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When should I be screened for colorectal cancer?
Colorectal cancer is more common in older people, so doctors usually screen people 50 years of age and older. Some people have risk factors that make them more likely to get colorectal cancer at a young age. Screening should begin earlier in these people.
You should be screened for colorectal cancer at a younger age if:
- You have had colorectal cancer or polyps in the past
- You have a family history of colorectal cancer or polyps
- You have ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease
- You have a hereditary colon cancer syndrome
If you are in one of these groups, you may also need to be tested more often than a person who doesn't have risk factors for colorectal cancer.
Any one of the screening programs (with a digital rectal exam at each screening) may be used every 5 to 10 years, beginning at 50 years of age.
Talk to your family doctor to decide which screening tests you should have and how often you should be screened. If you don't have any risk factors for colorectal cancer, you will probably have your first screening test around 50 years of age.
Written by familydoctor.org editorial staff | <urn:uuid:3ed4f92e-f8cb-466c-9e6c-22e14421cd14> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/colorectal-cancer/causes-risk-factors.printerview.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972443 | 269 | 2.65625 | 3 |
No Long Term Effects of Feeding GM Diets19 July 2012
GLOBAL - A study at the University of Nottingham, looking to the long term impacts of genetically modified (GM) plants in animal diets has concluded that GM plants are nutritionally equivalent to their non-GM counterparts and can be safely used in food and feed.
The review collected data concerning the effects of diets containing GM maize, potato, soybean, rice, or triticale on animal health.
12 long-term studies were examined (between 90 days and two years in duration) as well as 12 multigenerational studies.
The researchers studied many parameters using biochemical analyses, histological examination of specific organs, hematology and the detection of transgenic DNA.
Results from all the 24 studies do not suggest any health hazards and, in general, there were no statistically significant differences within parameters observed.
However, some small differences were observed, though these fell within the normal variation range of the considered parameter and thus had no biological or toxicological significance.
If required, a 90-day feeding study performed in rodents, according to the OECD Test Guideline, is generally considered sufficient in order to evaluate the health effects of GM feed.
The studies reviewed present evidence to show that GM plants are nutritionally equivalent to their non-GM counterparts and can be safely used in food and feed.
TheCropSite News Desk | <urn:uuid:55ae5dda-afcd-43e7-b6cd-7e6fbb6081ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thecropsite.com/news/11529/no-long-term-effects-of-feeding-gm-diets | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943467 | 289 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Beyond the "I"
SAND brings together preeminent scientists, philosophers, spiritual teachers, and mystics for an exploration of the new paradigm emerging in spirituality that is grounded in cutting-edge science and consistent with the ancient wisdom of nonduality -- the deep understanding of the interconnectedness of life... read more....
Perception underpins all human behavior and helps interpret sensory information to make sense from the senseless. The brain, to create meaning where there is possibly none, processes perception from the unperceived and thought from the unthinkable. The process of perception is in fact one of creation. What we perceive is not what is out there or within. There is no inherent value in the incredibly complex patterns of light that fall onto our eyes, and yet we see coherent forms and motions that enable us to survive. Exploring the nature of perception can help us glimpse life beyond experiencer and experience, perceiver and perception.
THE NATURE OF THE SELF
Mystics in all ages and cultures describe the self as infinite, stable and ever-present phenomena. Modern physics describe the world as a self-moving, self-designing pattern, an undivided wholeness, a dance. Click here to read more...
View a slideshow from SAND 2012, San Rafael, CA
The first SAND conference in Europe was yet another amazing journey that hinted at becoming a historical event. We are finding new ways of being together with radical honesty, curiosity and openness freely exploring who we truly are as human beings. We feel we are part of a new arising spirituality which as Jeff Foster says “is radically inclusive and accessible spirituality free from the dogma and ideology and blind belief of the past, a spirituality in which nothing and nobody - including the teachers themselves - can escape the loving light of ruthless inquiry and blinding transparency, in which nobody can claim any kind of absolute truth or privileged knowledge.” Thank you everyone for your exquisite presence and support.
Click here to read some of the participants’ feedback.
ON THE EDGE OF TIME...
Thank you all for your presence, curiosity, deep insights and open hearts. SAND 11 was yet another inspiring journey.
In this section of the site you can view most of the talks of our past conferences, excerpts of our media products and video clips of relevance to the topic. Watch Videos
Another groundbreaking collection of conversations with leading scientists, contemporary mystics, authors and teachers. Science and Nonduality Anthology Volume 2 takes you on a deep inquiry into the most compelling questions of our time, ranging from consciousness through evolution to awakening...read more
Watch excerpts from the DVD
ON THE EDGE OF TIME
BEYOND THE “I”… the end of the seeker
To purchase CD and DVD recordings from the 2010 conference
please click here.
DECONSTRUCTIONG THE “I”
To purchase CD and DVD recordings from the 2009 conference
please click here. | <urn:uuid:52d6b678-5088-4600-8a84-150d6f87d361> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scienceandnonduality.com/index.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91252 | 602 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Recent developments at Pelletron
Various developments to improve the performance of the Pelletron accelerator have been implemented over the last decade.
¨ Installation of resistor chains
For a steady operation of the electrostatic accelerator, the uniform division of the high voltage is essential and was achieved in the original design using sharp corona needles. These corona needles required a frequent replacement because of the degradation in performance due to aging. This problem was overcome by replacing the needles with large value resistors (1 Giga ohm), which has resulted in a remarkable improvement in the voltage stability. Moreover, the machine can be operated at very low terminal voltages, which was not possible earlier.
¨ An electrostatic offset quadrupole (charge selector) at the terminal of the Pelletron has been designed and fabricated to minimize electronic loading from undesired charge states (after stripping in the terminal section).
¨ To facilitate easy beam changes, a multi cathode target wheel for SNICS ion source has been fabricated.
¨ High current proton irradiation setup (6m level)
¨ Installation of new accelerating tube at ion source
¨ Upgraded RF control electronics for bunching system
¨ Re-circulating turbo pumping system for Terminal gas stripper
¨ Major civil repairs of Experimental hall, Accelerator tower and Laboratory block
¨ Upgraded electrical distribution & emergency DG | <urn:uuid:2fc7b9b4-9ef2-43a2-a97e-201e710a3c64> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tifr.res.in/~pell/pell_mod.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91732 | 275 | 1.914063 | 2 |
This summer, kids throughout the Bay Area will be learning to ride a bike. With their parents frantically running behind, they’ll be speeding down sidewalks and across playgrounds on wobbly wheels.
Some kids easily pick up the essential life skill in a day. Others quickly become frustrated by the task, falling repeatedly, throwing tantrums, begging daddy to put the training wheels back on.
If your child is one of those who’s struggling, you might want to show him this hilarious YouTube video. In it a young boy who just learned to ride a bike offers some words of wisdom. (If he keeps up with these inspirational speeches, he just might have a future as a motivational speaker.)
Teaching your kid how to ride a bike? San Francisco mom and founder of Freedom from Training Wheels Jean Fraser offers tips and advice on a new way to teach your child to ride a bike. | <urn:uuid:a7b7f513-7d45-44ac-952e-95cf2822f856> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.sfgate.com/sfmoms/2011/06/02/video-inspiration-for-kids-learning-to-ride-a-bike/?gta=commentlistpos | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952547 | 184 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Autism is a complex phenomenon with an extremely broad spectrum of effects that vary in every individual, a new interactive simulator aims to provide only a hint at what it is like to experience just one symptom of autism - sensory overload.
To try the simulator for yourself click here. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move and the mouse to adjust your perspective. According to the creator the aim is not so much to recreate sensory overload as experienced in someone with autism, but "to elicit the same kind of reaction from a neurotypical person". The simulator seems to be receiving a good response from many on the autism spectrum apparently coming forward to commend the simulator on its accuracy, though there are also comments stating how it does not come close to demonstrating the reality of autism. The consensus seems to be that the shrieks go some way to emulate the feeling of anxiety and the haze of static helps communicate the feeling of confusion, that can be induced by sensory overload. The emulator "doesn't explain what the world looks like" to someone with autism "but rather what it feels like". We'll never be able to simulate autism properly but hopefully projects such as this might help create empathy and provide at the very least a small degree of insight and understanding in to what it must be like to live with autism.
Update: I just received a video which attempts to achieve the very same goal, also worth checking out:
Via: Ars Technica
Image Credit: Auti-sim | <urn:uuid:ea133b7d-f49f-4bc1-b7d7-392401faee27> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bigthink.com/neurobonkers/auti-sim-an-attempt-to-simulate-sensory-overload-in-autism | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966687 | 296 | 2.125 | 2 |
|The Rwandan genocide ended when President Paul Kagame defeated the Hutu extremists in July 1994 [Reuters]
A French appeals court has ruled against extraditing the wife of Juvenal Habyarimana, Rwanda's former president, home to stand trial in connection with the African nation's 1994 genocide.
Agathe Habyarimana has been wanted in Kigali by the Rwandan state prosecutor since 2009 on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for her alleged role in the Rwandan genocide.
The massacre was sparked by the death of her husband, whose plane was shot down in the same year.
The Paris court's reasoning for the decision on Wednesday was not immediately available, but it is binding on Francois Fillon, the French prime minister.
At the courthouse, Habyarimana said she was "delighted" with the decision and alleged that Rwandan authorities were after her "because they know they killed my husband".
"What I really would like is for the truth to come out on this assassination. Those who downed the airplane of the President Habyarimana and his counterparts from Burundi must be identified," she said.
Cyprien Ntaryamira, president of neighbouring Burundi, was among those killed.
Following the request by Rwandan authorities two years ago, French police detained Habyarimana last year, but she was released on condition that she stay in France and check in regularly with police.
In 2004, France rejected Habyarimana's request for political asylum, alleging she was at the heart of the regime responsible for the genocide.
Two years ago, a French court denied her appeal, arguing she had de facto authority in state affairs and rejecting as not credible her claims that she had no power.
|An estimated 500,000 people were killed in the Rwandan genocide of July 1994
In Kigali, Rwanda's prosecutor general, Martin Ngoga, said the decision did not surprise the government because Rwanda has never succeeded in any attempt to extradite suspects from France, despite many attempts.
"The decision not to extradite Mrs Agathe Habyarimana is disappointing, but we will not relent in our efforts to bring genocide suspects to justice," he said.
"We expect French counterparts to explore other available options, including having Mrs Habyarimana tried for genocide in France, an option that Rwanda does not object to."
"We also wait to see if the human rights groups that opposed her extradition will call upon France to bring her to trial or whether they will choose to support impunity," said Ngoga.
A Rwandan government investigation released in January suggested the plane was shot down by Habyarimana's own allies, as an excuse for starting the genocide.
Rwanda's genocide erupted after an airplane carrying President Habyarimana was shot down near the capital, Kigali.
French investigators have been looking into the case because the plane's crew was French.
Some 500,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis but also moderate Hutus, were massacred by radical Hutus in under 100 days.
The massacres ended when Tutsi-led rebels under current President Paul Kagame defeated the Hutu extremists in July 1994. | <urn:uuid:aa018299-0d8a-4c22-a2c5-24a70c55c152> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/09/201192819489341439.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980219 | 671 | 1.96875 | 2 |
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the opening of the first public comment period for the council’s LEED for Neighborhood Development green-building rating system. The program is the first national certification system for green neighborhood design and development, the organization says.
The proposed rating system is the result of a collaboration the USGBC, the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and integrates the principles of smart growth, new urbanism, and green building, the USGBC said.
The council began pilot testing of LEED for Neighborhood Development in early 2007, and accepted nearly 240 pilot projects into the program, representing 39 states and six countries. The rating system will evaluate projects on criteria related to smart location and linkage to the community at large; neighborhood pattern and design; and green construction and technology.
“The development of LEED for Neighborhood Development speaks to the breadth of what green building means,” said Sophie Lambert, director of LEED for Neighborhood Development, U.S. Green Building Council. “What was once a rating system solely designed for commercial construction, LEED is now evolving beyond single buildings to address development at the neighborhood scale.”
The public-comment phase for LEED for Neighborhood Development opened on Nov. 17 and will run until Jan. 5, 2009. Those interested in viewing the draft LEED for Neighborhood Development and submitting comments online are advised to visit the website located at www.usgbc.org/LEED/LEEDDrafts/RatingSystemVersions.aspx?/CMSPageID=1458. | <urn:uuid:2928ba3a-6b30-4e0f-9baf-01b3114132b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.paintsquare.com/news/?fuseaction=view&id=2600 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928403 | 337 | 2.59375 | 3 |
How food safety knowledge can affect your health
(BPT) - Whether you're feeding yourself or feeding your family, it's important to know that the food you're eating is safe and nutritious. But perceptions about finding a balance between those two essential factors have become muddled in recent years. While there is an increased effort to promote the consumption of healthy foods, particularly fruits and vegetables, there are also conflicting messages about their safety.
Concerns about food safety range widely, from the use of pesticides to medications given to livestock to outbreaks of diseases. Unfortunately, those concerns can affect the amount of healthful foods in Americans' diets. "Feedback from consumers and practicing nutritionists is beginning to show that concern about pesticide residues is having a negative impact on consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables," says registered dietitian Dave Grotto. "What we need to do is encourage - not discourage - greater consumption of healthful produce."
It might seem that the most logical solution would be to research whether foods are safe. A lot of information about this subject is available on the Internet, but that's not always a practical option. Busy families that have schedules filled from morning to night don't often have time to add an extensive research project into the mix. Luckily, there are some new resources available - often on mobile platforms - to help you make sense of the food safety headlines.
One resource, the website www.safefruitsandveggies.com
, developed and operated by the nonprofit Alliance for Food and Farming provides consumers with scientific data that's been translated to a user-friendly format. For instance, scientific research available to consumers about the amount of pesticide residue on foods can be filled with confusing numbers and terminology. But this site's pesticide residue calculator gives you information about how much of a particular food item you could eat without any effects at all from any small amounts of pesticide residues that may be present. This can be based on either gender (for adults) or age (teens and children). For example, according to the calculator, a child could consume 154 servings of apples - even with the highest pesticide residue recorded by the USDA - in a day without any effect, or an adult woman could eat 2,332 servings of kale. The calculator is also available for download as a smartphone app.
"Of course we know a child couldn't consume 154 servings of apples in a day, but by providing more science and perspective on the safety of produce, we are hoping to give consumers more information to help them when making purchasing decisions in the produce aisle," says Marilyn Dolan, executive director of the Alliance for Food and Farming. "And, we are also hoping to halt the trend toward continuing decline in consumption of fruits and vegetables in America by reassuring consumers about the safety of both organic and conventionally grown fresh produce."
If consumers are still concerned, they can simply wash their produce before eating
The benefits of nutritious foods like vegetables and fruits are so far reaching that excluding them from your diet can adversely affect your health. With new resources that aim to help consumers understand the facts about food safety, it's easier than ever to ensure that the meals you serve your family are full of healthy, delicious ingredients. | <urn:uuid:7803eb9e-5a2a-4b37-9c18-89053a29cc24> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lajuntatribunedemocrat.com/section/?template=araArchiveDetails&CategoryID=442&article=8054650202&archive=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956355 | 649 | 3.390625 | 3 |
With his own lightweight earth-moving equipment, your child can be the boss of his own construction site, gold mine or archaeology dig without leaving the yard. The sturdy metal construction of this hand-operated scoop will shovel sand, snow and gravel with ease. The base is fashioned in the same manner as a sturdy office chair, so it doesn’t lean or fall forward when the scoop is full. The unit is heavy enough for rock-solid stability, yet still light enough for easy transport to the lake or beach, where your little excavation boss can discover new treasures buried in the sand. Ages 4+. Dimensions: 44-1/2"L x 22-1/2"W x 17-3/4"H. Weight: 7.5 pounds. Weight limit: 60 pounds. Seat height: 12". | <urn:uuid:f65e2ebe-76eb-4228-9a1b-f6e76d34c4bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cabelas.com/product/Camping/Outdoor-Games-Toys%7c/pc/104795280/c/104756580/The-Big-Dig/717491.uts?destination=%252Fcatalog%252Fbrowse%252Fcamping-outdoor-games-toys%252F_%252FN-1100759 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930974 | 167 | 1.53125 | 2 |
This Holiday Bundle includes both "The Tale of Christmas" and "Holiday Fun".
"The Tale of Christmas" keepsake book is back by popular demand! This adorable keepsake book tells the story of Christmas with a craft for each page. Each craft is easy to complete and uses materials that you probably already have.
What a great opportunity to make a memory with your kids as you explain to them the true meaning of Christmas!
As always, this keepsake book is a great one for parents to keep and show their kids when they get older.
Do you love holiday craft but hate all the bits of paper and mess? My "Holiday Fun" keepsake book is the perfect solution. This book includes an original poem with a craft for each line. This book includes 11 of my all-time FAVORITE holiday crafts in one place! Kept together in a book to look at for year to come!
Christmas tree with lights
What a great gift for parents! Each craft is simple to complete and uses materials that you probably already have. I hope you enjoy the holiday season and making a memory with your kids!
Both books were cute. I especially liked the Christian book for Christmas.
January 3, 2013
I am making the Christmas story book with my kids this week and they love it! The prep to get all the patterns together is fairly labor-intensive, especially for larger classes, but I think it will be worth it to see the end result!
December 11, 2012
Love the Tale of Christmas Book! We are completing a page a day and will send it home for Christmas. The crafts are also very cute!!
I teach Sunday School to a little boy with special needs. He had so much fun making the Christmas Tale for his parents! Thank you for adding ideas to differentiate the pages. He really felt successful. I would love it if you would make more Bible stories in this format! Thank you!
March 22, 2012
Loved how these turned out. Really cute!
March 18, 2012
i loved using these for christmas! great work!
January 29, 2012
December 3, 2011
Great unit, thanks!!!
November 30, 2011
November 28, 2011
I LOVE these books! Can't wait to make them with my kids! :)
November 23, 2011
can't wait to use these activities in my pocket chart center when i get back! super cute!
November 22, 2011
I LOVE it!!! Can hardly wait to do this with my kinderkids!
Ask Mrs Whary a question. They will receive an automated email and will return to answer you as soon as possible.
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
We are having a wonderful time doing the activities in the book, however I think there is a typo on the Santa page. It is somewhat hard to tell if the word himself is printed as a typo of two words or if the font makes it appear that way. Let know what you think. | <urn:uuid:67db2136-5e12-475e-8301-b5d71e86fbd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Holiday-Bundle-168992 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9416 | 622 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Peter Cohan, Contributor
I write from near Boston about startups and political economy
Former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital partner, Edward Conard, argues that what’s good for the top 0.1% is good for everyone else too. There are three reasons why his arguments are wrong.
In case you haven’t met Conard, the New York Times reports that Mitt Romney hired him after his stint at Wasserstein Perella. Conard suggested that Bain Capital buy a pharmaceutical-test instruments company for under $500 million — it’s now worth $7 billion. (Disclosure: I worked on a project with Bain Capital in 1995).
In 2000 Romney put Detroit-native Conard in charge of Bain Capital’s New York office and he’s now qualified to explain why what’s good for him and other members of the top 0.1% — his net worth is estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars – is in the best interests of everyone else.
It’s understandable why the Romney campaign is now distancing itself from Conard’s ideas. Here are three of the biggest intellectual low-lights produced by this Harvard Business School graduate.
1. Income inequality makes the economy work. Conrad contends that income inequality is better for everyone. If this is so, it would help to learn his explanation of why income inequality peaked in the U.S. at two points in its history that preceded the worst economic collapses in the last hundred years — 1928 and 2007.
In 2007, the top .001% of American earners took home 6% of total U.S. wages — about twice the figure for 2000, noted Emmanuel Saez, an economics professor at University of California–Berkeley back in 2009. Saez also found that the top 10% of American earners pulled in 49.7% of total wages: a level “higher than any other year since 1917 and even surpasses 1928.”
Back in March 2007, I asked whether another Great Depression was on the way. How so? Income inequality in 2005 had reached a peak not seen since the year before the kickoff of the Great Depression. After all, back then the top 1% (over $348,000 in income) took home 21.8% — their largest share of national income since 1928.
Depending on how you count, the Great Depression didn’t end until World War II production took up the slack — about 12 years. As for the current mess, it has been about five years since the recession officially began in December 2007. And without the $23.7 trillion in government cash and guarantees thrown at Wall Street, things would surely be worse now.
2. Google (GOOG) and Wall Street have the same social benefit. Conard quite seriously conflates the truly beneficial technologies discovered and marketed by Silicon Valley with what Wall Street does. He believes that they both make their executives rich and make consumers better off in the bargain.
This argument is wrong on at least two levels. First, while Google has made people far more productive, Wall Street is a cancer on society — it enriches its executives when times are good, siphons off fees from consumers in exchange for holding on to their money, and when it borrows too much money — which it does every decade or so — government bails it out. | <urn:uuid:660a9a25-a235-477a-82db-1a8f6d3ae1b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2012/05/02/three-reasons-bain-capitalnomics-fails/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959953 | 698 | 2.46875 | 2 |
A printable map of the Cemetery is available by clicking the link below. The cemetery is divided up into Sections. These are designated by letters. The individual sections are divided up into Blocks which are designated by numbers. The Cemetery was laid out over a period of years and the numbering of the blocks is very random. In order to find a particular gravesite you should begin by looking for the correct section. Once you have located the section you should be able to find the block you are looking for.
In the cemetery the water standpipes are attached to posts. On each post there is a sign with a number on it. The number represents the block and should help you locate the individual block and lot you are searching for.
If you visit the cemetey there are maps available in a mailbox near the office. The maps are free and the packet includes brochures on the cemetery and rules and regulations. There is also a book with a list of the burials in the cemetery. The book should not be removed from the cemetery. | <urn:uuid:83f61866-b7b2-4438-bf4a-7ad572642a5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gwood.us/maps/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978347 | 210 | 1.609375 | 2 |
With invoice-busting diesel prices, strategies to increase fuel economy are more valuable than ever. Here are six tips for saving fuel this spring:
THINK ABOUT FUEL economy as you select tractors and transmissions. Use a tractor that's large enough to pull the desired implement, but avoid using too large a machine.
“Tractors are designed to deliver the most energy per gallon of fuel when operated in higher power ranges,” says Roger Hoy, director of the Nebraska Tractor Test Lab at the University of Nebraska.
Hoy says tractors equipped with variable rate transmission technology, such as John Deere's (JD) infinitely variable transmissions (IVT) or AGCO's continuously variable transmissions (CVT) also offer excellent fuel economy because they automatically shift up or down based on power requirements. “If power is not needed, they will shift to a faster transmission ratio and reduce engine speed,” says Hoy.
SHIFT UP AND throttle back. Hoy says although IVT and CVT technology automatically perform gear and engine speed adjustments to enhance efficiency, operators can improve fuel economy by shifting up and throttling back whenever possible. Hoy says most tractors (even well matched to the job) are typically a tad too big for the implement, often needing to operate at only 50-80% of pulling capacity.
By shifting up a gear or two, engine speed can be reduced while providing adequate pulling power without losing ground speed. Hoy gives the example of a JD 8430 PST tested in the Nebraska lab last year. When the tractor was operated in 12th gear vs. 10th gear to pull a 10,012-lb. load (noted to be 75% of maximum pull power), fuel consumption decreased by 7.4% from 0.462 lbs./hp-hr. to 0.428 lbs./hp-hr., rpm went from 2,155 to 1,610.
“A lot of farmers want to see their tractor operate at 2,000 rpm (because that's the rated speed), but if you can run at 1,600 rpm and still get the job done you may save yourself some money,” says Hoy. Similar savings from shifting up and throttling back were shown with other brands and models. Results can be found at http://tractortestlab.unl.edu/testreports.htm.
MAKE SURE EQUIPMENT is properly ballasted. Many growers add weight for heavy fall tillage but fail to remove it before lighter springtime work, according to Roger Lewno, a tractor marketing and training manager for Case IH.
When tractors are ballasted too heavily, “more power is required to move the vehicle through the field and less is available to do work, so the result is less performance and increased fuel costs,” Lewno says.
On the other hand, if tractors are too light ? based on horsepower ? or if tires are over-inflated, more slippage occurs, translating into wasted fuel economy.
Chad Hogan, a JD product line manager for large row-crop tractors, says most tractors should weigh 120-125 lbs./PTO hp, given faster working speeds common today. But he warns that total weight is only one part of the equation; ballast must be properly distributed between front and rear axels depending on the type of drivetrain. “You need to use the right weight, at the right time and in the right place,” he explains.
JD provides a handy calculator that spells out recommended ballast packages for various tractor models and applications. It's available online at www.deere.com/en_US/ag/servicesupport/productivity-tools.html. Case IH offers a similar service on a CD available through its dealers.
CHECK TIRES AND tire pressure. “Growers routinely check oil and coolant but they often take the tires and wheels for granted,” says Hogan, who says wider tires are generally better than narrow ones when it comes to fuel savings. Check your tractor operator's manual (you can also find tire information on JD's ballast calculator) for recommended inflation levels for drivetrain and tire type. Pressures that are too low can lead to powerhop pitching and bouncing, but “if inflation is too high, you get increased slippage and decreased fuel efficiency,” Hogan says.
CONSIDER AUTO-STEER. Lewno says that most people think of improved planting and spraying accuracy as primary benefits of automatic guidance systems, but the impact of reducing overlap shouldn't be underestimated. Without auto-steer, Lewno says farmers often crowd their passes in the field to avoid skips, easily adding up to extra hours in the field due to overlap. “The smaller the tool, the bigger the savings,” says Lewno.
“Auto-steer can decrease overlap typically by 10-15%,” says Hogan.
USE THE BELLS and whistles and maintain equipment. Case IH's Magnum and Steiger tractors offer “performance instrumentation” that allows operators to monitor fuel consumption per hour or acre, wheel slippage, ground speed and engine power used so adjustments can be made as you go, says Lewno.
Lewno also reminds growers to set remote valve timers that control the tractor's hydraulic pump. “If the timers are not set properly, it may take 1-2% of the engine power to maintain the pump at high pressure,” he says. While that's not a huge draw, Lewno says, it's a fuel robber that can be avoided.
The cooling system must also be kept clean, including the radiator and engine and fuel filters. With heavy field dust, filters can easily become clogged, which means cooling fans must run more, says Hogan. “It can take 10% of the engine power just to run the fans,” he says.
Finally, be sure to give your employees clear directions and advice on how you want equipment operated and maintained in order to optimize fuel economy. With $3-plus/gal. diesel prices expected, that could mean money in the bank this spring. | <urn:uuid:d9168878-8048-40a3-8438-6b0e7781bb59> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/print/fill-er | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948766 | 1,280 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Tips for Choosing a Group Dance Class
In a previous post I offered tips for choosing a private instructor. Selecting group classes is equally important, especially for beginners. Group sessions are sometimes called "series classes," purchased as a set (typically meeting once a week for a month) or "drop-ins," when students pay for one class at a time.
Essential for learning to lead or follow in social dancing, they are an ideal complement to private instruction. As a general rule however, dancers are advised to take group classes whether or not they have a private instructor. But with so many studios and classes to choose from, how do you select the best group classes? These tips may help:
1. Take classes that fit your level.
You may hear more experienced dancers describe a certain class as "easy." Perhaps it is—for them. It depends on their dance background, their aptitude, and whether the class is classified as a true beginner's class. If you're new to ballroom dancing, your first group classes should focus on the most basic steps, footwork, patterns and body positions.
Talk with your private instructor or the group class teacher to confirm the class is really designed for "beginners" — not a mix of various levels, such as dancers who have already completed other beginning lessons. In ballroom studios "beginning" is frequently divided into progressive stages of skill (Beginner 1, Beginner 2, Beginner 3, and so on) before reaching the "intermediate" level.
2. Understand what "all levels " means.
A class that welcomes "all levels," is not necessarily appropriate for "first-time" beginners. The instructor may focus on technique, assuming participants already have basic skills. Whether you're in the first week or the third month of your first classes can make a big difference. You may feel uncomfortable surrounded by more advanced students. When in doubt about prerequisites, check with the instructor.
3. Ask to observe a class before enrolling.
You will find dance studios, community centers and independent instructors that are willing to extend this courtesy. Some studios charge a nominal fee for watching. If you're considering group lessons and concerned about selecting the right class, the fee may be a wise investment.
4. Develop a checklist for "rating" beginning classes
When watching a class, here are some things to look for:
- Is the instructor clear, patient, supportive and pleasant?
- Do most of the students appear to grasp the material? Are they smiling and relaxed?
- Does the instructor limit the number of basic steps or patterns – ideally no more than two or three sequences, "figures" or "moves" per class?
- Is material reviewed at the end of class? Does the instructor encourage questions?
- What is the ratio of leaders to followers? Is the class "balanced" for optimum learning?
- How often are partners "rotated"? A primary advantage of group classes is the opportunity to test leading and following skills with different dancers. If frequent partner rotation is overlooked, the class may not meet your needs.
Group classes can be among the most inspiring, upbeat social environments you will ever encounter. This is where dancers make new friends, or perhaps find a practice partner at their own level. When students regularly attend classes – and consistently practice what they learn – their new skills are certain to advance more rapidly.
Hope to see you on the dance floor!
© 2013, Cheryl Burke Dance. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:8e5c8cea-c342-4eec-946b-9feb1763267b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mountainview.patch.com/groups/cheryl-burkes-blog/p/bp--tips-for-choosing-a-group-dance-class | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939814 | 720 | 1.804688 | 2 |
I don’t think I know anybody who doesn’t freely admit to hoarding stuff that may “come in useful”. Chances are it never will. I thought to myself as I was carefully storing the 232nd plastic bag in the “plastic bag” drawer – why am I doing this, what can I do with 232 plastic bags that I can’t do with 231? Now this isn’t the worst example as obviously when I am next making a “plastic bag” mosaic in the garden I could find myself short. If you keep things that you will never use again have you considered selling them.
Obviously there isn’t much of a market for second-hand plastic bags – unless the shops all follow Marks and Spencer’s example – but for many other items there is. If like me you have a stash of DVDs that you have only watched once and may never watch again then why not sell them. The same goes for books, unless you like reading them over and over it is usually pointless keeping hold of them. eBay makes it so easy these days to sell your unwanted items but old fashioned car boot sales are an alternative. There are many other ways to get cash for your unwanted items too. You won’t believe the stuff that you can sell either. Car boot sales in particular are great for getting rid of stuff you can’t believe you ever bought in the first place.
The only thing to be careful of is to make sure you aren’t selling something you think is rubbish that is actually worth a fortune. So before you sell your entire record collection for £2.80 make sure there are no limited editions in there that could be worth hundreds of pounds. Not only can selling your unwanted items make you a bit of cash but you will free up so much space around the house. Perfect for filling with new rubbish!
Image Source – D’Arcy Norman | <urn:uuid:642bf9ae-ac92-4712-8b9a-f4ed9532380f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.askix.com/one-mans-rubbish-is-another-mans-treasure/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963623 | 402 | 1.539063 | 2 |
In western Cape Breton, a rumour persists that arching across the sky from horizon to horizon is an information highway, paved with technology that is already changing, and ruling, the world.
This highway, according to electioneers, is going to save all our struggling rural towns and villages, which once thrived on wood, fish, and coal.
There’s still plenty of wood, fish, and coal, but apparently nobody needs shelter, food, or warmth anymore, so rural communities live like squatters under a bridge, as a mysterious sky-high
force called broadband leaps from one urban tower to another, unfortunately raining no technological juice down
upon the sparse and unprofitable population below.
Now, just because we’re rural doesn’t mean we’re Luddites, shunning modern tools of communication and commerce. In fact, many here have access to the Internet via a medium called "dialup."
Of course, "dialing up" anything hasn't been modern technology since the introduction in the 1970s of "Dial a Bottle," so people click on a desktop icon and go off to make a cup of tea. This
way, dialup technology ensures that we continue to enjoy that laid-back rural lifestyle so often praised in literature and envied by those whose frantic urban lives are governed by high speed.
So you steep your tea, pour it, check out the state of your dialup, go back to the kitchen, read the morning paper, check again, and then pick up War and Peace to while away the time.
"Gee, I wish we had high speed," sighs the user in question to the telephone techie on the other end of a 1-800 number where your call
is important to us -- so important, that within the time
it takes for the movie version of War and Peace to download via dialup, a real, live voice is there to fulfill your wish.
The company does sell high-speed packages, you learn, and for a quadrupled monthly fee the company can Expresspost you the package. The package arrives 10 days later because... well, that's another rural story.... and you install it, click on the icon, and presto!... you wait.
Make yourself another cup of tea, perhaps, and wait some more. It seems that you've bought the package, not the service, but there's another, even higher-speed deal just waiting to solve your
problems, a deal so full of promise that you think you might vote for it instead of the last politician who promised to high-speed the rural world right into the middle of the global economy.
Okay, so there's another minor adjustment to the monthly fee and you're up and running. It works just great -- as long as you're not in business, don't need to carry out any business, and have nothing in your day-to-day online life that includes the dispatching or receiving of images, business logos, or family photos.
So you pour yourself another cup of tea, step outside, and gaze up into the starlit sky, waiting for a piece of the information highway to break off like the pavement on rural roads, and come cometing
down upon you and your computer, at the speed of light.
— Frank MacDonald is a columnist and author whose published works include Assuming I'm Right (Cecibu, 1990) and How To Cook Your Cat (Cecibu, 2003). | <urn:uuid:e00ea4a1-c825-4a0f-ab45-9f3989d7a9c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=684 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950066 | 717 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Many instructors have never thought introspectively about learning and teaching. Developing a teaching philosophy will help reveal your personal approaches, priorities and objectives. Putting your philosophy in writing will help you reflect upon your style and will provide a foundation for setting and achieving your future teaching goals. This statement should be a work in progress - revisited, reviewed and revised periodically to facilitate personal growth and adapt to your evolving beliefs and ideas about teaching.
Although your teaching philosophy can be written in any form or style, it should include some basic elements. Begin with a statement about how you feel people learn most effectively. Next, discuss the approaches you take to help students learn the material and skills that you want to impart. Conclude with goals toward which you are working.
The following are some questions to consider as you write you philosophy:
- How does learning take place?
- What are elements of effective learning environments?
- How should teaching be conducted to facilitate and maximize the learning process?
- What is the student's role in this process?
- What is the role of the instructor?
- What are your main objectives as an instructor?
- What methods do you use in the classroom to achieve your teaching objectives?
- What do you want to be the outcome of your teaching?
- How do you measure your success in teaching a class?
- What are your long-term goals as an instructor?
- How do you set your goals?
- Why is teaching important to you?
- What values do you want to impart to your students?
As you begin writing your teaching philosophy, you might simply list all the ideas that come to mind. As you solidify your thoughts, you can pare down what you have written for the final product. A teaching philosophy statement is generally one or two pages long. Remember that it is a personal statement - it is about your personal experiences and insights, not theories and beliefs in general. Use your intuition and reflect on personal experience. Consider reading some basic educational theory texts to help you organize and express your ideas. It is helpful to share your draft with colleagues and ask for feedback. They can often help you clarify the ideas you may have difficulty expressing. When you have completed it, your philosophy statement will help you reflect on who you are as an instructor. Referring to it regularly will allow you to keep your energies focused on why you became an instructor, and what long-term goals you are working to achieve.
See a Sample Teaching Philosophy.
Write your own teaching philosophy. Think about how you have observed students in your classes, their learning processes, and when you feel most satisfied as an instructor. Share your teaching philosophy with at least one colleague with whom you feel comfortable. After a year, revisit it. As your experience grows and reflections deepen, update and fine-tune it. Keep previous copies as a record of your evolution as a teacher. | <urn:uuid:844a4a32-f9de-4a33-a847-cded930b67e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/instruction/tips/tf/tf_philosophy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957657 | 592 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Release date: 31st May 2012
Developer: Pohlm Studio
“Save energy. Use it wisely. Brighten up the future”
BulkyPix and Pohlm Studios have introduced their new game to the iOS platform, it’s called Brainergy. Ever heard of the law conservation of energy? The law states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed by itself, but can only be transformed. And that’s what BulkyPix have done here; they have brought the idea of transferring energy in the real life to power up the world.
Brainergy Game Review
Brainergy is a puzzle game based on flow of energy. You are to convert and redirect the energy to charge your targets with 6 types of energy. There are also 14 converters to help you solve the 50 brain twisting puzzles. The game will explain how different conversion processes work and also offers other titbits on the topic, in the same way like Fruit Ninja teaches us fruit facts. The game is set on Earth, and takes players on a journey to 13 cities right from New York to New Delhi to battle the greenhouse effect.
Here the goal is to convert elements into energy sources to clean up and power the world. You need them to bring energy particles all the way to a target in order to supply the district with renewable energy. The graphics on the game are considerably good and the devs have kept the gameplay simple and challenging. The style of the game is all familiar to that of a stop motion film. The story and the game play get an environmentalist slant.
The objective here would be to grab the elements at your disposal, and use the best strategy to drop them within energy flows. Yes, you do have that privilege of replaying the stage to earn more stars or to try out a more innovative and efficient usages of energy even after you’ve completed it once. Unlock more levels and secrets by getting all the stars. Are you filled with energy yet? Divert it on physical actions with Brainergy challenging the greenhouse on your iOS platform!
- Fruit-O-Rama Review
- iFighter 2 : World War II Review, Walkthrough, Guide, Cheats, Secrets, Hints and Tips for iFighter 2 : World War II App on iPhone, iPad and iPod
- Blockolicious Review, Walkthrough, Guide, Cheats, Secrets, Hints and Tips for Blockolicious App on iPhone, iPad and iPod
- Aby Escape
- Escape from Age of Monsters Review | <urn:uuid:0d520993-9705-470d-a636-2d4e6a536cab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://appcroc.com/iphone/brainergy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921338 | 520 | 1.726563 | 2 |
[torqueusers] Preventing jobs to be re-runed when
troy at osc.edu
Mon Mar 13 13:24:21 MST 2006
On Mon, 2006-03-13 at 14:16 -0600, David McGiven wrote:
> I was running a job in one of my cluster nodes. Due to an electrical
> problem the node was suddenly and unexpectedly rebooted.
> While it was rebooting, the job was marked with an "E" when issuing qstat
> command. One minute after or so, when the node came back to normal
> operation, the job was "R" again. The system had automatically started the
> job again.
> How can I prevent this from happening?
> It's very dangerous because not all the jobs are meant to be resumed
> "automatically" and they might overwritte the already processed data.
In TORQUE and other PBS variants, jobs default to being rerunnable.
Jobs that are not rerunnable need to declare themselves as such, using
the -r flag to qsub:
#PBS -r n
See the qsub man page for more information.
Troy Baer troy at osc.edu
Science & Technology Support http://www.osc.edu/hpc/
Ohio Supercomputer Center 614-292-9701
More information about the torqueusers | <urn:uuid:899ebc36-ca1e-44ce-a79c-1493815fea1c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clusterresources.com/pipermail/torqueusers/2006-March/003336.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919334 | 303 | 1.5625 | 2 |
- Development & Aid
- Economy & Trade
- Human Rights
- Global Governance
- Civil Society
Friday, May 24, 2013
- The sun is beating down on Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital, and Habi Amadou Tidjane Diop is a tired and frustrated woman. Seated on an empty upturned bucket, the mother of nine is waiting in a long queue to buy food.
“I got here early because it’s Thursday and I need to buy groceries for both today and Friday – four kilogrammes of rice, two kilos of sugar, four kg of pasta and two litres of oil,” Diop told IPS.
The shop, in the Medina 3 neighbourhood of the capital, is one of 400 set up across the city to sell staple foods to the city’s poorest residents at subsidised prices. The manager, Sidi Ould Aly, explained that it’s part of the government’s nationwide “Programme Emel 2012”, intended to reduce the impact of a drought which has driven food prices beyond the buying power of many people in this arid West African country.
Figures released in 2010 by Mauritania’s National Statistics Office put the country’s poverty rate at 42 percent. This already vulnerable nation is now experiencing severe food insecurity, according to a report published by the World Food Programme (WFP) in December 2011. The WFP estimated that by the end of last year, 800,000 Mauritanians were in the grip of a food crisis linked to drought.
A study released in February by international charity Save the Children and several partners found that more than a million people would be affected by the crisis between June and September.
Mohamad Baro, a nutritionist with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Nouakchott, told IPS that one in eight Mauritanian children between six and 24 months is suffering from malnutrition.
In response to the crisis, the government has introduced the Emel programme, with half of the programme’s 137-million-dollar cost coming from the national budget, and the balance from international partners. The programme, which was launched at the end of January, provides staple foods at subsidised prices for the poorest, as well as fodder for livestock, and vouchers that pastoralists can use to access water and veterinary assistance for their animals.
Assessing the programme in June, Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf told parliament, “Over the past four months, the programme’s 1,235 stores have distributed 150,000 tonnes of assistance, including 50,000 tonnes of food and 100,000 tonnes of animal feed.”
But Diop and the others waiting in the intense heat at the Medina 3 store say they are disappointed not only by the long lines, but by the meagre daily ration sold to each household.
“I got home with two kilos of rice, one kilo of sugar and a litre of oil, which is not enough,” the mother of nine told IPS.
Mamadou Samba Sy and his two wives have an even larger number of people to take care of. While Sy is satisfied with the quality of the food from the Emel 2012 stores, as well as the prices, which are lower than in the open market, he too complains about the amounts available.
“Someone like me, responsible for two households with a dozen children, can spend the whole day queuing and return with one or two kilos of food,” he said.
Meanwhile, outside the capital, livestock herders desperate for food for their animals in the parched countryside are also critical of the programme.
Hacen Ould Taleb, president of an umbrella group representing agro-sylvo-pastoralists, complained about the quality of fodder provided, saying it’s not suitable for small ruminants like sheep or goats. He told IPS that herders with a small number of animals have gained nothing from the Emel programme. “Only the big operators and wheat traders wheat have benefited from the operation.”
Khalil Ould Khairi, president of the Mauritanian Association for Consumer Rights, said some of the animal feed being supplied is causing more harm than good.”There’s one foul-smelling feed variety which upsets the digestion of both camels and cows, quickly leading to the animals dying.”
In June, the lower house of parliament summoned Prime Minister Laghdaf to appear before it so legislators could question him over the management of the programme.
Members of parliament from both the ruling party and the opposition vehemently criticised the aid programme’s management, finding fault with both the quality of food and the locations chosen for the stores.
Ruling party MP Houssein Ahmed Hady told Laghdaf that citizens are unanimous in saying that Emel has not measured up to their expectations. He described the management of the emergency scheme as chaotic.
“The programme started seven months late,” opposition MP Moustapha Ould Bedredine told IPS, “the quantities distributed are insignificant and its management has been plagued by irregularities at all levels.”
Bedredine accused the government of using the programme to buy people’s political support, even as the country’s pastoralists are under serious threat.
Ahmed Ould Daddah, from the Democratic Forces Party, warned the government that the country’s livestock herders face catastrophe. “An urgent and effective solution must be found… to avoid the worst.” he cautioned. | <urn:uuid:c08a6a65-5321-491e-b378-cf3e5321bec2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/07/mauritanias-emergency-food-programme-under-fire/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95113 | 1,183 | 2.609375 | 3 |
B.2. Radial grid
Essentially two types of radial grids have been used : one kind for the uniform (r0) density distribution and another for the r-1 case. This was necessary because, the code CSDUST3 has convergence problems, if the distance between successive radial grid points is such that the optical depth 1 at any of the frequencies of the grid. This problem is most severe at the two boundaries of the cloud, where some UV radiation (stellar or ISRF) is incident, so that a finer grid is required there. Hence for the uniform density distribution, the entire radial range has been divided into two parts, with 71 points in a logarithmically increasing grid spacing in the first part ( i.e., from the inner boundary to mid point of the cloud), and an exact mirror image on the second part. This gives a total of 141 radial grid points with a finer grid at both the boundaries. It may be noted, that the necessity for having a fine grid towards the outer boundary of the cloud, exists only for uniform density distribution, since in this case alone there remains enough dust grains to produce high optical depth at the outer boundary. For the case of r-1 density distribution, the dust density falls off so rapidly, that towards the outer edge, the optical depth between successive radial grid points is never large enough. As a result, a smooth convergence is achieved even with a logarithmically increasing grid spacing right from the inner to the outer boundary of the cloud. | <urn:uuid:021f0137-ac87-42d8-824c-2ef5b74fd27b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Mookerjea/Mook6_2_2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935393 | 309 | 3.59375 | 4 |
(Gr. paraskevé); seems to have supplanted the older term prosábbaton, used in the translation of Judith 8:6, and in the title—not to be found in Hebrew—of Psalm 92. It became, among Hellenistic Jews, the name for Friday, and was adopted by Greek ecclesiastical writers after writing of "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles". Apparently it was first applied by the Jews to the afternoon of Friday, then to the whole day, its etymology pointing to the "preparations" to be made for the Sabbath, as indicated in the King James Bible, where the Greek word is translated by "Day of Preparation". That the regulations of the Law might be minutely observed, it was made imperative to have on the Parasceve three meals of the choicest food laid ready before sunset (the Sabbath beginning on Friday night); it was forbidden to undertake in the afternoon of the sixth day any business which might extend to the Sabbath; Augustus relieved the Jews from certain legal duties from the ninth hour (Josephus, "Antiq. Jud.", XVI, vi, 2).
Parasceve seems to have been applied also to the eve of certain festival days of a sabbatic character. Foremost among these was the first day of the unleavened bread, Nisan 15. We learn from the Mishna (Pesach., iv, 1, 5) that the Parasceve of the Pasch, whatever day of the week it fell on, was kept even more religiously than the ordinary Friday, in Judæa work ceasing at noon, and in Galilee the whole day being free. In the schools the only question discussed regarding this particular Parasceve was when should the rest commence: Shammai said from the very beginning of the day (evening of Nisan 13); Hillel said only from after sunrise (morning of Nisan 14).
The use of the word Parasceve in the Gospels raises the question concerning the actual day of Our Lord's crucifixion. All the Evangelists state that Jesus died on the day of the Parasceve (Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31), and there can be no doubt from Luke 23:54-56 and John 19:31, that this was Friday. But on what day of the month of Nisan did that particular Friday fall? St. John distinctly points to Nisan 14, while the Synoptists, by implying that the Last Supper was the Paschal meal, convey the impression that Jesus was crucified on Nisan 15. But this is hardly reconcilable with the following facts: when Judas left the table, the disciples imagined he was going to buy the things which were needed for the feast (John 13:29)—a purchase which was impossible if the feast had begun; after the Supper, Our Lord and his disciples left the city, as also did the men detailed to arrest Him—this, on Nisan 15, would have been contrary to Exodus 12:22; the next morning the Jews had not yet eaten the Passover; moreover, during that day the Council convened; Simon was apparently coming from work (Luke 23:26); Jesus and the two robbers were executed and were taken down from the crosses; Joseph of Arimathea bought fine linen (Mark 15:46), and Nicodemus brought "a mixture of myrrh and aloes about an hundred pound weight" (John 19:39) for the burial; lastly the women prepared spices for the embalming of the Saviour's body (Luke 23:55)—all things which would have been a desecration on Nisan 15. Most commentators, whether they think the Last Supper to have been the Paschal meal or an anticipation thereof, hold that Christ, as St. John states, was crucified on the Parasceve of the Pasch, Friday, Nisan 14.
Lives of Christ by DIDON, FOUARD, LE CAMUS etc.; PLUMMER, The Gospel according to St. John, appendix A (Cambridge, 1905); WESTCOTT, Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, note on The Day of the Crucifixion (New York, 1875), 335-42; PATRIZI, De Evangeliis, III, diss. L (Rome, 1852-55); CALMES, L'Evangile selon Saint-Jean (Paris, 1904); STAPFER, La Palestine au temps de Jésus-Christ (Paris, s.d.).
APA citation. (1911). Parasceve. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11476a.htm
MLA citation. "Parasceve." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11476a.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by WGKofron. With thanks to Fr. John Hilkert and St. Mary's Church, Akron, Ohio.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads. | <urn:uuid:972bff42-e545-4694-9266-5fe51641f728> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11476a.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949665 | 1,205 | 3.328125 | 3 |
The hair-owing tale of a genius
Beethoven's music has intrigued and delighted us for 200 years, but who would have thought that his hair would endure for nearly two centuries as well?
This improbable longevity is the inspiration for Beethoven's Hair, Russell Martin's skillfully written biography that weaves stories of the composer's humorous but sometimes-gloomy life with the journey a lock of his hair began after his death in 1827.
Years ago, it was a tradition to keep locks of hair from deceased loved ones, and in fact, many Beethoven admirers took a souvenir from his head. The fan that clipped the lock in Martin's book was 15-year-old protégé Ferdinand Hiller.
The lock remained in the Hiller family for over a century until it mysteriously made its way to a small Danish town in 1943. How it got there and into the hands of the town physician is still unknown, but it remained with the doctor's family for several decades until it was taken from Nazi-occupied Denmark and eventually put up for sale at Sotheby's in London.
Two Beethoven enthusiasts purchased the lock in 1994 for more than $5,000. A portion of the lock was committed to research with hopes of finding traces of poison and other chemical imbalances that would possibly explain Beethoven's illness and why he suffered such social ineptness. Results showed a rather large amount of lead, leading scientists to conclude that Beethoven suffered severe lead poisoning as early as adolescence.
Martin's accounts of the composer's life, music, and relationships are entertaining and even moving at times. We can't help but sympathize with the horrible, almost demeaning illnesses Beethoven sufferedgastrointestinal diseases, infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, dropsy, fever, inflammations and colic and admire his passion to create masterpieces despite his physical limitations (perhaps the most tragic of which was deafness).
Although highly regarded by other composers of his time, including Mendelssohn, Berlioz, and Wagner, Beethoven wasn't always the most pleasant individuala demeanor reflected, according to Martin, by his hair: "The wild mane that had framed his dark face in his waning years had characterized his unruly temperament as much as his arresting personal presence."
Despite his harsh personal reputation, warm words were spoken at his funeral: " ... until his death he preserved a human heart for all men, a father's heart for his own people, the whole world."
In turn, the world has preserved Beethoven's extraordinary musicand his hair, the unlikely thread running through this cleverly woven and fascinating tapestry of science, history, and music.
Amy Hoelmer is assistant music director at MPR.
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Black World Studies
Loyola's Black World Studies (BWS) program allows students to become informed and knowledgeable in dialogues concerning the historical, sociological, literary, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of black life in the U.S. and in specific African contexts. Inaugurated in 1971, the BWS minor was the first interdisciplinary program in Loyola’s College of Arts and Sciences, designed to educate individuals working in social and public service organizations who seek to enhance their awareness of racial, cultural and ethnic differences.
Although the continent of Africa has a vast history and rich culture, it faces significant challenges, including a shortage of clean water, dwindling food supplies, famine, war and disease. The BWS program provides students with an understanding of these global issues confronting African people and their descendants. BWS graduates will be prepared to address these and other human environmental crises.
Students develop an understanding of the history of enslavement of Africans in the Western Hemisphere as this history relates to current issues of race and racism in America and elsewhere. During the course of their studies, students conduct research and share their knowledge with groups that are nationally, ethnically and politically diverse. Students are also encouraged to participate in internships, service-learning experiences and study abroad opportunities. These educational activities prepare them for life in a complex, diverse world where good citizenship is to be highly valued.
The BWS degree is useful to students planning to work in social and political service organizations. Students learn to:
- Appreciate the contributions of the black world to literature, performance and the arts.
- Master the research methods traditionally used to study Africa and her scattered people and their cultures.
- Understand the impact and politics of language and culture and its use in various settings, both formal and informal.
- Understand the implications for poor and disenfranchised populations who are often the victims of a disingenuous research agenda.
- Develop critical thinking and writing skills in the discourses comprising the discipline.
- Apply the disciplinary knowledge acquired in the service of people of color and become aware of employment opportunities based on acquired disciplinary specialization.
- Recognize the significant achievements of people of color in the United States and global contexts.
- Become sensitive to and tolerant of differences with regard to race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity and religion.
- Apply research methods acquired in the BWS course sequence.
- Associate with a social service or community organization or other internship opportunity.
- Demonstrate proficiency in writing through construction of a paper based on the acquired research methodology and hands-on, field study or internship experience.
- Build the capacity to become social change agents. | <urn:uuid:a7dc8f20-e2d0-473d-a6b4-fa1b602bbc42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.luc.edu/blackworld/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93127 | 543 | 2.796875 | 3 |
The Transit of Venus Approaches
- Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Venus is still shining brightly as "The Evening Star" in the western sky after sunset. But over the next weeks, Venus will do a power dive toward the sunset, and will soon disappear into the Sun's bright glare. Be sure to catch Venus while you can, since its evening apparition is fast drawing to a close!
We've been looking forward to the upcoming Transit of Venus for several months. And now the date is fast approaching, and the media is starting to talk about it! On June 8, 2004, the planet Venus will pass directly in front of the Sun. At this time, Venus will be seen as a little black dot that will move across the face of the Sun over the span of about six hours -- sort of like a solar eclipse, except with this planet instead of the Moon.
This event is a rare "transit" of Venus. These transits occur in pairs separated by eight years, but only a single transit pair occurs in more than a century! The last transit of Venus was in 1882. There is no one alive who saw the last one, but the next one will occur in a couple weeks! And this event has been long-awaited by astronomy buffs. I've been awaiting the date "June 8, 2004" since way back when the years of the 21st century seemed like "the distant future"!
Transit Viewing Conditions Around the World
Clear skies permitting, this event will be easily visible from Europe, Africa and Asia. The Far East and Australia will be able to see most of the transit in the late afternoon, local time, and the transit will still be in progress at sunset. It might be an interesting sight to see the Sun go down with the black dot of Venus on its face!
However, the transit will cleanly miss New Zealand. It appears that the very beginning of the transit can be seen just before sunset along the North Cape, to the North of Auckland. And there's a chance that a tiny bit of the transit may be seen at sunset from the southwestern coast of the South Island of NZ.
For most of the Americas, the end of the transit will be visible at sunrise and for a while in the early morning. Here in Cleveland, we can expect to see the transit for the first hour after sunrise. Points East will see it longer, and points west will see it shorter.
There will be a line of the limit of the transit, where the transit ends at sunrise. The line will pass from eastern Texas up through Montana, into Alberta, Canada and up into northern Alaska. The line will extend south through Mexico and through Argentina. Those east of the line can see some of the transit, including Brazil and most of Central America. Points west of this line, including the West Coast and southern Alaska, will miss the transit completely.
For more info on sighting the transit, check out this page from the Sky & Telescope site.
All the info you could ask for on the transit is found at this link:
Observing the Transit
If you wish to see this transit, the most important thing you need to remember is DON'T LOOK AT THE SUN!!! You won't see anything anyway since the Sun is so bright and Venus would be small and inconspicuous to the unaided eye. But staring at the Sun will hurt your eyes and can even destroy your vision. And don't look with an unfiltered telescope or binoculars either, since optics will do even more and quicker damage to your eyes.
Only look through a telescope if the owners know what they're doing, that is, if the *lens or mirror* is properly covered with a suitable solar filter. DO NOT look if there is only a filter on the eyepiece since this is not enough filtering to protect your eyes.
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Camp Candy was a summer sleepover camp owned and operated by John Candy. Like most camps, it offered activities like boating, swimming and fishing; but unlike most camps, this one had a variety of crazy characters that visited from time to time. The campers were the usual assortment of cartoon kids, and the camp even came with its own villain, Rex de Forrest, a land developer who coveted Camp Candy's acreage as a potential condo site.
TV and movie star John Candy played the character of counselor John Candy. The famed funnyman had already become popular on the classic television show SCTV and in movies like Uncle Buck and Planes, Trains and Automobiles. This animated outing was based on Candy's real life adventures as a counselor and gave him a chance to participate in a program his own children could enjoy. Using the evil developer Rex as a springboard, Candy took time out in each episode to teach the viewers about the wonders of ecology.
The series was bolstered by the starpower of Candy himself and that of fellow SCTV alums like Eugene Levy and Dave Thomas, who would appear in live segments based on their recognizable characters. Another high point of the series was the theme song, which was written by Harry Nilsson and sung by Nilsson and Candy together.
While the series never became hugely popular, it is still remembered fondly, especially for episodes like "Wish Upon a Fish," which won a Humanitas award. All in all, Camp Candy remains part of a proud legacy for John Candy, who tragically died of a heart attack in 1994.
Tough as Nayles Production Information
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A collection of news and information related to Charter Oak Cultural Center published by this site and its partners.
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The Hartford CourantAn old city is a living palimpsest, a parchment constantly being erased and written over by migration and development. But the old is never entirely erased, it is there for the looking. Last Sunday I went looking, for signs of the large Jewish...
The awards ceremony for Community Renewal Team’s 22nd annual National Arts Program — a competition involving 300 works of visual art from youths in Hartford and Middlesex counties — will be Saturday, Jan. 26 at 1 p.m. at Capital...
Jazz cat-painter Andres Chaparro and Underground Railroad symbolist Robert Charles Hudson will be two of eight artists whose work will be exhibited from Saturday, Jan. 5, to Tuesday, Jan. 29, at ArtSpace, 555 Asylum Ave. in Hartford, in an “Art...
Tags: Haiti, Arts and Culture, Arts
On Friday night, a women’s group at University of Hartford will unveil a new calendar whose sales will benefit Girlcott, the months-long initiative by Charter Oak Cultural Center geared toward promoting women’s self-esteem. The theme of the...
“The Reason for Reason”, an exhibit of paintings by Beena Azeem, will open at Charter Oak Cultural Center, 21 Charter Oak Ave. in Hartford, with a reception on Thursday, Sept. 13 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The exhibit will run until Friday, Oct....
Tags: Religious Events, Rituals, Arts and Culture, Arts
Pragati Sharma, who recently had a one-woman show at the Charter Oak Cultural Center of her India-inspired artworks, has another one-woman show opening on Thursday, July 26, at Painted You, 12 Broadway in Milford. The show is called “Rangeen.&...
Tags: Arts and Culture, Arts
Greater HartfordSpring is in the air and trees, bulbs and seeds are spouting everywhere. Urban gardeners are getting their community garden plot ready to plant, and in some gardens the peas and lettuce are already in. Even the young are "setting down roots" with this...
Tags: Healthy Diet
The Hartford CourantWe often see houses of worship as fixtures on the landscape and in our lives. Yet more than a score of them in Connecticut's urban, suburban and rural areas are for sale or seeking new uses because although pulpits teach that God is eternal, places...
The Hartford Courant"Art for me is my peace of mind, a sancturay, a release. When I create, I leave these four walls and go to my inner being and enjoy." Those are the words of artist Bev Martin. The "four walls" she refers to in her artist statement is her prison cell...
1) Manet: Portraying Life, Cinestudio, 300 Summit St., Hartford, (860) 297-2463. Sun., Apr. 21, 2:30 p.m. cinestudio.org. $7-$9. 2) Film and Music Festival, Crowne Plaza, Cromwell, 100 Berlin Road, Cromwell, (860) 635-2000. Fri., Apr. 19, Through Apr....
Tags: Palace Theater
Local artist Jennifer Jacob's prize for winning RAW: Hartford's 2012 Best Visual Artist RAWard is this solo show on Saturday at the newly renovated Downtown Yoga. For a suggested $5 donation, attendees will sample City Steam Brewery suds, hear DJ Cajar...
Oct 17, 2012 |Column| Hartford Courant
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Monreale, The Golden Temple
High above Palermo near Monte Caputo is one of Christendom’s jewels: Monreale Cathedral. It has been called the “Golden Temple” for centuries, at least since the poet Bartoldo Sirilli published these lines in 1596:
“Like a crown on the distant mount on marble base a golden temple lies…”
As a wonderfully hybrid work of eclectic art, Monreale has a Norman context with Latin architecture, Byzantine Greek internal decoration, and Islamic exterior decoration. Yet Monreale is now mostly unprepossessing in its reworked exterior viewed from the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele.
Where it hasn’t been reworked later, its strongest Arabian influence is now mostly seen in its exterior decorated triple apse, itself filled with intricate geometric traceries of black volcanic stone and beige limestone intarsia. Some call this hybrid style “Arab-Norman” and others “Sicilian Norman.” But it is the interior that dazzles most with its many thousands of gold tesserae narrating the stories of the Bible.
If visitors to Palermo only see the jewel of the Palatine Chapel in the Norman Palace, they do catch a concentrated vision of mosaic glory, but when compared to the open basilica grandeur of the much vaster space of Monreale, the cathedral is all the more inspiring in both much greater size covered in a high volume of glass mosaics (6500 square meters) as well as the scope of the illustrated biblical texts depicted.
William II, “The Good” King of Sicily, (1155-89) conceived of a magnificent church that would eclipse the earlier coastal royal church at Cefalù built by his grandfather Roger II (1095-1154), and also enhance his own personal majesty. The bulk of Monreale was constructed from around 1173-76 shortly after the beginning of William’s reign and it was dedicated in 1182 when finished. Built adjacent to the earlier royal hunting lodge transformed into a palace, from the terrace east of the exterior apse one can still see the curved coastline far below, the Concha d’Oro (“Golden Shell”) where the distant city meets the blue sea. The valley between the mountains and the sea was once filled with fragrant royal citrus groves.
Monreale Cathedral’s size is 102 meters in length from narthex portico to nave to apse and its width around 40 meters; its adjacent cloister is 2200 square meters in size. The cloister is one of the most beautiful in the Romanesque world with its Islamic influence in the intarsia of decorated arches of the arcade and its over 200 Byzantine mosaic tesserated double columns (plus four at each corner), each one with a unique Romanesque capital – most of these also relate additional narratives from biblical or other lore.
The Arabesque fountain (literally designed by Islamic artists) in the southwest corner of the cloister is one of the treasures of the Benedictine cloister completed around 1200. When spraying from many arcing “water branches” it deliberately resembles a palm tree. Its water power employed the siphon, where water from adjacent hill springs coming at volume and pressure from higher elevation causes the fountain water to spray upward naturally.
The original cathedral floor has been replaced in the Renaissance except for the sanctuary and apse, which retain the 12th c. Cosmati style of Roman colored stone guilloche (“double rope”) patterns, also called opus alexandrinum (“Alexandrian work”). There is still debate if the internal granite columns (one is actually green cipollino) are from Classical ruins around Palermo or more contemporary. Baroque modifications to the cathedral were undertaken in the 17th century by Cardinal Alfonso Los Cameros.
The main portal bronze double doors from the narthex are a masterpiece from 1186 by the master Bonanno Pisano of the famous family of metalworkers. The 40 bronze panels also tell the biblical narrative from Creation to the Ascension of Christ, starting form the bottom just above the lion and griffin-decorated base panels. The lowest dado element of the aisle walls have Islamic patterns of design in intarsia of colored marbles.
Inside the nave, the panoply of dual upper mosaics starts with Genesis texts of Creation and ends with Jacob’s wrestling the Angel in two zones, the Creation, Fall and Banishment and Gods command to Noah in the upper zone of the clerestory and the following vignettes starting with Noah building the ark below and continuing with the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob narratives in the arcade spandrels. Therefore the nave mosaics are entirely from the book of Genesis.The New Testament internal aisle mosaics start with the Nativity continue with Christ’s life and miracles and end with his last week in Jerusalem.
The huge image in the central apse is Christ the Pantocrator, “All Powerful Ruler”. The overall visual iconography is Eastern but with Latin summaries in the vignettes. In the sanctuary and apse the mosaics are of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection and lives of major saints like Peter and Paul. A total of 130 different biblical scenes are portrayed in the Byzantine mosaic style, following the calendrical scripted lessons of the Greek Menologion or monthly cycle that the astonishing array of mosaic images amplifies.
It is the upper nave of the Old Testament scenes and the aisle wall of New Testament scenes that have caused many pilgrims to admire Monreale’s peerless mosaic art in gold background. One of the most poignant mosaic scenes is Adam and Eve toiling after banishment from Eden. Clothed in shaggy sheepskin, a pensive Eve wearily and sadly sits holding her spool of wool and spinning tools, while a morose Adam with head downward is bent over the soil with an adze tilling the ground and chopping at its brambles. The succinct Latin text condenses and abbreviates the Vulgate of Genesis 3 and 4 with his curse: ADA•CEPIT•LABORARE•, “Adam begins to work…” These mosaics are huge as larger than life visualizations of biblical tales, and with much emotional expression in their faces become immensely personal rather than otherworldly and remote.
The Viceroy Giovanni de la Muta in 1498 speaking for King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Sicily stated:
“His Majesty is of the opinion that the church of…Monreale is one of most magnificent works of art to be found anywhere in the world.”
Others who have marveled at or appreciated Monreale include Goethe, among many other keen admirers of historic great taste. More than the religious mosaic narratives, Goethe praised the high view as well as the fountains en route (possibly also including the unique cloister fountain):
“Today we drove up the hill to Monreale on an excellent road built by an abbot of the monastery at the time of its enormous wealth…trees here and there and more conspicuously, both high-spouting and running fountains, decorated with scroll ornaments of an almost Pallagonian eccentricity, but refreshing nevertheless to beasts and men…passing Monreale and reaching the top of the ridge we saw a beautiful landscape that spoke more of history than agriculture.”
Goethe also said, “Sicily is the key to Italy” and that the cape of Monte Pellegrino near Palermo was “the most beautiful promontory in the world”. He chided anyone traveling to Italy without seeing Sicily, universally agreed to be the crossroads of European history. Most modern visitors who spend a few hours at Monreale awed by the seemingly endless mosaics and the symmetry of the cloister and the splendid vistas loved by King William II fully agree.
Quoted in Giuseppe Schiro. The Cathedral of Monreale: City of the Golden Temple. Palermo: Editrice Mistretta, 2002, 10
J. W. von Goethe. Italian Journey (1786-88). W. H. Auden and E. Mayer, trs. London: Penguin, 1970, 242 and 259. Goethe’s visit was in April, 1787. | <urn:uuid:a97fad28-418a-4a48-8226-45a6f28fc0f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.electrummagazine.com/2011/07/monreale-the-golden-temple/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93396 | 1,781 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Profile of an Oil Producer: Nigeria
The Federal Republic of Nigeria, tucked up in Africa’s western curve, is the continent’s leading oil producer. It is here – in the Niger delta where a web of shallow waterways spills into the Gulf of Guinea – where international oil companies have set up shop, despite being generally ill-received by local tribes and militant groups who claim the intrusion has been environmentally, politically and economically devastating.
Nigeria is the world’s eighth biggest exporter of oil, with an installed production capacity of 3 million barrels per day (bpd). But its number of barrels produced tends to fluctuate more rapidly and severely than other nations’ because of internal turmoil.
Like elsewhere, Nigeria has been affected by weak global oil demand. In April 2009, their output dropped to 1.2 million bpd and recovered to 1.6 million bpd by mid-May. But Nigeria’s militant groups—especially the main one, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND)—have knocked down oil production and increased violence in the last few years. On May 15, 2009, MEND said that they are declaring an “all-out war” and will blockade key waterways in the area to try to prevent crude oil exports. This comes after days of military helicopter and gunboat raids on its camps, according to Reuters. | <urn:uuid:69870e9a-2c74-4a9f-8a2d-c972e0c62183> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.heatingoil.com/articles/profile-oil-producer-nigeria/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945387 | 286 | 2.5 | 2 |
London Mayor Boris Johnson is joined by Barbara Windsor MBE to help volunteers at a Tower Hamlets community project in London’s East End. The Rocky Park Urban Growers is a local project to plant vegetables and transform a neglected space in the community. Photo by The Big Lunch.
The estimated equivalent of 69 Wembley football pitches or 124 acres of disused land in London now brimming with fruit and veg
By Paola Guzman
Dec 14, 2012
The Mayor of London today announced that the ambitious target to deliver 2012 Capital Growth spaces has been reached, following a four-year scheme to turn disused plots of land into community spaces abundant with fruit and veg. Nearly 100,000 green fingered Londoners have rolled up their sleeves to deliver this leafy Olympic legacy.
The Capital Growth scheme, run by London Food Link, was launched by the Mayor and Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food, in November 2008. It aimed to create 2,012 growing spaces in London by the end of 2012 with funding from the Mayor and the Big Lottery Fund’s Local Food programme. The idea is to bring local neighbourhoods and communities together while giving Londoners a chance to grow their own food and green their local area.
December 15, 2012 1 Comment
Mayor Pro Tem Lois Richardson expressed concern over whether the increase in produce would bring an increase in unwanted animals, such as raccoons.
By Katrease Stafford
Dec 10, 2012
Council Member Brian Robb was concerned that implementing the revision could make the city’s grass ordinance obsolete. That ordinance allows the city to enforce restrictions on tall or unsightly grass.
Robb questioned whether some Ypsilanti residents might use the amendment language to say that their tall grass qualifies as a garden.
December 15, 2012 No Comments | <urn:uuid:30415b8e-fab9-4eea-8d58-d343ce60374e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cityfarmer.info/2012/12/15/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916212 | 371 | 1.726563 | 2 |
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers from Missouri and other nearby states insisted Wednesday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers emphasize flood prevention above anything else in managing the Missouri River.
The occasion was a hearing before the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, scheduled to look into the question of how to prepare for the next deluge, even as Missouri and other states in the river basin still reel from the impact of record flooding this year.
Panel members as well as witnesses were nearly unanimous that issues related to fish and wildlife, recreation and other river uses had to take a back seat.
"I believe that we are asking the Corps of Engineers to juggle too many priorities," said Republican Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri. "We must make clear once and for all that the prevention of flooding has to be the number one priority."
Graves, who said thousands of acres in northwestern Missouri were "utterly devastated," has introduced legislation to remove fish and wildlife management as one of the corps' priorities.
The overall impact of the flooding throughout the basin is more than $2 billion, according to Congress. It destroyed farmland, homes and infrastructure. Five people died.
In Missouri alone, the combination of rain and snowmelt flooded 207,000 acres of agricultural land, resulting in $176 million in lost revenue, according to the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. It also created a spillover effect on local economies.
The Missouri River begins in Montana, and this spring flooded along its path through North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
Brig. Gen. John McMahon, commander of the northwestern division of the corps, said the agency already has begun shifting funds to deal with damaged levees up and down the river. But it won't be enough, he said.
"The wiggle room is narrow," McMahon said. "At some point, we're going to need new funds for repair and restoration of the system."
The corps has come under heated criticism from many who fault it for not doing enough ahead of time to prepare for the water.
"We probably could have — should have — done a better job of communicating," McMahon said. But the "successive bouts of rain really threw us for a loop."
In Holt County, which lies in the northwest corner of Missouri, the flooding breeched 32 levees on the river's western border. Holt County Clerk Kathy Kunkel told the panel that the breaks in some cases were half a mile wide; in others, 50 feet.
With nearly 20 percent of the county already set aside for wildlife protection by either the federal or state government, she said residents feel like Washington needs to pay less mind to fish and more attention to people.
"We've given enough," Kunkel said in her prepared testimony. "Holt Countians feel threatened and endangered. The American farmer in our region is fast approaching extinction."
MORE FROM MCCLATCHY | <urn:uuid:0824f2e1-01ab-4950-835e-cf6e337d5131> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/11/30/131767/lawmakers-want-army-corps-of-engineers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971341 | 602 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Don't Miss This
CHICAGO (CBS) — While hospitals in Illinois are now required to take more steps to encourage mothers to breast-feed their newborns, New York is taking the additional measure of locking up hospitals’ stockpile of infant formula.
Under a new program, reported by the New York Post, new mothers who insist on bottle-feeding will still be able to do so, but nurses would have to sign out the baby formula.
In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law in June that requires Illinois hospitals to develop policies that promote the healthy benefits of breast milk.
The University of Chicago Hospitals does not lock up baby formula, but is developing a policy that would require either a doctor’s order to begin formula feeding or documentation that a nurse counseled the mother on the benefits of breastfeeding over formulas, according to hospital spokeswoman Tiffani Washington.
NorthShore Hospitals keeps formula unlocked but in a location only accessible with help from a nurse. NorthShore also has stopped sending parents home with diaper bags full of formula, according to spokeswoman Colette Urban. They also have consultants on staff to counsel new mothers about breast feeding.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been criticized over the new policy, which is set to take effect in September.
Critics says the city shouldn’t impose on a mother’s choice to either breast feed or use formula. However, breast-feeding advocates says the policy is a good way to push the benefits of breast milk first.
The New York program is voluntary for hospitals.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that moms exclusively breast-feed for the first six months of a newborn’s life to boost protection against many illnesses and allergies, CBS News reports. | <urn:uuid:e409d876-8cf1-4c47-8985-5f57b9145696> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/07/30/should-hospitals-lock-up-baby-formula-to-promote-breast-feeding/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945708 | 356 | 1.8125 | 2 |
GLEN ALLEN, USA: NanoMarkets, a Virginia-based market research and analysis firm, has just issued a new report on the building integrated photovoltaics market (BIPV).
The firm predicts that the global BIPV market will reach $8.2 billion in revenues by 2015 driven by the cost advantage that BIPV can provide versus conventional PV solutions. Furthermore, BIPV provides both the improved aesthetics and necessary energy efficiency that will allow property developers and owners to better compete in stagnating real estate markets.
The report titled, “Building Integrated Photovoltaics Opportunities: 2010,” is the latest in the firm’s on-going coverage of the market that dates back to 2006. NanoMarkets has also issued other analyses related to organic, dye cell sensitive and inorganic thin-film pv in the past several months and will soon publish additional reports on BIPV in Europe and BIPV in Asia later in 2010. | <urn:uuid:5be75132-0233-4517-861c-07e9ee992719> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pcsolarpv.blogspot.com/2010/07/bipv-market-to-reach-82-billion-by-2015.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945682 | 203 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Mobile movement infiltrates the health IT world
Mobile devices are quickly becoming an important tool in doctors' bags
There is no getting around the fact that computing and communications in general is fast going mobile, fueled by the expansion of wireless networks and the astonishingly quick uptake of high-powered devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Health IT will not be immune to this.
Some might say that the mobile health revolution is already here. Consumer health applications available for Apple’s iPhone will probably go over the 13,000 mark by next summer from just 9,000 today, according to a MobiHealthNews analysis of data from Apple’s online AppStore.
Medical professionals are also catching the wave. Over 75 percent of U.S. physicians are thought to have smartphones, and software and attachments for them are turning those phones into a range of medical devices such as heart monitors, blood pressure readers, stethoscopes and glucose meters.
And worldwide, government use of mobile health devices is accelerating. About 100 of the World Health Organization’s member countries offered at least one mHealth service in a survey reported by WHO in June, and many offered between four and six. It all indicates a groundswell of activity for mHealth, WHO said in its report.
In the United States, government agencies are starting to pick up on the potential of mHealth. In April, the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments, for example, launched the PTSD Coach smartphone app, intended to help military personnel and veterans learn about and manage symptoms that commonly occur after people suffer trauma.
It provides information about PTSD and lets users track their PTSD symptoms, enabling them to link to both public and personal sources of support. It also teaches users helpful strategies for managing PTSD symptoms on the go.
Tools like this are badly needed to help stem things such as suicides among members of the military and veterans, the rate of which has increased more than 50 percent since 2001 and for which PTSD is thought to be a leading cause.
Judging by the response, it’s also something that will be quickly taken up by service members. Some 5,000 people downloaded the app in the first month of its launch. Within two hours of it going live, a veteran had called the Veterans Crisis Line using information provided through the app and was provided an appointment at a local VA medical center.
The app is the first in a series that VA and DOD intend to produce to help service members and veterans manage their readjustment challenges and to get assistance.
In September, the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Minority Health said it was partnering with the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) and AT&T on an initiative to see if mobile devices could be used to deliver diabetes self-management (DSMT) to minority communities.
Nearly 26 million people in the United States, some 8.3 percent of the total population, have diabetes, and 79 million adults 20 years of age and older have prediabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Racial and ethnic minorities have a higher rate of incidence.
“Telehealth and mHealth have the potential to greatly increase access to health services such as DSMT, which has been proven to reduce complications associated with diabetes,” said AADE CEO Lana Vukovljak.
Diabetes educators will deliver DSMT to patients using a video application on smartphones, and through a collaborative learning process, people with or at risk of diabetes can then get the knowledge and skills they need to modify their behavior and self-manage the disease.
Smartphones will only continue to get more powerful, with more processing power and memory and better graphics capabilities to go along with things such as Global Positioning System location capabilities. And market observers such as Berlin-based research2guidance expect smartphones to dominate the mHealth field, with a recent survey showing that still likely to be the case in 2015, though tablets such as Apple’s iPad will start to make inroads into the market by then.
In many ways, government is forcing the issue with mHealth. The Army, for example, wants to provide each of its soldiers with a smartphone. As a result, the service’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center is evaluating medical apps in order to have them ready when the Army actually distributes the devices. It also wants to have a medical app store ready from which soldiers can have various options to choose from and download.
And if anyone had any doubts that mHealth apps were becoming a major consideration, the Food and Drug Administration in July issued draft guidance for the health industry and device manufacturers about what mHealth apps it would consider regulating as medical devices.
The apps that could be regulated include those that enable the inflation and deflation of a blood pressure cuff, control insulin delivery through a pump, transform the phone into an actual medical device using attachments or various sensors, or perform some kind of diagnosis using patient data. | <urn:uuid:ec11efb0-b30f-4ceb-a671-d4b5a69428ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gcn.com/Microsites/2011/Insights-Health-IT/04-smartphones-mobile-devices-and-health-IT.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962595 | 1,017 | 2.265625 | 2 |
By Gel Santos Relos
Amidst rising tension between China and the Philippines, National Chair of the US Pinoys for Good Governance(USP4GG) Loida Nicolas Lewis called on Filipinos to organize rallies and demonstrations in front of China’s embassies and consulates throughout the world on May 11 to protest China’s recent aggressive encroachments on the Philippines’ Scarborough Shoal.
Lewis especially reached out to the Global Filipino Diaspora Council representing 12 million Filipinos in 220 countries throughout the world. The planned protest actions will take place in major cities like Washington DC, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Vancouver, Sydney, Singapore, Rome and Hongkong.
“The most important thing is that they see that the global community led by Filipinos is going to stand up to their bullying. They should be shamed for bullying a tiny country like the Philippines,” Lewis said on The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America” last week.
Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario affirms the Philippine government’s position that it has sovereign rights over Scarborough Shoal and its surrounding waters. He cites that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), a country’s exclusive economic zone extends from the edge of the territorial sea out to 200 nautical miles from the baseline.
Scarborough Shoal, or “Panatag Shoal” as referred to by Filipinos, is located 137 nautical miles from Zambales province in the Philippines. But China asserts that this island which they refer to as “Huangyan island”, is their “inherent territory”, despite its 500 nautical mile distance from the nearest China port of Hainan.
This recent development is still part of the ongoing territorial disputes between China and other claimant countries in Asia-- Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malayasia and Taiwan over the Spartly Islands. These countries are all in search of gas and oil that are believed to be deposited in these areas.
As the impasse continues, China orders the Philippine vessel to leave.
But President Aquino remained firm in maintaining its presence in Scarborough Shoal as a way to assert its sovereignty. “The President’s position is – what is ours is ours and we should stand up for what is ours,” Del Rosario said.
Del Rosario said, “They are saying they have a historical claim over it. A historical claim does not translate into a title. That’s number 1. They said they named it. Naming something does not mean you are entitled to it. Thirdly, they took the position that they have used that area, their fishermen used it. Use of an area does not mean you are entitled. If I say I have been traditionally fishing in the Pacific Ocean, that does not mean I am entitled to claim the ocean as mine.”
The Philippine government filed a diplomatic protest against China.
China opposes Philippines’ “internationalizing” the problem and warns that this approach would complicate and aggravate the problem even further.
China’s People Liberation Army Major General Lou Yuan has called for a more decisive action against the Philippines. According to reports from China Daily, Yuan wants the Chinese government to send naval patrols, and marks its sovereignty with the national flag.
He also says Beijing should encourage more Chinese fishermen, as well as the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, and the China National Petroleum Corporation to move to the area.
Yuan also said China has not abandoned the idea of war at all cost in order to protect China’s sovereignty and interests.
Ignoring China’s warning, Foreign Affairs Sec. Del Rosario said the Philippines is relying on the United States in order to achieve “a credible defense system”.
Del Rosario added that the the Philippine government would like to reap the maximum benefits of its Mutual Defense Treaty with the most powerful country in the world.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin met with U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last Monday and joined the news conference on the U.S.-Philippine Strategic Dialogue at the U.S. State Department.
With the complexity of the US-China relations, and with the interest of the American people of paramount concern, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had to do a balancing act as the US walks this delicate line.
While reaffirming its obligations under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, Clinton said, "In this context, the US has been clear and consistent: while we do not take sides on the competing sovereignty claims to land features in the South China Sea, as a Pacific power, we have a national interest in freedom of navigation, the maintenance of peace and stability, respect for international law and the unimpeded lawful commerce across our sea lanes.”
Clinton likewise clarified that the US government opposes the use of force or threats by any party in settling territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pledged -- in standard language -- that the US will come to the aid of its weaker ally if it faces military aggression.
Moving forward, Del Rosario said the Philippines is pursuing a 3-track approach on the Scarborough Shoal dispute:
-- a political track, using the ASEAN as a framework via the code of conduct that is being put together;
-- a legal track, which means the use of dispute settlement mechanisms. He said the Philippines is hoping to pursue 2 out of 5 mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea;
-- a diplomatic track, which includes consultations with China to defuse the tension.
Gazmin said the US vowed to support the Philippines when it brings its case to international legal bodies. He reiterated that the US wants a "rules-based approach" used in resolving issues in the West Philippine Sea.
Another group of Fil-Am community leaders based in the nation’s capital-- the Migrant Heritage Commission-- said it is best for the Philippines to ask the United Nations to initiate a convention of Southeast Asian countries for a multilateral talks to peacefully and diplomatically resolve the political impasse on the shoal which is part of the disputed Spratlys group of islands.
But US Pinoys for Good Governance President Rodel Rodis emphasized that a strong showing of support and solidarity by Filipinos will impress on China “that it is not just confronting a small country that it can easily bully, but one that has influential citizens scattered throughout the world who can mobilize and galvanize public opinion against China”.
Ted Laguatan, USP4GG spokesman added, “We are calling on all Filipinos and all those who believe in freedom and the right of every country to control its own destiny to join us in a global demonstration at Chinese embassies and consulates in the United States and around the world at 12 noon on Friday, May 11.”
Will you heed this call? | <urn:uuid:67d184ad-63aa-4bea-97b3-3fd5070c72ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gelsantosrelos.typepad.com/my-blog/2012/05/will-you-support-the-global-protest-vs-china-on-may-11.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939068 | 1,469 | 1.804688 | 2 |
5 things to know when buying a tablet or smartphone
Adam Carter, CBC News
Posted: Mar 7, 2012 10:59 AM ET
Last Updated: Mar 7, 2012 11:45 AM ET
Technology formats rise and fall — cassette tapes lost the battle to CDs, for example, and CDs are now losing ground to downloads. But tech watchers say there may be no clear winner in the war raging among the operating systems for smartphones and tablets, because of what the different platforms offer to consumers.
This means consumers have some tricky choices to make about whether devices based on Apple, Android or RIM software is going to best meet their particular needs.
The competition for tablet and smartphone market share boils down to two main platform philosophies: open-source and proprietary.
The most widespread open source operating system (OS) for mobile devices is Google's Android platform. Various manufacturers build a range of phones and tablets based on the operating system, and Android is a "collaborative model," which means the OS source code is available to users and developers to massage and use as they wish. Essentially, it allows users and developers a greater amount of freedom to create hardware and apps and distribute them.
Closed source, or proprietary, operating systems are what are used by Apple and BlackBerry devices. In this scenario, the parent company designs the hardware and operating system and keeps the source code tight to the vest. Users can't modify it, and app developers are subject to guidelines governing what they can and can't build.
What's the better choice?
There are pros and cons for each system – both for developers and consumers.
"Everything is best for something and worse for something else," said Daniel Wigdor, assistant professor in the computer science department at the University of Toronto.
Wigdor, who worked with Microsoft's Windows phone team, said both open source and proprietary platforms have their place in the current mobile market, because they offer different things to developers and consumers. "There's definitely room for both," he said.
Apple's devices tend to be more costly than competing Android products, for example, but come with a high degree of oversight from the parent company. Krista Napier, senior analyst and tracker lead for mobility with IDC Canada, said the oversight exists so that Apple can exert extensive quality control.The Kindle Fire is a smaller tablet that runs a highly modified version of Google's Android operating system. (Mark Lennihan/Associated Press)
"It's there for a purpose – to try to manage the experience for the user," Napier said.
"The Apple model is better if the consumer experience you want to have is of a high quality, though [it's] expensive," Wigdor agrees.
The flip-side, he points out, is that "Android isn't as premium, but it can be lower cost."
Apple has complete control over its mobile devices, both iPad and iPhone, from the design of the hardware through to the guidelines for the software applications that run on it. This means that should a user have a problem with an app, they deal with Apple directly for support. On an Android device, they would have to deal with the developer itself – which may or may not have a well-rounded customer service department.
Though there may be a less-stringent quality control system for Android devices and applications, Napier said there are more options available for consumers should they choose Android hardware, because the developers have more freedom to use a mix of technology. A number of Android phones and tablets have micro SD slots, HDMI ports, micro USB and Flash support, for example, which the Apple closed platform doesn't currently offer.
"For someone looking to use the device for work, having features like HDMI could be really valuable," Napier said.
Creativity versus constraint
But while the choice represented by more open platforms is great for consumers, it can cause headaches for developers.
Chad Jones, CEO of app maker College Mobile, said the wide array of features that may or may not be found on an Android device can make things more complicated for programmers trying to build apps that will run properly on the open source platform.
"When we develop for Android, it's a very fragmented market," Jones, a former Apple employee, said. "You never know what you're going to get – you don't know if it'll have a camera, or the size of the screen."The iPad runs Apple's fine-tuned closed source iOs operating system. (Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)
In contrast, Apple's vision is to have a standard to which developers have to conform. It limits what they can do, but also means developers know the precise configuration of the hardware and software platform they're building an app for.
"The open source model is very free and you can do what you want – but then the downside is that you have no idea what the guy on the other side is doing," Jones said.
He added that development can be easier for Apple's system as you only have to test for one standard, while on an Android device there are far more variables to consider because of its wide-open nature.
"When we develop an Android application, we only promise that it will work with 90 per cent of [Android products on] the market," he said. "We know that there are devices out there it won't work on, because there's so many."
Testing constraints aside, Jones said he can do things on an open source operating system that he can't on one that's closed – like making a payment system for a specific Android app, something that wouldn't fly on a closed system without oversight.
"On Android you're a lot more free, in that you can do a bunch of weird stuff," he said. "You have access to a lot more of the system, it's not as locked down."
Research in Motion has a proprietary operating system and hardware, but falls somewhere in between Android and Apple in terms of its open-source philosophy. RIM controls the design of its phones and its operating system, but has open source application development tools to give app writers flexibility. It has also invited third-party developers to provide input and "share in the evolution of the web platform."
Another consideration is security, which is often at the forefront of users' minds. Experts say proprietary systems tend to be more secure. Open source versions of applications can be more prone to viruses, for example, because of decreased oversight of phone and app designs.
And the control inherent in a proprietary system may constrain the creativity of developers and users, but it also safeguards against malicious intent.
For example, while Apple controls what goes into its online store, the Android app store doesn't have the same oversight. Should a user create an app coupled with a virus and place it on the Android app store, other people could download it before someone realized there was a problem. In contrast, Apple checks apps going into its store and could reject a problematic app.
What's the future?The Samsung Galaxy runs the Android operating system. Its wide open nature lets developers experiment with app design in a way not possible on proprietary systems. (Lee Jin-man/Associated Press)
The availability and selection of apps is a consideration for people buying a smartphone or tablet, too. Developers want the biggest market for their products, so they develop for the platform they think will give them the biggest return.
Sidneyeve Matrix, a media professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., told CBC News she believes Apple's proprietary system will continue to dominate the application market because developers are making apps for Apple's system (iOS) first, Android second and very rarely for BlackBerry.
"We'll see that iOs will stay as the industry standard, but Android is encroaching on that for sure," Matrix said.
Napier said she thinks both operating systems will coexist for the conceivable future.
"Apple is a leader and I don't see them moving away from their closed platform anytime soon," she said. "On the other hand, Android has done a very impressive job of competing and stealing some market share away from Apple."
Market share isn't the only variable, though. Jones said demographically, Android users are generally inclined to not buy apps as often, which influences developer interest — a big part of the popularity Apple's closed system enjoys. "The iPad app store makes way more money than Android," he said. "And most of the Android apps are free."
"As a developer, would I rather build an app for the iPhone where I'm going to make the most money, or am I going to do it on Android for free and just maybe get some advertising revenue?
"You're almost guaranteed to make more money on iPhone, and that's the deal breaker."
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- McDonald's CEO chastised by 9-year-old B.C. girl
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- Wallin may be forced to repay thousands in travel expenses | <urn:uuid:a4f9d197-2cb8-4c4a-93d3-c91570329d53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/03/06/f-operating-systems-apple-android.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958422 | 2,448 | 2.34375 | 2 |
The Carter-Gelsinger Eversion
I’ve mentioned Outside In before. That video shows a way of turning a sphere inside out. It’s simpler than the first explicit eversions to be discovered, but the simplicity is connected to a high degree of symmetry. This leads to very congested parts of the movie, where it’s very difficult to see what’s going on. Further, many quadruple points — where four sections of the surface pass through the same point — occur simultaneously, and even higher degree points occur. We need a simpler version.
What would constitute “simple” for us, then? We want as few multiple points as possible, and as few at a time as possible. In fact, it would be really nice if we could write it down algebraically, in some sense? But what sense?
Go back to the diagrammatics of braided monoidal categories with duals. There we could draw knots and links to represent morphisms from the monoidal identity object to itself. And topologically deformed versions of the same knot encoded the same morphism. This is the basic idea of the category of tangles.
But if we shift our perspective a bit, we consider the 2-category of tangles. Instead of saying that deformations are “the same” tangle, we consider explicit 2-isomorphisms between tangles. We’ve got basic 2-isomorphisms for each of the Reidemeister moves, and a couple to create or cancel caps and cups in pairs (duality) and to pull crossings past caps or cups (naturality). Just like we can write out any link diagram in terms of a small finite collection of basic tangles, we can write out any link diagram isotopy in terms of a small finite collection of basic moves.
What does a link diagram isotopy describe? Links (in our picture) are described by collections of points moving around in the plane. As we stack up pictures of these planes the points trace out a link. So now we’ve got links moving around in space. As we stack up pictures of these spaces, the links trace out linked surfaces in four-dimensional space. And we can describe any such surface in terms of a small collection of basic 2-morphisms in the braided monoidal 2-category of 2-tangles. These are analogous to the basic cups, caps, and crossings for tangles.
Of course the natural next step is to consider how to deform 2-tangles into each other. And we again have a small collection of basic 3-morphisms that can be used to describe any morphisms of 2-tangles. These are analogous to the Reidemeister moves. Any deformation of a surface (which is written in terms of the basic 2-morphisms) can be written out in terms of these basic 3-morphisms.
We can simplify our picture a bit. Instead of knotting surfaces in four-dimensional space, let’s just let them intersect each other in three-dimensional space. To do this, we need to use a symmetric monoidal 3-category with duals, since there’s no distinction between two types of crossings.
And now we come back to eversions. We write the sphere as a 2-dimensional cup followed by a 2-dimensional cap. Since we have duals, we can consider one side to be “painted red” and one side “painted blue”. One way of writing the sphere has the outside painted red and the other side is painted blue. An eversion in our language will be an explicit list of 3-morphisms that run from one of these spheres to the other.
Scott Carter and Sarah Gelsinger have now created just such an explicit list of directions to evert a sphere. And, what’s more, they’ve rendered pictures of it! Here, for the first time in public, is a 50MB PDF file showing the Carter-Gelsinger eversion.
First they illustrate the basic pieces of a diagram of knotted surfaces (pp. 1-4). Then they illustrate the basic 2-morphisms that build up surfaces (pp. 5-6), and write out a torus as an example (p. 7). Then come a few more basic 2-morphisms that involve self-intersections (pp. 8-9) and a more complicated immersed sphere (pp. 10-11). Each of these is written out also as a “movie” of self-intersecting loops in the plane. Next come the “movie moves” — the 3-morphisms connecting the 2-morphism “movies” (pp. 12-17). These are the basic pieces that let us move from one immersed surface to another.
Finally, the eversion itself, consisting of the next 79 pages. Each one consists of an immersed sphere, rendered in a number of different ways. On the left is a movie of immersed plane curves. On the top are three views of the sphere as a whole — a “solid” view on the right, a sketch of the double-point curves in the middle, and a “see-through” view on the left. The largest picture on each page is a more schematic view I don’t want to say too much about.
The important thing to see here is that between each two frames of this movie is exactly one movie move. Everything here is rendered into pictures, but we could write out the movie on each page as a sequence of 2-morphisms form the top of the page to the bottom. Then moving from one page to the next we trace out a sequence of 3-morphisms, writing out the eversion explicitly in terms of the basic 3-morphisms. As an added bonus, there’s only ever one quadruple point — where we pass from Red 26 to Blue 53 — and no higher degree points.
I’d like to thank Scott for not only finishing off this rendering he’s been promising for ages, but for allowing me to host its premiere weblog appearance. I, for one, am looking forward to the book, although I’m not sure this one will be better than the movie.
[UPDATE] Some people have been having trouble with the whole 50MB PDF (and more people might as the Carnival comes to see this page. Scott Carter broke the file up into five pieces, and I’ve put them up here in a new post.
There’s a glitch in part 4, but I’ll have that one up as soon as I can. | <urn:uuid:60429fce-e3ab-4783-8cd5-0bee54cd2172> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://unapologetic.wordpress.com/2008/07/06/the-carter-gelsinger-eversion/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=eb8d9d939c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933344 | 1,388 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Arafat Aide Says no Talk of Summit with Israel
A top aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said Thursday there were no plans for a three-way summit with the United States and Israel to end the past seven weeks of deadly violence.
Asked about a possible trilateral summit, Nabil Abu Rudeina said: "There are no arrangements for such a meetings, it was not suggested in Washington nor today (Thursday)."
Clinton and Arafat last met in Washington on November 9.
Abu Rudeina was speaking to journalists after a meeting between Arafat and US President Bill Clinton's Middle East envoy Dennis Ross.
"It is not possible now to speak of any talk of any meetings with the Israeli side," Abu Rudeina said.
Arafat said he hoped for a resumption of peace negotiations with Israel before Clinton leaves office in January.
Asked if there was a chance of going back to the negotiating table before January, he told reporters: "We are hoping so.
"We have not to forget that President Clinton is insisting to achieve something before his departure," Arafat said.
Ross vowed that the United States would do all it could to restore the peace process, left in tatters by seven weeks of Israeli-Palestinian violence that has claimed the lives of more than 230 people -- GAZA CITY (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com) | <urn:uuid:a3915fe8-ee6e-4783-8576-4b68802a82ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.albawaba.com/news/arafat-aide-says-no-talk-summit-israel | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966493 | 293 | 1.515625 | 2 |
As China’s currency becomes easier and easier to trade, and as its economy grows, it is becoming an alternative to the greenback. Here’s how investors can play the trend, writes MoneyShow’s Jim Jubak, also of Jubak’s Picks.
Throughout the global financial crisis—even as the problem changed its focus (and name) from the US mortgage-backed securities crisis to the Eurozone debt crisis—the United States could find solace in the strength of the dollar.
It may not have been a currency backed by the largest gold reserves or a well-run fiscal policy, but it needed only to be less bad than its global competitors. And up against a euro that threatens to come apart and a yen backed by a Tokyo government with an even bigger debt problem than Washington has, the dollar looked good enough.
For liquidity, for the depth of its markets, and for its ease of transfers and payments, the dollar was relatively strong, because the competition was relatively weak. The dollar was a global currency without real competition. That’s been critical to allowing US Treasury prices to rally and yields to fall even after the country lost its AAA credit rating.
The dollar isn’t without long-term competitive threats, however. The most obvious of those has long been the Chinese renminbi, or yuan. (China’s currency is named the renminbi. The units of the renminbi are the fen, jiao, and yuan. It takes ten fen to make a jiao, and ten jiao make a yuan. It’s as if the US currency was named the dollar, but its units were called the George, the Alexander, and the Benjamin.)
But that threat, while acknowledged as real, has always seemed very, very distant.
Well, I think it’s time to at least take one "very" off the timeline. China is moving more quickly than expected to turn its currency into a true global alternative.
How Far Can It Go?
It remains to be seen if the Beijing government can bring itself to give up the kind of control over its currency that would be necessary to turn the renminbi into a real alternative to the dollar.
China’s economic policies are so grounded in the government’s ability to control the exchange rate, and the flow of its currency in and out of the country, that the renminbi may never gain the currency market share that China’s economy and reserves could otherwise command.
But the global financial crisis—and the damage suffered by the euro, which had looked like a true alternative to the dollar before the European debt crisis—has pushed Beijing into action faster than projected even just a year or two ago.
Any real challenge to the dollar from the renminbi isn’t going to come tomorrow. But I don’t think investors should take the long-term supremacy of the dollar for granted. The likelihood of slippage in the dollar’s global role has implications for global stock and bond markets, for US interest rates, and for US economic growth rates that you should at least consider in formulating any long-term investment plan.
The latest move—announced just last week and set to take effect in the third quarter of the year—is, to me, a bombshell that indicates just how quickly the currency game is changing for the renminbi. (It also suggests a few stocks you might want to consider for your portfolio to take advantage of the long-term currency trend.)
But first: What happened last week?
The Yuan on the Block
It trades as 388.HK in Hong Kong, but Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKXCY) is very thinly traded in New York.
The company, which owns and operates the stock and futures exchanges in Hong Kong and related clearinghouses, announced plans to launch the first yuan-denominated futures in the third quarter of 2012. The new product would allow investors to trade against the dollar in contracts priced at $100,000.
Nothing new there. Lots of markets offer futures based on the US currency. But this is new and an important change: The contracts will require delivery in dollars by the seller and payment in yuan. In essence, then, the futures allow for the convertibility of dollars and yuan.
The move is another step in China’s project of creating a global offshore market for trading renminbi, which really got up to speed with the creation of an offshore market for renminbi in Hong Kong in mid-2010. Until then, the buying and selling of yuan had been largely limited to mainland China under the government’s strict currency controls.
From July 2010 to January 2011, daily trading in Hong Kong grew from zero to the equivalent of $400 million. Still a drop in the global bucket, but China didn’t stop there.
In January 2011, for example, the state-controlled Bank of China allowed customers to trade yuan in the United States. The move was an endorsement of the expansion of yuan trading by Beijing, but it came with the typical truckload of restrictions. Businesses can convert any amount of currency, as long as they are engaged in international trading, but US-based individual customers were limited to $4,000 a day.
In August 2010, McDonald’s (MCD) became the first foreign nonfinancial company to sell yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong. Since then, Caterpillar (CAT) and Volkswagen (VLKAY) have joined a parade of companies raising capital in yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong.
In spite of a slump in issuance in the fourth quarter of 2011, the value of new so-called "dim sum bonds" reached 104 billion yuan—$16.4 billion. That’s almost triple the offerings in 2011.
In December 2011, China and Japan agreed to conduct future bilateral trades directly in yuan. (In 2011, trade between China and Japan amounted to $350 billion.) Before the agreement, Japanese companies, like those from most other countries, had to convert payments into dollars and then into yuan. Each conversion imposed trading costs and exposure to currency fluctuations.
The real big bang, though, is scheduled for 2014, according to the People’s Bank. That’s when China will roll out a system that would allow countries to settle payments for Chinese goods in yuan instead of dollars.
With higher volumes will come lower costs—in the current system it costs more to do cross-border transfers in yuan than in dollars. That cost differential isn’t likely to persist for long, given the volume of its China’s global trade. International trade settled in yuan was just $371 billion in 2011. | <urn:uuid:26c494a8-f347-40f2-9f46-fe4113786d10> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.moneyshow.com/investing/article/37/Jubak_Journa-27539/Is-the-Yuan-the-New-Dollar/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95591 | 1,395 | 1.757813 | 2 |
While Sydney Allard is an important automotive figure, his Allard automobiles tend to be misunderstood. Let’s set the record straight.
In 1930, 20-year-old Sydney Allard was selling cars at a Ford agency that his family owned in London. The cars he sold were not pioneer vehicles like horseless carriages or high-wheelers. In fact, some were rather sporty, performance models of the era that Allard tuned up for his hobby of trials racing.
As early as 1929, Allard had raced Morgan Super Sports at Brooklands. He wasn’t amazingly successful with that three-wheeler or with his later flathead Ford racing cars. However, his first Allard Special of 1936 performed well in hill climbs, rallies and trials. It was constructed using part of a Bugatti body mounted on a shortened Ford coupe chassis fitted with a flathead V-8. Allard built 11 more specials, with Ford V-8s or Lincoln V-12s, prior to the war.
After the war, Allard’s family kept the Ford dealership, but Sydney formed Allard Motor Co. January 1946 brought his first postwar car. The two-seat J1 racer featured a Ford flathead V-8 and a Ford transmission mounted in a special chassis. It came out of a new factory at Clapham (not far from central London). Allard replaced the Ford front suspension with an independent suspension designed by Leslie Bellamy. It combined a split front axle with a conversion of the Ford transverse leaf spring setup. Just 12 J1s were made.
Next came the K1, essentially a J1 with six-inch-longer wheelbase. Under the hood was a nearly stock 221-cid/86-hp British Ford V-8. A few K1s used the more powerful 239-cid/96-hp V-8 from Canadian Mercurys. The stock transverse-spring front axle was split to become an independent swing axle. At the rear was a torque tube with a “live” beam axle held by a transverse leaf spring. The K1 frame was made for Allard by Thomsons of Wolverton with stamped-steel channel sections. The steel body panels were attached to a wood framework.
With a squarish grille using vertical bars that appeared to roll down its curvy nose, the 2,460-lb. K1 had a homemade look. Its front and rear fenders were separate. All K1s were right-hand-drive cars. It’s possible three of 151 K1s built arrived in the United States, although it was never officially sold in America.
“Roadholding and stability which allow an enthusiastic driver to throw it about as he pleases,” said Autocar. The Motor noted one was “immediately impressed by the way in which appearance has been blended with the requirements of the fast driver.” The editor added: “What appear to be impossible speeds can be safely maintained without the slightest sign of skidding.”
A K1 could hit 92-93 mph and 0-to-50 mph took 11.5 seconds. The quarter-mile took about 20 seconds. Allards won the 1947 and 1949 Lisbon Rallys, took five awards in the 1947-1948 Alpine Rally and won the three trophies in the 1949 Monte Carlo Rally.
The cars were rare. Seven were built in 1946, 173 were sold in 1947, 432 in 1948 and 265 in 1949. Not all of these units were J1s and K1s.
Although early postwar Allards were received well in Great Britain, Sydney Allard wanted to make inroads into the U.S. sports-racing market. A new J2 was said to be “specially designed for the American competition motorist.” The J2 resulted from a trip Allard made to America. Riding the same 100-inch wheelbase as the J1, the car did well both in sales and on the racetracks of the world.
Among Allards’ various available engines was a 239-cid, 40-bhp Ford V-8 with an Ardun overhead-valve conversion. The Ardun kit was made by Zora Arkus-Duntov of New York City, who later became famous as chief engineer of the Corvette. Operating with pushrods and rocker arms, the kit produced an engine similar to early Chrysler Fire Power Hemis. The Ardun option was abandoned after the first few dozen J2s, but the Chrysler Hemi and the Cadillac V-8 were made available. Allard said the wide choice of engines was offered “to permit the enthusiast to fit his own particular choice of motor, hopped-up or otherwise.”
Although the J2 was a competition car, it was also capable of road touring. Allard made it available with either left- or right-hand drive. A small vertical-bar pentagonal grille sat in a curvy protruding nose. The engine-turned instrument panel contained a five-inch speedometer and tachometer, oil-and-temperature gauge, ammeter, fuel gauge and fuel switch. The body had bolt-on rear fenders and cycle-style front fenders, separate headlights and tiny round taillights.
Though basic in appearance and engineering, the J2 was quick. Top speed with a Cadillac V-8 was reported as 110 mph. Some enthusiasts claimed 130 mph. Cad-powered cars did 0-to-60 mph in 5.5 seconds and covered the quarter-mile in 16.3 seconds, which was literally unheard of at the time. Highly modified Cad-Allards reached 250 bhp with twin carburetors, special camshafts and racing heads. These cars could to go from 0 to 100 mph in as little as 12 seconds.
Allard’s brochure said the J2 had “just about everything for the speed man.” The 1,950-lb. chassis assembly cost $2,237. The J-type with a 239-cid Canadian Mercury flathead V-8 with Solex carbs added $568. Early buyers could order Ardun heads or a competition model with a 120-hp Mercury engine bored out to 266.8 cubic inches. An Allard body added $560 to the car’s price. Price with the 331-cid, 160-hp Cadillac V-8 was about $3,995. The 331-cid Chrysler Fire Power Hemi made 180 hp. Both of these overhead-valve V-8s also added hydraulic valve lifters.
The J2s used a 3.54:1 rear axle. The front suspension was similar to the J1/K1 type. At the rear, a De Dion axle with quick-change differential and coil springs was used. Lockheed 12-in. brakes were used with Al-Fin drums. Designed chiefly for racing, the car carried a 26-gal. fuel tank with a reserve tank.
A total of 305 Allards were sold during 1950 and 337 the following year, but not all were J2s. Only 21 cars went to American buyers in 1950 and 42 in 1951. The U.S. distributor was Moss Motors Ltd., of Los Angeles, Calif.
Sleeker in appearance than the earlier Allard K1, the K2 Sports Tourer could be easily identified by three Buick-style “portholes” decorating the small bonnet (hood). The bonnet carried an air scoop and short hood straps. A pentagonal grille with vertical bars — shaped like that of the J2 — replaced the K1-style “waterfall” grille. Round headlights were mounted low in the “clamshell” fenders.
The K2 roadster’s cut-down doors had a gracefully curved upper edge. The rear end had a Jaguar XK-120 look. Short, horizontal overriders were fitted. A high-compression aluminum head, a floor-mounted gearshift lever, a racing-type fly-off hand brake, a windshield and all-weather equipment was standard.
The K2 cockpit was similar in design to the interior of four-passenger Allards. A fabric curtain behind the seat gave access to a small luggage area. Leather bucket seats faced a telescoping steering wheel. Both right- and left-hand-drive configurations were offered.
The frame was stamped by Thomsons of Wolverhampton, while power trains and axles again came from Ford. Four engines were available: the 221-cid flathead Ford V-8, a 239-cid Mercury flathead V-8, an Ardun modification of the 221-cid Ford (140-hp) and a bored-out 266.8-cid Mercury engine with aluminum heads. Many K2s were sold here. They were priced at $2,739 without engine or $3,094 with a standard 221-cid/85-90-hp V-8.
The classic J2X of 1952-1954 was Allard’s competition-type roadster. Perched on a 100-inch wheelbase, the J2X came in either standard or Le Mans form and was available with Chrysler, Lincoln, Mercury or Cadillac engines. Its appearance was like that of the J2.
Most J2Xs had Chrysler or Cadillac V-8s, but some carried the 239-cid Mercury flathead V-8. Many had optional center-lock, knock-off wire wheels. The standard J2X had a custom-built, aluminum body with cycle fenders and an aero windshield. It was largely a racing model. The more costly Le Mans edition had a completely different look, with an aerodynamic body. The suspension followed the usual Allard layout. Options included a windshield, wire wheels and a top.
The standard J2X roadster cost $3,480. The 200-lb. heavier LeMans body cost $280. Production of both models for 1952-1954 amounted to just 83 cars.
A J2X in proper tune could hit 120 mph. The 320-hp Chrysler V-8 model did 0-to-60 mph in 7.9 seconds. Others reported figures as low as 7.2 seconds. The factory rating for 0-to-50 mph was 6.8 seconds and the quarter-mile took 16.7 seconds.
Although production continued through 1959, only about seven cars were made after 1954, including a Mark II version of the Allard Palm Beach convertible. Production never went beyond a few hundred annually, but Allard introduced a surprising number of models with a wide selection of powerplants.
Much tamer than the race-oriented J series, the K3 was Allard’s touring model. Introduced in 1952, it was much more modern, inside and out, than the K2. Rounded lines, with three horizontal bars in an unadorned opening, made up the K3’s grille. Little ornamentation was evident on the aluminum body, except for a small emblem above the grille that spelled out the Allard name in red letters.
The K3 somewhat resembled the American-built Cunningham C2. It had an aluminum “envelope” body on a frame that used two stacked chrome-moly tubes for side rails. It had a small horizontal hood (more of a lid) and no door handles. Small round parking lamps stood below the headlamps. Gauges went in the center of the basic dashboard. As before, it used a split-axle front suspension and a De Dion rear axle. The wheelbase was six inches shorter than a K2’s.
A choice of four engines was offered, including the 221-cid British Ford flathead V-8, the 239-cid Mercury flathead V-8, the Chrysler Hemi and, later on, a Jaguar six. The Ford engine ran a 7.0:1 compression ratio and a Ford-made Chandler Groves carburetor. It was used in several models, and in the K3, it was rated 95 hp at 3,800 rpm. The optional Mercury engine was basically a larger version of the Ford mill fitted with two carburetors and advertised as 95-100 hp at 3,600 rpm. The 331-cid, 180-hp hydraulic-lifter Chrysler V-8 was hot. The addition of the 210-cid twin-cam provided 160 hp at a high-revving 5,200 rpm.
The K3 could do 98 mph flat out and accelerate from 0-to-50 mph in 8.3 seconds, according to factory ratings. In October 1954, Road & Track complimented the K3 Allard for its fine acceleration, handling and steering, but complained about its large turning radius. Fault was also found with the car’s clutch and transmission, as well as its flapping top, poor ventilation and windshield wipers, and the lack of a heater and defroster. Most K3 models were sold in the United States and the last K3 was built in October 1954.
Advice to the Allard aficionado
There’s no doubt that the Allard is an outstanding collector car. It is good looking, unique, rare, sporty, fast and endowed with a most interesting history. The legendary Cad-Allards tore up racecourses in the early ’50s and became a part of the historic British sports car invasion.
Old Cars Weekly has noted Allard owners encountering problems in concours competition. While we feel these cars represent an exceptional collector’s car, the marque is not that widely known and judges without specific knowledge of British cars have trouble dealing with the fact that Allards came with Ford-Mercury, Cadillac, Chrysler and Jaguar engines. We have heard the question, “Doesn’t that make it a hot rod?” posed at shows, by people rating these cars against much more common factory production models. It’s a pity, but it is true.
If you’re considering the purchase of an Allard, we recommend contacting The Allard Owners Club – America, c/o Andrew Picariello, Membership Secretary, PO Box 1378, Marstons Mills, MA 02648. Email: email@example.com.
CLICK HERE to tell us what you think in the Old Cars Weekly forums | <urn:uuid:87dfc260-cebf-497b-82a2-b2121bef4018> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/british_invader_the_allard_roadster | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966878 | 3,022 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Backlash for Disney's first Latina princess
"Sofia the First: Once Upon A Princess" has received backlash as well as support
Sofia (October 19, 2012)
Disney's first Latina princess, featured in the movie "Sofia the First: Once Upon A Princess" has received backlash as well as support from the media outlets, especially the Latino community. Is Disney's new princess a milestone for Latinos or a culturally irrelevant character?
"The range of characters in 'Sofia the First' -- and the actors who play them -- are a reflection of Disney's commitment to diverse, multicultural and inclusive storytelling, and the wonderful early reaction to 'Sofia' affirms that commitment. In the story, Sofia's mother, Queen Miranda, was born in a fictitious land, Galdiz, a place with Latin influences. Miranda met Sofia's father, Birk Balthazar, who hailed from the kingdom of Freezenberg, and together they moved to Enchancia, where Sofia was born."
"Sofia the First" is a television movie and series set to debut November 18 on the Disney Channel and Disney Junior, aimed at children ages 2-7. Sofia is a regular little girl whose life changes when her mother marries the king. Ariel Winter from "Modern Family" will voice Sofia and Sara Ramirez from "Grey's Anatomy" will voice Queen Miranda.
When news first hit in December 2011 that Disney was going to introduce their new and much younger princess, there was no mention of Sofia's Latina background, let alone that her mother was from "a place with Latin influences" until this week.
Yet this week, Disney announced that Sofia was indeed Latina.
During a press tour, a blogger asked why Sofia's mother, Miranda, had a darker complexion than her mother, leading to the big announcement of the Hispanic background:
"She is Latina," said Jamie Mitchell, Disney's executive producer, during a press tour to Entertainment Weekly in an article published on Tuesday.
According the the vice president of Disney Junior original programming, "We never actually call it out."
"It's sort of a matter-of-fact situation rather than an overt thing."
However, this isn't the first time there is controversy surrounding one of Disney's princesses. In 2009, "The Princess and the Frog" received criticism from parents and the media for being set in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, it's voodoo references and Disney's first African-American princess, Tiana, falling in love with a Caucasian prince. Most agree Princess Tiana was a step in the right direction but many said there was still work to be done.
Some Latinos applauded Disney's new milestone and welcomed her with open arms on Twitter stating, "#Disney comes out with its first "#Latina Princess." It's about time. It is 2012. #Hispanics" and "#Disney finally comes out with a #Latina princess"
Some criticized what they saw as a lack of cultural signifiers or ethnic identity in the Sofia character.
"If Disney were truly to finally step out and directly cater to the Latino community that has been crying out for decades for a Latina princess to represent our girls," said Ana Flores, blogger for Spanglishbaby, "She would be as Latina as Tiana is black or as Pocahontas is Indian-American."
Alex Nogales, president and CEO for the National Hispanic Media Coalition, a nonprofit organization that promotes Latino equality in the entertainment industry, believes the Latino community needs more heroes right now that are very identifiable.
"Latinos are taking the blame for everything that is wrong with America. This is not a time to pussyfoot around. If you're going to promote this to the public, and Latinos in particular, do us a favor and make it a real Latina."
™ & © 2012 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:e45bfe5b-1ad9-42f1-8e08-7ee590e66518> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sun-sentinel.com/topic/entertainment/wxin-disney-latina-princess-backlash-for-disneys-first-latina-princess-20121019,0,2420186.column | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966092 | 823 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Aug 3, 2009
I can’t believe we almost missed this: on January 12, 1967, University of California psychology professor James Bedford became the first man to be cryogenically frozen:
As the first man to be preserved, the bill was paid by the Life Extension Society. He also earned the awesome title of “cryonaut,” the term given to cryogenically preserved individuals. (Source: The Retro Blog)
Alcor Life Extension Foundation, a company that will freeze your body for a fee, has a fascinating account of the freezing of Dr. James Bedford:
The Cryonics Society of California "suspension team" was woefully unprepared. From testimony taken from Nelson and Robert Prehoda it appears that your "perfusion," so glowingly detailed to the news media, consisted of multiple injections with either pure DMSO or a DMSO-containing solution of a composition which was unknown to Nelson. (Prehoda recalls that pure DMSO from Matheson Scientific was employed). Attempts were made to introduce the cryoprotectant into your carotid arteries bilaterally and to circulate it by performing manual chest compressions coupled with bag-valve respirator ventilations. According to Nelson, within approximately two hours of your deanimation you were transferred to a foam-insulated box, still wrapped in the bed sheet on which you deanimated (with some crushed water ice still on you) and covered over with one-inch-thick slabs of dry ice. | <urn:uuid:0173cd7c-415a-45e4-834e-338d4dc3c3af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://amazingdata.com/james-bedford-the-first-cryonaut/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964425 | 316 | 2.421875 | 2 |
I have one rule for this list: The time machine must be a man-made device that transports users through time. So no slingshotting around the sun, no genetic disorders, and no head trauma. And as much as I love "The Final Countdown," I'll have to exclude anomalous storms.
Bill & Ted's Phone Booth
This phone booth time machine allowed Bill & Ted to visit different time periods by "dialing" specific dates into the phone's keypad. Why Bill or Ted had to hold the phone to their ears was never explained. The booth transported the users via interdimensional time stream and could hold at least ten people. This time machine was used mainly for kidnapping historical figures to help with a school presentation.
H.G. Wells' Time Machine
As cool as this time machine looks, it's probably the slowest one to use. A person traveling through time could sit in the machine and literally watch buildings fall and rise around them. How this looked to a non-time traveller walking into a room as the machine was in use has yet to be documented. In theory, while the user might spend six minutes in the machine in order to travel 50 years; a normal person watching the machine will have gone through an entire lifetime.
Doc Brown's DeLorean
Originally powered by plutonium stolen by Libyan terrorists, this modified DeLorean DMC-12 was able to travel through time after reaching a speed of 88 mph. It was later fitted with a Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor, which allowed the vehicle's flux capacitor to be powered by household waste. At one point, inventor Emmet Brown is quoted as saying, "Where we're going, we don't need roads," as an indicator that the DeLorean had also been modified to be a flying vehicle. Yet, when the time machine arrives in 2015, we see that roads do still exist.
Mr. Peabody's WABAC Machine
After inputting a specific date into his room-sized time machine, talking dog Mr. Peabody and his "pet boy" Sherman would then be instantly transported to that point in history.
Other Notable Time Machines
Project Quantum Leap -- We're not sure what went wrong with physicist Sam Beckett's time experiement; but whatever the device is, it causes Beckett to temporarily take the place of different people in the past. It also allows Beckett, and Beckett only, to see a hologram of his best friend, former astronaut Admiral Al Calavicci. What?
Hot Tub Time Machine -- Activated by too much partying.
TARDIS -- The author of this blog does not watch Doctor Who. | <urn:uuid:375ac9aa-7e81-4fe7-b5ba-fc5241dd63ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9070835 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969429 | 545 | 2 | 2 |
Whether you prefer digital or analog, there's a good chance that a wall of your classroom, the desk in your office or a bank you passed on your ride to work or school sported a clock. If that isn't enough, there's the clock in the family car, and all of the ones on the DVD players, VHS players, cable or satellite boxes, televisions, microwaves, coffee makers and ovens. The time seems to be everywhere, but that wasn't always the case.
The first clock was most likely a stick partly buried in the ground. As the sun made its circuit across the sky, the shadow cast by the stick moved in measurable increments. This was a rudimentary sundial; a smart, if limited, way to tell the time. Accuracy was the real problem when it came to early man's attempt to lock down short-time measurement. The sun was a great indicator, but the system didn't work at night or when it was cloudy outside. Another problem was that the length of the day changed throughout the year, changing whatever incremental measurement was set to mark the time.
In the second century, the astronomer Ptolemy deduced that placing a slanted object parallel to the Earth's axis would provide a consistent incremental measurement regardless of the season [source: Behar]. This led to standardized time measurement, solving one problem. The second problem, telling time when the sun wasn't shining, inspired a number of ingenious solutions. Water clocks used dripping water, leaving a small opening in a container to mark the passage of time. Candles were also widely used because they burned at a consistent rate when there was no breeze. Romantic methods like hourglasses were also widely employed, but it wasn't until around the beginning of the 14th century that a new, reliable method came on the scene: the mechanical clock.
No one knows who invented it, but this remarkable device used an oscillating escapement to control the movement of the clock mechanism [source: Eveything2.org]. This was a pretty stable method of short-time measurement, and it revolutionized the way man related to the passage of time. Now, people could begin setting appointments and reliably keeping them. Precise planning, like that of many religious observances, could be closely scheduled. The world was beginning to change. A faster pace was possible because it was easier to organize activities. Man was on the road to three-minute eggs, stopwatches and power lunches.
Now that we can synchronize our watches, let's proceed to the next section where we'll explore the wonders of the toilet. | <urn:uuid:cca5d688-c592-4220-85c6-b69bffc3c92b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://home.howstuffworks.com/10-appliances1.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973847 | 534 | 3.6875 | 4 |
“The things one finds wandering in a landscape: familiar things and utterly unknown, like a flower one has never seen before, or, as Columbus discovered, an inexplicable continent;
and then, behind a hill, as if knitted by giant grandmothers, lies this vast rabbit, to make you feel as small as a daisy.
The toilet-paper-pink creature lies on its back: a rabbit-mountain like Gulliver in Lilliput. Happy you feel as you climb up along its ears, almost falling into its cavernous mouth, to the belly-summit and look out over the pink woolen landscape of the rabbitÌs body, a country dropped from the sky;
ears and limbs sneaking into the distance; from its side flowing heart, liver and intestines.
Happily in love you step down the decaying corpse, through the wound, now small like a maggot, over woolen kidney and bowel.
Happy you leave like the larva that gets its wings from an innocent carcass at the roadside.
Such is the happiness which made this rabbit.
i love the rabbit the rabbit loves me.
After almost 5 years of knitting, the rabbit found its final place in the italian alps (close to Cuneo). It waits there to be visited by you. You might even take your time or check back every now and then as the rabbit will wait for you 20 years from now on.”-Gelitin | <urn:uuid:b40da8b1-6518-475d-af9e-aa691d27e41a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thisisawhat.wordpress.com/2011/01/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947852 | 308 | 1.507813 | 2 |
(Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series. The second part will appear tomorrow.)
While there is a great deal of controversy over the proper role of the university press in the world today, less thought has been given to what it would mean to start a completely new university press. There are exceptions to this. A few years ago, Rice University started up a press, but it was not successful and the university soon after removed its support. By and large, though, discussion concerning university presses touches on different topics:
- What is the proper relationship between a press and its institution’s library?
- Should presses partly or completely embrace Open Access?
- What is the best way to sell ebooks to libraries?
- Can anything be done to offset the continuing decline of monograph sales?
- And the really big question: How can you operate a press such that its parent university doesn’t have to subsidize it?
It seems useful to me to look at these questions from a different angle. If someone were to consider starting a press today, how would he or she go about it? What would it look like?
The point here is heuristic — not actually how to get this done, but to think through the question in order to learn more about academic publishing. It’s highly improbable that anyone would actually pick up the ball and run with it. If anything, the trend is in the opposite direction, with institutional support in one way or the other (e.g., reduced purchasing of university press books by academic libraries, lowered direct subsidies from parent institutions) being cut back. To create a new university press would require highly motivated sponsors to step up to the challenge of multi-year financing, and that does not appear to be in the offing. A new press is thus a thought experiment; where we go with that thought is unknown.
New publishing ventures always begin with an editorial impulse. Although much talk about publishing today is about technical matters and such things as “integrating the workflow,” no publisher ever started out by focusing on production or process engineering. Publishers begin by asserting what kind of books or journals they want to publish. This could be stated by domain (“We see an opportunity to build a list in Asian studies”) or by ideology (“We want to cultivate authors with progressive politics”). Of course, once they begin to get their editorial program going, they have to turn their attention to production, operations, and finance, and they have to do this fast. But they start by identifying what kind of content they wish to publish.
Here a new press would have a decided disadvantage, as it would be exceedingly difficult to compete with established presses in areas that have been cultivated over the years. Imagine the challenge for an editor who is asked to build a list in American history in competition with the editors of Harvard University Press or in European history (competing with OUP) or architecture (MIT) or sociology (Chicago) or anthropology (California). The list of established presses with highly regarded programs in specific areas is a long one and would include many smaller presses. Established presses have built a network of authors and advisors, which help support their programs and brands. An economist or philosopher knows precisely where he or she wants to submit a manuscript for publication, and a new press would have to overcome that.
A new press therefore might make the decision to enter the fray by taking a different approach. If the established presses have staked out a field with a particular perspective — a school of thought, as it were — perhaps a new press could enter the marketplace by backing an emerging perspective. But here again this would be difficult to do, as the established press could adjust its own program to coopt the new approaches. Thus an economics list dominated by Keynesians might make room for some members of the Chicago tradition, for example (or perhaps it would be the other way ’round). Although one should never underestimate the value of an outstanding acquisitions editor, a start-up press would find it very difficult to work in established fields, inasmuch as the network of advisors and marketing partners tilt the field in favor of publishers that are already active in the marketplace.
Knowledge and fields of knowledge do not stand still, of course, and an entirely new press might consider working in areas that are newly emerging, where established presses cannot be said to have staked out the territory. Here there is a different problem, and that is that the scholarly book itself is a mature form, with little growth and perhaps even shrinking market conditions. However creative an editorial staff might be, it is an uphill struggle to start a new university press with the aim of publishing books.
This is not to say that established presses should not be publishing books. I would say just the opposite, that they should continue to publish books and they should even publish more of them because they already have a presence in the marketplace that would be hard to displace. Indeed, some established presses can thrive by publishing books — and many do. But for a new academic publisher, the book as a format, whether in print or in bits, is not a promising path.
There are two corollaries to this. First, this is a proof of the editorial fallacy, the notion that in a time of significant change in the publishing industry, a publishing organization’s strategy can be anchored in the editorial department. It cannot — editorial is what gets us into publishing, editorial is what we like about publishing, but innovation takes place elsewhere. The second corollary is that all the estimable work that is going into e-books today is not really innovative. E-books are books, and books are a mature form, whether they are sold in a local bookshop or accessed from a cloud platform as part of a massive library aggregation. If we are looking for innovation, as a new company must, we have to search farther afield.
Our aspirants may decide that getting into books may thus be difficult and consider other options. How about journals? Here the path is not rosy either. The advantages of the established publishers are very great–arguably greater in journals than in books because of the competition from commercial publishers–and a strategy born of editorial smarts alone will find it tough-going. A new journals publisher will also have to wrestle with the serious budgetary situation at academic libraries, which comprise 85% of the journals market. (Libraries make up about 25% of university press book purchases.) If a library is cutting its materials budget by 10%, by 15%, perhaps more, how hospitable will it be to a new publication from a new publisher? Entrepreneurial spirit can overcome many obstacles, but it is not clear how and why a new university press would wish to buck the trend toward library defunding.
I have written on the Kitchen before that any new publisher today will start with a born-digital strategy. This would be as true for a new university press as for any other publisher. A born-digital strategy is more than the technology (everything is always more than the technology); it is also a different way of doing business, from relations with authors to the management of the distribution channels. For example, a born-digital publisher has little chance of getting books into bricks-and-mortar bookstores, and a solely electronic publishing program may be challenged to come up with meaningful membership benefits for a professional society. On the other hand, starting from a digital-first-and-only position potentially opens up new kinds of publishing. These new kinds may be unproven, but they do give a start-up press a chance.
One new kind of publishing to consider is the author-pays open access model pioneered by BioMed Central (now owned by Springer) and emulated by the Public Library of Science, SAGE, and Wiley Blackwell, among others. This model works; what is less clear is how big it can get, how many authors are willing and capable of paying fees, and whether this is a successful niche model or something that could be expanded to cover all of scholarship. My own hunch is that the author-pays model requires an aggressive and creative marketing strategy to break out of the “noise” of the flood of information. If PLoS is the model for author-pays open access, then the bar is set very high, as PLoS is arguably the top marketing organization in scholarly communications today. Very few organizations, whether established or newly created, can hope to engender the excitement in the marketplace that PLoS has worked so hard to attain.
A curious thing about author-pays publishing, however, is that it has wholly arisen outside of specific institutional contexts. Virtually all universities have institutional repositories, but the growing open access services are mostly found beyond the academy’s walls. This raises the question of whether a new university press should not be a university press at all but an external academic press, an organization that does not look to a parent institution for support. In some respects, this is almost an acknowledgment of what is already going on within universities, where administrators are often reluctant to subsidize a press. Setting up shop away from a particular institution has limitations and benefits, which go hand in hand. A university can provide seed funding and editorial support, but a university can also withdraw that funding or create obstacles for the press to identify other sources of funding; and editorial support can also restrain a press from exploring new media and partnerships. For example, it’s easy to imagine an editorial board vetoing the idea of an author-pays service as the charge of “vanity publishing,” even if inappropriate, is irksome.
New ventures should not be restricted to forms of repository publishing, however. Once a press decides that it is going to be born digital, a host of new opportunities arises, not all of which are proven, of course, but the price of working on a start-up is the very great risk of failure. A new press, for example, may choose to work initially, even exclusively, in the new tablet ecosystem, publishing scholarly works that may be shorter and more highly interactive than those handled by established presses. This is not an idle suggestion. Consider the fact that library budgets are being cut, but sales of the iPad are exploding. Where would you put your money? Or an aspiring publisher may look about and borrow from the Netflix model: large aggregations of digital content sold directly to end-users. Few established presses could hope to launch such a venture because their resources are tied up with servicing legacy authors and customers.
Lest the examples of Apple and NetFlix, coupled with the reference to working outside a university, make anyone nervous that this is really going to be a commercial publisher, even a consumer publisher, and not a new kind of mission-based entity serving the needs of scholars, let’s be clear that our upstart press would certainly be set up as a not-for-profit. There are some kinds of scholarly publishing projects that simply cannot reach a big enough market to support them. Thus we should expect injections of capital at various points: during the start-up stage, for specific costly projects, for starting new programs, etc. A new press would thus have to be able to tap the community of philanthropies and wealthy donors, who will look for the tax-advantaged status that only a NFP can provide.
Thus our new “university” press sits outside any particular institution, is born-digital, avoids areas where established publishers already have staked out territory, experiments with publishing forms and distribution channels, and is a NFP. There are entities somewhat like this already: PLoS, the Humanities EBook program at ACLS, OCLC, and JSTOR (a client) come to mind. There will be more. | <urn:uuid:12065ec9-ee6a-4328-b5c8-2d039403e707> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2011/05/25/creating-a-new-university-press-the-first-of-a-two-part-post/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96343 | 2,428 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Andrew Lotto, PhD, to present on “Statistical Learning in Speech: The Difficult Questions.”
Edwin Maas, PhD, to present on “Feedback and Feedforward Control in Apraxia of Speech.”
Sonja Pruitt-Lord to present on “Grammatical morphology of AAE-speaking children reared in poverty: Implications for Specific Language Impairment.”
Stephen M. Wilson to present on Progressive Alexia
Trianna Oglivie and Christina Meyers presented at SLHS Colloquium; Marja-Liisa Mailend to present at Cognitive Science Colloquium
Our faculty members work closely with undergraduate and graduate level students on a wide variety of research topics related to human communication and its disorders. Through a range of research experiences, our students have a unique opportunity to explore the boundaries of what is currently known on how we hear, perceive, produce and understand speech and language. Our students investigate innovative ways to assess and treat individuals with communication disorders in a dynamic and collaborative setting. Many students become co-authors on peer-reviewed publications.
See publications with student co-authors.
Below is a description of our labs, personnel, and some current or previous research activities.
|Aphasia Research Project|
|Director: Pelagie Beeson, PhD, CCC-SLP
Other Personnel: Kindle Rising, MS, CCC-SLP, Christie Schultz, MS, Chelsea Bayley, MS, Andrew DeMarco, Reva Wilheim
Location: Room 308
Links: Dr. Beeson’s Homepage
The Aphasia Research Project is an active research environment devoted to the study of aphasia and related disorders. After spending several years examining the nature of naming impairments in aphasia and Alzheimer’s disease, our current efforts are directed toward the development of effective treatment protocols for various aspects of aphasia, acquired alexia, and acquired agraphia.
My research projects are typically designed to address both clinical and theoretical issues in that a) treatments are theoretically motivated and b) patient responses to treatment often serve to clarify my theoretical perspective. Numerous single-subject research projects are underway and others are in the planning stages. Graduate students may become involved with our work in a variety of ways: clinical practicum in the Aphasia Clinic, independent study projects, thesis and dissertation research, or simply as participants in our weekly lab meetings. Our Aphasia Clinic includes an active Friday clinical schedule of aphasia groups devoted to maximizing communication effectiveness in individuals with a wide variety of aphasia types and levels of severity.
|Arizona Human Electrophysiology and Auditory Development (AHEAD)|
|Director: Barbara Cone, PhD, CCC-A
Other Personnel: Stacey Trepanier, Jessie Ross, Kristen Baker, Amy Marin, Christine Bartelt, Curtis Vanture, Nydia Quintero, Darlene Kim
Location: Room 107; Desert Garden Room in GBC
Work in the AHEAD lab is focused on the electrophysiology of infant speech perception. How do infants develop the capacity to hear and understand speech? What are infants’ speech feature detection and discrimination abilities? How can we assay those abilities using psychophysical (behavioral) and electrophysiologic methods?
To answers these questions, we undertake experiments that combine electrophysiologic and behavioral test paradigms. Because hearing sensitivity and (speech) signal audibility are crucial to speech perception, we are measuring thresholds for pure tones and speech using observer-based psychophysical procedures in infants 5-12 months of age. We also obtain recordings of brain wave activity from the auditory cortex (auditory evoked potentials) for the same stimuli. The auditory evoked potentials give us insight into the neural correlates of detection and discrimination for simple tones and more complex speech sounds. In another experiment, infants are taught to respond when they hear the difference between two similar speech sounds, such as “bah” and “dah.” Correct discrimination indicates the ability to hear the place-of-articulation speech feature. We also test for speech features of voice-onset-time (eg. “tah” vs. “dah”), manner (“bah” vs. sah”) and vowel height and place (/i/ vs. /u/ vs. /o/ vs. /a/). Complementary electrophysiolgic measures include the auditory steady state responses for multiple-mixed modulation stimuli and the cortical acoustic change complex. The ASSR test stimuli simulate the spectral and temporal characteristics of speech features and the ASSR response indicates how the brainstem auditory system processes each stimulus component. The cortical-evoked Acoustic Change Complex indicates the (cortical) neural capacity to detect the subtle acoustic differences that comprise discrimination ability.
Our efforts are focused on auditory development in early infancy because this is the period during which the early detection and intervention for hearing loss can have enormous benefit. It is important to study normal auditory system development so that we can translate our research findings into insights and methods that will allow us to successfully treat the infant with hearing loss.
|Auditory Cognitive Neuroscience Experience (ACNE) Lab|
|Director: Andrew Lotto, PhD
Other Personnel: Megan Kittleson, Davi Vitela, Kathy “Nico” Carbonell, Paige Blain, Akila Prasad
Location: Rooms 207 and 109
Links: Dr. Lotto’s Homepage / ACNS Society
The ACNE Lab addresses issues relating to the processing of complex acoustic signals such as speech, music, and other environmental sounds. Current projects include examining how people learn the sounds of a 2nd language and how one’s native language can interfere with this learning; investigating the ability of listeners to “tune” their perception to the particular characteristics of a speaker (e.g., understanding someone with a foreign accent or disordered speech); and studying how the design of cochlear implants and hearing aids can affect the ability of listeners to understand speech in complex listening environments. This multidisciplinary lab works closely with researchers in Psychology, Linguistics, Neurophysiology, and Electrical Engineering.
|Auditory Perception and Amplification Lab|
|Director: Huanping Dai, PhD
Location: Room 230
Research in this lab is concerned with auditory perception of complex sounds by human listeners. On the empirical side, we design and carry out behavioral (psychophysical) experiments to study listeners’ ability to extract useful information from various sounds, and how this ability is affected by hearing disorders. On the theoretical side, we construct computational models to characterize the listeners’ individual listening behavior, and to predict their performance in perceptual tasks. While the primary focus of our research is on the basic-science aspects of auditory perception, we also work on applied issues related to hearing, including the application of statistical and psychophysical principles and methods to the diagnoses of hearing disorders, and the signal processing for amplification.
|Bilingual Phonology Lab|
|Director: Leah Fabiano-Smith, PhD, CCC-SLP
Other Personnel:Trianna Oglivie,
Location: Room 501
Links: BPL website
Bilingual children acquire two languages in the same amount of time that monolingual children learn only one. How do they do that? The Bilingual Phonology Lab at the University of Arizona aims to find out. Little is known about typical phonological acquisition in bilingual children, and even less is known about bilingual children with phonological disorders. The long-term goals of the Bilingual Phonology Lab are to (1) determine the trajectory of typical acquisition in bilingual children, taking into consideration how the two languages of bilingual children interact; (2) determine how disorder presents itself in a child that maintains two speech sound systems, and (3) develop evidence-based assessment and intervention tools to help bilingual children with phonological disorders become effective communicators in both of their languages. Current studies in the Bilingual Phonology Lab examine bilingual phonological acquisition in the contexts of: (1) the Spanish stop-spirant alternation; (2) structural complexity related to consonant clusters; (3) cross-linguistic bootstrapping in bilingual preschoolers;(4) Voice Onset Time (VOT); (5) the morpho-phonemic interaction between English and Spanish, and (6) early, middle, and late-developing phonemes in English and Spanish.
|Brain-imaging of Language, Attention & Memory Lab (BLAMlab)|
|Director: Tom Christensen, PhD
Co-director: Elena Plante, PhD, CCC-SLP
Other personnel: Kyle Almryde, BS, Lesley Fiddler, MS, CCC-SLP
Location: Room 334
Links:Dr. Plante’s Homepage, Dr. Christensen’s Homepage
Working memory and attention are strongly interdependent dimensions of language processing, yet the brain networks that underlie these cognitive functions are not well understood, especially in the auditory domain. The BLAMlab uses brain mapping methods like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), along with electrophysiological tools such as electroencephalography (EEG) and behavioral testing to study the neuroanatomical and functional organization of speech perception.
Currently funded projects involve the cognitive modulation of primary language processing by attention and memory networks, effects of attention type and cognitive load on language perception, and the roles of cortical-subcortical interactions in serving these cognitive processes. Current experiments are a prelude to studying clinical populations with brain disorders that may disrupt language, verbal memory, attention, or any combination of these skills.
|L4 Lab: Language, Learning, Literacy, Lexicon|
|Director: Mary Alt, PhD, CCC-SLP
Project Director: Cecilia Figueroa, MS, CCC-SLP
Location: Rooms 322/324
Links: L4 Lab’s webpage
My lab is named the L4 Lab. Those four L’s stand for the topics that are of most interest to me: language, learning, literacy, lexicon. My research is centered on answering this question: How do people learn words and the concepts associated with those words? The answers to this question are fundamental to our understanding of language development and disorders of language and learning. All human beings need to learn words and concepts to communicate our basic needs. However, the need to learn words and concepts does not end in early childhood once we learn to talk. All people need to be proficient at learning words and concepts in order to be successful in school, professional settings, or learning new hobbies. Despite the importance of this skill set, there is much to be discovered about the processes underlying vocabulary development. It is my mission to better understand these processes so we can apply that knowledge towards helping people who are not successful at learning new words and concepts.
My lab approaches this larger problem from three angles: 1) word learning (learning the names of things), 2) concept learning (learning the meanings of the words), and 3) clarifying how learning manifests in people who are bilingual. My research often integrates these three components, and is extending findings from our lab into clinically-driven research.
If you are interested in working in the L4 Lab, please check out the “To become a lab member” tab on the lab’s webpage.
|Listening in Multi-source Environments (LIME) Lab|
|Director: Nicole Marrone, PhD, CCC-A
Other Personnel: Rachel Van Oosbree, Brittany Tennyson, Morgan Nelson, Carly Regan, Lua Hedayati, and James Shehorn
Location: Rooms 403 and 109 (soundfield)
In the LIME Lab, our research seeks to improve quality of life and quality of care for adults living with hearing loss. We take an ecological and biopsychosocial approach to the study of communication. We are interested in the links between auditory and cognitive abilities that affect communication when using hearing aids, outcomes of rehabilitative interventions, and how changes in hearing impact daily life. Our research group includes undergraduates, graduate students, and clinical faculty collaborators from The University of Arizona Hearing Clinics.
|Director: Stephen Wilson, PhD
Other Personnel: Temre Brandt, Ashley Chavez, Andrew De Marco, Hannah Payne, Karen Peralta, Lauren Zimmerman
Location: Rooms 310
Links: Neurolinguistics Lab’s webpage
Research in the Neurolinguistics Laboratory focuses on understanding the neural basis of language. We combine structural and functional neuroimaging techniques with linguistic analysis to study language processing, and how it breaks down in patients with different kinds of aphasia. We work with patients with aphasias of various etiologies, including stroke and neurodegenerative disease. Language domains of particular interest are syntactic processing and lexical access.
|The Plante Lab|
|Director: Elena Plante, PhD, CCC-SLP
Other Personnel: Rebecca Vance, MS, CCC-SLP, Diane Patterson, PhD, Lindsay Spivey, BS, Kyle Almryde, BS
Location: Room 334
Links: Dr. Plante’s Homepage
Current work in Dr. Plante’s lab focuses on learning and assessment. The lab is focused on discovering how both children and adults with developmental language disorders learn from a behavioral and neurobiological perspective. Behavioral studies are designed to determine what conditions facilitate rapid learning and whether those with language impairment benefit from the same factors that facilitate learning for non-impaired individuals. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies are designed to examine whether the neural resources dedicated to learning are the same for imapaired and normal learners.
Assessment research is focused on the development and validation of language tests for use with children who have suspected language impairments.
|Speech Acoustics Lab|
|Director: Brad Story, PhD, and Kate Bunton, PhD, CCC-SLP
Other Personnel: Rosemary Lester, MS, CCC-SLP, Lisa Gordon
Location: Room 307
Links: Speech Acoustics Lab webpage
Research in the Speech Acoustics Laboratory is focused on the following areas: speech acoustics and articulation (kinematics) related to both development of speech production and disordered speech production, mechanical measures of velopharyngeal function, speech simulation and volumetric imaging of the vocal tract. Longitudinal data collection is underway involving children ages 2-6 years and adults with speech disorders. Computerized models are used in our laboratory to aid in understanding how the physical shapes and sizes of both the voice source components and the vocal tract contribute to the sound of the human voice. These models are used as a research tool for studying production and perception of normal and disordered speech.
|Speech, Language and Brain Laboratory (SLAB lab)|
|Directors: Gayle DeDe, PhD, CCC-SLP, and Edwin Maas, PhD
Location: Rooms 332 and 509
Research in the SLAB lab focuses on speech and language processing across the lifespan in unimpaired individuals and in various populations with speech and/or language disorders, such as aphasia, apraxia of speech, and phonological disorders. An overarching question of interest is: What is the underlying nature of a given speech or language disorder? Two important features of most projects in the lab are (1) an emphasis on the time course of processing, that is, the unfolding over time of different processes involved in language comprehension or speech production, and (2) an emphasis on relating speech and language processing to other cognitive or perceptual skills, for example the relation between working memory and sentence comprehension, or the relation between motor control and language production.
The research in the SLAB lab combines a number of different methodological approaches and measures. Projects focusing on language comprehension use self-paced listening, self-paced reading, sentence-picture matching tasks, and (soon to come!) eye-tracking, and analysis of brain-behavior relations. Projects focusing on speech production use various priming tasks, acoustic analysis of speech, phonetic transcription, and analysis of brain-behavior relations. The research conducted in the SLAB lab is both theoretically motivated and clinically relevant.
There are various opportunities to become involved with the research in the SLAB lab, depending on your interests and time availability. To discuss these opportunities, or for more information about our research, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
|Speech Research Lab|
|Director: Jeannette Hoit, PhD, CCC-SLP, and Kate Bunton, PhD, CCC-SLP
Other Personnel: Christine Williams, Caety Chong
Location: Room 307
Links: Speech Acoustics Lab webpage
Research projects in the speech research lab focus on normal and abnormal speech motor control. Many of the projects have been devoted to understanding the influence of development and aging on respiratory, laryngeal, and velopharyngeal function during speech production. Others have been designed to elucidate the impact of linguistic and biomechanic variables on speech physiology, vocal characteristics of skilled performers, and mechanisms underlying interactions between ventilatory drives and speech production requirements.
Research projects involving abnormal speech motor control have centered on a variety of neuromuscular disorders. For example, studies have been conducted to address questions regarding the speech of individuals with Parkinson disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cerebral palsy, spasmodic dysphonia, and spinal cord injury. A current emphasis relates to speaking-related dysprea (breathing discomfort associated with speech production) in health and disease.
Another current emphasis is to elucidate the developmental time course for velopharyngeal closure for oral sound production in children. The overall goals of these research endeavors are to increase understanding of normal and abnormal speech production and to offer insights in potential clinical applications whenever possible.
|Child Language Center|
|Director: Barbara Kiernan, PhD
Links: Child Language Center
At the Scottish Rite – U of A Child Language Center, our interests encompass clinical and educational services to preschool children with speech and language disorders, clinical training of undergraduate and graduate students, and research that will increase our understanding of children with impaired language skills. Programs involve our Wings on Words Preschool, Summer Day Camp, and Community Outreach Preschool Teacher Training Project. Independent study and volunteer opportunities are available in the Fall and Spring semesters as well as during Summer Session I. Training opportunities involve opportunities for students to facilitate the development of speech, language, and literacy of children with and without language impairment in the context of their daily preschool program. In this setting, students are involved in planning and implementing individual, small-group, and classroom activities with all children in the school. Throughout these experiences, students have the opportunity to observe speech-language therapy sessions and help extend therapy gains into the classroom. Wings on Words is also a clinical practicum site for graduate students pursuing their masters in speech-language pathology and audiology. | <urn:uuid:ab6de7a8-6c8a-4e53-a75f-fd3e385a0c3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://slhs.arizona.edu/research | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908224 | 3,970 | 1.765625 | 2 |
12.8: Summary of studying
The category skill must be learned before a sub-skill within the
category may be studied.
Beginning study of any skill costs 100 gold.
Payment of Noble Points may be required to begin learning some advanced
A source of instruction must be available the first time
The skill is taught by the location.
The skill is commonly known, so it may be studied anywhere once its
category skill is known.
The skill was discovered through
research, so it may now be studied.
The skill is taught by a book or a scroll.
- Diminishing returns from multiple studies within a month:
- First week: 7/7
- Second week: 4/7
- Third week: 2/7
- Fourth week: 1/7
- Once a skill is known, further
study of that skill has no effect. | <urn:uuid:36fc81cb-2e96-406b-ae37-5c7eeb27e65a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pbm.com/oly/rules/Summary_of_studying.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930936 | 183 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Brunswick, Maryland is a suburb of Washington D.C. that has a small town feel. It is located along the Potomac River across from Virginia. As you pass through this town, you can look around and see the mountains across the river to the west. However, the most common thing that you will notice is its railroad heritage.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad began operations in 1828 running lines east and west from Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia. In 1833, they needed to find a location to have a rail yard and maintenance shops where they could store and service trains. The location chosen was a place called ‘Berlin’. This brought jobs to the area, and the town, which was later named Brunswick and was incorporated in 1890, began to grow from a very tiny town to an enlarged town making it the second largest town in Frederick County, Maryland.
Today, the shops and the most of the yard are gone, but trains still pass through this town on a regular basis. The train station serves as a commuter station for people going in and out of Washington D.C. You can see much of the railroading heritage throughout the town including murals, businesses, monuments, a park, and a railroad museum displaying many of the town’s artifacts. In the fall, the town has its annual ‘Railroad Days’ to retain the memories of its heritage.
Brunswick is located on the Potomac River across from Virginia. It is south of Frederick and is accessible from U.S 340 between Frederick and Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia via Maryland Route 17 and from U.S. 15 between Frederick and Leesburg, Virginia via Maryland Route 424. You can read more at www.brunswickmainstreet.org.
Jennifer dances on poles and sports lingerie in her new movie.See her hot bod | <urn:uuid:9acbc608-2044-4853-9b8e-f10af39c0e45> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.examiner.com/article/when-railroads-made-history-brunswick-md?cid=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979389 | 386 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Forestry Commission contractors in Cumbria have been working to thin the growth of one of the county’s oldest living trees to help it survive.
The small-leaved lime has been growing in Rainsbarrow Wood, near Ulpha, in the Duddon Valley for between 500 and 700 years – making it older than the Sistine Chapel, the Church of England and it probably would have been around to witness the War of the Roses.
The tree had been pollarded - where upper branches are removed to encourage a dense head of foliage and branches - around seven years ago. Staff at the Forestry Commission took advice from a lime tree expert who recommended that the re-growth should be pruned as there was a danger that the regrowing branches may split the trunk – the oldest part - of the tree.
Nigel Williams, Forestry Commission beat forester, said:
“This tree must be one of oldest in Cumbria and will have been living during many important moments in history. We needed to do some work to the tree in order for it to continue to survive for many more years to come.
“It was advised that we should thin out the re-growth in order to stop branches breaking off and splitting the trunk in the future.
“Because of the age of the tree it is very important for the biodiversity of the wood. Old trees like this contain a lot of dead wood, which are liked by insects. Also a tawny owl roosts in the tree.”
Matt Flynn of local contractors Radiata Specialist Tree Services did the pruning work.
Cumbria is at the most northerly limit for small-leaved lime trees. The small-leaved limes need high summer temperatures in order for their seed to set and it is believed that this tree is one of a few small-leaved lime trees that have survived from a warmer period in history as the Lake District’s temperatures are now too low when the trees flower for them to pollinate. However, this may change in the future with global warming.
The presence of small-leaved lime trees in Cumbria has been shown to accurately mark sites where woodland has existed since prehistoric times.
The Forestry Commission recognised the importance of these trees more than 50 years ago and has used its research knowledge and skills to help preserve them ever since.
More information about the Forestry Commission’s work in Cumbria and the rest of the North West can be found at www.forestry.gov.uk/northwestengland
Notes to editors
The Forestry Commission is the largest provider of countryside recreation in Britain, with responsibility for more than one million hectares (2.4 million acres) of forest, woodlands and open countryside. The North West England Forest District covers the Lake District in Cumbria, the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire. The forests are managed for conservation, wildlife, landscape and recreation as well as providing a valuable source of timber.
Nigel Williams on 01229 862009 or Sarah Bruce on 01229-862011 or 07827 232832. | <urn:uuid:bb23975a-ba83-4ba3-8eea-34aabb7cd8ca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.forestry.gov.uk/newsrele.nsf/WebNewsReleases/B6B2D57B28452C1780257869003A8D29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959053 | 653 | 3.109375 | 3 |
A rediscovered classic, with a literary touch
Do you enjoy screwball comedy movies from the 1930s? Then you’ll love this novel, a lark in almost a literal sense, flying high above the English countryside, taking in the whole parade of human folly with chirping delight and impartial wisdom. So sure-footed a writer was Eric Linklater in his day, that when editor Allen Lane launched Penguin Books in 1935—inventing the cheap quality paperback and revolutionizing the literary trade—Poet’s Pub was among the first books he commissioned.
At the Bacchanalian core of the novel is its good-natured satire on bookselling, book collecting, book reviewing (mea culpa!), and book writing, especially the silliness of the bad poet. In this case, he bears the improbable name of Saturday Keith, that species of mediocre, self-deluding Orpheus who used to go by the name “poetaster.” With flawless chaos, Linklater’s villains mix up the manuscript of Keith’s latest epic poem with a memorandum containing a secret method for extracting fossil fuel. The absolute equivalence of the two documents epitomizes the subtle hilarity of Poet’s Pub.
As with his great contemporaries Wodehouse and Waugh, the humor of Linklater springs uncannily from the catastrophic shadow of the Great War. If you or your dad weren’t blown to bits in the trenches, then you might as well write poems, fall in love and learn to laugh at yourself. If you can’t sell copies of your poems, then you may as well run a pub. If you don’t buy this wonderful novel, you’ll never know what joys you’re missing. | <urn:uuid:88378fb7-624e-475a-b8c4-6ab3f28e7c70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bookpage.com/review/poet's-pub/a-rediscovered-classic-with-a-literary-touch | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919275 | 370 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Guest contributor Amie Bishop is a senior program director at PATH who leads our efforts to address breast cancer.
On World Cancer Day last week, I attended a global summit convened by the new international division of one of the most prominent breast cancer advocacy groups in the United States, Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Yes, the international division. The group’s increased focus on women outside of the United States signals, I believe, a rising call: it’s time for the global health community to do something about breast cancer, a scourge that is perceived—incorrectly—as largely a worry for women in wealthier countries.
The meeting was star-powered, serious, and heart-wrenching. Data and stories from around the world made clear that addressing breast and cervical cancer in low- and middle-income countries is a moral imperative of our time, no less important than the commitment years ago to turn back the epidemic of HIV in hardest-hit countries.
Cancer is the biggest killer
Consider this: cancer today accounts for more deaths worldwide than tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria combined. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women—it will afflict an estimated 9.1 million women in poorer countries over the next decade. Of the 5 million women expected to die from breast cancer in the next decade, 70 percent will live in low- and middle-income countries.
Due to lack of services, poor access to the care that might exist, and scant information about breast health, women in poorer countries are far more likely to progress to advanced disease than women in the United States and Europe. In Uganda, more than half of women with breast cancer are diagnosed with advanced cases. In Kenya, the percentage is nearly all women diagnosed. Late diagnosis vastly reduces their chances of survival. And tragically, the women destined to die often lack access to palliative care, including medication that, for pennies, could relieve their suffering.
Breast cancer’s moment?
This moment in the story of breast cancer resonates with me for a couple of reasons. I was part of PATH’s early work on cervical cancer prevention, and my colleagues and I can now look back with great satisfaction at the remarkable progress that has been made against that disease. I was also involved in PATH’s first breast cancer assistance program, in Ukraine. At that time, many questioned why we should focus precious resources on breast cancer. In fact, our work broke ground in using existing resources to reach women and their medical providers.
Today, PATH is one of a few organizations testing new approaches to breast cancer in low- and middle-income countries. We’re focusing on Peru, bringing breast cancer early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and support services closer to women in their communities. We plan to begin similar work soon in East Africa.
Next: noncommunicable diseases
The world is slowly waking up to the need to address noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, in low- and middle-income countries. The momentum is growing to tackle barriers to diagnosis and care, and there’s broad recognition that the cost of inaction will be staggering.
PATH and others are pushing to identify low-cost approaches for early detection in the absence of mammography. We’re also aiming to develop low-cost methods of diagnosis and tumor evaluation so that treatment can be targeted effectively.
The key will be to integrate strategies and interventions into existing systems, develop strong partnerships within countries and across the world to find out what works, and, most important, to ensure that innovations are sustainable in local communities.
Sounds like an ideal challenge for PATH. | <urn:uuid:0fa6ab51-f898-4c14-9acd-71c79ae3de90> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.path.org/blog/2013/02/breast-cancer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95407 | 744 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The Carolina Channel reports the South Carolina Natural Resources Department has bought two acres at the top of Sassafras Mountain from Duke Energy for $50,000 earlier this month. SC land next to Sassafras’ peak was protected seven years ago in the landmark Jocassee Gorges agreement that protected 32,000 acres. But the top of Sassafras was left out of the $21 million deal. Utility officials said the peak was not included because of surveying questions that have since been cleared up.
There had been several articles recently expressing concern about future of the highpoint and efforts by a developer on the North Carolina side to buy surrounding property. | <urn:uuid:c766323c-5a9e-4007-804f-947fadcc65de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://americasroof.com/archives/270 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977715 | 134 | 1.648438 | 2 |
A different type of internet traffic - violence against women and the internet in Mexico
Tere said the first case was five years ago. A nine-year-old girl who via chat made friends with another girl, both of them crazy for Cowco stickers. One day they planned to meet after school to exchange stampitas. But her new cyber friend didn´t show up, rather she was met by the big brother. Doused with chloroform and kidnapped. Since then the number of cases of trafficking where the first contact is made via internet has increased dramatically. In just the last three months, Tere reports, the Mexico office of the Coalition against Trafficking of Women and Girls in Latin America and the Caribbean (CATWLAC) has received over 300 internet-related complaints.
Tere Ulloa has been a staunch defender of women and girls´rights ever since I met her some 19 years ago in a women´s congress in Mexico City, working with other “defensoras populares” (grassroots defenders) to get the word out to women about their rights. In a recent meeting on the interconnections of the internet with violence against women, convened by Modemmujer, feminist electronic network, and Laneta, ISP for civil society, Tere shared how the Coalition is witness to the steady rise and real danger that internet represents for girls and women in Mexico. “Now they don´t even bother with kidnapping – they tell the girls how to sneak out of their house, how to get a cell phone, they convince them to come directly to them.” Her organisation has found over 650 trafficked women and girls since 2004. Stolen as girls, returning home as women who have worked for years in burdels or on the streets.
The meeting is part of a three-year, 12-country project in Latin America, Africa and Asia to build awareness and skills to stop the increasing incidents of violence against women and girls using ICTs. Modemmujer and Laneta, in collaboration with the Association for Progressive Communications Women´s Programme (APC WNSP) embarked on this journey in 2009 to first understand and surface the interconnections via research. This meeting, a combination of consultation and awareness-raising, brought together several long-established women´s rights organisations who also have years of experience using the internet to dialogue and strategise about solutions.
Telemanita, a feminist video collective, shared how doing video with indigenous women from artisans cooperatives about their production process had collateral effects in the area of VAW. Artisans ranging from basket weavers to artists with embroidery thread helped write the video scripts, learned how to make blogs and found other avenues to commercialise their products via this ICT project. However, their participation made the psychological and physical violence suffered at home more visible and acute. When asked what videos they would like to do next, the result was overwhelming – the women wanted to talk about and document the violence they experience at home and in their communities. They want others to know what is going on, and they want to communicate to their families and communities that this is wrong. Alejandra Novoa from Telemanita was not certain that such videos would ever be public – and certainly it would be up to the women producers themselves to decide – but it was clear that the women were keen to focus on violence. Perhaps, Alejandra speculated, because the women felt the process of making such a video could be as liberating and empowering to fight against VAW as their first videos were to validate their artisan history and skills.
Norma Alegre from Modemmujer presented how ciberbullying is on the rise in Mexican schools, facilitated by such spaces as lajaula.net, a social networking site where any student can log on and go to their school´s space to discover the latest hot gossip about classmates. Virtually every school in Mexico City, not to mention outlying states, has a space on the site. Embarrassing photos, demeaning comments, anything is fair game. Teasing and torment don´t stop at the school yard anymore. Modemmujer developed a multimedia educational module on cyberbullying to help kids identify the problem and seek solutions.
Tere pointed out that sexting messages – cell phone multimedia messages with sexually explicit images and/or text – meant perhaps for one´s boyfriend´s eyes only, sear through schools via cell phone and social networking sites and by the next day or the same afternoon the whole school knows what you said or sent. “It´s resulted in suicides,” she affirms. Yet there are no statistics to tell us how prevalent this is. Just the overwhelming popularity of spaces like lajaula.net. Girls and boys are not just contributing to bullying, they are uploading their own porn. In Metroflog, Tere points out, girls get popularity points if they upload shots of their genitals.
After this consultation, the next step of the Take Back the Tech! To End Violence against Women and Girls project is to meet with decision-makers at different levels – for example within the school systems, or at the preventative level – to galvanise increased action without knee-jerk *RE*actions to limit civil liberties and internet access, especially as internet is not the villain but the medium.
Laws that do exist are inadequate, even in the case of trafficking, where Mexico has signed the Convention on Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons. Prosecution is difficult, and traffickers know where vulnerabilities lie. According to Tere, another weapon in their arsenal is the art of seduction. “There are girls that we have rescued who tell us that they ‘still love’ their captors – which makes bringing legal charges more difficult because of the laws of consent.” Even in those cases where the girls were kidnapped at the age of 8 or 9, in order to get the prized and high-priced first penetration “sale”. | <urn:uuid:1f41629e-ce6e-4e2a-b38d-2da2d73254b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.apc.org/fr/node/10435 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964423 | 1,254 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Sniffer Dogs For Explosive Detection And Security
Sniffer dogs are used in many different capacities and at a variety of events. Explosive detection dogs can be used to secure buildings and to check vehicles while mobile dog patrols can act both as a deterrent and as accompaniment for a lock and unlock key holding service. Sniffer dogs are regularly employed at major events like concerts and exhibitions as well as to patrol buildings like museums and even government buildings.
Trained Dog Teams
Sniffer dogs and other dog teams need to be properly and thoroughly trained, but so too do the handlers. Dogs and humans work in tandem with one another to provide the necessary level of security and so it is important that both parties have the latest training so that they offer the best possible service whether as explosive detection dogs or mobile patrol teams.
Mobile Dog Patrols
Mobile dog patrols serve as a deterrent as well as security.Randomly timed patrols cansecure the inside and outside of a property and the patrol team can also be responsible for the locking or unlocking of property. Lock and unlock services can usually be left responsible for the switching off of machinery and electrical equipment, patrolling the building and grounds, and then securely looking after the key for the building.
Explosive Detection Dogs
Explosive detection dogs are a highly effective tool in the fight against explosives and the people that attempt to use them. The dogs can patrol vehicles or groups of people in order to detect even the smallest explosive devices and explosive detection dogs can be employed in transport buildings, government buildings, and at sporting events and any event with a large crowd of people.
Sniffer dogs are intelligent and well trained.
Their handlers must also have had extensive training in order to ensure the best possible results and assuming that this is the case then handler and dog can be used to police events, patrol buildings or locations, and to detect explosives and other devices. They work well in isolation, in large groups, and even with the added pressure of large groups of people.
Sniffer dogs are possibly the best weapon the police have in their arsenal when it comes to the war on drugs.
They are an unstoppable creature that has no weakness, a beast that never makes mistakes and above all they are out to get YOU!
Well…. not quite, in fact quite the opposite.
Sniffer dogs are simply an animal that has the equivalent to O.C.D or A.D.D. so realistically we’ve all been scared of an animal that has a defective brain and are quite easy to get past if you know how.
What makes a sniffer dog different to a normal dog?
The way a sniffer dog is selected is the trainer will look for a dog with what they call a “ball reflex” (try not to giggle children).
Have you ever seen one of those dogs that whenever it sees a ball or its favourite toy it seems to go nuts, bark, yap, jump around, piss on the floor and then finally when you do throw the ball it BOUNDS across the room so fast it misses the ball and slams face first into the nearest hard object, later resuming consciousness only to see the ball and then starts the whole cycle again?
…yeah that’s the “beast” you’re up against.
Keeping in mind that this dog is actually mentally defective, confusing them suddenly becomes a lesser feat.
How do sniffer dogs work?
The best defence against sniffer dogs is KNOWLEDGE.
The way a sniffer dog trainer teaches a sniffer dog is by taking its toy, making it smell like the drug they want it to be able to find, let the dog smell it until it triggers it’s “ball reflex”, they then hide the ball while the dog can’t see, and then let the dog sniff it out.
A dog will continue to look for this ball while it’s in this frenzy until either it finds the ball or it is distracted by something.
It’s our job to either HIDE that “ball smell” so it can’t be found or distracts the dog so it loses interest in its “ball”.
So how do I distract the dog?
The best way to distract the dog is to introduce another animal, prey, or food.
The aim is to stop it from going into its “ball reflex”.
Quite often if a police officer pulls you up next to a road kill, they will instruct you to move up to 100m up the road so that a sniffer dog won’t be distracted by it.
You can replicate this and even go so far as make it IMPOSSIBLE for the dog to concentrate on finding his “ball” by carrying an animal in the car whenever you carry weed in it.
The only problem with live animals is that they may be removed from the car.
All you really need is the smell of the animal.
This can be replicated by use of hunting lure smells these are made to smell like foxes, rabbits, deer and other game.
Although if you do use these sprays MAKE SURE YOU SPRAY THE WHOLE VEHICLE!
If you only spray one spot the dog will make a response which will be identical to its ball reaction and will give the officer reason to search your car.
How do I hide the smell?
Even though you should always try and distract the dog you should still try and hide your cargo.
First and foremost I’d like to clear up a few things.
Masking the odour with:
- Coffee grinds DOESN’T WORK
- Pepper DOESN’T WORK
- Curry DOESN’T WORK!
As a matter of fact, nothing is out there that can mask the odour of drugs well enough to trick a sniffer dog.
To explain this I must first explain how a dogs scent works.
Imagine a pot of soup.
We look at it and we see carrots, peas, potato, onion, cut herbs…etc.
But we only smell… SOUP.
The reason for this is because our site is so evolved we don’t need a keen sense of smell.
This is the exact opposite for dogs.
They can SMELL carrots, peas, potato, onion, cut herbs…etc
But they only SEE SOUP.
So even if you have a bag of weed inside of a bag of coffee and then taped shut the dog will smell plastic bags, coffee, and WEED (“it’s ball”) and alert the police.
The only way you can hide weed so that a dog won’t be able to find it, is to wear gloves when you handle weed, and place it into a container that has never touched weed or anything else that has touched weed.
Also, try to put as much space as possible between the drug and the dog, so hide things in the centre of the car.
If you hide weed this way, you should know that no matter how thick the container or what material it’s made from, it the smell will eventually permeate thru the container strong enough for the dog to be able to smell it. So make sure you pack it right before you leave and try to get to your destination as quickly as possible.
How can the dog smell thru a sealed bag/container?
A scent is really a trail of microscopic particles that cling to certain things, and travel threw the air.
These particles are so small that given enough time they can travel thru ANY substance or container.
The smell particles will also stick to just about anything and take a long time to either be removed or dissipate. So if any part of the outside of the bag touches the weed or anything else that has touched weed, the dog will be able to smell it very easily.
What about airport/mail room dogs?
Air port dogs and mail room dogs are VERY hard to get around mainly because you aren’t there to control the situation in mail rooms and in airports the drugs normally have been in their containers for too long and the smell will permeate threw it.
You only have one way to combat the dogs in this situation… LUCK
Only 5-10% of national mail in ANY country is ever inspected.
Only 35-70% on international mail is scanned.
Unfortunately I have no experience in airport security so I cannot give you the percentages on security checks, but I can tell you one thing.
They are still random, and not all people get searched.
I do know however that carry-on luggage is inspected more regularly then checked luggage, so if you do decide to play Russian roulette with the dogs at least pack it in the ways I’ve told you, DO NOT USE ANY FORM OF ANIMAL SCENTS, and above all… don’t try it too often. | <urn:uuid:0d959593-5c94-4a12-81a5-bb6f493c52a3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ktrmurali.wordpress.com/tag/dog/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952464 | 1,858 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Monday, September 25, 2006
Terrorism motivated Edwin Black to write about oil
The author discusses why a powerful American company continues to play a pivotal role in keeping the U.S. dependent on oil.
The author explains what motivated his new book on the history of the commercial exploitation of energy, and why a powerful American company continues to play a pivotal role in keeping the U.S. dependent on oil.
Author Edwin Black writes difficult books on painful subjects: American companies' collaboration with Nazis during the Holocaust, how "undesirable" people were sterilized for pseudo-scientific social engineering, Iraq, and how the future of energy and how the development of electric transit was thwarted by criminal conspiracies between automakers and corrupt politicians.
Black began his current tour in support of his new book, Internal Combustion, in South Florida, with several days of seminars and events at Nova Southeastern University and Florida Atlantic University in mid-September.
His 2001 blockbuster, IBM and the Holocaust, was sparked in 1993, when Black, son of Holocaust survivors, wondered why an IBM card-sorting machine was on display at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. The resulting book contained shocking revelations about the company's long-term collaboration with Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. The U.S. firm's machines made the German government's census possible. It also made the imprisonment and extermination of millions of Jews and other religious, ethnic, social and political minorities in Europe chillingly efficient.
His new book, an exposť of the confluence of corrupt forces that killed the growth of nonfossil transportation fuels, the trolley system and what is now called "alternative energy," is presented in the context of history stretching over a millennium, back when wood was man's primary fuel and horses were the main form of conveyance.
Miami Herald Business Books columnist Richard Pachter interviewed Black, who lives in Washington, D.C., during a short break in the author's South Florida appearances.
Q: Internal Combustion begins with the scene of the devastating fire on the eve of Thomas Alva Edison's and Henry Ford's announcement of their electric car project. It essentially killed their plans. You did not say who started the fire, though you seemed to imply it was not an accident and its circumstances were suspicious. Can you speculate who did it?
A: The sabotage and mysterious fire will never be explained. There are those who saw what Edison was doing as the end of internal combustion.
Q: Did it pain you to say nice things about Henry Ford, one of the most virulent anti-Semites in history, in light of your earlier work and the fact that you're the child of Holocaust survivors?
A: The Henry Ford I wrote about was a brilliant man in the decade before he became the greatest anti-Semite in the history of the United States.
Q: Automaker GM plays quite a role in this book, too.
A: General Motors is probably the most unpatriotic and destructive automotive company in the history of this country. They've done more to adversely affect our transportation than any other company. They continue to hurt this country and, most of all, General Motors went into a staunch alliance with Adolf Hitler that I'll soon be writing a great deal about. We must never forget that the blitzkrieg [was conducted] in a Blitz truck (from GM's Opel division). Alfred Sloan (GM's president) was so antagonistic to this country because of FDR and the New Deal; he sponsored unrest, social obstruction, tried to prolong The Depression while doing everything he could to enhance, strengthen and resurrect the German economy. He himself said that that's what he was doing.
Q: The introductions of all your books admonish prospective buyers that unless they're willing to read every word -- in order, without skimming or skipping around -- they should walk away. Why can't I just skim through your new book?
A: It's not an encyclopedia. It's not a travel guide. I'm providing a context and without it, it's easy to misconstrue, exaggerate and twist what I say. And there's even more background material on the website, www.InternalCombustionBook.com.
Q: Your previous books emerged from your life, but where did this come from? How did you decide to do this?
A: Terrorism. The next strike will push us over the brink.
Q: During your last tour, in support of Banking On Baghdad, I asked what you were working on next, but you refused to go on the record. Will you tell me now what your plans are after this, and what your next book will be about?
A: I'm going to rest and regroup a bit -- at least that's my intention, though you never know. But as I told you then, whenever anyone asks about my next project, I always say, "It's a secret." | <urn:uuid:960ce1db-fe80-4628-9e1e-3343010e16fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.internalcombustionbook.com/archive/offsite/miamiherald/miamiherald09252006.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965906 | 1,020 | 2 | 2 |
New! You can now check online to see if the breeder, rescue, or other dog seller you're working with is licensed. Please note that breeders selling fewer than 25 dogs from less than four litters do not need to be licensed, and will not be listed.
Protecting consumers is part of the reason for Wisconsin’s law requiring licensing and inspection for many dog breeders and others who sell dogs or offer them for adoption for a fee.
Your protections as a consumer
Licensing and inspecting the facilities where puppies, rescue dogs, and other dogs offered to consumers helps ensure that pet dogs will arrive in their new homes healthy and well-socialized to people and other animals. Make sure of the following for your own protection and that of your new puppy:
- Puppies may not be sold without their mothers until they are at least 7 weeks old. Again, this helps ensure that the puppy will be healthy and well-adjusted.
- Dogs must be examined by a veterinarian before they are sold or adopted for a fee, and must come with a health certificate, also called a certificate of veterinary inspection or CVI. This document is a declaration that the dog is apparently healthy and free of communicable diseases, and is properly vaccinated (dogs 5 months and older must be vaccinated for rabies).
- Please note that the certificate of veterinary inspection is not a warranty. It only tells you about the dog’s health status when you adopt it. If the dog becomes ill or develops health problems after you bring it home, or if its behavior is unacceptable, we cannot help you under this law. You should ask the seller for a written health guarantee that specifies your options for return or exchange in such a case. (This is not likely to be a reasonable expectation when you adopt a dog from a shelter or a rescue operation.)
Your responsibilities as a consumer
- Do your homework before bringing a dog into your home. Know whether you are a good candidate for dog ownership and what kind of dog will fit best into your and your family’s life.
- Look for the seller’s license from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (not the U.S. Department of Agriculture). Their current license should be posted at the place of business. If you’re buying from a breeder who sells fewer than 25 dogs a year, he/she is not required to be licensed under this program.
- Get it in writing – what happens if you’re not satisfied with the dog? There is no protection in Wisconsin law for you once you take the dog home. You should get a written health guarantee that spells out your options for return or exchange if the dog becomes ill or is otherwise unsatisfactory.
- Don’t reward bad behavior. If you see dogs in miserable conditions, you may feel compelled to get them out of those conditions. But you are only giving money to someone who will continue to abuse and neglect more animals. Instead, report those conditions to us (608-224-4888, email@example.com) and to local law enforcement.
Wisconsin’s new dog seller law: Protecting dogs and people (2 page PDF)
There has been some confusion about Wisconsin’s new law, and this flyer sets the record straight.
We help you do your research before you decide to get a dog, and about what kind of dog is best for you.
Keeping Your Adopted Pet Healthy (brochure)
The American Veterinary Medical Association explains how to give your shelter or rescue pet the best chance for a healthy, happy life. | <urn:uuid:cf623fe4-040c-4613-8e24-c07a478c7aea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://datcp.wi.gov/Animals/Dog_Seller_and_Shelters/Information_for_Consumers/index.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9373 | 746 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Sylvia Allegretto: In recent expansions post-recession income gains have taken longer to materialize and given the enormity of the Great Recession it may be years before we see any improvement.
There’s been another informed and intelligent decision by the Obama administration. In August 2008, in an LA Progressive article entitled “Census Nonsense,” which decried the Bush administration’s move to exclude legally married same-sex couples from being counted as married couples during upcoming the 2010 census, I wrote, “…to capsulize the situation, as it stands now, [...]
Schools in the United States have historically reflected the classification of students’ race and ethnicity based on the categories utilized by the federal government. Those classifications have been set in many different ways over the years as demographic changes have occurred and people’s nomenclature for themselves or their group(s) have been updated by the U. [...]
Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported that analysts across the country have been worried that the economic crisis has fueled an increase in hate groups and racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric. With its large immigrant population and current economic woes, California is in the belly of the beast. Yet, while many restrictionists and anti-immigrant groups are [...] | <urn:uuid:5a06f95b-c7c7-4543-97d7-e77f6450cdc6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.laprogressive.com/tag/u-s-census-bureau/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961972 | 265 | 1.726563 | 2 |
In the last week, our finance minister has announced that there may be no subsidy for the diesel prices for cars. It is one of the news among many news which is coming on its way about the fuel prices in India. Especially in India, fixing the fuel prices is one of the daunting task for the government. Indian govt. gives explanation to the common man for the reason of price hikes which can be understand only by the experts.
There are numerous things involved in the fuel prices, one of the important reason why the crisis comes in India is political influence on the issue. The intention of this article is to explain in the simple terms to understand the jargon used in the oil industry and how the Indian govt. decides the oil prices. If you have any thoughts, please post it in the comments section. Subscribe to our future articles here.
What is Crude Oil?
Crude oil is a naturally occurring liquid composed mostly of hydrogen and carbon. We don’t need any scientific explanation of the term. As we know, in day-to-day life everything revolves around the crude oil and its availability. It is the most valuable commodity in the planet then diamond or gold. If a country has the oil reservoir (the place where oil can be found), then its economy will be in the growth because every country needs the oil. It is the main reason why all the Arabian countries are very rich. There will be lot of geopolitics around it if a country has the oil reservoir. You would have understood the reason why America has captured the Iraq from Saddam Hussein.
What we are using in our life as Petroleum, Diesel,etc. as the end products of the crude oil. A company needs to invest billions of dollar to drill the earth and explore the oil sands. The process is called as Upstream in the oil industry. Once they found the oil sands, they have to take the crude oil and send it to the refineries which needs to extract the specific usable products like Diesel. In India, Reliance Industries has the world class refineries which can extract the any kind of crude oil. The quality of the crude oil can be very based on the geographical location. Not all the refineries can extract from all type of crude oil. Once the products are extracted, it will be sent to the outlets for distribution. This process is called as Downstream in the oil industry.
In the companies perspective, upstream business are more profitable then the downstream. The reason is, once you have the crude oil, it can be sold to any refinery in the world for the extraction. There is no extra expenses for the company. The price of the crude oil is same across the world and denominated in the dollar. The quantity of the crude oil is indicated in the barrels. For example, today’s price of one barrel of crude oil is $86. One barrel equals to 159 liter.
Subsidy for Oil Prices in India
Oil is one of the important product for the people in every country. The transportation and business heavily depend on the oil. It is obvious that any increase in the oil price would directly hit the common man and it will shoot up the inflation to higher level. To avoid that situation, countries normally try to reduce the oil price by giving the subsidy to the oil companies. For example, if a diesel price is Rs.55 per liter, in the market it is sold for Rs.40. In that case govt. needs to pay Rs.15 for every liter sold by the companies. Note that this subsidy is applicable for only the govt. companies (Public Sector Undertakings – PSUs).
In the above section, I have explained about the crude oil prices which is traded in the global market. Think about the situation when the crude oil prices are increased above $110 per barrel which is not the normal condition. In this case, govt. has to shell out the large amount to the companies. It will cause the unexpected loss to the govt. and will lead to the deficit in budget.In this quarter, govt. has to give 150 billion rupees ($3.4 billion) subsidy to the oil companies.
It is the one excuse our govt. is saying to please the people and increase the oil prices. But, there are lot of politics around the issues and many countries are giving the oil cheaper then Indian with subsidy. I need not explain the political conditions, the amount of corruption happening in India and no money for subsidy.
Why the non-govt. companies are not successful in the oil business?
In the above section I have indicated that only govt. companies will get the subsidy. Non govt. companies like Reliance, Shell (UK company) and Essar are running the oil outlets with the huge loss. Shell, which is planning to close oil distribution (downstream) business Indian because it can not get any profit. As we know that companies like Essar and Reliance has closed most of their outlets because of the loss.
Why they are meeting the loss?. Take example of Reliance, it is an integrated company which explore the crude oil then send to its own refinery and distribute it. If the crude oil price is say $120 per barrel, it can easily got more profit then selling it in the outlets. They will have to sell it for lower price then the actual cost of the end products. I hope now you would have understood why only govt. companies are in the oil business.
What is deregulation of Oil Prices in India?
It is said that the oil prices of India is regulated by the govt. of India. The companies can not sell it on the market price. The lost amount will be paid by govt. to the govt. companies as the subsidy. In the recent times, Indian govt. is running out of money and have no clue on how to manage the huge amount needs for the subsidy. The only solution for this problem is to slowly move the process of setting the oil prices by companies itself. Govt. will not involve on the prices. Companies will be given the authority to rise the price when ever they want. This process is known as the deregulation of oil prices.
As of now, petrol is the only product deregulated. Every fortnight, all the oil companies will meet and revise the prices based on the market situation. The darkest truth is that, this will not be suitable for India because in India most of the people are poor and they can not tolerate the high inflation. In the coming days, there is a proposal to deregulate the prices of Diesel and Cooking gas. If it happens, cooking gas price will be Rs.800 per cylinder.
Central and State taxes on Oil distribution
You would be surprise the amount of charges levied on the petroleum and diesel products. The following is the break down of the taxes levied from the oil companies:
- Excise duty : 14.35 rupees per liter
- Customs duty : 7.5 percent
- Sales tax or VAT : 20 percent.
You can read the details in govt. site.
If they want to reduce the fuel prices and contain the inflation, the first step would be to reduce the taxes on the fuel products.
World Economy and Crude Oil Prices
Crude Oil price plays major role in the global economy. It is good to maintain the crude oil price in the reasonable level. When the crude oil price in$85 – $95 is not an issue. If it is increasing above $100 then it will create the inflation problems within countries. Also, if it reaches the higher limit like $140 and above, it will lead to the recession. When economy is recovering and in the growth path, the demand for crude oil price is more. Then price will start increase. If the economy is slowing down, the crude oil price will come down.
Crude oil has the inverse relation with gold prices. Gold is mostly considered as the safe heaven to park the money and keep reserve. When crude oil prices goes down, gold prices will go up. In most of the times, crude oil and dollar would move in the same direction.
The above sections summarized the details on how the crude oil is taken and marketed by the companies. Then I have explained the fuel price issues in India and how the Indian govt. is handling the issue. The main purpose of the post is to educate the readers to understanding the pricing of oil products. Govt. is not making the loss on subsidy of oils, then what about the huge taxes they levied. Instead they give subsidy, it would be good idea to reduce the taxes and make the Indian people happy. The steep hike in the fuel prices erode the earnings of common man. If you like this article, please share with your friends.
Subscribe to our future articles here. | <urn:uuid:78abb5df-083c-458d-97f3-1253ea93fd2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thinkplaninvest.com/2011/08/why-the-oil-price-crisis-in-india/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960978 | 1,805 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved two bills that will significantly hinder the ability of foreign governments and organizations to influence Israeli politics.
The first bill passed by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation puts an NIS 20,000 (approx. $5,500) annual limit on the amount of foreign donations that can be received by an Israeli NGO that seeks to influence Israeli government policy.
The second bill then slaps a 45 percent tax on any of those donations that came from foreign governments. NGOs that also receive direct funding from the Israeli government - such as educational or social welfare organizations - will remain tax-exempt.
The bills were hotly debated both in the cabinet and by the Israeli public.
Opponents of the bills, including six government mininsters, argued that they were detrimental to the democratic nature of the Jewish State, and could be perceived as discrimination against certain sectors of society.
Proponents argued that the bills do not target any particular sector of society - all NGOs will be subject to the new rules - and that they are perfectly in line with similar laws in other Western democracies.
For instance, the American Foreign Agent Registration Act requires NGOs supported by foreign funds to register as "foreign agents" and to make public their relationship to their foreign donors. It is also prohibited for foreign governments and organizations to contribute financially to the election campaigns of American officials.
Still, many in Israel argued that the Netanyahu government had gone a step too far by cutting off the foreign money lifeline of many NGOs, a move they insisted would limit free speech.
But do foreign governments have a right to free speech within the political framework of a sovereign nation?
Writing for the popular conservative blog Volokh Conspiracy, David Bernstein responded to European pressure that Netanyahu shelf the NGO bills:
"So the idea here, obviously is that a 'democratic' country must allow foreign governments, who represent foreign citizens and not Israelis, to interfere in its domestic politics by supporting organizations that range from the fringe left to beyond the fringe left. ...Imagine if Israel was funneling millions of Euros annually to Basque separatists in Spain, Flemish nationalists in Belgium, or to one of numerous neo-fascist fronts in Norway and France. I have a very strong feeling that the EU’s views of what 'democratic' countries must tolerate from foreign governments would change rather quickly."
The NGOs that are likely to be most affected by these new bills are left-wing organizations that receive much of their funding from the European Union, often from the governing body itself. It is telling that these NGOs are often unable to raise significant funds among the Israeli public. | <urn:uuid:7cc2c0f8-e5f4-4009-bf58-03900ef19757> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23014/Default.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96778 | 529 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Despite an abundance of the resource, water management is a vital issue in Canada, as in New Mexico. As a result, there is significant Canadian expertise in this sector. EPCOR USA, an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Edmonton, Alberta-based EPCOR Utilities Inc., builds, owns and operates water and wastewater treatment facilities and infrastructure in the American Southwest. EPCOR is the owner of regulated utilities providing water and wastewater services in the city of Clovis, as well as the greater Edgewood area near Albuquerque, serving more than 17,000 customers and employing 25 local residents.
To speed entry for solar panel manufacturers into the North American and international markets, the CFV Solar Test Laboratory opened in Albuquerque, New Mexico in April 2011, offering worldwide certification services from one location. CFV is a photovoltaic (PV) certification test company jointly owned by Canadian standards’ certifier CSA Group, the VDE Testing and Certification Institute, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) and Fraunhofer USA Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE).
Representing a total initial investment of $5 million, the laboratory offers complete certification and non-certification testing services for PV technologies not readily available at other test locations, including flat panel, thin film and concentrating PV (CPV) testing. The facility will help manufacturers to enter the market more rapidly and at lower cost, as the laboratory can simultaneously certify solar panels for use in multiple countries, ensuring the satifaction of unique regulatory standards for each respective country.
Consulate General of Canada
500 N. Akard Street, Suite 2900 • Dallas, TX 75201
Phone: (214) 922-9806 • Fax: (214) 922-9815
Consulate of Canada
5847 San Felipe Street, Suite 1700 • Houston, TX 77057
Phone: (713) 821-1440 • Fax: (713) 821-1611
Unless otherwise mentioned, all figures are based on 2011 data in U.S. dollars (US$1.00=C$0.9891). Statistics Canada: tourism, based on combined same-day and overnight travel (5/2012 release); goods & services trade (2/2012 release). World Institute for Strategic Economic Research (WISER): Canada’s export ranking (2/2012 release). U.S. Census Bureau: trade (2/2012 release). Services trade data not available at a sub-national level. Figures may not add up due to rounding. Produced by the Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C.
* Job numbers from trade (2010 data) and Canadian-owned businesses (2009 data) are from a 2012 study commissioned by the Government of Canada | <urn:uuid:524b32a8-2d52-452c-b2f6-6fe18280c4e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/boston/commerce_canada/fact_sheets-fiches_documentaires/nm.aspx?view=d | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902195 | 574 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Drug Treatment of ADHD
Drug therapy is an important component of treating ADHD. There are many types of medications that can be used to control ADHD symptoms.
These drugs are available in short-acting (immediate-release), intermediate-acting, and long-acting forms. It may take some time for a physician to find the best medication, dosage, and schedule for someone with ADHD.
Stimulants for ADHD
A class of drugs called psychostimulants or stimulants have been used to effectively treat ADHD for decades. These drugs increase attention and by helping users to focus their thoughts and ignore distractions. They may also decrease hyperactivity and impulsivity. Stimulant medications are effective in 70% to 80% of patients.
Some experts consider stimulants the first line of treatment for ADHD in children and adolescents. Some stimulants are approved for use in children over 3, while others are approved for children over 6 years of age.
Stimulant drugs approved to treat ADHD include:
Note that only some of these stimulants -- like Adderall XR, Concerta, Vyvanse, and Focalin XR -- are FDA-approved for adults.
Nonstimulant Drugs Approved to Treat ADHD
In cases where stimulants don't work or cause unpleasant side effects, nonstimulants might help. The first nonstimulant medication approved by the FDA was Strattera. It's now used in children, adolescents, and adults. The FDA approved a second nonstimulant drug, Intuniv, for children and teens between ages 6 and 17. Both medications improve concentration and impulse control. Catapres or Tenex are also used in people with ADHD.
Other Drugs to Treat ADHD
When stimulants and nonstimulants aren't effective or well-tolerated, several other drugs are available to treat ADHD. These medications include:
Side Effects of ADHD Drugs
ADHD drugs sometimes have side effects, but these tend to happen early in treatment and are usually mild and short-lived. The most common side effects of ADHD drugs include:
Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox FREE! | <urn:uuid:ba75d51b-85bd-4923-925f-8785574323b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=41895 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927684 | 446 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Two days in spring and autumn, and one at Christmas, during vacation, in which pleadings may be filed. This custom was established in 1690, for the purpose of expediting business. Each judge has a private box with a slit, into which informations may be placed on box days, and the judge, who alone has the key, examines the papers in private.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
More on Box Days from Fact Monster: | <urn:uuid:81f833d8-9180-4b2c-b8b7-3c482b93cc26> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.factmonster.com/dictionary/brewers/box-days.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961835 | 104 | 1.953125 | 2 |
Tomorrow, the Catalogue of Life, a database that lists 1.2 million of the estimated 1.8 million named species, kicks off a new phase designed to broaden its reach but not necessarily complete its species list. At a meeting in Reading, U.K., representatives from 38 institutions will decide the best way to make 4D4Life—short for “distributed dynamic diversity databases for life”—a reality.
The goal of the Catalogue of Life, launched in 2001, was to provide validated scientific names, synonyms, and common names from the world’s flora and fauna. (Anolis carolinensis, pictured, is one.)
It compiles its list from 60 more specialized databases and boasts of 40 million hits per year. It also distributes a species list on a CD-ROM to 80 countries.
It had hoped to finish the list by 2011, but that might not happen, says 4D4Life Coordinator Frank Bisby from the University of Reading. Instead, the new focus will be on improving the utility of the database and incorporating other taxonomic catalogs.
Over the next 3 years, with €3.3 million from the European Commission and the equivalent of about €8.7 million from other sources, including China, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, 4D4Life will link up with regional databases around the world that will compile local species lists and forward them on to the Catalogue of Life. In addition, Bisby expects to make the database more easily downloadable and more receptive to queries, such as requests for all the common names for a species. Right now, the catalog has yearly updates, but soon it will be updated more frequently, with new entries flagged. “As seen by the user, the Catalogue of Life will continue to be boring and dry, but it’s essential,” Bisby notes, as it provides the backbone for other key biodiversity databases such as the Encyclopedia of Life, and has about 40,000 serious users. | <urn:uuid:8192d13c-6556-484f-8d90-133aafc6443f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/turbocharging-a.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92957 | 415 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Prozac Side Effects
Have you or a loved one been prescribed the popular antidepressant Prozac? Have you experienced Prozac side effects? The experienced Prozac attorneys at Frank M Eidson can help. We can help you obtain fair compensation for your suffering.
Prozac (fluoxetine hydrochloride) is a prescription medication used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) bulimia nervosa, and panic disorder. Prozac is made by Eli Lilly and Company and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1987.
Since its release, studies have linked Prozac to several serious side effects. Although still available on the market, the FDA has issued three alerts warning of potential Prozac dangers. Prozac use may cause serotonin syndrome, persistent pulmonary hypertension in newborns (PPHN), and may incidence of depression and suicide.
If you or a loved one have experienced any dangerous symptoms or unusual medical conditions related to Prozac use, you should first contact your doctor or other healthcare professional. You may also wish to meet with an experienced Prozac lawyer to discuss your legal options.
To speak with our Prozac attorneys, contact us today. Schedule a free consultation.
Prozac Health Risks and Side Effects
Since October of 2004, the FDA has issued three separate alerts regarding possible Prozac side effects.
In 2006, the FDA issued an alert stating that a life-threatening condition called serotonin syndrome can occur when medicines called Serotonin and Noreponeprine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs, such as Prozac) and migraine headache medicines known as 5-hydroxtryptamine receptor agonists (triptans), are taken together.
Serotonin syndrome may be more likely to occur when starting or increasing the dose of an SNRI or a triptan. If you take migraine medicines, ask your healthcare professional if your medicine is a triptan.
Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension in Newborns
Also in 2006, an FDA alert announced the results of a study linking the use of antidepressant medicines like Prozac during pregnancy to babies born with a serious condition called persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN).
Babies born with PPHN have abnormal blood flow through the heart and lungs, and do not get enough oxygen to their bodies. Babies with PPHN can become very sick, even die. Results from the study also showed that babies born to mothers who took SSRIs 20 weeks or later into their pregnancies were six times more likely to develop PPHN than babies born to mothers who did not take antidepressants during pregnancy.
Increased Risk of Suicide
In October of 2004, the FDA issued a public health advisory directing all antidepressant drug manufacturers to revise their product labeling to include boxed warning and expanded warning statements that alert healthcare provides to an increased risk of suicidality. Since the alert, Prozac has carried a black box warning.
In 2005, the FDA announced that several scientific publications suggested the possibility of an increased risk for suicidal behavior in adults being treated with antidepressant medications, including Prozac. The FDA advised that all Prozac patients should be watched closely for worsening depression.
Other Prozac Side Effects
Other side effects associated with Prozac use include nausea, difficulty sleeping, anxiety, nervousness, and sleepiness.
As a consumer and a patient, you have the right to trust your medication is safe. This though is not always the case. When a pharmaceutical company acts negligently, its actions can result in serious side effects. Victims however, may recoup damages with a successful product liability claim against the drug’s maker.
Well versed in the product liability laws that protect consumers, our Prozac lawyers have handled countless lawsuits involving harmful pharmaceuticals. If you’ve experienced Prozac side effects, contact us today and discuss your potential Prozac lawsuit with an experienced attorney. | <urn:uuid:4f4d9dc2-5799-4c90-9290-50abbaea758c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://frankeidson.com/areas-of-practice/defective-drugs/prozac/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945386 | 799 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Esta Freedman’s mother left Poland for Ellis Island at 17. Esta’s father worked in the gold mines of South Africa as a teenager. He stowed away on a US-bound ship, but gambled away his nest egg before it docked.
Esta was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1913. She and her 4 siblings shared a room. At 17, she left home for New York.
A chance meeting in the subway led to a meeting with Bernie Burroughs, an illustrator. They hit it off. Soon they eloped. They lived in Greenwich Village, then Neptune, N.J. In 1946 their son Miggs was born.
Bernie’s artist friends were moving to Connecticut. The Burroughses followed: to Stamford in 1948, then Westport in 1950 when their 2nd son Tracy was born.
Bernie and Esta quickly joined the local artists and writers’ circle, making friends with the likes of Howard Munce, Tracy Sugarman, Max Shulman, Evan Hunter, John G. Fuller and their families.
Bernie played poker; Esta, bridge. They entertained often, and went to parties. At some, couples put car keys in a bowl, and drove home with the owner of whichever set they pulled out. Esta says she and Bernie always left before that happened.
She wrote articles for local newsletters. Then she met Sidney and Esther Kramer. They were opening a bookstore, called Remarkable — the name included “Kramer” spelled backwards — and asked her to join them.
Esta stayed in the iconic pink building on Main Street — working in the warren of rooms, loving the tall stacks of books, sloping floors and comfy chairs — until the day it closed.
She also partnered with Pat Fay — running tag sales as “Those 2 Girls” — but her Remarkable work really defined Esta Burroughs for generations of Westporters.
She waited on Paul Newman, Liz Taylor, Bette Davis, Keir Dullea, Christopher Plummer and Patty Hearst. She also massaged the egos of many local authors, who visited constantly to check on sales of their books.
An avid reader, Esta enjoyed meeting writers. The opportunity to read any title was a great perk — and a huge advantage for customers. They asked countless questions about books. She answered them all.
After Remarkable closed, Esta worked at the Save the Children Gift Shop. Until recently she volunteered at the Westport Historical Society.
Today, Esta Burroughs turns 100. The Remarkable Book Shop is long gone. So are Paul Newman, Bette Davis — and key parties.
But Esta remembers them all, quite clearly. Those memories are all part of her 6 decades in Westport — and her much-loved, seldom-acknowledged contributions to our town.
(More Burroughs news! Tomorrow — Saturday, March 16, 2 p.m. — Esta’s son Miggs will sign copies of his book, The What If? Book of Questions — at Barnes & Noble. It’s a benefit for the Coleytown Middle School Book Fair.) | <urn:uuid:204a3e28-f751-4bfd-83d1-cf0959aaf7a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://06880danwoog.com/2013/03/15/esta-burroughs-100-years-young/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956402 | 664 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Trend in twelfth-grade average NAEP reading scores, by gender
* Significantly different from 2005.
NOTE: Score gaps are calculated based on differences between unrounded average scores. View complete data with standard errors for grade 12.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), various years, 1992–2005 Reading Assessments. | <urn:uuid:e46c68d5-b9ed-4a60-9133-0f0c953ee935> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_grade12_2005/s0206.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932592 | 90 | 2.375 | 2 |
Allergy rises not down to being too clean, just losing touch with 'old friends'
A new scientific report from the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH) dismantles the myth that the epidemic rise in allergies in recent years has happened because people are living in sterile homes and overdoing hygiene.
But far from saying microbial exposure is not important, the report concludes that losing touch with microbial ‘old friends’ may be a fundamental factor underlying rises in an even wider array of serious diseases.
As well as allergies, there are numerous other ‘chronic inflammatory diseases’ (CIDs) such as Type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis which seem to stem from impaired regulation of our immune systems. Deficiencies in microbial exposure could be key to rises in both allergies and CIDs.
This detailed review of evidence, accumulated over more than 20 years of research since the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ was first proposed, now confirms that the original notion is not correct.
Presenting the report findings in Liverpool today at Infection Prevention 2012, the national conference of the UK and Ireland’s Infection Prevention Society, co-author of the report and Honorary Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Professor Sally Bloomfield said: “The underlying idea that microbial exposure is crucial to regulating the immune system is right. But the idea that children who have fewer infections, because of more hygienic homes, are then more likely to develop asthma and other allergies does not hold up.”
Another author of the report, Dr Rosalind Stanwell-Smith, also from London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “Allergies and chronic inflammatory diseases are serious health issues and it’s time we recognised that simplistically talking about home and personal cleanliness as the cause of the problem is ill-advised, because it’s diverting attention from finding workable solutions and the true, probably much more complex, causes.” If worrying about ‘being too clean’ results in people needlessly exposing themselves and their children to pathogens that can make them ill, this would clearly be dangerous, she added.
Professor Graham Rook, also co-author of the report, who developed the ‘Old Friends’ version of the hypothesis, said: “The rise in allergies and inflammatory diseases seems at least partly due to gradually losing contact with the range of microbes our immune systems evolved with, way back in the Stone Age. Only now are we seeing the consequences of this, doubtless also driven by genetic predisposition and a range of factors in our modern lifestyle - from different diets and pollution to stress and inactivity. It seems that some people now have inadequately regulated immune systems that are less able to cope with these other factors.”
Explaining the likely reasons for this, Dr Stanwell Smith said: “Since the 1800s, when allergies began to be more noticed, the mix of microbes we’ve lived with, and eaten, drunk and breathed in has been steadily changing. Some of this has come through measures to combat infectious diseases that used to take such a heavy toll in those days - in London, 1 in 3 deaths was a child under 5. These changes include clean drinking water, safe food, sanitation and sewers, and maybe overuse of antibiotics. Whilst vital for protecting us from infectious diseases, these will also have inadvertently altered exposure to the ‘microbial friends’ which inhabit the same environments.”
But we’ve also lost touch with our “old friends” in other ways: our modern homes have a different and less diverse mix of microbes than rural homes of the past. This is nothing to do with cleaning habits: even the cleanest-looking homes still abound with bacteria, viruses, fungi, moulds and dust mites. It’s mainly because microbes come in from outside and the microbes in towns and cities are very different from those on farms and in the countryside.
“The good news”, according to Prof Bloomfield, “is that we aren’t faced with a stark choice between running the risk of infectious disease, or suffering allergies and inflammatory diseases. The threat of infectious disease is now rising because of antibiotic resistance, global mobility and an aging population, so good hygiene is even more vital to all of us. One important thing we can do is to stop talking about ‘being too clean’ and get people thinking about how we can safely reconnect with the right kind of dirt”.
Prof Rook added: “How we can begin to reverse the trend in allergies and CID isn’t yet clear, “There are lots of ideas being explored but relaxing hygiene won’t reunite us with our Old Friends - just expose us to new enemies like E. coli O104.” | <urn:uuid:cf67a24e-0a58-4bc2-b869-b40dab09b6cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2012/allergy_rises_not_down_to_being_too_clean__just_losing_touch_with__old_friends_.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952642 | 1,004 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Opacity and the Closet: Queer Tactics in Foucault, Barthes, and Warhol
by Nicholas De Villiers
University of Minnesota Press
Paperback, 978081667571543, 244 pp.
Looking beyond the closet at the lives and works of renowned queer public figures
Opacity and the Closet interrogates the viability of the metaphor of “the closet” when applied to three important queer figures in postwar American and French culture: philosopher Michel Foucault, literary critic Roland Barthes, and pop artist Andy Warhol. Nicholas de Villiers proposes a new approach to these cultural icons that accounts for the queerness of their works and public personas.
From a review by Chase Dimock
De Villiers’ three case studies on practitioners of queer opacity, French philosophers Michel Foucault and Roland Barthes, and American art icon Andy Warhol, have all greatly influenced the study and expression of sexuality in contemporary culture. Yet, none of the three ever fully came out of the closet in any conventional sense. All three engaged openly with gay themes in their work, and Warhol never denied his sexuality, but none of the three ever became openly gay self-identified voices of the community. It would be convenient and easy, as many biographers and cultural critics have done, to fault these men for not declaring their identity according to contemporary gay cultural standards set long after their deaths or to perform some one-size-fits-all, pop psychoanalysis to locate the source of shame or guilt that we have been taught to believe is the source of our sexual discretion. But instead, De Villiers’ concept of queer opacity allows us to see the sexualities of these men as they truly were expressed by widening our narrow narrative of sexuality to encompass the peripheries where the genius of these men flourished. Instead of seeing them as closeted, De Villiers praises their queer opacity for inventing new methods of queer expression and transgression. | <urn:uuid:6e2018f2-52dc-46f5-b6ad-8897d670b3a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://foucaultnews.com/2012/09/26/opacity-and-the-closet/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934127 | 402 | 2.390625 | 2 |
"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
On the back of a book I picked up recently there was a review from the Sunday Times which said that "This is a brutal and superbly delivered account of how an unexceptional New Zaland family is dismembered by relgiosity and stupidity."
I thought the reviewer had made up the word 'religiosity'. I asked a few people and none of them had ever heard of it. But when I checked the dictionary it does exist.
Religiosity means exaggerated or affected piety and religious zeal; the quality of being religious or pious, especially when zealous or exaggerated. It is 'a comprehensive sociological term used to refer to the numerous aspects of religious activity, dedication, and belief (religious doctrine)'.
My daughter Helen commented in November 2008 in her Blog that she was now keeping a notebook of new words that she came across during her reading. "This week I bought a lovely little leather bound book to write new words in as I read them . I've added a few from "1984", but my favourite has to be persiflage (from the French persifler) which means banter." I later discovered that my older daughter, Bryony, also kept a similar notebook.
This inspired me to create a Word blog. This will include both new words, favourite words and the origins of phrases that we commonly use. A definition and some comment, perhaps even a relevant quotation, will acompany the word or phrase.
“I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me.” - Winnie the Pooh
I'm a blogger - nowadays that seems to be my main occupation and Rambles from My Chair is my main blog. I’m a retired local government executive - now studying how to survive a neurological disorder that gives me various problems but, hopefully, a whole new outlook on life and an increased sense of humour and perspective. I enjoy all manner of communication apart from the telephone and am constantly e-mailing, texting, writing postcards and letters and commenting on other people's blogs.
Scriptor Senex is Latin for Old Writer and my real name is John but I've almost forgotten that nowadays...
“He’s not so old. He’s just the age that he is, that’s all.” (Gerald Hammond) | <urn:uuid:a6574b5e-124c-4353-8354-15187216a7c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cjewords.blogspot.com/2009/08/religiosity.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973771 | 535 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Safecast is a global project working to empower people with data that is accessible and easy to understand.
Shortly after the the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster on 3/11/2011, our team recognized a lack of consistent data regarding radiation levels. In response, Uncorked Studios launched RDTN.org – a site designed to collect and display aggregate radiation levels. The first version of the site launched within 72 hours. The site evolved into Safecast— a global organization that combines the efforts of a group of volunteers, as well as numerous technology and disaster experts. | <urn:uuid:f4af547a-d1c4-4c46-bbbd-f33e5b61ed34> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uncorkedstudios.com/platforms/accessibility/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928075 | 124 | 2.09375 | 2 |
One of the “anti-nutrients” all health care providers, holistic health coaches, and nutritionists can agree on is sugar. This particular food can cause widespread damage throughout your body! One of the many ways it does is by causing your insulin levels to rise. When you eat a sugary food, your body needs to release insulin in order bring down the levels of sugars in your blood. The thing you need to realize is that insulin is a hormone, and when constantly flooding your system, rising and falling, it brings along all of the other hormones as well. Your endocrine system is connected so when just one hormone can not be regulated it can no longer perform and regulate the others – including your sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, etc.)
It’s also hard for our body to digest and uses the nutrients our body has stored in order to get rid of it, as well as being hard on the liver (which is our bodies natural detoxifier).
Studies have shown that women who drink one to one and a half cups of coffee each day had up to a 50% reduction in fertility. Three cups a day has been linked to early miscarriage (new evidence shows 200 milligrams as the limit). The liver has to convert caffeine so that it may be passed in your urine. Your liver also has to deal with excreting your hormones. If the liver is overworked in one area, it can’t function properly. Caffeine increases the excretion of calcium which is important in absorbing vitamin D as well as providing a little baby with strong bones.
In women, alcohol may actually prevent the production of progesterone, which is vital to ensuring a pregnancy is carried to term. In men, it reduces the levels of sperm-making hormones which can actually wipe out a sperm count for three months after a heavy drinking session. (It takes 3 months for new sperm to mature)
Avoid Low-fat Milk
The problem is, it seems our bodies need fat in order to maintain our cellular structure. And removing the fat from milk has actually been shown to cause an imbalance of hormones throughout the body, causing a failure to ovulate or produce a healthy egg. In a recent study, scientists found that women who ate full fat dairy were found to have a 27% lower risk of infertility. Women who ate low fat milk products twice a day were found to be twice as likely to not ovulate. This study shows that eating healthy fats, as are in milk, is helpful in reproduction.
Soy contains something called phyto-estrogens and while some health practitioners (even holistic ones) think that eating soy can be healthy, I have a problem with something that includes these “plant derived estrogens’. While in some cases a diet that includes a small amount of soy may not be bothersome, many men and women find they have issues with this particular food.
It’s also been alleged that soy is high in something called phytic acid which prevents nutrients from being absorbed as well as robbing bodily stores of nutrients trying to digest it. (it may bind to nutrients like zinc and carry it out of the body)
Lastly, a very large portion of the soy grown in the U.S. is genetically modified. Meaning that scientists have changed the DNA of the plant by ‘merging’ it with cells from other organisms. A few studies have been done on animals that show GMO foods may decrease fertility.
Avoid Processed Foods
This category of foods takes care of a lot of the harmful substances we place into our bodies like MSG, Trans Fats, high fructose corn syrup, and soda. there really is nothing more sabotaging to healthy eating than processed foods! Not only do they place many different toxins into our bodies (thereby making the liver less efficient at cleaning them out) we again use a lot of nutrient stores digesting them!
While we may never have a “perfect” diet, we can make a conscious effort to cut back our consumption of certain foods so that our bodies can run they way they do best. It’s all about eating for nourishment!
What foods do you stay away from when trying to conceive?
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Links in the post above may be affiliate or referral links - meaning that through a sale I may be given monetary benefit. I blog with integrity and only endorse companies and products I love.
I am not a doctor and don\'t pretend to be one. Use everything you read only to inspire you to do your own research and be an advocate for your own health. Please read my disclaimer in full. | <urn:uuid:12140269-9a93-4d15-bc0a-e433961b078f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.naturallyknockedup.com/fertility-diet-foods-to-avoid/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962796 | 967 | 2.59375 | 3 |
August 6, 2012
One of our employee's mothers is a Department Head for a large medical practice in Georgia. Over a recent weekend one of the locations was burglarized and the thieves were able to get away with three laptops and a little cash, however because of the way the laptops were utililized, and the fact that the thieves were only able to gain access to a small, separate section of the office, no breach of Protected Health Information (PHI) occurred. The laptops were used in the office only and their primary function was accessing the server and the documents and applications contained on it. Everything was password protected and no documents or PHI were saved locally on the laptops. These seemingly small steps that were taken out of precaution when the laptops were initially setup and during use were enough to negate any sort of breach that may have occurred due to the theft of these devices; something that would have cost the practice an exorbitant amount of money and embarrassment.
Aside from not saving PHI and other important documents locally to prevent a breach from the standpoint of HIPAA, it is also not advised to save documents locally on machines that do not get regularly backed up in the event the information becomes corrupted or accidentally deleted. Servers are installed and configured to serve the purpose of centralized data storage for all business operations; however it is possible to place security parameters on certain drives and files to prevent unwanted access from others in the office.
Be smart with where and how information is saved so it is done in a manner to prevent unnecessary headache for you and your patients in the future.
June 1, 2011
Just like ever other piece of popular up-and-coming technology, Google's Android Market has been infected with several malicious pieces of software. By downloading apps from the market and from other sources, you may be exposing your phones and all of your data to would-be hackers.
The new threat is DroidDreamLight. DDL is a code that imbeds itself into the Android OS and collects and sends data to remote servers. Your location, contacts, phone calls, text messages, and even your mobile browsing history, could be broadcast to hackers worldwide. Google announced over the weekend that 34 new apps that were added to the market had been infected with this Trojan. Lookout Mobile Security and AVG discovered the code and alerted Google to take down the apps immediately, but given the popularity of the market, the apps were downloaded by some 34,000 users in a matter of seconds before Google was able to pull them.
Just like standard PC and Apple user guidelines, always be cautious of what you're downloading. Using a mobile security application, like Lookout Mobile, that scans applications as they are downloading to ensure they are safe to be installed. No one wants their hundreds of contacts broadcast over the net to anyone who wants them. Be on the lookout for suspicious SMS activity. For example, if you see that your phone sent a text to a random number and you didn't send it, you may have malware. Also be mindful of the permissions the application requests when it's installed. If a game is asking for access to your contact list and your location, a red flag should be going up.
Just like other methods of information security, be vigilant, use common sense, and you should be safe.
May 19, 2011
We've all had to go through it. Log in here, log in there, this password for that site, and so on. With the need for authentication and information systems security greatly increasing, I find it somewhat challenging having to remember 32 different passwords and when, and if, they're set to expire. The use of usernames and passwords has been around since the inception of the PC itself.
An individual wanting access inputs the username they are assigned and then a password, showing the system they are who they say they are. Most systems require a minimum of 6 alpha-numeric characters. While for some that may seem over the top, a skilled hacker, or computer for that matter, can crack your password in a matter of seconds.
A good authentication system is called "multi-factor." It combines something you know, something you have, something you are, or any combination of the three. A fingerprint reader that also requires an alpha numeric password is a good example, but what if we could simplify the requirement for multi-factor authentication into a simple puzzle. PortSys has developed a unique login interface called "SafeLogin" that uses small pictures that must be selected in a particular order to log users into their systems or certain applications. Instead of typing a word such as P@ssword1, users select a series of small pictures (for example: a duck, a hat, and a car) and BAM!, you're in. No more remembering 32 different passwords, except for the initial setup and configuration, and getting them all confused. I can't tell you how many times I thought my email password was my bank account password and vice versa. And wouldn't you know it, I end up locked out of both every time.
Though this is not a fairly new concept, the idea of using a more user friendly graphic interface is starting to gain popularity. For one, there's no new software of hardware footprint to slow down productivity. And as far as hardware goes, the program costs about 1.3% of what a fingerprint or retina scanner would cost, saving you loads of money. SafeLogin claims to increase the security of a standard 8 character username and password set by 66,000 times. Even though it's not been adopted by the DOD or NSA, it's safe to say this new type of authentication will change the login screen forever. | <urn:uuid:bf159776-baea-42f2-a486-6b4b4fec31d9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.irissol.com/blog/?tag=/security | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964754 | 1,153 | 2.265625 | 2 |
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Most parents report that they typically require their child to use a life-saving booster seat, but more than 30 percent said they do not enforce this rule when their child is riding with another driver.
The study, conducted by child health experts at University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, also revealed that 45 percent of parents do not require their kids to use a booster when driving other children who do not have one.
“The majority of parents reported that their children between the ages of four and eight use a safety seat when riding in the family car,” says Michelle Macy, M.D., M.S., a clinical lecturer of emergency medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and an investigator with the U-M Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit. “However, it’s alarming to know that close to 70 percent of parents carpool, and when they do, they’re often failing to use life-saving booster seats.”
Researchers believe practical barriers, including limited vehicle space and difficulties making arrangements with other drivers, lead parents to abandon safety seats when carpooling.
Results of the study were published online today ahead of print in Pediatrics.
Most state laws require children to use a booster seat, many until children are 8 years old. National recommendations encourage the use of booster seats until a child reaches 57 inches, which is the average height of an 11-year-old.
Placing a child in an adult seat belt prematurely can cause shoulder and lap belts to fit improperly, negating the life-saving benefits of seatbelts. Click here to see the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s recommendations as to how seat belts should fit.
“Therefore, parents who do not consistently use booster seats for kids who are shorter than 57 inches tall are placing children at greater risk of injury,” says Macy. “Parents need to understand the importance of using a booster seat for every child who does not fit properly in an adult seat belt on every trip.”
Study authors suggest that social norms may be set by state booster seat laws, as parents are motivated to follow guidelines set forth by law. State booster seat laws were associated with higher safety seat use, regardless of carpooling, even though half of parents surveyed admit to not knowing the age cited in their state booster seat law and another 20 percent guessed incorrectly.
“According to current recommendations most children should be using booster seats beyond the age cited in state laws. As many parents may not even be aware of current booster seat recommendations, pediatricians should make it a priority to share this vital information with them,” says Macy.
Citation: doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-0575
Additional authors: Sarah J. Clark, M.P.H., Gary L. Freed, M.D., M.P.H., Amy T. Butchart, M.P.H., Dianne C. Singer, M.P.H., Comilla Sasson, M.D., M.S., William J. Meurer, M.D., M.S., and Matthew Davis, M.D., M.A.A.P.
About C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital:
The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital is consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the country. It was nationally ranked in all ten pediatric specialties in the U.S. News Media Group’s 2011 edition of "America’s Best Children’s Hospitals" including third in the country for heart and heart surgery. In December, the hospital moves to a new 1.1 million square feet, $754 million state-of-the-art facility that will be home to cutting-edge specialty services for newborns, children and women. | <urn:uuid:b4f21981-b12c-41ac-826d-f24ea5f1e88a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uofmhealth.org/news/macy-carpooling-booster-seats-0130 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949632 | 808 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Iron Man is the name of the suit of armor developed by Tony Stark created with the help of Yinsen as a means of escaping captivity in Afghanistan. Though Stark’s wide array of armors have many different abilities, they are alike in that they are made of incredibly strong fictional materials bolstered by a force field. Every suit has a self-contained environment, assorted on board weapons systems, enhanced strength, flight, and various communications arrays and sensors (such as radar and radio). Furthermore, they typically have multiple power sources including a secondary solar energy collection function in the event that conventional recharging methods are unavailable. Older versions of the armor could also fold virtually flat, allowing Stark to store them in his bullet-proof briefcase.
The defining abilities of Stark’s armor are the jets situated in the boots and the repulsors situated in the gauntlets. The repulsors originated as a hand attachment, but have since become the armor’s most important standard armament. They have been referred to as being a magnetic blast of charged particles and as a force beam. The repulsors are a form of propulsion and (as hand units) steering jet, though they can be used offensively. A later variation on this is the Pulse Bolts, bolts of concussive energy that actually gain energy the further they have to travel, up to a limit of roughly three football fields (about 329 meters).
Another defining trait is the chest-mounted “uni-beam”, also known as the variobeam, and tri-beam. Originally a spotlight and “proton beam,” it has grown to accommodate a number of other weapons, primarily light and force-based.
Iron Man’s armor provides a wealth of information about the environment, and allows him to perform such feats as flying and flame throwing. So far, there are seven versions of the suit:
- Mark I: A crude, basic suit that Tony Stark was forced to build while imprisoned by terrorists. This was the suit which helped him escape captivity.
- Mark II: This prototype was the first suit designed with Tony’s resources in America, and was equipped with many advanced technologies not found in the Mark 1. It was used in primarily for flight testing. The Mark 2 later saw action and was eventually heavily modified into the War Machine Armor. Another Mark 2 was built for Tony’s armor gallery.
- Mark III: This suit was constructed with a lighter gold titanium alloy, and given a red paint job. It addressed the icing problems of the Mark 2, and was armed with a variety of weapons. The Mark 3 was used in various fights, where it was heavily damaged. This suit was only partially rebuilt, and it was labeled “Battle Damaged” in Tony’s armor gallery.
- Mark IV: Built after the Mark 3 was severely damaged in the fight against Iron Monger. It was used primarily to stop international conflicts.
- Mark V: This red and silver suit was only lightly armed and armored. It was designed for easy transportation, and could be folded into a lightweight suitcase.
- Mark VI: Similar to the Mark 3 and 4, this was the first suit to use a non-palladium power core. It was further streamlined for better flight capabilities and armed with new weapons. It was also used against Loki, Thor and fixing the Helicarrier.
- Mark VII: This advanced suit could automatically fly to and wrap itself around its user, without any need for external mechanical assistance. The Mark 7 was a bulkier suit that was far more heavily armed than its predecessors. It included additional repulsor thrusters on its back, chest, and calves.
- Advanced Tech
- Takes a long time to make repairs once damaged
The roles of Bruce Banner, Buffy Summers, and Quinn Camp have been reopened due to inactivity. If you are interested in the roles, follow this link to apply. →
The role of Jessica Drew/Spider woman has been reopened due to inactivity. If you are interested in the role, follow this link. →
Open Character: Shane Roberts | Werewolf | Demon Hunter | Alignment: Slayer Organization | 23 years old
FC: Colton Haynes
Life is never easy for a college boy, especially when the college boy is a werewolf. Shane Roberts was born in Los Angeles, California to two loving and nurturing parents. The star of his football team with a loving girlfriend and a full scholarship, things couldn’t have been better for him. However, that all changed for him when one night, during the full moon, Shane was attacked by a large rabid dog. The dog would’ve killed him had it not been for two young girls; Renee and her friend Cecily. Flustered by the attack, Shane was bewildered by what the girls were telling him, that they were Slayers and that his attacker was a werewolf. Unfortunately he had been bitten, and was likely a werewolf, too.
Scared of the girls and thinking them insane he fled back to his house and to his parents. Unfortunately, Renee and her friend were right. The night of the next full moon, Shane felt strange, on edge, and scared but at the same time, he felt powerful and unstoppable. Before he realized that the two girls had been right about him, he was already lying in a pool of blood; his parent’s blood. The werewolf, the creature that was now a part of him had killed his family. Distraught and scared, Shane ran away, leaving his old life behind him and confiding himself to subways and cheap motel rooms. The guilt of his parent’s death weighed heavily on him and he strived to make sure that he never harmed an innocent again.
It was in the subway that he encountered the Slayer Renee again, this time she saved a group of homeless people from the clutches of a vampire, knowing that this girl would have the answers he pursued her and begged her for his help; Renee agreed. She took his back to the Slayer Organization where with the help of Rupert Giles, he was able to learn more about the creatures of the night. Instead of fearing them, he vowed to protect people from befalling the same fate as him and so, took up the role of freelance hunter. Currently, Shane is operating with the other Slayers out of the Slayer Organization in New York.
Character Traits: Charming, Funny, Athletic, Haunted, Careful, Angry
Powers and Abilities:
- Werewolf physiology grants him the potential to transform into a berserk, lupine creature with enhanced strength, speed, stamina and sense of smell. Unlike most werewolves, who change into animal form on the nights around the full moon, Shane has control over his form, no longer changing due to the phases of the moon.
- Heightened sense of smell when in human form and the ability to identify others by scent.
- Advanced firearm training
- Capable in hand-to-hand contact
Open Character: Samuel Temple | Contract Demon | Alignment: Neutral | Age Unknown
FC: Andrew Lee Potts
Samuel Temple was born as a human in the streets of 18th Century Coventry, England. His mother, a lowly prostitute died three years after his birth leaving him an orphan with nowhere to go and no roof under his head but Samuel was not going to give up. Resorting to petty thievery to survive, Samuel soon sought shelter at a dingy inn where he worked for lodgings. He continued to spend the rest of his teenage years there and soon began calling that inn home even tolerating abuse from the owner; he had no other choice.
When he was old enough, he abandoned the inn, left it all behind and snuck aboard a ship heading to the free world; The United States of America. It was there, in Boston that he befriended a foreigner named Musa who hailed from the country of Turkey. The man took Samuel under his wing and the two soon opened a small cobbler’s shop in Boston where the two worked to earn an honest living. Things were looking up for Samuel until one day; their shop was raided by members of the Irish mob. Samuel was forced to watch his mentor bludgeoned to death and all their headwork burned to the ground. Angry with the outcome of his hard work, Samuel vowed revenge against the Irish Mob. It was then he that he was approached by a man with a strange face; that man was no man at all but in fact a Contract Demon, a breed of demon distantly related to D’Hoffryn’s Vengeance demon faction.
He offered Samuel revenge, money, unlimited life and unlimited power in exchange for his soul; Samuel accepted the offer, from that day onwards, ended his life as a human, and began his life as a Contract Demon. After destroying whatever was left of the Irish mob he began carrying out the will of his master, finding others like him and offering them ways out in exchange for parts of their soul and life force.
Character Traits: Flirtatious, Sly, Clever, Quiet, Vengeful, Greedy
Powers and Abilities:
- As a Contract Demon, Samuel can grant the person whatever they wish; no loopholes. The higher the power of the wish, the higher the number of years the person has to give up.
- Drains and feeds off a human’s life force
- Enhanced Strength
- Immune to magic
Open Character: Colin Schofield | Vampire | Owner of Odysseus Security | Alignment: Vampire Clan | Immortal (Physically 30)
FC: Aidan Turner
Colin Schofield was born in Dublin, Ireland and the middle child of three siblings. Hailing from a well off family, Colin always strived towards success, success that eventually led him to achieve a full scholarship to Oxford University in England. Though he was reluctant to leave his family, he quickly found himself gravitating towards the offer and after the blessing of his parents, he soon accepted. There, he hesitantly befriended a man named William North, who would later go on to become the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The two became close friends with William taking the younger boy under his wing; the two excelled in their respective fields and eventually went on to enlist in the army together with William North acting as Colin’s superior. Colin never held any ill will towards his friend’s success and yet at the same time sought out to prove himself better than him. However, it was during their second tour in Iraq, under William’s leadership that their infantry was attacked by insurgents and half of them were killed; Colin, it seemed was one of the casualties, buried underneath the rubble. Though presumed dead, Colin was very much alive, hanging on by the skin of his teeth and fighting to see his family again. It was there that he was approached by two odd-looking individuals who offered him a chance at immortality; overcome by vengeance, anger, and longing, he accepted their offer. Thus, Colin’s life as a human ended and his life as a vampire began.
Colin returned to England where, with the help of his new clan, he helped take over a major security firm; Odysseus Security and established himself owner of the company. Within two years, he’d gone from soldier to the owner of a multibillion dollar empire, with firms placed all over the major countries. He kept up with appearances, and yet as people bought into the company they were completely unaware that the firm was a front for vampires, allowing them to gain easy access to money, arsenal and above all, a clientele that dealt in the shipping of vampire blood. Colin had everything in the palm of his hand but yet, what he truly desired was William’s head on a plate.
Character Traits: Charming, Confident, Smart, Vengeful, Violent, Competitive
Powers and Abilities:
- Super-Human Strength
- Advanced speed, agility and reflexes
- Resilience and advanced healing
- Immortality (except for vampire vulnerabilities)
- Super-human senses
- Highly skilled in both armed and unarmed combat.
- Fluency in several languages.
- Contacts spread throughout the globe
Open Character: Ethan Casey | Human | Detective | Alignment: Angel Investigations | 43 years old
FC: Adam Baldwin
Ethan Casey was never fond of playing by the rules and it mostly, if not always, landed him in a lot of trouble. A veteran detective in the Trenton PD with his own, albeit questionable, moral compass, Ethan was known for using excessive methods of getting the information he needed, often resorting to blows if the need arose. After he caught his boss taking a bribe from the local mafia, Ethan resigned from the police force and left his superior with a broken jaw.
His wife, angered by his decision took his child and left him. Out of a job, with no almost nothing to his name except a grubby apartment, Ethan began searching for an alternative revenue source. He took up a job in the private security network, shadowing corporate bigwigs; he was good at what he did as long as everyone stayed out of his way. Everything changed, however, when a group of vampires attacked his client. Ethan was out of his depth; he’d faced armed robbers, serial killers, and psychopaths, but nothing like this. He would have lost his client along with his life if the vampire known as Angel hadn’t intervened.
Ethan, surprised by the vampire’s actions, decided to ask him a few questions (after pointing a gun at the vampire’s head). In addition to answers, he was offered a job at the vampire’s investigative agency. The fact that a vampire knowingly helped humans in need didn’t sit well with Ethan. It was too good to be true. However, upon setting eyes on Angel Investigations, he realized that Angel was indeed the real deal. He quickly accepted the job. Currently, he works in Angel Investigations as a leading investigator, and, when they need it, some strong muscle.
Characters Traits: Focused, Innovative, Driven, Cold, Hot Tempered, Intimidating
Powers and Abilities:
- Capable in hand-to-hand combat
- Ties to the police force enables him to access otherwise classified information
- Advanced firearms training
WINNERS OF THE ECHO APRIL AWARDS
Favourite 3 Open Bios to have filled soon.
Huge round of applause to all our winners!
Thank you everyone who voted, well done to everyone because I know voting was hard, there’s so much quality in this roleplay, so pats on the back all round. Good luck next time!
For their prize; the winners will get to choose Gif Sets, Icon Sets, or Themes of their choices. | <urn:uuid:c30bd81c-e164-4f8b-932b-4d5d6d761668> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://earthschosenheroes-rp.tumblr.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983951 | 3,117 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Posted: Feb 6, 2013 10:23 PM by Rosa Flores
Updated: Feb 6, 2013 10:23 PM
BATON ROUGE - A News 2 investigation has revealed lead contamination in soil at some area public schools. The problem was uncovered by an LSU scientist who tested the soil at eleven East Baton Rouge Parish public schools. The findings surprised him, because the highest readings at some schools surpassed the safety limits set by the EPA.
Parents joined News 2 to learn about how the data was gathered and where the most contaminated areas were found. Turns out, the most contaminated areas are below window sills, next to walls painted with lead paint, under old wooden bleachers, and gardens that are outlined with old treated wood.
EBR schools responded by saying that the district has painted old buildings that had lead paint. They are also trying to plant bushes around those buildings and having teachers monitor the students closely.
News 2 plans to continue investigating this issue in our communities. Thursday on News 2 at 10pm: How New Orleans remediated contaminated public parks. Plus, who footed the bill. | <urn:uuid:de6d9649-acb1-42ec-823c-99e8739390cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wbrz.com/news/news-2-investigation-contaminated-playgrounds/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983035 | 223 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Calves With Mournful Eyes
"On a waggon bound for market, there's a calf with a mournful eye, high above him there's a swallow, winging swiftly through the sky" - nice old Donovan-song. Some will still remember it. But not many probably know about it's most tragic background. The original song ('Dos Kelbl' ('The Calf');) was written in 1942 by Jtschak Katsenelson, under the impression of his two 11 and 14 year old boys being herded off to Auschwitz. And if you find Donovan's song a little too melancholic, wait till you hear Katsenelson's bitter bereft father's mourn - in his most beautiful 'Jiddisch'. It would melt rocks to tears.
Jtschak Katsenelson (1886 - 1944), a Russian born author from Lodz (Poland) wrote poems, songs, books and plays - the latter being brought to stage in the Soviet Union as well as America. When Hitler's army chose to invade Poland and he and his family were doomed to live through the hell of the Warsaw Ghetto, Katsenelson got in contact with the Jewish Resistence. Nevertheless - he couldn't prevent his family being sent to the ovens.
"Stop complaining, said the farmer...", at this point Katsenelson's text is much more explicit than mellow-yellow Donovan: "Wer-ssche hejst dich sajn a kalb? Wolst gekent doch sajn a fojgl, wolst gekent doch sajn a schwalb" (Who told you a calf to be? You could as well have become a little bird, you could as well have become a swallow) the cruel farmer mocks his doomed passenger.
So why? Isn't it all the calf's, the victim's, fault? The calf has deliberately chosen to wrap the wrong skin around him. Instead of letting himself being born a free and happy feathered bird, it has slipped into the leather of some slaughter cattle. What Katsenelson describes here is nothing less than the logic of racism: blaming the victim. It's him, the victim, committing the sin of wearing the wrong skin - means: there is 'wrong skin' on earth and, yes, 'right skin'. Katsenelson's two boys and his wife committed the most deadly sin of all: being jews in Nazi Eastern Europe.
According to Amira Hass ('Why Abd a-Samed became the 116th child killed in Gaza'); 253 Palestinian children have been killed from September 28, 2000 to June 2002. Many more since. And surely not many of those victims of Israeli army aggression have been buried with chocolate in their hands, like the poor little fellow from Jenin, Gideon Levy described in one of his pieces for Ha'aretz/ZNet. Most Palestinian 'calves' are doomed to live miserable, underfed, curfew-handicapped lives. Punished for simply being born on the wrong side of the ethnic divide, punished for 'deliberately' having chosen to slip into the wrong skin, punished in fact for being Palestinian, they live under the constant threat of being shot or harassed. Confined to overcrowded homes over long periods of curfew and beleaguerment, they're not privileged enough to even attend school regularly. Traumatized and without any perspective for their future lives they can only envy their Jewish counterparts on the other side of the ethnic divide.
The little Jewish 'swallows', winged to play cheerfully in the open day by day, constantly having to eat - they are learning, they are dreaming, they are joyfully planning their lives.
"Calves are easily bound and slaughtered, never knowing the reason why".
Having come under international pressure Israeli Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer announced to investigate into the role of the IDF in the deaths of "200 Palestinian children". What a hypocritical 'butcher' he is - telling the world, no, it was never his intention to harm any of those nice little innocent Palestinian calves in order to make nice little roast veals out of them. No, it was all just coincidence, a mishappen slip of the big butcher's knife: collateral damage - so sorry. But we will investigate into this.
"How the winds are laughing, they laugh with all their might. Laugh and laugh the whole day through and half a summer's night". The farmer who takes the little calf to the market is mean, the butcher is worse, but how detestable is that cynical laughing wind - non-helping-bystanders, just watching as cruel, pardonless injustice unfolds! How Katsenelson must have hated the outside world. Shrugging their shoulders, why, what with those silly jews letting themselves being herded off to the death camps like lambs to the slaughter. What concern are they to us? Close down the borders! Turn them away if they knock on your doors!
Jtschak Katsenelson never lived to find out his songs survived. He was killed in Auschwitz two years after the murder of his two sons and wife there.
But before the Germans finally caught him in 1944, he managed to put some of his work into a bottle that he buried under a tree.
The bottle was found and taken to Palestine - yes, to Palestine. There's a mythological fairy-tale about a boy traveling to hell in order to steal the three golden hairs from the devil's head.
He comes to a river resembling the river Acheron from Greek mythology. A Charon-type ferryman - mysteriously fettered to his ferry - takes him over to the other side, to the devil's land. He offers the boy to take him back if he in return manages to find out from the devil why he has to be (innocently) fettered to his ferry and what he can do about it. The boy returns with the three golden devil's hairs in his pocket and tells the ferryman: "Listen - all you have to do is put your ferry-pole in the hand of your next passenger. Then from now on this passenger will become the doomed ferryman and you'll walk free" (a real devil's trick indeed).
The ferryman follows the advice. He puts the pole into the hand of an evil king (well, that's the fairy-tale part of it) and walks away from the devil's ferry a free man.
Jewish children - thanks to God - are no longer calves - nowhere on earth. The victim's skin has slipped off them but onto other innocent creatures. And as long as that damn international 'wind' won't stop laughing and laughing and instead act up - finally! - the cruel logic of racism will prevail. | <urn:uuid:44929ff4-4cb1-422e-aeed-df7dd85fa653> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zcommunications.org/calves-with-mournful-eyes-by-guest-author | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968076 | 1,401 | 2.828125 | 3 |
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There has been quite a bit of nonsense talked about AV giving people “more than one vote” (eg votes being counted "five or six times") or “treating voters unequally”. The claim wasn’t even entertained by the Jenkins’ Commission on the voting system when it looked at AV. The idea was however once tested in the courts in the US.
As highlighted recently, AV is being increasingly adopted by US cities after referendums, not least because it shows that it can challenge the power of big money in politics.
As long ago as the 1970s however, a rather desperate court challenge was mounted after a city election. It was claimed that AV (known as Instant Runoff Voting 'IRV' in the US and also previously as ‘MPV’) gave minority candidates two votes and treated voters “unequally”. If the claims held any water, then such a system would be unconstitutional.
But in Stephenson vs. the Ann Arbor Board of City Canvassers in 1975, a Michigan court ruled emphatically that Majority Preferential Voting (or MPV, as IRV was then known) was in compliance with the constitution. It did not give anyone more than one vote. It treated people equally.
In his decision, Judge James Fleming wrote:
"Each voter has the same right at the time he casts his or her ballot. Each voter has his or her ballot counted once in any count that determines whether one candidate has a majority of the votes. Each voter has the same opportunity as the next voter in deciding whether or not to list numerical preferences for his or her candidate and has the same equality of opportunity as any other voter if his or her candidate is eliminated as the lowest vote-getter, and his or her second choice preference becomes the viable vote."
Later he continues:
“Under the 'MPV System'...no one person or voter has more than one effective vote for one office. No voter's vote can be counted more than once for the same candidate. In the final analysis, no voter is given greater weight in his or her vote over the vote of another voter, although to understand this does require a conceptual understanding of how the effect of a 'MPV System' is like that of a run-off election. The form of majority preferential voting employed in the City of Ann Arbor's election of its Mayor does not violate the one-man, one-vote mandate nor does it deprive anyone of equal protection rights under the Michigan or United States Constitutions.”
You can read the full judgement here: http://archive.fairvote.org/?page=397
Contrast this ruling with what the Jenkins' Commission concluded about the existing First Past the Post System in the UK:
"One thing that FPTP assuredly does not do is to allow the elector to exercise a free choice in both the selection of a constituency representative and the determination of the government of the country."
"The next criticism of FPTP is that it narrows the terrain over which the political battle is fought, and also, in an associated although not an identical point, excludes many voters from ever helping to elect a winning candidate."
"One of the most salient characteristics of the system is that it makes it as difficult as possible for a third party to win seats and thus does its best to render that threat innocuous".
When it comes to a comparison between First Past the Post and the Alternative Vote it does seem pretty clear - at least as far as those whose job it has been to judge the two systems - which system best supports voter equality and the idea of one person one vote, and which one does not.Tweet | <urn:uuid:ee2ecfb6-3886-416d-8c85-b55205ee5868> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/13996 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974797 | 794 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Legislation proposed by the Obama administration could ground life-changing non-profit Angel Flight, reported Springfield, Missouri television station KSPR on June 27. Angel Flight is a group of volunteer pilots who fly people with serious injuries and illnesses, “many of them children right here in the Ozarks, to hospitals that offer the treatment they need,” the station stated.
“But the program could be in jeopardy,” said KSPR reporter Joanna Small, who then told the story of Braiden Sullivan, whose grandmother is convinced there was an angel watching over her grandson the day a riding lawnmower backed over him. The boy’s legs were practically destroyed below the knees, but now he’s walking, “thanks to another angel, the kind with wings made of metal, and a propeller,” Small said.
Angel Flight pilots have flown Braiden half a dozen times from Springfield, Missouri, to Cincinnati for essential surgeries to repair his legs. Mark Carroll is one of them. “The whole idea behind Angel Flight is [that] the pilots are willing to donate their time and any expenses associated with the flights,” Carroll explained. He foots the expensive bill. This plane just in fuel alone can cost $80 to $100 an hour,” he told Small.
Now Carroll is concerned that user fees proposed by the Obama administration could price pilots like him right out of the program. “If I’ve got to pay a fee every time I talk to air traffic control, every time I get a weather briefing, or land and take off, that all adds up,” Carroll said, “and that may make going up a real challenge.”
Braiden and his grandmother are facing a challenge of their own: “He has no calf,” she said as she pointed to one of Braiden’s legs.
“They need the Angel to beat that challenge,” Caroll said.
To read the full story: http://www.kspr.com/news/local/49290802.html | <urn:uuid:3d8c8449-89c8-4fbe-a6af-fcf5d1de047d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.generalaviationnews.com/2009/06/ga-fees-threaten-angel-flight/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970104 | 442 | 2.046875 | 2 |
The Omer: Meaning for Today
Making it count.
The following article explores the tradition of "counting the omer," the days between Passover and the holiday of Shavuot. The omer was an offering made during these weeks in the Temple, and was agriculturally focused, like the holiday of Shavuot itself. The omer also serves to tie together the two major festivals of Passover and Shavuot. Reprinted with permission from Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.
Now that Passover seders are over, and we are eating matzah and are full of affliction -- one might ask, "What's a good Jewish professional to do during these days?" The answer? Count them. Count every last day until Shavuot [the Festival of Weeks]--50 in all.
The period of "the omer" begins the second night of Passover and continues until Shavuot. Literally translated, omer means "a sheaf." It refers to the measure of grain that was once offered at the Temple in Jerusalem. The Torah commanded that seven weeks be counted for the omer. It says:
15. From the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering the day after the Sabbath you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete.
16. You must count until the day after the seventh week fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to YHWH.
17. You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering…
21. On that same day you shall hold a celebration; it shall be a sacred occasion for you; you shall not work at your occupations. This is a law for all time in all your settlements, throughout the ages.
1. Why was it important to count the days from the bringing of the omer until Shavuot?
2. Shavuot in the Bible was not connected with the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai, as it is now. It was an agricultural festival. And its focus was the Temple. Since the Temple no longer stands, and most of us are no longer involved in agriculture, what's the point of counting the omer today?
While there is no longer a Temple or an omer offering, the rabbis declared that we should still count the days between Passover and Shavuot. Rambam [Maimonides] even said that the commandment for us to count today comes directly from Torah!
Kabbalists [mystics] saw the omer period as a preparation for receiving the Torah on Mt. Sinai. Each day we must take one more step away from the impurities of Egypt that have remained within us. Today counting the omer can be a time of meditation where we can renew our spirits as we prepare for Shavuot. According to the mystics, each week of the seven is represented by a mystical aspect of the divine to focus on. And each day of the 49 is a combination of two aspects. | <urn:uuid:d77b5fdb-6fcc-4198-aa3d-0fb70d81d3aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Passover/In_the_Community/The_Omer/Meaning.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964143 | 637 | 3.09375 | 3 |
No matter where you live one of the most constant things you will encounter are cars. Aside from the relative ease by which you can get your own car, the advantages of owning your own car cannot be duplicated. Right off the bat, your car became your preferred means of transportation! And because you can now do so many things care of your car, you would never want to lose it. However, certain problems will always dog you and replacement parts become a complete necessity. Just take a Du Ha cargo lock. Before this part became damaged you never really gave much thought about cargo locks, did you?The importance of car maintenance cannot be stressed enough. Your car may be trusty, but that does not mean that it is invulnerable to damage. Actually, the opposite is more correct. Cars can be pretty sensitive things that it is why you need to take your car for a maintenance check every so often. Do not underestimate the kind of damage wear and tear can do to your car. Neglect your car long enough and you can expect it to start falling apart sooner rather than later. See what's inside your ride because you can never be too sure. And the only real way for you to know if you need a new Du Ha under seat storage or whatever is by inspecting your car from top to bottom.Make your car a top priority and you can expect the returns on your investment to be more than satisfactory. Cars don't grow on trees so making sure your own ride is in top condition benefits you more than anybody else. Keep your car in the best shape possible with a brand new Du Ha cargo retriever. | <urn:uuid:22e0e890-6ece-4a81-9c40-43c9b34d8dc5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.carparts.com/du-ha | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968832 | 326 | 1.578125 | 2 |
YOUR DEEDS ARE YOUR RULERS
By Mufti A. Desai (Damat Barakatuhum)
RASULULLAH (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said:
“Just as you are, so too will rulers be appointed over you.”
Hadhrat Isaa (alayhis salaam) supplicated to Allah Ta’ala:
“O my Rabb! What is the sign to indicate that you are pleased with Your creation?”
Allah Ta’ala said:
“I cause the rains to descend when it is time for sowing the seeds, and I withhold the rains when it is time to harvest the crop. I appoint benevolent men to rule over them. I assign their monetary affairs to generous persons.”
Nabi Isaa (alayhis salaam) said:
“O my Rabb! What is the sign of your wrath on your creation?”
Allah Ta’ala said:
“I send the rains when they harvest the crops, and I withhold the rains when they sow the seeds. I appoint ignoramuses to rule them, and I assign their monetary affairs to their *****rdly ones.”
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said:
“Allah Ta’ala says: ‘I am Allah. There is no deity except Me. I am the King of kings. The hearts of kings are in My Hands when the people obey Me, I turn the hearts of the rulers with benevolence and mercy towards them. Verily, when the people disobey Me. I turn the hearts of the rulers with wrath and vengeance towards them. Then they (the rulers) inflict severe punishment on them. Therefore do not become involved with cursing the rulers. On the contrary engage yourself with thikr and humility so that I protect you against the tyranny of your rulers.”
Hadhrat Ali (radhiyallahu anhu) said:
“Verily, when Allah Ta’ala becomes wrathful on a nation whose destruction He has not ordained by means of earthquakes and disfigurement, then He causes prices to soar; He withholds rain, and He appoints the worst of people to be their rulers.”
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said:
‘Verily, Allah Azza Wa Jal says: ‘I extract vengeance from those on whom is My Wrath with others on whom is My Wrath. Then ultimately I shall cast them all (both groups) into Jahannum”
“Don’t revile the rulers. Supplicate to Allah for their rectitude, for verily, their rectitude is linked to your rectitude.” (i.e. if you reform yourselves, the rulers will become reformed.)
“I take oath by Him in whose control is my life! Command righteous and prohibit evil. (If you do not) then the vilest among you will be appointed rulers over you. Your pious people will then supplicate, but their duas will not be accepted.”
Rulers are the reflections of the deeds of the masses. The rulers are mirrors in which the citizens can view their own deeds. A corrupt people will be saddled with tyrannical and corrupt rulers. Thus Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: “Your deeds are your rulers”. Since the rulers are our reflections in the mirror, it is unintelligent to revile our own ugly reflection we see in the mirror. If a beautiful image is desired to be reflected in the mirror, it is necessary for the object in front of the mirror to be beautiful. A very ugly ignorant man who had never seen a mirror in his life once picked up a broken mirror. When he looked in it, he saw his own ugly face. In disgust he threw the mirror to the ground and exclaimed: “No wonder you have been thrown away!” This buffoon reviled the mirror for his own ugliness which was reflected in it. This is the condition of people who revile the rulers. They in fact revile themselves in the same way that the buffoon had thrown away the mirror and reviled it.
In the Hadith Qudsi, we are instructed to reform ourselves and become obedient servants of Allah Ta’ala. He will then either reform and tenderize the hearts of the tyrannical rulers or replace them with kind, benevolent rulers. It is quite obvious from the many Ahaadith of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) as well as stemming from the Qur’aan-e-Hakeem that in general cruel and oppressive rulers are the consequences of the evils of the masses, and that the solution for the oppression and tyranny is not vilification of the tyrants. On the contrary, it is selfvilification, soul-searching, regret and repentance. Moral reformation and submission to the Shariah of Allah Azza Wa Jal will bring about a peaceful revolution which will see either the change of heart of the rulers or their replacement by benevolent rulers. It is also quiet clear that the basic theme of all the Ahaadith on this subject is selfreformation, for only such reformation is the enduring solution for the tyranny of oppressors.
However, shaitaan has succeeded in casting the Ummah into the massive deception of believing that the problem is for example Hosni Mubarak, Gadhaafi, Asad and the host of other kuffaar and munaafiqs who are today at the helm of affairs in the lands of Islam. These tyrants are merely the reflections of the moral degradation, bid’ah, fisq, fujoor and kufr in which the Ummah is today wallowing in a drunken stupor. Removal and killing of the tyrants without moral reformation and submission to the Sunnah is simply the substitution of one system of tyranny for another system of tyranny. The scenario of substitution of tyrannies comes within the scope of the Hadith Qudsi (mentioned above) in which Allah Azza Wa Jal says that both groups – the oppressors and the oppressed who replace the former oppressors – are Mabghoodh Alayhim, i.e. the Wrath of Allah Ta’ala has settled on them. Both groups of scum will be swept into Jahannum. This is the situation prevailing currently in the Arab lands in the aftermath of the socalled stupid ‘Arab Spring’. Both groups are Mabgoodh Alayhim.
The other form of punishment mentioned in the Ahaadith for a flagrantly transgressing and rebellious Ummah when their final destruction has not yet been ordained, but is divinely schemed to be gradual and incremental, is drought, scarcity of essential foodstuff, soaring prices, pestilence, infighting, etc. Then when the hour dawns for the ultimate decree of annihilation, no respite will be granted.
“And, when We decide to destroy a place (town/city, i.e. its people), we command its affluent ones (that is, we grant them leeway to transgress recklessly). Then they indulge in transgression. Thus the decree (of punishment) is ordained for them. Then We utterly destroy them.”
“And, when their appointed time (of annihilation) arrives, it will not be delayed a moment nor advanced.” (Qur’aan) As long as Muslims fail to understand that every particle moves by the direct intervention and command of Allah Azza Wa Jal and that the oppression which rulers inflict on the populace is the decree ofAllah Ta’ala, and the solution for such tyranny is Inaabat ilallaah (Turning to Allah with Repentance), they will remain sinking in an abyss of moral degradation and humiliation to remain the slaves of the western kuffaar. “And not a leaf falls (from a tree) but He is aware of it….” | <urn:uuid:18e1959a-ff38-4bcd-96bb-5417d1cb9dd0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthread.php?87257-Your-Deeds-Are-Your-Rulers&p=757129&viewfull=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946555 | 1,708 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Time Capsules are gems of information extracted from past issues of the Champion and other publications in order to provide a window into Milton’s past.
There were no less than 15 prisoners in the jail here last week, none of them vagrants and all charged with crimes. Four of them, the Burlington burglars were taken to Kingston on Monday. The number in jail now is seven. Governor McGibbon says Provincial Detective Miller told him last week that Halton was not exceptional, that there was a marked increase of crime throughout the province for which it is hard to account.
• • •
Up to last week Milton had had the rare good fortune to escape an epidemic of influenza. The total number of cases was about 50, with one death but the town’s comparative immunity has ended. Last night the Medical Health Officer told the Champion that there were about 100 cases in and about the town, making the grand total about 150. He said the type had become more virulent. There was only one case of pneumonia in the town, but several near it. For this state of affairs the Winter Fair at Guelph was largely responsible. The attendance from Halton had been large and few escaped infection, townsmen or farmers near Milton and in other parts of the county. Another Milton physician corroborated this. The fair buildings appear to have been a veritable pest house, about as dangerous as a passed building at the war front in Europe. There is general indignation on account of the concealment of the real state of affairs at Guelph, for the sake, it is alleged, of the money to be made out of the visitors to the fair. Conditions became so bad that the fair had to be closed ahead of time. The ban on public meetings, etc. will remain in force until the epidemic ends. Then that will be it is hard to say. Lodge meetings as well as others are prohibited.
• • •
C.H. Earl is one of the many Miltonians who got the flu infection at Guelph Winter Fair. Pneumonia developed some days ago and his condition is very serious, but he is holding his own and it is hoped that he will recover. A trained nurse has charge of his case.
• • •
Last week the I.O.D.E. sent a shipment of comforts to Siberia, consisting of 165 pairs of socks, 11 service shirts. Of these 9 pairs of sock and three shirts were made by the ladies of Lowville and the Hornby Women’s Institute contributed 20 pairs of socks and 8 service shirts.
• • •
At Tuesday’s meeting of the county council D.S. Robertson, Chairman Halton Victory Loan, presented the county council with the splendid Victory Loan flag won by Halton in the last drive, and Major Gairdner, organizer and Judge Elliot, vice-chairman, addressed the council, both congratulating Halton on the high place it had taken, the highest in one case and among the highest in all. Major Gairdner also spoke of the great record made by Georgetown, that village getting the only six crown flag in Canada. The county flag measures 12 by 21 feet and on it are three crowns, signifying the reaching of 75 per cent in excess of the objective. The county council has ordered it to be hung against the south east wall of the court room, to be kept there as a memento of the patriotism of the people of Halton.
This material is assembled on behalf of the Milton Historical Society by Jim Dills, who can be reached through the society at (905) 875-4156. | <urn:uuid:7330d976-e47b-4647-9c55-ba52f4da8796> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.insidehalton.com/opinion/columns/article/1541157--fifteen-prisoners-in-milton-jail-none-of-them-vagrants | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982247 | 745 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Did you know Barbie's had over 120 careers since 1959? Along with dabbling in computer engineering, she's also planning a big move into architecture this fall—but obviously she'll need an eco-friendly cantilever mansion to call her own.
Like England's Balancing Barn, Barbie's four-storey dream mansion (which is being manufactured by Mattel to coincide with the new Barbie's launch later this year) is designed to balance off a steep incline (maybe the Malibu hills?)
While Mattel will sell Architect Barbie's Dream House, it was actually designed by Ting Li and Maja Parklar for a competition to crowdsource the perfect design. And while it's Barbie-pink, it appears to have all the hallmarks of good architecture. It even includes a meditating room, if Barbie has enough time in her diary between lunching with Ken and cocktails with the girls.
As you will have clocked, Barbie's developed quite an eye for the environment, even if her own lineage isn't so eco-friendly. While it's only a miniature plastic palace, it's been designed to USGBC standards, with a green roof, solar panels and bamboo floors. Plus there's plenty of outdoor space for Barbie's pet giraffe, seemingly. [Architect Barbie competition via Inhabitat] | <urn:uuid:e310b3dc-5597-418e-930f-55e99c53eecc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gizmodo.com/5827651/its-ok-to-admit-you-want-to-live-in-architect-barbies-mansion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973781 | 272 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Slater and colleagues Nigel Mann at State University of New York College at Oneonta and Kimberly Dingess at Indiana University in Bloomington first discovered the complexities of the wrens' song last year.
The team, led by Mann, describes its findings in the March 2006 issue of the journal Biology Letters.
The group made the discovery by chance while trapping birds as part of a larger project to determine the relationships among some 28 species of wren that live in Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, and Ecuador.
The researchers played recordings of birdsong to lure the wrens into nearly invisible net traps. The wrens are territorial and so rush into the nets to scare off the supposed intruder.
"Usually within one or two minutes, we've got the territory owners arriving, and that's exactly what happened," Mann said today in a broadcast of the Pulse of the Planet radio program.
(Pulse of the Planet and this related news series receive funding from the National Science Foundation.)
The researchers watched from the bushes as one bird arrived at the net, followed moments later by a second.
Normally wrens live in pairs. With two plain-tailed wrens captured, the researchers thought their work was done.
"But before we even had a chance to get up and extract these two birds out of the net, a third flew into the net. And then a fourth," Mann said.
At first the team thought they might be on a boundary between two territories, and both sets of owners had converged on the trap.
"Then a fifth bird flew into the net and then a sixth and then, finally, even a seventh bird. And this had us totally baffled. We never had this with any of our other wren species before," Mann continued.
Sharon Gill is a postdoctoral fellow in ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University in New Jersey who studies the behavioral ecology of temperate and tropical birds, including wrens.
She says that it's hard to tell if more than one bird is singing during a duet, except that the sound is fuller.
"What strikes me in this paper is what it must have felt like to discover up to seven birds singing [at once] That must have been a spectacular experience to witness," she said.
The next step for the bird researchers, Gill adds, is to understand why tropical birds sing duets, and why some species such as the plain-tailed wrens live and sing in larger groups.
According to study co-author Slater, the chorus singing is likely a territorial defense meant to intimidate any would-be intruder.
"I liken it to what the New Zealand rugby team calls a haka," he said.
In the haka, a Maori tradition, the rugby players get in formation, jump up and down, and chant. The ritual is meant to prepare the players for the game and intimidate their opponents.
The chorus singing could also help synchronize breeding, Slater says.
Most birds use seasonal daylight cues to stay in tune with each other. But the plain-tailed wrens live very close to the Equator, where day length is the same year-round.
By singing together, the birds could be keeping each other in tune through the various stages of their breeding cycle.
Princeton's Gill says the singing probably combines all these functions.
"I think we need to do more work to fully understand it," she said.
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SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES | <urn:uuid:ea7d6739-5122-4f0a-a07a-559ac4d50f26> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060808-wrens-song_2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96218 | 762 | 3.90625 | 4 |
Putting Corporate Tax Dodging on the Table
As the Super Congress eyes trillions in budget cuts that will undermine the quality of life for most Americans, here's a stunning fact to contemplate: Twenty-five hugely profitable U.S. companies paid their CEOs more last year than they paid Uncle Sam in taxes.
That's the key finding of a new Institute for Policy Studies report, Massive CEO Rewards for Tax Dodging, which I co-authored.
The report has been a catalyst to getting more people engaged in street heat and grassroots lobbying to press Congress to stop abuses. After reviewing the report, US Representative Elijah Cummings called for Congressional oversight hearings into excessive compensation and aggressive tax avoidance.
These artful dodgers include the CEOs of Verizon, Boeing, Honeywell, General Electric, International Paper, Prudential, eBay, Bank of New York Mellon, Ford, Motorola, Dow Chemical, and Stanley Black and Decker. Their average annual compensation totaled $16.7 million, well above last year's average of $10.8 million for the CEOs of S&P 500 companies.
Instead of paying their fair share, these companies spent millions lobbying for additional tax breaks and loopholes. Twenty of the 25 companies spent more lobbying Congress last year than they paid the IRS in federal corporate taxes. General Electric invested $41.8 million in lobbying and got $3.3 billion in tax refunds. Boeing spent $20 million on lobbying and got a $35 billion contract from the U.S. government, while paying a paltry $13 million in U.S. taxes for a company with $4.3 billion in U.S. income last year.
Eighteen of the 25 companies aggressively use off shore tax havens to shift profits around the globe to avoid U.S. taxes. These 18 companies together had 556 subsidiaries in the Cayman Islands, Singapore, Ireland, and other havens. The offshore scam works like this: companies pretend their profits are earned in low-tax or no-tax jurisdictions—and then feign losses from their U.S. operations at tax time.
Whatever happened to corporate civic leadership? A previous generation of CEOs would have been ashamed to be compensated so lavishly while their companies abandoned responsibility for paying their fair share. They would have been embarrassed to go year after year contributing little or nothing to the public investments that make the United States a vibrant business environment.
Here are a few examples of these champion tax-dodgers:
- Chesapeake Energy paid its CEO Aubrey McClendon $21 million last year but paid zero federal corporate income tax in 2010. Chesapeake is fracking the tax code, drilling it for every possible subsidy it can extract — while lobbying to preserve antiquated tax breaks for oil and gas industry.
- Online retailer eBay paid its CEO John Donahoe $21.4 million last year while collecting a federal tax refund of $131 million. eBay's 31 subsidiaries in Switzerland, Singapore, and seven other tax havens facilitate its efforts to move money around the planet as a tax-dodging strategy.
- Insurance brokerage giant Marsh & McLennan paid its CEO Brian Duperrault $14 million yet collected a $90 million tax refund from Uncle Sam. The company has 105 subsidiaries in 20 off shore tax havens, including 25 in Bermuda—a favorite locale for insurance companies seeking to avoid both taxes and regulation.
These super-moocher companies happily benefit from the privileges and advantages of doing business in the United States. If a competitor tries to steal their product or idea, these corporations rush to the U.S court system and law enforcement agencies for remedies and justice. The U.S. military guards their global assets.
They use the fertile ground of publicly funded research and infrastructure to bolster their own profits. They create new products from a foundation of Uncle Sam's investments in medical and scientific research and government funded technologies like the Internet. Our taxpayer-funded roads, ports, and bridges bolster their business environment. Our public schools and universities educate the workers these companies rely on. In fact 16 of these 25 CEOs attended public universities. They personally were educated with help from U.S. tax dollars.
The UK’s Progressive Tea Party
Imagine a parallel universe where the Great Crash of 2008 inspired ordinary people to take on corporate tax evaders. The name of this parallel universe is Britain.
These CEOs profess to love America. But when it comes time to pay the bills, they'd rather outsource that job over to you or the small business down the road.
The only way corporate tax dodging will get on the agenda of Congressional deficit cutters is if public puts it there. US Uncut is bringing the issue to town hall meetings around the country, urging elected officials to shut down corporate tax dodging.
Others are pressing their members of Congress to join Rep. Cummings in his call for Congressional oversight hearings on runaway CEO pay and corporate tax avoidance, and to cosponsor and pass the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act which would limit some of these tax shenanigans—and generate $100 billion revenue per year. In the face of growing fiscal austerity, there's a growing sentiment aht these companies should contribute to the solution and pay their fair share of U.S. taxes.
Chuck Collins wrote this article for YES! Magazine, a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. Chuck is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies where he directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good.“Do You Pay Your Taxes? Bank of America Doesn’t”
- For more action information and the new Institute for Policy Studies report, Executive Excess 2011: The Massive CEO Rewards for Tax Dodging.
- Jon Stewart: Wait, Who’s Greedy?
GE's not paying taxes ... and public employees are the ones we're calling "greedy, parasitic, and selfish?"
- “Do You Pay Your Taxes? Bank of America Doesn’t”
The latest from a growing international movement to make corporate tax dodgers pay ... so public services don't have to.
- A Fair Tax on Millionaires
In a time of budget crises, debunking the arguments against taxing the very, very rich.
That means, we rely on support from our readers.
Independent. Nonprofit. Subscriber-supported. | <urn:uuid:6b601cf3-b960-4bd9-a5f4-aafde1df9421> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/putting-corporate-tax-dodging-on-the-table?icl=yesemail_wkly20110909&ica=mrCollins | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94249 | 1,294 | 1.632813 | 2 |
|Cemetery notes and/or description:|
This was the original Catholic cemetery in the town of Menard in the late 1800's. In the early 1900's it was also called "The Decker Cemetery" since several members of that family are buried there. It looks like general use of this cemetery was stopped when the "new" Catholic cemetery, Garden of Memories, was organized.
I estimated there are about 70+ unmarked graves visible by the depressions in the ground or remnants of burial markers.
You can not get to this cemetery by car. You have to walk in from the road and extreme care must be taken. Problems I've had in my visits were rattlesnakes in the high weeds and unmarked graves caving in when stepped on.
Several years after my first visit in in 1999, I found vandals had broken/damaged several headstones with a baseball bat... the unmarked graves at the back of the cemetery had been covered by brush and a new fence.... and several markers to the east were missing. It's such a shame that a person's final resting place is given so little respect.
Also listed on my Menard TXGenWeb site at: http://www.aliciasniche.com/txmenard/cem/cleo/cemcleo.htm
August 2010 Update: The Catholic Church, after finding property records, FINALLY realized that this is probably their original Catholic Cemetery. They are planning a "clean up day" soon....and I hope that it will never go back to being the neglected/forgotten cemetery that it was when I first found it. | <urn:uuid:18a1e0d7-63a0-49c6-a99f-a7725fad33eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2319283&CScntry=4&CSst=46&CScnty=2683 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982391 | 332 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Worth pointing out that these aluminum wire (tho copper coated, which is BS), which have 2 downsides:
1) they have a gauge size less current carrying capacity than copper....so they are effectively equivalent to 10 gauge copper, which is only good for 30-50 amps...not so much when you're cranking a cold engine with a dead battery.
2) aluminum is a lot less ductile (bending flexibility) than copper, so they are stiffer and tend to break if flexed a lot.
*Good* jumper calbes are made with copper welding cables which are flexible and can pass the rush of current necessary to start a car with a stone dead battery. And you'll be able to pass them down to your kids. Mine are 50 years old and inherited from my father,
You get what you pay for, and, I'd say, you aren't getting much here.
There is a good reason they are #1 in jumper cables.
The Coleman cables you link to on Amazon are better quality than these, however they are also copper coated aluminum. Making them the equivalent of 6 gauge copper, and at $40 still not a great deal. If you want good jumper cables make sure you are getting 4 gauge solid core copper cables.
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Router glitch causes widespread net outages
Level 3, Time Warner, BlackBerry reported to see problems
Internet services throughout North America and Europe saw widespread outages and slowdowns on Monday after backbone provider Level 3 Communications suffered a global failure, network providers said.
Time Warner Cable in the US, Research in Motion services for BlackBerry subscribers, and UK ISPs Eclipse Internet, Easynet, and MerulaSupport were all reportedly experiencing problems on Monday. According to multiple accounts, including a variety of Twitter dispatches, at least some of the outages were the result of a bug in Juniper routers that corrupted BGP, or border gateway protocol, tables.
“There are confirmed reports that this event within Level 3 has affected most of North America,” hosting provider Phyber Communications told its customers in a status report. “This outage has affected other networks running Juniper routers with the majority of them seeing their devices core dump and reload.”
A core dump is when a serious error causes a device to crash and the contents in its main memory are written to disk. As a result, the routers must reboot with little or no warning, creating problems for networks that rely on the devices to route email, webpages and other internet traffic.
“Shortly after 9 a.m. ET today, our network experienced temporary service interruptions across North America and Europe apparently due to a router software issue," Level 3 said in a statement emailed to reporters. "It has been reported that a similar issue may have affected other carriers as well. Our technicians worked quickly to address the issue and service is now fully restored.”
In a separate statement, Juniper Executive Vice President Mark Bauhaus said: "This morning, Juniper learned of a Border Gateway Protocol edge router issue that affected a small percentage of customers. A software fix is available, and we've been working with our customers to immediately deploy the fix."
"The trigger for the MPC crash was determined to be a valid BGP UPDATE received from a registered network service provider, although this one UPDATE was determined to not be solely responsible for the crashes," the advisory stated. "A complex sequence of preconditions is required to trigger this crash. Both IPv4 and IPv6 routing prefix updates can trigger this MPC crash."
The general internet instability was also noted by members of the North American Network Operators Group.
“There are widespread issues across the Internet; certain versions of Juniper firmware have core dumped after seeing a particular BGP 'UPDATE' message,” one member wrote. “It's affected multiple service providers, globally, not just those connected to TATA.” ®
This article was updated to revise the meaning of core dump. | <urn:uuid:e5608797-8bf8-4479-b341-a5d90d438407> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/11/07/global_net_outage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954747 | 559 | 1.546875 | 2 |
What is Allergic Rhinitis?
Known to most people as hay fever, allergic rhinitis is a very common medical problem affecting more than 15 percent of the population, both adults and children.
Allergic rhinitis takes two different forms — seasonal and perennial. Symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis occur in spring, summer and /or early fall and are usually caused by allergic sensitivity to pollens from trees, grasses or weeds, or to airborne mold spores. Other people experience symptoms year-round, a condition called "perennial allergic rhinitis." It's generally caused by sensitivity to house dust, house dust mites, animal dander and /or mold spores. Underlying or hidden food allergies are considered a possible cause for perennial nasal symptoms. Some people may experience both types of rhinitis, with perennial symptoms worsening during specific pollen seasons. As will be discussed later, there are also other causes for rhinitis. | <urn:uuid:4e7f18d9-48df-45fd-b98c-9feff029606d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sjo.org/Our-Services/Nasal-Sinus-Center/Allergies/What-is-Allergic-Rhinitis-.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938453 | 194 | 3.828125 | 4 |
March 16, 2010
DeKalb, Ill. — Even packed with students and a professor, the Wirtz Hall classroom is quieter than a library.
Virtually every sound punctuates the stillness. The ticking of the clock. The creaking of chairs. The turning of pages.
It’s a normal day in professor Sara Bianco’s class in American Sign Language, which since the fall semester can satisfy Northern Illinois University’s undergraduate foreign language requirement.
Students are immersed in the silence from the moment they arrive: Bianco has been deaf since birth and comes from a Deaf family that spans four generations – the capital “D” referring a culture that regards deafness as a difference and not a disability.
“I’m sure students are intimidated when I point that out to them on the syllabus during the first class and type on a computer, ‘This rule starts now’ – they just haven’t learned the vocabulary to tell me so,” says Bianco, a professor in the School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders since 2008.
“Before they have a chance to freak out and withdraw from the class, I use a variety of other communication methods to let them know that everything will be just fine. During the first day of class, I rely only on the board and the computer to communicate with students except when I teach students how to spell their first names if they don’t already know.”
Her accommodation is short-lived.
“From that point on, I continue using the computer and board, but with less and less frequency until students are able to understand me in sign completely,” she says. “Learning American Sign Language (ASL) is just like learning another foreign language. ASL is different in that it is a visual language, but it does not make the language any different than others.”
Before long, however, students seem familiar and comfortable with manual communication. Lessons begin with spelling names and everyday conversation: “Hello, how are you?”
In one early-semester classroom exercise, they sign with partners to learn how they spent the weekend. No one speaks, although some giggle at the signed answers.
Afterward, Bianco walks around the room, calling on students by pointing and smiling at them. Before they can report on their partners, they point at them to indicate who they are. All watch intently and unintentionally demonstrate their comprehension through nodding.
When Bianco teaches, she directs eyes to the overhead projection screen, which might show video clips with audio or printed diagrams with words.
She then models the new material, such as expressing numbers: One, two, three – those correspond to fingers. A twist of the hand transforms those to first, second and third.
Students also are required to participate in five hours of Deaf events; those without transportation or who feel they’re not ready can attend “silent dinners” with teaching assistants and other students at local restaurants. No one can use their voices, even when ordering.
“One of the challenges I hear time and again is understanding finger-spelling, especially at full speed. There are instructional DVDs and books dedicated to the topic, but it still seems to be just out of grasp for many,” she says. “Depending on the person who is signing, even a fluent signer may have a difficult time understanding another person’s spelling.”
NIU’s College of Health and Human Sciences offers four courses in sign language, which some studies place as the third-most widely used language in the United States. People who are deaf and hard of hearing make up an estimated 7 percent of the population and Deaf people 2 percent.
Yet few four-year universities in this part of the state – Chicago not included – offer ASL.
“Sara has done a wonderful job of helping us develop and offer a comprehensive American Sign Language curriculum,” says Sue Ouellette, chair of the School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders. “The approval of ASL courses as an avenue for satisfying the university’s foreign language requirement allows many more students to learn this very useful language and to become better educated about the Deaf culture.”
Ninety-five students are enrolled in Bianco’s courses, and about 55 students are enrolled in two other sections of ASL1. Enrollment has grown tremendously from non-Communicative Disorders majors.
Successful completion of the entire curriculum does not guarantee fluency.
“The best way to learn a language is full immersion,” Bianco says. “They more time you spend with people whose first language is ASL, the better you become.”
However, learning sign language can give students an advantage in their careers.
Teachers are likely to find children who are deaf and hard of hearing in their classrooms. A majority of parents are applying the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to place their children with hearing loss in the least restrictive environment.
Most hospitals keep sign language interpreters on call, rather than on staff, even though patients who are deaf and hard of hearing have the same medical concerns as the rest of the population.
“Someone understanding the needs of a person who uses sign language could mean the difference between life and death in many ways,” Bianco says.
Bianco is “thrilled” and proud of NIU for counting ASL toward foreign language requirements ahead of a new state law that mandates it.
“Not only does learning sign language allow you to speak another language but it also opens up a new understanding of the people of two minority groups: people who are deaf and hard of hearing and Deaf people. That understanding and respect for us as a people goes a long way for us in going about our daily lives,” she says.
“Most students tell me that they love the language and want to learn more,” she adds. “Another common comment is that Deaf people are so patient, slowing down and teaching students as they go along in their conversation. Learning sign language opens up a bridge into the Deaf world. There are many wonderful experiences awaiting you.”
# # #
Media Contact: Mark McGowan, NIU Media Relations and Internal Communications
Phone: (815) 753-9472 | <urn:uuid:89a11ef6-bd2d-4f08-8b80-8fba4cb2ebcd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://niu.edu/mediarelations/news/2010/03/sign-language.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961134 | 1,335 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Rev. John Pridden was an Anglican clergyman, antiquarian, architect and philanthropist, born in 1758. He was Vicar of Heybridge, Essex from 1783 til 1797, Little Wakering, Essex from 1788 til 1797, then vicar of Caddington, Bedfordshire from 1797 til 1825. He was also a minor canon of St Paul's Cathedral, and curate at St Brides, London along with several other appointments. His commitments were such that his Bishop queried how he managed them all.
He toured Cornwall in May 1785. His known Cornish works are a North West View of Karn Bre Castle on Karn Bre Hill (sic) and a Saxon Doorcase at the White Hart Inn, Launceston. | <urn:uuid:b45b8f53-ea22-4e05-ac48-843fe3dfd45d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cornwallartists.org/cornwall-artists/john-pridden | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976629 | 158 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Originally Posted by FirstClass
I suppose I can forgive this since I haven't mentioned it in this specific thread, but I will now. (And you may recall it from other threads) Changes in traits and allele frequency is easily proven and I agree it works. What bothers me is that humans, indeed every single organism on this planet came about from a pool of water with some organic compounds floating in it. Chemistry tells us how those compounds were formed on the early Earth, but after that we have no explanation. Let me again remind you that intelligent design doesn't not necessarily refer to God. That phamplet said "creationism" which is but one possibility of intelligent design. It could have been God, or it could have been the black monolith, some alien species, et al.
No need to JUMP to God hypothesis just because at the present time we don't understand something.
It is ignorant, lazy and doesn't solve how Universe works. | <urn:uuid:62809344-469b-413c-98ed-fe383dcc6f06> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2308616&postcount=117 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98053 | 195 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Guest Author - Tammy Elizabeth Southin
During postmenopause, women face greater risks of developing loss of nerve function, also known as neurodegenerative disorders. Two of the most distressing forms of loss of nerve function; Alzheimerís and Parkinsonís diseases are also the most common for this age group.
At the International Menopause Society 13th World Congress on Menopause, American researcher Dr. Victor Henderson of Stanford University presented a discussion to learn about the possible links between nerve disorders and aging.
Interestingly, Parkinsonís disease affects greater numbers of men compared to women, while more women than men will develop Alzheimerís disease. The reasons as to why remain unclear, pointing to the need to continuing research into this area.
The National Institute of Health defines Parkinsonís disease as brain disorder where the nerves no longer control brain function. This further impacts the bodyís ability to walk, move, or have normal muscle control. Parkinsonís patients tend to suffer from unrestrained and unpredictable bodily movements, and often deal with bouts of shaking.
Alzheimerís disease is also a disorder of the brain. But in this case, the lack of nerve function affects memory and daily cognitive processes. Alzheimerís is just one form of dementia, which is an umbrella term for various nerve disorders that impact oneís capabilities of judging, reasoning, communicating, and remembering. Moreover, behavior and mood are affected.
Doctors are looking for the possible connection between decreasing estrogen levels during menopause and later life nerve disorders. Estrogen performs several functions in the brain and this may provide clues about women and dementia. Some neurotransmitters in the nervous system aid in brain and muscle functions. Without sufficient estrogen levels, researchers believe this explains why more women will suffer from Alzheimerís in their later years.
For additional reasons that are not fully understood, surgical menopause or hysterectomy is linked to higher rates of both Parkinsonís and Alzheimerís. Perhaps this is due to the sudden and sharp switch that puts a womanís body into immediate menopause. In women who undergo natural menopause, the age at which they experience the transition does not appear to have any relation to Alzheimerís disease.
Can hormone replacement therapy help?
This is another difficult area that requires more research as early results indicate that menopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is not considered a successful option for Parkinsonís disease. There simply are not enough studies available. In the case of Alzheimerís, there are suggestions that hormone replacement therapy introduced in women who are in late menopause, after age 65, may actually be at increased risk of dementia. Also unclear are whether initial small scale studies point that beginning HRT earlier in menopause may help to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimerís later on.
The International Menopause Society does not recommend hormone therapy for the prevention of Alzheimerís disease and recognizes the urgent need for further research in this area. (Sturdee, Pines, et al., Climacteric, 2011).
The key to understanding the link between HRT and nerve disorders may depend on identifying the earliest possible time to administer treatment, and do so for a short time span to obtain the maximum positive benefits for menopause patients. As doctors learn more about aging, the next few decades may provide some much needed answers to knowing how to prevent or lessen the occurrences of nerve disorders such as Alzheimerís disease and Parkinsonís disease.
ďNeurodegenerative disorders after menopause: Parkinsonís disease and Alzheimerís diseaseĒ Henderson, Victor (US) Ė Stanford University as presented at the IMS 13th World Congress on Menopause, Rome 2011.
Keep track of your health! Menopause, Your Doctor, and You prepares you for your next doctor's appointment! | <urn:uuid:3a4f966e-bc11-4d0d-b4ac-f566fdb59505> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art26126.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916946 | 771 | 3.171875 | 3 |
A lobster in a boiling pot has more of a chance than a mandatory helmet proposal in Maine, so I was going to keep my mouth shut in the debate in the Maine Legislature about whether to require motorcyclists here to wear helmets. What’s the point? Then I read some of the reasons that opponents suggested this legislative session’s mandatory helmet bill for adults ought not to pass, and here I am, a cursed trout rising out of the water after the anti-helmet bait.
What really hooked me on the idea of responding to those objections was the thought that some 18-year-old out there might not wear a helmet and get his head stove in as a result of some of the absurd arguments against mandatory helmets. I could just not sit by and take the chance that would happen without saying anything. So here’s, for you, kid, the straight poop on motorcycle helmets. If you decide not to helmet up, so be it, but don’t make that decision because someone BS’d you about helmets.
The idea they don’t really work? It’s a crock. Almost every study ever done says they reduce the risk of severe head injury by at least 30 percent. Of the about 100,000 Americans who will crash a motorcycle in 2013, 80 percent will be injured and more than 4,500 will die. If your girlfriend on the back of the bike is worth helmeting against these risks, so are you.
You’ll hear that helmets should not be mandatory because not all are adequately tested for effectiveness. Forgetting for the moment that if you wear a jack-o-lantern on your head it would offer more protection than nothing, just remember that helmets reduce the risk of severe head injury in a crash — that’s the only test that really counts.
If you want to prove this to yourself, try my unscientific helmet test. Put on any old helmet you can find — German army style, full face, whatever — lie down on the sidewalk, and bang your helmeted forehead against the curb. How did that feel? Not bad, eh?
Now (and don’t tell your mother I suggested this when she asks how you got that bruise), take the helmet off and GENTLY bang your unhelmeted forehead against the curb. I’m guessing that hurt a bit more than when you banged your helmeted head. So, no matter what other kind of testing was or was not done on helmets, your testing (and every other) proves that helmeted heads get hurt a lot less when banged against the curb. Go figure.
Here’s another argument against mandatory helmets I want you to roll your eyes at; that it’s unfair to make motorcyclists wear helmets if car drivers don’t have to wear them too, because car crashes can also cause head injuries. But wait — don’t people in cars have an entire car around them to protect them, which is why they are 30 times less likely to die in a car crash than a motorcyclist is in a motorcycle crash? Here’s the compromise I propose: when motorcyclists reduce their risk of a fatal crash to the low rate of car drivers, you and I should be willing to wear helmets while driving. Or, if motorcyclists are willing to ride their bikes with an entire car around them for protection, they can forgo the helmet.
In testimony, some opponents argued that making riders wear helmets in Maine would convince motorcyclists from other states not to visit Maine and spend tourism dollars here. Interesting, maybe right. But that argument restated is that a little more tourism cash is worth the helmet-preventable deaths and injuries. You should not buy that argument either.
When the day comes for you to ride a motorcycle in Maine and you’re over 18, whether to helmet up will probably still be your decision, because the Maine Legislature is unlikely to stand up to arguments against mandatory helmets. We should not make the wrong choice — in the Legislature or on our motorcycles — because someone filled our precious heads full of crap against mandatory helmets.
Erik Steele, a physician in Bangor, is chief medical officer of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems. | <urn:uuid:e365be13-b63c-4ea5-9567-9cca29b9a828> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bangordailynews.com/2013/02/28/health/blogs-and-columns/mandatory-motorcycle-helmets-again/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95938 | 881 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Compared to traditional concrete, polymer concrete is a relatively new invention. It was first used on a commercial scale in the early nineteen fifties. Especially the lightweight facade elements produced then were very popular. A special application of polyester concrete may be seen in the Fast Ferry project by Hans Slemmer and WTS Architects in Vlissingen. The facade is constructed of elements poured onto a rubber mat co-developed with WTS Architects. First a cast was made of a wave structure in the beach sand formed at low tide. Then a section of 2 x 3 meters was enclosed with formwork and plaster poured in. Then another model was made. Once cured, the plaster models were released, transported to the factory and enclosed with carpentry work, with the plaster models serving as bottoms for the mold. The next step was making rubber casts of the plaster models. The rubber casts were the basis for the final mold into which the polyester concrete was poured. Once thoroughly cured the elements were blasted, making the stone’s grain visible creating a coarse textured appearance. The elements were then screwed visibly onto the underlying facade construction.
In addition to its excellent weather-proof and fire-retardant qualities, polymer concrete offers various benefits over (Portland) cement concrete. Once cured, polymer concrete has a smooth and level surface. This surface is non-capillary, preventing water and grime to penetrate the concrete and creating a waterproof surface. Compared to standard concrete, polymer concrete is three to five times more lightweight and three to ten times stronger. This allows for facade elements with more slender dimensioning and a more lightweight underlying facade construction. Elements can achieve even more slender dimensioning by reinforcing the concrete with glass fibers, metal mesh or carbon fibers. Also complex three-dimensional shapes can be realized. Project NUVO 2000 by Kjeli Kuizinga is a good illustration of how a smooth three-dimensional shape can be achieved using polyester concrete.
An intermediate form of polymer concrete and traditional concrete is Polymer Glass-Fiber Reinforced Cement (PGVC). Traditional concrete cannot be reinforced with glass fibers because of the alkaline reaction between cement and glass. This problem can be remedied by using PGVC. PGVC consists of glass fibers encapsulated in a polymer resin which attaches to both glass fiber and cement. At the same time the polymer resin forms a barrier between the glass fibers and the cement, preventing an alkaline reaction. As with Polymer concrete, PGVC enables the creation of highly precise and slender details.
Because polymer concrete shrinks when curing, extra additives are used. In the ninety seventies mainly gravel was the visible additive, but nowadays also other materials like stone, glass, shells or metal particles are used. In principle any dry material not absorbing moisture can be used. Examples of added materials in polymer concrete may be seen in several samples by PP Gevelbouw. These experimental samples incorporate shells, glass and metal particles.
The surface of polymer concrete can receive a range of treatments. The concrete can be polished, removing thin layers from the top coat with fine polishing disks. An alternative is water blasting or sand blasting the concrete giving the concrete’s appearance a deeper perspective. With the Vectogram cutting technology images can be made in the concrete without applying prints that fade over time. This technology is based on conversion of a digital image into 256 gray values. These gray values are converted via special software into a three dimensional milling pattern subsequently applied to the surface via a computer controlled milling machine.
Drawbacks of Polymer Concrete
Using polymer concrete has its drawbacks. The polymers are more expensive than Portland cement and the visco elasticity of polymer concrete is relatively high, varying from 20 to 50 GPa (Portland cement concrete: 20 – 30 GPa). Plus, polymer concrete is difficult to manipulate on site. To achieve the desired result manipulation and curing must occur in a controlled environment. Consequently, facade elements are almost always prefab elements entailing the customary maximum dimensions.
Another consequence of prefabrication is that the facade’s appearance always has visible joints. This need not be a drawback when due allowance is made for the resulting line patterns.
Polyester concrete is not concrete, but then what is it? It is a composite offering many benefits and only a few drawbacks. It provides many potential forms and technical possibilities, and can be used in more than facades alone. Perhaps this article gave you inspiration? | <urn:uuid:8d75a6a6-3700-4e8b-91bd-c930bd6768c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.materia.nl/583.0.html?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=82&tx_ttnews[backPid]=532&cHash=02c715ae89 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94162 | 910 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Spotlight
Maria Starck: Exploring All the Options
“I want to make sure that when I feel empowered to do something, I understand the complexities behind the issue.”
When Maria Starck ’14 arrived at Transylvania, she thought she might major in a number of areas: history or anthropology or sociology. She assumed she was preparing for law school. At one point, she thought she would settle on a Spanish major with a philosophy minor.
Then she learned about the new philosophy, politics, and economics major from her first-year advisor, philosophy professor Peter Fosl. She was already taking philosophy and political science courses, but she knew she needed to learn about economics. As Starck explains, “It’s not my everyday passion, but I thought I shouldn’t leave a liberal arts school without having more exposure, especially if I go into politics.”
The multidisciplinary approach obviously suits Starck. “My hope is that I come out really well-rounded and making all sorts of connections between disciplines.”
Her PPE classes encourage her to examine modern institutions and current issues to understand how they are inextricably caught up in issues of economics, politics, and philosophy. She also believes the program's multidisciplinary approach will help her understand the multiple facets of any issue.
After discussing topics such as Marxism or the mass incarceration of the male African-American population in this country, she realizes there are no simplistic solutions to the problems facing us.
Starck is never in danger of developing a myopic view of the world, however. In addition to her vast academic interests, she has a taste for a wide variety of other pursuits.
At Transylvania, she’s active in her sorority and as an officer of the Panhellenic Association, as well as with student government. In high school, Starck initially focused on the performing arts, particularly music and theater. She is currently studying voice with Gregory Turay, Kenan visiting artist in music and internationally acclaimed tenor. That seems to be paying off. In fall 2012, Starck was second runner-up in Transylvania's concerto/aria competition. She also performs occasionally as a duo or with a band at campus events.
Starck was attracted to Transylvania by the opportunity to develop close relationships with the professors. She has been impressed with both their commitment to education and their standings in their fields. Soon, she’ll rely on their advice as she contemplates her steps after Transylvania. At this point, it’s only clear that she’ll pursue some sort of postgraduate study.
“As I’m forming who I am as a person, what do I think will be most in line with where I want to make an impact? Am I attracted to law because I’m really interested in contracts? Maybe not. I need to demystify the whole law school thing and determine if that’s the right choice for me. Right now I’m just exploring.” | <urn:uuid:6cc8faee-3120-4fe0-87db-e5c8b24cfeaf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://transy.edu/programs/ppe/spotlight.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972891 | 651 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Micro-inverters are all the buzz in residential solar right now. This post will help you understand the pros and cons of traditional inverters vs. micro-inverters.
As mentioned on our Solar 101 Technology page, solar panels produce a direct current (DC) which needs to be inverted into an alternating current (AC) before it is able to be used by household appliances. That’s the job of the inverter. Traditionally there is one inverter that is mounted low on the side of a house next to the power meter. That one box does all of the inverting. Because it handles fairly high voltage coming from the solar panels, it is the one part that may need to be replaced over the life of a solar energy system. Solar panels have 20+ year warranties, whereas inverters typically have 10-15 year warranties.
Micro-inverters have recently started appearing in the news, and here’s why: Instead of having one inverter for the entire array, a micro-inverter could be installed on each panel, or every few panels. The micro-inverters would convert the DC to AC right at the source, then AC wires would run down to the circuit breaker and power meter. Each micro-inverter would be handling lower voltage and therefore may not wear out as quickly.
But more importantly, micro-inverters allow the system to be more efficient and therefore produce more energy. When set up in the traditional method, a solar array is only as efficient as the least efficient panel. ie. the weakest link. If you have 5x 200 watt panels, but one of them is shaded or dirty such that it’s only producing at 50% efficiency, then the entire system will only work at 50% efficiency. That means that instead of producing 1,000 watts, the system would only produce 500 watts. However, if each panel had a micro inverter on it, only the one panel that is dirty or shaded would be effected. So in this scenario one panel would be at 50% and therefore producing only 100 watts, but the other 4 would still be at 100% producing 200 watts for a total of 900 watts. With micro-inverts – 900 watts, without – 500 watts. Granted, that’s a fairly extreme example, but it gets the point across.
Additonally, Inverters are currently sized according to the number and type of solar panels on the roof, and if a home owner wanted to add more panels in the future that may require a different inverter with a larger capacity. Whereas now that micro-inverters are being used, in theory, additional panels with their own micro-inverter could be added to an existing array without needing to replace anything.
Micro-inverters also make it one step easier for home owners who want to take the do-it-yourself approach. That said, solar installations using traditional inverters or micro-inverters will both still require an electrician to do the final wiring of the system.
If you’d like to speak with an expert about which inverter is right for you, please fill out our registration form and we’ll have an expert give you a call. | <urn:uuid:75057b05-66fa-48fb-8d47-03c93915cf8a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.residentialsolar101.org/is_a_micro-inverter_right_for_you/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94377 | 670 | 3.015625 | 3 |
At first sight, you'd be forgiven for thinking the British are obsessed with history. Look at any tourist board advertisement for the United Kingdom, and you'll most likely to see images of London's Tower Bridge, the prehistoric ring of Stonehenge, probably a pretty rose-clad country cottage, and maybe a sun-drenched seaside resort with its Victorian pier stretching out into the sea.
Be it military or civilian, it's almost impossible to travel in UK any distance without stumbling across some historic building. Villages throughout the land will have churches and houses dating back hundreds of years. Towns such as Sevenoaks have impressive civic buildings built with money from the days of the British Empire. Norman and medieval fortifications are particularly common in south and central England, castles line the Welsh coast, and Hadrian's Wall remains as one of the grandest Roman structures to survive anywhere.
London is one of the most impressive cities in the World to visit, largely because of the huge number of places you could add to your ‘must see' list. It is well worth spending a few days in London before you head of exploring.
To the south-east of London, the county of Kent, known as ‘The Garden of England', is home to the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral, some of the most beautiful castles and stately homes, and the coastal resorts of Folkestone and Dover . This is the closest you will get to mainland Europe, but tread carefully if you refer to the British people as ‘Europeans'.
Geographically, politically, and on every official document, the United Kingdom is certainly part of Europe. But ask most of the population of the UK, and they will tell you Europeans are the people living the other side of the English Channel.
Neither though, will you leave with the impression the United Kingdom is actually united. The Welsh still harbour centuries old feelings of independence, and the Scots and English still have an unmistakeable, if now amicable, rivalry. The people are warm and welcoming, wherever you choose to visit. But there are intruiging differences in cultures and personalities, not just between the different countries, but even from region to region.
The landscape also changes continuously. The south coast has rolling green hills, tall cliffs, and popular beaches. East Anglia is a vast, predominantly flat, patchwork of fields and waterways, which slowly give way to the fertile, undulating greenery of middle England. Continue westwards, and the hills become the mountains of Wales , ending with the dramatic coastline of the Irish Sea, with miles of peaceful unspoilt beaches.
The highest and most spectacular scenery is that of northern Scotland , with the tallest mountains in Britain, remote settlements, and untamed rivers heading to deep, dark, lakes. Not as high, but just as impressive, are the wild Yorkshire Moors, and beautiful Lake District, both in Northern England. Cross the sea, and Northern Ireland has enticing green countryside, and the stark rocky Atlantic coastline.
With such a rapidly changing environment, the UK is a great country to travel in. You'll experience something different around every corner, and wonder how on earth so much is packed in to just a few small islands. UK eguide has all the UK tourism information that you will ever need and forms the best UK travel guide. Hotel Direct offer a fantastic range of discount Hotels in London including Covent Garden and the West End.
Henley on Thames | <urn:uuid:175dc303-f2a3-4338-9376-f607b72d475f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ukeguide.com/index.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935275 | 703 | 2.15625 | 2 |