text stringlengths 211 577k | id stringlengths 47 47 | dump stringclasses 1 value | url stringlengths 14 371 | file_path stringclasses 644 values | language stringclasses 1 value | language_score float64 0.93 1 | token_count int64 54 121k | score float64 1.5 1.84 | int_score int64 2 2 |
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at Colorado State University
Last Updated May 17, 2013
Local emergency responders are teaming up with the university for a training in the Lory Student Center June 1-3. Campus employees, summer students and visitors may notice a large number of emergency response vehicles in the area, but should not be alarmed.
"Because the LSC is closed while it is being remodeled, it gives local emergency responders a rare opportunity to practice working together in a large, complex building," said Ken Quintana, CSU’s emergency management coordinator.
Participating agencies include CSUPD, Poudre Valley Fire Authority, Poudre Valley Hospital, Loveland Fire Rescue Authority and Windsor-Severance Fire Rescue. Firefighters and police officers will practice search and rescue techniques, forcible entry, interagency collaboration and response systems.
Early this morning CSUPD responded to several small fires involving sprinkler boxes. These incidents appear to be a prank, and the fires did not threaten any buildings, were minor and were quickly addressed. No injuries have been reported.
The fires did damage the sprinkler boxes. CSUPD is reviewing video tapes and investigating the situation in an effort to hold those involved responsible.
At this time we do not believe there is any threat to the campus community and are informing you as a requirement of our federal reporting obligations.
If you have any information regarding this incident, please contact the CSU Police Department at 970-491-6425
The investigation into the April 27-28, 2013 parties in the Summerhill neighborhood that deteriorated into riotous conditions is continuing. Fort Collins police have seven pictures of persons of interest believed to have been involved in the disturbance and need the public’s assistance in identifying those individuals.
Call 970-491-7669 to get the latest information about University operations and emergency closures, such as during severe weather.
The Colorado State University homepage, www.colostate.edu, will be updated with emergency information as needed.
The University Safety site, www.safety.colostate.edu, is the primary repository for health and safety information related to incidents on and near campus.
Campus-wide email may be used to communicate emergency information and critical updates to students, faculty and staff.
The University’s online newsletter, Today @ Colorado State, is a resource for information about university closures, such as a snow day.
All campus calls to 911 are routed to CSUPD dispatch. Additionally, the center utilizes a community notification system that allows the University to call specific land-based phones in a targeted area.
Local cable and broadcast stations may be interrupted with emergency notifications.
Many media outlets list school closures, such as snow days, and also provide information during an emergency or regarding a university closure. | <urn:uuid:e5b2daf3-13dd-4b08-8763-42baa9eb6c7c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.safety.colostate.edu/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938384 | 569 | 1.671875 | 2 |
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13 IT Commandments
"Big-bang tech projects lost their luster in recent years. Factors influencing this impression include tighter budgets, greater emphasis on short-term ROI and a handful of highly publicized failures. Actually, now that the dust has settled and the blame game is over, it's clear that most of these projects suffered more from shortcomings of business process than technology." | <urn:uuid:a1d5a945-d717-49c6-8e3e-53f329a2673d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itworld.com/answers/answer/306657/re-whats-your-it-commandment-list | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93692 | 96 | 1.5 | 2 |
|Antiques Digest||Browse Auctions||Appraisal||Antiques And Arts News||Home|
The Chelsea Physic Garden
St. James Church
The Haymarket Shoppe
A King In Soho
Trafalgar Square To Fleet Street
St. Clement Danes
Chapel Royal Of The Savoy
Prince Henry's Room
Round About The Tower
Round About Cheapside
Round About Holborn
( Originally Published Early 1900's )
"Satirists may say what they please about the rural enjoyments of a London citizen on Sunday." - WASHINGTON IRVING.
One was brought up to believe in the country Sunday after-dinner inspection of property, where unlucky week-end visitors are paraded to admire their host's corn and cattle, but I have often wondered what the English nation did with itself when in town of a Sunday afternoon. I know now. They go to Tattersall's and look at the horses to be sold next day. Tattersall's on a fine Sunday afternoon in the season is like a big reception by a not too exclusive hostess. Pretty young girls in charming frocks make the tour of the stables with their menfolk, and very horsey-looking people try to persuade their neighbours that they know as much about horses as the more unobtrusive individuals at whose nod grooms fly to strip their charges for inspection.
Since Richard Tattersall, the last Duke of Kingston's training-groom, opened his auction mart when his patron died in 1773, and founded his fortunes by buying Highflier for £2500, Tattersall's has grown into a national institution with a world-wide reputation. It still belongs to the same family, but they moved in 1865 from Grosvenor Place to the present buildings, where every Monday all the year round the auctions take place, and every Sunday in the season dukes and jockeys, horse dealers and country squires, society ladies and trainers' wives, stroll up and down admiring the horses. | <urn:uuid:ab2f9222-e371-43b4-beae-1a652cf9010d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oldandsold.com/articles05/london4.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934475 | 420 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Channels are essentially playlists of videos. These playlist can be published inside a player or published as RSS feeds. Use these calls to create new channels, search for channels, manage the channel properties (title, description etc.) and delete channels.
Manual and dynamic¶
There are two types of channels: manual and dynamic ones. The type is selected upon creation. It cannot be changed afterwards.
- Manual channels are updated by hand. Using the /channels/videos API calls, videos should be added to, positioned in and removed from a channel.
- Dynamic channels are automatically kept up to date by the system. They are compiled based upon certain rules (e.g. all videos that are tagged with soccer, ordered by date). These rules are part of the properties of dynamic channels. | <urn:uuid:ca6c0a86-9335-4224-87d4-3f1596a3b86e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://developer.longtailvideo.com/botr/system-api/methods/channels/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944061 | 163 | 1.5625 | 2 |
NEWARK — Newark isn’t considered a haven for bike riders.
Heavy traffic, a lack of bike lanes and few places to park bicycles make the state’s largest city a challenge for anyone who regularly pedals its streets on two wheels.
But Rutgers-Newark is trying to change that image to get more of the campus’s 11,750 students to bike to class. Over the last year, university officials have held city cycling tours, built a new bike park and offered free loaner bikes to persuade students, faculty and staff to leave their cars at home.
"It’s basically to get students to think about alternative means of transportation," said Brad Armstrong, a spokesman for Rutgers-Newark’s Commuter Transit and Parking Services. "We’re trying to change the commuting culture here."
On Wednesday, the university hosted the first of two Cherry Blossom Bike Rides through Branch Brook Park. More than 30 students pedaled the mile from campus to the park, stopping among the budding cherry blossom trees for a free box lunch provided by the university. Some students used their own bikes. Others used free cycles provided by the university.
A second bike tour will be held Monday at 11:30 a.m. The purpose is to get students comfortable riding in the city, Armstrong said. Campus officials want students to consider the benefits of commuting into Newark by train and cycling to campus.
"It’s a very tough sell," Armstrong said. "I’m out there telling them, ‘Hey, you can put the bike on the train.’"
Tamara Issak, a graduate student in English, said participating in similar Rutgers bike tours over the last year helped her get over her trepidation about cycling on Newark’s streets.
"It was the first time I’d gone bike riding in an urban area," said Issak, 25. "It’s kind of exciting riding the bike with other people."
Like many students, the Wayne resident said she would bike to campus if it was practical. But there is no easy way to get from her house to a train line to Newark. So, she continues to drive.
Rutgers-Newark started its bike program because it has the most severe parking problem of Rutgers’ three campuses. The school’s parking lots and garages are often full and many students are regularly late to class because they are circling the campus looking for street parking.
Parking rates on campus range from $12 a day for visitors to $626 a year for commuter students and $995 a year for students who live on campus, Rutgers officials said. Faculty and staff must also pay to park.
A 2007 study found the lack of parking was often the top complaint among Rutgers-Newark students and administrators. The study also found more than half of students driving to campus live within a half-mile of an NJ Transit train station or light rail stop, meaning they could take their bikes on the train and cycle to campus. About half of NJ Transit buses also allow passengers to transport bikes.
"It’s a practical issue," said Helen Paxton, a Rutgers-Newark spokeswoman. "But it’s also an environmental issue."
Last year, Rutgers-Newark spent $116,000 to turn a vacant lot on University Avenue into a small bike park, Paxton said. The site includes bike racks, tables and storage lockers students can rent for $90 a year to lock up their bikes.
The university also purchased five bicycles students can borrow for free with a student ID — though one of the cycles has already been stolen, campus officials said. Another 10 bikes were recently purchased for Rutgers-Newark’s maintenance department employees to cycle from building to building.
Kimberly Plank, a graduate student in the biology doctoral program, said she is proof students can bike to campus. She rides from her Newark apartment to class, about 2 miles round-trip, several times a week. She also regularly cycles to the supermarket in neighboring Harrison.
Plank, 26, said she loves the ability to get around Newark without a car. But it hasn’t been easy. Last year, she suffered minor injuries when she startled a motorist on Martin Luther King Boulevard.
"I’ve gotten struck by a car making a right turn," said Plank, of Enola, Pa. "I think they just don’t expect cyclists." | <urn:uuid:65a51ea2-328f-46c2-b3b1-11b5105f1202> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/04/rutgers-newark_host_cycling_to.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969965 | 926 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Home > Features > Winning Ugly
IPFW Associate Professor Michael Wolf studies trends in political polarization (and yes, it’s getting worse)
By Michael Summers
Fort Wayne Reader
If conventional wisdom is to be believed, there’s something about the negative tone of our modern political campaigns that turns all Americans into 1850s Southern Belles with a case of the vapors. Fanning ourselves frantically, we declare that we’ve never seen this level of nastiness in public discourse. Why, we wonder if we can find it in our hearts to support the sort of people who could stoop so low and act so vicious. To see our leaders behave so shamefully makes us despair for the future of the Republic.
That’s what we like to tell ourselves, at least. But according to the “Symposium on Political Civility” published in the July edition of PS: Political Science & Politics — an academic journal published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association (APSA) — the reality is a little different.
In the introduction to the issue, the authors concede that what constitutes civility often means different things in different contexts, and that contention and debate — sometimes very strong contention and debate — play an essential role in any democracy. But in what we’ll call our “current political climate,” incidents of political incivility often take on a particularly harsh tone that denigrates and demonizes the opposition. As a result, both “sides” adopt intractable positions that make the traditional give-and-take of political deal-making seemingly impossible. The different articles in the issue take a look at these trends from a variety of angles, including historic, and examine what sort of effect this might have on our political process.
Michael R. Wolf, Associate Professor of Political Science at IPFW, was one of several scholars who contributed to the symposium as co-editor and co-author. In the article “Incivility and Standing Firm: A Second Layer of Partisan Division” Wolf and his colleagues J. Cherie Strachen (Central Michigan University) and Daniel M. Shea (Allegheny College) looked at data gathered from three surveys conducted during the run-up to the 2010 midterm elections, and the results are interesting.
Popular perception paints a picture of the American public bemoaning the incivility and ideological intractability shown by our political leaders. “There’s a conventional wisdom that it’s just these political leaders that are nasty to each other, and the public is looking on in horror,” Wolf says.
But the data Wolf and his colleagues analyzed shows that that conventional wisdom is more complicated than it seems. “What we’re showing is that a substantial portion of the public — not the whole public by any means, but a large number — is right there with (the elected officials),” Wolf explains.
In short, many of us may bemoan the lack of compromise in Congress. We may wish our leaders tried harder to find a common ground by which… well, the business of the nation might get done. We may even believe staunch ideological positions undermine the very foundation of our democracy. But when it comes right down to it, the findings of Wolf and his colleagues “support the claim that a substantial number of Americans not only have strong policy preferences, but also reject consensual politics.”
The survey participants were divided into three categories — Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — and then those that identified as either Republican or Democrat were placed in one of three subcategories: “strong,” “weak” and “lean.” “This is the classic way that political science has measured what we refer to as party identification,” Wolf explains. “The person is asked whether they identify with one of the parties. If they say ‘yes,’ there’s a follow up, asking if your affiliation is ‘strong’ or ‘weak’. Those people who say they don’t identify with one of the parties are then asked if they tend to ‘lean’ towards one of the parties or not.”
Among the findings: most Republicans wanted politicians to stand firm on principle
rather than compromise, while most Democrats preferred politicians to compromise to get things done rather than stand firm on principle. But among those described as strong Democrats, 49.4% responded that they favored standing on principal rather than compromising, a greater percentage than strong Republicans (at 43.4%) who favored the same thing.
In all areas, those who favored principal over compromise were mobilized by perceptions of negative campaigning, even when they believed that negative political
campaigns are bad for democracy. Weaker Democrats and Independents said they were less likely to participate in campaigns they saw as negative.
And of course, it’s always the other guy’s fault — Republicans blame negativity on “liberal television commentators” and the Democratic Party; Democrats blame conservative talk radio and the Republican party.
Overall, there was also the perception that “this campaign” — once again, the surveys were taken during the run-up to the 2010 “midterm” elections — was the most negative participants had ever seen. It was an accurate observation, according to the Wesleyan Media Project, an organization that published two studies on political advertising during the 2010 campaigns.
Historically, the non-presidential election years — the midterms — have lower voter turnout, and those who do vote tend to be more politically committed. Wolf explains that the surveys didn’t ask whether the participants were registered or likely voters. “But what’s interesting is that since we didn’t filter that out, there’s a particular level of heat here,” Wolf says. “One aspect is that midterms themselves tend to be — as scholars say — more punitive. The electorate tends to view things critically. One element of the electorate is judging the president, but the president is not on the ballot, so there tends to be a more negative mood more often than a positive one. The second element, the positive voters, would be the president’s supporters, but since he’s not on the ballot, they tend not to vote as much. We ended up in the field surveying people in an especially negative year, so it might heighten our results a little.”
Of course, the know-it-all sitting next to you at the bar or the lunch counter will tell you that this hand wringing over incivility is a waste of time. This is just really politics as usual, exacerbated by the 24-hour news cycle and our media-saturated age. And he has a point. “Is this a unique period? Studies definitely show it’s not,” Wolf says. “But these previous eras of ‘bad moods’ by the public, where negative politics occur, occur around very substantial points in American electoral history, what we call realigning elections — big change elections.”
Past eras may have had the same levels of contention, Wolf explains, but they also show a more dramatic rise and fall. “This period has been steady in its development, and seems to be sticking around,” he adds. “This polarization has been a slow developing polarization.”
Wolf says that according to many scholars, this sea-level like rise of political polarization began in the civil rights era of the 60s. Then, the political make-up of the south was mostly conservative Democrats while large swathes of the north were liberal (ish) Republicans. Those sections of the country continued to send Democrats or Republicans to the House and Senate for decades after the 60s, but gradually, voters began to identify more with the overall ideology of the opposing party — the South began to send fewer Democrats to Congress, and Northeast Republicans, unhappy with the tone their party was taking, began to lean more towards the Democratic party.
I’m summarizing a theory that Wolf explains is quite complicated, with factors that go far beyond the issues of the civil rights era (it’s also a theory that not all historians and political scientists agree with). But whatever the cause… “what you’ve seen in the last two decades is that we’ve almost run out of any moderate or conservative Democrats, and moderate or liberal Republicans,” Wolf says. “As a result, there’s no middle ground to naturally start compromise. So the polarization has followed that path, and reached deeper into a voting public that doesn’t punish politicians for not being civil and not compromising.” In fact, as we’ve all seen in recent elections, incivility and an uncompromising stance can be a smart political strategy, especially during the primaries.
As Wolf says, the overall level of polarization is trending upwards, but those looking for a dramatic “spike” in that overall upward trend will find it in the healthcare debate. “It was clear that the two parties had different positions, and it’s a big piece of legislation, so it brought the party separation to a head,” Wolf says. “Most of the interest groups were off the table. The interest groups that could have been caught in the middle — American Medical Association; the American Hospital Association; AARP — came out in favor of health care reform, so what was left was a real partisan battle. After that, there hasn’t been a real budget process in place.”
And this isn’t likely to change anytime soon. “The real driving aspect is that none of this stuff shows much potential for going away,” Wolf says. “Polarization is a continuing process. There’s fewer voters who are yet to make up their minds than in past years. While the 2010 elections might have really highlighted some of the dynamics we were studying, for the long term, it doesn’t look like there’s much to change the trend.”
Many polls suggest that it’s going to be a close race for whoever takes the Oval Office this November. But it might be more accurate to say that for the foreseeable future, they’re all going to be close races. “Maybe things will clear for one reason or another,” Wolf says of this year’s presidential elections. “Maybe one party will control all the branches again, or supporters will accept the results of the election as an indicator of the public mandate, but I doubt it. It’s been a slow change to get to this point, but that also means it’s not going to drop very quickly either.” | <urn:uuid:521eda8a-08fe-4866-8960-18bc13ba7977> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fortwaynereader.com/story.php?uid=2200 | 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 | 0.964304 | 2,251 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Making Security Trade-Offs
Security is all about the trade-offs. You need a consistent method to evaluate risks and assess the pros/cons of each decision
I recently saw a research report from another analyst firm that espoused the benefits of application whitelisting (AWL). You know, the technology that defines a list of applications that are allowed to run on an endpoint and blocks anything else. It's basically default deny for endpoint devices. In concept, AWL is a great idea. Most malware probably isn't authorized to run (compromised Windows or Adobe updates excepted), so locking down the device can prevent many malware infections.
But there is a downside to AWL. It breaks lots of stuff. Sometimes workers need to run something not authorized. They may even have a business need to do so. Giving a user a grace period makes the technology usable, but clearly impacts the security model.
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So AWL involves making a trade-off. Obviously, you can favorably impact your security posture by locking down the endpoints. But you also run the risk of alienating users and impacting their productivity. Is it worth it? That's actually a pretty complicated question without an easy answer. Even better, it can only be answered by you (and your organization). And I'm not picking on AWL here -- every security control requires some kind of trade-off.
Let's look at next-generation firewalls (NGFW) with the shiny, new capability to enforce application-oriented policies. Is it a risk to have employees use Dropbox? Yup. Can you stop it using an NGFW? Yup. Will the powers that be support that decision? Maybe. Dropbox and other cloud storage offerings provide tremendous value in facilitating collaboration, and that may be worth the risk of having data in a shared environment where Dropbox employees can access it (under subpoena, of course).
It's not malicious. Your employees just want to do their jobs. And you want to do yours, which can be at odds every so often. An employee may want to access his Facebook wall, but you may believe it's an unnecessary risk. How do you say no without being the person who always says no? You need a way to assess the risk, weigh the trade-offs, and make these tough decisions. More importantly, you need to use the method consistently to eliminate any perception of bias or unfair practices.
I'd start the process by requiring some kind of formal request from the employee. You know, make them jump through a hoop to see if he really wants it. The request should provide information on the application in question, as well as the business justification for installing it. Once you get that, then you can start your side of the analysis. Check out your favorite search engine and see if there are known security issues with the app or device. Check it out and see what it does. Maybe monitor outbound network traffic to see what the application really does and where it sends data. If you are going to say no, you need to have your ducks in a row.
Next you'll want to define an escalation process, so when you want to say no and the employee doesn't like that answer, there is someone to make the decision. Does this escalation need to be a formal process? Probably not. You don't need to contract with a retired judge to arbitrate the value of Facebook Chat. But you want to make sure the employee doesn't just go over your head without some structure to how that escalation happens and who gets to make the decision.
Once you've defined your process, you'll need to communicate it to the masses. If you are going to have the ability to say no, then you better make sure everyone understands how they can get you to yes. Whether it's part of awareness training or maybe as part of your periodic security newsletter, your employees need to understand the process to get new capabilities approved or devices onto the network.
I also recommend you get ahead of the process a bit by making decisions on applications or capabilities you know are going to come up. You know, things like BYOD, Facebook, Twitter, or the aforementioned Dropbox. Do you allow it? If so, when and why? What's the process to gain approval? Can you provide an alternative that provides better security? Those are the kinds of questions you need to be able to answer.
One more thing to mention. There is a real risk to having a consistent, fair process, and that's the reality that not all of the decisions will go your way. You will end up with stuff on your network that you don't want. But that's not a bad thing. Remember, security is a game of perception and influence. Protecting information tends to get in the way of business. So by making employees justify what they want to do and giving you an opportunity to go on record with concerns, you may end up surviving the inevitable train wrecks. And that's a trade-off you can probably live with.
Mike Rothman is president of Securosis and author of The Pragmatic CSO. | <urn:uuid:4dac9672-6e8f-4ddb-a696-974c92ddf5fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.darkreading.com/hacked-off/making-security-trade-offs/240010015?cid=SBX_dr_related_commentary_default_240062617&itc=SBX_dr_related_commentary_default_240062617 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948135 | 1,141 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Full screen images for my third revision of Lock Screen Actions.
© 2013 Joshua Tucker
Many people have addressed Do Not Disturb and questioned why there isn’t a toggle for it in the iOS Notification Center. Often, the justification is that OS X has a Show Banners and Alerts feature in its Notification Center therefore it could be a viable to add Do Not Disturb in a similar fashion. The conversation arose again a few days ago, so I decided to sit down and think about my own personal thoughts on the matter.
What is written below, along with the images submitted, is a collection of my analysis on Do Not Disturb as well as my solutions to the inquiring minds. They are strictly my opinion based on my own personal experience, but I hope to shed some light on a topic I feel hasn’t been focused on as in-depth as I attend to with this post.
Do Not Disturb vs. Show Banners and Alerts
First, I will begin by explaining the difference between these two. Sometimes their differences can be overlooked and I want to put their “definitions” on the table so to speak so I can move forward with a solid foundation.
Do Not Disturb - A feature on iOS which allows the user to silence any calls and alerts from the lock screen when enabled.
Show Banners and Alerts - A feature on OS X which allows the user to show or hide banners and alerts from the desktop when enabled.
From the core, these two features are starkly different – Do Not Disturb functions only when the device is locked and Show Banners and Alerts only works when computer is in use (by nature of the OS). With that said, the implication of these features is the following:
Do Not Disturb is designed to keep you uninterrupted when you’re not using your device while Show Banners and Alerts keeps you uninterrupted when you’re using your computer.
In simple terms, one serves for when a device is not in use while the other serves while it is in use. That’s a significant difference. When Do Not Disturb is enabled and you’re using your device, it is not in effect. You still receive notifications (banners and alerts) without interruption. Therefore, placing a switch for Do Not Disturb in the Notification Center doesn’t make sense.
Do Not Disturb doesn’t mandate SpringBoard notifications (banners and alerts). Even with it enabled, the device still shows banners and alerts like normal. By placing a toggle in the Notification Center, it makes a false impression on the nature of Do Not Disturb and just adds clutter – it doesn’t make sense.
A logical response to this could be:
“Then why not make Do Not Disturb hide banners and alerts too which would make this feature work in the Notification Center?”
There are many issues with why that wouldn’t be a good solution, especially for users who have it scheduled. Another tack-on suggestion could be:
“Add a Show Banners and Alerts option within Do Not Disturb.”
Although it is an option, it adds more complexity than the user needs to handle. If the user has to think whether that option is enabled before enabling Do Not Disturb then it removes the ease of knowing exactly what you’re doing when you toggle the switch.
Hopefully, you see why I feel that a feature like Do Not Disturb and Show Banners and Alerts are two separate entities and would wreak havoc if placed together.
So, what if I want best of both worlds?
Like the title says, what if you want both features? A way to keep you uninterrupted when you’re not using your device as well as when you are? My concept photos show what I feel could be a good way to integrate them both.
In the images I submitted, you’ll notice that it has the following disclaimer:
“Do Not Disturb is enabled. Calls and alerts that arrive while locked will be silenced.”
This only shows when Do Not Disturb is enabled. Why did I add this after digressing into why Do Not Disturb doesn’t belong in the Notification Center? Because it is applicable to let the user know of its current state. Although Do Not Disturb doesn’t mandate banners and alerts on the SpringBoard, iOS still stores all the notifications you receive even with it enabled. And despite being an “advanced user” so to speak, and having a status bar icon, I forget it’s left on sometimes.
This isn’t a problem I face alone. I have had three friends in the last two months make a comment that they couldn’t figure out why their device wouldn’t buzz or ring. They mentioned they finally discovered that it was this feature called “Do Not Disturb” that was on. Two of them said it took them over a week to figure it out (the last said over a month). The prompt in the Notification Center, I feel, should help in reminding even the most “advanced” of us that Do Not Disturb is actively running. In my mind, this would always be in view in the Notification Center until it’s turned off. On top of this, having some type of alert after a significant amount of time that Do Not Disturb is turned on would be great integration as well.
But this message won’t be displayed in full view all the time. Pulling down the shade will reveal a Show Banners and Alerts toggle along with the text. Toggling it, similar to OS X, will turn off all banners and alerts from showing on the SpringBoard. When turned off, a status bar icon will show to notify the user of its state (next to the battery percentage). Since the scrollview in the Notification Center is very fluid, it won’t be hard for the user to discover the Show Banners and Alerts toggle as well as check its state in the even they forget (or don’t look at the status bar icon). You can hide the toggle and the text by pushing the view back up again.
As mentioned in the field, it will toggle itself back on again tomorrow. One might ask “Why not have a similar un-toggle feature for Do Not Disturb?” It would conflict with Schedule and wouldn’t help in users figuring out how to use all of its features.
I would love to hear your thoughts, concerns, and insight on this topic. Feel free to comment below or hit me up on Twitter.
UPDATE: I have started a project with a developer to bring this to life. Coming to Cydia in the near future.
UPDATE 2: It just dawned on me. Think about Power Nap as being the OS X equivalent to Do Not Disturb. The implication is that your device is not in use and doesn’t interrupt you (you don’t have to leave the lid open or disable your computer from sleeping).
© 2013 Joshua Tucker
As promised, here are fullscreen shots of my Reminders for Messages on iOS concept. Check out the original Dribbble post for full details.
Full screen images for my Safari for iOS New Tab View concept. This first part highlights the Top Sites tab. Original post on Dribbble.
Over the last two years, as I’ve continued to grow and learn more about design, my diligence to truly evaluate the features people have suggested for iOS and my own projects has increased. I often found myself indulging in something based on the “how cool would it be factor” instead of taking the view from the sky and deciding the validity of the idea based on the important fundamentals: security, usability, functionality, etc.
Although I have much to learn and understand, I am confident in writing my point of view on the iOS lock screen and what should and should not be accessible from it. Many times has this topic come up in discussions online and offline, but I have yet to find a solid source that elaborated on the specifics. This is my goal with these “series” of posts. I am breaking up the discussion in bite-size chunks as to not overload people, including myself. I can’t discuss everything on each topic in a post either, so I’ve opened up a way to discuss more dynamically (see Branch).
The main question of this discussion will be:
“What should and should not be accessible from the lock screen and why?”
Part 1 will focus on the issue of security.
The security of the user and his or her information on device is extremely important. Regardless of whether a passcode is set, what can be viewed or done directly from the lock screen should be an issue of great concern. As a point of critique, I will use a common feature that jailbreaker’s love; quick send.
At the core of lock screen security, I believe it’s extremely vital that a user shouldn’t be able to perform any action that requires or allows someone to search Contacts. This is why quick send from the lock screen is a fundamental security flaw. Someone can start a new message and search through all your contacts, viewing data such as phone number or email address. But one might argue “Siri allows you to call, text, etc. from the lock screen, so quick send is no different.” This is not true, and here’s why. With Siri, you have to be deliberate when you perform any of those actions. Siri awaits a direct input such as “Call X” with X equaling a value which is extremely specific. You can’t search through all your contacts via Siri, whereas with quick send, I can start by typing the letter “a” and go down the alphabet, viewing every contact and their information. That’s a big problem. One might follow up with an argument “What if you prompt the user for a passcode (if set) or require the user to have a passcode on to use this feature?” If this is a question you may have, stay tuned as I will discuss why this wouldn’t work either.
To conclude this section, if any application, tweak, or concept potentially allows a user to search through Contacts, or any data that is considered private, then there’s a fundamental security issue at hand. This is why Apple will never implement a feature such as quick send unless they are able to ensure protection of a user’s private data.
I encourage you to jump in and post your thoughts. Hit up my thread on Branch to get involved.
© 2012 Joshua Tucker
How Facebook’s New Chat Drawer Increases Inconsistency
Facebook updated their iOS application today and incorporated a new chat drawer for the iPhone and iPod touch. It’s essentially the same as the left drawer but accessed from the right side. There were a lot of other features that were added as well however that’s not the focus of this rebuttal.
I am writing this because I feel that the newest drawer addition continues to make different parts of the Facebook application inconsistent and confusing for the user. I have broken each point into its own section for better understanding of why I feel this analysis matters.
The News Feed page is the same as before with one exception; a new chat button on the top right side. On top of adding the button, the new drawer can shown by swiping from the right to the left, which means the News Feed has dual side gestures to show different drawers. This presents a problem. Native cell swipe handling has been compromised.
Using Mail as an example, users are coached to understand that swiping a cell presents a Delete button. No matter which way you swipe, the button is presented to ensure both left and right-handed people can perform the action with ease. This pattern is engrained as default all over iOS and is a known paradigm for other applications that choose to use it correctly, whether it’s a Delete button or not. Due to how Facebook handles the drawers currently, it makes it impossible to integrate any of those features in the future:
1) Deleting my own posts from the News Feed
2) Hiding posts
3) Reporting for spam
The second and third point are not features available in the mobile application. My question is why not? They very well should be and are just as important from the mobile platform as it is from desktop. These are just a few ideas for what could be added.
You may be thinking that this isn’t such a big deal, but wait until the connection is made with the section below.
If you go to your own page, nothing has changed – which is a problem. Note that the Chat button is not available on the top right side of the bar. Why? Having access to the chat feature is just as important here as it is on the News Feed. Why limit a core feature and require the user to perform extra steps to reach it? First inconsistency.
Second, the cell swipe handling becomes super sketchy here. Let me list what each swipe in this view does:
Swipe Left (Page): Shows “X” button to allow you to delete a status
Swipe Right (Page): Shows main drawer
Already at this point, it diverts from what is being used in the News Feed. Consistency is vital to user interaction; it’s absolutely invaluable. A feature is being limited and made harder to access and the handling completely changes. Not good. Second inconsistency.
Third, I mentioned above that the chat drawer can’t be accessed from the profile page (or other pages). In fact, it can. But, it’s strange. If you swipe the navigation bar from right to left, the drawer appears. Again, why? Is the lack of a chat button a bug or deliberate? If it’s a bug, then that’s fine, but either way it still adheres to my concerns. And if it’s deliberate, why hide it? Bad news bears.
Note: The handling of the profile page is the same for all other pages.
In light of my points, what is my solution? I could discuss how I feel the view should be changed completely, but for the sake of my argument, let’s go with the best way to optimize with what we’ve got. Here’s my proposition.
1) Keep the default cell swiping paradigm consistent in all places. Allow the user to swipe either way on a cell to be presented with options such as delete, hide, or report for spam
2) Show both the Main and Chat button on the navigation bar everywhere. Accessibility from everywhere is extremely important
3) Still have the ability to swipe open a drawer by restricting the swiping to only the navigation bar or make the off-screen gestures more precise. Leave 98% of the page adhering to default cell swiping and make the edges a way for you to more deliberately swipe across and access the drawers.
Feel free to hit me up on Twitter to continue this discussion or with questions/concerns.
© 2012 Joshua Tucker | <urn:uuid:40631661-3b8e-49db-b6df-a0d6b621858b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://joshmtucker.tumblr.com/tagged/iPod-touch | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9425 | 3,187 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Do you want to tell us anything, Secretary Clinton, about the importance of these folks you’re meeting with?SECRETARY CLINTON:
I do, Indira. Thank you. As I said in my formal remarks to the Forum, the value of this meeting is that government officials and representatives of civil society are at the same place, at the same time, to share concerns and to try to find some common cause. I know it is not easy for many of the people that I’m standing with to get the support and avoid the challenges standing up for human rights and for every other aspect of civil society and human development.
And I feel strongly that it is in the interests of the countries represented here to support the work that these men and women do. You have before you people who have paid a big price for standing up for democracy, for fighting against corruption, for asking that government actions be transparent and accountable. And I want to stand with them because the United States stands with them, and we want to be sure that we send a very clear message to the region and to individual leaders that it is in their interest to work with these men and women. It will actually strengthen the legitimacy and create a better atmosphere for helping to improve and develop the societies. So it’s an honor for me to be with them.QUESTION:
Thank you. And any comments on the situation in (inaudible)?SECRETARY CLINTON:
Yes. I want to see an emphasis on the freedom of the press and freedom of expression throughout the region in every country. It is, I know, sometimes difficult to report or to maintain an objective, journalistic stance without causing criticism, but as someone who has lived with a free press and taken my share of criticism – (laughter) – I’m still standing. And it is a useful check on power and an expression of concerns that should be heeded, not suppressed.STAFF:
Okay. Thank you all. Let’s go, please.QUESTION:
If I may, how is it --SECRETARY CLINTON:
How is it important for U.S. side --SECRETARY CLINTON:
Let’s let her ask. What?QUESTION:
How is it important – excuse me – how is it important for the U.S. side, the Italian presence in Afghanistan?SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well, I just finished an important meeting with Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, and we discussed about how we’re going to work to support the newly reelected president. But we’re going to be expecting more and we’re going to be providing the kind of assistance and guidance that fall within a demand for greater accountability, a serious effort against corruption, more transparency.
We’re going to try to build up the capacity of the government and make sure that we have a partner not just in the president, but in the government in Kabul and the government in the local areas of Afghanistan, as well as the civil society in Afghanistan. Because the struggle that they are engaged in and the threat that they face must be met by everyone doing more and being more accountable to deliver results.
Thank you. Thank you very much.SECRETARY CLINTON:
Thank you all. | <urn:uuid:5267e393-54e2-4f73-bc6c-cc6d88eae6e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/11/131240.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950796 | 682 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The number of trips made to Ireland in the second quarter of this year was up by almost 250,000 compared with the same period last year, official figures show.
The Central Statistics Office said there were just over 1.78 million trips made to Ireland in the three months, up 15.6% or 240,200 from a year earlier.
The biggest increase came from continental Europe, with visitor numbers to Ireland up 24%.
Visits from Ireland's biggest tourism market, Britain, grew by 8.5%, while trips from North America were up 17%. Trips from other countries rose by 21.3%.
For the first six months of the year, visits to Ireland were up 12.7% - or 333,000 - compared with the same period last year, with the strongest growth again from continental Europe, which was up 17.6%.
The CSO said Irish people made 1.77 million trips abroad during the second quarter, up 5.9% from a year earlier.
This figure had been on a downward trend since late 2008. The figure for the first half of 2011 is still 2.3% lower, however, compared with the same period in 2010.
The total number of trips made - which includes trips made into and out of Ireland - was up 10.5% from a year earlier to 3.55m in the second quarter.
Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar said that although comparisons with the first half of last year were distorted by the impact of severe weather and volcanic ash, the figures confirmed indications that travel to Ireland was recovering.
He said Britain, which was also affected by ash, recorded slower growth of 6% in the first half of this year. | <urn:uuid:acf805d2-ec24-4562-9428-cb21395033f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0823/305221-tourism/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983717 | 349 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Federal law enforcement officials, private lawyers seeking to recover money for victims and even some of Stanford's former aides say that his fraud likely would have been discovered years earlier if it hadn't been for the collective assistance of respected law firms, accountants and Kroll.
Kroll, the law firms and accountants have said they acted in good faith, but were duped themselves.
Citing "legal reasons," Kroll said it could not comment on "these specific events," but added that "none of the individuals associated with the investigation six years ago are currently employees of Kroll."
Cash left Kroll in 2009.
The firm said it "takes active steps to ensure that the company conducts its business activities in compliance with the laws of the countries in which it operates."
(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)
Stanford considered Winer one of the most serious threats to unmask his Ponzi scheme as early as the late 1990s, during Winer's service as deputy assistant secretary of state for law enforcement. Among Winer's responsibilities was to combat international money laundering and encourage greater regulation of offshore banks, such as those headquartered in Antigua.
By locating his bank there, Stanford was able to evade regulation and oversight from U.S. authorities, while Antiguan banking regulators allegedly took bribes and other favors to turn a blind eye to his activities.
Over several years, Winer joined federal regulators and members of Congress, including then-Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, in calling for legislation that eventually limited U.S. operations of countries that permit bank secrecy, perhaps indirectly leading to the exposure of Stanford's fraud.
What provoked Stanford to ask Kroll to investigate Winer for a second time was a May 2006 article about Stanford by Bloomberg news service. Bloomberg reported that Stanford had falsely claimed, in donating $2.5 million to restore the home of Stanford University founder Leland Stanford, that he was a relative of the late Leland Stanford. In a statement to Bloomberg, university officials denied any such "genealogical relationship between Allen and Leland Stanford."
The story quoted Winer by name, leading Stanford to believe that Winer was behind it, according to correspondence obtained by McClatchy Newspapers.
But what upset Stanford the most was something not contained in the story, but in questions that Bloomberg reporters posed to him. They suggested that the returns Stanford's bank promised investors were implausibly high or that Stanford was even running a Ponzi scheme, according to the correspondence between the reporters and Stanford aides.
(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)
Worried that someone might raise those questions in print, Stanford emailed Cash about Winer on June 8, 2006: "Tom, I want an in depth profile, credit history, marriage, kids, work personal quirks."
"We are presently doing just that," Cash emailed back.
Stanford followed up the next day: "Do whatever it takes to zero in ... I bet you can find a way to get Winer's divorce decree unsealed. The guy is pure cockroach and he keeps surfacing and saying all this insane BS to whoever will listen."
Cash emailed back that he was "exploring contacting the judge" about the divorce records or filing a freedom of information lawsuit.
Before the day was over, Cash triumphantly emailed: "Our info is wife by whom he had two children divorced him and ran off with another woman. Wife also was a lesbian."
Winer, now a senior director of the international consulting company APCO, said in an interview that the allegations regarding him and his wife were "laughable" and that there was nothing derogatory in his divorce records. "As to my ex-wife, one or both of us would have known if she was ever a lesbian. The most accurate information in the emails is my wife and I have two children. The actual number is three. Other than that, everything was wrong."
Records indicate that Cash ultimately discovered no derogatory information regarding Winer's divorce or his wife.
FBI agents seized copies of the emails between Stanford and Cash during a raid on the U.S. brokerage offices of Stanford's bank. McClatchy Newspapers recently obtained copies of the emails and other records.
During the same period in which it targeted Winer, Kroll also tried its tactics on two former Stanford employees who sued him and threatened to talk to the SEC, the emails showed.
"I think we might be able to assist in this investigation which could get very significant unless we can discredit the accusers," Cash wrote Stanford.
Earlier, after the newspaper Caribbean Week published an article critical of Stanford in 1996, Stanford directed Cash to "go for ... the jugular" in investigating the story's author.
Cash assured Stanford that Kroll had "three people working full time in developing information in the United States." The newspaper soon published a retraction of the article.
Cash, a former special agent in charge of the DEA's Florida and Caribbean Division, has since left Kroll.
An expatriate Antiguan, McChesney Emanuel, also was a thorn in Stanford's side, the emails indicate.
Emanuel was the principal of the St. Pius V Parish Elementary School, a private Catholic school in New York City, where he sometimes held meetings with other dissidents to protest the Antiguan regime and Stanford's outsized influence over it.
In 2004, Kroll had undercover agents infiltrate their meetings and then sent Stanford detailed reports.
Cash's departure from Kroll came after it was discovered that he had recommended that a company client, the National Electrical Contractors Association, invest with Stanford. Relying on Cash's report giving Stanford's bank a clean bill of health, the association bought $2.5 million of Stanford's worthless certificates of deposits, the group said in a 2007 lawsuit accusing Kroll of "gross negligence."
The suit alleged that Kroll "never disclosed" Cash's or Kroll's relationship to Stanford "before submitting a falsely positive report."
The parties later settled the suit for terms that have not been disclosed.
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- President Obama Hints at Bernanke Exit | <urn:uuid:1e4539fe-d26d-46ba-b62a-1308c8e041f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?idx=302012&page=2&cat=&more= | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973268 | 1,371 | 1.726563 | 2 |
At 3:36pm local time on July 22, a bomb exploded near the government's headquarters in Oslo, Norway. Seven people were confirmed killed, and many others injured. Two hours later, a gunman disguised as a police officer opened fire at a youth camp, and up to 80 people have reportedly been killed. The gunman, described as a 32-year-old Norwegian, was arrested; he was seen in Oslo shortly before the bomb blast. Norway is still reeling from the most devastating terror attack in its history.
On August 24, 2012, Anders Behring Breivik was found to be sane and responsible for his actions, and sentenced to 21 years in prison with preventive custody. Realistically, Breivik will never walk free. | <urn:uuid:2d42049d-2056-49ac-9368-89927d658e17> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nowpublic.com/tag/Oslo+Attacks | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989398 | 150 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Protectionism or Prejudice?
Dear Bay Weekly:
While timely and informative, your November 29 editorial [Measuring Risk on Chesapeake Bay: Vol. IX, No. 48] was also quite disturbing.
I have been under the impression that the majority of the Cove Point LNG was to come from Trinidad, not the nations listed in your editorial and by Senator Mikulski in her now-famous statement. Trinidad offers rich nearby natural gas fields, a somewhat more stable socio-political situation, and it is much closer to the Bay. This source is not nearly as alarming as the laundry list of Islamic nations, nor does it sound as dramatic on the Senate floor.
I agree that a close eye must be kept on the developing LNG terminal situation but even in light of September 11, I strongly disagree with your third-to-last paragraph. (Do we want massive tankers from Qatar, Algeria, Oman, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates plying our waters with risky cargoes? The answer is a resounding no.)
International vessels of commerce plying our waters is a basic foundation of our economy, and free trade is a basis of our nation. Integrating smaller and developing economies into the worlds markets should be a goal of all developed and free societies.
While American travelers have been warned about visiting the potential import nations, all of the nations listed in your editorial are active trading partners with the United States. Indonesia, for example, imported $24 billion in U.S. goods in 1999.
In addition to LNG production capabilities and an existing trade relationship with the United States, these nations have something else in common: Islam is their primary religion (some are, indeed, Islamic states). Perhaps this is why you resoundingly advocate keeping them off of our waters. Would LNG tankers from sunny little Trinidad be less threatening? Are all LNG tankers unacceptable? Then why call out nations by name?
Dave Gendell, Annapolis
Seeking Class of 52 Annapolis High Grads
Dear Bay Weekly:
The class of 1952 Annapolis High School is planning a gala event for a 50-year reunion. The reunion will begin on Friday, August 16, 2002, with a wine and cheese affair at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, our old Alma Mater. Saturday morning August 17 will start with a walking tour of historic Annapolis, free, or a bus tour for $11. Saturday night will begin at 6pm at the Elks Club on Route 2 with a dinner dance, with all-50s music, ending at 11pm. There will be a cash bar. A Sunday brunch is also in the making, location and time to be announced.
The wine and cheese affair, dinner dance and a memory book are just $50.
We are looking for a few classmates. If anyone knows of a class of 52 graduate of Annapolis High School, please contact 301/423-6139 or 410/956-2502.
Helen Gardener Poole, Temple Hills | <urn:uuid:409ac20e-3e8a-48bd-8ae4-dff32ea6c070> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bayweekly.com/old-site/year01/issue9_50/letters9_50.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939485 | 622 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Babson participates in the federal student loan programs, and we strongly recommend that all U.S. citizens and permanent residents of the U.S. apply for federal student loans first before pursuing any other loan option.
Follow the instructions for applying for financial aid here to be considered for the federal and state student loans listed in this section.
Please read our loan policy statement
Federal Direct Loan
- The Federal Direct Loan is the most widely available student loan for U.S. citizens and permanent residents of the U.S.
- Students are eligible to borrow up to the following amounts through the Federal Direct Loan program:
||Maximum loan amount
||Maximum portion that can be subsidized|
- Effective for loans processed after July 1, 2013, the Direct Subsidized Loan and Direct Unsubsidized Loan rate is fixed at 6.8% with a 1% origination fee.
- Independent students can borrow additional amounts through the Direct Unsubsidized Loan program.
- For students who qualify for the Direct Subsidized Loan, the interest is paid by the federal government while in school.
- For students who don't qualify for the subsidy, the interest begins accruing at the time of the loan disbursement. Students can elect to pay the interest while in school or have it capitalized into a repayment schedule that starts six months after you leave school.
- Borrowers are required to sign a Master Promissory Note and to complete entrance and exit loan counseling.
- Loan funds are issued in two disbursements each year, typically timed to coincide with the start of each semester. Students are notified via email each time Federal Direct Loan funds are credited to their account.
Federal Perkins Loan
- Awarded to students with the greatest financial need.
- No fees and interest rate is fixed at 5%.
- Interest starts accruing and repayment begins 9 months after you leave school.
- Limited funds are available.
Mass No Interest Loan
- For Massachusetts residents with the greatest financial need.
- No fees and an interest rate fixed at 0%.
- Repayment begins 6 months after you leave school.
- Limited funds are available.
For students and parents who need financing beyond what is available through the federal student loan programs, we offer a list of recommended loans and lenders:
Student and Parent Alternative Loan Options
A co-signer with a strong credit history will increase a student’s chances of being approved for an alternative/supplemental loan. If you are an undergraduate who is planning to ask a parent to serve as a co-signer, you should also consider the parent loan options to ensure that, as a family, you are getting the best rates available to you.
We use the following criteria in developing our list of recommended loans and lenders:
- Loan terms and cost to borrower
- Borrower benefits
- Differentiated options (fixed rate vs. variable rate loans, for-profit vs. non-profit organizations, regional vs. national lenders)
You are in no way limited to loans/lenders on our list of options. Babson will process a loan from any lender, and it is your right to apply for loans through the lender of your choice.
For your planning purposes, Babson offers BorrowSmart®, a tool that shows how you can minimize education debt by combining a monthly payment plan with the loan of your choice. You will input the amount that you feel you can reasonably afford each month, and the system will present options based on Babson’s list of recommended loans and lenders. Go to BorrowSmart®
at Tuition Management Systems (TMS).
Another resource is the Student Loan Market Place where you can submit information to determine whether you qualify and for what pricing terms for loans available through the Student Loan Market Place participating lenders.
Student Loan Marketplace and Truth in Lending Disclosure | <urn:uuid:af2ed18e-e17f-45ab-883d-57c1b74e6331> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.babson.edu/undergraduate/tuition-and-financial-aid/financial-aid/Pages/loan-programs.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942858 | 799 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Harry Potter Behind the Scenes:
Harry Potter fans and anyone interested in a detailed look at what's really involved in the making of movie magic are in for a real treat with the 2012 opening of Warner Brothers Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter. It's a day trip from London that's really worth making.
For about ten years, the studios in Leavesden, 20 miles north of London, have been home to the Harry Potter industry, churning out the films, one after another, as a generation of actors and the children enthralled by them grew up together.Now, some of the films' most iconic sets, including The Great Hall,Dumbledore's Office, Hagrid's Hut, The Griffindor Common Room, and more, have been brought together with costumes, props and behind-the-scenes secrets, in two huge soundstages that visitors can wander through at their own pace.
What is the Harry Potter Tour:
What the Harry Potter Tour is Not:
Highlights of the Warner Brothers Studio Harry Potter Tour:
Without a doubt, fans and non-fans alike will find their own favorite parts of this tour. These were some of ours:
- Seeing how many of the special effects were accomplished by artists, engineers and animatronics experts, rather than through computer generated imagery.
- Watching "magic" at work - a pot stirs itself in the Potions Classroom, frying pans wash themselves and a knife chops away in the homely set for the Weaseley's kitchen.
- Donning a cloak and climbing aboard a broomstick in front of a green screen - then seeing yourself fly on the video monitor.
- Getting up close to amazing props - the drinks table from the Yule Ball, the Chocolate Feast. At one point, while admiring some hand props in a glass cabinet, I found my nose three inches away from the Philospher's Stone.
- Window shopping on Diagon Alley
How the Harry Potter Walking Tour Works:
- A short film, featuring the three young stars of the films, gives a hint about the secrets to be revealed and the thousands of people involved in making the films. The theater, by the way, has very comfortable leather seats. And if you haven't seen all the films - as I have not - this little film will tempt you.
- As the film ends, the screen sweeps up to reveal the doors of Hogwarts (like everything else in this attraction, they are the actual doors used in the film). The doors open to admit you to the Great Hall.
- A tour of the first soundstage, admiring sets and props, trying the touch screens and stopping for a bit of green screen acting of your own, takes about two hours.
- Then you are outdoors in a courtyard area where you can board the purple, triple decker Knight Bus, pose for pictures on Haggrid's motorcycle, sit in a flying car, look in the windows of 4 Privet Drive or admire Hogwart's bridge while sipping on a Butterbeer (very sweet but I liked it).
- Just when you think it must be all over, you plunge back into the second half of the experience in the second soundstage. Attractions there include the Creature Shop and the wonderful Diagon Alley with all its shop windows bursting with goods.
- The next exhibit highlights the work of the art department, with models, sketches, paintings that may sound dry in the telling but are wonderful to look at.
- And finally, visitors walk around a huge, 1:24 scale model of Hogwarts Castle, used in the filming, that took 86 artists and crew members several months to make.
Throughout the exhibit, "paintings" turn into digital screens with short explanatory films. In the art department, as the art director talks, books on a drafting table around him come to life with illustrations and turning pages.
As you might expect, there's a shop and they have gone to town on all the doodads that are integral parts of the film - magic wands, costumes, items of jewelry, crystal balls. Plan on setting a limit for everyone or you could be seriously out of pocket.
Refreshment facilities include:
- A Butterbeer bar, with snacks and sandwiches in the courtyard, between the two soundstages
- A moderately priced cafe with sandwiches, cold and hot meals.
- A Starbucks
The Warner Brothers Studios in Leavesden are surrounded by industrial parks, suburban developments and open country, so if you have hungry children with you, this is really the only food for miles around.
And is it Worth the Money?:
There's no question that this can be an expensive day out for a family. The price for children from 5 to 15 is £21, for adults £28, and a family ticket for two adults and two children (or one adult and three children) is £83 (more about costs in Essential FAQs). But, despite the tempting shop, there are fewer opportunities to open your wallet than you might expect.
Warner Brothers estimates it should take about three hours to tour the site. On the preview day I visited with a friend (neither of us, by the way, avid Harry Potter fans), we spent about five hours there and we probably could have spent considerably more time. It's a full day and it will leave the Harry Potter fans in your tribe with more to talk about than after comparably priced visits to famous theme parks and long lasting family memories to boot. A very special and expensive outing, perhaps, but worth every penny, I think. | <urn:uuid:952466ed-ac5d-46da-b6bd-0764880da085> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gouk.about.com/od/Day_Trips_From_London/p/Warner-Brothers-Studio-Tour-London-The-Making-Of-Harry-Potter.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947257 | 1,147 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Museum of Yachting and IYRS Host America’s Cup Exhibit
“The William I. Koch Collection: Art, Artifacts & Memorabilia of the America’s Cup” Opens June 1
IYRS and the Museum of Yachting will host an America’s Cup exhibition this summer at the school’s Newport campus that looks at this historic event from a unique vantage point. “The William I. Koch Collection: Art, Artifacts & Memorabilia of the America’s Cup” is an exhibition of the fine art, artifacts and other objects this international event has given birth to—from paintings by leading maritime artists, to gifts given within the rarefied social circles of those who competed for the trophy, to memorabilia and everyday items that were available to fans and consumers.
“Many America’s Cup exhibits tell the story of the event by focusing on who won and who lost,” said Museum of Yachting Curator Jay Picotte. “Thanks to the generosity of William Koch we have the great opportunity to tell a different story—to look at the America’s Cup as a cultural phenomenon by displaying the art and artifacts that sprung up because of the vast popularity of this sporting event.”
The exhibition will include fine paintings, rare books, silver, photography and historic memorabilia and will be on display from June 1 to October 1. The exhibit is comprised entirely from the collection of William I. Koch who has generously loaned these rarely seen, selected objects that cover some 150 years of Cup history, beginning in 1851.
A world-class competitor who has helped steer the course of American’s Cup history, William Koch is well known in the world of sailing for his intense passion for the sport that led to winning the 1992 America’s Cup and developing the historic all-women’s team for the 1995 America’s Cup. Among his other world-class sailing titles are two Maxi Yacht World Championships, in 1990 and 1991. Koch is equally well known for his passion as an art collector that has led to a diverse assemblage of paintings and sculptures—which includes works by Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Modigliani, Picasso and other leading artists—a collection representing the history of America’s West, and an exceptional wine cellar. Items from Koch’s collections have been shown at many leading museums, including the Louvre in Paris, The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach.
“The William I. Koch Collection: Art, Artifacts & Memorabilia of the America’s Cup” opens June 1 at the IYRS/Museum of Yachting Library, located at 449 Thames Street in Newport (R.I.). Exhibit hours are Tuesdays – Saturdays, 12 pm – 5 pm; closed Sunday & Monday. There is no admission charge.
The America’s Cup has a long history in Newport, which was home to the event from 1930 until 1983, when the Australians won the Cup and broke the New York Yacht Club’s 132-year winning record. This summer the final leg of the America’s Cup World Series will take place in Newport, June 26 to July 1. | <urn:uuid:dfdedb7c-3620-40b5-9b56-3b055ad71240> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newport.patch.com/announcements/museum-of-yachting-and-iyrs-host-americas-cup-exhibit | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956629 | 702 | 1.585938 | 2 |
- Special Sections
- Public Notices
Typically, Miss Lisa will read two or three stories before leading the toddlers (and the adults who accompany them) in songs and other activities during Toddler Tales at the Marion County Public Library.
Last week's program was anything but typical, however. Toddler Tales was moved to Friday because of weather concerns, and a special visitor, Mrs. Claus, stopped by with gifts for each of the children.
As you might expect, both of last week's stories and crafts had a seasonal tie-in as well.
But that only added to the fun.
Toddlers, accompanied by their parents or grandparents, followed along as Miss Lisa led them in "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Jingle Bells", and they sat with rapt attention as Miss Lisa read "Christmas is Here" and "Maisy Makes Gingerbread".
"Miss Lisa is so good," said Jane May, who was at Toddler Tales with her 3-year-old grandson Caleb May. "She let's em' come up and look at the books."
Miss Lisa is Lisa Wyman, the children's librarian at the Marion County Public Library. She has been in charge of Toddler Tales since she took the position more than a year ago, but the program has been in place for years. The program is aimed at children less than a year old to preschoolers.
Wyman said Toddler Tales regularly takes place at 11 a.m. Wednesdays. The purpose of Toddler Tales is "to let them know the library is a fun place to be and, hopefully, to start a lifelong love of books," she said.
But there are other benefits as well.
Ella Young, who attended last week's program with her granddaughter, India, 20 months, said the program also gives kids an opportunity to socialize with one another.
"It really has helped her [India] to be with other kids," Ella Young said.
Trish Sherrod and her son, Tyler, 16 months, joined in the singing and listened to the stories last week.
Trish Sherrod echoed the sentiments of other parents, offering praise for Miss Lisa and gratitude that her son can spend time with other kids.
And she's just as happy that it's encouraging another interest for Tyler.
"He loves books and he loves story time," Trish Sherrod said. "He's a little young for the crafts, but he loves the books."
Editor's note: For more information about Toddler Tales or the other programs offered at the Marion County Public Library, call (270) 692-4698 or visit the library's website, www.marioncopublic.org. | <urn:uuid:085f36ce-59a7-418f-8d05-82643754933b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lebanonenterprise.com/content/gift-community | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976672 | 566 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Businesses and entrepreneurs with ideas ranging from healthcare solutions, renewable energy technologies, high value manufacture and apps for more efficient business solutions will demonstrate their projects at Venturefest Bristol which is being held at at the Bristol & Bath Science Park next week on Thursday, November 3.
The event will unite entrepreneurs and innovators from across the Bristol and Bath region with investors and professional service providers. The aim is to bring together ideas and money to make things happen. Approximately 500 delegates are expected from across the Bristol city region and beyond.
The 43 exhibitors were chosen by a panel of investors, high growth business coaches and successful entrepreneurs, including the Innovation Showcase sponsors, Horatio Investments and Eden Ventures. They looked at the growth potential of the business idea, the level of innovation in the proposed product or service and crucially, investment readiness.
“The quality and quantity of applicants was high. The panel are confident that the showcase will feature exciting new business ideas which will use Venturefest to grow their businesses. Some undoubtedly have the potential to become very significant technology businesses in the future.” remarked Richard Male, Plexus Technology Ventures, who chaired the selection panel.
Lorelei Hunt, director of Science City Bristol explained the motivation behind Venturefest. “Even in more difficult economic times, there are still lots of great new business ideas around, but it can seem harder to progress them, even for experienced companies," she said. "Venturefest Bristol 2011 will help to ensure that the pipeline of new business ideas, critical for future prosperity, can more easily find the funding and support they need to grow. “
The main sponsors of Venturefest Bristol 2011 are the University of Bristol, the University of Bath, HP Labs, Business West and the Bristol & Bath Science Park. Their objective is to connect businesses from a range of sectors by providing a professional and supportive environment for collaboration.
Delegate registration is open at: http://tinyurl.com/vfbreg while a full list of innovation showcase winners can be found at: http://www.sciencecitybristol.com/pages/31-innovation-showcase | <urn:uuid:f44ba982-f6e6-4bf4-8d8e-2aa4086a4987> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bath-business.net/a-feast-of-new-ideas-at-the-science-park/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947805 | 434 | 1.539063 | 2 |
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Republicans in the Kansas Senate are proposing major changes in the chamber's rules, and one measure would give the Senate's top leader more influence over shaping legislation.
Senate Vice President Jeff King outlined the measures drafted by a GOP leadership panel during an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press. They'll be presented to the Senate when lawmakers open their annual session Monday.
One change would transfer the leadership panel's power to make committee assignments to the Senate president. Committees do much of the drafting of legislation.
Some Republicans argue the current system is unwieldy.
Another proposal would establish a panel to settle disputes over the rules during debates. Currently, the person presiding over a debate settles disagreements.
Republicans outnumber Democrats in the chamber 32-8. | <urn:uuid:1a3d4cae-61a1-40f0-891e-d1a5038f127a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wibw.com/home/localnews/headlines/Kansas-Senate-Plans-Big-Rules-Changes-186234201.html?site=full | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94813 | 159 | 1.570313 | 2 |
I’m sitting in the first-floor lounge of a Columbia University dormitory, talking to Owen, a junior who took half a tablet of Adderall this morning to study. Perhaps the most prominent of several “study drugs” used by students in the run-up to finals, Adderall improves focus, but not always on schoolwork: Owen spent 45 minutes writing an email to his mother, with “huge run-on sentences, going on tangents—I meant to make it brief.” It’s 4:30, and the drug’s effect has started to wear off. He’s speaking thoughtfully, not in the robotic, brisk tone of voice I’ve been told to expect from an Adderall user at the peak of their high.
A male student in shorts and a polo shirt walks into the near-empty room; I stop talking about Adderall for a moment so as not to embarrass Owen in front of another student. But the student turns out to be Owen’s friend James, and he sits down with us. Before hearing what we’re talking about, he looks over at Owen and says, “Study drug time,” pulling out a pill bottle. James is Owen’s neighbor and supplier, and he provided Owen with the Adderall he took today, for only the second time ever. The first was recreational, at a party, combined with cocaine and Ecstasy. A third student, April, soon wanders in, looking for James so that they can dope up together and head to the library for an evening of studying.
Of her friends, April seems the most cognizant of Adderall’s drawbacks. “We’ve become so dependent,” she says. “I wouldn’t survive without James’ prescription.”
Adderall—and, broadly, study drugs and the mystique surrounding them—is at its annual high-water mark this finals season. The pill occupies the strange middle ground where the libertine drug culture meets high-stress study culture. Its use is more dangerous than, say, caffeine, but it’s every bit as popular. What was once a secret epidemic is now, for students, a very public choice, on par with smoking cigarettes or drinking. (While students are forthcoming or even exhibitionistic about their drug use, all those I spoke to feared the loss of job opportunities and asked to be identified using assumed names.)
Zoe, a student at Brown, says campus drug dealers, including her's, sell Adderall alongside marijuana and cocaine, and that this availability has encouraged first-time use during this finals season: “Some of my friends who smoke weed but don’t do anything else have gone and bought Adderall. You basically just call a dealer.” Zoe herself once used Adderall weekly, when roommates had prescriptions, but this semester intends to use it only during exam periods: “I’ve never been at the point where I need Adderall so much where I would buy it if it were difficult or not readily accessible. I don’t know where I would begin to find it outside a college setting.”
What makes study drugs so accessible is the manipulation of prescriptions. Adderall is provided often and easily: James went to a psychiatrist early in his college career to talk about feelings of depression, but the doctor, noticing his diverted attention, administered a heart rate test before prescribing Adderall. “They just feel the need to prescribe something,” said James, who hadn’t sought a prescription. While James doesn’t sell his drugs, giving them instead to select friends, he says he has often seen late-night library transactions where students pay as much as $20 for a single pill. He tells me he now only uses his drugs—he is prescribed 60 30-milligram pills a month—during exam periods, “before a test or to stay up all night. I use them to stay focused and stay awake.” When I ask him if he plans to take a pill before the end of the year, he holds up his pill bottle and replies, “I just did.” I had been looking at my notes. “I’ve been good about using it sparingly,” he says, “but this week, I’m not gonna worry. Next week, school will be over, and then I’m just going to chill.”
Liberal arts students like Zoe use Adderall to finish papers on time, but James, who is a quantitative student, studies on Adderall, then takes tests while coming down. To minimize the crash, James usually takes a fraction of a pill before a test, a strategy he says helps him to retain the knowledge but causes him to become overly detail-oriented. “You just want to pour out everything,” James says, recounting an instance where he spent almost half a test period working on a single problem, even though he knew his numbers weren’t right.
“Study high, take the test high, get high scores,” says Nick, a recent NYU graduate who hasn’t taken Adderall since leaving school. Nick was far less enthusiastic about Adderall than the current college students I spoke to, nearly all of whom saw the drug as an unconditional benefit. Nick disdains people who call Adderall “an unfair advantage” and says use of the drug was discussed openly at NYU, as elsewhere. He adds, though, that during last winter’s finals, before he graduated, he was taking 40 milligrams of rapid-release Adderall daily: “I’d have to go home and take Percocets and get drunk like every night just so my back wouldn’t hurt” from being tensed in hyperactive study for hours. Despite what might appear to be his abuse of Adderall, Nick has a prescription for the drug: “What was the psychiatrist gonna do otherwise, talk me into concentrating?”
Of course, using Adderall without a prescription can result in even more careless use. Owen, for instance, was surprised to learn that 15 milligrams, the dose he had taken before our interview, was greater than the typical dose given to first-time Adderall users—he had thought he was reducing his dose to a negligible amount by splitting a 30-milligram pill in half. His friend April has improvised a dosing method, as well; she says she takes a quarter of a 30-milligram pill every three hours while studying.
Beth, a Columbia senior I meet at a local coffee shop, has been a prescribed user of Adderall and Ritalin since she was 13 and is staunchly opposed to the casual use of these drugs. During finals, friends consistently ask her to share her drugs. “By giving you my personal medication, you’re asking for my endorsement,” she says. “I know what your GPA is, and you don’t have anything like that, and you’re fine.” She picks at her bright pink petit-four. “This has been a struggle: It’s not something I do for fun, and it’s something I take personally.”
Beth began using Adderall because she was having trouble in school. “I had such a different opinion of Adderall in high school; people were able to explore the things they loved,” she says. “People tend to take advantage of it. But for some people, reading books they love is the world’s biggest challenge.” Now she has a darker view, as she is particularly aware of her classmates’ drug use. “I’ve seen people pass on Adderall at 11:30 in the hallways of the library. They hand these advantages out to people who don’t need them. Adderall and Ritalin are a means to an end, but what’s the end?”
Molly Young, a writer and recent Brown graduate who wrote about her experiences with Adderall for the magazine n+1, told me that even now, she missed taking the drug. “It made me feel as though I were in control of my facilities,” she says. “And it made me feel like I had facilities to begin with!” Outside the college environment, however, she avoids the drug: “‘Thinking hard’ is such a lame and adult-like substitute for Adderall. But there you go.”
Of her friends, April seems the most cognizant of Adderall’s drawbacks. “We’ve become so dependent,” she says. “I wouldn’t survive without James’ prescription.” But for her, and her friends, it is less a question of facilities than of experimentation and comparative advantage, given the drug’s high visibility on campus. April uses it not out of necessity but to make studying, a traditionally arduous task, tolerable. “If I’m up at 4 a.m. with no Adderall, I’d be awake but miserable. It just pushes out the bad thoughts.” I tell her I was working at 4 a.m. the night before, fueled only by coffee, and James leans over and offers me a pill, which I refuse. James is nonchalant; his evolution was the opposite of Beth’s. “In high school, I was like ‘cheaters!’” he says. “And then I came here and I was like, ‘Everyone’s taking it, get me in on it.’”
The interview is over: James’ high is beginning to set in, and he and April go outside to smoke a cigarette before their study session. Owen, coming down, seems more inclined to stay in his armchair. “Happy studying!” I tell James and April. April replies, laughing, “Oh, we will be happy!”
Daniel D'Addario is a senior at Columbia University who has contributed to Newsweek and The Awl. He is co-editor of IvyGate, a college news and commentary blog. | <urn:uuid:d16c45a1-615f-4495-9bd3-ba87b2ffb2b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/05/09/high-on-study-drugs.html?cid=hp:mainpromo7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978281 | 2,195 | 1.742188 | 2 |
It seems that every time I interact with the media, I hear about the demise of the newspaper industry. Readership is down, advertising is flat, the sky is falling.
To be sure, daily newspapers face an uncertain future. However, community newspapers are alive and kicking.
Thousands of weekly community newspapers are going strong in the current economy and most are thriving.
For the past four years, the University of Missouri School of Journalism has been conducting a study of community newspaper markets. Some of the findings:
• 81 percent of adults surveyed read a local newspaper each week.
• 40 percent keep the newspaper all week.
• 73 percent read practically the whole issue.
• Of those who read the news online, 63 percent go to a website provided by a local newspaper.
We are doing well at the San Juan Record. In fact, readership has never been larger.
We combine the 6,000 weekly readers of our print edition with an equivalent number of weekly hits on our website, at sjrnews.com. In addition, hundreds of friends on Facebook receive breaking news updates.
The San Juan Record office is a beehive of activity.
Over the past three years, we have completed a remodel of the San Juan Record office and a restructure of the entire business, including a new website, a new layout and design (complete with full color on every page), a successful 10K race, a thriving bookstore, a popular calendar, a new travel business and growing social media efforts.
These changes have been the result of the hard work of the entire SJR crew. This place is hopping and we are in need of some help.
Office manager Melissa Shakespeare is leaving for a job with San Juan County, while sales manger Scott Burton is leaving for a job with the San Juan School District.
Scott and Melissa have been valued employees of the San Juan Record for more than three years. While losing two employees doubles our headaches in the short run, it also gives us a chance to restructure our work flow to meet the skill sets of our employees. As a result, we are seeking resumes from people with a wide variety of skills.
If you have an interest in writing, sales, bookkeeping, customer relations, inventory mangement or information management, call us at 435-587-2277, send a resume to PO Box 879, Monticello, UT 84535 or email email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:960806c3-0eaa-44e6-9a79-3004cab01e3d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sjrnews.com/view/full_story/10795035/article--SJR--marks-successful-2010--looks-to-busy-%E2%80%9811?instance=series_dust_wind | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945416 | 507 | 1.554688 | 2 |
About the Program
The Lehman College MASTER (Noyce Scholarship) program is a partnership of the School of Education with the Division of Natural and Social Sciences and School District 10 in the Bronx. The program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and named for Robert Noyce, the founder of Intel, will prepare young, energetic mathematics and science teachers of tomorrow. Noyce scholars in the MASTER program are selected from undergraduate juniors who are majoring in mathematics or sciences and who demonstrate exceptional academic skills and have a passion for pursuing a professional career in teaching mathematics or science in high needs middle schools.
The MASTER Program offers:
- A one-year scholarship covering full tuition and fees for undergraduate seniors to complete their undergraduate study in their disciplines;
- Another two-year scholarship covering full tuition and fees for the Noyce scholars to continue their graduate study (Master’s degree) in mathematics or science education;
- Paid internships to work with public school students;
- Laptop computers to facilitate educational and internship experiences;
- Support of the Noyce scholars to obtain a New York State initial teaching certificate;
- Study with exceptional faculty in science and/or mathematics;
- Hands-on experiences in New York City public schools;
- Possibility of a full-time teaching position in a New York City middle school after successful completion of the program.
Last modified: Oct 13, 2011 | <urn:uuid:07eb86d1-801f-4cf1-9b9b-e18a31540d03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/academics/education/master-noyce/index.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932375 | 295 | 1.609375 | 2 |
I'd been intending to write this post for ages, then one night I got asked the question on Twitter concerning what I was planning to do with my Netduino and, well, it took quite a few 140 character replies to say the basics.
So, here for your amusement is my list of idea's for Netduino based products. I'll add to this list and tweak the ideas as time goes on and as I get other ideas. I've set up an IImplement.Net lab (well it's wiki) so that I can flesh out the idea's further and start putting designs together and include links to my source code on Github when I write some.
Please steal as many of these projects as you want as I really don't have time to do many of these and I'd much rather buy a shield than design one and have a one off made costing a heap of money, and if you do steal one of my ideas and take the product to market, remember I'm available for consultancy work :-D
In the interest of keeping this post short (the original version was 7 pages), all the project are just a summary, more details can be found in the lab pages linked to from each project. Some of the ideas here are a follow on from my I have a dream post over on my other blog.
A replacement for the Kitchen or Ceiling halogen lamp set-up, controlled via the network, powered by POE over the network cable or an external power supply for higher power lamps.
The traditional light switch works well but it's functionality is seriously limited and with increased usage of different lamps and more lighting places in room as well as home automation it's days are numbered for anything other than the basics.
Another issue affecting the traditional light switch is it's connection to the mains supply and the ability of the home owner to legally work on mains equipment to be able to change the light switch, or add additional light switches for other lighting.
Typically most switches have a live and return wire, this is usable to get power where a normal lamp is installed for intelligent switches such as the currently available home automation light switches, but now that we are all changing to low power lamps the existing range of home automation light switches will struggle to be powered and switch the load correctly, and may try to dim lamps that it shouldn't.
Swap the mains switch cable for a cat5 cable and you've got a versatile switch, one that the home owner can easily swap out by unplugging the RJ45 connector and plugging it into the new switch.
The other issue with the existing light switch is that it doesn't do much. On and Off, that's it. You can get dimmers but they won't work with the new lights and if you need to control more than one light, the switches multiply as does the wiring, making it ugly.
So here's the idea. A light switch replacement, powered by POE over a cat 5 network cable that naturally also provides all the networking connectivity. Lights are controlled using the previous high power LED lighting project (or a version of for simple switching), or other already available home automation devices.
The light switches should be able to work standalone but also communicate with a central server for more advanced functionality (i.e. controlling lights in other rooms, pre-defined lighting plans, etc.)
The switch has at it's centre a touch screen LCD screen. This provides one touch on/off control of the light to replicate the simplicity of the existing light switch so that my nan can still work it, but with the correct “key” combination can bring up more screens to allow for better control of lighting, or other home automation control.
Being powered by POE which provides a simple and central place for backup power supplies the light switch could also provide basic low level lighting to the room in the event of a power failure.
Home Easy RF Interface:
The home easy range of products is really nice, but sadly lacking a PC based interface and macros.
Hook up a 433.92MHz receiver and transmitter, either USB or Ethernet connected (again, awesome to have it POE) and give it some macro's to execute when certain situations happen, as well as being able to control it from the PC.
The original idea of for this is a small device sitting inside the home owners firewall / ADSL/ Cable router that provided a basic web page and service to the internet and with appropriate instructions sent a Wake-On-Lan signal to computers and also provided a way to communicate through installed software on the PC to start a shutdown/hibernate sequence at the appropriate time.
A use case for this would be if you were out of town and wanted to get access to your computer through something like GoToMyPC but your computer was powered down because you didn't want to leave it running eating electricity just in case you might need it. A quick click on a button on the power minder devices web interface and that instructs the PC to switch on.
4th Screen style implementation for the kitchen to help with managing grocery shopping, meal planning and food wastage, hooked up to the owners ThreeTomatoes account.
PC Fan controller:
Basic design to monitor system temperatures in the computer and provide better fan control as well as feedback to the desktop of heat and fan status'
AirTunes (AirPlay) clone:
I'd been thinking about getting a Arduino hooked up to the hifi and in the kitchen so that I could stream music across the network to various audio devices. It turns out Apple had the same idea some time ago and have the AirTunes/AirPlay package, sadly limited to being through iTunes which I really don't like, but most of my thoughts of how it should work have been implemented.
However for fun, it still might be good to get something going, maybe even cheaper than the Apple hardware, hooked up to some cat5 cable and again getting power from the POE switch as well.
See also: AirFoil
Drive the outputs from Growl, such as the snowman build indicator
My background is in chemistry and I've always loved instrumentation, I have a masters degree in Instrumental Analytical Chemistry, so I've got a few ideas that I'd like to see the Netduino put to good use for. These might even make great school projects...
A simple project. Measure temperate, connected to a network connection, using POE to power the netduino, send the data back to the cloud.
Use the Netdunino to measure pH.
Power Over Ethernet (POE).
You've probably noticed many of my ideas are intending to take advantage of POE, sadly the Netdunio and Netduino plus aren't going to support that at the first release (fingers crossed for an Netduino++). | <urn:uuid:879171c9-3853-4be4-846c-f2b752cc9283> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.iimplement.net/?tag=/light-switch | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938689 | 1,408 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Bible Verses About Love
This page list a collection of powerful Bible Verses On Love. These are primarily taken from New Testament and focuses on love to God, neighboor, and to yourself. See also other categories: Wedding Invitation Verses, Funeral Bible Verses , Famous Bible Verses and Quotes , and more .
If you know other verses on this topic that is not included in the list, please drop us a note . Thanks.
" Do to others as you would have them do to you."
"But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without
"Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.""
" Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good."
"Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."
"We love because he first loved us."
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."
"However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."
"And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
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|Freedom from Porn| | <urn:uuid:722cca3a-0c7c-4f66-8706-3be96c464c86> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.topbibleverses.com/bible-verses-about-love | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942821 | 560 | 1.84375 | 2 |
‘Jewish life is alive in Cherkassy,’ says activist
Whippany visitor says young Ukrainians are reclaiming past
Lena Pysina tells MetroWest federation leaders the Jewish community of Cherkassy is “not a lot, but we are active.” Photos by Robert Wiener
April 18, 2011
At 25, Lena Pysina is already an agent of change in her Ukrainian city of Cherkassy.
As the “next generation” coordinator for Project Kesher, she is furthering the empowerment of young Jews by helping coordinate worship services, a Jewish kindergarten, a meals program, and Jewish studies classes for adults.
For young adults and families who may have only recently been told by a dying grandparent that they are Jewish, Kesher — a Jewish women’s organization that promotes Jewish identity as well as human rights and women’s concerns in the former Soviet Union — helps them recover a lost past.
“Young people start to be proud they are part of something. They are starting to find their values,” she said in an April 12 talk at the Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life in Whippany. “I come here to say Jewish life is alive in Cherkassy, and we are doing a lot of work.”
Pysina visited the Partnership — the educational arm of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ — on the Aidekman campus in Whippany as part of a 10-day fund-raising visit to New York and New Jersey. She told her audience, leaders of UJC MetroWest’s Women’s Philanthropy, that 20 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, her efforts are paying off in a city where 1 percent of its 300,000 residents are Jewish.
Cherkassy receives support from UJC MetroWest.
According to Pysina, many Cherkassians “probably don’t know they are Jewish. Some people were not told by their parents because it was a difficult time in the Soviet Union.”
The 3,000 Jews are served by two groups: a traditional community led since the early 1980s by the Chabad-Lubavitch hasidic outreach movement, and a “Progressive” Jewish community, analogous to the Reform movement, launched with the dissolution of the Soviet Union a decade later. Pysina calls herself a “proud” member of the latter.
Unlike Chabad, the Progressives do not have a synagogue or a rabbi. Nonetheless, she said, “we observe Shabbat, we have a Jewish kindergarten, we celebrate Jewish holidays, we have Sunday school, we have a meals program, and people have become very interested in Jewish studies.”
She estimates that 20 to 25 people worship regularly at the Progressive services, and the number jumps to 100 on the High Holy Days.
“We are not a lot, but we are active,” she said. “I cannot say it is hard to be Jewish, but it is hard because there are a lot of mixed marriages.”
Pysina said she is especially proud of the two-week Jewish family summer camp for the Cherkassy region. The camp is staffed with counselors from the Ofakim-Merchavim region of Israel — UJC MetroWest’s Partnership 2000 community — and from MetroWest itself.
“It helps to build a community,” Pysina said. “Not only do children have fun, but they become close with their parents and their friends in the Jewish community, and people have become very close afterward.”
About three years ago, she said, Jews in their late teens and early 20s started moving away.
“It was really difficult. But now — don’t ask me how — people come and say, ‘I know my grandparents were Jews,’ and we are starting a new generation again. We now have 60 children in kindergarten and mostly after they attend Jewish Sunday schools, and after Sunday school they are coming to the youth club, and after youth club they are coming to the students’ club, and with their parents they attend Shabbat services.
“So I think we are growing and growing.”
Asked whether she experiences any anti-Semitism in Cherkassy, Pysina said, “I myself haven’t seen it, but we had some Nazi signs on the Chabad synagogue and awful signs on a garbage place saying, ‘This is a place for Jews.’”
When such incidents occur and can be photographed, the pictures are turned over to the police.
“They are usually painted over,” but the police “will not do anything” unless someone is caught in the act.
The Progressives’ nondescript worship space, in an office building, has not been a target. “Our building is situated between a court and a prison,” she said. “So we feel safety.”
Pysina studied to be a graphic designer, but switched plans and studied for a year at Paideia, the Institute for Jewish Studies in Stockholm. She now dedicates her life to Jewish education.
It was quite a departure from the way she was raised.
“My Jewish life did not look like anything,” she said. “My father, he is not [Jewish] and he is not religious at all. My mother, she was not so involved in Jewish life. But we had no Jewish roots. Since Soviet time they disappeared. We just knew we were Jews. My aunt was very involved, and from the last 10 years she is leading our community.”
It was she who persuaded her niece to attend Sunday school, and, said Pysina, “I liked it very much.”
Her involvement in things Jewish has had a definite impact on her father. She hung a mezuza on the doorway to her bedroom, rather than the front door, “because I didn’t want to disturb my parents.”
But it did not stay in place for long. “My father took it off and put it on the main door,” she recalled. “He said, ‘If this is what I am, let us make ourselves as good as you.’ That was really touching.” | <urn:uuid:0f858575-6f21-4af7-93c3-001bb2cd5674> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://njjewishnews.com/article/4607/jewish-life-is-alive-in-cherkassy-says-activist | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979807 | 1,343 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Fixing Air Leakage in Connecticut Town Houses
Click here to read more articles about Troubleshooting
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2008
issue of Home Energy Magazine.
July 01, 2008
After energy improvements were made to some town houses, a second look revealed big opportunities for energy and money savings.
Skyrocketing energy costs are driving the owners of many residential buildings to dig deeper than ever for energy-saving opportunities. Even in buildings that have undergone energy-related improvements in the past, it is possible to find previously missed opportunities—as was the case with one building located in rural Connecticut. Thanks to an owner/manager who agreed to cut access openings in a series of invasive inspections, and to funding provided by the gas and electric utilities, Steven Winter Associates, Incorporated (SWA), succeeded in finding and fixing an envelope problem that had previously gone undiscovered. Mill Pond Village is a 360-unit affordable housing development built in 1975 and located in Broad Brook, Connecticut. Owned and managed by Winn Companies, this property has undergone many improvements over the past few years, but energy costs continue to concern the company. Winn Companies is committed to providing high-quality housing for its low-income tenants. By purchasing properties in decline and investing in a wide range of improvements, Winn is able to bring new life to properties that would otherwise languish in neglect. In 2000, when Winn acquired this property, the buildings were in disrepair and crime was a serious problem. Winn’s initial investments went ...
To read complete online articles, you need to sign up for an Online Subscription.
Once an order has been placed there is an automatic $10 processing fee that will be deducted with any cancellation.
The Home Energy Online articles are for personal use only and may not be printed for distribution. For permission to reprint, please send an e-mail to email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:e8ad346a-c708-4eb4-852e-be9a82b2ae4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.homeenergy.org/newsite2011/public/index.php/show/article/nav/troubleshooting/id/530 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972758 | 390 | 1.664063 | 2 |
2002 | 2001 | 2000
Neither Democrats nor Republicans are our friends
Cogswell observes the inaction of the Democrat-controlled city council in New York on marriage, and the opposition of Kerry and the Democrat-controlled legislature of Massachusetts and their defiance of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, as well as Clinton's role in signing the D.O.M.A. We all remember his role in "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", and the victimizations and military lynchings that followed. Others have pointed out the disloyal comments Barney Frank made about getting married as he wheels and deals with our rights in the Congress.
The same criticism could be made of many other city and state leaders and legislative bodies controlled by the Democratic Party. They approach our struggle with timidity, duplicity, and outright betrayal. It's a wretched, decades- long chronicle of treachery. (We could be worse off; at least we're not "protected" by something like the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Other groups have had a harsh journey too.)
This is particularly unacceptable now that the subject is marriage: a simple and necessary arrangement for coupling, for expressing love or commitment. How human, how basic, how minimal. It's not a campaign to tax churches or take away Pat Robertson's mansions. We're not demanding that homophobes lose parenting rights, or that the seminaries and schools that promote homophobia be closed, or that homophobes like Robertson and the Pope, or their politician friends be indicted and arrested for fostering a climate that promotes lynching. Those are all honest goals, but this is about marriage. And most of these Democrats are against our right to marry.
I'm not talking about activists in the Democratic Party. They are not the enemy; they're just not very bright. They make a serious error when they project their own wishes and ideas onto deceitful politicians who will promise everything and deliver squat. It's an ancient shell game practiced from Alcibiades to Caesar to Napoleon to Clinton, and these grassroots Democrats who get betrayed time after time ought to wake up.
Cogswell comments that "Democrats might still get the bulk of the queer presidential vote in November, but after that party hacks should beware." I hope she's wrong, but the closer we get to the election the more feverish and panicked the 'get out the vote' frenzy will become. Soon they'll be screaming "vote for Hindenburg to Stop Hitler." Bush is no Hitler, although he and the religious right are very dangerous.
I hope people in our communities will vote for any socialist or communist party or independent candidate who supports us, and who will help us change society fundamentally, so we won't have to put up with the murderous bigotry that's ruined or ended so many of our lives.
Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are our friends. Supporters of those parties are simple-minded, pathetic innocents. The leaders are no better than Johnson or Nixon, etc. They will adapt to our demonstrations and activism, and they may be forced to make the occasional concession, but they are the enemy. And for now, the rulers of this country.
No Either/Or in Human Rights
For instance, Paul Varnell, in his article, Israel, Palestine, And Gays in the Indie Gay Forum, asserts that American gays should not support Palestinian efforts towards independence because the Palestinian Authority (PA) is homophobic, and that to be critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians would mean that queers would be putting the right to self-determination of an entire people ahead of gay rights, and that would be wrong.
Queer progressives should be on the look out for these backwards arguments. If we were to judge whether or not a country is "good" based on how gay-friendly it is, the US would be in serious trouble. Should we support an invasion of the US by countries whose governments are much more gay-friendly such as South Africa? I hardly think so.
We must also counter the narrow-minded arguments of queer conservatives that bombing Middle Eastern countries is good because it will "free" oppressed gays. The peace movement, the fight for a just peace between Palestinians and Israel, and the fight for gay rights all over the world are not mutually exclusive. Each is intertwined with the other as we see in The Gully's article, Gay Israel: No Pride In Occupation.
Too often, people who have been historically discriminated against become complacent. The gay and lesbian identity could easily become just another "lifestyle choice," implying that the people they love are mere commodities or affections subject to a moment's whim.
This is why I commend some of the articles that I've read in The Gully, especially the articles concerning events in Latin America, an area with which most US people are incredibly ignorant.
We are humans-becoming, and not merely being. We must not mutely let the corrupt, fearful, powers-that-be define our reality for us, creating a world marked by ecological destruction, violence, and hatred. No, some of us will not obey no how, no way.
Keep thinking and helping develop a better world.
US Elections 2004
In an effort to establish global democracy, theworldvotes.org gives people all around the world a voice in the forthcoming U.S. Presidential Election.
Ensure that your voice is heard by casting your vote electronically and add momentum to a worldwide drive to establish global democracy.
With best regards,
Wiebe de Jager
An Unusual Point of View
And one of the dissidents sentenced to 25 years in prison was sentenced for the crime of "maintaining contact with foreign journalists." Does Mr. Anestos equate maintaining contact with foreign journalists about issues related to politics as a crime worthy of 25 years in prison?
When the health and safety of millions is at stake, political posturing must be dispensed with. The world has learned as much by watching in horror as Beijing stalled and denied the severity of the SARS epidemic, leaving their own people scared and confused and allowing the virus to spread abroad. Taiwan's 23 million people need representation in the world's largest and most important health organization. If the WHO truly has "health for all" as its goal, Taiwan must be allowed to join fully in efforts to fight SARS and be granted a role in the WHO now.
Cuba Free and Open
As for the recent crackdown, I find it "astounding," to borrow Stern's word, that he would dignify violent hijackers, kidnappers, and paid agents of a hostile foreign power with the name "dissidents." In its ongoing war of survival against the mightiest power on Earth, a war that has featured invasion, terrorist attacks, mass murder and an ever-tightening economic embargo, what is "astounding" about restrictions on free and open assembly in Cuba is not how many there are, but how few.
Out and Proud Of Death Penalty
As a person that has lost a close family member to murder by a spouse, I wonder what kind of value you are placing on the victim's life. Does the killer really deserve to live if they have taken the life of another? I don't think so.
I'm proud that our state has the guts to put convicted criminals on death row to death.
Support Australian Transsexuals
Our network is lobbying the government in Victoria to recognise people of transsexual background by providing birth certificates that show the true sex of the individual. Victoria is the only one of the Australian States that does not have legislated provisions to do this. Our submission can be viewed at our website at http://www.w-o-m-a-n.net.
To help us, please write to our State Attorney-General, Hon. Rob Hulls MP at firstname.lastname@example.org with a copy to his Senior Legal Adviser, Louise Glanville at email@example.com. Tell Attorney-General Hulls this is a very important human rights issue with international ramifications.
The Victoria State Government is labor-friendly and Mr. Hulls is personally supportive of us, but they have to be sure that we have the facts right and sufficient outside support for this. A copy of those letters for our membership would also be appreciated.
Yours in solidarity,
Church Scandal Coverage
We have been particularly dismayed by the Boston Globe's underreporting on female victims, both because these stories are intrinsically important, and because ignoring female victims supports the Vatican's efforts to define the scandal as a "homosexual problem" as detailed in The Gully's, Priests' Forgotten Victims.
The Boston Globe should be held accountable for dismissing female victims, promoting public misperception of gay men, and resurrecting the notion that the first order of business in sex abuse cases is to put victims on trial.
Please help to protect the rights of survivors and prevent the Church from inflicting further harm by signing our letter of protest available at http://www.parcc.org. We are grateful for your help.
Opposition Isn't Enough
We would get more laws passed in our favor by leaving our support up for grabs. I don't automatically give my vote to anyone. I email, call, and ask questions about the issues that concern me like being able to form families, leave an inheritance to my loved ones, and pursue happiness like any other American.
The Oily Roots of Media Bias in Venezuela
"There is no attempt whatsoever at independent coverage, let alone honest journalistic investigation. The worst is Venevisión, owned by multimillionaire Gustavo Cisneros, who also controls Univisión, the biggest Spanish-language network in the United States."
The connection: Cisneros and Bush Sr. and families are close friends: Bush = oil. Venezuela = oil. Is there a connection? I think so. | <urn:uuid:0ba318cb-d85d-4e4b-b2bd-29597344ea91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thegully.com/letters/lettersto.html | 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 | 0.954394 | 2,037 | 1.828125 | 2 |
[en] Chloro-4-phenyl thiomethylene bisphosphonate (tiludronate) is a new drug which can be used as an inhibitor of bone resorption. As it remains in bone for a long time, and as mineralisation defects have only been seen at doses much higher than those required to decrease osteoclastic activity, it could be given at high doses over a short period of time. Eighteen patients with Paget's disease of bone were randomly allocated to three therapeutic groups receiving respectively 600, 800, and 1200 mg/day tiludronate for five days. Serum alkaline phosphatase activity and the urinary hydroxyproline/creatinine ratio were quickly and drastically reduced in all three groups. A significant reduction of serum alkaline phosphatases and the hydroxyproline/creatinine ratio was still present six months after the five day therapeutic course, reflecting a sustained activity of tiludronate even after stopping treatment. Dose dependent short and long term reductions of bone turnover rate were observed. Biochemical assessment of haematological, renal, or hepatic tolerance did not show any toxicity of tiludronate. Fifty per cent of patients treated by a dose of 1200 mg/day reported gastrointestinal disturbances, however, making this dosage unsuitable for clinical practice. | <urn:uuid:9e751fbf-d898-4744-9b9b-42f53a958ac4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://orbi.ulg.ac.be/handle/2268/57770 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951894 | 274 | 1.5 | 2 |
On January 18, 2001, I flew aboard Air Force One with Bill Clinton. It was his second-to-last full day in office, and he had returned to Little Rock, Arkansas, for an afternoon in order to address his home state’s legislature. If anyone doubted that Clinton hoped to remain in the public eye, his speech at the Beaux-Arts statehouse put their uncertainty to rest. He rattled off his administration’s accomplishments—welfare reform, an improved economy—and he talked about work that was not yet done in education and other areas. On that flight back to Washington, Clinton met with a small group of reporters, including me, who had covered him during the 1992 campaign, and discussed at length how different presidents had dealt with their postpresidential lives. He mentioned Ulysses S. Grant, who at the behest of Mark Twain published a memoir that revived his image and made him a fortune.
I doubt that George W. Bush has gamed out his postpresidency in the same erudite way that Clinton did. But he ought to start, because when he leaves office on January 20, he’ll be facing an image-remake challenge not seen since Jimmy Carter left office: how to reverse the legacy of a failed presidency.
Bush has time. When he walks away from the White House, he will be only 62 years old, in great physical shape from all that bike riding and running, and in possession of genes that bequeath long life expectancies. (His father, the first president Bush, is 84 and jumping out of planes.) So I queried a few professional imagemakers about what they’d counsel George W. Bush to do to restore his public standing. Here’s what they had to say.
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Sign up for the latest business news, opinion and analysis from Upstart and get the best the site has to offer each week day. | <urn:uuid:8331fd35-0696-4731-b83b-28eeb3898b6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://upstart.bizjournals.com/views/columns/washington/2008/10/15/Analysis-of-the-Bush-Legacy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97817 | 447 | 1.65625 | 2 |
NORTH Queensland journalists could be scared away from scrutinising the rich and powerful under proposed changes to media laws, according to an academic.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is believed to be close to finalising changes to media laws which would establish a privacy tort, giving citizens the right to sue for a breach of privacy.
James Cook University journalism lecturer Marie M'Balla-Ndi said the lack of discussion between the Government and the industry on the reforms was alarming.
She said as long as journalists were "fair, balanced and accurate" they didn't have to worry about the privacy tort.
"But it can't be denied that it will surely scare some journalists and might have the potential to discourage the media coverage of matters of significant importance not only at a national, but also regional level, especially by novice journalists still confused by the complexity of the legal system," she said.
The Government is also considering changes to existing cross-media ownership rules replacing the "two out of three" rule, which prevent anyone controlling more than two media platforms, with a "two out of four rule" that adds pay-TV.
Other changes flagged include a controversial public interest test for potential media buyers, as well as a new government regulator.
"In my opinion more work should be made in encouraging a stronger self-regulatory architecture of the Australian media rather than creating new regulations that will be not be so different from the ones we already have," Ms M'Balla-Ndi said.
"The Australian media environment is already overloaded with regulations, and complaints about news items can be submitted to various regulatory bodies."
Media companies including News Limited, publisher of the Bulletin, have campaigned against the laws.
Labor candidate for Herbert, Cathy O'Toole, yesterday said she was unavailable to comment on the specific proposals.
North Queensland Senator Ian Macdonald said the Coalition would likely vote against the reforms.
"The last thing we want is governments fiddling with journalists' ability to report," he said.
Kennedy MP and Katter's Australian Party leader, Bob Katter, said he was in favour of laws promoting more diversity of ownership, but had concerns about government control of the Press Council and changes to privacy laws.
"The problem with the privacy law is, like defamation, it will only be used by rich people," he said.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy | <urn:uuid:e1c19f84-388a-4d91-a82f-892c4a406e16> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2013/03/12/377191_news.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971423 | 486 | 1.648438 | 2 |
I still can't believe I'm going to write a post about this but here we go...
There are a few ladies who have been doing inspirational work regarding Generation Know. This organization is working with busting some of the myths related to female sexual health and helping younger girls to understand their bodies better. It is an amazing initiative as often times girls are just not educated properly or don't have someone to discuss these things with.
Few years later when I actually got my period, I didn't tell my mom at first. When it got heavier I told her and she bought me a pack of pads... She kind of showed me how to use it and left me be. There were so many questions that went unanswered...
I remember getting a very low mark in grade 8 gym because I failed health class. There were all these ideas like contraception and STD's being thrown at me. I was so lost and confused... In my world boys had cooties and my teacher was an unapproachable judgmental bitch. Not taking those words back.
As I got older, things made much more sense as I dove deeper into the biology field. The biggest turning point in my maturity was probably anatomy class in second year university because there was no other way around it. At the morgue I've seen everything, from every angle- you name it. It really made me gain a great appreciation of how the body is constructed. Also, I was lucky enough to have a group of very close friends who I could talk to about absolutely anything. That made a whole world of a difference.
Remember not everyone knows all the facts and they could impede someone's quality of life. I was reading over some of the myths/ facts listed on the website and some are ridiculous while some are things that must be known. I actually used to believe some of these... Here's the list of a few I think are important to know
- A tampon get stuck inside of you.- False! Trust me the female anatomy is tiny and there's very little room to get lost in.
- You can get pregnant on your period. -True! Sperm can stay within the women's body for a few days and females can ovulate more then 1 egg per cycle. Even though you're menstruating it doesn't mean that the egg has been disposed of.
- You will lose your virginity if you use a tampon.- False! You might stretch the hymen though.
- You can't use a tampon if you're a virgin.- False! I've been told this one my whole life but it wasn't true.
- You can't go swimming on your period.- False! Another myth that I've been raised to believe in.
- You can't have sex when you're on your period.- False! As long as the guy is cool with it...
- You can get STD's from toiler seats.- False! STD's are bacteria and viruses which can't survive outside of the body for a long time and you would need direct contact with them.
- Exercising is bad during your period.- False! Exercise helps control cramps.
There were some crazy myths I came across as well.
- You will attract bears in the woods or sharks in the ocean
- Your dough will not rise when you're baking bread
- You will make the spaghetti sauce sour
- Your biggest crush knows when you're on your period
- Menstrual blood is different from regular blood
- Pineapple juice prevent pregnancy
It's crazy what kind of myths are out there. Can you imagine girls who are missing out on camping trips or trips to the beach just because they're on your period. Yet, even better if girls don't come near the kitchen during that time of the month.
What can you do to raise awareness? Check out the UKotex website and you can even order this free awareness necklace. Talking about sexual health shouldn't be taboo, it's what makes us human.
Were there any myths that you used to believe in? Did you feel you were educated about everything? How would you go about educating your daughters? | <urn:uuid:4aab7df4-7174-4e60-bffe-2c6f86d37f1d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://milkandhoneyontherun.blogspot.com/2013/02/every-girl-should-read-this.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98206 | 843 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Fallen Angel: Life on the streets is a community that thrives despite the efforts of police and social welfare (With Video)
For six months, a Denver Post reporter and photographer followed the trials and tribulations of a young heroin addict. This is part two of a three-part series:
At the beginning of Memorial Day weekend, Angel swiped the bank card she carries at an ATM and tapped into a junkie’s dream. She had noticed a $1,000 disability check had been deposited into fiancé Joe’s account, while he sat in prison awaiting a sentence. She had a choice. She could use the money for a ticket home to Wisconsin. But instead, she sent $400 to Joe in prison and then spent a week shooting the rest up her arm.
Angel’s high tolerance for the dope saved her from overdosing during the binge, but just barely. She skipped flying her panhandler sign during afternoons over Memorial Day weekend and shot up her bonanza, dozing in between at the loading dock where she sleeps.
• Delaware County task force takes aim at spike in heroin use here.
Overdose is a constant threat for Denver addicts, with heroin cheaper and more potent than it used to be. Angel’s own family has suffered overdoses. The junkies who cross paths with her in the streets and alleys of Denver all have their own stories.
Alice, 21, has no plans of giving up heroin and doesn’t see why she should. Three years ago, she and her street companion, Iris, found out she was pregnant. She continued using throughout. Their daughter was born with a form of dwarfism, with high medical needs.
On Alice’s 19th birthday, Iris went to the grocery store for treats. When he got back, Alice was holding the baby and unconscious from an overdose. Iris called 911 and tried to get her breathing again. The paramedics revived Alice, then made sure social services took the baby away. A big-hearted woman with other damaged babies took theirs in. They visited a few times.
“Eventually, we lost our condo and he lost his job and we lost everything, so we stopped going to see her, and we haven’t seen her in a really long time,” Alice said. “We took really good care of her, for a little while.”
She now begs with a sign saying she’s pregnant and needs help. People respond to her serene blondness and take the couple in for months at a time. Until they see them for hustlers and kick them out again. Continued...
National and local drug experts are so worried about the quadrupling of painkiller and other opiate overdoses — now at 15,000 deaths a year — they want an emergency overdose-blocker called Narcan to be available over the counter to any addict.
Angel managed to avoid an overdose through the Memorial Day weekend but took no steps back toward Wisconsin. By June 4, when she was due at Denver night court for a panhandling ticket, the $1,000 had dwindled to $10.
Court for Angel is just part of life as an addict. At one point in Wisconsin, she said, three members of her family were being held by authorities on the same day. A panhandling ticket, or an RTD fine, or a violation for carrying syringes — it’s just another job-related tax in her current career of asking people for money all over town.
She quietly listened to the judge, having shot up just before arriving at city hall, and accepted a $106 fine. She won’t pay it. If she gets picked up and they discover her failure to pay, she’ll do community-service work at $5 an hour to erase it.
And then, with her account back at zero, she’ll fly the sign.
Angel’s community is a few dozen addicts, whose drug of choice might be Oxycontin, malt liquor, crystal meth or the brown-tar heroin whose high is cheaper than all of them.
They beg, shoot and sleep under the noses of commuters. They are known to police who mostly ignore them, and known to social workers whose offers of help they in turn ignore. They can camp under West Colfax and go upstairs to work the morning traffic. At a small office frequently mistaken for a bank lobby in the Santa Fe arts district, they get clean needles from the city’s needle-exchange center and a kind word from volunteers. Light rail runs by their tattered sleeping bags, the clatter dampened in a haze of opium.
This gathering of addicts is a form of immigration no city wants but none can stop. Addicts flock to the low prices created by heavy traffic.
Alice, who sometimes begs for money on the same corners Angel has used, remembers the day about three years back when suddenly the price of a pill just seemed too high.
“I made a joke, like, don’t we live in Denver? Isn’t there heroin everywhere here? And we laughed, and my friend left and came back 20 minutes later and had four balloons of heroin,” Alice said. “And it was a never-ending cycle from that day on.” Continued...
Opium-based drugs give a user euphoria, at first, by boosting natural dopamine in the “happy” receptors of the brain. They quickly invade and knock out the natural dopamine factory, though.
That creates tolerance, the need for higher doses, all the while making the brain forget how to be happy on its own. Things that used to give pleasure — eating, sex, exercise, the daily rewards of family or a career — simply no longer can.
The weeks-long gap between cessation of drugs and the brain retraining itself for pleasure is the grand canyon of withdrawal.
Going cold off drugs is one way. Joe, forced to do so after his extradition to Wisconsin for his robbery case, did it. Now he wants Angel to do it. But outside of lockdown, most addicts can’t face the horrendous symptoms and hallucinations on their own.
Methadone maintenance is another crude tool, employing a government-sanctioned form of opiate addiction to fight a worse form of opiate addiction. Heroin’s effect is a peak and then a cliff dive; methadone smooths out the dose over a higher-functioning 24 hours.
Angel has tried methadone, but it makes her sick to her stomach. Like many addicts, she rails against the “fee-toxing” and other rules of Denver Health and the handful of methadone clinics in the West. If you don’t come up with your $57 a week in Denver, they will reduce your dose. Addicts argue this simply forces them back to heroin to avoid withdrawal.
The clinics, in return, say they need some kind of commitment. People such as Angel are raising $90 to $100 a day on the street — why not put some of that toward saving themselves?
Also left unsaid is that addicts lie.
They come in desperate, with no ID, no cash and no history of sticking to anything. Some will take the pills to get high and never come back. Or they sell them to other junkies. Denver psychiatrist Dr. Carl Clark often has to ask his street clients, “Did you use today?” He hesitates to call their answers lies. “People tell you what they wish were true,” he finally said.
Suboxone, a cousin of methadone, shows recent promise by offering more take-home prescriptions and gentler withdrawal in some patients. Researchers are also experimenting with a monthly shot of a drug that blocks opium’s euphoria, reducing the heroin craving. But the newer treatments can cost $1,000 a month in some settings. Continued...
The philosophy of “harm reduction” dominates the handling of heroin. Keep addicts alive to make a better choice tomorrow.
Angel and many other Denver street addicts find some comfort in a needle exchange on Santa Fe Drive made possible by a 2010 law. Now, addicts can come inside a clean, safe office, get a banana, use the sink for a sponge bath and trade 40 contaminated syringes for sterile ones that everyone knows they will use to shoot up again.
Advocates say reducing chances that drug users will share needles is a public-health imperative.
Opponents of legalizing clean-needle trades say the government should not condone addiction.
When Colorado legalized needle exchanges in 2010, supporters from the hundreds of other cities with legal exchanges congratulated Denver allies. They wrote: “Welcome to the 1980s.”
Angel doesn’t share her paraphernalia, even when she splits a dose with her street friends. She uses her own needles and keeps a red, plastic safety container in her backpack at all times. People who share with strangers are fools, she says.
“One guy tried to give me back one saying he hadn’t used it,” Angel said. “No, thanks. Keep it.”
The legal exchange doesn’t stop the cat-and-mouse game with police, though.
The exchange can now legally possess the warehouse supply of clean needles and trade them for addicts’ dirty ones without violating the law. But the minute Angel walks out the door to resume begging, she can be arrested for possession of the syringes. Different cops in District 6, which covers much of the more intense street-drug trafficking in central Denver, have different reputations for handling junkies and their ever-present needles.
The police still go after the trade in the drug itself.
Much of the heroin trade takes place in the open, on the Cherry Creek bike path downtown, in Civic Center, along the South Platte River, in nearby parks and on residential streets, said Denver police Cmdr. Mark Fleecs.
Investigators link the trade to small cartels in Mexico, which set up new “franchises” in cities and rotate primary dealers through for about a year at a time, Fleecs said. The cellphone is the key — an existing dealer looking to get out will sell his phone and number for $10,000. The new dealer will spend a year making $300,000 to $500,000 in cash, then retire to Mexico.
Police pursue the drug with different levels of “buy-bust” operations and longer-term surveillance of buyers in hope of reaching the dealers.
Two days after Angel’s June court appearance for panhandling, she sat in a car near Federal and Alameda. She had just bought a 1 and 1 — a pea-size balloon of heroin and the same size of cocaine wrapped in wax paper and foil. Denver police surrounded the car at gunpoint. Angel swallowed her dope.
The female driver had nearly convinced the cops both she and Angel were buyers, pitching in to share a small amount. But her notebook of sales was visible in her lap, and a search found cash and a bag of multicolored balloons like party favors inside the stick-shift well. The driver took the fall, and the police let Angel off.
She headed on her way, anxious for when the swallowed balloon would pass through her system so she could use the heroin.
What will get an addict off this trench-deep path? Addiction, abuse and social-services experts ask themselves that question dozens of times a day. It appears to be a horrific, deathly repetitive life.
Yet success is possible, argues University of Colorado Denver anthropologist Steve Koester. He has interviewed Denver street addicts for decades, watching how they live, asking how they think. You get up, you fend for yourself, you make the money you need to get what you must have, and then you do it again. Creativity, problem-solving, adrenaline, reward. It’s a job, and some people are good at it.
“People on the street don’t get enough credit for survival,” Koester said.
Half of untreated injection-drug addicts will die within 10 years, said Dr. Carol Traut, director of Denver Health’s methadone clinic. “It’s grim.”
Angel’s turnaround came in a goading order from her fiancé, in a letter from jail.
Come back to Wisconsin and get clean, Joe Kaiser wrote her, or I’m breaking up with you.
Her family, her friends, her Denver acquaintances might wonder about the persuasive power of a breakup threat from a man serving eight years in prison.
But Angel flew her sign with new purpose. “Need help to get bus ticket to Wisconsin.” Once again, Denver drivers gave, hoping she would use it well.
This time, she would prove them right.
Michael Booth: 303-954-1686, firstname.lastname@example.org or twitter.com/mboothdp
Location, ST | website.com
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18 May 2012
Drawing interest in London
Three RMIT University staff curated exhibitions at the Drawing Out 2012 conference in London recently.
The conference was jointly organised by the University of the Arts, London, and RMIT and attended by RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Margaret Gardner AO.
The universities jointly ran Drawing Out 2010 at RMIT in Melbourne.
Professor William Cartwright said the conference brought together all disciplines involved in drawing - from art to technology and science.
"It explored the transdisciplinary nature of drawing and this was reflected in the topics addressed by keynote speakers, conference presenters and associated exhibitions," he said.
"Cartography was embraced by the conference organisers as an essential component of drawing."
As well as formal presentations, RMIT also contributed three exhibitions to Drawing Out 2012:
- Conscious Collective - a group exhibition organised by Dr Emma Barrow from the School of Art.
- Contemporary Australian Drawing 2 - curated by Dr Irene Barberis, also from the School of Art.
- Eduard Imhof - artist, engineer and cartographer (1895 - 1986) - curated by Professor Cartwright from the School of Mathematical and Geospatial Sciences.
Professor Cartwright said the Eduard Imhof exhibition provided both an insight into the technical drawings produced by Imhof as preparations for the more formal topographic mapping and modelling and the final scientific representations of geography - maps.
"The exhibition contained reproductions of just a small sample of the wonderful drawings, paintings and completed maps that comprise the archive at the Institute for Cartography and Geoinformation, ETH Zurich," he said.
"RMIT is indebted to ETH Zurich for enabling reproductions of the archive to be exhibited at the Drawing Out exhibition.
"The Drawing Out 2012 conference was a reflection of the collaborations being developed between RMIT and the University of the Arts."
Professor Cartwright said the universities would again cooperate for Drawing Out 2013 in Melbourne.
Dr Emma Barrow.
Dr Irene Barberis.
Professor William Cartwright.
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- Acclaimed alumnus back to artistic roots at RMIT 18/03/2013 | <urn:uuid:f0f5f0c2-6cb0-4b38-aae6-0d9cfbfc195a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rmit.com.au/browse;ID=lv94y14a4pyb1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945555 | 511 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Traffic cameras reduce collisions at city's intersections
By GREG ALLMAIN
Federal Way Mirror reporter
January 7, 2013 · 5:22 PM
Federal Way Police Chief Brian Wilson said the city's traffic camera enforcement program is having its intended effect of increasing safety at various intersections and school zones throughout the city.
Likewise, most red-light and school zone violations are committed by non-residents of Federal Way.
"From 2009-2011…we have seen reductions in collision events at these intersections following the implementation of the camera systems," said Wilson as he reviewed the program during the city council's Jan. 2 meeting.
According to statistics compiled by FWPD, between 2009-11 there was a 47 percent reduction in collisions at the intersection of South 348th Street and Enchanted Parkway.
At the intersection of 320th Street and Pacific Highway South, there was a 58 percent reduction in collisions. At 312th Street and Pacific Highway, there was a 13 percent reduction.
Between 2010 and 2011, Wilson noted a similar pattern of reduced collision rates for each of the three intersections:
• 35 percent reduction for 348th Street and Enchanted Parkway
• 58 percent reduction for 320th Street and Pacific Highway
• 40 percent reduction at 312th Street and Pacific Highway
One of the biggest bones of contention between Federal Way residents and the city over the photo enforcement system has come from the three school zones that are photo enforced: Twin Lakes Elementary, Saghalie Middle School and Panther Lake Elementary.
Wilson reiterated the reliability of those systems.
"In terms of the operational integrity of the system, that has always been maintained. Any time we have shut down the system for one reason or another, it's been to ensure that the process that's being followed is meeting our high standards," Wilson said at the meeting. "So if there was any question about a violation, or that the system wasn't operating properly, even a question about that, we would take steps to have those violations dismissed."
"We've never had a faulty system that's resulted in citizens being inappropriately cited," he added.
Wilson said there were 87,632 violations recorded by the photo enforcement program between September 2008 to December 2012. The intersection with the most violations in that period was southbound 320th/Pacific Highway, with 14,103 violations. Westbound 320th/Pacific Highway saw 11,838 violations in those four years, while eastbound 348th/Enchanted Parkway saw 11,981 violations. The school zone with the most violations was Panther Lake with 9,093.
There have been few repeat offenders, Wilson said, with 87.8 percent of those violations made up of one-time offenders. Federal Way residents only make up 32.7 percent of the total offenders since the program's inception.
"The vast majority of violations are committed by citizens who do not reside in the city of Federal Way," Wilson said.
For the three major intersections already touched on, Wilson said there is a general downward trend in violations at those intersections. For school zones, the pattern is basically reversed, but Wilson attributed that to the fact that the school zone camera systems have been in operation a shorter period of time, and have had periods of time where they weren't functioning correctly, so people aren't as adjusted to those camera systems as they are at the major intersections.
The police chief also touched on the impression that some people have that photo enforcement systems may actually increase danger to drivers because of the need to slam on the brakes when a light changes.
In Federal Way's experience, this hasn't been the case so far.
"We have found no perceptible negative impacts to traffic flow," he said. "There's been 60,340 red-light violation events reviewed with no resulting rear-end collisions."
Wilson conceded that there is still work to do for the system, especially at some of the school zones. He and other city officials are exploring options to increase signage or install another light system to alert people that they're entering a school zone, especially at Panther Lake on 1st Avenue South.
Contact Federal Way Mirror reporter Greg Allmain at firstname.lastname@example.org or 253-925-5565 ext. 5054. | <urn:uuid:8ee4cb3b-65e7-49e2-8b69-2d5863668c45> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.federalwaymirror.com/news/185954621.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972881 | 865 | 1.617188 | 2 |
- THE MAGAZINE
From June 19 through October 10, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Netherlands is presenting more than 130 ceramic objects in an exhibition entitled “Fired Clay.” These vases, bowls and containers have recently been donated to the museum by private collectors and have never previously been exhibited publicly.
Donations have come from Germany, England, Scandinavia and Japan, and the objects span the period from 1950 to the present day. Represented ceramicists include Lucie Rie, Ken Eastman, Bodil Manz and Beate Kuhn. The gifts from the Den Blaauwen, Verberne, Van Achterbergh and Willems collections represent a significant enrichment of the museum’s collection of Dutch and international ceramics.
The Den Blaauwen collection includes objects by contemporary ceramicists that Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has followed for many years. The Verberne collection is the largest and most recently formed collection and contains objects from Canada, Australia and Japan. From this collection, the museum has selected objects by artists such as Bodil Manz and Ken Eastman, who are recognized among the world’s most important ceramicists. Their works focus on the exploration of functional ceramics in which color and form play an important role. The exhibition also contains objects with illustrations of daily life by the Dutch ceramicist Lies Cosijn from the Willems collection.
Since the museum was established, private collectors have played an important role in its history. Since the second half of the 20th century, the museum has been able to increase its number of purchases but has continued to rely on the generosity of private collectors. The recent gifts from the Den Blaauwen, Willemse and Verberne collections and from an anonymous donor are of great significance for the museum’s collection of applied arts.
Visit www.boijmans.nl for more information. | <urn:uuid:4c4e56f3-481a-482e-b97e-c7bff83cedd3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ceramicindustry.com/articles/fired-clay-exhibition-showcases-ceramic-donations | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949849 | 396 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Sélecteur de langues
European Commissioner for Environment
Europe Environment Policy: what's next?…
Session 7 – Closing debate at the conference "Towards a genuine 7th Environmental Action Plan"
Brussels, 26 November 2010
I would first like to thank the Belgian Presidency for their hard work over the last year. This has been a great help, both in evaluating the 6th Environmental Action Programme and in looking at the next steps.
Thank you also for providing two questions for orientation of today's debate – they are actually very interrelated.
You know I want a full and wide assessment of the 6th EAP, the future environmental challenges, and on the best ways to tackle them.
I am also in favour of a strong European environment policy. One which improves the quality of life for Europeans, but which does so in a global context.
This will need strong policies as well as a strong knowledge base – and of course appropriate implementation.
So what do we need today?
We need realistic analysis and discussion. First we need to know what the new environmental priorities should be.
We've achieved a lot in Europe over the last 10 years. And our environmental policies and legislation are envied and often copied across the world. Climate change, energy targets, waste, emissions or chemicals are all good examples. And even the less positive, like the biodiversity story, have been to some extent balanced by the outcome of the Nagoya Conference.
But, without any doubt, there is still much to do.
Our changing world has new environmental challenges. It is a very different landscape from when the 6th EAP was proposed. This means looking forward 20 or 30 years from now and thinking what type of world we'll be living in.
On the conservation status of our most important habitats and species, in air pollution, especially in our urban areas we must do better. And we still produce too much waste. We will need to look hard at our existing consumption and production – and use our natural resources more efficiently.
Resources have to be a focus. Because our future will undoubtedly be resource constrained. It is estimated that global population will grow from the current 6 billion to 9 billion by 2050, and we can also expect to see massive growth of the middle classes in emerging economies. Given current trends in consumption, we can imagine what kind of pressure on resources this will mean. While more and more we are decoupling our resource growth from resource extraction – 'absolute' resource growth and extraction is increasing. This negates any efficiency gains.
From a strictly European point of view, we also need to consider the implications of these trends on our dependency on resource imports. We face greater supply risks though increased competition for land and for ‘high-tech metals’ and even water. In more fragile and unstable states, these challenges can have a real impact on migration, security and resource supply.
Our grandparents always used to talk about 'living within our means'… we need to be inspired by them when we think about our resources! That is why I have dedicated so much effort to resource efficiency since becoming environment Commissioner. In 2011 we will be presenting a roadmap for a resource efficient Europe…which could well be the foundation of future environmental policy.
To summarize my response on the first question. We need realistic analysis and discussion. About lessons learned form the 6th EAP, what has worked and what has not. About the changing reality of the world since 2002 and in the decades to follow. We need immediate discussion and action on what the key policy proposals concerning - for example - biodiversity, climate change, resource efficiency, and implementation should look like. This is about integration and coherence, not just between environmental actions, but coherence between general polices that bear heavily on the environmental outcomes. It is a debate about future CAP, CFP, Structural and Cohesion funds, future of EU's research and innovation polices, and last but not least the debate on next Financial Perspectives. We need to discuss the environmental challenges of next 20 or 30 years. Many of these questions are on our agenda now or in the next half of the year. We can not afford not to be present and active in these debates, we can not afford not to have them.
Is the form also important and should we also discuss it? Yes, but the definite decision is not so urgent and decisive for the future quality of the environment as substantial issues which I have just mentioned. Do we need 7th EAP? It could well be and I see many strong arguments for it. But at this stage of debate I would prefer to focus on the substance.
There is no doubt that we need to change our approach on environmental risk management. And we need to broaden the scope of environment policy making because many of the key drivers of change already operate outside the realm of European environmental policy. This means rethinking environmental governance - building environmental interests in our policy making at an early stage.
We will need to think differently. We will need to be responsive, more knowledgeable, and we will need to make our policies integrated and coherent.
Responsive and flexible environmental policies are the order of the day. External conditions are changing so quickly, and often fundamentally. So we need to be as agile. Think about the recent changes proposed for the Common Agricultural Policy. This is a clear example of a 'traditional' policy, which has to move with the times – in this case because of pressure for additional food production with knock-on environmental consequences.
We need a better knowledge base. To better understand and take action. Because we can't know if we are being sustainable or not unless we can measure it. This means knowing more about our most complex systems. And being able to share that information – just as the TEEB project is doing already. We need to look hard at how we are gathering and using knowledge - we will need to work closely with key knowledge providers, the EEA, commission's own JRC, national institutes.
This leads to our need to build integrated policies to meet common goals. This is especially true as many of Europe's environmental challenges are now inter-linked. Who could look at issues of food, energy, water and health security, urban living or the design of future use of natural capital in isolation? The environmental 'angle' has already become a natural part of transport, chemicals, energy subsidies, development policies. The EU has today much greener agricultural and maritime policies than when we adopted the 6th EAP. The same can be said about policies on energy efficiency and renewable energies, and cohesion policy today supports investments in green infrastructure and green technologies.
I would suggest that our first thought – when considering new policies - has to be…is this policy coherent? Our second thought must be…can it be properly integrated? The third must be…how easy will it be to implement it?
This is what we have tried to do with Europe 2020. It sets out our stall for an unprecedented level of coherence between our policies. It is a transformational agenda for a sustainable Europe, through the building of a knowledge-based, green and resource efficient economy.
Of course, Member States have a crucial role to play in this. At national level - with the national reform programmes and collectively at EU level as well. In the new governance cycle of EU 2020 there will be a European semester. This is where sectoral Councils, including the Environment Council have a crucial role to play. This is where we have the greatest potential for ensuring that integration and coherence can properly play out in favour of environment and sustainability. Do we want environmental and long term sustainability to be achieved by ensuring the transformation of your economies? This will be the best place to do it. I often hear about "ambition" from many of you. If there is a challenge that requires ambition, this is the one.
And you know I can't and won't avoid talking about legislation. Because it will continue to play an important role in achieving environmental objectives. Compared to 2002 when the 6th EAP was adopted, EU legislation is now in place in most of the environmental areas. The 6th EAP showed us where the gaps were. In recent years we have improved the acquis, with the adoption, for example of the REACH legislation, the Air Quality Directive, the Climate and Energy package or the Industrial Emissions Directive.
And this is where we need to think back to what I said earlier about implementation because this is what we need to do – implement and deliver on our environmental objectives. In some Member States, the acquis is still not properly applied, which undermines our credibility enormously. We need new and innovative approaches and instruments for better implementation and enforcement.
The Commission will help Member States with this. And we will pay particular attention to regional and local authorities. This is why I am very supportive of the work done this year by the Committee of the Regions on environmental governance.
Ladies and Gentlemen
During 2011, we will see the 6th EAP Final Assessment. I will, of course, be asking for your opinion just as I am today. It goes without saying that financing will be a big consideration. And all of us - the Commission, European Parliament, Member States and NGOs – will need to build in the environment into the policies and into the funds that can make the difference. I'm looking to you - again to all of us - for the suggestions on the best way to take environment policy forward and achieve our ambitious environmental goals.
I have given some of my ideas about the new world we live in and how we should prioritise our actions within these new realities. To summarize the answer on your second question again. For me the question is not on whether we need legislation or market based mechanisms or improved governance or better implementation record. We need all of them. The question is how we best mix them to address the real challenges – the patterns of production and consumption, to induce the behavioural change that will leave people with choice but still deliver results. We need to address the sources of problems that are getting more and more systemic. We need to transform the economy. Core environmental instruments will still play an important role in this, and we have to think about it in a long term and in a strategic way. But we need to be part of the bigger debate. We need take the challenge and be ambitious about it. The new economic cycle and European semester would be a wonderful opportunity to do just that. And I am counting on you. | <urn:uuid:651a5019-64d6-4b7d-9b3e-06e76f831991> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-10-691_en.htm?locale=FR | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954176 | 2,148 | 1.640625 | 2 |
I resisted the incredible urge to add my voice to the post-election noise for most of yesterday and today, but my perusal of InformationWeek has forced my hand. Mitch Wagner wrote a very good analysis of the president-elect’s pioneering use of Web 2.0 and social-networking technologies. Mitch hailed the election as “the end of the era of television presidency that started with JFK, and the beginning of the Internet presidency.”
Mitch then went on to quote SocialSphere advisor Joe Trippi, which is of course when my ears perked up. Mitch wrote that
Obama used a combination of television, the Internet, and social media to recruit volunteers and supporters, and cement relationships with them. He asked supporters to supply their cell phone numbers, and sent out regular text-message blasts, even announcing his selection for vice president over text message. Using a custom social-networking site, created with the help of a Facebook co-founder, Obama supporters were able to log in and find lists of people they could call, or whose doors they could knock on, to try to persuade others to vote for their candidate.
And it’s only the beginning, said Trippi. That kind of networking will likely transform the White House. Trippi anticipates Obama will create a similar social networking for his legislative initiatives, and recruit supporters to lobby Congress to get his policies enacted into law.
The result will be further increase of presidential power, and erosion of Congressional authority. “Congress will be put between a rock and a hard place, if millions of citizens sign up to help the President pass his agenda,” Trippi said. “If the President says, ‘Here are the members of Congress who stand in the way of us passing healthcare reform,’ I would not want to be one of those people. You’ll have 10 or 15 million networked Americans barging in on the members of Congress telling them to get in line with the program and pass the healthcare reform bill. That will be a power that no American president has had before. Congress’s power will be taken over by the American people.”
Mitch and Joe paint a picture that is at once scary and inspiring. Setting the political implications of a weaker congress aside (this isn’t a political blog, after all), this will—we hope—be a new kind of presidency. But don’t get fooled—BusinessWeek reminds us that Barack wasn’t the first presidential candidate to be good at tech.
The real test will be in how well Barack is able to transform his social media marketing machine into a true engine for change. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve taken the first step toward change by electing him, but his mastery of social media will not be solidified until his social media adoption becomes more than marketing. As Mashable’s Adam Ostrow writes, “How Will President Obama Use His Massive Social Media Influence?” Or as FreshNetworks asks,
How would [the Obama/Biden administration] use social media and online communities to continue to engage with people when they are in power[?] Social media can really help engage people when it provides away for them to have a real exchange about things that matter to them, where they can find out information on things they are interested in, share ideas and thoughts with peers and with politicians, report things to them and feel that they continue to be part of a campaign.
Newsweek cautions us that his road will not be an easy one, and the American public may have to be patient. Keeping us feeling connected is one way to do that, and social media is the way to do it. I hope I’m still getting emails from him two years from now (and maybe tweets too!). | <urn:uuid:ff8dea70-20a9-40b7-9e4d-8fc87ebcd89f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://morethanmarketing.net/2008/11/social-media-and-the-obama-administration/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96699 | 790 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Just last week, a strong majority on the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a 1999 federal law outlawing certain videos depicting animal cruelty and other weird practices involving animals (so-called “crush videos”) was overly broad and operated as an unconstitutional infringement of First Amendment rights. I was one of the few members of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote against the legislation at the time of its passage. I did so for the same reasons the Supreme Court threw out the statute last week — not because any of us find the activity protected by the First Amendment to be laudable (far from it); but because it sweeps too broadly and attaches criminal penalties to a person’s right to freedom of expression.
Moreover, it is not as if true acts of animal cruelty would go unpunished without this federal law in place; virtually every state already criminalizes such practices. The high Court decision, and my vote against the legislation 11 years ago, simply reflect that a federal law restricting such behavior is unnecessary and constitutionally defective.
Now, just a week after that decision, the Court has announced it will take up another video case; this one involving the extent to which states, including California, can prohibit the sale to minors of video games depicting what might be called extreme violence. Last week’s animal cruelty video opinion may contain some clues as to how the justices might rule in this most recent case they have taken under advisement.
In the crush video opinion, the Court distinguished earlier decisions that upheld limits on the distribution of videos depicting child pornography. Applying that same reasoning might lead a majority to find California’s law on violent video games (similar to laws in a half dozen other states), to constitute a permissible limit on otherwise free expression. Still, both a federal trial court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found the law unconstitutional. Even if a majority of the Supreme Court justices rule in favor of the state law, it will likely be much closer than last week’s 8-1 decision.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who signed that state’s law five years ago, characteristically has praised the state prohibition. | <urn:uuid:ed951d17-59de-4369-84b5-40eb8bfca3c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.ajc.com/bob-barr-blog/2010/04/30/violent-video-games-in-supreme-court-crosshairs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951021 | 441 | 1.632813 | 2 |
3D entertainment in your home
3D TV is an emerging technology, which enables user to watch 3D-movies, television programs and video games in their homes. A 3D TV uses techniques of 3D presentation like stereoscopic capture, multi-view capture, or 2D plus depth, and a 3D display, which projects a normal television program into a realistic three-dimensional field.
Most of the people want to have 3D entertainment at home. Many of them are planning to buy a 3D TV to enjoy the ultimate image quality by sitting in their home. Here are some important points to consider, before you actually plan to bring this 3D entertainment to home:
With a 3D television you can enjoy the following benefits:
- You can experience outstanding quality pictures in three dimensional images.
- You need not go to a theater to watch 3D films.
- And yes, you can enjoy the real game power of the video games at your home.
Disadvantages include the following:
- With 3D technology still in its infancy stage, it’s not at all worthy to buy a 3D TV at this point of time.
- You need to sit right in front of your TV and have to wear those expensive 3D glasses to watch 3D movies and channels.
I have a samsung 32 inch lcd tv in my home. This TV offers superb resolution and picture quality. Its fast response time allow you to enjoy the clear action of video games.
So why go for 3D TV, when you can get the breathtaking viewing experience with these amazing television sets. Get any of these amazing television sets and get a theater experience with out burning your packet. | <urn:uuid:2ae626bd-984e-47a5-b786-f6a53808f1c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pocketchange.become.com/2010/10/3d-entertainment-in-your-home.html | 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 | 0.955246 | 349 | 1.75 | 2 |
The green giant: the growing subject of the environment
What do you think?
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By Morwenna Kearns
22 November 2010
Ultima Displays is among those in the industry proving their commitment to the environment by achieving the ISO 14001 accreditation
One of Output's main priorities is promoting the use of environmentally friendly materials, techniques and business practices. For some sign-makers and display producers the subject is something of a millstone around the neck, as landfill fees rise and the pressure from potentially more ecologically savvy competitors remains in a still challenging economic environment.
Indeed, Sophie Matthews-Paul's feature on Talk Print! this week discusses waste management schemes and the conflicting approaches taken by local authorities around the UK, and how there is something of a postcode lottery for companies in terms of affordable options. We'd like to hear about your experiences: whether your local council has assisted in your bid to go green, or whether it seemed to be actively opposed to the idea, and, if so, if and how you overcame it.
Elsewhere on Talk Print! HP's Stephen Goddard comments on the eco-conscious steps taken by major companies and how this can relate to the sign and display industry; footwear manufacturer Timberland, for example, is attempting to quantify its products' carbon footprint. This includes reducing the amount of PVC and solvents in their manufacture and foreseeing their future recyclabilty. This, as Stephen points out, is just the topic on the minds of sign-makers who want to prove their green credentials.
Ultima Displays is among the companies in our industry to have achieved the Environmental Standard of ISO 14001:2004 this year, of which it is understandably proud. The Environmental Management System's (EMS) name (catchy as it is) is probably familiar to most display producers, but what may not be so well known is what it takes to attain it. Rather a lot, it transpires: Ultima Displays demonstrated its commitment to the environment by agreeing to reduce general waste heading to landfill by up to 50 percent, to ensure hazardous waste is safely disposed of using approved couriers, to reduce gas and electricity use significantly, to use only vehicles with low CO2 emissions and to urge its hauliers to use energy efficient engines too, and to influence its suppliers to address their environmental impact. This is in addition to complying with standard environmental regulations.
When you add general workplace waste (office paper, kitchen rubbish) and employee transport into the equation, there are dozens of ways to reach the green answer. This might appear a frightening concept when looked at as one heap, but announcing, for instance, a 20 percent reduction in waste sent to landfill, or a new recyclable range of banners, could be a good place to start. There are numerous companies which offer the ISO 14001 qualification, including some which provide free documents and advice on how to go about it.
However, the display materials sector is not innocent among the UK's industries which charge a premium for recycled, organic, biodegradable and generally eco-friendly products. Nor are related sectors, suppliers of raw materials for example, always forthcoming with facts about the goods they are supplying. While there are uncountable steps in the right direction, I can't help feeling there needs to be movement from a large enough group to create a distinct shift.
Last week I heard that the director of a waste management company was finding the market tough, not because sign-makers and printers don't see the social and reputation benefits of recycling, or because they don't recognise that the price of sending waste to landfill has risen sharply and will continue to do so, but because of the unwelcome cost of transport. Our editorial team had a chat about this and the logistics involved in companies getting together for a common advantage, such as mass recycling, and realised that our industry's greatest resource is the people which comprise it.
We at Output want this magazine to be more than a news resource, but an opportunity to share ideas, opinions and information throughout the display industry, to create networks to help businesses and business practices. So, if you know of a successful regional recycling scheme, have achieved ISO 14001 or implemented other company-level changes, or have a comment to make, please do get in touch and join the discussion.
Comments in chronological order (Total 0 comments)
There are no comments yet for this article. | <urn:uuid:d41e0c4b-ae6d-4106-be08-3dd3aacd8ac1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.outputmagazine.com/sign-making/trade/general-news/the-green-giant-the-growing-subject-of-the-environment/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951922 | 898 | 1.734375 | 2 |
The Infant Behavior, Cry and Sleep Clinic (also called the Colic Clinic) is a one-of-a-kind clinical service for infants with crying, colic, sleep, feeding, and behavior concerns. Our staff helps parents understand and manage their infant’s behavior concerns.
We can help families adjust to the disruption caused by having an infant who is difficult to manage in the first few months and/or years of life. Our goal is to treat the infant’s difficulties with crying, sleeping and feeding. By doing this, we are able to help parents deal with possible disruptions in the parent-infant relationship.
In the Clinic, our behavioral pediatricians, clinical social worker, and clinical and developmental psychologists work together to develop treatment plans for families whose infants are having early behavioral concerns. Occupational therapy is also available.
Our services are covered by most insurance after pre-authorization.
Who do we serve?
- Infants from birth – 2 years old
- Infants presenting with significant difficulties in sleep, feeding, colic, or crying
- Families with adjustment issues around the birth of their baby who may be experiencing regulatory difficulties
Questions parents ask about their crying infant
- “Will the crying ever end?”
- “Why aren’t things like I expected?”
- “I am so frustrated. What can I do?”
If your baby...
- Cries more than 3 hours a day, every day
- Takes as long as an hour to finish a feeding
- Cries and fusses throughout a feeding
- Cries each night for more than 1 hour at bedtime
- Has difficulties falling asleep or staying asleep
Talk to your pediatrician about visiting our Clinic. We can help.
For more information, call (401) 274-1122, ext. 8935
Click here for infant and toddler sleep tips.
Research has been published demonstrating the efficacy of this treatment model. Read more.
Center for Children and Families Homepage | <urn:uuid:38228c67-147c-4cd5-b803-73b95389aad5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.womenandinfants.org/centerforchildrenandfamilies/colic-clinic.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950943 | 420 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Spoiler Alert: House of Card Reveals Corrupt Nexus of Politicians and Charities
Last month, Netflix debuted House of Cards, a fictional take on the dark side of power in Washington, DC. Though the show has apparently become “a minor cultural zeitgeist among Hill staffers and journalists,” some in D.C. are questioning whether it accurately depicts the realities of Washington. One element of the show’s story, however, rings true.
House Majority Whip Francis Underwood (played by Kevin Spacey) ruthlessly sets out to undermine a new presidential administration after he is passed over for secretary of state. Underwood’s machinations are aided and abetted by his wife Claire, the head of a high-profile environmental non-profit, who uses her charity to boost her husband’s political ambitions. For instance, a major natural gas company whose chief lobbyist used to work for Francis had promised a major donation to Claire’s organization with the expectation that her congressman husband would pull strings for the company once he became secretary of state. The relationship between the Underwoods and the gas company may appear so brazenly corrupt that it could only have been conjured by a Hollywood screenwriter, but unfortunately, it’s all too common.
Take Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA), for example. In March 2011, CREW found nine companies that contributed to Gov. Jindal’s campaign also had collectively pledged $790,000 to a charitable foundation headed by First Lady Supriya Jindal. Combined, eight of those companies received at least $113.6 million in payments from the state between 2008 and 2011, and many had issues pending before the governor. The Jindals, of course, aren’t the only politicians playing this game. A children’s charity founded by disgraced former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) and his wife raised millions of dollars from big companies and corporate executives, including companies that routinely lobbied Congress. The charity folded in 2010, as former Rep. DeLay faced criminal charges. In addition, in 2010, the New York Times “found at least two dozen charities that lawmakers or their families helped create or run that routinely accept donations from businesses seeking to influence them.”
Exploiting family ties isn’t the only way charities are used to exert influence in Washington. Another common practice is for corporations to make charitable donations to charity in honor of lawmakers and other public officials. Indeed, this practice was also highlighted in House of Cards when the same gas company that had promised to donate to Claire Underwood’s charity financed a library named for Francis Underwood. Just last week, CREW’s research found that in 2012, Google donated $25,000 to a non-profit in honor of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chairman Jon Leibowitz. Not only does Google have regulatory interests before the FTC, but the commission was actively investigating the company for antitrust violations at the time of the donation. A spokesman for the FTC said that Chairman Leibowitz had no knowledge of Google’s involvement in the dinner honoring him, but it still “really looks terrible,” as CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan told Bloomberg.
Contributions such as Google’s are so routine that companies that lobby must file special disclosure forms listing them. In 2011, CREW found AT&T had given $1.24 million to charities in honor of members of Congress and organizations affiliated with them between 2008 and 2010. In a new examination of AT&T’s 2011 and 2012 charitable donations, CREW found AT&T gave roughly $750,000 to charities in honor of members of Congress and organizations affiliated with them. Three of the charities AT&T contributed to have direct ties to individual members of Congress or their families: the James E. Clyburn Research & Scholarship Foundation ($60,000), the Joe Baca Foundation ($12,000), and the Joe Barton Family Foundation ($5,000). AT&T also directed donations to the U.S. Capitol Historical Society in honor of Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY) and Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), presumably to help fund their official portraits.
We’ll look forward to seeing what other shady Washington practices House of Cards exposes next season. | <urn:uuid:ddb89a55-8892-4c1c-9bcf-1dddcae2c7a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.citizensforethics.org/blog/entry/spoiler-alert-house-of-card-reveals-corrupt-nexis-politicians-and-charities | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965902 | 891 | 1.640625 | 2 |
MONTROSE – Thanks to recent precipitation, federal lands in areas of the Western Slope are returning to Stage I Fire Restrictions on Wednesday, July 18, in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, as well as the Uncompahgre Field Office and the Gunnison Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management.
Stage I Fire Restrictions may also be in effect for several local counties, pending discussions among county boards of commissioners this week for San Miguel, Delta, Ouray, Montrose and Gunnison counties.
While the recent rains have provided some relief, fire managers are monitoring and evaluating whether the rains will have a lasting impact on long-term fire conditions. While the area has received rain, it is spotty in places. Rainfall amounts have been variable across the area and were accompanied by lightning, which has produced numerous small fires. Long-term weather forecasts call for continued hot, dry conditions with high temperatures returning. The area has experienced severe drought conditions and significant precipitation will be needed to recover from these conditions.
“We appreciate the public’s cooperation and support in respecting fire restrictions,” said Acting Forest Supervisor Sherry Hazelhurst. “Fire managers will continue to monitor weather and vegetation conditions across the area, discussing them with the counties and other partners to coordinate needed restrictions.
“Should conditions warrant a change, we will provide media announcements and update information on the MIFMU, GMUG and BLM websites to ensure that people working in or recreating in the area are kept aware of current fire restrictions.”
Stage I fire restrictions on BLM and USFS lands prohibit: “building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire except a fire within a permanent constructed fire grate in a developed (fee) campground; Smoking except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials; and operating or using any internal combustion engine without a spark arresting device properly installed, maintained and in effective working order is also prohibited.”
Campers are permitted to use, “petroleum-fueled stoves, lanterns or heating devices that meet the fire underwriters’ specifications for safety.”
The use of fireworks, flares or other incendiary devices is always prohibited on federal lands. | <urn:uuid:12209bbc-a3b4-4c33-bce3-f69328ad563b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.watchnewspapers.com/view/full_story/19341452/article-Federal-Lands-Return-to-Stage-I-Fire-Restrictions?instance=2nd_top_story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935517 | 488 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Nonprofit or community organization
Last modified: March 10, 2010, 6:27 AM
iKhaya likaBaba is a zulu phrase which means "house of the Father". Its inception and creation took place in the hearts of a group of caring individuals. With the onslaught of Aids/HIV on families and the hopelessness of poverty - we saw a need to create an alternative. A place where abandoned babies and AIDS orphans could find a place of shelter, but mostly love. Where these precious children could know love and be cared for in the way that they deserve.
We provide excellent care that is individually culturally appropriate and situated within the community of Empangeni for abandoned babies. With a trained and skilled staff of caregivers, nurses, occupational therapist, doctors, physical therapists , we provide the best level of medical and physical care targeted and developing each child to its full age appropriate potential and laying the correct foundations for childhood development.
iKhaya LikaBaba The Fathers House has no listings. | <urn:uuid:998c5960-de08-4e91-bc89-20e6918621ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.idealist.org/view/org/8nxnWgD63WmD/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944586 | 207 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Ready to Enter the Building
Published in TC Today - Volume 35, No. 2
TC’s Summer Principals Academy is breaking new ground in preparing 21st century school leaders
By David McKay Wilson
Two years ago, when Heather Haines (M.A., ’09) was named principal of a troubled charter school on Chicago’s South Side, she faced problems on every front, including student discipline, classroom rigor and student achievement.
It was a formidable challenge, even for a veteran administrator—and Haines, who was just 29, had never run a school before. Still, she considered herself well prepared for the job. A year earlier, Haines had completed TC’s highly regarded Summer Principals Academy (SPA), where she learned strategies specifically designed for the arduous process of turning around high-need schools in crisis.
Over 14 months that included two five-week summers in residence at TC, Haines and her cohort focused on everything from rethinking a school’s mission to rebuilding curricula aimed at preparing students for success in higher education and the work force. She has channeled lessons from all of those areas into her daily management of her school, even renaming the institution the Perspective Leadership Academy.
“We learned about having a vision and managing change,” Haines says. “There were students and staff upset about the change, so I had to help manage those emotions.”
Since its founding in 2004, SPA has grown to include more than 90 students per cohort and by the end of this summer will have nearly 400 alumni—over half in leadership roles at schools around the country.
“We believe SPA is modeling how to prepare leaders for 21st century schools, which typically are smaller, more academically focused, and more ethnically and culturally diverse,” says SPA founding Director Craig Richards, Professor of Education. “The principal’s job today demands idealism, energy, strong social and entrepreneurial instincts, a facility with technology, a comfort level with accountability and ongoing change, and above all, an inner urgency to improve children’s life chances.”
While many SPA students are in their 30s, two-thirds already have a master’s degree. Like Heather Haines, many have come to TC a few years after their experiences in Teach For America (TFA), a program that recruits non-education majors from universities across the country and trains them in urban and rural schools with high needs. Among this summer’s cohort of 92 admitted students, 30 were TFA corps members.
Courtney Russell (M.A.,’08) founding Principal of the Metropolitan Lighthouse Charter School in the Bronx, began her teaching career with TFA in Atlanta. After four years in the classroom, she enrolled in SPA to make the leap into educational leadership. Last year, Russell was tapped to be the founding principal of a Bronx start-up school launched by Lighthouse Academies, a TFA partner organization.
This summer’s incoming SPA cohort will include nine educators from Indianapolis, who will arrive in Morningside Heights through a partnership involving TFA, Indianapolis Public Schools and The Mind Trust, an Indiana nonprofit organization that supports education innovation and reform.
Meanwhile, Richards is working to establish a SPA-South at Tulane University in New Orleans by 2012.
“We want to keep our home audience happy with highly qualified applications from New York City, but we’d also like to serve educators around the country,” he says. “The demand for SPA is outstripping our capacity to respond. We have a strong alumni base in the South, and public schools there are also on a different calendar, so having a SPA-South makes sense for us.”
SPA’s learning framework breaks down leadership skills into four clusters: leadership competencies, managerial competencies, adult professional development, and curriculum and supervision.
Professional development can be a key element in school reform efforts, as teachers learn new ways to engage students.
“An adult’s world-view is already set, to a certain extent, so they are not as flexible or fluid as children,” says Cecilia Jackson (M.A., ’07), founding Principal at Pioneer Academy in Corona, Queens. “You need to understand that different people learn in different ways, and you have to figure out what motivates them.”
Indeed, Richards believes that, with issues ranging from transportation and nutrition to pedagogy and the well-being of hundreds of youngsters, running a school can be more complex than running a business.
“While a good teacher counts the most, it’s good leadership that enables the teachers,” says Richards. “If you don’t have a system in place that holds the teachers and their students in a strong learning community, then the potential of the student and teacher is wasted.”
For each SPA cohort’s culminating project, teams of students design a new school—from vision and mission to staffing and accountability. The work is no mere exercise, having spawned several actual new schools—including Pioneer Academy, which Jackson proposed. Her assistant principal at the school is SPA classmate Stephen Early (M.A.,’07).
The presentations for the new schools are made in TC’s Cowin Conference center, in front of hundreds of TC students and faculty and a panel of expert judges.
Among the panelists for the past three years was Eric Nadelstern (M.A., ’73), then Deputy Chancellor for the New York City Department of Education’s Division of School Support and Instruction. Nadelstern retired this spring after 39 years in the city’s schools and will be teaching courses on curriculum and supervision at this summer’s SPA session.
“We found in New York City that it was much more productive to replace large, failed schools with new, small schools,” says Nadelstern. “That’s precisely what SPA is training these educators to do.”
With all the responsibility heaped on a principal’s shoulders, SPA also provides self-awareness training, which teaches students how to use their self awareness to discern the right actions to take in any given moment. The key message: there are times when it’s important to look deeper than one’s intellect, and to reflect on one’s experience in the moment.
For Stephen Chiger (M.A., ’10), an instructional leader in English at Newark’s North Star Academy, that’s meant confronting his own tendency to avoid conflict, which reflects a belief that organizations run better if differences aren’t aired. Chiger says he has come to realize that a respectful discussion of opposing viewpoints can produce new pathways for progress.
“I’ve learned to approach conflict in new ways and be less afraid of it,” says Chiger. “Now I reframe it and see that conflict can be a place for organizational growth.” | <urn:uuid:83d99cd9-990f-4401-a533-9f52a276649c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://continuingeducation.tc.columbia.edu/news.htm?articleID=8057&pub=7&issue=267 | 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 | 0.961527 | 1,489 | 1.570313 | 2 |
In what appears to be a PR shout out to the South Asian community, many of whom have been unhappy with recent immigration policy changes especially those related to family sponsorships, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) issued a news release citing that Canada’s Chandigarh office issued a record number of visitor visas in 2012.
It states that CIC officials issued approximately 17,608 visitor visas in India’s Punjab region, almost three times more than were issued in 2005. As well, approximately 80 per cent of visitor cases processed at missions in India in 2012 were finalized in five days or less, a major improvement over the 12-day processing time over the same period last year.
I am pleased to announce that a record number of Indians from the Punjab region visited Canada last year and that the percentage of applicants approved for a visitor visa has increased significantly,” Minister Kenney said. “
As the cultural and commercial ties between our countries grow, it is good news that more Indians are visiting Canada under our faster, fairer immigration system.”
Kenney also highlighted that, with a 54 per cent approval rate, Canada continues to maintain record high levels of student permits issued to the Punjab region. In 2012, Canada issued approximately 5,200 student permits from Chandigarh, up from 173 in 2004 when the mission first opened.
The minister also lauded the success of the new Super Visa for parents and grandparents. Launched one year ago, the Super Visa allows parents and grandparents to visit their loved ones in Canada for as long as two years at a time. There were more than 3,700 Super Visas issued from CIC’s Chandigarh mission in 2012, with an approval rate of 80 per cent and average processing times of less than eight weeks.
In addition to benefiting from recent changes to Canada’s immigration system, the record numbers are also due in part to good work by law enforcement agencies in both Canada and India to detect and deter fraud, says the release.
India continues to remain one of Canada’s top source countries for immigrants and visitors,” Kenney said. “
These increased figures show that our recent changes make it possible for a growing number of travellers to visit Canada.” | <urn:uuid:1b8f9c45-82c9-4884-a41d-aa628bbf69f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://canadianimmigrant.ca/news-and-views/record-number-of-visitor-visas-from-punjab-region-says-cic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959916 | 464 | 1.609375 | 2 |
We all want to be remembered after we depart this world. Weeping relatives, friends to tell of our greatest deeds, and music to rend the souls of those who mourn our passing.
Alessandro Manzoni was perhaps, posthumously, the luckiest and the most unfortunate man to have ever lived. Lucky because Giuseppe Verdi composed his “Manzoni Requiem” in honor of the pivotal Italian novelist, which also makes Manzoni supremely unlucky for what he never heard. The Requiem moves in stages of emotion from awe and elation to joy that cannot be contained. Verdi’s theme for the piece was the Day of Judgment as expressed by the Roman Catholic funeral mass, which he placed in the form of a chorus, trumpets, and drums that have the ability to blow the soul several feet from one’s body. The chorus rises like the building of a tidal surge and releases its voice to thunder across the audience with a wave of passion so deep one must either weep or silently tremble. Colorado Symphony Orchestra produced an inspired performance of the Requiem this past weekend. My wife and I were lucky enough to find ourselves in the front rows facing the chorus. The Requiem has four soloists, a soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and bass. Arturo Chacon-Cruz, the tenor, made a compelling portrait of sorrow and longing, gripping his music stand will involuntary fervor as he sang:
My prayers are not worthy, but thou, O good one, show mercy, lest I burn in everlasting fire.
That fire was provided from Jonita Lattimore, soprano, a powerful operatic voice and a artist of full form who enacted every line with the complete expression of body and voice. Take a listen to the whole piece below, make sure to make it to the four or five minute mark to get the shaktipat. It will never match a first hand experience but with any luck you will hear the essence one of Verdi’s most beautiful works that cannot be described as anything less than holy, in the sense of being completely “other” from any mundane experience. | <urn:uuid:0c4ce775-6a4f-4979-83a6-a1988de471a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.elephantjournal.com/2009/04/one-piece-of-music-you-must-see-before-you-die-giuseppe-verdis-messa-da-requiem/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964395 | 450 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Opting for a natural child birth without medication, the Anniston resident for several hours was in extreme discomfort.
“I couldn’t get comfortable in the bed and it hurt to walk,” Dunaway said.
Then her doctor suggested Dunaway try a technique known as water birth. After sliding into an inflatable tub filled with warm water, Dunaway’s situation improved.
“Gradually I felt better … for me it helped with the pain,” Dunaway said.
After an hour and a half of relaxing in the tub, Dunway moved with a nurse’s help to a bed to complete the delivery. Soon afterward, Jace was born and mother and son have been well ever since.
Dunaway was the first mother to use the Anniston hospital’s new water birth procedure – a pain-relieving technique that is gaining popularity but is still rarely used in hospitals, particularly those in the South, experts say.
Dr. Joshua Johannson, who performed water births for years in Philadelphia, brought the procedure to RMC after moving with his wife to Anniston. Johannson said he currently has five patients signed up for the procedure.
“I think this is just another way of catering to women’s diverse needs,” Johannson said. “We’re offering a more patient-oriented way of labor delivery and don’t just funnel you into the system.”
While some mothers actually give birth in water during water births, most water birth procedures are not performed that way, Johannson said. RMC currently does not allow mothers to give birth in water.
“There are some places that do that … but the places where they do it, most women like moving and getting up and don’t necessarily deliver in the water,” Johannson said.
Johannson said the only real reason to put an expecting mother in a water-filled tub is to help relieve pain in lieu of pain medication.
“It helps them deal with contractions and they feel more comfortable in the pool,” he said. “And there are no side effects to water.”
And at RMC, the technique does not cost any more than a standard birth and is covered by insurance.
Jessica Ledbetter, an RMC registered nurse who helped deliver Dunaway’s baby, said the mother has to be in active labor before she is placed in the tub.
“We try to listen to the baby periodically while in the tub … and you can sit in any position you want,” Ledbetter said. “It’s very different and really neat.”
According to the American Pregnancy Association, though water birthing has been in use for 30 years, there has been little research on the risks of having a baby underwater. As such, many hospitals are reluctant to perform the procedure, even when it does not involve delivering a baby underwater, such as at RMC.
“This is a big step,” Johannson said.
However, there is evidence the technique does help relieve pain for the mother.
Brad Imler, president of the American Pregnancy Association, agreed that the procedure is still not widely used in the United States and is mainly performed at mothers’ homes.
“But hospitals are now starting to integrate it into their services,” Imler said.
As for the benefits, mothers have stated that water births are soothing and relaxing and help them work through the labor, Imler said.
“It affects her buoyancy, so it makes it easier to deal with the weight she has gained,” Imler said. “And there are reports of it lowering high blood pressure, particularly in relieving stress and anxiety.”
Emily Henderson of Jacksonville is six months pregnant with her first child and is looking forward to undergoing the water birth procedure.
“I had always said that if I had a baby, I would do it, but I thought it was just in your home,” Henderson said.
A gymnast and track runner at Jacksonville State University, the endurance test of giving birth naturally without medication appeals to her, Henderson said.
“I think it’s more of an accomplishment thing since I’m an athlete,” Henderson said with a laugh. “And it’s better for the baby.”
Staff writer Patrick McCreless: 256-235-3561. On Twitter @PMcCreless_Star. | <urn:uuid:5680a792-2cb3-4fb1-9062-92f432446799> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://annistonstar.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Anniston+hospital+performs+its+first+water+birth%20&id=21328560&instance=secondary_stories_left_column | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969224 | 946 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Picacho Auxiliary Army Airfield #1
Friday, 3rd June 2005 by James Turnbull
Picacho Auxiliary Army Airfield #1 is today used by helicopters of the AZ National Guard, based at the nearby Silverbell Army Heliport, and consists of six short paved runways (they don’t need to be very long as helicopters, not planes, land there). You can see a chopper parked at the top of the light brown strip.
The Airfield was built during WW2 as a satellite of the nearby Marana Army Airfield (now Pinal Airpark) and if you zoom out a little bit you can make out the original landing mat at a 45 degree angle to the new heliport. The former runways are clearest to the east of the heliport and run north-south and east-west.
More information about the airfield is available here. | <urn:uuid:faa47f1d-6093-408b-9912-d6cd71960149> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://googlesightseeing.com/2005/06/picacho-auxiliary-army-airfield-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965656 | 186 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Families Uniting Now profiled in the Oregonian
The program officially launched just this past July, but Families Uniting Now is already yielding some promising results.
Families Uniting Now helps parents involved in the Child Welfare system to prepare to be reunited with their children, by cultivating parenting skills and helping strengthen the parent-child relationship.
Between 7/5/2011 and 8/25/2011, 7 children and 5 parents met
twice per week for three hours per visit at locations that included
parks, OMSI, the Children's Museum, and more.
- 3 children are back home with their parent full-time
- 2 children will return home pending a court date in mid-September
- 1 child is making much more frequent visits, including seeing their mother 5 days per week.
to read the Oregonian
article about Families Uniting Now.
to learn more about Families Uniting Now. | <urn:uuid:82204e94-cdc3-4f6b-9e50-f939a1d492b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.voaor.org/About-Us/News/Families-Uniting-Now-profiled-in-the-Oregonian.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93137 | 193 | 1.625 | 2 |
Facing the Challenge
A formidable challenge
While we have turned the corner in the battle against many cancers, it is still a serious and complex condition. After all, cancer isn’t one disease, but many different diseases which can affect people in many different ways.
There are many different types of treatment for cancer, and no single course of treatment is right for everyone. That’s why it’s necessary to design a treatment program that is tailored to your specific needs. Your doctor will work with you to determine the best course of treatment for you.
- Many Resources Many Options
- What We Can Do For You
- A Full Range of Services for Body and Spirit
- Office Visits
- Your First Appointment
- In-between Visits: Calls and Emergencies
If you are confronting cancer and trying to understand what to do, the question you might be asking yourself is, “Where to do I begin?”
The best place to start is with your Commonwealth physician. He or she is a specialist in oncology (the treatment of cancer) and/or hematology (the treatment of blood diseases). Your doctor, nurse practitioner and our specially trained nurses will take the time to discuss your specific illness and treatment options. They will also direct you to appropriate educational materials and support groups.
Beyond that, it is important to empower yourself by learning about your disease and taking an active role in your care. There are many books and publications you can use to help educate yourself about cancer and coping with the impact it can have on you and your family. There are also many online resources that offer advice on coping and facts about cancer.
At Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology, you receive the best of both worlds: individualized care in a comfortable environment close to home, combined with the resources of New England’s largest private practice specializing in cancer care. We try to make your treatment as convenient and comprehensive as possible.
Your doctor is the center of a medical team that includes more than 100 dedicated health care professionals. In addition, a hallmark of our practice is close collaboration with our colleagues in the medical community: your primary care physician, surgeon, and specialists, as needed.
We administer most treatment on an outpatient basis, and are affiliated with many of the finest hospitals in the area.
We take advantage of state-of-the-art advances in diagnosis and treatment, including the newest chemotherapy drugs and the most sophisticated radiation technology.
Our comprehensive services include:
- diagnosis and staging
- radiation therapy
- immunologic therapy
- biologic therapy
- genetic counseling
- clinical trials
- survivorship planning and follow up
Our medical services go hand-in-hand with emotional, psychological, social, nutritional support, all of which you’ll find in our local support groups.
Another key part of our program is patient education. In our Patient Resource Centers, you will find helpful literature and videotapes.
Our goal at Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology is to make every visit as pleasant and productive an experience as possible.
At your initial visit, our receptionist will ask you for personal information such as your address, phone number, and social security number. Please bring a copy of a photo ID to your first visit. The receptionist will make a copy of your insurance cards. Prior to your visit, our intake coordinator will review your insurance coverage and our billing and reimbursement procedure. Your health and personal information is protected by the law and will never be disclosed without your consent.
At Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology, we respect your time and try to honor your scheduled appointments. Please let the receptionist know if you have been waiting more than 30 minutes. This should only happen in the event of an emergency, and we apologize in advance for any inconvenience.
Before you leave our office, please ask your physician when you should return and the reason for your next visit: physician appointment, chemotherapy or radiation treatment, or a nursing appointment. Whatever the occasion for your return, our receptionist will try to find an appointment time that’s convenient for you.
We encourage patients to call us if a question or problem arises in between visits to the office. Your physician or nurse will return calls as quickly as possible. If you feel your call is an emergency, please tell the receptionist or the answering service.
Note that one of our physicians is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – so please don’t hesitate to call our office if you have a problem.
If you call your physician’s office after 5:00 p.m., our answering service will automatically pick up. The physician on call will then be paged and given your message. When the doctor returns your call, please identify yourself. Have a friend or family member do the same, if they are calling for you. It is very important that you turn off your caller ID or call blocking if you want the doctor to call you back after hours. Also, have your pharmacy’s number handy if the doctor needs to call in a prescription. If you’re concerned your message didn’t go through, please allow up to one half hour before calling again.
If you want to check on test results, please note that your physician will generally have the information in two to three days. If the results indicate a need to change your treatment, your doctor will call you immediately. Otherwise, the results will be discussed with you in person at your next appointment.
If you have been in the hospital between visits to Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology, ask your doctor when you need a follow-up visit, then call us for an appointment.
For your convenience, Commonwealth Hematology-Oncology provides chemotherapy medications and other treatment drugs in each of our offices or clinics. If you require oral medications, we will give you appropriate prescriptions.
You can refill many prescriptions by simply calling your pharmacist early in the day, if possible, with the name of the medicine and the prescription number. Your pharmacist will then call our office for refill approval.
Certain types of prescriptions can’t be refilled over the phone, so you or a family member will need to come to our office to pick them up. Once you obtain a written prescription for these medications (e.g., M.S. Contin, Dilaudid, Duragesic, Percocet, etc.), take it to your pharmacy right away to have it filled. Please note that narcotic prescriptions must be filled within three days of the date shown or they will be void. Therefore, you should request the prescription before your supply runs out. It’s also a good idea to see if you’ll need a refill before holidays and weekends.
Many insurance plans provide a mail-order prescription service that allows a three-month supply of medicine. Please let us know if you are eligible for this.
If you have concerns about the cost of your prescriptions, please speak with any of your health care providers, a receptionist, or the office manager as there may be prescription assistance available to you. A Patient Advocate may be able to help you with the cost of oral medications. | <urn:uuid:b0119cd5-1305-41f1-aa34-5817a4934924> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chomed.com/facing-the-challenge/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939691 | 1,486 | 1.757813 | 2 |
A few years back, OCPP likened the idea of cutting the income tax on capital gains to a B-movie monster: a hard-to-kill ugly creature that refuses to die.
True to script, the call to cut the income tax on capital gains has resurfaced this election year in Oregon. The two main gubernatorial candidates have both floated some version of it.
And just this week the Oregon Business Association put out another complaint (PDF) about Oregon’s income tax on capital gains, painting it as bad for Oregon’s business climate. OBA’s claim comes on the heels of the tired argument we heard during the campaign on Measures 66 from opponents such as venture capitalist Bob Wiggins that the measure “will discourage investment in Oregon startups.”
News posted late Thursday that venture capital investments are up in Oregon in 2010 is proof positive that corporate Oregon’s continued complaints about Oregon’s income tax on capital gains stifles investments is just plain wrong:
Oregon companies attracted $106 million in venture capital during the first half of the 2010, the biggest take in four years, according to data due out tomorrow morning from the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Reuters.
Rather than propose policy fit for a Hollywood fantasy, our candidates for governor and corporate Oregon should heed the real-world facts.
Back in 2008, OCPP noted that there’s no evidence that Oregon’s tax structure inhibits additional venture capital investment, as Oregon’s venture capital investments saw big gains in 2007. They rose to $302 million in 2007 from $153 million the prior year. And on a per capita basis, the growth in venture capital catapulted Oregon to ninth place among all states (including the District of Columbia) from 19th place in 2006. Oregon's venture capital investments per capita in 2007 were at least double those of 32 other states.
This week's story in The Oregonian about venture capital investment this year is further evidence that our tax system does not inhibit such investments.
The only things a tax break for capital gains would achieve would be to reduce the state’s revenues and vital programs and line the pockets of the wealthiest Oregonians.
Coming at a time when Oregon’s budget is already under strain, proposing a tax break for capital gains is not just a misguided idea. It’s a real monster. | <urn:uuid:e8df9056-41c9-47a1-a151-951b482ed312> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blueoregon.com/2010/07/capital-gains-tax-cut-monster/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946178 | 485 | 1.5 | 2 |
The cascading domes and six slender minarets of the Sultanahmet Mosque (better known as the "Blue Mosque") dominate the skyline of Istanbul. In the 17th century, Sultan Ahmet I wished to build an Islamic place of worship that would be even better than the Hagia Sophia, and the mosque named for him is the result. The two great architectural achievements now stand next to each other in Istanbul's main square, and it is up to visitors to decide which is more impressive.
One of the most notable features of the Blue Mosque is visible from far away: its six minarets. This is very unique, as most mosques have four, two, or just one minaret. According to one account, the Sultan directed his architect to make gold (altin) minarets, which was misunderstood as six (alti) minarets. Whatever the origins of the unique feature, the six minarets caused quite a scandal, as the Haram Mosque in Mecca (the holiest in the world) also had six minarets. In the end, the sultan solved the problem by sending his architect to Mecca to add a seventh minaret. The other striking feature of the exterior is the beautifully-arranged cascade of domes that seem to spill down from the great central dome. The arcades running beneath each dome add further visual rhythm. None of the exterior is blue - the name "Blue Mosque" comes from the blue tiles inside.
As for this shot, it is all about location !! When choosing hotel in Istanbul I made sure that at least one blue hour (particularly the morning one) could be taken from a place as close to the hotel as possible. At the end this shot was taken from the hotel's top terrace, therefore I only had to go 2 floors up. I only wish all morning blue hour shoots would be so easy, plus that delicious breakfast with such a view after I finished with the photography was just an added bonus.
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens's focal length: 70.00 - 200.00 mm, Photo Focal length: 70.00 mm, Aperture: 13, Exposure time: 13.0 s, ISO: 100
All rights reserved - Copyright © Lucie Debelkova www.luciedebelkova.com
All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed, written permission of the photographer. | <urn:uuid:eae9949c-b796-40fe-b722-450c263aa592> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.flickr.com/photos/-lucie-/4085549716/ | 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 | 0.957507 | 511 | 1.75 | 2 |
The three winners of the Ericsson Application Awards mini-competition have just been named. It’s clear that many youngsters want to make the world a better place – and that they have the potential to do it.
The competition, which attracted 100 entries, was held in collaboration with the Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm, whose 100 Innovations exhibition – the biggest exhibit that the museum has ever produced on its own without the help of partners – is sponsored in part by Ericsson. The exhibition highlights the 100 most important innovations of all time, as voted for by the Swedish public.
As part of the exhibition, young people were asked to draw, describe and then submit their ideas for a mobile application that they would like to see developed, with a focus on concepts that could help people in their daily lives.
Tindra Bott's singing tiger
Eight-year-old Tindra Bott likes to come up with new ideas to help or entertain people. Bott won with her "singing tiger" concept, which would allow users to search for and download animal noises on their phones.
"Almost everyone has a mobile, and many people try to make their mobile more fun," she says. "A lot of people like animals and enjoy showing pictures of them and the sounds they make to their friends. So I wanted to create an application that allows people to search for the sounds that different animals make, and then download the sounds and use them in a mobile phone. It’s fun to come up with things that help people enjoy themselves. And this way you also get people more interested in animals."
Daniella Karlsson, 16, was another winner in the Ericsson Application Awards mini-competition with her description of her "save a life" application, which would enable mobile-phone users to transfer funds to any recognized charity. She says she wanted to come up with something simple, so her conceived app would allow users to select from a list of all registered charities arranged into subject categories. Users would then only have to click on their preferred amount to donate to that charity.
"I don’t pay bills, so I don’t really know how things work with forms and internet banks; it seems complicated," Karlsson says. "But a lot of people like me want to be able to give a little of their money from their own bank account, or get their parents to help them do it. This application would make it easier to make a donation. Everyone wants to help, so why not make it easy?"
Linda Hallbom, Event Project Manager at Ericsson, says that the competition is not about the applications as such, but about inspiring innovation. She adds that Ericsson therefore wants to do its part to show young people that technology and innovation are "cool."
"The Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology and Ericsson share a goal: to make technology fun for young people," she says. "At Ericsson, we believe technology can be used to give people equal opportunities no matter where they live, and that it can help solve major problems such as poverty and climate change. We received a lot of entries designed to reduce CO2 emissions or end starvation, for example. And Ericsson needs the best engineers it can get, so in the future we will need these kids. We want to encourage them and show them that it’s cool to be a bit of a technology nerd."
The third winner of the Ericsson Application Awards mini-competition was Veysel Tekes with his concept of a "CO2 diary" app that would help people record the CO2 emissions they have caused and thus inspire them to reduce these emissions.
Each of the three winners received a smartphone for their entries.
ERICSSON INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED - Ericsson Forum DLF Cyberciti - 122 002 Gurgaon Haryana -India -Phone: +91 124 4080808 +91 124 2701001 | <urn:uuid:e125f9dc-0b25-4ed8-b06d-5539387abd88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ericsson.com/bt/news/120628_young_innovators_honored_244159019_c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97785 | 815 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Last year, the United States Congress voted to narrow the gap in mandatory minimum sentencing between powder cocaine and crack cocaine possession. The U.S. Sentencing Commission then made the law retroactive.
57 people convicted in the Eastern District of California will have their sentences reduced because of the decision. David Porter is the Eastern District Federal Defender.
PORTER: "That 57 number is probably low. They probably missed some people. In fact, I've been getting calls from various prisoners and prisoners' families. These people might be eligible."
African American defendants have claimed the law is racially unjust because blacks use crack and whites use powdered cocaine. The ratio of crack to cocaine that triggers the mandatory minimum sentence is still well short of one-to-one. It's 28-to-500, according to Porter.
A judge must decide a prisoner's sentence exceeded the mandatory minimum at the time of conviction in order for a sentence is to be reduced. | <urn:uuid:b93d8312-a5f8-44dc-ba15-23d431ff9019> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.capradio.org/articles/2011/11/01/early-release-60-prisoners-serving-time-for-crack- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962359 | 192 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Photograph of an exterior view of a small house on the east end of Marchessault Street, Chinatown, November 1933. The small wooden house can be seen at center. A covered porch supported by wooden beams can be seen on the front of the building, while barred rectangular windows can be seen along the walls. To the right of the building, a large utility pole is visible. A two-story brick building can be seen in the foreground at left, while another tall brick building is visible in the background at right. A wide dirt road runs from the foreground at left into the background at right. | <urn:uuid:37f821fa-de37-475c-8e26-34731a82fef6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15799coll65/id/3112/rec/15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955788 | 122 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Thursday, August 16, 2012 -
Kyrgyzstan has tentatively agreed to extend Russia’s use of military bases in the Central Asian republic for 15 years, a senior Kyrgyz official said Thursday.
Sapar Isakov, chief of the Kyrgyz presidential administration’s foreign policy office, said the deal would take effect when the current lease agreement ended in 2017.
He noted that Russia had been trying to negotiate an extension of 49 years.
“Rents will remain at the same level,” the KyrTAG news agency cited Isakov as telling the press conference in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.
The two sides also agreed that Moscow will immediately write-off $189 million of a total $489 million in debts owed by Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek will pay off the remaining $300 million in equal installments over a period of 10 years beginning in 2016, Isakov said. The debt will not incur interest.
The agreements will be signed off by mid-October, the official said.
“Our goal in this case is to protect the sovereignty and security of Kyrgyzstan,” he said.
Russia is currently using an airbase in Kant near Bishkek, a torpedo testing facility at Issyk-Kul lake in Eastern Kyrgyzstan, a communications center in the northern Chui province, and a seismic laboratory in Maily-Suu.
Kyrgyzstan has told the United States to remove its own troops from the country by 2014. The Pentagon is currently leasing the Manas Air Transit Center near Bishkek for troops and non-lethal supplies for NATO operations in Afghanistan under a lease that expires in two years. | <urn:uuid:55bdad53-c758-47b5-9a69-19a0f6da32df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.universalnewswires.com/centralasia/viewstory.aspx?id=12623 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954235 | 359 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Retirement tips for women
"The first thing I say to clients is, 'What do
you want to do (when you retire)?' And how do you put that plan
into action so it can be a reality?" says Tina Tehranchian,
a CFP and branch manager of Assante Capital Management Ltd., in
Richmond Hill, Ont.
It's important to build some flexibility into your
plan. "What things might happen that might make you unsuccessful
with this plan?" asks Kim Pearson, a financial planner for
Investors Group in Sussex, New Brunswick. No one likes thinking
about the road blocks they might encounter along the way, but it's
better to plan for them so as not to derail your retirement dreams.
Once you have a plan in place, you can determine how much risk you need to expose your investment money to in order to get there.
Take some risk
"Women are more conservative than men when it comes to investments," says Tehranchian. "Generally, they are a lot more cautious and that means they will end up investing in instruments that have a considerably lower rate of return."
Instead of safeguarding money in a savings account,
a Guaranteed Income Certificate (GIC) or a low yielding bond, Tehranchian
suggests women aim for a higher return by investing in a diversified
portfolio that includes higher yielding investments such as blue
Blue chips stocks are investments in companies or banks that are the least likely to go bankrupt; they are well-established icons in their industries and typically have healthy growth. She says women should also look at high-grade bonds for high returns.
In the short term, squeezing another one or two percent out of your investments won't make a huge difference, but spread over 30 years or more, that little bit extra can make a huge difference, says Tehranchian. The extra return can help compensate for time taken off to care for children.
Another retirement savings option is an employer's private pension plan. These pensions can contribute significantly to a woman's overall retirement over the course of her career. The downside is the savings stop when women take time off work to raise children.
But Sherwood says women still have the option of contributing to their pension then and should ask their employers for a buy back option. "Basically, this allows them to buy back a specific number of years of service, which will increase their retirement pension." | <urn:uuid:ebab5975-e72a-4a4e-beef-ef2c9783a0ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bankrate.com/dls/news/rrsp-rrif/Oct07_women_retirement_a2can.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957562 | 499 | 1.609375 | 2 |
To the South East Cambridgeshire parts of Newmarket again.
Much of the old Cheveley Park estate was sold off following the death in 1902 of Colonel Harry McCalmont, MP, and the land upon which is now Ashley Road, Centre Drive and Duchess Drive was developed. In many respects, this area is one of the most pleasant in Newmarket but the silly thing is that it is in the constituency of South East Cambridgeshire and it is 'governed' by East Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, whereas some of the remainder of the town is under the control of Forest Heath District Council, based at distant Mildenhall, and Suffolk County Council, based at distant Ipswich. Newmarket is split. The potential for confusion and muddle is enormous and, to show just one example, electors living in the Cambridgeshire parts of Newmarket cannot now take part in the affairs of Newmarket Town Council.
Colonel Harry Leslie Blundell McCalmont (1861 - 1902), a friend of Cecil Rhodes and a very wealthy racehorse owner, was an interesting member of the House of Commons - representing our area - and was wont to distribute dead rabbits from his estate to the 'deserving poor' of the surrounding villages. Perhaps he did this to avoid the need for canvassing?
Colonel McCalmont was elected as Conservative MP for the then East Cambridgeshire seat on the 29th of July, 1895. His winning then may have been helped by his famous tour of the constituency on polling day to rally support, in which he covered some 87 miles in under twelve hours. I recall the late Lord Pym (then Mr Francis Pym, MP) doing much the same thing back in the 1960s, though in Mr Pym's case, the tour was by car, in the inimitable and rather grand PYM 4. I know: I often drove Mr and Mrs Pym and was proud so to do.
Colonel McCalmont served in South Africa as colonel of the 6th battalion of the Royal Warwickshires, and was on active service at the time of his re-election to his East Cambridgeshire seat in October, 1900, again, presumably, getting by and in with rabbits and without canvassing. He was appointed a CB (Commander of the Order of the Bath) in 1900 for his South African services.
Colonel McCalmont was caricatured by 'Spy' for Vanity Fair. The caricature (right) was published in 1889.
How political times have changed: I canvass vigorously and have no inclination nor need to hand out dead rabbits to anybody!
Just one street sign is all that marks the once important and influential Colonel Harry McCalmont. It is pictured below. I canvassed McCalmont Way and much more this afternoon and early evening. | <urn:uuid:075ba3a1-4084-40e8-b949-166caaa02125> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://woollard4southeastcambs.blogspot.com/2010/03/to-south-east-cambridgeshire-parts-of.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980176 | 595 | 1.8125 | 2 |
As California gas prices hit new records Sunday, Gov. Jerry Brown pushed an emergency production switch that could provide some relief for the bruising drivers are taking at the pump.
Though the pace of increases slowed from the double digit hikes seen in the past few days, drivers in the Bay Area still saw a two to five-cent increase overnight for regular gas, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Prices in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Santa Cruz all posted new records.
Brown said he's ordered the California Air Resources Board to take emergency action that's intended to boost production by 8-10 percent. The increase in supply is intended to fatten supplies and tamp down on prices.
The change would allow refineries to switch from making summer to winter-blend gas about four weeks earlier than the usual Oct. 31 change over. Though the summer blend is better for air quality, Brown said the negative impacts would be negligible.
Gas prices have spiraled upward as a confluence of reduced production, a power outage and other factors have cut supply. The resulting shortage has pushed prices to nearly $1 above the national average of $3.81 for a gallon of regular.
Drivers filling up Sunday with regular in San Francisco were paying $4.73; in San Jose $4.65; in Oakland $4.67 and Santa Cruz $4.61, according to AAA.
Contact Joshua Melvin at 650-348-4335. Follow him at Twitter.com/melvinreport. | <urn:uuid:3611164c-7700-4327-927d-e2f23daad7c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/ci_21720244?source=pkg | 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 | 0.940205 | 308 | 1.539063 | 2 |
By Chris Fasolino
---- — PLATTSBURGH — Organizers and guests at Saturday’s Disaster Awareness Day encouraged disaster preparedness, helped raise funds for disaster efforts and highlighted the role of animals in rescue situations.
Held at the North Country Cultural Center for the Arts on Brinkerhoff Street, the event was sponsored by the Long Term Recovery Group, partnered with Catholic Charities. The Long Term Recovery Group is a new organization that has been formed in the wake of Tropical Storms Irene and Lee.
Tropical Storm Lee caused considerable flooding in Plattsburgh in 2011, and Tropical Storm Irene had devastating effects on parts of the North Country.
The Long Term Recovery Group consists of about 60 health and human services agencies. The United Way established the group at the request of FEMA, said Larry Pickreign, United Way outreach coordinator.
“All these agencies are here ready for the recovery stage if a disaster strikes again,” he said.
“We all sit at the table now and discuss preparedness — and how to help folks that are still recovering. People are still recovering from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. We are helping people with that, but we are also going to stay established forever to help with future disasters.”
Caroline Johr, who is with Catholic Charities Disaster Case Management, also noted that repairs are continuing.
“We were looking at damage from Irene. People need to fix roofs, and they need to get rid of black mold. We’re trying to raise funds to help cover the cost of these things,” she said.
The event was held at the North Country Cultural Center for the Arts. A silent auction of works of art will help to raise money for relief and rebuilding efforts.
A documentary was shown at the event, with the filmmaker in attendance. The film “Strength of the Storm” tells the story of a trailer park in Berlin, Vt., which was destroyed by Tropical Storm Irene. The documentary goes on to tell how the community came together to recover from the disaster. Filmmaker Rob Koier attended the screening to answer questions from the audience.
Also attending the event was Laurie Parsons, board president of the Elmore SPCA in Peru, along with one of her dogs, Arizona.
Arizona is mostly German Shepherd, with a touch of Rhodesian Ridgeback, as evidenced by her slightly webbed paws.
Parsons said she was pleased the Elmore SPCA was invited to the event. When disasters strike, pets are affected too.
“Elmore is working to get groups together for projects like cruelty prevention, rescue and things of that nature,” she said.
And of course, they are always encouraging pet adoption, of which Arizona is an example.
The role of animals in rescue situations was highlighted by the Champlain Valley Search and Rescue K9 unit. Tricia Myatt, licensed veterinary technician and canine medic with the unit, talked about the group’s work.
“We do swift-water rescue in emergencies, like when someone is trapped with water rising,” she said. “During Hurricane Irene, a lot of people were stranded in their homes along the riverbank. We have boats and gear to get them to safety.”
Myatt also talked about how the Rescue K9 Unit’s trained animals help in such crises. One such animal is a German Shepherd named Inca, a water-recovery trained dog who searches for missing persons.
For a future rescue dog, training begins as a puppy. As a result, Inca loves the water and has no problem with climbing.
“The training is work-play; they get over potential fears and learn to love it.”
The dogs even participate in helicopter training.
“Inca has been lowered from a helicopter for rescues on the sides of cliffs. We would repel down with the dog, and she goes down in a harness just like we do.” | <urn:uuid:957b121e-a2c5-432d-ab7e-922ece0b7684> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x730444964/Disaster-experts-promote-preparedness/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970006 | 838 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst made a rare joint appearance on Tuesday to advocate drug tests for Texas residents seeking welfare or unemployment benefits.
A bill filed before the Texas Legislature reconvenes in January would mandate drug-testing for "high-risk" welfare applicants while banning them from using public funds to buy alcohol, tobacco and lottery tickets.
But Perry and Dewhurst, who controls the flow of legislation through the state Senate, said a top priority should be expanding such rules to include Texans applying for unemployment assistance too.
"This will prevent tax dollars going into the pockets of drug-users and drug dealers," Perry told a news conference at Austin Glass and Mirror, a small business that says it successfully drug-tests its employees.
Dewhurst said that under the current proposal, anyone failing drug tests would be barred from participating in welfare programs for one year -- unless they enter a drug rehabilitation program paid for Medicaid, the government health care program for the poor.
"A lot of recipients are, we think, Medicaid-eligible," Dewhurst said when asked about who could get such treatment.
Perry added that he believes drug-testing will mean less money paid out in benefits and ultimately save Texas money "because of the effect that the screening impact will have on those individuals who would be using drugs."
"This isn't all about punishing," the governor said. "This is also an incentive to get people off these drugs."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas condemned Perry and Dewhurst's calls Tuesday.
"How sad that our state's highest elected officials have embraced this mean-spirited measure that would punish innocent children for their parents' conduct," ACLU of Texas Executive Director Terri Burke said in a statement.
"This proposal is a costly, ineffective, inhumane and punitive effort by state government based on stereotypes about our state's neediest Texans."
In Florida, Republican Gov. Rick Scott championed a law that required welfare applicants to pay for and pass a drug test from July through October last year, when a federal judge temporarily halted it.
Roughly 4,000 adults did not have drugs in their system and 108 tested positive about 2.5 percent though nearly 2,500 people refused to take the drug test for reasons that weren't always clear.
Though Perry and Dewhurst didn't suggest welfare- and unemployment-benefit applicants in Texas should pay for their own testing, they were asked if Florida's example means drug-testing is an efficient way to spend state funds.
"Florida had their program and other states had their programs," Perry responded. "I will suggest to you Texas will have an efficient program."
Bill Hammond, head of the influential Texas Association of Business, noted that state employers pay 100 percent of the costs of unemployment benefits but that only about 80 percent of businesses require drug-testing as a prerequisite for employment.
Perry said "it is simply not the role of employers who fund these benefits to carry workers who keep themselves in an unemployable condition." He added that failing to test the unemployed for drugs helps ensure they'll never get a job.
"Extending taxpayer funded benefits while ignoring a behavior that would make it virtually impossible for someone to enter the workforce or finish school sends them down the road to a much bleaker future," he said.
Dewhurst said scores of Texas companies who are looking to hire qualified workers have told him they've been unable to because applicants often fail drug tests.
He also seized on proposed rules that would bar retailers from accepting welfare benefits when selling alcohol and tobacco.
"Every dollar wasted on these items is a dollar taken away from vital, very helpful other programs and our public education system," he said. | <urn:uuid:46523e1e-650b-4102-80ba-5ef1ade1a790> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.click2houston.com/news/Welfare-and-unemployment-drug-tests/-/1735978/17396292/-/2ob58x/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972865 | 756 | 1.5625 | 2 |
I used to make a recipe called Bubble and Squeak that came from your Almanac. At least I have it noted in my recipe notes that I got it there. It was made with pork chops, cabbage and potatoes. We loved it and I have been searching for it for years. Please Help!
Until the Almanac folks get to you, here's a British version -- there are alot of versions out there.
Just a note, but after St. Patrick's Day and a dinner of corned beef, cabbage, potatos and other veges like carrots, I make Red Flannel Hash, which follows Bubble'n'Squeak very closely!
Bubble and Squeak as seen here in this Bubble and Squeak recipe is the name for fried left-over vegetables from Sunday Lunch. Traditionally it would be eaten on a Monday for lunch or dinner with a fried egg, bacon, or meat leftovers. There is no specific recipe it is simply a way of using up whatever you have left from dinner. One main component is mashed potatoes which is the glue holding all the other vegetables together and often, but not always cabbage.
Bubble and Squeak is also known as Bubble or Fry. In Ireland Colcannon is made from mashed potatoes, cabbage or Kale and onion and similar to Bubble and Squeak as is Rumbledethumps in Scotland.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
* 4 tbsp butter
* ½ cup onion, finely chopped
* Leftover mashed potato
* Any leftover vegetables, cabbage, swede (potato), carrots, peas, Brussels Sprouts, finely chopped
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Fried bacon pieces (optional)
* In a large frying pan melt the butter, add the chopped onion and fry gently for 3 mins or until soft.
* Turn the heat up slightly and add the mashed potato and vegetables. Fry for 10 mins turning over in the melted butter two or three times ensuring the potato and vegetables are thoroughly reheated.
* Press the potato mixture on to the base of the pan with a spatula and leave to cook for 1 min. Flip over and repeat.
An alternative is to mix the potato and vegetables and form into small patties then fry as above.
Bubble and squeak makes a lovely lunch with a fried egg on top.
The 2 sisters with a cooking show from England made Bubble and Squeek.
i'd like to try this recipe of yours. i hope everything will go well. | <urn:uuid:5e72bb38-7ad7-4b26-9cbb-549f4c379913> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.almanac.com/forum/recipe-forum/old-recipe | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930408 | 533 | 1.742188 | 2 |
b. 1959 Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
Christopher Cozier is an artist, curator, and writer living and working in Trinidad. As a visual artist, he works in a variety of media, including drawing, printmaking, sound, and installation. Through his series of ink-wash sketchbook drawings, Cozier has developed a collection of visual vignettes of contemporary Caribbean moments along with memoryscapes of the Caribbean’s colonial past and observations from his travels abroad. By translating images from his sketchbook to prints and sculptures, Cozier places his visual vocabulary in new settings and configurations, revealing alternative narratives and seeking a multitude of interpretations.
Cozier’s Tropical Night series was included in exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum (2007), Tate Liverpool and the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea in Spain (2010). This installation of hundreds of sketchbook drawings, with the last arrangement including 210 works on paper, was the inspiration for his recent edition of silkscreen prints, All That’s Left (2011), published by David Krut Projects and printed at Axelle Fine Arts in Brooklyn, NY.In October 2011 Cozier, along with artist Luis Jacobs, was invited into the Substation studio space to work on projects and interact with the students and wider art community at the Wits School of Arts on East Campus. Cozier was also invited to make an edition of prints at David Krut Workshop at Arts on Main during his occupation of the studio space. He created a series of monotypes and linocuts, called After All That Talk, featuring an antiquated table cleaner that Cozier inherited after his great aunt passed away.
In addition to exhibiting his works in the US, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, and throughout the Caribbean, Cozier is an active curator, recently co-curating Wrestling with an Image: Caribbean Interventions at the Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C. (2011). In 2006, he co-founded Alice Yard, a non-profit art organization that continues to have regular exhibitions and performances in Port of Spain. Cozier is also a member of the editorial collective of Small Axe, a Caribbean Journal of Criticism, distributed by Duke University Press. He was an editorial adviser to BOMB Magazine for their Americas issues (Winters, 2003 – 2005) and was awarded a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in 2004.In 2012, Cozier was included in the group show Into the Mix at The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft (KMAC) and was a juror for the 2012 Bermuda Biennial. Christopher Cozier's solo exhibition, In Development, ran from January 25 through March 16, 2013 at David Krut Projects, New York. | <urn:uuid:a61a6f71-fd7d-4cee-88ad-bd868b361226> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://davidkrut.com/bioCozier.html | 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 | 0.965869 | 573 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Settlement may forming in BP trial
NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A settlement is beginning to form as the trial against BP gets under way in New Orleans, a source told The New York Times.
The trial resulting from the 2010 explosion of a Gulf of Mexico drilling rig began Monday morning.
The possible $16 billion settlement would limit Clean Water Act fines paid by BP to $6 billion, a source briefed on the deal told the Times.
In addition, BP would pay $9 billion to cover damages to natural resources and restoration, and another $1 billion would be put in a fund to offset unanticipated environmental damages related to the spill developed.
The Times said officials at BP, the Justice Department or the states commented on any settlement, but several lawyers briefed on the negotiations said a $16 billion settlement proposal had been offered.
States that would be affected by any settlement are Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, though only Alabama and Louisiana are participating in the trial, the Times said.
Meanwhile, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said in his opening statement BP's actions concerning the gulf spill were driven by greed.
"At BP, money mattered most," Strange said.
Saying the spill was predictable and preventable, Strange said the oil giant's "culture of callousness" caused it to happen.
"Money mattered more to BP than the gulf. A lot more," Strange said. "Your honor, the evidence will be clear and unmistakable: Greed devastated the gulf."
N.Y. lawmaker under fire for blackface
NEW YORK, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Jewish New York state lawmaker Dov Hikind, criticized for his blackface basketball player costume for a Purim party, said Monday he's not prejudiced.
Politicker.com reported the 62-year-old Democrat, who represents the New York City borough of Brooklyn, said he had a professional makeup artist apply brown face paint to go with his Afro wig, sunglasses and orange jersey and brown face paint. The costume was for a party at his home Sunday marking the Jewish holiday of Purim.
"I was just, I think, I was trying to emulate, you know, maybe some of these basketball players," Hikind told the webblog Politicker.com. "I can't imagine anyone getting offended.
"No one is laughing, no one is mocking."
Word of his costume didn't sit well with some, however. Assemblyman Karim Camara, another Brooklyn Democrat who is chairman of the state Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, said Hikind just doesn't get it.
"I am deeply shocked and outraged by the insensitive actions of Assemblyman Hikind," Camara said.
"The history of the blackface minstrel show is something deeply painful in the African-American community. The stereotypes embodied in blackface minstrels have played a significant role in cementing and proliferating racist images."
Hikind called such criticism "political correctness to the absurd."
"There is not a prejudiced bone in my body," he said.
CPAC snubs Christie
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Conservative Political Action Conference leaders have not invited New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to speak at next month's gathering, Politico reported Monday.
The Washington publication cited a source it described as familiar with the decision in reporting one of the Republican Party's top prospects for the 2016 presidential race was not asked to address the March event. The CPAC's list of speakers includes Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
Christie has found himself on the wrong side of some Republicans for his expressions of appreciation for President Barack Obama's efforts to get aid to New Jersey and other states hit by Hurricane Sand, Politico noted. Christie also rankled Republicans with his criticism of U.S. House Speaker John Boehner for tabling a storm aid bill.
Explosives found in pickup in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Eight suspicious devices found in an abandoned pickup truck in New Orleans Monday contained a chemical compound that could have exploded, city police said.
Police officer Frank Robertson III told The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune an officer sent to check out the Ford F-150, which had been sitting in a Whitney Bank parking lot all weekend, spotted what appeared to be incendiary devices sizzling and smoking in the truck.
Police robots detected three devices in the truck and the city bomb squad ultimately located five more, the newspaper said. One device had a timer and fuse.
The bank, other businesses and homes within a 2-block radius were evacuated, and streets in the vicinity were closed.
Robertson said the devices were taken to a laboratory for analysis and the investigation was being headed up by the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, the newspaper said.
Robertson said police tried to reach the truck's owner.
|Additional U.S. News Stories|
OKLAHOMA CITY, May 20 (UPI) --A huge tornado cut a devastating path through the Oklahoma City area Monday afternoon, destroying schools, a hospital and other structures.
LAS VEGAS, May 20 (UPI) --Teen pop star Justin Bieber was greeted by both cheers and jeers when he picked up the Milestone Award at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.
SAN ANTONIO, May 20 (UPI) --BP has take "a significant step" toward selling a California oil refinery and regional retail networks to Tesoro Corp. after getting U.S. federal approval.
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, May 20 (UPI) --A Canadian jazz singer apologized for botching the U.S. national anthem at the Memorial Cup junior ice hockey game in Saskatchewan. | <urn:uuid:137cb8e8-73e9-4ef5-9ce5-a034b5ae4744> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/02/25/UPI-NewsTrack-TopNews/UPI-71071361848208/?pvn=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966265 | 1,215 | 1.640625 | 2 |
I established a Facebook account in 2008. My motivation was ignoble: I wanted to distribute my journalism more widely. I have acquired since then just over four thousand “friends”—in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the Middle East, and of course, closer to home. I have discovered the appeal of Facebook’s community—for example, the extraordinary emotional support that swells in virtual space when people come together online around a friend’s illness or life celebrations.
Through its bedrock appeals to friendship, community, public identity, and activism—and its commercial exploitation of these values—Facebook is an unprecedented synthesis of corporate and public spaces. The corporation’s social contract with users is ambitious, yet neither its governance system nor its young ruler seem trustworthy. Then came this month’s initial public offering of stock—a chaotic and revealing event—which promises to put the whole enterprise under even greater pressure.
There are many reasons to be skeptical about Facebook’s I.P.O., which raised $16 billion for the company. For investors, as my colleague John Cassidy has pointed out, the company’s founders and early investors are likely to do better with this much-hyped event than individual investors. The offering itself was as visible a disaster as a lead underwriting bank (in this case, Morgan Stanley) has turned in for some time: Facebook shares have fallen by more than ten per cent; there were trading screwups by Nasdaq; and lawsuits and regulatory investigations into whether Morgan and Facebook properly shared information with investors have already started.
This launch-pad explosion is also one more reason to be wary of what my colleague James Surowiecki has analyzed: Facebook’s two-tiered corporate-governance system, which ensures that founder Mark Zuckerberg retains firm control, and can’t be easily challenged by dissident shareholders, even if he steers badly off course, as highly self-confident men in their late twenties sometimes do.
Those are reasons for investors to be doubtful; at least as worrying is what the I.P.O.-palooza signals about Facebook’s sovereignty over citizens, here and abroad. Facebook has become a public square of global importance. By the end of the summer, it may have more than a billion users, or about fifteen per cent of the world’s population. Some of these people are restive and see Facebook as a substitute public space for speech and dissent that their own authoritarian regimes don’t provide. Facebook users have already helped to foment revolution in some places (Egypt and Tunisia) and are still trying, at great cost, to overthrow one of the Middle East’s most brutal regimes.
Within the United States, Facebook is a venue for all sorts of issue and political campaigns. And yet, on the site, as a practical matter, what speech is permitted or banned is determined largely by Facebook’s terms of service. The terms function as a corporate constitution binding users to the provider’s conception of what speech is acceptable. My colleague at the New America Foundation, Rebecca MacKinnnon, in her recent book “Consent of the Networked,” calls this realm “Facebookistan.” Once Facebook users sign on and accept the terms of service, their postings are subordinate to the corporation’s rules, for as long as they choose to stay. In a place like Syria, the Facebook rules users encounter are much more permissive than local laws; in the United States, that is not so clear.
You might expect dense legalese, but the terms’ language is clear and soaring, echoing the tones of constitutional documents. Some of the declaratory sentences lay out the commitments by Facebook’s royal “We.” Others describe the obligations of the subject “You.” The terms are organized into sections, like articles. One entitled “Safety” seems to self-consciously echo the Ten Commandments: “You will not bully, intimidate, or harass any user…. You will not post content that: is hateful, threatening or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.” And there is this hint of Facebook’s expansive authority: “You will not encourage or facilitate any violations of this Statement.”
The terms obfuscate Facebook’s business strategies in such simple language that the deception—the sense of what is being left out—is almost poetic: “Sometimes we get data from our advertising partners, customers, and other third parties that helps us (or them) deliver ads, understand online activity, and generally make Facebook better.”
Facebook has made jarring mistakes as its leaders have learned what it means to run a profit-motivated political and public forum. In 2009, for example, the corporation exposed Iranian dissidents to danger by unilaterally changing privacy rules that allowed the Iranian authorities to see the identities of activists’ online friends. The error was corrected quickly, but in general, Facebook has encouraged its users to accept greater and greater losses of privacy. Zuckerberg believes the world will be better off if it adopts “radical transparency,” as the journalist David Kirkpatrick put it in his book, “The Facebook Effect.”
Zuckerberg’s business model requires the trust and loyalty of his users so that he can make money from their participation, yet he must simultaneously stretch that trust by driving the site to maximize profits, including by selling users’ personal information. The I.P.O. last week will exacerbate this tension: Facebook’s huge valuation now puts pressure on the company’s strategists to increase its revenue-per-user. That means more ads, more data mining, and more creative thinking about new ways to commercialize the personal, cultural, political, and even revolutionary activity of users.
There is something vaguely dystopian about oppressed peoples in Syria or Iran seeking dignity and liberation inside a corporate sovereign that is, for its part, creating great wealth for its founders and asserting control over its users.
Facebook is hardly the only corporation managing these sorts of dilemmas—Google is a target of investigations seeking greater information about how it manages customer information it collects, about which it has sometimes been opaque, and it too has broken trust with users. Facebook points out that it has been responsive to revolts and protests from within. Zuckerberg proudly told Kirkpatrick that he revelled in the ways Facebook’s users had forced him to become more democratic: “History tells us that systems are most fairly governed when there is an open and transparent dialogue between the people who make decisions and those who are affected by them. We believe history will one day show that this principle holds true for companies as well.”
That is a laudable conception. Yet for now, at least, Facebook concedes to its users only when it judges that it is in the corporation’s interest to do so; what user votes and consultations there may be are purely advisory. As MacKinnon observes, this system suggests the political control strategies of the Chinese Communist Party: periodic campaigns of state-managed openness and managed local democracy.
While talking to varied audiences recently about my new book (warning: marketing ahead), “Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power,” I have been reminded how uneasy Americans from of all ideological orientations are about corporate power and sovereignty these days. They believe in capitalism and market efficiencies, to be sure, but they fear heavily concentrated private power, especially where it encroaches on their economic and personal choices. They ask, “What should we do?”
Perhaps it starts with exercising citizenship. I have decided to exercise mine—in Facebookistan, that is. This seems the right time to leave such a crowded and volatile public square.
It takes a while to find it, but if you are a Facebook user, there is a small settings button entitled “deactivate account.” If you click, Facebook displays the faces of people “who will miss you.” If you are determined nonetheless to depart, and scroll further down, you are required to choose a “reason for leaving” before you are permitted to go. Unfortunately, “inadequate citizen rule” or “doubts about corporate governance” are not among the choices. From the available list, I went with “I don’t feel safe on Facebook.”
Farewell, Facebook friends. May you enjoy everywhere the full rights of free citizens.
Illustration by Kate Prior. | <urn:uuid:a4c9f1ae-a60c-4c48-a16e-7565f285f041> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/05/leaving-facebookistan.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951385 | 1,774 | 1.765625 | 2 |
What is general liability coverage?
General liability coverage protects a business and its employees from claims of bodily injury or property damage that occur on the job.
Why do I need general liability coverage?
General liability coverage is the most basic type of commercial insurance and one of the most important. Most landlords even require their tenants to carry it. GL coverage immediately protects your business from injury and property damage claims that could seriously impact your business. Every claim can cost you money, either in paying out the legitimate ones or defending yourself against the fraudulent ones. General liability coverage protects you from these lawsuits and provides you the kind of basic peace of mind needed to be an effective business owner.
What we offer.
- Design Firms and Consultants
We offer general liability as part of our BOP for small to mid-size design firms and TCPP for large, complex and design/build firms. See the complete policy highlights for the BOP or the TCPP. | <urn:uuid:97f4d24e-bcd6-4dcc-ad15-117139997280> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.schinnerer.com/Pages/Primer-GL.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935092 | 194 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Domain Name Registration
It is important to choose the right name for your online business. The name that you will choose should be something easy to remember and related to your business.
If you would like a domain name registered in Cyprus (www.YourName.com.cy) then it is required to have that name officially registered as a trade name or trade mark in the company registrar and a copy of this registration is needed.
For a domain name with the .com, .org, .net, or .tv the only requirement is that the name is not reserved by somebody else. | <urn:uuid:5f48fc64-6033-48cc-a034-b84a70e3d71f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cape-solutions.com/index.php?page=domains | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931923 | 120 | 1.75 | 2 |
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, center left, visits the still-smoldering U.N. compound in Gaza City on Tuesday.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon toured several decimated sites in Gaza on Tuesday, including the remains of the U.N. compound in Gaza City destroyed last Thursday in an attack. The Israeli shelling of the compound has drawn strong international criticism—not the least of which came from Ban himself both before and during Tuesday’s visit.
“It is an outrageous and totally unacceptable attack on the United Nations,” Mr Ban said, the warehouse still smouldering behind him.
“There must be a full investigation, a full explanation to make sure it never happens again. There should be accountability through a proper judiciary system.
“I have protested many times. I am today protesting again in the strongest terms. I have asked [for a] full investigation and [to] make those responsible people accountable.’‘
Israel has claimed it attacked the coumpound because militants were firing rockets from inside. The claim was dismissed as “nonsense’’ by John Ging, the chief UN official in Gaza. | <urn:uuid:1053d080-751a-4fe6-92d1-96200ecd83b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20090120_ban_ki-moon_calls_for_full_investigation_into_gaza_bombing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962244 | 250 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Olympic Athletes Who Are Now Moms
You may remember these female athletes as they have represented the United States in the Olympics over the years, but now, they've hung up their medals and are taking on the world of parenting. We love these inspirational Olympic moms who are continuing to win the gold... as moms!
Known for her 20-year run as an Olympic ice skater, Kristi Yamaguchi has hung up her skates (for the most part!) and is now mom to two daughters, Keara (age 8) and Emma (age 6). In addition, Yamaguchi can add childrens' book author to her long list of accomplishments — It's a Big World, Little Pig was published in March 2012 to rave reviews.
We're dying to know — is Mia Hamm, former soccer-playing Olympic athlete, and mom to 5-year old twins, Grace and Ava, a soccer mom herself? Hamm is adamant that she is anything but a supermom, despite having twins, and would probably prefer that if you think of her for anything when it comes to motherhood, you think of her for advocating for healthy food for children.
If you're going to be a soccer mom, you might as well look good doing it, right? Read these top 15 ways to be the hot mom on or off the soccer field >>
Children of the early '70s will remember Dorothy Hamill fondly — from her bowl-shaped haircut that swept the nation to her gold medal Olympic win in figure skating in 1976, girls all across the world admired her. Now, moms all around the world can admire her as a parent — Hamill is mom to Alexandra (age 24), a breast cancer survivor and a successful author.
Mary Lou Retton
You can probably still see Mary Lou Retton's million-watt smile as she nailed her routines competing in gymnastics for the U.S. in the 1984 Olympics, where she took home the gold medal. Since retiring from the uneven bars, Retton has become a mom to four daughters, born between 1995-2002 and continues to make us smile in occasional television and commercial appearances.
Get inspired by these inspirational celebrity breast cancer survivors >>
More on the Olympics | <urn:uuid:19111403-08f1-40b8-b5ad-fbf38758c914> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/965397/from-the-olympics-to-motherhood | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972062 | 457 | 1.523438 | 2 |
by Robert McGrew and
Starting from nothing, George W. Bush has assembled largest policy machine ever seen for a presidential candidate, staffed in large part by Stanford's own Hoover Institution.|
Over a hundred advisors from everywhere in America are struggling to give shape and form to Mr. Bush's proposals, still a full year before the election. No one has seen anything of this scope before at this stage of a candidacy. And Mr. Bush will need all the advice he can get in order to shape his proposals before this year's front-loaded primaries.
"What he's done in selecting people is unique," says John Cogan, who advises Mr. Bush's on the budget. "I don't believe there is any other presidential candidate except possibly Ronald Reagan who has ever done something like that."
Eight of his core advisors are from Hoover, but the vast majority comes from elsewhere - no one institution could possibly muster the raw numbers needed to staff his policy apparatus. Mr. Bush's advisors in Austin and Stanford suggested the rest. But the network of advisors in national in scope.
"There's no Texas mafia running this thing," says Edward Lazear, Mr. Bush's chief advisor on labor issues.
This hive of activity contrasts sharply with the policy machines run by the other candidates. Mr. Gore will inherit many of President Clinton's advisors, but the Republican challengers to Mr. Bush seem afraid to ask for help. Steve Forbes's campaign has racked up few advisors compared to Mr. Bush's. The joke runs that Pat Buchanan's only advisor is his wife Bay.
"Over the years, we've invited most candidates from both parties," says Martin Anderson, a Hoover fellow advising Mr. Bush. "When they come, they don't ask for advice."
This all began in April 1998, when Mr. Bush spent the afternoon discussing issues at George Schultz's house with about ten Hoover fellows including Michael Boskin, John Taylor, Martin Anderson, and Condoleezza Rice. This star-studded cast had quite a bit of experience in Washington: Mr. Schultz as Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State, Mr. Anderson as policy advisor to Presidents Reagan and Nixon, Mr. Taylor and Ms. Rice as advisors to President Bush. Mr. Boskin was chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisors and is an old friend of George W. Bush - the two once shared a cottage at President Bush's home in Kennebunkport. "We all said 'This guy is terrific. He's really smart and sharp and quick, and he's Governor of Texas,' " says Mr. Anderson.
Then, in July 1998, Mr. Bush invited Ms. Rice, Mr. Boskin, Mr. Schultz, and Mr. Anderson to Austin. He explained that he still could not be sure if he was going to run for President, but, if he did, he needed advice.
"So, on an as-if basis, we agreed to set up a policy shop," says Mr. Anderson.
The sequence of events, in fact, eerily parallels President Reagan's recruitment of his own brain trust for his 1980 campaign, which too began with a wide-ranging discussion at Mr. Schultz's house. That 1979 dinner party included Michael Boskin and Martin Anderson and left the Hoover fellows in the thrall of a Governor. By election time, Reagan's policy staff had grown to hundreds, with 74 economists working on his tax policy alone.
Bush's policy meetings continued throughout '98 and '99, growing from a core of advisors in Austin and at Hoover to the hundreds now scattered across the country. So many commuted to advise Mr. Bush that the San Francisco-Austin flight became known around Hoover as the "Austin shuttle." During these early meetings, Mr. Bush would invite half a dozen academics and think-tankers to his home in Austin, where he spent a whole day in give-and-take with them. Discussion would begin at breakfast, move into a seminar room, move back for lunch, and often continue till dinner. Despite the many small things a Governor must deal with each day, Mr. Bush made sure that nothing interrupted his policy briefings.
"He was not just a passive observer," says Williamson Evers, a Hoover fellow and an advisor to Mr. Bush on education since January. "He ran the meeting himself. He knew about the topic."
These early meetings were a chance for Mr. Bush to find specifics on the kinds of issues he had never had to deal with as a Governor: problems of international affairs, monetary policy, or social security.
"He tends to be a big picture guy," says Mr. Boskin. "He gets the details as much as he needs them."
But his advisors emphasize again and again Mr. Bush's ability to impress intellectually. They repeat that he knows where he is going, even if his path is still vague. In contrast, Mr. Bush's public image reflects his personal charisma more than any particular knowledge about issues. "This may be heresy, but one of the things people were surprised at was how much he knew," says Mr. Anderson. "Reagan was very much the same way. He came in with a bunch of ideas on what he wanted to do."
Mr. Bush slowly built and organized his intellectual army. Mr. Bush appointed Ms. Rice, still a professor of political science after stepping down as Provost, to be czar over international issues. He appointed Stephen Goldsmith, the mayor of Indianapolis, to head all domestic policy and appointed Lawrence Lindsey, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board, to oversee macroeconomic policy.
Yet the people who staff his campaign are the same people who helped elect him Governor of Texas. Very few of his top advisors worked for his father as President, especially surprising considering that Mr. Bush has had to accumulate his staff over the short time he's been in political life. Indeed, Mr. Bush inspires comparison with Reagan more than with his own father, though those who know him best refuse to compare him at all.
Mr. Bush made no effort to conceal the meetings in Austin, but somehow, even in the midst of speculation about his presidential candidacy, the national press never noticed until last March. Then stories began running in the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Washington Post. Suddenly the Hoover Institution became big news.
But the policy briefings were changing as well. From a close-knit strike force that briefed Governor Bush face-to-face, his advisors evolved into a full-blown intellectual army, some of whose officers have never seen their candidate. In this, the story of Edward Lazear is perhaps typical.
Mr. Lazear, an award-winning economist at the Graduate School of Business, chairs Mr. Bush's committee on labor policy. Mayor Goldsmith recruited him in June to head the labor subcommittee, one of sixteen under Goldsmith's main domestic policy unit. Despite having worked on two significant proposals for the campaign, he will only have his first meeting with Mr. Bush in a few weeks. He doesn't want a job with Mr. Bush and describes himself as quite happy within the academy.
"I have no aspirations of going to Washington," he says. "The only reason I'm doing it is to help formulate policy."
Mr. Lazear works on the Bush campaign for a half-day a week, in addition to his regular duties as a teacher and a Hoover fellow. Of the six or seven people he works with, he selected about half, with Mr. Goldsmith choosing the others. Aside from brainstorming conversations about policy at lunch, he primarily works with people outside the Hoover Institution. He does it for the intellectual excitement of the work.
"It's certainly not onerous," he says. "I find it quite intellectually stimulating."
Is the typical advisor like Mr. Lazear, working merely for the chance to see his efforts enacted into law if George W. Bush wins? Certainly that must be a large part of the benefits package for anyone who counsels a presidential candidate. None of the multitudes who work part-time advising Mr. Bush get paid. Many also surely hope to work in Washington if Mr. Bush is elected, and then have an even greater impact.
That so many of those advisors are the best and brightest from Stanford raises the possibility of a mass exodus from Stanford. John Taylor disappointed hundreds of students who hoped to take Econ 1 from him when he took a sabbatical this year, surely to advise Governor Bush. Michael Boskin, who taught Econ 1 most recently in the spring of 1998, is one of Mr. Bush's closest advisors. And both names have been bandied about as Alan Greenspan's replacement as Federal Reserve Chief. Will Stanford lose all its Econ 1 teachers?
"I don't think the place will be totally denuded, but I think we will temporarily lose a couple of people to pretty high positions," says Mr. Boskin. "And I think that's a good thing. A Presidency is more than just a President: it's also the people he brings to the administration."
In fact, by losing now, Stanford may stand to gain later. When senior policy advisors return from Washington, they often do not return alone. After all, sunny California is a great place to take a break from Washington. And, before they return, the opportunities for high-level speakers and internships are boundless.
But a job in Washington cannot completely answer the question of motivation. Many of the most senior advisors, like George Schultz and Martin Anderson, had worked extensively in Washington more than twenty years ago. Mr. Boskin dismisses the idea that anyone is interested in much beyond getting Mr. Bush elected. Mr. Cogan suggests that many will not be looking forward to going back to the rat race of politics.
"I don't think any of us are angling for an appointment," he says.
Indeed, the first few Hoover fellows joined at a time when Mr. Bush was not even sure he was running, much less intimidating others in the polls. If Washington was on their minds, it would be a gamble two long years away. What tipped the balance in favor of Governor Bush for so many people?
"He's got a secret weapon," says Mr. Anderson. "It's the same one Eisenhower had. Clinton's got it. Even when they disagreed with his policies, they still like him." | <urn:uuid:08904a8f-b196-41e5-9f8d-aafd2dc866b6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://stanfordreview.org/old_archives/Archive/XXIIIno3/frontpage.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982759 | 2,135 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The availability of frozen cooked squash here makes this a breeze to prepare. I've heard from my cousin, who is an ophthalmologist, that lal bhopla (orange squash) is very good for eyesight, hence I try to cook it once every week, sometimes in a curry (using fresh lal bhopla) or in raita (lal bhoplayache bharit using frozen cooked squash) and ofcourse these puris for N.
Here's how I make them:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 tbsp frozen cooked squash (thaw overnight in the fridge or for 2-3 hrs on the counter)
2 tsp sugar
pinch of salt
Make a slightly stiff dough with the above, using 1-2 drops of oil. Keep for 1/2 hr. Roll out into puris. I've used a star-shaped cookie cutter to make the puris in the above picture. Deep fry in hot oil. Drain on a paper towel. The addition of sugar makes these puris slightly sweetish but not overly so.
Hope you folks like these simple puris.
These puris are my contribution to the Kids Lunchbox event at Cooking Up Something Nice.
I am editing this post after my trip to India Dec. 2008. I found out that these squash puris are called 'Gharges' in Marathi. They are made pretty much the same as above, except jaggery is used instead of sugar. The jaggery and squash are cooked together and then the wheat flour is mixed into them. I made a batch of these gharges for N's lunch box after my return and she loved them just as much. I'll end this post with a picture of these gharges. | <urn:uuid:09f7cb09-7727-42cb-ae1b-355192efe509> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://queenofmykitchen.blogspot.com/2008/09/squash-puris.html?showComment=1221912420000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939345 | 364 | 1.539063 | 2 |
South Africa Seeks End to Livestock Ban Costing Billions of Rand
South Africa sought to end a global ban on exports of its livestock that is costing the continent’s biggest economy billions of rand a year by asking international inspectors to declare its herds free of foot and mouth disease.
“Inspectors from the organization visited South Africa for 18 days from Oct. 1 to check the quality of state veterinarian services,” said Hendrik Botha, chairman of the KwaZulu-Natal Red Meat Producers’ Organisation, from his farm near Matatiele.
Exports of cloven-hoofed animals such as sheep and cows were halted in February last year when cattle near the country’s Mozambican border tested positive for the disease. Shipments of wool, initially banned, were subsequently allowed as there isn’t any production of the material in the outbreak area, Botha said.
The ban costs the South African economy about 4 billion rand ($450 million) a year, said Andre Jooste, a researcher at the state-sponsored National Agricultural Marketing Council.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jaco Visser in Johannesburg at firstname.lastname@example.org
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at email@example.com
Bloomberg moderates all comments. Comments that are abusive or off-topic will not be posted to the site. Excessively long comments may be moderated as well. Bloomberg cannot facilitate requests to remove comments or explain individual moderation decisions. | <urn:uuid:1957fdf0-7d62-420e-8bb1-ad8f940d4ba3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-24/south-africa-seeks-end-to-livestock-ban-costing-billions-of-rand.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931691 | 331 | 1.84375 | 2 |
According to Gawker, scientists at Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization have been complaining of a computer virus which has compromised their network. Such cyber attacks are not uncommon, but there was something about this one that made it extra special.
In an email to an employee at the Finnish security firm, F-Secure, the scientists claim that the virus was forcing their computers to play loud music in the middle of the night at the max volume.
“I believe it was playing ‘Thunderstruck’ by AC/DC,” said the scientist in the email. You have to give these hackers points for creativity, right? “Thunderstuck” makes perfect sense in that situation.
If this was a movie scene about a massive virus ruining an entire nuclear powerplant’s network, “Thunderstruck” would definitely be the song playing in the background, wouldn’t it?
What song would you have chosen for this bizarre scheme? Let us know in the comments section!
Kevin Duggan — WZLX.com
Latest AC/DC News on WZLX.com:
- Hot Twins Play AC/DC on The Electric Harp! [VIDEO]
- Bird Rocks Out To AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long”
- AC/DC’s Brian Johnson Shares His Love For Cars In New Memoir | <urn:uuid:7b081402-7148-4079-b6de-0ccda18d5f36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wzlx.cbslocal.com/2012/07/25/iranian-energy-companies-get-thunderstruck/?like=1&_wpnonce=9858cf7655 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951768 | 292 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Update on Park Closures
All NPS trails are open, w/the exception of part of the Satwiwa Loop Trail. Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa is only open sunrise to sunset. Point Mugu State Park re-opens 5/24. More »
Trucks on Cheeseboro Canyon Trail
Occasional truck traffic (approx 6 trips per day) will take place on Cheeseboro Cyn Trail weekdays between 8am & 4pm for demolition and removal of Cheeseboro Tank. Should be completed by 5/31/13. Check back for updates or call 818-889-8996. More »
Mountain lion P-18 killed while attempting I-405 crossing
Contact: Woody Smeck, 805-370-2344
(Thousand Oaks, CA) On early Tuesday morning, P-18, one of the mountain lion kittens born in the Santa Monica Mountains in May, 2010 was hit and killed while attempting to cross I-405 just south of the Getty Center southbound onramp.
The 15-month-old mountain lion's movement was being followed via radio telemetry equipment as part of a decade long National Park Service mountain lion study in the Santa Monica Mountains. The mountain lion had been tracked since it was three weeks old.
Earlier this summer, P-18 departed from his mother's home range in Malibu Creek State Park and slowly began making his way east through the mountains. Male mountain lions have an extremely large range of movement, and often seek out open space away from other male mountain lions as they mature. There are two other male mountain lions with GPS collars in the Santa Monica Mountains. It is possible that P-18 was attempting to disperse out of the Santa Monica Mountains to find unoccupied open space. Previous mountain lion tracking has shown that individual male mountain lions frequently move throughout the entire Santa Monica Mountain range, from the 405 to Camarillo on a regular basis.
Freeways are a known significant barrier to wildlife crossings in the Los Angeles area and other urban centers around the country. Caltrans, in partnership with numerous local, state, federal and non-profit organizations is working to identify funding sources and suitable wildlife crossing locations along the 405 and highways 101 and 118 to construct wildlife crossings that would facilitate wildlife movement between the Santa Monica Mountains and other protected open space in the Santa Susana Mountains and Los Padres National Forest. These wildlife crossings would allow animals to move freely between large areas of protected parkland, and increase genetic diversity in the Santa Monica Mountains mountain lion population, a critical need for long term species survival.
"Investing in connected pieces of parkland and constructing wildlife crossings along major freeways around Los Angeles is essential for long term mountain lion survival in the Santa Monica Mountains," said park superintendent Woody Smeck. "Mountain lions must be able to move freely between large parklands with suitable habitat throughout the course of their daily movements, as well as exchange genetic material to prevent inbreeding in specific parkland areas like the Santa Monica Mountains."
The National Park Service began studying mountain lions in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in 2002. A total of 21 mountain lions have been tracked via radio telemetry and GPS collars in that time. In addition to studying mountain lion movement, a genetics study is also ongoing to discover indications of possible inbreeding among the mountain lion population in the Santa Monica Mountains.
There has only been one documented successful mountain lion crossing in the study for either of the freeways that surround the Santa Monica Mountains; P-12 crossed highway 101 in early 2009, and has lived in the Santa Monica Mountains ever since. P-12 is father to the young mountain lion who was killed on Tuesday.
Did You Know?
Piece by piece, a trail is forging its way along the "backbone" of the recreation area. California State Parks took the first step toward a 65-mile Backbone Trail in 1978. With 5 miles left to go, single track trails and fireroads will unite this patchwork of public parklands from east to west. | <urn:uuid:375ac40a-cf32-46b9-8dd0-985c45fdd0d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nps.gov/samo/parknews/mountain-lion-p-18-killed-while-attempting-i-405-crossing.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944938 | 832 | 1.554688 | 2 |
The Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou surprised the world today by announcing that he will put the bailout plan for his country up to a public vote.
I find two conflicting principles at play here.
One the one side, people do not get a vote as to whether or not they will pay back money they have borrowed.
I can imagine somebody to whom I have lent money telling me, "I have taken a vote and I have decided against paying back the money I owe you."
Or, I can imagine my bank saying, "Our Board of Directors have taken a vote and decided against returning any of the money you have in your savings account."
Or my employer saying, “Our board of directors has voted to keep the money we would have otherwise paid you for the last month.”
When the Greek government borrowed this money, they gave others a claim on future Greek income. Perhaps they should not have done this. In fact, they should not have done this.
In doing so, they have given themselves an obligation to pay back that borrowed money according to the terms specified. If they cannot do so - or they cannot pay all of it - then they need to come to some sort of agreement with the people to whom they owe these obligations. They cannot simply say, "We have voted not to pay our debts."
On the other side - speaking in favor of such a referendum - it is good for people to take ownership of their obligations.
There should be no problem with giving the people of Greece a vote in whether or not to pay back their debts, and getting a resounding "Yes" in response.
It would be nice to get the Greek people on record as admitting, to themselves and the world, "Okay, we have these obligations. We have decided to honor and respect them."
The problem here is that - what if the Greek people are not willing to live up to their obligations?
The reason that this proposed referendum is causing so much turmoil is because the people of the world think the Greeks are dishonorable and immoral people who will simply refuse to pay what they owe.
This means that the people to whom Greece owes money will suffer. They, in turn, will be put in a position where they cannot pay off their debts unless they adopt austerity measures themselves - and perhaps not even then.
Imagine getting a telephone call from your boss at the end of the month saying, "We have decided not to pay anybody this week. I know you did the work and we owe you the money, but we have decided to keep it instead."
Putting aside the fact that they have no right to make such a claim, there is also the problem that you have rent or mortgage coming due, car payments to make, a power bill to pay, and other uses for that money. If you had known you would not get paid, you would have likely spent the last month finding some other source of income. However, now that you have done a month’s worth of work and it is time to get paid, you no longer have that option.
A referendum is a good idea when given to honorable people who respect their obligations. It is a less than good idea when offered to dishonorable people more than willing to inflict harms on others if they can obtain a financial benefit in the process.
In this sense, it is like giving the a community a vote on whether to institute slavery. Moral people would simply vote a unanimous "no" and be done with it. However, there is some reason to worry that even the idea of a vote gives the institution of slavery an illusion of legitimacy. It is something that moral people not only would refuse to adopt, but something people generally have no right to adopt.
And what should you do if you live in a community where there is a real sense that the people will end up voting FOR slavery? In this case, is it a good idea to suggest that the people have a right to vote on such an issue?
This is the type of situation that Greece faces with respect to this public referendum. There is a clear answer to what they should do. The question is, are they of a good enough moral character to do it. And, if not, should they be given the option of voting on something they have no right to do? | <urn:uuid:6c15a035-0f57-4cbd-aa90-d3b0fd1d5254> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://atheistethicist.blogspot.com/2011/11/greek-referendum.html?showComment=1320259555747 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982124 | 881 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Learning how to make pizza dough just takes practice, but pizza dough from scratch is awesome! We have the best pizza dough recipe.
Wondering how to make pizza dough at home?
If you're like me, you may be wondering what the trick is to make a restaurant quality crust in your own kitchen. Is it really that hard?
Well, it shouldn't be, but I've made my share of bad dough. It can be the little things that make a big difference.
Don't expect to get it right the first time you make pizza dough. You may just do it, but most likely it will take you several batches before it's exactly how you like it. And that's okay.
(Find pizza dough recipes here.)
Making pizza dough is fun. Don't over think it. Don't stress over it. Experiment with different flours (everyone has an opinion on which pizza flour to use), different ingredients (touch of honey? garlic?) and expect that not every batch is going to be fabulous...at first.
Before long, you will be making a Pizza Hut crust recipe in the comfort of your own kitchen at a fraction of the price!
Making great dough usually comes down to the little details. Here are a few things that can make or break good tasting dough...
It's not brain surgery, but still takes a little skill and practice to learn how to make pizza dough that is great every time.
Tip: If you want to freeze your dough, spray the inside of a ziploc freezer bag with cooking spray and place your dough inside. Store for up to two months in the freezer. When ready to use, defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Allow to rise at room temperature before baking. This could take a few hours. Bake and enjoy!
Remember, learning how to make pizza dough should be fun!
Most of us can stumble through making acceptable pizza dough. But how do you make it really good? Tell us your tips and tricks for making the best pizza dough!
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page... | <urn:uuid:7335d212-b329-4a2a-9259-7aef119d5b67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.completelypizza.com/how-to-make-pizza-dough.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953921 | 426 | 1.570313 | 2 |
In the immortal words of the legendary Trader Vic, now is the time to be "liquid and short". In his seminal work "Methods of a Wall Street Master," Victor Sperandeo describes in great detail the economic and money cycle and more importantly how a trader should be positioned in each situation:
"As a businessman, the only way I know to protect myself from financial disaster in crashes, recessions, or depressions is through the ability to anticipate long-term market turning points and position myself accordingly. This means being leveraged and long at market bottoms and liquid and short at market tops."
I will always listen to a guy who pulled his money out of the market before the market crash of 1987 and made a killing afterwards. In one of the chapters of his book, he describes in great detail how the Fed and the U.S. government employ monetary and fiscal easing policies to continuously stimulate the economy and how at a certain point the effectiveness of these policies starts to wane and despite their best efforts the economy starts to contract and the markets go off the deep end.
The question we need to ask now, are we at a market top and after a four-year bull run have the Fed and the government run out of ways to stimulate the economy and the markets?
1. The End of Quantitative Easing
Each successive round of QE has resulted in a smaller and smaller improvement to the U.S. economy and a smaller and smaller boost to the equity market. The Mercenary Trader illustrates this point very well in The Law of Diminishing Returns article. I don't think there is a doubt that money printing has limitations. If you look at the mechanics of the process, the Fed buys securities from the banks, which now have extra capital to lend out to the economy. If the banks don't lend the money out, the money the Fed prints does not actually make its way into the economy. The banks are the important agent here whose whole purpose in life is to evaluate credit worthiness of individuals and businesses and make the correct lending decisions. If banks aren't lending out because there aren't enough credit-worthy borrowers or business prospects aren't good enough, there is not really much more that the Fed can do. Ultimately, no matter how much money the Fed generates in its computer systems, the economy still experiences deflation because there isn't enough organic demand to drive the prices of commodities and labor upward.
On September 13, in an attempt to remove uncertainty from the markets, Ben Bernanke announced that he is going to pursue QE at the rate of $40B per month for as long unemployment remains high. The speculated target is 6.5% unemployment rate and since we are very far away from that, as far as the market is concerned, QE is here to stay for quite some time. Three months after this grandiose money-printing announcement, all "safe haven" major asset classes that you would think would spike, have in fact fallen:
3 month return
Treasury Bonds 20-year
Source: Google Finance
Obviously the Yen (FXY) is falling because Japan is going to print yen even more aggressively than the Fed is going to print dollars, but the fall in gold (GLD) and long-term treasuries (TLT) is really troubling. This could be the ultimate bear signal.
2. The market topped in September
If you listen to the media, all is hunky dory and isn't this Christmas Rally just great. Why don't you just plunge right in and buy now? After all the S&P 500 (SPY) is up 12% on the year!! In fact, it used to be up 16.5% on the year in September... and that is exactly the problem!
The current Christmas Rally is just a mean reversion move, a reaction to a down wave, which peaked out at the 61% Fibonacci retracement. Let's analyze the Dow Jones Industrials (DIA) chart below
There are multiple clear signs that the market has topped:
- A triple top occurred since the Fed announcement on September 13, that took about two months to form. Patterns that are 2-3 months long are very powerful and significant. And a triple top is one of the most indicative reversal patterns out there.
- There was the first Elliot down wave that was 1100 points from 13,600 to 12,500. We were in the reaction wave that took us to the 61% Fibonacci retracement at 13,200. We bounced off that over the past couple of days and now the market is commencing a second down wave.
- The Single Day Reversal pattern (extremely high volume in a single day) is a very powerful pattern and in the case of the DIA, it usually happens on triple witching days (quarterly option expiration days). The immediate market move after the single day reversal is indicative of the direction that the market will take. In March, the market was down after the Single Day Reversal and we were in correction mode in about a month or so after that. In September, the Single Day Reversal also pointed in a negative direction and not surprisingly, we're now down from that level. There was a Single Day Reversal on December 21, as well. Of course, the world was supposed to end that day. Well, the world didn't end, but the Santa Claus Rally for sure did!
- On Balance Volume is on its way down which means, folks are pulling their money out of the market. The reaction wave was quick and on little volume, which means folks are selling into the rally and that the rally doesn't have any legs under it.
- The RSI reached 70% on December 19. We're in overbought territory even though we are about 250 points from the year-to-date high!
3. November Job losses mean trouble in Q1 of the following year
The economy lost jobs in November as measured by Unadjusted Payrolls and not an insignificant amount.
The economy lost 490K jobs in November! I don't expect November to post a big number in either direction - in November there is no seasonal hiring or firing. This is right in the middle of the shopping season and generally the November number should hover somewhere around zero. Last year, in 2011, we were at +83K. Apparently, this year businesses stocked up too much, are not seeing the retail demand and are letting go of people to right-size to demand, which is a very troubling scenario. Retail sales for December were out last week and at 0.6% fell well short of the 2.5% increase that analysts were expecting. That same retail sales number was at 2% last year. Is this weakness a precursor of things to come?
I went digging a little deeper into the Bureau of Labor Statistics data and also pulled some Dow Jones Industrial Average closing prices. Here is what I found:
This is the third-largest loss of jobs in November in the last 10 years. The other two times that were bigger - 2008 and 2002 were both followed by pretty sharp drops in the market in the first three months of the following year. The actual draw downs are actually worse than depicted in the table above. In 2009 the peak drawdown was 25% between January and March, and in 2003 it was 12%.
For the five years when November experienced Unadjusted Payrolls loss, the average performance of the market in Q1 is -2.8% with a standard deviation of 8.6%. So in 2013 we are looking at a high likelihood of returns in the -11.4% to 5.8% range. Current investor sentiment seems to be bullish because the most recent memory investors have of first quarters is 2010 and 2011, when the market posted returns of 6% and 7% respectively. Bullish investor sentiment is generally a contrarian indicator and a third big gain in a row in Q1 would be a statistical anomaly. Given that the market is now near a four-year high, I think there is a higher likelihood that we get a market drop than a roar-ripping rally.
The Importance of Being Prudent
My #1 Investing Rule is the "50/100 rule." Some people call that rule "Don't lose money." I call it the "50/100 rule." If you lose 50% of your money, you need to make 100% to get back to break even. The road back is long and hard. If you look at the Dow Jones, you will know what I mean. After losing 50% from roughly 14,000 to 7,000 in one year in 2008/2009, after three long years and three 10% corrections, the Dow Jones is still not back to 14,000. The road back was long (three years) and hard (multiple corrections along the way) and we're still not there yet. Do you really want to travel that road?
Do you really want to stay in the market now to gain that extra 3% if the market went up? If you put your money in cash now and miss the first 3%-5% of an up move, you can always get back in the market, buy some high beta stocks and match the market return by capturing only 50% of the upswing. You can always buy. Selling is the tough part.
Of course this whole analysis could be rendered meaningless if the government takes some actions that truly boost the economy and market, but given the current gridlock in Washington, and the impotence of the Fed this seems unlikely right now. There are simply too many signs that point to trouble in Q1 of 2013 for equities. Given that "safe havens" are no longer safe, my recommendation is to go to cash and start dabbling with shorts.
Now that you know what 2013 holds in store for you, I wish you a Happy New Year!
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. | <urn:uuid:88eef563-fea9-41bd-a055-73086d062733> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seekingalpha.com/article/1085541-spy-liquid-and-short | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970297 | 2,062 | 1.679688 | 2 |
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Ever Merciful.
Love for All, Hatred for None.
SUMMARY OF FRIDAY SERMON
the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
July 18th, 2003
Today being the last Friday prior to the Jalsa Salana UK, in keeping with tradition, Hazuraba delivered an admonitory Friday Sermon as regards maintaining propriety during the Jalsa Salana.
Hazuraba said through the virtue of London being the current seat of Khalifat for some years now, the UK Jama'at has gained considerable experience of hospitality over the years, however, in light of the very diverse nature of humanity coming together at this Jalsa, it was important to be mindful of their varied needs and requirements and it was thus most significant to carry on admonishing.
With reference to several ahadith Hazuraba illustrated the Islamic teaching on hospitality, he spoke of the supreme sense of sacrifice exhibited by the Companions of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) to accommodate their guests. He enjoined both to the host Jama'at and to the guests to be pleasant and tolerant with each other and he enjoined the hosts to be most courteous to the guests. He said each person coming to the Jalsa is a guest of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and should be looked after in the best possible manner. Hazuraba said in sending blessing to one and all through the utterance of Assalamoalaikum during the Jalsa days we could maintain an amiable environment. Hazuraba emphasised the excellence in adopting the principles taught to us by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) in particular during Jalsa days; of maintaining a cheerful disposition, to enjoin good and to forbid evil, to do small acts that are resultant in everyone's welfare and to maintain a high standard of cleanliness.
Hazuraba advised those coming from afar to the Jalsa and staying
as guests of the Jama'at to pay heed to the Holy Prophet's (peace and blessings
teaching of the limit of 3-day hospitality. The stay of those residing
with relatives would however come under the Islamic guideline regarding
Hazuraba further elucidated the concept of hospitality through the blessed example and writings of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Hazuraba recounted the significance the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) would lay on looking after his guests, how he always ensured to cater for their personal needs and the degree of utmost commitment he felt towards the comfort and welfare of his guests.
Hazuraba enjoined to abide by the etiquettes of the mosque inside the marquees erected at the Jalsa, to be regular in salat and to spend one's time in remembrance of Allah. Hazuraba said he expected the entire UK Jama'at to be present at the Jalsa all three days, except in case of a genuine reason. Hazuraba reprimanded the propensity of some people to show up on the last day only for the purpose of socialising. He admonished parents of young children to ensure they do not cause disturbance during salat and instructed them to sit at the back of the marquee to facilitate a quick exit when needed. Hazuraba strongly forbade against the tendency to gather in clusters and indulge in vacuous hilarity and admonished that all stalls be closed during the proceedings of the Jalsa. He enjoined to adhere to the traffic rules and regulations and to ensure there is no noise around the streets of Tilford. He instructed everyone coming from abroad to leave Britain well within his or her visa duration.
Hazuraba admonished ladies to observe purdah and if for any reason they cannot cover their faces, to refrain from wearing make-up. He enjoined them to inculcate the practice of covering the head and not to look for excuses of not observing purdah.
Hazuraba counselled to maintain discipline and to cooperate fully with the duty holders. He instructed the organisers to specially supervise that ladies listen to the Jalsa proceedings. Hazuraba also advised all to be cooperative with those maintaining security around the Jalsa site; in particular he appealed ladies to be cooperative. He also advised everyone to be vigilant as regards security and to keep the organisers notified of any doubtful situation. Hazuraba said the organisers would certainly not be responsible for the safety of any valuables.Hazuraba reminded of the Promised Messiah's (on whom be peace) pronouncement in that 'Do not deem this Jalsa like ordinary human gatherings'. He urged all to concentrate on fervent prayers and said that it was his prayer that everyone returns from this Jalsa having gained abundantly from its beneficence. | <urn:uuid:6b198111-cc95-4151-b37d-3dd5f94ee818> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alislam.org/mta/summary/july18-2003.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961298 | 987 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Introducing: The Scrap-Cycler
After three weeks of educating the community about composting, reviewing 94 amazing submissions and figuratively being up to our elbows in compost – the ultimate composter has finally been chosen!
Congratulations to Gail Loos, who designed this countertop kitchen scrap grinder, with removable bin and biodegradable liners. UncommonGoods, Quirky and the LES Ecology Center loved the thoughtfulness put into Gail’s design. A fun fact from Gail: “While testing my homemade prototype, I was able to reduce the volume of my kitchen waste by 80% or more! But the ultimate benefit is this: it wildly increased the speed at which kitchen scraps were converted to compost by exposing more surfaces to worms and other composting agents.”
Thanks to everyone who voted and participated in Compostapalooza…but your work is not done yet! Before this composter goes into production, we need you to influence the final design with your opinions and feedback. Hop on over to Quirky and complete this quick and easy product research survey. Not only does your opinion really, really matter, but you will also get a small percentage of the product sales because you influenced the design! | <urn:uuid:23c7834d-dca7-450c-8c0f-2a33ac660b6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.uncommongoods.com/2010/introducing-the-scrap-cycler/ | 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 | 0.951212 | 257 | 1.554688 | 2 |
There’s a TV reality show in the US (Same Name) about people with the same name swapping lives. I feel confident that the producers won’t be calling on me. But a few weeks ago, Google alerted me to the improbable existence of another Ange Mlinko.
She is divorced, childless, a bit misanthropic, and pilots a spaceship between Earth and Mars. It’s not that glamorous – she’s just a working stiff contracted by corporations to haul this and that; barnacles, for instance, to populate Mars’s lakes. But she’s good enough at her job to be considered for the crew of the Leibniz, a spaceship headed for the Oort Cloud to meet a delegation of aliens known as Cygnics. The job falls through, but the aliens find Mlinko anyway.
Anticopernicus is an e-novella by Adam Roberts, who has been shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award three times and teaches at Royal Holloway. I emailed him to ask where he’d got his heroine’s name from. As it turned out, he had read an article of mine in Poetry magazine and used my name as a placeholder before deciding to keep it. I’m in exalted company: there’s also a character called Tsvetaeva.
Mlinko means ‘windmills’ or ‘little mills’, or so a Slovenian doctor once told me, which makes me think of Don Quixote. The name usually creates nothing but headaches for me. Apart from having to spell it out at every turn (slowly, repeatedly), I learned at an early age that Americans glean a lot of useful social information from whether you are a McDonald or a Pellegrino or a Cave or a Hartz or a Goldstein. A Hungarian name throws them off, especially (this was 1980) if it rhymes with ‘Pinko’. And then my Belorussian mother wouldn’t speak to me for weeks after I said I wouldn’t be changing my name to my husband’s. She hated my father’s family that much. | <urn:uuid:cbc1e917-53c2-4840-ac7f-693a3198809b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2011/08/04/ange-mlinko/the-other-ange-mlinko/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954681 | 460 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Patrick Clawson, Director of Research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), attracted some attention last month for his remarks during a briefing on U.S. policy toward Iran. Clawson said,
I frankly think that crisis initiation is really tough, and it’s very hard for me to see how the United States president can get us to war with Iran, which leads me to conclude that if in fact compromise is not coming [i.e., if the Iranians will not shut down their nuclear program], the traditional way America gets to war is what would be best for U.S. interests.…
To clarify his point, Clawson cited Fort Sumter, the USS Maine, the Lusitania, Pearl Harbor, and the Gulf of Tonkin as examples of provocations that proved successful in drawing a reluctant United States into war. He concluded, “So, if in fact the Iranians aren’t going to compromise, it would be best if somebody else started the war.”
He went on to suggest that a mysterious sinking of an Iranian submarine could provoke an Iranian military response that would then justify an American war effort
Look, people, Iranian submarines periodically go down. Someday one of them might not come up. Who would know why?… We are in the game of using covert means against the Iranians. We could get nastier at that.
That a political insider would feel comfortable musing openly about intentionally provoking a war speaks volumes about the moral climate in Washington, DC. Policy wonks in think tanks now openly talk about “crisis initiation” and the possibility of false-flag events. As Bob Dole might say, “Where’s the outrage?”
For several years now, warmongers in Washington and Tel Aviv have been trying to make the case that Iran is an aggressor nation and poses a threat to national security, despite the fact that the country has very weak offensive military capabilities and hasn’t invaded another nation in centuries. Moreover, Iran is export dependent and has no interest in initiating a conflict that would cause the immediate closure of the Straits of Hormuz.
But the warmongers argue that the Iranian threat may derive not from Tehran’s paltry conventional military forces but rather from its alleged ambition to acquire nuclear weapons. The problem with this argument is that twice in the past five years the U.S. intelligence community has determined with a “high degree of certainty” that Iran canceled its embryonic nuclear-weapons program in 2003. This view is supported by the fact that Iran is a signatory to the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has been found to be in compliance with that accord by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In 2008, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported that the staff of Vice-President Dick Cheney had drawn up a plan involving the use of fake Iranian boats and U.S. troops disguised as Iranian sailors in order to stage a false-flag attack on American ships and trick the public into believing that the Iranians had attacked the United States. While Hersh’s story was dismissed as hearsay by the U.S. government and largely overlooked by the mainstream media, it struck a disturbing chord for those familiar with how the Johnson administration used the fabricated Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964 to provide justification for widening the Vietnam War.
Last year, the U.S. Justice Department claimed to have foiled a plot directed by elements of the Iranian government to assassinate a Saudi diplomat in the United States using the services of a Mexican assassin. The far-fetched plot initially made headlines, but when it was revealed that the “hit man” the Iranians had supposedly hired was a paid informant for the Drug Enforcement Agency, the story quickly withered away.
The warmongers are now attempting to pin the blame for various bombings and so-called cyber attacks on Tehran, although they have provided no evidence to back up their accusations.
Meanwhile, the United States has deployed a powerful armada to the Persian Gulf.
These actions come on the heels of the crushing economic sanctions that are wreaking havoc on Iran’s economy by preventing the nation from engaging in international commerce. The United States and her allies have imposed an effective economic blockade, which is causing untold suffering for the Iranian people and is considered an act of war by international law.
Of course, the accusations of aggression, terrorism, and cyber warfare by the United States and Israel against Iran carry a heavy whiff of irony; Washington and Tel Aviv are indeed guilty of committing the very acts they accuse Tehran of.
The United States has invaded and occupied two of Iran’s neighboring countries (Iraq and Afghanistan), established bases to her north in central Asia, and, as mentioned above, deployed warships to the Persian Gulf. In short, the U.S. has encircled Iran. So who’s the aggressor?
The U.S. and Israeli governments have also been supporting the terrorist group Mujahedeen e-Khalq (MEK) for years as part of their proxy war against Iran. MEK has long been recognized as a violent and extremist organization that has shed innocent Iranian and American blood. Indeed, the MEK is included on the U.S. State Department’s list of terrorist organizations, although there is now a well-financed campaign to have the terrorist group de-listed in order to allow the U.S. to legally expand its proxy war. So who’s supporting terrorists?
And last year it was revealed that Stuxnet — the computer virus that shut down Iran’s IAEA-approved uranium-enrichment program — was developed by the United States and Israel. According to various credible sources within the U.S. and Israeli intelligence communities, Stuxnet was part of a secret program to wage “increasingly sophisticated attacks” on Iranian infrastructure. So who’s waging cyber warfare?
An objective observer of these events could conclude that it is indeed the United States and Israel who are the aggressors and Iran who is the victim.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the “bipolar” era of the Cold War, the U.S. government has not been confronted with a peer competitor. Rather than declaring victory and coming home, however, the U.S. government seized the “unipolar” moment to become a global hegemon.
The simple fact is the Iranian “threat” derives from Tehran’s rather token defiance of Washington’s attempt to impose global domination. Empires brook no defiance.
The Cold War was like any other war in that it resulted in the transfer of power and wealth to the government. It solidified networks of bureaucratic, financial, and corporate special interests that had been developing since before America’s entry into World War I. The “arsenal of democracy” of the World War II–era developed into the “Military Industrial Complex” of the Cold War era. Firmly in place, that complex has refused to dismantle itself even though its raison d’étre evaporated two decades ago.
That should not be surprising for anyone with a basic understanding of economics and human nature. After all, spending hundreds of billions of dollars year in and year out on weaponry and other “national-security” items was bound to have a distorting effect on the politics and culture of the nation. This problem, of course, was recognized as early as 1961 by President Dwight Eisenhower in his farewell address.
One would think that those political figures baying for yet another war would be tossed out of office by a war-weary and increasingly impoverished electorate. But the truth is the vast majority of Americans are ignorant of foreign-policy realities.
For those Americans who do see through the bellicose propaganda being pushed by the imperial schemers and war profiteers in Washington, it is our duty to inform others of the true nature of U.S. foreign policy and convince them of the imperative of avoiding yet another disastrous war. | <urn:uuid:bd11be5b-5f99-48e8-b2bc-e24ec795f7f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/pretexts-and-provocations/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96303 | 1,678 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Fri October 5, 2012
U.S. Unemployment Drop Sharper Than Expected
Originally published on Fri October 5, 2012 9:07 pm
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.
And we begin this hour with a surprise on the jobs front. The Labor Department said today that the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September. That's a much sharper drop than expected. It was good news for President Obama and his re-election hopes.
The rate hasn't been that low since the month he took office. But other parts of the report suggested that the jobs picture isn't as good as it appears, and some conservatives even accused the White House of manipulating the numbers for political gain. Here's NPR's Jim Zarroli.
JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE: After his performance in Wednesday's debate was roundly criticized, President Obama was looking for some good news. Today, he got it. The unemployment rate fell three-tenths of a percentage point to its lowest level in more than three-and-a-half years. Alan Krueger is chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
DR. ALAN KRUEGER: And I think today's report shows us further evidence that the economy is continuing to recover from the deep recession from back in 2008.
ZARROLI: The report also contained some other nuggets of good news. The length of the average work week rose a bit, and for once the drop in unemployment didn't occur because people left the workforce. In fact, the Labor Department said many more people looked for jobs in September, and many more found them.
But in other ways, today's report left a lot of people scratching their heads even though more people found work. The government also said the economy created just 114,000 jobs in September, a pretty modest improvement. Economist Nigel Gault of IHS Global Insight says several factors might explain this contradiction. Gault says the government calculates job creation by surveying companies directly, and the survey methods have flaws.
DR. NIGEL GAULT: When you're in a period of recovery, you know, there's difficulty keeping pace with the creation of new firms. So it's probably understating jobs, particularly in areas like construction where new, small firms are very important.
ZARROLI: But Gault says there are even bigger problems with the unemployment rate. It's based on a separate survey of U.S. households, one that uses a much smaller sampling base, so it's much less accurate. And Gault says the big drop in unemployment last month is probably something of a statistical outlier.
GAULT: So, overall, it's a positive report - I think not quite as positive as the headline drop in unemployment would suggest.
ZARROLI: The paradoxes in today's report illustrate why economists routinely warn not to view any single economic report in isolation. What matters is the trend, and that has shown slow, steady job growth for two-and-a-half years. Keith Hall was, until recently, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles the monthly employment report.
DR. KEITH HALL: We're getting mixed signals from the two surveys, and ideally I would like to wait a month or two and see which survey is correct because they almost always fall back into alignment if they fall out like this in a month or two.
ZARROLI: But those kinds of warnings tend to get drowned out in an intensely politicized atmosphere like the current one. And today's report quickly came under attack from conservative TV commentators, who suggested, without much evidence, that the Obama campaign had somehow manipulated the numbers to make the economy look better.
Former General Electric Chairman Jack Welch, a Romney supporter, even tweeted: Those Chicago guys will do anything. Keith Hall said the Bureau of Labor Statistics has a long history of independence from politics.
HALL: And there are a lot of people who are involved in collecting and compiling this data, and it would be very difficult to really manipulate the numbers. As far as I'm concerned, I think it would be very, very difficult.
ZARROLI: The Obama campaign went even further, calling the allegations ludicrous. For the campaign, one thing probably matters more than anything else. Today's report means that the official unemployment rate has now fallen below 8 percent, and President Obama can make the case to voters that the long, slow recovery is showing some results. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio. | <urn:uuid:38b5ddc9-3869-417e-8f52-da6b80103515> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ktep.org/post/us-unemployment-drop-sharper-expected | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969674 | 973 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Adrian Blevins shows her students the rebellious nature of writing
By Robert Gillespie
Photography by Fred Field
Published February 21, 2005 | Issue: Spring 2005
Illustration by Fred Field
Southern women absorb this cultural message: be quiet, be sweet, says Adrian Blevins, her light Virginia lilt at odds with her thoughts about that. "Creative writing was my way of rebelling," she said. "It was a way to say, 'Guess what, I'm not sweet. Guess what, I'm not going to be quiet. I want to make noise.' I think most writers have that need to mark up the page. Make some noise." So says the author of The Brass Girl Brouhaha
(Ausable Press, 2003).
In December, two writing workshops (one poetry, one fiction) into her 15th year of teaching and her first year at the College, Colby's new creative writing teacher says that a culture trying to sell you things it wants you to buy doesn't hear what you have to say. But in a writing workshop, a place where students can express themselves and learn different techniques for doing it, "there's someone to hear you."
Somebody said a poem has to have a form "because otherwise the poem will leak out. I really like that. So we do talk about structure ultimately," Blevins said. To talk knowledgeably about a poem that is being workshopped, though, students must learn how to critique. A Blevins workshop is more about the person giving the critique, she says, than about the poem getting it.
"Being educated is partially a process of knowing how to talk about why you think or feel the way you do about that piece of art," said Blevins, who earned an M.F.A. at Warren Wilson College. "It's not only critical decisions, it's also emotional decisions, which are half the decisions we have to make. If we had more poetry, we wouldn't need therapy, we wouldn't need Prozac."
Build critical readers, she says, and you build thinkers. As students think about what they see in the world and develop their ability to articulate judgments, they internalize judgment. As they write their own poems they start editing themselves, teaching themselves. Blevins likes to push them a bit past where they think they can go.
#poetrylife#left#350#"I think that learning to think critically about literature, and learning to think critically about yourself, makes you a better citizen," she said. "Which is what a liberal arts education ought to give you. It's just what Jefferson wanted the populace to be able to do."
Even those who work on poems 18 hours straight will find a workshop a far cry from a training ground for "professional" poets; might as well call yourself a professional lover, she says, paraphrasing Robert Francis. Her answer to students whose parents are convinced their poetry-writing offspring will starve in a garret: the more the American education system moves toward careerism, the further it takes us from the idea of informed citizens able to make intelligent, critical decisions later on in their lives. "What is the consequence of not having any money? Well," she said, "it's not as bad as the consequences of not having a soul."
Students no less high-mindedly intent on careers other than poetry may profit from a workshop, Blevins says. A prospective law student must understand rhetoric, think critically, use language well, use argument. "You know, a sonnet is an argument. Every poem is ultimately an argument of some sort. It's going to help a lawyer make his or her case," she said. "If women read poems to their children, it would be a better culture. It would be a better America."
Blevins plain flat-out loves poetry. "If it were up to me," she said, "I would say, 'Everybody who goes through this college has to have poetry. You have to do it.'" | <urn:uuid:e3771881-073f-4b42-b16b-19e394a22577> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.colby.edu/colby.mag/issues/30/article/254/making-noise/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984168 | 834 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Neo-conservative Denial Syndrome
by Rick Fisk
by Rick Fisk
I have a friend who claims: "Irony is the most powerful force in the Universe." He says that this theory helps him to solve problems. "Looking for the most ironic cause of failure can sometimes be a better place to start than the most obvious," he says.
Historians may analyze how the paleoconservative wing of the Republican Party was amputated from the larger body. I believe it happened in 1995 when Bill Clinton stared down Newt Gingrich and the freshmen Republicans over the budget. Gingrich blinked. Naïve freshmen were ready to ride it out but it was not to be. Instead of actually shrinking the budget, Rush Limbaugh shrieked in 1995, the Republicans were only growing it at a lower rate than Democrats. The Democrats were lying and not playing fair! Republicans are not the party of smaller government. They are the party of smaller bigger government. Thus was the death of the fiscally responsible Republican Party. It wasn't that it died. Those who noticed the fallacy of this good-cop, bad-cop routine decided they'd had enough and walked away, disgusted with the whole mess.
William Kristol, son of the archetypical neocon, Irving Kristol, took a hard-line stance against government spending in 1994. The Weekly Standard, financed by Rupert Murdoch and run by Kristol and John Podhoretz was formed shortly after the 1994 Republican victory in Congress to churn out intellectual propaganda (pseudo) supporting Gingrich and the new Republicans. A large majority endorsed the ideas Kristol and Newt Gingrich advocated, driving the Republicans to their first majority in Congress in forty years. The Republican majority was going to finally implement a reduction in government largesse promised 14 years earlier but denied by democrats. Or so it was believed.
From a strategy standpoint, what the Republicans managed to accomplish was more than impressive. The Christian Coalition and other grass roots organizations were rallied around a uniting, small government battle cry. The perfect bogeyman was in the White House. Conspiracy and other fear-inducing stories were used to scare the Republican membership into supporting people who would never show up in their churches and if they did, would shock congregations with their debauchery.
When it came time to stand up for principle, the GOP leadership folded. That point in history marks the rise of the neoconservative star and the beginning of the neoconservative fall.
Jesus admonished his followers to find truth in the actions of those who claimed to speak it. "By their fruits, ye shall know them." He meant, if a person's character was true, his life would reflect it.
Based on that principle, we can see quite clearly that the fiscally conservative talk of Kristol and Gingrich was a means to an end. It certainly wasn't a matter of principle as their actions betrayed. Perhaps Kristol believed that less entitlement spending would allow the U.S. to spend more money supporting Israel and meddling in the Middle East. Gingrich doesn't talk much about fiscally responsible government anymore. It is clear that neither has any qualms about spending scads of taxpayer dollars. For them, the important thing is where this money is directed. The more the better if it is directed toward their pet concerns.
The downfall of the neocons will come sooner, rather than later, because war is expensive. It was in vogue to bash Bill Clinton's foreign policy before the 2000 election. George W. Bush and Karl Rove kept the Christian political movement involved by promising a humble foreign policy and truckloads of money in the form of "faith-based initiatives." After Bush was elected and the welfare "reform" bill passed, IRS-regulated "churches" put on seminars on how to properly word applications to receive government funding. Oink.
Like the economic fortunes of bankers and sub-prime lenders on Wall Street, so it is with neoconservative political fortunes. Both are in decline due to a culture of denial by leaders who cover up lies with more lies. The monetary meltdown we are witnessing is because the inevitable has been postponed while those at the helm do and advocate exactly the things that will hasten the meltdown while increasing its effects. They act like obsessive-compulsive gamblers who have gone "all in" but cannot acknowledge they are playing a losing hand. As Lew Rockwell points out in "Reality Vs. The State" the government "is running on empty promises that have nothing to do with the real world."
The neocons kept making and breaking promises to the Christian wing of the Republican Party thinking that they could continue to do so unpunished and that the activists would continue to show. To some extent they had every reason to think Christian activist support would continue unabated. They played them for fools in 1994 and still the Christians came out to support them in 1996, though less so in 1998. In 2000, they finally offered bribes allowing them to completely abandon talk of smaller government.
Support is drying up. The bubble popped in GOP grass roots support by politically active Christians. If you examine who has shown up to GOP debates and events where a good number of the candidates are represented, it has been a disappointment for the establishment candidates. It would seem that a crisis of conscience is occurring amongst those who have been typically responsible for electing Republicans.
The armchair warrior is not the kind of person who makes phone calls as a campaign volunteer (or volunteers for military service). He's the guy who stays home during the battle and pulls the lever on Election Day. So far, and it is early yet, the activists we traditionally expect to see, are staying home. The polls show a decidedly undecided bent amongst likely Republican voters. The paleoconservative amputees? They loom large and untapped as do disaffected Democrat and Independent voters.
In a recent column, Michael Medved displays a beautiful example of this tendency to deny reality.
Two other also-rans in the Iowa Straw Poll, Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul, will no doubt continue their campaigns regardless of their non-existent chances of future success. Both men seek to publicize issues about which they're passionate: a hard line on immigration for Mr. Tancredo, and an isolationist foreign policy for Mr. Paul. Their continued campaigning can actually provide a public service: demonstrating that their angry, alienated (and alienating) fringe perspectives draw scant support within the Republican Party
Medved parts with reality by claiming that Ron Paul's message alienates voters. The reason he includes Tancredo is due to Tancredo's opinion that all twenty million illegal aliens should be immediately deported. He asserts that it is this particular viewpoint, not his advocacy of bombing cities considered holy by the world's 2 billion Muslims, is what would alienate the Republican base.
Tancredo is essentially a neocon but his views on immigration part ways with the rest of his colleagues as do Paul's; though Paul does not advocate that we round up illegal aliens. He recognizes that the government is not capable of handling such a monumental task without a great deal of missteps. There are better ways to deal with illegal immigration concerns than resort to totalitarian techniques.
The point here is that Medved is simply making assertions. He's denying reality about who is alienating whom. When the immigration "reform" bill was floated to the American people earlier this year, the American people rejected proposals of amnesty and fast-track citizenship for those here illegally. The resistance to the idea was so swift and so forceful that not only was the idea dropped almost as quickly as it was promoted, but neoconservatives in Congress and in media outlets were openly suggesting that right-wing conservative media be targeted for sanctions. How dare they speak against us!
Open opposition drives neoconservatives to rage. The rational politician would acknowledge significant public opposition as a warning. This never seems to faze the neoconservatives. Kristol, Podhoretz, Cheney and other neoconservative icons continue to push for increased military actions in the Middle East in spite of the fact that now 70% of the electorate are against the current wars. The response to contrary opinions is to inject increasingly strident and shrill arguments into the debate.
In reality, those who truly alienate voters are the neoconservatives. McCarthy comes to mind. Whether or not McCarthy was right, he was finally discredited publicly because of his tactics. Being right won't save you if your rhetoric alienates the public. Unfortunately for neoconservatives, they are wrong in both theory and practice.
The neoconservatives just don't want to face reality. Their tactics and views alienate the electorate. Prior to the neoconservative rise in politics, there was a general decline in voter participation. This has been occurring for decades. However, more than one commentator has noted that this has now infected the Republican Party as evidenced by the 2006 elections. Both of this year's Iowa and Illinois Straw Polls reported low turnout as compared to 1999. Rather than re-think strategy, the response has been to ratchet up the rhetorical machine and argue for the very same policies which have decimated the GOP and divided its members. As they do this, they become less and less attractive to GOP party members.
Neoconservatives have shown by their actions that they are simply wed to power, not ideas or principle. Fortunately for the opposition, they prove to be their own worst enemies. Many of us would prefer that they had fizzled out long before they had caused so much damage to our liberties and fortunes, but their demise will be all the sweeter to watch when it unfolds. The end of the neoconservative movement will be ironic to the observer; though it is doubtful that neoconservatives will recognize the irony. My friend may be proven correct, at least in this instance. Maybe irony really is the most powerful force in the universe.
August 20, 2007
Rick Fisk [send him mail] is a 44-year-old software developer and entrepreneur. He is married, has 3 children and resides in Austin, TX.
Copyright © 2007 LewRockwell.com | <urn:uuid:c88d3de7-62f4-446f-9b8d-f66033f88e8b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lewrockwell.com/fisk/fisk11.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974439 | 2,056 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Diversity is good.
We should strive for diversity.
But only for so much diversity.
We should be ourselves.
But only if our selves are within an acceptable range of difference.
And even within that range,
Even within acceptable difference,
We still push, sometimes for sameness.
Why do we say one thing and do another?
Are we not always told that actions speak louder than words?
Are we not always told that we should treat others the way we want to be treated?
Are we not always told that it’s OK to be different?
Why do our actions always belie our supposed values?
I think we are afraid of what we do not know.
I think we are afraid of those who are not like us.
I think we don’t REALLY want diversity.
We just want to THINK we want diversity because we’ve been told we should. | <urn:uuid:cf0cf478-a820-481e-9c3b-18aa429674d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/2012_06_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956407 | 192 | 1.679688 | 2 |
- Lynn Curry
- Situational Analysis
- Change Management
- Program Design
Does your organization have priorities? Do you know what they are, how they were identified and how they affect your work and your career path?
When everything is a priority; nothing is. Everyone likes to think that their project or work area is a ‘priority for the company'. The work in question might be important, even a necessity but still not a real priority. Priority work does not mean important work, or desirable outcomes or even imminent challenges. Real priorities are indicated by:
1. large, certain and widespread impact;
2. an imperative for a speedy response, like an opportunity that will expire in a short time, and
3. guaranteed growth for the company.
Apply this truism to your personal life as well. Not everything demanding your time and attention is equal. Do you know your own priorities? Are the people around you aware of those priorities? Do you periodically reconsider and recalibrate those priorities?
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The Holy Scriptures
We believe in THE HOLY SCRIPTURE: accepting the writings of the Old and New Testaments as the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and therefore wholly without error and altogether sufficient in themselves as our only infallible and authoritative rule of faith and practice. We believe that God has preserved His Word in the King James Version.
The One True God
We believe in THE ONE TRUE GOD: who is an intelligent, sovereign, spiritual and personal Being; perfect, infinite, and eternal in His being, holiness and love, wisdom and power; absolutely separate from and above the world as its Creator, yet everywhere present in the world as the Upholder of all things. He is revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three distinct persons but without division of nature, essence or being, and each having a distinct ministry in God’s relation to His creation and people.
The Lord Jesus Christ
We believe in THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: who is the second Person of the Triune God, the eternal Word and Only Begotten Son; that without any change in His divine Person, He became man by miracle of the Virgin Birth, thus to continue forever as both true God and true Man, one Person with two natures; that as Man He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin; that as the perfect Lamb of God He gave Himself in death upon the cross, bearing there the sin of the world, and suffering its full penalty of divine wrath in our stead; that He arose from the grave in a glorified body; that as our great High Priest He ascended into Heaven, there to appear before the face of God as our Advocate and Intercessor.
The Holy Spirit
We believe in THE HOLY SPIRIT: who is the third Person of the Trinity, and the divine Agent in nature, revelation and redemption; that He convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment; that He regenerates, indwells, seals and anoints all who become children of God through Christ; that He further empowers, guides, teaches, sanctifies and fills believers who daily surrender to Him. Using Acts 1:8 as our criteria for evaluation, we believe that the evidence of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is boldness to witness for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We believe ALL MEN ARE BY NATURE AND CHOICE SINFUL AND LOST: that man was the direct creation of God, made in His image and likeness; that by personal disobedience to the revealed will of God, man became a sinful creature, the father of a fallen race which is universally sinful in both nature and practice, thus alienated from the life and family of God, under the righteous judgment and wrath of God, and has within himself no possible means of salvation.
Salvation By Grace Through Faith
We believe in SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH: that salvation is the free gift of God, neither merited nor secured in part or in whole by any virtue or work of man, but received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all true believers have as a present possession the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteousness, deliverance and security from all condemnation, every spiritual resource needed for life and godliness, and the divine guarantee that they shall never perish; that this salvation affects the whole man; that apart from Christ there is no possible salvation.
Righteous Living and Godly Works
We believe in RIGHTEOUS LIVING AND GODLY WORKS: not as a means of salvation in any sense, but as its proper evidence and fruit; and therefore as Christians we should obey the Word of our Lord, seek the things which are above, walk as He walked, accept as our solemn responsibility the duty and privileges of bearing the gospel to a lost world; remembering that a victorious and fruitful Christian life is possible only for those who in gratitude for the infinite and undeserved mercies of God have presented themselves wholly to Christ.
The Existence of Satan
We believe in THE EXISTENCE OF SATAN: who originally was created a holy and perfect being, but through pride and wicked ambition rebelled against God, thus becoming utterly depraved in character, the great adversary of God and His people, leader of all other evil angels and wicked spirits, the deceiver and god of this present world: that his powers are vast, but strictly limited by the permissive will of God who overrules all his wicked devices for good; that he was defeated and judged at the cross, and therefore his final doom is certain; that we are able to resist and overcome him only in the armor of God, by the blood of the Lamb and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Future Life, Bodily Resurrection and Eternal Judgment
We believe in FUTURE LIFE, BODILY RESURRECTION AND ETERNAL JUDGMENT: that the spirits of the saved at death go immediately to be with Christ in Heaven, that their works shall be brought before the Judgment of Christ for the determination of rewards which will take place at the time when Christ comes for His own; that the spirits of the unsaved at death descend immediately into Hell where they are kept under punishment until the final day of judgment, at which time their bodies shall be raised from the grave, that they shall be judged and cast into the lake of fire, the place of final and everlasting punishment.
The Second Coming of Christ
We believe in THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST: that His coming in the air to rapture His Church, which is our blessed Hope, is always imminent; that when He has first by resurrection of the dead and translation of the living removed from the earth His waiting Church, He will then pour out the righteous judgments of God upon the unbelieving world and after wards descend with His Church and establish His glorious and literal kingdom over all the nations for a thousand years.
Separation of Church and State
We believe in THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE, with each having definite and distinct spheres of responsibility.
Priesthood of All Believers
We believe in THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS: that Christ is our Great High Priest and through Him every born-again person has direct access into God’s presence without the need of a human priest; that the believer has the right and responsibility to personally study and interpret the Scriptures guided by the Holy Spirit.
Importance of the Local Church
We believe in THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LOCAL CHURCH: We believe that a New Testament church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His Laws, and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its officers of ordination are pastors or elders and deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures; we believe the true mission of the church is found in the “Great Commission”: first, to make individual disciples; second, to baptize the converts; third, to teach and instruct as He commanded. We do not believe in the reversal of this order; we hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that the one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit; that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that every church is sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation, on all matters of membership, policy, or government, of discipline, of benevolence, and the will of the local church is final. We are also a Baptist institution which holds to the historic Baptist distinctives in its doctrinal position.
The Ordinances Given to the Church
We believe THE ORDINANCES GIVEN TO THE LOCAL CHURCH ARE TWO, BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER: that Baptism is by immersion of believers, thus portraying the death, burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ; that the Lord’s Supper is the partaking of the bread and cup by the believer as a continuing memorial of the broken body and shed blood of Christ.
Missions and Missionaries
We believe in MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES: that all men everywhere are lost and condemned and that the command to go and preach the Gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable and this commission was given to the churches. Following New Testament precedent and example, we believe that all missionary endeavors should be under the ultimate sponsorship of the local congregation which may utilize the facilities and services of mission boards, but that no mission board should ever misconstrue its purpose to attempt to hold or to assign authority to itself.
The Grace of Giving
We believe in THE GRACE OF GIVING: that God’s method of financing His earthly work of spreading the Gospel to all nations, the care of the churches and the support of the ministry, is by the tithe and offerings of God’s people. We believe that it is to be given to the Lord through His church or storehouse to be distributed as directed by the leadership of the Spirit, as the need arises. We believe that the time to tithe is upon the first day of the week. We also believe that everyone is accountable to the Lord for a minimum standard of giving of one tenth of his income and that offerings are to be given above the tithe as God has prospered the individual.
Separation From the World
We believe in SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD: that it is a command of God that all believers separate from all forms of godlessness, apostasy, compromise and worldliness. We are against short skirts, long hair on men, rock music, drugs, and everything else the Bible teaches against. In addition, the policy of neutralism is just as Scripturally untenable. | <urn:uuid:a4f5dcdc-e9f8-49b2-a517-2e041d68fd17> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.independentbaptistchicago.com/about-us/what-we-believe/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958143 | 2,072 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Wildfire near Barberville contained, S.R. 40 reopens
Published: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 5:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 8:25 p.m.
State forestry and local firefighters completely encircled a 350-acre wildfire that sparked the evacuation of several homes
The fire originally started shortly after 2 p.m. Monday near Barberville, grew to 350 acres, forced the evacuation of several homes and closed part of State Road 40.
Six homes on Byrd and Jerico roads were evacuated Monday afternoon, said Pat Kuehn, a Volusia County Fire Services spokeswoman.
After crews gained control of the fire Monday night, the evacuation order for the threatened homes was lifted after 6 p.m Monday. S.R. 40 from U.S. 17 west to Emporia Road was closed overnight Monday, but S.R. 40 was reopened Tuesday morning.
Fire officials said the fire started as a prescribed burn on the Dexter Mary Farms Wildlife Management Area in the Lake George Forest, then jumped the fire lines that usually contain a blaze.
The Florida Forest Service was conducting a prescribed burn Monday on the Lake George State Forest in the Dexter Mary Farms unit.
It is “likely” the wildfire came out of that prescribed burn, said John Kern, a deputy chief and regional supervisor for the Forest Service.
The agency kept busy Monday afternoon trying to contain the wildfire, but Kern said an investigation of what happened and why is under way.
“Right now we're focusing on containment,” Kern said. I haven't been able to talk to the guys that were on the burn.”
Kern said officials will examine the burn plan prepared for the prescribed fire and try to determine if there were any other activities nearby that might have caused the fire.
Agencies across Florida routinely conduct such burns under planned and controlled conditions to reduce the risk of hazardous wildfires by getting rid of heavy underbrush and “fuels” in forests and woods.
Prescribed fires also provide better forage for wildlife and livestock, Forest Service officials said in a January news release. Prescribed fires also promote plant blooming, add nutrients to soils and help control plant diseases.
More than 2.3 million acres of agriculture and conservation lands are burned in prescribed fires each year.
The controlled fire Monday escaped lines south of S.R. 40 at Check Station Road, Kuehn said. The fire jumped across State Road 40 just after 3 p.m. Monday, Kuehn said.
Florida is entering its dry season and it's a good time for people to start being extra cautious, Weller said.
Conditions are dry and rainfall amounts have been below normal since November, according to the National Weather Service.
The Keetch-Byram Drought Index, one tool firefighters use to gauge wildfire risk, has been rising gradually.
On Monday, the index score was 564 in Volusia and 459 in Flagler. The index is based on a scale of 0 to 800, with 800 being desert-like conditions.
The Wildlife Management Area is about 14,000 acres in size and stretches along the eastern shore of the St. Johns River for about 3.5 miles.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged. | <urn:uuid:99de5c44-5c1f-497c-b9a1-e304b132621a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20130212/NEWS/130219966/0/news | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965187 | 711 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Part of the problem is that Microsoft has, for some time now, been moving slowly but intentionally toward a new model for consumer operating systems salesone more like the software licensing practices of the corporate world, where licensing is clearly understood by all parties to be "permission to use" rather than any kind of ownership. The distinction here may be a fine one in theory, but it is easily spotted in practice. In the past, the average Joe "owned" a copy of Windows much like one owned a paperback book or an album on CD. There was a physical medium attached to this "ownership," and one could more or less do as one pleased with the OS, within the bounds of fair use rules. This model of ownership may have largely been an illusion with relation to Windows and other software, but it was a powerful one. Functionally, it worked for the market. Consumers accepted it easily, and Microsoft did little to discourage it.
In the world of corporate software licensing, by contrast, the terms of the license can be almost anything, because they are widely understood to be defined by contract. As a result, large software companies create and offer all sorts of varying licensing options to their corporate customers. These terms are often confusing, and licensing models (per seat, per connection, per year, etc.) tend to change with annoying frequency. The goal of such programs (and of the frequent changes) seems to be to extract as much money as possible from one's customers, and Microsoft has become a master of this game. Their sales reps exude a reptilian vibe, because sales pitches are often accompanied by an implied (or even overt) threat of a compliance audit or similar legal action, should the customer fail to buy into the terms on offer. Such veiled threats have bite even for scrupulous customers because the licensing terms are fluid, complex, and often ambiguous. If you don't believe it's this bad, ask any IT manager who's had to deal with it about Microsoft's Software Assurance pitch, and see what he says.
Microsoft has somewhat gently but persistently nudged consumers toward a similar licensing model in recent years, imposing ever more restrictions on consumer OS licenses and beginning to enforce them via mechanisms like software activation and Windows Genuine Advantage checks. By most accounts, MS is ratcheting up that enforcement for Windows Vista. Of course, these mechanisms serve the entirely legitimate purpose of limiting software piracy, but Microsoft is also using them to accomplish goals beyond the scope of keeping consumers honest. As with corporate software licenses, the primary end goal here seems to be to maximize revenues for Microsoft, but MS's moves have the unfortunate secondary effect of eroding the consumer's fair-use rightsor at least the very useful illusion of fair-use rightsin the process.
Take, for instance, the activation routine built into Vista, which will monitor hardware changes and prompt a user to reactivate his copy of Windows after certain key hardware components have changed. This mechanism is familiar to Windows XP users, but controversy over its role in Vista erupted when users became concerned that the proposed Vista retail license would prevent a user from transferring his copy of the OS from one PC to another more than once. Such a limitation would be frustrating in its own right, but it could become more onerous if enforced by a routine that keyed on hardware changes in the system, decided that an upgraded PC was essentially "new," and triggered a license expiration.
To its credit, Microsoft heard the outcry from PC enthusiasts on this issue and amended the terms of its retail Vista license to allow for multiple transfers. The fact that the outcry and revision were necessary still grates, of course. What remains to be seen is how this ostensibly more liberal license will be enforced by the Windows activation scheme. Will the PC enthusiast who decides to devote his evening to a hard drive upgrade be forced to spend an hour on hold waiting to plead with the outsourced call-center worker in Bangalore in order to get his PC re-activated after the change? He may have a legal right to use his OS license in this way, but the renewed emphasis on enforcement in Vistaand Microsoft's sometimes intentional policy of ambiguity about certain facets of its licensing regimecreates unease.
Assuming Microsoft does the right thing with regard to retail copies of Vista, transfer limitations remain in the OEM versions of the OS. For years now, PC enthusiasts have purchased OEM editions of Windows in order to get a nice discount off of the retail price of the OS. These versions of Windows typically have to be purchased along with PC hardware as a sort of assurance that the OS is intended for use by a system builder, but the last OEM copy of Windows XP that I ordered from online retailer Newegg automatically came with a 99-cent Molex splitter cable. Microsoft has officially frowned on the widespread sale of OEM software for some time, but it has also quite willingly enjoyed nice sales of OEM software to PC enthusiasts via outlets like Newegg. This tradition would appear to be continuing, since the 'egg is hawking OEM versions of the various Vista editions already. Trouble is, consumers who make this purchase and then upgrade their PCs substantially or transfer the OS to another system will technically be in violation of the license termsand Microsoft may choose to bring the clamps down via activation enforcement at any point. Again, most elements of this situation are not really new, but they look different when viewed in the context of Microsoft's licensing enforcement trajectory with Vista.
Another avenue many consumers take in order to save money on Windows is buying an upgrade version. Since almost every PC owner also owns a copy of Windows, and since upgrade editions of Vista typically cost anywhere from a third to a half less than the retail versions, this would seem like a smart route to take. However, Microsoft has decided to prevent "clean" installations of the Windows Vista Home editions from upgrade DVDs. No longer will the installation routine simply ask the user to insert the CD with his previous version of the OS on it. The only way to install a Vista upgrade on one's PC will be to install Windows XP on the system, activate it, and then do an upgrade to Vista. Additionally, as one of our readers pointed out in our discussion of the topic, this requirement will create major headaches a few years down the road, when users have to deal with the WinXP F6 floppy routine to install storage drivers for newer devices that may not even be supported in Windows XP.
These measures push consumers in various ways toward Microsoft's apparent ultimate goals of selling a single Vista license for each PC sold and extracting as much money as possible from the consumer for that license. (Actually, those may be the penultimate goals, with the ultimate goal being ushering consumers into the same software-as-service model as the Software Assurance program does for corporations, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.) As my friend Andy pointed out to me recently, Microsoft could have created an activation/deactivation routine for moving copies of Windows from one PC to the next, much like Apple has done with its FairPlay scheme for iTunes, but it chose not to do so. Instead, Microsoft has gone down a path that restricts the user's options in ways that are less than desirable, in ways that involve inconvenience and a certain amount of ambiguity and unease for the consumerjust like its corporate software licensing practices do.
130 comments — Last by l33t-g4m3r at 5:52 AM on 02/02/07
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|New Shadow Warrior game teased in video, pictures||15| | <urn:uuid:b1ac4bea-9519-41c0-8659-ebe8f3e7815e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://techreport.com/review/11734/windows-vista-new-spin-on-licensing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949887 | 1,767 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Always ask for money when a patron is leaving a store; that way they are less likely to complain inside.
Engage someone in a conversation before you ask for money. What should you talk about? "If it's a guy, talk about their car. Guys love to talk about their car." Mark adds "if it's a girl, reach down and pet their dog. They love that. If you like their dog, they like you."
After conversing with someone, walk away, then turn back and ask, as if an afterthought, whether they would happen to have some change.
Always conceal how much money you have been given.
Think strategically about where to beg. Early morning, a coffee shop or breakfast place is your best bet. Between 4 and 5 p.m., a copy center is a good choice, as people are rushing to get things copied and faxed before the end of the workday.Note: This article appeared as a sidebar to The Family | <urn:uuid:0af14e94-0a0a-41c2-80ae-789aabfd5260> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/how-to-beg-mikes-rules/Content?oid=1196972 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979257 | 201 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The Ventura debuted in 1960...
The Ventura debuted in 1960 as a separate model and later became a trim package on the ’62-’70 Catalina. That makes this Starlight Black (code-A) two-door hardtop among the first of the breed.
Growing up in Detroit in the late ’50s, the coming of the new decade meant more than watching a new model year for Pontiac unfold upon its home playing field. It also meant the birth of a new era of looks and performance targeted to America’s youth and youthful-thinking, on-the-go population.
“Undoubtedly, 1960 was a special year for me,” says Bill Graham, a 67-year-old retired businessman in West Bloomfield, Michigan. “I got my driver’s license, Bobby Johns took runner-up in the Daytona 500 in a Catalina, and Jim Wangers drove one to the Super Stock win at the NHRA Nationals at Detroit Dragway.”
“I can remember my favorite Pontiac drivers and dealerships as if it was just yesterday,” he continues. Smiling George DeLorean, Fast Eddy Cantor, Arnie “The Farmer” Beswick, Packer Pontiac, Anderson Pontiac, and Royal Pontiac—frankly, I can’t remember any other Super Stock cars from 1960 other than Pontiacs.”
Graham fell in love with the new ’60 full-size models and their wider, lower, and longer design, as they were advertised. “They looked nothing like the Pontiacs of the late-’50s that preceded them, nor the full-sized ones that followed them. Before I knew it, however, I graduated high school and began technical school, and then came a career, a wife, and kids. The ’60 Ventura was all but forgotten,” he says.
The (code-243) interior features...
The (code-243) interior features the restored dash pad by Just Dashes of Van Nuys, California. The interior trim pieces were painted their original shades of red, and Mike DiGiovanni of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, installed a Tri-Tone Morrokide upholstery, door-panels, carpet, and headliner kit that Bill Graham sourced shortly after he bought the Ventura in the ’90s. Check out the remote for the driver-side outside rearview mirror underneath the dash on the far left. It was a $12 option.
In 1995, Graham decided to find a Pontiac that would reignite the emotions he had when he was a young man, and located a ’60 Ventura Sport Coupe in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “The interior was a mess, but since it was an Arizona car, the body was very clean,” he says.
It also had all the signs of an old racer, including a 389 Tri-Power engine, headers, T-10 four-speed, steering-column-mounted tach, rear-spring airbags, and a homemade heater delete.
In 2008, he contacted Rick Vanlerberghe of Chesterfield, Michigan, and inquired about a frame-off restoration. “I received photos from Bill showing the condition of his Ventura and a letter explaining his desire to have it restored to factory condition,” Vanlerberghe says.
Soon the men came to terms, and Vanlerberghe began a two-year restoration on the venerable Ventura.
A total of 27,577 Ventura...
A total of 27,577 Ventura Sport Coupes rolled off the production lines of Pontiac’s eight factories located throughout the U.S. from August 31, 1959, until July 1960 as part of the ’60 model-year. This concours-restored example was built in Southgate, California, in May 1960.
“I restored the frame first,” he says. “After lightly power-washing it, I looked for original paint markings and found A. O. Smith Frame Co. stenciled upside down on the driver-side framerail. It was one of many original markings that I photographed and later duplicated during the restoration.” He disassembled the chassis; restored or replaced its suspension components; replated approximately 1,500 bolts, nuts, and fasteners; media-blasted the frame; prepped it with PPG DP90 epoxy primer; painted it with DDL9423 lacquer; and reassembled it “like a jigsaw puzzle,” he says.
Rick then turned his attention to the body. “I mounted it on a rotisserie and patched the fender bottoms, rockers, and passenger-compartment footwells,” he says. “Though the roof was fine, the hood presented more of a challenge. It needed patches in the front edge, and had surface rust between the inner frame and outer skin. I felt the best way to get rid of the rust was to drill out the spot welds and separate the hood skin from the frame, complete the repairs as needed, clean up the rust, epoxy primer the metal, and weld it back together.” The decklid was much easier; he found an NOS piece and installed it.
The interior brightwork was...
The interior brightwork was polished to like-new condition. That’s a radio-delete plate on the left and an interior courtesy-light switch on the right.
Many body-off–restored Pontiacs are made to wait until they’re fully completed, running, and driving before competing for awards, but Graham’s Ventura was on its way to its first major victory before the body was even painted and returned to the chassis. “The 2009 Detroit Autorama was coming up, and I typically have a six-car display there,” Vanlerberghe says. “The Ventura’s rolling chassis was complete, so I took it to the show to display our detail work.” | <urn:uuid:39c420fc-8b25-4f80-9f73-f3ea11d0d1c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.highperformancepontiac.com/features/hppp_1202_1960_pontiac_ventura/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970319 | 1,272 | 1.601563 | 2 |
“OBAMA On My Mind” by: We The People
By Alan on Mar 06 in Daily Inspiration tagged America, blessed, cursed, fall, fight against the Lamb, forever, God, inheritance, keep the commandments, Obama, Pride, promises, safely, sin, we the people, wicked | Comments Off
“OBAMA On My Mind” by: ‘We The People’
Are you aware of the God given promises made to this nation?
YOU SHOULD BE!
Here are some:
“And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”
“And he said: Thus saith the Lord God—Cursed shall be the land, yea, this land, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto destruction, which do wickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I have said so shall it be; for this is the cursing and the blessing of God upon the land, for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.”
“Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; (North America) and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever.”
Are You The One?
By Alan on Jul 09 in Blog tagged are you the one, children, choice, commitment, dating, forever, God, honesty, life, marriage, principles, The Family, together, trust, values | Comments Off
Father’s Day – “Like Father, Like Son”
By Alan on Jun 15 in Blog tagged alan, Alan and Suzanne osmond, army lead, as He did, barrack, challenges, church, dedication died, education, eight boys, eternal, example, Family, family life, forever, George, George and Olive Osmond, good meals, help others, impacted, Jesus Christ, knowledge, lare family, Like Father, Like son, live again, love, love at home, loving home, married, memories, nurtured, order, organization, Osmonds, osmonds second generation, parallel, passed away, point the way, prayer, regimentation, respect, righteous, role model, same way, showed me, Sons, spirit, spirit world, Suzanne Pinegar, tender, The Family, traditions, truth, watched him, worked hard | 2 Comments
Father’s Day – “Like Father, Like Son”
“Having been born of goodly parents”, I was blessed to be the third member of a family of eight sons and one daughter of George and Olive Osmond. We grew up in the town of Ogden, Utah with fond memories of a wonderful family life.
My Mother, Olive, was so kind and tender as she nurtured us children. She love to cook and taught us music in a most wonderful and loving home. Her parents were both educators and my mother would have been too, but she fulfilled her first priority and married my father and had a large family. Because she loved education, she asked my father to build a schoolroom in the attic of our home where she used her skills as a teacher and theologian to teach us children many truths.
My Father was my hero and my role model. We called him “Father” out of respect and I wanted to be like him when I grew up. I was by his side when he built, plumbed, wired, and remodeled homes as a great carpenter. I watched him and was by his side when he milked cows, hauled hay, irrigated the orchard and fields, or as we stamped and packaged postal items at the post office that he had. Father also loved to sing. I sat behind him while he was driving the car and as we sang together, he would sing in harmony with Mother. That was how I learned to sing harmony. Learning that skill truly impacted my life. Father taught me how to fish, to hoe sugar beets and how to drive the tractor and haul hay. He always involved my brothers and me in his work projects and led by example. He always stood by us when the going got tough or was challenging. You see, Father had been an army sergeant and knew how to lead men. Several evidences of that training showed up in how he raised our sister Marie and us eight boys.
One example of that was when we got older and our home needed more bedrooms. Father decided to build on to the back of our house and built what he called, a dormitory. Yes, you are right, it was like an army barrack with seven military metal framed army cots and blankets, foot lockers at the end of the beds, and open closets where our clothes needed to be neatly hung and arranged as there where regular inspections that occurred. He knew how to lead and train military men in the army so like them, Father taught us in many of the same ways and how to have order. Some neighbors had asked him if the way he was raising his kids wasn’t ‘regimentation’. He would just smile and respond back saying; “I look at it as organization.”
I remember many times when he helped friends by serving them. My Father and Mother were always doing things to help others. They started the Osmond Foundation to raise money for deaf children, two of which were my older brothers. This was a pattern of my father and I wanted to be like him, “Like Father, Like Son.” He was a hard worker and organizer and gave freely of his time in headed up several fundraising projects within the church and the community.
Like my father, I too, found and married the most wonderful girl in the world, Suzanne Pinegar, and she is my eternal partner. Suzanne has blessed me with eight wonderful
sons. As a father, I tried to raise them the best I knew.
I can look back and see a parallel in many of the same ways and traditions that I learned from my father. Those patterns and traditions of life now exist among us as a family with our sons and their families. Yes, they honor me and call me Father and they have learned to work hard and to never give up. Yes, they also love
music and have excelled in it masterfully. I told them to get “real jobs” and they did get good educations with a love to learn. Yes, they love the out of doors like I did as a son and are all Eagle Scouts. Seven of them so far have served full time missions and have returned and married. Yes, they grew up in a home with respect, order, good cooking, love, and with religious convictions that honors our Lord Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. We learn from Jesus’s example that even what He did, was as His Father has done; “Like Father, like Son”.
This Father’s Day, I reflect back on my father’s life and how much he showed me by example the way to be and to become. He taught us to be positive and to never give up when we were challenged and would say, “You can do it”. He also taught us that “You can be what you want to become, if you become what you want to be.” He was hard working yet a righteous man with a tender “marshmallow” heart”, as my mother would say, as he blessed his family and took us all to church. He served in the bishopric and held several other church callings in which he blessed others. We never had a meal together without first having a word of prayer and giving thanks and blessing the food. We always had family prayer at night and even before every show that my family and I did later when we became entertainers. When major decisions were made, we would counsel with the Lord together in kneeling family prayer seeking inspiration and giving thanks. This was the way we grew up because it was the way he did.
I remember the day my mother passed away and which was a hard thing and then not long after that when my father died. It is not easy to see them go but it is those times when the knowledge of that they had taught us gave us the understanding that we would live again and be with them. When my Father died, I was the first one to be by his side. I saw him lying cold and still on his bed. His body was there but my Father’s spirit wasn’t. I shed some tears and held his hand as I offered a prayer of gratitude to my Heavenly Father. I thanked Him for giving me the greatest earthly father I could ever have and for the good man that he was. It was then that I honestly started to smile as I knew he was now once again with my Mother in the Spirit world. I looked at him and said, “Father, save me a place, up there.”
Some day, I too, will graduate and do as my Father, my Savior, and my God have done, and live on eternally. ”Like Father, Like Son”.
Marriage For Time And For All Eternity
By Alan on Sep 01 in Blog tagged Between a man and a woman, children sealed to parents, eternal marriage, forever, marriage, marriage is ordained of God, Temple Marriage, Temples, work for the dead | Comments Off
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MORE THAN DEATH DO YOU PART
MARRY FOR TIME AND FOR ALL ETERNITY!
Q. Why do you have to get married in the temple? Besides the ordinances that are performed, do you really think God will only allow people who were married in the temple, to stay married in heaven and no one else?
This is an excellent question. We do believe that you must be married and sealed in the temple of the Lord for the marriage to continue after this life. Having said that, I realize that we are not the only people on this earth who love their families and desire to be with them forever. We believe that the family is divinely organized. It is the fundamental unit of society. Therefore, it is no wonder to me that each of us desires to be with our families and loved ones forever.
Because marriage is ordained of God, the ordinance must be performed by His authority, and in His way for it to be eternal. In that way it is just like baptism, the receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost, or any other ordinance of God. In talking with the Hebrews about the priesthood, Paul said, “And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron” Hebrews 5:4. (See Leviticus 8 for a description of how Aaron received the priesthood.) Merely wishing for your marriage to last after this life will not make it so.
There are priesthood holders today who are authorized to seal husbands and wives for all time and eternity. They perform these ordinances in temples, which are the most holy places of worship on the earth. (See the article, “Why Mormons” for a better explanation of how this priesthood was restored to the earth.) Even members of the LDS church must live clean, worthy lives to enter the House of the Lord, and then those who are sealed together must keep the covenants they have made in order to have their families forever.
With this understanding, it may be easier for others to see why Mormons are so anxious to spread the gospel throughout the earth. We know that God loves all people and desires all to have eternal happiness. That is why we are willing to go on missions and take every opportunity possible to share our testimonies, so that we can help as many people as possible enjoy these blessings of God.
Now, you may ask about all those who never had an opportunity to go to the temple to be sealed. Are they just denied? No. Through the Lord’s loving grace and mercy, He makes eternal marriage possible for everyone who has not had these opportunities during their mortal lives. It is through vicarious work for the dead. This means that in holy temples we may perform ordinances for the dead, including baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, sealing a husband and wife in marriage, and other essential ordinances for our salvation and eternal happiness.
Vicarious work for the dead is not new with the restoration of the Church through Joseph Smith. The Apostle Paul spoke about baptisms for the dead in his epistle to the Corinthian members who were questioning if there really was going to be a resurrection. As part of his response he stated, “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” (1 Corinthians 15:29). Truly this work is a sign of the true church of Christ on the earth.
Wherever love is, God is there — wooing us, reaching out to us, transforming us. It is in such times and places that we encounter God’s love, and we cannot be touched by that love without it changing us.”
But it is a gift we must yield to in faith, pay the price for, and pass on. Old John the Elder writes to his friends in his little New Testament letter, “all love is from God; everyone who loves knows God.” So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away — this becomes more and more obvious to some of us with each new year — our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For we live not by the things that are seen, but by the things that are unseen, for the things that are unseen are eternal. And love never ends.”
The principle of eternal marriage is one of the sweetest of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that everyone, everywhere would rejoice in knowing that they can be together with their loved ones forever and that God has revealed how to accomplish it.
May you and all people of the world seek to have this blessing in your lives.
“Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.” D&C 132: 16
Being An Osmond
By Alan on Aug 23 in Blog tagged alan, being an Osmond, Celestial Kingdom, deny yourselves, Donny, forever, good times, hard times, humble, Jay, jimmy, Life is T.U.F.F., M.S., Marie, Merrill, stronger, together, Wayne, Weakness | 10 Comments
Being an Osmond
An exclusive video was made of us brothers, The Osmond Brothers, just talking and remembering the past and what it was like by “Being An Osmond.”
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Since this video, my brothers and I have really have become much closer and have come to deal with past ventures that our so called, people we trusted, made for us. We don’t have any malice because we know we don’t take any “stuff” with us after we die anyway! What we will take with us though is an eternal love and respect for each other with great experiences and many friends plus a common conviction that Jesus is the Christ. Because of so many of those truths that we believed in and have lived, and still do, the hard work and great memories will bring us all together again one day in the eternal heavens of the celestial kingdom with each other and our families with our Eternal parents once again.
Regarding my M.S., I decided that “Life is T.UF.F.”
I “T”, Targeted this thing called M.S., I “U”, worked hard to learn and understand all I could about it. I “F”, focused on the problem and didn’t shotgun but, rifled in on the issue, and then I “F” had fight. I was NOT going to take this sitting down. I “fought” to walk, to breathe and to eat proper foods. My wife, Suzanne, saved my life with care giving and nutrition and all natural products she gave me. I am still around today and enjoying our twenty (20) grandchildren.
I know that the Lord gave me weakness to make me humble and even stronger in other ways as in says in Ether 12: 27. The Lord tells us that we can learn from our suffering and I did. Well, I am doing better and I can honestly say that I enjoy life now more than ever before; And, I will continue to say that I may have M.S., but M.S. does NOT HAVE ME!
As my family and I continue forward with life we try to remember that we all have choices and the freedom to choose. May we be wise and do as the scriptures says, “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.” Moro. 10: 32
Jesus is The Way!
“And if thou shouldst be cast into the , or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the ; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee , and shall be for thy good.” D&C 122:7
As Much As You Push The Envelope . . .
By Alan on May 30 in Daily Inspiration tagged bad and good, forever, God, push the envelope, remain stationery, same-sex marriage, sin, The Family, theFamily, Today, yesterday | Comments Off
-No matter how much you push the envelope . . .
it will remain stationery”
-No matter how much you question whether God exists or not . . .
He will remain God.
-No matter how much you push same sex marriage for the family . . .
The Family will remain between a man and a woman.
-No matter if you call bad things good . . .
Bad will always be bad and good will always be good!
-No matter if you commit murder, fornication, adultry, sodomy, child abuse, or any other misuse of your sexual powers . . .
It will remain a Sin.
-If one has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.
By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins— behold, he will confess them and forsake them.” (D&C 58:42–43.)
-God is the same yesterday, today and forever and Jesus is The Way of Life.
To commit sin is to willfully disobey God’s commandments or to fail to act righteously despite a knowledge of the truth (see James 4:17). The Lord has declared that “no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven” (Alma 11:37).
“Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.” 2 Ne. 10: 23
For The Family
I The Lord Have Not Forgotten My People, The Jews.
By Alan on May 23 in Blog tagged a Bible, cursed them, forever, hated them, my people, not forgotten, not forgotten my people, prophets, The Family, the Jews, the Lord, the same, theFamily, Today, two nations, upon your own heads, Word of God, yesterday | Comments Off
God has spoken and continues to speak to us through His Prophets.
Scriptures are the recorded word’s of Prophets that help us remember God’s words and commandments of His people. And “I the Lord have not forgotten my people”.
Here are some:
3 And because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.
4 But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?
5 O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people.
6 Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?
7 Know ye not that there are more nathions than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?
8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.
10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written. 2 Ne. 29: 3-10
“And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and oneshepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture.” 1 Ne. 22: 25
A Bible! A Bible! We Have Got A Bible, And There Cannot Be Any More Bible.
By Alan on May 16 in Blog tagged a Bible, forever, from the Jews, I Am God, more of my word, same yesterday, The Family, theFamily, There cannot be any more, Today, two nations, We have a Bible, witness | Comments Off
A Bible! A Bible! We Have Got A Bible, And There Cannot Be Any More Bible.
And because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.
But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?
O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people.
Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?
Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?
Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations (Bible in Jerusalem, Book of Mormon in America) is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations (Bible and Book of Mormon) shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another (The Book of Mormon); for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.
Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written. 2 Ne. 29: 3-10
“We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” A of F 1: 9
Why would I only want a portion of what God and Jesus have said to us? We are God’s children and like all fathers, He would not leave us here on earth alone without His words.
If God is “the same yesterday, today, and forever”, what should we be so afraid of hearing more of His words? Do we think that God will contradict Himself on what He has already said? NO !
In the Bible it says, “And other sheep (followers) I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (Jesus) John 10: 16
Around 300 A.D. many “precious parts” of the Bible were taken away. “And after they (scriptures of the Bible) go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb (The Bible) many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away. (lost from the Bible) 1 Ne. 13: 26
And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of God, after I have visited the remnant of the house of Israel (Lehi’s Family that left Jerusalem and went to America-600B.C.)—and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of thy father (Jewish)—wherefore, after I have visited them in judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles, and after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb—I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel (The Book of Mormon), which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb. 1 Ne. 13: 34
And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records (The Book of Mormon), which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first (the Bible), which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them (Gold plates were buried in Hill Cumorah); and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved. 1 Ne. 13: 40
“This is the third time I am coming to you. (Jerusalem, America, Lost Ten Tribes) In the mouth of two or three witnesses (the Bible, the Book of Mormon, other records yet to be revealed) shall every word be established.” 2 Cor. 13: 1
I do NOT blast other religions! Other churches than mine have many truths! Oh how sad I feel for so many people who have and believe the Bible with all of those precious missing parts that has caused so much confusion in the world and the formation of so many churches today.
When Jesus returns, there will be several churches with Christian congregations to witness and greet Jesus at His Second Coming. What is sad though is that those “precious missing parts” were revealed to Prophets in America and are written in The Book of Mormon with those covenants and laws that are needed to be obey and lived in order to receive the highest mansions of eternity in heaven! This is why I am so NOI-Z about these things! Why wouldn’t you want them? THEY ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU NOW! Don’t take away what you already have! Just add to it!!!
I’M NOT JUST MAKING THIS STUFF UP!
(This is a rendering of Mormon, the last Prophet and writer of the Book of Mormon who buried these gold records in the Hill Cumorah in New York that Joseph Smith was shown by an angel and translated into The Book of Mormon!)
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Have Your Drivers License Taken Away, Forever?
By Alan on Mar 28 in Blog tagged Alan Osmond, children of God, creator, Drivers License Taken Away, earth, eternal life, everlasting darkness, forever, forgive, forgive them, good or evil, Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, judged, laugh, multiply and replenisg, physical body, policeman, return home, sacred powers, sex, sexual powers, stopped or damned, tests, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Movie Man, the natural man, The Plan, worlds without number | 1 Comment
Why do you think we call our God, “The CREATOR’?
Because he creates life and worlds without number. This is His Work and His Glory. . . in being A CREATOR.
If God is a Heavenly Father, then who are we?
We are His Children! You and Me!
As God’s children, we have come to earth and have been given a physical body just like our Heavenly Parents, with “sacred powers” to ‘TEST DRIVE’, to get MARRIED, which is ordained of God, and to fulfill God’s commandment to “multiply and replenish the earth” and to be a CREATOR of life also, while here on earth. Our Father in Heaven wants what all fathers desire, and that is for their children to have all of the same experiences and joys in becoming parents like them. Our physical body is just like our Heavenly Parent’s except that their bodies are glorified and eternal, as we may become. Yes, we all will die and this power will be taken from us.
In order to be proven in all things amd become like Him, our Heavenly Father gave us commandments and laws to obey. We agreed to follow His word before we even came here. We are NOW here and we are somewhat like going to school, to learn and to be judged. And what do they give you in school? That’s right, TESTS!
Yes, we are here to be tested, to see who of all God’s children will learn and obey His commandments and to see if we can pass lifes TESTS and be worthy to continue to have these creative powers again or NOT, if we misuse them. If we do, just like a policeman who pulls you over for breaking traffic laws, you could have your “creator drivers license” taken away because of wreckless driving. If you commit wreckless sexual sins, you too, will also be pulled over and may not be privileged to become more like your eternal parents and have eternal increase in the worlds to come, for ‘God is not the author of confusion’.
This world has many choices. They are either good or evil – Eternal life or everlasting darkness. Too many follow ‘the natural man’ which is an enemy to God.
“For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” Mosiah 3: 19
The use of these creative sexual powers is one of the main reasons we came to this world so that we can become more like our parents, as all children do. It is to see whom among us can keep those sacred powers sacred and NOT misuse them! It’s just like getting a drivers license to drive a car. Once you get it, if you are not careful, it can be taken away! These “creative powers” are what makes us Creators like our Father and Mother in Heaven.
Again, may we please understand that WE MUST NOT follow the “Natural Man” or the “Natural Woman”.
Some may laugh or think otherwise but as Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what the do.’ Unfortunately many do know but don’t care! These precious children of God that we are allowed to bring down from heaven and into this world are our responsibility and they deserve a lawfully and leagally wedded Mother and a Father who will provide a safe and loving home for them until we all return back home to the highest mansion or heaven, which is the only heaven that these powers will be available to us and only to those that are worthy to continue on with eternal increase! The heavens are governed by God’s laws.
Make sure that you are NOT stopped or “damned” with your eternal progression!
YES, It’s that serious!
So is Jesus Christ.
“For behold, this is my church; whosoever is baptized shall be baptized unto repentance. And whomsoever ye receive shall believe in my name; and him will I freely forgive.
Therefore I say unto you, Go; and whosoever transgresseth against me, him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed; and if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also.
Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.
And ye shall also forgive one another your trespasses; for verily I say unto you, he that forgiveth not his neighbor’s trespasses when he says that he repents, the same hath brought himself under condemnation.” Mosiah 26: 22, 29-31
Like my Mother Olive often said, I am not trying to convert you or discredit the truths you already have in your various religions . . . but to share further “LIGHT and KNOWLEDGE” about “THE WAY” … to get back to Heaven. Truth is Light! The Glory of God is Intelligence. The more we attain in this world, it will rise with us in the resurrection which is guaranteed to all by the sacrifice of Jesus! “There is a Glory like unto the STARS, a Glory like unto the MOON, and a Glory like unto the SUN! So also is the Resurrection”!
We each will Choose our Glory by which higher laws we are willing to live. ”You’ve Got The Power To Choose”!
For The Familiy
The Sealing Powers The Lord’s House Are For ALL God’s Children.
By Alan on Mar 12 in Blog tagged ancestors, baptism for the dead, children, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, endowment, eternity, families, forever, God, house, Jesus Christ, Kyiv Ukraine, Kyiv Ukraine Temple, learning, Lord's house, marriage, of The Lord, ordinances, sealing powers, Temples | 1 Comment
Another Temple In Kyiv Ukraine!
THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. As did ancient Israel, Latter-day Saints regard temples as sacred places set apart where they can go to draw close to God and receive revelations and blessings from him (D&C 97:15-17;110:7-8). The physical structure as such is not the source of its holiness. Rather, the character of those who enter and the sacred ordinances and instructions received there nurture the spiritual atmosphere found in the temple. When members enter this holy house and center their thoughts on serving others, their own understandings are clarified and solutions to personal problems are received.
Because of the spiritual nature of temple activity, personal preparation is essential. Latter-day Saints insist that temple ceremonies are sacred. This is consistent with ancient practice when, for example, only specifically qualified persons were admitted into the holiest precincts of the Tabernacle. The function of local Church leaders in issuing temple recommends is not only to establish the individual’s worthiness and preparation but also to assure the sanctity of the temple.
Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred covenants with God. Because making covenants with God is such a solemn responsibility, individuals cannot enter the temple to receive their endowments or be sealed in marriage for eternity until they have fully prepared themselves and been members of the Church for at least a year. Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. The Church is working to build temples all over the world to make temple blessings more available for a greater number of Heavenly Father’s children.
Temples are places of learning. Their principal purpose is to provide ordinances necessary for the children of God to enable them to return to dwell with Him. Temple ordinances lead to the greatest blessings available through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Everything in the Church—the meetings and activities, the missionary efforts, the lessons taught and the hymns—all lead to the work done in holy temples.
One ordinance received in the temple is called the endowment. The word endowment means “gift,” and the temple endowment truly is a gift from God. The ordinance consists of a series of instructions and includes covenants to live righteously and follow the requirements of the gospel. The endowment focuses on the Savior, His role in Heavenly Father’s plan, and the personal commitment of each member to follow Him.
Another temple ordinance is celestial marriage. In this ordinance husband and wife are sealed to one another for eternity. A sealing performed in the temple continues forever if the husband and wife are faithful to the covenants they make.
We have temples all over the world made available to all of God’s children.
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Note: If your ancestors never had the chance to hear about Jesus Christ or to accept Him as their Savior, they will have been taught the gospel of Jesus Christ in the spirit world after they died. Their saving ordinances can be performed for them in these temples so should they accept the Lord and His teachings, their baptism and other ordinances will have been done for them by proxy. This is IMPORTANT.
For The Family | <urn:uuid:ee850703-f981-44fa-90fa-1800addd0c46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thefamily.com/tag/forever/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966252 | 8,828 | 1.515625 | 2 |
[Old draft of a post that I never finished writing... Started it in late February.]
Been thinking about intellectuals, especially French ones. It might have been a long-standing issue for me. To this French-speaking North American academic, the theme is obvious.
More specifically, though.
Was listening to a podcast with French journalist Daniel Schneidermann who, among other things, is a blogger. During the podcast, Schneidermann made a simple yet interesting comment about validation by readers. As a journalist, he has an obligationto adopt strict standards, verify sources, etc. As a blogger, he knows that if something that he says is inaccurate, blog readers will quickly point out the mistake. Again, dead simple. One of the basic things people have understood about online communication since at least 1994. But some journalists have typically been slow to understand the implications, perhaps because it causes a sea change in their practise. So Scheidermann’s comment was relatively “refreshing” in such a context.
Wanted to blog on that issue. Went to Scheidermann’s blog and read a few things. Noticed one about a Wikipedia entry on Schneidermann. While the blogger understands the value of reader validation, he seems to be uneasy with the fact that his Wikipedia entry was, when he first read it, disproportionally devoted to some specific issues in his life. Which leads me to the intellectuel thing.
A little over ten years ago, Pierre Bourdieu was on Schneidermann’s television set for a show about television. Bourdieu had been thinking and writing about television’s social impact. The context in which Schneidermann invited Bourdieu was a series of political and social events centering on an important strike with which Bourdieu had been associated. By participating in the show, Bourdieu had the (secret) intention of demonstrating television’s incapacity at taking distance from itself. Bourdieu had participated in another television show a few years prior and apparently saw his presence on a television set as an occasion to experiment with some important issues having to do with the media’s channeling of dialogue. Didn’t see the show but had heard about the events that followed without following it. A brief summary, from very limited evidence.After appearing on the show, Bourdieu published a short piece in Le Monde diplomatique (Schneidermann was a journalist at Le Monde). That piece was strongly-worded but can be seen as a fairly typical media analysis by a social scientist or other scholar. Not Bourdieu’s most memorable work, maybe, but clear and simple, if a bit watered down at times. In fact, the analysis looked more Barthes-type semiotics than Bourdieu’s more, erm, “socially confrontational” work.
Schneidermann’s response to Bourdieu’s analysis looks more like a knee-jerk reaction to what was perceived as personal attacks. Kind of sad, really. In fact, the introduction to that response points out the relevance of Bourdieu’s interrogations.
At any rate, one aspect of Schneidermann’s response which is pretty telling in context is the repeated use of the term intellectuel at key points in that text. It’s not so much about the term itself, although it does easily become a loaded term. An intellectual could simply be…
[Google: define intellectual...]:
a person who uses his or her intellect to study, reflect, or speculate on a variety of different ideas
[ Thank you, Wikipedia! ]
But, in context, repeated use of the term, along with repeated mentions of Collège de France (a prestigious yet unusual academic institution) may give the impression that Schneidermann was reacting less to Bourdieu as former guest than to the actions of an intellectuel. Obligatory Prévert citation:
Il ne faut pas laisser les intellectuels jouer avec les allumettes.
(Intellectuals shouldn’t be allowed to play with matches.)
Now, second stream of thought on intellectuels. Was teaching an ethnomusicology course at an anthropology department. A frequent reaction by students was that we were intellectualizing music too much. Understandable reaction. Music isn’t just an intellectual object. But, after all, isn’t the role of academia to understand life intellectually?
Those comments tended to come in reaction to some of the more difficult readings. To be fair, other reactions included students who point out that an author’s analysis isn’t going beyond some of the more obvious statements and yet others are cherishing the intellectual dimensions of our perspective on music. Altogether the class went extremely well, but the intellectual character of some of the content was clearly surprising to some.
The third strand or stream of thought on intellectuels came on February 27 in a television show with Jacques Attali. His was a typical attitude of confidence in being a “jack of all trades” who didn’t hesitate to take part in politics, public service, and commercial initiatives. I personally have been influenced by some of Jacques Attali’s work and, though I may disagree with several of his ideas, I have nothing but respect for his carreer. His is a refreshingly unapologetic form of intellectualism. Not exclusion of non-intellectuals. Just an attempt at living peacefully with everyone while thinking about as many issues as possible. He isn’t my hero but he deserves my respect, along with people like Yoro Sidibe, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Louis Armstrong, Boris Vian, Jan Garbarek, Georges Brassens, Steven Feld, Roland Barthes, James Brown, and Serge Gainsbourg.
A fourth thread came in a departmental conference at Université de Montréal’s Department of Anthropology. Much discussion of the involvement of anthropologists in social life. And the visit of two public intellectuals who happen to be anthropological provocateurs, here in Quebec: Serge Bouchard and Bernard Arcand.. . .
Never finished this draft.
Should really follow on these threads. They have been haunting me for almost a year. And connect with multiple issues that I tend to think about.
My attitude now is that through blogs, mailing-lists, online forums, classes, lectures, conferences, informal and formal discussions, I’m able to help people think about a large set of different issues, whether or not they agree with me on any single point. Not because I’m somehow better than others: I’m clearly not. Not because my ideas are better than those cherished by others: they clearly aren’t. Possibly because I’m extremely talkative. And enthusiastic about talking to just about anyone. There’s even a slight chance that I may have understood something important about my “role in life,” my “calling.” If so, great. If not, I’m having fun anyway and I don’t mind being (called) an intellectual. | <urn:uuid:1aaae902-ff7e-455f-abee-5c791ad1a0e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.enkerli.com/tag/jacques-attali/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948033 | 1,490 | 1.625 | 2 |
'Communicate to mobilise to communicate'. The WSF has been referred to as an emergent global public sphere; however, little systematic attention has been paid to how media and communication are implicated in making it 'global' and 'public'.
Since it emerged in 2001 proclaiming that 'another world is possible', the World Social Forum (WSF) has been a regular feature of the global civil society landscape. Biennially gathering tens of thousands of activists representing a huge diversity of movements and groups from around the world - most recently in 2011 in [url= Dakar,]http://fsm2011.org/]Dakar, Senegal[/url] - it is widely perceived as having a democratising function, providing a space where previously excluded voices can come together and debate alternatives to neoliberal capitalism.
The WSF has been referred to as an emergent global public sphere; however, little systematic attention has been paid to how media and communication are implicated in making it 'global' and 'public'. Here, I examine how alternative media activism within the WSF process can contribute to the creation of democratising publics.
A global public sphere?
In its [url= Charter]http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/main.php?id_menu=4&cd_language=2]Charter of Principles[/url], the WSF is defined as an 'open space' for 'reflective thinking', 'democratic debate of ideas' and 'free exchange of experiences'. Combined with its self-declared ambition to be a global process, this emphasis on discourse and dialogue makes it tempting to characterise the WSF as an emergent global public sphere.
Though appealing, it is however not at all clear that the WSF can or should be characterised in such terms. Critics have (rightly) highlighted the various ways in the WSF falls short of the normative criteria associated with the concept of the public sphere, pointing to the WSF's lack of transparency, internal hierarchies and various forms of exclusion. Theorising the WSF as a global public sphere is also conceptually problematic, as Janet Conway and Jakeet Singh have shown. Traditionally conceived within the framework of the nation state as a mechanism for holding government to account, the concept of the public sphere cannot straightforwardly be 'scaled up' and applied to the WSF, which does not have an obvious sovereign counterpart. Additionally, the WSF's much-debated politics of 'open space' (essentially based on the principle that the forum does not act or speak in the name of its participants) challenges the ideal of consensus that is at the heart of the Habermasian concept of the public sphere, pointing towards an altogether different political imaginary founded on the recognition of irreducible difference and plurality.
What has been practically absent from debates about the WSF and the concept of the public sphere (which I have examined in more detail [url= here)]http://eprints.gold.ac.uk/6570/]here[/url])[/url] is a concern with the role of media and communication. This is surprising, given on the one hand John Thompson's widely recognised observation that publicness in large-scale, complex societies is necessarily mediated in character, and, on the other, the prominent place that communication technologies have occupied in writings on transnational social movement networks.
MAKING THE WSF PUBLIC
In looking at the importance of media and communication to the creation of publics within the WSF process, I will focus on how organisers and activists are trying to make it public (and 'global') through media and communication. Most obviously, this refers to efforts to disseminate media content about the WSF and ensure this reaches the widest possible audience. However, as is widely acknowledged, the WSF has consistently [url= struggled]http://eprints.gold.ac.uk/6570/]struggled to gain visibility in mainstream media[/url]. Here, instead, I want to show how alternative media activism - in the form of collaborative and participatory processes of media production - can provide a foundation for the creation of democratising publics. In what follows, I outline some key findings arising from ethnographic research carried out at social forums between 2008 and 2011, and consider their implications for how we might understand the idea of a 'global public'.
The particular brand of media activism that I will discuss has been developed by a network of predominantly (though not exclusively) Brazilian and other Latin American activists who have used the WSF as a space for network-building and experimentation with new communication practices. The particular concept and practice of communication that they have developed is known in Portuguese as [url= comunicação]http://www.ciranda.net/documentos/article/a-comunicacao-compartilhada]comunicação compartilhada[/url], which can be translated roughly as 'shared communication' (though their concept of 'sharing' is quite different from that associated with contemporary social media practices).
The idea of shared communication emerged on the eve of the first WSF in 2001, out of a concern that the event would not receive adequate media coverage. Organisers were worried that mainstream media would most likely either present a distorted image of the forum or simply ignore it altogether, while independent media lacked the resources required to produce comprehensive coverage of such a large event. As a solution, a small communication team within the WSF organising committee created a web publication system, which was given the name of [url= Ciranda]http://www.ciranda.net/-fsm-2011-dakar-]Ciranda[/url][/url] (a form of circular dance in Brazil). Based on copyleft, Ciranda enabled participants to freely share content, providing a much-needed outlet for independent media at a time before Web 2.0 technologies were widely available.
Initially having emerged out of a need to facilitate sharing of media content, the concept of shared communication soon acquired a much broader significance. Ciranda not only offered a platform for independent media coverage of the WSF; it also provided the occasion for media activists from different parts of the world to come together, creating spaces of sociality that encouraged dialogue and a sense of common purpose.
Having enjoyed immediate success at the first WSF, with over 300 articles uploaded to the Ciranda site, this exercise in shared communication was repeated at subsequent forums in Porto Alegre. In 2005, Ciranda (which had initially focused on text- and image-based journalism) was joined by other shared communication 'projects' providing facilities and equipment for activists working with different media, including the TV Forum (for video producers) and Radio Forum (for independent and community radios). Shared communication projects were also implemented at the Caracas edition of the WSF 2006 and at the Bélem WSF in 2009. In other years, when the WSF has taken place outside of Latin America, shared communication activists have covered the events and developed links with media activists from other parts of the world. Alongside the Ciranda website, online platforms for video (wsftv.net) and radio (www.forosocialradios.org) content relating to the WSF have also been developed by transnational working groups connected to the International Council's Communication Commission.
These shared communication projects have formed the basis for the development of permanent activist networks and the idea of a politics and practice of shared communication. Over the years, Ciranda has developed from an annual exercise in producing shared coverage of the WSF to a permanent initiative for alternative news relating to the Forum's thematic areas. Under the motto 'another communication is possible', shared communication activists have had as a key objective to develop a model of communication that is in keeping with the principles of the WSF and which follows a different logic from that of mainstream media.
A MOVEMENT-BUILDING APPROACH TO COMMUNICATION
How might we understand the significance of this particular form of media activism? First of all, I think it lies in the way that activists conceive shared communication as a process that is inextricably linked to political practice, and very different from the 'public relations' approach commonly adopted by mainstream NGOs. As one Brazilian activist I spoke to put it, the shared communication projects are 'nothing more, nothing less, than processes of mobilising groups that have the aim of doing another communication within the Forum'.
Shared communication, in other words, has a strong movement-building dimension. By using social forums to engage in a prefigurative politics that demonstrates their model of democratic communication in practice, shared communication activists envisage the gradual proliferation around the world of their practices as new people are exposed to them. As another Brazilian activist explained, 'we believe that from the moment a group comes to the Forum and enters into contact with this kind of process of knowledge production, they can take this idea with them beyond the Forum, return home and put into practice this exercise of collective knowledge production in the place where they do this on a daily basis'.
An important part of activists' efforts to spread the practice of shared communication has also been to share their skills and experience with movements and groups in the locations where the WSF is held, thereby enabling them to communicate on their own terms. This is closely linked to a conception of the WSF as an ongoing political process, not simply an event to be publicised through media coverage. As a Ciranda co-ordinator explained, 'If I go there, do my thing, and go home, and leave it at that, I will have treated the Forum as an event, I will have done communication as an event and this will not have contributed anything towards the social movements and organisations of the region where the Forum is held having more tools for communicating, with a new concept, a new perspective'.
The crucial point here is that shared communication activists - many of whom are organically linked to the movements they report on - see themselves as acting together with rather than simply disseminating information about the movements that participate in the WSF. In such a conception, communication and mobilisation for collective action are two sides of the same coin, forming a mutually reinforcing relationship captured eloquently by the motto 'communicate to mobilise to communicate...'
Because the independent journalists and communicators who participate in the shared communication projects are not only reporters but themselves members of various movements, they become important nodes in inter-movement networks. Ciranda and the other shared communication projects not only facilitate information sharing through online communication, they also offer occasions for activists from different movement backgrounds to exchange knowledge and experience, and construct relations of solidarity. As a Radio Forum participant explained, 'our participation in the [shared] coverage always has as a consequence that we are a living network'. Such networks of solidarity among media activists have an important role to play in creating links between different movements, constituting the social infrastructure of what might be understood as a different kind of global public in the making.
RETHINKING THE IDEA OF A GLOBAL PUBLIC
The kind of global public that is slowly being forged by these activists is more subterranean, less spectacular than that made visible by the mass gatherings at social forum events. Its continuity and expansion does not depend on the capacity of the WSF to gain mainstream media attention. As I hope to have shown, making the WSF public through shared communication involves mobilisation, movement-building, and the proliferation of alternative communication practices as well as the circulation of media coverage about the WSF. It involves a laborious process of constructing relations of solidarity, involving new actors in the production of media content, and setting in motion dynamics in the places where the WSF is held.
The practices that I have described above suggest that what is at stake in construction of 'global' publics is not the construction of a unified communicative sphere at the self-evidently global scale, oriented towards the formation of a general 'public opinion' which in turn can hold state power to account.
What is discernible in the practices of shared communication activists is a different sense of globality. For them, the construction of a global 'WSF public' is about the proliferation of shared communication practices which enable movements and communities around the world to construct their own publics on different scales. These publics might be linked and overlapping, but they are not subsumed within an overarching 'general' global public sphere in a hierarchy of scale. What connects them is a sense of solidarity across difference and a willingness to engage in dialogue and collective knowledge production.
Hilde C. Stephansen teaches sociology and is a Research Fellow in the Centre for the Study of Global Media and Democracy, both at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her recent doctoral thesis explored the role of media and communication in the World Social Forum process. | <urn:uuid:8a4791dc-41b2-4a4e-8ee9-4ed1eff516f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://allafrica.com/stories/201210050815.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951536 | 2,640 | 1.742188 | 2 |
UUs join antiwar protests in Washington
UU Service Committee 'trial' of top government officials for torture draws hundreds.
- A Saturday rally drew at least 100,000 people who listened to speakers ranging from the Rev. Jesse Jackson to Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who camped out in protest near President Bush’s Texas ranch. Protesters then marched to the White House along Pennsylvania Avenue, chanting and carrying placards. UUs from at least a dozen states took part.
- All Souls Church, Unitarian, was jammed to its capacity of 800 for a Sunday worship service. The Rev. William G. Sinkford, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, led the prayer and the Rev. Rob Hardies, the church’s senior minister, preached a sermon on violence.
- A formal mock trial of high-level U.S. officials on charges of torture drew several hundred people Sunday afternoon. Conducted in a hotel ballroom near the Capitol by the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, the six-hour mock trial featured testimony from torture survivors and experts.
And on Monday, while a handful of Unitarian Universalists were among the almost 400 people arrested for protesting in front of the White House, an interfaith contingent of UUs and others lobbied Congress in opposition to torture.
Sunday’s mock trial featured actor David Clennon, who played a CIA agent in the film “Missing”; the Rev. Joseph Lowery, civil rights leader; Mairead Maguire, winner of the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in Northern Ireland; and three torture survivors from South America who described their own torture.
The “defendants” were Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, played by Clennon; former CIA Director George Tenet, played by Steven Volk, a professor of history at Oberlin College and witness to the U.S.-backed coup that brought Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte to power in Chile; and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, played by Francisco Letelier, activist and son of Orlando Letelier, a Pinochet opponent assassinated in Washington in 1976 by a car bomb. The actor Martin Sheen had been expected to play Rumsfeld, but withdrew saying he had a conflict.
Early in the mock trial, sparks flew as the prosecutor, played by Margaret Montoya, a lawyer and professor at the University of New Mexico, examined the Rumsfeld character, with Rumsfeld shouting statements over the prosecutor’s questioning.
Charlie Clements, the Service Committee’s president and CEO, said the ballroom held 450 people and that it was packed.
The trial followed a script written by Jennifer Harbury, the UUSC’s civil liberties program manager and author of the new Beacon Press book, Truth, Torture, and the American Way: The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture. Clements said she created the script using quotes the defendants had said on the record.
Harbury’s husband, Guatemalan guerilla leader Efraín Bámaca Velásquez, was secretly detained and tortured to death in Guatemala in the early 1990s by Guatemalan intelligence officers linked to the CIA. Since then, Harbury has investigated and reported the links between U.S. intelligence networks and the Latin American death squads.
Clements said the premise for the mock trial was international law that says systematic torture is a crime against humanity with no statute of limitation and no boundaries on jurisdiction. Spain referred to these laws when it indicted Pinochet for crimes against humanity committed during his 16-year reign in Chile.
“What the prosecutors tried to prove” in Sunday’s mock trial, Clements said, “was that the three defendants were guilty of systematic torture.” He said that many of the observers would be able to use what they’d learned in Monday’s lobbying efforts.
Congregations from at least a dozen states, and from as far away as California and Washington State, marched under four Unitarian Universalist banners at the Saturday protest, said Elizabeth Bukey, a legislative assistant in the UUA’s Washington Office for Advocacy. She said police blockades made direct access to the UU meeting place difficult, so other congregations may also have been represented but marched separately.
The protest was sponsored by groups including the ANSWER Coalition and United for Peace and Justice with a call to “End the War in Iraq and Bring the Troops Home Now.” The UUA did not formally endorse the rally but supported participation and set up the meeting place. The UUA is a member of the Win Without War Coalition, which opposes the war but favors a less abrupt withdrawal.
A dozen people from the 181-member Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Northwest Tucson, Ariz., converged on the nation’s capital by car and airline to march in the protest and deliver 900 “ribbons of resistance” that they collected from UUs in 18 congregations.
Libby Johnson of the congregation’s social justice and action committee said she left Tucson by car on September 18 with four others and made stops at congregations in Albuquerque, N.Mex.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Little Rock, Ark.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Roanoke, Va., before joining hosts from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax, in the Virginia suburbs of Washington. They rallied interest and gathered ribbons along the way, then marched in the Saturday protest.
Johnson described the ribbons as strips of heavy paper stamped with the flaming chalice symbol and festooned with colorful ribbons. Each bears a handwritten antiwar message from an adult or a child in religious education classes. “Some of the messages are heartbreaking, some are angry, some very short,” said Johnson, “but all are heartfelt.”
Johnson was among the demonstrators arrested Monday at the White House, where she had marched as part of a procession organized by Clergy and Laity Concerned About Iraq. At the White House, they requested to see President Bush. When told that he could not see them, they sat down on the sidewalk and, as prearranged with the police, were arrested. Cindy Sheehan was the first to be taken into custody.
As she marched, Johnson carried the ribbons in two clear plastic suitcases. When she reached the White House gate, she hooked the suitcases to the top of its fence.
“We grew attached to the ribbons, but they weren’t ours, they belonged to the people who wrote the messages,” Johnson said. “Our promise was to deliver them to the White House the best we could. For us, this was the only way we could do it.”
Among other Unitarian Universalists arrested were the Rev. Kent Matthies, minister of the Unitarian Society of Germantown, in Philadelphia, and Alan Dawley, a parishioner. Matthies said he saw two other marchers wearing UU T-shirts among those arrested.
“We had a wonderful experience,” Matthies said. “There was a lot of joy. We sang songs all day, right up to being arrested."
Monday’s anti-torture lobbying began with worship at the Capitol Hill Holiday Inn. President Sinkford offered the opening prayer and then led a procession to a park near the Capitol. The UUSC-sponsored lobbying contingent included interfaith clergy and 16 survivors of torture from around the world. At the park Lowery, the civil rights leader, blessed the group before they entered the building.
Shelley Moskowitz, the UUSC’s manager of public policy in Washington, said a highlight was a chance encounter with Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who is pushing an amendment to military legislation that would explicitly require the United States to follow the Geneva Convention in the treatment of prisoners. The lobbying group was leaving McCain’s offices after meeting with a staff member when McCain came down the hall.
“We surrounded him and thanked him,” Moskowitz said. “We introduced him to the torture survivors and gave him a white rose.” | <urn:uuid:b8a8364d-6226-4ef4-a89f-ed569a1770d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uuworld.org/news/articles/2185.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965303 | 1,727 | 1.6875 | 2 |
All six proposals — one veto referendum and five constitutional amendments — failed to make it in the Michigan election on Nov. 6:
• Proposal 1, the veto referendum, was to expand emergency managers’ powers and the ability of the governor to appoint emergency managers for a municipality or school district.
The Detroit Free Press noted that Gov. Rick Snyder told WWJ-AM that this will make it difficult for financially troubled communities to succeed.
• Proposal 2 would have made collective bargaining through labor unions a right for public and private workers.
Michigan Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rich Studley said in a statement to The Detroit News: ”Michigan union bosses were more interested in attacking job providers and the state’s reinvention effort than in representing their members best interest, and today at the ballot box union members themselves stood up to their bosses and overwhelmingly rejected their divisive approach.”
• Proposal 3, the renewable energy measure, was to mandate that 25 percent of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2025.
Steve Transeth, the former head of the Michigan Public Service Commission who has worked to defeat the ballot measure, told The Detroit News: ”As we’ve said all along, it’s very important we move forward with clean energy and a clean environment. But this proposal was just not the way to go about it.”
• Proposal 4 would have given in-home health care providers collective bargaining rights with the Michigan Quality Home Care Council (a new council within Michigan Department of Community Health).
• Proposal 5 would have required any increase in state taxes to be approved by a two-thirds majority in the Legislature, or a statewide vote.
• Proposal 6 called for voters to approve any new international bridge or tunnel via statewide referendum, as well as a referendum in any municipality in which the new bridge would be located.
Mickey Blashfield, director of Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel “Matty” Moroun’s ballot committee, hinted to Crain’s Detroit Business of litigation to come: “If the governmental proposal doesn’t collapse from the weight of legal and congressional scrutiny, the [New International Trade Crossing] will never be built over unstable salt mine foundations, where land speculators are lining up to get rich on the government’s tab.
Meanwhile, Sara Wurfel, Gov. Rick Snyder’s press secretary, said: “It’s full steam ahead. Voters were rightfully wary of special interest attempts to mess with their constitution.” | <urn:uuid:6721db36-ea36-401d-8a86-22c145f35c6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://milawyersweekly.com/milwblog/category/election-day/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956959 | 530 | 1.59375 | 2 |
South Africa must surely be one of the world’s most extraordinary enigmas–a rugged country with sun-blessed mountains and oceans, predictably good weather, and happily diverse inhabitants. People exercise out of doors, and everyone plays sports.
It’s also a nation characterized by political wrongdoing, city crime, AIDS, abuse of women, and joblessness. The contrasts are sharp and disturbing. Disease and robust health. Fear and smiling hospitality.
Yet, South Africans are demonstrating that good health is much more than exercise in the sun and a daily plunge in the ocean. It begins with hope secured by interaction with God, a readiness to trust the Divine in every aspect of daily life, and an unselfish concern to place others’ needs ahead of one’s own. This “enigma” has many variations, but its God-fearing people have much to show and even teach the rest of the world. Continue reading | <urn:uuid:ef85f94e-eaa3-4c7d-a3e6-63330458ed69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.masshealthblog.com/category/guest-bloggers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964271 | 196 | 1.78125 | 2 |
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama signed an order Friday night authorizing the government to begin cutting $85 billion from federal accounts, officially enacting across-the-board reductions that everyone in government said they opposed but failed to avert.
Friday was the deadline for the president and Congress to avoid the steep, one-year cuts. Republican leaders huddled with Obama at the White House, but both sides emerged from the meeting blaming the other for the problem.
The administration has warned for weeks that the spending cuts — known in Washington as sequestration — will cause delays in air traffic, prompt teacher layoffs and hamper food inspections. But the White House has been accused of overstating the effects, and Obama said Friday that the $85 billion slice in federal spending, though painful for a still-recovering economy, will be survivable.
“This is not going to be an apocalypse, I think, as some people have said,” Obama said. “It’s just dumb. And it’s going to hurt. It’s going to hurt individual people and it’s going to hurt the economy overall.”
The cuts were designed by the administration and Congress in 2011 to be so objectionable to both parties that they would be forced to reach an alternative deal to trim projected deficits by $1.2 trillion over 10 years.
But resolution has proved elusive in partisan Washington.
Obama put the blame squarely on Republicans, who opposed replacing some spending cuts with tax increases. He wants a mix of tax revenues and spending cuts; Republicans say they already agreed to a tax increase in January to avoid an earlier fiscal crisis.
“None of this is necessary; it’s happening because of a choice that Republicans in Congress have made,” Obama said. “They’ve allowed these cuts to happen because they refuse to budge on closing a single wasteful loophole to help reduce the deficit.”
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio underscored the Republican position, saying Obama “got his tax hikes” on Jan. 1. Republicans agreed to raises taxes on annual household income over $450,000 as part of a deal to avoid a collision of spending cuts and tax increases dubbed the fiscal cliff. That deal also raised the Social Security payroll tax on all Americans, regardless of income.
“This discussion about revenue, in my view, is over,” Boehner said after Friday’s meeting. “It’s about taking on the spending problem here in Washington.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., vowed that he’d “not be part of any backroom deal” on the sequester and that he would “absolutely not agree to increase taxes.”
Obama and congressional Republicans did signal that they’d strive to keep the fight over sequestration separate from the next crisis: reaching an agreement to avoid a government shutdown later this month. Government funding expires March 27 and will require new budget legislation to keep many government operations running.
Boehner said the House will debate legislation soon to continue funding the government beyond the end of the month. Some Democrats and Republicans have suggested that the cuts could be restored, or at least reconsidered, during that debate. | <urn:uuid:2ab9dae1-fb93-45fd-b85d-4c6cb45716de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2013/mar/01/cuts-dig-in-after-failure-to-act-jumpobama-still/ | 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 | 0.962542 | 670 | 1.710938 | 2 |
People who were sterilized under a state program in North Carolina talk about the impact of the procedure. WRAL reports.
Deborah Chesson spoke through tears Wednesday as she addressed a North Carolina task force on behalf of her mother.
The threat of severe thunderstorms continued Wednesday to hang over portions of the Deep South and into the Northeast, after another round of violent weather swept through the country the day before.
Home video shows a tornado that swirled through northeast Missouri. WGEM has more.
Two days after the largest tornado outbreak since 2008 raked the Southeast, killing at least 45, the focus shifted Monday to cleanup.
The long-running fight between North Carolina and Alcoa over the future of four hydroelectric dams near Charlotte is heating up during this frigid winter.
Six counties in eastern North Carolina have been declared federal disaster areas after heavy rains from Tropical Storm Nicole earlier this month caused extensive flooding and subsequent damage.
Areas of North Carolina became flooded as a result of a large rain storm that passed over.
Tropical Storm Nicole only lasted a few hours, but its remnants, along with a stalled frontal boundary, are expected to dump heavy rain Thursday on parts of the Eastern Seaboard.
Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968 as the first black woman in the U.S. Congress, once said: "I've always met more discrimination being a woman than being black." | <urn:uuid:6c96aac7-0269-4a92-8c89-ed08a4430fbb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://topics.cnn.com/topics/beverly_perdue | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963024 | 292 | 1.617188 | 2 |
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