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State officials are urging residents to keep it local when they buy their Christmas tree this season.
At the WBZ Water Cooler: If you don’t have yours yet, you better get on it.
Experts say you have to keep a fake tree for a pretty long time to lessen its impact on the environment.
The Boston area has plenty of choice when it comes to shopping for the perfect Christmas Tree.
Boy Scouts in Foxboro say they’re saddened that someone has stolen a half dozen of the Christmas trees they sell. The empty space where the trees stood seems to symbolize the lack of reasoning behind such a theft in the season of giving. | <urn:uuid:e7831aa8-fdef-4766-8d61-ca3c9d437a5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boston.cbslocal.com/tag/christmas-trees/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950787 | 136 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Thursday, August 2, 2012 | 12:03 PM
Germany has been home to many groundbreaking innovators -- Gottlieb Daimler, Werner von Siemens, and Heinz Nixdorf to name but a few. But those great entrepreneurs launched their business long before the Internet. As the Economist recently reported, Germany and the rest of Europe are struggling to breed digital entrepreneurs. “Most sources of capital will shun them,” the magazine wrote. “Regulations will shackle them. And when they fail, as most are sure to do, they will not be allowed just to dust themselves off and start all over again.”
Because we believe the Internet must help overcome these obstacles, we are launching a new competition for digital entrepreneurs. Its called the “Gruender-Garage.” Unlike many startup contests which focus exclusively on tech, Gruender Garage is aimed at early-stage entrepreneurs in any field. Having a great idea you can 'release early and iterate' will count for more than a polished business model when it comes to judging. Winners will be named in October, and Google will match successfully fundraised competition ideas until a prize pot of EUR 150,000 is depleted.
Our partners in this unique project include the Entrepreneurship Foundation and Indiegogo.
Berlin-based Entrepreneurship Foundation will run the contest’s initial learning phase. provide the online training materials. Its founder Professor Guenter Faltin is the author of the best-selling book “Head beats Capital” (Kopf schlägt Kapital), that gives advice to early-stage founders. He and his team organize an annual entrepreneurship summit in Berlin, where the winners of the Garage-contest will be announced.
After the learning phase, the contest will focus on funding. Candidates will seek their own capital through Indiegogo, the world's largest platform and pioneer in crowdfunding. Gruender-Garage represents Indiegogo's first localised platform developed for the European market.
Recession and the euro crisis means Germany and the rest of Europe need to encourage new business creation. As many big European companies shed staff, startups - born in a garage or somewhere else - can pick up much of the slack. | <urn:uuid:38ec3502-d0dd-4e4a-8158-0cc5672c278b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://googlepolicyeurope.blogspot.com/2012/08/stimulating-garage-style-innovation-in.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932036 | 464 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Lansing police report felony arrests decreased during they year 2002, and overall crime in the city is down by 7.9 percent.
Police say community awareness will be essential for fighting crime this year. Though violent crimes have gone down more than six percent, robberies and burglaries are on the rise.
Lansing police say they may lose more than a dozen police personnel during the next few months, but they say most of those positions are administrative officers, rather than patrol officers, who help fight crime on the street. They say the cutback in officers should not affect crime in the city.
Authorities say crime in Lansing is at a 20 year low.
CRIME STATISTICS IN LANSING: | <urn:uuid:db13832e-a4d5-4486-bbf9-25575342ff6e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wilx.com/news/headlines/218146.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959721 | 145 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Evaluating Software - Avoiding the Elephant SyndromeBy Dave Kreimer, Principal of Next Step Consulting
You are probably familiar with the parable of the blind men who each assert their limited perception of the qualities of an elephant based on the single body part of the animal that they touch. Generating meaningful qualitative data about a software application can present similar challenges. A current, competitive software product is likely to have such an abundance of features and information that an individual can easily form a limited or inaccurate impression of the product. This article offers four suggestions to avoid the “elephant syndrome” when testing software products.
Be sure your product is reliable and complete enough for testing. To deliver meaningful feedback, participants require a test program that runs well enough to accurately represent its content and navigational conventions. Participants can ignore a fair number of problems commonly caused by Alpha versions of software, especially when they are properly warned. However, it may be difficult to get meaningful feedback from frustrated participants who spend too much time dealing with computer crashes or other technical problems. Alpha version test programs do not need to be complete in terms of content, but should demonstrate at least one level of information completely. For example, earlier this year I successfully tested a title on Home Repair when only the Plumbing chapter was complete. The numerous other incomplete chapters were not functional, but were represented by icons to make participants aware of the product’s scope.
Provide adequate time for participants to explore the program. The research objectives define how much exploration time participants require. Concept testing can be accomplished with quick exposure to the test program using a demonstration monitor in the focus group room. However, a thorough overview of a multimedia title requires that participants spend at least two hours exploring the program. I find participants are best prepared when they test products in their homes prior to the focus groups. Using a computer lab that also has a room suitable for focus groups is another effective method of exposing participants to test software.
Guide participants through all critical elements of the program. To avoid the “elephant syndrome” mentioned at the beginning of this article, provide participants with a worksheet or checklist that ensures a thorough exploration of the product. I often design worksheets that follow the flow of the discussion guide. As we progress through the focus group, I occasionally encourage participants to refer to their recorded comments.
Focus participant feedback on the information that will direct your next steps with the product. Avoid the pitfall of rushing through a two-hour group attempting to cover every feature of the program. Instead, focus your attention on the highest-priority issues. Two hours is usually enough time to explore participants' overall reaction to the user-interface and the information in the program, as well as several other important issues.
The sophistication of the software industry and computer users is growing at an incredibly rapid pace. Numerous clients have recently reported that the value derived from conducting market research on new software products has convinced them that it is a necessity for all future products. Next Step Consulting is committed to applying these principles, and others gleaned from experience, to assist clients in developing successful software products.
© Next Step Consulting | <urn:uuid:ed19e6d3-0394-4a21-9b6c-d4f5e1c6df1f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nextstepconsult.com/Article_3.php | 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 | 0.942916 | 636 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Un-Building Should Be Just as Green
Forget green building. Here’s a company that specializes in green unbuilding.
DeConstruction Services is a unique company that specializes in carefully disassembling residential and small commercial buildings in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. This fine old Virginia house was carefully deconstructed to salvage its still usable parts.
We are used to seeing the process of how a house is built green, starting from nothing. But here’s what the process looks like in reverse. This no longer fashionable older kitchen is carefully taken apart, piece by piece.
Everything that can be reused is saved.
The company is typically able to recycle or reclaim for reuse approximately 80% of the structure and its now unwanted contents.
This process makes available used building materials at greatly reduced prices to homeowners, re-modelers, landlords, and rental management companies.
The company creates new, stable jobs in a growing “green collar†industry, providing trade skills and permanent employment for at-risk workers.
With the green un-building salvage operation completed, now the (equally green; one hopes!) renovation can begin. | <urn:uuid:d935af7c-7b54-417f-98bf-e69ac6e0b9de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.homedesignfind.com/green/un-building-should-be-just-as-green/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945323 | 240 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Saturday, December 3rd, 2011
With good reason, I’ve never been able to legitimately process the double standard of leading a child to believe in Santa Claus while at the same time teaching them not to lie.
It’s interesting how far we have had to stretch the lies, just like with any outrageous falsehood, in order to keep kids believing.
“How does Santa fit down the chimney? How does he fit all the toys in his sleigh? How does he travel the whole world overnight?”
(Insert ridiculous answers here.)
Yes, the legend of Santa Claus was born of Christian folklore, so as a predominately Christian nation, we can rest assured knowing that jolly ole St. Nick has accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. He has been confirmed, baptized, and even has a tattoo of John 3:16 on his arm.
Yet we can’t deny that in the way John Lennon once infamously claimed that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus, the fame of Santa arguably is greater than the actual reason Christmas came to be celebrated in the first place: the birth of Jesus as the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament.
But can we really get caught up in this particular double standard? Aren’t there other white lies we tell our kids to either A) comfort them or B) entertain them? Yup.
A very traditional white lie I’ve heard parents tell their kids is that when a loved one dies, in particular a grandparent, that person becomes an angel who watches over them in Heaven.
Sorry, the Bible doesn’t say that. I don’t know of any popular religion that actually does.
Besides, what does that even mean? How does Grandpa Murphy “watch over” your kid? Does he part the clouds, look down and see little Jaxon about to run over a stick while riding his bike, so Grandpa sends a few of his buddy angels to kick the stick out of the way just in time, saving Jaxon from crashing his bike?
Sure, the Bible says that there are guardian angels, but we don’t actually become them ourselves after entering Heaven. So it’s a white lie.
It’s a similar thing when a beloved pet dies. Yeah, all dogs go to Heaven, just like that movie that came out when I was in 2nd grade. Cats? Yeah, them too. The goldfish? That’s debatable. Now, let’s stop asking so many questions and finish eating this delicious Hamburger Helper dinner.
Don’t worry, we “helped” that cow go to Heaven quicker and meet all his cow family that were part of those burgers we grilled out last weekend.
Image: Traditional Santa Clause via Shutterstock.
Want to read more on the subject? Today I am giving away a copy of the new book, Christmas is Not Your Birthday, to one lucky and curious reader. The book’s author, Mike Slaughter, is the lead pastor of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio.
Through his church’s annual Christmas Miracle Offering, over $5 million has been raised for humanitarian relief in Darfur. If you ask me, this guy sounds like a real life Santa Claus. Not one that gives toys to kids, but instead someone who helps keep them from dying.
Just be the first person to A) leave a comment on this post saying you want it and B) send me an email including your mailing address to firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:5e304275-4b4c-4e2b-b8e3-995aa4ae63d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.parents.com/blogs/dadabase/tag/pets/ | 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 | 0.957358 | 754 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Mining. Location of events unknown.
L/S of two large lift pulley wheels at pit head. Various shots of the colliery buildings. L/S and of two men walking up steps to the top of pit head. Shots of two men wearing yellow overalls and hard hats walking around colliery. Shots of their feet walking...
A look at a mining process begun at ground level. No soundtrack or paperwork to indicate the type of mining or location.
Unemployed miners seem to be helping themselves to a few sacks of coal.
A rescue party attempts to reach trapped miners after a pit disaster in Falkirk.
Derailed coal trucks cause a lot of damage but luckily no one is injured. Wales.
Shots of the Broken shaft at the Levant Tin Mine in Cornwall that caused many deaths.
British troops blowing up mines at beaches.
Fork lift truck fills truck in open quarry.
Shots of coal mine winding gear. | <urn:uuid:45474b4d-b09c-4772-b807-05ea2e675307> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.britishpathe.com/video/mining | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943667 | 195 | 1.695313 | 2 |
DAMASCUS- Many Syrian activists online have reported that demonstrations erupted early today at some cities to celebrate Independence National Day of Syria. Activists called for protests through social network sites.
Activists reaffirmed their right to stage peaceful protests.
Syria's leading pro-democracy group, the Damascus Declaration group, urged Syrians to stage peaceful protests in all Syrian cities and abroad to bolster Syria's popular uprising and ensure its continuity.
Syrian protesters chanted slogans calling for greater freedom at an Independence Day rally in the southern town of Suweida on Sunday, a witness said.
"God, Syria, freedom, that's all," chanted several hundred protesters among the crowd. They also shouted "no fear" and slogans supporting the city of Deraa, where protests first broke out a month ago and which has seen the heaviest bloodshed.
Syrian Authorities seized on Sunday a huge consignment of weapons in a refrigerator car driven by an Iraqi in a bid to smuggle it from Iraq to Syria via al-Tanf border crossing.
Director-General of Syrian Customs Mustapha al-Bikai told SANA that “Weapons seized comprise up-to-date machine guns of various kinds, automatic rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, telescopes, bomb-shooters and large quantities of various kinds of ammunition.”
He added “weapons were hidden in a clandestine 12-meter-long cache, well-prepared and equipped with compressors for opening it.” He commented that the weapons were enveloped in a tin material so as not to be detected by devices.
Bikai said other weapons consignments have been seized lately as there were attempts at smuggling them into Syria via Bab al-Hawa, as-Salama, Jdaidet Yabous crossings.
''Transport and passengers' movement continue as usual,'' al-Bikai told SANA.
In Homs, The streets and neighborhoods of Homs on Saturday echoed with the cheering of thousands of bereaved citizens who gathered to pay the last honors to Issam Mohammad Hassan and express their pride of their martyr.
Sergeant Major of Homs police force, Mohammad Hassan, was martyred on Friday after being assaulted by protesters with batons and stones while in the line of his duty.
Meanwhile, today is Palm Sunday. Christians in Syria will pray in churches; but they will not carry out usual celebrations on the street.
Syria's President promised Saturday to end 48 years of emergency rule this coming week but coupled his concession with a stern warning that further unrest will be considered sabotage.
Rallies in Syria would take place on Sunday to mark Evacuation Day, commemorating the departure of the last French soldiers 65 years ago and Syria's proclamation of independence. Pro-Government were also present declaring loyalty to the President and Syria. | <urn:uuid:723c0ee4-a2d1-45a3-8823-9ae34f51955c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dp-news.com/en/detail.aspx?articleid=81039 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962705 | 574 | 1.5 | 2 |
Dr. Bruyette welcomes internal medicine and endocrinology questions from veterinarians and veterinary technicians.
Click here to submit your question, or send an e-mail to email@example.com
with the subject line "Internal medicine questions."
We saw a 5-year-old spayed female rat terrier mix 11 days ago for acute onset of imbalance and stumbling. No nystagmus or
nausea or change in mentation had been noted. On examination, the dog was ataxic and had a head tilt down and to the right.
Its left ear was held erect, as was normal for both of the dog's ears, but the right ear was held down. No nystagmus or spinal
pain was noted. The dog appeared to have normal cranial nerve function, but we could not evaluate the ears or conscious proprioception
reflexes. We initiated treatment with antibiotics, and there has been no change in clinical signs. What should be on our differential
diagnosis list other than vestibular disease?
A. With the acute onset of signs that are nonprogressive in a 5-year-old dog, I think the most likely diagnosis is a brain
infarction. You would need magnetic resonance imaging to confirm it, but given the patient's history and examination results,
this would be a likely diagnosis.
Dr. David S. Bruyette
Often, we do not find an underlying cause for an infarction, but it would be a good idea to screen for hypothyroidism, check
the urine for proteinuria, and obtain a blood pressure measurement to rule out hypertension.
David S. Bruyette, DVM, DACVIM
VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital
1818 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
West Los Angeles, CA 90025
Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation and Consultation
26205 Fairside Road
Malibu, CA 90256
1. Garosi L, McConnell JF, Platt SR, et al. Clinical and topographic magnetic resonance characteristics of suspected brain infarction
in 40 dogs. J Vet Intern Med 2006;20(2):311-321. | <urn:uuid:b58644de-454c-423a-9a8f-4571c3483f7c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/vetmed/Medicine/Just-Ask-the-Expert-Differential-diagnoses-in-a-do/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/712038 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930392 | 457 | 1.78125 | 2 |
05-Feb-2010 -- Background
My name is Rod Maher. My work takes me to many places that few other people will ever go, or want to go in some cases, I suspect. In February 2010 I was working on a seismic exploration crew in the Western Sahara Desert, Algeria, North Africa. The classic image of the Sahara Desert is a sea of sand dunes, and this is in fact the case for a lot of it. However, in the vicinity of 31N 1E there are also large areas of rocky outcrops called "jabal" cut by deep and wide dried-up river beds or "wādiys". In some places there's even water on the surface and although the desert does have a beauty all of its own, a splash of surface water makes a welcome scenic change from what can be monotonous mile after monotonous mile of dry barren desert.
I had been waiting for my next chance to visit a confluence point for over a year since doing a short job in Kurdistan, North Iraq in 2008 where I went to 36N 44E. I had been going in and out of Algeria for more than 2 years and despite the numerous unvisited confluence points there, I always missed the chance to visit one. Some time ago now I thought I was finally going to visit a confluence point in Algeria and submitted a plan; only to be thwarted by the strict security regulations in place in the country. I was within about 15 km of it but could go no further. This cannot be planned for because it is almost impossible to get security information ahead of time. You just go where you want to go until someone tells you to stop. I was expecting a similar situation with 31N 1E and so I didn't bother to submit a plan to the DCP.
Google Earth has for me become an invaluable aid to navigation in places where there are no roads and unforgiving natural obstacles that could stop an army of tanks in its tracks. As I waited impatiently for a chance to go, I would mull over maps looking for possible routes, avoiding large sand dunes and rocky outcrops. Without roads and without any previous scouting, it was going to be a magical mystery tour. And so the planning stage was largely comprised of sticking pins on the map and crossing my fingers.
The opportunity to visit the point came on 4 February 2010 when changes in the work plan made an area of previous little interest become the focus of attention. This area just happened to be within a few km of confluence point 31N 1E. A scouting trip was planned and I loaded up my GPS.
On the scouting trip were two fellow doodlebuggers:
- Top Tech Aussie Phil Andrews who has been working in seismic for so long it is rumoured that he actually invented it. Phil is also rumoured to have had his shaving razor stolen back in the early 80's and has refused to pay for another one until the culprit is caught.
- Also on the trip was Vibrator Mechanic Phil Kenny. Yes, Phil does actually maintain and fix vibrators. Those unfamiliar with seismic exploration may think this a rather peculiar occupation, but a vibrator mechanic is someone who deals with very large vibrators that can vibrate at a range of frequencies and a range of strengths. These vibrators are used to shake the ground producing seismic energy that is reflected off the different layers of rock. The reflections can then be used to draw a picture of what is beneath the surface. A bit like bats use sound reflections in air to draw mental pictures of their surroundings.
It was a very cold 5 February morning when me, Phil and Phil set off from our desert camp. The sun was barely above the dunes and the temperature was down into low single figures. A thin crust of ice still clung to the Toyota roof. We collected our lunch packs and our obligatory military escort and headed off into the unknown. Our convoy snaked its way through the dune ridges and clawed up the steep jabal. Google Earth was as good as its word and the points of least resistance I had picked out from the satellite image were taking us around the worst of the terrain.
As I have mentioned there's water in this area and consequently it is part of a route used by Bedouin and camel farmers. For the most part the water is 20 to 30 m below the surface and there are several hand dug wells like the one pictured. A pile of rocks on a nearby high point is a signpost that can be seen for miles around, guiding travellers to the thirst quenching water. The well in the picture was around 30 m deep and about a metre in diameter. It was incredible to think that many years ago it had been dug by hand with nothing more than picks and shovels. Old ruins can also be found near the wells depicting a time when these places were a hub of activity. Desert truffles grow here amongst the sparse vegetation and 'truffle hunters' can occasionally be seen pacing back and forth, head down scanning the ground for tell tale bumps in the sand.
Numerous animal tracks crisscross the dunes. The surface water pools in the area support rodents, rabbits, foxes, and gazelle. But you have to be very lucky to see one close up, let alone photograph one. There are several varieties of birds including large birds of prey. And of course there's the usual supply of lizards, snakes, scorpions, and various other underground desert dwellers.
Arriving at the Confluence Point
After the first 15 km or so of sand and rock we came out onto fairly open gravel plain and continued heading toward the point. The kilometres were passing uneventfully until a stern voice came on the radio; it was the military escort commander, the "chef d'escorte". I didn't fully understand what was being said but it sounded important. "Another failed attempt", I thought miserably. He is now going to tell us we are heading into a restricted area.
But no, it seems he was concerned about when they would be stopping for a morning cup of šāy - a small glass of over-stewed, sickly sweet tea that the Algerians love. Good for energy, no doubt, but not exactly my cup of tea.
As we got within a few hundred metres of the point, I took a few pictures of the area. It was clear that we were going to be in the middle of a large open expanse of sandy gravel plain. I was hoping there might be some features of visual interest; a jabal cliff, a nice sand dune, but it was not to be.
I took many pictures of the cardinal points and of my GPS. I was due to leave Algeria in a few days time and it was unlikely that I would ever get back to this spot again so I wanted to make sure I had the necessary pictures for the Degree Confluence Project.
The military "chef d'escorte" seemed quite unimpressed that the GPS was showing all zeroes but he took a couple of pictures of me, Phil and Phil standing on the point. It would have been good to get pictures of us all at the confluence point; there were actually many people there. But taking pictures of the military is not permitted.
Our convoy then turned around and headed back to camp following the tracks we had made on the way there. The Algerian military are for the most part very helpful and friendly. They joked about coming all this way to take a few pictures and then going all the way back again.
I think Phil Kenny has caught the confluence point bug because he is now talking about visiting some. And of course, as a doodlebugger he too will be going to places where no one has gone before.
31N 1E is not the prettiest most interesting place on the planet but during our day in the desert we had scouted the area of interest for the Seismic Exploration Project and we also got another point for the Degree Confluence Project.
So a good day all round.
Looking forward to the next one.
See my website for more pics from around the world... RodMaher.org.uk | <urn:uuid:cc39a787-3f44-41c7-b6a2-ffc62f40d197> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?id=5280 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97716 | 1,695 | 1.554688 | 2 |
edical marijuana dispensaries serve a critical purpose in the city of Los Angeles, providing a reliable means for qualified medical patients to obtain medical marijuana in accordance with California law. Dispensary regulation also creates a mechanism for local government oversight of medical marijuana cultivation and distribution. Though many aspects of medical marijuana dispensary regulation are the responsibility of the state government, zoning decisions and conditional use permitting processes governing the operation of the city’s medical marijuana dispensaries are the purview of the City Council.
The Los Angeles Police Department recently issued recommendations to the City Council for a list of restrictions to be imposed on all existing and future medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. These recommendations serve as a useful reference point for some of the issues facing the City Council in its determination of appropriate guidelines for the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries; however, they do not reflect an entirely accurate understanding of California’s medical marijuana laws. | <urn:uuid:bb6dd9d2-f643-4d6a-af87-d7665d2f5c1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reason.org/news/printer/sensible-policies-for-medical | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93362 | 179 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Proposed: A CME funding model that could reduce the perception of bias.
The continuing medical education community needs a funding model that specifically addresses the issues involved in industry support: the potential for influence when content andare supported by a single grantor, the lack of equity in the granting opportunities available to different provider types, and an increasing difficulty in securing an adequate source of funding.
A commercial-support/advocacy consortium, or CSAC, model would allow CME providers to easily find multiple supporters and funding at levels needed to provide effective performance-improvement CME and meaningful outcomes measurements. It also would make the process more transparent by listing on a consortium-specific Web site funding amounts, specific dollar amounts received by each collaborating education partner, and summaries of results-driven improvements in practice and patient care. Here’s an overview of how it would work.
Filling the Funding Pool
In this model, all commercial supporters interested in a particular disease state or condition would form a consortium. Commercial supporters could participate in any number of consortia within their therapeutic interests.
To begin, each commercial supporter would contribute the same amount of money (e.g., $3 million x 3 years = $15 million) in total the first year. The money would be used for grant funds and developing the consortium Web site and Web site content (including a grant submission portal, grant disclosure posting, performance and patient care outcomes summaries, and stipends for those serving on and chairing the advisory and advocacy boards).
The money would not be returned for any reason, including dropping out of the consortium, and if proposals aren’t funded, the money would remain in the pool. Any funds remaining at the end could be used for a grant via request for proposal(RFP) for patient education tools/materials in the consortium’s stated disease or condition. These materials would be available for every future activity and/or offered to every related association/society for posting on their Web sites (at no additional charge to the consortium). Leftover funds also could be used to improve the consortium Web site (funds used for this purpose only once in the 3 year cycle); or consortium members could elect to roll the funds over to the next year provided that there are insufficient funds to provide patient education tools/materials or the one-time Web site improvement.
Five groups would compose the CSAC’s grant review committee: a CME group, a medical affairs group, a legal/compliance group, an advisory group, and an advocacy group. Each CSAC member company would contribute one representative from their organization to the CME, medical affairs, and legal/compliance groups.
The advisory board would be made up of external CME advisers, one recommended by each supporter. This person may be a member of the organization’s existing external CME advisory board. The CME group and the advisory board would elect a member of the advisory board as chairperson (the nominee must win more than 50 percent of the vote) for a term of three years. The chairperson would serve as chair of the Grant Review Committeee as well. Duties would include: conducting meetings via any method and frequency that is efficient and effective—e-mail, conference call, online, or live. The grant-review committee chairperson also would ensure that evaluation criteria are developed and used appropriately. This includes verifying that each organization’s compliance needs are met, and that the criteria are objective and pertinent, and adhere to all standards, policies, regulations, and codes. The grant review committee chairperson also would meet with appropriate parties to resolve any internal and external disputes.
The advisory board chairperson would reach out to the pertinent advocacy groups for representative(s) to serve on the advocacy board. Depending upon the number of advocacy groups, the board could be composed of a minimum of three to a maximum of seven members.
The Advocacy board also would elect, with a more than 50 percent majority, a chairperson from among its members. This person would conduct the board's grant review meetings and serve as liaison to the Grant Review Committeee.
The grant-review committee and advocacy boards, in separate meetings, would review and rank the proposals according to the metrics (highest number of votes, highest scores, etc.) determined by the consortium. The chairpersons of these boards would compile the final proposal rankings.
The consortium could elect to secure a third-party entity to manage the finances and administrative duties, or rotate that decision among the consortium members. Members also could elect a CME rep, from among their members, to provide update reports on activities and outcomes to all consortium members.
The Granting Process
In this model, all provider types would be eligible to submit a grant proposal to the consortium. Amounts would be set at no less than $1 million, and there would be a minimum of two collaborators for each submission. One collaborator must be either an association/society or university center of excellence, regardless of the provider type submitting the proposal. The CSAC Web site would include a portal for online grant submission and the posting of provided grants (with specific amounts noted for both the CME providers and each collaborator who receive the grant). It also would have a section to describe each initiative, the outcomes in practice and patient-care improvement, and the number and type of healthcare professionals educated per activity.
Proposals would be required to include a multifaceted initiative with outcome data plans that demonstrate objective improvement in both physician practice and patient care; a patient-education component or tools for practice; and an indication of how local and or community agencies will be educated (e.g., block grants). If any proposal is declined due to questions about a provider’s reputation, it would have to be fully documented, and any compliance issues would be reported to the Accreditation Council for CME.
The grant review committee and the advocacy board would conduct the initial review of the proposal and give a specific rationale for an up or down vote. All proposals would have to be approved unanimously. If a proposal doesn’t receive unanimous approval, the grant-review chairperson would have the discretion to invite further discussion. Any proposal that was not unanimously approved after discussion would be declined.
The advocacy and advisory board chairpersons then would rank the proposals for funding based on the established metrics.
Worth the Work
The CSAC model would provide multiple support sources, more thorough and effective initiatives for educating healthcare providers, more objective and comprehensive PI activities, and meaningful outcomes data regarding patient health improvement. It also would significantly reduce the perception of bias. The unanimous voting and the inability to reduce or return monies to individual supporters would decrease the likelihood of furthering the specific interests of a particular organization. With the advisory board, and chairpersons paid by the consortium and elected by the members, disputes would not be resolved at the level of any particular commercial supporter.
This model would require hard work, determination, persistence, tact, and diplomacy. It would require an investment of time, personnel and other resources, and it would require passionate champions to see it through. Anything worthwhile requires nothing less.
Would this be the magic bullet to cure all that ails CME today? No. But it would be an opportunity to reaffirm that CME can continue to result in improved practice and patient care. n
Barbara Fuchs, MS, CCMEP, CPHQ, is president of EPIQ Services LLC, specializing in CME consulting. She has held leadership positions across the healthcare industry as an accredited provider, commercial supporter, and in clinical nursing). Her expertise includes case/quality management and performance improvement.You can reach her at bfuchs@email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:0711fb4b-8bbd-46f8-ab03-698ffc23e3de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://meetingsnet.com/medicalmeetings/news/cme_funding_proposal1124 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95621 | 1,592 | 1.65625 | 2 |
New Mass. Health Insurance Law Breeds Fraud
Correction March 5, 2009
The story described a 47-year-old businessman making $40,000 a year and said, "As long as he goes without insurance, the state penalizes him. At tax time he’ll get a $900 fine." According to the state of Massachusetts, someone fitting that description would be eligible for a waiver of the penalty.
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Now let's report on health insurance scams. Three years ago, Massachusetts mandated that every resident had to have health insurance. The market blew wide open for insurance companies and some, we're now told, took advantage of consumers. Reporter and Kaiser Foundation fellow Karen Brown reports.
(Soundbite of machines)
KAREN BROWN: Gary Cludier(ph) hasn't had health insurance since the 1980s. He owns an auto body repair shop in Westfield, Massachusetts and takes home amount $40,000 a year. But business is way down. He knows he's supposed to buy health coverage to comply with state law. But he doesn't know where he'll find the money.
Mr. GARY CLUDIER (Business Owner): What else can I cut? I mean I've got a truck that's a '99, that's going on 10 years old with the 160-something thousand miles on it. I can't afford another truck. You know, last week my phone got turned off. I haven't paid myself in a month and a half.
BROWN: As long as he goes without insurance, the state penalizes him. At tax time he'll get a $900 fine. And frankly, he wishes he did have health coverage. After all, he works around toxic chemicals and heavy equipment. So he started to search on the Internet for cheap deals, and that led to a barrage of enticing offers by e-mail and fax from anonymous brokers.
Mr. CLUDIER: You know, I come in the morning and, you know, affordable health insurance, you know…
(Soundbite of paper rustling)
Mr. CLUDIER: These are two of the things that, you know, they come daily.
BROWN: While I was in Cludier's office…
(Soundbite of phone ringing)
BROWN: …he got a call from one of the brokers trying to sell him a policy.
Mr. CLUDIER: Well, not to, you know, interrupt you, but I'll give you my situation. I'm a small business owner. I'm 47 years old. And what would be the bottom line that it would cost me per month to get health insurance so that I can qualify under Massachusetts's new laws? One sixty-six and three what?
BROWN: It sounded like a deal compared to the $400 premium he'd seen on the state's Web site. But that's because the affordable plan has a $10,000 hospital deductible, no drug coverage, and only six paid doctors visits a year. The benefits are so skimpy, they don't meet the minimum legal standards for Massachusetts. Had Cludier bought the plan, the state would have penalized him anyway.
Ms. MARTHA COAKLEY (Massachusetts Attorney General): We have been aware from the beginning that this is a problem that if we don't pay attention to it now could grow.
BROWN: Martha Coakley is Massachusetts's attorney general.
Ms. COAKLEY: Whenever you've a new law in effect and you have anything mandated, it's an opportunity for those who haven't sold products or services before, particularly health care, to come into a new market. There is a potential for people who are trying to cut corners or trying to make money to do that.
BROWN: Last year, 3,100 consumers called the attorney general's office complaining of health insurance fraud, including deceptive advertising and marketing of plans that don't meet Massachusetts standards. Coakley filed suit against two companies, hoping they send a message to others. Many other cases were resolved through mediation.
Mr. BRIAN ROSSMAN (Consumer Advocate): There's some really bad insurers out there from out of state.
BROWN: Consumer advocate Brian Rossman is with Boston-based Healthcare For All, which wants to see Massachusetts becomes a national model for health reform. He worries that fly-by-night insurance companies could dampen support for the insurance mandate. But he says the new law isn't to blame.
Mr. ROSSMAN: This was here before. This isn't a health reform issue. I think public education is the way to get at this problem.
BROWN: Still, with the cost of legitimate health plans soaring, consumers remain vulnerable to opportunists. Business owner Gerry Cludier is still without any health coverage. He has found cheap plans and comprehensive plans, but never both together. So he crumples up all the offers and throws them away.
For NPR News, I'm Karen Brown.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio. | <urn:uuid:9682b4e3-9837-4cc8-9b93-9ee1bd80186d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101368708 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965743 | 1,096 | 1.601563 | 2 |
After several delays, a trial for Oracle's intellectual property suit against Google has been set to start on April 16th. California judge William Alsup issued an order yesterday setting the trial date and stating that he expected the case to last about eight weeks. This suit will determine whether the Java-based code on Google's Android platform violates patents and copyrights owned by Oracle, particularly a method for conserving memory and a way to handle references when compiling code. If Oracle wins the case, it's possible it will be able to pressure Google into bringing Android in line with the official Java platform, something it has claimed is its ultimate goal in this lawsuit.
Although this pushes back the trial a little (it was previously set to start on or after March 19th), the date is still a win for Oracle, which has consistently asked for earlier trial dates than Google. In order to simplify the trial, Oracle has offered to withdraw three patents from the case, potentially narrowing its scope to two patents and any infringing copyrights. However, Alsup has thrown out some methods that Oracle had proposed for measuring damages, including a calculation based on Android's hypothetical market share with and without the patented features. That means Oracle's likely to be getting less than it originally asked for if it wins the suit.
With the court date approaching, it's possible that the parties will settle, especially if Oracle decides that the scope of any court order against Google is too narrow to affect its use of Android. Mid-April is a bit closer than the previous dates (which have been set at least a couple of months after their trial orders), so we'll be watching to see if the suit actually ends up going to court this time. | <urn:uuid:bcf4e3cd-4eca-450d-85b4-eb432f2ab6d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mobile.theverge.com/2012/3/14/2870842/oracle-suit-against-google-android-patent-trial-set-april-16th | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973044 | 343 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Liberal Christianity at the Crossroads by John B. Cobb, Jr.
John B. Cobb, Jr., Ph.D. is Professor of Theology Emeritus at the Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, California, and Co-Director of the Center for Process Studies there. His many books currently in print include: Reclaiming the Church (1997); with Herman Daly, For the Common Good; Becoming a Thinking Christian (1993); Sustainability (1992); Can Christ Become Good News Again? (1991); ed. with Christopher Ives, The Emptying God: a Buddhist-Jewish-Christian Conversation (1990); with Charles Birch, The Liberation of Life; and with David Griffin, Process Theology: An Introductory Exposition (1977). He is a retired minister in the United Methodist Church. His email address is firstname.lastname@example.org.. Published by Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1973. Used by permission. This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted & Winnie Brock.
Chapter 10: The Faith That Kills and the Faith That Quickens
We live in a time when the four-letter words are "in" and the three-letter words, such as God and sin, are "out." Many people, even people in the churches, are uncomfortable with these words. They conjure up associations that are either incredible or objectionable, or both. In the presence of those for whom these words have such connotations, and their name is legion, I too am uncomfortable with them. But left to myself, in my personal understanding of reality, I find them useful and necessary. I believe that life is a gift and I can think of no better way to name the giver than "God." I find within myself that which blinds me to the possibilities of life and refuses to embody them even when I see them clearly, and I can think of no better way to speak of that than as sin.
Many of those who are no longer comfortable speaking of God and sin still speak much of faith. They find "faith" a word they can utter without embarrassment. Indeed, it is striking how central that word has become, as the word "God" fades to the margins.
I, on the contrary, hesitate before the word "faith." It means so many different things, and it is so easily used to conceal an absence of meaning. The common use of this slippery word falsely suggests agreement where there is none. And yet it is claimed that salvation itself depends upon what it names, or faith is even identified with salvation.
The reason for the excessive use of this word is that the Reformers, and especially Luther, discovered such rich meaning in it. To follow Luther has meant more than anything else to accept the slogan "justification by faith alone." Most of the greatest theologians of modern times have worked in the shadow of Luther.
The phrase "justification by faith alone" is not in the Bible. Even the phrase "justification by faith" is rare. It is one of several ways in which Paul makes the crucial point that we do not save ourselves by obedience to the law, but that instead God has done what was necessary through Christ.
However, faith is not just a narrowly Lutheran approach to justification. In some form it is crucial to religion in general and even to quasi-religious movements. To take a far-out example, consider the following quote from Ken Kesey as reported by Tom Wolfe in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test: "‘You’ve got to have some faith in what we’re trying to do. It’s easy to have faith as long as it goes along with what you already know. But you’ve got to have faith in us all the way. Somebody like Gleason -- Gleason was with us this far.’ Kesey spreads his thumb and forefinger about two inches apart. ‘He was with us as long as our fantasy coincided with his. But as soon as we went on further, he didn’t understand it, so he was against us. He had . . . no faith.’" (Bantam Books, Inc., edition, 1969, p. 27. The Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc., edition was published in 1968.)
But what is this faith for which both Martin Luther and Ken Kesey as well as many other religious leaders call? Is it the uncritical acceptance of someone else’s authority? Certainly faith is closely associated in the popular mind with such authoritarianism, and Kesey’s call for faith could even be understood in this sense. This is the worst fate that has befallen the idea, but it was and continues to be an almost inevitable development. Consider how it happened in Christianity.
In the first generation Christians witnessed to an event that transformed their human condition and situation. Their lives and communities supported the credibility of their witness. What they said rang true to others. These people acted upon it, and their initial confidence was reinforced. Their lives were reordered around this new central fact and experience.
Believing the message was a matter of faith. Acting upon that belief was a matter of faith. Remaining loyal to its implications and living in the community of those who believed was a matter of faith. There was authority aplenty here, but there was no authoritarianism.
However, as time passed the situation inevitably changed. The Christian community settled down to become one among others. Its claims became one set of teachings alongside others. The reasonable man asked evidence or proof. Why should one accept Christ rather than another?
It is to the church’s credit that on the whole it accepted the challenge and tried intelligently to explain itself. Sometimes it succeeded in persuading an honest inquirer that what it taught made more sense than any other teaching available. He might then become a Christian. But the church could not exist as an assembly of individuals whose reason had led them to more or less similar conclusions. The church had a received truth that it could not submit to a popular vote. The received doctrine had the authority of the apostles, and the community used its own authority to keep its members faithful to this doctrine. Faith came to mean the acceptance of the authority of the apostles based upon acceptance of the authority of the community. What was believed by faith was what the community understood the apostles to have taught.
The local community became more and more a part of a larger institution. Authority moved from the community to the inclusive church and its officers. If this had not occurred, the many communities would have drifted into hopeless diversity. But when it occurred, the shift to authoritarianism became complete. Decisions about what is to be believed are made for one by distant and unknown persons many of whom are long dead. One must believe because the institution requires belief. Penalties for not believing as one should arise and are enforced by social pressure, by the church, and even at times by the state. Faith becomes acceptance of what one finds implausible on the grounds of an external and coercive authority. Nothing could be farther from the New Testament! Yet no development from the New Testament could be more natural!
Luther did much to distinguish saving faith from the acceptance of beliefs on authority. Faith was for him a deeply inward and personal appropriation for oneself of the promise of God. It involved all of man’s faculties. But this faith still presupposed the objective reliability of the Bible. The acceptance of that reliability became the ground for a new authoritarianism in which a book was substituted for an institution. The repeated efforts of Christian thinkers to avoid the association of faith with that authoritarianism have been only partly successful.
We can understand why authoritarian belief arises. We can see that it helps to maintain the unity of the church, and that, when the belief is sane and positive, it helps many individuals to have healthy and fruitful lives. There is comfort and relief in letting someone else do one’s thinking for one. And if one is in any case not going to work out his own beliefs, there are good reasons for turning the task over to the Catholic Church or the Bible rather than to many of the other willing masters that are around.
Even so, authoritarian belief is alien to the genius of Christianity. It even contradicts it. Authoritarian belief is simply the occurrence within our tradition of a fate that tends to overcome all traditions which survive the vitality of their childhood. Authoritarian belief blocks freedom, openness, and the quest for truth. It is the faith that kills.
Alongside this deadening form of faith there are others that quicken. The term for faith most commonly set over against authoritarian belief is trust. There is no question that trust quickens. I treated trust at some length in the chapter on "Trusting and Deciding." But quickening faith takes still other forms as well. We shall briefly consider six.
1. One meaning of faith is more clearly expressed as faithfulness. The man of faith is loyal, trustworthy, steadfast. He keeps faith with others. His word counts. His yes is yes, and his no, no. His behavior conforms to his assertions, and his assertions conform to his convictions. He endures in adverse circumstances. He is true to himself and true to his friends.
Faithfulness is exalted in the New Testament and in the Christian tradition. But faith in this sense is exalted everywhere. There is little that is distinctively Christian about it.
2. Another phenomenon that is sometimes called faith is life-affirmation. When after many catastrophes a man picks up the pieces of life and begins again, we say he has great faith. We do not mean that he is confident that all will go well. He knows better than that. We do not mean that he holds firmly to particular beliefs. Whatever he once believed may now be shattered. But he refuses to be beaten. He stands again on his feet. He does what is necessary.
I doubt that this kind of life-affirmation is ever in view in the New Testament. But in a broader sense, as we compare our Judeo-Christian heritage with other traditions we do see that it is a life-affirming one. It asserts that life as such is good despite all suffering. Hence it grounds also the response of affirming one’s own life even in the most adverse circumstances. But moving as this is, it is not what the gospel is about.
3. A third type of faith is the spirit of confidence in another. This is primary in Jesus’ use of faith. If in confrontation with him a person was utterly confident that he could be healed, then healing came. Jesus would say, "Your faith has made you whole."
Utter confidence, whether in another person or in God, is a powerful force. There is no reason to be skeptical of Jesus’ assertion that men and women were healed by it, even dramatically healed of decidedly physical diseases. Our understanding of these matters is still in its infancy, but there are several lines of contemporary experience and inquiry that suggest that in the future men will recognize a still closer interconnection of psychological and physical forces and a still greater possibility for changes in the psyche to affect powerfully the condition of the body. Confidence of the kind inspired by Jesus may even have an effect on the world outside one’s body. It would be dangerous to set any limit on the supernormal or miraculous changes effected by such confidence.
But confidence of this sort is not a specifically Christian phenomenon. It is evoked by other charismatic figures besides Jesus, both within and without the Christian community. On the other hand, many Christians lack any experience of such confidence and of the supernormal events associated with it. In our time of spiritual poverty, we tend to gape at such events, to be incredulous, and, if persuaded of their reality, to make much of them. But Paul rightly treated them as among the lesser gifts of the spirit. We may hope that the time will come when we can follow Paul here.
This kind of confidence is a valuable and positive force, and it usually works for good. But it is a serious mistake to identify it or its consequences with what is fundamental to Christian life.
For most of us most of the time the possibility of such confidence plays a paradoxical role. My parents are members of a prayer fellowship. On one occasion the fellowship prayed for several weeks for a young woman lost on a mountain in Baja California. She was found safe, and she fully recovered in a short time. My parents assured me that no one was more surprised than were the members of the prayer fellowship.
Clearly they were asking divine aid without expecting it. Would it be better to maintain, in the face of all contrary probabilities, an attitude of utter confidence that whatever we ask of God he will give us? Surely not! If we want to move mountains, we had better stick to bulldozers. It is a perversion of the gospel to suppose that the person who dies of cancer suffers because of lack of faith. It is well to remember that Paul three times asked for the removal of some irritant, and that his request was not granted. There is no particular virtue in working ourselves into special states of mind in our efforts to be confident that something will happen.
4. In the fourth place, "faith" is sometimes used to refer to our basic way of experiencing the world. Let’s call that our vision of reality. By vision I don’t mean simply sense experience through the eyes. I don’t mean visions either. Nor do I mean our explicit theories about the world, our world views, although that comes closer. A world view articulates a vision of reality more or less adequately, but the vision itself underlies and precedes the articulation. Much of it is usually unconscious. It is made up of elements that are so self-evident to us that it would ordinarily not occur to us to state them. Our vision of reality is the system of unquestioned presuppositions in relation to which other ideas appear as plausible or stupid.
However, our vision of reality can change. One way this happens is by verbally expressing heretofore unconscious assumptions and examining them alongside alternative assumptions. In such comparisons certainty about them is sometimes shattered.
Christianity is not bound up with any one world view, but it cannot be entirely separated from a vision of reality. That is, there are basic ways of perceiving the world that simply don’t fit the gospel. For example, if a man thinks of reality entirely as what is seen, heard, smelled, tasted, and touched, the needs to which the gospel speaks are not even recognized. The vision of reality of the Judeo-Christian community centers on personal subjects and their interrelationships, and these are not visible through the sense organs. Or if one perceives the world as made up of inexorable forces that by pure necessity work out their effects, then the responsibility which Christianity attributes to persons cannot be acknowledged. Or if one perceives all things as equally good or bad, recognizing no distinctions of better or worse, then the concerns for justice and peace, so central to Christianity, become nonsensical.
The Judeo-Christian vision of a reality in which personal subjects are of central importance, and in which they are responsible for what they do in relation to possibilities of good and evil, has been held by many people who did not call themselves Jews or Christians. They adopted it without thinking, simply as common sense. They have even employed it to criticize Christian teaching. Hence the gospel could be proclaimed in a context in which it made sense. Questions of philosophy or world view could be set aside.
Today, however, other visions of reality are challenging and displacing the Christian one. Traditional expressions of the Christian vision are crumbling and cannot be restored. The question of the future of Christianity and the question of world view have again become entangled. Faith in the sense of a vision of reality is important for the gospel.
But, of course, the gospel is not the proclamation of a world view. Originally it both presupposed and changed the vision of reality that it found. Today it must do the same. There is nowhere to begin except where people are. The gospel must be spoken in a way that makes sense. If it is, it can open the way toward a new, more congenial vision of reality, while theologians and philosophers pave the way with new insights and generalizations.
5. When the gospel is effectively heard it changes not only the way a person perceives reality but also the way he is. It changes his mode of existence. Theologians have increasingly directed attention to this Christian mode of existence and identified it with faith.
One reason for this trend in recent times is that the beliefs, and even the vision of reality associated with Christianity, have become doubtful. That seems to undercut also the grounds of faithfulness and the possibility of confidence. But the occurrence of a distinctive way of being is better understood today than ever before, thanks to the rise of existentialism.
Rudolf Bultmann has shown us that the modern philosophical understanding of authentic existence illumines Christian faith. Paul Tillich has described the new being as that mode of existence in which to participate is to have faith. Building on their work, others have described how Christianity has heightened man’s sense of responsibility for himself and of the gull between his best deeds, thoughts, and motives and that which he is responsible to be and do. It held up a new ideal of love and at the same time brought into being a way of life in which that love was both needed and possible.
To use the word "faith" to name the distinctively Christian existence is legitimate. But it is not free from problems. Many who sincerely believe in Christ as their savior participate very little in this way of being. Others who reject Christianity embody this mode of existence more fully. On the other hand, keeping faith in this sense alive is not as independent of doubtful beliefs as its advocates sometimes suppose. It may be clearer to think of Christian existence as an outgrowth of faith rather than as itself the one, key meaning of faith.
6. The contemporary German theologian Gerhard Ebeling has taught us to think of faith in still another way, which is the sixth and last we will consider in this chapter. Faith, he says, is certainty. When I first read that, I was put off by it. Certainty is bound up in my mind with particular beliefs, and I am suspicious of those who claim to be certain about anything. But that is not at all what Ebeling means. "Certainty" is the translation of Gewissheit, and a better translation in this case would be "assuredness." Traditionally we have spoken of assurance, but that too suggests that we are sure about something, whereas Ebeling speaks of a state of being in which we find ourselves grounded, established, or, in traditional language, justified. The man who is assured is free for what comes, free for the future, free for his neighbor. He is free to follow truth wherever it leads him.
Ebeling believes that this is the gift of the gospel. When the Christian message is rightly spoken it establishes the one who hears, that is, it makes him an assured person. Indeed, the Christian word is the word that accomplishes that result, whatever words are used in the speaking.
As I have reflected over this formulation of Ebeling to which I first responded negatively, I have decided that he does indeed come close to the mark. Of course, no early Christian would have put his thought in this way. And to me it seems that this is only one part of what the gospel does and cannot become the criterion of the whole. But the gospel does accomplish this to the extent that it is truly heard, and of all that it does, nothing could be more important than this. Whether or not we call it "faith," we must learn how to speak of assuredness, and more important, how to make it a reality.
Even so, assuredness is not the heart of the gospel. It is at most the heart of what the gospel accomplishes. The gospel is not about faith in any of these senses. The gospel is about grace. The gospel tells us what grace has done, and in the light of that we can discern what it is doing now. We are free to talk about that, to be critical even of the ways in which the New Testament describes it, to use whatever language most clearly communicates what we find. We are free to call it all faith, but we are also free to use other terms. Our effort to understand what grace does is a response to grace in which we can see the working of grace. We can learn much from the history of past efforts to describe what grace does, but we have much yet to learn.
So, in conclusion, let me say: be faithful, affirm life, have confidence, stand fast in a Christian vision of reality, enter more deeply into Christian existence, be assured. But do not be disturbed if your experience does not fit these concepts. You are not required to have faith in any of these senses. All forms of quickening faith are gifts. Grace works in us freely and according to its own purposes. Be glad, for you have been given much. | <urn:uuid:d07157ea-f0b8-4c48-a73d-e23849b672f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1104&C=1147 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973413 | 4,390 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Keene, New Hampshire (CNN) – When Newt Gingrich speaks to crowds, his experience as a history professor is often apparent.
On Monday he said it's a job he would continue to do in the White House.
Programming note: GOP presidential candidates face off at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, November 22, in the CNN Republican National Security Debate in Washington, D.C.
"I think I will probably teach a course when I am president," he told a group of students at St. Anselm College. "I think I will finally try to do something that outlines for the whole country what we will try to accomplish."
The former West Georgia College history and environmental studies professor said he would offer the course online through the University of Phoenix or Kaplan so any citizen could easily watch.
"Why wouldn't you want a president who would use social media to regularly and methodically tell you what we're trying to accomplish so those people who want to understand it can understand it," he said.
While giving speeches, Gingrich often adopts a pose more often seen on college campuses - leaning on one bent arm on the side of a podium.
He offers historical stories to illustrate his policy points, such as a frequently-repeated story about the Wright brothers' triumph over the Smithsonian Institution in the race to craft an airplane. The story is meant to speak to the superiority of the private over government in innovation.
One thing Gingrich said he wouldn't do as president? Spend a lot of time giving speeches.
"As president they would like you to only bother them when it really matters," he said of Americans, to audience laughter and applause. | <urn:uuid:d702b355-e9d5-4c3a-b6a4-ec085228ac56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/21/gingrich-would-teach-online-courses-from-white-house/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979248 | 339 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Jack Grubman is a character torn from the pages of a Dickens novel and left to his hapless devices on the streets of an uncaring city. True, hapless schemers and social climbers, half comic and half tragic, dreaming of Society but ground beneath the wheels of Commerce, are a mainstay of many authors. But only Dickens would have had the cheek to dub his thwarted speculator "Grubman."
(Lizzie Grubman: any relation? I'm at once astonished and not at all surprised that her PR firm (don't click that link!) tries to make itself your home page).
Of course, the primary scandal in the Grubman case -- analysts hyping stocks to hoodwink small investors while earning the gratitude (and business) of the big boys -- is such common practice that its shock value is minimal. This sort of corruption is the business story of the year, which makes it no story at all.
Instead, it's the secondary scandal -- hyping stocks to get the analyst's kids into preschool -- that has news legs, not least because the means-ends ratio is so wildly disproportionate. After all, the school got a million-dollar donation (Grubman's annual salary, please note, was in excess of twenty million). The value to Sandy Weill of winning his boardroom fight was almost certainly many times that figure. The value to AT&T (and owners of AT&T stock) of having its rating artificially inflated was even larger.
That is, Jack Grubman, possessed of Awesome Cosmic Power, uses it to get his kids into preschool? ("Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world . . . But for Wales!" I love having my books with me; checking a quotation against a book on your shelf is one of the great pleasures of life.) It's like, oh, using a chartered ocean liner to deliver a telegram.
Much ink has been spilled on this topic. "Spilled," that is, as in "wasted." Take, for example, Michael Wolff's The Price of Perfection, in which the word "education" appears exactly twice. Edging it out are such important issues as the ability of high-status private schools to ease parental marital strife, the "Platonic ideal" of dress codes, and "social currency." (It shouild be noted that this kind of piece is a favorite trope of New York Magazine; it alternates with articles about the terrible drug/sex/fashion/dust-bunny problem at these elite private schools. They do the same sort of thing with doctors and vacation spots: one issue brings an article on the 100 best plastic surgeons, while the next provides breathless horror stories of plastic surgery gone horribly wrong.) The article is useful_; it provides a illustrative snapshot, reflective at times, of the mindset behind nursery-school fetishism. But utility is not quality.
Katha Pollitt's Times Op-Ed on similar problems surrounding public-school admissions is better, if only in that Pollitt is willing to look beyond personal neurosis to the plight of the great majority of parents, for whom the competitive-admissions game is not an option. Although she never quite connects the dots, she points out that the quid-pro-quo game, in whose terms the private-school-parent Wolff already sees the entire educational world, is making inroads to public-school admissions:
The "hotter" the school or program, the more we prospective parents were told about the thousands of dollars parents donated for art, music and supplies, the "frills" that were vanishing from the system overall. A school's heat could be gauged too by the preponderance of white faces � principals, teachers, parent volunteers � in charge of these visits. At some schools you could measure the rising temperature by the increasing paleness of the students: the fifth grade might look like Trinidad, but the kindergarten looked more like Bavaria.
What do Manhattan parents do to get their little ones into the top public elementary schools? They do what I did: They get someone � friends with kids in the school, someone connected, someone famous � to put in a word, and they write sycophantic letters in which they profess allegiance to the school's educational philosophy, promise to work their tails off for the parents association and read their child French fairy tales at bedtime.
(emphasis added). I wouldn't be willing to stake my life on it, but I think I see what's going on here. Public schools, although not officially allowed to charge tuition or pick kids on the basis of parental wealth, are finding proxies for these factors. Involvement in the parents' association is a useful one: it redirects some resources from parents to schools. Of course, you can't condition admission on parents making donations or taking their kids' classes on field trips, which makes the whole thing a subtle and uncertain dance, but you can certainly urge prospective parents in one direction and see how eagerly they respond.
Or, more helpfully, look at the deal from the other end. There are parents who care deeply about their childrens' educational success, to the point of picking the perfect kindergarten and obtaining admission by any means necessary. These parents are going to be scoping out the admissions system with the piercing eye of a lawyer or a burglar, looking for pressure points and unlocked doors. Sooner or later, they'll find something, because even large bureacracies have needs. Maybe it's the PTA, or maybe it's the standardized-test advantage that private tutoring brings, or maybe it's having a kid with polished manners and a deferential air toward teachers. The specifics don't precisely matter. The point is that someone will find the right fulcrum, and once one parent has found it, others will follow.
To complete the picture, it suffices to note that rich parents are more likely to be in this position, and better able to play the game. More likely because they're under more parental-peer pressure to put their kids in the high-bragging rights schools (and, in a variant of William Langewiesche's argument in "Peace is Hell" in the October 2001 issue of The Atlantic Monthly, they have more untethered obsessive attention to overconcentrate on this one object). Better able because they have the money to spend hunting down the particular Snark the school happens to care about. The end result is that the elite public schools take on, step by step, all the unfortunate characteristics of elite private schools, even as no one quite understands why.
The "why" is quite simple, though, when described this way: a market is developing. Schools and parents each have resources desired by the other; they're working out ways to trade those resources. The market is best descrbied as a market in admissions slots; the goods offered in exchange for those slots vary, depending on the particulars. Money isn't actually the currency, although it's never far from the scene. It paces back and forth, restlessly, ready to convert itself into more useful media of exchange as the market demands. Where there are people with enough money (or power, or time, or any other resource), and where there are things (be they goods, services, laws, or anything else under the sun) that these people want, a market for those things will struggle to be born.
This principle is a general one; once you know to look for it, you see it everywhere. Employers put enormous pressure on colleges to stamp and differentiate their students (call it "credentialling" or call it "signalling," if you prefer). Where colleges putatively thwart that pressure by adopting flatter grading scales (note that grade inflation has substantially the same effect), students will find new ways to differentiate themselves -- hence the rise of the quadruple major and the ever-more-glowing recommendation letter. Where politicians can be bribed, businesses bribe them. Where politicians can't be bribed, businesses provide campaign contributions. Where campaign contributions aren't possible -- say, to non-elected administrators at federal agencies -- the (implicit) possibility of lucrative post-retirement private-sector employment becomes the carrot.
The point is that where the carrot does not already exist, it becomes necessary to invent the carrot, and this is what markets do. Innovation? Entrepreneurship? These are just buzzwords for the speculative process of dreaming up new vegetables.
Let's go back to the private-school shenanigans with which we started, keeping this principle in mind. Now, admissions slots to selective private schools cost good money, but tuition money isn't the real market here. Tuition is invariably set well below the level a school could charge and still fill its class. To the objection that they'll have fewer applicants if they raise tuition, the reply is that by increasing financial aid awards by the amount of the tuition increase, the school could retain those applicants it felt were actually adding to the academic quality of its student body. There's some price discrimination going on here, sure, but as the Grubman example illustrates, it pales in comparison to the price discrimination in the "hidden" market.
What keeps it from being a "real" (by which, I must confess, I mean "interesting") market is that admissions slots aren't property. You can't resell them, for example. Thus, the Jack Grubmans of the world can't just offer to pay their cool million to the parent of a successful applicant. Nor can they simply go to the school and offer a million, straight up. The normative constraints on education say, simply, you can't do that. For some strange reason, when a school openly auctions off places, its reputation among potential parents suffers, even when those same parents have purchased their kids' slots through the same back door as Jack Grubman. It becomes necessary to find roundabout ways of accomplishing the same goal, and thus this secondary market arises, a market populated by Sandy Weill and other shady middlemen.
(Note that it can't even be the presence of some number of kids who got in under their own steam that makes parents prefer the covert system. A school could simply announce that it was holding 80% of its slots for "real" students and auctioning off the other 20% to "rich" students (who met some minimum academic standard, of course), and end up enrolling exactly the same class for exactly the same amount of money. What's at work here is the same sort of societal preference not to talk about certain matters that pervades medical ethics. These preferences may or may not be legitimate (I've seen quite convincing arguments both ways, and I'm not yet willing to commit myself), but they're quite real, and it becomes necessary to take them as given, if one is to talk sensibly about such issues.)
There's another term for this sort of transaction. (No, not "black market;" the illegality here has nothing to do with the involvement of a school.) We call this sort of shell game "money laundering." Jack Grubman has piles of money, perfectly good cash money American except that there are certain things on which he cannot spend it, certain things which he desires very much. So Jack Grubman takes his piles of money and he finds a respectable-looking businessman and says to this businessman, here, take from me these piles of money and make them not appear to come from me, so that I can obtain these certain things which I desire very much but cannot spend my own money to obtain.
This respectable-looking businessmen then takes Jack Grubman's money (to be precise, in this case, the "money" involved was, in the first instance, a combination of those other familiar universal currencies, power and information), does some fancy tricks with it (invests it in a corporate battle, then draws some power from a different account and converts it into a million-dollar check) which result in it emerging at the other end, sqeaky-clean, where it is then used to obtain for Jack Grubman those certain things he so desparately desires.
Except that -- and here is where I detect the hand of Dickens at work -- it's not so clear anymore that Jack Grubman has really done right by his kids' educational futures. After all, the 92nd Street Y's programs stop after preschool. If you were the admissions director of a selective private school looking over the Grubman files, would you want to risk the potential publicity disaster of admitting his kids to your school? Sure, you can say that no palms were greased and no side deals struck, but is that claim really a negative you'd like to have to prove? | <urn:uuid:8d38965b-b3e5-4dc1-8501-cf439d7c0313> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://laboratorium.net/archive/2002_12 | 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 | 0.968477 | 2,638 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Darien Police Report Woman Fell Victim to Con Artists
Connecticut Better Business Bureau is alerting the public about a “mystery shopper” scam that appears to have cost a Darien woman $1,990.
In an article in the Darien Patch, Darien police are quoted as saying the woman received an email offering an opportunity to evaluate the job performance of employees at Western Union. In what is known as an overpayment scam, she was sent a check for $1,990, instructed to deposit it into her bank account, keep $250 and send the balance back to the company by wire transfer.
The check she received and deposited was phony, as was contact information she was sent by the con artists. As is the often the case, the check was accepted for deposit and subsequently bounced.
Darien police warn this mystery shopper scam appears to be using the names of legitimate businesses to lend credibility to their appeal.
The mystery shopper scam has been around for years, and while the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says there are some legitimate opportunities, most are merely attempts to trick job-seekers into wiring money.
The FTC and Connecticut Better Business Bureau remind consumers to steer clear of mystery shopper promoters who:
- Advertise for mystery shoppers in a newspaper’s ‘help wanted’ section or by email.
- Require that you pay for “certification.”
- Guarantee a job as a mystery shopper.
- Charge a fee for access to mystery shopping opportunities.
- Sell directories of companies that hire mystery shoppers.
The hallmark of many scams involves a request to deposit a check and send back all or a portion to someone else. Never send money by wire transfer to somebody you don’t know.
-Submitted by Howard Schwartz, Executive Communications Director Connecticut Better Business Bureau | <urn:uuid:d62ab4b3-7ca1-4589-8de3-d46a3ac88264> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://milford.patch.com/groups/connecticut-better-business-bureaus-blog/p/bp--connecticut-bbb-issues-alert-about-mystery-shoppi1b7f47131a | 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 | 0.965379 | 383 | 1.515625 | 2 |
We've all been there, we think we ordering something healthy, make the smart choice at the table.
But some things that sound even a little bit healthy could be the complete opposite.
Order either the bistro shrimp pasta or the crispy chicken costoletta at the Cheesecake Factory, and you'll get more calories than you'd need in an entire day.
That's not all: you've also eaten four and a half days worth of saturated fat.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest is handing out its annual X-Treme Eating Awards to chain restaurants, based on calorie, sodium, and fat content data from each restaurant.
The point is to try to shock people into seeing what goes into their mouths.
You'll get more than 6,000 milligrams of salt, a four day supply, when you order the full rack of baby back ribs at Chili's. The dish comes with home style fries and cinnamon apples.
Dietitians say there are ways to eat out and avoid eating too much of the wrong thing.
They recommend starting your meal with a broth-based soup or hot tea instead of the bread basket or fried appetizer.
Some studies show people who start their meals with a warm liquid consumer fewer calories. | <urn:uuid:43bb7df3-826b-4ad2-bf64-458e8d2bc192> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://arkansasmatters.com/arkansasstatefairfulltext?nxd_id=628362 | 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 | 0.950464 | 260 | 1.65625 | 2 |
I'm going to be moving soon to a job that, in a first for me, contains a serious commute. I'm going to have about 40 min to myself every morning and every evening in the car. I've heard stories of people who have put that time to very good use; a cousin of mine taught herself German, for example. The question is:
What is the best way to make use of approximately 80 minutes a day to grow your skills as a software developer? It must be something suited to the commute; that means no looking and hands-free. Be as specific as possible; if its listening to podcasts, WHICH podcasts? Why? Lecture series? From where? Audiobooks? What are good sources? etc. | <urn:uuid:4cecea15-5df3-48a2-9ff8-c60f5f7319e6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/26730/optimizing-your-daily-commute/26733 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980049 | 151 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Gail Marcus lived and worked in Japan. Here’s an excerpt from her thoughts on Japan’s utilities and regulators:
(…) The Japanese system, often called amakudari, or “descent from heaven” has long been criticized by outsiders. In earlier days, it undoubtedly helped foster the image that used to be called “Japan, Inc.” At one time, that mode of operation had considerable benefit for Japan, as it seemed conducive to developing unified positions in confronting the global marketplace. Somewhere along the line, however, that benefit seems to have lessened, and people stopped using that term as much. In fact, at that point, some of the disadvantages of amakudari seemed to emerge, particularly the inefficiencies caused by sometimes force-fitting people into positions for which they were not well matched.
Now, perhaps, a more serious shortcoming of amakudari may have reared its head and it may become more imperative to alter the kinds of relationships that have existed between the regulators and the regulated community.
It would be far too simple to say that reform of the government pension system is the solution to any problem in Japan. Amakudari is certainly not the fundamental cause of the Fukushima crisis, and it is unclear at this time whether any of the problems at Fukushima will be traced to repetitions of the previous instances of TEPCO misconduct and regulatory “indulgence” that have been dredged up by the press. In fact, my guess at this time would be that amakudari is not a factor. Furthermore, there are other Japanese government and industry practices that might also merit scrutiny in the face of current events. Perhaps I might address them in a future blog.
However, getting rid of amakudari will be a giant step in the right direction for an industry that is now under siege, and should help restore the faith of the Japanese people and the world that the nuclear industry–as well as other industries in Japan–will be subject to the kind of regulatory scrutiny the world expects from one one of the most advanced countries in the world.
Many people feel that Chernobyl helped to topple the old Soviet Union. It would be fitting for Fukushima to topple amakudari. | <urn:uuid:922daa57-9d06-4171-ab6a-21f9ff603273> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seekerblog.com/2011/05/08/fukushima-and-amakudari/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977219 | 464 | 1.695313 | 2 |
RNC Provides Unique Opportunity for Students
About 20 University of Tampa and University of South Florida students have been given special access to one of the country's biggest political events.
Bryce Thomas, a 20-year-old marketing major at the University of Tampa, loves politics. Lucky for her, one of the country’s biggest political events is in her backyard this week, and she’s been granted access that’s typically only given to media and party delegates.
Thomas is one of about 20 interns from the University of Tampa and the University of South Florida recruited by Time Magazine to help promote their RNC and DNC Foursquare badges and their Floor Pass app for the duration of the convention. In addition to getting convention credentials, the interns also get the opportunity to network with some big names.
“It’s another way to interact with different people from different areas … and hear their wisdom,” says Thomas, who has made some connections within her field of study and also met some political influencers like Herman Cain and Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Thomas, who is a senior at UT, says she’s never done anything like this and she’s grateful for the opportunity.
“I love people, and I love my community,” she said.
Her dream is to someday start an organization to help inner-city kids set long-term goals and support them in their efforts to achieve them. She thinks knowing more about politics might help her realize that vision.
“I want to help people,” said Thomas. “Politics gives you the means to get into avenues to influence people.” | <urn:uuid:6c765663-44f5-45bb-b4b3-4b5c96005761> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://carrollwood.patch.com/articles/rnc-provides-unique-opportunity-for-students | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963016 | 345 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Certain key occasions in the Jewish calendar invoke strong memories of my seven years in Gateshead Yeshivah. One of my teachers assured me that by spending Yomim Tovim and other special moments in the Yeshivah, I would have a store of powerful experiences on which to draw in later years: I am truly grateful for that advice. I constantly try to recreate those powerful moments in my community, something from which I know my congregants have benefited, perhaps without realising. And even when that isn’t possible, I can retreat into the realm of inspirational memory and lift almost any occasion for myself and my family.
Tisha B’Av is one such day: each year, from Rosh Chodesh Av, two memories are especially vivid, each associated with Kinnos (dirges read on Tisha B’Av lamenting the destruction of the Temples and other Jewish calamities). The Kinnos are perhaps the most demanding texts of our entire liturgy: many of them are written in difficult Hebrew, and are replete with obscure scholarly references that require considerable Talmudic and Midrashic background to appreciate fully. Indeed, rather than plough through all of them, many Shuls (including my own) elect to read only a selection of the Kinnos, accompanied by explanation and elucidation (a job that the ArtScroll edition of the Kinnos has made much easier). The Kinnos are potent, elegant, yet very challenging.
My first recollection is of sitting on the floor as a sign of mourning beneath the desk at which I normally davened (prayed) in Gateshead Yeshivah at about 11am on Tisha B’Av. The Kinnos were well underway, and I admit that I was struggling to maintain my interest in the reading. By this time the sun had risen sufficiently to shine in my eyes through the very large front-windows of the Yeshivah. Remarkably, this coincided with the recital of the famous Kinnah, ‘Tsion’, by Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi (author of the Kuzari), a few translated excerpts of which follow. For a full text, see here.
Zion, will you not enquire about the welfare of your captives? Those who seek your welfare – they are the remnants of your flock….
You are the royal house; you are the throne of the glory of God, so how could slaves have sat upon the thrones of your nobles?
I yearn to be given the chance to wander in the places where God appeared to your visionaries and emissaries….
This lament, apart from being outstandingly beautiful, marks a radical change in the tone of the Kinnos: up until this point they are about destruction, misery and exile, but beginning with ‘Tzion’, they express hope and yearning for a better world. It is hard to describe the impact that the concurrence of the sun shining and the majestic poetry of Yehudah HaLevi had on me. It created a sense of optimism, divine love and context to the hopeless gloom of Tisha B’Av that has stayed with me: I hope that I have managed to convey something of that feeling in words.
The second memorable moment arrived at the very end of the Kinnos, with the reading of ‘Eli Tsion’, a poem detailing all the tragedies of the Temple for which we should weep. It offers a glimmer of hope, in that it compares the tribulations of our history with the pains of child-birth: the torment is not futile, but heralds the rebirth of Am Yisroel: some excerpts follow. For a full text, see here.
Wail, Tsion and her cities, like a woman in child-birth; and like a damsel girded in sackcloth (crying) for the husband of her youth….
(Wail) for Your name, which was desecrated in the speech of those who arose to torture her; and the supplications of those who scream out to You: turn Your ear and listen to her words.
Although the text is powerful and, at least for me, summarises the themes of the entire corpus of the Kinnos, the most well-known aspect of ‘Eli Tsion’ is its tune. This poignant melody somehow synthesises the calamity of Jewish history with our unshakeable confidence in a magnificent future. Regrettably, it has been turned by some into a kind of pop song, sung at an inappropriate tempo, robbing it of its depth and power. During my years in Gateshead, ‘Eli Tsion’ was led by Rabbi Zeev Cohen, who sung it movingly in a high-pitched and haunting fashion, in the Lithuanian style: in one short rendition, he had captured the essence of Tisha B’Av. For a similar (albeit lower-pitched and slightly faster) version of ‘Eli Tsion’, listen to this, a recording of the late Rabbi J.B. Soloveitchik, zt”l leading a responsive reading of the Kinnah in Boston in 1978. I cannot lead the poem as beautifully as Rabbi Cohen, but his interpretation has inspired my own reading.
Most importantly for me (and I hope for my congregants and students too), the memories of Tisha B’Av in Gateshead Yeshivah encapsulate the very spirit of the day: redemptive mourning.
May this, truly, be the last Tisha B’Av. | <urn:uuid:9726f180-dd45-4f5c-8d7e-27a1e5472481> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2007/07/22/remembrances-of-tisha-bav-past/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964752 | 1,167 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Entire PG Edition of The Works of William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells
Part 20 out of 78
and said it smelt like a flower. And then he asked
if he might offer it to me--just for a joke, you know.
And I took it, and stuck it in my belt. And we had
such a laugh! We got into a regular gale. And O Pen,
what do you suppose he meant by it?" She suddenly caught
herself to her sister's breast, and hid her burning face
on her shoulder.
"Well, there used to be a book about the language of flowers.
But I never knew much about the language of shavings,
and I can't say exactly----"
"Oh, don't--DON'T, Pen!" and here Irene gave over laughing,
and began to sob in her sister's arms.
"Why, 'Rene!" cried the elder girl.
"You KNOW he didn't mean anything. He doesn't care a bit
about me. He hates me! He despises me! Oh, what shall
A trouble passed over the face of the sister as she silently
comforted the child in her arms; then the drolling light
came back into her eyes. "Well, 'Rene, YOU haven't got
to do ANYthing. That's one advantage girls have got--if
it IS an advantage. I'm not always sure."
Irene's tears turned to laughing again. When she lifted
her head it was to look into the mirror confronting them,
where her beauty showed all the more brilliant for the
shower that had passed over it. She seemed to gather
courage from the sight.
"It must be awful to have to DO," she said, smiling into
her own face. "I don't see how they ever can."
"Some of 'em can't--especially when there's such a tearing
"Oh, pshaw, Pen! you know that isn't so. You've got
a real pretty mouth, Pen," she added thoughtfully,
surveying the feature in the glass, and then pouting
her own lips for the sake of that effect on them.
"It's a useful mouth," Penelope admitted; "I don't believe
I could get along without it now, I've had it so long."
"It's got such a funny expression--just the mate
of the look in your eyes; as if you were just going
to say something ridiculous. He said, the very
first time he saw you, that he knew you were humorous."
"Is it possible?" must be so, if the Grand Mogul said it.
Why didn't you tell me so before, and not let me keep on
going round just like a common person?"
Irene laughed as if she liked to have her sister take
his praises in that way rather than another.
"I've got such a stiff, prim kind of mouth," she said,
drawing it down, and then looking anxiously at it.
"I hope you didn't put on that expression when he offered
you the shaving. If you did, I don't believe he'll ever
give you another splinter."
The severe mouth broke into a lovely laugh, and then
pressed itself in a kiss against Penelope's cheek.
"There! Be done, you silly thing! I'm not going to have
you accepting ME before I've offered myself, ANYWAY."
She freed herself from her sister's embrace, and ran
from her round the room.
Irene pursued her, in the need of hiding her face against
her shoulder again. "O Pen! O Pen!" she cried.
The next day, at the first moment of finding herself alone
with her eldest daughter, Mrs. Lapham asked, as if knowing
that Penelope must have already made it subject of inquiry:
"What was Irene doing with that shaving in her belt yesterday?"
"Oh, just some nonsense of hers with Mr. Corey.
He gave it to her at the new house." Penelope did not
choose to look up and meet her mother's grave glance.
"What do you think he meant by it?"
Penelope repeated Irene's account of the affair,
and her mother listened without seeming to derive much
encouragement from it.
"He doesn't seem like one to flirt with her," she said
at last. Then, after a thoughtful pause: "Irene is as good
a girl as ever breathed, and she's a perfect beauty.
But I should hate the day when a daughter of mine was
married for her beauty."
"You're safe as far as I'm concerned, mother."
Mrs. Lapham smiled ruefully. "She isn't really equal
to him, Pen. I misdoubted that from the first,
and it's been borne in upon me more and more ever since.
She hasn't mind enough." "I didn't know that a man fell
in love with a girl's intellect," said Penelope quietly.
"Oh no. He hasn't fallen in love with Irene at all.
If he had, it wouldn't matter about the intellect."
Penelope let the self-contradiction pass.
"Perhaps he has, after all."
"No," said Mrs. Lapham. "She pleases him when he sees her.
But he doesn't try to see her."
"He has no chance. You won't let father bring him here."
"He would find excuses to come without being brought,
if he wished to come," said the mother. "But she isn't
in his mind enough to make him. He goes away and
doesn't think anything more about her. She's a child.
She's a good child, and I shall always say it; but she's
nothing but a child. No, she's got to forget him."
"Perhaps that won't be so easy."
"No, I presume not. And now your father has got the notion
in his head, and he will move heaven and earth to bring
it to pass. I can see that he's always thinking about it."
"The Colonel has a will of his own," observed the girl,
rocking to and fro where she sat looking at her mother.
"I wish we had never met them!" cried Mrs. Lapham.
"I wish we had never thought of building! I wish he had
kept away from your father's business!"
"Well, it's too late now, mother," said the girl.
"Perhaps it isn't so bad as you think."
"Well, we must stand it, anyway," said Mrs. Lapham,
with the grim antique Yankee submission.
"Oh yes, we've got to stand it," said Penelope,
with the quaint modern American fatalism.
IT was late June, almost July, when Corey took up his life
in Boston again, where the summer slips away so easily.
If you go out of town early, it seems a very long
summer when you come back in October; but if you stay,
it passes swiftly, and, seen foreshortened in its flight,
seems scarcely a month's length. It has its days of heat,
when it is very hot, but for the most part it is cool,
with baths of the east wind that seem to saturate the soul
with delicious freshness. Then there are stretches of grey
westerly weather, when the air is full of the sentiment
of early autumn, and the frying, of the grasshopper
in the blossomed weed of the vacant lots on the Back
Bay is intershot with the carol of crickets; and the
yellowing leaf on the long slope of Mt. Vernon Street
smites the sauntering observer with tender melancholy.
The caterpillar, gorged with the spoil of the lindens
on Chestnut, and weaving his own shroud about him in his
lodgment on the brick-work, records the passing of summer
by mid-July; and if after that comes August, its breath
is thick and short, and September is upon the sojourner
before he has fairly had time to philosophise the character
of the town out of season.
But it must have appeared that its most characteristic
feature was the absence of everybody he knew. This was
one of the things that commended Boston to Bromfield
Corey during the summer; and if his son had any qualms
about the life he had entered upon with such vigour,
it must have been a relief to him that there was scarcely
a soul left to wonder or pity. By the time people got back
to town the fact of his connection with the mineral paint
man would be an old story, heard afar off with different
degrees of surprise, and considered with different
degrees of indifference. A man has not reached the age
of twenty-six in any community where he was born and reared
without having had his capacity pretty well ascertained;
and in Boston the analysis is conducted with an unsparing
thoroughness which may fitly impress the un-Bostonian mind,
darkened by the popular superstition that the Bostonians
blindly admire one another. A man's qualities are sifted
as closely in Boston as they doubtless were in Florence
or Athens; and, if final mercy was shown in those cities
because a man was, with all his limitations, an Athenian
or Florentine, some abatement might as justly be made
in Boston for like reason. Corey's powers had been gauged
in college, and he had not given his world reason to think
very differently of him since he came out of college.
He was rated as an energetic fellow, a little indefinite
in aim, with the smallest amount of inspiration that can save
a man from being commonplace. If he was not commonplace,
it was through nothing remarkable in his mind, which was
simply clear and practical, but through some combination
of qualities of the heart that made men trust him, and women
call him sweet--a word of theirs which conveys otherwise
indefinable excellences. Some of the more nervous and
excitable said that Tom Corey was as sweet as he could live;
but this perhaps meant no more than the word alone.
No man ever had a son less like him than Bromfield Corey.
If Tom Corey had ever said a witty thing, no one could
remember it; and yet the father had never said a witty
thing to a more sympathetic listener than his own son.
The clear mind which produced nothing but practical
results reflected everything with charming lucidity;
and it must have been this which endeared Tom Corey to every
one who spoke ten words with him. In a city where people
have good reason for liking to shine, a man who did
not care to shine must be little short of universally
acceptable without any other effort for popularity;
and those who admired and enjoyed Bromfield Corey loved
his son. Yet, when it came to accounting for Tom Corey,
as it often did in a community where every one's generation
is known to the remotest degrees of cousinship, they could
not trace his sweetness to his mother, for neither Anna
Bellingham nor any of her family, though they were so many
blocks of Wenham ice for purity and rectangularity, had ever
had any such savour; and, in fact, it was to his father,
whose habit of talk wronged it in himself, that they
had to turn for this quality of the son's. They traced
to the mother the traits of practicality and common-sense
in which he bordered upon the commonplace, and which,
when they had dwelt upon them, made him seem hardly worth
the close inquiry they had given him.
While the summer wore away he came and went methodically
about his business, as if it had been the business
of his life, sharing his father's bachelor liberty
and solitude, and expecting with equal patience the return
of his mother and sisters in the autumn. Once or twice
he found time to run down to Mt. Desert and see them;
and then he heard how the Philadelphia and New York people
were getting in everywhere, and was given reason to regret
the house at Nahant which he had urged to be sold.
He came back and applied himself to his desk with a
devotion that was exemplary rather than necessary;
for Lapham made no difficulty about the brief absences
which he asked, and set no term to the apprenticeship
that Corey was serving in the office before setting off
upon that mission to South America in the early winter,
for which no date had yet been fixed.
The summer was a dull season for the paint as well
as for everything else. Till things should brisk up,
as Lapham said, in the fall, he was letting the new
house take a great deal of his time. AEsthetic ideas
had never been intelligibly presented to him before,
and he found a delight in apprehending them that was very
grateful to his imaginative architect. At the beginning,
the architect had foreboded a series of mortifying
defeats and disastrous victories in his encounters
with his client; but he had never had a client who could
be more reasonably led on from one outlay to another.
It appeared that Lapham required but to understand or feel
the beautiful effect intended, and he was ready to pay
for it. His bull-headed pride was concerned in a thing
which the architect made him see, and then he believed
that he had seen it himself, perhaps conceived it.
In some measure the architect seemed to share his delusion,
and freely said that Lapham was very suggestive.
Together they blocked out windows here, and bricked them
up there; they changed doors and passages; pulled down
cornices and replaced them with others of different design;
experimented with costly devices of decoration,
and went to extravagant lengths in novelties of finish.
Mrs. Lapham, beginning with a woman's adventurousness in the
unknown region, took fright at the reckless outlay at last,
and refused to let her husband pass a certain limit.
He tried to make her believe that a far-seeing economy
dictated the expense; and that if he put the money into
the house, he could get it out any time by selling it.
She would not be persuaded.
"I don't want you should sell it. And you've put more money
into it now than you'll ever get out again, unless you can
find as big a goose to buy it, and that isn't likely.
No, sir! You just stop at a hundred thousand, and don't you let
him get you a cent beyond. Why, you're perfectly bewitched
with that fellow! You've lost your head, Silas Lapham,
and if you don't look out you'll lose your money too."
The Colonel laughed; he liked her to talk that way,
and promised he would hold up a while.
"But there's no call to feel anxious, Pert. It's only
a question what to do with the money. I can reinvest it;
but I never had so much of it to spend before."
"Spend it, then," said his wife; "don't throw it away!
And how came you to have so much more money than you know
what to do with, Silas Lapham?" she added.
"Oh, I've made a very good thing in stocks lately."
"In stocks? When did you take up gambling for a living?"
"Gambling? Stuff! What gambling? Who said it was gambling?"
"You have; many a time."
"Oh yes, buying and selling on a margin. But this
was a bona fide transaction. I bought at forty-three
for an investment, and I sold at a hundred and seven;
and the money passed both times."
"Well, you better let stocks alone," said his wife,
with the conservatism of her sex. "Next time you'll
buy at a hundred and seven and sell at forty three.
Then where'll you be?"
"Left," admitted the Colonel.
"You better stick to paint a while yet." The Colonel
enjoyed this too, and laughed again with the ease of a man
who knows what he is about. A few days after that he
came down to Nantasket with the radiant air which he wore
when he had done a good thing in business and wanted
his wife's sympathy. He did not say anything of what had
happened till he was alone with her in their own room;
but he was very gay the whole evening, and made several
jokes which Penelope said nothing but very great prosperity
could excuse: they all understood these moods of his.
"Well, what is it, Silas?" asked his wife when the time came.
"Any more big-bugs wanting to go into the mineral paint
business with you?"
"Something better than that."
"I could think of a good many better things," said his wife,
with a sigh of latent bitterness. "What's this one?"
"I've had a visitor."
"Can't you guess?"
"I don't want to try. Who was it?"
Mrs. Lapham sat down with her hands in her lap, and stared
at the smile on her husband's face, where he sat facing her.
"I guess you wouldn't want to joke on that subject, Si,"
she said, a little hoarsely, "and you wouldn't grin
about it unless you had some good news. I don't know
what the miracle is, but if you could tell quick----"
She stopped like one who can say no more.
"I will, Persis," said her husband, and with that awed
tone in which he rarely spoke of anything but the virtues
of his paint. "He came to borrow money of me, and I
lent him it. That's the short of it. The long----"
"Go on," said his wife, with gentle patience.
"Well, Pert, I was never so much astonished in my
life as I was to see that man come into my office.
You might have knocked me down with--I don't know what."
"I don't wonder. Go on!"
"And he was as much embarrassed as I was. There we stood,
gaping at each other, and I hadn't hardly sense enough
to ask him to take a chair. I don't know just how we
got at it. And I don't remember just how it was that he
said he came to come to me. But he had got hold of a
patent right that he wanted to go into on a large scale,
and there he was wanting me to supply him the funds."
"Go on!" said Mrs. Lapham, with her voice further
in her throat.
"I never felt the way you did about Rogers, but I know how you
always did feel, and I guess I surprised him with my answer.
He had brought along a lot of stock as security----"
"You didn't take it, Silas!" his wife flashed out.
"Yes, I did, though," said Lapham. "You wait. We settled
our business, and then we went into the old thing,
from the very start. And we talked it all over.
And when we got through we shook hands. Well, I don't know
when it's done me so much good to shake hands with anybody."
"And you told him--you owned up to him that you were
in the wrong, Silas?"
"No, I didn't," returned the Colonel promptly; "for I
wasn't. And before we got through, I guess he saw it
the same as I did."
"Oh, no matter! so you had the chance to show how you felt."
"But I never felt that way," persisted the Colonel.
"I've lent him the money, and I've kept his stocks.
And he got what he wanted out of me."
"Give him back his stocks!"
"No, I shan't. Rogers came to borrow. He didn't come
to beg. You needn't be troubled about his stocks.
They're going to come up in time; but just now they're
so low down that no bank would take them as security,
and I've got to hold them till they do rise. I hope you're
satisfied now, Persis," said her husband; and he looked
at her with the willingness to receive the reward of a good
action which we all feel when we have performed one.
"I lent him the money you kept me from spending on
"Truly, Si? Well, I'm satisfied," said Mrs. Lapham,
with a deep tremulous breath. "The Lord has been good
to you, Silas," she continued solemnly. "You may laugh
if you choose, and I don't know as I believe in his
interfering a great deal; but I believe he's interfered
this time; and I tell you, Silas, it ain't always he gives
people a chance to make it up to others in this life.
I've been afraid you'd die, Silas, before you got the chance;
but he's let you live to make it up to Rogers."
"I'm glad to be let live," said Lapham stubbornly,
"but I hadn't anything to make up to Milton K. Rogers.
And if God has let me live for that----"
"Oh, say what you please, Si! Say what you please,
now you've done it! I shan't stop you. You've taken
the one spot--the one SPECK--off you that was ever there,
and I'm satisfied."
"There wa'n't ever any speck there," Lapham held out,
lapsing more and more into his vernacular; "and what I
done I done for you, Persis."
"And I thank you for your own soul's sake, Silas."
"I guess my soul's all right," said Lapham.
"And I want you should promise me one thing more."
"Thought you said you were satisfied?"
"I am. But I want you should promise me this: that you
won't let anything tempt you--anything!--to ever trouble
Rogers for that money you lent him. No matter what
happens--no matter if you lose it all. Do you promise?"
"Why, I don't ever EXPECT to press him for it.
That's what I said to myself when I lent it. And of course
I'm glad to have that old trouble healed up. I don't THINK
I ever did Rogers any wrong, and I never did think so;
but if I DID do it--IF I did--I'm willing to call it square,
if I never see a cent of my money back again."
"Well, that's all," said his wife.
They did not celebrate his reconciliation with his old
enemy--for such they had always felt him to be since he
ceased to be an ally--by any show of joy or affection.
It was not in their tradition, as stoical for the woman
as for the man, that they should kiss or embrace each
other at such a moment. She was content to have told
him that he had done his duty, and he was content with
her saying that. But before she slept she found words
to add that she always feared the selfish part he had
acted toward Rogers had weakened him, and left him less
able to overcome any temptation that might beset him;
and that was one reason why she could never be easy about it.
Now she should never fear for him again.
This time he did not explicitly deny her forgiving impeachment.
"Well, it's all past and gone now, anyway; and I don't
want you should think anything more about it."
He was man enough to take advantage of the high favour
in which he stood when he went up to town, and to abuse it
by bringing Corey down to supper. His wife could not help
condoning the sin of disobedience in him at such a time.
Penelope said that between the admiration she felt
for the Colonel's boldness and her mother's forbearance,
she was hardly in a state to entertain company that evening;
but she did what she could.
Irene liked being talked to better than talking, and when
her sister was by she was always, tacitly or explicitly,
referring to her for confirmation of what she said.
She was content to sit and look pretty as she looked
at the young man and listened to her sister's drolling.
She laughed and kept glancing at Corey to make sure that he
was understanding her. When they went out on the veranda
to see the moon on the water, Penelope led the way and
They did not look at the moonlight long. The young
man perched on the rail of the veranda, and Irene took
one of the red-painted rocking-chairs where she could
conveniently look at him and at her sister, who sat
leaning forward lazily and running on, as the phrase is.
That low, crooning note of hers was delicious; her face,
glimpsed now and then in the moonlight as she turned it
or lifted it a little, had a fascination which kept his eye.
Her talk was very unliterary, and its effect seemed
hardly conscious. She was far from epigram in her funning.
She told of this trifle and that; she sketched the
characters and looks of people who had interested her,
and nothing seemed to have escaped her notice; she mimicked
a little, but not much; she suggested, and then the
affair represented itself as if without her agency.
She did not laugh; when Corey stopped she made a soft
cluck in her throat, as if she liked his being amused,
and went on again.
The Colonel, left alone with his wife for the first time
since he had come from town, made haste to take the word.
"Well, Pert, I've arranged the whole thing with Rogers,
and I hope you'll be satisfied to know that he owes me
twenty thousand dollars, and that I've got security from him
to the amount of a fourth of that, if I was to force his
stocks to a sale."
"How came he to come down with you?" asked Mrs. Lapham.
"Corey? Oh!" said Lapham, affecting not to have thought
she could mean Corey. "He proposed it."
"Likely!" jeered his wife, but with perfect amiability.
"It's so," protested the Colonel. "We got talking about
a matter just before I left, and he walked down to the boat
with me; and then he said if I didn't mind he guessed
he'd come along down and go back on the return boat.
Of course I couldn't let him do that."
"It's well for you you couldn't."
"And I couldn't do less than bring him here to tea."
"Oh, certainly not."
"But he ain't going to stay the night--unless,"
faltered Lapham, "you want him to."
"Oh, of course, I want him to! I guess he'll stay, probably."
"Well, you know how crowded that last boat always is,
and he can't get any other now."
Mrs. Lapham laughed at the simple wile. "I hope you'll
be just as well satisfied, Si, if it turns out he doesn't
want Irene after all."
"Pshaw, Persis! What are you always bringing that up for?"
pleaded the Colonel. Then he fell silent, and presently
his rude, strong face was clouded with an unconscious frown.
"There!" cried his wife, startling him from his abstraction.
"I see how you'd feel; and I hope that you'll remember
who you've got to blame."
"I'll risk it," said Lapham, with the confidence of a man
used to success.
From the veranda the sound of Penelope's lazy tone came
through the closed windows, with joyous laughter from
Irene and peals from Corey.
"Listen to that!" said her father within, swelling up with
inexpressible satisfaction. "That girl can talk for twenty,
right straight along. She's better than a circus any day.
I wonder what she's up to now."
"Oh, she's probably getting off some of those yarns
of hers, or telling about some people. She can't step
out of the house without coming back with more things
to talk about than most folks would bring back from Japan.
There ain't a ridiculous person she's ever seen but what
she's got something from them to make you laugh at;
and I don't believe we've ever had anybody in the house
since the girl could talk that she hain't got some
saying from, or some trick that'll paint 'em out so't you
can see 'em and hear 'em. Sometimes I want to stop her;
but when she gets into one of her gales there ain't any
standing up against her. I guess it 's lucky for Irene
that she's got Pen there to help entertain her company.
I can't ever feel down where Pen is."
"That's so," said the Colonel. "And I guess she's got
about as much culture as any of them. Don't you?"
"She reads a great deal," admitted her mother. "She seems
to be at it the whole while. I don't want she should
injure her health, and sometimes I feel like snatchin'
the books away from her. I don't know as it's good
for a girl to read so much, anyway, especially novels.
I don't want she should get notions."
"Oh, I guess Pen'll know how to take care of herself,"
"She's got sense enough. But she ain't so practical
as Irene. She's more up in the clouds--more of what you
may call a dreamer. Irene's wide-awake every minute;
and I declare, any one to see these two together when
there's anything to be done, or any lead to be taken,
would say Irene was the oldest, nine times out of ten.
It's only when they get to talking that you can see Pen's got
twice as much brains."
"Well," said Lapham, tacitly granting this point,
and leaning back in his chair in supreme content.
"Did you ever see much nicer girls anywhere?"
His wife laughed at his pride. "I presume they're as much
swans as anybody's geese."
"No; but honestly, now!"
"Oh, they'll do; but don't you be silly, if you can
help it, Si."
The young people came in, and Corey said it was time for
his boat. Mrs. Lapham pressed him to stay, but he persisted,
and he would not let the Colonel send him to the boat;
he said he would rather walk. Outside, he pushed along toward
the boat, which presently he could see lying at her landing
in the bay, across the sandy tract to the left of the hotels.
From time to time he almost stopped in his rapid walk,
as a man does whose mind is in a pleasant tumult; and then
he went forward at a swifter pace. "She's charming!"
he said, and he thought he had spoken aloud.
He found himself floundering about in the deep sand,
wide of the path; he got back to it, and reached the boat
just before she started. The clerk came to take his fare,
and Corey looked radiantly up at him in his lantern-light,
with a smile that he must have been wearing a long time;
his cheek was stiff with it. Once some people who stood
near him edged suddenly and fearfully away, and then he
suspected himself of having laughed outright.
COREY put off his set smile with the help of a frown,
of which he first became aware after reaching home,
when his father asked--
"Anything gone wrong with your department of the fine
arts to-day, Tom?"
"Oh no--no, sir," said the son, instantly relieving
his brows from the strain upon them, and beaming again.
"But I was thinking whether you were not perhaps right
in your impression that it might be well for you to make
Colonel Lapham's acquaintance before a great while."
"Has he been suggesting it in any way?" asked Bromfield Corey,
laying aside his book and taking his lean knee between
his clasped hands.
"Oh, not at all!" the young man hastened to reply.
"I was merely thinking whether it might not begin to
seem intentional, your not doing it."
"Well, Tom, you know I have been leaving it altogether
"Oh, I understand, of course, and I didn't mean to urge
anything of the kind----"
"You are so very much more of a Bostonian than I am, you know,
that I've been waiting your motion in entire confidence
that you would know just what to do, and when to do it.
If I had been left quite to my own lawless impulses,
I think I should have called upon your padrone at once.
It seems to me that my father would have found some way of
showing that he expected as much as that from people placed
in the relation to him that we hold to Colonel Lapham."
"Do you think so?" asked the young man.
"Yes. But you know I don't pretend to be an authority
in such matters. As far as they go, I am always
in the hands of your mother and you children."
"I'm very sorry, sir. I had no idea I was over-ruling
your judgment. I only wanted to spare you a formality
that didn't seem quite a necessity yet. I'm very sorry,"
he said again, and this time with more comprehensive regret.
"I shouldn't like to have seemed remiss with a man who has
been so considerate of me. They are all very good-natured."
"I dare say," said Bromfield Corey, with the satisfaction
which no elder can help feeling in disabling the judgment
of a younger man, "that it won't be too late if I go
down to your office with you to-morrow."
"No, no. I didn't imagine your doing it at once, sir."
"Ah, but nothing can prevent me from doing a thing
when once I take the bit in my teeth," said the father,
with the pleasure which men of weak will sometimes take
in recognising their weakness. "How does their new house
"I believe they expect to be in it before New Year."
"Will they be a great addition to society?"
asked Bromfield Corey, with unimpeachable seriousness.
"I don't quite know what you mean," returned the son,
a little uneasily.
"Ah, I see that you do, Tom."
"No one can help feeling that they are all people of good
sense and--right ideas."
"Oh, that won't do. If society took in all the people
of right ideas and good sense, it would expand beyond
the calling capacity of its most active members.
Even your mother's social conscientiousness could not
compass it. Society is a very different sort of thing
from good sense and right ideas. It is based upon them,
of course, but the airy, graceful, winning superstructure
which we all know demands different qualities.
Have your friends got these qualities,--which may be felt,
but not defined?"
The son laughed. "To tell you the truth, sir, I don't
think they have the most elemental ideas of society,
as we understand it. I don't believe Mrs. Lapham ever
gave a dinner."
"And with all that money!" sighed the father.
"I don't believe they have the habit of wine at table.
I suspect that when they don't drink tea and coffee with
their dinner, they drink ice-water."
"Horrible!" said Bromfield Corey.
"It appears to me that this defines them."
"Oh yes. There are people who give dinners, and who are
not cognoscible. But people who have never yet given
a dinner, how is society to assimilate them?"
"It digests a great many people," suggested the young man.
"Yes; but they have always brought some sort of sauce
piquante with them. Now, as I understand you,
these friends of yours have no such sauce."
"Oh, I don't know about that!" cried the son.
"Oh, rude, native flavours, I dare say. But that isn't
what I mean. Well, then, they must spend. There is no
other way for them to win their way to general regard.
We must have the Colonel elected to the Ten O'clock Club,
and he must put himself down in the list of those willing
to entertain. Any one can manage a large supper. Yes, I see
a gleam of hope for him in that direction."
In the morning Bromfield Corey asked his son whether he
should find Lapham at his place as early as eleven.
"I think you might find him even earlier. I've never
been there before him. I doubt if the porter is there
"Well, suppose I go with you, then?"
"Why, if you like, sir," said the son, with some deprecation.
"Oh, the question is, will HE like?"
"I think he will, sir;" and the father could see that
his son was very much pleased.
Lapham was rending an impatient course through the morning's
news when they appeared at the door of his inner room.
He looked up from the newspaper spread on the desk before him,
and then he stood up, making an indifferent feint of not
knowing that he knew Bromfield Corey by sight.
"Good morning, Colonel Lapham," said the son, and Lapham
waited for him to say further, "I wish to introduce
my father." Then he answered, "Good morning," and added
rather sternly for the elder Corey, "How do you do,
sir? Will you take a chair?" and he pushed him one.
They shook hands and sat down, and Lapham said
to his subordinate, "Have a seat; "but young Corey
remained standing, watching them in their observance of
each other with an amusement which was a little uneasy.
Lapham made his visitor speak first by waiting for him to do so.
"I'm glad to make your acquaintance, Colonel Lapham,
and I ought to have come sooner to do so. My father
in your place would have expected it of a man in my place
at once, I believe. But I can't feel myself altogether
a stranger as it is. I hope Mrs. Lapham is well? And
"Thank you," said Lapham, "they're quite well."
"They were very kind to my wife----"
"Oh, that was nothing!" cried Lapham. "There's nothing
Mrs. Lapham likes better than a chance of that sort.
Mrs. Corey and the young ladies well?"
"Very well, when I heard from them. They're out of town."
"Yes, so I understood," said Lapham, with a nod toward
the son. "I believe Mr. Corey, here, told Mrs. Lapham."
He leaned back in his chair, stiffly resolute to show that he
was not incommoded by the exchange of these civilities.
"Yes," said Bromfield Corey. "Tom has had the pleasure
which I hope for of seeing you all. I hope you're
able to make him useful to you here?" Corey looked
round Lapham's room vaguely, and then out at the clerks
in their railed enclosure, where his eye finally rested
on an extremely pretty girl, who was operating a type-writer.
"Well, sir," replied Lapham, softening for the first time
with this approach to business, "I guess it will be our own
fault if we don't. By the way, Corey," he added, to the
younger man, as he gathered up some letters from his desk,
"here's something in your line. Spanish or French,
"I'll run them over," said Corey, taking them to his desk.
His father made an offer to rise.
"Don't go," said Lapham, gesturing him down again.
"I just wanted to get him away a minute. I don't care
to say it to his face,--I don't like the principle,--but
since you ask me about it, I'd just as lief say that I've
never had any young man take hold here equal to your son.
I don't know as you care"
"You make me very happy," said Bromfield Corey.
"Very happy indeed. I've always had the idea that there
was something in my son, if he could only find the way
to work it out. And he seems to have gone into your
business for the love of it."
"He went to work in the right way, sir! He told me about it.
He looked into it. And that paint is a thing that will
bear looking into."
"Oh yes. You might think he had invented it, if you
heard him celebrating it."
"Is that so?" demanded Lapham, pleased through
and through. "Well, there ain't any other way.
You've got to believe in a thing before you can put any
heart in it. Why, I had a partner in this thing once,
along back just after the war, and he used to be always
wanting to tinker with something else. 'Why,' says I,
'you've got the best thing in God's universe now.
Why ain't you satisfied?' I had to get rid of him at last.
I stuck to my paint, and that fellow's drifted round pretty
much all over the whole country, whittling his capital
down all the while, till here the other day I had to lend
him some money to start him new. No, sir, you've got
to believe in a thing. And I believe in your son.
And I don't mind telling you that, so far as he's gone,
he's a success."
"That's very kind of you."
"No kindness about it. As I was saying the other day
to a friend of mine, I've had many a fellow right out
of the street that had to work hard all his life,
and didn't begin to take hold like this son of yours."
Lapham expanded with profound self-satisfaction. As he
probably conceived it, he had succeeded in praising,
in a perfectly casual way, the supreme excellence
of his paint, and his own sagacity and benevolence;
and here he was sitting face to face with Bromfield Corey,
praising his son to him, and receiving his grateful
acknowledgments as if he were the father of some office-boy
whom Lapham had given a place half but of charity.
"Yes, sir, when your son proposed to take hold here,
I didn't have much faith in his ideas, that's the truth.
But I had faith in him, and I saw that he meant business
from the start. I could see it was born in him.
Any one could."
"I'm afraid he didn't inherit it directly from me,"
said Bromfield Corey; "but it's in the blood,
on both sides." "Well, sir, we can't help those things,"
said Lapham compassionately. "Some of us have got it,
and some of us haven't. The idea is to make the most of
what we HAVE got."
"Oh yes; that is the idea. By all means."
"And you can't ever tell what's in you till you try.
Why, when I started this thing, I didn't more than half
understand my own strength. I wouldn't have said,
looking back, that I could have stood the wear and tear
of what I've been through. But I developed as I went along.
It's just like exercising your muscles in a gymnasium.
You can lift twice or three times as much after you've
been in training a month as you could before. And I
can see that it's going to be just so with your son.
His going through college won't hurt him,--he'll soon slough
all that off,--and his bringing up won't; don't be anxious
about it. I noticed in the army that some of the fellows
that had the most go-ahead were fellows that hadn't ever
had much more to do than girls before the war broke out.
Your son will get along."
"Thank you," said Bromfield Corey, and smiled--whether
because his spirit was safe in the humility he
sometimes boasted, or because it was triply armed
in pride against anything the Colonel's kindness could do.
"He'll get along. He's a good business man, and he's
a fine fellow. MUST you go?" asked Lapham, as Bromfield
Corey now rose more resolutely. "Well, glad to see you.
It was natural you should want to come and see what he
was about, and I'm glad you did. I should have felt
just so about it. Here is some of our stuff," he said,
pointing out the various packages in his office,
including the Persis Brand.
"Ah, that's very nice, very nice indeed," said his visitor.
"That colour through the jar--very rich--delicious.
Is Persis Brand a name?"
"Well, Persis is. I don't know as you saw an interview
that fellow published in the Events a while back?"
"What is the Events?"
"Well, it's that new paper Witherby's started."
"No," said Bromfield Corey, "I haven't seen it.
I read The Daily," he explained; by which he meant The
Daily Advertiser, the only daily there is in the old-
fashioned Bostonian sense.
"He put a lot of stuff in my mouth that I never said,"
resumed Lapham; "but that's neither here nor there,
so long as you haven't seen it. Here's the department
your son's in," and he showed him the foreign labels.
Then he took him out into the warehouse to see the
large packages. At the head of the stairs, where his
guest stopped to nod to his son and say "Good-bye, Tom,"
Lapham insisted upon going down to the lower door with him
"Well, call again," he said in hospitable dismissal.
"I shall always be glad to see you. There ain't a great
deal doing at this season." Bromfield Corey thanked him,
and let his hand remain perforce in Lapham's lingering grasp.
"If you ever like to ride after a good horse----"
the Colonel began.
"Oh, no, no, no; thank you! The better the horse, the more
I should be scared. Tom has told me of your driving!"
"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed the Colonel. "Well! every one
to his taste. Well, good morning, sir!" and he suffered
him to go.
"Who is the old man blowing to this morning?" asked Walker,
the book-keeper, making an errand to Corey's desk.
"Oh! That your father? I thought he must be one of your
Italian correspondents that you'd been showing round,
In fact, as Bromfield Corey found his way at his leisurely
pace up through the streets on which the prosperity
of his native city was founded, hardly any figure could
have looked more alien to its life. He glanced up and down
the facades and through the crooked vistas like a stranger,
and the swarthy fruiterer of whom he bought an apple,
apparently for the pleasure of holding it in his hand,
was not surprised that the purchase should be transacted
in his own tongue.
Lapham walked back through the outer office to his own
room without looking at Corey, and during the day he spoke
to him only of business matters. That must have been
his way of letting Corey see that he was not overcome
by the honour of his father's visit. But he presented
himself at Nantasket with the event so perceptibly on
his mind that his wife asked: "Well, Silas, has Rogers
been borrowing any more money of you? I don't want you
should let that thing go too far. You've done enough."
"You needn't be afraid. I've seen the last of Rogers
for one while." He hesitated, to give the fact an effect
of no importance. "Corey's father called this morning."
"Did he?" said Mrs. Lapham, willing to humour his feint
of indifference. "Did HE want to borrow some money too?"
"Not as I understood." Lapham was smoking at great ease,
and his wife had some crocheting on the other side of the
lamp from him.
The girls were on the piazza looking at the moon on
the water again. "There's no man in it to-night,"
Penelope said, and Irene laughed forlornly.
"What DID he want, then?" asked Mrs. Lapham.
"Oh, I don't know. Seemed to be just a friendly call.
Said he ought to have come before."
Mrs. Lapham was silent a while. Then she said: "Well,
I hope you're satisfied now."
Lapham rejected the sympathy too openly offered.
"I don't know about being satisfied. I wa'n't in any
hurry to see him."
His wife permitted him this pretence also. "What sort
of a person is he, anyway l"
"Well, not much like his son. There's no sort of business
about him. I don't know just how you'd describe him.
He's tall; and he's got white hair and a moustache;
and his fingers are very long and limber. I couldn't help
noticing them as he sat there with his hands on the top
of his cane. Didn't seem to be dressed very much, and acted
just like anybody. Didn't talk much. Guess I did most
of the talking. Said he was glad I seemed to be getting
along so well with his son. He asked after you and Irene;
and he said he couldn't feel just like a stranger.
Said you had been very kind to his wife. Of course I turned
it off. Yes," said Lapham thoughtfully, with his hands
resting on his knees, and his cigar between the fingers
of his left hand, "I guess he meant to do the right thing,
every way. Don't know as I ever saw a much pleasanter man.
Dunno but what he's about the pleasantest man I ever
did see." He was not letting his wife see in his averted
face the struggle that revealed itself there--the
struggle of stalwart achievement not to feel flattered
at the notice of sterile elegance, not to be sneakingly
glad of its amiability, but to stand up and look at it
with eyes on the same level. God, who made us so much
like himself, but out of the dust, alone knows when
that struggle will end. The time had been when Lapham
could not have imagined any worldly splendour which his
dollars could not buy if he chose to spend them for it;
but his wife's half discoveries, taking form again in his
ignorance of the world, filled him with helpless misgiving.
A cloudy vision of something unpurchasable, where he
had supposed there was nothing, had cowed him in spite
of the burly resistance of his pride.
"I don't see why he shouldn't be pleasant," said Mrs. Lapham.
"He's never done anything else."
Lapham looked up consciously, with an uneasy laugh.
"Pshaw, Persis! you never forget anything?"
"Oh, I've got more than that to remember. I suppose you
asked him to ride after the mare?"
"Well," said Lapham, reddening guiltily, "he said he
was afraid of a good horse."
"Then, of course, you hadn't asked him." Mrs. Lapham
crocheted in silence, and her husband leaned back
in his chair and smoked.
At last he said, "I'm going to push that house forward.
They're loafing on it. There's no reason why we shouldn't
be in it by Thanksgiving. I don't believe in moving in
the dead of winter."
"We can wait till spring. We're very comfortable in the
old place," answered his wife. Then she broke out on him:
"What are you in such a hurry to get into that house
for? Do you want to invite the Coreys to a house-warming?"
Lapham looked at her without speaking.
"Don't you suppose I can see through you I declare,
Silas Lapham, if I didn't know different, I should say
you were about the biggest fool! Don't you know ANYthing?
Don't you know that it wouldn't do to ask those people
to our house before they've asked us to theirs? They'd
laugh in our faces!"
"I don't believe they'd laugh in our faces. What's the
difference between our asking them and their asking us?"
demanded the Colonel sulkily.
"Oh, well! If you don t see!"
"Well, I DON'T see. But I don't want to ask them
to the house. I suppose, if I want to, I can invite
him down to a fish dinner at Taft's."
Mrs. Lapham fell back in her chair, and let her work
drop in her lap with that "Tckk!" in which her sex knows
how to express utter contempt and despair.
"What's the matter?"
"Well, if you DO such a thing, Silas, I'll never speak
to you again! It's no USE! It's NO use! I did think,
after you'd behaved so well about Rogers, I might trust
you a little. But I see I can't. I presume as long as you
live you'll have to be nosed about like a perfect--I don't
"What are you making such a fuss about?" demanded Lapham,
terribly crestfallen, but trying to pluck up a spirit.
"I haven't done anything yet. I can't ask your advice
about anything any more without having you fly out.
Confound it! I shall do as I please after this."
But as if he could not endure that contemptuous atmosphere,
he got up, and his wife heard him in the dining-room
pouring himself out a glass of ice-water, and then heard
him mount the stairs to their room, and slam its door
"Do you know what your father's wanting to do now?"
Mrs. Lapham asked her eldest daughter, who lounged
into the parlour a moment with her wrap stringing
from her arm, while the younger went straight to bed.
"He wants to invite Mr. Corey's father to a fish dinner
Penelope was yawning with her hand on her mouth;
she stopped, and, with a laugh of amused expectance,
sank into a chair, her shoulders shrugged forward.
"Why! what in the world has put the Colonel up to that?"
"Put him up to it! There's that fellow, who ought have come
to see him long ago, drops into his office this morning,
and talks five minutes with him, and your father is
flattered out of his five senses. He's crazy to get
in with those people, and I shall have a perfect battle
to keep him within bounds."
"Well, Persis, ma'am, you can't say but what you began it,"
"Oh yes, I began it," confessed Mrs. Lapham. "Pen," she
broke out, "what do you suppose he means by it?"
"Who? Mr. Corey's father? What does the Colonel think?"
"Oh, the Colonel!" cried Mrs. Lapham. She added tremulously:
"Perhaps he IS right. He DID seem to take a fancy to her
last summer, and now if he's called in that way "She left
her daughter to distribute the pronouns aright, and resumed:
"Of course, I should have said once that there wasn't
any question about it. I should have said so last year;
and I don't know what it is keeps me from saying so now.
I suppose I know a little more about things than I did;
and your father's being so bent on it sets me all in
a twitter. He thinks his money can do everything.
Well, I don't say but what it can, a good many. And 'Rene
is as good a child as ever there was; and I don't see
but what she's pretty-appearing enough to suit any one.
She's pretty-behaved, too; and she IS the most capable girl.
I presume young men don't care very much for such
things nowadays; but there ain't a great many girls
can go right into the kitchen, and make such a custard
as she did yesterday. And look at the way she does,
through the whole house! She can't seem to go into a room
without the things fly right into their places. And if she
had to do it to-morrow, she could make all her own dresses
a great deal better than them we pay to do it. I don't
say but what he's about as nice a fellow as ever stepped.
But there! I'm ashamed of going on so."
"Well, mother," said the girl after a pause, in which she
looked as if a little weary of the subject, "why do you
worry about it? If it's to be it'll be, and if it isn't----"
"Yes, that's what I tell your father. But when it comes
to myself, I see how hard it is for him to rest quiet.
I'm afraid we shall all do something we'll repent
"Well, ma'am," said Penelope, "I don't intend to do anything wrong;
but if I do, I promise not to be sorry for it. I'll go
that far. And I think I wouldn't be sorry for it beforehand,
if I were in your place, mother. Let the Colonel go on! He
likes to manoeuvre, and he isn't going to hurt any one.
The Corey family can take care of themselves, I guess."
She laughed in her throat, drawing down the corners
of her mouth, and enjoying the resolution with which her
mother tried to fling off the burden of her anxieties.
"Pen! I believe you're right. You always do see things
in such a light! There! I don't care if he brings him
down every day."
"Well, ma'am," said Pen, "I don't believe
'Rene would, either. She's just so indifferent!"
The Colonel slept badly that night, and in the morning
Mrs. Lapham came to breakfast without him.
"Your father ain't well," she reported. "He's had one
of his turns."
"I should have thought he had two or three of them,"
said Penelope, "by the stamping round I heard. Isn't he
coming to breakfast?"
"Not just yet," said her mother. "He's asleep,
and he'll be all right if he gets his nap out.
I don't want you girls should make any great noise."
"Oh, we'll be quiet enough," returned Penelope.
"Well, I'm glad the Colonel isn't sojering. At first I
thought he might be sojering." She broke into a laugh,
and, struggling indolently with it, looked at her sister.
"You don't think it'll be necessary for anybody to come
down from the office and take orders from him while he's
laid up, do you, mother?" she inquired
"Pen!" cried Irene.
"He'll be well enough to go up on the ten o'clock boat,"
said the mother sharply.
"I think papa works too hard all through the summer.
Why don't you make him take a rest, mamma?" asked Irene.
"Oh, take a rest! The man slaves harder every year.
It used to be so that he'd take a little time off now and then;
but I declare, he hardly ever seems to breathe now away from
his office. And this year he says he doesn't intend to go
down to Lapham, except to see after the works for a few days.
I don't know what to do with the man any more! Seems
as if the more money he got, the more he wanted to get.
It scares me to think what would happen to him if he
lost it. I know one thing," concluded Mrs. Lapham.
"He shall not go back to the office to-day."
"Then he won't go up on the ten o'clock boat,"
Pen reminded her.
"No, he won't. You can just drive over to the hotel as soon
as you're through, girls, and telegraph that he's not well,
and won't be at the office till to-morrow. I'm not going
to have them send anybody down here to bother him."
"That's a blow," said Pen. "I didn't know but they
might send----" she looked demurely at her sister--"Dennis!"
"Mamma!" cried Irene.
"Well, I declare, there's no living with this family
any more," said Penelope.
"There, Pen, be done!" commanded her mother. But perhaps she
did not intend to forbid her teasing. It gave a pleasant
sort of reality to the affair that was in her mind,
and made what she wished appear not only possible but probable.
Lapham got up and lounged about, fretting and rebelling
as each boat departed without him, through the day;
before night he became very cross, in spite of the efforts
of the family to soothe him, and grumbled that he had been
kept from going up to town. "I might as well have gone
as not," he repeated, till his wife lost her patience.
"Well, you shall go to-morrow, Silas, if you have to be
carried to the boat."
"I declare," said Penelope, "the Colonel don't pet worth
The six o'clock boat brought Corey. The girls were
sitting on the piazza, and Irene saw him first.
"O Pen!" she whispered, with her heart in her face;
and Penelope had no time for mockery before he was at
"I hope Colonel Lapham isn't ill," he said, and they
could hear their mother engaged in a moral contest
with their father indoors.
"Go and put on your coat! I say you shall! It don't matter
HOW he sees you at the office, shirt-sleeves or not.
You're in a gentleman's house now--or you ought to be--and
you shan't see company in your dressing-gown."
Penelope hurried in to subdue her mother's anger.
"Oh, he's very much better, thank you!" said Irene,
speaking up loudly to drown the noise of the controversy.
"I'm glad of that," said Corey, and when she led
him indoors the vanquished Colonel met his visitor
in a double-breasted frock-coat, which he was still
buttoning up. He could not persuade himself at once
that Corey had not come upon some urgent business matter,
and when he was clear that he had come out of civility,
surprise mingled with his gratification that he
should be the object of solicitude to the young man.
In Lapham's circle of acquaintance they complained
when they were sick, but they made no womanish inquiries
after one another's health, and certainly paid no visits
of sympathy till matters were serious. He would have
enlarged upon the particulars of his indisposition if he
had been allowed to do so; and after tea, which Corey took
with them, he would have remained to entertain him if his
wife had not sent him to bed. She followed him to see
that he took some medicine she had prescribed for him,
but she went first to Penelope's room, where she found
the girl with a book in her hand, which she was not reading.
"You better go down," said the mother. "I've got to go
to your father, and Irene is all alone with Mr. Corey;
and I know she'll be on pins and needles without you're
there to help make it go off."
"She'd better try to get along without me, mother,"
said Penelope soberly. "I can't always be with them."
"Well," replied Mrs. Lapham, "then I must. There'll be
a perfect Quaker meeting down there."
"Oh, I guess 'Rene will find something to say if you
leave her to herself. Or if she don't, HE must.
It'll be all right for you to go down when you get ready;
but I shan't go till toward the last. If he's coming
here to see Irene--and I don't believe he's come on
father's account--he wants to see her and not me.
If she can't interest him alone, perhaps he'd as well find
it out now as any time. At any rate, I guess you'd better
make the experiment. You'll know whether it's a success
if he comes again."
"Well," said the mother, "may be you're right. I'll go
down directly. It does seem as if he did mean something,
Mrs. Lapham did not hasten to return to her guest.
In her own girlhood it was supposed that if a young man
seemed to be coming to see a girl, it was only common-
sense to suppose that he wished to see her alone; and her
life in town had left Mrs. Lapham's simple traditions
in this respect unchanged. She did with her daughter
as her mother would have done with her.
Where Penelope sat with her book, she heard the continuous
murmur of voices below, and after a long interval she
heard her mother descend. She did not read the open
book that lay in her lap, though she kept her eyes fast
on the print. Once she rose and almost shut the door,
so that she could scarcely hear; then she opened it
wide again with a self-disdainful air, and resolutely
went back to her book, which again she did not read.
But she remained in her room till it was nearly time for
Corey to return to his boat.
When they were alone again, Irene made a feint of scolding
her for leaving her to entertain Mr. Corey.
"Why! didn't you have a pleasant call?" asked Penelope.
Irene threw her arms round her. "Oh, it was a SPLENDID
call! I didn't suppose I could make it go off so well.
We talked nearly the whole time about you!"
"I don't think THAT was a very interesting subject."
"He kept asking about you. He asked everything.
You don't know how much he thinks of you, Pen. O Pen!
what do you think made him come? Do you think he really
did come to see how papa was?" Irene buried her face
in her sister's neck.
Penelope stood with her arms at her side, submitting.
"Well," she said, "I don't think he did, altogether."
Irene, all glowing, released her. "Don't you--don't you
REALLY? O Pen! don't you think he IS nice? Don't you
think he's handsome? Don't you think I behaved horridly
when we first met him this evening, not thanking him for
coming? I know he thinks I've no manners. But it seemed
as if it would be thanking him for coming to see me.
Ought I to have asked him to come again, when he said
good-night? I didn't; I couldn't. Do you believe he'll
think I don't want him to? You don't believe he would
keep coming if he didn't--want to----"
"He hasn't kept coming a great deal, yet," suggested Penelope.
"No; I know he hasn't. But if he--if he should?"
"Then I should think he wanted to."
"Oh, would you--WOULD you? Oh, how good you always are,
Pen! And you always say what you think. I wish there
was some one coming to see you too. That's all that I
don't like about it. Perhaps----He was telling about
his friend there in Texas----"
"Well," said Penelope, "his friend couldn't call often
from Texas. You needn't ask Mr. Corey to trouble
about me, 'Rene. I think I can manage to worry along,
if you're satisfied."
"Oh, I AM, Pen. When do you suppose he'll come again?"
Irene pushed some of Penelope's things aside on the
dressing-case, to rest her elbow and talk at ease.
Penelope came up and put them back.
"Well, not to-night," she said; "and if that's what you're
sitting up for----"
Irene caught her round the neck again, and ran out
of the room.
The Colonel was packed off on the eight o'clock boat
the next morning; but his recovery did not prevent Corey
from repeating his visit in a week. This time Irene came
radiantly up to Penelope's room, where she had again
withdrawn herself. "You must come down, Pen," she said.
"He's asked if you're not well, and mamma says you've got
After that Penelope helped Irene through with her calls,
and talked them over with her far into the night after Corey
was gone. But when the impatient curiosity of her mother
pressed her for some opinion of the affair, she said,
"You know as much as I do, mother."
"Don't he ever say anything to you about her--praise
her up, any?"
"He's never mentioned Irene to me."
"He hasn't to me, either," said Mrs. Lapham, with a sigh
of trouble. "Then what makes him keep coming?"
"I can't tell you. One thing, he says there isn't a house
open in Boston where he's acquainted. Wait till some
of his friends get back, and then if he keeps coming,
it'll be time to inquire."
"Well!" said the mother; but as the weeks passed she
was less and less able to attribute Corey's visits to his
loneliness in town, and turned to her husband for comfort.
"Silas, I don't know as we ought to let young Corey keep
coming so. I don't quite like it, with all his family away."
"He's of age," said the Colonel. "He can go where he pleases.
It don't matter whether his family's here or not."
"Yes, but if they don't want he should come? Should you
feel just right about letting him?"
"How're you going to stop him? I swear, Persis, I don't know
what's got over you! What is it? You didn't use to be so.
But to hear you talk, you'd think those Coreys were too
good for this world, and we wa'n't fit for 'em to walk on."
"I'm not going to have 'em say we took an advantage
of their being away and tolled him on."
"I should like to HEAR 'em say it!" cried Lapham.
"Well," said his wife, relinquishing this point of anxiety,
"I can't make out whether he cares anything for her or not.
And Pen can't tell either; or else she won't."
"Oh, I guess he cares for her, fast enough," said the Colonel.
"I can't make out that he's said or done the first thing
to show it."
"Well, I was better than a year getting my courage up."
"Oh, that was different," said Mrs. Lapham, in contemptuous
dismissal of the comparison, and yet with a certain fondness.
"I guess, if he cared for her, a fellow in his position
wouldn't be long getting up his courage to speak to Irene."
Lapham brought his fist down on the table between them.
"Look here, Persis! Once for all, now, don't you ever
let me hear you say anything like that again! I'm worth
nigh on to a million, and I've made it every cent myself;
and my girls are the equals of anybody, I don't care
who it is. He ain't the fellow to take on any airs;
but if he ever tries it with me, I'll send him to the right
about mighty quick. I'll have a talk with him, if----"
"No, no; don't do that!" implored his wife. "I didn't
mean anything. I don't know as I meant ANYthing.
He's just as unassuming as he can be, and I think Irene's
a match for anybody. You just let things go on. It'll be
all right. You never can tell how it is with young people.
Perhaps SHE'S offish. Now you ain't--you ain't going
to say anything?"
Lapham suffered himself to be persuaded, the more easily,
no doubt, because after his explosion he must have perceived
that his pride itself stood in the way of what his pride
had threatened. He contented himself with his wife's
promise that she would never again present that offensive
view of the case, and she did not remain without a certain
support in his sturdy self-assertion.
MRS. COREY returned with her daughters in the early
days of October, having passed three or four weeks at
Intervale after leaving Bar Harbour. They were somewhat
browner than they were when they left town in June,
but they were not otherwise changed. Lily, the elder
of the girls, had brought back a number of studies of kelp
and toadstools, with accessory rocks and rotten logs,
which she would never finish up and never show any one,
knowing the slightness of their merit. Nanny, the younger,
had read a great many novels with a keen sense of their
inaccuracy as representations of life, and had seen
a great deal of life with a sad regret for its difference
from fiction. They were both nice girls, accomplished,
well-dressed of course, and well enough looking;
but they had met no one at the seaside or the mountains
whom their taste would allow to influence their fate,
and they had come home to the occupations they had left,
with no hopes and no fears to distract them.
In the absence of these they were fitted to take
the more vivid interest in their brother's affairs,
which they could see weighed upon their mother's mind
after the first hours of greeting.
"Oh, it seems to have been going on, and your father has
never written a word about it," she said, shaking her head.
"What good would it have done?" asked Nanny, who was
little and fair, with rings of light hair that filled
a bonnet-front very prettily; she looked best in a bonnet.
"It would only have worried you. He could not have
stopped Tom; you couldn't, when you came home to do it."
"I dare say papa didn't know much about it," suggested Lily.
She was a tall, lean, dark girl, who looked as if she
were not quite warm enough, and whom you always associated
with wraps of different aesthetic effect after you had
once seen her.
It is a serious matter always to the women of his family
when a young man gives them cause to suspect that he
is interested in some other woman. A son-in-law or
brother-in-law does not enter the family; he need not be
caressed or made anything of; but the son's or brother's
wife has a claim upon his mother and sisters which they
cannot deny. Some convention of their sex obliges them
to show her affection, to like or to seem to like her,
to take her to their intimacy, however odious she may
be to them. With the Coreys it was something more than
an affair of sentiment. They were by no means poor,
and they were not dependent money-wise upon Tom Corey;
but the mother had come, without knowing it, to rely upon
his sense, his advice in everything, and the sisters,
seeing him hitherto so indifferent to girls, had insensibly
grown to regard him as altogether their own till he
should be released, not by his marriage, but by theirs,
an event which had not approached with the lapse of time.
Some kinds of girls--they believed that they could readily
have chosen a kind--might have taken him without taking
him from them; but this generosity could not be hoped
for in such a girl as Miss Lapham.
"Perhaps," urged their mother, "it would not be so bad.
She seemed an affectionate little thing with her mother,
without a great deal of character though she was so capable
about some things."
"Oh, she'll be an affectionate little thing with Tom too,
you may be sure," said Nanny. "And that characterless
capability becomes the most in tense narrow-mindedness.
She'll think we were against her from the beginning."
"She has no cause for that," Lily interposed, "and we
shall not give her any."
"Yes, we shall," retorted Nanny. "We can't help it;
and if we can't, her own ignorance would be cause enough."
"I can't feel that she's altogether ignorant,"
said Mrs. Corey justly.
"Of course she can read and write," admitted Nanny.
"I can't imagine what he finds to talk about with her,"
"Oh, THAT'S very simple," returned her sister.
"They talk about themselves, with occasional references
to each other. I have heard people 'going on' on the
hotel piazzas. She's embroidering, or knitting, or tatting,
or something of that kind; and he says she seems quite
devoted to needlework, and she says, yes, she has a perfect
passion for it, and everybody laughs at her for it;
but she can't help it, she always was so from a child,
and supposes she always shall be,--with remote and
minute particulars. And she ends by saying that perhaps
he does not like people to tat, or knit, or embroider,
or whatever. And he says, oh, yes, he does; what could
make her think such a thing? but for his part he likes
boating rather better, or if you're in the woods camping.
Then she lets him take up one corner of her work,
and perhaps touch her fingers; and that encourages
him to say that he supposes nothing could induce her
to drop her work long enough to go down on the rocks,
or out among the huckleberry bushes; and she puts her
head on one side, and says she doesn't know really.
And then they go, and he lies at her feet on the rocks,
or picks huckleberries and drops them in her lap, and they
go on talking about themselves, and comparing notes to see
how they differ from each other. And----"
"That will do, Nanny," said her mother.
Lily smiled autumnally. "Oh, disgusting!"
"Disgusting? Not at all!" protested her sister.
"It's very amusing when you see it, and when you do it----"
"It's always a mystery what people see in each other,"
observed Mrs. Corey severely.
"Yes," Nanny admitted, "but I don't know that there is much
comfort for us in the application." "No, there isn't,"
said her mother.
"The most that we can do is to hope for the best till
we know the worst. Of course we shall make the best
of the worst when it comes."
"Yes, and perhaps it would not be so very bad.
I was saying to your father when I was here in July
that those things can always be managed. You must face
them as if they were nothing out of the way, and try
not to give any cause for bitterness among ourselves."
"That's true. But I don't believe in too much
resignation beforehand. It amounts to concession," said Nanny.
"Of course we should oppose it in all proper ways,"
returned her mother.
Lily had ceased to discuss the matter. In virtue of her
artistic temperament, she was expected not to be very practical.
It was her mother and her sister who managed, submitting
to the advice and consent of Corey what they intended to do.
"Your father wrote me that he had called on Colonel Lapham
at his place of business," said Mrs. Corey, seizing her
first chance of approaching the subject with her son.
"Yes," said Corey. "A dinner was father's idea, but he
came down to a call, at my suggestion."
"Oh," said Mrs. Corey, in a tone of relief, as if the
statement threw a new light on the fact that Corey
had suggested the visit. "He said so little about
it in his letter that I didn't know just how it came about."
"I thought it was right they should meet," explained the son,
"and so did father. I was glad that I suggested it,
afterward; it was extremely gratifying to Colonel Lapham."
"Oh, it was quite right in every way. I suppose you
have seen something of the family during the summer."
"Yes, a good deal. I've been down at Nantasket rather often."
Mrs. Corey let her eyes droop. Then she asked: "Are
"Yes, except Lapham himself, now and then. I went down once
or twice to see him. He hasn't given himself any vacation
this summer; he has such a passion for his business that I
fancy he finds it hard being away from it at any time,
and he's made his new house an excuse for staying"
"Oh yes, his house! Is it to be something fine?"
"Yes; it's a beautiful house. Seymour is doing it."
"Then, of course, it will be very handsome. I suppose
the young ladies are very much taken up with it;
and Mrs. Lapham."
"Mrs. Lapham, yes. I don't think the young ladies care
so much about it."
"It must be for them. Aren't they ambitious?"
asked Mrs. Corey, delicately feeling her way.
Her son thought a while. Then he answered with a smile--
"No, I don't really think they are. They are unambitious,
I should say." Mrs. Corey permitted herself a long breath.
But her son added, "It's the parents who are ambitious
for them," and her respiration became shorter again.
"Yes," she said.
"They're very simple, nice girls," pursued Corey.
"I think you'll like the elder, when you come to know her."
When you come to know her. The words implied an expectation
that the two families were to be better acquainted.
"Then she is more intellectual than her sister?"
Mrs. Corey ventured.
"Intellectual?" repeated her son. "No; that isn't
the word, quite. Though she certainly has more mind."
"The younger seemed very sensible."
"Oh, sensible, yes. And as practical as she's pretty.
She can do all sorts of things, and likes to be doing them.
Don't you think she's an extraordinary beauty?"
"Yes--yes, she is," said Mrs. Corey, at some cost.
"She's good, too," said Corey, "and perfectly innocent
and transparent. I think you will like her the better
the more you know her."
"I thought her very nice from the beginning," said the
mother heroically; and then nature asserted itself in her.
"But I should be afraid that she might perhaps be a
little bit tiresome at last; her range of ideas seemed
so extremely limited."
"Yes, that's what I was afraid of. But, as a matter of fact,
she isn't. She interests you by her very limitations.
You can see the working of her mind, like that of a child.
She isn't at all conscious even of her beauty."
"I don't believe young men can tell whether girls
are conscious or not," said Mrs. Corey. "But I am not
saying the Miss Laphams are not----" Her son sat musing,
with an inattentive smile on his face. "What is it?"
"Oh! nothing. I was thinking of Miss Lapham and something
she was saying. She's very droll, you know."
"The elder sister? Yes, you told me that. Can you see
the workings of her mind too?"
"No; she's everything that's unexpected." Corey fell into
another reverie, and smiled again; but he did not offer
to explain what amused him, and his mother would not ask.
"I don't know what to make of his admiring the girl
so frankly," she said afterward to her husband.
"That couldn't come naturally till after he had spoken
to her, and I feel sure that he hasn't yet."
"You women haven't risen yet--it's an evidence of
the backwardness of your sex--to a conception of the
Bismarck idea in diplomacy. If a man praises one woman,
you still think he's in love with another. Do you mean
that because Tom didn't praise the elder sister so much,
he HAS spoken to HER?"
Mrs. Corey refused the consequence, saying that it did
not follow. "Besides, he did praise her."
"You ought to be glad that matters are in such
good shape, then. At any rate, you can do absolutely nothing."
"Oh! I know it," sighed Mrs. Corey. "I wish Tom would
be a little opener with me."
"He's as open as it's in the nature of an American-born
son to be with his parents. I dare say if you'd asked
him plumply what he meant in regard to the young lady,
he would have told you--if he knew."
"Why, don't you think he does know, Bromfield?"
"I'm not at all sure he does. You women think that
because a young man dangles after a girl, or girls,
he's attached to them. It doesn't at all follow.
He dangles because he must, and doesn't know what to
do with his time, and because they seem to like it.
I dare say that Tom has dangled a good deal in this
instance because there was nobody else in town."
"Do you really think so?"
"I throw out the suggestion. And it strikes me that a
young lady couldn't do better than stay in or near Boston
during the summer. Most of the young men are here,
kept by business through the week, with evenings available
only on the spot, or a few miles off. What was the
proportion of the sexes at the seashore and the mountains?"
"Oh, twenty girls at least for even an excuse of a man.
"You see, I am right in one part of my theory.
Why shouldn't I be right in the rest?"
"I wish you were. And yet I can't say that I do.
Those things are very serious with girls. I shouldn't
like Tom to have been going to see those people if he
meant nothing by it."
"And you wouldn't like it if he did. You are difficult,
my dear." Her husband pulled an open newspaper toward him
from the table.
"I feel that it wouldn't be at all like him to do so,"
said Mrs. Corey, going on to entangle herself in her words,
as women often do when their ideas are perfectly clear.
"Don't go to reading, please, Bromfield! I am really
worried about this matter I must know how much it means.
I can't let it go on so. I don't see how you can rest easy
"I don't in the least know what's going to become of me
when I die; and yet I sleep well," replied Bromfield Corey,
putting his newspaper aside.
"Ah! but this is a very different thing."
"So much more serious? Well, what can you do? We had this
out when you were here in the summer, and you agreed
with me then that we could do nothing. The situation
hasn't changed at all."
"Yes, it has; it has continued the same," said Mrs. Corey,
again expressing the fact by a contradiction in terms.
"I think I must ask Tom outright."
"You know you can't do that, my dear."
"Then why doesn't he tell us?"
"Ah, that's what HE can't do, if he's making love to Miss
Irene--that's her name, I believe--on the American plan.
He will tell us after he has told HER. That was the way I did.
Don't ignore our own youth, Anna. It was a long while ago,
"It was very different," said Mrs. Corey, a little shaken.
"I don't see how. I dare say Mamma Lapham knows whether
Tom is in love with her daughter or not; and no doubt
Papa Lapham knows it at second hand. But we shall not
know it until the girl herself does. Depend upon that.
Your mother knew, and she told your father; but my poor
father knew nothing about it till we were engaged; and I
had been hanging about--dangling, as you call it----"
"No, no; YOU called it that."
"Was it I?--for a year or more."
The wife could not refuse to be a little consoled by the
image of her young love which the words conjured up,
however little she liked its relation to her son's interest
in Irene Lapham. She smiled pensively. "Then you think
it hasn't come to an understanding with them yet?"
"An understanding? Oh, probably."
"An explanation, then?"
"The only logical inference from what we've been saying
is that it hasn't. But I don't ask you to accept it
on that account. May I read now, my dear?"
"Yes, you may read now," said Mrs. Corey, with one
of those sighs which perhaps express a feminine sense
of the unsatisfactoriness of husbands in general,
rather than a personal discontent with her own.
"Thank you, my dear; then I think I'll smoke too,"
said Bromfield Corey, lighting a cigar.
She left him in peace, and she made no further attempt
upon her son's confidence. But she was not inactive for
that reason. She did not, of course, admit to herself,
and far less to others, the motive with which she went
to pay an early visit to the Laphams, who had now come
up from Nantasket to Nankeen Square. She said to her
daughters that she had always been a little ashamed of using
her acquaintance with them to get money for her charity,
and then seeming to drop it. Besides, it seemed to her
that she ought somehow to recognise the business relation
that Tom had formed with the father; they must not
think that his family disapproved of what he had done.
"Yes, business is business," said Nanny, with a laugh.
"Do you wish us to go with you again?"
"No; I will go alone this time," replied the mother
Her coupe now found its way to Nankeen Square without
difficulty, and she sent up a card, which Mrs. Lapham
received in the presence of her daughter Penelope.
"I presume I've got to see her," she gasped.
"Well, don't look so guilty, mother," joked the girl;
"you haven't been doing anything so VERY wrong."
"It seems as if I HAD. I don't know what's come over me.
I wasn't afraid of the woman before, but now I don't seem
to feel as if I could look her in the face. He's been coming
here of his own accord, and I fought against his coming
long enough, goodness knows. I didn't want him to come.
And as far forth as that goes, we're as respectable
as they are; and your father's got twice their money,
any day. We've no need to go begging for their favour.
I guess they were glad enough to get him in with
"Yes, those are all good points, mother," said the girl;
"and if you keep saying them over, and count a hundred every
time before you speak, I guess you'll worry through."
Mrs. Lapham had been fussing distractedly with her hair
and ribbons, in preparation for her encounter with Mrs. Corey.
She now drew in a long quivering breath, stared at her
daughter without seeing her, and hurried downstairs.
It was true that when she met Mrs. Corey before she had
not been awed by her; but since then she had learned at
least her own ignorance of the world, and she had talked
over the things she had misconceived and the things she
had shrewdly guessed so much that she could not meet her
on the former footing of equality. In spite of as brave
a spirit and as good a conscience as woman need have,
Mrs. Lapham cringed inwardly, and tremulously wondered
what her visitor had come for. She turned from pale
to red, and was hardly coherent in her greetings;
she did not know how they got to where Mrs. Corey was
saying exactly the right things about her son's interest
and satisfaction in his new business, and keeping her eyes
fixed on Mrs. Lapham's, reading her uneasiness there,
and making her feel, in spite of her indignant innocence,
that she had taken a base advantage of her in her absence
to get her son away from her and marry him to Irene.
Then, presently, while this was painfully revolving itself
in Mrs. Lapham's mind, she was aware of Mrs. Corey's asking
if she was not to have the pleasure of seeing Miss Irene.
"No; she's out, just now," said Mrs. Lapham. "I don't
know just when she'll be in. She went to get a book."
And here she turned red again, knowing that Irene had
gone to get the book because it was one that Corey had
Back to Full Books | <urn:uuid:2c726107-9179-4693-964b-537f09c41dde> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fullbooks.com/Entire-PG-Edition-of-The-Works-of-William20.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988718 | 21,077 | 1.625 | 2 |
The service brought together pastors from churches around Rome and Floyd County to worship and honor the legacy of King.
The Rev. Randy B. Livsey, pastor of New Shiloh Baptist Church in Kingston, told the crowd that while King led the way in civil rights, even today there is still work to do.
Livsey referenced the presidency of Barack Obama as an achievement made possible by King.
Obama took the oath of office Sunday and the inauguration celebration will take place today.
Livsey cited the deaths of 528 people killed in Chicago in 2012 in gang related violence, the shootings at a movie theater in Colorado and the most recent shooting of young students and teachers at a school in Newtown, Conn.
He said King’s lesson is still relevant today that “one man’s happiness cannot be purchased by another man’s misery.
Today, marchers will make their way down Broad Street in honor of King.
The annual Freedom March begins at the south end of Broad Street near Southeastern Mills at 11:30 a.m.
The Rev. Brannon Jones, associate pastor of Mount Calvary Church in Elberton will speak to the crowd in the City Auditorium following the march.
The activities will conclude with a fellowship luncheon at the Rome Civic Center on Jackson Hill following the march. | <urn:uuid:e681d45b-5243-4afb-b0be-27a02fba4eed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://romenews-tribune.com/view/full_story/21466047/article-MLK-events-culminate-today-with-march-on-Broad-Street- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957353 | 276 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Face reality. As an entrepreneur, you should assume none of your customers is like you, yet I find that most entrepreneurs assume just the opposite. Customers don’t have your technical base, the passion, and interest in your solution. In fact, even if they did, they couldn’t find you in the clutter. An underrated portion of every startup effort must be about communication and marketing.
By habit, people market to customers like themselves, because they know what they like and need. The challenge is attracting customers not like you, since that isn’t so intuitive. Kelly McDonald, who runs a top ad agency, takes on this challenge in “How to Market to People Not Like You.” Her focus is on companies facing change, which of course includes every startup. Here are my key recommendations from her book:
- Get out of your marketing “comfort zone.” Go beyond the “spray and pray” approach to marketing (spray your message out there as widely as possible and pray it sticks). A better approach today is “narrowcasting” – learning as much as possible about your target audience, and communicating to them frequently, richly, and relevantly.
- Get to know the customer you’re not getting, but should be. Don’t guess, or let your own biases be your guide. Go online and read everything you can about the group you want to target. Attend events, meetings, and gatherings of your potential customer observe and talk to attendees. Don’t forget to ask them what they want and need.
- Tweak your product or service offerings. This process alone communicates validation that you are actively reaching out. It says “I see you, I value you, and I want you.” People will pay a premium for what want, so you need to accurately tune and relate your offering to their values, needs, and wants.
- Make sales and customer service friendly. Little things make a big difference, so you need to tune your operational readiness and support to these new customer segments. Maybe your shopping bags need handles, or your employee attire needs adjusting. Don’t forget showing respect for other cultures, values, languages, and priorities.
- Develop marketing messages based on their values. Make sure your message has relevance to your new customer target, and is authentic and sincere. Make sure it fits in with their life and lifestyle. As you move to new support new languages, don’t just translate, but “transcreate” (express the same meaning and nuances).
- Use technology to reach your prospects. Everyone must have a web site that is complete, inviting, and easy to use. Create and maintain your own database of targeted prospects, and don’t rely on generic email lists for marketing. Use social media, search engine optimization, blogging, and mobile media. These will beat word-of-mouth any day.
- Proactively deal with naysayers. As you expand your market, act to minimize negative feedback or backlash from core customers by explaining what you are doing, your motivation, and why it is good for all. Team members need to understand these things as well, and need to understand exactly what you expect of them.
An obvious place to look for customers not like you is in the generational segments outside your experience. You personally can’t be in all five of the core segments – Matures, Baby Boomers, Gen X (thirties), Gen Y (twenties), Gen Z (tween). Each has different interests, spending habits, and priorities. Focus on the most important one first, and broaden carefully.
Then there are women versus men, immigrants, and the unique cultures of 195 different countries in the world, with many more races, religions and political views. Obviously, most of your total potential market is not like you. It’s never too early to start going after it. Your long-term business success depends on it. | <urn:uuid:f5bfd12c-cd26-43d3-98d4-b9dd4ec8a880> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gust.com/angel-investing/startup-blogs/2012/06/24/assume-your-market-is-people-like-you-then-fail/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953892 | 826 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Immigration Enforcement and Human Rights
Listen to/Watch entire show:
US immigration enforcement has created a network of secret prisons where detainees are deprived of legal rights and adequate medical care. That's according to a lengthy series in the Washington Post. We hear from one of the writers and from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which says the reports are based on "myths," rather than "facts." Also, the California Supreme Court rules on gay marriage, and what President Bush told the Israeli Knesset today. Barack Obama calls it "a false political attack" on him.
Gay Marriage Legal in California ()
A sharply divided California State Supreme Court today legalized same-sex marriage in the biggest state in the Union. The 4-to-3 majority opinion was written by Chief Justice Ron George, a Republican appointed by a Republican governor, Pete Wilson, in 1991. Jennifer Rothman is an associate professor of law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
- Jennifer Rothman: Professor of Law, Loyola Law School
Are Immigrants Dying in US Prisons for Lack of Decent Healthcare? ()
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has rounded up and detained increasing numbers of undocumented people in the past five years. The Washington Post says it has "thousands of pages of government documents," including autopsy and medical records, investigative reports, e-mails and memorandums that reveal "a hidden world of flawed medical judgments, faulty administrative practices, neglectful guards, ill-trained technicians, sloppy record-keeping, lost medical files and dangerous staff shortages." The paper says tens of thousands are being kept in overcrowded prisons with little access to the legal help or healthcare to which they're entitled. Many have died, but ICE denies its officials are well aware that inmates, including asylum seekers, are put at risk by an overtaxed system. We hear from a Post reporter, an ICE spokesman and others.
- Amy Goldstein: Reporter, Washington Post
- Gary Mead: Acting Director of Detention Operations, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- Steven Camarota: Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies, @wwwCISorg
- Niels Frenzen: Professor of Law, University of Southern California Law School
Obama Defends Talking to Rogue Nations ()
In a speech to Israel's Knesset today, President Bush denounced those he described as believing "that we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals." The White House says Bush's comments were not an attack on Barack Obama, who has advocated negotiations with Iran and Syria. Obama and other Democrats think otherwise. The Democratic presidential candidate has e-mailed reporters saying the President used today's speech "to launch a false political attack." Richard Wolfe is senior White House Correspondent for Newsweek magazine.
- Richard Wolffe: Senior White House Correspondent, Newsweek
CD copies of To the Point are available by calling 1.888.600.5279.
Engage & Discuss
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Here is the argument that web developers and iPhone developers love to take a jab at, is Flash good or bad? Some web developers think that Flash has a bad influence on the web, because too many flash applications crash too many web browsers for too many times that reduce the web browsing experience considerably. Other web developers that also want to extend their reach into the iPhone world complain about how the world is not appreciating Flash enough; iPhone is still without Flash.
Although I’m not a web developer or an iPhone developer, I think Flash is not evil nor saint. Flash is just a tool that great flash developers could develop great flash applications just like any other great application. Just take a look at YouTube for an example, this huge video portal is using Flash to display videos without crashing people’s web browsers. Correct me if I’m wrong, displaying videos using Flash is simpler than creating a video games in Flash, but I had played Flash video games without getting the browser crashes — it’s totally depend on each Flash application, video game, and application.
Flash definitely is not evil, and it’s up to an individual who is using Flash to develop his or her application. Real case scenario, my sister really wants to use iPhone to watch videos from websites that are legally displaying videos in Flash, but it’s totally impossible for her to do so since iPhone is not supporting Flash; I can see that only geeky people do not care about Flash and may have way to get around Flash when it comes to iPhone, but non-geeky people like my sister are probably just as frustrate as mys sister is. Being one of the most popular mobile devices, I think iPhone should support Flash; to be fair Apple may have reasons to not support Flash. Check out a much different take on Flash in general. | <urn:uuid:96c71ac3-f6a3-421c-bf23-dad817178cc1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://essayboard.com/2010/01/13/flashs-not-evil-nor-saint/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935644 | 376 | 1.84375 | 2 |
In my wildest imagination, I'd never have thought that the fifth of six children born to Helen and Buddy Watts, in a poor black neighborhood, in the poor rural community of Eufaula, Okla., would someday be called congressman. But then, this is America, where dreams come true. I never thought I would have the privilege of addressing the American people, but this America where dreams still come true.
Tom Lewis had a dream--as a police officer walking the streets of D.C.'s toughest neighborhoods. Time after time, kids would come up to him, fatherless children, and ask, "Will you be my daddy?"
So, when Tom retired from the D.C. police force, he took his life savings, bought a house, and turned it into a center where kids could go for tutoring and nurturing and a warm meal. He calls this the Fishing School. Tom understands that what we build, nourish, and encourage the youth of America to be today is what our country will be 20 years from now. Tom is joined by countless other unsung heroes. This past year I had the opportunity to travel the country and meet the people who are changing lives, one heart at a time.
In my own home state of Oklahoma, there's the Resurrection House in Chickasha that takes care of the homeless in a rural community. There's an organization called TEEM, the education and employment ministry, where Doc Benson restores people with a job and a future. I celebrated with Freddy Garcia at Victory Fellowship in San Antonio who not only met the challenge of his own drug addiction but has a ministry serving others with success rates that the social scientists can only dream about.
These people working in the trenches, and suffering with those who suffer, understand compassion. They understand compassion can't be dispensed from a safe distance by a faceless bureaucrat sitting in an air-conditioned office in Washington, D.C.
And while we are on the subject of compassion, it was just about four years ago that I was privileged to address the GOP convention. It was at that time I talked to you about the Republican definition of compassion. We don't define compassion by how many people are on welfare, or AFDC, or living in public housing. We define compassion by how few people are on welfare, AFDC, and public housing because we have given them the means to climb the ladder of success.
At that time, welfare reform was a distant hope, but I am pleased to tell you that just two weeks ago, the historic Republican Congress passed over the objections of Bill Clinton welfare reform that will restore compassion and dignity to those less fortunate.
Compassion can't be measured in dollars and cents. It does come with a price tag, but that price tag isn't the amount of money spent. The price tag is love being able to see people as they can be and not as they are. The measure of a man is not how great his faith is, but how great his love is. We must not let government programs disconnect our souls from each other.
Bob Dole understands. Bob Dole knows that it's people like Tom Lewis, the folks at the Resurrection House, Freddy Garcia, and Doc Benson. It's these people, not the government that can provide folks with tools they need to become productive citizens with dignity. Bob Dole understands Washington can't teach people right from wrong, dry their tears, or help a child with his homework. In fact, I have a special message for the kids in your house tonight. I'd ask you to get them, and while you do, let me tell you that the years I spent as a youth minister were glorious years that made an investment in eternity.
In addition, there is one title I cherish a great deal more than congressman and that is the title of Dad. So, indulge me while I say a word to the kids in the audience tonight. Young people, America needs you. If our country is going to continue to be great, if it is going to continue to be strong, you are going to have to do your part. You are going to have to fight for America. Fight against skipping school and cheating on your papers. Fight against driving too fast and disobeying your parents. Fight against cursing and smoking. And fight, fight with every fiber of your being against drugs and alcohol.
I know, I know. You've heard all this before and you probably think that J.C. Watts is just another old-fashioned grown-up, and if you're thinking that, you're right. Just ask my five kids, Keisha, Jerrelle, Jennifer, Trey, and Julie.
You see, character does count. For too long we have gotten by in a society that says the only thing right is to get by and the only thing wrong is to get caught. Character is doing what's right when nobody is looking. And I want to make a promise to you.
We will do our best to leave this country in better shape financially, environmentally, and, most of all, spirituality.
The American dream is about becoming the best you can be. It's not about your bank account, the kind of car you drive, or the brand of clothes you wear. It's about using your gifts and abilities to be all that God meant for you to be. Whether your dream is to be a doctor, teacher, engineer, or congressman. If you can dream it, you can do it.
The American dream is the promise that if you study hard, work hard, and dedicate yourself, you can be whatever you want to be. You can do it. You are America's greatest resource. And, one more thing. If a poor black kid from rural Oklahoma can be here tonight, this great country will allow you to dream your dreams, too. God bless you all. | <urn:uuid:8fa1016e-c898-4bac-8914-0c4a77694000> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldmag.com/1996/08/quotcharacter_does_count_quot | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977647 | 1,200 | 1.5625 | 2 |
West Virginia tops list for deer collisions
Pennsylvania remains in top 5
State Farm says West Virginia continues to be the state where a vehicle is most likely to hit a deer.
The Mountain State tops State Farm's annual list for the sixth consecutive year. The Bloomington, Ill.-based insurer released the latest list Tuesday.
State Farm says the odds of a deer-vehicle collision over the next year are 1 in 40 in West Virginia.
Pennsylvania is 5th with odds of 1 in 76.
Virginia is ranked 10th with odds of 1 in 103.
Hawaii motorists are least likely to hit a deer with their vehicles. Hawaii's odds are 1 in 6,801.
Nationwide, State Farm says client data show 1.23 million collisions between deer and vehicles between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012. That's up 7.7 percent from the previous one-year period.
Copyright 2012 by WTAE.com The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:aa413624-3806-4172-8ee3-90900842739e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wtae.com/news/local/West-Virginia-tops-list-for-deer-collisions/-/9681086/17099798/-/view/print/-/10mu50hz/-/index.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 | 0.957547 | 222 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Snowpack levels for the Upper Colorado River Basin are above normal for this time of year but other areas such as the mountains in the southwest are struggling. Grand Junction's National Weather Service reports our snow pack is up from last year and is at 125%.
But despite all the snow in the northcentral mountains,
the state's snow pack totals still lag behind last year due to below–average snow in the south. The national weather service has issued a winter storm advisory for the northern and central mountains from 6 p–m tonight until noon tomorrow. The weather service says 5 to 10 inches are expected. Grand Junction could also see more snow,
there's a 40 percent chance one inch or more could fall after midnight. | <urn:uuid:ce23ff27-21f3-47c6-b504-beb205907a82> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbc11news.com/news/headlines/2247481.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960074 | 145 | 1.5 | 2 |
THE HAND OF GLORY
by Sophie Masson
Reviewed by Steven H Silver
Sophie Masson's novel The Hand of Glory is set in Australia in 1854 at the height of the Australian gold rush. Masson's Australia, however, is not the same as the one which exists in our own world. Rather than being a completely British Colony, the French have developed the Southwestern portion of Australia into the colony of Esperance. Into this world comes Sylvia Hoveden, a young British girl who has come to Australia to discover what has happened to her twin brother, Felix, and Anje Otsoa, a Basque who personal vendetta against his parents' killer has placed him in the service of the governor of Esperance.
While Masson does a wonderful job depicting mid-century Australia, it isn't clear that she needed to introduce the colony of Esperance into the equation. The story could have been told just as well as a novel set in our own historical continuum. That noted, there are some behaviors and attitudes which arise which do not seem to be entirely consistent with the social mores the characters were raised in, but which can be explained away by the slight historical deviance. Nevertheless, the change in history is so slight that these social gaffes jar the reader from the story, no matter how briefly.
Sylvia and Anje meet up relatively early in the novel, but their relationship is one almost more of conflict than cooperation. Sylvia refuses to accept that Anje is one of the good guys, even as she comes to accept his friends once she reaches the gold-mining town of Aurifer. While Sylvia is on the trail of her brother's disappearance, Anje is focused on the kidnapping of the Count of Tremille, who was visiting Melbourne in the British colony. Both characters are convinced that their quests are related, but Sylvia doesn't trust Anje to be on her side when she really needs him.
The novel is written in such a manner that there is little tension concerning either Sylvia or Anje's quest, the former of which takes precedence. Sylvia, and the reader, are both convinced that Felix is still alive and needs her help, even as evidence mounts in Aurifer to indicate that he was murdered. Other aspects of the mystery, however, do nag at the reader, specifically because Masson appears to ignore them. Of these, the most notable is the identity of the mysterious Mr. Redding who hires the Melbourne street ruffian Mickey O'Brien to attempt to kidnap Sylvia upon her arrival in Melbourne.
The Hand of Glory is billed as "juvenile fiction," however it is enjoyable for anyone and is neither simplistic nor juvenile in the writing or the story. Masson creates an interesting world which is similar, but removed, from the gold rush of the United States a few years earlier to retain an exotic nature. Her Australia is a frontier town, and if the native culture only makes a token appearance, that helps build the reality of the book.
Masson has chosen to include a minor supernatural element in the story, but she has successfully understated it so it does not strain the bounds of credulity or firmly move The Hand of Glory into the realm of the fantastic. Instead, it plays with folk magic from several different cultures with results consistent with both those believes and the societies in which they were practiced.
Although The Hand of Glory doesn't completely work as mystery, alternate history, or fantasy, it is an enjoyable book which appears to work in spite of itself. The characters are appealing and the setting a mixture of the familiar and the exotic in a way which welcomes the readers to find out what Masson has planned for it. | <urn:uuid:9048b2c5-bd26-472b-9068-0dca99ba244e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/masson.html | 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 | 0.978496 | 754 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Things You Need to Know About Link Acceleration and Search Engine Optimization
Link Acceleration is not a very popular search engine optimization topic online. In fact, when you go to Google and type the keywords “Link Acceleration”, you will only find a very limited number of websites or pages that talk about the subject.
In our previous blog post, we have tackled about Link Velocity and its importance in building trust and authority for your website. Now, we will move on to Link Acceleration.
What is Link Acceleration?
An acceleration occurs when a car consistently running with an average speed of 50-kilometer per hour suddenly shifted its gears and increases its speed to 100 KPH. This is also the same when it comes to Link Acceleration. The rate at which your Link Speed or Velocity (speed in creating back-links) increases in a constant period of time is called Link Acceleration.
Link Acceleration and Link Velocity
In Search Engine Optimization, Link Acceleration and Link Velocity are closely associated. Your site’s Link Velocity greatly depends on the consistency on how fast or slow you create backlinks. Its importance in link-building also has to do in developing high authority websites which search engines can trust. On the other hand, Link Acceleration is the rate or speed on how you increase your back-links in a specific length of time. It has to do with increasing your Link Velocity and this is when you need to balance your link-building effort to maintain your site’s authority and ranking.
In most cases, basing from the incidents that happened after the release of Google Panda, most search marketers tend to overdo their Link Acceleration activities. This has resulted to numerous high authority websites being penalized by Google.
Though Link Acceleration can boost your website’s rank, it is very important to keep a moderate speed in increasing your links. To note, sudden spikes of traffic and back-links due to natural occurrences like your site being featured in mainstream media (i.e. TV and Newspapers) are not considered by search engines as malicious or artificial. Believe it or not, search algorithms nowadays are equipped with metrics and equations that can accurately determine which one is authentic and which one is full of garbage.
Here in One SEO Company, we only offer quality and ethical strategies in boosting your website’s traffic and conversions. Our ultimate objective is to help our clients in achieving profitable success by helping them build credible brand and reputation online which are trusted by search engines and customers.
There are many ethical ways to adopt Link Acceleration. Please give us a call at tel: 972.530.1600 x 115 and let us help your website get page 1 ranking ethically. Speak to our SEO Expert today….
Chief Visionary at One SEO Company. An Internet Entrepreneur SEO & lawyer Internet marketing professional & Starbucks Lover.
Online SEO News Web Marketing Magazine - 1VIZABILITY.COM | <urn:uuid:c3a2ffd8-765d-4978-848d-bf64c6409d8b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.oneseocompany.com/2012/03/01/things-you-need-to-know-about-link-acceleration-and-search-engine-optimization_20120301295.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931615 | 602 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Fri December 28, 2012
Tracking Gun-related Deaths, One Tweet At A Time
Originally published on Wed January 2, 2013 7:36 am
How many Americans died on Christmas Day from a gun shot? How many have been shot and killed since the Dec. 14 mass shooting at a school in Newtown, Conn.?
No one knows for sure. Authorities pull together annual figures, but not daily reports on gun-related murders, suicides and accidental deaths.
Slate and a citizen journalist who tweets as @GunDeaths are trying to fill at least some of that information void. Their admittedly incomplete data suggest that on average, at least 17 Americans a day have died from gunshots since the Newtown shootings that claimed the lives of 20 children, seven adults and the gunman.
Dan Kois, a Slate senior editor, tells NPR's Audie Cornish that the project is "our best attempt to collect up all the gun deaths in America." The goal, he says, is to put some names and stories behind such deaths. As the debate over gun control since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School continues, says Kois, "it's hard to really know what kinds of decisions we should make" if more isn't known about gun-related deaths.
The information that Slate and @GunDeaths are relying on to produce an interactive chart comes from newspapers, TV stations and websites run by trained journalists. The anonymous @GunDeaths began collecting and tweeting the reports after the July mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. The data are incomplete, Kois concedes. Many suicides by guns, for example, go unreported.
But he believes the project is painting a picture of the role guns play, every day, in the lives and deaths of Americans. Clicking on the icons in Slate's chart leads you to news reports about each person's death.
Twenty children and six adults were killed by a gunman at the Sandy Hook school. He also killed his mother that day, and took his own life.
As for Christmas Day, so far Slate and @GunDeaths have collected reports about 21 gun-related deaths.
And as of earlier today, they had reports about 242 gun-related deaths since the shootings in Newtown.
The Slate interactive chart and more about the project are online here.
Much more from the conversation with Kois is due on today's All Things Considered. We'll add the as-broadcast version of the interview to the top of this post later. Click here to find an NPR station that streams or broadcasts the show.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish. It's been two weeks since a gunman shot and killed 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. The shooting set off a fierce debate over gun control, one that's certain to spill over into next year.
In a year when multiple mass shootings have rocked the country, we wondered just how many people are killed by guns every day in America. It turns out journalists at Slate.com were asking the same question. Now they've put together a tally of gun deaths since Newtown displayed in an interactive on their website.
As of today, that number is at 277. Dan Kois, a senior editor, says finding the numbers wasn't easy.
DAN KOIS: We were very surprised to find out that that information is really difficult to come by. The FBI and the CDC keep that data, but they're several years behind. No one is keeping track of gun deaths on a day-to-day basis at all. And so we wanted to fill that hole. We wanted to try to start to suss out that data so that people would have it as they're having this argument.
CORNISH: And you found your information, oddly enough, on Twitter, with someone with the Twitter handle @gundeaths.
KOIS: Correct, Gundeaths is a Twitter user who, following the Aurora shootings this summer, decided to try to agglomerate information on all gun deaths in America in a real-time basis. So this Twitter user searches news reports, he has Google News searches, and he takes tips from followers about news reports about gun deaths everywhere in the country, and he then posts one tweet for each news report.
I reached out to him and asked him if he would be interested in partnering with us, and he was. And I think by us creating this interactive with him and partnering with him, we expanded his reach substantially. And whereas before he had 200 or 300 people following him, now he has 3,000 or 4,000. He's collecting up numbers much more reliably than he was before.
CORNISH: Can you give us any more information about how you're verifying the information, how accurate you think the count is? This person is anonymous.
KOIS: Well, the count is based on news reports. You know, we're not linking to random people on Twitter claiming their next-door neighbor got shot. We are linking to newspapers, to TV station news departments, to local magazines, local websites like Patch, who are all trained journalists or journalistic organizations who are writing and reporting about these deaths.
And so we found that they are very accurate. The greater question is: Is our number accurate? And the answer is no, absolutely not. One big issue that we face in collecting these numbers is the issue of suicides. It's very rare that a suicide by gun ends up in a newspaper. It's estimated that as many as 60 percent of deaths by gun in America in any given year are suicides. And so those numbers are almost always going to be left out of our interactive because we don't have confirmation on them.
CORNISH: On the website, it's pretty sobering because it's not a typical chart. Essentially you're looking at rows and rows of male and female figures, sort of like the ones you might see on a restroom door, but each one symbolizes a person, correct?
KOIS: Right, so for some of these deaths, the news reports don't have names, they're unnamed victims, perhaps their names aren't known, perhaps early reports don't have those names. For many of them, we do have names and ages. For all of them we have a citation.
So for instance, right now if you look at Christmas Eve, there are 26 gun deaths that we've catalogued so far that happened on Christmas Eve. That number I'm sure will increase over the days to come as more and more deaths get reported. That includes men. That includes women. It includes two teenagers. It includes the two firefighters who were killed in Webster, New York.
On Christmas Day, two children were killed by guns that we know of so far, 10-year-old Alfred E. Gibson(ph) in Memphis, Tennessee; and two-year-old Sincere Smith(ph) in Connelly, South Carolina. According to news reports, those were both accidental shootings at home.
CORNISH: What's been the response from the response from the public to this map?
KOIS: I think that people are really shocked. There was a horrible toll taken in Newtown, and that number, 27 or 26 or 28, depending on who you count as a victim of guns, is a huge number, and it sticks in people's minds. But people are amazed and disheartened, I think, to see that that many people were killed again in the two days following Newtown and killed again in the two days following that.
And there's a real toll being taken, and I think any arguments about what purpose and role guns play in American society probably needs to begin with data like this, data that is really hard to come by, which we hope we're improving every day.
And I want to add that the data on this interactive is open so that anyone who wants to use this for any project that they want, can.
CORNISH: Dan Kois is a senior editor at slate.com. Dan, thank you for speaking with us.
KOIS: Thank you so much, Audie. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | <urn:uuid:7a518136-5acc-4c79-842e-e07d384a5777> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kasu.org/post/tracking-gun-related-deaths-one-tweet-time | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977088 | 1,700 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Australia's new carbon tax has already hiked energy bills for hospitals in one state by 15 percent, forcing them to cut services to pay for it.
Contrary to proponents' claims that it will reduce healthcare costs, ObamaCare is already making health insurance premiums grow very quickly and will make things even worse in the future, according to a report from congressional Republicans.
A bipartisan group of congressmen introduced legislation to prevent the Food and Drug Administration from expanding ObamaCare's mandate for nutrition labeling of chain-restaurant food to smaller restaurants, supermarkets, and convenience stores.
The Defense Department is seeking a $150-million upgrade to the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, making it clear to the prisoners — already on a hunger strike over their desperate and worsening situation — that they are there to stay.
Australia's carbon tax, instituted just shy of nine months ago, is already contributing to a record number of business failures Down Under.
Citing the Constitution's supremacy clause, a federal judge struck down a Missouri law allowing individuals and employers to opt out of the ObamaCare contraception mandate for moral or religious reasons.
ObamaCare's new medical device tax isn't just making human healthcare more expensive; it's also raising the cost of veterinary care.
A state Supreme Court judge struck down New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's ban on the sale of large-sized sugary drinks one day before it was set to go into effect.
A former TSA screener says the agency's screening process is nearly worthless and its employees are people "who could never keep a job in the private sector."
In the aftermath of a bungled project, the Transportation Security Administration allowed airports to give security clearance to people without first doing background checks on them — and it has no idea who these people are. | <urn:uuid:9fe025a2-ff5b-4800-9d73-20332fe19afe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/north-america/itemlist/user/76-michaeltennant?start=20 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952377 | 363 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Texas-based Hostess Brands has shut down in preparation for liquidation:
Hostess said a strike by members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union that began last week had crippled its ability to produce and deliver products at several facilities, and it had no choice but to give up its effort to emerge intact from bankruptcy court.
The Irving, Texas-based company said the liquidation would mean that most of its 18,500 employees would lose their jobs.
In the Chicago area, Hostess employs about 300 workers making CupCakes, HoHos and Honey Buns in Schiller Park. Hostess also has a bakery in Hodgkins, where 325 workers make Beefsteak, Butternut, Home Pride, Nature’s Pride and Wonder breads.
Union President Frank Hurt said the company's failure was not the fault of the union but the "result of nearly a decade of financial and operational mismanagement" and that management was trying to make union workers the scapegoats for a plan by Wall Street investors to sell Hostess.
Twinkies, legend has it, were invented right here in Chicago in 1930.
I will now go see if the 7-11 across the street still has any left... | <urn:uuid:e60c5742-5980-4f07-bea8-5fe3d789e9b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailyparker.com/PermaLink,guid,c3e80dd0-e98a-4abb-bc7d-fad1497976fb.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97522 | 260 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Solar powered trash cans are among the newest tools being used by the City’s Sanitation Division to make Winston-Salem more environmentally kind. “Big Belly” trash cans, named for their large capacity, compact the trash
Established in 1974, The Chronicle is the area’s oldest and well-respected community newspaper. Published each Thursday, The Chronicle has an audited circulation of over 7,000. 85% of that circulation is located within Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. | <urn:uuid:4c59d647-1083-4759-9f09-39b2349fb3df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wschronicle.com/tag/wells-fargo-center/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958637 | 105 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The Moab chapter of Future Farmers of America (FFA) at Grand County High School is already planning activities, and club organizers say they hope more students will join the group.
The Moab club, an affiliate of the national FFA, is beginning its third year at GCHS, under the guidance of adviser Ashley Violett.
“[FFA] is what I went to college to do,” said Violett. “It had such a positive impact on my life and it helps grow your experiences, that when I had the opportunity to offer that experience to high schoolers at GCHS, I couldn’t pass it up.”
Violett said FFA presents an outlet for a wider variety of students at school, and provides them with more opportunities.
“It gives a lot of opportunities to students that you don’t get in the classroom or on an athletic team...,” she said. “Last year, we sent three students to a leadership conference in Washington D.C., and to Richfield for another conference... We’ve gone to the state fair and done volunteer work... We’ve also participated in livestock judging, and been a part of a land judging team, where we’re looking at soil quality at area and state level contests. We’ve also competed in the Envirothon in the spring.”
The club has greatly expanded its level of student involvement since it began, although Violett said she hopes for more participants this year.
“For this year, we expect growth, of course, but we’d like more membership than we have,” she said. “... We’re looking for more volunteering jobs and are trying to set up lunch once a week at the senior center. We’re also trying to do more education and outreach.”
Currently, FFA, which was founded in 1928, is the largest student-run organization in the country.
The Moab FFA chapter’s student officers are junior Brooke Sowell, president, junior Matthew Dunham, vice-president, sophomore Cody Thurlo, secretary, and junior Amber Harris, treasurer. Seniors Trenton White and James Martin are the group’s recorder and sentinel.
Students interested in joining the group are encouraged to speak to any of the officers or to contact Violett through Grand County High School. | <urn:uuid:e45793ec-258c-4fcd-868a-9d77ccb61cd5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.moabtimes.com/view/full_story/20454274/article-GCHS-FFA-club-hopes-to-grow-in-2012?instance=secondary_one_leftcolumn | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959361 | 509 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Leading international classification society Bureau Veritas has published guidance for designers and builders of Wind Farm Service Ships.
Maxime Pachot, offshore service vessel manager at Bureau Veritas, says, “Although some of the existing Offshore Service Vessel fleet can perform the tasks necessary for developing and maintaining offshore wind farms, we see an increasing need for specialist craft. These will include specialised vessels for servicing offshore wind farms. These will have particular characteristics and to be efficient they will have to be new designs. That means they need new class rules and guidance for designers and yards.”
BV NI 589 Wind Farms Service Ships is a service notation which covers ships specifically designed to operate in offshore wind farms for transfer of personnel from shore, mother ships or accommodation units to offshore wind farms and perform lifting operations required for wind turbine servicing. The note does not cover vessels built for installation and assembling of wind turbines or heavy maintenance and repair for which transportation of wind turbine main parts is needed. Bureau Veritas has already published specific guidance for these vessels.
Bureau Veritas’ new guidance notation for Wind Farms Service Ships is aimed at maximising the efficiency of new offshore wind farm service vessels. “These vessels have to move people quickly in rough offshore sea conditions, transferring maintenance personnel from shore or mother ships onto turbines,” explains Pachot. “That is why we have come up with a specific notation.”
Bureau Veritas’ note and guidance will help designers and yards use BV rules for steel ships and rules for High Speed Craft, combined with the rules for vessels under 500 gt, to develop new designs which will be light, fast, safe, and have good sea keeping abilities, while able to work close to turbines, yet will also be cost-effective.
Pachot says, “Typically they will have seating for up to 60 persons, a deck area for cargo, some form of device for connection and access to the turbine tower, lifting devices, a motion damping system, Dynamic Positioning system (DP) and a high service speed.”
Source: bureauveritas, July 4, 2012 | <urn:uuid:be279a64-24d9-4065-9400-141ec4604728> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/60366/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937063 | 439 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Jerusalem (CNN) -- The father of an Israeli soldier kidnapped five years ago by Palestinian militants has called for his release no matter how high the price.
Noam Shalit told CNN this week it was time for the Israeli government to reach a deal with the Hamas movement which controls Gaza that would secure his son Gilad Shalit's freedom.
Noam Shalit has been leading popular calls for a deal from a makeshift "protest tent" put up outside the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem shortly after Shalit's capture.
The tent houses an empty lawn chair, with a printed sign taped to the seat that reads "Reserved for Gilad Shalit." Above it is a sign with the tally of days he has been kept prisoner in Gaza.
It serves as a potent reminder to the government that the Israeli public, as well as Shalit's family, have not forgotten the young soldier's plight.
Hamas wants nearly 1,000 Palestinians -- many convicted killers -- to be freed from prison in exchange for the soldier, who was abducted aged 19 from Israel five years ago on Saturday.
But ongoing attempts to broker a deal have so far failed, with the Israeli government and Hamas unable to agree on the numbers and terms for the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Noam Shalit told CNN: "We are not responsible for this high price. It is the government, or actually two governments, that made the negotiations in the past five years. I would be glad if there is other alternatives. But there is not [an]other alternative."
The International Red Cross demanded Thursday that Hamas show proof that Shalit is alive, calling the lack of information about him "totally unacceptable" and saying his family had a right to contact with him.
Hamas said it would consider freeing Shalit only once its demand for the release of prisoners was met.
No sign of life has been provided since October 2009, when Hamas released a tape of Shalit in which he pleaded for everything possible to be done to free him.
In response to Hamas's dismissal of the Red Cross request, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Thursday to change the policies that allow Palestinians convicted of terrorist acts to receive special prison benefits, such as access to academic classes.
"We are committed to respect the Israeli law, International law and conventions," Netanyahu said."But we are not committed beyond that and therefore the outstanding conditions inside the Israeli jails will stop.
"We are taking a number of measures for example: the procedure in which murderers can sign up for academic studies. There will no longer be master degrees for murder and doctorates for terror.
"I believe that if we all join forces and exert public and political pressure on Hamas we will move forward the release of Gilad Shalit to his home in peace."
His comments come amid growing public calls in Israel for Hamas prisoners to be subjected to harsher conditions until Shalit is released.
At the same time, a poll reported by Israel's Haaretz newspaper earlier this week suggested 63% of Israelis supported swapping 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 450 specifically requested by Hamas, for Shalit.
Prisoner swaps have been agreed to in the past -- but Israeli officials say it is harder in this case, as releasing what they say are hardcore terrorists with blood on their hands poses a big security threat.
Israeli President Shimon Peres said that concerns included "not only numbers, but where are they going to live in the future because some of them are very dangerous murderers. There are many questions, this is not the only one."
However, he said he believed the Israeli government understood the importance of reaching a deal soon.
Meanwhile, Noam Shalit continued to press the government to do all it can to free his son.
He told CNN: "I am not optimistic, I am not pessimistic. We are... just going on with our struggle.
"We cannot afford to give up, we cannot afford to withdraw from our battle, because we know if so we risk that we will never see Gilad back alive at home."
CNN's Matthew Chance, Kevin Flower and Michal Zippori contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:aa3bc686-aeb3-4a31-8f44-26d8556abf92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/06/24/israel.shalit.anniversary/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970964 | 852 | 1.710938 | 2 |
We are now reaping one of the side effects of “The Year Without Winter”…
We cannot walk from our front door to our shed without getting several on us. They are horrible this year and they must die.
I’ve been researching how to get rid of them other than hiring an expensive pest control service.
The first option is preventative measures that are impossible out here in the sticks.
~ Keep deer, squirrels, mice, and every other warm blooded wild animal out of your yard.
Yeah… right. Not even the Great Wall of China could do that.
~ Keep all grass and brush trimmed back to no more than 3 inches high, and remove all fallen leaves and brush.
Yeah… right again. Our land is like a donut… the middle 1.5-ish acres are grass (pasture grass) and the other 3.5-ish acres are woods (where the deer, squirrels, mice, and all sorts of other warm blooded wild animals live…)
~ Avoid having a yard that is hot and humid.
Seriously?? I live in Tennessee. The only way to avoid hot and humid is to move to another state!
~ Move birdfeeders and birdbaths as far from your house as possible. Birds can spread immature ticks over great distances as they migrate, and they may drop ticks in your yard as they use feeders and birdbaths.
Terrific… Our bird garden is 20 feet from our front door; and it isn’t going anywhere!
So we’ve now established that ticks are going to be a fact of life out here. So we move to the second option… kill them.
Every article I’ve read says permethrin is not only one of the most effective chemical against ticks; it is also one of the least toxic to people and animals. OK, we have our weapon of choice.
And Lowes and Home Depot both carry the product in both liquid and granular form. So I know where to find my weapon.
The recommended time to treat a yard is ‘mid-May thru early June’… also known as NOW. And we have the battle time.
Next trip to town we go to Lowes and pick up permethrin and declare chemical warfare on the ticks.
I’ll let you know how it goes… | <urn:uuid:38483dcd-e414-4023-aac4-94a3da3d54ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://teri-gonewalkabout2.blogspot.com/2012/05/ticked-off.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950881 | 494 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Strong reaction to Steve Irwin report
16–17 September 2006
Dr Catchpoole’s article The stingray of death: The tragic end of the life of ‘Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin has been one of the most viewed articles on the new CMI site. One biologist from the UK commented:
I’ve just read David’s article and it’s excellent. Great teaching, very interesting (he’s even swum over stingrays himself!), very topical, very engaging.
A supporter in Brisbane said:
Well balanced, good science, very nice.
Daniel Parkes, FCET (Fellowship of Christian Engineers and Technologists www.fcet.org) wrote;
Great article on the ‘croc hunter’ (The Stingray of Death).
Keep up the good work!
There was also some negative feedback, which will be addressed below (response by Jonathan Sarfati and David Catchpoole), grouped by topic. We don’t claim infallibility to our articles (just to the Bible in its original autographs!), so the article was modified slightly in response to some feedback. ‘No, though a man be wise, ’tis no shame for him to learn many things, and to bend in season.’ (Sophocles, Antigone, 442 BC).
Just because he was an evolutionist, it doesn’t follow that he wasn’t a Christian
A number of correspondents pressed this point, e.g.:
It is obvious he believed the evolution he had been taught by others, and was not a creationist, however you do not need to be a creationist to be saved. I cannot believe that any human can cast aspersions on the faith of this man who did so much to save these creatures God created. Only God knows Steve’s heart condition. —KS, Australia
KS and other correspondents who wrote on this theme are quite right in saying that just because someone believes evolution doesn’t mean he/she is not a Christian, and we never claimed otherwise. Indeed, both of us have said just that in a recent article, ‘Schweitzer’s Dangerous Discovery’.
Note that we don’t claim that one can’t be a Christian and a long-ager. Many people are saved despite ‘blessed inconsistency’—there is no hint in the Bible that the ability to hold mutually contrary thoughts in the same skull is an unforgivable sin. See also:
- Is it possible to be a Christian and an evolutionist? A leading creationist answers an often-asked question
- The big picture: Being wrong about the six days of creation does not automatically mean someone is not a Christian. But if you think that makes it unimportant, stand back and look at the big picture … .
- Do I have to believe in a literal creation to be a Christian?
We also agree that, simply on the basis of what we’ve heard of him in his public life, we can’t know for sure where Steve Irwin is right now—hence we tried to take great care in wording the article to that effect.
I felt it contained judgemental implications. —KS, Australia
|if we are not supposed to judge, then how can we judge anything as ‘good’—including non-judgmentalism?|
With all due respect, we were trying to make teaching points rather than judging the man. But this is a good time to address a common misapprehension that non-judgmentalism is the highest goal for a Christian. Jesus condemned only hypocritical judgment, as is clear from Matthew 7:1–5:
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
Indeed, Jesus commanded judgment in John 7:24, a passage we hear much less about:
“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Indeed, KS’s statement was in itself a judgment. And if we are not supposed to judge, then how can we judge anything as ‘good’—including non-judgmentalism? This is serious (quite apart from KS’s letter), because judgmental skeptics hypocritically misapply the ‘judge not’ passage to marginalize Christians, more often than any other Scripture. See also The tyranny of ‘tolerance’.
As for judging or ‘condemning’ people (not that this was the purpose of the article), unbelievers are already condemned according to Jesus Himself (John 3:18); we are merely passing on the message (that only believers can be saved), so don’t kill the messenger (cf. ‘no-one delights in the bearer of bad news,’ Sophocles, Antigone).
You shouldn’t have mentioned his wife. If Steve was not a believer, then, because you mentioned his wife, readers can see that Terri must have disobeyed the commandment to ‘be not unequally yoked with an unbeliever’. That comes across as being very judgmental.—EL, Australia.
The comments above about judging in general apply, but in this specific case, we fail to see the problem. We just presented the facts, which are not secret and not derogatory; what people do with the facts is their business. In any case, we didn’t say (nor do we know) anything about whether Mrs Irwin was a Christian before or after marriage; the command in 2 Corinthians 6:14 applies to Christians entering into marriage with an unbeliever. One Blood ch. 5 states:
[The] marriage that God says we should not enter into is when a child of the Last Adam (one who is a new creation in Christ—a Christian) marries one who is an unconverted child of the First Adam (one who is dead in trespasses and sin—a non-Christian).
But if a Christian is already married to an unbeliever (say if the conversion occurs after marriage, or if a Christian has disobeyed the above), then the believer should remain married as long as the unbeliever consents to live together (1 Corinthians 7:12–15).
Exploiting Steve’s death?
I am writing to express my discontent at your article titled “The stingray of death” attached to the Creation Ministries newsletter.
In my view, the article seeks to exploit a tragedy to advance the message of Creation Ministries. As well as the moral issues associated with such propaganda, the content of the article was clumsy, cold and inappropriate. Unworthy of a great cause such as yours.
I apologise if this email is abrupt. I have followed your cause for some time and have even created small networks for friends who are like minded. We were saddened at the news and felt that perhaps there was a missed opportunity while Mr Irwin was alive to have him listen to your material.
Just like Mr Irwin, your strength lies with the knowledge you can divulge about science and nature. I can understand that at times it may feel as if you have to shock in order to have people listen.
Evolution is indeed entrenched in the greater culture.
Don’t underestimate your own message and know that you have friends out there with you.
I trust you will accept this email with the good intentions in which it is intended.
For sure, we did, and were reminded of ‘Faithful are the wounds of a friend’ (Proverbs 27:6). However, a tragedy occurred, many people wanted to know what we thought and expected a comment. By definition, any article about the tragedy could have been accused of ‘exploiting’ it. But we were also most aware that the country was in shock, and Steve had left behind a grieving father, wife and children. So we were appalled by the spitefulness of the rabid feminist Germaine Greer (see Ref. 5 in the ‘stingray of death’ article) and her ilk.
Incidentally, we are well aware of Bible-believing Christians who have mailed CMI materials to Steve Irwin in the past. Also, one of us [DC], immediately after presenting a creation seminar at a Sunshine Coast church in 2004, was personally approached afterwards by two employees of Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo (located nearby). So it seems that Steve Irwin had reasonable opportunity to ‘listen’ to our material and discuss the issues with creationists—it was just a matter of whether he wanted to (or in fact did) avail himself of that opportunity.
Comments: Hi there, am a huge fan of your ministry and a subscriber of Creation magazine. I just read the article on Steve Irwin with my wife, and we are a bit confused as to what you're trying to say there. It read to us as being quite callous to the death of Irwin, especially in the second half where it seemed to bash him as promoting wrong family values and not being Christian. I'm sure that cannot have been your intention, but it worries me to imagine how some other people who do not know of your good intentions might construe the article as an attack on the man.
Perhaps I am over-reacting, so take from my e-mail what you will. In any case, God bless your ministry. I shall continue to look forward to more articles and insight.
MW, New Zealand
Another case of ‘Faithful are the wounds of a friend’. As you say, it was not our intention to ‘bash’ anyone. But we also wanted to avoid the opposite extreme of hagiography.
For the record, we think that Australia Zoo is very well organized and informative (apart from the annoying evolutionary falsehoods), and it was obvious that Steve really cared about animals. A correspondent from Australia wrote:
I never heard Steve speak out against the Christian teaching. I never heard him blaspheme or curse either. As much as Steve had a public profile, and yes, may have referred to evolutionary thought, he also referred to a creator in some of his footage, indeed often referring to ‘God’s creatures’.
We also appreciated the fact that a famous Aussie icon was a faithful husband and loving father, and not a womanizer, druggie or alcoholic like too many other celebrities that come to mind. But about the reference to God, this is not conclusive—compare Physicists’ God-talk.
Animals and creation
One correspondent objected:
I may be speaking in ignorance, having only skimmed your articles, but saying ‘Parents can correct this by pointing out that God breathed life into man and gave us dominion over the animal kingdom’ in response to ‘Steve continually points out that animals are really better than people’ seems a little brash and insensitive.
|The Dominion Mandate of Genesis 1:28 has not been revoked; Jesus for example affirmed that while God cares for sparrows, a human is far more valuable than many of them (Matthew 10:29–31).|
This was actually not written by us, but a quoted extract from the movie review by ChristianAnswers.Net, which they wrote back in 2002. Thus they are not DC’s words, although the review seems accurate. And if people are told that they are no better than animals, it should not be surprising that they kill or rape like animals; not that Steve would have thought things through to the same conclusion as many evolutionists have. See:
- Living like animals
- The Creation Basis For Morality
- How to build a bomb in the public school system
- Bomb-building vs. the biblical foundation
- Rape and evolution
- Morality and Ethics Q&A
Our correspondent then asked:
While Steve was alive, his fearless actions supported ‘dominion over the animal kingdom’ — Steve was evidence to prove this portion of scripture. But, with the way he died, how can we use such a statement as a parental correction?
The Dominion Mandate of Genesis 1:28 has not been revoked; Jesus for example affirmed that while God cares for sparrows, a human is far more valuable than many of them (Matthew 10:29–31). This entails that although Steve’s favourite (presumably somewhat tongue-in-cheek) slogan was ‘Crocs rule’, it is God who rules and has delegated authority to mankind over the rest of creation. See again Earth Day: Is Christianity to blame for environment problems?
However, as explained in the article, because of the Fall, this has been marred by the Curse on creation. In the events leading up to the Fall, the participants reversed the God-given hierarchy. That is, in the Bible, naming something is an exercise of authority. Thus God had authority over man, who had authority over the woman and animals that he named (Genesis 2:19–23; see also ‘Female inferiority’ raises questions for refutation of anti-woman claims). God had also explicitly given both man and woman authority over the rest of creation in Gen. 1:28.
In the Fall, this was reversed; the serpent (animal) instructed the woman, who instructed the man, who disobeyed God. God’s judgment reflected this: the serpent would be lower than the other animals, the woman would desire her husband in the same way sin desired Cain (in both cases the Hebrew word is teshûqah תשוקה), and the creation would rebel against Adam until his body returned to it (Genesis 3).
Finally, another comment from KS:
However I do believe people need to explain to their kids that it is Steve’s opinion that animals are more important, however if you can see that statement from his perspective; He was trying to stop people from thinking they were the most important thing in the world, and that animals do matter, and their habitats need to be protected. — KS
God declared the creation ‘good’ before He created man, so there is intrinsic goodness to the non-human part of creation. However, Jesus made it clear that humans are more important than animals, but evolutionary teaching has undermined that. One important way is the clear violation of God’s directive to Noah and thus all mankind (his descendants)—which has never been revoked—that any individual animal that kills a human is to be put to death (Genesis 9:5–6). But in a perversion of biblical morality, a shark or croc is often protected even if it is a proven mankiller (most people don’t mind killing mosquitoes or bacteria though, even though there are exceptions here as well). This is often accompanied by nonsensical statements that the deaths occurred in ‘the animal’s territory’ where ‘humans were the intruders’. No, God put the entire natural creation—including the marine creatures (Genesis 1:28)—under human dominion. Of course, this implies good stewardship, not a licence to ravage and exploit. During his life, Steve Irwin ‘put his money where his mouth is’ and bought large tracts of wilderness land to be able to help preserve the natural wonder and beauty of creation for others. | <urn:uuid:ba089c97-57df-4a7b-b078-ca24086bfa83> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://creation.com/strong-reaction-to-steve-irwin-report | 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 | 0.969609 | 3,330 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Published in Telemedicine Business Week, February 28th, 2007
Study 1: New research, "Proposal of criteria to select candidates with colorectal liver metastases for hepatic resection: comparison of our scoring system to the positive number of risk factors," is the subject of a report. In this recent report published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology, researchers in Tokyo, Japan conducted a study "To select accurately good candidates of hepatic resection for colorectal liver metastasis. Thirteen clinicopathological features, which were recognized only before or during surgery, were selected retrospectively in 81...
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Welcome to NewsRx!
Learn more about a six-week, no-risk free trial of Telemedicine Business Week | <urn:uuid:7cec9cf2-775b-4522-93a5-ce6d833c0143> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsrx.com/newsletters/Telemedicine-Business-Week/2007-02-28/1602282007340TMW.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 | 0.945262 | 165 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Elise is from Utah, where she is in the Deaf Studies program at university and is training to become an ASL Interpreter. She participated in World Endeavors’ Deaf Education Volunteer Project in the Philippines.
It’s hard to put into words, but my international volunteering experience was an adventure! It was eye opening, fun, beautiful, and hard work, to say the least. I had an opportunity to do so much - experiencing a new life and culture. It is something I will never forget. It was the experience of a lifetime!
What was a typical day like as a deaf education volunteer?
The center where I volunteered has three classes of deaf students in grades 1-6. Each class has a permanent teacher, so I was able to work with all three classes. I was in charge of the sign language lesson each day, and focused on teaching the kids as many signs as possible. Every day I spent a couple of hours in each class teaching vocabulary lists, doing spelling activities, and practicing signs. During my placement I learned that world geography wasn’t part of the children’s curriculum, and took the opportunity to incorporate it into my lessons for older students by teaching them country signs, geography terms, and making sure they knew where countries were located on a map.
My favorite thing about working with the kids was seeing them get so excited about learning things. I feel like I contributed to the organization. Most of the children have never had access to a language they comprehend. When they come to school they not only learn science, math, Tagalog and English, but they learn to communicate with sign language. Being able to be a part of helping them learn to finally communicate was incredibly rewarding. I wish I could have stayed for a few more weeks. This was definitely a placement where the longer you can stay, the more you will be able to contribute.
What was the first thing you noticed when you arrived in the Philippines?
My very first impressions were of the air. I grew up in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains at a very high and dry elevation level. Breathing hot, humid, heavy, sea level air was quite a change!
Why did you choose this program?
I wanted to volunteer abroad because I wanted an opportunity to make a difference and see a different part of the world. I am a Deaf Studies major and wanted to somehow use sign language in my volunteering. The best way to do that is through education, and World Endeavors was one of the few organizations that had a good deaf education volunteering program. My mother lived in the Philippines when she was younger, and had such wonderful things to say about the people and culture that I knew it would be an incredible place to work.
Living with a local family adds a dimension to the volunteering abroad experience like nothing else can. My host family was wonderfully welcoming, and fun to be with. They loved watching Filipino soap operas, and laughing at each other’s jokes. There were three grandkids in the family under the age of four, and each time they came over to visit we had a blast playing with the children and counting to ten in English.
Did you have a chance to travel while you were in the Philippines?
As volunteers we were given the weekends off, and were able to travel around. I got to visit a few neighboring islands, beaches, caves, and many beautiful places. Some of the most fun moments of travel involve the transportation itself. We got to ride with nine people in a motorized tricycle built for four, travel up river for hours in a small pump boat, and brave storms at sea in small pump boats while headed to other islands.
On one of our Saturday trips we visited Biliran and a few tiny islands surrounding it. We were stranded at one point, which resulted in it taking longer to get back to the main island. But because of this we were out at sea when the sun set. It was my first time experiencing a sunset while completely surrounded by the sea. It was incredibly beautiful and so different from sunsets on land. The sky, water, and even the air around you seemed to turn the most brilliant purple-ish blue.
Any language barrier is challenging by nature, but the Philippines is unique because most people speak at least some English. Finding my way around and managing day to day life was made a lot easier because of this. But it was also really fun to learn bits of the local language, Waray Waray.
What was a typical meal in the Philippines?
In three words… rice and fish. They also serve lots of pork, rice, chicken, rice, shrimp, rice, mangoes, pineapple, and more rice. My favorite foods were pancit (a local noodle dish), squash and coconut curry, prawns, and fresh mangoes.
My time abroad has definitely given me the itch to travel to more places are spend more time volunteering with others. I gained a greater understanding of how much I have to give to others, and how many opportunities there are to help people around the world.
Yes, there are vast cultural differences, but when it comes down to it good people are good people all over the world. It’s easier to relate to them and grow to love them as you work together than you might have originally anticipated.
The experience is so much more meaningful if you keep an open mind and just have lighthearted fun while you work. Sometimes you just need to laugh at your situation, being frustrated just holds you back from a great experience.
One of the more challenging, yet retrospectively the most fun, things about being abroad is how often you stretch yourself beyond what’s normal to you. Whether it’s the food you eat, communication, cultural differences, or living conditions, you just do a lot of things you never thought you would.
The Filipinos are awesome people, and their land is beautiful. Anyone thinking about going there should! | <urn:uuid:4a06b621-3a8e-460d-95eb-b7b692e073d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://worldendeavors.com/archives/stories/elise-volunteer-in-the-philippines | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983475 | 1,229 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Very important article in Salon today by Glenn Greenwald:
Listen to what he proposes: ”first, those who acquire credible evidence of an individual’s mental disturbance should be required to report it to both law enforcement authorities and the courts, and the legal jeopardy for failing to do so should be tough enough to ensure compliance”; those reporting obligations should apply not only to family and friends, but extend to “school authorities and other involved parties.” And “second, the law should no longer require, as a condition of involuntary incarceration, that seriously disturbed individuals constitute a danger to themselves or others”; instead, involuntary commitment should be imposed whenever there is “delusional loss of contact with reality.” He concludes on this melodramatic note: ’How many more mass murders and assassinations do we need before we understand that the rights-based hyper-individualism of our laws governing mental illness is endangering the security of our community and the functioning of our democracy?”
There’s so much warped reasoning embedded in this argument that it’s hard to know where to begin. Galston seems to be unaware of this, but what motivated the reforms in this area were the decades of severe, horrifying abuses which those with mental illnesses — and even those who had none — suffered as a result of permissive involuntary commitment standards and prolonged forced incarceration. Those who suffered mental illnesses were locked away for years and sometimes decades despite having done nothing wrong and despite not being a threat to anyone, while countless people who simply exhibited strange or out-of-the-ordinary behavior were deemed mentally ill and similarly consigned. The psychitaric social worker Alicia Curtis provided just one example: ”There is also a large history of the forced treatment of homosexuality as mental ‘illness’.” Indeed, involuntarily committing people in mental hospitals is a time-honored way for stifling any individuality and dissent; see this 2010 New York Times article on how China uses that repressive tactic….
Worse, Galston assumes, without offering any evidence, that there is a significant correlation between mental illness and violence, but the reality is the opposite: the vast, vast majority of people with mental illnesses never hurt anyone. Writing two days ago in Slate, Vaughn Bell decried “the fact that mental illness is so often used to explain violent acts despite the evidence to the contrary,” and documented:
Of course, like the rest of the population, some people with mental illness do become violent, and some may be riskier when they’re experiencing delusions and hallucinations. But these infrequent cases do not make “schizophrenia” or “bipolar” a helpful general-purpose explanation for criminal behavior. . . . your chance of being murdered by a stranger with schizophrenia is so vanishingly small that a recent study of four Western countries put the figure at one in 14.3 million. To put it in perspective, statistics show you are about three times more likely to be killed by a lightning strike.
Yet Galston, pointing to Arizona, wants to lock all of them away. The harm that would come from forcibly consigning thousands and thousands of people have done nothing wrong is so much greater than the harm from the once-every-20-years attack on a political official that the excessiveness of his solution is self-evident. read the rest | <urn:uuid:da1765a1-2916-45cf-ba20-66ee30d89dcd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://beyondmeds.com/2011/01/13/reflexfewerliberties/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954826 | 698 | 1.726563 | 2 |
I have just uploaded a set of photographs to my gallery page. This story of tiger conservation in the Indian state of Rajasthan was commissioned just over two years ago by National Geographic Adventure magazine which has now sadly folded.
Accompanying me to Rajasthan’s Ranthambore and Sariska national parks was the writer Paul Kvinta whos critical story prompted an angry response from Rajasthan’s chief wildlife warden Ramesh Mehrotra.
In his vexed letter, which seems only to have been published in the print edition of National Geographic Adventure, Mehrotra appeared slighted by Kvinta’s critique of Rajasthan’s tiger relocation policy. Mehrotra apparently considered that the fine hospitality and pleasant company he offered us obliged Paul to write a glowing report on the tiger conservation effort.
I have to say, I rather warmed to the avuncular Mehrotra on our journey through Rajasthan. But he surely couldn’t have expected us to relinquish critical scrutiny and ignore the opinion of others – even if we were offered generous access to the parks and provided countless cups of tea accompanied by some particularly delicious samosas.
With only 1,400 tigers left in India and a global population that has fallen by 95 percent in 100 years, the future looks bleak for these beautiful animals. Indeed, just two months ago, one of Sariska’s recently relocated tigers died – the victim of poisoning by a local man.
But how much worse it could be if the charms of official hospitality were ever to silence those who scrutinize policy and continue to argue that there are systemic problems with India’s tiger conservation strategy. Thankfully samosas and cups of tea never succeeded in censoring those like the tireless campaigner Dr. Dharmendra Khandal of Tiger Watch. Perhaps it was frustration with the incorruptible Khandal that saw park authorities attempt to bring charges against him last August when he photographed a tiger attack on the unfortunate ranger Daulat Singh Shaktawat. | <urn:uuid:793e1b3f-0621-4db1-841d-4906a6142c22> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tompietrasik.com/2011/01/09/tiger-relocation-in-rajasthan-india/ | 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 | 0.956828 | 427 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Anybody else seriously bummed by this latest stock market run-up? Because I am.
Remember when we could enjoy a good market ride into the stratosphere, the days when we were confident there was no place to go but up? But now, after living through the dot-com bust and the Wall Street shenanigans that destroyed our economy, we know that the only thing a soaring market means is trouble.
Speaking for myself, I can't say the market disasters of the 2000s have left me more sophisticated. They have, however, left me a lot more wary. So when I look at all the excitement over the Dow closing at record highs seven times in a row and notching its most consecutive positive sessions (nine) since 1996, I don't feel
First, let's consider why the market is shooting up like Mentos-infused Diet Coke. One reason is that companies are doing great. They are hauling in money hand over fist. Many are sitting on piles of cash that would make Scrooge McDuck blush. When companies look good, their stocks look good.
And up the Dow goes, soaring past 14,000, to heights never reached
It's no wonder this run-up feels nothing like the irrational exuberance of the late 1990s, says Josh Bevins, research and policy director of the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank that studies the needs of low- and middle-income workers. In the 1990s, even workers who didn't own stock were energized by rising indexes.
"I think people felt, even if I don't own a lot of stock -- and most people don't own a lot of stock -- they heard the stock market was going up every day," he says. "They felt pretty secure in their jobs, and they were actually seeing some wage increases. This time, it's going up while wages are stagnant and employment feels very precarious."
So this time, instead of being filled with the wonder that we are on some sort of economic power run, looking at Dow 14,000-plus has me thinking again about what a bunch of chumps most of us are.
We do the work that powers corporate profits. In fact, U.S. productivity continues to increase, meaning American workers are getting more done than ever before. That's one reason companies don't have to hire anyone, which is one reason unemployment is barely budging.
And even though we're the ones who are stoking the boiler of the corporate profit gravy train, we're not sharing in the rewards. The New York Times reports that corporate profits make up a bigger slice of national income than they have since 1950. And workers' pay? It's at its lowest percentage of national income since 1966.
"It is clearly the case that corporate profits, as a share of the overall economy are either very high, or the highest ever, depending on how you measure it," Bevins says.
Sure, our stock portfolios should be getting fatter with all this froth -- well, if we had stock portfolios. It turns out, Gallup says, only about half of American households are stock owners, including through 401(k)s and the like.
Dow 14,000 to me is a taunt; it's a reminder that most Americans are working harder (or more efficiently) for essentially no more money, while the companies they work for prosper wildly (without sharing or hiring) and while investors in those companies watch their wealth balloon.
All the while, the plight of the American worker is treated as little more than a political piñata. The right says the problem is that the left requires companies to pay taxes to do business in the country. If only taxes could go away or be reduced, companies would start hiring madly and peace and prosperity would wash over the land.
The left says the problem is that the right is strangling government spending, restricting rivers of cash that would flow out of Washington, efficiently sweeping up the unemployed and depositing them into productive well-paying jobs.
Perhaps I exaggerate, but you get the point. We're left to look either to big business and the free market, or to big government and fiscal stimulus for our survival.
Not much of a choice when you consider that in the past big business has taken tax breaks meant to spur hiring (American Jobs Creation Act of 2004) and used them to pad profits and reward shareholders. And big government? It is the outfit that just decided to disregard the thinking of, well, everyone, and blindly cut federal spending across the board. The move, known as sequestration, could cost the country as many as 700,000 jobs.
In the end, then, the choice between big business and big government appears to be the choice between the untrustworthy and the incompetent.
And you wonder why I'm bummed.
Contact Mike Cassidy at firstname.lastname@example.org or 408-920-5536. Follow him at Twitter.com/mikecassidy. | <urn:uuid:6d11615f-5246-48d8-9422-a8c4f8ca281c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.willitsnews.com/business/ci_22791183/cassidy-dow-jones-record-run-isnt-much-cheer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974426 | 1,028 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4’s chaplain, Lt. Baron Miller, has always prided himself on his creativity and individuality.
So when it came time to host an event for Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, he decided to forgo the typical PowerPoint presentation in an overcrowded theater and host a picnic in a nearby park.
“We wanted to present our content in a relaxed forum with plenty of breathing room,” explained Miller. “Suicide is such an unconventional and complex problem, and the usual training methodology would not have hit the mark.”
Given that there is no Navy-mandated training for Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month, Miller and the battalion’s embedded mental health provider, Richard Zaler, had some flexibility. With the support of NMCB 4’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Jeffrey Kilian, they were able to do something totally outside the box.
The result was a civilian-attire picnic on the afternoon of Oct. 4, right before the battalion’s Columbus Day liberty. After letting the battalion enjoy the sun and the hot dogs cooked by the battalion’s chiefs’ mess, Miller kicked off the event by talking about how suicide affects young people across the country.
Zaler brought a more clinical view to the subject and explained why individuals are driven toward suicide and how their mind can justify the act.
The last presenters were Master Chief Utilities Constructionman Michael Dianni and Chief Builder Patrick Maldonado, who gave a heart-wrenching account of losing a Sailor to suicide at one of their previous commands.
“As a young Sailor new to the Navy, it’s very reassuring to know that the command cares so much about our well-being,” said one participant. “If I ever need to talk about an issue or feel concerned about one of my shipmates, I know where I can go and how to handle the situation.”
Those affirmative results made a lasting impression on the command leadership, especially Kilian.
“We will continue to look at this format for new training opportunities,” he said. “Topics like suicide awareness and sexual assault prevention aren’t necessarily ones that like to be talked about, so we want to continue that relaxed forum.” | <urn:uuid:a625fdca-876f-43bd-9100-051aaa304278> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/nov/15/informal-setting-helps-battalion-discuss-issues/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95892 | 481 | 1.546875 | 2 |
I am increasingly fascinated with cultural forms which, though obviously unrelated to actual game technology, can tell us something about the aesthetics or textuality of videogames. This is a recurring theme in my dissertation work, and it leads to interesting finds like the one I present to you today. De Stijl was a Dutch artistic movement founded in 1917 and organized around its eponymous publication, De Stijl. Also known as "neoplasticism," the group was more or less guided by Theo van Doesburg and his philosophical concepts of aesthetics, which was to some extent based on the theosophy of M. H. J. Schoenmaekers. (Here's an interesting article by Jessica Helfand on the subject ).
Many De Stijl works are recognizable for their geometric precision and simple color pallets. Piet Mondrian's compositions in primary colors and right-angles are an example of this. I don't claim to be an art history expert, but as I understand it, van Doesburg's goal (articulated in a series of manifestos) was to find universal principles of aesthetics or a universal language of form that could be used in any context toward the same ends. While this often resulted in pure abstraction, this generally means stripping form down to its essential or minimal components so that any representational quality remaining is ambiguous.
Often, the resulting aesthetic properties remind me of the artwork created for early 80s videogames -- bright colors, grids, and simple representations. I'm not alone in noticing this, of course. The art group Prize Budget for Boys created a series of games based on Piet Mondrians "Broadway Boogie-Woogie." Essentially, they created a playable version of the painting that turns the maze-like structure of the painting into a Pac-Man level. Appropriately, they call it Pac-Mondrian.
One artist whose work I am particularly drawn to is Vilmos Huszár (1884 - 1960). He is perhaps most well known for his packaging design for Miss Bianche Virginia Cigarettes, and he collaborated with Van Doesburg on the cover for the first De Stijl issue (top right). Many of his compositions have a grid-based or bitmapped look, including the following the following clock design (below) which includes representations of zodiac figures, and the column (right) which may or may not have a figural orgin.
In these works, representation is pushed to or perhaps beyond its logical limit, and the result resembles the bitmap graphics stored in Atari 2600 ROMs. One work of Huszár demonstrates this relationship particularly well.
Compositie II (De shaatsenrijders) [Composition II (The Skaters)] depicts a group of skaters in various action poses. Each skater's body is composed of an arrangement of rectanges. The scan I have here is in grayscale, and I have so far not located a color photography, but based on his other works from this period, I think it's probable that these rectangles are red, green and black.
On closer examination, however, another interpretation of the composition presents itself. The figures are actually all arranged in one of 3 poses, each of which is repeated and flipped bilaterally. Because of this, I think it's possible that this depiction is of a single skater in different poses that have been captured over the course of executing a series of maneuvers. In other words, this is a frame-by-frame animation which moves across the skating surface, much like the simple 2 or 3 frame sprite animations found in early videogames.
To illustrate this, I constructed the following animation based on these figures. I isolated each pose, filled in the rectangles with the appropriate color (I think), and animated it in Flash.
Now, to be clear, I'm not arguing that Huszár magically prophesied the technology behind sprite animation, but the ease with which I could create an animation based on it suggests a logical affinity between the two. What I'm getting at is that there's an aesthetic similarity which may tell us something about the lasting influence and popularity of early videogame aesthetics. If we agree that they have something in common visually, then perhaps van Doesburg was on to something with his aesthetic philosophy. Alternatively, maybe the fact that De Stijl has had a lasting influence in modern art and design means that early videogames had a pre-existing aesthetic category to tap into.
At the very least, it's interesting to me that the enforced constraints faced by game programmers produced work that bears some resemblance to the work of artists who chose their own constraints for philosophical reasons.
What do you think? Am I seeing things, or is there something going on here? | <urn:uuid:48ad00d6-5f34-4644-8ef2-beb833b413ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gameology.org/blog/bitmap_sprite_animation_circa_1917 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969599 | 976 | 1.835938 | 2 |
COLBERT, Okla. -- Sending children off to school for the first time can be bittersweet for both kids and parents, but seeing a familiar face might make it easier. For parents of some Colbert students, that familiar face might just be one of your own teachers.
Lucille Turner has taught for more than five decades. So long, she says, that now she's teaching the third generations of some families.
"I’ve been teaching for 55 years!" Colbert teacher Lucille Turner says.
Turner says it's hard for her to believe, since she never had plans to teach. What she really wanted to do was join the army, but her mother persuaded her to become a teacher, and it's a decision she says has made her very happy.
"If you don't enjoy it, you don't need to be there," Lucille says.
Over the past half-century, Mrs. Turner says she's seen a lot of students come through her classroom doors, teaching thousands of children everything from science to English.
She says the faces certainly aren't the only things that have changed over the years.
"Changes go on all the time. If it's the same old thing all the time, lots of people say it's dull, but it's not because changes are going on in your culture and your classroom, and you really enjoy working with the students," Turner says.
Turner says technology has been the biggest change, and it's really made her job a lot easier. Westward principal Gerald Thompson says all those changes have made Mrs. Turner ready to handle whatever comes her way.
"She’s not going to see many things that surprise her, and so we really think a lot of Mrs. Turner. We think she's a very unique teacher, and we're real proud to have her at our school," Principal Gerald Thompson says.
Turner says it's been her pleasure to be able to touch the lives of so many children. Mrs. Turner says she hopes her students will look back at her as a strict teacher who they learned something from.
Mrs. Turner also says she doesn't have any plans to retire and will keep going as long as her health lets her. | <urn:uuid:fd3ffeaf-3c92-425b-92c6-d80e7da7a6fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kxii.com/community/headlines/15750082.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990076 | 457 | 1.648438 | 2 |
A recent article in Harvard Business Review pointed out to the fact that companies often overburden their sales departments with unrealistic sales targets for achieving financial success. Companies often perceive that by setting sales targets as high as possible, they would be able to stretch sales team’s efforts to the maximum (Zoltners et al., 2011). The sales team is usually convinced to believe that sales targets are high but achievable. They are even offered handsome incentive structure to accomplish these targets. Though such an initiative usually increases the sales revenues in short-term, the long-term impact may be devastating for the company (Zoltners et al., 2011). Customers simply become sales targets for the sales team and they concentrate only on increasing sales numbers; neglecting completely the need for achieving customer satisfaction. Let’s check out how such a number-based sales philosophy emerges in the organization and what should be done by the firms in this regard.
The root causes underlying number-based sales philosophy are as follows:
- Sales staff is considered as revenue-generator for the firm rather than as the firm’s representative to the customers.
- Sales staff is hired on the basis of their success in selling in previous firms rather than their popularity and reliability among customers.
- Sales staff are trained specifically to increase the numbers of units sold rather than identifying customers’ needs and enhancing customer satisfaction.
- A good proportion of sales department’s pay package is variable and depends upon the numbers sold by them.
While, the root causes may be any or all of the above, the result is that such a number-based sales environment discourages the sales team to invest their time in identifying customers’ requirements and offering customized products/services thereby reducing customer satisfaction levels. A reduction in customer satisfaction may further affect repeat purchases and brand loyalty deteriorating the customers’ perception of the firm in the long-run. So the question that follows is how contemporary firms should tackle this situation of achieving a continuum between sales figures and customer satisfaction?
Following can be done in this regard:
- Modify the company’s mission statement to focus upon creating customer value and the same should be conveyed throughout the hierarchy.
- Sales staff should be hired with the viewpoint that these people are firm’s representative to the customers rather than as firm’s revenue-generators.
- Before hiring sales staff, proper referral checks should be done from people apart from those provided by the applicants. This should be done in addition to checking out previous sales history.
- The sales training should focus on identifying customers’ needs rather than selling whatever the company is offering with a view to increasing sales units.
- The sales staff should be encouraged to gather information on customers’ requirements and this data can be utilized by the company’s research and development (R&D) department for further innovation.
- The sales staff should be trained to portray themselves as customer-advocates rather than the company-advocates.
- The performances of the sales employees should be appraised not only for the sales they achieve but also on the basis of their behavior towards customers. Customers’ feedback forms must be used to identify good and bad performers on the basis of numbers of customer complaints or the patrons they created for the company. The customers should also be interviewed randomly from time-to-time for the purpose.
- The performance appraisal systems should not be entirely based upon monetary rewards rather recognition and additional time-off should also be offered to the performers.
Barclays, the British financial service provider has recently taken a lead in this direction by modifying its incentive systems to reward customer service (This is Money.co.uk, 2012). The company had been scandal-hit in the past and therefore in order to rebuild customers’ trust, the company has now adopted a new bonus structure where employees are rewarded not on the basis of numbers of units sold, but the number of satisfied customers they have created for the company. Barclays plans to track their employees’ behavior towards customers with the help of customers’ questionnaires, mystery shoppers and independent experts (This is Money.co.uk, 2012).
HSBC bank has also followed Barclays and has based its sales team incentive scheme on the parameters like customer satisfaction and sales quality. HSBC was reported to be involved in mis-selling scandals in recent past. To rebuild customers’ trust, the bank has not only taken out a portion of funds to reimburse the customers who were cheated by their sales team; but also adopted this quality and customer satisfaction based incentive structure (Osborne, 2013). Other firms need to take a lesson from Barclays and HSBC bank before it is too late.
- “Examining the Impact of Sales Climate on Sales Performance and Customer Satisfaction.” Retrieved from: http://www.bauer.uh.edu/doctoral/marketing/documents/Dissertation-Proposal-Manoshi-Samaraweera.pdf
- “‘If you want a bonus, give better service’ – Barclays ditches sales bonuses for branch staff.” (October 11, 2012). Retrieved from: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2216037/Barclays-branch-staff-receive-bonuses-based-customer-satisfaction.html
- Osborne, H. February 20, 2013). “HSBC removes sales targets from staff incentives.” Retrieved from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/feb/20/hsbc-removes-sales-targets-staff-incentives
- Zoltners, A., Sinha, P., & Lorimer, S. (September 12, 2011). “Five Ways That Higher Sales Goals Lead to Lower Sales.” Harvard Business Review. | <urn:uuid:bc3afe3c-b53c-4fa9-b8d0-1fb4a60d9082> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.projectguru.in/publications/the-impact-of-sales-targets-on-customer-satisfaction/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948683 | 1,210 | 1.703125 | 2 |
— After telling BP they would host the live feed if the company itself could or would not, U.S. lawmakers on Thursday started streaming live video of the Gulf oil spill from 5,000 feet below sea level.
"We will triumph over this tragedy through technology and transparency, so our best minds can bring all resources to bear to end this spill," Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said in a statement.
"This video will allow the world to see the damage that is occurring in our oceans, and reinforce the urgency to end this disaster," he added.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., also is hosting a live online feed. "The broader scientific community and our university experts need to see all this so they can add to our knowledge of what happened and why," Nelson said in a statement. "Plus, we need to make sure everybody sees what's going on down there."
Markey added that "this may be BP’s footage, but it’s America’s ocean. ... This footage will aid analysis by independent scientists blocked by BP from coming to see the spill."
Markey chairs the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee within the Energy and Commerce Committee, which is leading a House investigation into the spill.
“BP is going to have to pay for the cleanup of this spill and the long-term damage. Hosting this video on our website is the only freebie they’re going to get,” Markey added.
Heavy demand has been slowing access, but the main live feed sites are: | <urn:uuid:92902606-6194-4915-942a-e2e3b7b908ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/05/20/4315953-live-video-from-bp-spill-is-placed-online | 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 | 0.958166 | 323 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Did you know that we have two major engineering teams here at Wikia? It’s true! We have one here in San Francisco and one in Poznan, Poland. In this installment of "A day in the life...", we are going to follow a day in the life of our engineering team in Poznan . There's about an 9 hour difference between the two offices, so at midnight on the West Coast when everyone is asleep, it's already 9am in Poland and the engineering staff there beings to shuffle in. As a result, we have more or less 24-hour coverage between the two offices.
Who are they?
The engineers help keep our site running by developing the latest features and improving upon old ones. They are constantly working to keep Wikia running and track down any bugs that may pop up.
Hour by hour
9am - A few folks make their way in to the office early for English lessons. The lessons assist employees in overcoming language and cultural barriers, as well as improve communication with the San Francisco office. The lessons cover everything from technical jargon to problem solving.
10am - By 10am more staff start to arrive, and continue to shuffle in until around 11am. Once at work, most engineers start their day off with a typical daily check-in, which consists with reviewing the back-log, or list of projects that are in queue to be completed. In addition, team members must also coordinate with the rest of their team, both in Poznan and in San Francisco, to see what the agenda is for the day. Meanwhile, members of the Poznan Operations Team work hard on keeping the site up and running. Some of their tasks include:
- Keeping the machines and hardware running
- Monitoring the speed at which the site runs.
- CPU memory charts (check out Wade's blog post for a refresher).
12pm - Every Monday there is an office-wide Engineering meeting. Each week a staff member can sign up give a talk. This could be on some sort of technology that is in development or simply a new idea that's rattling around. Sometimes, a staff member will return from a conference or event and give their report. Everyone is always encouraged to book a slot if they’ve gone to something to share!
3pm - Lunch time! Lunch at the Poznan office is more like an early dinner, as it usually takes place around 3pm or later. As of late, the team has become addicted to going out and getting pork chops (a traditional polish dish) from a small shop downtown by the office. After someone returns with the take out, everyone sits down and dines together in the kitchen together. Some staff members gather around the foosball table and face off against one-another. A few have even made it into major tournaments in the city.
4:30pm - Teams begin to meet for their daily stand up or check in with the US office. Both offices connect via webcam to cover what they've accomplished thus far and what they plan to do for the rest of the day. This isn't the easiest of task, but is extremely important for collaborating on projects and making sure priorities are clear.
That about wraps it up! Have any questions for Wikia Staff or the engineering team? What team would you like to see covered next? Feel free to leave a comment below!
Want to receive updates on the latest Staff blog posts? Then click here to follow this blog. | <urn:uuid:ea32c67f-29a2-4f3b-a634-8e9175595842> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://community.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Trellar/A_Day_in_the_Life_of_Wikia_Staff:_Engineering | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970563 | 714 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Here we go again. Today has seen some narrow and biased analysis of economic policy and political imperatives concerning the Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s comments on the economy, interest rates and the Budget.
Gillard’s words boil down to the point that having tight fiscal settings in a climate of on-going unbalanced economic growth will allow for easier monetary settings which in turn will stem the rise of the Australian dollar. It’s actually the best policy mix when a country has a terms of trade shock which leads to excessive currency strength and risks exacerbating internal imbalances within the economy.
Before Gillard uttered a word on the issue, people like tin-man Christopher Joye, executive director and strategic advisor to Yellow Brick Road Funds Management and Rismark International, continued to push his empty barrow of the politicisation of the RBA.
I don’t think Chris actually read the speech or reporting of it with an opening comment that:
“The Prime Minister has broken with historical convention–for an incumbent government–and called on the RBA to lower interest rates”
Well Chris, the Prime Minister neither said nor implied anything of the sort. Here is what she did say at various times during the speech:
The RBA has “plenty of room to move further if need be”.
“we can give the Reserve Bank room to move on monetary policy if it chooses to”
“In the current economic environment, should the RBA consider it appropriate to change the cash rate [it can move]”
Any observer can see that all that PM Gillard and the government is seeking is a shift in the balance of economic policy towards tighter fiscal policy and easier monetary policy. And PM Gillard has made it crystal clear that the independent RBA may choose, if need be and if it considers it appropriate, to ease monetary policy some time down the track. | <urn:uuid:0cffd19b-c242-448c-90fb-93a73707f624> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stephenkoukoulas.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/gillard-interest-rates-rba-and-liberal.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940306 | 396 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Discrimination and Harassment
Discrimination and harassment claims often increase in a down economy. Learn the proper techniques for conducing proper workplace harassment investigations, providing sexual harassment training, and more to reduce claims of employment discrimination and preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.
Warn decision-makers who decide to act on their own, ignoring HR’s guidance: Juries can hold them personally liable for legal missteps—and make them pay punitive damages.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year to uphold the “ministerial exception” that exempts religious institutions from having to comply with some employment laws has cleared the way for two lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.
If one of your employees sues you and acts as his own attorney, treat the case just as seriously as you would any other lawsuit. Courts have to follow through with the legal process, including reviewing the employer’s evidence.
An appeals court has thrown cold water on two Pasco firefighters who won a $189,000 jury award. The appellate judge overturned a lower court’s decision in a discrimination lawsuit they filed against Pasco County and the firefighter’s union.
Disabled employees sometimes try to use their medical conditions as an excuse for poor behavior. Don’t fall for it. Disability can’t be used to avoid discipline for misconduct.
People who want a job must actually apply for it before they can allege they weren’t hired for discriminatory reasons. It’s easy to prove someone didn’t apply. Simply post job openings and retain all applications.
Miami’s Piloto Photo Center faces sexual harassment charges after female employees alleged the owner subjected them to graphic sexual comments and demeaning name-calling. Two former employees, including one manager, claim they were fired for opposing the harassment.
The Affordable Care Act health care reform law requires employers to provide space for mothers to lactate. According to the latest available statistics, the DOL has cited a whopping 23 companies for failing to comply. What do the statistics mean? Either the lactation mandate is not yet widely known, but complaints (and citations) will rise as public knowledge catches up with the law’s requirements; or the lack of lactation space in American workplaces is a myth that never needed a legislative solution.
It’s not enough to have an anti-harassment and discrimination policy in your manual. It’s not even enough to train everyone regularly on what the policy requires. What really counts is enforcing the policy when complaints come in. If you don’t, the penalty may be punitive damages.
Employees who experience retaliation for complaining about discrimination don’t have to prove bias to win a retaliation lawsuit. But that doesn’t mean that a mere suspicion or hunch that an employer is discriminating is enough. | <urn:uuid:9259d6f6-aa83-4015-b12d-f068c09ad2c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/human-resources/discrimination-and-harassment/page/60 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953128 | 591 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Comparison of Inhaled Iloprost and Nitric Oxide in Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension During Weaning From Cardiopulmonary Bypass in Cardiac Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Trial
Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of inhaled iloprost and nitric oxide (iNO) in reducing pulmonary hypertension (PHT) during cardiac surgery immediately after weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Design: A prospective randomized study. Setting: A single-center university hospital. Participants: Forty-six patients with PHT (mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) >=26 mmHg preoperatively at rest, after anesthesia induction, and at the end of CPB) scheduled to undergo cardiac surgery were enrolled. Interventions: Patients were randomly allocated to receive iloprost (group A, n = 23) or iNO (group B, n = 23) during weaning from CPB. Measurements and Main Results: Heart rate, mean arterial pressure, central venous pressure, pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and left atrial pressure were recorded continuously. Iloprost and iNO were administered immediately after the end of CPB before heparin reversal. Both substances caused significant reductions in mean PAP (mPAP) and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and significant increases in cardiac output 30 minutes after administration (p < 0.0001). However, in a direct comparison, iloprost caused significantly greater reductions in PVR (p = 0.013) and mPAP (p = 0.0006) and a significantly greater increase in cardiac output (p = 0.002) compared with iNO. Conclusions: PHT after weaning from CPB was significantly reduced by the selective pulmonary vasodilators iNO and iloprost. However, in a direct comparison of the 2 substances, iloprost was found to be significantly more effective.
Version: za2963e q8za3 q8zb4 q8zc9 q8zdf q8ze2 q8zfc q8zgc | <urn:uuid:4ddb3ee2-621e-4bc5-9a87-5d443fcc33ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pubget.com/paper/18503929/Comparison_of_Inhaled_Iloprost_and_Nitric_Oxide_in_Patients_With_Pulmonary_Hypertension_During_Weaning_From_Cardiopulmonary_Bypass_in_Cardiac_Surgery__A_Prospective_Randomized_Trial | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943375 | 445 | 1.695313 | 2 |
To young people today, the world as a global village appears as a given, a ready-made order, as if human
evolution all along was logically moving towards our high-tech, market-driven society, dominated by the
wealthy United States. To bring the world to order, the US must bear the burden of oversize defense
spending, capture terrorists, eliminate dictators, and warn ungrateful nations like China and Russia to
adjust their policies so as not to hinder the US in its altruistic mission civilatrice.
The reality is something else entirely, the only truth in the above characterization being the
overwhelming military dominance of the US in the world today. The US itself is the source of much of the
world’s terrorism, its 1.6 million troops in over a thousand bases around the world the most egregious
terrorists, leaving the Osama bin Ladens in the shade, and other lesser critics of US policies worried about
their job prospects.
My own realization of the true nature of the world order began with my journey to England to study
economics at Cambridge University in September 1973. I decided to take the luxury SS France ocean
liner which offered a student rate of a few hundred dollars (and unlimited luggage), where I met American
students on Marshall and Rhodes scholarships (I had the less prestigious Mackenzie King scholarship), and
used my wiles to enjoy the perks of first class. The ship was a microcosm of society, a benign one. The
world was my oyster and I wanted to share my joy with everyone.
But I was in for a shock. Cambridge was also a microcosm of society, but a very different one. My friends
at Cambridge included many Latin Americans, and the tragic events of that September 11 – the US-
orchestrated coup against Salvador Allende in Chile – were what I was to cut my political teeth on. The
look of despair on the face of a Chilean friend, suddenly a refugee whose friends and family were now in
peril, was etched in my memory. That began my path of study and activism, and drove home to me the
essence of the world political and economic system. Imperialism was not an abstraction, but a
devastating force that destroyed good, idealistic people, whole peoples. Enemies of imperialism must be
reconsidered, in the first place, the Soviet Union, which until then I had accepted as a dangerous and
evil force in the world.
I immediately began studying Russian and was determined to experience Soviet reality from the inside.
The “Soviet threat” was the pretext for Nixon’s undermining the Chilean revolution. It was the pretext for
the blockade of Cuba. It was the pretext for the horrors the US was inflicting on the Vietnamese. Was it
really the evil empire which I had been indoctrinated into fearing and loathing my entire life? I had to
find out for myself.
Looking back on this turning point in my life, I can only marvel at the few slight breathing spaces in the
Cold War that allowed people to reject the capitalist paradigm, to realize who the real enemy is. As
opposed to Thatcher's TINA (There Is No Alternative) – There Was An Alternative (TWAA)! Fear of this
‘enemy’ quickly evaporated among intelligent mainstream people in the West during the periods of
detente (1941–48, 1963–68, 1973–79). These brief respites were tactical retreats in the long-term fight by
imperialism, biding its time.
My studies were framed by the coup in Chile in September 1973 and the liberation of Saigon in the
spring of 1975. Celebrating the latter moment with my friends in the university cafeteria is also etched in
my mind. The world belonged to us. The low point for US imperialism, the high point (the last, it turned
out) for the Soviet Union. I studied with Marxists such as Maurice Dobb, and neo-Ricardians such as Piero
Sraffa, Luigi Pasinetti, and Joan Robinson, and suddenly saw the twentieth century through new lenses.
Upon my return to Toronto, I sought out what I learned were called “fellow travelers”. There weren't so
many as I expected. In desperation, I looked in the phone book under USSR, but there was not even a
Soviet Consulate in Canada’s largest city (though there was a Bulgarian, a Czech, even a Cuban one). I
eventually stumbled across the Canada-USSR Friendship Society, a motley collection of primarily Slavic
and east European immigrants, Jews, with a smattering of WASP peaceniks. A friendly if doctrinaire
group, with no sign of any super spies like Kim Philby. In retrospect, I see that the peacenik contingent
was more conspicuous in its absence.
With great difficulty, I got to Moscow in 1979 to study Russian at Moscow State University (MGU) through
the Friendship Society, a bizarre and memorable experience to say the least. I fell sick and became sicker
after a short stay in a filthy hospital, but managed to stick it out till we were peremptorily shunted to
unfinished Olympic accommodations in order to make room for newly revolutionary Ethiopian students at
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan took place as we trudged through the freezing mud to our new
residence in December, the subsequent collapse of détente playing out on an international stage my own
frustrations with “real existing socialism”, a system that left no room for criticism or doubt in the face of
much nonsense and cruelty.
My former enthusiasm for Soviet-style communism* was gone; however, on returning to North America, I
was faced with the mindless propaganda and belligerence of Reagan America, and I realized that my
love affair with the ornery Soviet beast was not over – TWAA. When Gorbachev dismantled censorship
(glasnost) and began his ill-fated economic reforms (perestroika), I landed a job at Moscow News. My
sense of urgency in getting there ASAP was not ill-founded, as it turned out.
The brief respites from the Cold War and this final crazy attempt to create a ‘nice’ socialism were indeed
remarkable. The US actually feared and respected another country, and that country held out its
diplomatic hand in friendship, only to find itself subverted by its new ‘friend’. The Bushes and now Obama
have all vowed since never to let another country challenge the US militarily again. How ironic, now that
military superiority has lost all meaning in an age of dirty bombs and anthrax.
The Soviet Union produced environmental disasters, notably the death of the Aral Sea. Collective
farming enforced at gunpoint destroyed a vibrant peasant tradition. The gulags and Stalinist repression
were a terrible tragedy. But colonialism and fascism killed far more innocent people, and both were
aggressive, starting wars with other countries. The Soviet Union was a one-party system, a dictatorship, but
not an aggressively expanding empire, contrary to what we were and are indoctrinated into believing.
For all its political flaws, it showed the viability of a non-capitalist way of organizing technologically
advanced urban society. Its economic flaws – inefficiency, sloppiness, low standards, ecological
disregard – were countered by its pluses – guaranteed employment, free public services, encouragement
of modest material needs, broad access to culture, security for the individual, a less competitive more
egalitarian lifestyle. This is how it was understood in the third world, where its passing is still mourned.
Until the collapse of the Soviet Union, the main foe of Israel, I hadn’t paid special attention to the Middle
East, assuming that as the anti-imperialist forces grew, Israel would be pressured to make peace. The
assassination of Yitzak Rabin in 1994 and the ascendancy of the neocons made it clear that this was not
going to happen.
The defeat of communism meant that the only remaining anti-imperialist cultural force was Islam, and I
was drawn to Uzbekistan in Central Asia, with a vibrant Muslim heritage. This culminated in another major
turning point for me – watching the twin towers collapse 28 years after the “9/11” coup in Chile, on that
more familiar “9/11” of 2001, in bleak post-Soviet Tashkent.
My immediate reaction was that their collapse simply could not be the work of a band of poorly trained
Muslims orchestrated by someone in a cave in neighboring Afghanistan. Subsequent study has confirmed
to me that the events of 2001 had far more to do with US imperialism – and Israel – than Islam.
I am fortunate to have lived my life on both sides of the “Iron Curtain” and now in the heart of the
supposed enemy today – the Islamic world. This has given me the opportunity to experience alternative
realities, to step back from my western heritage and see more clearly how the western world confronts and
plays with other countries and cultures. There are many such journeys of discovering by people coming of
age politically. I hope my reflections provide readers the opportunity to step back from their frame of
reference, and help them understand the games we are forced to play.
*A note on the use of the term communism, capitalism and imperialism: communism refers to both the
theory as proposed by Marx and the attempts to realize the theory as embodied in the social formations of
post-1917 Russia and post-WWII eastern Europe. While the latter strayed far from the theory, they were
nonetheless inspired by Marx. Critics may replace “communism” with “failed workers’ state” or “state
capitalism” as they like. This does not undermine the overall thesis about communism made here. I treat
the terms capitalism and imperialism as scientific terms as used by Marx and Lenin. The Soviet Union
became a ruthless dictatorship under Stalin, but the logic of it and its relations with eastern Europe was
not imperialist. To use such terms cavalierly to refer to noncapitalist social formations would reduce any
analysis to rubble -- a kind of intellectual 9/11, an apt metaphor for how US capitalist mind-control
prevents any real opposition from taking root. | <urn:uuid:2b000139-0ad8-4641-aa8d-90e1adb274a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://claritypress.com/Walberg.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958593 | 2,189 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Young Chileans complete emergency housing in Paraguay, Bolivia
Locals in disadvantaged communities in neighboring South American countries now have a roof over their heads in time for winter, thanks to Chilean non-profit.
Monday, August 06, 2012
Chilean volunteers helped build houses for Guaraní families in San Pedro, Paraguay. Photo courtesy of Un Techo para Chile / Facebook.
The valuable work carried out by Chilean nonprofit Un Techo para Chile (“A Roof for Chile”) continues to spread throughout Latin America, after 1,000 young Chilean volunteers recently completing emergency winter housing for locals in San Pedro, Paraguay - a region that is home to a large population of indigenous Guaraní people and experiences high levels of poverty.
Meanwhile, a further 300 volunteers have also now returned from building emergency housing for locals in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.
Un Techo para Chile is represented in other countries in the region as Un Techo para mi País (“A Roof for my Country”) and volunteers in Paraguay were joined by 300 local volunteers, as well as 100 others from Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.
“Poverty recognizes no borders, and for this reason the work of Techo is present in the whole continent,” said the Chaplain of Un Techo para Chile, Cristián del Campo, before the volunteers embarked. “Our struggle requires that all young Latin Americans unite and take up the fight against extreme poverty.”
The organization has received international acclaim for its work finding housing solutions for the millions living in poverty in the region. In Chile, 3,000 volunteers are present in communities throughout the country. The community projects, funded by the Project Bank of un Techo para Chile, aim to improve quality of life for Chileans of lower socio-economic status, assisting with access to basic services and education. The institution also helps families realize their dream of owning their own home.
The nonprofit also provides valuable work and volunteering experience for young Chileans looking to raise their social awareness.
“it is important to support the thousands of young volunteers from Techo who are mobilized by the message and attitude of commitment, integration and hope,” says Luis Felipe San Martín, Director of the National Youth Institute (INJUV).
Donations to the institution can be made by credit card on its website, or by making a deposit in person in any branch of Banco de Santandar throughout Chile, to the account number 399409-0. | <urn:uuid:d081ae05-1b33-4f74-8125-078ce84262a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thisischile.cl/8006/2/880/young-chileans-complete-emergency-housing-in-paraguay-bolivia/Article.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939021 | 519 | 1.671875 | 2 |
The storm killed 69 people in the Caribbean before hitting the United States, where it left many coastal communities under water.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters Tuesday that at least 10 people were killed in the region, and he expected the death toll to climb. Falling trees caused many of the fatalities. Bloomberg also reported drownings and the death of someone who stepped in a puddle that had a live wire in it.
"I think people don't understand just how strong
The Federal Emergency Management Agency listed more than a dozen states as "active disaster areas." On Tuesday morning, President Barack Obama declared "major disaster" areas in New York and New Jersey. Consolidated Edison Co. of New York was forced to cut power to thousands of customers in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn in in an attempt to minimize storm damage.
"This will be one for the record books," ConEd senior vice president John Miksad said in an overnight conference call with reporters. "This will be the largest storm-related outage in our history."
Some ConEd customers should expect to be without power for more than a week, the company said Tuesday morning. Metropolitan Transit
Bloomberg said there was "no firm timeline" for reopening the subway system but estimated it could be "a good four or five days."
Officials told New Jersey residents to be ready for the worst on Tuesday, when they could begin to assess the damage from flooding, downed trees and power lines, according to The Trentonian. Public Service Electric & Gas CEO Ralph Izzo called the damage unprecedented.
People near Philadelphia area were cautioned to stay off the roadways, where fallen trees were wrapped with downed power lines, according to The Times Herald in Norristown. In Connecticut, the Coast Guard on Tuesday resumed its search for a 40-year-old man who disappeared in heavy surf around 8 p.m. Monday, according to a report in The New Haven Register.
Connecticut residents who were forced to evacuate their homes later in the storm had difficulty finding hotels, some of which wouldn't even answer their phones, the newspaper reported.
Nationally, the Associated Press put the death toll at 33.
In New York, Bloomberg said he expected the period of flooding was over but that a long period of repair was just beginning. "Conditions are still dangerous," he said. "I just can't stress that enough." | <urn:uuid:58f6fcb2-e105-4486-813d-fe1c28873453> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marinij.com/opinion/ci_21887779?source=pkg | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976321 | 483 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Are you able to determine why the new Hobsonville motorway extensions feature orange barrier walls? An example of this has been built on the western side of the Upper Harbour bridge. This contrasts with the very tasteful wall with murals on natural timber on the eastern side. Is there any special reason for the orange colour? Tim Johnston, Greenhithe.
And from Vicki Frewin: Regarding the development of SH18, what is up with the hideous orange noise walls that surround it? I note on the NZTA website: "The walls are made of wood which will be painted a burnt orange colour." There is no reason listed as to why; the colour is more primer orange and it is a real eyesore in the otherwise reasonably pleasant landscape. Other areas of Auckland with recent motorway developments have been graced with concrete walls with sculpted decorative works and are nicely planted. We out West get stuck with orange plywood and in some places, no planting in front of these walls. It is particularly awful as you drive up towards the bridge near Monterey Park. Where once you gazed upon Herald Island and the yachts moored in the bay, you now don't get a view of the surrounds but feel enclosed by a half-finished, cheap looking temporary fence.
Rob Garrett, Auckland Council's manager of public art, says this is a work in progress involving his team, the NZ Transport Agency and the HEB/Jasmax design team. As well as the bold orange colour, several sections will have artwork by Jeff Thomson applied. The colour was approved by the former Waitakere City Council which also initiated the public art component of the project.
Mr Thomson's concepts for the artwork were approved by the former council, and are in the final design stage.
The artwork takes the orange colour of the noise walls, which is a reference to the history of working clay in the district, and overlays that with tyre trails and tread patterns that reflect the activities of people and machines in transforming the landscape, and the histories of rural and construction activities on the land. The tread patterns also call to mind the malleable and impressionable properties of clay, which forms the substrate of the landscape.
The orange colour is striking and bright and it has attracted both fans and detractors. Over time, as the new planting in front of the wall matures, it will soften the visual impact of the noise walls. However, the colour was selected because it creates a bold counterpoint to the surrounding landscape and the design team believes that in time it will be embraced as a dynamic and distinctive feature in the highway environment.
Beauty, as always, is in the eye of the beholder.
From next week, the Ask Phoebe column will be devoting its energies to matters involving the Rugby World Cup. If you have questions you would like answered (where to park, how to get to venues etc) send them to email@example.comBy Phoebe Falconer Email Phoebe | <urn:uuid:acc30d21-ccd3-426f-81db-8f3b1757228c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10744328 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965217 | 618 | 1.765625 | 2 |
02 July 2012 12:56pm
I found a way to represent all accounting data (over any period of time) of a company in one graph/picture. I don't think it's anything new, it's just the method is different from what I've seen before. The advantages are that:
- you have it all in one place and you can see the interconnections between anything that interests you (eg. profit related to assets, or cash)
- if you have a ruler, a calculator, and know a bit of geometry you can derive out of the graph anything; from individual expenses of the business to asset turnover, ROI and all the financial statements.
- it only takes 5-10 minutes to understand how the graph works and what the lines represent
disadvantage: - you need every transaction (dated) that the firm has to build the graph. Non transparency can yield bad results.
First I did this with the purpose of finding the profit for a business (in a more graphical way), but later when I looked at it I realized you can do much more with it.
The business for which I did this is rather small, with one owner and no interest in investors or sharing their data too much for that matter, so for them this has just a little managerial usage. I assume this would be more useful for external users.
Do you think there would be demand for such a graph? would accounting software companies be interested in such a thing?
Thank You in advance.
Free market research on digital marketing
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It takes 30 seconds to register | <urn:uuid:9babea5a-e2eb-4cab-8020-ae9e17b6a0eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://econsultancy.com/pk/forums/other-topics/data-representation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973782 | 329 | 1.625 | 2 |
Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Our Neighbors Have a Baby in the NICU. How Should We Help?
Filed under: Toddlers Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Babies, Medical Conditions, Development/Milestones: Babies, Day Care & Education, Feeding & Sleeping, Baby-sitting, Research Reveals: Babies, Nutrition: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Babies, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Development: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Behavior: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Activities: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Gear Guides: Babies, Gear Guides: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Research Reveals: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Just For You, Expert Advice: Health
Our neighbors' new baby is in the neonatal intensive care unit. What can my family do to help them?
When my son was born, he had a mysterious mark on his arm and was rushed to the NICU at a different hospital because the doctor believed it could be something serious. I thought 27 hours of labor delivering a 9-and-a-half pound baby was initiation enough into motherhood, but apparently motherhood had a different plan.
Ari's dad went with him in the ambulance, and all the ideas we'd had of our first few days as a family flew out the window. In my foggy post-delivery state, I didn't have the mental capacity to navigate what was next.
Friends got me to the hospital the next morning, where I glued myself to my infant, bonding with him through the holes of an incubator. Life with a baby in the NICU is a hazy blend of night and day. I had no idea what time it was, how many hours had passed, or whether I had even eaten.
I was a first time mother trying to learn how to nurse a baby I could rarely hold in my arms. After three days of IV antibiotics and around-the-clock care, Ari's cultured wound came up negative, and we were sent home.
One of the greatest gifts we received (other than our miraculous newborn, of course) was walking into our condo and discovering a friend had cleaned it from top to bottom.
Friends and family can make the difficult ordeal of having a baby in an NICU ward much easier if they keep in mind the fact that the family is in the midst of a medical and emotional crisis. All of a parent's energies are consumed with their baby's care, as well as the mother's post-delivery recovery.
If you want to offer support, offer it with no strings attached. Emphasize that you don't expect to see the new baby, or visit with the new parents, unless of course they ask.
Here are a few ideas that can help support parents with babies in the NICU:
- Offer to deliver items from home, especially things that will offer comfort, like a favorite t-shirt or CD.
- Arrange accommodations near the hospital for the parents, if needed, and/or visiting relatives.
- Drop off movies and a mini DVD player, magazines or books.
- Take down phone messages, and deliver the uplifting, encouraging ones.
- Offer a foot rub, a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on.
- Deliver meals from a favorite takeout restaurant, or make your famous chicken soup or lasagna.
- When parents do come home, help make their re-entry into the "real" world easier by arranging meals or house cleaning, screening phone messages or running interference with visitors until the new parents feel ready to step out of the cocoon.
Yours in parenting support,
AdviceMama, Susan Stiffelman, is a licensed and practicing psychotherapist and marriage and family therapist. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in developmental psychology and a Master of Arts in clinical psychology. Her book, Parenting Without Power Struggles, is available on Amazon. Sign up to get Susan's free parenting newsletter.
Have a question for AdviceMama? Submit your question here. | <urn:uuid:3d033a9f-321e-4130-97f5-26f8771c25e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.parentdish.com/2010/04/26/our-neighbors-have-a-baby-in-the-nicu-how-should-we-help/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953263 | 858 | 1.625 | 2 |
Only about 15 percent of physicians in the United States are using electronic health records (EHR), a statistic that John Halamka, chief information officer and dean for technology at Harvard Medical School, aims to change.
During a panel discussion at Technology Review’s EmTech conference earlier this week, Halamka outlined the major barrier in getting physicians to adopt these systems: misaligned incentives. While EHRs should ultimately reduce costs, doctors must spend $40,000 to $50,000 to buy an EHR system, and they lose 20 percent of their productivity in the first few months. And, at the end of the day, insurers and payers rather than physicians reap the rewards, Halamka said. His thoughts echo those of Karen Bell, another panelist who spoke with Technology Review.
Halamka, who is also chief information officer of the CareGroup Health System, described how his company took the digital leap: it mandated that academic affiliates, and eventually other affiliates, use EHRs. To ease the burden, Caregroup subsidized the cost of the systems and provided a training team for physicians.
Halamka will outline his prescription for broader adoption of EHRs in a letter to the incoming president, which will be published in the next issue of Technology Review.
For Halamka’s perspective on Healthcare IT and beyond, check out his blog, “Life as a Healthcare CTO.” | <urn:uuid:c5be2e20-4695-4e21-9e55-480374a7d700> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.technologyreview.com/view/410907/incentives-for-docs-to-go-digital/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964482 | 294 | 1.59375 | 2 |
By Paula Katinas
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
A bipartisan group of elected officials is floating the idea of expanding the city’s East River commuter ferry service to Bay Ridge and Coney Island.
Members of the group include Democratic state Sen. Diane Savino, Democratic Assemblymen Alec Brook-Krasny and Steve Cymbowitz, Democratic Councilman Vincent Gentile, and Republican Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis. They would like to see the East River ferry make stops at the 69th Street Pier in Bay Ridge and at a pier at Coney Island.
The East River Fast Ferry Service has exceeded all passenger projections and has carried more than one million New Yorkers between Queens, North Brooklyn and Manhattan in its first year of operation, the lawmakers said.
“Lest we forget New York City was founded because of its access to deep, navigable waterways, in these times of increased traffic and decreased funds for infrastructure improvements it behooves city leaders to follow your return to the traffic-free blue arteries that have served New Yorkers so well for centuries and a million New Yorkers in the last year alone,” Savino said.
“These benefits can and should now be reaped by [southern] Brooklynites,” said Savino, whose district includes parts of Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst.
The elected officials said it makes sense to incorporate the 69th Street pier into the ferry service. Residents from both Bay Ridge and nearby Sunset Park could board the ferry to go to work in Manhattan, the lawmakers said.
According to the 2010 Census, 132,605 Brooklynites live within a mile radius of the 69th Street Pier.
The lawmakers said they believe a ferry service at the pier would be a success.
“It has always been my goal to enhance our relationship with the water and the ways in which we can use it. Right now, our waterfront is a tragically underutilized asset hidden in plain sight,” Gentile said. “Direct commuter ferry service in Bay Ridge ended when the deteriorating 69th Street Pier was closed back in the early 1990s. But it was rebuilt and renovated 13 years ago!”
Malliotakis said it’s important for South Brooklyn not to be ignored in discussions about improving public transportation in New York City.
“We need to explore all options to provide Brooklynites with a better commute and, as a densely populated coastal community, this just makes sense,” she said.
Coney Island was pointed out as another possible South Brooklyn ferry site.
Coney Island has undergone major renovations recently for its beaches, boardwalk and amusements and has reaped a substantial benefit in newly realized tourism, according to the lawmakers.
Coney Island and Gravesend boasts a total population of 126,588 within a mile radius of several proposed ferry pier sites, according to the 2010 Census.
Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny, whose district runs from Bay Ridge to Coney Island, said it makes sense to increase ferry services from an environmental standpoint.
“By launching ferry service, we have the unique opportunity to use our waterways to create a greener, sustainable transportation option for our residents, and also potentially spur private investment along the waterfront,” Brook-Krasny said. “This has the possibility to increase tourism and have a huge impact on the economic growth and development of our waterfront neighborhoods.” | <urn:uuid:ede5e125-dba9-42a7-8c7f-a6c1057f15b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/fresh-push-bring-ferry-bay-ridge-and-coney-island | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950106 | 697 | 1.507813 | 2 |
It’s always encouraging to see the Christmas spirit of giving that accompanies efforts to help the less fortunate.
But a society must also carry a structural goodness if it really wants to care about the less fortunate.
That’s why I’m disturbed to learn from Madison County’s Cindy Darden, who heads Advantage Behavioral Health Services for our 10-county area, that Advantage has been cut back from $16.8 million in state funds in 2001 to $9.7 million this year, with more cuts possible in the coming months.
Advantage serves those in Madison County and nine other Athens-area counties who suffer from developmental disabilities, mental illnesses and addictive diseases.
It’s not like we’re seeing less of these problems. No, the economic downturn has hit people hard. There are those who struggle with addictions who find themselves suddenly out of a job. A man hits the bottle or the pill. His child pays the price when he comes home in a rage. The man with schizophrenia needs to be institutionalized, but there’s not the money or the space for it. He sticks the knife in his pocket and heads out the door. The elderly couple is now physically unable to take care of their severely disabled child. They need help, but there’s a long waiting list of other families needing that help, too.
The notion of a social safety net is a political taboo for many. It implies nannyism of the worst order, a socialist state set on helping the freeloaders. Well, that’s surely a self-satisfying political cry, but there’s more complexity to this world than three-word “get-a-job” sloganeering.
There’s no denying that some people seek to mooch off the government. But that’s true at both ends of the financial spectrum. There are lazy folks who can work but don’t. There are also rich folks who work political connections for price-gouging government contracts that ensure obscene and ill-gotten profits at the expense of taxpayers.
But can we in good conscience lump the children, the elderly, the developmentally challenged, the mentally ill together under the wide umbrella of “lazy” and be done with social service issues? Can we shout “get a job” to developmentally challenged adults in real need of government assistance? Can churches and civic organizations, for all the good they do, pick up the cost and responsibility of housing the schizophrenic man, who may turn homicidal if he doesn’t get his medicine? Can we turn off resources for those with severe addictions and not expect other repercussions in our society — more thefts and violence, more strain on law enforcement services and the courts?
The funds for those served by Advantage in northeast Georgia started dwindling before the economic collapse. Early in the decade as home prices skyrocketed and tax collections shot through the roof, the money squeeze was already on Advantage and other social service programs.
The “get-a-job” mentality has pervaded our political makeup for too long when it comes to social services. It’s easy to cut funding if we can put a big umbrella of “lazy welfare recipients” on those in need, even if we knowingly lump developmentally disabled adults into the same boat as the freeloaders. So money for quality services has gradually evaporated. We end up with the nightmare scenarios, the things that make news, the 14-year-old girl dying in a mental hospital of impaction because an overworked staff failed to check on her and get her needed medical attention.
Ultimately, I believe that empathy is the thing that makes a person good inside. It is not a political slant, but one of the heart. We are born totally innocent, but without any understanding of empathy either. Such an attribute is acquired over time through observation, contemplation and a respect for life, not just your own.
We have to learn this as individuals.
We need to learn this as a society, too.
Zach Mitcham is editor of The Madison County Journal.
Great article. I used to work at ABHS where my job was trying to find the handicapped people jobs and assist them to keep their jobs. To help them to get off the government welfare. I left several years ago and it was tough back then, now I can only imagine how difficult it would be to try to find an employer to hire the handicapped. Once again, great article. | <urn:uuid:cd5638a0-9c91-4ed2-b8d8-755cf49a0503> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.madisonjournaltoday.com/archives/2427-OPINION-Social-service-issues-more-complicated-than-get-a-job.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949695 | 941 | 1.515625 | 2 |
May 30, 2005
SYLVAIN CHARAT looks at the aftermath of France’s E.U. referendum:
Immediately after the vote, European Commission President José Barroso acknowledged this was a serious problem for the Constitution. The UK now wonders whether it should even both to hold its own referendum. The Netherlands is bolstered in its intention to vote No. Poland is puzzled by such a result, especially when the French vilified so much the “Polish Plumber”, a character created to frighten French workers and make them believe the Constitution would open the doors to foreigners who would take their jobs. The Czech Republic can now be more opposed to the treaty. And Italy is wondering if it was too hasty in ratifying it.
Aside from this immediate reaction, a political trend has strengthened. The French referendum was not only about the European Constitutional Treaty, nor Europe itself. It was just a pretence to confirm a widespread feeling in the French political class, to spread fear among workers, to provide a life insurance policy for a close-to-bankruptcy welfare state. It was a referendum about the kind of society France wants. That is why the outcome was already known to most of us: It was No to free trade, and Yes to a collectivist society.
That doesn’t sound promising.
UPDATE: Greg Djerejian has much more, and predicts a political crisis in Europe:
The ultimate answer, at the risk of sounding too simplistic, is that not enough French people believe in a Greater Europe deep in their bones. Great leaders might have persuaded them through honesty and passion and charisma, but such leaders were manifestly not present. Now an era of confusion and flux looms for Europe. It is not a happy result, perhaps. But it is the reality that must be forcibly understood by European leaders if they can hope to turn around this debacle. If instead they insist on saying: “these were but French domestic troubles”, “the show goes on after a spot of reflection”, “it was but a plebescite on Jacques” and so on–it will mean yet again that no one is fundamentally addressing the basic issues that must be confronted head on.
I know which way to bet, based on recent performance. Meanwhile, The Belmont Club notes that it takes a theory to beat a theory, and, weak as the pro-EU arguments are, opponents will have to come up with an approach of their own.
And EurSoc rounds up winners and losers. | <urn:uuid:ef4133a7-1655-4b92-8855-68a00919d43a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/53687/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975232 | 523 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Justice Department sues over Arizona immigration law
- Attorney General Eric Holder says a patchwork of state immigration laws like the one signed by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will 'create more problems that it solves.' AP photo composite by POLITICO
A White House official said President Obama was not involved in the suit, which is “an action taken by the Department of Justice and it reflects its judgment about the constitutional defects in this law.” The Justice Department briefed White House officials on plans for the suit but didn't seek their or Obama's approval, one Obama aide said.
The suit’s language, however, echoed comments the President made last week.
“States like Arizona have decided to take matters into their own hands. Given the levels of frustration across the country, this is understandable. But it is also ill conceived,” Obama said in his speech last Thursday. “Laws like Arizona’s put huge pressures on local law enforcement to enforce rules that ultimately are unenforceable...These laws also have the potential of violating the rights of innocent American citizens and legal residents” who can be stopped or questioned “because of what they look like or how they sound.”
Arizona’s two Republican senators, John McCain and Jon Kyl, said the administration is jumping the gun by suing over a law which has yet to take effect.
“Most legal experts believe such a ‘facial challenge’ to the statute would be very difficult to win,” McCain and Kyl said in a joint statement. “Moreover, the American people must wonder whether the Obama Administration is really committed to securing the border when it sues a state that is simply trying to protect its people by enforcing immigration law.”
Immigrants’ rights advocates, however, cheered the lawsuit as a fight against harassment and profiling.
“It may be the color of one’s skin that is suspect today; tomorrow it may be one’s religious affiliation,” said Frank Sharry of America’s Voice. “It’s about time some responsible adults stand up to Arizona’s right-wing politicians and their shameless pandering to Tea Party types.”
Arizona is already facing at least four legal challenges over the law; plaintiffs range from individual Latinos to advocacy groups, civil libertarians, labor unions and the state Chamber of Commerce.
Their request for a preliminary injunction is pending before Judge Susan Bolton, a former Arizona state judge whom President George W. Bush appointed to the bench in 2000. Justice Department officials said they expect Bolton to hear their request before the legislation takes effect.
The legal challenge also coincides with a renewed White House focus on immigration reform, including Obama’s speech at American University last Thursday.
The President, under pressure to move on the issue before the November elections, decried the Arizona law and made a strong case for tackling the issue. But he didn’t offer any specifics on how to bridge the gulf between Democrats and Republicans on the issue, and he resisted advocates’ pleas to push harder for an overhaul this year.
The administration has stepped up its rhetoric, but it also has carefully avoided disparaging the concerns of voters and local officials who want the government to forcefully end illegal immigration. Polls also show 59 percent of Arizonans support the new law, which requires police to check the residency status of anyone they reasonably suspect is undocumented. | <urn:uuid:5e71e6c0-d52d-4300-b62b-86cd34c3d58e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39413_Page2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96626 | 702 | 1.554688 | 2 |
About the Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is an independent public body that was set up in March 1997 by the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. Our purpose is to review possible miscarriages of justice in the criminal courts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and refer appropriate cases to the appeal courts.
The Commission is based in Birmingham and has about 90 staff, including a core of about 50 caseworkers, supported by administrative staff.
There are eleven Commissioners, appointed in accordance with the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice. They work with the Senior Management Team to ensure the Commission runs efficiently.
We are completely independent and impartial and do not represent the prosecution or the defence.
To enhance public confidence in the criminal justice system, to give hope and bring justice to those wrongly convicted, and based on our experience to contribute to reform and improvements in the law
- To investigate cases as quickly as possible and with thoroughness and care
- To work constructively with our stakeholders and to the highest standards of quality
- To treat applicants, and anyone affected by our work, with courtesy, respect and consideration
- To promote public understanding of the Commission’s role
Case Statistics - Figures to 31 December 2012
|Cases under review:||733|
|Completed:||14770 (including ineligible) 512 referrals|
|Heard by Court of Appeal:||466 (328 quashed, 138 upheld, 0 reserved)|
*Total applications includes 279 cases transferred from the Home Office when the Commission was set up in 1997.
Kalisher Internships with the Criminal Cases Review Commission
With the support of the Kalisher Scholarship Scheme, the Commission is offering one internship, which will be available to those who completed the BPTC in July 2013 or 2012. Find out more on the jobs page. | <urn:uuid:77271e3c-61cf-4110-889f-193a5514d6b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/criminal-cases-review-commission?pubid=162 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937851 | 378 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Ammudia - The Acherontas River boat trip
Trip Start Apr 24, 2011
79Trip End Ongoing
We have reached Ammudia, a small fishing village on the northwest coast in Epirus. Based on mythology Ammudia was the passage to the netherworld as the souls should cross Acheron during their travel to Hades Kingdom, the one of the three kingdoms of ancient Greek world.
The Aheron River has seldom kinds of biota living in the edge of its river bank, protected by international conventions.
People who come here usually visit Nekromanteio one of the important monuments of antiquity found near Mesopotamos
The cost for this ride is 8 euro and our guide Mr. Vasili is very talkative and friendly. He impresses us with his knowledge. He first shows us the Blue caves near the beach, and then we return to the river where he makes a stop every now and then to show us turtles, birds or nests hanging from trees. The ride is indeed interesting and it takes one hour.
Opposite the river bank there are a number of restaurants and coffee shops so we have a 30 minute break for some coffee before we drive off to the next spot.
- NEKROMANTEIO - The unique nekromanteio of ancient Greek world is about 4 km from Ammoudia and was the oracle that were visiting people in aim to communicate with their dearest persons’ souls so as to learn about their future and take advice. The archeological ruins found here are dated back to Mycenaean time. (14th-13th B.C century) | <urn:uuid:6c1749e7-c722-4976-a716-2b99747267ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/greekcypriot/13/1310241494/tpod.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961359 | 343 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Press contact: Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639
July 13, 2012
John Witte Jr. Named to the Cary and Ann Maguire Chair In Ethics and American History at the Kluge Center
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has appointed John Witte Jr., a professor at Emory University, to the Maguire Chair in Ethics and American History at the Library’s John W. Kluge Center.
While at the Library this summer, Witte will work on his book "Why Two in One Flesh? The Western Case for Monogamy over Polygamy," which will investigate the historic evolution of the Western tradition of marriage and the reasons for the current-day prohibition of polygamy, including ethical as well as practical considerations.
At Emory University in Atlanta, Witte is Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law, Alonzo L. McDonald Family Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion. Witte also serves as a member of the Scholars Council at the Kluge Center.
The Cary and Ann Maguire Chair in Ethics and American History was established to explore the history of America with special attention to the ethical dimensions of domestic economic, political and social policies. Cary Maguire is chair and president of Maguire Oil Co. and Maguire Resources Co., and chair of Components Corp. of America and Staco Systems. Maguire is also a member of the James Madison Council of the Library of Congress.
The Maguire Chair research includes the conduct of politics and government at all levels of American life and in all branches of government as well as the ethical dimension of leadership in religion, business, urban affairs, law, science and medicine. The goal is to support research that will illuminate the responsible use of ethical knowledge for the public good. The chair holder concentrates on domestic American matters with special emphasis on how law relates to ethics.
The Maguire Chair is appointed by the Librarian of Congress, who receives recommendations from the Kluge Center.
Witte is a specialist in legal history, marriage law and religious liberty. He has published 220 articles, 15 journal symposia and 26 books, including "Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment" (2000, 2011); "Christianity and Human Rights" (2010); and "The Sins of the Fathers: The Law and Theology of Illegitimacy Reconsidered" (2009).
Witte edits two major book series, "Studies in Law and Religion" and "Religion, Marriage and Family." He has been selected 11 times by the Emory law students as the Most Outstanding Professor and has won dozens of other awards and prizes for his teaching and research. Witte’s writings have appeared in 10 languages, and he has lectured in North America, Western and Eastern Europe, Japan, Israel and South Africa.
Through a generous endowment from John W. Kluge, the Library of Congress established the Kluge Center in 2000 to bring together the world’s best thinkers to stimulate and energize one another, to distill wisdom from the Library’s rich resources and to interact with policymakers in Washington. For further information on the Kluge Center, visit www.loc.gov/kluge/.
# # # | <urn:uuid:a6216628-2b61-45c9-8400-de94fed2b216> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2012/12-130.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945014 | 679 | 1.703125 | 2 |
WASHINGTON--President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday to sign a strategic partnership with Afgan President Hamid Karzai--a crucial element in the run-up to the NATO Summit in Chicago on May 20-21.
One of the main issues at the summit is the 2014 troop drawn-down in Afghanistan--coming as the nation is not ready to stand on its own. Obama headed to Kabul after a draft of a long-term partnership--laying out assistance to Afghanistan after NATO troops leave--had been initialed.
Obama's visit comes at a time when relations with Afghanistan and the NATO coalition has frayed: Relations were hurt when a video of U.S. Marines urinating on Taliban corpses surfaced as well as reports that U.S. troops burned copies of the Koran and accusations that a U.S. soldier killed 17 civilian Afghans in March.
The visit--Obama's third--is on the anniversary of the killing of Osma bin Laden--an event the Obama re-election team is highlighting in an ad--which Republicans charge are criticizing as over politicizing the U.S. raid into bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.
Obama will deliver a televised address Tuesday evening from Afghanistan around 7:30 p.m. EST from the Bagram air base--4 a.m. local time.
Details on the visit, from the pool report:
"Pool, which assembled Monday night at Andrews, has been under an embargo preventing reporting of the trip up til now.
"Obama left at 1209 AM Tuesday morning. And arrived at Bagram at 1020 pm local time. He landed via chopper at LZ near presidential palace at just after 11pm local
SECOND POOL REPORT
President Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan under cover of darkness Tuesday night for a whirlwind trip scheduled to culminate with a live, televised address to the American people delivered from Bagram Air Base outside the Afghan capital, Kabul.
Strict security measures are in place, including a White House imposed embargo that prevented journalists in the pool from reporting on Obama's travel until he arrived at the Presidential Palace at about 11:30 PM local Tuesday night.
Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai are expected to sign a ten page strategic partnership agreement pledging US support for Afghanistan for a decade after 2014, when Nato forces are planning to conclude their combat role. The signing ceremony with the two presidents should paint a tableau of solidarity for an Afghan US relationship that has been stormy and at time fractious during the three years of Obama's presidency.
Senior Administration officials said the unconventional timing of events on the trip, such as the scheduled midnight local time signing ceremony, was aimed at allowing Obama to address Americans on a schedule convenient for US television audiences. That speech, expected to run about 10 minutes, is scheduled to take place just after 730 pm ET tuesday, which is 4 AM here in Afghanistan.
Of course, the middle of the night schedule also provides the added security of darkness for the arrival and departure of AF1 and flights by helicopter from Bagram to and from a landing zone near the presidential palace. While US officials insist security has improved significantly since the US troop buildup Obama ordered at the end of 2009, there have beena series of troubling incidents in recent months including riots relating to the Qu'ran burning episode, Afghan on US troop violence, and a protracted gun and RPG battle in Kabul's embassy district just over two weeks ago.
More to follow
"Amb Ryan crocker and Lieut Gen Mike Scaparotti deputy cddr us forces afghanistan greeted Obama as he deplaned from the lower stairs of AF1 at Bagram.
"Obama is currently at the presidential palace in Kabul.
"A more detailed report should come shortly as communications permit."
THIRD POOL REPORT
Karzai and Obama are expected to deliver statements at the Presidential Palace shortly. But there are no plans for a pool spray of their bilateral meeting or for the pair to field questions, WH officials said.
Senior administration officials said the timing of the trip was driven by the negotiations over the Strategic Partnership Agreement and by the desire of both presidents to sign the agreement in Afghanistan prior to the NATO summit in Chicago later this month. However, the officials also acknowledged that the timing coincides with the first anniversary of the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Obama is--is expected to mention the bin Laden raid in the televised address Tuesday evening, officials said.
Before delivering the address, Obama is expected to meet with and make a speech to US troops stationed at Bagram. | <urn:uuid:6a0ed48a-7148-4a9a-9574-8192e4248929> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2012/05/obama_in_surprise_visit_to_afg.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950211 | 935 | 1.5 | 2 |
In January 2011, Reddit co-founder, RSS creator, and Internet-freedom activist Aaron Swartz was arrested for downloading millions of academic articles from JSTOR in protest of the weighty fees charged for accessing articles, and those dollars going to publishers instead of writers.
“We need to take information, wherever it is stored, make our copies and share them with the world,” Swartz wrote in 2008. “We need to take stuff that’s out of copyright and add it to the archive. We need to buy secret databases and put them on the Web. We need to download scientific journals and upload them to file sharing networks.”
JSTOR declined to pursue any civil action against Swartz, and even eventually made millions of its articles accessible to the public free of charge. MIT, whose archive was hacked while Swartz was a fellow at Harvard (which gave him access to JSTOR), was less forgiving.
The Justice Department, though, slapped Swartz with charges including wire fraud and computer fraud, altogether carrying the possibility of 35 years behind bars and up to a $1 million fine. Prosecutors eventually offered Swartz a deal to avoid trial in which he’d have to plead guilty to all 13 charges and spend six months behind bars.
Two days later, on Jan. 11, 2013, Swartz hung himself in his Brooklyn apartment. He was 26 years old.
His grieving father, Bob Swartz, told the Los Angeles Times that people should know “the evidence showed clearly that Aaron did not break the law, that the network was open, that access was not unauthorized by MIT, and that he was not guilty of any crime.”
“He was killed by the government,” he declared at his son’s funeral.
Now allies of Internet freedom on Capitol Hill are going after Attorney General Eric Holder for the prosecution of Swartz.
“I’m not condoning his hacking, but he’s certainly someone who worked very hard,” House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) told the Huffington Post. “Had he been a journalist and taken that same material that he gained from MIT, he would have been praised for it. It would have been like the Pentagon Papers.”
Issa said he’s assigned an investigator to the case to gather the facts before proceeding further.
Swartz and Issa were allies in opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and Issa praised Swartz’s work toward “open government and free access to the people” — including in the defeat of SOPA, which would have given the government broad powers to block Internet content, in the last Congress.
The GOP Senate whip took the case straight to Holder today.
John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he was “saddened” to learn of Swartz’s death.
“Mr. Swartz was, among other things, a brilliant technologist and a committed activist for the causes in which he believed – including, notably, the freedom of information. His death, at the young age of twenty-six, was tragic,” Cornyn wrote to Holder.
“As you are doubtless aware, Mr. Swartz was facing an aggressive prosecution by the Department of Justice when he took his own life. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts accused him of breaking into the computer networks of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and downloading without authorization thousands of academic articles from a subscription service. While the subscription service did not support a prosecution, in July 2011 the U.S. Attorney’s office indicted him on four counts of fraud and computer crimes, charges that reportedly could have resulted in up to 35 years imprisonment and a $1 million dollar fine. This past September, the U.S. Attorney’s office filed a superseding indictment charging Mr. Swartz with thirteen felony counts and the prospect of even longer imprisonment and greater fines,” he continued.
Cornyn said the case raises critical questions:
First, on what basis did the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts conclude that her office’s conduct was “appropriate?” Did that office, or any office within the Department, conduct a review? If so, please identify that review and supply its contents.
Second, was the prosecution of Mr. Swartz in any way retaliation for his exercise of his rights as a citizen under the Freedom of Information Act? If so, I recommend that you refer the matter immediately to the Inspector General.
Third, what role, if any, did the Department’s prior investigations of Mr. Swartz play in the decision of with which crimes to charge him? Please explain the basis for your answer.
Fourth, why did the U.S. Attorney’s office file the superseding indictment?
Fifth, when the U.S. Attorney’s office drafted the indictment and the superseding indictment, what consideration was given to whether the counts charged and the associated penalties were proportional to Mr. Swartz’s alleged conduct and its impact upon victims?
Sixth, was it the intention of the U.S. Attorney and/or her subordinates to “make an example” of Mr. Swartz? Please explain.
Finally, the U.S. Attorney has blamed the “severe punishments authorized by Congress” for the apparent harshness of the charges Mr. Swartz faced. Does the Department of Justice give U.S. Attorneys discretion to charge defendants (or not charge them) with crimes consistent with their view of the gravity of the wrongdoing in a specific case?
Cornyn asked the attorney general to respond. Holder has not publicly commented on Swartz’s death.
At least two House Democrats have joined the GOP outcry over the prosecution, though, with Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) telling The Hill they thought the DoJ was out of line.
“The charges were ridiculous and trumped-up. It’s absurd that he was made a scapegoat,” Polis said. “I would hope that this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Swartz’s case has also made it to the White House petition site, where more than 43,000 signatures have triggered a mandatory response to their request that U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz be fired for prosecutorial overreach.
“A prosecutor who does not understand proportionality and who regularly uses the threat of unjust and overreaching charges to extort plea bargains from defendants regardless of their guilt is a danger to the life and liberty of anyone who might cross her path,” the petition states.
Ortiz released a statement Wednesday defending her office’s conduct in the case.
“I know that there is little I can say to abate the anger felt by those who believe that this office’s prosecution of Mr. Swartz was unwarranted and somehow led to the tragic result of him taking his own life,” Ortiz said.
According to documents from her office, Swartz was due in court for a pretrial motion hearing on Jan. 25 and his trial was set to begin April 1.
“The prosecutors recognized that there was no evidence against Mr. Swartz indicating that he committed his acts for personal financial gain, and they recognized that his conduct – while a violation of the law – did not warrant the severe punishments authorized by Congress and called for by the Sentencing Guidelines in appropriate cases,” Ortiz said. “That is why in the discussions with his counsel about a resolution of the case this office sought an appropriate sentence that matched the alleged conduct – a sentence that we would recommend to the judge of six months in a low security setting.”
“As federal prosecutors, our mission includes protecting the use of computers and the Internet by enforcing the law as fairly and responsibly as possible. We strive to do our best to fulfill this mission every day.” | <urn:uuid:d12f65b7-fadc-4409-ae1c-76b96622a649> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pjmedia.com/blog/did-holders-office-drive-an-internet-pioneer-to-his-death/?singlepage=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978714 | 1,684 | 1.585938 | 2 |
For the Win: The Next Greatest Generation
For the Win is a guest blog series featuring the remarkable initiatives that young Americans are advancing to win the future for their communities. Each week we highlight a new young person and learn about their inspiring work through their own words. Submit your story to appear in the For the Win guest blog series.
Mohit Jain, a 17-year-old from Omaha, Neb. is a member of the National Youth Advisory Council at generationOnthe youth enterprise of Points of Light. Mohit, inspired by his grandfather’s battle with Alzheimer’s, first became involved in service by working in the medical field. He is actively involved in medical research and is a member of the American Red Cross National Youth Council, the Live Well Omaha Youth Advisory Council and the Nebraska Governor's Advisory Council. For his work in public health he is a recipient of the Nebraska Governor's Point of Light Award and the President's Volunteer Service Gold Award. Recently, Mohit created a website to help connect youth in his community with volunteer opportunities.
On November 3-5, 2011, Mohit traveled with generationOn to the World Youth Volunteering Summit, hosted by the International Association for Volunteer Effort, in Barranquilla, Colombia where he co-presented a workshop entitled, “The iGeneration: Social Media, Volunteers Unite” which he developed along with his fellow generationOn National Youth Advisory Council members.
It is said that Colombians do not walk from place to place, but rather, they dance. This past week, I traveled to the World Summit for Volunteering and Service in Barranquilla, Colombia for a weekend full of music, service, and adventure. My fellow member of the generationOn Youth Advisory Council, Clay Hurdle, and I had a unique cultural experience that was not only about presenting a workshop at an international conference on volunteering and service, but also a call to fulfill our duties as global citizens and to help us continue to make our mark on the world.
Globally, there are divisions that are caused by ethnic, racial, and gender differences, but after meeting youth from Somalia, China, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Ghana, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, France, Russia, and Germany (just to name a few) it has become evident that there is at least one idea that still remains a cohesive and binding factor regardless of the origins of the individual - the desire to serve and the fact that service learning is a natural human instinct. We are the service generation. The same ideas of service learning that are found in my community in Omaha, Neb. or in Clay’s community in Lake Park, Ga., are also found in youth around the world.
Each day the summit had a fresh set of faces, each open to discussion and conversation, and each person had a fascinating story. Though I could not speak the native language of Colombia –Spanish–I was able to understand their work through their actions. Even with locational, lingual, and cultural differences, I was able to connect with a diverse group of youth because we had one common trait – the understanding of service learning and the role that service learning plays in our lives.
I discovered the power that youth can have in making changes in their community, both locally and internationally, through examples and inspiration. The summit hosted more than eight hundred participants from across the world, all with a unique story. The role that each participant played in his or her community, whether big or small, was inspirational because they formed a global system of volunteers. As young people, we all play a role in forming a global society, and as global citizens we owe it to ourselves and our peers to take action. The conference stressed a theme - “You make it happen!” and it was clear that we, as youth, are the change that we would like to see in our communities.
It is up to us to understand the issue at hand and take the leadership to make change happen. The work of others has inspired me to explore the opportunity to volunteer abroad and one day set up programs internationally.
As the summit ended with music and festivities, we could not hold back without joining the traditional dance of Colombia, the Cumbian. As I danced (not very well I might add) I began to understand that in order to make our mark on the world, we have to branch outside of our local community and be change makers around the world, whether that means doing projects locally (such as writing letters for our troops overseas) or traveling for week-long trips to build houses abroad for victims of natural disaster. The initial steps to influence change are seated in the ideals of this summit; music, service, and adventure. First, using something like music, to bring people together. Second, using service as a medium to help the community and help people bond. Finally, using service as a sense of adventure to discover yourself. It is with these steps that we can move towards a global community of cooperation and peace.
Check out previous For the Win blog posts
- For the Win: The Language of Acceptance
- For the Win: Hope and Soap
- For the Win: Taking Action in the Big Easy
- For the Win: A Big Idea
- For the Win: It's All About Sole
- For the Win Special Edition: Making Your Mark
- For the Win: Riding the Green School Bus
- For the Win: Sharing a Love of Reading
- For the Win: Jacob Bernstein
- For the Win: Dylan Mahalingam
Ronnie Cho is an Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
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- Office National Drug Control Policy | <urn:uuid:60769843-e17c-48bc-a023-72ed2f2752ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/11/10/win-next-greatest-generation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963143 | 1,262 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Is extorsion a common crime in your countries?
Two years ago, when my grandmother was still living, someone called our house: "mother, mother, some men took me with them, I'm now inside their car, I'm blind folded, they now want to talk to you, please help me and do what they say". Then there was the voice of a man, he sounded like someone from Northern Mexico: "listen carefully, do not call the police, do not call any authority or you'll regret it. Unfortunately we saw your daughter walking alone, we kidnapped her, this is "express kidnapping", please tell me if you can pay for her life". My 87 year old grandmother inmediately called our relatives asking for money so that we could pay the ransom wanted by these criminals.
Fortunately, some minutes later my mother came, she had been in the supermarket for two hours, she was never kidnapped and she knew nothing of such calls. We later learnt that this was some form of extorsion and that these criminals were mere con artists.
Last year another group of con artists tried a different thing. They called my house saying: "This is Sargeant X from airport and border police. Your son arrived to Mexico City on an international flight and he brought a large sum of money in foreign currency, he attepted to hide this from the tax authorities and he's now under our custody. It's our duty to arrest him and bring charges. However we can make an exception if you can send 10,000 MXN to my bank account and we will free him." I was at that time in France, the good thing was that they called my friend who was also in France and he told them I was with him and that we had no intention to take a flight to Mexico City.
They actually call every home of the country using the yellow pages. They know that many Mexicans have relatives abroad so they always have the chance to find "the right person". If one number fails then they try another, and so on.
Is this also happening in your countries?
Though I'm sure it happens, I don't know how common it is; I'd say blackmail would probably be more common. | <urn:uuid:5a3ad0bb-a99a-4b72-875d-9d507c959b90> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php?topic=24288.0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988215 | 453 | 1.773438 | 2 |
If you're aiming to be green these days, I'm afraid I have to counsel you to turn the power off on your next-generation video game console.
According to Reuters, an Australian research firm has concluded that machines like Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 lead the field when it comes to consumer electronics that consume the most power.
And no, not using them is not enough. As the Australian researchers at Choice found, the machines continue to gobble up power, even when they're in stand-by mode.
The PS3 topped Choice's list, followed by … Read more | <urn:uuid:ade827eb-eacb-4bb5-839c-a06d557ed282> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://howto.cnet.com/8300-5_39-0-195.html?categoryId=2030 | 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 | 0.943251 | 122 | 1.609375 | 2 |
At SXSW this past March, I attended the “Funny People Can Make You Buy Dumb Things” panel featuring Andy Currie, writer of Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man In The World” campaign. I distinctly remember two bits from Currie: That he watches a lot of TV, which drives his creativity. And one of his particular book suggestions: A Technique for Producing Ideas (1942), a concise, 31-page guide by James W. Young, who wrote it for an advertising class he was teaching at the University of Chicago.
The book reinforced my previous research into creativity. If I could sum it up in a few of sentences it’s this:
Creativity is a process of taking existing knowledge and making new combinations — basically seeing relationships and connections. You gather your food — chew on this knowledge for a time, letting your subconscious mind work it over. Then you digest, waiting for the eureka! moment, which will most likely appear on a walk, in the shower (when you least expect it). Then you critique.
I routinely used this exact process years ago while editing Inside Out, our weekly entertainment guide for The Roanoke Times / roanoke.com.
My food — or raw knowledge — were simple calendar events. As I learned of a festival or concert or whatever, I would add the event to my big Google calendar. By seeing this calendar a month at a time, I could see connections and patterns — which would usually spark cover story ideas. I had time to work these ideas over in my subconscious mind — and could anticipate what readers might be curious about from week to week, month to month. Ideas would flourish.
Here are a few more truths worth quoting from author James W. Young, specifically about lifelong learning and curiosity:
“Every really good creative person in advertising whom I have every known has always had two noticeable characteristics:
First, there was no subject under the sun in which he could not easily get interested, from, say, Egyptian burial customs to Modern Art. Every facet of life had fascination for him.
Second, he was an extensive browser in all sorts of fields of information. For it is with the advertising man as with the cow: no browsing, no milk.” (p. 16)
[T]he principle of constantly expanding your experience, both personally and vicariously, does matter tremendously in any idea-producing job. Make no mistake about it.” (p. 31) | <urn:uuid:43e41508-b533-44a6-b081-f14b7dcac8d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://creativenewsroom.tumblr.com/post/27265558422/at-sxsw-this-past-march-i-attended-the-funny | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962095 | 513 | 1.703125 | 2 |
An excerpt from SAA President Steve Hensen\'s letter to Congress:
I write to express the grave concern of the Society of American Archivists with respect to the President’s recent Executive Order 13233 on Presidential Papers . . .
Our apprehension over this Executive Order is on several levels. First, it violates both the spirit and letter of existing U.S. law on access to presidential papers . . . This law establishes the principle that presidential records are the property of the United States government and that the management and custody of, as well as access to, such records should be governed by the Archivist of the United States and established archival principles—all within the statutory framework of the act itself. The Executive Order puts the responsibility for these decisions with the President, and indeed with any sitting President into the future. Access to the vital historical records of this nation should not be governed by executive decree; this is why the existing law was created . . .
Second, on a broader level this Executive Order potentially threatens to undermine one of the very foundations of our nation. Free and open access to information is the cornerstone to modern democratic societies around the world . . .
More. Thanks to librarian.net. | <urn:uuid:5840c65d-ec06-4593-8e92-bcad9485fc83> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lisnews.org/taxonomy/term/29?page=65 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937538 | 248 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The stories herein are often harsh, but as factual as memory will allow. For the most part the persons discussed are deceased, so if you think you recognize yourself, or a certain situation, I’m sorry.
Each entry will be a vignette told in third person perspective and in random order. It is the author’s intention to intersperse the entries with as many happy memories as the author can remember, and there are many.
So what is the purpose?
It is a sharing of deep emotional experience. It is the authors hope that the stories shared will let others know that they are not the only ones, and that the bad experiences don’t have to be self-perpetuating.
Life can be harsh, but it doesn’t have to stick to you. Break free from the bad experience and make choices for yourself about what your life will be from here. It is trial and error and mistakes will happen… learn from them and go on.
Life is not a trap. Be persistent, be resilient, and move beyond your circumstance. | <urn:uuid:b35c76ac-18d4-4953-95c5-660b5d85b0b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://latentmemory.wordpress.com/about/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957797 | 223 | 1.515625 | 2 |
One of my main hopes heading into this 740-mile trip on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail was that I would come away with some photographs of moose on the Allagash River in northern Maine. I had read on the blog of a previous through-paddler that she had seen 50 moose on the Allagash River, so I was confident I could accomplish this goal.
Along the way, as I paddled more than 600 miles to get to the Allagash River, that vision became more developed. I wanted to take a photo of a bull moose lifting his head and antlers out of river, with drops of water dripping off his antlers and ears.
I thought that without that photo my trip wouldn’t be complete.
As it turned out, I didn’t get that exact photograph, but I had a wildlife experience that exceeded what I thought was possible.
It took place Aug. 7 on the outlet for Churchill Lake. That day, Ariel and I had spent much of the afternoon sitting under some alder trees on the shoreline between Round Pond and Churchill Lake as a series of nasty thunderstorms came through the area.
As we sat, relatively sheltered by the tree canopy above, we watched as the storm put on a lightning show north of us, which was the direction we were headed. I remember one particularly powerful lightning strike that appeared to hit the ground.
Normally, thunderstorms roll through quickly and aren’t too much of an inconvenience, but in this case each storm that came through was followed by another. Finally by early evening, the storm had subsided.
Determined to continue on our journey, we took advantage of this break in the weather to get in our boat and paddle up Churchill Lake.
A little after 6 p.m., we arrived at the north end of the lake, where a rainbow emerged after the rain had subsided. As it often is after a storm, the water was calm and the paddling was enjoyable.
As we entered the outlet of Churchill Lake, two loons swam to our left. I stopped for a second, trying to get a photograph, but the birds were skittish and kept diving under the water out of sight.
After a few minutes, we continued up the outlet a little ways, before I spotted a large brown “rock” ahead of us on the right. I told Ariel to hold up. There was likely a moose ahead. Soon after, a cow moose lifted its head from the water. It was feeding on aquatic vegetation.
About the same time, other wildlife began to appear. A flock of Canada geese came into view and started swimming in the vicinity of the moose. Then, a moose calf emerged from the tall grass on the shoreline.
As I was sitting there watching this unfold, Ariel turned and said she had just seen a bald eagle on the left. It had swooped down and taken a fish.
After a few more minutes passed, Ariel again noted there was more wildlife just upstream. A family of four or five otters was swimming near some submerged stumps. One of them ventured toward the middle of the channel, and turning toward us, popped his neck and head out of the water. It then swam back to the shore.
By about this time, the large moose started walking out of the water. After taking several steps on dry land, the calf walked up to its mother, nudged against her underside and began nursing. After a short period, we heard a sound like a popping noise, like a suction cup losing its seal. The calf was finished. The pair then moved slowly toward the forest.
Amazed that we had seen this display of wildlife within a span of about 45 minutes, we headed upstream. As we paddled, I felt satisfied that now my trip felt complete because of the entirety of this experience. Plus, I had captured some images of the cow moose in the water that I felt satisfied with.
Up until this point, the trip had been mostly fun, enjoyable and adventurous. I had met lots of interesting and generous people, witnessed some scenic vistas and seen displays of wildlife. But until this experience, the trip lacked a true peak. After that evening, I couldn’t say that anymore.
Finishing the journey
The next morning we awoke at our campsite near Churchill Dam, about 90 miles from the end of the journey. After talking to a ranger, we learned it had rained three-and-a-half inches the previous day. That was great news for the remainder of our trip because it was all downriver. We would be traveling about 60 miles down the Allagash River and 30 miles down St. John River. Both can be low in August, but not this year.
As we traveled down the Allagash River, it became clear why the founders of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail had chosen to put this section toward the end of the journey. It was by far the best section of the trip. Not only was the travel easy because we were often riding the current, but there was more wildlife here than anywhere else on the trip.
In the few days that we were on the Allagash River, we saw about a dozen moose, roughly 30 bald eagles and numerous other animals.
We actually also saw more people on the water here than any other place because we hit Churchill Dam, a common starting point for trips, on a Sunday in early August, which is prime tourist season.
The only thing I regretted about paddling in the Allagash isn’t that I didn’t stay there longer. Because of the strong currents, Ariel and I wound up putting in a few long-distance days in the 25- to 35-mile range. Those came despite the fact that we took numerous breaks to watch wildlife and enjoy the surroundings.
Toward the end of the trip I was torn. I definitely missed some of the comforts of home, but traveling across the Northeast by canoe beat the rigors of daily life by a longshot.
Strangely enough, when we arrived at the eastern terminus of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail in Fort Kent on Aug. 11, 45 days after leaving Fort Kent, I didn’t feel any sense of accomplishment for completing the trail. That would come later. At the time, I was more disappointed the trip was over. I would have preferred to take a day layover in town and then continue down the river.
Mike Lynch/Lake Placid News
A moose picks its head out of the water on the outlet to Churchill Lake in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in northern Maine.
Fact BoxIntent on Fort Kent
This is the 11th and final column of a series by Lake Placid News outdoors writer Mike Lynch about paddling the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail from Old Forge to Fort Kent, Maine. | <urn:uuid:1c8857fa-25b1-450c-872c-1a22ad4b5b87> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lakeplacidnews.com/page/content.detail/id/503990/Completing-the-journey.html?nav=5059 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982353 | 1,434 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Campaigners who say the Welsh language is facing a 'crisis' will hold a protest in Merthyr Tydfil today. Members of Cymdeithas Yr Iaith claim that the commitment of local people to the Welsh language is not being matched by the Welsh Government.
Welsh language campaigners say urgent action is needed to turn the fortunes of the Welsh around.
The census published last year found the number of people speaking it in Wales has fallen in the last decade so today a rally was held in Merthyr Tydfil calling on politicians to act, as Rob Osborne reports.
Welsh Government hits back at language campaigners' criticism
The Welsh Government says it will continue to work to 'ensure' the Welsh language thrives, but says the results of the Census emphasise the fact that the language's future lies with the children and young people of Wales.
In its Welsh language strategy published last March, the government identified six areas of focus in a bid to ensure the Welsh language's 'long-term sustainability,' increase the relevance of Welsh and provide people with more opportunities to speak Welsh in day-to-day life.
The strategy recognised the fragile state of the language - and emphasised the need to promote and facilitate its use across all walks of life, with a particular focus on the use of Welsh within the family setting; providing opportunities for children and young people to use Welsh socially; supporting the use of Welsh in communities; the use of Welsh in the workplace and developing the use of Welsh in information technology, including its use with social media.
Campaigners from Cymdeithas Yr Iaith are holding a protest in Merthyr Tydfil, saying the Welsh language is facing a 'crisis.'
According to the Census, there were 20,000 fewer Welsh speakers in Wales than a decade ago. The group says neither Merthyr's council nor the Welsh Government are 'matching the commitment of local people' to the Welsh language.
As a group we don't claim to have all the answers, so we will be encouraging communities and individuals to add to these ideas.
Without a doubt, there needs to be a series of clear and bold policies from the Welsh Government in every field, but especially education, planning, housing and the workplace to reverse the decline.
We recognise the seriousness of the situation, so we are opening up our ideas for a discussion and hope to engage people across the country. | <urn:uuid:e8b27c8f-1f35-48cb-b632-91185b57f6ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itv.com/news/wales/story/2013-01-04/welsh-language-protest/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943759 | 500 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Beginning today, the Daily Iowan will run a twice-monthly University of Iowa Democrat/Republican exchange in which both sides will answer one prompt, due to the editor on the same day.
President Obama is scheduled to speak before a joint session of Congress tonight to present his long-awaited jobs plan (Spoiler Alert: It hinges on spending $300,000,000,000 more we don’t have). With unemployment over 9 percent in August, the administration’s NO. 1 priority should be to get Americans back to work. The following criteria must be met to ensure an economic climate that promotes growth and innovation for years to come.
First, we must recognize the role of government in our economy. The role of the federal government is not to create a job for every American; our government’s responsibility is to create an environment that fosters private-sector job creation. Not one public job can be created without raiding private-sector resources.
To do this, we need a tax system that facilitates this goal. During slow economic recovery, it is verifiably wrong to increase taxes and decrease certainty. To ensure we don’t damage an already weak job climate, we must permanently extend our current tax rates, which are set to expire in 2013.
We need to understand that we are operating in a new, globally intricate marketplace. Look no further than Ford’s announcement earlier this week of a $1 billion plant to be opened in India. The president must include discussion of free and fair trade in his address tonight. Removing our self-imposed trade barriers that cause outsourcing away from America will create an atmosphere conducive to positive growth. By eliminating the capital-gains tax, we can allow American entrepreneurs to be competitive with other countries and bring money earned in a global market back into America.
Tonight, we hope the president speaks on repealing the Dodd-Frank Law, which he signed with nearly unanimous Republican opposition. This law kills loans to small businesses and weakens home sales. We hope the president speaks on creating a new American energy policy. By removing barriers in responsible energy advancements, we will create American jobs and lessen our dependence on foreign countries. We hope the president speaks on repealing Obamacare, and replaces it with a bill that allows patients and doctors to be in charge of health-care decisions, not the bureaucrats. For once, we hope the president puts together a policy that is pro-jobs.
A 550-word editorial is barely enough room to draft this robust collection of Republican ideas for the economy, but it seems Obama would only need two: more spending. Obama’s previous spending efforts and burdensome regulatory efforts have done enough to damage our fragile economy and we hope for a change of course.
For nearly three years, President Obama has failed to be a leader in America’s trying economic times. If we continue down this path, the path of promulgating an Orwellian nanny state, our current rate of unacceptable unemployment will become the new normal. One day soon, we will all graduate and leave the isolated bubble we know as Iowa City. We must demand common-sense solutions from our elected leaders now, so we can ensure a healthy economic climate for future Iowa graduates.
Political grandstanding and partisan bickering will not solve the problems before us; only the resolve of an educated American people can do that. These issues, and many more, are discussed every week at College Republican meetings. Challenge your beliefs, practice self-education, and get involved in your government.
— University of Iowa College Republicans
Originally published in the Daily Iowan on September 8th, 2011. | <urn:uuid:a35e1b86-3cb6-4dab-9744-b67c32040ba5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hawkeyegop.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943669 | 739 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The Vodafone Foundation is calling on developers across Europe to design smartphone applications and services which consider the needs older people and people with disabilities. As a part of this call the NCBI Centre for Inclusive Technology (CFIT) will co-host a halfday workshop, which will take place on Tuesday 21st of August, and is followed by an Inventorium event that will end late in the afternoon of Wednesday the 22nd. The Inventorium event is hosted by the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC). The NDRC Inventorium is a programme designed to help turn innovative digital ideas into sustainable businesses.
Both events are designed to promote awareness about inclusive design and encourage developers to think creatively about the needs of people with disabilities, in this case withinin the context of using smartphones and mobile applications. The workshop and following Inventorium event will be highly innovative with the focus on cuttting edge accessible mobile application development. This is a great opportunity for current and aspiring developers to get together to understand how to create applications which address the needs of people with disabilities, including those who are blind or vision impaired. Best of all the workshop aims to inspire developers to produce an entry to the Vodafone Smart Accessibility Awards in December, which has a €200,000 prize fund for the best four apps.
During the Inventorium event developers will also get the chance to work together and create new partnerships to take the development of accessible mobiles apps further into possible start up companies and beyond.
According to CFIT's Joshue O Connor, another aim of the event is to illustrate the commercial opportunities in developing accessible applications. “As well as finding an entry for the Vodafone Smart Accessibility Awards, we hope that the workshop and Inventorium will plant seeds in the minds of developers and entrepreneurs about the value of inclusive design and act as a springboard to marketable accessible products. So we can demonstrate in a practical way that inclusive design can also be good for business.”
Visit www.cfit.ie for more information on the workshop and Inventorium.
If you would like to attend the workshop and Inventorium, please register here http://smartaccessiblemobile.eventbrite.com/ | <urn:uuid:07e32b49-96e0-4fd5-9961-be9fa1c0000e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ncbi.ie/print/node/3096 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934448 | 466 | 1.710938 | 2 |
While the government anguishes over our education system and spends much time, energy and money trying to fix what isn't broken, other areas of greater significance are being ignored. New Zealand housing is in a crisis situation and the capacity of our construction industry is in decline.
Most of the housing currently being built is for the elite market, as the cost of building a new house is now beyond most New Zealanders. The average house being built in New Zealand places us third in the OECD for size, just behind Australia and the US, and they are three times bigger than those being built in Sweden or the UK. According to last week's Listener, it is also 30% more expensive to build a house here than in Australia and, as our wages are 30% lower, this just increases the unaffordability for the majority of New Zealanders.
We have a huge shortage of low cost housing. Auckland alone needs 11,000 houses over the next two years and Christchurch will potentially need similar numbers. Our state housing stock is still below the numbers we had in the 1990s even though the demand is greater. Around 50% of our state houses are still those built in the 1940s and the shift to greater private provision of low cost rentals has seen a general decline in the quality that is available. New Zealand's housing is generally well behind Europe in quality and we have been compared to being similar to Sweden fifty years ago. Huge numbers of New Zealand families still live in old uninsulated wooden villas with inefficient heating systems and no double glazing.
Common south Invercargill housing
The government does not see the availability of high quality, low cost housing as an issue and even allows rental profiteering in Christchurch where demand is high. I was told the other day of a family forced to squeeze themselves in to a "truckers" motel due to the lack of availability of anything they could afford. The government is even actively putting the housing needs of the affluent ahead of the poor by removing state housing from areas where developers could prosper through redevelopment.
We are also having to deal with a huge back log of leaky buildings, around $1.5 billion of leaky schools to fix and another $10 billion of private structures. The repairs and rebuilds are as urgent as the Christchurch repairs and have been around for much longer.
Meanwhile, the construction industry is in decline (15% of the workforce have been lost over the last 5 years) and it isn't even being promoted as a potential career on the government's own career website. There has been minimal investment in training and building capability and the government appears to be resigned to bringing in an overseas work force when demand in Christchurch grows. Considering 27% of our youth are unemployed this lack of foresight seems almost criminal.
Even our training methods and qualifications for construction workers and builders lack the sort of robust support necessary to engage and grow a capable work force. I recently met an English builder who has worked in New Zealand for a number of years, he is passionate about improving the quality of industry texts and qualifications to that of the UK builders guild. He patiently explained to me how the texts and training in New Zealand excludes many young men (and women) who are very practical and capable but cannot engage with the unnecessarily high literacy demands of our qualifications and courses. When the need for employment is great and the demand for housing is huge we should be doing as much as we can to fill the gaps. | <urn:uuid:8b105f2b-b83e-4a21-8934-43cae7ef9141> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.com/2012/07/housing-crisis-demands-immediate-action.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97794 | 706 | 1.664063 | 2 |
As a photographer, I am always checking out photography blogs to find tips and see what new trends are popping up. Recently, I found an article that can help not only photographers but people being photographed too. Do you think you always look frumpy in photos? Maybe your pose is the problem. Keep reading to see how to improve your posing skills.
My favorite blog to read to learn great tips about photography is Improve Photography, and this post about posing tips really helped me so I thought I’d share. Here are five helpful portrait posing tips.
1. 2/3rds turn Never face the camera straight on, unless of course you’re a slender model. Then it’s ok. But most people look much better when they angle their body away from the camera. See the difference?
2. No hands Since your hands are nearly the size of your face, it’s a good idea to keep them out of photos. Your face is the most important part of the portrait anyways. See what I mean?
3. Chin down For some reason, people tend to lean backwards in photos. The result: the photographer can see all of your chin and directly up your nose. Not a good combo for anyone. Make sure to keep your chin down, so the photographer can see your eyes. Looking directly at the camera really helps so the photographer can see all of your eyes.
4. Diagonal lines Standing straight at the camera with your arms down is really boring, and it looks boring too. Turning away from the camera helps, but you still look very stiff if you have your arms at your sides. Try putting your hand on your hip to give the photos some dimension. See how much better it looks?
5. Shift weight You should always shift your weight to your back foot. This naturally puts you in a 2/3rds pose, although it can be difficult for plus-sized people. By shifting your weight to your back foot, it will align your hip and shoulder making it a more comfortable pose. See how she is all aligned?
After reading this, I must say my photography has improved. And I’ve looked better in photos, too. It’s little things like turning away from the camera that can make a huge difference in photos. | <urn:uuid:c37825a4-a368-469d-9fc1-4c18074f65d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lovelyish.com/2012/04/20/5-tips-for-looking-better-in-photos/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951011 | 471 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Enterprise Software Brings Cost Savings to School Districts Worldwide
Paper keeps getting more expensive. Printer toner may have plateaued in recent years, but at a pretty steep price point. Add to this the costs of printer and copier upkeep, and even replacement, as well as the physical space required to maintain paper files, especially as government reporting demands mushroom. Is it any wonder budget-challenged schools and districts are looking for a feasible alternative to miles and piles of paper files?
In recent years, enterprise software has grown enormously in popularity, both for the time it saves by streamlining often disparate school office processes, and for the money it saves on all of the aforementioned costs. One such solution finding its way onto more and more school networks is Xerox's DocuShare ECM Platform. The platform offers extensive content management features, including:
- Quick and easy document access with check-in/check-out tracking;
- Version control;
- Both single-word and advanced searches;
- Bimple document routing;
- E-mail, blogs, and wikis;
- Scanning for high-performance image capture;
- Access control, including permissions, password management, and customized rules; and
- SSL encryption for advanced online security.
Educational institutions of all types that use the platform have noticed extensive savings in terms of money, time, and inconvenience. Chelmsford Public Schools in Massachusetts reported as much as $150,000 in annual savings on textbooks and printing. "Xerox helped us uncover significant savings by gaining control of more than 150,000 printouts per day," said Bruce Forster, executive director, information and educational technology, Chelmsford Public Schools. "DocuShare gives our students the ability to 'log in and learn' in an interactive environment beyond the classroom, without sacrificing our budget dollars."
In addition, Manteca Unified School District in California used DocuShare to scan and archive its older paper files, to the tune of $300,000 in operating budget savings per year, not to mention freeing up physical space to build more classrooms. And a university in Peru began saving its students a wealth of valuable time by using DocuShare to give them all instant online access to course materials that previously had to be checked out of the school library, one copy, and one student, at a time.
Extensive information about DocuShare and sister application (for business and industry) DocuShare CPX, including technical specifications, features, supplemental products, and downloads, can be found here.
Scott Aronowitz is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas. He has covered the technology, advertising, and entertainment sectors for seven years. He can be reached here. | <urn:uuid:c65061e0-efd9-4ce7-9fc0-fd753ae6968e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thejournal.com/articles/2009/09/24/enterprise-software-brings-cost-savings-to-school-districts-worldwide.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947963 | 559 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Accessibility Build vs. Remodel
Do you need improved accessibility in your home? Keep these thoughts in mind when deciding to Build vs. Remodel.
With a new home every room can be designed to be accessible and located where you want it. With a remodeling you may be forced to make many compromises to get the features and functions that you need. Because remodeling will likely require you to work within your existing structure, you may not be able to change your home sufficiently to give you enough of what you need.
No Demolition and Shoring Up Expenses
When building a new home you avoid demolition costs and the structural shoring up of your home which will be needed to accommodate the remodeling.
It can be surprisingly expensive to remodel an existing home. You can likely determine the cost of the features and capabilities that you require. However, you have to add in the cost of demolition to the construction. In many cases, the required changes to the home may uncover unwanted surprises such as water damage, termites, etc. Additionally adding larger doorways, bathrooms, and hallways can add up to significant shoring up of the existing structure. It is usually not possible to determine all of these expenses precisely during the initial estimate. This is handled in one of two ways; a significant amount added to the estimate to cover the unknown or a possible cost-overrun whose amount cannot be predicted.
Efficient Use of Space
A new home allows you to efficiently plan the layout of the space to meet your specific needs. When you remodel a home it is often akin to putting "a square peg in a round hole". If you hit it with an expensive enough hammer you can make it fit. However, many times in a remodel bedrooms are lost to make space for larger, more accessible bathrooms, hallways, and closets. Often times this is the space you can afford to lose the least.
Attractive and Functional Landscaping
With a new home the site can be graded and landscaped in such a way as to still maintain an aesthetically pleasing exterior while making the home accessible. When remodeling your home, you may have to settle for site work and landscaping that is less attractive. Because your grade level, foundation, driveway, and walkways are already in place, expensive excavation and new sidewalks may be required. Wooden ramps that appear to be an "after-thought" may be needed.
Home and Lot Size are Matched
You can match the home you need to the lot that best fits your ability for access and performing maintenance. All of this can be balanced with your allowable budget.
An existing home may be constrained by lot size or elevation if additions are needed. This is especially true for small lots in many towns where lot size or restrictive setbacks may excessively limit the ability to expand existing structures.
Right Sized Home
If you sell your existing home and build a new home with no unnecessary rooms, you may have less money tied up in building your new home than you will have tied up in keeping and remodeling your old home. In many two story remodels that require the addition of a first floor master bedroom, additional space must be added to accommodate the new requirement. However, the existing space on the second floor may become inaccessible and therefore wasted. Not only is the space wasted but the heating, cooling, and cleaning of the space is still needed. Additionally you may be paying taxes on a significant part of home that you can no longer use.
Lower Energy Costs
New homes today are very energy efficient. In many cases, they can be Energy Star Qualified.
Depending on the age of your remodeled home, it will usually have higher energy costs. Older homes were not built to be as energy efficient as new homes are today. In addition to the remodeling budget to meet the need for accessibility, significant additional costs are incurred to update windows and insulation to improve energy efficiency.
Brand New and Fully Featured
With a new home typically everything is brand new. This includes heating and cooling systems, appliances, carpet/flooring, cabinets, countertops, etc. With remodeling the budget is typically needed just to accomplish the needed changes for accessibility. Remember, it is the net cost of a new home (which has exactly the features and benefits desired) vs. the cost of retrofitting an existing home to meet the need as closely as may be allowed given limitations of the home, its structure, and its location.
Lower Maintenance Costs, Extended Warranty
Today's new modular home is constructed utilizing the newest and best materials. Many materials may be specified which are either no or low maintenance. The need for accessibility may be coupled with the requirement to reduce or eliminate maintenance; or to increase the durability of products because of new wear requirements. Because of today's new finishes and improved manufacturing methods, today's materials are better able to withstand non-typical/heavy duty uses. A new modular home will come with a ten year structural warranty. The un-remodeled portion of an existing home will still require the same maintenance and be susceptible to the same wear issues of an older home.
Architect Fees, Design Fees, & Custom Design
Whether you want to customize one of our standard plans or design a completely new custom plan to meet your accessibility needs, Express Modular's fees (if any) will almost always be substantially less than any fees you would have to pay for a sizable remodeling project. | <urn:uuid:b7647289-3a07-48d8-b9cb-41a75e41cfab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.expressmodular.com/accessibility.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947665 | 1,111 | 1.742188 | 2 |
On April 29, 2012 we discussed the increase in the number of Muslims filing charges and lawsuits alleging employment discrimination on the basis of religion, and noted the statistics and a few recent charges filed.
We reported that Ralph E. Stone noted in the Berkeley Daily Planet that “although Muslims make up only two percent of the U.S. workforce,” they filed nearly 25 percent of religious-discrimination claims in 2009. He stated that “The increase in discrimination claims was predominately by Muslims, Arabs, South Asians, and Sikhs or Islamophobia. Most of the complaints alleged harassment and termination of employment. Some typical workplace-discrimination claims include comments about praying in the workplace, calling an employee a terrorist or member of al-Qaeda, racial slurs, forbidding women from wearing the traditional head scarf or hijab, and refusing to shave a beard. And there have been cases where an employee was discriminated against because other employees mistakenly thought he was a Muslim.”
On May 6, 2012, we commented on what appears to be the largest employment discrimination jury verdict in Missouri history based on religion which was rendered in favor of a woman who converted to Islam and then experienced harassment by co-workers at Southwestern Bell/AT&T. Plaintiff contended that “Nobody ever cared what religion I was before,” but when she converted colleagues began to call her a “towelhead” and a terrorist, and asked her if she was going to blow up the building.
The EEOC has now announced that Fremont Toyota in California has agreed to settle a case brought by four Afghan American salesmen who alleged that during a staff meeting the general manager called them “terrorists,” and threatened them with violence. The employer agreed to pay $400,000 and to train the dealership’s management staff. One of the plaintiffs was quoted as saying that: "The irony of this matter is that, after being labeled ‘terrorists’ at our old job, most of us found work with the U.S. military serving in Afghanistan protecting U.S. soldiers from the terrorists."
The increase in complaints of religious and national origin discrimination, and the atrocity at the Wisconsin Sikh temple this week, may or may not be related, but this employment trend is obviously one that should concern all Americans, not only employers. | <urn:uuid:bcb09978-4da4-4c38-996d-f4e5c478802c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://employmentdiscrimination.foxrothschild.com/2012/08/articles/religious-discrimination/afghan-americans-receive-400000-after-manager-calls-them-terrorists/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975625 | 478 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Armed conflict terrorised the people of northern Uganda for 20 years. Around 1.8 million people lost everything when they were forced to flee their homes.
We supported people affected by conflict in northern Uganda for years. Find out how we helped people survive.
In February 2007, The Last King of Scotland star James McAvoy visited Red Cross projects for displaced people in northern Uganda. Watch a video about his trip.
Read the incredible stories of people who lost everything during the conflict, and the Red Cross volunteers helping them rebuild their shattered lives. | <urn:uuid:73e1167a-41f1-4863-8b5e-2fa30be7bb06> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.redcross.org.uk/Where-we-work/~/link.aspx?_id=6B04E5A7735A4FA1A2E04AB5C2ECA6F9&_z=z | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975781 | 111 | 1.679688 | 2 |
I love all kinds of books, but I tend to gravitate towards those that have a speculative bent. This is the reason I like novels so much, the form is entirely speculative, in the sense that all novelists are creating their characters and worlds from whole cloth. But within this effort, the opportunity for imaginative exploration is unlimited. From Phillip K. Dick creating a world in which the Germans won WWII, to the more historically based Czech society under Communism of the late sixties in Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Dick’s world is entirely speculative while Kundera’s is based on memory and experience, but both are the inventions of the author.
Emily Barton is a writer who masterfully splits the difference. Barton's second novel Brookland, while wildly speculative, doesn’t feel that way. Brookland is the tale of three sisters in the late 18th century who run a gin mill, the eldest of whom goes on to design and build a bridge that spans the east river from Brookland to Manhattan decades before the current edifice we all know and love. Through Barton’s use of archaic English and dazzling verisimilitude you find yourself utterly convinced that this historical event happened.
The story spans the years and tracks the sisters relationships, the progress of the Bridge, and citizens of Brookland in the language of the period. History breathes in this book, and you find yourself transported as you move through time. When you do step back from it, the immense effort in research of detail becomes apparent and adds another level of pleasure to the experience.
When I receive a submission for The Hypothetical Library, I'm always amazed at how much can be drawn from a brief description. Barton's hypothetical entry—Golems! A Musical—arrived as a simple one page premise about the ascent (or descent) of a young Jewish man from the lower east side of 1920's Manhattan to the bright lights of Broadway, containing within it a whole structure based on duality: a boy and girl, the Yiddish theater and Broadway, being good and living the good life, hetero and homosexuality, orthodoxy and worldliness. And that's just the novel part of it. Barton doubles up again with a story inside the story, a play is embedded within the novel. Naturally this play also features doubling—two men who create two Golems to win the hearts of two girls—and examines the pairings of effort versus ease, the mystical and the earthly.
In that spirit I decided to do two parts for this hypothetical book: a book cover featuring the slightly kitschy, and hilarious Broadway approach for the novel, and a more somber period-style Yiddish theater poster of the play inside the novel, Di Goylemim.
With each submission to The Hypothetical Library I ask the authors, if possible, to approach other authors to provide an actual cover blurb for their hypothetical book, and this time I am very happy to say we have author Michael Chabon. He penned one of my personal favorites, The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, so I am very excited that he provided the well-deserved praise for Ms. Barton’s hypothetical book.
So with out further ado I give you Golems! A Musical/Di Goylemim.
Golems! A Musical—The hypothetical flap copy
Golems! A Musical—The hypothetical flap copy
But Shlomi dreams of more than just Raisl-darned socks and embroidered yarmulkes—he wants to be a player in that glittering Second Avenue world, not just a bootblack at its fringes. For years, he has climbed each night to his cramped room and worked on what he hopes will be his ticket out of the ghetto and into Raisl Gold’s heart: his great play, his masterpiece, Di Goylemim.
Di Goylemim tells the story of Mendele and Shimmel, two tailor’s apprentices who, bored with the mundanity of their day jobs, decide to make things more interesting—and with any luck lighten their workload—by fashioning a golem out of clay and old fabric scraps. Shlomi is ecstatic when his play captures the imagination of the urbane, up-and-coming producer Pinchas Meyer. But he despairs when, in Meyer’s hands, the script begins to change. Mendele and Shimmel become sassy, scarf-flipping Michael and Scott, the play becomes a musical—Golems!—and the show’s big numbers, “Saturday’s A Fine Day for Lighting A Fire” and “Boy Oh Boy That’s Bacon!,” have preview audiences all atwitter about how Golems! could easily make the leap from Second Avenue to Broadway.
Shlomi Berenfelt is on the verge of success, but at what cost? Do caviar and champagne lead inexorably to treyf, as Meyer’s script suggests? Will Pinchas lead him toward glowing reviews, financial rewards, and the love that dare not speak its name to its bubbe—but away from Torah and Raisl? Can he bear to have his name on the marquee of a play that features the dance number “A Friday Night, An Elevator, and You”?
In this gaslit spectacular of a novel, Emily Barton brings to life the Lower East Side in all its glory: pickle barrels stinking, kreplach frying, the theaters filled with raucus song, the boys more than a little feygele. Golems! A Musical is a humorous and tender look at how one man navigates the journey between his heritage and the sparkling new world in which he hopes to succeed. Above all, it is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
The promotional quote—Michael Chabon
"The world of Second Avenue in its raucous heyday—frying onions, violins, greasepaint and ganefs--has been waiting for the hand of an enchanter to come and wake it from its long slumber. Now comes Emily Barton to write her magic inscription and bring that world wildly to life."
Di Goylemim Poster
As soon as I read Emily Bartons’s proposal for Golems! A Musical I knew I wanted to do a Yiddish Theater poster along with the book cover. The Yiddish Theater is fascinating history—An entire rich world quickly fading from memory, but kept alive by a very few. Yiddish is almost dead, only spoken with regularity by the Orthodox Hasidic community, and only peppers speech in English (Oy vey!), but it once lived throughout the world as a vibrant and expressive language.
The Yiddish Theater straddled worlds—on the one hand it lived in America as a way of reassuring recent jewish immigrants that their culture could remain in tact, but on the other, helped them to modernize and integrate. It was an art form that contained within itself, its own destruction. The posters of the time reflect that transition—starting early on completely in Yiddish, then a combination of English, and Yiddish, and then almost entirely in English. You can trace the life and death of the Yiddish theater through the posters over time.
Although Barton’s story takes place in the mid 1920’s, I’ve emulated what is probably a later style—more mid 1930’s, but I thought it would best reflect on the transitional nature of Shlomi Berenfelt’s dilema, just as his story reflects the transitional nature of Jewish culture of that time.
Since most, if not all of you, can’t read Yiddish (myself included) I’ve created an annotated pdf with the english translation of each of the Yiddish phrases—just click on the yellow word balloons and a text box will pop up with the english version. Download Di Goylemim_poster_final_5
About the translation
As I mentioned above I can’t read Yiddish, or Hebrew for that matter (I’m a shaygetz from central Ohio. What do I know from Yiddish—nu?). As a result I needed a lot of help for the poster, so I’m sending a very public thank you for the Mitzvah from my friends, and friends of friends: Michael Schreiber, David Yankelewitz, Masha Rudina, Julian Ribinik, and Rivka Lichtenstein (all the way from Israel, no less!). A very big Toda to one and all!
Emily Barton is the author of two novels, The Testament of Yves Gundron, which was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a San Francisco Chronicle Book of the Month, and received the Bard Fiction Prize, and Brookland which was also a New York Times Notable Book, and was chosen as one one of the twenty-five best 2006 works of fiction and poetry by the Los Angeles Times. She currently teaches at Yale, and soon at Columbia’s MFA program. She also writes essays, and book reviews, the most recent of which (yesterday) appeared in the Los Angeles Times, and can be seen here.
Emily recently was interviewed on WAMC’s outstanding show “The Roundtable” and she gave The Hypothetical Library a mention which made me blush, and leave the room when I listened.
You can visit her site for more information here.
Next: China Miéville | <urn:uuid:a3fe6291-5e97-4223-a63c-49037a0b050a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hypolib.typepad.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945266 | 2,020 | 1.625 | 2 |
For the last seven years, Alcon Laboratories Inc. has broadcast a medical procedure from the Ambulatory Surgery Center of Louisiana, live, via satellite, to the American Academy of Ophthalmologists' annual convention, as part of a teaching program that offers CME credit for the physicians in the audience.
This year, there was a big problem six weeks before the broadcast. The host facility, the Ambulatory Eye Surgery Center of Louisiana, run by world-renowned eye surgeon, Stephen F. Brint, MD, is in Metairie, a New Orleans suburb. (Brint is also an associate clinical professor of ophthalmology at Tulane University.) And in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Brint's clinic was wet — and it wasn't expected to be up and running in time for the AAO convention in October.
“It takes a year's planning to do this,” says Carol O. Duke, BS,medical education director, with Fort Worth, Texas — based Alcon. “Then Katrina hit, then Rita hit. For three weeks, we didn't know what had happened at the surgery center because Dr. Brint and his people couldn't get back in there. Then we found it had a couple inches of water. It wasn't washed away, but in a surgery center, it was major. There's always something. But never have we had anything like this,” she adds. “Never this challenging. Each day brought a new twist to the saga.”
Boyd to the Rescue
The complications reached far beyond the venue issue. The surgeonconsisted of U.S. and international doctors who had obtained a one-day teaching medical license from the State of Louisiana. Moving the procedures out of state would be a logistical nightmare, as they would have to meet the requirements of the new destination and there just wasn't enough time.
Duke did, nonetheless, consider other domestic and international locales before finding a facility in Baton Rouge that offered to host Brint and his visiting faculty from New York, Ohio, Japan, Argentina, and Brazil.
“So I had the facility,” Duke says. “And I had hotel rooms for 35 people in Baton Rouge. Then, due to local issues in Baton Rouge, we lost the hotel rooms within 2 weeks of the program. Now I had a surgical facility but no rooms for the doctors to sleep. At one point we talked about having the surgeons just go to Chicago and show videos of previous surgeries. But we really wanted to offer the live surgery demo if at all possible.”
Instead of canceling, Duke called New Orleans — based destination management specialist Bonnie Boyd, president of Bonnie Boyd and Company. Only one problem: Boyd, like many other residents of the Crescent City, was relocated by the hurricanes.
“I didn't even know where Bonnie was — I just knew she wasn't in her home,” Duke says. “I called her cell phone and hired her to start looking for a new hotel for me in Baton Rouge.”
Boyd's office, in the New Orleans Central Business District, is just four blocks from the badly damaged Superdome. But her office survived the storm intact. And her home in the Garden District was relatively unscathed. “We were among the lucky ones,” she says. “I have four staffers who lost everything. They're coping; They're glad to have a place to work.”
Grateful herself for the work at a time when most of her business was washed away, Boyd searched high and low. But there wasn't a spare room to be found within 100 miles of Baton Rouge. She even called plantation owners and inquired about pitching tents for the doctors. Then Boyd called her old friend Hans Wandfluh, president and general manager of the Royal Sonesta Hotel, located in the heart of the French Quarter. He guaranteed her that he could make the meeting happen.
Pre-Hurricane Katrina, the Royal Sonesta was an around-the-clock operation with 500 employees. After the big blow, the staff consisted of a mere 140 men and women, most of whom were themselves residents of the 484-room hotel.
“We work around the clock,” Wandfluh says. “Our people are willing to do all kinds of jobs they never did before. We have front-desk agents who were never agents; waiters who were not waiters. Our gourmet restaurant is not open; our informal restaurant is. All our bars are open. We try to make it as simple as possible for employees.”
Boyd was warned that her guests should not expect to find the usual quiet hotel from pre-Katrina days because of the FEMA staffers and construction workers on the premises. But the doctors were excited about the adventure.
Chef Paul Prudhomme, proprietor of the world-famous restaurant K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, was Boyd's next call. He was in China, promoting New Orleans cuisine. Prudhomme promised to come home and cook for Boyd's guests.
New Orleans officials thought Boyd was crazy. “They told me: ‘You can't do this; you can't do that,’” she recalls. ‘You won't have this; you won't have that.’” To which Boyd replied, “Why the hell not?”
With lodgings arranged in New Orleans and the surgery set in Baton Rouge for Saturday, October 15 from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., Carol Duke reported back to Brint and his administrator. Brint told her that it was nerve-racking enough for the surgeons to do an operation live with a thousand people watching them — they didn't need the additional stress of driving back and forth from Baton Rouge the morning of the surgery. He told her he would get his center up and going and recertified in time for the broadcast.
Brint's first major task was locating his staff. Some are still not back in their homes, but enough of them were found to repair and restore the surgery center. Then they had to find patients. “Before Katrina, in normal times, Dr. Brint would have a backlog of people already scheduled for procedures,” Duke says. “What they did was call scheduled patients first to see who was still in town and wanted their surgery.”
With the lodgings and surgery set for New Orleans, the surgeons would still have to fly in and out of Baton Rouge; There were no other options.
As much faith as Duke had in her friend Boyd — and Boyd in Wandfluh — the unstable situation in much of New Orleans still left her uneasy. “All along the way, I asked Bonnie, ‘Are you sure about this?’ She kept reassuring me. She said, ‘It's good, it's good.’ I have a lot of faith in Bonnie Boyd; her word was good enough for me; I didn't worry after that,” says Duke.
When the surgeons arrived in New Orleans on Friday, October 14, they checked into the Royal Sonesta and made an introductory visit to Brint's facility to familiarize themselves with the physical plant and the production plan. Then they were feted with red carpet treatment at K-Paul's restaurant, which reopened just in time to welcome them — and with Prudhomme himself on hand to cook for them. It was the first business the popular dining spot had done since Hurricane Katrina hit.
“It was quite inspirational,” Duke says. “And in all the years I've done it, this was the finest faculty dinner we've ever had. We invited all of Dr. Brint's staff and the faculty and Chef Prudhomme and Hans Wandfluh to join us.”
Ironically, the curfew in the French Quarter was lifted that very night. The next day, Saturday, was showtime.
Of Saints and Surgery
The New Orleans office of AVW-TELAV Audio Visual Solutions brought in all the necessary audiovisual equipment for broadcast and satellite uplink from the surgery center, connecting with a satellite pickup at McCormick Center's Arie Crown Theater in Chicago, where the American Academy of Ophthalmologists' annual convention was in progress.
In a normal year, the program moderator would begin by introducing the visiting faculty panel, then lead into the first live case. This time the moderator went instead to Brint, who explained what he and his staff did to get the eye surgery center up and running again. Brint did a walk-through tour of his center, thanking his staff on camera for their remarkable dedication and performance under adverse circumstances. He wanted everybody to know the facility was fine and that people were coming back to New Orleans.
And despite all the complications and just plain craziness, the surgery went off without a hitch.
When the broadcast was almost over, Duke instructed the AV team to add a little New Orleans seasoning to the conclusion: “When The Saints Come Marching In.” “The whole audience just erupted in applause,” reported Duke's colleague, Deborah Berry, who managed the audience side of the program for Alcon.
After the live surgery, Duke got on a bus with the surgical faculty for the two-hour ride to Baton Rouge, where they boarded the only American Airlines flight to Chicago and attended the remainder of the convention.
“The live broadcast was the talk of the meeting,” she says. “The doctors were shocked that we could continue on. It felt really good to accomplish what we set out to do. Even with all the roadblocks — literally! — we still went back to the original plan. Everybody had heard so much bad news about New Orleans; this was good P.R. for the city.”
Royal Sonesta Survival Story
Hans Wandfluh, president and general manager of the Royal Sonesta Hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans, combined disaster planning, business smarts, fortunate geography, and a garbage truck in an unparalleled recovery for his landmark facility.
“Our hotel sustained little damage,” he says. “I stayed here through the storm with a staff of 30. We stayed the whole time. We defended the hotel. We got a generator quickly to power up and the hotel never really closed. We sent [staff in] our laundry truck to Mobile, Ala., to go shopping. We lucked out; the water only came to the middle of the 200 block of Bourbon Street.” (The hotel is at 300 Bourbon Street.)
When the storm ended, instead of throwing open the doors to welcome the world back in, Wandfluh actually nailed the doors shut because of the simultaneous looting and rescue operations.
Cleanup after the storm was easier than for other properties because “we have our own garbage truck, so we were able to get rid of all our trash where other hotels had to wait a month to clean out,” Wandfluh says.
How many hotels own their own garbage truck? And why would they want to?
If you've ever been there, you know that the streets in the French Quarter are not as wide as in other parts of New Orleans. For city-owned trucks to come rolling through the streets and alleys to pick up a standard big bin is difficult. The trucks almost always damaged the Royal Sonesta. So Wandfluh got fed up and bought his own garbage truck.
“The insurance is high on it — I was going to sell it,” he says of his mindset shortly before Katrina. “But now! Little did I think a garbage truck would be so important to a hotel! We even took it out and cleaned up the 300 block of Bourbon Street with it. The 200 block was dirty, the 400 block was a mess, but 300 was beautiful! And my guys just did it. I didn't even have to ask.”
“As for the trash, it was dangerous to get rid of it,” he continues. “The police weren't willing to give up manpower to give our truck safe passage in and out of town. But when we offered to move their trash, it became a horse of another color. Sanitation becomes one of the most important things in a situation of this nature.” | <urn:uuid:43494c87-9183-42c7-a229-f7ec7bb657e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://meetingsnet.com/medical-meetings/braving-big-easy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982095 | 2,568 | 1.53125 | 2 |
With Edgar, who was naturally pious, the system produced no evil result; but with Edwy the effect was most sad. He had become, as we have seen, deceitful; and a character, naturally fair, was undermined to an extent which neither the king nor Dunstan suspected.
The reader may naturally ask how could Dunstan, so astute as he was, make this mistake, or at least suffer Edred to make it?
The fact was that Dunstan understood the affairs of state better than those of the heart, and although well fitted for a guide to men of sincere piety, and capable of opposing to the wicked an iron will and inflexible resolution, he did not understand the young, and seemed to have forgotten his own youth. Sincerely truthful and straightforward, he hardly knew whether to feel more disgust or surprise at Edwy’s evident unfaithfulness. He little knew that unfaithfulness was only one of his failings, and not the worst.
A few nights after Elfric’s arrival, when the palace gates had been shut for the night, the compline service said, the household guard posted, and the boys had retired to their sleeping apartments, he heard a low knock at his door. He opened it, and Edwy entered.
“Are you disposed for a pleasant evening, Elfric?”
“Such pleasure as there is in sleep.”
“No, I do not mean that. We cannot sleep, like bears in winter, during all the hours which should be given to mirth. I am going out this evening, and I want you to go with me.”
“Yes. Don’t stand staring there, as if I was talking Latin or something harder; but get your shoes on again—
“No; you had better come down without shoes; it will make less noise.”
“But how can we get out? I have not the least idea where you are going?”
“All in good time. We shall get out easily enough. Are you coming?”
Half fearful, yet not liking to resist the prince, and his curiosity pressing him to solve the secret, Elfric followed Edwy down the stairs to the lower hall, where Redwald was on guard. He seemed to await the lads, for he bowed at once to the prince and proceeded to the outer door, where, at an imperious signal from him, the warder threw the little inner portal open, and the three passed out.
“Is the boat ready?” said Edwy.
“It is; and trusty rowers await you.”
Redwald led the way to the river’s brink, and there pointed out a skiff lying at a short distance from the shore. At a signal, the men who manned it pulled in and received the two youths on board, then pulled at once out into the stream.
“How do you like an evening on the river?” said Edwy.
“It is very beautiful, and the stars are very bright tonight; but where are we going?”
“You will soon find out.”
Finding his royal companion so uncommunicative, Elfric remained silent, trusting that a few minutes would unravel the mystery. | <urn:uuid:e96f0d9f-d3c1-4dba-9867-39860f05cd9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/13215/22.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979891 | 694 | 1.5 | 2 |
When we talk about sex in our puritanical culture, it freaks everybody out. So when we talk about being homoSEXuals, and we fight for our homoSEXual rights, and we want our homoSEXual history to be known, all anybody's hearing is SEXXXXXX.
What if we talked about LOVE instead?
What if we had the media call us "HomoLOVEuals?"
What if we fought for our homoLOVEual rights?
Our homoLOVEual history?
Wouldn't it change everything?
|Ali and me|
It made a huge impression on Ali. He asked if he could take his photo with me (he emailed me a copy of it, above) and told me proudly that I could quote him:
"I AM A HomoLOVEual. I will NEVER call myself a homosexual again!!!!!
- Ali Babu Che Johnson
It was a great moment, and I had to share.
And I got to thinking, I want this idea to spread. I want our conversations to be about LOVE. I think this can, person by person, help change the world...
To help that happen, I created a new website, homoLOVEual.com, to present the idea, and then let people add their own photos and statements of homoLOVEual identity and/or support. (Gotta love our allies!)
So please go check out homoLOVEual.com, and let me know what you think.
And if you agree that we should be talking about LOVE, let me know.
I am a HomoLOVEual! How about you? | <urn:uuid:d940b41c-61dd-4fc6-8e26-e16bc14ea4b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.leewind.org/2012/07/i-am-homoloveual.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93302 | 352 | 1.507813 | 2 |
This week in Island history
The news of 10 and 15 years ago is from the Jamestown Press. The news of 25, 50, 75, and 100 years ago from the Newport Daily News comes from the collection of the Newport Historical Society.
100 years ago From the Newport Daily News, August 7, 1906:
Steamer Beaver Tail made a special trip last evening to accommodate an automobile party.
From the Newport Daily News, August 8, 1906:
Steamer Conanicut carried a large number of people on her late trip last evening to view the illumination of the battleships. The searchlight on the flag on cruiser Denver near the breakwater seemed to attract the crowds and she was applauded by the passengers each time the boat passed her.
From the Newport Daily News, August 9, 1906:
At 6 o'clock last evening the fleet of battleships which have been anchored off the east harbor since the first of last week, hoisted anchor and proceeded to sea, and the maneuvering of the ships as they swung into line was watched by crowds on shore. Although hundreds of the sailors have been ashore during the fleet's stay, not one complaint has been heard as to their conduct, while the officers have expressed their appreciation of their entertainment at the hotels and in the cottages.
From the Newport Daily News, August 10, 1906:
Beavertail has been visited the past three days by more than the usual number of automobile and carriage parties, the attraction being the New York Yacht Club fleet as it passed the point in entering and leaving Newport harbor.
75 years ago From the Newport Daily News, August 8, 1931:
During the electric storm which passed over the island at 5:45 last evening box 35 sounded, calling the apparapercent tus to the home of George Howland on East Shore road, where the lightning struck the radio wires and did considerable damage to the woodwork and the walls in the room where the radio was located.
Lights were out in all sections of the island for one and a half hours, and a delay was caused on the 6:30 ferry owing to the lack of electricity when docking the boats.
50 years ago From the Newport Daily News, August 6, 1956:
A driver stepped off the Jamestown ferry for a cooling swim yesterday afternoon while the boat plodded toward Newport carrying his car.
From the Newport Daily News, August 9, 1956:
The state today became owner of the 280-year-old Jamestown Ferry system. Title passed to the Jamestown Ferry Authority from the Town of Jamestown at a bill of sale signing last night.
The Saralu II, a 30-foot sport fishing boat, was launched yesterday at the Wharton Shipyard in Jamestown.
25 years ago From the Newport Daily News, August 7, 1981:
The School Committee awarded a contract Thursday night to a Newport firm to build an audio visual and storage room in the Jamestown School cafeteria.
From the Newport Daily News, August 11, 1981:
The proposed new Jamestown Bridge could cause a 152 study (by Wilbur Smith and Associates) says that a new bridge would not cause an immediate population increase, but urges state and local planners to be ready to help local communities if and when these growth pressures occur.
The Jamestown Ambulance Association is making its first appeal for funds in over four years. Cmdr. Robert L. Broadhead said many financial emergencies have risen with the all-volunteer association that require extra money.
15 years ago
From the Jamestown Press, August 8, 1991:
Members of the Town Council will discuss their concerns over the new cross-island road with high-ranking officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Friday at 10 a.m. at the Town Hall.
The Town Council may consider picking up a tab for an archeological survey needed to build a new senior center, but not before the seniors themselves "explore all the various avenues for funding."
10 years ago From the Jamestown Press, August 8, 1996:
The Golf Course Study Committee is scheduled to make its recommendations on what should be done with the town-owned golf course at the Town Council meeting Tuesday, Aug. 13. Although a complete report is not yet available, minutes of its meetings indicate that the committee will suggest that the town continue to lease the nine-hole course.
The second annual Jamestown Island Paddle, a kayak race around most of Conanicut Island to raise money for the Jamestown Senior Center, will be held Saturday, Aug. 17, beginning at the town beach at East Ferry. | <urn:uuid:a6a4c335-aae6-49c0-a984-79aaa34ba1d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jamestownpress.com/news/2006-08-10/Island_History | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944146 | 964 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Cummins Power Generation will conduct web seminars June 29 and July 15 concerning the EPA’s implementation of Phase III emission standards for gaseous engines that go into effect Jan. 1, 2011.
Phase III standards will impact the exhaust and evaporative emissions standards for all installed gasoline and LP generators. To assist OEMs who use generators in their vehicles, the one-hour seminars are intended to educate OEM engineers on how these new emissions will impact generator installation.
“Cummins Power Generation wants to assist OEMs to be fully prepared to minimize the impact come January,” said Ed Pickens, Cummins Power Generation marketing manager. “We’re particularly concerned that smaller OEMs who may not be familiar with similar California standards get the message and prepare for the changes. All customers need to be aware of the differences in the EPA vs. California Air Resources Board (CARB) emission rule implementation to prevent violations due to misunderstandings.”
The web seminars will be at 2 p.m. EDT June 29 and July 15. OEMs should register at http://now.cumminspower.com/content/CommercialMobileWebinar to participate.
Cummins Onan Generators is a brand of Cummins Power Generation, a subsidiary of Cummins Inc. , which manufactures, distributes and services engines, fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation. Headquartered in Columbus, Ind., Cummins serves customers in more than 160 countries through its network of 550 company-owned and independent distributor facilities and more than 5,000 dealer locations. The Cummins Onan brand is found on generators and products manufactured for the RV, marine, commercial, residential and portable generator markets.
Navistar International Corp. has withdrawn its lawsuit against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) following an agreement with CARB that addresses the issues that prompted the court action, according to a news release.
Navistar had sought a ruling in a San Francisco superior court declaring that CARB was improperly certifying 2010 diesel engines equipped with an aftertreatment system called SCR that is used to control emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx). The lawsuit charged that CARB was applying certification requirements which permitted SCR-equipped diesel powered trucks to operate for extended periods without any control of NOx emissions.
The requirements were contained in USEPA 2009 guidance documents which the lawsuit also charged had been adopted by CARB. A separate court action challenging USEPA’s 2009 guidance is still pending in Washington, D.C. In its lawsuit against CARB, the company charged, “The 2009 guidance allows engines to operate for multiple and lengthy periods of time with the NOx emission control SCR systems turned off, causing uncontrolled NOx to be discharged into the air.” The company asked the court to declare that CARB’s adoption of the 2009 guidance was null and void.
Navistar dismissed its lawsuit after reaching an agreement with CARB in which CARB agreed that the 2009 guidance documents are not its policy. CARB also agreed to convene a public workshop no later than August to address the issues Navistar raised. Navistar expects the workshop to produce an outcome that will eliminate the opportunity for SCR-equipped trucks to operate with uncontrolled NOx emissions for multiple and lengthy periods of time.
“We are pleased that CARB is taking this action and we look forward to participating in the workshop,” said Jack Allen, president of Navistar’s North American Truck Group. “We expect that our agreement with CARB will result in equal enforcement of the 2010 NOx requirements for all engine makers.”
Earlier this month, Navistar’s MaxxForce DT mid-range diesel engines and MaxxForce 13 big bore diesel engines were certified by CARB for model year 2010.
As of July 1 RV manufacturers who are selling into California should be purchasing hardwood plywood and composite core (HWPW-CC) that meets the .08 parts per million standard set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
They can, however, use HWPW-CC materials that don’t meet CARB standards providing RVs sold after Jan. 1, 2011, have CARB-certified HWPW-CC materials.
”This is the sell-through period,” said Bruce Hopkins, vice president of standards and education for the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA). ”Manufacturers should be bringing in wood that is certified as soon as possible and selling the units that aren’t certified by Jan. 1, 2011.”
After that, all HWPW-CC material used to build RVs will need to be certified by an independent agency as meeting CARB requirements.
Although there are no federal standards for formaldehyde levels in RVs, RVIA last year adopted CARB formaldehyde standards as a membership requirement.
RVIA adopted CARB standards following a controversy involving travel trailers used in 2005 to house victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes. A number of lawsuits are pending in federal court in Louisiana against RV builders by people who complained about health problems after extended stays in the trailers.
RVIA is treating California’s strict new law as a national standard because the state is the nation’s largest consumer of RVs. Trailers sold in all 50 states need to comply with the standards.
When fully implemented, manufacturers will be required to affix a label on their units certifying that they comply with CARB standards and that all contents, such as furniture and cabinets, also are compliant.
Manufacturers also are required to keep documentation on all wood products they buy and sell for at least two years in the event that CARB subsequently discovers any violation during its testing process, which begins at the retail level on dealers’ lots.
May 22, 2009 by Bob Ashley · Comments Off
With struggling American automotive manufacturers agreeing to work toward a dramatic increase in fuel economy over the next seven years, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) finds its hands tied in efforts to realistically influence the outcome of any national energ Wind Power, Wind Turbine Blades, Home Wind Turbines-75% Comm. y-related issues.
That, says RVIA President Richard Coon, is why RVIA won’t be taking a more aggressive stand against the national CAFE standards proposed this week by President Obama.
“The RVIA doesn’t have any leverage,” Coon told RVBusiness. “We are still opposed to CAFE increases. We are just as adamant.”
In a press release earlier this week, RVIA urged Congress and the Obama administration to take into consideration the need the RV industry has for heavier tow vehicles.
Although Chrysler LLC is in bankruptcy and General Motors Corp. faces a June 1 deadline to restructure, automakers apparently have accepted standards laid out by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and endorsed on Tuesday by President Obama.
Under the plan endorsed by President Obama that still needs to go through Congress and the regulatory process, cars and light trucks together would need to average 35.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2016 with car standards rising from the current 27.5 mpg to 39 mpg and light trucks increasing to 30 mpg from 24 mpg.
That has many in the RV industry worried that automakers soon won’t be building trucks with enough horsepower to tow larger travel trailers and fifth-wheels.
Coon said that RVIA will continue to work with a coalition that includes the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA), American Recreation Coalition (ARC), National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the SUV Owners of America to limit fuel-mileage increases outlined by Obama.
California’s air board was preparing to set its own standard by limiting tailpipe emissions on vehicles sold in that state, and 16 other states were considering adopting CARB-like standards.
“Not having all the states setting their own standards is a plus,” Coon said. “But when you look at the auto manufacturers, they’ve got big problems at the moment and CAFE just adds to their barrel of misery.”
The 2016 date would move up by four years standards signed by President Bush in 2008 requiring auto manufacturers to meet a fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
Pickup and medium-duty trucks used for towing RVs are scheduled to be the target of a separate set of standards to be established by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) apparently has softened its opposition to more stringent vehicle mileage standards proposed Tuesday by President Obama that would mandate 39 mpg for cars and 30 mpg for light trucks by 2016.
In the past, RVIA has adamantly been against increasing CAFE standards set by the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration (NHTSA) — as have North American auto manufacturers.
In a press release today (May 21), however, RVIA simply urged Congress and the Obama administration to take into consideration the need the RV industry has for tow vehicles.
Facing the fact that the auto industry is apparently accepting of standards laid out by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and endorsed by the president, RV makers appear to be lining up behind the program this time — with a caveat.
RVIA spokesmen were unavailable for comment beyond the release by RVIA President Richard Coon, the text of which is as follows:
RVIA is urging the Administration, Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to strongly consider the ongoing need for adequately powered tow vehicles after President Obama’s proposal on Tuesday to cut new vehicle carbon emissions and raise mileage standards.
Under the proposed plan, both cars and light trucks would need to together average 35.5 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2016 with car standards rising from the current 27.5 mpg to 39 mpg and light trucks increasing to 30 mpg from 24 mpg.
A vehicle’s towing capability is a critical issue for the owners of towable products, and it is imperative that any new rules moving forward give consideration to towing attributes that will enable vehicle manufacturers to meet the need and demand for vehicles with heavy towing capability. In order to tow and stop safely, tow vehicles must have certain equipment, including a stronger transmission, a larger radiator to cool the transmission, heavy duty shock absorbers, heavy duty springs, larger tires and larger brakes. While these components add weight, they also provide safety, durability and capacity for towing.
This is a critical issue for the RV industry with towable units now making up approximately 85% of the RV market.
The goals of this newly proposed program need to be fairly balanced with the need for adequately powered and safe tow vehicles for consumers and the potential consequences on a great many industries – including the RV industry.
As an industry whose customers enjoy recreating in the Great Outdoors, we support conservation efforts aimed at preserving the quality of the environment, but serious review and discussion is needed as this proposal moves forward. | <urn:uuid:974753a4-dbd3-4b04-969d-e27ba955b6ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rvbusiness.com/tag/california-air-resources-board/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950974 | 2,314 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Developers of the Linux kernel have patched a bug that allowed attackers to remotely crash a machine by sending it malicious Wi-Fi signals. The flaw in the delBA handling of mac80211 has been fixed in version 2.6.32, the latest stable release of the Linux kernel. Various distributions of the open-source operating system have …
...linux can pick up wifi?
Embedded linux-based home wifi routers.
Woops. There's about a billion of those out there that aren't ever going to get updated kernels. So, next time there's too much contention on your local loop, crash all your neighbours' wifi routers with a single packet, and enjoy all that untrammeled bandwidth for yourself! Muahahahahahaaaa!
Almost all of the home routers are running something much older than even the 2008 flaw that was fixed. My own nearly new router is running 2.6.10, for example and I don't think the shiny 802.11n one I had for a while was running anything much newer, if at all.
These router people are incredibly conservative.
It's only the bleeding edge distros (ubuntu, fedora, and the like) with the recent kernels that are going to have this issue ...
It's described as a race, so you'd probably have to send a flood of packets rather than a 'ping of death'.
I refer you to the post of AC @Thursday 3rd December 2009 22:13 GMT below!
RTFA. There are *two* bugs. The remotely triggerable kernel panic is a different one from the race condition. From the patch:
>"The first problem is that I moved a BUG_ON before various
checks -- thereby making it possible to hit. As the comment
indicates, the BUG_ON can be removed since the ampdu_action
callback must already exist when the state is != IDLE.
The second problem isn't easily exploitable but there's a
race condition due to unconditionally setting the state to
OPERATIONAL when a delBA frame is received, even when no
aggregation session was ever initiated."
only 2.6.0 and later kernels are affected. Some home routers are running on a 2.4 series kernel
I refer you to the post of AC @Friday 4th December 2009 11:19 GMT above!
i thought linux was perfik
wintards v lintards
the penguin isn't perfect, neither is any other OS, the big difference is in the "fanbois"
wintards : Know that Bill Gates isn't the second coming. And that and any software\OS coming from a company whose top man's offical title is "Chair Thrower in Chief" is going to have it's problems. So that when something goes awry with Linux, best thing is to keep quiet as the next OS fubar is probably going to be one for them to deal with,or to quote Jerry Lawler "keep your words soft and sweet, as you never know when you'll have to eat them."
lintards : Any error from from Redmond is to ridiculed with the volume turned up to 11, and a demonstration of why big business are "Bad". And error with the penguin, is either to be ignored or is somehow a good thing as it's an open source error.
Just wait for the next Win 7 error (and there will be one), it'll take about 2 minutes for the usual "Micro$haft Windoze iz 4 lusers, da Penguin iz way betterer lol" guff to appear.
More fuel in Monolithic vs micro kernel argument?
Would this be a good example of kernel-side device drivers being a bit of a liability?
Device drivers in user space would be even worse!
You have, in theory, at least *some* control over what's running in kernel space ..... If the driver is implemented in kernel space, the necessary sanity checking can be done in kernel space where it's not subject to be subverted by a rogue user space application.
The proper place to put a fence is where as little stuff as possible has to pass through it. Not just where it looks pretty.
My laptop is not affected by this at all
....I can't install the OS on my chuffing Phillips Freevent laptop. Even if I could, I'd have to blacklist the built in Wifi.
So I'll just have to patch my desktop when the fix arrives.
WiFi has always been weak in Linux
well in parts, still better of course than another OS, before the deluded and the misguided think they can crow.
The problems are due to a mix of politics, complexity, and apathy.
Open vs closed development
Linux developers (or anyone else) announce the bugs. It helps improve the system faster and get the fix out fast. If you don't get to a bug someone else will. There is lots of peer review.
Microsoft and other vendors keep quiet for as long as possible about old bugs and new bugs just introduced. The bugs take their toll when malware damages your files or privacy AND you find out about it.
When you develop in the open, you are forced to come clean and not cut corners else you get called on it as soon as someone realizes.
Linux development also means most distros have some vulnerability or other at any given point in time, but in each case it's a different set. It's a lot more expensive to target Linux as a platform because there are many variations out there (not to mention that a would-be attacker is competing with a whole lot of people that are also watching).
Attackers with money (or a dirty scheme) can always try to buy off from disgruntled Microsoft developers and contractors for secrets, but you can't really buy off what everyone already knows and is forced to keep as clean as possible.
Linux development frequently gets contributions from enthusiastic people very motivated and learned on the product rather than being limited to getting contributions exclusively from mostly the same group of people, some of whom go to work for the money (put in 40 hours of work) and worry more about keeping their nose out of trouble than about doing the best job possible and creating waves or issues.
Linux allows for a path for experimentation/creativity and great feedback without disrupting conservative users.
Open vs. closed development: contributing on your own terms and knowing you will have many reviewers (frequently friendly reviewers) vs. cutting corners in the dark as necessary in order to meet profit goals.
Microsoft keeps secrets from you about your own computer. Linux does not.
So despite Microsoft's well documented dirty play, huge monopoly levers, track record of destroying competitors, etc, Linux continues to get stronger while Microsoft struggles a little more each day. In fact, Google is healthy because of Linux and open source. Stock markets, the Internet, supercomputer users, and many others shun Windows in favor of speedier and more reliable Linux. The Linux desktop keeps improving despite the risks some companies have taken by upsetting Microsoft in order to open specs to Linux.
And did I mention Linux (in any flavor) is $0 for life? | <urn:uuid:e965c1bb-0d1e-4786-a202-6fb6537a94a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2009/12/03/linux_kernel_bug_patched/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959481 | 1,484 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
Sat September 8, 2012
Bomb Explodes Near NATO Headquarters In Kabul
A suicide bomber has blown himself up near NATO headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. There are conflicting reports, but The Associated Press cites the police, saying at least six people were killed. The International Security Assistance Force, the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan, says on Twitter that there have been no reports of ISAF casualties.
"Pieces of flesh and splattered blood lay on the street near the base, where small bodies were seen being lifted into ambulances," witnesses tell Reuters.
NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson tells our Newscast unit "some of the dead are believed to be street children hawking trinkets." She adds:
"A senior Afghan police official says the bomber was about 14 years old. The teen detonated his explosives vest near the Italian Embassy, which is in a heavily guarded diplomatic quarter across from the NATO-led coalition's headquarters."
The explosion occurred near the entrance of Camp Eggers, Reuters reports, which houses about 2,500 coalition trainers.
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters: "One of our mujahideen targeted an important intelligence office used for recruiting Americans and Afghans for spying."
In a statement, ISAF says, "Attacks like these exploit vulnerable individuals, coercing them into committing horrible acts." It adds:
"If these reports [of the attacker being a teen] are true, by taking advantage of an impressionable child to carry out this attack, the insurgents display cowardice. Forcing underage youth to do their dirty work again proves the insurgency's despicable tactics."
Contrary to Afghan officials' reports, the Taliban says the bomber was 28, according to the AP.
The attack occurred amid tightened security in Kabul due to celebrations commemorating one of Afghanistan's most famous anti-Taliban heroes. Northern Alliance Commander Ahmad Shah Massoud was killed in an al-Qaida suicide bombing just two days before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S.
Security in Afghanistan continues to be a point of contention. After a wave of attacks on NATO forces by their Afghan counterparts, the U.S. military suspended training of new Afghan Local Police recruits. Last week, Sarhaddi Nelson reported that hundreds of Afghan soldiers had been arrested or discharged.
On Friday, the U.S. State Department designated the Haqqani network a terrorist organization. The group, operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan, has been blamed for a series of attacks on U.S. troops, as we reported yesterday. | <urn:uuid:300b4ed1-87ee-47c5-a79b-8b4ee09aad92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wlrn.org/post/bomb-explodes-near-nato-headquarters-kabul | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957551 | 539 | 1.507813 | 2 |
The Jackson Women’s Health Organization – also known as Mississippi’s only abortion clinic – has asked a federal court to block a new law that could force the clinic to close. The law, which is set to go into effect on Sunday, July 1, would require abortion providers to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. The clinic is also requesting more time to try and comply with the law; clinic representatives say that they began applying for the privileges several months ago, but have been unable to obtain them at any hospital located within a half-hour drive from the clinic. Representative Sam Mims, who sponsored the bill, has asked the state’s Department of Health to deny the clinic a grace period.
Unsurprisingly, the law’s supporters claim that their intent is to protect women. Of course, the fact that all of the OB/GYNs currently working at the clinic – all of whom fly in from out of state – are board-certified hasn’t seemed to made an impression on these politicians, who have not been shy about also stating their opposition to abortion. Mims has said, “My hope is that the women that are making these choices will now choose life, that they will realize that life begins at conception,” and he’s far from the only prominent abortion opponent supporting the law. As the Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of Jackson Women’s Health, pointed out,
“Supporters of the measure have made it abundantly clear the regulations were intended to shut the clinic down:
- Governor Phil Bryant, when vowing to sign the bill, said that he would “continue to work to make Mississippi abortion-free.”
- The state’s Lt. Governor Tate Reeves stated that “the measure should effectively close Mississippi’s only abortion clinic” and “end abortion in Mississippi” when the bill passed the state Senate in April.
- State Senator Merle Flowers told reporters that “There’s only one abortion clinic in Mississippi. I hope this measure shuts that down.”
- State Representative Bubba Carpenter recently told a group of local county Republicans that “We have literally stopped abortion in the state of Mississippi,” and that “the other side [is] like, ‘Well, the poor pitiful women that can’t afford to go out of state are just going to start doing them at home with a coat hanger.’ That’s what we’ve heard over and over and over. But hey, you have to have moral values.”
Moral values, Bubba? Like ensuring that no woman living in Mississippi will be able to obtain safe, legal healthcare within state lines? And doing so with such a cavalier disregard for their health and well-being? That’s not moral. That’s not even in the same universe as moral. That’s pushing an agenda designed to interfere in private, protected health decisions – which actually seems pretty darn immoral.
Sarah's first book, Generation Roe: Inside the Future of the Pro-Choice Movement, will be out March 2013. For more information, follow her on Twitter @saraherdreich, or check out saraherdreich.com. | <urn:uuid:a3ce297f-ea28-42ba-8ab6-8a5aff90eacd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://feministsforchoice.com/quick-hit-mississippi-at-risk-of-losing-only-abortion-clinic.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963903 | 686 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Everyone of us get hurt one way or another in a relationship with the person you love.I want to tell you how to deal with it.
Everyone of us has experienced happiness, joy and love while being in love with a person. While in love you feel the world is very beautiful. You feel as if you could fly. It makes your world go round. You maybe someone to the world but you will be the world for that person.
You know always that everything is impermanent. It cannot last forever. The relationship with the person you love is gone suddenly. It is no more there. You are left by that person. You can't believe that it is happening to you.
This has happened to me one year back. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to cry but tears couldn't fall easily.I could feel a lump in my chest. My heart was crying. I couldn't tell my mom or sisters as I couldn't wanted them to feel pain.
When we are hurt, we don't feel like living. Our world seems hollow. We feel as everything has come to an end.
How did I deal with breakup?
I was browsing for help here and there. I was telling about my breakup to my friends as I require their support and help.
While I was on official tour to India, I stumbled accross a second hand book called " Starting over for Mars and Venus" by Mr. John Gray. He has written about how to heal our heart and move on. Our heart is broken and it needs to healed and become strong once again before finding love once again. If we don't let our heart get healed, we will be on rebound. It won't be good for all of us.I have learnt some simple exercises for healing our heart. They are given below:
Take a paper and a pencil and write down the following emotions:
1. Anger: for example:
I am angry because you left me for another person. Here, you can write about your anger about the breakup.
2. Sorrow: I feel very sad because you left me. I feel so scared. Please write your sorrow.
3. Fear: I feel scared that I won't be able find another person like you again.
4.Sadness: I feel sad that you are no there in my life.
You can explore all the emotions and write it down.
It helps alot.
I have always found that doing exercise like walking, jogging, yoga will help you alot in bringing control in your life. We become so dependent on that person. Exercise is the one of the ways to restore your independance.
I think we should remember about the good side of the relationship although tears might drop down your face but those are healing tears.
If you feel happy to remember that person, you are ready to move into a new relationship. That means your heart is healed and you can move on to find new love. I wish you all the best. | <urn:uuid:4329a8c8-3e44-4010-9f16-5f3c59660ee8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://happiness-gayleg.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-to-deal-with-breakup-of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979237 | 615 | 1.515625 | 2 |
2004 Kia Rio Repair Question
Do I need the 4" donut wheel that was attached to the middle of the front drive axle? What was it for?
That's to dampen driveline vibration. As the car ages, the springs and engine mounts will start to sag. That changes the angle of the half shafts / cv joints, and changes the characteristics that can set up those vibrations. If you remove that weight, there's a very good chance you will not notice any vibration.
17,285 answers provided | <urn:uuid:0614bcbe-7dc1-49dd-a8bc-a4b195697b77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.2carpros.com/questions/2004-kia-rio-need-4-donut-wheel-that-attached-middle-front-drive-axle | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937562 | 109 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Napalm Death is a grindcore/death metal band formed in the village of Meriden near Birmingham, England in 1982 by Nicholas Bullen and Miles Ratledge. Nicholas and Miles began their partnership while working together in the local haberdashery where they discovered a common interest in music. The group are generally acknowledged to have been the first group to invent the grindcore genre, a fusion of thrash metal and hardcore punk. However, the band progressed from these beginnings after their first two albums and became a death metal band, by which time the band no longer had any original members. Indeed, the early history of the band is one of constant member rotation - and by the second side of their debut album Scum, they did not contain any original members.
Members of Napalm Death have moved on to form bands such as Carcass, Godflesh, Cathedral, and Scorn. Additionally band members have formed numerous side projects, including Painkiller, Brujeria, Lock Up, Meathook Seed, Defecation, Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine and Jesu.
Although Napalm Death was the first band who actually coined the word "Grindcore" to classify and define the type of mu...
|years active||1982 – present|
|music genre|| Grindcore|
|current members|| Mark "Barney" Greenway|
|website||Official Napalm Death website| | <urn:uuid:916c7c09-4c88-4596-9550-ecdca118ad27> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chordie.com/song.php/songartist/Napalm+Death/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944206 | 291 | 1.742188 | 2 |
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