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Charles P. Ginsburg
Born Jul 27 1920 - Died Apr 9 1992
Broad Band Magnetic Tape Systems and Method
Video Tape Recording
Patent Number(s) 2,956,114
Charles Ginsburg led the research team at Ampex Corporation in developing the first practical videotape recorder (VTR). The system used a rapidly rotating recording head to apply high-frequency signals onto a reel of magnetic tape.
The VTR revolutionized television broadcasting. Ginsburg led the Ampex research team that developed a new machine that could run the tape at a much slower rate because the recording heads rotated at high speed, allowing the necessary high-frequency response. Recorded programs that could be edited replaced most live broadcasts. In 1956, CBS became the first network to employ VTR technology.
Born in San Francisco, California, Ginsburg graduated with a B.A. from San Jose State in 1948 then worked as a studio and transmitter engineer at a radio station in the San Francisco Bay area. In 1952 he joined the Ampex Corporation. He held the position of vice president of Advance Development at Ampex from 1975 until his retirement in 1986. Tape recording of television signals dates to just after World War II, when audio tape recorders were pushed to record the very high frequency signals needed for television. These early machines ran the tape at very high speeds-240 inches per second-to achieve high-frequency response. | <urn:uuid:617aca67-7df6-449e-b4e0-74ec176fef4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://invent.org/hall_of_fame/66.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939804 | 284 | 3.0625 | 3 |
The horse was first domesticated approximately 5,000 years ago, substantially later than other farm animals and 9,000 years after the dog had adopted the position of humankind's companion. Originally a prime food source for Stone Age hunters, the horse was originally domesticated for its meat and also possibly for its milk. It later moved up in status to a pack animal and then promoted to a riding animal, the first hard evidence of such usage indicating that the horse was not used as a mount until almost 2,000 years after it had become domesticated. It was the introduction of horse trading that brought about the development of the various breeds. The earliest records of multi-colored horses (such as the gypsy horse) are from cave drawings estimated to be approximately 20,000 years old. In past times, such multi-colored horses were believed to be omens of good fortune.
The association of the Rom with horses is almost legendary. By tradition, the gypsy horse is involved in each and every aspect of family life...faithfully pulling the vardo by day, yet sufficiently amenable and patient to be the gentle mount of gypsy children when the day is done. Often staked out alongside the road with the family wagon in all types of weather when not "on the move," the gypsy horse lives and thrives for the most part by partaking of the grasses which happen to be growing where it is tethered. The heartiness and exceptional disposition of the gypsy horse is its trademark and such an animal is generally considered to be cold-blooded, incredibly adaptable from the moment of birth.
Though classified as cold-blooded, there is essentially no biological difference between a gypsy horse and its hot-blooded or warm-blooded relatives. The categories refer solely to the three basic horse personalities as detailed below.
The Hot-Blooded Horse: This horse is one which has a highly-strung temperament...excitable and nervous when in an unfamiliar situation or around strangers. The modern hot-blooded horse is a descendant of the lithe desert horse (also known as the Barb), a small and swift horse originally bred by the Arabs with characteristics suitable to hot climates...fine hair, long legs and a tail carried away from the body to facilitate heat loss.
The Warm-Blooded Horse: This horse is also descended from the Arabian breed and was the type of horse ridden by the Moors of Spain. Through centuries of careful selection and cross-breeding, today's warm-blooded horse is one with a relatively stable temperament, generally characterized as being "friendly and willing." Although there is a tendency for the warm-blooded horse to become "spooked" or frightened, it is, as a general rule and if treated well, intelligent and of a good personality around people and other animals. First developed in Europe at least 300 years ago, the warm-blooded horse was originally used for war, agriculture and transportation...its characteristics refined to suit tastes of aristocrats. The warm-blooded horse is the most common type of horse found at shows, fairs and most equestrian events. The Hanoverian and Selle Francais are examples of a warm-blooded horse.
The Cold-Blooded Horse: This horse (of which the gypsy horse is an example) is one with an extremely stable personality, not likely to become "spooked" when encountering an unfamiliar situation or a stranger. Invariably large in stature, the ancient cold-blooded horse was the proud mount of Medieval knights, capable of carrying its rider complete with armor and, more often than not, its own armor as well. It was specifically bred for size and strength, suited to cold climates and with a physical build of round belly and thick coat which could retain body heat. Although the cold-blooded horse is sometimes considered lacking in intelligence (due to its apparent docility), nothing could be further from the truth. This is an animal of exceptional stability by nature and one which is unlikely to be skittish in an unfamiliar situation. The cold-blooded horse is thought by some sources to have descended from Equus caballus...the heavy prehistoric horse line of Northern Europe.
Note: There is often some confusion as to use of the word "thoroughbred" when applied to horses. Contrary to popular belief, a "thoroughbred" is not the correct term for any purebred horse. A thoroughbred is a distinct breed of running horses whose ancestry is traced through the male line directly back to three Eastern stallions: the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Barb.
The gypsy horse was developed over hundreds of years by selectively cross-breeding the Friesian, the Clydesdale, the Shire, the Fells Pony and the Dales Pony. The resulting horse of preference, which is thought to have originally emerged some time in the 1600s, was one which had to be sound, strong, intelligent, docile, athletic, gentle, kind, colorful and possessed of exceptional stamina and endurance...to say nothing of a willingness to learn. According to some historians, the forerunner of today's gypsy horse came into existence around 600 B.C., when metalworkers travelled the countryside with their families in barrel top wagons.
The most popular gypsy horse is known as the "Vanner" or "Cob" (also sometimes referred to as the "Irish Tinker"). Something akin to a mini draft horse, this hearty and compact little animal usually stands between 14 and 15.2 hands, sturdily built with a good deal of feathering and hair. Its neck and back are short, providing the animal with the strength needed to pull the colorful caravans. Heavy of bone, with flat knees and ample hooves, the physical foundation of this magnificent horse sustains a body which consists of a broad chest and heavy hips. In addition, the withers are rounded, making the gypsy horse very suitable for harness and the bareback riding style of the Rom children. An abundance of mane, tail and feather also lends the gypsy horse something of a "magical" look, true to its heritage.
Gypsy horses comes in a selection of colors...pinto and solid...with the preferred variety being those whose coats are Pinto in pattern (i.e., a combination of two colors in large markings), either Piebald (black-and-white) or Skewbald (any single color with white, other than black). Two distinctive gypsy horse patterns later evolved from Piebald and Skewbald, being Tobiana (white with large spots of color, often overlapping) and Overo (colored with white markings). One unusual and highly-prized pattern is the Blagdon, being any solid color with white splashed under the belly. Since the gypsy lifestyle cannot tolerate an animal that might endanger lives, any horse displaying an ill-temper or jumpiness or an aggressive nature is immediately banished. In competition, the gypsy horse excels at dressage, endurance, eventing, jumping and anything connected with driving.
Most gypsy horses are not registered. As is typical of the lifestyle, the Rom is not overly-concerned with the keeping of records or the storing of papers. The reputation of the Rom as horsemen originated many centuries ago and it is said that a Rom without a horse is no true Romany. There are basically four types of Romany horses, although continued modern interbreeding tends to blur the line between the varieties.
Romany Vanner Cob: A very thickset and well-muscled animal which is well-proportioned with dark and kindly eyes. It is a heavy-boned horse which is usually heavily feathered from the knee or hock down. It stands 15 to 16.2 hands high and measures approximately five feet at the shoulders. It is not unusual for the Vanner to weigh 1,400 pounds. Normally, this horse is pinto-patterned, piebald or skewbald, and invariably displays the characteristics of its draft horse origin, although its handsome head is not as large as the true draft horse. Bred for power with large feet which are usually light or multi in color, this is a slow and steady horse with a one-paced trot and walk. Its stride is good and it has a smooth, slow canter and gallop. A friendly animal to both man and beast, this working horse is quiet and docile, as well as being a quick-learner and far from fussy about food. The Vanner comes in many colors...black-and-white, brown-and-white, blue-and-white, for example. However, too much white in the coat is frowned upon and ideally, this horse should have an even spread of color.
Romany Grai Cob: A stocky and well-muscled animal which is well-proportioned with dark and kindly eyes. It is a medium to heavy-boned horse and makes for an excellent all-around animal which can easily adapt to most activities. It is a good walker, fast trotter, smooth canterer and energetic galloper, with a long stride and fairly high head carriage. Its feet are usually light or multi in color. Friendly to humans and to other animals, this horse is mettlesome but sensible. It is a quick learner and not fussy when it comes to food. Its head is handsome and slightly smaller than that of the Vanner. This working breed horse has plenty of feather, but not as much as the Vanner and it often begins lower down the leg. The Grai comes in many colors, all virtually identical to those of the Vanner. It stands 13.2 to 15.2 hands high and is a bouncy and lively animal with great presence.
Romany Cob: A stocky and well-muscled animal, but plainer in appearance than the Grai. This is almost a mini-Vanner with more pony-like characteristics. Slow and steady, it is an excellent all-around animal which can easily adapt to most activities. This horse is a good walker, mid-paced trotter, smooth canterer and energetic galloper, with a long stride. Its feet are usually light or multi in color. Medium to heavily-boned, with plenty of feather, this working horse is friendly to humans and to other animals, being quiet, docile and sensible. It is a quick learner and not fussy when it comes to food. The eyes are dark and kindly in expression and the head is usually plain, not overly-large and in proportion to the rest of the body. The Romany Cob comes in many colors, all virtually identical to those of the Vanner and the Grai. It stands 13.0 to 14.3 hands high and is a "do anything" type of workhouse which has been bred profusely in Ireland.
Romany Scudder: A more finely-boned animal than its Romany equine cousins, yet still well-muscled, this horse was originally produced by crossing one of the gypsy breeds with a standard-bred. It is another excellent all-around animal which can easily adapt to most activities. However, it was bred by the Rom chiefly for road racing. This horse is a good walker, very fast trotter, smooth canterer and energetic galloper. It feet are usually light or multi in color. This working horse, which displays very little feather, is considered to be hot-blooded and runs low to the ground with a standard-bred type of action. It is friendly to humans and to other animals, a quick learner and not fussy when it comes to food. The eyes are dark and kindly in expression and the head is usually quite small (while remaining in proportion to the body) with a high carriage. The Scudder comes in many colors, all virtually identical to those of the Vanner, the Grai and the Romany Cob. It stands 13.0 to 15.2 hands high and displays an obvious standard-bred influence, appearing narrow in comparison to the other gypsy horses.
Horse brasses are the metallic ornaments affixed to the vertical leather chest strap (martingale) or to the brow band or to other parts of a horse's harness. Owners have adorned their horses with these attachments, which are frequently ornate and highly symbolic, sine the late Nineteenth Century. Horse brasses originated in England as gypsy amulets attached to horse tack in the hope of warding off evil spirits. They were often cast in silver as well as brass and in Scotland, a particularly favorite metal for such harness ornaments was nickel. Horse brasses have been manufactured since the late 1800s and soon found popularity among British royalty, as well as the general public. Patterns include abstract symbols such as hearts, crosses, crescents, stars and floral designs, for example (which are some of the original gypsy patterns), together with heraldic devices, coats of arms, legendary figures, places of historic interest and all forms of animal life, including horses and horseshoes.
Most horse brasses range from approximately 2-1/2 inches to 3-1/2 inches in diameter, varying in weight dependent upon the guage or thickness of the brass used and whether the design is stamped and pierced or cast. There is also a miniature form known as "pony brass," normally around 1-1/2 inches in diameter, for the adorning of Shetland ponies and other such small horses. There is also a larger and much heavier form called "circus brass," which can be as much as 4-1/2 inches in diameter or even more. These brasses are used to decorate large horses such as Perchorons and even performing elephants.
Horse brasses have become highly collectible items over the years and today, many are made with decorative ceramic centers. Horse brasses are often placed on keyrings or mounted on leather straps which are then hung for display, usually tacked to barns and fireplace mantels.
NOTE: Some of the information on this "Gypsy Horse" page based on
published works authored by Grant Garswood | <urn:uuid:46a64225-6545-48d2-86e6-78434356cdf9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.novareinna.com/romani/horse.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965758 | 2,927 | 3.21875 | 3 |
May 17- The 3.5 percent gross domestic product growth announced by Tokyo on Wednesday suggests that Japan may be the fastest-growing economy in the G7. All these events appear linked to the election of Shinzo Abe and the regime he has installed at the Bank of Japan.» Read More
May 17- The 3.5 percent gross domestic product growth announced by Tokyo on Wednesday suggests that Japan may be the fastest-growing economy in the G7. All these events appear linked to the election of Shinzo Abe and the regime he has installed at the Bank of Japan.
Luca Silipo, chief economist for Asia at Natixis, tells CNBC it's too early to see the effects of Abenomics on the economy.
*Japan's Q1 growth beats forecasts. SYDNEY, May 16- Some stock markets across Asia edged up on Thursday after solid growth data from Japan improved sentiment although Tokyo's Nikkei lagged, while worries about a prolonged recession in the euro zone kept the common currency under pressure.
TOKYO, May 16- Japan's economy grew at a faster-than-expected 0.9 percent in January-March from the previous quarter, expanding for a second straight quarter, official data showed on Thursday, driven by private consumption as the government's aggressive economic policies start to take hold.
Japan's economy grew at a faster than expected pace in the first quarter, led by robust private consumption and a rebound in exports on the back of the government's radical policies to reflate the economy.
NEW YORK, May 15- The euro slipped to its lowest level against the dollar in six weeks on Wednesday as data showing an unexpectedly large contraction of the euro zone economy raised expectations for more monetary easing by the European Central Bank.
*Dollar/yen option barriers at 103 yen. NEW YORK, May 15- The euro skidded to a six-week low versus the dollar on Wednesday as data showing an unexpectedly large contraction of the euro zone economy bolstered the case for more monetary easing by the European Central Bank.
LONDON, May 15- The euro hit a six-week low against the dollar on Wednesday after data showing the euro zone economy contracted more than expected in the first quarter of the year, strengthening the case for another interest rate cut.
The euro zone's economy contracted for the sixth straight quarter at the start of this year, marking its longest recession on records dating back to 1995.
David Owen, chief European economist at Jefferies International, tells CNBC people are going to have to look again at their 2013 forecasts overall as recession in the euro zone shows no sign of abating.
Daniele Antonucci, senior European economist at Morgan Stanley, tells CNBC there is the perception of a policy backstop in the euro zone, which enables a search for yield despite poor macro data.
LONDON, May 15- The euro fell to a six-week low against a buoyant dollar on Wednesday, hurt by worse-than-expected German and French gross domestic product data that strengthened the case for more monetary easing in the euro zone. The euro fell 0.2 percent against the dollar to $1.2888, with exporter bids cited at $1.2880.
*Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena rises after results. PARIS, May 15- European shares were mixed in early trade on Wednesday, taking a breather from a sharp rally started in mid-April, with lower-than-expected growth data for Germany and France denting investor appetite.
PARIS, May 15- European shares were mixed in early trade on Wednesday, taking a breather from their sharp rally started in mid-April, with lower-than-expected GDP data for Germany and France denting investor appetite for stocks.
Philip Tyson, rates strategist at ICAP, explains why he expects a steepening of the yield curve over the year in the U.S., despite anticipating soft second quarter data.
ALMATY, May 15- Kazakhstan's gross domestic product growth slowed to 4.6 percent in year-on-year terms in the first quarter of this year from a 5.6 percent rise in the same period of 2012, the State Statistics Agency said on Wednesday.
Jamie Cooper-Hohn, president and CEO of CIFF, explains the impact poor nutrition has on economic growth and estimates an 11% GDP loss for Africa and south-East Asia due to under-nutrition.
Adrian Schmidt, FX strategist at Lloyds Bank, expects the U.S.'s recovery to strengthen but warns that "it won't break any record".
May 10- The Hong Kong government issued first-quarter gross domestic product data on Friday showing that the economy grew a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent over the fourth-quarter of 2012 and rose 2.8 percent from the same period last year. KEY FIGURES GROSS DOMESTIC PROUDCT.
Zhang Zhiwei, chief China Economist at Nomura, tells CNBC that second quarter GDP growth will slow down further. | <urn:uuid:9b97c6a6-5793-4156-8a20-038ce8d31f27> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnbc.com/id/10000808 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942818 | 1,030 | 1.625 | 2 |
There is a story about a young Indian boy who came off a reservation in Oklahoma and went out east to college. He excelled in every subject and graduated at the top of his class.
When he returned home to his reservation, he was elected tribal chief. Everything went fine for a couple of years, and then one autumn the tribal leaders came to him and asked him if it was going to be a cold or mild winter.
The young man knew very little about the traditions of his ancestors, and as he looked to the sky for any kind of hint, he saw nothing but sky. Not wanting to look foolish, he furrowed his brow and said it looked as if it were going to be a cold winter. He advised them to stock up on plenty of firewood.
Two weeks later he thought he should find out for sure, so he called the local weather bureau to ask them what the winter would be like. They said it looked like it would be a cold one. He called the tribal leaders back and told them it looked like it would be very cold and advised them to have people collect more firewood.
In November, he called the weather bureau back to make one final check, and they said it looked like it would be a very severe winter, indeed. He asked them how they knew for certain. They said they could tell because the local Indians were collecting fire wood like crazy.
There is a lesson to learn from this anecdote. It has to do with placing faith in something other than the right thing. Allow me to explain. The tribe had faith in their leader. The leader had faith in the weather bureau, and the weather bureau had faith in the actions of the local Indians. All had faith in somebody, but nobody had a chief source. Therefore, their faith was misplaced faith. Word of warning: When you place your faith in something, make sure it is in the right "something."
The title of my message this morning is, "Faith 101." This morning we return to the basics of Christianity--faith. The Bible says that "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). It also says that faith is "the substance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1). Faith, for the believer, is basic. It is the foundation on which our confession in Christ stands.
This message is summed up in one sentence. Faith is foundational to Christianity and placed in Jesus Christ alone. "God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing." Martin Luther
I want to share three things about foundational faith.
1. It begins and ends with God.
2. It is necessary in order to receive from God.
3. It is, however, only the means to the end.
1. Faith begins and ends with God.
Hebrews 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Faith does not originate with us; therefore, it is not dependent on us. Faith exists in spite of us and that is a good thing. God is our faith source. The Bible says that "for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (Ephesians 2:8-9). The grace of God calls us and saves us, but we receive it by faith. The scripture goes on to say that faith, too, comes from God and not from us. If grace and faith originated with us, then we could rightly boast that we added something to the equation of our salvation. But, we bring nothing nor add anything to God's salvation. Faith originates with God, period.
During the Spanish-American War, Clara Barton was overseeing the work of the Red Cross in Cuba. One day Colonel Theodore Roosevelt came to her, wanting to buy food for his sick and wounded Rough Riders. But she refused to sell him any. Roosevelt was perplexed. His men needed the help and he was prepared to pay out of his own funds. When he asked someone why he could not buy the supplies, he was told, "Colonel, just ask for it!" A smile broke over Roosevelt's face. Now he understood--the provisions were not for sale. All he had to do was simply ask and they would be given freely. Our Daily Bread, October 11, 1992.
Grace and faith originate from God and cannot be earned nor purchased with money. Again, you could boast in your salvation if you earned it by merit. No one may boast before God. He is so full of grace that He gives it away. Freely you receive. Just ask for it. The Bible says that "ye have not, because ye ask not" (James 4:2).
Faith not only originates with God, it ends with God. Author Ron Hughes illustrates this in his article entitled, "Knowing Jesus." Hughes writes, "He is the founder or originator of our faith. That is good and encouraging, but we know from experience that just because something is begun doesn't mean it is ever finished. However, we can be confident that our faith will meet its objective because Jesus is called both the author and finisher.
I was intrigued when I studied this, this is the only time this word translated "finisher" is used in the whole Bible. This is finishing at a level that most of us are not familiar with. I know from experience having done some work in photography and graphic arts and music that when you are involved in an artistic pursuit there is a sense in which you never really finish it, you just stop working on it. You say ‘That's as much time as I can afford to put on this. I could tweak it a little more. I could adjust it a bit more, but the law of diminishing returns says I should just quit now.' But that is not the same as being finished.
Finished really implies perfection and total completeness and that is what we have when the writer of this letter to the Hebrews describes Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith. He is the One who brings our faith to perfect completion." Ron Hughes© July 2007 http://vaxxine.com/fbh/archive/ja-author.html
2. Faith is necessary in order to receive from God.
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6)
Expectation is faith in motion. Without expectation in prayer, prayer is an exercise in futility. Jesus said that when we pray we should pray believing, pray expecting. Mark 11:24, "Whatsoever things you desire when you pray, believe you receive them and you shall have them."
A young psychology student serving in the Army decided to test a theory. Drawing kitchen duty, he was given the job of passing out apricots at the end of the chow line. He asked the first few soldiers that came by, "You don't want any apricots, do you?" Ninety percent said "No." Then he tried the positive approach: "You do want apricots, don't you?" About half answered, "Uh, yeah. I'll take some." Then he tried a third test, based on the fundamental either/or selling technique. This time he asked, "One dish of apricots or two?" And in spite of the fact that soldiers don't like Army apricots, 40 percent took two dishes and 50 percent took one! Bits & Pieces, May 26, 1994, pp. 9-10.
If you aren't receiving anything from prayer, maybe you should change the way you pray, certainly the way you ask. Instead of asking in the negative--God if it isn't too much trouble, maybe you could help me land a good job—ask God in the positive. Lord, I thank you that you have the perfect job for me, just the right fit for me personally, and I know that you are leading me to it in your timing.
Expectation is the key to receiving from God when you pray! If you are not going to expect God to act, then don't pray at all. It's ineffective and displeases Him when you don't believe. Remember, Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God."
God will do His part when you pray, but only if, you do your part, and that is simply to believe.
3. Faith is a means to the end, and not the end to the means.
We are not commanded to have faith in faith. Our faith, our believing has an object. His name is Jesus. Faith is merely the means to Jesus. Jesus is the object of our believing. This is important to basic Christianity. Some people emphasize faith above all things. Faith is very important but faith is not God. God is God and He is the author, the giver and the receiver of faith.
I remember reading a story about a pastor who illustrates faith in a most unorthodox way. He asks his students to guess how many beans are in a jar, and on a big pad of paper writes down their estimates. Then, next to those estimates, he helps them make another list: Their favorite songs. When the lists are complete, he reveals the actual number of beans in the jar. The whole class looks over their guesses, to see which estimate was closest to being right. The pastor then turns to the list of favorite songs. "And which one of these is closest to being right?" he asks. The students protest that there is no "right answer"; a person's favorite song is purely a matter of taste. Then the pastor continues, "When you decide what to believe in terms of your faith, is that more like guessing the number of beans, or more like choosing your favorite song?" The pastor reports that whether old or young, he gets the same answer: Choosing one's faith is more like choosing a favorite song. This tells me that we don't understand faith very well. Faith can never be successful when it is subjective—relative—faith in faith. Faith is only successful when it attaches itself to its objective—Jesus Christ. Believing in Jesus is not a matter of taste. It is a matter of objectivity. Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life.
One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump or he would burn. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and darkness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters." When we cannot see the way before us, faith leaps to God. If we release our faith, it will always direct us to the arms of Jesus. Jesus is the receiver of our leap of faith.
In conclusion, faith is paramount to the believer. If it is misplaced, we flounder. If it is placed in Jesus, it will lead us forward to certainty. Remember that faith begins and ends with God. It is necessary to receiving anything from God. And, it has an object. It has a place. His name is Jesus.
An American scientist once visited the offices of the great Nobel-prize-winning physicist, Niels Bohr, in Copenhagen. He was amazed to find that over Bohr's desk was a horseshoe securely nailed to the wall with the open end up. The American said with a nervous laugh, "Surely you don't believe the horseshoe will bring you good luck, do you, Professor Bohr? After all, as a scientist -- " Bohr chuckled, "I believe no such thing, my good friend. Not at all. I am scarcely likely to believe in such foolish nonsense. However, I am told that a horseshoe will bring you good luck whether you believe in it or not." Bits & Pieces, September 17, 1992, p. 6.
My friend whether or not you believe in Jesus Christ does not change the fact that He exists and one day He will stand in judgment of all men. Some men flatter themselves and say there is no God. Others are indifferent to God. To them, God may or may not exist. What man believes independent of the Bible does not do away with truth. Truth is truth whether or not you believe it. Jesus is independent of human opinions. Jesus stands above and beyond what men think about eternity. Jesus is eternity, eternal life.
Pastors a small church in Broken Arrow, OK.
More articles by Terry Dashner: | <urn:uuid:a39f5661-d82b-482e-8b95-ee51ab0669dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.homehighlight.org/humanities-and-science/religion/faith-101.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978857 | 2,730 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Editor's note: Charlotte Tomaino is a clinical neuropsychologist with 30 years of experience. Dr. Tomaino is dedicated to helping patients develop practical solutions for the traumatic loss of brain function.
(CNN) -- What does it mean to manage your own brain?
The field of neuropsychology -- the applied form of neuroscience -- is now offering an emerging consciousness about the brain's inner workings. As with everything, it is when we know how the brain works that we can have something to say about how to work it.
In my new book, "Awakening the Brain," I discuss the possibility of managing the brain and the questions of how to do it, and why we should want to.
The billions of neurons and the trillions of connections between them in each of our brains keep changing with every experience, even when we sleep. We are in a state of constant change that can happen by choice or will happen by chance. We are evolving in every moment with the chemistry of each sound, sight, thought and emotion that passes through the brain.
As you begin to understand the dynamic nature of you and the movement of chemistry that never ceases, you glimpse the importance of being conscious and making choices. Change is inevitable. The only question is whether you are going to have something to say about it.
As neuroscience has revealed the functions of those inner structures in our heads that create who we are, the capacity for making a "neurochoice" is now available.
Neurochoices are your options for brain change by choice, because you know enough about your brain and care enough to make choices to focus it in healthy, growth-producing ways.
A key concept that reveals your power of influence comes from Canadian psychologist Donald Hebb, who said, "the neurons that fire together, wire together." This is the neuroscience version of "practice makes perfect."
Anything you do repetitively will activate the neurons in your brain, which makes the action more likely to be repeated in the future. Neuroplasticity, the adaptability of the brain, is operating at all times. You can have neuroplasticity working for you if you target your outcome, or it can work against you if you allow yourself to just react.
The downside of neuroplasticity is evident in the insidious nature of addictions. Habits that control us start subtly, sneaking up until they take over. The first drink to relieve stress can lead to a need for two drinks to be able to relax. The brain is trained by our choices, and automatic behavior is developed or changed by the neurochoices we make.
However, there are many examples of the upside of neuroplasticity. Engaging in new behaviors to enhance our health like regular exercise will lead to improved muscle tone, cardiac function, stronger bones, better respiratory function, more balanced emotions and calmer nerves, greater mental clarity and a better night's sleep. Once you start an exercise program, you will notice that after a while, you just feel better on a regular basis and feel worse when you miss a day. Just getting into the habit of regular exercise is a neurochoice that will improve your health and quality of life.
You can manage your brain in times of stress as well. There are three easy steps to keep your balance and stay in touch with your best self to achieve your best outcome.
Shift your focus. As tension mounts and you notice a problem looming large in your mind, shift your focus from a reactive position about the conflict to a focus on the solution.
Ask a question like: How would you like this to work out? The brain loves a question and will search for the answer if you provide the focus. All thoughts produced will then follow a different path if you are seeking an answer to your question.
Breathe, breathe, breathe. As you breathe in and out at a consistent pace, you will notice your heart rate slowing, regulated to a calmer and more even state. As the heart automatically speeds up under stress, it affects the nervous system and hyperfocuses you on reacting to the problem rather than thinking through the solution.
Make a conscious choice. Relax your muscles, which spontaneously tense up in the face of conflict or danger.
In the "fight or flight response," your body is ready to keep you safe but is often overreacting to events that can be better resolved from a more relaxed state. There is greater creativity and more access to your intelligence in ease.
Remember, you invent your own life. The more aware you are of the outcomes you are creating, the more you can achieve the life you want. Stay smart in life by managing your own brain.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Charlotte Tomaino. | <urn:uuid:ee2f7ffb-f987-4bff-83b7-996922df8d4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/04/health/mental-health/awaken-brain-manage/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953799 | 970 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Artist James Prosek is on a quest to see the Atlantic's most important fish, and paint them from life. It's never been done before.
Why This Film's Different
Too many environmental documentaries follow a predictable pattern: they chronicle a problem, they make us feel guilty, they tell us to “care” or “get involved.” They are (what can we say?) depressing and disempowering.
Picture the Leviathan takes a different, Trojan horse approach. This is a film about an environmental issue, but it won’t directly discuss that issue. Leviathan tells the story of an artist and his process. We don't tell the audience what to think or what to do. We let the art, and the charisma of the artist, lead the audience to their own conclusions.
The artist is James Prosek. The author of eleven books, winner of a Peabody Award, James was well established as an artist by the time he finished college. James paints in the tradition of nineteenth-century naturalists who catalogued the world as it was discovered -- but he paints creatures that are vanishing. It’s a truism that in order to care for something you first must know it. And we don’t know the once-dominant, majestic creatures of the Atlantic, some of which humans are fishing toward extinction.
Facts about the oceans’ decline pile up like sand, with little effect on human behavior. This is where art comes in. James is on a quest to paint approximately 40 Atlantic fish species that are significant to humans -- and paint them from life, full-sized, after seeing them alive. Nobody has ever tried to do this -- after all, it’s challenging to observe some of these fish alive. His quest takes him stalking swordfish off Newfoundland; night fishing for deepwater cod; to the Bahamas for giant grouper; to the Cape Verde Islands to see a 900-pound black marlin. He believes he must be there -- right there -- when a true, live, leviathan rises from the deep.
(Courtesy of the artist and Waqas Wajahat, New York)
A Film About Art (& Environment)
Picture the Leviathan shows the passion and effort James puts into making these extraordinary watercolor portraits. The film’s theme -- that art makes a difference -- is supported by three legs: the quest inherent in James’s journeys; the making of the art; and James’s deeply humble, almost mystical relationship to other species.
I (Hal) have been an active environmentalist for 35 years and a journalist for 26. Jason has been in the game almost as long. In that time both of us have come to believe that conventional approaches to environmental problems simply don’t work. People are not affected by facts and figures sufficiently to change their behavior meaningfully. But we have learned that, as individuals and a culture, humans relate empathetically through character and story -- that’s where change happens. Moreover (and despite Jason's early training as an ecologist), we are convinced that art, not science, moves us to the deepest understandings of beauty, horror, or terror.
So we want to bring to the screen the story of an artist working where art and culture intersect with our relationship to the natural environment. And the collapse of fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean -- in all our oceans -- is a monumental, little-appreciated problem with poorly understood consequences. Much attention has been paid to climate change, but what is happening in our seas is arguably equally threatening to human culture.
Why do it?
The film is intended to help, in a small way, shift the culture by altering the viewer’s perception of our relationship to fish and oceans. Because Picture the Leviathan is part of a larger media suite -- the film documents the creation of a body of art that will form the basis for a 2012 book and art exhibit -- it will both expand upon and amplify James’s work and that work’s implicit messages about our relationship to the ocean and its megafauna. The most important thing we can do is make this short (22-25 minute) film available to the largest number of people, to help them begin to feel the power of art and the way that art can show them the world in a different light.
What will we spend the money on?
Shooting one more trip with James, off the East Coast (he wants to catch a mako and / or blue shark); paying our editor to do his magic; securing music rights; outputting and printing DVD copies; paying festival submission fees so we can get the widest distribution.
What if we exceed our goal?
We conclude that all of you are really cool, and we go for a celebratory latte with an extra shot. Then we commission an original score, and continue to collect footage with James -- at his studio, in fish markets, with his publisher, etc. We'd be able to shoot scenes we have wanted to but couldn't afford; more material will allow us to round out our story. Finally, we'll subsidize screenings at museums and aquariums and as fundraisers for conservation groups working on ocean issues.
Sorry, I meant to include that! It's 14 x 16 inches, unframed. Still got one left as of November 3!
pledged of $4,000 goal
seconds to go
Nov 1, 2011 - Dec 31, 2011 (60 days)
Pledge $1 or more
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! (We’ll say that on our website and FB page, too!)Estimated delivery: Dec 2011
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Screen credit and a digital download of the finished film, plus our undying thanks on our website and Facebook.Estimated delivery: Jun 2012
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DVD copy and digital download of the finished film; screen credit; plus our undying thanks on our website and FB.Estimated delivery: Jun 2012
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A signed copy of Trout: An Illustrated History, by our on-screen star (and author) James Prosek; screen credit; a DVD copy plus a digital download of the finished film; plus our undying thanks on our website and FB.Estimated delivery: Jan 2012
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Participation in pre-release test screening of the film (we’ll want your feedback); a signed copy of Trout: An Illustrated History, by our on-screen star (and author) James Prosek; screen credit; a DVD copy plus a digital download of the finished film; plus our undying thanks on our website and FB.Estimated delivery: Jan 2012
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An inscribed copy (you tell James what to say!) of Eels: An Exploration, from New Zealand to the Sargasso, of the World’s Most Amazing and Mysterious Fish, by our on-screen star and author James Prosek; participation in pre-release test screening of the film (we’ll want your feedback); screen credit; two DVDs of the finished film (and a digital download); plus our undying thanks on our website and FB.Estimated delivery: Jan 2012
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2 backers All gone!
An original, unframed etching by James Prosek of an Atlantic Sailfish, based on the a watercolor he is producing as part of the project. Limited quantity. Plus, two DVD copies of the finished film, a digital download, screen credit, and a shout-out on our website and Facebook.Estimated delivery: Feb 2012
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0 backers Limited (2 of 2 left)
Credit as an associate producer. Dinner with James Prosek in Manhattan. (Subject to budget and schedule limitations.) And we’ll throw in three DVD copies of the finished film, a digital download, and big-time props on our website and Facebook.Estimated delivery: Jan 2012
Pledge $4,000 or more
0 backers Limited (1 of 1 left)
Fund the whole thing! Get: Credit as executive producer; dinner in Manhattan with James and cinematographer Jason Houston; an original Atlantic Sailfish etching by James (described above); a pass to the festival where we premier the film; five DVD copies (and a digital download); screen credit, and our undying thanks, period. Limited quantity (to say the least).Estimated delivery: Jan 2012 | <urn:uuid:30ff63a5-db2f-4333-9bbf-cdfa4f778c5c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1924575256/picture-the-leviathan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930273 | 1,776 | 2.015625 | 2 |
After a decade of escalation, a stupid trend may have peaked
LOTS of states would love to be California and have their own little Hollywood. Film crews would then come to town and spend money in hair salons and hotels, and local politicians could pose with film stars. So why not call it “economic development” to justify the huge tax credits that lure film producers? As of last year, more than 40 states had such incentives, costing them a record $1.4 billion.
Even California itself plays the game, believing that it has to defend itself against the poachers. In 2003, when only a handful of states (principally Louisiana and New Mexico) offered incentives, California made two-thirds of America's big-studio films. Now it makes far fewer than half. Film LA, an organisation that co-ordinates permits for film shoots in Los Angeles, says that without California's own tax credit, “2010 would have been the worst year” since the mid-1990s for filming in Hollywood. As its marketing blog gibes: “It is extraordinarily unlikely that the 137 productions that filmed in Michigan since 2007 chose to shoot there for creative reasons, a favourable climate or a deep and talented film-crew base.”
All this costs money, which legislators volunteer on behalf of taxpayers. Many tax credits (a percentage of a film crew's local expenditures) exceed the filmmaker's total tax liability to that state. The credits have even become an industry unto themselves: brokers slice them into tranches and trade them. In Iowa filmmakers were selling their credits until that state shut its programme in 2009. Last month an Iowa judge sentenced a producer to ten years in prison for fiddling credits.
Incentives do not have to involve tax credits. Some states simplify the paperwork by just giving out cash (calling it “rebates” or “grants”). Others exempt film-makers from sales or hotel taxes or give them other perks.
All this is silly. First, as Joseph Henchman at the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan think-tank, puts it, even when a state succeeds in luring film crews, they rarely boost the economy or tax revenues enough to justify the costs of the incentives. Film companies usually import their staff (stars, stuntmen, etc) and export them again when the shoot is over. The local jobs they create (hairdressers, sound technicians, pizza deliverers) are mostly temporary.
Second, since virtually all states are at it, the programmes largely cancel out one another; no state gets a lasting advantage. The craze resembles a beggar-thy-neighbour trade war (with mutually destructive tariffs) or the federal tax code with its loopholes for every lobby and thus higher rates for all. In the language of cold-war nukes, it would be mutually assured destruction (MAD). The only winner is the film industry. In essence, a rich bloke in a Brentwood villa gets money from a poor taxpayer in West Virginia.
Fortunately, this has begun sinking in. Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, New Jersey and Washington have recently ended, suspended or shrunk their programmes. Many others, struggling with budget deficits, are considering doing the same, investing the money in something permanent or even leaving it to taxpayers. “2010 will likely stand as the peak year,” thinks Mr Henchman. | <urn:uuid:f587b78c-954d-46eb-9640-122da0b20eb4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.economist.com/node/18805941?story_id=18805941&fsrc=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955204 | 705 | 1.9375 | 2 |
12 June 2008
Turner to Money, a $28 million Economic Triumph for Canberra
Open for 88 days, from 14 March to 9 June 2008, Turner to Monet: the triumph of landscape featured more than 100 landscape masterpieces by many of the greatest artists of the time.
Ron Radford, Director of the National Gallery of Australia said, “Turner to Monet was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see works of art, drawn from over 40 collections around the world, which had never been seen together in Australia before. The exhibition attracted 180,700 visitors and provided an economic injection of over $28 million to the local economy”.
This is $8 million more than the 2006 blockbuster Egyptians: antiquities from the Louvre: journey to the after life, which injected over $20 million to the Canberra community.
Research conducted for the National Gallery of Australia showed that 72.5% of visitors came from outside Canberra to see Turner to Monet and stayed an average of 2.2 nights providing a welcome boost to the local economy.
Also, the Turner to Monet catalogue was produced and printed in Canberra, injecting $1 million dollars into the Canberra community. One in every 10 visitors to the exhibition purchased a Turner to Monet catalogue.
Research also showed that visitors were clearly impressed with the Turner to Monet exhibition with 90% rating their satisfaction with the exhibition as 4 out of 5 or higher.
Jenny Blake Norma Davis
Marketing Manager Marketing
National Gallery of Australia National Gallery of Australia
p: 02 62406700 p: 02 62406700
m: 0408611014 m: 0421 456 187 | <urn:uuid:163b89dd-be16-4880-836c-bdb7017ef5bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nga.gov.au/ABOUTUS/press/T2money.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944974 | 342 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Author: Raymond Chen
Publisher: Addison Wesley,2007
Aimed at: Those with an interest in Windows
Pros: Insights into Windows and Microsoft
Cons: Disorganised and chaotic treatment
Reviewed by: Mike James
Raymond Chen has been working with Windows since the days of MS-DOS and he knows a great deal about its history and how it works. He has attempted to capture some of his pearls of wisdom in “The Old New Thing” and as the title suggests it’s a sort of history that explains why thing are as they are. The big problem is that Chen’s bits of information are exceptionally bitty and they range from pithy advice about how to design a user interface to exceptionally deep and technical. In fact many of the topics are only likely to be understood by a C or C++ programmer who practiced the art of Windows programming back in the “old days” that most of Chen’s reminiscences stem from. How does this help with the “new thing”? If you program using .NET and have no idea how Windows works “under the hood” then you are going to wonder what this is all about. You need to understand how Windows uses messages, about a lot of API calls, how dialog boxes work, about old and new Windows memory management and more to get anything much other than the trivial but often amusing anecdotes. However, the very same anecdotes provide a unique insight into the workings of Microsoft and demonstrate what many of us have until now only guessed at – Windows is a mess of compromises and unpleasant code implemented just to keep things working. A fun read but far from essential or even useful. | <urn:uuid:5e8769c5-c076-429c-a387-9437920df564> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://i-programmer.info/bookreviews/7-windows-api/86-the-old-new-thing-practical-development-throughout-the-evolution-of-windows-.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953241 | 349 | 2.15625 | 2 |
The science of lying
Broadcast: Midmorning, 03/17/2006, 10:06 a.m.
Researchers are working to develop a foolproof technology to detect when people are lying. But while such a device could help solve crimes and protect the nation against terrorism, it could also have profound social implications.
- Robin Marantz Henig: Author of the article "Looking for the Lie," which appeared in the NY Times Sunday Magazine on February 5, 2006.
- Charles Bond: Professor of psychology at Texas Christian University.
- Tom Zeffiro: Associate professor in the department of neurology and the director of the Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging at Georgetown University. | <urn:uuid:5f2b5f2a-4250-4fed-a28b-e0ace5f6a407> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/03/17/midmorning2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942273 | 140 | 2.4375 | 2 |
WASHINGTON, D.C. - As dry conditions continue to worsen and spread, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will take steps to help farmers manage the impact of the drought.
"As the drought worsens, it's imperative that Pennsylvania farmers have every tool at their disposal to cope with the possible damage," said Senator Casey. "These commonsense steps will give farmers extra flexibility and assistance to ensure our farms and rural communities are protected from the potential impact of the drought."
The USDA will create and encourage flexibility in four existing programs to help farmers deal with the drought:
Federal Crop Insurance Program - To help producers who may have cash flow problems due to natural disasters, USDA will encourage crop insurance companies to voluntarily forego charging interest on unpaid crop insurance premiums for an extra 30 days, to November 1, 2012, for spring crops. To assist the crop insurance companies, USDA will not require crop insurance companies to pay uncollected producer premiums until one month later.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) - Farmers will be allowed to modify EQIP contracts to allow for prescribed grazing, livestock watering facilities, water conservation and other conservation activities to address drought conditions.
Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) - USDA will authorize haying and grazing of WRP easement areas in drought-affected areas where such haying and grazing is consistent with conservation of wildlife habitat and wetlands. WRP is a voluntary conservation easement program that provides technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers to restore and protect valuable wetland resources on their property.
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) - Farmers will be allowed to use additional acres under CRP for haying or grazing under emergency conditions. The action will allow lands that are not yet classified as "under severe drought" but that are "abnormally dry" to be used for haying and grazing. This will increase available forage for livestock. Haying and grazing will only be allowed following the local primary nesting season, which has already passed in most areas.
Read this original document at: http://www.casey.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=1be7c389-235b-493d-9675-5800b1edbb06 | <urn:uuid:fba431f8-e374-433c-89cb-99d4769eb673> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=351251&type=topnews | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922557 | 476 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Infectious Disease Control
ICB&DD plans to develop i) highly specific and novel inhibitors against key secreted protein toxins that are unique to each of these bacteria and ii) novel inhibitors that target essential cytoplasmic proteins that are common to all three agents. The novel antibiotics against these lethal bacteria will be developed with DOD and NIAID as a part of bioterrorism/homeland security programs. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms in the New York State will be targeted for technology transfer related to newly discovered inhibitors.
(2) New drugs for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. The CDC has estimated that one third of the world's population are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the organism that causes tuberculosis, and that 10% of these individuals will develop active infections. Currently, more than two million people die annually and there are 8.8 million new cases every year. Critical issues in the treatment and control of tuberculosis include the role of this disease as a major opportunistic pathogen in patients with HIV/AIDS and the emergence of multi-drug resistant strains of the organism (MDR-TB). MDR-TB is much more difficult to treat than sensitive TB, requiring administration of more expensive, second-line antibiotics for up to two years. Consequently, NIAID has classified MDR-TB as a category C priority pathogen. Accordingly, the Institute plans to focus on the discovery and development of new drugs that are effective against Mtb. The Institute currently has the following three approaches for the drug discovery and development.
(a) Enoyl reductase (ENR) inhibitors.
InhA, the enoyl reductase from M. tuberculosis, catalyzes the NADH-dependent reduction of enoyl-ACPs and is the target for the antitubercular drug isoniazid (INH). The enzyme is involved in biosynthesis of fatty acids and enzyme inhibition interferes with the synthesis of mycolic acid, a critical component of the mycobacterial cell wall. A substantial fraction of all clinical isolates that are resistant to INH result from mutations in KatG the enzyme that activates INH, rather than from mutations in InhA. Consequently, compounds that inhibit the ultimate molecular target(s) of INH, but that don't require activation by KatG, have tremendous promise as novel drugs for combating MDR-TB. Consequently, InhA is a bona fida target for the development of novel antitubercular agents. INH inhibits InhA by forming a covalent adduct with the nicotinamide cofactor. Dr. Tonge has succeeded in synthesizing the INH-NAD adduct and has discovered that it is a slow, tight-binding inhibitor of InhA with a Ki of 1 nM. Currently, Dr. Tonge is evaluating the impact of InhA mutations, identified in INH-resistant clinical strains, on adduct formation and affinity. In addition, Dr. Tonge is performing SAR studies with the enoyl reductase inhibitor triclosan. Triclosan, an antibacterial compound added to consumer products such as toothpaste, is a submicromolar inhibitor of InhA, and a range of triclosan analogs have been synthesized to dissect inhibitor-enzyme interactions. Data from the SAR studies, in combination with the X-ray structure of the InhA-triclosan complex solved by Dr. Kisker and Dr. Tonge, are being used to design novel InhA inhibitors. The Institute will organize a project team to boost this highly promising drug discovery and development project.
(b) FtsZ inhibitors.
FtsZ is the first nonregulatory element to appear at the septum site of bacteria, and the function of the septum has been shown to depend on correct FtsZ function. FtsZ is a cytosolic protein that polymerizes in a GTP-dependent manner and has been shown to be the bacterial tubulin homologue. The sequence similarity between FtsZ and tubulin, however, is generally low (<20% identity). Thus, FtsZ is a highly promising target for new antimicrobial drugs because of its central role in bacterial cell division. Dr. Ojima in collaboration with Dr. Kirikae (Director, Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, International Medical Center of Japan) has very recently discovered that several new generation taxanes possess significant antibacterial activity against resistant M. tuberculosis, which likely block FtsZ function. Interestingly, paclitaxel (TAXOL®) is totally inactive. These taxanes are extremely important hits for the development of novel class of antibiotics against M. tuberculosis. Accordingly, the Institute is organizing a project team including Dr. Ojima, Dr. Kirikae, Dr. Tonge, Dr. Kisker, and Dr. Simmerling for this highly promising project.
(c) Cholesterol oxidation.
There are many reports that mycobacteria oxidize cholesterol, and that the oxidation activity is inducible. Importantly, cholesterol oxidation has been linked to pathogenicity. The enzymes responsible for this activity comprise a pathway that is not typically targeted by anti-TB pharmaceuticals, and their inhibition could lead to improved host response in combating infection. However, the protein(s) responsible for the activity has(have) never been isolated, and the mechanism of pathogenicity is poorly understood. Dr. Nicole Sampson will head experiments which aim to identify the gene and characterize the protein or proteins responsible for cholesterol oxidation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The hypothesis is that cholesterol oxidation activity represents a new target for anti-MDR-TB pharmaceutical development because 1) cholesterol oxidation is essential for virulence and 2) these enzymes are absent in humans. With this work, they will elucidate the role of cholesterol oxidation in host cell infection by characterizing the protein products of putative M. tuberculosis cholesterol oxidizing genes, and evaluating the differential transcription profile of M. tuberculosis grown in the presence and absence of cholesterol.
Phone: 631.632.1311 * Fax: 631.632.7942 Email: firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:32b68ddc-ad6b-41df-b58b-0e14dd9c372d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/icbdd/Infectious.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940256 | 1,299 | 2.109375 | 2 |
brave companions in this uncomfortable prison, loaded with irons, and treated with all the indignity of state felons, much allowance should be made for the opinions of one so directly interested. Candour impels me, however, to say, that in my humble judgment the immediate vicinage of your nation to the powers in dispute fully authorize your interference. If the compromising of your commercial relations and the interest of your border citizens by this protracted war of nearly eight years' duration - a war more in name than in any bold attempt by Mexico to subjugate Texas - if the bold and fearful avowal on the part of our enemy for the abolition of slavery in the immediate vicinity of your slave states - if the conduct of this war, wholly deceptious, uncivilized, and cruel, justifies such interference, to say nothing about our near relationship - that we are of the loins of your manhood, that we are of the same language, religion, and laws, and that we are striving to the maintenance of the same character of government as yours - then ought you to interfere.
Your excellency will indulge me in concisely summing up the history of this war:
In its commencement in 1835, the province of Texas did not rebel against the old established government of the mother state, but against a new one then sought to be established. In 1836, the close of the Mexican invasion with the battle of San Jacinto demonstrated her ability to maintain her separate independence, which the government of the United States recognised in March, 1837. Since which period, every other nation to whom we have applied, including France, England, and Belgium, have done the same, and Texas has continued an unprecedented growth in settlement and population. On the other hand, Mexico has continued a predatory war upon the borders of Texas, without once attempting to resubjugate her by a formidable invasion. This predatory warfare has been marked by treachery and cruelty on the part of Mexico unprecedented in the history of civilized nations. She has captured our minister plenipotentiary returning home under his passports from the government of your country, and incarcerated him for months in a vile prison. She betrayed the lamented Colonel Benjamin Johnson, under the protection of a flag of truce, and murdered him in a brutal manner. She in cold blood put to death Colonel Fannin and four hundred brave men, in violation of his articles of capitulation. She betrayed the Santa Fé command into a surrender, and violated the most solemn promises made to them. Last spring she summoned the city of San Antonio to surrender, and plundered her for obedience to said summons. Last fall the Anglo-American citizens of San Antonio were taken from their homes, because they thought fit to defend themselves against, as they believed at that time, an unauthorized band of | <urn:uuid:cebaaa4f-e0e4-4370-a3e4-11b1ec0bc1ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://smu.edu/swcenter/tjgreen/tjg_138.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961013 | 575 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Top Ten Crash Intersections in Gainesville
They are the intersections you might want to avoid. Workers from the Metropolitan Planning Organization compiled a list of the top ten crash intersections in Gainesville. They compiled crash data from January 2007 to December 2009. Some people who use the most dangerous intersection don't even know it.
Gainesville resident Chris Potter has been cutting grass at Thirty Ninth Avenue and Thirty Fourth Street for some time.
"I've been working here for almost three years," Potter said.
He cuts the grass weekly and considers himself lucky.
"I think last year a bicyclist go hit on the side of the road," he said.
Since he blows the grass that's already cut while standingon the side of the street as cars drive by.
"They get real close," Potter said.
He has to have the courage to do the job he does.
"Its scary if my boss didn't tell me do it I would not be doing it," Potter said.
Workers from the Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization created this top ten list of the most crashes in Alachua County. Northwest Thirty Fourth Street and Northwest Thirty Ninth Avenue is number one with the most injuries, twenty six.
"Some of the information that was compiled by the intersection was what we call the crash rate," Marlie Sanderson MTPO Director of Transportation Planning said.
At that particular intersection just over 50 percent of the accident victims were rear ended and that most of the crashes happened during the weekday in the five o'clcock rush hour. Transportation officials hope this information will make things safer.
"Well the hope is that to identify changes to the traffic signal," Sanderson said.
But Potter says to get through his tough job he blocks the danger out of his mind.
"I try not to think about it," Potter said.
Transportation officials say these projects are not related to the projects the county wants to work on if the voters approve a transportation surtax proposal that may go on teh ballot in November.
- UF Top Ten Law School For Hispanics: Magazine
- Santa Fe College Ranked in Top Ten in the Nation
- Dangerous Intersection
- Gainesville's Next Top Cop
- Gainesville Makes Top 20 List of America's Most Romantic Cities
- Plane Crashes In Gainesville
- 3 Dead After Plane Crashes In Northeast Gainesville
- Gainesville Businessman Dies in Crash
- Plane Departs from Gainesville, Crashes in Everglades
- Child Hurt In Gainesville School Bus Crash | <urn:uuid:f6181a9f-7630-4c14-8662-b51fe29e94ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wcjb.com/local-news/2012/04/top-ten-crash-intersections-gainesville | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956001 | 521 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Just a year ago, health care was the singular issue dominating the national policy debate. The fight over whether or not to create a public option to ensure that all Americans had access to health care, gave rise to the Tea Party movement which vehemently fought what they dubbed “socialized medicine”. Yet, despite the packed town hall meetings across the country, the voices of those who are most in need of health care services were rarely heard.
A report just released by the California Endowment finds that black and Latino males, in particular boys, are the group most likely to suffer from poor health. Location, the study found, seems to have the greatest impact on quality of life factors, and thus, on an individual’s quality of health.
Some of the study’s findings, which focused on California, include:
- Minority males are twice as likely as white males to suffer from poor health
- Latino boys are 4.1 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder
- The homicide rate for young Latino men is five times higher than for whites and 16 times higher for black men
- Asthma and other preventable health problems plague minority communities, in part, because of the lack of safe and healthy neighborhoods that provide residents parks and open spaces for children to play and adults to exercise and the lack of access to grocery stores and restaurants that serve healthy meals.
According to Susan Eaton, the Research Director at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute at Harvard Law School, “It’s not just that there’s a higher incidence of African-American and Latino children living in poverty, it’s that poverty is generally harsher for African-American and Latino children.”
To see the California Endowment’s report and plan for developing healthy communities, go to: http://www.calendow.org/healthycommunities/ | <urn:uuid:833ed07b-91fa-46a5-9d05-f717ce2f23b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.latinovations.com/2010/07/01/poor-neighborhoods-equate-to-poor-health-for-minority-males/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9574 | 384 | 2.71875 | 3 |
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction
Isaac Newton's third law of motion
a portion of Beth Campbell's The Following Room (2007) at PNCA
Art can get lost in the paradoxes it courts and sometimes that is a good thing.
Yes, some contemporary art is designed to ingratiate itself by reaffirming the
tastes of those who see it, whereas other work is designed to confront and challenge
those expectations. Beth Campbell's show at PNCA's Feldman gallery
is mostly of the challenging journey
variety. It has a kind of magic despite the fact it goes pretty much nowhere through its use of a series of faux mirrors. The effect is a bit like the Bermuda
Triangle in an Ikea store, or a kind of physical paradox where pop culture meets nameless individual.
The important part is how viewer gets a little lost and discombobulated by the
experience forcing them to question the way optics and cognition converge.
Getting lost has an important and pervasive history that can't be ignored.
Great literary characters like Melville's Ishmael or cheesy self help books
are both built on the idea that one has to lose themselves in order to find
oneself. In Chinese philosophy
focused on the internalization of one's external world to stay true
to it (as selfish selflessness?). Similarly the western philosopher Wittgenstein
focused on the human tendency to solipsisticly see one's self as the center
of the universe. Carl Jung considered getting lost part of the "Hero's Journey" too. Then there is the long history of ascetic monks who withdraw
from society to get closer to their God. Similarly Epicureans withdrew to a
private life of personal appetites that seems to be a Yuppie koan these days.
Of course there are dangers and merits to all of these approaches.
Yayoi Kusama's INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM 2002 rain in early spring
(2002) at CAMK
Today, the human impulse to get lost in a world of one's own devising seems
to be especially relevelant. Of particular note is the online popularity of
and in recent
political history the use of faulty weapons of mass destruction assumptions
to justify the invasion of Iraq.
These are restless times but change seems far off. This peculiar "American
Stasis" speaks to a general frustration over being stuck in a war without end and
the continuing impasse over the same old problems of education, health care,
infrastructure and ecology. This societal stasis underscores an uneasy American
psyche that parallels a longstanding existential malaise in Europe. In other
words paradox is big right now.
In contemporary art Yayoi Kusama uses polka dots and often mirrors to create
endlessly uneasy similarities. Likewise, Olafur Eliasson, Josiah McElhny, Damien
and David Altmejd all use mirrors or mirror images to evoke
both the infinite and the solipsistic.
, one of contemporary art's most promising new poets of the visual
stalemate. Her work resonates between infinite choices and the existentially
similar outcomes that arise from making those decisions. Campbell has done maniacal
videos of herself doing the
same thing in different places
as well as charts
of her various options
and the predicted outcomes in the past but her latest
installation at PNCA seems to get at the heart of the issue, getting lost within
the options present right where you are. Not an easy thing to do in an age of
global positioning systems and signature architecture
or is it?
Titled "I can't quite place it" the text outside the Feldman gallery walls
for the first time in recent memory seem like an integral part of the show.
Sure it's your standard black letters on the standard art institution white
wall but it feels like an "institutional"
correction make that
a "zeitgeist critique."
It's not a question directed at anyone, it's a mantra, a motto and a probably
The Following Room (2007)
The title of the main installation "The Following Room" inside the
gallery certainly supports that institutional critique reading while further
What we find in The Following Room is faux illusion. It is constructed as a series of IKEA-like
furniture vignettes that each sport a lamp, chair, book, an unused doggie chew bone,
candle reading glasses and a notepad with what we assume is the artist's phone
# since it says "Me". Banal as it gets really, except that Campbell
has repeatedly cloned this room, installing most as mirror images to one another.
A dropped ceiling grid for acoustical tile and some Plexiglas rods that mimic the
edges of mirrored glass nearly completes the illusion of mirrored home furnishings of this
not exactly fun house too. The illusion is purposefully incomplete too because the
asymmetrical nature of the Feldman gallery allows one to orient oneself slightly
amongst the disorienting white walls. This element is very intriguing.
Unlike a MC Escher style visual bon mot
, The Following Room is a question
inducing experience and owes more to Robert
Iriwin's reflexive or zen sense
(and maybe his famous student Ed Ruscha's
mirror image paintings). Still, the solipsistic tone of the work is definitely
more East Coast and neurotic with the telling inclusion of a book whose title
is, "The Other Side of Me." The effect is a compressed, slightly irritating
form of internal self awareness that allows the viewer and work to both resonate
and establish boundaries. Since borders of the various rooms are illusionary
it makes one question the viewer/art boundary.
The installation is effective in these respects; it's more than a sight gag
or a fun house and it redirects the viewer's outward gaze inward where one wonders
whether they are shopping or trespassing?
probably both. The following
room is an intellectual irritant, a study in the pleasant aspects of symmetry
and an experiential placebo effect. Is that enough? Frankly, I'm on a fence
about it seeming too witty and entertaining but I think that's the stalemate
Cambell is seeking.
The untitled bent wire sculpture in the other room seems underwhelming considering
the stalemated chess match played out in "The Following Room." Similar
sculptures have had names like "There's no such thing as a good decision"
so sure it's a visual illustration of Campbell's option tree lists but optically
it lacks the pop over familiarity and punch of The Following Room. In this case
the abstracted distance is less convincing and the work of Donald Judd, or sol
LeWitt make it look half hearted market fodder.
Campbell is due for a solo show at the Whitney in February 2008 and perhaps that
is the best time to really gauge this artist. She's both intriguing and irritating
in a good way but one wonders how much range she has. Still this show is also
a major coup for PNCA whose new Ford endowment
has delivered Portland a very
Is Beth Campbell all smoke and mirrors, is she just another entertaining artist
that major museums need to bring people in the door? Maybe, maybe not
I sense that with pieces like The Following Room she might have her finger on
the pulse of something telling without giving us anything specific. I can't place it
indeed; perhaps getting lost isn't such a bad thing.
Wherever you go, there you are
The phone number calls a woman named Melissa (or Michelle, I can't remember) that lives in Washington DC.
Thanks for the interesting review. I had a slightly different take on this piece I'd like to share. While this work is formally similar to Kusama, I find it to operate in a way that is exactly the obverse. A disorienting perceptual shift definitely results from The Following Room, but unlike Infinity Mirrored Room or Samaras’ Mirrored Room, I don’t think that is the ultimate subject. In fact, while Kusama and others use the ACTUAL to create an ILLUSION, this piece uses an ILLUSION to create the ACTUAL. The illusion is itself an illusion - as you say, a faux illusion. So rather than feeling “lostness”, I find this to be an incredibly lucid statement.
My thoughts turned to a different subtext, that of the expression of “individuality” in a mass-produced culture. It is possible (and fairly common) to create a “personalized” living space entirely from mass-produced goods, which in their differences from one another, are “infra-thin”. The Following Room carries this idea to a logical extreme, and rather than getting lost in an infinity of self-reflections, it is precisely the lack of reflection that gives this piece away (and roots it solidly in the real).
I thought about adding in the Samaras reference too but you are right that Campbell is working in the inverse...I described it above as "faux illusion" (which is why is why I wanted to point out how Eliasson etc utilize mirrors as mirrors).... instead Campbell creates a kind of amnesia of design through serial installation.
It's definitely less driven by visual analogs (mirror reflections) than the real (and serialized) furniture etc... but Campbell still utilizes the illusion of mirrors to discomboblate the viewer... in many ways Kusama with her mirrored rooms is trying to orient the viewer in a infinite multiplicity. Campbell is less vast, and more about how the terminus of an installation synchs up with self awareness. I think Kusama tries to blow minds, Campbell is more about an more inward, reflective state (all puns intended). | <urn:uuid:a968abae-1f97-4fda-876e-a312c716df85> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.portlandart.net/archives/2007/11/beth_campbell_a.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930594 | 2,069 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Before taking a course...
I discussed getting up to speed with a new programming language several months ago. I thought I would follow up on that theme by relating to you the experience an associate of mine had a few weeks ago with a formal training class he took at a Microsoft Certified Technical Education Center (CTEC).
My associate, let's call him "Jim", is a Visual Basic expert, and he had spent some time learning Java on his own. He decided to spend a week in a Java fundamentals class being offered by a CTEC with whom he had taken several enjoyable Visual Basic classes. The instructors at this CTEC had always impressed Jim. Previously, in addition to teaching the material, these senior developers and consultants were also able to bring their real-world experience to the classroom.
For the Java class however, Jim was a bit disappointed. Although the instructor was knowledgeable about the subject matter, he readily admitted that he had no professional Java development experience. This lack of real-world experience became apparent when many of Jim's questions about real-world issues of speed, style and deployment went unanswered. All in all, Jim came out of the class not knowing much more than when he went in. As a professional developer, Jim wanted to come out of the class with some professional tips and guidelines, and that's not what he received. Still, I think Jim got what he deserved.
I chided Jim for failing to heed the 4-step checklist that I run through prior to taking any formal classes. For your reference, here it is:
- Know your expectations. Jim took a Java fundamentals course and he
probably should have been in an advanced course. Beginning level
courses are more easily staffed by instructors lacking in real world
- Know your vendor. Jim took a Sun Java course at a Microsoft
Certified Technical Education Center. Jim should have asked himself why
a CTEC would be offering a Sun Java class to begin with. If he had done
some checking, he would have found that the course he attended was the
first Sun Java course the CTEC had ever given. Although this fact alone
did not cause Jim's disappointment, it was a contributing factor.
- Know your instructor. You have the right to know in advance who will
be teaching the course, and what their background is. Prior to taking
any course, call the vendor and ask for the credentials of the
instructor. Ask how many times they taught the class. Ask what real-
world experience the instructor possesses. If real-world experience is
important to you, and the instructor has none, then you can either find
another vendor or wait for a class with another instructor.
- Know the curriculum. In addition to obtaining information about the instructor, ask for a detailed outline of the course. You should also ask if ALL of the material in the outline will be covered (some instructors 'drop' material). You can also ask to examine the course materials ahead of time, and perhaps even sit in on a session of the class for a few hours (if it's a multi-day class, choose a day other than the first day to get a better gauge of the class pace and activity).
Following my checklist is a great way to avoid surprises and to get the value for your training money that you deserve.
Written by John Smiley, MCP, MCSD and MCT, author, and adjunct professor of Computer Science at Penn State University in Abington, Philadelphia University, and Holy Family College. John has been teaching computer programming for nearly 20 years.
John Smiley is president of Smiley and Associates, a computer consulting firm located in New Jersey.
This was first published in October 2000 | <urn:uuid:011bf828-55e4-4628-b070-88e3d5a08f43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://searchwindevelopment.techtarget.com/tip/Before-taking-a-course | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974284 | 759 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Smoking Shortens Lifespan By 13.2 to 14.5 Years [12/15-4]
Excerpts from: Smoking Shortens Lifespan By 13.2 to 14.5 Years
According to New Hope: Avoiding Lung Cancer, smoking shortens the lives of American females by 14.5 years and males by 13.2 years.
While smoking contributes to heart and other disease, the public most often connects it with lung cancer. "Lung cancer is the foremost cancer killer of American men and women," says author Noel Griese. "More of us die of lung cancer than of breast, prostate and colon cancer combined."
Who is most at risk of getting lung cancer? People over 55 who have smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 20 or more years. Females are somewhat more vulnerable than males.
While lung cancer is the biggest killer in the cancer family, says the author, it is the easiest to prevent. Because 87 percent of lung cancer is caused by tobacco, the easiest way to avoid it is never to begin smoking. Short of that, says Griese, a past Georgia director of the American Cancer Society and American Lung Association, current smokers should stop immediately.
In the United States, home to 90 million present and former smokers, 171,900 Americans will likely be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003. An estimated 157,200 will die. In the rest of the world, where 1.2 billion people smoke, tobacco caused about four million deaths in 2002.
Smokers who quit benefit immediately from reduced risk of heart attack. Their red blood cells stop transporting carbon monoxide and begin carrying more healthy oxygen. Lung cancer risk declines more slowly, dropping to half 10 years after the smoker quits. But note, says the author: "Smokers who quit before age 50 halve their risk of dying in the next 15 years compared with those who don't."
Griese says early detection of lung cancer is crucial. "Only 14 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer survive for five years," he said. "Most die within a year. But if diagnosis is early, when the cancer is still treatable, five-year survival increases to 42 percent on up."
While the key step in avoiding lung cancer is to quit smoking, other lifestyle changes can reduce overall cancer risk. These include avoiding obesity, eating a low-fat diet, consuming ample dietary fiber, eating lots of cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, consuming other vegetables and fruits, avoiding excessive alcohol consumption and eating less salt-cured, smoked and nitrite-cured foods.
This information is presented as a public service by:
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
2013 H Street NW / Washington, DC 20006 / (202) 659-4310
A national nonprofit, scientific and educational organization founded in 1967.
All donations are fully tax deductible.
Material on this page may be freely reproduced, distributed, and circulated
with attribution given to Action on Smoking and Health.
Dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Warren Wells | <urn:uuid:39470a15-a251-4f8a-9470-2879080e9274> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://no-smoking.org/dec03/12-15-03-4.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932368 | 638 | 3.078125 | 3 |
rescuing (part of speech: verb)
- Besides, we had lost all hope of rescuing the survivors of the Jane, and the sole desire of the crew was to escape as quickly as possible from the awful solitudes of the south. - "An Antarctic Mystery", Jules Verne.
- Instead of rescuing the drowning, the wreck serves only to beat her down. - "At the Mercy of Tiberius", August Evans Wilson.
- Hot and eager, whispering plans for rescuing the King, to which the less resolute hardly dared to listen. - "La Vendée An Historical Romance", Anthony Trollope. | <urn:uuid:db0448e5-fd80-433a-b77a-f86a2d069f4c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dictionarylink.com/rescuing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913557 | 129 | 2.53125 | 3 |
The Battle of Foless was a battle of the Jedi Civil War, a conflict between the Galactic Republic and Darth Revan's Sith Empire. The Sith Empire launched a campaign from its holdings near Yag'Dhul and Mechis on Foless, but the Republic emerged as the victors.
Behind the scenesEdit
The Battle of Foless makes its only appearance in The Essential Atlas. An exact date is not provided for the battle, and it only illustrates the battle on the galactic map rather than in prose.
Notes and referencesEdit | <urn:uuid:f4a1573c-e6aa-407c-86b8-12127e924aea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Foless | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925791 | 110 | 2.28125 | 2 |
A video from TEDx Goteborg, with this description;
How can herring farts in the Stockholm archipelago almost lead to a diplomatic crisis? Or a bra be converted into a gas mask in case of emergency? To Magnus Wahlberg this is everyday stuff, and proof that science doesn’t have to be dull to be important. He is a biologist and Scandinavian desk chief of the science humor magazine Annals of improbable Research, and has himself been awarded the Ig Nobel Prize (for those herring farts). It is an alternative Nobel Prize that honors achievements that first make people laugh, and then think. | <urn:uuid:ad94c7cb-260e-46e4-bdd8-f0ee5b5e43ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.improbable.com/2012/11/06/how-herring-farts-almost-led-to-a-diplomatic-crisis/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930219 | 128 | 1.726563 | 2 |
During his speech at the Democratic convention, former President Clinton used the phrase “It’s arithmetic” to deflect Republican concerns about the debt.
But he just as well could have been talking about bonds.
While most segments of the bond market have delivered outstanding gains in the past year, it will be almost impossible for them to repeat the feat in the year ahead. But don’t take my word for it — all you need to do is check the arithmetic.
The math in question concerns duration of the major non-Treasury exchange-traded funds, as first discussed by Simon Lack in his blog, In Pursuit of Value. At their current yields and durations, these ETFs would have to drop to ridiculously low yields to replicate their returns of the past year. This would suggest that, at best, bond investors will be left to “clip coupon” in the months ahead — or, in other words, to collect only yield with little hope for price appreciation.
But there’s a catch: With yields already providing only a modest advantage over inflation, investors don’t have much of an incentive to accept the return provided by coupon alone.
All else equal, this should provide support for the stock market and mitigate against the possibility of a major selloff — absent any negative surprises, of course.
By looking at the duration of an ETF, as Lack did in his blog, we can determine how far the yield on an ETF needs to fall for the fund to provide a certain return. (See the footnote for details).
Here are the returns of the past year for three funds:
- iShares iBoxx $ InvesTop Investment Grade Corporate Bond Fund (NYSE:LQD): 14.4%
- iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond Fund (NYSE:HYG): 18.4%
- iShares JPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Bond Fund (NYSE:EMB): 20.8%
For these returns to be replicated in the year ahead, the ETFs’ average yields to maturity will have to drop to unheard-of levels:
- LQD: 1.4%
- HYG: 2.67%
- EMB: 1.9%
If this sounds somewhat unbelievable, consider that HYG’s 18.4% one-year return has brought its average yield to maturity from 8.96% to 5.84% in the past year.
Admittedly, this is an extreme example: You won’t find many experts who are looking for the bond market’s spread sectors to keep pace with their outstanding gains of the past 12 months. Still, it shows that yields are now so low that the possibility for future price appreciation is much worse now than it was a year ago.
With this being the case, investors are looking at scenario in which yield — rather than price appreciation — becomes the dominant component of total return for the spread sectors. On this count, the three ETFs mentioned above are no longer offering investors an attractive trade-off of risk and return. Assuming inflation stays at its current annualized level of about 1.9%, LQD is now offering investors a real (inflation-adjusted) yield of 0.98%, HYG’s is currently 3.9%, and EMB’s is just 2.3%.
These aren’t exactly the type of yield figures that will attract a stampede of buyers. Quite the opposite, in fact: They are the kind of yields that are going to send investors searching for higher potential returns in equities — especially when iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index Fund (NYSE:DVY) offers an inflation-adjusted yield of 1.67% with greater long-term upside.
If this type of reallocation trade begins to take place, how big of an impact could it have?
For an answer, consider this: From January 2008 through August 2012, investors pulled $439 billion out of equity funds and put $982 billion into bond funds. During this time, the S&P 500 Index registered an annualized return of 5.9%. If fund flows were to reverse to only a limited extent, the effect on the stock market could be substantial.
The Bottom Line
This type of relative-value approach among asset classes isn’t a near-term predictor of market performance — just ask BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) CEO Larry Fink, who recommended a 0% bond allocation back in February. Further, a major selloff in the spread sectors is unlikely as long as the Fed keeps pumping cash into the system.
But for long-term investors who find themselves tilted heavily toward bonds, the arithmetic is no longer working in your favor. As a result, any fourth-quarter weakness in the stock market might prove to be an outstanding opportunity to reallocate toward equities.
* If an ETF yields 4% and has a duration of 5.0, a total return of 10% in the coming year (6 percentage points of price appreciation) would imply that the yield should fall 1.2 percentage points (6 percentage points divided by the duration of 5.0), to 2.8%.
As of this writing, Daniel Putnam did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. | <urn:uuid:67efd133-7eb0-44ce-a49d-3f6c52b9bd56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://investorplace.com/2012/10/buying-bond-funds-its-the-arithmetic-stupid/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950098 | 1,098 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Town of Fenton, NY (WBNG Binghamton) A chilly night is the perfect time for a swim indoors. But the students who stayed dry Friday at Chenango Valley High were the real winners.
Friday marked the annual Chenango Valley Middle School Cardboard Boat Race. And, as in years past, there were students who left dry, and others whose suits -- and creations -- were all wet.
The students -- 7th and 8th graders -- used only cardboard and duct tape to construct their boats. The goal is two laps without sinking, a feat accomplished by more than a few teams.
"The kids have been preparing for about three weeks now for the Great Cardboard Race," said middle school science teacher Deidra Bigelow, "And they're very excited. We've been talking about buoyancy and floating and sinking in science class."
Between 75 and 100 students -- who were responsible for nearly 30 cardboard boats -- entered the high school's pool for a physics lesson they're lot likely to forget any time soon.
"Well, I thought we were going to make it, but we leaned and we fell," admitted eighth-grader Regan Woodruff.
Chace Snyder, a seventh-grader, couldn't hold back his excitement -- and admitted surprise -- when his boat made the trek.
"When you are going there and back you feel like you are going to flip," Snyder said. "But when we got down there, we just turned around and went back. And we made it."
Others had lower expectations.
"We were very happy," said seventh-grader Hanna Grunder. "We named it 'Titanic 2' because we thought it was going to sink, but it didn't."
After the pool challenge, the district celebrated its annual community event, which raises money for Chenango Valley High School's SADD program -- or Students Agaisnt Destructive Decisions -- and their Post-Prom party. | <urn:uuid:abffcea7-5824-4379-82ca-f197a9dae4a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wbng.com/news/local/Cardboard-boat-race-196643771.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98428 | 406 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Have you ever wondered why your doctor always advise your diabetic father/mother to have brown bread, brown rice and chapatis instead of white rice and white bread?
I will tell you why!
In simple terms, all the above said 'brown' variants have lower Glycemic Index than the 'white ones'. Now let us see what does Glycemic Index mean?
Those foods that spike up the blood sugar levels as soon as you eat them are called foods with High Glycemic Index.Some of them are white bread, most white rices, corn flakes,glucose, maltose etc. Such foods are not recommended for Diabetic patients.
Medium Glycemic Index foods are those which can be taken in moderate quantities by Diabetic patients.Some of them are whole wheat products,sweet potato, baked potatoes, basmati rice, etc.
On the other hand, foods like legumes, pulses, most fruits, veggies, chickpeas, kidney beans,etc. are safe for Diabetic patients since they have Low Glycemic Index which does not spike up sugar levels that easily.
Moreover, recent researches have found that people who follow the Low Glycemic Index diet over many years, are at reduced risk of developing Type II Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases,muscular degeneration etc.
So next time, when you go for grocery shopping, make sure you pick up more veggies, fruits,legumes and beans!!
'Stay Healthy & Be Happy' with E&F | <urn:uuid:aa863357-dd69-40ad-a0f9-bb661946c2ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://enrichandflourish.blogspot.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939807 | 304 | 2.90625 | 3 |
South Africa :: Western Cape (Peninsula)
Category: Attraction :: Monument/Statue/Memorial
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The famous Rhodes Memorial is a national landmark. Cecil John Rhodes was born the sickly younger son of a minister in England in 1853. At the age of seventeen he was sent to Africa after his older brother in an attempt to better his health. After cotton fields in Natal and the Gold Rush in the Northern Cape, Rhodes became successful in the diamond business and then went to study Classics at Oriel College in Oxford till 1881. Back to Kimberley, Rhodes used his intelligence to make him one of the most powerful mining magnates of his time at age 34. Thus because of CJ Rhodes, most diamond dealings still travel to some measure through England. Rhodes then took over and exploited Mashonaland (later called Rhodesia) for its mineral and agricultural resources, before becoming the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. He resided in a home in Groote Schuur and engaged in the development of the fruit industry in and around Stellenbosch, still serving Parliament and directing De Beers. The Kirstenbosch Gardens was donated by him to the Botanical Society. In March 1902, at the age of 49, he passed away after a very full life-time. The memorial was built in 1912 on the spot where Rhodes used to sit and think, on the slopes of Devil's Peak and dedicated by Sir Earl Grey. The citizens of Cape Town paid the money themselves to have the memorial designed and built by Sir Francis Macey and Sir Herbert Baker, complete with Doric columns, inscriptions by Rudyard Kipling, eight lions, 49 steps, a 'Statue of Energy'. An identical statue stands in London.
|Address :||Cape Town Tourism, Pinnacle Building, Cnr Burg and Castle Street, Cape Town, 8001, Western Cape, South Africa|
|Contact :||City Centre Visitor Information Centre|
|Contact 2 :||Western Cape Tourism Board|
|Tel :||+27(0)21 487 6800|
|Tel2 :||+27(0)21 426 5639|
|Fax :||+27(0)21 487 6859|
|Fax2 :||+27(0)21 426 5640|
|Email :||Click Here|
|Website :||Click Here|
|Host Website :||Click Here|
Winter (May-Sept) 08:00-18:00; Summer (Oct-Apr) 07:30-19:00.
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Be the first to submit a link or media file | <urn:uuid:15192027-d6a5-4e6a-81d8-49a3cbde2164> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tracks4africa.co.za/listings/item/w130896/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93681 | 554 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Sanibel poet Joe Pacheco took part in the April 10th pro-immigration rally in Fort Myers along with thousands more people than similar protests in larger cities, such as Indianapolis, Houston and Atlanta. Their goal is to seek amnesty or reform to allow roughly 11 million to 12 million undocumented immigrants to earn legal residency. Pacheco also marched on Washington DC four decades ago. In this essay, he compares the experiences.
Organizers of the Fort Myers rally plan a weeklong work stoppage and economic boycott beginning May 1 in Orlando.
Thursday, 20 April 2006 01:00
Immigration Rally EssayWritten by Joe Pacheco | <urn:uuid:f1e28f40-5c0b-41b3-b5d2-4b363e729bd7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wgcu.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=23080%3A | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948121 | 130 | 1.9375 | 2 |
November 13, 2008
Mark to Market Accounting is perfectly fine when there is a market place to instantly liquidate the asset at market value such as NYSE or NASDAQ. In real estate, it takes a minimum of 60 days to sell a house if not 6 months. In commercial real estate, I have seen owners take 2-3 years to sell an asset. Also, just because the asset value is less doesn’t mean the loan will not be paid in full. If there is a 20% reduction in value then loans should be written down, but a borrower may make up the difference by selling other assets to avoid the tainted record of a foreclosure. Until the loan is due on real estate assets, no one knows what will happen to the loan. Marking it down prior to loans term is and has proven disastrous to the credit markets. Trouble now is if it lifted, what do you know with Lehman and others who already went bankrupt. In my opinion, those that already went BK, would have eventually. Mark to Market forced it to happen much sooner creating the fear that has driven our economy off a cliff.
Director - Structured Finance
2475 Northwinds Pkwy, Suite 250
Alpharetta, GA 30009 | <urn:uuid:f78d3f9a-2e65-4864-97c9-5bad29208e35> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sec.gov/comments/4-573/4573-156.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963781 | 256 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Log Rhythmsby Rael Dornfest
Logs are the pulse of your web server -- the rhythms produced by the comings and goings of your visitors. In this column I'll give you a gentle introduction to Apache web server logs and their place in monitoring, security, marketing, and feedback.
Before you go running for the hills, I won't be talking about those mathematical logarithms that gave you a headache in high school. Your web server records visits to your web site in the form of logs, a text file (or files) containing entries corresponding to each request (or "hit"). At first glance, logs may look convoluted, but they're actually quite simple. Once you're familiar with the notation, you'll be reading your logs as easily as your daily journal.
"One Hit Wonder" or Lasting Impression?
Before we dive in, let's get our terminology straight.
When the Web was young, people measured their web sites' effectiveness in terms of hits. A hit is a request made of a web server. A request may correspond to an HTML page, an image, a CGI script, or any other type of file or interactive content. The important thing to remember is that each and every request counts as a hit. Therefore, when a visitor requests a web page containing three embedded images, the log tallies up four hits.
Hit counts lost their effectiveness as people began to add gratuitous images to their pages in order to inflate their sites' perceived popularity. Hit counts are, however, useful to server administrators as a simplistic traffic or server-utilization indicator.
A page view, as you probably guessed, is a hit in which only the page (and not its embedded elements) is counted. Each visit to an HTML document, whether or not it's crammed full of animated images, sounds, and Java applets, is counted as a single page view.
Content providers track page view counts to figure out which content is most interesting to their audience. For example, say an article on Internet marketing generated 1,024 page views, whereas another on door-to-door sales generated only 42. One could reasonably guess the site's audience is far more interested in marketing than sales (at least the door-to-door kind).
As another example, let's assume my article is spread across four pages with "next page" links at the bottom of the first three. A particularly telling page view spread would be: Page 1 (456 views), Page 2 (345 views), Page 3 (93 views), and Page 4 (12 views). I would conclude that my audience, while interested in the topic overall, lost interest in my article somewhere in the second page.
Marketeers like to use page view counts as popularity indicators. But the assumption that each page view equals a unique person is almost certainly incorrect. For example, 100 page views could either signify 100 people visiting the page once, or one person visiting the page 100 times.
Unique Host vs. Unique Visitor
Your web logs, with a little massaging, can tell you the number of unique hosts (or computers) that have paid you a visit. This provides a smidge more information than straight page views, but there's a problem here, too.
A visit from a unique host doesn't necessarily equal a visit from a unique visitor. Perhaps the host in question is a computer sitting in a public library; through the course of a day, several users of that computer may visit the same site or even the same page (think Yahoo).
Then there's the issue of the dynamic host. When you dial into your Internet service provider (ISP) via modem, your computer's unique identifier (IP address) is, in all probablity, assigned dynamically. If you hang up and dial in again, there's no guarantee that you'll receive the same identifier. So, what looks like a unique host in your log file may actually be several visitors who just happen to have been allocated the same IP address at different times.
For more information about cookies, visit the Resources section at the end of this article.
An impression is the almost same thing as a page view -- the difference lies in what's being viewed. While a visit to a web page is generally referred to as a page view, an impression usually refers to viewing advertisements such as banners, animated mini-commercials, buttons, and the like. | <urn:uuid:bfabafef-3a69-4e29-a0ac-d8d13d6980c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/apache/2000/03/10/log_rhythms.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942109 | 905 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Bug and weed-killers are common ingredients in the diet of most Americans, including, shockingly, infants in the womb.
Back in 2004, my colleagues and I decided to find out if pesticides were making their way into the blood of the developing fetus. We had laboratories test samples of umbilical cord blood from 10 newborns, and the tests identified 212 industrial chemicals and pesticides, including the notorious banned pesticide DDT.
Scientists do not know all the implications of exposure to an unknown number of pesticides in utero, but it can’t be good. These chemicals, designed expressly to kill living organisms, have been linked to neurological disorders, cancer, hormone system disruption, and skin, eye and lung irritation.
Researchers from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have detected pesticides in blood and urine samples of virtually all Americans over the age of six who participated in voluntary biomonitoring tests. More than 60 percent of those tested harbored seven or more of pesticides and pesticide metabolites on every given day.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) most recent tests have found widespread pesticide contamination on a range of non-organic fruit and produce, including celery, strawberries and apples. USDA detected pesticides on 7 of every 10 fruit and vegetable samples tested.
But it’s not all gloom and doom. Everyone, including babies in the womb, can realize significant reductions in their pesticide levels.
While it is virtually impossible to avoid pesticides altogether, choosing a diet rich in organic foods can dramatically reduce your pesticide intake. Scientists have concluded that the “body burden” of pesticides in an average person who eats and drinks products produced conventionally—that is, produced with the assistance of pesticides—will drop dramatically if he or she eats organic food or, if going 100% organic is not an option, simply avoids those conventionally-grown products commonly found to carry the most pesticide residues.
You can lower your pesticide consumption by nearly 80 percent by substituting the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables with organic options or eating the least contaminated produce, according to our calculations. EWG makes this information easily available to the consumer with its Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides™ in produce. The pesticide industry, on the other hand, would rather you be kept in the dark on this information. Having this information easily accessible to consumers terrifies chemical producers and those who use them because when consumers know what’s in—and on—their food, they will change their purchasing habits accordingly. Last year, the pesticide industry launched an attack on EWG and this Shopper’s Guide, even going so far as to obtain a federal grant of nearly $200,000 to fund the attack. But we continue to make it available to you because we believe consumers have a right to know the facts about the food they are eating and feeding to their families. The guide helps conscientious shoppers put their food budgets to best use.
Continue to educate yourself about pesticides and their effects on the human body and the environment, and vote with your dollar for food choices that reduce your body’s exposure to these dangerous chemicals. Visit the Environmental Working Group’s website, www.ewg.org, to learn more about topics from health, farming, natural resources, energy, chemicals and more.
Ken co-founded EWG in 1993. He is the author of dozens of articles, opinion pieces and reports on environmental, public health and agricultural topics. Cook earned B.A., B.S., and M.S. degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is married to Deb Callahan and lives in Washington, D.C. | <urn:uuid:e4ec3675-1878-454e-bf0b-0bbdaf4fd5e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.organicvalley.coop/community/organicsense/article/article/reducing-your-pesticide-consumption/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939782 | 752 | 2.875 | 3 |
Agents of Socialization: Peer Groups
The socialization process of someone starts when they are infants and continues to evolve and change throughout their life. Every social experience one has makes an impact on that person’s life in some sort of way. Before entering school, a child is usually taught and has developed much of their socialization skills by family. Upon entering school, children will come in contact with and most likely become involved in some type of peer group. A peer group is a social group whose members have interests, social position, and age in common.
Now children may enjoy communicating with their peers more then the family due to common interests. Children can talk to peers about particular topics not discussed at home with family members. For example, children talk about their favorite music or clothes and even drugs or sex as they grow older.
A big distance between children and their parents typically takes place through adolescence. A child may want to do what their peers are doing and the parents object to the child decisions. This causes a lot of friction in the relationship between the parents and the child. Peers may influence others on certain interests, for example, music, clothes, and television shows. However, parents have a greater influence on long-term goals, such as, work or college.
Peer groups in school have an influence on other groups. Children may think their group is smarter or better then others. As a result, many groups are put down or bullied by other peer groups. Being put down and teased throughout school may have a great influence on a child’s self esteem and behavior throughout the rest of their life.
After reading this section in the textbook, I thought back to my days in elementary and high school. I can relate to it all. Growing up and going to school is a huge part of socialization. May it be good or bad, there are numerous things learned throughout the school years. For example, if... | <urn:uuid:e3d35dcd-ce20-4398-9cf1-b50b353168a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/231894.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979134 | 394 | 3.734375 | 4 |
Poll: Whites without college degrees especially pessimistic about economy
Tuesday, February 22, 2011; 12:32 AM
The deep recession has had a profound effect on virtually every segment of the country's population. But if there is an epicenter of financial stress and frustration, it is among whites without college degrees.
By many measures, this politically sensitive group has emerged from the recession with a particularly dark view of the economy and the financial future. Whites without college degrees also are the most apt to blame Washington for the problems, and are exceedingly harsh in their judgment of the Obama administration and its economic policies.
These findings come from a new national survey conducted by The Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University. The numbers represent a fresh look at the effects of the long recession on all Americans, but particularly "non-college whites," a group of long-fought-over voters often considered a bellwether of the political ramifications of economic woes.
A mere 10 percent of whites without college degrees say they are satisfied with the nation's current economic situation. Most - 56 percent - say the country's best days are in the past, and more, 61 percent, say it will be a long time before the economy begins to recover.
Fully 43 percent of non-college whites say "hard work and determination are no guarantees of success," and nearly half doubt that they have enough education and skills to compete in the job market.
Not everything is bleak in this group's outlook, according to the survey. Nearly seven in 10 say they are mostly optimistic about their future, although that is somewhat lower than for whites with college degrees, and for most other groups in the population. More than six in 10 report feeling at least somewhat secure financially.
The survey also found differences in the outlooks of younger and older whites without college degrees. Those younger than 50 were more optimistic about the future than were those older than 50 and were somewhat less pessimistic about how long it will take the economy to recover.
The contrast between assessments of their own financial positions and those of the country stems in part from the political orientation of non-college whites, and potential policy disagreements with a Democratic administration. Fully half of all whites without college degrees identify as Republicans or are GOP-leaning independents, and 42 percent call themselves conservatives, more than other groups.
Overall, non-college whites represent a declining share of the electorate, but in 2008 they still accounted for about one-third of all Democratic primary voters and nearly 40 percent of all voters in the general election.
President Obama has struggled to appeal to these voters. In both the Democratic primary fight and in the 2008 general election, he did far better among college-educated whites than among those without a four-year degree.
In the 2008 nomination battle, then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) outpolled Obama among whites without college degrees by 2 to 1 across primaries that had exit polls. In the general election, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the Republican nominee, captured 58 percent of the white, non-college vote compared with Obama's 40 percent (about matching George W. Bush's 2004 reelection victory margin over Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts).
Based on the new Post-Kaiser-Harvard survey, fresh indicators show that Obama may again face difficulties corralling these voters in 2012. Whites without college degrees are deeply pessimistic about his policies and are more inclined to trust Republicans than Democrats on key economic issues.
Just 14 percent of non-college whites say the president's economic policies are making things better, half the number of white college graduates saying so. Only 15 percent say they are getting ahead financially, again about half the number among white college graduates.
About six in 10 say the Obama administration is doing "too little" to look after the economic interests of their families, and not enough for the middle class and for small businesses. Nearly half say the administration is doing "too much" for wealthy Americans.
Historically, Democrats have claimed to speak for voters with less education and lower incomes, but it is clear that many of those voters no longer think the party speaks for them. The new survey confirms the depth of the Democrats' challenges with whites in these categories: When asked which party better understands the economic problems that people in the country are having, non-college whites side with the Republicans by a 14-point margin.
The poll was conducted Jan. 27-Feb. 9 among a random national sample of 1,959 adults, including users of conventional and cellular phones. Interviews were conducted with 501 white people without college degrees; the margin of sampling error for this group is plus or minus five percentage points.
Polling manager Peyton M. Craighill contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:2a07e8e9-51e1-4277-a58d-45c69f576971> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/22/AR2011022200005.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957085 | 970 | 2 | 2 |
This Statistic About How Many Tour De France Riders Were Doping Is The Only Defense Lance Armstrong Has Left
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
It makes the case that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs to in every major event he has ever competed in.
More damningly, it paints Armstrong as the driving force behind a sophisticated, worldwide doping ring involving riders, coaches, and trainers.
At this point, there is only one argument left for Armstrong to make: everyone was doing it. Specifically, 20 of 21 top-3 finishers from 1999 to 2005 were doing it, and 36 of 45 top-3 finishers from 1996 to 2010 were doing it. Take a look at this paragraph (which was slipped into the introduction of the report without much comment) in the USADA report:
Twenty of the twenty-one podium finishers in the Tour de France from 1999 through 2005 have been directly tied to likely doping through admissions, sanctions, public investigations or exceeding the UCI hematocrit threshold. Of the forty-five podium finishes during the time period between 1996 and 2010, thirty-six were by riders similarly tainted by doping.
So in a 15-year period, there were only 9 riders who managed to succeed without cheating, according to the USADA.
It's fair to say that in that period, doping was a competitive element of the sport. You could argue that no one got an unfair advantage by doping because everyone was competing on the same (albeit outlawed) chemical playing field.
It's not the most convincing defense in the world, and it doesn't take away the fact that Armstrong violated the rules of the sport.
But it should at least give people some pause and temper the righteous indignation in the aftermath of the USADA report.
Get Sports Emails & Alerts | <urn:uuid:40c8b56c-7ed8-4678-a299-174b7efa7a05> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessinsider.com/tour-de-france-doping-statistics-2012-10 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954131 | 368 | 1.789063 | 2 |
I should probably never preface an article with this but here goes. If you are a die hard Dave Ramsey fan you are probably going to disagree with what I have to say. I get it. But all I ask is that you read the post, think about it, and then let’s engage in a discussion in the comments section below.
For the rest not blindly mesmerized by Dave Ramsey, consider that dealing with debt and credit is a balanced approach. Like many things in life, large swings, to one side or another leave you out of balance.
From time to time people bring up points that apparently the personal finance guru Dave Ramsey has taught or stated. So I thought I’d take a close look at what he had to say.
Rather than make any assumptions based on what I heard from people I instead went to Dave’s site and researched them for myself.
Dave Ramsey Says, “Responsible use of a credit card does not exist.”
Dave also says, “There is no positive side to credit card use. You will spend more if you use credit cards. Even by paying the bills on time, you are not beating the system! But most families don’t pay on time.” – Source
But the fact is that most consumers do pay their bills on time. At the time of this article, only 2.75 percent of credit cards are delinquent. That means 97.25 percent do pay their cards on time. Certainly that’s “most families.”
According to Time magazine, about 45 percent of card users carry a balance from month to month. But 55 percent, do not. – Source
But I disagree with all of that. We can’t assume that people are stupid and can’t learn to build better awareness about how to manage their debt. One of the great teachable moments is by learning from mistakes.
If responsible use of credit cards does not really exist then how can people exercise responsibility when owning sharp kitchen knives or driving down a road with only a painted line separating them from oncoming traffic?
More often than not, people are responsible and can operate things appropriately. We can’t begin with the assumption that all people are idiots.
Responsible use of a credit card does exist. And less than half of all people carry balances month-to-month on their credit cards.
Credit cards also provide consumers with greater financial security. When a transaction goes wonky and the incorrect amount gets charged or you have a problem with a merchant, using a credit card prevents that disputed amount from hitting your checking account. It provides you with a financial buffer.
A debit card is an electronic check. You would no more hand a waiter at a restaurant a blank check for them to take it to pay for your meal but that’s exactly what you do when you hand that stranger your debit card. We just never think about it. And one reason is this continued argument that debit cards are better than credit cards.
Ramsey says, “If you “have to” use plastic, I suggest a debit card. I use them for travel and the occasional convenience of ordering something over the Internet or phone. Other than that, I use cash.” Awesome, but have you tried to rent a car with a debit card or cash? Many places just won’t do it. If you had a credit card, then there is no problem.
Ramsey tells readers “You cannot beat the credit card companies” but that’s simply not true. Just pay your bill off in full at the end of the month and the credit card company will make no money off interest, no matter what interest rate they charge.
And the good use of credit builds a great credit score which will be invaluable if you want to buy a house, get the lowest rate mortgage, pay less for car insurance, etc. There is no downside to having a great credit score if you are managing your finances well.
But Ramsey seems to think other issues in life do not need such aggressive action or blanket elimination, like gun control.
Only 4 pieces of plastic in my wallet: 2 debit cards, drivers lic. & gun permit. You DON’T need a credit card to run a biz!
— Dave Ramsey (@DaveRamsey) May 17, 2011
Hey DC, you wanna confiscate all guns? Start with TX and TN and see how that goes for ya. Better pack a lunch.
— Dave Ramsey (@DaveRamsey) December 3, 2012
You people that use a horrible act of evil to promote your gun control agenda should be ashamed of yourselves.
— Dave Ramsey (@DaveRamsey) December 14, 2012
So if people should have a right to bear arms, and I’m not saying they shouldn’t, and I’m assuming they can do it responsibly, then why can’t people bear credit cards with equal responsibility?
Let me put this into a different light. What if we took Dave’s words and instead substituted a gun related word instead for credit card, would it becomes a message that would alarm his followers.
From Dave’s Page The Truth About Credit Card Debt
Myth: Aren’t there positive uses of a [gun]?
Truth: Responsible use of a [gun] does not exist. [Guns] are a major problem in America.
There is no positive side to [semiautomatic weapon] use. You will [shoot] more if you use a [semiautomatic weapon].
Use common sense. When you play with a multi-billion dollar industry and you think you’re going to win at their game, you are naive. You cannot beat the [gun] companies.
All of a sudden the imbalance in the statements seems extreme, doesn’t it? So if Ramsey feels people can’t handle credit cards and should not own them then should we take all the guns away from people as well?
How about we just use both of them responsibly, like adults.
Dave Ramsey Says, “Bankruptcy is a gut-wrenching, life-changing event that causes lifelong damage.”
Bankruptcy is not something I recommend any more than I would recommend divorce. Are there times when good people see no way out and file bankruptcy? Yes, but I will still talk you out of bankruptcy if given the opportunity. Few people who have been through bankruptcy would report that it is a painless wiping-clean of the slate, after which you merrily trot off into your future to start fresh.
Don’t let anyone fool you. I have been through bankruptcy and have worked with bankruptcy for decades, and it is not a place you want to visit. Bankruptcy is listed in the top five life-altering negative events that we can go through, along with divorce, severe illness, disability, and loss of a loved one. I would never say that bankruptcy is as bad as losing a loved one, but it is life-altering and leaves deep wounds both to the psyche and the credit report. – Source
As a result of my experience, I don’t like bankruptcy. Do I hate it? Yes. I always look for another solution. – Source
Dave imparts this negative connotation about bankruptcy to his flock. But why the bias?
Bankruptcy happens to be the only legal intervention tool to allow people to deal with their creditors and in fact to create a binding repayment plan when creditors can’t agree.
Some people say that bankruptcy is immoral because you wipe away your debt but there is nothing that prevents anyone from repaying their creditors in full as they best can, after they get the protection bankruptcy offers. Is that immoral?
So the belief is that bankruptcy is somehow corrupting or as Ramsey says, an “event that causes lifelong damage.”
I put bankruptcy in the same category as divorce. Do everything you can to avoid it.
— Dave Ramsey (@DaveRamsey) March 16, 2012
How about we put continued financial misery in the same category as spousal abuse? Should we not try to do everything to avoid that? Why stay in an abusive relationship that’s bad for the kids?
Dave is entitled to his opinion. But the facts don’t support his statements. If we look at bankruptcy purely from a religious or faith based point of view then we need to consider these points:
- Is Bankruptcy Sinful and Bad or Right and Moral? An Examination
- What Does the Bible Say About Bankruptcy? Is Bankruptcy Scriptural?
- The Ethical Considerations of Bankruptcy
If we look at bankruptcy from a reality and practical point of view then we need to consider the following:
For all those that think bankruptcy is a last resort, I’d love to show you the damage you’ve done in espousing that fairy tale. I’ve watched countless numbers of people lose everything just to live up to your imaginary and fictitious belief that bankruptcy should be a last resort.
In order to avoid bankruptcy, people will sell all their assets and limp along till they hit the wall, broke and without options. They will drain their protected retirement accounts, just to avoid bankruptcy. They will believe the sales pitch of debt relief companies and credit counselors that the widget those companies are selling is better, because bankruptcy should only be the last resort.
I’ve written about the “last resort” marketing message many times. And each time it was used as a way to scare or persuade the consumer to stay away from bankruptcy and buy the peddled debt relief product instead. But the reality is that in the face of no other reasonable, logical, or good options, bankruptcy should often times be the first option to investigate on the list.
Bankruptcy is also often the least expensive way to deal with debt in the shortest period of time. And for most people that file bankruptcy, their debt will be eliminated in a few months, and their retirement funds will be protected from creditors. Those funds will be protected for when they need them most, when they can’t work and need to be able to feed themselves.
Here is a better statement of fact about bankruptcy, it’s not the first or last resort, but one of the options consumers have to deal with their debt. There is no way to know if bankruptcy is the most appropriate solution in a particular situation unless the consumer talks to a local bankruptcy attorney.
And if you press people on why they say bankruptcy should be the last resort, ask them this, “why?” I bet they come back with more myths like it will wreck your credit for ten years or it will prevent you from getting a job. Both of those myths are substantially unsupported. The reality is that it’s silly easy to rebuild your credit after bankruptcy and the facts don’t support widespread employment discrimination after bankruptcy.
Another common excuse I hear is that bankruptcy is immoral. That’s another argument based in perception rather than reality. There is no reason why someone can’t file bankruptcy to get legal from unreasonable creditors and then begin to rebuild their life and elect to repay creditors. There is also the issue of if it is more moral to leave yourself and family stranded in an unsafe life or financial position while you limp along for years trying to repair the past.
If bankruptcy is the right solution for churches, airlines, and cities, then why can’t it be the right solution for you? – Click to Tweet
For more on this you can read a previous article, Dave Ramsey and His Un-Truth About Bankruptcy.
I went bankrupt, just like Dave did. And I admit at the time it was painful. But the reason it was painful was because I didn’t have someone there helping me to understand all of my options. If I had I would have walked into bankruptcy knowing that for me, at that time, bankruptcy was the best option for me. Not life destroying.
You can view my story below.
The reality, is that for me, like for Dave, bankruptcy allowed us to get a legal fresh start and second chance.
A couple of years after we had rebuilt our good credit, purchased a home, and I had a great job with IBM.
Just because we wound up not liking the customer service our bankruptcy attorney delivered, it didn’t mean that bankruptcy was not right for us. In fact, without our bankruptcy experience I wouldn’t be here, just like Dave wouldn’t be probably, helping people.
If there had been someone at that time who could have helped us to understand the process and learn that bankruptcy was not the end of our life but the start of a new life then the pain we felt at the time would have been mitigated.
Just because something might be painful
doesn’t mean it’s not right.
I’m not suggesting that everyone should file bankruptcy to deal with their debt situation. What I am saying is that before anyone can make a fully informed decision about any path out of debt they need to be educated about the realities of the options.
Dave’s statements about his truth about bankruptcy just seem odd to me.
He says, “Too many bankruptcy filers never really recover from their financial distress because they never learn new ways to manage their money.”
Yet the rate at which people file bankruptcy again is very low.
He says, “As a result of that experience, Dave hates bankruptcy. That’s why, when someone asks him about whether or not to file, he’ll always try and help them find a better solution.”
Yet I went through a similar experience at the same time and I’m saying that bankruptcy is often the most logical solution.
He says, “Without a doubt, it’s a long process that will follow you around for years, even after it clears off of your credit report.”
“That said, Dave doesn’t tell his listeners to never file for bankruptcy.”
Yet, that makes no logical sense. Why tell people they should never consider the one and only legal solution written into our Constitution to allow people to get a legal fresh start from their debts?
Bankruptcy in the United States is governed under the United States Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4) which authorizes Congress to enact “uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States.”
The Congress shall have Power To…
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
But Dave appears to have no problem defending the Second Amendment to the Constitution and protect an individual right to possess and carry firearms.” Guns good. Bankruptcy bad.
Just Think It All Through for Yourself
Everyone deserves to know the facts and truth about dealing with debt. I encourage everyone to just not be a blind follower of either Dave Ramsey or anyone else, including myself.
Before you let others tell you what is best for you, find out what is best for your situation and make a fully informed decision about how to tackle your debt based on the facts and not someone else’s lingering fear and regret.
I’d suggest you first read How to Get Out of Debt. The Honest and Unvarnished Truth and The Truth About The Success Rates, Failure Rates and Completion Rates of Credit Counseling, Debt Settlement, and Bankruptcy. They will give you a great overview of what we need to deal with to get you moving in the right direction.
Then use the free How to Get Out of Debt Calculator to review your options.
Once you’ve identified a company you want to work with, then follow my step-by-step guide on what you should look for and expect from a good debt relief company.
You can also always feel free to contact me for free help. | <urn:uuid:ff9109f5-975c-46f8-a920-9b0e357cd9f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://getoutofdebt.org/48392/dave-ramsey-truth-bankruptcy-credit-cards-guns | 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 | 0.963764 | 3,338 | 1.976563 | 2 |
Profile: James B. Edwards
James B. Edwards was a participant or observer in the following events:
In conjunction with his huge peacetime military buildup (see Early 1981 and After), President Reagan strongly opposes any sort of arms control or limitation discussions with the Soviet Union.
Rostow to ACDA - As a member of the Committee on the Present Danger (CPD—see 1976), Reagan had spoken out against the SALT II arms control treaty with the USSR (see June 18, 1979-Winter 1979), calling it “fatally flawed.” He has opposed every significant arms limitation agreement since 1963, no matter whether it was negotiated by Republican or Democratic administrations. To continue his opposition, Reagan appoints Eugene Rostow to head the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA). Rostow, a fellow CPD member, is flatly opposed to any sort of arms control or disarmament agreement with the Soviet Union, and had led the CPD fight against the SALT II agreement. “Arms control thinking drives out sound thinking,” he told the Senate. [Scoblic, 2008, pp. 118-120] During his confirmation hearings, Rostow tells Senate questioners that the US could certainly survive a nuclear war, and gives World War II-era Japan as an example—that nation “not only survived but flourished after a nuclear attack.” When asked if the world could survive a full nuclear attack of thousands of nuclear warheads instead of the two that Japan had weathered, Rostow says that even though the casualties might be between “ten million… and one hundred million… [t]he human race is very resilient.” [Scoblic, 2008, pp. 126] Rostow’s aide at the ACDA, Colin Gray, says that “victory is possible” in a nuclear war provided the US is prepared to fight. [Scoblic, 2008, pp. 127]
Burt to State Department - Reagan names Richard Burt to head the State Department’s Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, the State Department’s primary liaison with the Defense Department. Burt, a former New York Times reporter, is one of the few journalists synpathetic to the CPD, and recently called the SALT agreement “a favor to the Russians.” Just before joining the Reagan administration, Burt called for reductions in nuclear arms controls: “Arms control has developed the same kind of mindless momentum associated with other large-scale government pursuits. Conceptual notions of limited durability, such as the doctrine of mutual assured destruction [MAD], have gained bureaucratic constituencies and have thus been prolonged beyond their usefulness. There are strong reasons for believing that arms control is unlikely to possess much utility in the coming decade.” [Scoblic, 2008, pp. 118-120; US Department of State, 2008]
Perle to Defense Department - Perhaps the most outspoken opponent of arms control is neoconservative Richard Perle, named as assistant defense secretary for international security affairs. Perle, until recently the national security adviser to Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson (D-WA—see Early 1970s), will quickly become, in author J. Peter Scoblic’s words, “the administration’s chief arms control obstructionist, dubbed ‘the Prince of Darkness’ by his enemies.” Perle once said: “The sense that we and the Russians could compose our differences, reduce them to treaty constraints… and then rely on compliance to produce a safer world. I don’t agree with any of that.” Now Perle is poised to act on his beliefs. [Scoblic, 2008, pp. 118-120]
Vice President Bush - Although seen as a pragmatist and not a hardline conservative (see January 1981 and After), Vice President George H. W. Bush is also optimistic about the chances of the US coming out on top after a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. During the 1980 campaign, he told a reporter: “You have a survivability of command and control, survivability of industrial potential, protection of a percentage of your citizens, and you have a capability that inflicts more damage on the opposition tham it inflicts on you. That’s the way you can have a winner.” [Scoblic, 2008, pp. 126-127]
Other Appointees - Perle’s immediate supervisor in Defense is Fred Ikle, who headed ACDA in 1973 and helped battle back part of the original SALT agreement. Ikle will be primarily responsible for the Pentagon’s “five-year plan” that envisions a “protracted nuclear war” as a viable option (see March 1982). Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger considers the standoff between the US and the Soviet Union akin to the situation between Britain and Nazi Germany in 1938, with himself and his ideological confreres as Britain’s Winston Churchill and any attempt at arms control as nothing but appeasement. Energy Secretary James B. Edwards says of a hypothetical nuclear war, “I want to come out of it number one, not number two.” Pentagon official Thomas Jones tells a reporter that the US could handily survive a nuclear exchange, and fully recover within two to four years, if the populace digs plenty of holes, cover them with wooden doors, and bury the structures under three feet of dirt. “If there are enough shovels to go around, everybody’s going to make it,” he says. Reagan’s second National Security Adviser, William Clark, will, according to Reagan official and future Secretary of State George Shultz, “categorically oppos[e] US-Soviet contacts” of any kind. Some of the administration’s more pragmatic members, such as Reagan’s first Secretary of State Alexander Haig, will have limited access to Reagan and be cut off from many policy-making processes by Reagan’s more hardline senior officials and staffers. [Scoblic, 2008, pp. 118-120, 127; Air Force Magazine, 3/2008]
Entity Tags: George Herbert Walker Bush, Fred C. Ikle, Committee on the Present Danger, Colin Gray, Caspar Weinberger, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Eugene V. Rostow, US Department of State, William Clark, Thomas Jones, Richard Burt, Richard Perle, Reagan administration, James B. Edwards, Ronald Reagan, J. Peter Scoblic, US Department of Defense, Henry (“Scoop”) Jackson, George Shultz
Timeline Tags: US International Relations
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If you would like to help us with this effort, please contact us. We need help with programming (Java, JDO, mysql, and xml), design, networking, and publicity. If you want to contribute information to this site, click the register link at the top of the page, and start contributing. | <urn:uuid:da9bdbfe-5020-4a42-8fcd-1126196d1d41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=james_b__edwards_1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938405 | 1,507 | 1.976563 | 2 |
On the day that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pens an eloquent defense of the First Amendment (he will also be speaking at the American Enterprise Institute today), we have Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) declaring yet again that the First Amendment is a gross inconvenience when it comes to regulating political speech.
[T]he administration’s troubling view of free speech was perhaps best summed up just this week, when Obama’s top political adviser said that if the president is reelected in November, a top priority could be a constitutional amendment to change the First Amendment.
The courts have said Congress doesn’t have the authority to muzzle political speech. So the president plans to silence his opponents by amending the First Amendment itself. Now, this is radicalism.
No individual or group in this country should have to face harassment or intimidation, or incur crippling expenses, defending themselves against their own government, simply because that government doesn’t like the message they’re advocating.
If you can’t convince people of the wisdom of your policies, then you should come up with better arguments. But, sadly, a growing number of people on the left, and now in the government itself, appear to have concluded that they can’t win on the merits. So they’ve resorted to bullying and intimidation. The potential consequences are grave.
It’s hard to imagine a more broadly accepted and celebrated proposition in America today than the fact that, as Americans, we are free to speak our minds openly, without fear of punishment or reprisal from government authorities. But for U.S. politicians, it is a temptation always to be resisted. Because if all political speech isn’t protected, none is.
Then there is McCain. He thinks because a U.S. citizen, Sheldon Adelson, has a casino overseas, he shouldn’t be allowed to spend his money independently to voice his support for a presidential candidate:
Mr. McCain, his party’s 2008 presidential nominee and one of Mr. Romney’s most prominent surrogates, was asked in the interview about recent contributions of $10 million to the super PAC, called Restore our Future, from Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire casino owner, and his wife, Miriam. Mr. McCain noted that Mr. Adelson’s casino empire draws much of its revenue from overseas casinos, including major properties in Macau.
“Obviously, maybe in a roundabout way, foreign money is coming into an American campaign,” Mr. McCain said in the interview, which was with PBS.
Does he think overseas gamblers lost money intentionally to funnel funds to Romney?
Thunk. Well I suppose no one who gets a dividend or makes a profit from an overseas company can participate in political speech. It would be funny, if it weren’t so shocking, that a U.S. senator has not a clue about the Constitution — or commerce for that matter. | <urn:uuid:74216768-41a8-48ff-a867-f55a80e1f6ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/mcconnell-vs-mccain-on-campaign-finance-reform/2012/06/15/gJQAnMQGfV_blog.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961541 | 619 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Elected in 2006, Fenty is best known for his takeover of the D.C. public school system—bringing it directly under the mayor—and his controversial appointment of Chancellor Michelle Rhee to make the changes.
He focused on two subjects in his address: the difficulty, but necessity, of urban education reform and the role of politicians to make difficult, sometimes unpopular, decisions.
In the address, Fenty said, “School reform is the campaign to knock down any obstacles that impede every child having the opportunity to get an education.”
The former mayor praised the idealized one-room schoolhouse where teachers are both autonomous and accountable for the education of their pupils. This schoolhouse is opposed to school systems whose bureaucracies remove accountability and stifle creativity, according to Fenty.
In his education campaign, Fenty said he ran into two major obstacles. First, he needed to remove school boards as the governing bodies. | <urn:uuid:5a65ce6f-e1fd-4512-b236-3ed940ec2591> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.georgetownvoice.com/tag/gu-lecture-fund/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979013 | 192 | 2.5 | 2 |
The once brilliant TED talks have turned into embarrassing self-help seminars
When I want to brush up on the latest ideas book, I search for the author’s name and watch their most recent TED talk. The website is a great way to learn all the interesting things about a subject without any of the hard work. But these days, instead of fascinating insights into molecular biology and urban congestion, TED offers tips on self-improvement and beginners’ classes on spiritualism.
Visit the website and you will find Brené Brown on "Listening to shame", where the "humor, humanity and vulnerability shine through every word". Then there's Adam Savage on "How simple ideas lead to scientific discoveries" – see how easy it is to be a genius, you could be one too! Most embarrassing of all is Jonathan Haidt on "Religion, evolution, and the ecstasy of self-transcendence", which concludes with a video on how to access the "stairway to self-transcendence".
TED was the internet’s answer to an 18th-century coffee house. It brought together academics and authors, gave them a quarter of an hour to share their big idea, then posted the results online and let everyone watch them for free. But now TED tries to offer an epiphany every 15 minutes, turning its speakers into second-rate lifestyle gurus offering how-to guides on creativity and ten-step programmes for confidence.
It's true that people enjoy bitesize enlightenment – just look at the success of Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. But not only is the whole tone of the self-help industry incredibly patronising, it’s founded on a lie. Reading self-help books is not a way of learning about life, but a substitute for it.
TED used to treat its viewers as intelligent and interested. Now the website assumes that they are naïve, introverted and desperately seeking an easily digestible dose of salvation. Maybe they are, but I doubt they will find any answers online. You might as well buy a copy of How to Make Friends and Influence People.
What's the point of reading fiction when non-fiction books have so many juicy facts?
September 19th, 2012 17:15
Michael Gove is right to ditch the discredited GCSE brand
September 17th, 2012 16:34
It's hard to be disappointed by the news that people would rather watch sports than go shopping
September 5th, 2012 11:28
Oxbridge undergraduates are no more decadent than any other students – in fact they're much better behaved
September 4th, 2012 10:57
It’s glorious to see Parade’s End brought back to life by the BBC, but many old novels are rightly forgotten
September 3rd, 2012 12:09 | <urn:uuid:76a93c80-0634-426d-a4fc-c5c32da6473a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/guystagg/100061774/the-once-brilliant-ted-talks-have-turned-into-embarrassing-self-help-seminars/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940828 | 580 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Unfortunately, the various means of securing the data is meaningless without ironclad legal protections. All of the security simply disappears with a subpoena. You might not have to testify against yourself, but your car will be able to. And while an argument might be made for criminal law enforcement, I could see it easily extending into everything from civil cases, insurance cases, domestic cases, etc.
What seems to me to have been ignored, and is far more important than who gets to see the data first, is a means to assure the integrity of the data. I can easily imagine an insurance company increasing the speed so as to avoid having to pay a settlement, or a someone having the data changed to show that they were stopped when the collision occurred. LIkewise, a disreputable towing company could alter both the time and GPS location data for vehicles that they steal. So the very most critical thing is a means to assure that no data can be altered after the event, at least not without the fact being obvious. If the data is unchangeable then it becomes far less crucial as to who sees it first Probably the other very important feature would be a means to record who and when, and possibly where, each reading of the data has been done.
Aside from that, an addition to federal law placing the data in the same protected realm as phone conversations, covered by wiretap laws, would complete the solution.
Preventing tampering with the data is probably the most critical, and most expensive, part of the proposal, since an adequate means will require that the hardware be physically secure, since all software methods can be fooled, tricked, spoofed, or compromised in some other manner. The challenge is to prevent re-writing of memory that is intended to be constantly rewritten. One option would be to have a separate nonrewriteable memory resident, and upon trigger the required length of data would be copied into the permanent memory, similar to programming a PROM. That chip would need to be physically replaced to continue use of the black box when the vehicle was repaired.
We looked at a number of sources to determine this year's greenest cars, from KBB to automotive trade magazines to environmental organizations. These 14 cars emerged as being great at either stretching fuel or reducing carbon footprint.
Healthcare might seem to be an unlikely target application for the Internet of Things technology, but recent developments show small ways that big-data is going to make an impact on patient care moving into the future.
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is | <urn:uuid:565aea27-00d7-4834-99b9-345848a27a19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.designnews.com/messages.asp?piddl_msgthreadid=239638&piddl_msgorder=asc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960851 | 638 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Known simply as The Clock Tower to many passing its ornate tower on Interstate 95, the Renaissance Revival train station in Shockoe Bottom stands as an historic and current icon of Richmond. Built in 1901 as the city’s premiere railroad destination servicing Seaboard Air Line and Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, the station was designed by the Philadelphia firm of Wilson, Harris and Richards, who were experienced in train station designs. The station stood as Richmond’s gateway for 50 years, before train lines switched to the former Broad Street Station in the 1950s.
During the years that train service was absent from Main St Station, the building passed through many hands and potential uses, including a mall, nightclub, and offices for Virginia Department of Health. Flooding in 1972 and fires in 1976 and 1983 only helped deter a developer’s long term commitment to the site. However the architectural value of the building didn’t waver, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. Extensive renovations starting in 2001 modernized and secured some structural systems (such as lack of a steel skeleton supporting the second story and some of the headhouse floors being made of coal ash) with the vision that the station would be utilized in the near future.
For those pedestrians walking under Interstate 95 or drivers passing the building on Main Street in Shockoe Bottom, it is not the clock tower but a grand staircase that welcomes them to the station, lifting the heavy stone base. A Pompeian brick body rests above, seven bays wide with terra cotta accentuations. The loggia, complete with Corinthian capital columns and carved roses on the lower face of the arches, is capped by a steeply pitched red clay tile roof with two rows of dormers. The bright orange and red colors of the building’s skin announce its presence vibrantly in Richmond’s downtown collage. The train shed behind the station is also of significant engineering merit for being one of the last gable-roof train sheds in America as well as one of the first to employ the widespread steel truss system and boasts the largest intact train trestle system in the country, upon which the platform rests.
In 2003, Amtrak resumed train services to Main St Station, and there are currently plans to develop the stop along the high speed Northeast Corridor. There are also tentative plans for a retail intervention in the train shed with an exterior plaza.
Revitalizing America’s Train Stations. (n.d.). Richmond – main st station history. Retrieved from http://www.greatamericanstations.com/Stations/RVM | <urn:uuid:74bac79b-db60-48df-ac2c-873f42620447> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://architecturerichmond.com/tag/beaux-arts/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959801 | 537 | 2.1875 | 2 |
The commercial success of the new film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was assured from the start. Such is the enduring appeal of Jane Austen. She died 188 years ago, but her novels still have the capacity to stir the emotions.
Pwhoar! was the reaction experienced by millions of women when Colin Firth's Mr Darcy emerged dripping from a lake in his skin tight breeches, his shirt clinging to his manly chest, in the BBC's 1995 television version.
Meanwhile, men were just plain baffled.
Even though the wet shirt scene isn't in the book, most of the magic - the tension and misunderstandings before love completes its triumphant passage - is developed by Jane Austen's pen.
More than one poll has acclaimed Pride and Prejudice as the most romantic novel of all time, while Jane Eyre has to settle for second place, much to the chagrin of its author, Charlotte Bronte, one suspects, were she alive today.
In her critique of Austen's novels, Bronte wrote: "Anything like warmth or enthusiasm, anything energetic, poignant, heartfelt, is utterly out of place in commending these works. The passions are perfectly unknown to her."
But for Virginia Woolf, Austen was "a mistress of much deeper emotion than appears on the surface. She stimulates us to supply what is not there."
"If ever we wished to identify with a character, it must be Lizzie," asserts Brick Lane author Monica Ali in her admiration of Austen's Elizabeth Bennet, who, she says, is "self-assured and yet so infallibly human".
The author of Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion, was born in 1775 in the village of Steventon in Hampshire. She had five older brothers, two of them becoming admirals, and an elder sister, Cassandra, to whom Jane was very close.
Jane Austen received an education superior to that experienced by most girls of her time and was only 19 when she wrote Elinor and Marianne, which she later revised to become Sense and Sensibility.
By a Lady
Her family spent several years in Bath, the location of many episodes in her novels, but they returned to Hampshire in 1809 and the cottage where they lived in Chawton is now a must-see for Austen devotee visitors.
So too is Austen's grave in Winchester Cathedral, where she was buried after her death from Addison's disease in 1817.
Despite the resonance through the ages of her work, she was never intent on social revolution. By allowing her books to be inscribed "By a Lady", she bowed to the convention that for an unmarried woman of her class to write novels might be considered a little racy, although in reality the author's identity became widely known.
Austen is often criticised for her alleged complicity in the class structure and social mores of Regency England, for providing no more than a fleeting glimpse of the millions on the verge of starvation and the brutal repression of protests by the masses.
Mansfield Park seems to sum up her view: "Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery. I quit such odious subjects as soon as I can."
One theory was that she was torn between her perception of the cruelties and corruptions of her class and her strong emotional attachments to family and friends.
In his Memoir of 1870, Jane Austen's nephew remarked that her life was "singularly barren: few changes and no great crisis ever broke the smooth current of its course".
Yet there were emotional dramas of the kind that still captivate her readers, like the time she accepted and then changed her mind overnight about the marriage proposal of a family friend, a man of some wealth and position, but intellectually her inferior.
With a deft use of irony to explore the predicament of young, unmarried, upper-class English women in the early 1800s, Austen draws women who challenge convention by demonstrating independent thought.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that every man in possession of a fortune must be in want of a wife," begins Pride and Prejudice. Austen knew only too well about the economic necessity and convention of her class that women must also secure a husband. But Austen's heroines hold out for a union of equals; they will marry only for love.
Casting Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet has confirmed some critics' fears that Austen has now become a chick flick, but it shouldn't surprise us that Jane Austen has become a phenomenon with a myriad of marketing opportunities.
Skilfully exciting the reader's imagination about the unseen, smouldering passions beneath the surface, her "iceberg" novels have a timeless appeal to generations of romantics. | <urn:uuid:eccecb05-9e67-4d0b-8241-c2e595badcea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?13480-Austen-An-Article-(BBC) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980226 | 992 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Escalating US cross-border military incursions into Pakistan suggest the Obama administration has lost patience with Islamabad’s failure to stop militants using the tribal areas as launchpads for attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan and safe havens for training foreign-born terrorists.
As attacks involving American helicopter gunships and unmanned drones rise sharply, Washington’s blunt message to Islamabad is: “If you can’t or won’t take care of the problem, we will.” Last week, Interior Minister Rehman Malik offered a blunt riposte: “We will have to see whether we are allies or enemies.”
The new strategy is high-risk. Public fury at the incursions, which caused the closure of a key Khyber Pass supply route, may further undermine Pakistan’s civilian president, Asif Ali Zardari. It could alienate the Pakistani security apparatus and fuel jihadi recruitment. It is an embarrassment for Nato’s allies, who have no control over US special forces or CIA operations. And it resurrects the dread prospect of a wider, regional war spreading outwards from Afghanistan.
But Barack Obama, egged on by his new Afghanistan commander, General David Petraeus, and under pressure to meet his self-imposed withdrawal schedule, appears determined to take the fight to the enemy—even if it means waging war inside another sovereign state.
Last month saw 22 cross-border CIA drone attacks on Taliban or al-Qaeda-linked militants, nearly double the previous monthly record, and three reported helicopter raids. One helicopter attack last Thursday killed three Pakistani soldiers. On Monday, eight supposed terrorists of German nationality were killed.
Obama’s policy is rooted in an executive order signed by George Bush in July 2008 sanctioning secret cross-border counter-terrorist operations. In September that year US commandos launched a ground raid into Pakistan. The ensuing uproar meant that future ground operations mostly stopped. But aerial attacks using Predator and Reaper drones have steadily increased.
Anthony Cordesman, writing in the National Interest, said there were 35 drone attacks in 2008, 55 in 2009, and 77 in the first nine months of 2010, according to information collated by Long War Journal. But it was wrong to present the rise as a “massive bombing campaign” causing numerous civilian casualties, he said.
“This rise in strike numbers is a kind of ‘surge’ but it adds up to 175 strikes over the entire [Afghan] war, and of these strikes, 65% have been concentrated in North Waziristan, [in the tribal areas] where the Pakistani army has been unwilling or unable to act.” Cordesman also said improved rules of engagement had reduced civilian casualties.
US reports say all but three of last month’s cross-border operations were aimed at the Haqqani terrorist network in North Waziristan, which Nato blames for an upsurge in violence in adjacent east Afghanistan. Jalaluddin Haqqani, the network’s leader, has close links to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency. The ISI supposedly hopes to use the network to manipulate events in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal—and is thus reluctant to act against it.
American officials say North Waziristan is also used by al-Qaeda as a base for organising and planning terrorist operations overseas, such as the recently reported plots targeting Britain, France and Germany.
American concerns intensified last spring when it emerged that the failed Times Square bomber in New York had trained in Pakistan. Intelligence agencies say European-born would-be jihadis, frequently of Pakistani, Afghan or North African descent, receive training in the tribal areas. This is the context of Monday’s attack on the German nationals.
Obama raised these issues in a letter to Zardari last November, warning that the US would be forced to act if Pakistan did not. The army made no move—and US patience finally snapped. “The CIA sought more resources, which the White House strongly supported ... The results speak for themselves,” an unnamed official told the Washington Post.
The expansion of US operations inside Pakistan appears to break even an informal, officially disavowed agreement concerning so-called “flight boxes”, which sets limits on the area of drone operations. But in its mania for killing real or imagined terrorists, anywhere and everywhere, Washington does not seem to care.
Nor do Pakistan’s protests or worries about provoking a wider war cut much ice. “Fighting a war in Afghanistan that has given the enemy a sanctuary in Pakistan, and al-Qaeda immunity in Pakistan, has little point,” Cordesman said, indirectly answering Rehman Malik’s question about allies or enemies. “More bluntly, if Pakistan cannot provide at least enough co-operation to passively allow such strikes, it is not an ally, it is a major strategic liability.” - guardian.co.uk | <urn:uuid:45ded554-490d-40ff-af7b-3fc211fe1f83> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mg.co.za/print/2010-10-06-war-zone-pakistan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947639 | 1,022 | 1.554688 | 2 |
4 dice are rolled. what is the chance of gettin two 5's and two 6's? i've done the exhaustive approach and found it to be 1/216. how do i do it using a proper method?
If one rearranges the letter string “SOUTHERN” there are (8!) ways to do that. That is because all 8 letters are distinct. Now take the string “UNUSUAL” there are seven letters but 3 are the same so there are (7!)/(3!) ways to rearrange the string. There are (11!)/[(4!)(4!)(2!)] ways to rearrange the string “MISSISSIPPI”.
To toss two 5’s and two 6’s is to toss the string “5566” is some order.
How many ways are there to rearrange that string?
There are 6^4 outcomes in tossing four dice.
Four dice are rolled.
What is the chance of getting two 5's and two 6's?
We know that there are: 6^4 = 1296 possible outcomes, right?
You said you did an exhaustive approach.
You must have found that there were six outcomes with two 5's and two 6's
. . 5566, 5656, 5665, 6556, 6565, 6655
Can we find that number (6) without making a list? . . . Yes!
There are four "slots: . _ _ _ _
Pick two of them to place the 5's (the 6's will go in the other two slotd).
There are: .C(4,2) .= .(4!)/(2!2!) .= .6 ways that this can be done. | <urn:uuid:a6b37ea8-2177-4d9f-97bc-a672e459835b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mathhelpforum.com/statistics/12550-rolling-4-dice.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946057 | 376 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Posted On Saturday, July 14, 2012 at 09:24:18 AM
There are those who are so indifferent that they wouldn’t lift a finger when the world is falling apart; and then are those who push themselves to the wall and do whatever it takes to achieve results. Most folks lie in between. They’re doing fine, but not excelling. As we gear up for the much awaited Olympics, we could take some tips from the best athletes in the world to bridge the gap between merely doing and actually achieving.
Track your progress
In order to achieve new heights of excellence, you have to first know where you stand. You have to be in complete recognition and acceptance of your strength and weaknesses. An Olympian has a chart for measuring performance down to fractions of seconds. Charting progress is a great motivational tool and gives positive reinforcement. You also gain insight into what methods work for you and where you need to improve.
Do what you love
Canadian gymnast Kyle Shewfelt, winner of a gold medal in the men’s floor exercise Olympics in 2004, says he only thought about gymnastics even as a child. The athlete who was also a skilled hockey player turned to gymnastics because he simply loved the sport. Do what you love, instead of taking up something that you don’t, because it will eventually reflect in your work.
Do set ambitious goals
Olympians want to be the best in the world at what they do. And when they accomplish that, they want to be even better. Aim to ace your job. If you feel you’re demonstrating excellence, push yourself further.
To keep pace with your distinction performance, you need to be persistent. For example, swimmer Michael Phelps, won six gold medals and two bronze in Athens in 2004. But Phelps wasn’t satisfied. In 2008, he decided he could do even better, and won eight gold medals in Beijing.
People who are beginners or intermediate runners get a motivational boost from listening to music when they’re practising. This creates a dissociative state where they are distracted from the pain and boredom of the mundane training. But Olympians are different. When you’re working with such discipline, you need to be in an “associative state” where you are closely in tune with your body.
They embrace the pain, then find and test their limits. Adopt this discipline of some of the best athletes in the world to be ace at your work. No job is easy. There- ’ll be problems, acknowledge and embrace them. Learn to work your way through them and only then will you be able to achieve the efficiency and excellence.
Do seek professional advice
If you’re not good at something, it won’t hurt to seek professional help. Coaching makes all the difference for achampion and it can for you as well. All the best athletes in the world have been rigorously trained for years in their sport.
Most people jump into jobs immediately after graduation. To achieve the best results, remember you need to seek advice from pros. If you are looking for a job in the media, there’s no harm investing a year studying mass communication. Follow it up with an internship.
So when you actually earn your first job, you not only have hands on experience, but are also more prepared for the grind.
• Olympians want to be the best in the world at what they do | <urn:uuid:f392f23a-0a9f-46a0-9534-b5d6a4bbe9fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.punemirror.in/article/64/2012071420120714092423628756480a1/Work-like-an-Olympian.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960052 | 717 | 2.578125 | 3 |
I've never been to Iceland, but I have a hard time imagining that The Icelandic Phallological Museum gets a lot of elementary school field trips. Not that kids wouldn't find an entire room devoted to the penises of every mammal that occurs in their country edifying, but while the museum proudly claims it "is finally possible for individuals to undertake serious study into the field of phallology in an organized, scientific fashion", I suspect their response (and that of their parents) would be neither organized nor scientific. Then again, if you need something to do on those long summer nights in Husavik, why not drop by during regular hours and see how a blue whale compares with, well, anything else with a penis?
"The Icelandic Phallological Museum contains a collection of over one hundred and fifty penises and penile parts belonging to almost all the land and sea mammals that can be found in Iceland. Visitors to the museum will encounter thirty eight specimens belonging to fifteen different kinds of whale, one specimen taken from a rogue polar bear, nineteen specimens belonging to seven different kinds of seal and walrus, and ninety three specimens originating from nineteen different kinds of land mammal: all in all, a total of one hundred fifty one specimen belonging to forty two different kinds of mammal. It should be noted that the museum has also been fortunate enough to receive a legally-certified gift token for a future specimen belonging to Homo Sapiens."
One hopes the poor thing doesn't get hollowed, salted, dried and placed on a wooden rack like the Blue Whale's member. There's nothing to envy about that. | <urn:uuid:f3ef40d0-0c54-42d5-8f80-4ee02ed40056> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/2007/08/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950229 | 327 | 1.617188 | 2 |
A Guide to Employment Discrimination: Reason
Why do you think the discrimination happened?
(There may be more than one reason; if so, you may wish to work through this exercise again, using another reason.)
I belive the discrimination happened because of my:
Why are these categories important?
The Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) recognizes these "protected classes" in cases of employment discrimination.
If an employer refuses to hire you, terminates you, or treats you differently in terms of wages, promotion opportunities, or other terms of employment, your employer's action is not illegal discrimination under the MHRA unless it happened because of one of these reasons.
Are there other characteristics that are protected under the Human Rights Act?
Only the characteristics listed here are protected in cases of employment discrimination.
"Familial status" is another characteristic protected by the Human Rights Act, but only in cases involving housing discrimination. This protection generally prohibits landlords from refusing to rent to parents with children.
What does reprisal mean?
Reprisal is retaliation, such as intimidation, harassment, or other adverse treatment, motivated by conduct protected under the Human Rights Act. Protected conduct includes filing a charge, opposing discrimination, participating in an investigation of alleged discrimination, and similar activities; and associating with persons of a different race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation or national origin, or persons who have disabilities.
Reprisal is prohibited regardless of whether there was any merit to the complaint of discrimination that led to the retaliation.
Are only certain kinds of people protected?
The Human Rights Act protects everyone in Minnesota. Everyone has a race and a sex, for example, and if they experience discrimination because of their race or sex, they are protected.
In some cases, you are protected under the Human Rights Act even if you don't have the particular characteristic at issue — if you are perceived as having that characteristic. If you are fired, or other adverse job action is taken, because your employer thinks you have a disability, that may be unlawful discrimination. The same is true if you face discrimination because someone believes you are gay (or not gay), no matter what your sexual orientation.
What questions should an employer NOT ask during a job interview?
It’s an unfair discriminatory practice for an employer to request or require you to furnish information pertaining to any protected class factor, unless there is a state or federal law that requires the employer to obtain this information. Employers can require information about eligibility to work in terms of immigration status, to comply with child labor laws, or to determine whether an applicant can meet licensing requirements. They can’t collect medical or health-related information prior to making a job offer, but they can ask about an applicant's ability to do work that is an essential part of the job, such as lifting or climbing.
"Are you planning to have children?" and "When did you graduate from college?" are obviously prohibited, since they pertain to sex and age, respectively. An employer should avoid any question that is likely to reveal information about a protected class characteristic. | <urn:uuid:1e6ad062-02c7-4ccd-b25e-7930ea338b8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mn.gov/mdhr/dyhac/reason.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946288 | 634 | 2.5625 | 3 |
With temperatures soaring, be sure to protect your pets from the extreme heat
Now that summer is here, it’s good to remember that pets require special care to avoid heatstroke. Dogs cannot tell us when they feel hot, and it is our responsibility to ensure that our pets have sufficient shelter from the sun, an adequate supply of water to drink, and a way to cool off as the heat rises. Be aware of these essential needs when leaving your pets outside during the day. Moreover, do not forget that at this time of the year, it is life-threatening to leave pets in hot cars, even if they are parked in the shade, and even for just a few minutes! Each summer, the LSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital sees several heatstroke cases.
A dog’s body temperature is normally between 101°F and 102°F. Dogs do not sweat like people; they regulate their body temperature by panting; panting expels the heat. If the heat is not expelled fast enough, the body temperature rises. A rise of three degrees to a temperature of 105°F can cause the dog to have problems keeping up with his body’s demand for oxygen. When the temperature hits 108°F, the internal organs such as the brain can start breaking down at a cellular level.
Early signs of heatstroke are rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, and gums that change from their healthy light pink color to bright red or even dull, grayish-pink. Vomiting and diarrhea can also be observed. Heat stroke is an absolute emergency! If your dog exhibits these signs, move him to a shaded area, soak the coat in cool water, and get him to a veterinarian immediately. These signs can be followed in minutes or days by collapse, seizure, coma, clotting disorders, and death. All pets with heatstroke need to be treated immediately and monitored carefully for a few days.
If your pet requires medical care after-hours, you can bring your pet to the LSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital on Skip Bertman Drive; the hospital is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and remains open even during disasters such as hurricanes.
The most important aid in heatstroke is prevention, so please ensure that your outdoor pets have plenty of shade and water and never leave your pets in a parked car, even with the windows down. Make sure that your pet has a tip-proof bowl, so that he can’t spill his water bowl while you’re not at home. Lastly, do not go jogging or biking with your dog at midday during the summer. Even if you enjoy a jog or bike ride in the heat, it could have disastrous consequences for your dog. Plan walks for the early morning or late evening hours when the temperature is relatively low. With a few minor precautions, you and your pets can have a safe and happy summer.
Director of Public Relations
LSU School of Veterinary Medicine
225-578-9922 or firstname.lastname@example.org
The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is a dynamic community dedicated to saving lives, finding cures, and changing lives through outstanding clinical and community service, groundbreaking research, and educational excellence. | <urn:uuid:a5725122-cb35-45b5-892d-5581aad69b9e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www1.vetmed.lsu.edu/SVM/AboutSVM/News/2012/June/item50073.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953552 | 659 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Stay Healthy for Life by Following Preventive Healthcare Guidelines.
One of the best ways to achieve lifelong health and wellness is to take preventive steps to take care of you and your family’s health. That means making sure you and your children receive the checkups, tests, exams and immunizations that they need to stay healthy.
The Blue KC 2013 Preventive Healthcare Guide gives you recommended time frames for when you and your family should receive preventive healthcare according to national health guidelines.
Keep in mind that most health insurance plans cover preventive services; however, deductibles and copays may apply. For details about your specific healthcare coverage, please review your health plan contract.
The 2013 Preventive Healthcare Guide.
Learn more about our prevention and wellness programs. | <urn:uuid:e871b6a3-cade-4e7a-aa1f-516c5575b553> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bluekc.com/Health_and_Wellness/Preventive_Healthcare_Guide.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938264 | 153 | 1.546875 | 2 |
- Language Tips
In an effort to rekindle hope that a political solution can be found to the Syrian crisis, Kofi Annan, the United Nations and Arab League joint special envoy, announced on Monday that he had agreed a new approach with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to ending the violence and he would share it with the opposition forces.
A world community that loves peace should cherish Annan's perseverance. As tensions in Syria intensify, keeping the political dialogue rolling is the only hope of preventing more humanitarian disasters in the country, which has been mired in violence for months. It is another window of opportunity for peace.
The international community should rally around Annan's new initiative, as they did when he proposed a six-point ceasefire plan in April. They should press all political forces in Syria to accept the olive branch.
As long as there is still the possibility of a peaceful solution to the crisis, the international community should provide its full support to Annan's mediation.
They should be fully aware that pushing ahead with Annan's new approach will not be easy. To start a dialogue and ignite the political process, belligerent parties need to stop fighting. It was the failure to realize a ceasefire that undermined Annan's previous peace plan.
Even the presence of almost 300 UN monitors has failed to curb the country's violence. Worse, confrontation between government troops and armed groups has escalated.
The new approach will only work when political forces in Syria make compromises. However, the "Friends of Syria" meeting, which concluded on Saturday in Paris, pledged more support to Syria's armed opposition and threatened more sanctions on the Syrian government, which will only escalate the tension and conflict.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while encouraging or allowing a flow of more weapons from the West to Syria's opposition forces, lashed out at Russia and China at the meeting, accusing the two countries of "holding up progress".
Clinton's remarks do not hold water. China has made an important contribution to safeguarding the UN Charter, the basic norms governing international relations, and the peace and stability of the region.
Meaningful progress is working toward a lasting peaceful solution that is based on the choice of the Syrian people. And that calls for a commitment to the Annan approach.
(China Daily 07/11/2012 page8) | <urn:uuid:8f58e268-607a-49f3-b65a-092c6d1587e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2012-07/11/content_15567511.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947476 | 476 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Bellevue College is accredited as a baccalaureate degree-granting institution by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the U.S. Department of Education. This accreditation was most recently reaffirmed in 2010.
The accrediting body is located at:
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
8060 165th Avenue NE, Suite 100
Redmond, Washington 98052-3981
Why Accreditation is Important
Regional accreditation is a process of recognizing educational institutions for performance, integrity, and quality that entitles them to the confidence of the educational community and the public. Accreditation qualifies institutions and enrolled students for access to federal funds to support teaching, research, and student financial aid.
The process of accreditation helps the college dedicate time to reflect on its programs and processes, what it does well, where it needs to improve, and how well it serves its mission and goals and therefore its students. This self-analysis helps the institution become a more effective organization.
Reports Related to Our Accreditation
The following reports document the ongoing accreditation process over the last 15 years in PDF format.
- 2009 Commission Report to the College
- 2009 Self study report
- 2007 Progress report acceptance from NWCCU
- 2007 Progress report
- 2005 Final commission report to the college
- 2005 Self study report
- 2000 Commission report to the college
- 2000 Five year interim accreditation report
- 1995 Commission report to the college | <urn:uuid:4699055d-cae1-4721-9946-3456fa94db97> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bellevuecollege.edu/about/college/accreditation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937621 | 316 | 1.617188 | 2 |
1 x 50'
In the Arctic summer of 2001, a team of Irish sailors and adventurers sailed in a custom-built ice strengthened boat through the famous Northwest Passage, a journey that will take them from Greenland across the top of Arctic Canada and finally through the Bering Straits into the Pacific Ocean.
The documentary "Northwest passage" features a voyage through some of the wildest terrain on earth while telling the story of a journey that has fascinated mariners and explorers for centuries drawing many of them to their deaths. The film will also highlight the key roles played by a number of Irishmen both in the exploration of the Arctic and in the search for the most famous and mysterious expedition ever to venture North.
A Crossing the Line Films Production for RTÉ | <urn:uuid:69e28881-531b-4e9d-8db5-a41f622c1edf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rte.ie/tv/programmesales/northwestpassage.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952718 | 153 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Nick Jonas Reveals He Can't Read Sheet Music
During a GRAMMY Camp panel discussion, where THR interviewed the singer, he talked about his biggest music industry fear.
Nick Jonas may be one of the biggest names in pop music, but as campers at the GRAMMY Foundation's annual summer program discovered, he can't read sheet music.
"I can't read music today," Jonas revealed. "But you know, I know how to compose and I'm passionate about performing."
During a panel discussion including Warner Bros. Records executive Mike Elizondo and 13-year old recording artist Greyson Chance, Jonas discussed his biggest fear about the music industry’s future.
"I think my biggest fear is, to be honest, for music to be taken out of schools," he said. "I find that to be really important and the truth is, that when I went to regular school -- I was in regular school until the 3rd grade and then I started home school -- but when I was in regular school, I was actually failing my music class, of all things. I was doing Broadway shows at the time.”
The youngest member of The Jonas Brothers trio explained to campers that his personal music education came from family.
"I was raised in a really musical household," Jonas said. "My dad's incredibly musical and is a pianist and a singer, so there was always music around. If I didn't have that growing up, I don't know where I'd be today."
Upon hearing Nick’s confession, fans on Twitter reacted in shock. Some offered to teach Jonas the skill, while others expressed disappointment. But several fans applauded his natural musical talents.
Jonas is hardly the first successful artist to speak out about his inability to read music. He joins the likes of legendary artists Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey, Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Prince.
As Jonas discussed his hopes for continued music education in schools, fellow panelist Chance expressed his biggest fear: disappointing fans. Elizondo, however, detailed a potential future where people no longer care about music.
"I feel like there's a lack of quality that exists and I feel the focus sometimes isn't always on the quality," Elizondo said. "I'm not saying it's wrong to want to be popular, that's not it, it's when there isn't a balance of substance and something musical and real and honest there. When the music industry is just another vehicle for someone to become famous just for being famous, then that's a fear of mine."
The seventh annual GRAMMY Camp is an interactive residential summer music experience for high school students all over the U.S. The program offers various career tracks, including Audio Engineering, Concert Promotion/Production, Electronic Music Production, Music Journalism, Songwriting and Performance.
- MOST SHARED
- MOST POPULAR | <urn:uuid:ea8c5acf-4190-4d7e-a238-63f840c44e13> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nick-jonas-reveals-he-cant-211450 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982065 | 596 | 1.671875 | 2 |
New legislation is now effective in Ireland relating to road signs when doing road works. In essence, I understand this Chapter Eight legislation to mean that you have to have a minimum of 5 signs leading up to the place where you are conducting your road works, and 3 signs on the far side of the roadworks. The size of signs varies dependent on the road/motorway status, but 750 x 750mm cover all roads, except dual carriageways and motorways.
Who is affected? – county councils, utility companies such a ESB, Bord Gais, NTL, Eircom, Sky, Waterworks and all subcontractors doing works along the road side. (Yes, this even includes activities such as surveying, hedge clipping and “de flooding” an area and other emergency services activities).
With all these construction and maintenance bodies having to comply with the new chapter 8 legislation, isnt there a less cumbersome solution than having to carry half a van full of rigid heavy signs? Well, there is a simple, lightweight, flexible modular solution made by a brand called Tri Flex: these road signs are fully EN compatible and are made of flexible prismatic material that rolls up, taking up minimal space in the boot of car/van. The tripod base can hold any of the roll-up signs (600mm x 600mm or 750mm x750mm etc) from the comprehensive range of standard symbols. Its as simple as 1,2,3 . JBS has started selling these road safety signs and you can see them on the http://www.jbsgroup.ie/ website.
If you want to find out all the nitty gritty of the new legislation, check out www.jbsgroup.ie and read the 70 pages of the Department of Transport legislation on this link. | <urn:uuid:74c28163-30fd-4c90-9724-760c0ea9d6fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jbsgroup.ie/blog/?m=200912 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948695 | 369 | 1.570313 | 2 |
This week, author Lee Miller explores the deeper meaning behind London's recent riots.
During a four-night period (Aug. 6-10) riots flashed and spread from Tottenham, North London, to many other parts of England, resulting in five deaths, numerous injuries, approximately 3,000 arrests and more than $300 million dollars in property theft and damage. This rage began with the police shooting of suspected drug dealer Mark Duggan and mysteriously escalated to unrelated neighborhoods and cities. In the aftermath, many continue to ask: Why? The apparent demographic of the looters—ages 12-25, mixed across race and class lines—adds more mystery than clarity. One possible explanation of the English riots’ cause is revealed in the 2008 Booker Prize-winning book The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.
The White Tiger is a letter written over a period of seven days by the protagonist, Balram Halwai, to Wen Jiabao, the Premier of China. In this letter, Halwai explains how he rose from an undereducated boy cleaning tea shops in his south India home village, to a servant/driver for a wealthy family in Delhi, to a successful transportation entrepreneur supporting call centers in Bangalore. His material rise held only one catch: Balram murdered his master to advance. He explains why he is one in a billion—why he is a white tiger—and how he jumps impossible barriers and defines a modern India (and China).
Adiga avoids a lyrical story, using Balram’s direct and lighthearted voice to reveal the underbelly of modern India: the stream of sewage that flows through the village center, the exploitation of Indian landlords, the constant corruption of police and politicians, the hordes of homeless in Delhi lining bridges, underpasses and many city blocks, and the degrading classism of the “haves”—in short, how impossible it is to “advance” in India. At one point, Balram points out a symbolic Indian invention: “Why does the rooster coop work? Because Indians are trained to live in perpetual servitude.”
At the climax of the story, Balram (a servant-driver) murders his master, the kindly and civil Ashok. Balram steals a large red bag stuffed with bribe money, flees from Delhi to Bangalore and starts up a corporate taxi service for blooming call centers. He is never caught, because the wanted poster looks like half of the men in India. From a Western point of view, most cheer Balram’s courageous material victory, feeling the outrage of his material surroundings and class discrimination. The average Indian would find The White Tiger a wild exaggeration.
Balram says that “99.9 percent of Indians won’t steal the money or murder for gain. Why? Because they are caught in the rooster coop,” a place where animals are crushed together, barely living, and blind to the systemic servitude and slaughter of all those in surrounding cages. The average Indian would point out that the real and very subtle reason India’s per capita crime rate is drastically lower than England’s: Indians don’t care so much about money; materialism is not their top priority.
Aravind hooks the Western reader with this tale of material transcendence, first laying the groundwork of outrage by exaggerating the filth and corruption of India. Midnight’s Children (Salman Rushdie), A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry) and the movie Slumdog Millionaire all use the same exaggerations to hook the Western reader: Oh, look how awfully they live! The protagonists are owed something by their society. Western minds are so conditioned upon material aspects of India that they miss the sublime: Most Indians live by a completely different value set than Westerners.
If a village man sets up a tarp stall on a Delhi street and sells shirts for a modest income, has a wife and children nearby, visits extended family often, has enough to eat and enjoys the constant friendship of other surrounding vendors, he is happy. This contentment is nearly unfathomable to a Western mind because everyone, especially the younger generation, is conditioned to want much more, to strive for “a better life.” Millions of Indians lead very modest but content lives, yet the Westerner is blinded by the country’s superficial appearance. Once beyond the “poverty,” Westerners often discover this mysterious contentment of India, its “spirituality,” and search for its mystical source via yoga, tantric sex or hashish. The great irony is that Westerners have a degree more of material comfort, yet they have two degrees less of happiness and peace.
When the skirmish broke out in north London and rioting sparked, many joined in the looting. Like Balram, English youth felt owed something by their corrupt society and seized an open opportunity. Yet after arrest, most of the 12-25-year-old looters—black, brown, white, rich and poor—could not explain why they were stealing booze, cigarettes and sports clothing. Their answer may be found in The White Tiger.
Lee Miller is the author of the Bengali novel, Kali Sunset (www.clovercreekpress.com). | <urn:uuid:bfa46ad3-861b-44a6-ac39-612cd1f6f30f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/blog-2974-lee-on-literature-the-white-tiger-by-aravind-adiga.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940382 | 1,094 | 2.296875 | 2 |
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M.F.A. in Science and Natural History Filmmaking
DEPARTMENT OF MEDIA THEATRE ARTS Degrees conferred M.F.A. in Science and Natural History Filmmaking
The graduate program in Science and Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University is the first program of its type in the world and remains the largest and the most well-known. Students in the program have had their work broadcast in many major venues such as The Discovery Channel, National Geographic, The Science Channel, CNN, Sixty Minutes II, Larry King, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News. They have produced films for the National Park Service, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Agriculture, NOAA, NASA, and such non-profit organizations including the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, and the Nature Conservancy. Students' work have appeared in major museums, schools, and cultural venues too numerous to count. Our students literally travel the world with explorers and scientists to make films from the Pribilof Islands to Easter Island, the Galapagos, Australia, Japan, Mongolia, Africa, Chile, and under the sea as well.
Our mission is to provide new generations of filmmakers with formal education and experience in science, engineering, or technology who have the knowledge to create accurate and interesting programs that advance the public understanding of science.
Candidates for the MFA take courses that include the history and theory of science and natural history film, as well as extensive work in film and video production, including cinematography, sound, production management, editing, and writing. The intent of the program is not to prepare students to be cinematographers, editors, sound recordists or writers, but to educate producers and directors who understand the complete production process.
Admission We seek candidates with at least an undergraduate degree in biological or physical sciences, engineering, technology, or the social sciences, and preferably with some research experience. Candidates are not expected to have any formal education or experience in filmmaking.
We also seek candidates with degrees in other disciplines who have at least a minor (or equivalent thereof) in any of the fields mentioned above. A minor is construed as at least thirty hours of concentrated study. Applicants with film experience may be exempted from some or all of the production classes at the discretion of the program director.
Program Requirements The curriculum consists of a minimum of sixty semester credit hours of study and thesis film. To graduate, you should complete the course of study in good academic standing and produce and defend a thesis film within four years of your admission to the program. MTA 504 Film and Documentary Theory 2 Credits MTA 505 Survey of Science and Natural History Filmmaking 3 Credits MTA 506 Form and Theory of Science and Natural History Filmmaking 3 Credits MTA 510 Production Technique I-Lecture 4 Credits MTA 511 Production Technique I-Lab 2 Credits MTA 512 Production Methods and Studies I 2 Credits MTA 515 Production Technique II - Lecture 4 Credits MTA 516 Production Technique II - Lab 2 Credits MTA 517 Production Methods and Studies II 2 Credits MTA 518 Non-Fiction Writing 3 Credits MTA 552 Advanced Production Practices I 6 Credits MTA 553 Advanced Production Practices II 6 Credits MTA 572 Thesis Prep 1 Credit MTA 590 Master's Thesis 12 Credits MTA 580 Summer Workshops 1 Credit (On Demand)
Depending on the availability of funds, a limited number of teaching assistantships and research assistantships are available each year. | <urn:uuid:2d9c7ca2-4aad-47fc-adb4-f5ed928e5d6c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.emagister.us/mfa+science+and+natural+history+filmmaking+degrees-ec170279643.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901758 | 792 | 1.695313 | 2 |
The longevity of today's digital media is a common concern. Less than 20 years after the creation of a digital Domesday Book, a batch of researchers had to work to make it readable again, whereas the 900-year-old paper-based original is still readable. Anyone maintaining an archive of digital content knows that all that material has to be kept up to date and transferred to new formats as machines and players change.
On friend of mine, a professional sound engineer, begged me to keep my magnetic media when I told him I was transferring it to digital formats. You can, he argued, always physically examine a magnetic tape and come up with some kind of reader for it; with digital media, you're completely stuck if you don't know how the data was organized.
Where was he in 1984, when I bought my sewing machine, a Singer Futura 2000? That machine was, as it turns out, one of the earliest electronic models on the market. I had no idea of that at the time; the particular feature I was looking for (the ability to lock the machine in reverse, so I could have both hands free when reverse-stitching) was available on very few models. This was the best of those few. No one said to me, "And it's electronic!" They said stuff like, "It has all these stitches!" Most of which, to be sure, hardly anyone is likely ever to use other than the one-step buttonhole and a zigzag stitch or two.
Cut to 2009, when one day I turn the machine on and discover the motor works but the machine won't select a stitch or drive that motor. "Probably the circuit board," says the first repair person I talk to. Words of doom.
The problem with circuit boards is - as everyone knows who's had a modern electronic machine fail - that a) they're expensive to replace; b) they're hard to find; c) they're even harder to get repaired. Still, people don't buy sewing machines to use for a year or five; they buy them for a lifetime. In fact, before cars and computers, washing machines and refrigerators, sewing machines were the first domestic machines, they were an expensive purchase, and they were expected to last.
You can repair - and buy parts for - a 150-year-old treadle Singer sewing machine. People still use them, particularly for heavy sewing jobs like leather, many-layered denim, or neoprene. You can also repair the US Singer machine my parents gave me as a present in the mid 1970s. That machine is what they now call "mechanical", by which they mean electric but not electronic. What you can't do is repair a machine from the 1980s: Singer stopped making the circuit boards. If you're very, very lucky, you might be able to find someone who can repair one.
But even that is difficult. One such skilled repairman told me that even though Singer itself had recommended him to me he was unable to get the company to give him the circuit diagrams so he could use his skill for the benefit of both his own customers (and therefore himself) and Singer itself. The concept of open-sourcing has not landed in the sewing machine market; sewing machines are as closed as modern cars with what seems like much less justification. (At least with a car you can argue that a ham-fisted circuit board repairman could cost you your life; hard to make that argument about a sewing machine.)
Of course, from Singer's point of view things are far worse than irreplaceable circuit boards that send a few resentful customers into the gathering feet of Husqvarna Viking or Bernina. Singer's problem is that the market for sewing machines has declined dramatically. In 1902, the owner of Eastleigh Sewing Centre told me, Singer was producing 5 million machines a year. Now, the entire industry of many more manufacturers sells about 500,000. Today's 30- and 40-year-olds never learned to use a sewing machine in school, nor were they taught by their mothers. If they now learn to use one, they're more likely to use a computerized machine (a level up from just "electronic"). What they learn is graphics: the fanciest modern machines can take a GIF or JPG and embroider it on a section of fabric held taut by a hoop.
You can't blame them. Store-bought, mass-market clothing, even when it's made out of former "luxury" fabrics like silk, is actually cheaper than anything you can make at home these days. Only a few things make sense for anyone but the most obsessive to sew at home any more: 1) textile-based craft items like stuffed dolls and quilts, (and embroidered images); 2) items that would be prohibitively expensive to buy or impossible to find, like stage and re-enactment costumes; 3) items you want to be one-of-a-kind and personal such as, perhaps a wedding dress; 4) items that are straightforward to sew but expensive to buy, like curtains and other soft furnishings. The range of machines available now reflects that, so that you're stuck with either buying a beginner's machine or one intended for experts; the middle ground (like my Futura) has vanished. No one has the time to sew garments any more; no one, seemingly, even repairs torn clothing any more.
But damn, I hate throwing stuff out that's mostly functional.
Wendy M. Grossman's Web site has an extensive archive of her books, articles, and music, and an archive of all the earlier columns in this series. Readers are welcome to post here, follow on , or send email to email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:b30e293d-81db-4c36-a714-d4fd8f61de10> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pelicancrossing.net/netwars/2009/09/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978359 | 1,198 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Grandparents day is a secular holiday celebrated in a number of countries on various days of year, sometimes a separate Grandmothers Day and Grandfathers day.
In Poland, where I come from (according to wikipedia)Grand mother's Day was created in 1964 by the "Kobieta i życie" magazine and popularized from 1965 onwards. It's celebrated on January 21. Grandfather's Day is celebrated a day later on January 22.
We celebrate these days because
We ♥♥♥ Our Grandparents.
I LOVE - Polish: KOCHAM
Cards for Grandparents.
YOU WILL NEED
sheet of cream textured card,
Photo printed on magnetic photo paper,
lots of love.
Ready to send.
Our son's Signature :-)
It looks good on the fridge.
Do you celebrate Grandparents Day? | <urn:uuid:54a09e1d-d843-4361-a128-cee02ac1d729> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://becreativemommy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/we-our-grandparents.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925592 | 181 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Can you describe your life (or yourself) in six words? Visit this blog which is dedicated to people who not only can, but do every Saturday. I find the concept of describing yourself in six words fascinating and a little bit scary.
"Do I want to be defined by six little - count them one, two, three, four, five, six - words?"
"Isn't the sum total of my life equal to more than six words?"
I pondered this for a while and found that I actually had 2 separate six word phrases that could be applied to me:
"Keeper of the Brown Family Torch"
"Laughter is the poetry of God"
Okay, so the second one is not exactly a description of my life, but rather a philosophy that I strongly believe in, and everyone who knows me knows that I just love to laugh!
How about this then -
"Laughing always, brightening the world each day"
Take some time today to think about a six word description for yourself, and maybe your ancestors. New and interesting way to look at people.
John Brown - "Gave his life to free the slaves"
Annie Brown Adams - "Housekeeper, daughter, confidant; always fighting inequality"
Frederick Douglass - "Freed slave; still harassed, freeing others" | <urn:uuid:283cdea0-5372-42d3-bdbb-1903b406f2cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://johnbrownkin.blogspot.jp/2010/12/six-word-saturday.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954927 | 277 | 1.757813 | 2 |
What is Pay-As-You-Throw?Pay-As-You-Throw is the trash collection system approved by Pasadena’s City Council in May 1999. The program is tailored to single family residences and multi-family units of four or less. With Pay-As-You-Throw, your cost for collection is based upon how much you recycle and how much your family throws away. The more you recycle, the less you pay. It is important to reduce, reuse and then recycle everything from your soda bottles and magazines to yard trimmings. Why was this program chosen?The program is environmentally friendly, and it helps the city meet the requirements set by AB939 which requires a 50% reduction of trash going to the landfill by the end of the year 2000. Pasadena needs your continued help to meet this goal, avoid potential $10,000/day fines, and extend the life of Scholl Canyon Landfill. Is there a charge for making changes to my service?Residential customers may downsize their mixed waste container size or reduce the number of mixed waste containers once per year at no charge. If you are upsizing your service or you have already made a service level change in the last year, there will be an $35.81 charge.
Why do I have three containers?Customers have three containers for the following purposes: -Mixed waste (trash) with a GREEN lid -Recycling with a BLUE lid -Yard waste with a BLACK lid What if I need another container? A customer service representative will help you select the best size mixed waste container for your family. There are three different sizes of mixed waste containers (the green lid). 32 gallons 60 gallons 100 gallons Additional yard waste and recycling containers are available upon request. What if I need an extra pick-up? A bin can be rented for a one-time trash pick up, or you may consider changing your regular service level. The cost for a temporary bin is $92.95. Please call 744-4087 to schedule temporary bin service. Call at least one week in advance. Will my recycling and yard waste containers by picked up on the same day as my regular trash? Your collection day will not change. Your trash, recycling and yard waste containers will be picked up on the same day before 5 p.m. but not at the same time. Be sure to roll your containers back from the curb at the end of the day. Why should I recycle? Recycling helps the city meet the requirements set by California law (AB939) requiring a 50% reduction of trash going to the landfill by the end of the year 2000. Pasadena needs your continued help to meet this goal, avoid up to a $10,000/day fine and extend the life of Scholl Canyon Landfill. Recycling: - Keeps your collection rates down- Reduces the need for new landfills - Saves energy - Supplies valuable materials to industry - Conserves resources for our children’s futures
What may I put in the blue-lid recycling container? All of the following items are recyclable; aerosol cans (empty), cans (beverage and food cans), cardboard (flattened), glass containers, junk mail, cereal boxes, newspaper (flattened), paper (any color), plastic (labeled 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 on bottom), telephone books, and magazines. Motor oil can be recycled, but place it in a separate clean screw-top container next to the curb. A maximum of 2 gallons per week may be recycled. What may I put in the yard waste recycling container? Yard trimmings are grass clippings, leaves, weeds and branches that are no longer than 4 feet and thinner than 3 inches in diameter. The container lid must be closed. Yard trimmings are recyclable, so please do not contaminate them with any of the following: Yard trimmings are NOT palm fronds, bamboo, food waste (including fruits and vegetables), plastic, dirt, cactus, tree stumps, branches greater than 3" in diameter, street sweepings, ashes, animal waste, lumber, logs, large tree limbs, old garden hoses or broken flower pots. Yard trimmings are collected on the same day as garbage and recycling are collected. These materials must be properly prepared for collection and set out at your curb. How do I dispose of hazardous materials? DO NOT place hazardous material in your trash container, recycling container, or in your yard waste container. The City of Pasadena participates in a countywide hazardous materials recovery program. Round-ups are periodically scheduled throughout the area. To find out when the next one is, or to dispose of materials, contact Los Angeles County at their toll free number 1-888-CLEAN-L.A. or visit them on the Web. http://www.888cleanla.comHousehold hazardous waste is any material discarded from home that threatens public health and safety or the environment due to its chemical nature. Examples of hazardous products in your home include batteries, paint, aerosol products, pesticides, and vehicle fluids. What should I do with my Christmas Tree?There is a separate, free, Christmas tree recycling program. Notices will be sent to residents to inform them of their tree pickup date. For your tree to be collected and recycled, you: 1. Must place your tree at the curb by your specified time 2. Must remove all tinsel, ornaments and decorations 3. Must remove all metal and plastic bowls/stands 4. Must place tree on the curb, not in the alley | <urn:uuid:a2c91249-2d2d-41ab-82ac-2f5c77c8b155> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ci.pasadena.ca.us/PublicWorks/Pay_as_you_throw_program/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912912 | 1,156 | 1.898438 | 2 |
The first thing you notice when you travel from southern Cameroon to the Far North is that suddenly, everyone seems a little bit taller and a whole lot thinner. The people of the Far North remind me of the Masai – long, impossibly lean, and elegant beyond description, with cheekbones that could cut glass.
The second thing you notice is color – the total lack of it in this parched dun landscape aching for water at the end of the dry season, and the raucous surfeit of it in the robes, scarves and head coverings of the women. Even in the withering heat, they look amazing.
But the day I visited Mordok village outside Maroua, instead of blazing sun, we had cool, rainy weather. We were traveling with Heifer‘s aptly titled Animator, Robert Ndouwountang, a local organizer who speaks both French and the tribal language of Guiziga, and he is a force of nature all by himself. Robert has been responsible for training, implementing, overseeing and motivating Heifer’s project in Mordok since 2007, as part of Heifer‘s large umbrella project that will benefit 1,270 farm families of 10,160 people here in Cameroon’s Far North.
The Mordok group -actually 2 groups – is 100% women and the project’s goal is food security for the village. In this region with 38% malnutrition in children, and about 9 children per household (2-3 of them usually adopted from other families or relatives), that’s no small undertaking.
Take the energy stove. Each woman built one using local clay in about 30 minutes (with the animator’s guidance), and now the firewood laboriously collected in the bush & hauled home lasts five days, instead of 1 ½. To prove that to her daughter, one woman did a side-by-side test and found the energy stove used 70% less firewood and cooks faster. (Plus, the women can cook outside during the 9-month dry season, shielding the whole family from dangerous indoor smoke.)
The sheep the women received from Heifer have not just added protein and income to families’ lives, their manure is collected to produce compost that has doubled the production of their fields. And by using retaining walls and terracing, as Robert has encouraged them to do, farmers are protecting the region’s soil from erosion and degradation and conserving precious water.
Women’s groups in several villages have even banded together to build water-tight storage facilities for their grains and onions, so they will last through the wet season, instead of counting on traditional handmade straw structures to keep out the rain and moisture. The impact of that improvement? An 80 kilo bag of onions that sells for 5000 francs ($10) at harvest time will bring in 120,000 ($240) at the end of the wet season. And these joint efforts are a direct result of the leadership and organizational trainings the women are putting into action.
And yet, life is still very difficult here. The children are too skinny, and some of the women looked so fragile. When I asked what the family eats in a typical day, the women say they have pap, or bui, (cooked grains) for breakfast. For lunch, it’s sauce and cous-cous, the ubiquitous fu-fu of cassava, yams or plantains, boiled and pounded into dough. And more cous-cous and sauce for dinner. Once a month, the family will have meat. And once a week, fruit.
Yet somehow the women’s group here, organized since 1998, has found a way to give to others — passing on the gift of knowledge and animals to another women’s group – and they are happy that the gender trainings have encouraged their husbands to help out more around the household (women do 90% of the farming and 70% of the livestock care).
No mother should ever have to see her children go hungry. | <urn:uuid:69427124-7718-4c2a-be05-bc5f348fe5df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://heifer12x12.com/tag/gic-djounoukoum-ay/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958448 | 833 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Let Sikhs wear turban, beard: New York official
New York: In the wake of the tragic Wisconsin Gurdwara shooting, a senior New York City official has asked Mayor Michael Bloomberg to allow Sikh police officers to serve without forsaking their turbans and beards.
In a letter to the mayor, the city's chief financial officer, Comptroller John C Liu commended Bloomberg for his words of comfort and support to the city's Sikh community. He said now was the time for the city to make a meaningful change of inclusion of Sikh members in the New York Police Department.
"Shouldn't the NYPD, providing security in one of the most diverse cities in the world, proudly display its own diversity?" Liu asked in his letter.
"We must eliminate all religious barriers to joining the NYPD. Religious men from all faiths, whether they are Sikhs or orthodox Jews, should be able to serve the people of New York City," he wrote.
United Sikhs and representatives of the New York Sikh community had a meeting with Liu to discuss issues faced by the Sikh community in the aftermath of the August 05 terror attack on the Wisconsin Sikh Gurdwara that killed six worshippers and wounded three.
"It's imperative for people to know that Sikhs are woven into the fabric of American society and are not the 'other'," said Jasminder Kaur, the project manager of United Sikhs, who attended the meeting with Liu last week.
"One way to promote that is through increasing participation of Sikhs with turbans and beards in government jobs," she said. "We appreciate Comptroller Liu for taking the initiative to bring this up with the NYPD and assuring us of his continuous support". | <urn:uuid:e2a8af2e-f0e5-45b2-814e-4ea4b618ea23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://zeenews.india.com/print.aspx?nid=793305 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972595 | 351 | 1.53125 | 2 |
I check my personal Gmail on the Web at work and sometimes forget to sign out of my account before I leave for the day. Is there a way to see if I left it on back at the office?
Gmail includes a feature that shows all your account activity on different computers and devices. Better yet, you can also use this tool to remotely sign out of any Gmail sessions on other computers and keep your account more secure.
To see your account activity, sign into Gmail on the Web from your home computer and scroll down to the bottom of the page. On the right side, you should see a line that says “Last account activity” and lists the most recent time mail was checked on your account, along with a Details link.
Click the Details link to open a page listing all your account activity on different computers and mobile devices, including the Internet addresses used and the times the account activity occurred. If you see other locations where your Gmail account is active, click the “Sign out of all other sessions” button to log out everywhere else.
Google introduced this ability to remotely sign out of your Gmail account a few years ago. For more information, check out the original post about the feature on the Gmail blog. | <urn:uuid:0cbfdb70-67d0-4913-9ff6-aa3c17128392> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/qa-logging-out-of-gmail-from-another-computer/?emc=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919181 | 252 | 1.515625 | 2 |
The draft norms for school infrastructure that Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga gazetted this week have been widely lambasted as a cynical bid to buy more time and dodge the government's responsibility to provide adequate learning environments.
The published norms and standards are a failure and a slap in the face, disappointed education activists and legal experts said. The document, now open for public comment until March 15, looks certain to prolong the struggle for toilets, safe classrooms and running water for thousands of desperate pupils for another two years.
Two months ago, non-governmental organisation Equal Education celebrated an out-of-court settlement with the department that forced Motshekga to publish the long-awaited norms by January 15.
She met that deadline a week early — but experts say the standards she has now eventually published, after years of promises, amount to a major setback for basic education rights in the country's 25 000 public schools.
"The draft lacks substance [and] is an attempt to buy more time," said Legal Resources Centre attorney Cameron McConnachie, who represented Equal Education in its court application last year.
Punch in the stomach
Mark Heywood, executive director of rights organisation Section27, said he was "completely taken aback" by the gazetted norms. "We were expecting something detailed and serious, but what we got was shockingly without any serious content. It was like a punch in the stomach."
Equal Education's court papers stated that 93% of public schools have no libraries, almost 2 500 have no water supply, 46% still use pit latrines and 913 have no toilets at all.
Yet the eight-page draft norms merely generalise about schools needing an "enabling teaching and learning environment", including "adequate sanitation facilities [and a] basic water supply".
The gazetted document does not stipulate any figures or quantities, such as the number of toilets required or the amount and type of power and water supplies relative to school size, nor does it give any implementation dates.
Heywood said it was hard not to adopt "a cynical view that the department settled the case out of court with Equal Education before Mangaung to take the bad publicity away at a critical moment, but has now thrown this back in Equal Education's face".
"Amid all the ANC's speeches about the importance of education, why do they then want to go and undermine their claims to this commitment? It just doesn't make sense. By publishing a draft like this, the department has taken 10 steps back in the battle for adequate infrastructure," he said.
Not later, now
McConnachie said the draft furthermore "failed to appreciate that, at the very least, certain aspects of the right to education such as sanitation, water and safe buildings are immediately realisable and are not subject to 'progressive realisation' and 'available resources' qualifiers".
The draft states: "[W]ithin the context of [these] needs, the department … must develop plans … to progressively implement these regulations, and within available resources".
Equal Education's general secretary, Brad Brockman, said the organisation had expected the draft to be "detailed and specific … and for them to have clear time frames for provinces to ensure compliance. The draft norms and standards don't do so".
"Instead, they say that in 18 months' time the minister will release another document to give content to the norms and standards but that this document will be 'guidelines', not legally binding regulations."
For two years the organisation campaigned for the publishing of the legally binding norms the government has been promising since at least 2008, when Naledi Pandor was education minister. This would allow parents, teachers and pupils to hold education authorities to account for each and every shortfall in their schools — such as those apparent in mud schools.
But the "lack of substance in the regulations means that provinces are not given proper guidance as to what their obligations are to provide adequate infrastructure", Brockman said.
"This is particularly concerning because the national department has consistently attributed school infrastructure backlogs to provinces' failure to prioritise, plan and budget for the improvement of school infrastructure," he said.
Compounding the gazetted draft's vagueness is the fact that there is nothing in Motshekga's settlement agreement with Equal Education that allows for an 18-month delay before the publication of a document with more technical detail, McConnachie said.
'Non-binding' isn't good enough
The draft norms are at most "a bare-bones document", human rights lawyer Faranaaz Veriava said. "They defer all the specifics of school facilities to a later, nonbinding 'framework document'."
It appears the department has again "dodged" its obligations on the right to basic education for pupils, "which according to the Constitution is not subject to progressive realisation within available resources", she said.
The Social Justice Coalition, which joined Equal Education's original court application, said the draft left crucial questions unanswered. Because "no national legislation detailing norms and standards for sanitation in schools exists", it is impossible to know "how many students must share one toilet or tap to comply with 'adequate' standards — 50, 100, 1 000?" the coalition's co-ordinator, Gavin Silber, said. "Do these toilets need to be maintained and if so, how frequently?"
The draft "fails to provide provinces with any guidance on what technical specifications must be met" and, as a result, pupils will likely carry on facing "very serious associated risks in health and safety", said Silber.
The department declined to answer the Mail & Guardian's queries, but Equal Education said it "would be prepared to go back to court to secure decent norms and standards". | <urn:uuid:a786ea64-bfde-4c51-a9aa-b4def0be160f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mg.co.za/print/2013-01-11-angies-new-school-norms-a-slap-in-the-face | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961181 | 1,193 | 2 | 2 |
A Portrayal of Calvinism
As you may know, I decided to read through both of the Finding God in The Shack books released this month (two books, two authors, one title). Last week I reviewed the first of these (see: Finding God in the Shack (1)) and in a day or two I will review the second. But first, I wanted to share a few quotes from the book.
It is not lost on me that the majority of the people who vocalized objections to The Shack were Calvinists (Al Mohler, Mark Driscoll, Yours Truly, etc). Randal Rauser and Roger Olson noted this as well and both make a point of refuting some components of Calvinistic theology in their books. Rauser, a Professor of Historical Theology at Taylor Seminary, touches on Calvinism several times, but does so primarily under the heading of “The Biggest Problem in the Universe”—a chapter that deals with theodicy (the justice and goodness of God in the face of suffering). This is, after all, one of the main themes of The Shack and one whose treatment offended many Calvinist readers. Unfortunately, Rauser’s portrayal of Calvinism is, in many ways, just plain wrong. It is offensive and almost libelous at times. I am a Calvinist and have been for many years. Never have I heard anyone claim what Rauser says to be true of Calvinism.
Here are a few examples. I have taken the liberty of bolding a few of the most outrageous statements.
Our first pass at theodicy will consider the possibility that God is not all-loving. While this may come as a surprise to many Christians, this is the position of a major theological tradition called Calvinism. … To be more specific, Calvinists believe that God is perfect in his love, but he chooses not to show this love to all his creatures.
To begin with, the Calvinist believes that God controls all events perfectly, including free human choices. That is, God gives us the desires that we freely fulfill, both good and bad. (Other Christians disagree and think instead that while God can know what we will do in advance, he cannot make us do it if we are truly free.) As a result, Calvinists believe that God could have made the world such that Adam and Eve would never have fallen. It follows that Adam and Eve sinned because God gave them the free desires to sin. Likewise, the Little Ladykiller [the villain of The Shack] sinned because God gave him the will to sin. Everyone who sins does so because God has formed his or her character to do so. As Paul tersely put it, “Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden” (Romans 9:18). So the reason there is evil in the world is simple: though perfectly loving, God wants there to be some evil!
This Calvinist view raises an obvious question: why would a perfectly loving God desire evil in the world? In order to explain this, the Calvinist denies what many Christians assume: that God loves all his creatures equally. Rather, God’s ultimate concern is to manifest his glory most fully. Therefore, God is concerned to ensure that creation provides the best opportunity for God to display his magnificent attributes. … [A]dversity within creation provides an opportunity for God to display his leadership qualities.
In the midst of adversity God is able to manifest his mercy and love to those creatures he has decreed to choose the good. At the same time, he manifests his wrath and justice to those creatures he has decreed to choose the evil (Romans 9:22-23). Through all good and evil, God’s glory is more fully on display than if he had willed a creation where everyone did his will perfectly. One final point: the same reasoning that applies to the present age applies in eternity as well. There, too, rebellion must be present so God’s fullest display of attributes can be manifest. As such, Calvinists believe that God decrees that some people would reject the offer of salvation so God can rightly damn them eternally and thereby ensure that his perfect wrath and justice are both forever on display.
I confess that I am one of many people who find Calvinism not only unpalatable but nearly incomprehensible. Let’s start with God’s glory. I don’t accept that the only way to have a high appreciation of God’s glory is by seeing God crush human rebellion. There have been many great leaders in history who led their people in peacetime. Couldn’t God have fully displayed his attributes through peaceful rule as well? Indeed, Calvinism is in danger of Manichaeism, the view that good and evil are equal and necessary opposites so that good can only be known to the extent that evil exists. But my biggest problem is with Calvinism’s view of God’s love. Contrary to the Calvinist claim that God only loves some creatures and hates others, I believe that God loves all people (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9).
My reaction when reading all of this was, if not anger, real frustration. I hate to think that thousands of people will read such an inaccurate, uninformed, fictitious view of Calvinism (and this by an author who has some credibility by virtue of his position as a Professor of Theology). Even where Rauser is correct, his words often lack the charitable nuance we might well hope for. But in so many ways he is really, really wrong. Not surprisingly, he does not quote any sources; I know of none that would support his statements.
I thought of writing an article to refute some of the worst of these statements. But then I found myself thinking about R.C. Sproul’s book Getting the Gospel Right. Here Sproul exhorts Christians to be careful in the way they portray what other people believe. The context of the book is a defense of the gospel against Catholicism and he says, rightly I think, that Christians often caricature Roman Catholic theology, not taking the time to find what the Church really teaches. It is too simplistic to say “Protestantism is about grace and Catholicism is about works.” I know I’ve been guilty of this myself. Sometimes it is easier to take the little tidbits we have heard from others, assume they are fact, and build a case. But I think we owe it to others to truly understand before we determine that we know the facts.
So when I saw this nonsense that Rauser had passed off as fact, I guess I saw an opportunity to ensure that when I speak out against Arminianism or Open Theism or Catholicism or any other area of poor or false theology, I do so with grace and I do so only after ensuring that I know what I am speaking about. There have been too many times when I’ve failed to do just that. | <urn:uuid:e50f74a5-f654-4abf-8ee4-733ee3c50d8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.challies.com/articles/a-portrayal-of-calvinism?quicktabs_1=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969371 | 1,461 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The UCSF National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health is producing a new, twice-monthly radio program that aims to promote health and increase awareness at the local level.
The half-hour program, “Focus on Women’s Health in the Community,” will air on San Francisco’s KPOO, 89.5 FM, from 4:30 to 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. It will be hosted by Dixie Horning, the center’s executive director, and Brian Auerbach, the center’s communications coordinator.
In addition to introducing local listeners to the various services UCSF has to offer, Auerbach said he hopes the program, which first aired on Oct. 28, will “expand their knowledge base about what is going on in the community in regard to health care and also how they can become more responsible for their own health by being better informed.”
Upcoming topics will range from fitness to teen suicide and domestic violence, Auerbach said. In addition, Horning’s sessions will focus on big-picture issues such as disparities between women’s and men’s health care and how certain diseases impact men and women differently.
To listen to live streaming audio of the program, go to the KPOO-FM website.
Free podcasts of past programs will be available through RedTAP Sessions.NID: 3 411 Content Type: media_coverage_page Areas: News Center | <urn:uuid:5fe4cd41-b06e-4347-ac4a-0b5ccd4c0d92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2008/12/3411/new-ucsf-radio-program-focuses-womens-health | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947144 | 316 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Does this test have other names?
Cancer antigen 27-29
What is this test?
CA 27-29 is a blood test used to monitor certain types of cancer. CA 27-29 is the name of an antigen, which is a substance that stimulates your body's defense system. Certain types of cancer cells release CA 27-29 antigen into the blood. This test measures the levels of CA 27-29 in your blood.
Breast cancer is the cancer most likely to release CA 27-29, and the FDA has approved the CA 27-29 blood test as a way for doctors to monitor people with breast cancer. Antigens like CA 27-29 that provide information about cancer are called tumor markers.
Why do I need this test?
CA 27-29 is not a screening test to find out whether you have breast cancer. If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, your health care provider may order the CA 27-29 test:
To find out whether your cancer has spread before starting treatment
To find out how well your treatment is working
To find out whether your cancer has come back or spread after treatment
What other tests might I have along with this test?
Your doctor may check for another breast cancer tumor marker called CA 15-3. You may also have other diagnostic tests.
What do my test results mean?
Many things may affect your lab test results. These include the method each lab uses to do the test. Even if your test results are different from the normal value, you may not have a problem. To learn what the results mean for you, talk with your health care provider.
It's important to know that a positive CA 27-29 test does not mean you have breast cancer or that breast cancer has come back. Your test results can be higher than normal for other types of cancer, such as liver, pancreatic, ovarian, and colorectal cancers. Some conditions that aren't cancer may cause a positive CA 27-29 test. Notably, some people with breast cancer do not have a positive CA 27-29 blood test.
Health providers measure CA 27-29 in units per milliliter (U/mL). A normal test should be less than or equal to 38 U/mL. Here is what your test results may mean:
If your CA 27-29 is less than 38 U/mL, it may mean that you don't have active breast cancer.
If your CA 27-29 is 38 U/mL or greater, you may have active breast cancer, your breast cancer may have come back, or your breast cancer may have spread. When breast cancer spreads to an area outside the breast, it is called metastasis.
If your CA 27-29 is 38 U/mL or greater, you may have a condition other than breast cancer that raises CA 27-29. These conditions include other types of cancers, as well as noncancerous breast diseases, cysts of the ovary, and liver disease. When CA 27-29 goes up because of a condition other than cancer, the test is called a false-positive.
How is this test done?
The test requires a blood sample, which is drawn through a needle from a vein in your arm.
Does this test pose any risks?
Taking a blood sample with a needle carries risks that include bleeding, infection, bruising, or feeling dizzy. When the needle pricks your arm, you may feel a slight stinging sensation or pain. Afterward, the site may be slightly sore.
What might affect my test results?
Some noncancerous conditions may cause a false-positive CA 27-29. You may also have a false-positive result if you are exposed to mouse antigens in your environment or if you receive cancer treatments that use mouse antigens.
How do I get ready for this test?
You don't need to prepare for this test. | <urn:uuid:7dddb126-3083-45e5-9027-598ceb352ce1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.grhealth.org/health-encyclopedia/ContentPage.aspx?nd=810&type=500&parm1=ca_27_29&parm2=167 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938727 | 804 | 2.9375 | 3 |
you make a real good point here. good thinking. i still, not very often, mind you (i try, sometimes, to act like an adult) eat "virgin" snow.
there are no pathogens, TMK (to my knowledge), that i can think of that are found in "virgin" snow. how they would get into pure "virgin" snow, i can't even imagine. if you're at all concerned, dig down a ways and you'll obviously find snow not exposed, except for while falling and a short time afterwards, to whatever else might be in the air - if anything (these aren't the types of viruses, i.e. airborne pathogens, we're normally concerned with anyways). this snow also has never been in contact with the ground or any living thing. also, not too many birds flyin' about during a snow storm, right?!
[note: BTW, HTST (hi-temp, short time) pasteurization of milk is performed at ~162deg F for ~16-20sec. this is sufficient to kill bacterial and viral enteric pathogens - acc. to the FDA. also, all "bugs" in the milk get ~5log (IIRC), reduction fr/HTST pasteurization. this is a common method of pasteurization used by dairies. i only mention this to show that, for snow at least, boiling is not necessary to obtain pure drinking water.]
i gotta' believe that it's 'ok' to eat/drink this snow/water w/o purifying. why? kids all over the world would be comin' down w/all manner of afflictions, diseases, and plagues. many of us would never have made it into adulthood with all of the snow we ate. i know, not a very scientific method, but w/so much anecdotal evidence to the contrary, how can we believe pure "virgin" snow can make one sick? just think of kids growing up for past several millenia as one giant field experiment in snow eating. our observation of the results of this experiment would be that kids can eat pure "virgin" snow w/impunity - and this snow isn't even heated to make drinking water. i think we would be safe in extrapolating these observations to adults.
as a kid growing up in 50's and early 60's, the only popular concern (prob. a mother's phobia) we heard was radioactive fallout from the "bomb" tests (in the NE, we live on the receiving end of the jet stream/prevailing winds). [i ate a lot of snow - guess that explains quite a few things...!!!]
oh...and...as mom always warned, "Don't eat the yellow snow!!". | <urn:uuid:48d6ba66-22b1-4e29-938b-78c30f33efdb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=1630&skip_to_post=11415 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964631 | 576 | 1.882813 | 2 |
As the situation in Syria worsens, governments around the world have suddenly begun to worry about chemical and biological weapons held by the Assad regime. Israel reveals particular concern. A report in The National explains:
Syria has the world's biggest stockpile of chemical weapons and its missiles and rockets can reach any part of Israel, the deputy head of Israel's military said....Syria has not declared its chemical weapons stocks so the exact size of the arsenal is unknown.
Now, news reports speak to a reported effort by Syria to move their stockpiles. The Daily Beast reports:
Obama administration officials tell The Daily Beast that the CIA has sent officers to the region to assess Syria's weapons program. One major task for the CIA right now is to work with military defectors to find out as much information on Syria's weapons of mass destruction, according to one U.S. official with access to Syrian intelligence.
Significantly, further down in the article, the following information appears:
Whether or not sensitive weapons technology was moved to Syria is a hotly disputed question in the intelligence community. James Clapper, now the Director of National Intelligence and formerly the director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, said in 2003 that he believed materials had been moved out of Iraq in the months before the war and cited satellite imagery.
Ah hah! The plot thickens. The failure to find large stockpiles of "weapons of mass destruction" (WMD) became the Democrat Party mantra justifying condemnation of the Iraq war. Here's more about General James Clapper's opinion published in an October 2003 report:
The director of a top U.S. spy agency said Tuesday that he believes that material from Iraq's illicit weapons program had been transported into Syria and perhaps other countries as part of an effort by the Iraqis to disperse and destroy evidence immediately before the recent war.
The official, James Clapper Jr., a retired lieutenant general, said satellite imagery showing a heavy flow of traffic from Iraq into Syria, just before the U.S. invasion in March, led him to believe that illicit weapons material "unquestionably" had been moved out of Iraq.
Do you now see where we're headed here? Breitbart.com makes it very clear:
In 2006, former Iraqi general, Georges Sada, who served under Saddam Hussein before he defected, wrote a comprehensive book detailing how the Iraqi Revolutionary Guard moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria, before the US-led action to eliminate Saddam Hussein's WMD threat, by loading the weapons into civilian aircraft in which the passenger seats were removed.
As far back as 2005, Iraqi intelligence documents unearthed after the fall of Saddam Hussein revealed significant efforts by Hussein to stockpile and hide WMD efforts. For reasons unknown, the Pentagon refused to make such findings public. Even the NY Times in 2005 reported the existence of WMD. However, the main stream media filter and a mysterious reluctance on the part of the Bush administration to plead their case resulted in a perception that no such weapons ever existed, and the Iraqi war was based on a huge lie..
However, as Breitbart reporter Eli Lake makes clear:
If - and many of us believe when - the Assad regime decides to use these bio-chemical weapons; these WMD, against the rebels, and if the spent shells are found to possess Iraqi markings of manufacture, anti-war Democrats and Progressives here in the United States will have been complicit in what is tantamount to genocide, and all in pursuit of political gain; all so they could arrogantly chant "Bush lied and people died."
If I were in Harry Reid's shoes I would be very nervous at the prospect of spent shells proving out Gen. Sada's claims.
We'll just have to wait and see. | <urn:uuid:c9417262-4abe-49f6-9646-701e02256691> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/07/the_return_of_the_iraqi_wmd_controversy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968781 | 759 | 1.507813 | 2 |
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In September 1947, after meetings with Zionist delegations in Palestine, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine recommended the partition in Palestine, a suggestion ratified by the UN General Assembly that stipulated the establishment of the state of Israel.
In September 2011 Palestinians will seek statehood at the UN. However, Congress has already decided that the US should block Palestine’s right to be free by demanding a veto should a resolution comes before the UN Security Council. And all our members of Congress in Orange County have voted in favor of a resolution that denies Palestine’s right to exist.
On June 13, I sent a letter to my representative in Congress, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, urging her to support the recognition of Palestine as an independent sovereign state. After two decades of failed negotiations, the Palestinians have decided to take the matter of statehood to the UN this September. Rep. Sanchez responded to my letter on August 3rd after she voted to support H.R. 268; a resolution that opposes Palestinian statehood without Israel’s blessings. In her response she wrote:
H.Res. 268 reaffirms the U.S.’s support for a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states; a democratic, Jewish state of Israel and a democratic Palestinian state, both existing in peace and mutual recognition.
Since the Oslo accords (the failed attempt to resolve the conflict in 1993), peace negotiations between Israel and Occupied Palestine have been deadlocked. Meanwhile Israel has expanded its illegal Jewish-only settlements that effectively appropriate 40% of West Bank land slated for a Palestinian state. Therefore, Palestinians have decided to gain recognition through a different route.
In recent months, Palestinians have successfully sought the recognition of individual countries including many in South America in an effort to generate pressure on Israel so that it understands that it can not continue with the policy of expanding settlements on Palestinian land. The goal is to gain membership in the UN General Assembly in September.
By a unanimous Senate vote and a 407 to 6 majority in the US House (all Members of Congress representing Orange County voted in favor), Congress demanded that Palestinian leaders cease efforts to unilaterally declare statehood or seeking recognition of a Palestinian state from the UN and other nations. It has also demanded that President Obama announce that the US will veto any resolution on Palestinian statehood that comes before the UN Security Council and oppose recognition of a Palestinian state by other nations prior to a final agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
The move to block Palestinian statehood by the US Congress is wrong. It further alienates the US from the Arab public that is hungry for freedom; a population that took matters into its own hands by rebelling against tyranny. And if the occupation continues, sooner or later Palestinians will once again rebel against it. If the US blocks the efforts of Palestinians at the UN this September, it will be on the wrong side of history. | <urn:uuid:2c94bc3c-257b-4461-9e5a-d2162114d9e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2011/08/hr268/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952316 | 594 | 1.84375 | 2 |
The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus plans to redevelop the trademark portion of the massive Trico Complex that bends around Ellicott Street onto Goodell and to remove the remaining four buildings to build a 250,000-square-foot, laboratory-friendly expansion of the Innovation Center, a biomedical business incubator.
The decision reverses a plan last spring to tear down more of the city block-sized brick-and-reinforced concrete complex, bounded by Ellicott, Goodell, Washington and Virginia streets at the intersection of downtown Buffalo, Allentown, the Fruit Belt and the medical corridor.
“The exciting part of this is that the iconic view of the Trico Building – that image that is etched in people’s minds – will be preserved,” said developer Doug Swift, who was hired as a consultant to oversee a redevelopment feasibility study prepared with input from architects, engineers, construction cost estimators and commercial real estate experts.
“We’re talking about preserving 270,000 square feet, which is still a very substantial project.”
The decision, which will need to go before the Buffalo Preservation Board, retains 42 percent of the National Register of Historic Places-designated complex by saving Building No. 8, one of five structurally independent building units that was added in 1937.
Some preservationists said six months ago that the process lacked transparency and called for a reuse study. Tom Yots, executive director of Preservation Niagara, said he was glad a study was done.
“The whole Preservation Roundtable appreciates being included in the process, but we have not had the time to review this document,” Yots said.
“We feel the range of options that were offered were good. What concerns us is that the option being proposed would not be eligible for historic preservation tax credits, according to what we are hearing from the [State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]. We’re told there were too many things eliminated that were not justified by the complex’s condition.”
Paul McDonnell, chairman of the Buffalo Preservation Board, cautioned that the option could lead to the elimination of all state and federal funds to redevelop the building. But his concerns went farther.
“As chairman, we would not be necessarily in favor of any plan that demolishes such a significant amount of that building. Not only is it an example, architecturally, of a Daylight Factory building, but it’s also important culturally because of the history of industrial Buffalo,” said McDonnell.
He noted that an attempt to locally landmark Trico, which would have strengthened the hand of the Preservation Board, was tabled May 1 by the Common Council.
The feasibility study found that Building No. 1, which was built in the 1890s as an ice house and stable before Trico owner John R. Oishei purchased it the 1920s, to be the most threatened space. That building, which occupies about 10 percent of the site, and the other remaining structures known as Building No.’s 2, 3 and 7, which were added between 1929 and 1936, would be cleared away under the option chosen by the Medical Campus to make room for the Innovation Center expansion.
As expected, the complex has significant environmental damage as well as roof and structural challenges inside and out. Foit-Albert Associates found a variety of hazardous materials and petroleum products, with elevated levels of heavy metals and PCBs throughout the complex, along with mold.
There also were 144,000 gallons of contaminated water in the sub-basement.
But Swift said that with the possible exception of Building No. 1, everything was salvageable. Other factors, he said, outweighed the building’s physical condition alone.
“The decision to scale the complex down is more of a market analysis,” Swift said.
Millitello Realty, which evaluated potential reuse options, found an excess of more than 88,000 square feet of “undeveloped space” and potential development costs it said would scare developers away.
The first option that looked at preserving the entire 591,591-square-foot site concluded it would cost $113.7 million to develop. A second analysis would have removed Building No. 1, most of Building No. 2 and a portion of Building No. 7 but still leave the cost of development at almost $97 million.
Both amounts were said by Militello Realty to be far more than what the market would bear.
The Medical Campus’ preferred option to retain only Building No. 8 reduced the development cost to $52 million.
“Reducing the size of redevelopment to Building No. 8 has several advantages. This scheme is a more manageable redevelopment project, would have an easier time attracting a legitimate developer to take on the project and is more in scale with the current local demand,” the report said.
“This scheme saves an entire building rather than portions of several buildings, and eliminates from the equation the majority of structural and environmental ‘hot spots’ within the larger complex.”
The market analysis suggests that the site could be redeveloped to include a 120-room hotel, 60 loft apartments, and office and medical space.
The cost of simply mothballing the building was put at $5.8 million, which didn’t include funding ongoing operation and maintenance of the complex until a developer became involved.
Trico, which made windshield wipers and related automotive parts, moved out in 1998, transferring all operations to Texas and Mexico. After a developer died a few years after acquiring the space, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus acquired the building in 2007 and transferred the title to a city agency to avoid liability. Buffalo Brownfield Restoration Corp., a subsidiary of Buffalo Urban Development Corp., then made the Medical Campus the designated developer. | <urn:uuid:ebbb7ac8-9114-47ea-9598-c637a764ee2b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121120/CITYANDREGION/121129970/1016 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970994 | 1,200 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Financial Aid is a partnership between the student and the college which provides funding to help individuals obtain their educational goals. Those receiving Financial Aid are expected to enroll in courses needed to achieve their educational objective, work hard and learn, and move progressively toward successful completion of their educational goal.
Work with the financial aid office to make sure you meet the requirements and deadlines for all the financial aid programs for which you are applying. File your financial aid application (FAFSA) as soon as possible after January 1st. Talk to the financial aid office about priority deadlines and other important dates. To apply for most financial aid, you'll need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Whether you apply on paper or electronically (www.fafsa.ed.gov), you should file only one FAFSA a year. Carefully review the instructions and complete the FAFSA accurately. Any mistakes will only delay the processing of your application. Be sure to keep a photocopy or a printout of your application. Also, save all the financial records you used to complete the FAFSA and your worksheets, because you may need them later if you're asked to verify any information.
The Lassen Community College school code is 001217. You will need this school code on your FAFSA application in order for your FAFSA information to be transmitted to the school. If you are a brand new student to Lassen Community College you must complete an Application for Admissions before your FAFSA will be transmitted. Within four weeks of filing your FAFSA, or sooner if you filed electronically, you'll receive your Student Aid Report, or SAR. The SAR will report the information you provided on the FAFSA. If you do not receive your SAR within four weeks, or if you need another copy, call 1.800.433.3243 or check online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Federal Student Aid Ombudsman
The Federal Student Aid Ombudsman, with the U.S. Department of Education, can be contacted email@example.com or by phone at (202) 377-3800 or toll free at (877) 557-2575.
Net Price Calculator
Review an estimate of the cost of attendance and the average financial aid package that full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking students received while attending Lassen Community College at: https://webprod.cccco.edu/npc/131/npcalc.htm.
Types of Financial Aid Available:
Financial Aid Forms:
Lassen Community College
P.O. Box 3000
Susanville, CA 96130
Office Phone: 530.251.8850
Office Location: Student Services Building | <urn:uuid:3b2c12c2-7652-41cc-a977-d6f8b2fe73c4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lassencollege.edu/admissions/financial-aid/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913686 | 576 | 1.625 | 2 |
The ESPN special, “Return to Mexico City ” is a thorough retrospective on the legacies of Tommie Smith and John Carlos. For anyone with a vivid long-term memory of those events, the high quality footage from those dramatic days will stir a full range of emotions. While we romanticize about it, we forget that 1968 was the most tragic AND dramatic year in our modern history. It was also the first time that athletes from East and West Germany competed on separate teams at the Olympics.
The program reminds us of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, the violence of the Chicago Police at the Democratic Convention, and the Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike, which had brought King to Memphis . (It does so with striking production values, including using the walls of the inner corridor of the Estadio Olympico as a movie screen for some of the old footage.) When the viewer sees the Memphis sanitation workers carrying the “I AM A MAN” signs against the backdrop of the stadium walls, it is a moment of production sublimity. We FEEL the inspiration to protest along with Smith and Carlos, and REMEMBER the fear and uncertainty of 1968.
It was against this backdrop that the greatest track team in history arrived in Mexico City with expectations of winning the meet and making a political statement. As if the drama at home were not enough, we are reminded that just 10 days before the opening ceremonies, the Mexico City Police massacred over 200 students and citizens in what had been a peaceful demonstration.
The program also relies on recent interviews with other members of the American track team including Wyomia Tyus, Dick Fosbury and Lee Evans. Tyus furnishes insight into the thought process about how to protest. Evans presence as a rapporteur raises a question about one of the program’s few flaws. No mention is made of the “demonstration” on the Men’s 400 Meter medal stand a few days after Smith and Carlos were expelled from the games. Evans had led an American sweep and set a world record that stood until Michael Johnson took it in Atlanta . US Olympic Committee Chairman Avery Brundage warned that any other demonstrations would be met with a quick expulsion from the games. Evans and his mates Ron Freeman and the late Larry James wore black berets to the medal stand. When the national anthem began to play, they respectfully removed their hats and placed them over their hearts. What could Brundage do? It was respectful and reverent.
The demonstration by Smith and Carlos was equally reverent, but they became icons of protest and a symbol of the times. Black men wearing black gloves and holding their fists in the air during the playing of the anthem, was a brutal shock to the sensibilities of many Americans. They were criticized by some black leaders as being unduly provocative. The men also removed their shoes to symbolize the poverty and racism in America , and wore black socks on the medal stand. We look back on this event as being necessary and appropriate, and are reminded of this various journalists of the context. At the time, it was met with fury and indignation from journalistic and political sources, and both men suffered. Smith’s first wife divorced him and Carlos’ first wife committed suicide.
An interesting source is Lloyd LaCuesta who was a student journalist at San Jose State in 1968, and now is the South Bay reporter for KTVU News in Oakland . He tells us that the men’s return home was one of the most inappropriate non-tributes ever to occur. Instead of bands playing and the mayor showing up with the keys to the city, both men and their wives were subjected to prosecutorial treatment from journalists, politicians and school administrators.
Peter Norman, who took second in the 200 and stood on the medal stand with Smith and Carlos, was also a hero in this. He quietly supported their protest, by wearing an “Olympic Project for Human Rights” pin that Carlos had given him right after the race. Norman endured ridicule and harassment in Australia for his support. Smith has an appropriate tribute to Norman on his website.
Like Usain Bolt, Smith raised his arms in triumphant joy about 15 meters from the finish line, leading many to wonder “how fast COULD he have run?” What would the US 4 X 100 Relay team had done if Smith and Carlos had been allowed to run? The “World’s Greatest Track Team” drew a disproportionate number of athletes from San Jose State . Sprinter Ronnie Ray Smith, and hammer thrower Ed Burke came from SJS in addition to Smith, Carlos, and Evans. Coach Bud Winter nurtured a generation of athletes like no other, yet he is not mentioned in the broadcast.
The backgrounds of Smith & Carlos could not have been more different for black men of the time. Carlos was a product of the Harlem Renaissance, with a finely tuned taste for jazz nurtured by his visits to the Savoy Ballroom. Smith, meanwhile, was the son of a sharecropper who was born in Texas and moved to California ’s Central Valley for more work opportunities. Carlos spent one year at East Texas State before returning to the haven of Harlem. Imagine coming from the center of black culture in America and finding yourself in the heart of Jim Crow. The sociologist Harry Edwards recruited Carlos to SJS, where Smith had accepted a scholarship. Winters molded them into champions.
The program is an exercise in healing. It traces the falling out and healing between Smith and Carlos. It makes right the indignation both men and their wives suffered as a result of their heroic act. The presence of President Barack Obama as a narrator near the beginning and end reminds us of our growth and progress as a nation.
Related video from ESPN.
H. Scott Prosterman
H. Scott Prosterman is a writer, humorist and editor in Berkeley, California . He was born in the ’50s, came of age in the ’60s, thrived in the ’70’s, barely survived the ’80’s and regrouped in the ’90’s.” He holds a B.A. w/Honors from Rhodes College ; an M.A. from The University of Michigan . While in Ann Arbor , he coordinated the campaign to save the $5 for possession in 1983. | <urn:uuid:7595731b-97b6-4a0a-b9d5-2677b420d07c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.laprogressive.com/return-to-mexico-city-growth-of-a-nation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973537 | 1,311 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Fund - Fact Sheet
Statutory Citation: P.L. 2001, c 332 (N.J.S.A. 30:6F-6B)
Regulatory Citation: N.J.A.C. 10:141
What Is Happening with the TBI Fund?The Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Fund published proposed new regulations in the New Jersey Register on December 21, 2009 (41 N.J.R. 4657) making certain changes in eligibility criteria and covered services under the Fund. The public comment period is due to end on February 19, 2010.
Why Are These Changes Being Made?The Fund receives its revenue from a $0.50 surcharge on motor vehicle registrations. The revenue is approximately $3.4 million per year. Although the Motor Vehicle Commission began collecting the surcharge in July 2002, the Fund did not begin operations until July 2004. This resulted in a significant surplus. As the number of individuals applying to the Fund has grown, the surplus has been depleted and the Division must now restructure the Fund in order to live within its annual revenue. At one point the Fund had over $11 million in surplus. Today the surplus is essentially depleted.
What Caused the Increase in Fund Applications and Expenditures?As with any new program it took several years of outreach and publicity to make individuals aware of the Fund’s existence, and start up was slow. The caseload grew at such a rate that in December 2008, it became apparent the Fund would need to be restructured. Work began on the review of potential ways to control expenditures.
In the summer of 2009, owing to the economic downturn, the Fund experienced unprecedented and unanticipated growth. The number of applications received each month went from 15-20 to approximately 300. In addition, requests for assistance from the Fund increased so that the average award to an individual went from $3,000 to $6,000 for a year.
What Steps Did the Division (DDS) Take to Address This Problem?The New Jersey Advisory Council on Traumatic Brain Injury (appointed by the Governor) is identified in the enabling legislation as the body to oversee the Fund. As a result the initial Fund regulations were developed by a work group from that Council and promulgated. In April 2009 the Council was advised of the impending financial crisis with the Fund; then Division staff presented the Council with a variety of options for restructuring the Fund and sought their advice. There were two presentations to the Council on this issue. At the June 9, 2009 Council meeting the members, by vote, endorsed the Division’s plan for restructuring the Fund. Formal amendments to the current regulations were then drafted by staff.
Also, effective November 1, 2009, we placed a hold on all newly submitted Fund applications and advised the applicants that we were not able to process their applications until a later date, while also assuring them that their applications would be considered as soon as we were financially in a position to do so.
What Do the Proposed Regulatory Amendments Do?The proposed regulations change the definition of brain injury, make changes in service coverage, and institute limitations on the duration of some services. These changes have been crafted purely for the purpose of keeping the Fund financially viable. The changes include:
- Amending the definition of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) to reflect the federal Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) definition of TBI. Currently the definition used is that found in the federal TBI Act (different from the CDC definition) and that definition includes individuals with acquired, as well as traumatic, brain injuries. Acquired brain injuries include, stroke, brain tumors and aneurysms.
- Limiting the duration of cognitive, physical, occupational and speech language therapy.
- Having the ability to lower the annual cap on services from $15,000 per year in order to stay within budget.
- Defining the nature and scope of various services for clarity and consistency.
- Changing the “order of selection” that is to be invoked if the Fund has insufficient resources to approve all applications.
Eliminating services that have been determined to not meet the criteria of being necessary for an individual with brain injury.
What Is the Rationale for Changing the Definition of TBI for Eligibility?The enabling statute states that the purpose of the Fund is to serve as the “payer of last resort, for the costs of post acute care, services and financial assistance provided in this state to residents of this state who have survived neuro-trauma with a traumatic brain injury” (emphasis added). Although the Division has attempted to include individuals coverage for individuals with acquired brain injury, statistical analysis reveals that 60% of the current caseload of 2,230 are individuals with acquired brain injury. To continue service at our present level, including those with acquired brain injury, would require that we have a budget of at least $13 million annually.
Reduction of the caseload size, together with the other regulatory amendments, will enable us to continue services to those with TBI under our current appropriation, and to meet the legislative intent of the Fund. In addition, the Division remains concerned about our ability to meet the needs of returning soldiers and national guard personnel who have sustained a TBI in the war. In general these military personnel will meet the TBI definition without question.
Is the TBI Fund Out of Money?No. At the present time we have sufficient funding to pay our existing obligations to vendors and providers. As of November 1, 2009 we have placed all new applications on hold, but will review them under the existing criteria as we receive additional monies from the Motor Vehicle Commission. Until the date the amended regulations are adopted, we will continue to accept all applications submitted under the existing rules.
Did the Fund Overspend?No. Based on the amount of money in the Fund and projections based on caseload and expenditure history (between 2004 and the end of 2007) the amount of funding expended was appropriate and manageable. We began to use some of the surplus in 2008 to cover costs but also were more conservative in the amount of Fund awards. In the summer of 2009 the significant influx of applications and the increased requests for service created the current financial crisis.
Are Vendors Being Paid for Services Rendered?Yes, vendors are being paid but there is a significant backlog of bills. Staff has to reconcile each bill against the award made to the individual Fund recipient. Errors and omissions in bills submitted have slowed the payment process, in many instances. Although we have three full time staff working diligently to get bills paid and accounts up-to-date, there have been delays in issuing payments because of the sheer volume of bills we receive.
What About Individuals with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Who Are Currently Receiving Services?All currently approved and funded cases, whether TBI or ABI, will continue to receive service until the end of their approved “funding year.” At that point those with ABI will not be eligible to re-apply for Fund coverage, but those with TBI will be able to do so. All individuals with ABI who have submitted applications between November 1, 2009 and the date of the adoption of the amended rules will be reviewed and, if awarded services or supports, will receive them for a one-year period. In addition, we have instructed our contracted TBI Fund Case Managers to work with each individual who becomes ineligible to help them locate other potential services.
For Further Information...Joseph Amoroso, Acting Director
Division of Disability Services
NJ Department of Human Services
Click here to download a pdf file of this Fact Sheet. | <urn:uuid:2a6ca26f-e3e5-4c86-803e-b10875357cf2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/dds/oias/tbis/tbif_factsheet.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964035 | 1,581 | 1.84375 | 2 |
With more students and fewer dollars, community colleges are struggling to maintain open access, concludes a survey of community college directors released this week by the Education Policy Center at the University of Alabama. That will affect the president’s ambitious plans to expand the number of Americans with college degrees. From the Chronicle of Higher Education:
President Obama has put community colleges at the center of his higher-education agenda, but the push has done little to secure more state money for the institutions. Last year community colleges reported more midyear budget cuts than any other public higher-education sector. Just six of 29 respondents reported that their states fully financed their community-college formulas, the lowest of any year of the survey.
Budget cuts of 2 percent are expected for community colleges in 22 states; 35 states project an 9 percent rise in enrollment. Tuition is likely to go up, creating access problems for some students.
“There is a lot of uncertainty across the states,” said Stephen G. Katsinas, a professor of higher education and director of the Education Policy Center and co-author of the report. “At the same time, there has been little long-term planning. The primary strategy appears to be: Pray, and hope for a state-revenue rebound.”
One third of respondents said their community colleges don’t have the capacity to educate the current numbers of high-school graduates nor future graduates.
Colleges won’t be able to meet the president’s college-completion goal, said Janice Friedel, co-author of the study, in a conference call. “How can you increase graduation rates without more capacity?”
To meet growing demand at community colleges and state universities, California’s higher education system should expand online classes, urges a report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office. | <urn:uuid:c116b57f-8b84-4933-8e65-b67dc7a68059> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://communitycollegespotlight.org/content/more-degrees-ccs-dont-have-the-money_2415/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945648 | 383 | 1.875 | 2 |
Wade Trim’s roots trace back to 1926 when a small firm was created
in Dearborn, Michigan, not far from Henry Ford’s estate, to provide
professional engineering services to nearby municipalities. In 1951, a
teenage boy named Robert Wade was hired as a part-time drafter and survey
assistant. A young engineer named Don Trim was hired in 1964. Growing through
hard work and the buyouts of two small firms, Wade Trim emerged under the
leadership of Bob and Don in 1968. With a staff of 22, the firm moved to Taylor,
Michigan, in 1970.
As work grew in response to changing client needs, our staff and offices
grew through acquisitions and new client growth. We geographically diversified
to maintain local service by opening offices throughout central and northern
Michigan. In 1984, we expanded out of state by opening an office in Florida.
Further expansion followed with offices in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Texas.
Today, Wade Trim employs more than 350 people in 22 offices throughout nine states.
Our expertise also grew to provide a full range of professional engineering,
planning, surveying, operations and landscape architecture services to meet the infrastructure
needs of government and industry. | <urn:uuid:b6ea078f-3dbc-470a-a6a1-a2fd8af5ac3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wadetrim.com/profile/hst.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953955 | 266 | 1.625 | 2 |
A typical Parsi delight, fish in banana leaves is cooked and rejoiced in many Indian households. Fish is a rich protein source and has a balanced amount of essential amino acids, fatty acids, phospholipids and fatty acids optimum for development and growth. Times of India, 4 days ago
See all (83) images for "parsis"
My mother was born in the Dhanbhoora family, an unusual surname among Parsis. Dhan and Bhoora were two brothers very close to each other. Those who saw them taking a stroll in the evening would say, There goes Dhanbhoora. And since then both ...DNA India, 3 days ago
Parsi food is about the aroma and the spices, if you are meat lover than enjoy... Parsi food has its origins in Iranian cuisine and it is a delightful journey for those who are hardcore non-vegetarians and love to gorge on mutton biryanis, berry ...Times of India, 5 days ago Parsi Punchayet dangles carrots to lure children into priesthood DNA India, 1 month ago Parsis-offer-better-benefits-for-more-priests Hindustan Times, 1 month ago Soonis Salaam to Parsis Asian Age, 2 months ago
A treasure house of memories with Parsi roots, the Time and Talents Club enters itsIndian Express, 1 week ago
Residents of Dadar's Parsi Colony are up in arms against the high levels of radiation from cellphone towers in view of a report published in dna(April 22) that six people in the area developed cancer in three years.DNA, 3 weeks ago
One person died while several others were injured in a pre-poll violence at Parsi-Parlo in the remote KurungKumey district of Arunachal Pradesh following a clash between the supporters of two candidates. Bengia Tamang (24), who sustained head ...Times of India, 3 weeks ago
The tiny Parsi-Irani community is one of the largest land owners in and around Mumbai. The Wadia, Godrej and Jeejeebhoy families are some of the big landlords while the Bombay Parsi Punchayat controls over 5,000 apartments in the city.Times of India, 3 weeks ago
Community had been against the facility since it came up.DNA, 3 weeks ago
There has not been a single Buddhist, Sikh or Parsi MLA in the state for the last three decades, while the Christian community has had just two elected MLAs. These are the figures of minorities representation in Karnataka's political scene, as per ...New Indian Express, 3 weeks ago ICET-2013: free coaching for minorities Siasat Daily, 1 month ago Jains to get certificate of minority community in Haryana United News of India, 1 month ago
Mumbai, Mar 30 (UNI) An 80-year-old Parsi priest, residing in south Mumbai's Dhobi Talao area, has allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the balcony of his fourth floor flat at Trinity Apartments. The deceased leaped off his balcony and landed ...United News of India, 1 month ago 80-year-old priest jumps to death from south Mumbai building Times of India, 1 month ago Parsi Priest commits Suicide NetIndia123.com, 1 month ago
on your WebpageAdd Widget >Get your members hooked! | <urn:uuid:812419f8-ade2-417c-aa89-9a24df64b64e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://realtime.rediff.com/news/parsis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949971 | 700 | 1.851563 | 2 |
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TagsActivities Ammonites BCGS Bivalves Black Country Brachiopods Canals Christmas Climate change Collecting collections Collectors Dinosaurs Dud Dudley Dudley Earth history Earthquake Extinct Fossils geological maps Geology Glacial Ice Age Identification Igneous rocks Italy Limestone Microfossils Minerals mines Mining Murchison Museums Places Rocks Seven Sisters Societies The Dudley Bug Trilobites Vesuvius Video volcano volcanoes Workshops Wrens Nest
Join usIf you share our passion for geology why not join us by becoming a member of the Black Country Geological Society
When its doors opened on Wednesday 12th December 2012 the Dudley Museum and Art Gallery (DMAG) celebrated 100 years of geology being on display. For centuries geology has played an important role within the Dudley area and to the local community. According to current DMAG Keeper of Geology, Graham Worton, ‘The 100th anniversary will kick [...]
The Heritage Open Day tour of Wolverhampton Art Gallery was given in three parts, the first part was led by the Collections Manager, Rachel Lambert-Jones. Rachel took us down to the Resource Centre where they hold some of their stored collections of approximately 1800 objects including fine art, sculpture and their weird and wonderful items [...]
On 26th May, the Building Limes Forum will be hosting a lime burn at The Black Country Living Museum. The limestone for the burn will come from the Wren’s Nest, which was extensively quarried up to the late 1920′s, creating in the process many of the limestone caverns and canal tunnels which we see in [...]
At the same time that scientists were beginning to differentiate and name rock units, the quarrymen working deep in the mines underneath Wren’s Nest would have developed their own naming system for the rocks they encountered. Working by candlelight, their names would have been based on basic features and the look of the rock. Experienced [...]
Why does geology matter to the Black Country? In this blog we investigate the historical importance of the area in relation to the mineral wealth below the ground, and the early pioneers who began the industrial development. The Black Country is an area located just to the northwest of Birmingham right at the heart of [...]
This is an extract from the Black Country Geological Society newsletter 209, October 2011 entitled Geobabble. Stratigraphy has always been a very important area in the study of geology. Within any geographical area, if you are looking at the geology you need to understand the sequence of the rocks, and visualise it as a column, [...]
This is an extract from the newsletter of The ‘Black Country Geological Society‘, No. 201 June 2010. This was part of the regular section entitled ‘The Dudley Bug’ written by members Alison Roberts and Chris Broughton. Last summer a number of different research opportunities arose at Dudley Museum. They began last spring when Graham Worton spent a [...]
Why are sea creatures found in the middle of Dudley and not 100 miles away on the coast? Today we tend to think of shells and corals something you would find along the coasts where there are beaches, reefs and the sea. But if you took a stroll through the Wrens Nest today you find [...]
Last week, I attended the International Subcommission on Silurian Stratigraphy Conference in Ludlow, Shropshire. This is where geologists from around the globe share their research and knowledge on the Silurian Geological Period. But my Silurian story began two years ago… In the summer of 2009, stabilisation works took place within the Step Shaft Mine beneath [...]
Graham Worton the current curator and Keeper of Geology at Dudley Museum & Art Gallery tells us about recent engineering work undertaken in the summer of 2010 to stabalise the Seven Sisters mine entrance and why this work was needed. | <urn:uuid:fb66df1d-d5db-4fbd-8844-18cd3b76b855> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://geologymatters.org.uk/tag/wrens-nest/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939096 | 814 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Now ain’t she pretty? Is that eye candy er what? And how many friends you got give you a bridge for your birthday? I ask you.
If you ever visit this place and go there, just tell em that I gave it to you when they question the toll you might set up. LOL!
THE IRON BRIDGE AT TELFORD was built by Abraham Darby over the river Severn. It was the first arch bridge in the world to be made out of cast iron, a material which was previously far too expensive to use for large structures. However, a new blast furnace nearby lowered the cost and so encouraged local engineers and architects to solve a long-standing problem of a crossing over the river.
In the early eighteenth century, the only way to cross the Severn Gorge was by ferry. However, the industries that were growing in the area of Coalbrookdale and Broseley needed a more reliable crossing.
In 1773, Thomas Farnolls Pritchard wrote to a local ironmaster, John Wilkinson of Broseley, to suggest building a bridge out of cast iron. By 1775, Pritchard had finalised the plans, but he died in December 1777, only a month after work had begun.
Abraham Darby III, who was the grandson of the first foundry owner and an ironmaster working at Coalbrookdale in the gorge, was commissioned to cast and build the bridge. The iron for the new bridge was cast at his foundry.
Shares were issued to raise the £3,200 required, and Darby agreed to fund any excess. Although it had been predicted that 300 tons of iron would be needed (costing £7 a ton), in the end 379 tons were used, costing Darby and his company nearly £3,000. There would be many other costs to bear (masonry abutments, assembly, etc.), so that the project was far more expensive than first envisaged. Darby bore most of the cost overrun, and was in debt for the rest of his life.
Being the first of its sort, the construction had no precedent; the method chosen to create the structure was therefore based on carpentry. Each member of the frame was cast separately, and fastenings followed those used in woodworking, such as the mortise and tenon and blind dovetail joints, adapted as necessary to the different properties of cast iron. Bolts were used to fasten the half-ribs together at the crown of the arch. Very large parts were needed to create a structure to span 100 feet rising to 60 feet above the river. The largest parts were the half-ribs, each about 70 ft long and weighing 5.25 tons. The bridge comprises more than 800 castings of 12 basic types.
The bridge was raised in the summer of 1779, and it was opened on New Year’s Day 1781.
Erm .... Drew. I am having second thoughts about something. You may NOT want to tell anyone that I actually gave you this bridge should you ever make it over here. You know, it might cause some bad feelings what with another foreigner buying or receiving another bit of their history. We’ll just keep it between us. Okay? Be our secret, you’ll know it’s yours, but nobody else will. Be safer that way. (coughs)
Happy Birthday Drew. What a unique day - hope all those who matter remember. And I hope that there are no more ‘superstorms’ headed your way this year.
Isn’t it just like Peiper to get you something so close to your heart.
Have a great day. . . and a better one tomorrow.
What will now be Drew’s second home:
Happy B-Day Mr Fixit.
May it be you happiest birthday ever Drew. Happy trails and happy times to you.
Wow, that’s fantastic. I don’t know what to say, but I’ll make an iron pun and say that I’m overwrought.
That’s one fantastic bridge. It’s older than the concept of trusses; there is no triangularisation of any the pieces at all. And the whole thing is made of cast iron, which means it’s only strong in compression, not in tension. All of that is good, because his design is a skeletonized arch, which is always under compression.
I spent every last minute yesterday moving furniture, but at least I did get some birthday Thai food.
No, how do I take my new present home with me to play with?
Happy Belated, Drew!
Thats Easy Drew,,,,Cut and Paste,Heh. | <urn:uuid:7de23375-78df-49a9-8dc1-1cba37802914> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.barking-moonbat.com/index.php/weblog/comments-editor/18346/ | 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 | 0.979213 | 986 | 2.46875 | 2 |
Scientific Name: Aquila chrysaetos
(Aquila is Latin for eagle, chrysos is Greekfor golden, aetos is Greek for eagle).
Size: Length: 27-33in Wingspan: 72-87in
Weight: Female: 4050-5720g (~8.9-12.6lb) Male: 3550-4400g (~7.8-9.7lb)
Lifespan: Golden Eagles have an average lifespan of 18 years in the wild and 45 years or more in captivity.
ID: Both adults and juveniles have very dark bodies. Juveniles have white patches on the middle of both sides of their wings and a reddish head. Adults also have reddish heads and lighter patches on the tops of their wings.
Hunting: They usually hunt from flying at low altitudes or from perches, swooping down and catching their prey.
Prey: They generally eat small animals like rabbits. They can also eat carrion.
Breeding: Golden Eagles build large nests of sticks in elevated locations, such as trees. They breed from March to August, depending on their location. They lay clutches of 1 to 4 eggs, which hatch after 35 to 45 days. The chicks leave the nest after 41 to 85 days, after which it takes 32 to 80 days to reach full independence.
Range: They are partial migrators. They are primarily found in the Western United States, but their summer range extends up to Alaska, and can be found as far east as Quebec.
Status: This is a protected species.
The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is one of the largest birds of prey in the US. Females can weigh up to 15 pounds (males about eight pounds), with a wingspan of approximately seven feet. Goldens are found throughout North America, but are more common in the West. Most California goldens live in the state year round, but some from the high country move down to the Valley and coastal regions in winter, and birds that nest in Washington and Canada often migrate into our area when the weather turns cold.
These glorious birds inhabit forests, canyons, semi-arid deserts, grasslands, and open oak woodlands. They hunt in the open, soaring and diving, or pouncing from a perch. But they are quite capable of strong, fast flight and can bring down surprisingly large prey, such as small deer and pronghorns. They may feed on carrion, as well, particularly in winter.
Between the ages of four to five years, goldens reach sexual maturity, choose mates and establish a breeding territory. Every year, they build or repair their huge platform nests on cliffs or tall trees, beginning in December and January. According to the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, a pair will produce one to three eggs a year, though usually only one chick survives to fledging. The young bird may stay with its parents until late autumn, or even longer.
Reproduction in Golden Eagles, as in many predators, is affected by the availability of food. In years of scarce prey, a pair may not lay eggs at all. Since the 1990s, California has been in a prolonged drought, with occasional wet years, a pattern that reduces the numbers of prey animals. Our eagles may be declining as well.
There are many threats to these great birds, headed by loss of hunting and nesting areas. They also die from pesticide poisoning (eating poisoned prey), gunshot wounds, lead poisoning (ingesting pellets or bullet fragments), and collision with man-made structures – significantly, wind turbines.
It is unclear what trauma Sullivan—one of the raptor center’s resident goldens—sustained to his wing. The Raptor Center's other long-term Golden Eagle ambassadors illustrate two of the most significant problems: Fuzzy, despite treatment for a broken wing, was unable to fly again after she flew into a wind turbine in 1995; Aquila, a favorite of visitors for more than 30 years, was shot in the wing in 1982.
For more information on Golden Eagles in California:
California Department of Fish and Wildlife: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/raptors/goldeneagle/
Audubon California: http://ca.audubon.org/golden-eagle | <urn:uuid:897eef5b-7e1c-4232-8a93-9a96887babd4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/calraptor/raptors/species/eagles/goea.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954589 | 911 | 3.5 | 4 |
World Population 1900
In 1900, the world's population was 1.65 billion, and it was most concentrated in Europe, India, China, Japan, Indonesia and the United States.
World Population 2000
In January 2008 the world population is 6.64 billion. This cartogram shows the world population distribution as of 2000, when the most populated nations were India, China, Indonesia and the Philippines. The growth of Mexico and South America is visible, and the growing population in Africa, particularly Nigeria, is beginning to become apparent. | <urn:uuid:53352a7d-6e92-4fdb-af31-2713638dde05> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/world-population-cartograms-47012202 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937879 | 107 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Local Girl Scout earns prestigious honor
After traumatic brain injury, Dezirae Todd was determined to succeed
Dezirae Todd went for the gold. And she got it.
At 19 years old, she is the first young lady, in 14 years, in Montezuma County to receive the Gold Award through the Girl Scouts of America. Todd was one of 74 girls across the state who earned the award last year.
She has earned every badge possible during her 14 years in the Girl Scouts. The final badge, and most prestigious award Todd could receive as a Girl Scout, was the "cherry on top of her sundae," Dezirae said.
In order to be considered for a gold award, a Girl Scout must complete two service projects, or complete one service project and receive the silver award. Todd has both her bronze and silver awards. She received her bronze award by volunteering at a church camp and her silver when she mentored middle school students. She also had an additional project under her belt, involving gardening and learning how to be self-sufficient without getting goods from a grocery store.
When considering the gold, the idea sort of hit her unexpectedly. Todd was a junior at Montezuma-Cortez High School, when she suffered a traumatic brain injury during a soccer game.
It was a normal day and a normal game. Todd was playing against Durango High School in April 2010 when she collided head-to-head with a Durango girl.
"We went to head the ball at the same time and hit our heads together instead," Todd explained.
The force of collision cracked Todd's skull, moving her brain in the process, causing a ventricular shift. This left Todd completely off kilter. She lost her sense of balance and she suffered from vertigo. The injury left her unable to stand and walk normally. She also had some memory loss and was forced to leave school for the last six weeks of her junior year and half of her senior year. She was happy that she had earned enough school credits to graduate early, so she was still able to secure her diploma.
It was her injury that led her to develop her award-winning project. As Todd was recovering, she started researching brain injuries and their effects. All the therapy she received to counteract the injury, was carefully documented as she found her way back to normalcy. It took a year before Todd felt like herself again.
She eventually was able to compile all of her findings and then she started writing a blog.
"The blog was to inform people all over of my story and have them share their stories, to encourage people with brain injuries," Todd said. "People can comment and share thoughts to motivate one another."
It took Todd four months to put her project together. Her blog attracted people from all over, including from Germany and Russia, to share their own encounters with brain injuries.
In order to be considered for the gold award, Todd had to present a proposal by interview to the Gold Award committee. The award must be obtained individually, without the help of another person. The Girl Scout must be of Senior or Ambassador rank, usually when they are in high school.
Todd was 18 when she presented her project. She received her gold award the year of her graduation from the Girl Scouts. The lingering effects of her injury has left her with headaches and some memory problems but that doesn't stop her from pursuing her goals in life. Todd credits the Girl Scouts with that discipline and determination.
"It (Girl Scouts) promotes confidence and perseverance," she said. "It gives girls the skills they need to go through life with that confidence in pursuing their goals and perseverance to get where they want."
She is now attending Colorado State University.
Sam Green/Cortez Journal Dezirae Todd shows one of the Brownie Scouts some of the badges she earned before her Girl Scouts Gold Award ceremony. | <urn:uuid:1b2dd258-5477-414a-b52c-a14bf2b69bf1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cortezjournal.com/article/20130128/NEWS01/130129833/0/NEWS02/Local-Girl-Scout-earns-prestigious-honor | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98786 | 802 | 1.875 | 2 |
A universal guide for China studies
Chinese Literature - Theatre Plays and Opera
Encoding: Unicode (UTF-8) [Location: HOME > Literature > Theatre, opera > Baishezhuan][bottom]
Baishezhuan 白蛇傳 "The White Snake"
|Literature by A to Z|
Literature by time
Literature by theme
Literature by Sibu
This is a very popular tale the area of Hangzhou at least the Five Dynasties Period. The White Snake Bai Suzhen 白素貞 is very curious about the human life and transforms herself into a beautiful girl. She meets the young scholar Xu Xian 許仙 , and they fall in love. During the Dragon Boat Festival, Bai Suzhen drinks wine as retakes her original shape. Xu Xian is deeply frightened and dies. But with the help of a herb, Bai Suzhen reawakens him to life. Xu Xian seeks the help of a Buddhist monk named Fahai 法海和尚. But Fahai fights against the White Snake Bai Suzhen and buries her beneath a pagoda. Only Xu Xian's son is able to free his mother beneath the pagoda. The bad monk is transformed in a crab - the origin of the crabs in Hangzhou's West Lake. | <urn:uuid:039e6724-46cf-4859-aea1-fcb82ff98429> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.a3guo.com/en/china/Literature/Novels/baishezhuan.html | 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 | 0.914971 | 283 | 2.390625 | 2 |
Attitude Makeover: Arrogant
In This Article:
Immediately stop reinforcing, putting up with, or encouraging your kid's overinflated notions about himself, or about you, or about your family. If you've been putting your younger kid on center stage to parade her talents and beauty (so that everyone "ooohs and ahhhs" her every breath), then cut it out! If you've become a "praiseaholic" each and every time your kid kicks a goal, says a funny joke, ties his shoelace, and swallows, cease! If you've been tooting your horn about your family's status, fame, and fortune so when people see you they run, call a halt. If you've been listening to your kid boasting and bragging about her every little accomplishment and encouraging her to do so too, end it. Then pass your treatment on to your spouse, siblings, relatives, and friends so they can apply the same treatment as well.
To rein in older kids' arrogance, confront them with specific tasks that challenge their limits, even provide the possibility of down right failure. You could put them in a difficult situation with a tough job to do, and also expose them to the true genius of someone who knows a lot more than they do. Examples are cooking dinner for a soup kitchen; sewing a quilt for the AIDS project; building a low-cost house with Habitat for Humanity or a similar organization; doing a daunting intellectual exercise with a math prodigy; experiencing a rigorous outdoor experience such as Outward Bound; or painting with a gifted artist. Choose an activity designed to help your kid recognize his limits, and create a rare humbling moment when he realizes he isn't the best in everything.
Bad Attitude Alert
Before you attempt to stop your kid's arrogant, "superior" ways, you need to consider where, why, and how this attitude evolved.
These questions will help you better understand why your child is using an arrogant attitude and figure out what's going on.
Why. Why is your kid arrogant? Think carefully about what may have caused him to have such a high opinion of himself or might he be compensating for something he lacks? Does he really have something to feel superior about? Is he gifted in the area he professes to be so knowledgeable about? And what makes him feel he is so superior? Are you praising and acknowledging that expertise so much that he sees only his strengths and overlooks his weaknesses? Is an arrogant attitude something that is valued in your home? Or are you being too negative and critical, provoking this defensive reaction, this compensation for your withering attacks? Does he see others bragging unduly about their strengths, and so he is modeling their attitude? Or might it be that he is really trying to compensate for feelings of inadequacy? Another thing to consider: does he hear you bragging about his "brilliance" to others, and so he feels he needs to provide you with more things to brag about? Why did he develop such a know-it-all spirit?
What. Are there particular things he is more arrogant about? Is there a special subject or area of expertise that he tends to be more boastful toward such as math, science, or vocabulary? If so, what is it? Is there a skill or talent he is more prone to show off: hockey, flute, weight lifting, or horseback riding?
Who. Does he display the same arrogant attitude to everyone: friends, the neighbor kids, teammates, a coach, a teacher, relatives, siblings, you, or your partner? Are there some individuals he does not use his know-it-all ways on? For instance: all relatives or some; all friends or just some? All his teammates or just some? Why are some spared dealing with this attitude?
When. Is there a particular time of day, week, month, or year when he is more arrogant? Is there a reason? For instance, if it is at a particular time, could something such as a musical recital, spelling bee competition, athletic tournament, school debate, or report cards be coinciding? Also, about when did you first see signs of this attitude? Was there anything happening at the same time that might have triggered his know-it-all ways: a move, an overly competitive school, a pushy relative, a certain teacher?
Where. Are there certain places he is more likely to be arrogant: at school or day care, on an athletic field, with peers, at a musical concert, at home, at a store, at Grandma's? Why? Or is he arrogant every place and everywhere?
Now take a look at your answers. Are you seeing any predictable patterns? Do you have any better understanding of your kid's arrogant attitude and where it's coming from?
From Don't Give Me That Attitude by Michele Borba, Ed.D. Copyright © 2004 by Michele Borba. All rights reserved. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Buy the book at www.amazon.com. | <urn:uuid:a249fbf1-5a0e-41df-9034-8b5b70b64abe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://life.familyeducation.com/behavioral-problems/parenting/36010.html?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966555 | 1,048 | 2.125 | 2 |
The Tennessee Department of Health confirmed Friday that four more cases of fungal meningitis have been identified in Tennessee, bringing the total to 29.
The health department said three people have died from the outbreak in Tennessee. There have been five confirmed deaths nationwide.
Health officials urge healthcare providers not to use any materials from the New England Compounding Center, the Massachusetts pharmacy identified as having provided the steroid product to several facilities in 23 states.
Officials ask at-risk patients to continue to follow-up with medical personnel due to uncertainty with incubation times. Symptoms to look for in possible victims include headache, stiff neck, back pain, unsteady gait or fever.
Evidence provided by the state health department showed that clinics had no way to know the NECC products were contaminated.
Diana Reed, 56, of Brentwood, who had been hospitalized with the illness, died Wednesday. She has been identified as the third victim in Tennessee.
The Tennesseanreported Friday that Kentucky judge Eddie C. Lovelace was likely the first victim. Lovelace died Sept. 17 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The newspaper also reported Thomas Warren Rybinski, 55, of Smyrna, died of aspergillus meningitis Sept. 29 at Vanderbilt.
Deaths have also been reported in Virginia and Maryland. All received steroid injections used mostly for back pain that have been traced back to a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts. The pharmacy issued a recall last week and has shut down operations.
The Centers for Disease Control confirmed Thursday there are now 47 cases nationally and additional cases are still expected.
The reported cases are in the following states:
29 in Tennessee
One in North Carolina
Two in Florida
Four in Virginia
Two in Maryland
One in Indiana
Four in Michigan
In all, 23 states received one of the three lots of voluntarily recalled injections. Those states include California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Texas.
Doctors are being encouraged to discontinue use of all products produced by New England Compounding Center. There will be an expanded recall of more of their products.
The Food and Drug Administration inspected NECC on Oct. 1. Investigators found foreign particulate matter in an unopened vial.
Patients who received other types of injections with the affected methylpredisnolone acetate could be at risk. This includes injections other than epidurals.
Doctors said patients should look for redness and warmth at the injection site.
If patients are identified early, anti-fungal therapy can help avert the most "unfortunate consequences," said the CDC.
It's unclear if the drugs were actually made at the facility in Massachusetts.
More cases still possible
State officials said again Friday it is "certainly anticipating more cases." The condition of the affected patients run the spectrum - some are doing well, some are seriously ill and may die.
One of the new cases was from someone who received an epidural injection at the Specialty Surgery Center in Crossville.
This particular type of meningitis is not contagious and cannot be caught from person-to-person contact. This type is caused by a fungus often found in leaf mold.
Vandy doctor alerts health officials
A Nashville doctor is being credited for alerting health officials about a rare case of meningitis that has affected Tennessee and five other states.
The problem first stemmed from Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center, an outpatient surgical center/pain management clinic in Nashville.
The impacted patients include those ages 49 to 89 and now includes a clinic in Oak Ridge, TN, called PCA Pain Care Center.
The incubation period for this condition is two to 28 days, meaning some people who could be impacted may not yet be showing symptoms.
The state is now concerned about patients who received epidural injections as far back as July 1. Saint Thomas is now notifying patients who got injections back to that date. However, none of the new cases identified Wednesday are within that new window.
Health officials said Wednesday they are expanding the timeline of concern to ensure it doesn't miss any cases, but they don't have any reason to believe there are more.
Patients of Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center who had lumbar epidural steroid injections between July 30 and Sept. 20 may have contracted a fungal meningitis.
The facility was closed Sept. 20, and all 700 patients who received those injections have been notified, officials said.
Fungal meningitis can be especially difficult to diagnose, and worse yet it can be tough to treat.
"Since this is all quite new, it is difficult to predict how successful the treatment will be," said Dr. William Schaffner, with Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "It's not an easy infection to treat. It's new. Fungal infections, traditionally, are not so easy to treat."
"Early identification is very important. And we believe the earlier the people are identified and treatment begins, the better outcome they're likely to have," Dreyzehner said.
The mere mention of an epidural may have some wondering if pregnant women and new mothers should be worried, but experts said not at all.
"There is no risk to anyone who did not have an epidural steroid injection," Schaffner said. "This is not, for example, a risk for pregnant women who are getting epidural injections during labor and delivery."
The Saint Thomas clinic voluntarily shut down and will not reopen until the Tennessee Department of Health and CDC are confident the problems have been resolved.
If you have any questions or concerns, call the state health hotline at 1-800-222-1222.
Copyright WSMV 2012 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Friday, May 17 2013 7:16 PM EDT2013-05-17 23:16:53 GMT
One person has died in a crash near Harrisonville, MO, Thursday evening. The crash happened on Missouri Highway 7 and Walker Road. It involved a car and a tractor-trailer. Harrisonville is in Cass County.More >
Savannah Nash celebrated her 16th birthday last week. She died Thursday when her car slammed into a semi while she was texting during her first time driving by herself.More >
Saturday, May 18 2013 10:09 AM EDT2013-05-18 14:09:50 GMT
A train derailment was reported near the Bridgeport and Fairfield city lines Friday night. Few details have been released on the derailment, but the incident was reported around 6:30 p.m. in the area ofMore >
Dozens of passengers and employees were among those injured when two Metro-North trains collided near a station in Fairfield Friday night.More >
By H. Gilbert Welch, Special to CNN updated 8:12 AM EDT, Fri May 17, 2013Editor's note: H. Gilbert Welch is a professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical PracticeMore >
I first saw the headline early Tuesday on Real Clear Politics, a political news site where I generally start my morning. It's not where I expect to see a story on breast cancer.
Wednesday, May 15 2013 2:57 PM EDT2013-05-15 18:57:11 GMT
The old saying goes, "If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen." Perhaps, this applies to Kitchen Nightmares, as well. An Arizona bakery was featured on Friday's episode of the Gordon RamseyMore >
The old saying goes, "If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen." Perhaps, this applies to Kitchen Nightmares, as well.More >
Saturday, May 18 2013 7:58 PM EDT2013-05-18 23:58:37 GMT
Happy Saturday, Rain is on its way – as expected – but it will not hamper the entire weekend. Early this morning, there will be low clouds, fog and drizzle in many parts of Connecticut. This will haveMore >
Thursday, May 16 2013 3:45 PM EDT2013-05-16 19:45:11 GMT
Police arrested a Toronto woman, who was trying to get into the charity polo match in Greenwich where Prince Harry was playing.According to police, Wen Qi, 36, was trying to enter the Conyers Farms PoloMore >
Police arrested a Toronto woman, who was trying to get into the charity polo match in Greenwich where Prince Harry was playing.More >
South Korea says North Korea has fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters. Pyongyang routinely test-launches such missiles.More >
North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters on Saturday, a South Korean official said. It routinely tests such missiles, but the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy...More >
Friday, May 17 2013 5:19 PM EDT2013-05-17 21:19:20 GMT
CSP arrive in Trumbull after a body was found Friday morning
A body was discovered along a road on the Bridgeport and Trumbull town lines Friday morning, according to police.No other information was released.Refresh this page and watch Eyewitness News for updatesMore >
State police said they are investigating the discovery of human remains in a wooded area near the Bridgeport/Trumbull town lines Friday morning.More > | <urn:uuid:5235bacc-45ac-4d7a-baec-a033167079a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wfsb.com/story/19685796/fungal-meningitis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963941 | 1,979 | 1.695313 | 2 |
April 21st, 2012 by Oh! Kpop
Korea, new role model for development assistance
- Korea’s Development Assistance for Developing Nations
- Korea 24th happiest nation: OECD
- Census shows service sector fell out of step in 2010
- South Korea and Uzbekistan agreed to cooperate on joint projects
- Hongneung to be reinvented as ‘green growth’ hub of Korea
President Lee Myung-bak gives a welcoming address at the opening ceremony of the fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held in BEXCO (photo courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae).
Amid the global economic downturn of recent years, the Republic of Korea has constantly expanded the scope of its official development assistance (ODA), becoming a new role model in development aid.
According to reference statistics issued by the Development Cooperation Directorate (DCD), an OECD directorate under which the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) operates, the volume of ODA from the Republic of Korea reached USD 1.32 billion in 2011.
The figure states a 5.8% increase from the USD 1.17 billion total in donations in 2010, Korea’s first full year of membership after joining the DAC in November 2009. Compared to 2008, the inaugural year of the incumbent administration, South Korea recorded a nominal 64.6% increase from the 800 million mark.
While 16 out of 23 DAC member states have seen a decline in ODA, Korea has maintained its solid commitment to increasing its multilateral development assistance for five consecutive years since 2006. The ROK ranked 17th in the ODA share, one notch up from the previous year, and the OECD noted with appreciation the growing trend of ODA from South Korea, Italy, and Switzerland among others. The top five ranks included the United States, Germany, the UK, France, and Japan.
Drawing on Korea’s own development experience, the government has promoted economic cooperation with partnered developing countries through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF, www.edcfkorea.go.kr) since 1987. Korea has gradually expanded the EDCF volume by providing funding for not only their industrial development and economic stability, but also supporting their sustainable development and environmentalism in line with Korea’s “Low Carbon, Green Growth” strategy.
Meanwhile, Korea’s development experience has received an ever-increasing amount of attention from an international audience, as well.
As of today, Korea remains the only country to date to have transitioned from aid recipient to aid donor and going from one of the poorest countries buried under the ashes of the Korean War in the mid-20th century to joining the OECD Development Assistance Committee, becoming an exemplar role model among the newly developing and least developed nations.
On March 24, Chairman Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs Asset Management — who is best known for his prominent grouping acronym of “the BRICs”, (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) often used as a symbol of the global economic power shift — advised developing countries to “copy Korea”. “South Korea should be regarded as the role model and goal for BRIC countries”, he added in his weekly “Viewpoints” entitled “Sustainable Growth, Development and Financial Markets”.
Along with a positive evaluation from Goldman Sachs, Korea continues to attract a considerable amount of attention as the host of important international events, such as the Nuclear Security Summit and the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, just to name a few. Korean multinationals’ successful expansion across the world as well as the recent appointment of Korean-born American Jim Yong Kim as the head of the World Bank brings even more focused interest to this small country in East Asia.
President Lee Myung-bak attends the Korea-Ethiopia Development Experience Sharing Workshop held last July during his state visit to Ethiopia (photo courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae).
Meanwhile, Korea marks the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of its five-year economic development plan this year. The government-led economic development project, which lasted for decades, has placed a shift of focus to an export-oriented industrialization policy leading to dramatic economic growth and modernization in a half-century period. In celebration of the anniversary, the Korean government is set to host a number of events as a stage to share Korea’s development experience overseas.
For more information on Korea’s Knowledge Sharing Program, please visit the official website at: www.ksp.go.kr.
To view the OECD Development Cooperation Directorate (DCD-DAC) Aid Statistics, click here: www.oecd.org/dac/stats/reftables.
By Hwang Dana
Korea.net Staff Writer | <urn:uuid:93f8c706-b70d-4e53-b22a-65a3ccb55098> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ohkpop.com/37188/korea-new-role-model-for-development-assistance | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938644 | 985 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Shepherdstown Battlefield Special Resource Study/Environmental Assessment
National Park Service Seeks Public Comment on the Shepherdstown Battlefield Special Resource Study/Environmental Assessment
Washington D.C. - The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting a special resource study of Shepherdstown Battlefield in West Virginia and Maryland, located near the town of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. As part of the study, the NPS will hold two Public Meetings to explain the history and the study process of the two-day Shepherdstown battle and provide an opportunity for public comment. These informational meetings will be held in an open house format. The dates, times, and locations of the two meetings are listed below:
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Historian Thomas McGrath, author ofShepherdstown: Last Clash of the Antietam Campaign, September 19-20, 1862, will present research on the events that occurred during the two-day Shepherdstown battle. For directions and details about the meetings and study, or in case of rescheduling due to bad weather, please go to www.parkplanning.nps.gov/SHBA.
Congress directed the NPS to complete this special resource study on Shepherdstown Battlefield in order to assess the potential of its inclusion within the national park system (as an addition to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park or Antietam National Battlefield). The special resource study will evaluate the battlefield based upon the battle's significance to U.S. history and whether the NPS should manage the area for resource preservation and public use. The study will also assess public support and alternative strategies to NPS ownership and management. The findings of the study will be reported to Congress, who will make the final decision whether or not it will be included in the national park system.
"Public input is the key to studying additions to the national park system. We look forward to hearing from community members and other stakeholders" said David Hayes, NPS Regional Planner.
The 30-day public comment period will take place from February 13 to March 13, 2012, to solicit public comments on this proposed study. During this period, the public is invited to identify concerns they may have with the proposed study verbally or in writing at the public open houses. Written comments can be submitted electronically at the NPS's Planning, Environment, and Public Comment (PEPC) website at www.parkplanning.nps.gov/SHBA or by mail to:
Regional Director, National Capital Region
Written comments must be postmarked by March 13, 2012, to receive consideration.
Before including a personal address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in a written comment, any one providing written comment should be aware their entire comment-including their personal identifying information-may be made publicly available at any time. While anyone wishing to comment may ask the NPS in their comment to withhold their personal identifying information from public review, the NPS cannot guarantee it will be able to do so.
Did You Know?
Thomas Jefferson visited Harpers Ferry in 1783 and wrote "The passage of the Patowmac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature." | <urn:uuid:d8a299bf-f8e8-4293-bc6f-6032c93a98b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nps.gov/hafe/parknews/shepbat.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93468 | 660 | 2.5 | 2 |
Information for Travel Protection Insurance
Why Buy Travel Insurance?
We understand that your trip can take a year to save for, but only a second to ruin. While you can't do anything to prevent an unexpected storm from closing the airport, you can do something to help cover your travel investment; you can buy travel insurance.
To illustrate the importance of purchasing travel insurance, we have selected some of the common examples of what could go wrong.
- It's 10 p.m. and you and your traveling companion arrive at the airport for a connecting flight, only to find that your flight has been cancelled. Who can assist you with finding new flights to catch up with your trip?
- Your bag was lost with your insulin inside. You need help to locate your bag as soon as possible and have your emergency prescription filled. Who do you call?
- You arrive at your destination without your wallet. Where do you turn for emergency cash, and who will help you get your credit cards replaced?
- If a member of your immediate family becomes seriously ill forcing you to cancel your trip, what happens to your non-refundable deposits or payments?
- You arrive on time, but your luggage doesn't. If it's lost, who will help you find it? If it's delayed, who will pay for your necessities? If it's stolen, who will pay to replace it?
- You slip and fall and twist your knee! Who can help you find an orthopedic doctor that specializes in knees injuries?
- Three weeks before your scheduled arrival, a terrorist incident occurs in a city you are scheduled to visit. Who will pay if you want to cancel your trip?
- You are involved in an accident and adequate medical treatment is not available at the location. Who will help arrange for medical emergency evacuation and who will pay, when your own health plan does not provide this benefit?
Buy travel insurance to ease your worries! | <urn:uuid:f48fab88-3683-4f58-a32e-87b4a76d9608> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://unitedvacationsasia.com/insurance.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960236 | 395 | 1.539063 | 2 |
DistributionRead full entry
Range DescriptionThis species has been widely, but patchily recorded, from the Arabian Peninsula to western South Asia. It has been recorded from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, it is possibly present in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, it has been recorded from southern Iraq (including Basra), and southern and southeastern Iran. Within South Asia this species is presently known from Afghanistan (Nangarhar and Laghman provinces) and Pakistan (Baluchistan and Sind) at an elevation of 860 m asl (Molur et al. 2002). | <urn:uuid:a0990e65-193d-4d5b-b077-26d7a85c185f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eol.org/pages/327652/hierarchy_entries/24932129/overview | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953262 | 122 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Why Does Integration by Substitution Work?
Date: 12/13/2006 at 22:03:56 From: Reuben Subject: Why integration by substitution works I just learned the process of integration by substitution. My textbook seems to explain it for the most part, but it says "imagine that you multiply du/dx by the dx in the derivative to get du." This seems to work, but I've found online that technically, you can't treat differentials as numbers that can be "canceled out." A) Is this true? It seems to me that they're just very very very small numbers. So why could you not cancel them out? B) If that's the case, how do you prove that substitution works and use integration by substitution WITHOUT treating differentials as numbers?
Date: 12/14/2006 at 08:39:02 From: Doctor Fenton Subject: Re: Why integration by substitution works Hi Reuben, Thanks for writing to Dr. Math. There are several ways to look at differentials, but probably the simplest is to view them as a formal bookkeeping device for keeping track of the constants when finding antiderivatives. Many of the integration (or antidifferentiation) rules are actually counterparts of corresponding differentiation rules, and this is true of the substitution theorem, which is the integral version of the Chain Rule. The Chain Rule says that if we have a composite function F(g(x)), and if f(x) = F'(x) is the derivative of the outer function F(x), then [F(g(x))]' = F'(g(x))*g'(x) = f(g(x))*g'(x) . The antiderivative version of this says that if we want to find the antiderivative of f(g(x)) and we know the antiderivative F of f, then the antiderivative of f(g(x)) is just F(g(x)), and we have reduced the problem of finding the antiderivative of the complicated expression f(g(x)) to that of finding the antiderivative of f, which we usually write with a different independent variable such as u. That is, the Chain Rule says that [F(g(x))]' = f(g(x))*g'(x) , (remember that F' = f) so / | f(g(x))*g'(x)dx = F(g(x)) + C . / But since F' = f, / | f(u)du = F(u) / (the letter used for the variable of integration is a dummy variable, so we can use any letter we wish). This lets us write / / | f(g(x))*g'(x)dx = | f(u)du / / where we understand the right side to be F(u) with u replaced by the formula g(x). So it appears that in the integral on the left side, we replaced g(x) by u and g'(x)dx by du (similar to the way it "appears" that the sun rises and sets). This process doesn't have to be considered meaningful in itself, but rather just a mnemonic or aid in determining the outer function f(x) in the composition. The differential part of this substitution can also be thought of as a mnemonic, since we can mix Leibnitz and function notation to write, if u = g(x), that du -- = g'(x) , dx and "multiplying" by dx gives du = g'(x)dx . One can make this procedure logically rigorous by introducing the concept of differential forms, but that requires a lot of mathematical machinery, so that it is easier to just think of it as a formal computation. (There are books such as Bressoud's _Second Year Calculus_, Edwards' _Advanced Calculus: A Differential Forms Approach_, and Spivak's _Calculus on Manifolds_ which go over this in detail.) For example, to integrate / | [x^3+1]^(1/2) x^2 dx , / we can notice that the integrand has the form of the derivative of a composite function f(g(x))*g'(x), with f(x) = x^(1/2) and g(x) = x^3+1, but g'(x) = 3x^2, not just x^2, so the constant is not quite right. However, if we multiply and divide by 3, we have / / | [x^3+1]^(1/2) x^2 dx = (1/3)| [x^3+1]^(1/2)*(3x^2)dx / / and the integrand on the right is exactly a derivative now, of the composite function (2/3)[x^3+1]^(3/2) (we can see this because the outer function f(x) is x^(1/2), whose antiderivative F(x) is (2/3)x^(3/2), so the antiderivative is (1/3)F(g(x))). This argument has computed the integral or antiderivative without substitution. To use substitution, we let u = x^3+1, and du = 3x^2 dx, so that x^2dx = (1/3)du, and / / | [x^3+1]^(1/2) x^2 dx = | u^(1/2) (1/3)du / / = (1/3) * (2/3)u^(3/2) + C = (2/9) [x^3+1]^(3/2) + C . Substitution makes the process fairly mechanical so it doesn't require much thought, once you see the appropriate substitution to use, and it also automatically keeps the constants straight. The objective of indefinite integration is to find an antiderivative, and exactly how you do that isn't really important, at least in my opinion. If you can just look at a formula and "see" what the antiderivative is, you have solved the problem. Most of us can't do that, and there are a number of procedures to help, such as the substitution rule, and integration by parts (the integral version of the Product Rule of differentiation). The real theory behind substitution is the Chain Rule, and you can look at the details of substitution as a formal process for helping you see the important parts of the composite functions involved, without worrying about their intrinsic meaning. If you have any questions, please write back and I will try to explain further. - Doctor Fenton, The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
Date: 12/14/2006 at 13:45:51 From: Reuben Subject: Thank you (Why integration by substitution works) Thank you so much. Your response has made the reasoning behind this SO much clearer to me!
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OAA Performance Information
AoA collects and reports on the performance of Older Americans Act programs through the several data collection systems under its National Aging Program Information System (NAPIS), its national surveys of OAA participants, and its evaluation studies. AoA reports in detail on this performance its in the Program Performance Analysis section of the AoA "Congressional Justification" which accompanies the President's budget each year, as well as through several other mechanisms.
AoA Program Results and Accomplishments
- FY 2008 Annual Performance Report
- Online Performance Appendix - to the FY 2011 Congressional Justification for the President's FY 2011 Budget.
- AoA performance information on other US Government websites:
- The Aging Services Program received a very positive program assessment from OMB in 2007 for its clear purpose, good management, strong performance measures, and positive evaluations.
- HHS Performance and Accountability Reports- These PAR reports include AoA performance measures (see the performance sections)
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National Aging Program Information System (NAPIS)
State Program Reports on the Home and Community Based and Nutrition Services and Elder Rights (Titles III and VII)
The State Program Reports are the primary information system for states to report on the Older Americans Act programs of supportive services, nutrition, caregiver support, etc. which they provide. It includes information about who the OAA participants are, what services they receive, and what funding is expended for this program. SPR reports also serve an a critical data source for measures of the performance of OAA programs.
National Long Term Care Ombudsman Program Performance Data
Performance Data on the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP)
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The Administration on Aging (AoA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, supported the Performance Outcome Measurement Project (POMP) to develop tools and procedures to measure the impact of programs funded under the Older Americans Act (OAA). Although developed for use with OAA programs, these tools may also be useful to other social service and support programs. The POMP web pages provide tools to help sites measure their performance and include a toolkit with guidance and survey instruments, a sample size calculator, data collection utilities and a list of resources and links to relevant information. There is also a 7-minute video tutorial (WMV, 41.4MB) to familiarize you with the POMP web pages.
Through annual performance reports, Federal agencies provide detailed information on their progress in meeting program performance objectives. Congress and OMB now use performance information to support budget decisions. Many state and local governments are requiring similar systems of accountability to document results and justify funding.
In order to gather information on the performance of its program, the Administration on Aging surveys the participants in its Older Americans Act programs. These national surveys provide a portrait of who receives these services and how they assess the quality of the services received.
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posted by Rebecca Keenan | 0 Comments
Today’s Photo of the Day on Hostelworld.com shows the fountain you’ll find in the middle of St. Ann’s Square in Manchester, England.
Manchester, which is the home of the world-famous Manchester United soccer club, is one of the most popular destinations in the UK. Along with its sporty attractions, the city also boasts numerous free museums, a thriving music scene and shops aplenty. To find out more about some of the city’s top attractions, bars, restaurants and lots more, download our free Manchester pocket guide.
To find out how to get around the city, see more images from Manchester and more, head on over to our Manchester city guide page and take a look.
If you want to book accommodation in Manchester be sure to check out our range of affordable hostels in Manchester.
In our hostelworld.com travel blog we bring you all the latest company news and information on new additions to the site including podcasts, videos and more. You'll also get inside information on a variety of destinations across the globe as they're visited by our travel editor and writers.
Ms Traveling Pants said
Gaurav Bhatnagar said | <urn:uuid:c1843460-75a8-4be3-8e99-16e5d1632908> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hostelworld.com/blog/today-s-photo-fountain-in-st-ann-s-square-manchester/152980 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918246 | 258 | 1.648438 | 2 |
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The lightning-caused fire near Mono Lake was declared 100 percent contained Wednesday, and firefighters are increasingly being moved from the Indian Fire to other fires in the state and country.
The thunderstorm that sparked the lightning that started the now-12,574-acre passed through the Eastern Sierra Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 8 and ignited the fire about five miles southeast of Mono Lake and north of Highway 120 on Bureau of Land Management public lands.
The Indian Fire grew rapidly Wednesday through Saturday and had a maximum of about 570 personnel assigned to the fire, until cooler weather and rain slowed the spread of the fire beginning Saturday.
Here is the "final update" on the fire, according to fire officials:
Fire Status: Active
Percent Contained: 100%
Location: Southeast of Mono Lake, North of Highway 120
Date Started: August 8, 2012 (2:06pm)
Size: 12,574 acres
Resources: Hand crews 5
Total personnel assigned to fire: 230
This will be the last update for this incident. The Indian Fire started on Wednesday, August 8, at approximately 2:06 pm. The fire is Southeast of Mono Lake and North of Highway 120. Cooler weather and light precipitation on parts of the fire helped slow the progress of the fire however fuels remain very dry. Over the next several days, firefighters will continue to build and improve containment lines, mop up any hot spots, and repair any impacts caused by fire suppression. Full containment was achieved on August 15. Firefighting resources are being managed and made available to other incidents in California. At its peak, 571 personnel were assigned to the fire. 341 fire fighters have been released to date. The reduction in total acreage was the result of more accurate and complete mapping. Team 3 will be turning over the management of the Indian fire to the local agency on August 16.
Local biologists and botanists from the BLM continue to work directly with firefighters on rehabilitating the landscape. The public will also be important partner in healing the land after the incident by treading lightly in the burn area.
Southern California Interagency Incident Management Team 3 Incident commander, Mike Wakoski would like to thank the community of Lee Vining and the adjacent areas for their support and hospitality to Team 3 and all firefighters. We appreciate their patience and understanding during this incident.
• To provide for public and firefighter safety.
• Keep amount of sage-grouse habitat burned to a minimum.
• Keep fire north of Highway 120 East
• Limit spread to the east
Weather and Fire Behavior:
Temperature: 75–79 degrees F, Wind: 7 – 9 MPH from West. Growth Potential: Low
US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Lee Vining Fire Department, California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Highway Patrol, Wheeler Crest Volunteer Fire Department, Southern California Interagency Incident Management Team 3, Mike Wakoski, Incident Commander, USFS. | <urn:uuid:60b57054-2451-43cd-bd9e-ead722ca9d3b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mammothtimes.com/content/update-aug-14-fire-near-mono-lake-12574-acres-100-percent-contained | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924599 | 633 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Leaders mull natural gas boomlet in NEPA
The Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development's discussion Thursday of demographic data on Luzerne and Lackawanna counties focused on the natural gas boom.
"What is happening there (the Marcellus Shale region) will bleed into Lackawanna and Luzerne County," said Charles Kasko, of Signature Building Systems and head of the Institute's housing task force.
Energy task force chairman Bill Sordoni of Sordoni Construction said the region needs to plan the best way to benefit from the gas industry and plan for its eventual decline.
"No one sat down at the dawn of the coal era and said, let's plan this out over the next 100 years," he said. "We have to."
Teri Ooms, executive director of the institute, said negative social impacts of the boom could short-circuit expectations. She described skyrocketing housing prices in the northern tier counties pricing families out of the market.
From 2000 to 2010, the region saw the first population increase since the 1950s. While that's good news, Ms. Ooms noted the population of those between 20 and 24 remains small. She also noted continued movement of people from the Marcellus region to the valleys displaced by housing costs.
Contact the writer: firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:4a0ffc5e-30d1-4827-82d3-f5097046dccc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://citizensvoice.com/news/business/leaders-mull-natural-gas-boomlet-in-nepa-1.1316844 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944286 | 281 | 1.570313 | 2 |
A former high ranking Indian military officer who led the bloody 1984 operation to remove Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar is recovering after he was the target of a murder attempt during a visit to London at the weekend.
Four men are being sought in connection with the attack on Sunday near Oxford Street in the centre of the city, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Monday.
Lieutenant General Kuldeep Singh Brar, 78, was assaulted outside of his hotel and is now recovering following an operation, according to reports in the Indian media, which quoted the Indian High Commission in London.
The retired general has been a hate-figure among Sikh militants for his role in the Indian army's storming of Sikhism's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple of Amritsar. The raid, codenamed Operation Blue Star, left an estimated 1,000 people dead although the numbers are disputed.
Police in London said that they are keeping an open mind regarding the motive for the attack, which is being treated by investigators as attempted murder.
Brar was left with serious injuries in Old Quebec Street near Marble Arch, which took place shortly before 10.40pm.
One report by the Indian broadcaster, NDTV, quoted Brar's wife as saying: "We were walking down Oxford Circus at 10.30pm in the night. Three bearded men attacked him and tried to slash his throat. We cannot say if they were Sikh."
She was said to have been pushed to the ground but was not injured. Brar underwent surgery and was due to return to India on Tuesday, the broadcaster added.
The Met, which did not name Brar and made no suggestion that the attackers were Sikhs, said in a statement that it was appealing for information about the incident, which was described as attempted murder. The statement said that the victim suffered a wound to his neck from a knife or sharp implement.
It described four men involved as wearing dark clothing and long black jackets. All had long beards while one was described as younger and slimmer than the other three. They fled in the direction of Oxford Street.
Brar also took part in Indian's 1971 war with Pakistan and was reported to have been among the first Indian troops to have entered Dhaka. | <urn:uuid:460a255d-db33-43a8-bc0b-49683451b8a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/oct/01/attempted-murder-indian-military-officer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991238 | 464 | 1.804688 | 2 |
"yellow asian" i.e., Chinese, Korean, Japanese etc. An elaboration on the classification asian, which technically includes Indians but often excludes them in common usage.
Commoner: Hey let's get some Asian food I'm starving
Informed Guy: Well there is an Indian place across the street.
Commoner: Nah man, I mean Chinese or something...spring rolls bitch.
Informed Guy: Oh, you mean yasian. Let's go to Chinatown. | <urn:uuid:9d5d8922-e814-4514-93c6-d5484e75cbec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=yasian&defid=3290089 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922975 | 102 | 1.960938 | 2 |
Created on March 22, 2012, this blog is dedicated to the rich and diverse Philippine cultures and it's people. You will find here pictures of the indigenous, music, dances, baybayin art, places in the Philippines, tattoo's, animistic beliefs, myths and legends, deities, food, martial arts, and everything that makes us Filipino, as well as our fellow Pin@y's from all over the world.
So basically saying that innocent people dying and getting hurt in the name of God being with Filipin@’s because of the current disputes between Taiwan and the Philippines because the Philippines Coast Guard killed a Taiwanese fisherman and saying God is with “us” is fuckin karma. When the Taiwanese have every right to be in a dispute with the Philippines because the governments and Aquino’s sorry ass of an apology was just that, a sorry ass of an apology that wasn’t serious.
Because the lives of people getting killed or hurt is something to be proud of when it’s your coast guard who killed a fisherman and your government giving a lame, apology without a proper investigation.
And this is why I’m sick of the ASEAN Facebook page because of the Filipin@ admin representing the Philippines and Filipin@’s on there. Not only have they posted things that shame and look down upon our Muslim Filipin@ brothers and sisters and praising the U.S. and how we were colonized by them and how they are our “saviors”, but now she does this.
And you wonder why I have a love-hate relationship with the Filipin@ community,
Notable People of Filipin@ Ancestry Preciosa Caballero (aka Anggoran)
Preciosa, also known as ‘Susa’ or Anggoran, her native name, was a 73 year old babaylan, (priestess) and epic chanter from the Barangay, Garangan, in Calinong, Iloilo, Panay who passed away in December of 1993.
She is one of the many epic chanters to be recorded and contributed in the help of preserving epics from Panay. On a journey and mission to record 9 other epics following the Filipin@ folklorist and anthropologist, Dr. Felipe Landa Jocano, Alicia P. Magos from the University of the Philippines in the Visayas, with her research assistant and guide, and with funding from the French government, met Anggoran and from August to November of 1993, Anggoran was recorded when she spoke lines of two epics, Humadapnon sa Tarangban (which is recited for 24 hours) and Derikaryong Pada (recited in 7 hours).
During those months she would sing lines from the epics for 10 minutes at a time and would rest. Due to her old age Alicia Magos gave her plenty of time to chant at her leisure. Anggoran would chant when she felt like it and was inspired to, at times waking up at dawn around 4 in the morning to chant and be recorded.
At the end of November of 1993 she finished recording both the epics, but unfortunately she passed away in December of that year leaving at least 2 other epics she knew about and spoke of to be unrecorded.
Salakot is a traditional wide-brimmed hat from the Philippines. It is usually made of either rattan, reeds, or bamboo, and is known as the native hat, one of the traditional hats worn in the country.
It’s use predates Spanish colonization and is also recorded being worn by the wife of Rajah Humabon of Cebu, where she wore a salakot greeting the Spaniards.
Like many other conical hats found in pretty much most of Asia, especially in China and practically all Southeast Asian countries, the hat was designed to protect the head of the wearer from the heat of the sun as a shade especially for farmers who were out working in the fields and from the rain.
The Itik-Itik dance is popular among the Visayans of the province of Surigao del Norte. It has many variations of steps from which the dancers choose and combine. Its steps are similar to the movements of a duck (itik, in Filipino), as it walks with short, choppy steps and splashes water on its back while attracting its mate. It is used in folk dances in different parts of the Philippines.
The dance is believed to have originated from the dance Sibay danced to the Dejado music. The Sibay is a bird dance that came from neighboring Visayan Islands. Philippine dance authority Reynaldo Gamboa Alejandro identified that Visayan Island to be Samar. True enough, since a 1668 book written by Fr. Ignacio Alzina (a Jesuit missionary to Samar) described a ‘bird imitating dance’ popular in Samar then, the Sabay. According to Fr. Alcina the dance imitates flying birds. An illustration in that same book had a caption: “su danza para hombre y mujer” (dance for man and woman); very appropriate for the characteristic Waray amenudo dances.
The present form of the Itik-itik is from Carmen, Lanuza, Cantillan, and Carrascal towns of the present-day Surigao del Norte province in the Caraga Region. A tale says that a lady named Kanang came up with the popular version. Dancing in one baptismal party, Kanang grew so spirited that when ducks from nearby pond caught her eye, she imitated their movements. The spectators found her dance so interesting that they themselves imitated her. The rest is history.
Despite the popularity of the Itik-itik Surigaonon, there are also other versions of the dance found mainly in Visayas. One version from Samar is danced to the same music. Two other versions came from Sibonga, Cebu, and Tibiao, Antique.
Ethnic groups from the mountain provinces of Luzon preserve their identity, customs and lore. Their dances celebrate important events in life such as birth, wedding, victory in war and thanksgiving. A Kalinga wedding dance is an important celebration. The bridegroom offers the bride the protection and comfort of his blanket. He simulates the movements of a rooster at love play, aspiring to attract and seize his love. The bride’s friends are ready to help prepare the bride by offering “bangas” (earthen pots) filled with fresh water from the mountain spring.
The B’laan teeth filing and blackening the teeth and the precolonial practices in the Philippines Video Submitted by:daavenrey Commentary by Ligaya
The B’laan are an ethnic group in southern Mindanao who have held onto their indigenous culture and practices being one of the few ethnic groups who have resisted colonial influences.
One of their cultural practices is of the blackening and filing of the teeth. For the B’laan it is sign of beauty as well as status. The younger generations however have started to choose not to practice them for being ashamed of their cultural practices due to being harassed and made fun of by their Christian peers who find it weird.
But what and who is weird exactly? The B’laan who have kept their cultural practices despite colonialism in the country or the colonized people who have long forgotten their indigenous practices and cultures who in fact their own ancestors practiced the very same tradition before colonization? What is wrong with keeping hold of your traditions and heritage?
Western beauty ideals differed with those of the early people that populated the islands of what is now known as the Philippines. Prior to colonization believe it or not it wasn’t just the B’laan who had this ideal of beauty of filing and blackening their teeth but many other ethnic groups that were colonized such as the Tagalogs and the Bisayans, also had this practice. Today the descendants of a colonized people who due to colonization some tend to have a mentality of separating themselves as the “civilized people” while those who have kept their indigenous cultures and resisted colonization as “uncivilized or tribal”. This mentality which still is strong in the Philippines, makes it so the uncolonized ethnic groups are looked down on and sometimes seen as a different people from the Christianized and colonized groups.
Having black teeth and filing teeth however was a practice that was spread throughout the Philippines prior to the Spaniards before it was eradicated. It was a form of beauty and the more black it was, especially when you put gold piece like brackets which was a good contrast between the gold and the black, it was seen as more beautiful by our ancestors. Also because they considered white teeth as ugly because to them it was like animals like dogs so they often would chew betel nut to try and make it black. So having black teeth and tooth filing isn’t just something only found in the South but it is in indigenous old practice that died out with the indigenous ethnic groups who were colonized along with many other indigenous practices like tattooing.
Watching this video brings to light what our ancestors did in pre-colonial times. Even the mention of how the tooth filing is done with the use of a stone is also recorded in dictionaries such as the old Tagalog term al-al, which in the Vocabulario de lengua Tagala by Pedro de San Buenaventura in 1613 is recorded as tooth-filing with a stone tool. It also ‘kindly’ mentions in a passage of the disapproval of tooth filing in a sentence, “Whoever files his teeth, I will surely punish”.
According to William Henry Scott in his book Barangay: 16th Century Philippine Culture and Society, he mentions that the Visayans term for tooth filing was sangka, leveling, and just like what was seen and recorded of the Tagalogs and what the B’laan still practice today the process of tooth filing was by using a stone. According to Sanchez 1617, he mentioned that one of the features the early Visayans noted of the Spaniards besides their lack of tattoo’s (as they really didn’t care for skin color as among themselves their were variations of skin pigments) which they called the Spaniards, mapuraw, (undyed, natural), (which was actually an insult really), but they also noticed their white teeth. Basically to the eyes of the Visayans the Spaniards were pretty much the total opposite of beauty as they weren’t tattooed and had white, unfiled teeth, which they saw those with white teeth as being like unclean animals.
There were different methods of coloring the teeth. One was by the chewing of anipay root which made the teeth black. Another way was just like the method shown by the B’laan. It was by applying a tar-based coating which the Visayans called tapul, which not only gave a black polishing effect on the teeth but act as a preservative. Other methods were using red lakha ant eggs and kaso flowers to color not only the teeth but fingernails a deep red which was another color found beautiful besides black. The preserving of the color was then preserved by the chewing of betel nut.
So this practice isn’t something to be ashamed of. Western ideals of beauty may have influenced the way many people see what beauty is and is not but for the youth of the B’laan once mustn’t be ashamed nor shall people looked down on them as this practice is as much as a traditional indigenous practice to many other ethnic groups in the Philippines.
For more on the dentistry of the early Filipin@’s read this post here.
Aliwan Fiesta harnesses the power of Philippine festivals to showcase how religion, culture, and tradition are woven into the fiber of our existence. Traditional fiestas, which are held annually to commemorate the foundation of a town or province, or honoring its patron saint, are brought together en masse to highlight the Pinoy’s indomitable and ebullient spirit, together with his mien for creativity and innovation. With most major fiestas rooted in the pre-colonial period, there is understandably a festival sector that celebrates Nature’s bounty. Our Filipino forebears worshipped pagan gods who, to them, were responsible for bountiful harvests on land and sea.
The agricultural basins in the lowlands of Luzon as well as the highlands of the Cordilleras are rife with stories handed down through generations about Nature’s mystical denizens who are then honored in quaint shamanic rituals and festivities by the townsfolk.
The coming of the Spaniards, led by soldiers who brought forth the sword and the Cross, left large imprints on our national psyche. Catholicism as defined by the friars brought with it religious fervor not much different from pagan practices, and which is seen today in the near-fanatic worship of iconic imagery highlighted during festivals in honor of the Virgin Mary, the Infant Jesus as well as the individual patron saints. Folks in the Visayan region, cradle of Christianity in the Philippines, are among the most avid religious fiesta-goers, particularly those venerating the Sto. Nino.
Mindanao, in turn, with its majestic interplay of influences from Muslim and tribal cultures, displays the opulence of its festivals through visual narratives commemorating the coming of Islam and the staunch determination of the people to stem foreign invaders. Being the richest in terms of natural resources, the largest island in the archipelago also celebrates the fruits of the land as well as the endless gifts of the seas.
Aliwan Fiesta is both celebratory and commemorative. It is grassroots theatre at its best. But in the myriad faces of its participants, we see our very selves. Regale in these festivals…join in the merriment…and be prepared to be awed. …Makiisa, makisaya, pista’y narito na!
Mabuhay to all our heroes and heroines. Our mandirigma. Mga bayaning Pilipino. Our kababayan. Mga kapatid.
Mabuhay to those in the past and the present. Who have fought and died for our people and country. For the sake of our freedom and against oppression. And to those who continue to fight and die today.
Mabuhay to those who work to strengthen the nation. Whose beating hearts resonates with the heart of the homeland. To those who have been sent overseas. Away in foreign lands to build a better life for their family both abroad and back home. Who are separated by distances away from their loved ones. And the lands of their ancestors. Who despite working abroad, long for the days to be reunited with her. | <urn:uuid:fadf1891-678d-49a4-b048-915abbd5ed76> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pinoy-culture.tumblr.com/tagged/pinoy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969855 | 3,128 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Boys are different from girls. I know that’s the understatement of the century, but it’s true. I had no idea how vastly different boys and girls are until my nephew spent the night. I quickly learned that little boys might as well be from a different galaxy than little girls.
Where my daughter was sweet and cuddly, my nephew was rough and rambunctious. When my daughter wanted to play dolls, my nephew wanted to play airplanes and jump around. My daughter spoke in complete sentences and my nephew barely grunted responses. After two days with this boy, I thanked God for my daughter.
But I left the weekend fascinated by my nephew. You see, I understand girls. They make sense. I get them. But if I was parenting a boy, I’d need a manual. And fortunately, there are many manuals and experts out there to enlighten mothers on the mystery of boys.
For those brave moms out there parenting boys (especially you fabulous single moms) and wondering what in the world goes through their little rough and tumble minds, here are some key things to know about their psyche from the experts:
They’re not always ignoring you. Sometimes they just don’t hear you. According to family therapist Michael Gurian, the author of Nurture the Nature, girls have more sensitive hearing than boys from birth and the verbal centers in girls’ brains develop more quickly. This can make boys being less response to their parents’ verbal direction and can make boys less verbal overall.
Movement is key to learning for boys. Ever notice how little boys never, ever sit still? While all that wrestling, tumbling and rolling around can aggravate moms, the movement is essential for boys to learn. According to the book, The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life, boys learn though “spatial mechanical play.” That means that boys learn better when they can move around and have lots of room to explore.
Communication doesn’t always come naturally for boys. As most moms of boys know, boys are not natural communicators. There’s a scientific reason according to Leonard Sax, M.D., author of Boys Adrift. From birth, boys are drawn to movement and girls are attracted to faces. As they grow older, girls tend to be more people-oriented and boys focus on action. So while girls may naturally learn to connect and communicate with people, it takes more effort for boys.
School can be a challenge in the early years. If you’re getting reports that your kindergarten-aged son doesn’t sit in his seat during class time, chances are that he’s just an average boy. With boys being wired for movement, educational settings that require them to be still can be a challenge. Dr. Sax also notes that boys often lag behind girls in self-control and fine motor skills as well. The good news is that they catch up over the years.
Boys are unique, special and wonderful in their own way. And under the guidance of a parent who is well educated in the differences between raising boys and girls, boys can grow, thrive and become wonderful young men.
What have you learned about boys from raising your son?
Words: Yolanda Darville
Yolanda Darville is a mom, writer, and blogger focusing on philanthropy and empowering women. Learn more about her on her blog www.bahamamommyinc.com. | <urn:uuid:5c6e2947-730a-4087-8c9f-fd9815c6a7d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mommynoire.com/15183/mamas-boy-what-mothers-need-to-know-about-raising-boys/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962913 | 726 | 2.703125 | 3 |
J Pat Carter/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez at a ground breaking ceremony, Feb. 8, 2011.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez at a ground breaking ceremony, Feb. 8, 2011. J Pat Carter/ASSOCIATED PRESS
By all indicators, Miami voters look like they're going to throw Mayor Carlos Alvarez out of office Tuesday.
The sin that proved the last straw for voters? The Republican mayor raised property taxes.
And, according to Alvarez, he got on the wrong side of billionaire car dealer Norman Braman by building a new baseball stadium for the MLB's Florida Marlins which was connected to another tax hike, a boost in the hotel tax.
All Things Considered (ATC) looked at the recall effort on the eve of the election. Alvarez, a former Miami-Dade police chief, is one of two politicians about to face the ire of the Miami-Dade citizenry, say pollsters. The other is County Commissioner Natacha Seijas. (There was a lot of good background on this recall campaign in a Morning Edition piece last year as well.)
An irony noted by political observers is that there have been many politicians over the decades in Miami who have been caught in illegality yet they've pretty much all avoided being recalled.
Alvarez, in contrast, is widely acknowledged not to have such legal problems. Voters nevertheless are apparently only hours from evicting him from city hall, according to opinion polls.
Phil Latsman of NPR member station WLRN reported the ATC piece on the recall election and got a great quote which really captures the irony from Miami Herald columnist Fred Grimm:
Look, we've had kickback scandals, voting scandals, bribery scandals, zoning scandals, sex scandals, drug scandals, gambling scandals. Somehow it seems slightly out of proportion, and a little weird for this particular county to go "Tunisian" and toss out a mayor that's known as a honest man."
Grimm's March 9, 2011 column provides some of the more colorful history of Miami politicians who managed to avoid what appears to be Alvarez's electoral fate if not indictments and convictions.
Meanwhile, The Ledger.com news outlet has some good information on recalls taking place elsewhere in the nation as well as the recent history of recall elections. | <urn:uuid:0b89f8b8-8b43-4129-9849-2762b8982a0b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/03/14/134543921/miami-poised-to-oust-mayor-carlos-alvarez-over-tax-hikes?ft=1&f=134545996 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963336 | 480 | 1.53125 | 2 |
We are proud to offer to our readers—and to all who study U.S. political history—the American Leadership Database. This is a graphical and interactive information center that will help anyone investigate generations of American political leaders.
At LifeCourse, we are often asked about the political leadership exercised by each generation, both in our own lifetimes and going back in American history. Once readers become accustomed to thinking about generations born at a particular time with their own location in history, their own attitudes and beliefs, and their own sense of collective identity, they want to know more about the timing of each generation’s political ascendancy and decline. How are such peer groups concentrated by region? How do they lean by political party? When did they take over Congress? How early did they enter office and how long did they live? The American Leadership Database is designed to help users ask and answer just these kinds of questions.
The Database is presented here on seven pages. Four pages offer non-interactive general indicators, intended to provide a broad overview of generational facts and trends over the entire sweep of U.S. history. Two pages offer interactive query tools, which enable users themselves to choose what information they want. The final page is an explanation of definitions, methods, and sources.
In what years did the Gertrude Stein’s “Lost Generation” comprise more than half of America’s governors and members of Congress? (Answer: 1941 through 1953.) When did the G.I. Generation, also known as America’s World War II-winning “Greatest Generation,” reach its high-watermark of political representation? (Answer: 1965.) In what year did Boomers first achieve a generational plurality of national leaders? (Answer: 1999.)
Our general indicator pages allow users to reflect on big questions like these. Several indicator pages feature tables, which are exportable to Excel, and various graphs highlighting important trends.
A summary of the Revolutionary Era offers a generational breakdown of participants in major events and congresses during the revolutionary era. These include the colonial delegates to the Stamp Act Congress (1765), known members of the Boston Tea Party Riot (1773), signers of the Declaration of Independence (1776), signers of the U.S. Constitution (1787), revolutionary or state governors (1775 to 1787), delegates to the Continental Congress (1775 to 1787), and Presidents of the Continental Congress.
Leadership Shares refer to each generation’s share of all leaders, year by year, since 1789. The share is calculated separately for three U.S. bodies: all senators, all representatives, and all governors. “National” leadership shares are the unweighted average of the shares in these three bodies.
Average Age tracks the average age of leaders since 1789. The average age is calculated separately for three U.S. bodies: all senators, all representatives, and all governors. The “national” average age is the unweighted average of the ages of these three bodies.
Entry Into Leadership shows how early in life each generation assumes political power by computing its leadership share in the year its oldest members reach age 42. Again, this number is computed separately for each body (Senate, House, and governorships) and an average is computed for all three bodies.
Power Indices present several measures of each generation’s relative leadership tenure in office over its entire lifetime. Three indices separately quantify lifetime tenure in the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the U.S. governorships. A fourth index quantifies average lifetime tenure in all three bodies.
Many readers will want to go beyond the summary presentations. They will want to define their own generations or cohort groups—and they will want to give their questions a special regional, political, or chronological spin. Imagine asking the following:
From the end of the Civil War until 1929, how many senators from the South belonged to the Republican Party? How many in New England belonged to the Republican Party? (Answer: for the South, 173 out of 1,029, or 17 percent; for New England, 389 out of 418, or 93 percent.)
Who was the oldest member of Congress at the time of Pearl Harbor? Who is the youngest today? (Answer: Sen. Andrew Houston, D-TX, born in 1854; and Aaron Schock, R-IL, born in 1981.)
What share of all U.S. leaders (Congress, governors, Presidents, VPs, and Supreme Court Justices) were old enough to personally recall the ratification of the U.S. Constitution at the following moments: U.S. entry into the War of 1812, the Crash of 1837, U.S. entry into the Mexican-American War, and the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860? The answer is 98 percent, 34 percent, 10 percent, and 1 percent, respectively.
Of all leaders who were age 18 to 25 at the time of Woodstock (in 1969), how many are Republican? What about all leaders who were age 18 to 25 (in 1980) when Reagan won his first election as President? (Answer: for front-edge Boomers, 43 percent; for tail-end Boomers, 57 percent.)
The Query Tools are presented on two pages:
- Leadership Query by Congress allows the user to select a single Congress, or several Congresses as a group, and then to further select the position and the state or region. The database will list all leaders meeting these criteria. It will also break down these leaders by generation and party and calculate their average age of entry and their longevity by party, by generation, and overall.
- Leadership Query by Birth Year allows the user to select a span of birth years, and then to further select the position and the state or region. The database will list all leaders meeting these criteria. It will also break down these leaders by generation and party and calculate their average age of entry and their longevity by party, by generation, and overall. | <urn:uuid:0a3d456a-9d1e-418f-b3cf-587c2ed63150> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lifecourse.com/rdb/overview.php | 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 | 0.952569 | 1,243 | 3.15625 | 3 |
My friend and I are dismayed by the lack of rigor in our second-graders' curriculum and are planning to go to the school board meeting on Feb 26th to complain about it. I showed my daughter's 2nd MP portfolio to friends with first graders, and they felt it was very similar to what their first graders were doing, so my friend and I decided to gather some ammunition. This is where I need help:
Part 1: Can you tell me about your child's curriculum and what kind of work is done?
- What grade is it?
- What region of the United States are you in? (For argument's sake, I think US responses would be most helpful)
- What kind completed work comes home?
- What is your sense of the curriculum--what your child does all day--in terms of math, lang. arts, science, social studies, etc.?
- How much of the work seems to be worksheets?
- Are there differentiated reading or math groups for kids working at different levels?
- What kind of writing are they doing? (For what subjects? Sentences? Paragraphs? Fill in the blanks? Sentence starters, where the teacher provides the first part of the sentence? Essays? Reports? Creative writing?)
Part 2: Can you provide me with some samples? If you have samples you'd be willing to share, PM me, and we can figure out how you can take a picture and email them to me. I would remove your child's name, but would share your region or district.
Thank you so much for helping out! | <urn:uuid:6fcd7100-0b21-48a4-8bbb-4cad15b6b3e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1374165/need-help-from-parents-of-1st-and-2nd-graders | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976989 | 336 | 2.4375 | 2 |
When was William Gibson born?
William Gibson was born on March 17, 1948 in Conway, South Carolina
American-Canadian writer of science fiction who was the leader of the genre’s cyberpunk movement. Gibson grew up in southwestern Virginia. After dropping out of high school in 1967, he traveled to Canada... | <urn:uuid:739106d2-e77f-472d-aa89-90d90148d6dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.britannica.com/qa/18997/when-was-william-gibson-born | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965683 | 64 | 1.976563 | 2 |