text stringlengths 213 24.6k | id stringlengths 47 47 | dump stringclasses 1 value | url stringlengths 14 499 | file_path stringlengths 138 138 | language stringclasses 1 value | language_score float64 0.9 1 | token_count int64 51 4.1k | score float64 1.5 5.06 | int_score int64 2 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
News From the Field
Football Analysis Leads to Advance in Artificial Intelligence
August 18, 2011
Computer scientists in the field of artificial intelligence have made an important advance that blends computer vision, machine learning and automated planning, and created a new system that may improve everything from factory efficiency to airport operation or nursing care. And it's based on watching the Oregon State University Beavers play football.
Oregon State University
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, its budget was $7.0 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $593 million in professional and service contracts yearly.
Get News Updates by Email
Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov
NSF News: http://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/ | <urn:uuid:8edac1d2-0d35-4ae3-96ba-2fe2f54c74db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=121512&org=IIS&from=news | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908866 | 291 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Features include interactive map, in-depth stories, and more.Download now. »
The week's top five must-sees,
delivered to your inbox.
The House of Saud is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. The family has thousands of members. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud and his brothers, though the ruling faction of the family is primarily led by the descendants of Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud. The family advocates Salafi Islam and unification of Arabia. The most influential member of the family is the King of Saudi Arabia. The line of succession to the Saudi Arabian throne is not father–son but brother–brother among the children of King Abdulaziz. The family is estimated to be composed of 15,000 members, but the majority of the power and wealth is possessed by a group of only about 2,000. The House of Saud has gone through three phases: the First Saudi State, the Second Saudi State, and the modern nation of Saudi Arabia. The First Saudi State marked the expansion of Wahhabi Islam. The Second Saudi State was marked with continuous infighting. Modern Saudi Arabia wields considerable influence in the Middle East. The family has had conflicts with the Ottoman Empire, the Sharif of Mecca, the Al Rashid family of Ha'il, and numerous Islamist groups both inside and outside Saudi Arabia. (via Freebase) | <urn:uuid:b9825e46-227f-413b-a12d-365cc205bae1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.linktv.org/topics/house-of-saud | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956712 | 282 | 2.546875 | 3 |
FDA halts Amgen drug trial after 14-year-old dies
WASHINGTON (AP) - US government health regulators say they have halted Amgen's studies of its thyroid drug Sensipar after the death of a 14-year-old patient in a company trial.
The Food and Drug Administration says it is gathering information about the death, but has shut down all studies of the drug in children.
Sensipar is approved for adults to treat over-activity of the parathyroid gland. It has been used since 2004 to treat symptoms of chronic kidney disease and parathyroid cancer.
Amgen Inc. had been studying the drug to see whether it works in children.
The Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based company said in a statement that it "is working as rapidly as possible to understand the circumstances of what happened."
The FDA said on its website that it is unclear whether Amgen's drug had a role in the patient's death, but it is reminding doctors to prescribe it carefully.
"Posting this information does not mean that FDA has concluded whether or not Sensipar had a role in the patient's death," the FDA said. "This communication is intended to inform health care professionals that we are evaluating the information and will communicate our final conclusions and recommendations when our review is complete."
The drug is known to lower calcium levels, sometimes to a dangerous extent.
The agency says doctors should monitor patients' calcium levels monthly to make sure they don't fall to dangerous levels. Signs of a calcium deficiency include muscle cramping, convulsions and burning or prickling sensations.
The most common side effects of the drug in adults include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Amgen shares fell 7 cents to $89.48 in afternoon trading Tuesday.
Popular in Health
- Obesity's "disease" risk no secret despite new classification
- Natura Pet Products recalls dry foods over salmonella
- Deep vein thrombosis: Don't ignore these silent symptoms
- Skin cancer self-exam: What to look for (PHOTOS)
- A test for throat cancer caused by HPV?
- Limit food stamps for sodas, 18 mayors ask government
- Which state is the thinnest? Fattest?
- Japanese "eyeball licking" trend carries blindness risk | <urn:uuid:2cd549f5-4466-474e-a320-d1cb18685270> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57571415/fda-halts-amgen-drug-trial-after-14-year-old-dies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948433 | 478 | 2.046875 | 2 |
China piracy spurred Apple to action: WikiLeaksAugust 30th, 2011 in Technology / Business
A model displays a black iPod nano in Hong Kong. Apple set up a global security team three years ago to combat rampant counterfeiting of the iPod and iPhone in China, according to a US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.
Apple set up a global security team three years ago to combat rampant counterfeiting of the iPod and iPhone in China, according to a US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.
The California-based gadget-maker hired away employees from the drug company Pfizer who led a crackdown on pirate Viagra to head its anti-counterfeiting efforts, the September 2008 cable from the US embassy in Beijing said.
The unclassified embassy cable was among nearly 134,000 diplomatic messages released by WikiLeaks over the past week and was first located among the sea of documents by CNN.
The cable said that "as amazing as it seems" Apple did not have a global security team until it created the team to go after counterfeiting in China in March 2008.
It said the Apple security team was "targeting retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and online vendors to take a bite out of China's counterfeit iPod and iPhone production.
"Early evidence suggests nearly 100 percent of Apple products in unauthorized mainland markets are knock-offs, while factories in Guangdong province are exporting enough counterfeits to single-handedly supply the world with fake Apple products," it said.
Fake products include "what appear to be real iPods with 80 gigabytes of storage, but that in fact have only a very inexpensive 1GB hard drive inside," it said.
China is home to the biggest counterfeit market in the world, despite repeated government pledges to root out fake goods.
Apple opened its first official store in China in July 2008 and now has four stores in the country -- two in Beijing and two in Shanghai.
Numerous fake Apple stores have been discovered recently, however, including as many as two dozen in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming alone, according to state-run China National Radio.
(c) 2011 AFP
"China piracy spurred Apple to action: WikiLeaks." August 30th, 2011. http://phys.org/news/2011-08-china-piracy-spurred-apple-action.html | <urn:uuid:dcf770be-76f6-4e52-b0a7-d8468890e300> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://phys.org/print233945550.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95781 | 468 | 1.96875 | 2 |
It has been widely reported today that China has surpassed Japan as the world's second largest economy and is projected to surpass the United States by the year 2030.
This may seem a terrifying prospect for xenophobic isolationist manufacturing job mongers here at home, but, in reality, those intending to protect their "jobs" by opposing globalization should take comfort in this development and the speed with which it occurred. U.S. children and their children's children may once again become competitive in the global job market, notwithstanding their parents' efforts to hamstring them for the last 70 years.
The U.S. manufacturing work force long since went the way of Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose." Organized labor's hypothesis has been disproved in the United States, with disastrous consequences to U.S. workers. Unionization in the United States has effectively eliminated jobs for workers that the ideals of organized labor were intended to protect. Much like smaller, more agile and responsive aircraft and watercraft taking the place of Howard Hughes' enormous and catastrophically expensive transport vehicle in World War II, masses of cheap, unskilled, and disorganized labor in third world countries have supplanted the monolith that is U.S. organized labor. The Spruce Goose only flew once: after the war in which it was commissioned to serve had ended. It would seem that organized labor is now past its prime as well.
The problem for the United States and other more established nations is that our high-minded ideals cost too much, and we can't "unring" the workers' rights bell. As technology advances and makes transport of goods easier and easier, there are few jobs in the US manufacturing economy that could not be more cheaply done in a third world country. This will soon be the case (if it is not already) with regard to the U.S.'s new great export - information and services. For this country to now be competitive, it is not good enough that our workers are more productive, or that they are better educated, or more technologically advanced (which may or may not be the case). They have to be cheaper, and they will never again be so long as they demand pittances like wages, health insurance, reasonable working hours, hospitals, governmental representation, food, and the like.
Some in Congress have argued that we should penalize U.S. companies for sending jobs overseas. Hardly a progressive lesson in globalization, and a very shortsighted concept, if the goal is to preserve U.S. jobs and its place as a world economic power. If the U.S. intends to continue to grow economically, we cannot penalize companies for creating jobs overseas in a globalized economy. That will merely ensure that other countries without such penalties will grow faster at the expense of the U.S. But, if one takes a longer view, maybe forcing growth in other less developed nations should be encouraged. | <urn:uuid:63a9fc2c-c792-422a-9bd5-af08e6ad0c9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/china-no-2-economy-in-the/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971059 | 594 | 2.140625 | 2 |
HI New Faculty Seminar Series
A Sultan in the Realm of Passion: Coffee, Punning, and Lust in Eighteenth-Century Delhi
It is naught save the beloved of the noble It is always irked by the companionship of the low In whatever place has ‘Hatim’ two breaths of life, Here will be a sip of coffee, there a puff at the huqqah Thus concludes a poetic encomium to coffee composed by the eighteenth-century Urdu poet, Shah ‘Hatim’ (1699-1783), who enjoyed a long career, interacting with multiple generations of Urdu poets in Delhi and observing firsthand the massive economic and cultural upheavals that accompanied the rapid political decline of the Mughal empire. He is remembered today primarily for his claim, made some twenty years after he composed this poem, to have purged his earlier collections of poetry of verses that contained “unliterary” vocabulary and outdated puns. This poem’s survival in his revised divan helps to answer questions about broader efforts by professional poets of Urdu to document emerging modalities of urban connoisseurship for new audiences and patrons in regional centers. | <urn:uuid:eabf6751-cd8c-47ba-8d88-a4dda7284be3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.buffalo.edu/calendar/calendar?action=describe&which=6AAC21AC-ED31-11E1-AD0B-AC55AFF6DA58&lastaction=list&category=&time=7&thismonth=&from=&until= | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954806 | 247 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Archive for the ‘Dogo Sardesco’ Category
Dogo Sardesco Puppies
Latest Dogo Sardesco:
Rare and fairly unknown outside Italy, the Dogo Sardo was developed in the villages of Sardinia as an all-around working Molosser. Equally adept as an aggressive watchdog, protective cattle herder and a dedicated farmdog, the Dogo Sardesco is so valued by the Sardinian people that they routinely refuse to sell their puppies to strangers.Because of this attitude it is also hard to determine the breed’s heritage. It is almost certain that its ancestry lies in the same root stock as the rest of the old Cane da Presa population of Italy, from which the mighty Cane da Branco, U Vucciriscu, Mastino Napolitano, Cane Corso, Bucciriscu Calabrese and others come from.
New Dogo Sardesco:
The Dogo Sardesco is rarely seen outside its native region and no written standards are known to exist. Added confusion is created by reports of two separate Sardinian breeds under this name, one being the Pastore Fonnese Sardesco, a typical bearded sheepdog, while the real Dogo Sardo is known locally as the Cane Pertiatzu and is a shorthaired bully breed, similar to the Cane Corso. This confusion comes from this name wrongly being used for the Mastino Fonnese, which is the smooth-coated variety of the Pastore Fonnese, achieved by crossing the Fonnese Sheepdog with the Dogo Sardo.
The Dogo Sardo is a very muscular and athletic working dog, differing from the Cane Corso in some facial features, having a longer muzzle and tighter skin. Some rural dogs have fairly lupoid muzzles, but their purity is questionable. The body is lean and strong, with a powerful neck and sturdy legs. The ears are usually cropped, sometimes completely removed, while the tail can be both docked or left in its natural state.
The coat of the Canis Pertiatzus is short and smooth, usually red, grey, black or brindle in colour, but some working specimens are also common in other shades, as well as having slightly rougher coats. This rugged dogge rarely exceeds 24 inches in height, but since there are no set size limits, a variety of heights can be .
The Argentine Dogo was developed in the province of Cordoba by Dr. Antonio Nores Martinez in the 1920′s. The goal was to create a dog that was a good pack hunter and guardian but could also be trusted with the family..He began with the now extinct mastiff-type dog called the Dog of Cordoba and then added Great Dane, Boxer, Spanish Mastiff, Bulldog, Bull Terrier, Great Pyrenees, Pointer, Irish Wolfhound, and Dogue de Bordeaux.
The resulting breed not only met the original expectations as a big game hunter and family guarding, but has also been very successful as a guide dog as well as in military and police work. They are also used for hunting, tracking, narcotic detection, schutzhund and competitive obedience. This creation was a bullish and fearless hunter with intense stamina and a light coat that is capable of deflecting rather than absorbing heat.
Dogo Sardesco Image:
The breed became appealing to those who use their dogs for dog fights and has given the breed a very bad reputation. Many areas have included the Argentine Dogo in Breed Specific Legislation breed banning lists.
The Argentine Dogo should be 24 to 27 inches tall and weigh 80 – 100 pounds. Their coat is short and smooth to the touch and should be solid white. They may have one black patch or a dark colored patch around the eye. | <urn:uuid:c22fdb2b-68ac-4bbc-8b0d-19ec860d1c2b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://puppi-es.com/dogo-sardesco | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96201 | 800 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Responsible Drinking (Paperback)
$17.51 - Save $4.44 20% off - RRP $21.95 Free shipping worldwide (to United States and
all these other countries) Usually dispatched within 48 hours
Short Description for Responsible Drinking Written by leaders of the Moderation Management movement, Responsible Drinking helps readers define the level of their alcohol use and decide whether moderation or abstinence is the best approach to recovery. Resources and personal stories are included that help readers determine if they are problem drinkers and what can be done about it. 30 worksheets are included.
- Published: 30 November 2002
- Format: Paperback 200 pages
- ISBN 13: 9781572242944 ISBN 10: 1572242949
- Sales rank: 207,478
$19.30 - Save $5.65 22% off - RRP $24.95
$46.51 - Save $6.44 12% off - RRP $52.95
66 days to go $17.20 - Save $3.04 15% off - RRP $20.24
$14.19 - Save $0.76 (5%) - RRP $14.95
Full description for Responsible Drinking
This book offers a real alternative to the 32 million Americans who are problem drinkers.Based on extensive scientific literature supporting moderation as a resolution for drinking problems, Responsible Drinking is the only book with research-based techniques that will help non-alcoholic readers overcome their drinking problems. This revolutionary workbook by the leading voices of the Moderation Management treatment approach starts by providing readers with definitive tools to help them discover whether they are problem drinkers or alcoholics. Readers whose problems are less severe than alcohol dependence are then helped to make an informed decision about whether to pursue moderation or to turn to abstinence.For readers who identify themselves as problem drinkers, the workbook goes on to help them then learn to moderate their drinking and develop a healthier lifestyle. By adopting goals specific to their needs, readers make a commitment, examine the negative effects of alcohol use, identify their own triggers, and learn to take control of their behavior. Inspirational words of more than fifty individuals who have faced and overcome the same problems offer guidance and support. Resources are also provided to help any reader who chooses to pursue abstinence as an objective at any stage of the program."This book has been awarded The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Seal of Merit -- an award bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives." | <urn:uuid:ff63bde3-b2c2-4cbe-8357-93d76f75d383> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookdepository.com/Responsible-Drinking/9781572242944?redirected=true&selectCurrency=USD | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912439 | 565 | 1.875 | 2 |
If These Walls Could Talk
The film 'If These Walls Could Talk" is a rather controversial docudrama based on abortion throughout the decades. The stories of three women who experienced unplanned pregnancies were 'seen' through the same walls of one house. Despite the fact that it was directed by Cher, I still wouldn't consider it a "Hollywood" film.
My analysis was based on whether or not the film could be considered a feminist film. While it does deal with a typically 'feminist' issue-- reproductive rights-- it is lacking in other spheres that are generally represented in feminist film. For example, the social location of race was not even addressed. This film would have been more credible as a feminist film had it touched on the racial and class dimensions of access to abortion. While it did focus on the intersections of class, age, religion, marital status, and gender, race was almost completely excluded from the film. In many ways, this is a reflection of the director and her background. Cher grew up in a time when feminism was at its "Sisterhood is Global" peak. Her flavor of feminism didn't include African-American feminism or Lesbian Feminism, it was bourgeoisie, upper-middle class, educated, white feminism. Cher is certainly a product of her times, and this definitely comes through in her film "If These Walls Could Talk".
In conclusion, I would consider this film a feminist film, despite its shortcomings. The way that the director portrayed gender roles, and the questioning of these gender roles, is enough for me to consider this a feminist film. Feminism comes in many flavors, and this is just one kind of feminism that is represented. | <urn:uuid:6de1b3d3-068e-4f09-b2d5-99b86bf54be2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.lib.umn.edu/raim0007/gwss3307_summer07/2007/06/if_these_walls_could_talk_1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984474 | 342 | 2.3125 | 2 |
A fresh study looks at what happens after people change their meat-eating habits. Those who upped their intake — about 3.5 servings more per week — saw their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes during four years of follow-up increase by almost 50 percent.
Okonomiyaki is a dish that’s described many different ways: a savory pancake, Japanese pizza, or an Asian frittata.There may be tons of Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area, but I realized that most of them don’t serve okonomiyaki. So I was thankful to find these two restaurants that serve good renditions of the dish.
A tasting tour of SF Japantown with Edible Excursions offers a dozen sweet and savory samples of not the usual sushi and tempura. Learn about and nibble mochi, okonomiyaki pancake, taiyaki fish shaped pastries, seaweed salads, onigiri rice balls and sweet potato lattes. | <urn:uuid:9cf11da3-ec51-416d-a886-5c3652869ec9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/tag/okonomiyaki/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950163 | 205 | 1.570313 | 2 |
WASHINGTON — In his final legislative act as a senator, Secretary of State John Kerry sought to resolve an international dilemma. He filed Senate Bill 48, seeking “permanent resident status for Genesio Januario Oliveira,” a gay Brazilian national facing deportation because he does not qualify for a spousal visa.
President Barack Obama is aiming to grant same-sex couples like Oliveira and his American husband, Tim Coco, equal immigration rights as their heterosexual counterparts. The proposal could allow up to 40,000 foreign nationals in same-sex relationships to apply for legal residency and, potentially, U.S. citizenship.
But the measure has inspired fierce pushback from congressional Republicans and some religious groups, who say it could sink hopes for a comprehensive agreement aimed at providing a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants.
The standoff may force Obama to choose between two key interest groups — Hispanics and the gay community — that helped power his re-election last fall. The president must weigh how forcefully to push the bill, known as the Uniting American Families Act, while not endangering a long-sought deal to resolve the status of undocumented immigrants, most of whom are Latino.
The same-sex measure was not included in the immigration proposals issued last week by a bipartisan Senate working group, whose overall framework Obama largely embraced. Several key Christian groups that have supported the White House’s immigration push have objected to the measure on the grounds that it would erode traditional marriage.
The issue has prompted an intense lobbying effort on both sides, including a letter to the White House from a coalition of influential church organizations and a series of urgent conference calls between advocates, administration officials and lawmakers.
For Obama, the political sensitivity was evident in the public rollout of his immigration plans last Tuesday. Although the same-sex provision was included in documents distributed by the White House, the president did not mention it in his immigration speech in Las Vegas.
“The president in his plan said that you should treat same-sex families the same way we treat heterosexual families,” White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Friday on “Political Capital With Al Hunt.” “It’s wrong to discriminate. It’s a natural extension of the president’s view about same-sex marriage, the view about providing equal rights, no matter who you love.”
But congressional Republicans immediately condemned the idea and warned that the measure imperils broader immigration reform. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of the senators on the eight-member bipartisan working group on immigration, said at a Politico breakfast last week that injecting social issues into the debate over immigration legislation “is the best way to derail it.”
“Which is more important, LGBT or border security?” McCain said, using an abbreviation for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. “I’ll tell you what my priorities are.”
Behind the scenes, the lobbying efforts began before the president’s speech. A coalition of religious groups, including Catholics, evangelicals and Southern Baptists, delivered a letter to the White House last week opposing the same-sex measure.
“It’s an overreach,” said Kevin Appleby, director of migration policy and public affairs at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which signed the letter. “Immigration is hard enough as it is and adding another controversial issue to the mix makes it even harder. I’m surprised the administration would risk sacrificing 11 million people over this issue. It’s very combustible.”
On a White House conference call with interest groups after Obama’s appearance in Las Vegas, the first question was from an evangelical activist who objected to the provision. Religious groups pushed back again Wednesday on another White House call, according to a person who participated in the conversation.
On the other side, several Senate Democrats, including Charles Schumer of New York, Richard Durbin of Illinois and Robert Menendez of New Jersey, held a conference call with gay and lesbian organizations blaming Republicans for not including the same-sex provision in the bipartisan immigration proposal.
The advocates were told that Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, would offer an amendment to include the provision in any comprehensive legislation that is formally introduced, according to a person involved in the call.
In the meantime, tens of thousands of same-sex couples wait in limbo. Though the Obama administration has been using its prosecutorial discretion to avoid deporting partners who are illegally in the country, many couples say uncertainty makes it impossible to plan for the long-term.
“It’s on our mind every day,” said Coco, who has been married to Oliveira since 2005 and lives in Haverhill, Mass. “We’re always worried about our future.”
Obama — who personally endorsed same-sex marriage last spring — received broad support and significant campaign funds from the LGBT community. On the campaign trail, Obama often touted his administration’s ending of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy toward gays and lesbians as a major achievement.
“He’s proven that especially on lesbian [and] gay issues, when he stands up and works for change, that the American public and Congress comes along with him,” said Steve Ralls, a spokesman for Immigration Equality, a group pushing for same-sex immigration protections. “That will be the case here, too.”
Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez, national field director of GetEqual, a gay and lesbian civil rights organization, said Obama gave a “really strong vision” for gay rights in his inauguration speech last month.
“I hope that’s more than words and will actually bring concrete actions,” Sousa-Rodriguez said. If Obama does not fight hard for the same-sex provision, he added, “I’ll be highly disappointed.”
Not all gay rights groups are united. Some activists said they would not stand in the way of an immigration deal without the same-sex couples provision if the alternative was no reform deal at all. These activists said an overall policy encouraging citizenship could help up to 700,000 illegal immigrants who are estimated to be gay.
In the meantime, the Supreme Court is reviewing the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that mandates marriage benefits only for heterosexual couples. Some gay rights advocates said that if the court strikes down the law, perhaps as early as June, the question of a same-sex provision in immigration law could be rendered moot.
That’s little solace for Coco and Oliveira, who spent three years of their marriage apart, after an immigration judge ordered Oliveira to return to Brazil in 2007. Only after Kerry, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made personal appeals for the couple in 2010 did immigration officials grant Oliveira a one-year visa on humanitarian grounds.
With that ruling expired, Kerry stepped in again on Jan. 22 with his final Senate bill on behalf of Oliveira, who will be allowed to stay in the country as the legislation is deliberated. Coco, an ad agency owner, doesn’t expect it to be approved.
“It took a while for President Obama to evolve on gay marriage, but the nation has evolved much further if you look at the public polls,” Coco said. “I believe the president has some obligation to push the envelope. The time has come.” | <urn:uuid:b4f057ea-6016-4ec0-be16-a76ce4129858> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bangordailynews.com/2013/02/04/politics/gay-rights-becoming-prominent-in-immigration-debate/ | 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 | 0.957584 | 1,593 | 1.710938 | 2 |
NEARLY 60% of international students in Victoria could be receiving below minimum wage rates, a study by Monash and Melbourne university academics has revealed.
Interviews with 200 international students drawn from nine universities across Victoria revealed that up to 58.1% of students surveyed were paid below $15 an hour, with 33.9% receiving less than $10 an hour.
Does this have an effect on the working conditions of the wider labour force? The researchers found the answer to be yes:
The influx of international students working outside industrial relations controls adversely affects overall conditions in the workforce.
And is the Rudd Labor Government concerned by a workforce numbering in the hundreds of thousands working below minimum wage rates? Apparently not:
"The Rudd Government has shown no sign of recognising this as an issue," Professor Nyland said.
(For those interested in immigration related matters there is a new Australian website here.) | <urn:uuid:d9d30f27-4eb6-4277-a830-f2fcb60b3457> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ozconservative.blogspot.com/2008/06/redefining-minimum.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962164 | 184 | 1.726563 | 2 |
By now, you’ve probably heard about the new ban on telecommuting being implemented at Yahoo! The corporation’s latest CEO wants workers and teams to be side-by-side in an effort to improve employee communication and creativity. The change has obviously brought about strong negative feelings from employees and critics from outside the company because they feel it is a decrease in workplace flexibility. But, the simple fact that it is a change is also likely another cause of anxious feelings because something familiar is being phased out.
Whether you work for yourself or for someone else, when policies and procedures change (especially ones that have been in effect for a long while), it can be difficult to adjust and do things differently. Even when the change is seemingly positive and welcomed, it will probably mean that you’ll need to learn and adjust to a new way of doing things. Rather than get thrown off track, start planning how you can successfully transition and incorporate new changes into your work life.
Keep your emotions in check
You may want everything to stay exactly the same and hearing that there will be new policies and procedures can make you feel uncomfortable and unsure. Try to keep negative emotions under control so that you can strategically plan your next steps. If you’re freaking out, you’ll have a harder time crafting a plan of action. When you’re tempted to complain, pause and remind yourself that you are in control of your emotions and have the ability to see things in a positive light.
Gather all the necessary information
Getting as much information as possible about why things will be done differently can help you to better understand why the change is happening. Equally important is making sure that you’re getting information from the appropriate sources. Water cooler conversations or highly charged reactions from colleagues likely will not have the details that can help you process and understand why things are changing. It’s okay to have questions, but be sure to communicate with the right people (human resources department, direct supervisors) to get the answers you need. Find out how your position will be impacted and what the new expectations are. Though you may not agree with the upcoming changes, knowing what to expect will help you …
Create a new plan
Once you have all the pertinent information, you can plan how your new day-to-day work life will look and feel. Consider mapping out (or sketching) what your new day might look like. Do you need to travel to a new work location? Will you have new responsibilities? Consider uploading your plan (and any notes you have) to Evernote or record them in a paper journal so that can refer to it when you need to. Whatever the changes are, be sure that you have the tools needed to do your job well. Do you have the proper training to manage new responsibilities? Are you making use of technology tools (like reminder and project management apps)?
Focus on the benefits
With change, there are usually opportunities. They may not be as obvious at first, so take a minute to think through some of the positive things that may come about because of the change. Perhaps you will learn a new skill or get a chance to demonstrate your level of expertise more fully. If, like Yahoo! out-of-office employees, you will need to begin working from the company headquarters, it is possible you might strike up more fruitful partnerships with your colleagues. Being in the same location may change the dynamic of your working relationship, and you might find working alongside your coworkers in the same office will allow for greater creativity and collaboration. Keep in mind that there is often an upside to things that initially seem negative. Think things through fully to discover the positive impact that change may have for you. | <urn:uuid:eccc5fc1-78e1-4e8a-9fc2-4c0ef63a2574> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://unclutterer.com/2013/02/28/four-ways-to-successfully-manage-change-in-the-workplace/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959007 | 759 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Adobe, a revolutionary image editor
Adobe Photoshop is a leading program that has revolutionized the very basic concept of image editing. Adobe Photoshop Uggs Women S Classic Short elements bring the best in your photograph by enhancing its appeal via a myriad range of simple and easy-to-use tools. Adobe Photoshop is widely accessible owing to its high compatibility with Macs and Windows PC.
Why use Adobe Elements?
The Adobe Elements are analogous to the full version in many ways. However it is a bit easier to comprehend and learn. If you have started learning Adobe Photoshop, then it would be better if you have to learn something that contains simpler features. With the help of Adobe Elements you can brighten a photograph that is very dark to look at. For this all you have to do is open the picture in the program and then go to 'enhance' option in the menu. Under that select first select 'adjust lighting' and then select 'brightness/contrast'. After making necessary adjustments save the picture. You can even restore a discolored photo with the help of Adobe Elements.
Adobe Elements tutorials:
If you are new to this program, the best way to perfect at Adobe is Ugg Veanna via Adobe Photoshop tutorials easily available on CD-ROM, DVDs and several online video clips. In Maxene Ugg Boots the tutorials look for the tools, commands, keyboard shortcuts that would acquaint you with the basic usage of Adobe. Learn the correct way to use the stylized fonts and text effects for creating flash effects for a website. You may look for tools like cropping, watermarks, channels and masks, re-touching and other advanced tools that would portray a web page at its best appeal.
Adobe Elements tools:
The latest versions of Adobe Photoshop 5 and Adobe Photoshop 7 help in turning an old worn out picture into a colorful and vivid picture. The in built tools in the Photoshop would lead you Elsey Ugg Boots to bring the best out of an old photograph worth discarding. Some of the few tools include, smudge tool used to add special effects to the foreground and background. Blur tool helps you lighten the part in the picture that is unclear or in a shadow. Sharpen tool is used to make a photograph sharper and clearer in case it appears blurred. Burn tool helps you to edit the image into a darker version and thus brings out its highlights clearly. Apart from these tools there are a number of other tools using which you could create beautiful colored images.
Adobe Elements tips:
a) Use the Photo merge feature to combine multiple images to create a seamless panorama. You can further enhance it by using rotate, zoom and pan tools.
b) You can easily flip through the various blend modes through ship+ to change to the next mode and shift - to go to the previous. These shortcuts would give you the ease of
glancing all the modes quickly than separately clicking Ugg Tall Bomber Boots and viewing them.
c) Remember to use the picture package option print Ugg Like Boots all the pictures with different print size on one page.Did you like this article? Interested in Learning Elements Now? Well now you can by reading this Free Elements Learning Guide...what are you waiting for?
Cheapest Uggs Online 34 ugg boots uk sale | <urn:uuid:95daae75-7492-4748-b2bb-c77c8d00571f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.barstoolsports.com/bb3/viewtopic.php?p=1320211 | 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 | 0.90229 | 679 | 1.851563 | 2 |
What to do About Taiwan
11:01 AM, Jun 25, 2011 • By JOSEPH A. BOSCO
On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and immediately dragged the U.S. and China into the bloody conflict. It was the culmination of not a single event, but a series of missteps.
In 1949, the U.S. had withdrawn its forces from Korea and key U.S. officials made public statements that caught the attention of Pyongyang, Moscow, and Beijing. President Truman, Secretary of State Dean Acheson, and General Douglas MacArthur delineated U.S. strategic interests in Asia—and excluded South Korea and Taiwan from the security perimeter.
Communist leaders saw a U.S. green light to unify one or both countries. The only question was who would move first—but that was answered when Josef Stalin helped Kim il-Sung, preempting Mao Zedong.
North Korea’s aggression demolished the State Department’s sanguine assurances and alerted Truman to the danger of Communist expansion in Asia. The president mobilized a hasty United Nations defense and war ensued. He also deployed the Seventh Fleet to the Taiwan Strait to prevent conflict there.
After the Korean War ended in stalemate, President Eisenhower signed Mutual Defense Treaties with both South Korea and Taiwan in 1954 and the U.S. military presence kept the peace for the next decade-and-a-half.
But strategic clarity and deterrence on the Taiwan front began to erode in 1972 with President Nixon’s historic opening to China. In the Shanghai Communique, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger finessed the Taiwan status question, saying the U.S. did not challenge the view that “all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is part of China.” Kissinger called it his “ambiguous formula,” and Nixon called it “brilliant.” Chou En-lai, Kissinger’s negotiating partner, liked it, too.
Washington also stated its “interest in a peaceful settlement” but did not say it would oppose the use of force by either side. And the U.S. withdrew the Seventh Fleet, the primary obstacle to a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Kissinger’s book On China suggests a tacit understanding that Washington would acquiesce in a takeover of Taiwan after a decent interval.
According to Kissinger’s memoir, Mao assured Nixon that China was willing to wait to conquer Taiwan: “We can do without them for the time being, and let it come after 100 years.” On another occasion he said China could wait 100 years, or 10 years, or 5, he wasn’t quite sure.
In 1979, President Carter completed Nixon’s mission and switched recognition from the nationalist dictatorship on Taiwan to the Communist dictatorship in China, while maintaining the agnostic “one China policy” on who should rule Taiwan. He also terminated the 25-year-old U.S. defense treaty with Taiwan.
A furious Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act committing the U.S. to provide Taiwan with self-defense articles and declared cross-Strait peace to be a U.S. national security interest. But it did not explicitly commit Washington to defend Taiwan as the Defense Treaty had.
In July 1995, Beijing fired missiles across the strait to protest a U.S. visit by Taiwan’s appointed president and announced its intention to resume the “exercises” as Taiwan’s first presidential election approached. Just to be sure of U.S. intentions, and to avoid North Korea’s disastrous mistake in 1950, PLA officials in December directly asked how the U.S. would respond if China attacked Taiwan.
Assistant Secretary of State Nye, equally anxious not to repeat Washington’s 1950 mistake, answered: “We don’t know and you don’t know; it would depend on the circumstances.” So, he avoided giving Beijing a green light—but he also failed to give a red light with an unequivocal commitment to Taiwan’s defense. Instead, he gave an amber light—proceed with caution.
Defense Secretary Perry adopted Nye’s “strategic ambiguity” formulation and it has been Washington’s official mantra ever since.
A week after Nye’s statement, President Clinton ordered the Nimitz carrier group to pass through the Strait, the first such transit in 23 years. China vehemently protested and Washington explained it was merely a weather diversion, not a warning or commitment to Taiwan’s defense.
So, to protest Taiwan’s presidential election in March 1996, China tested the U.S. and again fired missiles across the strait. This time Clinton dispatched two carriers but Beijing threatened a “sea of fire” if they entered the Strait. They didn’t and the crisis dissipated.
A senior U.S. official later said “it was our own Cuban missile crisis . . . we had stared into the abyss.”
We don't know whether we deterred more serious Chinese aggression against Taiwan on that occasion. But China now knew what it had to do to succeed in such an attack: create “circumstances” to deter or delay U.S. intervention. It has since built a formidable arsenal of “anti-access” weapons, including advanced submarines and the world’s first ship-killing ballistic missiles.
In 2001, President George W. Bush seemed to restore the clear U.S. commitment to Taiwan’s security that prevailed from 1950 to 1979 when he said he would do “whatever it took” to defend now-democratic Taiwan. But shocked China experts within and outside the administration soon walked that back and restored the venerable ambiguity policy.
After September 11, the Bush and Obama administrations convinced themselves that China is a reliable partner on anti-terrorism, counter-proliferation, and North Korea. Taiwan is seen increasingly as an irritant to good Sino-U.S. relations.
Mao’s successors have significantly shortened the fuse on Taiwan’s unification deadline. The 2006 Anti-Secession Law said China could attack if Taipei simply took too long to surrender, and in a 2007 Asia Society interview, Kissinger warned that China “would not wait forever.”
To prevent another Asian war by miscalculation, Washington must state clearly, decisively, and publicly that it will defend Taiwan against Chinese aggression or coercion.
Joseph A. Bosco served in the office of the secretary of defense as China country desk officer from 2005 to 2006 and previously taught graduate seminars on China-U.S. relations at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. He is now a national security consultant. | <urn:uuid:a48bf99b-9f19-460f-a655-624de0c109a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/what-do-about-taiwan_575556.html?nopager=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949564 | 1,425 | 3 | 3 |
Culture Connect Featured Event
The class will focus on the blues and blues progression in early and modern jazz styles. Dr. O’Neil will introduce beginning to intermediate guitarists to jazz improvisation, style and harmony through a close examination of the blues and its use as the foundation for early and modern jazz studies. Examples and techniques from jazz greats will be covered and the use of the blues progression as a basis for other standards and tunes will be explored. A jam session will conclude the master class. In addition to teaching at Community Music School, Kevin O’Neil is an adjunct professor at Tunxis Community College. As a performer, he enjoys being a freelance guitarist and has recorded many CDs through the years with Anthony Braxton, Klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer, saxophonist Steve Lehman and others. The class is FREE, however, reservations are requested and students should bring a small practice amp with their guitar. | <urn:uuid:94722da1-0f2a-425b-a0f4-a919bd825d0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cpbn.org/events/cultureconnect/free-jazz-guitar-master-class?mini=calendar/2013/01/all | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94808 | 192 | 2.03125 | 2 |
SAN CARLOS – September 13th, 2012 – Violent winds in Venecia, Aguas Zarcas, Ciudad Quesada, Florencia, Santa Clara and Santa Rita in San Carlos, Alajuela tore the roofs from several homes, knocked down trees and disrupted electric service this week.
Gabriela Chinchilla, from the National Meteorological Institute (IMN), said that a high-pressure system above Central America affected the northern and Caribbean zones of Costa Rica.
The atmospheric phenomenon, which began its way through the country on Monday night, brought winds that reached 80 km per hour and heavy rains.
Some residents confused the strong winds and heavy rains with a tornado.
On Tuesday afternoon, 12,000 people were without electrical service.
The Technologic Institute in Santa Clara suspended its classes due to damages in 3 of the student residencies and the loss of Internet connectivity.
Chinchilla noted that the winds were expected to continue with lessening intensity until today or tomorrow.
Randall Soto, a first aid worker, said that five people were injured and needed to be transported for medical assistance. “Some were injured because of falling trees, as well as objects that were in open spaces in houses. However, none of the injuries are serious, “ he added. | <urn:uuid:a3a9a190-cf9f-4525-9e44-fa35ba235a5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://insidecostarica.com/2012/09/13/strong-winds-tore-roofs-from-homes-12000-left-without-electricity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963839 | 269 | 1.789063 | 2 |
What Do People Know about the Arctic and Antarctic?
It's common to confuse characteristics of the Arctic and the Antarctic, and many people have never learned the differences between these two regions.
In this lesson, students will research the landscapes, climates, and animal life of the Polar Regions. They will then interview people to find out what they think and know about the regions. They will conclude by writing paragraphs explaining why it's important to know about the Polar Regions and detailing the differences between the two regions.
For more information: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/ | <urn:uuid:d5351e16-6286-4b5f-9480-0a66c4973ccf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ocean.si.edu/for-educators/lessons/what-do-people-know-about-arctic-and-antarctic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946824 | 120 | 3.3125 | 3 |
I was not looking forward to this assignment as photographing the general public is not my favourite activity, but I thought it was something I should do. I chose to create a brochure illustrating the attractions of the local park, which is very popular. My final piece was an old fashioned cut and paste job -with scissors and glue, as I haven't got publisher, and embedding photos in a word document where you want, and the size you want is an extremely frustating exercise (well it is for me). Here I show just four of the 12 shots I used in my final assignment.
The local park is a very popular place with all ages. I had several shots of this couple strolling round the lake.
Photographing children playing is always awkward. However with a bit of zoom I felt comfortable photographing these youngsters on the roundabout. I wanted to capture the colour and movement.
I made many visits to the park to shoot the museum, but it always seems overcast and a soft light did little for this building. On this afternoon I struck lucky, the low sun cast interesting shadows, and the sudents walking up the path animated the view. I learned here that it is worth persevering until conditions are right.
Basketball practice - these lads were quite happy for me to snap them playing, but quite bemused. The light levels were low as it was cloudy and shaded so not ideal conditions for action shots. Although I took a lot of shots I did not managed to get a better one.
I did not submit my work for assessing especially at the time I had enough stress in my life, however my tutor assured me my level of work was up to standard, so although I have no grading I am quite happy to feel I achieved a pass level. | <urn:uuid:dea873c8-c543-4f49-bc12-32d3a9324c1c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jilltaylor-thirdagemusings.blogspot.com/2009_05_13_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984343 | 367 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Tamiflu is going for record-high prices on auction sites. The news media is following the spread of Avian flu among poultry across Asia and into Europe and Africa. The great pandemics of the past---with millions dead---are being cited day in and day out, and it seems that there is nothing we can do to prevent another one in the months and years to come.
Fear is spreading faster than the flu itself. People are frantic, running to get themselves and their children vaccinated out of fear they or their loved ones will die from this viral illness that may spread rapidly throughout the world.
The panic is on.
Almost every year flu season seems to bring with it extraordinary anxiety and fear, especially among parents of young children. This year is perhaps even worse, as the media is full of reports of a deadly H5N1 Avian influenza (or "bird flu") bug, which in theory could mutate to be transmissible from human to human.
Through all the fog of media and worry, let's not lose our bearing and make rash decisions. The important news is that most Americans can and should take six steps to reduce the likelihood of getting an infectious disease like the flu, which are explained below.
First, some background:
Nutrition and Infection
The most effective artillery we have to protect ourselves against the potential damaging effects of influenza and other infectious disease is nutritional excellence. Micronutrients---meaning vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals---fuel various clever host defense mechanisms, including:
- phagocytosis (surrounding and eating viruses) by macrophages and neutrophils
- cell-mediated protection by T cells
- natural killer cells
- antibody production by B cells
If you are deficient in virtually any known vitamin and mineral, research has shown these host defense functions can be negatively affected.
It has also been demonstrated that when diets are low in consumption of green and yellow vegetables, (rich in carotenoids) viral illnesses take a more serious form.
Multiple micronutrients including lutein, lycopene, folic acid, bioflavoinoids, riboflavin, zinc, selenium, and many others have immunomodulating functions. That means they influence the susceptibility of a host to infectious diseases and the course and outcome of such diseases. These micronutrients also possess antioxidant functions that not only up-regulate immune function of the host, but also alter the genome of the microbes that can result in more prolonged and serious infection, particularly in viruses. Viruses are able to assume a more virulent form and new more severe infections are more likely to emerge when nutritional deficiencies are present in the host. A healthy immune system adequately armed with a symphonic assortment of plant-derived phytochemicals inhibits DNA variation in the virus that could allow it to better evade host defenses.
About 10 percent of US residents get influenza each year. About 100,000 are hospitalized and 36,000 Americans die each year from the complications of the flu.
The symptoms of the flu include:
- High fever.
- Extreme fatigue.
- Muscle aches.
- Cough, sore throat, nasal congestion are also common.
- Gastro-intestinal symptoms, such a nausea, vomiting and diarrhea is more common in children.
- Severe headaches and muscle aches are what usually differentiate the flu from other viral illnesses and colds.
People stay contagious for about a week after contracting the standard flu.
The good news is that, if you are generally healthy, and eat a healthy diet and get a high percentage of your calories from fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts, then you need not panic. The flu is not a dangerous disease in healthy individuals. In spite of the fear that the Avian Flu is an exceptionally virulent strain, with about half of those humans infected having died, it still stands little chance against a truly healthy immune system.
Fifty percent of Americans die of heart attacks and strokes too, but that does not mean those deaths were not 100 percent avoidable with excellent nutrition. About 35 percent of all Americans die of cancer, but those deaths were also largely the result of nutritional folly. When we eat a nutrient-poor diet, diseases flourish. With nutritional excellence our body becomes a miraculous disease-resistant organism. Flu is no exception.
A More Virulent Strain: Bird Flu
The H5N1 bird flu, at the time of this writing, does not transmit easily from birds to humans. Despite the fact that it is now very common in birds in parts of the world, the virus has infected few more than 100 humans. As the WHO points out: "this is a small number compared with the huge number of birds affected and the numerous associated opportunities for human exposure, especially in areas where backyard flocks are common. It is not presently understood why some people, and not others, become infected following similar exposures." Actually only a very small percentage of people in contact with this virus has become infected. At this point it seems most likely that this strain of flu will not become highly endemic.
The concern is that these kinds of flu viruses constantly mutate. It is entirely possible that at some point this virus that is virulent (powerfully contagious and harmful) to birds will develop into a form that will spread efficiently from human to human. In that scenario, it could do a lot of damage.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the symptoms of bird flu in humans "have ranged from typical flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches) to eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases (such as acute respiratory distress), and other severe and life-threatening complications."
So how can we determine which individuals will catch this potentially deadly enemy and in which individuals it will develop life-threatening complications? The answer is that the same three basic factors determine the contagious potential of any flu:
- The size of the inoculum (how large the number of virons in the exposure)
- The virulence of the microbe (how well designed the virus is to evade host defenses)
- The resistance of the host. How effective is the immune system of the host at preventing viral replication.
If this virulent form of the flu does appear in our region we are not without protection. We have control over the size of the exposure, because we can avoid hand to mouth and hand to nasal contact and we can wash our hands after touching people and birds.
Now, once you have contracted the disease, only "the resistance of the host" is important because it is the critical factor that governs the extent of damage. It is this host resistance that plays a major role in infection and we can improve our resistance to make ourselves almost disease-proof. So no matter what kind of flu you are trying to prevent, there are six key steps we should all take to strengthen our immune systems and minimize the impact of the flu. | <urn:uuid:5812ca46-ada2-4d5a-a709-d0087bf92724> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/2005/10/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951604 | 1,434 | 3.296875 | 3 |
I hadn't watched television in a week, but Saturday night was a great time to start. Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield had about two kilometres left in the Olympic debut race of the sport. He was in second place when I turned on the TV and looked certain to finish there. But Whitfield had something in him that none of the other athletes did: a final 200-metre sprint that would lead him to victory.
It was a sight that may just go down as one of the greatest in Canadian Olympic history. Whitfield sprinted past Germany's Stephan Vuckovic, and crossed the finish line with his arms in the air, tears in his eyes and smiling ear to ear. Vuckovic, who had a stranglehold on the gold until the final 250 metres, cried tears of joy, spinning in circles, fists pumping in the air, as he finished in second place.
In today's sports world, it is rare to see an athlete display such an intense level of emotion. It was a real and true scene to see athletes crying for their sport, not for their money. To see athletes completing their lifelong quests and not their temporary contracts. Usually, when I turn on the television, I see news about the latest contract holdout, or a bench-clearing brawl by a bunch of over-paid, out of shape baseball players, or even the latest murder suspect in the National Football League. Society has not lost the essence of sport but television rarely displays it.
At the amateur level, sport can be seen at its best, featuring challenge, competition and even displays of emotion. Watching pro football on television may very well entertain, but it will not put tears in your eyes and it will not make you proud to be Canadian. It will not capture the attention of everyone in the house, and it will not make you proud to be you. Somehow it is just easier to be proud of Simon Whitfield crying on the Olympic podium than it is to take pride in Deion Sanders high-stepping into the end zone while he holds the ball out to mock an outstretched opponent.
If you think there are no role models left in Canadian sport today, look no further than Whitfield. He may just come out of the Sydney Olympics as the Canadian hero, and unlike past Canadian heroes such as Donovan Bailey and Ross "the reefer" Rebagliatti, Whitfield may also serve to be a role model and a great spokesman for our Country. Whitfield seems to be a genuine person; he gave credit to his fellow competitors, he gave credit to his country and he said of the gold, "Just what I owed Canada." | <urn:uuid:e9651270-6432-46e5-86a5-7b3a3a397ae8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thegauntlet.ca/story/2388/Olympic+Opinion++A+verbal+Deathmatch++++Part+I/ | 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 | 0.977088 | 540 | 1.507813 | 2 |
SEATTLE – When a big quake rattles Seattle, the first order of business for any business is protecting lives.
The key to protecting your employees and your business is advance preparation.
“No one ever wakes up and says ‘today is a good day for an earthquake. I think I'll get ready for it,’” says Florence Crowther, Facilities Manager at KING TV.
Trained by disaster experts, Florence came up with emergency plans designed to protect the 400 people who work in the KING building - and to keep the station on the air.
“In the business that we're in, the community - the nation - is counting on us to tell them what's going on in Seattle at that time,” she says. “If we've taken the steps that we need to - unless it's an absolutely cataclysmic earthquake - then we're going to be able to continue conducting business.”
All employees take part in drills so they know how to protect themselves in a quake and they know how to evacuate the building. The front door is off-limits.
“We have a slanted glass facade, the weight of all that glass coming down on people could be fatal,” says Florence.
KING keeps an updated employee emergency call-out list.
“So our employees can focus on what they need to do here to deliver the news to the public and the community and not be worrying about the well-being of their families,” says Florence.
Emergency supplies are easy to access. A three-day stockpile of water and food is kept in a secure place for hundreds of staff members.
“This is a part of the building that, structurally, we felt was very sound and we could count on being able to get to this closet and get to these materials,” says Florence.
“We have even taken the steps if the sewers go down, we have liners that we can place in the commodes themselves,” she says.
The planning goes to one morbid extreme. We've even designated the basement exercise room as a temporary morgue.
“I think it's important for you to plan for the worst case scenario and then be able to respond to something much less serious,” says Florence.
The most important point: make sure everyone at work knows what to do and where to go in case of an emergency. Evacuation drills may seem like a waste of time, but in a real emergency, they could pay off by saving lives. | <urn:uuid:28d1b675-37ef-4a5f-a93f-28c51f37506b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nwcn.com/news/quake/Businesses-must-take-steps-to-protect-employees-98042459.html?ref=next | 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 | 0.97262 | 527 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Mission Freeway, 30th St BART
One of my favorite new map blogs, The Map Scroll, recently covered the thankfully failed effort to criss-cross San Francisco (and other cities) with freeways and the “freeway revolt” against this in the 1950s and 60s. Many excellent sites discuss this one already, especially Shaping SF.
Anyway, the Map Scroll got me a-googling for better resolution map of that birdseye view of the planned highways, especially the Mission Freeway that was in the works (basically more of the 280 San Jose exit, pretty much up Capp St (between Mission and Van Ness) to 14th). Wikipedia to the rescue. (Click below for a giant map of the whole city burdened by albatross-like freeways.)
My house would have been so under the Mission Freeway that even Tom Petty wouldn’t have been able to sing songs about it.
Summarizing Shaping SF: protests by the Haight-Ashbury Neighborhood Council led to the Chronicle printing this map in 1956, resulting all hell breaking loose — even though the map had been around since 1948. (For you younguns, newspapers (those wet, soggy things you saw in bags on the sidewalk this past week) actually used to break stories before most people knew about it! Shocking, I know.)
But fear not, there was a mean streak in the Chronicle even back then:
On November 2, 1956 the San Francisco Chronicle graciously published a map of the proposed and actual freeway routes through San Francisco even though its accompanying editorial was already chastising protestors: “The remarkable aspect of these protests and claims of injury is their tardiness. They concern projects that have for years been set forth in master plans, surveys and expensive traffic studies. They have been ignored or overlooked by citizens and public official alike – until the time was at hand for concrete pouring and when revision had become either impossible or extremely costly. The evidence indicates that the citizenry never did know or had forgotten what freeways the planners had in mind for them.”
Other exciting SF never-built freeway features included a highway through Glen Canyon and a second Bay Bridge at the foot of Army. Kind of amazing BART got built under these circumstances.
I still want my infill BART station at 30th though — La Lengua‘s easily worth half a billion of stimulus funds! PDFs on BART’s planning website (part B has all the construction porn). Bored tunnel, not cut-and-cover (like the rest of Mission was done), estimated 3.5 years of construction time, with just 11 months of traffic distruption, and a huge hole in the Safeway parking lot and Valencia/29th to get the dirt out and cement in. All for beautiful entrances at 29th and 30th, and a nice new building for El Patio! It could be our Carlo’s, where commuters are welcome…
And here’s the preferred dual tunnel that would allow express trains:
Now for that second Transbay Tube and offline tunnels for more stations. Simply shouldn’t take 30+ minutes to get to the airport… | <urn:uuid:e695a33f-b1b0-427d-ba34-096752080377> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://burritojustice.com/2009/02/20/mission-freeway-30th-st-bart/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958339 | 660 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Population: 29 million
Native greeting: Kaméétsa? (How are you?)
Official language: Spanish and Quechua
Local currency: Nuevo Sol
Divided into three distinct regions, (the coast, the mountains and the forest, Peru is South America’s third largest country. The mountain region, marked by the massive peaks and steep canyons of the Andes, is home to UNESCO World Heritage Site, Machu Picchu. The Andes are one of the world’s most unstable mountain ranges with frequent earthquakes, landslides and flash floods.
Ancient Peru was home to the Incas, who were conquered by the Spanish in 1533. The Spanish stayed in Peru until 1824, three years after Peruvian independence was declared.
Of the estimated 29 million people living in Peru, about 48% of the population lives under the poverty line. While Peru is becoming a force in the global economy, there are crucial social development issues, like education and healthcare, that have been overlooked. In Peru, like most places, disparities in resource distribution have led to social and economic inequities that favor the wealthy.
Heifer in Peru
Year Heifer started: 1963
Number of Heifer projects: 18
Number of Families Assisted: More
Heifer Interventions: Apiaries; alpacas; llamas; hogs; cattle; rabbits; poultry; fish; sheep and guinea pigs
Technology used: Veterinary supplies; irrigation equipment and organic gardening
Issues addressed: Environment; health services and education access to rural families and income generation
Heifer began activities in Peru in 1963 and continues supporting urban and rural community and small-farmer organizations to improve their quality of life. Peru’s diverse cultural patterns are based on solidarity and reciprocity. Thus, Heifer’s approach to sharing resources becomes a key element to achieve just sustainable development. The program’s strategies include gender equity, recovery of traditional knowledge, agroecology and natural resource management. The Peru program strengthens local capacities, promotes the recovery of medicinal plants and organic gardening.
Heifer Peru works in Piura, Lambayeque, Cerro de Pasco, Lima, Junin, Huancavelica, Cuzco, Apurimac and Puno. | <urn:uuid:999ca039-537a-49b6-9909-174db9b75b77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.heifer.org/blog/2012/05/in-context-peru.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919987 | 472 | 3.359375 | 3 |
As with so many other matters, Americans split along partisan lines when it comes to assessing the anti-U.S. turmoil in the Mideast.
That’s according to a poll out this week from the University of Maryland’s Anwar Sadat Chair and the Program on International Policy Attitudes. The poll asked whether conflict was bound to keep happening “because Islamic religious and social traditions are intolerant and fundamentally incompatible with Western culture?” Or, it posited, was it possible to find common ground because “though there are fanatics in the Islamic world, most people there have needs and wants like those of people anywhere?”
Overall, fifty-three percent of Americans take the “common ground” view, down from 59 percent a year ago, while 42 percent see conflict as inevitable, according to the poll.
Those figures mask the partisan split. Sixty percent of Republicans say violent conflict is “bound to keep happening,” while 30 percent of Democrats take that view. On the alternative viewpoint emphasizing “common ground,” 68 percent of Democrats agree, while 38 percent of Republicans do. Among independents, 51 percent side with the common ground view and 36 percent see conflict.
Even so, the poll found an area of partisan accord: majorities of Democrats and Republicans said they found convincing arguments for cutting aid to Egypt, either to save money or to punish the Egyptian government.
The poll of 737 Americans, taken from Sept. 27 to Oct. 2, has a margin of error of +/- 4.6 percent. | <urn:uuid:1a2a6502-d157-475c-b91d-650446c6e8e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2012-10-12/poll-americans-split-on-partisan-lines-gauging-turmoil-in-mideast/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930688 | 322 | 1.945313 | 2 |
Who’s lying about Resolution 1441?
Among the articles of faith on the pro-war right, few have been had more megabytes of text spilled over them than the claim that the war on Iraq was authorised by UN resolution 1441. So, it’s surprising to see Mark Steyn denying this claim in the course of an attempt to score points off me, cheered on by Tim Blair and JF Beck. Steyn says
I don’t believe I was ever aware that Aussie prof John Quiggin had launched a competition to demonstrate I was a congenital liar, but apparently he did back in 2002, indignantly objecting to my “lie” that Australia, Spain, Italy and co were “on board” for an America-led Iraq invasion without UN authorisation. Yup, he certainly nailed me on that one.
I’ll note first that Steyn scores yet more points for my claim of congenital dishonesty with the “and co”, which, in the original, read “Qatar and Turkey”. Like most of the other countries on Steyn’s list, Turkey had made no public commitment to invade Iraq at the time Steyn was writing. Unlike most of the others, Turkey held a parliamentary vote, which led to a decision not to invade.
But the real issue is that of UN authorisation. As I noted at the time, Australia’s public position was exactly the same as that of Britain, the country where Steyn’s piece was published but one that curiously failed to make his list. That’s because, as Steyn concedes here (July 2003), Blair was publicly opposed to going to war without a UN resolution, and it wouldn’t have done for Steyn to say that it was all a sham. As he says
In the end, Britain officially went to war on a technicality, and … that technicality – Saddam’s technical non-compliance with Resolution 1441 – still holds.
Of course, as we now know, it was all a sham. Bush was going to war regardless, and Blair was privately committed to following him, despite his public pronouncements at the time which, I have to admit, I believed. But without the figleaf of the UN, and the bogus interpretation of Resolution 1441, it’s doubtful he could have conned enough Labour MPs into supporting him.
Howard similarly made a string of statements to the effect that there would be no invasion as long as Saddam complied with Resolution 1441. I don’t have any details on Berlusconi, Aznar and others, but I’d be surprised if the same wasn’t true of them too. | <urn:uuid:320bd2cb-c6c9-41a4-afa1-fb7e585a5ff3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://johnquiggin.com/2006/04/26/whos-lying-about-resolution-1441/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978427 | 570 | 1.554688 | 2 |
BIG DREAM: Inspiration For Innovators | Business
Even the biggest dreamers sometimes need grounding, or at least guidance to get their ideas off the ground. Even more so in the tough economic climate of recent years.
“We’ve seen a lot of people go after their big dreams even in hard times,” says Big Dream Gathering creator Mitch Matthews, “because they’ve written those dreams down and gotten some help. And we know that real people going after big dreams is what made this country great.”
A BIG Dream Gathering will be coming to Pella on March 26th.
The idea exchange will be hosted at Central College from 6-9 p.m. and is sponsored by the Martin Heerema Entrepreneurship Program, the Career Center, the Student Life office and the Pella Community Foundation.
“We're really excited to get to bring the BIG Dream Gathering to Central College,” says Matthews. “We've seen incredible things happen when a college and a community dream big together.”
The event is free and open to the public. | <urn:uuid:3cbb92e4-ae5c-4d4b-9d6a-70145ad87eba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pella.whotv.com/news/business/74233-big-dream-inspiration-innovators | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941449 | 231 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Indicates iPad friendly.
How Banks Work
You’ve done a great job saving. Now, your parents want you to put those dollars and cents into a savings account at a bank.
How do banks work? And how do people use banks?
Lots of people give their money to banks.
When you give your money to a bank, it’s called a deposit. Banks keep your money safe. AND, more importantly, banks will pay you for every dollar you keep in a savings account! The money the bank pays you is called interest. The bank will pay you interest every month you keep the money in your savings account!
You’re probably thinking, “Wait a second… banks pay ME money, and I don’t have to do anything? Why in the world would a bank pay me money to do nothing?”
Banks lend your money to other people.
If people don’t have enough money saved up to buy something, they often borrow money from the bank to buy big things, like houses and cars. The banks lend them the money to buy these things , but the banks expect people to pay the money back AND pay the bank a little extra money, besides.
Let’s say you borrowed $10 from a bank. You get the $10 right away. But when you pay back the $10, the bank will charge you $1 or $2 extra for giving you the money when you needed it. So you pay the bank $11 or $12. That’s how banks earn money.
Without money from people like you, banks wouldn’t have any money to lend. That’s why banks will pay you interest.
If you leave your money in savings…
Every month, the bank pays you for keeping money in your savings account. And over time, that extra money really adds up!
Imagine if your parents gave you $100 for your birthday every year for ten years. If you put it in your piggy bank, you’d have $1,000. But if you put it in a savings account, you might have $1,100 or even more. That’s an extra $100, and you didn’t have to lift a finger! That’s why it pays to open up a savings account!
Use the Compounding Calculator to see what will happen if you save on a regular basis. Have fun! | <urn:uuid:6aecc327-5639-472d-b110-8183e865b970> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.themint.org/kids/how-banks-work.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943811 | 508 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Biomes organize the biological communities of the earth based on similarities in the dominant vegetation, climate, geographic location, and other characteristics. Aspects of the physical environment such as precipitation, temperature, and water depth, have a strong influence on the traits of species living in that natural environment, and thus biological communities experiencing similar environmental conditions often contain species that have evolved similar characteristics. There is no single classification of biomes that is agreed upon by all scientists because different scientists wish to emphasize different characteristics by their definition. Historically however, biomes have been identified and mapped based on general differences in vegetation type associated with regional variations in climate and terrain.
Terrestrial biomes characterize ecosystems on land, and are usually identified by the growth form of the dominant vegetation, climate, and/or where they are located on the earth. The major terrestrial biomes include the tundra biome, the forest biome, the grassland biome, and the desert biome. Note that forests and grasslands are defined based on the growth form of the dominant vegetation whereas deserts are classified based on the dominant climatic conditions. The geographic distribution of terrestrial biomes is mostly influenced by climatic conditions such as rainfall and temperature.
Some people prefer to subdivide these four broad biomes. For example, the forest biome can be subdivided into a temperate forest biome and tropical forest biome. The temperate forest biome and tropical forest biome can then be further divided based on the characteristics of the trees found in the biome. The World Wildlife Fund recommends the following classification scheme of terrestrial biomes.
- Tundra Biome
- Forest Biome
- Boreal Forest/Taiga Biome
- Temperate Coniferous Forest Biome
- Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forest Biome
- Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands and Scrub
- Tropical Subtropical Moist Broadleaf forests
- Tropical and subtropical Dry broadleaf forests
- Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests.
- Grassland Biome
- Temperate Grasslands, Savannas and Shrubland Biome
- Montane Grassland and Shrublands
- Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas and shrublands
- Flooded Grasslands and Savannas
- Desert Biome
- Deserts and Xeric Shrublands
Freshwater biomes are generally distinguished by characteristics such as water depth and whether the water is moving or standing. Major freshwater biomes include ponds and lakes, streams and rivers, and wetlands.
Marine biomes are generally distinguished by the depth of the water and whether there is a substrate on which organisms can attach. Important marine biomes include oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries. The ocean biome, the largest of all of the earth's biomes, can be divided into several zones including the shore/intertidal zone, the pelagic zone, the benthic zone, and the abyssal zone.
Humans have fundamentally altered global patterns of biodiversity and ecosystem processes. As a result, vegetation forms predicted by conventional biome systems are rarely observed across most of Earth's land surface. While not a replacement for existing biome systems, anthropogenic biomes provide an alternative view of the terrestrial biosphere based on global patterns of sustained direct human interaction with ecosystems, including agriculture, human settlements, urbanization, forestry and other uses of land. Anthropogenic biomes offer a new way forward in ecology and conservation by recognizing the irreversible coupling of human and ecological systems at global scales, and moving us toward an understanding how best to live in and manage our biosphere and the anthropogenic biomes we live in.
Other Ways of Classifying Habitats and Communities
Ecological communities can share characteristics for a number of reasons. Classifying communities into biomes attempts to highlight the role of the physical environment in determining characteristics of communities.
Communities can also be classified into biogeographical realms (e.g, Australasia, Antarctic, Afrotropic, Indo-Malayan, Neartic, Neotropic, Oceania, Paleartic). Classifying communities into biogeographic realms attempts to highlight the importance of a shared bioegoraphic/evolutionary history in determining the composition of biological communities. It is important to recognize that many different biomes can be found in the same biogeographic realm and that the same biome can be located in many different geographic realms.
The ecoregion, a relatively large unit of land that contains geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities, is a subset of a biome found within a biogeographic realm. The World Wildlife Fund has identified 825 terrestrial ecoregions, 450 freshwater ecoregions, and 229 marine ecoregions. Several distinct ecological communities may be found in a single ecoregion. | <urn:uuid:8c778090-335f-4c34-a3b6-dba8c3e14494> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trunity.net/env101template1/articles/view/150661/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906981 | 981 | 4.15625 | 4 |
Moving to Ireland
Thinking of coming to Ireland to live permanently or to study?
If you were born outside of the EU and wish to join our community then we can assist you with your documentation and the immigration process.
Ireland and Dublin in particular is the hub for many global IT companies. We are the European Headquarters for Google, PayPal, Intel, Microsoft, Facebook, eBay to name a few. Most of these companies already have young Jewish Professionals working with them. The IFSC (Irish Financial Services Centre) is a major European centre for US Financial Services and Investment Companies.
Please see the feed on the right hand side of this page for a selection of current job opportunities in IT. A second language is also invaluable for these positions as Ireland specialises in Localisation.
Ireland at the moment is in need of Medical Practitioners and there are many vacancies at the moment.
Schooling for your children.
A Jewish Orthodox School was founded over 70 years ago in Dublin. We now have both a Primary and Secondary School which caters for our Jewish Children. Please go to their Website to find all the information. This school is located in a suburb of Dublin 10 minutes walk from the Orthodox Synagogue. (All Primary Schooling is FREE). The Community is currently reviewing the establishment of both a Kindergarten & a Mother and Toddler Group. Visit Our Education and Talmud Torah page for further information our unique system of education here in Ireland.
There are three active synagogues within the Community: -
Machziki Hadaas (Services held on every Shabbat and on Festivals) Congregation of approx 30 people. Kiddush after Shabbat
Dublin Hebrew Congregation Services held three times a day. Kiddush after Shabbat. Regular activities. Weekly Shiur by the Rabbi on Tuesday evening and Gemara Shiur on Wednesdays. Congregation of 400 plus.
Both Synagogues are in the Terenure suburb of South Dublin approx 3.5 Kilometres from the centre of town.
Orthodox services are also held on Shabbat and Festivals in the Bloomfield Nursing Home which houses the elderly of the Community.
Dublin Jewish Progressive Community.
Since its foundation in 1946 by members of the Irish Jewish Community, the DJPC has built a congregation based on values of inclusivity and the practice of Liberal Judaism.
While strong pricing and promotional offers appeal to the mass market, SuperValu Churchtown also caters for a more unusual niche in Ireland. The supermarket sells Kosher food for Dublin’s Jewish population; largely situated in and around the local areas of Terenure, Rathfarnham, Rathgar and Churchtown.
The Owner of Supervalu explains: “There’s a synagogue based in Terenure, and for the last 10 years we’ve been providing all the kosher foods.
‘The Bretzel’ Bakery
Ask any Dubliner to name a bakery and most will find with ‘The Bretzel’ rolling off their tongue. Once synonymous with Dublin’s Jewish quarter, The Bretzel is as much a part of Dublin culinary history as a long ray or a bowl of coddle. In fact, The Bretzel still make their ‘Challah’ (Jewish festive sesame bread) to the same recipe as they did when it opened and their name is still synonymous with what once was a thriving Jewish quarter as its environs were indeed the hub of Dublin Jewish business. It was owned by Jewish proprietors from the Grinspons to the Elliman to the Steins and the tradition was only broken when the Hacketts took ownership in the sixties. Ill health led to the shops demise but it was snatched from the hands of obsolescence by its saviours and most recent custodians, William Despard and Cormac Keenan.
Other Food Sources
South African Food Shop Ireland
4 Strand Street Great
Fallon & Byrne,
11 -17 Exchequer Street,
Housing and cost of living
Currently cost of living is surprisingly affordable and housing both rental and for purchase are at the lowest they have been for many years.
When you come to live in Dublin, you will be welcomed in to the community and become a part of a small vibrant community. We will have a family to look after you immediately and show you around. The Community Office will assist you in finding housing accommodation.
The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS)
Department of Foreign Affairs
Garda National Immigration Bureau | <urn:uuid:0c471ed0-04ff-446b-9bc7-83f4a5d32f9c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jewishireland.org/moving-to-ireland/moving-to-ireland-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958638 | 943 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Harry Potter arrives in bookstores at 12:01 a.m. Saturday with the final installment of the bestselling series. But Internet users have had access to seemingly real, albeit pirated, copies of the book for days.
It could be argued that digital technology represents the greatest challenge ever faced by copyright holders like book publishers (and, yes, newspapers). But to me the real issue isn't the ease with which copyrighted materials can be snatched away and endlessly distributed.
The real issue is the sense of entitlement that prompts many on the Net to believe that everything's up for grabs, that you shouldn't have to pay for anything found online because digital content wants to be free.
"It's a very popular sentiment in Silicon Valley and elsewhere," acknowledged Andrew Leibnitz, an intellectual property lawyer in San Francisco. "There are a lot of people out there who believe everything should be shared."
In the case of the latest Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the Net has been buzzing all week with sightings of partial or whole manuscripts of the eagerly anticipated tome.
Scholastic Corp., the U.S. publisher of the series, says it's seen various versions of the manuscript online that conflict with one another -- implying, of course, that you won't really know what's what until you buy an actual copy of the book.
The company also filed a lawsuit this week against an online bookseller, DeepDiscount.com, that allegedly shipped copies of "Deathly Hallows" to buyers as much as a week early.
Knowledge sharing, as they say in Silicon Valley, can be a good thing. The open-source Linux operating system, for example, represents a collective hive of creativity. But that's different from information sharing.
And it's especially different from what's happened to Harry Potter.
In picking through a variety of blogs and online forums, I was heartened to find that many people refused to condone the hacking of Harry and called it exactly what it is: stealing.
But there was no shortage of others who made the case, no matter how chuckleheaded, that people who access pirate versions of the book online are actually doing Harry Potter a favor.
"Because something's not legal doesn't make it wrong," declared someone named Wilco, posting his or her thoughts on the blog TechCrunch. "We live in a new age where ideas, information and media are free."
Many people might agree with the first part of that sentiment. To cite an extreme example, hiding Anne Frank in your attic in 1942 Amsterdam was illegal. Was it wrong? Hardly. Providing marijuana to people with serious ailments is another example that readily comes to mind.
It's the second part of Wilco's position that causes me to do a double-take. This is a "new age." Ideas, information and media "are free."
This would be a laughably silly notion if it wasn't shared by so many others.
"Information wants to be free," wrote someone named Lee, also on TechCrunch. "Copy to infinity."
Added someone named Louise: "This is just another sign that the old media is losing control of its empire! The future is upon us and I for one am not against the new media taking control. The artists can still make money, they just have to be open to new forms of media.
"The protectors of copyright will, after a long fight, give in -- and the new media will take control and make copyright illegal."
What makes this sort of thinking so dangerous is that as it becomes increasingly widespread, it makes it harder for providers of original content -- book publishers, newspapers, musicians, filmmakers -- to be adequately compensated for their work.
What does that mean? It means fewer people will want to be professional publishers or journalists or artists. What are we left with? Blogs.
Not that there's anything wrong with blogs. But why should amateurs tyrannize professionals just because the amateurs can't make a dime for their work?
Saying information wants to be free is the same as saying Nikes want to be free. There may be some footwear that's so shoddy it can only be given away. But Nikes (or Levi's or iPhones) have value and "want" to receive a fair price from would-be users.
Similarly, there's some information (quite a lot, actually) that will be deemed worthless in the marketplace of ideas and thus have no monetary value. A new novel by Stephen King, on the other hand, reflects the author's unusually high levels of talent and skill, and thus commands top dollar.
The same goes for Harry Potter. Author J.K. Rowling may now be one of the wealthiest women in Britain, but that doesn't diminish her right to be fairly rewarded for her efforts.
"In that case, information does not yearn or deserve to be free," said Leibnitz, the intellectual property lawyer.
I've said as much repeatedly about the newspaper industry, and the need for such content to be fairly valued in digital form. It makes no economic sense to give away something that represents a substantial investment in resources and labor.
This is not a new age. This is a new technology and a new form of distribution. If anything, the intrinsic value of quality information -- as opposed to the idle posturing that defines much of the Web's content -- is enhanced by wider dissemination.
Information doesn't want to be free. It wants to be available. That's an important distinction. | <urn:uuid:9c80eaaf-d7c9-47fa-9951-82ccb12c8a6d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Harry-Potter-wants-to-be-free-Huh-Sharing-2580557.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96543 | 1,140 | 1.875 | 2 |
Legislative Commission on
Resource Needs of New York State and Long Island
Perhaps the most important accomplishment of the 2007 Legislative Session was the enactment of legislation to increase the Environmental Protection Fund to $300 million. The additional funding for the EPF will fuel substantial increases in EPF programs such as municipal parks, waterfront revitalization, municipal recycling, open space land acquisition, farmland protection, as well as wastewater treatment projects, invasive species management and Ocean and Great Lakes initiatives.
Protecting out natural resources, making sure families’ lives are not compromised by environmental hazards and ensuring that future generations will be able to enjoy the vast wonders of New York are vitally important to me.
This newsletter will outline some of the Water Commissions’ accomplishments as well as some of our goals for the future. As always, I welcome hearing your ideas and concerns. Please feel free to contact me.
The Waters are Rising —
Increased Flooding in NYS
Over the past few years, severe flooding has impacted the lives of New Yorkers from all over the State. In June of 2006, after a severe storm, the largest flood event in NYS in over 30 years devastated much of the southern portion of our state, as well as areas along the Erie Canal and much of the Northeast coast. A number of upstream tributaries on the Erie Canal, from Utica to just above Albany, experienced 500-year flood events during this period. Other areas in NYS, including the Delaware River Basin and much of the NYC reservoir system, also suffered extensively from the effects of this flood. The June ’06 was not an isolated event. Unfortunately, across New York State there has been an increase in the number and significance of flood events. In May of 2007, in Roscoe, N.Y. a rural area 100 miles northwest of New York City, severe thunderstorms caused flash flooding in the southern Catskill Mountains, washing out roads, destroying homes and inflicting casualties. In Westchester County, local officials have noticed drastic increases in floodwaters in recent years, and on Long Island, recent flood events have severely impacted many areas in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties. In 2007, one storm alone caused $26 million in damage, harming homes, businesses and infrastructure in Suffolk County.
Many scientists predict that the future will bring even more of these unwanted and unprecedented events. More frequent, more severe storms are projected as one result of climate change in New York. These flood events often result in homes, businesses, infrastructure and lives lost. The issues contributing to flood events are complex, including changes in climate patterns and land use over time, wetlands loss, and development rights. Recently, the legislature passed into law two measures designed to examine issues related to flooding and make recommendations regarding needed action. The first law creates a task force to look at issues of flooding along the Erie Canal; the second establishes a sea level rise task force. Increased flooding across the State is an issue the Water Commission will continue to follow in the coming session.
For the second year, the New York State Assembly passed the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact (A.7266-A, Sweeney). This Compact is the result of a multi-year international effort to create an enforceable process to protect the waters of the Great Lakes Basin. The governors of the eight Great Lakes States, in partnership with their two Canadian counterparts, have drafted two agreements – which amend the Great Lakes Charter of 1985, a 20-year-old agreement that oversees shipping and pollution issues in the Basin.
The first of these two agreements is a “Compact” between the eight Great Lakes States, effectively creating the first enforceable water management strategy throughout Great Lakes Basin. This Compact would be enforceable in federal court. The second agreement is a voluntary international agreement between the eight states and the two Canadian provinces that would provide international consistency across the Basin. When implemented, these agreements will direct the way the Great Lakes and the waters of the Great Lakes Basin are managed and protected. The Great Lakes Compact contains a number of important water-use protections, including requirements that withdrawal and diversion projects must prove they will do no harm, that a preference will be given to all reasonable conservation measures and that all diverted waters are returned to the basin of origin.
The agreements were signed by the Governors of the eight Great Lakes States in December 2005. In 2006, the New York State Assembly was the first and only legislative body to pass the Compact. The New York Senate, however, failed to move on this important measure. This year, the Compact was enacted into law in Minnesota and Illinois. In New York State, the Assembly was able to reach agreement with the Senate during the last week of the legislative session on the Compact; unfortunately, the bill was not passed before the legislature adjourned. When the Legislature returns the Water Commission will work diligently to ensure that the compact language is enacted into law.
The Compact will not be legally enforceable until it is enacted into law in all 8 Great Lakes States and then ratified by the Congress of the United States. The agreements can be viewed online on the website of the Council of Great Lakes Governors at: http://www.cglg.org/projects/water/CompactImplementation.asp.
Despite increasing need, federal investment in infrastructure funding continues to shrink. Once funding 90% of the water and wastewater infrastructure, federal and other sources of funding has decreased by 70% over the past 30 years for capital investment in public water resources (re: American Society of Civil Engineers). Compounding this problem is the fact that utilities in general have not set their rates at levels that cover infrastructure maintenance and replacement. Together, this has lead to a significant funding gap. The Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis released by EPA in 2002 notes a gap between the planned investment in infrastructure and the infrastructure capital need from $3.5 to $26 billion per year – nationally - over the next 20 years.
It is important that NYS focus attention on this issue before it becomes a crisis. In an effort to get up-to-date information on wastewater needs, at the request of Assemblyman Sweeney, the Assembly included in the 2007-2008 State budget $300,000 to fund a statewide assessment of wastewater infrastructure improvement needs. The assessment will focus on the need to upgrade existing wastewater treatment infrastructure, and should be completed by March 1, 2008.
|Enacted into Law - 2007|
A.8016 State Revolving Fund, Sweeney
A.8202 Sharks, Colton
A.8203 Clams, Schimel
A.8204 Whelks and Conchs, Espaillat
A. 8206 Fish, Gunther
A.8208 Fish management, Sweeney
A.8209 Blackfish, Sweeney
A.8210 Scallops, Titone
A.8212 Striped Bass, Sweeney
A.8214 Crabs, Bluefish, weakfish and fluke-summer flounder,
A.8215 Marine Commercial Fishing, Sweeney
A.8339 EPF expansion, Sweeney
A.9002-A Sea Level Rise Task Force, Sweeney
A.9027-A Invasive Species Council, Sweeney
A.7179 Water Pollution of the Marine District,
A.8878 Dredging Jones Inlet, Weisenberg
Constitutional Amendment – State Ballot Referendum – Passed:
A.7242 Raquette Lake Drinking Water Supply Authorizes the state forest preserve to be used for the construction and maintenance of wells for municipal water supply in the hamlet of Raquette Lake.
Passed both houses and vetoed by the Governor:
A.7367-A Climate Change Task Force,
A.1159 Upper Delaware River Greenway,
A.2691 Wetlands Maps, Lifton
A.7133 Wetlands, Sweeney
A.7231 Private Well Testing Act, Jaffee
A.7266-B Great Lakes Compact, Sweeney
A.7268 EFC 0% Loans, Sweeney
A.7332 Cost Reimbursement, Sweeney
A.7365 Climate Change Solutions, Sweeney
A.8746 Returnable Beverage Container Act,
A.9169 Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Sweeney
A.9199 Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Sweeney
Other Legislation of Interest
A.7495 On-site Septic Systems, Sweeney
A.8090 NRD Liability, Sweeney
A.8588 Wetlands Restoration, Sweeney
|Energy and Water – A Popular Mix|
Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) in Long Island Sound
One proposal seeks to site an energy infrastructure facility in the state’s coastal waters. The Broadwater Energy proposal, a joint venture between TransCanada Corporation and Shell, would construct and operate an offshore-liquefied natural gas facility (LNG) in Long Island Sound.
Broadwater plans to build and install a floating facility moored in Long Island Sound to receive imports of LNG. LNG is natural gas that has been cooled to its liquid state and can be economically transported throughout the world in specially designed ships. Physically, Broadwater would consist of a ship-like vessel moored in Long Island Sound. The vessel would be about 1,200 feet long and 180 feet wide and would rise about 75 to 80 feet above the water. LNG carriers would unload their cargo to the vessel. Every two to three days, LNG shipments would arrive via ocean-going carriers that would enter the Sound and offload their cargo. After unloading, the LNG would be warmed back into a gaseous state (regasified) so the natural gas could be delivered to markets through the existing Iroquois pipeline.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the lead agency responsible for conducting environmental review of all LNG projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and is currently assessing the Broadwater Energy proposal under the pre-filing environmental review process. The Federal Energy Act of 2005 pre-empts state siting authority for LNG facilities. As part of the project review, the US Coast Guard issued a safety and security report, and FERC released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement in the fall of 2006. A Final Environmental Impact Statement must still be released and the New York State Department of State must make a ruling as to whether the Broadwater proposal is consistent with the policies of the Coastal management program, although such a ruling could conceivably be overruled by the US Secretary of Commerce.
Many important concerns exist regarding the Broadwater proposal. These include concerns over potentially irreparable damage to Long Island Sound’s recreation and fishing industries resulting from regular intrusion of LNG tankers, concerns that Broadwater may not be the most efficient, safest way to bring more natural gas to Long Island, and concerns about the potential threats to human safety. Given that NYS is pre-empted by the Federal government on siting and oversight of this facility, it is imperative that the Federal Government fully and completely address all concerns before such a facility is allowed to be sited in Long Island Sound.
Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project (RITE)
The Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project (RITE) is the first of its kind in the world. The project uses tidal powered underwater kinetic hydropower turbines to harness the free-flowing energy of the tidal flow in New York City’s East River. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has awarded two $500,000 grants to Verdant, a Virginia-based company to run a pilot project of this concept. Both NYS DEC and the US Army Corps of Engineers have issued the necessary permits to install and operate a test field of six temporary underwater turbines for an 18 month period to evaluate the environmental, technical and economic feasibility of this renewable energy source.
The installation of the six-turbine demonstration project was completed in May of 2007. The pilot project attached the turbines, which look like small wind turbines, to underwater concrete piles attached to the bedrock. As the tide surges in and out, the turbine heads pivot to face the current and the turbine blades spin to generate energy. The six pilot turbines will generate enough energy to power about 200 homes.
Verdant plans to ultimately install a large scale underwater field of 200-300 turbines along the East River, with a goal of generating five to ten megawatts of power to be delivered to the grid - generating enough energy to power about 8,000 homes.
Before Verdant can proceed with a full-scale project, the company must complete the evaluation required under the pilot project. This information is also needed as baseline data for a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) hydropower license, necessary for a permanent facility. To date, Verdant reports no fish strikes.
An offshore wind park was proposed for the Jones Beach area of Long Island, but was recently abandoned because of cost concerns. The Long Island Offshore Wind Park was to consist of 40 wind turbines, capable of generating 140 megawatts of electricity, to be located off shore, southeast of Jones Beach and southwest of Robert Moses State Park.
Wind power is a concept that can and should be pursued. Wind projects are planned and implemented in other areas of the State, and given the renewed emphasis on reducing carbon emissions and pursuing green power, the issue of wind farms is likely to resurface.
Invasive species include the Asian long horned beetle, which is costing the City of New York and Long Island over $40 million annually, sea lampreys which now inhabit the Great Lakes, and zebra and quagga mussels which began in the Great Lakes and have spread to inland lakes and streams throughout the United States. Mussel eradication measures alone are estimated to exceed $200 million annually.
Ballast water of ships, one known source of aquatic invasive species, can also be contaminated with harmful bacteria and viruses. One such pathogen is viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), which causes large fish kills. VHS was first detected in New York State in 2006 and has since been found in 19 species of fish and has spread through Lakes Erie and Ontario, the St. Lawrence and Niagara Rivers and into the Finger Lakes Region of New York State.
In addition to providing $5 million from the Environmental Protection Fund in State Fiscal Year 2007-08, the Assembly worked on legislation that was enacted into law, which will ensure that invasive species issues are fully examined and addressed. This law establishes the Invasive Species Council and an advisory board within the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to develop a comprehensive plan for invasive species management. DEC will be responsible for implementing an invasive species program focused on the recommendations of the former Invasive Species Task Force and the new Council, and will report to the Legislature with recommendations for future legislative action. (A.9027-A, Chapter 674 of the Laws of 2007)
In September of 2007, Assemblymember Sweeney, Chair of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee and Assemblymember Darrel Aubertine, Chair of the Assembly Legislative Commission on State and Local Relations held a public hearing on invasive species and pathogens in the Great Lakes region of the State to help determine if additional measures are needed to address this pervasive issue. Testimony was received from experts from the State and local governments as well as from environmental activists.
Sweeney said “It is impossible to address this issue alone. The best thing would be for the federal government to be actively involved, but since they have been unwilling or unable to address this problem, New York State and other states must take it upon themselves to find solutions.”
|At the invitation of Assemblyman Bob Sweeney, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis met with representatives of the recreational fishing community at the Sportfishing Education Center in the Town of Babylon to discuss issues of significance for recreational fishing on Long Island. It is the first time in memory that a DEC Commissioner has met with the recreational fishing community. Pictured with Assemblyman Sweeney (at left) and Commissioner Grannis (second from left) are several interns from Cornell Cooperative Extension who work at the Sportfishing Center.|
Richard D. Morse, Executive Director
|To further our efforts to reduce waste, please inform us if you have a change in address by calling us at (518) 455-3711, faxing us at (518) 455-3837, or writing us at the above address.|
New York State Assembly
[ Welcome Page ] [ Committee Updates ] | <urn:uuid:cdaf0b2b-2c36-42df-93af-269d453c573c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/comm/WaterLI/20071205/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939905 | 3,394 | 1.828125 | 2 |
The Epic Journey of a World War II Bomber Pilot and POW
Fate, unexpected allies, betrayal, two gold coins, and a prayer changes the life of a young airman.
World War II was raging when 19-year old James Keeffe joins the U.S. Army Air Forces. After months of rigorous training as a B-24 heavy bomber pilot, he and his crew arrive in England and begin flying combat missions over Europe. On the 8th of March 1944, during a bombing mission to Berlin, Keeffe's airplane is shot down over Holland, catapulting him into a world squeezed colorless by the ever-tightening fist of Nazi occupation.
Moving from safe house to safe house with the help of the Dutch Underground, Lt. Keeffe, in plain view of the enemy, evades for five harrowing months. During an escape attempt through Belgium he is betrayed, captured and transferred under armed guard to the infamous German prisoner-of-war camp – Stalag Luft III.
Winner - Best Autobiography/Memoir
--Ben Franklin Book Awards 2011
Winner - Best Memoir
--Indie Next Generation Book Award 2011
Gold Medal Winner - 2011 MWSA Awards, category Military/Air Force
--Military Writers Society of America
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
James H. Keeffe III, eldest son of James H. Keeffe Jr., spent his early years traveling the world with his military family. He has been working in IT data networking for the past eighteen years for Group Health Cooperative. He resides in Fall City, Washington with his wife Paula and daughter Reilly.
James H. Keeffe Jr., a WWII and Korean War veteran, received his degree in meteorology at UCLA. During his 22 years in the Air Force, he was a pilot, weatherman, and instructor. He lives in Bellevue, Washington with his wife Sandy. They have six children and many grandchildren. | <urn:uuid:b9be9c02-93d1-4a5a-b9a8-999972cb47c2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.epicenterpress.com/getpage.cfm?file=book6000.html&userid=89285866 | 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 | 0.960467 | 391 | 1.632813 | 2 |
On June 29, 2012, the Fisheries Act was amended. Policy and regulations are now being developed to support the new fisheries protection provisions of the Act (which are not yet in force). The existing guidance and policies continue to apply. For more information, see Changes to the Fisheries Act.
Operational statements are standardized planning guidance tailored to fit the unique ecological and legal requirements in different areas of the country. The following are examples of projects that have standardized planning guidance:
Please note that not all Operational Statements will be released in every Provincial and Territorial jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions, terms and conditions that afford same or better protection to fish habitat already exist and therefore an Operational Statement is not needed.
Please select the province in which you will be working to retrieve the appropriate operational statement.
The Operational Statements provide nationally consistent advice on standard measures to apply to selected activities that are low risk to fish habitat. There is no need for Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to review the project when the conditions and measures in the OS are followed.
The OS enable DFO staff to refocus resources onto projects that present a higher risk to fish and fish habitat. This refocus also includes increased monitoring and auditing efforts to determine if the OS are effective at protecting fish and fish habitat.
Read the entire Operational Statement (OS) and ensure that it applies to your proposed activity. The bulleted section in the first column of each Statement describes conditions when the OS may or may not apply to your activity. For example, the Beach Creation OS only applies to freshwater systems and the Clear-Span Bridge OS only applies to bridges that are two lanes wide or less. Also review the Measures to Protect Fish and Fish Habitat section to make sure that you can incorporate these measures into your plans.
If you cannot incorporate all of these measures of the Operational Statements (OS) or the OS does not apply to your project then you should contact DFO for a review. If the OS does apply to your project, then you are asked to fill out the notification form, which is attached to the OS, and send it to the closest DFO office to you (either by fax or mail). DFO will use this information when conducting routine monitoring. It is important to keep this OS on site during construction.
If you are unable to meet the conditions or incorporate all of the measures of the OS into your project, you are asked to contact your local DFO office before starting work. DFO staff will be able to advise you on how to proceed with your project while also protecting fish and fish habitat.
You are asked to complete the Notification Form, and send it to the local DFO office in your area. (Please note that the contact information for the closest DFO offices is listed on the OS.) This information will be used to verify that you are following the measures and conditions of the OS. You should be able to demonstrate that you are complying with the OS if a DFO official arrives at the site.
You should contact your local DFO office as soon as possible. DFO staff will provide advice on the necessary steps to follow to protect fish and fish habitat.
Provincial and Territorial (P/T) regulations and guidelines often have differences in their requirements. The OS have been adjusted to support these existing P/T processes in an attempt to prevent conflict and for ease of implementation. However, the regionalized OS do not differ in their underlying principles and their key purpose is to protect fish habitat.
In certain Provinces and Territories an existing guideline or permitting process may already exist. It is important to check with Provincial or Territorial permitting agencies.
No. You will be complying with subsection 35(1) of the Fisheries Act by following the conditions and measures in the OS. You will need to verify whether you comply with other FPT legislation. Following the OS Statements only covers the requirements of the Fisheries Act.
Contact your local DFO office. | <urn:uuid:59efec69-c515-4b41-9a51-0010dd5ed955> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dfo-mpo.gc.ca/habitat/what-quoi/os-eo/index-eng.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936413 | 807 | 2.296875 | 2 |
The Council for Tourism takes full account of the German tour operators, airlines and market intermediaries during the Tourism Forum.
As the Slogan says “Andalucía te quiere” (Andalusia loves you). And if you are one of the 1.1 million German tourists who visit the region each year, it loves you even more.
Council for Tourism of the Junta de Andalucía renewed the compromise with one of the strongest sectors in tourism which provides a regular expenditure higher than the average, with a longer stay and one of the best retention rates.
The companies agreed that “the German tourism demand is consistent with what offers Andalusia” and highlighted two perceptions: Tourists want surroundings which are based on the respect for the natural environment and also demand more suited prices than Andalusia has been offering during the last years.
Many northern countries are already entering fully into the “green economy”, for instance: It makes sense that a German might be interested in how much CO2 emissions is generating his stay in a certain destination. The German tourist requires an environmentally friendly offer and is not willing to pay for it with increased taxes.
Although Germany will certify in 2010 a financial improvement, the review of budgets for holidays is downward.
Tourists are willing to pay less for their holidays, and prefer to secure their cost by all-inclusive packages.
In this context and with the extraordinary price competition in the Mediterranean, Andalusia is an expensive destination, as advocated by the representatives of the three major tour operators (TUI, Thomas Cook and Rewe).
Improvement options are also including new segments such as Golf and culture, though without losing sight of the fact that the tourists come mainly for the sun and the beaches. | <urn:uuid:1a2961bf-395a-457a-81be-49d6a8a6f4b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cheapcarhiremalaga.co.uk/blog/german-tourism-requires-a-%E2%80%9Cgreen%E2%80%9D-andalusia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962234 | 363 | 1.546875 | 2 |
You can bake a lot of cookies with two pounds of sugar. But can you do something more artful, like use the sweet little granules as ballast for a 26-foot tall balloon designed to ride the wind from La Jolla to the East Coast?
The UC San Diego Near-Space Balloon team will find out in the next few weeks.
UCSD is trying to become the first university to send a zero-pressure balloon across the country, propelled only by the capricious winds of the jet stream. The small team of students has outfitted the contraption with sensors that will release the sugar when the balloon begins to bleed helium and sink toward the ground.
This will be the team’s third attempt to go coast-to-coast, but the first involving a ballast system. Junior Tim Wheeler, one of the team’s leaders, bought the sugar with his campus dining card, hoping it could help keep the balloon in a river of air 35,000 to 40,000 feet high.
“We decided that sugar would be a friendlier thing to use as ballast than sand, and a lot better than flour, which might clump together in the cold air,” said Wheeler, who is studying aerospace engineering. “We’ll see.”
That kind of deductive reasoning is what this is all about. The experiment -- which will get underway when wind conditions are just right -- is meant to teach students basic principles in science and engineering. It’s part of a larger educational program created by John Kosmatka, a prominent UCSD engineering professor who helped develop the Predator drone and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
“I want students to do hands-on projects so that they can see that engineering is more than equations,” said Kosmatka. “And I want them to work as a team. That’s important for students who’ll go into industry.”
The seven-member UCSD balloon team isn’t unique. For years, colleges and universities have had clubs that launch helium-filled weather, or sounding, ballons that rise into the atmosphere until they pop. Clarkson University in New York sent a balloon 80,000 feet high earlier this year. UCSD has done the same many times, and once used cockroaches as “astronauts” to see if they’d survive. (They did.) This past, the team broke a campus record, releasing a weather balloon that rose more than 100,000 feet before the payload parachute on to a bombing range near Brawley.
But this latest experiment is an ambitious new venture. Instead of using one of their sounding balloons, which typically stay aloft about three hours, the UCSD team is using an open-ended zero pressure balloon, which can stay up much, much longer and travel thousands of miles, exposing the payload and structural system to severe environmental stress.
If things go as planned, the polyethylene balloon would rise into the jet stream, where the temperature will be about minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Winds snapping up to 100 mph would hit the balloon, which is so thin that oil from a person’s finger can weaken its skin. Under this scenario, the balloon would need to stay aloft about a day to travel a comparatively short, direct route to Georgia or South Carolina. | <urn:uuid:829aaf78-f26c-4054-8c2a-1c07bf6042c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2011/jul/23/ucsd-try-fly-balloon-across-us/?sciquest | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953936 | 699 | 3.46875 | 3 |
HONG KONG: China is in the midst of "the greatest bubble in history," said James Rickards, former general counsel of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management. The Chinese central bank's balance sheet resembles that of a hedge fund buying dollars and short-selling the yuan, said Rickards, now the senior managing director for market intelligence at consulting firm Omnis.
"As I see it, it is the greatest bubble in history with the most massive misallocation of wealth," Rickards said at the Asset Allocation Summit Asia 2010 organised by Terrapinn in Hong Kong on Tuesday. China "is a bubble waiting to burst."
Rickards joins hedge fund manager Jim Chanos, Gloom, Boom & Doom publisher Marc Faber and Harvard University professor Kenneth Rogoff in warning of a potential crash in China's economy. The government has raised banks' reserve requirements twice this year after economic growth accelerated and property prices rallied.
China has pegged the yuan to the dollar since July 2008 to help exporters weather the global recession. The central bank buys dollars and sells its own currency to prevent the yuan strengthening, driving foreign-exchange reserves to a world-record $2.4 trillion as of December.
The Shanghai Composite Index of stocks jumped 80% last year and property prices rose at the fastest pace in almost two years in February, helped by a record 9.59 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) of new loans in 2009.
The World Bank indicated on Wednesday that China should raise interest rates to help contain the risk of a property bubble and allow a stronger yuan to help damp inflation expectations. The nation's "massive monetary stimulus" risks triggering large asset-price increases, a housing bubble, and bad debts from the financing of local-government projects, Washington-based World Bank said in a quarterly report on China released in Beijing.
"People making comments about bubbles possibly don't have all the facts," HSBC Holdings chief executive officer Michael Geoghegan said in Shanghai on Tuesday. Regulators are in control of the banking industry, and have the ability to curb lending as needed, he said. | <urn:uuid:e4da1405-3196-4a19-a71c-011f24781573> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-03-18/news/27591797_1_stronger-yuan-bubble-property-prices | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940703 | 429 | 1.773438 | 2 |
This page offers news and resources relating to custom form-based codes, the SmartCode, and other codes based on principles of the New Urbanism.
Stores in mixed-use neighborhoods and town centers; on streets where they define the public realm.
Mobility is not measured primarily by automobile movement. Streets must have character as well as capacity. Streets serve a vital social function. Streets should be highly interconnected.
Urbanism concentrates development in compact patterns that use natural resources more efficiently. | <urn:uuid:aa6e5e13-d859-4dda-8500-6e974aa85d55> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bettercities.net/topics | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908564 | 100 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Are you studying a language or simply interested in the pronunciation of some words? Select your 'target language' in the drop-down list, right above, enter your search term in the text-box and search! Simply hit the 'Enter' key if you're typing or click the 'Search and listen' link. You'll get multiple results at once: the pronunciations on the right, images and pictures on the left and some videos below. So you can easily understand what the word is about, what it looks like, see photos of people by their name, or information about a location, a city, products or whatever else. In the pronunciation box you'll see a play button to listen to the audioclip recorded by real people (not speech synthesis! they're Forvo users, male or female, from anywhere in the globe), the language of that word and the country of the user.
Plus you can view images related to the word or name you're searching for, it comes in handy in case you're not sure or you don't even know what it means or looks like: you can also select the tabs above (photos, faces, clip art and drawings). Have fun! Hide | <urn:uuid:73cac10b-7561-4804-b4ee-6fb6751ec868> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://heracleums.org/tools/pronunciation/sv/music/Jeanette/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938572 | 244 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Long distance running puts a lot of strain on a runners body. Runners often complain about being tight, cramping, having tension and other tissue injuries. Massage therapy is an effective treatment for runners to help recover faster.
According to Vancouver’s PainPro Therapeutics, here are the top three benefits runners can receive through massage therapy:
- Speed Up Recovery Time: This is done by loosening tight muscles. Chronic tight muscles restrict blood flow, which traps in de-oxygenated blood causing pain and discomfort. Massage can help break up the adhesion in the muscle that causes tightness, reducing the restriction of blood flow, bringing fresh, oxygen-filled blood allowing the muscle tissue to repair and heal faster. A post-race massage can help a runner recover faster in a shorter period of time, meaning they can focus on what they love doing – running pain free!
- Improve Running Time and Performance: Runners are always looking for ways to run faster, smoother and reduce their risk of injury. Fascia is a connective tissue found throughout the body. It’s a 3D web support of muscles. As you start to run, the fascia becomes tight and begins to compress the muscle causing compression of blood vessles and nerves, giving the sensation of tingling or weakness. Fascial therapy releases the tension by lengthening and expanding the muscle tissues, reducing the overall pressure, which leads to better performance.
- Educate: An RMT who understands the mechanics and nuisances of a long distance runner can be a runners best friend because they have a wealth of information. They can provide valuable ‘homework’ assignments to further improve recovery time or prevent further injury including stretching and strengthening exercises, and other effective treatments like hydro-therapy.
PainPro Therapeutics offers affordable, quick, and easy access to effective pain relief through advanced massage therapy techniques. The have clinics in the business district and in Coal Harbour in downtown Vancouver and offer both same-day and online booking capabilities. | <urn:uuid:91bd87b3-8613-4fc1-92d2-c2184fb2779d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mywebbsite.ca/tag/recovery/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941228 | 415 | 1.875 | 2 |
"Unblocked" uncovers the blocked side of Facebook. It is no secret that owners of accounts have their own choices when it comes to privacy and who sees what’s on the popular social networking site. Teens have learned to block the things they don’t want their parents or other family members to see. Additionally, parents cannot see everything their child is seeing and reading about on Facebook, unless they are friends with all of their friends.
Facebook is a regular daily interaction for many, especially teenagers. It is a communication tool that is highly addictive and intriguing to young minds. The book delivers the true reality including grammatical errors, typos, and misspelled words that have been purposely included to give a more accurate portrayal of how teenagers communicate on Facebook. The paperback includes a unique 'Slang and Emoticons Dictionary' in the back of the book, to help readers decipher the slang and emoticons often used by teenagers, and also throughout the book.
Learn more by visiting http://www.amazon.com/ | <urn:uuid:29c851a5-bacd-46f0-9492-89bfe1e0cd62> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prlog.org/12017171-unblocked-exposes-power-facebook-has-on-teenagers-today-new-paperback-at-amazoncom.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957493 | 212 | 2.125 | 2 |
BY Chris Jai Centeno
August 27 2009 12:25 AM ET
In a high-profile same-sex marriage case in Moscow that has sparked outrage and protests from people on both sides of the issue, on Wednesday a court held up a Russian lesbian couple’s appeal of their being denied the right to marry.
Irina Shipitko and her partner Irina Fedotova-Fet, who have been together for five years, made international headlines in May as they were denied a marriage license on the grounds that the Russian Family Code permits marriage only between a man and a woman. On Wednesday a judge postponed a hearing on their case, saying they failed to appear; the couple, arriving after the hearing ended, said they were delayed by traffic, and they met with the media outside the courtroom.
The couple have brought the movement for marriage equality to light of in their country.
Shipitko told the Associated Press that the authorities “are using any excuse” to deny them any form of recognition.
"There is enough homophobia in this country," she said. "We are no different from any other couple."
The couple plan to fly to Toronto -- where same-sex marriage is legal -- to wed, which puts them in position to take advantage of a loophole in their laws that does not prevent the recognition of same-sex marriages performed abroad.
Homosexuality was legalized in Russia in 1993, and the ban on blood donations by gay men was lifted in April 2008. But the country has no antidiscrimination laws covering LGBT people, and many politicians, including Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov, oppose marriage equality. Luzhkov once referred to gay people as "satanic," and he has banned any gay parades in the Russian capital.
Toronto-based human rights lawyer El-Farouk Khaki, who specializes on LGBT rights and has worked on Russian cases in the past, says the situation in Russia and Eastern Europe is interesting for a number of reasons.
“The strategy may have changed, but the hate has not,” Khaki said from Toronto. “Now there are gay bars in cities like Moscow but you can’t leave at night because you face the risk of being attacked by skinheads and gangs while the cops do nothing.”
“The ‘morality’ standards only apply to [LGBT people] and not heterosexuals.”
Sign Up For Email Updates
- Arts & Entertainment Week in Beef: Ben Cohen, Frank Ocean, Hugh Jackman, and More Shirtless Celebs 6:02 PM
- Sports Griner: Baylor Coach Enforced Closet Policy 5:59 PM
- Politicians Gay Activists Interrupt Marco Rubio Speech 2:03 PM
- Hate-crimes WATCH: Vigil for Hate Crime Victim Mark Carson 1:01 PM
- Television WATCH: The Cure for Gay Wedding-Related Depression 12:39 PM
- Television WATCH: Did Stefon Marry Seth Meyers or Anderson Cooper? 12:32 PM
- Crime Gay Man Gunned Down in NYC Street, Dies UPDATED: May 18 2013 7:24 PM | <urn:uuid:38d52d07-2cb6-43bd-aab2-cfa3baa82edc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.advocate.com/news/daily-news/2009/08/27/lesbian-couple-battle-russian-courts-0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959223 | 646 | 1.546875 | 2 |
An IRS audit is an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service to make sure that you paid the correct amount of taxes. It's your responsibility to prove to the IRS that you've accurately reported all your income and that you were indeed legally able to take any credits, deductions, and exemptions claimed on your tax return. For this reason, it's recommended that you keep all relevant documents for at least three years from the filing date and that you collect all relevant documentation before you contact the IRS. Ask for more time if you need it. If the auditor wants to meet with you in person, offer to meet at his or her office. Provide all the requested materials cooperatively and respectfully. Answer any appropriate questions, but don't talk excessively. If any documents are missing, you'll generally be granted the opportunity to reconstruct the records. When the examiner is finished looking at your records, one of several determinations will be made. You might be asked to disburse to the IRS any underpayment of taxes; you could be subjected to municipal fines; or you could be criminally charged with a tax crime. If you're being audited by the IRS and are uncertain about what to do, contact a tax-law professional for more information.
©2006 Crossroads Mobile. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:4c69b76a-896e-4d52-8aeb-254cb1d601fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utv44.com/guides/finance/lawguide/story/What-to-do-when-audited/SvPDgUJwAEqSmR7-sCDGlw.cspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973075 | 271 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Setting up a debugging environment on the iPad
My recent assignment has been to work on iPad compatibility for a web video player project. Of course, out of the box, an iPad doesn’t have any tools to make that easier. It can be very difficult to figure out what’s going wrong when you have nothing but the view of your site in the browser. Here are some helpful links/tips on how to set up your iPad (or iPhone) for debugging.
First set up Safari so that you can see the console logging.
Once you have the saver bookmarklet visit these sites for your tools:
- FireBug Lite Yes! FireBug on the iPad! Rejoice!
- View Source
- A nice suite of tools including an HTTP header viewer
- Various debugging tools
- And even more tools
There are many other helpful bookmarklets out there if you search for them.
So you’re thinking: “Dang, how do I get all those URLs on to the iPad in the first place since my dev one doesn’t have email hooked up? I sure don’t want to type all that on the soft keyboard…”. Well, you’re in luck. There’s a great service you can put your links in called TextSnip that will let you put any bits of text (code snippets, urls, whatever you need) on their site for retrieval somewhere else. You can even customize the url so it’s easy for you to remember (if you do this, create an account on the site to have access to all your snips in the future!). You could use Del.icio.us or any other bookmarking service, but TextSnip is very handy and not just for URLs.
So now you have a half-way decent debugging environment on the iPad. Have fun coding! | <urn:uuid:58c2b47a-de42-408e-a53b-3d17f9c8ffd3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://support.godaddy.com/library/setting-up-a-debugging-environment-on-the-ipad/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923772 | 388 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Many books have been written about the effect our thought patterns have, on our relationships, our finances, how we perceive the world and on our own identity. Dysfunctional thinking leads to undesirable outcomes. Effective thinking leads to success.
I think this is a basic truth few would argue. It’s also tragically overlooked.
I’d like to share three of my favorite mind hacks. Using these should help you think through problems better and ultimately lead you to more desirable outcomes. You can call these three hacks The Good Question, The Bad Version and The Top Idea.
The Good Question
The Good Question technique is based on the article The Dangerous Art of the Right Question by Venkat Rao. Venkat explores ways of asking more effective questions, and avoiding easy, useless questions we often settle on.
Good questions, Venkat suggests, are “motivated by the specific situation at hand”. Good questions contain insider information. If your question seems too broad and general, peel away the few layers of generality - just as you would ripened jackfruit. With some drilling down you’ll get the sweet core of the issue.
I also suggest good questions are forward thinking and solution-based (a minor deviation from Venkat’s method).
An example of an (arguably) unproductive question, and one I myself am guilty of asking would be “why do I find most meetings so painful to sit through?“. Another example of a bad question would be “what is the cause of my social anxiety disorder.”
Both questions look backwards and focus on the problem, not the solution. They’re also too general.
Better versions of these questions would be “Is patience a virtue I’m lacking, and would attending these meetings help me be more patient?” and “Is the 30 Day Rejection Therapy Challenge something I should attempt to combat my social anxiety disorder?”
In both amended questions, there is a proposed solution embedded within the question. To do this, you’ll need to create a pool of understanding, or in other words, gather up whatever existing knowledge you have on the subject first.
Formulating the right question takes longer, but it will get you to your answer, faster.
[ Article continues after the jump.]
REJECTION THERAPY CARDS
Push your comfort zone more with CLASSIC
The Bad Version
The second thought hack we’ll discuss is The Bad Version, but it’s not bad like it sounds. It’s actually a fun mental exercise used by television writers to fix broken storylines. I learned of this thought hack from an article by ‘Dilbert’ creator Scott Adams.
Here’s how it works: Instead of trying to create a perfect plot fix, script writers will conjure up ridiculous and implausible ideas and work from there.
From the article:
If your character is stuck on an island, the bad version of his escape might involve monkeys crafting a helicopter out of palm fronds and coconuts. That story idea is obviously bad, but it might stimulate you to think in terms of other engineering solutions, or other monkey-related solutions. The first step in thinking of an idea that will work is to stop fixating on ideas that won’t. The bad version of an idea moves your mind to a new vantage point.
A variation on The Bad Version is to imagine the worst case scenario for a given situation. To borrow the social anxiety theme from The Good Question, you might ask: “What is the absolute worst thing that can happen to me if I ask Bonnie to the dance on Friday?”
When you answer that question, envision the absolute most devastating situation that could occur as result of your asking. Now go beyond that. You may find that psyching yourself up for such a traumatic [fictional] outcome makes the actual event of asking seem almost non-eventful. Boring even.
It’s like being mentally and physically ready to bench press 500 lbs, but you only lift 135 lbs. The weight will seem lighter than ever.
Maybe my spin on The Bad Version should be called The Power of Overestimation. Whatever you want to call it, it can smash mental plateaus like few other techniques I’ve tried.
The Top Idea
The third thought hack was conceived by programmer, venture capitalist and author Paul Graham. One of his most profound essays is The Top Idea in Your Mind.
Paul Graham explains:
I think most people have one top idea in their mind at any given time. That’s the idea their thoughts will drift toward when they’re allowed to drift freely. And this idea will thus tend to get all the benefit of that type of thinking, while others are starved of it. Which means it’s a disaster to let the wrong idea become the top one in your mind.
The top idea in your mind is the one your subconscious will spend CPU cycles on when you sleep at night. That’s why “never go to bed angry” is such good advice, and why it’s a disaster to let the wrong idea become the top one in your mind.
If your top idea is bad, resolve the issue. If that’s not possible, do whatever you can to de-prioritize it in your mind. A bold act of love or service to another might be a way to dethrone a negative top idea and exalt a positive one.
Graham suggests forgiveness as a potent strategy for clearing the mind of negative debris so you can make room for a a new top idea.
Not know for sure what the top idea in your mind is? Graham has an easy way to find out: Take a shower. Whatever topic your thoughts keep returning to, that is your top idea.
It’s the idea that will lead you to success or something else. | <urn:uuid:78433165-be41-4695-9646-7df2b81fa941> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rejectiontherapy.com/tag/questions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936692 | 1,234 | 1.921875 | 2 |
U.S. Navy personnel are specially trained to defend our country and those across the globe who cannot defend themselves. And when it comes to threats of the microscopic variety, Navy Microbiologists are the first line of defense.
You’ll combat unique and exotic microorganisms that are found wherever Navy personnel are called to serve. Conducting medical research and development. Creating a culture of innovation and sustainability on the clinical level at Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC). Or examining wound cultures aboard the USNS Comfort during a humanitarian mission, providing medical care to patients in a dozen countries.
As a Navy Microbiologist, your job is to conduct surveillance of organisms, trace the most elemental sources of infectious disease, and remain at the forefront of pivotal research. Pioneering progress in the field each day. With the benefit of unrivaled, hands-on training, educational opportunities and some of the most advanced technology in the world.
With a minimum of a master’s degree, you’ll trace microscopic threats in a wide variety of settings. Serving Active Duty members, retirees and those in need around the world.
As a Navy Microbiologist and Officer in the Medical Service Corps, you may screen environmental samples for biological warfare agents in Kuwait, conduct both medical and nonmedical research and development in Washington, D.C., or Jakarta, Indonesia, or practice clinical microbiology at a large teaching medical center in San Diego, California.
Wherever your call and duties take you, it’s your responsibility to alleviate real-world biological threats. Employing cutting-edge technologies to investigate emerging infectious diseases at the molecular level.
As a Navy Microbiologist, your primary focus will be to prevent, diagnose and/or treat infectious diseases.
You may also be called upon to:
- Consult and conduct infectious disease research
- Participate in operational deployments
- Conduct defensive research, including vaccine development
- Supervise clinical/public health microbiology laboratories, with the opportunity to serve as department head, program manager or research director
Senior members may even serve as senior scientists or in Navy Executive Medicine as liaisons, Officers in Charge, Executive Officers or Commanding Officers.
You could serve in any of 20 global locations, performing a wide range of duties, including:
- Research and development centers (both medical and nonmedical) overseas in Cairo, Egypt; Lima, Peru; and Jakarta, Indonesia; and within the continental U.S. (Washington, D.C., metro area and San Diego, California)
- Environmental preventive medicine in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and within the continental U.S. (Virginia and California)
- Clinical microbiology at any of three large teaching medical centers in Bethesda, Maryland; Portsmouth, Virginia; and San Diego, California.
Wherever you are in your professional career, the Navy can help ease your financial burdens and advance your career with generous scholarships, financial assistance and continuing education programs.
There's an alternative to spending years paying down the cost of your graduate education. If you're currently a practicing professional, you could potentially be eligible to receive financial assistance through the Navy Health Professions Loan Repayment Program (HPLRP). Talk to a Navy Officer Recruiter for more information.
Offers have many variables. To get information and find out which offer would benefit you most, request that a Navy Officer Recruiter contact you.
To qualify for Active Duty employment consideration as a Microbiologist in the Navy Medical Service Corps, you must meet these basic requirements:
- Be a U.S. citizen currently practicing in the U.S. (contact a
Navy Medical Recruiter for details)
- Master's degree (M.S./M.A./M.Ph.) or doctoral degree (Ph.D., Dr.PH, D.Sc.) in microbiology or a closely related field, (e.g., bacteriology, biology, botany, epidemiology, immunology, molecular biology, mycology, parasitology, public health or virology)
- GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale in graduate studies
- For biology/botany/epidemiology/public health majors, several upper-level (300-plus) microbiology courses (eight hours or more), including laboratory, must be part of the candidate's curriculum
- Be willing to serve a minimum of three years of Active Duty
- Be between the ages of 18 and 41
- Be in good physical condition and pass a full medical examination
You may also be expected to meet certain preferred requirements:
- Candidates with a doctoral degree have an advantage over M.S./M.A. candidates, since many research job openings require doctorate-level training
- Author or coauthor of peer-reviewed research in scientific journals
- Clinical microbiology, infectious disease surveillance or biowarfare defense experience
After the Navy
“In many ways, the Navy offers a situation that you don’t normally see in the civilian world. If you want to experience and learn about infectious diseases, you have to go where they are.” – LCDR David Rockabrand, Navy Microbiologist
In the Navy, you’ll find unrivaled training and educational opportunities. Incomparable benefits and experience. Deeper pride and purpose. And superior career advancement opportunities that will pay off when you return to the civilian world.
Consider Your Service Options.
There are different ways that you can commit to serve in America's Navy. Besides full-time opportunities in Active Duty, part-time Reserve positions are also available in this career area. | <urn:uuid:824d36b3-d716-474c-9405-c23e3488242d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.navy.com/careers/healthcare/healthcare-sciences/microbiology/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921089 | 1,162 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Woman dhrupad singers break into male bastion
After years of male domination, the stage is opening up for women to sing dhrupad, a Hindustani classical music genre.
In 10 years, the tribe of women dhrupad exponents performing in soirees or as standalone musicians has grown, say brothers Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha, among the country's most popular exponents of the genre.
The brothers, in their mid-50s, were in this temple town recently for the Swami Haridas Music and Dance Festival, a 151-year-old event held to remember the teacher of legendary 15th century singer Tansen.
The Dagar gharana (music school) had thrown up many dhrupad 'ustads' (men maestros) but not a single 'ustaadin' (woman maestro) because of the stigma associated with the kothas, or courtesan homes.
"For centuries, our music was patronised by the 'kothewallahs' (owners of courtesan homes)," Ramakant said.
But that is changing.
Of the 25 students who are studying dhrupad in the ongoing four-year scholastic curriculum at Dhrupad Sanstha, the gurukul run by the Gundechas in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, four are women. The brothers say the women at the school are an achievement as they symbolise "the breaching of the male bastion in the dhrupad tradition".
Aleeya Rashid, a star alumnus and the first professional woman dhrupad artiste in Pakistan, is a classic example of a woman overcoming Pakistan's social conservatism and physical disability.
Rashid, a visually-impaired woman, born in a poor family in Lahore, grew up listening to songs on the radio. Impressed by her ear for music and mellifluous voice, her family encouraged her to study music.
In 2001, she was offered a scholarship to study with the Gundechas in Bhopal.
"Aliya left home and all that was familiar to her to take up residence at our gurukul which teaches music in the 'guru-shishya parampara'. In four years, she became an accomplished musician," Ramakant said.
Aliya now teaches at the National College of the Arts in Lahore and last year toured America.
Some of the other women students who have trained under the Gundecha Brothers include Amita Sinha Mahapatra from Vishnupur in West Bengal, Shivala, a graduate from the Paris Conservatory, Ashtha Tripathi from Sagar in Madhya Pradesh and Virginia Nicoli, a silver flautist from Italy.
The tradition of women dhrupad vocalists dates back nearly 200 years when princely courts patronised courtesans trained in the vocal genre to perform for private audiences. They usually sang variations of 'khayal', 'thumri' and 'bhajans' (devotional hymns) drawn from the old form of dhrupad, which broke into simpler genres in the 18th century.
After the princely states were abolished, many court musicians like Gauhar Jaan found private sponsors -- in kothas -- or went on to do playback singing for films. They were also the early generation of gramophone artistes as well, taking their classical music to the masses without being seen.
However, a later tribe of musicians like Begum Akhtar, Gangubai Hangal and Siddheshwari Devi became icons, breaking through the stigmas attached to women musicians of their times.
But their numbers remained sporadic and almost disappeared in the decades after Independence, the brothers said.
"There is not much of a difference between a male and female dhrupad musician. However, Ustad Zakriuddin Khan (a dhrupad exponent) ate 2.5 gm of clarified butter every day to make his voice powerful. A woman cannot possibly eat butter to boom like a man. She can enrich music with her beauty and refinement," Ramakant said.
The brothers say their gurukul does not award degrees but offers a rigorous training programme.
"The students lead a simple life and after four years become accomplished dhrupad musicians. Their backgrounds do not matter as long as they have a flair for music," Umakant said.
After Bhopal, the brothers have now opened another gurukul in Bangalore.
(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at firstname.lastname@example.org) | <urn:uuid:2bb070dc-234e-4aaf-a6e9-a161a60cba67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newkerala.com/news/newsplus/worldnews-81542.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961777 | 958 | 1.851563 | 2 |
Can nursing cause droopy nipples?
My husband and I are planning to have a second child very soon. Although I did not nurse my first baby, I would like to this time. I have saline breast implants, which, at the time of surgery, were inserted through a half-moon incision on the outside edge of my areola. The implant was then inserted behind the chest wall muscle away from my breast tissue. I spoke to the surgeon about breastfeeding and he said that it was certainly possible, however, some nursing mothers (even ones without implants) can develop "droopy" nipples after breastfeeding. Is this true?Question:
It's wonderful that you're thinking about nursing your baby-to-be! Pregnancy, not breastfeeding causes breast changes in women.
I have never heard of, or seen anyone who had developed "droopy nipples" from nursing their baby. Sometimes a woman who has flat or inverted nipples will find that breastfeeding draws out her nipples, so that they extend. Most women seem to be happy with this change.
You can nurse your baby if you have had breast surgery. You mentioned that your incision is located on the outside of your areola. When an incision is placed near the areola, rather than under the breast fold, or near the armpit, there is a good chance that milk ducts and nerves have been severed. This may limit your ability to produce milk (Neifert 1990). Even though your milk supply may have been impacted by the surgery, you and your baby can still enjoy the intimacy that breastfeeding provides. A nursing supplementer can be used at your breast to fulfill your baby's nutritional needs. I would recommend working with an IBCLC in your area, to help you evaluate your milk supply in the early days of breastfeeding, and decide on a method of supplementation if it does become necessary. (When you have had breast surgery, it is important to keep an eye on your baby's pattern of output and weight gain, even after breastfeeding appears to be well established.)
A woman's breasts (and body) will change with each pregnancy, and as she ages. Standards of beauty are individual and also change with time. Though I understand you are concerned about the work your surgeon has done on your breasts, their appearance will change over time.
When talking with your surgeon again, you might ask him to share his references regarding "droopy nipples" and breastfeeding with you. Enjoy your new baby!Answer: | <urn:uuid:889fd2e4-ba77-453a-84cb-8f34ec924f91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ivillage.com/can-nursing-cause-droopy-nipples/6-n-136883 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981046 | 504 | 1.625 | 2 |
Betta Fish Habitat
The minimum tank size appropriate for a betta fish is perhaps one of the most controversial topics in betta fish husbandry. People see betta fish in tiny, unheated bowls in stores and assume that means such an environment is perfectly suitable. You could probably keep a dog alive if you left it confined to a tiny, cold closet, but you could never expect it to be healthy or thrive. The same holds true for betta fish.
Betta Fish Swim in their Bathroom (The Importance of Tank Size)
It's true. They expel waste into the same water they swim in. And not just through their excrement; all fish constantly excrete a toxic substance called ammonia through their gills. The less water a betta fish has to live in, the higher the concentration in the water of ammonia and other harmful substances. Think of pouring a cup of salt into a cup of water vs. pouring a cup of salt into a gallon of water. The cup of water will have a much higher concentration of salt because there is less water for the salt to disperse in.
Fish keepers do water changes to help remove water containing harmful substances from their aquarium and replace it with new water to lower the overall concentration of these substances. An aquarium with more water for harmful substances to disperse in will have a lower concentration of harmful substances in the water and will therefore require water changes less frequently than a smaller aquarium.
Housing your betta fish in a novelty 1 - 2 gallon "tank" or smaller will result in harmful substances accumulating in the water quickly and require you to perform partial water changes every other day and a 100% water change once a week. That's a far cry from simply leaving your betta fish alone in a tiny bowl like the setup in many stores might suggest you can get away with. Without regular water changes, a betta fish in such a tiny enclosure will unfortunately succumb to harmful substances in the water quickly.
We recommend making things easier on yourself and your betta fish by treating it like, well, a fish, and housing it in a setup of at least 2.5 gallons, the more the better. In a larger tank, harmful substances will be less concentrated, requiring less frequent water changes. A larger tank will also provide your betta fish room to swim, allow room for decor that both you and your betta will appreciate, leave room for carefully chosen tank mates, and, perhaps most importantly, allow room for a heater.
Another benefit of a larger tank is that it can be cycled. "Cycled" refers to having accumulated enough beneficial bacteria to break down harmful substances in the water to much less harmful substances. You can think of the beneficial bacteria as doing part of the job of removing harmful substances for you. Specifically, the nitrogen cycle breaks down the ammonia a fish expels into nitrite, which is then broken down further into a less harmful substance called nitrate. When you do water changes in a cycled aquarium, you are primarily removing nitrate as opposed to ammonia, which is much more toxic. (See this link about how to cycle your aquarium)
The "Tropical" in "Tropical Fish" Doesn't Mean Exotic (The Importance of a Heater)
Betta fish are tropical fish. Many people think "tropical" means pretty, exotic, or some other quality that warrants an umbrella in a drink. However, "tropical" actually refers to a climate. Bettas come from tropical areas in Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, etc.
As tropical fish, betta fish require water at a constant temperature within the range of 77 - 83 degrees Fahrenheit. Otherwise, they can become very lethargic. If the water gets too cold, they can even die. For that reason, heaters are considered very important for taking proper care of betta fish.
Even if your betta's water is often within the range of 77 - 83 degrees Fahrenheit without a heater, the weather/temperature can change rapidly, and typically drops considerably at night. Most* aquarium heaters account for changes in temperature, turning on when the aquarium water drops below the desired temperature and turning off when it isn't required to sustain it.
An aquarium heater will therefore ensure that the water in your aquarium stays a constant temperature, which your betta fish needs in order to thrive. It is for that reason that we recommend housing your betta in an enclosure at least large enough to reasonably accommodate a "mini" aquarium heater, which are typically specified to be for 2 - 5 gallon aquariums.
*NOTE: You should make sure that any heater you get has a thermostat that allows you to set the desired temperature and accounts for the actual temperature of the aquarium water. Otherwise, the heater may not make the water warm enough, may make it too warm, or may allow the temperature to fluctuate, none of which is good for your betta fish. Unfortunately, many mini heaters lack this basic feature. However, the smallest adjustable heaters are only a few dollars more than mini heaters, and are well worth it for your betta's health and your peace of mind.
Come on in, the Water's Fine (The Importance of a Thermometer)
Or is it? A thermometer is recommended to ensure that your heater is doing its job and your aquarium water is the right temperature. There are many small, inexpensive, paper thin thermometers available that can be stuck to the side of a tank to indicate its temperature.
[Don't] Take My Breath Away (The Importance of Access to the Water Surface)
Betta fish need air. That's right, air, not just oxygen. While most fish extract the oxygen they need from water via their gills, betta fish have a specialized organ called the labyrinth organ that allows them to take in oxygen directly from the air. Betta fish therefore need access to the water surface where they can breath, or else they will drown. When decorating your tank, keep in mind your betta's need to have easy access to the surface of the water.
Since your betta will be visiting the surface of the water from time to time to breath, ideally the room temperature will not be radically different from the temperature of the aquarium water. Keeping your tank covered via a hood or glass cover will help keep the air above the tank moist and warm for your betta fish, as well as slow down the rate of evaporation.
Keep It Clean (The Benefit of a Filter)
While not considered strictly necessary for betta fish, a filter can help keep aquarium water clean. Betta fish should have very little water movement in a tank, so if you opt for a filter for your tank, make sure it has a very low flow. You can ensure a low flow by either getting a filter rated for a smaller tank, "baffling" a filter to restrict its rate of flow, or both.
Nice Digs! (The Importance of Decorations and Plants)
Decorations and plants that offer hiding spots make betta fish feel secure and allow them to get away from light and rest when they want to. If your decoration has holes for your betta fish to swim through, make sure your thumb can fit through all of them to ensure that your betta fish won't get stuck. Similarly, make sure that your decorations and plants do not have very sharp edges, as betta fish have delicate fins. A good way to test whether your decorations or plants can harm your betta fish is to run a pair of nylons over them. If the nylons snag or tear, your betta's fins will, too.
Live plants are not necessary, but they are considered helpful in keeping water clean and giving betta fish natural places to hide and rest. Floating plants such as hornwort are highly recommended and are easy to maintain. Java moss is also very easy to care for and can be floated on corks. Java fern, while not a floating plant, also does not require much light or maintenance. All live plants do require some amount of light, however, whether artificial or from the sun via a window.
Don't Keep Me in the Dark (The Importance of Lighting)
In nature, betta fish live in rice paddies where they experience sunlight during the day and darkness at night. It is considered beneficial to emulate this natural experience in your aquarium. You can use artificial light or rely on light from the sun coming through a window if your aquarium is positioned to receive it.
If using an artificial light, make sure that it is not heating your aquarium water above the recommended temperature of 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Most light fixtures made for aquariums of a particular size are designed not to have much impact on water temperature. A simple desk or reading lamp is also a fine source of light so long as it is positioned far enough from your aquarium so that it doesn't raise its temperature. | <urn:uuid:9fbec1f2-6505-46ea-ace5-315c8668392f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?p=445950 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945396 | 1,843 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Nicotine replacement therapy
||The English used in this article may not be easy for everybody to understand. (May 2012)|
The nicotine in cigarettes and other tobacco products makes people dependent. When they quit, they will get withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is there to reduce the dependency symptoms. This is usually done by delivering nicotine (or a substance very similar to it) in other ways. Common methods include nicotine patches and chewing gums with nicotine in them.
Cigarettes are responsible for the deaths of about 5 million people each year. These people are not killed by the nicotine in the cigarette, but by other substances in tobacco smoke such as carbon monoxide and tars.
NRT delivers nicotine to the smoker's brain in a much slower way than cigarettes do. It helps to damp down the urges to smoke that most smokers have in the early days and weeks after quitting, rather than remove them totally. It gives the smoker the chance to break smoking cues in their daily lives, and might provide a more comfortable exit from the smoking habit. NRT however is best used with some form of support, ideally from someone who knows something about smoking cessation.
In 2005 the Committee on the Safety of Medicines recommended that NRT be given to pregnant smokers and also to adolescent smokers.[source?]
Findings from a recent Cochrane review of controlled trials testing NRT products (Stead et al. 2008) indicated that smokers using NRT were 1.5 to 2 times more likely to be abstinent from smoking at followup than those in the placebo or control treatment condition.
Nicotine is the addictive drug in tobacco products, so there is a chance when using NRT products, to become addicted to those products in place of the tobacco habit. Generally it is argued that NRT products are safer then smoking tobacco. NRT products are generally expensive, sometimes even more so then cigarettes, so a minority of people may become addicted to the NRT product and turn back to tobacco products to save money.
- Nicotine patch
- Nicotine gum
- Nicotine inhaler
- Nicotine lozenge
- Nicotine spray
- Nicotine sublingual tablet
Electronic cigarette [change]
An electronic cigarette (also called e-cigarette and e-cig), is an electronic item used instead of cigarettes. It gives a little nicotine when you breathe through it.
The electronic cigarette gives nicotine, propylene glycol, and sometimes flavours or smells. It was invented in China.
The electronic cigarette cannot be classed as an NRT as no recognized tests or studies have taken place. Furthermore WHO (World Health Organisation) has advised that any manufacturer or seller who is marketing the electronic cigarette as an NRT should halt unproven therapy claims. Currently most sellers who adhere to this guideline are marketing the device as a tobacco alternative.
- Stead LF, Perera R, BullenC,Mant D, Lancaster T.Nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD000146. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000146.pub3.
- Silagy C, Lancaster T, Stead L, Mant D, Fowler G. Nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2004, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD000146.pub2. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000146.pub2. abstract|full text
- Real-world efficacy of prescription and over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy, by Shiffman S, et al., published May 2002 in Addiction, Issue 97(5) at Pages 505–516 Entrez PubMed
Other websites [change]
- University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention
- Review of NRT from Cochrane
- The Best Electronic Cigarettes A complete guide on which electronic cigarette to buy | <urn:uuid:ca7e813d-12fe-4469-afa9-b67c98ea7c22> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette_substitute | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919354 | 803 | 2.9375 | 3 |
“All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone,” the 17th century philosopher Pascal famously said. Four centuries later, however, research asserts a direct correlation between openness and happiness. It turns out man is a social animal, after all. “Openness is the freedom to be one’s self,” one self-help blog states, representative of common belief. I concur. In my life, openness has been a prerequisite for almost anything good happening to me – from moving to the US to meeting my wife to, most recently and fittingly, speaking at a TED conference focused on the theme of “Radical Openness.”
The talk I gave at TED University (TED U), the pre-program to the TEDGlobal conference a month ago in Edinburgh, was based on an article called “Openness: Designing for the Loss of Control” that I had written two years ago. From open-source to open innovation to open leadership, comfort levels and standards around openness have significantly changed since then, so that I had to rethink and overhaul my content.
Many organizations have come to realize that embracing openness is key for cooperation as an effective defense mechanism in the reputation markets. But not only that: Openness is now also recognized as a main driver of collaborative value-creation. Later in the conference, on the TEDGlobal main stage, Rachel Botsman, one of the most popular advocates for the business models of ‘Collaborative Consumption’ (taken to market by start-ups from Skillshare to Task Rabbit) heralded reputation as the new capital in the 21st century. Openness, in her eyes, serves as the foundational attribute of the ‘share economy’ in which resources are pooled and leveraged collectively for greater ‘social’ value – based on reputation and trust.
I must have practiced the opening lines of my TED U talk at least 200 times. I gave my talk – to my wife, my two year old, my colleagues (very special thanks and eternal gratitude to Till Grusche!), and mostly just to myself - at airport lounges, in the shower, in the car, on airplanes, during strolls, for weeks and weeks, until my body had internalized every single word and I could simply focus on the performance, on creating a connection with the audience by intonating the non-verbal (for more insights into the psyche of a TED talker and the preparation rituals, read this recent New Yorker piece).
I was the first speaker on the second day of TED U. After waiting for 20 minutes backstage, it was time, and a friendly staff member pushed me on stage, as is the custom. It was a not-so-subtle nudge to now open up and accept that I needed to embrace my own vulnerability in the limelight of the TED stage. The comfort of strangers is not only a refuge, I thought afterwards, but a necessary force towards initiation. He who meets strangers who push him out into the world is a lucky person.
Openness is a function of time and space, and the economy of a TED talk is a stark reminder that intensity does not necessarily correlate with density. In other words, leaving things open, creating open, uncharted space, is an essential luxury when it comes to making meaning. It is stunning how much content you can condense into a six minute talk (the format of TED U). What you decide to exclude is as important as what you decide to include, to paraphrase Chris Anderson, the curator of TED. In the same spirit, composers and music producers know that adding another track on a recording does not expand the sound, it reduces it. The richest and most intense recordings you can conjure are those with a single instrument and a voice. That’s the beauty and power of Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago, Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, and Johnny Cash’s American Recordings. The expansion of a soul – its vision –is deeply rooted in solitude (for a much more elaborate and eloquent view on this, read this wonderful piece by William Deresiewicz on “Solitude and Leadership”). You can see, hear, and feel it in any public performance.
This is true for TED Talks, too. The most popular ones, the genre-classics, are the talks that are radically open by being radically restrained. They create something out of nothing. Sir Ken Robinson, Alain de Botton, and Malcolm Gladwell, to name just a few, did away with slides, movies, or other props, knowing that there’s nothing more persuasive, more powerful than the intimacy of the human voice, in perfect harmony with the body it inhabits. The speaker exposing himself to the audience, with no fall-back, no safety net. A trust-based act of cooperation, an implicit contract with those out to judge him: You will accept me as whom I am if show you who I truly am. This is the principle of inspiration – and leadership. When you give more than you receive, you begin to lead.
It is your vulnerability, your putting yourself on the line that earns you trust, respect, and admiration. Authenticity means uniqueness: “What is interesting about you is you.” (Alonzo King). The iconic red circle that marks the TED speaker’s spot on stage serves as a symbol of reduction and expansion at the same time. It is you and the very idea of you “worth spreading.” It is others’ idea of you, and how you both confirm and overcome, perform and transform it. If you stay within that circle – literally and metaphorically – you are not only safe, you are powerful.
Photos: Duncan Davidson / TED | <urn:uuid:b8d7d444-8c66-4f93-90f2-2a0c35d0f92d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://iplot.typepad.com/iplot/2012/08/tedglobal-2012-out-in-the-open.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965986 | 1,205 | 1.71875 | 2 |
I am not naive enough to think that the gaming industry’s primary desire is anything other than to make money. As an industry, they’re really good at it, making more than the movie and music industries combined.
The past year has seen an explosion of “Free to Play” (F2P) games that are, well, free to play. Lately, storied titles like Tribes have been reborn in this model. More titles in development aim directly at this new pricing strategy.
But is it good for games, and more importantly, is it good for gamers?
I come at this topic as a reviewer and a long-time player of video games. The traditional model, paying X amount for a game that supplies Y amount of play, is the same as any other entertainment source. A $15 movie gives you 2 hours of entertainment, a $12 CD gives you an maybe an hour (many times over, of course), and so on.
Over the past decade we've seen the rise of the “MMO” or Massively Multiplayer Online game. These work on a subscription model. You pay for the game up front (usually), then pay a fee each month for continued access. The idea being the game’s developers continue to produce new content for you, so you continue to pay for the game. This method has led to such cash cows as World of Warcraft, which now claims over 10 million subscribers — all paying about $15 a month.
Once a bastard niche of the market, we’re seeing more and more mainstream companies and games move towards (or be developed for) an even more refined version of this model. The idea is simple, if not entirely intuitive: You download and play the game for free. Sometimes you get the entire game, other times just large pieces of it. To access new content — whether zones to quest in, better gear, certain classes, or unlocking higher levels — you have to pay money.
Like, I’m sure, a lot of you, initially I thought this pure folly. After all, how often would people pay money into a game they didn’t care to buy in the first place? Turns out, I’m wrong. Apparently, by offering the game for free, your number of players skyrockets (obviously), and enough of them will actually pay money for some things.
So as a publisher, it goes something like this: you may not get a steady $15 a month from 100,000 people, but you are getting an average of $5 a month from 500,000 people. These so-called “microtransactions” make up in aggregate volume what they lack in individual quantity. Some games, such as Lord of the Rings Online, have reported massive increases in revenue when they went “free’ to play.
On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a bad thing. Causal players can play for free, while enough other people pay enough money to make the publisher (enough) money to keep offering the game.
However, it isn’t quite that simple. In varying degrees, the purpose of the game changes. A traditional MMO’s sole purpose is to keep you playing. They want to ensure that you always have something to do, a reason to re-up your subscription each month. Blizzard, the makers of WoW, are masters at keeping their long-time subscribers entertained with new content.
With the F2P model, the purpose is to get you to buy things. It may seem a minor difference, but it ends up changing how the game plays, and how you feel playing it.
The ultimate goal of both sales strategies is to get your money. However, in the traditional subscription model, getting your money is a result, in the F2P model, it’s the action. Instead of creating content for you to enjoy so you’ll want to continue playing, they create content you’ll feel the need to buy.
The process is backwards. The experience of the game changes. Often it feels like you’re constantly being hounded to upgrade, to pay for this, or pay for that. Mind you, I have no problem giving my money to software companies, I’ve given them thousands in my lifetime. If I’m playing a game, though, I want absorption into its world, not constant interruptions to be sold at.
The most recent F2P example is Tribes: Ascend, a remake/update of game I played in college, but never really loved. This was most likely because there were better options available for multi-player shooters. With T:A, you have access to all the maps for free, but not all the classes or weapons. Playing for free, as it often does in these games, feels like you’re missing out. Of course, this is the point. They want you to get a taste, and then give them some money.
Let’s compare T:A’s F2P against a traditional first person shooter, like Battlefield 3. With BF3, you pay $60 to get the game. If you like it, maybe you’ll pay additional $15 a few months later for a map pack. With this method, you get all the maps, all the classes, and as you play, you unlock more weapons.
With T:A you pay nothing up front, but only have access to a few classes and not all the weapons. If you want all the classes and all the weapons, you can either play for hours and hours and hours (much longer than with the near-continuous unlocks of BF3) or you have to pay over $150 to get everything. Yep, twice as much.
The counterargument is, of course: you don’t have to buy everything. If you always play as a sniper, for example, you can just buy the sniper gear. But I don’t always play as any one class, and on some maps certain classes are better than others. So assume you buy a few classes for different situations, the fact remains that you’re likely paying more in piecemeal for what still only amounts to part of a game.
True, this is just one, fairly egregious, example. The problem is, there’s money in it and it’s a bad direction. It tells developers that they don’t need to make a game good, they just need to make it “good enough” with options for people to buy stuff. Sure, a game’s average player only plays for a few days, but if you get enough of them to buy something for a dollar, you’ll make millions.
It feels like a cynical way to fleece more money out of fans of the game, and to sneak a little money out of casual users at the same time. It’s a microtransaction generator masquerading as a game. I’d rather a game just be good enough that it generates money. But maybe that’s just me.
Brent Butterworth and Geoff Morrison combine their years of gear testing and knowledge in one überblog of irreverence and techiness. | <urn:uuid:6cf69432-9a62-4d9d-9680-324222ab62ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/blog/2012/05/11/free-play-pay-stay?quicktabs_1=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965329 | 1,512 | 1.804688 | 2 |
2 Shouts - 1,092 Scrobbles
In the fall of 1921 a meteor slammed into the Mohave dessert. When army officials came to the impact sight they found a spaceship with a body inside. Completely baffled with what they found the government covered up the truth and secretly quarantined the being for years. His name is Enzyme Dynamite. He claims he's from another planet named “Nebula 9” from the nearby Andromeda Galaxy. His quest is to save Planet Earth from evil with positive energy and feel good music.
User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL. | <urn:uuid:f98c3f62-2baf-4930-8dbb-e3a130917296> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mp3.com/artist/Enzyme%2BDynamite | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922439 | 140 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Here’s the plain truth about what’s at stake in the unemployment insurance extension fight that is about to take place when Congress returns for its lame-duck session next week: If congressional Republicans succeed in blocking an extension of extended unemployment benefits, 2 million people will lose their unemployment benefits in December, followed by hundreds of thousands more in subsequent months. Plus, the economy’s growth rate will shrink by 0.4 percent—and that means thousands of fewer jobs created or even jobs lost.
That’s the reality, spelled out in a Center for Budget and Policy Priorities report released today and estimates by Zach Pandl, an economist with Nomura Securities International, who was interviewed in this article by The Huffington Post.
The extended benefits program allowed unemployed people to collect benefits as long as 99 weeks. CBPP has published a state-by-state chart of the impact of the loss of these benefits.
The scene of Republicans saying they want more private-sector job creation at the same time they vote to stymie private-sector job creation will be yet another example of conservative ideology not adding up.
If Congress refuses to pass extended unemployment benefits, “the resulting reduction in incomes may hurt consumer spending at the height of the holiday shopping period and restrain economic growth,” Bloomberg News reported earlier this week, citing research from Pandl.
Despite some good news today that the four-week average of new unemployment claims dropped to its lowest level this year, the reality is we are still in a job market in which there were only 2.9 million job openings in September for nearly 15 million unemployed people. That’s an average of five people competing for each job opening.
A coalition of progressive activists is mobilizing a full-court press to get a one-year unemployment benefits extension through Congress by the end of the month. Anything less will kick the can into next year’s Republican-controlled House, where the chances of getting a meaningful extension passed is virtually nil. As it stands now, an extension will have to overcome a near solid wall of Republican opposition and the skittishness of several conservative Democrats.
It’s time to bombard members of the House and Senate with calls, letting them know that regardless of who you did or did not vote for, you were not voting for Uncle Scrooge to destroy the Christmas holidays of 2 million people and to make a sluggish economic economy even weaker. | <urn:uuid:c2f575de-adff-4d76-ad40-fa9ceccf02c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.ourfuture.org/20101110/Uncle_Scrooge_On_Steroids_The_Right-Wing_Plan_To_Shrink_The_Economy_And_Kill_Christmas_ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956617 | 499 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Public Information Notices
Lebanon and the IMF
Free Email Notification
On October 17, 2001, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Lebanon.1
Economic conditions have worsened in Lebanon in the past few years. Growth has stagnated, leading to a fall in per capita real GDP. The fall in growth is related to the slowdown in residential housing construction and in the government's reconstruction program, but it is also attributable to the very large and persistent macroeconomic imbalances, the loss of competitiveness, and structural and administrative impediments. Stubbornly high fiscal deficits in the context of decelerating growth and high interest rates have led to a rapid accumulation of public debt. Competitiveness has been adversely affected by a substantial appreciation of Lebanon's real effective exchange rate—mainly a consequence of de facto peg of the Lebanese pound to the U.S. dollar since late 1998 and the latter's strength vis-à-vis world currencies—and rapid growth in unit labor costs.
The fiscal deficit, after some reduction in 1998 and 1999, widened substantially in 2000 to about 25 percent of GDP. The deficit is expected to decline to about 18½ percent of GDP in 2001. Gross public debt has risen by almost 20 percentage points a year since the end of 1998 and reached 160 percent of GDP at the end of June 2001. Interest obligations on this debt exceeds 90 percent of government revenue. The bulk of the debt is held by Lebanese banks and is denominated in Lebanese pounds, although the share of foreign currency loans is growing. Banks have been able to finance the deficits because of robust growth in the deposit base. However, since early 2000, growth in money demand and the demand for claims on the government have softened and even rolling over some traditional public debt instruments has become more difficult. The government's financing needs have increasingly been met by the central bank.
The expansion in central bank financing of the government, in the context of a fixed exchange rate regime and unchanged interest rates, has resulted in a substantial loss of international reserves of Banque du Liban. Even though Eurobond proceeds and additional deposits have added to international reserves, gross international reserves (excluding gold) were US$5.1 billion at the end of June 2001, down by US$2.6 billion since December 1999. The decline in net international reserves has been steeper, reflecting the trend shift from local currency to dollar deposits, and stood at US$1.2 billion at the end of June 2001, compared with US$5.1 billion at end-1999.
An updated Financial Sector Stability Assessment (FSSA) found the banking system to be profitable, liquid, well capitalized, and well-hedged against several important sources of risks, even though the zero risk weight attached to government securities denominated in Lebanese pound overstate the strength of the system. Interest rate risk represents the main risk for banks, relating to the large and growing maturity mis-match between bank assets and liabilities.
The government that took office in October 2000 is preparing for a major fiscal effort starting in 2002 to halt the growth in public debt. The objective is to turn the primary deficit of 1½ percent of GDP in 2001 into a surplus of 1 percent of GDP in 2002 and 4 percent in 2003, and reduce the overall deficit to 15 percent of GDP by 2003. The main measures are the introduction of a VAT and expenditure cuts. To restore competitiveness and spur economic growth, the authorities rely on structural reforms, and key priorities are privatization, tariff reductions, and improvements in the business environment more generally.
Executive Board Assessment
Lebanon faces formidable economic challenges in a context of severe fiscal imbalances and a particularly difficult external environment. Over the past few years, the government deficit and real interest rates have been extremely high, the public debt ratio has risen sharply to unsustainable levels, and real GDP growth has slowed. Directors considered that nothing short of a major and sustained adjustment effort in the public finances in the short and over the medium term would help restore confidence, lower real interest rates, and begin to address the debt dynamics.
Implementation of structural reforms also would be critical. In this regard, Directors welcomed the authorities' efforts in the past twelve months to develop a series of wide-ranging reforms aimed at reducing the cost of doing business, and thus encouraging private investment and reinvigorating the economy. They stressed the key role that privatization may play in this regard, and highlighted the urgency of putting promptly in place an appropriate regulatory framework for each of the activities to be privatized. The importance of good governance and transparency in the implementation process was also emphasized.
In looking at the period immediately ahead, Directors expressed concern about the vulnerability of the economy, particularly in light of the economic slowdown, the size of the fiscal deficit, the real appreciation of the local currency, the serious deterioration in the external reserve position, the negative perception of rating agencies, and the difficulties in placing domestic currency debt with banks. They stressed that it was essential to build confidence to avert a serious problem and create conditions for implementation of the authorities' medium-term strategy. To this end, key elements would be steeped-up efforts now to reduce fiscal imbalances, and parliamentary approval and full implementation of the fiscal adjustment envisaged for 2002. In this regard, Directors were encouraged by the authorities' recent measures to strengthen fiscal performance during the remainder of this year, and they welcomed the measures included in the 2002 budget, in particular the decision of the cabinet to introduce the VAT. They urged the authorities to press for timely passage of the VAT law, and to proceed to implement the tax swiftly. Directors welcomed the planned cuts in non-interest expenditure as well as the containment of public sector wages and capital spending. Timely steps to strengthen the management of the electricity company, so as to phase out its reliance on budget transfers, were also viewed as critical.
Directors welcomed the authorities' commitment to reviving economic growth and consolidating the public finances over the medium term. They considered, however, that even if fully implemented and consolidated in subsequent years, the envisaged fiscal adjustment would stabilize the debt ratio at a still extremely high level. Moreover, they saw a risk in that a more manageable ratio was expected to be achieved mainly through the realization of uncertain privatization proceeds. Directors, therefore, urged the authorities to develop as rapidly as possible a convincing strategy to bring down the debt ratio. In this connection, some Directors also recommended keeping open the option of an exchange rate adjustment, in conjunction with appropriate fiscal and monetary policies and ambitious structural reforms. While acknowledging the need for strong macroeconomic and structural policies, other Directors, pointing to Lebanon's circumstances, and the risks involved, saw however, little merit in pursuing the option of exchange rate action.
Directors commended the authorities for having effectively addressed previously identified issues in banking supervision. They were encouraged with the FSSA report that indicated that the banks are relatively well capitalized, liquid, and profitable, and that the continuing growth of private financial savings rewards the emphasis of the authorities on the soundness and credibility of the banking system. Moreover, strong steps had been taken to reform the provisions of bank secrecy and meet Financial Action Task Force recommendations for money laundering. While confidence in the banking system is strong, Directors concurred with the conclusion of the FSSA update that the banking system remains vulnerable to interest rate risk and its large exposure to government debt, until macroeconomic imbalances and the debt overhang are fundamentally addressed.
In other areas of structural reforms, progress on regional trade agreements and on negotiating an association agreement with the European Union was welcomed as were the initial steps taken toward reforming the National Social Security Fund.
Directors regretted that the paucity of hard economic data seriously hindered Fund surveillance and policy design, and could affect market confidence. Accordingly, they welcomed the ongoing administrative rehabilitation of the Central Administration of Statistics, and noted the need for quick progress, particularly in the areas of national accounts and balance of payments data. In addition, Directors urged the authorities to make productive use of IMF technical assistance in order to enhance data quality in general.
Directors expressed the view that financial support from the international community for Lebanon's adjustment efforts would have to be predicated on the implementation of a strong fiscal and structural adjustment strategy, including measures to enhance competitiveness, and on the development of a policy framework for the medium term that would effectively reduce the debt ratio. In this context, Directors recommended that the authorities intensify their close cooperation with the Fund.
|Lebanon: Selected Economic Indicators|
|Domestic economy||In percent|
|Change in real GDP||6.5||4.0||4.0||3.0||1.0||0.0|
|Change in consumer|
|prices (period average) 1/||10.6||8.9||7.7||4.5||0.2||-0.4|
|External economy||In billions of U.S. dollars|
|Current account balance||-4.7||-4.8||-4.4||-4.4||-3.3||-3.1|
|In percent of GDP||-41.9||-37.1||-29.4||-27.1||-20.0||-18.6|
|Capital account balance||4.9||5.6||4.8||3.9||3.6||1.0|
|Gross official reserves 2/||8.1||9.3||8.6||9.2||10.4||8.4|
|Change in real effective|
|exchange rate (in percent)||4.0||12.2||18.1||8.1||1.8||6.2|
|Financial variables||In percent of GDP|
|Gross public debt||79.8||100.0||105.2||118.6||138.4||153.2|
|Of which: in foreign currency||12.0||14.5||16.2||25.5||35.5||45.9|
|Change in broad money 4/||16.4||27.8||19.3||16.1||11.1||9.6|
|Yield on 24-month Lebanese|
|pound treasury bills 4/||23.4||20.5||16.7||16.7||14.1||14.1|
| Sources: Data provided by the Lebanese authorities; and IMF staff estimates.
|1/ For Beirut and suburbs.|
|2/ Including gold.|
|3/ Overall balance, after grants, on a checks issued basis.|
|4/ In percent, end of period.|
1 Under Article IV of the IMF's Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country's economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country's authorities. This PIN summarizes the views of the Executive Board as expressed during the October 17, 2001 Executive Board discussion based on the staff report.
IMF EXTERNAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT | <urn:uuid:4f974905-722b-4a56-8019-faeeaf25ffe1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/2001/pn01109.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936657 | 2,366 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Last month, Theresa Hatt died at 52, after a brief struggle with cancer.
Hatt, who lived in Portland, Maine, and worked for the city of Scarborough, had had several credit cards in her name. So, shortly after her death, Hatt’s son, Paul Kelleher, began the sad task of calling his mother’s creditors, to inform them of her passing.
The calls were uneventful, if depressing, until Kelleher got to Bank of America. Here is how he says his conversation with a representative of the company’s estates unit went:
Paul Kelleher: Yes, I’m calling to inform you that my mom died on the 24th of January.
Bank of America Estates representative: I’m sorry. Oh, it looks like she never even missed a payment. That’s too bad. Well, how are you planning to take care of her balance?
PK: I’m not going to. She has no estate to speak of, but you should feel free to just go through the standard probate procedure. I’m certainly not legally obligated to pay for her.
BOA: You mean you’re not going to help her out?
PK: I wouldn’t be helping her out — she’s dead. I’d be helping you out.
BOA: Oh, that’s really not the way to look at it. I know that if it were my mother, I’d pay it. That’s why we’re in the banking crisis we’re in: banks having to write off defaulted loans.
“I lost it there,” Kelleher, a mild-mannered 30-year-old who lives in Brookline, Mass., where he works remotely for a Washington DC-based non-profit, told TPMMuckraker. When pressed, he said, the estates rep backed off that last claim, but only a little, continuing to suggest that cases like his mothers had played a role in the financial crisis.
The rep’s apparent intention, as Kelleher described it, was to mislead him into believing that he was obligated — at first legally, then, failing that, morally — to cover his mother’s debt (which, in any case, was not large: she had had a $1000 limit on her card). Of course, Kelleher was sophisticated enough to know that’s not true. But how many other less savvy callers in similar situations, he wondered, might respond to the rep’s breezy “how are you planning to take care of her balance?,” with a confused “I guess I’ll mail in a check”?
And what bothered Kelleher as much as the estate rep’s insensitivity, not to mention her apparent effort to deceive, was the impression he got that she wasn’t winging it.
“It seemed rote,” Kelleher said. “It was too naturally delivered to have been a misstatement.”
That impression was strengthened when Kelleher eventually spoke with the rep’s supervisor, Eric Davis. Kelleher said that when he recounted his conversation with the rep, Davis apologized — for what, exactly, it was unclear — but told him: “That’s not how she meant it.”
From his conversation with Davis, said Kelleher, “it sounded like [the rep’s approach] was encouraged.”
How strongly encouraged, we wondered? And how common was this particular rep’s approach? So we tracked down a former rep for Bank of America’s collections unit. And according to the former rep, Kelleher’s interlocutor was doing just what she was told .
The former rep, who worked until quite recently at B of A’s Belfast, Maine-based collections unit, described for TPMmuckraker a system in which staffers responsible for making collections were routinely encouraged to mislead customers or those calling on their behalf, and were financially incentivized to do all they could to get payments.
Kelleher’s reported conversation, the former rep said, “sounds like how I would have attempted to collect” in such a situation. “I would have asked: ‘How do you plan on paying for this?’”
The rep said that employees were encouraged to walk right up to the line of actively deceiving a caller about the consequences of non-payment. “As long as you don’t get caught [lying],” the former rep added, “there’s no really no punishment.” The former rep did not work in the estates unit, but confirmed, based on direct knowledge of B of A’s practices, that it operates similarly to the former rep’s own unit.
The former rep said that employees responsible for collections receive “feedback” about their phone performance from managers who monitor the calls. (When you hear “this call may be monitored for quality assurance purposes”, the “quality assurance” oftentimes isn’t quality of service from the customer’s perspective — it’s quality of performance from the rep, who’s being trained to be as effective as possible at extracting money from callers.)
The former rep added that if a manager had listened to the performance of Kelleher’s rep, he would likely tell her: “Good job!” By contrast, if he had heard the rep failing to make any serious effort to convince Kelleher to pay his mother’s debt, he would have told her “that was not a good ‘listening score,’” — the term gets at the precision with which a rep’s phone performance is monitored — and would have encouraged her to take a tougher approach.
There are also more direct ways to ensure that collections agents play hardball.
“We were obligated to collect 45 percent of the debt that rolled in to us,” said the former rep, adding that that figure fluctuated. Employees who consistently failed to meet that baseline might be fired. “People lost their jobs all the time for non-performance.”
And there were bonuses of us as much as $5000 a month for reps who successfully brought in a certain percentage of “collectible money”, said the former rep, using the industry’s cold-blooded jargon.
What’s the larger point here? Well, here’s one: When the automakers were asking Washington for a bailout recently, there was a lot of talk about insisting on conditions — like requiring that they build more fuel-efficient cars — that would be in the national interest. Bank of America and its competitors have already taken billions in taxpayer dollars. So it seems logical to insist on a similar set of public interest conditions — and the industry’s range of deceptive and rapacious lending practices would be a natural place to start.
Neither Eric Davis, the B of A supervisor, nor B of A’s public relations office immediately responded to a request for comment.
Late Update: A Bank of America spokeswoman declined to comment on “allegations by former associates.” | <urn:uuid:b113accf-cc6e-4e1a-ad8e-fc2662ab4d6a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/02/how_theresa_hatt_caused_the_financial_crisis.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98343 | 1,552 | 1.523438 | 2 |
see also Habitats
5-10 inches of precipitation
Ladder-backed woodpecker, scorpions, lizards, snakes, small mammals, butterflies and moths.
Generally sandy to sandy loam soils rapidly being converted by annual European grasses. pH is near neutral to alkaline(7.2-7.9) This community is under siege by Bromus species. When Bromus (small weedy foxtail type grasses) invades, the site is much more fire prone. 5000-10000 acre fires burn in an area that used to never see fire. Fire favors more Bromus.
The Joshua Tree Woodland extends along the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada, up into south Nevada and Northeastern Arizona and basically defines the edges of the Mojave Desert.
The soils in the Joshua Tree Woodland are usually a slightly acidic sandy loam. Rainfall is commonly higher than the lower areas of the Mojave desert and can range from seven to twelve (8-10 commonly) inches annually. The climate is pleasant much of the year, but because the elevation is 2500-5000 feet, the winter winds can sometimes blow through you. The lows are not that bad, in a twenty year period a 0F or even lower may be experienced, but it is only for a few hours. Then the wind picks up and the daytime temperature may be in the 50's or even 70's. The wind chill at 0F and 30 mile per hour winds is dangerous. The ground doesn't freeze deeper than about an inch. This plant community will commonly get a dusting of snow, rarely more than an inch or two. You learn to wait until the sun comes up to wander outside; pity the poor chump in the light sleeping bag.
Summer temperatures can be above 100F for eight months of the year, but it is generally for only a few hours. It's dry heat, and there is usually wind or a breeze. Night time temperatures in Joshua tree areas usually cool off into the 70's or lower.(Unlike Creosote Bush Scrub that can stay at 100 F all night; yuk!)
Cactus are not common in this plant community; odd shrubs and wildflowers are. A clean, weed free, Joshua tree woodland is not adapted to fire. When sheep or other grazing animals are introduced they bring grasses. Bromus and other grasses spread like wildfire when grazing is allowed; then this plant community burns and is completely replaced by small dead (most of the time) grass. If you live in this plant community, control the grass, mustards and other flammable weeds.
Joshua Tree Woodland has a great deal of associated wildlife that you might see if you look carefully as you walk either through the wildflowers in spring, or bare ground the rest of the year. (If you disturb any Joshua tree branches on the ground, make sure you return them how you found them. This is usually the only place for ground dwelling wildlife to hide from the wind, sun, and predators.) The standing Joshua trees are the only place for birds who want to nest off the ground except maybe the occasional cliff.
The tightly packed dead leaves that line the trunks of these strange trees are very important for insects, spider, lizards, and bird to hide in. They probably also help block the wind that whistles around them, helping slow desiccation of themselves and the wildlife they harbor.
There's often a bird in the Joshua tree keeping a watchful eye on you.
The enclosed areas are commonly Joshua Tree Woodland. Where the rainfall drops below about seven inches, there is still extreme summer heat, and the ground freezes in winter you'll find Blackbrush (Coleogyne sp.). Blackbrush becomes dominant and Joshua tree a minor element as the rainfall and/or temperatures drop. Where the rainfall is less and the soil doesn't freeze you'll move into a Creosote Bush Scrub plant community. The Blackbrush plant community is fairly minor in California.
To grow a Joshua Tree Woodland plant community, you need warm to cool, and dry conditions, some Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia), sunny days, and lots of elbow grease to keep out the weeds! If you are starting a new garden and your yard is devoid of vegetation: to get started, plant some California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum var. polifolium), Gutierrez' Bush (Gutierrezia microcephala), Bur Sage (Ambrosia dumosa), and Cotton -Thorn (Tetradymia glabrata). When they are established (after one year), use these as nurse plants, and plant the Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) right next to them (on the east side of them). Keep the soil bare of weeds between the shrubs.
Last edited on 2013-01-13 11:36:07. | <urn:uuid:d60e41f9-768b-4e6c-a518-061ac7d5af91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/communities/joshua-tree-woodland | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940185 | 1,010 | 3.515625 | 4 |
The American Association of Physics
Teachers (AAPT) convention held July 22-26 announced the winners of this year’s
AAPT/Lexmark High School Photo Contest.
Kevin Rosenquist, a senior at
Each high school was allowed up to
fifteen student submissions. From the thousands submitted only one hundred
finalists are selected for display at the AAPT convention.
Annette Rubino, Kevin’s physics teacher, remarked at how persistent Kevin remained at capturing the exact image. After multiple takes recreating the situation forty times, Kevin felt that he had the image he was looking for. Mrs. Rubino said, “This year’s photos are extraordinary and my instincts tell me one of these entries will place very highly.”
The AAPT/Lexmark High School Photo Contest provides winners with monetary prizes along with gifts. Kevin Rosenquist will receive $500, a 1-year AAPT Student Membership, and a Lexmark Photo Printer. Annette Rubino, Physics Instructor, will receive $500 and a $50 gift certificate to the AAPT Store, and her classroom will receive $1,000 and a Lexmark Photo Printer. | <urn:uuid:bc381b74-fe6e-4474-a7d9-bfa6f22d01df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.d94.org/pressreleases/SciencePhotoContest06.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947433 | 247 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Meals-on-Wheels needs help for the holidays
The holidays are here, and for Meals-on-Wheels, like everyone else, it is a busy and critical time of the year. With school being out and people going on vacation, Meals-on-Whe-els needs caring volunteers to help deliver meals during the holidays. In addition, we are in need for additional routes to be added to meet the growing need of seniors in our area.
This time of year, especially, elderly people that live alone tend to suffer from depression, and there is an even greater need to check on the homebound disabled and elderly persons in the community.
"With the holidays approaching, it is more important than ever, for dedicated volunteers to be available to check on our seniors daily," said Sarah Drew-Watson, volunteer coordinator for Ellis County.
Currently, Meals-on-Wheels has 37 delivery routes providing meals countywide, with the need for two more. Meals-on-Wheels depends on its volunteers to deliver to 12 communities in Ellis County, which include Avalon, Bardwell, Ennis, Ferris, Italy, Maypearl, Midlothian, Milford, Palmer, Red Oak, Ovilla and Waxahachie.
"At this time, we have volunteer needs in all the areas we serve," Ms. Watson continued.
Prepared meals are picked up and served Monday through Friday between 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. county-wide, with delivery times taking no longer than an hour. Volunteers are provided with detailed directions and instructions, and help when they can, whether it is weekly, a couple of times a month, or simply on an as needed basis.
"With daily contact from our volunteers, Meals-on-Wheels helps deal with the loneliness that many homebound persons feel on a regular basis, and especially during the holidays," added Watson.
"In some cases, the volunteer might be the only person that senior sees all day," she continued.
Meals-on-Wheels is projected to feed over 52,000 meals—lunch and breakfast—between Thanksgiving Day and the first of the New Year, serving 750 people each day of the week.
This is the time of year the organization also conducts its annual holiday appeal, and is accepting donations to help with the cost of meals. One home-delivered meal costs $6.45.
If you are interested in volunteering, donating, or if you know of someone who could benefit from Meals-on-Wheels services, please contact the Meals-on-Wheels offices at 972-315-9943 or online at www.servingthechild renofyesterday.org.
Meals-on-Wheels is a community-based non-profit organization serving the residents of Johnson and Ellis Counties for more than 32 years. | <urn:uuid:85d358ac-5547-40d2-b658-e4fa313e3dfa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.elliscountypress.com/news/community/4284-meals-on-wheels-needs-help-for-the-holidays.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96205 | 598 | 1.539063 | 2 |
March 11, 2008
Program Offsets Personnel Losses, Improves Quality
“VA is committed to putting health care facilities closer to veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “The Travel Nurse Corps will make it easier to bring our world-class health care professionals closer to veterans, too. And it will make it easier for us to shift personnel during times of crisis.”
The Travel Nurse Corps, headquartered at the Phoenix VA Health Care System, is beginning as a three-year pilot program. Initially, it will place as many as 75 nurses at VA medical centers across the country. The goals of the program are to improve recruitment, decrease turnover of experienced nurses and maintain high standards of patient care.
Under the program, participating nurses may be temporarily assigned to distant medical centers and clinics to help nursing staffs that have vacancies, to reduce wait times or the reliance upon contractors, or to maintain high-skill services and procedures.
On February 20, the Department announced plans to create a Rural Health Care Advisory Committee to enhance VA services to veterans in rural areas. The Travel Nurse Corps will work with this national VA panel to support VA health care in rural areas.
“Those who join the VA Travel Nurse Corps will become key members of a talented group of professionals who are dedicated to providing the best care possible to our nation’s veterans,” said Cathy Rick, R.N., VA’s chief nursing officer. “The program helps VA medical facilities address supplemental staffing needs while also ensuring there is a continued commitment to quality and safety.”
Those who become VA travel nurses are compensated for their time on duty and their travel. They also receive standard government per diem allowances, which include lodging, meals and incidentals.
“This program is competitive with the private sector. VA has state-of-the-art facilities, high-tech computer systems and professional colleagues second to none,” said Jacqueline Jackson, Travel Nurse Corps director at the Phoenix VA Health Care System.
The program is also designed to establish a potential pool for national emergencies and serve as a model for an expanded VA travel corps with nurses who have varying specialties. The program is designed to reduce the use of contracted nurses, thus preserving resources that can be used elsewhere to care for veterans.
# # #
People wishing to receive e-mail from VA with the latest news releases and updated fact sheets can subscribe to the
VA Office of Public Affairs Distribution List. | <urn:uuid:d5807462-c237-4bf0-a093-f88f944b0cb4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1466 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956143 | 515 | 1.671875 | 2 |
A stunning bust with an extraordinary story that moves between the worlds of early African exploration, opera, art and romance sold for £97,250 at Bonhams
sale of Fine European Furniture, Sculpture and Works of Art on July 5th in London.
In a packed sale room, bidders competed for the magnificent sculpture, which depicts the African Queen, Selika, a principal character in the Opera LAfricaine. Selikas story is a dramatic tale of love and loss as she takes desperate measures to save her lovers life, by marrying a Portuguese explorer.
The striking figure was created by an Italian sculptor, Luigi Pagani (1837 1904) in white marble and patinated bronze and stands at an imposing 33-inches tall (85cm). The story of this tragic and intriguing character is set to music by a German composer, Giacomo Meyerbeer and was first performed in Paris on the 25th April in 1865 to rapturous applause.
François Le Brun, Head of European Furniture at Bonhams comments: This striking and unusual figure is a stunning example of 19th century sculpture, which deserves a great deal of admiration. It has been exciting to see so much interest in this fascinating piece, which goes hand in hand with a dramatic story.
A fine example of French Grand Opera, very popular toward the latter 19th century, L'Africaine stages impressive scenes with elaborate costume and spectacular finales. It tells a mythical story set around the Portuguese Explorer Vasco de Gama based on the 'discoveries of the new world'. Nelusko and Selika both King and Queen of their native East-India are found and captured by the Portuguese explorer and returned to Lisbon as proof of his discovery of new and uncharted territory. The jealous Nelusko loves Selika, but she decides to marry Vasco de Gama in a bid to secure Nelusko's life.
Later, Vasco is reunited with his former love Inez who believed him dead. The opera ends with Inez and Nelusko in despair over the marriage, taking their own lives by inhaling the scent of a deadly blossom from the Machineel tree. It is an opera rich with tales of romance, intrigue and despair.
Further top selling lots in the sale included exquisite French late 19th century furniture. A fine bureau, ornately decorated, ormolu-mounted satiné, oeil de vermeil and kingwood parquetry, by Millet sold for £49,250, an ormolu-mounted maple, mahogany, citronnier and fruitwood marquetry breakfront commode sold for £43,250 and a rare ebony and ebonised Japanese lacquer bureau sold for £39,650. | <urn:uuid:c1748a39-26a8-4340-b866-7acbee0c08d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=56368 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951209 | 576 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Corruption is a major problem for companies doing business internationally. But few firms know how to address it.
Corruption remains a major concern for firms doing business around the world, according to a survey commissioned jointly by Control Risks, an international risk consultancy, and international law firm Simmons & Simmons. Ancillary risks associated with corruption - such as bribery that snowballs into violent repercussions - can affect the security of a company's global operations, the report's authors told Security Management.
"Corruption is a security issue within every bit of a company. One point we are making is that prevention is better than cure," says John Bray, a risk consultant and policy specialist for Control Risks, and the author of the report, titled International Business Attitudes to Corruption.
The survey polled 350 senior businesspeople from seven countries: France, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Hong Kong.
Respondents expressed pessimism about corruption trends: Close to three-quarters (74 percent) believed that corruption would either remain at its current scale or get worse. The French were the least hopeful. "It's a half-full or half-empty glass," says Bray. "The half-full is that western companies have codes of practice, but there are still questions as to the extent [that] they back them up."
The survey also asked respondents about laws governing these issues. Laws that forbid the payment of bribes to get business in other countries and allow prosecution of companies and individuals exist in all 30 nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The survey found, however, that more than half of the companies polled were not aware of their own nations' legislation regarding bribes paid abroad. In Brazil, for instance, 70 percent of respondents were ignorant of their country's laws on foreign bribery.
"You have a lot of new players on the global stage where just going abroad is difficult enough," says Elaine Carey, national director of investigations for North America at Control Risks. "Sometimes it's just overwhelming for them to think about the OECD regulations or the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act."
But paying bribes is unwise even apart from the legality. Handing money to corrupt business or government officials in other countries mires the company in corruption and can devolve into violence against employees.
"Once you start making payoffs in a certain country to someone, if they up the ante and you're not willing, it quickly can turn into issues of safety of your employees, whether it's extortion, kidnapping, or the threat of some sort of violence," says Carey.
"It obviously all has an impact on productivity, and eventually might even impact the quality of whatever [a company is] producing in that region," she says.
Bribes can work against companies in other ways. "If you pay a bribe you may gain short-term advantage, but you are vulnerable from then onwards," says Bray. "Vulnerable not only to Mafia-type figures, but if there is a change of regime and your contract has been acquired through nontransparent means, you are vulnerable." Nontransparent methods can include money paid under the table, an exchange of favors, or cronyism involving government officials, Bray says.
Bribes also distort natural competitiveness in the market. Forty-three percent of survey respondents believed they failed to win new business within the last five years because a competitor had greased someone's palm. One-third said they had lost business to bribery within the last year.
In Hong Kong, 76 percent of firms believed they had lost out to bribe-happy competitors. Concerns were lower elsewhere but still significant; even in the United Kingdom, a quarter of the international companies polled said they had lost business to corrupt foes within the previous half decade. Firms in the construction and the oil, gas, and mining sectors were found to be the most likely victims of bribe-paying competitors.
While few companies said they would take action if they discovered that their competition had doled out bribes, a surprisingly substantial percentage of firms expressed willingness to withdraw from existing commercial relationships or investments with partners or countries because of concerns about corruption. For example, nearly a third of the Dutch companies polled were willing to make a fast exit from a corrupt environment, followed by the Germans, the British, and the Americans.
Bray says there are bright spots working against rampant corruption. Globalization is spurring enactment of rules that cover the market, making it harder for international companies to hide from their reputations. "They are exposed wherever they are," he says. "Legal cooperation is also increasing."
The survey also finds benefits to walking the straight line that go beyond the satisfaction of knowing you did the right thing. "If you have a name as a noncorrupt, good company, you are much more likely to be secure when problems arise, such as a [host] country becoming less stable, or a crime wave," says Bray.
Criminals tend to veer away from more stable companies that are popular in the public eye. "If a company is well-known and has a high profile, bad guys figure law enforcement is more likely to jump on it [investigation of crime] if the name and the perceived damage are big enough," says Carey.
The report recommends that companies fight corruption by backing up their antibribery codes with effective compliance procedures. It also urges national and international industry associations and governments to work together on the problem.
It will take all these measures and more to hold the line against corruption, acknowledge the report's authors. "It will be a bumpy ride," says Bray. "Even where progress is being made, it may be a case of two steps forward and one backward."
See the full report (attached). | <urn:uuid:2eb1c0c0-702c-4fc4-8cb4-74f78f87f637> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.securitymanagement.com/article/corruption-around-world | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974907 | 1,181 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Verses with the word amnon in the Old Testament (20 verses):
2 Samuel 3:2
And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
2 Samuel 13:1
And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.
2 Samuel 13:2
And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do anything to her.
2 Samuel 13:3
But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.
2 Samuel 13:4
And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king's son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.
2 Samuel 13:6
So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand.
2 Samuel 13:9
And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him.
2 Samuel 13:10
And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.
2 Samuel 13:15
Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.
2 Samuel 13:20
And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.
2 Samuel 13:22
And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
2 Samuel 13:26
Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?
2 Samuel 13:27
But Absalom pressed him, that he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him.
2 Samuel 13:28
Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.
2 Samuel 13:29
And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled.
2 Samuel 13:32
And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king's sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar.
2 Samuel 13:33
Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king's sons are dead: for Amnon only is dead.
2 Samuel 13:39
And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.
1 Chronicles 3:1
Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess:
1 Chronicles 4:20
And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Benzoheth. | <urn:uuid:7d680821-dbd5-4823-bd85-3583ac692557> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artbible.info/concordance/a/9110-1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972234 | 991 | 1.875 | 2 |
An Example of Data-Structure Auditing in Practice
Last week, I introduced the notion of a data-structure audit routine. I would like to continue that discussion with a concrete example.
- A How-To Guide on Using Cloud Services for Security-Rich Data Backup
- How to test and launch a world-class application
- Best Practices: Using Apple's Global Proxy to Boost Mobile Security
- InformationWeek 2013 IT Spending Priorities Survey
- The Untapped Potential of Mobile Apps for Commercial Customers
- Secure Cloud: Taking Advantage of the Intelligent WAN
In 1988, I wrote what I think may be the first generic associative-array library that anyone had ever written for C++. Such facilities had long existed in other languages, of course, but C++ did not yet even have templates available, so writing generic programs was an interesting challenge. I met that challenge by using — some would say abusing — the C preprocessor. I defined a macro named
Map, with the idea that a macro expression such as
Map(int, string) would translate into the name of a type that, in turn, would contain components with type
Although I did not say so explicitly, my goals for this library included making it both fast enough and robust enough to use for large-scale production programs. To that end, I made the somewhat controversial decision to use an order-based algorithm rather than a hash-based algorithm for storing associative arrays. I felt that if I used a hash-based algorithm, I would have to require users of the associative-array library to supply their own hashing algorithm, and programmers who did not go to the trouble of figuring out an effective hashing algorithm would wind up with programs that performed terribly. It would not take too many such programs to give the library a bad reputation that it would be impossible to erase.,/p>
The algorithm I chose, AVL trees, has the useful property that inserting or searching for an item in an n-element data structure never takes more than order log(n) time. The algorithm achieves this useful property at the expense of being quite tricky to implement correctly. An AVL tree is a binary tree with the following properties:
- Every node has two (possibly empty) subtrees, which we can call the left and right subtrees.
- For every node
N, every element in
N's left subtree has a key that is less than or equal to
N's key, and every element in
N's right subtree has a key that is greater than or equal to
- For every node
N, the height of
N's left subtree differs by no more than 1 from the height of
N's right subtree.
Here, the height of a tree is 0 if the tree is empty. Otherwise, the tree's height is one more than the greater of the heights of the tree's two subtrees.
If you look at the description of the AVL tree algorithm, you will see that maintaining the balance requirement requires some moderately tricky tree manipulation — which, in C++ terms, really means pointer manipulation. Moreover, these manipulations divide into multiple cases, depending on whether, and in what direction, the tree is unbalanced, and where items are being inserted. These complexities raised the question of how to go about testing this code.
I decided on a combination of data-structure auditing and brute force.
The auditing part was straightforward: I simply took the AVL tree properties that I mentioned earlier and gave my class a member function named
audit that would use an
assert to check those properties. For the brute-force part, I wrote a simple program that would create 10 values, insert them into an associative array, and then verify that it could find each of those values in the appropriate place. I then combined these two testing strategies by generating each of the 3,628,800 permutations of 10 values and calling this test program with each of those permutations. The test program would create a new associative array, insert that permutation into it — auditing the data structure after each insertion — and then verify that it could find each element from the permutation in the proper place.
I don't think that this test program took more than an hour to write. Of course, it took much more than an hour to run. In fact, I think it took an entire weekend. However, after I had gotten it to run successfully, and sent the program out in the field for people to use, I do not think I ever received any bug reports against that code. | <urn:uuid:0703898f-35a2-48ac-a395-b49f21e239bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drdobbs.com/cloud/an-example-of-data-structure-auditing-in/240142525 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950911 | 945 | 2.34375 | 2 |
SSME family prepare for SLS core stage role following Shuttle success
NASA’s 15 Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) are being transported to the Stennis Space Center (SSC), as they transition towards their future role with the Space Launch System (SLS). The highly reliable RS-25Ds – nine of which flew with the last three Space Shuttle missions – will eventually be succeeded by the expendable RS-25E, early into the SLS’ lifetime.
SSMEs Shipping Out:
The change of home from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to NASA’s Stennis Space Center (SSC) in south Mississippi is a natural transition for the 15 engines, not least because the SSMEs underwent testing at Stennis ahead of their flight roles with the orbiters.
However, it’s their future role of becoming part of the SLS test program which has breathed new life into the famous engines, some of which will actually gain the honor of going out in style, launching one last time with the SLS during the first few missions.
Their transition from KSC will take place one engine at a time, as they travel to Mississippi by truck. Once at SSC, the SSMEs will join SLS’ Upper Stage J-2X engine – which is being tested at the facility – allowing for all SLS engine assets to be in one location, leveraging the existing knowledge base, skills, infrastructure and personnel.
“The relocation of RS-25D engine assets represents a significant cost savings to the SLS Program by consolidating SLS engine assembly and test operations at a single facility,” said William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.
The relocation also frees up the Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility at KSC, which became part of a commercial deal with Boeing – in collaboration with NASA and Space Florida – to being exclusively occupied by the company, along with Orbiter Processing Facility 3 (OPF-3) and the Processing Control Center, as they ramp up operations for their CST-100 spacecraft.
“This enables the sharing of personnel, resources and practices across all engine projects, allows flexibility and responsiveness to the SLS program, and it is more affordable,” said Johnny Heflin, RS-25D core stage engine lead in the SLS Liquid Engines Office at Marshall.
“It also frees up the space, allowing Kennedy to move forward relative to commercial customers.”
SSME: End Of A Shuttle Era:
The RS-25s have an amazing flight record with the Space Shuttle – with only one engine suffering a problem during the entire 30 years of the program.
*To read about all three orbiters - from birth, processing, every single mission, through to retirement - click here for the links:
That single issue occurred during STS-51F with Challenger, when one of two high pressure fuel turbopump turbine discharge temperature sensors for SSME-1 failed, leaving only one sensor active on the engine. Two minutes 12 seconds later, at Mission Elapsed Time 5mins 43secs, the second sensor failed, triggering the immediate shutdown of SSME-1.
The shutdown of SSME-1 significantly lowered the thrust profile for Challenger and triggered the only in-flight abort in Shuttle Program history: an Abort To Orbit (ATO) which allowed Challenger and her seven-member crew to reach a lower-than-planned but safe and stable orbit.
Nonetheless, before Challenger could complete her prolonged ascent (nearly 9mins 45secs in duration due to the lost thrust from SSME-1), an identical high pressure turbopump temperature sensor failure occurred in SSME-2.
Booster Systems Engineer Jenny M. Howard in Mission Control Houston acted immediately, instructing the crew to inhibit any further automatic SSME shutdowns based on readings from the remaining sensors. This quick action prevented the loss of another engine and a possible abort scenario far more risky or far worse than the already in-progress ATO.
When Challenger finally reached orbit, several aspects of the mission were retooled to account for the lower-than-planned orbital altitude.
Click here to read recent articles on the SSMEs: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/ssme/
As per the In Flight Anomaly (IFA) reports for the final three missions, all nine of the SSMEs performed admirably, as they assisted the orbiters for the ride uphill into orbit.
For STS-133, all three of Discovery’s SSMEs last flew with Atlantis during STS-129, although in different positions – after they required removing and re-installing in different positions, in order to allow a changeout of ME-1′s Low Pressure Oxidizer Turbo Pump (LPOTP) early in the flow.
Discovery flew with Main Engine 1 (ME-1) – serial number 2044, ME-2 – 2048 and ME-3 – 2058. All their related hardware was the same as that which flew with Atlantis, bar a couple of elements, such as a new nozzle for ME-1.
The only notable issue with the SSMEs occurred pre-launch, relating to a power issue with the redundant Main Engine Controller (MEC) on SSME 3.
The SSME controllers provides complete and continuous monitoring and control of engine operation. In addition, it performs maintenance and start preparation checks, and collects data for historical and maintenance purposes.
STS-133 Specific – Including ET Stringer Issue – Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-133/
The controller is an electronic package that contains five major sections; power supply section, input electronics section, output electronics sections, computer interface section, and digital computer unit.
Pressure, temperature, pump speed, flowrate, and position sensors supply the input signals. Output signals operate spark igniters, solenoid valves, and hydraulic actuators. The controller is dual redundant, which gives it normal, fail-operate, and fail-safe operational mode capability. The problem was specific to the redundant controller on ME-3.
Actions taken during troubleshooting included the installation of a breakout box and the testing of three single phase circuit breakers for SSMEC 3B on Panel L4. Although this inspection was limited by access, engineers pro-actively replaced all 18 SSMEC circuit breakers at the recommendation of management.
The problem soon became clear when CB 109 was inspected, with a clear observation of non-conductive debris on the hardware, a key candidate for the original problem seen with SSME 3′s redundant MEC.
After the troubleshooting was signed off at the Flight Readiness Review (FRR), all three engines – and controllers – performed without issue during ascent.
“Engine operation was nominal. ME-1 2044, ME-2 2048, ME-3 2058 – No SSME IFA Identified,” noted the STS-133 SSME IFA presentation (L2 Link to Presentation). “SSME observations are encompassed by previous flight and/or test experience and identified as no impact.
For STS-134, Endeavour’s ride into orbit was aided by a noisy trio that were no stranger to the aft of the youngest orbiter in the fleet, after pushing her uphill during STS-130.
The engines were installed for one final trip with Endeavour in the following positions on the orbiter: ME-1 – 2059, ME-2 – 2061, while 2057 was ME-3.
Only one item of interest made it into the FRR documentation for the SSMEs ahead of STS-134′s mission, referencing the incident when an ELSA (Life Support) bottle fell from the entrance level near the 50-2 door and hit Main Engine 2 (ME-2) during Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) processing operations.
“STS-134 Endeavour ME 2 ELSA Bottle Damage Inspections: Issue: Possible handling damage to ME-2. Background: ELSA Bottle dropped from above ME-2 to heat shield adjacent to controller during VAB processing. Damage observed above and adjacent to engine,” noted the STS-134 SSME SSP FRR presentation (L2 Link to Presentation).
“Dent in Orbiter GN2 Line. Dent on edge of Heat Shield near ME-2 controller. Witness statements and damage indicate no engine impact. Assessment conducted around 4.5 Ft assuming possible engine contact.”
With this issue cleared, Endeavour launched on her final mission without incident and successfully completed her mission on June 1, 2011.
As what became a regular observation, the 14-15 IFA presentations per mission (all acquired by L2 – link to presentation collection) reviewing the mission post flight included a very short SSME presentation, noting no anomalies (L2 Link to Presentation).
STS-134 Specific Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-134/
For STS-135, Atlantis’ engines were ME-1 – 2047, ME-2 – 2060 and ME-3 – 2045.
Again, the only incident of note came before the engines were fired up at launch, when IPR-49 (Interim Problem Report) noted a problem with the Main Fuel Valve (MFV) on SSME-3, spotted during a tanking test to check the integrity of the modified stringers on the stack’s External Tank (ET-138).
The MFV is a ball valve with a 2.5-inch tubular flow passage and is flange-mounted between the high pressure fuel duct and nozzle diffuser. The valve controls the flow of fuel from the HPFTP (High Pressure Fuel Turbopump) to the coolant circuits and preburners.
The issue – the observation of a leak – was also covered in depth via the STS-135 SSP Flight Readiness Review (FRR) presentation for the SSMEs (L2 Link to Presentation), which covered how the issue was spotted during the Tanking Test, as it breached the Launch Commit Criteria (LCC) limitations.
As a result, the issue would have scrubbed the launch day countdown, showing a bonus side-effect of finding the problem during the Tanking Test.
“Issue: STS-135, ME-3 (2045) Main Fuel Valve (MFV) skin temperatures indicated a MFV leak during the early stages of STS-135 tanking test. Temps violated minimum limit (LCC SSME-02). Tanking test continued with engines isolated from the fuel supply,” noted the FRR presentation.
The reference to the skin temperatures related to sensors mounted to the outside wall of the downstream duct of the MFV to detect leakage during chill. Low temperatures are indicative of a MFV leak. The LCC limits are based on the vast flight experience of the Shuttle Program.
The MFV was replaced out at the pad and put through a series of leak checks. While those passed, the real test came during launch day, when the system was put through the cryogenic environment of tanking. Again, the skilled KSC and SSME engineers were shown to have successfully fixed the problem, as Atlantis launched for the final time without issue.
STS-135 Specific Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/sts-135/
Now these stalwart engines – which includes the spare flight set: ME-1 – 2052 ME-2 – 2051 and ME-3 – 2054 – plus three others, are departing KSC once again – this time by road.
SSME To SLS Core:
Their potential role with the SLS was noted during the final flights of the Shuttle, as the 2010 Authorization Act reversed the FY2011 budget proposal which would not have seen any involvement of the RS-25s.
With a Shuttle Derived (SD) version of the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV) consistently winning during trade studies, which once again pointed at a configuration which used RS-25s as the preference, the Program Requirements Control Board (PRCB) took action to protect the engines.
While NASA’s “White House-aligned” leadership continued to avoid pressing forward with the confirmation of the SD HLV SLS configuration, the PRCB stepped in to “preserve the SSME flight engines for future Agency use” (L2 Link to Presentation)- adding to a previous action to slow down the Transition and Retirement (T&R) of the contractor ability to manufacture flight spares for the RS-25s.
The PRCB also provided the approval for the orbiters to gain Replica Shuttle Main Engines (RSMEs) – previously scrapped nozzles installed via an adaptor – for when the vehicles retire to exhibitions, freeing up the flight flown SSMEs.
For SLS/HLV Articles, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/hlv/
With the orbiters also donating large elements of their Main Propulsion System (MPS) – a heavily related collection of plumbing and lines – to the SLS program, a large amount of the HLV’s core guts will be from the orbiters for at least the testing/pathfinder stage, through to the opening launches.
The ongoing trades taking place at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are also working through the core’s configuration for the three versions of the SLS, namely the Block I – 70mt, the Block IA – 100mt, and the Block II – 130mt vehicles.
Technically, SLS could launch with three, four or five RS-25s from the outset. However, with three engines on the core, and the automatic need for the core to be “stretched” – based on the five segment boosters on the configuration – using four engines would allow the vehicle to fly fully fueled in all configurations, saving the extra calculations/testing for an under-filled three engine core.
Per the meetings – as much as no decision has been made at this time ahead of the key Systems Requirements Review (SRR) and Systems Design Review (SDR) – it appears four engines on the first stage would be best prescribed for the SLS from the start, per sources.
SLS will naturally evolve after the opening flights of the Block I SLS, with SSME contractor Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) producing RS-25E engines for the rest of the SLS’ lifetime. The RS-25E – based on the reusable SSME (RS-25D) – is expendable and thus requires less long-life hardware items, in turn making it cheaper to produce.
Please note: Clickable links with (L2) references point directly to cited L2 content. Such content is only available to L2 members (please ensure you are logged in). All other clickable links point to NSF articles and open content.
Images: Via L2 content, driven by L2′s fast exapanding SLS specific L2 section, which includes, presentations, videos, graphics and internal updates on the SLS and HLV, available on no other site. Other images via NASA.)
(L2 is – as it has been for the past several years – providing full, exclusive SLS coverage, available no where else on the internet. To join L2, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/) | <urn:uuid:e07c1edf-fdaa-40bf-badf-53c8d5665c39> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/01/ssme-family-sls-core-stage-role-shuttle-success/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930564 | 3,271 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Garderie La Floraison
The main goal of the pre-school education, as in family upbringing, is to contribute to the appropriate development of the child.
First of all, we believe in a well-rounded education, which considers the child as a whole. We believe in an approach that takes into account the different developmental phases of the child and contributes to the fulfillment of all aspects of the personality: physical, intellectual, emotional, moral and social.
Secondly, education must take into account the particular needs of each child and accept them as he/she is. Thus, it must be founded on the child’s own reality to help fully develop their individual possibilities while encouraging integration into society.
Thirdly, we envision an educational process that is open to life. We consider close contact between the daycare center and the child’s natural social environment to be necessary.
Finally, we have a dynamic conception of education. We consider that the child learns by experimenting with nearby objects and his/her environment and not by passive knowledge acquisition. It is for this reason that playing has a primordial role in our approach.
It is in playing that the child fully develops. While playing, the child learns to face reality in his/or own way, to better understand and to master it. Playing allows the child to develop fine motor skills. Playing also encourages the expression of feelings, and intellectual, emotional, social, moral and physical development.
Of course, La Floraison daycare has the task of preparing children for academic success later on, but its role is much larger. Our daycare is a centre of comprehensive development that respects the individuality of each child with a spirit of community.
It is a daycare centre that focuses on the development of a creative, curious, reflexive, well-rounded person with good self-esteem, who is responsible both for his or herself and the community. It is for this reason that we offer children a stimulating and balanced educational environment. This creates situations that allow children to explore, discover, create, play, problem-solve, share, collaborate and express themselves. We also believe that while accomplishing this educational task, that we must coordinate our actions with those of the parents, and if possible, with the community.
We see the teacher as an enlightened guide. He/she must create situations in which the child will find, on its own, the means to develop in its own way and rhythm. It is paramount that the educator listens to the children in order to respond to their individual needs, while encouraging their integration into the group and society. In this way, we aim to better prepare the child for the world of tomorrow while respecting the world of today.
La Garderie La Floraison Inc. is open year-round from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. for children from 2 to 4 years of age.
Garderie La Floraison Inc.
Nadine Cormier, propriétaire
Centre culturel Aberdeen
140, rue Botsford, suite 1
Telephone: (506) 855-5987 | <urn:uuid:b409d36f-6ff6-4afe-8d98-99070c6841f5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.centreculturelaberdeen.ca/en/members/entreprises/membre-14 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94698 | 643 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Drop in cash spent on tobacco promotions
- From: AAP
- September 23, 2012
THE latest federal data shows top tobacco companies in the United States spent less money on advertising and promotion of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products in recent years.
Numbers from the Federal Trade Commission show cigarette marketing decreased more than five per cent to $US8.05 billion ($A7.75 billion) in 2010, the latest year available, compared with a year earlier.
Meanwhile, cigarette sales decreased about three per cent to 281.6 billion cigarettes in the same period.
Money spent on marketing smokeless tobacco products decreased nearly 10 per cent to $US444.2 million from 2009 to 2010 as sales increased 6.5 per cent.
Smokeless tobacco promotion had reached an all-time high of $US547.9 million in 2008 as tobacco companies looked for cigarette alternatives for sales growth as tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma make the cigarette business tougher. | <urn:uuid:c9d4aebd-e9cd-44bc-8205-cc960bb483f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/drop-in-cash-spent-on-tobacco-promotions/story-e6frfkui-1226479609729?from=public_rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923765 | 199 | 1.523438 | 2 |
By Mira Korber, guest blogger.
Throughout the college process, you probably think about how disparate institutions are the right fit for you financially. But consider the equation in reverse…
From solely an economic standpoint, three categories of students might comprise the college’s right fit:
(1) The independently willing and able to pay for education.
(2) The students who rely on merit scholarships and grants to attend.
(3) Those who secure long term loans to pay for their degrees.
I wonder if colleges are counting on the coupon effect. People willing to expend the time and energy looking for coupons pay less. But businesses still can take advantage of the group who, ignoring the coupons, are willing to pay more. Again, the business owner can benefit. She does not have to offer lower prices to everyone.
Are colleges dividing their admissions pool the same way by separating those who seek aid and those who do not?
My investigation into costs of college and rising tuition led me to several interesting sources:
NPR Planet Money. Another Econlife post on the subject of college costs and government intervention. NY Times on college costs, here and here. Not entirely related, but interesting nonetheless. Finally, the middle class college “squeeze.” | <urn:uuid:36bbe276-230e-448d-af63-1fb55f642b1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.econlife.com/tag/tuition/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954185 | 261 | 2.359375 | 2 |
The Verne A. Sweet Memorial Business Scholarship
In recognition of their son's patriotism, the parents of Verne A. Sweet established a scholarship in their son's name. The scholarship is a long-standing one, dating back to 1960. Mr. Sweet's father and mother were the late Sydney Sweet and Eva Hart Swartwout Sweet.
Providing financial support to students attending Jefferson Community College, recipients must take courses leading to an associate in science degree and be a resident of Theresa, New York. Also, scholarship recipients must show academic achievement and prove financial need.
Verne A. Sweet was born in 1890. No record indicates the day and month of his birth, and little is known of his early life. A patriot who fought for his country, he served in the United States military during World War I. As a result of his military service, he developed heart disease. He died June 26, 1920, at the age of 30.
The Jefferson Community College Foundation is grateful to Sydney Sweet and Eva Hart Swartwout Sweet for establishing this scholarship. | <urn:uuid:d26b9a67-3adf-4629-a01f-ad472ce888c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sunyjefferson.edu/node/587 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975142 | 217 | 1.851563 | 2 |
An activist from Zam Zam camp near El-Fasher, North Darfur, announced that 280 families from East Jebel Marra have arrived at the camp on Friday, 7 December.
He asserted these families are fleeing aerial bombardments and ground assaults, in addition to the looting of thousands carried out by pro-government militias around East Jebel Marra one week ago.
Many of the individuals are in poor health after walking for seven days to reach the camp, the source continued.
The displaced come mainly from Dali, Koto, Hashaba, Umm Kadaldal, and other surrounding villages, the activist claimed.
However, another 180 families who did not have transportation means were left behind in Umm Qaigo area, located east of Tabet, the activist revealed. Most of them are children, women and elderly and are living under trees without food or water, he stressed.
The families who arrived at Zam Zam are now reportedly occupying the southern part of the camp, namely district Tukumary.
The activist appealed to humanitarian and human rights organizations to provide them support and save the other stranded families, who are not safe.
Photo: New arrivals in Zam Zam IDP camp -UNAMID (Radio Dabanga file) | <urn:uuid:3a13a4e3-a577-4f3f-baaa-b22aa487ae78> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/39404 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964706 | 257 | 1.554688 | 2 |
August 26, 2005
Researchers Devise New Technique for Creating Human Stem Cells
The image shows human embryonic stem cells stained for a characteristic marker protein (Tra1-60, red dots). When adult skin cells are fused with embryonic stem cells, the hybrid cells (not shown) re-express this marker, suggesting that the cells have reverted to the embryonic state.
Researchers have developed a new technique for creating human
embryonic stem cells by fusing adult somatic cells with embryonic stem
cells. The fusion causes the adult cells to undergo genetic
reprogramming, which results in cells that have the developmental
characteristics of human embryonic stem cells. The new technique may
permit scientists to derive new human embryonic stem cell lines without
the need to use human embryos.
“The long term goal for this experiment was to do cell fusion in a way that would allow the elimination of the embryonic stem cell nucleus to create an embryonic stem cell from the somatic cell.”
Douglas A. Melton
This approach could become an alternative to somatic cell nuclear
transfer (SCNT), a method that is currently used to produce human stem
cells. SCNT involves transferring the nuclei of adult cells, called
somatic cells, into oocytes in which scientists have removed the
The researchers said that — while the technique might one day be
used along with SCNT, which involves the use of unfertilized human eggs
— technical hurdles must be cleared before the new technique sees
widespread use. It is more likely that the new technique will see
immediate use in helping to accelerate understanding of how embryonic
cells “reprogram” somatic cells to an embryonic state.
The researchers published their findings in the August 26, 2005,
issue of the journal
. Senior author Kevin Eggan and
Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Douglas A. Melton, both at
Harvard University, led the research team, which also included Harvard
colleagues Chad Cowan and Jocelyn Atienza.
In theory, researchers can induce embryonic stem cells to mature
into a variety of specialized cells. For that reason, many researchers
believe stem cells offer promise for creating populations of
specialized cells that can be used to rejuvenate organs, such as the
pancreas or heart, that are damaged by disease or trauma. Stem cells
also provide a model system in which researchers can study the causes
of genetic disease and the basis of embryonic development.
Eggan, Melton and their colleagues decided to pursue their
alternative route after other researchers had shown that genetic
reprogramming can occur when mouse somatic cells are fused to mouse
embryonic stem cells. The scientists knew that if their studies were
successful, it would provide the research community with a new option
for producing reprogrammed cells using embryonic stem cells, which are
more plentiful and easier to obtain than unfertilized human eggs.
In the studies published in
, the researchers combined
human fibroblast cells with human embryonic stem cells in the presence
of a detergent-like substance that caused the two cell types to fuse.
The researchers demonstrated that they had achieved fusion of the two
cell types by searching the fused cells for two distinctive genetic
markers present in the somatic fibroblast and stem cells. The
researchers were also able to further confirm that fusion occurred by
studying the chromosomal makeup of the fused cells. Their analyses
showed that the hybrid cells were “tetraploid” - meaning
they contained the combined chromosomes of both the somatic cells and
the embryonic stem cells.
One of the key findings from the study was that the fusion cells
have the characteristics of human embryonic stem cells. “Our
assays showed that the hybrid cells, unlike adult cells, showed the
development potential of embryonic stem cells,” said Eggan.
“We found they could be induced to mature into nerve cells, hair
follicles, muscle cells and gut endoderm cells. And, since these cell
types are derived from three different parts of the embryo, this really
demonstrated the ability of these cells to give rise to a variety of
different cell types.”
Furthermore, Eggan noted that genetic analyses of the fused cells
revealed that the somatic cell genes characteristic of adult cells had
all been switched off, while those characteristic of embryonic cells
had been switched on. “With the exception of a few genes one way
or the other — which is perhaps because these cells are now tetraploid
— the hybrid cells are indistinguishable from human embryonic stem
cells,” he said.
“The long term goal for this experiment was to do cell fusion
in a way that would allow the elimination of the embryonic stem cell
nucleus to create an embryonic stem cell from the somatic cell,”
said Melton. “This paper reports only the first step toward that
goal, because we end up with a tetraploid cell. So, while this does not
obviate the need for human oocytes, it demonstrates that this general
approach of cell fusion is an interesting one that should be further
The researchers also performed fusion experiments using pelvic bone
cells as the somatic cells and a different human embryonic cell line,
to demonstrate that their technique was not restricted to one adult
cell type or embryonic cell line.
In both cases, the researchers observed extensive reprogramming of
the somatic cells. “We were surprised at how complete the
reprogramming was,” said Eggan. “I think we were expecting
that there would be more 'memory' of the adult state than the embryonic
in the hybrid cells. It was quite clear that when we looked at these
hybrid cells, they had completely reverted to an embryonic
Melton said that the remaining technical hurdle is figuring out a
way to eliminate the embryonic stem cell nucleus in the hybrid cell,
causing it to have a normal number of chromosomes. One problem, said
Melton, is that the nucleus in stem cells is large, occupying nearly
the entire cell. Thus, it is not practical to physically extract the
nucleus, as is currently done with oocytes, which have a relatively
small nucleus. An alternative approach of destroying the embryonic stem
cell nucleus with chemicals or radiation would induce the cell's
suicide program, called apoptosis, he said.
Melton emphasized that “at this stage in our understanding,
the hard fact is that the only way to create an embryonic stem cell
from a somatic cell is by nuclear transfer into oocytes. Taking
advantage of this current capability — such as colleagues in South
Korea and other countries are doing — is critical if we are to
maintain the progress necessary to realize the extraordinary clinical
potential of this technology.”
Eggan added that the most realistic current promise of the fusion
technique is in studying the machinery of genetic reprogramming of
somatic cells by embryonic cells. “It is extremely difficult to
study the reprogramming process using eggs, because in the case of
humans it is very difficult to obtain eggs in any quantity and
difficult or impossible to genetically manipulate them,” he said.
“But embryonic stem cells can be grown in large quantities. We
can isolate the components of the reprogramming machinery, and we can
genetically manipulate the cells to analyze the reprogramming
Image: Chad A. Cowan, HHMI at Harvard University, for Science. | <urn:uuid:20fd5393-7878-4297-9774-490de95e70a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hhmi.org/news/melton6.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935796 | 1,598 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Just as its important for you, your family, and your community to prepare for emergencies, it is vital to take steps to prepare your business. Your business plan should include the following:
- An assessment of how specific hazards might affect your business.
- A list of essential functions that must be maintained during and following an emergency.
- A list of essential employees and partners that are necessary to maintain business operations in the short-term following an emergency.
- Instructions for employess on how to both evacuate the building or shelter in place.
Listen to the radio or sign up for Alert Montgomery to receive updates about major water disruptions.
For more information on business preparedness, visit: | <urn:uuid:544dbf74-ba09-45c9-a2fd-93ed32128514> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://montgomerycountymd.gov/OEMHS/plan/busprep.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941855 | 140 | 1.53125 | 2 |
"Joi Bangla!", "Mulla barir Rajakar, ei muhurtey Bangla char (Islamists leave Bangladesh)" , "Jamaat mandir jalachchey, Hinduder ghor bhangchey.. aita ki hotey debo? (Can we allow Hindu temples and homes to be burnt and destroyed?)" .
The chants are kept up on a mike as the large group of young protesters swells with the approach of evening at Shahbag intersection - dubbed Bangladesh's Tahrir Square. Hundreds of protesters, mostly youth, both men and women, gather everyday to demand death penalty for those who committed war crimes during the 1971 war of independence.
And, like the protesters in Egypt's Tahrir Square, the ground zero of its popular upsurge for democracy that became the global metaphor for such mass protests, the Shahbag protesters are a connected lot - on Facebook, Twitter and blogging forums.
They are demanding a Bangladesh free of Razakars, the Islamists who sided with the Pakistani army during the 1971 Liberation War in identifying and killings hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshis fighting for creation of a new country. Thousands of women were raped by the Pakistani army men and Razakars.
The Razakars were mainly members of the Muslim league, Jamat-e-Islami and other Islamic groups and factions.
The Jamaat-e-Islami called a two-day strike in Bangladesh - a nation of 150 milllion people that was carved out of Pakistan after a wounding India-Pakistan war in 1971 - from March 3, coinciding with the visit here of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee. They are protesting last Thursday's death sentence handed down to their leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee by the war crimes tribunal and a life term slapped on Abdul Qader Mollah.
"Agami kaler hartal, garir chaka cholbey (The strike tomorrow will see cars moving)," the Shahbag protesters chanted Sunday evening, to tell people not to obey the Jamaat-called bandh which has left shops shut and roads mostly deserted.
"These people are burning down temples and the homes of Hindus.. Should we let this happen?" asked Imran Sarker, the fiery leader of the Shahbag protesters. "Na, na (no, no)," the crowd shouted back. 'Sarker is spokesperson of Ganajagaran Mancha and convener of Blogger and Online Activist Network.
The Shahbag protests were triggered by the Feb 5 war crime tribunal judgement, convicting 65-year-old Mollah, known as the Butcher of Mirpur, to life imprisonment.
Mollah, secretary general of the Jamaat, smiled and gave a victory sign to waiting journalists after the sentence was handed down to him Feb 4, triggering a groundswell of anger among people who were hoping he would be hanged. He was convicted of beheading a poet, raping an 11-year-old girl and shooting 344 people during the 1971 Bangladesh war of independence.
Online anger spread, and quickly rallied thousands to Shahbag to demand death for Mollah and other Jamaat accused of war crimes. A Facebook page dedicated to ridding Bangladesh of Razakar's is called "Rajakar Mukto Desh Gorai Shobai Egiye Ashun (Come forward to make our country free of Razakars).
The dislike for the Islamists grew after a young blogger, Rajib Haldar, was killed - his throat slit Feb 15 for his anti-Islamist blogging.
With the media, especially electronic media, beaming the protests live, and the online networking among the youth, thousands turned up at Shahbag intersection, dubbed Shahbag Square, to demand the war crimes accused be hanged. The intersection is located close to Dhaka University. The protests are the largest the country has seen in two decades.
On Sunday, the demonstrators held a rally at Shahbag, also called Projonmo Chattar, to protest the Jamaat-sponsored countrywide hartal. In a pointer to the secular nature of the Shahbag protests, one of the prominent slogans is "Surja Sener Bangla, shahider Bangla, razakarer nei kaaj (In a Bangladesh belonging to Surja Sen and other martrys, the Razakars have no place)".
Surya Sen was an Indian freedom fighter against British rule who led the famous 1930 Chittagong armoury raid The Shahbag protests, seen to be supported by the ruling Awami League, has dented the opposition Bangladesh National Party's clout among people to a large extent. The Jamaat is a part of the BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance. The Islamist party was part of the ruling alliance when the BNP came to power in 2001.
BNP chief Khaleda Zia called off her scheduled meeting with the Indian president. Her party has called a hartal on Tuesday.
"The people are angry with the Jamaat, they want justice (for the war crimes). The Shahbag protests have helped to turn the people's attention away from other issues, like price rise and corruption," said Mujibur, a driver, echoing popular sentiments. | <urn:uuid:0f1a33e4-19ab-408d-855e-14879c0a0fc4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dnaindia.com/world/1807126/report-shahbag-protests-for-a-secular-bangladesh | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956533 | 1,079 | 1.75 | 2 |
When The Daily Green and Bee Culture magazine asked urban beekeepers to send photos showing amazing feats of urban beekeeping, we asked for a short description to go with each photo. Some people just could not stick to a short description. Below are two of the more interesting stories urban beekeepers shared.
If you're interested in keeping bees, Kim Flottum, the editor of Bee Culture, and The Daily Green's own Beekeeper, has provided the essential how-to in a series of articles for backyard beekeepers, urban beekeepers, rooftop beekeepers, and anyone trying to establish their first hive. Fall is a great time to get started, so you're ready for bee season in spring.
My dad began keeping bees several years ago after purchasing a small farm in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia. At first I thought he was nuts. For the life of me I could not understand why he would want to keep bees. My only real visual of the situation was getting stung a lot. Not a great hobby as far as I could tell. He started off with one 10-frame box and soon added another which all had to be enclosed behind a solar powered electric fence in order to keep the local wildlife at bay. The area where the hives were kept began to resemble a small penal institution. On brief trips to the farm I would feign interest in the "girls" for the sake of my dad, whom I love and respect dearly. I did not understand the interest he had in this hobby, but it was his hobby and he seemed to love what he was doing. My dad dutifully served his country for over 30 years and has too numerous awards and citations to list in a such a short space. To say the least, if he wanted to take up crossdressing as a hobby I would support him 100%. He is truly a good man.
Now, I am allergic to bees, so I most often kept my distance from the hives as I have little desire to be stabbing my leg with an epi pen, adding insult to injury as it were. I took a drive out to the farm one day with dad in order to split some firewood for the upcoming winter. He had indicated that he would need to feed the bees while there and inquired as to whether I would like to use one of his protective suits and help. Not wanting to offend, I faked enthusiasm and readied my epi pen. I was not prepared for what I was about to witness.
We went to the barn to retrieve dad's hive tools and to don our suits. As dad was helping me to get outfitted he explained what he was going to do, what to expect from the "girls", and told me what to do and not to do. We made the short trip from the barn to the "penal colony" and opened the first hive. At first I was a little uncomfortable. Being surrounded by thousands of angry bees was most disturbing. But as I began to realize that I was relatively safe from the business end of the bees I began to shed some of that discomfort and really started to listen and look at what an incredible feat of nature that they were. To my surprised disappointment, we closed up the hives after about 45 minutes of feeding and examining. My head was spinning from the experience and I was HOOKED!
My dad and I talked bees for the rest of the day and for the whole 1.5 hour trip home. When I did arrive home that evening I could not stop telling my wife of the adventure with dad and the incredible world of the honey bee. I ventured to the library the next day and started to read everything I could get my hands on related to beekeeping. After that day my dad and my conversations would almost always end up about bees.
What soon followed is an adventure that I hope never ends. That winter my dad surprised my wife and I with an eight-frame starter kit and all the tools we would need. We painted the boxes and I set out to build an enclosure for the hives in order to protect them from curious hounds from venturing too close. Our yard gets full sun all day so I have faced the hive opening to the southeast and constructed a trellis of morning glories that protects them from the mid day heat. It all turned out just as I had hoped except that I was still very apprehensive of keeping bees in urban Fairfax County, Virginia, which is a close suburb of Washington DC. I was afraid of what my neighbors would think and envisioned complaints of bees stinging everyone in our subdivision. Thankfully most of our closest neighbors are gardeners and welcomed the honey bees with enthusiasm. To this date no one has been stung (except me, like all the time) and our conversations often start with the question, "How are the girls doing?" Their caring and encouragement has been a great inspiration to me.
In our rookie season we have made a few mistakes -- a swarm and an all-to-curious skunk (which has now sprayed our bloodhound twice) ... but we are learning. Thankfully, not at the cost of the bees who seem to be doing just fine as they are headed into their first winter here. Even my Brooklyn-bred wife, Patricia, has fallen in love with them. Her first stop after arriving home from work is usually out to see the bees.
My wife and I have already begun planning for another hive next year. After some research with my dad we have decided to try some "Kenyan Top Bar Hives" which we have began to construct ourselves. I am expanding my bee friendly gardens also. We installed a sunflower garden as well as a 1,500-square foot vegetable garden this past spring. All of which turned out very well. Can't wait for the girls to see what is in store for them next year!
- John Petro IV
I am an illegal urban beekeeper. In my small Midwest town bees are classified as "pests." Pest indeed! In the first 16 years I lived in my house I never saw a honey bee. As a way to honor and remember my late father who kept 10 hives I decided to get a hive to release some swarms back into the wild.
I live toward the end of a tree-lined dead end street, surrounded by neighbors who don't use chemicals and are understanding about my mission. I live about a block from a clover- and flower-filled park with many dead and hollow trees ideal for a beehive.
I got my supplies from the fine folks at Brushy Mountain Bee Farm and in early May my Italian package bees arrived from Rossman Apiaries. I installed the bees on a secluded upstairs porch. The bees thrived and in early June, they swarmed. Yippee.
The girls requeened and filled three hives -- two deep and one shallow -- for the winter. Not much to note during the winter. May arrived and the bees swarmed. Mission accomplished. They swarmed again a few weeks later -- an unexpected bonus. With each swarm the bees kept getting darker, the golden Italian almost completely replaced by the darker Carnolian. What hasn't changed is their gentleness ... although I did get stung once this summer for ignoring several of my rules:
The girls did well all summer. I added a second shallow super which I harvested recently. I got it off easily with no resistance. I then made a major mistake: I ignored the warning to extract in a bee-proof room. I did it in an unattached garage with the door open. After all, I thought, the bees were out front and the garage in the back. A few bees showed up: No problem; I closed the door. More got in through nooks and crannies ... By the time I was done extracting into a multi-use straining system thing were really humming. I put the lid on and opened the garage door. Bees came pouring in and this is when I discovered the straining system is not bee-proof. They stole back much of the honey I robbed from them. I had to abandon ship. Unfortunately many lives were lost by drowning in honey due to my poor planning.
I got stung again as I was coming in for the day. I realized it is not wise to wear sandals when bees are cleaning up spills in the garage, cleaning up honey left in the extractor and cleaning up the extracted frames. My harvest consisted of 8 pints and enough wax to make maybe 2 votive candles.
It has been a good 16 months. When I take my grandson for a walk and see a golden bee (which happens with increasingly more frequency) I feel pretty good that at least one of my swarms is doing well.
Finally this summer I saw a bee I had never seen before. Research has led me to conclude it is a leaf cutter bee. I take this as a sign that, at least in my micro-ecosystem, things may be improving. I hope to send off many more swarms and get a bit more honey before the local authorities catch me and slap me in leg irons. The Obamas can keep bees but not me?
Enter your city or zip code to get your local temperature and air quality and find local green food and recycling resources near you. | <urn:uuid:3c148559-c848-4ffa-a1b8-5f5cdc550c35> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/urban-beepeeking-stories | 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 | 0.983357 | 1,907 | 1.5 | 2 |
One-third of America’s 55 million school children are either overweight or obese. The implications are downright frightening. Think about this: one in four American young people seeking to join the military are rejected because they are overweight or obese!
Carrying extra pounds leads to early heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, asthma and sleep apnea. Children who are obese are much more likely to become obese — and chronically ill — adults.
The extra medical costs to our country for overweight and obese patients alone averages out to $1,000 per year per American household — half of which is paid for by American taxpayers through Medicare, the VA health system, Medicaid and government employee health plans. This is not a “personal matter” — it impacts us all. And while some of those carrying extra pounds have an inherited or biological cause for weight gain which they have to struggle against all their lives, many others simply eat too much and exercise to little.
Unlike terrorism, or issues with imported oil, this damage to our nation is not inflicted on us by outsiders. We are doing it to ourselves, and we can fix it ourselves.
Sugary drinks represent the largest source of added sugar in the diets of children in the United States. Just one can of soda contains the equivalent of 14 of those paper packets of sugar you put in your morning coffee.
Start buying one soda per day from a vending machine at the start of your freshman year in high school, and by graduation you will have gained 48 pounds from the soda alone. (You might want to show this column to any young people you care about).
Next time you are walking behind a big behind at the county fair, note the drink that person is carrying. Chances are it is not water.
One emerging way to provide healthier options for school children is through the latest generation vending machines that are equipped to provide healthy snacks, rather than just sugar-laden soda.
Adel-De Soto-Minburn Middle School in Adel, Iowa, offers students healthier snack options through touch-screen vending machines. The choices provided by this campus have become popular with the students, and the inclusion of vending machines that offer food and drinks other than high calorie, sugary options is a great way to encourage healthier diets.
By using new technology that allows for a broad range of healthy food, the vendors can accommodate more health-conscious choices. The machine used in the Iowa school is a dual temperature machine that preserves fresh fruits and vegetables. Nutrition facts for the items can be viewed via the machine’s touch screen. This helps students learn the nutritional content of their food purchase.
Financing plans are available through the vendors, repaid out of the sales from the machine, so school systems’ lack of capital dollars is not a barrier.
As my colleague Mary Beth Dial discovered when preparing a longer story on this topic for The Optimistic Futurist website, vendors still like to sell candy and chips because of their long shelf life and low cost. This is one of those cases where the best profit interests of the vendor and the best health interests of the customer are not aligned. Still, the vendors must, in the long run, respond to consumer demand; if we demand fresh healthy snacks in vending machines, they will comply.
Obesity does not have to affect so many children in America. Efforts by citizens insisting on these new vending machines in appropriate public spaces tackle childhood obesity head on. By offering healthier food choices while educating children about nutritional values, we can help them begin to develop healthier eating habits that will allow them to grow into healthier adults with less risk of an early death — all while saving taxpayers money.
We can be optimistic about our future if we imitate proven success invented by others — it just takes the initiative and courage to adopt new behaviors, and to encourage others to do the same. I challenge you to begin — for the sake of our kids, our taxpayers and our country. | <urn:uuid:46d089d2-3751-482a-a2d5-c129f6bb0300> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theoptimisticfuturist.org/index.php/25-publishedarticles/148-use-vending-machines-to-battle-obesity.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937002 | 811 | 2.921875 | 3 |
The Associated Press has published an investigation into the number of civilians killed by US drone strikes in Pakistan that shows “far fewer civilians than many in the country are led to believe” are being killed. The findings come from a “rare on-the-ground investigation by The Associated Press of 10 of the deadliest attacks in the past 18 months.”
The AP‘s news story explains the methodology for the investigation:
…[An] AP reporter who spoke to about 80 villagers at the sites of the 10 attacks in North Waziristan, the main sanctuary for militants in Pakistan’s northwest tribal region along the Afghan border, was told that a significant majority of the dead were combatants.
Indeed, the AP was told by the villagers that of at least 194 people killed in the attacks, about 70 percent — at least 138 — were militants. The remaining 56 were either civilians or tribal police, and 38 of them were killed in a single attack on March 17, 2011.
Excluding that strike, which inflicted one of the worst civilian death tolls since the drone program started in Pakistan, nearly 90 percent of the people killed were militants, villagers said…
The findings are being revealed just as news is breaking that the Taliban claims it shot down a US drone. They also are being revealed days after it became known that the US recently resumed drone strikes in Pakistan despite Pakistani objections.
What is the significance of the AP‘s findings? Does the fact that the AP found the number of civilian deaths are being exaggerated by Pakistanis make the covert drone war being perpetrated by the US in Pakistan acceptable? And how do these findings square with recent work done by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) on drone attacks in Pakistan?
The AP story cites the figures that the Bureau has published on those killed by drone attacks.
One London-based group, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, has published drone casualty figures based on media reports, witness testimony and other information. It said strikes have killed between 2,383 and 3,109 people, of whom 464 to 815 were civilians. That implies the percentage of militants killed was roughly 70 to 80 percent. The group said an unidentified U.S. counterterrorism official insisted its civilian casualty figures were much too high.
The TBIJ‘s findings on militants killed are not too different from the AP‘s. Thus, one can presume the investigation was fairly conducted.
The AP‘s story makes no mention of the charge put forth by the TBIJ earlier this month that drone strikes are targeting rescuers and funerals.
…The Bureau has found that since Obama took office three years ago, between 282 and 535 civilians have been credibly reported as killed including more than 60 children. A three month investigation including eye witness reports has found evidence that at least 50 civilians were killed in follow-up strikes when they had gone to help victims. More than 20 civilians have also been attacked in deliberate strikes on funerals and mourners. The tactics have been condemned by leading legal experts…
Perhaps, the biggest takeaway may be that no matter what US counterterrorism officials are shown in the way of evidence that civilian deaths occurred as a result of a drone strike the officials refuse to concede that drone attacks kill civilians. As the AP states:
U.S. officials who were shown the AP’s findings rejected the accounts of any civilian casualties but declined to be quoted by name or make their own information public.
These officials “disputed the death tolls and other details of some of the strikes, including the exact locations.” An official granted anonymity said there was “no reliable evidence” that civilians were killed in any of the strikes examined and questioned the reliability of villagers’ accounts.” Such an indifference toward these “villagers” virtually guarantees any counterinsurgency effort is doomed to fail. Drone strikes will not simply kill “militants” but continue to radicalize people who feel the attacks violate their country’s sovereignty.
A lawyer for the Open Society Foundations, Christopher Rogers, is quoted saying rightfully, “regardless of casualty tolls, the US still needed to make the program more transparent to prove it is complying with international laws on who may be targeted and measures to minimize the loss of innocent lives.” No matter what percentage of deaths are militants, the “bigger issue” is the “covert nature of the program, the complete lack of any transparency and accountability and the lack of information about how the US distinguishes a militant from a civilian.”
The AP does not try to use the findings to downplay the significance of the legal and moral issues created by the US’ covert drone war in Pakistan.
Fascinatingly, senior US officials who refuse to talk about the drone program because it is classified spoke to the Washington Post about a top secret cable that features warnings from the US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker on the “persistence of enemy havens in Pakistan.” These havens are exactly what drones in Pakistan would target and, while none of the senior US officials say anything about drones to the Post, the senior US officials are selectively leaking this information to help ramp up support for covert and military action in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The senior US officials reveal information on Haqqani network targets. The information indicates the CIA is trying to kill another “mujahheddin fighter” it helped empower when it backed “mujaheddin fighters” in the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s. It also indicates that a son of this fighter has a $5 million bounty on his head and he is using a “prominent religious school” as a base and the CIA is afraid to strike because of possible civilian casualties.
This, of course, is all information that if released by Pfc. Bradley Manning or WikiLeaks would have had the Pentagon crying wolf about how much blood was going to be shed now and how national security is now at risk.
Manning was just arraigned on February 23. He is charged with releasing classified information to WikiLeaks, including US State Embassy cables. All were confidential, secret, or unclassified. None were top secret. And, here we are talking about unnamed senior US officials sharing information on the contents of a top secret cable.
The world wants to know when there will be an investigation into possible espionage opened. Citizens of the world would like the US to clarify how it can prosecute a soldier for releasing confidential, secret and unclassified cables and yet, simultaneously, ignore senior US officials releasing information in top secret cables. The world wants to know if it is really an unstated rule that any and all classified information can be improperly declassified by anyone if it helps the war effort while information that will make it difficult to project American power must be kept secret and anyone who releases the information improperly will be prosecuted.
Finally, the secrecy surrounding the covert drone war in Pakistan and the callow nature with which US officials refuse to address the fury of Pakistanis toward the war is far more outrageous than the fact that Pakistani “opinion-shapers” are exaggerating civilian death tolls.
The US government is mendaciously executing a war in a manner that gives it maximum impunity. The Obama Administration is doing everything possible to shield the players involved from accountability. And that is why a portion of the Pakistani population is protesting any and all strikes even if almost all of those killed are militants.
Here is David Rohrde on Reuters TV discussing the covert drone war in Pakistan. Rohrde points out many of the reasons why Pakistanis are outraged and attempts to help Americans understand why their outrage is understandable and valid. | <urn:uuid:71139b40-2ec7-45af-9f3a-8556eeddd61d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2012/02/25/the-aps-investigation-on-drone-strikes-in-pakistan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967006 | 1,583 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Although wombats, especially young ones, look cute and are affectionate, full grown they can be aggressive, threatening, and even dangerous. Wombats are wild animals, not domesticated pets, and as such should be left in the wild where they belong. In most places in Australia, wombats are protected and it's illegal to keep them as pets.
Wombats need special care and a special diet. They're extremely strong and can be very destructive. They can tear holes in fences, doors, and even walls. There's not much that will stop a wombat other than concrete or steel.
As a wombat grows and matures, it becomes less and less friendly, and increasingly hostile and unpredictable. They have sufficient strength and speed to be dangerous.
Orphaned wombats are often taken in by people who have received special training to take care of native animals. They'll see that the wombat gets any medical attention it may need, and will raise the wombats until they can fend for themselves. The goal is always to release the wombat back into the wild when it's ready.
Keeping a wombat as a pet is in no way being kind to it. If you'd like to help wombats, there are numerous charitable organizations such as the Native Animal Network Association that you can donate to.
If you're interested in becoming a registered wombat carer, you should contact your local wildlife rescue organization or a local wildlife carer for more information. See the Emergency Wombat Care page for links.
If, despite that, you'd still like a pet wombat, why not adopt a virtual Wombie instead? Wombies are not only much easier to take care of than wild wombats, they won't get you into trouble and they won't destroy your home. And most importantly, the real wombats can be left undisturbed in their natural habitat. | <urn:uuid:c3545a82-8e09-4a0d-86ff-f3df0514a7c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wombania.com/wombats/pet-wombats.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968472 | 387 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Pope Benedict on the Global Economy
As the G8 Summit begins in Italy, Pope Benedict XVI has released a new encyclical on the global economy. Despite the sometimes dense philosophical and theological language, his message is clear: The economy must be guided by the criteria of justice and the common good. It is a comprehensive document, and while I haven't yet read the entire encyclical, from news reports and a quick skim, a number of important things stand out.
Take Action on This Issue
Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), is rooted in a stream of papal teaching on economic justice that goes back to 1891 with the encyclical Rerum Novarum (Of New Things). It is a far-reaching look at the relationships and issues that the global economy has created, and their impact on the world's people.
From the beginning Benedict states his basic foundation, that "charity in truth is the principle around which the Church's social doctrine turns." It is:
a principle that takes on practical form in the criteria that govern moral action. I would like to consider two of these in particular, of special relevance to the commitment to development in an increasingly globalized society: justice and the common good.
And, he says, those principles are both in service and involvement in the political arena.
The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbours, the more effectively we love them. Every Christian is called to practice this charity, in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the pólis. This is the institutional path -- we might also call it the political path -- of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbour directly, outside the institutional mediation of the pólis.
He deals with profit, writing that while it is useful, once it "becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty." The current economic crisis, he writes,
obliges us to re-plan our journey, to set ourselves new rules and to discover new forms of commitment. | <urn:uuid:a3460f8d-ecd5-4741-9d8e-992ea487d182> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sojo.net/blogs/2009/07/09/pope-benedict-global-economy?quicktabs_blog_homepage_tabbed_block=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952272 | 456 | 2.09375 | 2 |
is noted for its tall city wall which encircles
the entire old city. We were unable to do justice
to Avila, only spending an evening in the city.
Avila is pleasant, but the people we encountered
in Segovia were friendlier.
|Basilica de San Vicente
|The City Wall
|El Real Monasterio de Santo
TravelNow Links: (info from the Rough Guide)
Specific to Avila:
|As you travel from the south to
Avila, the first thing you notice is the drop in
temperature. Avila is 1130 meters above sea
level. In November the city was a chilly place,
where a real winter coat would have been
preferable to my sweater and jacket. I've been
told that in the summer Avila can offer some relief
from the intense heat of the south of Spain or
The city wall (like
most monuments in Spain) is built on the
fortifications started by the Romans and Muslims.
of the current wall is due, primarily, to
construction done in the 11th and 12th centuries.
Today the wall is considered one of the best
preserved in the world. If you want to take a
walk on the top of the wall, you must pay a small
Around the Plaza de Santa
Teresa are a number of cafes.
Inside the city walls is an active shopping
large view of the Plaza de Santa Teresa click | <urn:uuid:47c7d185-2d20-41dc-891e-32b4183202d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.travelinginspain.com/Avila.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917452 | 316 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Women Face Long Wait Times for Abortion Care in Ottawa
Yesterday the Ottawa Citizen ran an article about the long wait times many women face when seeking abortion care in Ottawa.
The average wait for abortion in Canada is an estimated two weeks…and inIn Ottawa, abortion care is provided at an independent clinic two days a week and the Ottawa Hospital one day each week. Abortion access is especially limited during the summer as the Ottawa Hospital closes down and does not provide abortion care the entire month of August. Surgical abortion is one of the safest types of medical procedures, and the earlier an abortion is provided the less complicated and safer it is. Therefore, it is important that women who decide to get abortions can do so without unnecessary delays.
Toronto, a woman can usually have the procedure within about eight days. The
average wait time in Ottawa is generally at least four weeks.
Today, party leaders responded to the story. Premier Dalton McGuinty said increased hospital funding will eventually provide easier access to abortion.
Although access to health services is guaranteed by the Canada Health Act, access to abortion care continues to be a problem for many Canadian women.
>Learn more about access to abortion in Canada.
Post a comment (comments will appear only after review for appropriateness) | <urn:uuid:38d343ad-9186-4a47-82cc-2fa0588acc81> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prochoice.org/blog/2007/09/women-face-long-wait-times-for-abortion.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94806 | 257 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Their preliminary findings said campaigning had been “clearly skewed” towards one candidate - without naming Mr Putin – with limitations on the selection of candidates and evidence of strong bias in the largely state-controlled media.
Tiny Kox, a Dutch politician and head of the Council of Europe, said at a press conference: "The competition lacked fairness and an impartial referee was missing."
Russian activists said they had tracked 4,000 examples of malpractice across the vast country's 91,000 polling stations. Mr Putin secured almost 64 per cent of the vote, winning back the Russian presidency which he held for two terms from 2000-2008 before his four-year stint as prime minister. His nearest rival, the Communist Party boss Gennady Zyuganov, trailed well behind.
The Foreign Office said it was withholding any reaction until it had read the findings of the OSCE’s election arm, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
"We await the preliminary report of the OSCE / ODIHR election observation mission with interest," said a Foreign Office spokesman.
"We fully support the importance of democratic elections in Russia, as elsewhere in the world. As a Council of Europe member state, Russia has an obligation to uphold key democratic norms and standards."
France gave a cool reaction to Mr Putin's return to the Russian presidency, but accepted that his controversial election victory was not in doubt.
"I take note that President Putin is our interlocutor for years to come," Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told a news conference. "Overall, despite some criticism ... the re-election of President Putin is not in doubt."
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, however spoke to Mr Putin to wish him success in his presidency.
Relations between Britain and Russia soured over the murder of ex-agent turned Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. He died after drinking tea laced with polonium.
Moscow has since snubbed a British extradition request for former agent Andrei Lugovoi, and the two countries have recently clashed in the United Nations Security Council over a resolution condemning the Syrian regime’s crackdown on protestors. Russia, followed by China, blocked the resolution. | <urn:uuid:36f14e31-8e35-4862-9e5b-da30bef012d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ghanapolitics.net/Europe/putin-appoints-the-magician-to-investigate-election-fraud-claims.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971375 | 455 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Tomorrow's Epiphany AKA Little Christmas. Which means - for you procrastinators out there - that it's finally time to take down your Xmas decorations and then pack them away for yet another holiday season.
That's what Disneyland staffers are doing inside of The Haunted Mansion right now. Carefully pulling down all of those fiendish yet festive decorations that are used to transform this New Orleans Square favorite into "Haunted Mansion Holiday" each Fall. So that they can then return this theme park favorite to its usual ghoulish grandeur.
Photo by Paul Hiffmeyer. Copyright DisneyEnterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Which brings to mind a huge holiday decoration that used to grace the Happiest Place on Earth. One that hasn't been seen at that theme park in almost 30 years now. And that's that 24-foot-tall light-up star that Walt had placed on top of the Matterhorn back in December of 1961. Which - in effect - turned this towering attraction into an enormous concrete Christmas tree.
And for 10+ years, this light-up star on top of the Matterhorn used to signify - both for Disneyland visitors as well as all those folks zooming by the 5 - that Christmas was on its way in Southern California. But then, in the early 1970s, the park suddenly abandoned this much-loved holiday tradition.
And why did Disney discontinue placing a star on top of the Matterhorn? It depends on who you talk to. Now some park veterans will tell you that this practice was abandoned because of the Oil Embargo of 1973. That - during a time when many Americans were spending hours waiting in gas lines - it seemed a trifle insensitive for the Happiest Place on Earth to place this huge energy-sucking Christmas Star on top of the Matterhorn.
Copyright Walt Disney Productions. All rights reserved
But the guys who worked in Disneyland's maintenance department about this same time? They tell a very story when it comes to why the Matterhorn's star ultimately disappeared. You see, this multi-ton tree topper had a mechanism that made it spin which began experiencing serious mechanical problems in the late 1960s. And each time the Matterhorn's star broke down and stopped spinning ... Well, that meant that some poor mechanic had to climb to the very top of this 147-foot-tall faux mountain and then make a very difficult repair in some pretty tight quarters.
Then came the 1970s. And as the construction budget of Walt Disney World ballooned from $100 million to $400 million, the word came down from Burbank that Disneyland really had to tighten its belt. No unnecessary expenditures. At least for a while.
And given that this theme park's mechanics had grown tired of climbing the Matterhorn almost on a daily basis each December in an effort to keep that tree topper spinning ... Well, that's when the tradition of placing a Christmas star on top of this attraction got deep-sixed. Because there wasn't enough money in Disneyland's operating budget during that time in the Company's history to either build a proper replacement and/or make a lasting repair to this multi-ton tree topper.
And speaking of working in very tight quarters inside of a theme park mountain ... The folks at Knott's Berry Farm are (as we speak ... type ... whatever ...) clearing all of Santa's Helpers out of that theme park's Elf Mountain Christmas. Which - for those of you who don't - is the seasonally rethemed version of this theme park's popular Timber Mountain Log Ride.
Now - me personally - what really impresses me about the team at Knott's Berry Farm is that this is the second time inside of three months that they've rethemed this flume ride. Back in mid-September , Timber Mountain Log Ride was redressed as Sleepy Hollow Mountain. Which meant that this thrill ride - during Halloween Haunt 2010, anyway - was home to the Headless Horsemen as well as a handful of undead Hessian troops.
But once October 31st had come and gone, the KBF crew climbed back up into Timber Mountain and - after clearing out all of those ghosts & ghouls - quickly transformed the world's first theme park log flume attraction into Elf Mountain Christmas. Which gave Knott's Merry Farm visitors a close-up look as to how Santa and his helpers get ready for December 25th.
Copyright 2011 Cedar Fair Entertainment CompanyAll rights reserved
Give the size of the crew that handled this transformation (I'm told that only 10 - 15 Knott's employees worked on the Sleepy-Hollow-Mountain-to-Elf-Christmas-Mountain change-out) and given that this retheming was done in that tiny span of days between Halloween and Thanksgiving ... Well, it's hard not to admire Knott's Berry Farm's can-do spirit.
And speaking of can-do ... If you're looking for ways to stretch your post-Christmas entertainment dollars, then you may want to consider taking advantage of the special promotion that Knott's Berry Farm is running now through January 30th.
In an effort to help those less fortunate, this Buena Park institution has partnered with the Orange County Food Bank to create a special limited-time-only pricing program. Which means that - if you come by Knott's Berry Farm with two or more cans of food to donate - you'll then be able to purchase a Regular adult admission to this theme park for the price of a Junior ($24.99).
Copyright 2011 Cedar Fair Entertainment Company / Peanuts Worldwide LLC.All rights reserved
Given that this represents a $32 savings off of Knott's Regular adult admission price, I'm hoping that a number of JHM readers will head on over to Buena Park in the coming weeks and take advantage of this offer. Not to mention helping out a very worthy cause.
Speaking of which ... If you'd like more information about how you can assist Southern California's most destitute families (especially during this post-holiday time of year when need is great and the food supply is traditionally very low), please contact the Orange County Food Bank directly at (714) 897-6670 | <urn:uuid:405dafbd-5ba1-40a2-ae92-79f68609fe0f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2011/01/05/knott-s-canned-food-drive-helps-make-the-post-holiday-period-brighter-for-orange-county-families.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95192 | 1,265 | 1.664063 | 2 |
PassWindow has signifigant security advantages over all existing software, electronic and mobile-phone based authentication methods. PassWindow's segment matrix pattern provides an ideal mix of security, usability, and flexibility.
The universally-recognizable characters are dispersed randomly throughout the segment matrix pattern. The obfuscational noise provides added security without reducing readability. This is because the human brain can easily distinguish common characters despite slight obfuscation – similar to how CAPTCHA systems work, but far more readable.
Even if an attacker intercepts, compromises or controls the user's entire computer or device with a key logger, screen capture trojan or malware program, the attacker will need to wait well beyond the life of that user's card to gather enough data to successfully derive the user's key pattern.
PassWindow cards require no electronics. By relieving the client of almost all technology requirements, PassWindow centralizes the high-tech aspects at the secure, server-side of the transaction, inaccessible to hackers.
PassWindow key patterns are pre-analysed under the most intensive security conditions; i.e., complete terminal compromise and control by an attacker. Any potential information loss is very predictable and easily prevented by the inherent flexible nature of the method, thereby ensuring complete protection against even the worst possible online attack scenarios.
PassWindow is the only non-electronic device that can unequivocally verify transactions before they are made. The PassWindow Authentication server encodes your destination account details or some other transaction information into the challenge image, making it impossible for funds to be covertly diverted by third parties. This feature can potentially eliminate all online banking fraud and is unique to PassWindow. See the flash animation at the top of this page for a clear explanation.
No. Many people are suprised to discover the random card key pattern is simple a printed matrix of segments the same as any barcode. All the character visualization calculations are done by the server which creates the animated challenge picture the card sits in front of.
Its PassWindow's extremely low-tech approach which gives it such a low attack surface, leaving attackers with no hi-tech approaches they would normally employ against electronics.
No. The animated screen challenges are simply gif images, a universal web image format. This means that any ordinary browser on any device will display the challenges with no effort required by the user.
Interestingly the challenges can also be printed on paper such as documents so users can authenticate using a pencil and paper.
The PassWindow challenge pattern presented on the computer screen can easily be resized and moved around on the screen by the user. The size and position is then stored as a cookie in the user's web browser or alternatively on the system server for future reference, so you only ever have to do it once.
Why not try our demo to see the process for yourself?
No. The authentication script would simply record your preferred challenge image location and proportion and save this information to a cookie in your browser. If the service detects your cookies are disabled then alternatively the information can be recorded on the server as part of your user profile on their database.
This way, each time you need to authenticate in the future, the pattern is in the correct position for your card.
Yes, the animated challenge speed can be easily modified according to your preference by the server, in fact most implementations will detect the speed of your response and adjust the animation based on your authentication history.
No the costs for transparent cards should be exactly the same as regular white cards.
Most raw plastic from the factory begins in a transparent form to which the specific colour is added during the manufacturing process such as white.
A tint printed over the transparent PassWindow card region prevents PassWindow key patterns from being easily photocopied or photographed, and renders the pattern very difficult to see under normal conditions. Your physical proximity security should always be considered seriously no matter what security action you are performing and PassWindow is just as susceptible to physical attack as other methods in this regard.
PassWindow is designed to be used as an online second-factor authentication method. This means it should be used in conjunction with a memorized component, such as a username and password. Therefore, to authenticate, the user must provide 'something they know' – their username and password – along with 'something they have' – their PassWindow-embedded identification card. A random thief or lost card would not be recognizably associated with a victims username or password.
In fact this physical proximity security issue applies to all physical authentication devices and PassWindow is no different. Hardware tokens can be quickly replaced with replica dummies designed to capture a local pin number. Mobile phones have a large attack surface and are suceptible to both online, remote and physical proximity attacks. Biometric authentication can be spoofed.
The Card Verification Value (CVV) is a number that is typically printed on the back of a credit card, which must be input in conjunction with one's other credit card details when making 'card not present' purchases, such as when one makes an online transaction.
This number is generated cryptographically by the issuing bank using the details of the credit card; however, this number is only printed on the card, it is not stored on the card's magnetic stripe.
Card vendors use this code to ascertain whether the person conducting the transaction either has the card in their possession, or has at least seen the card, or communicated with someone who has seen the card.
While CVV provides some level of protection against online credit card fraud in that merchants are required to regularly delete CVV data, it only really protects against the broad scale theft of card data; for example, from a compromised database.
CVV is also susceptible to phishing scams.
While PassWindow might be considered to be similar to CVV, it is far more secure:
The existence of malware with man-in-the-middle capabilities represents a significant threat to the security of the online community and is commonly used by hackers to obtain usernames, passwords, credit card details and enable fraudulent transaction authentication etc.
Mobile SMS and OTP hardware token authentication provides little protection against this threat.
PassWindow has the unique ability to encode specific transaction information directly into the visual challenge thereby preventing a man-in-the-middle attack, whats more this mutual authentication is done passively by the user who simply visually checks the information rather than long complicated manual processes employed by high end transaction signing tokens.
Existing authentication systems use a hardware token that contains sophisticated electronics that generate new authentication codes at given time intervals – usually around 30 seconds or a minute. The clocks on the server and the hardware token are synchronized, allowing the server to be reasonably sure that the person entering the code is in possession of the hardware token.
The PassWindow authentication method is superior to hardware token based methods for the following reasons:
No, from the very beginning we have analyzed this threat ourselves and found the results are very predicatable and not practical for an attack even under the ideal circumstance for an attacker.
Primarily our server analyzes the key and challenge interactions ourselves and introduces enough entropy to ensure an attacker will never gain enough information to determine the key pattern over the life of the card.
We assume this analysis is being done right from the beginning and by simple pattern manipulation and authentication behaviour monitoring ensure the required interceptions are well beyond an attackers reach.
PassWindow's security is also augmented using various proprietary techniques that drastically increase the number of successful interception attempts required to make reasonable probabalistic statistical deductions at the key pattern.
Much of security strength is increased exponentially by configuring a larger key pattern for the user; our extensive testing and analysis has shown that even with relatively small key patterns of 9 or 12 columns if configured properly are well beyond trojan analysis in any meaningful timeframe.
To complete the picture, with the PassWindow Authentication Manager it is possible to schedule card renewal at particular time intervals or after the user has reached a certain number of authentications, rendering it impossible for a hacker to obtain enough interceptions to have any meaningful chance at guessing the key pattern.
PassWindow's advantage is that unlike electronics where security strength is hardcoded into the chips PassWindow challenges being a simple browser image are able to manipulate the overall security and usability even after the card has been deployed.
By monitoring a user's keystrokes malware could theoretically try to match the timing of these against the challenge frame shown and thereby speed up the necessary number of interceptions to try to deduce the users key. In reality this is a very unlikely attack as users are seldom as precise in their keystroke timing as they would need to be and a variety of unknown factors could warp the results such as challenge network loading times.
Part of the added security strength of the animated challenge method is to obfuscate the exact digits a user enters against which frame the user has read them from; there are two simple methods to prevent this type of potential malware analysis being done against a user.
In practice this possibility can be easily prevented without any active interference to the user.
From our extensive analysis deduced by many independent international cryptographers and specialist mathematical pattern analysts there are a few simple rules for exponential key strength when choosing a PassWindow configuration.
A general suggestion from our own analysis for the smallest secure patterns would be 9 column key pattern for normal user authentication and 12 column key patterns for financial systems requiring individual transaction authentication.
At first glance the visual keys may appear simplistic which could lead you to question how many potiential unique keys there are available.
In simple language let's take the 12 column keys used in our demo, there are 62 available segments with 4,611,686,018,427,387,904 possible combinations. Approximately 30% of those are too light, dark or contain unwanted characters. This leaves us with such a huge number of potiential keys that we never need repeat the same key twice, ever.
User perception of security is a very important component of any security chain; often, users are forced to accept the purported security of a mysterious electronic device, which often breeds scepticism in their mind, particularly if it is viewed as an inconvenience.
A great security system is no different to having none at all if your user base is unable or unwilling to use it. The average online user today has little to no trust in software and hardware authentication systems that they cannot understand.
A man-in-the-middle attack is where the attacker makes independent connections between the service and user and relays messages between them, making them believe that they are talking directly to each other over a private connection when in fact the entire conversation is controlled by the attacker. This type of attack commonly circumvents many types of online authentication systems.
The latest trojans, including the Man In The Browser (MITB) attacks, which are defeating the common OTP-style hardware tokens are defended by PassWindow's ability to embed the actual transaction value or type directly into the encoded pattern, thereby alerting the average user to the exact nature or value of the transaction they are authenticating.
This prevents the attacker from switching account details and relaying the generic authentication codes usually given by electronic token devices.
Advanced bulky electronic tokens with attached keypads and inbuilt transaction signing can provide a complex type of user-actioned transaction authentication with a heavy usability cost where the user must enter all the challenge and transaction information into the devices; however, it has been revealed that the complex nature of the method has allowed criminals to bypass even this high level of electronic security by simply programming the user actions under the guise of device resynchronization.
The passive transaction authentication method provided by the PassWindow method protects against user programming, and in doing so allows protection against even the most pernicious malware or social engineering methods.
Attacker hijacks entire online connection or tricks the user into visiting the attacker's fake website.
He then inserts himself between the user and the user's real online financial service, controlling all communications.
While the attacker can transfer the authentication challenge images into their fake website the user is viewing, they cannot modify the animated challenge pattern which contains specific transaction information for the user.
In this challenge the random password digits follow the letter P and last 3 digits of the account destination follow the letter A
Superimposed key and challenge patterns
= P34896 A255
The extra encoded information could be almost any unique transaction specific information including name, date, value, IP address or a specific message to the user.
The rotating challenge digits force a user to visually observe the transaction information
With most electronic tokens, the authentication is time or event based and lacks any information about the type or amount of the transaction being verified. The attacker simply requests that the user either enter in their valid authentication code or validate a numeric challenge.
Once the token user believes he is interacting with his genuine financial service, the attacker requests multiple authentications under various innocuous pretences. The user's account is then emptied in the background.
PassWindow is unique in being able to increase the relative security of its challenges without needing to reissue the user's authentication token.
The size of the key can be varied to suit your security needs:
|Composite of key and challenge:|
Unlike many other authentication methods, the visual aspect to the key pattern is extremely resistant to common social engineering tricks, such as convincing the user into giving out a valid key code either online or over the telephone.
However, a user is always vulnerable to physical attack or surreptitious video surveillance. Because PassWindow resides on the card itself and is not an electronic device, the key is kept securely in the user's wallet or purse as opposed to dangling freely on a keychain or loose on their office desk – an immediate advantage over SMS and hardware tokens. Video surveillance can also be mitigated through a variety of means, ranging from simply applying a darkened tint around the pattern when it is printed to applying specialized transflective laminate overlays.
Key patterns can be obscured from discrete video surveillance according to your security requirements or can be customized according to a particular user's authentication history and circumstances.
Visualization of the pattern only occurs when it is superimposed upon the backlit electronic display
The user or authentication management is able to fully customize this level of personal protection on a per user basis if necessary.
Please note: There is nothing special about the tinting shown above, laminates are not necessary, it is printed with the regular printer with merely a grey shade on the key pattern image.
The backlit screen of normal computer displays allow the user to clearly see the authentication numbers through the tinting. | <urn:uuid:c7ff95c5-6bed-4c1c-af25-ff132183e40b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.passwindow.com/security.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916847 | 2,989 | 1.8125 | 2 |
U.S. President George W. Bush held talks with Saudi King Abdullah on Friday to seek help in taming record oil prices and shore up Arab support for his efforts to contain Iran's growing influence.
On his second visit to Saudi Arabia this year, Bush was renewing his appeal for more oil from OPEC amid rising pressure at home to act as record fuel prices weigh on the economy.
As Bush flew into Riyadh, the White House said the United States, the world's largest energy consumer, had agreed to help protect the resources of the world's top oil exporter and help it in developing peaceful nuclear energy.
Bush was likely to find common ground on Iran but Saudi Arabia showed little sign of responding to Bush's calls to get OPEC to pump more oil into world markets.
Since Bush's last visit, oil prices have jumped some $30 to a new record near $128 a barrel on Friday, adding to U.S. recession fears.
"Clearly the price of gas (gasoline) is too high for Americans," Perino said. "We have not enough supply and too high demand. Trying to get more supply out there is good for everyone."
US and Saudi cooperation
As part of the new oil security arrangements announced on Friday, the White House said the two allies would conclude an agreement for broader cooperation between the Saudi Interior Ministry and the U.S. government, but gave no details.
Apart from agreements to cooperate on nuclear energy and oil security, the White House said Saudi Arabia had agreed to join two global initiatives -- one to combat nuclear terrorism and another to fight the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
Bush travels on to Egypt at the weekend to meet Palestinian leaders, and before then he will press the Saudis to do more to support faltering U.S.-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. He wants to achieve a deal before he leaves office in January, but the deadline is widely regarded as unrealistic.
Bush also wants Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations to strengthen ties with Iraq, something they have been reluctant to do since the U.S.-led invasion that many of them opposed. | <urn:uuid:3abbe0ed-4a52-4e08-8514-1b2c295c7cc3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/05/16/49954.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973538 | 430 | 1.671875 | 2 |
3 Kinka Rd, Duffys Forest NSW 2084, AustraliaHistory
9 older records found on this numberPhone Type
Local ServiceLatest Holder
Telstra Corporation LimitedNumbering Area
Terrey HillsLast found
October 2010Other Formats
0294500690 / 9450-0690 / 94500690 / (02) 9450 0690
Mobile number only 0414 665 517
In 2006, there were 3,750 persons usually resident in Duffys Forest: 49.0% were males and 51.0% were females. Of the total population in Duffys Forest 0.3% were Indigenous persons, compared with 2.3% Indigenous persons in Australia. more
English was stated as the only language spoken at home by 83.8% of persons usually resident in Duffys Forest. The most common languages other than English spoken at home were: Italian 1.5%, Dutch 0.6%, German 0.6%, Mandarin 0.5% and Japanese 0.5%.
83.5% of persons usually resident in Duffys Forest were Australian citizens, 19.6% were born overseas and 0.3% were overseas visitors.
The most common industries of employment for persons aged 15 years and over usually resident in Duffys Forest were School Education 3.5%, Legal and Accounting Services 3.2%, Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services 3.1%, Residential Care Services 2.6% and Computer System Design and Related Services 2.4%.
* statistcs taken from the 2006 Census for postal area 2084 conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics | <urn:uuid:0badd120-f3ba-43ee-b4dc-bbc79553a5e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reverseaustralia.com/lookup/0294500690/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955453 | 323 | 1.757813 | 2 |
It is a ritual that has existed in some form since the birth of our Republic. Every four years, members of the Electoral College gather across the country to cast the votes that will choose the next president. The documents certifying those votes are sent to Congress for a final count, with additional copies going to the National Archives.
There is another less-known recipient of the Electoral College documents: the federal trial Courts.
Complying with laws dating back to 1792, one U.S. District Court in each state, as well as the District of Columbia, takes a set of Electoral College documents into its safekeeping, in case the originals get lost or invalidated. While the quadrennial role of the courts is forgotten to most Americans, it was seen as an important backstop in an era long before tracking numbers and bar codes.
"This goes back to the days when they didn’t have super reliable communications, and very important documents were being carried on horseback and by carriage," says Miriam Vincent, staff attorney for the National Archives and Records Administration. "There needed to be a federal holder, and in those days, the only consistent federal holder in every state was the U.S. courts."
Electors will cast their votes on Dec. 17, and the final tallies of the 2012 Electoral College vote will be ratified before a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6. Two distinct documents, prepared by 50 governors and the mayor of the District of Columbia, validate key aspects of that vote. One document, a Certificate of Ascertainment, identifies the electors qualified to cast their votes for president. The second lists the final vote and is signed by each of the electors who took part.
Typically, Vincent said, the votes are cast in the capitals of each state, and the court documents are held in the nearest U.S. District Court. In practice, the primary documents have always arrived in Washington, and the courts have never been asked to produce their backup versions.
As a result, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts gets occasional inquiries from court clerks about what to do with the Electoral College certificates. After one such inquiry in 2008, the AO sent out a national notice to federal court administrators reminding them of their role in the election process, and reissued that advisory after the November 2012 election. The 51 designated courts are required to keep the documents in a safe place. Under federal record disposition guidelines for United States district courts, courts may dispose of these documents six months after their date of issuance.
Although courts are less likely than ever to be asked to help validate a presidential election, Vincent said it is unlikely that Congress will remove federal courts from the process.
The courts' role, first outlined in 1792, was reaffirmed in an 1847 law, when Congress sought to regulate a free-form national election system, in which voting took place on different days in different states. While aspects of national elections are under review after 2012, Vincent said, talk of reform has focused on ways to reduce Election Day lines and possibly standardizing ballots for federal elections.
"There is still a need to do things on paper, and there is still a need for redundancy," Vincent said of the Electoral College certificates. "Some may see this as a relic of the 19th century, but the truth is that it’s worked since 1847. Congress has enough other things to focus on that I don’t know of any idea to monkey around with this at this point." | <urn:uuid:ffe1a880-d223-40cd-9922-3dfd61c668d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.uscourts.gov/print/367 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96907 | 718 | 2.984375 | 3 |
etoposide - injection, Toposar, Vepesid
GENERIC NAME: ETOPOSIDE - INJECTION (ee-TOE-poe-side)
BRAND NAME(S): Toposar, Vepesid
WARNING: Severe lowering of blood counts (myelosuppression) may occur, which may cause infection or bleeding (sometimes fatal). Seek immediate medical attention if you develop symptoms of infection (fever, chills, persistent sore throat) or unusually easy bruising or bleeding (see also Side Effects section).
USES: Etoposide is used alone or in combination with other chemotherapies to treat testicular cancer that has not responded to other treatment and small cell lung cancer. Etoposide works by slowing cancer cell growth. It is also commonly known as VP-16.OTHER This section contains uses of this drug that are not listed in the approved professional labeling for the drug but that may be prescribed by your health care professional. Use this drug for a condition that is listed in this section only if it has been so prescribed by your health care professional.This drug may also be used to treat certain childhood cancers that have not responded to other treatment, certain types of leukemias, lymphomas, liver cancer, ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, another type of lung cancer (non-small cell type), and a certain type of prostate cancer.
Back to Medications Index
Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox FREE! | <urn:uuid:428de359-2faa-4e6c-b952-4e5b693351fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medicinenet.com/etoposide-injection/article.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913329 | 316 | 1.5625 | 2 |
HI guys. I am farly new to linux but have been really enjoying my time with it. I find computing fun again(you know you're a geek when running commands lines is fun for you
). I have become quite comfortabl with linux by now(about 3 months of use) but am being held back by my lack of knowledge of the more useful commands.
Im looking for some info or a website where I can learn the most common and useful commands as a desktop user.
For the most part I have been able to get what I need done, but have come across some instances where I could have used a little more understanding of what to do. For me, the great thing about linux is its flexibility. Being able to us the GUI, but also being able to use the command line. I dont think an OS is really an OS unless you have that kind of control.
For example I would like to learn how to install/uninstall a program without the point and click. Or unpack a file or....well you know what I mean. | <urn:uuid:d5d4edcc-0573-4d4d-8361-02f7692a34af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-newbie-8/i-want-to-learn-more-34821/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977426 | 217 | 2.046875 | 2 |
by Jill Crammond Wickham
Write a “how-to” poem.
Need some inspiration? Free-write a list of all the things you wish you knew how to do. Pick one and write a poem about it. Brainstorm a list of things that are impossible to do. Choose one and write a poem about how to do it. Open a cook book. Choose a recipe. Using the recipe format, insert your own instructions for something completely different. Turn a meatloaf recipe into “how to get a date.”
PS: Remember your list of 50 words? Try throwing some of them in the mix, just for fun!
* * *
A note from “admin”: This month, since we’re all trying to write every day, we’re leaving the comments open with each prompt so you can post links to your poems as you write them. So, go ahead and write your poem, post your poem (with a link to Read Write Poem and a Read Write Poem tag, if you would) and come back to this very spot and share your link with us.
Of course, if you’re a creature of habit, you can always post your links at next week’s “Get Your Poem On” post. Who are we to mess around with what works for you?
And don’t forget to go read the poems of others in this wonderful writing community. We’re all in this NaPoWriMo “mess” (ha ha!) together; let’s support each other in the insanity that is writing (every day)! | <urn:uuid:d2dba1e7-b6c9-448e-86b3-dbfd4577cbc0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://readwritepoem.org/blog/2009/04/25/napowrimo-25-how-to/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948506 | 346 | 2.296875 | 2 |
In the 1920s blind people in this state were feeling that the only way that they could gain recognition of their special needs was to express themselves through groups of blind people speaking together. Groups were formed in places like Spokane, Vancouver, Everett, and Seattle.
By the middle 1930s it was apparent that blind people needed a larger voice to advocate for such things as library services, maintenance of the state school for the blind, and a raise in public assistance.
In 1935 the Washington State Association of the Blind was formed with three chapters: Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. The group grew larger with the addition of new groups in Everett and Yakima. In the early 1940s, a National organization called the National Federation of the Blind was founded. In 1941 WSAB joined this organization.
Eleven years later, the Washington State Association of the Blind was incorporated as doing business in our state. More chapters joined WSAB from Wenatchee, Clarkston, Thurston County, and another group in Yakima.
In the middle of the decade, WSAB started producing its own magazine, "the White Cane." In the early 1960s, a split in the national organization created a new national organization called the American Council of the Blind. The Wenatchee group withdrew, but two more chapters were added from Grays Harbor and Vancouver.
In 1969 the WSAB president asked the national organization to assist the state in recruiting younger people since the average age of a WSAB member was pretty high. After a reorganizing effort, a youth group was created to attract a new generation of members. In 1970 the youth group was dissolved because most of its leaders were elected to offices in the state organization.
Also, in 1969 WSAB was instrumental in the passage of a major civil rights bill for blind and visually impaired people in this state. That piece of legislation was the White Cane Bill, which is still in state law over 36 years later. WSAB continued until 1972 when its name was changed.
It was 1971 and a small group of blind people felt that another organization of blind and visually impaired people was needed that could present another view and voice for the blind of the state. In the fall of that year an organizing meeting was held at the Roosevelt hotel in Seattle and the Washington Council of the Blind (WCB) was formed in King County. It was incorporated as doing business in Washington State in 1972. They would become an affiliate of the young American Council of the Blind. During the next 19 years, WCB would add chapters in Vancouver and on the Olympic Peninsula.
WCB stayed relatively small, but many of its members will tell you that it had a family environment about it. WCB did produce its own internal news bulletin.
The Washington State Association of the Blind changed its name to the National Federation of the Blind in 1972. For 9 years it served as an activist voice for the blind of Washington. The organization was successful in getting legislation passed to allow blind people to serve on juries, and to be able to obtain car insurance without being charged a higher rate.
NFBW was successful in getting the Washington State legislature to establish an independent rehabilitation agency, separate from the larger, general rehabilitation agency.
During this time another chapter from the Tri-Cities was added. In 1979 the state's relationship with its national organization became strained to the point that the NFBW was expelled from NFB.
After its expulsion, the state organization decided to adopt the name United Blind of Washington State. For 8 plus years the organization maintained its posture as a purpose-driven voice for blind people. Chapters were added in Walla Walla and Bellingham. UBWS had its own monthly publication called Newsline. Having no national organization to look to for direction, UBWS was not as active as it was in the 1970s. In 1988 and 1989 UBWS and WCB initiated possible merger talks.
A reorganized National Federation of the Blind (NFBW) was established in Seattle in 1980. This organization has remained an affiliate of the NFB from that time to the present. It also is the voice of NFB with in the state of Washington. NFBW has added chapters in North King County/South Snohomish, Vancouver, the Inland Empire, Bremerton, and on the Olympic Peninsula.
After one-and-a-half years of talks between Washington Council of the Blind and United Blind of Washington State, a special convention was called for so that the members of the two organizations could decide whether to merge.
The new organization kept the name Washington Council of the Blind along with its affiliation in the American Council of the Blind. The new WCB kept Newsline as its monthly publication.
From the merger to the present, its presidents have been Sue Ammeter, Sharon Keeran, Sue Ammeter, Berl Colley, and Cindy Burgett-Van Winkle.
The merged organization has been successful in maintaining the family environment of the original WCB while embracing the purpose-driven activism of UBWS. WCB successfully worked on the passage of the Braille Rights Bill in the middle 1990s. WCB worked to keep the White Cane Law from being watered down with non-blindness clauses. WCB worked to pass legislation to strengthan state laws giving disabled people the ability to vote independently,and has served as a willing advocate for blind and visually impaired individuals who have needed a wide variety of financial or legal help.
Since the merger, new chapters have been added in Olympia, Jefferson County, Wenatchee, Longview/Kelso, Everett, Yakima, and South King County. The Bremerton chapter grew to the point that it split off a new chapter in Port Orchard. One special interest group joined WCB: Guide Dog Users of Washington State.
In 2006, there are 18 chapters in WCB. Its primary focuses are in the areas of education and advocacy. The organization doesn’t forget to have fun, as it sponsors an annual outing to a Mariners game. The WCB is a strong advocate for separate services for blind and visually impaired people through the Department of Services for the Blind. It supports the efforts of the Washington State School for the Blind to provide the highest quality education for blind and visually impaired youth throughout the state. The WCB has been an on-going advocate for the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library.
The Washington Council of the blind has proven that an organized, collective voice is the most effective way to protect the rights of blind and visually impaired Washingtonians. | <urn:uuid:4be81928-e5bd-4021-b963-1e341b5f5d6e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wcbinfo.org/brief_history.html | 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 | 0.977261 | 1,345 | 2.8125 | 3 |
The bathroom ceiling exhaust (or wall) should be discharging to the house exterior, not into the ceiling / wall frame cavity, or another room, crawlspace, attic, etc. This is extremely important if your bathroom contains any significant humidity source like a shower stall, bathtub, steam shower, etc.
Discharging moisture from your bathroom fan into some enclosed and/or poorly ventilated areas is often responsible for the crawlspace and attic mold growth. By the way, have you ever checked your attic ventilation?
NEC (National Electrical Code) does not require bathroom exhaust fans to be installed on a GFCI protected circuit. However, you should be following the manufacturer’s installation instructions. In most, or should I say in all, cases concerning a bathroom exhaust fan installation directly above the bathtub and / or shower stall (or any other moisture sources), the bathroom fan must be listed as suitable for such locations and must be installed on a GFCI protected circuit.
This is a paragraph from the bathroom exhaust fan installation instructions:
“If this bathroom exhaust fan is to be installed over a tub or shower, it must be marked as appropriate for the application and be connected to a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) protected branch circuit.”
To test if a bathroom exhaust fan is GFCI protected, turn the fan ON, and push TEST button on a bathroom GFCI receptacle or GFCI breaker dedicated for this bathroom. If the exhaust fan is still running after the receptacle or the breaker tripped, it is most likely not protected (there are occasionally some hidden GFCI receptacles installed).
You should always check manufacturer tag before attempting to install a ceiling exhaust fan directly above the bathroom tub or shower stall.
For those who always forget to turn ON the bathroom exhaust fan (or forget to turn it OFF), I highly recommend one with a humidity-sensing switch. I’ve been using two of those in my bathrooms for almost 4 years, and I am very happy with their performance. One of the humidity sensors failed during the first year, but manufacturer replaced it without any problems.
Bathroom humidity sensing fan (at least the one that I have is made by BROAN) can be wired like a 3-way switch – it means that you can turn the fan ON/OFF using a regular wall switch or it will be automatically activated by an elevated humidity level.
Controls on the bathroom humidity-sensing fan allow for the time of operation and humidity level adjustments.
Let me know if I’ve left anything unanswered about bathroom exhaust fan …
This article was written by Dariusz Rudnicki
I'm a retired Illinois home inspector, founder and editor of checkthishouse.com, a blog which attracts around 2 thousand readers daily and is dedicated to answering the many questions of home owners and home buyers. Connect with me on Google+ Find me on Google+ Local | <urn:uuid:8961a69f-980f-49dc-a65c-fe01de1bb1ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.checkthishouse.com/2940/bathroom-exhaust-fan-and-vent-requirements.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907679 | 607 | 2.015625 | 2 |
The Rising HIV Rates Among Young Women and Girls of Color: What's Going On? Part One
January 25, 2011
Even though African-American women and Latinas ages 13-24 account for only 32 percent of the U.S. female youth population, they account for roughly 83 percent of new HIV infections among young females in the U.S. In addition, black women account for 62 percent and Latinas for 19 percent of cumulative AIDS cases among women 13 to 24. Numerous studies have found that the major mode of transmission in this population is heterosexual contact.
What exactly is contributing to these numbers?
In this exclusive, two-part roundtable discussion, we attempt to explore the pressing issues that are increasing HIV risk among young girls and women of color. We look at what is working, what is going terribly wrong and what is being overlooked in terms of HIV/AIDS prevention, education, testing and outreach.
Participating in this discussion are Tracie Gardner, Founder and Coordinator of the Women's Initiative to Stop HIV/AIDS NY (WISH) at the Legal Action Center; Jennifer Irwin, Deputy Executive Director at Health and Education Alternatives for Teens (HEAT), and Co-Founder of the Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition (YWCHAC); and Claire Simon, Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition.
Kellee Terrell: The CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] released some surveillance data showing that among teens and young women 13 to 24, rates of HIV infections are going up. We also know that those numbers are being largely driven by young women of color, especially among African Americans.
The first question I want to throw out is to Jennifer. What is not working, in terms of prevention toward this demographic, looking at the work you've been doing at HEAT?
Jennifer Irwin, Deputy Executive Director at Health and Education Alternatives for Teens
Jennifer Irwin: What we're seeing in terms of young girls that come through our doors is a couple of things. One, in terms of prevention -- and I guess this determines whether or not you view testing as prevention -- but a lot of the young women that we deal with are hesitant to get an HIV test. One reason for that is a lot of these young women don't view themselves at risk, in terms of their behaviors. A lot of them still tell themselves "I'm not a young, gay male. I'm having heterosexual sex, therefore I really don't need to get tested."
Another issue that comes up with a lot of young women is condom use. First, there's sort of an assumption amongst these young girls that if the male doesn't want them to use a condom, they don't need to use a condom. And then for those girls who want to use condoms [even when their partners don't want to], they are having serious difficulty negotiating condom use. With our clients, a lot of them have partners that are considerably older than them, and that creates this whole power dynamic that spawns fear, on their part that they'll be rejected, or they will be perceived to have something and not be quote-unquote clean if they use a condom.
Kellee Terrell: Tracie, just coming from WISH, what are you seeing that is going wrong on a policy level?
Tracie Gardner, Founder and Coordinator of the Women's Initiative to Stop HIV/AIDS NY at the Legal Action Center
Tracie Gardner: Well, at WISH we help policymakers who are responsible for funding and programming that would address the epidemic among young women understand the challenges and the dimensions of the problem. They include the issues that Jennifer spoke of, but at the policy level, it comes down to the politics of who makes the most noise; who has the ear of the decision makers; who's perceived to be at risk versus who actually is; and their ability to articulate in the policy arena. [Some of the issues we see] are policies that are in place that don't really work. For example, the siloing of HIV from other health and social services that young women use, so there's almost an AIDS, Inc., if you will, that exists completely outside of the realm of other issues that young women care about, need, depend on.
And we miss logical opportunities to integrate HIV testing and the idea that knowing your status is part of good health. One of the ways that we do that that's problematic is the bifurcation between HIV services and STI [sexually transmitted infection] services, which means that we're having young people getting treated for STDs [sexually transmitted diseases] -- and certainly in the areas in the city where there's high prevalence of HIV, there's also high prevalence of STDs -- but we have separate systems, separate funding, separate programming that doesn't fully integrate the awareness of sexually active young people. And the opportunities, when they come into care, are opportunities that have to be fully exploited in order to really take advantage of the opportunity. And we don't have things in place that do that.
So there's that, at the program and ground level, and bubbling up to the policy and legislative and funding level. The funding is also siloed, and so it makes it hard to deal with different components of people when, in fact, we need to be dealing with people's holistic self. Everything that goes on below the bellybutton is what we should be attending to, in one fell swoop, in one visit, in one engagement -- if not repeated engagements.
Kellee Terrell: Claire, Tracie just brought up a really good point: Who cares about young girls? Who is advocating for them? Who's the mouthpiece for them?
Claire Simon, Co-Director of the Young Women of Color HIV/AIDS Coalition
Claire Simon: I think for the women who are advocating for younger women, it's because: One, they come to us. And they don't feel that they have a voice in this process.
I also feel like many providers don't think young people should be having sex. So, as a result, they don't address the issues that a young person may come to them with. And the messaging that they're getting from many adults about sex is not to do it. But then the mainstream media tells them to "do it all the time" and "this is how you're going to get accepted." From all the teenybopper shows, to anyone; there is sexuality, there are things that are in their face, but no one's talking about it to them.
I think the beautiful thing about the coalition is that we have a group of young women who are interested in these issues, who are talking about it, who are sharing the message, and giving voice to it from a youth perspective. That's very powerful and impactful. Because having a peer who can say to you, "Have you thought about this? Have you thought about that? Let's talk about these issues," can propel other young people to feel comfortable talking about it.
Kellee Terrell: Jennifer, when looking at sex education in this country, do you feel like it incorporates those contradicting attitudes?
Jennifer Irwin: It depends. The whole sex-ed thing is an issue in itself. But I think one of the problems in New York City with sex-ed is that, although there's a curriculum, it's often not taught in the schools. It's really at the whim of the principal -- if the principal feels comfortable having it taught, it gets taught. And because there is not an emphasis on sex-ed at all, a lot of teachers either rush through the curriculum, or they allot one health class to it.
In my program, we do a lot of workshops in high schools and middle schools. But even in that there are issues. For example, there are plenty of times when a teacher will call us and say, "We'd really love for you to come do an HIV 101, or an HIV/STD workshop." And they will come right out and say, "But listen. This is not really OK with the principal; we're going to kind of do this on the sly. Don't bring condoms. Don't do a demonstration about how to properly wear a condom."
So, sure, you can talk about sex. But you can't actually show youth how to protect themselves having sex.
I think that part of it is that the teachers out there -- those that are supportive of it -- are up against a lot of battles in their schools with parental involvement. There are a lot of parents making noise, a lot of principals that aren't necessarily supportive of it. I also think a downfall in our current curriculum is that oftentimes it doesn't take into account cultural issues, religious issues, and other important issues that impact young women living in New York City, such as different social and economic issues that they deal with around sexual education in school. I think that kind of rubber-stamp, one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work as well when you have such a varied population of young women.
What I really want to stress as well is that sex-ed needs to start at a much younger age. That's part of the big problem: A lot of the youth who are part of our program will say that they never got it, or they got a few classes in it in a health class. Or they'll say that they didn't get anything until high school. We're having young women who are HIV positive at age 12. And so there is clearly a huge disconnect, in terms of these young women getting sexual health information, either at home, or at school, or in another forum. It's just not happening in an effective way at all.
Internet search results. Be careful when providing personal information! Before
adding your comment, please read TheBody.com's Comment Policy.)
Copyright © 2007-2013 Remedy Health Media, LLC. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:ac2d05ce-e360-46cd-abeb-0a0a175af411> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thebody.com/content/art60252.html?comments=on | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972169 | 2,069 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Anne Weber and daughters Audrey, left, and Isabelle take a meal and flowers to a recuperating neighbor listed on a website. (David Banks, Photo for the Tribune)
Kelly Gorder of Boulder, Colo., initially felt helpless when she learned last year that longtime friend Naomi Damask, of Chicago, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Gorder wanted to do something for Damask and her family, but the distance made it tricky.
So she turned to modern-day technology.
On the website lotsahelpinghands.com, Gorder created a "community" where friends and family signed up to plan meals for the Damasks and schedule their delivery. The community also used the site to arrange for child care and rides to school, ballet and swim lessons for daughters Virginie, 7, and Eliana, 5. House cleanings were scheduled. And when husband Ryan was out of town, volunteers signed up to drive Naomi to chemotherapy.
Users of such websites, which have sprung up in recent years, say they provide an easier, more effective way to help out families or individuals who are in need of support after a death in a family, during recuperation from surgery or at any other stress-filled period. For years, such tasks were handled by well-meaning people with pen and paper, and required zillions of phone calls, endless strings of emails, word-of-mouth communication, complicated coordination — and oftentimes less efficiency.
"It really made the world a much smaller place," Gorder said. "Just knowing she had a great community close by to help ... made me feel less helpless in a pretty helpless situation.
"She was not having to make 50 phone calls and texts, and she could stay connected," she said. "She knew she needed the support but she also needed her rest."
Damask provided Gorder with email addresses of her friends, and Gorder went to the site, created the community and posted her family's needs. Her friends then went to the site and signed up to help.
"The free site helps everyone feel a little more in control in a stressful situation," Gorder said.
Damask's community has 194 volunteers, including her sister, who lives in Singapore and has, through the site, sent hot meals from local restaurants. She also has had friends from Minneapolis and North Carolina who ordered meals from nearby restaurants and sent them to her home.
"I realized how much people love and care about me," said Damask, who recently underwent her last round of chemotherapy and is scheduled to undergo surgery later this month. "I've been overwhelmed with the amount of support I've been given ... and the well wishes really brighten your day when you feel crappy."
Lotsa Helping Hands, which runs the website, was founded in 2005 in Massachusetts by Hal Chapel and Barry Katz. Years earlier, Katz's wife, Carole Singer, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Chapel — using more traditional means — began coordinating meals, rides and child care for Katz, Singer and their two daughters.
"People would ask, 'How do I help?' and we would say we are so overwhelmed we cannot even answer that," recalled Chapel, CEO of Lotsa Helping Hands.
Managing who would provide meals and dealing with other details proved to be a challenge.
"Or someone would forget they had to take Carole to chemotherapy that morning," Chapel said.
Singer died in 2003. Chapel and Katz created Lotsa Helping Hands to make the process of helping a family in crisis easier.
The organization aims to ensure that needs are met without having to have the family reach out and ask for the help. It also assists those who want to help but really don't know what to do and don't wish to be bothering the family with phone calls and questions. Plus, it seeks to provide a sense of community when needed most.
Lotsa Helping Hands is a for-profit organization that has advertising on its site, but it offers its services for free as a social entrepreneurial company. It also partners with for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, a spokeswoman said.
Since 2005, 60,000 "communities" have been created, made up of more than a million volunteers from 85 countries. In the Chicago area there are nearly 1,000 communities with between 25,000 and 40,000 volunteers.
Laurie Hamman, of Chicago, recently used another popular website, takethemameal.com, to set up a meal delivery plan for a friend who had an emergencyC-section, delivering a baby at just 32 weeks. With a newborn in the hospital, a 21-month-old daughter at home, a husband who travels and no family nearby, the friend needed some help, Hamman knew.
"The nice thing about the meal-planning site is that everyone can see on what day everybody brings something, so you don't have 10 lasagnas in two weeks," Hamman said.
Takethemameal.com provides users with a calendar and details of the family's needs, likes, dislikes and allergies. Meals have been delivered to families dealing with various life situations such as a new baby, a serious illness or a soldier deployed or visiting on leave. | <urn:uuid:3f694521-f0de-4aff-b6e4-c42b936278d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-23/news/ct-x-online-meals-20120523_1_websites-meals-friends | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980154 | 1,084 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Edward H. Kaplan Awarded Koopman Prize for His Paper 'Terror Queues'
Edward H. Kaplan, the William N. and Marie A. Beach Professor of Management Sciences, Professor of Public Health, and Professor of Engineering, has been awarded the Koopman Prize for the outstanding publication in military operations research published in 2010 for his paper "Terror Queues." The Koopman Prize is given by the Military Applications Society of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), the largest professional society in the world for the field of operations research.
In "Terror Queues," published in Operations Research, Kaplan draws on queuing theory to create a novel method to estimate the number of ongoing yet undetected terror plots and how many of those threats can be detected and stopped by undercover intelligence agents. Queuing theory is used to model customers and servers in a system, for example, patients waiting to be treated in a hospital emergency room or customers waiting on hold to talk to a customer service representative. In Kaplan's adaptation, terror queue models treat terror plots as customers, undercover intelligence agents as servers, and detection of terror plots as the service they provide. Successful terror attacks are customers who drop out of the system before they receive service.
The award was presented at the INFORMS annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 14. Yale SOM professor Sang Kim accepted the award on behalf of Kaplan, who was not able to attend. In a statement, Kaplan said, "It is an honor to be selected for the Military Applications Society's Koopman Prize this year. Grounded in numerous discussions with military and intelligence experts in the U.S. and in Israel, the Terror Queues model suggests how undercover agents and informants catch the bad guys, and how undercover activity reports could help determine how many bad guys there are!"
This is Kaplan's third Koopman Prize. He received the award in 2002 for "Emergency Response to a Smallpox Attack" (with David Craft and Larry Wein), and in 2005 for "Operational Effectiveness of Suicide-Bomber-Detector Schemes" (with Moshe Kress).
The research that led to "Terror Queues" was made possible via the support of Daniel Rose YC '51 to the Technion-Yale Initiative in Homeland Security and Counterterror Operations Research.
Read more about "Terror Queues." | <urn:uuid:19f070b1-5e06-415d-8995-965a4f9cdfac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mba.yale.edu/news_events/CMS/Articles/7499.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942075 | 489 | 1.601563 | 2 |
SparkPeople advertisers help keep the site free! Learn more
Member Comments for the Article:
Do's and Don'ts of Goal Setting
Key Pieces to the Puzzle
3/10/2008 11:53:23 AM
This article is right to the point. Never say never and remember that we are as important as promises we make to our kids in getting that special toy for Christmas. We tend to be nonchalant when it comes to eating and exercise but if we look at it as a food shopping list or saving for that cruise we want to go on; we will have much success. Always have a plan B and keep a journal. At the end of the week you'll be surprised with all that was accomplished.
2/19/2008 6:11:01 AM
This is a great article !!! Its a wonderful way of getting organized - and realizing - its ok if we have a booboo moment - and to not beat ourselves us because of it - but just keep trucking ! :o) Definitely putting it in my faves !
I teach eighth graders, and we have been focusing on setting goals this year. There are some excellent discussion points here that will provoke class discussions. Thanks!
1/30/2008 11:51:12 AM
over the years i have done all the "don't's" that were listed. :o) i have since revamped my goals and am well on my way to reaching them this time. these tips really do work!!
1/30/2008 4:41:14 AM
I swear spark is reading my brain lol! This article was sent to me today and it is EXACTLY what I am struggling with. Now that I have read this I have a better idea of what I need to do to keep going. Thanks SP.
1/29/2008 2:34:48 PM
This was delivered to my mail box exactly when I needed the reassurance. Thanks!
1/29/2008 1:21:32 PM
This is a good article with a great message. I have a tendency to "Over-plan" and because of that I don't always complete my goals. If I follow this article I should be able to reach my goal for the month.
1/29/2008 8:58:30 AM
It is good to be reminded of your goals from time to time. Great article
1/29/2008 7:45:04 AM
really good article, very helpful hints.. thank you
SparkPeople, SparkCoach, SparkPages, SparkPoints, SparkTeams, SparkDiet, SparkAmerica, SparkRecipes, DailySpark, and other marks are trademarks of SparkPeople, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
SPARKPEOPLE is a registered trademark of SparkPeople, Inc. in the United States, European Union, Canada, and Australia. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:3db84ba0-9a11-44c9-8018-7e35075fe696> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/article_comments.asp?id=124&type=1&page=6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941395 | 597 | 2.5 | 2 |
A priest or teacher can talk 'til he's blue in the face, but a
we never seem to learn what it means to be Catholic unless we live our faith at home. So
how is that done? Keep reading!
You've already got a fantastic start. If you're doing the basics and
celebrating each liturgical season, you are well on your way. If your family
attends a Catholic school or regular parish religious education classes,
even better! Your family still
needs planned and guided home instruction. Again, we're here to help! Follow
- Sign up for our free e-newsletter
- Gather basic materials
- Prepare for guided learning
- Review the learning objectives
- Get started!
We have a few more suggestions, of course, which may also help your
Every Catholic should have an understanding of scripture as God's inspired
word, should know basic Catholic doctrine, and should receive sacraments
and know why they are important in our lives. We should understand just how
important our family, our parish, and our local and global community are
to our lifetime faith journey, and, in turn, give service to that community. We
also need to understand there are many forms of prayer, try various forms, and
experience how they can deepen our personal relationship with God.
Our e-newsletter is designed to help you do all the above! We'll send weekly
guides which will lead you through family study of scripture, Catholic doctrine,
varied forms of prayer, and plenty of suggestions for living a Catholic life.
- An inquisitive mind
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church
- A Catholic Bible
- Patience - especially if your kids not used to home catechism. Okay,
patience is useful even if they are used to home catechism!
This step simply means you need to look over the catechism and
the Bible. Don't be intimidated! They are meant to help you live a life closer
to God. Open them up. Take a look at the cover page. There is even a table of
contents. The catechism has an index in the back. A Bible may or may not have an
index, depending on the printer. Our kids love Bibles which have lots of
colorful pictures. Just get to know these wonderful books. You'll never regret
This is a wonderful book which tells you anything and
everything you ever wanted to know about the Catholic Church. After Vatican II
the old Baltimore Catechism was no longer considered useful for teaching the
Catholic faith. It focused on the memorization of questions and answers, rather
than the intelligent questioning of thinking human beings. Our current catechism
gives a thorough explanation of our faith. It may look overwhelming; after all,
it was written by some of the greatest thinkers of modern Catholicism. However,
if you take it little by little, it is a very useable and thought-provoking
It is important to be aware of the differences between Catholic
and Protestant Bibles.
Number of books - Catholic Bibles have 46 books in the
Old Testament; Protestant Bibles have 39 books in the Old Testament. Both
Catholics and Protestants use 27 books in the New Testament. The Catholic canon
(the books included in the Catholic Bible) was based on the Septuagint, the
Greek translation of the scriptures which had been used since 200 B.C. The
Protestant New Testament is the same as the Catholic New Testament. The
Protestant Old Testament is the same as the Hebrew canon. Around 100 A.D. Jewish
scholars chose the books they wanted to include in their Bible. This occurred
after the Jews refused to allow Christian worship in the synagogues, and after
the complete destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Roman army. The Jews
decided only books which had never been written in Greek would be allowed in
their canon. Although the Christian scriptures remained unchanged for over 1200
years, the leaders of the Reformation decided to reject the Christian canon and
accept the Hebrew canon. Interestingly, in modern times Jews have formally
thanked Catholics for protecting an important part of their history, that which
is contained in the rejected books.
The Catholic Old Testament includes the following books which are not included
in the Hebrew and Protestant scriptures:
||Sections of Esther and Daniel
Interpretation of the Bible - Catholics believe the scriptures
are the inspired word of God. They are not dictated to an unthinking
"robot-human." They are written by an independent, thinking human
being who writes based on his or her own experience and culture.
Catholics recognize that the Bible is actually a little library.
There are many different types of books contained within its covers, including
myths, parables, histories, poems, songs, and even science fiction (scholars
call this apocalyptic literature). Each book needs to be interpreted based on
the type of writing it contains. We interpret myths differently than we
interpret histories, for example.
Scripture and science - Because Catholics are not literal
interpreters of scripture, we have no problem with science as long as there is a
fundamental respect of basic moral criteria. For example,
Catholics can accept the theory of evolution because we also accept the truths
inherent in the Genesis stories, that God created everything and made it good.
We can embrace both science and faith; it is not an either/or situation.
If you are starting to feel worried, please stop! It's okay if
you have not had much catechizing. You can learn with you children, and it
can be a fantastic, spiritual experience. To get comfortable looking through the
Bible, try this Bible word search.
It's a great ice breaker! (Click
here for the answer key)
It is important that you know your goals for religious
education. Of course you would like your family to develop a strong faith in
God, but here are a few more specific goals which our newsletter attempts to
Your family will understand that scripture is the inspired Word
of God and tells us the story of God's love for us.
Your family will know the basic teachings of the Catholic Church
and use them in your daily lives
Your family will understand the grace and power of the
sacraments, especially the Eucharist, which binds our faith community
Your family will appreciate the role of our faith community in
their faith journey
Your family will understand the need to serve others in your
Your family will experience a variety of prayer forms, and
appreciate how they can be used to deepen your personal relationship with God
Are you ready? Grab your Bible and your Catechism and let's go! Don't
forget to sign up for our newsletter - it
will give you week by week suggestions for living a Catholic life!
Now don't be overwhelmed by this list. Start with one item and let it
become habit. Experiment with new ones as you and your family feel ready. It
took us quite a while to get comfortable publicly living our faith. However,
doing so has made an incredible difference in our lives. The joy and peace
we experience are amazing.
- Prepare for Sunday Mass by reviewing the scripture readings
- Participate in our sacraments - you'll feel God's grace fill you as
you participate in these signs of God's love.
- Read the Bible regularly. We discuss one Gospel reading and one
non-gospel reading each week. Usually we do this over dinner, but not as
part of family night. Some amazing conversations and good lessons come
from these discussions.
- Regularly celebrate the feast days of saints - this can be simply
kitchen candle, or going all out with a party, or both!
- Choose your favorites among Catholicism's many
devotions and practice them with your family.
- Volunteer to participate in your parish ministries.
- Learn about Catholic doctrine. Just pick up the Catechism of the
Catholic Church, open it up, and start reading a small section. The
more you do this, the more you'll understand the beauty and wisdom of our | <urn:uuid:d4dfcb3d-8066-48a4-ad89-46e4f1bc5378> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cominghomecatholic.com/Keep%20building%20that%20faith!!.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946092 | 1,725 | 2.484375 | 2 |
by Jeremy Leaming
Holder is expected to deliver a speech today in Texas at the Lyndon B. Johnson presidential library. LBJ signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
In a draft of the speech obtained by The Times, Holder urges Americans to “call on our political parties to resist the temptation to suppress certain votes in the hope of attaining electoral success and, instead, achieve success by appealing to more voters.”
Some of the regulations, end early voting, others require state issued IDs, many excluding student IDs. A Dec. 5 report by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the NAACP says many of the new state restrictions are aimed at suppressing votes of African Americans. The organizations’ report also noted, what many other voting rights experts often do, the impetus for these new stringent regulations – of rampant voter fraud – is seriously overstated.
Recently, the Brennan Center for Justice issued a report examining the restrictive voting laws, concluding that as many as 5 million Americans could be shut out of participating in the 2012 elections. The report also noted that many of those affected would be minority, low-income and young voters.
In an interview with The Post about his planned speech, Holder said, “We are a better nation now than we were because more people are involved in the electoral process. The beauty of this nation, is its diversity, and when we try to exclude people from being involved in the process … we weaken the fabric of this country.”
A recent ACS symposium explored the new state restrictions on voting. | <urn:uuid:838f1971-18ae-4cd9-be85-efccfe19f49a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://americanconstitutionsociety.org/acsblog/201112?page=5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971836 | 318 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Cancer Type and Topic Specific Work
This section of the website describes NCIN's work on particular types of cancer and in support of national initiatives addressing cross cutting topics.
Our work on particular cancer sites or types is led by twelve Site Specific Clinical Reference Groups. You can find details of our publications and tools for particular sites, as well information about our reference groups, through the menu to the left. A summary of the work of these groups during 2010-11 is also available.
Cross cutting topics
NCIN works to support the cross cutting intitatives on Awareness & Early Diagnosis, Equality and Survivorship established by the Cancer Reform Strategy. We also support the National Cancer Multi-disciplinary Team Coordinators' Forum and you will find a range of information about Multi-disciplinary Team development in this section.
In additional to our Site Specific Clinical Reference Groups, NCIN has established a Scientific Advisory Group to provide methodological and analytical advice regarding its information outputs and, in conjuction with the National Cancer Action Team, a Clinical Outcomes Group to link those collecting data on cancer services with those using these data.
Over the coming year, the National Cancer Intelligence Network will work with its partners to improve the range and quality of statistics available about less common cancers, including cancers registered without a specification of site. See the Rarer Cancers flyer for more details. | <urn:uuid:7774c38b-92f8-4d3c-aec7-98d9755b146d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ncin.org.uk/cancer_type_and_topic_specific_work/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917971 | 273 | 1.851563 | 2 |
|Abstract||The guidance can be obtained through http://www.spaceforhealth.nhs.uk/ [previously the "Knowledge and Information Portal" (KIP)] by staff working in the NHS.A password is required which is free to NHS Staff|
NHS and government users can access everything on the website free of charge. Private sector users can top-up their basic registration to the equivalent, for a small annual subscription fee of £275 per person (see ‘join us' for further information).
It reviews the evidence and provides a summary of the principles underpinning and the key considerations that would assist in achieving designed-in infection control. The aim of the document is to provide guidance to planning, design and maintenance teams and infection control staff working on new healthcare build and refurbishment projects.
The document covers Department of Health initiatives and policies that impact on this topic, the infection control implications for planning and renovation, the planning process and IC responsibilities are explained and the issues to consider during the design and planning process are discussed in some detail, i.e. isolation rooms, waste disposal, etc.
Appendices include; problem organisms; risk assessment; capital investment process; the four categories of equipment supplied for new build schemes; a draft Proforma and a summary of the terms used, references and further reading.
This guidance is at present being updated (2009/10) | <urn:uuid:a0a1e85f-c60b-4371-834c-835b17d442a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.neli.org.uk/IntegratedCRD.nsf/201b9368fca1c1918025755c005863f4/a9a5cf6884ece82880257058004fc745?OpenDocument | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924255 | 286 | 1.742188 | 2 |
It certainly isn’t if you have CEO behind your name and you work for a big corporation:
Compensation received by chief executives of the biggest US companies surged 11 percent over the past 12 months -- to $9.3 million on average, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Citing a study conducted for the newspaper by management consultancy Hay Group, The Journal said the increase was largely due to decisions by company boards to reward CEOs for strong profit and share-price growth with bigger bonuses and stock grants.
The survey covered the 350 biggest companies that filed their statement between May 1, 2010, and April 30, 2011.
So while middle America is struggling, the fat cats are still raking it in. Really – why shouldn’t they? Employment works much like the economy, based on supply and demand. Right now we have an over abundance of workers (supply), so they can hire people for less than normal wages. A lot of companies are even getting rid of the higher paid employees just to bring in lower paid ones. Is it right for this to occur? Nope, but it is what happens.
Of course there is also a real bad side to this. Income disparity will be even greater. Our middle class is being pushed into non-existence and our standing as the industrialized nation with the highest rate of income disparity will remain in tact. Also this increase will point to a growing payroll in America, which is only the case for about 1% of the working population. For the other 99% payroll has either remained flat or sunk, which the cost of living has continued to rise. | <urn:uuid:e819f4e1-eaf7-45ab-ae23-87f79a593f38> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://intoxination.net/tag/payroll?page=4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970793 | 326 | 2.046875 | 2 |