enthusiastically support ideas similar to those found in President Obama’s Affordable Health Care Act?
You see folks, the words, “Conservative” and “Selfish” are not synonymous everywhere. Does that come as a shock?
In fact, some people remember times in these United States when many Conservatives were far more moderate and easy to work with across the political aisles than some of today’s seemingly more extremist bunch. (Of course these are my opinions, you understand.)
But back to government backed Universal Health Care (Affordable Health Care):
Some of these kinds of health care systems have been operating in various other countries around the Globe for more than 40 years now and are reported to be doing just fine! Canada is often sited as one notable example of a successful Universal Health Care provider and as far as I can tell, most Canadians seem happy as clams with what they have.
The U.S. Military Veterans have access to a form of “Affordable” health care in their Veteran’s Administration Health Care System. I am a Vet and can report that most of my compatriots defend their VA benefits with fierce tenacity and the utmost vigor because it provides the best health care in the world in my opinion and someone like me who lives from hand to mouth on a pittance of a Social Security Check would be up a creek without a paddle if it were not for the VA Medical System.
There is another point I would like to bring up at this time which is also an opinion – - -In regards to the controversy about Affordable Health Care (A Federally-Run System)… I think that whatever The Conservative arguments might be, they are dead wrong.
As I believe, Republicans and Conservatives in The United States have traditionally been on the wrong side of every social issue that has ever been discussed.
It seems that Right Wingers always want to make life easier for the wealthiest 1% of Americans by making it a lot more difficult for the other 99%. The Health Care Issue is no different in that regard. Reichtie seems to want to deny help to many of those who may need it the most by opposing any form of Health Care that might present any kind of barrier to endless profits and gain for those who make their living off the suffering of others.
In my opinion, ever-escalating health care costs are nothing short of a blessing for the wealthy who make their living from Medicine and nothing less than a curse for people who need services and may not be able to afford them.
There was reportedly a short period of time during which a lot of Doctors and other medical practitioners in countries with state-run health care systems actually fled to The United States because it is said they felt they could make more money here than at their respective native countries.
Well, according to some Economists, this did not work out as well as expected and a lot of those same Medical Practitioners who came to America with great hopes and high expectations which were not met for some reason eventually pulled up stakes and went home again. Apparently the money they were making in their state-run systems did not look so bad after all for some reason that I have as yet to discover.
One of the biggest arguments by The American Right about so-called “Obama Care’ (The proposed state-run health system for America that has caused such confusion and controversy) appears to be that it is too expensive and cannot be afforded by The American Economy or adequately sustained for any appreciable amount of time.
My counter argument is that there is plenty of money available in the American Economic System to pay for all the Social Safety Net Programs including health care. The problem is that most of this money seems to be siphoned off into private profits rather than being used for the good of the nation.
I think that if people would just stop voting for those whose ambition seems to be to kill every social program that might benefit anyone who is not particularly wealthy, the whole problem would see positive steps toward sane solutions.
Too, if America would somehow just remove the so called “Cap” and a lot of the loopholes in the Tax Code that allows the Rich to get out of paying a lot of what would otherwise be due the government, the Social Programs could prosper and thrive and would be around for generations yet to come. This is my view of these matters. These are my opinions about them.
But as I see it, the loopiest political Righties are not about to let something like “Equity” for all concerned in shares of The American Dream happen if they can help it.
But then, these are problems for the voters to decide, aren’t they?
I just wish The Supreme Court had not allowed that stuff about “Citizens United” and The Super Political Action Committees to happen – - -especially the parts that allow all those millions of dollars to be pumped into our political campaigns with no accountability as to where they are coming from and with no apparent upper limits set on how much can be contributed to any single campaign.
In my humble opinion, this kind of thing may actually open the possibility that some (Or maybe all) our elections on the state, national and even local levels could actually become more “Purchased” by special interests than “Won” by concerned voters.
America should take another look at Her Supreme Court with an eye to making some changes.
It may be an ideal for Supreme Court Judges to be required to campaign and run for office the same as The President or Congress People or anyone else in government and I think there definitely should be term limits set on how long a Supreme Court Judge would be allowed to stay in office.
Just this one minor change in the way the Judiciary is composed and how it operates might conceivably go a long way toward solving a lot of problems for America in the future.
These are just a few of my thoughts, ideas and opinions on a few things that concern me and sometimes “Bug” me and I wanted to share them.
The “Related Articles included in the links below seemed especially important to me so they are included for anyone who wants to look a little deeper into the issues presented in this blog post.
Posted by John Liming as part of his continued Diary of Political Opinions.
Picture Credit – The illustration of The Health Care Symbol at the top of this blog post is used with permission of MARIO PIPERNI to whom we are most sincerely grateful.
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HOUSTON—Each day, HISD’s Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy (YWCPA) starts with a daily affirmation and the school creed. In unison, the girls state they are R.O.S.E.S.—responsible, organized and part of a sisterhood that is exceptional.
The Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy is a magnet school.
"We’re Houston Independent School District’s separate and unique magnet," said school principal Delesa O’Dell-Thomas. "We focus on stem: science, technology, engineering, and math. "
The academy offers a high-level private school education, although it’s a public school. There’s no tuition. The girls have to apply to get in and not everyone’s guaranteed acceptance.
Students readily admitted, "It’s a little bit challenging, the math and the science."
Another girl added, "We’re all taking pre-AP classes and AP classes."
"The work does get harder but it really does push you," said a freshman.
The school is for grades 6 through 10. Classes are intentionally tough.
One newcomer said, "It’s a lot more than I expected. All these electives and the classes are more advanced than I’m used to."
Do they miss having boys in the classroom? A seventh-grader said, "I think when it’s all girls we can all study better."
Most of the girls share the same sentiment.
The girls apparently feel more motivated.
"In this particular environment, our young ladies feel very comfortable in answering questions, being participants and not just sitting back and allowing the boys to take the forefront as that would be in a co-ed setting," said Principal Thomas.
The academy opened just last year, but already students are showing signs of success. Sixth-grade girls who took the 7th-grade math portion of the STAAR test outscored all 7th graders in HISD.
"We have some of the smartest, brilliant young ladies that you could ever dream of having in one school," said Thomas.
And for the most part they all get along. Many students express there’s a strong sense of sisterhood. It’s the beauty of their budding school.
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Born with neuroblastoma, a cancer of the spinal cord, Atif M. Moon, 24, was given no chance of survival. After three surgeries at the age of one month, he was left paralyzed from the waist down and became wheelchair bound. Moon had three more surgeries at ages 13, 15, and 16 to stabilize his spinal cord, but has not allowed his physical condition to restrict him from living a full life.
Moon currently works for Bertech Industries, an Electronic Distribution company, doing Online Marketing and will be pursuing a Masters degree in Sport Management in Spring 2010. After graduating from UCLA with a B.A. in Business Economics in 2007, he went on to work for NBC at the Tonight Show as well as in Marketing and Product Development. While in school, he served as an intern for Fox Sports TV as well as the Los Angeles Kings. In the Fall of 2006, Moon had the wonderful opportunity to work on behalf of the President by being selected as a White House Intern.
Moon has been involved in sports from his early childhood, participating in a 5K-wheelchair race in 1990 at the age of 5 and then going on to actively participate in wheelchair tennis tournaments around the country. He won his first major tournament in 1998, and since then has been ranked among the top Junior Wheelchair Tennis players in the nation.
As a Co-Founder of the Center for Global Understanding (CFGU), a non-advocacy, non-religious organization to encourage the Muslim American youth to participate in civic engagement, Moons focus has been to provide scholarships for college-level students to intern in Washington, D.C., to understand and learn about America’s institutions of democracy. With the ultimate goal of providing a way to bring people together and help Muslim Americans get engaged in public policy, poverty, health, and education issues, Moon feels that Muslim Americans should play a significant role to make this world a better place.
Moon resides in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
The Ten Outstanding Young Americans program (TOYA) is one of the oldest and most prestigious recognition programs in America. Annually since 1938, The United States Jaycees has sought out the ten young men and women who best exemplify the finest attributes of Americas youthful achievers.
Many notables have been honored as Outstanding Young Americans in the past including Presidents John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Bill Clinton, and Vice Presidents Al Gore, Dan Quayle, and Richard Cheney. Also honored were Howard Hughes, Orson Wells, Elvis Presley, Nelson Rockefeller, Ted Kennedy, dogsled champion Susan Butcher, and actors Christopher Reeve, and Shannon Reed.
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Nobody would expect a fair budget from George Osborne. The Chancellor was never going to give a budget that benefitted the many over the few, or one that put the realities of everyday life above right-wing economic dogma. Expectations suitably adjusted, we can perhaps take small comfort from the 50p tax band “only” being cut to 45p. Ed Miliband gave a sterling speech in response, and I raise a glass to the intern who wrote the jokes. Professional hacks will be casting their own analysis; what follows is my personal take on some of the details.
The Chancellor’s big spin on this budget is that it “rewards work”. We already know that under-18s are to endure a cut in the minimum wage. In the UK it is possible to work a 40-hour week and still live in poverty. The way to make work pay is, surprisingly enough, to actually make work pay, by implementing a proper living wage. Today we heard no commitment on improving the pay of the low paid. It would be naive to ever expect one from a Tory Chancellor. Increasing the income tax threshold seems reasonable, but not when even the poorest are still hit by VAT, and duty on fuel, alcohol and tobacco. What Osborne gives with one hand, he takes several times over with the other.
Projections for economic growth and for a fall in unemployment are welcomed.I only hope they hold true. As far as I am aware the budget made no specific commitments relating to the latter. I fear that further cuts to the Department of Work and Pensions will only result in more inhumane box-ticking and the harassment of the vulnerable. The Government – as ever – has put all its faith in the hands of the wonderful private sector.
On the 50p rate, the detail most comprehensively leaked, news was always going to be disappointing. Having endured two years of the government chaffing on about deficit reduction, one could at least have assumed that they intended to maximise tax revenue. Basic maths will tell anyone that a 50p rate will raise more by its presence than its absence (“Laffer Curve” / wishful thinking / pseudoscience aside). Osborne himself stated that the rate raised around £1 billion. To me a lot, to him “next to nothing”. Cutting it will cost £100m. That’s a lot of disabled children who will have to go without.
The moral case for the 50p rate is even more clear cut – there can be no reason why someone “earning” in excess of £150,000 per year needs a penny more. Greed can be the only motive, and the one which leads to tax evasion and avoidance. It will be argued that such non-payment means that the tax rate might as well be cut. Just apply this same rational to other crimes such as burglary and murder – “You’re never going to catch every criminal, might as well legalise it!” – to see what a fallacy it is.
Tax evasion is “morally repugnant” according to Osborne. It is hard to shake off that dirty feeling that comes from agreeing with him – especially given those are often my own words. Tax evasion, and avoidance, are both morally reprehensible. They are as much a theft from the community as your typical off-licence robbery, in scale perhaps more so. The problem is that Osborne is the last person I would expect to do anything about it. I fear that despite pledges to the contrary, he will be all talk and no trousers. Every spending decision taken thus far by the government has convinced me that it is a government of the rich, by the rich, for the rich.
Miliband’s best line came when he challenged the government front bench to admit who among them personally benefit from the budget. Furthermore it is worth considering how many prominent Tory donors will also benefit. Such borderline conflict of interest makes a mockery of democracy – and will certainly not be reported in the Tory press. The headlines will trumpet crumbs from the rich men’s table, and ignore the widening inequality that will be a direct result of Osborne’s decisions.
Labour should commit to restoring the 50p band, and to actually getting serious on tax fraud, just as we should commit to renationalising the NHS. Anything less will be to continue to concede to the rightward drift of our national political discourse.
By Chris Nash
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I come from a tradition that celebrates the possibility of finding new meaning in old storieseach time that story isengaged. The scripture is a living word, and in quiet reflection God isrevealed anew in our daily lives. - from the Introduction
In this six-week Sisters study, Becca Stevens will help you consider the question of balance in your life--between service and worship, duty and devotion, doing and being. She does this by examining narratives of New Testament women such as Mary and Martha, Lydia, Mary the mother of Jesus, the Canaanite woman, and Mary Magdalene. Becca concludes the study by exploring the anointings of Jesus Christ, in which women played a crucial role.
Throughout the study, Becca brings powerful insights from her work in Magdalene, a residential community she founded for women with a criminal history of prostitution and drug abuse.
As a part of the study, you will read from this Participant s Workbook each week, reflecting on the ideas presented and recording your thoughts and responses. Then, in weekly meetings with your Sisters group, you will share your thoughts and hear the insights of others. Each meeting will include a video in which Becca Stevens discusses the week s topic with a group she leads, followed by the discussion in your own Sisters group.
Finding Balance will help you weigh and resolve some of the conflicting impulses in your life, as you seek to follow Jesus Christ.
Available separately: Finding Balance Leader s Guide, ISBN 9780687471218 and the Finding Balance Kit, ISBN 9780687344901.
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Information contained on this page is provided by companies via press release distributed through PR Newswire, an independent third-party content provider. PR Newswire, WorldNow and this Station make no warranties or representations in connection therewith.
SOURCE First Book
Nonprofit and Author Provide 8,000 New Books to Students in Massachusetts and New Orleans
WASHINGTON, March 1, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mo Willems, author and illustrator of the award-winning Elephant & Piggie books, teamed up with First Book, a nonprofit social enterprise that provides new books for kids in need, to bring copies of Willems' books to second-graders at Title I schools in Massachusetts and Louisiana.
On Tuesday, Willems joined First Book staffers at Peck Full Service Community School, a Title I school in Holyoke, Mass., for a reading party. Each second grade student received their very own brand-new Elephant & Piggie book to take home.
"Giving an age-appropriate book to a child who otherwise would not have one is the simplest, most impactful way to improve that child's future success," said Willems. "Thanks to First Book and the Friendiversary program, it's easy for anyone (that means you) to help change the lives of young people in your area."
First Book has provided over 8,000 Elephant & Piggie books to kids this year, at 117 schools in Holyoke, Mass., Springfield, Mass. and New Orleans, thanks to support from Willems and Disney Publishing Worldwide. Disney made the books available at a third of the retail price, and also provided activity kits, stickers and posters to each school.
This marked the third year of the 'Friendiversary' program that First Book and Willems created together in 2011 to celebrate the power of friendship (like Elephant and Piggie's friendship) and the power of reading. The two communities are important to Willems; New Orleans is his hometown, and he and his family currently reside in western Massachusetts.
"We love Mo Willems at First Book," said Kyle Zimmer, president and CEO of First Book. "Not only does he create wonderful books, he goes above and beyond to make sure those great books of his get into the hands of thousands of children in need. The Friendiversary program has expanded every year to reach more and more kids, and we're excited to keep it growing."
About First Book
First Book has distributed more than 100 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families throughout the United States and Canada. By making new, high-quality books available on an ongoing basis, First Book is transforming the lives of children in need and elevating the quality of education. For more information, please visit us online or follow our latest news on Facebook and Twitter.
©2012 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved.
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Note: This message is displayed if (1) your browser is not standards-compliant or (2) you have you disabled CSS. Read our Policies for more information.
The Compliance and Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) is Indiana's business assistance program, statutorily authorized to operate under Indiana Code (IC) 13-28-1, 13-28-3, and 13-28-5-4. CTAP is a non-regulatory program that provides free, confidential compliance and technical assistance to regulated entities.
CTAP was established to help Indiana businesses achieve compliance with environmental regulations. We are experts on air, water, and waste regulations, and knowledgeable about current environmental issues and new technologies. We can assess the environmental compliance of your entire facility or we can help you address concerns about a particular process or regulation. We also identify pollution prevention opportunities that can move your business out of the regulatory loop or move you into a less burdensome regulatory process.
One of the many ways we can help is by working with you one-on-one at your facility. In addition to on-site consultations, CTAP provides:
The CTAP Quality Assurance Guarantee means that IDEM stands behind CTAP’s compliance assistance. The guarantee assures customers that IDEM will not issue a Notice of Violation assessing a gravity-based penalty against a regulated entity that has sought out, received, and relied upon CTAP’s written compliance assistance prior to the alleged violation.
We know environmental regulations can be overwhelming to businesses. CTAP staff members are highly-skilled environmental professionals dedicated to helping businesses understand and comply with environmental regulations. We are available weekdays to answer your questions or to schedule a consultation. Our main line is (800) 988-7901 (in-state only) or (317) 232-8172.
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By Beverly Ashour
When the goldenrod is yellow,
And leaves are turning brown-
Reluctantly the summer goes
In a cloud of thistledown.
When squirrels are harvesting
And birds in flight appear-
By these autumn signs we know
September days are here.
We have a slew of responses for recent requests. One letter came from Fran Naylor of Clendenin, concerning the game "Cornhole" in reply to Marilene Bibb's inquiry. She writes, "My grandson Anthony competes in this sport, traveling to Vegas, New Orleans and other large tournaments. It's like our old "horseshoes" game but much safer.
"There are two teams just like horseshoes -- one team member on each end but instead of pegs there are tilted boards with a hole in each one. There are four bags for each team filled with corn or beans. (Some people call it bean bag toss instead of cornhole.) Players alternate pitching; the one with the most bags in the holes get the points going to 21."
Fran went on to comment on wild mushrooms, "I was blessed with two large bags of "Braddies"? They are tan with a dark spot in the center and milk in the stem. (This is a new mushroom to me, but they must be one of the milky varieties.) She says they are so good; taste a little like a portabello, and are great as a meat substitute on a bun. She canned nine pints for later use. Sounds good to me. Fran says for readers to please write down their family recipes, or they'll be lost forever.
We had a very interesting letter from Lisa Mize of Montgomery, and she included a recipe for parched corn. She writes, "Your articles reminds me of my growing up days in Green Sulphur Holler, in Summers County, where my grandmother, mother and I would wander about picking wild greens for the pot. (This makes my mouth water!) I still pick and eat a lot of them, and use a lot of wild plants for medicine. I've been all over the world and came back to this place -- I know that whatever happens, there will be food and medicine in these mountains for me." Lisa has a professional degree and cannot find work, but she chooses to stay here.
As to the parched corn, she says, "I keep a jar of dried field corn on the countertop and when my fiance's kids come over we parch up some -- they love it! I like field corn best -- let it dry on the cob. Shuck it; blow off the chaff. When nibblin' time comes, take a cast iron skillet, a little olive oil, salt and a clear glass lid (the young'ens like to watch it parch.
"Heat the oil in the skillet, toss in the corn, sprinkle with salt, put the lid on and "fry" it until it starts to puff up. Stir with a wooden spoon to toast both sides of the kernel. Put it in a bowl and stir in a tiny pat of butter if you wish -- but it is good enough without the added calories. We used to parch a large skillet of corn in the oven with salt and feed it to Gypsy (our old milk cow of 30 years ago) to help her pass the afterbirth -- it always did the job!"
Wilford Bird of Yawkey says that parching corn is so easy your husband could do it. He uses dry sweet corn, and puts it in a cast iron skillet, with very low flame. Stir constantly to keep from burning, and when the kernels are swollen and have a golden brown color, it is done. He always leaves a few ears of sweet corn in the garden to mature and dry. It is stored in the freezer and will keep for a long time.
We have a recipe request from Patty Strickland who wonders what can be made from paw-paws. Paw-paws are also known as WV bananas, and have a creamy, custard-like consistency. They are delicious eaten just as they are, but can be used in a pie. Betty Bragg is looking for a recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce (probably to can.) Can anyone help her?
(When we pray for our Armed Forces and ask God to protect them as they protect us, don't forget our law enforcement officers who also put their lives on the line every day. Our grandson Joshua Bragg is a State Trooper in Roane County so this request is very close to our hearts.)
Contact Alyce Faye Bragg at alycef...@citlink.net or write to 2556 Summers Fork Road, Ovapa, WV 25164.
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By Mike Carey, author of THE UNWRITTEN
THE UNWRITTEN is all about the impact of stories on the real world. I’d hate to spoil what we’re doing by talking about the stories we’re going to feature (we’ve already touched on Frankenstein and Kipling’s Just So Stories), but I think everyone has a list of books that have changed their lives.
I should probably qualify that. I’m not talking about the situation that arises when you carry, say, a Bible in your breast pocket and it conveniently deflects a bullet. We’ve all been there, but it’s kind of infrequent. Try to remember the last time it happened to you.
What I’m talking about is the books that redecorate the inside of your head – the watershed books. The ones where, when you put them down, you discover to your vast surprise that you’re living in a different world.
Here are my top five:-
1. The Magic Faraway Tree, by Enid Blyton.
This is the second in a series of three books, but it was the first one I got my hands on. I was maybe six years old – just starting to read by myself – and Miss Kilvington had said I could pick anything out of the book cupboard and take it back to my desk. I chose this battered-looking hardback because it had cool pictures in it: a guy with a face that was round and pitted like the moon, another guy with pots and pans and flat-irons hanging off his suit, and a fairy with wings who seemed to be hanging out with both of them. I took it back, started to read, and got sucked into this crazy world.
The plot: three kids find a tree in a patch of woodland near their home. It’s a magic tree. It stretches up much further than you’d ever guess if you saw it from the ground, and there’s a whole community of people living in its upper branches. Some of them have houses carved right into the trunk of the tree. Moreover, right up at the top of the tree, there’s a gateway into another world – Topsy-Turvy Land, say, or the Land of Do-As-You-Would-Be-Done-By. The lands are constantly moving in a magical, poly-dimensional way: at any moment, the one that’s at the top of the tree could move on and be replaced by another. If you’re there when that happens, too bad: it’ll be a year before the land comes round again to the top of the tree and you can climb down and get home.
It has to be admitted that Enid Blyton’s writing style is penny-plain. She never bothered much with adjectives: she seems to have felt that verbs did a better job of keeping things moving along. She was a product of her time, full of fairly horrendous views about race and gender, and her characters struggled to be one-dimensional. None of that mattered, though. The stories lit up the inside of my head, and gave me the love of fantasy that steered my life towards writing. I never looked back.
Since then, I’ve read the entire series to all of my own three kids, who devoured them every bit as avidly as I did. The magic is still there.
(NB: if three books aren’t enough, The Wishing Chair is almost as good.)
2. An Alien Heat, by Michael Moorcock.
It was the Eternal Champion stories that first turned me onto Moorcock’s writing, but the Dancers at the End of Time trilogy (An Alien Heat and its two sequels) stayed with me longer and affected me more deeply. Whereas the Eternal Champion books were written to a formula (hero seeks magical artefacts to defeat earthly representatives of evil gods), these more sci-fi oriented tales were whimsical and beautiful and unpredictable. They tell the story of a love affair that spans most of time and space. In the far future of Earth, only a few humans remain alive, but they’re immortal and have powers that could fairly be called god-like. Ancient and powerful machines buried in the crust of their world translate their every wish into instant reality.
Against this backdrop, Jherek Carnelian meet s Mrs. Amelia Underwood, a time traveller from the Victorian era. He decides to fall in love with her, at first as part of a game – like all the other games his bored, jaded peers play to fill the tiresome eons. But gradually he comes to feel for her more deeply, and the emotions he was play-acting become real. When Mrs. Underwood is abducted and taken back to her own time, Jherek determines to be reunited with her at any cost. But of course, the great reality-changing machines don’t exist in the Victorian age, and Jherek is powerless there. So begins the last epic love story in the annals of the human race.
These books taught me that there were no limits to the stories you could tell in a sci-fi or fantasy context: that sci-fi and fantasy were modes of storytelling rather than genres, and could subsume other genres without a stretch: if you could have a sci-fi romance, then sci-fi mysteries, thrillers, comedies, tragedies, westerns and war stories and travelogues all became possible. My eyes were opened.
3. Wyrd Sisters, by Terry Pratchett.
Not the first Discworld novel, but the first that my wife, Lin, offered to read to me while I was cooking dinner one evening. That started a tradition we’re still honouring. I never actually read Pratchett. I have him read to me, and I pay in the currency of food. One of the more bizarre side effects of this is that on the very rare occasions when I do open a Pratchett novel and look inside, I hear the words being spoken in Lin’s voice as I scan them. I have an internal Lin.
This was also the book where it all kicked into gear. The first two Rincewind novels, Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic, are rollicking good fun: Equal Rites, Mort and Sourcery get progressively deeper and richer. Then along comes Wyrd Sisters, with its Macbeth parallels, its nebbish hero, its enduringly wonderful trio of witches, and suddenly what had been just a parody of post-Tolkien high fantasy became incomparably much more. There was no stopping the Pratchett juggernaut now – and thank god for it.
4. Nine Princes in Amber, by Roger Zelazny.
Yeah, I know, Lord of Light is a better book. Maybe Jack of Shadows, too. But Nine Princes in Amber was the one that did it for me.
This was back when I was a snot-nosed kid (someone bought me a handkerchief about a year later). I would have been about fifteen or so, and to be blunt, I had less disposable income than your average sea cucumber. I got 50p a week pocket money, and books cost thirty-seven-and-a-half. So mostly when I wanted something to read I went to the library. One of two libraries, that were about a mile from where I lived in opposite directions – Evered Avenue and Spellow Lane, for the Scousers among you.
And since I favoured sci-fi, I looked for the mustard-yellow spines that signified books on the Victor Gollancz sci-fi list. Sometimes they wouldn’t be sci-fi: annoyingly, Gollancz used the same livery for their mystery thrillers. But usually, bright yellow meant paydirt.
One day, I picked up Nine Princes in Amber. And believe me when I say that was a good day. A city that casts shadows through space and time – and the shadows are all the other cities that have ever existed. A family that are like the Medici, only immortal and superhumanly strong. A pack of Tarot cards that function both as omni-dimensional cellphones and as gateways to other worlds. And that’s just the starting position. By the time you get to Ganelon, Dworkin, Oberon, the maternal unicorn and the Courts of Chaos, you’re in a mental space that can normally only be reached by going over the stated dose on your prescription medications.
Zelazny is one of those writers who starts where a lot of other guys would normally be clocking off. He takes an idea, makes it sing and dance and juggle burning torches, folds it into a paper plane, sails it off into the ether and then reveals the better idea he was hiding up his sleeve all the time. In the Amber books, he does it again and again: you don’t really know the whole story until the final battle, and even then there’s a twist.
And the fact that Nine Princes casually incorporates a wonderful Chandler pastiche is just icing on the cake.
5. Titus Groan, by Mervyn Peake.
You can’t really read Titus Groan without reading Gormenghast – they’re the two halves of the same story. The third book in the trilogy, Titus Alone, is a different animal altogether, and it took me longer to love it.
Peake was an artist as well as a writer, and he writes with an artist’s eye. Some chapters in Titus Groan are set up as tableaux: Peake paints a still image for you in words, and then has some piece of action, often small and symbolic, disturb the stillness. You have to be prepared to immerse yourself in the sense of place. Gormenghast castle is a place where nothing much has changed in the past few millennia, and part of peake’s purpose is to make you feel the weight of that past – the dead hand of tradition and precedent.
Then he hits it with a wrecking ball.
Before I read Titus Groan, I’d never really thought all that much about the music of great prose. Most of my favourite writers weren’t really great stylists, and I was all about a good story, even if it was told in monosyllables. Peake taught me the power of language, more than anybody else I read in my teens. He built a whole world out of words, and gave it an infinite variety of flavours and nuances.
Also – and despite what I said earlier about stillness – the last two hundred and fifty pages of Gormenghast (the stalking of Steerpike) are the longest sustained edge-of-the seat read in the English language.
And now to reveal the cover to issue #9 by Yuko Shimizu!
THE UNWRITTEN is about the stories behind stories, so how’s this for appropriate?
Issue 5 is a one-off focusing on Rudyard Kipling, and while most people think The Jungle Book when you mention him, Mike and Peter thought Just-So Stories.
In that anthology of children’s tales, there’s a story called “How the Alphabet was Made.” It’s a whimsical tale about how a girl and her father invented the alphabet to be used as a secret code between them. But check out the poem at the end of the story:
OF all the Tribe of Tegumai
Who cut that figure, none remain,--
On Merrow Down the cuckoos cry
The silence and the sun remain.
But as the faithful years return
And hearts unwounded sing again,
Comes Taffy dancing through the fern
To lead the Surrey spring again.
Her brows are bound with bracken-fronds,
And golden elf-locks fly above;
Her eyes are bright as diamonds
And bluer than the skies above.
In mocassins and deer-skin cloak,
Unfearing, free and fair she flits,
And lights her little damp-wood smoke
To show her Daddy where she flits.
For far--oh, very far behind,
So far she cannot call to him,
Comes Tegumai alone to find
The daughter that was all to him.
The first time Mike Carey read it – I believe as a kid – he had no idea what it meant, but he knew it was about a helluva lot more than the alphabet.
It was. Kipling’s daughter died at some point before he wrote the book. Read it again with that in mind.
It’s amazing what you find in these little kid stories.
And that’s only the tip of how fascinating Kipling’s life is. THE UNWRITTEN 5 – “How the Whale Became” – gets into all of that and the mysterious unwritten conspiracy that’s got its eyes on Tom Taylor. It features cameos by Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde and might cause you to take rethink some of the things you saw in the first 4 issues – or things you’ll see in the next storyline – which maybe we should have titled “The Song of Roland.” Everyone on board took extra time on this one. Don’t believe me? You can check out Peter’s extra care on the black and white art in this issue.
In the India of the British Raj, young journalist and would-be novelist Rudyard Kipling gets an offer he can't refuse. It's an offer that will catapult him to fame, fortune and inexorable destruction. The secret history of the Unwritten begins in this stand-alone story...
Lot’s happened this week. Here's a roundup of those not to be missed.
LARGEHEARTED BOY posts Jeff Lemire's fantastic music playlist for THE NOBODY. In his introduction Jeff writes, “I've always preferred sad songs. They don't make me sad, they just make me "feel more." Now, that's something I can totally relate to. Check it out!
And as a special treat, here are a few of Jeff Lemire's early cover sketches for THE NOBODY.
[gallery link="file" order="DESC"]
Have a great weekend!
In the previous post, Editor Pornsak Pichetshote discussed THE UNWRITTEN. This new series really has something special, and it gives me great pleasure to reveal one of my favorite inked pages from issue #3 below.
Did you know the CIA once pretended to shoot a movie adaptation of Roger Zelazny’s Lord of the Light as cover to smuggle US diplomats out of Iran? Go ahead, Google it.
I love that stuff. Random trivia about ways books and movies have affected the world. That’s why when Mike Carey and Peter Gross pitched me THE UNWRITTEN, they might as well have titled it, “The Pornsak Geek-Out Book.” When I pointed that out to Mike, he deadpanned that it’ll hopefully keep him from having to do too many rewrites.
But the truth is, that also made me nervous. Might the fact that I was so the book’s ideal audience mean my gauge would be off about whether other people would respond?
Fortunately, my paranoia was unjustified. Rave reviews are still piling on for the first two issues, with issue 1 selling out in 10 days. Maybe Mike and Peter can make anything interesting, or maybe it’s easy for all of us to be infatuated with the behind-the-scenes stories about the stories we love. So, with that in mind, here are four random behind-the-scenes UNWRITTEN facts and four unused cover sketches for issue 1. Enjoy…
1) Tommy Taylor’s flying cat is basically Peter Gross’ cat, Narnia, with wings. Peter swears his daughter named the cat.
2) The visual effect of Pullman’s touch was actually inspired by a design element cover artist Yuko Shimizu employed on an alternate cover for UNWRITTEN 1.
3) Yes, this means there’s an alternate cover to UNWRITTEN 1 that no one outside DC offices has seen besides Mike, Peter and Yuko.
4) The best behind-the-scenes look of the first issue is the one Mike wrote here.
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Page Revision: 10/2/2012 10:27:26 AM
Executive onboarding is acquiring, accommodating, assimilating and accelerating new leaders into the organizational culture and business1
. The best onboarding strategies will provide a fast track to meaningful, productive work and strong employee relationships2
and be tailored specifically to the needs of the individual. Executive onboarding should be strategic, so that it not only prevents executive derailment, but expedites the executive’s contribution to optimize strategic achievement. Getting on Board: A Model for Integrating and Engaging New Employees
is a report created from a study conducted by the Partnership for Public Service (PPS) and Booz Allen Hamilton in 2008. The study states that successfully onboarding employees during their first year of service increases engagement, raises retention by as much as 25 percent, improves performance and hastens the time to full productivity.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recognizes the value of ongoing assimilation into an organization and so includes a year-long orientation process among the five components of its new End-to-End (E2E) Hiring Roadmap. Though not specifically geared toward leadership positions, the E2E Hiring Roadmap can be used to help assure federal agencies recruit and retain the top talent they need to meet the complex challenges of the 21st century.
Onboarding of key executives is even more critical than it is for other employees because of the significantly greater performance expectations leaders face and the greater impace they have on the overall performance of the organization. Some federal agencies like the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) have established very comprehensive onboarding programs for their employees and their executives. Other agencies with executive onboarding programs are the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
Agencies need onboarding solutions that address three types of new SES:
- Those from outside the agency, but still within the government
- External hires from outside the Federal Government
- Those who have grown within the agency
While the terms "onboarding" and "orientation" are sometimes used interchangeably they are notably different. Nevertheless, they are both critical processes in the successul assimilation of new hires. Here are some important distinctions between the two:
Strategic with an impact on bottom-line results
Evolving and progressive
An ongoing process
Used for transferred and promoted employees, as well as new hires
Is most often limited to new employees
Delivers information that is unique and customized to the individual employee and is generally handed out on an as-needed basis
Delivers information that is common to all new hires usually within a classroom setting
Has a long-term focus, and can last up to a year or more
Is a short term program, typically lasting from one day to two weeks
The sooner a new employee experiences the benefits of a comprehensive and well-implemented orientation and onboarding program, the sooner the employee will become a contributing member of that organization.
Solve Problems (What are some resources available to me?)
What are other agencies doing to onboard their executives?
Use the links below to access agency-specific Executive Onboarding Program information. Established best practices from other Government organizations can be shared and tailored to meet your agency's needs.
Office of Personnel Management
Hit the Ground Running: Establishing a Model Executive Onboarding Framework, was designed to provide a consistent model in which to introduce new executives into the SES and to maximize executive effectiveness. It is a flexible framework allowing adjustments that adhere to specific agency rules, policies, procedures and needs.
Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of the Navy
The Department of the Navy has also recently implemented SES 101 and Flash Mentoring workshops, offered at a Senior Executive Seminar at the Washington Navy Yard.
SES 101 was an hour long session designed for executives who have been in the SES less than three years. Topic areas included:
- Description of all executive types (SES, SL, ST, HQE, etc)
- Geographic locations of DON SES
- Executive lifecycle management
- Executive Stats
- Executive Benefits
- Executive Resource Management Governance
- DON Executive Development system
- DON Talent Management Process
- Executive Management Program Office Contacts
Flash Mentoring was a one-hour session that immediately followed SES 101. I thought of the idea of offering flash mentoring after some past conversations with Scott Derrick at DoD (see blog post, Mentoring in a Flash . He developed flash mentoring for members of the Senior Executive Association (information on SEA's website) when he worked there and at another organization he was a part of (13L). I decided to modify the concept for a seminar environment to be more like speed mentoring. Some particulars:
- Three, 20-minute sessions for a total of one hour
- DON senior executives were asked in advance to volunteer to serve as a flash mentor
- Mentees were pulled from those who signed up for the session through the seminar registration site
- We had 10 mentors and 10 mentees
- The mentors committed an hour of their time to meet with 2-3 different executives who were earlier in their executive career
- Mentees were given bios of the mentors and asked to provide their top 3 preferences
- I matched mentors to mentees and created a schedule/schematic of the room
- The room at the seminar was set up with 10 cocktail style tables
- Mentees rotated every 20 minutes and mentors remained at their assigned table
- Mentees and mentors were given a folder at the seminar that included bios of the executives they were meeting with, a tip sheet based on their role, their schedule and an evaluation form; they also received an email in advance of the seminar with the same information
Agencies can also look to the private sector for best practices in executive onboarding. Here are a few examples of innovative practices:
Johnson & Johnson, Canada
New hires from outside the company enter a different onboarding track than those hired from within the company. Internal hires are also onboarded differently according to their key skill gaps, of which the company is already aware, as a result of their performance management process. Other best practices include providing an external onboarding coach who collects and uses business/organizational data anonymously to develop Onboarding development charter that outlines transition leadership priorities, stakeholder relationship map and individualized dashboard;
- Coach provides support to launch new team and then ongoing advice/counsel for six months;
- Assign a senior mentor ‘buddy’ outside direct reporting relationships;
- Schedule networking appointments with key leaders;
- Participation in corporate transition leadership workshop with other new executives to help plan their onboarding; and,
- Feedback on onboarding progress solicited during sixth month of employment to identify transition adjustments.
- Formulates 100-day plan with HR partner, hiring manager and assigned external assimilation coach day one who then continues to support executive through onboarding;
- Individual Development Plan (IDP) for transition is built for executive based on assessment data collected as part of pre-hire, role requirements and career aspirations;
- HR facilitates formal networking meetings/interviews with CEO and members with senior management team; and,
- Planned experiences with various parts of the company.
- At six month milestone:
- Obtains 360° feedback and uses data for further development
- Provides feedback to onboarding process for improvements
- Inclusion in succession panning process to determine future potential
- Participation at annual AMEX New Leaders Orientation Summit
- Leadership ability and organizational fit are determined at the interview stage; Meetings with influential colleagues are set up for the new hire;
- Progress is tracked for first year by outside consultant and HR;
- Onboarding processes tailored based on information gathered about the individual during the hiring process;
- Understanding that even the best candidate will have some development gaps, the company arranges the needed coaching resources to help the new executive shore up any development areas that surfaced during pre-selection assessments and behavioral interviews; and,
- Resources are made available the employee’s first day on the job and are kept in place for several months.
(What can I learn to help me refresh my knowledge base and add value?)
As a result of a collaborative effort with the Senior Executive Associaiton, the Partnership for Public Service and experienced and newer SES members, OPM developed a Governmentwide Executive Onboarding Framework and Executive Onboarding Manual. These documents are tools to assist agencies in creating a business case for and ultimately implementing an executive onboarding program for their new leaders.Please contact Cheryl Ndunguru (email@example.com) for copies of the framework and manual. The framework and manual will be posted shortly.
Discover Helpful Tips and Resources
(What other tools and resources including guides, articles and websites are available to me?)
There are many resources through the internet, webinars, books, training and other media that provide good instruction on developing a comprehensive executive onboarding program. Here are a few:
Executive Onboarding (Navy) Questions and Answers
The following questions were asked of Navy's Executive onboarding program:
- Does your onboarding program begin once a year, at various times throughout the year or as new executives arrive?
- We onboard executives based on their entrance on duty date, so we aren't delaying when an executive begins. We don't have a cohort per se. For clarification, the Department of the Navy (DON) does not have an orientation that new executives come to at specific times. We meet with them 1:1 at the beginning (in addition to what the Command provides) and then check in with them throughout the year. We also see them at the various events and meetings that support executive development.
- How do you onboard each new SES as they come in?
- At the Department of the Navy, we link executive onboarding with selection decisions in the recruiting phase. Once an entrance on duty date is confirmed, we partner with our points of contact in each Command. Our centralized office holds an initial overview (first day/first week) with each executive about their role within the greater department, near-term priorities/actions, services and support for leadership development and engagement. We provide them with a welcome packet, which includes an onboarding guide and plan that is tailored to their position and location. In addition, a soft copy of the onboarding plan is provided to the executive prior to their entrance on duty. The field activity where the executive resides takes care of local responsibilities such as introduction to the organization/staff/stakeholders, badge access, ethics counseling, etc. The bulk of our executive appointments are internal employees, so there has been more of an emphasis on assisting with their position transition and working at the executive level than topics such as benefits (which remain the same).
- Which aspects of the program were most costly? Which were the least costly?
- The onboarding experience is aligned with leadership development, performance management and succession planning processes. That being said, probably one of the most costly aspects is an executive coaching engagement, which includes a 360 assessment (aligned to the DON SES Competency Model) and 12 coaching sessions with an external executive coach (typically over 6 months). We introduce this opportunity to new executives after 90 days and typically recommend it begin within their first year.
- One of the least costly aspects of the program (but impactful) is the face-to-face meetings with new executives throughout their first year. The cost is our time, but it pays dividends in terms of the executive understanding expectations, feeling included/valued, and building relationships with our customer and points of contact.
National Science Foundation
Studies demonstrate the success of incoming executives largely depend on the following:
- Understanding the unique aspects of the organizational culture;
- Understanding the dynamics of the teams the executive is entering (whether as a leader or colleague); and
- The personality, knowledge and leadership skills of the incoming executive.
This is how NSF addresses (or intends to address) this within their executive onboarding program:
- Understanding the unique aspects of the organizational culture
- Our new Executive Leadership Retreat has a heavy and multifaceted approach to addressing org culture.
- We are planning to develop a new executive mentorship program that will also serve in this regard.
- Understanding the dynamics of the teams the executive is entering (whether as a leader or colleague)
- We're piloting a team formation workshop in the Fall to serve this purpose.
- Associate Directors and their deputies, and Division Directors and their Deputies work closely together and inform one another on these dynamics.
- The personality, knowledge and leadership skills of the incoming executive
- 360 assessments and coaching available to new Executives.
- Having all levels of staff (administrative / scientific) interview applicants.
- Personality & leadership skills emphasized in Executive Leadership Retreat.
- Leadership & Problem-Solving Skills course offered multiple times per year.
- We're piloting an "Art & Science of Picking the Right People" workshop this Fall; the workshop will highlight how to select based on these attributes.
Please feel free to share any articles, classes, webinars or best practice events related to executive onboarding on this page.
- Bradt, G., Check, J. A., & Pedraza, J. (2006). The new leader’s 100-day action plan.Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Brodie, J. M. (2006). Getting managers on board. HR Magazine, 51(11), 105-107.
- Concelman, J., & Burns, J. (2006). The perfect storm or just a shower? TD, March, 51-53.
- Friedman, L. (2006). Are you losing potential new hires at hello? Organizations need strong new hire onboarding processes. TD, November, 25-27.
- Pomeroy, A. (2006). Better executive onboarding processes needed. HR Magazine,51(8), 16.
- Taleo, A. S. (2006). Researching onboarding best practice. Strategic HR Review, 5(6),32-35.
- Van Maanen, J., & Schein, E. H. (1979). Toward a theory of organizational socialization.
- Research in Organizational Behavior, 1, 209-264.
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Excerpts from the governor's speech
DENVER - Gov. John Hickenlooper's third State of the State address contained his most detailed policy agenda yet. Some of the highlights:
Wildfires: "We need to re-examine the way homeowners are insured in the wildland urban interface, and do a better job of encouraging and supporting fire-mitigation practices," Hickenlooper said.
He will ask for funding to remove trees and create healthier forests in high-risk areas, he said.
Marijuana: Hickenlooper briefly mentioned one of the toughest issues facing the Legislature - passing laws to implement Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana for adults. He called on the Legislature to create a standard for police to tell when people are too high to drive, and he said laws must be designed to keep pot away from kids.
State constitution: Legislators have tried for several years - without success - to make it harder to amend the constitution. Hickenlooper pledged his clout to the effort Thursday.
"We want to work with you to explore creative ideas on how best to reform the way our constitution is so easily amended. There are a number of ideas already circulating," he said.
Enterprise zones: The system of tax credits for businesses in supposedly downtrodden areas needs reform, Hickenlooper said.
"I know from my own days of opening businesses that enterprise zones help, especially when you are trying to grow. But it is time to update the rules," he said.
Gas and oil: In the one section of the speech that drew louder applause from the Republican side of the room, Hickenlooper touted the benefits of natural gas drilling.
The state oil and gas commission works with local communities to address their concerns, he said.
"What doesn't work is a patchwork of rules and regulations," he said.
This week, the commission passed a rule on water quality testing and is on the cusp of setting a 500-foot buffer zone between homes and new wells.
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Nonprofits have to deal with lapsed donors everyday, and how they handle them makes all the difference. It's easy enough to hang your head and move on to the next one, but that will be doing your nonprofit a disservice. Instead of giving up, put on your detective hat and find out why they went away. Getting feedback from donors is always a good way to find out what you can improve.
In their book "Wired and Dangerous," Chip R. Bell and John R. Patterson list some questions you can ask your donors to get a better understanding of how your organization can improve:
- What is one aspect about our organization that you view as "very positive?"
- Complete this sentence: What I like least about what you do is...
- Complete this sentence: What I like most about what you do is...
- What are the first words that come to mind when you think about working with us?
- What area of our organization needs the most improvement?
- Was there ever a time when we left you disappointed? If so, briefly describe the incident and list ways that we could have handled the situation better (if at all).
- What would you like to see us do that no other organization in our industry is doing?
- What have we not asked that we should have?
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Mexican Wedding Cakes are popular everywhere, and are commonly known by several other names, such as Polvorones, Russian Teacakes, and Snowballs, to name a few. A classic cookie containing ground nuts, they are rolled liberally in powdered sugar. The shape of these cookies is usually round, but sometimes they are formed into finger shapes or crescents. Mexican Wedding Cakes have a texture that is slightly sandy, but they are also light and buttery, almost melting in the mouth. The following recipe, containing real butter and pecans is a favorite; it’s similar to the recipes published in hundreds of cookbooks, due of course to the fact that it is one of the best.
It’s easy to vary the flavor of these cookies by substituting hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, or almonds for the pecans. Flavored extracts such as almond can be used instead of or in addition to the vanilla, and dried cranberries, currants, or other dried fruit can also be added. Mexican Wedding Cakes are popular anytime of year, but especially on Cinco de Mayo and during the holidays as an addition to Christmas cookie trays.
5 dozen cookies
1 cup butter (no substitutes)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 cup finely ground or chopped pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, for dusting
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix well.
- Scoop teaspoonfuls of the dough, roll them into small balls, and place on parchment-lined or greased baking sheets.
- Bake in the preheated oven 11-14 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown.
- Remove from the oven and immediately sift powdered sugar over the tops of each cookie.
- After they have cooled enough to handle, roll them in powdered sugar.
- The cookies may be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or frozen for several months.
Amount Per Cookie
Calories 72 Calories from Fat 39
Percent Total Calories From:
Fat 55% Protein 3% Carb. 42%
Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 4 g
Saturated Fat 2 g
Cholesterol 8 mg
Sodium 41 mg
Total Carbohydrate 8 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 1 g
Vitamin A 2% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 1%
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Republic of Samsung — The Washington Post reports that South Korean conglomerate Samsung wields so much economic and political power that the country is referred to as “The Republic of Samsung.” According to the Post, “Samsung no longer merely powers the country but overpowers it, wielding influence that nearly matches that of the government.” As Koreans head to the polls to pick a new president next week, Samsung has become the focal point of a debate over curbing the power of family-run conglomerates, known as chaebol.
Human Rights Day — In observance of Human Rights Day, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has called for governments worldwide to allow their citizens to participate in the way their societies and economies are run. “We all should have a voice that counts in our societies [and] we should all have free, active and meaningful participation in both economic and political affairs,” she said in a statement. On Dec. 10, 1948 the U.N. General Assembly adopted the Universal of Human Rights. This year’s theme for Human Rights Day is “inclusion and the right to participate in public life.”
Persecution of Atheists — A new study shows that atheists and religious skeptics are victims of discrimination and persecution in many parts of the world, notes Reuters. The “Freedom of Thought 2012” report by the International Humanist and Ethical Union reveals that nonbelievers in Islamic countries face the most severe persecution at the hands of the government or followers of the official religion. In some countries, “there are laws that deny atheists’ right to exist, curtail their freedom of belief and expression, revoke their right to citizenship, [and] restrict their right to marry,” said the report.
Romania’s ‘Ogre’ Election — Romania’s center-left government swept the country’s Sunday parliamentary election, but not everyone is happy about it. The current president, Traian Basescu, has indicated that he will not appoint the leader of the winning alliance, Victor Ponta, as prime minister. Why? Basescu, a 61-year-old sea captain, said his younger rival is a “compulsive liar” and an “ogre,” and that making him prime minister would be akin to swallowing a pig, reports the New York Times. The two men have been at loggerheads for quite some time — during the summer, Ponta led an effort to impeach Basescu. Basescu said he has the constitution behind him, but members of Ponta’s coalition maintain they’ll try to oust him again if he refuses to give Ponta the post.
Celebrating Niemeyer — The famed Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer died last week at age 104, and over the weekend several critics reflected on his influence. The first modern-day architect to emerge from a country outside of North America or Europe, Niemeyer “brought movement to modern architecture,” writes the Guardian. His “flowing designs infused Modernism with a new sensuality,” noted the New York Times, a talent which he applied most memorably to Brasilia’s National Congress and cathedral. A slideshow of his work is available here.
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In e-commerce, the mobile revolution is here.
In 2012, people spent $25 billion on purchases made from phones and tablets, an increase of 81 percent from the year before, according to eMarketer, which compiles data from 120 sources that track commerce.
That is still a minority of total e-commerce sales. Mobile accounted for just 11 percent of e-commerce and is expected to reach 15 percent this year. But eMarketer predicts that by 2016, mobile will be $87 billion, or a quarter of all e-commerce.
The shift is significant for a type of shopping riddled with challenges — like small screens that make it hard to view items and type. It reflects the consumers’ shift to doing everything from work to play on mobile devices.
“Particularly in the second half of the year and in the holiday season, there were signs that smartphones and tablets in particular had made much more progress than people had previously thought we would,” said Clark Fredricksen, vice president of communications at eMarketer.
And mobile shoppers spend a surprising amount when using these devices — an average of $329 per order when on tablets and $250 when on phones, eMarketer said.
Tablets in particular have significantly changed the way people shop. While in 2011, people spent more money making purchases from smartphones than from tablets, shopping on tablets surpassed phones last year: $13.9 billion was spent from tablets and $9.9 billion from phones.
People are more likely to use tablets while they are in a shopping mood, like lounging on the couch. And their bigger screens make shopping easier than it is on smartphones and in some cases easier than on computers, because shoppers can zoom in or drag items to their carts with their fingers.
For example, at Tea Collection, a children’s clothing retailer, just over a third of transactions now come from mobile devices. People are just as likely to buy from tablets as from computers, and some days more likely, but the conversion rate is lower on smartphones.
Leigh Rawdon, chief executive and co-founder of Tea Collection, said she was surprised at how quickly people have taken to shopping on mobile devices, and that she expects behavior to change yet again with the proliferation of smaller tablets like the iPad Mini that blur the line between phone and tablet.
Still, some retailers report that mobile commerce has not been as big as they expected.
“Many mobile storefronts have problems that make buying difficult,” Mr. Fredricksen said. “Even though sessions often start on smartphones, in the end consumers end up turning to computers or retail stores or even a tablet to seal the deal.”
Big e-commerce players that have poured resources into mobile shopping, like Amazon.com and eBay, are seeing significantly more mobile commerce than smaller shopping sites, Mr. Fredricksen said.
During the holidays, overall e-commerce sales on computers and mobile devices combined grew 14 percent to $42.3 billion, according to comScore. That was lower than expected. After a strong start around Thanksgiving, consumer spending shrank because of concerns about the fiscal crisis in Washington, comScore said.
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Terrariums are a 19th century invention. But no other plant container looks more futuristic.
Taking that notion to whole other planet is Matteo Cibic, a multi-threat creative director for architecture, design and ad brands, who introduced the Domsai at 2009's Design Week in Milan earlier this year–and who have arrived at A+R.
With their bulbous tops and skinny legs, the anthropomorphic Domsai look like space men from another planet. But the figures, nearly 11 inches tall, are actually terrariums. Matteo considers them a kind of tamagotchi. But unlike those basic techie toys that require "feeding," the Domsai is high design and beautiful and actually requires a bit of water and sunlight.
The porcelain "pants" are hand cast and their glass heads mouth blown, and all produced in Matteo's town of Nove, a Northern Italian town known for its ceramics.
At the risk of driving Andy mad crazy, I will likely have to collect all of them (the six styles come in white or gold!).
Leave a Comment
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By Mary Shanklin
RISMEDIA, August 30, 2010—(MCT)—Maria Olmo doesn’t like her chances of paying off her new, 40-year mortgage. “I’ll die before it’s paid off,” said Olmo, who got her 30-year mortgage modified because she was at risk of losing her home to foreclosure. “This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in years. They didn’t take my age or my income into consideration.” Since last year, companies servicing delinquent mortgages have been under orders from the federal government to modify the loans rather than foreclose on them.
The goal is to cut the monthly mortgage payments so they are less than 30% of the homeowner’s income.
More than half of the 390,000 mortgages already permanently modified through the federal government’s Making Home Affordable Program have lengthened loan terms—in most cases extended from 30 years to 40 years, according to lenders and federal reports.
Just six months earlier, in January, only about 42% of the loans modified at that point had been similarly lengthened. The U.S. Treasury Department has not released the number of struggling homeowners who have been put into 40-year loans, but lenders say that’s the predominant new term for modified mortgages.
Meanwhile, the number of mortgages that have been changed by trimming the principal on “underwater” houses held steady during that time between 27 and 28% of all modifications. All of the modified loans have had their interest rates reduced.
Orlando lawyer Matt Englett, who specializes in foreclosures, said he advises his older clients against lengthening their terms to four decades. “If you’re 60 and you’re in a 40-year note, you’re really just renting it from the bank, and you’re paying more than you would from someone else you could be renting from,” Englett said. “This is what the car dealers sell—they sell payments. That’s what the mortgage industry has gotten into.”
Rocky Stubbs, Chase vice president for homeowner preservation, said lenders participating in federal foreclosure-prevention programs are opting for interest-rate reductions and longer loan terms before principal write-offs because the government called for that specific, stepped approach to modifying home loans.
He noted that mortgage companies are prohibited by the federal Equal Opportunity Credit Act from considering the age of homeowners when putting them into loan products.
“We cannot look at the credit application of a 30-year-old customer any differently than we would a 90-year-old customer,” he said during a recent interview.
Homeowners who have agreed to go from a 30-year mortgage to a 40-year home loan can always pay more than the monthly minimum if they want to treat it like a 30-year loan and pay off the mortgage sooner, Stubbs added. The modifications typically don’t have any prepayment penalties.
But in east Orlando, Olmo said she can hardly afford her home’s new, $1,300-a-month loan payments because she is struggling with less income since her husband is now unemployed. Rather than adding years onto the mortgage, she said, her lender should have accepted that the house has lost value and should have cut some of the loan’s principal.
Englett, the foreclosure lawyer, said 40-year loans make little sense financially, particularly for seniors who face paying the upfront interest possibly for the rest of their lives.
“If you look at the numbers, if someone is 60 years old and they extend their mortgage to 40 years, oftentimes they’re paying 50 percent more to own the house than they would pay if they were renting in the same neighborhood,” he said. “And when they go to sell, they still won’t have enough to pay it off.”
Despite such warnings, Englett said, most older clients opt for the reduced interest rate and longer term—”they get attached to the house and want to stay there.”
(c) 2010, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Copyright© 2013 RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be republished without permission from RISMedia.
Content on this website is copyrighted and may not be redistributed without express written permission from RISMedia. Access to RISMedia archives and thousands of articles like this, as well as consumer real estate videos, are available through RISMedia's REsource Licensed Content Solutions. Offering the industry’s most comprehensive and affordable content packages. Click here to learn more! http://resource.rismedia.com
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The soul path of Pluto in the first house suggests a new evolutionary cycle has begun in recent lifetimes and that the individual is meant to continue along a pioneering and experiential path. Along with the Cancer, stepping backward to go forward archetype, Pluto in retrograde also suggests a re-visit and revision mandate. Retrograde motion serves to intensify and accelerate the individuation signature. The chief evolutionary drive is directed toward the development of an internally secure, self consistent, and self preserving emotional foundation. Because it is a relatively new evolutionary impulse, those with Pluto in Cancer have not yet fully learned these lessons. Reflected by one’s environmental circumstances and inner insecurities, unmet needs are a driving force in the current life. Difficult emotional and family histories exist within the subconscious and past life experiences of those with Pluto in Cancer.
The soul will choose the family of origin and life experiences that will prompt the necessary internal probing. Pluto in Cancer is meant to learn that true security and emotional nourishment is found internally, not through the external environment or its trappings. Pluto in Cancer must learn to identify and supply their own emotional needs, to develop and establish an emotionally secure foundation within themselves. In order for this to occur, the individual is likely to experience cycles when support is lacking or needs are not met. The need to nurture or be nurtured has especially deep roots and is never really satisfied or quenched. These perpetuating desires and needs prompt the intended evolution. Regarding the chart of Pope Francis, this Pluto position describes both his personal life journey and what’s at issue for the Catholic Church itself and its followers.
Pluto in retrograde intensifies the emotional journey and the desire to create a more secure and nurturing foundation. Intensified subjective exploration will allow for greater consciousness regarding the internal divides that are at the root of one’s insecurities, needs, and desires.
Born into family of 5 children, it is logical to assume that this Pluto in Cancer did not get all of the nurturance that he may have desired. This early life set-up is a starting prompt for turning inward, for advancing the development of emotional self sufficiency. Note also the complex father signature of Saturn in opposition to Neptune in square to the lunar nodes. His father’s vocation of railway worker is described by this mutable configuration. The mother and nurturance imprint is represented by his Moon/Venus new phase conjunction square Uranus retrograde. While it is likely that he experienced loving and open-hearted relationships with maternal figures and caregivers, the Aquarius moon signature also suggests he has come in to this life with a degree of emotional objectivity and independence already developed. Both the Saturn configuration and Moon configuration describe the family’s immigrant background. Wikipedia quote: Bergoglio's sister María Elena told reporters decades later that her father often said that "the advent of fascism was the reason that really pushed him to leave" Italy.
The sun is in Sagittarius and conjunct his north node which is ruled by Jupiter in Capricorn. This sun placement suggests he has come into this life with prior developed self knowledge that serves as a base for his decision making, judgement, and conviction. He will naturally utilize this knowledge as a foundation to build and solidify further. Ceres in new phase to Jupiter suggests he is endowed with a natural propensity for infusing new life into what has already been established. The pope has made it his own personal mission to rebirth the believer, to resurrect the faith within the faithful (Jupiter).
The sun gives life to the Sagittarian qualities, experience, and the north node potentials. This Sun position suggests a natural sense of direction and purpose that will steer him readily to the experiences, circumstances, teachers, and teachings that will best facilitate his evolutionary path. This quality also allows him to be a strong guide for others. Both Chiron conjunct the south node and the sun in a fire sign on the north node are indicative of a special mission. He is likely to have always felt a strong sense of destiny and that he was meant to surrender himself for a bigger picture purpose.
Cancer’s ruler, the moon, is in Aquarius and conjunct Venus. This suggests the native is developing more objective awareness and detachment. It is also suggestive of leading a life that personalizes the collective journey.
Among it’s mainly correlations, Aquarius is a signature for select groups of society, from the elite, to the breakaways, marginalized, outcast, disenfranchised, or persecuted. Aquarius is also the sign of the humanitarian, of revolutions and revolutionary times. Pallas Athene in balsamic conjunction to his north node indicates one who is a fighter on behalf of social justice. This moon/Venus suggests he indeed has the potential to revive the church, to radically alter its direction, to utilize both the material and people resources of the church in a way that bears fruit.
The south node in Gemini suggests this individual has sought to gather hands-on information, to learn, to become educated, and to look for rational explanations to quench his emotional thirst and to satisfy his own intellectual needs (Moon in Aquarius, ruler of Cancer). It is likely that he first approached studies in a systematic, rational, and scientific way. (His first vocational studies lead to certification as a chemical technician.)
For his own internal security needs/base, he has sought to source from the authorities of the day, to explore as much as possible in order to develop a sense of absolute security (Mercury in Capricorn). He has looked to gather a rational explanation for his emotions, impressions, sensitivities, and insecurities, to gather information and experience that resonates with his emotional needs, wants, and values. As is implied in his Pluto position and the nodal axis in the mutable Gemini/Sagittarius axis, his investigation has been deliberate and conscious, and it has also been prompted by his instincts and subconscious emotional responses.
Through such a quest comes social purpose and service (Neptune in Virgo opposing Saturn). Note the sun in Sagittarius conjunct the north node; his intuition’s prompt has led him to seek his answers and purpose within philosophical and religious literature. Mercury in Capricorn is the ruler of the south node and Chiron in Gemini; he has gravitated to the contemporary and traditional learning/teachings, one with set guidelines on how to live a spiritual life. This nodal axis chart signature and scholastic drive is well mirrored by his Jesuit background. The Jesuits, sometimes called “God’s Marines”, are well educated, intellectual researchers. They are expected to go anywhere and to live in extreme conditions if necessary. Throughout their history, they have fought for social justice. At times they were out of favour with the church (Saturn opposition Neptune; mutable cross).
Mercury in Capricorn relative to Saturn in Pisces (a signature for religion and Christianity) is suggestive of a body of thought/knowledge that considers itself an ultimate authority on spiritual matters; an extension of god/god’s law on earth. Capricorn is also an archetype of right conduct, of judgement based on right and wrong standards, rules defined by man and society, and the guilt that this accrues within the crystallized consciousness.
It terms of administrative involvement, he has assumed his leadership role as a Vatican outsider. He has been quoted as limiting his time in Rome to “lightening visits”. (Note Moon/Venus square Uranus retrograde; Venus and Uranus are in mutual reception.) He has already deviated from some formalities (Aquarius moon/Venus) and is already proving that he has new ideas for the stewardship of church. Will he change the status quo with respect to internal church governance? How will he address the internal alleged corruption?
A south node in Gemini is one of a restless information quest. Relative to ruler Mercury in Capricorn, it suggests the continuous search for a right or definitive answer, for a missing key. He has sought diverse information and experience, yet there is an intuitive recognition (North node, Jupiter in Capricorn) that it is limited in scope. This restless urge suggests a core anxiety, a sense of knowing that there “must be more than this” (Sagittarius polarity.)
When the nodes are in Gemini/Sagittarius, there is a conflict between the information intake and the intuitive, the left and right brain sensors, between what is learned and what is intuitively perceived. This nodal axis references a polarization between ideologies and truths, between formal education and intuitive knowledge, between the realm of appearances and the actualizing of reality. In other words, the mutable cross involving Neptune, Saturn, Chiron and the nodes is suggestive of spiritual dilemma.
The Chiron archetype correlates to the split between the rational and the instinctual selves, between the flesh/body and the spirit. When Chiron is linked to the nodal axis, it is a signature of a specific karmic thread that is seeking integration and healing. It is indicative of living through exceptional circumstances in past lives and also of setting up the current life for something beyond the ordinary. Chiron’s balsamic relationship to south node is suggestive of a key lifetime, and a repetition of karmic dynamics. It is a relive, fruition, or relive/fruition signature.
The sun’s conjunction to the north node doubles-up on the theme of a special karmic mission. The Sagittarius sun/north node opposition to Chiron points to a worldly mission with a potential to influence a multitude. A sense of destiny, déjà vu or familiarity accompanies the consciousness, the life. Whether sensed vaguely or recognized openly, parallels can be drawn to another lifetime. (There are a number of parallels to draw from the life of St. Francis too.) The native is likely to feel that something particularly significant and key is being repeated or revisited. Chiron is an archetype of the extraordinary messenger, of teachings, teachers, and a healing or healer’s path.
Chiron is also a signature for controversy. Pope Francis was accused of not doing enough to save two Jesuits priests who were captured and tortured during Argentina’s “dirty war” in 1976. According to his biographer, he worked secretly behind the scenes (Neptune in Virgo) and may have been instrumental in gaining their release. Two days after he was elected pope, Franz Jalic, one of the two who were captured, issued a statement to clear the negative speculation on the pope. The pope has stated that during that time he was active in sheltering people on church property and that he once gave his own identity papers (Gemini south node) to a man who looked like him so that he could flee (Sagittarius) Argentina.
Befitting of Neptune in Virgo opposing Saturn in Pisces, (from Wikipedia): In 2000, he asked the entire Church in Argentina to put on garments of public penance for the sins committed during the years of the dictatorship. In one of his last acts as head of the Argentine Catholic bishops' conference, Bergoglio issued a collective apology for the church's failure to protect its flock" from Argentina's military dictatorship decades earlier.
Chiron retrograde in Gemini suggests he comes into this life with special gifts. He displays approachability, an easy communication style, and a ready emotional rapport, (Pluto in Cancer relative to south node/Chiron in the 3rd). His personable manner has already charmed the public. His fluency in Italian (his family of origin background; Sagittarius, language proficiency) has charmed the country. His natural humility (Neptune in Virgo), dismissal of formalities, ability to dissolve boundaries, (Saturn in Pisces), simple words, humour, casual, and spontaneous approach (Gemini/Sagittarius nodes; Moon/Venus in Aquarius) are already resulting in an excellent approval rating.
Both personal and collective in nature, his Aquarius moon conjunct Venus alludes to significant trauma imprinting as part of his subconscious memory pool. Venus in square aspect to and mutual reception with Uranus retrograde in Taurus alludes to life and death struggles, and past epochs of persecution. At the age of 21, he suffered from life-threatening pneumonia and cysts and had part of one lung removed. Lungs are Gemini ruled (note Chiron/south node in Gemini, Mercury ruled by Saturn opposing Neptune in Virgo.) Chiron’s past life cellular memory traumas are often translated into the physical body as chronic conditions, physical weaknesses, diseases, or handicaps. We can speculate that the pope’s lung condition correlates to a past life trauma connected to unresolved grief or the wounds of a battle/invasion. One could also draw a speculative parallel to the concept of carrying stigmata – cellular memory wounds. Historians speculate that St Francis’ stigmata were the result of a chronic physical condition.
Capricorn is the polarity point of Pluto in Cancer, suggesting the evolutionary intention is to arrive at a state of absolute emotional maturity and security, to become self referencing and self directed. The evolutionary imperative requires that he become his own authority, rather than to accept external authority or external answers. His philosophy of lead by example (Mercury in Capricorn, the effective administrator) has been demonstrated through out his career, and he has “hit the ground running” since he has been elected pope.
The rulers of the nodes, Jupiter and Mercury in new phase to each other and the north node suggest that the past and future are intertwined, that new development/evolutionary progress has been recently occurred and that this lifetime is a continuation of that which has already begun. The sun on the north node also indicates a growth of consciousness of natural law, the “true way”. This consciousness is intuitive and in the process of developing self realization. Ceres in Capricorn situated between the rulers, ruled by Saturn in Pisces, suggests a fresh seed of God realization is stirring too.
The nodal rulers in Capricorn suggest this a time is ripe moment not only for the Pope’s personal mission but also for the church’s rebirth. Sagittarius is an archetype of delivering the message to a ready and willing audience. To bring spiritual comfort and to champion the poor, the weak, the downtrodden, is not a new mission for the church, or for one on a spiritual path, but it is one that the Pope is revitalizing (nodal rulers in new phase aspect).
As stated above, Jupiter in Capricorn is newly building, newly authenticating what it senses as truth, the true path. Pallas Athene in balsamic conjunction to the north node and also in gibbous phase to Chiron retrograde is suggestive of the spiritual warrior, of spiritual leadership, and of fighting for justice. Pallas Athene can also be correlated to third-eye consciousness. A gibbous phase references a path of service, and is also indicative of unfinished business. This Pallas/Chiron opposition is suggestive of championing the plight of the marginalized, the common folk, the disenfranchised, the “walking wounded”. Even so, when distorted, Gemini/Sagittarius is not an all encompassing polarity but one of selective reasoning, viewing, or targeting. It is not inclusive of the whole.
The Capricorn archetype (both the south and node rulers) also correlates to conservatism and hypocrisy. Chiron is a signature for controversy. The pope is known for radical conservatism and seems to be somewhat evangelical in his zeal for taking up the plight of the poor, but he is not yet inclusive of all of humanity. Despite a suggestion for a level of tolerance for homosexuals, Pope Francis has already made his views crystal clear on gay marriage, gay adoption, abortions, contraceptives, and women in the church. The nodal axis and its rulers ignite a contradiction of expanding/broadening yet closed/walled/restrictive at the same time.
Pluto in Cancer is still working on gender assignment issues. The issue of gender in-equality in the church is referenced by the Pope’s Pluto in Cancer, relative to Chiron in Gemini/south node.
In accepting the director’s chair, the Pope also inherits the shameful and abhorrent sexual violations crises that have plagued the church throughout its history. This is described by Saturn’s gibbous opposition to Neptune in Virgo (victimization) in houses 8/2, both of which square the nodal axis and Chiron. As has been well documented, this crisis has always been rampant (Pisces to the mutable nodes), but it has been muffled, suppressed (Saturn; Mercury in Capricorn) and denied (Neptune in Virgo.) Saturn’s gibbous opposition to Neptune in Virgo suggests the unfinished business of reconciling with the masses and internal clean-up within the church. Greater accountability and atonement are a necessity. A purification process is stimulated by this mutable cross; open acceptance, tolerance, and forgiveness for all are also of the essence. At this early stage in his new role but advanced time in his career, he has not indicted a willingness to address change regarding gay marriage or women’s ordination. We have yet to see how the pope will address the church’s sex scandals. Chiron suggests wounds that never heal. Certainly those souls who have been violated will continue to carry deep scars. The church carries the scaring too. Chiron’s best cure is found through moving forward; the weaving or integration of experience into new experience eventual leads to healing. Experience is the best teacher.
While the pope seems to enjoy being “in the trenches”, his life seems to have been one of a serendipitous flow into positions of influence. We can only assume that his influence will grow. Perhaps Chiron on south node and the last quarter phasal aspect (crisis in consciousness) between moon/Venus square Uranus retrograde will create the necessary circumstances to prompt the repair work regarding social imbalances (Mars in Libra, ruled by Venus.) True to the indirect nature of (Pluto in) Cancer and Chiron, perhaps he will come to face the more controversial of today’s issues surreptitiously. Hopefully he will not side-step them. These critical matters are the unfinished karma priorities of both Saturn and Neptune in square aspect to the nodal axis.
Pope Francis was elected by his colleagues as Pluto was transiting his seventh house Mercury (ruler of south node/Chiron), and Ceres was transiting his south node. Among its many correlations, Ceres correlates to a theme of resurrection. There is great hope (Neptune; Pisces) pinned on this pope that he signals a new era (Capricorn) for the church, that he will plant a fertile seed (Ceres) and that it will produce a lush field.
The south node in Gemini is suggestive of repetition or duplication, of things coming around twice. Interestingly, he was a top contender last conclave too, but begged not to be chosen. Saturn in gibbous opposition to Neptune in Virgo and square the nodal axis ignites the crisis of: “I’m not ready, this is too big for me”, a sense of being overwhelmed by the enormity of the job (Neptune square north node). We could surmise that the inner crisis might ignite a worry that the job could swallow him up and take him away from the personal one on one contact that seems to tug at his heart so deeply (Sun in Sagittarius, relative to Jupiter, relative to Saturn in Pisces). Although he may have not consciously intended to choose it, he has taken to is enormous leadership role displaying great natural grace and humility (Saturn in Pisces/Neptune opposition).
There are two skipped steps in this chart. Saturn in Pisces finds resolution in the north node, facilitated by its ruler Jupiter in Capricorn (3/4 phase to Saturn, a wide quintile). Neptune in Virgo finds resolution via the south node and the south node ruler, Mercury in Capricorn (in ¼ trine to Neptune.) Saturn is in gibbous opposition to Neptune.
Skipped steps represent critical thresholds/unresolved issues from the past that are of karmic priority/necessity.
Saturn in Pisces is a signature for organized religion. Pisces is directly linked to Christianity. Saturn in Pisces is the ruler of the south node ruler (Mercury in Capricorn.) Pisces ruler, Neptune is in Virgo, which is ruled by Mercury in Saturn – a closed circuit. Mercury is in a ¼ trine to Neptune (an action aspect) and a last quarter sextile to Saturn. The last quarter sextile offers creative opportunity to reform internally; to rebuild the infrastructure of the system, to shift the crystallizations of the conditioned consciousness and to make effective change regarding the actual reality.
Noting Saturn in Pisces, it would be natural to assume that in past lives as is also the case now that the native would have come to recognize the church’s teachings as the ultimate authority on spiritual matters, as embodying or being the definitive agent (Mercury in Capricorn) for god’s wishes on earth. Saturn in Pisces relative to Mercury in Capricorn, ruler of the south node, suggests that he is repeating a vocational path chosen in other lives. Relative to the south node information, we can surmise that there was a time he would have accepted the church as his ultimate authority, following the rules and surrendering himself (Saturn in Pisces) without question. This Saturn in Pisces suggests an unconscious projection/expectation that he could find security, peace, and ultimate fulfillment within church dogma; that he assumed he could get all his training, vocational and spiritual needs met in one place. He would expect that his training and the belief system was whole, complete, and perfect, that he would feel totally embraced, enveloped, and satiated within this organized whole. Saturn’s square to the nodal axis suggest reaching a conflict in this regard. The pope’s chart is also indicative of the contemporary state of affairs for both the church and for the masses.
Relative to the north node information, there have likely been nomadic times of searching for god and truth on his own, of monastic or secluded lives, (Pisces, monasteries; Sagittarius & Chiron representing the solitary journey) and also secular ones of social “in the trenches” (Gemini south node, Moon/Venus in Aquarius).
Saturn in square to the Gemini/Sagittarius nodes suggests that over time, exposure to actual reality would conflict with his conceptualization of reality and would start to disturb his inner peace. A spiritual crisis is ignited by this configuration. The skipped step reveals the conflict between embracing the teachings and witnessing the actualizing of those teachings. Perhaps he would have been exposed to “do as I say, not as I do” authority. Saturn is in ¾ square aspect to the south node in Gemini/Chiron conjunction. This crisis in consciousness pertains to the intake of information that intuitively feels contradictory or limited (s. node, ruler of south node Mercury in Capricorn). The observation of behaviour, experience, and lifestyle may not have been entirely in keeping with what he desired, or what perceived to be the true expression of Christ’s teachings (Pisces.) Instead he likely found himself exposed to what he perceived as duality, contradiction, untruths; an appearance of piety rather than true devotion. Materialism, self-serving, corruption and sexual scandal have been a large, and largely suppressed, component of the church’s history. Thus, the skipped step: a crisis in action/crisis in consciousness dilemma. The conditionings and crystallized judgements of prior lives are now at a critical threshold. For Saturn’s resolution, the north node in Sagittarius must be applied. The evolutionary intent in this signature is for the native to expand knowledge and experience outside the confines of a monastic life and church walls (Saturn in Pisces), to allow room for an exploration of that which he is intuiting, to allow room for growth of the impressions he is receiving, to allow himself to veer away from convention/tradition, from what was and is considered appropriate devotional service.
Saturn’s first quarter square to the north node (crisis in action) suggests that growing perceptions lead him to question and explore beyond his formal training and knowledge base. Most likely he felt the calling of higher truths and the desire to expand his personal relationship to the divine. This expansion prompt likely led him to surrender to a path of service in a larger, broader format. To follow this yearning might have called for him to relinquish the trappings of the system in order to practice his faith in a more natural, active, daily, and direct contact way. What is right conduct and god’s will? Saturn in Pisces suggests an ideological and spiritual/philosophical conflict, that his ultimate sense of meaning was not quenched by the church’s doctrine, rules, methods, or traditions. This dilemma created/creates the needed to expand and explore beyond the confines of the organization. The skipped step suggests a flip/flop between rationalizing and justifying his experience, of following what he had been taught, and recognizing how far the vocational path had/has veered from the true path/true intention; that progressively he was growing more alienated from his training, and growing beyond the limited scope of the organized system. In other words, he would receive mixed messages from his own consciousness regarding what it meant to dedicate his life to his chosen path of service. By extension, his own spiritual dilemma personifies the work he has been called to do on behalf of the Catholic Church. Church policies, dualities, and controversies have alienated many would-be followers. It appears Pope Francis has made it his personal mission to be the ultimate sheepherder.
Saturn is in a gibbous opposition to Neptune in Virgo, suggesting he has more work to do in reconciling with his inner perceptions and his outer experience; his conflict regarding his conditioning, his inner judge, his conscience, and his outer reality. He must also reconcile the masses perceptions of the inner and outer Church administrations.
Neptune in Virgo is suggestive of a consciousness of natural humility, and an ultimate path of service. Neptune’s opposition to Saturn and trine to south node ruler, its own ruler, also suggest inner judgements (trine to Mercury in Capricorn), that can lead one to adopt and glorify spiritual masochism. This Saturn/Neptune opposes correlates to a crisis in faith, tests of faith. Following the indoctrination (Mercury in Capricorn) of the distorted Christian beliefs (Chiron conjunct the south node opposite Sagittarian north node) would have allowed for this native to embrace the ideology of personal denial, personal penance, suffering precluding enlightenment, and flesh as antagonistic to spirit (sexual abstinence.) In keeping with the contemporary values of the religion of the times, the popular view of the ultimate spiritual life is one of sacrifice and service. To relinquish worldly reward for spiritual reward is a classic foundation philosophy of man-made religion.
Neptune’s skipped step is resolved through the south node in Gemini (Chiron retrograde balsamic conjunction.) Here we see the spiritual dilemma brought forward from past lives - the conflict of serving the religion (Sagittarius) or serving the people (Gemini), that has reached an extreme/a crisis point (the skipped step). Serving the religion or serving the people are not sufficiently synthesized, not yet one and the same thing. The south node relative to ruler Mercury engaged in a ¼ trine to Neptune is suggestive of the necessity to act on his inner messages/inner guide. It provides a sense of rightness of action in decision making, for rationalization or justification that allow for him to act in a self autonomous or take charge way. It provides him with the natural leadership skills to think and act independently, a natural propensity to see the flaws and to improve the system, rather than to follow a system that is not in keeping with what his inner consciousness (Neptune) suggests is the true path of service. The true path of service is one of fulfilling the true need, of helping the seeker and the needy, those in lack both spiritually and physically – i.e. the poor, the disenfranchised, the outcast, the marginalized, the sick or weak. And yet, as stated above, he has not yet found within his consciousness the ability to accept all, not all are considered worthy as of yet, (i.e. women in the church and homosexuals.) Part of the spiritual duality is that of glorifying one over another. (The poor are revered, but not “lepers” –in other words, the gays?)
The rulers of the nodes conjunct in new phase aspect suggests he has recently begun and is continuing a new level of relying and acting on his own inner authority. He displays independence in simple and everyday routines by rejecting some of the perks afforded his position, the limousine, the gold cross, etc and insisting as he has done in the past, to take the bus, cook for himself, and so on. Since becoming pope, he has immediately veered away from formal expectations and is already doing it his way.
This Neptune in Virgo also must reconcile with the imperfections of the organized whole and the concepts of perfection, purification, of deserving of god’s grace. These issues are confronted through the church itself, where he is exposed to opulence, controversy, duality, bigotry, and corruption within the organized whole. He must confront his own judgements/hypocrisy regarding right and wrong, on what is socially (Gemini) and morally (Sag/Cap) “correct”. Although Saturn in Pisces and Neptune in Virgo suggests compassion and tolerance for all, he is not yet encompassing the whole. He has taken on the ultimate service role on behalf of his faith, and is already showing independent leadership, but has yet to accept women into ordination, or to accept homosexuality as a natural state for some. The Sagittarian influence suggests an extremist tendency. This extremist philosophy may have created wounding/controversy for him in the past. Certainly the Catholic Church will not want to give away its wealth – or to come clean on all of its secrets. In addition to reformulating inner judgement, Mercury/Jupiter new phase is learning a new level of temperance or moderation.
These issues are also the public’s conflicts with the church.
Chiron is an outcast or scapegoat archetype. Relative to south node & ruler, it is a suggestion of tolerance and acceptance for some, but not all. Pluto in Cancer can be suggestive, (not always) of incest, of grooming of children; the Gemini archetype references youth. As of yet, we do not know if Pope Francis will avoid this problem, clean it up quietly, or champion it.
Neptune in Virgo is a victimization archetype, and Chiron on the south node indicates repetition in terms of crisis and controversy, deep wounding from the past brought into this one. Neptune resolving through the south node/Chiron point is suggestive of again being confronted with crisis and dilemma which is seeking resolution. The south node work is to gather more information and experience. The increasing frequency, commonality and repetition of scandal and corruption is meant to force a confrontation with the rationalizations that have suppressed or denied the truth. Eventually, the native will no longer be able to divert attention off these critical issues. The south node calls for making connections with people and listening to their stories. Personal interaction with others will be a major teaching tool.
Chiron/south node in Gemini/Sagittarius references transitional times. Looking back to other lives, Chiron in Gemini can reference times of inquisition. Sagittarius is an invasion archetype, and Capricorn is an archetype of dictatorship and regimes. Saturn opposing Neptune is also a signature of religious persecutions of the past. It is likely that past lives connected to missionary lives, such as that of St. Francis, times of Christian persecution, slavery, Spanish inquisition, migrations of peoples, etc. In addition to a religious focus on saving souls, the Neptune/Saturn, Gemini/Sagittarius signature can suggests past life involvement in secretly moving people to safety (the catacombs, secret passages, etc.)
The south node in Gemini is suggestive of repetition or duplication, of things coming around twice. (Many parallels can be made to the life of St. Francis of Assisi too.) Interestingly he was a top contender last conclave too, but begged not to be chosen. Saturn in gibbous opposition to Neptune in Virgo and square the nodal axis ignites the crisis of: “I’m not ready, this is too big for me”, a sense of being overwhelmed by the enormity of the job (Neptune square north node). We could surmise that the inner crisis might ignite a feeling that the job could swallow him up and take him away from what he feels is the right work, the trench work – the personal one on one contact that seems to tug at his heart so deeply (Sun in Sagittarius, relative to Jupiter, relative to Saturn in Pisces). Yet, at the same time, he also senses his special mission (Chiron & Sun positions); he has been chosen, he has not chosen it for himself. The Chiron and sun positions also suggest, as he has already displayed, that he has taken to his enormous leadership role with natural grace and humility (Saturn in Pisces/Neptune opposition).
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We hope to teach trans, genderqueer, or otherwise gender-variant folks computer programming and software engineering skills. The class is entirely free, and we will provide all the equipment you'll need to succeed at it.
Why programming? It's an active field, especially in the SF Bay Area. Plenty of tech companies in San Francisco are actively hiring for software engineers. It's also generally a pretty decent job to have; "software developer" was rated second in US News and World Report'sarticle. The software industry also happens to be relatively trans friendly. It's not like you can completely avoid bigotry in any industry, but software tends to put a little less emphasis on normativity than most office jobs, which helps. The big players such as Microsoft and Google even tend to have trans-inclusive health care plans.
Over the course of a year, we will teach you how to program in Python along with basic Linux skills, software engineering methodology, and software design. At the end of the year, you will be presented with a certification that you completed the program that you can put on your résumé. We will also work to help to place you in industry internships or full-time positions if you are interested (internships in software tend to pay a decent wage).
Transcode will run similarly to a night class at college. We plan to have two classes a week, about 90 minutes each, with about 10 hours of work per week outside of class. A lot of time out of class sounds like a large commitment, but becoming a good programmer is much more about practice than about having somebody talk at you in a classroom setting.
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Cebu leads in Making Local Government Units Resilient to Disasters
Date: 13 Jan 2011
Source(s): United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)Source(s): United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (UNISDR AP)
Cebu City, Philippines – 39 municipalities of Cebu Province, Philippines, today pledged to make their local government units safer from disasters, by joining the United Nations disaster reduction campaign “Making Cities Resilient: My City Is Getting Ready!” while gathered at the Cebu Provincial Capitol Social Hall, N. Escario St. Capitol Site, Cebu City.
The 39 municipalities were represented by 22 mayors and 29 vice mayors, and one provincial government representative.
Local Governments in region VII, led by the Governor and all the Mayors of cities and municipalities of Cebu, made that pledge at an event organized by the League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Cebu Chapter and co-organized by the Vice- Mayors’ League of the Philippines- Cebu Chapter Province of Cebu, the Senate of the Philippines, the Office of Civil Defense-Region 7, Plan International and UNISDR.
“I laud the leaders of cities and municipalities in Region VII signing on to this campaign, and encourage those not yet participating, to make climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction part of their agenda,” said Senator Loren Legarda, UNISDR Asia Pacific Regional Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction.
“The year 2011 started with thousands of our people already suffering from the effects of continuous rains in Visayas and Mindanao. As we are in the midst of La Niña, we are likely to experience heavier and more constant rain and intense typhoons in the next days and months. The UN campaign will help us become more prepared when disasters occur,” she added.
UNISDR launched the worldwide campaign last May, enlisting local government leaders and citizens to sign-up to the Ten Essential actions to reduce disaster risks. The actions include investing more in disaster risk reduction, preparing and sharing risk assessments, ensuring early warning systems are in place, and protecting ecosystems to reduce floods, cyclones and storm surge impacts.
“Investing in risk reduction is not just an investment to serve your constituents but also a way of benefitting future generations,” said Michael Joseph Diamond, Country Director of Plan Philippines, a non-governmental organization that promotes child rights for ending child poverty.
Plan Philippines has engaged in disaster reduction and climate change adaptation with local government units and their communities in different parts of the country through programmes focused on children, since they are the most vulnerable during disasters. “Many things are possible to reduce disaster risks at local levels,” explained Mr. Diamond. “This includes simple participation of everyone in risk assessments and planning, regular coastal and river clean up, waster management, tree planting, early warning and emergency preparedness.
“The world has begun taking notice of the important role of provinces and states in fighting global warming.” said Gwen Garcia, Governor of Cebu Province in the Philippines. “I am committed to addressing the devastating effect of climate change on our environment and our economy.”
“This is done by creating a healthier environment and building green economies, and also by helping to create resilient cities and municipalities that make Cebu sustainable and vibrant,” Ms. Garcia added.
More than 150 cities have already joined the UNISDR World Disaster Reduction Campaign and are committed to complying with one or more of the Ten Essentials. Among them are Mexico City (Mexico), Durban (South Africa), Bogota (Colombia), Port-au-Prince (Haiti), Amman, (Jordan), Albay (the Philippines), Cairns (Australia), Chennai City (India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Kathmandu (Nepal) and Saint Louis (Senegal).
“The real battle against climate risks take place at community level. Cities and municipalities are in the front lines,” said Vice Mayor Al Arquilano of San Francisco, Cebu, who was named the newest Campaign Champion at the signing event. “To win the battle against disasters, it is important to empower our communities to do their share. As we all know, reducing disaster risks is everybody’s business.”
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Venefit (formerly VNUS) launches its new 3 cm catheter
Venefit (formerly VNUS Closure), the treatment that started the endovenous revolution for keyhole varicose vein surgery
in 1998, has recently announced the development of a new shorter 3 cm catheter.
The original VNUS Closure catheter was a "bipolar" radiofrequency catheter
- which meant it had a pair of electrodes that passed electrical current between them at radiofrequency rates, to treat the vein wall.
In 2005, VNUS launched the VNUS ClosureFAST catheter, to speed up the treatment of the Great Saphenous
and Small Saphenous
truncal Veins (GSV and SSV). Although still billed as "radiofrequency ablation
", the radiofrequency merely heated a 7 cm tip to 120°C. When the catheter was in the vein itself, this heat held for the right amount of time ablated the vein wall, causing the vein to close perfectly. Many studies have shown the efficacy of this technique and the patient satisfaction with a minimally invasive approach and low post-operative discomfort.
One of the criticisms of this 7cm VNUS Closure FAST catheter was that with such a long treatment tip, it was not possible to treat more complex veins which might only have sections of 6 cm or less that need treatment.
To counter this, Venefit (formerly VNUS) have now added a 3 cm catheter to their range, to allow surgeons to treat smaller sections of veins if they require, but keeping the same advantages of the VNUS Closure FAST technique.
This news article was last updated on 25/04/12. Content has been provided by Mr Mark Whiteley MS FRCS (Gen) FCPhleb. Mark Whiteley is a Consultant Vascular Surgeon from the UK
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Portland businesses help each other to help themselves
By Megan Stein, BEST Awards and Sustainability at Work Program Manager
BEST Awards and Sustainability at Work Program Manager
Megan Stein is the BEST Awards and Sustainability at Work Program Manager for the City of Portland's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.
Recent headlines illuminating how iPhones and other devices are produced — in ways we'd rather not think about — are a reminder that it benefits a business to improve the sustainability and equity not only of their own business, but of those within their supply chain.
Businesses applying for the 2012 Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow — or BEST —Awards demonstrate innovation in changing their supply chain both upstream and down.
The BEST Awards are presented annually by Sustainability at Work, a program of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. The awards recognize companies that exemplify ambitious and creative solutions for sustainability while promoting social, economic and environmental equity for the Portland area. Tickets for the event are on sale through this Friday, April 20.
Naturebake's Oregon Grains Bread project went right to the start of the supply chain, with the goal of sourcing all ingredients from within 100 miles of the bakery. By working directly with farmers, the bakery had all the grains they needed grown for them. The farmers, having converted from commodity market-bound grass seed to direct sale organic food crops, benefit from a steadier income and healthier cropland. By the time the Oregon Grains Bread hit shelves, the only ingredients not found locally were yeast, salt, and gluten. The local supply chain work done for the Oregon Grains bread has already expanded to their Dave's Killer Bread line, with one million pounds of local wheat to be grown for the bakery in the 2012 harvest.
Sustainable Northwest Wood was created to fill a key missing link in the local lumber supply chain. In 2008, contractors wanted to buy wood from the few local mills producing FSC certified wood, but with no one in the middle, long wait times and high prices made it very difficult. Sustainable Northwest Wood solved the problem by creating a Portland lumberyard that carries exclusively local, sustainably harvested wood and wood from many native species. By acting as a farmers' market for lumber, Sustainable Northwest Wood keeps small mills running, educates customers, drives demand for native species and sustainably harvested wood, and increases the pressure on other lumber companies to offer locally grown wood.
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Happy Friday! Straight from the editors, here’s a roundup of the biggest parenting stories of the week. Have something to add? Share your favorite story from this week in the comments.
- You might want to think twice before putting a TV in your tot’s room. New research says doing so could boost a child’s risk for obesity and disease.
- Can’t get your little one to eat? Try serving meals to the tune of Gangnam Style, like one mom does.
- If you’ve ever wondered why your child does the things she does, here’s a clue: Two new studies explore the reasoning and perspective-taking in young kids.
- How much milk do toddlers need? Two cups a day should do it, says new research published in the journal Pediatrics.
- Turns out, you can ease your baby’s discomfort during a shot. Just give her a little bit of sugar, says a new study.
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