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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thursday, October 22, 2009
It seems to me that in Catholic thought prior to the Reformation there had always been a forensic aspect to justification, insofar as there is a legal component to one becoming an adopted son of the Father at baptism. Even The Council of Trent claims as much: “If anyone says that men are justified either by the sole imputation of the justice of Christ or by the sole remission of sins, to the exclusion of the grace and the charity which is poured forth in their hearts by the Holy Ghost,[Rom. 5:5] and remains in them, or also that the grace by which we are justified is only the good will of God, let him be anathema.” If you read it carefully, Trent does not deny that justification involves imputation of righteousness. What it is claiming is that it is wrong to think of justification as "the imputation of the justice of Christ alone," just as it is wrong to think of Jesus Christ as not fully both God and man. | <urn:uuid:3d70fc08-bc31-4dbf-844f-fb186b3ca276> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://romereturn.blogspot.com/2009/10/council-of-trent-did-not-deny-forensic.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985767 | 206 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Allan, Absalom S.
The following data is extracted from The Canadian Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-Made Men, Ontario Volume, 1880.
Absalom Shade Allan, one of the leading merchants and citizens of Clifford, and reeve of this village, is a native of Waterloo county, Ontario, and was born near Preston, November 26, 1843. His father, Alexander Allan, was an advocate in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland; married Ann Davidson, sister of the late John Davidson, of Galt; came to Canada in the spring of the year our subject was born; was for several years superintendent of schools for Wellington district, and died in 1855.
Our subject attended the common school at Preston for several years, and afterwards gave four years to study in the grammar school at Elora; finished his education at the normal school, Toronto, where he obtained a first-class certificate, teaching meanwhile one year during this period, at the village of Alma. He then entered as bookkeeper the establishment of J. M. Fraser, of Elora, where he remained four years.
In 1868, Mr. Allan came to Clifford; went into trade as a partner in the firm of Geo.
McDonald and Co., in 1869, afterwards in the firm of Allan and Biggar, and for the last four years has been alone in general merchandise, being a straightforward, popular man.
He was appointed a commissioner for taking affidavits in 1874, and a justice o. f the peace in 1877; was the first reeve of the village, when it was incorporated in 1874; served two consecutive years, and after being out three years, is again (1879), holding the same office. As the head of the municipality of the village, he looks well to its interests, no other man in the place having its welfare more at heart.
He is a member of Knox Presbyterian church, an elder and the treasurer of the same, and an earnest christian worker. At one period he superintended the Sunday school of his church in the village, and now holds the same position in a mission school in the country. He is a strong temperance man, and an untiring advocate of total abstinence principles. Mr. Allan is a Reformer; very liberal. in his political views, but a strong advocate of the claims of his political confreres when they are up for office, and is treasurer of the West Riding Reform Association.
He is Past Master of the Clifford Lodge of Free Masons, and an Odd Fellow.
The wife of Mr. Allan was Kate, second daughter of Noah Bullock, deceased, of Clifford, their marriage being dated June 9, 1871.
Source: The Canadian Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-Made Men, Ontario Volume, 1880 | <urn:uuid:a117a3f1-ba69-47dc-b66d-cb4cb30d200f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.accessgenealogy.com/scripts/data/database.cgi?file=Data&report=SingleArticle&ArticleID=0031816 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977602 | 589 | 2 | 2 |
Business Outputs and Development Division
Telephone: +44 (0)1633 456756
Frequency of release: Annually
Geographical coverage: UK
Geographical breakdown: Region
Survey name(s): Research & Development Inquiry
In 2011, total business research and development (R&D) expenditure in the UK, in cash terms, increased by 8% to £17.4 billion, compared with 2010. In real terms, R&D expenditure increased by 6% compared to 2010.
The largest increases in R&D expenditure, in cash terms, were in computer programming and information service activities (£293 million; 19% increase), motor vehicles and parts (£288 million; 23% increase) and the pharmaceuticals industry (£169 million; 4% increase).
Defence R&D expenditure increased by 10% in 2011 to £1.8 billion. This was mainly driven by government awarded contracts to UK businesses to develop aircraft, naval ships, submarines and their systems and equipment.
Total R&D expenditure in 2011 represented 1.1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is in line with previous years.
For the first time, the ownership of businesses that perform R&D in the UK is split equally between foreign and UK owned companies.
Breakdowns of research and development spending and employment by UK business across different market sectors.
These National Statistics are produced to high professional standards and released according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority. | <urn:uuid:d1be9dad-adb6-4d10-85d7-92ee7d3247b9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/ons/rel/rdit1/bus-ent-res-and-dev/2011/index.html?translation-component=&translation-component=&calling-id=77-6175-4&calling-id=77-6175-4&currLang=English&currLang=English&format=contrast | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957127 | 303 | 1.859375 | 2 |
MobyRanks are listed below. You can read here
for more information about MobyRank.
While it's never too early to teach kids to respect the biosphere, the same may not be true of introducing them to complicated simulations such as Simearth: The Living Planet (FCI, for Super NES), which has more variables (temperature, precipitation, etc.) than a polynomial equation.
All Game Guide
Science fans may enjoy it, but most expect to have fun with their games. There is an audience for detailed simulations, however, so the subject matter might prove entertaining.
Super Play Magazine UK
The thing you've got to understand about Sim Earth: The Living Planet is that - no matter how ambitious, original or worthy the game may be - it simply isn't any fun at all to play. It's clunky, it's slow, it looks rubbish, it fails to explain itself properly in use, but - most of all - it fails to properly give yo anything to do. Overall verdict, - Poor presentation is the least of the sins of this overambitious and fatally flawed eco-sim. It's simply tedious in the extreme to play, and should be avoided at all costs.
||How smart (or dumb) you perceive the game's artificial intelligence to be
||How effective the educational game is when it comes to teaching (does the player actually learn anything, etc.)
||How well the game mechanics work (player controls, game action, interface, etc.)
||The quality of the art, or the quality/speed of the drawing routines
||How much you personally like the game, regardless of other attributes
|Sound / Music
||The quality of the sound effects and/or music composition
|Overall MobyScore (2 votes)
There are no reviews for the SNES release of this game. You can use the links below to write your own review or read reviews for the other platforms of this game. | <urn:uuid:3c3a3f00-f3e5-4f2b-8cf4-2edf5821cab0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/simearth-the-living-planet/mobyrank | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920597 | 404 | 2.453125 | 2 |
In the Fall 2004 edition of the Vertex Angle we asked "How many US patents were granted to Thomas Edison?"
a) 752, b) 979, c) 1009, d) 1093, or e) 1624
The correct answer is: d) - 1093 patents
The first of Edison's 1,093 U.S. patents issued on June 1, 1869 and the last on May 16, 1933, almost 2 years after his death. He filed an estimated 500 to 600 unsuccessful or abandoned applications as well.
In his early years, Edison did not always rush to his patent lawyer with an invention, especially if there was little competition for the invention or he was unable to pay the various fees required for an application. In a few cases, Edison removed some of the claims from an original application and subsequently filed a new application to cover those claims. The issue date of the subsequent patent would have been considerably later than that of the original application, even though the patent pertained to designs from the earlier patent filing. At the peak of his career in 1882, Edison filed for over 100 patents.
If you are not receiving The Vertex Angle and would like to receive it, contact us by E-mail or by phone 416-239-7779 and we will add you to our mailing list. | <urn:uuid:ca534b57-3859-4ecc-adc4-764f6cd62d67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vertexips.com/vertexangle/fall2004.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981546 | 273 | 2.28125 | 2 |
This course provides a framework for understanding the police role in homeland security. This course provides a broader understanding of how the concept of homeland security developed, what it means for the police, where within the scope of a national homeland security framework the police fit and how the police must have a broad, strategic focus for the adoption of homeland security to ensure goals and objectives are compatible. This course will present a more holistic understanding of policing for homeland security, what role the police will play in this new era and the strategic, operational and tactical considerations necessary to implement this new philosophy of policing.
No corequisites or prerequisites
Terms Offered: Fall
There are no sections matching your filters.
Textbook information will be available online for each term's courses 45 days prior to the first day of classes for the term.
Each course offered by Seminole State is listed alphabetically and organized by the course prefix, catalog number and description. The courses in this catalog are identified by prefixes and numbers that were assigned by Florida's Statewide Course Numbering System, a system used by all public postsecondary institutions in Florida and 32 non-public institutions. Seminole State controls the description, credit and content of its own courses. | <urn:uuid:096caf5d-a485-41e9-9019-71577b4dcc22> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.seminolestate.edu/catalog/courses/course/DSC2021 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917184 | 247 | 2.375 | 2 |
Victory Square, Vancouver
Victory Square park, Vancouver
|Location||Vancouver, British Columbia|
|Area||0.9 acres (0.36 ha)|
|Operated by||City of Vancouver|
Victory Square is a park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The square is bordered by West Hastings Street to the northeast, West Pender Street to the southwest, Cambie Street to the southeast, and Hamilton Street to the northwest. The term is also used to refer to the neighbourhood immediately surrounding the square.
Victory Square was at one time the grounds of the city's provincial courthouse, which was torn down in 1911–13 when the new Rattenbury-designed courthouse on Georgia Street was opened (now the Vancouver Art Gallery). The location had significance when it was chosen, as it stands at the intersection of the old Granville townsite (aka Gastown) and the CPR Townsite, which was the downtown-designated land grant obtained by the CPR as part of the deal to locate the terminus and thereby found the city (the corner of Hastings and Hamilton is the northern tip of the CPR Townsite). An area of 0.9 acres (3,600 m2) out of the 480 acres (1.9 km2) allotted to the CPR was held aside as "Government Square" on February 13, 1886. The southwest corner of Hamilton and Hastings Streets is where L. A. Hamilton drove the first survey stake to commence laying out the street system for the city.
Boyd & Clendenning were contracted by the CPR to begin felling the forest at a rate of $26 per acre and an extra $2 per acre for lopping off large branches. A tangled mass soon built up to 20 feet (6.1 m) thick that was to be the kindling for the great fire that leveled the townsite.
It was down the park's hillside that the clearing crews of the CPR entered Gastown a few steps ahead of the firestorm that destroyed the city on June 13, 1886, heading for their quarters in the Regina Hotel at Cambie and Water where they had themselves stored water and wetted blankets as safety precaution (it was the only building in that part of the city to survive the fire). Until that year, however, the site of Victory Square as with all of the downtown peninsula outside of Gastown had been dense west coast rainforest, with trees standing in dark, thick groves hundreds of feet high and also a small creek (now vanished).
The Cenotaph and the Old Courthouse
On the northern side of the square, on a plaza flanking Hastings Street, lies the Vancouver war memorial, the Victory Square Cenotaph. The cenotaph is approximately 30 feet (10m) tall, and is a triangular edifice whose shape conforms to that of the square. The pillar is of Nelson Island granite engraved with suitable inscriptions, and is kept continuously banked high with wreaths of flowers and adorned with national flags.
The Cenotaph was unveiled by His Worship W.R. Owen, Mayor of Vancouver, in the presence of an assemblage of 25,000 persons; naval, military and civilian, and including the Old Contemptibles, 7th British Columbia, 29th Vancouver, 72nd Seaforths, 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles, 47th New Westminster, and 102nd North British Columbian Battalions, C.E.F., and others, on Sunday, 27 April 1924. It was dedicated by Hon. Major the Rev. Cecil C. Owen, M.B.E., V.D., D.D., chaplain of the 29th (Vancouver) Battalion, C.E.F.
"To the Glory of God, and in thankful remembrance of those who served their King and Country overseas in the cause of truth, righteousness and freedom."
The 24th Psalm was read by Hon. Lt.-Col. the Rev. G.O. Fallis, C.B.E., E.D., D.D., of the Methodist Church, and the music included "O Canada" (Buchan); "O God, Our Help in Ages Past"; "Lochaber No More" (bagpipes); "For All the Saints"; "Last Post" and "God Save the King". The first wreath, being the tribute of the Corporation and Citizens of Vancouver, was reverently placed by Mrs. W.R. Owen, wife of His Worship the Mayor.
The ornamentations on the stone include one long sword and two wreaths, one of laurels, the other of poppies; both entwined with maple leaves. A stone replica of the steel helmet, as used in the war of 1914–1918, adorns three corner buttresses. A larger wreath of laurels surrounds the numerals "1914–1918" at the base of the front. Slots in a receptacle of three bronze maple leaves hold the staffs of the Union Jack, the White and Canadian Ensigns, always flying, which are placed there by the Canadian Legion, British Empire Service League, and renewed four times each year.
Of the monument faces; one side faces Hastings Street, the others Pender and Hamilton Streets, and was designed thus by Major G.L. Thornton Sharp, architect, town planner, and park commissioner, to conform to the triangular shape of the park. It is so placed that, when approached from the east, it appears in the distance centrally at the end of busy Hastings Street. The granite was supplied by the Vancouver Granite Co., Ltd., and the erecting contractors were Messrs. Stewart and Wylie. Mr. Stewart died from the effects of an accident whilst preparing the memorial. The Vancouver War Memorial Committee of twenty-four, of which twelve represented the Canadian Club of Vancouver, and twelve the Civic War Memorial Committee, the whole under the chairmanship of F.W. Rounsefell, Esq., pioneer, and with J.R.V. Dunlop, Esq., of the Canadian Club, as honorary secretary, were the public-spirited sponsors. The Cenotaph cost $10,666.000.
The engraved inscriptions are:
Facing Hastings Street: "Their name liveth for evermore" and, within a stone wreath, "1914–1918." Facing Hamilton Street: "Is it nothing to you" Facing Pender Street: "All ye that pass by"
The first, commencing "Their name", is from Sirach, Chapter 44, Verse 14. The second, commencing "Is it nothing", from Lamentations, Chapter 1, Verse 12. The third side represents the continuation of the verse from Lamentations.
In his valedictory address, Major the Rev. Mr. Owen said:
"Those whose sacrifices this Cenotaph commemorates, were among the men who, at call of King and Country, left all that was dear, endured hardship, faced danger, and finally passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty, giving their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that their names be not forgotten."
The Cenotaph continues to be the focus of the city's annual Remembrance Day services.
The site of the Cenotaph is significant because it was at tables at the foot of the old courthouse steps where men signed up for World War I in 1914—which was symbolic for the enlistees because of the strong royalist sentiment in the city, as it was on the courthouse steps where the main ceremonials of the various royal visits to Vancouver had taken place. The courthouse was the location of many official ceremonies, particularly the royal visits of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York in 1901 and the Duke of Connaught in 1912.
Around Victory Square, then and now
During the old courthouse's tenure the vicinity was the hub of the city's financial and legal district, with the Vancouver curb exchange operating just across Hastings Street, mostly in a passageway cutting the corner diagonally behind the Astor Hotel (see photos in External links). The Inns of Court, a ramshackle and infamously leaky (if decorative) structure on the west side of Courthouse Square, was the location of adjutant legal services and offices connected to the Court House. The Oddfellows Hall and what is now the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans Hall still stand further south (uphill) along Hamilton Street from where the Inns of Court used to be (now a modernist bank-cum-film studio). Most of the original main branches of the major banks were within the next few blocks west along Hastings, which in both directions was the hub of the city's shopping district until the completion of Pacific Centre in the 1970s, which severed the old pedestrian link between Woodward's, a block east of Victory Square, and Eaton's, two blocks west (now the SFU Harbour Centre campus). On the south side of Victory Square originally stood the Central School, which later became the original Vancouver Community College (then named Vancouver College), adjacent to which was the city's original main hospital (both were in a brickwork Gothic style).
Even once it was known that the courthouse was to be demolished, major construction continued to line the square where it had been. The Province, Sun and Dominion Buildings went up in rapid succession in the last years of the courthouse's existence, and remain today, although no longer as newspaper buildings. The maple trees on the Pender Street side of the park are the oldest street trees in the city, planted in 1897.
- BC Archives Photo: Old Courthouse, January 1896
- BC Archives Photo: Old Courthouse, c.1905
Read in another language
This page is available in 1 language | <urn:uuid:33b2f411-c216-4b6f-91a7-ea6be88ca861> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Square,_Vancouver | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965263 | 2,047 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life significantly increases a child's chance to thrive.
Pregnancy, Neonatal and Infancy- Boosting Child Survival and Development
Since 2001 under-five mortality in Mali has significantly decreased, from 229 to 191 per 1,000 live births. This 17 per cent reduction in child mortality is encouraging but overall maternal, newborn and child survival health indicators are still some of the worst in the world. To reach the MDG 4 child mortality target, projected at 83 per 1,000 live births, national efforts have to step up considerably.
Integrated community health care for women and children - “Continuum of care”:
Improving maternal and newborn health requires delivering essential services and putting in place improved practices at key points in a woman’s and child’s life cycle. It links mothers, newborns, children and their households and communities with quality health care and maternal services; namely to outreach services, to health centres and if need be to hospitals. Community health volunteers play a vital role. They make house-to house visits “promoting essential family practices” which are key to child survival. They include antenatal care for pregnant women, immediate and exclusive breastfeeding for babies during the first six months of life, fully vaccinating children under one year of age, spacing births by at least three years, sleeping under insecticide treated mosquito nets, using latrines, and keeping drinking and cooking water safe from contamination.
The Mali-UNICEF programme provides support to improving the continuum of care approach, essential to reduce childhood diseases, improve maternal health and save lives. In partnership with the Ministry of Health, UNICEF is reinforcing the skills of health personnel and the availability of adequate health-care facilities at various levels with training, equipment and medicines. More specifically this support includes:
• Distributing long lasting insecticide net and intermittent preventive treatment of malaria for pregnant women in the second and third trimesters.
• Promoting hygienic delivery practices as well as tetanus vaccinations for women of childbearing age.
• Strengthening of medical evacuations and the referral system; this is critical not just for reducing maternal deaths but also for reducing infant deaths; between 25 and 45 per cent of neonatal deaths occur during the first day of life;
• Preventing mother to child transmission of HIV by promoting voluntary testing for HIV when pregnant women attend antenatal consultations, and providing information about infant feeding;
• Providing paediatric treatment -- ensuring that all children have access to care, including orphans and vulnerable children; | <urn:uuid:b8f3e631-e688-491e-86d0-febff3bf2743> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unicef.org/mali/child_survival.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931215 | 528 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Oil on linen
The Putnam Dana McMillan Fund
- Review the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.
Where is Orpheus in this painting?
just right of center.
How do you know?
He's playing a musical instrument called a lyre.
Where is Eurydice in this painting?
Middleground, left of center, kneeling under an arched hedge.
How do you know?
She is separated from others by a green arch.
Does Denis give us any clues about what will happen to these lovers?
The colors and mood of the picture do not seem to hint of the sad ending of the story. Perhaps Eurydice's position under green foliage
while all other figures lounge on top of the green lawn suggests her Underworld fate?
- What colors did Denis use in this painting? Name them.
White, green, purple, brown, and blue.
What do green, purple, and blue have in common?
They all contain the color blue!
Rather than use colors as they would appear in nature, Denis used colors as
to create a personal statement. What kind of feelings do you think Denis wanted to suggest with this picture? Loud? Quiet? Happy? Angry? Excited?
- The FOREGROUND
in a painting is the space closest to the viewer, the
is the space below the horizon line, and the
is very near the horizon line and/or above it.
What do you see in the foreground of this painting?
Two reclining female figures.
What do you see in the middleground?
Green lawn, more figures.
What do you see in the background?
Figures and trees.
What common elements unite the foreground, middleground, and background in this painting by appearing in all three places?
Figures, curved lines, and color.
Beginning with the two reclining women in the
follow with your eyes the ring of figures surrounding Orpheus.
Roll over the image to see the ring of figures with an open spot from Orpheus and Eurydice
Is there an open spot for you to join this group? Where?
Right lower corner.
- Maurice Denis was associated with a group of artists called the
The Symbolists sought an ideal synthesis of all the arts - visual arts, music, poetry, theater.
Why do you think Denis would be interested in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice?
Orpheus represents the supreme power of music and poetry to enchant all natural things.
- Denis believed that color, line, and form had musical qualities and could convey a sense of rhythm and harmony. He used these principles
when he painted Orpheus and Eurydice. What kinds of music do you suppose inspired Denis when he made this painting? Jazz? Opera? Polka?
Explain your answer. How would you represent your favorite music in an image?
- Denis believed that a truly harmonious painting was one that achieved a balance between nature and the imagination. What would Denis's
painting look like if he had believed that nature is more important than imagination? What would it look like if imagination had played a
more important role? | <urn:uuid:f21be83d-a0ba-4fb2-9f62-e2f0b6cee0f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artsmia.org/world-myths/viewallart/orpheus_questions.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92829 | 667 | 3.390625 | 3 |
The proof is in the statistics. According to a 2005 Centers for Disease Control study, antidepressants were the most commonly prescribed drug in the country. The use of antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs—those that affect brain chemistry—has skyrocketed over the last decade.
The question is, are we overmedicating in our pursuit of happiness?
Jonathan Leo discusses the use and abuse of antidepressants in an Oct. 12 presentation at Pellissippi State Community College. Leo is assistant dean of students and a neuroanatomy professor at Lincoln Memorial University–DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate.
He will speak on “Serotonin and Mental Health: The History, the Science and the Marketing” at 12:25 p.m. in the Goins Building Auditorium, on the Pellissippi Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road. The community is invited to the free event.
Leo, who earned a doctoral degree in anatomy from the University of Iowa, has published extensively on the science and marketing of psychiatric medications. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Science, Nature, The Economist and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The Oct. 12 presentation centers on problems surrounding the serotonin theory of depression, the disconnect between the antidepressant clinical trial literature and the marketing, and the increasing use of antidepressant medications for younger and younger children.
The lecture is part of Pellissippi State’s 2010-2011 Common Academic Experience, which revolves a Common Book read by select students. This year’s book choice is “The Geography of Bliss” by Eric Weiner. In “Bliss,” the bestselling author shares the highlights of his trip around the world to find the happiest countries. He spoke to Pellissippi State students Sept. 8.
For more information on Leo’s presentation, contact Toni McDaniel, Pellissippi State professor of Liberal Arts, at 865-694-6697. | <urn:uuid:c31f5b73-80dc-4457-a4f7-e320cd3071ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blounttoday.com/news/2010/oct/06/lmu-professor-addresses-science-marketing-mood-enh/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91863 | 404 | 2.03125 | 2 |
    The most significant case in which Judge Sotomayor participated that will have bearing on her confirmation to the Supreme Court is in the case of Ricci v. DeStafano, which is currently on appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The facts and legal question presented by this case are set forth below.
    In 2003 the New Haven Fire Department administered written and oral examinations for promotion to Lieutenant and Captain. The Department selected IOS, an Illinois company, to design the examinations. The results of the tests were that seven whites and two hispanics and not a single black candidate qualified for promotion. The City's attorney, Thomas Ude, was concerned because of the racially disparate impact of the test. If the black firefighters were able to prove that the test was not job related they would have a valid civil rights claim against the city. Mr. Ude brought the matter to the attention of the New Haven Civil Service Board and he advised the Board that it could refuse to certify the results of the examination if it found that there was a less discriminatory way to determine eligibility for promotion. The Board voted 2 to 2 on whether to certify the results of the test, which had the effect of not certifying the results. The white and hispanic firefighters sued the Board to have the results of the test certified.
    The trial court – District Court Judge Janet Bond Arterton – ruled in favor of the Board. She relied primarily upon a 1999 decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals (Hayden v. County of Nassau) in which the appeals court had held that Nassau County did not violate the Equal Protection Clause when it decided to use only 9 out of 25 sections of a civil service examination – the nine sections which had the least racially disparate impact. Judge Arterton quoted Hayden in finding that the City of New Haven was not guilty of intentionally discriminating on the basis of race. Here is the key portion of her opinion:
Nothing in the record in this case suggests that the City defendants or CSB acted "because of" discriminatory animus toward plaintiffs or other non-minority applicants for promotion. Rather, they acted based on the following concerns: that the test had a statistically adverse impact on African-American and Hispanic examinees; that promoting off of this list would undermine their goal of diversity in the Fire Department and would fail to develop managerial role models for aspiring firefighters; that it would subject the City to public criticism; and that it would likely subject the City to Title VII lawsuits from minority applicants that, for political reasons, the City did not want to defend. "[T]he intent to remedy the disparate impact of [the tests] is not equivalent to an intent to discriminate against non-minority applicants." Hayden, 180 F.3d at51. None of the defendants' expressed motives could suggest to a reasonable juror that defendants acted "because of" animus against non-minority firefighters who took the Lieutenant and Captain exams.Â
    My Constitutional Law students will recognize the "because of" test from the case of Feeney v. Personnel Administrator. (They were just tested on this point in their own examination and did beautifully!) This is a technically difficult principle of constitutional law. The government does not violate the Equal Protection Clause unless it intentionally discriminates against a particular group – there is no violation of the Constitution unless the government is guilty of purposeful discrimination on the basis of race or some other prohibited factor. Essentially the trial court in the Ricci case ruled that when the New Haven Civil Service Board declined to certify the results of the examination it certainly knew that its decision would have a racial impact, but it did not reach that decision "because" it would harm whites and latinos – instead it was attempting to comply with federal civil rights laws that provide that employment tests and other criteria that have a racially disparate impact may be illegal. Accordingly, Judge Arterton found that the City of New Haven did not violate the Equal Protection Clause, and the white and hispanic firefighters appealed her decision to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
    A three judge panel of the Second Circuit which included Judge Sotomayor affirmed Judge Arterton's decison in a one paragraph per curiam opinion. The panel stated:
We affirm, substantially for the reasons stated in the thorough, thoughtful, and well-reasoned opinion of the court below. In this case, the Civil Service Board found itself in the unfortunate position of having no good alternatives. We are not unsympathetic to the plaintiffs' expression of frustration. Mr. Ricci, for example, who is dyslexic, made intensive efforts that appear to have resulted in his scoring highly on one of the exams, only to have it invalidated. But it simply does not follow that he has a viable Title VII claim. To the contrary, because the Board, in refusing to validate the exams, was simply trying to fulfill its obligations under Title VII when confronted with test results that had a disproportionate racial impact, its actions were protected.Â
    The white and hispanic firefighters asked the entire Second Circuit to review the panel's decision en banc, that is, for all of the appellate judges to decide the case and not leave it to a three judge panel. By a vote of 7 to 6 the judges of the Second Circuit declined to review the matter en banc. In a brief concurring opinion Judge Calabresi explained why he believed that the decision of the District Court had to be affirmed. Judge Calabresi stated that the plaintiffs could have argued that the City had a "mixed motive" for rejecting the results of the firefighters' examination, but he found that the plaintiffs had waived this argument by failing to raise the point in the District Court.
    One could criticize the decision of Judge Sotomayor's panel for its summary disposition of this difficult case. On the other hand, District Court Judge Arterton's decision was thorough and it relied primarily upon binding precedent, leaving little for the appellate court to do unless it chose to overrule its prior decison in Hayden. In addition, whatever you think of the merits of this case, a Civil Service Board has to have some discretion to refuse to certify the results of a flawed civil service test. The difficult question is how much discretion the Board should have. Under Hayden the Second Circuit had given the Board pretty much carte blanche to reject the results of a test that has a racially disparate impact. It would not have been unreasonable to overrule Hayden.
    But the main point of this post is what this case tells us about Judge Sotomayor. There are a few conclusions we can reach.
    First, Judge Sotomayor cannot be considered an "outlier" or "radical" on the basis of this case. The two other judges on her panel agreed with the per curiam opinion, and most of the judges on the Second Circuit decided not to revisit their decision. She and the other judges affirmed the decision of the District Court which itself deferred to the City of New Haven. Finally, in ruling for the City she and the other judges followed binding judicial precedent.
    Second, based upon this case Judge Sotomayor would appear to have a fairly conservative style of judicial decisionmaking. The per curiam opinion that she joined is brief to the vanishing point. This is consistent with Jonathan Turley's criticism of Judge Sotomayor published today that "her view of the law is a bit insular and narrow" and that her opinions lack "a broader historical or theoretical view."
    Third, it should be apparent from the Ricci case that Judge Sotomayor is not a "racist" as Rush Limbaugh charged today ("So here you have a racist."). In Ricci she and the other members of her panel ruled against the hispanic plaintiff.
    The political maneuvering will be fascinating to watch in the coming days and weeks. I look forward to the debate over Judge Sotomayor's qualifications and what it will mean for the interpretation of the Constitution. | <urn:uuid:b20d735e-739f-4fb6-9609-673689a137d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ohioverticals.com/blogs/akron_law_cafe/2009/05/sotomayor-and-the-new-haven-firefighter-case/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965763 | 1,759 | 1.9375 | 2 |
When writing queries that group and aggregate, it is not uncommon for there to be many columns in the SELECT clause that are neither in the GROUP BY clause nor being aggregated. For example, in a customer orders database, suppose you want a query that returns customer names, telephone numbers, and total order amount. A correct, but somewhat naive solution would go like this:
select c.Name, c.Phone, sum( o.Amount ) as Amount_sum
from Customers c
join Orders o on o.CustomerID = c.CustomerID
group by c.Name, c.Phone
This will return the desired results, but in my experience, will not deliver ... | <urn:uuid:ff979a0d-0948-4a96-b0cf-4f4ce76794a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.falafel.com/Blogs/2008/04 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922127 | 139 | 1.976563 | 2 |
I’ve been thinking about King David’s worst day. He had many, if the psalms are any guide. Bleakness stalked him, calamity lay in ambush. He made stupid decisions that cost him dearly. He suffered betrayal, divorce, assassination attempts, coup attempts. Some of his best plans went horrible awry. He was hunted by a crazy king. He lost his best friend. One of his sons raped one of his daughters, another of his sons murdered the rapist, then his chief henchman killed the son.
There is more bloodshed and sorrow in David’s story than in a Shakespeare tragedy.
But I think his worst day is when his son Absolom overthrows his kingdom – not because losing a kingdom is the worst that can happen, but because that day is a perfect storm: all his sorrows converge. A tsunami of accumulating disaster surges, breaks, and engulfs him. He is woebegone in a thousand ways.
David evacuates Jerusalem. Like Jesus on his own lonely and sorrowful night two millennia later, David crosses the Kidron Valley and climbs the Mount of Olives. An old enemy shows up to taunt him, hurl rock and dirt on him. The writer captures with terse vividness the weight of it all: “The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted” (2 Sam. 16:14).
Exhausted. In Hebrew, it means he was fainting tired. He was collapsing with weariness. He was dead on his feet. He was completely empty.
But then the writer adds this: “And there he refreshed himself.”
Refreshed. In Hebrew, it means he breathed deep. He restored his soul. He came alive. He was abundantly full.
I think this is a spiritual skill David learned back in the sheepfold: how to locate God – his presence, his strength, his goodness – in the thick of troubles. How to hear God’s voice in the din – beneath the condemning silences, above the jeering shouts. Indeed, I believe David wrote Psalm 23 out of the experience of this day, as he walked through a valley of death, surrounded by enemies. It’s here he turns afresh to God, and finds God’s comfort, and provision, and guidance, and renewal. “He restores my soul,” David says in Psalm 23. It’s the same word used here for refreshed.
This is a skill every Christ-follower needs to cultivate. Finding God in the dark. Resting in God in the turmoil. Trusting in God in the teeth of catastrophe. Being restored by God when all earthly comforts fail.
It’s a skill you cultivate daily, until it becomes a muscle memory, an instinct, a default. And then, just when it’s needed – when you’re dead on your feet – it kicks in. And you come alive.
The Apostle Paul puts it this way:
I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. (Phil. 4:11-13; Msg).
I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are snarky, offensive, or off-topic.
If in doubt, read My Comments Policy. | <urn:uuid:f966e7f9-160d-4389-a51c-bf1eec06083c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.markbuchanan.net/2012/12/21/1415/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975872 | 778 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Joined: 12 Jan 2005, 10:25 Location: Still signing off after all these years
Is there a decent tutorial on how you use lups and ceg's? I want to get away from the built in effects but after looking in zero-k I can see an increadible array of differnt things and not much in the way of explanations on how you put things together...
I tried to build effects in steps. eg for an explosion first do some black smoke via http://springrts.com/wiki/CEG-Classes#CSimpleParticleSystem (CSimpleParticleSystem is basically some particles that get thrown in a direction.) For smoke the particle speed should be slow and they should drift upwards: set the parameters to archive that. (needs some experimenting)
Then you might want to add some fire sparks to the explosion. So just c&p the smoke part, and change some parameters. eg increase the speed and change the color -> tada, now it is fire.
At the end maybe add a groundflash thing (glowing circle on ground) for shockwave.
And this way you build the whole effect. It is VERY cumbersome though. Not really difficult but time consuming. After a while one might get a feel for it but I ended up randomly editing numbers until it was closeenough.jpg If you try to tweak too many things at once, it gets hard to keep track of what changed.
Did you try car's ceg spawner? It is in toolbox: viewtopic.php?t=27268 Allows you to browse cegs of other games, then you can open the file and see how they did it. (personally did not find that insightfull because it is basically staring at seemingly random numbers)
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum | <urn:uuid:2f3ccd66-9ad3-4b69-820e-4a3583b04f9e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://springrts.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=22293&start=100 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932322 | 419 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Watch Carefully and Learn
We are coming to the 11th hour for people to register and run for office in this year’s elections. Once everyone’s name is out there, the smears and rumors will start. All it takes is an innuendo that so-and-so was involved in this-or-that to make the public question their integrity or standing in the community.
It can be as simple as someone having a friendship with a developer; or someone else is known to hang out with people who are active in a group that are known troublemakers. Some of these smear tactics will happen early on, while others will take time to be released. It is the blood sport of politics.
It is ugly, but it works!
At this point there are some things we do know and they are not based upon innuendo or smear campaigns. For instance, we do know the Frederick County Board of Education recently ‘found’ millions of dollars that was previously unaccounted.
Given that the school board has a budget of half a billion dollars, a few million may seem to them to be small potatoes; remember, one billion is equivalent to 1,000 million. But, this is not their money, it is our money! This money was not ‘found,’ it was well known that it existed.
Now the difficult part comes: how to use that money. On the one hand, the school board will state that their employees paid into a program that ended up being over-budgeted and those employees should get that money back. On the other hand, some will argue this is part of the employees benefit package and that money should be used to pay down the huge shortfall in other areas of the benefits package. Namely, the health insurance coverage included in the retirement plan – generally referred to as OPEB.
But there is a bigger story to this ‘found’ money. Very often the board of education over budgets projects. Some of that is due to unforeseen expenses, but this is such a common practice, one has to wonder if this has simply become the norm with this group. And, when these programs come in under budget, the money is often transferred to other projects – not returned to the county or the taxpayers.
It is these kinds of practices that must be questioned!
Virtually no one has a handle on the entire budget of the school board and one has to wonder if that is by design. Staff has become very well versed in shifting and covering these monies – monies which account for more than half of our entire county budget!
Another area of decision when considering candidates running for office is how they will work, not only for us, but among the other elected officials throughout the county. Much ado has been made of how our Board of County Commissioners has interacted with various municipalities and citizens whose property they have affected.
My friend and fellow www.theTentacle.com writer, Rocky Mackintosh, has written extensively on the topic both here and on his blog. Mr. Mackintosh has a history of improving process, structure, and functionality in large organizations such as Frederick Memorial Hospital. While he and I will argue, at times, on the implementation, I have come to respect his insights.
But, it is still the people who matter when we choose someone to represent our interests and work together, rather than against various other entities and citizens. Keep this in mind when you decide who you want to support.
Finally, there is a little known or spoken to aspect about our elected officials. Once they get into office, they are dependent upon the existing staff. The staff has been there and running things behind the scenes through many different elected officials. The staff has its own perspectives and ideologies. The staff is very necessary and helpful to these elected officials as they can teach them the history and the current direction that the previous board was moving.
This is also a potential negative. If the public elected a group to go in a new direction, staff has the ability to influence our elected officials to back off from pursuing this new direction. We need candidates who are willing to take the time to learn from staff, but are also willing to stand firm and push back if the staff only present one perspective.
This is more important than many people realize. Staff retention is often high, especially when compared to how often new elected officials turn over. That means that staff will often have their own perspectives that may not reflect that of the citizenry. Elected officials need to be cognizant of this paradigm and spend the time and energy to promote their own goals.
So, during this season of political shenanigans, keep in mind that much of what will be said and printed will not be the entire story. Focus on how you see the candidates handle what will be the day-to-day decisions and interactions. The big issues will be presented, and they are very important; but don’t forget the little things as that is how a person will present themselves once in office. | <urn:uuid:ab3b93f9-a124-4b17-b926-91a029415b61> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=3834 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981449 | 1,030 | 1.734375 | 2 |
The University of Maryland Professional Voice Program provides medical, surgical and rehabilitation services for individuals with voice problems and other disorders of the larynx (voice box). The Professional Voice Program is a unique resource for both the general public and those who use their voices professionally.
Individualized clinical services are available for people with vocal misuse and overuse syndromes, recurrent laryngitis, spasmodic dysphonia, vocal fold paralysis, the aging voice, cancer of the vocal fold, scarred vocal folds, and benign vocal fold growths, such as nodules, cysts, granulomas, webs, papillomas and polyps.
A specialized focus of the Professional Voice Program is to help diagnose and treat voice problems experienced by broadcasters, singers, actors and others who use their voice professionally. These voice problems may be a result of overuse or vocal misuse, but could also be caused by scarred vocal folds, vocal fold growths or even laryngopharyngeal reflux disease, known as LPRD. | <urn:uuid:5efb633d-f702-4705-b4bd-0215b2e3e380> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.umm.edu/voice/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929178 | 211 | 1.921875 | 2 |
Federal courts in Texas and Ohio have rolled back restrictions on voting rights put in place by state lawmakers, marking another development in the battle between the federal government and the states over who can vote and when.
In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry recently signed a bill requiring voters to produce a photo ID card in order to cast a ballot. Perry and voter ID supporters claim that these laws are necessary to prevent in-person voter fraud, while critics maintain that such laws are put in place by Republicans in order to make it harder for poor and minority voters to cast a ballot. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia seemed to agree with the critics last week when it struck down the Texas voter ID law, holding that it imposed “strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor.” Under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Texas is one of the states required – due to its history of racial discrimination in voting – to get federal approval of changes made to “any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting.” In such cases, the state proposing the changes bears the burden of showing that the proposed change will not "lead to a retrogression in the position of racial minorities with respect to their effective exercise of the electoral franchise." The United States District Court for the District of Columbia, along with the Department of Justice, have the authority to approve or strike down laws effecting the right to vote.
The Court noted that while the Texas law allowed voters lacking acceptable photo ID to obtain an ID card free of charge, the “free” IDs would not in fact be costless. “Not only will prospective voters have to expend time and resources traveling” to a Public Safety office, “but once there they will have to verify their identity by providing ‘satisfactory’ documentation,” (such as a birth certificate), which would in fact cost a voter some amount of money. Texas v. Holder, No. 12-CV-128, 3 (D.D.C.). The Court noted that 81 Texas counties have no Public Safety office, forcing many voters to travel great distances to obtain a proper form of ID. The Court reasoned that these barriers would in fact disenfranchise minority voters in Texas. “This conclusion flows from three basic facts:”
(1) a substantial subgroup of Texas voters, many of whom are African American or Hispanic, lack photo ID; (2) the burdens associated with obtaining ID will weigh most heavily on the poor; and (3) racial minorities in Texas are disproportionately likely to live in poverty. Accordingly, [the voter ID law] will likely "lead to a retrogression in the position of racial minorities with respect to their effective exercise of the electoral franchise."
Texas v. Holder, No. 12-CV-128, 45 (D.D.C.). Despite the Court’s ruling, the matter remains unsettled, as state officials intend to appeal. Even giving voter ID proponents the benefit of the doubt, it’s hard to believe that they’re only aim is to prevent voter fraud. As New York University School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice has demonstrated, one is more likely to be struck and killed by lightning that to encounter a case of in-person voter fraud. Indeed, over the last decade, only ten cases of voter impersonation have been reported. With actual cases of voter impersonation being virtually non-existent, it hardly seems worthwhile to enact laws that will do far more to disenfranchise eligible voters than they will to prevent fraud.
The battle between the federal government and the states over voting rights took an interesting turn in Ohio last week, when U.S. District Court Judge Peter Economus ordered Secretary of State John Husted to appear before him to explain why his office has decided to ignore a federal court order to keep the state’s extended voting hours in place for the November election. President Obama’s reelection campaign filed suit against Husted, arguing that Ohio’s decision to limit in-person early voting on the three days prior to the election to military personnel only was unconstitutional. Judge Economus agreed, holding that early voting hours must be restored in order to place “all Ohio voters on equal standing.” The court also rejected the state’s argument that early voting for all would be too costly, finding that there was “no definitive evidence before the court that elections boards will be tremendously burdened.”
Secretary Husted and Attorney General Mike DeWine pledged to appeal the ruling, and initially voiced their decision not to abide by the federal order to set uniform early voting hours until the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals said that they really had to. This open defiance of federal authority led Judge Economus to order Secretary Husted to appear before him. Should Husted fail to show up, or fail to enforce the court’s order, Judge Economus could hold him in contempt of court. Federal courts have broad discretion in imposing penalties for contempt, meaning that Secretary Husted could face jail time or fines until he complies with the court’s orders.
Secretary Husted has since rescinded his order to county election boards instructing them to disobey the District Court’s order, and has requested a stay of the order pending appeal.
For his part, Husted said that extending early in-person voting before the Sixth Circuit hears the matter would only “confuse voters.” What’s more confusing is why Husted believes he doesn’t have to comply with a federal court order. Perhaps Husted is right that the rules shouldn’t be altered until the Sixth Circuit has the last say. But unless and until the court stays the order pending appeal, Secretary Husted is now obligated to extend early voting times to all Ohio voters.
UPDATE: Since Secretary Husted decided to comply with the court's order, he is no longer required to appear before Judge Economus. | <urn:uuid:2e935936-78bc-4d77-bb54-683cc4b1f1cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ohiocriminaldefenselaw.net/2012/09/voting-rights-in-flux-in-the-buckeye-and-lone-star-states.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956428 | 1,234 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Some people would hesitate to quote St. Augustine to Pope Benedict XVI. Not President George W. Bush.
Granted, he limited his citation to the words “Pax tecum” (“Peace be with you”) so it wasn’t exactly an academic exhibition.
Throughout his welcoming talk yesterday, it struck some of us that the president was sounding a lot like the pope. He spoke of a “dictatorship of relativism” and the common moral law written into every human heart, and said the measure of a free society is “how we treat the weakest and most vulnerable among us” — all key themes of this pope.
The president seemed sincere in his admiration for the concepts he was borrowing. That was evident in the way he leaped to his feet after the pope’s own talk and told the pontiff, in less exalted language: “Thank you, your Holiness, Awesome speech. We’re gonna sit down for one more song.”
The scene reminded me of Bush’s visit to the Vatican last year. When he arrived, he recognized one of the welcoming Vatican functionaries, slapped him on the back and said, “Hey, I know this big guy.” Somehow even in the stuffy Vatican, the president’s air of familiarity went over just fine.
On the South Lawn of the White House, there seemed no doubt that the pope and president were on the same wavelength. Complete with fife and drum corps, the event was a set piece of patriotic Americana, and the pope seemed to be blessing Bush’s vision of an essentially religious and moral America.
Of course, when it comes to details and particular policies, the pope and the Vatican are sometimes at odds with the United States. But this was not the moment for highlighting differences. One reason, as explained to me by a high Vatican official before the trip, is that the Bush term is almost over. The Vatican, he said, doesn’t see much point in engaging in a far-ranging discussion with this administration because “there won’t really be any follow-up or implementation.”
Maybe that’s why the private meeting between pope and president lasted less than 20 minutes. This was a day for public impressions, not private policy discussions. | <urn:uuid:443a2fdc-828b-4036-b860-5ac3ce3781b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/the-pope-and-the-prez/?like=1&_wpnonce=8f8cc21eb5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971012 | 486 | 1.539063 | 2 |
State of the Art: Linux Audio 2008, Part II
In this second part of my survey of Linux audio development, I focus on the application side of things. I would have liked to have included many other tools and applications, but time and space always are in short supply. So, my apologies if your favorite program isn't listed; feel free to let me know what you think I'm missing.
People coming to Linux from the Windows/Mac world of commercial sound and music software might think they've stepped backward in time. Linux audio and MIDI production software usually is not as visually attractive as the rainbow of products advertised in the major music magazines, but most musicians will agree that the sound is the thing. In that regard, Linux can stand tall and even can claim some colorful packages of its own.
ALSA supplies command-line utilities for simple recording and playback of audio and MIDI. These tools (arecord/aplay and arecordmidi/aplaymidi) are useful for quick uncomplicated purposes, and most distributions provide GUIs to ease their use. At the next level, LMMS (Linux MultiMedia Studio; Figure 1) and Jokosher are good examples of desktop music production software designed in the manner of Apple's popular Garage Band. They engage the user quickly with colorful uncomplicated GUIs, but they are quite powerful within their design constraints. Both programs are in current development and have active communities of users and developers. Wouter Boeke's AMUC (Amsterdam Music Composer) is another less-weighty program that includes many attractions for the desktop composer, including an integrated synthesizer, notation capability and very light resource requirements.
Ardour dominates the professional-grade category of serious recording tools for Linux. Paul Davis continues to lead Ardour's programming team, and the project remains one of the finest examples of Linux audio software development. Ardour 2.5 is a mature application, and the developing Ardour 3.0 promises to bring the program to a new level, thanks especially to Dave Robillard's work on its new MIDI recording and editing capabilities. No strict timetable exists for Ardour's releases, and I certainly can't predict when 3.0 will make its public debut. However, Ardour's development track record is well defined, with a consistent series of releases, so I hope we may see it before year's end. Of course, SVN sources are available to anyone who wants to test the cutting edge while waiting for the public release.
Smaller but still powerful alternatives are available. Rui Nuno Capels' QTractor is a multitrack/multichannel DAW (digital audio workstation) with a design similar to the portable studios in the digital audio hardware world. QTractor also distinguishes itself by its support for natively compiled Linux VST plugins, along with the usual complement of LADSPA and DSSI plugins. Remon Sijrier's Traverso employs a highly efficient interface, is very easy to use and provides a complete production system, from recording your first tracks to burning an audio CD.
Kai Vehmanen's Ecasound occupies a unique position in the Linux audio software world. Ecasound is a command-line DAW, a complete audio recording and processing solution that requires no graphics displays. It runs in an interactive mode or can be driven by user-composed scripts; it is fully JACK-aware; it records in multichannel modes—the list of Ecasound's capabilities stretches on and on. Ecasound is a long-lived project, and I'm happy to report it's still developed and maintained by its original author.
Fervent Software's Rosegarden is another venerable Linux music application with a long and healthy development track. Rosegarden always has supported common-practice notation as a composer's interface, and its developers now plan to strengthen that interface further. Given its JACK support, there's little need for Rosegarden to repeat all the duties of a DAW, and it's a win for notation-based composers to have their notation-based GUI JACK-sync'd to the DAW of their choice.
Developer Werner Schweer has moved his MusE audio/MIDI sequencer in the opposite direction—he has removed its notation interface and refocused that code into the MuseScore program (see below). Meanwhile, MusE continues to evolve as a dedicated audio/MIDI sequencer, and version 1.0 is currently in alpha release.
Similis sum folio de quo ludunt venti.
|Using Salt Stack and Vagrant for Drupal Development||May 20, 2013|
|Making Linux and Android Get Along (It's Not as Hard as It Sounds)||May 16, 2013|
|Drupal Is a Framework: Why Everyone Needs to Understand This||May 15, 2013|
|Home, My Backup Data Center||May 13, 2013|
|Non-Linux FOSS: Seashore||May 10, 2013|
|Trying to Tame the Tablet||May 08, 2013|
- RSS Feeds
- Making Linux and Android Get Along (It's Not as Hard as It Sounds)
- Using Salt Stack and Vagrant for Drupal Development
- New Products
- Validate an E-Mail Address with PHP, the Right Way
- Drupal Is a Framework: Why Everyone Needs to Understand This
- A Topic for Discussion - Open Source Feature-Richness?
- Download the Free Red Hat White Paper "Using an Open Source Framework to Catch the Bad Guy"
- Tech Tip: Really Simple HTTP Server with Python
- Home, My Backup Data Center
- Android is Linux -- why no better inter-operation
1 hour 52 min ago
- Connecting Android device to desktop Linux via USB
2 hours 21 min ago
- Find new cell phone and tablet pc
3 hours 19 min ago
4 hours 48 min ago
- Automatically updating Guest Additions
5 hours 56 min ago
- I like your topic on android
6 hours 43 min ago
- Reply to comment | Linux Journal
7 hours 4 min ago
- This is the easiest tutorial
13 hours 18 min ago
- Ahh, the Koolaid.
18 hours 57 min ago
- git-annex assistant
1 day 56 min ago
Enter to Win an Adafruit Pi Cobbler Breakout Kit for Raspberry Pi
It's Raspberry Pi month at Linux Journal. Each week in May, Adafruit will be giving away a Pi-related prize to a lucky, randomly drawn LJ reader. Winners will be announced weekly.
Fill out the fields below to enter to win this week's prize-- a Pi Cobbler Breakout Kit for Raspberry Pi.
Congratulations to our winners so far:
- 5-8-13, Pi Starter Pack: Jack Davis
- 5-15-13, Pi Model B 512MB RAM: Patrick Dunn
- 5-21-13, Prototyping Pi Plate Kit: Philip Kirby
- Next winner announced on 5-27-13!
Free Webinar: Hadoop
How to Build an Optimal Hadoop Cluster to Store and Maintain Unlimited Amounts of Data Using Microservers
Realizing the promise of Apache® Hadoop® requires the effective deployment of compute, memory, storage and networking to achieve optimal results. With its flexibility and multitude of options, it is easy to over or under provision the server infrastructure, resulting in poor performance and high TCO. Join us for an in depth, technical discussion with industry experts from leading Hadoop and server companies who will provide insights into the key considerations for designing and deploying an optimal Hadoop cluster.
Some of key questions to be discussed are:
- What is the “typical” Hadoop cluster and what should be installed on the different machine types?
- Why should you consider the typical workload patterns when making your hardware decisions?
- Are all microservers created equal for Hadoop deployments?
- How do I plan for expansion if I require more compute, memory, storage or networking? | <urn:uuid:e39acfb6-17f9-40b4-b479-dd01a7aecb19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/10201 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913788 | 1,677 | 1.765625 | 2 |
The Atlantic Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus on the Farne Islands
Atlantic Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus
The Farne Islands are the most important area for breeding Atlantic grey seals in Europe. The islands are situated off the coast of Northumberland in North Eastern England and are controlled by the National Trust who manage the landings here. The national trust wardens live on the island and monitor the nesting sea birds and the Atlantic grey seal colony.
The Farne Islands can be accessed from Seahouses, a small fishing port on the Northumberland coast. There are many boat operators in the port to take you out to the Farne Islands. The operator I use is Serenity Boats http://www.farneislandtours.co.uk/ they operate a catamaran which is a more stable vessel than the other conventional boats. Because of the increased stability it is better for photography purposes photographing birds on the water and in particular for photographing the Atlantic grey seal
The Farne Islands is home to between 3000 and 4000 Atlantic grey seals, this is 50% of the worlds population of grey seals The colonies here are one of the most important in Europe, and this species of seal is the largest surviving carnivore in the British Isles. They live here on the Farne Islands all year round and during the pupping season of late October and November when they give birth to almost 1500 pups. This is an increase of 1000 or so pups being born each year since monitoring started over sixty years ago by the National Trust.
If you are in the area, the islands are very much worth a visit to see these magnificent mammals.
Here are some images from my most recent visit. | <urn:uuid:c56e1ffd-c065-4a81-9cea-61466b7ea55b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wildlife-photography.uk.com/blog/?p=7033 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93715 | 355 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Miracle Material, Modern Curse: Vermiculite
Vermiculite insulation can be found in older homes. It was installed in attics often by homeowners, many years ago and sometimes made its way into walls. Vermiculite insulation, on its own, is not a bad thing. However, the problem is, Vermiculite insulation may contain asbestos.
Maybe you’re looking at this picture and thinking about the holiday decorations you just tucked away in the attic. You’re thinking “uh oh…” hold on. When our advisors investigate a home, they keep their eyes out for this stuff. If they find it, they proceed with caution because it may have asbestos in it. On the other hand, it may not have asbestos in it. Unfortunately, you can’t tell simply by looking at it. So be cautious and don’t disturb it. The EPA has a good deal of information on vermiculite and so will your energy advisor.
As you can see, it’s important to consider health and safety when improving the efficiency of our homes. The Building Performance Institute (BPI) has standards regarding suspected asbestos containing materials such as vermiculite. Yet another reason why every GreenHomes America advisor is BPI certified. Shaking the “curse” is easy. Not only can we help you figure out what is in your attic, but also what to do with it, and most important how to stay safe right at home.
photos used with permission from Asbestorama on Flickr | <urn:uuid:b2293b1f-63e2-4c70-80b3-2b69cd7cd47a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.greenhomesamerica.com/tag/asbestorama/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959058 | 324 | 2.296875 | 2 |
I'm trying to get a grasp of the power within a single hydrogen atom (e.g. the power released when whatever process happens in a hydrogen bomb)... If we could enlarge a hydrogen atom up to the size of your fist, how much energy would it give off?
One can not build a hydrogen bomb with a single hydrogen atom since it requires fusion of more than one nuclei. Neither one can "enlarge" a hydrogen atom. An atom of hydrogen is made of one electron and one proton. There are certain specific orbitals around the nucleus whose sizes are fixed. One just can not rescale it. The size of any atom is fixed by fundamental physical constants. The energy of the hydrogen bomb comes from fusion of hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms. The final mass of the system is less than the initial mass and the lost mass is converted to energy by the equation $E = mc^2$ where $m$ is the mass difference. | <urn:uuid:9ffcc150-4b76-4b79-b4d6-fc10f4cf834a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/6690/scaled-energy-output-of-a-hydrogen-atom?answertab=votes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943636 | 194 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Selected Study Aids on Reserve
A study aid is one of several classifications that make up the broader category of legal treatises and are designed especially for law students. Study aids come in a range of sizes, formats, legal topics, and expository coverage. They share the same fundamental characteristics as other classifications of treatises. A treatise contains a table of contents, table of cases, analysis and discussion of the topical subject matter, cross references to case law, legislation, and other primary and secondary sources depending upon the treatise's topic. Most treatises are supplemented through a variety of methods, including annual pocket parts, pamphlets, and loose-leaf releases. The Study Aids Rolodex, located at Reserve, lists selected titles in our collection. We have conveniently made this list available to online users with easy access to the full bibliographic record. Last updated 5/14/13. | <urn:uuid:3e945542-7aa4-4618-a29e-38bf6afae644> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www1.law.wne.edu/library/index.cfm?selection=doc.3410 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934403 | 186 | 2.28125 | 2 |
|A lightning, roaring thunder, heavy rain and sometimes hail (or snow) - that's a thunderstorm. One of the most impressive weather phenomena. In total, about 1600 thunderstorms occur on earth simultaneously, covering about 0.3 percent of the earths surface.|
Who doesn't know them? And who knows how they originate?
|A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth`s atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically-assigned cloud type associated with the thunderstorm is the cumulonimbus. Thunderstorms are usually accompanied by strong winds, heavy rain and sometimes snow, hail, or no precipitation at all.|
Lightnings result from different electrical loads in clouds and earth. That was
proven already in 1752 by the researcher and statesman Benjamin Franklin, by letting kites rise into thunderstorms. With these dangerous experiments, he also invented also the lightning rod.
In a thunderstorm, the temporary separation of electrical load develops, if ice and water particles - which load themselves differently with electrical load - are blown into different heights by strong winds within high thunderclouds. Lightning is the sudden transmission of a larger electrical load released thereby. Lightnings predominantly develop from there within thunderclouds. On the Earth, there are 40 to 50 lightning flashes per second, and 10% of these lightnings reach the ground.
Thunderclouds result from the lift of warm and damp air. The following three conditions are necessary for a thunderstorm to develop:
If a moist pack of air begins to ascend from the ground by elevation, then it cools down by around approximately 6.5 °C/km (moist adiabatic ascent) during the ascent. Starting from a certain altitude (condensation level = cloud base), water droplets originate (see cloud formation) by condensation, due to the cooling of the air. By the condensation heat (energy which is set free with the formation of water), the ascending pack of air cools down less fast than the surrounding air; thus, it stays warmer and lighter (due to the density decrease) than the surrounding air; this produces and/or even strengthens the lifting process.
Once this procedure is underway, the ascending air can reach speeds of several hundred kilometers per hour within the thundercloud. Thus, thunderclouds become often more than ten kilometers high, and up to 15 kilometers in the Tropics. Only once ascending air reaches the top margin of the troposphere, it stops to ascend further and flows off laterally. By the lateral movement of air, which is still partially mosit, the typical anvil form of a thundercloud is produced.
|Thunderstorms go through 3 phases:|
The stages are illustrated in the graphic.
Animated forecast map:
Animated radar map: shows actual precipitation.
Try to recognise the thunderstorm in the meteogram of Lille (left image). Du you see the 3 conditions causing the thunderstorm in the AIR meteogram (right image)?
Paris is also strongly affected by the thunderstorms. In the animated radar map (above, right side) you can see, how the thunderstorm front passes over Paris. | <urn:uuid:05cf8c51-c743-4cf3-90d7-b3e543e324a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.meteoblue.com/en_GB/content/index/index/id/436 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916807 | 678 | 3.46875 | 3 |
A vaginal discharge is common for most women. Discharge may be more
noticeable during the middle of the menstrual cycle (ovulation).
Some women even find it necessary to wear a pad or panty liner because of the
amount of discharge.
By Laura NathanDoubting your diagnosis? Read on to find out what you might really
Sometimes even the best doctors miss the mark: About 40 percent of all
mistakes that M.D.s make are misdiagnoses, says the National Patient Safety
Foundation. That's because many ailments have similar symptoms or can be
detected only with tests that your physician might consider unnecessary if he's
confident in his verdict. If you're in the know about often-confused
conditions, though, you can ask the right... | <urn:uuid:e0cf7531-a32b-4034-824e-1ae6c8417ab8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://women.webmd.com/normal-vaginal-discharge | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929281 | 165 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Patrick Cockburn writes: The civil war in Syria is destabilising Iraq as it changes the balance of power between the country’s communities. The Sunni minority in Iraq, which two years ago appeared defeated, has long been embittered and angry at discrimination against it by a hostile state. Today, it is emboldened by the uprising of the Syrian Sunni, as well as a growing sense that the political tide in the Middle East is turning against the Shia and in favour of the Sunni.
Could a variant of the Syrian revolt spread to the western Anbar Province and Sunni areas of Iraq north of Baghdad? The answer, crucial to the future of Iraq, depends on how the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, responds to the seven-week-long protests in Anbar and the Sunni heartlands. His problem is similar to that which, two years ago faced rulers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria. They had to choose between ceding some power and relying on repression.
Most Arab rulers chose wrongly, treating protests as if they were a plot or not so broadly based that they could not be crushed by traditional methods of repression. The situation in Iraq is not quite the same, since Maliki owes his position to victory in real elections, though this success was not total and depended overwhelmingly on Shia votes. He has nevertheless ruled as if he had the mandate to monopolise power.
Maliki has been ambivalent about the protests since they started in December last year. On occasion, he has denounced them as a plot by ex-Baathists or other enemies of the state acting as proxies for hostile foreign powers. At others, he has offered concessions, but nowhere near enough to quell the protests. His strategy is probably to play for time, an approach that has served him well in the past. [Continue reading...] | <urn:uuid:f1a12cf7-9939-4e78-97ee-c553a2fd750d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://warincontext.org/2013/02/11/saddam-and-the-u-s-failed-so-why-should-maliki-think-he-can-control-iraq-by-force/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98424 | 375 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Internet Access Is Not a Human Right by Vint Cerf
Posted in: Governance at 06/01/2012 18:43
From the streets of Tunis to Tahrir Square and beyond, protests around the world last year were built on the Internet and the many devices that interact with it. Though the demonstrations thrived because thousands of people turned out to participate, they could never have happened as they did without the ability that the Internet offers to communicate, organize and publicize everywhere, instantaneously.
It is no surprise, then, that the protests have raised questions about whether Internet access is or should be a civil or human right. The issue is particularly acute in countries whose governments clamped down on Internet access in an attempt to quell the protesters. In June, citing the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, a report by the United Nations' special rapporteur went so far as to declare that the Internet had "become an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights." Over the past few years, courts and parliaments in countries like France and Estonia have pronounced Internet access a human right.
But that argument, however well meaning, misses a larger point: technology is an enabler of rights, not a right itself. There is a high bar for something to be considered a human right. Loosely put, it must be among the things we as humans need in order to lead healthy, meaningful lives, like freedom from torture or freedom of conscience. It is a mistake to place any particular technology in this exalted category, since over time we will end up valuing the wrong things. For example, at one time if you didn't have a horse it was hard to make a living. But the important right in that case was the right to make a living, not the right to a horse. Today, if I were granted a right to have a horse, I'm not sure where I would put it.
To read this article by Vint Cerf in the New York Times in full, see: | <urn:uuid:b61d65d3-ddc9-4ee1-9e1b-0323f40c270d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=16651 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964536 | 416 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Article brought to you by: Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
Fr. Frank Pavone Back on the Front Line of the Fundamental Human Rights Movement of our Age: The Right to Life
By Deacon Keith Fournier
July 31st, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
When the official history of the great human rights movement of our age is written - and make no mistake it will be written - there will be several women, men, associations, movements and organizations holding a deserved place of honor. Right at the top of that list will be an indefatigable Catholic Priest and Champion for Life named Fr Frank Pavone and the vital association which the Lord of Life called him to found, Priests for Life. I recently had the joy of speaking at length with my friend of many years. I asked him about the events of the last several months and have incorporated his responses in this article.
WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - When the official history of the great human rights movement of our age is written - and make no mistake it will be written - there will be several women, men, associations, movements and organizations holding a deserved place of honor. Right at the top of that list will be an indefatigable Catholic Priest and Champion for Life named Fr Frank Pavone and the vital association which the Lord of Life called him to found, Priests for Life.
Let me explain. The great human rights movement of our age is the struggle to restore to the Civil and positive law of this Nation - and the rest of the nations - the legal recognition of the fundamental Human Right to Life. This Right to Life informs the foundation of all other rights and is revealed by the Natural Law which can be known through the exercise of reason. The Natural Law is binding upon all men and women.
Without recognizing this first Right to life there can be no recognition of any other derivative rights. In fact, the entire infrastructure of human rights is placed at risk. All true Human Rights are goods of human persons. When there is no human person there can be no rights endowed upon them or exercised by them.All the "rights talk" in the world will not change that.
Civil Rights are those human rights which are first recognized - and then properly protected by - civil government. The American founders stood in the trajectory of Western civilization in their insistence that human rights are not given or bestowed by government but by the God in whose Image we have all been created. Truly just governments are instituted precisely to secure these human rights. The first among them is the Right to Life.
There is no more urgent work in the contemporary culture than the work of the movement called "Pro-Life". That is precisely because the Right to Life movement is the foundational human and thus civil rights movement. We have failed to hear the cry of our youngest neighbors in the first home of the whole human race. When we allow their killing for any reason and by any means - and then actually call it a "right" - we profane the very word. We also place our future survival as a Nation at risk.
When we allow their innocent blood to be shed and then protect the evil act with the Police Power of the State we betray our claim to being a civilized people. When we deny them the Freedom to be born we undermine the very understanding of ordered liberty upon which our Nation was founded. Those engaged in the Pro-Life movement assert with the American founders that there are truths that are self evident - such as our equality before God - and rights which are inalienable - such as the Right to Life.
When we are victorious in this monumental struggle - and we will be victorious - there will be many heroes whose sacrifice and courage will be recounted in our history books. They will be celebrated by our children and grandchildren as Champions of Life who overcame the current culture of death, replacing it with a new Culture of life. When recognition of the fundamental Human Right to life is restored to the Civil and Positive law, these heroes will be remembered, honored and imitated.
Right at the top of that list will be a Catholic Priest named Fr. Frank Pavone. He may be of small physical stature, like David of the Old Testament story, but he has a heart which is huge and the courage of a spiritual warrior. Fr Frank Pavone has wielded his small smooth stones and sling mightily in the battle against the Goliath of the contemporary Culture of Death and that giant staggers as a result.
I have had the privilege of calling Fr Frank my friend for several decades. In all that time I have always found him to be a faithful Catholic Priest of genuine holiness, simplicity of life and heroic virtue. That is why I am happy to report that this great man is back on the front line of the Pro-Life battle. I recently had the joy of speaking at length with my friend of many years. I asked him about the events of the last several months and have incorporated his responses in this article. However, as always, his actions speak the most loudly.
For example, on Friday, July 27, 2012, Father Frank issued the following statement about a funeral service he attended in Charlotte, North Carolina: "On Friday morning, July 27, I will stand proudly with my brothers and sisters of Operation Save America to honor the body of an aborted child for whom we will offer a memorial service in which the public will have an opportunity to participate. We have also arranged for the burial of the child."
"It is not often that we have the bodies of aborted babies. Unfortunately, the act by which their lives are dishonored and their bodies dismembered takes those bodies and discards them with the medical waste. But once in a while, we are able to retrieve these bodies."
"When we do so, we give them the honor that others have denied them. The act of violence that killed them is done in secret; we believe that the act of reparation that honors them should be done in public. The cold-hearted killing was done in darkness; the broken-hearted mourning should be done in the bright light of day."
"We will have an open casket at this memorial service so that people can see the bruised body of this baby. The body is intact, having been killed by prostaglandin abortion, which induces violent contractions that bruise and ultimately kill the child. Seeing the child awakens the conscience to the fact that abortion kills real people, and must be put to an end without further delay."
See what I mean? Courageous men put their lives on the line. They never back down from speaking the truth! Fr Frank Pavone is such a courageous man. Hopefully, most of our readers have heard by now that the Vatican has affirmed, contrary to some errant reports, that Fr. Frank was never suspended from priestly ministry. In fact, lest there be any further confusion, he is now free to exercise his priestly ministry worldwide.
This is a very important matter to get clear. The word "suspension" was inaccurately used in some reports to imply that there was some alleged wrongdoing on his part. There was not. During this entire period of time Fr Frank was simply asked to limit his travel and ministry to his own Diocese. He did as his Bishop asked and continued full priestly ministry in his home Diocese.
In fact, he did what good priests do when they love the Church. He trusted that the Lord works through her. He remained faithful to his vows, to his priestly ministry, to the Bishop and to the canonical process offered by the Church which he loves and serves with such dignity. As a student of Church history I recognized the pattern of fidelity in his behavior and my esteem for him only grew. He fully expressed his concerns about the matter and allowed the Holy Spirit to work through the Church.
Now, this Champion of the Unborn, the infirmed, the disabled and the elderly is back on the front line rattling the Gates of Hell. I had to share the good news with our readers around the globe. The Vatican has also once again expressed its high regard for the work of Priests for Life the importance of Fr Frank being able to carry it out, with the generous permission of his Ordinary, around the world.
Two examples of that Vatican support concern collaborative projects coming up. The Pontifical Council for the Family and the Secretariat of State has invited Priests for Life to help sponsor the training conference for Catholic Non Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in September. Pope Benedict XVI has called for a World Day of Life which will be celebrated on June 16, 2013 with events in St. Peter's Square. Fr Frank and Priests for Life will lead a national pilgrimage to take part in the event.
Fr Frank is a priest of the Diocese of Amarillo, Texas. However, given the nature of the global apostolate of Priests for Life, he is, with the help of Rome, working to build a new canonical structure by which he and other priests can give their lives for the unborn. I ask our readers to pray for this important effort.
I know that such a global network of priests - fully available for the Pro-Life apostolate - has always been at the heart of the vision the Lord gave to Fr Frank Pavone. Over the years I have collaborated with him on several efforts including Deacons for Life. There are challenges associated with building such a worldwide ecclesial movement or association.
For example, where are the resources and personnel going to come from? When priests give their lives to the missions, to education, to ministry to the sick and poor, they need a base of support. So it is with Priests who seek to now give themselves to ministry to our first neighbors, those whom Blessed Teresa of Calcutta rightly called the "poorest of the poor", the unborn.
Church history is filled with examples of the Holy Spirit guiding the Church as she recognizes such ecclesial movements and associations and provides canonical structures which accommodate their vital work in the heart of the Church for the sake of the world. That is precisely what is underway concerning Priests for Life. No- one at Priests for Life has ever questioned the structure of authority in the Church. What they seek is the best vehicle which will enable them to provide the time, attention, and resources needed to protect the lives of the unborn.
Some are asking whether the events of the last several months and the attendant confusion affected Priests for Life financially. I asked Fr Frank that question directly in our discussion. As always, he was forthright in his response. "A little, yes. But many people give to Priests for Life precisely because they want to see the Church do more, not less, about abortion."
I am numbered among them and I invite our readers to do the same. You can read about the many apostolic works of Priests for Life and join them in their mission by going here.
Article brought to you by: Catholic Online (www.catholic.org) | <urn:uuid:3a095d12-7175-4c3a-812e-5966f0036f0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.catholiconline.org/printer_friendly.php?section=Cathcom&id=47098 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973357 | 2,266 | 2.375 | 2 |
Archive for 'Tag Archives: 'parenting''
Helping children overcome their fear of the dark. Fear of the Dark Does your child dread going to bed because of a fear of the dark? It’s not uncommon for children to feel this way. In [...]
When’s the last time you observed the computer and video games your children play? Well once you do, don’t be surprised if you find yourself suddenly laying down some ground rules on the types of games [...]
A look at how your child’s temperament affects his sleep cycle. Temperament and Sleep Many experts say that sleep is a learned behavior and that as parents part of our job is to help our children [...]
Just when will your newborn sleep through the night? Sleeping through the Night If there’s one thing newborn babies do a lot of, it’s sleep. Most babies sleep an average of sixteen or more hours a [...]
How to become a greener family one step at a time Green Families Surveys show that Canadians consider the environment and climate change to be their number one concern. But worrying about the environment and actually [...]
Have you ever dreamed of traveling through Europe with your children? Host of The Parent Report radio show, Joanne Wilson decided to make her dream a reality. As the first part of the six part series, [...]
One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is the love of music. Fortunately it doesn’t require expensive lessons and instruments to do this. Singing, even speaking in a sing-song voice to children is [...]
Ideas on how to pack a green lunch for your child. Green Lunches At one time, school lunches created a mountain of garbage every single day. Not so anymore. With a little thought and planning, packing [...]
Are you concerned about your teen’s friends? You may be wondering if the time has come to speak up and express your concerns. Teens & Bad Friends If your teen is getting into a little trouble, [...]
How to reduce your family’s exposure to electro pollution. Electro Pollution Over the past several years there have been concerns raised about electro-magnetic radiation. While there hasn’t been anything conclusive, there is growing concern over what [...]
Last updated byat . | <urn:uuid:54afd98b-2534-4cff-8913-b7c3a577ba81> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theparentreport.com/tag/parenting/page/3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934944 | 471 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post comments on a new study out from an NYU prof that shows how globalization and so-called free trade have opened up a schism between two parts of the U.S. economy.
Michael Spence and Sandile Hlatshwayo divided the economy into tradable (manufactured goods, natural resources, financial services, etc.) and non-tradable spheres (teaching, health care, retail, etc.) and found:
One was that all the job growth came pretty much in the non-tradable activities, in particular government and health care, while across wide swaths of the tradable manufacturing sector, jobs declined significantly.
The other thing they noticed was that in terms of economic value-added - the “output” that is measured by GDP and generally correlates with income - the tradable sector experienced a slight edge.
Put the two together - the very unequal employment growth and nearly-equal output growth - and what you get is an economic tale of two cities, one that is growing in terms of jobs but not income, another that is growing income but not jobs. In short, a recipe for increasing inequality and social and political polarization.
— One wonders what we’d know if the feds had tapped Wall Street’s phones during the crisis.
The Wall Street Journal (which has done a lot of great work on the Galleon story, by the way) reports that prosecutors allege that hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam tried to cover up the fact that he was trading on inside information.
Unfortunately for him, the feds were taping his calls:
In a taped phone call, Mr. Rajaratnam told two former Galleon employees to create an email “trail” that would make it seem as though a purchase of stock was based on price rather than information received from Anil Kumar, the former McKinsey consultant and a star witness for the government.
The alleged cover-up involves the purchase of shares of a company spun off by chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. called Spansion.
“You just have to be careful, right?” Mr. Rajaratnam told the former Galleon employees, adding that he would send an email asking about a stock “so that we just protect ourselves.”
“We just have a[n] e-mail trail, right, that uh I brought it up,” he said, after telling them about the deal described to him by Mr. Kumar.
“What I would do is, I would buy a million shares and sell 500,000,” Mr. Rajaratnam advised her. “If you want to buy 500, I would buy a million and sell on Friday 500,000, you know?”
They didn’t appear to suspect the FBI was listening. “I’m glad that we talk on a secure line,” Ms. Chiesi said. “Right. I never call you on my cellphone,” Mr. Rajaratnam responded.
How’d you like to be that guy’s lawyer?
— The Journal’s Katie Rosman has a terrific vignette on life at South by Southwest, the legendary Austin music festival that has been somewhat overtaken by the tech crowd.
She approaches SXSW like an anthropologist would an alien culture:
A unique social etiquette pervades the event. At the door of the bar or hotel, a PR neophyte searches an iPad for your name. Once you pass muster, you “check in” to the venue on your geo-location social network of choice. Next, via your preferred group text-messaging app, you text a core of friends alerting them to your whereabouts. You sidle up to the bar and order a Shiner Bock. (It’s a Texas beer and you’re here to enjoy the local culture, right?) You snap an arty photo of the scene with your iPhone camera and post it on Instagram and Twitter, affixing “#sxsw” to the end of your micro-message so all your followers know you are in-the-know and on the list.
Then, casually, you sip your drink, checking your device to see who has retweeted you, the warm glow of the screen casting you in the right light. The tech-obsessed indulge, free of judgment. Overheard (or, in Twitter parlance, “OH”): “Looking down is the new looking up.” | <urn:uuid:dada163e-751a-42cf-88af-f2a7bde34202> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/audit_notes_two_economies_red-.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96078 | 953 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Attorney Donn Zaretsky writes on "When Photography Might be Illegal" in his Art Law and Policy column in the Spring/Summer 2012 issue of The Journal of Art Crime (available via subscription).
Donn Zaretsky is an art law specialist at the firm John Silberman Associates. Zaretsky published the Art Law Blog at http://theartlawblog.blogspot.com/.
In an earlier Art Law and Policy column (Spring 2011), I looked at the question of whether a state can declare subject matter off-limits to photographers. In that case, the subject matter was farms: the state of Florida was considering a bill that would have made it illegal to take photographs of a farm without consent. I argued that such a statute would be clearly unconstitutional. “[As] a general matter,” the Supreme Court has said, “the First Amendment means that government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content.” Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union, 535 U.S. 564, 573 (2002) (internal quotation marks omitted; emphasis added).
Texas Penal Code § 21.15(b)(1) presents a related question. What if it’s not the subject matter that’s off-limits, but the subject matter combined with the photographer’s intent in taking the photograph? The statute makes it a crime to photograph someone “without the person’s consent” and “with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.” Late last year, a Texas appellate court upheld the statute. Ex parte Nyabwa (Tex. Ct. App. Dec. 13, 2011). The Court acknowledged that “[photography] is a form of speech normally protected by the First Amendment,” but accepted the State’s argument that “the statute is not a regulation of speech at all, but instead is a regulation of the photographer’s or videographer’s intent.” Just as a statute criminalizing harassment by telephone (which will typically involve speech) does not violate the First Amendment because it focuses on the actor’s intent (in that case, “to inflict emotional distress”), this statute regulates “a person’s intent in creating a visual record,” as distinct from “the contents of the record itself.” On this basis, the Court concluded that the statute “is not a regulation of speech” and therefore does not violate the First Amendment. | <urn:uuid:94b39d1f-f730-45d8-bdd0-d208f3238e70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://art-crime.blogspot.com/2012/07/donn-zaretsky-writes-on-when.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942218 | 534 | 1.625 | 2 |
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said Wednesday during an annual address that his proposal to eliminate the commonwealth's gas tax, increase its sales tax and enact a new fee on alternative fuel vehicles was an "innovative" plan that could shore up long-standing shortfalls in Virginia's transportation budget.
Speaking to Virginia's General Assembly during his State of the Commonwealth speech, McDonnell said that the plan wouldn't suit all legislators, but it was a necessary compromise for new infrastructure to be developed.
"I know there are parts of this plan you will like and parts you won't," McDonnell said. "That's true of any innovative and comprehensive transportation plan. But we cannot let another session be lost as each member holds out for their perfect plan. The more we sit and debate, the longer Virginians sit and wait."
Some of the nation's most congested roadways are found in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, according to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Arteries in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia also rank as some of the nation's most clogged.
States have long relied on the gas tax to pay for transportation infrastructure projects, of which Virginia has several. An extension of Washington's metro rail system to Dulles Airport in Virginia has been going on for several years, with the cost reaching into the billions.
However, as vehicles become more fuel-efficient and drivers rely on alternative fuels, revenues from the gas tax have decreased. McDonnell noted in his speech Wednesday that "the gas tax is worth 45% of its purchasing power from 1986" and has never been increased.
Climate change activists and some economists have suggested increasing the gas tax as a way to increase revenue for transportation. McDonnell, considered a potential candidate for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, has gone in the opposite direction. If his measure to eliminate the gas tax succeeds, Virginia would be the first state to get rid of the tariff. A tax on diesel gas would remain in effect.
To fill the gap, McDonnell has proposed increasing the state sales tax by 0.8%, a move he said on Wednesday "will provide over $600 million more than our current gas tax revenues from organic economic growth, not tax increases."
McDonnell's plan also calls for a new annual $100 fee on alternative fuel vehicles. The governor;s office said that would provide $66 million over five years in additional revenue for transportation projects. On Wednesday, he also cast the new fee as a measure to inject fairness into how transportation funds are raised.
"I'm a strong supporter of alternative fuel vehicles, and I've directed that we convert the state vehicle fleet to natural gas, but these vehicles generate little federal gas tax revenue and therefore need to contribute their share to fund the roads they use," McDonnell said.
Alternative vehicle drivers surveyed by CNN's Richmond-area affiliate WTVR weren't pleased with the plan, which they worried would discourage Virginians from purchasing the environmentally friendly cars.
"I'm hoping it remains a proposal, as opposed to a law," Toyota Prius owner Aubrey Pettaway said.
And University of Richmond Transportation economist George Hoffer said the plan was penalizing drivers of alternative fuel vehicles "in a very funny way."
"We're penalizing them with a $100 per year fixed fee," he told WTVR. "Now that would make sense if we were getting most of our revenues from the gas tax, but it's now being switched to the sales tax." | <urn:uuid:cf3d1d73-9a91-466f-800f-bb99f8d86b88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ktvz.com/news/politics/Virginia-governor-proposes-eliminating-state-s-gas-tax-hiking-sales-tax/-/4894412/18074370/-/ig4pk1/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977063 | 705 | 1.851563 | 2 |
WASHINGTON, DC- As the Nation strives for energy security by developing
advanced, environmentally-sound technologies and exploring a range
of domestic energy sources, coal continues to prove itself as a critical
energy resource for the nation. Providing more than 50 percent of U.S.
electricity, coal represents an abundant, domestic energy source with
more than a 250-year supply at current use rates.
The U.S. Department of Energy maintains a database to track proposals
for new coal-fired power plants. If built, these new plants will be critical
in helping to meet future electricity demand in the United States. The
database, titled "Tracking New Coal-Fired Power Plants," was created
by the Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory
to provide occasional "snapshots" of coal's resurgence in the generation
of electric power.
Among the database's key highlights in the latest release are the following:
- One hundred fifty-four (154) gigawatts of new coal capacity are projected
to be needed by 2030 according to DOE's Energy Information Administration;
- Ninety-three (93) gigawatts of new coal-fired power plants are
under consideration, representing 153 coal-fired power plants- or
enough electricity to power 93 million homes.
Proposals to build new power plants are often speculative and the ultimate
decision on whether a plant will be built is based upon the ever-changing economic
climate of regional power generation markets. Although comprehensive, this
information is not intended to represent every possible plant under consideration,
but instead illustrates the large potential emerging for new coal-fired power
NETL created the database in 2002 and it is updated every few months as new
information is obtained on proposed new coal-fired power plants. The results
contained in the database are derived from information publicly available from
a variety of tracking organizations and news groups. | <urn:uuid:d951807c-3b90-4f0c-9dc1-61c54db4f70c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://netl.doe.gov/publications/press/2006/06046-Coal-Fired_Power_Plants_Database.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909222 | 394 | 3.640625 | 4 |
View of San Luis Valley: a vast landscape
by Jason Willis
I moved out to Colorado from the Pittsburgh area about a year and a half ago to work for Trout Unlimited as a contractor on the Kerber Creek Restoration Project. Fresh out of graduate school, I was eager to work and experience what Colorado had to offer. Kerber Creek is located in Saguache County, Colorado, and flows through the towns of Bonanza and Villa Grove before its confluence with San Luis Creek. The watershed is part of the northern San Luis Valley, which is one of the highest alpine valleys in the United States. For those of you who have visited “The Valley,” I do not need to explain the vast emptiness that exists there. It is a beautiful thing, but also a shocking experience coming from city life in Pittsburgh the previous 5 years.
The Kerber Creek Watershed is within the Bonanza Mining District, where hard rock mining occurred from the late 1880s to 1970s. Hundreds of thousands of tons of mine waste containing copper, cadmium, and zinc produced. By the end of the mining boom, nearly 200 acres of mine tailings lay along 19 miles of stream.
Local Arkansas River trout
Needless to say, there was an extraordinary amount of work to be done upon my arrival. After my initial watershed tour during my first day, I felt a little bit overwhelmed at the amount of work to be done. However, I quickly found out that the project has an incredible interagency partnership called the Bonanza Stakeholder’s Group (BSG), which has an infinite amount of knowledge. Trout Unlimited is part of this group consisting of 20 local landowners, Colorado’s Nonpoint Source Program, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, US National Resource Conservation Service, AmeriCorps/VISTA, Collegiate Peaks Chapter of Trout Unlimited, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, and Saguache County Sustainable Environment and Economic Developments. By working with this group, I quickly picked up on terminology and pertinent restoration practices used in the area. Within nine months of being on the job, I had assessed the soil chemistry of mine wastes at several sites, assisted in the layout of in-stream structures, oversaw construction activities at three private landowner sites, helped complete request for proposals (RFP) and grant reports, and completed a three-phase design approach for the largest landowner in the watershed. But of all the functions of my job, the most fulfilling part is seeing a project through from start to finish. It only took five short months to assist in submitting an RFP, selecting and mobilizing a contractor, and completing the project work. Being out in the field and providing construction oversight during the process really makes you appreciate the hard work put into the project by all parties involved. This project would not be possible if not for the cooperation of the BSG.
Eroded streambank: Before
Since Trout Unlimited’s involvement in 2008, 6.5 miles of stream have been improved, 53-plus acres of mine waste have been treated, 289 in-stream structures have been installed, and 4,000 feet of stream bank have been restored. After being awarded a second 319 Nonpoint Source grant, project work will continue for at least another three years in the watershed, with a minimum of 2,500 feet of stream and 20 acres of mine waste restoration scheduled for the 2013 field season.
Eroded bank: After
The Kerber Creek Restoration Project provides an excellent opportunity for on-the-ground restoration that meets Trout Unlimited’s mission to conserve, protect, and restore North America’s trout fisheries and their watersheds.
I look forward to continuing my efforts in assisting the Kerber Creek Restoration Project, as well as expanding TU’s mission to other watersheds in Colorado adversely affected by legacy hardrock mining. Here’s to improving the water quality of our local fisheries–tight lines to all!
Jason Willis is TU’s Mine Restoration Field Coordinator based in Salida, Colorado. | <urn:uuid:a443cc1a-e7cf-4a02-8ebb-20d4250e6953> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://troutunlimitedblog.com/ | 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 | 0.949011 | 842 | 2.125 | 2 |
Canadian researchers took a look at just how variable heifer growth rates are between farms. To do this, they measured the heart girth circumference of 12- to 17-monthold heifers from 33 different farms in British Columbia. They converted the values to estimate bodyweight.
They also analyzed the effect of several factors, such as weaning method, time between weaning and moving to a new pen, size of the heifer group, frequency of regrouping heifers and times per day heifers were given fresh feed, on bodyweight. Only one variable was able to account for among-farm variation in heifer bodyweight, and that was average weight gain during the preweaning phase (i.e., 0 to 2 months of age).
“These results show considerable among farm variation in heifer weight gains, indicating that some farms are doing well, while others could improve performance,” say the researchers. “Farms able to rear faster-growing heifers were also rearing faster-growing calves, suggesting that management of milk-fed calves is especially important.”
The results were reported in July at the American Dairy Science Association’s annual meeting in Phoenix. | <urn:uuid:e5148e73-aaa1-421f-8794-b12c2c127b12> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dairyherd.com/dairy-herd/research-track/What-causes-heifer-weights-to-be-so-variable--167841865.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976941 | 249 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Published October 2009
Telemental health is one of the most active applications of telehealth rendered in the United States. Mental health is particularly suited to the use of advanced communication technologies and the internet for delivery of care. By using advanced communication technologies, mental health professionals are able to widen their reach to patients in a cost-effective manner, ameliorating the maldistribution of specialty care. The following Guidelines are designed to aid in the development and practice of coherent, effective, safe and sustainable telemental health practices. Establishing guidelines for telemental health improves clinical outcomes and promotes informed and reasonable patient expectations. When guidelines, position statements, or standards from a professional organization or society such as (but not limited to) the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association or National Association of Social Workers exist, it is advised that mental health professionals review these documents and incorporate them into practice.
Telemental health, like telemedicine, is an intentionally broad term referring to the provision of mental health and substance abuse services from a distance. This guideline focuses on two-way, interactive videoconferencing as the modality by which telemental health services are provided. In the future, additional sections will be added to address the use of the internet and other asynchronous or social relationship environments for interactions between mental health professionals and their patients and families. The use of other modern technologies such as virtual reality, electronic mail, remote monitoring devices (home telehealth store and forward technology), chat rooms, and web-based clients are not included in this version of the telemental health guidelines.
The ATA provides the core standards for telemedicine operations and provides overarching guidance for administrative, clinical, and technical standards. The Practice Guidelines for Videoconferencing-Based Telemental Health covers all areas, reflecting the basic component processes associated with most telemental health consultations. The telemental health guidelines give further detail to these core standards in relation to the specialty area. This section of the guideline contains requirements, recommendations, or actions that are identified by text containing the keywords “shall,” “should,” or “may.” “Shall” indicates that it is required whenever feasible and practical under local conditions. “Should” indicates an optimal recommended action that is particularly suitable, without mentioning or excluding others.“May” indicates additional points that may be considered to further optimize the telemental health care process.
A glossary of terms, references to literature, and informative web sites are included at the end of the document. | <urn:uuid:c118fa59-e55c-483a-ac37-710b390b1d2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americantelemed.org/practice/standards/ata-standards-guidelines/videoconferencing-based-telemental-health | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912814 | 530 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Russian Principal Found Guilty For Buying School PCs With Unauthorized Copies Of Microsoft Software
from the how-dare-you-want-them-to-learn dept
Earlier this year, the lawsuit against a Russian high school head teacher received international attention when Mikhail Gorbachev asked Microsoft to intervene and Vladimir Putin called the case "utter nonsense." The teacher had been arrested after it was discovered that his school was using computers that had unauthorized versions of Microsoft software installed. However, the guy says he just bought the computers with the software pre-installed and had no idea that the software was unauthorized. Eventually, the court tossed out the case as insignificant, but charges were reinstated a month later. Now, the court has found the guy guilty. While they're not sending him off to a Siberian prison (an option, apparently), they did fine him more than half his monthly salary. He plans to appeal. In the meantime, it's this type of story that highlights why the BSA's bogus crackdown on unauthorized software is so pointless -- especially in areas where software companies can actually benefit greatly from unauthorized copies. Even if you assume that the teacher knew the software was unauthorized, he's getting kids hooked on it, making it more likely that they would later go out and buy copies of the software for themselves. All this case has really done is encourage Russian (and other) schools to look elsewhere for their software, which seems a lot more likely to harm Microsoft. It seems that no one involved in agencies like the RIAA, MPAA or BSA ever bother to think about the long-term consequences of their short-term strategy. | <urn:uuid:b88bee00-7824-4606-a917-efe3ae40ac45> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070507/121713.shtml?threaded=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986093 | 331 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Many users bemoan the lack of connectivity when discussing the iPad. True, I would love Apple to include native wireless networking similar to the Mac Finder that has access to all files on either iPad or Mac/PC. There are very useful options out there, however, that do the job very effectively. My favorite app for connecting to computers without iTunes or a cable is FileBrowser (available as a universal app for both iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad ).
I’ve been using Filebrowser for a long time and I find it great for transferring work to and from any computer that shares the same wireless network as my iPad or iPhone. It is very simple to set up – all you need is file sharing/network name of the computer you want to access and the username and password for connecting to the computer. At school, I had no problem connecting to a Windows based server with security settings without the IT technician’s assistance. (For full set up instructions and user guide, visit the app creator’s website. They will also give you good email support if you need it.)
Many apps will open in …. Filebrowser, especially PDF and document apps (
annoyingly Apple’s iWork apps don’t – wish Apple would make their apps more open to sharing options; clearly the system allows it when all other apps do UPDATE – As of iOS 6, Apple’s iWork Apps ( Pages, Keynote and Numbers now work with FileBrowser as well as DropBox and Google Drive ). This enables you to transfer a Word-compatible document or PDF file to your computer or workplace network. Any app that can save its content to the iPad’s photo library as a movie or image is accessible to Filebrowser network transferring as well. This is what I want to share with you today.
Working in a school with iPads shared with all the grades, it is important that students and teachers can easily transfer their work from the iPad to the school network. It doesn’t take long for an iPad to fill up if photos, comic strips, movies, slideshows and the like from 28 different grades at left languishing on it. While you can connect the iPad to a computer via USB connector, it can be inconvenient and timeconsuming, particularly with iTunes file sharing as an option for documents. Sure, Dropbox can be used in many cases but not every grade or teacher is using Dropbox at school at present. So a good option for transfer is FileBrowser.
While not as easy as drag and drop or using Save as…’ , the Filebrowser system is a simple matter of selecting, copying and pasting. I have had the opportunity to show some of my staff through morning training sessions but to assist in school wide adoption, I have made this video tutorial using the Explain Everything App and posted it on YouTube.
While it is aimed at my staff, the steps outlined are relevant to any setup you may have. It is predominantly about transferring photos but the same steps are required for saving any document. I hope you find it useful if you are considering this as an option. If you have found other options for network connectivity with the iPad, I would love to find out about alternatives. Filebrowser is not free ($5.49AU at present, but has been as low as $2.99) so will set back a school a bit of money when deployed to a lot of iPads. For me, though, it is worth the money, certainly for individual iPad users who want access to their computers. | <urn:uuid:8a1b8ca9-bfe9-460a-acbc-1099d688b997> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mgleeson.edublogs.org/2012/07/28/transferring-files-to-and-from-ipad-using-filebrowser/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951898 | 723 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Insight from our Master Coffee Importer
After Ethiopia came Yemen - at least where coffee is concerned. Yemeni coffees are from one of the oldest sources of the bean in the world. (Note: Some Yemenis dispute Ethiopia being first, but we can say for certain that Yemen is one of the original two, and Yemenis do have the honor of being in the first blended coffee - Mokha-Java.)
Coffees from Yemen are most distinct, and by the connoisseur, highly praised coffees in the world. Yemen coffees are the epitome of a wild cup and can border on scary at times because of their deep earthy, complex, pungency with overlays of dry fruit (think raisin), cardamom, dry cinnamon, and tobacco notes.
Yemeni coffees have a great history that has ripple effects today. Mokha is not chocolate, no matter how many coffee shops insist on calling chocolate-flavored coffee drinks Mocha. Mokha is, in fact, the port city where Yemeni beans were loaded up into wooden hulled sailing ships manned by low-land sailors coming home from the island of Java, hence Mokha-Java blend. In fact, this historical accident of a blend was a natural fit as the funky wildness of Mokha blends nicely with the brighter cleaner Javanese bean.
Yemeni coffees are dry-processed wild coffees, raised traditionally without chemicals, that with a brave palate, you just might fall in love with. By all means, take a swig of this brew!. | <urn:uuid:1b3cf9c7-a1fd-46bc-920d-062c1ebcc065> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.specialtyjava.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=S&Category_Code=YEM | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951704 | 328 | 2.09375 | 2 |
North Lancs Training > Driver Theory Test Tuition
Driver Theory Test Tuition
Before taking a driving test, it is necessary to pass the theory test.
The driving theory test can be taken before the driving tuition begins, or can be built into a block course.
From past experience, we have found some candidates pass this using their own initiative, but some do require driver theory test tuition from us.
We offer a theory test class, where expert advice is given on any aspect of vehicle related knowledge, drivers hours and any other subject related to the theory test. This class will be tailored to your needs.
Help and advice is available on Part 2 of the driving theory test (Hazard perception).
Candidates will be required to purchase "The Official Theory Test for Drivers of Large Vehicles" book, generally available from all good bookshops.
Theory test tuition classes are held in the classroom at our training centre in Accrington.
To book a theory test class to help pass the theory test with confidence call 01254 384857. | <urn:uuid:46b653ff-834d-4c55-9cdd-fb6aefa4c8d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.northlancstraining.co.uk/driver-theory-test-tuition.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903353 | 215 | 1.804688 | 2 |
The FAA said on Monday it wants to substantially raise the qualification requirements for first officers who fly for U.S. passenger and cargo airlines. The proposed rule, which the FAA said complies with a law passed in 2010, would require first officers flying in Part 121 operations to hold an ATP certificate, which requires 1,500 hours of flight time. Currently, first officers are required to have only a commercial pilot certificate, which requires 250 hours. Also, first officers would need to log at least 1,000 flight hours in air carrier operations before they could serve as pilot in command in those operations. And if first officers are flying an airplane that requires a type rating or a multiengine rating, they must log 50 hours of multiengine flight experience and complete a new FAA-approved ATP Certification Training Program for those ratings, which would include classroom and simulator training.
"These proposed requirements would ensure that pilots have proper qualifications and experience in difficult operational conditions and in a multi-crew environment prior to serving as pilot flight crew members in air carrier operations," says the proposal. The changes reflect a commitment to safety, said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "This proposed rule [would ensure] our pilots are the most qualified and best trained in the world," he said. Under the proposal, pilots with 750 hours of military flight experience could obtain a "restricted privileges" ATP certificate. These pilots could serve only as a first officer, not as a captain. Graduates of a four-year baccalaureate aviation degree program also could qualify for the "restricted" ATP if they have 1,000 hours of flight time and also have a commercial pilot certificate and instrument rating earned at a flight school affiliated with the university or college. The proposed rule is posted online here. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal after it is officially published on Wednesday. The 2010 law cited in the proposal was enacted in response to the 2009 crash of a Colgan Air regional airliner in Buffalo, N.Y., that killed 50 people. | <urn:uuid:18f2c7b6-de2c-44bb-b006-997da24716c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/FAAProposesChangeInFirstOfficerRules_206239-1.html?type=pf | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974075 | 407 | 1.632813 | 2 |
What are a tissue transplants? Are tissue transplants regulated and safe?
Transplants can involve any part of the body. Common transplants involve tissue,
bone/bone marrow, tendons, organs, and even corneas. These transplants are taken
from a deceased or sometimes a live donor then implanted into a needy recipient.
Transplants require the written approval from the family or prior approval from
the donor. Transplants also require a medical history review, physical
assessment, and disease screening test to meet FDA donor requirements.
It is alleged that bodily tissue may have been taken without proper
authorization and without donor screening. Tissue processors in New Jersey,
Georgia, Texas, and Florida received tissue from Biomedical Tissue Services. The
potentially diseased tissue may have been used for bone marrow transplants, bone
transplants, heart valve transplants, or skin grafts in 2004 and 2005. Tissue
transplants side effects may include communicable and infectious diseases and
misrepresentation of the donor's age and health status.
Tissue transplantation is similar to organ transplantation, but the tissue
transplants industry is regulated much more loosely. While organ donors are only
identified by doctors in hospitals, tissue donations may come from funeral homes
or morgues. Although the companies that test and sterilize tissue must be
registered with the FDA, they are not subject to any regular inspections or
audits, but are only inspected when the FDA decides there has been a risk
associated with the tissue bank.
This is not the first case of transplanted organs, bones, or tissue obtained
without the donor's permission and without proper screening. The demand for
transplants is great and those involved will often take illegal measures to
deliver the parts for a high price. These reckless actions pose serious health
threats to the transplants' recipient and emotional trauma to the deceased donor's
Personal Injury Attorney Disclaimer: This website provides general information about Pennsylvania Biomedical Tissue lawsuits and other legal information. Nothing on this site is intended to be legal advice. The materials on this site may be considered advertising. Nothing on this site constitutes the formation of an attorney client relationship. This website is not intended to solicit clients outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In order to discuss representation, we must personally speak with you and enter into a signed, written agreement for representation. By utilizing this site, you agree to the foregoing. | <urn:uuid:af6e209b-62aa-4845-937d-e8e509a8ed94> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.monheit.com/biomedical-tissue/what.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935896 | 511 | 2.453125 | 2 |
The rumor mill appears to have it right. For the past year, Google has been running a service codenamed Bouncer. The service scans new apps, apps already in Android Market, and developer accounts for malware. Here’s Google’s take on how Bouncer works:
“Once an application is uploaded, the service immediately starts analyzing it for known malware, spyware, and trojans. It also looks for behaviors that indicate an application might be misbehaving, and compares it against previously analyzed apps to detect possible red flags.
We actually run every application on Google’s cloud infrastructure and simulate how it will run on an Android device to look for hidden, malicious behavior.”
That’s good news.
It won’t work
No more than thirty seconds after I finished reading the press release, my friend — an Apple-enthusiast — called. “You know, it won’t work,” he snapped, no hello, no how’s it going. “They have the nerve to say malware in Android Market has been decreasing. That’s just wrong.”
I then realized he was referring to this part of the news bulletin:
“The service has been looking for malicious apps in Market for a while now, and between the first and second halves of 2011, we saw a 40 percent decrease in the number of potentially-malicious downloads from Android Market.
This drop occurred at the same time that companies who market and sell anti-malware and security software have been reporting that malicious applications are on the rise. While it’s not possible to prevent bad people from building malware, the most important measurement is whether those bad applications are being installed from Android Market and we know the rate is declining significantly.”
Fast forward four days
My friend calls again. I’m really hoping for a hello this time. Nope. “Did you read Andy Greenberg’s latest article?” he asked. “Bouncer is so screwed. Your Android bug hunter, Professor Jiang has found a workaround.”
That got my attention. Dr. Xuxian Jiang, Assistant Professor at North Carolina State, is not one to ignore. I have relied on his expertise time and time again.
Google Bouncer and RootSmart
I read Andy’s article and started to get excited — alarmed would be more accurate. It seems Dr. Jiang and his research team discovered RootSmart, a malware variant that initially appears to be benign, allowing it to sail through scanner and permission checks. After it’s settled, RootSmart attempts to download the nasty malware from remote servers.
This must be what my friend was referring to — RootSmart could potentially fool Bouncer.
Then I read Andy’s update to the article. It appears Google has patched the hole exploited by RootSmart. Still, scrupulous bad guys could find another exploit vector. I thought I should check things out, then get the word out. So I contacted Dr. Jiang to get the details. Here’s what he had to say.
Kassner: Your latest Android malware trophy is RootSmart. There is significant buzz about this malcode. Why is that?
Jiang: RootSmart is an interesting piece of Android malware that can dynamically fetch code from a remote command and control (C&C) server for execution. The downloaded code contains a root exploit that — if successful — can bypass the built-in security mechanism in Android.
Kassner: I’ve read on your blog that RootSmart is similar to Gingermaster — the first root exploit to target Android version 2.3 — with one exception. Would you explain what that is?
Jiang: Very good question. The difference is that in RootSmart, the root exploit is dynamically fetched from a remote server while GingerMaster encloses the root exploit in itself. In other words, RootSmart will be much stealthier by not containing the root exploit.
Kassner: Your blog mentions that GingerBreak is the malware RootSmart downloads to obtain root access. I’ve heard that Google patched the vulnerability GingerBreak attacks. To be sure, I contacted Google and one of their spokespersons offered the following:
“Every Android device updated after May 2011 has had GingerBreak patched. We explicitly test for it in our Compatibility Test Suite, and we won’t approve a device that has the exploit present.
The corollary here is that there are other methods to protect users beyond a malware scanner. This speaks to Android’s defense in depth approach, not a reliance on any specific user-protection measure.”
That said, Dr. Jiang, is GingerBreak a requirement?
Jiang: Not necessarily, the malware could download other types of root exploits. Meanwhile, I have to say even though the GingerBreak exploit is patched, there are Android devices that run old and vulnerable versions of Android.
Kassner: I wasn’t real clear on what happens when RootSmart phones home. So I asked Android expert and fellow TechRepublic writer, William Francis for his help.
Francis: To answer your question, saying an app “phones home” is just that, a saying. By that I mean it’s not really using the phone to dial home but a TCP/IP socket. That means no root privilege is required. In fact, any app that has the INTERNET privilege could theoretically “phone home”.
What does require root access is installing and executing arbitrary code. So while an app could phone home without root privileges and even download malware to the device (if the app also had local SD write permissions), without the root exploit the app could not install or run that malicious code.
Kassner: Now to the question everyone is asking. Google has just released information about their new service Bouncer. It supposedly will locate and remove apps containing malware from Android Market. Will exploits like RootSmart fool Bouncer?
Jiang: It is an arms race. I won’t say RootSmart will fool Bouncer, but it will certainly pose some challenges for its detection.
Kassner: I’m curious if mobile antivirus apps will recognize RootSmart when it’s first installed on the phone? And, is the answer different if RootSmart downloads the actual malware payload?
Jiang: You can see the current detection rate of RootSmart at this link. Basically, among 43 anti-virus engines hosted at VirusTotal, eight of them are now able to detect this piece of malware. If the malware downloads the actual malware package, I suspect more anti-virus engines will detect the downloaded malware package, but not necessarily RootSmart itself.
Kassner: Do you have any suggestions/precautions we should be following to avoid RootSmart?
Jiang: Please see my blog on possible mitigation. Basically follow common-sense guidelines for smartphone security. For example:
- Download apps from reputable app stores that you trust; and always check reviews, ratings, as well as developer information before downloading.
- Check the permissions on apps before you actually install them and make sure you are comfortable with the data they will be accessing.
- Be alert for unusual behavior on the part of mobile phones and make sure you have up-to-date security software installed on your phone.
Kassner: I’ve noticed you collaborate with a company called NQ Mobile. I have not heard mention of them before. What is their role in your work?
Jiang: Last year, my research team started working with NQ Mobile — a leading global provider of consumer-centric mobile security and productivity applications. The collaboration creates great opportunities to better understand, monitor, and expose real-world mobile threats at scale. So next-generation mobile-security solutions can be developed to protect mobile users.
Kassner: Dr. Jiang, I follow Android security closely, no one I know finds more exploits aimed at Android devices than you and your team. Would you share your secret?
Jiang: Good question. I have been asked about this many times. There is no secret; you need to know how things work and what may go wrong. The necessary background and experience are also needed to identify Android malware and exploits.
Kassner: In my last interview with you, you referred to your team and their ability to decipher Android exploits. I was inundated with requests by students, wanting me to ask team members Michael Grace, Yajin Zhou, and Zhi Wang about their interests, studies, and why this area of research interests them.
Would they be willing to help this writer and his inbox out?
Jiang: They are wonderful Ph.D. students to work with — motivated about learning and passionate on identifying mobile threats. This is why they work on very advanced research projects dealing with smartphone and virtualization security. The entire team is dedicated to monitoring and identifying emerging Android malware and threats.
The Google spokesperson wanted me to make it clear that RootSmart was not found in Android Market:
“Bouncer is not relevant to this discussion, because Bouncer is focused on malware in Android Market. Dr. Jiang’s findings do not concern any apps in Market.”
For the moment that is true. The cat and mouse game continues.
A special thanks to Dr. Jiang, his research team, and William Francis. | <urn:uuid:2ec409af-e97a-4c97-9a31-a24a0935f901> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/security/google-bouncer-bad-guys-may-have-an-app-for-that/7422 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935889 | 1,970 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Xavier color guard takes part in Kristallnacht-Veteran’s Day commemoration
World War II veterans honored by opening of Liberation and Justice exhibit
11/05/04The Xavier ROTC color guard, among others, is participating in a special, combined Kristallnacht-Veteran’s Day commemoration on Nov. 10 at Cincinnati’s Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. The event’s highlight is the grand opening of the Center’s latest original exhibition, Liberation and Justice.
A diverse and collaborative program—reflecting the personal stories in the new exhibit—will engage audiences of all backgrounds and ages. Her Excellency Arlette Conzemius, Ambassador of Luxembourg to the United States, will deliver the keynote address and David Eisenhower, grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, will convey a special message. The Xavier University ROTC Color Guard, the Miami University Collegiate Chorale and cellist Lee Fiser of the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music will contribute to the program.
Mini-guided tours begin at 3:00 p.m. and the official program begins at 5:00 p.m. followed by a reception. WWII veterans from the tri-state area who served in the allied forces will be recognized and honored.
Available to the public year-round, Liberation and Justice is a permanent installation. It integrates eyewitness testimony, interactive technology and historical artifacts to immortalize the courage and integrity demonstrated by America’s greatest generation. These are the veterans’ stories, told by the actual American soldiers who liberated Nazi concentration camps during World War II.
Complementing and completing the story of liberation is the remarkable story of Henry Meyer, a young teenage survivor liberated from Ohrdruf camp, among only a handful found alive. The exhibit also features testimony from John E. Dolibois, author, former U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg and former vice president of Miami University at Oxford. He relates his experiences as an interrogator of top Nazi war criminals prior to the Nuremberg trials.
“These are real people…neighbors, parents and grandparents who truly changed history,” said Racelle Weiman, director of the Center. “Time is not on our side, so we’re doing everything we can to preserve their extraordinary stories for future generations.”
Liberation and Justice is part of the larger Mapping Our Tears educational exhibit, an exhibit that attracted thousands of people last year.
“Mapping Our Tears is truly a national treasure right here in our own backyard,” said a member of the Farmer family, whose foundation made this project possible. WVXU, the Cintas Corporation, SOS Video Communications, Nor-Com Communications, CET (the local PBS affiliate), Cincinnati Pops, UC-CCM and many others contributed to this successful project. US WWII Veterans from across the tri-state donated artifacts, gave testimony, and participated in programs dedicated to preserving their experiences and incorporating their stories into educational programs for future generations.
The public is invited to attend a special unveiling ceremony and reception. | <urn:uuid:efe8645c-9e54-491b-b182-97ef6e0248c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.xavier.edu/news/news/2635/1/yes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916359 | 655 | 2.125 | 2 |
About New Zealand
Aotearoa – Land of the Long White Cloud
New Zealand is made up of two main islands, the North Island and the South Island, and has a population of 4 million people, three quarters of whom live in the North Island. The capital city is Wellington, which is located on the southern tip of the North Island.
New Zealand is a unique country with beautiful scenery and friendly people. New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy offering a safe political environment for international students and visitors. It is primarily a European culture with a strong Maori cultural heritage. New Zealand has absorbed many of the rich and historic cultural elements from the Maori and Pacific Island heritages and now from its rapidly growing multi-cultural Asian communities.
The following internet sites can help with more information about living in New Zealand: | <urn:uuid:ee2a1ca1-8e09-4421-8ab1-e1a3547dd220> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ntec.ac.nz/index.php/international-students/about-new-zealand/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954077 | 166 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Referring Patients to Clinical Trials: Is It Feasible for the Busy Physician?
Every physician must at some point feel frustrated by the absence of a more effective or affordable device or diagnostic tool. There are occasions where we just wish there were a treatment with fewer side-effects, or one that was more convenient for patients. Unfortunately, new medical advances that start in basic labs typically take more than a dozen years before they are translated to something of use for those in clinical practice, given the hurdles that are currently inherent in the scientific process. As clinicians we are aware that there are always clinical trials going on to help solve some of these impasses. Yet very few physicians in clinical practice refer patients to clinical trials, even though most clinical studies have difficulty accruing human subjects.
If other clinicians are like me, I understand why this is. First, I am not typically aware of what trials are currently seeking human subjects in my community. At any one moment in time, several dozen studies are actively recruiting human subjects in San Diego County. But even when I have been aware of a study and have been given a written description of the study to hand over to potentially eligible patients, it is rare for me to have the time to find the handout and explain to my patient why I think he or she may be interested. Generally, I want patients to know I am providing information about the study for their consideration, and that I am not necessarily endorsing it. Too much to do, with too little time.
Plenty of other factors explain why clinicians rarely refer patients to research trials. Studies show that the primary reason doctors don’t refer potentially eligible patients is that they simply forget to do so (Lovato LC, 1997). I have been told by physicians that if clinical studies were designed to financially compensate practicing physicians to help recruit potential human subjects, they’d be more likely to do so. Many physicians have said that they still would not have the time, but would consider inviting research team recruiters to be present in their offices, to promote research, in selective studies. These schemes do occur for many studies, but we should not anticipate that these strategies will be affordable or feasible in most circumstances. Moreover, they raise other complications, such as conflict of interest if clinicians are compensated for recruiting. There has been some question as to whether the clinicians, or the health system for which they work, should be financially reimbursed for this effort.
Some surveys have shown that clinicians are concerned that harm can come to their patients if they become subjects in a clinical trial. Some industry-sponsored clinical trials involve medications that have no clear benefit over existing choices but are being researched to provide a new source of income for pharmaceutical companies. Physicians may fear losing patients to a university practice or other research institution once their patients start participating in clinical research at the trial site and with its doctors. Researchers may fail to share clinical information about a patient once he or she is enrolled in a trial protocol. Patients could discontinue an important medication and/or fail to follow up with their regular doctors for chronic conditions during the period they are on a trial.
Even given all these barriers, there is a role that busy physicians can play in hastening the pace that important new medical innovations come to fruition. Many physicians in practice recognize their role in the quicker translation of research into clinical innovations that are useful to us, and would deliberately choose to promote research participation to their patients if there were an easy way to do so. Here are some possibilities:
- On a case-by-case basis, when a clinician is frustrated with a patient’s poor response to available therapies, that physician can actively seek a clinical trial opportunity for the patient. The website clinicaltrials.gov is a great first start. On a search box, a physician can type in: “San Diego and Eczema” — for example — and a list of trials for that condition will appear. Details such as the inclusion and exclusion criteria and whether the study is actively recruiting are also provided. Unfortunately, the study’s description is often very technical. While this website is useful for referring doctors, it’s not often suitable for your average patient who does not have higher education in science and health.
- Staying in touch on current research in one content area is far more practical than keeping up to date on dozens of clinical studies that are actively recruiting. For example, a GI specialist or a generalist with a special interest in irritable bowel syndrome could easily be updated (through clinicaltrials.gov) on local studies in just that topic area, and refer patients to studies that appear appropriate. This not only furthers a physician’s own knowledge of progress in that field years before developments are published, but physicians may find they can develop relationships with local investigators in that field and even influence the design of research.
- Let your patients know that “research participation can be a good thing.” Many members of the general public understand the selfless good that comes from donating blood, but have never thought of clinical research participation in the same way. Posters or pamphlets in a doctor’s waiting room with messages that remind patients that all innovations in medicine are derived from scientific research may influence them to seriously consider volunteering if ever approached to do so. Physicians who do nothing more than post such messages can, over time, significantly ameliorate the problem of poor patient accrual into research studies.
- “Research Match” (www.researchmatch.org) is an NIH-funded website located at Vanderbilt University. Any member of the general public can confidentially register his or her geographic location, age, sex, and the medical information he or she wishes to share on this site. The prospective subject is then informed with an email whenever a research study becomes available that may be of interest. Investigators cannot reach a registered user until that user actively expresses an interest in a described project. Only studies approved by accredited human subjects committees are on the website. Physicians who display Research Match posters or pamphlets in their patient areas are simply allowing patients to make themselves aware when research studies are available.
- In the future, electronic health records may be linked to clinical trial alert systems so that when a certain patient profile is entered in the EHR, the physician of the patient in question receives notice that a clinical trial may be available. Studies on whether physicians find this helpful and informative, or just intrusive, are being conducted.
Investigators could arguably be doing more to help busy physicians, but they often do not know what it is they can do. Do physicians want regular contact about their patients, with their permission, who are enrolled in local studies? How often should that be? What kind of information do physicians want? And how do they want to receive it (mail, email, fax)? Do referring physicians want to be notified of study results before the study is accepted for publication? Perhaps investigators need to find ways that unpublished study results can be shared with local physicians, but that won’t jeopardize chances for publication.
If you are a physician who is interested in obtaining posters for your office, or if you are interested in offering your advice to investigators about referring your patients to research studies, we invite you to complete a survey on www.MDSurvey.ucsd.edu. We don’t know yet how to optimize the relationship between the investigator and the practicing clinician, but since our patients and society in general will benefit from expediting the development of improved therapies and devices, it’s a relationship worth working on. | <urn:uuid:cb33a363-6dcd-4878-be7a-b713e460d6f8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sdcms.org/article/referring-patients-clinical-trials-it-feasible-busy-physician | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964339 | 1,548 | 1.875 | 2 |
(All fields required)
Please enter a valid email.
Please enter your name.
The child neurology clinical training at Cincinnati Children’s includes 24 months of rotations in child neurology service areas. One year is spent in required rotation areas, and the remaining time is spent in elective areas. Learn more about the individual service areas.
These rotations occur throughout the three-year training program. Cincinnati Children’s has a dedicated neuroscience inpatient floor with a nursing staff that specializes in managing neurological and neurosurgical problems. The child neurology resident supervises the pediatric resident inpatient team and is exposed to a variety of experiences related to general neurology, epilepsy and headache. Call is from home.
Consult rotations occur throughout the three-year training program. Consults occur throughout the hospital on general and specialty medical, surgical and intensive care units. This provides residents with opportunities to gain broad clinical experience. The resident conducts rounds on active consults and presents new consults to an attending child neurologist. The consult resident also takes part in educating and mentoring medical students. Call, shared with the inpatient resident, is from home.
These rotations are an important part of first-year residency and continue for all three years of the program. The goal of the outpatient rotation is to expose residents to a wide variety of neurological conditions as they are most commonly seen in practice – in clinic. This training includes neurology clinics in epilepsies, headache, neuromuscular disorders, movement disorders, neonatal disorders, concussion, metabolic disorders, neuro-oncology and tuberous sclerosis. This rotation is designed to help residents identify possible areas of specialization. In the final year of training, residents may elect to spend more time in outpatient clinical areas, based on their interests.
This one-month rotation in the Epilepsy Service at Cincinnati Children’s provides exposure to intractable epilepsies, pseudoseizures and other epilepsies and paroxysmal disorders. Educational opportunities include experience with long-term EEG monitoring, EEG reading, epilepsy surgical planning, epilepsy surgery and sophisticated neuroimaging techniques such as FMRI, PET, SPECT and MEG scans.
These rotations occur throughout the three-year training program. During all rotations, the resident continues to care for patients in the weekly outpatient continuity clinic, supervised by an experienced senior faculty member.
Required “electives” in this rotation include training in electrophysiology / EEG, psychiatry, neuropathology and neuroradiology. Other optional electives include study of specific epilepsy programs, headache, neuromuscular disease, movement disorders, tuberous sclerosis, neurosurgery, neuropharmacology, neurogenetics, neonatal neurology, metabolic diseases, learning disabilities, multiple sclerosis / inflammatory diseases, neuro-oncology, neuropsychology and rotations abroad or at other institutions.
Clinical child neurologists need to understand studies of epidemiology, diagnostic tests and new treatments. And academic child neurologists need time during training to develop a research focus and research skills. For both, a first-hand research experience is extremely valuable.
During the first year of training, Cincinnati Children’s requires child neurology residents to complete a research rotation. This provides an opportunity to train in research methodology and develop a mentored protocol in clinical or basic research.
Each resident has a primary research mentor and planned elective research rotations. Residents have monthly journal club sessions, and also present ideas, methods and results at divisional research meetings. This allows for constructive input from clinical and basic researchers into resident projects. Our residents regularly present research at national and international scientific and medical conferences.
3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3026 | 1-513-636-4200 | 1-800-344-2462 | TTY:1-513-636-4900
New to Cincinnati Children’s or live outside of the tri-state area? 1-877-881-8479
© 1999-2013 Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center | <urn:uuid:3880dde7-22d1-4d07-9839-2fa1c845c915> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/education/clinical/specialty/neurology/curriculum/child/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909302 | 843 | 1.625 | 2 |
What We Don't Know about Children
By Simona Vinci
Like What We Don't Know about Children ?
Join aNobii to see if your friends read it, and discover similar books!
A best-seller in Italy, where it sparked intense debate, Simona Vinci's first novel was awarded the prestigious Elsa Morante Prize and subsequently was acquired by publishers around the world. Clearly an accomplished and important book, it is also a Continue
A best-seller in Italy, where it sparked intense debate, Simona Vinci's first novel was awarded the prestigious Elsa Morante Prize and subsequently was acquired by publishers around the world. Clearly an accomplished and important book, it is also a profoundly disturbing one.
In a suburb of Bologna, three boys and two girls--ranging in age from ten to fifteen--enter the season of long summer days and the mysterious beauty of the cornfields surrounding the town. There, in an abandoned shack, they discover the excitement of being part of a group with its own rules and secrets. Normal kids who Rollerblade and play the same video games and Oasis and Alanis Morissette CDs that kids play everywhere, they come from normal families, their parents just as busy as most are these days. Although everyone assumes that someone will keep an eye on the kids--they're always playing out front in the parking lot, aren't they?--this assumption turns out to be false.
Tiring of familiar childish pastimes, these five ride bikes or scooters out to their clubhouse and awkwardly begin their sexual initiation, liberated by innocence and driven by natural curiosity. But this rite of passage is gradually perverted by images from the adult world; as these increase in creepiness and violence, inevitably the games these confused and powerless children play, mimicking desires not their own, become horrifyingly real.
Claustrophobic, mesmerizing and unflinching, What We Don't Know About Children is a brave exploration of eroticism and a harsh indictment of a society whose dark, disturbing aspects leave that most fragile, vulnerable blessing--childhood--forever at risk. | <urn:uuid:d6f31772-16e9-4752-bb3c-2f128a68aea0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.anobii.com/books/What_We_Dont_Know_about_Children/9780375404115/0101f2945bbf67455f/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965936 | 430 | 1.820313 | 2 |
For more trusted health
news and information,
visit CBS Houston's
MIAMI (CBS4) – Fake foods such as candy bars, fish, cheese and tomato sauce are just a few of the items confiscated by Interpol police. These products could have ended up on American dinner tables, according to Dr. John Spink, Associate Director of the Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection Program at Michigan State University. “Consumers are being cheated.”
Here in the U.S., Food and Drug Administration agents are also on the hunt for counterfeit foods and ingredients. They’ve seized everything from fake olive oil to phony, pricey wine… all of which the FDA agents insisted are counterfeit.
“We think we’re buying a high value or specific type of product and the bad guys have swapped it out with something that’s inferior,” explained Dr. Spink.
The problem is so widespread, that a national database was recently created to try to track it. The key word here is “try.” That’s because it’s hard to catch during production and shipping. And once it makes it to market, consumers don’t realize they’ve been ripped off, unless they get sick.
“Food adulteration is designed to not be detected. So, frequently adulterers do not use fake ingredients that would cause immediate health problems.”
In a new study, Dr. John Spink crunched the database to find the top fakes.
- 16% involved olive oil: often diluted with cheaper oils.
- 14% involved milk found to be watered down.
- 7% was adulterated honey: intentionally mixed with sugar and corn syrups.
- 2-4% involved fruit juice, watered down or diluted with other types of juice.
Not only are you not getting what you paid for but it could be downright dangerous. “The bad guys aren’t following good manufacturing practices. There’s such a risk for contamination that can be very lethal,” said Dr. Spink. The most recent case involved vodka laced with methanol which left some British college students with permanent vision damage.
Many legitimate companies are now hiring security firms to monitor their products. “We’ve unfortunately found counterfeits of pretty much any product that you can think of,” said Tara Steketee of OpSec Security. Something that just popped up recently, garden variety tomatoes being marketed as the expensive heirloom ones. Consumers we talked to were shocked.
“It could really hurt someone,” said one man. One woman said, “Very concerning, to me as a mom.” Another indicated that, “It would be overwhelming to me to try to police that.” And she’s right. For every port investigators inspect and each case police crack, experts know there’s always more.
“There’s not ten of these bad guys in the world and we can go arrest 8 of them. There’s a near infinite number of fraudsters and there’s a near infinite type of fraud,” Dr. Spink pointed out. If you suspect you’ve purchased a fake food or counterfeit product, take it back where you bought it and demand a refund. You can also report fake foods to the FDA or the Florida Department of Agriculture. | <urn:uuid:513976d8-0109-482d-a213-c2e6579a491e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://houston.cbslocal.com/2012/07/05/fake-food-trying-to-make-its-way-into-the-u-s/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959781 | 716 | 1.984375 | 2 |
You don’t have to be a quilter to have enjoyed the 8th Annual Quiltfest held last weekend at the Smoky Mountain Convention Center in Pigeon Forge.
Hundreds and quilts and quilting items were on display and available for sale. Displays included everything from a child’s quilt made by Mr. Buckley – Durst’s class from Inskip Elementary School in Knoxville to a 150 year old quilt. Referring the Inskip class quilt, a show volunteer stated, “The kids were just great. They did a wonderful job on their quilt and really enjoyed visiting the show. They looked at every stitch on every quilt.”
Quilting guru Mary Ellen Hopkins was on hand to talk with spectators and sell her many books (eleven to date) on quilting. Hopkins is known as a quilter, author, teacher, lecturer, publisher and fabric designer. She has appeared on HGTV both in the states and Canada. She has lectured about quilting in Europe, Canada, Japan, S. Korea, Africa, the Middle East and throughout the United States. Hopkins commented, “I’m having a great time at the show. Sevier County is a wonderful area.” Hopkins was heading to Portland Maine and then Australia after the show.
Show officials said the registration was way up this year.
Jane Washington from The Cherry Pit in Sevierville said, “It has been a wonderful show. This is my fourth year participating and it just keeps getting better and growing every year. We have great vendors and great people coming to the show”. Washington taught a children’s class at City Hall in conjunction with this years show, which was free to anyone who signed up. “The kids were just precious. They ranged in age from eight to twelve. I am planning on having a summer quilting camp for kids this year. The kids are just great to work with.”... read the rest of the story by Subscribing now. | <urn:uuid:9336bf00-3c79-4b17-b0cc-629f8162cd9f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.seymourherald.com/blog/2002/03/27/8th-annual-quiltfest-a-success/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982407 | 431 | 1.507813 | 2 |
A drop of water.
It’s not something we spend a lot of time thinking about.
A single drop by itself is not that significant. Yet, when combined with millions or even billions of other drops, it can change the face of our planet.
A drop of water is a great metaphor for the Internet of Everything. Like a single drop of water, a single person, bit of data, or thing connected with billions of other people, data, and things can also shape the face of our planet.
One tiny drop of water begins a chain reaction that causes a big result. Sensors talk to networks that talk to traffic grids that talk to energy systems -- all working in concert to solve problems.
This is not limited to a drop of water:
· Product packing will talk to supply chains, which will talk to manufacturers, which will talk to suppliers to optimize production.
· Cars will talk to other cars, which will talk to streets, which will talk to traffic lights to optimize traffic flow.
· A pill will talk to your phone, which will talk to your electronic health record, which will talk to your doctor to ensure you have the best health care possible.
We are at the beginning of perhaps the most important market and technology transition of our lifetimes—where new companies, new services, and new opportunities will be created.
With the Internet of Everything, things that were silent will have a voice. It’s not one thing that’s going to be the next “big thing,” it’s billions of things working together that will create amazing new experiences. | <urn:uuid:58bba3c7-fbdb-4ea8-9c12-5d7cfd8e95c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.cisco.com/news/a-drop-of-water-begins-a-chain-reaction-infographic-tomorrowstartshere | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96497 | 332 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Friends of Soma
Katherine Geeraert contacted us recently from Japan to let us know about a project she has created to help out her students in Soma, who have been left homeless and without basic resources since the ‘quake/tsunami. Katherine says this about the project:
My name is Katherine Geeraert, and I have started a Tsunami relief fund for students at the school where I teach in Japan. I am a teacher at Soma Higashi High School in Soma, Japan. I was at the school when the Earthquake and Tsunami hit the North East Coast of Japan.The effects of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake have been extreme throughout North Eastern Japan. In Soma, the Earthquake caused a 7.5 meter tsunami that destroyed much of the Soma Bay area and the surrounding neighbourhoods. Some of my students lived in these neighbourhoods. Many other students at Soma Higashi commute to school in Soma from other communities that lie along the coast, some in closer proximation to the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. As a result of these disasters, many students have either lost their homes and belongings, or are unable to return to their homes because of the 30 km. evacuation zone. Many of their parents have lost their jobs as a result of the either the extreme, detrimental effects of the Tsunami, or because their jobs are also within that 30 km radius. These students need simple necessities to return to school and to begin rebuilding their lives with their families. Friends of Soma gives 100% of it’s donations directly to these families through Soma Higashi High School. Any amount of support can make a huge difference. | <urn:uuid:37ef1ff2-3b84-4090-bd14-19145577c81e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://propagandhi.com/2011/04/1126/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969034 | 342 | 2 | 2 |
Question of the day: Why do presidents give the White House keys to Bob Woodward?
I ask this with all due deference, respect, hat in hand, cape over puddle and other sundry gestures owed by ink-stained wretches like me to The Most Famous Journalist on the Planet.
Through several administrations, Woodward has become the president ex officio
— or at least the reporter in chief, a human tape recorder who issues history's first draft even as history is still tying its shoes.
For years he's been the best-selling first read on a president's inner struggles. His latest, "Obama's Wars," exposes infighting in the West Wing over how to handle Afghanistan.
The suggestion that there was discord in the Oval Office over whether to increase troop numbers in a brutal war theater is, frankly, of great consolation.
If we don't worry ourselves sick about putting lives on the line, what exactly would we concern ourselves with? Who's dancing next with the stars?
of some concern, at least based on those excerpts that have leaked thus far, is that the president gets pushed around by the generals. And that impression feeds into the larger one that Barack Obama is not quite the commander in chief. He seems far more concerned with being politically savvy than with winning what he has called the good war.
Cognitive dissonance sets in when Obama declares that "it's time to turn the page" in the war he didn't like — Iraq — and that is not in fact over. Fifty-thousand troops remain in Iraq, while the surge in Afghanistan seems to be not enough — or too much for too long, already.
Whatever one's view of circumstances on the ground, whether in the wars abroad or in domestic skirmishes on Wall Street, Obama seems not to be the man in charge. Nor does it seem that he is even sure of his own intentions.
One telling exchange reported by Woodward took place with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. In explaining his July 2011 deadline to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, Obama told Graham: "I have to say that. I can't let this be a war without end, and I can't lose the whole Democratic Party."
How's that? We tell the enemy when we're leaving so the party base doesn't get upset? Well, of course, public opinion matters in war, as in all things.
As we've seen before, wars can't be won without the will of the people at home. But a commander in chief at least ought to know what he's fighting for and why he's asking Americans to risk their lives.
If it's not a good enough reason to warrant victory, then maybe it isn't any longer a good war.
In another telling anecdote, the president asked his aides for a plan "about how we're going to hand it off and get out of Afghanistan." Apparently, he didn't get such a plan. Whose presidency is this anyway?
The White House reportedly isn't upset with the way the president comes across. His portrayal is consistent with what they consider a positive profile: Obama as thoughtful and reflective.
To the list might we add ponderous?
We all want a thoughtful president. As few Democrats tire of reminding us, America and the world have had quite enough of cowboys. But surely we can discard the caricatures and settle on a thoughtful commander who is neither a gunslinger nor a chalk-dusted harrumpher. Surely the twain can meet.
The Woodward syndrome, meanwhile, presents a dilemma for all presidents. By his presence, events are affected.
By our knowledge of what he witnesses, even as history is being created in real time, we can also affect these same events.
Is it fair to Obama to critique him as he navigates his own thoughts? Or are we interfering with outcomes by inserting ourselves into conversations to which we were never supposed to be privy?
It's a conundrum unlikely to be resolved. If anything, in our tell-all, see-all political culture, no struggle will go unrecorded or un-critiqued. The need for strong leadership is, therefore, all the more necessary.
There's a saying that seems applicable here: Work like you don't need money, love like you're never been hurt, dance like no one's watching.
Note to President Obama: Lead like there's no tomorrow. No midterm election, no presidential re-election, no party base. Liberate yourself from the Woodward syndrome, figure out what you think, and lead.
the commander in chief, after all. Half the country may disagree with you, but they'll respect you in the morning.
Kathleen Parker's e-mail address is email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:a0a48ce3-ab68-4559-9345-a762f0adac0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsmax.com/Parker/bobwoodwardbarackobama/2010/09/27/id/371628 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976021 | 986 | 1.75 | 2 |
Nonprofit or community organization
Last modified: July 19, 2012, 5:30 PM
breaking walls is an ongoing and viable global arts activism program empowering youth to discover their voice and find their place on the world stage through the arts and face-to-face dialogue.
breaking walls' history is short yet impressive . . . In 2008 I began as documentary filmmaker eager to challenge the media's negative imaging of youth—from this small concept the Brooklyn and Bethlehem teens came together to demonstrate that they and their peers are not predators or prey but a valuable asset in ending stereotypes and misconceptions.
breaking walls is the outgrowth of these films bethlehem to brooklyn: breaking the surface (2009) and brooklyn bridges- to bethlehem & back (2011).
I selected Berlin for our initial breaking walls workshop because the vision of dismantling the Berlin Wall inspired me to dream even larger than Bethlehem & Brooklyn. Over nine-days 16 new writer-performers from Bethlehem, Brooklyn and Berlin experienced the writing-performing workshop as well as face-to-face dialogue while touring Berlin together. The most exciting aspect of the Berlin workshop was the writing-performing was led by six Brooklyn and Bethlehem youth facilitators who were cast members of both documentaries. In the words of breaking walls Bethlehem Project Manager, Amira Abu Srour, " It's nice to see our kids and the Brooklyn kids who are usually seen as the ones in need of an intervention guiding others to success." The new writer-performers are students of our partners: Al-Rowwad Cultural & Theater Training Center in Aida Refugee Camp near Bethlehem, ACORN Community High School in Brooklyn; and, Nelson Mandela Schule in Berlin.
breaking walls has no listings. | <urn:uuid:8c4db30d-b2cb-4bfb-a763-a3b89ab6f2ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.idealist.org/view/org/32k35sfmwWxNp/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939851 | 354 | 2.046875 | 2 |
The "bible contradictions thread" brought to light some problems with the Masoretic texts, I wanted to show how these "apologetics" problems do not exist in the Septuagint.
The Septuagint was the first translation made of the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek. What I did not know was that it often reads differently from the Masoretic texts, the Old Testament texts that became standardized for the Jews after A.D. 70., and that is the text most of us have in our bibles today.
Most of our Bibles today in the West had been translated from the Masoretic texts, which means that early Christian quotations from the Old Testament sometimes do not fit our Bibles.
It seems strange to me that the early Christians preferred the Septuagint translation over the Hebrew text of their day? And, so did most of the New Testament writers. I never realized when they quoted from the Old Testament, the apostles primarily quoted from the Septuagint. So their quotations, frequently don't match the Old Testament passages in our Bibles.
For example, look at this passage from Psalms that is quoted in the book of Hebrews:
ESV Heb 10:5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired," but a body have you prepared for me;
Our Bibles don't say anything in Psalms about "a body now has been prepared for me." Is that not part of Scripture?
ESV Psa 40:6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
LXX Psa 40:6 Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me: whole-burnt-offering and sacrifice for sin thou didst not require.
This is not an isolated example either. Such bearing to between the Septuagint in the Masoretic texts are fairly numerous. In fact, one of the major teachings of Christianity revolves around one of these variances.
Let's look at Matthews quotation from Isaiah 7:14
ESV Mat 1:22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).
What I did not realize until recently was that the Hebrew Masoretic texts does not say, "the virgin shall be with child." It says, "the young woman shall be with child."
Unless you use the revised standard version, if you look up Isaiah 7:14 in your Old Testament you will probably find that it reads "virgin" instead of "young woman." That's because translators have pledged on their use of the Masoretic texts in order to conform to the common teaching of the Christian doctrine of the virgin birth. Seems to me, it would have been better to have the Septuagint text as our Old Testament instead of the Masoretic.
Several months ago, I found a web site that had several PowerPoint presentations. The site does not give a name? One of these PowerPoint presentations contained a large amount of information about the Septuagint. I thought I would share that here. BTW, His or Her info. matches several sources I have checked. One of which is Common Sense A New Approach to understanding Scripture by David Bercot
Manuscript/Bible time line:
TORAH: Dated to the time of Moses
Samaritan Pentateuch : 300 B.C.
Septuagint (LXX) OT: 250 B.C.
Aramaic Pecolon cannonballsta : 100-150 A.D.
Diatesseron: 170-200 A.D. (4 Gospels) / Tatiain
Chester Beaty Papyrus (200 AD)
Vatican NT : 250 A.D.
Sinai NT: 250 A.D.
Codex Bezae (300 AD)
Alexandrian NT: 350 A.D.
Masoretic Text O.T. 900 -1000 A.D.
Latin Vulgate OT / NT 350 A.D.
King James Version 1611 A.D.
MASORETIC TEXT O.T. 900 A.D.
The oldest translations of the ENTIRE Masoret Tanakh tend to come from the Leningrad Codex of 1008 AD. There's another from 925 AD, but nothing before that date has all the books of the Tanakh. So our oldest Masoret texts are from a rather recent date. There are a few Torahs from further back than that. There are partial scrolls from further back than that. But often the translation we generally get is from a text that is only about 1000 years old.
Most Scholars saw the LXX as inferior to the Hebrew Bible called the Masoretic Text (MT). With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, this all changed. Ancient Hebrew scrolls were found that follow the LXX, not the Masoretic Text. The DSS (Dead Sea Scrolls) showed that the LXX had an underlying Hebrew Text that was different from the MT. Now Scholars think the LXX has important readings that are superior to the MT. The LXX is now very important in textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible.
Even a leading atheist named Frank Zindler (although being sarcastic) made a good point when he stated the following:
"The problem for true believers is this: The Greek version (Septuagint) reflects a Hebrew text more than a thousand years older than the Hebrew text used as the standard for the King James. Shouldn't we follow the Greek even if it is a translation instead of the Hebrew? It should be noted that the authors of the New Testament, when citing the Old Testament, cited it in Greek resembling the LXX far more often than the Masoretic Textus Receptus. If the LXX was good enough for Jesus, shouldn't it be good enough for Presbyterians?"
Let's look at some of the key differences between the LXX and the MT where the LXX seems to be superior.
Age of Levitical Service
MT Numbers 4: 3, 23, 30, 35, 39
the ages of the Levites qualified to minister in the temple was between ages 30 to 50
MT Numbers 8: 24
the ages are between 25 and 50
In the Septuagint however, both chapters say between 25 and 50 each time. There is no discrepancy.
How Many Horsemen?
MT 2 Sam 8:4 (1,700 horsemen)
4 And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left enough
for a hundred chariots.
MT 1 Chr 18:4 (7,000 horsemen)
4 And David took from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers; and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but left
enough for a hundred chariots
LXX: agrees with both. It reads: 7,000 in both passages
2 Sam 8:4 - 4 And David took a thousand of his chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all his chariot horses, and he reserved to himself a hundred chariots.
1 Chr 18:4 4 And David took of them a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand infantry: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but there were reserved of them a hundred chariots.
How many years of famine?
2 Sam 24:13 (7 years)
13 So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine
enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
1 Chr 21:12 (3 years)
12 either three years of famine; or three months of devastation by your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you; or else three days of the sword of the
LORD, pestilence upon the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.' Now decide what answer I shall Return to him who sent
The LXX reads: 3 years famine in both (3 years) 2 Sam 24:13- And Gad went in to David, and told him, and said to him, Choose one of these things to befall thee, whether there shall come upon thee for three years famine in thy land; or that thou shouldest flee three months before thine enemies, and they should pursue thee; or that there should be for three days mortality in thy land. Now then decide, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
(3 years) 1 Chr 21:12 either three years of famine, or that thou shouldest flee three months from the face of thine enemies, and the sword of thine enemies shall be
employed to destroy thee, or that the sword of the Lord and pestilence should be three days in the land, and the angel of the Lord shall be destroying in all the
inheritance of Israel. And now consider what I shall answer to him that sent the message.
How Many Foremen?
1 Ki 5:16 (3,300 foremen) 16 besides Solomon's three thousand three hundred chief officers who were over the work, who had charge of the people who carried on the work.
2 Chr 2:18 (3,600 foremen)
18 Seventy thousand of them he assigned to bear burdens, eighty thousand to quarry in the hill country, and three thousand six hundred as overseers to make the people work.
LXX reads: 3,600 in both passages.
1 Ki 5:16 besides the rulers that were appointed over the works of Solomon, there were three thousand six hundred masters who wrought in the works.
2 Chr 2:18 And he made of them seventy thousand burden-bearers, and eighty thousand hewers of stone, and three thousand six hundred taskmasters over the people.
You can check your e-sword to confirm. | <urn:uuid:1e0df6b8-9173-42e2-836d-fa90c474f5dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tentmaker.org/forum/lounge/the-septuagint/msg37835/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950172 | 2,189 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Instagram have started asking some users to validate their identity with a photo ID. The move is supposed to be apart of their verified account initiative which was introduced by Instagram’s parent company Facebook, in February last year. Instagram are only asking members of the service that have look to have real names as their username instead of an alias.
A spokesperson for Instagram confirmed that the requests being sent out to users asking them to take a picture of their passport or drivers license or something that identifies them are genuine, and that they are in response to “suspected violations” of Instagram’s terms of service. They say that this is just “general practice for both Facebook and Instagram to request photo IDs for verification purposes depending on what type of violation may have occurred.”
Whats interesting is how Instagram and Facebook didn’t expand on these comments, not making clear what type of “violation” a user could make which would prompt such a personal question to be asked. But a possibility is that they are trying to filter through usernames that could appear to be names of people who have a bigger audience online, in the same way Twitter allow you to report clone accounts which subsequently gets them banned.
However its not the idea that Instagram are asking for this kind of private information thats the problem, its conveying that they do that to users. Although its present in the terms and conditions, making sure users don’t think that its a scam – because most of them don’t take the time out to read the TOS – is something of a concern. After what happened when the companies recent attempts to change the TOS was met with user anger, most of it could have been avoided if Instagram laid out what the changes were about and how they work.
Tagged 2013, Facebook, Facebook news, featured, Instagram, Instagram Asking Some Users To Verify Their Identity By Uploading a Photo ID, Instagram asking users to send photo ID to confirm its them, Instagram news, Instagram TOS, rory mitchell, social, social media, social networking, social news, tech news, technology news, Volt, voltmagonline
Rory is the Editor In Chief at Volt. He oversees all the amazing content you see around the website as well as post regular news pieces on the glorious world of technology. You can follow him on Twitter, his handle is @RoryMitchell.
Listen to the fine selection of music our Editor-In-Chief has put together right now at our Spotify playlist. He updates it as often as he can and its usually what he's listening to when delivering the awesome content above!
Click here to listen. | <urn:uuid:6848ae3c-18e4-457e-9cdc-55afd3bc1da0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://voltmagonline.com/instagram-asking-some-users-to-verify-their-identity-by-uploading-a-photo-id/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969696 | 549 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Friday, November 30, 2012
The North Shore Fire Department's "Keeping the Wreath Red" program begins Saturday, and is a time to promote additional awareness of fire safety.
Saturday marks the beginning of this year’s "Keeping the Wreath Red" campaign from the North Shore Fire Department. The campaign highlights the importance of added home fire awareness during the holiday season. During the campaign, a wreath with red lights will be hung outside each of the five stations in the NSFD. If holiday decorations cause a fire, a red bulb will be switched out for a white bulb. “When we’re talking about the holiday season, there are extra hazards in place,” said Capt. John Maydak of the NSFD. These extra hazards are not solely related to decorations. According to Maydak, the most common cause of house fires is cooking. Some of the added hazards during the holiday season include: Several steps can be taken to prevent…
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Fire departments across Southeastern Wisconsin trained in mixed groups to rescue simulated fallen firefighters in situations where seconds mean the difference between survival and a memorial service.
Crawling across the floor of an enormous warehouse, a team of six firefighters from different departments follows a hose line toward what they hope is their fallen comrade. Simulating a "mayday" call, these firefighters are practicing Rapid Intervention Training where they attempt to rescue a fallen firefighter. “Occasionally, conditions on the scene change and firefighters find themselves in situations where they become the one needing help," North Shore Fire Assistant Chief Andrew Harris said in a press release. "This training helps us learn to recognize the signs that we may be in trouble and call for help early to ensure that we make it home to see our families." Along with the North Shore Fire Department, Cudahy, Franklin, Greendale…
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Heavy Equipment Operator Robert Lewis is a third-generation firefighter. He publicly thanked his parents and said he's most proud that his mother and father were still alive to see him retire.
The fire bell rings and all police officers and firefighters snap to attention, standing tall and stiff, hands at their sides, eyes locked forward. As the firetruck rolls in, the siren is let loose in honor of North Shore Fire Department's Heavy Equipment Operator Robert Lewis' retirement after more than 30 years as a firefighter. Lewis is a third-generation firefighter with deep roots in Southeastern Wisconsin, beginning with his grandfather's time as a firefighter in Ixonia. Tuesday morning, dozens of Lewis' friends, family and co-workers attended a ceremony at NSFD Station 1 in Brown Deer. An official fire department escort brought Lewis to the station. As he stepped off Engine 1, he was welcomed by an official color guard, other …
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Officials look at how to fund an estimated $22.2 million liability for retiree benefits other than pensions.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
The new dispatch center is open for business, now supporting all seven North Shore communities for police and fire dispatching services.
Roughly 700 days after the first movement toward a Consolidated Dispatch Center, the Bayside Village Board stood in the new entry way for the official ribbon cutting ceremony. Robb DeGraff, Sam Dickman, Bill Hersch, Eido Walny, Michael Barth and James Petersen were all in attendance, along with members of both the village hall and police departments. The new center supports dispatching services for all seven North Shore communities including Bayside, Brown Deer, Fox Point, River Hills, Glendale, Shorewood, and Whitefish Bay. The Public Policy Forum awarded the North Shore Consolidated Dispatch Services with their "Intergovernmental Cooperation" award for the work it took to negotiate and come to agreement with all seven communities. But…
Thursday, May 24, 2012
As National EMS week comes to a close, we remember those who arrive on scene first to administer life-saving emergency medical attention and bridge the gap between the accident scene and the emergency room.
You're driving along Interstate 43 and someone tries to sneak between yourself and the next car. They cut it just a little bit too close, tapping your front bumper, tipping you into a 70 mph spin. Next thing you know, you're trapped motionless in your car and hear sirens creeping in the background. Why is the first thing you see a fire engine and not an ambulance? Because every fire engine in the North Shore Fire Department is loaded with life-saving equipment and fully EMT certified fire fighters that bridge the gap between you being trapped in that car-wreck, and making it safely to the emergency room. "Being an EMT or a paramedic is not an easy job, they see things that most people would never want to see," NSFD Chief Robert Whitaker …
Monday, April 9, 2012
Local synagogues and the North Shore Fire Department paired up for a Passover bread burn, representing a spiritual scouring of the soul.
Mid Friday morning, dozens of families made their way to Station 2 of the North Shore Fire Department in Glendale to participate in the official bi'ur chametz, or burning of leavened bread, in honor of Passover. "The goal of the Fire Department is to be in touch with who we're serving, and if we don't understand who we're serving, I don't think we're doing our job 100 percent," Capt. John Maydak said. Check out this article for more information on why this is so important to both the fire department and local synagogues.
Friday, March 30, 2012
For safety and community connections, the North Shore Fire Department is hosting an official chametz burning – the removal by fire of all leavened bread – in honor of Passover.
It's not a pairing you see every day: a fire department mostly filled with Christian men pairing with Jewish synagogues for a religious ceremony. But for Passover, it's all about learning about each other and keeping the community connected. And it's more widespread than just the North Shore. The North Shore Fire Department will host an official bi'ur chametz, or burning of leavened bread, in honor of Passover from 10 to 11:45 a.m. April 6 at NSFD Station 2 in Glendale, 5901 N. Milwaukee River Pkwy. "The goal of the Fire Department is to be in touch with who we're serving, and if we don't understand who we're serving, I don't think we're doing our job 100 percent," Capt. John Maydak said. Rabbi Wes Kalmar of Congregation Anshe Sfard …
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Largest increase is a $30 hike in advanced life support transport for a nonresident. There's also a new $900 fee for kits to treat exposure to nerve agents.
Gas prices aren't the only cost that's going up — fees for services by the North Shore Fire Department are as well. However, these fees aren't jumping quite as exponentially as recent gas price spikes. "The changes in fees are very limited," NSFD Chief Robert Whitaker said. "The only changes are ALS services, which is a county-wide fee structure. At this point, we don’t expect a significant change in our revenue projections based on these changes in fees." There are only a total of four fee increases and three new fees on the 2012 schedule including: The new fees include: The most expensive new fee is the cyano kit, which is a special injection used to treat exposure to nerve agents according to NSFD Lt. paramedic Pete Bierton. "We've been…
Friday, February 10, 2012
The latest reports from the North Shore Fire Department.
The North Shore Fire Department responded to a total of 98 calls for service, 75 EMS calls, and 23 fire and rescue calls from Jan. 30 through Feb. 5 throughout the North Shore. Here is a summary of the calls from Shorewood and Whitefish Bay. There were no reports this week for Fox Point or Bayside. Whitefish Bay Shorewood | <urn:uuid:67a308c1-75c3-4360-a38a-1846790c4fe0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shorewood.patch.com/topics/nsfd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960431 | 1,680 | 2.046875 | 2 |
The surprising statistics presented in the 'Could You be Dating a Rapist?' infograph compounded by Checkmate Dating is a scary look at the world we live in. As part of an online dating safety campaign, the infograph takes a brutal look at the current state of rape in America. With over 6 million rapists walking the streets, 38% of which are friends or acquaintances, and a conviction rate of approximately 1.2%, the scary statistics are intense, to say the least.
With more rapists in America than the total amount of doctors, nurses, teachers and firefighters combined, the infograph points to a very dire situation. The purpose, however, isn't just to frighten you into thinking the world is a terrible place; the campaign goal is to educate young women and encourage them to take precaution, especially when it comes to online dating.
Dangerous Dating Information
435 clicks in 50 w
More Stats +/- | <urn:uuid:e4f64ec0-44e7-4424-a988-327ac4b8086f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/could-you-be-dating-a-rapist | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941073 | 187 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Most people associate fluoride with the practice of intentionally adding fluoride to public drinking water supplies for the prevention of tooth decay. However, fluoride can also enter public water systems from natural sources, including runoff from the weathering of fluoride-containing rocks and soils and leaching from soil into groundwater. Fluoride pollution from various industrial emissions can also contaminate water supplies. In a few areas of the United States fluoride concentrations in water are much higher than normal, mostly from natural sources. Fluoride is one of the drinking water contaminants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because it can occur at these toxic levels. In 1986, the EPA established a maximum allowable concentration for fluoride in drinking water of 4 milligrams per liter, a guideline designed to prevent the public from being exposed to harmful levels of fluoride. Fluoride in Drinking Water reviews research on various health effects from exposure to fluoride, including studies conducted in the last 10 years. | <urn:uuid:12d8e769-fd64-4270-8eb5-de3416d8fb16> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11571 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950301 | 192 | 3.703125 | 4 |
Thanks to his darkly unique perspective and grim, often nihilistic approach to storytelling, director Roman Polanski has left an indelible mark on world cinema. Although his films have been compared to those of Alfred Hitchcock, with their use of gallows humor, tension, and occasional surrealism to tell amoral stories of ordinary men struggling to cope in a hostile, ironic world, Polanski, unlike Hitchcock, has chosen to experiment with a variety of genres. In this regard, the director has considered himself a "cinematic playboy" intent on exploring the possibilities of all film categories. A uniformly pessimistic viewpoint provides the clearest link to entries in Polanski's body of work, something that is widely traced back to years of childhood trauma.
The son of a Polish Jew and a Russian immigrant, Polanski was born in Paris on August 18, 1933. When he was three, his family moved to the Polish town of Krakow, an unfortunate decision given that the Germans invaded the city in 1940. Things went from bad to worse with the formation of Krakow's Jewish ghetto, and Polanski's family was the target of further persecution when his parents were deported to a concentration camp. Just before he was to be taken away, however, Polanski's father helped his son escape, and the boy managed to survive with help from kindly Catholic families, although he was at times forced to fend for himself. (At one point, the Germans decided to use Polanski for idle target practice.) It was during this period that Polanski became a devoted cinephile, seeking refuge in movie houses whenever possible. The cinemas provided him a type of protection that was brutally absent in the outside world.
Shortly after sustaining serious injuries in an explosion, Polanski learned of his mother's death at Auschwitz. His father survived the camps, and moved back to Krakow with his son. Following his father's remarriage, the adolescent Polanski left home. Although still coping with great personal turmoil, he managed to nurture his love of the cinema; two films that particularly influenced him at the time were Laurence Olivier's Hamlet and Carol Reed's Odd Man Out. Following a near-fatal incident at the age of 16 -- which involved Polanski nearly becoming the next victim of a man who had just killed three people -- his father enrolled him in a technical school. He left in 1950 to attend film school, concurrently becoming an actor with the Krakow Theater and made his onscreen acting debut in Andrzej Wajda's 1954 Pokolenie/A Generation.
That same year, Polanski was one of six applicants accepted into the rigorous director's course at Lodz's prestigious State Film School. In 1957, he made his first student film Rozbijemy Zabawe/Break up the Dance, an account of paid thugs destroying a school party (a stunt that almost got him expelled). Polanski's next film, Dwaj Ludzie z Szafa/Two Men and a Wardrobe, proved to be one of his most famous, winning him five international awards. This and subsequent shorts such as Le Gros et le Maigre/The Fat and the Lean (made in 1961 after his graduation) all featured the black humor that would characterize his later features. Polanski made his feature film debut in 1962 with Noz w Wodzie/Knife in the Water; as with most of his subsequent features, he also worked on the screenplay, in this case collaborating with Jerzy Skolimowski and Jakub Goldberg. A suspenseful, symbolic psychological drama set aboard a sailboat, the film told the story of a husband's misbegotten attempts to impress his wife and a potential rival, a young hitchhiker they bring aboard on a whim. It is considered the first Polish film not to deal with World War II, and was applauded for its visual precision (another characteristic of Polanski's work). It was also the only full-length feature the director made in Poland.
Polanski moved to England to make his next two films, the first of which, Repulsion, became a cornerstone of contemporary psychological thrillers and, despite poor box-office returns, is said to be the director's favorite film. Polanski made his Hollywood debut in 1968 with the horror classic Rosemary's Baby. As with his earlier works, the film was more concerned with psychological terror than cheap shocks, creating a sense of foreboding terror that many directors have since tried to emulate with limited success. Polanski's next film, Macbeth, was a faithful but controversial adaptation of Shakespeare. Made shortly after his wife Sharon Tate was brutally murdered by the Manson Family, its graphic violence was said to reflect the director's grief and outrage.
Polanski then shifted gears, making a sex comedy (What?)in Italy before returning to Hollywood to direct one of his finest efforts, Chinatown (1974), a film that revitalized the nearly dead film noir movement and earned Polanski an Oscar nomination and a British Academy Award. He followed up this success in 1976 with the suspenseful and surrealistic Le Locataire/The Tenant. A sinister, paranoid tale of madness, manipulation, and vengeance, it was reportedly filmed in the neighborhood where Polanski lived when he first came to Paris. The next year, the director made the news for a different and altogether disastrous reason: While in Hollywood working on a project, he was charged of having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Barred from working in Hollywood, Polanski fled the country and resettled in Paris (he had acquired French citizenship in 1976) and did not make another film until 1979. An adaptation of a Thomas Hardy novel, the three-hour long Tess, starring 17-year-old Nastassja Kinski (with whom Polanski was also involved), was the most expensive film made in France at the time. But despite its cost, it proved to be a success, netting Polanski an Oscar nomination and a César award for Best Direction.
While Tess was marked by a kind of lyrical romanticism, Polanski's next film, Pirates (1986), was an all-out spoof. As with his other comedies, it was not a success. In fact, after the much-lauded Tess, Polanski's work became intermittent and of spotty quality. Frantic, his 1988 thriller with Harrison Ford, failed to garner either critical or commercial favor, and his next effort, the perversely erotic thriller Bitter Moon (1992) received notice mainly because it starred a then-unknown Hugh Grant. Polanski found greater critical success in 1994 with Death and the Maiden, his adaptation of Ariel Dorfman's play, starring Ben Kingsley and Sigourney Weaver. Two years later, he branched out with the experimental Gli Angeli, and, in 1999, returned to mystery-thriller territory with The Ninth Gate, starring his third wife Emmanuelle Seigner. (Barbara Lass was his first wife; Tate, his second.)
Though The Ninth Gate would barely register a blip on the box-office radar, it was Polanski's next film that would show that the director was still very much at the top of his game. Based upon the memoirs of Wladyslaw Szpilman and admittedly inspired by his own shattering childhood experiences, Polanski's The Pianist told the heart-wrenching tale of a brilliant pianist who eludes his Nazi captors by hiding out in the ruins of Warzaw. The film began collecting accolades from its premiere at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, where it received the top prize, the Palme d'Or, to the Academy Awards, where it snagged seven nominations including Best Picture. In what would be a night of many surprises, The Pianist upset such favored competition as the popular musical Chicago and Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York to win three Oscars, including Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director, although the latter prize went unclaimed, as Polanski was still a fugitive from Los Angeles County and therefore unable to enter the country.
Over the years, Polanski also continued to nurture an interest in the theater, directing Berg's Lulu, Verdi's Rigoletto, and Tales of Hoffman at various theaters around Europe. In 1981, he directed and starred in the Warsaw production of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus, which he re-staged successfully in Paris in 1982. In 1988, he played the leading role in Stephen Berkoff's adaptation of Kafka's Metamorphosis (again on the Paris stage). He's also contributed some occasional film acting, playing opposite Gerard Depardieu in Giuseppe Tornatore's Una Pura Formalità/A Pure Formality in 1994, as well as appearing in his own films.
In September of 2009, on route to attend a career retrospective at the Zurich Film Festival, Polanski was taken into custody by Swiss officials becuase of a warrant issued by the United States in regard to his flight from justice at the time of his 1977 arrest for child molestation. The arrest interrupted the production of Polanski's 2010 film The Ghost Writer -- a political thriller starring Ewan McGregor and based on writer/former BBC reporter Robert Harris' novel The Ghost -- though it hardly had any impact on the controversial director's career momentun; the following year he adapted Yasmina Reza stage play The God of Carnage to the big screen in Carnage -- a scathing comedy starring Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet, and Christoph Waltz as four parents attempting to resolve a bullying issue between their young sons, but ultimately proving themselves to be just as childish as their feuding offspring. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi | <urn:uuid:527cbf97-ef62-4455-8eff-e6c143c02180> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.movies.com/actors/roman-polanski/roman-polanski-biography/p285852 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979881 | 2,006 | 2.3125 | 2 |
by KIM HILSENBECK
Three days a week, Jim Darling of Kyle sits in a lounge chair for four hours. He watches TV, sleeps and sometimes visits with others sitting on nearby lounge chairs.
In a conversation with a woman in a white lab coat and a clipboard, Darling tells her it’s difficult to move his hands lately. He demonstrates, showing her how they won’t fully close when he makes a fist.
The woman, Cathy Shuler, a registered dietician, gives him a coupon printed on pink paper. It shows the number three.
“It would be a five if he had followed his diet,” she said.
The numbers are part of a points system that Shuler uses to encourage folks like Darling to watch what they eat. They cash in those points for gifts such as socks, blankets and books. Kind of like a dialysis frequent flyer program.
A machine next to his chair hums and whirs, little instruments flashing and spinning. Cords and tubes stick out of the machine and into Darling.
Yet his warm smile and easy nature betray the severity of his current condition.
Darling is on a dialysis machine at Satellite Dialysis in Kyle. He’s been on dialysis since 2006 when his kidneys could no longer function on their own.
It turns out Darling has the top two causes of renal failure. He was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 1991, which is one of the leading risk factors for kidney disease.
Years earlier, at age 17, he was diagnosed with high blood pressure – the second leading risk for kidney disease.
In October 2011, Darling got the phone call he was waiting on for five years – a kidney was waiting for him. Within hours of that call, Darling had a kidney transplant.
But it was not the outcome he expected.
“It never woke up,” he explained.
In medical vernacular, it means that kidney never began functioning. So doctors removed it. He went back on dialysis.
“I’m at the top of the list,” Darling said.
He said he has not asked any of his three grown children to donate one of their kidneys.
For the past seven years, Darling has been receiving dialysis treatments – 12 hours each week. It’s almost like a part-time job. Indeed, Darling had to retire once he went on dialysis because it took too much of his time.
He worked as a registered nurse for the previous 11 years – it was his encore career, having retired from a telephone company where he worked for many years prior.
In an odd twist of fate, Darling worked as a dialysis nurse for a year at a facility in Austin. So he knew what patients went through being hooked up to a machine for hours on end, three times a week.
How did he end up in the same type of chair as his former patients?
“I have a real bad problem with denial,” he quipped. He also acknowledged the old adage that nurses make the worst patients is true.
Yet Darling did lose about 15 pounds since he started dialysis.
“That helped resolve my blood sugar issues,” he said.
But Daring knows he has more changes to make and habits to break. In talking with Shuler, he mentioned the cookies he bought at Whole Foods.
She suggested he bring them to the staff at Satellite. He laughed, his bright blue eyes sparkling behind his glasses.
His easy rapport with the staff at Satellite is apparent. Light banter and friendly conversation set the tone, even while they take his condition and treatment seriously.
“I love the staff. I’m friends with all the nurses and the techs. You really get attached to your techs,” Darling said. “Your life depends on them.”
At that moment, Melissa, Darling’s technician, stopped by his chair. He explained to her how he gets attached to his techs. She smiled.
“We love him. He’s mine,” she said.
“I know a well-run unit,” Darling said. “These guys are totally professional. I don’t have any problem letting them take care of me.”
Compared to the center where he worked as a dialysis nurse, Darling said the staff at Satellite gets a lot of support from management.
He also said he knows he has to “get with it.”
“I’m at the point where I can’t function. My feet are fine, but my hands are killing me,” he said.
Does he have any advice for those with diabetes?
The typical answers – watch the weight, diet, exercise – all the things Darling hasn’t been able to make himself do as well as he knows he should.
“It’s time to get out and start walking,” he said of his own situation.
Except making that happen isn’t as easy as he would like it to be.
“I get home and I feel washed out, just low energy,” Darling said.
Darling said his own three grown children are concerned about him.
“They encourage me to eat healthy. They cook healthy,” he said. He paused. “Sometimes it’s difficult.”
Yet he knows how important the stakes are.
“I want to be here for my grandkids,” Darling said.
He is on the list for a second transplant kidney. Of course, getting a kidney requires someone to donate one, either through an organ transplant program or through an organ donation program. Darling’s last kidney came from a 26-year old man who perished in an accident. That’s all he knows.
And so he waits.
Darling lives with his significant other, Becky, and she is very supportive. But he is also her primary caregiver.
“I do the cooking, the dishes, housework, shopping – she doesn’t drive. Doctors appointments…”
A loud siren blares from Darling’s machine, signifying his time is up for today.
“That’s a really welcome sign,” he said.
- Mary Ruth Moddle 07/21/2008
- Patsy Marie Simon Buckmaster 02/24/2010
- Lehman volleyball gets set for digs and spikes with new coach 08/9/2007 | <urn:uuid:b9b377c1-47ed-4fe4-8713-4e6dd4398525> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://haysfreepress.com/2013/03/14/living-life-by-the-drop-dialysis-patient-adjusts-to-lifestyle-changes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981409 | 1,375 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Does your family have a fire evacuation plan? Does it include your pets? If you have not yet created a plan, it is essential to do so immediately. House fires affect 500,000 pets every year, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Having a tested evacuation plan in place can save the lives of your children and animals.
If you don’t know where to begin, contact your local fire department for tips. In some cases, they may even be willing to come to your home and offer advice on evacuating with animals. The following tips will help ensure you and your pets make it out of your home safe.
1. Include everyone in your plan. If you own multiple pets, you should designate one family member to be responsible for each pet. This prevents everyone in your home going after the same animal while other animals are neglected.
2. Let firefighters know about your pets. Place pet rescue stickers on your front door or on a window near your front door. These stickers are available at most pet stores and from your local humane society. Include the number and type of pets you have inside.
3. Check hiding spots right away. Pets are likely to panic during a house fire and retreat to their favorite hiding place. Check those places first. Make sure pet sitters know of your pet’s hiding spaces.
Keep outdoor pets away from your home.
4. If you have outdoor pets in cages, place them at least 20 feet from your home and from any dry brush or other flammable material. This helps ensure you are able to reach your outdoor pet in the event of a house fire.
5. Leave a door open. If you cannot locate your pet, it is important to get yourself and your family outside. Do not continue searching for your pet. Doing so may be fatal to both of you. Instead, go outside and leave a door open. Continue calling your pet’s name once you are outside, and hopefully your cat or dog will hear you and come running.
6. Practice. Practice evacuating your home with your pets. First, have a fire drill with your children that does not include your pets. Once your children know their way out of the house, have a drill where members of your family save the pet they are responsible for. Leave leashes near your exit points to assist when bringing dogs and cats outside.
Remember that saving one life is better than saving none. If looking for an animal puts your life or the life of your children at risk, you must evacuate. If you cannot find your animal with a quick (and safe) look through the house, leave the job for properly equipped firefighters. | <urn:uuid:612615c9-fbaa-4187-a5dd-88bca04e0df5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.vetdepot.com/pets-should-be-included-in-fire-evacuation-plan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952138 | 544 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Would you believe that of the 850 bird species in North America, more than 300 leave the continent and spend the winter in Central and South America and the Caribbean? In preparation, some transform themselves into “super birds” gorging until they accumulate fat reserves that almost double their body weight in order to have the energy for transcontinental flight.
Others take an opposite approach – flying just a few hours each day. And how do they find their way? An internal magnetic compass, eyes that can see polarized light or even magnetic directions, memorized celestial maps along with many other methods have all have been hypothesized and some convincing data collected.
Research biologist and ASU Polytechnic Wildlife Professor Stan Cunningham will share these and more insights into avian migration during a lecture Dec. 9 at Boyce Thompson Arboretum – accompanied by his impressive photography of birds on the wing.
The presentation begins at 1:30 p.m. in the lecture room of the Smith Building and is open to the public, included with daily admission of $9, and no preregistration required.
For the past three decades Cunningham has lived an adventurous life you’d expect to see depicted on film crawling into black bear dens during wintertime as a wildlife biologist for the Arizona Game & Fish Department and spending a month each summer in Alaska as a professional photographer, shooting vivid pictures of brown bears for magazines, tourist lodges and leading Alaskan photo safaris and ecotourism trips.
A professor of wildlife biology at Arizona State University Polytechnic since 2006, Cunningham is known for his decades of research about bears, mountain lions, and the ecological effects of wildfire.
On Sunday, Dec. 9, he will share some of the secrets scientists have learned on migration and navigation along with some of his most breathtaking avian photography.
Read more about Arboretum events at Ag.Arizona.edu/BTA.
To comment on this article and others visit the Copper Area News Facebook or send us an email at CBNSun@MinerSunBasin.com | <urn:uuid:49bf3562-5c5f-41e0-8207-f055dd441cbb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://copperarea.com/pages/arboretum-to-host-marvels-of-migration-photography-lecture-dec-9-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956202 | 421 | 2.765625 | 3 |
The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Animals is seeing more and more patients as red tide takes over Southwest Florida's beaches.
At CROW, veterinarians are busy dealing with the affects of red tide.
"We're working on a about half a dozen right now, mostly cormorants and we have a sanderling that was found here on Sanibel. But mostly just cormorants for now," said Steve Greenstein, CROW Executive Director.
The birds ate fish killed by the toxic algae in the water, causing a neurological affect.
"It puts them in what's called a down position, when you find them they'd be disorientated, they usually can't stand up, have trouble breathing, really it's a poisoning their system," Greenstein said.
All of the birds found by citizens who called CROW to rescue them had similar symptoms.
"When you walk up to them, they don't walk away, or if they are walking they really just look like a drunk sailor…they stagger, they have a lot of intention tremors with their heads and ally just look like a drunk bird," said Dr. Aundria West of CROW.
There's no cure for red tide positioning, so CROW does what they can.
"It's a toxin. There's not really much you can do as far as anti-toxin against it, you just have to wait for the body to clear it out so the best way is to pump them full of fluids, get things flushed out and just provide some food," West said.
Within 24 hours, vets know if the bird is going to make it.
Once they seem strong enough, they graduate to an outside enclosure.
"At CROW, were here for one reason and that's release, that's really our goal here from start to finish," Greenstein said.
Please tell us about any errors you find in our stories. Copy the page address above before clicking on this link to fill out the form. To simply comment on a story you've seen, email firstname.lastname@example.org.More >>
We take all of the elements of our stories seriously. Please tell us about any errors you find. Copy the page address above before clicking on this link to fill out the form. If you're looking to comment on a story you've seen or read, email that to email@example.com.More >>
3719 Central Avenue Fort Myers, FL 33901
Main Phone: (239) 939-2020 Newsroom Phone: (239) 939-6223 | <urn:uuid:68189cfa-cdd4-4121-9424-1d4ac8319f38> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc-7.com/story/19905837/crow | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969717 | 535 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Like most white people, I’ve got a bit of an obsession with turn of the century design aesthetics. Not really sure what you would call that. Rockefellerphilia, perhaps? I’ve got a theory that this obsession stems from a desire to hearken back to a time when white folks thought they were pretty hot shit. All building factories and swirling brandy in oak lined rooms. Can we really blame them for the vast industrialization and domination of every business venture possible and all the irreversible ramifications that came with it? Yes, we can.z
T. J. Stiles’s The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt tells the story of a Staten Island born, steamship building, Abraham Lincoln consulting, business modeling, fist fighting, gambling addicted son having, titan of industry.
Remaining true to the tone of the times, this cover implements the letterpress-style typfaces and embellishments that defined the era. And even goes the whole nine to include a daguerreotype-style image of the powdered wig captain of industry himself. A subtle head-nod to the design of the dollar bill and the pursuit of which he devoted his life to. | <urn:uuid:842a4f2c-5491-4221-bd45-7baf8009d17a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://annalemma.net/category/blog/uncategorized | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932673 | 249 | 1.703125 | 2 |
"Tennessee does not have enough qualified workers with specific skills, a high work ethic and critical thinking abilities, local business leaders told Gov. Bill Haslam on Tuesday.
College and university leaders, meanwhile, said they need more resources to adequately educate and graduate more students to fill those jobs.
And while I certainly agree our state and community needs critical thinking skills, I read no mention of just what "specific skills" are being cited here, other than mentions of welding and engineering. And we certainly need to discuss and debate the role and the enormous impact which education has on our world at nearly every level.
The optimist in me wants to believe the driving forces for these Haslam-led meetings will lead to a better understanding of what the functions higher education should serve.
The pessimist, however, sees a day when higher education is either about technical services or football and other sports.
Reading the comments to the KNS story (often a grueling descent into nonsense) I noted the following one:
"We don't need any more fluff degrees.
What kind of world will we have should we remove knowledge of history, science, the arts, language, libraries, music, literature, etc etc. Is emulating the nation of China our best option?
Is the sole purpose of attaining a college degree merely to obtain a high-paid job? Is there no value left in education if it does not lead to a giant paycheck?
Once we eliminate the areas of study the commenter suggests - critical thinking skills will likewise vanish. Absent ethics, philosophy, communication skills, understanding of history, the ability to express ourselves and our thoughts about our world, ignoring the past or ridiculing those who excel in all these areas - what kind of world would we have? | <urn:uuid:7b9cbc50-699d-4361-8432-edd72f098e0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cupofjoepowell.blogspot.com/2012_07_29_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950402 | 361 | 1.765625 | 2 |
One of the most popular stories to appear in Acupuncture Today concerned the use of acupuncture to improve the success rate of test-tube pregnancies, particularly those achieved through in vitro fertilization.
The article, which appeared on the front page of the July issue, was of much interest to our readers, especially acupuncturists interested in learning the location and purpose of the ear points used in the original study.
While Acupuncture Today has been unable to reach Dr. Wolfgang Paulus, the lead author of the study, for a clarification, Dr. Dagmar Ehling, a licensed acupuncturist and doctor of Oriental medicine from North Carolina, recently sent us the following e-mail:
"Just wanted to comment on the article published in the July 2002 issue. The reference for the ear points used in that study can be found in the German text Leitfaden Ohrakupunkur by M. Angermair, published by Urban & Fischer in Munich. According to that text, ear point 55 is shenmen; ear point 58 is the uterus point; ear point 22 is the endocrine point, and ear point 34 is 'gray matter' located posterior to the endocrine point. Hope this helps."
Acupuncture Today extends its thanks to Dr. Ehling for helping inform the profession. | <urn:uuid:e6d97356-f1a9-4a5f-ac0a-42bcaeb46c8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=28066 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930736 | 268 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Art Deco (/ˌɑrtˈdɛkoʊ/), or Deco, is an influential visual arts design style which first appeared in France during the 1920s, flourished internationally during the 30s and 40s, then waned in the post-World War II era. It is an eclectic style that combines traditional craftmotifs with Machine Age imagery and materials. The style is often characterized by rich colors, bold geometric shapes, and lavish ornamentation.
Deco emerged from the Interwar period when rapid industrialization was transforming culture. One of its major attributes is an embrace of technology. This distinguishes Deco from the organicmotifs favored by its predecessor Art Nouveau. | <urn:uuid:1f4e7982-7c67-4275-8eb1-a76c0b624f48> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fotopedia.com/wiki/Art_Deco | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938981 | 145 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Tea & Health
After a stressful day, many people reach for a cup of tea to help revive and lift their spirits. But does tea do more than just help you unwind? Well, there are lots of facts and theories surrounding tea.
What we do know is that with 45-70% of your body being made up of water, it's really important that you replace at least 2.5 pints of fluids you lose during a normal day to prevent dehydration. Tea is a tasty, refreshing alternative to water that can help towards your daily hydration target, as part of a healthy, balanced diet.
How else can tea help you?
Determined to lose weight?
Drank on its own, tea has no calories whatsoever, which makes it the perfect thirst-quenching drink if you are on a diet.
Love a winning smile?
Black tea and green tea are a great natural source of fluoride that can help prevent the build up of plaque on your teeth.
Fancy cutting down on caffeine?
It varies according to preparation methods, but roughly speaking, tea contains only half the amount of caffeine as instant coffee and just a third of that of filter coffee.
Want to cut caffeine out altogether?
Why not try fruit tea or herbal tea as both these deliciously aromatic drinks are naturally caffeine-free.
Taken with milk, just 4 cups of tea a day may help towards your recommended daily intake of calcium, zinc, Vitamin B2, folic acid, and Vitamins B1 and B6. Tea also contains manganese for general physical development and potassium to help maintain fluid balance.
Finally, studies from around the world suggest that taking a break and enjoying a relaxing cup of tea may also help maintain a healthy heart, when enjoyed as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle that includes plenty of exercise. Tea is rich in a particular type of anti-oxidants called 'flavonoids' which are thought to prevent the oxidation of 'bad cholesterol' in blood that can lead to the build up of plaque in your artery walls.
Tea never ceases to amaze and inspire us at Taylors of Harrogate. That's why we call it the perfect drink for mind, body and soul. | <urn:uuid:e3070168-4292-45e1-b749-da72caf76019> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.taylorsofharrogate.com/about-tea/taylors-tea-and-health.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960984 | 460 | 2.421875 | 2 |
In honor of International Day, Kuwait women examined the current state of their position in their nation. Kuwait is much more open and liberal towards women than certain Muslim nations such as Saudi Arabia, but vestiges of the less than equal status of women in a Muslim society are still evident. Dr. Assel Alawadhi, a professor at Kuwait University, noted that it was just recently than women began to get involved in the political affairs of her nation and there are a few encouraging signs of progress. However, she expressed disappointment that at educational institutions the segregation of men and women continues. A speaker at the meeting noted that female athletes in Kuwait operate under severe restrictions since the idea of women participating in sports is relatively new.
A major issue discussed at the conference was the desirability of instituting quotas for women in the legislature. Some believed it would establish limits rather than establish a base of participation in the political life of the nation. It is definitely a long road for women to gain the semblance of equality in some Muslim societies. | <urn:uuid:a101de84-3af6-490b-95e3-107676447717> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theimpudentobserver.com/world-news/kuwait-women-work-for-equality/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977877 | 208 | 2.140625 | 2 |
An estimated 1.5 million Americans have Parkinson's disease, which causes slowness of movement, tremors, and loss of balance. Physical therapy can ease symptoms and may delay progression of the disease. Now, cutting-edge tech is transforming everyday therapy into entertaining exercises.
Parkinson's patients recently took part in a University of California at San Francisco study to see if special video games could replace their regular exercises. Scientific researchers and game developers came together to create the therapeutic games. Check out this SmartPlanet video that explores the technology.
This video originally appeared on SmartPlanet with the headline "Video games replace physical therapy for Parkinson's patients.&… Read more | <urn:uuid:89c26456-981a-40ba-8080-84156020d50b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnet.com/8300-5_1-0.html?keyword=ucsf | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911994 | 134 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Grants are awarded yearly to support innovative projects, classroom instruction, and programs that enhance the school curriculum and enriches the learning experience for students. Each application was reviewed on a rubric and must focus on student achievement, be innovative, appropriately aligned with school district goals and the School Improvement Plan, have measurable impact and results regarding student achievement and be cost effective.
South Paulding High School, led by Principal Keith A. Rowland, won the high school grant award with its Reality Fair program. This event is for rising ninth-graders to visualize their career choices and how these choices will affect their economic well-being. More than 500 students are involved in a simulated experience of managing personal finances through real-life stations set up at the school.
After attending the Reality Fair, students have an opportunity to attend the school’s Pathway Fair to determine course placement. Many components of this program are managed by current SPHS students.
Austin Middle School, led by Principal Gary Plunkett, accepted the middle school grant for its “Visual Thesaurus: Using Digital Tools to Help Students Acquire Academic Vocabulary Across Disciplines” program.
This program will be used across the entire school as a way to implement intense vocabulary usage. The Visual Thesaurus is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus which creates word maps that blossom with meanings and branch to related words. Its innovative display encourages exploration and learning.
Poole Elementary School and Principal Angie Capobianco will implement the “eReading — Comprehension and Vocabulary Instruction through Content Areas of Science and Social Studies” program as a result of the elementary school grant.
This program allows for an electronic library for school and home, filled with leveled science and social content books. The eReaders also provide assessment and data analysis and additional parent training is available at monthly meetings and family nights. | <urn:uuid:3fcfa316-ce0f-4d03-8a55-2a1da3aa9f3f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://neighbornewspapers.com/view/full_story/20454725/article-Foundation-awards-schools-cash-for-innovative-programs?instance=paulding | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954629 | 387 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Most previous studies on trust organizational spirituality have been conducted in Western countries, and the generalizability of these findings to the other parts of the world is questionable. For example, some researchers have reported that spirituality does not affect trust in organization in Western societies (Kilduff and Day, 1994). Whetstone (2001) found that spirituality has a positive effect on employee satisfaction in organization. One such variable is future orientation, which refers to the degree to which a culture encourages and rewards future-oriented behavior, such as planning and delaying gratification (House et al., 1999). This cultural variable is likely to affect management practices of the firms and employment relationships in the workplace.
A growing chorus of scholarly voices is arguing that spirituality is necessary in organizations for ethical behavior, for job satisfaction and employee commitment, and for productivity and competitive advantage. Increasingly, this point is being demonstrated and empirical studies designed to test this hypotheses further are being conceived and implemented even as this article is being written. Along with the spirituality in organizations theme in the chorus runs the spiritual leadership variation on the theme. Spirituality is a concept encountered with increasing frequency in the contemporary addiction literature.
The review of the existing major spiritual leadership theories states that the strength of these theories is in the "leadership" aspect of spiritual leadership (Fry, 2003; Sanders et al. 2002). It observes that there is a need for a "... more robust and sophisticated understanding of the 'spiritual' aspect of 'spiritual leadership'". They echo this concern and question whether the field truly has a deeper understanding of what spiritual leadership really means in practice. A number of insightful books have been authored on spiritual leadership, but they are based largely on a self report basis and lack grounding in theoretical frameworks. In terms of scholarly research, the terminology employed (e.g. vision, altruistic behaviors, loving relationships, etc.) certainly makes sense, but it is still not completely clear to us as to exactly what specific spiritual leadership attitudes and behaviors in practice are. For instance, precisely what do leaders do to create vision and exhibit altruistic behaviors and loving relationships from a spiritual perspective? What are specific examples of spiritual leadership that the field can use as a common framework or foundation to describe and understand spiritual leadership? What are the specific impacts of these spiritual leadership practices on followers or organizations?
The objectives of this study are: 1) to investigate the influence of organizational spirituality mindset (career obligation, success concentration, sense of ownership, and task perseverance) on intrinsic work satisfaction, openness to changefulness and self benevolence; 2) to examine the effect of on intrinsic work satisfaction, openness to changefulness and self benevolence on business success; 3) to investigate the effect of antecedents (morality judgment, subjective norms and virtue ethics) on the organizational spirituality mindset; and 4) to investigate the role of two moderators (perceived organizational support and organizational citizenship behavior). Furthermore, the research questions of this study are: 1) how do the four dimensions of organizational spirituality mindset (career obligation, success concentration, sense of ownership, and tasks perseverance) have an effect on intrinsic work satisfaction, openness to changefulness and self benevolence? 2) how do intrinsic work satisfaction, openness to changefulness and self benevolence have an effect on business success? 3) how do the three antecedents (morality judgment, subjective norms and virtue ethics) have an effect on the Organizational Spirituality Mindset? and 4) how do the perceived organizational support and organizational citizenship behavior play the moderator's role?
This research attempts to explore the relationships of the organizational spirituality mindset of advertising agencies in Thailand. Researcher expects different dimensions of perceived organizational spirituality mindset (i.e., career obligation, success concentration, sense of ownership, and task perseverance) Several hypotheses are developed and tested on data collected from 800 CEOs of advertising agencies in Thailand.
This research is outlined as follows. The first section reviews existing significant literature in the areas and stream of organizational spirituality mindset, the link between the concepts of intrinsic work satisfaction, openness to changefulness, and self benevolence to business success, and develops the key research hypotheses of those relationships. The second explicitly describes the details of research methods, including data collection, measurements, and statistics. The third gives the analysis results of the current study and corresponding discussion with some of the reasons and explanations. The final summarizes the findings of the study and points both theoretical and managerial contributions, and presents suggestions for future research and the limitations of the study.
2. THEORETICAL FOUNDATION
The conceptual model in Figure 1 utilizes three theories to explain research phenomenon. These theories include resource-based view of the firm, equity theory, and social exchange theory which explain, predict, and link all variables together. The resource-based view of the firm explains the organizational spirituality mindset that affects intrinsic work satisfaction, openness to changefulness, self benevolence, and business success. Because the resource-based-based view of the firm is presumed that resource and capability are an important of source of competitive advantage (Barney, 1991; Kaleka, 2002). The equity theory is the concept of fit between spirituality and organizational behavior for determining performance of firm (Chandler, 1962). The equity theory can be applied in the context of Organizational Spirituality Mindset which is the contingent variables which concerns perceived organizational support and organizational citizenship behavior. Furthermore, equity theory proposes that individuals who perceive themselves as either under-rewarded or over-rewarded will experience distress, and that this distress leads to efforts to restore equity within the relationship (Guerrero et al., 2007). In addition, social exchange theory is the theory used to explain the morality judgment, subjective norms, and virtue ethics that affect Organizational Spirituality Mindset. The social exchange theory is based on the idea that the quality of relationships among employees and between employees and the organization is rooted in the history of mutual exchanges between those entities (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005).
3. LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT
The research model underlying the study is presented in Figure 1. This study attempts to conceptually link the relationship between antecedences, Organizational Spirituality Mindset, morality judgment, subjective norms, virtue ethics and business success via perceived organizational support and organizational citizenship behavior as moderators. The organizational spirituality mindset includes four dimensions, namely, career obligation, success concentration, sense of ownership, and task perseverance has an effect on intrinsic work satisfaction, openness to changefulness and self benevolence. Ultimately, intrinsic work satisfaction, openness to changefulness and self benevolence also affect business success. In this study, researcher proposes that organizational spirituality mindset and consequence have a significantly positive influence on business success, antecedence and organizational spirituality mindset has a significantly positive influence on business success. Thus, the research model shows that the relationships between the four dimensions of organizational spirituality mindset support to business success are shown as below.
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]
3.1 Career Obligation
The concept of career is a quite useful tool to relate persons of organizational situations (Super, 1980). The career can be seen as the meeting-point of people and organizations. On the one hand, individual careers consist of work positions, activities, and development in one or more organizations during the course of their working lives (Dawson and Bartholomew, 2003). On the other hand, organizations offer various career opportunities and paths to their prospective and existing employees (Greene et al., 2001). A career-based conceptualization of competence and especially motivation should therefore be a promising possibility for highlighting the essentially relational character of competence and motivation. The career concept model was developed by Kaikati and Sullivan (2000) to understand and describe individual views and experience of careers. The basic premise of the model is that most of us develop varied concepts of what a career means to us. These concepts may be more or less conscious and they greatly influence our choice of career path and our experience at work. For example, while one person may view a career as one chosen "profession" for a lifetime, another may view a career as a climb upward on the corporate ladder. These different conceptions of careers can be expected to have important implications for how different persons view their work lives as well as their organization's leadership, organizational culture and strategic direction. Thus, the hypotheses are proposed as follows:
Hypothesis 1a: The stronger the firms' career obligation is, the more likely that firms will achieve greater intrinsic work satisfaction.
Hypothesis 1b: The stronger the firms' career obligation is, the more likely that firms will achieve greater openness to changefulness.
Hypothesis 1c: The stronger the firms' career obligation is, the more likely that firms will achieve greater self benevolence.
3.2 Success Concentration
Performance efficiency is reduced by distraction and enhanced by success concentration. Particularly in tasks performed under stressful circumstances, the focus of attention must be on the processes relevant for completing the task to achieve the best outcomes (Beal et al., 2005; Jones and Hardy, 1989). The focus on task-relevant information ensures that all resources available to the employee are used fully and in the most efficient manner possible (Rushall, 1995).
According to Miller and Grau (1998), under conditions of fatigue or excitement it takes more effort to concentrate on or to divide attention between various tasks elements or to solve a difficult problem. In such cases people's information processing capacity is less than optimal for the performance of a certain task. When employees are not in the state needed for optimal task performance, they will mobilize additional energy, known also as compensatory effort (Hartman, 2001). While people are generally able to regulate their activities efficiently such that they avoid performance decrements, when they are in a suboptimal state (as in case of fatigue), specific aspects of performance will deteriorate (Taris, 2006). For example, Mendez, (2005) found that bus drivers at the end of their working shift maintained the reaction time but not the quality of the reaction since they made more errors. Homans (1998) showed that whereas sleep deprivation (a possible precursor of high need for recovery) had no effect on primary task performance, it did influence secondary performance parameters (e.g., reaction time). Taken together, specific aspects of job performance are expected to deteriorate with diminished concentration. In the present study, we will focus on in-role performance which represents those officially required outcomes and behaviors that directly serve the goals of the organization (Motowildo and Van Scotter, 1994). Thus, the hypotheses are proposed as follows:
Hypothesis 2a: The stronger the firms' success concentration is, the more likely that firms will achieve greater intrinsic work satisfaction.
Hypothesis 2b: The stronger the firms' success concentration is, the more likely that firms will achieve greater openness to changefulness.
Hypothesis 2c: The stronger the firms' success concentration is, the more likely that firms will achieve greater self benevolence.
3.3 Sense of Ownership
The research literature offers several alternative theoretical perspectives in seeking to explain the relationship between employee ownership and attitudes. Klein (1987) reviewed the existing literature and identified three such perspectives. The extrinsic satisfaction model suggests that employee ownership increases organizational commitment, provided that employee ownership is financially rewarding to the employees. It is assumed that ownership is viewed by the employee as a financial investment, and that number and value of the shares they own are more important than ownership of the as such (French, 1987). In contrast, the intrinsic satisfaction model suggests that the very fact of ownership increases the employees' commitment to the company and their satisfaction with it. Positive outcomes are regarded as resulting from the employees' intrinsic feelings about ownership, rather than from factors in the organizational context or in the ownership plan itself. This model is thus sometimes described as the direct effects model of employee ownership (Klein, 1987). Finally, the instrumental satisfaction model suggests that it is not just the fact of ownership itself, but the associated increase in influence on company decision-making activities and the perceived control over work that affects employee attitudes and behavior. Empirical research seems to coincide much more closely with the … | <urn:uuid:bd2c1c73-119c-48f2-a873-374ad1c7f3cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-237448637/creating-organizational-spirituality-mindset-of-advertising | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939782 | 2,499 | 2.296875 | 2 |
"One of the most important things about acting is that you should not act." Advice, among the very first in Aamir Khan's first lecture to the 60 or so children of The New Era High School (the boarding school in Panchgani) who gave up their winter break to appear in Taare Zameen Par (2007). I'd been looking forward to the Taare Zameen Par DVD set because after the Lagaan DVD set (which I absolutely loved, as discussed here), it was the second collector's edition offering by the actor/singer/director/producer. The T-Series release (notes here) is all that's available and only in India -- a friend was kind to send it my way (there's more on the DVD format/release below). And was it worth looking forward to or what?!
The case is shaped like a textbook. Its durability in the long term warrants some concern, but that's minor when its contents are considered. This is how the discs are packaged:
A booklet introduces the characters. Full marks to whoever designed the cover for reminding us of our notebooks and how we were required to present them. It's very nicely presented from the inside too, here (right) is a sample page (click on image to enlarge):
There's Ishaan's flipbook, which I'll stay away from for fear of playing spoiler to those who haven't yet seen the film. And this is perhaps the only still image of the Taare Zameen Par pencil on the internet, which could mean one of two things: 1) Bollywood-themed pencils just aren't very popular; or 2) I need to get a life :o)
There are replicas of two beautiful paintings (I'd estimate they're about 8.25 x 10.5 in) by 'eminent watercolourist Samir Mondal made especially for the film'. If you've seen the film, you know how beautifully they were used. (If you are a fan of paintings, samirmondal.com has some fine examples of the artist's work.) Here's a sample:
Disc 1: The film, and director's commentary
The commentary lasts the length of the film, and is in English! Aamir makes it clear at the outset it has to do not with describing the scenes, but in sharing the challenges faced in the filmmaking process -- what they liked, what they disliked and edited out, and what they disliked but kept (and why). It's a gift for fans of film -- and it's amazing to learn even bits of the detail that went into every little shot. To learn that the background score was often played live by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy on the sets. Or that Aamir sought help from the Maharashtra Dyslexia Association throughout the project. Or that it took eight evenings to shoot a five minute long sequence in twilight. Or that the song Kholo Kholo Darwaaze was almost edited out (no!). Or that the final scene had over 1200 children. There are countless such examples. There is even an interesting story behind Darsheel Safary (Ishaan Awasthi), Sheru and Johnny!
What was great about the commentary was that there was no hesitation to identify flaws and accept mistakes. It's not the typical fluff we find elsewhere. Think of Aamir's criticism as almost a lessons learned session for him and his crew, and an eye-opener for some of us who know very little (if anything) about filmmaking. The commentary also includes references to his past works and what he learned from them that he incorporated in his work ethic as director, which is a real treat if you've seen the films he mentions.
Aside: About the only thing he did not discuss were the posters/pictures of two sports icons -- Sachin Tendulkar and Roger Federer -- in the kids' room (click the image to enlarge). If you've been reading his blog, you'll know he has dedicated posts to each of his favorites (on Sachin, on Federer)! Should have been brought up :o)
Disc 2: Making, Deleted Scenes, Panel Discussion, Stills, Trailers
a. The making is fascinating. You can watch it (at these links: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3) thanks to fellow Aamirian SkorpionChik! It was amusing to hear Lalitha Lajmi (Guru Dutt's sister, her role in the film mentioned in this post) say, "I became like a teenager when I saw him."
They didn't mention this in the making, but this sequence, not related to the film, was hilarious. I'd bet the dance steps by Tanay Chheda (right, he played Rajan Damodaran) here are adapted from Rangeela (1996). Hilarious!
This bit reminded me of Aamir in the song Hosh Waalon Ko Khabar Kya in Sarfarosh (1999 -- reviewed here) and Mangal Pandey (2005 -- reviewed here).
Just like they did with the Lagaan DVD, they have footage here from the narration of the script. Here are Aamir and his wife Kiran responding to "Tom and Jerry ka baap kaun?"
b. The seven deleted scenes are a treat too. Hosted by Aamir (sporting his Ghajini look this time, complete with the haircut and following the workout routine for the film). Much better than the deleted scenes in Lagaan, I'll admit. Some of them were rather short (even less than a minute long), enough to question them being edited out. There was even a scene with a qawwali! This is also where the original title of the film is shared -- it was to be in English, and had nothing to do with 'stars'. If you cannot wait to know, I wouldn't mind giving it away.
c. The stills gallery was a welcome surprise. It has scores of images from the sets, with some really good captions (reminded me of Bollyviewer!). Sample this:
d. Aamir moderates a discussion (in Hindi/Urdu) on dyslexia, its symptoms, approaches to combating it, where to go for help, and some generic parenting advice, with a panel comprising: Medha Lotlekar, Educator; Vrajesh Udani, Child Neurologist; Masarrat Khan, leader of the Maharashtra Dyslexia Association; and Dr. Harish Shetty, Clinical Psychologist. The discussion is much more direct in raising awareness of dyslexia and other conditions. It is very welcome (especially for teachers and parents in India -- the issues aren't often discussed head-on), because it is the source of inspiration for the film. The best advice for parents might just be to encourage children to foster a culture of inclusion, and to not be disillusioned by the stress of competition -- move forward, but take others along.
It is here that Aamir shares his views on the ineptitude of academia in India to deal with learning disabilities. Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and their differences, are discussed in fair detail. So are autism, down syndrome, and other mental challenges. And it is here that the film's tagline -- Every Child is Special -- is applied using even more real medical and academic frameworks.
Disc 3: Background Score
As noted in this post, I'd written to Aamir the day after I saw the film, requesting a background score release. Maybe several thousand did, or maybe it was intended all along. Whatever the case, it's great that they released it, because the score is brilliant, and carries a narrative of its own. In that, it is to me as good as the soundtrack. If you haven't seen the film and get your hands on it, maybe you could try listening to the score first to see if you can guess the progress of Ishaan's many moods through the film?! That'd be a fun exercise. Nikumbh Ishaan Montage is by far my favorite track. It's very, very well done, and the harmonica, guitar, piano and drums are all beautifully combined.
In Disc 2 (part 'a' above), Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy discussed how cool it was to play live on the sets. Must've been fun, and very challenging. Here's Mr. Loy:
A note on the DVD formats
If you do not have a region-free DVD player or cannot connect your computer to your television set, I suggest you wait for the U.S. release (the first ever of an Indian film by Walt Disney) which should make it by the end of the year. The Disney DVD release calendar doesn't yet have the information. I've always wanted to sound like an official correspondent, so I can finally say that a Disney Films representative who was contacted for more information declined to comment (read: never replied to my e-mail :P). A search for 'Taare Zameen Par' on the website returned no results as of 10/11/2008.
I'll hope to have more information on the U.S. release as we move forward. This T-Series release in India is, as the U.S. release will be, a welcome addition to any film collection. The special features and director's commentary make the set well, well worth experiencing. For its primary audience, the Indian market, it is perfectly compiled, and we can only hope that our local release will have as many goodies. Thank you for the treat, Aamir bhai!
Set Rating: 4.75/5 (Excellent!)
I cannot stop singing praises for it :)
All posts on Taare Zameen Par | <urn:uuid:5217cc5c-823b-4b7b-9165-bd986c059aa3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thebollywoodfan.blogspot.com/2008/10/taare-zameen-par-dvd-treat-for-film.html?showComment=1280334767283 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975479 | 2,049 | 1.578125 | 2 |
April 21, 2010 | 17
Volcanoes, with their vast outpourings of greenhouse gases and sun-screening ash clouds, can affect climate. But what about the other way around?
A special issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, dated May 28, rounds up research on the ways that climate change can drive volcanic eruptions as well as other geologic hazards such as earthquakes and landslides. Among the litany of problems that studies in the issue link to a warming world: mountain slopes collapsing as snow and ice melt, seismic activity increasing as thinning ice deposits relieve pressure on some parts of the world and apply it elsewhere, and magma production being boosted by pressure changes in subglacial volcanoes such as those in Iceland.
It is that last implication that is timeliest, given the worldwide attention paid to the ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano that has crippled air traffic across Europe for the past several days. Reduced ice loads atop volcanoes relieve pressure on magma chambers below and allow for more decompression melting of rock, a group of researchers wrote in one of the special issue’s studies, based on observations and models of Iceland. But lead study author Freysteinn Sigmundsson of the University of Iceland told Reuters last week that the latest eruption did not appear to be driven by climate. "We believe the reduction of ice has not been important in triggering this latest eruption," he said. Any additional magma produced as a result of reduced ice loads may take decades or even centuries to reach the surface, the authors wrote.
Melt-driven pressure changes could also bring on more earthquakes. As deposits of Arctic ice grow thinner, those landmasses experience less pressure, whereas rising sea levels increase pressure on coastal regions worldwide. That tipping of the scales, wrote Bill McGuire of University College London, "may be sufficient to trigger a geospheric response." In past postglacial periods, McGuire noted, melting of ice sheets appears to have set off major seismic activity, as sections of the crust previously burdened by ice rise in a process known as isostatic rebound.
In another report in the special issue, Christian Huggel of the University of Zurich and his colleagues looked to recent slope failures in Alaska, the European Alps and New Zealand, finding that "all the failures were preceded by unusually warm periods." Over the coming decades, they noted, models predict that warm periods in the Swiss Alps will increase in frequency by 1.5 to 4 times, possibly more, which could result in an increase in avalanches there.
All told, McGuire wrote, the evidence "supports a robust link between changing climatic conditions and a broad portfolio of potentially hazardous geological and geomorphological processes." Although some have speculated that such processes are already under way, McGuire cautions that "no increase in the global incidence of either volcanic activity or seismic activity has been identified to date" and that the time scale on which any geologic responses to climate change would take shape is unclear.
Photo credit: Boaworm via Wikimedia Commons | <urn:uuid:f037429d-113f-4214-be40-ee351bfb7807> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2010/04/21/a-warming-world-could-trigger-earthquakes-landslides-and-volcanoes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953315 | 635 | 4.15625 | 4 |
Canadian senators are in the midst of a strange inquiry into international funding for Canadian charitable organizations. To be clear, they appear to be focused not on charitable groups whose positions they agree with, but only on organizations that have spoken against building a foreign-funded pipeline through pristine wilderness so that tar sands bitumen can be loaded onto supertankers and shipped through precarious waterways and across the sea to China for refining.
The government has already labelled the tens of thousands of Canadians who question the pipeline as "radicals" and listed them as potential terrorists, but its appointed senators recently kicked things up a notch.
Sign up for our newsletter
Senator Don Plett, former president of the federal Conservative Party, asked his fellow senators, "If environmentalists are willing to accept money from Martians, where would they draw the line on where they receive money from? Would they take money from Al Qaeda, the Hamas or the Taliban?"
Former TV reporter Mike Duffy went on to charge that organizations including the David Suzuki Foundation, the Packard Foundation, Greenpeace, Sierra Club, the Hewlett Foundation, Ecojustice Canada, Bullitt Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Tides Canada are "all anti-Canadian."
For the record, the David Suzuki Foundation gets more than 90 per cent of its funding from Canadians and from six to seven per cent from international sources. We're proud of that, just as we're proud that countless Canadians support charitable work in other parts of the world. We also have an Ethical Gift Acceptance Policy that specifically prohibits us from accepting Martian currency. (Well, not really. We'd probably accept donations from ethical Martians who support our goals of ensuring Canadians have clean air, water, and land.)
So, what do you think? Are we anti-Canadian? If you think so, maybe there's a Senate appointment in your future. If you don't, consider supporting our work and the work of our allies. We'd be more than happy to increase our donations from Canadian sources. We're heartened by the fact that so many of you already contribute, with many of you donating monthly. But as you can see, we have our work cut out for us. | <urn:uuid:f3e2c908-5502-4611-a10d-1aa03801f5b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/panther-lounge/2012/03/some-sober-second-thoughts-on-martian-funding/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962647 | 444 | 1.882813 | 2 |
3129 Southmore Blvd.
Houston, TX 77004
St. James School, an outreach ministry of St. James Episcopal School founded in 1971, is an examplary educational institution created to provide a strong academic program within a nurturing Christian environment. Students are encouraged to discover and attain their full academic and personal potential while developing individual strengths and a sense of social responsibility. St. James School seeks to instill in students a life-long interest in learning and a sense of self-worth and strong Christian values. St. James School enrolls Pre-K - 8th grade with extended care. It is accreditaed by Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools.
St. James School - Where Great Things Happen!!
Education – K-12, Religion & Spiritual | <urn:uuid:dd58c609-07a0-4632-b433-21ebc53ae8a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.goodsearch.com/nonprofit/st-james-episcopal-church-and-school.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916286 | 157 | 1.523438 | 2 |
dumrick wrote:The people over at Los Alamos really do their best to sell nuclear technology!
In fact, the "carbon-neutral" slogan could be used for a variety of alternative fuel systems, if they relied solely on carbon neutral power on processing. For instance, bio-fuels could be carbon neutral if the power to process the vegetal mass into usable fuel would be, let's say, solar power, wind power or nuclear power (in this case, with the slight inconvenience of a by-product called nuclear waste that needed to be dumped, but nothing a currupt dictatorship in some african country wouldn't accept in the vicinity of some village, in exchange with some land-land missiles, for sure). Or am I looking at this the wrong way?
Well, as my current
understanding of the issues goes, you pretty much hit the nail in the head there. Much of the carbon needs to be taken out of the energy cycle, period. Either that happens by lowering our energy needs, or then we've got to find ways to manage with electricity and hydrogen that is bonded to something else than carbon - preferrably we'll manage both. (Meanwhile we've also got to be conscious of atmospheric vapor concentrations and greenhouse gases other than CO2 ... Methane has a relatively short atmospheric life, but is 21 times more potent. That's why I'm uneasy about the quantities - and releases - on the kind of industrial scale that meeting gasoline/diesel replacing levels requires.
I'm not ruling out nuclear as an option, but as the above post implies, the fact is that only a meager handful of all nuclear nations have factored radioactive waste management in the operating costs. Until the rest follow suit, convincingly, I'm not going to be their greatest advocate. Besides, nuclear by definition is highly centralised/high investment, something that doesn't bode too well with economic democracy, personal responsibility and, in a word, empowerment.
Now, I read the "Green Freedom™
" PDF through - once - made some notions, and crunched some numbers to "get my head in the ballpark" about the realistic prospects of nuclear powered potassium carbonate CO2 sequestration and gas liquefication process or whatchamacallit. I guess a disclaimer is in order, namely that none of what follows has been done to any semblance of academic standard and that I only ran any and all numbers once. I trusted my recollection and sources beyond reason. Thus, the propability of mistakes is fairly significant. Nonetheless, I'll try and leave such a trail of "thought breadcrumbs" here that a sort of a "peer review" is possible. I'm more than happy to see any mistakes challenged, my only hope is that any such exercise serves to clarify - and not muddy - the "big picture".
The document states that a sequestration rate of 55kJ/mol
CO2 is projected. I'll accept this even though that figure was based on speculative technology and the actual lifecycle analysis of the technology was stated to be incomplete. The other flowchart relating to the energy efficiency (technical, not linked to this thread) just wasn't immediately decipherable. Anyhow, I thought it'd be worthwile to contrast the above figure with current global nuclear capacity and the total "excess" of CO2 in the atmosphere, just for argument's sake.
The mean mass of atmosphere
is around 5,148*10^18 kg
, in which the latest measurements indicate a CO2 concentration of 383 ppm
(parts per million), or 0,0383%
. This amounts to roughly 3,0*10^15 kg
in total; the pre-industrial baseline of CO2 concentration
lies at about 280 ppm
or so, which means we have "maxed our CO2 credit" by some 27% to date. That is some 8,1*10^14 kg
, or at 44g/mol
the equivalent of 1,84*10^16 mol
of CO2, a veritable sh*tload of the stuff. Which brings us to balancing our account with the nuclear-potassium-liquefication ... Let's assume that every nuclear powerplant in the World would be retrofitted with this equipment and/or all decommissioned units would be replaced by sequestration plants. We've currently about 440 reactors
with a combined output (power) of 366 GW
By Green Freedom™'s specifications we can then calculate the amount of energy needed to capture the fossil CO2 atmospheric excess, a figure which conveniently comes pretty close to 1,0*10^21 J
. And since we have a figure of the overall nulcear power
in our disposal we can project the amount of time it'd take to put the kind of energy through the system as to reduce CO2 from 383 ppm to 280 ppm (or so). If (and it's a big if) I've gotten it even half way right until now, it'd take~ 31.900 days
or 87 years, and then some. Since these plants come at $5Bn a pop (projected), the hardware cost alone for this imaginary feat could reach $2,2 trillion (that's twelve zeroes in one of them), give or take. Of course there are quite a few humongous omissions
in this kind of logic, so I'll try to explore a few in the most superficial of terms. For starters, the 87 year figure holds up only if we hoarde the resulting carbohydrate fuel and not use it at all
, while remaining carbon neutral
in all other endeavors meanwhile. Otherwise we could extend the process manyfold. And given that we'd be using all nuclear energy in this, from where we'd find power for the grids
But this is assuming that the natural carbon sinks
(oceans, forests, etc.) function "as is" meanwhile; we don't know that. Some projections I remember seeing have solubility, photosynthesis and soil capture
reaching a preindustrial atmospheric CO2 equilibrium in 100 to 200 years from the moment we reach closed carbon energy cycles anyway. So I guess, armed with only this superficial information, I'd rather vote for investing that $2.2 trillion in getting rid of carbon in the energy cycles than find elaborate ways to keep churning the stuff around just because we've gotten used to doing so.
Of course I have a few random secondary concerns as well, like the points about infrastructure efficiency holding up, comparing nuclear with high yield solar or geothermal processes for energy sources and so on. I also noted an outward bound arrow marked "methane purge" in the flow chart, which I found worrying; much better to burn the stuff into water and CO2 than release it to the atmosphere. But perhaps that's what it means, I don't know. Also, the carborate scrubbing was said to be very efficient (95%!?) so finding locations suitable for nuclear plant cooling and atmospheric conditions might not be the easiest of tasks ... without very steady air movement the plant risks developing occasional "low CO2" bubbles, perhaps reducing efficiency radically.
I don't know what I'd call this proposal, but "low risk
" and "transformational
" wouldn't spring to my mind as first (or second) options. The scale (resources, time) of the potential project is immense (just a couple of such plants would hardly make a dent, I was using the entirety of our nuclear energy production as an example for a reason
) and I can't help thinking that it'd drain investment from simpler and cheaper ideas - and for all the fanfare, the complete carbon cycle in all this appears murky to me. I'm happy that these technologies are constantly developed, since if we do encounter clear runaway phenomena (exponential, after tipping points) we might require costly desperate measures like engineering weather directly.
But meanwhile, photosynthesis, intellectual diversity and restraint work much better for me.
A couple of links to relevant websites:Synthetic Fuel Concept to Steal CO2 From Air, Los Alamos National LaboratoryConcurrent Technologies CorporationAlternative Energy NOW conference
, organised by CTC, sponsored by the U.S Air Force etc., I guess that's why they have the Stars and Stripes flying alongside a B-52 bomber on the front page ...
Ps. If you're up to it, read this blog entry
(tamino.wordpress.com). It's about carbon isotopes and how those can be used to tell the source of the carbon in CO2. You guessed it, the fossil sourced carbon isotope shows clearly in the atmospheric balance. Much more raw data on greenhouse gases to be found on the World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG)
.Image linked from tamino.wordpress.com | <urn:uuid:ebb82a06-1feb-44aa-bc64-6653d81d7936> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=5207 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944225 | 1,818 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Pregnant women may be reluctant to receive vaccines, especially brand-new ones, while they're expecting, but today, mom-to-be Sivan Berman-Marciano said she'll opt for a swine flu vaccination if her doctor recommends it.
"If it's going to help not to have the swine flu and keep my baby safe, I will take it," Berman-Marciano said.
"I'm much more worried now than I was before getting pregnant because now, it's not only me, it's the baby also," she added.
Today, many doctors say that's the right move and argue that pregnant women should be given first dibs if a swine flu vaccine becomes available as expected this fall.
Watch "World News With Charles Gibson" tonight at 6:30 ET for the full report.
The conversation comes as a federal vaccine advisory panel meets tomorrow to further discuss who should receive top priority for the swine flu vaccine. It also coincides with increasing concerns that pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic.
Any flu virus can be dangerous for a pregnant woman, but swine flu appears to be especially threatening.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 out of 266 swine flu deaths in the U.S. so far have been among pregnant women. That's 6 percent of total fatalities, even though pregnant women only make up 1 percent of the population.
The flu can be particularly deadly in the second and third trimester of pregnancy, both for mother and baby.
Today, Dr. Jacques Moritz, director of gynecology at New York's St.Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, said that's because a pregnant woman's weakened immune system makes her especially susceptible to the virus.
"What the body does, and what the baby does, really, is it sends out a message, 'Don't get rid of me,'" Moritz said. "So it brings down the immune system, so you don't reject the fetus."
He added, "Anybody that is going to be pregnant, in the second or third trimester during this upcoming flu season, should get vaccinated before, obviously, the flu season."
Visit the ABC News OnCall+ Swine Flu Center to get all your questions answered.
The first American to die of swine flu was a 33-year-old pregnant woman in Texas. Her baby girl, delivered by caesarian, survived.
Near Seattle, 27-year-old Katie Flyte is fighting for her life after complications from swine flu. Flyte was six months pregnant and caring for her sick 2-year-old when she developed flulike symptoms that were misdiagnosed. She developed pneumonia, then respiratory failure, as doctors rushed to save her premature daughter.
"I've got to give my baby girl a name without a mom to help me make the decision," Katie's husband, Kenny Flyte, told KOMO News last week.
Meantime, in Australia, doctors are urging pregnant women to stay home during this swine flu season to avoid contact with anyone suffering from the illness. In Great Britain, this fall, there may be advice to pregnant women is to avoid large social gatherings.
Today Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said it's "understandable" that pregnant women are hesitant to get vaccinated.
"That's a natural reflex, but you have to understand the balance of the risk of a vaccination," Fauci added. | <urn:uuid:ed853cc6-33cc-4416-8993-c366db411c3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Politics/story?id=8194314&page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965147 | 736 | 2.375 | 2 |
Chapter 8: The Development Of Organization
The Development of Organization
Although many humanists throughout the world do not belong to any organization with the humanist name, groups have formed on six continents. The International Humanist and Ethical Union, based in London, represents upwards of four million humanists organized in over 100 national organizations in forty countries. It is an international non-governmental organization with Special Consultative Status at the United Nations, General Consultative Status at the UN International Children’s Educational Fund (UNICEF) and the Council of Europe, and maintains operational relations with the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The organization also has offices in New York City for the IHEU-Appignani Center for Bioethics and works closely with the European Union. The IHEU celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2002 by conferring the International Humanist Award on Nobel Laureate in Economics Amartya Sen at its World Humanist Congress in Amsterdam.
Forerunners of Modern Humanist Organizations
Around 1850, Auguste Comte, a pioneer French sociologist formulated a “religion of humanity” based on his intellectual philosophy of Positivism. He wrote: “Every subversive scheme now afloat has either originated in Monotheism or has received its sanction” and “there are now but two camps: the camp of reaction and anarchy, which acknowledges more or less distinctly the direction of God; the camp of construction and progress, which is wholly devoted to Humanity.” Positivist clubs and congregations were formed in Europe and the Americas. In 1881 the Church of Positivism was established in Brazil. It continues to this day and Comte’s slogan, “Order and Progress,” is part of the Brazilian national flag. Comte’s humanistic religion was warmly regarded by William James and F. C. S. Schiller.
Apparently independent of Comte, in London, England, the Humanistic Religious Association was formed in 1853. Declaring, “We have emancipated ourselves from the ancient compulsory dogmas, myths and ceremonies borrowed of old from Asia and still pervading the ruling churches of our age,” these early religious humanists gathered democratically for cultural and social meetings and provided for the education of their children and assistance to members in need. Then, more than a decade later, in 1866, freethinking social reformers united under the leadership of Charles Bradlaugh to form the National Secular Society, a more activist organization that would, within a century
become fully identified with humanism. Meanwhile, in Germany in 1859, a new liberal Christian denomination, the Bund Freireligioser Gemeinden Deutschlands (Federation of Free Religious Congregations of Germany) was established. It, too, would become humanist a century later.
In 1867, in response to a temporary turn toward Christian creedalism in the American Unitarian Association, dissenters founded the Free Religious Association. Organized in Boston, Massachusetts, under the leadership of Ralph Waldo Emerson, it appealed not only to theological radicals among Unitarians, but also to non-Christian religious liberals. Among its later luminaries were Rabbi Isaac M. Wise, organizer of Reform Judaism, and Felix Adler, founder of Ethical Culture. The association, however, never moved beyond what it would eventually call humanistic theism, and it ceased to exist by the outbreak of World War I.
During the late nineteenth century the brilliant works of Robert Green Ingersoll and Mark Twain loosened the hold of religion for millions of people.
In 1876, Felix Adler established the New York Society for Ethical Culture as an organization devoted to ethical behavior of individuals, rather than to creedal statements. Both ritual and prayer were excluded from meetings and social service became a central focus. Its underlying philosophy was a neo-Kantian, transcendental idealism. Soon other ethical societies were set up in Chicago, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. Together with Unitarians, settlement houses were established. Such activities gave emphasis to the development of social work as a profession. The movement later inspired the development of the Legal Aid Society, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and other major American reform efforts.
Influenced by Ethical Culture, Moncure Conway, an American minister of a Unitarian chapel in London, England, began guiding his congregation in a specifically ethical direction until, in 1887, his church became the South Place Ethical Society. In 1896, the International Ethical Union was established and, for over four decades, it united Ethical Culturists in the United States with those in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and New Zealand.
Though Ethical Culture did not fully identify itself with a non-transcendental humanism until the 1950s, it was indirectly involved in the adoption of humanism as a modern term.
In 1915, a Positivist, Frederick James Gould, writing in a magazine published by the British Ethical Societies, used the word to denote a belief and trust in human effort. Reading the article, John H. Dietrich, a Unitarian minister in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was influenced to view humanism as the best name for his new, fully naturalistic, religious outlook.
This came at a time when dissent was strong within American Unitarianism—a struggle between ministers, on one side, who wanted a creed that would exclude both nontheists and other post-Christian dissenters from the denomination and ministers, on the other side, who opposed such creedalism. Among the dissenters were two others who had used the term humanism in a modern sense: Edward Howard Griggs, author of The New Humanism: Studies in Personal and Social Development, published in 1899, and Frank Carleton Doan, author of Religion and the Modern Mind, published in 1909. But it wasn’t until Dietrich and another forthright nontheist, Curtis W. Reese, combined their efforts at the Western Unitarian Conference of 1917, that the humanist movement got underway in both name and substance. A year later, academic philosopher Roy Wood Sellars published The Next Step in Religion, a book that added vitality to religious humanism.
As other philosophers (particularly John Dewey, Charles Morris, Max Otto, Oliver L. Reiser, and later Sidney Hook and Corliss Lamont) fed the growing stream of ideas, humanism became more widely accepted as a term in Unitarian, Universalist, Ethical Culture, and Quaker congregations, as well as among freethinkers and thoughtful academics.
Simultaneously, literary humanism, with a different emphasis as featured by Paul Elmer More and Irving Babbitt, was widely discussed early in the twentieth century.
Early Humanist Groups
With interest in the philosophy aroused, a number of Unitarian professors and seminarians at the University of Chicago and Meadville Seminary came together in 1927 to form the Humanist Fellowship. The next year they launched The New Humanist, the first journal devoted exclusively to serving the young movement. That same year, evolutionary scientist Julian Huxley, in Religion Without Revelation, set forth the principles of humanism in a popular fashion.
In 1929, Charles Francis Potter, a Unitarian minister who had served as Clarence Darrow’s biblical expert at the Scopes “Monkey” Trial, left his denomination and founded the First Humanist Society of New York. There he and Sherman Wakefield offered humanism as “a new faith for a new age.” This stimulated wide interest.
Also that year, in Bangalore, India—apparently unconnected with similar activity in the West—a humanist club was established with Colonel Raja Jai Prithvi Bahadur Singh of Nepal as its first president. Rabindranath Tagore was among its members. Elsewhere in India, various rationalist and freethought groups had been functioning since the late 1800s. Out of this diverse effort grew Self-Respect, a highly influential social and political reform movement founded in Madras in 1925 by Periyar. Openly nontheistic, the Self-Respect movement opposed the caste system and Hindu beliefs, supported human rights, and promoted science. Periyar later identified his efforts with humanism.
The depression year 1933 was when thirty-four intellectual leaders formulated and signed a document called “A Humanist Manifesto,” which was first published in The New Humanist. Unitarian ministers Raymond B. Bragg and Edwin H. Wilson took the lead in this initiative. Today, that document, though not a creed, is sometimes considered dated, but its basic analysis and aspirations are acknowledged as appropriate for the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
In California in 1939, a group of Quaker humanists, led by Lowell H. Coate, broke away from their denomination and, at a meeting of the First Universalist Church of Los Angeles, established the Humanist Society of Friends. Inspired by the Humanist Manifesto, they offered “a scientific religion for a scientific age and a universal ethics which shall end war.” Meanwhile, a similarly inspired intercollegiate science seminar, whose coordinators were H.G. Burns, J. T. Stockdale, Daniel Levinson, and one of the authors (Lloyd), became the Los Angeles Scientific Humanist Group. The writings of George Bernard Shaw had influenced some of the members. During this time humanist Bertrand Russell came to teach at the University of California at Los Angeles. Gerald Heard and Aldous Huxley, also from England, as well as German novelist Thomas Mann and philosopher Hans Reichenbach, added to the rich humanist presence which is still felt in Southern California today.
Following World War II, three prominent humanists became the first directors of major divisions of the United Nations: Julian Huxley of UNESCO, Brock Chisholm of the World Health Organization, and John Boyd-Orr of the Food and Agricultural Organization.
Huxley, in particular, called for a global humanist vision. In his monograph, UNESCO: Its Purpose and Its Philosophy, he pointed out the necessity of transcending traditional philosophies, theologies, and political-economic doctrines and the importance of recognizing the evolutionary basis of culture. Science, he said, needs to be integrated with other human activities, and the general philosophy of UNESCO should be a scientific humanism, global in extent and evolutionary in background. But Huxley’s effort was only partially successful; representatives holding onto nationalistic and traditional views blocked and jettisoned the forthrightly humanist aspects of his proposal.
In postwar Europe, humanist secular organizations sprang up in a number of countries, particularly Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands. In India, M. N. Roy launched the politically focused Radical Humanist Movement, which for some years had a large impact; and Gora, an associate of Mohandas Gandhi, expanded the Atheist Centre, a humanistic social service institution he had established in 1940. Shortly thereafter Jawaharlal Nehru, a thoroughgoing humanist, became India’s leader.
Around this time a number of small beginnings were forming in Africa. The authors visited population workers and humanists in 1959 in Nigeria including Samuel Etu, an educator whose school library had a complete set of the published writings of Robert Ingersoll. One of the authors (Mary) was scheduled to speak to the humanist group in Lagos. Our automobile broke down in central Nigeria and we hitchhiked, arriving with only an hour to spare. To Mary’s surprise only three current members showed up with the explanation given that the majority of the members were in prison for advocating social changes.
In the United Kingdom, Harold Blackham of the British Ethical Union began discussing with humanists throughout the world the desirability of establishing closer international cooperation. Together with Professor Jaap van Praag of the Netherlands and others, meetings were held at the Municipal University of Amsterdam in August 1952. Chaired by Julian Huxley, it hosted over two hundred humanists from around the world, including Gilbert Murray of the United Kingdom, Jerome Nathanson from the United States, and V.M. Tarkunde of India. The authors were present and one (Mary) became a member of the board of directors of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, the organization that emerged from the gathering.
Among the first actions of the IHEU were decisions to support the World Federation of Mental Health, meeting in Brussels, Belgium, and the World Conference on Planned Parenthood, meeting in Bombay, India. After considerable thoughtful discussion, a declaration setting forth the fundamentals of modern ethical humanism was adopted.
This declaration offers humanism as “a third way out of the present crisis of civilization,” being an alternative to revealed religion on the one hand and totalitarian systems on the other. Humanism supports democracy, not only in the political realm but in “all human relationships.” It “seeks to use science creatively, not destructively. . . . Science gives the means but science itself does not propose ends. . . . Humanism is ethical,” affirming human dignity and “the right of the individual to the greatest possible freedom of development compatible with the rights of others.” In so doing, humanism “rejects totalitarian attempts to perfect the machine in order to obtain immediate gains at the cost of human values.” It “insists that personal liberty is an end that must be combined with social responsibility in order that it shall not be sacrificed to the improvement of material conditions.” And it is “a way of life, aiming at the maximum possible fulfillment, through the cultivation of ethical and creative living.” | <urn:uuid:8f0e4127-f39a-4803-aef0-727807834053> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americanhumanist.org/what_we_do/publications/Humanism_as_the_Next_Step/Chapter_8:_The_Development_of_Organization | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950829 | 2,862 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Portrait of Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna. Artist: Vladimir Makovsky (1912)
The 'Faces of Russia' permanent exhibition has opened in the Mikhailovsky (Engineers) Castle, a division of the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. The new exhibit has one of the richest collections of Russian paintings in the world. This is another realization of the idea of the National Portrait Gallery around which the discussions have long been in progress.
As it appears, the collections of Russia’s three leading museums, including the State Tretyakov Gallery and the State Historical Museum in Moscow, and the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg can serve as a basis for such a gallery. Each of them has extensive collections of portraits, which are real masterpieces. This became clear during the first exhibition presentation that was arranged by the Historical Museum. Next in turn is the Russian Museum.
The residents of St. Petersburg say that the idea to create a national portrait gallery was expressed by their compatriot - the prominent Russian artist and art critic – Alexander Benois who considered the Mikhailovsky Palace in St. Petersburg to be an ideal place for paintings reflecting Russia’s history. The new exposition of the State Russian Museum, “Faces of Russia”, has been staged exactly in the Mikhailovsky Palace, the exhibition’s curator Yevgeniya Petrova said in an interview with the Voice of Russia.
"The exposition is divided into two parts. One is dedicated to the emperor’s portraits and the second – to people belonging to other sections of the population (18th century until modern times). It consists of 220 works, including the paintings of well-known artists – such as Repin, Serov, and Kramskoy, and also the works of less known artists. Among their characters are people well known by historical textbooks but only a few people have their visual images. And visitors to the Mikhailovsky Palace will be able not only to learn more about them but also see their portraits."
The Mikhailovsky or Engineers Castle, St. Petersburg
Of course, the audience is attracted by the possibility to see the portraits of the Russian rulers, including Tsar Ivan the Terrible who ruled in the 16th century, those who ruled after him and the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II. There are portraits of the members of the royal family there too. This chapter of the exhibition in the Mikhailovsky Palace resembles the Romanov gallery that existed in the emperor’s palace until the 1917 revolution. By the way, the official portraits of the Russian tsars and tsarinas are arranged close to their allegorical portraits represented as antique gods and heroes. The portraits of the Russian commanders – mainly, the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812, are also put on display there. Of course, visitors to the Mikhailovsky Palace can see the portraits of politicians, priests, representatives of the of the world of arts, and rich merchants. The portraits of ordinary people, including town-dwellers and countrymen are also displayed in the Mikhailovsky Palace. The works of old masters have something in common with the works of the 20th - century artists: in the Soviet era times preference was given to the images of workers and peasants – in other words, to the front-rank workers and of course, to the portraits of their leaders. Of interest here is the fact that the photo portraits of visitors to the exhibition – the people of the 21st century are the last in this “historical circle”.
It is not clear yet how the idea of a national portrait gallery will be realized. However, there is a modern and well-tested way of uniting the collections of all museums –the multi-media Internet-portal. Representatives of the museum community favour this proposal.
© The Voice of Russia. 05 December, 2012 | <urn:uuid:03d10767-9a79-449e-a9d5-6e7429674160> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.angelfire.com/pa/ImperialRussian/blog/index.blog/1442458/faces-of-russia-exhibit-opens-in-st-petersburg/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963097 | 785 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Many sufferers of MSG reactions complain also of having been diagnosed with sulfite
sensitivity. We had no idea why that link was - until
now. It may be related to the fact that excess glutamate
may interfere with
the metabolism of the sulfur-containing amino acids cysteine and consequently, taurine.
It appears that this story also involves a link to
autism. It appears that in some children with autism, there is a genetic
error of metabolism linked with the handling of sulfur-containing compounds.
This may be what puts them at risk of both A-Fib as well as epilepsy and
problems with fat digestion. Their inability to perhaps make taurine
from available cysteine - both of which are sulfur-containing amino
This was a thing that long stumped MSG sensitive
folks. Many realized they had a sulfite sensitivity in common.
Perhaps autistic children and MSG sensitive folks who are also sulfite
sensitive have this error of metabolism in common. Perhaps that is why
taurine appears to help MSG sensitive people who also are sulfite sensitive.
It certainly is now an interesting hypothesis to start from. | <urn:uuid:e45bba00-95cf-4e71-ac3b-00156d05fe3d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.msgtruth.org/sulfite.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973183 | 240 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Trucking news: AAR comes out against push for heavier trucks
September 24, 2010
On the heels of recent news that White House last week has agreed to a request from Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, to permanently enact a pilot program allowing trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on federal interstate highways in Maine, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) has made it clear it does not support this push.
Prior to this development, a one-year pilot program that allowed trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds to travel on Main and Vermont’s federal interstates, which was part of the Fiscal Year 2010 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, has been ongoing and set to expire on December 17. Once the program expired, heavy trucks would then have to be diverted back to secondary roads through downtown areas.
In a letter to Capitol Hill, AAR President and CEO Edward Hamberger said that permanently giving the OK for trucks weighing 100,000 pounds to travel on Maine and Vermont’s interstate highways could provide impetus to trucking interests in the Northeast and along the East Coast to lift the federal truck weight ban elsewhere.
“Not only do extremely heavy trucks today exact a serious wear and tear toll on America’s already overextended highways, but much of the costs to repair roads and bridges damaged by heavy-load trucks is paid by taxpayers and not the trucking companies responsible for the damage,” said Hamberger. “The U.S. Department of Transportation has determined that trucks weighing 80,000 to 100,000 pounds pay just half of the cost of the damage they do to the nation’s highways. This huge heavy truck underpayment means that the remainder of these costs is paid for by the general public.”
Hamberger also stated that along with serious infrastructure damage and truck underpayment concerns, 100,000 pound trucks will siphon a significant percentage of freight traffic from the country’s railroads. “This will rob the railroad industry of revenue needed for reinvestment and add congestion to the nation’s highways.”
American Trucking Associations’ Director of Highway Operations Darrin Roth had a different take on the impact of increased truck weight.
“This is not a choice between a 100,000 pound truck and an 80,000 pound truck,” Roth told LM. “Maine and Vermont were already allowing heavier trucks on their secondary road system and will continue to do so regardless of what happens with federal law. The change in federal law with the pilot program and the potential permanent extension of the pilot program allow those states to move those states to the interstate system, which is much more safer and built stronger than secondary roads and does not have as much pavement or bridge damage.”
Roth said it is a positive step forward for Maine and Vermont and is also energy-efficient in that it reduces shipping costs over long distances.
Subscribe to Logistics Management magazine
entire logistics operation. Start your FREE subscription today! | <urn:uuid:fc92f1d9-2144-4313-abb0-3c660abc41bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/trucking_news_aar_comes_out_against_push_for_heavier_trucks/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960863 | 631 | 1.554688 | 2 |
This head cloth from a set of bed hangings was completed in 1765 by Rebekah Dickinson (1738-1813) and Polly Wright of Hatfield, Massachusetts. Embroidered textiles like this one were enormously popular among 18th century women; originally inspired by the vibrant fabrics English traders brought back from the Far East. The cascading vines, flowers, leaves, birds, animals and other motifs common in these works allowed them to display their technical skills and artistic sensibilities, as welll as their ability to devote time to their completion. Women embroidered pockets, petticoats and chair seats as well. Though Rebekah was a formally trained maker of women's clothing none of the garments she created are known to survive: instead, her family preserved several examples of her ornamental needlework. | <urn:uuid:c4fc8bba-ac0d-4a31-9620-7158b6a11ce8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.americancenturies.mass.edu/collection/itempage.jsp?itemid=17118 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981398 | 165 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Around the world nothing connects kids like the power of play. In areas of great need there is an opportunity to use sports as a catalyst for social change.
The challenge: design a solution to create a highly demountable, portable sports product library, product development studio, and futsal (soccer) play area. This “pop-up” facility will be deployed to provide much needed (and desired) jerseys, shoes, and balls to communities that would welcome and use them to inspire change for youth of both genders.
For this Open Architecture Network design challenge, Architecture for Humanity is teaming up with Google SketchUp to bring the power of play to Capao Redondo, a densely packed, but colorful, friendly and energetic settlement on the outskirts of Sao Paolo, Brazil. | <urn:uuid:ef663b1a-96bb-4366-868e-2a9008b942ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://architectureforhumanity.org/updates/2008-06-23-sportables-design-challenge | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923333 | 162 | 1.929688 | 2 |
How to Brush
What Is the Right Way to Brush?
Proper brushing takes at least two minutes — that's right, 120 seconds! Most adults do not come close to brushing that long. To get a feel for the time involved, try using a stopwatch. To properly brush your teeth, use short, gentle strokes, paying extra attention to the gumline, hard-to-reach back teeth and areas around fillings, crowns or other restoration. Concentrate on thoroughly cleaning each section as follows:
- Clean the outer surfaces of your upper teeth, then your lower teeth
- Clean the inner surfaces of your upper teeth, then your lower teeth
- Clean the chewing surfaces
- For fresher breath, be sure to brush your tongue, too
Tilt the brush at a 45° angle against the gumline and sweep or roll the brush away from the gumline.
Gently brush the outside, inside and chewing surface of each tooth using short back-and-forth strokes.
Gently brush your tongue to remove bacteria and freshen breath.
What Type of Toothbrush Should I Use?
Most dental professionals agree that a soft-bristled brush is best for removing plaque and debris from your teeth. Small-headed brushes are also preferable, since they can better reach all areas of the mouth, including hard-to-reach back teeth. For many, a powered toothbrush is a good alternative. It can do a better job of cleaning teeth, particularly for those who have difficulty brushing or who have limited manual dexterity. To find the right Colgate toothbrush for you, click here.
How Important is the Toothpaste I Use?
It is important that you use a toothpaste that's right for you. Today there is a wide variety of toothpaste designed for many conditions, including cavities, gingivitis, tartar, stained teeth and sensitivity. Ask your dentist or dental hygienist which toothpaste is right for you. To find the right Colgate toothpaste for you, click here.
How Often Should I Replace My Toothbrush?
You should replace your toothbrush when it begins to show wear, or every three months, whichever comes first. It is also very important to change toothbrushes after you've had a cold, since the bristles can collect germs that can lead to reinfection. | <urn:uuid:9d69598f-ee74-4aaa-9136-c622393ddf22> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.colgate.ca/app/CP/CA/EN/OC/Information/Articles/Oral-and-Dental-Health-Basics/Oral-Hygiene/Brushing-and-Flossing/article/How-to-Brush.cvsp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932471 | 484 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Austin German Shepherd Dog Rescue is an all volunteer rescue group and without volunteers, the many German Shepherd Dogs you see on our Forever Homes and Available for Adoption pages would be euthanized every year all over Texas. YOU can add to those lists by fostering...one of those pictures can be a dog YOU helped save! So, if you would like to join the ranks of volunteers that prove everyday you can "save just one" please submit your application for fostering.
If you love German Shepherds, there is nothing more satisfying than knowing you are a part of something so rewarding. You love, feed, care for, and work to earn their trust. You help mend the scars left by those they trusted at one time. You make a connection--you look in their faces and see, day by day, the loyalty and admiration being earned back. You look into their eyes and see that they now know--finally someone cares! And that someone is YOU.
Daily care, attention, and love are what these dogs need most. It is amazing how far regular food, water, and attention will go to improve your foster dog's well-being. Some need housetraining. Some need to be taught manners (in the house and walking on a leash). It's important that you work on these items. It will also make your foster dog much more marketable with regards to finding it's permanent home. Many will also need obedience training. While it's nice if you can get this in, it is not required.
When you agree to take a foster dog in, it's "for the duration." These dogs have already had upheaval in their lives, and it won't end with you...they will get adopted and have to make a change yet again. It's important that we don't move the dogs around. Also, AGSDR generally runs at full capacity and does not have open foster homes waiting to take in foster dogs if a foster home changes their minds.
For these reasons, it is important that you can commit for the entire time the dog is in foster care. This can range from mere days to several months depending on the dog's health and training, our current adoption applications, etc.
AGSDR does not have a kennel, a boarding facility, or any other means of rehoming your foster dog. We only accept a dog into our program if a foster family commits to fostering the dog until it is adopted, whether that is 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months, or more. Thoroughly evaluate your REAL preparedness, commitment, and ability to foster a German Shepherd Dog before you commit. The dog’s life may depend on your evaluation of yourself, your willingness to be inconvenienced, your home, and your tolerances. Please, DO NOT volunteer to be a foster for a German Shepherd if you are not certain that you can MAKE it work out. [Under some circumstances, we can move a dog into a different foster home, but this takes time...sometimes a few weeks even, to arrange. Until then, you will need to keep the dog controlled in a way that minimizes the problem--for example, kenneled when your other dogs or cats are free.]
Most fosters enjoy the experience despite any problems that may arise, and take a new foster as soon as their current one is adopted. Some even foster multiple dogs at once. However, your commitment is for ONE DOG AT A TIME! If you need a break, simply let us know that when your foster is adopted. And once you are ready again, we will have a dog just waiting to get out of puppy prison and into your home!
AGSDR will pay for ALL MEDICAL CARE EXPENSES and provide monthly heartworm preventative. Should the dog need other veterinary treatment, we will send you to one of our vets. All pre-approved expenses are 100% reimbursed to you...but we have billing already in place at many vets in the Central Texas Area, so in MOST CASES, no reimbursement to you is necessary.
You will need to provide these. At times, we do get donations for them and we share that info on the AGSDR Yahoo Group.
If you have one you can use, that is great! If not, AGSDR can provide one for you. We are always low on them, so please remind us and turn it in once you no longer have a foster.
In general, the foster home provides these. At times, we purchase pinch collars or these items are donated to us. If you do not have any, you can ask and we'll loan one to you if we have it available.
The food you provide and any other expense you incur (mileage for trips to the vet, bedding, etc.) for the reasonable upkeep of the foster dog are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law, and a tax receipt is available (upon request) at the end of each year.
Currently, we have volunteers or foster homes in many areas of Texas, including Austin, San Antonio, Houston.
You will receive full support from all of the AGSDR volunteers. Someone is always there to give advice or help with any problem that may come up. Once you are approved, you will be invited to join our Yahoo Group where most of our members are VERY supportive and are at your disposal 24/7.
If you are interested but still a little undecided, go ahead and apply and let us know you'd like to be a temp foster. These are people who will step up when our foster homes need a break for vacation, unexpected trips out of town, etc. You will get a set timeframe (a couple of days to a couple of weeks, generally) with a foster dog to get your feet wet. We're betting afterwards you will be ready to take a foster on "for the duration" and save your very own dog!
This is not unusual. MANY of us have adopted one of our fosters, and most continue to foster afterwards. In fact, we believe it's an exceptional way to find your very own lifelong companion. After all, you get to meet the dog, have it live in your home, and see EXACTLY how you, your family, your pets, and this dog will get along! What better way to "test drive" a dog? We DO have rules about how to go about adopting your foster, so please let us know as soon as you decide.
So, ready to save a life? Please submit your application for fostering. | <urn:uuid:2ddd79e9-ce8a-44b4-a631-57df1d6357ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.austingermanshepherdrescue.org/Volunteer/foster_prog.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959064 | 1,343 | 1.5 | 2 |
Packing your bike so you can take it abroad and then unpacking it at the other end are two of the biggest headaches in triathlon. The last thing you'll feel like doing after a long journey is rebuilding your bike. But all the work you've put into training will be worthless if you don't do it properly.
A poorly reassembled bike can lead to all sorts of problems, such as finding yourself stuck in the same gear or being forced to ride for many miles with your brakes rubbing. I know of one triathlete who didn't tighten his front wheel properly and ended up having a mid-race accident - his wheel came off. He was rushed to a hospital 50 miles from where the accident happened and two days later, battered and bruised, he had to borrow £150 to pay for a taxi back to his hotel. Take the time to unpack your bike properly and you can avoid such race-ruining mishaps.
Travelling long distances with your bike usually involves packing it into a protective box, bag or case. This requires at least an hour removing bits from your bike so it fits inside. Typically, you need to take off the seatpost, the wheels, the pedals and also remove the handlebars from the handlebar stem.
If your journey involves plane travel it's also important to deflate your tyres - flying causes pressure changes that can burst them. You should leave a little air in them to cushion your wheel rims from potential damage. Some people also like to remove the rear derailleur, so that it doesn't get bashed in transit. Taking your bike apart is the easy bit, putting it back together causes the problems.
The first step to rebuilding your bike after a journey is to put the wheels back on. Once they're in place, spin them to make sure they are not rubbing on the brakes. If they are, take them out and slot them back in again. Tighten the quick-release levers so they are secure, but not so tight that you can't undo them if you puncture.
When the wheels are on, inflate the tyres. Using a track-pump is easier than using a hand-pump and it means you can ensure the tyre pressure is just right. Follow the guidelines written on your tyre walls, which normally recommend a pressure of around 8 Bar or 100psi.
Put on the handlebars next. It's simply a case of slotting them into the right place and screwing up the four bolts on the handlebar stem. These bolts need to be tightened evenly and securely so that your handlebars don't slip down mid-ride, as can sometimes happen. Test that they are secure by putting your weight down on the handlebars, while pulling on the brakes.
Putting the seatpost and saddle back into the frame is the next job. It's easy, really, but make sure your saddle height is just right. Marking your saddle height with sticky tape beforehand is a good idea or you could use a tape measure. Ensure the saddle is pointing directly forward, not off to the side at an angle that might rub against your thigh.
Attach your pedals next and then you can take your bike out for a test ride. Testing your bike after you have unpacked it is the golden rule, never to be broken. Ride it for at least 30 minutes because problems can sometimes take a few miles to become apparent. Try to ride a day or two before your big event to allow you time to correct any faults.
Gears often don't behave themselves after your bike has been rebuilt; your once-reliable gear shifting can become noisy and unpredictable. If you're not confident in your abilities as a bike mechanic there are usually plenty of people around to help you sort things out. Big races often have a bike-servicing tent or try a local bike shop. Just make sure you have the time to sort out the problem; do not leave it until just before the race.
Think about the time and money you invest when you travel a long distance for a triathlon: entry fees, travel costs, accommodation, equipment, food and drink, not to mention all those hours spent training. It would be a shame if you had problems with your bike after all that effort. Take the time to rebuild your bike properly and it won't let you down on the big day. | <urn:uuid:0616f5cc-a440-4115-a95e-8faad3fcc96f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/triathlete/triathlon-bike/rebuilding-your-bike-after-travel/4416.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967345 | 891 | 1.789063 | 2 |
More Than Half of EPA Workforce Represented
[From Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility:]
In an unprecedented action, representatives for more than 10,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientists are calling on Congress to take immediate action against global warming, according to a petition released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The petition also calls for an end to censorship of agency scientists and other specialists on topics of climate change and the effects of air pollution.
The petition stresses that time is running out to prevent cataclysmic environmental changes induced by human-caused pollution and urges Congress to undertake prompt actions:
“If we wait, we will be committing the next generation of Americans to approximately double the current global warming concentrations, with the associated adverse impacts on human health and the environment.”The filing of this petition coincides with today’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on a case (Massachusetts v. EPA, Case No. 05-1120) brought by states seeking to force the Bush administration to regulate greenhouse gases that fuel global warming under the Clean Air Act [see previous post].
The petition signatories represent more than half of the total agency workforce. Addressed to the members of the Senate and House committees overseeing EPA, the petition argues that:
“Professionals working for the Environmental Protection Agency are protesting being ordered to sit on the sidelines while we face the greatest environmental challenge of our generation,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that the petition began among agency staff. “Under a new Congress, perhaps the scientists at EPA can begin to directly communicate with their true employers – the American public.”
The letter is signed by presidents of 22 locals of five unions: the American Federation of Government Employees, the Engineers and Scientists of California, the National Association of Government Employees, the National Association of Independent Labor, and the National Treasury Employees Union. These unions represent more than 10,000 EPA scientists, engineers and other technical specialists.
[A hat tip to Green Car Congress] | <urn:uuid:ecbad843-c97d-4cbf-955a-4f33c215c991> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.watthead.org/2006/11/epa-employees-file-mass-petition.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912307 | 420 | 2.25 | 2 |
Asked about backing he has received from the NRA, Reid said that "just because they resist it doesn't mean we can't do things."
Other steps under consideration include better monitoring of people with mental illness to prevent them from obtaining guns.
Democrats have said the background check measure would stand the best chance of garnering bipartisan support, including from some pro-gun Democrats. Even if passed by the Senate, a gun bill would face tougher scrutiny in the Republican-led House.
Obama said Monday that lawmakers in Congress from both parties were working together on plans that would expand background checks to all gun purchases and criminalize "straw purchases" in which legal gun owners buy weapons for people prohibited from doing so.
Guns sold through private sales currently avoid background checks -- the so-called gun show loophole.
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said last week that he was in talks with colleagues -- including several who are ranked highly by the NRA -- on possible legislation to expand background checks on private gun sales.
Sources close to both Schumer and Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma told CNN the two were in serious discussions about co-sponsoring a bill to strengthen background checks. Schumer sits on the Judiciary Committee, while Coburn is a former member.
However, NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre told the panel that the current background check system doesn't work, so expanding it would only create an unmanageable government bureaucracy instead of reducing gun crime.
During the Super Bowl on Sunday night, a group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns broadcast an ad showing the NRA's LaPierre, in 1999, endorsing the expanded background checks his group now opposes.
Supporters of gun control argue that the constitutional right to bear arms can be limited, for example, by the existing ban on private citizens possessing grenade launchers and other military weaponry. | <urn:uuid:989c2155-30bf-48b1-8f34-d3818ce6c98a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kcra.com/news/politics/Obama-still-backs-gun-ban-Top-senator-unsure/-/11797268/18400514/-/item/2/-/2foyiqz/-/index.html | 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 | 0.965072 | 370 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Not sure how to sweeten your morning coffee? While your best bet is to use nothing at all (after a few weeks, you'll probably like it better that way), new research on artificial sweeteners has broadened your options once again.
The FDA has given the thumbs-up to sucralose (Splenda), aspartame (Nutrasweet) and even saccharin (Sweet'N Low), which was once warned to possibly cause cancer in rats.
"There is very little evidence that artificial sweeteners are really going to cause the horrific things we read about like cancer or Alzheimer's," says Kirkpatrick. "Most of these studies are on rats using huge amounts of sweetener, so we really don't have sound scientific data. That's not to say they're great and we should be using them a lot."
Many of you probably remember when Sweet'N Low (saccharin) packets carried the warning, "May cause cancer in laboratory animals." In recent years, the FDA has removed the label after further studies didn't show an increased risk of cancer. Equal (aspartame) has been deemed safe as well -- as long as you don't have a rare metabolic disorder known as PKU (phenylketonuria).
"Splenda (sucralose) appears to be the safest artificial sweetener on the market based on the research, which is why it's popping up in everything," says Kirkpatrick. "It also tastes the most like actual sugar." But with this sugar substitute, or any sugar substitute, she cautions that we should sprinkle with caution.
"We are still pretty new in the artificial sweetener area," she says. "They appear to be safe -- they wouldn't be on the market unless that was the case -- but it's best to use them in moderation, because they haven't been around long enough to know for sure."
Some new studies indicate that artificial sugar substitutes may be tied to weight gain -- and therefore may not be the diet miracle that some people assume they are. In one study at Purdue University, rats that were given yogurt sweetened with table sugar gained less weight than rats given yogurt sweetened with saccharin.
"They confuse your system," Kirkpatrick explains. "You have a diet cola and your sensory is that you get a lot of sweet, and your digestive reflex and your brain are expecting to get something very high in calories but -- because the artificial sweetener can't be metabolized by the body -- they don't get those calories. This may actually cause you to consume more calories and gain weight."
What about the relatively new "natural" sugar substitutes like stevia -- the ingredient that makes up Truvia, which has popped up on grocery shelves in the last year and a half? Approved by the FDA in late 2008, this zero-calorie substitute is made from the leaves of a South American shrub (see image below). Another brand-new substitute, SUSTA, is also plant-based.
While these are significantly more natural than their predecessors, Kirkpartrick warns that you should make sure they are safe for you.
"It's an herb, and anytime you're taking an herb you want to make sure it's not something that's going to interact with medication," she says. "So I would definitely recommend talking to your doctor or dietician first."
What we do know about all of these sugar substitutes is that they don't take away your receptors for sweet things.
"When you have artificial sweeteners, you don't untrain your taste buds to crave sweets," Kirkpatrick says. "The more sweet things you have, the more sweet things you want. With artificial sweeteners, you are constantly feeding that craving." Kirkpatrick also points out that people who consume large amounts of artificial sweeteners aren't getting as many nutrients in their day.
Bottom line: There's not enough scientific evidence for a true verdict. But really, your best best is to cut back on sweets altogether.
"I think the main goal for people over time should be to reduce their dependance on sweet things," says Kirkpatrick. "Go for six weeks having your coffee without sugar. It's largely habit, because that's what you're used to having in the morning, but you can break it."
Do you have a sweet tooth? How do your satisfy it healthfully? | <urn:uuid:38e34ccc-1e51-4c58-9cf6-e539a25564b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.self.com/blogs/flash/2010/12/the-truth-about-artificial-swe.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972774 | 899 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Like any other secured communication, it could be possible to decode the GSM/CDMA wireless traffic; question is how tough it is and how much infrastructure cost is required to decode them. Coming to a simple answer though much details and analysis have already been posted here, it is difficult to intercept them because:
- There exist a secure element in the Mobile Equipment called as the SIM. The device is a smart card which consist of a secret key. The secret key is initialized into the SIM card in the process of personalization by the telco. The shared secret is known only to the telco and the SIM itself.
- In the initial handshake protocol in which the Mobile device registers into the telco network, there exists a challenge response protocol in which the identity of the SIM is established to the telco. After this process in conjunction with the Mobile Equipment a session key is derived and the entire communication is encrypted using some variants of the A5 algorithm.
This is how the communication is secured and how it cannot be intercepted.
The ecosystem is designed in such a way that the handshake happens at some regular interval and so the session key keeps changing.
Even if one attacker had to create a tempered Mobile equipment, it is impossible to extract the secret key from the smart card.
With the advent of high capability crypto smart cards and higher bandwidths , the security model is changed to mutual authentication, in which case the network authenticates the card and the card also authenticates the network (telco) using combination of symmetric and asymmetric encryption and signing processes.
The above context was more with respect to GSM technology. In CDMA, it uses some technique called frequency hopping spread spectrum using which a data pipe takes more bandwidth and space than actually it would have had required; thus scattering the data as dust particle (just explanation). So for an interceptor it becomes tough to regenerate the actual data from some reference data from the scattered data.
As far as your other question regarding 802.11 standards for mobile devices, AFAIK the standards are same for any device which want to use 802.11 weather it is a mobile or a simple laptop device. The security requirement is imposed by the 802.11 routers.
What exactly is SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) Card?
SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) is a specialized smart card in a form factor which can be inserted into a mobile device. Smart Card is not a secret password but a slave computer device (simple explanation). Unlike thumb drives which we use for storing data; SIM card doesn't allow an external entity to directly access the memory in the chip. SIM card acts as a computer in a sense the other computer (reader or mobile equipment) is needed to have a protocol for communication. There are standards like ISO-7816-4 which provides commands interface using which an external reader can communicate with the smart card.
How does SIM Card play role in Establishing connection between Phone & Network Operator?
Now I will try to explain the basic steps again how the security is established in the entire life cycle of SIM and secure mobile communication:
When the telco initializes the SIM card, it inserts a secret key into the SIM card using ISO-7816 command set. The security of the key file is such that it cannot be read. The SIM card will only allow operation like encipher or signing using the file. When the manufacturer of the SIM card ships the smart card to the telco, it initialized it with a initialization key which it secretly shares with the telco. The SIM shall allow loading of the key file by telco only if the telco could prove that it have the initialization key or the pin. In this way telco have full control over the SIM. In the process of initialization of SIM by telco, telco maps a serial number in its system and the same number is printed on the back side of the SIM (for example). This number is used by telco at latter stage to map and activate a SIM card. Technically the printed serial number enables the telco to fetch the secret key for activating the SIM and informing the same to its validation systems.
When the SIM is inserted on to the Mobile Equipment, the mobile equipment scans for available networks present in air in the 900/1800/1900 channel. It talks to the desired network to let it register to the network. The mobile sends the unique SIM ID to the network. The network sends a challenge to the mobile device. Using ISO-7816 command specification, the mobile equipment constructs the required command for authentication request which also consist of the challenge received by the equipment from the network. The SIM card using the secret key encrypts the challenge and sends it as a response to the ISO 7816 command to the equipment. The response is passed to the network by the mobile equipment. The network validates the response as it also possesses the secret key in its system mapped with the unique SIM identifier. Based on the validation the network either grants registration or denies registration to the mobile equipment in the network. The further process of generation of session key is slightly complex and is beyond the scope of this context. The SIM is not required any more by the equipment. In regular intervals the network shall ask the equipment to re-do challenge response in which case SIM shall again be used. For this reason if you have a mobile device in which SIM can be removed without removing battery you mobile shall continue to operate for a finite period of time.
How does Manual & Automatic Registration of Network Work?
Now coming to the issue of manual and automatic registration. When the telco initializes the SIM it writes one more read only file in the SIM which contains the network ID. This helps the mobile to detect the preference in which it should select the network provider from the list of available network providers to which it should make the first attempt to register.
In case the file is not available, the mobile will make an attempt in a sequential manner with the list of network providers. The mobile also maintains a history record of the SIM ID and network to which it registered, which helps it to fasten the process when the equipment is restarted for judging the network to which the request for registration to sent first.
How WiFI Security differs from GSM Security?
Now coming to the WIFI and 802.11 communications using the mobile device. Here SIM is not part of any communication or authentication. In-fact you can connect to the WIFI without the SIM present in the device. The security guidelines for WIFI are provided in WIFI specifications. Based on the security rules configured in the router, the clients have to authenticate and have the channel of communication secured and encrypted or non secured. Mobile device just contains the client hardware and software to use a WIFI network in addition to the GSM radio.
- SIM Card Security - A Seminar Work by Sheng He - Explains the structure & Working of SIM Card.
- Security Architecture of Wireless Cellular Network Technologies: 2G Mobile Telephony Cellular Network (GSM)
- GSM Security - Brief (4-page) overview of Security in GSM | <urn:uuid:e318efb3-7675-4899-9197-8c29f5dff578> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://security.stackexchange.com/questions/16020/what-is-preventing-us-from-sniffing-the-mobile-phone-communcation/16157 | 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 | 0.922496 | 1,458 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Are you satisfied with the 529 plan you chose, and the investments you’ve chosen within the plan? You are allowed to make changes once a year — selecting a plan in another state if you want, or different investments in the plan. Remember, you don’t have to stick with the plan in your state, although many states give you an extra tax break if you do. And you can save money if you go to a state 529 plan directly rather than using a financial adviser. According to Morningstar, the average cost if you do this on your own is about 0.60 percent, but with an adviser it’s 1.5 percent — a much higher amount that will detract from the amount you amass.
If you have been getting raises every year, consider increasing your contributions to the 529 plan — maybe setting up your account to move money automatically each payday. Also make sure you tell Grandma and Grandpa not to open any accounts in the child’s name under the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act or Uniform Transfer to Minors Act. If your child is going to qualify for financial aid when he or she goes to college, a UGMA or UTMA will poison his chances.
Want to know if you are likely to get financial aid? For a ballpark idea, try the “estimated family contribution” calculator at the college you think your child might attend or try FinAid.com’s calculator, at www.tinyurl.com/finaidest.
Meanwhile, now is the time to start looking for college scholarships. You might think that’s crazy, but a few are available for children as young as 6. Among them: Kohl’s Kids Who Care and Doodle 4 Google, an art competition that provides $15,000. FinAid.com has more information at www.tinyurl.com/finaid13.
• Starting high school: Parents often don’t start thinking about college until their children are seniors in high school, and college acceptances start arriving with horrific costs in them. That’s tragic.
By senior year in high school, they have missed the greatest opportunities for winning scholarships and adjusting household finances so families are in the best position to maximize the financial aid colleges will give them. It’s critical to get ready to seek scholarships before your child’s sophomore year in high school because many deadlines arrive during the fall of that year.
If your baby had no interest in a bat and ball, you don’t have to worry. Your search for scholarships will reveal that there’s something for everyone who’s willing to work at it — from tall children to left-handed people, bowlers and golf caddies, and David Letterman’s award for average students. Find the most unusual scholarships at Unusual Aid and the most prestigious and high-paying like Intel’s $100,000 at Prestigious Aid.
Two valuable scholarships sites are Fastweb.com and Scholarships.com.
Along with your scholarship search, start having your child record all activities and honors. Scholarship applications and college applications require a list of activities and references from people who saw your child excel.
Read Secrets to Winning Scholarships by Mark Kantrowitz and How to Go to College Almost for Free by Benjamin Kaplan for strategies on winning scholarships. The same strategies will also help your child write winning college application essays, and scholarships help gain admission to college. | <urn:uuid:1e7fd689-a805-4aeb-98f2-4e4adb2fd5ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/03/09/3276346_p2/its-never-too-early-to-plan-for.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944539 | 716 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Hinduism has been practiced since before history was recorded. The stories were first oratory and eventually written in Sanskrit, which now have been translated into several languages. The list of sacred texts is long and includes the Vedas: Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva Veda, Upanishads, Puranas and Bhagavad Gita as some of the better known.
Hindu’s believe in reincarnation and cause and effect. This means that for every action there is a reaction. An individual is responsible for their behavior or actions and builds Karma (deeds, acts), that will follow into their next life. The cycles of life and death result from a lack of knowledge of our true self and our desire for fulfillment through the world outside ourselves. The goals are to realize our union with the supreme, to acknowledge that this world is made of illusion and therefore gain freedom from the cycle of rebirth.
Because all creation is a form of the supreme being, we are all connected and united by the divine. Because of this belief, diversity is accepted including that which Westerners would consider oddities or deformities. An example of this practice is while I was in India, I read about a little boy who was born with a tail bone that was four inches longer than what is considered normal. The news article reported how this three year old was looked upon as an incarnation of Hanuman and how his family took him to various temples so people could see him.
Hindu’s are known for having several Gods and Goddesses. They believe that there is only one supreme deity and these gods are manifestations of his various attributes. Some of the better known are Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha, Krishna, Laskhmi, Hanuman, shakti, Durga, Devi, Kali and Rama. Brahma is viewed as the creator, Shiva as the destroyer with Vishnu the preserver. The Atharva Veda says, “Great indeed are the Gods who have sprung out of Brahman.”
One aspect of Hinduism is Vedic astrology which originates from the Rig Veda and is used by many Hindu’s not only as an indicator of auspicious times for endeavors, but also for personal insight and guidance. | <urn:uuid:87b111a6-d4ba-4b0e-b2d3-836fece6ad85> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oceanofperspectives.wordpress.com/2008/03/27/hinduism/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983403 | 477 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Press the play button to hear the latest news from THE REGION.
Hoosiers who file individual returns next year will receive a credit of $111 and joint filers will receive a credit of $222 thanks to the state’s automatic taxpayer refund. Governor Daniels says the credit will be applied when taxpayers fill out their 2012 income tax forms in 2013. Here's the news release from the announcement:
INDIANAPOLIS (November 21, 2012) – Governor Mitch Daniels said today that Hoosiers who file individual returns next year will receive a credit of $111 and joint filers will receive a credit of $222 because of the state’s automatic taxpayer refund (ATR).
“We insisted on a per capita refund for two reasons: first, maximum simplicity, as seen on the new tax form. Second, to provide the most relief to lower and middle income Hoosiers, for whom $222 may be meaningful right now,” said Daniels. “Past a point of rock-solid fiscal strength, it’s better to leave this money in the pockets of those who earned it than to let it burn a hole, as it tends to do, in the pocket of government.”
Facts about the automatic taxpayer refund:
Approximately 3.26 million eligible Hoosier taxpayers
Total ATR amount for individual taxpayers is $360.6 million
Typical taxpayer liability is $850; the taxpayer refund represents a median tax cut of about 13 percent. The credit will be applied when taxpayers fill out their 2012 income tax forms in 2013. Here is a link to how the language will appear on the form for 2012:
There are about 335,000 taxpayers who will receive a refund in 2013 who otherwise would have owed taxes without the ATR
About 890,000 taxpayers will receive at least a 25 percent income tax reduction
About 460,000 taxpayers will receive at least a 50 percent refund (owe $222 or less)
About 230,000 taxpayers will receive a 100 percent refund (owe $111 or less)
Indiana closed the 2012 Fiscal Year with reserves of $2.155 billion or 15 percent of the state’s budget. In 2011, the Indiana General Assembly approved the governor’s plan for an automatic taxpayer refund if the state’s reserves exceeded 10 percent at the end of the budget year that ended on June 30. In future years, the reserve threshold will be 12.5 percent.
The total budget surplus was $721 million. The other $360 million has been used to strengthen pension funds: Judges Pension Fund ($90.2 million); Conservation, Gaming, and Excise Officers’ Pension Fund ($14.6 million); Prosecutors’ Pension Fund ($17.4 million); State Police Pension Fund ($31.7 million); and Pre-1996 Teachers’ Retirement Fund ($206.8 million).
|< Prev||Next >| | <urn:uuid:97548363-8df2-4681-a58a-e8472faafa0b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wakeradio.com/index.php/news/region-news/33150-more-details-on-ind-taxpayer-refund.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913264 | 600 | 1.570313 | 2 |
PatentsPatents protect original inventions, utility models and designs. Patent rights grant a monopoly for the exploitation of that particular invention and so it is extremely valuable and important for the creators of original inventions to gain this protection. It may be necessary to get initial advice on the patentability of new inventions and to establish whether it would be likely to infringe the rights of an existing patented product. Once these initial checks have been completed the registration process can be begun, and such registration can be sought on a national or multi-jurisdictional basis. In order to protect the exclusive to exploit a patent, infringement litigation may well be necessary, and disputes as to the rightful ownership of a patent may well arise between, for example, legal entities and their employees. | <urn:uuid:96a08d52-56f6-4bc2-a91b-32da4f4f95bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hfgip.com/practice.asp?id=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917527 | 152 | 2.203125 | 2 |
In the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, thousands of banks failed, public trust in the system collapsed and bank runs were common. One of the first acts of the New Deal, the Banking Act of 1933, known as the Glass-Steagall Act because it was introduced by former Treasury Secretary Sen. Carter Glass (D-VA) and Chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee Rep. Henry B. Steagall (D-AL), sought to limit speculation and make banks safer repositories for public money. (See one of the few digital versions of the Glass-Steagall Act).
The law had two main provisions: It separated commercial banks from investment banks in order to protect people’s bank accounts from risky investments, and it created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures bank deposits with “the full faith and credit of the United States Government.”
Today, the term “Glass-Steagall” generally refers to the provision separating commercial and investment banks. In 1999, after a decade of increasing financial industry deregulation, this “wall” was torn down by the Financial Services Modernization Act. The bill, also known as the Gramm-Leach Act, was passed by overwhelming majorities in both the House and Senate, and signed into law by an enthusiastic President Clinton. It paved the way for the creation of banking behemoths like Citigroup, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase. A decade later, the repeal of Glass-Steagall was widely considered a major cause of the 2008 financial collapse.
The financial crisis of 2008 was followed by the worst economic slump since the 1930s. In its wake, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The legislation intended to “promote thefinancial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, to end ‘too big to fail,’ to protect the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect consumers from abusive financial services practices, and for other purposes,” according to the bill’s subtitle.
The act, signed by President Obama on July 21, 2010, is the most sweeping overhaul of the financial system since the Great Depression. It calls for up to 400 new regulations, many of which are still being written, and for a host of new regulatory and watchdog agencies, including the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the Office of Financial Research and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
The bill imposes new restrictions on derivatives and calls for public exchanges where these complex financial instruments would be traded, limits debit-card fees, and attempts to put an end to “too big to fail” by imposing new regulations on banks with more than $50 billion in assets and giving the government authority to liquidate them when they run into trouble.
Despite all these regulations, Dodd-Frank never goes as far as Glass-Steagall did in separating commercial and investment banking. The closest it gets is the so-called Volcker Rule, proposed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, which bans banks from risky speculative trading with federally-insured money. The Volcker Rule was enacted as part of Dodd-Frank in 2010 and is scheduled to be implemented on July 21st, 2012, but the specifics are still being debated by legislators, regulators and bank lobbyists.
For all that’s been written about Glass-Steagall since the 2008 financial crisis, we couldn’t find the original document anywhere online. This PDF of the original Glass-Steagall Act is brought to you by our administrative assistant, Sean Ellis, who trudged down to the New York Public Library and photocopied it.
More recent bills (1989-present) are readily available on The Library of Congress Thomas website. Here’s the final version of the full Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. But before you press print on a document that’s been ridiculed for it’s excessive length, you might want to consider sticking to the cliffs notes.
PBS’s Frontline chronicles the rise and fall of the Glass-Steagall Act.
Bill Moyers talks with Simon Johnson and Michael Perino about the Pecora Hearings, which helped create the furor that led to Glass-Steagall.
First impressions of the Dodd-Frank bill from The New York Times’ Dealbook blog.
Rolling Stones’ Matt Taibbi says that Congress looked serious about financial reform, until the banks unleashed an army of 2,000 paid lobbyists.
New York Times columnist Joe Nocera wonders if the bankers might have a point about the new regulations being overly complex.
The Economist calls Dodd-Frank “Too big not to fail.”
WNYC compares Glass-Steagall with the Volcker Rule.
The New York Times’ Dealbook blog calls the Volcker Rule “good as dead.” | <urn:uuid:829b9ed6-e07f-4551-8411-8da24a3aff6d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://billmoyers.com/content/glass-steagall-dodd-frank-and-the-volcker-rule-a-primer-and-resources/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944484 | 1,011 | 3.796875 | 4 |
As an herb, lavender has been in documented use for over
2,500 years. In ancient times lavender was used for mummification
and perfume by the Egyptians, Phoenicians, and peoples of Arabia.
lavender oils for bathing, cooking, and scenting the air, and
they most likely gave it the Latin root from which we derive the modern name (either lavare--to
wash, or livendula--livid or bluish). The flower's soothing "tonic" qualities, the insect-repellent
effects of the strong scent, and the use of the dried plant in
smoking mixtures also added to the value of the herb in ancient times..
mentioned often in the Bible, not by the name lavender but rather
by the name used at that time--spikenard (from the Greek name for lavender, naardus, after the Syrian city Naarda). In the gospel of Luke
the writer reports: "Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard,
very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet
with her hair; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment."
Christian reference to lavender involves how it got its scent.
The plant is believed to have been taken from the Garden of Eden
by Adam and Eve. However, the powerful perfume came later. According
to legend, the clothing of baby Jesus bestowed the scent when Mother Mary laid them upon a bush to
dry. This may explain why the
plant is also regarded as a holy safeguard against evil. In many
Christian houses, a cross of lavender was hung over the door for
domesticated by the Arabians, lavender spread across Europe from
Greece. Around 600 BC, lavender may have come from the Greek Hyeres
Islands into France and is now common in France, Spain, Italy
and England. The 'English' lavender varieties were not locally
developed in England but rather introduced in the 1600s, right
around the time the first lavender plants were making their way
to the Americas. In Medieval and Renaissance Europe, the washing
women were known as "lavenders" and they used lavender to scent
drawers and dried the laundry on lavender bushes. Also during
this time, lavender was grown in so-called "infirmarian's gardens" in monasteries,
along with many other medicinal herbs. According
to the German nun Hildegard of Bingen, who lived from 1098-1179,
lavender "water,"--a decoction of vodka, gin, or brandy mixed with
lavender--is great for migraine headaches.
Its holy reputation may have increased during the Great Plague in London in the 17th century, when it was
suggested that a bunch of lavender fastened to each wrist would
protect the wearer against the deadly disease. Furthermore, grave-robbers
were known to wash in Four Thieves Vinegar, which contained lavender,
after doing their dirty work; they rarely contracted the disease.
In 16th-century France, lavender was also used to resist infection.
For example, glove-makers, who were licensed to perfume their
wares with lavender, escaped cholera at that time.
European royal history is also filled with stories of lavender use. Charles VI of France
demanded lavender-filled pillows wherever he went. Queen Elizabeth
I of England required lavender conserve at the royal table. She
also wanted fresh lavender flowers available every day of the
year, a daunting task for a gardener if you consider the climate
of England. Louis XIV also loved lavender and bathed in water
scented with it. Queen Victoria used a lavender deodorant, and both
Elizabeth I and II used products from the famous lavender
company, Yardley and Co. of London.
a unique fragrance produced by the combination of 180 different
constituents and is widely used in the perfume industry to add
a top or middle note to commercial products. In the world of professional
sniffers, it has a green, hay-like sweetness and gives "fruity
aspects" to perfumes and other scented products. Lavender is widely grown in England for commercial use, and the Provence region
of France is renowned as a world leader in growing and producing
In the United
States and Canada, the Shakers were the first to grow lavender commercially.
A strict sect of English Quakers who most likely had little use
for lavender's amorous qualities (they were celibate), they developed
herb farms upon their arrival from England. They produced their
own herbs and medicines and sold them to the "outside world."
Later a New York advertising firm picked them up and sold the
simple products worldwide.
As an herbal
medicine, lavender is widely utilized. For soothing,
relaxing qualities few herbs can be claimed as effective. Constituents
of the oils found in lavender can treat hyperactiviety; insomnia;
flatulence; bacteria, fungus, and microbial activity on gums, airborne
molds, and (in mixture with pine, thyme, mint, rosemary, clove,
and cinnamon oils) Staphyloccus bacteria. Lavender may even be useful against impotence. In a study
of men, the scent of pumpkin and lavender rated as the scent found
love are an ancient match. In an apocryphal book of the Bible,
we again hear of the use of lavender. Here the story tells us
that Judith anointed herself with perfumes including lavender
before seducing Holofernes, the enemy commander. This allowed
her to murder him and thus save the City of Jerusalem. The overwhelming
power of this seductive scent was also used by Cleopatra to seduce
Julius Cesaer and Mark Antony. The Queen of Sheba offered spikenard
with frankincense and myrrh to King Solomon
By Tudor times, lavender brew was being sipped by maidens on St. Lukes
day to divine the identity of their true loves. They'd chant, "St. Luke, St.
Luke, be kind to me. In my dreams, let me my true love see." Lavender in the pillows of alpine girls brought
hope of romance, while lavender under the bed of newlyweds ensured
passion. Finally, a famous nursery rhyme called "Lavender Blue, Dilly
Dilly" was written in 1680 and talks of "Whilst you and I, diddle,
diddle…keep the bed warm." Lavender-inspired loving strikes again!
by Elen Spector Platt and Lavender: Practical Inspirations by Tess Evelegh) | <urn:uuid:04b7d150-344b-4723-978d-33e3f28ea321> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lavenderfarm.com/history.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946164 | 1,456 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Reframing Health as more than Health-care
by Rajiv Mehta
- 5,338 views
Recognizing the importance of self-management and the role individuals have in designing their own well-being. ...
Recognizing the importance of self-management and the role individuals have in designing their own well-being.
Presented at BayCHI, 9 March 2010
Significantly improving the design of product and services for health requires a dramatic shift in thinking, from a paternalistic view of patient to a respectful view of person, and from a narrow goal of alleviating sickness to a holistic goal of supporting wellbeing. Noting that it is a wicked problem, we will expand the frame of health from traditional health-care to a resource for living. We will describe the varied challenges people face in executing their self-defined health self-management efforts and in conducting tiny self-experiments. Finally we will discuss the required change in design approach, challenging designers to focus on meta-design and to enable users to be the ultimate designers of their own health & wellness systems
© All Rights Reserved
- Embed Views
- Views on SlideShare
- Total Views | <urn:uuid:e6f9d5a1-a8f1-4ee8-99ac-8a64967d0804> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.slideshare.net/rajiv.mehta/reframing-health-as-more-than-healthcare | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942227 | 241 | 2 | 2 |
Infant Car Seat Safety and Shopping Carts
If infant car seat safety is important to you, then this article is important. Is it all right to place even the safest infant car seat on top of a shopping car? Absolutely not!
Whenever I’m in the grocery store I walk out with a sore tongue. The reason for that is I’m having to bite it to not give people the facts.
They just assume that the safest car seat for their car will protect their little one on a grocery cart.
The American Academy of Pediatrics Makes It Clear
The American Academy of Pediatrics put it clearly: “Parent and caregivers should never place an infant carrier on top of the shopping cart.” The AAP goes on to say that over 24,000 children were treated in U.S. hospitals for shopping cart related injuries last year.
If you’re in the habit of putting your car seat on top of the cart you may be wondering why it isn’t safe. After all, you can clip the seat onto the cart and it seems stable. The fact is that the cart is not made for a car seat and it makes the cart even more likely to tip over. The safest infant car seat can’t protect your child if he’s falling hard to a cement floor.
Since you did your homework on infant car seat safety before buying the safest car seat you could find, why wouldn’t it protect your child even if they fall from a shopping cart? The fact is that their injury will probably be worse because of the car seat.
Children are just like the rest of us in that they have a natural reflex to right and protect themselves when falling. When a child is strapped into a car seat however, they aren’t able to perform any protective maneuver. Therefore the injury they sustain could be much worse than if they weren’t in a seat at all.
The fact is that the car seat makes the fall even harder because of its weight. Infant car seat safety has nothing to do with riding in a shopping cart.
There are other options. Since the safest infant car seat won’t protect your child in a grocery cart, the best option is to push the cart and put your baby in a stroller that you pull. Even if you put the car seat in the cart and put your groceries around the seat, it’s certainly better than placing it on top of the cart.
The safest car seat made is not built with other uses in mind unless it’s a feature of the seat. This would be a seat that can be placed in a stroller or in an airplane. I hope that this article makes it clear why putting your loved one in a grocery cart in their car seat is an unsafe and bad idea.
Return from Infant Car Seat Safety and Shopping Carts to Best Car Seat Articles
Return from Infant Car Seat Safety and Shopping Carts to Car Seats- Home | <urn:uuid:7c8581ab-5ebe-42b7-876f-9cbf41d06c3a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.carseats-reviews.com/infant-car-seat-safety.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959101 | 612 | 1.546875 | 2 |