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Without question, campaign financing laws need to be enforced and even strengthened so long as we continue with our policies of choosing candidates on the basis of how much money they can raise and how much advertising they are willing to buy, but one has to wonder how clean fundraising has been in the current election cycle. Are candidates receiving foreign contributions today and if they are, why are we not hearing about any scandals like those that followed Gore a decade a go?
A hint at some possible back-door contributions appeared in a Salon article by Andrew Leonard called How the World Works, which points out that many large corporations that we think of as American have truly been globalized. The article gives some examples of recent stock purchases:
Citigroup: $7.5 billion from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and $6.88 billion from Government Investment Corp. of Singapore.
Morgan Stanley: $5 billion from China Investment Corp.
Merrill-Lynch: $5 billion from Singapore's Temasek Holdings, $6.5 from Kuwait Investment Authority, $2 billion from Korean Investment Corp.
Bear Stearns: $1 billion from China Investment Corp.
UBS: $10 billion from the Government Investment Corp. of Singapore.
In light of these investments, one has to wonder whether any of these companies contributed significant campaign funds in the current presidential campaigns and whether these should be considered foreign funds.
An answer to this question can be gleaned from a nice website run by our government. Presumably the details will change from time to time, but a quick search shows that individuals working at Citigroup have made 499 contributions to various presidentail candidates, and a quick scan of the first page of these contributions shows twenty contributions of which ten are for $2300 and only three are for less than $500 (one of these three small contributions is a second contribution by the same person to Joe Biden, making a total of $2500).
Another quick search shows 590 contributions from employees of Morgan Stanley, 553 from Merrill Lynch (or from Merrill-Lynch), 243 from Bear Stearns and 434 contributions from UBS.
Clearly these are not the only large corporations that are now under significant ownership by foreign nationals and clearly these large corporations are funneling money into U.S. political campaigns. The question is how this is any less offensive than what Al Gore was accused of in the late 1990's? | <urn:uuid:c9a03ffa-d644-4474-8ed7-faecfca121e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.opednews.com/populum/page.php/opedne_prmaine_080128_relics_of_a_bhuddist.htm?f=opedne_prmaine_080128_relics_of_a_bhuddist.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953634 | 488 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Are You Well Liked in the Office?
Interpersonal skills are invaluable at work. How your coworkers see you can have a big impact on your career long term, as well as on your day-to-day life.
You may be the most brilliant person at your company, but if you can't get along with your colleagues, you won't get far. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to strengthen your social skills and become a team player. These 10 actions will not only help you make better connections at work, they'll improve how others perceive you.
-- Carrie Brenner | <urn:uuid:6cade480-5c60-46bd-bd02-88117736d7a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.allbusiness.com/improve-interpersonal-skills/15606969-1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97621 | 122 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Warp Factor 6, Mr. Scott... (The Ongoing IBOC Power Increase Debate)
With its Oct. 7 ex-parte presentation to the FCC on docket 99-325, NPR put to rest any doubts that it would oppose a 6dB interim increase in FM IBOC digital carrier power, based on its most recent study of digital-to-analog interference and input from member stations. Those attuned to the FCC Media Bureau's current vibe suggest that with NPR, Ibiquity, and the Joint Parties now in seeming harmony, the Commission will likely affirm the recommendation and HD hybrid signals with digital signals at 14dB below carrier will soon become status quo.
While the pending throttle-up isn't exactly a surprise, its reality will pose an interesting test to the financial commitment of those 20 percent or so of licensed FMs already having made the leap to IBOC. To wit, how many existing installations will have sufficient headroom to implement the increase without significant retooling of transmission hardware?
Some perspectives from transmitter manufacturers on the practical implications of a digital increase were discussed at the 2009 NAB Radio Show and summarized in a recent edition of NAB Tech Check. And what they had to say reveals that for a number of facilities, achieving that 6dB boost is going to involve a lot more than holding down the digital raise button.
Harris' Geoff Mendenhall pointed out that for those using low-level combining (i.e., common amplification of analog and digital carriers) higher digital carrier levels mean that the intermediate and final amplifier stages must be operated in a more linear (and inherently less efficient) fashion in order to meet the emission mask. Simply put, the higher the ratio of digital-to-analog power, the more a given transmitter will have to be de-rated. So as the digital side gets boosted, the transmitter's analog top-end output will suffer. While some installations may have enough reserve capacity to allow existing hardware to make 6dB more digital signal, amplifiers will have to be readjusted to operate in a more linear part of their curve, sucking up remaining analog headroom. Some simply won't make it with their existing transmitters, and plant cooling capacity will also have to be bumped up along with electrical power mains service, and back-up generating plant output.
Another interesting twist was added by Nautel's Gary Liebisch, who noted that transmitters operating in the FM reserved band below 92MHz tend to fall further behind in efficiency as linearity is increased than do those operating at higher frequencies. In other words, depending on what channel you happen to be on...your mileage may vary.
Those using high level combining schemes will face similar issues, as reject loads, digital transmitters, etc., will all have to be upsized.
Then there's also the matter of addressing those special situations where first adjacent channel stations may be short spaced, and even a 6dB increase in digital carriers may degrade analog coverage within the adjacent station's protected contour. NPR's presentation to the FCC calls for an enhanced remediation process where such circumstances occur, but there's no clear indicator of what such a provision might look like.
Interestingly, NPR has temporarily taken its Web-based IBOC digital carrier-to-analog interference calculator down to bring it into harmony with the new compromise interim level, but has left up a set of audio samples that demonstrate the analog impairment that can result from a -10dBc, or even a -20dbc digital carrier on an adjacent channel.
One thing's for certain: Approval of a 6dB HD digital boost will mean lots of extra hours, as managers and owners task their engineers with delivering a "wee bit" more digital drive without melting down already overheated corporate budgets. For many, actually making it happen is likely to be an agonizing process.
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- Remote Access and Site Connectivity: Wireless
- Standards of FM Allocation and Interference
- Side by Side: Mic Processors
- Field Report: Deva Broadcast DB4004
- Field Report: APT WorldCast Systems Horizon NextGen
- New Products
- 20 Years of Radio magazine: May 1994 | <urn:uuid:b7ffb3c1-7b63-4998-a96b-eeda5f3ff04e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://radiomagonline.com/digital_radio/hd_radio/warp-factor-6-1021/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931163 | 1,001 | 1.632813 | 2 |
As I write this, the front of the bus is packed to standing while the back has four empty seats. I've potential passengers left behind because of majorly inefficient space usage. The bus driver can tell people to move on back, but people don't listen. I think the problem is misplaced politeness: people are afraid of being rude in squeezing past people to get to a less crowded area. Really, I think people are rude not to: in edging past other passengers to fill the space at the back you make room for more people.
This is especially tricky if I'm waiting for a bus along with a large crowd. I know that if I get on near the front I can make my way to the back, even providing a path for other passengers to do the same. If I wait and let other people go first, fewer people may make it on. In trying to get close to the front of the pack, however, I look greedy and inconsiderate. I'm not sure how to treat this. Especially, I'm not totally convinced the harm of aggressively jockeying for position is outweighed by the benefit of improving passenger distribution; most of the time no one is left on the curb.
The new buses exacerbate this somewhat. The older ones had a wider aisle and didn't have a split level design (that might provide some sort of psychological barrier).
I'm not talking about pushing other people out of the way or anything, just being more assertive than I would normally be. | <urn:uuid:d3e507aa-f394-49bf-9a38-6465b56bb17f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jefftk.com/news/2011-12-13 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976035 | 309 | 1.625 | 2 |
Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri (GSEM) Troops visited fire departments and police stations throughout the St. Louis area, enjoying "Milk and Cookies" with police officers and fire fighters in honor of the first National Girl Scout Cookie Day, Friday, Feb. 8. In addition, Girl Scouts were stationed at a cookie booth outside the James S. McDonnell USO at Lambert St. Louis International Airport with all cookie orders placed being donated to US military personnel.
A Junior Girl Scout Troop from St. Peters visited the St. Peters Police Department, located at 1020 Grand Teton Dr.
The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led enterprise in the country, engaging girls with five skills they will use throughout their lives-goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. Many successful women leaders say that their first entrepreneurial experience came from selling Girl Scout Cookies. | <urn:uuid:f3186061-f30f-45e0-98ff-27e0983fd4c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://stpeters.patch.com/blog_posts/gs-troops-visit-police-stations-fire-houses-to-share-cookies-with-police-officers-firefighters-on-national-girl-scout-cookie-day-343a3c68?logout=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945376 | 181 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Fighting terrorism with smart weaponry
Indonesia's special counter-terrorism squad
is adopting the carrot and stick approach against terrorists,
instead of the tough ways of the past.
THE emblem on their badge is an owl, and inside their offices in the Indonesian National Police headquarters are assembled some of the smartest detectives you could find anywhere.
Special Detachment 88 is the Indonesian counter-terrorism squad, and if the secrecy around it could be lifted, the unit would be one of the prime symbols of Indonesia's transition from military-backed dictatorship to civilian democracy.
Formed after the Bali bombings of October 2002 which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, the unit has steadily hammered the jihadi terrorist cells linked to the absolutist Jemaah Islamiah movement based in Central Java.
So successful has it been that when the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, arrives for his first official visit to Indonesia, he can expect the President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and ministers pressing him to lift or significantly water down Canberra's official travel warning advising Australians to "reconsider your need to travel to Indonesia, including Bali, at this time due to the very high threat of terrorist attack".
The pressure has been increased by Washington's decision this week to lift its warning against travel to Indonesia.
Last year 314,000 Australians ignored the Canberra warning, up from 227,000 in 2006. But Indonesia is anxious to boost tourism back to pre-bombing levels in the populous scenic and cultural heartlands of Java and Bali, where unemployment is high.
Even without the recent competition to show toughness against terrorism, it would be one of the most difficult decisions for any government. In the balance is the safety of citizens and the possibility of terrorist cells emerging, and a strategic calculus of using Australian holidaymakers and their spending to help fight poverty and create ties of friendship in this important neighbouring country.
The threat assessment is improving, but is still mixed.
Some JI terrorists - under a new but unknown "amir" (leader) - are spreading their ideology through a dozen publications. And a skilled bomb maker, Taufik Bulaga, is still on the loose.
But police have arrested 418 suspects, and about 250 of them have been tried and convicted. Detachment 88 sources say it has "shrunk" JI's secret organisation, arrested or killed many of its top operatives, and grabbed its couriers to al-Qaeda, on the Afghan-Pakistan border, and to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Abu Sayyaf groups, in the southern Philippines.
Since a second Bali attack in October 2005, JI has not mounted another spectacular bombing of Western targets that had been an annual event for four years, twice in Bali and twice in Jakarta, against the Marriott Hotel and the Australian embassy.
In April this year, a judge in a terrorism trial declared JI an illegal organisation. It is uncertain whether this will force government and political leaders to drop their reluctance to blame JI for the attacks, rather than the individuals involved. Nor is it clear a ban follows. But police say the ruling has handed them a powerful tool to turn the public against JI.
Sidney Jones, a Jakarta-based expert on terrorism with the International Crisis Group, says the police have achieved "steady disruption" of JI, which is now focused on trying to rebuild its influence through Islamic schools. Jihadist violence is now tending to come from other groups against non-Muslim domestic targets.
Police methods used are no longer the brutal usual-suspect sweeps of the past, under the late president Soeharto, when the police were the junior arm of the armed forces. Instead, with help from the Australian Federal Police and other foreign agencies, the unit has used DNA analysis and other forensic science, plus communications-monitoring, to trace leads from the bombings to hidden JI cells and associated movements across Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra.
Last year, Detachment 88 was able to mount successful "pre-emptive strikes" across Java to foil new attempts to assemble bomb materials and plan attacks.
To tabloid indignation in Australia, Detachment 88 has also cultivated more than 200 detainees to learn about their motives and figure out how to turn them. This has involved senior police eating meals with them, taking them out for limited excursions, even encouraging marriages for some. "It's a sign they are coming back from al-hijrah [a mental state of readiness to sacrifice one's life] to the real world," one senior official said.
"It was quite difficult for us to persuade them to open up and talk. Now we have a more democratic country - with open investigation and no torture any longer - of course we had to find new techniques and tactics to exploit information from the Islamist terrorists."
The police have looked back at decades of efforts by past governments to suppress the Darul Islam (House of Islam) movement and its descendants, which ran violent campaigns for an Islamic state. Crackdowns put the rebels into "hibernation", only to re-emerge in later years.
"That's why we think it's quite difficult for us to cope alone with hard power," the official said. "We need the soft power approach to neutralise their ideology."
Detachment 88 looked even further back, at how small numbers of the Dutch and British colonial powers were able to control huge populations by divide and rule. "So we try to implement this principle," the official said.
"How to divide and rule the terrorist group, by acquiring the soft power to act on them, to know the nature of the groups, and approach some of them and provide a stick and carrot."
The police are also aware that prisons can be academies for radicalisation. Detainees who seem less committed are separated from hardline salafist mentors. By overcoming suspicion of the thagut, or evil police, investigators aim to turn detainees from what they call the "lesser jihad" - or a narrow focus on violent methods - to the "greater jihad" of non-violent or spiritual struggle, and thereby become an agent of influence among other JI recruits.
That's the carrot.
The stick is that convicts who remain unrepentant go to the country's hardest maximum security jail on Nusakambangan Island, off Java's south coast.
The police's approach challenges the simplistic paradigm of Indonesian terrorism that has been presented to Australians.
A former Office of National Assessments specialist on Indonesia and its Muslim movements, Greg Fealy, now at the Australian National University, wrote recently that the Howard government had painted a misleading dichotomy.
On one side were "evil" terrorists drawn from "radical" or "fundamentalist" groups of a "medieval" mindset; on the other, "moderate" Muslims of a "modern" and "tolerant" outlook. The first group is beyond persuasion; the second needs support to resist radical infection.
But even mainstream Muslim organisations working within the political system and eschewing violence often share goals with the utopian salafists, notably sharia, which is being applied in various forms by several regional administrations, including in the province of Aceh, which is likely to be on Mr Rudd's itinerary.
Some of the fiercest and probably most persuasive attacks on "jihadi salafists" - such as the Bali bomber Imam Samudra, now on death row - have come from other salafists who might share hostility to the "Christian West", gender equality, or Israel's existence, but reject terrorist methods as a sinful distortion of Islam.
"While it is clearly desirable to assist moderate Muslim leaders in promoting values of tolerance and pluralism within the Islamic community, there is little chance that such activity will impact on terrorists," Mr Fealy said.
"Soft power on terrorism" is a risky political line. But a visit to Detachment 88 suggests that being "hard on terrorism" isn't always more effective.
Hamish McDonald, the Herald's Asia-Pacific Editor, visited Jakarta this week with a senior editors' group hosted by the Australia-Indonesia Institute.
send photos, videos & tip-offs to 0424 SMS SMH (+61 424 767 764), or us. | <urn:uuid:4e2c6d56-7a8a-4e5e-81e2-b1212bc9763b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/fighting-terrorism-with-smart-weaponry/2008/05/30/1211654312137.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958121 | 1,708 | 1.648438 | 2 |
|Once upon a Preschool
Author: statkika12 PM
Charlotte briefly reevaluates her fairy tale life after figuring out who the father of her daughter Rosie's new preschool friend is.Rated: Fiction K+ - English - Humor/Family - Words: 896 - Reviews: 1 - Published: 01-08-12 - id: 7723513
|A+ A- Full 3/4 1/2 Expand Tighten|
It was a crisp, sunny, autumn day, as Charlotte walked to pick up her daughter from preschool. As she looked at all the leaves turning different colors up above, she couldn't help but smile. How lucky was this Manhattan princess that she was finally living the fairy tale life. She soon entered the preschool and saw little four-year-old Rosie with curly black hair and chubby cheeks running towards her. Her little pink backpack bopped up and down as she ran. "Mommy! Mommy!" "Hi, sweetie!" Charlotte knelt down to embrace her daughter. "Mommy, I made a new friend today. This is TJ." Rosie said, pointing to a little dark-haired boy who came and stood by her side. Charlotte then turned to the little boy. "Hi TJ, aren't you just a handsome fellow." she said with a smile. "Hi." The little boy replied shyly. "Mommy, can TJ come over someday and play?" "Why, sure." Charlotte answered. "If it's okay with his mommy and daddy, that is."
Just then, a pretty, petite, young Asian woman came in and the little boy's eyes brightened. "Mommy!" He ran to her and extended his arms. "Hey there, buddy." The woman said as she struggled to lift him. "You're becoming a big boy just like your daddy, aren't ya?" She then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and put him down. Charlotte then turned to the young lady. "Hi, I'm Charlotte Goldenblatt. My daughter was just introducing me to your son." she said as she extended her hand. "Already pairing up in preschool, I see." The young woman answered and Charlotte responded with a chuckle. "Oh, my name's Jenny." she continued as she reached to shake Charlotte's hand. "Jenny MacDougal." MacDougal? Charlotte's heart suddenly skipped a beat. "Yeah, I know that doesn't sound Chinese." Jenny went on. "My husband's actually Scottish. We met when I was finishing up my residency in cardiology at Langone and he became the chair of the department there. Of course, the chair dating an attending is a big no-no, but we started going out a year later when I got my new position at Presbyterian, and, well, one thing led to another." "Uh-huh." Charlotte simply was at a loss for words.
Jenny's pager then went off. "Oh, no; looks like I have to go in today, after all. And just when I promised the nanny she could have the afternoon off. Well, such is the life of a doctor, I guess." she sighed. "But it was nice meeting you, Charlotte. Next time, we'll have to exchange numbers, maybe arrange a play date for the kids." It was then that Charlotte said something that she thought she's never hear again, much less utter herself. "Alrighty then." After that, Jenny burst into laughter. "Oh, I'm so sorry, it's just that I've never heard anyone other than my husband say that. And that's his go-to phrase. Well, say goodbye, TJ." "Bye, Rosie." said that the little boy waving to Charlotte's daughter. "Bye." Rosie answered and waved back.
On the cab ride home, while Rosie was playing with her favorite doll and singing her favorite nursery rhyme song, a million thoughts raced through Charlotte's minds. Trey MacDougal was actually married again? Trey actually had a son? TJ must have stood for Trey, Jr., no doubt. And how did Bunny ever allow Trey to go out with someone like Jenny? She still remembered the day when she was repulsed by Bunny telling her that she would never approve Trey and her adopting a daughter of the South Pacific. And yet Trey ended up married to one. She knew that Bunny had passed away a few years ago, and she couldn't help but wonder if Bunny ever met Jenny or not. Maybe Trey and Jenny dating was what killed her? And then, Charlotte started having thoughts that scared her a bit. What if she stayed with Trey after all? What if they eventually did have a baby of their own? What if they really were destined to live happily ever after? "Mommy, are you okay?" Rosie's asked, disrupting Charlotte's train of thought. Charlotte turned to her daughter who was looking up at her with her big, brown eyes and smiled. "Yes, honey, I'm fine." Charlotte was trying to convince herself of that as much as she was tried to convince Rosie.
When Rosie and Charlotte arrived home, they were greeted by Harry, who was working from home that day, and Lilly, whom Harry just picked up from ballet practice. "Hi mom." Lily said. "Lily!" Rosie squealed and ran to her big sister. "Hiya, squirt!" Lily then said, catching Rosie and starting to tickle her. The two girls started giggling as their parents looked on, smiling. Harry then approached his wife, wrapped his arm around her waist, and gave her a kiss. "Welcome, home, hon." That moment, when Charlotte looked into Harry's eyes, she realized that all the thoughts she was having in the cab ride were silly. Trey was never meant to be her Prince Charming, Harry was. And she just wished that Trey was able to live happily ever after with his new family, like she was with hers. | <urn:uuid:93f12caa-849f-4c8e-a5ef-e7042c345182> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7723513/1/Once-upon-a-Preschool | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988851 | 1,244 | 1.585938 | 2 |
According to Lamoureux, a lack of synchronicity in monetary easing has been the prime culprit behind gold’s poor performance. The Fed is not providing the totality of global liquidity by itself, and the failure of the ECB and BoJ to adequately encourage short-term liquidity explains why gold has been going nowhere.
In terms of money supply, the U.S. is on a cruise while Japan has been running on a treadmill, and Europe just isn't hitting the gas pedal like it needs to.
In the past, central bank easing had been more coordinated and synchronized, which had allowed gold to reach its highs. Yves notes that similar contractions occurred in 1980, 1988, 1991, 2000, and 2008 which all negatively impacted gold.
Yves, also offered another reason why gold was particularly hard hit this week. Gold is considered a safe haven asset, and the rise in long term interest rates gives gold more competition. Investors can receive a higher rate of return on their fixed-income assets without worrying about the impact any volatility in the price of gold may have on their portfolios. Yves forecasts "more pain ahead, because rates are going higher." | <urn:uuid:8d5b010b-6416-41ef-baa5-7ed081c1b7f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessinsider.com/gold-down-lack-of-synchronicity-by-central-banks-2012-12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968729 | 239 | 1.804688 | 2 |
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — Want a free house?
Princeton University has seven to choose from. But only if you can haul them away.
Princeton is giving away houses it needs to clear away in order to start a new development project. The homes boast details including Victorian scroll moulding and fireplaces.
The catch is that most are in bad shape, with insulation peeking out from the foundation and broken shutters or railings.
Moving a house can cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. And a house-moving expert says they'll have to be taken apart to move because Princeton is so densely populated.
Kendal Siegrist of Wolfe Housing and Building Movers says the houses can't be carted away whole because there are too many utility lines, which can cost $10,000 each to move. | <urn:uuid:7165cc71-cbc0-42fc-b7fe-a06994fae1b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nwcn.com/news/national/193659551.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94707 | 177 | 1.6875 | 2 |
When Apple announced five million iPhone 5 were sold to end users over its launch weekend, I was surprised. Not because my guess had been around 6 million, but because the company had set expectations by announcing a doubling of pre-orders from the year-ago 4S launch.
Instead of doubling its performance for the launch weekend the company only sold 25% more units. How can there be this discrepancy? Is this a sign that demand is not growing at the rate we’ve become accustomed to? Is it a sign that there are shortages of components or labor or other production problems?
No, probably none of the above.
What we saw in the 5 million figure is what the company was able to deliver in the hands of buyers. It’s possible that there were people who did not get a phone when they wanted it, and at the same time it’s possible that some phones were available for sale and did not get bought.
This is because Apple offers the product through multiple channels. Some channels like Apple Stores may have gotten too many units while other channels like their on-line store, operator stores or retail partners did not get enough.
In other words, we have a situation of over- and under-supply (or over- and under-demand) simultaneously because the product is misallocated.
Can this really happen? | <urn:uuid:43f7fccb-5b79-4628-9a38-bdbda1483597> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.asymco.com/2012/09/25/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983241 | 277 | 1.757813 | 2 |
So as a typical WASP, I grew up with the stereotype that Asians are with the smarts. But I think what they are really with is the studying. Well, not Japanese kids so much these days, but my fellow language school students, most of whom are Chinese, have been impressing me with their studious natures.
During the summer break, I came in each day to use the nets to find a job (found one by the way! Gonna teach the brains out of those retirees). The other students would come in, but they didn't really use the computers; they just went into the empty classes and studied. And they have been studying ever day after class since we started again on Monday. I'm fairly impressed.
One thing about it, though: they do almost as much talking as studying. In loud voices. I'm thinking maybe studying is a bit of a social activity for them. Well, I guess people of every nationality occasionally make study groups. I remember in college, the beginning Japanese class students made a study group. I wasn't interested, but I was somehow good at Japanese in those days. Should I digress? Okay: I approached the first lesson of that college class in horror, because I could not get it. But we had a video in the language lab that matched the textbook's dialog. I replayed the simple dialog about 40 times. Then it clicked. And I was good at Japanese for a whole semester (at least at regurgitating it--I never thought about grammar in those days). So I didn't need the study group. Then a class conflict left me without Japanese for a whole year and I came into the second class as the worst student of the bunch.
So there is my secret to learning a language: Grock it early. Grock it often. Don't let time elapse between grockings. Or you will be stuck in remedial 1kyu (oxymoron) class, like me, years later.
Or, study like a Chinese person.
Also, I want to learn to read Chinese someday. I don't care to speak it though. Same goes with French. German, I might be able to wrap my tongue around. | <urn:uuid:4cf2c432-6386-4e40-b898-677f1869e39b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://surrealu.blogspot.com/2008/08/impressive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983232 | 454 | 1.609375 | 2 |
IN AN AUGUST 2004 ARTICLE for the New York Times entitled "Why Teachers Love Depressing Books," writer and critic Laura Miller wrote, "I decided that there were two types of children's books: call it Little Women versus Phantom Tollbooth. The first type was usually foisted on you by nostalgic grown-ups. These were books populated by snivelers and goody-two-shoes ... The people in the other kind of book, however, were entirely different. They had adventures."
This October marked the 50th anniversary of Norton Juster's story about a little boy named Milo, who is rescued from disenchantment by a magic tollbooth that transports him in his little car to the kingdom of Wisdom. There he meets Azaz the Unabridged, king of Dictionopolis, and the Mathemagician, ruler of Digitopolis, who charge him with the daunting task of rescuing the exiled Princesses Rhyme and Reason. Milo, a child who "didn't know what to do with himself — not just sometimes, but always," rises to the challenge, aided by his friends, the Watchdog Tock (who literally has a clock in his side) and the foolish, beetle-like Humbug. With buoyant, humorous drawings from artist Jules Feiffer, The Phantom Tollbooth is the kind of book you want to start over as soon as you finish.
Tollbooth didn't win the big one (the John Newbery Medal), but it is a "classic" nonetheless. Critics have compared it to works as varied as John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Jonathan Swift'sGulliver's Travels, Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows, and Lewis Carroll's Alice stories. In November 1962, the Times Literary Supplement said: "The Phantom Tollbooth is something every adult seems sure will turn into a modern Alice."
As a child, I dutifully read Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Johanna Spyri's Heidi, and other books in the "snivelers and goody-two-shoes" tradition. But Tollbooth, I raced through. Reading it as an adult is both the same and different; a contradiction Canby, a character who is both graceful and clumsy as can be, would likely appreciate. I still laugh at all the same parts, like when the Whether Man says, "If you happen to find my way, please return it." I still wish I had a dog like Tock the Watchdog, and I completely relate to Milo's initial malaise. When we are young we hate seemingly meaningless rituals (dentist appointments, standardized tests), and only because we are forced to do accept the banality and boredom of routines, commutes, and filling out tax forms as adults.
The first time I read The Phantom Tollbooth I wanted to be friends with Milo so he would give me a ride in his electric automobile, but if I were to meet him today, I would pat him on the back and say, "Kid, I'd tell you the ennui disappears, but that would be a lie." Adults not only take short trips to the "Doldrums," they make entire vacations out of existential despair. The adventure in Tollbooth doesn't change; it's the meaning we find in it that evolves.
Some critics wondered if this quirky tome was best suited to gifted children or adults. Library Journal was one of those hesitant publications, writing in January 1962: "The ironies, the subtle play on words will be completely lost on all but the... | <urn:uuid:f2f9b844-62d7-41c9-ad45-ed604932a691> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?id=276 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97802 | 744 | 1.703125 | 2 |
By Pastor Bill Gaube
How can two people look at the same situation, and one despair while the other rejoices? It might be our financial situation, health or some personal conflict we are having. Some find so much to rejoice about and enjoy. Others find only loss and despair. A few dismissively say, “Well there are pessimists and there are optimists.” But as Christians I would suggest another view.
I think we can learn from the story of Elisha and his servant in 2 Kings 6. During the night a huge Army had surrounded the place where Elishsa was staying. In the morning Elisha’s servant ran to Elisha in a frenzy and nervously asked, “What shall we do?” Elisha was not at all disturbed and warmly assured the servant, “Don’t be afraid; those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (v16) Then Elisha prayed, not against the Army, but for his servant: “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Elisha knew God had the Army under control and wanted his servant to understand the resources of God.
The Servant saw only the problem. Elisha saw the problem AND God’s resources. As life piles up on us, different problems arise – they almost seem to multiply like a giant army. Life can seem to be a growing series of crises.
Let us, like Elisha, see the problems AND God’s resources. Each new problem can open our eyes to greater understanding of God’s resources. More importantly, they open our hearts to a deeper relationship with God through His son, Jesus Christ.
How do you view life’s cumulating complexities? Do you see just the problems and say, “That is just the way I am”? Ask God to deepen your Christian experience by seeing the problems AND God. That can dictate whether we despair or rejoice. | <urn:uuid:5999936e-88a8-41d7-a7c7-b01091d76d2a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnchurch.org/pep-people-encouraging-people-55-4/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97082 | 420 | 1.585938 | 2 |
With last week’s declaration by Twitter that it intends to start identifying places based on the coordinates of geo-coded Tweets, the location land rush is in full swing. A long list of companies including Twitter, Google, Foursquare, Gowalla, SimpleGeo, Loopt, and Citysearch are far along in creating separate databases of places mapped to their geo-coordinates. Mapping businesses, in particular, to the GPS locations near where people are checking in, Tweeting from or pegging a photo is the first step to be able to show them geo-targeted ads, which could help fuel local mobile online advertising in a major way.
Here is the problem: These efforts at creating an underlying database of places are duplicative, and any competitive advantage any single company gets from being more comprehensive than the rest will be short-lived at best. It is time for an open database of places which all companies and developers can both contribute to and borrow from. But in order for such a database to be useful, the biggest and fastest-growing Geo companies need to contribute to it.
I put this suggestion to Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley the other night at a party, and he was enthusiastic about the idea. Foursquare is building up its own comprehensive database of places, which it calls “venues,” through its users who add places they want to check into, if they don’t already exist. Foursquare matches their GPS lat/long coordinates to its database of venues (businesses, points of interest, even people’s homes). Later I followed up by email and asked Crowley, “Isn’t the quality of your places directory, built by your users, a competitive advantage?” His response:
yeah, but so was the social graph. but facebook connect showed that things work better when we all play nice. the “facebook connect of places” would be amazing. not sure who will build it – goog, fbook, twitter, etc – but i bet you it’s a problem that’s mostly fixed by next year. there’s a lot of people working on this problem.
For what it’s worth, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey also happened to be in the room that night, and his reaction was a little bit more lukewarm and cautious. (I should note that Dorsey was not speaking in any official capacity for Twitter and this was just idle cocktail chatter). But given Twitter’s recent moves to claim more parts of the Twitter eco-system for its own and the resulting controversy, it strikes me that Twitter could regain some lost developer goodwill by creating such an open database of places. I suspect Twitter does indeed want to create the “Facebook Connect of Places,” and open that up to developers through its APIs. Mixer Labs, which it acquired, was certainly going in this direction with its GeoAPI, which Twitter is still supporting. Hopefully, all the places data from geo-coded Tweets will go in there as well.
A Facebook Connect for places doesn’t quite go far enough. Crowley’s analogy falls short because Facebook still controls the social graph. It exposes that social graph (the connection of its members to each other) to other Websites and developers, but other Websites cannot add to that social graph on their own. A truly open database of places should allow both give and take. It should be one that everyone can contribute to and nobody necessarily owns. Foursquare should be able to update it as easily as Twitter or Google, or any other Geo startup. The best data should prevail.
The counter-argument is that somebody—Twitter, Google, Facebook—needs to be in control of the database in order to ensure its quality. If you let any random developer with a geo app update the database, it could end up being filled with inaccurate geo-data or worse, geo-spam. I got the feeling Dorsey’s hesitation was partly due to such concerns. But surely there are ways to design a places database which rewards good data over bad. Maybe a place doesn’t become official until two or three contributing databases agree it is the same place, or based on the overall trustworthiness and historical accuracy of the source.
An open places database would also self-correct over time. And companies could choose to refer to it only when a specific business or place is missing from their own vetted geo-directories. In other words, let the best data prevail. And instead of a dozen companies all building the same geo-directories, thousands could be innovating on top of an open database with new Geo services, advertising, and apps. It should just be part of the basic fabric of the mobile Web.
Image: Flickr/Nate Bolt
Foursquare is a geographical location based social network that incorporates gaming elements. Users share their location with friends by “checking in” via a smartphone app or by text message. Points are awarded for checking in at various venues. Users can connect their Foursquare accounts to their Twitter and Facebook accounts, which can update when a check in is registered. By checking in a certain number of times, or in different locations, users can collect virtual badges. In addition, users...
Created in 2006, Twitter is a global real-time communications platform with 400 million monthly visitors to twitter.com, more than 200 million monthly active users around the world. We see a billion tweets every 2.5 days on every conceivable topic. World leaders, major athletes, star performers, news organizations and entertainment outlets are among the millions of active Twitter accounts through which users can truly get the pulse of the planet.
SimpleGeo provides a ready-to-use location infrastructure that makes it easy to ad location-aware features to applications. The company was founded in 2009 by Matt Galligan and Joe Stump and was acquired by Urban Airship in October 2011. | <urn:uuid:fbcc30b5-027b-4577-b38e-fff3cb5f8122> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/17/open-database-places/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956735 | 1,230 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Photograph by Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times
Author Michael Crichton in Santa Monica in 2002
'Rising Sun' Author Taps Darkest Fears of America's PsycheSunday July 5, 1992
By T. Jefferson Parker, T. Jefferson Parker's most recent novel, "Pacific Beat," was published in paperback last month by St. Martin's Press. He interviewed Michael Crichton at the author's Santa Monica office.
Michael Crichton's new novel, "Rising Sun," rose to the bestseller list and stayed there 19 weeks--buoyed largely by the controversy and heated opinions the book has aroused. Crichton's premise--that Japan's rise to economic power is a serious danger to our own economy--has left people predictably polarized.
"Rising Sun" is a cautionary tale couched as a mystery. In it, Crichton argues that the United States is a second-rate economic power and is going to have to make some profound changes if it wishes to compete with vigor in the changing world economy.
Crichton, of course, has already proved himself a master at tapping into the near-atavistic fears of American readers. In his movie, "Westworld," and novel, "Jurassic Park," technology runs amok and attacks its handlers with a serious vengeance. In "Rising Sun," the Japanese pose a similarly dramatic threat by which our darkest intimations of a collapsed U.S. economy dominated by Japanese interests are encouraged to flourish. Crichton is fluent in the language of America's popular nightmares.
Crichton himself is a well-spoken and deliberate man, apparently used to bringing all of his considerable attention to bear on whatever situation is before him. Though just 49, he has written eight novels, four works of nonfiction (ranging in subject from Jasper Johns to "electronic life") and has directed the movies "Westworld," "Coma" and "The Great Train Robbery." On top of all that, he graduated Harvard Medical School and, in 1969, was a post-doctoral fellow at the Salk Institute in La Jolla. For the record, Crichton stands six feet nine inches tall, and weighs a slender 235 pounds. He was not prone, in this situation at least, to jocularity. He is married, has one child and lives in Los Angeles. He sat talking amid books ranging from "Strategic Use of Scientific Evidence" to Gary Larson's "The PreHistory of the Far Side." A bevy of toy dinosaurs sat atop one end table--presumably they were his, not his child's.
Question: "Rising Sun" makes a strong argument that Japanese business is unfairly aggressive and Americans are foolish to have tolerated this unfairness for so long. Is that a decent synopsis?
Answer: Not exactly. Let me just restate it. In the immortal words of my hero, Ross Perot: "It's not a two-way street. It never has been a two-way street. It's not their fault." It's our fault.
Q: That stated, then, I'd like to talk to you about two things--Japanese-American economics and race. Let's get to the dangerous stuff first. Are you a racist?
Q: Do you consider the Japanese racist?
A: Yes. Well, first of all, let's track. There's an extended discussion of race in the book. Different characters represent different views on perceptions of race. The central character, John Connor, who is the voice the reader is asked to believe, says, "Japan is the most racist country in the world."
Now, how people respond to this comment is, in my experience, a function of how much they know about Japan and how much experience they've had there.
Many people who have worked extensively in Japan will point to that statement and say, "That's true." When I did the Dick Cavett show--and Dick Cavett has a good knowledge of Japan--he made a joke. He said, "Yes, that's true. In fact, I invented racism. Ha, ha."
But what are we talking about here?
We're talking about a historically inward-looking nation, an island nation, largely monoracial. That's a good structure in which to have the rise of feelings of superiority about your own people as opposed to other people in the world. Of course, these broad statements can't be applied to the individual Japanese person. One of the things that Americans, as a multiracial society, feel is a tremendous sensitivity to racial comments of all kinds.
In the book, one of the things I tried to say to Americans was: Hey, while you're tiptoeing around the race issue, your competitors are a monoracial country, very much aligned, and tend to hold in common beliefs that would astound you.
Q: Have you been accused of Japan- bashing in "Rising Sun?"
A: Yeah, sure. I think that people who read the book tend to see one of two attitudes. Either they see this is a book about Japan, or a book about America. I think this is a book about America. My interest is America, and my whole focus is on how America is responding and behaving in the contemporary world. I'm not interested so much in how Japan is behaving because we have no control over that.
Unfortunately, our postwar policy has been to ask Japan to change so that our economic policies will dovetail. I think that is completely wrong. The solution is for America to change.
Anyway, you asked bashing. If Japan- bashing means an unreasoned and intemperate attack based on some irrational motive, then "Rising Sun" is not Japan- bashing.
Q: If we loosely define racism as an inherent desire in a person to promote and advance the interests of his or her race, I would contend, for the sake of discussion, that most people are racist. And that racism, as defined, can be a good and healthy thing. Would you agree?
A: No. No, I think we live in an increasingly small world, and to make divisions based on race is not to anyone's benefit.
Q: How about nationality?
A: I think nationality is inevitable and necessary. The reason is that, although we may be moving toward a world economy, many aspects of economic behavior are still determined by nationality--they just are. In other words, I can buy a car that comes from many parts of the world now. But I will drive it on an American road; if I get in an accident, I will be in the American legal system; if I get injured, I'll be in the American health- care system.
So, it's not unreasonable to imagine that, at least as we're in a transition to a world economy, it's still necessary now to pay attention to how our country is doing economically in comparison with other countries. To become poor, to move in the direction of decline, to have the good- paying jobs disappear, to abandon our manufacturing sector, to not have a national economic policy as do our competitors--these are all bad ideas.
Q: Has the continued decline in the Japanese stock market, their falling real-estate value and shrinking foreign investment caused you to rethink your views of Japanese-American business dealings?
A: No, not at all. I've not seen figures on what the growth of the Japanese GNP will be this year. You hear stories about economic distress in Japan, but you see that the growth rate is going down to 4% from 5%. If this country had a 4% growth rate, we'd all feel like we were pumped full of testosterone.
Q: How did you feel when Matsushita bought Universal Studios?
A: Fine. It didn't bother me a bit, because that sale doesn't have large economic consequences for the nation. Did it bother you?
Q: Yes. My reaction was best put by Akio Morita, whom you quoted at the end of "Rising Sun," saying, "If you don't want Japan to buy it, don't sell it." I was more aggravated by the owners of Universal than I was by Matsushita. In the book, you seem as ready to blame the U.S. for its own decline as you are to blame Japan. True?
A: I think there's no question it's an American problem.
Q: What allowed us to contribute so willingly to our own weakening? Greed? Altruism? Shortsightedness? Arrogance?
A: (following a large sigh) You have to look back at broad time periods. It's possible now to argue that Americans have had no increase in real earnings power since 1962. Some economists would dispute that, and set the date at 1973.
Either way, the country is in a steady, consistent and ongoing decline. Why? That's an extended conversation. I'll just mention three things I think are of equal importance.
First, American business emerged from the postwar period in a position of tremendous superiority. Principal competitors of pre-World War II--Germany and Japan--are devastated. So American business is pumped up from wartime production, and everyone is feeling really good. We are on top of the world. That inevitably breeds complacency, and Americans had a long period of complacency.
Secondly, in the postwar period, Americans turned away from quality as the principal goal of manufacturing and made cost the principal goal. Japanese, restructuring their companies, made exactly the opposite decision. American quality-control experts who worked in America during the Second World War, became very nearly living treasures in Japan. So Japan and Germany have had decades of structuring business in the direction of quality, whereas Americans have had decades structuring business according to . . . other principles.
Thirdly, the cost of capital. The decline of the individual investor and rise of the institutional investor as the primary player in the stock market, and the change in tax laws so there's no advantage in long-term as opposed to short-term investment, have meant that the American stock market is now entirely speculative.
No one invests in a company anymore, in the way it was done in the '50s, say, because they believe the company is good. They buy because they think the price of the stock will rise or fall. What this means is that American managers are obliged to manage in the short term. There's no incentive for an investor to hang on with a company for the long term. In Japan, savings--up to a certain point--are tax free. Why is that not also true in America? You want savings? Then don't tax it as ordinary income.
Q: OK, a shift of focus. As you probably know, your statement in "Rising Sun," that two floors of the Hitachi Chemical Research building at the University of California, Irvine, are accessible only with Japanese passports, caused quite a ripple at UCI. But the university says your statement isn't true. What do you say?
A: My understanding is there is a building on that campus, part of which is private and closed. How closed is the subject of this debate. My answer would be that the sentence I have in the book is not technically accurate. But the feeling is not wrong. Is the sentence wrong? It's not wrong enough. There's a problem of Japanese investment in American universities. We are not being careful about where the money is coming from. More than 10% of the endowed chairs at MIT are paid for by Japanese corporations. Is anybody worried about that?
Q: Your critics say that you're exploiting an irrational fear of Japan, making Japan a kind of economic great white shark. Was "Rising Sun" written with an eye for the U.S. book market, or from your heart?
A: Absolutely from my heart.
Q: Do you have Japanese friends?
A: (laughs) Yes, I still do.
Q: Without talking specifics, would you describe the advance from your Japanese publisher as large, small or in-between?
A: I would say the advance is a lot.
Q: Any tugging at your soul there?
A: For a Japanese translation? No. I think it's very important it be translated in Japan. I'm not xenophobic. I believe we should be in business with Japan. What would I do, say "no" to a translation? I wrote the book to be read. | <urn:uuid:8283335f-9c77-4bcb-a650-8207595bd5e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2008/11/voices----micha.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976851 | 2,590 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Snowmaking ‘GO' Time at Perisher Blue
Perisher Blue reached a milestone overnight with the first operation of the resort's new automated snowmaking system in Perisher Valley.
After months of tireless hard work and an investment of $9.75 million over the summer months, ten snow guns went into action at around midnight, one full week ahead of last season's snowmaking debut. Temperatures hit a low of -6.9°C at the base of the Forester Quad Express overnight providing perfect conditions for the new Techno Alpin snow guns to be put through their paces.
Locals in the area have already noted the lack of noise produced by the new automated guns, which are programmed to make snow when the temperature and humidity are optimal for snowmaking. This also has the added benefit of increasing the energy efficiency of Perisher Blue's operations, a key target of the resort's Environmental Management System (EMS).
The official commencement of snowmaking for 2008 signifies the completion of stage two of Perisher Blue's snowmaking expansion. The $9.75 million spend has delivered a new sustainable water supply, an upgraded pump station and 34 new automated snow guns in addition to the resort's 154 existing snow guns. This will provide 3.5 hectares of new snowmaking area linking Perisher's Mid Station of the Forester Quad Express through Yabby Flat and Goats Gully to Front Valley.
Stage three of the resort's snowmaking expansion is planned to include the automation of the remainder of Front Valley snowmaking and the expansion of automated snowmaking through Happy Valley and up Towers Run on Mt Perisher.
According to Peter Brulisauer, Chief Executive Officer of Perisher Blue, "These are exciting times, with the completion of substantial resort improvements that will significantly enhance the reliability and quality of our product for our guests. We look forward to a great season in 2008 and beyond."
Now that snowmaking has officially started at Perisher Blue, it is expected that the guns will be fired up at every opportunity through to August. With the Bureau of Meteorology predicting snow later this week and more cold air conducive to snowmaking next week, the resort should be looking white and ready for skiing and snowboarding from the start of the season on 7 June 2008. | <urn:uuid:1a9028f0-c2cc-4e3a-9dbc-9e563a0f9c81> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.snowworkers.com/news/resort-news/snowmaking-%E2%80%98go-time-perisher-blue | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9516 | 464 | 1.578125 | 2 |
President Ben Shelly Tours Food Pantry
On May 9, Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly toured The Community Pantry in Gallup, New Mexico to explore ways the Nation can partner with the pantry. According to a Nation press release the pantry opened its door in 1999 and serves about 37,000 people, 90 percent are Native American and mostly Navajo. A demand for food has seen the pantry turn people away and Shelly is exploring a partnership through Navajo programs such as Division of Social Services and the Navajo Department of Health. “They serve a lot of our people, and we should do what we can to help them,” President Shelly said in the release. | <urn:uuid:73d1defb-0c6e-4e41-9bde-7f8d495037e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/president-ben-shelly-tours-food-pantry-112442 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967022 | 138 | 1.710938 | 2 |
OK for kids 13+
Quirky romance mixes politics, charm; fine for teens.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a quirky romance with a mish-mash of themes that includes love, international relations, faith, war, marital infidelity, and fishing. Overall the movie has a genteel feel, and though there's some salty language (including "ass," "bastard, and one use of "f--k"), it's not excessive. Expect some kissing and a couple of love scenes that imply sex, though there's no graphic nudity. There's also some social drinking and smoking, and use of a gun by an attempted assassin.
- Families can talk about Salmon Fishing in the Yemen's messages. What do you think it wants audiences to take away from watching? Does all entertainment need to have a message?
- What makes Harriet's and Fred's romance different or similar to that of other movie couples? Did either of them do anything wrong? Why did they hesitate?
The good stuff
Messages: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen's messages are about the importance of peace, patience, tolerance, humility, and faith.
Role models: Alfred and Harriet are as different, in both personality and disposition, as two people can be. But in working toward a common goal, they discover much to appreciate in each other. They're both clear about not wanting to be hurtful of others and are quite respectful of their complicated individual situations.
What to watch for
Violence: An assassin attempts to kill one of the characters with a gun; later, a dam is destroyed.
Sex: A woman takes off her pants and joins her boyfriend in bed (they're mostly shown cuddling). Earlier, they're seen kissing. Another couple is shown just finishing having sex (no nudity).
Language: "F--k" is shown typed on a computer, with asterisks in place of most of the letters; later, a mother says the word while speaking to her teenage son. Also occasional use of words including "bloody hell," "bastard," "ass," "damn," "oh my God, " "goddamn," and "bollocks."
Consumerism: Mention of Target and the names of a few fishing magazines.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Some social drinking. One character smokes cigarettes.
Fan Reviews provided by
It's a Hit! by Optimism
The Sunday matinee we attended was near-full, even tho SALMON FISHING was also being shown at the same time in a second theater across the lobby. A HIT! Why?
Because it's adorable: literate and charming, and creative, and quite perfect, all 'round.
Super fun An original (!) movie. Refreshing and delightful.
Loved it better than the book by 36003657
I loved the book and was delighted to learn that a movie was made of it. I could hardly wait to have it come my town and scanned theaters in nearby towns to see if they already show it. Well, it finally arrived here and I must say that this is one movie that is actually better than the book. I enjoyed it tremendously.
Liked this movie alot by nancyfurm
This movie was a pleasant surprise. I found it a sweet love story. I enjoyed all of the characters and thought the writing was really good. I would definitely recommend it.
Salmon Fishing in Yemen by jacqpk
By far the best movie I have seen in a long while. Good story, great pace, excellent casting and acting, and beautiful scenery. A must see!!!!!
Cast your vote for salmon fishing! by PVKathy
This is a charming and wise movie that has an unusual setting and unusual plot with dialogue that goes beyond the trite. Well written and well acted, this film is both thought-provoking and entertaining. The large theater was nearly filled and everyone left happy.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by meckstut
A so-so Friday night film with an attractive cast and a simple, predictable formulaic story line that you have seen many times before -- even the "Dr. Jones" references bring back you know who..
I was expecting more from the film based on its title, I thought it would be metaphorical about overcoming difficulties or daring to dream impossible dreams but it was quite literal and simplistic. The film is very shallow, everyone is just a little too perfect (even the villains).However, Kristin Scott Thomas is hilarious and steals every scenes she is in and Emily Blunt looks great in her London "investment manager" professional girl outfits.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by oldbikerdude
A well acted film with a nice story. Visually very appealing. I have recommended this film to my friends.
Fly Fishing in Yemen by arvard
I enjoyed this movie very much. The scenes were beautiful and the British humor wa a lot of fun. It got a little slow in places, but I would recommend it anyway.
One of the few times the movies eclipses the book by nickdoesmovies
This movies is a romantic satire, and the comic bite manages to eliminate any and all sappiness that might be associated with a traditional love story. This moving is engaging, beautiful to watch, funny, and a little thought provoking. The acting is marvelous - its well cast with an excellent screenplay. For anyone who ever wanted the nerdy fisherman to be the hero - this is your movie. Go
Really enjoyed the performances by trixiesutton
What a creative idea for a movie. It was a bit of a fantasy but the characters lift it into something really special. My husband and i enjoyed it thoroughly and had the nicest romantic dinner afterwards! Great date movie. | <urn:uuid:3020f765-9836-41f5-a487-37a3fd314ec6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.movies.com/movie-reviews/salmon-fishing-yemen-review/m68393 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973707 | 1,206 | 1.773438 | 2 |
March 31st, 2012
Tuna. What I ate for lunch every day in high school. What I ask for these days in sushi. And now there’s Wicked Tuna, a National Geographic series about the lives of Gloucester fishermen who pursue their livelihood in pursuit of these magnificent silvery fish. (Seeing them hooked, harpooned and decapitated might make a vegetarian out of me.) The series starts Sunday night on the National Geographic Channel and was previewed this week at the Wilbur Theatre, with many of the fishermen, friends and relatives in attendance.
The iconic images belie a troubled reality, with pressures coming for them on land and at sea. For the families involved in the pursuit, bluefin tuna are the defining element of their existence and the key to their economic survival. The series follows the struggles of five fishing boats, their captains and crews, revealing the stunning difficulty of their grueling work lives. There’s nothing high tech about the way they fish; it’s rod and reel, strength and determination. It costs about $3000 to provision a boat for a three-day outing on Georges Bank. They need to catch at least one fish just to break even, more than one if they’re small. Their language is salty, to say the least, and their anger at the elements or at each other is unconcealed. But underneath the “man talk” are a grittiness and entrepreneurial commitment to survive and succeed that is impressive.
Such stories are also the subject of a Regis College musical in April based on oral histories of the Gloucester fishermen’s wives. It will be at the college in Weston from the 11th to 14th and at the Cape Ann Theatre in Gloucester the 20th and 21st.
National Geographic’s stated goals are to tell the human stories behind the macro descriptions of the fishing industry and to educate people about the increasing scarcity of bluefin tuna. (According to its press material, the adult bluefin population has declined by as much as 83 percent in the Atlantic since 1950.) Marine biologists say it is a victim of overfishing. Governments have tried to set quotas for fish and regulate fishing methods, creating other problems for the fishermen.
But overfishing isn’t the only threat to Gloucester. Increasingly there are concerns about community gentrification and historic neighborhoods giving way to luxury development. Gloucester seems on the verge of solidifying the home of its 400-year-old fishing industry by marrying it to 21st century activities around marine innovation. It’s still a working class community, and one hopes it won’t become too precious as travelers and high rollers move in. Sadly, if gentrification goes too far, the real endangered species might turn out to be the Gloucester fishermen and families themselves.
I’d greatly appreciate your thoughts in the comments section below.
March 31st, 2012
At about 6 pm on Friday, March 30, Chancellor Martin T. Meehan of UMass Lowell spoke to an audience of more than 100 people in the Moody Street Feeder multi-purpose room on the fourth floor of the Boott Cotton Mills Museum. Behind him, through tall east-facing windows of Boott Mill #6, segmented like rectangular-blocked graph paper, behind him the late-day light of early spring gave the rose-red bricks of the Massachusetts Mills a familiar warm glow—and all we could see from that fourth floor height, from a certain angle, was the uppermost sections of the mill and the old Napping building, an industrial ridgeline under the pale blue sky.
Someone listening to the Chancellor talk about the extraordinary partnership between Lowell National Park and the University and how projects such as the new “Dickens in Lowell” museum exhibition enrich the community, this exhibit whose opening we were there to celebrate, someone listening and looking out the windows could imagine the surprise of Charles Dickens when he arrived in Lowell in February 1842 and noted the “fresh buildings of bright red brick and painted wood,” a scene matched by what we were seeing outside the windows in the historic mill district of downtown Lowell, in the middle of Lowell National Park. Dickens visited factories, mills, that produced cotton cloth, carpets, and woolen fabric. He saw the city when it was still new, about 20 years old, the span of time from 1992 to now.
The rose-red structures yesterday, thanks to careful preservation and useful renovation, hardly looked older than those that Dickens saw 170 years ago. The view-shed began above street level, so there were no utility poles, street signs, or moving vehicles to distract from the vista. There may have been a wire or two that I filtered out. It was a view out of time, or timeless, a fitting backdrop for the commentary we were hearing about Dickens and the nineteenth century, about crossing the Atlantic in a small ship in a winter storm, and the boarding house outfitted with a piano. When Florian Schweizer, director of the Dickens Museum in London, spoke to the crowd, his English accent only added to the retro quality of the moment. We could imagine Dickens himself speaking with the Lowell movers and shakers who escorted him around for the half day whose experiences made for the lasting account in the author’s travel book “American Notes for General Circulation.”
Merrimack Prints web image courtesy of Lowell Historical Society
March 31st, 2012
Young Abigail Adams (1766) Portrait by Benjamin Blythe
We are reminded that on this day March 31, 1876, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John Adams - future President of the United States – as he and other members of the Continental Congress were gathered as the governing body of the Thirteen Colonies. She wrote:
”I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”
From the National First Ladies Library’s biographical notes on Abigail Adams :
When John Adams went to Philadelphia in 1774 to serve as his colony’s delegate to the First Continental Congress, Abigail Adams remained home. The separation prompted the start of a lifelong correspondence between them, forming not only a rich archive that reflected the evolution of a marriage of the Revolutionary and Federal eras, but a chronology of the public issues debated and confronted by the new nation’s leaders. The letters reflect not only Abigail Adams’ reactive advice to the political contentions and questions that John posed to her, but also her own observant reporting of New England newspapers’ and citizens’ response to legislation and news events of the American Revolution.
Regarding Abigail Adams’ admonition to husband John – it was nearly 150 years before the House of Representatives voted to pass the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote.
Learn more about Abigail Adams here at the National First Ladies Library.
An older Abigail Adams (1744-1818) … Portrait by Gilbert Stuart | <urn:uuid:cee49818-bd45-4954-9099-640632268715> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.richardhowe.com/2012/03/31/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958853 | 1,557 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Two firms have been awarded separate bids to begin the design and permitting work for the cleanup of Sunshine Lake, an algae-infested body of water in the heart of Port Charlotte’s Parkside neighborhood.
According to Charlotte County engineer Joanne Vernon, Coastal Planning and Engineering of Boca Raton won a $68,853 bid to handle the design and permitting portion of the massive dredging work needed to remove a 7-foot algal mat that has filled in nearly 50 percent of the lake’s water volume. The county also has awarded a $22,940 contract to RMA GeoLogic Consultants of Fort Myers for the design and permitting of recharge wells that will be installed to keep water levels at the lake elevated.
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January 7, 2013
Posted: 1046 GMT
I could feel the frustration in his voice. Kevin-Prince Boateng had decided to make a stand. It wasn’t the first time he had faced racial abuse and he wasn’t going to take it any more. The AC Milan midfielder took a stand and, in my view, became a hero.
During our 15-minute phone conversation, an exclusive interview for CNN, I could tell Boateng was not only frustrated, but also upset that football authorities have not been doing enough to combat racism.
He was angry that currently there is no rule or law in place where players or teams can walk off the field if they are racially abused.
The 25-year-old – born in Germany but who has represented his father's country Ghana - told me he would do it again. Whether it was in a Champions League or World Cup final, he would walk off the pitch if fans insulted him.
This statement should serve as a warning to governing bodies like FIFA and UEFA. There is a decent chance a game could be abandoned in the near future if a team decides to protest against prejudice. Unfortunately, it is a warning they will probably not take seriously.
Why? Well, did you hear what FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Sunday? The soccer boss had the audacity to declare he did not support Boateng’s decision to walk off the field, or “run away” as he labeled it. He added that it sets a dangerous precedent for the future when players leave the field.
What was he thinking? Has Blatter ever been racially abused? Has he ever felt prejudice? I doubt it. So how can this man have the nerve to say something like that?
If anything, the FIFA president should have said he does not want to see matches abandoned, but in extreme circumstances, like the ones in Italy on Thursday, he would always support the players. Players have feelings and they deserve to be taken into account.
UEFA haven’t looked great in the face of this latest racism scandal either. They did not even register it, or address it in any way.
In my view, football’s governing bodies missed a golden opportunity to make a point and to look like they understand what football’s true problems are.
Financial Fair Play? Yes, it is important, but how is protecting the integrity of players not a bigger priority? I simply do not understand.
Honestly, I hope there is another Boateng. And another. Obviously I don’t want to see more incidents of racism in football, but if they occur I want players to take a stand.
I also hope some of football’s major sponsors will take notice. Maybe the only way governing bodies will react is if companies threaten to withdraw hundreds of millions of dollars of investment from the game. It shouldn’t come to that, but maybe money will speak louder than morals. Again.
So what would I do if I could make a difference? Simple. Any time there was any kind of racist chant or behavior from fans in the stands, the club would have to play five matches behind closed doors.
If it happened again, I would make it 10 matches. I would also give players and teams the right to walk off the pitch if they felt threatened by fans.
Obviously common sense would have to be applied, and the referee would have to approve the decision, but the athletes need to have more power and they need to be able to defend themselves.
To add to these two measures, I would make all federations dedicate part of their yearly budget to running anti-prejudice campaigns.
Obviously not every federation could contribute the same, but every little initiative would help to educate and enlighten people around the world.
These simple changes could make a difference. Playing matches behind closed doors would cost clubs millions of dollars, while education will always have an effect on people.
So well done Kevin-Prince Boateng, you have become a pioneer. By taking a stand, you have made yourself heard and hopefully more of your colleagues will revolt against abuse. There is no place for it in the beautiful game. | <urn:uuid:ec781d7c-f5e8-45f8-ae01-366b2aa0807d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://worldsport.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/07/time-for-football-to-tackle-racism-epidemic/?hpt=isp_r1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981964 | 860 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The original fund was donated by Professor Cole from money presented to him on his retirement, was augmented by contributions from members of the Society, and was later doubled by his son, Charles A Cole.
The present award is $5,000. The prizes were awarded at two different five-year intervals for contributions to algebra and the theory of numbers, but the intervals have been reduced to three years. The award is for a notable research memoir in analysis that has appeared during the past six years in a recognized North American journal and only members of the American Mathematical Society are eligible.
1931 H S Vandiver
... for his several papers on Fermat's last theorem published in the Transactions of the American Mathematical Society and in the Annals of Mathematics during the preceding five years, with special reference to a paper entitled "On Fermat's last theorem".
1941 Claude Chevalley
... for his paper "La théorie du corps de classes".
1946 H B Mann
... for his paper "A proof of the fundamental theorem on the density of sums of sets of positive integers".
1951 Paul Erdös
... for his many papers in the theory of numbers, and in particular for his paper "On a new method in elementary number theory which leads to an elementary proof of the prime number theorem".
1956 John T Tate
... for his paper "The higher dimensional cohomology groups of class field theory".
1962 Kenkichi Iwasawa
... for his paper "Gamma extensions of number fields".
1962 Bernard M Dwork
... for his paper "On the rationality of the zeta function of an algebraic variety".
1967 James B Ax and Simon B Kochen
... for a series of three joint papers "Diophantine problems over local fields. I, II, III".
1972 Wolfgang M. Schmidt
... for the papers "On simultaneous approximation of two algebraic numbers by rationals", "T-numbers do exist", "Simultaneous approximation to algebraic numbers by rationals" and "On Mahler's T-numbers".
1977 Goro Shimura
... for his two papers "Class fields over real quadratic fields and Hecke operators" and "On modular forms of half integral weight".
1982 Robert P Langlands
... for pioneering work on automorphic forms, Eisenstein series and product formulas, particularly for his paper "Base change for GL(2)".
1982 Barry Mazur
... for outstanding work on elliptic curves and Abelian varieties, especially on rational points of finite order, and his paper "Modular curves and the Eisenstein ideal".
1987 Dorian M Goldfeld
... for his paper "Gauss's class number problem for imaginary quadratic fields".
1987 Benedict H Gross and Don B Zagier
... for their paper "Heegner points and derivatives of L-Series".
1992 Karl Rubin
... for his work in the area of elliptic curves and Iwasawa Theory with particular reference to his papers "Tate-Shafarevich groups and L-functions of elliptic curves with complex multiplication" and "The 'main conjectures' of Iwasawa theory for imaginary quadratic fields".
1992 Paul Vojta
... for his work on Diophantine problems with particular reference to his paper "Siegel's theorem in the compact case".
1997 Andrew J Wiles
... for his work on the Shimura-Taniyama conjecture and Fermat's Last Theorem, published in "Modular elliptic curves and Fermat's Last Theorem".
2002 Henryk Iwaniec
... for his fundamental contributions to analytic number theory.
2002 Richard Taylor
... for several outstanding advances in algebraic number theory.
2005 Peter Sarnak
... for his fundamental contributions to number theory and in particular his book "Random Matrices, Frobenius Eigenvalues and Monodromy", written jointly with his Princeton colleague Nicholas Katz.
2008 Manjul Bhargava
... for his revolutionary work on higher composition laws.
History of the AMS
Presidents of the AMS
AMS Colloquium Lecturers
AMS Gibbs Lecturers
AMS/SIAM Birkhoff Prize
AMS Bôcher Prize
AMS Cole Prize in Algebra
AMS Cole Prize in Number Theory
AMS Conant Prize
AMS Satter Prize
AMS Steele Prize
AMS Veblen Prize
AMS Wiener Prize
Other Web site:
AMS Web site
|Index of Societies, honours, etc.|
|Welcome page||Biographies Index
|History Topics Index||Famous curves index
|Mathematicians of the day||Anniversaries for the year
|Search Form||Birthplace Maps|
The URL of this page is: | <urn:uuid:6c2e6ae0-a34a-4060-b84a-a252e11650c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://turnbull.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Societies/AMSColePrize_num_theory.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933063 | 999 | 1.546875 | 2 |
In order to better help you, it's be helpful to know more about your running/exercise background. For example, how many years have you been running? Before getting pregnant, how often did you run and what distances? Did you do any running or regular exercise while pregnant?
Every woman is different when it comes to exercising after a pregnancy. If youre nursing, carrying a lot of extra weight from your pregnancy or noticing continued laxity in your joints, you may likely need to go slower (pace and mileage buildup), pay extra attention to your posture, and take additional steps to lessen the impact of running on your body. A number of good running books and websites have been mentioned below in another thread called Interested in Training. In addition, http://www.runnersworld.com/home/0,1300,4-114,00.html has links to a couple articles on postpartum running.
Post a reply on the Bulletin Board | <urn:uuid:8786961b-7a79-47eb-a879-5ee635a968a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marathonguide.com/BulletinBoards/index.cfm?step=4&ID=2665&Type=runner&Reply=12519&Topic=16 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954867 | 195 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Incidents happen at schools all the time in Houston, but not all of them garner this kind of response. On Wednesday Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who is leading the charge to keep North Forest ISD from closing, visited the high school one day after a 16-year-old student was shot in the leg. How the gun was slipped past metal detectors is still a mystery, but it's the second time it's happened this year.
"We are all concerned about the safety of the students and we're asking that school district do what they are doing, and that is to take this very seriously," Jackson Lee said.
North Forest High School student Warren Lewis, 18, faced a judge in court Wednesday morning for the first time. The teen's family says he had been bullied by three older students and was trying to defend himself when he brought the gun to school. It's still not clear how the gun was slipped past metal detectors there.
Prosecutors say on Tuesday after lunch, another student walked into Lewis' classroom and began questioning him about a confrontation that happened at lunch. The state says after the classroom argument, Lewis stepped out into the hallway and beckoned for the other student to fight him off campus.
Prosecutors say that's when the other student walked up to Lewis and began fighting him. Authorities say the fight ended when Lewis stopped fighting back and covered his face. The other student walked away and Lewis pulled out a small handgun from his backpack and shot, unintentionally striking a 16-year-old bystander, according to prosecutors.
On Wednesday morning, Lewis, an honors student, told the judge he was bullied, with students even showing up at his home. He says he feared for his life and his family.
"I have papers of them making reports for the longest... these same boys, they came by my house, sir," Lewis told the judge. "I'm in fear for my life and for my family's life."
"You should discuss that with your lawyer and see if that provides some sort of defense to the charge," replied the judge.
Lewis' mom says her son reported the bullies to the school more than once.
"He was so scared that he felt like he needed to protect himself because he said these boys carry guns and have been known to shoot people," said Lewis' mother, Yolanda Domino.
Lewis' mother apologized to the victim's family. The mother also said she and her son repeatedly reported the bullying to NFISD, both a written complaint and verbal complaints. The district says it has looked into the bullying accusations.
A spokesperson for North Forest ISD released a statement which read: "Regarding the claims by Mr. Lewis's mother that bullying of her son was reported to the North Forest School District, we can find no complaints filed either at the high school or the district police office about bullying of Mr. Lewis."
The school district is reviewing metal detector policies following the shooting. A district spokesperson said metal detector use was extended until 10am Wednesday.
Officials also say anything other than clear backpacks will now be banned from the high school. The school district is buying clear backpacks for all 1,285 high school students. They hope to have those purchased by next week.
The 16-year-old student's injuries are not life-threatening.
Lewis is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Bond has been set at $30,000.(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local » | <urn:uuid:f2f58eab-f56d-41b9-b995-84f9763eb49f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://houstonnew.blogspot.com/2012/01/teen-who-allegedly-shot-at-bullies-at.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986867 | 717 | 1.6875 | 2 |
© 2003, Hal Zimmerman, All Rights Reserved
There are still some people
who feel that digital will never have the quality of film. They also think
that anyone can take a snapshot and make something out of it in digital.
They say, "But it's not the real thing! I'll never go
that route!" Well, I'm not setting out to prove or disprove
anyone's beliefs. I'm just here to tell you that it doesn't
take an expert to produce great images digitally. Of course, it sure does
help to know what you're doing. It also helps to have the right
tools at hand--and a great deal of curiosity!
Seeing is believing. Here, for instance, are a couple of shots that my
friend, Hal Zimmerman, made recently for his graduate school portfolio
in art class. The only tips that I gave him for his assignment were to
isolate and simplify. Use backlighting and sidelighting to create dimension.
Stop down the lens when you want depth of field and open up the lens all
the way when you want a shallow depth of field.
He used a Canon EOS D60 with a 640MB Delkin eFilm Pro CompactFlash card.
A 24-70mm lens wide-open at f/2.8 provided the shallow depth of field
for his flower series. As we viewed his images on the back of the camera
I pointed out how he could focus in on one section of a flower using the
macro aspect of the lens. Then, he simply needed to move the camera in
and out until what he wanted to be his focal point was completely sharp.
Anything just slightly farther or closer away would go soft. Seeing what
he was doing with each snap of the shutter allowed him to come up with
these incredible results.
© 2003, Monte Zucker, All Rights Reserved
Enhance The Image
Later at the Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach, Hal got down on his back
and isolated a small section of the bronze statue, photographing the mother's
hand reaching out for her baby. The sky, however, was colorless when he
exposed for the figures. Remembering the sky that I placed behind the
statue a year ago, I pulled the file from my computer and used it again
for the background of Hal's picture.
In Photoshop I showed Hal how to eliminate the original sky by making
a duplicate layer of the entire photograph in Photoshop. Then, going to
Select/Color Range, he selected the entire sky background. Holding down
the shift key he was able to add the spaces between the arms and legs.
With the entire sky then selected he deleted the sky and simply moved
the figures on top of the sky that I had stored away in my computer.
Could these images have been created using a film-based camera? Possibly,
but they would have taken a lot more time and work.
To be sure digital is fun and exciting, but you have to be really careful.
For most of us we make the money when we're behind the camera and
when we're selling--not when we're behind the computer.
Now is the time to get yourself together with a lab that's outputting
consistently high quality work. I recently found it when I hooked up with
Buckeye Color Lab (www.buckeyecolor.com).
They're able to print from images sent to them online or on a CD.
They have a couple of different systems with which you can order your
prints. With them I can still make all the creative decisions and let
them do the printing for me. They'll even make reprints at no charge
if they mess up!
I've also joined up with Eventpix.com for online orders from clients.
When I combined Eventpix with Buckeye I knew that I had it all together.
What a great combination for the digital era!
Digital Control With
It's not only the digital cameras that are making our lives more
exciting than ever before, but it's also the digital peripherals
that go along with them. These family photographs, for instance, were
lit with the assistance of a Quantum digital flash together with daylight.
I used a Quantum digital TTL control in the hot shoe of my Canon EOS 10D
and selected exactly how I wanted the flash to output in relation to the
ambient light. For this first picture all I had to do was to set the control
to one f/stop under the ambient light. It was cloudy-bright. The flash
opened up the faces without appearing too obvious.
Later, I got detail in the washed-out sky by selecting it with Select/Color
Range in Photoshop and then adjusting the sky in Levels. The standing
family group was selected by the Cuza family for this year's holiday
card, because it showed how the children had grown. It also showed their
oldest and newest dogs along with one of their lovebirds. The family group
was the result of another digital control of my Quantum flash.
I posed the Wood family under
cover, with daylight coming in from my right, split-lighting their faces.
I took the reflector off my flash, placed the bare-bulb flash off-camera
with the aid of a Quantum extension cord and set the flash to two f/stops
under the ambient light (preserving the look of natural light). I set
my 28-135mm image stabilized Canon lens on aperture priority and shot
away, knowing that the through the lens metering compatibility of the
flash system with my digital Canon camera would do everything for me perfectly--much
better than I could have ever done with an exposure meter.
The wraparound lighting of daylight combined with the digital flash simply
can't be beat. By the way, I'm using a Quantum battery that
powers both my camera and the flash at the same time. Of course, I guess
that one could accomplish a similar result with film and flash bulbs,
but do you use clear or blue bulbs in an instance like this? And how the
heck do you measure that flash to be this accurate?
Digital For Weddings?
Digital and wedding photography is, if you will, a marriage made in heaven!
Change the film, the ISO. Change the color balance. You've got the
best of everything with only one camera. No need to carry three or four
cameras with you on the job--unless you like to carry the extra load.
The bride in church was so easy to capture. I set the ISO to 400 and let
the camera select the exposure for the church. Then, I set the camera
to Manual, using the exact exposure that the camera had figured out by
itself. Finally, I added two Quantum flashes. The main light, camera left
and slightly above her eye level, was set to equal the f/stop of the lens.
With Quantum's extension cord I was able to position the light at
a 45Þ angle to the camera to achieve my regular modified loop light
on the bride's face. The light was tipped slightly upward to brighten
the top part of her body slightly more than the bottom of the dress. Camera
height was at her shoulders, so that I could keep the camera perpendicular
to the floor and avoid distortion.
With the aid of the Quantum FreeWire accessory a second flash was triggered
behind the bride to backlight her veil. The veil light was set at its
lowest setting, keeping great detail in the highlighted veil. In Photoshop
I eliminated the ceiling lights and air vents. What a difference!
The picture of the bride and groom models, Toby and Charlie, came about
as a result of my seeing the window light on them as they were resting
between "takes." I simply added my class in behind them, letting
the natural falloff of the window light spotlight them in the group.
As a finishing touch when I was preparing this story for publication,
I once again removed the ceiling lights and air vents. The final touch
was digitally removing the books on the back of the pews.
For both of these pictures in the church I used a Canon 17-35mm wide angle
lens. This allowed me to keep the main subjects prominent in the photographs
by bringing the camera within 6-8 ft of them. The wide angle lens opened
up the width and depth of the background beautifully.
Bride At The Beach
The back profile of Toby at sunset on the beach was the result of still
more digital techniques. I used my 28-135mm image stabilized Canon lens
for this one to isolate her in the scene and keep the background to just
what was behind her. The pose was set up by my favorite local, award-winning
photographer, Al Gordon.
One of the photographers in my class held a flash out in the water at
profile position. I wasn't sure of exactly how much flash to use
or how to expose the photograph. From past experience I had in mind to
set the flash to be approximately one f/stop over the ambient light. I
did a few test shots and determined on the camera's monitor that
two f/stops over the ambient light would give us a more dramatic effect,
spotlighting her and intensifying the color of the sky.
Some of the finishing touches were done in Photoshop. I shaped her bust
line slightly, and eliminated the birds flying in the background (they
looked like dust spots). I also removed the shadow from the flash on the
beach behind her. The finishing touch here was to add a clear layer over
the final picture, set the mode of the layer to Overlay, pick a warm tone
from the sky, and fill the clear layer at 10 percent opacity. It took
the blue from the flash and warmed it up to match the tone of the rest
of the image.
Oftentimes I'm amazed, myself, at the clarity I get with my digital
cameras. Take a look at these close-ups. If I didn't do a little
Gaussian Blur on her face, you'd be able to see every pore on her
face. You can see every single eyelash!
Just for fun I zoomed in close with my 24-70mm Canon lens to photograph
only 1/2 of her face. You're seeing the picture just as it was cropped
in the camera. I tried a few different crops, but felt that this partial
second eye added a little mystery to it all.
When I looked at it on my computer screen I noticed that her brown eyes
were so dark, you could hardly see the detail in them. Within seconds
I was able to dodge the mid tones for a much more pleasant result. The
feathered look was accomplished with an inexpensive feather boa wrapped
around her face. I used an Elinchrom wind machine to blow the feathers,
so that they would frame her face rather than come onto it.
I loved the results, but didn't like the empty spaces in the lower
right corner. It was so simple to clone some feathers to fill the area
for my final picture.
But that wasn't enough for my new associate, Gabriel Dumont. He
started playing with it in Photoshop, trying several special effects.
He began with Filter/Distort/Pinch. The effect was stunning!
Then, I joined him for fun and games in Photoshop. Let the excitement
begin! We first added texture to the entire image by going Filter/Texture/Grain
and Craquelure. We followed that with Filter/Distort/Glass. The effect
was interesting, but the face seemed lost with all the textures added.
I then cut the face out from the untouched original picture and moved
it on top of the newly-worked image. That looked too "cutout."
By changing the opacity of the face to 25 percent some of the original
textured face began to show through.
To see where we were I enlarged the image to 100 percent. When I did that
the picture cropped in to just a portion of the picture. I loved it. I
cropped it just as it was on the screen. | <urn:uuid:bf8e6d3b-58c5-4a4c-baa2-165a3cb52738> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shutterbug.com/content/master-classbrdigital-isnt-everyonebrbut-it-sure-can-do-wonders | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959469 | 2,569 | 1.5625 | 2 |
(CNN) -- At least six people were killed Thursday when a powerful earthquake struck off the coast of Honduras, President Jose Manuel Zelaya told CNN en Español Thursday.
Thursday's quake leaves part of a bridge damaged over the Ulua River in El Progreso, Honduras.
Another 17 people were injured, said Jose Reyes, a spokesman for COPECO, the Honduran government agency that responds to natural disasters. Two of the victims -- a 15-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl from Morazan -- died after a wall collapsed on them, Reyes said, adding that trauma was blamed for most of the fatalities.
A 9-year-old boy died, and a heart attack proved fatal to a man from Tela, Honduras, the agency said. A woman suffered cardiac arrest.
The 15-year-old boy's brother suffered minor injuries, said Dilcia Fernandez, mayor of La Lima, where the boy died. La Lima is about 120 miles (200 km) north of the capital, Tegucigalpa.
Eighty homes were destroyed and another 175 damaged, including 16 schools, nine churches, eight public buildings, seven factories, three bridges, two hotels, a hospital, an airport and a potable water system, Reyes said. Watch how the quake damaged a bridge »
The 7.1-magnitude quake, which struck at 3:24 a.m. and was centered about 200 miles (320 km) north of the capital, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Half an hour later, a 4.8-magnitude aftershock hit about 155 miles (250 km) north of Tegucigalpa.
Zelaya said the June 2-3 meeting of the Organization of American States will be held as planned in nearby San Pedro Sula, where he said one building had been damaged by the quake.
The earthquake was centered, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, 27 miles (43 km) from Roatan, the largest of Honduras' Bay Islands and a popular destination for scuba diving and snorkeling.
The area -- known for its white-sand beaches, clear waters and rich ocean reef -- is popular among budget-conscious travelers.
"People were startled. They started walking, running, doing everything they could to get to higher ground about two miles away," said Ron Cummins, who owns a resort there.
"I have been on the island for 14 years, this is the worst I have seen."iReport.com: Did you feel the quake? Share photos, video
Ressie Bodden Saphrey said she was sleeping when her house started shaking.
"There was dark everywhere," said Saphrey, who works at a hotel in Roatan. Dishes and bottles crashed to the floor, she said.
She and her 19-year-old daughter packed their passports, medicine, bottled water, canned food and a flashlight in case they were told to evacuate.
They stayed inside their concrete three-story house, though many people in Roatan wandered the streets in the darkness, she said.
A television station in Honduras, Channel 8, reported damage to several buildings.
The Honduras disaster-response agency urged people to safeguard any important documents, and store food and water they could take in a hurry, according to Channel 8.
Carol Frazier, who was vacationing in Roatan, said the quake knocked out power in her condominium and spilled water from the swimming pool.
"Everything was moving. The TV fell on the ground," she said. "The difficulty was we couldn't even move.
"I really thought it was a tsunami or something. That was really our first concern," she said. "We ran out."
Ron Bobbette, who manages a hotel in West End Roatan, said power had been restored in most places and panic was subsiding.
"Everything is back to normal," Bobbette said. "I just finished walking around the hotel and there is no visible structural damage."
CNN's Mark Bixler, Faith Karimi and Tom Watkins contributed to this report.
|Most Viewed||Most Emailed||Top Searches| | <urn:uuid:bd9c2dad-5e3d-43a8-8d9e-38336bcefed3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/05/28/honduras.quake/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977448 | 874 | 1.617188 | 2 |
In the ongoing West Side Story (WSS) at the Meralco Theater, it's a known fact that staging a musical as big as this would need a world-class musical director to carry out the classic music of Leonard Bernstein. Berklee College of Music award-winning alumni Gerard Salonga fits rightfully in the production, which has been earning rave reviews in the past weeks.
"Bernstein is more famous as a conductor than a composer. I've known his works even before I went to Berklee. Among musical theater lovers, he's been known for West Side Story, Candide, On The Town," says Gerard, whose childhood was spent listening to the music of the great conductor-composer.
Looking back, he said it's as if he was being prepared for WSS. "I would not have been able to do this 10 years ago. Di ko makakayanan yung stress."
He shares two of his former teachers in conducting are former students of Bernstein. "They are David Callaghan and George Monseur, both are conducting students of Bernstein in Tanglewood Music Center. It's an annual summer music workshop that is held by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Berkshire, Massachusetts. Bernstein was a student there before he became teacher."
Gerard recounts, "Batang-bata pa ako, alam ko na yung mga kantang galing sa West Side Story like 'Tonight,' 'Something's Coming,' and 'Somewhere' (popularized by Barbra Streisand). Johnny Mathis recorded 'I Have A Love.' Shirley Bassey did a version of 'Something's Coming.' Sumikat yung mga kanta even without seeing the play. Imposibleng 'di mo narinig."
Gerard says it's been his long-time dream to do a work by Bernstein. He never imagined it would be as big as WSS. The first Bernstein piece he conducted was "Symphonic Dances" from WSS, sometime in 2003. It's a concert piece arranged by Bernstein for a symphony orchestra.
Five years later, when the opportunity came to do WSS, he grabbed it at once. Gerard said he learned that STAGES was about to do WSS from one of the production people he worked with in sister Lea's solo concert, My Life Onstage, in which he served as musical director.
He adds Bernstein's influence on him is undeniable.
"...By virtue of his exuberance, even in the classical repertoire, he's famous for his podium acrobatics. Purists aren't entirely happy with it and his tendency to take liberties with classical music. Many say his interpretation of Beethoven was too slow while his Mozart was too fast. But for Bernstein, that was the fusion of the composer's intent and the performers' understanding of the composer."
He adds it's the excitement that Bernstein brought to his music making that thrilled him a lot. "He was a lover of music of every kind. You can see that in WSS as well as in his serious compositions."
Conducting the 30-piece FILharmoniKA, Gerard enjoys the nearly three-hour musical. He said it doesn't tire him a bit. There are breaks but what matters is he enjoys doing the whole show.
Like the orchestra, he describes the cast as fabulous. "I'm very surprised of the number of talented young people we now have in musical theater. It's Menchu's [Lauchengco- Yulo] first time to direct. I've known her for a long time so it's good for me to be part of this very important project for her."
As for the musical itself, Gerard is unstoppable expounding on the experience.
"All songs in WSS are great. The rumble, mambo, even the prologue is cool. Walang itatapon. 'Somewhere' is so beautiful. Minimally-written. Hindi sobra. Walang labis walang kulang."
And with that excitement, he wishes to share to all members of the audience every time he raises that baton as Tony and Maria defies all odds in this immortal love story that everyone should experience. | <urn:uuid:56887110-e5ea-475f-8f7b-74f3a2483470> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pep.ph/guide/theater/2655/gerard-salonga-relives-leonard-bernstein-in-west-side-story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98047 | 874 | 1.546875 | 2 |
- Dekota Toot ’15
- Hometown: Alliance, Ohio
- Major: Philosophy and Psychology
I chose to major in philosophy because it tackles the big questions in life. In philosophy, you are never expected to accept anything as true just because somebody says so. It is up to the individual to judge what is true by reason rather than deferring to an authority figure for the answer.
Philosophy majors can do anything that any liberal arts major can do, and more! Our program will enable you to think clearly and creatively by identifying and analyzing assumptions and arguments. Transferable skills such as the abilities to objectively analyze, efficiently organize, competently communicate and thoroughly research contribute to the philosophy major’s marketability.
Graduates majoring in philosophy can be found in a number of fields. You career choices are limited only by your individual design.
- Government positions
- Service professions
Many of our alumni have found a philosophy major to be useful in these fields, and you may too. If you have an interest in developing a reasonable understanding of reality, then a major or minor in philosophy at Mount Union may be right for you. | <urn:uuid:79f83252-84b9-45f5-88ac-f83721377385> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mountunion.edu/philosophy-careers?css=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939193 | 236 | 1.71875 | 2 |
The Little Colonel (1935)After Southern belle Elizabeth Lloyd runs off to marry Yankee Jack Sherman, her father, a former Confederate colonel during the Civil War, vows to never speak to her again. Several years pass and Elizabeth returns to her home town with her husband and young daughter. The little girl charms her crusty grandfather and tries to patch things up between him and her mother.
To Download or Embed this video, go to this link.
Back to the Shirley Temple Library
back to Uncle Earl's Classic TV Channel | <urn:uuid:e72f36cb-2b51-4cb8-86da-dd6afb2a727b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.solie.org/alibrary/ShirleyTemple_TheLittleColonel1935.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962381 | 108 | 1.664063 | 2 |
In the war on terrorism -- specifically Islamic terrorism -- law enforcement would like nothing more than to have the cooperation of the Muslim community. But, many times, those searching for answers are greeted with a wall of silence. One of the groups working hard to build up this wall is the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). This month, the head of CAIR-Florida visited a storied terror haven to instruct congregants on how to evade those charged to protect us all.
On Saturday, February 16, 2008, the Islamic Center of Boca Raton (ICBR) broke ground on its soon-to-be 30,000 square foot mosque. Considering all of the individuals involved with ICBR who have been discovered to have had terror ties, it’s a wonder that the center would even be granted 30 square inches for the structure.
The former imam of ICBR, Ibrahim Dremali, has been placed on the federal “no-fly” list and was part of an organization, the Southeast division of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA-Southeast), which asked its followers to give “material support” to groups connected to Al-Qaeda. The imam that took his place, Muneer Arafat, admitted under oath that he was a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
A co-founder of the mosque, Bassem Alhalabi, was a research assistant for PIJ leader Sami Al-Arian at the University of South Florida (USF) and was charged with the illegal export of a $13,000 military thermal imaging device to Syria. An ICBR teacher, Lamyaa Hashim, was the President of a Florida-based charity, the Health Resource Center for Palestine (HRCP), which was associated with Hamas. And a director of ICBR, Syed Khawer Ahmad, was the creator and webmaster for the official website of Hamas’s charitable and educational apparatus, the Islamic Association (Al-Jamiya Al-Islamia).
ICBR’s terrorist connections were largely ignored by the media until May of 2005, when one of its members, a doctor by the name of Rafiq Sabir, was apprehended during an FBI sting operation. Later, he would be convicted of conspiracy and attempting to provide material support to Al-Qaeda, following his taking an oath of loyalty to the terror group and Osama bin Laden.
None of this has ever, at any time, fazed Boca city officials, as the large-scale mosque was and is set to be built only blocks from its sister masjid, the Assalam Center, which itself has been under construction. Both Islamic centers were started via faculty and students associated with the Muslim Student Organization (MSO) at Florida Atlantic University (FAU).
The same day of the ICBR groundbreaking, Altaf Ali, the Executive Director of CAIR-Florida (a.k.a. CAIR-Miami), came to speak to the congregation. According to an e-mail that was sent out by ICBR, the speech included “tips on what to do if the FBI visits you,” which, given all of the above, should be of concern to law enforcement.
CAIR or the Council on American-Islamic Relations was created in June of 1994 by three leaders of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), the former propaganda wing of Hamas. At CAIR’s inception, it became part of the American Palestine Committee, led by then-international head of Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook. The committee’s goal was to look for ways to raise money for Hamas from U.S. shores. As such, for a terrorism-related trial that began in July of 2007 -- the largest terrorism financing case in U.S. history -- CAIR was labeled by the Justice Department as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the funneling of millions of dollars to Hamas.
According to the Federal Courts Law Review (FCLR): “The term ‘unindicted co-conspirator’ refers to any person who allegedly ‘agreed with others to violate the law but who is not being charged with an offense and who, consequently, will not be tried or sentenced for his criminal conduct’... Prosecutors often have enough evidence to indict these individuals, but instead name them as unindicted co-conspirators for a variety of strategic reasons.”
Altaf Ali, himself, has said and done things that have been deemed suspect. In March of 2003, Ali questioned the FBI’s methods of obtaining intel from 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who had just fingered former Florida resident Adnan El Shukrijumah as being a future Al-Qaeda leader, on par with 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta. Ali was quoted about the treatment of Shaikh Mohammed: “Has he been deprived of sleep? Food? We have no idea, and they won’t tell us what measures they have taken to elicit this information.” Ali, as well, had admitted that he (Ali) was part of the same “circle” as El Shukrijumah, traveling the “same family centers” as him.
All of this is relevant, because of the nature of Ali’s talk and the venue at which it was held.
The title of Ali’s lecture was ‘KNOW YOUR RIGHTS,’ which is part of a national initiative from CAIR to provide Muslims with information on how to interact with their communities and the media. But, as stated, there is also a function dealing with how to interact with the law.
On CAIR National’s website, the following statements are found under the heading, ‘IF FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTACTS YOU...’
- You should have a lawyer present when speaking with federal law enforcement agencies.
- Refusing to answer questions cannot be held against you and does not imply that you have something to hide.
- You do not have to permit them to enter your home or office if they do not have a warrant.
- If they say they have a warrant, kindly demand to see it before allowing them to enter.
From reading this section off CAIR’s initiative, one could easily get the impression that CAIR is attempting to teach fellow Muslims how to avoid the law. This of course could lead one to believe that, apart from what CAIR states on its website, those Ali is speaking to might very well have something to hide, as has certainly been the case with ICBR since the time it opened its pre-mosque doors.
While the city sleeps soundly, radical Islamists grow their infrastructure within Boca Raton, Florida. They are told of their “rights” by a group that is just as radical. Very few are watching. Very few are listening. It is this strange phenomenon that has crept into our society -- coupled by a chronic denial of reality -- that will bring us down, if we do not wake up and take the necessary actions to prevent it. | <urn:uuid:8ced7221-7a2c-44d0-be6c-9bb8061ac073> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=30021 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978269 | 1,486 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Penalties could be harsh. If students were involved, they face expulsion in addition to criminal charges.
Chris Northrup, executive director of the Mountaineer Maniacs fan group, had no comment.
Tommy White, coordinator for the Goodwill City ambassadors group, said he did not think the fires would hurt the group's goal of fostering good relationships with fans of opposing teams.
Corey Farris, WVU interim dean of students, said the frustrating part of the ordeal has already begun as university officials wait for word on whether the culprits were students.
He said the university has had problems in the past with students involved in incidents similar to this, but another trend is out-of-towners coming to Morgantown to get involved in bad behavior or to rile the students.
Farris said 10 students were expelled last year for fire-related incidents.
"We most certainly take it seriously," Farris said. "This is truly criminal behavior, and whether the intent was there or not, these are people who need to be taken off the streets."
Farris hopes someone will come forward with information.
"It does frustrate the university, and I know it frustrates the firefighters and the police," Farris said. "It's a shame and an embarrassment for the community that some people feel the need to do that."
The university recently released a public service announcement asking students and other fans to "Save a Couch" by not setting it on fire. The video, which was made by and featured students, was well received, he said.
University officials spoke to students and parents at freshman orientation and sent out letters to parents of upperclassmen about the consequences of being involved in such behavior.
"This kind of behavior is unacceptable," he said. "They wouldn't do it at home and shouldn't tolerate it living at WVU."
Caravasos said firefighters are ready for the next home game later this month when the Mountaineers take on the Kansas State Wildcats.
"We're well aware of the situations that come with football games," he said. "We've increased manpower on game day weekends and we're ready. We always hope for the best but prepare for the worst."
Anyone with information can contact Morgantown police at 304-284-7500 or the Morgantown Fire Department at 304-284-7480.
Contact writer Ashley B. Craig at ashley.cr...@dailymail.com or 304-348-4850. | <urn:uuid:28df2e17-31f8-43d2-8aad-b0c882d8405a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailymail.com/Sports/WVUSports/201210010203?page=2&build=cache | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975978 | 517 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Susan F. Hirsch, a cultural anthropologist, is Associate Professor in the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR) at George Mason University and Director of CAR, ICAR’s undergraduate program. She received her B.A. from Yale University and her Ph.D. from Duke University, both in Anthropology. Her training in legal anthropology led to research on conflict and culture, Islam, gender relations, and the legal systems of East Africa. Her book, Pronouncing and Persevering: Gender and the Discourses of Disputing in an African Islamic Court, is an ethnographic analysis of how gender relations are negotiated through marital disputes heard in Kenyan Islamic courts. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Kenya and Tanzania since 1985. She has held residential fellowships at the National Humanities Center, the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress (Rockefeller Fellowship), the American Bar Foundation, and Northwestern University’s Law and Social Science Program. Her academic publications include Contested States: Law, Hegemony, and Resistance (co-edited with Mindie Lazarus-Black) and numerous articles on law reform, gender and conflict, reflexive and participatory research, and language in the disputing process, in edited volumes and journals, such as Law and Social Inquiry and Africa Today. She is currently on the editorial board of the Law and Society Review and the American Ethnologist. Susan’s newly released book, In the Moment of Greatest Calamity: Terrorism, Grief and a Victim’s Quest for Justice is about her experiences of 1998 East African Embassy bombings and the subsequent trial.
Edited from http://icar.gmu.edu/shirsch.html | <urn:uuid:ee692828-ba20-4594-bcd5-c827da804f7f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/confops/convocation/susanhirsch | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945366 | 346 | 1.632813 | 2 |
When designers begin to create a new store concept for a client, typically projects begin with a survey of the competitors stores to gauge where opportunities for improvement might exist. But designers Aleksi Hautamäki and Anders Nord faced a rare opportunity when they began work on a new concept wine store for Alko in Finland, no competitors.
Alko which is state owned, was given its monopoly status 75 years ago. It has a strong role in the Finnish society and has had divided opinions for decades. Those in favour of the monopoly think that the controlled distribution reduces social problems, while others view that alcoholic beverages should be available elsewhere, too. The challenge for designers was to develop a concept that would better serve all the different customer groups while departing from the very traditional way Alko used to look and operate.
The resulting design breaks the conventional style of wine shops that use dark wood and traditional display cases. The new store uses light Douglas fir on all the furniture surfaces, on suspended ceilings and on the floors. Inspiration came from the works of designers such as Aalto, Wirkkala and Tapiovaara. And this Finnish tradition in the use of wood was brought into the 21st century.
The flagship building site is on a prime spot next to the Parliament building and the Museum of Contemporary Art. The building was bombed by the Russians during the Second World War and part of the beams had been damaged and repaired later with concrete, which made it impossible to open up the suspended ceiling. Also because of the tight alcohol legislation in Finland, designers had plenty of restrictions. Aleksi noted ”You can’t, for example, have hard liquor in view from the shop window, and we had to think how to hide it.”
The new graphic identity has been carefully considered and merged into the three-dimensional store design. Wayfinding and graphics were structured to be positioned at 90° angles to be easier to read.
We didn’t want to compete with the curves of a bottle, we wanted Alko to be standing firmly giving guidance and expertise about their product, says Anders.
Service areas are located on both floors in the middle of the main circulation. They consist of desks with digital displays mounted on the tabletops where customers can browse the selection. There is a smaller ‘curated’ selection for fast shopping near the store entrance and adjacent to the checkout for customers in a rush.
Because of the vast quantity of shelving and bottles, Aleksi and Anders thought the space would need some character elements to break it up. They designed a light installation hanging on top of the stairs to draw customers to the heart of the new Alko experience, the service area and the new downstairs wine boutique. The designers also made a large logo of cotton strings, using a traditional technique, to create intimacy by the checkout.
We wanted customers who usually spend 6 minutes at Alko to spend at least 12 minutes – 6 minutes shopping and 6 minutes exploring and learning about the products, says Anders.
Project photography by Pierre Björk | <urn:uuid:fd667200-4938-40f0-9353-194a396d9d0f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.seriousaboutwine.co.za/category/wine-branding/page/4/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962728 | 624 | 1.59375 | 2 |
There are several factors that affect hardwood floor installation cost. If you are planning to have nice and beautiful hardwood flooring in your house, then your dream should start with finding out the probable costs of installing the hardwood floors in order to start saving for the required investment on its installation.
Estimating the costs of hardwood installation is quite challenging since you need to factor in everything in order to arrive at the most accurate estimate. But basically, there are two main factors to consider, and they are the costs of the materials and the labor cost.
Each of these major factors is comprised of several components. For better understanding on the costs of labor and materials, it is best to get into details of the labor costs and the amount needed to purchase the required materials.
The total hardwood floor installation cost is mainly comprised of labor. This takes up the bulk of your expenses since it is assumed that you already have the hardwood floors in your possession, which is the most expensive part of having hardwood flooring in your house.
The labor cost generally depends on how you are charged by the installers of the hardwood flooring. Some flooring installers charge by hour, while others charge per floor area.
If you opt for professional installers paid on hourly basis, then the longer it takes to install the floors, the higher shall be your expenses. But if you opt for expert installers who charge you according to the floor area, then it doesn’t matter if it takes long to install the house since the total amount is already fixed based on the actual floor area of the house.
The labor cost is usually influenced by the type of work involved during the installation process. It is important to note that there are various methods of installing hardwood floors. The installation method to use also depends on the type and design of the hardwood floors that you have.
There are wood floorings that need to be nailed to the flooring foundation, while others require only strong glue for their installation. The time it takes to nail each hardwood floor is different from the time required to glue the flooring materials to the ground. This will make the entire costs of each method different. Additionally, if the work is more complicated, then the per-area rate of the labor cost is higher compared to the rate charged by installers on floors that are simple to install.
Aside from that, the total hardwood floor installation cost becomes higher if you are replacing your old flooring. Pulling out the old floors and preparing the ground for hardwood flooring installation may require additional expenses. But if you are installing the floor inside a new house, then the total cost is lower compared to flooring replacement as part of your home renovation.
The other major component of the total hardwood floor installation cost is the materials. Do not make the wrong impression that just because you are done making a huge spending on the hardwood floors you will not have to spend further for the materials.
In fact, there are still a few other materials that you need to spend during the installation process. Among them are the different types of nails or the glue and other adhesives, materials for the foam underlay for insulation, sealants, and the vapor barrier. | <urn:uuid:b19cd418-72fe-4b7a-a75d-cf56ec523dad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.floor-repair.com/factors-that-affect-hardwood-floor-installation-cost/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956426 | 661 | 1.710938 | 2 |
PBA Oil Patterns (AKA Lane Conditions)
When watching the PBA pros, you may think, "Hey, I bowled a 210 before, I can be a pro too." It's not as easy as it looks. There's something that significantly changes the playing surface. Something you can't see: Oil.
In the early days of bowling, oil conditioner was applied to the lane as a barrier to protect the surface from damage over years of use.
As lacquer, polyurethane and synthetic surfaces became more popular, oil became part of the sport.
Today, PBA members must continuously adjust their strategies and methods of attacking the challenging conditions of the PBA Tour.
The PBA has a lane maintenance staff that travels to all tournaments (including PBA Regional and PBA50 tournaments) and determines the appropriate oil pattern to apply, given the condition of the lane surface.
The PBA Lane Maintenance Program (PBALMP) balances many complicated variables associated with the cleaning, conditioning and verifying of lanes for a PBA event. | <urn:uuid:aafb30b7-d8b8-47a6-aa54-17d096e3dba4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pbatour.com/OilPatterns | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964455 | 217 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Tuesday, October 30, 2012 7:14 PM
I am setting up a deployment server for my college's Computer Engineering lab. I had to do some "unconventional" things to achieve the configuration the program director wanted. The machines we are deploying to have two NICs connected to our network, and she wanted both to have static IPs based on their computer name. I achieved this by adding OSDComputer name in the priorities list and have the NIC settings listed in the deployment rules. I also edited the ZTIGather.xml to include the second set of adapter variables (OSDAdapter1IPAddress etc.) This method worked flawlessly on my test deployment to a virtual machine. I then tried it on our test hardware machine and I had a couple warnings related to the NIC settings. I reviewed the ZTINicConfig log and found that the ZTINicConfig script was running again after a reboot from the WSUS post application pass. It appears the warnings are generated because the script is trying to assign the static IP addresses that are already assigned to the NICs. Also, after the reboot I am prompted to choose a network location (home, work, public.) Is the script running again after the updates normal?
I am using MDT 2012 update 1, and my task sequence is a standard client install with no additional tasks added.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012 9:08 AM
I am guessing it is something to do with the drivers? What is the vendor for the NIC (Intel, HP, Broadcom??). If you can provide the PNP or DeviceID value from device manager - maybe we can try the latest driver.
The logs show error """" WMI Adapter.Enable FAILURE: -2147180508 - """""
-2147180508 means Incorrect Function which makes me believe it is something to do with the driver
Regards, Vik Singh "If this thread answered your question, please click on "Mark as Answer" | <urn:uuid:ccd0a724-5bbc-48c8-835a-8611566f7625> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/mdt/thread/1fccf505-992a-409b-96d0-db969c8e791d | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945372 | 407 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Raise your hand if you know what m. means.
If your hand is in the air it probably has a smartphone in it. You smartphone users are pretty smart.
If your hand isn’t in the air, there’s still a very strong chance it has a smartphone in it.
Now, take a close look at the URL field. If you’re web browsing, there’s probably an m. right there. If not, there should be.
m., short for mobile, is gaining some serious m.omentum. It’s m.assive.
But it’s also a fairly new phenomena, so it’s m.ysterious. Who knows how to do it? Or maybe a better question is who knows how to do it right? But is that a fair question? What’s right? What’s wrong? I have no further questions. Well, actually, I have a million of them.
This is exciting.
It’s kind of a thrill to be a part of a revolution. I remember in grad school I wrote a paper about the soon-to-come DAD, the digital audio disc, which ultimately become the CD, which means compact disk, which really isn’t compact by today’s standards. But I digress. Anyway, my paper said these shiny little discs of data are going to obliterate records (For you youngsters, records are those big discs that now go by “vinyl.”) And they did.
Thanks to technology, these revolutions come to us often. And, thanks again to technology, they spread faster than ever before. Take social media, for example. ‘Nuf said.
I sat through an informative webinar about getting started in mobile marketing last month where most of the speaking was done by Jamie Turner of 60secondmarketer. (I addressed this webinar in a prior post that may interest you.) He told us within one to two years the mobile marketing rage will dwarf the social media marketing conversation 5:1.
Do you know what mobile users do?
They shop. They shop with their mobile device in hand, so they use it guide them not only to the store, but down the aisle right to the product. Then they research it, gather other people’s opinions, check on prices, and cash in on coupons. If you have an impressive mobile presence at that time and place, you have a seriously powerful advantage. If you don’t, you don’t.
Is your marketing ready to go mobile?
You need to get your arms around 4 operating systems. You need to get schooled in m.sites, mobile search, voice search, snaptags, virtual business cards, QR codes, SMS, MMS, NFS, GPS, apps, location-based marketing, context targeting, click-to-call, click-to-map, gaming, and come what may. You need to think big, but think small. You need to think global, but think local.
We’ll close with some rock and roll, CSI style, featuring The Who, with an excerpt from their tune, “Goin’ Mobile.”
Out in the woods or in the city
It’s all the same to me
When I’m driving free, the world’s my home
When I’m mobile
Well said, Pete Townshend. The world’s your home when you’re mobile. If you’re not “at home” with mobile, it’s time to get going. | <urn:uuid:49d975c0-d467-4208-a48e-9ee3f1480b90> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://feldmancreative.com/2011/10/m-is-for-monumental/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935725 | 767 | 1.664063 | 2 |
As President Obama’s second term gets underway, there is a growing debate about whether comprehensive immigration reform will remain a priority given the ambitious agenda he has outlined, including the need to address the budget, tax reform, climate change and gun violence.
So far, the White House continues to say that immigration reform is on the front burner. More important, the administration is acting as if it is a priority. This week, for example, administration officials met with key members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to discuss how to push forward legislation. Also this week, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who heads up the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that the committee would probably take up the issue next month. And already, some bipartisan discussions are underway.
Outside Washington, business and religious leaders say they consider immigration reform a top legislative priority and are launching a grass-roots drive to build support. Yet some advocates and observers remain skeptical that federal lawmakers will actually move forward with new laws.
Why? Well, for starters because any type of effort to overhaul the immigration system will require support from moderate Republicans, such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). He concedes that his party needs to improve its standing with Latino voters, who overwhelming cast their ballots for Obama, even in states that traditionally vote for a Republican candidate. But just how far Rubio and others are willing to go on the most vexing aspect of immigration reform remains a question.
Rubio and other moderates have signaled their support for legislation that would provide legal status to so-called Dreamers, or young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States unlawfully as children. And those same lawmakers will likely back plans to provide more visas for high-skilled workers and foreign students who earn advanced degrees from U.S. universities in math, science and engineering. But those GOP lawmakers may fall short of supporting legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants already here. The party’s conservative base has traditionally opposed such efforts because some argue it's little more than amnesty that rewards immigrants who broke the rules.
But I disagree with those who believe immigration reform is once again doomed. I think both parties understand they would pay a high price with Latino voters.
The GOP isn’t interested in committing political suicide. It's leadership is familiar with the Census Bureau’s projections that clearly indicate Latinos are the fastest-growing voting bloc, and that the demographic shift is taking place in states long held by Republicans. GOP leaders also know that if immigration reform fails, Democrats will blame them for it during the next election cycle.
And nearly the same thing can be said for Democrats. Latinos are unlikely to be forgiving of the president or the party that continues to break their promise to overhaul a broken immigration system. | <urn:uuid:8a26a4f9-1c91-4452-9e36-cd333c4d9d15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-immigration-reform-obama-20130118,1,7537696.story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963469 | 566 | 1.773438 | 2 |
|Canto 4: Creation of the Fourth Order||Chapter 1: Genealogical Table of the Daughters of Manu|
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.1.25
nimīlya munir akṣiṇī
kṛpā-avalokena — glancing with mercy; hasat — smiling; vadanena — with faces; upalambhitān — appearing very much satisfied; tat — their; rociṣā — by the glaring effulgence; pratihate — being dazzled; nimīlya — closing; muniḥ — the sage; akṣiṇī — his eyes.
Atri Muni was greatly pleased to see that the three devas were gracious towards him. His eyes were dazzled by the effulgence of their bodies, and therefore he closed his eyes for the time being.
Since the deities were smiling, he could understand that they were pleased with him. Their glaring bodily effulgence was intolerable to his eyes, so he closed them for the time being.
Copyright © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness | <urn:uuid:35a33428-da8f-4379-be5f-a36d8fd2879c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://srimadbhagavatam.com/sb/4/1/25/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958805 | 296 | 1.773438 | 2 |
In an article entitled, No Small Change, Ferriero writes:
The Pew Research Center recently published a report, “The Impact of the Internet on Institutions in the Future,” in which it found that 72 percent of experts agreed with the statement:He then goes on to offer his views on "the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration to change the way we do things, the way we think about things, and the way we deliver services to the public."By 2020, innovative forms of online cooperation will result in significantly more efficient and responsive governments, business, non-profits, and other mainstream institutions.
It is an interesting article and I find it especially interesting that the Archivist is using a blog in an attempt to directly reach the audience that his agency serves. He refers to himself as "Collector in Chief."
David Ferriero's blog may be found at http://blogs.archives.gov/aotus/ | <urn:uuid:52023d72-49ef-4602-b752-093759910db3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2010/04/the-archivists-blog.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948778 | 194 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The macroeconomic data coming out of Estonia in recent weeks are truly shocking even in the context of the ten percent annual drop in GDP for 2009 that most observers are now forecasting. Perhaps the most evocative number of all is not the 27% year on year drop in industrial output registered in January, but the announcement this week that Estonia’s registered unemployment rate rose to a record 7.4 percent during the first week in March, with a total of 47,774 job-seekers registering with the unemployment offices, up 3,019 in a week. Of course, for many outsiders these are not large numbers, but then Estonia is not a large country. Still this was the highest number since the Labor Market Board started disemminating data in 1993 (although not as measured by Eurostat, which uses a different methodology). The level was up from 7.1 percent at the end of February and 6 percent in January, although the important thing is not the volume of unemployment, but the rate of its increase.
At the same time it is estimated that nearly 250,000 Estonians are currently living in homes whose market value is insufficient to cover the outstanding mortgage loans which their owners have taken out, making “exposure risk” a growing problem for the country’s banks. During the boom, house sale transactions were commonly financed with a 90% loan to value (LtV) ratio. This is a very dubious practice at the best of time, but in the face of a sharp fall in both house values and wages it becomes well nigh disastrous.
Once boasting one of Europe’s fastest-growing real estate markets, property prices in Estonia fell by a whopping 23% in 2008 (following an 18% increase in 2007) according to data in the latest edition of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors European Housing Review. The RICS tracked 2008 year-on-year house price inflation in 18 West and East European countries, and found that Estonia’s fall was the most substantial in the entire group.
Take, for example, a 50 sq metre apartment bought in the spring of 2007 for a price of around EEK 1.3 mln. This apartment is currently worth around EEK 790,000, but the outstanding loan balance is of the order of EEK 1.1 mln. Should the once proud owners of that lovely appartment now find themselves among those unfortunate enough to be queueing up outside the offices of the Estonian Labour Board and need to sell it, then even assuming they could find a buyer they would not only lose their home, but they would still end up owing the bank EEK 300,000 under Estonia’s “full recourse” lending laws (which are of course very different from those operating in the United States). With an average net monthly salary in the region of EEK 10,000 this means that the unfortunate ex-property owners would in all probability end up with a debt worth more than two years their total income.
Of course, in this climate buyers are likely to be scarce, and it is more probable that the banks themselves end up with a substantial direct interest in Estonia’s property market. And this would only add to the problem they are already having with overdue loans, which are rising and reached 3.6 percent of total credit in January, according to the most recent data from the central bank which now forecasts bad loans will hit 6 percent before the year is out. Of course, as is by now well know, more than 95 percent of Estonian banking assets are held by Nordic banks, and despite the fact that the banks don’t cease to reassure us that their Baltic operations form a “key part†of their business and that they have a “long-term commitment†to Estonia, this doesn’t stop them getting downgrades. Swedebank, for example, had its credit rating cut to A1 from Aa3 by Moody’s Investors Service last month, citing the risk of a “substantial increase in impairments†(read loan defaults and deteriorating asset quality) from the bank’s Baltic operations.
Meantime output and employment simply keep on falling, with Estonia’s industrial production dropping by the most in at least 14 years in January – 26.8 percent year on year, the most since 1995 (following a 22.4 percent slump in December).
Of course, as output drops and people are sent home to remain inactive, the one thing Estonia does have at the moment is a lot of loan offers. Thus the central bank recently announced that they will be able to borrow as much as 10 billion Swedish kroner against Estonian krooni from their Swedish counterpart in an attempt to boost confidence in Estonia’s financial markets. As Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves said in the statement “The financial systems in Estonia and Sweden are closely linkedâ€. But what Estonia needs is not more loans, and more debt, and people lying around idle, it needs work, and output, and exports to pay off all that debt which has been accumulated. And it is just at this central point that the current solutions are being tested and found wanting.
The Price and Wage Correction Is Too Slow
In order to understand what is wrong with the path on which Estonia has set itself we need to bear fully in mind that the problem is that the country (or its households) have become excessively indebted in relation to the economy’s competitiveness, and the consequent ability to pay. Estonia has a current account deficit, and this does not help things, but Estonia’s problem is not, in the longer run, a simple balance of payments and financial crisis one (against which external loans can of course help), but a problem of competitiveness and the ability to pay off debt.
And even despite the recent sharp fall – almost all of which is produced by a fall in imports and a reduction in living standards – Estonia’s current account deficit was still running at slightly over 9 percent of gross domestic product in 2008 (following the 18.1 percent shortfall achieved in 2007).
Estonian central bank data show an estimated current account defict for last December of 943 million kroons, down from a revised 1.87 billion kroons for November, and from around 3.5 billion kroons in December 2007, but since exports were down 6% year on year in December, it is obvious that the reason for the contraction in the deficit is the 17% drop in imports. Ouch!
Now, as I say, basically the problem here is to restore competitiveness and, although not everyone will be prepared to agree with me, I would argue that the only solution for Estonia is to export its way out of trouble. Given the problems the banking system is having and is about to have, it would be sheer fantasy-land (and very foolish) to imagine we are going to see a return at any point in the forseeable future to consumer credit driven growth (we are talking everywhere about more, not less, regulation), so as Estonians work hard (once they finally get a job again) to pay off their debts and try to save for their increasingly uncertain old age, the only really valid way to try to go for growth is by exporting. Saying that this is not possible, well… this is simply defeatism before you start, and I don’t imagine the Estonian character that way somehow, not after so many years of fighting to gain a hard won independence.
So if you want to export, you have one benchmark to work againt – Germany. And if we look at the chart below, we will see the extent of the competitveness gap which has opened up since 1999. Now Reel Effective Exchange Rates (REERs) are a nice measure of competitiveness, since REERs attempt to assess a country’s price or cost competitiveness relative to its principal competitors in international markets. Since changes in cost and price competitiveness depend not only on exchange rate movements but also on cost and price trends the specific REERs used by Eurostat for its Sustainable Development Indicators have been deflated by nominal unit labour costs (total economy) against a panel of 36 countries (= EU27 + 9 other industrial countries: Australia, Canada, United States, Japan, Norway, New Zealand, Mexico, Switzerland, and Turkey). Double export weights are used to calculate REERs, reflecting not only competition in the home markets of the various competitors, but also competition in export markets elsewhere. A rise in the index means a loss of competitiveness, and as we can see Estonia’s index has risen sharply against Germany’s in recent years.
Well, just in case anyone thinks that the comparison with Germany is not an appropriate one in Estonia’s case, here (see below) is the equivalent chart for Finland, which shows an equally strong loss, and let us remember that the worst year in this sense (2008) is still not included, since Eurostat have not processed the data yet.
And of course, I am only looking at eurozone comparisons here, we won’t enter at this point into the embarassing fact that Sweden and the UK have both devalued sharply in rcent months, as have Eastern EU rivals, Romania, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, as well as non EU rivals like Ukraine and Russia. Really hanging on to the peg blindly in these circumstances is not only foolish, it is ridiculous, and I hardly see how following a ridiculous policy (which for sure won’t work) is going to enhance your credibility, which is what the decision not to devalue was all about in the first place. It won’t even shield the Nordic banks from the slew of incoming defaults.
Now, “plan A” is supposed to involve a very sharp downward adjustment in prices and wages, something of the order of 20% during 2009 and 2010. (Incidentally, talk of a V shaped recovery is misleading here, since the V shaped recovery only comes with a one-off devaluation, say getting the 20% out of the way all at once, and doing it over two years can only bring a U shaped process, as you simply spin the same thing out over two years, think about it, the issue isn’t that hard to see). Anyway, over two years it is, so how are we getting on? Well up to December last year (which is the latest data we have) not very well, since average hourly wages (the key number here) were still up 9.9% in the last quarter of last year, and so this is really another 10% or so to add to the 20% we were just talking about above (based on the 2007 REER). True, hourly wages did peak in Q2 at 78.26 kroon, and were down to 75.58 kroon in Q4 (or by 3.4% in six months), but this was only really taking back some of the excess from H1 2008, and the real hard work is still to come.
But if we move away from wages and take a look at prices, we find the situation is not much better, since while Estonia’s inflation rate fell in February to its lowest level in more than three and a half years it was still running at an annual rate of 3.4%. We need to see average price declines in the region of 10% in both 2009 and 2010, and not only am I not convinced we are going to see that, none of the major bank analysts or multilateral organisations are currently forecasting anything like this. Or are we going to run our correction from now till 2015 (and have something which looks more like an L-shaped correction)?
What we really need to think about here is not the general index, however, but the so called “core” index (the one that excludes volatile items like energy, food, alchohol and tobacco). Now as we can see in the chart below this index has stabilised, and has even started falling slightly, but if we keep in mind the rule of thumb idea of a 20% decline, and note that the core level peaked at 118.37 in December, then for the correction to have any hope of working we would need to be looking at a reading in the region of 95 come December 2010.
And the situation may be even more complicated than we imagine, since the Eurozone itself may fall into deflation, and if so every percentage point drop in the Eurozone index will need to be matched by an extra percentage point drop in the Estonian one. Unfortunately your leaders and advisers are a long way from explaining this harsh reality to you.
But there is reason to fear that this may actually be what happens, since if we look at Eurozone headline HICP inflation on an annualised basis, we will find that it fell more than expected in January – to 1.1 per cent, according to Eurostat data – down quite dramatically from the peak of 2.7 per cent hit in March last year. This was the lowest level we have seen since July 1999, and a sharp drop from the 1.6 percent rate registered in December. On a month-to-month basis, prices were down 0.8 percent. The “core” inflation rate – that is consumer inflation without the volatile elements of food, energy, alcohol and tobacco – we find it still stood at 1.6%, since the biggest impact on headline inflation comes from the decline in food and energy costs. But if we look at the monthly movement in the core index, we find that it dropped by a very large 1.3% (see chart below).
Now if we come to look at the core inflation rate over the last six months, we find that the index has only risen 0.1% (or an annual rate of 0.2%). This gives us a much more accurate reading on where inflation actually is at this point in time, and where it is headed. The chart below shows the six month lagged annualised rate for the last twelve months, and the sharp drop in January is evident. If things continue like this, then the eurozone as a whole is headed straight into deflation, for sure.
Retail Sales Dropping Sharply
Basically, to get economic growth, and thus to be able to pay down debts, you need one of three things: an increase in government demand, and increase in export demand, or an increase in private domestic demand. Now the first two of these are categorically excluded in the present situation (especially since the government is cutting, and not increasing, public spending as part of the crisis response package (the so called “plan A” strategy). However, private domestic demand is falling like a stone at the moment. According to the latest data from Statistics Estonia, retail sales were down 10% year on year in January (at constant prices).
As we can see in the chart below, Estonian retail sales peaked in February 2008, since which time they have been steadily falling.
So what are the chances that domestic demand can make a recovery? Well, according to some, quite substantial. According to a recent report from UBS bank on Eastern Europe Lending:
We retain our firm view that convergence is a ‘sure thing’ for those economies already in the EU – it is just a question of time before levels of GDP per capital approach those of the established members. If convergence is perhaps a thirty or forty year process, the most advanced are perhaps half way through (Poland introduced its free market reforms on 1 January 1990). The uncomfortable period we are entering is one where local growth goes from above-trend to sharply below. It may well take a number of years before nominal GDP (in Euro) recovers the levels of summer 2008, but we believe markets can be forward-looking when outcomes are predictable.
So the issue is convergence, and the justification for “plan A” is essentially based on this idea, as UBS analysts
Why does convergence matter so much? Because equity markets – and therefore companies – are essentially about growth. And convergence drives excess growth. The new EU members offer legal systems becoming increasingly like those in old EU states, with labour productivity comparable and labour costs a fraction of those back home – particularly following recent currency declines. Margins on banking products are typically higher than in ‘old’ Europe and levels of penetration much lower.
These arguments were a staple of a thousand corporate presentations through the good times and we suspect will be little mentioned except where necessary over the next twelve or eighteen months. But we believe them to remain essential to an understanding of likely outcomes in the region: they raise the bar for all stakeholders faced with a challenge of whether to prioritise the long-term or the immediate. It is an active debate what the Ukraine will look like several years hence; we believe it is not for the EU members: they will look more like the old EU states, in form and substance.
So we are putting all our money on the “convergence” bet, but just how realistic is this? Unfortunately, not very, since one key argument it simply fails to take into account is the effect of demographic processes. Basically, the whole of Eastern Europe has one large and little discussed problem, birth rates fell dramatically, but life expectancy did not rise: Latvia and Estonia are not only (along with Slovakia) the EU countries with the lowest per capita income, they are also those with the lowest life expectancy. Male life expectancy in Estonia is just 67.16, and for Latvia it is 66.68, compared to 76.11 for Germany, and 77.13 for Italy. Let’s not beat about the bush here, this means that each adult working male can contribute roughly ten years work less to paying down the country’s debts, and of course, extending the working age to 70 (25% of the Japanese population still work at 75) impossible. This is why the whole idea of “convergence” is a non-starter. And again, you don’t need to be an economics PhD from MIT to see this.
In the real world Estonia’s population is currently shrinking, which, with fertility around the 1.4 Tfr range is hardly surprising.
The birthrate has been rising (slightlly) in recent years, but as Afoe’s Doug Muir explains in this post here, this is more than likely going to unwind during the recession.
Interesting Fact #1: birthrates tend to drop during recessions, and the drop tends to correlate with both the severity of the recession and the speed of its onset. The current recession is looking to be a bad one, and it happened pretty quickly, so we can reasonably expect a sharp drop in birth rates. Makes sense, right? Babies are expensive; more to the point, babies limit your options. They make it harder to move to a different city, change careers, stop working for a while. When times are hard and uncertain, babies become a luxury. For individuals and families, a recession is a good time to put childbearing on hold.
Interesting Fact #2: all across Communist Eastern Europe, birth rates declined slowly through the 1970s and ’80s… and then crashed after 1990, dropping to very low levels and staying there through most of the decade. In some countries they bounced back a bit, in others not, but in almost all cases there’s a big “birth gap†from about 1991 until at least 1997, and often later.
Put these two facts together, and there’s a problem.
Indeed Statistics Latvia have already reported a 25% year-on-year drop in births in January 2009 (from 2310 in Jan 2008 to 1860 in Jan 2009), and looking at the Estonian Statistics we find that in January 2008 there were 1493 births and in January 2009 there were 1232. Again about a 20% drop year on year. Of course, one month’s data don’t prove anything, but since, as Doug points out, this is what the theory predicts, we should all be taking it seriously, and it should be taken into consideration when we talk about which kind of “correction” we want. It is no good saving the stream of external funding coming into your banks if you “meltdown” your population as you do it.
Unfortunately I haven’t noticed one single European leader who is seeing fit to even mention this issue – or the other, pending, one that when the recovery does come, if the Baltic countries are still stuck struggling with their pegs, the additional haemorrage out will be in young people looking for money to send home to their ageing and impoverished relatives, thus giving the whole demographic thing another turn of the screw.
The future already looks bleak enough in human capital terms, as this recent report from Statistics Estonia makes evident:
According to the Statistics Estonia, at the beginning of academic year 2008/2009, 154,481 pupils were acquiring general education, 27,239 vocational education and 68,399 students were acquiring higher education. The decrease in the total number of pupils is influenced by the number of pupils acquiring general education, which has decreased during the last decade. The decrease in the number of pupils in general education is related to the decrease in the number of births, which began at the end of the 80s and lasted till the end of the 90s. At the end of the 90s more than 220,000 pupils were acquiring general education, thus the number of pupils in general education has decreased by about a third during the last decade. In academic year 2008/2009, 147,519 full-time and 6,962 part-time pupils were acquiring general education. In autumn 2008, 12,426 children started school, which is over a third less than ten years ago.
So Is There A “Plan B”?
Well, of course there is, and everyone, no matter which side of the argument they are on, knows only too well what this is: devaluation. Of course of devaluation of the Baltic/Latvian pegs contains implied sovereign liabilities, and these need to be thought about. You cannoy do this alone, but you are members of the EU and you can ask for help with the process. But if you don’t start to ask for the help, then naturally you aren’t going to get it.
Technically the pegs can be maintained. The question which faces Estonians is quite simply which alternative – keeping or changing the peg – implies the greatest cost. The main stakeholder here is the EU, and you should be leveraging that for all you are worth. The capital erosion for Western European lenders would not be insignificant if you (and others) simply sink.
Naturally small open European economies like Latvia and Estonia can only hope to gain very minimal monetary autonomy outside currency board type arrangements, so the only realistic exit strategy is devaluation and Eurozone membership, as I explain in this post (and this one).
Of course this change in EU policy won’t arrive tomorrow (but it might come next week, or the week after). It’s just that you have to push for it. Stopping work and going home (as unemployed) while your country borrows more and more money is not going to bring the future you all so badly want. There is another path, choose it!
Here is an extra chart showing Estonian unemployment rates from 1993 to date, as provided by Tööturuamet, the Estonian Labour Market Board.
and here’s a longer time series for the Eurostat labour survey data. The difference between the two is methodological, and the Eurostat data is more comparable with other EU countries. As we can see, on both measures unemployment has been rising very rapidly of late, and with a 10% contraction forecast for this year, the end result is almost certain to go higher than the 13.2% peak registered in 2000 according to the Eurostat data. | <urn:uuid:11cca1b5-2ddd-405d-bf13-e4755aef7bff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fistfulofeuros.net/afoe/why-you-need-devaluation-open-letter-to-the-people-of-estonia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96676 | 5,027 | 1.648438 | 2 |
By JUDY WEST
When she began research on a book about Salvador Dalí Ingrid Schaffner says she was sometimes embarrassed to admit to people what she was working on. Though Dalí may beat even Picasso to the title of best-known-artist ever, his reputation in the art world has never caught up with his fame. The artists endless self promotion, his zeal for pop culture and his willingness to caricature himself were, says Schaffner, “all things artists werent supposed to do,” and consequently his stock has faltered among the high art cognoscenti.
By the time shed finished working on “Salvador Dalís Dream of Venus”a fully illustrated tour of the “surrealistic funhouse” Dalí designed for the 1939 Worlds FairSchaffner says she had new respect for the artistic iconoclast. Schaffner, who is senior curator at Penns Institute of Contemporary Art, will talk about the Dream of Venus Feb. 23 as part of this years Penn Humanities Forum on Sleep and Dreams. The talk comes on the heels of the Feb. 16 opening at the Philadelphia Museum of Art of a major retrospective of Dalís career in honor of the centenary of his birth.
The Worlds Fair pavilion, explains Schaffner, took visitors on a wild, hallucinatory journey through Dalís brain, with semi-clad, bare-breasted women“liquid ladies” as Dalí called themcavorting in an underwater world complete with a mummified cow, a piano keyboard painted on a recumbent nude and telephone receivers floating on their cords like seaweed. At this point in his career, says Schaffner, Dalí was “already the drippy watch guy,” and already a household name.
As shocking as the Dream of Venus sounds, 1930s audiences were probably less easily scandalized that we might imagine, says Schaffner. Also, Dalí purposely located his funhouse in the amusement part of the fair. “Burlesque was still a fairly ribald form of entertainment,” she adds, “and all around were nudey attractions, including a Cuban village where a naked girl was voodoo sacrificed daily.” In that context, Dalís vision seemed almost tasteful.
Still, says Schaffner, it was after the Dream of Venus that Dalí launched himself into “the big time of pop culture,” filming a dream sequence for Hitchocks “Spellbound,” producing a (ultimately ill-fated) cartoon for Disney, collaborating on a “Lobster Dress” with Elsa Schiaparelli and appearing in TV commercials. Along with advertising work for Alka Seltzer and Datsun cars, Dalí famously appeared in a commercial for Braniff Airlines where he announced to the viewing public, “If youve got it, flaunt it!”
Schaffner finds Dalís shameless low‚culture aspirations fascinating, and liberating. “He sees the goals of the Surrealists and surpasses them, and instead of receiving approval theyre horrified and reject him,” she says. “He was not to be suppressed.”
More and more, when making studio visits with art students, Schaffner detects the influence of Dalí, in a way that would never have happened in the 80s. What young painters are seeing in Dalí, she says, is the articulation of a fantastic vision that morphs and manipulates the world. “Theres something,” she says, “about his way of representing things that jibes with the virtual reality of game space. Think of the Lord of the Rings scenes, with their hyperrealized imaginary zones.”
With the Dalí show taking over the Art Museums exhibit galleries this spring, the eccentric genius is finally getting his share of attention from high-art circles. Dalí, we assume, would have loved the publicity.
Ingrid Schaffner will speak on “Dalís Dream of Venus,” Feb. 23 at 5 pm in Rm. 17, Logan Hall. For more information, and to register, go to http://humanities.sas.upenn.edu or call 215-898-8220. For more on “Dalí”at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Feb. 16 through May 6, go to www.philamuseum.org or call 215-763-8100.
Originally published on February 10, 2005 | <urn:uuid:81182c4a-de09-48c4-81b2-efa7fe852c90> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/current/node/2623 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966158 | 950 | 1.625 | 2 |
Baby humpback whale stranded off Hawaii beach
(Photo courtesy: Cameron Spencer\Getty Images News)
Image copyright 2013 Getty Images. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Last Updated: 124 days ago
HONOLULU - A baby humpback whale that was found floundering in shallow waters off Hawaii's Kawaikui Beach Park has died.
KHON-TV reports that the baby humpback died Monday night shortly before 9 p.m. A fisherman found the whale alive but in distress late in the afternoon.
NOAA's Marine Mammal Response team came out to monitor the situation.
David Schofield, coordinator of NOAA's Marine Mammal Response Network, says the baby whale was stranded due to being separated from its mother. He says the calf was anywhere from several hours to several days old.
Schofield says this is the time of year in which humpback whales are giving birth. He says each year four or five newborns that fail to thrive wash up on the beach.
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:cf233d68-f3e7-4695-8cdf-b7a1a4bd160d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.10news.com/news/watercooler/baby-humpback-whale-stranded-off-hawaii-beach-011513 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938457 | 248 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Bloodhounds part of law enforcement family
“They’re excited. They think we’re gonna go somewhere,” he said of the dogs that are part of the Aiken County Bloodhound Tracking Team.
The Sheriff’s Office houses eight dogs currently, but is equipped to house up to 12, according to Hyler. All the dogs are what is known as “SLED stock” – a mixture developed by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division of full-blooded bloodhound, Redbone and Bluetick hounds.
“Bloodhounds are so slow in stamina,” Hyler said. “They’ve got great noses, but they put the Redbone and Bluetick in the bloodline and created a SLED stock for the stamina. We want them to run faster. We want to get it done as quick as we can.”
The Bloodhound Tracking Team consists of officers from the Sheriff’s Office, the Aiken Department of Public Safety and the North Augusta Department of Public Safety.
The dogs are born and trained in-house, and begin training at 10 weeks old.
“We’re feeding them constantly when they’re weened off their mother,” Hyler said. “We go out there, play and roll around in the grass and create that bond. They know we’re here to take care of them.”
He said the training begins as a “cat-and-mouse” game.
“Just trying to get them to catch up with us,” he said. “As they get bigger, we’ll make that distance longer and longer, to the point where we’ll go over there and hide, then bring the dog out and give that same command. They know – they’ll associate it with, ‘There’s a trail here.’ They’ll pick up on it and go find that person.”
The dogs only track human scents.
“It could be a lost child of any age to an Alzheimer’s patient that has wandered off from their home, to a bad guy that just robbed a bank,” Hyler said. “They don’t distinguish between a bad or a good person, they just know they’re there to track a human scent.”
What sets bloodhounds apart from other police dogs is that they work off of “pure love,” Hyler said.
“Most dogs work for food or a toy,” he said. “Nothing against our bomb dog or our narcotics dogs, but these are our ‘pure love’ dogs. Their reward is the attention we give them at the end – the praise. That’s what they work for. Their drive is to please us, and they do a very good job at it.”
The dogs follow the scent on dead skin cells that are constantly falling off of humans, Hyler said.
“Each one of those has odors, and these dogs’ noses are 10 times better than ours are. They can pick up on that,” he said. “As you run, and if you’re afraid or scared, those pheromones in your body produce a strong odor, so it’s going to hold. Once they get locked on it, they want to finish the job. They know we’re going to be there and that they’re going to get that attention and love.”
Preserving that scent is one of the reasons law enforcement officers establish a perimeter around a crime scene, Hyler said.
Hyler said all the dogs are equal in tracking ability, but some are better suited for certain environments than others.
“Each one’s like a person,” he said. “Some do better in urban environments versus suburban or around other dogs. Some you want to have strictly in the woods. We know if we get a call in downtown Aiken with a bank robbery, our guys are trained to know which dogs are better suited for that atmosphere.”
Just like with people, Hyler said handlers have to develop and nurture relationships with the dogs.
“We’ve got to know each individual dog, because each one’s got their own personality,” he said. “It creates a bond, just like a partner that rides in the car with you. They’re our partners, basically. Just with four legs.”
One of their partners, “Duke,” is back on the job and living a dog’s life just over a year after he suffered two stab wounds during a chase.
On Nov. 15, 2011, the Bloodhound Tracking Team was called to search for two suspects accused of stealing a tractor-trailer cab in Augusta and driving into Aiken County. Hyler said the team routinely brings two dogs to each call.
“We tracked the suspects through some very thick stuff,” he said.
The dogs used to be tracked with a bell on their collars that let handlers know their location. Now they’re tracked with a GPS unit on a collar, which sends a signal back to a handheld device the handlers hold.
During Duke’s chase of the two suspects, his signal was lost. Hyler said that meant either there was a malfunction with the satellite, or – most likely – that the unit had been cut off the dog.
“We didn’t know until we got to the last spotting and found the articles,” Hyler said. “They cut both the collars, and the harness that they wear was thrown over to the side, trying to basically hide it.”
Duke had two wounds. While officers tended to him, the second dog finished the search and found the suspects.
Patrick Spires, 31, of Aiken, was found hiding in the attic of a barn in Beech Island. It was there that Spires fought with deputies, causing one to fall from the attic and suffer injury.
Spires was found guilty last month of cruelty to a police dog and resisting arrest, and was sentenced to five years in prison for the stabbing charge and one year for resisting arrest, with the sentences running concurrently.
Duke was rushed to the veterinary clinic and made a full recovery. Hyler said that after a couple of weeks of “light duty,” he was back on the job.
“From time to time, they get injured or hurt their leg,” Hyler said. “We’ll take them out of service and make sure they’re taken care of and not pushed back into service.”
Hyler said one of his favorite memories with one of the bloodhounds was with a female named Brooke, who died not too long ago.
“We called her our mama dog,” he said.
One cold night, a young girl had gone missing from her home, Hyler recalled.
“We were trying to find her but didn’t have a good location of where she might have gone,” he said. “They put Brooke on the trail. We stopped hearing the bell and knew she was in the general vicinity. We actually found her laid up next to the girl, keeping her warm. There’s some instincts like that that are so bonding; she knew the child was cold or scared, and she just laid up next to her.”
Hyler said the dogs are not trained to bite, and reiterated that they don’t know a “good” person from a “bad” person.
“We don’t teach any of our dogs to bite,” he said. “They’re pure love – you can’t teach them to bite and be pure love. It doesn’t go hand in hand.”Teddy Kulmala covers the crime beat for the Aiken Standard. He is a graduate of Clemson University and hails from Williston. | <urn:uuid:14573add-cc36-496b-9191-fb02744e76dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aikenstandard.com/article/20130202/AIK0101/130209944/0/roe-re-elected-as-probate-judge | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973397 | 1,718 | 1.554688 | 2 |
(LOXLEY, Ala.) Tuesday Loxley voters will determine if it will remain the only Baldwin County community that bans alcohol sales on Sundays.
The city's referendums are broken into two parts on the ballot.
One is for stores to sell alcohol. The other for restaurants to serve alcohol.
"I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, why not? It will help the economy," said Loxley resident, Daniel Rutherford.
"We're the only city in Baldwin that doesn't sell alcohol on Sunday, so it's pointless," said Piggly Wiggly Assistant Manager J.D. Moran. He says his store loses at least $1,000 in beer and wine sales every Sunday.
"We're losing revenue for the city and it's going to Robertsdale or Stapleton," said Moran.
"If somebody wants it they'll get it anyway," said Rutherford.
In 2003 voters in all other Baldwin County municipalities approved Sunday sales of beer and wine. Loxley voters shot it down.
"Everybody here is old fashioned. They don't want to see the law passed. It's the bible belt, you know," said Moran.
Mary Lou Yeager isn't sold on the idea and never will be.
"I think if people want alcohol they can make an effort to buy before. I think Sunday is a family day and alcohol need not be involved," said Yeager.
Others don't see the harm.
"If you're religious, fine. I still go to church but I may want a beer with my hamburger," said Jose Santiago.
The vote was originally scheduled for August 28, but was moved to Tuesday because of Hurricane Isaac.
Business owners pushing for the change hope voters remember to head to the polls at all. | <urn:uuid:8d616c89-b5ef-4260-b4c7-3e7ca722c9cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Sunday-Alcohol-Sales-Up-For-Vote-In-Loxley/pg7YUa1WtkuUj86ltGzPyQ.cspx?rss=217 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981369 | 373 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Potassium Permanganate Dips - Anchor Worms
Hi there AC'ers :)
I've tried 4+ different treatments on my blood parrot for anchor worms to no avail - Touches the surface - worm disappears but entry wound does not.. 1-2 days after medication worm returns I'm in about $150+ on this one fish because first i set up his own 20gal hospital tank to treat him in/away from my other fish.
After reading on various forums I decided I had nothing to lose and would try the Potassium Permanganate dip described here: http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Potassium_permanganate I just did his first treatment as instructed... Does anyone know, should I repeat daily? Or what would you recommend here?
If this treatment doesn't work -- I have to give up - it's been 2+ months of treating this one fish... Mysteriously the LFS's tank of them has been replaced with another type of parrot cichlid? All gone?? So I assume all were affected
Anchors Away or Clout will work.
Vac the substrate, as well, to make sure worms are not there. But if you see a worm exist and several days later see another, it may be that a worm has hatched eggs inside the fish and they are hatching. Anchor Worms can only be killed with Anchor Worm medication. I don't know what else you used but it must state for anchors.
From my understanding about anchor worms is that the female worm crawls inside the fish and lays her eggs and then exists. Anchor worm medication is supposed to draw the female worm out and kill the eggs she has laid. The wound will heal once the worm is out.
Last edited by Lady Hobbs; 10-16-2012 at 03:05 AM.
All of the medication I've used has been anti-parasitic said to kill anchor worms - Follow it by the BOOK and that is when the worm disappears.. Then 2-3 days after the treatment is completed; partial water change; etc it appears again - Never has the red ulcer went away 100%
So on the dips??? Every day or every 2 or? Is 10mg per liter accurate for 30min? First thing I read was an 8 liter recipe with like 1/16 tsp per gallon for 5 minutes.. Then I found another that was 10mg (1/16tsp) PP per lt for 30 minutes?? I'd love to save my blood parrot - but after all this time not sure it's going to happen..
O and I've never seen any in tank; gravel or otherwise... This fish is in his own tank and has been since very early on in this illness... It was a new set up tho I used active water out of my Malawi tank to avoid cycling from scratch on top of him being ill :(
Oddly when I first bouht these I bought 3 -- 1st one disappeared?? 2nd one got chewed to shreds (LFS told me they'd be safe with my malawi cichlids - But now I wonder if the whole batch was sick... mysteriously the tank at my LFS is replaced with different ones now??
Oh boy. South American cichlids never belong with Malawi's. The only thing that belongs with Malawi's is other Malawi's. If you can cure him, he can't be returned to that tank or they will tear him apart like the other parrot. This is really too bad because parrots are wonderful fish. I have 5 in a 55 gallon and they're my favorite of all.
10 mg of potassium permanganate is mixed with one litre of water. Bathing for 20 to 30 minutes.
This is all I have found. It said nothing about repeated dips but I would think if the worm is still there, that I would repeat it the following day.
Adding water to a tank from another tank does not cycle a tank. The bacteria is in the filter, not in the water.
Last edited by Lady Hobbs; 10-19-2012 at 02:27 AM.
Yea, when I found the 2nd chewed to shreds and pulled the 3rd (actually thought his ulcer was a bite)I did some research and found that they shouldnt be mixed. If he makes it he will stay in the 20 alone with a pleco (right now he's tiny - about the size of a half dollar) If he out grows it we'll cross that road Didn't want to buy another 40+ for one fish - I live in a tiny house and we have 5 setups... LOL :) I love them tho.
Did the dip for 10min and got scared and pulled him.... tho the dangly ickiness went away... Now that I have confirmation - I will try the 30min... I'll report back :)
You need to careful check the water parameters in the new tank right now, and every day for some weeks. The new filter will take that long to cycle. Adding old tank water will do almost nothing. Best of luck and as the ammonia, then nitrites climb, do 75% water changes, not small ones, to lower any such waste from the new tank. These fish are injured and will quickly be harmed by waste.
Knowledge is fun(damental)
A 75 gal with eight Discus, fake plants, and a lot of wood also with sand substrate. Clean up crew is fifteen Sterba's Corys. Filters: canister w/UV, in-tank algae scrubber that removes phosphates and nitrates! Also, a highly dangerous commercial nitrate removal unit from hell
For Stocking Questions see: http://aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php?
For Fishless cycling:http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ead.php?t=5640
The one he is in now he's been in for 6 wks or more. I tested early on around the 2 wk mark and all was within reason. I will test tonight tho and make sure that it is still ok.
I have done probably 4 - 50 percent changes over the last month or so. Should I really do 75. And how often?
Everyone is laughing at me because I am doing so much for 1 fish. But I can't let him die with out trying.
Well.....now there is another problem. Blood parrots get to 6-7". He simply can not be in a 20 gallon and especially with a pleco. Is the pleco a common pleco like all the stores carry? They reach over a foot.
I would keep him in nothing less than 40 gallons and not keep the pleco at all. | <urn:uuid:a0d71648-2c92-434e-8f52-0539e4dd9874> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=98871&p=1086166 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968942 | 1,407 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Fast Tube by Casper
Veritas Christian School has been providing a Christian alternative to the Lawrence educational community for over 30 years. At Veritas Christian School, our goal is to equip children to become successful, contributing members of society while at the same time to be shining beacons for God. Originally named Douglas County Christian School opening in 1978, the school grew and in 1998 the pursuit of academic excellence was enhanced by the implementation of a classical method of instruction.
With the start of the 2004-05 school year, Veritas added 10th through 12th grades and began offering education opportunities for students from Kindergarten through 12th grade, thereby offering a complete educational process for children. Students benefit from a highly trained and qualified staff and a wide range of course offerings. On-site library and computer lab facilities provide opportunities for educational support and practical application. Students also enjoy the playground and open areas for recess activities, the multi-purpose room for P.E. and school assemblies, and a hot lunch program.
Veritas Christian School has continued to grow and expand as more and more families seek to provide an education for their children that honors the wisdom of the ages coupled with a fully integrated Biblical worldview. We at Veritas view our role as one of partnership with the families as they endeavor to fulfill the task God has given them of educating their children in the knowledge of the Lord and nurturing their obedience to Him. | <urn:uuid:6551f186-c5f6-498d-82aa-a5bcc942bfcb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://veritaschristianschool.org/?page_id=72 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970232 | 285 | 1.515625 | 2 |
What Is it About Men That They're Committing These Horrible Massacres?
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“But what about the men?” It’s a question that’s been avoided by the mainstream within the context of mass shootings.
The recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut sparked thousands of conversations across the continent about gun laws, mental illness, and violence. And sadly, we’ve been here before.
We’ve had conversations about access to guns – the victims would still be alive today, after all, if there were no gun. We’ve talked about the need to better address mental illness in North America – about how people need access to services and treatment. With proper support, potential perpetrators could get the help they need before it’s too late. And what about the media? We see violence all the time in movies, video games, and on television. Have we become so desensitized to violence that mass murder has become par for the course? Or, worse, a way to achieve fame in a culture obsessed with celebrity as a goal unto itself?
All these factors are relevant. All of these conversations should be had. But no one is asking what is, for once, the single most important question: What about the men?
In 1984, a 39-year-old man opened fire at an upscale nightclub in Dallas after a woman rejected his aggressive sexual advances. The man, Abdelkrim Belachheb, went out to his car, retrieved his gun, and returned to the bar, shooting the woman to death. He then reloaded his gun and killed a total of six more people. Capital punishment quickly became the center of the national conversation. In fact, Belachheb’s crime is most remembered as it lead to the passage of House Bill 8 in Texas —the “multiple murder” statute, which made serial killing and mass murder capital crimes.
That same year, James Oliver Huberty, a man whose ‘volatile temper’ and history of domestic violence is documented, opened fire at a McDonald's restaurant in California, killing 21 people before being shot dead by a police officer. At the time, this shooting was the “ largest single-day, single-gunman massacre in U.S. history.” Shocked, liberal politicians used the incident to lobby for stricter gun laws. Others wanted to know why he wasn’t able to access the mental health services he needed.
In 1992, John T. Miller, angry that his wages were being garnished by court order, “ claimed that child-support payments had ruined his life”. He entered a county office building in Schuyler County, NY, walked up to the child-support unit, and shot and killed four women whose jobs were to collect child-support. Miller had been ducking childcare payments since 1967.
We all know about the tragic day in 1999 when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire at Columbine High School, killing 12 of their classmates and teachers. Since, many have claimed the two boys were psychopaths. In 2004, an article in Slate commented, based on entries in Harris’ journal that: “These are not the rantings of an angry young man, picked on by jocks until he's not going to take it anymore. These are the rantings of someone with a messianic-grade superiority complex, out to punish the entire human race for its appalling inferiority,” also noting a “lack of remorse or empathy—another distinctive quality of the psychopath.”
Others viewed the Columbine shooting as a ‘revenge killing.’ Some speculated that fame, or infamy, rather, was the driving force behind Harris’ and Klebod’s actions. We began a national conversation about ‘bullying’. ‘Bullying’ as the number one cause for every youth-related problem in North America is another exhausted conversation.
In 2007, 23-year-old Seung-Hui Cho opened fire at Virginia Tech, killing 32 people before taking his own life. Cho’s behaviour at Virginia Tech, prior to the shooting, was said to be ‘troubling’. He had been harassing female students and taking pictures of their legs under desks. Cho had been accused of stalking female students on three separate occasions. Supposedly he left a note “ raging against women and rich kids.” After the Virginia Tech massacre, the national conversation turned, once again, to bullying, to mental illness, and to gun laws. | <urn:uuid:6e21d63b-c7ca-4e9e-b86f-191a6e390043> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alternet.org/gender/what-it-about-men-theyre-committing-these-horrible-massacres | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969621 | 962 | 1.75 | 2 |
I remember as a child my mom would always tell me to stop always asking “why” and just do what I was told. I believe she was on to something that most parents understand. There are times when you just need to do what you are told and trust, especially as a 5 year old child. On a visit with my God Son who at the time was 4 we had the most riveting conversation all based on the word “why”. Never in my life had I been asked so many “why” questions, “why doesn’t Spiderman run out of webs, why does Kryptonite make Superman lose his powers, why don’t you live in Atlanta …… why is the sky blue?
I believe as we get older there is a transition point where the ban on asking why is lifted and we slowly emerge into a world where it’s okay to ask why. This can be a scary and challenging place for some. Asking why has the potential to challenge assumptions and reveal answers that may be difficult at times to answer and embrace.
There are problem solving techniques that require asking why to uncover the root cause of a problem. There are times when we ask why out of frustration because we have no other recourse of action. There are times when we ask why to get better understanding and clarity of purpose. All are legitimate reasons to ask why.
Have you ever been given a task and wanted desperately to ask a why question? “Why me, why this way or why now” Or have there been times when these why questions have been asked of you? There is a time and place to ask why. Maybe not in the middle of a crisis requiring immediate action but certainly there should be space for why questions in the course of our day. Consider this: If you want clarification or deeper understanding, you may have to ask”why”. If someone asks why of you, it’s often because they want clarification and deeper understanding. As shocking as it may be, sometimes our communication is not always as eloquent and thorough as we would hope.
As a progressive leader encourage those around you to ask the “why” questions and embrace the questions when asked of you. The more clarity and purpose you can provide to your staff the better chance of their success, your success and the success of the organization. Should you not currently be in a position of leadership, let this be your permission to ask those why questions, your supervisor isn’t my “mom”;) it’s okay to ask. | <urn:uuid:a17092da-a625-47ca-be60-b61369bac2fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://actstraining.com/2012/02/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972336 | 531 | 1.601563 | 2 |
BY MARTYN NAMORONG
Men and women were rounded up and beaten, while food gardens and property were destroyed.
The reason: police retaliated after youths from the area attacked an officer who had fired on them.
The officer was responding to an earlier attack on a Toyota Hilux by the youths.
They had attacked the vehicle because they suspected its occupants to be kidnappers.
Last month villagers in Madang had been warned by police to be aware of kidnappers who were supposedly harvesting organs for transplants.
It seems one piece of misinformation about organ transplant has led to the destruction of an entire community.
Police have demanded twelve pigs and cash as compensation for the attack on their colleague.
Villagers are also contemplating a civil case against the State to demand compensation for the damage.
If only our police could beat the crap out of all the real thieves who are destroying our environment, stealing our land and resources, and bribing their way through.
If only, the police could protect villagers and whistleblowers like Dr Rona Nadile instead of harassing them. If only...
Source: The Namorong Report, 22 September | <urn:uuid:1c78c517-569a-4b5b-a640-7d6ade4f71d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2011/09/misinformation-leads-to-police-conflict-in-madang.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979761 | 234 | 1.539063 | 2 |
FSD1040 Presidential Elections 2000, First RoundDetailed description (collection | citation | publications)
Keywords: advertising, elections, general elections, political support, presidential candidates, voting
The survey focused on the 2000 presidential elections in Finland. The respondents were asked whether they had voted in the first round of the presidential elections in the year 2000 and for which candidate they had voted. They were also asked when they had made their voting decision and how the media, advertising, close friends, candidate selectors on the Internet, or the candidate's campaign websites affected their voting decision. The respondents were asked whether they had voted in the first round of the 2000 presidential elections, and for which candidate they had voted. In addition, the respondents were presented with a list of various things and asked to say which of them affected their choice of candidate in the first round of the elections. Those who had not voted in the first round were asked the reason for abstaining. All respondents were asked about their opinion of the election campaign and advertising and whether they were going to vote in the second round of the elections, and for whom. The respondents were presented with statements about voting and the personality of the president, and they were asked to express their opinion about them. Finally, the respondents were asked which party they would vote for in parliamentary elections if the elections were held at that time, which party they had voted for in the previous parliamentary elections, and for which candidate they had voted in the previous presidential elections.
Background variables included the respondent's gender, mother tongue, age, marital status, composition and income of the household, education, occupation, information on work, working hours, trade union membership, ownership of apartment, voting in elections, position on a left-right scale, social class, and dwelling place. The background variables have been updated in August 1999. The data also include a case id variable hl, which can be used to append this data to FSD1041. | <urn:uuid:b2b4f689-7c79-4087-9a92-748fe65d3f5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fsd.uta.fi/en/data/catalogue/FSD1040/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990851 | 396 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Become a member of ICOM is being part of an active network made up of 30,000 museums and museum professionals.
By joining ICOM you will integrate the world museum community and take part in the debates, the scientific exchanges and in the reflection about the museum future.
Conferences, Meetings, Events
The National Committees are the main tools of communication between the General Secretariat and the ICOM members. The 117 National Committees ensure the interests of the organisation are managed in their respective countries. The National Committees represent their members within ICOM and they contribute to the implementation of the organisation’s programmes. | <urn:uuid:56f770b1-cf24-413c-ac53-631633c56a38> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://icom.museum/the-committees/national-committees/L/0/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930553 | 125 | 1.726563 | 2 |
I use 1and1 for my personal and business websites as well as for our clients. We’ve had a client recently that was not receiving emails from one of their colleagues and of course the other company’s IT person said it was our problem. Having been an email administrator for many years I always like to look into the bounced back messages, smtp connection info, email headers, and more to track down a problem. This particular issue was perplexing because there where not many posts on the net about it. When someone was trying to send an email to a domain hosted at 1and1 it sent this error after the RCPT TO line:
421 invalid sender domain, possibly misconfigured
I tested at http://www.wormly.com/test_smtp_server (which is a great site btw) to get test the error.
So I sent an email to 1and1 support to see if they could help. This was the very speedy response:
The circumstances you have just described is caused by a RFC-non-compliant configuration of the despatcher-domain. The MX-Server
of the domain has no registered A-record, but merely a CNAME-record this is why the e-mail is rejected by our e-mail servers.
You can find some general information about this topic here:
To provide the e-mail delivery as fast as possible again, we kindly advise you to inscribe the target domain of the CNAME-record as MX-record. For further information, please contact the provider of the despatcher-domain.
Looks like the 1and1 is blocking any non RFC compliant domains. In the rfc spec above it says:
10.3. MX and NS records
The domain name used as the value of a NS resource record, or part of
the value of a MX resource record must not be an alias.
Additional section processing does not include CNAME records, let alone the address records that may be associated with the canonical name derived from the alias.
So if you are a DNS admin or setup DNS for clients make sure to have the MX record for your domains be A records (they directly resolve to an ip) not CNAME records. So far I have had to email a couple of hosting companies related to this issue. I applaud 1and1 for locking down their email servers even more to thwart spam, but it would have been nice to have had a link or faq on their site explaining what was going on. Thus the reason for this lengthy blog post.
Some other posts on the web about this issues:
Useful links to test out DNS and MX records: | <urn:uuid:8b99ed74-aadf-42bc-96da-5be879d8a378> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jheslop.com/2009/07/31/1and1-tightens-up-email-spam-rules/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941368 | 552 | 1.578125 | 2 |
by Alan Mosley
|Sunday, August 22, 2010|
Make the most of your PageRank with internal linking.
It is not necessary for most sites to get every page to #1 in the search engines, it is important to get at least one page ranking well.
This can be achieved by internal linking. Each page on your site will inherently have some rank all be it very little, even without external links your pages are still awarded some rank. This means your pages can pass on rank. While it is not certain how much rank is awarded each page for our workings here it is irrelevant, for our workings we will use the figure of 1 for each page.
Now imagine you have 3 pages, that means your website has rank of 3, to increase your rank, you can double your pages to 6, now your site has page rank of 6. Wow, this is easy, just add more pages and you increase your rank, well not quite, while you may now have a rank of 6, you have to divide the rank between 6 pages, so in fact you still have a page rank of 1 per page no matter how many pages you have.
Now lets say you have 3 pages again, each page links each other page, each page will pass some page rank to each other, and pass it back, in the end you will be back to where you started from, 1 per page.
Now let’s try a different linking pattern, you will see that we have linked to Page B and C, but we don’t link between B and C. What we have done here is increased the PageRank of Page A at the expense of Page B and C.
How did we do this?
Google once released their calculations from these we have an idea how Google and others assign PageRank, the formula has been changed many times since but tests have shown that the main premise of the formula still hold true. Each page starts with PR 1 when it links it passes 0.85 though its links to the linked-to pages, each link getting a split while keeping 0.15. So A has passed 0.85/2 each to B and C, in return B and C have passed 0.85% of their PR back, seeing that they were given 0.425 each, they in fact passed 1.21 back to A. now A has received 1.21 from B and 1.21 from C plus the 0.15 it kept, it now has 2.57.
But since A has changed, we need to recalculate how much it passes to B and C again, in fact we need to keep recalculating each time a page changes so that the page that depend on it can be recalculated, this is infinite, but in reality it does not change much after about a number of iterations. After a number of iterations Page A would in fact have about 1.3 page rank. Now this is with only 3 pages imagine if you have 100 or 1,000 pages wheat you could do, but this is all really complicated, and there are other rules too.
Every page must be in the search engines index to be included in the calculations; each page must have a link in and a link out.
OK no more maths; just tell me what to do.
The simple answer is to link to every page from your home page, and link back to your home page from every child page. This would make your home page rank well. If you wanted to have 3 pages rank well, link to every page from your home page, and link only to you home page and the other pages you want to rank well from all child pages. This is not always possible, as you may need to create other links so that your uses can navigate, you may find it hard to link to every page from your home page, but the closer you get to this pattern the better you will do.
Incoming links and outgoing links
An incoming link will inject more rank into the calculations and can greatly increase the numbers, but each link leaving the site will decrease the rank. You should try to get incoming links directly to the pages you want to rank. And you should try to link out from pages with little page rank, so that you don’t leak as much link juice, even better lets say you have 100 links on the same page, 99 internal links and one outgoing link, you would be only leaking 1/100 of the pages rank, the rest would go elsewhere in your site.
This article is quite simplistic. There is a more recent tutorial on PageRank that may be more imformative. | <urn:uuid:b5b7e64f-309c-4aac-b67a-604240456251> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thatsit.com.au/seo/reports/article/internal-linking | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958694 | 950 | 1.710938 | 2 |
From Dawn Online Friday, 23 Oct, 2009
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Mohammad Akbar says he prays every day for the Pakistani army to crush the Taliban so he can make sweet music once more without fearing for his life.
‘They smashed it into pieces and warned me of serious consequences if I ever played it again,’ said Akbar as he recalled the day two years ago that the Islamists forced him to give a recital of his rubab — a traditional lute-like instrument that is popular in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
‘I recite from the Holy Koran every morning and pray for the success of the military operation and when they are defeated I will buy another rubab,’ he said.
(Photo by AFP)
The 39-year-old was speaking in the dusty town of Dera Ismail Khan where he fled with his wife and seven children to escape a major offensive by the army against the Tehrik-i-Taliban in neighbouring South Waziristan.
While those living in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt are fiercely protective of their independence from the federal government, the Islamist militants have alienated many with their hardline edicts, such as a ban on music.
‘The Taliban cannot be our friends,’ said Akbar, as he recalls incidents of flogging and beheading of those who fell foul of the extremists.
Akbar looked visibly distressed as he spoke about his ordeal which started two years ago when a Taliban delegation turned up at his home, following a tip-off from one of his neighbours.
Not knowing they were from the Taliban, he served them tea, played his rubab and sang for them in his living room.
And then they grabbed the instrument and smashed it.
‘It was a warning from them. I was forced to stop playing an instrument that I started playing in 1981,’ he said.
Islamic extremists have blown up hundreds of music and DVD shops in the troubled North West Frontier Province (NWFP), calling the practices against the tenets of Islam.
Shop owners were forced to display the pro-Taliban material which ranged from tirades against the United States to gruesome clips of beheadings and bomb attacks.
Tears rolled down Akbar’s cheeks as he talked about one of his very close friends Ahmad Shah, whom he says was executed by Taliban for playing the flute.
‘They slit his throat because he ignored their warning,’ said Akbar.
The musician also recalled his childhood friendship with Qari Hussain, a reputed mass trainer of suicide bombers whose home town is now surrounded by the army, saying that Hussain also did not like his hobby of playing the rubab.
When he confronted Hussain, who returned to South Waziristan in 2007 after living for years in Karachi, about the Taliban’s behaviour, he received an icy reply.
‘I went to him to lodge complaint but he asked me to be thankful to God that they did not kill me on his request,’ he said.
Akbar is one of the recipients of an official allowance of 5,000 Pakistani rupees (60 dollars) the government is giving to each family displaced by the fighting in South Waziristan.
‘It means I can now afford to buy another rubab,’ he said. —AFP | <urn:uuid:bd226a15-079f-42b7-aedf-00943cf39c53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pakteahouse.net/2009/10/23/waziristan-musician-prays-for-taliban-defeat/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986646 | 698 | 1.523438 | 2 |
You come to Rome for the food, the sunshine, some nice thin, crisp pizza and cheap, good wine. You don’t come to Italy because it’s neat and orderly, and you certainly don’t come to learn something about politics (unless you’re studying failed democracies and corrupt, oversexed politicians). So maybe when you read my complaints below about this new tax you’ll think, “Well, it’s Rome – what do you expect?”. And I agree – I’ve lived here long enough that a colossally stupid idea like a tourist tax doesn’t surprise me one bit. But I also own a hotel, The Beehive, so I’ve been following the issue closely and see a series of points demonstrating not just how bad an idea it is in general, but how badly it’s been “thought out” and implemented. Of all the criticism I read from the Italian news, none of it really addresses the problems I see with it.
Some background: as of 1 January 2011, all tourists (even Italians from other cities) coming to Rome are subject to a tourist tax (tassa soggiorno) to be collected by the establishment where they are staying. The tax is 1 euro for stays at campgrounds, and 3 euros per person for stays at 4- or 5-star hotels and 2 euros for stays anywhere else whether a 1 star hotel (like The Beehive) or a bed and breakfast. Children under 10 don’t pay at all and the tax caps out at 10 nights. If you’re coming for medical reasons you also don’t have to pay. There’s also a tax at all the paid beaches for non-Roman residents (free public beaches in Italy are rare), which is even more unthinkable. Maybe I’m the odd man out here, but you couldn’t pay me to spend the day at Ostia, let alone ask me to pay a tax to sit there, ass-to-shoulder, frying in the sun on an already overpriced lounge chair.
There’s no doubt that Rome is severely over budget, especially due to the drop in tourism over the last few years, meaning less income and less sales tax revenue collected. The theory behind all this offered by its supporters, however, is that Rome has many tourists who aren’t really paying their keep, and it’s only fair for them to share in the enormous expense to maintain the Eternal City.
We, as hotel owners, found out about this in mid-December. We weren’t contacted or notified by any government agency – not even the tourist board who certainly knows we’re there when they do “routine” police checks to make sure everything is “in order”. On December 23rd, I believe, it was finally approved-approved (no, that isn’t a typo – in Italy there’s approved, and then there’s still the possibility that it’ll just sort of go away. So approved-approved means, yes, you really gotta do it), and still at the time of writing this, a month later, there has been no information given as to how we have to account for the money collected. All we know at this point is that every 3 months we’ll have to pay what we’ve received, but there is no understanding of what, if any, documentation will have to be submitted, or should even be kept on-site for those “routine checks” I keep mysteriously putting in quotes (perhaps that will be another post!).
So we’re a month in and there’s been lots of criticism as well as talk among all sorts of crazy politicians to adopt this tax in other cities too, maybe even all the regional capitals. The national hotel association, Federalberghi, is planning a day of no reservations on March 17th, 2011, in protest, which should cost the country millions in losses. That’ll show them! We’ll just leave tourists stranded for a day and pay our staff to catch up on uploading some pics to Facebook.
Many people who support the tax have noted that other major cities, like New York and London, have a similar tax, so it should be fair in Rome as well. Well, here I’m getting to the heart of my post – as an American I feel qualified to comment on just the highlights of why Rome ain’t New York:
1. Nothing in Rome works well. Compared to NY, Rome can feel like a developing country. Worse, maybe, in some ways. I’ve lived in a developing country, and there are many things that run much better there than in Rome. So the tax isn’t really to recoup money spent on the city and it certainly isn’t going to be used to improve it. For tourists from developed nations, Rome is an embarrassment – disabled and riding the subway to the Vatican? If you managed to make it down to the platform, plan to stay down there as there’s likely no working elevator at your destination to get up to street level. The list of shortcomings thanks to city administrators is long, but let’s just agree on the basic premise here – comparing New York to Rome in terms of how the city is run is laughable.
2. There are no “servizi” that are free that the public is utilizing. You pay for the buses and subways. You pay to go in the Colosseum. You pay to eat, sleep and everything else you do as a tourist and the places where you eat and sleep are already paying the taxes to collect the rubbish you create. Maybe you partake of good, clean Roman water? Hard to argue that you would have to pay for something that runs continually into the sea whether someone drinks it or not. So what is it that tourists use that require upkeep? Free public toilets? There aren’t any. Clean streets and sidewalks and lack of graffiti-free walls? Ha. Medical care? Well, yes, that is free for tourists, but that is the one area they are NOT taxing, rather than just not making it free anymore for non-residents who use the system.
3. In the US, all taxes – both sales tax and hotel tax – are excluded from the base, published price of everything you buy. It is a different sales culture completely and we are used to seeing a price tag and adding on all the hidden bits. In Italy, and everywhere else in Europe, the prices are ALWAYS inclusive of sales tax (IVA), so whereas in NY, all hotels publish their pre-tax prices, and apply the same tax, in Rome, everyone publishes their post tax prices and then has no clear understanding of whether that includes or excludes the tourist tax. No specifications have been given by the government either. The playing field in NY is level – all prices are without taxes and all taxes are the same for everyone as a percentage of the price. In Rome many will publish their price without the tax to seem more competitive and charge it on arrival and someone else will keep their prices the same not wanting to deflect tourists and then lose the money themselves. In other words, without regulating how this tax is communicated, there’s loads of room for confusion, which is already pretty standard in Italy.
4. The prices that vary between a hostel and a 3 star hotel are from 20 euros a night to 300 euros a night. The tax is the same. By the way, there’s no regulation in Rome to control prices so hotels can charge whatever they want, regardless of their star rating, so long as it’s been communicated in advance to the authorities. This means that for a 3-star hotel guest, 1.5% of his stay is in this extra tax. But a hosteler, who is coming specifically on a tight budget, is paying roughly 10% more per night. Not exactly a fair deal for owners in the budget sector, nor does it make Rome the likely choice for those traveling on the cheap.
5. More illegality. Here’s how it works: some sly person (a “furbone” as they’re called in Italy) will charge tourists the tax and not report it and pocket the 2 euros per night (which for a 3-bedroom B&B could equal 3,000-4,000 euros per year).
For those of you who don’t read Italian, the total expected intake here is 80,342,276 euros per year. I’m not against that at all. Rome could certainly use it and even if 80,000,000 of it goes to getting the city out of debt and only 300,000 goes to removing some graffiti and dog poo (and the other 42,000 will end up in someone’s pocket), that would be an improvement.
But if we’re going to compare Rome to NY, let’s also follow the example of American thoroughness – let’s make this new tax logical and easy to understand and implement. What we don’t need is another Roman mess that costs tourists and the travel industry more money. | <urn:uuid:c89721df-b61a-457d-b30b-11510f0a6d41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cross-pollinate.com/blog/26/5-things-i-hate-about-romes-new-tourist-tax/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964652 | 1,937 | 1.554688 | 2 |
With less than a month left until year end, investors might be
able to get some perspective on the markets by looking back and
considering the biggest trends of 2012.
Overall, it was a fairly solid year for American stocks.
Digging deeper, there were a number of sectors that experienced
broad outperformance, while others lagged.
The following are the 10 biggest business trends of 2012. Some
had a positive effect on stocks; others lead to a significant
loss of shareholder capital. A few did both.
1) The Death of the PC
PC-related companies had, what can only be described as a
brutal year in 2012. According to a report from IHS iSuppli,
demand for PCs will have declined by 1.2 percent in 2012 -- the
first decline in 11 years.
Processor manufacturers like Intel (NASDAQ:
) and AMD (NASDAQ:
) posted horrific years, down about 20 and 60 percent,
respectively. Companies that rely largely on PC sales like Dell
) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:
), saw shares decline as well -- down roughly 30 and 50 percent,
) was the only company that managed to escape the selling,
although its shares rose only modestly -- up about three percent
for the year.
2) The Rise of the Tablet Computer
In 2010, the late CEO of Apple (NASDAQ:
), Steve Jobs, introduced the iPad to the world. For almost two
years, Apple had an effective monopoly on an emerging trend it
largely created -- mobile computing.
While PCs were dying, mobile computing flourished.
In 2012, many consumers opted to forgo the purchase of a new
laptop in favor of a tablet. Although Apple continued to lead
with its iPad, 2012 was the year when competitors introduced
devices that could hold their own. These included Google's
) 7- and 10-inch Nexus, Amazon's (NASDAQ:
) second-generation Kindle Fire, and Microsoft's (NASDAQ:
3) 3D Printing
3D printing has been around -- in one form or another -- for
Still, 2012 proved to be a breakout year for the industry.
Shares of the two major 3D printing stocks, 3D Systems
) and Stratasys (NASDAQ:
), posted monumental gains. 3D Systems traded up over over 200
percent in 2012, while Stratasys added over 120 percent to its
3D printing is exactly what it sounds like -- it allows
companies and users to create relatively complex objects using a
single machine. Unfortunately, the technology is (at the moment)
limited to producing objects from plastics and similar materials,
but this is still useful for creating things like prototypes.
Perhaps at some distant future date, every American consumer
will have a 3D printer in their home, one that allows them to
create the objects they desire whenever they want them.
4) Organic Food
The increased demand for organic foods has built for years, so
it isn't fair to say the trend was confined to 2012.
However, there were still some noteworthy events that
demonstrated just how far demand for organic food has come. Whole
) saw a nearly 35 percent stock appreciation in 2012, while
competitor The Fresh Market (NASDAQ:
) rallied about 30 percent.
In March, following a number of media reports ("pink slime" as
it came to be known) rose to the forefront consumers' minds.
"Pink slime" is a manufactured beef product -- low in fat, but
composed primarily beef scrapings molded together in a
Following a wave of public outrage, several major grocery
chains including Kroger (NYSE:
) and Safeway (NYSE:
) announced that they would not be selling beef that contained
A company that produced "pink slime" -- AFA Foods -- was
forced into bankruptcy as consumers showed their preference for
5) Housing Rebound
As far back as 2009, investment commentators have been calling
for a rebound in the U.S. housing market. 2012 may finally prove
to be the year when U.S. housing turned around.
Shares of nearly all home building and home building-related
stocks rebounded strongly in 2012. Shares of Toll Brothers (NYSE:
) rallied about 50 percent in 2012. Competitors Beazer Homes
) and KB Home (NYSE:
) traded up about 45 and 130 percent, respectively.
While the market may never quite return to the exaggerated
bubble levels of prior years, 2012 showed definite signs of a
healing housing market.
6) Shale Gas Boom
If any single commodity could've been said to dominate the
year, it would be natural gas.
In the first half of the year, natural gas prices were
dropping at a rapid pace. At one point, the price of natural gas
was less than $2 per cubic foot. Some analysts were predicting
that natural gas would fall to nearly $0.
Of course it didn't. Prices nearly doubled in a few months
during the summer, and now sit comfortably around $3.50.
Early in November, the IEA said that the U.S. was on par to
surpass Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer, and
likely would do so over the next 10 years. With fracking
technology, producers in the U.S. have been able to extract
increased amounts of both oil and natural gas from shale
7) The Drought
The U.S. experienced one of the worst droughts on record over
the summer. By most measures, it was the worst drought in at
least 30 years. As a consequence, June saw corn prices skyrocket,
as crop yields were expected to decline.
Meanwhile, meat prices actually fell, as farmers opted to
slaughter additional cattle.
The drought may have an effect on the U.S. economy for several
years. Although corn prices have subsided somewhat since the
summer, they remain elevated. While meat prices may have dropped
temporarily, over the long term they could be up. Cattle take
years to raise, and thus more animals slaughtered now means less
available in the future.
The higher prices for these commodities could mean food prices
remain elevated for some time.
8) The Fiscal Cliff
In the summer of 2011, Republican lawmakers temporarily
blocked the increase of the U.S. debt ceiling. The debt ceiling
was eventually raised, but as part of the deal to raise it,
lawmakers created the "fiscal cliff" -- a mandated set of tax
increases and spending cuts that would go into effect January 1,
Following the 2012 presidential election, political focus
shifted to a possible resolution of the "fiscal cliff". Democrats
and Republicans appear to be far apart on resolving the matter,
but daily speeches from politicians on both sides of the aisle
have become a regular market-moving event.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- commonly
known as "Obamacare" -- was signed into law in early 2010. Two
years later, a constitutional challenge brought it to the
forefront of business in the first half of 2012.
There was widespread speculation that the law could be
overturned by the Supreme Court. Luckily for supporters, that
didn't happen. In a strange twist, George W. Bush nominee Chief
Justice John Roberts opted to vote in favor of the law.
That benefited hospital stocks like HCA Holdings (NYSE:
), which rallied well over 45 percent this year.
10) Android/Apple Lawsuits
Eric Schmidt, current chairman and former CEO of Google
), was once a member of Apple's board. In 2009, Schmidt resigned.
In subsequent years, Google has placed more emphasis on its
Android mobile operating system -- a direct competitor to Apple's
iOS, the operating system that powers both the iPhone and the
As told by Walter Isaacson in his biography of the Apple
co-founder, Steve Jobs felt deeply betrayed and believed Schmidt
used his insider status on Apple's board to "steal" the idea of
the Android operating system from Apple.
Thus began Apple's long legal dispute with Google's Android,
which came to a head in 2012. Rather than sue Google itself,
Apple took the route of attacking individual Android device
In a San Francisco court, Apple won billions of dollars in
damages from Korean smartphone maker Samsung. Ironically, Samsung
won a similar case against Apple in its home country. A few
months later, Apple settled its legal dispute with HTC.
(c) 2012 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment
advice. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:9ea972a5-59b4-4d63-ac8f-092377cf8218> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nasdaq.com/article/the-10-biggest-business-trends-of-2012-cm195907 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950233 | 1,829 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Do games tell stories?
Yes and no. As exhibited in one of my earlier blogs, story is the last experience layer of a game with many games just not having it. Almost all of the biggest games in entire videogame history (defined as a game that sells more then 10 million copies on a single platform) do not even tell stories. Someone can even argue that trying to tell a story in a videogame is actually obstructing video gaming to evolve.
This educational feature from Gian Mancuso makes the same mistake as many before him in that regard. The mistake is to “believe” in methodology that works in a strictly top-down analysis manner, disregarding any kind of dynamic that happens at the receiving end. In actuality, a lot more attention is given to what a maker is conveying than at what it conveys to the audience.
The first mistake already happens with the line “Whether we're reading a book, watching a movie or playing a game, the way we experience reading, watching and playing is as a narrative. Games are experienced as narratives”. If a narrative is linear series of events, then people don’t experience narratives when they’re reading a book, watching a movie or playing a game. What people do experience is a series of events (the so-called narrative) happening in a certain universe (the world where the story happens).
This universe is a far more powerful and important element in all entertainment mediums but why does it get ignored so much? Because universes are damn hard to construct let alone dissect and analyze, it also means that you have to keep in account the audience in your analysis and this is against the Authorial Control-values a lot of “artists” and their academic fields are bonkers about.
The problem with narratologic analysis, and other artistic aimed analysis-disciplines is that they focus on superficial, technical aspects that people don’t really care about, mostly because the techniques used that makes art so-called “genius” is more a result of course idiocy and not having insight in human nature (this is why Modern Art is utter bullocks). Are Tolkien’s books literature masterpieces?
Narratologists will say no because of lousy writing and bad use of techniques, the audience will say yes because of the enormous imaginative universe he constructed with its own history, languages, races, cultures and others. And most of the time, he isn’t even communicating all these things in the story but people start filling in the blanks themselves according to their contingency history (things you have been thaught/conditioned) and the very small bits and pieces Tolkien does provide.
Shakespeare does the same thing, using metaphore after metaphore. Do these have a certain intent? Very debatable since Shakespeare coined the phrase “A rose, by any name, is still as beautiful” hinting at the arbitrary linguistic labels we give phenomena’s we encounter. Shakespeare wanted also to jolt people’s imagination. Shigeru Miyamoto the same. He isn’t about telling convoluted stories using technique X and plotdevice Y but giving the people imaginative universes where they can play at their heart’s content, filling in the blanks for themselves, literally living in the Universe.
Because of this very dynamic author-audience relationship in the Universe layer, it is incredibly hard to found out how people truly react to your product. What you wanted to communicate can have a complete opposite effect on the audience. All of this…nothing to do with story, narrative or plot. One can even say that those are just tools to make access to the Universe easier. When more emphasis is put on these superficial, supportive techniques, the Universe most of the time suffers and with that the content. Your product doesn’t speak to the people, despite being technical “superior” to other offers (sounds very familiar for many artists I believe).
But let’s keep going with this critique.
Second line I have a big problem with.
“As mentioned above, it's useful to describe gameplay in terms of story and plot. Not all games should be described this way, since a game for gaming's sake has arguably no reason to worry about storytelling. But with the release of titles like Uncharted 2 (Naughty Dog, 2009) and Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream, 2010), it's easy to see that good storytelling continues to be an important selling feature.”
I agree with the part that a game for gaming’s sake has no reason to worry about storytelling. It’s the arrogant, completely subjective notion that games should do it anyway because of the two mentioned titles. The problem, since both games haven’t sold anywhere near ten million copies, their relevance to anything gaming related, especially Heavy Rain, is very minimal. Also gameplay should not be described as story or plot, then it isn’t gamaplay anymore, then it’s just story and plot. Gameplay is the Playfield layer people experience when they play videogames. It’s indeed about mechanics, rules and others, but that’s it, no story. Let’s use a few play examples.
You’re playing football (the real kind) with some people. Football has some specific rules like only the goalie can touch the ball with his hands and others, these rules are not telling any kind of story. People playing the game can lead to story, because the playing is off course a series of events, but those events don’t impact the rules, mechanics or other factors of the play. Another example, you’re playing Indian and Cowboy. This is a game where you also have a Playfield (which can be dynamically altered depending on who’s playing).
A Universe layer consisting of the immersing as Indians and cowboys, recalling every bit of memory and emotion you built up regarding the subject, maybe even adding on to it (cowboys with lasers, because I saw lasers in Star Wars!) that don’t necessarily change the rules (lasers, bullets, eh what’s in a name right). Only as last you got the story, Billy the Kid and his gang kidnaps the daughter of Indian Chief WoofieWoof (as we all know, pets sometime shave to endure these games as well) and we must save her! And some mock shooting happens and fun is had!
“the story is dictated by the game mechanics, art assets, animations, environments, sound effects, musical score and haptic sensations that make up the game. A game's story materializes itself experientially through the interaction of its many parts.”
Dictated…really? This is where the obsession with authorial control gets clear. If the story is dictated, then it is always the same, players are just able to change the narrative or plot. Offcourse this is wrong on the very basic Sid Meier level: a player can at any moment deny your dictation and replace it with something more fun.
Example, my friend was playing Heavy Rain, the kid is dead and we have ole’ dad and son at his house. There’s a small black board on the kitchen counter telling things you the player could/should do. Because we were bored out of our heads, we just started doing things at random going “Zomg, the sign didn’t say we could do that! Now the sign will punish us! Bow down to its glory!”. In sense, we changed the dictated story, refusing the sign for its function and giving it unintentional properties to make the game more fun (the joke kept running for like half hour and all six people in the room were laughing greatly, the actual game? Boring as hell).
Don’t mistake this for an re-interpretation, we just rejected the told story and replaced it with our own. How? Trough messing with the Universe. A normal blackboard doesn’t have the god-like powers we gave it, but we added the law anyway…and there was much re-joicing.
The author also again uses the faulty term “story” to explain Playfield when he uses the Sims as an example. A story, being a series of events, cannot be a series of mechanics or rules. The laws of physics are not a series of events, they create a framework where events can happen, but are not events in themselves, the same with the rules/laws of a Playfield in a videogame. The Sims are a Playfield first, a Universe second (the whole sub-urban life thing) and no story at all! There are stories though, but these are player-created. The actual content of the Sims is when it combines its Playfield and its Universe together, creating the player controlled story-o-matic that it is.
“The game industry has been trying hard to move away from flat characters, but in most cases we don't know how to approach creating that depth. Back story and cinematics can only go so far in establishing characters. What matters more is how those characters behave during gameplay. If their only role during gameplay is to be a mindless "helper," then even the most masterfully rendered cut-scene will fail to convince a player that they're anything but a flat character once the cut-scene ends. The key lies in creating in-game character behaviours that help reinforce their characterization and the story's themes, and dynamically create moments for the player to experience the story you're trying to tell.”
There are some good bits here and some really bad bits. First of the good bits: you can see the author is trying get say that characters in games should behave in line with the game’s Universe (he calls it story’s themes as if the theme is supportive of the story while it is the other way around in the players expercience). This is true, elves shouldn’t go acting like monkeys and start throwing feces at others, Mario doesn’t go around shooting hookers and Protoss don’t go sipping tea with biscuits.
Universe coherence is crucial when introducing characters into it, but again, you’re introducing characters into a Universe, not pouring a Universe over your well-made characters. Characters indeed should be made in mind to the Universe’s laws, within the player’s expectations they have when playing inside a specific Content-context. Which brings me to the bad bit: People should stop teaching people that you must tell your story to the audience.
The audience is far more dynamic then that, if they don’t like your story, they will supplant it or just simply don’t care. Your story needs to support the Content, being it Sci-Fi fairytale knights, a plumber inside a Alice in Wonderland-like cartoon world or children attending magic-school while fighting a should-be defeated evil (which evokes powerful cyclic experiences).
The third and fourth page is just disastrous with more self-wanking “force stuff on the player so you can tell your GENIUS story without them having no say in it whatsoever” bollocks all over the place. You do not know what you’re telling the player, you can’t. You can only try to make a compelling Universe and a fun Playfield and hopes it gives players enough options and possibilities to enjoy your game and let them create their own stories. Your story or game isn’t yours anymore from the moment the bits and bytes are printed on the disks.
It is this self-wanking that is standing more in the way of videogames then any kind of casual-Wii’ing (sorry, couldn’t resist :p).
Designers their job is to make a fun Playfield and an interesting Universe that speaks to people while both give the player enough options to create his own stories. It is this player-controlled story-making that makes videogames unique. It is it’s power, it’s core-expericience.
But how do you analyze Content, Universes and such? How do you really know what would speak to people and what not? There is a fairly scientific and exact way to do this. The theoretical framework for this will consist out of Behaviorlogy combined with insights from Anthropology and Cultural/Mentality History. Because I’m still reading up on the Behaviorology part, the blog about that will take a while. | <urn:uuid:258c83a4-9597-4a12-8e2f-e19698db8512> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gamasutra.com/blogs/TimTavernier/20100610/87484/A_Critique_to_A_Common_Framework_For_Storytelling_in_Videogames.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955246 | 2,615 | 1.835938 | 2 |
I've just read an article (photo here) that says you shouldn't stop eating gluten, because "You can actually make it harder for your body to digest gluten if you cut most of it from your diet without good reason”".
Is there any science behind this whatsoever? I don't understand how a magazine can publish such a statement without some science behind it.
Everything I've read up on about gluten lead me to believe even a small amount is really bad - and I didn't think the issue was in the process of digestion itself?
Interested to hear if you've seen any studies that might have lead to this statement.
This is just one of those cases where there's a bit of truth but it's used in the wrong way. If gluten is unavoidable in the diet, then you need to learn to live with it. You will experience (or at least perceive) more problems eating gluten after a long period without it than if you've been eating it regularly. But you need to weigh that against the risks of eating gluten regularly - which is why they slip the 'without good reason' clause in. Most people here have a pretty clear idea that there are many many good reasons even if you're not celiac so they're being disingenuous.
It's like saying you can see cars better from the middle of the road so you shouldn't walk on the sidewalk without good reason
It's really a matter of acute versus chronic inflammation. If you are constantly being exposed to gluten, your body is in a state of chronic inflammation. Therefore, you do not notice the same dose/response acute inflammatory response that you would when your body is not chronically inflamed.
So if you think it's better to be in a state of chronic inflammation all the time to aviod the occasional feeling of acute inflammation, then keep consuming gluten. I frankly do not think that is in my (or anyone's) best interest.
I know I've heard Robb Wolf say, in response to questions as to whether people should allow their young kids to have small amounts of gluten, that there simply is no such thing as building a resistance to it.
The same thing follows here -- gluten is bad is bad is bad. Period.
Given the amazing number of chronic symptoms that disappeared in my first 30 days off gluten, it's clear I was never "handling" gluten in the first place. As a young child, I had a constant runny nose and vague joint symptoms already so if we'd only known what that meant my life could have been much different.
What they SHOULD be saying is that parents should introduce foods carefully and be suspicious of any mild symptoms, particularly from grains.
That is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. The only reason to stay on gluten is if you think you might have celiac, you can't be (accurately) tested once you've been gluten free for more than a few weeks.
I travel a lot to places where food insecurity is a big problem. I'm fortunate in that it's in sub-Saharan Africa, and the staple foods are usually cornmeal, rice, or cassava. (Wheat is not good for me. Point made by my body in the first two weeks of paleo.) If you are going places where you will have to eat gluten for some reason, it might be a good idea to make sure your stomach can continue to handle them. In some ways, the notion that we can choose to avoid foods is a very Western one and an affluent Western one at that. In some places, people have to eat whatever is there. (srsly I am delighted that my hosts rely on these massive plates of cornmeal to keep them going...it's not the best thing for you but geez it's better for me than wheat globs.)
I think you build up a tolerance to it. Like those stories about taking a small amount of poison for a long time -to build up a tolerance to avoid being big-time poisoned. (Yes I am comparing Gluten to Poison).
In any case, before my doctor told me to go gluten free, I was eating toast every single morning (my whole life) and I never had digestive troubles -ever.
Now I can't even eat a dusting of gluten without serious GI issues. Makes sense when you think of the poison tolerance scenario.
Dangerous: Yes. Long term -underlying GI damage can lead to a host of issues. Short Term -ruins my evening out when I get poisoned and must spend the rest of the night at home in the restroom.
I don't know if there's been any actual studies on it for gluten, so it's just a theory. Plus it's probably fairly specific to individuals.
A possible example of something similar that they may be going off of for their theory is adult lactose-intolerance/lactase persistence . People digest milk ok in youth, they stop as an adult for a while. The enzymes for digesting down-regulate, and they have issues digesting milk as an adult. If they don't stop drinking milk, the enzymes are still around, and they don't have issues digesting it. | <urn:uuid:5787431a-ec49-4794-aaae-edcae4609c98> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://paleohacks.com/questions/96402/dangerous-to-quit-gluten/96426 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975553 | 1,065 | 1.75 | 2 |
Holly Young and her husband, Robert, say the Ohio Department of Health is denying their son the intensive therapy they say he needs to fulfill his potential and one day become self-sufficient.
-- Holly Young had modest expectations when a behavioral therapist sat down with her son for the first time.
Her boy, Roman, is 2 years old and autistic. He rarely speaks and his behavior can be disruptive. He screeches and flaps his hands, runs around for no reason, shakes his head back and forth and grinds his teeth.
Yet after two hours with the therapist, Roman had calmed down. And he spoke. "Mom. Up. Yum. Eat."
It was just four words, but for Roman it was a breakthrough. "We were blown away," Young said.
A year later, however, Young and her husband, Robert, say the Ohio Department of Health is denying their son the intensive therapy they say he needs to fulfill his potential and one day become self-sufficient.
The Williamsburg couple sued the department last week in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati and has asked a judge to order the state to provide the services.
The family's lawyer, Richard Ganulin, says the case could open the door to better care across the state for autistic children who, like Roman, have been unable to get the care they need. He said federal law requires the state's early intervention programs to evaluate the kids and provide them the best possible care.
"The state categorically refuses to provide this service," Ganulin said. "It's a systemic deficiency."
Neither the Ohio Department of Health nor the Clermont County Board of Developmental Disabilities, which handled Roman's case, would discuss the allegations in the lawsuit or specifics about Roman's treatment.
State health officials, however, said their goal is not to provide a diagnosis but to evaluate children for developmental delays and then give assistance. They said the intensive therapy sought for Roman is not one federal law requires them to provide.
That therapy, known as applied behavior analysis, is a form of behavior modification considered effective with autistic children.
When doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center said in January that Roman exhibited "features indicative of autism," they said applied behavior analysis might be an effective treatment for the child.
According to the lawsuit, the doctors recommended he receive 25 to 40 hours per week of the therapy. The goal of the therapy is to teach autistic children how to learn, since traditional methods usually don't work.
Young said it's crucial her son receives the treatment now because the therapy is most effective in early childhood, when the brain is still developing. Without immediate help, she said, her son might never reach his potential.
"It's life-changing," she said of the therapy. "I'm watching my son lose precious moments every hour of every day."
Young, a police officer, and her husband, a firefighter, say they can't afford 40 hours a week of therapy. With help, they say, they've mustered enough to get Roman about 15 hours a week.
Since most poor and middle-class parents can't afford intensive treatment on their own, the federal government provides millions of dollars in aid each year to Ohio and other states so they can help provide it.
Under the law, the state is supposed to help parents with early intervention services through county boards of developmental disabilities.
Young said her son did receive speech therapy and some other service for awhile, but it was inadequate and did not directly deal with his autism.
She said the state continued to refuse to provide the necessary therapy even after Children's Hospital recommended it. Young added the state stopped providing all service in August when she continued to complain about Roman's treatment. State officials would not comment on whether they discontinued the service.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich addressed the importance of early intervention in autism cases Friday when he said it soon will be required in state employee health insurance plans, private insurance plans and insurance sold through the upcoming federal insurance exchanges.
"When we have the chance to do the right thing, we better do it," Kasich said. "Helping kids with autism get the services they need, and helping their parents get the financial lifeline of insurance coverage, that's something I support."
Kasich's plan, however, would not make autism services mandatory until 2014, which Ganulin said is too late to get Roman the immediate help he needs.
He said the federal lawsuit is an attempt to get help now, while the treatment still has the best chance to do the most good. Judge Michael Barrett will hear arguments Jan. 2 about whether he should require the state to take action.
The lawsuit says the state's handling of Roman's case violates his constitutional rights and several federal laws covering the care and treatment of people with disabilities.
Young said she went to court because she was out of options. She said she's seen first-hand what intensive therapy can do for her son, and she knows he's suffering without it.
"I can't afford to give him what he needs," she said. "It's excruciating for me." | <urn:uuid:3c6a2bcb-2245-4716-83c9-a1729bd0a2e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2012/12/28/ohio-family-sues-for-autism-therapy/1797211/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980844 | 1,047 | 1.617188 | 2 |
(Stockbridge, GA)- In an interview this morning on FOX News Sunday with Christopher Wallace, Herman Cain addressed the issue of “right of return” for the country of Israel. In clarification of these remarks, Mr. Cain released the following statement:
I have long been a vocal and unwavering supporter of our friend and ally, Israel.
All Israeli governments have rejected the “right” of large numbers of Arabs or Palestinians to return to what is now the state of Israel. Such an en masse return would unbalance Israel’s demographic makeup as the world’s sole Jewish state.
In this light, should the “right of return” “be negotiated,” as I said, “if that is a decision that Israel wants to make”? Certainly, and to reiterate, it’s Israel’s call. Israel has a long record of being more gracious to its enemies than its enemies are to it, and this would be yet another example of that. But is the “right of return” a moral imperative? Is it something Israel must grant? Is it something the United States ought to encourage?
The answer is no on every count.
Our policy on Palestinian affairs must be wholly a function of our policy on Israeli affairs. Israel is a friend. Israel is an ally. Israel shares common values with us. Israel shares common interests with us, especially in the eradication of terrorism and the need for bringing peace to the region. As President, I will never lose sight of these basic facts. Any aspirant to the Presidency must have the unshakable US-Israeli alliance at the core of his or her strategic vision in the Middle East.
As your President, I would. | <urn:uuid:b0a0e258-2324-447f-986c-49453d7d2dcf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.conservativedailynews.com/2011/05/herman-cain-clarifies-right-of-return-remarks/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948303 | 360 | 1.609375 | 2 |
A Lethal Obsession, By Robert S. Wistrich | Random House | 1,184 pages | $40
Early on in his sweeping, lucid study, Robert Wistrich observes that anti-Semitism can flourish in conditions where Jews are a minimal presence or entirely absent. This phenomenon, dubbed “anti-Semitism without Jews,” is one of the key reasons anti-Semitism is such a distinctive… what, exactly? Form of prejudice? Irrational belief? Method of scapegoating and stereotyping?
To be sure, it is all of these things, but above all, as Wistrich underlines, anti-Semitism is a worldview, a way of explaining why there is injustice and unfairness and conflict in our societies. Brobdingnagian in scale, A Lethal Obsession begins in antiquity but is mainly focused on modernity, when the figure of the Jew as an alien, toxic other “metamorphosised into an absolute,” beyond redemption even by religious conversion.
For Wistrich, arguably the leading scholar on this subject, that is why anti-Semitism cannot be regarded as just one more lazy, ill-thought-out bigotry. The anti-Semite, he continues, hates and fears Jews because he interprets the world through them. Wistrich quotes the French monarchist Charles Maurras’s candid admission that anti-Semitism “enables everything to be arranged, smoothed over and simplified.”
The principal effect of such simplification is persecution. Wistrich transports the reader through the awful crescendos of anti-Semitism, such as the Dreyfus Trial, the Russian pogroms and, ultimately, the Holocaust. What really occupies him, however, is the extraordinary persistence of anti-Semitism in our own time. A historian by profession, Wistrich is, in this book, more of a commentator on contemporary events whose meanings are interpreted through the prism of the historical parallels upon which he draws.
When it comes to teasing out the forerunners of today’s anti-Semitic discourses, Wistrich is masterful. He shows, for example, how the acts and utterances of al-Qaff al-Aswad, a jihadi group established by Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Kassam in the 1930s, prefigure those of Islamist organizations in our own time, from the Muslim Brotherhood to al-Qaida. Similarly, contemporary appeasers of anti-Semitism – many of them Jews themselves, a fact that clearly pains Wistrich – have their antecedents. Long before Independent Jewish Voices depicted Israel as the prime source of Jewish woes, Wistrich explains, there was the League of British Jews, a body that earned the admiration of one British newspaper for laying bare “how much the Zionists have done to stir up anti-Semitic prejudices by their hysterical advocacy of the Palestine Administration.”
And speaking of the media, when Wistrich dissects the rhetorical invective around the Lebanon War, he could just as easily be examining the coverage of the conflict with Hamas in Gaza three decades later.
This ability to show how patterns and themes repeat themselves with depressing regularity is one of the key contributions of A Lethal Obsession. Another is Wistrich’s insistence, carefully documented, that anti-Semitism is not, as is conventionally believed, the sole preserve of the European nationalist Right. Actually, anti-Semitism is politically and theologically promiscuous, at home among Christians and Muslims as well as socialists, royalists, anarchists and fascists. In that regard, one of the book’s most compelling chapters concerns the anti-Semitism that prevailed in the Soviet Union, involving the domestic persecution of the Jewish community alongside a global campaign, at the UN and other forums, against what was euphemistically called “international Zionism.”
Many of today’s leftists would doubtless shrink away from the kinds of guttural anti-Jewish barbs so patiently documented in this book: Bakunin’s “bloodsuckers,” Marx’s “loan-mongers,” the “dirty Judases” of the Russian Narodnya Volya (People’s Will) movement, and so forth. Contemporary leftists would insist that their opposition to Zionism and Israel is based instead on anti-racism. But Wistrich debunks these semantic games. Whether they like it or not, what the advocates of an Israel boycott share with Holocaust-denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the belief that Israel is singularly, as Wistrich puts it, “an organic obstacle to peace and progress.”
Given its emphasis on the current climate, A Lethal Obsession is organized along thematic and geographical, rather than chronological, lines. There are chapters on Britain and France, on the dovetailing of anti-Semitism with anti-Americanism, and on the implications for European Jews of their continent’s various troubled models of multiculturalism. The dramatis personae of anti-Semitism’s history all make an appearance, from Wilhelm Marr in Germany (who coined the term as a positive means of political identification) to Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran.
The final sections of the book are devoted to the explosion of anti-Semitism in the Muslim world, with a particular accent on both the Palestinians and post-revolutionary Iran. Building upon a fascinating discussion of the relationship between the Nazis and Palestinian wartime leader Haj Amin al-Husseini, Wistrich demolishes the notion that anti-Semitism is an alien import into the region, a mere byproduct of the conflict with Israel. Iran under Ali Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, he says, “is a state with a totalitarian ideology, radically opposed to the Western democracies and inspired by hatred of the Jews.”
This assertion of a stark resemblance to Nazi Germany will be widely contested; even so, those who draw a less dramatic conclusion should give careful consideration to Wistrich’s treatment of the ideological fealties of Iran’s mullahs, particularly as the confrontation over their nuclear program intensifies.
As is inevitable in a book this ambitious, there are certain flaws. Terms with a slightly sensationalist ring – “Islamicization,” “Eurabia” – crop up with little explanation. From time to time, Wistrich’s analytical narrative is subsumed by a descriptive summary of anti-Semitic events, as though no incident can be left unmentioned in so thorough a study. Still, these are but minor complaints, given the enormous achievement this book represents.
Another reviewer suggested that Wistrich’s subject matter had overwhelmed him into the conclusion that the whole world was against the Jews. That is an unfair caricature. Wistrich’s signal contribution is to document the rehabilitation of anti-Semitism in our own time, and the disturbing acquiescence – whether through passivity, quiet approval, or its dismissal as a tiresome paranoia that prevents honest debate – that has accompanied its growth.
Wistrich’s critics would also point out that in the vast majority of
societies in which they now live, Jewish communities are prosperous and
unencumbered by legal discrimination. As a rejoinder, one might cite
Max Nordau’s discomfiting remark, made before the First Zionist
Congress in 1897, that Jewish emancipation “should first have been
completed in sentiment before it was declared by law.”
If Wistrich’s book can teach us anything, it is that sentiment – and
the opinions, ideas and actions it inspires – is something we dare not
The writer is the associate director
of communications for the American Jewish Committee and the editor of
its blog on anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, Z Word. | <urn:uuid:f7513322-6c9e-4c39-bda7-7b5bb70df62d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=169645 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942083 | 1,632 | 1.820313 | 2 |
MLK Day of Service
MLK Day is a chance to start the year off right by making an impact in your community. On Saturday, January 19, 2013, people from all walks of life will again volunteer to make a difference in the lives of others.
Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love" - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Projects and registration on our website: www.volunteer-center.org or call (914) 948-4452 | <urn:uuid:8ebd2392-2378-4ff7-8d96-1c318377980f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tarrytown.patch.com/groups/events/p/ev--mlk-day-of-service-8cd2aacc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948481 | 142 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Her son’s Bris.
A friend of ours helped arrange for a bris at the house, because we couldn’t go [to a hospital for the procedure]. The mohel [a person trained in the practice] came to us. You have never seen adults more panicked about what was about to happen to their son, but the celebration and the amount of love we felt and the pride in the little man whom we love so, so much became the greatest moment I have ever had in my life.
A bris is not the same thing as a regular circumcision. It is a religious ceremony within Judaism to welcome infant Jewish boys into a covenant between God and the Children of Israel through ritual circumcision performed by a mohel.
Is Sandra Bullock Jewish? My sources (i.e. Google search results) tell me probably not. And I’m guessing from the photo that little Louis isn’t either.
So the question is: why on Earth would she decide to give her son a Jewish tip-off?
Perhaps the answer is found in this article on the phenomenon of non-Jewish Brit Milahs.
When his son was born, Reverend Louis DeCaro Jr. was dismayed to learn that none of the doctors on call at Manhattan’s Allen Pavilion hospital had time to perform the circumcision. At a loss, the DeCaros turned for advice to their Manhattan pediatrician, Andrew Mutnick, who offered a simple solution: Hire a Jewish ritual circumciser, known as a mohel.
Mutnick put the family in touch with Cantor Philip Sherman, an Orthodox mohel working in the tri-state area. Sherman says he has performed more than 18,000 circumcisions in his 30-year career. There were no piles of bagels and lox waiting in the next room, no family members on hand to celebrate, but the DeCaros developed an admiration for the ancient tradition informing Sherman’s work.
“When [a circumcision] is done by a mohel, you appreciate the gravity, the beauty of the religious connotations,” DeCaro said in an interview with the Forward.
Although commonly recognized as performers of the brith milah, or Jewish circumcision, an increasing number of mohels are finding themselves handling the rituals for non-Jewish babies (even when, as in the DeCaros’ case, the father happens to be an ordained minister). Sherman, 51, may be one of the most prolific circumcisers in the tri-state area, but others — including Emily Blake in New York and Joel Shoulson in Philadelphia — have also found their services called upon by non-Jewish families. While it’s not clear exactly how many mohels offer nonritual circumcisions, the practice is, according to Shoulson — an Orthodox-trained mohel who has circumcised Muslims, Buddhists, Taoists and Hindus during his 50-year career — very widespread.
“Almost everybody else does it,” he said.
According to Blake and Shoulson, non-Jews make up between 2% and 5% of their clientele. Some, like the DeCaros, are motivated initially by practical circumstances, but others seem drawn to the mohels for spiritual reasons, if not explicitly religious ones. Both Blake and Sherman have even been approached by “Torah-observant Christians” — those dedicated to observing Old Testament commandments — seeking to have their sons circumcised on the eighth day after the birth. In all cases, families say they are drawn to the intimacy and convenience of a nonritual circumcision performed at home.
Manhattan pediatrician Susan Levitsky makes a point of recommending non-Jewish patients to mohels. Levitsky said she’s been passing out Sherman’s number more often these days, because concerns over hospital-bred infections are rising. “Why would you want to be around an environment with germs?” she asked.
That’s precisely the question posed at www.holisticcircumcision.com, a site that Sherman set up for non-Jewish parents. On it, he describes a “quicker, gentler, and more humane” circumcision carried out without the use of “drugs, injections or creams” (he suggests sugar water or wine) in an environment that’s “spiritual and meaningful” instead of “clinical and cold.”
Certain families have been won over by this nonritual gospel, despite the added cost.
While fees for hospital circumcisions are absorbed by the family’s health insurance, mohels charge between $700 and $750 for circumcisions performed in the New York area.
Two months ago, Nate Sadeghi-Nejad and his wife, Janine Foeller, were denied a circumcision at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital because of a staph outbreak. After the first mohel the couple contacted refused to operate because they weren’t Jewish, Foeller’s postpartum doula gave them Sherman’s number.
Their son’s circumcision was a success. Foeller was comforted that Sherman used sugar water as a mild anesthesia instead of a topical pain reliever, while her husband — who worried about the “see one, do one, teach one” circumcision practices at hospitals — was impressed by Sherman’s know-how. “I’m a firm believer that any procedure, minor or major, should be done by the person who does it the most,” he said.
Mohels aren’t always second choices. Nearly two years ago, Jeannie Noth Gaffigan and Jim Gaffigan gave birth to their first son at home through the assistance of a nurse-midwife. Though the decision to circumcise wasn’t a religious one, as Catholics the Gaffigans wanted more than a simple medical procedure. “We felt a mohel would lend a high level of dignity and significance to this very important moment in our lives,” Noth Gaffigan said in an e-mail to the Forward.
Blake, 52, arrived at a house packed with food, drink and family — a gathering that, were it not for the priest in the corner, would have looked like nothing less than a Jewish bris. While James waited for his big moment — his gauze pacifier soaked in sugar and Manischewitz — Jeannie read a passage from the New Testament describing Mary and Joseph dedicating the infant Jesus to God. After this, the priest gave a common Catholic benediction, known in Judaism as the Priestly Blessing, followed by Blake’s rendition in Hebrew.
Noth Gaffigan attributed the evening’s success to its cooperative efforts. “The fact that there was a priest and a mohel giving blessings side by side was such a celebration of unity in what can be a very divided culture,” Noth Gaffigan said.
As a former obstetrician/gynecologist, Blake said she saw her work as a commitment to her patients as well as to her own faith. “I feel a calling to be a mohel; I feel a calling to do God’s work on Earth,” she told the Forward. “But I feel a human calling to do a good job for anyone I’m doing a surgery for.”
Alternatively, she is getting back at her soon-to-be-ex husband who seems to have a thing for Nazis.
And Nazi skanks.
Whatever the reason, mazal tov Sandra and Louis!
About the AuthorAn Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.
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A Chinese bus driver has been hailed a hero for keeping calm despite an iron block smashing through the windscreen while he was driving.
Tragically, 48-year-old Wu Bin, from Hangzhou in eastern China, later died from the injuries he sustained during the freak accident in Beijing, AP reported. Camera footage released on Sunday shows the driver being hit by the chunk of iron last Friday as he ferried passengers on a public bus.
Despite being in serious pain, Bin carried on braking, shifting gears and warning passengers not to wander out onto the busy highway. Bin's actions most probably saved the lives of his 24 passengers. It is thought he suffered liver rupture and several rib fractures.
Experts believe the debris fell off from a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction, according to China Daily.
"His life was ordinary but at the last moment he became a hero," said his older sister, Wu Bing. "He respected his parents and was a good father and a role model as a husband." | <urn:uuid:21f16d7b-750e-4478-b405-22ad4fea48ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/06/04/chinese-bus-driver-wu-bin-hailed-hero-saves-lives_n_1567072.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987198 | 203 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Wasteful practices continue to rile
Recently I was fired from my job as a deli worker at a major convenience chain. We were forced to throw away every food item that they considered waste or outdated. I soon came to realize that enough food was being discarded to the Dumpster daily to feed approximately 25 people. In one week, that amounts to 175 people who could be directly or indirectly fed, 600 per month.
In the five months of my employment, I was forced to throw away enough food to feed more than 3,000 people. This chain, I learned, has 36 stores, mostly in Vermont. You can do the math.
If this is not a crime, it should be. During my employment I constantly suggested alternative options such as homeless shelters, seniors, low income, after school, employees, farmers and compost.
First my hours were cut, I believe because I was not cheerfully compliant. I continued to be appalled by this outrageous waste daily. I have also thought that if I am not part of the solution, I am part of the problem.
So, if you let your conscience be your guide, you may stand to get fired. What happens next?
Joan A. Gaboriault
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Some of us are only mildly neurotic about our bodies, and some of us are severely neurotic. This fawker figured out one comeback for every woman alive. I suspect he practices in front of his mirror; as he expects some kind of wrong to happen to him daily. He says: You are a Fat Pig, and now he feels superior. Certainly his command of the English Language is to be applauded.
Posts tagged gender
What, exactly, is domestic violence? It is just physical abuse? And what exactly is verbal/mental abuse? What does that mean? Is verbal abuse a reason to leave, even if he has never hit you?
(Photo courtesy of Pink Saris)
PINK SARIS to broadcast on HBO2 | Wednesday, November 30
“…a remarkably honest and urgent film, and Sampat is an unforgettable character.”
Anthropology Review Database
Educational Media Reviews Online
“A girl’s life is cruel…A woman’s life is very cruel,” notes Sampat Pal, the complex protagonist at the center of PINK SARIS, internationally acclaimed director [...]
Perhaps education is the key. Perhaps learning the truth and offering what help we can will make a difference. I believe that Middle School is the best place to address young people about personal violence – before they start dating, before the become just a piece of “property” in the sexual violence world. Help them if you can. Write a check. Offer your services. Teach your children to respect one another. Do something. Do anything you can. Nothing will change until we change it.
My point is: be who you are. If you are gay or lesbian, please, know that understanding and acceptance are part of reality now. Be who you are. Love the person you love. Please don’t love the person you are expected to love. It never works out.
Whatever your sexual preference, if the threat of violence is in your life you will understand Steve and feel his pain. What is there to do, really, when you are being threatened? Having “been there, done that” … my response is “run for your life.” T
My life is better now, and I am no longer frightened or haunted by terrible dreams. It is my turn to give back, and share, before my time is gone.
I hope you will hold your freedom sweetly in your heart. You have so much to gain, and even more to lose. | <urn:uuid:5ce202fe-75c2-430a-a177-841f6f968ac4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bagladychat.com/?tag=gender | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96066 | 520 | 1.695313 | 2 |
What, No Instagram or Pandora? The BlackBerry App Problem
Special to CNBC.com
It takes a tough crowd indeed to overlook 70,000 applications available for any given device. Yet that is what several BlackBerry watchers appear to be doing, honing in on how the absence of a handful of big players may cause potential headaches for the company's new smartphone.
For BlackBerry — formerly known as Research in Motion — the lack of key apps could spell problems for its new unit. In a world where functionality is an integral part of smartphone popularity, the new BlackBerry's fortunes are tied to how many developers it can attract to its platform.
For BlackBerry's critics, however, its problem is less about quantity than quality.The company does have some impressive names already on board, including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Skype.
Yet conspicuously absent are Google Maps, a staple so important to smartphone users that a chastened Apple was forced to bring it back to its platform after briefly banishing it last year — and Instagram, Facebook's hugely popular photo software that boasts 90 million active monthly users.
(Read more: Apple's Messy Map Problem)
Crackberry.com, a news hub for BlackBerry loyalists,reported last week that the company and Facebook are preparing an Instagram app for the new operating system.
"It makes sense that they have the major social media apps,and without those it doesn't matter how great the hardware is," said David Tan,an assistant professor of strategy at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.
Still though, Tan said "There's a matter of what the phone operates, and what people are saying about the phone."
Because most digital junkies are accustomed to having a full complement of apps at their disposal, it could make it hard for BlackBerry to entice subscribers away from Samsung or Apple — and for retail salespeople to pitch the phone in stores.
"You don't want [missing apps] to be the reputation of a new product," Tan said.
Jennifer Fritzsche, senior analyst at Wells Fargo, pointed out in a recent CNBC interview that Pandora and Spotify — two of the most popular media apps — are absent.
(Watch Video: RIM Back to Slow Motion? )
For the company, "It becomes almost a 'chicken and egg' type thing in that…if the apps come, people probably will come."
(Read More: All the Reasons Blackberry 10 Will Fail: Analyst )
Some point out that Android powered smartphones didn't have every major app on offer when they were first released.
However, BlackBerry has the distinct disadvantage of trying to shed a Rodney Dangerfield image that caused it to hemorrhage market share to Apple and Samsung over the years.
That backdrop, analyst say, makes it tough for a new BlackBerry to hit the market without the same bells and whistles its competitors have — especially when U.S. customers won't be able to lay their hands on the new device until mid-March.
"Given that BlackBerry is trying to make a big splash in a heavily concentrated market…not being on parity with the other two major players is going to make it difficult," Tan said. | <urn:uuid:9dc624ba-a310-44b6-882c-bdf9157621cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnbc.com/id/100436281 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951267 | 652 | 1.539063 | 2 |
A couple of years ago, after several years of trying to get all the way through the counting of the Omer, I built an Omer-counter with a foolproof reminder system – my son. It’s based on the Christian advent calendar in that it’s a series of forty-nine boxes (seven rows of seven) which has randomly placed toys inside the boxes. NO more forgetting to count in the evening! Every night, I have an excellent reminder, and so I do not lose my chance to say the blessing when I count, or worse yet, forget altogether and have to quit counting for the year.
It’s a yearly frustration for lots of people who try to keep up with the Omer – it’s easy to screw it up and lose track, and according to the tradition, if you mess up, well, hey tough. You’re out of luck.
That’s why it’s odd that about a month into the Omer (today, in fact) there’s a little known holiday that’s about …second chances. Pesach sheni ( or “second passover”) is a biblically based holiday that happens because, as is related in Numbers chapter 9, when God commands the Israelites, a year after the exodus, to bring the passover offering, there were certain people who had become ritually impure through contact with a dead body, and so, could not prepare the Passover offering on that day.
They approached Moses and Aaron and said, “We are unclean by the dead body of a man; wherefore are we to be kept back, so as not to bring the offering of God in its appointed season among the children of Israel?” (Numbers 9:7). After these people approached Moses and Aaron, God tells them that from then on, if anyone is ritually impure on passover, or is unable to keep passover for some other reason beyond their control, “he shall keep the passover unto God in the second month on the fourteenth day at dusk they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.” (Numbers 9:11)
Pesach sheni is a strange holiday. We don’t really observe it – mostly because there isn’t really anything to observe – there’s no requirements, since we no longer bring sacrifices. And yet, it’s sort of a shame. Here we are, in the midst of a period where every day counts, where there are no second chances, where you have to get it exactly right, or you lose your chance (at least until next year), and there’s this holiday that interrupts it for the purpose of giving a second chance for a holiday that occurred a month prior – and not only that, but it’s the only holiday we have the sole purpose of which is to make up for a holiday that someone missed out on.
What is that all about?
Rabbi Yosef Y. Schneersohn is cited by his son-in-law as saying that, “Pesach Sheni teaches us that ‘Nothing is ever lost: it’s never too late!” and then the latter Schneersohn goes on to say, “Our conduct can always be rectified. Even someone who is impure, who was far away and even desired to be so, can still correct himself.” He continues, “Given the significance of Pesach Sheni, one might ask: Why was it instituted a full month after Pesach, in the month of Iyar? Wouldn’t it have been better to atone for our deficiencies at the earliest opportunity, in Nissan?”
“We can answer this question by comparing the spiritual characteristics of Nissan and Iyar. Nissan is the month of revelation, the month during which God revealed His greatness and redeemed the Jewish people despite their inadequacies. Iyar, by contrast, is the month of individual endeavor, a quality that is exemplified by the mitzvah of Sefirat HaOmer. The theme of Iyar, self-refinement initiated by the individual himself, is in keeping with the nature of Pesach Sheni, the festival in which an individual who was not motivated by Pesach is given an additional opportunity to elevate himself.”
So, two things:
First, the key to pesach sheni is precisely that it does occur a month later, during the Omer. Unlike the first Pesach, which is a national holiday, Pesach sheni is an individual’s holiday. The second thing is the way in which Pesach sheni came about – unlike well, pretty much everything else in the Torah, it isn’t initiated by God, given to Moses and Aaron and then passed on to the people. Instead, Pesach sheni is initiated by the people themselves, by a group of individuals. In fact, I know of really only one other case like this one: the daughters of Tzelophechad (which also appears in the book of Numbers, farther along, in Numbers 27), who challenged a law of inheritance whereby only sons could inherit, even if there weren’t any. They brought their challenge and God told Moses that they were right and amended the law.
I think that that parallel to the daughters of Tzelophechad is the key to why this is the only holiday that is a “make-up” for another holiday. It’s not just that it’s a group of individuals who want a make-up. It’s that these individuals saw a specific wrong that they wanted addressed, and they wanted it addressed for the sake of justice to individuals who have no control over being excluded from the nation. In the case of Tzelophechad’s daughters, the case is their sex; in the case of pesach sheni, it’s because they were doing another mitzvah ( caring for the dead). But the important thing is that these two cases are things which exclude them from the body of the nation in some crucial way. It is because of this that they take their complaint to God, and God answers them, “Of course, you are right.”
IN recent days, when we have seen so much change so quickly both in the Jewish community and out of it in regards to gay marriage and inclusion, this is a message that we should all take to heart. Pesach sheni isn’t merely a second chance for the individuals who were excluded, but is a second chance for the nation to include in its inheritance and in its moment of revelation everyone who throws their lot in with the Jewish people. Because even God can make a mistake, and even God can admit it and rectify it.
I will never forget the moment when my daughter came out. She was 5 years old. We were eating dinner as a family. My daughter put down her fork, placed her hand on the table, looked at my husband and me, and said “Mommy, Abba, I’m not going to marry a woman.”
Our daughter had come out as straight.
My husband and I both felt that it was important not to make any assumptions about our kids’ sexual orientation, and to make a concerted effort to reflect that value in conversation. So when we spoke about marriage with our kids, we always said, “If you fall in love with a man or a woman and want to get married,” etc. Turns out that, at least at this point in our kids’ development, both our son and daughter identify as straight. But it could have been different, and we knew that from before they were conceived.
Last week, when I changed my Facebook profile picture to an equality sign made out of matzah, my daughter asked what that was all about. I explained that the United States Supreme Court was in the process of discussing marriage equality and Prop 8 — the same legislation that our family protested four years ago when we lived in California — and that the equality sign affirms that both gay and straight couples who love each other should be able to get married. Her response? “Well, of course.”
But the matzah equality picture actually reflects much more. At our Passover seders last week, Jews throughout the world said “In every generation, we each must see ourselves as if we personally left Egypt as part of the Exodus.” In other words, we are called upon to not simply understand the Israelites’ journey from slavery to freedom as the trajectory of our ancestors; rather, we must experience it as our own journey, allowing the story to seep into our very being and inspire us toward further action in our day. In every generation, we must remember our history — and we must use it as a catalyst, inspiring us to have the courage to move humankind to the next stage of liberation.
That next stage of human liberation is right in front of us. The matzah illustrates that this is not merely a secular issue: This is a Jewish issue as well. As a rabbi, my support for marriage equality is not in spite of my religious convictions; rather, it is because of my religious convictions that I stand strong on this issue. In every generation we must remember our oppression and we must work tirelessly to prevent the oppression of others. This is the Jewish way.
I have stood under a chuppah with many loving couples, creating a meaningful space for them to publicly celebrate their deep connection, transforming their partnership into a marriage. I long to live in a country that supports my ability as a rabbi to affirm the love of two consenting adults — whether gay or straight — who want to make a holy commitment to one another.
The word for marriage in Hebrew is kiddushin. Loosely translated as sanctification or holiness, kiddushin literally means separating, making distinct. From my experience working with couples, I can guarantee that each marriage is distinct. They each come with their own blessings and their own challenges. What they have in common is love. Commitment. A desire to spend a lifetime together. A dream of creating happiness with one another. A promise to hold each other up in difficult moments. A conviction to leave this world a little better than the couple found it. Each couple I have married truly believes that they live a more enriched, more meaningful life together than they ever would apart.
Is this kind of holiness limited to straight people? Of course not. It takes love, kindness, respect, a desire to support and build something greater than oneself, the courage to look inward and expand outward, a sense of humor and whole lot of work. Anybody who has a healthy marriage can tell you about that work. Because marriage is really hard. Why would we deny committed, holy love to courageous, determined people simply because of their gender?
My daughter may be straight, but even were she gay, my dedication to this issue would not stem from its impact on my own family. I am passionate about marriage equality because there are many, many people throughout these United States who are currently being denied simple rights that so many of us take for granted.
In every generation, we each must see ourselves as if we personally left Egypt as part of the Exodus.
It is time to mobilize, to part the seas and walk together to the promised land that the founders of our great nation dreamt into existence. It is time to help our nation become a place that is truly built on “liberty and justice for all.”
It was January 2007, almost exactly six years ago. I was sitting in my office, reviewing a dense corporate document retention proposal, when I realized it was time for a career change. I had questioned whether I wanted to remain a lawyer for several years. On the one hand, the law firms where I practiced treated us like indentured servants. We worked extremely long hours, were yelled at, and spent most of our time toiling away at menial tasks like reviewing boxes of emails or proofreading our bosses’ work. On the other hand, the pay was great and the risk was low. All we had to do was sacrifice our time and our pride and we could do quite well. For years, the financial benefits of the job and the uncertainty about what else I might want to do held me in check. But by 2007, the drudgery of the work and the sense of how meaningless it felt became too much for me. I decided that the risk of switching careers—even to something as dramatic as becoming a rabbi—was worth it.
This dilemma of accepting an unpalatable status quo or taking a risk on an uncertain but potentially transformative new direction is basically what the Israelites confront in Parashat B’shalah. The Israelites have just fled from Egypt and have journeyed as far as the Sea of Reeds when God rouses Pharaoh to chase after them. God is looking for the big finish to the Exodus drama, a climactic battle in which God can once and for all establish supremacy for all to see (Exodus 14:4). The Israelites, however, are not amused. In fact, they are terrified. Whatever faith in God they might have developed from experiencing the ten plagues quickly evaporates in the face of charging chariots and alarming battle cries. They beg Moses to let them return to their former lives of slavery in Egypt. But Moses tells them to have faith, and God, through Moses, parts the waters of the sea so that the Israelites can pass through to the other side. We all know what happens next: the Israelites make it safely across the sea, and once they get to the other side, God causes the waters to crash down upon the Egyptians who are in hot pursuit, drowning them in the sea.
In a fascinating commentary, though, our Sages did not just assume that the Israelites had the courage to march into the parted sea. Even though this event, the crossing of the Sea of Reeds, would become a seminal moment in Jewish history which we recount twice a day in our liturgy (in the Mi Chamocha prayer), the Talmud (Tractate Sotah 36b-37a) depicts the Israelites as being hesitant to take the plunge:
Rabbi Yehudah said: When the Israelites stood by the Red Sea, the tribes strove with one another. This tribe said. “I’m not going into the sea first.” And another tribe said, “I’m not going into the sea first.” [Finally,] Nachshon the son of Amminadav jumped and descended into the sea first.
Rabbi Yehuda reflects how we often feel when facing a life-altering challenge. The fear of making change can often be paralyzing. Inertia is a powerful force, as is the psychological comfort of predictability, no matter how unpleasant the predictable may be. We can—and do—come up with a multitude of justifications for staying right where we are. We are conditioned, both culturally and biologically, not to go into the sea first. But Rabbi Yehuda’s account also expresses the truth that it only takes one leap, one chance, one moment of action, and our whole world can change.
We each face these crossroads in life. For some, it might be whether to remain in a relationship that has gone stale or whether to endure the pain and anguish of ending the relationship with the hope of finding a better one. For others, like myself, it might be whether to remain in a job that lacks fulfillment but provides a steady paycheck, or to pursue a dream job that might not work out.
We even experience this crossroads at national levels. As the Israeli election on January 22 showed, Israel is almost perfectly split between center-left and right-ultra Orthodox parties (each bloc received approximately 60 out of the 120 seats in Israel’s parliament). Israeli leaders, in picking a new government, will have to choose between retaining the status quo coalition of the past few years or forming a new coalition that embraces socioeconomic reform, equal treatment of Haredi and Hiloni Israelis, and an engaged peace process. Will a Nachshon ben Amminadav emerge to lead Israel into a new, dynamic, and possibly redemptive future, or will Israel’s leadership remain entrenched on the shore, arguing among themselves and unwilling to take the first pivotal step forward?
Change is always hard. We yearn for stability, structure, and continuity in our lives. Yet the wisdom of our tradition is that God will support us if we are willing to take the plunge into uncertainty. The narrative of the Israelites standing at the Sea of Reeds offers us more than just an historical/mythical account of our people’s origins. It empathizes with the difficulties we face, today, between taking risks on an unknown but potentially meaningful future versus remaining mired in an unpleasant, yet known, present. And it offers us hope if we are only bold enough to claim our own redemptive path.
After the Israelites realize their freedom from the Egyptians, they break out into raucous celebration. The people unite in a triumphant and jubilant song, known as Shirat ha-Yam, the Song of the Sea, which we recount each year during the Torah reading for Parashat Beshallah. May each of us be blessed with the courage to follow our own paths of meaning in life. And may our decisions enable us to sing with joy about the lives we create for ourselves and our people.
Are you on the freedom bandwagon yet? Celebrations of the concept of freedom seem to be permeating the cultural-political zeitgeist these days. Stephen Spielberg’s movie “Lincoln,” which tells the story of President Lincoln’s efforts to pass a Constitutional amendment banning slavery, just received a leading 12 nominations for best picture of the year. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in which we celebrate the birth of the great civil rights hero who helped lead African Americans in their struggle for freedom from racial oppression, is just around the corner (January 21).
And have you seen the Piers Morgan-Alex Jones interview yet? In a clip that has gone viral, Jones, a radio talk show host and gun enthusiast, launches into a vitriolic tirade about guns, freedom, and potential revolution that makes one wonder how he qualified for a gun permit in the first place.
All of this happens to be coinciding with the time of year in which Jews read the Exodus narrative. At first glance, it appears to be perfect timing. After all, the story of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery to freedom formed the moral and linguistic basis for Kin’’s civil rights oratory and is inextricably intertwined with Western society’s development of a natural right to liberty (which underlies both the 13th Amendment and gun owner’s claims to liberty from government intrusion into gun ownership). Continue reading
A few weeks before I began rabbinical school, I took a vacation and went to visit my in-laws where they were volunteering in the Peace Corps in the Ukraine. Although it was far from the first time I had traveled overseas – I had done quite a bit of traveling actually- visiting the Ukraine was quite different to any other experience I had had.
To travel to Ukraine, one had to apply for a visa, which was not always granted; Ukraine was still a relatively closed country, and did not welcome outsiders. It is a beautiful and interesting place, and we stayed for about a week, visiting different cities, meeting with people, talking to the people my mechutonim (in-laws) had been working with – all lovely. But after a day or two, something struck me as odd. I couldn’t quite place my finger on it, but as the week progressed, I finally realized what it was: there was an extreme regularity about people’s appearance. The relatively closed borders had resulted in a population where there were only a few facial types, skin shades only within a very narrow range (and of the rosy-cheeked variety that one reads about in fairy tales, but I had rarely seen in actual people), and so on.
Growing up in an urban area of the South Atlantic seaboard, I was used to seeing people of all sorts of colors, shapes, ethnicities; people who had immigrated in their own lifetimes or their parents’ or grandparents’. But in Ukraine, I saw none of that. Except, occasionally, I might see someone who looked different: they were easy to point out as “not Ukrainian.”
Until that trip, I had never really understood antisemitism. Not that I hadn’t experienced it – even in urban areas, we were still a location where one might encounter the sort of person who upon getting to know me might mourn, “you’re so nice, it’s such a shame that you’re going to hell,” or ask to examine my horns. But I never really understood what it meant for a person to live in a society where physically, they stood out as “other,” to the extent where they could be pointed out in the street. And when I suddenly grasped this in Ukraine, it was a bit of a revelation.
When the Israelites left Egypt, the Torah tells us that there were 600,000 men, plus children, and also an erev rav, a mixed multitude, went with them. This term, erev rav, later came to have a variety of connotations, not necessarily good ones: some commentators blamed this group for the Israelites straying after the golden calf. But the Torah makes no claims about who these people are at all.
I like to imagine that among them were the now-elderly Shifrah and Puah, the midwives to the Hebrew women who refused to slaughter Israelite sons, and whom, the Torah tells us (Exodus 1:21), God rewarded. I expect that among this group were also other, non-Hebrew, slaves. Perhaps there were also Egyptians, neighbors and friends of the Israelites, or those who simply could not endure the oppression of the Pharaoh towards the Hebrews, and were glad to leave.
Whoever these people were, the Torah, after announcing their presence, goes on to remind us that while foreigners and hired servants who are not circumcised and part of the Israelite family do not eat the Passover sacrifice, if a person joins the community and the males of that family are circumcised, they become fully part of the community and partake of it. Moreover, whether they do or not, “there shall be one Torah for the citizen and for the stranger that lives among the Israelites (Exodus 12:49), that is one law, one justice, the same for everyone.
Until recent times, and in some places to this day, nationality is, indeed, a racial or ethnic category. In some places, it’s easy to point out who belongs, and who looks different, who isn’t “one of us.” But for Jews, this isn’t – or at least, ought not to be- the case. Jewish law insists that one who takes on our practices, who goes through conversion and lives by Jewish law is a full member of the family, regardless of color or origin. Jews who make a distinction between converts and natal Jews, or because someone doesn’t “look Jewish” are, in fact, in violation of Jewish law.
But, I don’t think it’s enough to stop there. In some parts of the Jewish community great care is taken to physically separate themselves from non-Jews, or from Jews who practice in different ways. It is true, that this has some effect in preventing exogamy, and thus increases the number of Jewish grandchildren. But it also misses the point. If Judaism has a mission, then surely that mission involves engaging with the world, and offering to it some of our gifts. But before those of us in liberal communities get too comfy, let me add that that separation doesn’t always take a physical turn. It is also a form of separation to use fear of the other as a fundraising tool, or to refuse to engage with others whom we fear.
When the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, we ceased to offer sacrifices, and so there is no sacrifice partaken at the Passover seder. When we eat a seder meal, we invite in to eat “all who are hungry” in remembrance of a rabbi who opened his house to the hungry every night at the time of the Talmud. We invite all who wish to partake of a Passover meal. In earlier times, that was surely only and always other Jews, but today, it’s likely to be quite the erev rav. Many, if not most, of us have non-Jewish relatives. We invite non-Jewish friends who are curious about the seder, or moved by the story of the exodus. While the rabbis of past generations often saw non-Jews as a threat, or a seduction, today, in America at least, they are family, neighbors, and friends.
The Jewish community spends a great amount of time and money worrying about assimilating ourselves out of existence, but we often forget that that threat is there only because we are part of the fabric of every day life. More than tolerated, we are part of the American family.
In a place where everyone looks alike, and you can point to the person who looks different and say, “she’s the outsider,” there could once again be pogroms. And we are not done with that in the US either; as we have seen from recent events, being black in America is still “different,” and still dangerous. And of course, not everywhere is equally heterogeneous. But we are also not the Ukraine. If nothing else, America is a great erev rav, where everyone looks different, and whatever risks there are in that, we live in great blessing, where the Jewish community itself comes in a rainbow of colors, through marriage, conversion and adoption, and no less so are we part of a country where people from everywhere, of all colors, with a thousand different accents, live more or less in harmony.
Are we done with learning to get along? Not quite. Not completely. But it would be a mistake to think that we haven’t gained a great deal by mixing with our neighbors. I love the fact that at my seder table always has non-Jewish friends, people who look differently, think differently. I don’t fear my neighbors, no matter what they look like. We forget what an incredible blessing that is. In running the risk of getting mixed up, we also gain perspectives we never could have gotten from staying separate. There is holiness in separation, and we should continue to recognize our distinctions, but those distinctions are only relevant when we are among others with whom we can compare and discuss them.
This Passover, I’m feeling blessed not only in having been redeemed from Egypt to serve God, but I am thankful that I live in a place that when I walk down the street, I can see so many different kinds of faces, and God in all of them.
It is very hard after the seder to get excited about the last days of Passover. Seven/eight days of eating matzoh! Once we have focused so much on the drama of redemption of the seder, there is little left to focus on other than food. For some the seder was a time to reflect on personal moments of redemption, for others a vision of social justice was discussed, for others the historical background was of interest and for many perhaps multiple themes were explored. However, how much reflection really happens during the rest of Passover? There is no ritual that sets such a dramatic stage as the seder. The story has already been told. All we are really left with is more matzoh to eat.
The Sefat Emet suggests that this very well might be the point. He reminds us that the Garden of Eden was all about food, the first sin was one of eating, and with our banishment from Eden we were told in Genesis 3: 17-19
“And to man He said, “Because you listened to your wife, and you ate from the tree from which I commanded you saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed be the ground for your sake; with toil shall you eat of it all the days of your life. And it will cause thorns and thistles to grow for you, and you shall eat the herbs of the field. With the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, for you were taken therefrom, for dust you are, and to dust you will return.”
For the Sefat Emet, Passover is the holiday that transforms this eating from one of toil to one of blessing. Passover is about eating because it makes eating sacred. Redemption from Egypt undoes the curse of Eden and transforms it into blessing. He quotes Deuteronomy 16:3
“You shall not eat leaven with it; for seven days you shall eat with it matzoth, the bread of affliction, for in haste you went out of the land of Egypt, so that you shall remember the day when you went out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.”
In Genesis we are told “cursed be the ground for your sake; with toil shall you eat of it (bread) all the days of your life“. Eating each day is a reminder of our exile from Paradise and our fundamental conflict and struggle with nature. However after the Exodus, our consuming of matzoh is now to be remembered “all the days of your life.”
Our eating is transformed from a tragic repercussion of sin into a sacred memory of hope and possibility. Our eating becomes not a sign of alienation but one of relationship to God and command/mitzvah. We will still toil and the production of food will still be complex. What has changed is our perception of the work. What was once a story of rejection by God is now the story of freedom and meaning. “Let all who are hungry, come and eat.”
I have always been struck by car commercials. Car commercials to me seem unique in the world of advertising. Whereas other commercials tend to advertise the features of their product, which of course will make your life easier, happier and more fulfilled, a car commercial tends to depict the experience of simply having the car. The experience alone of having this new model of car will lift your life to the heights of ecstasy and elation. You may be driving everyday to work but when you get behind the wheel of this car you will gracefully be floating down the Swiss Alps. While other industries tell you how their product enables you to be happier; the car commercial assures you that the car itself is happiness.
Yet, we know while that new car may be safer, more comfortable and more gas efficient, it alone does not bring us genuine and lasting happiness. In fact one would be hard pressed to identify any single product that has brought us real happiness. Of course, we experience the joy of having something new and revel in discovering all of its features and unique aspects but soon the newness begins to disappear and along with it the temporary boost to our sense of joy.
How do we achieve a true, genuine and lasting happiness in our lifetimes? This is to put it simply perhaps the question of our time. As people who live in an era most defined as the era of the individual, we seek personal fulfillment and personal happiness to a greater extent than those in generations before us. Unfortunately, I don’t possess the definitive answer to this perplexing question (but if I did I would be sure to blog about it on MJL!) and I am inclined to think that there is no definitive answer to this question as so much of it is contextual and specific to each case. However, I would like to propose a perspective, a shift in orientation, that could provide an avenue for a life of genuine and lasting happiness.
Rabbi Dr. Aaron Kirschenbaum of Tel Aviv University articulates a dichotomy between rights and responsibilities, between Western law and Jewish law. He writes in his work Equity in Jewish Law (Ktav, 1991):
“Social, political, and legal theory in Western liberal society conceives man as a plenitude of rights; people do as they please unless constrained by the hedges of the law. The state governs the individual; the liberal democratic state governs the individual by enlightened laws. In contrast, the Jewish tradition measures the human being by the duties and responsibilities he bears…
Indeed, according to the rabbis of the Talmud, the Covenant subsequent to the Exodus – for which the Theophany took place – was not between God and the six hundred thousand Israelites who had come out of Egypt. It was between God and the Community of Israel. The formation of the community was thus a necessary concomitant of the Revelation.”
The Jewish experience is born out of community. When we come into the world our family celebrates our birth in the context of community. When we reach crucial developmental milestones in our lives, those are marked in communal ceremonies and rituals. Our wedding symbolizes this reality most profoundly when we stand under the chuppah, the canopy representing the intimacy of marital bonds, that is open to all sides and surrounded by our family and friends. Lastly, our final passing from this world is also observed within the embrace of community. This is not coincidental, as Rabbi Dr. Kirschenbaum noted, but rather is indicative of the founding narrative of our people. Judaism; its narratives, rituals and legal system is rooted in the communal. The effect of this is a shift towards responsibilities and a perspective that places each individual within the larger story of a people and a destiny, a shared past and an equally shared future.
Who is rich? The one who rejoices in their portion.
This statement from the Sages can mean much more than only a reflection on a life satisfied with one’s worldly affairs. Of course, it does deeply mean that, and that alone is a valuable lesson for a world dominated by sheer materialism, of which the advertising I mentioned earlier is only a small part, but possibly it is also a reading on who we are on an existential level. Do I exist solely as one individual absent a larger picture? Are my needs, wants, desires, passions and concerns the only dominating motive and drive for my life? A life wholly consumed by I, quickly turns to the reality of the finitude of our lives. Deep dissatisfaction and unhappiness arises out of a sense of futility and irrelevancy.
A life interwoven and bound up in the trajectory and narrative arc of a people that transcends generations can instill purpose, dignity and genuine happiness to our existence. My needs and wants are connected to the needs and wants of others. My story is part of the greater Jewish story. I am a link between all the generations that came before me and all those that will come after me. I am a guardian of a sacred trust that I have inherited and tasked with not only its preservation, for it is not an exhibit in a museum to be mummified and put on display, but its cultivation, furtherance and elevation.
This way of thinking and approach to living can foster lasting and true happiness. I offer it as a model to consider. It has proven successful for me and as one of my mentors and teachers Rabbi Dr. Tsvi Blanchard would often end his lectures with, I invite you to explore the possibility of this for your life.
David Brooks’s recent NYT column, “The Wealth Issue,” comes at an opportune time if you’re one of those people who reads the weekly parasha. As we make our way through the story of the Exodus from Egypt, Brooks offers a sort of meditation on what it means to integrate the experience of one’s ancestors.
In the piece, Brooks takes us back to Romney’s ancestors, who were among the early Mormon families who made their way first west to Utah and Arizona, and then later south to Mexico. He attempts to make the case that Romney has none of the negative characteristics that people associate with the rich. He is not “spoiled” or “cosseted,” nor has he been “corrupted by ease and luxury.” To the contrary, he is a hard worker, “tenacious” and “relentless,” having more in common with hardscrabble immigrants than with inheritors of great wealth.
To what does Brooks attribute these traits? To Romney’s family history. As the descendant of a persecuted, driven family, Romney “seems to share his family’s remorseless drive to rise.” Though he “can’t talk about his family history on the campaign trail…he must have been affected by it.”
At which point, the Jews enter the column. Brooks brings his own “family history” by way of conceding the point that Romney himself never lived a life of persecution or privation. Yet, he writes, “Jews who didn’t live through the Exodus are still shaped by it.” Brooks knows his readership, and it’s not for nothing that he analogizes Romney’s connection to his family history to that of a contemporary Jew connecting to the Exodus.
But the analogy doesn’t ring true in light of the ways that we Jews are supposed to be shaped by our memories of Exile and Exodus. Again and again, Torah reminds us that our experience of Egypt ought to make us compassionate toward others (including Egyptians!). “You know the heart of the stranger, having been strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exod 23:9; see also Exod 22:21, Deut 23:7). Which is to say, our experience of persecution and the ensuing freedom ought not be only about making sure that we never find ourselves enslaved again (though that is indeed part of it). At their best, “child-of-Exodus-ethics” are about expanding our hearts to make room for today’s persecuted strangers, and not only about continuing to best today’s Pharaohs.
The State of Israel’s current status as refuge of choice for tens of thousands of African asylum-seekers makes for an interesting laboratory in which to consider this dynamic. Our ancient memories of persecution and deliverance, and our more recent memories from Europe, provide the backdrop for the current conversation in Israel about what to do with the Eritreans and Sudanese who have crossed the very desert that looms so large in our mythic memory. On the one hand are calls to deport them, in order to preserve the Jewish character of the state and to keep Israelis employed. On the other hand, many Israelis recognize the irony of Israel, of all places, not opening its doors to asylum-seekers. Like most things in the Jewish State, it’s not simple.
Also complicated is America’s relationship to the large population of immigrants currently residing here. Some certainly came seeking relief from danger and persecution at the hands of their government or criminals in their home countries. Many came simply to seek better wages and a better life. They too, confront us with the question: how do we, a nation of immigrants, relate to the people who are perhaps a few generations behind our own ancestors. Recognizing that complex political and economic considerations don’t make for easy answers, does our basic orientation to the problem have us feeling persecuted ourselves, and responding accordingly…or do we dig into the past and emerge with heightened compassion?
As I read the parshiot that tell the story of my family’s persecution and deliverance, the lessons that speak to me have less to do with our own current-day successes, and more to do with cultivating compassion for those who are currently in need of redemption (and acting accordingly). More than great wealth, more than relentless drive, that sort of compassion is something I seek to develop in myself, and something I admire in others (including presidential candidates).
After hours of excruciating labor, the sweetest sound that can be heard is that of a crying baby. That first cry lets us know that this new child has working lungs and can breathe. But that cry doesn’t only represent physical health – it also symbolizes emotional sensitivity, the ability to connect, the desire to love and to be loved. When we read this week’s Torah portion – Parshat Shemot – if we listen closely, we just might be able to hear this cry. This is the cry that the midwives refused to turn their backs on, refused to silence, refused to discard. This is the cry that demanded a response, propelling the midwives to ignore Pharaoh’s command to kill Jewish boys. This is the cry of humanity, of justice, of a better tomorrow.
This is only the first of a handful of cries in our portion. The second comes from Moses, as he lies helpless in the Nile. Pharaoh’s daughter hears his sobs, and responds – feeling compassion for this small child. It is this cry that wakes up a young woman, removing her from the cruel ways of her father’s home, and softening her heart.
And then there is the cry of Bnai Yisrael (the People Israel), yearning for God to help elevate them from their misery. It is only after God hears these cries that God can respond. And likewise, it is only after God cries out to Moses – saying “Moshe! Moshe!” at the burning bush – that Moses can respond to God, and be God’s partner in freeing the slaves.
I love that this Torah portion falls right before Martin Luther King Day. A man who cried out for freedom and equality for all people, Dr. King articulated the necessity of the cry, and the urgency of the response. Both Dr. King and our Torah portion remind us that we cannot simply sit back and allow injustice to flourish. We must have the courage to cry out, from the top of our lungs, and from the top of a mountain. And we must have the conviction to respond, listening closely, making space for the small cries of those who are downtrodden, refusing to turn our backs on the pain, prejudice, and alienation that still exists in our very communities.
This Shabbat, as we read from the book of Exodus, may we commit to the tremendous task of making Dr. King’s dream a reality. | <urn:uuid:fb350cc0-659c-4088-9f5c-a6be1d376ea3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myjewishlearning.com/blog/rabbis-without-borders/tag/exodus/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970435 | 8,982 | 1.789063 | 2 |
The Tree of Life (film)
The Tree of Life is a 2011 American drama with experimental presentation elements written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain. It chronicles the origins and meaning of life by way of a middle-aged man's childhood memories of his family living in 1950s Texas, interspersed with imagery of the origins of the universe, the inception of life on Earth, and visions of an afterlife.
Opening placard
- Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation ... while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
- Job 38:4, 7
- Brother. Mother. It was they who led me to your door.
Mrs. Obrien
- The nuns taught us there are two ways through life … the way of Nature… and the way of Grace. You have to choose which one you'll follow.
Grace doesn't try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts insults and injuries.
Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy... when all the world is shining around it... when love is smiling through all things.
They taught us that no one who loves the way of grace... ever comes to a bad end.
I will be true to you. Whatever comes.
- My hope.
What did you gain?
- After the death of her son
Mr. Obrien
- Okay, go on now. We're all right. We're all right.
- To mourners, after the funeral for his son.
- Mrs. Obrien: I just want to die... to be with him.
- Preacher: He's in God's hands now.
- Mrs. Obrien: He was in God's hands the whole time. Wasn't he?
Quotes about The Tree of Life
- Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life is a film of vast ambition and deep humility, attempting no less than to encompass all of existence and view it through the prism of a few infinitesimal lives. The only other film I've seen with this boldness of vision is Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it lacked Malick's fierce evocation of human feeling. … I don't know when a film has connected more immediately with my own personal experience. In uncanny ways, the central events of The Tree of Life reflect a time and place I lived in, and the boys in it are me. If I set out to make an autobiographical film, and if I had Malick's gift, it would look so much like this. … There is a father who maintains discipline and a mother who exudes forgiveness, and long summer days of play and idleness and urgent unsaid questions about the meaning of things. … The film's portrait of everyday life, inspired by Malick's memories of his hometown of Waco, Texas, is bounded by two immensities, one of space and time, and the other of spirituality. The Tree of Life has awe-inspiring visuals suggesting the birth and expansion of the universe, the appearance of life on a microscopic level and the evolution of species. This process leads to the present moment, and to all of us. We were created in the Big Bang and over untold millions of years, molecules formed themselves into, well, you and me.
And what comes after? In whispered words near the beginning, "nature" and "grace" are heard. … The film's coda provides a vision of an afterlife, a desolate landscape on which quiet people solemnly recognize and greet one another, and all is understood in the fullness of time. | <urn:uuid:0b1cbdc5-fef0-429e-b526-e29590a41b48> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Tree_of_Life_(film) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958141 | 793 | 1.578125 | 2 |
By Lisa Grace
The Holy Scriptures address magic and witchcraft as an abomination, being against God. Those that practice it are going against God’s wishes.
Why is practicing magic against God’s wishes? Because it ultimately hurts us. First, we can be mislead into thinking we are in control, making ourselves and our desires our own god. Second, communicating with the dead is impossible (they sleep) so those who think they are talking to the dead are talking to demons or some other type of supernatural creature.
Magic, tarot cards, ouija boards, crystals, etc. can all be controlled by demons to get humans to do things that are not in their best interest. Who ultimately is controlling your life when you use these tools? Not you, but creatures who do not have your best interests at heart.
Prayer and reading your Holy Scriptures are the only communication you need—a direct line to God. Why go anywhere else for answers?
One practice I find disturbing in Christian science fantasy is the use of magic by “good” characters. I find this practice an oxymoron. Since God says magic and its practice is an abomination, showing it as anything but evil, is against His word.
I think those of us who write fiction about the supernatural world from a Christian world-view have a responsibility to uphold (in any universe or world we create) to reflect the basic values of God that displeasing actions (such as using magic) have dire consequences.
I think both C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien handle this well in their fictional worlds.
When you need answers in life the best place they can be found is through reading your Holy Scriptures and then on your knees asking the King of the Universe yourself, in person. | <urn:uuid:64f95ddf-6a46-40f8-a86f-f53796f49130> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-bible-and-magic.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949864 | 370 | 1.507813 | 2 |
View Full Version : Maggots
02-05-2002, 09:00 AM
I just caught the end of a show on OLN last night. I think that it was call Wild Survival or something like that. A hunter/hiker was attacked by a bear. His leg was bitten fairly badly. The show said that the mouth of the bear is full of dangerous bacteria. The guys leg got infected so they put maggots on the leg to eat out all of the infection. Well I have heard of using leeches before but not maggots. Whatever works I guess.
02-06-2002, 01:26 PM
WOW I never herd of maggots,:throwup-yellow: like you said, leeches I herd of. If it was going to save your leg then bring on the maggots.
02-06-2002, 01:44 PM
I'd heard of something similar, can't remember if it was burns or what but apparently maggots only eat dead or decayed flesh. ###They put maggots in to eat away the stinky stuff, and supposedly leave more living tissue in place than if the docs had to cut it away.
Hope I never need that kind of help...
02-06-2002, 04:00 PM
I've heard it is fairly common to use maggots to treat people for gangrene.
02-08-2002, 09:14 PM
didnt any of you guys see the movie, gladiator..(the one with russell crowe) ###
02-10-2002, 07:18 PM
I think it was the ancient egyiptians as well as other cultures thereafter, who used the maggots for medicinal purposes that involved open wounds.
02-11-2002, 08:36 AM
I've used maggot therapy in a hospital I was working at in Newport Beach. The maggots they use are sterile and are purchased from U.C. Irvine. The maggots are used to treat serious deep tissue wounds. The maggots will eat all of the dead/decaying tissue and leave collagen behind which will aid in the healing process. The maggots go into a coccon state after 72 hours and are then rinsed out of the wound.
04-16-2002, 09:17 PM
That Hospital woundn't be Hoag woud it. Live 2 miles from it.
Leeches are used to get blood flowing, especially to areas that have fingers and what have you reattached and yes as stated maggots are kept on hand at hospitals to eat away at decaying dead flesh, they are normally wrapped, I have been told that you don;t even know they are there feeding on the dead flesh,,
06-03-2002, 05:24 PM
I know a former Navy SEAL who told me once that in survival training they were taught to use maggots for infections in open wounds and to help treat ear infections. At first I thought he was pulling my leg until I saw something on Discovery Ch. about it.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.1.7 Copyright © 2013 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:a4e26312-f0ce-4d18-9103-584fefc2329e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-13184.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967191 | 674 | 1.625 | 2 |
Thursday March 31, 2005 9:51 am
Hypersonic Sound Will Change The Way We Listen Forever
USA Today says, “Rarely is an invention so unique, so visceral and so simple that in 15 seconds most people who experience it realize it could alter everyday life.” I have yet to experience this HSS (Hypersonic Sound), but it does sound truly incredible. American Technology Corp (ATC) has given a demonstration of HSS in it’s back parking lot and it’s being said that this invention does for sound what the laser did for light. Imagine standing 100 yards away from someone and they point this device at you, which allows you to perfectly hear either what the person is saying or any pre-recorded material being broadcast. You step out of the line-of-sight and hear nothing. Step back in and you hear it perfectly again. Someone else could hear something completely separate in a different line-of-sight sent from an additional source. Interesting technology with some profound uses in safety, criminal justice, medicine, automotives, and sound systems. This is one that we’re likely to hear lots more about, as in 2002 Popular Science magazine awarded HSS the grand prize for inventions. The Segway personal transporter took second.
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Friday, 06 July 2012 00:00
Massapequa High School Social Studies teacher Dana Robbins was named the New York State Teacher of the Year by the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City. The honor recognizes her exceptional talents as an American history teacher based on her commitment to teaching, her use of creativity and imagination in the classroom, and her use of primary sources to engage students in American history.
As the state winner, Robbins received a personal award of $1,000 and an archive of books and historical resources for the high school. The honor also places her in the running for National History Teacher of the Year and the opportunity to win an additional $10,000 prize and a trip to the national awards ceremony with two of her students. The winner— to be determined by college professors, former winners and historians — will be announced in the fall.
Humbled by the win, Robbins said, “It is particularly flattering to receive this award from such a prestigious organization as the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History, whose purpose is to improve history education. I was equally flattered to learn that I was nominated by my colleague, Nicole Albanese. It means so much for a fellow teacher, who knows the work I do inside and outside of the classroom, to recognize my efforts to educate my students.”
A Massapequa alumna, Robbins has taught U. S. History in the district for 12 years, including four years of summer school. She currently teaches 11th grade Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. History, Regents U.S. History & Government, Civil Law and Criminal Law at the high school. What makes her classroom different?
“I play music in the classroom and offer projects which allow students to hone in on their creative side, such as creating magazines, newspapers or comic books from the time period they are studying; re-enacting TV shows or videos, and conducting debates,” she said.
Beyond the classroom, Robbins has taken on numerous roles. She co-advises the National History Day program at the middle school with Laura Siegel, and volunteers her time to students interested in National History Day at the high school. Through her effective coaching, students have consistently placed well at local, state and national history day competitions. She has judged the program at the regional level and has led professional development workshops on National History Day at Long Island Council for the Social Studies Conference.
On school budget vote day, she heads up the student vote, during which upperclassmen introduce the democratic process to elementary students while parents vote on the school budget.
She also led other development workshops on topics including document-based question (DBQ) writing for elementary school students, wrote curriculum for various history courses, and worked on developing a new high school attendance policy and a prospective International Baccalaureate program.
One of her proudest moments as a teacher, she said, was when she found a copy of a former student’s college essay in her mailbox.
“This young man was a special education student in my seventh grade U.S. history course the first year I taught in Massapequa,” she said. “He recalled in his essay how I made a great impression on him, encouraging him to push himself and excel in my course, which he did …. Just recently, the young man wrote me to tell me he secured a full-time position teaching social studies in Connecticut and credits me with making it happen. Of this, I couldn’t be prouder.”
Moments like this are especially poignant because Robbins didn’t set out to be a teacher when she first entered college. She intended on becoming a lawyer and went to law school for a year, then worked in the financial sector before pursuing a career in education.
Now, she says, “I can’t imagine doing anything else.” | <urn:uuid:c8cf1789-833a-44d2-bf90-e964d06f5d95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://antonnews.com/massapequanobserver/news/23809-robbins-wins-state-teacher-of-the-year-award.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976114 | 814 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Though typically associated with certain low-budget products of the horror genre, George A. Romero remains an important but neglected figure in American independent cinema. Working largely outside the realm of the mainstream studio system, Romero’s films feature radical allegories reflecting relevant cultural and sociopolitical trends. Until recently Romero has not enjoyed the critical success of many of his contemporaries. Films such as Martin (1977), Knightriders (1981), and Monkey Shines (1988) represent significant but ignored products ultimately overshadowed by the success of the director’s more commercial zombie tetralogy. Romero has often been cited as revolutionising the modern horror film with Night of the Living Dead (1968), but the director’s cinema contains much more than the superficial aspects of gore and violence with which that film has become identified. This essay will examine George A. Romero not in terms of his influential zombie films, upon which much has already been written, but rather through the lens of the director’s lesser-known and underappreciated works. Through this method I hope to present a case for Romero as a truly great director, and to reveal something of the deeper sociopolitical dimensions of his cinematic vision.
Like many directors, Romero’s interest in the cinema began at an early age after receiving an 8 mm camera as a birthday gift from his parents. This allowed the young Romero to learn the fundamental mechanics of screenwriting, directing and editing through a series of short films exhibited before friends and family. After graduating from the Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Romero began obtaining work shooting commercials, industrial films, and segments for Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. With the formation of The Latent Image, a production company founded alongside such struggling filmmakers as Russell Streiner and John Russo, Romero was finally given the creative support to begin more ambitious projects.
The first of these, Night of the Living Dead, was produced under difficult circumstances owing to technical and financial limitations, but it remains a major cinematic achievement. Upon its release, critic Roger Ebert objected to the film’s use of graphic violence and its influence upon younger viewers. (1) Regardless, the film has become often credited with working to revolutionise the modern horror film, and actually contains several key thematic concepts which Romero would return to throughout the duration of his career. Specifically, Night of the Living Dead presents the supposedly sacrosanct realm of the traditional nuclear family as an institution based upon its own intrinsic corruptions, ultimately unable to engage in successful battle against possibly damaging ideological threats from the external world. Romero’s next two films would continue such thematic concerns, but have yet to attain the public or critical attention given this previous work.
There’s Always Vanilla (1971) marked Romero’s attempt to break from the generic constraints of the horror film, and to move in new creative cinematic directions following the ambivalent reception of Night of the Living Dead. Despite Romero’s recognition of the film as “both an artistic and commercial failure”, (2) There’s Always Vanilla is actually an important work belonging to that particular era of countercultural disillusionment as depicted in such New Hollywood films as Hi, Mom! (Brian De Palma, 1970) and The Last Movie (Dennis Hopper, 1971). It also contains many relevant thematic traits anticipating the director’s vision of possible ideological contamination associated with the perpetuation of a patriarchal and consumerist societal structure as portrayed in such films as Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Creepshow (1982). There’s Always Vanilla begins with shots of “the ultimate machine”, visually representing the capitalist construct dictating the problematic ideological roles assumed by the film’s main characters. Chris (Ray Laine) and Lynn (Judith Streiner) attempt to subvert the system through a false radicalism employing counterculture methods of free love and substance use, but soon discover themselves adapting the same traditional patriarchal patterns of their parents. Romero’s handheld camerawork and staccato editing appropriately lend themselves to the film’s narrative in terms of capturing the restless but misdirected energy of these young individuals.
Not only does the visual structure of There’s Always Vanilla actively reference the radical form of many New Hollywood films, it also reflects aspects of the creative tensions affecting Romero and The Latent Image group. The film suffered from personal conflicts regarding creative control and financial problems, resulting in the breakup of the original Latent Image group and the abandonment of the film after a weak attempt at theatrical release under the title The Affair. Until its relatively recent release on DVD, There’s Always Vanilla was considered a lost film. Despite Romero’s negative feelings toward the film, however, it remains an important and revealing work with strong connections to the director’s work within the horror genre.
Following the difficult circumstances affecting the production of There’s Always Vanilla, Romero returned to the horror genre with Jack’s Wife (1972). Though conceptually very different from that previous film, Jack’s Wife suffered from many of the same technical and financial problems owing to its theatrical failure and subsequent status as a lost work. Comparatively, however, the film is much more focused both formally and thematically than There’s Always Vanilla. Jack’s Wife anticipates later films such as Martin and Creepshow in its depiction of fantasy and realism as interweaving structural elements. It is also an early feminist text containing relevant objections toward the oppression of women in a supposedly progressive society. The film deals with ideological problems of patriarchy and conformism affecting the traditional nuclear family structure. Joan Mitchell (Jan White) sustains abusive assaults from her husband, poor communication with her sexually active daughter, and a slighting reputation as “Jack’s wife”. She assumes the role of bored housewife along with her bridge-playing companions, initially lacking the knowledge or desire to break from such restrictive conditions; but Joan’s sexual and ideological repression result in her eventual foray into witchcraft and sexual experimentation with her daughter’s lover.
Jack’s Wife touches upon relevant sociological issues of the period, depicting in Joan a product of traditional patriarchy who seeks individualism and freedom from oppressive conformity. Unlike the characters from There’s Always Vanilla, Joan does succeed in breaking from such circumstances with her involvement in witchcraft and the supposedly accidental murder of her husband. However, Joan’s evolution from “Jack’s wife” to “a witch” still represents an inevitable form of ideological conformity which many of Romero’s films warn against. Jack’s Wife was drastically cut and re-edited in an attempt to market it as a softcore porn entitled Hungry Wives, and later re-released as Season of the Witch following the success of Dawn of the Dead. Both attempts were unsuccessful and the film in its original form has only recently become available through DVD.
In many ways, The Crazies (1973) closely resembles Night of the Living Dead in terms of its structural and allegorical components. Though not a zombie film, The Crazies does bear strong associations with Night of the Living Dead in its depiction of individuals reduced to a form of walking dead as a result of biological contamination. Both films also contain similar structural patterns in which power conflicts between oppositional groups threaten to destroy any form of potential progress. Governmental forces ordered to isolate and control the spread of the deadly Trixie virus within the small Pennsylvanian town of Evans City ultimately become as harmful to the preservation of human life as the virus itself. They imitate the volatile behavioural patterns of those infected through mindless and erratic forms of violence. The few individuals who survive initial attacks become aware that defeat is inevitable. Though these characters, like those of Romero’s other early works, lack self-awareness, they do recognise that they may never return to the normality of their former lives.
Like Night of the Living Dead, The Crazies features the fall of the capitalist order through anarchic social conditions; but rather than enabling progressivism in the formation of a new social order, these conditions debilitate any rational functions necessary for such a formation. The film also resembles Night of the Living Dead in terms of allegorical implications regarding the country’s reaction to the Vietnam conflict. Mark Walker points to Romero’s metaphorical use of specific visual icons, such as imagery of helicopters and the burning of a Vietnamese hut by the hands of an American soldier, as powerful references to the situation as depicted by various forms of news media. (3) Romero’s first moderately successful film since Night of the Living Dead, The Crazies is an important work anticipating the sociopolitical structural dynamics of the director’s later zombie films.
After the eventual dismantling of the Latent Image group, Romero joined forces with producer Richard Rubenstein in the formation of Laurel Entertainment. This collaboration proved successful in that it freed Romero from the logistical aspects of production, and allowed the director to concentrate more fully upon creative activities. The first product to emerge from this collaboration was Martin, which Romero still regards as among his favourite films. (4) Like Jack’s Wife, Martin deals with problematic issues of the supernatural and its interference within the familial structure. However, the film also aims to dispel many of the cultural cinematic myths proposed by Night of the Living Dead, suggesting that in real life “there isn’t any magic”.
Like many of the characters from Romero’s early films, Martin (John Amplas) lacks ideological awareness. His reputation as an 84 year-old vampire is perpetuated not only by himself, but by his family. Martin does not conform to the standards of the society in which he exists, but his rejection of this conformism through acts of murder committed under the guise of a folkloric figure reflects aspects of his confused psychological state as well as an inability to subvert dominant traditions in any progressive manner. Romero depicts Martin’s confused ideological state through recurring black and white sequences suggesting something of the fantasy realm in which the character positions himself. These sequences also reveal evidence of Romero’s influences from the Universal horror films of the 1930s and 1940s. Martin sees himself as the modern incarnation of the tortured “other” from such films as Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931), but this behaviour results in his persecution and ultimate death at the hands of a family member. Like its depiction in Romero’s earlier films, the family in Martin represents a corrupt and destructive force unable to function as a progressive institution. Compared to the formal and structural deficiencies of Romero’s There’s Always Vanilla and Jack’s Wife, Martin remains an artistic success in terms of its effective explication of the director’s strong thematic interests as originated in Night of the Living Dead.
Romero’s next film, Dawn of the Dead, marked the director’s first significant commercial success. Released a decade after Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead revealed Romero’s desire to modernise his original vision in terms of both visual style and allegorical meaning. The film engages in a critique of 1970s late-capitalist mentality in its depiction of zombies returning to the secure corporate womb of the shopping mall. In contrast to the visual style of Night of the Living Dead, Romero here employs a colourful form anticipating the comic book appearance of Creepshow. Dawn of the Dead‘s comment on the possible future of a society based upon excessive consumerism is not only an effective critique of American culture which still bears relevance today, it is also closely thematically connected to the director’s following work, Knightriders.
Romero’s depiction of a modern-day Camelot, Knightriders shares with Dawn of the Dead possible alternatives to late-capitalist ideology through the implementation of a new social order. However, both films also question any forms of utopianism and reveal problematic issues of control and opposition as inherent within any supposedly progressive societal structure. In Knightriders, Billy (Ed Harris) and the other members of the travelling Renaissance fair discover that isolation from the dominant capitalist model does not mean complete freedom from such ubiquitous forces. The communal society these characters establish still faces internal threats from outdated modes of conduct leftover from the same conservative institutions the group attempts to reject. The riders also face oppositional assaults from corrupt authority figures and local motorcycle gangs ultimately intent upon destroying any attempts at an alternative society which does not conform to the patterns of their own. Billy’s utopian vision of a progressive and independent societal structure does not succeed under pressure from such negative influences, and could potentially never succeed belonging to a place and time very different from that within which it exists.
In many ways, Billy closely resembles the central character from Martin in his inability to completely separate reality from his idealistic fantasy. However, Billy’s vision is one advocating progressive ideological transformation, whereas Martin’s remains an adverse force debilitating any form of humanistic value. Just as There’s Always Vanilla marked Romero’s desire to break from the confines of the horror genre after the release of Night of the Living Dead, Knightriders represents the director’s attempt toward the construction of a personal artistic statement following the success of Dawn of the Dead. Though the film failed to garner the attention provided that previous work and became ultimately overshadowed by the success of John Boorman’s generically similar Excalibur (1981), Knightriders remains an important work evincing Romero’s strong thematic interests within the context of a very different cinematic structure.
Creepshow represents Romero’s most explicit appropriation of the visual style associated with the EC Comics tradition of the 1940s and 1950s. Titles such as The Haunt of Fear and Tales from the Crypt influenced the young director in terms of cinematic style and the narrative structure associated with popular horror film. Like many of Romero’s works, however, the graphic nature of these comics would ultimately face attacks from various censorship forces such as Dr. Fredric Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocent and the Comics Code Authority. This influence is evident in many of Romero’s films including The Crazies and Dawn of the Dead, but Creepshow contains its most literal representation.
Working alongside horror novelist Stephen King, Romero constructed Creepshow to reflect the anthology format of those earlier comics. True to comic book form, the film contains five individual chapters book-ended by brief opening and closing segments. Romero actively references the visual style of the EC Comics tradition throughout the film, employing such devices as comic panels and captions within the cinematic frame. The film also utilises bits of animation between chapters and creative uses of lighting and colour within the live action sequences, positioning the action even further within the comic book context. Though it inspired a sequel featuring a screenplay written by Romero and television series such as Tales from the Darkside and Tales from the Crypt, Creepshow remains largely unacknowledged as a serious work. This may be partly due to the fact that the film does not contain the explicit sociopolitical tone of many of the director’s other works, opting instead for a more straightforward approach to the horror genre. However, Creepshow still bears significance in its illustration of Romero’s visual style and in its contextualisation of several of the director’s thematic interests.
Romero returned to the zombie tradition with Day of the Dead (1985), a successful critique of Reaganomics and the politically reactionary 1980s. The film depicts the inevitable evolution of the zombie as a powerful force which threatens to overshadow humanity if necessary actions are not taken. Romero employs a much darker visual tone, contrasting that of Dawn of the Dead, to emphasise the ideological corruption of certain of the film’s human characters. Original screenplay drafts reveal Romero’s desire to construct a much larger and more detailed vision of a world facing possible extinction from threatening forces, but due to logistical and financial studio restraints this became impossible. (5) Yet, the film stands alongside Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead as a major cinematic accomplishment.
Following the success of Day of the Dead, the director broke from his involvement with Laurel Entertainment. Romero’s first product as an independent artist was Monkey Shines, a film that shares with Creepshow a reputation as a minor work. However, despite certain structural inconsistencies involving the addition of a traditional “happy ending” uncharacteristic for a director who generally prefers to end his films more ambiguously, Monkey Shines is still a work in need of recognition.
Like Creepshow, Monkey Shines neglects several of the strong sociopolitical themes informing many of Romero’s other works, but it does contain certain key narrative elements anticipating The Dark Half (1993). Runner Alan Mann (Jason Beghe) is forced to assume new life as a quadriplegic after a debilitating accident. He undergoes a negative ideological transformation as his frustrations with his present physical condition and the behaviour of those individuals surrounding him become translated into the murderous activities of his trained monkey Ella. Though Alan does not initially take credit for Ella’s actions, he soon realises that the bond between them is stronger than imagined. This relationship actively references the psychoanalytical concept of the “double” as defined by the writings of Sigmund Freud and Otto Rank. Ella represents the dark half of Alan’s psyche, physically enacting the hostile desires evoked by her master. Just as the zombies act as reflections of their human counterparts in films such as Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead, so does Ella embody a part of Alan.
The film also suggests evidence of the breakdown of the traditional nuclear family as featured in many of Romero’s works. Alan’s mother moves in with him after the accident, bringing with her a persistent nagging suggesting a frustrated woman lacking self-awareness. She attempts to place Alan in a position of subservience, relegating his limited physical state to that of a helpless little boy in need of his mother. However, her inability to set aside her own selfish pride and provide the sincere attention that her son really needs inevitably results in her death by Ella. Monkey Shines does not belong to the same category as Romero’s politically progressive zombie films, but it does stand as an important work containing its own cinematic strategies.
After contributing the brief “The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar” to Two Evil Eyes (co-directed by Dario Argento, 1990), King and Romero returned to collaborate on The Dark Half. Though conceptually a very complex work, The Dark Half stands beside There’s Always Vanilla as one of Romero’s most technically and structurally flawed films. The work continues certain narrative elements of Monkey Shines in its depiction of creative writing professor and pulp novelist Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) as an individual sharing psychological kinship with a violent nonhuman force. The Dark Half also delves more deeply than that previous film into the concept of the “double” and its relation to the human psyche. In an early scene, Thad stresses to a classroom audience the importance of discovering one’s inner being as necessary element of serious creative work. Ironically, it is Thad’s inner being, George Stark, who ultimately proves to be a destructive and debilitating force.
The Dark Half resembles Creepshow in its attempts to formally reflect the atmosphere of the EC Comics tradition. The film utilises expressionistic forms of colour and lighting, particularly during sequences featuring Stark, providing a comic book texture which works to reinforce the psychological nature of the narrative. In an early scene, Romero even makes fond reference to EC as the camera reveals an open comic book with a story titled “Slow Death” beneath one of Thad’s notebooks. Despite such factors, however, The Dark Half remains an artistic failure lacking the structural depth of many of the director’s earlier works.
The film ends upon a rushed and ambiguous note containing an overindulgence of special effects uncharacteristic of the director’s style. Like Monkey Shines, The Dark Half cannot be considered among Romero’s major works. Its structural inconsistencies and poor critical reception prevent its comparison to films such as Dawn of the Dead, but it does contain certain important narrative features reflecting the state of Romero’s creative evolution at this specific point in time.
During the decade following the release of The Dark Half, Romero would direct only one film. Bruiser (2000) is an important and relevant work possibly reflecting the director’s disillusionment with the loss of artistic identity within the monolithic studio system structure. Corporate conformist Henry Creedlow (Jason Flemyng) awakens to discover his face replaced with a featureless white mask. The anonymity provided by this physical state allows Creedlow to enact revenge upon those he deems morally and socially corrupt. Like the characters of Martin and Monkey Shines, Creedlow undergoes a negative form of ideological transformation which actually prevents any real social progressivism. His desire to break from the constraints of late-capitalist conformism is one which many of Romero’s characters face, but Creedlow’s violent logic lacks the awareness needed to stimulate any form of effective radical social change.
Stylistically, Bruiser is very different from many of Romero’s other works. The film contains a sterile, almost minimalist, formal approach reflecting the conformist state the film’s main character initially embodies. Despite its strong continuation of the director’s thematic concerns, Romero has stated that “nobody gets Bruiser”. (6) However, this is a problem symptomatic of the lack of responsiveness on the part of modern audiences rather than the effectiveness of Romero’s socially conscious films. With Bruiser, Romero has chosen more challenging creative avenues to voice the necessity for personal awareness and social critique than what many other modern American horror films tend to offer.
Romero’s newest film is Land of the Dead (2005), an effective return to the zombie tradition that originated with Night of the Living Dead. A strong critique of the current corrupt American sociopolitical scenario involving Romero’s reactions to George Bush and the “War on Terror”, Land of the Dead proves that the director’s films still provide relevant messages urging radical political change. However, Romero’s cinematic vision has not always been properly understood. Films such as Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead have inspired new generations of filmmakers appropriating only the basest generic elements of those works, ultimately resulting in failure to view the films within the broader cultural context to which they belong. As Romero’s films demonstrate, engagement in progressive ideological transformation and rejection of social conformism are necessary elements for effective political change. Appropriately, this extends beyond the films’ characters to the viewers themselves.
- A condensed version of Ebert’s original Chicago Sun-Times review of Night of the Living Dead appears in the June 1969 issue of Reader’s Digest.
- Tony Williams, The Cinema of George A. Romero: Knight of the Living Dead, Wallflower Press, London, 2003, p. 33.
- Mark Walker, Vietnam Veteran Films, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., London, 1991, p. 92.
- Paul R. Gagne, The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh: The Films of George A. Romero, Dodd Mead, New York, 1987, p. 80.
- See Williams, pp. 128–129.
- Rick Curnette, “There’s No Magic: A Conversation With George A. Romero”, The Film Journal 10, 2004.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
There’s Always Vanilla (1971)
Jack’s Wife (1972)
The Crazies (1973)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Day of the Dead (1985)
Monkey Shines (1988)
“The Facts in the Case of Mr. Valdemar” in Two Evil Eyes (1990)
The Dark Half (1993)
Land of the Dead (2005)
Rick Curnette, “There’s No Magic: A Conversation With George A. Romero”, The Film Journal 10, 2004 [see web resources].
Paul R. Gagne, The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh: The Films of George A. Romero, Dodd Mead, New York, 1987.
Mark Walker, Vietnam Veteran Films, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., London, 1991.
Tony Williams, “Land of the Dead”, Rouge 7, 2005.
Tony Williams, The Cinema of George A. Romero: Knight of the Living Dead, Wallflower Press, London, 2003.
Brian Wilson, “Edifying Horror: Brief Notes on Land of the Dead”, The Film Journal 13, 2006.
Robin Wood and Richard Lippe (eds), The American Nightmare: Essays on the Horror Film, Festival of Festivals, Toronto, 1979.
Robin Wood, Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan…and Beyond, Columbia University Press, New York, 1986/2003.
Film Directors – Articles on the Internet
Several online articles can be found here.
There’s No Magic: A Conversation with George A. Romero
By Rick Curnette.
Click here to buy George A. Romero DVDs and videos at Facets
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that failure to avoid looming "fiscal cliff" tax increases would reverberate beyond U.S. borders.
"It would be bad for the economy, it would be bad for those families, in fact it would be bad for the world economy," Obama told reporters at the White House as he met with his cabinet.
Obama and congressional leaders are negotiating over how to avoid approximately $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts that would begin in 2013 and that analysts say would push the U.S. economy back into recession.
The president has proposed maintaining existing tax rates for all but the top two income tax brackets, but congressional Republicans are opposed to any tax increases.
(Reporting By Jeff Mason, writing by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Sandra Maler) | <urn:uuid:42c0a91c-c0e6-487d-bd94-5b9a369c9549> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://radiousa.com/news/articles/2012/nov/28/obama-says-letting-us-taxes-rise-would-hurt-world-economy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973391 | 167 | 1.820313 | 2 |
The 100 Moments of TSU Athletics presented by Taco Bell® series continues by remembering one of the central figures in Tennessee State athletic history.
Walter S. Davis originally played football for the Tigers in the late 1920’s, helping the Tigers to several winning season.
However, Davis will not be remembered as a player.
Davis returned to his alma mater in 1933 and became head coach of the TSU football team until 1936. As coach, he led the Tigers to 17 wins, 7 losses and 4 tied games. This ranks him eighth at Tennessee State in total wins and fifth at Tennessee State in winning percentage (.700).
After President William J. Hale retired in 1943 after 30 years of service, Davis was selected as his successor becoming the second president. From 1943 until his retirement in 1968, President Davis led the institution through a period of tremendous growth and change. As a result of his efforts, the university increased its academic offerings, built new facilities and gained worldwide recognition.
During his tenure, Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State College achieved university status in 1951 and the Tennessee Board of Education elevated the university to a full-fledged land-grant university in 1957. In 1958, the University was fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Davis committed to athletic excellence by hiring legendary coaches John A. Merritt, John McClendon and Edward “Ed” Temple, who produced internationally renowned athletes such as Wilma Rudolph, Ralph Boston, Wyomia Tyus, Edith McGuire Duvall and Chandra Cheeseborough.
In honor of his accomplishments, TSU built the Walter S. Davis Humanities Building in 1933. The building was renovated and enlarged in 1967 and 1997. The building houses the Department of Languages Literature and Philosophy, and the Center for Administrative Computer Services.
Under Davis' leadership, 24 new buildings were constructed on the campus and it was during his tenure that athletes from Tennessee State University commanded the attention of the nation and the world by winning national championships and titles in football, basketball and swimming, along with Olympic medals in track and field.
Davis retired in 168 and was inducted into the Tennessee State University’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.
The 100 Moments of TSU Athletics presented by Taco Bell® highlights some of the greatest moments in honor of Tennessee State's centennial celebration. A new moment will be released each weekday for a total of 100. These moments were chosen by the TSU 100 Moments committee, which consists of alums from various departments. TSU has so many great moments, not all can be represented in these 100.
Sports Information Assistant Cierra Joshua contributed to this article.
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The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) isn’t exactly profitable, but it also isn’t the financial basket case many think it is.
During the second quarter, the USPS had an operating loss of $486 million on a 13% gain in revenues from shipping and packages. That gain, fueled by the growth in e-commerce, wasn’t enough to overcome the decline in first-class mail. The quarter before that was even better, with the USPS earning $200 million on an operating basis.
These figures aren’t great, but they aren’t nearly as bad as the multibillion dollar losses that are being used to justify plans to shutter 229 mail processing centers as part of a strategy for the USPS to save $1.1 billion by 2014.
The difference between those numbers lies in the fact that the U.S. Congress has required the USPS to prefund its retiree’s health care for 75 years, assuring the well being of people who have not even been born yet. Before the mandate, which applies only to the Post Office, kicked in during 2007, the USPS regularly made money. Now, with an additional $5.5 billion in costs, that’s impossible.
To make matters worse, the U.S. Treasury has overcharged the USPS by some $75 billion for liabilities because they relate to services performed before the USPS was created in 1971.
“It’s not something that’s dead,” Jerry Cerasale, the Direct Marketing Association’s senior vice president of government affairs, said of the USPS in an interview. “It’s something that needs to be fixed.”
Another problem is that the USPS is required to build up retiree health care funding over 10 years, using funding estimates that the Center for Economic Policy and Research says are unrealistic.
“Even accepting the pre-funding requirement, if the shortfall was made up over 30 years, and the USPS was allowed to use the same health care cost growth assumptions as those heroic job creators in the private sector, the USPS would have been profitable in the years 2007 and 2008 and had considerably smaller losses the last two years,” according to the CEPR.
The need to address the USPS’s issues is imperative for several reasons. First, the service supports the $1 trillion mailing industry, which employs more than 8 million. It’s also an important part of the Internet economy. Private mailers such as FedEx (NYSE:FDX) and United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) are growing increasingly reliant on the USPS to deliver products ordered from e-tailers on the Web.
While addressing the retiree health problem is important, the USPS’s problems go beyond the mandate, which members of Congress are trying to fix. Mail volumes are down 20% from their 2006 peak, resulting in what the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) estimates as 67 million square feet of excess facility space, which other government agencies could probably use.
“The Postal Service currently provides a small number of non-postal government services, such as accepting passport applications, offering Selective Service registration forms, and renting excess space to other government agencies,” according to an OIG report issued early this year. “Providing government services in Postal Service locations could save much needed resources, expand public access to government, and provide revenue to the Postal Service. “
The USPS disputes the OIG’s figures on excess space and that it has surplus labor that could be shared with other government agencies, but it seemed open to the idea. Though working more closely with other federal agencies wouldn’t solve the USPS’s financial woes, it certainly would help. The USPS should also consider branching out into businesses such as banking, services that European postal agencies provide but have been rejected in the U.S. as being impractical.
Indeed, the USPS seems to have too much of everything, according to Sean Kennedy of the conservative Lexington Institute. “The Postal Service has too many people, offices, and processing plants for the business it projects to do in the months and years to come, “ he wrote in the Daily Caller. “USPS needs to right size its network to meet demand and to reduce its labor costs. Over 100,000 of USPS’s 550,000 employees could retire tomorrow with full pensions. Labor costs, currently 80% of USPS expenses, could be cut without layoffs or dislocations. “
Figuring out how to do that is the tricky part. Take Saturday mail delivery. Though eliminating it may seem like a no-brainer, experts are divided on the issue. Some argue that the $3 billion or so in savings associated with the plan may be dwarfed by the hassles it creates and costs it generates.
Said Cerasale: “Reducing postal services should not be the first thing that you do but the last thing you do.”
Follow Jonathan Berr on Twitter@jdberr. | <urn:uuid:98cc7c2b-0483-4903-bf83-1cf19771b4bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://investorplace.com/2012/05/why-the-postal-service-is-fixable/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969528 | 1,048 | 1.726563 | 2 |
New technology could speed driver’s license renewal | News
(WMC-TV) – Renewing or replacing your driver’s license could get a lot faster and will certainly be a lot cooler thanks to one of the most popular gadgets in recent memory.
The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security has put six dozen iPads into action at driver service centers across the state.
“Customers who visit specified driver service centers to simply renew or replace a lost driver license may use a special application installed on the iPads to quickly complete and pay for the transaction using a credit or debit card,” a spokesman said in a written statement. “The customer should get the new driver license within minutes of the transaction.”
You can also change your address and process license reinstatement fees on the iPads.
And the state plans to expand the program to eventually allow prospective drivers to schedule their road tests.
The state says it paid about $79,000 for the iPads, but they are replacing equipment that had reached the end of its life.
“These self-service iPad stations will cut down on the number of customers waiting for service from a driver license examiner and will help reduce the overall wait time for all customers,” Bill Gibbons, Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security commissioner, said.
New iPads have already been set up at the driver service center at 3040 Walnut Grove Rd.
Copyright 2012 WMC-TV. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:a4d947e3-4bae-4090-b885-0ae5c865d44b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eastmemphis.wmctv.com/news/news/78152-new-technology-could-speed-drivers-license-renewal | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945881 | 303 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Fri January 6, 2012
Jobless Rate Dips To 8.5 Percent, 200,000 Jobs Added To Payrolls
The nation's unemployment rate edged down to 8.5 percent — its lowest level in nearly three years — as 200,000 jobs were were added to payrolls, the Bureau of Labor Statistics just reported.
We'll add more details from the report shortly, so hit your "refresh" button to see our latest updates.
Update at 8:45 a.m. ET. Looking Back:
At 8.5 percent, the jobless rate is the lowest since February 2009's 8.3 percent.
Update at 8:40 a.m. ET. Where The Jobs Were.
According to BLS:
"Employment in transportation and warehousing rose sharply in December (+50,000). Almost all of the gain occurred in the couriers and messengers industry (+42,000); seasonal hiring was particularly strong in December.
"Retail trade continued to add jobs in December, with a gain of 28,000. Employment in the industry has increased by 240,000 over the past 12 months.
"Over the month, job gains continued in general merchandise stores (+13,000) and in clothing and clothing accessories stores (+11,000). ...
"In December, manufacturing employment expanded by 23,000."
All those figures are "seasonally adjusted" to hopefully account for expected changes and better reflect the underlying trends.
Update at 8:38 a.m. ET. Private Sector Employment Rose By 212,000 Last Month, 1.9 Million In 2010:
"Over the past 12 months," BLS says, "nonfarm payroll employment has risen by 1.6 million. Employment in the private sector rose by 212,000 in December and by 1.9 million over the year."
Update at 8:36 a.m. ET. Slight Revision To November Rate: BLS says the unemployment rate dipped from a revised 8.7 percent in November (earlier, BLS had said the November jobless rate was 8.6 percent). | <urn:uuid:5b3fa41c-6059-4c97-a670-0dc0c48f52f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kccu.org/post/jobless-rate-dips-85-percent-200000-jobs-added-payrolls | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956919 | 433 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Author Charles Frazier goes contemporary in newest bookby Euan Kerr, Minnesota Public Radio
St. Paul, Minn. — Charles Frazier, author of the best-selling novel "Cold Mountain," is moving forward in time, in his newest book. His novel, "Nightwoods," is a thriller, set around 1960 in a remote community in the forested mountains of North Carolina.
"Nightwoods" opens like this:
"Luce's new stranger children were small and beautiful and violent. She learned early that it wasn't smart to leave them unattended in the yard with the chickens. Later she'd find feathers, a scaled yellow foot with its toes clenched."
Luce is a troubled young woman living alone in a semi-abandoned resort in the Appalachians. Then she becomes guardian of her dead sister's twins -- young children deeply disturbed and mute because of something in their past.
"A lot of the book has to do with Luce learning to deal with these strange children," Frazier said. "Another part of the book has a little bit of a mystery ... element, involving the murderer of her sister."
Frazier became a sensation in 1997 with his first novel, "Cold Mountain," a Civil War tale which won a National Book Award. His second novel, "Thirteen Moons," published in 2006, was set against the forced relocation of thousands of Cherokees known as the Trail of Tears.
Frazier says it's almost by chance that he's become known as a historical novelist. He abandoned work on a contemporary novel to write "Cold Mountain," because he says it was simply a better story.
It also meant a great deal of research, which he says he enjoyed. But Frazier adds it's been good, for the last three years, to be working on something more contemporary.
"I was really happy to get out of the 19th century for a while," Frazier said with a smile. "it's set in my memory, so there wasn't a lot of need to got to the library. It was more of a matter of remembering the physical details of the world."
Important to the details in "Nightwoods" is an undercurrent of violence. Growing up in the southern Appalachians himself, Frazier was aware the threat was always there.
"It would just be one of these things that happened on the spur of the moment, where one guy would stab another one, or somebody would shoot somebody," he said.
Frazier wove that casual violence, as he calls it, into "Nightwoods." He then went to some lengths to build its physical sense. He'd visit locations in the woods where he was going to set a fight.
"I would just stand there and think, 'OK, if this character is going to do this to this character, how would this big tree factor in? How would this little slope factor in?' and then I can see the movements," Frazier said. "Then I can think about how the more character-related or psychologically related elements fit in. But I have to get the physical stuff right first."
All these elements form the framework for Frazier's poetic prose style. He dwells on details, on expanding and expounding. It's a result of polishing and burnishing, writing and rewriting.
"The revisions are every day, and then at the end lots and lots. It's a never-ending thing," he said. "They finally take it away from me at some point, or I'd still be doing it."
Reviewers called Frazier's first two novels American epics, although some described his style as overwritten. But Frazier's fans don't seem to care.
Now on the tour circuit, Frazier says nobody seems upset that he's written a more current story.
"I was in Mississippi last week and a young woman ... came up and said, 'I have a line from "Cold Mountain" tattooed on my back,'" Frazier said. "[She] turned around and showed me."
Frazier said he felt a little odd at that moment "in that I didn't recognize the line," he laughed.
But he later checked the book and found the tattooed line. Because details are important to Charles Frazier.
Frazier speaks Monday evening at 7 p.m. at the Wayzata Community Church.
- All Things Considered, 10/24/2011, 4:44 p.m. | <urn:uuid:f562af21-207e-48e9-9690-e43bb7138374> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/10/24/charles-frazier | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98628 | 910 | 1.570313 | 2 |
So, yesterday, I blogged about culture and misogyny (and on this same subject, you should all read this). Today, let’s me line up a few items that clearly highlight the consequences of misogynistic culture, as embedded in social structure in the form of sexist discrimination.
Item the first something that will not surprise anyone because we tend to take misogyny for granted when it comes from the periphery, so no one will be shocked to know that to be a woman journalist in Somalia is a landmine:
“As a woman, you are then left to choose between career and family since if you choose the former, there is the risk of being banished by your family. A typical Muslim man would prefer a housewife to a journalist who travels a lot and has odd working hours. Even if you persist, you are not meant to interact with men other than your husband and immediate family members. As a reporter, this poses a challenge, to say the least.
When I started as a journalist, my editor did not fully grasp the limitations that come with my culture. But after constant pestering from my parents to fire me she got the message! (Sometimes now, she is careful when determining where I should go and what I should do, though I like to push.) To do my job as an investigative journalist properly stories often require days on the road. And this has led to a constant war between my parents and myself, not helped by some stories, on more than one occasion, almost getting me killed.
Recently, I wrote a series of stories on the al-Shabaab group, “the Taliban of Somalia”, a series for which last week I was lucky enough to receive an award. The series dealt with men of Somali descent, raised elsewhere, often the US, “returning” to fight for al-Shabaab. I was travelling with recruits from different countries, heading towards Mogadishu, when we were surrounded by some of the militia.
They did not care much about who we were and seemed happy for the men accompanying me to get on with their work but my presence as a woman offended them. I wasn’t married and had no relation within my group– reason enough for punishment, even execution.
There then followed an eight-hour ordeal in the hands of the militia group. They had guns fixed on my head, while smashing my belongings and discussing among themselves just what sort of punishment was fitting. The elder of the group finally decided that I should be killed and only the intervention of a contact that I had previously made, arguing vigorously in my favour, saved me.
Every single time I do any Somali-related story, to avoid problems with the family and immediate relations I choose never to disclose where I will be going and who I’m travelling with. It’s perhaps then not a surprise that there should be such a small number of women in the Somali media And those who survive are more likely to work as radio presenters, not needing to go out and get stories. Even then, there can be problems. Bhajo Mohamud, who was a reporter in one of the radio stations, has had to leave the country and even in exile still gets threatening calls.
Beyond the particular problems of the Somali community, there’s a general scarcity of women in our newsrooms, making it difficult for burning issues to be discussed from a female perspective.
Catherine Gicheru, a distinguished woman journalist and the managing editor of the Kenyan Star, says that a female journalist has to work extra hard so that nobody says she can’t do this or that. “You must be willing to take anything that is thrown at you in order to survive in the career.”"
And yes, male reporters might face dangerous situations as well but no, they do not face the same kinds of obstacles that women face in the same profession. For starters, they do not have to prove themselves the way women have to.
Item the second, a form of discrimination that always takes place, quite “naturally”, in bad economic times:
“An engineering firm in northern Italy has sparked controversy after making almost half its workforce redundant – and selecting only women.
A union official quoted the company as having reported to the small businesses association: “We are firing the women so they can stay at home and look after the children. In any case, what they bring in is a second income.”
No one at the company, Ma-Vib, which is based in Inzago near Milan, could be reached for comment.
With Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, on trial for paying an underage prostitute, there is a continuing and lively debate over the status of Italian women, which some international surveys suggest is abnormally low in comparison with the rest of Europe. In February, there were demonstrations in more than 250 cities around the world in defence of the dignity of Italy’s women.
“In this country, at the government and company level, there is always the same old thinking – that it is preferable that women stay at home”, said Maria Sciancati, general secretary of the FIOM engineering union.
There was condemnation too from the equal opportunities councillor in Milan’s conservative-led administration. Cristina Stancari, who once worked in Berlusconi’s press office, said the firm’s action showed “discrimination and an utter lack of respect for women – a return to the past that cannot in any way be justified”.”
And if you think it has to do with Italian Macho culture (as the article itself notes), think again:
“Many leaders in business and politics profess to want to employ and promote women. But a decade of earnest vows from the corporate sector has not dented male-dominated Deutschland AG
“Germany is good at structural reforms, but not at cultural reforms,” said Thomas Sattelberger, human resource chief at Deutsche Telekom, which in spring 2010 stunned fellow members of the DAX 30 index by announcing a voluntary goal of 30 percent female managers by 2015.
“There is a very traditional image of women and men that was taken to an extreme in the Third Reich: female mother cult and male fraternity. These mental stereotypes have not yet been culturally processed and purged.”
Alice Schwarzer, founder of the magazine Emma and perhaps Germany’s best-known feminist, likens this mindset to “a leaden blanket across all of German society.”
Despite a battery of government measures — some introduced in the past year or so — and ever more passionate debate about gender roles, only about 14 percent of German mothers with one child resume full-time work, and only 6 percent of those with two. All 30 DAX companies are run by men. Nationwide, a single woman presides on a supervisory board: Simone Bagel-Trah at Henkel.
Eighteen months after the International Herald Tribune launched a series on the state of women in the 21st century with a look at Germany, the country has emerged as a test case for the push-and-pull of economics and tradition.
For the developed world, Germany’s situation suggests that puzzling out how to skirt or remove enduring barriers to women’s further progress is one of the hardest questions to solve.
According to Mr. Sattelberger at Deutsche Telekom, corporate rituals from recruitment to promotion to working hours retain a whiff of the 1950s, and male networks remain close-knit.
“In the DAX companies, the old social order is the most pervasive,” said Mr. Sattelberger. “This is a place where male dominance, elitism, power and money all come together.”
A 2009 study commissioned by the Ministry of Family illustrated this bias. The Sinus Sociovision institute in Heidelberg surveyed male and female managers in German companies and identified three patterns of thinking among male bosses: Those who simply don’t think women are cut out for it; those who think they are, but fear their colleagues don’t and worry about cohesion; and those who say that in theory gender does not matter but in practice women who make it “overcompensate” and are not “authentic.”
The upshot, says the director of the institute, Carsten Wippermann, is that women who qualify in the view of one type of manager are automatically disqualified by the view of another. “Men can think of reasons against having women on boards and in executive committees,” Mr. Wippermann told the German weekly Die Zeit. “But none in favor.””
And it is not just a matter of the usual occupational, glass ceiling-types of issues of privileged women. For example,
“Of the millions of dollars spent on climate change projects in developing countries, little has been allocated in a way that will benefit women. Yet, in Africa, it is women who will be most affected by climate change.
According to United Nations data, about 80 percent of the continent’s smallholder farmers are women. While they are responsible for the food security of millions of people, agriculture is one of the sectors hardest hit by climate change.
“There is a lot of international talk about climate change funding for local communities and especially for women, but not much is actually happening,” says Ange Bukasa, who runs investment facilitation organisation Chezange Connect in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Bukasa was one of the delegates at the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) 2011 Partnership Forum, which was held from Jun. 24-25 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF), established by the World Bank in cooperation with regional multilateral development banks, provide funding for developing countries’ climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.
Since their launch in 2008, the CIF have allocated 6,5 billion dollars to climate change projects in 45 developing countries. More than a third of the money went to 15 African states.
But most of the money – more than 70 percent – is financing large-scale clean technology energy and transportation projects. These are traditionally male-dominated sectors of the formal economy.
Only 30 percent is being spent on small-scale projects that directly benefit poor, rural communities and thereby potentially improve women’s livelihoods.
Experts at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warn that the funds could run the risk of perpetuating existing gender imbalances.
To take into account the gendered nature of energy consumption and domestic labour patterns in a resource-poor context, women need to be consulted when designing and implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives, they say.”
Which is a combination of the fact that global institutions (those more or less in charge of development, UN agencies, World Bank, IMF, WTO) are not exactly bastions of gender awareness along with patriarchal culture on the ground.
So, there is no doubt that the main source of resistance has nothing to do with the women but with patriarchal culture and sexist discrimination that is present in the most common interactions and not just at the structural / macro level:
“Thin and shorter than average, Sandra has a delicate face and long hair that she styles in curled braids and purple hair bands. At work, she pulls her hair up and keeps it covered so the sand does not turn it “stiff like dreadlocks”. Whenever a construction worker makes fun of her long nails, Sandra fires back: “These hands work the same as yours, dear. Sometimes better.” And then she adds: “Men, what are you good for anyway?” This is one of her favourite lines since she finished building her own house, where she lives with her three children.
Sandra is one of 20 women who learned the basics of the building trade, thanks to Lua Nova, a non-profit organisation that helps pregnant women facing high-risk situations like homelessness, drug addiction and domestic violence.
She grew up begging for money at traffic lights in São Paulo, Brazil’s richest and most populated city. Her mother abandoned the family after her younger sister died at age four from stomach worms. Sandra moved into her aunt’s house, where she was again forced to beg for money and where she suffered beatings if she came home empty-handed.
The first time she got pregnant Sandra was 19; she received no help to care for her children. In fact, her aunt’s family made several violent attempts to sabotage her pregnancies. It was only while working as a maid that Sandra’s employer noticed her bruises and constant pain. She called a friend who worked at Lua Nova and told her Sandra’s story. By the time she went to the association, her cousins had kicked her, thrown boiling water on her belly and forced her to swallow Cytotec, a drug illegally used to induce abortion in Brazil.
Sandra’s story is no worse than most of the 60 women helped by Lua Nova, which means New Moon – a reference to the invisible potential of these mothers. While the women are pregnant, the association provides shelter in a quiet, rural area near Sorocaba, a city with half a million inhabitants 100km from São Paulo. Twenty-six women live at the shelter, while 34 live off-campus and continue to work on the income-generating projects the association provides. Sandra was 20 when she arrived to find a bedroom, a cradle, diapers, food and all the basic necessities for her older children.
After giving birth, the women participate in income-generating classes. Sandra chose construction. She registered for the first class back in 2006, when male teachers from a well-known training school in Brazil were still arguing that women were incapable of learning the trade.
Raquel Barros, the psychologist who founded Lua Nova, managed to convince the trade school to give the women a chance. For the first few weeks, all the teachers did was joke and flirt with the women. Not only did the women meet resistance as they aimed at a market dominated by men, but they faced the social stigma of being single mothers learning a traditionally masculine trade in a Latin American city with a strong Catholic influence. “In their minds, we will always be outcasts,” Sandra sighs.
Against the odds, the association insisted on the classes, and the 20 women enrolled learned a variety of building techniques such as plumbing, painting, wiring and tiling. Meanwhile, Raquel built a brick factory as part of the association’s project incubator. The women began to make bricks for their future houses and sell the surplus to buy other materials. Once they had enough bricks, 16 women joined forces to build 20 houses.
New machines have been brought into the factory to speed up brick production. The idea is that the women sell the bricks and earn a portion of the profits. They already have five orders for a total of 60,000 bricks. The Lua Nova brick is eco-friendly. Because of their shape, the bricks fit together like Lego pieces and do not require as much mortar. Four women have so far opted to become full-time builders. They are either employed by big companies or work as freelancers, depending on demand. Raquel says: “At first they were hired out of pity and were paid lower wages. Now, people are recommending their services because they are meticulous, extremely careful with the grouting and better organised than the men.”" | <urn:uuid:2cc42854-1459-4d63-a634-6a2e63b17f87> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://globalsociology.com/2011/07/03/its-still-sexist-discrimination-and-its-still-not-a-mancession-a-global-round-up/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969732 | 3,241 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Want To Learn About Good Hair Care? Please Read On
Men and women typically observe hair and face first, so taking time to give a great impression with your hairstyle is effective. It is possible to feel happier about your self and also have more confidence by just shifting the colour, reduce or type of your own hair. Continue to keep these suggestions on hairdressing in your mind so that you can make a type you like.
Never ever remember to brush or hair comb your own hair though it may be nevertheless damp. When dried up, make use of a delicate-bristle brush or perhaps a big-tooth hair comb. Start with combing the tangles out of your your hair, starting at the finishes and working to the roots.
To obtain sparkling hunting hair, massage a bit of organic olive oil on your own hair when it becomes free of moisture. The extra virgin olive oil moisturizers your hair and smooths down each and every hair’s cuticle, providing hair having a smooth, shiny physical appearance. Simply use a few drops, and stay careful that you simply don’t go crazy.
If you value the feel of your own hair after you’ve been swimming, you can also find more secure, more comforting tips to get that wavy appearance. Go shopping for locks products that say “sodium apply”. Look at making your own personal mixture by adding a teaspoon of sea salt to your whole mug of water. Accomplish with the addition of 10 drops of lavender essential oil and appreciate your sea-motivated concoction.
Weighty conditioners are not designed for good, slim your hair. They will likely just think about down the hair, making it seem much more limp and lifeless. The most effective conditioners to use for volume are mousse conditioners or leave-in conditioners.
Golf irons might be harmful to hair rely on them moderately. After a while it can trigger a lot of harm to the hair. Use an iron just when weekly. Also, if you realise the hair to get free of moisture, take a break from using it completely.
In the wintertime and tumble, try to avoid staying in the cold very long. When it’s chilly outside the house, hair could possibly get dehydrated out, which implies it doesn’t supply the nutrition and natural skin oils it must remain healthy. If you’ll be caught up exterior for a while, very carefully pack up initially.
Wait around two days before shampooing freshly-dyed your hair. Your own hair cuticles need to have a little bit of time for you to close off totally therefore the color will last given that probable. Try not to buy your your hair wet the 1st 48 hrs once you dye it. Your perseverance will likely be recognized with healthier and shining locks.
Protecting hair when going swimming can be accomplished by wearing a cap. Chlorine is terribly hard on your hair. Unless you use a fishing limit, ensure you wash the hair right after pool area-time in order that the chlorine will not be in hair.
Consider your diet program in case your not comfortable with hair. You want a lot of iron, omega 3 essential fatty acids, vitamin e antioxidant and other nutrients and vitamins to help keep head of hair healthful. Be sure to consider multivitamins if you can’t get sufficient nutrients.
Use your hair goods that have sun screen lotion, to protect yourself from sun-damage. Direct sunlight can cause a lot of harm to the hair and fight any advantages of your own hair attention program. If you are protecting hair, you will provide durability preventing lightening from the shade also.
Cleaning lets you distribute vital natural oils throughout your own hair. When you start to clean your hair, and remove tangles, begin to clean from your best and decline. You may uniformly deliver natural oils throughout your hair if you accomplish this.
No matter whether you would like it to be or perhaps not, your hair is a assertion about yourself. It can be exciting and rewarding to experiment with new hairstyles that report off your facial functions and individuality. Keep these suggestions at heart, and make best use of hair.
Thanks for reading. For more information on and advice on manicure basingstoke see our website | <urn:uuid:1ce89a41-b02c-4031-b423-21413e22bd81> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hoodia-gordonii-exposed.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944636 | 887 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Google changes their algorithm to reward websites that post high quality content, non-profit organization Trustworthy Internet Movement plans to release a list of website detailing which sites keep themselves secure the best (and which do not), and Facebook unveils the Antivirus Marketplace.
- Another Step to Reward High-Quality Sites: In an attempt to reward websites that feature high quality content, Google is making a change to their algorithm that will essentially decrease the ranking of sites that Google believes is violating their quality guidelines. This means that sites that use "black hat SEO (Search Engine Optimization)" tactics such as keyword stuffing will be decreased in page ranking, while sites that use "white hat SEO" tactics and contain quality content will see their page ranking increased considerably. This is the latest tactic Google is using to combat webspam. [Google]
- Insecure Websites to be Named and Shamed After Checks: The non-profit group Trustworthy Internet Movement (TIM) is set to publish a list of good and bad websites that do their part to keep themselves secure. The list hopes to "shame" companies that fail to do enough to keep their website secure in hopes that this will push them to improve their security. The list comes as the result of a survey carried out that found that more than 52% of the sites tested were using versions of security protocols that were widely know to be compromised. [BBC]
- The Facebook Anti-Virus Marketplace: Today, Facebook announced the launch of the Antivirus Marketplace, which will allow Facebook users to download free anti-virus software from Microsoft, McAfree, TrendMicro, Sophos, and Symantec. In addition, Facebook also announced that these companies will incorporate their malicious URL databases into Facebook's URL blacklist system as a way to combat malicious links inside Facebook itself. [Facebook]
- Sprint to Offer Unlimited Data Plans for Next iPhone, Even if LTE Included: In the midst of Sprint revealing earlier this month that it would continue to provide unlimited data plans as it rolls out its first LTE devices, there was speculation that this would also apply to Sprint's LTE iPhone. Well, it turns out these speculations were true, as Sprint confirmed the rumors earlier today. In a conversation with CNET, CEO Dan Hesse stated that: "If the next iteration of the iPhone arrives with LTE, Sprint will continue to offer a no-strings unlimited plan. The company is already sticking with unlimited for its first batch of LTE phones, but it was unclear whether the offer would apply to next iPhone. I'm not anticipating the unlimited plan would change by that point. That's our distinctive differentiator." [Mac Rumors]
- Obama Will Veto CISPA Unless Changes Are Made: Earlier today, the White House announced via an email that President Obama will veto the cybersecurity bill 'CISPA' if the bill arrives on his desk in its current form. In an email issued by the Office of Management and Budget, it stated that one of President Obama's main objections to CISPA is that it does not provide adequate consumer privacy. [TPM]
- Is Google Drive Coming to Linux Soon?: Yesterday, Chad McCullough asked Google Drive on their Google+ page whether or not Google Drive was coming to Linux, stating that, "...I'd rather not have to stick with Dropbox but if you don't support Linux, that's exactly what MANY of us are going to have to do." McCullough received an answer from the Community Manager for Google Docs Teresa Wu, who assured McCullough and everyone commenting on his post that, "we're working on Linux support - hang tight!" [Google Plus] | <urn:uuid:29ca7117-4179-4961-b679-f4d0cb957ce3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lifehacker.com/5905193/remains-of-the-day-googles-fight-against-webspam | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960255 | 740 | 1.757813 | 2 |
User:Syndrome/How to be danceable and not just murderous
From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
“After I read this book, radio got even uglier!”
“I can't believe this book sold more copies than Unsafe At Any Speed.”
Hot to be danceable and not just murderous is a book written by Jimbo Wales and Willy on Wheels to describe how the fate of music radio is getting stupider and stupider as time goes by. Also, it documents murders in the hood related to slow dancing and instances of highway hypnosis caused by listening to too many ballads. It also documents how fast dances rendering slow dancing obsolete. The book consists of 666 pages, the reason why it has that many pages is because it conveys lots of information pertaining to the shenanigans caused by ugly ballads and describes how Frank Zappa tried to kill ugly radio but failed to, and that it has less words than originally planned, therefore making 666 a double entendre.
After 420 people read this book, the radio started to complain about this book on the airwaves and eventually said nigger getting many licenses nearly revoked and many DJs got fired for complaining about this book since the complaints meant that they didn't understand the shenanigans caused by their poor radio programming even though the book was supposed to end the travesties the niggaz' hood was riddled with. The book's title is loosely based off of Uncyclopedia's policy that describes how to be funny and not just stupid hence the pun. Other documented events in this book are how people slow dance at high school, and end up impregnating their dates months after; and says that 69% of those instances of pregnancy result in murder of the mother or the baby (or both).
Other issues documented in the book also include how businesses rely too much on simplicity and how customers complain about over dependence on simplicity.
edit Million seller
This book has sold 69,105,045,404,666 copies because people 69ed with themselves after getting to the end of the book. Wikipedia refuses to make a article documenting the shenanigans documented in this book because it thinks that this book is too much of a POV book. | <urn:uuid:3a61f479-3ad4-48b6-8d9e-45f72bee88cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/User:Syndrome/How_to_be_danceable_and_not_just_murderous | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965211 | 455 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Some thoughts about yum and repositories
tim at birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
Tue Nov 2 22:17:38 UTC 2004
Robin Laing wrote:
>> The kernel in RH-9.0 did not run on my SCSI-only machine,
>> and neither has any Fedora version since.
>> X11 has always worked for me on all my machines, until Fedora-2,
>> when the change to Xorg meant it no longer ran on my Sony Picturebooks.
>> (I had to re-compile X after applying patches in the Xorg bugzilla,
>> which for some reason were completely ignored for 6 months.)
> My experiences are that it is improving over RH 8 in alot of ways.
> The tools are what makes the difference. RH 6 worked well on my older
> (P90) computer. RH 7 was slower and I stopped there on that machine.
I'm only talking about whether a distribution does or does not work.
Another example: I haven't been able to install or upgrade
any Redhat or Fedora distribution on my Sony Picturebooks by CD
They simply don't have drivers for this standard Sony CD reader.
I've had to upgrade by bringing the ISO files over by WiFi,
and installing from the hard disk.
My impression is that the Fedora team are just not that interested
in ensuring that their CDs install on as many machines as possible.
They give more time and attention to other issues.
Knoppix seems much better at this than Fedora.
The old system, where you had a choice of floppies to start from,
had a lot to recommend it.
Of course this isn't the only thing that matters,
or even the most important.
But I still think that things have got worse, not better,
as far as installation is concerned.
e-mail (<80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
ge, Dublin 2, Ireland
More information about the users | <urn:uuid:2edbb6ed-4276-4f84-aaf0-1212fab53fed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/users/2004-November/180702.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958377 | 449 | 1.523438 | 2 |
For a media specialist, Guo Ke doesn’t watch much TV these days. The dean of the journalism school at Shanghai International Studies University is too worried about the impact of popular shows on his 12-year-old daughter.
“I have to be a role model for her,” he says. “This is a critical stage in her development, and I really want to limit her watching these kind of TV programs. There’s too much violence and sex, or things related to sex, and so many low-quality reality shows…They’re eroding the foundations of our cultural values.”
It seems his fears are shared by at least some of China’s leaders. Over the past six months, China’s official TV regulator has issued a string of rules restricting everything from spy dramas and crime stories to programs about time travel. It’s also banned foreign dramas during primetime, and has targeted what it calls “over-entertainment”—a reference to the talent contests, dating shows, and other reality programs swamping China’s airwaves.
The official aim is to replace such content with shows that “build morality and promote the core values of socialism,” a move that has been seen as part of a broader attempt to foster a more wholesome public morality ahead of China’s sensitive political transition this year, when President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao will be replaced by a new generation of leaders.
Yet the irony is that the “vulgar content” is, in a sense, a monster of Beijing’s own creation. In the early 1990s, the government decided to allow TV stations to raise money from advertising, sponsorship, and commercial sales, and reinvest the revenue in programs. It led to a massive expansion of the industry: from just a handful of turgid, heavily controlled networks in the 1980s, China now has more than a thousand TV channels, with satellite, digital, and Internet TV increasingly influential. There are channels for wrestling, fishing, golf, even “pregnancy and childbirth.” On Jan. 1 this year, the government even launched China’s first 3-D channel.
At the same time, the authorities have been at pains to filter out anything with political overtones. This has made it difficult for news programs, for example, to attract viewers with hard-hitting reporting. A wave of imported TV dramas from Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea initially helped fill the content gap, but some were later banned for promoting lifestyles that the government saw as incompatible with socialist values. There have been a few attempts to make compelling homegrown dramas, but many of these also fell afoul of the censors, like 2009’s Woju (“Cramped Living”), which focused on the struggles of young people to afford homes in China’s big cities amid soaring property prices.
So it’s no wonder that, in an increasingly competitive market, many TV stations began to focus on reality shows and other cheap, popular programming to lure audiences and advertisers. As David Bandurski of the China Media Project at the University of Hong Kong puts it, Beijing “created such a narrow space in terms of what’s allowed…I think it’s often because of the political controls that you get so much extreme commercial programming.”
Certainly, TV executives make no bones about the commercial pressures they are under. As Wang Lijun, deputy director of the international channel at Shanghai Media Group, which runs the city’s TV stations, says bluntly: “There’s no government funding in TV now—we’ve had to live from advertising.” He adds: “For the past few years entertainment shows have been so popular, so all the TV stations see them as a good way to earn money.”
The model has been financially successful: in 2008, the last year for which complete figures are available, TV advertising in China was worth $4 billion dollars; by 2010, one provincial station, Jiangsu Broadcasting, alone netted revenue of $2.4 billion, and this year its most popular dating show took $288 million in ad sales.
But as the TV industry has opened up and stations vie for eyeballs, content has become racier—and more Western. Shanghai Media Group snapped up the rights to America’s Got Talent, Amazing Race, and Britain’s celebrity dance contest Strictly Come Dancing. And many regional networks have hired producers from Taiwan, where media is far more open, bringing a more quirky style and, often, scantily clad contestants. Shanghai Media Group has pioneered Oprah-style confessional shows that have brought previously taboo debates about emotional problems onto TV (one show featured a man and his wife being confronted by the man’s illegitimate son).
There has been some adaptation to local mores: on several dating shows, male contestants are grilled not only by the woman they seek to woo but by her parents too. But overall, according to Mary Bergstrom, a Shanghai-based consultant on youth trends, the reality shows have captured the more individualistic mood of modern China: “Young people in China want to be themselves,” she says. “They’re interested in exploring difference and the freedom to see new things—and the TV stations have been trying to cater to this.”
But while young viewers may lap up the programs, officials have become increasingly anxious about a lack of wholesome content. In 2010, a contestant on a dating program attracted a storm of criticism online after telling a prospective partner that she would rather “be crying in a BMW than smiling on the back of a bicycle.” A female judge on one regional talent show was sacked for what officials said was excessive flirting with one of the male contestants. There have also been criticisms of overcommercialization and product placement, and a number of home-shopping programs have been banned for selling shoddy or fake products.
Accordingly, some have welcomed the recent regulations. “If they tolerate this kind of low-level TV industry, I think in 10 or 20 years it could be a disaster for our society,” says Guo, the journalism dean.
Yet Bandurski of the China Media Project suggests the new call for moral programming may be motivated as much by leaders’ desire to appease conservative factions ahead of this year’s leadership transition, as by genuine anxiety about public morality. There have also been suggestions that some of the rules may be designed to protect China’s national broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV) from growing competition from provincial satellite channels. Each Chinese province is allowed to broadcast just one channel nationally by satellite, while CCTV has 15 nationwide channels—but it’s seen its audience share eroded by upstarts like Hunan Satellite TV, which has run chat shows on topics like homosexuality and scored massive national hits with talent shows such as Super Girls. The new limits on entertainment shows in primetime do not apply to CCTV—and it may be no coincidence that the national broadcaster recently announced a major new reality show of its own for 2012.
Some commentators have argued that the restrictions on “over-entertainment” could usher in a new era of high-quality, highbrow programming in China. But Jin Xing, a dancer who found fame as an outspoken reality-show judge, says that while China must move away from lowbrow copycat shows, the last thing it needs is more regulation. “People and society are ready to hear the truth,” she says. “They know that what they see and what they hear are often two different things. They urgently want different opinions—they can make their own judgments now.”
And Bandurski says the call for more “moral” programming is out of step with society: “People are seeing the entertainment rules as basically a ban on fun,” he says. “If they really want good-quality TV programming, they have to open up the news and entertainment media.”
Indeed, the regulations may only accelerate the defection of young people from conventional TV to the Internet. “The Internet is this generation’s TV,” says Bergstrom, the consultant. “They’ve grown up with a sense of entitlement, that they can be entertained how they want, when they want—they know when things are contrived, and if they see them they just move on.” Qian Jin, a young media columnist, notes that video-sharing websites have begun signing up TV hosts whose shows have been banned under the new regulations to make Web-only programs. Websites also have the advantage that they can often screen popular American or Taiwanese shows that would never get past the mainstream-TV censors, he says.
There have been signs that regulators may start to pay more attention to online TV—one “nihilistic” Hong Kong drama was recently pulled from websites. But it’s possible that the relatively greater online openness, which many young people in China so cherish, might just outlast the current campaign to clean up the nation’s TV screens. | <urn:uuid:5970bffe-0c81-4848-9ea8-322fd667da3e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/04/01/chinese-authorities-crack-down-on-reality-television.print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963554 | 1,914 | 1.726563 | 2 |
This video from Ireland says about itself:
Belfast: Romanians Flee Homes After Racist Attacks
More than 100 Romanians, including a five-day-old baby, have been forced from their homes in Belfast by racist attacks.
Sky’s Mark White reports.
By Julie Hyland in Britain:
Europe’s rulers whip up anti-immigrant chauvinism
18 March 2013
Membership of the European Union is supposed to confer on a country’s citizens the right to free movement and freedom from discrimination on the grounds of nationality.
The EU has agreed to postpone a decision on Bulgarian and Romanian membership of the visa-free Schengen zone. Both countries are members of the EU and, according to the European Commission, have fulfilled their obligations under the treaty. After two years of postponement, their citizens were finally to be eligible to work within the EU without restrictions from 2014. But EU justice and home affairs ministers meeting last week delayed agreement, after Germany’s Hans-Peter Friedrich said his country would veto their membership of the Schengen zone.
Friedrich asked contemptuously, “Does free movement in Europe mean that we can expect one day that people anywhere in Europe, who believe that they can live on welfare in Germany better than in their own countries, will come to Germany?”
“Those who only come to receive social welfare, and thus abuse their freedom of movement–they must be effectively prevented from doing so,” he insisted.
Germany is by no means alone. Britain, France, The Netherlands and Austria have made similar statements. Their stance exposes the claims as to the progressive, “harmonising” mission of the EU that was made most stridently at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union and its satellite states.
During the 1990s the European bourgeoisie rushed to entice the eastern European countries into the EU, holding out the promise of economic prosperity and political stability in an equitable union of nations.
Over the next period, the economies of these countries were looted as the EU demanded sweeping privatisations and the destruction of extensive social welfare provisions. This was justified on the grounds that “structural adjustment” was necessary in order to be fully integrated into the European club.
Instead, even after many of the eastern European countries were accepted into the EU (Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007) there has been no end to the pain. The result is rising unemployment, joblessness and economic insecurity. Bulgaria and Romania are the two poorest countries in the EU, with half of their populations at risk of poverty.
The EU admits that the ruling elites in Bulgaria and Romania have done everything demanded of them. But it sadistically argues that the very “success” of its scorched earth prescriptions means their populations must not be allowed their rights as EU citizens because the impoverishment inflicted upon them makes them unwelcome!
Ivan Krastev, chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies think-tank in Bulgaria, told the Financial Times, “The idea was transition was painful, it was suffering. But now [with EU membership] we were supposed to get to a totally different life. We were going to live if not like Germans, at least like Greeks. It never happened.”
His statement sums up the sea change that has taken place in European class relations. For more than a decade, the Eastern European countries strove to live “like Greeks”. But rather than joining a Europe of prosperity, they joined a Europe of austerity.
Greece has been the laboratory in which the European bourgeoisie has utilised the global capitalist crisis to roll out the shock therapy it pioneered in Eastern Europe across the continent. Subject to five years of savage austerity, unemployment in Greece is more than 25 percent, and almost 50 percent among the youth; food banks are a way of life for tens of thousands, and health care and educational provision is grinding to a halt.
Instead of Bulgaria and Romania “levelling up”, conditions across the continent are being levelled down to a benchmark no longer even set in eastern Europe but in China.
The attitude of the major European powers towards Bulgaria and Romania is not only a matter of great-power arrogance. Class retribution plays its role. Both countries have seen mass movements against EU-dictated austerity that have brought down governments associated with these policies—in April last year in Romania and only last month in Bulgaria.
As punishment, the working population of these countries are now slandered as welfare scroungers, and held virtually captive, while finance capital is free to plunder Europe without let or hindrance.
Meanwhile, vicious propagandising against “benefit tourism” is used to divert from the actual source of rising unemployment and falling wages that lies in governmental policies dictated by the real parasites in society—the financial oligarchy.
While slashing wages and conditions, the New Democracy-led government in Greece—in coalition with the social-democratic PASOK and Democratic Left—authorises mass round-ups of immigrants and other racist measures as it appropriates the policies of the fascist Golden Dawn.
The same tendency is underway throughout Western Europe, with social democratic parties increasingly taking the lead.
In Germany, the Social Democrat Mayor of Duisburg, Soren Link, has unleashed a filthy, racist tirade against eastern European migrants, complaining that their presence drains resources from “native” citizens.
In France, the Socialist Party government of Francois Hollande continues the policies of Gaullist President Nicolas Sarkozy, carrying out raids on immigrant camps and mass deportations, as it competes with the National Front.
In Britain, the Labour Party is championing “maximum controls” on eastern European migration, under the demand—again appropriated from the fascist British National Party—of “British jobs for British workers.”
The target of such measures is the social rights of the entire working class. The demands to bar immigrants from welfare entitlements—including health and housing—is used to justify the claim that social provision is no longer affordable and must be eliminated.
Workers and youth must actively oppose the campaign of anti-immigrant chauvinism.
Greece’s austerity has caused a 90% decline in pharmaceuticals as drug companies withhold shipments to the country: here.
- Tories warned not to discriminate against Romanians and Bulgarians (guardian.co.uk)
- EU: No Consensus on Letting Bulgaria, Romania into Schengen (novinite.com)
- Rich EU Countries Fret Over All The Romanians And Bulgarians Heading Their Way (businessinsider.com) | <urn:uuid:0972087e-26b2-4d70-a79e-99283d72e4c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/european-union-anti-romanian-anti-bulgarian-xenophobia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953994 | 1,371 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Fort Smith police and firefighters anticipate structure fires at vacant buildings caused by homeless people seeking refuge from the cold this winter.
Fire Marshal Ronnie Rogers of the Fort Smith Fire Department said the fire department usually encounters two to three vacant-structure fires every winter that are likely caused by homeless people seeking warmth. So far, though, wintry weather hasn’t really hit the area.
“We haven’t gotten into the really cold weather yet, but I’m sure it’s going to happen,” Rogers said.
If it seems a person caused a structure fire, either by accident or intentionally, a fire marshal will conduct an investigation with the help of a police detective, said Sgt. Daniel Grubbs of the Fort Smith Police Department.
If authorities can locate a suspect, that person could be arrested under suspicion of arson, reckless burning or criminal mischief, Grubbs said. Oftentimes the fires are accidental — homeless people who start a fire for warmth in an unoccupied structure to get out of the elements. Intentional or not, Grubbs said, the fire can be very dangerous.
“The major part of it is the danger involved with neighboring structures, with the dangers involved with the firefighters having to fight it,” Grubbs said. “But if we do catch someone inside one of those vacant structures who doesn’t have a legal authority to be there, then we would go the route of criminal trespass.”
Authorities might not find a suspect at the scene of a fire, but there might be evidence left behind of a person living in a vacant structure, Rogers said.
“You can notice sometimes they’ll have an old mattress on the floor or they’ll have a piled-up bunch of clothes,” Rogers said. “A lot of the times it’s houses or structures that don’t have any utilities to them, which would tell you it couldn’t be electrical or gas.”
The fire department keeps a list of all the empty commercial buildings in the city, totaling 489. That number does not include houses or storage units, but does include empty businesses within shopping centers, Rogers said.
Jimmie Deer, Fort Smith building official, estimated code enforcement workers are actively monitoring 350 vacant structures, with 50 to 100 more that the city might not be aware of yet. Even if those structures are boarded up, Deer said, homeless individuals might still find a way into them.
“When it gets cold and it’s boarded up, especially if it’s kind of off by itself and not close to any other residence, that’s when they have a tendency to break into them for the evening,” Deer said.
Keeping a vacant structure boarded up can be a task, and Deer said there are two to three buildings that city officials have to repeatedly board up due to re-entry of homeless individuals.
Identifying the buildings that need to be boarded up is another task, said Rick Ruth, Fort Smith property maintenance supervisor. There is no official vacant building registry with the city, so officials rely on complaints from neighbors and whatever properties they happen to identify in passing.
To deem a property unsafe, a city building official reviews the property. The responsibility of either repairing or removing the structure falls on the owner of the property, and if the owner takes no action, then the city will have it torn down or boarded up, Ruth said. That process can take time, Ruth said.
“It is a time frame that you have to work with under due process of law,” Ruth said. “In which case, squatters or someone may break into it and start a fire while we’re in the process. It doesn’t happen overnight.”
Ruth said city officials sometimes handle complaints of individuals occupying vacant structures, and often they notify police if necessary.
“If we do get a complaint on a property, we go up, we knock on the door. We try to make contact, even on a vacant property to see if there possibly may be someone in the structure that’s been unsecured,” Ruth said. “A lot of the time, they’ll come out and talk to you and tell you why they’re there, and they might have legitimate reasons for being there. But if there’s a situation that would bring safety into question, we just call the P.D., back off, and wait for the P.D. to arrive.”
The police department urges citizens who see individuals inside a vacant structure to notify authorities, Grubbs said, which could prevent a possible fire from breaking out.
“I think a lot of this is prevention, to try to ask the public to assist in helping us,” Grubbs said.
Vacant structures exist all over the city, but are most prevalent on the older north side, Deer said.
“That’s one thing a lot of people have to realize, that Fort Smith is an older city,” Deer said. “There’s just a lot of old, vacant houses out there.” | <urn:uuid:812bf048-18d5-41bc-ad57-c28918a13a07> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://swtimes.com/sections/news/fort-smith-fire-department-anticipates-fires-vacant-structures-during-cold.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95287 | 1,089 | 1.703125 | 2 |
MOUNT VERNON — Over 100 people attended “A Night to Remember,” at The Dan Emmett Conference Center on Tuesday night as Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas led a seminar on learning systems and memory training. The program was sponsored by the Ohio State University Alumni Club of Knox County and the Community Foundation of Mount Vernon and Knox County.
Lucas is known for his memory and learning techniques, but also is recognized for his accomplishments in basketball.
When he was a young boy, he enjoyed basketball and wanted to “be the best,” so much so that he would practice well into the night.
“I shot a minimum of 5,000 shots a day, every summer day, and some days I would shoot more ... but with a purpose, not just shooting but with an incredible purpose. I used my mind as well as my physical abilities to make me a better basketball player, and that is what it takes if you want to be one of the best,” said Lucas.
Playing for Middletown High School, he led Middletown in 76 straight victories. Throughout his grade school, junior high and high school career, he had only one loss and 151 wins. Lucas is acknowledged as an outstanding player in the history of Ohio State University basketball, receiving many awards for his achievements.
He was chosen in 1960 as a player for the Olympic basketball team, under the leadership of coach Pete Newell, and led the team to a gold-medal victory. Lucas was drafted into the NBA, where he played for the Cincinnati Royals, now known as the Sacramento Kings. During his career, he also played for the San Francisco Warriors and the New York Knicks, and has played in seven NBA All-Star games.
Lucas has played in a high school state championship, a college national championship, an Olympic gold medal game and a world professional championship, making him one of only three players to have won in every level of championship competition.
“It was difficult ... but I was very fortunate,” he said, adding that he had the opportunity to work with a great group of supporting players who worked together to achieve the goal.
“If you are going to be one of the best you have to be willing to work harder, have a bigger heart and use your mind as well to be able to succeed,” he said.
Also known as Dr. Memory, Lucas started learning techniques on memorization when he was a young boy. Bored, he turned learning into a fun-filled way to educate himself.
“All children have very active minds, get bored easily and want things to do, and I was no different. I came up with all sorts of mental games to keep my mind occupied when I had nothing to do,” he said.
Through these mental tasks, he discovered a principle that he refers to as automatic learning.
“To understand this concept [go] back to your first learning experience as very young children, when we reached the age to where we could communicate with our parents and understand them. ... They taught us the only way possible, by pointing to and identifying tangible objects that have an identity that were in the environment around us,” said Lucas.
In schools, education is commonly taught through repetition, he said, but through his learning system, the focus is on making intangible objects register in the mind with an identity, thus allowing recognition and remembrance.
“It’s about giving ink on a page an identity,” he said.
Lucas said much of what is learned in an institution is intangible, but when those intangibles are given an identity, they become less of a problem to learn.
Memorization is such a key tool that Lucas uses it in his personal life, so much so that when he became a Christian, he dedicated a year to memorizing all of the New Testament.
“I wanted to learn it. It took me a year to do it, but I did it. I’ve quoted the whole New Testament before,” he said.
He has also memorized the Manhattan phone book, several different magazines and books. He has shared his knowledge on automatic learning on various television talk shows and conducted seminars for churches, organizations and corporate businesses.
Now Lucas spends much of his time creating and working on an education system that can be used to learn any subject or topic through using his techniques.
“You are attracted to those things that are fun,” he said.
And that is what his techniques involves making learning a fun activity for anyone. | <urn:uuid:3b0fb814-e3e5-454d-9af4-cee67ab8f50b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mountvernonnews.com/local/09/04/29/lucas-makes-learning-fun | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989343 | 951 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Health Choices, a smartphone app that provides health guidance and information about NHS services has been released by Microsoft for use on Apple and Android devices.
The app, which was originally released by the company in collaboration with NHS Choices for its Windows Phone last month, gives users access to choice and treatment information from the government’s flagship health website and to Microsoft’s HealthVault platform.
Users can search for NHS services such as A&E or GP practices by name, location or by how close they are to the user's GPS location. Contact details for GPs, dentists, hospital departments and other NHS services are also provided.
The app also includes patient ratings on services, allowing people to make informed decisions about the best GP practice or hospital for them. A health A-Z displays condition symptoms and treatments.
For Windows Phone users, a Live Tile pinned to the start screen provides real-time information from NHS Choices and allows users to pin local NHS service information, such as contact and address details, to their home screen.
The app is integrated with Microsoft’s HealthVault platform, which provides those signed up to the scheme with secure access to their personal health record.
The platform allows patients to view and store comprehensive NHS approved information including details of conditions, medication and immunisation records.
The app, which has been designed by software developers 3chillies, is available for free from the Windows Phone Marketplace, iTunes store and Google play. | <urn:uuid:66efa630-29eb-4c83-ac53-fc43452f96a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gosh-lib.blogspot.com/2013/02/health-choices-app.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953854 | 302 | 1.78125 | 2 |
No recent wiki edits to this page.
Tolten is the former king-to-be, the son of Uhra's last king (and final king, as Uhra became a Republic). Tolten, while still politically active, is virtually powerless in the affairs of Uhra. He joins Gongora, thinking Gongora was helping him in the hard times.
Gongora used Tolten to position himself into power, and after Tolten was made the new King, he was attacked by Gongora, in the hopes of eliminating him and granting the Kingship to Gongora. Tolten survived, and eventually became the King of Uhra, rightfully.
Tolten is a young and gullible character. He is easily manipulated and tricked by Gongora. He also shows mental and physical weakness, being very scared of battle and other people, in some cases. He's a mortal character, meaning he is more fearful of death than the immortals. He eventually is "trained" into being more assertive and strong in the face of adversity, and it results in him being a hero and King. | <urn:uuid:b3ed1513-241b-4d65-97ba-aebbb14fac5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.giantbomb.com/tolten/3005-1963/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98348 | 227 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Should voters uphold same-sex marriage law? Yes
Yes: Everyone deserves respect, dignity under law
Sunday, September 16, 2012
The Legislature passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6239 concerning marriage for same-sex couples, modified domestic-partnership law, and religious freedom, and voters have filed a sufficient referendum petition on this bill.
This bill would allow same-sex couples to marry, preserve domestic partnerships only for seniors, and preserve the right of clergy or religious organizations to refuse to perform, recognize, or accommodate any marriage ceremony.
Should this bill be:
My husband, Keith and I have been married for 33 years. Marriage is a lot of hard work, but it's worth it. When you find someone you love, that you can be with, that just completes you. Keith and I know how much our marriage means to us. That's why we we've been excited to see more conversation taking place about the importance of marriage equality throughout Washington state.
When Keith and I were growing up, we didn't know much about gay people, and we certainly never thought about same-sex couples getting married. Over the years, like most families, we have gotten to know many gay and lesbian people: family members, people we work with, and members of our church.
When our own son Khalil told us he was gay, there wasn't any hesitation for us: We love him for who he is. Given our family structure, we only considered what this would mean to Khalil; it didn't change or alter how we felt about him. Khalil was conceived in love and basks in that love today, not only from his family but also from the special person in his life.
When we spend time around Khalil and his partner, we're always so touched by their clear love for each other. They are there for each other for the long haul, in sickness and in health. Watching them reminds us of our own relationship. It's made us realize that all committed couples, whether gay or straight, share similar reasons for wanting to marry -- to make a lifetime promise to each other and to share the joys and challenges that life brings.
Some people might say that gay couples should be allowed to have certain legal protections, but be excluded from marriage. I don't agree with that stance. First, most people don't understand what a domestic partnership is, but marriage is clear. Marriage says that two people will take responsibility for each other, and that in times of crisis, they will be there for each other. And moreover, growing up black in America, I know what's it's like to be excluded simply because of the color of my skin. No one should be denied the protections and support that come with marriage, no matter who they are.
Keith and I were raised with the Golden Rule, to treat others as we would want to be treated. That should include being able to marry the person you love. I can't imagine someone telling me that I couldn't marry Keith. And I think all of us can look with our heart and our eyes and see our family and friends who are gay or lesbian and know that they too are God's children.
Washington is the kind of state where values matter. To us, that means treating all families with respect and dignity under the law. It means not denying anyone the freedom to marry the person they love.
We count ourselves lucky to be able to witness the love and commitment of Khalil and his partner. I urge everyone to support Referendum 74 and reach out and get to know more about the relationships of gay couples in your neighborhood. Talk to the members of your congregation or workplace who have gay children. And think about how you would feel if you were told you couldn't marry the person you love.
Antoinette Edwards lives with her husband in Vancouver. Along with their son Khalil, they are co-founders of the Black Chapter of Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (http://www.pflag.org). | <urn:uuid:e2ffd59a-7c8f-4dec-a6ff-cd0770ef4af3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/sep/16/should-voters-uphold-same-sex-marriage-law/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978826 | 826 | 1.75 | 2 |
303 U.S. 362
HELVERING, Commissioner of Internal Revenue,
BANKLINE OIL CO.
BANKLINE OIL CO.
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE.
Nos. 387, 388.
Argued Feb. 9, 1938.
Decided March 7, 1938.
[303 U.S. 362, 364] Messrs. Homer S. Cummings, Atty. Gen., and Golden W. Bell, Asst. Sol. Gen., of Washington, D.C., for Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
Mr. , martin J. Weil, of Los Angeles, Cal., for Bankline Oil Co.
Mr. Chief Justice HUGHES delivered the opinion of the Court.
-This case presents the question whether respondent, the Bankline Oil Company, is entitled to an allowance for depletion with respect to gas produced from certain oil and gas wells. The ruling of the Board of Tax Appeals that the taxpayer had no depletable interest (33 B.T. A. 910) was reversed by the Circuit Court of Appeals, 9 Cir., 90 F.2d 899. Because of an asserted conflict with the principles applicable under the decisions of this Court, we granted certiorari. 302 U.S. 675 , 58 S.Ct. 119, 82 L.Ed. --.
Respondent in the years 1927 to 1930 operated a casinghead gasoline plant in the Signal Hill Oil Field, Los Angeles county, Cal. Respondent had entered into contracts with oil producers for the treatment of wet gas by the extraction of gasoline. The Board of Tax Appeals made the following findings: [303 U.S. 362, 365] Natural gas, commonly known as 'wet gas' as it flows from the earth, is not a salable commodity. It is only through processing-by separation of the gasoline therefrom-rendering it dry, that it may be sold for commercial uses. Conversely, it is only through the separation of dry gas from wet gas that the gasoline is salable. It is this process that produces casinghead gasoline. The content of gasoline in wet gas varies from one-half gallon to six gallons a thousand cubic feet of gas produced, depending upon its richness. Respondent's contracts provided, generally, that it should install and maintain the necessary pipe lines and connections from casing-heads or traps at the mouth of the well to its plant, through which the producer agreed to deliver the natural gas produced at the well and that respondent should extract the gasoline therefrom, respondent to pay the producer 33 1/3 per cent. of the total gross proceeds derived from the sale of gasoline extracted from wet gas, or, at producer's option, to deliver to the producer 33 1/3 per cent. of the salable gasoline so extracted. A slightly different type of contract provided for the outright 'purchase' from the producer of all natural gas produced at a given well, the respondent paying 33 1/3 per cent. of the gross proceeds received by it from the sale of the gasoline extracted from such gas. Some of the dry gas remaining after removal of the gasoline was blown to the air and wasted because there was no market for it, while some was sold to public utilities and in that case respondent accounted to the producer for a proportion of the proceeds provided for under the contract and some was returned to the wells to be used for pressure purposes.
The government maintains that under the contracts respondent took no part in the production of the wet gas, conducted no drilling operations upon any of the producing premises, did not pump oil or gas from the wells, and [303 U.S. 362, 366] had no interest as lessor or lessee, or as sublessor or sublessee, in any of the producing wells.
Respondent states that in accordance with the provisions of the contracts it attached pipe lines to the various wells, carried the gas from those wells to its plant, where the gas from the wells of the different producers was commingled, and removed the gasoline therefrom. The gasoline was sold and respondent accounted to each producer 'for one- third of the proceeds of the producer's pro rata of the gasoline made.' Respondent contends that it was entitled to deduct for depletion 27 1/2 per cent. of the difference between the price which it paid for the wet gas and its fair market value at the mouths of the wells. Respondent took the 'prevailing royalty,' which it deemed to be established by the evidence, as that market value, and treated the difference between the amount respondent paid and the greater prevailing royalty as respondent's gross income for the purpose of applying the statute. Revenue Act 1926, 204(c)(2), 234(a)(8), 44 Stat. 14, 41; Revenue Act 1928, 23(l)(m), 114( b)(3), 45 Stat. 799, 821, 26 U.S.C.A. 23 and note, 114 note.
The Circuit Court of Appeals was of the opinion that respondent had acquired an economic interest in the wet gas in place and was entitled to an allowance for depletion. But, as no finding had been made of the market value of the wet gas, or of respondent's net income from the property, the court remanded the case to the Board of Tax Appeals to the end that respondent might supplement its proof and that an allowance for depletion should be made in accordance with the evidence produced.
In order to determine whether respondent is entitled to depletion with respect to the production in question, we must recur to the fundamental purpose of the statutory allowance. The deduction is permitted as an act of grace. It is permitted in recognition of the fact that the mineral deposits are wasting assets and is intended as compensation to the owner for the part used up in production. [303 U.S. 362, 367] United States v. Ludey, 274 U.S. 295, 302 , 47 S.Ct. 608, 610. The granting of an arbitrary deduction, in the case of oil and gas wells, of a percentage of gross income, was in the interest of convenience and in no way altered the fundamental theory of the allowance. United States v. Dakota-Montana Oil Co., 288 U.S. 459, 467 , 53 S.Ct. 435, 438. The percentage is 'of the gross income from the property,'-a phrase which 'points only to the gross income from oil and gas.' Helvering v. Twin Bell Syndicate, 293 U.S. 312, 321 , 55 S.Ct. 174, 178. The allowance is to the recipients of this gross income by reason of their capital investment in the oil or gas in place. Palmer v. Bender, 287 U.S. 551, 557 , 53 S.Ct. 225, 226, 227.
It is true that the right to the depletion allowance does not depend upon any 'particular form of legal interest in the mineral content of the land.' We have said, with reference to oil wells, that it is enough if one 'has an economic interest in the oil, in place, which is depleted by production'; that 'the language of the statute is broad enough to provide, at least, for every case in which the taxpayer has acquired, by investment, any interest in the oil in place, and secures, by any form of legal relationship, income derived from the extraction of the oil, to which he must look for a return of his capital.' Palmer v. Bender, supra. But the phrase 'economic interest' is not to be taken as embracing a mere economic advantage derived from production, through a contractual relation to the owner, by one who has no capital investment in the mineral deposit. See Thomas v. Perkins, 301 U.S. 655, 661 , 57 S.Ct. 911, 913
It is plain that, apart from its contracts with producers, respondent had no interest in the producing wells or in the wet gas in place. Respondent is a processor. It was not engaged in production. Under its contracts with producers, respondent was entitled to a delivery of the gas produced at the wells, and to extract gasoline therefrom, and was bound to pay to the producers the stipulated amounts. Some of the contracts, reciting that the [303 U.S. 362, 368] producer was the owner of the gas produced, provided for its treatment by respondent. Other contracts were couched in terms of purchase. In either case the gas was to be delivered to respondent at the casingheads or gas traps installed by the producer. Respondent had the right to have the gas delivered, but did not produce it and could not compel its production. The pipe lines and equipment, which respondent provided, facilitated the delivery of the gas produced but the agreement for their installation granted no interest in the gas in place. Nor was such an interest created by the provision for payment for the gas delivered, whether the payment was made in money out of the proceeds of the gasoline extracted or by delivery of the agreed portion of the gasoline. Whether or not the wet gas had a market value and, if it had, whether that value was greater than the amount respondent paid, is in no sense determinative. Respondent was still a processor, paying for what it received at the well's mouth. As the Board of Tax Appeals said, 33 B.T.A. 910: 'It is safe to say, we believe, that this petitioner (respondent) had no enforceable rights whatsoever under its contracts prior to the time the wet gas was actually placed in its pipe line, i.e., after it had passed beyond the casing-heads and gas traps supplied by the producer and into the pipe line, except the right, perhaps, to demand that the producer deliver whatever was produced through its pipe lines for treatment during the period of contractual relationship.'
Undoubtedly, respondent through its contracts obtained an economic advantage from the production of the gas, but that is not sufficient. The controlling fact is that respondent had no interest in the gas in place. Respondent had no capital investment in the mineral deposit which suffered depletion and is not entitled to the statutory allowance. [303 U.S. 362, 369] The judgment of the Circuit Court of Appeals in this relation is reversed and the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals is affirmed.
No. 388.-In 1929, the State of California leased to J. H. Barneson oil and gas lands in Santa Barbara county, reserving a royalty. We assume, for the purposes of this case, as it was assumed below, that the lease was of tidelands owned by the state. Barneson acted on behalf of petitioner, the Bankline Oil Company, in obtaining the lease, which was duly assigned to petitioner and approved by the state. Claiming that the income received from operations under the lease was exempt from the federal income tax, upon the ground that such a tax would constitute an unconstitutional burden upon a state instrumentality, petitioner sought to recover the tax paid for the year 1930. The Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (33 B.T.A. 910), overruled petitioner's contention. 9 Cir., 90 F.2d 899. In view of the importance of the question, certiorari was granted. 302 U.S. 675 , 58 S.Ct. 119, 82 L.Ed . --.
We are of opinion that the decision of the Circuit Court of Appeals was right. As petitioner was engaged in its own business in producing the oil, it was bound to pay a federal income tax upon its profits even though its operations were conducted on state lands. We are unable to find any substantial distinction between the instant case and that of Burnet v. A. T. Jergins Trust, 288 U.S. 508 , 53 S.Ct. 439, where the city of Long Beach, Cal., made an oil and gas lease to a private party covering part of a tract owned by the city, the proceeds of the oil and gas sales being divided between the city and the lessee. The claim of immunity by the lessee as an instrumentality of the state, acting through the city, was held to be untenable.
So far as the case of Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co., 285 U.S. 393 , 52 S.Ct. 443, which was distinguished in Burnet v. A. T. Jergins Trust, supra, may be regarded as supporting a dif- [303 U.S. 362, 370] ferent view, it is disapproved. See Helvering v. Mountain Producers Corporation, 303 U.S. 376 , 58 S.Ct. 623, decided that day.
The judgment of the Circuit Court of Appeals with respect to petitioner's income from the lease is affirmed.
Judgment in No. 387 reversed; in No. 388 affirmed.
Mr. Justice CARDOZO and Mr. Justice REED took no part in the consideration and decision of this case.
Mr. Justice McREYNOLDS and Mr. Justice BUTLER concur in the result. | <urn:uuid:7a030a81-42b6-4df6-bcbd-17d62bdd3ff9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=303&invol=362 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965843 | 2,724 | 1.515625 | 2 |
2011: A Look Back
BY The Editors
Jan. 1-14, 2012 Issue | Posted 12/21/11 at 6:10 PM
ALL EYES WERE ON ROME. The beatification of John Paul II on May 1 was a major highlight of 2011 for the Church and the world. In this issue, the Register remembers the year that was in national, global and Vatican news. In the U.S., Catholics saw the introduction of the new Roman Missal, the growth of the Occupy movement and new saints’ causes. Troops came home from the Iraq War as threats to religious freedom escalated on the home front. Meanwhile, presidential hopefuls debated their views, and Philadelphia welcomed a new shepherd. The country also witnessed the passing of its papal nuncio and commemorated the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 (Nation, page 3). Around the world, Christians faced much persecution, while violence continued in many areas. Ireland dealt with scandal, while England became the first country to host an Anglican ordinariate. And through it all, World Youth Day was a beacon of hope (World, page 4). It was also a busy year for the Holy Father. Benedict XVI made several trips, published another book, and engaged others in ecumenical dialogue ... and even had time to greet astronauts aboard the International Space Station and launch the new Vatican Web portal (Vatican, page 5). Also don’t miss our ‘Quotes of the Week’ from 2011, which sum up the top stories and newsmakers of the year (Briefs, page 2).
Copyright © 2013 EWTN News, Inc. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:fd86b19f-ab36-4284-ab6f-9dea88de2eb5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ncregister.com/site/print_article/31686/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945462 | 344 | 1.609375 | 2 |
A really fun and creative (and a little daring) project for a child at least 4 years old with supervision. My 7 year old loves to work together with my 4 year old son to make a variety of patterns and pictures by hammering tiny nails through a hole in each piece of wood to attach it to a cork board. It includes 50 painted wood pieces, a 6" cork board, skinny nails, wood hammer, and suggested picture combinations. Charlie is very proud when he masters a picture and is starting to make up his own images. You can substitue wider headed nails or tacks if desired. Made by Haba in Germany.
Ages 4 and up. Keep out of reach of young children without supervision. | <urn:uuid:227c53dd-3d8e-47ee-930c-eda80c32a476> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.atoygarden.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.display/product_id/431/index.cfm?CFID=14446807&CFTOKEN=c10de7b3a0a702da-BE8C78A9-D61C-E357-D9B5D1F5B764A9ED | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944903 | 148 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Back to work after just over 2 weeks off……………
You’ve just looked at the calendar. It’s September.
But instead of wondering where the summer has gone and worrying about how Christmas is somehow suddenly only 3 months away, your worries turn to something much bigger… It’s your youngster’s first day at school.
Every parent knows there’s something about watching your little one walk through the school gates for the very first time, that just tugs on your heartstrings.
Suddenly, after 4 or 5 years, they’re ready to venture out into the big wide world and take their first little steps of independence.
However, a child’s first day at school signifies not only a new chapter for them, but for you too.
Your life once consisted of clients, meetings, telephone calls, budgets and deadlines. But you then put your paid career job on standby to take on a much more challenging and full-time role…becoming a mother.
As time passes, returning to the workforce can be as daunting as first leaving it. Where do you start looking? Should you go full-time or part-time? How do you negotiate your work-life fitting around your family-life?
Well, whether you’ve been off the job scene for a few months or a few years, here are a few simple steps that will help to gradually ease you back into office life.
Think Carefully About What You Want
When making the decision to return back to work, it’s important to clearly set out exactly what you want, and most importantly, what can realistically be achieved for yourself and your family.
Instead of diving in head first in an attempt to mask your worries of experiencing ‘empty nest syndrome’, take time to think about some of the following questions:
- Why do you want to go back to work?
- When would you ideally like to return?
- Are you looking to go part-time or full-time?
- Are you looking to resume your career, or simply take on a job to help pay for the family’s financial dividends?
- What arrangements are in place for childcare once you return back to work?
Discussing these questions with family and friends may also help you to assess how you feel about returning to work, as well as help to discuss what appropriate steps to take next.
Get Back In Touch
If you’re looking to return back to your previous workplace, it may be a good idea to get back in contact with some of your old colleagues, in order to put you in good stead for your return.
Meet up for a coffee one day and find out about any new news, developments or changes that have occurred in the company whilst you’ve been away changing nappies!
Getting back in the loop will soon make you feel at ease and is bound to help you slot straight back into the workplace quicker.
How To Go About Finding The Right Job
If like many, motherhood has made you decide to take on a new job role completely, there are several ways you can search for a job that’s right for you.
Finding job vacancies is easy and can be done at the touch of button.
Searching by location on local jobs boards, for example ‘jobs in Northampton’, allows you to find a comprehensive list of all the available jobs within your area, which can be refined by keyword and position-type.
Applying for jobs this way can also be done at your convenience, therefore allowing your job hunt to fit around your family’s day-to-day life.
What’s more, many companies offering administrative, sales and personal assistant roles can also often be done from the comfort of your own home, allowing you to effectively split your time between both the office and the home.
This article was written by Ella Mason, an experienced careers writer. Ella specialises in providing jobs advice for stay-at-home parents.
It’s been a few months since I was diagnosed with depression and I’m still on the medication although hopeful the doctor will reduce or end my time on them next week when I am due to see him. I’m feeling much better and with the aid of the medication can actually understand the difference now between “normal” rubbish days and depression. It’s hard to explain, but we all have down days, I thought I was just having a run of them back in the autumn, but now I see that what I was feeling was completely different, it was a constant fog of numbness, with frequent bouts of feeling insecure, inadequate and lost. I’m feeling like me again now and when I have a bad day, there is always light at the end of the tunnel and I am positive I can get through it.
What I have found though is the way some people talk to me and also the way I have been now I have been officially diagnosed with depression. Before my diagnosis I have worked with and known plenty of people who suffer from depression of some sort and I do think that it depends on who the person is and the reason for their depression as to how to speak to them. It does take an understanding of depression to be confident with those who have depression and I think sometimes that’s what our society lacks. So here’s my take on depression and what you can do for friends and family that suffer!
First of all, there are 2 types of depression. There is circumstantial depression. (These are my terms not medical terms). This is when someone is depressed because of an event that has happened in their life, death of a loved one, break up of a marriage, being made redundant. This is the kind of depression that has a trigger, it can usually be managed by counselling and may require medication. Then there is the other type of depression, which whilst has a trigger, it is sometimes seemingly out of the blue. The type I am talking about here would include Post Natal Depression, SAD and in my case, a bout of depression that seemingly came out of no where. I said the whole way through, that I am happy, work was good, me and Mr D were all good, nothing had happened to act as a trigger. From talking to the doctor I would say I have suffered silently since I was a teen, but mainly since B was born 9 years ago. I’ve managed it myself but this time it was worse.
The most important thing though, is that in all cases depression is an illness, caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain – whether this imbalance is caused by a specific trigger or an underlying possible genetic tendency (again, this is not based on medical fact, this is my view), it is an illness. If I had tonsillitis I would expect to be asked how I am but not the in’s and out’s of why I have it and what the prognosis is. Yet I have found that when people know I am being treated for depression they talk to me different, ask me how I am a lot, tip toe around speaking to me in the normal way in case they upset me. I don’t know if it is a conscious thing but all I would say is, talk to me how you always have!!
As for me, I noticed as I started to feel better I felt guilty for laughing. As the medication kicked in I reached a stage where i could hold it together in public or with friends and then let go when I was on my own, the tears were still there but they were once again hidden. To me inside that was a sign of being on the way back up as I have this stage on the way down too. Yet I found myself laughing or being daft with the kids and then pulling back from it, as if I had no right to laugh because I have depression. I guess this is part of the way depression takes hold. It does sometimes feel like the devil on your shoulder saying you are not allowed to enjoy yourself!
I am now back at work, hence the lack of posts on here for a while, and things are going well. I’m doing everything I have always done, the only difference is that at the moment I still need that tablet each morning. Oh and I still can’t drink yet, had a glass of wine on Christmas day and honestly forgot things I had said!!! It was a weird feeling, like being drunk without the slurred words, like flying without leaving the seat! So I am not going there again!!! I hope my little insight will help you to understand depression more, and remember, it’s still the same person inside so treat them how you always do and that’s the best way to aid anyone’s recovery!
I love this advert, sums it up great – this is a longer version of the advert we see on TV and brings a smile to my face every time!!!
This time five weeks ago I had made the decision to see the doctor about my depression and signed myself off sick for a week. Little did I know that would turn into 5 weeks off sick, but today I return to work!
I’ve come a long way in five weeks. I’m feeling much happier in myself, I’m not in tears at the littlest thing and I want to get back to normal. Five weeks ago I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, I didn’t think anything could lift the fog of depression. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not “fixed” yet. Recovering from depression takes time and I know that tomorrow morning I may wake up and want the world to go away. The difference now is that I have the ability to make myself do things no matter how hard it is. So watch this space on how my day goes!
I am worried, worried being at work will knock me back, worried I’m not yet ready and so will mess up and effect my confidence. As the doctor said though, it is a case of trying it and seeing how it goes, the reassurance I can go and get signed off again if it gets too much is like a crash net beneath me so I know I won’t hit rock bottom again. I’ve also got the benefit of it being almost Christmas, so with bank holidays and annual holiday already booked, I’m pretty much only working 7 days over the next 3 weeks. So a slow steady return to work will hopefully be the best way to ease myself back to normal!
My biggest fear is not how I will be round my colleagues, but how I will be working with the families I work with. I’ve noticed lately I will panic uncontrollably over silly little things, like being in a very crowded room for H’s Christmas Concert, or meeting friends for a meal – what if they don’t turn up, what if the food is awful as I suggested the venue, what if they ask how I am and I cry…………..
Watch this space!
Step one – shout help ~ check
Step two – take some time ~ check
Step three – back to work ~ here goes!!
On Monday i blogged about the fact I was starting to feel better. Oh how I wish I had kept my mouth shut! Tuesday and Wednesday I had that awful numb “I feel nothing” feeling. Then yesterday the tears returned. I don’t like to cry although I do cry easily. I find it’s a release if I am angry or upset about something, but when it is just uncontrollable crying for nothing I feel like a complete idiot, even when I am sat here on my own!
I have a week until I see the doctor again for a chat about how I am getting on and how to move forward. I know I was told that the side effects would last 1-2 weeks and I would start to feel better in 2-4 weeks but I was possibly kidding myself last week that the tablets were kicking in. I think as it turns out, the drowsy side effects were just meaning I switched off from my feelings for a while. The side effects are now wearing off, I no longer feel sick when I eat and I’m not yawning as much, but emotionally I feel back where I started! I am due to go back to work next Thursday and whilst that is a week away I am already getting panicy about it – not that I don’t want to get better or go back to work because to be honest time with my colleagues is something I do miss. Yet I’m convinced that going back to work is going to knock me back again. I know it’s a week away though and hopefully I will be feeling different though.
Thing is though I am really conscious that the people around me are fed up with it too. B keeps asking me if I am ok, to which I always say yes, so she asks why I am not at work! Mr D comes round in an evening and I can be happy and chirpy one minute and in tears the next, with no explanation. As for my family they are there for support but I don’t think any of them really get it. I don’t want to talk about it all the time but it’s always there.
I’ll keep on going, I am fed up big time of feeling this way. I wish I could just pull myself together and cheer up, but it’s really not that easy. I really feel like I am loosing me at the moment and that’s the scariest thing!
It’s half term this week and for a change, I have taken a week off work for no other reason than to look after my girls. We haven’t gone away anywhere, we don’t have visitors staying, just a week of us all off together. So far the week has been pretty uneventful, we spent the day at Stanwick Lakes on Sunday with Mr D and his 2 children. Then on Monday the curse of the Autumn cold hit our house and me and B both felt pretty rotten, so we had a duvet day!! Tuesday and Wednesday H was in nursery, as I had taken her funded nursery place as 12 hours per week until Christmas rather than 15 hours per week of term. I had hoped to do some more grown up stuff with B, like Paint a Pot and swimming, but as we were both still a little under the weather we went shopping instead!!
I’ve sat and helped B with her homework without us falling out, I’ve set up sticker charts to try and get their behaviours a bit more on track, and I’m currently listening to Justin Fletcher’s new album “Hands Up..The Album” for about the 4th time today!! (Watch this space, the album is released on 21st November and I’ll be reviewing the week before!!) My house is a mess, small people are jumping around all over the place, I’ve read a book in 2 days and feel a little guilty for doing nothing. It’s great!!!
It’s all got me thinking though, what if…….?
I think it’s one of the hardest things about being a parent, getting the work life balance right. The choice varies for all of us, no two families are the same and so no two people’s decisions are or can be seen as the same. For me, going back to work was a bit of a rollercoaster ride. H was only 16 months old and I hadn’t looked for work nor had any thoughts of returning to work. As much as I am sure people judged me for it, I was receiving benefits that saw me through each month, I’d been thrown into a situation I had no choice over and after paying my taxes since 16 when I started my first job, I figured I was entitled to take stock of my life and be a mum until I had sorted out what path to follow.
Then it was all a bit of a whirlwind, a friend told me about some jobs coming up working with families and children in the area, she said she thought I would be ideal for it, so I applied expecting that my minimal experience would generate a “thanks but no thanks” letter. I was pretty surprised when one November morning 2 years ago a letter turned up offering an interview. I arranged for a friend to have H and travelled the 50 mile round trip for the interview and then found out just over a week later that I had got the job! There was worry, would I actually be better off, would I be able to handle the part time job on top of bringing up two girls, lots of what if’s?
It’s now 19 months on and I love my job, I love my girls, I love my life and what I have built but there’s still that “what if?” which this week has brought out. I could have had every school holiday like this, I could have been able to make every sports day, every assembly, H could have been at home more. I’d have less stress about childcare and what to do when I have to work late. But then I wouldn’t have been able to go on holiday this year both with and without the girls, I wouldn’t have a car on the road making days out very difficult. I wouldn’t have met some really inspirational women who I now work with, and I wouldn’t have developed how I have as a mum and person in my own right.
I know I’ve missed out on some things with my girls, but I am hoping that what I gain by working is worth it and out weighs the negatives. Both the girls seem happy with the arrangement and I know H loves nursery. I guess the hardest part is working with families and trying to help them put routines in place, or helping to manage behaviours and wishing I was at home with my own children reinforcing the same boundaries! I guess this is all proof I needed this week off with my girls!
How do you make sure your work life balance is right for your family? And do you ever wonder What If…..?
I have two major things changing in my life right now and they are feeling like the hardest things to deal with right now. So I am opening up in the hope that my lovely readers can help me through it all!
The first is the fact that I have gone back to work after 2 years of being a stay at home single mum. It’s not the job, that’s a challenge, a lot to learn – but I have some fantastic colleagues and my boss is brilliant. It’s the changes at home that I thought I was prepared for but it turns out, I wasn’t! H has been going to nursery 1 afternoon a week for just over a year now. I started her going when I thought I had my old job to go back to after my maternity leave. When that fell through I kept her there for two reasons, firstly for the social aspect. At the time I had no real friends here and it was good for us to have a few hours break from each other and her mix with other young children. I also did it to keep her place there as I knew I would eventually return to work and after being on the waiting list and getting a place I didn’t want to lose that.
Last week I returned to work and H was in nursery for 2 1/2 days. The first day she willingly went in and toddled off without even a second glance to me. Great. It had worked. She already knew the place, the staff and the children. Day two she was a little less willing but still no tears and day 3 was the same. Then she was off for 4 days. She was full of cold for those four days, with a high temperature and just generally not herself. Monday morning came around and although I was on my day off, I took her as her routine needs establishing. She screamed the place down when I passed her over as she refused to walk in herself. She was very clingy when I collected her and it has been the same all week. Tonight she came home and wouldn’t let me go. She is eating, but not like she used to. She is still fighting off the tail end of the cold she had. She won’t eat anything but banana and raisins for breakfast – she was eating weetabix or rice crispies before and breakfast has never been a chore with her. More concerning than that is that she isn’t drinking. She used to drink on average 6 cups of various drinks throughout the day. Now I take her to nursery with a beaker of juice, she comes home and hasn’t finished it. She doesn’t have a full drink with breakfast and today had drunk nothing from 5pm to 7pm. She was screaming for juice but wouldn’t drink it. In the end good old Grandma came round and help me to get her to drink something before bed, without making it a big issue. It’s all so out of character for me and as she has never been a crying baby or toddler I have to admit it really upset me tonight. I seemed unable to give her what she wanted!
I was expecting difficulties with the change of routine but I wasn’t prepared for this! She is teething too and seems to have a sore mouth which doesn’t help. But not only that, I am conscious that with how clingy she has become, B is feeling it too that there is no time for me and her these days. On the plus there though, it is Easter holidays after tomorrow, and both weeks I have made sure I have a day off where it’s just me and B so hopefully that side of things will be better soon.
To top all this off, I am also having to say “Bon Voyage” to my very dear friend Mumtoj who is emigrating to Australia next Wednesday. I met her about a year ago, but in the last 7 months our friendship has grown to one of those you just know will stand the test of time. I have known for ages that she would be going back to Oz with her family just as soon as they sold their house and I’ll be honest and say that in the back of mind initially I didn’t want to get close because saying goodbye is just so hard. However, I am glad I didn’t listen to that little voice because our friendship is something I’m glad I will have in my heart forever. On paper we are so different, but it works. We talk about anything and everything and I am completely myself with her. Not just that but her J and my H are the best of friends even though he is 2 1/2 years older than her, they play together so well and are very close. So on Saturday we are going for our last day out. We are hopefully (weather dependent) taking all 3 kids to the seaside for the day, with fish and chips, buckets and spades and lots of laughter. I can’t wait, but at the same time, I am dreading the end of the day. I don’t want to say goodbye. I’m a jibbering wreck when I say goodbye to people. Plus I have to stay strong for the kids, H won’t understand properly, but B and J will. I’m not alone in saying goodbye though, she said her goodbyes to the rest of our group of friends today and I know they feel the same. I wish her all the luck in the world and I really hope she will find happiness with her family down under.
(I know she hates this pic but it’s the only one I have of the 2 of us!!! Sorry Mumtoj!!)
So there we go, the hardest things in the world right now for me. I love my life and I know change is good, but sometimes change can be very hard to adjust to!
I’ve been waiting for today for months. On that cold Thursday back in December I made the same 45 minute drive to the unknown. Oh I knew where I was going (my SatNav was telling me) and I knew why (I had the letter in my bag), but the unknown was what would happen when I got there, and when, if ever, anything would happen after that. My trip today though was more full of excitement than anxiety. It was full of hope for the future not just hope I could get through a few hours without messing up. It was my 1st day at work, not just the interview!
To say the last 3 months have been long is no understatement. I knew it wouldn’t be a quick start after finding out I had been offered the job due to checks and references all having to be done first, but I hadn’t been expecting 3 months waiting. Today my waiting ended. I woke early after a better nights sleep than I thought the nerves would let me get. The girls were very co-operative and there were no arguments or tantrums from either of them. We left the house on time; a first for a long time. I dropped B to school and H willingly went to nursery not even giving me a second glance and off I went.
I arrived around 10 minutes early, which had been my aim – not too early, not too late, but equally not walking in bang on 10am when I was due to start. I was thankful to see another lady getting out of her car and although the building houses many different offices and conference facilities, we said hello and confirmed we were both there for the same company. It was suddenly a nice feeling for the nerves to start to ease. Our morning was spent meeting our colleagues and bosses and talking briefly about the setting up of a completely new area. It was informal and more of a meet and greet than a day at work. Tomorrow it all starts properly when we all attend day 1 of our induction course.
I had been worried after 2 years out of work I would feel lost and out of control, but how wrong was I. From the moment I walked in it felt right. It felt like this is where my life is supposed to have taken me. Don’t get me wrong, I know the novelty will wear off, as with any job, I will reach a stage where I don’t want to get out of bed some mornings because I know I have horrible jobs to do that day. (Normally that’s when I have put off my filing for long enough and it’s reached a point I can no longer ignore!) I also know that due to the nature of my work I will have hard days that due to confidentiality I won’t be able to talk to anyone about outside of work. But today my biggest realisation is that this is right. I am now officially a Working Mum again, because that’s the right choice for me and my girls!
Spring has sprung and new life is appearing every where, I feel like Spring has sprung for me, a new season in my life and my arms are open to embrace it!
Tomorrow my life starts it’s big change. Tomorrow I collect my car!!!! I don’t really know how I have managed 16 months without one, but I have proved to myself a car is a luxury and I can live without one. However, as you all probably know, I am starting work soon and therefore a car has turned into a necessity!!
Excitement is an understatement. I have waited so long for this point. When I separated from my husband I moved the length of the country to start again near family. I had a great job – no a career – and I had hoped I could move with that but a combination of maternity leave and credit crunch that didn’t happen. I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do and I think in the back of mind was that once I’d licked my wounds I might move back North. For that reason, starting work down here is a very personal and public declaration that I am here to stay, which I hope won’t be met with groans from my brilliant friends here!
Aside from what it means in me getting back on track, I am so excited about getting back to work. I honestly didn’t think I would, a few months ago when I found out I had got the job I was actually worried about every aspect. Was I really up to the job, was it right for the kids, what about arranging childcare, what about when the girls are ill……… The list was endless. Now it’s nearly here and I will have my car within 24 hours. Childcare is all set up and in place. Oh and yesterday I got my letter with details of my 2 day induction! It’s really happening! I am sure I will blog more about all this as it happens, but I just wanted to let everyone know I feel as excited as a kid the week before Christmas!!!
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Free the Hops was not the reason the higher abv laws were passed. It takes a lot of time and money, mostly payed by Budweiser and Miller/Coors distributors throughout the state. Free the Hops is a non-profit organization that raised money in efforts to pay lobbyists to help in passing the law. The efforts by local distributors and political connections they have is the main reason why it passed. Higher alcohol beers means higher profits and more gross profit for each company distributing the beer. There are certain counties in the state that allow a higher volume package which sell 24oz cans but I believe that is there limit.
I've never fully understood the reason why Mississippi has 40's but there abv is still 6%. This will change to 8% by weight on July 2nd. That leaves Tennessee as the only other state in the Southeast that has a cap at 6%. Another state with awful alcohol laws is Kansas. Kansas has a cap at 3.2%, so basically everything tastes watered down. | <urn:uuid:3e857560-ad81-46d4-a81f-444aa0d1b2ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://alabama.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?Override=&mid=173881028&tid=173821187&fid=1986&style=1&showall=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977915 | 205 | 1.578125 | 2 |
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Tue November 4, 2008
Glitches Reported For Early Morning Voters In KCMO
Kansas City, MO – An election snafu stalled voting for hours in central Kansas City, Missouri this morning.
Thousands of voters in Kansas City lined up well before 6 this morning. But when the polls opened at several sites in the central part of the city, election workers had bad news: The wrong voter registration books had been delivered.
Jason Semour says he's voted at the same location for 12 years, and never seen delays. This morning, Semour says he waited, with about 200 others, for two hours until workers finally delivered the right voter registration book.
"Everybody in line was rolling their eyes," says Semour. "And going 'How in the world can this happen in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2008?' Very discouraging. Very suspect."
The voting book mix up appears to have been contained to one, heavily Democratic ward. Kansas City elections officials didn't respond to phone inquiries about the problems.
Across the Kansas City region, voters report long, but generally fast moving, lines, and lots of poll workers in place. | <urn:uuid:ced91ce7-4fe9-46e8-a02c-81c6cdf8993e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kcur.org/post/glitches-reported-early-morning-voters-kcmo | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958186 | 236 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Dr. Glahn was born and raised in the farm country of Lancaster County, PA, USA. He attended the Pennsylvania State University, earning a BS in biology (1983), an MS in physiology (1986) and a PhD in physiology (1989). During his graduate studies he was a member of the Poultry Science and Physiology departments. His graduate research defined the effects of mycotoxins on avian renal function and determined the causes and treatment of urolithiasis (kidney stones) in poultry.
He has held professional research associate positions at the Bethesda Naval Hospital (Intensive Care Unit), Bethesda, Maryland; the University of Arkansas (Department of Poultry and Animal Science), Fayetteville, Arkansas; and the Mayo Clinic and Foundation (Nephrology Research Unit), Rochester, Minnesota. His research experience spans the areas of general physiology, nutritional physiology, renal function, renal mycotoxicology, renal phosphate balance, and renal and hepatic blood flow. His expertise includes experience with numerous animal models (rodents, piglets, poultry, dogs and primates), human trials and in vitro techniques, specifically the culture of renal and intestinal epithelial cells.
In 1992 Dr. Glahn began his career as a USDA-ARS scientist. In this role his research focuses on bioavailability of essential micronutrients, specifically trace minerals such as iron and zinc. Iron has been the primary mineral of interest as iron deficiency is estimated to affect a third of the world’s population, especially women and children. From 1992 to 1998 he worked to develop a patented, simulated digestion/intestinal cell culture model that was designed to serve as a high throughput screening tool for food iron bioavailability. Such a tool is essential to determine multitude of food factors and interactions that can affect iron absorption in the intestine. Since 1998, continued application and validation of this model has led to its acceptance and use throughout the world as the leading in vitro model for food iron bioavailability. This model can be applied to iron fortification studies, iron supplementation evaluation, and is ideally suited to iron “biofortification” of staple food crops such as beans, maize, lentils, potatoes, rice and wheat. The capabilities of this system enable plant breeders to evaluate large numbers of samples, thus refining experimental crosses to breed for increased iron bioavailability. Dr. Glahn is currently using this model coupled with animal studies to develop lines of staple food crops that can be advanced for definitive human intervention trials.
Dr. Glahn has won several awards in his research career. As a graduate student he received a scholarship from the Pennsylvania Poultry Federation (1986), and received Excellence in Research Awards, from the Poultry Science Association in 1987 and 1988. In 1992 he received the Annual Award for Excellence in Research from the American Physiological Society, Section on Renal Physiology. In 1999, he received the Early Career Scientist of the Year Award for the North Atlantic Area of the Agriculture Research Service.
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