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THE PITMEN PAINTERS
Playwright Lee Hall (creator of Billy Elliot) scripts a play that recounts the real-life story of a group of miners who, courtesy of their union, enroll in an art course and come to express themselves on canvas at the urging of a local art professor producing paintings of a workingman's life and the effect on their lives after their work is discovered by the press and some wealty patrons making them celebrated in the art world.
THE PITMEN PAINTERS originally made it's debut at Newcastle's Live Theatre in 2007 and subsequently transferred to seasons at the National Theare and on Broadway.
Author William Feaver was inspired to write his book about the Ashington Group painters after seeing their work and meeting them at their hut in 1971. Along with a founding member of the group, Oliver Kilbourn, he became a trustee of the collection after the group stopped functioning in 1984 having been in existence since 1934. Shortly before he died, Oliver Kilbourn wrote to William Fever, "A key factor in our long life I think, was the fact was the fact that we were never a commerical group but preserved our idealism. We thought we were doing something that no one else could do. We were depicting a way of life below and above ground in a mining village that only we knew by experiencing it. Life goes on and we paint life.
The producers have yet to announce the final cast members but it is hoped that the most of the original cast from the National and Broadway production will remain in their roles.
The Pitmen Painters tickets on sale soon!
Currently the Duchess is home to Butley starring Dominic West.
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Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen at the seminar on the future of Europe in Turku
A country by the sea is never a small country!
(subject to changes)
Mr Prime Minister,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Estonias late President Lennart Meri has said that a country by the sea is never a small country.
For Estonia and Finland, the Baltic Sea has always offered an open route for trade. Moreover, ships used to bring news and new ideas to our harbours. To this day they remain essential for trade and tourism.
We suffer from long distances to European and other markets. And even if globalisation and the digital revolution have shrunk the distances for people and business, we continue to depend on seafaring.
The Baltic Sea region is our home field. The players around it range from the small and dynamic Estonia to the leading EU Member State Germany and to the vast Russian Federation. However different we are, geographic proximity is a natural reason for close cooperation.
Today I will approach Baltic Sea cooperation from three different angles: European, economical and environmental. The three Es are interlinked and inseparable.
The European Union provides both Estonia and Finland alike with an internal market and strength in international trade negotiations. As Member States, we have wider shoulders in foreign and security policy.
The Baltic Sea members of the European Union have joined forces within the European Union. The creation of the Northern Dimension and the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region are the sweet fruits of our common efforts.
We need to keep the Baltic Sea Strategy high on the EU agenda. It is crucial for the future of the Strategy that its objectives are clear and even more specific. More detailed and concrete objectives motivate the Member States and local partners to implement the strategy more effectively. Finland calls for even stronger commitment among the Baltic Sea States.
The future funding for the Strategy is important. The EU's Multi-annual Financial Framework for 2014-2020 is currently under preparation. In this context we need to be innovative when looking for funding for the implementation of the Strategy.
The Baltic Sea Region has a tradition of cooperation in the sector of competitiveness and the single market. This cooperation needs to be strengthened. The Baltic Sea area is a natural reference for cross-border business.
In the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region we have existing mechanisms to prevent and remove obstacles of implementing the EU internal market. I know that Estonia is working hard as coordinator of the strategy's Priority Area six, which aims at removing hindrances to the internal market in the Baltic Sea region.
We already have structures in place to share best practices regarding the implementation of the Services Directive and implementation of the Commissions important recommendation on improving the functioning of the single market, among other things.
The Baltic Sea area should be made an area that fully utilises the Single Market framework. This will mean:
1. Identifying and removing remaining Single Market barriers;
2. A high level of commitment for the ongoing work to boost implementation; and
3. Intensified problem-solving cooperation.
All this will require resources, which of course are scarce in all countries. The investment will, however, pay us back. If we manage to develop the Baltic Sea area into a true Single Market, it would benefit not only us but the whole of the Union.
It would serve as a pilot area for a well-functioning Single Market, creating a model of best practice for all other Member States to work from.
A well-functioning single market relies on good implementation. The method for enhancing the single market in the Baltic area should be built on tight cooperation between the EU countries around the Baltic Sea. I call for the relevant ministries in our countries to establish an expert network a high level single market task force that would work on the implementation of single market legislation and other policies relevant to business. The aim should be a uniform regulatory environment that would make cross-border business as easy as possible.
Dont get me wrong: I am not suggesting a competing market inside the Single Market. This is not a diversification of the Single Market; it is simply a way of strengthening it.
I have already mentioned long distances.
In order to make the Baltic Sea area really connected, transport infrastructure is of major importance. One target of the EU Baltic Sea Strategy is to make transport connections faster and travel times shorter.
The next Financial Framework will hopefully place stronger emphasis on transport corridors such as the Bothnian Corridor and Rail Baltica. These corridors will improve the integration of Baltic Sea States into the EUs single market.
To improve the competitiveness of the area, cross-border links with neighbouring Russia should work smoothly. It would be wise, also within the EU financial framework, to pay attention to these cross-border connections.
Inexpensive energy is another basic requirement for competitiveness.
Finland has highlighted the importance of developing the EU´s internal energy markets. Well functioning energy markets give the best signals for investment and improve energy security.
Estonia has taken the lead on implementing the internal electricity market reform in the Baltic States. The launch of the Estlink power market area in the spring of 2010 was a great success. This enabled the implementation of the Estlink 2 power cable with financial aid from the European Union.
We are willing to support efforts to find positive solutions for electricity imports from third countries, and especially from Russia, to EU Member States. However, from the Finnish point of view, it is necessary that the rules for trading electricity with third countries are agreed simultaneously with the de-synchronisation plan for the Baltic States electricity grid.
The third E on my list was environment.
Another area where we need to put our money where our mouths are.
The health of the Baltic Seas ecosystem remains of great concern.
Recently, however, some positive developments have been reported: the number of protected areas has increased, currently covering over 10 per cent of the Baltic Sea marine area. This means that the Baltic Sea is the first sea region in the world to reach the 10 per cent target set by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
Nutrient input remains one of the key threats to the Baltic Sea ecosystem. It is quite clear that agriculture, airborne nitrogen input from both land and sea-based activities, and untreated municipal wastewater are the main sources of excessive nutrient input into the Baltic Sea. In this regard, progress has been made in reducing point source discharges. For diffuse sources, the situation is far less satisfactory.
Illegal oil spills have decreased. However, the remarkable growth of maritime traffic in the Baltic increases the risk of potential major pollution accidents. Safe navigation is the basis for protection against oil and chemical pollution. Additional measures to further improve maritime safety are still needed.
Ladies and gentlemen,
At the outset I mentioned Russia.
The Baltic Sea is not a sea within the EU. Any meaningful cooperation in the area will require cooperation with Russia.
Soon, we will see an end to an 18-year long process, when Russia finally becomes a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It is likely to happen as soon as mid-2012.
A country outside the WTO is for many an unpredictable partner in economical terms. This is about to change with Russia.
Its value cannot be overstated. Both Russia and its trading partners like us benefit hugely from Russias integration into the global, rules-based system of trade relations.
We expect their WTO accession to give a new boost to the overall investment and business climate in Russia. This will certainly raise interest among foreign investors and this in the current economic turmoil will help us all in the region.
The Northern Dimension is a concrete tool for cooperation between the EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland. It has not appeared on the front pages lately, but it has actually been a success story, with new cooperation and new partnerships. It also gives us a good structure for equal cooperation with all our partners.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I see great potential in the Baltic Sea cooperation with the three E´s Europe, the economy and the environment. On this occasion I would especially like to underline the potential that lies in removing the remaining Single Market barriers.
And now I would like give the floor to another great E, namely Estonia and its Prime Minister Andrus Ansip.
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Here is a list of my favourite toys and resources for young children aged 2 to 6, which all promote open-ended play, curiosity, independence and creativity!
Over on my Facebook page recently many readers asked me to put together a list of all my favourite toys and resources for young children. This has been really fun for me to create as I’m passionate about truly good quality, creative and intelligent toys for kids. Having taught with fairly energetic classes of Reception kids for many years, as well as having my own now, I’ve bought, handled and played with a LOT of toys over the past decade and have a good idea of which ones are the best types for creative play. This list either contains products that we own, I have used in the classroom or I have currently on my wish list for my own children.
There are way too many for one post, so I’m starting with a general, go-to supply list for toys, and will follow up with other themed lists soon, including art and sensory products, baby toys and educational materials. I have stated that this collection is suitable from age 2, even though many of the products themselves are recommended from ages 3 and up. My own have been fairly reliable from age 2 and don’t habitually put things in their mouths after this age. Please use your own knowledge of your child
when thinking what to buy.
Role Play Toys
Sensory and Investigation Toys
Coming soon! (be sure to sign up for posts to be sent to your email so that you don’t miss these!)
Top Educational Toys and Resources for 2-6 year olds
Top Creative Resources and Materials for 2-6 Year olds
Top Toys for Babies and Toddlers
Best Books for Babies and Toddlers
Best Rhyming and Interactive Books for Preschoolers
Delivered by FeedBurner
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|Deandre Poole, Ph.D.|
Students, including Ryan Rotela, a Mormon, were directed to write "Jesus" on a piece of paper and throw it on the floor and stomp on it. Rotela, a junior, refused. When he complained to University authorities, he was suspended for two days.
The instructor was Deandre J. Poole, Ph.D. (Howard University).
His bio on the FAU website reads, in part, "Deandre Poole teaches courses in intercultural communication, ethnicity and communication, leadership and communication, and organizational communication. His research focuses on the role mediated messages play in shaping individual attitudes and beliefs concerning issues of justice and inequality, and examines how leaders, organizations, and other influential authorities dominate and oppress marginalized groups of people. Currently, he is authoring the book, Obamamania: The Rise of a Mythical Hero, to be published by the Edwin Mellen Press. In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Poole is actively engaged in various community service projects throughout Palm Beach County."
Care to write to Dr. Poole and let him know your feelings: Write to him at email@example.com
I did. I asked him to write "Martin Luther King, Jr." (whom I heard speak in 1962) or "Rosa Parks" or "Nelson Mandela" on a piece of paper and throw it on the floor and stomp on it. I wonder how he feels.
Should I suspend him for two days?
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Girl from New York
A girl from Texas and a girl from New York were seated side by side on an airplane. The girl from Texas, being friendly and all, said, "So, where y'all from?"
The New York girl said, "From a place where they know better than to use a preposition at the end of a sentence."
The girl from Texas sat quietly for a few moments and then replied, "So, where y'all from, bitch?"
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In Print: Feiffers in the pink
December 1, 2005
By Perry Garfinkel
"Double Pink" by Kate Feiffer, illustrations by Bruce Ingman. Simon and Schuster, 2005. $15.95. 32 pages.
While many Kate Feiffer fans have been eagerly awaiting the completion of her endearing autobiographical documentary, who among them knew she had other coals in the fire?
Namely, Ms. Feiffer (a.k.a. Ms. Versatility) — TV producer, filmmaker, freelance newspaper and magazine writer, erstwhile curator and publicist, erstwhile artist in residence at the Tisbury School — has just published a children's book.
"Double Pink," by Ms. Feiffer, with illustrations by Bruce Ingman, was brought out this month by the Simon and Schuster children's imprint, Paula Wiseman Books.
In the spirit, a "Pink Party" — including a reading, signing and "other pink fun," according to Ms. Feiffer — will be held at the Bunch of Grapes in Vineyard Haven on Friday, Nov. 25, from 3:30 to 5 pm. She will also do a reading at the bookstore on Dec. 16, at 7:30 pm.
Not so loosely based on the color tastes of one seven-year-old Madeline Alley, the daughter of Kate and her husband Chris Alley, "Double Pink" tells the story of a young girl named Madison (sound familiar?) so obsessed with a certain (pink) color that she disappears into the (pink) woodwork of her (already pink) room. How is she found? That (pink) plot point will not be revealed here, remaining to be discovered by children aged three to six and the parents who love them enough to buy the book.
The journey from idea to actual book in hand began quite a while ago, said Ms. Feiffer, who lives in Oak Bluffs. "I was thinking about writing children's stories even before I had a child," she said. One early attempt, called "The Shoe Schnook," apparently didn't have enough sole.
Then the idea of one kid's love of pink came to mind and she wrote it. But she was still struggling with the opening. Walking their dogs one day, her friend Michelle Ratté, also of Oak Bluffs, related that her first spoken word was "pink." Ms. Ratté's anecdote was written into Ms. Feiffer's story.
That was three years ago. Not long after submitting it to several publishers, she got a call from Simon & Schuster's Paula Wiseman, who said, "This is my lucky day."
"No," replied Ms. Feiffer, never slow with the comeback line, "this is my lucky day."
Why it takes three years to get a 32-page book in print is part of the mystique of publishing, or so publishers would have you believe. For one thing, it took a while to find the right illustrator. Though Ms. Feiffer never met Mr. Ingman, who lives in London, she immediately liked his work when she saw it.
Ms. Feiffer had given some thought to the question of whether her book reinforces gender stereotypes by associating pink with girls, and the whole question of how parents perpetuate gender roles in other ways as well. "I was one of those parents who was adamant about raising my child gender neutral," she recalled. "No girlie stuff for her. But apparently I erred in the wrong direction."
Pretty in Pink
Maddy, as she is called by all who know and love her, "took notice of the color pink at the age of three," recalled her mother. "Notice quickly turned to obsession, passion, adoration. Everything had to be pink. It was as if this desire was coming from the inside. I spent a lot of time thinking about how this happened."
But to no avail. Well, to one avail: the current book.
Ms. Feiffer still ruminates on the kids-and-color conundrum. "Color is important to children," she observed. "Within five minutes of meeting, they ask each other their favorite color. Like other kids, Maddy knows all her friends' favorite colors." Why that is is unclear. Anyone?!
It is clear that Ms. Feiffer, an accomplished adult, has a high affinity for the way kids think, being in such close touch with her own inner child, as anyone who knows and loves her can attest. And she will put that child's mindset to good use, it seems. She has one more children's book already under contract with Ms. Wiseman. This one will be in collaboration with her father, Jules Feiffer, no publishing slouch himself. Mr. Feiffer, the summer West Tisburyite whose skewering of hawks, right wing zealots, lovable neurotic dancers and all things bourgeois in the Village Voice (and in syndication), has warmed the cockles of many liberal hearts since the 1960s. His plays, films and his own children's books have done the same. Now his cachet will rise measurably by providing the illustrations for Ms. Feiffer's next children' book, based on the family Australian shepherd, Henry the Eighth.
How did she select her father for the project? Two qualifications, she said: "He draws wonderful dogs — and he is one of the few people who likes Henry." Not even a dogged reporter could extract the plot of the Henry story from the author.
The aforementioned film, by the way, entitled "Matzo & Mistletoe," explores Ms. Feiffer's Jewish identity, or lack thereof. Applying her wit, her interviewing ability and her well-honed skill of tracking down vintage film footage, she examines how a nice Jewish girl from New York, born to two Jewish parents (both completely unaffiliated with Jewish rituals other than going to the deli), makes sense of religion altogether. Among those interviewed are her father; her mother, Judy Feiffer; Mike Wallace, the "60 Minutes" anchor who summers off Hatch Road in Vineyard Haven; attorney Alan Dershowitz, the summer Chilmarker; and even Maddy. In the film, early family footage shows a bouncy five-year-old redhead who looks remarkably like Maddy does now. The work in progress is seeking funds to help complete it.
With books and other multi-media extravaganzas in the works for the Feiffers, and with Maddy working double-time providing inspiration and perspiration for her mother's books, the forward guard of Feiffer/Alley fans now looks to see what media project the retiring Mr. Alley might have up his sleeve.
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Denver Family Law Attorney explains that every human being’s existence has become a series of different moral and legal contractual obligations. Some of these are entered into unknowingly and with little thought, while others are the result of a good deal of time and consideration. Unfortunately, many of these situations have a tendency to end in an ugly manner and dealing with them can become very tricky. Perhaps the most sensitive of these contracts involve family matters, and dealing with the breakdown of these contracts often requires outside help. It is the job of family law attorneys to help individuals deal with matters pertaining to family issues when marriages, in particular, break apart.
Family law is one of the major branches within law and deals with a wide array of issues pertaining to families, marriages, and domestic relationships. Family law attorneys operate within this field and receive much the same legal education that any other lawyer would, with additional training geared toward legal issues that commonly affect families. Family law attorneys have to be able to deal with a wide range of family law issues including but not limited to the following:
- Nature of relationships such as marriages, civil unions, domestic partnerships, and same-sex marriages
- Issues that come about in marriages such as abuse, legitimacy issues, surrogacy, and child abduction
- Termination of relationships through divorce, annulment, alimony, property disputes, and child custody
These family law areas can generally be broken down into three areas of emphasis; before the union, during the union, and the dissolution of the union. One of the biggest areas that family law attorneys deal with prior to any union is the use of a prenuptial agreement. Prenups, as they are commonly abbreviated, are used most often to determine prior to a marriage how the division of properties, spousal support, and child custody will be dealt with in the event the marriage or union comes to an end. Family law attorneys are often needed to help with prenuptial agreements given the legal status of the document and in order to help protect both sides as the document is drawn up.
Family law attorneys can also help individuals understand the different unions they can enter into when they are ready to make that step. In addition to a traditional marriage, there are several other types of legal unions that individuals can enter into that may require the knowledge of a family law attorney. These include but are not limited to the following:
- Common-law marriage: A legally recognized union even though no marriage ceremony has taken place. In some jurisdictions common-law marriages are legally binding, while carrying no legal consequence in others.
- Same-sex marriage: A legally recognized, or more often socially recognized, marriage between two individuals of the same biological sex.
- Civil union: A legal union designed primarily for same-sex couples, civil unions are legal states similar to marriage. However, in the U.S. a civil union is not recognized by the Federal government and there is no requirement for one state to recognize a civil union made official in another state.
- Domestic partnership: A legal partnership between two individuals who live together and have a common domestic life but are not joined together in a marriage or civil union.
- Cohabitation: This term most commonly refers to two individuals who live together but are not married.
A Family Law Attorney will be able to guide you in this regard.
Family Law Attorney
A Family Law Attorney may also be called upon to help a couple tackle issues that can arise throughout the course of a marriage, some good and some bad. Family law attorneys can help a couple enter into a surrogacy agreement by which another woman can help a couple who cannot have children themselves by carrying a baby to term for them. This can also work in the other direction, with attorneys helping protect the surrogate and her rights as well. Surrogacy is a tricky legal issue in the U.S., with states such as New York considering the practice illegal. Meanwhile, other states such as California and Florida embrace the role of surrogacy.
Attorneys are also necessary in many cases for couples wishing to welcome children into their marriage through the means of adoption. An adoption can be a lengthy legal process, and it is important to have a lawyer involved to ensure the process goes smoothly and that all parties are protected in the process.
Other issues tackled during the course of a marriage by family law attorneys include issues related to spousal abuse, child abuse, and child abduction.
One of the largest roles family law attorneys fill is in mitigating the dissolution of a marriage. When two individuals can no longer make it work, they seek out an annulment or divorce. Attorneys are also necessary to help carry out the division of assets such as properties, and help settle disputes surrounding children. These disputes include alimony and child support payments, as well as custody of the children and visitation rights.
Family law attorneys practice primarily in family courts. The family court circuit is often much busier than civil and criminal courts as they are used to decide the outcome and all manner of legal issues related to family law.
If you should find yourself in need of a family law attorney, click on over to Familylawattorney.com. Here you will find a wealth of resources to help you educate yourself about family law matters and, if necessary, find a good family law attorney to represent you in your case.
No attorney client relationship exists, or is in any way created by accessing the information contained in this website. The general information given is intended to be a starting point only by describing general aspects of the law, and it is important that you consult with an attorney with regard to your specific legal rights.
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"We got a call that there was a lockdown at the schools," she said.
Word spread. Rumors flew. At one point, they were told the library was in lockdown. "We thought they were joking: What could we be locking down the library for?" she asked. "It just got worse as the day went on."
Many of those precious children had studied in the library's children's area, accompanied by their parents. She had volunteered at the school over the years; both her sons attended school there, too. One librarian, she said, plans to attend at least six funerals.
"We just can't believe it," she said in the gentle voice of a well-schooled librarian.
"I hope this doesn't define the town, because it doesn't deserve to be remembered as a place of horror."
Not too far from Harrison's desk, pamphlets were spread out for any resident to take. One began, "Facts for Families: Children and Grief." Another provided the number for a grief hot line "should you or anyone you know need to talk to someone during this very difficult time."
The old town hall will be turned into a grief counseling center Monday, complete with privacy screens. The Newtown Savings Bank has established the Sandy Hook School Support Fund to help families pay for funerals.
Librarians across the country have begun pitching in. One book that's being shipped is called "Tear Soup," considered one of the best at helping people, especially children, cope with tragedy.
Just up the road, Ken Henggeler stood near the memorial with his wife and 22-year-old stepson, Eric Puffer.
Puffer had attended Sandy Hook in first grade. He couldn't help but wonder about that classroom of children. He likely had studied in that exact same room. Puffer had begun his first day at work on Friday, at a DNA sequencing job in Boston.
He immediately came home. His friends teach at the school and "students that they used to have are now dead."
"I don't know what to even say to them," he said. "It just doesn't make any sense why he would go into school where these kids can't even defend themselves."
Puffer was a senior in high school when the shooter, Adam Lanza, 20, was a sophomore. He doesn't remember much about Lanza other than the way he dressed.
"I would see him in the hallway just dressed up formally with a briefcase, like shirt and tie," he said. "He stood out so much wearing such odd apparel to school when we don't have a dress code."
Puffer glanced at the memorial his stepdad made.
"It's a visual representation. Seeing how many candles there are, it's just terrible."
Jan Philbrick, from the nearby town of Redding, stopped to hug people standing at the memorial.
"This has always been the sweetest of towns. It's held onto its identity," she said. "It's hard to bear for any town, but this is a particularly kind, good, open, balanced place."
She described the memorial as beautiful, and said she stopped at it "because we're all in this together." Henggeler accepted a hug. He taught woodworking, architecture and robotics at nearby Danbury High School for 37 years, retiring three years ago.
He searched for words as to how the tragedy affected him. "I taught high school, but I had a special place in my heart for young children."
Weeping, he walked off.
Like the rest of town, he cried tear soup.
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Wet rot treatment, does the damaged spot must be removed?
Hello, due to the previously leaking roof, there is a small area in my fascia that ended up going through some wet rot. As far as I can tell the new roof has fixed the dampness issue and the area is now very dry, and will stay that way for the foreseeable future.
Now the problem is due to the location of rot it is very difficult to cut away as bunch of other stuff needs to be unscrewed/removed. The area is also pretty small, only a few inches.
Just wondering so long as I keep that area dry, would it cause any problems if the damaged wood is not removed?
We are happy to have you. No, the wood will not continue to rot as long as it is protected. You may want to consider cutting out the rot and rebuilding the spot with wood putty.
another option would be to go to any place that sells boater's supplies and apply a penetrating epoxy to the wood.
If you're near a Lee Valley, buy one of these wood restoration kits:
Wood Restoration Kit - Lee Valley Tools
The two tall bottles have a liquid epoxy resin and liquid hardener in them. You mix the two together and paint that solution on your rotted wood. The liquid gets absorbed into the rotted wood, and as it cures and hardens it restores the strength of the wood.
One thing I like about this kit is that you can mix equal quantities of the thick pastes in the two short tubs to make a shape that you want to stick to something and it'll hold it's shape as it cures. (Like making an epoxy handle for a tea pot like they show on TV.)
And, you can also mix equal parts of the liquid, and equal parts of the paste, and then mix the liquid and paste together to make a compound that behaves very similarily to joint compound that you can spread with a putty knife into depressions or gouges in wood prior to priming and painting.
It's a very versatile kit.
PS: It's stupid providing only one of those tiny measuring cups with that kit. You can buy 100 of them for $3 at any medical supply store. Just ask for "prescription cups".
if its a painted surface you could also use bondo. carve out anything punky, use a hardener on remaining fibers and then fill with bonds, sand and paint. See
Episode #11 - A Step Up
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It’s the same starting routine every day. Take attendance, take lunch count, stand up, sing the national anthem, salute the flag, sit down and begin the school day.
Unless exempted due to philosophical or religious reasons, every kid is required to follow the plan. Unless I hear a good reason, every kid is going to at least lip-sync with the rest of the class the salute and anthem.
Almost every class has a clown that likes to go against the flow and act up during the song or salute. All it usually takes from me is a hard stare from my location at the front of the room to get the clown back into sync with the rest of the class. If that doesn’t work, a hand gesture (no, not that one) usually gets the point across. But sometimes I need to escalate the situation to get my point across.
So it was with one 5th grade boy this last week of school.
The stare was enough to get him to stand with the rest of the class but executed with the vacant stare of defiance.
The escalation gesture step was noticed by everyone around him but had no affect on “mute boy”. A second silent request to get with the program was met with a blank expression.
My final “persuasion” technique was to walk over and stand directly behind him and sing the anthem as loud as I could. The other kids were starting to crack up and even the clown was trying not to break character. He ultimately gave in and completed the anthem with the rest of the class.
The next day, all it took to get the clown into gear at anthem time was to walk over and stand behind him while he sang with the rest of the class. In the afternoon, the class attended a school-wide spirit rally in the front of the school. The kids are grouped around the flag pole, school mascot, and principal with featured cheer leaders. The rally, of course, opens with the flag salute and singing of the national anthem.
At the start of the anthem, clown boy leaves his class group to come stand in front of me at the back of the crowd to sing the anthem.
A clown with an attitude is one thing but a clown with a sense of humor is ok by me.
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About Open Access
Design, implementation and evaluation of a ‘generic’ e-portfolio: the Newcastle experience
Lookup NU author(s)
Dr Tony McDonald
Professor Geoff Hammond
Cotterill SJ, McDonald AM, Drummond P, Hammond GR
Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)
La Rochelle, France
Year of Conference
28-29 October 2004
Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.
Background: A bespoke electronic portfolio (ePortfolio) developed at Newcastle University as part of a collaborative FDTL4 project (http://www.eportfolios.ac.uk). Aims and Objectives: A key aim of the ePortfolio is to help foster a reflective approach to evidencing the achievement of both module-specific and programme learning outcomes. The ePortfolio is also intended to support personal development planning (PDP) and to help facilitate the development of skills necessary for life-long learning. Technically, the ePortfolio has been designed to be flexible to incorporate a high degree of configurability in recognition of changing nature of curricula and user requirements. The ePortfolio can be used on a ‘stand-alone’ basis but it being designed to integrate with managed learning environments (MLEs). Summary: The ‘generic ePortfolio framework’ has been designed to be highly configurable so that different component tools, terminology and learning outcomes/skills sets can be customised for use in different contexts. The framework also supports learner-centred features such as granting others access to specific sections of the portfolio. PDP tools within the ePortfolio can support the learner-tutor relationship but are not dependent of this. The ePortfolio has been developed using robust Open Source products (Zope and MySQL databases). The ePortfolio was implemented in the undergraduate medical programme at the University of Newcastle from September 2003. It has also been trialled with Faculty contract research staff at Newcastle and is in the process of being applied to other contexts (undergraduate and postgraduate dentistry and undergraduate biosciences). Three evaluation studies have been undertaken (2 in medicine, 1 with CRS). The ePortfolio has been integrated into the virtual learning environment (VLE) for undergraduate medicine at Newcastle and is being used across the curriculum. In years 1&2 students (n=450) were given the option of completing sections of a portfolio either in a paper log-book or in the ePortfolio. In year 4, students (n=202) were required to complete the ePortfolio for one of their three student-selected components (SSCs) ending in June 2004. At time of analysis (28/05/2004) 961 distinct students had logged on to visit the ePortfolio (including 160 for the ongoing SSC portfolios); 120 had made entries in the learning diary, 132 had recorded meetings with their personal tutor and 56 had recorded information using non-compulsory features such as the CV, SWOT and learning outcomes log. As part of the evaluation and research activities ethical approval has been sought and granted prospectively for two studies. Small focus group meetings involving 12 year-1 students have been conducted to inform issues relating to the ePortfolio to be included in a questionnaire for the wider cohort. This suggested good acceptability but a need for increased levels of training and better communication of the aims and requirements for using the ePortfolio. A second questionnaire study of the ePortfolio for the year 4 SSCs is also being undertaken to assess usability, student attitudes towards ePortfolios and student and supervisors’ perceptions of the impact of using the electronic portfolio. Factors potentially influencing uptake, such as approach to self-directed learning (using the Continuing Learning Inventory, Oddi 1986), prior reflective practice and attitudes to computers in education are also investigated. A feasibility study has also been undertaken to evaluate the ePortfolio for use with contract research staff (CRS) in the Faculty of Medical Sciences. The ePortfolio has been configured to support generic research, transferable and specialist skills (based on the ‘Research Career Builder’ http://www.shef.ac.uk/~gmpcrs/rcb.html). It aims to promote awareness of these skills and to provide a facility for CRS to record and reflect on their achievements on an on-going basis to promote pro-active personal development and career planning. Users of the ePortfolio can record their achievements and keep reflective notes for these various skills. CRS can also record courses and conferences attended, including learning outcomes and statements on how they have applied their training. Records can then be cross-referenced with one or more skills to help build up a structured record learning and development. A CV tool is also included in the ePortfolio with sections on qualifications, employment, presentations, publications and teaching which can be cross-referenced with the skills framework. CRS can download their ePortfolio data as a template CV, which includes the skills-based information. Conclusions: The ePortfolio developed at Newcastle has a high level of configurability and can be customised for a range of different contexts. Here we report on the experiences of designing and implementing the ePortfolio together the initial findings of the evaluation studies in medicine and with CRS - due for completion in June 2004. We will also report on the work of applying the ePortfolio in other contexts (dentistry and biosciences) and ongoing work investigating interoperability with other VLEs.
Search Newcastle University Library for this item
Newcastle University Library, NE2 4HQ, United Kingdom. Tel: 0044 (191) 222 7657
©2011 Newcastle University Library
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On a larger level, built-up fans are used on the way to ventilate big, commercial buildings despite the fact that providing the consistent tone refreshing achieve that undersized fans offer. Unlike minor fans, yet, trade fans comedy a tubby responsibility trendy organization several organization' operations. The following are a few detailed fields and spaces that application industrial sized fans:
Warehouses/Factories- Industrial fans are crucial on behalf of every warehouse. They circulate orderly tune keen on the warehouse even as eliminating detrimental toxins that is released on or after profound machinery that is often bring into being during a warehouse before factory.
Shipping Industry- Many shipping companies step harvest that are also frozen otherwise have to happen kept next to a firm fever. Whether the supplies are heart shipped with car, exercise, before liner, work fans are used just before set up restricted climates that be of assistance restrain the item for consumption unmarked.
Transportation Industry- People like to be comfortable for the duration of their travels. Much in the vein of the shipping conscientiousness, developed fans are old resting on coach buses, airplanes, in addition to ships to make easier maintain the publicize on a fever that is nice meant for passengers.
Heavy Equipment/Machinery- Heat producing equipment will often use industrial fans to help keep the temperature low within the machine.
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By taking a look at the list above, it is easy to see just how elusive industrial fans are. There are numerous different types of industrial fans, and choosing the right one can create a safer, more productive workplace.
Get free business tender notifications related to Fans/Industrial Fans as Indiamart Tenders is providing numerous business opportunities to its business associates. For more information, please visit: http://tenders.indiamart.com/fans.html
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IPM Latest News
Results of IPM 2013 final exam will be declared in 2nd week of June . Megafinal will be conducted around 4th week of June. Answer keys uploaded for 21st April exam
ipm-mathemagic.com is joint venture between Institute for promotion of Mathematics and Sigma Innovations
Institute for Promotion of Mathematics is a unique Institute working since 1996 for school going children.
We, at the Institute, realize and understand that the present education set-up does not give the student enough opportunity to tackle mathematical problems outside the routine path of school examinations. Hence, the Mathematics Scholarship Examination syllabus comprises of thought provoking and challenging topics, thus exposing some fascinating facets of mathematics. The syllabus strives towards making the generally dreaded Maths Fun and Easy.
In the course of time, students learn to analyze problems fast and anticipate results soon. Fast calculations help the students to perform well in school and later on in college too. The question papers are set keeping in mind the competitive exams children face later. The exposure that children are given is very helpful, because when they appear for their 10th std. Exams; the novelty of the state level exam is greatly reduced, which in turn improve performance
Sigma Innovations is software company dedicated for development of eLearning products and services
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Moment of silence please, for Leslie Buck who passed away on Monday at the age of 87. Buck was the man behind that cup of coffee above. He was a Nazi refugee from Europe who came to America and landed a Sales Manager position at a little start up paper cup company in the 60s. Buck figured since all the diners in the city were Greek, why not follow that theme in paper cups? Brilliant. Not only did he get a better title (Director of Marketing) he also created an object that will forever be tied to one of the world’s greatest, most infamous cities. NYC, coffee, paper products – man I love this country. Thanks for your bright idea, Mr. Buck. Just one more bit of proof that design can permeate the souls of everyday people.
And from all of us here at OK Great, “We Are Happy to Serve You.”
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Photography teacher Dave Sylvestre of Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis coached students Mary Xiong, left, Peng Heng and Anthony Bridges.
David Joles, Star Tribune
Minnesota imposes new labels on schools
- Article by: KIM McGUIRE and STEVE BRANDT
- Star Tribune staff writers
- August 30, 2012 - 8:59 AM
The full impact of Minnesota's accountability system came into view Thursday with the announcement of the final group of schools facing new labels and corrective actions.
State officials released the second list of schools subject to state scrutiny now that Minnesota has won a waiver from the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law.
All told, 213 schools are now labeled underperforming in some way, compared to more than 1,000 under No Child Left Behind. All are schools that receive federal Title I money to address higher levels of poverty. Those schools have to submit turnaround plans to the state, but unlike previous years, they no longer have to provide tutoring or transfers or face stricter penalties.
Advocates of the new system say it gives everyone a much clearer picture on how Minnesota's schools are really faring
"Some will look at this with a healthy dose of skepticism, but it's really giving educators a whole new level of data to assess students and gives them a much better idea about where to focus improvement efforts," Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius said.
Under the new system, schools were judged on their students' scores in math and reading, plus academic growth in individual students, a strong high school graduation rate and a shrinking achievement gap between middle-class white students and their classmates.
Gauging the gap
While many Minnesota schools continue to wrestle with the achievement gap, some are making strides. Sheridan Hills Elementary in Richfield showed the largest year-to-year improvement for metro area schools.
Kate Trewick, Richfield School District's chief of staff, attributed the school's improved "focus rating" to its new principal, its emphasis on literacy and its focus on training teachers to work with student who are learning English.
"It's a very integrated approach that they're taking," said. "It's not a quick fix kind of deal."
Other schools such as Eagan High School saw declines in performance.
Tony Taschner, the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan's district communications director, said school officials knew that one of the high school's minority groups didn't fare well on the recent Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment, which was factored into the rating. "At this point, we're still trying to figure out what it all means," he said. "We know there is work to do with some subgroups on the MCAs."
Statewide, minority and poor students and those learning English showed better academic growth in math scores in 2012 compared with 2011. The new data, however, indicate that Minnesota schools aren't closing the achievement gap in reading.
Cassellius said she was optimistic that new incentives aimed at getting students to read well before third grade will pay off in coming years.
"Today's data shows that we're starting to bend the curve in the right direction," she said. "Minnesota's achievement gaps are still unacceptably large, but I believe the new accountability measures we've put in place, along with our new focus on closing gaps and improving outcomes for every student, will continue to accelerate gains we see today."
New labels, new plans
Under the state's new Multiple Measurement Ranking (MMR) system, most of Minnesota's 2,000 public schools received an overall numerical ranking, but only about a quarter -- those schools receiving federal poverty aid -- got one of five designations: Reward, Celebration, Continuous Improvement, Focus and Priority.
Schools with the Priority, Focus and Continuous Improvement designations must come up with plans to show improvement and will have to set aside 20 percent of their federal poverty aid to launch those plans.
Overall, the new system gives school more flexibility in implementing those plans. Only Priority and Focus schools must have their plans approved by the state Education Department.
Some school officials acknowledge that things won't change much at some schools, which launched turnaround initiatives prior to the latest round of labeling. In St. Paul, for example, some of the low-performing schools are improving under the district's Strong Schools, Strong Communities initiative, administrators say.
"This allows us to recognize those schools are making progress without having to blow everything up," said Matthew Mohs, St. Paul's director of funded programs.
Minneapolis' ups and downs
In Minneapolis, only 15 schools increased their overall performance from 2011 for the four factors that comprise the overall rating; 41 were rated lower.
Two Minneapolis schools were named to the new "Celebration" category for schools in the top 15 to 25 percent of schools getting federal poverty aid: Anthony Middle School and Patrick Henry High School. For Anthony, that was actually a demotion from the Reward designation it got in May before the latest round of test results.
Latanya Daniels, Henry's third-year principal, said the celebration designation "feels awesome to me." She said it reflects "a family of teachers who believe in our students on the North Side," more rigor in the school's first two years, and a switch to a longer school days with seven 50-minute periods.
Five Minneapolis schools were added to the group of continuous improvement, lower-ranking schools that are required to set aside part of their federal poverty aid to pay for improvement strategies.
"We were kind of surprised at how much those MMR numbers can change from year to year," said Eric Vandenberk, the district's interim research director.
© 2013 Star Tribune
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June 2007: Volume 33, Number 6
Senate Bills Call for Oversight Of Laboratory-Developed Tests
Could New Requirements Overwhelm Labs and the FDA?
By Julie McDowell
Congress and federal lawmakers are once again contemplating increasing federal oversight for laboratory-developed tests. Two prominent U.S. senators—Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and 2008 Presidential contender Barack Obama (D-Ill.)—have announced bipartisan legislation that not only seeks varying restrictions on laboratory developed tests (LDTs), but also renews a call for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a genetic testing specialty area under CLIA, echoing a similar recommendation recently put forth by a report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM). In addition, one of the bills—Kennedy’s Laboratory Test Improvement Act (S. 736)—would also require laboratories who make LDTs to submit evidence of clinical utility to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), prompting many in the laboratory community to complain that these regulatory hurdles place an undue burden on laboratories and threaten to discourage advances in cutting-edge areas like genetic and molecular testing. As Congress weighs these proposals over the coming months, those who have scrutinized the bills recommend that clinical laboratorians start preparing now for potential landmark changes to how diagnostic tests are regulated.
“Both of these bills, in particular Sen. Kennedy’s bill, are significant for the lab industry, because they have the potential to bring laboratory-developed tests to a level of regulation that they have never been subject to before,” explained Peter Kazon, an attorney with Alston & Bird LLP (Washington, DC), who specializes in laboratory testing regulation. He spoke at an April 3rd audioconference, “Sens. Kennedy and Obama Introduce Legislation on Laboratory Developed Tests,” sponsored by the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA). Of the two bills, the Kennedy legislation, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), imposes greater oversight on LDTs. Sen. Obama’s bill, the Genomics & Personalized Medicine Act (S. 976), will ask the Institute of Medicine (IOM) for guidance on the appropriate regulatory framework for genetic testing. Sen. Obama’s bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.).
If legislation of this type goes into effect, it would also give the FDA a greater role in regulating LDTs. Currently, the FDA considers LDTs under their authority as medical devices, but applies enforcement discretion to these tests. Labs that perform LDTs, particularly genetic tests, are already subject to stringent CMS standards under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). This potential change in FDA oversight must be carefully scrutinized, according to Alan Mertz, President of ACLA, a non-profit association that advocates for national and regional clinical laboratories on federal and state regulatory and reimbursement policies. “We want to make sure that there is a balance, that the oversight protects public health, but at the same time, does not stifle the innovation that is going on in genetic and molecular testing. We also want to make sure that it doesn’t turn the clock back on a lot of tests that have been around for many years. The clinical validity and utility of these tests that are out there is well established,” he said.
Casting a Wide Net
Under Sen. Kennedy’s Laboratory Improvement Act, LDT providers would be required to submit to the FDA evidence of their tests’ clinical and analytical validity, which would also be posted in an online database accessible to the public. Similar to what is currently required by the state of New York Department of Health’s Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program for laboratories offering LDTs to patients, this evidence of clinical validity could include citations from peer-reviewed literature. Many were relieved that this legislation was not included in the mark-up of the FDA Revitalization Act, which was approved by the Senate. The bill, however, did include an amendment by Sen. Obama calling for the IOM study on regulatory oversight of genetic testing, originally featured in S.976 (See Washington Profiles—June 2007).
Kennedy isn’t the only federal lawmaker scrutinizing what LDTs should show in terms of clinical validity. In March, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt charged the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society (SACGHS) with developing an oversight plan for genetic and genomic testing. He also asked the committee to determine what pathways currently exist that examine the analytic and clinical validity of genetic tests (See Sidebar below).
Mapping Out a Future for Genetic Testing
In March, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt charged the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society (SACGHS) with developing a comprehensive map of steps needed for evidence development and genetic and genomic tests oversight, with improvement of health quality as the primary goal. Specifically, the Secretary is looking for feedback on some of the following questions:
- What evidence of harm exists regarding genetic tests? Is that harm attributable to analytic validity, clinical validity, or clinical utility of the tests? If evidence does not exist, what threats are not currently being addressed? What public health benefits are not accruing as quickly as they might?
- What distinguishes genetic tests from other laboratory tests for oversight purposes?
- Would additional or revised government oversight add value for patients, and if so, how and where?
SACGHS is expected to deliver its report to the Secretary by the end of the year. A draft of the report will likely be released to the public for comment in the fall, according to Andrea Ferreira-Gonzalez, PhD, Associate Professor and Director, Molecular Diagnostics Lab at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Pathology in Richmond, who is leading this report for SACGHS’ Oversight Task Force.
Ferreira-Gonzalez is especially interested in analyzing how evidence of clinical validity should be presented by labs. “Demonstrating clinical validity is good laboratory practice and using peer-reviewed literature is an accepted practice,” said Ferreira-Gonzalez. “The problem is when there is not sufficient peer-reviewed literature. What we don’t have right now is specific guidance regarding what is the minimum requirement to show clinical validity, which might be one of the topics tackled by our Committee in response to the Secretary’s request.”
Additional information, including transcripts of the March 2007 SACGHS meeting, is available online.
Under Kennedy’s legislation, the FDA could deem a submission deficient if it doesn’t adequately summarize the peer-reviewed literature or relies on non-peer reviewed literature. In addition, the submission could be rejected if it doesn’t demonstrate that the analytical and clinical validity is comparable to other tests that have received 510(k) clearance or pre-market approval (PMA) by the FDA. While there is no time limit on how long the FDA can take to review submissions, laboratories with deficient submissions would be given 90 days to submit additional information. If the agency also declares this additional information insufficient, then the laboratory would have to apply for a 510(k) clearance or PMA. The bill would also require that the FDA develop a guidance document detailing how peer-reviewed literature and other data should be presented to support clinical validity. Additional guidance from the agency would also be necessary to clarify what information laboratories need to submit when modifications are made to an LDT.
Critics of the Kennedy bill argue that these submission requirements will be a burden not only on the laboratories, but also on the FDA, and question whether the agency has the resources to handle the workload these submissions will bring. “We just surveyed seven of our member companies to determine how many LDTs and modifications they have that would require submissions, including the number of pages of data that would have to be submitted,” said Mertz. “According to the responses from just those seven companies, the number of submissions would be 5,200 and they would need to include 158,000 pages of data.”
Mertz is also concerned that laboratories would have to submit clinically comparable data. “If you have an LDT and there is a similar kit that is approved, then you would have to submit comparable data to that kit,” he said. “Ultimately, this would mean that labs would have to go through the same process that the kits go through to get cleared by the FDA. That would be incredibly stifling in terms of innovation, and likely unnecessary.”
There is also concern that the Kennedy bill uses a shotgun approach to regulate all LDTs, rather than its real target—direct-to-consumer (DTC) testing. In particular, Congressional leaders have in their sights nutrigenomic tests purchased online without any clinician involvement. In July 2006, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a blistering report, Nutrigenetic Testing: Tests Purchased from Four Web Sites Mislead Customers. Sen. Smith, co-sponsor of the Kennedy bill, is a ranking member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which held a hearing on the report’s findings. The GAO concluded that results from the kits that were analyzed for the report made predictions that were medically unproven and so ambiguous that they did not provide meaningful information to customers (CLN, October 2006, p. 8). Furthermore, the report stated the test results misled consumers by recommending expensive dietary supplements.
Few in the laboratory community disagree that nutrigenomic tests can be dangerous and need to be under some regulation. “This kind of testing is too new and ought to be appropriately and rigorously vetted by the professional medical community,” said Daniel H. Farkas, PhD, Executive Director of the Center for Molecular Medicine in Grand Rapids, Mich., who has established three other molecular diagnostics laboratories at hospitals in New Jersey, Michigan, and Texas. “If companies pop up without the appropriate professionalism and accreditation and don’t provide proper evidence of their test’s clinical relevance, then it is appropriate for legislation to come down hard on them. But the problem is that the net gets cast too widely, and competent clinical laboratories that play by all the rules and are doing perfectly appropriate tests with full-blown analytical and clinical validity are caught in that net.”
These additional regulations, including the proposed clinical validity requirements, threaten to limit access to healthcare, according to Farkas. “If a test had a large enough market that an in vitro diagnostics company was willing to commercialize it, then the company would do the appropriate trials to demonstrate analytical and clinical validity,” he explained, adding that there are currently only a few dozen molecular diagnostic tests that demonstrate the necessary revenue potential for companies to bring them to market, along with an even smaller number of blockbuster molecular diagnostics tests.
“Laboratories are not miniature IVD companies, and this legislation has the potential to force every laboratory that is doing a laboratory-developed assay to go through multiple regulatory hoops,” said Farkas. “Hundreds, maybe thousands of diseases for which there are perfectly appropriate and valid diagnostic tests would go wanting because no company is interested in going to the trouble and expense to do the appropriate clinical trial to demonstrate clinical validity.”
A Less Prescriptive Approach
Compared to the increased oversight proposals detailed in the Kennedy legislation, Sen. Obama wants to solicit input from lawmakers and policy analysts—including the IOM—on the best way to regulate genomic LDTs. “Both Sen. Obama and Sen. Burr agree that genetic and genomic tests need improved regulation,” said Obama’s health policy advisor, Dora Hughes, MD, at the April audioconference. “However, our approach is less prescriptive. We recognize that the regulation of genetic tests would be a major new initiative and we don’t necessarily agree that Congress is the appropriate body to establish a regulatory framework in the absence of a careful legislative process or regulatory process by the HHS secretary.”
In order to evaluate different options for oversight of genetic tests, the bill requires that the HHS Secretary fund an IOM study to analyze different regulatory avenues. The study would then offer recommendations on how to design a decision matrix, which would be a mechanism to classify all LDTs, including genetic tests, as well as to determine what level of review is needed for each category. The matrix would then steer the regulation of tests into either the FDA or CMS. “The decision matrix would help the sponsors of tests understand whether their tests would go through an FDA-type regulatory process or if they would remain subject to CLIA at CMS,” said Hughes. “Our expectation is that the Institute of Medicine study would inform the development of the decision matrix, as well as the overall regulatory process.”
Within the decision matrix, some tests will require a minimal level of review and some more comprehensive review. However, this matrix will also include summary information on these tests—including their intended use and performance characteristics—and will be available to the public in a database. “Regardless of the level of review of the test and its complexity, this information would be mandated to be submitted to the Secretary who would then organize and categorize it and make it available to the public, providers, and other stakeholders in the community,” added Hughes.
Unlike the Kennedy bill, this legislation is receiving favorable feedback from many in the clinical laboratory community. In particular, an IOM report on these regulatory questions appears to be a welcome prospect, and could be coming sooner rather than later if Sen. Obama’s amendment authorizing the study remains in the final version of the FDA Revitalization Act. “I think this bill took the right approach, which is to have an outside group, in this case the Institute of Medicine, look at the oversight issue for about a year and a half and come up with recommendations on how these tests need to be regulated,” said ACLA’s Alan Mertz.
Renewed Calls for Specialty Area
While the Kennedy and Obama bills have significant differences, they do share a common initiative: requiring CMS to create a genetic testing specialty under CLIA. A similar move was recommended by a recent IOM report on guidelines, standards, and oversight of cancer biomarker development. In the report, Cancer Biomarkers: The Promises and Challenges of Improving Detection and Treatment, the authors recommended that CMS develop a specialty area for molecular diagnostics under CLIA. “The technology used for genetic testing is unique compared to the technology used for other tests, so I think it requires expertise to be able to handle these blood samples and tissues efficiently,” said one of the report’s authors, Edith Perez, MD, Director, Cancer Clinical Study Unit, Mayo Clinic (Jacksonville, Fla.). “We need quality controls for this testing—it’s just so much more complex than other diagnostic testing technology, which is why I think a specialty is required.”
Despite these arguments and previous pressure from groups including SACGHS, CMS officials have remained steadfast in their resolve not to create a genetic testing specialty area. Creating a subspecialty area will not address many of the concerns cited by those pushing for this move, according to Judy Yost, Director, CMS’s Division of Laboratory Services. A CLIA genetic testing specialty area will not improve clinical utility and related issues because many of these tests are not FDA-approved, nor will it resolve the inadequate supply of proficiency materials currently available for these tests. “In addition, we really don’t have any evidence that we need more stringent requirements than those that already exist,” said Yost. “Since most genetic tests are high complexity, the labs that are certified to perform these tests are subject to the most stringent requirements under CLIA. That is a strong reason not to move forward until we have concrete evidence otherwise.” In addition, she is concerned that because genetic testing is a dynamic field in its early stages, any regulations made now could be outdated—and onerous—in the future.
Instead of creating a specialty area, CMS and the clinical lab community should work together to tackle each concern on an individual basis, Yost suggested. “We would like to work with labs to come to a mutual agreement on how we can address their concerns, rather than just jumping to a regulation automatically,” she said. “Our goal is to help labs do the best job they can, and however we get there is okay with us. But maybe we can look at some ways that are less burdensome and time consuming, because it’s going to take three years, at a minimum, to create this specialty area. Maybe we can do some things immediately that could mitigate theses major concerns. Rather than all of this anxiety and emotion over creating this regulation, let’s put the energy in to working on positive and productive solutions.”
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If you need help or advice about the National Minimum Wage the Pay and
Work Rights Helpline can advise workers, employers and any other interested
parties on a range of workplace rights and will deal with reports of abuse
of those rights. As well as the National Minimum Wage, the helpline can
also deal with enquiries about: working hour limits, employment agencies,
the Agricultural Minimum Wage and working for a gangmaster.
Telephone:0800 917 2368
Welcome to the Low Pay Commission
The Low Pay Commission (LPC) was established as an
independent body as a result of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 to advise the
Government about the National Minimum Wage.
Low Pay Commission 2013 Report
The Commission's 2013 Report is available via the link below.
Invitation to Tender for Research for 2014 and 2015 Reports
The Low Pay Commission invites tenders for research for its 2014 and 2015
Reports. The details, including application and CV forms, are available via the link below. Please note
the closing deadline is 5pm on Tuesday 7 May 2013. Also below is a draft employer survey, which forms
part of the research for the 2014 Report.
The Apprentice Minimum Wage applies to those apprentices under the age of 19 and those aged 19 and over in the first 12 months of their apprenticeship.
The current rate is shown in the table above.
The current accommodation offset rate is £4.91 per day or £34.37 per week.
Compulsory School Age
* In England and Wales: a person is no longer
of compulsory school age after the last Friday of June of the
school year in which their 16th birthday occurs.
* In Northern Ireland: a person is no longer
of compulsory school age after the 30th June of the school year
in which their 16th birthday occurs.
* In Scotland: pupils whose 16th birthday
falls between 1st March and 30th September may not leave before
the 31st May of that year. Pupils aged 16 on or between 1st
October and the last day of February may not leave until the
start of the Christmas holidays in that school year.'
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A common question is how to compare Fedora and Debian in terms of recent updates and support. I think that Fedora Rawhide and Debian/Unstable are fairly equivalent in this regard, new upstream releases get packaged quickly, and support is minimal. They are both aimed at developers only, but it seems that a reasonable number of people are running servers on Debian/Unstable.
Fedora releases (previously known as “Fedora Core” and now merely as “Fedora”) can be compared to Debian/Testing. The aim is that Fedora releases every 6 months and each release is supported until a release two versions greater is about to be released (which means that it’s about a year of support). The support however often involves replacing the upstream version of the program used to make a package (EG Fedora Core 5 went from kernel 2.6.15 to kernel 2.6.20). I believe that the delays involved in migrating a package from Debian/Unstable to Debian/Testing as well as the dependency requirements mean that you can get a similar experience running Debian/Testing as you might get from Fedora.
Stable releases of Debian are rare and the updates are few in number and small in scope (generally back-porting fixes not packaging new upstream versions). This can be compared to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) or CentOS (a free re-compile of RHEL with minor changes).
Regarding stability and support (in terms of package updates) I think that Debian/Stable, RHEL, and CentOS are at about the same level. RHEL has some significant benefits in terms of phone support (which is of very high quality). But if you don’t want to pay for phone support then CentOS and Debian/Stable are both good choices. Recently I’ve been rolling out a bunch of CentOS 5 machines for clients who don’t want to pay for RHEL and don’t want to pay for extensive customisation of the installation (a quick kickstart install is what they want). The benefit of Fedora and Debian/Testing over RHEL, CentOS, and Debian/Stable is that they get newer packages sooner. This is significant when using programs such as OpenOffice which have a steady development upstream that provides features that users demand.
If you want to try new features then Fedora and Debian/Testing are both options that will work. One reason I had been avoiding serious use of Debian/Testing is that it had no strategy for dealing with security fixes, but it seems that there are now security updates for Testing (I had not realised this until today).
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Despite $100 oil, the biggest energy investment gains may be found in this year's uranium sector as raging Chinese demand for the energy metal sends prices screaming higher.
The price of uranium has already climbed 75% in past six months as China snapped up the energy metal ahead of a future supply deficit.
But the Chinese aren't through securing their uranium resources just yet...
And in just one minute, you'll learn how China may force prices even higher as they continue to buy yellowcake to fuel the more than 50 new nuclear power plants that will soon be built.
Lofty uranium prices will mean rising uranium stocks for retail investors in 2011.
In today's Wealth Daily, I'll also review my top three uranium stocks.
The Red Dragon hunts for yellowcake
In the next ten years alone, over one hundred new nuclear power plants will be designed, constructed, and brought online.
Half of those reactors — including some of the world's most advanced — will be built in China.
According to China’s National Energy Administration, the country will increase its nuclear capacity by more than tenfold to 80 gigawatts (GWe) by 2020.
China expects to ramp up its nuclear power capacity to 80 GWe by 2020. After that, the country anticipates domestic nuclear capacity to continue rising to as much as 500 GWe by 2050.
At that point, the World Nuclear Association says China’s demand for uranium will reach 44 million pounds annually. But domestic supply will have only reached 5 million pounds by that time, leaving a sharp deficit in fuel resources.
This isn't news to the Chinese...
Concerned of a future supply deficit, China has been aggressively securing long-term uranium contracts.
In fact, most industry experts believe that China is largely responsible for driving uranium prices from $40 per pound in the summer of 2010 to over $70/lb today.
But even at $70/lb, China will continue to be an aggressive uranium buyer.
You see, the total cost of the uranium fuel required to run a nuclear reactor represents between 40% and 50% of operating at one of today's existing plants.
But new technologies have made nuclear power generation much cheaper and more efficient. And the fuel cost to operate a new state-of-the-art reactor represents only about 20%-25% of the total cost of power generation.
Given the efficiency of the new nuclear power plants being built in the country right now, it's unlikely that Chinese planners are concern by the recent increase in price...
Uranium prices could more than double from current levels before the China stops buying — especially given their history of aggression in acquiring other strategic resources like gold, oil, and rare earth metals.
|What is yellowcake?|
Yellowcake (commonly referred to as U3O8) is a mix ed concentrated powder, containing ~80% uranium oxide. U3O8 is produced from uranium ore during the milling process. This is the material that is bought and sold by traders and nuclear facilities.
U3O8 is eventually transformed into uranium hexafluoride (UF6), which used to during the enrichment process to produce fuel for nuclear reactors.
The Chinese will go to any measure to secure the long-term supply of uranium they need.
And inevitably, countries that also have a growing demand for uranium — like India and Russia — will be forced into a bidding war to get their share of supply as well, driving prices much higher.
Back in 2007, the price of uranium jumped to $140 a pound, helped by speculators. With the looming supply shortage in China and elsewhere, speculators may help push the price of uranium back over $100 a pound this year.
Rising uranium prices means increasing shares prices for uranium mining and exploration companies... and several opportunities for investors to cash in on the booming market.
Back in August, I wrote to you in a free report that included my top three uranium stocks at the time. Since then, all three stocks have returned triple-digit gains for Wealth Daily readers.
Here's what they've returned so far:
Uranerz Energy Corp. (AMEX: URZ)
Uranium Energy Corp. (AMEX: UEC)
Ur-Energy Inc. (TSX: URE)
Here are a few other uranium stocks that have done well as prices increased over the past six months:
- Cameco Corp. (TSX: CCO) – ↑86%
- Crosshair Exploration & Mining Corp. (AMEX: CZX) – ↑437%
- Denison Mines Corp. (AMEX: DNN) – ↑258%
- Uranium Participation Corp. (TSX: U) – ↑62%
- Uranium Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE) – ↑627%
Many of these uranium stocks have outperformed gold and silver stocks, despite record-setting prices. But even they have nothing on my newest uranium recommendation...
Industry consultants expect the global uranium market to grow from about 190 million pounds today to 247 million pounds by 2020.
By the same time, secondary sources (like governments’ conversion of weapon-grade uranium to electricity-grade uranium) are expected to be cut in half from 48 million pounds today to 24 million pounds.
It's already well known that existing supply from the uranium mines in production today will not be able to meet the anticipated demand, and analysts estimate that nearly a quarter of total supply will have to come from brand-new resources.
That means the junior exploration companies that discover new resources and those with large high-quality uranium projects will receive heavy investment interest as the market needs new supply from new mines.
And there's no larger uranium project than the one owned by a tiny junior uranium outfit that's still trading under the radar...
This new company just put together a massive land package that covers over 1 million acres in an area that many believe could hold one the world's last giant uranium resources.
Next week, I'll send you a brand-new report detailing this small company and their amazing project.
Plus, I'll show you how this unassuming piece of field equipment could be your key to quadruple-digit investment gains:
Editor, Wealth Daily
Investment Director, Hard Money Millionaire and Underground Profits
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The water district says, it's to cover the cost of new connections, something current residents say they shouldn't have to pay for.
The water district has filed to raise the water rate 19.5%. It's a move they say they're forced to make because the Public Service Commission ordered they can no longer collect "capacity improvement fees."
By stopping the fees, the PSC has ordered the district to pass the charges for water connections to new homes and building to its existing customers.
"Why should existing customers pay for the infrastructure to provide water for new customers coming on line," says Paul Fisher, executive director of the water district. "Why shouldn't they pay for it themselves?"
This would be the single biggest water rate increase ever in Berkeley County and it's going to fund infrastructure that some say current consumers shouldn't have to pay for.
Consumers say they want to pay for their own water connections and not others.
"Long time residents, why should we pay for new residents? They should pay for their own hookups and definitely doesn't seem fair," says resident Susan Dickson.
Paul Fisher says nearby areas charge much more on new home connections than Berkeley County.
"Frederick County, Virginia, their water availability fee is $6,080 for a single family residence. The cost now for Berkeley County for water is $450. Does that make sense? It doesn't to me," he says.
And many current residents we spoke to agreed with him.
"We don't know whats in the future," says resident Bob Selter. "We have no idea what the capacity of people will be. And what they're doing is they're trying to build a fund."
Based on the filings to the PSC, water rates could go up 5% within this 60-day period. The PSC will then decide just how much the water rates will go up permanently.
If you want to protest this increase, the Public Service Commission asks that you contact them in Charleston. The mailing address is to The Secretary, Public Service Commission of West Virginia, PO Box 812, Charleston, WV 25323.
You can also visit http://www.psc.state.wv.us and click "Submit a Comment."
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Star Trek Fan To Be First Female Space TouristBy Michelle
July 24, 2006 - 5:58 PM
A Star Trek fan who grew up in Tehran and made a fortune in telecommunications is about to become the first female space tourist, paying nearly twenty million dollars for a trip on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station.
Anousheh Ansari, who told London's Sunday Times that she grew up watching Star Trek reruns in Iran before the Islamic cultural revolution, said that she never tired of telling her friends that she would "see the stars." Now 39-year-old Ansari will experience her dream "to get outside the planet and see the universe for what it really is."
Ansari was required to pass medical tests and to train at Star City, the space centre near Moscow that has prepared every cosmonaut since Yuri Gagarin in 1961. In addition to learning to survive G-force fluctuations, she was taught to fire a gun to protect herself in case of an emergency landing in Russia's steppes.
"Ansari expressed an interest to fly aboard one of our craft late last year. She’s very passionate about space,” said Sergei Kostenko of US-based Space Adventures, which has makes contracts with the Russian space agency to place tourists on flights. In an effort to enable more people to travel into space, Ansari is working with Space Adventures to develop a fleet of sub-orbital spaceships for commercial use and donated heavily toward the prize won by SpaceShipOne, which carried out the first manned space flight funded by private investors.
She also hopes to be a role model for Iranian women, most of whom are denied the opportunity to enjoy the sort of career Ansari had after moving to the US at 17, five years after the Iranian revolution. Ansari earned a degree in electrical engineering and created Telecom Technologies with her husband. At 35, she was one of two women to be featured in a Fortune magazine list of America’s 40 most successful business figures under the age of 40.
The People's Daily Online has photos of Ansari preparing for her flight.
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By Mike McClintock, Special to Tribune Newspapers
4:06 PM EDT, October 6, 2010
Before the introduction of prefinished flooring and snap-together laminates, there were two standards: tongue-and-groove oak planks and the alternative that was generally considered superior and more luxurious, wall-to-wall carpeting.
Choices like this are still a question of personal preference. But times and tastes have changed, and when you look into the pros and cons, here are how the options compare today.
The case for carpet
Almost all wall-to-wall carpeting is synthetic. It's looped, piled, twisted and dyed to look and feel like wool. Ninety-nine percent of the fibers on floors today are nylon, polypropylene, acrylic and polyester. Guess why.
Wool looks, feels and performs the best but is about twice the cost of the most expensive synthetic. But any synthetic carpet and foam pad is still the quickest and usually the least expensive way to cover a floor. It can be laid directly over 4-by-8-foot sheets of sheathing. A dense foam pad provides a cushioned feel underfoot, some insulating value over crawl spaces and some sound insulation.
Any floor surface will eventually show wear in traffic paths — that one and only route that everyone takes from here to there. You need more expensive and denser weaves to resist that kind of wear. Solid, harder surfaces naturally stand up better than carpet, which is made of a mesh mat that's woven with fibers and then coated with glue to hold them in place. When you walk on carpet, the glue on the bottom of the mat gradually wears away and fibers begin to come loose.
From the DIY perspective, it's possible to lay a carpet and pad, but stretching the envelope unless you're quite fit. Pros can be in and out in a few hours, nail tack strips around the perimeter of a room, and use knee kickers to tighten the carpet and set it on the fasteners. Most DIYers aren't used to working vigorously crouched over and on knee pads.
Then there's that new carpet odor. Off-gassing of volatile organic compounds from synthetic carpeting has been reduced. But some people are sensitive to it. And from an environmental point of view, carpet is the clear loser. It contributes about 4 billion pounds every year to landfills. Wood comes from renewable forests and is recycled into countless other products.
The case for wood
Strip oak planks, the old standard, cost more and take longer to install than carpet. But the built-in bonus is that you're getting several floors. Unlike many prefinished planks with wafer-thin veneers of real wood, the planks of 3/4-inch oak can be resanded. Ten years after the installation, you can sand it down to raw wood and go with a clear sealer, and 10 years after that sand again and add a stain, and then again. With that potential, it's cost-effective at about $4 a square foot for common white oak, compared with medium-grade carpeting (there is a huge range) at $2 to $4 per square foot.
Prefinished floors are increasingly popular because installation is fast and neat, whether you use thin but solid wood flooring or laminates. There are no fumes from finishes or waiting a weekend for two coats of polyurethane to dry. And some snap-together systems geared specifically to DIYers are easy to install without any special tools.
Wood floors are also easier to keep clean than carpeting, which traps moisture and mold spores and can be a haven for dust mites. Dry mopping or vacuuming will do for wood because the finishes are so dense. Factory-applied urethane with aluminum-oxide is rated by most manufacturers to last 20 years or more.
Copyright © 2013 Chicago Tribune Company, LLC
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On Saturday, Oct. 27, more than 150 Evangel University students, faculty and staff members will be volunteering their time during Make a Difference Day.
Students will have a kick-off meeting at 12:30 p.m. in the Student Union and then will leave in teams to assist various agencies around the city. Partnerships will include Habitat for Humanity, Library for the Blind, Greene County Humane Society and Boys and Girls Town among others.
The event is being sponsored by Global Connections, CROSSwalk, Evangel Student Government Association and Social Work Club.
Evangel’s observance of Make a Difference Day was begun in 2005 by Lacey Nunnally, social work program director, who is a driving force for volunteerism on campus.
“In 2006, Make a Difference Day was the week I started work at Evangel,” said Donna Trower, Evangel’s 2012 Make a Difference Day coordinator. “Volunteering has always been an important part of my life, so I was excited to see that Evangel had an annual organized event. We express our commitment to our community by helping others.”
USA Weekend’s Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of October. Created by the magazine in 1992, it has grown into the largest community service effort in the nation, rallying corporations, government leaders, charitable organizations and everyday Americans into action on one day. Each year, 3 million people participate worldwide, helping millions more.
For additional information contact Donna Trower at (417) 865-2815, ext. 7896.
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Tricks | Close-up Magic | Stage illusions | Mentalism
It is no secret that we Lizards LOVE bizarre magick and psychic entertainment. In fact, we believe that before we discovered bizarre magick or "regular" magic SUCKED- and it was only about learning about what it takes to present bizarre magic well, that we were able to apply that to our regular magic and take it to a new level.
But, one thing that can be said about bizarre magic... it is seldom practical. Oh, you get hint at it, you can weave a story, but when it comes to really drawing your audience past the veil of doubt and into the realm of "Could Be" all while palming a squid tentacle dyed with purple marker..... well, you get the idea.
So, here is a book that makes a bold claim... That is offers PRACTICAL bizarre and storytelling magic.. and I think, my friends... it does it very well.
Memento Mori- A spectator successfully divines three strange & disturbing modes of death; the last one that they have selected for themselves reveals perhaps more than they bargained for...
"This too shall pass..." A quick and simple tarot card effect which is used to illustrate a traditional tale from Sufism.
Contractual Obligation - A volunteer selects and signs a tarot card, before it is shown to the audience, and signature is seen by them; the card is then plainly and visibly burned - even as it burns, it is shown to the volunteer to ensure that no switch has occurred, yet the signed card then re-appears, with both the audience and volunteer confirming that, impossibly, it is indeed the same card and signature that was seen moments earlier.
Fear of Flying - A feather floats from the hand of the magus, as a short tale of fear, death and angels is told.
Presenting Bizarre Magic to the Paying Public! An Essay.
Kevin the cross-eyed Vampire hunter - Enough said!
"All that is necessary for Evil to triumph..." part I - A spectator has a free choice (sight unseen) of a rune from a full set in the fairest possible manner; it is revealed to be the "Sig" rune, symbolising "Triumph", and matching the ensign of the dreaded "S.S." - predicted beforehand in a non-gimmicked envelope containing both the insignia and a photo of Himmler, Hitler's Occult-obsessed henchman.
"All that is necessary for Evil to triumph..." part II A (fictitious) tale is told based upon the (real) French heroine "Marie-Madeleine Fourcade", whereby the audience correctly name her code word, her place of birth, before seeing evidence of her burning spirit still very active in this world despite her death in 1989!
Scripting & Character - An essay
Lockerbie - A psychometry test is given to an independent member of the audience; 4 other spectators take part in an experiment to choose an envelope, 3 numbers and a finally a place on a map after holding the test envelope. It transpires that they predict the death toll, element and place of the Scottish town of Lockerbie were Pan Am flight 103 was sabotaged on 23 December 1988.
The Collier's Rant - This may be presented as a Tarot card and Telekinetic timber effect, or as a full blown Séance.
Puzzling Spectators - An essay.
The Atheist's Last Test of Faith - A self confessed atheist offers to sell his soul - signing a contract; the contract is burned, but only after that does the 'Agent of Beelzebub' realize he's out of receipts and the contract is returned within the universal symbol of the soul - a boiled egg.
Scene Stealer - A spectator randomly selects a movie title from 10 and is asked to merely think of a memorable scene in the movie, yet the performer picks up a pad and draws the very scene the spectator is thinking of, and may also reveal the title or even let another spectator guess the title from the drawing (depending on art skills, etc!) (May be done entirely impromptu with 10 business cards and a pen).
A Question of Fate - A spectator freely chooses a single tarot card, collecting the rest and putting them in an opaque bag out of sight of the performer and the audience; the performer then gives a reading without seeing the card which is uncannily accurate, before producing a small box which is found to contain a match for the card folded up inside by its self.
And there are some other tid bits you will have to wait to see....
Pages: 124 - Softbound
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In a TV clip that got picked up by New York magazine’s website (and was also featured on BuzzFeed), a young man whom NBC 10 reporter Alison Bologna identified as a Brown student expressed his skepticism over the existence of Hurricane Sandy (Cohen). The student, who was hanging out at the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier, offered this possible explanation for the inclement weather: ”I know the government wants us to think that [there's a hurricane], but think about it, the earth rotates very quickly.” Before you all freak out, we got in contact with this student and, as you may have guessed, HE WAS JOKING. Anyone who has recently checked out the absolutely terrible Eyed @ Brown might know that Brown students will jump at any chance they can to engage in trolling activities. And let’s be real, is there an easier target than local news?
Also, sweet MCM shout out K-Roose. Here are some of the MCM course offerings for next spring: MCM2100I: Habits of Living: Affect and New Media, MCM1202L: The Many Faces of Casanova, & MCM1202J: Faking Globalization.
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CARSON CITY, NV (KRNV & MyNews4.com)--BLM and the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign issued statements today, regarding the recent removal of wild horses near Carson City.
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign issued a press release today stating that "despite refusing to provide any documentation, the BLM issued a press release asserting that it removed the wild horses from the Deer Run Road area near Carson City because in the past few years, four horses have been struck and killed by vehicles. The agency is presently stating that the horses were removed because they were outside the Pine Nut Mountains Herd Management Area, their federally-designated range."
The campaign further states that information obtained by local residents from the Nevada Department of Transportation, the local Sheriff's Department and the BLM itself says that there were no accidents involving horses reported in the area in the past two years where the wild horse band lived and public safety complaints related to only one horse and his colt being removed by BLM in or before August 2012. No complaints were ever received regarding the horses removed by BLM last week, says the campaign, and Deer Run Road, where the horses visited is actually inside the designated herd management area.
"The BLM's unwillingness to take reasonable steps to keep this small wild horse family free on the range is telling," said Deniz Bolbol, communications director for the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign. "This agency is hell bent on removing wild horses from their homes on the range, despite the costs to taxpayers, local communities and to the horses themselves."
Leon Thomas with the BLM, who is also the Field Director in charge of the Deer Run Horse issue says that it came down to a public safety concern.
"Horses were in the city park and neighborhoods and it was a public safety concern," said Thomas. "Horses have been habitually going into the park and being fed. We had to mitigate as it was a safety concern."
Thomas said that BLM has had a chance to review the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign's press release and admits there is some disagreement between both parties. Thomas stated that there was a public meeting at the BLM district office in Carson City recently where residents could come in and comment. BLM looked at the public's concerns, said Thomas, but decided that they still had safety concerns.
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign says that the wild horses are currently being held at the Carson City Prison.
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What got my wheels turning is this story relating how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on his trip to Germany, received blueprints to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The gesture, made by German journalists, appeared to be not so much a macabre gift as it was a means to provide Israel's top diplomat with a connection to the darkest chapter in his family and his nation's history.
Netanyahu's family was nearly wiped out by the Nazis in World War II.
Particularly interesting was this quote:
"Kai Diekmann, editor of Bild, Germany's top-selling newspaper, said as he handed Netanyahu the plans that there could never be a real normalization of German-Israeli relations after the Holocaust."That may be true enough, though I doubt many in 1945 could have foreseen an Israeli Prime Minister visiting a unified Berlin, for a variety of reasons. History has a way of making fools of fortune tellers.
I also doubt many could know just what was going through Netanyahu's mind as he looked over this decades-old murder map with words like "Gaskammer" on it, a symbol of the unspeakably horrible place where 1.1 million of his people died. The article describes that he is also slated to visit the site where plans for Hitler's "Final Solution" were made.
And while it's true that Netanyahu's meeting with German Chancellor Merkel was probably mostly centered around Iran's nuclear program and the sausage-making that at times is diplomacy, that doesn't preclude the fact there can be inspiration in this episode, if we choose to see it, and it deals with perspective.
The moral courage and emotional fortitude it must take to visit such sites strikes me as compelling and noteworthy. And it kinda makes me not so concerned that the bosses might not like my Web designs.
Perspective is what allows us to decide which "stuff" to "sweat." In a strange paradox, I think we're better off sweating the stuff that allows us to help others - if even in small ways - but not sweating it when they stand in our way/disappoint us/wrong us.
I don't know if Netanyahu's trip and interactions are a sign that he's forgiven what was done to his people, or if this is a cathartic journey, or if this is merely political show. But I do know all of us tend to dwell on minutia at the expense of the bigger picture; we devote our toil and sweat into that which divides us - even seeking it our sometimes - instead of dismissing it as "small stuff" as we should.
Apply this however you will - or not at all. Pehaps the only takeaway for some of us is simply asking, "What makes me sweat?" And then ask yourself, "Is it really worth all that?"
You feel me?
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Vice Admiral Robert Lee Ghormley, US Navy
15 October 1883 - 21 June 1958
Robert Lee Ghormley was born in Portland, Oregon, on 15 October 1883, son of David Owen Ghormley and Mrs. (Alice Minerva Irwin) Ghormley. He was appointed to the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, while a student at the University of Idaho, and entered on 23 September 1902 as a Midshipman from Idaho. After graduation in June 1906, he was assigned to the USS West Virginia, as a Passed Midshipman. He served the two years at sea, then required by law, and was commissioned Ensign in 1908, and subsequently advanced in rank to that of Vice Admiral, to date from 1 October 1938, until his retirement in that rank on 1 August 1946.
Following his acceptance of appointment as Ensign in 1908, he had successive service at sea in the USS Buffalo, USS Charleston, and the USS Maryland, and from 1911 until 1913 served as Aide and Flag Lieutenant on the Staff of Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet, and in that assignment participated in the Nicaraguan Campaign of 1912. He returned to the Naval Academy in 1913 to serve for two years in the Division of Physical Training, and the subsequent two years in the Executive Department.
In June 1916, he joined the USS Nevada, and on 6 January 1917 became First Lieutenant of that battleship. Later in 1917 and during the early part of 1918 (World War I) period he had duty as Gunnery Officer of the Nevada, and Aide and Flag Lieutenant on the Staff of Commander Battleship Force ONE, and Squadron TWO, Atlantic Fleet. For meritorious service in that capacity he received a special Letter of Commendation from the Secretary of the Navy.
Shortly before the Armistice he returned to the United States, and reported to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Navy Department, Washington, DC. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the War Department and cited as follows: 'For exceptionally meritorious and conspicuous service as the Assistant Director of the Overseas Division, Naval Overseas Transportation Service.'
In 1920 he joined the USS Niagara, and during that year had additional duty as Aide to the President of the Court of Inquiry into conditions in Haiti. In December of that year he assumed command of the USS Sands, and was Senior Officer Present Afloat during the bombardment of Samsun, Turkey by the Greek Fleet in 1922. He returned to the Navy Department in 1922, for duty in the Bureau of Navigation.
He served as Aide to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., in 1923-24, and to Assistant Secretary of the Navy, T. Douglas Robinson in 1924-25. Detached in 1925, he reported as Executive Officer on the USS Oklahoma. He returned to the Navy Department in 1927, and after serving for three years as Secretary of the General Board, he again went to sea, this time as Chief of Staff to Commander Battle Force. In 1931 he was transferred to similar duty on the Staff of Commander in Chief, US Fleet.
Three years duty as Head of the Tactical Section of the Fleet Training Division of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations preceded command of the USS Nevada from June 1935 to June 1936. He then became Operations Officer on the Staff of the Commander in Chief, US Fleet, and served in that capacity for a year before being detached to the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, where he completed the senior course in 1938.
Assigned duty as the Director of the War Plans Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, he remained in the Navy Department as Assistant Chief of Naval Operations from July 1939 until August 1940. On 15 August of that year he was sent to London, England, as special Naval Observer at the American Embassy there, and after reporting to Headquarters, Commander in Chief, US Fleet, joined the Pacific Fleet for a conference with the Commander in Chief, after which he established Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.
On 19 June 1942, he became Commander, South Pacific Area and South Pacific Force, and served in that command until 20 October 1942. He was on duty at Headquarters, Commander in Chief, US Fleet, Navy Department, Washington, DC until February 1943, when he reported as Commandant of the Fourteenth Naval District and Commander Hawaiian Sea Frontier. 'For exceptionally meritorious conduct as Commandant Fourteenth Naval District and Commander Hawaiian Sea Frontier from 17 February 1943 to 24 October 1944...' he was awarded the Legion of Merit. The citation further states:
'An aggressive and persevering leader, Vice Admiral Ghormley carried out his duties untiringly in the fulfillment of the mission of support to the United States Pacific Fleet throughout this period of enormous expansion and accelerated activity...'
Vice Admiral Ghormley returned to the United States in November 1944, and later that month reported to the Commander, US Naval Forces, Germany. For his services which extended to December 1945, Vice Admiral Ghormley was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, and cited, in part as follows:
Distinguished Service Medal: 'For exceptionally meritorious service to the Government of the United States in a duty of great responsibility as Commander, U.S. Naval Forces in Germany (Commander Task Force 124 of the Twelfth Fleet), Senior U.S. Naval Member of the Group Control Council for Germany and Senior U.S. Naval Member of the Naval Commission from December 1944 to December 1945. Responsible for all activities of our Naval Forces in Germany, (he) established and directed the effective organization in carrying out the demilitarization of the German Navy and the collection of valuable intelligence material...maintained cooperative operations with the representatives of other Allied Governments and...rendered outstanding assistance in furthering a mutual exchange of data and findings of great importance to the Commander Twelfth Fleet and the Navy as a whole... (His) leadership, keen foresight, great administrative ability and steadfast devotion to the completion of a vital mission were essential factors in the success of our occupational forces in Germany and reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service.'
Upon his return to the United States, he reported on 22 January 1946 for duty as a member of the General Board, Navy Department. He was relieved of all active duty on 26 April 1946, and was transferred to the Retired List of the Navy on 1 August of that year.
Vice Admiral Ghormley died at the Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland on 21 June 1958. He was survived by his wife, Mrs. Lucille Ghormley, and two sons and a daughter.
In addition to the Distinguished Service Medal from the Navy Department for World War II service; the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Service Medal from the War Department, Vice Admiral Ghormley had the Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (USS California); Mexican Service Medal, (USS California); Victory Medal, Atlantic Fleet Clasp (USS Minnesota); American Defense Service Medal, Base Clasp; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal; the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; and the World War II Victory Medal.
Source: Adapted from the biographical sketch for Vice Admiral Robert Lee Ghormley, Navy Office of Information, Internal relations Division, (OI-430), 30 November 1964, now part of the Modern Biographies files, Navy Department Library, Naval History & Heritage Command.
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At the Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and Michael Hall discussed the Microsoft "Cloud platform" and the ongoing need to partner with developers to create what Microsoft calls "Software plus Services."
Ars discussed the idea of a "Cloud OS," or a cloud platform in April while covering the announcement of Xcerion, a Swedish Internet startup that plans to release an "Internet OS," which is essentially an entire operating system and desktop environment on the web. Microsoft has publicly announced that it too, has a cloud-like structure in mind.
Microsoft's Cloud platform is far from a full-fledged OS, but the groundwork is being laid for an expansive Live platform. Ballmer told Microsoft's partners yesterday that "[Microsoft] needs a new service platform. We are in the process today, of building out a services platform in the 'cloud'." The 'cloud platform' that Ballmer is discussing is one that focuses around Microsoft's current line of Windows Live products offered to individuals as well as businesses like Virtual Earth, Windows Live Messenger, Office Live, and Live Search. The idea behind a 'cloud platform,' is providing users and developers with a community where they can stay connected on various devices.
Microsoft hopes that developers and partners will continue to create applications for the Windows Live platform. Doing so will increase the span of options for individuals, as well as businesses, that a cloud platform with server, mobile, and client support and a "new model of computation" could offer. Windows Live General Manager, Brian Hall, encouraged developers to build applications for the platform, saying "What's ours is yours. Over the next [year] we're going to be opening up more and more and more so that you can use [the platform] to build applications, because when you win we win."
What could potentially take shape is a platform that is accessible from multiple devices like mobile phones, computers, and gaming systems, that allows constant access to Windows Live applications.
To hear more about the cloud platform and what Microsoft has in store, check out the WPC webcast: Steve Ballmer: Worldwide Partner Conference 2007
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18 min ago | TG Daily
A rare encounter between two gas-rich galaxies spotted by ESA's Herschel space observatory indicates a solution to an outstanding problem: how did massive, passive galaxies form in the early Universe? Most large galaxies fall into one of two major categories: spirals like our own Milky Way that are full of gas and actively forming stars, or ... (more)
4 hrs ago | RedOrbit
University of California, Irvine researchers recently wrote in the Journal of the American Chemical Society that they have found a safe and inexpensive way to identify clinically usable markers for prostate cancer in urine.
8 hrs ago | Examiner.com
In jest we laughed and commented how times had changed The newly commissioned life-size and seated statue of Sekhmet, nearly 9 feet tall if standing, was traveling not by Her more ancient traditional means, along the waterways of the Nile aboard a golden barque, but instead along contemporary highways of asphalt and concrete in a padded SUV.
10 hrs ago | Live Science
Two star-forming galaxies in the process of colliding 11 billion light-years away, as seen by a variety of telescopes.
14 hrs ago | Sacramento Bee Newspaper
Thousands of law school graduates cannot find jobs as law firms cut back, as government agencies are squeezed, as corporations trim legal expenses and as technology handles rote legal work.
With summer on the way, we're trying out a new video feature on Drive On that we call "Tell Us About Your Car." Catchy, huh? First up is this cool "rat rod," a cut-down, stripped-out performance van built on a 1964 Chevrolet that was used by a telephone company.
Please enter your email address to reset your password. An email will be sent with instructions to create a new password.
Children with autism showed significant improvement after six months of simple sensory exercises at home using everyday items such as scents, spoons and sponges, according to UC Irvine neurobiologists.
On April 5,2013, the City of Irvine agreed to participate in a process by which a panel of three former judges would determine the distribution of the reward set forth for information leading to the capture of murder suspect, Christopher Dorner.
Discovering that mouse hair has a circadian clock - a 24-hour cycle of growth followed by restorative repair - researchers suspect that hair loss in humans from toxic cancer radiotherapy and chemotherapy might be minimized if these treatments are given late in the day.
But the disease affects much of the population in some rural communities and, while it often goes unnoticed, it sometimes can be devastating for patients.
In 2007, the Irvine Police Department established a "Youth Liaison Officer" position responsible for assisting the Special Investigations Unit identify and work with at-risk teens in the community.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE Public Information Office 1 Civic Center Plaza Irvine, CA 92606 724-7216 www.irvinepd.org IRVINE, CA : On April 1, 2013, at approximately 11:20 p.m., Irvine Police detectives arrested Karen Kovacs and Tyler Kovacs of Costa Mesa for robbery and conspiracy.
Also launched in 2008, was the Irvine Police Department's "Return Home Registry" which is an innovative program designed to assist police officers in locating lost or wandering persons missing from their home or caregivers.
In a bitter fight, Colorado Democrats recently muscled through the Statehouse a massive elections reform bill that allows voters to register up until Election Day and still cast their ballots.
Analytics provider Alteryx has raised another $12 million as it tries to make statistical analysis a more consumer-friendly experience.
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Around the City
Blaine sewer rates are going up again.
“It’s the next step in our wastewater plan,” said Blaine public works director Steve Banham at the November 14 city council meeting. “We’re on a plan of steady increases between now and construction of the new wastewater plant.”
Blaine’s sewer rate jumped 25 percent in
2005 and will go up another 12.5 percent on January 1, 2006 to $56.14
for a single-family home. The sewer general facility fee will also increase
The ballooning rates will be paying for $30 million in improvements to the outdated sewer system, including a new wastewater plant on Marine Drive and equalization storage under the road to prevent sewage overflows.
cost of a water connection in Blaine is also increasing if it earns
city council approval. “The effect is pretty modest but it will
allow that fee to keep pace with costs,” Banham said. The fees
will go up by 1.2 percent, as linked to the current consumer price
City council will take final action on the rate increases November 28.
City council approved a change to the contract with Ebenal Construction to remove the rubble that had been previously dumped at the site in order to allow piles for the boardwalk to be driven into stable material.
Blaine public works director Steve Banham said the contingency funds built into the funding for the project would be sufficient to fix the problem.
We’ve run into just about every issue you could run into getting out of the ground,” said Banham at a November 14 city council meeting. “What we’ve discovered is these sites were used for dumping rubble and we need to get it out. There aren’t a lot of alternatives. It’s a necessary evil.”
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George Mason University: Forbids lecturer to teach evolution, after mentioning intelligent design
George Mason University Carolyn Crocker of George Mason University was barred from teaching both Darwinian evolution and intelligent design.
Caroline Crocker says that she hadn't meant to start a controversy when she mentioned intelligent design while teaching her second-year cell-biology course at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, last semester. But many of her colleagues say that the soft-spoken molecular biologist, who received a PhD in immunopharmacology from the University of Southampton, UK, has gone too far. Sitting in an empty teaching lab, Crocker tells how she has been barred by her department from teaching both evolution and intelligent design. "It's an infringement of academic freedom," she says. She is appealing the case to a grievance committee.What blows me away is the belief that students will not soon realize that this is all happening because the Darwinists have not made a good case, and are therefore enforcing their philosophy of origins by authority alone.
I have added this story to my running list of stories in which a person who is found to be in possession of possible evidence against materialism/naturalism/Darwinism is subject to harassment and persecution. I will also provide a blog service note link to the running list, for reference.
If you like this blog, check out my book on the intelligent design controversy, By Design or by Chance?. You can read excerpts as well.
Blog policy note: This blog does not intentionally accept fully anonymous Comments, Comments with language unsuited to an intellectual discussion, URLs posted without comment, or defamatory statements. Defamatory statement: A statement that would be actionable if anyone took the author seriously. For example, someone may say "O’Leary is a crummy journalist"; that’s a matter of opinion and I don’t know who would care. But if they say, "O’Leary was convicted of grand theft auto in 1983," well that’s just plain false, and probably actionable, if the author were taken seriously. Also, due to time constraints, the moderator rarely responds to comments, and usually only about blog service issues.
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Take grated potatoes, onions and a little salt and pepper, mold them into perfect little pancakes and fry them in hot oil to a deep, golden brown crisp, and you have the much loved Hanukkah treat: the latke.
But when the Well blog last year suggested ways to make latkes more healthful, purists were outraged.
“I’m not going to ruin my latke joy to save a few calories once a year,” Elizabeth, one Well reader, wrote.
“Spare me,” chided another. “I’ll take my latkes fried in lots of oil. It works for my 91-year-old grandparents.”
Joan Nathan, a well respected cookbook author and expert in Jewish foods, said she’s not surprised at the widespread resistance to making a traditional treat more healthful. When once asked to come up with baked latkes that tasted as good as fried, she tried. “But I ended up throwing all the recipes in the garbage,” she said.
Another reason for the fried latke’s persistence: oil isn’t just a cooking ingredient, it’s central to the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah. After winning back their land in battle, the Jews needed to light a menorah as part of a rededication of their Temple. Although they only had enough oil for one day, the oil, miraculously, lasted for eight.
“It’s all about the oil,” said Susie Fishbein, author of “Kosher by Design Lightens Up.” You can spray your latkes with oil and bake them, she said, but “most people are not going to cheer when that comes to the table. It has to be fried.”
Still, experts in Jewish cooking continue to offer ways of improving on the traditional latke to make it crispier, tastier and yes — more healthful.
Jeffrey Nathan, a Kosher chef in New York City, says to make sure to heat your oil thoroughly before adding the latke batter. That way the potatoes will cook faster and absorb less grease. Also consider frying with a reasonably priced extra-virgin olive oil, which is lower in saturated fats than many oils and imparts a nice olive flavor.
Another common frying folly is crowding the pan. Faced with a large bowl of grated potatoes and a looming dinner hour, many home cooks aim to speed the cooking process by using a large frying pan and adding as many latkes as will fit. Instead, the opposite occurs: with each added latke, the temperature of the oil drops, causing the pancakes to take longer to cook. Boiling the potatoes before mixing them into the batter or making super thin latkes will help the latkes cook faster and soak up less oil, Ms. Nathan said.
She also recommends frying your latkes the night before and draining the excess oil with paper towels, then heating them in the oven when your guests arrive. “There’s no way you can make them the last minute without making them fattier,” Ms. Nathan said. Making latkes well in advance can also become a family activity as others help out in the kitchen. “Cooking latkes is fun; it’s family, it’s tradition,” said Mr. Nathan.
For those who insist on a more healthful alternative to the traditional latke, Ms. Fishbein suggests replacing the fried potatoes on your Hanukkah table with dipping bowls containing a variety of high-quality olive oils and chunks of whole grain breads, cheese and fruit. Family members and guests can spend their evening nibbling at the snacks and comparing notes on the different oils. “There’s nothing holy about the potato,” she said.
Still, she concedes, an olive oil tasting isn’t going to suffice for everyone. “Once a year, it’s not so bad to break out a latke.”
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Start and stop
"The 20-horsepower Yanmar in my Orion 27 has low hours, but last summer it began to stop about a minute after it started. When I tried a restart, it was clear to me that it was being starved for fuel. I bled the fuel line, and, when I saw air bubbles coming out at the secondary filter, I thought I’d fixed the problem. But when I let the engine sit unused for a couple of days, the start/stop problem reappeared.
Your book Marine Diesel Mechanics has some helpful ideas, but nothing you mention in it seems to explain my situation; I know there are no fuel-line leaks or poorly seated gaskets. I did notice that the problem occurred when the fuel gauge showed half full, and the problem seemed to go away after I topped off the tank. You mention return-line siphoning in your book, and I wonder whether the half-full tank is letting air get into the line."
-- Karl Westman, Ocean City, New Jersey
Nigel Calder replies: If return-line siphoning is the problem, it will occur no matter what the fuel level is. Although I’ve never been able to prove it, I believe that fuel-line siphoning takes place when fuel dribbles down out of the return line over time and lets air work its way up into the system. At least I think that’s what happens. That’s why I’m curious that you don’t get return-line siphoning when the tank is full.
If your fuel tank is located below the engine, the lift pump may be having trouble lifting the fuel when the tank is half full; that could make the engine become starved for fuel. You should also check the lift pump itself to find out whether its valves are leaking. But before you do anything, make sure the fuel-tank vent is not plugged. An insect nest in the vent, for example, will create a vacuum when the fuel level drops, making the lift pump work much harder. A plugged vent will create a vacuum only after the engine has been run for a while—the tank will equalize when it’s at rest—and that’s the opposite of what you’re experiencing. But since it’s so easy to do, start by checking the vent.
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For those looking to get away from the chaos of Quito, Ecuador, for the day, the parish of Mindo offers an eco-friendly trip located only 80 minutes away. Mindo is full of nature-inspired activities like waterfall hikes, canopying through the cloud forest and bird watching. The parish is also home [...]
Post Tagged with: "photo essays"
While many people have viewed sand art in the form of plastic containers filled with rainbow-colored granules and ornate beach castles, English environmental artist and photographer Tony Plant takes sand art to a whole new level. Exhibiting contemporary, Guerrilla-style works, Plant uses the natural landscape as his gallery for all [...]
Sometimes, the story of a place cannot be told through words as well as it can through pictures, especially with the right photographer. Brooklyn-based Navid Baraty became obsessed with the art of photography once he realized the medium’s ability to tell a story while engaging all the senses.” Browsing his [...]
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The Art of partner yoga is not only fun; the practice brings people together and nurtures trust and communcations. Michaela Olexova, of wellbeing website The Baoli, explains.
Bringing people together, sharing a yoga practice through conscious breathing, the importance of human touch and freedom of movement - these factors all contribute to the essence of a partner yoga practice.
This fun, challenging form of yoga can also develop and deepen mutual trust and communication.
What is Partner Yoga?
It is a fun and inspiring exercise that nurtures relationships between lovers, family, friends, children and even work colleagues.
Partner yoga focuses on building strength and flexibility of the body, balancing energy flow and improving focus through traditional asanas.
The difference, of course, is that they are performed together with a partner, helping the individual to achieve more than he or she could do alone.
It is a perfect opportunity for those who have enjoyed a ‘single' yoga practice and now would like to explore a new experience - as well as those keen to introduce yoga to their loved ones.
Benefits of Partner Yoga
You and your partner will both benefit from a wide range of simple stretches as well as more advance and challenging postures, synchronized breath and shared energy, using the extra support and adjustments of each other.
Partner yoga can be practiced by anyone at your own home or garden, corporate in boardrooms through a team building program or at your local yoga studio under a supervision.
• Sharing the practice with loved ones and nurture relationships
• Benefitting from a synchronized breath and share single energy
• Developing mutual trust, communication and harmony relying on each other's support
• Meeting a basic human need of touch and receive healing benefits similar to a massage or Reiki
• Experiencing the freedom of movement, using the extra support and adjustment
• Improving your strength, flexibility or focus and balance your energy flow
Things to be aware before you start
At all times keep in mind that everyone has a different level of skill, strength and flexibility.
Always check and communicate with your partner to ensure he/she feels comfortable and develop each new asana gradually, respecting both body's limitations and never forcing a pose.
You might feel the fear at first but try to confront and face your fears, feel safe and let go while being aware of your breath and trying to synchronize it with your movement.
Last but not least, ensure you have a freedom of movement without tangling yourself in too many layers, and remember to wear comfortable yoga clothes that are not too baggy or loose.
Try one of these simple Partner Yoga Asanas
Spinal twist - sit on the floor in cross-legged or half-lotus position, facing each other. Keep your back straight and reach your right arm behind your lower back towards your left hip. Then stretch your left arm diagonally and reach for your partner's right hand, grabbing firmly. Your partner does the same reaching for your right hand. Once the position is established, start breathing deeply. Straighten your spine upwards on inhale and pull towards yourself with your left hand on exhale - allowing you both to open the spinal twist a bit further. Hold for 10 breaths and then change sides.
Boat pose - this is a great anasa to practice with your baby, as you are facing another challenge holding his/her weight. Start by sitting on the floor with your legs straight in front of you, then sit your baby on your shins just behind your knees holding him/her tight. Lengthen your tailbone and, using your core muscles, lift your legs slowly, keeping your knees bend and lifting your shins parallel to the floor. Open your chest to straighten your spine a bit further and breathe deeply into your belly, holding for 6-10 breaths.
The Baoli is a wellbeing directory and guide to wellbeing products, services and ideas. Products have been carefully handpicked across the world to help you live a balanced lifestyle and make the shopping a planet friendly experience.
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As states pass their own laws allowing employers to discriminate in insurance benefits, federal courts must wrestle with how those laws interact with the federal contraception mandate.
Yet another federal court seems sympathetic to the argument that corporations have religious exercise rights.
Reproductive health and rights were once again the subject of extensive debate in state capitols in 2012. Over the course of the year, 42 states and the District of Columbia enacted 122 provisions related to reproductive health and rights. One-third of these new provisions, 43 in 19 states, sought to restrict access to abortion services.
Despite saying they would have nothing to do with the Missouri Republican, the party still dropped big money on his failed senate campaign.
From now on, they’ll make sure their candidates are much quieter about their plans to ensure women lose their reproductive rights.
As another federal court temporarily blocks the mandate from taking effect, what comes next in the fight for comprehensive reproductive health care coverage?
Rachel Maddow reviews the litany of Republicans who made the mistake of expressing their offensive ignorance about rape and/or women’s bodies out loud in public and notes that the American voting public rejected them at the ballot box.
Next year will have an historic number of female senators, and that could be very good for women.
Not content with their ground game, anti-choice zealots are taking over the skies, too.
Both sides focus on key campaigns as get out the vote efforts increase.
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FRESH MEAT!!! Yes Ethan and Aaron are joined by a newbie. friend of Gamershaven podcast Jason Hunter! this time we look at Super Hero movies as a genre and the differences between these and Comic book movies.
A superhero film, superhero movie, or superhero motion picture is: action, fantasy and science fiction film; that is focused on the actions of one or more superheroes, individuals who usually possess superhuman abilities relative to a normal person and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films are almost always action-oriented, and the first film of a particular character often includes a focus on the origin of the special powers including the first fight against the character’s most famous supervillain archenemy.
Most superhero movies are based on comic books, where the fantasy genre is most dominant in the medium’s mainstream image. By contrast, several films such as the RoboCop series, Darkman, The Meteor Man, Up, Up, and Away, Unbreakable, The Incredibles,Hancock and Megamind are original, while The Green Hornet is based primarily on the original radio series and its 1960s television adaptation, and Underdog is based on a classic cartoon.
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This thread is for discussion of this week's Making Magic, which goes live Monday morning on magicthegathering.com.
I just had a flashback: the same Venn diagram as in the beginning of the article on the door of a "Professional orientation" room in a Soviet school in 1987, only with words in circles being simply "Want", "Can" and "Needed".
At risk of being a killjoy, I'd like to point something out. Any time a famous person with an awesome job says "Take risks to land your dream job!", my first thought is of the thousand people who took those risks, didn't get the job, and are working in a cube farm for an obscure government agency instead. Of course you're pro-risk - taking those risks got you where you are, and that's great. Most famous people can tell the same story. But a lot more people try and fail, and the thing about dream jobs is that they tend to be very unforgiving - either you get them or you don't even come close. There's a lot more rock stars who never play a venue better than the local pub, or ball players who never get past the A leagues, than there are superstars in either field. You'll never hear them telling you how much risking it all for your dream sucks, because they don't have the podium, but they certainly exist.
Of course, that's probably not a story that you want to tell a class full of middle-school kids.
Oh, I strongly suspect any future career I may or may not have at Wizards will be cut quite short for punching Rosewater in the face when he spouts some sort of "players need terrible cards" nonsense.
I want to say that I enjoyed the article much more than I expected to (the personal stories I usually find a bit hit and miss -- this one was definitely a hit). It was quite inspirational and mostly well thought out. That being said, I think Alsadius above has a pretty good point, which is also worth mentioning.
That's why they're called risks and not assurances. There is no guarantee.
Lathspel, that's certainly true. There's not many people who go to work at McDonald's and have their boss offer to add a zero to their paycheque and put them on beer-tasting and test-driving attractive women duty. If you want your dream job, you need to take risks somewhere. I'm just looking at the flip side - taking risks is no guarantee of a dream job, and can sometimes leave you worse off. As Ange said, that's why they're called risks.
What can I say? I'm just a depressing person.
The advice here is very good
1. Doing what you love -- You know, if all else fails, at least you're doing what you love. ^^ That in itself is a dream. This is enough to be happy even if you don't become rich and famous.
2. Doing what you're good at -- Yeah. But especially, become good at something you love. Like Maro says, you have to earn your dream job. Why should you get it and not somebody else? And the only good answer for that is because you're going to be excellent at it. This leads right into three...
3. Doing what someone will pay you to do -- There is not a single skill in this world that when performed at the highest levels, is not valuable to someone. So as long as you master something, you will get paid for it. Often a lot. But you do have to master something. And yeah, that means learning, and working at it, and failing, making use of the opportunities, etc. etc. everything he talked about.
Which I think he forgot the most important part -- listen to people who know what to do. ^^ The reason most people won't ever get their dream job, is just because they never looked for good advice on how to get what they want, or when they found that advice they ignored it rather than follow it. I know you say, but what is good advice? The advice that gets you what you want is good advice :p Seriously though, you won't always know beforehand. You have to make a "decision" sometimes, gasp. And decide how valid that advice is, and whether or not it's worth the effort. But listening to someone who's already done what you're trying to do is generally good advice. And almost always, there is someone who has already been there in a similar situation, so just have to find that person.
Not much new in here.
.) Taking risks
Yes, true, yet obvious.
.) Throwing every idea at the Duelist
Not sure if that was such a good idea. 95% of my ideas are rubbish and only 5% are worth pursuing. I'm wondering about the quality of the old duelist. Probably wasn't all that well made.
Interestingly, MaRos "throw everything at it" approach resembles the current state of magic. A lot of flashyness, not much substance.
.) Take advantage of opportunities
Oh really? Who would've thought?
.)Here's the trick. Humans function better with focus. If there's a reason to do something, it's easier to stick with it. For example, I love to write. I know I'll become a better writer if I constantly write. One of the ways I helped make sure this was going to happen was to get myself into a situation—this column—that forces me to write every week. Having a deadline and a goal each week ensures that I keep at my writing.
My writing is rubbish when my head is empty. In this state it is usually a bad idea to force myself to write something. It feels like unlearning rather than learning.
Reading this article comes at a great time for me, personally. I just graduated with a degree in marketing and about 1-1.5 years of applicable work experience, including a market research internship at my FLGS. I've been debating trying to get to GenCon this year to see if I can't rub elbows with some of the right people to break into the hobby game industry. Does anyone here on this board know anything about maybe being able to volunteer at GenCon? Are there any official channels for that?
I'd love to be able to get involved in any way that I can with Wizards to eventually work my way up into their hallowed ranks.
Prepare to get your mind like blown, man.
I managed to get my first novel published, which was the fulfillment of a great dream, yes. But with this also came disillusionment. The world of literature is not a magical chrismas land (there's actually a looooot of bullshit) and neither will be working at wizards.
I dont usually like Maro articles, but this one was really good.
It showcases his passion and drive to get where he wanted to be. I'm sure more things fell into place for him than what he briefly covered in the article, but he was able to get his points across and illustrated that opportunity can come knocking when you let it know you're home.
I like that Nathan Holt got dap too. I was lucky enough to have Nathan be a part of my store's community for a couple months when he lived in the area and he is awesome. He moved, but he now gets to do his dream job. Great pickup by Wizards. His videos are fantastic.
I really did enjoy this article. Thanks for it.
- Dave Feinstein
Owner/Operator Die Hard Games
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Just before the U.S. presidential elections, Washington had signaled that a more active Syria policy was to follow in the coming months, by taking the initiative of composing an umbrella organization for the Syrian opposition and promoting a meeting in Doha
toward this end. British Prime Minister David Cameron, meanwhile, within hours of the re-election of President Obama, urged the U.S. to join the U.K. in working directly with the Syrian opposition. Similar calls came from other European countries as well.
The U.K. is breaking new ground itself. David Cameron
simultaneously announced that it was going to open talks with the Syrian armed opposition groups and offer an extra $22 million in humanitarian aid, making it the second largest donor to the Syrian rebels after the U.S. On the Turkish scene, prior to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s visit to Brussels last week, Reuters quoted a senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official who said that Ankara
was to make an imminent request to NATO
for the deployment of Patriot missiles on Turkish soil to guard against violence spilling over. Despite the subsequent conflicting statements from top Turkish officials about whether Turkey had made such a request, or whether without Turkey’s demand NATO
was making its own preparations to defend its member by itself, it is crystal clear that we won’t be waiting before Patriot missiles are deployed on the Turkish border. On top of that came Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent statement that Turkey expects the U.S. to take a more active role and different steps in the Syrian crisis now that the election season is over.
These all draw a new picture. Apparently, all sides had put their agendas on hold pending the U.S
elections. Obama himself is no exception to that. Even just the Doha
meeting itself represents a major shift in the tactics of his administration. The previous low-maintenance approach did not prove to be enough for Syria. While still ruling out military intervention, Washington will speak up more, pursue a more direct strategy, and intensify its response to the crisis. This could end up with more U.S. pressure on the United Nations and the wider international community, a more aggressive role in shaping the Syrian political landscape, and a no-fly or safe zone along the Turkish border.
Ankara would certainly welcome the U.S.’s “low-cost leadership” wholeheartedly. However, this is just one side of the coin. On the other side, the new phase is not short of complications for Turkey-U.S. relations. To name a few: The new umbrella opposition group would most probably include elements which are not favorable for Turkey, the U.S. is concerned about the Muslim Brotherhood’s growing influence and the dominance of Jihadist elements in the political landscape, and the possible formation of a semi-autonomous Kurdish entity in northern Syria.
The outcome of “heads or tails” is determined purely by divine will. Turkey and the U.S., however, would not flip a coin - they are in a position to determine which side comes up.
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Broadway's 'Once' is more than enough- VIDEO
Broadway adaption of Oscar winning Irish movie wows audiences
Once, the new Broadway musical based on the Oscar winning Irish film of the same name, opened on this weekend to standing ovations and critical raves. CAHIR O’DOHERTY reviews the new show, which he says surpasses the original film, for The Irish Voice.
There's a reason that audiences are flocking to see Broadway shows in record numbers, even though they could probably fly to Dublin for the price of a premium seat nowadays.
That reason is theatrical magic. When it works it surpasses any drug on the market. That magic happens when you’re sitting in a darkened theater with 300 other people and an actor on the stage is breaking your heart into a million tiny shards.
I defy anyone to attend Once, the deeply affecting new musical based on the Irish film of the same name, and not be swept away by the sincerity of the performances and the music.
When these actors let loose onstage (and let me tell you they really let loose), any lingering moaning about outrageous ticket prices will be balanced by the timeless beauty of the human voice raised in song. That’s a trade-off that’s actually worth making here.
Based on the 2006 Irish film that quietly conquered all before it on its way to the Oscars (ending up with an Oscar for Best Original Song), the plot of Once could be written on a napkin -- a broken hearted boy meets a broken hearted girl who wants to help him out of a dead end. They succeed. Then they face unexpected consequences.
There’s more to it than that, of course. This is an Irish story, reconfigured by Irish playwright Enda Walsh, so it’s a script filled with jet black humor and something I have never seen in a Broadway show before, a profound and completely inconsolable sadness.
It’s not the I-loved-her-but-she-done-me-wrong sadness that we associate with musicals. It’s something far deeper and harder to bush off. We watch two characters experience the kind of wrenching disappointment that can unmoor a life and send a soul spinning.
Irish dramatists have never been afraid to look life’s disappointments directly in the face, but I’ve never seen another Broadway musical that refused to soften the blows the way that Once does.
That gives the show’s emotional center a degree of rawness and romantic yearning that I’m warning you about right now. Once you pay the money and take your seat in the theater you’ll be on your own.
Longtime fans should note that the musical only uses the original film to supply an outline. What the actors, playwright and director have come up with -- and I don’t say this lightly -- is a much finer show.
You’ll get the first intimations of what’s ahead of you when Steve Kazee, who plays Guy, performs a song called “Leave” on a Dublin street that is overheard by the passing Girl (Cristin Milioti).
Kazee, who looks like he was factory farmed in a facility that specializes in creating leading men, begins quietly and builds, finishing the song with howls of pain and anger that seems to erupt from deep within him. It’s a staggering performance that should cement the career of the young Broadway veteran.
Guy’s been left behind, forlorn and broken-hearted, in Dublin by a girl who’s set off for a new life in New York City, which may or may not eventually include him.
On his own, and dying of it, he haunts the scenes of his former happiness until he’s confronted by Girl, a Czech immigrant who secretly sees more than a little of herself in him.
“I can’t wait forever is all that you said,” Kazee sings. “And you won't disappoint me -- I can do that myself. But I'm glad that you've come now if you don't mind, leave…” You can hear what it costs him to be left behind by the love of his life in every line he sings.
Kazee then does something I would have thought impossible. He makes the Swell Season song his own in an onstage act of reclamation that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irgolva, the stars and Oscar winning songwriters of the Once film, have admitted they were amazed by.
They’re not the only ones. Both Broadway audiences and veteran critics have been floored by the completely jarring Irish aspects of the show, which contrast strongly with typical fare.
Irish musicians simply don’t write musicals, it’s not a form they’re versed in or that they ever pursue. So the creative team behind this show had to take the mountain to Mohamed, bringing Broadway to Dublin, rather than the other way around, which could have turned Once into this year’s version of that spectacular multimillion dollar flop The Pirate Queen. It turns out that going there is better formula for a Broadway hit.
Another masterstroke was casting Milioti as the young Czech immigrant who’s simply known as Girl. With her enormous doe eyes and her tiny frame she’s a whirlwind of determination and charm, and she owns the stage from the moment she appears.
Wisely Milioti has refused to see the film on which the show is based, which has left her free to create her own characterization that fans will note differs wildly from Irglova’s performance in the film.
It’s when Milioti finally sits at her piano and begins to sing that both she and Once take flight. The surprising strength of the emotions being expressed leave no room for irony, and we watch as her character moves from an outline to a human being.
It must be said that as the show progresses, playwright Walsh’s script veers unevenly from naturalism to his trademark heightened mayhem, which does not always serve the show. Most often the immigrants trying to make it in Celtic Tiger Dublin have their struggles played for laughs.
Will Connolly, who talents far outshine his minor role, plays a bright young Czech man who works in a burger joint but has dreams of a promotion. Walsh has given him an outsize purple bow tie to mock his dream rather than lament its failure.
There are some absolute clunkers too when Walsh has characters talk about love and all the misfortunes it can rain upon us. Walsh, whose most famous works indicate an antic consciousness, is never really at home with this kind of sincerity, and the script suffers whenever he has no choice but to acknowledge the undeniable potency of romantic love.
Paul Whitty plays the owner of the Dublin piano store where Girl practices, and the script also has him alternating between character and caricature.
Interestingly, it’s as if Walsh can’t see these workaday men as anything more than the rough drafts he’s crafted for them. But what his script lacks in characterization it makes up for in sheer comedy.
Walsh truly excels at upsetting your expectations, and it’s in these moments that his script really finds its feet.
What’s shocking about Once, from a Broadway perspective, is that it has an inconclusive, disappointing and completely heartbreaking ending that still somehow manages send you out into the city streets elated. That’s because it reaches deeper than many musicals ever dare to and for once the payoff is immense.
Once is playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 West 45th Street. Visit oncemusical.com for information.
- Today's Irish entertainment roundup...
- Ten cats who can’t wait for their Gathering vacation to Ireland - PHOTOS...
- Today's Irish entertainment roundup...
- Marvel hints there could be an 'Iron Man 4' without Robert Downey Jr - VIDEO...
- Guinness summit? Obama and Putin to enjoy a pint at the G8 Summit...
The IRISH VOICE
- Government minister calls for investigation after Irish immigration group turn young woman...
- Andy Lee makes quick work of Darryl Cunningham in Times Square fight...
- Sports Digest: Celtic ready for end of season wrap...
- Rugby Digest: Les Kiss will helm Irish rugby team’s summer tour including US and Canada...
- Colin Farrell and Chris O’Dowd talk family friendly slapstick run in 'Epic' - VIDEO...
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Inside the bell tower of the Church of St. Leo the Great, constructed in 1926 on a corner of Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, isn't the obvious spot for a cell antenna, but that's where AT&T installed one.
Across the state, wireless companies are installing an increasing number of cell sites inside church steeples and bell towers. With the growing use of tablets, smartphones and other wireless devices, the wireless industry has approached churches because of their height and residential locations, where putting new towers would be difficult.
The practice has created additional work for property tax assessors, who are responsible for determining how much of the church's property is no longer tax-exempt. Churches and other nonprofits often are exempt from property taxes, but only if the property is used for religious or charitable purposes. If property is used for commercial purposes, such as leasing space for a cell tower, tax assessors must charge the organizations.
For most churches, the extra revenue for hosting the cell towers generally exceeds the hit they might take from increased property taxes. Leases can range from $2,000 to $4,000 per month, depending on the church’s location. Officials at the Church of St. Leo the Great did not respond to requests for comment about their lease.
At Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church in San Ramon, a contract with T-Mobile brings in between $25,000 and $30,000 a year for the church, said Pastor Martin Scales. The church approached cell companies when it was constructing a new building six years ago because it knew the companies were having trouble putting antennas in the area.
Although the church lost part of its property tax exemption, the cell site revenue puts it ahead financially, Scales said. And it's a solution for cell companies looking to place antennas.
"Nobody can tell that they’re there unless they’re sharped-eyed and looking for them," Scales said.
An AT&T spokeswoman said the company has worked with a lot of churches and is committed to camouflaging the infrastructure so that it blends with the community. T-Mobile prefers to install antennas on existing structures whenever possible, spokesman Steve Caplan said in a statement.
Amy Storey, spokeswoman for CTIA – The Wireless Association, said many wireless companies are grappling with increasing demand.
"The industry looks to all types of existing structures in addition to church steeples – fire stations, hospitals, etc., in neighborhoods where there is growing demand and a shortage of suitable sites for new towers,” she said in a statement.
The difficulty of installing new towers in neighborhoods where residents often object to them has spawned an offshoot industry – several companies now specialize in disguising cell sites.
“California is really the hotbed of concealment," said Chris Hills, the western region sales manager for Stealth Concealment Solutions. "There’s more concealment there than anywhere in the world.” The company has installed cell sites in flagpoles, church steeples, trees and boulders on behalf of all the major service providers, he said.
No one tracks how many churches in California have installed cell sites statewide, so it's difficult to estimate how many have had their property taxes increased.
In any case, churches lose only a fraction of their tax exemption, determined either by the square footage leased to the cell company or the value of the lease. It isn't clear how much additional revenue counties might be collecting. But enough assessors were asking questions about the church leases that the California State Board of Equalization issued guidelines in 2008 to help county assessors determine how much churches should pay in property taxes.
In San Diego County, how much more property tax a church has to pay depends on the income it is receiving from the cell company. If a lease is for $100,000 and the assessed property value of the church is $1 million, for example, it would lose one-tenth of its exemption, said Jeff Olson, division chief of assessment services at the San Diego County assessor's office.
Just finding the cell towers can require some detective work on the part of county assessors.
“Most churches don’t realize that that would affect their exemption,” said Eric Gayden, a senior assessment technician at the Orange County Assessor Department.
The Alameda County assessor's office usually learns about the new cell sites through permits filed by the cell companies when they're installing the antennas, said Brian Hitomi, the chief deputy assessor.
Hitomi said the county is still processing the permit filed by AT&T for the cell site at Church of St. Leo the Great, so it hasn't seen any increase in property taxes yet.
View this story on California Watch
This story was produced by California Watch, a part of the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting. Learn more at www.californiawatch.org.
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Sister tells of her conversion to religious life twenty years previously, has back of her hand for her then-fiance’s wanting 15 kids, depending on how many God decided they should have. She chose religion for its structured prayer life and conferred ability to “love all,” not just one, failing to mention the other potential fifteen.
Parish school principal to parishioner gathering refers to “common core” curriculum and common report card eliminating A’s and B’s etc. in favor of something else, both “national,” omitting to explain who imposed the common core, etc. U.S. dept. of education, it turns out. He mentions the core only in passing, with no questions about what feds have to say about RC schools’ teaching and grading, except that the archdiocese has adopted this common core, etc.
Visiting scholar lectures at RC university to packed small-auditorium crowd of students, nuns, teachers, and others, elicits dismissive chuckles from students about rules for confessors in days of old as to how they were to deal with female penitents, all geared to protect chastity. No one takes him up on this, which is at least mildly subversive of church as vehicle of grace and role of confession.
RC traditions about (a) family and role of Providence, (b) freedom of church schools from state interference, (c) academic respect for church practices prior to our own enlightened age — each ignored or dismissed by church representatives, making three cases of bit-by-bit conforming to the age we live in.
Later: The Common Core was adopted by 40 states including Illinois, whose board of ed explained itself in June of 2010. The parish school principal assumed too much of his audience or at least of some parts of it. The archdiocese sells the new report card in a letter to parents last June and explains it at length in a frequent-questions page here. I can only trust that something similar was offered parish schools by their principals and staffs.
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Michigan Unions’ All-Out Assault on Employee Rights
After a union-pushed proposal to forbid such a measure failed in a referendum, Michigan recently passed a right-to-work law granting employees the right to opt out of paying union dues and mandatory “agency fees.” Michigan’s law takes effect next week, which will make the longtime union spiritual home the 24th right-to-work state, and second in the Midwest (after no. 23, Indiana).
Unions remain livid at this effort to offer employees choice in where their money goes. Since Michigan employers in both the private and the public sectors will be unable to institute so-called “union security clauses” in contracts agreed after next week, Michigan unions will actually have to provide a useful service that satisfies employees’ needs to keep collecting dues. The Wall Street Journal now reports on a new tactic Big Labor is trying to keep rooting in the pockets of employees who might not be satisfied:
Wednesday, the board of governors for Detroit’s Wayne State University approved an unusually lengthy contract that keeps mandatory collection of union dues in place for eight years. At the University of Michigan’s three campuses, similar contracts affecting 11,000 workers and stretching as long as five years have been tentatively approved and await ratification by union members.
For comparison, conventional collective bargaining agreements last three years. The Legislature is not taking kindly to this behavior in the public sector and is considering a bill to restore employee rights. As for the unions, a local public radio report says they claim:
Wayne State University’s faculty union is hoping to protect its members from the impact of Michigan’s right-to-work law, which takes effect in the spring. The union wants the university to lock dues into its next contract for 10 years, to shield members from the law banning mandatory membership and fees as a condition of employment. (Emphases added.)
You read that right—the union apparently thinks that it “protects” and “shields” employees by locking them into forced dues arrangements for up to a decade. How are employees responding to this plainly Orwellian maneuver? The Journal notes that employees are taking action to halt this union power grab:
Meanwhile, a conservative-leaning public-interest law foundation has filed suit on behalf of three teachers in Taylor, Mich., alleging that a new clause in their teachers’ contract to continue mandatory union dues for the next 10 years was improper.
Unions are using these last days of Michigan forced unionism to keep their hands in employees’ pockets for years on end. This, like the secret-ballot-abolishing “Employee Free Choice Act” (EFCA) shows how little unions actually respect “free choice,” and why the Employee Rights Act is needed to protect employees against the abuses of big unionism.
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Spring fishing has stalled with the colder temperatures but should bounce back. Those fishing the inland lakes will want to fish shallow on the sunny days as opposed to deeper water on the cold and cloudy days. Boat anglers are fishing the Great Lakes when the winds allow. Reports should pick up as soon as the weather stabilizes.
SOUTHEAST LOWER PENINSULA
Lake Erie: Attention walleye anglers – The Total Allowable Catch for walleye has been set for the 2012 season. The daily possession limit for walleye in the Michigan waters of Lake Erie is currently six (6) fish. Beginning May 1, 2012 through April 30, 2013 the limit will remain six (6) fish, thus no changes to the creel limit this year. The lake had good walleye fishing when anglers can get out. Catch rates were good around Turtle Island and along the Ohio border when jigging or fishing blade baits.
Detroit River: Had mixed reports as some are getting limit catches while others were struggling to find fish. Overall, it does sound like walleye fishing was decent and should only get better over the coming week.
Lake St. Clair: Reports of good catches of yellow perch are coming from the area of L’anse Cruse Bay. Lots of 8 inches and up gills are coming out of the canals and marinas in the same area as well.Some catfish where caught at some of the parks that line the shoreline. The Spillway should be producing catfish and panfish but no reports have come in of anyone fishing the area.
St. Clair River: No reports have come in however there should be some trout and salmon fishing opportunities.
Harbor Beach: Has a dock in at the boat launch.
Port Austin: The boat launch is open and the docks are in.
Saginaw Bay: Water temperatures range from the mid 30’s to the mid 40’s which is still to cold for perch to start spawning. Windy conditions have hampered boat anglers but those able to get out have caught some walleye.
Saginaw River: Was producing a few small perch near the mouth.
Flint River: Catfish were hitting on crawlers or stink baits.
SOUTHWEST LOWER PENINSULA
St. Joseph: Chinook, coho and steelhead were caught by those trolling spoons and body baits. Pier anglers caught fish on spinners or small spoons.
St. Joseph River: Still has some steelhead for the taking even though many have spawned.
Kalamazoo River: Was still producing some steelhead below the Allegan Dam. Suckers and a few catfish were also caught.
Holland: Windy conditions have kept anglers off the big lake.
Grand Haven: Boat and pier anglers were catching trout and salmon when the weather permits. Chinook and lake trout were out in deeper waters while the coho and brown trout were caught closer to shore. Pier fishing was not possible in the rough waters.
Grand River at Lansing: The last rain did bring some fresh steelhead in and fish were caught near the dam at Moore’s Park. Catfish were also caught.
Lake Ovid: Anglers were getting some decent size bluegills before the cold front.
Muskegon River: Is still producing some steelhead, those that are spent as well as a few fresh fish. Eggs and flies produced the better catches. A few brown trout were also caught.
NORTHEAST LOWER PENINSULA
Rogers City: The docks are in at the launch ramp but the bathrooms and cleaning station were still closed. Boat anglers caught a few brown trout and Atlantic salmon when trolling spoons. Good colors were orange or chartreuse with silver, perch and fire-tiger. Body baits that resemble smelt or shiners also caught fish. The salmon were full of smelt and bugs. Try casting in Swan Bay or trolling along the Calcite breakwall as this is where the Atlantic salmon can usually be found.
Thunder Bay River: Steelhead spawning is done for the most part but a few fresh fish were still being caught. Perch fishing was good even though most of the fish were on the small side. No word on smelt.
Au Sable River: The peak of steelhead spawning is over but a few fresh fish were still moving into the river. No word on smelt in this area of Lake Huron.
Houghton Lake: Was producing a few bluegill and crappie however the bite slowed with the cold weather.
Tawas Bay: Boat anglers out trolling for walleye have caught a few fish.
Tawas River: Low water levels have slowed catch rates.
Au Gres: Was producing a few walleye and brown trout near the motel and off the mouth of the river. A few whitefish along with a small number of smelt were taken off Point Lookout. A couple walleye were caught off Point Au Gres.
Au Gres River: The steelhead and sucker fishing has really slowed as water levels were low and clear.
NORTHWEST LOWER PENINSULA
Those seeking panfish on the inland lakes reported slow catch rates due to the cold water temperatures. Anglers will do best fishing the small shallow lakes as they warm faster.
Leland: Had good steelhead fishing in the river.
Frankfort: Boat anglers are still catching brown trout when they can get out. Pier anglers caught fish on spawn.
Betsie River: Is still producing steelhead. A few fresh fish have been caught right along with those that are done spawning.
Lake Cadillac: Those seeking crappie were starting to fish the west side near the State Park. Try jigs with small minnows or wax worms. Some reported bass on the beds however anglers are reminded that bass season is closed. The catch-and-immediate release season does not open until April 28.
Lake Mitchell: Was starting to produce crappie and bluegill until the cold front moved in. Try fishing shallow waters in the coves on a sunny day.
Manistee: Continues to produce a fair number of brown trout for those using spoons or body baits around the harbor. When boats can get out, chinook salmon were caught about halfway down in waters up to 200 feet deep.
Manistee River: Steelhead fishing is on the downslide.
Ludington: Boat and pier anglers are catching the occasional brown trout.
Pere Marquette River: Steelhead spawning is pretty much done but anglers may still find a few leftover fish to catch. A few suckers were caught but water levels are low and clear so the fish spook easily.
Copper Harbor: Has had good splake fishing this spring.
Marquette: North winds and cold water temperatures have resulted in poor catch rates. The trout and salmon were scattered. Water temperatures were in the low 30’s. Both the Dead River and the Carp River have low water levels.
Menominee: Brown trout were caught about a mile out when trolling rapalas or stick baits. Those heading out from the Cedar River caught brown trout, steelhead and splake when trolling north and south along the beach. Brown trout were caught off Stony Point when trolling spoons or stick baits. Walleye fishing was slow.
Menominee River: Boat anglers are starting to troll for walleye between the mouth and the Hattie Street Dam. They are using rapalas, stick baits and crawler harnesses. Catch rates for walleye were slow but a lot of suckers were caught. Shore anglers caught brown trout when drifting yarn or casting spinner baits.
Au Train: Windy conditions resulted in poor catch rates for those shore fishing near the Rock River. Boat anglers caught coho near the river and in Shelter Bay.
Munising: Fishing has been slow with the exception of some calm mornings when boats could get out and caught a few coho. Catch rates were poor to fair in Trout Bay, Murray Bay, off Grand Island and near the Miners River. Most are trolling rapalas and spoons. Some have started to target lake trout in 100 feet of water where catch rates were fair with fish ranging two to five pounds. Shore anglers casting or still-fishing with spawn caught a couple splake or coho. Pier anglers caught splake using eggs or soft body baits.
Grand Marais: Pier anglers had fair success for coho, steelhead, menominee and whitefish. Some limit catches of coho were taken on spawn bags or a single egg. Boat anglers were limited by the high winds but those trolling rapalas in front of the Sucker River did catch the occasional steelhead.
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Gartner Says Big Data Getting Bigger, Skills Lag
Published: October 29, 2012
by Dan Burger
It's a mighty big shadow that Big Data casts. As is the nature of shadows, their size has a lot to do with the source of the light. Last week Gartner was the source, and reports were published from one end of the media galaxy to the other concerning the firm's predictions for the future of IT. Big Data loomed large and predictions were appropriately big with forecasts for increasing bigness. The question this begs is: Who's prepared for this?
Anyone who has not already been handling Big Data (the capitalization makes it even bigger, don't you think?) can take a seat in the waiting room. Dr. Gartner will see you momentarily. I'm no doctor, but I can tell you a few things about Big Data that Gartner believes to be true.
The first is a lifestyle change. It's time to reshape staffing with the skills to deal with the Big Data pandemic. Those that are competent at obtaining and/or expanding competencies in areas such as data management, analytics and business expertise, and nontraditional skills necessary for extracting the value of big data, as well as artists and designers for data visualization will have a financial and competitive advantage, Gartner predicts. This won't be easy for staff-starved companies that have a difficult time implementing new IT projects and prefer it that way, but they risk losing competitive advantage (and maybe already have) by remaining inactive when it comes to stockpiling skills.
Good luck putting some meat on those skeleton staffs, because demand will soon overpower supply. Big Data is going to be a job-creation machine. Gartner forecasts that by 2015 there will be 4.4 million jobs for Big Data workers worldwide. In the U.S., Gartner is estimating the number to be 1.9 million jobs. Keep that figure in mind and compare it to the anticipated skills shortage that will only allow about a third of those jobs to be filled. Sounds like a recipe for high wages whenever demand outstrips supply. Good for the people who have the skills, but not so good for those who have to pay for the skills.
And that's not the end of the employment opportunity that Gartner sees coming this way. There will be spin-off jobs for three people outside of IT for every Big Data-savvy IT employee. Now you get the idea that Big Data will be putting this country back to work.
That's a jobs creation bonanza and a great talking point in this time of high unemployment. But who's going to take the Big Data and turn it into useful data? Making a plan for gathering and analyzing data takes people with skills. Retrained IT workers and graduating college students can't carry all of the load.
Gartner's vision of how this will be handled is that investments in the United States and other Western markets will come from companies outside these countries. And those companies will be eager to hire the needed skills from their homelands. China and India are sited as sources of companies most likely to deploy this type of business strategy.
Uh-oh. There goes the jobs bonanza, unless we can really ramp up education and training to narrow the skills gap. Ah, but such an occurrence will have the effect of keeping a lid on IT wages. Maybe that's a good thing if you are more of a skills-as-a-commodity thinker.
Compounding the far-reaching effects of Big Data is the anticipated restructuring of the IT services market, which Gartner estimates at nearly $1 trillion. This unfolds with the help of cloud computing, social media, and mobile computing. It begins as low-cost cloud services skimming 15 percent off outsourcing revenue. In addition, more than 20 percent of large IT outsourcers--those with inadequate investments in industrialization and value-added services--will disappear through merger-and-acquisition market consolidation.
OK, Gartner, where's the good news?
All this will cause CIOs to move to the next generation of business-driven solutions, Gartner forecasts. Sounds like a forced march, but OK, if that's what it takes to realize the benefits of Big Data.
Meanwhile, as Gartner is making news with its predictions (many relate to things other than Big Data, like the slow adoption rate of Windows 8 and the changes coming as a result of mobile devices), IBM was timely in its barrage of Big Data product introductions last week using its Information OnDemand conference (overlapping the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo) to launch a bevy of data-management and analytics offerings.
One that is interesting for its technology and maybe its business transformation potential connects relational databases and Hadoop environments as a way of combining structured and unstructured data that can uncover, discover, and visualize relationships in data from multiple sources. After all that is the core of Big Data projects. And because security commands a lot of attention in the world of Big Data--along with mobile and cloud computing--IBM had some products to talk about in this vein as well. (More on these in the near future.)
Possibly you noticed that IBM's vice president and group executive for software and systems picked this time to make comments in a Forbes magazine interview that indicated it's affordable software--like the kind IBM makes--that is bringing analytics to the mainstream whereas before it was only within the reach of governments and high-level research organizations.
"It isn't that people woke up and saw they suddenly had more data," IBM's Steve Mills said. "Everyone knew it was there, everyone knew they could do more if they had more data. The challenge was being able to afford to do it."
"Everyone has an agenda for transformation and change," Mills continued. "Companies are trying to improve themselves operationally, reducing overhead while improving customer relationship loyalty."
So the take-away from Big Data Week last week is that jobs will be created, but we won't have the skills to fill them. So large international companies, through mergers and acquisitions, will move into the U.S. with a plan to fill the skills gap with less expensive skilled labor in their home countries. But that's OK, because trusted vendors like IBM are making software that's a lot less expensive than it used to be.
And Big Data will have more than a designated week of celebration. It's going to be celebrated all year long and longer.
Gartner Says Public Clouds Puffing Faster Than Expected
Gartner Concurs: Second Quarter Server Sales Stall
Gartner Nips Half-Point Off Enterprise App Spending Forecast
Worldwide IT Outsourcing Fattens Up 2012 Spending Pie
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This week if you start seeing energy readings popping up on Facebook, you should know that it’s alright- it’s just green people working with Opower. The Opower group works with utility groups around the world to attempt to make world citizens more conscious about the amount of power they use on a daily basis. What they’ve done here is to work with Facebook apps to create a competition amongst friends to see who can attain the lowest power used in a single period – are you up for the challenge?
There’s something to be said about the competitive spirit that exists in each of the so-called Green People amongst us looking to push their beliefs on the rest of the world. Living with less power is something one whole heck of a lot of the citizens of the United States could do, that’s for certain, but what the Facebook app that’s gaining traction this week aims to do is bring the whole world up to speed.
You’ll be entering a bit of information on your home and actually connecting with your energy bills to do this competition, so we’re not expecting everyone to be 100% comfortable with doing it. That said, it does appear that users wont be revealing anything other than the amount of power they use, not how much it costs.
In addition to attempting to defeat your neighbors in this competition, you’ll be checking out “Ways to Save” with a helpful Opower guide, you can compare with the rest of the people in your area, and you can connect to other Opower services. Get green right this instant! Check out the Opower Facebook connection page for more info!
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In Texas, you can be arrested for Boating While Intoxicated (BWI) if you are “intoxicated while operating a watercraft.” The definition of watercraft includes water skis, jet-skis, aquaplanes, and any other “device used for transporting or carrying a person on water, other than a device propelled only by the current of the water.”
A first-time BWI is a class B misdemeanor, which carries a penalty range of up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. A second BWI is a class A misdemeanor, with a penalty range of up to 365 days in jail and a fine of up to $4,000. A third BWI is a third-degree felony, with a penalty range of two to ten years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. Your drivers license can also be suspended if you are arrested for BWI.
You can be stopped for any number of reasons while boating, including a “safety-check” to make sure that there are enough life jackets on board. At this point, if the officer reasonably suspects you are operating the watercraft while intoxicated, s/he may return you to land to begin field sobriety tests. The officer must wait for a period of time to allow you to regain your equilibrium and lose your “sea-legs” before beginning testing. However, s/he may perform tests that do not require you to use your physical faculties, such as the alphabet test, before returning you to land.
You are not required to submit to testing of any sort. Remember that a number of factors can complicate your performance on field sobriety testing- if you have been on the water on a sunny day, you will probably have red eyes, a wobbly gait, and lightheadedness from dehydration, all of which could be mistaken for intoxication.
If you find yourself in this situation, contact us immediately, so we can help protect your rights.
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Suburbs are ceding their market share of the American dream, and it seems folks are moving back to town. In Birmingham, moving back means to downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. Why? Young professionals are taken with the idea of being closer to work. Empty-nesters don't need the mini-ranch anymore. Both are enamored with the increasing array of cultural opportunities that come with city life.
More development is in the pipeline also. Multiple private and public building projects such as CityVille Block 121, the hospital district expansions, an indoor rock-climbing gym and the Railroad Park are in varying stages of completion. These new developments require new ideas for Birmingham transportation, specifically ideas that encourage pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
The developing city needs more than parking decks and multilane, auto-dominated thoroughfares. The need exists for a system of pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly pathways that allow residents to maneuver between downtown, UAB and the surrounding neighborhoods without depending on their cars. Doing so will improve transit time in the city, improve the health and happiness of city residents and reverse some negative perceptions of the city in the region.
In today's economic environment, it may seem difficult to justify an extra project, and that's why I suggest these plans be inexpensive, impressively designed and, importantly, capable of immediate implementation. Inexpensive, impressive and immediate are the qualities that today's green space plans need.
Impressive plans catch the eyes and imaginations of our citizens. Whether they want to visit the Civil Rights district, get to City Hall or simply listen to their iPod, these pathways will lure friends and family to spend more time walking and riding to work, or for recreation, by being safe and easily accessible.
These plans will take advantage of Birmingham's wonderfully wide streets, thought by many in the urban planning industry to be among the most easily transformable streets in the nation.
We can look to the impressive actions of people like New York City's transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. Her forward-thinking plans are turning sections of streets, including famous areas like Broadway and Times Square, into promenades and protected bike lanes, providing more space for residents and improving congestion to boot. Her use of complete streets -- or those streets that account for all modes of transportation -- is greening one of the most traffic-congested areas in the world.
Plans should be inexpensive. Dan Burden, an internationally known urban planner, recently visited Birmingham. He complimented its wide streets and commented on how easily they could be transformed into complete streets.
Sadik-Khan has become famous for her street makeovers. Reportedly using little more than paint and planters, she economically creates spaces available only to walkers and bikers. In Birmingham, with so many local road resurfacing projects in progress, a little extra paint could lead to a lot of bicycle lanes. Local bicycle shops and biking groups have a wealth of knowledge regarding existing feasible routes. These groups should be consulted.
Ideas abound internationally for inexpensive but effective ideas.
In Colombia, planners have put together the Ciclovia. Once a week, multiple roads are closed to automobiles, creating more than 70 miles of uninterrupted outdoor fun during designated hours. This is accomplished without committing precious funds to resource-intensive projects.
How about a Birmingham Bicycle Bash that connects parks with local festivals and retail areas? Envision trips from Five Points South to an event at the Birmingham Museum of Art, Rickwood Field or Avondale Park.
Immediate action is required, though. Work is being done on city streets right now, and there is a conspicuous absence of bicycle lanes. City planners should be including these lanes in the multiple resurfacing projects. Auto lanes can be narrowed to accommodate cars and bicycle lanes put in place while leaving the sidewalks open to pedestrians. Look at UAB's efforts on 16th and 15th Streets South. These changes should be lauded, and our city leaders ought to coordinate with our world-class university and other institutions to create not one, but multiple corridors leading to the area from all surrounding neighborhoods.
In Birmingham, we can think big without thinking big budget. We can succeed with innovative plans and finding creative ways to implement them. Our current parks initiative is a big step in the right direction, but with so many road-resurfacing projects in the city, opportunity is knocking.
Our county's namesake, Thomas Jefferson, understood the value of daily exercise and interaction with nature. He knew citizens needed daily dealings with their outdoor environment. With more ways for pedestrians and bicycle riders to maneuver the city safely, we can do this.
Plans that are impressive, immediate and inexpensive can gain traction in the current economic climate; and with increased exposure to God's creation, we can have a more vibrant culture leading to happy hearts and shining faces for Birmingham residents and making us the envy of the region.
Jimmy Stout is a nurse at The Children's Hospital of Alabama and active member of the Five Points South Neighborhood.
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Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the release of a report that highlights the benefits of health insurance reform for Virginia. “Health Insurance Reform and Virginia: The Case for Change” is available at www.HealthReform.gov.
“Families, seniors and businesses are all suffering under the health care status quo,” said Sebelius. “Our new reports demonstrate how health insurance reform will improve health care for all Americans.”
Under health insurance reform in Virginia:
- 1.2 million residents who do not currently have insurance and 344,000 residents who have non-group insurance could get affordable coverage through the health insurance exchange.
- 684,000 residents could qualify for premium tax credits to help them purchase health coverage.
- 1.1 million seniors would receive free preventive services.
- 190,000 seniors would have their brand-name drug costs in the Medicare Part D “doughnut hole” halved.
- 93,400 small businesses could be helped by a small business tax credit to make premiums more affordable.
Without some type of health reform, by 2019, the number of uninsured will grow by more than 30 percent in 29 states and by at least 10 percent in every state. Without reform, the amount of uncompensated care provided will more than double in 45 states. Additionally, businesses in 27 states will see their premiums more than double and fewer people will have coverage through an employer if the status quo continues.
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The Minnesota government shutdown means Cherise Payton can't turn to her caseworkers if there is a crisis in her family.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Minnesota residents are far from pleased about their state's government shutdown.
For some, it means no fun in sun during the warm holiday weekend since the state parks are closed. For others, it means no job since more than 20,000 state employees were laid off. And for still others, it means no safety net since caseworkers aren't answering their phones.
All but essential state government services ceased on Friday after Governor Mark Dayton and Republican lawmakers failed to resolve their budget dispute before the new fiscal year began. A $1.4 billion gap separates them.
The governor wants to close the shortfall, by raising taxes on the wealthiest 1.9% of Minnesotans. Republicans want to limit spending.
But it's Minnesotans like Virginia Becker who are feeling the impact. The Minnetonka resident won't be able to continue to her twice-weekly poker game at Canterbury Park race track. The shutdown means thousands of people are out of a job or out of luck if they wanted to go to the track during the busy holiday weekend, she said.
"It's a beautiful facility where thousands of people enjoy the short summer in Minnesota and now it's closed," Becker said. "It's the worst weekend it could have happened."
The state shutdown also ruined Becker's daughter's plans. She was supposed to camp in one of Minnesota's parks over the weekend, but will now stay home since the parks are all closed.
For Cherise Payton, the shutdown could have been much worse. The single mother who was recently homeless feared that she would not receive state aid to pay her rent. She learned Friday that she would get her check over the weekend, but she's still on edge because she cannot reach her state caseworkers.
"If a crisis comes up, who do I call?" said Payton, who lives in Duluth with her three teenagers.
Homeless prevention agencies are among those scrambling to continue providing for their clients. Simpson Housing Services will lose state funding for a variety of programs if a judge does not approve its appeal to be deemed essential.
Without the state grants, the Minneapolis agency will have to scale back the support services it provides its clients, said Julie Manworren, Simpson's executive director. Since they have to focus mainly on basic needs, the staff will not be able to assist clients with job searches and mental health issues. If the standoff continues into August, 12 families in transitional housing will find themselves back on the streets.
"Families who saw that they were turning the corner and ready to have stability are now thrust back into terror," Manworren said. "Everything they've been working for is about to crumble."
The shutdown shuttered many state agencies and non-profit organizations that cater to the needy, though some social service programs kept their funding.
A judge ordered Wednesday that the state continue to support programs that are paid for with federal dollars, as well as maintain benefit payments and medical services. Several non-profits appealed to the court to also be considered critical.
The Minnesota Zoo was set to reopen Sunday, after the judge ruled that it could use funds from admissions, parking, concessions, memberships and donations to operate.
Kay Kuppe, however, is not one of the fortunate ones. A state worker for 10 years, Kuppe joins her husband on the unemployment line. While she can apply for jobless benefits next week, Kuppe is concerned about how the couple will manage financially if the standoff continues for weeks.
The Fridley resident has stopped shopping and going to dinner and the movies. She halted her automatic mortgage payments and called her bank to inquire about deferring a few payments. She is also looking to apply to any city jobs in case the stalemate isn't resolved soon.
But most of all, Kuppe wants to return to her job as a business analyst in the Department of Human Services.
"Someone has to say uncle," she said, referring to the elected officials. 'How long can this go on?"
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Sure, I've eaten it because it's something that I grew up with, but I'm not condoning it. I don't use it myself as an ingredient because it involves so much elaborate work. It doesn't really taste like anything, to be honest. It's like jellyfish, sea cucumber, or bird's nest. It's the textural quality that we prize. It is very gelatinous. To use it properly you have to soak it for days and then cook it in successive batches of water with ginger and spring onions to rid it of its fishy odour. And then you have to simmer it for hours in a very good, rich broth, say ham or chicken, to get it soft. My favourite way to eat it is actually stir fried with eggs, lamb marrow, or crab.
But the important point is that it is not something that you would eat often. I think there's a huge exaggeration about how much it is eaten by the Chinese. Look at caviar. People don't seem to hesitate about eating that. I don't see an outcry as big as there is about shark's fin. It's an extravagance. It is something you eat when you take someone out for a special occasion. It's part of our tradition. It goes back to the Sung dynasty around 960AD. Sometimes you can pay up to £100 for a bowl of shark's fin soup, but the price will reflect the quality of the fin, the size of it, the thickness. The bigger, whole fins are the most expensive. It's remarkable how they take what is just cartilage and make it edible and desirable. It's a real art to make good shark's fin soup.
What I certainly don't condone, though, is the method where some fishermen take off the dorsal fin and throw back the shark to let it die. Every part of the animal should be used if it is killed. This is not just ecologically sound, but also ethical. The Chinese find a use for everything. Even the skin of a shark is useful.
I think we should all take a step back and look back at our own practices. It's part of our tradition to eat shark's fin soup, but it doesn't mean that it's necessarily good. I think when you endanger things, such as through buying rhinoceros horn or tiger penis, then I don't believe in that. But I think the west cries a bit too hard when someone else is doing it, especially when they're often not looking in their own backyard. Look at veal in crates, or even the way chickens are raised. Chinese chickens are a lot happier than those reared in the UK. They're reared outside and get to run about. With bird's nest soup, for example, you don't endanger anything. You take the nests which are abandoned and are actually made from the "spit" of the bird as it weaves the nest. There are a lot of myths about Chinese habits which are mostly contrived, such as the stories about eating monkeys brains. It's part of how westerners look at non-western practices. It's the "us and them" mentality. Personally, I think some of the things that happen in the west are pretty horrifying: for example, the industrial production of food and what children are fed at schools.
You have to consider that China, in 100 years, has come from the middle ages to what it is today. It was only 60 years ago, remember, that millions of people were gassed in Europe. Let's put things in perspective. I think sometimes the west gets on its high horse and there's too much finger-wagging at other people.
Yes, I think there are things that the Chinese should be aware of and I think it's good that they are brought up. It's not a bad thing per se to have put pressure on Disneyland in Hong Kong about serving shark's fin soup as it raises awareness and discussion, but we also need to remember what are local traditions. For example, why are people in the UK still eating cod and chips when cod is endangered now? I don't see any widespread boycott calls urging the British to stop eating cod.
· Ken Hom was speaking to Leo Hickman. Hom's latest book, Simple Chinese Cookery, is published by BBC Books.
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Sept. 9, 2004 - The Lion, the Trough, and Ed
It's by far the prettiest way to enter into Santa Barbara. Heading north on 101, you take the left lane Cabrillo Street Exit. At the intersection at the bottom of the ramp, you make a left turn toward the beach. On your right is the picturesque lagoon of the Andrée Clark bird refuge. On your left is a little Lion fountain and a clump of palm trees. The road curves along the side of the lake and comes out at the beach where drivers can see pine trees and volleyball courts.
It's a straight shot along the beach from there, past 1299 palms trees on your left, the chromatic gate, and the Red Lion until you reach Stearns Wharf and beyond.
Sure, we all drive it every day, but to a visitor it is quite stunning. So, hey - since we do see it everyday, why didn't anyone notice the Lion Fountain? Oh that's where it is - across from the Bird Refuge!
It's the Lion's Head Fountain and Watering Trough. It's a trough! For those of you as old as Ed or older, there once was a chain of ice cream stores called Farrell's. In the 70's, they had 130 stores across the country. One of the many cool things about Farrell's was that you could order a big-honking ice cream concoction called "the trough". Happy, noisy, and excited employees would run around the restaurants carrying the feast on a small gurney-like device. If you ate the whole trough, you would get a ribbon that said,
"I made a pig of myself at Farrell's"
A ribbon recently sold on eBay for $22!
While everyone cool calls our trough the Lion's Head, its real name is the Charles Caldwell Park Memorial Trough. Yes, that's right. Santa Barbara has a memorial trough. How cool is that?
Charles Caldwell Park, a doctor and writer, built the trough in 1911 in memory of his two deceased sons, Roy Harrison Park and Charles Caldwell Park, Jr.. Francis Wilson, architect of the Santa Barbara train depot, designed the trough. The dedicated staff of edhat.com couldn't find any information as to why Mr. Park and Mr. Wilson decided upon a trough.
BTW, there is no relation between these Parks and Alice Keck Park, the famous Santa Barbara benefactress of Alice Keck Park Park.
And, there is also no relation of Roy Harrison Park to either Roy Orbison or George Harrison of the Traveling Wilburys.
The trough itself is attached to a beautiful piece of land with sculpted scrubbery, and bougainvillea. The cemetery, located across the street, owns the land surrounding the lion, but there don't appear to be any plans to expand in a trough-wardly direction. However, some day when they finally get around to upgrading the non-standard left-lane exiting off-ramp at Cabrillo and 101, the lion is surely to become an issue. But, we will cross that trough when we come to it.
Most of our subscribers thought the lion to be at the courthouse. Ed actually took a quick walk around and through there, but didn't see any thing similar. The only subscriber who identified the lion was Pazzo. He gets a turn at the Edhat prize trough, winning an Arts Alive! T-shirt and an Edhat hat.
Want to get instant fame and cool prizes? ... enter today's contest
We want to hear from you ... tell us what you think of this tidbit
CORRECTION FROM KDEF ---- Alice Keck
Park was the widow of David Park (died
1956), a grandson of Dr. Charles Caldwell
Park. Dr. C. C. Park built a mansion in
Montecito off East Valley Road in 1896.
The lane derives its name Park Lane as it
was the estates' access road.
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Stephanie Handojo Embodies Real Olympic Spirit
July 31, 2012
Stephanie ‘Fani’ Handojo is one of many Special Olympics athletes around the world who puts in the same hard work and dedication that the athletes leading up to the London 2012 Olympics Games do.
28 June 2012: Stephanie Handojo runs with the Olympics Torch in Nottingham, England.
A beacon of Inspiration
Stephanie's excelled in sport and music, and lauded from her local community up to the Office of the President of the Indonesian Republic. In recognition of her achievements, the 20 year old represented Indonesia in London 2012 Olympic Torch Run in Nottinghamshire on 28 June.
Nominated by UNICEF Indonesia and the British Council, Stephanie was part of International Inspiration, the official international sports legacy programme of London 2012. Stephanie was selected as one of the 20 young people for their “dedication and commitment to inspiring children and young people in their communities through the power of sport, or for the personal challenges they have overcome in their lives.”
Stephanie training in her home city of Jakarta, Indonesia.
A Dream Fulfilled
For Stephanie’s mum, Maria Yustina, seeing her daughter in the Olympic Torch Relay made her “extremely happy and proud. “To be an Olympic Torchbearer, selected from 12 million children – this is such a rare opportunity and a tremendous achievement for her. Fani proves that with perseverance, discipline, and zeal she can achieve her dreams.”
For Stephanie, the honour is a bonus to an already wonderful 2012 – this year she graduates from vocational school.
Gold in Athens for Stephanie.
Zeal for Success
Stephanie’s feats stem from Maria’s unwavering commitment to Stephanie’s excellence. Maria recognizes her daughter’s potential and sees no limitations. Despite a setback that put Stephanie out of the pool, Maria knew she would succeed eventually.
“Once, during a swimming competition, Stephanie almost drowned,” said Maria. “That traumatised her and she didn’t swim for three years after that.”
Maria helped Stephanie conquer her fear, gathering Stephanie in her arms and wading into the middle of the pool, assuring her daughter that she would be safe.
Once Stephanie’s confidence was restored, Maria worked closely with Stephanie’s swimming coaches on her training regime. Stephanie trains three times weekly, four times if it’s before a competition, focusing on conditioning, weight training and pacing. The hard work paid off. “She’s consistently in the top three in local and national competitions,” says Maria. Stephanie’s experience culminated in a gold medal for the 50 metres Division Breaststroke event at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens.
Pillar of support: Stephanie with her family in Nottingham.
Three 'D's of Sportsmanship
Maria is familiar with the rigors of competition – when she was nine, she played competitive badminton at national level for eight years. Maria’s philosophy to motivate Stephanie is a simple one of discipline, determination and dedication: “To succeed, you need to stay disciplined and persevere in your training. Each athlete must strive to have a high level of sportsmanship and maintain maximum performance. They must be mentally prepared to accept defeat, not despair and give up. I remind Stephanie of this every time before a competition.”
Stephanie together with her International Inspiration teammates.
The Dream Continues
Stephanie’s next challenge is to continue developing an independent life. Currently she works in the family laundromat alongside her parents and siblings. One of Stephanie’s dreams is to be an inspiration for the Down Syndrome community, and to teach Down Syndrome children self reliance.
View From The Top
Salihin bin Sinai conquered Africa's highest peak.Learn More ››
Fists Held High
The 2011 World Summer Games inspired Mio Osato to blossom.Learn More ››
About Special Olympics in North America
Your Donation Matters
Special Olympics transforms athletes’ lives through the joy of sport. Help us make a difference.
Volunteer Near You
Volunteering with Special Olympics is fun and very rewarding, for both the athlete and the volunteer!
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[Assam] [FriendsofAssamNE] Terrorist targeting non-believers worldwide
pragyan_tsc50 at yahoo.co.in
Sat Dec 6 00:34:09 IST 2008
It's interesting to see that when a good section of Indian Middle & Upper middle Class are crying for a war with Pakistan, Condaleeza Rice suggested against that option. And the same Dalal Class got happy with their US master. The Media is happy on propagating that Mrs Rice has strongly suggested Pakistan to take action. As if the half war is being won by the Indian Elites ( like you. may I say that ?) Very few understand or want to understand that US is actually not fighting against ISI ( an apparatus made by them.) But making India government to create pressure on the civilian government of PAKISTAN to cooperate with ISI and CIA on western front of Pakistan !!!! Why don't you see that more than 40 people killed in Mumbai blast are poor muslims of your own country.So was the numbers of muslims killed in Assam Blast on 30th October. Anyway, kindly go through this artile :
India's 9/11. Who was Behind the Mumbai Attacks?
Washington is Fostering Political Divisions between India and Pakistan
By Michel Chossudovsky
URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11217
Global Research, November 30, 2008
The Mumbai terror attacks were part of a carefully planned and coordinated operation involving several teams of experienced and trained gunmen.
The operation has the fingerprints of a paramilitary-intelligence operation. According to a Russian counter terrorist expert, the Mumbai terrorists "used the same tactics that Chechen field militants employed in the Northern Caucasus attacks where entire towns were terrorized, with homes and hospitals seized". (Russia Today, November 27, 2008).
The Mumbai attacks are described as " India's 9/11".
The attacks were carried out simultaneously in several locations, within minutes of each other.
The first target was in the main hall of Mumbai's Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station (CST), where the gunmen fired indiscriminately into the crowd of passengers. The gunmen " then ran out of the station and into neighboring buildings, including Cama Hospital"
Attacks by separate groups of gunmen took place at two of Mumbai's luxury hotels - the Oberoi-Trident and the Taj Mahal Palace, located at the heart of the tourist area, within proximity of the Gateway of India.
Taj Mahal Hotel
The gunmen also opened fire at Café Leopold, a stylish restaurant in the tourist area. The third target was Nariman House, a business center which houses Chabad Lubavitch, Mumbai's Jewish Center. Six hostages including the Rabbi and his wife were killed.
The domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and the Mazgaon Dockyard were also targeted.
"The attacks occurred at the busiest places. Besides hotels and hospitals, terrorists struck at railway stations, Crawford Market, Wadi Bunder and on the Western Express Highway near the airport. Seven places have been attacked with automatic weapons and grenades.(Times of India, 26 November 2008),
Indian troops surrounded the hotels. Indian Special Forces commandos were sent into the two hotels to confront the terrorists. Witnesses at the hotels said that the gunmen were singling out people with US and British passports.
Members of the Indian security forces taking up firing positions between fire trucks and ambulances on the grounds of the Taj Hotel on Friday. (Ruth Fremson/ The New York Times )
Casualties, according to reports, are in excess of 150 killed. Most of those killed were Indian nationals, many of whom died in the attack on the Chhatrapati Shivaji railway Terminus.
At least 22 foreigners were killed in the attacks. Fourteen police officers, including the chief of the anti-terror squad, were killed in the attacks.
Who was Behind the Attacks?
A virtually unknown group called "the Deccan Mujahideen", has according to reports, claimed responsibility for attacks. The Deccan Plateau refers to a region of central-Southern India largely centered in the State of Andhra Pradesh. This unknown group has already been categorized, without supporting evidence, as belonging to the Al Qaeda network of terrorist organizations.
Police reports confirm that nine "suspected attackers" have been arrested and three of the attackers have, according to unconfirmed police sources, confessed to belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba [Lashkar-e-Tayyiba], a Pakistani Kasmiri separatist organization, covertly supported by Pakistani military intelligence (ISI). At least one of the arrested, according to the reports, is a British citizen of Pakistani descent.
In chorus, both the Western and Indian media are pointing fingers at Pakistan and its alleged support of Islamic terrorist organizations:
"Strategic gurus and security analysts in the US and from across the world are examining Pakistan's role in terrorism following yet another terror episode in India ending with fingers pointed at its widely-reviled neighbor.
While initial reports from India suggested the Mumbai carnage was a localized attack by militant malcontents in India because of the "Deccan Mujahideen" decoy that was used to claim responsibility, evidence cited by Indian army and security experts based on phone intercepts, nature of weaponry, mode of entry by sea etc., has quickly focused the attention on Pakistan." (Times of India, November 27, 2008)
The US media has centered its attention on the links between the Mumbai attacks and the "resurgent terrorist groups [which] enjoy havens in Pakistan's tribal areas as well as alleged protection or support from elements of Pakistani intelligence." (Washington Post, November 28, 2008).
"Clash of Civilizations"
In Europe and North America, the Mumbai attacks by Islamic fundamentalists are perceived as part of the "Clash of Civilizations". "Militant Islam is involved in a war against civilization".
The dramatic loss of lives resulting from the attacks has indelibly contributed to reinforcing anti-Muslim sentiment throughout the Western World.
The outlines of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, are becoming clear. The terrorists targeted India, the U.S. and Britain, and the Jewish people. (Market Watch, November 28, 2008)
According to the media, the enemy is Al Qaeda, the illusory "outside enemy” which has its operational bases in the tribal areas and North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Washington's self-proclaimed holy mandate under the "Global War on Terrorism" is to take out bin Laden and extirpate Islamic fundamentalism.
America's right to intervene militarily inside Pakistan in violation of Pakistan's sovereignty is therefore upheld. Bombing villages in the tribal areas of North West Pakistan is part of a "humanitarian endeavor", in response to the loss of life resulting from the Mumbai attacks:
"Before these awful raids, news from South Asia had been encouraging. The central problem remains pacifying Afghanistan, where U.S. and other NATO forces struggle to stamp out Taliban and al-Qaeda elements." (Washington Post, November 28, 2008)
"Washington, however, wants the Pakistani army's cooperation in fighting terrorism. In recent weeks, U.S. officers in Afghanistan reported better results, crediting the Pakistanis with taking the offensive against the Taliban on Pakistani territory."
US network TV has extensively covered the dramatic events in Mumbai. The attacks have served to trigger an atmosphere of fear and intimidation across America.
The Mumbai attacks are said to be intimately related to 9/11. Official US statements and media reports have described the Mumbai attacks as part of a broader process, including the possibility of an Al Qaeda sponsored terrorist attack on US soil.
Vice President Elect Joe Biden during the election campaign had warned America with foresight that "the people who... attacked us on 9/11, -- they've regrouped in the mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan and are plotting new attacks". (emphasis added)
These are the same people who were behind the terror attacks in Mumbai.
These are also the same people who are planning to attack America.
Immediately following the Mumbai attacks, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg put New York City's subway system "on high alert" based on "an unsubstantiated report of potential terrorism here in New York. This report led the New York Police Department to take precautionary steps to protect our transit system, and we will always do whatever is necessary to keep our city safe," Bloomberg said in a statement" (McClatchy-Tribune Business News, November 28, 2008, emphasis added).
It just so happens that one day before the Mumbai attacks, "the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had warned that there is a 'possible but uncorroborated' Al -Qaeda threat against the New York transportation system." (Ibid)
"As the attacks in Mumbai were carried out, U.S. authorities issued a warning that Al-Qaeda might have recently discussed making attacks on the New York subway system. A vague warning, to be sure. 'We have no specific details to confirm that this plot has developed beyond aspirational planning, but we are issuing this warning out of concern that such an attack could possibly be conducted during the forthcoming holiday season,' the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said." (Chicago Tribune, November 29, 2008)
Pakistan's Military Intelligence is America's Trojan Horse
The media reports point, in chorus, to the involvement of Pakistan's Military Intelligence, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), without mentioning that the ISI invariably operates in close liaison with the CIA.
The US media indelibly serves the interests of the US intelligence apparatus. The implications of these distorted reports are that:
1. The terrorists are linked to Al Qaeda. The Mumbai attacks are a "State sponsored" operation involving Pakistan's ISI
2. The Mumbai gunmen have ties to terrorist groups in Pakistan's tribal areas and North West Frontier Province.
3. The continued bombing of the tribal areas by the US Air Force in violation of Pakistan's' sovereignty is consequently justified as part of the "Global War on Terrorism".
The ISI is America's Trojan Horse, a de facto proxy of the CIA. Pakistani Intelligence has, since the early 1980s, worked in close liaison with its US and British intelligence counterparts.
Were the ISI to have been involved in a major covert operation directed against India, the CIA would have prior knowledge regarding the precise nature and timing of the operation. The ISI does not act without the consent of its US intelligence counterpart.
Moreover, US intelligence is known to have supported Al Qaeda from the outset of the Soviet Afghan war and throughout the post-Cold War era. (For further details see Michel Chossudovsky, Al Qaeda and the War on Terrorism, Global Research, January 20, 2008)
CIA sponsored guerilla training camps were established in Pakistan to train the Mujahideen. Historically, US intelligence has supported Al Qaeda, using Pakistan's ISI as a go-between.
"With CIA backing and the funneling of massive amounts of U.S. military aid, the Pakistani ISI had developed into a "parallel structure wielding enormous power over all aspects of government". (Dipankar Banerjee, "Possible Connection of ISI With Drug Industry", India Abroad, 2 December 1994).
In the wake of 9/11, Pakistan's ISI played a key role in the October 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, in close liaison with the US and NATO military high command. Ironically, in October 2001, both US and Indian press reports quoting FBI and intelligence sources, suggested that the ISI was providing support to the alleged 9/11 terrorists.(See Michel Chossudovsky, Cover-up or Complicity of the Bush Administration, The Role of Pakistan's Military Intelligence (ISI) in the September 11 Attacks, Global Research, November 2, 2001)
Pakistan's Chief Spy Appointed by the CIA
Historically, the CIA has played an unofficial role in the appointment of the director of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).
In September, Washington pressured Islamabad, using the "war on terrorism" as a pretext to fire the ISI chief Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj.
"Washington is understood to be exerting intense pressure on Pakistan to remove ISI boss Nadeem Taj and two of his deputies because of the key agency's alleged "double-dealing" with the militants.( Daily Times, September 30, 2008
President Asif Ali Zardari had meetings in New York in late September with CIA Director Michael Hayden. (The Australian, September 29, 2008), Barely a few days later, a new US approved ISI chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha was appointed by the Chief of the Army, General Kayani, on behalf of Washington.
Lt. General Ahmed Shuja Pasha
In this regard, the pressures exerted by the Bush administration contributed to blocking a parliamentary initiative led by the PPP government to put the country's intelligence services (ISI) under civilian authority, namely under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior.
Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha (right) next to Gen. Ashfaq Kayani on the USS Abraham Lincoln talking with Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The U.S. Violates Pakistan's Territorial Sovereignty
The US is currently violating Pakistan territorial sovereignty through the routine bombing of villages in the tribal areas and the North West Frontier Province. These operations are carried out using the "war on terrorism" as a pretext. While the Pakistani government has "officially" accused the US of waging aerial bombardments on its territory, Pakistan's military (including the ISI) has "unofficially" endorsed the air strikes.
In this regard, the timely appointment of Lt. General Ahmed Shuja Pasha to the helm of the ISI was intended to ensure continuity in US "counter-terrorism" operations in Pakistan. Prior to his appointment as ISI chief, Lt. General Ahmed Shuja Pasha was responsible, in close consultation with the US and NATO, for carrying out targeted attacks allegedly against the Taliban and Al Qaeda by the Pakistani military in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).
Upon his appointment, Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha implemented a major reshuffle within the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), replacing several of the ISI regional commanders. ( Daily Times, September 30, 2008). In late October, he was in Washington, at CIA headquarters at Langley and at the Pentagon, to meet his US military and intelligence counterparts:
"Pakistan is publicly complaining about U.S. air strikes. But the country's new chief of intelligence, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, visited Washington last week for talks with America's top military and spy chiefs, and everyone seemed to come away smiling." (David Ignatieff, A Quiet Deal With Pakistan, Washington Post, November 4, 2008, emphasis added).
The Timing of the Mumbai Attacks
The US air strikes on the Tribal Areas resulting in countless civilians deaths have created a wave of anti-US sentiment throughout Pakistan. At the same token, this anti-American sentiment has also served, in the months preceding the Mumbai attacks, to promote a renewed atmosphere of cooperation between India and Pakistan.
While US-Pakistan relations are at an all time low, there were significant efforts, in recent months, by the Islamabad and Delhi governments to foster bilateral relations.
Barely a week prior to the attacks, Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari "urged opening the Kashmir issue to public debate in India and Pakistan and letting the people decide the future of IHK."
He also called for "taking bilateral relations to a new level" as well as forging an economic union between the two countries.
Divide and Rule
What interests are served by these attacks?
Washington is intent on using the Mumbai attacks to:
1) Foster divisions between Pakistan and India and shunt the process of bilateral cooperation and trade between the two countries;
2) Promote internal social, ethnic and sectarian divisions in both India and Pakistan;
3) Justify US military actions inside Pakistan including the killing of civilians in violation of the country's territorial sovereignty;
4) Provide a justification for extending the US led "war on terrorism" into the Indian sub-continent and South East Asia.
In 2006, the Pentagon had warned that "another [major 9/11 type terrorist] attack could create both a justification and an opportunity that is lacking today to retaliate against some known targets" (Statement by Pentagon official, leaked to the Washington Post, 23 April 2006). In the current context, the Mumbai attacks are considered "a justification" to go after "known targets" in the tribal areas of North Western Pakistan.
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has stated that "external forces" forces carried the attacks, hinting to the possible role of Pakistan. The media reports also point in that direction, hinting that the Pakistani government is behind the attacks:
US officials and lawmakers refrained from naming Pakistan, but their condemnation of "Islamist terrorism" left little doubt where their anxieties lay.
What has added potency to the latest charges against Islamabad is the Bush administration's own assessment - leaked to the US media - that Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI was linked to the bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul some weeks back that killed nearly 60 people including a much-admired Indian diplomat and a respected senior defense official. (Times of India, November 27, 2008)
The Attacks have Triggered Anti-Pakistani Sentiment in India
The attacks have served to foster anti-Pakistani sentiment within India as well as sectarian divisions between Hindus and Muslims.
Time Magazine has pointed in no uncertain terms to the insidious role of "the powerful Inter Services Intelligence organization — often accused of orchestrating terror attacks on India", without acknowledging that the new head of the ISI was appointed at Washington's behest. (Time online).
The Time report suggests, without evidence, that the most likely architects of the attacks are several Pakistani sponsored Islamic groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure), "which is part of the 'al-Qaeda compact'", Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Kashmiri separatist organization belonging to Al Qaeda which claimed responsibility in the December 2001 terrorist attacks on the Union parliament in Delhi and The Students Islamic Movement of India, (SIMI). (Ibid)
Both Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed are known to be supported by the ISI.
Islamabad-Delhi Shuttle Diplomacy
Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari indicated that his government would fully collaborate with the Indian authorities.
Pakistan's newly elected civilian government has been sidetracked by its own intelligence services, which remain under the jurisdiction of the military high command.
The Pakistan's People's Party government under the helm of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has no control over the military and intelligence apparatus, which continues to maintain a close rapport with its US counterparts. The Pakistani civilian government, in many regards, is not in control of its foreign policy. The Pakistani Military and its powerful intelligence arm (ISI) call the shots.
In this context, president Asif Ali Zardari seems to be playing on both sides: collusion with the Military-Intelligence apparatus, dialogue with Washington and lip service to prime minister Gilani and the National Assembly.
On November 28, two days following the Mumbai attacks, Islamabad announced that the recently appointed ISI chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha would be dispatched to Delhi for consultations with his Indian counterparts including National Security Advisor M K Narayanan and the heads of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Intelligence Bureau, responsible for internal intelligence. RAW and Pakistan's ISI are known to have been waging a covert war against one another for more than thirty years.1
On the following day (November 29), Islamabad cancelled the visit of ISI chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha to India, following Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee's "very aggressive tone with Pakistani officials [in a] telephone [conversation] after the Mumbai attacks". (Press Trust of India, November 29, 2008 quoting Geo News Pakistan).
Tense Situation. Deterioration of India-Pakistan Relations
The Mumbai attacks have already created an extremely tense situation, which largely serves US geopolitical interests in the region.
Islamabad is contemplating the relocation of some 100,000 military personnel from the Pakistani-Afghan border to the Indian border, "if there is an escalation in tension with India, which has hinted at the involvement of Pakistani elements in the Mumbai carnage." (Pakistan news source quoted by PTI, op cit).
"These sources have said NATO and the US command have been told that Pakistan would not be able to concentrate on the war on terror and against militants around the Afghanistan border as defending its borders with India was far more important," (Ibid, Geo News quoting senior Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir).
US Interference in the Conduct of the Indian Police Investigation
Also of significance is Washington's outright interference in the conduct of the Indian police investigation. The Times of India points to an "unprecedented intelligence cooperation involving investigating agencies and spy outfits of India, United States, United Kingdom and Israel."
Both the FBI and Britain's Secret Service MI6 have liaison offices in Delhi. The FBI has dispatched police, counter-terrorism officials and forensic scientists to Mumbai "to investigate attacks that now include American victims..." Experts from the London's Metropolitan Police have also been dispatched to Mumbai:
"The U.S. government's "working assumption" that the Pakistani militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed are suspects in the attacks "has held up" as Indian authorities have begun their investigation, the official said. The two Kashmiri militant groups have ties to al Qaeda." (Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2008)
The role of the US-UK-Israeli counter terrorism and police officials is essentially to manipulate the results of the Indian police investigation.
It is worth noting, however, that the Delhi government turned down Israel's request to send a special forces military unit to assist the Indian commandos in freeing Jewish hostages held inside Mumbai's Chabad Jewish Center (PTI, November 28, 2008).
Bali 2002 versus Mumbai 2008
The Mumbai terrorist attacks bear certain similarities to the 2002 Bali attacks. In both cases, Western tourists were targets. The tourist resort of Kuta on the island of Bali, Indonesia, was the object of two separate attacks, which targeted mainly Australian tourists. (Ibid)
The alleged terrorists in the Bali 2002 bombings were executed, following a lengthy trial period, barely a few weeks ago, on November 9, 2008. (Michel Chossudovsky, Miscarriage of Justice: Who were behind the October 2002 Bali bombings? Global Research, November 13, 2009). The political architects of the 2002 Bali attacks were never brought to trial.
A November 2002 report emanating from Indonesia’s top brass, pointed to the involvement of both the head of Indonesian intelligence General A. M. Hendropriyono as well as the CIA. The links of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) to the Indonesian intelligence agency (BIN) were never raised in the official Indonesian government investigation --which was guided behind the scenes by Australian intelligence and the CIA. Moreover, shortly after the bombing, Australian Prime Minister John Howard "admitted that Australian authorities were warned about possible attacks in Bali but chose not to issue a warning." (Christchurch Press, November 22, 2002).
With regard to the Bali 2002 bombings, the statements of two former presidents of Indonesia were casually dismissed in the trial procedures, both of which pointed to complicity of the Indonesian military and police. In 2002, president Megawati Sukarnoputri, accused the US of involvement in the attacks. In 2005, in an October 2005 interview with Australia's SBS TV, former president Wahid Abdurrahman stated that the Indonesian military and police played a complicit role in the 2002 Bali bombing. (quoted in Miscarriage of Justice: Who was behind the October 2002 Bali bombings?, op cit)
1. In recent months, the head of India's external intelligence (RAW), Ashok Chaturvedi has become a political target. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is intent upon firing him and replacing him with a more acceptable individual. It is unclear whether Chaturvedi will be involved in the intelligence and police investigation.
AMERICA'S "WAR ON TERRORISM"
by Michel Chossudovsky
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America's "War on Terrorism"
In this new and expanded edition of Michel Chossudovsky's 2002 best seller, the author blows away the smokescreen put up by the mainstream media, that 9/11 was an attack on America by "Islamic terrorists". Through meticulous research, the author uncovers a military-intelligence ploy behind the September 11 attacks, and the cover-up and complicity of key members of the Bush Administration.
The expanded edition, which includes twelve new chapters focuses on the use of 9/11 as a pretext for the invasion and illegal occupation of Iraq, the militarisation of justice and law enforcement and the repeal of democracy.
According to Chossudovsky, the "war on terrorism" is a complete fabrication based on the illusion that one man, Osama bin Laden, outwitted the $40 billion-a-year American intelligence apparatus. The "war on terrorism" is a war of conquest. Globalisation is the final march to the "New World Order", dominated by Wall Street and the U.S. military-industrial complex.
September 11, 2001 provides a justification for waging a war without borders. Washington's agenda consists in extending the frontiers of the American Empire to facilitate complete U.S. corporate control, while installing within America the institutions of the Homeland Security State.
Chossudovsky peels back layers of rhetoric to reveal a complex web of deceit aimed at luring the American people and the rest of the world into accepting a military solution which threatens the future of humanity.
The last chapter includes an analysis of the London 7/7 Bomb Attacks.
CLICK TO ORDER (mail order or online order)
America's "War on Terrorism"
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As people escaping from cold may end up in ice, Kenyans dethroned one party dictatorship of Kanu but are now enthroning one party ethnic dictatorship all over the country.
When Kenyans fought for multiparty democracy, they wanted it to liberate them from one party dictatorship. Instead of saving people, however, multiparty democracy has been hijacked by tribal chieftains who are turning parties into domiciles of ethnic dictatorship where communities are enslaved and turned into armies of fighting ethnic wars.
Ordinarily, parties are formed to champion interests of their members. They should not be pythons that hypnotise people into their mouths before swallowing them. But once hijacked, in elections, parties herd communities into "suits" and swallow them.
Fortunately, many citizens are waking up to the danger of one party ethnic dictatorship and are asking what they may do to escape their plight.
To escape ethnic dictatorship, many people are ditching ethnic parties for individual leadership. They have realised that irrespective of whether they claim to belong to members or their communities, ethnic parties are simply properties of their leaders.
Further, Kenyans know, because parties are their leaders' castles, candidates who run for office in them, have only shelter not ownership in them.
As for voters, they too now realise that their support for candidates in certain parties hardly gives them inclusion or ownership of the party.
To guarantee themselves representation, most voters now wish to elect people who promise to best represent and champion their interests, without caring a hoot about the parties on whose ticket their choices fight for election.
This realisation notwithstanding, to ensnare people into their spider's web, tribal party owners falsely claim that good representation can only come from their ethnic parties.
Simultaneously they paint chieftains of other ethnic parties as monsters waiting to eat up other communities whose welfare ethnic party owners claim to only think about.
Lest we forget, ethnic parties don't just use leaders to propagate ethnic hate. They also use grassroots agents whose mountains of hate far beat hills of leaders' hate.
To win communities, ethnic leaders cheat voters that unless they attain the presidency, their communities will never be secure. Further, voters are falsely convinced that their survival will not come from any leaders they may elect for themselves, but leaders they must elect for their ethnic president.
To attain political supremacy in their ethnic hinterlands, we hear the ethnic dictator pleading with voters, not to open their eyes and elect best MP or councillor for themselves, but to close their eyes and elect for him his candidates whether dead or not. Unfortunately when voters oblige they turn their counties into these leaders' colonies to own and exploit as they wish. Worse, by electing MPs for their leaders, voters cut off their tongues never to speak again about their own problems and interests.
By following ethnic leaders, Kenyans are in a great trap of ethnic servitude that makes one ask. Will they vote as Kenyans or as communities voting against other communities?
When Kenyans vote as communities, they don't do so by choice, they are coerced by their ethnic dictatorships. In Rwanda, many will remember how fifty thousand Hutus were killed by extremist Hutus for objecting to the killing of Tutsis, fellow countrymen and women.
Elections through ethnic parties have serious dangers. Like queue voting, ethnic voting is not secret. It is conducted though fear and threats and as war between communities. Ultimately, it breeds inter-ethnic violence.
Politicians that are driven by the ideology of negative ethnicity are like fishermen who can only fish in troubled and exclusive waters. To maximise votes, they create, through hate and suspicion, ethnic territories where enemy parties - ODM for Luos, TNA for Kikuyus, URP for Kalenjin, Wiper for Kambas and UDF for Luhyas may not venture. If they do, it will be to their own peril.
By the way, ethnic labeling is not done to unite but divide for the good of ethnic chieftains but ultimately for the destruction of the country.
Though it works against all, the strategy of 41 against one is nevertheless resorted to against the Luo when Kikuyus applaud, against Kikuyus when Luos applaud, against Kalenjins when others applaud and against Kenya when communities will applaud to their own final detriment.
Our ethnic parties and their leaders have become bulls that cannot stay in the same kraal called Kenya without fighting until only one is left standing.
Indeed we seem to suffer a collective death wish that forces one to agree that Kenyans are either bewitched, cursed or William Shakespeare was right that, those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.
But before communities self-destruct like butterflies jumping into fire, let us ask what is best for their survival, one or more parties for every community?
The truth is we abandoned one party system because we hated its dictatorship. One party system will also breed ethnic dictatorship for communities.
And why should communities be so suicidal as to put all their political eggs in one basket. Didn't sages say two heads are better than one?
Nor is monopolisation of power good for communities in Kenya. Only a few Kikuyus benefited from Kenyatta government. Only a few Kalenjins benefited from Moi government.
Only a few Kikuyus and Luos are benefiting from Kibaki's presidency and Raila's premiership. And why should an entire community stay in the cold because a party they have all congregated into has lost elections? Kenyans must stop dancing around the fire of negative ethnicity. It is a madness, they cannot afford.
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Startup Delayer helps users avoid a slow system start by giving them control over programs that automatically load when Windows boots up.
This program provides a simple interface to work with. The screen is dominated by the list of programs your computer opens when starting Windows. Above this list is a short row of icons that allow you to add and remove programs and organize the time they are opened.
Adding a program is as simple as locating it in the file tree and then assigning it a specific time to open after Windows has begun. From there it is … Read more
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[ Home page ]
Books I can recommend. (Following the links will take you to Amazon UK, where you can hand over your hard-earned credit card details and buy the works in question. This site is an Amazon partner.) Note that I have not made the remotest attempt to arrange these in any order.
According to the author, this work was not in fact intended as a strictly practical manual; indeed, as the author writes in the preface to the second (1979) edition,
... the only case of actual use [of the book] for which there is firm evidence would make a poor advertisement: the coup in question was at first very successful but then failed, amidst much killing. Its chief protagonist, a defence minister who aspired to yet greater things, was caught and promptly executed. When his house was searched, a heavily annotated copy of the French edition was found in his study....
Nevertheless, Luttwak analyses, on the basis of extensive research and a detailed Appendix (`Table II: Basic List of Coups and Attempted Coups, 1945-78'), the Coup D'Etat as a phenomenon in governments, especially in those regions we are now encouraged to call the Developing World. As he points out, `... the coup is the most frequently attempted method of changing government, and the most successful'; his analysis is interesting, and his prose style witty and engaging.
Beevor conveys some impression of how awful the conditions at Stalingrad must have been, in between an excellent narrative of the (complex) situation surrounding the battle. Frightening and depressing, but very readable.
Autobiographical account of Homer (`Sonny') Hickam's childhood experiences manufacturing ever-larger solid-fuelled rockets. Inspired by Sputnik in 1957, and by the struggles of Wehrner von Braun and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency to build rockets that wouldn't explode on the launch-pad, Hickam and childhood friends form the `Big Creek Missile Agency' and progress from their first efforts (blowing up Hickam's mother's garden fence) to zinc/sulphur-powered rockets reaching altitudes of 15,000 feet.
Set against this is the background of a West Virginia mining town. Hickam's father was the mine superintendent, and Hickam and friends get wound up in the politics of the mine, steel company and trades unions; the faux-naive way in which the political tensions of the community are portrayed is occasionally trite, but interesting nevertheless.
Hickam writes very engagingly, interspersing descriptions of the rockets, with an engaging coming-of-age tale, which is in parts very funny.
Subtitled `How One Man Masterminded the Soviet Drive to Beat America to the Moon', this is a biography of Sergei Korolev, the `Chief Designer' of the Soviet space program who remained virtually anonymous until his funeral in 1966. Korolev was central to the design of almost all Soviet ballistic missiles and space launchers up to the early 1960s, and the book is also a history of these efforts. As such, it includes a final chapter on the development of the space program after Korolev's death.
Harford has clearly done a lot of research into this, and a lot of his material was previously unknown in the West. He comes up with some fascinating gems about the nature of research in the USSR, such as this one from an interview with Efraim Akim about the USSR's decision to build a space shuttle (Buran): (emphasis mine)
When the US Shuttle was announced we started investigating the logic of that approach. Very early our calculations showed that the figures being used by NASA were unrealistic. It would be better to use a series of expendable launch vehicles. Then, when we learned of the decision to build a shuttle launch facility at Vandenburg [Air Force Base, in California] for military purposes we noted that the trajectories from Vandenburg allowed an overflight of the main centers of the USSR on the first orbit. So our hypothesis was that the development of the shuttle was mainly for military purposes....
When we analysed the trajectories from Vandenburg we saw it was possible for any military payload to re-enter from orbit in three and a half minutes to the main missile centers of the USSR, a much shorter time than [a missile submarine] could make possible....
Have you noticed how the word `intellectual' is used nowadays? There seems to be a new definition which certainly doesn't include Rutherford or Eddington or Dirac or Adrian or me. It does seem rather odd, don't y'know.
(G. H. Hardy, a remark to Snow quoted in The Two Cultures.)
Snow's description of the fragmentation of modern cultural experience into the humanities and the sciences is essential reading.
Gleick's biography of Richard Feynman is fascinating (and a useful counterpoint to Feynman's own books). It also contains the answer to the Feynman Water Sprinkler Question.
(If you aren't familiar with it, the question goes something like this:
Consider a lawn sprinkler of the sort which sprays water from the two hooked ends of a short, S-shaped piece of tubing when water is pumped into the tube from its midpoint, and which is free to rotate about an axis through the midpoint and perpendicular to the water flow. In normal operation the sprinkler will rotate in a particular direction, say clockwise, owing to the orientation of its ends. If the sprinkler is submerged and water pumped out of it, in which direction will it turn?
This is a good test of physical intuition, which you ought to be able to answer without resorting to Gleick's book. Also note that Feynman -- who relates how he tried to answer it by experiment, with disastrous results, in his autobiographical work Surely You're Joking, Mister Feynman -- never gave away the answer himself.)
Tuchman structures this very diverting narrative of 1300 -- 1450 around the life of Enguerard de Coucy, one of the most respected French noblemen of the time. Eventually killed on Crusade, de Coucy undertook an enormous variety of activities, both military and -- as he became more politically astute -- diplomatic. Following his life, we learn about the background of the 14th century -- of plague and war, chivalry and dishonour, plague and battle.
Massie's account of the coming of the First World War, centering around the Anglo-German naval rivalry and its political consequences, is fascinating for its detail and brilliant character sketches.
Jones, who had an extremely senior position in British Scientific Intelligence during the Second World War, waited until the late 1970s to write this account of his activities, by which time much of the most secret material (such as the breaking of the `Enigma' and `Lorentz' cryptosystems) had become public knowledge. Jones's book is detailed, containing many entertaining anecdotes, and is extremely readable.
From reading it, one would get the impression that Jones won the War single handedly; this is not accurate, but is probably a reasonable line for an autobiography to take given the enormous contributions he undoubtedly made.
A bit too technical for me, but broadly interesting; Gordon's book examines the history of the Royal Navy in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and tries to explain the poor performance of the Grand Fleet at Jutland in 1916. Gordon's thesis seems to be that the naval commanders of the late Victorian period stifled initiative at all tactical levels, resulting in an organisation which was unable to fight effectively; instead, admirals such as Jellicoe relied on detailed signalling to the ships under their command -- an approach doomed to failure in the confusion of battle with the available technology.
Gordon writes well, is rather opinionated and can be very snide at times:
[John Dalton, tutor to Victoria's sons George and Edward] `possessed a resonant voice and much enjoyed listening to it', and his published volume of Sermons to Naval Cadets would cast a gloom over anyone's day in the British Library....
[Referring to the recording of navigation logs in HMS New Zealand] Thus we have one track-chart for New Zealand's upper bridge where [Rear-Admiral] Pakenham, his flag-lieutenant and Captain Green spent the action, and one for her conning tower where the navigating officer... [was] stationed. By... 4.40 Princess Royal has only steamed 11 miles, whereas New Zealand's conning tower has gone twice as far. At 5 o'clock we find Princess Royal 10.5 miles from New Zealand's navigator, who now is estranged from the people upstairs by 4.5 miles....
Overall, the book is an interesting (and at times amusing) read; an interesting adjunct to Massie's Dreadnought.
Ziegler's account of the coming of the Plague in medieval Europe is widely considered a classic, and reading this well-constructed little book will make you profoundly grateful for the existence of modern medical science.
Not confined narrowly to the Manhattan Project and Los Alamos, Rhodes's authoritative history describes the people, ideas, and background to the development of nuclear energy, taking in much material on what might be termed the `morality of warfare'.
Subtitled `The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance', this book is hated by a medievalist of my acquaintance -- largely, so far as I can tell, because it portrays the Dark Ages as not being Very Nice. (It has to be said that Manchester's view of the medieval period is now a little out of date.)
Nevertheless, the book is interesting and, as a tool for irritating the serious historian of the period, invaluable.
Archie: ... winners like North Vietnam?
Otto: We did not lose Vietnam! It was a tie!
(From A Fish Called Wanda.)
It took Sheehan longer to write this book about the war in Vietnam than the Americans took to lose it. Sheehan's book explores in detail the blundering and incompetence of the South Vietnamese government and army, and that of the US personnel sent to defend their country. At times we get the impression that Vann -- a US Army officer who made the war in Vietnam his life and was killed there shortly before the final withdrawal -- was the only competent individual in the whole mess; this impression might not actually be far from the truth. Throughout the book is the impression of impending catastrophe, created as much by the author's relentless description of the failings of the participants as by the reader's knowledge of the final outcome.
The basic thesis of this work could be summed up in the single word `no', but Wood's research (essentially, comparing Polo's account of his travel with what the Far East was really like at the time) is detailed and fascinating. (The conclusion, basically, is that Polo scribbled away based on rumour and hearsay, whilst in gaol on his return from an unsuccessful trading expedition to the Black Sea. On his return home -- after a long absence -- he made a pile of money from the book, which was an instant best-seller.)
Something of a must-read, Taylor's conclusions will probably be forever controversial -- and probably, as he complained in his 1963 Foreword, misunderstood:
... I wrote of the Munich agreement: ``It was a triumph for all that was best and most enlightened in British life; a triumph for those who had preached equal justice between peoples; a triumph for those who had courageously denounced the harshness and short-sightedness of Versailles.'' I ought perhaps to have added ``goak here'' in the manner of Artemus Ward. It was not however altogether a joke....
... I have however no sympathy with those in [Britain] who complained that my book had been welcomed, mistakenly or not, by former supporters of Hitler. This seems to me a disgraceful argument to be used against a work of history. A historian must not hesitate even if his books lend aid and comfort to the Queen's enemies (though mine did not), or even to the common enemies of mankind. For my part, I would even record facts which told in favour of the British government, if I found any to record (goak again).
Detailed and with many fascinating anecdotes.
McPhee, a journalist, writes of his conversations with Ted Taylor, a nuclear physicist and bomb designer who, in his own words, was `the first person to discover you could design nuclear bombs freehand'. This book was, perhaps, the first to elucidate fears about nuclear terrorism which are now current; but it was written in the 1970s, before the collapse of the Soviet Union which triggered the present nuclear panic.
Although the background to the book -- expected massive growth in the nuclear energy industry -- has not come to pass, and the associated dangers of fuel transport and storage may be less than feared then, Taylor's warning is still very interesting, and at points alarming.
This peculiar and affecting book follows the career of (fictional) Doctor Victor Jakob, a professor of theoretical physics at a German university during the First World War. Jakob, elderly and struggling with the decline of his beloved classical physics, is also confused and perhaps horrified by the spectre of the War, unfamiliar even in the light of his own experiences in the German Army in 1870.
McCormach skillfully weaves together his account of Jakob and his reaction to the coming of the Quantum Theory, writing him into the real history of the phsics of the period, and draws parallels with the First World War which brought about the end of the old European order. Simultaneously, the Professor, reaching the end of his life, is being eclipsed by his younger and more brilliant colleagues who are readier to embrace the new physics.
This complex subject is handled subtly and authoritatively by an author who writes well on the social and scientific history which makes up the background to the narrative.
Brooks's classic contains much in terms of the difficulties of managing software engineering projects (and quite a lot on the difficulties of actually doing software engineering projects!). He sums it up with pithy conclusions -- `Men and months are not interchangeable' -- and peppers it with observations, some now obsolete -- `... on [a 1960s-vintage IBM mainframe], memory rents for about $12 per kilobyte per month.... One frequently hears horror expressed that a 2 megabyte machine may have 400 kilobytes devoted to its operating system.' -- and others which will presumably never be obsolete -- `It is a very humbling experience to make a multimillion-dollar mistake, but it is also very memorable.'
Almost as interesting as the original essays from the 1975 edition is his analysis (in the 20th anniversary edition) of where he was wrong when he first wrote them.
Cringely, who has been (in his own description) an `IT Industry Gossip Columnist' for many years now, writes an entertaining, though hardly unbiased, account of the computer industry through the 1980s. Memorable images include his description of Bill Gates, drunk and stuck up a cactus he had climbed after-hours at a Las Vegas trade show.
A journalist's account of the design of a new 32-bit minicomputer for Data General, considered a classic of non-specialist literature on computing and certainly very readable. Kidder does an excellent job on the (highly technical) topics in the book, and paints an interesting (often unflattering) picture of the individuals involved in the project.
Adapted from the classic television series, these books are written in the form of the diaries of Jim Hacker, MP, annotated by `editors' Lynn and Jay with excerpts from the diaries of the other characters (Sir Humphrey Appleby etc.) and interviews with Bernard Wooley (who, we learn, has eventually risen to the position of Cabinet Secretary).
Almost as brilliant as the television programmes themselves, these adaptations suffer from over-zealous explanatory notes by the `editors', but these are easy enough to filter out when reading the books, and do not detract enormously from the adaptation.
``We only found out about the escape at 6:30 the next morning when one of the prisoners told us,'' a warder said later.
(`The Worst Prison Guards', from The Book of Heroic Failures.)
Apparently no longer available (Amazon UK seem only to stock an abridged version intended for teaching English as a Foreign Language, while Amazon USA reports them as being out of print), these books are an extremely entertaining account of human failure in all its manifold forms, ranging from `The Worst Driver' to `The Worst Submarine', via `The Worst Seduction' and `The Worst Actor'. Well worth looking through a for-real bookshop for.
I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.
(From The Lost Continent.)
Bryson's trio of humourous travelogues, taking in respectively the United States (his home country), Europe and the UK, are enormously funny; although they will do nothing to improve your opinion of the inhabitants of the places he visits, they are laugh-out-loud funny in many places. Well worth a read. (Bryson is more scholarly than you might guess, and the books are very well researched. Especially incongruous is the section in Neither Here Nor There where, in his account of travelling through the great cities of old Europe, he cheerfully quotes casualty statistics from Ziegler's The Black Death in between complaining about trains, hotels, and the experiences of being pick-pocketed in Italy.)
Saki's short stories (available in several editions; also, some are on-line: do a search on Google or something) are funny, and often rather dark. (An unhelpful summing up given by a friend of mine was, ``They are all about death.''). His work is eminently quotable:
[After encountering a friendly hyaena whilst hunting in the English countryside....]
``What are we to do?'' asked Constance
``What a person you are for questions,'' I said.
``Well, we can't stay all night here with a hyaena,'' she retorted.
``I don't know what your ideas of comfort are,'' I said, ``but I shouldn't think of staying here even without a hyaena....''
[Major Dumbarton and Emily Carewe, meeting by chance aboard ship, have resumed an old romance. The only barrier to marriage would appear to be the unlucky baker's dozen of children they have acquired in their previous marriages.]
Em.: Isn't there some way by which we could part with one or two? Don't the French want more children? I've often seen articles about it in the Figaro.
Maj.: I fancy they want French children. Mine don't even speak French.
Em.: There's always a chance one of them might turn out depraved and vicious, and then you could disown him. I've heard of that being done.
Maj.: But, good gracious, you've got to educate him first. You can't expect a boy to be vicious until he's been to a good school.
(From The Baker's Dozen.)
The stories are all set in and around the upper and upper-middle classes of Edwardian England. Surprisingly to a modern reader in view of his cynicism, Saki, like most of the young men of his time, was an ardent patriot (see, for example, his admittedly forgettable novel When William Came, described as a `pro-war fantasy' -- of Wilhelm II's armies invading, then annexing, Britain). He joined the Army in 1914, and turned down a commission and a translating job away from the front. He was killed in 1916 at Beaumont Hammel in northern France.
... At dusk that day we stood by the side of another road, where we had been told we would have a good view, and watched as the world's rarest fruitbats left their roost and flapped across the darkening sky to make their nightly forage among the fruit trees.
The bats are doing just fine. There are hundreds of them.
I have a terrible feeling that we are in trouble.
(From Last Chance to See, describing the conclusion of an expedition to see a Rodrigues fruitbat, the world's rarest.)
This book, part-travelogue, part-natural history, describes Adams and Carwardine's journeys to see a variety of endangered species in their natural habitats. Adams, as ever, is very funny, but the humour is mixed with considerable erudition and a real sense of horror at the creeping erosion of biodiversity.
Copyright (c) 1999 Chris Lightfoot. All rights reserved.
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Debt can be a complicated and confusing subject at times. Read on for simple answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about debt.
Am I liable for my partner’s debts?
If you have a joint credit agreement with your partner then you’re both responsible for paying off the whole debt. This is known as ‘joint and several liability’. For a credit agreement to be joint and several, you and your partner must both have signed a form required by the Consumer Credit Act. If you haven’t signed an agreement like this, you aren’t liable for your partner’s debts.
Joint and several liability can also apply if you are in arrears on rent payments on a joint tenancy, if you are in arrears on a joint mortgage, as well as on council tax payments for couples and water/sewerage charges on properties which you occupy jointly.
If you are in any doubt, talk to the individual creditor to get a clear picture about whether or not you are liable for the debt.
Could I lose my home because of my debts?
Having large debts does not necessarily mean losing your home. There are many different ways of dealing with debt, and which one is right for you will depend on a number of different factors, but not all of them mean you will have to lose your home.
If you file for bankruptcy, losing your home is a strong possibility, but other debt solutions like an IVA or a Debt Management Plan may mean you can keep your home and pay off your debt. It is important that you speak to a qualified debt advisor to find out what your options are – charities like CCCS and National Debtline can help.
Which debts should I pay off first?
It may be tempting to focus on your biggest debts when you’re trying to decide what debts to repay first, but it’s important to pay off your debts according to which ones will have the most serious consequences if you don’t pay.
High priority debts include:
- Rent/mortgage payments - if you don’t pay your rent your landlord can evict you and if you don’t keep up with your mortgage payments the lender can take legal action against you or repossess your house.
- Utility bills - if you don’t pay your gas and electricity bills, your supply can be cut off. Your water supply cannot be cut off, but it is still a priority debt as non-payment could result in a County Court Judgment.
- Council tax, business rates, court fines, child maintenance payments - not paying these debts can have very serious consequences. A court could use a bailiff to enter your home and take away your property.
- Tax - Not paying tax can lead to you being made bankrupt or having to go to prison.
What action can my creditors take against me if I can’t pay?
The type of action your creditors can take is dependent on the type of debt you have accumulated and how long you have delayed paying back your debt.
- Mortgage - you could lose your home.
- Rent - you could be evicted.
- Secured loan - you could lose your home or whatever your loan was secured against.
- Council tax - the money could be deducted from your pay, bailiffs could repossess your property, or in severe cases you could even be imprisoned.
- Magistrate’s fine - bailiffs could repossess your property, or in severe cases you could be imprisoned.
- Inland Revenue or VAT - bailiffs could repossess your property, you could be declared bankrupt or in severe cases you could even be imprisoned.
- Utility bills - your gas water and electricity could be cut off or you could have a pre-payment meter installed. Your water supply cannot be cut off.
- Child support/maintenance - the money could be deducted from your pay, or in severe cases you could be imprisoned.
- County Court Judgement - the money could be deducted from your pay, bailiffs could repossess your property, or a charging order could be put in place, which secures the debt against your home.
- Credit cards, store cards, unsecured loans, overdrafts, credit sales etc - you could be given a County Court Judgement, which means the County Court will make a legal judgement ordering you to pay. CCJs are recorded on your credit file for 6 years and can harm your chances of getting credit.
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Dec. 22, 2009 -- Weekly 2009 H1N1 Flu Media Briefing
December 22, 2009
NOTE: This is a rough, unedited transcript and transcription errors may appear.
Operator: Welcome and thank you all for standing by. At this time I would like to remind parties that your lines are in listen and only mode until the question and answer session at which time you may press star to ask a question. Take's call is being recorded. Thank you, sir, you may begin.
Glen Nowak: thank you for joining us today for this update. Today's briefing will be conducted by Dr. Anne Schuchat who is the director for the CDC prevention and I will turn the podium over to Dr. Schuchat.
Anne Schuchat: thanks and good afternoon, everyone. I want to briefly today give an update on where we are with vaccine supply and where we are with vaccine use. And give some helpful hints looking forward towards the holidays. The h1n1 vaccine supply is getting better and better. Surveys are showing that initial doses of vaccine were relatively quickly taken up and they were going to the people that they were targeted for. We know from our survey, though, that many people are interested in being vaccinated and haven't yet had a chance to be and with the increase in supply and this window of opportunity that we have right now, it's a really good time to be vaccinated in the weeks ahead. Vaccine is becoming available in more and more places and at more and more times. And the states are working very hard to be vaccine in the path of people to make it easy for you to be vaccinated even over the holidays and going into the New Year. A brief update on the flu activity. Disease is at a better state around the country than it had been. Less viruses circulating, but still everything that we're seeing in terms of the flu strands is the h1n1 virus and so it's not gone at all. None of us know what the weeks and months ahead will bring in terms of influenza activity, and it's very important not to be com pleasant right now about the ongoing risk. As of today, about 111 million doses of h1n1 vaccine have become available for order by the states. That's a lot of vaccine. And that's really good news. I want to provide some information about a survey of vaccination uptakes that the CDC has been carrying out and make some comments on the surveys that Harvard carried out, a poll that they did more recently. These two surveys suggest that the initial doses are being relatively quickly used and they're going to the people that they've been targeted for. CDC carried out a national h1n1 survey and I'm going to report some results from the week of December 6 to 12. So that's two weeks old, but I want to give you a snapshot of that point. This is a survey that involved 1368 adults and 3243 children in terms of the telephone survey that was carried out. Overall, that estimate for the week of December 6 to 12 was that about 46 million people had been vaccinated with the h1n1 vaccine by that time. About 40% of the doses went to children. Coverage was about twice as high in children as it was in adults, so much more vaccination of children than adults by that point in December. That's really good news because usually with seasonal flu, that's a lot more vaccination of adults than children, but we know that with the h1n1 vaccine, we were targeting children because they've been so hard hit by the virus. More recently, Harvard carried out a poll of about 1600 adults and included about 400 parents in that group. They carried out their poll December 16th and 17th and their data suggests that ten days later after our survey, about 56 million people in the country had been vaccinated with the h1n1 vaccine. Like our earlier results, they also found that children were more likely to be vaccinated than were adults. Taking those two data points together, we think right now probably at least 60 medical I don't know people have been vaccinated with the h1n1 vaccine. We know from our survey, though, that about half of Americans want to be vaccinated with h1n1 vaccine and at the time of on our survey; only about one in three had been able to be vaccinated. What we think that means is that many Americans who still want to be vaccinated have a great chance to in the days ahead. More and more vaccine has become available and people will be seeing it really everywhere they go, I hope. We know that vaccine is out in doctors' office, hospitals and health department, but also get getting in to some of the retail settings. Malls have it and retail pharmacies and other chain stores. So I think the goal will be to get the vaccine out in the path of people and make it easier day in and day out to find vaccine and take advantage of that. I want to make a couple other points because there have been things in the news that might have been confusing to people. First I want to talk to parents. If you have children who are under ten years of age and have for then the h1n1 vaccine, it's important to know that your child needs a second dose. We recommend two doses of h1n1 vaccine one month apart, so we know a lot of parents have gotten their children vaccinated but may not have gotten that second dose in yet. It's really important to finish the series. I also know a lot have been waiting wondering what is the experience with this vaccine do, we know enough about it. I want to give you a little more information about the vaccine safety. At this point, we think probably 60 million people have received the h1n1 vaccine. We've intensified our safety monitoring and we're not seeing any worrisome signs. The information we have to date is very reassuring from the safety front. So in closing, I think this is the time to act in the days and weeks ahead. This is a very good time to be vaccinated. Just because a lot of people are taking off for the holidays does not mean that this flu virus will. This is a time to look for vaccine and make sure that you and everyone you love is protected. So I'd like to answer questions that you may have. Let's go to the phones.
Operator: our first question, if you would like to ask a question, press star 1. The first is from Helen, the Canadian press. Your line is open.
Helen Branswell: thanks very much for taking my question. This isn't about vaccine. It's about something that you said earlier about most or virtually all of the virus being seen is h1n1. I'm wondering what CDC is hearing from other parts of the world about circulating virus and whether the picture is becoming clearer or not whether this virus is going to replace both the seasonal viruses that we've had up only now. Is that picture coming clearer at all?
Anne Schuchat: you know, Helen, I wish I could answer that I think it's too soon to say. We do, of course, share information regularly with the other WHO Collaborating centers and with our partners in other countries. We have people stationed in a lot of countries and are getting thousands of isolates for testing. We don't know what kind of flu strains will emerge and how frequent they'll be, but we're working with the states to try to test more and more strains and we want to hear about clusters of unusual disease so we can look into them. No one knows how bad a time we'll have with seasonal strains this year, but we're looking for them. And we also, of course, don't know just what we'll see with h1n1 virus after the holidays, more and more cases occur or by more and more being vaccinated we'll bluff that. Next question from the phone.
Operator: Steven smith. Your line is open.
Steve Smith: thanks for taking the question. I'm wondering as more and more evidence comes in regarding patients who have been hospitalized with h1n1, what is being detected as the most significant underlying condition that those patients have? In other words, what seem to be the underlying conditions that most suggest a patient being at risk for hospitalization if the patient does contract h1n1?
>> Thank you for the question. We've been looking at information on hospitalizations from our emerging infections program network and what we find is that asthma and chronic lung disease are very common. In particular in children, those are -- asthma is a common condition that can complicate influenza. We know that this virus is attacking the lungs and unfortunately in some people causing very severe respiratory failure. And I think people who have chronic lung disease and don't have that margin of reserve have a harder time. But we also see diabetes and chronic heart disease. Of course pregnancy continues to be an important factor in hospitalizations. We do think people are getting better and better at recognizing the importance of treating pregnant women when they have respiratory symptoms, but that is still showing up. Next question.
Operator: Lisa Schnirring, your line is open.
Lisa Schnirring: thanks so much. A couple quick questions. Does the CDC or anyone else have any way of gauging how much kids under ten have already gotten their second dose? And my other question -- I just blanked on it. Sorry about that.
Anne Schuchat: let me try the first while you think of the second. Of the -- we estimated in our survey carried out a couple weeks ago that about 46 million people have been vaccinated as of the week of December 6. As of that week, about 2 million people had -- children had gotten a second dose. So we do think there are a lot of children in need of second doses in the weeks ahead and of course some parents haven't yet had the chance to get their children vaccinated at all and for those who have children under ten who have only gotten one dose so far, remember that after a month you want to get the second dose in. And it's okay if five or six weeks have passed. It doesn't have to be exactly four weeks. But you do need to get that second dose in. Did you being of your second question?
Lisa Schnirring: are there going to be any more formal organized campaigns for a second push kind of like you do as a kick-in for the seasonal vaccine, kind of that late fall thing you've been doing? Is there any new campaign starting out to kind of get that last push in for the h1n1 vaccine?
Anne Schuchat: absolutely. Right now there are a number of communication efforts being carried out, public service announcements going out around the country, and we know that many leaders are trying to help get the word out in their communities as well as nationally. We also do intend to have national influenza vaccination week. He you may be familiar with us holding that in early December. This year we decided to hold it in January instead to really help with that additional push related to the h1n1 vaccination effort. We think a lot of schools may be carrying out their second dose school campaigns in January and we really want to work together with our public health partners in the medical community in promoting vaccination over the weeks ahead. So, yes, I do think an important opportunity right now over the holidays for people to be vaccinated and continued opportunities in January and beyond. Next question from the phones.
Operator: David brown from "Washington post," your line is open.
Anne Schuchat: thanks a lot, Dr. Schuchat. Two questions. The Harvard poll found that less than one-quarter, specifically 22% of adults, prioritize to receive h1n1 flu vaccine have received it so far. That seems a bit low and I'm wondering if your poll found similar numbers. And my second question is, are cases going down in all parts of the country or does it seem that the epidemic is still on an upward curve in some regions?
Operator: our survey data bears out the Harvard poll that children are more likely to be vaccinated including children compared to prioritized adults. So we do think that there are lots of opportunities for adults to be vaccinated. And early use was really focusing on children especially states focusing on the sub priority populations, really which didn't focus above the age of 18 except for health care workers and parents or caretakers of newborns. So I think that the time is now for adults with chronic health conditions to look for vaccine and for those they love, really people with lung disease like family see made, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and really for everyone else. Because one thing you can do by being vaccinated is protect those around you including those with those chronic conditions. Survey after survey suggests that people who have chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease do not think of themselves as a person of high risk. And so what we need is everybody to talk to each other and remind your loved ones really take care of your health and look for that vaccine. The question about geographic spread is important. Influenza is very local. Right now five of ten regions around the country still have influenza activity that is above base line. We have 11 states that still have widespread disease and many states still have regional disease. So that influenza is tell out there and as I said, it is still the h1n1 virus. In areas where the disease has calmed substantially, we don't know what the future will hold, whether it will rise with a big peak, whether it will be a subtle increase in cases, or whether we will see outbreaks in certain communities and not others even within the same state. But we're really intensifying our surveillance and reminding everyone there are a lot of unknowns, but the one thing we do know is that getting vaccinated will reduce the chance of you getting sick and reduce the chance of the country going through a third wave. Next question from the phone.
Operator: Mary from the Tampa tribune.
Mary: I wanted to touch base and you mentioned the survey results, of how many adults said they wanted to get the vaccine. I also wonder if the Christmas holidays will be a factor, as well as the fact that a lot of places with the vaccine now are retail clinics that are charging up to 20 bucks for vaccine. Do you think that will be a problem?
Anne Schuchat: overall, about 50% of respondents said that they are interested in being vaccinated. It varies a little bit by age and it's varied a little bit over time. I think we might have had as many as 60% who wanted to be vaccinated many weeks ago and now it's around 50%. It's backing available at more and more places including the retail farm cities that may charge for the administration of the vaccine. Remember this vaccine is purchased by the government, so no one is allowed to charge for the vaccine itself, but private health care providers and the retail pharmacies can charge an administration fee. We've encouraged people to make sure that that's reasonable and they're not allowed it to exceed the regional Medicare reimbursement fee. We do know that the public health sector is continuing to make sure that vaccine is available without any administration fee either at local health departments or through clinics. I know there were free vaccines at the zoo held in Virginia recently. And there are all kinds of innovative efforts to get vaccine out to people and to really reduce costs being a barrier. It's critical that people be able to protect themselves and their family without the financial hardships that we know so many people are going through. I think those were your questions. Did I get them all? Okay. I guess we're on to the next question from the phone.
Operator: the next is from the associated press. Your line is open.
Marilynn Marchione: good morning. Thanks very much for taking my call. We had a report this morning from the American Veterinary Medical Association that a dog in suburban New York was carrying the same strain of flu that is affecting humans. We've had some rare reports in the past about animals carrying the vaccine. I wonder if you could talk about this and what you'd say it to the public who start thinking about pets and inter-species transmission.
Operator: there have been reports of the h1n1 virus in a variety of species, including some household pets. One important thing to say stepping back is that the human/animal interface is a place where they sometimes emerge, you know, usually very far from here, but animals can carry influenza viruses and so can people. And when they mix, that can sometimes make trouble. In terms of people with pets, with cats and dogs, really this is not a reason to be concerned. We think that the rare occurrences of this virus in other species is not a general problem, so enjoying your pets and your family through the holidays is the best advice. Next question from the phone.
Operator: the next is from Amy Burkholder, CBS news. Your line is open.
Amy Burkholder: yes, hi, Dr. Schuchat. Thank you so much. Quick question. It seems that CDC is pleased with the uptick in kids, but do you have any information about the uptick in pregnant women?
Anne Schuchat: we don't have final data yet for the last bit of time on pregnant women. There's a different survey we're doing to get at that. Our preliminary look at pregnant women was very encouraging, but we'll have better data in January to report more formally on. I would say to qualify, if I said I was encouraged about the uptick in children, I think the critical message is a lot more people need to be vaccinated to protect themselves. We have had a good uptick at the beginning of the program with it going to the priority populations, but now that we have more and more supply, that's a chance for more people to protect themselves and their families. So I hope more parents who have been waiting, watching, wondering what the safety data would show will now be reassured and will take advantage of the vaccine for their children and themselves. Next question.
Operator: the next is from Denise, "New York Times." Your line is open.
Denise Grady: thank you very much. What is the status of the vaccine for the regular seasonal flu? Is there any of it left, is it gone? Is it available to anybody?
Anne Schuchat: yes. And I can tell you my husband got his h1n1 and his seasonal flu vaccine a couple days ago at a pharmacy in the energy area. So there is seasonal flu around. Of course most has already been distributed 37 I believe it's all been distributed, about 112 million doses that the companies were able to produce. There may be a little bit more coming that some of the companies are working on. There's been an effort to really focus with the distributors that still have vaccine to assure that vaccine from distributors can get to the nursing homes that weren't yet able to fill their orders. But we do think that there's a little bit of seasonal flu vaccine around. It will be spotty place to place, but, again, checking with your doctor's office or your pharmacy and retail set to go see what's left. The vast majority has already been used, but we found it locally very recently. Next question from the phone.
Operator: the Baltimore sun, your line is open.
Kelly Brewington: thank you for taking my question. We're hearing reports that another vaccine recall is on the way. We actually were under the impression that this would be discussed during the press call today. Can you confirm this and what you can tell us about it?
Anne Schuchat: I think that FDA would need to talk about that. What I can say is that as part of the h1n1 vaccine program, there's a lot of quality assurance testing and certainly we're cutting no corners at all in terms of how the vaccines are being produced, released and followed after their release. Many people heard about a recall last week. Of course that was not related to safety or any kind of clinical problem. And so I believe that FDA would need to answer questions about any pending decisions they're making. Next question from the phone.
Operator: the next is from providence journal. Your line is open.
Felice Freyer: thanks very much. I'm wondering if you have now or expect to have information on a state by state basis that would show what percentage of the target group are being vaccinated in each state. For example, North Dakota, 50% of pregnant women, that sort of thing, to help you decide what the best practices were.
Anne Schuchat: that's a really important question. We are a carrying out survey takes will involve every state through the behavioral risk factor surveillance system that many of the states use to track things like smoking prevalence and so forth. So we'll be gathering more and more data about what has been achieved so far in the immunization effort, whether shall states were able to reach a lot more children or a lot more pregnant women or a lot more people than other states were. We're very interested in identifying best practices, what works in different contexts and sharing those. We think the h1n1 pandemic has really improved our ability to deliver vaccine to children through the schools because probably 2/3 of the states have carried out school associated vaccination efforts. But we don't know yet whether coverage was higher in the states that did those school based programs versus other states. There will be an enormous amount of learning to come that can really help us with seasonal flu prevention in the years ahead. So we'll look forward to sharing those data when they're available. Two more questions we have time for. So the second to last question from the phone.
Operator: the next is from Augusta Chronicle. Your line is open.
Tom Corwin: thanks for taking my call. We're being told that CDC is redirecting vaccine from the states to the retail side about 10 million doses. I'm wondering why that's happening and if that number is correct that it's 10 million.
Anne Schuchat: there's no redirection of vaccine from the states going on. CDC is working very closely with the state and local health departments throughout this h1n1 vaccination program. We're working hard to make sure that we can get vaccine in the path of people who need and want it. And so there's no redirection happening. That's a misunderstanding. Is there -- let's go to the next question, which is the last question from the phone.
Operator: the next is from Karen, your line is open.
Karen Zeitvogel: thank you for taking my call. I was wondering about the study that was published online by JAMA where they say they found that a single dose, 15 micro grams, is enough to immunize children from 6 months to 18 and why are those findings different from what was found earlier? Do you have any insight into that?
Anne Schuchat: the study that was reported from JAMA was one single study with one particular vaccine in one population at one point in time. There are you other studies that have been done and it's through those that we strongly believe that two doses are needed for children under ten. So I think there will be lots of scientific discussions about that study, what the particulars were that might have been unusual, but based on everything that I know right now, I think it's very important for parents for make sure that their children who are under ten get their second dose of the h1n1 vaccine. So thanks, everybody, happy holiday and see you next year, I think.
This article was provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Visit the CDC's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services.
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source : Mizzima
|by Salai Pi Pi|
|New Delhi (Mizzima) – Nearly a hundred Burmese activists and Indian supporters on Monday staged a sit-in protest in New Delhi in demand of the release of political prisoners in Burma, including detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The protestors, who held a sit-in demonstration for at least five hours near India’s parliament building, demanded India pressure the Burmese military government for the release of political prisoners in Burma.
“We are here to send a message to the world that we show solidarity with the democracy movement in Burma and to respect political prisoners in Burma,” Dr. Alana Golmei, an Indian supporter who joined the protest, told Mizzima.
Golmei said the protestors also urged India, a neighbor to Burma and the world’s largest democracy, to pressure the Burmese junta for the release of prisoners of conscience, including Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The sit-in protest came as a part of a global campaign seeking the release of the more than 2,000 political prisoners languishing in prisons across Burma. Campaigners in several countries have reaffirmed their call on the Burmese junta to immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
As part of the campaign, activists across the globe have begun collecting signatures and organizing online petitions, in addition to staging protests and sit-in demonstrations.
Golmei said activists in India have been collecting signatures supporting the release of Burmese political prisoners, and will hold a candlelight vigil prayer on Monday.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners – Burma (AAPP-B) the number of political prisoners in the stricken country has doubled since the September 2007 protests, today totaling over 2,000 wrongfully detained.
Bo Kyi, joint-secretary of AAPP-B, said the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners must be the first step in initiating political reforms in Burma.
“If the military regime wants to start national reconciliation, which is needed for paving the way for political reform in the country, they must first release all political prisoners,” he said.
However, Bo Kyi warned that past, international pressure on the Burmese regime regarding the release of political prisoners, including that by the United Nations, has not proven effective.
“The calls of the international community for the release of political prisoners are just mentioned on paper. And that’s not enough,” he said. “We believe that if they exert effective action on the junta, the prisoners will be released.”
The AAPP-B and Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB), today, launched a global signature campaign for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. The initiative will conclude on May 20.
“The campaign is to convince the international community on the importance of the release of political prisoners for political reform in the country [Burma] and to make world leaders understand how to push the junta to release political prisoners,” Bo Kyi affirmed.
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has spent over 13 of the last 19 years in detention.
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Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Stop Laughing, Start Talking
Over at the Corner, Matthew Franck is amused: I don't know what other conclusion to draw from an article that uses, as its prominent example of progressive originalism, the recent "conversion" of Yale law professor Jack Balkin to "fidelity to the original meaning of the Constitution," proclaimed in the course of his arguing that the text and history of the Fourteenth Amendment support . . . the right to abortion. The editors of TNR seem to have gotten the joke. They title the piece "Origin Myth." Who was it who said that sincerity is so important a political quality that politicians must learn to fake it?
I don't know what other conclusion to draw from an article that uses, as its prominent example of progressive originalism, the recent "conversion" of Yale law professor Jack Balkin to "fidelity to the original meaning of the Constitution," proclaimed in the course of his arguing that the text and history of the Fourteenth Amendment support . . . the right to abortion.
The editors of TNR seem to have gotten the joke. They title the piece "Origin Myth." Who was it who said that sincerity is so important a political quality that politicians must learn to fake it?
But, if it's a debate about torture (see Jane Mayer thread and deleted comments below), then you are fine with wanting to "Stop Talking, Start Laughing" right?
Originalism does NOT commit the Intentional Fallacy?
And of all the hermeneutic theories one does NOT study in law school, of all the philosophy of language courses one does NOT study in law school, one wonders where Originalism come from?
Clearly, Originalism denies polysemy, which even Medieval scholars granted, it does not distinguish between denotation and connotation, appears essentialist rather than nominalistic, and is unclear whether is it literary, form, and redaction criticism. Perhaps divining original intent is the literal-historical devaju method with post-structural deconstructionism pre-social constructionism.
Actually, I think Justices use the Ad Hoc method introduced by Aristotle: Arrive at a decision, and they give reasons for it. Not very elegant perhaps, but after the recent decisions, reversing the use of race to remedy the Court's own use of racism in Plessy, it's either Ad Hoc or those black robes give them the impression that they are diviners of different occult spirits. Divining original intent would be quite a supernatural feat.
Obviously, that would be much easier if Marty didn't delete comments and/or responded to e-mail about this -- as I told you via e-mail, I've admired your commitment to freedom of speech at least, but that regardless I would do whatever I can do to help keep comments open -- if you ask me to not post here anymore, I would gladly comply.
Although I don't want to put words into Professor Balkin's mouth, I believe he's suggesting that you engage in a private discussion (via email) with whoever it is you're debating. Introducing an argument on torture does nothing to further the comments/debate on topics such as Lederman's "When Does the Sun Set on Warrantless Surveillance?" post.
The problem is that originalism is both a constitutional theory and a political slogan. And many pundits, political hacks, and members of the general public know only the latter connotation, which tells a story of liberal academics, lawyers, and judges making up stuff that wasn't in the Constitution and creating rights out of whole cloth.
Add in a dash of the anti-intellectualism that is rampant in movement conservativism-- you'd be surprised how many conservatives believe that liberal scholarship is nothing more than a bunch of Ward Churchills indoctrinating their children and clothing their politics in a thin vaneer of scholarship. And what you get is people who have no idea that originalism can lead to liberal results, who have no idea that many conservative judges and scholars reject it, and who have no idea that it is applied so inconsistently even by those who purport to defend it.
The fundamental problem with arguing with folks with that mindset is that they really don't care whether you went back and looked at the original intention or understanding or meaning and found evidence supporting a particular result. They just want the cases to come out they way they want them to, and accusing liberals of insufficient fidelity to the framers' intent is a useful tool to push the law in their preferred direction.
I can appreciate that, Kevin, but what am I to do if Marty ignores e-mail as well? What I was trying to point out to Jack is the hypocrisy of his "Stop Laughing, Start Talking" post in general, and asking for his opinion about shutting down comments in other threads specifically. Marty, I've written off as hopeless.
Because Dilan said everything I was thinking so eloquently, I don't have much to add.
I will this: @ "the gay species" . . . your comment (and in general all your posts) basically amounts to someone who has no idea what they're talking about name-dropping academic jargon in a barely coherent manner.
ALSO, NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT ORIGINAL INTENT ANYMORE! That is old hat and no one in academia cares or even debates the point anymore. Perhaps more importantly for present purposes, no one posting on this thread cares.
Dilan wrote: "originalism is both a constitutional theory and a political slogan."
I disagree. It is a tool that can be used in interpreting the Constitution (or a law, I guess), but it is not a coherent theory of interpretation. It's certainly not used as such by originalists of various stripes in 14th Amendment cases.
It is much, much more often used as a slogan, designed to reach a certain policy result (tough on civil plaintiffs, tough on criminal defendants, as Rehnquist explained).
It will be terrific when Prof. Franck responds! The National Review is known for its careful, scholarly consideration of opposing views, and its unshakable commitment to intellectual honesty.
"There's no fakery here. No insincerity either."
Well, of course that's what you'd say. ;)
Seriously, I think the vast range of disagreement being exhibited here is evidence that you're not all really using the same interpretive approach; Common approaches to the same source material ought to converge, after all. And we're not seeing convergence.
I'll get around to reading those papers, but not tonight; The Eastern Michigan Fair has just opened 6 miles away, and I've got to take my lovely wife there.
I think skeptics will be much more inclined to believe your sincerity if they know your views on the Second Amendment. At least, that's what convinced me when you came to speak at Professor Barnett's class this past Spring (which I was a member of).
Distinguish between originalism and (conservative) originalists. Yes, originalism has been applied inconsistently by many conservatives, who've pretty much monopolized the method up till now. All the more reason I'm glad to see liberals starting to adopt the method; I hope it'll keep the conservatives honest (and vice versa) in how they apply it.
I'll say this in Franck's defense: I've read the TNR article, and frankly it does look like the authors are purely interested in coopting conservative rhetoric to produce liberal results. I can see how someone reading that article would get a bad impression of Professor Balkin, though it's not his fault.
The Gay Species: I think Justices use the Ad Hoc method introduced by Aristotle: Arrive at a decision, and they give reasons for it.
Truly, I think this is a psychological reality and inevitability. But we can strive for more. And some of us do. I don't reckon Scalia or Thomas are "of us".
Have you looked at Professor Tamanaha's "Law as a Means to an End?" I think he pretty well nails the distinctions you're trying to make. And, not to put too fine a point on it, your complaints about the average DUI hack's lack of exposure to matters of hermeneutics certainly doesn't apply uniformly.
...Originalism denies polysemy...
Do you mean that with respect to Professor Balkin's work in context of Originalism?
Seriously, I think the vast range of disagreement being exhibited here is evidence that you're not all really using the same interpretive approach;
Where did Professor Balkin claim to be using the same interpretive approach? I thought his claim was more along the lines that the progressive legal scholars who have not allowed conservatives to have the only say over what is the original meaning of the Constitution actually have a better interpretive approach than those so-called originalists.
Common approaches to the same source material ought to converge, after all. And we're not seeing convergence.
I wish this were true. Try asking various theologians to interpret the same clause of the Bible and see what you get.
Calvin TerBeek: Robert, do you teach?
Uh, kindof a non-sequitur. I sure wouldn't deign to teach anyone here 'cause I know when I'm outgunned. I try to give as good as I get, 'though. Why do you ask? I used to teach personal development seminars with a linguistics spin, and I've done some University extension courses for UCSB, web management and the like.
"Try asking various theologians to interpret the same clause of the Bible and see what you get."
Yes, but that's because theologians aren't approaching the Bible as originalists. They can't; Because the Bible can't be amended, non-originalist interpretation is the only way it has of adapting to changing circumstances.
It's precisely because the Constitution can be amended that originalism is a feasible approach over time: You can resolve failures of the text to work in changed circumstances by changing the text, instead of using a warped interpretation to arrive at a 'meaning' that derives more from what you need than from the text itself.
just wondering. like your comments ususally. i saw that you made an admirable attempt to save the TGS's comment. I probably went to hard on him/her. I have a suspicion, unwarranted or not, that its comments like that are the cause of Prof Lederman's campaign. Anyhow, i tried to send you all this an email from your page but it got bounced back to me. what is your email?
@Calvin TerBeek, beau ( a t ) oblios-cap ( d o t ) com
Be thrilled to hear from you. :)
I think my and Arne's incessant riding of the vandals is more what Prof. Lederman set his sights on. Well, that and the vandalism itself, of course. I'm doing my best on that score.
I've visited TSG's blog; it's worth the clicks, imo.
Yes, but that's because theologians aren't approaching the Bible as originalists.
This is just wrong. Protestants, especially, are textualists, with meaning fixed as of the date of writing. In those cases where text is in dispute or ambiguous, those we call Fundamentalists use evidence from that era to support their interpretations. You can argue about Catholics, but I am sure they'd insist that they're good originalists too (though they allow for construction).
It's precisely because the Constitution can be amended that originalism is a feasible approach over time: You can resolve failures of the text to work in changed circumstances by changing the text
You have it exactly backwards: it's precisely because the Biblical text is considered divinely inspired and invariant that originalism makes some sense in exegesis. It makes no sense at all with a Constitution adopted by a fallible and very unrepresentative group of voters, who then tried to freeze their anti-democratic views into place via a counter-majoritarian amendment process.
From experience I have my doubts as to the potential efficacy of engaging certain interlocutors, but since you have so engaged perhaps you will let me piggy-back on your statement.
Originalism, with either Bible interpretation or Constitutional interpretation, is most often a sham, nothing more than a rhetorical ploy to shut down logical thought and discourse. The Christian bible is chock full of contradictions, some profound, some not. The differences between the two versions of "The Lord's Prayer" puts the lie to any claim of "strict, literal, 'originalist' interpretation" of that Scripture; strict bi-valent logic requires that one of those versions is "divinely inspired" falsehood. So too for the two versions of Genesis. Worse still, your interlocutor's statements show a childishly naive failure to appreciate the history of the development of the specific collection of texts known as "The Bible". Add the displayed ignorance to the logical failures and the clear conclusion is that this particular conversationalist probably isn't going to give you the best ROI.
I don't think it's an accident, however, that Originalism in the political sphere seems to have taken its deepest roots in the party snuggled most comfortably in bed with local religious extremists. The lie of literalism, i.e. "originalism", in Constitutional interpretation would sell very well with a certain group of voters as they are already well practiced at the denial and repressions required to support such a reading of their Scripture. These very much seem to be the voters a Scalia or a Thomas are pandering to when they disingenuously mouth terms like "Originalism".
Time and again it seems to me the greatest challenge liberals/progressives face in dealing with right-wing rhetoric is getting over the bad habit of taking it at face value. Most of the time these arguments are either a) disingenuous, a means to an end, as with Scalia and Thomas, or b) born of ignorance, parroted by the true believers courted by the group in a). In particular, we tend to fail to take into account the basically anti-intellectual nature of our opponents, best exemplified locally with one commentator who boasts of being a black-and-white thinker. There's a comfort to such a simple view, despite the hobbling effects of such childish simplicity. Once someone has so elevated this basically anti-intellectual presumption of bifurcation there is little point of discourse save in terms crafted to suit their adopted perceptual filters: You, with a devotion to truth and reality even where it doesn't fit convenient (lazy?) bifurcation, are right; they, with a childish reliance on simple black-and-whites are wrong, for a sound argument is not made up of true conclusions alone, but rather true conclusions arrived at by valid inference from true premises. So long as the black-and-whiters insist on bifurcating Pantone(tm) reality their arguments can never be sound.
In those cases where text is in dispute or ambiguous, those we call Fundamentalists use evidence from that era to support their interpretations.
Not really. Christian Fundamentalists tend to use evidence and argument original to the last 10% of the Christian era, even while they make ahistorical claims to be representing more than 2000 years of Christian tradition by insisting on doctrines like premillenialism.
"NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT ORIGINAL INTENT ANYMORE!"
That stopped when Gov. Bush became President Bush. The political side of the original intent debates was always about conservatives trying to limit the power wielded by Democrats.
When they gained control of the White House and Congress, the organs pushing original intent into the political debate disappeared.
Witness the silence from the principal proponents of original intent on what used to be important issues to conservatives, like executive privilege and the use of military power. When their "side" gained power, all conversation on the topic ceased.
As Balkin and many others have noted, the original intent form of originalism began to fall from grace more than 15 years before George W. Bush moved into the White House. It may continue to have a living dead existence among the political chatterers, but it has long been out of favor among legal scholars.
From experience I have my doubts as to the potential efficacy of engaging certain interlocutors
While I disagree regularly (not always) with Brett, I think he's a serious, legitimate poster who will engage in dialogue and admit it if he makes a mistake.
The Christian bible is chock full of contradictions, some profound, some not. The differences between the two versions of "The Lord's Prayer" puts the lie to any claim of "strict, literal, 'originalist' interpretation" of that Scripture; strict bi-valent logic requires that one of those versions is "divinely inspired" falsehood.
I certainly agree that the Bible is self-contradictory. I'm merely pointing out what Christian exegesists believe they're doing.
I don't think it's an accident, however, that Originalism in the political sphere seems to have taken its deepest roots in the party snuggled most comfortably in bed with local religious extremists. The lie of literalism, i.e. "originalism", in Constitutional interpretation would sell very well with a certain group of voters
Agreed. I think there's a natural affinity in the attitude towards texts which leads to this association. The difference, as I pointed out above, is that one text was (in the minds of believers) divinely inspired, while the other was not. That, it seems to me, should affect the way one approaches the text, but apparently it doesn't.
Christian Fundamentalists tend to use evidence and argument original to the last 10% of the Christian era, even while they make ahistorical claims to be representing more than 2000 years of Christian tradition by insisting on doctrines like premillenialism.
Fair enough. It's an originalist approach in the sense that it defines a particular era and reasons from that both forward and backward.
Brett, you seem to be saying that originalism should be the preferred approach to Constitutional interpretation because the Constitution can be amended in cases where the language of the document does not permit ready application to a case at hand. Is that a correct characterization of your position?
Mark Field: ...I think [Brett]'s a serious, legitimate poster...
I will plead faulty memory so as to take your commendation. It is certainly to everyone's benefit to have different perspectives.
Brett, I hope you will accept my apology for being unduly dismissive, and hope in time to earn your esteem as you have won Mark's.
Mark Field: The difference, as I pointed out above, is that one text was (in the minds of believers) divinely inspired...
I think it fair to sort the faithful into two main camps, the studied, educated faithful, and the less so; the shepherds and the sheep, if you will. I think your comment applies with great force to the sheep, much less so to the shepherd. I might add here that I am ordained, my mother assistant pastor of the church of my youth, and my cynicism on such matters arguably born of experience. Originalism (i.e. purported literal texualism) preached by shepherd to sheep is often a means of delivering peace of mind to the flock, and as such need not be disingenuous; faith is inherently irrational (but, please, note, there's nothing inherently pejorative about the irrational.) When originalism is preached in the political sphere this issue of shepherd v sheep comes again into play. A Scalia is not a sheep, and I think it unwise and unrealistic to credit one such as him with the slack one might cut for one of the flock. When a political hack lifts the specious reasoning from one sphere and applies it to another, as much to carry his "base" as to legitimately dispute opponents, that's a very different matter than when one of the flock rests his arguments on his Scripture. This also raises the observation that where liberals/progressives tend to try to convince their interlocutors, conservatives are typically trying to sway, or hold, voters. Makes a world of difference, because even where a liberal "wins" against a right winger, forcing them to admit color in what they had tried to frame as black-or-white the right-winger wins the only battle they care about: the confirm the world view of their faithful, by way of the self-sealing prophecy that either the right will win by virtue of being correct to bifurcate or will be subjected to anti-bifurcative "tricks" of their devilish opponents. Either way, the anti-intellectualism is sustained in the eyes of the folks who count to the right wing.
"God Said It, I Believe It, That Settles It," is not sound argumentation, but it's tremendously effective rhetoric for a certain class of "thinker." Using the same form of sophistry with folks already comfortable with this kind of reasoning will only make it that much easier to "convince" them---and to prejudice those same people against any efforts to create legitimate discourse. "The Constitution Says It, I Told You That's What It Says, That Settles It," is what Originalism means in the hands of the right wing.
This is not as well structured as I would wish. There's a lot of ground being covered. But I think TGS was on a worthwhile branch of inquiry, that there are relevant issues here, but it's a big, big can o' worms.
There is an interesting difference between those preaching "God Said It, I Believe It, That Settles It" and those preaching "The Constitution Says It, I Told You That's What It Says, That Settles It."
Many of the "God Said It, I Believe It, That Settles It" clergy who are seeking to protect their orthodoxy and tradition take a strident public position against the rational and historical examination of their original texts. They are publicly opposed to Higher Criticism and the like. A received cultural understanding dominates over the history, facts, and original meaning of the texts.
On the other hand, many of the "The Constitution Says It, I Told You That's What It Says, That Settles It" demagogues, who are also seeking to protect their orthodoxy and tradition, publicly promote their position as being a rational and historical examination of their original texts. At least in theory, the methods of conservative constitutional originalists are open to textual analysis and criticism that are very similar to those that are rejected by religious conservatives as deplorable liberal theology.
Mark: At least in theory, the methods of conservative constitutional originalists are open to textual analysis and criticism that are very similar to those that are rejected by religious conservatives as deplorable liberal theology.
My point being that any such theory is given lie by the generally anti-intellectual tenor of folks denying the legitimacy of the kinds of interpretive methods invoked by TGS way up thread. Conservative originalists are indeed wide open to any argument or scrutiny, excepting of course for analysis by methods already prejudged as illegitimate on a guilt-by-association basis precisely because of the need to avoid such types of investigation in the theological realm. Or so goes one plausible line or reasoning in my head. Ultimately it's appeal to meta-authority mediated by appeal to authority, with God and the Constitution as the meta-authorities, the clergy and the bench as the authorities, and no real incentive to dig any deeper. But considering most folks don't know empiricism from imperialism, much less how to tell a truly empirical fact from an appeal to authority flatly asserting but absent steps to reproduce allegedly empirical observations, well, seems to me it's an uphill battle at best.
Perhaps it is a smaller and more surmountable hill in the academy than in the popular political realm. At least among scholars, anti-intellectual rhetoric is supposed to be less well received.
Best of luck on your climb, Professor Balkin.
I think Balkin clearly is right on this. I watched a video, available online, of Franck speaking to Robbie George's James Madison program at Princeton, Oct. 3, 2006.
Franck argued that when the Supreme Court is activist, it violates the Constitution. And towards the end said something along the lines of the Supreme Court violates the Constitution all the time every term, but he couldn't think of the last time Congress violated the Constitution.
Franck, like Scalia, believes in "democratic theory" where questions about the public good should be decided by "the people." Thus, Franck like Scalia wants the people to be able to determine whether post-New Deal big federal programs are acceptable.
The problem is the original expected application of the Commerce Clause's text and the limited enumeration of Congress' power would have the Framers believing much of what the Congress does under its post-New Deal understanding of constitutional powers to be unconstitutional.
So that everything Congress does when it builds upon post-New Deal Federal programs -- and it does so practically every day it's in session -- violates the Constitution according to the original expectated application of the Constitution's text.
If originalism can vet what Congress does on a daily basis using its post-New Deal understanding of congressional power, as Franck apparently thinks it can, then originalism can surely vet the right to abortion and sodomy as well.
I think the mistake you make is thinking that constitutional disagreement must be interpretive. But it isn't always (or even usually). If you and I disagree about whether affirmative action is consistent with equal protection, we aren't disagreeing about the meaning of words, but about the justifications for affirmative action.
Sorry about the delay in responding, my wife insists that I should have something she calls a "life". LOL!
Don't sweat it, Robert, I'm firmly of the opinion that a free society requires people to have thick skins, and mine is like rhino hide. :)
Eugene, not quite: The availability of an amendment process is what makes application of originalism feasible: If the Constitution's text were fixed for all time, we would indeed be forced to employ methods of 'interpretation' which could find a meaning which varied with circumstance. However, since the text, and thus the actual meaning, of the Constitution, is subject to formal amendment, we can adjust the actual meaning to fit changed circumstances, and are thus free to use an interpretive technique which is true to that fixed, (So long as the text isn't changed.) meaning.
What makes originalism prefered is that it IS a form of "interpretation". Allow me to explain:
You could create, I suppose, a digital filter such that a Bangles CD played through it would sound like Ravel's Bolero. Would this make Ravel's Bolero an "interpretation" of the Bangles? Nope: We'd all recognize that the filter was just substituting what we were hearing for the actual CD's contents.
Similarly, you can employ a technique of 'interpretation' which takes a Constitution written over 200 years ago, and finds a meaning in it which, strangely enough, varies according to need. But the truth is, you're not "interpreting" if you do that, you're "substituting".
So my position is that you're only really "interpreting" to the extent that you're employing an originalist approach. Making it not the "prefered" form of interpretation, but instead the only form.
The availability of an amendment process is what makes application of originalism feasible: If the Constitution's text were fixed for all time, we would indeed be forced to employ methods of 'interpretation' which could find a meaning which varied with circumstance.
Since the most egregious provision of the (current) Constitution is indeed "fixed for all time" (Art. V: "Provided, that ... no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate."), I assume you'd have no problem "interpreting" this out of existence.
That's leaving aside the problems with the amendment process I noted above.
Similarly, you can employ a technique of 'interpretation' which takes a Constitution written over 200 years ago, and finds a meaning in it which, strangely enough, varies according to need. But the truth is, you're not "interpreting" if you do that, you're "substituting".
That assumes a fixed meaning to begin with, i.e., a standard against which anyone's understanding of the text can be measured objectively. There is no such standard.
That's putting aside the fact that reasonable people might, you know, actually just disagree about meaning.
Mark, why would you have to 'interpret' that clause out of existence? Two clear routes exist to abolishing it via Article V:
1. Secure the agreement of the relevant states to abolishing that guarantee. Not likely, I'll agree, without some major compensation, but not theoretically impossible; State legislatures did, after all, amend the Constitution to deprive themselves of the power to appoint those Senators.
2. Abolish the Senate altogether, or reduce it to ceremonial status. A guarantee of equal representation doesn't count for much when the body in question no longer exists. And, given representation on the same basis as the House, it loses it's last reason for being a distinct body.
See how simple these problems are, when you're not looking for an excuse to circumvent Article V?
Secure the agreement of the relevant states to abolishing that guarantee. Not likely, I'll agree, without some major compensation, but not theoretically impossiblePost a Comment
I find this condition precedent illusory. But even if it happened, Art. V would still require a 3/4 vote among the states. Hardly a democratic process, and not one other states would likely accept if they themselves wanted to preserve their own representation in the Senate. Even if we somehow persuaded one state to give up its representation (say, merge WV back into VA), other states might very well refuse to agree for fear of the precedent it would set.
Abolish the Senate altogether, or reduce it to ceremonial status.
I don't believe the language of the clause, fairly read, would permit abolishing it altogether. Reducing its powers would be possible, but hardly likely given the 3/4 requirement.
I frankly don't see that implausible hypotheticals add much support to an interpretive method which maintains such an undemocratic process. And I can't, for the life of me, see how such a method can be justified as "democratic".
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Insurers May Cash In on Climate Change
Climate change isn't just a crisis. It's a business opportunity--at least in the view of insurance industry leaders, who are mapping out a strategy that could force the rest of the economy to grapple with global warming as never before.
American International Group, the world's largest insurer, announced two weeks ago that it was "actively seeking to incorporate environmental and climate change considerations across its businesses." It is developing new products to respond to the global drive to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Last month, the No. 1 insurance broker, Marsh & McLennan, distributed a white paper to a roster of Fortune 500 clients, suggesting that corporations ranging from soft-drink companies to banks may need to respond to global warming or be left out in the cold.
These are the first such moves by U.S. insurers, but in Europe, giant reinsurers like Swiss Re have long been active in the Kyoto Protocol, under which 36 nations have been participating in a market-based system to cut carbon dioxide. The phenomenal growth of that fledgling market, coinciding with last year's record claims due to the violent Gulf Coast hurricanes, has focused insurers on the money that could be made--or lost--on climate change. That's a welcome development for environmentalists. "They are a high-leverage, high-impact industry," says Mindy Lubber, president of the shareholder activist group Ceres. Ceres coordinates the Investor Network on Climate Risk, institutional investors who manage $3 trillion in assets and have been pushing for insurers to become advocates on the issue, much as they pushed successfully in the past for fire codes or auto safety regulations.
Many attribute insurers' new climate awareness to the record $55.3 billion in natural disaster losses they sustained in 2005, double the previous high point set just the year before, with Hurricane Katrina leading the pack.
Retreating. Insurers certainly are pushing through massive rate increases on the southeastern coast of the United States, retreating from some areas altogether, but the companies maintain that these are standard underwriting decisions, separate from their climate change activities. "We don't make the leap where we are saying that we endorse the idea that hurricanes are a direct result of global warming or that global warming is a direct result of human activities," says Chris Winans, an AIG vice president. "But we take the possibility seriously."
The climate strategies the insurers have spelled out aren't about avoiding losses; they're about generating revenue. For example, AIG aims to get in on Europe's carbon-trading scheme, a market valued at $10 billion last year and, although climbing out of a precipitous fall a few weeks ago, one that is expected to surpass $25 billion in 2006. Even though the United States has not signed on to Kyoto and does not participate, AIG says it will invest in projects around the globe aimed at generating credits to trade on this market. (Buyers would be factories or power companies that are struggling to meet their emissions limits under the treaty.)
Karl Schultz of the consulting group Energy Edge in London says there's "something of a feeding frenzy" of investors clamoring for United Nations approval of their green energy projects so they can trade credits. "Now you're seeing a whole new breed of people coming out of the more traditional financial institutions--the pure business suits as opposed to suits that carry the green badge," Schultz says. AIG also wants to advise corporations, consulting with them on how to get into the carbon market and even developing a new insurance policy to protect against the risk of a project's failure to generate tradable credits.
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CBI: Saul Levmore, "From the Wheel to Open Source Software: Growth and Property Rights"
Reasonably secure property rights are widely understood as important for economic growth, though it is also understood that interest groups and politicians can benefit from particular configurations of rights. What might change in a world where intellectual property dominates? How should we expect innovators to be motivated in the next century? The history of the evolution of property rights, and of the roles played by courts and legislatures in defining these rights, offers clues about our legal and technological future.
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MOPA to Host Words Alive! Book Drive to Benefit San Diego Area Children
The Museum of Photographic Arts is excited to collaborate with Words Alive to host a book drive benefitting youth in San Diego. The collected books will be distributed to communities with limited access to quality reading materials and education supplements and will kick off on Saturday, April 9 with the start of National Library Week.
“MoPA is an institution committed to furthering the education of youths in and around our community,” said Deborah Klocko, executive director, MoPA. “Our Dubois Library is a source of learning for many children and we want to expand upon that commitment by supporting literacy and a love of learning for all San Diego-area children.”
MoPA will be collecting books from April 9 - May 14 and hopes to collect 350 books for San Diego children. The book drive with kick off with an event on Saturday, April 9 at MoPA and will include MoPA’s monthly Family Film Day. The Princess Bride will be screened at 1:00 pm in MoPA’s Joan and Irwin Jacobs Theater and is free and open to the public with a suggested book donation. Following the film, MoPA will host a storytelling time with the librarian, as well as book-related crafts for the entire family.
“Even the gift of one book can make a difference in a child’s life,” said Holland Kessinger, librarian, MoPA. “A love of learning begins with basic reading and comprehension skills that will benefit a child throughout the course of their life. Reading is not only meant to be educational, but also enjoyable.”
The Edmund L. and Nancy K. Dubois Libraryat MoPA is a unique collection, including everything from monographs to magazines, and encyclopedias to exhibition catalogs. The Dubois Library’s unique collection of rare books, fine art photography catalogs and historic reference material is available for use to MoPA members, researchers and students.
Press Opportunities:To request high resolution images, schedule interviews, or additional information, please contact Kristine Page at 619.238.7559, ext. 203 or via email (email@example.com).
The Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA) is one of the premier institutions in the United States devoted to photography, film and video. Since its founding in 1983, MoPA has been dedicated to collecting, preserving and exhibiting the entire spectrum of the photographic medium. The Museum’s endeavors consistently address cultural, historical and social issues through its exhibitions and public programs.
About Words Alive:
Founded in 1999, Words Alive is a non-profit organization that helps underserved, low-income, at-risk children, teens and adults discover how books can add meaning to their lives. Through innovative programs and initiatives, Words Alive aims to open opportunities for life success by inspiring a commitment to reading. For more information about Words Alive, its programs, volunteer opportunities, annual Authors Luncheon and giving opportunities, please contact Patrick Stewart, executive director, at (858) 274-9673, firstname.lastname@example.org access our website at www.wordsalive.org.
# # #
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The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by db Conard, The Quill
Alta is her name and if there was a way to describe her it would be as a unique rare human who truly does "live the woods," which is so different than just living in the woods.
There are very few who are allowed into Alta's unique world. It is a beautiful one, built almost entirely by her own hands.
As you turn up her drive in northern Minnesota near the Canadian border, it seems to go on forever as you travel deep into the north woods along miles of road that is shared by only a very few neighbors.
As you reach the very end of the road, you find yourself entering a place of living art. You immediately know that you have arrived at a home that is out of the ordinary.
Every where you look there is something to catch your eye. A sculpture made of tiles of different colors and shapes with a few marbles thrown in. Home made bird feeders that need constant refilling because of an incredible number of feathered friends that show no fear in Alta's. presence.
Alta has a building for everything, sauna, wood storage and splitting center, with seven cords of ash and birch waiting to be cut and split with as much already stacked and covered, waiting for her several stoves.
Storage sheds that she builds as the need arises, an out house like no other, filled with art and photo memories, the main house and garage blend right in with the other out buildings and the forest around her.
There is always a collection of something that has a unique shape, color or form that has caught Alta's eye which she uses to accent the walls that would otherwise be plain and uninteresting.
As you enter her home, you discover a world no less interesting than the one outside. Craftsmanship everywhere you look, bespeaking of thoughtful effort from the trim of each room covered with pressed and varnished leaves of every type and size, to her forest of house plants.
Her home is one that would keep your eyes dancing from one item to the next. Many items that are found in nature but all too often, go unseen by the common eye.
Rocks and paintings, photos and cards, all thoughtfully placed to create a nest in the woods that reflects this unique woman with an even more unique lifestyle.
When you say she lives the woods it is the only thing that comes close to describing a way of living that is sustained by nature not unlike any other creature in the forest. Her freezer is full of the game and fish that she caught and prepared with her own hands. There is no furnace, nor is there running water. Her windows are protected by bear strips which are boards with nails sticking out which discourage critters from trying to crawl in.
Alta relies on little from outside of her own capabilities. She will trek miles through the snow breaking a trail to a fishing hole for a mess of crape that will end as many meals, or hours dressing out a deer that will become many more meals for herself and her dog Beka. Her vegetables for the most part come from her own garden.
She does venture out into the world where one minute she does landscaping, and the next she is making incredible pies from the wild fruit she has gathered to sell in town. Crafts for art shows, or a few days as a wilderness guide. No job is too big or small to make ends meet, while keeping her independence from the world of time clocks and computers.
Alta has been there and done that. From working fighting forest fires to planting trees, or working behind a desk, there seemingly is nothing she can't or won't do that she sets her mind to. From her hands, there is always something being created, but most particularly, she has learned a self reliance that is unique to this world of people dependent on everyone else for even their most basic needs.
To me, Alta is truly a treasure of the heartland in that she keeps alive the pioneer spirit of can and make do. It's the treasure that has been lost to our modern world of energy and machines that leave us sometimes helpless when they fail. She is also a treasure in that she looks with appreciation for what she has been given and within her own strengths for building on them. In doing so, she is creating another wonderful American story we can learn from - "Alta, Living the Woods."
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In this episode of Dubspot’s Wireless interview series, influential composer and electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick invites Dubspot instructor Raz Mesinai a.k.a Badawi to his studio for an interview. Their discussion ranges from the innovations and rapid acceleration of music technology over the last sixty years to developing an iOS app that presents a new way for kids to create music.
Morton Subotnick is best known for his now classic 1967 composition Silver Apples of The Moon, which was one of the first electronic works commissioned by a record company. NYC label Nonesuch Records (familiar to many world music fans for their Nonesuch Explorer series of recordings from around the world) licensed the piece at a time when electronic music was not recognized as a serious art form. Today, Morton Subotnick continues to compose, tour, and work on interactive electronics and multimedia projects. He recently developed the new instrument Pitch Painter for the iPad. Catch Morton Subotnick at Moogfest 2012 performing “From Silver Apples to a Sky of Cloudless Sulfur” kicking off October 26, 2012 – today!
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outStanding in the Field
Where the Bible Meets the Blues
Bill Carter Joins Theology and Jazz
The first time Bill
Carter tried using his talents as a jazz musician in worship at the First Presbyterian
Church in Clarks Summit, PA, (the congregation he has pastored for the past seven years)
was on a Sunday in Lent. The lectionary psalm for the day (Psalm 137) gruesomely lamented
Israel's Babylonian captivity by asking God to dash the captors' children's heads against
It was also Girl Scout Sunday.
With that bizarre juxtaposition and his admittedly devilish sense of humor, Carter
decided to present the psalm as a blues piece.
"The text was about being a long way from home," he says, "and the
psalmist chose to sing in the language of oppression. For us in America, that's the
So Carter, a professional jazz pianist before he enrolled at Princeton Seminary in
1982, arranged a blues rendition of the text for a tenor in his choir and accompanied him
on piano. "After he sang, I talked about what it meant to feel far from home, but the
music was really the sermon."
Joining jazz and theology is now commonplace in Carter's ministry; in a sense, it
furnishes a defining paradigm for his faith. "I've always been concerned about
integrating the various pieces of my life," he says, "especially since I was
called to ministry. The Reformed tradition speaks strongly to the head, the intellectual
part of who I am. It's very text-oriented. But when we smashed our statues and took the
arts out of our churches during the Reformation, we lost something. Theoretical truth must
also be embodied."
For Carter, jazz is the tune that incarnates the text. "Jazz and other new,
non-traditional forms of liturgical music join the text of the Scripture and the church's
historic confessions with the tune of human experience," he explains.
He thinks good preaching should do the same thing. "I've learned how to preach
good sermons by tuning in to other preachers who tell stories from human experience, like
Fred Craddock [former professor of preaching and New Testament at Candler School of
Theology]. I listen to his tapes and try out his sermon tunes in my voice. That's how you
learn to play jazz, too. You listen to Coltrane or Brubeck and put your fingers where they
did on the piano or saxophone keys and hear how their music sounds in your voice, your
Carter heard lots of jazz growing up in Owego, NY. His mother played the clarinet, and
he remembers many evenings spent listening to Benny Goodman and Count Basie records. His
own piano lessons took him from two-part-inventions by Bach to the blues. He played his
way through college at SUNY Binghamton ("I think I played at more wedding receptions
and parties in my last year of high school and my four years of college than I've attended
in twelve years of ministry," he says).
The Christian faith was a mainstay in his home, too. He describes a nurturing
Presbyterian family that "went to church [the First Presbyterian Union Church of
Owego] every Sunday, attended Sunday School, stayed for coffee hour after service, and
talked about the sermon over Sunday dinner. We even made every member canvass calls!"
So it seemed
natural to Carter to find himself in seminary. He "put music on ice" while at
PTS, and while pastoring his first congregation (the Catasauqua Presbyterian Church in
Catasauqua, PA). "I felt for a time as if I had to leave the music behind, as if this
new calling was very different, and my jazz was, in a sense, a lesser gift," he says.
But the Clarks Summit congregation wasn't satisfied with that reasoning. "This
congregation celebrates and cultivates people's gifts, including their pastor's," he
says. "And their understanding of spiritual gifts goes far beyond the traditional
Now Carter plays regularly in a jazz quartet, with "gigs" in churches,
nightclubs, and colleges. In 1996 he returned to his undergraduate alma mater to perform
and lecture as a jazz pianist in residence. And this summer he and his quartet were
featured at the Seminary's annual Institute of Theology in an evening of jazz. Carter also
teamed with his friend, fellow-pastor and poet Bill Leety, to lead an Institute workshop
on liturgy and the arts.
Interested in expanding the range of music that is used in worship, Carter urges
pastors to learn to work with the musicians in their churches and to trust them.
"Ministers should teach their musicians theology, and learn music theory themselves
in return," he says. "Together pastors and musicians must dig deeply into the
bedrock of the church's liturgy-its texts and its music-and their own experiences of God's
Ultimately, Carter believes faith thrives when people integrate what they confess and
what they experience about God. "Jazz has done that for me," he says.
And he hopes to share that insight with his newest community of faith-the Princeton
Seminary Board of Trustees. Elected as an alumni/ae trustee this past May, Carter will
serve a three-year term on the board.
He muses about the board working as "more of a collaborative jazz group than as a
traditionally structured organization."
"I hope we can talk together about the whole business of integration between
tradition and innovation, between Scripture and experience, between text and tune,"
he says. "I hope we can be flexible, and I hope we can even have fun! For me, jazz is
a model of how to do that. I thought for so long that there was a clear line between the
secular and the sacred; but now I believe that if the whole earth is really the Lord's, no
experience is outside the sacred."
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We need to use our own oil supply
“Oil Feeds My Family.” Do you remember when it was fashionable to place this bumper sticker on the family car?
It really hasn’t been that many years ago when these particular bumper stickers could be seen almost everywhere. My dad worked for Sohio Petroleum Company in Tinsley, so I had more than a casual understanding of the importance of oil.
It literally fed our family. I can still remember making rounds with dad as he checked every well and made sure that everything was working properly. I can still hear him talking about “production” and how important it was to pump a certain quantity of oil during a 24-hour period. If a well shut down or if a pump malfunctioned, he was not a happy camper.
I vividly remember the summer day my brother and I decided to climb to the top of a derrick. Now these things are tall, perhaps 120-feet high, and almost every week we would see the professionals come to service a well. These guys made it look so easy to climb to the very top of the oil derrick and hook up all of the equipment. If they could do it, Buddy and I could do it.
Early one morning, we began our climb. The ladder that leads to the top hangs welded to the outside of the derrick.
This was fun, and we were making extremely good time. I could see the pulleys at the top of the derrick plainly. I did not realize how large they were. The problem I was having at this juncture was figuring out where exactly I was going to stand once I reached the end of the ladder.
I glanced over my shoulder, and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. I could see fields of freshly planted corn, and the rows from this height looked so straight. I could see 10-miles in every direction. Highway 3 was so close, it seemed, that I could hit it with a baseball.
Then I looked to the west. All I could see was a red pick-up truck speeding down the narrow road that led to this particular well.
It was dad. I watched as the truck came closer and closer. Finally, it stopped right in front of Brumfield Number 3. He exited the vehicle, looked up at his two deranged sons and said, “I want you two to come down right now. Take your time, and watch your step, but come down.”
When we finally reached the ground, instead of pulling off his belt and thrashing us, he calmly pointed out that what we had done was very dangerous.
If we had fallen, there was a 100 percent chance that we would die. This thought had never occurred to us. We were just having fun.
The memory of this incident just reminds me that oil is such a wonderful product. My dad spent a lifetime bringing it out of the ground. He thought his work was important because it guaranteed energy to Americans, and it guaranteed that food would be on our table.
Without oil, we would simply be a 16th century country instead of the highly advanced modern society that we are.
A favorite theme that the modern leftists use, including Mr. Obama, is that we Americans represent 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves, yet we consume 20 percent of the world’s supply of oil. Now every leftist in America wants you to feel guilty for using this amount of energy. But this is a total misrepresentation of the truth.
When I was in high school, I read a report that stated that the United States had at best a 35-year supply of oil. I think the report meant well, but it was wrong, grossly wrong.
Today, the United States has at least a 300 year supply of oil, perhaps more. We have more than the Saudi’s and more than all of the oil in the Middle East. There is absolutely no chance of running out of oil in our lifetimes, your children’s lifetimes, or their children’s lifetimes.
Barack Obama and the Democrats are in deep trouble. They have failed to live up to their responsibilities and ensure that Americans have access to oil and its derivatives at a reasonable price.
There is no substitute for oil. None. We can’t build enough windmills, or biofuel plants to even come close to doing what oil does. Regardless of what Obama says, pond algae simply will not replace oil. He can write all of the memos he wants, but alternative energy is a long way off.
Unless someone comes up with a simple way to turn water into gasoline, we are stuck with oil. It’s efficient, it’s abundant, and it will not damage the planet.
We just need more of it. Instead of using 20 percent of the world’s oil, I think we should be using even more, perhaps 40 percent. We’ve got it, and we can do more, much more, with it than any other country in the world. Drill, baby, drill.
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I love Oklahoma and Oklahoma City specifically. Not the least of which is because I was born here. But there are a number of reasons why I love this place and I am going to list a few. The last one has seared her in my heart having been here during that time. Today I, along with many others, commemorate those days. I preached a couple of the funerals of people killed and knew several others. April 19th will be in my heart forever.
My list includes some well known facts and some lesser known ones about "the City" as we know her. I write them for your enjoyment and to remind us all to be mindful of those who died that day in April of 1995.
Oklahoma City is currently the largest city in Oklahoma. Tulsa is second and Norman is third.
According to the 2000 census, OKC is the 30th largest in terms of population in the United States.
In land area, OKC is the 3rd largest in the nation behind Anchorage and Jacksonville.
The cost of living In Oklahoa City is the 2nd lowest in the nation.
Oklahoma City became the state's capital in 1910 when a petition garnered enough support to move it from Guthrie.
The Lee-Huckins Hotel served as the capitol building until 1917 when the current capitol was finished.
The capitol building at 23rd and Lincoln is the only capitol in the nation with an oil well under it.
Tinker Air Force Base is the 2nd largest military air depot in the nation.
The state of Oklahoma has more man-made lakes than any other state.
The state of Oklahoma has more shoreline than the Atlantic and Gulf coasts combined.
The first ever parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City in 1935.
The first ever shopping cart was invented and used in Oklahoma City at Standard Food Markets in 1937.
The Oklahoma City THUNDER will take the LA Lakers to the seventh game in the first round of the NBA playoffs of 2010 and win the series by winning both OKC games and two of three of the final games. It will be a last second basket by Kevin Durant that takes the series. It is the first appearance of the THUNDER in the playoffs since moving from Seattle in 2009. It is the first of ten appearances in a row with the other nine coming up.
Finally and seriously, It is my birth city that came of age that day in 1995 and gave birth to a new spirit that causes those of us who are fortunate enough to live to here to recognize the privilage and are forever grateful for it.
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LONGEVITY MEME NEWSLETTER
July 06 2009
The Longevity Meme Newsletter is a weekly e-mail containing news, opinions, and happenings for people interested in healthy life extension: making use of diet, lifestyle choices, technology, and proven medical advances to live healthy, longer lives.
- A Look at Genescient
- Senescent Cells in Aging and What to Do About Them
- Still Necessary to Argue that Aging is Bad
- Latest Healthy Life Extension Headlines
A LOOK AT GENESCIENT
One of the fellows at young biotech company Genescient - who volunteered for the Methuselah Foundation a while back, as it happens - has been asking me to talk about their work:
"In essence, you might envision Genescient as what you get when you add very rapid progress in biotechnology (and falling cost in biotech tools) to the basic aims of Sirtris. Find longevity genes and manipulate their expression for benefit and profit in other words, but where Sirtris's initial development back before 2004 focused on just a few genetic networks, Genescient is aiming for 'all of them.' Even in five years, costs have fallen and tools improved significantly - think about the computer you were using in 2003, for example, and compare it to the machine you're using today.
"Like Sirtris, Genescient is firmly an outgrowth of the 'work to slow down aging via metabolic and genetic manipulation' faction of aging research. They are not aiming to identify and repair biochemical damage, but rather shift the operation of human biochemistry into a more beneficial state for long-term operation. I'd insert the obligatory comment on how this approach is not the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence, and even if wildly successful in decades to come will do little for those already old, but you're all probably all tired of hearing it by now."
But just in case, here's that argument in a longer form:
SENESCENT CELLS IN AGING AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT THEM
Three lines of research aimed at repairing the damage of aging appear to be within a decade of useful application (regulatory hurdles aside): making mitochondrial DNA damage go away, breaking down damaging byproducts of metabolism that clutter our cells, and destroying senescent cells using the emerging generation of targeted therapies developed for use against cancer. Here we'll look at senescent cells via the work of Dominick Burton at the Ageing Research blog:
"So-called 'senescent' cells are those that have lost the ability to reproduce themselves. They appear to accumulate in quite large numbers in just one tissue (the cartilage in our joints), but even in these small numbers they appear to pose a disproportionate threat to the surrounding, healthy tissues, because of their abnormal metabolic state. Senescent cells secrete abnormally large amounts of some proteins that are harmful to their neighbours, stimulating excessive growth and degrading normal tissue architecture.
"At present, no drug-based system exists which can specifically identify senescent cells and remove them. However, there is currently great interest in the development of drugs which specifically target and remove cancer cells. The problem with current cancer treatments (such as drugs used in chemotherapy) is that they are non-specific and as such can cause damage and undesirable changes to non-cancerous cells, causing side-effects. The development of cell-specific drug targeting is greatly needed and such research could be adapted to target senescent cells."
As you may know, work on targeted therapies is producing exciting technology demonstrations in the laboratory on monthly basis these days. For examples, see the links below:
STILL NECESSARY TO ARGUE THAT AGING IS BAD
When you spend your time following aging research and debates taking place within the pro-engineered longevity community, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that your knowledge and opinions are far from what passes for the norm. The reaction of the widespread majority of people - whose support is very necessary for the long-term goal of a large longevity science research community - is still to say that aging and death are both good and needed:
This shows that in terms of advocacy for longer healthy lives, it is still very necessary to keep plugging away at the most basic concepts with the wider audience: that aging is not set in stone, that all the suffering and death it causes can be alleviated, and that we should set forth to achieve that goal as soon as possible.
The highlights and headlines from the past week follow below.
Remember - if you like this newsletter, the chances are that your friends will find it useful too. Forward it on, or post a copy to your favorite online communities. Encourage the people you know to pitch in and make a difference to the future of health and longevity!
LATEST HEALTHY LIFE EXTENSION HEADLINES
Boosting Repair Mechanisms Beneficial in Alzheimer's (July 03 2009)
One might expect that improving repair and maintenance systems in the brain would provide some benefit irrespective of how present damage came about, and this may be the case: "The granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (GCSF) significantly reduced levels of the brain-clogging protein beta amyloid deposited in excess in the brains of the Alzheimer's mice ... The growth factor prodded bone-marrow derived microglia outside the brain to join forces with the brain's already-activated microglia in eliminating the Alzheimer's protein from the brain. Microglia are brain cells that act as the central nervous system's main form of immune defense. Like molecular 'Pac-men,' they rush to the defense of damaged or inflamed areas to gobble up toxic substances." This is still a rearguard action against end-stage consequences, however - the underlying chain of causes is not addressed. Repair of final consequences isn't a viable long-term strategy for dealing with an ever-worsening root cause, as those consequences will rapidly exceed the ability to repair them. At some point you have to address the origin of the problem in order to prevent it from spiraling out of control.
Immune Therapy Versus Leukemia Stem Cells (July 03 2009)
Via EurekAlert!, an example of progress in using the immune system to target specific cells for destruction: acute myeloid leukemia (AML) "is a cancer of the white blood cells that has an extremely poor prognosis and does not respond well to conventional chemotherapy. ... The cellular and molecular basis for this dismal picture is unclear. However, previous research has suggested that leukemia stem cells (LSCs) may lie at the heart of post-treatment relapse and chemoresistance ... [researchers] exploited the fact that the molecule CD123 is expressed at very high levels on LSCs but not on normal blood cells. CD123 is part of the interleukin-3 receptor, a protein that interacts with a growth factor (called a cytokine) that influences cell survival and proliferation. The researchers created a therapeutic antibody that recognized and bound to CD123 with the hope that this antibody would selectively interfere with AML-LSC survival. When AML-LSCs from human patients were transplanted into mice treated with the antibody, called 7G3, cytokine signaling in the tumor cells was blocked. Further, 7G3 impaired migration of the AML-LSCs to bone marrow and activated the innate immune system of the host mouse to destroy the AML-LSCs. Overall, treatment with 7G3 substantially improved mouse survival."
Collecting Cellular Junk (July 02 2009)
Newer longevity science blog Green Light Go here looks at the harmful accumulation of metabolic byproducts and other junk such as lipofuscin in our cells with age: "I just finished an entry for the SOA timeline on the 1970s discovery that nematodes collect inactive enzymes and molecules as they grow older. The main idea being that the body is unable to clear out the junk inside cells and that the energy cost of carrying this junk leads to senescence, or aging. The theory reminded me of a similar finding by Coleen Murphy who found that long lived daf-16 elegans mutants lived longer in part because they encoded antimicrobial lysosomes, that helped to clear out microbes that would get "packed" inside the nematodes precipiating senescence and eventually their death. As far as I know, the reason for the slow decline in enzyme activity and for the collection of intracellular junk is still unknown. Why isn't our body clearing this stuff out and selling it on ebay? The SENS foundation, which is perhaps the biggest player in anti-aging research, is pushing forward with a solution anyway. Their strategy is to find enzymes manufactured by soil bacteria and fungi that can then be applied therapeutically to help clear junk out of cells. ... It is going to be interesting in the future to see what result comes of this. Both for understanding the chemical mechanism of the collection of junk, and the therapeutic solutions which can get rid of it."
Regenerating Salamanders and Their Blastemas (July 02 2009)
Progress in understanding the mechanisms by which salamaders regenerate lost limbs from The Scientist: "The cells responsible for the salamander's famed ability to regenerate amputated limbs aren't pluripotent, as scientists have thought ... They're retaining their memory of the tissues they came from, and they go on to form cells of that same type. That's not what most people thought was going on ... That's good news for regenerative medicine: If the mechanism salamander cells use for regrowing body parts doesn't depend on pluripotent stem cells, it may be easier than researchers have assumed to mimic that organism's regenerative strategy in potential therapies. ... Salamanders' regenerative abilities were thought to rely on the dedifferentiation of cells near the damaged limb to a pluripotent state -- a feat that mammalian cells are normally incapable of. ... Instead of trying to generate multipotent or pluripotent cells, [researchers] should try to understand how these cells get the appropriate signals to make a new limb in terms of organizing the different tissue types."
An Overview of Induced Pluripotency (July 01 2009)
The Technology Review here looks at the technology of induced pluripotency: "Scientists have been talking about the medical promise of stem cells for more than a decade, even before human embryonic stem cells were successfully isolated in 1998. Most of the public attention has focused on their regenerative power: since stem cells can renew themselves and differentiate into specialized cell types, they could potentially be used to build replacement organs, heal spinal-cord injuries, or repair damaged brain tissue. But the research world has also pursued another, even broader-reaching goal: using the cells of patients with various illnesses to derive pluripotent stem cells, which can give rise not just to the specialized cells in a particular organ or tissue but to virtually any cell type. Those cells could be used to create laboratory models of disease. For example, a cell from a Parkinson's patient could be turned into a neuron, which would exhibit the progressive molecular changes at work in the neurodegenerative disorder. This type of tool could capture the details of human disease with unprecedented accuracy, and it could revolutionize the way researchers search for new treatments."
The Compression of Morbidity School of Thought (July 01 2009)
This interview with Leonard Hayflick is illustrative of the thinking of gerontologists who aim not to extend human life (in this case because because he thinks it's an implausible goal) but to shorten the period of age-related disability. It's a view very much at odds with reliability theory, which suggests that any reduction in ongoing damage will extend healthy life, and with the many demonstrated extensions of lifespan in animals. "The facts are these. There are four aspects to the finitude of life: aging, longevity determination, age-associated diseases, and death. Aging is what we call a catabolic process - the breakdown of molecules. Longevity determination is the reverse - the repair or maintenance of molecules. Aging gets confused with longevity determination. The aging process increases vulnerability to age-associated diseases. These concepts are distinguishable from each other and fundamentally different. ... You cannot learn about the fundamental biology of aging by studying disease processes. Resolving age-associated diseases tells us nothing about the fundamental biology of aging, just as the resolution of childhood diseases, such as polio and childhood anemia, did not tell us one iota about childhood development."
Longevity and Biochemical Damage Resistance (June 30 2009)
Why do some mammal species live much longer than other, very similar mammal species? Here researchers look at resistance to biochemical damage: "Altered structure, and hence function, of cellular macromolecules caused by oxidation can contribute to loss of physiological function with age. Here, we tested whether the lifespan of bats, which generally live far longer than predicted by their size, could be explained by reduced protein damage relative to short-lived mice. We show significantly lower protein oxidation (carbonylation) in Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) relative to mice, and a trend for lower oxidation in samples from cave myotis bats (Myotis velifer) relative to mice. Both species of bat show in vivo and in vitro resistance to protein oxidation under conditions of acute oxidative stress. These bat species also show low levels of protein ubiquitination in total protein lysates along with reduced proteasome activity, suggesting diminished protein damage and removal in bats. ... Together, these data suggest that long lifespan in some bat species might be regulated by very efficient maintenance of protein homeostasis." You might take a moment to compare this with research into naked mole rat biochemistry.
Exercise and Neurogenesis (June 30 2009)
Another benefit of regular exercise is proposed in this recent research: scientists "have, for the first time, been able to demonstrate that moderate exercise significantly increases the number of neural stem cells in the ageing brain. ... neuroscientists have known for some time that, in healthy brains, the creation of new neurons is an ongoing and lifelong mechanism. However, it has also been known for more than a decade that the number of new neurons we produce slowly declines with age. ... Investigating the mechanism by which neural stem cell numbers are altered will undoubtedly increase our understanding of how the brain responds to its environment. Ultimately, this should allow us to discover how to harness the brain's regenerative capacity, and to bring about new and effective treatments for conditions caused by trauma, disease, or even normal ageing. The brain's ability, even at an advanced age, to respond in a positive manner is very exciting as it extends the time-frame in which manipulation is possible."
Deciphering the Signals of Rheumatoid Arthritis (June 29 2009)
Researchers continue to work towards identifying the exact molecular mechanisms by which autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis produce pain and damage: "When a microbe infects the body, the body responds by turning on a molecular switch to set the immune system into action and protect the body from disease. Today's findings show that a signal molecule called tenascin-C can trigger the same molecular switch and also activate the immune system. High levels of tenascin-C present in joints therefore may cause the activated immune system to attack the joint leading to the persistent inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis. The molecular switch is called TLR4, and is found on the surface of immune cells. Previous research has shown that mice without TLR4 do not show chronic joint inflammation. The researchers hope scientists can develop new treatments that target the interaction between tenascin-C and TLR4, which may help to combat rheumatoid arthritis. ... We hope our new findings can be used to develop new therapies that interfere with tenascin-C activation of the immune system and that these will reduce the painful inflammation that is a hallmark of this condition."
"Minicells" as Targeting Mechanism (June 29 2009)
Effective per-cell-type targeting of therapies is a fundamental and very important technology platform for the future of medicine. Here's another way of doing it, distinct from methods using viruses or nanoparticles: "The minicells are generated from mutant bacteria which, each time they divide, pinch off small bubbles of cell membrane. The minicells can be loaded with chemicals and coated with antibodies that direct them toward tumor cells. No tumor cell, so far as is known, produces a specific surface molecule for toxins to act on. But 80 percent of solid tumors have their cell surfaces studded with extra-large amounts of the receptor for a particular hormone, known as epidermal growth factor. The minicells can be coated with an antibody that recognizes this receptor, so they are more likely to attach themselves to tumors than to the normal cells of the body. The tumor cells engulf and destroy the minicells, a standard defense against bacteria, and in doing so are exposed to whatever cargo the minicells carry. ... treatment arrested tumor growth in mice implanted with either human colon or human breast tumors, and enabled mice with drug-resistant human uterine tumors to eliminate the tumors altogether."
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“Simejection mapping” is an user-experience based interactive installation which projects Japanese Hirgana characters on real Shimeji mushrooms and convert Hiragana characters.
Rehearsal is a responsive system based on motion tracking technology which was made possible with the Kinect Sensor and visualized with vvvv software. The participant is invited into an environment where their silhouette is abstracted and projected onto opposing surfaces composed of lines. These lines suggest a rigid and regimented architecture. However once the participant begins to move, the rigid lines become fluid and respond, warp and fluctuate while sounds begin to resonate in response to the participants gestures. The data collected from the gestures of participants is forwarded to a synthesizer over Pure Data and processed according to the user interaction.
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In fact, about 99% of all (actual) internet subscribers in the country get online via GPRS/EDGE and 3G on their mobile devices:
The distribution is lop-sided with the vast majority of these users being Safaricom subscribers, although it should be noted they did have a 7 year lead on the other mobile service providers to lay out their infrastructure and sign up eager customers:
Bharti Airtel will likely gain market share once they begin offering 3G data connectivity in March and with their Sh1/min promotional tariff offering, that’s riling up Safaricom’s chief, they’re bound to sign up quite a few new and disgruntled subscribers. Continue reading
The contracted global economy is literary palpable with unemployment numbers going through the roof.
The World Bank recently projected that the global economy will shrink in 2009, with growth in the developing markets dropping from 4.4% to 2.1%. They also project that recovery will commence in 2010 albeit at a slowed pace.
What’s more interesting is that the recovery depends on where in the world you live:
A curious note is that the most substantial GDP growth is registered in the emerging markets, especially in Asia.
A study conducted in Ivory Coast suggest that they do!
Male chimps that are willing to share the proceeds of their hunting expeditions mate twice as often as their more selfish counterparts.
This is a long-term exchange, so males continue to share their catch with females when they are not fertile, copulating with them when they are.
Female chimps are lazy apparently don’t hunt much so for them it’s hard to come by meat for their much-needed protein. So the males go out, hunt, bring back the bounty and otherwise outdo themselves for the ladies, knowing all too well that their efforts are not in vain. Well, well .
The reseachers believe they’re onto something; that this study “could lay the foundations for human studies exploring the link between good hunting skills and reproductive success“.
Really. I couldn’t help but think that there’s some correlation in there somewhere..
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Concrete is an extraordinary material that is at once practical, expressive and aesthetically pleasing. From a primal and formless slurry, we can transform concrete in virtually any shape that becomes a solid mass. The possibilities are endless. We can grind, polish, stamp, or stain it. We can embed meaningful objects with in. It feels earthy and is at home in both modern and traditional settings. Cast and shaped, it can feel like stone rounded by the sea. Textured and colored, it can echo the patina of timeworn tile.
How does concrete compare to granite and other solid surface options?
Price-wise granite runs from $35-300 per square foot depending on thickness and rarity and quarrying granite is a huge strain on our environment and resources. The ingredients in our concrete products all come within a 200 mile radius of our workshop. Its all about local ingredients and local craftsmen. Our countertops run $85-125 per square foot while our wall treatments run $15-25 per square foot. When it comes to the forms and shapes to be made, concrete surpasses any stone. Our concrete products can also be made to closely match any Benjamin Moore color, which no other solid surface can offer.
Do concrete countertops have an application in more traditional kitchens?
Yes, absolutely. Style is dictated by design; concrete can adapt to any look and have a “warmer” feel than other natural stones. Edge detailing and decorative inlays can help a concrete counter blend into more traditional environments.
Would concrete countertops be good for outside use?
Concrete is perhaps the most common building material for exterior use on the planet. Our sealers and pigments hold up well in the harsh outdoor conditions, making our concrete products a perfect choice for your outdoor project.
Can I use concrete countertops as a cutting surface?
As with marble or granite, we do not recommend cutting directly on a concrete surface, as it could result in scratches and gouges in the finish of your counter as well as harm the blades of your knives.
Can I put a hot pot directly onto a concrete kitchen counter?
Concrete is heat-resistant but is subject to thermal shock if a red-hot object is placed directly upon it. Although rare, the exposed area may flake or chip away if too much heat is applied. We recommend using trivets for hot cookware.
Can concrete countertops chip, flake or crack?
As with marble and granite, concrete corners and edges can chip if struck by a hard object. Veining can also develop, but these are not structural failures; rather, they are inherent characteristics of the material.
Do concrete countertops stain?
Concrete has approximately the same porosity as marble. Acids (especially red wine, lemon juice, and vinegar) can etch the surface if not cleaned up. Our sealer will help resist stains better than any other sealer, but it won’t make your counter impervious to stains. Luckily, like aged butcher block or marble, a patina on concrete countertops can actually enhance the character of the surface, so a spill is not necessarily a disaster.
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2010 Complete Election Coverage: Breaking the last racial taboo
- When Bill de Blasio, a candidate for public office in New York City this fall, put his family in his campaign mailings and TV ads, there was nothing routine about it. | Photo courtesy of the de Blasio campaign
There’s nothing more traditional in American politics than the wholesome family portrait: a beaming candidate, beaming spouse, reluctantly beaming teenagers.
But when Bill de Blasio, a candidate for public office in New York City this fall, put his family in his campaign mailings and TV ads, there was nothing routine about it. De Blasio’s wife of 15 years, Chirlane McCray, is black, his children are of mixed race and, even in one of America’s most liberal cities, no one could remember anything like it.
De Blasio, 48, won the crucial Democratic primary in a runoff Sept. 29 and is in line to be the city’s next public advocate, a sort of high-profile ombudsman’s job that’s second in the line of succession to the mayor. The city councilman from liberal Park Slope, Brooklyn, had other things going for him — institutional support, newspaper endorsements — but in the view of his campaign, and of many of the city’s political observers, his interracial relationship was an almost unmitigated positive in a hotly contested election.
With Barack Obama having rewritten the history of race relations in this country, de Blasio may be demolishing one of its last taboos, “For so long in American history, interracial couples went out of their way to keep their relationships out of the public eye that it’s remarkable to see them used in a campaign like this,” said Peggy Pascoe, a historian of interracial marriage at the University of Oregon, who referred to the campaign as “a post-Obama phenomenon.”
That’s a perception McCray said she shared. Obama, she said, “opened a door” and “made it easier for us to go there.”
While de Blasio’s success in New York reflects the increased acceptance of mixed marriages, recent history suggests that the new tolerance may still be dependent on geography and race. A sharp counterpoint was the 2006 Tennessee Senate race which then-Rep. Harold Ford, an African-American, lost narrowly to Republican Bob Corker after the final days of the campaign were consumed by a Republican National Committee ad linking Ford to a scantily clad young blond woman. Ford’s allies charged it was a thinly veiled attempt to tap into old Southern fears about black men and white women.
And it seems to be a current that still remains just below the surface in Tennessee politics: Ford’s subsequent marriage to a white woman was widely viewed as a major barrier to another run.
While the Supreme Court legalized interracial marriage in 1967, attitudes were relatively slow to change in much of the country. When Dean Rusk, who was secretary of state at the time, learned that his daughter planned to marry a black man that same year, he offered his resignation, which President Lyndon B. Johnson declined. Former Massachusetts Sen. Ed Brooke, an African-American, was married to an Italian woman he’d met as a soldier in World War II, something he later said was sometimes used against him even in that liberal state. And Obama himself faced challenges to his racial authenticity as the child of a mixed marriage.
Gallup surveys indicate that only 48 percent of Americans approved of marriage between blacks and whites as recently as 1994, a number that had risen to 77 percent by 2007.
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Two coalitions, one a broad-based consumer affairs group of other organizations and the other a group of cities, has written federal regulators once again calling on them to do something to reign in the participation of federally insured banks in payday lending.
In letters to chairmen of the Federal Reserve and the FDIC, as well as to Thomas Curry, Comptroller of the Currency, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, the two coalitions expressed gratitude for pledges of action regulators have already made but said that those pledged actions now need to be made.
“Over the last year, the need for federal regulatory action has only become clearer,” wrote the unnamed larger consumer coalition, which included 260 groups and individiuals in their March 15 letter. “Despite banks’ claims that these loans offer short-term, emergency solutions for their customers, banks have offered no data that would dispute that these loans are trapping their customers in long-term, high-cost debt. And despite efforts of many of the undersigned groups to engage directly with banks making payday loans; heightened negative media attention; and public expressions of concern from state legislators, state regulators and members of Congress, banks continue to make payday loans.”
The coalition included groups such as the AARP and AFL-CIO.
The Cities for Financial Empowerment Coalition wrote in its March 13 letter that “[r]esearch suggests that payday loans may actually push people out of the financial mainstream through involuntary closures of bank accounts,” and quoted an FDIC report on the topic that found “providing high credit on a recurring basis to customers with long lending increases institutions’ credit, legal, reputational and compliance risks, and can create a serious financial hardship for the customer.”
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In a recent column, Jack Bernard, a self-described “Republican” retired health care executive, was “disconcerted by the ideological free market rigidity” of Republican presidential candidates as it regards health care.
The retired “Republican” executive, among other things, decried Rep. Michele Bachmann’s alleged tarring of ObamaCare as a “socialized medicine plot.” His solution is simply “to copy the health care of other developed (socialized) nations” and use more “regulatory authority to cover everyone and hold down costs.”
He attributes the problems of health care to the free market. He should know better. Today’s medical care is largely under managed care, already highly regulated under a collectivist ethic, whose raison d’etre is to contain costs, enlarge the coffers of the managed care entities — and the individual patient be damned. And as far as Medicare, we were forced to contribute; as to the VA, the veterans also prepaid with their service, blood and lives.
If we had a truly free market in medical care, unfettered economics would have decreased cost via competition as well as increased access, either privately or through charity, as it had done prior to World War II.
Beginning with the exemption of insurance companies from anti-trust laws and the tying of health care to place of employment; the inception of Medicare and Medicaid, which like it or not are (and will) remain in place; the Nixon-Kennedy cooperation (1973) in establishing HMOs as state policy with tax breaks (that did not reach fruition until the 1990s) -- all attest to the fact that we only have a partially free market in medical care. Nevertheless, it is still the best system in the world.
ObamaCare (2011), another attempt at HillaryCare (1993), is one more giant step toward the implementation of even greater government involvement in the medical marketplace and magnification of government regulatory authority — all at the expense of sacrificing individual patient care and what remains of the patient-doctor relationship.
This new version, ObamaCare, prominently includes compulsion and fines to make all Americans submit to a public-private system, managed care in cahoots with government — in which health care executives make a good living, while having a captive population with less and less freedom to choose. Once in place, rationing then would become more and more commonplace, as in the other “developed countries,” such as Canada and the United Kingdom.
The managed care executives in cahoots with government bureaucrats both win because rationed care means more profits in the coffers of the managed care entities and in the pockets of the managed care CEOs.
The government wins because it can then claim it has reduced costs and achieved universal coverage. The doctor and the patients lose because of the loss of the autonomy of the former and the loss of choice in the latter.
ObamaCare, like HillaryCare, creates another unholy partnership of corporate entities with government bureaucrats setting compulsory public policy at the expense of the captive patient population. Ludwig von Mises, the Austrian economist, referred to this relationship as corporatism. I call it Corporate Socialized Medicine.
The direction in which we are headed is leading us relentlessly toward the destruction of still the best medical care system in the world for the higher purpose of the state forging another keystone in the arch of compulsory socialism, ObamaCare.
Miguel A. Faria Jr., M.D. is a retired Mercer professor and neurosurgeon living in Macon.
This commentary was published in The Macon Telegraph on September 22, 2011.
Copyright ©2011 Miguel A. Faria, Jr., M.D.
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Now that all three major players have come out with their latest browser versions, the Battle of the Browsers has just flared up a little more. There is Google chrome version 10, Microsoft IE9 and the Mozilla firefox 4. And the initial outlook is that Microsoft have erred in leaving out the Windows XP users. By releasing IE9 which works only on vista and upwards they have left out about 50% of the internet users out of the loop. And firefox seems to have benefited directly from it. At the time of writing this article within two days Mozilla claims about 7,373,811 downloads and counting. Compare that to IE9′s about 2.5 million downloads.
No Doubt Microsoft has come out with a vastly improved product than their last version namely IE8 . There is major improvements in various aspects like speed, stability, looks, customization and all . All the same microsoft had a lot of catching up to do too. But leaving out the majority internet users seems a little foolish. Microsoft justifies there being no version for windows XP by stating that modern graphics and security infrastructure of browser requires a modern operating system to utilize the latest hardware and software enhancements. And by utilising the enhancements in Windows 7 they have indeed come out with the best browser from its stable. All said and done Microsoft loss is Mozilla’s gain and firefox is bound to close in on the browser leader sooner than later.
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Sunday, April 26, 2009
What's This Worth?
I've developed something of a habit over the past few years; bringing along an empty bag to fill with recyclables whenever I walk around the neighborhood. The photo here are a few things gathered about 15 minutes ago on a walk to and from the local supermarket. Some fairly well known brands, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Pepsi-Cola, and Cadbury-Schweppes, as well as some fairly well known containers, a glass beer bottle, a plastic (yes, that's a generalization, and most folks'll think of it as "plastic") soda bottle and an aluminum soda can.
So, what's been gnawing at me for a while is the "value" of these containers to the consumer that ultimately uses the product. What is it? And, if there is a value, why throw it away? There really is no value whatsoever to the container, to the consumer. Maybe there's something to be said for the container as a delivery mechanism or storage container, something that the consumer may desire. The way I see it, the container is ultimately a means of delivering the value of the product to the end user.
What am I getting at here? If the container has no residual value to the user, and the producer decides what kind of container to use, how to get it, and how to deliver the product filled container to the user, why is it that the consumer (and therefore the public) is responsible for its end of life disposition?
I guess what I am wondering about is why we've collectively agreed that organizations that manufacture products (and services to some extent) can externalize the end-of-life costs of those products (and services) to the public?
This really isn't a new realization.
I can't help but think that if we had a tangible and obvious way of tracking the resource intensity and costs of the containers to the users, we'd have the public clamoring for ways to reduce those impacts and costs. Imagine some way to connect the taxpayer price of a tossed aside soda bottle directly to the consumer's purchase. Maybe it's something like the push for home energy monitors; when people see what's happening, they start to pay attention.
So, how might we encourage manufacturers to think about closing the loop with the non-value added components of their product offerings?
Of course, TerraCycle (the subject of an April Fool's prank) mines companies' waste streams to capture the forgotten and unseen value there. They've recently partnered with Mars to reuse packaging from Snickers, Altoids, Big Red and other brands.
Friday, April 24, 2009
SPROUT 2009: A Benefit for Waltham Fields Community Farm
Come out to support local agriculture in Waltham!
Saturday, May 16th 6-9pm
at the Charles River Museum of Industry, 154 Moody St. in Waltham
Fabulous silent auction, great food and an open bar!
Ticket Prices: $35 for members, $45 for non-members.
Purchase Tickets Now through Wainwright Bank's secure website. When you go to the site - skip down to #2, enter the dollar amount, and make sure to WRITE THE NUMBER OF TICKETS AND MENTION SPROUT IN THE SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS BOX.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Interconnections We Forget
from The Oil Drum:
"[Secretary] Chu noted that solar PV will play a major - if not the major - role in energy 100 years from now. He also noted that we really need cheap solar cells with polymer backing. Of course most of our polymers are oil-derived, which is just another example of how we take for granted the role that cheap oil plays in enabling some of these renewable technologies."This quote (I started this post last week) is a perfect segue into some comments about John Warner's talk at Babson last week. I was fortunate enough to be invited to sit in on Asheen Phansey's (founder of Quaking Aspen) MBA class targeted at students interested in learning how to integrate Nature's design wisdom into their businesses. I twittered (I'm still not sure what twitter will get me in the long run...here are some funny videos about it) about the class so I'll not go into too much detail; we talked about ecosystem succession, the different types of organisms, and what they do. If you're twitter person and are interested, search for #babson and you'll find my comments.
So, John Warner is the founder of The Warner-Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry located in Woburn, MA (pretty appropriate given the history of chemical pollution in that town, remember A Civil Action?) and what some might consider the Godfather of the Green chemistry movement. His billing was not undersold. I thoroughly enjoyed his story, and found myself muttering agreements to myself, nodding, and generally resisting the temptation to leap up and yell "Amen brother!".
So what was I so excited about? He recognizes the flaws in the system.
What struck me most, tying back into the comment about forgotten connections, was John's realization after working in academia & industrial chemistry making cool molecules, publishing papers, and becoming a bit of a chemistry rockstar he had not once been taught about the potential impacts these compounds might have on nature (including people). A personal loss (something that took the air out of the room when he told us) related to a rare birth defect sparked this realization; he said (I'm paraphrasing a bit) "what if a molecule that I touched, that I worked on, was somehow responsible for this?" How would he know? This is when he started to see the flaws in the educational paradigm that created chemists.
In the academic discipline of chemistry, no part of the curriculum addresses the potential for toxic consequences. It reminds me of my own undergraduate mechanical engineering education at WPI; there was absolutely no mention of the social and environmental impacts of our design decisions had. What does it mean environmentally if you choose aluminum alloy A over alloy B? What happens at its end of life? How much energy goes into its manufacture? Where was it sourced? What did its creation do to the native habitats from whence it came? [I can give some credit to WPI, John said he taught an evening class in green chemistry and WPI did launch a sustainability initiative in the spring of 2008 - only a little behind the curve]
What John reaffirmed for me was that we, and everything else are connected, that decisions we make have far-reaching and often unintended consequences that we are bound to start taking into consideration. He noted (and I believe) that collectively we have made the choice to accept economic practices that create pollutants, that create hazardous materials that have known toxic properties. He challenged us to think about why this is...and then think about ways to change it. Of course, this requires the asking of difficult questions, and remaining conscious of the challenges we face while maintaining a resilient posture in the face of those challenges.
Choosing to create toxic substances for the improvement of the human condition is an oxymoron.
I suppose one of the things we have going for us is that younger generations have a different perspective on industry (The days of The Organization Man are long gone). They have not been taught by the scientists and engineers that were born of the Apollo Project. In many ways, the hard work that our parents and grandparents put in to create these institutions and values that have inadvertently placed us on an unsustainable course have allowed us the luxury to take a step back and look at the system and say "Hey, you know what? This is great and everything and we appreciate your hard work. Let's look at what we can improve and move ahead with building a just and regenerative society." We do not have to settle for business-as-usual. In fact, that's probably the biggest danger we face.
Here's to the future...
Oh, and I just could not help but come back to The Oil Drum, some interesting analysis on the influence of oil prices on our economy (bubbles lead to recessions). Remember, it's all about connections.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Does This Make any Sense?
I really can not believe that the WSJ published this graph. It appeared in a story entitled Global Slump Seen Deepening on April 1st. Maybe I am locked in my engineering mind where discontinuous graphs (especially with acceleration) usually indicated a severe problem with a design; severe spikes nearly always signal something drastic happened...not always good.
Does anyone believe that nearly complete 180s in national GDPs will happen in late 2009? Seriously, it's like someone was looking at the data and decided it was too depressing (and we all know how psychology & emotion contributes to "rational" market behavior) so they made it go back up in their dream world.
OK, I am not trying to be Chicken Little here, but this does not make any sense (what really does?).
Given that some energy analysts are now forecasting an energy price spike potentially coinciding with a global economic "recovery" (due to a steep drop off in energy investments as the price of oil plummeted) that rosy jump upwards looks even more unrealistic.
In the long-term, is restarting the economy we have the best solution? What might we make instead?
On another note, some articles I read from various sources (thanks Justin) that help trace some of the systemic changes that contributed to the current situation. If only it were so easy to pin the blame on something or someone. Systems thinkers?
NYTimes: September 30, 1999 Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending
NYTimes: November 5, 1999 Congress Passes Wide-Ranging Bill Easing Bank Laws
Interesting reading...especially looking in the rear-view mirror.
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[Tomorrow] Iraq’s future will be in the hands of its people. America’s war in Iraq will be over.
Herman Cain compares Social Security to slavery.
In a weekly commentary for his company “T*H*E New Voice, Inc.” Cain writes that “the system by its very nature discriminates against black men and women” and Democratic black leaders want to see “the next generation of blacks remain in economic slavery on the Democratic plantation.”
Cain’s over the top rhetoric suggests that he shares Rick Perry’s belief that Social Security is unconstitutional, but his claims are also wildly inaccurate.
Read Walter Shapiro’s analysis of Herman Cain’s rising poll numbers in “Yes, the GOP Just Might Nominate a Candidate Patently Unqualified to be President.”
Courtesy of Think Progress.
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While incidence of adverse event rates remain low following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), especially among experienced operators, researchers are looking to drive them down further through a greater understanding of how certain patient characteristics, procedural approach or even which device can impact outcomes.
Lessons from PARTNER
To avoid adverse events with TAVR, clinicians must first recognize that complications do occur. “While the PARTNER trial showed us that TAVR had a remarkable impact on survival in patients with high-operative risk with severely symptomatic aortic stenosis compared with medical therapy, there were also some important complications with the procedure,” says Prateek J. Khatri, MD, of the University of Toronto’s Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, and Schulich Heart Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
|Learning Curve & Survival: Kaplan-Meier survival in the first 25 vs. last 50 patients treated with transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
Source: Elizabeth A. Magnuson, PhD
The prospective, randomized, controlled trial has revealed a great deal about this patient population, especially when assessing both cohort B—patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) who were deemed inoperable—and cohort A—patients with severe AS who were deemed high-risk for surgery.
In late 2012, Philippe Généreux, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, and colleagues combined both cohorts to identify incidence, predictors and impact of vascular complications (VCs) after transfemoral TAVR, using the first-generation Sapien valves, via a 22- or 24-Fr sheath (Edwards Lifesciences) (J Am Coll Cardiol 2012;60:1043-1052).
The researchers included 419 patients (177 from cohort B and 242 from cohort A) from PARTNER. Overall, 15.3 percent had major VCs and 11.9 percent had minor VCs within 30 days of the procedure. Among patients with major VCs, vascular dissection (62.8 percent), perforation (31.3 percent) and access-site hematoma (22.9 percent) were the most frequent modes of presentation. Major VCs, not minor VCs, were associated with significantly higher 30-day rates of major bleeding, transfusions and renal failure requiring dialysis, and with a significantly higher rate of 30-day and one-year mortality. Major VC and renal disease at baseline were identified as independent predictors of one-year mortality.
In distinguishing between the two cohorts, the researchers found that VCs were more frequent and less well tolerated in the cohort B population, while in the cohort A population, the rate of VCs decreased in frequency and had less impact on mortality, explains Généreux. This finding is in spite of the fact that the larger device was typically used in cohort A.
“This is an important distinction because people often associate TAVR with higher rates of vascular complications, because the findings from cohort B were released and scrutinized first,” he says. Of course, because the cohort A patients are slightly less sick, this finding would be expected.
Also, the study authors found that the only identifiable independent predictor of major VC was female gender. “This is probably due to several factors; one being a smaller vessel size, but women also may have more fragile vessels,” says Généreux.
“An intrinsic increased vulnerability to peri-procedural complication during and early after an invasive procedure may be present in women,” the study authors wrote. “Exact mechanisms for this finding remain elusive and warrant further investigation.”
However, longer term, TAVR is still found to be beneficial for women. While this analysis of PARTNER demonstrated that although the female sex is a strong predictor of peri-procedural vascular complications, the female sex also was associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality at one year.
While not identified as independent predictors of adverse events, diabetes and small vessel size showed a trend toward experiencing vascular complications.
Lessons from practice
“In clinical trials, we look at individual endpoints as independent entities, such as stroke or death; however, in practice, things are a little more complicated,” says Stephan Windecker, MD, head of interventional cardiology at the Swiss Cardiovascular Center Bern. “In clinical reality, one adverse event may trigger another one, as many events are interrrelated.”
To get an assessment of how these patients fare in real-life clinical
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- Story Ideas
- Send Corrections
TRENTON — City police arrested a Trenton Central High School student on Thursday after he told a cab driver he was planning to shoot his classmates.
During lunchtime at TCHS, a fight broke out in the cafeteria and following the fight, a 17-year-old male juvenile involved in the fight fled the school and jumped into a cab, TCHS principal Mark Maurice said. The teen told the driver to take him to his home on the 400 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and wait for him to return from the home. The driver did as the student asked and after the student returned to the cab and told the driver to take him back to school.
While en route back to the high school, police say the teen alledgedly told the driver he was planning to shoot the kids he had been fighting with.
“He said he was going to get back at the kids who jumped him,” Lt. Leonard Aviles said. “He actually showed the driver a .380 semiautomatic handgun.”
When the driver saw the gun, he stopped the cab and yelled at the student to get out. After the student exited the cab, the driver called police around 1:00 p.m. As soon police got the call, the TPD, with the assistance of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, began searching for the student. Police also notified the school and was placed under lockdown. Maurice said the school was under lockdown for 40 minutes and said the school had an early dismissal at 2:30 p.m.
“We even had the teachers who normally stay after school go home,” Maurice said. “We wanted everyone out of the building.”
Using information from the cab driver, police went to the teen’s home. In plain view at the house, police could see shotgun shells. After speaking with the mother and stepfather of the boy, they consented to a search of the teen’s room. Inside, police found the box for the handgun, a sawed-off double barrel shotgun and 20 bricks of heroin.
“It was a substantial amount of heroin, each of of those bricks had roughly 50 packets,” Aviles said. “Depending on what part of the city you’re in, you could sell that at about $10 to $20 a packet.”
Using Aviles’ estimate on the street value of the drugs and the amount of drugs seized, it’s possible that the high school student had between $10,000 and $20,000 worth of narcotics in his possession. Also found in the teen’s room was a piece of paper with an address on the 1000 block of South Broad Street. Tactical detectives found the student at that address and placed him under arrest around 4:00 p.m. The handgun could not be found.
Maurice said the teen was known to be troubled and has had disciplinary action taken against him in the past.
“I do know that he has spent eight months incarcerated in a youth home,” Maurice said.
Aviles said the teen is facing numerous weapons and drug charges in his juvenile criminal complaint. He has been sent to the Middlesex County Youth home pending court dates.
“We have to be vigilant,” Aviles said. “We’ve seen guns on anyone from granny to a child.”
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Posts Tagged ‘strollers’
This is a unique and amazing Lamaze toy designed for use from birth on up. It is the Lamaze Play and Grow Peacock and it has bright colors and multiple textures and sounds that are sure to stimulate and delight baby. This Lamaze toy was developed in conjunction with child development experts from Yale University. This toy is an excellent developmental toy for babies. This "first friends" toy comes complete with a Lamaze link for easy attachment to:
- carriers, and
- diaper bags
So it's a snap to take the Play and Grow Peacock with you on play dates, errands, or trips in the car.
Stimulates Baby's Vision and Auditory Skills
When babies are first born, they see in black and white. This is why the Play and Grow Peacock strikes a balance between bright, high contrast patterns that help stimulate baby's vision, and bold solid colors that give baby's eyes a place to rest. Sounds like crinkle, squeakers and jingles also help stimulate and develop baby's auditory skills. Finally, large, friendly eyes on the Play and Grow Peacock invite baby to focus and stare at a single object, which
helps calm baby while supporting healthy eye development.
Lamaze Jacques the Peacock has a Child-Safe Design
Whether they're playing in the crib or preparing for a nap, your little one will enjoy hours of delight with the Play and Grow Peacock. Safe and easy for little hands to manipulate, it features a soft velour body that invites snuggling and playing. And the busy wings have different textures and interactive components--like the mirror, which allows for both independent and parent/baby peek-a-boo play--to keep baby engaged as he grows.
The Play and Grow Peacock comes with a limited 90 day warranty.
About Learning Curve
The creative force behind hundreds of award-winning toys, Learning Curve created the Lamaze Infant Development System by working in tandem with parents, babies, and childhood experts. Learning Curve understands that what matters most to parents is keeping their children healthy, happy, and safe. The company's goal is to help parents do just that by offering products for every stage of a child's development--from feeding to playing to sleeping. Learning Curve's thoroughly researched developmental toys engage children, and provide parents with peace of mind. And their care, safety, feeding and soothing products give you solutions to day-to-day needs at mealtime, bedtime, at home and on-the-go.
What's in the Box
Peacock toy and Lamaze link clip.
This new Lamaze Play & Grow Peacock comes complete with multiple textures and sounds to keep baby entertained. Crinkly fabric, a peek-a-boo mirrors, bold colorful patterns and soft fuzzy textures invite little ones to explore and learn. Jacques the Peacock comes complete with a Lamaze link, so you can snap it to a car seat, high chair, or anywhere else.
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High School Bans Students From Wearing Axe Body Spray
A high school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is telling its students not to wear Axe Body spray. Finally, a ban we can get behind.
And, no, it’s not because female students were shedding their tops and chasing the fellas who were wearing the fragrance through the halls, as Axe’s television commercials would have you believe.
Instead it was because one student at Freedom High School had an extreme reaction to the aerosol-based cologne. While the nature of his ailment wasn’t revealed, he required medical attention.
“My request to all Freedom Family members is that we take into consideration this student’s allergy to Axe Body Spray and refrain from using it as your cologne or fragrance of choice while attending Freedom High School,” read a message on the Freedom High School web page.
At this point, it appears that only Axe Body Spray triggers the medical reaction as no other fragrance has been banned.
So what should the young men of Freedom High who rely on Axe Body Spray to give off a socially acceptable odor do now?
Well, there is always the old shower and soap routine. Sure it takes a few minutes longer than pressing down on the top of an aerosol can. But putting a bit of elbow grease into your personal grooming does have a long history of yielding good results.
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Guidelines for commenting
Although we say these are guidelines, they are, in fact, more like rules. Please adhere to them, or your comments will not be posted. We encourage discussion and robust criticism, however:
- We will not tolerate personal attacks on the blogger, or on the editors of Southerly.
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- Comments must make sense by being in sentences complete with punctuation, to reflect the literary nature of the blog.
So, with these necessary guidelines in mind, please comment! These are the types of comments we’re looking for:
- Have you had a similar experience to the blogger, with the text they’re writing about, or with another text?
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A journalist in China
Tim Hathaway writes about his experience reporting and writing for state-run 'Xinjiang Economic Daily'
Friday, November 9, 2007
New Jersey --- Under a crystalline sky in western China in 2006, I sat in a black sedan with Zhu Youke, one of China's most prominent journalists telling him about an illegal coal mine threatening endangered species. A foreign scientist had explained to me that this mine would directly impact the animals and he wanted news coverage. I decided to share the situation with Zhu for several reasons. He was a senior editor at state-run Xinjiang Economic Daily (XED), considered to be one of the most dynamic newspapers in China; he was a good friend; and he was also my mentor, having given me a job as an XED columnist earlier in the year.
He asked me to let him think about the coal mine story because revealing illegal activities is extremely risky in China, including Xinjiang, which is located directly north of Tibet. It is a politically-sensitive region because of tense relations between minority Turkic Muslim groups and Han Chinese. Newspapers are supposed to be the mouthpiece of the government and someone with Party connections most likely had a stake in this mine. Publishing this story could have repercussions for XED and Zhu personally. But a few hours later in the same black sedan, he said, "I want you to do it. You can interview the supervisor of the coal mine."
Between January 2006 and July 2007, I was given spaces of freedom in Chinese journalism that no other foreigner has been afforded. I maintained a semiweekly column in English and Chinese and wrote nearly 30 feature articles and photo editorials in Chinese. The majority of my writing focused on people and culture rather than politically sensitive topics such as illegal mines. I interviewed award-winning writers and poets, Pakistani gem traders, Filipino musicians, Malaysian and American entrepreneurs, German scientists, and government officials both on and off the record. I also wrote about Mongolian nomads, Uyghur farmers, and other minorities in Xinjiang.
I saw Chinese journalism from the inside and witnessed the struggle reporters have finding significance in their work. It is the rare journalist who is able to achieve a successful balance between censorship and significance. XED has several successful writers because of its editorial vision, emphasizing cultural exchange and understanding. On May 20, at the first ever Central and South Asia Media Summit, XED's editor-in-chief Su Jishang said, "The closer person-to-person relations are, the deeper economic exchanges will be." He also believed "mass media is under obligation to introduce foreign cultures, which requires broader vision."
The primary reason XED allowed me to write for them was the cultural perspective I brought. Prior to working there, I had lived in Colombia and Japan as an English teacher. My teaching career continued in China for three years before becoming a writer in Xinjiang. It was during my tenure as a teacher at a local university in the capital city of Urumqi that I met Zhu. We had met at the local Catholic Church and became good friends. After I quit teaching in 2005 to study Chinese full-time, he began lobbying the leadership of XED -- without my knowledge -- to let me write a column. I had no experience in journalism so in January 2006, when he offered me the job, I nearly turned it down.
I had many fears at the time, not the least of which was my less-than-fluent Chinese. I could barely read a newspaper at the time, let alone write for one. The column he proposed would be a paragraph-for-paragraph translation of English and Chinese. He assured me he would help clean up my translation.
My second fear was censorship. I did not believe I could write anything of significance for a Chinese publication. Zhu simply said, "Write anything you want. Just don't write about politics or religion."
He coaxed me into writing two sample articles for the other senior editors at XED. I struggled to find topics with meaning; my two sample articles ended up being on table manners and long underwear.
To my surprise the other editors at XED said they had value. For XED, they were a way to differentiate the newspaper from other publications. For readers, they were a chance to study English and to see their culture through the eyes of a foreigner. Though my first articles may seem trite, I used personal experiences to draw out cultural contrasts and the reasons for them. I showed readers how a westerner feels when a Chinese host uses his or her chopsticks to put large pieces of smoked horse meat, dog meat or even bovine intestines on a guest's plate and why, to the consternation of locals, westerners like me do not wear multiple layers of undergarments in the winter like they do.
In the beginning, even extremely simple articles took over 10 hours to write and translate. I slowly learned how to construct articles of more significance on education, morality, economics and cultural bias and improved my writing time to three or four hours.
Throughout the course of my year and a half at XED, I produced over 160 column pieces, and I remember only six were rejected due to censorship concerns. Just after I returned to the United States, Zhu wrote in a July 30 article, "The column 'A Foreigner in Xinjiang' printed in Xinjiang Economic Daily's culture section received praise from readers all over China. Among them was the former editor-in-chief of New China Daily in Nanjing, Mr. Jin Jingzhong. In a letter to the editor to XED he specifically praised this column. It has become one of the trademarks of this paper."
Because of the success of the column and the working relationships I had, I was given greater latitude during my time there. The investigative piece I wrote on the illegal coal mine was published in two parts in the fall of 2006. It included interviews with the mine supervisor, government officials, and Chinese and western scientists. It named the organization responsible for the incursion into the nature reserve and detailed the direct impact it had on the endangered animals. There were no repercussions for the newspaper. But it did nothing to improve the lot of the endangered species in the area either.
The spaces of freedom I was given at XED were a result of a strong desire to develop journalism in China. I was technically a freelance writer, but I gained the trust and cooperation of XED and members of the Ministry of Information. I was allowed to participate in some state-sponsored activities for journalists and listened to officials talk on and off the record. Government officials, editors and readers I spoke with all want a freer press just as much as they want a government free of corruption, but reform is a slow process -- glacially slow. I was fortunate enough to be given a chance to see Chinese journalism from the inside and how difficult it is to find ways to be significant as a writer in that society. But it can be done and is being done, by organizations like XED and individuals such as Zhu.
Click here to read one of Tim Hathaway's Xinjiang Economic Daily columns.
The views expressed above are those of the author and are not necessarily those of AsiaMedia or the UCLA Asia Institute.
Date Posted: 11/9/2007
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Al-Muntada Al-Islami Trust is based in Fulham, West London with a 900 capacity Mosque and Islamic primary school, and an Islamic Secondary School in nearby Hammersmith. Wasim Kempson is current Imam (Haitham al-Haddad was former Imam). Haddad’s intolerant rhetoric at Al-Muntada was highlighted in this report:
In a sermon entitled The Intifada and the Signs of Victory, and delivered at the al-Muntada al-Islami mosque in London, Haitham Al Haddad describes Jews as ‘eternal enemies’ and quotes from the anti-Semitic forgery, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion:
“[W]e must reflect on the reality of the conflict between us and the Jews, the enemies of God, and the descendants of apes and pigs.
O brothers! The conflict between us and the Jews is religious, historic, civilizational, and infinitely complex; it is not bounded by time or place, and it has more than one dimension.
Yes, o brothers, this is the nature of the conflict. It is not a military conflict for a limited period on the land of Palestine. The battle in Palestine, such as that underway at the moment and that which took place in the past, is but one small part of this conflict.
There is no better example of this, o brothers, than our recognition based on an investigation of reality, that although the Jews do not occupy all our land in Palestine, in time they will take over parts of the Arab countries indirectly in a manner perhaps worse than the military occupation. For example: political and economic control, and all their efforts to gain cultural control, as well as their hard work towards normalisation [of relations]. This is only part of their management of this battle, of which realise its importance and our ignorance.
We know that the Jews are using all that they can to end this conflict in their favour. They are doomed and will lose. They are one of the armies of the devil, of which Allah the Almighty said: And incite [to senselessness] whoever you can among them with your voice and assault them with your horses and foot soldiers and become a partner in their wealth and their children and promise them. But Satan does not promise them except delusion. [17:64]
Did Allah not commands us to seek refuge from the devils of mankind and the jinn? Indeed, the devils of mankind are perfectly represented by these Jews. Do their Protocols [of the Elders of Zion] not say: “We must seduce the world with women and wine, through gambling and recreation, and if this is not sufficient then their reality will testify to this.”
O brothers: their weapons in this battle are like the weapons of Satan: all kinds of desires, money, women, alcohol, games, media, so-called sports and art. All of these are amongst their weapons.”
“O servants of Allah! Here’s another warning more important than its predecessor, namely: declaring Jews and Christians to be kuffār, and the necessity of hating them, and avoiding them.“
“O Nation of Islam! The remaining provisions concerning the People of the Book are numerous: it is ḥarām [forbidden] to imitate them; it is essential to force them to pay the jizyah [discriminatory poll tax levied on non-Muslims] in Muslim countries; and to prohibit their residence in the Arabian Peninsula…but here I conclude with one rule, considering its importance to us these days, especially in this country, and in the face of this adversity, that is, the forbiddance of joining the Christians in their festivals, or congratulating them.
O servants of Allah! If we agree that their religion is an infidel religion, it means that their religious rites are a manifestation of infidelity and symbols of war against Allah and His Messenger, and there is no doubt that the festivals of each sect is associated with their religion and their faith, and it is these festivals which distinguish it from others, and the festivals are specifically distinguished by [non-Muslim] laws, just as Ibn Taymiyyah said.
So do you see that if a Muslim is pleased with the appearance of these manifestations of disbelief, as well as congratulating the non-Muslims on these festivals, let alone participating in them, that this is what makes congratulation of the kuffār on their religious rites categorically forbidden, and that the sin is multiplied if Muslims participate in these manifestations of disbelief?
Ibn al-Qayyim said: “As for congratulating non-Muslims on the rituals of disbelief, it is forbidden by consensus, just as it is forbidden to congratulate them on their festivals and fasts by saying ‘Merry Christmas to you!’ or ‘Enjoy your festival!’ and the like, for this equates to the speaker accepting disbelief and it is forbidden.” It has the same status as congratulating someone for prostrating in front of the Cross. This is the greatest sin to Allah and more odious than celebrating by drinking wine, committing suicide and practising illegal sexual intercourse and the like. Many of those who have no respect for their religion fall in this trap and they do not know the ugliness of what they have done, for whosoever congratulated someone for a sin or heresy or disbelief exposes himself to the loathing of Allah and his indignation.
Allah said: “And it has already been revealed to you in the Book (this Quran) that when you hear the Verses of Allah being denied and mocked at, then sit not with them, until they engage in a talk other than that; (but if you stayed with them) certainly in that case you would be like them. Surely, Allah will collect the hypocrites and disbelievers all together in Hell.”[4:140]
O servants of Allah, Ibn Taymiyyah said: “It is also evil to encourage Muslim children to respect or love these festivals of disbelief…”
What an evil parent you are if you don’t forbid your family and your children from that and knowledge of it: that it is not permissible for us to participate in the Christian festivals or imitate them.
O servants of Allah! I do not know how it can be pleasurable for a believer to congratulate the cross-worshipers,the swine-eaters, the wine-drinkers, on their festivals of immorality, obscenity and adultery, where naked women dance with men, where cups of wine are passed round, noisy songs are sung, shamelessness and depravity abound, and then tell them after that, ‘ Have a happy time!’”
In another sermon delivered at the same mosque entitled Who are the Innocents?, al-Haddad justifies the killing of apostates:
“Capital punishment in Islamic law is permissible…for those designated as ‘innocent’ according to international law [such as] the one who leaves his religion…just as the married adulterer, is a “criminal eligible for the death penalty”, according to the Islamic legal principle of consensus.
And this reminds us, o Servants of Allah, of the stories of those who compose heretical writings, that you cannot tolerate esoteric interpretation, you rule on their apostasy and desertion of the religion…in the West they are known as creative writers, and are considered as amongst the most innocent, but to us they are apostates, and their blood is halal.“
Al-muntada was shown to distribute hardline literature in ‘The Hijacking of British Islam’report:
Al-Muntada makes some bold claims:
Al Muntada has hosted the following speakers:
And this one, last on the list:
Articles on Al-Muntada
The Charity Commission is trying to establish the identity of a charity linked to allegations of funding the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram.
A commission statement said it was aware of claims made in The Observer that a charity called the Al-Muntada Trust has given financial support to Boko Haram, which has links to the terrorist group Al Qaeda and is connected with attacks against churches and Christians in Nigeria.
A spokeswoman for the Charity Commission said it was trying to establish which particular charity the allegations concerned.
“The commission is aware there may be some concerns with regards to an organisation entitled ‘Al-Muntada Trust Fund’ and specifically allegations that this organisation has provided financial support to the Nigerian group, Boko Haram,” she said.
“There are a number of registered charities with a similar name to this organisation. The commission is not able to confirm at this stage whether or not this relates directly to a UK-registered charity.”
There are two organisations on the Charity Commission register called the Al-Muntada Al Islamia Trust and the Al-Muntada Al-Islami Trust. Neither could be contacted by Third Sector for comment.
Faith Invaders – New Statesmen
For example, the Muntada al-Islami Trust, a Saudi-funded “charity” headquartered in the UK, last year grossed £1.48m. According to Paul Marshall, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Centre for Religious Freedom, al-Muntada sees its mission as propagating a Wahhabist version of Islam. The trust owns al-Muntada Islamic primary school in Parsons Green, west London, with 198 students (both boys and girls), and it has also approached a number of independent Muslim schools with a view to buying them – although, thus far, it has acquired only the Eden High School in Hanworth, Middlesex. It has also started a fundraising initiative, the Muslim Education Fund, with the Hijrah School in Birmingham, a state-funded secondary school. All these schools, according to Idris Mears of the Association of Muslim Schools UK, are Ofsted-inspected. The next step for the Muntada Trust is to buy secondary schools.
The Center for Security Policy – Islamism in Sub-Saharan Africa
“In what could be considered a sign of times to come, in December 2003 and January 2004, a group of some 200 militant Islamists calling themselves the “Taliban” waged a brief insurgency, intending to establish an independent Muslim state along Nigeria’s border with Niger Republic. Only after several weeks of murder and conquest was the insurrection crushed by the Nigerian army. It has since been discovered that the Saudi funded charity Al-Muntada Al-Islami, which works primarily in Africa, may have provided tens of thousands of dollars to the rebels. Al-Muntada has, incidentally, been particularly active in promoting Wahhabi style Islamism in Nigeria. As explained by a Sufi of Kano state, “before al-Muntada came to Kano there had been little or no inter-religious conflict…Now…we are almost on the verge of civil war.” Al-Muntada, he explains, pays for Nigerian clerics to be “brainwashed” in Saudi universities and imposed on Nigerian Muslims through its wellfunded network of mosques and schools. Such is the nature of Islamist intervention in Nigeria.”
“A ‘Taliban’ cleric, Alhaji Sharu, told police he had received funds for the Nigerian network from al-Muntada al-Islami, an agency headed by Dr. Adil ibn Muhammad al-Saleem and based in Britain, but associated with the official Saudi state charitable and da’wa institutions, the Muslim World League (MWL), World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), and al-Haramain Islamic Foundation.”
“Government security agents in Nigeria have reported the arrest of a Sudanese Muslim businessman who heads a Saudi Arabia-funded charity in connection with financing bloody Islamic attacks on Christians. Sheik Muhiddeen Abdullahi, director of Al-Muntada Al-Islami Trust, was arrested on February 20 in the northern city of Kano following “the discovery of financial transactions running into millions of dollars between him and an Islamic fundamentalist cleric, Alhaji Sharu, in Kano,” an official of the State Security Service said. Trust funds have reportedly gone to propagate the Wahhabi sect of Islam in Nigeria and to finance a fundamentalist Muslim uprising in December 2003 which left two policemen and a dozen militants dead and thousands of Christians displaced. When authorities released Abdullahi 10 days after his arrest, more than 5,000 Sufi Muslims protested, calling for the immediate closure of Al-Muntada Al-Islami Trust offices and demanding that the Wahhabi sect be banned from the country.”
“And in March, tension again rose after Saudi-funded British based charity al-Muntada al-Islami was accused of promoting a conservative Wahabi brand of Islam in the city.”
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The Christopher Ludwick Foundation
About the Foundation
Please note that the Ludwick Foundation's requirements for applications and application deadlines have changed. Be sure to read all instructions carefully.
The Foundation is named for Christopher Ludwick (1720-1801),
Baker General of the Army of the United States during the American
Revolution. His bequest of $13,000 was to provide a trust “for the
schooling and education gratis, of poor children of all denominations,
in the city and liberties of
The Foundation traces its origins to the Philadelphia Society for Free Instruction of Indigent Boys (founded December 18, 1799) which became The Philadelphia Society for the Establishment and Support of Charity Schools (1801), then the Ludwick Institute (1872), and the Christopher Ludwick Foundation (1995). The Christopher Ludwick Foundation is a charitable corporation with its own trustees and endowment.
For two centuries the trustees have fulfilled Christopher Ludwick’s mandate, and applications for projects that advance the education of poor children in the City of Philadelphia are accepted annually between February 1 and February 28. The Board of Trustees meets in May and awards are usually announced on or about June 1.Applicants must use the application form provided on this website and follow the instructions set forth therein. The City of
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How to pay for your car insurance
Filed under: Motoring
September is a month of mixed emotions for me. I am usually quite happy because it's my birthday, but also deeply worried about how to pay for my car insurance.
Motoring advice & info
This struggle is the reality for many motorists at the moment. So what options are available to cope with the cost?
Don't put it off
A change to vehicle insurance law in June last year is helping to keep uninsured drivers off our roads. But it also means you can't just stop driving your vehicle and wait until you have enough money to buy insurance.
Motoring advice & info
Your vehicle must be insured at all times even if you don't plan to drive it around. The only way to avoid paying insurance is to get a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) and to remove your vehicle from any public road.
The DVLA will be able to pick up that you have not insured your vehicle through the Motor Insurance Database. If you fail to comply you could receive a £100 penalty, have your vehicle seized and destroyed and face a court prosecution with a maximum fine of £1,000.
Pay annually - if you can
Paying off the cost of insurance in one go is the best option.
For those that have racked up years of no claims, a perfect driving record and are over the age of 25 this may not be that testing, as typically this profile of driver will have smaller insurance premiums.
But for less experienced drivers premiums can be sky-high. My premium is £603.75; not an amount I have readily available to hand over.
One solution is to put away a small amount each month into a decent easy access savings account to help with the cost come the time of renewal. Just £25 a month can bring you £300 closer to paying off your policy in one go.
For those with less foresight (like me) there are other ways to cope with the cost of an annual premium if you don't have the cash available.
An overdraft is a cheap(ish) form of borrowing that can be arranged with your bank. Most charge an arrangement fee and interest, but in comparison to other forms of credit it won't cost you too much if you pay it back as soon as possible. Plus, with an overdraft you will pay the annual premium with a debit card which saves on the credit card surcharges added at the checkout.
But if you don't mind another few pounds a solid option is a 0% purchase credit card. This form of borrowing enables you some breathing space for a number of months before you start accruing interest on anything you buy.
The top card at the moment is the Tesco Clubcard credit card which offers 0% on purchases for 16 months. After that, the Halifax All in One MasterCard offers 0% for 15 months, while the Barclaycard 14/14 Platinum Visa has an even better 0% on balance transfers and purchases for 14 months. For a full round up, check out The best 0% purchase credit cards.
If you do choose this route you will need to be very disciplined and pay off the entire balance before the interest-free period ends to avoid getting into unmanageable debt. Read why a 0% credit card could mean 100% trouble for more.
Only choose monthly if you need to
Most insurers offer you the option of paying for your insurance monthly.
However, choosing to pay monthly involves interest being added to you premium total, meaning you pay back more in the long run for being able to cut the cost into bite sized pieces.
According to recent research, monthly instalments increases the price of an average motor policy by 10.68%.
On my best quote of £603.75 the insurer offers the option to pay one payment of £60.44 plus eleven monthly payments of £57.57. This means I would be paying back a total of £693.71- that's nearly 15% extra.
One other thing to be wary of with monthly payments is that not every insurer offers this option. So you could be sacrificing your best quote for a next best quote that allows this flexibility, but costs hundreds of pounds more-even before the APR is added.
How to keep premiums down
Don't forget you can drive down the cost of your policy before making your choice. Here are a few tips:
- If you drive under 12,000 miles your policy could be cheaper.
- Parking your car in a secure place like a driveway or a garage will drive down the cost.
- Try adding another driver to see if they reduce the price.
- Keeping your no claims bonus intact is important; try not to claim if you can cover the cost yourself.
- Consider using a black box to monitor your driving and lower your premium.
- Opt out of expensive and unnecessary extras like car hire and breakdown cover. See essential car insurance features for help sifting through what you really need.
- Get the value of your car right. Overestimating will boost the cost of the premium.
The cheapest cars to run
- SUV: BMW X3 2.0d SE
- Convertible: Mini One Convertible 1.6
- MPV: Renault Grand Scenic
- Supermini: Ford Fiesta 1.25i Edge
- Family car: VW Passat 1.6 TDI 105 S
- Executive car BMW 5 Series 520d SE
- City car: Hyundai 110 1.2 Classic
- Small family car: Skoda Octavia 1.4s
- Coupe: VW Scirocco 1.4 TSI 122
- Estate car: VW Golf 1.6 TDI 90S
- The cheapest way to pay for a new car
- Pay As You Drive car insurance
- Essential car insurance features
- Compare car insurance quotes
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Why Was KFC Ordered to Pay $8 Million to Brain-Damaged Girl?
Fast food is considered dangerous to one’s health, if you ask health food experts. However, in this case, it was nearly fatal and Kentucky Fried Chicken has been ordered to pay up as a result.
KFC will pay $8 million (that’s 8.3 million in US dollars) to an Australian girl who suffered severe brain damage and was left paralyzed after consuming a chicken Twister wrap that was not properly prepared. The company has also been ordered to pay the associated legal costs.
In 2005, seven-year-old Monika Samaan ate one of the restaurant’s wraps and then suffered salmonella encephalopathy, which is a brain injury linked to food poisoning. She also developed a blood infection and septic shock. Members of her family also came down with an illness, claiming Samaan’s problems were a result of the food she ate at a Sydney-based KFC. A court ruled in her favor.
“Monika’s severe brain damage and severe disability has already exhausted the very limited resources of the family,” her family said. “Monika is now a big girl and they are finding it increasingly difficult to lift her and to look after her basic needs as well as look after Monika’s younger siblings. The compensation ordered is very much needed. KFC have to date been determined that Monika does not receive a cent.”
KFC has said it will appeal the decision.
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Think Outside the Cup: Cooking with Tea
As a self-proclaimed chef and aficionado of all things culinary, I am always looking for new recipes, different flavors and fresh ideas. One night, while pondering the nightly question, "what's for dinner?" over a cup of tea, I was struck with inspiration. Looking into my steaming brew, I had a revolutionary idea: tea... in food. The more I contemplated, the more I began to wonder why this idea was such a long time coming. I love cooking and (obviously) I love tea... The marriage of the two seemed inevitable.
So I called up a chef friend (yes, an actual, genuine Culinary School grad), Gary Lamach II (co-owner and head chef of Atlantic City's famous LaSage Catering), and asked him if he has ever heard of such a combination. He told me, to my surprise, that tea is the newest trend in the Food Industry. Used in many gourmet restaurants, tea adds new and unique dimensions of flavor, texture and aroma to recipes that have become too hackneyed and overused. It seems that tea is not only "hot," but deliciously edible as well!
My eyes were open. The more I was told, the more I realized just how versatile Camellia Sinensis (the tea plant) could be. Here are just a few examples...
Tea as a spice:
Simply grind tea leaves in a pepper mill (I personally recommend Oolong) and combine with white pepper. This makes an unbelievably delicious rub, perfect for a steak or a pork chop. The tea adds a wonderfully fresh Asian-cuisine nuance to this otherwise ordinary meal.
Tea as a marinade:
Wondering what to do with that extra Earl Grey tea left in the teapot at the end of teatime? Don't dump it.... Use it! Try adding it to your favorite marinade for chicken breasts for an out-of-this-world addition that will be sure to have your guests wondering the source of the mysterious (yet familiar) flavor. As a vegetarian digression, tea marinated tofu is a wonderful substitution in this dish.
Tea as a tenderizer:
Among tea's many benefits and effects, it is an efficient tenderizer. Want to get that falls-off-the-bone, melts-in-your-mouth effect for that dish that is great, but could be even better? Try adding some tea! Not to be camellia-exclusive, Rooibos "Red" tea has been shown to have similar results and may add yet another unique nuance for your culinary delights.
Tea as an oil:
Because this is a non-discriminating newsletter, I must give voice to the fact that cooking with tea is not exclusive to tea leaves. Although it has been used for centuries throughout Asia, Tea Oil is only now making its way into Western Cuisine. Made from the seeds of the tea plant, this relatively neutral-tasting oil has shown to have a plethora of uses in itself. From a base to salad dressing to the perfect sauté oil (due to the very high flash point) and more, Tea Oil has become a popular substitute to more traditional vegetable and canola oils.
Tea as an aromatic:
Although many chefs are nearly as hesitant as magicians to divulge their gastronomic tricks, Chef Lamach (whose cooking many have described as magical) revealed one of his cooking secrets. "In cooking," he says, "one has to pay close attention to the retro-nasal aromatics - the ‘flavor' you get in the cavity of your nasal passage. This is the true flavor that will always come through in your food and therefore must be complemented." Tea is the perfect complement to many flavors, filled with rich and subtle aromatics. Adding a touch of Jasmine tea to a rice dish will add many different interesting levels of smell and flavor that are sure to impress.
Tea as a dessert:
It is a fairly common practice to take tea after a meal. But what about tea as the dessert? This trend is quickly building in popularity in the food industry and is revolutionizing the way we think about our after-dinner sweets. Most people have been introduced to Green Tea Sorbet, but what about Earl Grey Muffins or a Jasmine Ganache? Because many teas take sugar well, it is sensible to conclude that many sweets would take tea well. Many bakers and chocolatiers are adapting and adding new recipes to include the wonderful hints that tea can add.
Tea as a green:
Finally, one must not overlook the simple fact that tea, like many greens used in cooking, is an edible leaf. For novice green tea drinkers, I have found quite often that they remark on the fact that it has a very "earthy, spinachy" taste. Why not use this taste to your advantage? Tomorrow morning, when making omelets, instead of using the usual spinach, try substituting Gyokuro leaves! This divergence from normalcy will surely receive great approval.
The benefits of cooking with tea seem almost as innumerable as drinking it. In many cases, when cooking with tea, it retains many of the essential vitamins and antioxidants as well as the HDL's (good cholesterols).
Tea, is seems, is not only a refreshing, delicious and healthy beverage, but also one of the most versatile and interesting ingredients that is (finally!) hitting the Western Culinary scene. I recommend that you consider using your favorite teas in your culinary exploration. Like many chefs say about cooking with wine ("Do not cook with a wine that you wouldn't drink"), for the best results, use the teas that best fit your tastes. You are limited only by your imagination in this journey for the search of new ways to take your tea. Happy and healthy travels!
As an endnote, I must give my great thanks to Chef Gary Lamach II, whose wonderful advice and information were immeasurable in the writing of this article. He was kind enough to take the time to create and donate several tea recipes which have been included in this article (all using Adagio Teas!), all of which are unbelievably delectable. I feel that is my obligation to the reader (rather than to him) to provide contact information on how to find out more about LaSage Catering. Please email Chef Lamach at firstname.lastname@example.org or call LaSage at (609) 804-9708... You'll be glad you did! Bon Apetit!
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Clayborne Carson - Martin's Dream: My Journey & the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Clayborne Carson presents Martin's Dream: My Journey and the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. ($27.00). Selected in 1985 by Coretta Scott King to edit the papers of her late husband, Dr. Carson has devoted most of his professional life to the study of MLK. In this candid and engrossing memoir, Clayborne Carson traces his evolution from political activist to activist scholar. He vividly recalls his involvement in the movement’s heyday and in the subsequent turbulent period when King’s visionary Dream became real for some and remained unfulfilled for others. He recounts his conversations with key African Americans of the past half century, including Black Power firebrand Stokely Carmichael and dedicated organizers such as Ella Baker and Bob Moses. His description of his long-term relationship with Coretta Scott King sheds new light on her crucial role in preserving and protecting her late husband’s legacy.
Clayborne Carson is professor of History at Stanford University and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, and also helped to design the King National Memorial. He has spoken about Dr. King and his legacy throughout the world, and has appeared on many national radio and television shows, including Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, The NewsHour, Fresh Air, Morning Edition, Tavis Smiley, Charlie Rose, Democracy Now, and Marketplace. Carson has also served as a historical advisory for numerous documentaries, including “Freedom on My Mind,” which was nominated for an Oscar in 1995.
- 51 Tamal Vista Blvd
- Corte Madera ,
- Postal Code:
- United States
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Vancouver looks at allowing more artist studios in industrial areas
More artists in Vancouver could soon have the option to set up studios in industrial areas, if proposed changes to the city’s zoning bylaw are approved.
City council voted unanimously today (January 15) to send the proposed bylaw amendments, which are intended to expand opportunities for “work-only” artist studios in industrial districts, to a public hearing.
Vision Vancouver councillor Heather Deal said the amendments have the potential to be a “real game-changer” for artist studio space in the city.
“This is actually a piece that we’ve needed to crack open for a very long time, which is that industrial space is great space for artist studios, and that our current regulations allow them, but in very restrictive ways and only heavier types of arts—the ones that are higher impact,” she said in a phone interview before council’s vote on the issue. “With a lot of people being multimedia artists now and multiple modes of artists in one studio, that just doesn’t make sense, and this is going to crack open...a lot more available space for artists with a lot fewer barriers.”
The proposed zoning amendments, which were recommended as part of an artist studio regulatory review in 2011, would see low-impact, “work-only” artist studios allowed in all 12 industrial districts in the city. Low-impact studios are currently permitted in four of those zones. The districts are located in areas including Railtown, False Creek Flats, and along the Fraser River.
According to the staff report that went before council today, a low-impact artist studio is defined as a space that doesn’t involve the use of amplified sound or potentially noxious materials. High-impact studios, which are already permitted in all industrial zones, include activities that involve the use of amplified sound, toxic or hazardous materials, or processes such as welding or spraying.
Other proposed bylaw changes include removing the current 500-square-metre size limit for “work-only” artist studios, which could pave the way for multiple groups to share a larger space.
“I think it’s the future of a lot of our arts groups in the city,” said Deal “This means that some of those warehouses in those industrial zones might become really great, thriving kind of hives of art.”
Following today’s vote by council, the application will be referred to a public hearing—a process required when changes to the city’s zoning bylaw are proposed.
Deal said the zoning changes could potentially come into effect soon.
“If it successfully goes through the public hearing and if there are changes, those bylaws are already written, and we can enact them really quite quickly—like at a meeting or two later,” she said.
Council’s vote on the issue came the same day it issued a temporary protection order to prevent any potential demolition of the Waldorf Hotel. Dozens of people gathered outside city hall this afternoon to show their support for venue operators Waldorf Productions, and for the protection of cultural and artistic venues in the city.
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Cook with what you have sounds nice but what should/would you like to have on hand? This is a fun and complex question. I’m going to tackle a small fragment of this question today. I’m going to talk about beans, white beans, and cooking them at home. A quick side note about dry beans. Here in the Portland area we are lucky to have a couple of very local sources of dried beans. Ayers Creek Farm sells their beans at the Hillsdale Farmers Market. The quality, flavor, varieties are unbeatable and worth seeking out. Sungold Farm sells pinto beans that are wonderfully sweat and creamy and are available at both the Portland Farmers Market and the Hillsdale Farmers Market. I have also had very good results with dry beans purchased from grocery stores, both bulk and packaged, so don’t let the possible lack of local beans deter you.
I love to cook beans. The taste is unbeatable; it’s simple to do once you’re in the habit; and if you cook large quantities at once and freeze them it’s as convenient as having canned beans on hand but with better flavor, less waste, less expense, etc. My routine, since I work from home, is to put several pounds of beans in a big bowl covered with water before I go to bed. The next morning I drain them, put them in a big pot with a couple of bay leaves, a chunk of onion and few peeled, whole garlic cloves and simmer them for 35-60 minutes depending on the bean. Small white ones like the navy beans in this picture tend to cook in about 35 minutes if they haven’t been sitting on a shelf for several years.
For those of you who leave the house every day, you could put them to soak in the morning and then cook them while you’re making dinner. Once cooked, I strain them (reserving the liquid) and put them into pint and quart containers, pour the cooking liquid up to cover them (helps preserve them and it’s great liquid to keep if you’re going to make soup later on) and then freeze them. I do this with white, black and pinto beans and chickpeas regularly. Oh and on the perpetual question of when to salt the beans you’re cooking, I have long gone with the recommendation of John Willoughby from a piece in Gourmet years ago where he debunked the theory of not salting until they’re cooked. So, I salt at the beginning with great results but if you have a different method with which you are happy, by all means stick with that.
So what to do with all those “bean popsicles,” as a student of mine once called them? The frozen beans thaw quickly in a pan over high heat with a bit of water. I just thawed a pint for my lunch in about 5 minutes this way.
Of course if you have the presence of mind to take them out of the freezer a few hours or a day ahead of time, great. They keep well in the fridge for the better part of a week. So, for the above lunch I mashed some garlic with salt, sautéed for a minute, added a can of tomatoes, broke those up a bit, added oregano and cooked over high heat for a about five minutes. I then added the thawed beans and heated those through. Some black pepper and a little olive oil to finish and voila! This makes a delicious light lunch or side dish mixed with pasta and maybe some sausage a hearty and quick dinner.
You could also toss the beans with some tuna, parsley, capers, finely chopped onion and a vinaigrette with plenty of red-wine vinegar and/or lemon juice. (For another local pitch, I love Oregon Albacore available at local grocery stores and farmers markets.) Or you could mash the beans with some lemon zest, juice, garlic, olive oil and a little rosemary or thyme and have a hearty spread. Or you could make a soup with kale, other veggies, sausage and white beans. The options really are vast.
I’d love to hear from you on this subject. Do you cook beans? What do you do with them? Have you found it easy? Too much effort? Not satisfactory? Beans too mushy or crunchy?
Happy bean cooking and thanks for reading!
P.S. I’m going to be teaching a 3-part series in January on pantry stocking and cooking quick meals similar to the ones described above in case you’re interested.
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BOLD! Gathering Strengthens Ties Between LGBT People of Color-Led Organizations
From December 2-4, more than 200 people from 80 LGBT organizations that focus on empowering LGBT people of color gathered in Minneapolis for the BOLD! Gathering, a strategic convening to build relationships between these organizations. The gathering was sponsored by eight foundations that committed to funding LGBT people of color organizations as part of the Racial Equity Initiative, a project initially led by Funders for LGBTQ Issues.
The PFund Foundation and Astraea Foundation designed the program to create "an opportunity for the leaders of people of color LGBT organizations across the nation to know and learn from each other and also to provide an opportunity for our foundation peers to better understand the LGBT movement from the perspective of LGBT [people of color] organizations,” explained Alfonso Wenker, director of communications and development for the PFund Foundation.
According to the BOLD! Gathering press release, this convening is needed now more than ever because “when the initiative was launched in 2008, there were over $100 million in annual grant awards to LGBT agencies, but only 1% were awarded to LGBT [people of color] organizations. Yet, combined, people of color communities make up a majority of the population in the United States...People of color communities including those from African American, Latino/Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American/Two-Spirit and others also tend to experience more conservative attitudes about sexuality and concurrently have the highest incidences of economic, health and educational disparities.”
Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz, a consultant who served on the gathering’s planning committee, added, “This is our Movement Moment - one that will be marked by communities of color becoming the majority in this country within the next two decades. As a result, we have an unprecedented opportunity to move the movement towards justice and full inclusiveness."
Theo Yang Copley, a member of the Astraea Foundation’s Fall Campaign Team, blogged for the Foundation’s website from the convening, writing, “The LGBTQI [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex] people of color community is learning, evolving and changing in response to multiple oppressions and external challenges and continued investment in it matters. The leaders here work in their communities, building relationships and supporting others so we can have the kind of world that we need…one that supports all people to be who they are.”
Reflecting on the convening, Uma Rao, organizer for the Pride Foundation, shared, "The BOLD! Gathering was the perfect combination of learning, inspiration and fun. I feel blessed to have met so many people across generations and traditions to now be able to call on. As a queer person of color, having this network of peers helps me feel like I can sustain my work."
Lesbian feminist and cultural worker Jewelle Gomez added, “The BOLD! gathering was the product of a lot of hard work and strong spirits, all of which showed in how participants couldn’t stop talking with each other. This historic event, which builds on so much organizing that has gone before, will be the conduit for stronger connections among our QPOC [queer people of color] communities and organizations; make our voices heard in the furthest reaches of the LGBT communities; and help make social change a reality.”
In an interview with GLAAD, Paulina Helm-Hernandez, Southerners on New Ground (SONG) Co-Director & member of the First Nations/Two Spirit Collective, also invoked the organizing history that this gathering builds on. She shared, “In October 1979, Audre Lorde delivered a keynote speech at the National Third World Gay and Lesbian Conference, one of the first national gatherings of LGBT people of color. She asked,
What does the responsibility of community mean? Does it mean only a trick handshake, the latest fashion in cruising clothes, the right only to hold hands in the street? Or does it mean building genuine networks of support for each other and our communities, so that wherever, however, whenever we are functioning within this system which cannibalizes our loves and lives; whenever and however we function within this system, we work to bring about more humanity and more light for each other and for those who, like ourselves, have felt the keen edge of rejection.
The BOLD! conference was a great place to be reminded of both that legacy and the challenge of continuing to create an inclusive movement that centers and values the leadership and vision of LGBT folks of color.”
The BOLD! Gathering has posted four teleconference calls from the convening on their website, titled Locating Ourselves within Movement(s), What is this Movement Moment?, An Organizing Model: Spirituality and Healing, and An Organizing Model: Cultural Work and Organizing. A list of convening participants can be found here.
The gathering has been covered by the Miami Herald, The Bilerico Project and LGBT POV, among other media outlets. For more information, visit: www.boldgathering.org.
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This is how it works:
- Designers provide options such as fabric, color and silhouette
- Consumers vote on their favorite combinations over the course of a week
- The following week the winning styles are made available for pre-order in limited editions
- Each designer uses their production infrastructure and supply chain to produce the items
- Styles are delivered to customers in 8 weeks or less for fashion and 12 weeks or less for home
Using co-creation can be a very strategic way for an organisation. Fashion is really divers and everyone has their own taste. You probably once had something in mind you really wanted to have, but couldn’t find it anywhere. Cut On Your Bias has seen this insight and wants to react on it. I think co-creation is a good tool to use in the fashion industry, because the consumer want to play a part in the designing process. They want to be heard and appreciated. With this site they know their wants will be heard. You also know that the winning piece, will be sold much more, because the consumer is involved and feels bonded with the company.
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The trial that could reshape the market for mobile phones is about to come to some kind of closure.
There's one more day of legal house cleaning before closing arguments begin in Apple v. Samsung, the patent dispute between two of the biggest players in smartphones.
In a lawsuit filed last year, Apple accused Samsung of stealing some of the ideas and technology behind the iPhone and iPad. Samsung countersued and alleged Apple violated some of its patents.
On Monday, the parties will likely continue arguing over what instructions the judge will give the jury. Once that's concluded, each side will make its closing argument and the jury will be given the case to consider. The nine-person jury -- seven men and two women -- has been presented with a mountain of evidence, and weighing all of it could take some time.
Here are some key facts and data points to help you understand what the jury is looking at.
How did this start? You can trace the clash back to January 9, 2007, when the iPhone debuted. Apple said in a lawsuit it filed against Samsung in April 2011 that within a couple of years of Apple's releasing the iPhone, Samsung had created iPhone clones that ripped off Apple's technology and designs. Apple also claims Samsung did the same thing after the iPad was released. Samsung responded by countersuing Apple for patent infringement.
How much longer will it last? The trial began on July 30 and was scheduled to conclude on Friday.
What's at stake? If it wins, Apple wants $2.5 billion. Samsung is seeking $519 million from Apple. What this case is really about, though, is stopping Google and its Android operating system. Steve Jobs, the late Apple co-founder and CEO, said before dying last October that he wanted to destroy Android because he considered it a "wholesale" ripoff of the iPhone.
If Apple wins, the company's lawyers will first be able to force Samsung to stop shipping some of its handsets and computer tablets in the United States but more importantly, Apple will have a nice precedent with which to attack HTC and other companies that use Android. If Apple loses, then the decision will obviously work against Apple's larger anti-Android strategy.
What happens next? Apple and Samsung are still arguing over what instructions the judge will give to the jury about what they should consider before rendering a verdict. At more than a 100 pages long, the instructions will take more than an hour to read and are sure to put the jury into a coma, the judge has said.
How long will closing arguments last? Each side will get two hours and both parties insisted that their arguments be made on the same day as each other. Expect that to occur on Tuesday.
Who is on the jury? Seven men and two women.
Why doesn't Apple just sue Google?: One likely reason is that Android is free and Google doesn't profit directly from sharing the OS with phone makers. Samsung, on the other hand, chooses to use Android and is generating revenue upon which Apple can calculate damages.
Samsung also makes for an easier target. Apple can compare the iPhone with Samsung's handsets side by side.
Apple v. Samsung
Important dates in the patent dispute.
January 9, 2007
The Apple iPhone debuts.
April 15, 2011
Apple files suit against Samsung, asserting patent and trade-dress claims.
June 30, 2011
Samsung files counterclaims against Apple. In response to Samsung's infringement claims related to its standards patents, Apple asserts counterclaims of license exhaustion and FRAND/antitrust violations.
July 1, 2011
Apple files a motion for preliminary injunction against the Galaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G, and Droid Charge smartphones, and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, which was denied on December 2, 2011.
June 26, 2012
Apple appeals the denial of preliminary injunction to the Federal Circuit, which affirms on all counts except the D'889 design patent, which claims the design of a tablet computer. On this day, the court enters preliminary injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet based on the D'889 patent.
July 31, 2012
Opening arguments in the trial get under way.
Apple's best evidence: This includes side-by-side comparisons of the two company's icons and graphics. Apple has also presented internal e-mails and documents that show Samsung closely studied the iPhone and knew that its own handsets were inferior to Apple's. Apple argues that these documents prove Samsung was trying to mimic the iPhone.
Samsung's best evidence Samsung last week disputed Apple's patent claims by showing that similar technology, including two-finger touch on computer screens and computer tablets, existed prior to the release of the iPhone and iPad.
Which party has the advantage? With juries, you never know which way they're going to go. Still, if you're trying to handicap this clash, I'd say Apple has the edge. Showing what the iPhone looked like when it debuted in 2007 and then showing Samsung's phones before and after that date is powerful.
Who are the lawyers? As you might expect, there are oodles of them. Apple's lead attorney is Harold McElhinny of the firm of Morrison & Foerster. At 65, McElhinny has a lot of big victories under his belt. The top man for Samsung is Charles Verhoeven from the firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Verhoeven is younger but just as much of a winner. Last year, a legal journal wrote about Verhoeven and the headline read: "Google Doesn't Need Patents, It Has Mister Verhoeven."
Who is the judge? Lucy Koh, a U.S. district judge for the Northern District of California. She has been a federal judge since June 2010. When granting the preliminary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, Koh said: "Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly by flooding the market with infringing products."
Where can I get the best info on this? I'm glad you asked. CNET is covering the case gavel to gavel. Our Josh Lowensohn is in the courtroom and posting to Twitter, and is filing numerous stories. All our news, features and photo galleries about the trial can be found here.
Where is the trial taking place? It's at the Robert Peckham U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in San Jose, Calif.
Apple's patent claims
- '381 patent: Relates to the "bounce-back" feature when scrolling beyond the edge of a photo or document.
- '915 patent: Relates to a device capable of distinguishing between a single-touch scroll operation and a multitouch "pinch-to-zoom" operation.
- '163 patent: Relates to touch to double-tapping to enlarge and center portions of an electronic document.
- D '677 patent and D '087 patent: Relates to the front face of an electronic device, as embodied by the iPhone.
- D '305 patent: Relates to a user-interface design depicting a grid of rounded square icons against a black background.
- D '889 patent: Relates to the industrial design of a tablet computer.
Trade dress (a legal term that refers to a product's physical appearance, including its size, shape, color, design, and texture):
- Dilution: Apple asserts that Samsung's smartphones dilute its iPhone trade dresses (one registered, two unregistered), and that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 dilutes its unregistered iPad and iPad 2 trade dresses.
- Infringement: Apple alleges that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes its unregistered iPad and iPad 2 trade dresses.
- Antitrust: Apple alleges that Samsung's assertion of patents that are essential to 3G standards constitutes a violation of federal and California antitrust law.
Samsung's Patent Claims
- '516 patent: Directed to scaling down the transmit power of certain radio broadcast channels before other channels, to give priority to the most important data channels.
- '941 patent: Describes a more efficient use of radio resources by reducing overhead associated with transmitting a particular type of data unit.
- '711 patent: Allows a user to play music while the user multitasks and accesses other programs and menus.
- '460 patent: Allows a user to take a picture on a phone/tablet, immediately review the picture in a gallery mode, and then seamlessly e-mail it along with a message.
- '893 patent: Allows a user of a phone/tablet to browse pictures in the gallery, switch to the camera mode, take a picture, and then switch back to the last picture viewed in the gallery.
Editors' note: This report originally was published August 13. It has been updated to reflect the goings-on in the trial since that time.
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OREGON TAX COURT
Plaintiff sought to estop Defendant's statute of limitation defenses to her appeal of the assessor's actions on her act of God application. The court held that she was not entitled to act of God relief because she failed to sustain her burden of proof to show she was injured by the assessor's actions.
Property taxation-Act of God relief-Relief determination
1. In determining proration for damaged property under ORS 308.425, the assessor compares the property's real market value before the damage to the real market value after the damage.
Estoppel-Elements of claim
2. To succeed on a claim of estoppel against the state, the taxpayer has the burden of showing: (1) misleading conduct, (2) reliance upon that conduct, and (3) injury.
Estoppel-Burden of proof-Proof positive
3. In order to succeed on an estoppel claim, taxpayer has the burden of showing proof positive that she was misled by the state.
Estoppel-Burden of proof-Testimony evidence
4. Mere testimony is generally insufficient to show proof positive that taxpayer was misled by the government.
Estoppel-Burden of proof-Written evidence
5. Written evidence is given great weight and is the most reliable evidence in determining whether the government misled taxpayer.
Estoppel-Burden of proof-Written evidence-Ambiguous documents
6. Ambiguous documents are capable of providing proof positive that taxpayer was misled by the government.
Trial was held December 14, 20, and 21, 1999, in the courtroom of the Oregon Tax Court, Salem.
Laurelyn Schellin, Plaintiff (taxpayer), argued the cause pro se.
Rochelle Nedeau, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice, Salem, argued the cause for Defendant (the department).
Decision for Defendant rendered April 7, 2000.
CARL N. BYERS, Judge
Plaintiff (taxpayer) appeals from a decision entered in the Magistrate Division. Due to a stipulation of the parties, only one of three issues addressed in the Magistrate Division remains: whether taxpayer's appeal from action taken on her application for proration of taxes is time barred.
Taxpayer's property is located in Salem. Mill Creek runs along the eastern edge of the property and as a consequence, the property has been susceptible to recurring floods. Improvements on the property include a garage and an older two-story home which suffers from much deferred maintenance.
During the 1995-96 tax year, taxpayer's property was twice flooded: once, in October 1995 when the storm drain in front of her home broke, and again in February 1996 (95-96 floods). Because her home was damaged by those floods, taxpayer applied for "act of God" relief from property taxes under
ORS 308.425. (1) Attached to that application (95-96 application) were descriptions of fairly extensive damages. Taxpayer claimed that there had been four feet of water in the house and that a "concrete foundation slab," sheetrock, insulation, floors, floor coverings, cabinets, wall heating, baseboard heating, and a water heater all had to be replaced. She also indicated that doors, molding, a tub, toilet, sink, and outdoor fence all needed refitting, reinstalling, or repair. (Def's Ex B at 2-3.)
Furnished with that information, and after visiting the property, (2) Basil Coxen, the county's appraiser who processed taxpayer's application, determined that the property's post-flood real market value was $25,000: $20,000 for the land and $5,000 for improvements. (3) Jeff Procter, a Senior Appraiser for Marion County, testified that the $25,000 figure was a "low ball" figure reached due to the lack of time and resources available to the assessor.
Taxpayer did not appeal that valuation. (4) Consequently, that amount was used to determine the amount of property taxes to be prorated, resulting in taxpayer receiving a refund. That value would have also been used as the roll value for the 1996-97 tax year except that the county assessor applied neighborhood trending factors to taxpayer's property. The trending factors increased the land 14 percent and the improvements 10 percent resulting in a real market value of $28,300 for 1996-97.
Before taxpayer had made any substantial repairs necessitated by the 95-96 floods, her property was again flooded in November and December 1996 (96-97 flood). Taxpayer filed another application for proration of property taxes - this time for the 1996-97 tax year (96-97 application).
The assessor's office acknowledged receipt of taxpayer's 96-97 application in a letter mailed March 7, 1997. That letter indicated:
"We will not begin work on these accounts until later this Spring. If you have not heard anything regarding your account by September, 1997, please feel free to contact us." (Ptf's Ex 8.)
Taxpayer's next communication from the assessor was an "Assessor's Recommendation" form received around March 24, 1997. Relevant portions of that text are as follows:
|JULY 1, 1996||VALUE: $22,800||DAMAGED VALUE: 22,800|
|JULY 1, 1996||VALUE: $5,500||DAMAGED VALUE: 5,500|
|TOTAL VALUE:||DAMAGED VALUE: $28,300|
|VALUE RETURNED TO ROLL BY JULY 1, _____ (PRIOR TO TRENDING)|
|IMPORVEMENT:||_____||NEW APPRAISAL BEING MADE|
|REMARKS:||New appraisal is being made."|
(Def's Ex C at 2.)
Upon reading the above, taxpayer became confused as to whether the phrase "DAMAGED VALUE: $28,300" was notice of the assessor's post-damage property value determination or whether a new post-damage valuation was pending.
The source of her confusion was the remark "New appraisal is being made." Procter testified that that remark was included because no values were indicated in the section entitled "VALUE RETURNED TO ROLL." No values were placed there because taxpayer's property was in the process of being separately reappraised by the assessor's office as part of a statutorily mandated six-year cycle. The roll value for the subsequent 1997-98 tax year would be determined according to that separate appraisal and not by the post-damage valuation. (5) Therefore, any indication that would have been made on the Assessor's Recommendation had a high probability of subsequently changing. (6) Such change potentially could confuse taxpayer. Unfortunately, in an attempt to avoid that confusion, a new one was created.
Taxpayer testified that she took the Assessor's Recommendation to the assessor's office. What exactly transpired at the office was disputed by both parties. Taxpayer testified that she was told by a senior appraiser, Keith Brown, that she did not need to appeal her act of God application because a new appraisal was being made.
Brown testified that he did not specifically remember the conversation. However, he was fairly familiar with act of God application/appeal procedures. He testified that it has never been his practice to instruct taxpayers to not appeal their act of God applications.
Based upon her interpretation of that conversation, taxpayer did not file an appeal. She did not hear from the assessor's office again until she received a tax statement in November 1997. The tax statement showed a real market value of $108,460 (Ptf's Ex 25), which indicated to taxpayer that she had not received any tax relief for the 96-97 flood. Taxpayer believed that due to the 96-97 flood, the real market value should be reduced to less than $25,000.
Taxpayer again immediately went to the assessor's office to complain that she had not received any relief from her 96-97 act of God application. There, she met Procter who, according to his testimony, told her that the assessor's office had acted on her application and had determined that she was not entitled to any tax relief. No further instructions regarding act of God relief procedures were given.
Taxpayer's description of that conversation was different. She testified that she was told specifically not to file an appeal because an act of God post-damage valuation was pending.
The next time that taxpayer effectively acted upon her 96-97 application was May 8, 1998 when she filed an appeal in the Magistrate Division of this court. (7) The department claimed that taxpayer did not timely file an appeal of the assessor's pre- and post-damage valuations. Taxpayer now claims that the assessor misled her and therefore any statute of limitation defenses should be estopped.
Is the department estopped from asserting that the statute of limitation prevents taxpayer from appealing the assessor's pre- and post-damage valuations?
Two areas of law are relevant here: (1) act-of-God application procedures, and (2) equitable estoppel.
A. Act of God Application Procedures
1. The legislature has provided for limited relief from property taxation when one's property is damaged by an act of God. ORS 308.425(1). To receive such tax relief, the taxpayer must submit an application to the tax collector who notifies the assessor. The assessor compares the real market value of the property before the damage to the real market value of the property after the damage. ORS 308.425(3)(b). The assessor then notifies the tax collector of the percentage of change. The tax collector uses that value percentage to refund a proportionate amount of property taxes based on the date of damage or destruction.
2, 3, 4. "* * * [E]stoppel should not lightly be applied against the government." Glancy v. Dept. of Rev., 12 OTR 117, 119 (1991). "The policy of efficient and effective tax collection makes the doctrine of rare application." Johnson v. Tax Commission, 248 Or 460, 463, 435 P2d 302 (1967). To succeed on a claim of estoppel against the state, a taxpayer must establish (1) misleading conduct by the state (2) good faith reliance on that conduct, and (3) injury to the party claiming estoppel. Society of St. Vincent DePaul v. Dept. of Rev., 14 OTR 47, 50 (1996). A taxpayer claiming estoppel against the state must show "proof positive" that they were misled by the state. Johnson, 248 Or at 463. Mere testimony that the government orally misguided taxpayer, is generally, by itself, insufficient to show "proof positive" that the taxpayer was misled.
"There are many possibilities for misunderstanding with oral communication." Mahler v. Dept. of Rev., 11 OTR 367, 370 (1990). Taxpayers are often unfamiliar with taxation procedures. It is easy for them to become confused even where correct information is given. Rothenfluch v. Dept. of Rev., 11 OTR 322, 325 (1990). Additionally, the court often has no way to know the exact questions that taxpayers may ask when seeking direction from a government official. Id. Taxpayers may phrase their questions in a manner which leads a government official to believe they were inquiring about something other than what they intended. Glancy, 12 OTR at 120.
5. Written evidence of being misled is given greater weight than mere testimony. "If the tax authorities give the taxpayer the correct information in writing, that is the most reliable evidence of what was communicated." Mahler, 11 OTR at 370 (citing Rothenfluch). "When written materials containing accurate information and advice are given to taxpayers, taxpayers may not continue to rely on an understanding based on oral representations or discussions which are contrary to the written information." Smith v. Dept. of Rev., 13 OTR 206, 210 (1994).
6. Where however, the written materials provide evidence of inaccurate or ambiguous representations, the court is more inclined to find "proof positive" that the taxpayer has been misled by tax authorities. See, e.g., Pilgrim Turkey Packers, Inc. v. Department of Revenue, 261 Or 305, 493 P2d 1372 (1972) (where an ambiguous exemption form was found to be proof positive of misleading conduct).
Another element that taxpayer must show in order to succeed on an estoppel claim is "good faith reliance" on the state's misguidance. Society of St. Vincent DePaul v. Dept., 14 OTR at 50. Describing that prong, the Supreme Court of Oregon has declared that "a party claiming estoppel must show reliance and 'a right to rely upon the representation of the estopped party.' (estoppel is a defense only if the required element of reliance is reasonable)." Welch v. Washington County, 314 Or 707, 716, 842 P2d 793 (1992) (citations omitted). There must be "a particularly valid reason for relying on the misinformation and [it must] be inequitable to a high degree to compel the taxpayer to conform to the true requirement." Johnson, 248 Or at 463-64.
With the above understanding of the law, the court will now turn to the evidence of the case. Taxpayer timely filed her 96-97 application by filing within the same tax year in which the damage to her property occurred. See, ORS 308.425(2). After receiving taxpayer's application, the assessor, in accordance with ORS 308.425(3)(b), made a post-damage determination of taxpayer's property value ($28,300). Because that determination was equal to the property's pre-damage value ($28,300), taxpayer did not receive any tax relief for 96-97 flood damage. Taxpayer disagreed with that determination and under ORS 305.275(1) was entitled to make an appeal.
ORS 305.280(1) requires that an appeal must be filed "within 90 days after the act or omission becomes actually known to the person, but in no event later than one year after the act or omission has occurred."
A. 90-Day Limitation
In order for the 90-day limitation to apply, taxpayer must have "actual knowledge" of the assessor's act or omission. ORS 305.280(1). The assessor, although not required to do so, attempted to apprise taxpayer of the value determinations. That was done by means of an "Assessor's Recommendation" and conversations between the assessor's office and taxpayer. None of those interactions seemed to provide taxpayer with "actual knowledge" that the assessor had made a final post-damage value determination.
The Assessor's Recommendation form and taxpayer's tax statement each had the potential to inform taxpayer of the assessor's action. However, each failed to actually do so. The Assessor's Recommendation failed in its attempt because it was ambiguous. The statement "NEW APPRAISAL BEING MADE" coupled with an indication that the "damaged value" was the same as the "July 1, 1996 value" led taxpayer to reasonably believe that a final post-damage determination may have still been pending. Taxpayer visited the assessor's office seeking clarification. However, she left with a belief that a final determination was still pending.
Later, taxpayer received her tax statement. However, that statement did not inform taxpayer of why she had not received any tax relief. Taxpayer again visited the assessor's office and left believing that the assessor's final post-damage determination was still pending and therefore, so was her relief.
Whether taxpayer's lack of actual knowledge was her own or the assessor's fault is not relevant. The 90-day limitation only applies if the taxpayer has "actual knowledge" of the assessor's act or omission. ORS 305.280(1). Here taxpayer's failure to appeal evidences her lack of "actual knowledge." Based upon taxpayer's history of immediately reacting to information with which she was dissatisfied, it is reasonable to conclude that had she actually known that a final determination had been made, she would have promptly appealed. The fact that she did not evidences a lack of "actual knowledge." (8) For that reason, the 90-day limitation will not be applied against the taxpayer.
B. One-Year Limitation
The second limitation provides that "in no event" is taxpayer entitled to appeal later than one year after the assessor's action. Here, the assessor's action occurred on March 24, 1997. Taxpayer failed to file an appeal with the Department of Revenue within one year of that date.
As a defense, taxpayer claimed that the assessor misled her to believe that the property's post-damage valuation was still pending. Taxpayer contends that the misguidance should estop enforcement of the one-year statute of limitation.
Taxpayer testified that she was orally misled by employees at the assessor's office on two separate occasions. The first occurred March 1997 when she sought clarification of the ambiguity contained in the Assessor's Recommendation. The second occurred in November when she spoke with Procter about her tax statement. The court finds such oral evidence insufficient to show "proof positive" that taxpayer had been misled.
Written materials however, are given greater weight than oral testimony. Here, the Assessor's Recommendation dated March 24, 1997 (Def's Ex C at 2) purportedly informed taxpayer of the assessor's final post-damage value determination.
The Assessor's Recommendation, as discussed above, was ambiguous. That form, like the one in Pilgrim Turkey Packers, Inc., although technically correct, was capable of producing more than one reasonable interpretation. One of those interpretations led taxpayer to believe that no final post-damage value determination had yet been made.
Taxpayer's 1997-98 tax statement inferentially indicated that she had not received any tax relief from the 96-97 flood. However, she had no reason to believe that the absence of such relief was not due to a pending post-damage value determination.
For those reasons, the court finds (1) the taxpayer has shown "proof positive" that the assessor misled her to believe that a final determination of her property's post-damage value was still pending; and (2) it was reasonable for taxpayer to rely upon those representations.
The court will now turn to the issue of valuation. In determining what relief is due for act of God damage, the task is to determine the value of the property before and after the 96-97 flood. ORS 308.425(3)(b). The assessor determined that taxpayer's pre- and post-flood property values were both $28,300. Taxpayer presented little evidence to rebut those determinations. The evidence that was provided failed to illustrate what property damage was caused by the 96-97 flood as compared to the 95-96 floods or deferred maintenance.
One of taxpayer's witnesses, Joseph Hutchinson, a construction manager for Ron Redding Construction, presented "ball park figures" of what it would cost to repair or replace many of the property's damages. Although he arrived at those figures in good faith, they were not helpful to the court. The estimate was based upon a visit he made to the property almost two years after the 96-97 flood. No distinction was made between costs to repair damages caused by the 96-97 flood and costs to repair damages present before that flood. That, coupled with evidence showing that taxpayer misrepresented construction company estimates leads this court to give little weight to that testimony. (9)
In contrast to taxpayer's evidence, Def's Ex H at 5 showed that following the 95-96 floods, a county assessor visited taxpayer's property and determined that the property's post-flood value was $25,000. Taxpayer never appealed that valuation. For the subsequent tax year, taxpayer's property was trended upward 10 percent on improvements and 14 percent on the land. Those factors were determined by evaluating properties similar to and in the same general vicinity as taxpayer's property. No testimony indicated whether or not flooded properties were used to arrive at those trending factors. However, without much evidence to rebut the values reached by the assessor, the court finds, based upon the preponderance of the evidence, that the value of taxpayer's property before the 96-97 flood was $28,300.
For determination of the property's post 96-97 flood value, taxpayer again failed to provide the court with much valuable evidence. Acquaintances of taxpayer, Peter Herman and Pauline Goodwin both testified that the house was cold, damp and smelled of mildew. Neither of them indicated what damage or damage-increase was caused by the 96-97 flood. According to their testimony, all of the damage they discussed existed or may have existed prior to the 96-97 flood.
Taxpayer herself represented that the damage done to her property by the 95-96 floods was very substantial. There had been four feet of water in the house. Floors, floor coverings, a toilet, tub, sink, "concrete foundation slab," sheetrock, insulation, cabinets, and heating system all needed repairs or replacement. Taxpayer was unable to safely reside in her home. (Def's Ex B at 2-3.) Despite those damages and risks to safety, taxpayer again returned to and began living in her home without making any significant repairs.
The sheetrock, insulation, wood and other items damaged by the 95-96 floods lost much of their value during those first floods. Further subjecting those damaged items to water would not substantially affect their value. Left unrepaired, the value of flood damaged sheet rock or rotten wood generally will not significantly further diminish when flooded again. Most if not all of the diminution in value occurred during the first flood. For that reason, the court believes that the 95-96 floods left the property in such a poor condition that the 96-97 flood did not substantially decrease the value further. Assuming that some further nominal damage did occur, the court is unable to determine the extent of that damage. All of the damage discussed in evidence already existed or may have existed before the 96-97 flood.
The following evidence supports the department's position that taxpayer's property value after the flood was at least $28,300. In an appeal for the 97-98 tax year, which began five months after the 96-97 flood, taxpayer claimed that the real market value of her property was actually $28,300. (Ptf's Ex 25 at 1 Lines 20 & 21). Taxpayer represented that almost no repairs were done to her property during the interim between the 96-97 flood and her appeal to the Board of Property Tax Appeals.
Additionally, an appraisal of taxpayer's property was conducted shortly after the 96-97 flood. That appraisal valued taxpayer's property at $107,760. The fact that the appraiser who made that determination was not aware of any flooding problems weakens the probativeness of that appraisal. However, it may at the very least provide an indication that it was probably not worth less than $28,300.
Therefore, based upon the preponderance of the evidence, the court finds that taxpayer has not sustained her burden of proof to show that the value of her house after the
96-97 flood was lower than $28,300. Therefore she is not entitled to tax relief provided by ORS 308.425. Costs to neither party.
1. That statute provides for proration of taxes for property that is damaged or destroyed by an "act of God." All references to the Oregon Revised Statutes are to 1995.
Return to previous location.
2. Although this fact was disputed, the court makes this finding based upon the preponderance of evidence. See, Def's Ex B at 1.
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3. At trial it was shown that the Assessor's Recommendation initially contained different values as well as miscalculations regarding the final value. However, ultimately, the taxpayer received notice of the $25,000 post flood value.
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4. A letter from the Department of Revenue informed taxpayer that the assessor had determined her post-flood property value to be $25,000. That letter also indicated that if she disagreed with that value, she should notify the Department of Revenue to make a proper appeal. (Ptf's Ex 12 at 3.) Taxpayer's application for proration of taxes contained similar instructions. (Def's Ex K.) No notification was ever made.
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5. An initial value of $107,760 had already been estimated on February 5, 1997, based upon an outside inspection of the property by County Appraiser, John Poe. (Def's Ex H at 5.) Procter testified that Poe's appraisal probably did not reflect flood damage to taxpayer's property.
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6. When taxpayer's act of God application was acted upon, Poe's appraisal was merely preliminary and subject to modification.
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7. Taxpayer represented that she had made an appeal of the assessor's actions to the Board of Property Tax Appeals. However, that appeal attempt was ineffectual because the law clearly requires, and her act of God application directed, that such appeals must be made with the Department of Revenue. See ORS 305.275(1) and Def's Ex K.
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8. Although taxpayer mistakenly believed that the assessor's office would file such appeals, no evidence indicated that taxpayer requested the assessor or anyone else to begin the appeal process for her. Therefore, the court concludes that no appeal attempt was ever made.
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9. See, Def's Ex D.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/docs/TC4419.htm
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_News Talk 770
Strong returns on oil boosted Alberta's bottom line significantly in the last fiscal year, according to new figures released by the province.
Alberta's deficit was much smaller than expected last year at $23 million, meaning the province avoided having to take an extra $2.2 billion out of its rainy day Sustainability Fund.
However, early returns on oil prices this year suggest it will be a difficult feat for Finance Minister Doug Horner to duplicate.
The province relies on oil and gas revenues and taxes to fund much of its $40 billion in program spending, but both revenue sources are trending down.
The government is banking on oil averaging close to US$100 a barrel this fiscal year, but the price has been dropping steadily and now hovers in the US$80 range.
Revenue from personal and corporate income taxes fell three per cent below expectations in the last fiscal year despite 60,000 more people coming to Alberta, and real GDP growth that hit five per cent.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.newstalk770.com/News/Local/Story.aspx?ID=1729985
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Stedman, NC Real Estate
According to census data in the year 2000 there were 284 housing units in Stedman.
This represents a 26.2% growth from 225 in 1990.
Of those housing units, none were located in either urbanized areas or urban clusters, and 284 were located in what is classified as a rural area.
Homeownership rate in Stedman is about 82.5%.
Stedman's vacancy rate, including seasonal lodging, is about 13.4%.
Average household size is 2.56 people.
The majority of houses, apartments or condos in Stedman were built after 1971.
|Housing Units by Size|
|Five Bedrooms or more||1.80%|
Owned Homes, Apartments and Condos
|Average Household Size||2.53|
|Median year structure was built||1972|
|Median Value of occupied units||$72,000|
|Median Price asked for vacant units||$275,000|
Rented Homes, Apartments and Condos
|Average Household Size||2.7|
|Median year structure was built||1954|
|Median Monthly Rent asked for vacant units||$225|
Owners Finance Status
|Second Mortgage & Equity Loan||0%|
|Home Equity Loan||20.70%|
|Median part of Monthly Household Income dedicated to covering home ownership costs||16.8%|
|
<urn:uuid:afbaa51a-ffc2-4dc7-883d-30b51a303aa5>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.idcide.com/realestate/nc/stedman.htm
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.941049
| 307
| 1.679688
| 2
|
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