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Read a review of History Live from the Hockaday School.
"The students remember so much information because of the interaction. All kids are engaged."
"It was completely amazing and the kids are still talking about it!"
"[Students] want to do it again. They are asking to learn more about the subject taught."
"Thanks again for your enthusiasm, organization, energetic presentation, supplies and support. People like you help teaching to come alive and motivate others to be creative, too."
"Students have a deeper appreciation for technology in the role of learning."
"Engaging, educational, fun, and totally rewarding interactive experience!"
"The program had many students actively engaged. They loved it! The program covered what our students are learning now about westward expansion, and also previewed a little bit of immigration. It also touched on many other topics that made for a really well-rounded social studies experience!" - Teacher from Camden Central Schools, New York
"We got to see all sorts of logging activities and, better yet, got to see pictures of how they were actually done."
"The thing I liked the best was how you could show the maps and where he [Joseph Nicollet] went, with him explaining."
"It felt like the instructor was right there with us in the classroom."
"It was much more fun playing the logger roles than just reading about it."
"Thank you for coming to our school. We all enjoyed it and I love how you do something different to make learning fun!"
"I liked that we could interact and ask questions of the characters."
"I liked being able to interact by going to the front and acting with [the character]."
"The thing I liked the most in the IVC program was the great actor what had the wonderful accent [Joseph Nicollet]. He was awesome!"
"He told us a lot of different things that you won’t find in my history book."
"It felt like we were on a field trip to the History Center."
"I learned that Joseph Nicollet was good at math and science."
"I really enjoyed watching the actor and the slideshow behind him – everything was so much fun!"
See what national teachers are saying about us!
“LOVED IT!! The teachers thought it was very engaging and all the prep materials were great. The students weren’t bored, stayed active the entire time and would love to do it again. Highly recommended!” 6th Grade Teacher, WI
“We loved the program. It was probably the most interactive program we have had this year.” 5th Grade Teacher, TX
“I loved the two programs we did with y’all. They hit perfectly on the standards for 4th grade in South Carolina – they were highly-interactive and quite technologically advanced. I loved them. :)” -Technology Coordinator, SC
“The presenter was super about presenting the material in an age appropriate manner and in engaging the kids physically and mentally.” 4th and 5th grade teachers, WI
“This program fit well into the studies of our grades 3 (Native Americans), 4 (settlers) and 5 (roles of children in the 1800’s ) students.” 3rd, 4th, & 5th Grade Teacher, VT
“A great way for students to learn through technology.” 5th Grade Teacher, WI
“It coincided perfectly with our unit and “journey” on the Oregon Trail. It was perfect timing and went along great with our 4th grade standards.” 4th Grade Teacher, SC
“The interaction with the transportation portion was very good and tied in with the curriculum.” 4th Grade Teacher, NY | <urn:uuid:e0c0d68d-d660-461a-ba3b-a5721d5680e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://education.mnhs.org/history-live/what-people-are-saying | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980896 | 781 | 1.695313 | 2 |
RESOURCES Minister Martin Ferguson has declared that "time will tell" whether Labor should dump its nuclear policy, despite growing recommendations the government should adopt the energy source.
In a speech in Sydney yesterday, Mr Ferguson said he believed nuclear power could be viable in Australia in the future, if newer and cleaner technologies were not successful.
However, Labor has persistently ruled out introducing nuclear energy, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard saying nuclear power was not needed in Australia.
The government's energy white paper, released last week, found that Australia was better placed to rely on low-cost power from fossil fuel and renewable sources rather than nuclear energy.
"Nuclear has never been needed because it has not been economically competitive nor has it had the required community support," Mr Ferguson said.
"But the community will continue to have these debates, just like we have had a debate over the previous decades about uranium mining.
"The Australian government's responsibility is to test all forms of clean energy and if at some point in the future we don't get the breakthrough on baseload clean energy Australia will need to think seriously about considering nuclear."
A major report by the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia, published yesterday, recommended Australia press ahead with nuclear power.
The paper said the power source would dramatically cut the nation's emissions levels and Australia had the potential to develop an "international nuclear waste storage industry".
It recommended Australia develop a national nuclear energy regulatory regime and start to increase the number of trained nuclear engineers.
During the speech, Mr Ferguson said the government would now allow "cash bidding" for petroleum acreage exploration in mature areas and areas with known petroleum resources. The move is expected to increase investment in the domestic oil and gas industry.
Mr Ferguson also announced the government would increase funding to Geosciences Australia over the next four years, primarily to help the exploration and development of new mining projects.
GRAPHIC IMAGE: Two men who butchered a soldier on a busy London street before being shot by police ranted: "We want to start a war". The mum who stood up to terror
FORD announces the closure of its Australian manufacturing plants by October 2016, a move that will cost 1200 jobs.
CLOSURE of Ford's motor manufacturing in Australia will be a severe blow to this state.
WATCH IT HERE: Local producers and a soundtrack by Australian musician Nick Cave feature in a spectacular new TV commercial promoting the Barossa Valley. | <urn:uuid:9650bc98-a31d-4864-bea6-c24cfd7bcdb9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/nuclear-debate-to-continue-martin-ferguson/story-e6frea6u-1226516942215 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962768 | 504 | 1.84375 | 2 |
As fall starts putting a bit of a chill in the air again, it’s time to start thinking of things to do around the house to get ready. If you burn wood in a fireplace or a wood stove, whether it’s your primary source of heat or just for an occasional pleasant evening fire, one thing you can be sure of is that your chimney’s going to get dirty. It’s simply an inescapable fact of life that chimneys and soot go hand in hand, and that combination can equal some serious, life-threatening danger if you don’t take care of it.
As wood burns, not all of it is consumed, and what isn’t consumed goes up your fireplace chimney or wood stove flue pipe in the form of creosote and soot. Creosote is a thick, oily material that results from the distillation of wood smoke, which solidifies as it cools. Soot is basically particles of partially burnt material that builds up in chimneys, metal flue pipes, and flue caps.
Over time, the soot and solidified creosote build up and clog the interior of the chimney or flue pipe. When the temperatures in the flue get high enough, which they can easily do when a fire is burning in the fireplace, the creosote will ignite. The result is a flue fire, which can destroy your entire home!
The only way to get rid of the soot and creosote is through regular cleaning. Chimney cleaning — or sweeping as it’s more properly known — is a matter of physically brushing the inside of the chimney to dislodge the built-up material.
Chimney sweeping can be physically tiring and even dangerous. Tall chimneys, long ladders, steep roofs, and icy conditions can make for a hazardous combination. If your chimney needs cleaning but undertaking the work is not your idea of a fun weekend, consider hiring it out to a chimney sweep.
Chimney sweeping is an honored profession that goes back centuries — in fact, some legends suggest that chimney sweeps bring good luck. Today’s chimney sweeps are licensed, bonded and insured — something you want to be sure and check on before hiring them. They have the proper tools for the job, and are also experienced enough to detect potential chimney and flue problems and bring them to your attention before they result in a house fire.
Typically, chimney sweeps will begin with a physical inspection of your fireplace or wood stove, the chimney or flue pipe, the spark arrestor, and any other components of the system. If they see any problems, they’ll typically make specific suggestions for repair, or they may recommend masons, wood stove technicians, or other professionals who can assist you with any necessary repairs.
Next, they’ll cover the interior portion of the fireplace with plastic as necessary to contain any soot and dust that’s created during the cleaning process. Then they’ll head up onto the roof and, using a combination of long poles, brushes and scrapers, proceed to thoroughly brush and clean the insides of the chimney, causing the hardened material to break off and fall to the bottom. The final step is to clean out the inside of the fireplace, then vacuum up any dust.
Do-it-yourself chimney sweeping
Armed with the proper tools, chimney sweeping is well within the capabilities of most do-it-yourselfers. You’ll need one or more chimney brushes of the proper size, as well as poles or ropes to work the brushes through the chimney. You can get what you need at most fireplace and woodstove dealers, home centers, hardware stores, and some other retailers.
It’s important to use some common sense here. Use a sturdy ladder of the appropriate size for the job. Set it up correctly and don’t overextend yourself — it takes only one slip to result in disaster. Wear appropriate clothing and slip-resistant footwear.
Finally, when cleaning out the fireplace be sure and place the ashes in an airtight container. Even ashes you think are cool can still retain a remarkable amount of heat, and can burn right through paper bags, plastic garbage cans, cardboard boxes, and other unsuitable containers.
How often to clean
If you have the bad habit of damping the fire down and depriving it of oxygen so that it will burn longer, the result is a lot more smoke. That’s not only harmful to the environment, but it also produces a far greater amount of partially burnt solids. These solids will build up rapidly, so the chimney will get dirty much more quickly, and should be cleaned on yearly basis. On the other hand, hotter fires that burn the wood more efficiently also help clean the chimney, and can probably be cleaned less often, but you’ll need to rely on a visual inspection to be sure.
Remodeling and repair questions? Email Paul at firstname.lastname@example.org. All product reviews are based on the author’s actual testing of free review samples provided by the manufacturers.
|Contact Paul Bianchina:|
|Letter to the Editor| | <urn:uuid:79b58cff-ca77-49fd-aaf6-0af2c1f4ae27> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.inman.com/2012/09/14/if-you-have-a-chimney-it-needs-be-swept/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903768 | 1,100 | 2.515625 | 3 |
The start of 2012 brings with it a new year of skywatching, and lunar enthusiasts are gearing up for a stunning lineup of full moons. But, where does the tradition of full moon names come from?
Full moon names date back to Native Americans of a few hundred years ago, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. To keep track of the changing seasons, these tribes gave distinctive names to each recurring full moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred.
There were some variations in the moon names, but in general, the same ones were used throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England, continuing west to Lake Superior. | <urn:uuid:80ee97fb-9379-45b5-ad24-5212831c25bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ossining.patch.com/groups/joe-raos-blog/p/bp--joe-raos-how-2012s-full-moons-got-their-strange-names | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964201 | 135 | 3.890625 | 4 |
A watchdog panel says it's still unclear whether U.S. taxpayers will ever fully recoup the $182 billion they plowed into American International Group Inc., and the government should have used up all its options before bailing out the crippled insurance titan.
The government could have acted sooner and more aggressively to engineer a privately funded rescue of AIG in September 2008, the Congressional Oversight Panel says in a new report released Thursday.
The bailout had a "poisonous" effect, the report says, because now the markets believe the government will commit taxpayer money to prevent the collapse of big financial institutions and to repay their trading partners.
AIG executives and the Treasury Department have given "optimistic" assessments of the company's value, the report says, noting that the Congressional Budget Office estimates that taxpayers will lose $36 billion. A large part of the money needed to repay the government will come from the sale of assets.
"The uncertainty lies in whether AIG's remaining business units will generate sufficient new business to create the necessary shareholder value to repay taxpayers in full," the report says.
The oversight panel was created by Congress to oversee the Treasury Department's $700 billion financial bailout program that came in at the height of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008. AIG was the largest of the government rescues.
"We want a profit" on taxpayers' behalf, panel chair Elizabeth Warren said in a conference call with reporters on Wednesday. "We are holding Treasury's feet to the fire."
Responding to the report's criticisms, Treasury spokesman Andrew Williams said, "In retrospect, it is easy to speculate about how things might have been done differently had there been more time."
The alternative options for saving AIG suggested by the report "overlook the basic fact that the global economy was on the brink of collapse and there were only hours in which to make critical decisions," Williams said. "At that perilous moment, we took the actions that were most likely to protect American families and businesses from a catastrophic failure of another financial firm and an accelerating panic."
As for Treasury and the Federal Reserve securing a privately funded rescue, Williams said AIG and the New York Fed had reached out to the private sector but couldn't find any companies willing to lend it the tens of billions needed to avoid bankruptcy.
The Federal Reserve also said it disagreed with the view that there were better alternatives at the time.
"It is clear that the nation urgently needs a regulatory framework and resolution regime that would give policy-makers much better tools for dealing with such situations in the future," the Fed said in a statement.
After the subprime mortgage bubble burst in 2007, the instruments called credit default swaps — that insured against default of the securities tied to the mortgages — collapsed. That brought the downfall of Wall Street banking house Lehman Brothers and pushed AIG to the brink. New York-based AIG got the initial $85 billion infusion from the government on Sept. 16, 2008.
The aid to AIG ultimately mounted to $182 billion. Much of the rescue money went to meet the company's obligations to its Wall Street trading partners on credit default swaps.
The bailout "distorted the marketplace by transforming highly risky ... bets into fully guaranteed payment obligations," the report says.
Some of the biggest beneficiaries of the AIG rescue money also received federal bailout infusions themselves: Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which got $12.9 billion in AIG money; Bank of America Corp., $5.2 billion; Merrill Lynch, $6.8 billion; and Citigroup Inc., $2.3 billion. Other big beneficiaries included French banks Societe Generale, $11.9 billion, and BNP Paribas, $4.9 billion; Germany's Deutsche Bank, $11.8 billion; and Britain's Barclays, $7.9 billion, and HSBC, $3.5 billion.
"U.S. taxpayers were called on to bear the full cost of the rescue, including repayment of some of the most sophisticated companies in the world," Warren said.
If the New York Fed had tried to force concessions from AIG's trading partners, that could have brought a further downgrade of the insurer's credit ratings — a negative development the government was aiming to avoid, Treasury's Williams said in his response. A downgrade of AIG's ratings could have stoked its collapse and endangered the government's efforts to restore confidence in the financial system, costing taxpayers much more in the long run, he said.
At the time of the bailout, the New York Fed was led by Timothy Geithner, now the Treasury secretary.
After the recent collapse of an AIG deal to sell off a subsidiary, Geithner said the company has other options for repaying the bailout money. British company Prudential PLC backed out of a deal to buy AIG's American International Assurance, after Prudential shareholders balked at the $35.5 billion price. AIG refused to accept less.
Private analysts questioned whether AIG did the right thing. But Geithner praised the company's decision, saying AIG "is now free to pursue a bunch of other options to help maximize the return, reduce any risk of loss to the taxpayer."
Geithner didn't address how much taxpayers may ultimately recoup.
© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:4af1c117-a345-4c89-88a1-2bb85f39e9e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsmax.com/US/US-AIG-Bailout/2010/06/10/id/361584 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961381 | 1,110 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Bipolar blogger Natasha Tracy offers exclusive insight into the world of bipolar disorder.See all posts »
Hitting Bottom with a Mental Illness
"Hitting bottom" is different for everyone, but sometimes it's a necessary step to getting better. Learn more about how to help someone with a mental illness when they find where the bottom is.
It is said that addicts have to “hit bottom” before they are ready to get treatment for their addiction. Things have to be as bad as they can possibly be before a person is willing to do the work to turn their life around. “Bottom” might be when a person loses their family, job, or home to an addiction. Or it might be waking up in the intensive care unit after almost having died the night before.
“Bottom” is different for everyone.
What I think is clear though is that those with a mental illness like bipolar disorder also often have to hit bottom before they agree to get help. Nothing else, it seems, motivates people to do the seemingly impossible work of getting treatment.
What Makes People Get Help for a Mental Illness?
Recently I threw this question out to my audience and the answers were somewhat surprising. The primary response was that something had happened to the person with the mental illness to cause them to seek treatment. There was nothing that people said, or people did, but it was actually an event that forced the person with the mental illness to see the need for treatment. People talked about having breakdowns, losing jobs, having to drop out of school, unreasonable spending sprees, and more. It was these dramatic moments that lead to the “ah-ha” in the person’s mind that they had to get help for their mental illness.
Can Others Help Turn the Light On?
But, in some cases, others were instrumental in suggesting help for the person with the mental illness. Most often the advice was not taken, but sometimes—sometimes—the advice to get help was exactly what the person needed to hear exactly when they needed to hear it.
Can Others Help Turn the Light Off?
Of course, on the other hand, people could also make a person less likely to seek treatment. People, unfortunately, could stigmatize the person with the mental illness, treat them poorly, or approach them in ways that just didn’t work. People around the person with the mental illness could cause more harm than good.
Here are some real things that people with a mental illness were told that did not help:
- It’s not in my job description to help you with those kinds of problems.
- Look, I can see you’re not yourself. Why don’t you get some help?
- That’s a dramatic story.
- You’re just not the same person. I try but it’s all too hard for me. Please get some help.
- Oh, hallucinations, cool.
Helping Others Get Mental Illness Treatment before Hitting Bottom
The goal for any loved one of a mentally ill person is to help them receive treatment before that inevitable “bottom.” No one wants to watch while their loved one loses his or her job, family, home, or even worse. So if you want to help a person with a mental illness, here are some of the things that others reported helped for them:
- Discretely offering a note that outlined personal experience with psychiatry and ways to get help
- An employer insisting their employee use the employee assistance plan at work
- Suggesting a person seek counselling for a physical symptom
- A wife insisted on her husband getting help or she would leave him
- A friend ensured the person with a mental illness got in to see a psychiatrist she trusted
Stopping Your Loved One from Hitting Bottom
The important thing to remember is that different things work, or don’t work, for different people and the fact is you might not be able to convince your loved one to get help. Sometimes it does take hitting bottom for a person to be able to accept that they need the help of a medical professional.
But when you do talk to a person that needs help, remember:
- Do not stigmatize the illness—recognize it is a health problem like any other.
- Tell the person that you care for them and always will. Do not treat them like they are “sick” or “different.”
- Offer useful, concrete suggestions of how to get help.
- Take the first step with the person by offering to make the appointment or, better yet, join the person at the appointment.
And if this doesn’t work, it isn’t your fault. Just be there and be ready to help if the person does hit bottom and decide it’s time to climb up.
For more on telling someone they have a mental illness, see here. | <urn:uuid:93134ea7-9fe9-4d7c-a16d-ab892de97153> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/bipolar-bites/hitting-bottom-mental-illness | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972982 | 1,024 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Today the 'two cultures' - art and science - have come to be treated as fundamentally opposed, their aims incompatible. Scientific research is castigated for its inhumane methods & lack of moral responsibility, while art is treated as an enduring source of essential guidance to society's spiritual well-being. Lisa Jardine makes clear in this remarkable book that this is a distinction which is both artificial & historically inaccurate. The intellectual revolution of the 17th & early 18th eighteenth centuries was the single most formative event in Western history, bringing together the humanities & natural sciences in an unprecedented ferment of conceptual & practical creativity. She documents the forces for change which brought the human & natural sciences together & gave them shape. Each of her series of key components - among them, precise time measurement, enhanced astronomical observation, selective animal & plant breeding & technological advances in navigation - lays a crucial part of the foundations for modern thought. INGENIOUS PURSUITS brilliantly illuminates the practice of science, its impact on the emerging modern world & its continuing relevance to society. | <urn:uuid:2152c94e-a4e5-4790-803e-e2f3f8e80866> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ingenious-Pursuits-Building-Scientific-Revolution/dp/034911305X | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938737 | 213 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Summary: How did the popularity of underwear in the twelfth century lead to the invention of the printing press? How did the waterwheel evolve into the computer? How did the arrival of the cannon lead eventually to the development of movies? In this highly acclaimed and bestselling book, James Burke brilliantly examines the ideas, inventions, and coincidences that have culminated in the major technological advances of today. With dazzling insight, he untangles the pattern of intercon ...show morenecting events: the accidents of time, circumstance, and place that gave rise to the major inventions of the world. Says Burke, ''My purpose is to acquaint the reader with some of the forces that have caused change in the past, looking in particular at eight innovations -- the computer, the production line, telecommunications, the airplane, the atomic bomb, plastics, the guided rocket, and television -- which may be most influential in structuring our own futures....Each one of these is part of a family of similar devices, and is the result of a sequence of closely connected events extending from the ancient world until the present day. Each has enormous potential for humankind's benefit -- or destruction.'' Based on a popular TV documentary series, ''Connections'' is a fascinating scientific detective story of the inventions that changed history -- and the surprising links that connect them. ...show lessEdition/Copyright: 07
More prices and sellers below. | <urn:uuid:45ea5bd7-b4ad-4153-9183-6db316fafa74> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.textbooks.com/Connections-07-Edition/9780743299558/James-Burke.php?mppg=4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946208 | 280 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Public Urged To Enroll In AMBER Alert Portal
The Kentucky State Police (KSP) urges the public to take advantage of recent changes in the AMBER Alert emergency notification system that provide for the relay of current information to cell phones, beepers and e-mail, as well as other forms of electronic communication, by way of the AMBER Alert Portal.
The plea for enrollment in the AMBER Alert Portal comes on the heels of a recent AMBER Alert for a Danville child taken by his father and found safe the next day in another county. KSP spokeswoman Maj. Lisa Rudzinski said that public involvement is often the key factor in finding these missing children and returning them safely.
“Even though this most recent incident was resolved with information provided by the mother and by tracing telephone calls, there are many instances in which alert motorists, observant shoppers or passersby remember the details provided in an AMBER Alert and relay that information to law enforcement,” she said. “People are not always in their car with the radio on when an AMBER Alert is issued. This is why the accessibility of emergency information through the AMBER Alert Portal is so important in reaching as many individuals as possible.”
Information provided through the portal includes a description of the alleged abductor, the vehicle and license plate number and a description of the abducted child. The portal also maintains on its Web site a geo-specific map showing an expanding area of interest based on the fastest driving routes from the abduction site.
“The AMBER Alert Portal system allows more people to know what to look for and where,” said KSP Commissioner Mark L. Miller. “The greater the citizen participation, the greater our chances of finding an abducted child.”
Citizens may subscribe to the free alert notifications at www.KentuckyAMBERAlert.com.
-- end -- | <urn:uuid:af44fa34-20b5-4865-81f7-94a046f781d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://techlines.ky.gov/2006/mar/amber_alert.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950341 | 386 | 1.6875 | 2 |
FAQ on new rules for homes in flood zones
What is the biggest change in state requirements for rebuilding homes and businesses substantially damaged by superstorm Sandy?
The state will use new advisory maps issued in December by FEMA as a guideline for issuing DEP permits for reconstruction in flood plains. Those maps expand existing 100-year flood plains — areas where there is a 1 percent chance of flooding in any given year — to include new areas and establish new heights for anticipated flooding. However, the maps are not considered official.
What does that mean for people who are rebuilding their homes and businesses, and how does it differ from existing rules for rebuilding?
National Flood Insurance Program regulations already require homes in 100-year flood plains that suffer substantial damage — 50 percent or more of the appraised value of the structure, not including the land — to have their foundations raised above flood levels or to be demolished. The new rules require some homes and businesses to be raised several feet higher than required by previous regulations because the new advisory maps show higher flood levels.
Who determines whether buildings have been substantially damaged?
Typically, town construction officials make that determination.
What happens if my home suffers substantial damage and I don’t raise its foundation?
State officials said you could end up paying flood insurance premiums that are as high as $31,000 a year, more than four times the $7,000 annual premium for homes built to suggested federal standards. Homeowners building 2 feet above the standard would have an annual premium of $3,500, state officials said.
How will I be able to afford raising the foundation of my home?
Homeowners with flood insurance are eligible to file an Increased Cost of Compliance claim to receive as much as $30,000 to help raise the elevation of homes that have been substantially damaged. However, local construction companies estimate that it would cost $45,000 to $100,000 to raise the foundations of homes.
What areas are affected by the advisory base elevations?
In New Jersey, the advisory maps include areas in Bergen and nine other counties: Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union. They include portions of Moonachie and Little Ferry, which suffered the most severe flooding in North Jersey.
What is the National Flood Insurance Program?
It is a federally regulated flood insurance program overseen by FEMA, with policies provided by private companies.
Who is eligible for flood insurance?
You are eligible for a policy if you live in a municipality that participates in the program. Those municipalities, which are listed on the FEMA website, have adopted ordinances that require residents to comply with federal flood insurance standards when rebuilding after a flood. They include 68 towns in Bergen County and 16 in Passaic County.
Who is required to purchase flood insurance?
Flood insurance is required by law as a condition of receiving a mortgage from a federally regulated or federally insured lender.
What happens if I obtained a municipal permit to rebuild my house after Sandy and have not raised my foundation to heights shown in the new advisory maps? Do I have to cease work and rebuild to new standards?
You would be grandfathered as long as you obtained the rebuilding permit before Governor Christie adopted the advisory FEMA maps on Thursday, state officials said.
Sources: FEMA, state of New Jersey | <urn:uuid:eeaa05de-1a38-47e4-8bab-2972ca81299e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.northjersey.com/news/188465291_FAQ_on_shore_rebuilding_new_rules_NJ_raise.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962886 | 680 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Police Arrest Researcher Who Showed E-Voting Machines Are Not Secure
from the this-is-concerning dept
A few months back, a research report came out noting that e-voting machines in India were not secure. I had seen it at the time, but considering how many stories we've seen of e-voting machines with security problems, I let it pass and didn't write it up. However, the story has just taken a distressing turn. One of the researchers, Hari Prasad, who had obtained the e-voting machine from an anonymous source in the first place, has been arrested and taken into custody because he will not reveal who gave him the machine:
The initial post, written by Halderman, also gives plenty of background on the machines. The Indian government has refused to let researcher review the machine, and insists that it's tamper-proof. Even after the initial report came out proving this not to be the case, the government has continued to insist the machines are fine and have no problems. Here in the US, it's quite troubling how much the government has relied on e-voting machines without allowing security researchers to really test them, but at least they don't arrest those who have been able to access and test the machines. This is a hugely troubling move by the Indian government, and hopefully getting more attention on such a questionable arrest will make the Indian government regret this decision -- and open up the machines for real security testing.
The police did not state a specific charge at the time of the arrest, but it appears to be a politically motivated attempt to uncover our anonymous source. The arresting officers told Hari that they were under "pressure [from] the top," and that he would be left alone if he would reveal the source's identity.Prasad was taken from his home and driven to Mumbai, a 14-hour journey, where he is to be interrogated. Alex Halderman, who has done lots of research on e-voting machines over the years, and worked with Prasad on the research on the Indian e-voting machine was able to speak to him while he was being driven to Mumbai. Prasad worries that his arrest will create serious chilling effects on other security researchers, and plans to stand up to authorities to hopefully prevent such chilling effects from occurring. You can listen to excerpts from the call in the following YouTube video: | <urn:uuid:5c432365-86b4-4773-a9d4-2024a9be8ac1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100822/22043110719.shtml?threaded=true&sp=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980462 | 497 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The Forest of Fontainebleau ~ Painters Photographers from Corot to Monet
Painting in nature, rather than in the studio
HOUSTON, TX.- Inspired by the possibilities of painting in nature, rather than in the studio, artists traveled to the rugged Forest of Fontainebleau near Paris from the early 1820s to the mid-1870s forging innovations in art that would resonate for generations to follow. There, among the rural villages and the vast and varied wilderness, they laid the groundwork for Impressionism, influenced the development of landscape photography, and raised early advocacy for nature conservancy. In the Forest of Fontainebleau: Painters and Photographers from Corot to Monet at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The exhibition of 96 works will be on view through October 19.
Organized by the National Gallery of Art in association with the MFAH, the show is the first U.S. exhibition to trace the dual evolution of landscape painting and photography at Fontainebleau. It features multiple works by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and Claude Monet, the artists who represent the ends of the experimental spectrum at Fontainebleau, and also highlights works by Jean-François Millet and Théodore Rousseau, who were among the most diligent students of the forest and eventually made it their permanent home. Other featured artists include Frédéric Bazille, Narcisse Diaz de la Peña, Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley. Among the nine photographers represented are such pioneers of the field as Gustave Le Gray, Eugène Cuvelier, and Charles Famin.
“In the Forest of Fontainebleau celebrates a crucial, fertile period in art history,” said Aurisch. “Although the Impressionists are often credited with the innovation of painting outdoors directly in front of the motif, this exhibition wants to set the record straight by documenting the achievements of the earlier group of painters, who passed on their hard-earned experience to the young painters of Monet´s generation.”
The Forest of Fontainebleau is located about 35 miles southeast of Paris. At about 50,000 acres, it is not only France´s largest forest, but its most topographically diverse with dramatic stands of centuries-old oak trees, rocky plateaus and gorges, and desolate, arid spaces. Corot was among the first artists to begin making regular visits to the forest in the early 1820s. Others soon joined him in experimenting with open-air painting and the challenge of capturing light, shadow, weather, and seasons in this “natural studio.” Those years quietly marked the beginning of a revolution in landscape painting in France that would spread throughout Europe and the United States.
By the 1830s, an informal artists´ colony was established in Barbizon, one of several villages situated along the perimeter of the forest, favored because it had the best accommodations. The artists who stayed at the inns there and embraced plein-air painting gave rise to the art movement known as the Barbizon School. Among the other villages first frequented by artists were Chailly and Marlotte. All offered easy access into the forest, but most artists didn´t venture too far into the wilderness because of the supplies they had to transport on their backs: typically, an umbrella, a folding easel, stool, paint boxes, and a canvas.
Photographers began making pilgrimages to Fontainebleau in the 1840s when the introduction of the paper negative process made it possible to travel without heavy equipment. They were working side-by-side with painters as early as 1849, contributing to the camaraderie and exchange of ideas. During this period, France surpassed Italy as the pre-eminent center for plein-air painting because of the activity at Fontainebleau, and landscape photography became an art.
The forest´s attraction for artists began to decline in the 1870s, but the artists working there then were already carrying out the experiments in painting outdoors that would lead to another revolution in art: Impressionism.
The exhibition will be installed in sections, each devoted to an aspect of the forest and its role in the development of naturalistic landscape painting and landscape photography: Discovery of the Forest; Trees and Rocks; Nature and Observation; Fontainebleau on a Grand Scale; and Village Life. More than 56 private and institutional lenders contributed works to the show, including the MFAH. The museum´s Great Oaks of the Vieux Bas-Bréau (1864) by Rousseau, Gustave Courbet´s Gust of Wind (1865), and two photographs by Le Gray, Tree, Forest of Fontainebleau (c. 1856) and Le Pavé de Chailly (1852) are among the highlights.
•Discovery of the Forest
Corot had been to the forest before his 1825 trip to Italy where he practiced painting outdoors. He returned to France with a new appreciation for the wonders of the forest and continued to work there for five decades. The exhibition includes seven paintings by Corot ranging from 1822´s Study of a Tree Trunk in the Forest of Fontainebleau to 1872´s Woodcutters in a Forest Valley. Le Gray was among the first photographers to visit the forest, creating salted paper prints from paper negatives in the fall of 1849. The exhibition also includes seven works by Le Gray that demonstrate his painterly achievement in capturing the light, textures, and atmosphere of the forest.
•Nature and Observation
Artists who made regular trips to forest, and those who lived there, like Rousseau, were obsessed with capturing its many moods exposed in different seasons, in different weather, at different times of the day. Examples include Rousseau´s red-toned Sunset over the Sands of Jean de Paris (1864), De la Peña´s foreboding The Storm (1871), and Cuvelier´s Pathway in the Forest of Fontainebleau in the Snow (early 1860s).
•Fontainebleau on a Grand Scale
Because artists had to carry their supplies into the forest, they often worked on portable-size canvases. However, the forest also served as an inspiration for large-scale works completed in the studio after studies done outdoors. Courbet´s monumental Gust of Wind is one example. At more than seven-feet-wide, the painting is a fantasy scene combining elements from several sketches the artist made in the forest.
Visit : the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston at : www.mfah.org
Source: artknowledge news
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No related posts. | <urn:uuid:36cd3c12-0487-4333-aabc-cc0c9ddbc980> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://artnews.conteart.com/art_museums/the-forest-of-fontainebleau-painters-photographers-from-corot-to-monet/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950199 | 1,469 | 2.9375 | 3 |
A Way Out
Javier Gonzalez, left,
It was a hot October day, and for those taking a 10-minute walk across the campus of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC), a sweaty one, making the shade under a gazebo in front of the college's new apartment complex a welcoming site.
Javier Gonzalez, a college program director, was already there, looking crisp and unruffled in a pressed white shirt with a neatly knotted tie. When a sudden and cooling breeze swept under the gazebo, Gonzalez raised his head slightly, like an animal searching the wind for a scent. He was, he later admitted, remembering a time when such a shade and such a breeze would have seemed gifts from heaven. "There is no shade in the fields," Gonzalez says. "And the only relief you can get in the middle of a row is such a wind, and that is something to savor."
Today, simple pleasures have profound meanings for Gonzalez, whose childhood and teen years were spent as a migrant worker. The hot sun and still air were powerful motivators for a child of the migrant life.
"I went into the fields when I was 8," Gonzalez says. "And when I was working the fields I always knew there was something better and that education was the key to finding it," he says. "When I saw the opportunity to do something about it, I took it."
Gonzalez, a ninth-grade dropout, gladly took the help and encouragement from teachers and social workers to find his way out of the fields into school and a GED certificate on his way to a bachelor of arts degree from Georgia Southern University. Gonzalez works now in an air conditioned office as the director of two programs that seek to set child migrant laborers and the children of migrant families on an educational path that will take them from the fields to a better life.
The federally funded efforts ($750,000 combined in 2006), called the High School Equivalency Program (HEP) and the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), have benefited some 400 young people from migrant families over the last five years; many of them attended ABAC.
While HEP, CAMP and ABAC success stories are plentiful, the fields are becoming crowded with recruiters for similar programs. "The competition for landing Hispanic students from migrant families is fierce," Gonzalez says. "The brightest students are recruited by larger colleges. We take students that have the potential but need the extra support. The goal is to get them out of the fields, educate them, and in the end give them opportunities they otherwise could have never dreamed of. Another goal is to inculcate them with the American culture." | <urn:uuid:033a87d9-67d9-4b8c-a4cd-71cc697e5801> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.georgiatrend.com/January-2007/A-Way-Out/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979318 | 553 | 1.90625 | 2 |
The globalization of the legal market (driven in large part by increased prominence of financial hubs outside the U.S.) is starting to have a serious impact on the demand for lawyers and legal education. Multi-lingual lawyers have long had an obvious advantage for top jobs at global firms – a Cantonese-speaking attorney is a major asset for firms that do a lot of business, or have offices, in Hong Kong. Demand for foreign language skills, however, has expanded beyond the top tier of jobs. The Wall Street Journal reports this week that law firms are increasingly seeking temporary attorneys fluent in foreign languages:
The rise of the global economy—and the tilt toward Asia—has increased demand for lawyers who are fluent in Asian languages or who can help translate on deals or disputes in emerging economies, such as Brazil or India, said Belina Anderson, a commercial litigator whose practice includes French comparative law and legal translations.
But even the biggest law firms typically can’t afford to retain an army of bilingual lawyers just in case litigation pops up in one country or another.
So they often turn to staffing agencies. Fluent temp attorneys and document reviewers can help winnow down mounds of foreign-language material during trial preparation, flagging the relevant files for the firm’s senior litigators.
Multi-lingual contract attorneys are highly sought not only for their language skills, but for their price. As Michael Reichwald (president of legal staffing agency Yorkson Legal) notes, “For legal matters, translators and attorneys with foreign-language skills are probably in the same price range – you get more bang for your buck.”
The development may be good news for law firms and their clients, who are increasingly engaged in cross-border transactions and transnational litigation and are looking for cost-effective ways to address those needs. The contract lawyers, however, are less fortunate. In the boom years of the early aughts, these attorneys’ language skills might have helped them land high-paying, permanent positions within law firms and legal departments. Now, with the market for lawyers flooded with highly qualified candidates, those same assets simply enable them to obtain short-term document review jobs.
The market could potentially become even more competitive if the American Bar Association votes in favor of offering ABA accreditation to foreign law schools, such as Peking University School of Transnational Law. According to the National Law Journal, the vote, which has been twice delayed amid controversy, comes up again on August 3rd, at the ABA’s annual meeting. Opponents include students and recent graduates of U.S. law schools, who fear that accrediting foreign schools will only make an already difficult market more challenging. Opponents also contend that foreign accreditation raises oversight issues while drawing attention away from legal education in the U.S.
For its part, Peking University (which was founded in 2007 by former University of Michigan Law School dean Jeffrey Lehman) dismisses these concerns, and contends that accreditation of foreign law schools would help to export the American style of legal education to the rest of the world.
Posted by Emily Fisher | <urn:uuid:ba43fd87-033f-4432-a923-961deacfa596> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hildebrandtblog.com/2012/08/02/the-globalization-of-law-trickles-down/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961113 | 643 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Mayyim Hayyim, a progressive community mikveh, opens
May 14, 2004
Mayyim Hayyim, a community mikveh [ritual bath] and education center in Newton, Massachusetts, opened its doors on May 14, 2004. The opening was the culmination of over three years of work by a committed group of Boston-area women led by author Anita Diamant. Mayyim Hayyim, whose name means "living waters," adopted the following mission statement: "To reclaim and reinvent one of our most ancient Jewish rituals – immersion in the mikveh – for contemporary spiritual uses and to make this new, sacred space open and accessible to all Jews in the Greater Boston area."
In opening the community mikveh, the Mayyim Hayyim founders joined a growing movement among non-Orthodox American Jews to reclaim the mikveh for new uses. Traditionally, married women are required to immerse in the mikveh after each menstrual period, while men may immerse each week in preparation for Shabbat and also before holidays. Immersion also forms a central part of the conversion ceremony. The mikveh ritual was long rejected by feminist Jews because of its association with the laws of family purity (taharat hamishpacha), which suggest that a menstruating woman is "unclean." However, in the 1990s, women began to find new meanings and uses for mikveh, creating rituals for healing after divorce, rape, or abuse; to mark milestones such as major birthdays and graduations; and to mark the end of difficult events or stages such as chemotherapy, miscarriage, or bereavement.
Mayyim Hayyim was designed to be used for these newer rituals as well as for traditional monthly and weekly immersions. Constructed to meet traditional standards of halacha (Jewish law), it was also designed to be, in Diamant's words, "a mikveh that is beautiful in design and decoration, a welcoming and inviting place." It is also meant to be accessible to individuals with disabilities, with one of the two immersion pools featuring a wheelchair lift. Although other mikvaot (plural of mikveh) exist in the Boston area, Mayyim Hayyim is the first that is not connected to an Orthodox authority; for this reason, it is more accessible to women who may not feel comfortable using – or may not be able to gain access to – an Orthodox-affiliated mikveh for a non-traditional purpose.
In addition to reclaiming and reinventing the mikveh, Mayyim Hayyim seeks to fulfill its mission through a variety of educational programs. By January of 2004, before the building even opened, Mayyim Hayyim estimated that its education programs had reached about 1,000 people. Since the opening of its building, the organization has sponsored art exhibits and public programs to engage the community. To mark its first anniversary, the group staged a performance of "Mikveh Monologues," modeled after Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues," and featuring the stories of mikveh users. The script was written by Diamant and Janet Buchwald. Diamant noted in an interview that despite the seemingly narrow focus of the topic, "all religious rituals use water as a metaphor for change and transformation and purification...there's a potential for universal appeal." "Mikveh Monologues II," presented in March 2006, raised $200,000 for Mayyim Hayyim.
Sources: www.mayyimhayyim.org; The Forward, March 11, 2005; Jewish Telegraphic Agency, December 25, 2001; The Jewish Advocate, January 29, 2004. | <urn:uuid:24b80d05-1b4e-42d9-86aa-5bd7b58150e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jwa.org/thisweek/may/14/2004/mayyim-hayyim | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964614 | 771 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Steamed Shrimp Dumplings part one
My hometown of Changshu is a famous water town near Suzhou, crisscrossed by branching streams and little bridges; everyone lives by the water. As a young lad, after school I would go with my pals to river banks, ponds, streams and brooks, where we would jump in the water and catch fish.
Shrimps are crustaceans with tender sweet flesh beneath their carapace. Nutrition analysis shows that flesh shrimps contain 20.6 grams of protein and only 0.7 grams of fat per 100 grams. It is a top delicacy among foods popular with young people. Freshwater shrimps living in rivers and lakes are big and white, whilst those in brooks and ponds are small and grey. Shrimps from brooks and streams have a thick shell and a rank smell, but the thinshell ones living in ponds have plump and tender meat. Many shrimp dishes from ancient times have been passed down to the present generation. As everyone knows, "shrimp custard" was a favorite of the Empress Dowager Cixi in her late years. The Qing Dynasty book on on cookery Record of Flavoring the Pot observes, "Fried shrimp sections are made by rolling a piece of bean curd around mashed shrimp and ham and then frying the rolls. They are gourmet food." "Quick-stirred gill fungus with shrimps" entails first steaming the shrimp balls inside the mushrooms until cooked through and finishing off by a quick-stir with bamboo shoots. Thus the three delicacies -- shrimps, mushrooms and bamboo shoots -- are cooked together. These dishes are no longer rare; but in their day they
were the talk of the capital.
I have long heard of the foods in Guangzhou and every time I went there I would make a point of going to a noodle restaurant to have "soup noodles with flesh shrimp dumplings," a cheap and delicious dish. It is not only good but cheap too. Shrimp dumplings and noodles are local snacks characteristic of the south and the north respectively; in Guangdong Province however the two are combined. A stock is made | <urn:uuid:e08a8622-693a-4188-899b-2322437dcb83> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.orientaldiscovery.com/14/html/2009101204412992-5243.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963249 | 452 | 2.015625 | 2 |
It’s over the phrase “fundamentalist atheist.” And the irony is that I’m taking the exact opposite of the position I usually take about language. Normally, I fall very far on the descriptivist side of the descriptivist/prescriptivist spectrum. I tend to think that language changes; that language should change; that words mean what people understand them to mean; and that arguing “X doesn’t mean Y, it really means Z” is like arguing that the tides shouldn’t change or species shouldn’t evolve.
But in this case, I’m arguing the other side. Very uncharacteristically for me, I’m arguing that the word “fundamentalism” means something quite specific; that this original meaning is useful; and by gum, that’s how people should use it.
And since it’s a question that’s come up in this blog, I thought I’d gas on about it here.
Yes, I’m normally a descriptivist, or a usagist. But there are changes in language that I’ll argue against — not because I resist the general idea of the language changing, but because I have a specific objection to a specific change. The best example is the changing meaning of “literally” to mean “very.” My problem isn’t that “literally” doesn’t really mean “very.” My problem is that the original meaning of “literally” is extremely useful⊠and we don’t have another word to replace it.
And I feel the same way about the word “fundamentalist.”
“Fundamentalist” has a pretty specific meaning, and I think it’s a useful one. Let’s take a look at the dictionary, and see what it is. According to Merriam Webster Online, fundamentalism is:
1 a (often capitalized): a movement in 20th century Protestantism emphasizing the literally interpreted Bible as fundamental to Christian life and teaching b: the beliefs of this movement c: adherence to such beliefs
2: a movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles
It’s this second meaning that I assume people are getting at when they talk about “fundamentalist atheists.”
And in my experience, it’s flat-out not true.
I have never known — or read — any atheist who has strictly and literally adhered to a set of basic atheist principles. Heck, one of the whole points of atheism is that there is no set of basic principles — no Bible, no Koran, no Book of Mormon — to which one could strictly and literally adhere. One of the whole points of atheism (and the passionate respect for science that typically comes with atheism) is that beliefs about the world should be adaptable, and taken in context, and open to question.
There are atheists who are intolerant. There are atheists who are pig-headed. There are atheists who are contemptuous of people who don’t agree with them. There are atheists who are, in a word, assholes. Not as many as people sometimes think — as I’ve written before, atheists get called intolerant and contemptuous of religion for saying things like “I don’t agree with you,” “I think you’re mistaken,” or “What evidence do you have to support that?” — but there are some.
But I have known not a single atheist who believed in a set of basic atheist principles to which they felt they should strictly and literally adhere. And I mean none. Literally zero.
So why does this “fundamentalist atheist” thing bug me so much?
Because I think it’s unjust. It’s part of the larger picture of myths, misunderstandings, and deliberate misrepresentations of atheists in our culture. It bugs me for the same reason that comments like “oh, science is just your religion” bug me — it shows a basic misunderstanding of both fundamentalism and atheism, in the same way that “science is your religion” shows a basic misunderstanding of both religion and science.
Here’s an analogy I drew over in the debate on Julia Sweeney’s forum:
What if I were to go around talking about, say, “religious Nazis” or “Christian Nazis.” (Sorry to use the N-word — I generally try to avoid it in online discussions, but I can’t think of another that means what I’m trying to get at.) You would probably respond — and rightly so — that the word “Nazi” means something very specific, and that however terrible the beliefs and actions of intolerant religious believers are, the word “Nazi” does not even come close to accurately describing them.
And if I replied, “Well, that’s just how I define ‘Nazi,’” you’d probably get very angry. You’d probably reply something like, “You can’t just make up your own meaning of a word — especially such an emotionally loaded word.” And again, you’d be right to do so.
That’s how I feel (although obviously not on the same level) about the phrase “fundamentalist atheists.” It’s not that it says something about atheists that’s critical. It’s that it says something about atheists that’s completely untrue and unjust.
Okay. Regular readers of my blog may be getting puzzled right about now by how adamant I am on this topic⊠given my previous rants on both sexual identity and the atheist/agnostic debates, and why it’s so important to let people use whatever language they like (within reason) to define themselves.
But there’s a difference — and it lies in the word “themselves.” There is a HUGE difference between mutating the language to define yourself⊠and mutating it to define other people. The former is about identity, and thus about freedom; the latter is about labeling, and thus not so much about the freedom.
Now, if you want to argue that the colloquial meaning of “fundamentalist” is changing — that it no longer means “strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles,” that it now means something like “intolerant, rigid, pig-headed jerk” — well, that’s an argument that may be worth making. It’s an argument I’ve made many times myself, about other words. (Although interestingly, that’s a far more pejorative definition than the “strict and literal adherence” oneâŠ)
The problem is that the “strict and literal adherence” definition is an extremely useful one — and we don’t have another word with that meaning.
And until we do, the word “fundamentalist” will, at the very least, carry both colloquial meanings — the “strict and literal adherence” meaning, and the “intolerant jerk” meaning. And while the latter certainly does describe some atheists, the former really and truly doesn’t. | <urn:uuid:4f8953e0-3f18-49bf-9863-d53767beadd8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freethoughtblogs.com/greta/2007/03/12/fundamentalist_/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94623 | 1,571 | 1.554688 | 2 |
We’ve been hacked!
Now, since TED is all about innovation, I assumed this was a (not so) clever marketing attempt at using the “other” definition of hacker, so I read on.
No, no. They were hacked.
As you know, Feb 4th was centered around Disruptive Ideas, and as poetic justice would have it, our success means we have been unfortunately pranked by a Disruptive force. Someone or someones surreptitiously gained access to our registered database and has sent out an invitation to join a site called biapplepulse.com.
[youtube_sc url="AcvDgZI91SU" title="YouTube%20Video%20Player" modestbranding="1" hd="1"]
Ok, so it’s not incompetence anymore, but poetic justice; hacking is now being pranked, and criminals are just a Disruptive force?
As much as I hate the corporate “come to Jesus”-style notifications, they usually have quite a bit less BS than this. When a company is hacked, and data lost, I expect a number of things:
- I want to know what was lost, specifically. Was it just my name and e-mail address? A hashed password? If so, how was it hashed? Where was the salt stored? How many records were lost?
- What was the root cause? Was a system not patched? Did an administrator use a password of password1? Did the founder just give the list to their buddy?
- Who was responsible? Was this an organized campaign by a foreign nation? Some jerk running metasploit and selling the information to others?
- What is being done to make sure this never happens again? Saying things like “we’re strengthening our security measures… (blah blah blah)” is not sufficient. If you had taken security seriously before, you would have had those strengthened security measures set up in the first place. Oh, so NOW you realize that security is important. As a customer, I want to know specifically what is being done. No generalities anymore.
As an organization that customers put their trust in with their personal information, the data breach exposes the fact that you are in fact not trustworthy, and the onus on you to earn back that trust. The points above are a good start, but in general, you need to be honest and transparent when you alert your customers as soon as possible. If your lawyers are telling you to delay notification or hide facts from the public, it’s time to get new lawyers.
After the Zappos breach in January 2012, I sent a letter to the company asking for clarification on their existing security practices and the nature of the data lost:
First, the Zappos website states that “[you] also encrypt payment information traveling within our company as well. All payment information is encrypted while in storage within a network that is firewalled off from the rest of the company and the internet.”. I don’t understand how the last four digits of my credit card number (clearly, “payment information”) could have been disclosed if they were encrypted, unless the cryptographic keys were also disclosed.
Second, the notification e-mail mentions that my password is “cryptographically scrambled”. As I’m sure you know, there is a world of difference between weak and strong methods of cryptographic hashing. Which method of hashing was used, and was a per-user and/or static salt used to further protect the passwords? This is important because many users re-use passwords between sites, and users need to know whether they need to change their passwords on all sites or not.
Third, your website also mentions in a few areas that you use the Trustwave Trusted Commerce Seal as an “assurance that [you] use industry standard measures to secure [my] personal information”. The image is from 2007 and I cannot find any active links showing current Trustwave certification. Did Zappos have current certification from Trustwave at the time of the breach?
Finally, and probably the most important. Has Zappos undergone regular, external penetration tests on your critical systems? Were the systems breached included in these security assessments? Was the root cause of the breach a zero-day / APT-style attack, out of date patches, insider attack, lack of policy, or something else? Your customers need to understand if Zappos is trustworthy enough to continue doing business with, and prompt disclosure if a good first step, the devil is in the details, and the world is watching. I would be happy to discuss these matters under NDA, though for the benefit of your users, I would hope that you would consider public disclosure in the best interests of the company.
I received the following, totally unhelpful response.
Thank you for contacting the Zappos.com Customer Loyalty Team.
We are currently cooperating with the FBI in an ongoing investigation, including undergoing digital forensics. We sincerely apologize that we have been unable to answer your questions.
The email communication that was sent to you by our CEO was also sent to our employees. Here at Zappos, our customers come first, as soon as we are able to provide more information we will let you know.
As always, please remember that Zappos.com will never ask you for personal or account information in an e-mail.
To stay up-to-date on all current information regarding this situation, please see:
The Zappos.com Customer Loyalty Team
Not surprisingly, nothing new has been posted to the link above since January 20th.
Unfortunately, I see only two ways of disclosure moving in this direction:
- Regulation. The only reason that companies tell their customers anything is that they’re required to by law. They don’t have your best interests in mind, and they don’t really feel sorry for the breach. Stronger regulations that require more detailed disclosure would go a long way toward informing customers of the actual risk they face. In addition, if monetary damages were included, perhaps companies in general would more appropriately fund security programs. If Sony knew they would have had to pay $250 to each customer lost, for each of the 75 million records lost, don’t you think they would have invested a bit more in their security program?
- Loss of Customers. Hardly a day goes by when some company needs to alert customers of a data breach. Familiarity breeds apathy in this regard, and the outrage that followed the CardSystems and TJ MAXX breaches has become only a dull groan of displeasure. If customers immediately ceased to do business with any company that loses their records, it would also increase (quite significantly) the cost of a data breach to the company.
I’ve included the full text of the e-mail received from TEDxBigApple.
Apologies from TEDxBigApple…
We’ve been hacked!
As you know, Feb 4th was centered around Disruptive Ideas, and as poetic justice would have it, our success means we have been unfortunately pranked by a Disruptive force. Someone or someones surreptitiously gained access to our registered database and has sent out an invitation to join a site called biapplepulse.com. We would like to be clear that this site is in no way affiliated with TED, TEDx, or TEDxBigApple. If you received this email we sincerely apologize. As a precautionary step you may want to block all emails coming from an address ending with @bigapplepulse.com, but that is entirely up to you.
All information pertaining to TEDxBigApple will come from firstname.lastname@example.org and noone else. If you receive any messages from third parties please feel free to inform us and we will investigate the source of the problem.
We hope that you have been enjoying seeing some photos of the event, and we are working hard to bring you all the videos by the end of next week!
In the meantime if you would like to be removed from our email list we will be sad, but of course respect your wishes. Your information and involvement with TEDxBigApple means a lot to us and we hope that you will continue to be a part of our events moving forward.
Let’s strengthen the innovation community together. | <urn:uuid:7be31700-8407-4d52-b612-86441144d9c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://negativefoo.org/tag/zappos/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969519 | 1,764 | 1.632813 | 2 |
How much fish do you eat?
Let me give you a brief rundown of why I'm asking: Washington is trying to find an official fish-consumption rate to replace outdated numbers. Due to contaminated waters, fish can harbor toxics, like mercury, PCBs and dioxins. The real question should be how much of these chemicals are ingested by humans? Enter the fish consumption rate. If the number is high, those responsible will be on the hook for cleaning the waterways since people might be eating more fish than is safe.
There was a negative editorial in the Spokesman last weekend about how this “rule-making” keeps bureaucracts bellies full so as a response, I wanted to share an excerpt from our Spokane Riverkeeper's story about the fish consumption rate in the Huffington Post:
Washington State may be called the Evergreen State, but the state's rich heritage of fish and shellfish is critical to our economy, culture and health. From tribal subsistence fishing in Eastern Washington to a thriving shellfish industry in Puget Sound; from sport fishing on the mighty Columbia River, to legendary steelhead trout of the Olympic Peninsula, fish and those who thrive on them are as much a part of Washington as all our fir trees and glaciers combined.
But there is a hidden danger in these fish, and right now we have the opportunity to make sure that fish and shellfish are healthy for future generations to eat.
Even a quick glance at our state's water quality standards for toxic pollution shows a gross inequality between the weak limits on toxic pollution and the strong value of we place on serving fish for our families. Washington currently has some of the weakest limits on toxic pollution in the nation, in part because we use a low estimate of how much fish people eat every day.
The problem is this: in a state where people have subsisted primarily on salmon and seafood for thousands of years, the state assumes people only eat a cracker-sized portion of fish per day. 6.5 grams, to be exact.
Why does a low fish consumption estimate matter? Because each of our pollution control regulations is tied to human health, and the human health threshold for cleanup or control is tied to the consumption rate. | <urn:uuid:2ac9f345-fcc7-49c4-9063-efe9a02a46d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.downtoearthnw.com/blogs/down-earth/2012/jul/13/friday-quote-fish-consumption-rate/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950782 | 454 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Archive for March 12th, 2012
Society is made up of people who used to be children. Some of these people were validated by their parents as worthwhile human beings in spite of their childhood faults and imperfections. Others were not so fortunate. They tried to be good little children, successful in one arena or another, but when they saw a sibling being praised while their successes were ridiculed or merely ignored, they felt that their efforts were all for nothing. At that young age, there is no middle ground between worthwhile and worthless. If they have an attribute, such as intelligence, that is not valued by their sports-loving or appearance-mongering elders, they take their disfavor personally, as if it were a reflection on their worth as a person. Their asset then turns into a liability. Young people tend to define themselves in terms of their external success and their personal attributes. When these qualities are despised, they have little left to fall back on.
As most children do, these individuals have made the understandable mistake of perceiving the absence of validation as if it were an invalidation. After years of such misperceptions, they have come to feel that their goodness was for nothing and that they were personally worthless as a consequence.
The following is a conversation with such an adult child. She has carried her good-for-nothing feeling with her into adulthood where it is affecting her most important relationships. She will, if she does not change, transmit this negative feeling about herself to her own child. We are trying to break this cycle of parent-child good-for-nothingness in this generation.
Irene has come in for counseling because she has an anger problem. She is not aware that a major source of her difficulty is her vulnerability to feeling unappreciated and good for nothing. She does not see the connection between her childhood experiences and her over-reactions to disappointment in the present. To this day, she is unaware of her dependence on others for the validation of her worth as a person. She has placed this responsibility on her own child and he is doing a terrible job with this burden that he shouldn’t have in the first place.
Irene: “Well, I did it again. I got so angry at my son Glenn that I picked him up and threw him against the couch. And, you know, I don’t regret it. I don’t feel guilty, so don’t tell me I should.”
Therapist: “Telling you to feel guilty wouldn’t help, Irene, but tell me why you don’t feel guilty.”
Irene: “Because this time he had it coming, the little jerk, and I gave it to him. And don’t tell me I was wrong. You guys are always saying that the parents are always wrong and the child is never wrong.”
Therapist: “I never say ‘always’ and I never say ‘never,’ except sometimes. What did he do that was so ‘wrong’?”
Irene: “He saw this toy advertised on television. In the commercial, the kids were having such a good time with it, so he wanted it. I tried to tell him that it was too old for him, he’s only 5 years old, and that it was only fun when you had a group of children competing with each other. He cried every time the damn commercial came on. I figured that I’d get it for him just to keep peace in the house. Well, I got to the store Saturday and the damn thing cost $82.50! I don’t have $82.50 to throw away, I’ll tell you that right now.”
Therapist: “No one does, Irene. What happened to make you so angry?”
Irene: “It broke my heart to buy that piece of junk, but I thought I was doing the right thing.”
Therapist: “How many minutes did he play with it?”
Irene: “It wasn’t even minutes! It was seconds! He took one look at it, kicked it around a little while, and then started to play with the picture of it on the box! That’s when I saw red. I blew up and grabbed him by his little shirt and flung him against the couch. I left him there, screaming. He didn’t know what hit him, and I’m glad!”
Therapist: “There’s no doubt about it, Irene, you were `right.’ Your predictions were right on the button, and I’m sure that any jury in the world would agree that you are smarter than your five year old child.”
Irene: “Then I wasn’t wrong?”
Therapist: “`Wrong’ is the wrong word, Irene. You feel that your behavior was `justified’ under the circumstances.”
Irene: “You’re damn right, I do. The ungrateful brat didn’t even say, `Thank you.’”
Therapist: “That’s it. Now I know what’s making you angrier than you need to be. It isn’t just the money, is it Irene? It isn’t just the fact that you didn’t trust your own judgment and that you let your child control you into doing something that you `knew’ was a mistake.”
Irene: “What is it then?”
Therapist: “Irene, it sounds to me like you are suffering from being a `good for nothing’.”
Irene: “That’s just how I felt, and I had every right to feel that way!”
Therapist: “No one says you don’t, Irene. You also have every right to stick your finger in the light socket. I’m just not sure it would help. Irene, it makes you very angry when your `goodness’ to people is not reciprocated, doesn’t it?”
Irene: “I don’t expect Glenn to reciprocate. I just expect him to be a little more appreciative of what I do for him. Is that so wrong?”
Therapist: “There’s that word `wrong’ again. Being appreciative is a form of reciprocity, isn’t it? When you do something good for him, it’s only natural to want him to do something good in return, such as saying, `Thank you, Mommy’, or cleaning up his room for three days in a row.”
Irene: “That’s right. That’s just how I feel, and I can’t see what’s wrong with expecting a little cooperation from your own child.”
Therapist: “One thing wrong with it is that it sets you up for painful disappointment when your child doesn’t live up to your expectations. Another thing wrong with it is that it is inappropriate to expect reciprocity from a five year old child who is not on the same wave-length as you are. You have your purposes in doing the things you do, and he has his purposes in doing what he does. His purposes don’t always complement yours. Third, the child senses that you have expectations for him, and he isn’t sure that he can live up to them. He may think that you expect him to reciprocate or respond `perfectly’ and he `knows’ in advance that he isn’t going to make it. He can only `fail.’ He learns to feel inadequate when he has to measure up to his parent’s expectations for him. He learns to perceive himself as a `disappointment’ and a `failure’; he learns to feel worthless. In his discouragement, he doesn’t bother to reciprocate at all. Fourth, he `knows’ that he can upset you by not doing what you expect. He knows that he can get even with you by `not giving you the satisfaction,’ which I suspect, is an attitude that is prevalent in your house, and which he may have learned from his parent’s negative example. Fifth, there is something intrinsically, inherently misleading about expecting `good for good’. People resent having to be good because it’s expected, not because it is their spontaneous wish to reciprocate someone’s kindness. Irene, did you learn as a child that if you do something good, your goodness will be rewarded?”Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far ) | <urn:uuid:fd6f2b61-4329-4f39-9587-b4875f369cf1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://angerclinic.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984798 | 1,890 | 1.851563 | 2 |
GameStop Corp. (GME), headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, is the world's largest multichannel video game retailer. GameStop's retail network includes 6,627 company-operated stores in 17 countries worldwide and online at GameStop.com . The network also includes: Kongregate.com , a leading browser-based game site; Game Informer® magazine, the leading multi-platform video game publication; Spawn Labs, a streaming technology company; and a digital PC game distribution platform available at www.GameStop.com/PC .
Below are some possible concerns creating headwinds for GME. (Source 10-K)
The electronic game industry is cyclical, which could cause significant fluctuation in earnings.
The electronic game industry has been cyclical in nature in response to the introduction and maturation of new technology. Following the introduction of new video game platforms, sales of these platforms and related software and accessories generally increase due to initial demand, while sales of older platforms and related products generally decrease as customers migrate toward the new platforms. New video game platforms have historically been introduced approximately every five years. The current generation of video game consoles were introduced in 2005 and 2006. If video game platform manufacturers fail to develop new hardware platforms, our sales of video game products could decline.
This console cycle is already 2 years longer than the last console cycle so management is in uncharted territory as far as forecasting sales. Near term until there is a refresh it's not unreasonable to expect weak sales. The longer term opportunity is a new video game cycle that the market appears to be ignoring.
Technological advances in the delivery and types of video games and PC entertainment software, as well as changes in consumer behavior related to these new technologies, could lower sales.
While it is currently only possible to download a limited amount of video game content to the current generation video game systems and downloading is constrained by bandwidth capacity, this technology is becoming more prevalent and continues to evolve rapidly.
There is probably more hype than substance to this threat. For example Gamezone reports Sony's 2013 release for PS4 will not be "digital only" for the following reasons:
Sony (SNE) decided against a download-only model largely because Internet connections are too inconsistent around the world," one of the WSJ sources said. "Because game files are large, customers in countries where Internet connections are relatively slow would be hobbled by a requirement to download games.
In the meantime the company is not resting on their laurels. From the May conference call:
Our digital businesses grew at 23%, continuing strong growth around the world... Our PC download business grew 172%... Kongregate continues its transformation, growing in-game transaction revenue by 144% during the quarter, and growing total revenue by 50%. Traffic, as measured by Google Analytics, increased 22% on Kongregate.com during the quarter.
Spawn Labs achieving all of its objectives and demonstrating its ability to execute ultra low-latency cloud gaming through 6 data centers to our associates throughout the nation. We continue to work with our publishing partners to bring a console-based service to market. We've also begun development of a PC-based solution to augment our PC digital service, as well as to provide an expanded cloud gaming offering that takes advantage of our patented virtualization process.
Economic uncertainty in the US and Europe: This is probably the greatest threat in the near term, not just for GME but any company that depends on its customer's discretionary income.
We'll examine trends based on management's financial track record using GAAP results to highlight longer term trends. The annual data used in this article can be found here.
EPS TRENDS: The following graph for EPS and cash trends are arrived at by calculating the statistics for a trend line using the "least squares" method. This determines the line that best fits the historical data and consensus estimates.
The above represents the following trends:
EPS Growth Trend
The above represents the following trends:
EPS Growth Trend
DIVIDEND: On Feb. 8, 2012GME announced its board of directors approved the initiation of a quarterly dividend to its shareholders of $0.15 per share. Dan DeMatteo, executive chairman, said the following:
We have achieved our goal of eliminating debt and are pleased to return excess cash to our shareholders. The board's decision to initiate a dividend reflects GameStop's strong capital position and demonstrates our confidence in the long term viability of our business.
This represents an attractive 3.3% yield at the time of this writing. The following graph shows the dividend is safe and there is room to increase it if the trends continue.
The FCF payout ratio is 18% based on near term projections
This fair value analysis is based on management's longer term financial performance as measured by the previous data. Fair values are based, in part, on the following: Discounted cash flow, a modified Graham's intrinsic value formula and a P/E analysis. The valuation model consists of two parts.
- The discounted cash flow and the modified Graham's intrinsic value are blended to arrive at a fair value.
- A P/E analysis based on historical adjusted values.
Fair value used is the minimum value of the two parts.
Part 1: Discounted cash flow and the modified Graham's intrinsic value.
An estimated long-term EPS growth rate of 6.9% and a long-term cash per share growth rate of 9.4% were calculated from the data described above. Analysts are projecting a five-year EPS growth rate of 9.25% as of this writing. (Source: Nasdaq.com)
Running these projections through our pricing model, excluding the PE analysis, produces a fair value of $31. Needless to say, the result is sensitive to changes in the growth rates as illustrated below.
Part 2: P/E Analysis
The model looks at current and past periods to calculate a limiting PE value.
The result is a maximum allowable PE of 9 yielding a fair value of $27. The result is sensitive to any earnings revision as illustrated below.
The PE is the controlling factor in this case. Final fair value is the minimum of the two methods or $27.
Below are some of the competitors listed by GME. The following graph shows the prior year and TTM operating income growth along with current PE ratios:
Is GME an opportunity or value trap? A PE of 9 is not overly aggressive. The yield is attractive. The discounted cash flow and the modified Graham's intrinsic value analysis support pricing up to a PE of 10.3. The question is, has the market oversold GME creating an opportunity or are some of the risks listed in this article greater than described above? Feel free to comment and share your opinion (opportunity or value trap) in the comment section.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, but may initiate a long position in GME over the next 72 hours. | <urn:uuid:d7e83b2f-00f8-496c-8e1c-c73f4770d23b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seekingalpha.com/article/714401-gamestop-s-price-and-dividend-opportunity-or-value-trap | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940016 | 1,432 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are a British new wave group formed in 1978, whose founding members, Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England. The band rose to fame with their fourth single "Enola Gay", which became a major hit throughout Europe in 1980, and achieved worldwide popularity the following year with their third album Architecture & Morality. Regarded as the band's seminal work, it spawned three international hit singles and propelled them to superstar status in their home country. OMD, whose music frequently eschewed traditional pop music arrangements in favour of experimentation, were retrospectively described by AllMusic's Ned Raggett as having been "in the enviable position of at once being creative innovators and radio-friendly pop giants."
Record sales began to decrease in the UK during the latter half of the 1980s, but the group remained popular. Concurrently, they reached their US peak and had a series of hits, the most notable being 1986's "If You Leave", written for the film Pretty in Pink. Humphreys departed in 1989 with Malcolm Holmes (drums) and Martin Cooper (various instruments) to form The Listening Pool, leaving McCluskey to lead the band. 1991 album Sugar Tax and its initial singles were hits, particularly in the UK, where OMD experienced a commercial renaissance. By 1996, however, electronic music had become unfashionable amid the heady Britpop climate, and McCluskey disbanded the group due to dwindling popularity, months after their final chart hit, "Walking on the Milky Way". | <urn:uuid:5ea893d6-dc71-4ea7-bbc3-2f22d9c412e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/6d072aa8-c851-49c5-92f9-cbca05f4bed9 | 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 | 0.975313 | 343 | 1.625 | 2 |
The United States Criminals In Action (CIA) has been involved in several drug trafficking operations. Often, the CIA worked with groups which it knew were involved in drug trafficking, so that these groups would provide them with useful intelligence and material support, in exchange for allowing their criminal activities to continue, and impeding or preventing their arrest, indictment, and imprisonment by U.S. law enforcement agencies.
CIA and Kuomintang (KMT) opium smuggling operations
In order to provide covert funds for the Kuomintang (KMT) forces loyal to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, who were fighting the Chinese communists under Mao, the CIA helped the KMT smuggle opium from China and Burma to Bangkok, Thailand, by providing airplanes owned by one of their front businesses, Air America.
The CIA supported various Afghan drug lords, such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who were fighting against the Soviets.
Historian Alfred W. McCoy stated that:
"In most cases, the CIA's role involved various forms of complicity, tolerance or studied ignorance about the trade, not any direct culpability in the actual trafficking ... [t]he CIA did not handle heroin, but it did provide its drug-lord allies with transport, arms, and political protection. In sum, the CIA's role in the Southeast Asian heroin trade involved indirect complicity rather than direct culpability." Mexico
According to Peter Dale Scott, the Dirección Federal de Seguridad was in part a CIA creation, and "the CIA's closest government allies were for years in the DFS". DFS badges, "handed out to top-level Mexican drug-traffickers, have been labelled by DEA agents a virtual 'license to traffic.'" Scott says that "The Guadalajara Cartel, Mexico's most powerful drug-trafficking network in the early 1980s, prospered largely because it enjoyed the protection of the DFS, under its chief Miguel Nassar (or Nazar) Haro, a CIA asset."
Iran Contra Affair Main article: CIA and Contras cocaine trafficking in the US
Released on April 13, 1989, the Kerry Committee report concluded that members of the U.S. State Department "who provided support for the Contras were involved in drug trafficking...and elements of the Contras themselves knowingly received financial and material assistance from drug traffickers."
In 1996 Gary Webb wrote a series of articles published in the San Jose Mercury News, which investigated Nicaraguans linked to the CIA-backed Contras who had smuggled cocaine into the U.S. which was then distributed as crack cocaine into Los Angeles and funneled profits to the Contras. The CIA was aware of the cocaine transactions and the large shipments of drugs into the U.S. by the Contra personnel and directly aided drug dealers to raise money for the Contras.
In 1996 CIA Director John M. Deutch went to Los Angeles to attempt to refute the allegations raised by the Gary Webb articles, and was famously confronted by former LAPD officer Michael Ruppert, who testified that he had witnessed it occurring.
Venezuelan National Guard Affair
The CIA - in spite of objections from the Drug Enforcement Administration, allowed at least one ton of nearly pure cocaine to be shipped into Miami International Airport. The CIA claimed to have done this as a way of gathering information about Colombian drug cartels. But the cocaine ended up being sold on the street.
In November 1996 a Miami jury indicted former Venezuelan anti-narcotics chief and longtime CIA asset, General Ramon Guillen Davila, who was smuggling many tons of cocaine into the United States from a Venezuelan warehouse owned by the CIA. In his trial defense, Guillen claimed that all of his drug smuggling operations were approved by the CIA.
According to unnamed sources in the mid 1980s, the CIA created a unit in Haiti, whose purported purpose was anti-drug activity, but was in reality "used as an instrument of political terror", and was heavily involved in drug trafficking. The members of the unit were known to torture Aristide supporters, and threatened to kill the local head of the DEA. According to one U.S. official, the unit was trafficking drugs and never produced any useful drug intelligence.
Panama The U.S. military invasion of Panama after which dictator Manuel Noriega was captured.
In 1989, the United States invaded Panama as part of Operation Just Cause, which involved 25,000 American troops. Gen. Manuel Noriega, head of government of Panama, had been giving military assistance to Contra groups in Nicaragua at the request of the U.S.-which, in exchange, allowed him to continue his drug-trafficking activities-which they had known about since the 1960s. When the DEA tried to indict Noriega in 1971, the CIA prevented them from doing so. The CIA, which was then directed by future president George H. W. Bush, provided Noriega with hundreds of thousands of dollars per year as payment for his work in Latin America. However, when CIA pilot Eugene Hasenfus was shot down over Nicaragua by the Sandinistas, documents aboard the plane revealed many of the CIA's activities in Latin America, and the CIA's connections with Noriega became a public relations "liability" for the U.S. government, which finally allowed the DEA to indict him for drug trafficking, after decades of allowing his drug operations to proceed unchecked. Operation Just Cause, whose ostensible purpose was to capture Noriega, pushed the former Panamanian leader back into the town asylum along with Papal Nuncio where he surrendered to U.S. authorities. His trial took place in Miami, where he was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
See also War on Drugs,
United States and state terrorism
War crimes committed by the United States
Human experimentation in the United States CIA and Contras cocaine trafficking in the us
In: Other News
Tags: CIA, drugs, trafficking, corruption, DOPE inc
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States (load item map)
Marked as: approved
Views: 5544 | Comments: 79 | Votes: 1 | Favorites: 1 | Shared: 0 | Updates: 0 | Times used in channels: 2
|Liveleak on Facebook| | <urn:uuid:e30dd51d-d10c-4e9e-914e-d834a8bd7b66> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=239_1324401682 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964582 | 1,297 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Research In Motion wants software developers to use its popular instant messaging tool within their applications.
Describing BlackBerry Messenger -- widely known as BBM -- as one of the world's largest mobile social networks, RIM on Thursday took the covers off an update that it hopes will prod more developers to write code for its devices.
The company's BlackBerry App World pales in comparison with those for Apple and Google, which garner much more interest from independent developers.
Some 45 million people use BBM -- which allows BlackBerry users with data plans to instantly pass text messages, pictures and other files without incurring charges from their network carrier -- and 70 percent of them use it daily.
"That lends itself to a different type of experience," said Alistair Mitchell, RIM's vice president for the BBM platform and integrated services.
"We're trying to transpose that so it's available to our third-party developers globally."
RIM's director of developer relations, Mike Kirkup, said the simplest use of the updated BBM tool would require just three lines of code while developers could, with a bit more work, choose to route all their traffic through RIM's servers.
Kirkup said developers that integrate BBM could expect existing users to spend more time on the app and for it to encourage more viral distribution.
"For every developer, getting people into your app more and getting more people to find your app are the two major problems they stay awake thinking about every single day," he said.
Among the apps making first use of BBM integration are location services Foursquare and Poynt, news website Huffington Post and augmented reality browser Wikitude.
"This is a good transition for the company but it's not without competition from competitors big and small," said Josh Martin, an analyst of apps at Strategy Analytics.
Online social network Facebook boosts more than half a billion users. Google, whose Android software for smartphones has stolen share from BlackBerry, quickly garnered a huge following with its Google+ social product launched last month and offers its own Google Talk chat application.
And Apple will soon launch iMessage, a tool similar to BBM for use on iPhones, iPads and some iPods.
"Is the next BBM alone the answer -- certainly not -- but taken with other offerings it could create the foundation for an improved experience," Mitchell said.
RIM bought social gaming company Scoreloop in June to help it expand Meesenger and enable more interaction in existing mobile games.
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Four decades of active research and debate by the solar physics community have failed to bring consensus on what drives the sun’s powerful coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that can have profound “space weather” effects on Earth-based power grids and satellites in near-Earth geospace.
In a paper just published in Nature Physics, an international team of space scientists, including a researcher from the University of New Hampshire’s Space Science Center (SSC), explains the mysterious physical mechanisms underlying the origin of CMEs. Their findings, based on state-of-the-art computer simulations, show the intricate connection between motions in the sun’s interior and these eruptions and could lead to better forecasting of hazardous space weather conditions.
CMEs are clouds of magnetic fields and plasma – a hot gas composed ofcharged particles.The fastest and most powerful of these events can explode from the sun at speeds of more than a million miles per hour and release more energy than the current worldwide stockpile of nuclear weapons.
“By studying CMEs we learn not only about the drivers of space weather but also about the structure of the atmosphere of the sun and other sun-like stars,” says lead author Ilia Roussev of the Yunnan Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Geomagnetic storms caused by CMEs can disrupt power grids, satellites that operate global positioning systems and telecommunication networks, pose a threat to astronauts in outer space, lead to rerouting of flights over the polar regions, and cause spectacular auroras. The storms occur when a solar eruption hits Earth’s protective magnetic bubble, or magnetosphere.
The Nature Physics paper, titled “Explaining fast ejections of plasma and exotic X-ray emission from the solar corona,” provides an explanation of the origin of fast ejections of magnetized plasma from the sun’s atmosphere and associated X-ray emissions. It thus demonstrates a fundamental connection between the magnetic processes inside the sun’s interior and the formation of CMEs.
“Through this type of computer modeling we are able to understand how invisible bundles of magnetic field rise from under the surface of the sun into interplanetary space and propagate towards Earth with potentially damaging results”, says SSC researcher Noé Lugaz of the UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space. He adds, “These fundamental phenomena cannot be observed even with the most advanced instruments on board NASA satellites but they can be revealed by numerical simulations.”
A long-standing goal of the solar physics community has been the forecasting of solar eruptions and predictions of their impact on the Earth. In the paper, the authors note, “the model described here enables us not only to capture the magnetic evolution of the CME, but also to calculate the increased X-ray flux directly, which is a significant advantage over the existing models.”
The work was supported by a CAS grant and two National Science Foundation grants in the U.S. – one at the University of Hawaii and another at UNH. In addition to Roussev and Lugaz, the international team includes Klaus Galsgaard from the Niels Bohr Institute in Denmark, Cooper Downs from Predictive Science, Inc. in California, Igor Sokolov from the University of Michigan, Jun Lin from the Yunnan Astronomical Observatory, and Elena Moise from the Institute of Geodynamics of the Romanian Academy of Science.
The Nature Physics paper can be viewed at
The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students. | <urn:uuid:9c5dcdab-255f-409c-b3eb-412401acc9c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.zeitnews.org/natural-sciences/physics/scientists-shed-light-riddle-sun-s-explosive-events | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904661 | 809 | 3.421875 | 3 |
The GNU GPL is the world's most widely used free software licence, and is used to cover open source applications, including Linux-based applications.
The Foundation is open for comments on the latest draft for 29 days, and expects to officially publish the licence on 29 June this year.
The new draft incorporates feedback received from the general public and official discussion committees since the release of the previous draft on 28 March this year.
FSF executive director Peter Brown said, “We have made a few very important improvements based on the comments we have heard, most notably with licence compatibility.
“Now that the licence is almost finished, we can look forward to distributing the GNU system under GPLv3, and making its additional protections available to the whole community,” he said.
The Foundation says the new licence addresses areas such as digital rights management and “threats from software patents”, and delivers better internationalisation, support for BitTorrent, and compatibility with the Apache licence.
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An excellent Editorial piece here from the Lancet of 15th November. No further comment is necessary.
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is one to be proud of: free care for all at the point of delivery. But a proposal last week by the Department of Health to allow NHS patients in England who can afford to buy treatments that are not approved for NHS use to top-up their treatment heralds a truly two-tier system.
The existing system allows patients to pay for extra treatment (top-ups) but then they lose all NHS care. The new proposal, which is out for consultation until January, will allow top ups, with the rider that the extra treatment cannot be given on an NHS ward but will need to be administered in a private ward or hospital. The UK Government is clearly embarrassed, not wanting patients in adjacent NHS beds to be receiving different care.
Welfare spending (and health-service spending can be seen as part of that) affects the health of citizens. In a paper in The Lancet last week, the NEWS Nordic Expert Group showed that generosity in family policies is linked with lower infant mortality and that generosity in pensions is linked with lower old-age excess mortality. “Social policies are of major importance for how we can tackle the social determinants of health”, the authors concluded. A Comment added: “At least in the Nordic countries, such policies have been as much about dignity and solidarity.”
Dignity and solidarity are key concepts that must be applied to NHS funding. The decision to allow a two-tier NHS is undignified and divisive. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, battered this year for its decisions about high-profile drugs for renal and lung cancer, and dementia, is to review how it calculates whether a treatment is cost effective. But the funding of a national health service reaches higher, to the heart of government. This summer saw the UK Government use £400 billion of taxpayers’ money to rescue ailing financial institutions. Vast sums of money can be made available when needed. The government needs to re-align its priorities, or face accusations of moral bankruptcy. | <urn:uuid:c53cb4e8-8652-4dcf-95f6-cd0a8cf5c479> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gillgeorge.wordpress.com/2008/11/19/a-morally-bankrupt-government-divides-the-nhs/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945318 | 441 | 2.3125 | 2 |
It’s fast approaching that time of year again, which many music aficionados dread. The Eurovision Song contest takes place on May 24 and already some French are getting their knickers in a twist over their entry.
For the first time since the competition started in 1956 the song representing this fiercely proud country will be sung in – horror of horrors - English.
France 3, one of the country’s national public television channels, chose the 33-year-old electro-pop singer, Sébastien Tellier, to defend the nation’s colours in this year’s annual jamboree to be held in the Serbian capital, Belgrade. The song, “Divine,” is entirely in English apart from the chorus
And already, even before the competition has started, there’s been an outcry from some quarters over his decision to abandon the time-honoured tradition of warbling his way through the entry in French.
François-Michel Gonnot, a member of parliament from the ruling centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) party even went as far as writing to the minister of culture, Christine Albanel, asking her to comment on the choice.
A clearly outraged Gonnot said the it sent out the wrong signal to the whole of the worldwide francophone community and went against the grain of all official statements of the importance of protecting and promoting the French language.
Albanel admitted that she thought it was shame the song wasn’t in French, but said the whole country would still be behind Tellier when he took to the stage.
Gonnot was joined by another equally indignant UMP parliamentarian, Jacques Myard, who has urged France 3 to reconsider the decision to allow Tellier to sing in English.
Perhaps though the two men are a little befuddled over the importance of the choice of language and the impact it will have on France’s international reputation.
Few would insist that the Eurovision Song contest is a platform for culture of any sort. Indeed the yearly knees-up is generally considered to be a celebration of the very worst that each nation has to offer musically and it comes in for a fair amount of ridicule.
It’s a competition in which television audiences are subjected to one another’s singing non-entities for more than three hours before each country takes its turn to vote. And recent trends have shown that the whole contest has turned into something of a farce with political and more importantly geographical blocs forming to ensure the “right” country wins.
Under the rules of the competition, countries are free to choose in which language their entry will be sung and almost half of this year’s 46 entries have chosen that of Shakespeare – or at least something approaching it. So France will not be alone.
While giving the song a trial run in the studio, Tellier tried it out some French lyrics, but apparently they didn’t work too well so he abandoned the attempt in favour of English, which will help him, in his words, achieve his artistic goals!
And just for the record, those fabulous goals include the following lines:
Looking for a band today
I see the Chivers anyway
Through my eyes
OH oh oh I'm
I’m alone in life to say
I love the Chivers anyway
Cause Chivers look divine
Sounds like a winner.
And here we go! - Ask a Frenchman‘s fourth incarnation is about to start… right now! Now this is on this blog: David + World that everything will happen: As you will... | <urn:uuid:501070dd-d728-4dde-a27c-23222a00bce4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.france-today.com/2008/04/france-null-points.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958609 | 765 | 1.640625 | 2 |
You may have been enjoying these warmer temperatures lately, but doctors in the metro say they are actually doing more harm than good.
Doctors tell us that the unseasonably warm weather has led to a nasty combination for allergies. That’s because our cold snaps have not been enough to kill off allergens and the lack of moisture has not knocked them out of the air.
The frustrating part, doctors say as long as we don’t see much moisture, there is not much you can do.
They recommend washing hands, covering your cough, and seeking medical treatment if symptoms become severe. | <urn:uuid:a02ec676-ee2a-47a3-ae7e-ff291763de8a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-city/Warm-weather-causing-health-issues/-/11664182/18202552/-/r2iim9/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974236 | 122 | 1.828125 | 2 |
13 June 2012
The Rt Hon David Blunkett MP today sponsored a Commons Debate highlighting the difficulties faced by the 100,000 college students missing out on a free lunch – unlike their counterparts in school.
Students in English colleges aged 16 to 18-years-old from disadvantaged backgrounds struggle to afford lunch due to an unfair funding rule.
In response to the Commons Debate, Martin Doel, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “I welcome the fact that this debate has highlighted that there is cross-party consensus on this issue and am thankful for the support shown by MPs to their local colleges, students and to the further education sector as a whole.
“The fact that this is not a new funding anomaly does not mean that it’s not something that should be addressed by the Government at the earliest opportunity; it is not enough to keep it under review. A system which funds 16 to 18-year-olds from disadvantaged families for free school meals in any educational institution except sixth form colleges and further education colleges is blatantly unfair.
“These students and their families are among the most vulnerable in our society – not helping them just because they have chosen to continue their education in a college flies in the face of the Government’s oft-professed commitment to social mobility and is unjustifiable. Family budgets are under severe strain with transport costs rising and food prices up by 4. 3%. The situation for our disadvantaged students has been exacerbated by the ending of the Education Maintenance Allowance.
“Colleges are doing their best to ensure the £180million bursary scheme, which replaced the £560million EMA, is targeted at students most in need, but there is a limit to what they can do with a much smaller pot of money. Many are having to dip into their own rapidly dwindling reserves in order to provide free breakfasts or lunches, or providing lunch vouchers and food banks, but at a time when the further education sector itself is facing significant funding cuts, this is not sustainable in the long run.
“One London college has spent more than £96,000 providing free lunches, which equates to 45% of their bursary budget. While the college is keen to support its students it would like to be able to use the bursary to support them in other ways, including books, study resources, work experience and educational visits. This raises the question of why school pupils in the same age group will be in receipt of bursary funding and free school meals.”
“AoC estimates* that removing this inequality and extending the provision of free lunches to eligible college students will cost the Department for Education £38million out of their £56billion budget – this is equivalent to 1p in every £14 spent - and we consider this a reasonable price to pay for equality for these students. We will continue to make the case for parity of funding in order to get these young people the support they need to stay in education.”
The Association of Colleges, its member colleges, students and MPs from across the country are calling on the Government to extend free meals to all 16 to 18-year-olds from a disadvantaged background. Currently 16 to 18-year-old from a disadvantaged background studying in a maintained school sixth form, free school, University Technical College or an academy, is provided with a free school meal; if the same student chooses to study at a college they lose that entitlement.
Note - *Estimated cost of extending this provision: £38 million - based on: 103,000 16 to 18-year-olds in 2009/10 who claimed free school meals at age 15, with the average cost of a lunch estimated at £1.95 and assuming the average student is at college for 190 days each year. Please note this estimate does not include administration and capital costs. | <urn:uuid:57e7ba82-5b7f-4aa0-abfc-eca8175c5ae3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aoc.co.uk/en/newsroom/aoc_news_releases.cfm/id/0393C4F4-1057-4D9E-870CD17C2F3D5B21/AoC%20responds%20to%20Commons%20Debate%20on%20its%20No%20Free%20Lunch%20campaign | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96966 | 793 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Antisemitic expression on rise in Spain, says report
Websites, blogs, forums and social networks enjoy "complete impunity in Spain"
Complaints filed over alleged antisemitism doubled in 2011
Antisemitic and racist content is on the rise on Spanish websites, according to a report by the Antisemitism Observatory, a watchdog created by the activist group Movement against Intolerance and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain. Besides growing in scope with every passing year, antisemitic content disseminated through websites, blogs, forums and social networks "enjoy complete impunity" in Spain, says the document.
"Last year we watched with concern the proliferation of antisemitic websites that encourage hate and banalize the Holocaust," said Isaac Querub, president of the federation. "We're worried about the lack of legal control on this issue and we are working to ensure that this type of content gets no space on platforms that are accessible to everyone, particularly the young, and have a wide audience."
The report admits that even though there has been progress on the legal front, there have also been court decisions in the opposite direction, such as the Supreme Court's overruling of a conviction against the managers of a bookstore in Barcelona for disseminating ideas that justify genocide. The acquittal noted that justifying genocide is only a crime if it incites others to commit it or if it creates a hostile environment.
The Attorney General has been receiving complaints over cases of public support for Nazism, the distribution of Nazi ideology and the justification of the extermination policy planned and executed by Hitler's regime in Germany.
The complaints filed with the Observatory over alleged antisemitism doubled in 2011 from the previous year. Among the cases verified by the report were instances of personal assault, antisemitic expressions in the media and graffiti in places where the Jewish community held events.
There is a special mention of repeated insults against Israeli athletes - whether or not they play for Spanish teams - on basketball courts and soccer pitches. "We can see that there are still anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli prejudices in Spain, that Judeophobe expressions are still in use, and that the general public barely knows anything about the culture of the Jewish people or the reality of Israel," says Querub. "That is why we are also working with the regional governments so that the history of the Jewish people and of Jews in Spain is present in the school curriculum." | <urn:uuid:2f400049-4904-454b-9243-e70a4495154b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/08/16/inenglish/1345119051_115011.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958587 | 495 | 1.875 | 2 |
Just like depression in adults, experts are not certain about the causes of teen depression. But they believe it’s caused by a combination of factors that are genetic, psychological and environmental. So when we discuss what causes teen depression, we’re actually discussing the risk factors of teen depression. The experts are not certain about the causes of teen depression like I said before, but they do believe that some factors increases a teen’s chance of having depression. The risk factors may or may not have any significance in a teen developing depression.
Causes of Teen Depression | Main Factors
Research has shown that there is a genetic link to depression. That means that a teen whose parents have an history of depression is more likely to have depression, than a teen whose parents doesn’t. And as a matter of fact, about 20-50% of the young ones who suffer from depression have a family history of depression. The risk is greater if both parents have suffered from depression, though experts do not know for sure if the reason for this is genetic or environmental. That is depressed parents creating an environment that increases the chances of the children having depression.
Teen girls are more likely to develop depression than teen boys, possibly because they are more vulnerable to emotional stresses such as boyfriend breakup, social relationship and the likes. And emotional stresses is at the root of depression.
Pessimistic Attribution Bias Personality
A person who has pessimistic attribution bias personality is someone who always blame him or herself whenever something bad or negative happens (“Everything happening in this family is my fault”). And believes he or she can never do things right. Someone with such trait always have a negative view about things, even when things look good. People with this type of mindset often react passively, helplessly, and ineffectively to negative events than those who do not have such mindset. It is not yet clear whether this mindset comes before depression and is part of the teen’s personality or it’s a consequence of the individual’s depression or even gotten from a previous episode of depression, an episode that could have gone unnoticed. Evident exist that children and teens who have suffered from depression before could have learned to view things this way. And react the same way to negative events after they have recovered from depression. This can explain why teens who have suffered depression before are continuously at risk of depression.
Stressful Life Events
It’s a known fact that stressful life events increases an individual’s chance of developing depression. For teens some stressful life events they may face that could increase their risk of depression are: Regular quarreling and fighting between parents. Loss of a parent either in death or divorce. Teenage neglect. Moving to a new area and changing schools. Physical or psychological abuse. The risk of depression is higher if these stressful life events occurs early in the teen’s childhood.
Medical or Physical conditions
There are specific neurotransmitters in the brain that affects one’s mood and when the levels are low, can cause teen depression. And also some medical conditions can also increase a teen’s chance of getting depression. Conditions such as: Substance abuse disorder Disruptive or antisocial disorder Dysthymia Anxiety disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Epilepsy Cancer
Depression and substance abuse almost always go together for teenagers. Substance abuse by teens include alcohol abuse, cocaine abuse and stimulant withdrawal.
Teens are very sensitive to their environment. A teen surrounded by love and security has a lesser chance of developing depression than a teen surrounded in an environment full of contention and abuse. A teen growing up in a family that is always not happy and less enthusiastic about life could reflect on the behavior of the teen and how he or she sees life. An unhappy family environment could cause a teen to have low self esteem which could lead a teen to abuse substance in other to escape such environment and in some cases, substance abuse (alcohol and drugs) bring about depression.
Causes of Teen Depression | Final Notes
Experts are uncertain of the exact causes of teen depression, and the risk factors above are never known to be the exact cause. The fact that a teen has these risk factors doesn’t mean the teen will suffer from depression or is suffering from depression, and it also doesn’t mean the teen is not suffering from depression. The risk factors are what they are, they increases the likelihood of the teen developing depression. The more risk factors the teen has, the higher the risk. To be sure if your teen is suffering from depression, watch out for the signs of teenage depression. To help and prevent teen depression, a teen needs to be shown love, attention and understanding.
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Ciencias Terrestres, Geología y Puerto Rico (Earth Sciences, Geology and Puer... more
GVSU Geology Department 2012 Seminar Students
Do you enjoy being outdoors? Do you like to travel? Do you enjoy learning about our Earth? If you answered yes to any of these questions perhaps you should consider a career in the geosciences. The Department of Geology offers undergraduate B.S. degrees in Geology, Geochemistry, and Earth Science. Our department currently serves about 75 geology & geochemistry majors, 20 earth science majors, and provides classes for about 200 integrated science majors. We also provide general education for about 2000 GVSU students each year. Our graduates go on to outstanding graduate schools and/or find well-paid jobs in the energy and minerals industry, engineering geology, and the environmental consulting industry.
FRESH - Field Research in Earth Science Happenings
Page last modified February 10, 2013 | <urn:uuid:f81c733c-07c5-490e-b34e-cbdf6973cbea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gvsu.edu/geology/index.cfm?id=C42118AE-D435-174F-B3CB448F79B4EBA2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916133 | 197 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Date: April 07 2012
This is a book of a sort bound to leave a profound impression on a reader, such as myself, who has had experiences very similar to those of the writer. But even those not lost in a romance of youth and honest hard work can enjoy A Youth Not Wasted, if not with the same intimate pleasure, or winces, or, sometimes, ambivalence.
Ian Parkes was 16 when, in 1951, he became a jackeroo on a sheep stud in remoter parts of South Australia. His family was of the land, but at the time he set off they were broke and half a continent away. Later, he worked in even more remote parts of Western Australia. It was a short, if formative, idyll: by 20, he was a city suit, even if one who never forgot. I am sometimes accused myself of exaggerating the impact of an early life on the land on my own character; perhaps the most one can respond, inadequately, is to invite people to compare the impact of five years at war on the personalities of the then 18-year-olds of the present great-grandfather generation.
Parkes, as jackeroo, was put straight to work, and, as he learned by experience the million skills of riding, mustering, fencing, shoeing horses and fixing windmills, he learned also about self-reliance, mateship, taking responsibility and something of the vagaries of an often cruel and implacable environment. But he was also coming to love horses and dogs, to enjoy the camp and a cup of tea, to understand cascades of hard, sparse, glorious country, to love and luxuriate in the noise and silence, the smell and the solitude of the bush.
It was no picnic. It was hot hot, hard and dusty work, often in the sun when temperatures were 45 degrees or more for weeks without breaks. Perversely, it was sometimes freezing cold by night. Canberrans, as denizens of the west of the Great Divide, understand. It was sometimes dangerous, often dirty, frequently with no one to call for help. Food was often limited to mutton and spuds; bed, when not a swag, a shearer's stretcher. Bosses worked their men hard, and made few concessions, even if they were keeping a weather eye out for individual characters. A station was a tiny society, each with its politics, history and tensions: sometimes tempers flared and there were hard physical fights. The pub, picnic races, tennis on a station court, or a swim in a creek - or, sometimes, being stranded by rain, endless games of cards - represented the range of irregular leisure possibilities - apart from the rare trip to aged maiden aunts in Adelaide. If one was eating at the manager's table, as opposed to the station hands' mess, one dressed for dinner, with clean shirt, coat and tie.
Soon Parkes wanted not only more, but bigger, freer, but almost by definition, more challenging and difficult work in the Gascoyne-Murchison parts of Western Australia. He worked on the million-acre Mt Augustus, and, later, with increasing responsibilities, on other stations, mostly with sheep. The cowboy legend, even as it applies in Australia, is often focused on working with cattle, but, though Parkes had his experiences with these, most of his pastoral career was with the merino - tough wiry animals, in paddocks of 10,000 ha or more, usually a sheep to the 10 hectare or so. Many were miles from shearing sheds, so that wool production involved months of mustering and gradually bringing stock up to paddocks closer to the factory. The only permanent water, usually, came from artesian bores with windmills for pumps: maintaining windmills (and for Parkes even knowing how to drill a bore) was a matter of life and death for stock.
It was the 1950s, and, at its beginning, wool prices were at historic highs - perhaps five times, in real terms, what they are today. Economically Australia did ride on the sheep's back: the value of wool production was three or four times grain production. They were good years. There were local droughts, but, over large parts of Australia, there were exceptionally high rainfall averages for about 15 years - the more welcome because the tough years of the Depression and the war had not only seen low wool prices, but, generally, below average rainfalls. By about 1965, bad prices and average seasons were back, but by then Parkes was out of the game.
In 1951, there had been men 10 years older home from the war; many were marrying and forming families, and sometimes getting government help to draw a rural block. I was a child of such a family, if about 15 years younger than Parkes, but I knew all of the routines and technologies he described. Bitumen, electricity, plastic, modern communications and motors, ''efficiency'' and the price of labour now make those times seem terribly remote from today, even, generally, in such places. A few still forswear modern creature comforts, and oddly, hundreds of thousands of others aspire to do so, if only for a few days at a time, in camping holidays. There was work to be had, and workers to do it, even if the sheer remoteness of the areas produced a rich crop of characters, including slackers and drunks. There were station hands, and the more itinerant contract drovers, shearers, rouseabouts and cooks. Aborigines were in the labour force, many as skilled station hands; on the bigger stations there was often an informal understanding by which a number of Aboriginal families, perhaps 30 or 40 people, were provided with food and clothing in exchange for the availability of the men at peak times of the year. If there was ample inequality and not a little legal discrimination, there was also a good deal of mutual respect (including for Aboriginal culture and customs) and plenty of work and dignity for those who wanted it.
Parkes was taking more and more responsibility over the practical organisation and management of very large properties, some of a million acres. He seemed set for a life on the land as station manager and, probably, ultimately a battler cockie. Then he suddenly became very ill from an infectious heart condition and spent months recovering in Perth. It changed his life again, and soon he determined on a career closer to facilities - ultimately in advertising. He was 21 - and thereafter is only a frequent visitor to the bush he loves. But it is still, 57 years later, the richest and most formative part of his life, stamping him forever, in his mind, as one of, and out of, the land.
My identification with it all is not only a matter of shared experience and the pleasure of recollecting a type of event, of chore, a long-forgotten skill, or even, of thinking as Parkes does, that it was the land and the work which made me and formed me as I am today. It also involves some understanding of the fact that rural work is fundamentally different from, and more interesting than, piecework in a factory, and that one framed oneself not only by one's skills but by the responsibilities one accepted, even when alone. Some station workers lacked ambition or the self-discipline to achieve any ambitions they had: they drank their pay in big blowouts, talked resentfully of the squatters and the cockies, and were union-minded. Others, including Parkes, saw themselves (at least for a time) as building a career on the land, were eager for experience, keen for promotion, willing to share in the obvious risks, trying, mostly, to husband their resources. Jackeroos, and overseers, were proto-bosses, even in the democracy of the bush.
It is obvious that Parkes learnt the management skills he applied in a later successful business career from cajoling work out of sometimes reluctant and often exhausted and belligerent stockmen, as well as from his father's advice that one asked rather than ordered.
Like Parkes, I had by 21 made choices that excluded working on a station. It's not a decision I regret - much - but I can no more walk away from the experiences, the nostalgia or the sentiment than forswear my nationality, my family or my religion. It is my outer clothing.
That's not to say that one cannot be realistic, or forget how many scratches, bruises and punctured ego went into experiences I now recall fondly, and joke about.
Parkes is a storyteller, as keen to teach and explain, to draw a fond, if sometimes stark, sketch of a landscape or of the heat, the flies and the mosquitoes, as he is to lay out a personal fragment of a short period in a busy and productive life. Here's a tale one could read as profitably to young kids as to a grandfather, or an aunt. It's not only for those still affecting laughing sides.
Jack Waterford is editor-at-large.
A Youth Not Wasted. By Ian Parkes. Fourth Estate.
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Small Business Marketing Gone Wrong!
A light‐hearted, irreverent account of the author’s career as a marketing professional. Referred to as scenes, the author shares moments of blunder, amusement and disbelief as she highlights the marketing missteps that even savvy business professionals have made. The author comments, “Why is it that even the best business people do things that sabotage their success? We try so hard to be professional and yet we’re guilty of doing things that make us look less than professional, sometimes in front of the very people whose respect we seek to earn. Regardless of how many years we’ve been in business, we’re all capable of having a “what were we thinking moment”. 37 What Were They Thinking Moments In Marketing highlights the marketing blunders, missteps and outright mistakes that business professional make, and in some cases, without even realizing it.
“I’m a fan of business books that offer stories, not just typical “how to” information. That’s why I like, and recommend, Olalah Njenga’s book, 37 What Were They Thinking Moments In Marketing. Not only is it packed full of stories, but they are fun and funny stories, of what “not” to do in business. Readers end up learning what they should do, by reading about the mistakes of others. Njenga’s matter-of-fact writing style is refreshing, and sometimes in-your-face, but she is careful to hide the identities of her story participants, making the lessons universal, not personal.”
Margie Zable Fisher
Zable Fisher Public Relations
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|Creator:||Stevens, Harriet Adeline (1909 -)|
|Extent:||5.00 linear inches.|
|Repository:||Iowa Women's Archives|
|Summary:||Teacher of nutrition education and dietetics; U. S. Army Second Lieutenant who served as a medical hospital dietician at Camp Gordon, Georgia during World War II.|
Harriet Adeline Stevens had a long and distinguished career in the field of nutrition education and dietetics. The daughter of Guy and Adeline Stevens, she was born in Iowa City, Iowa, on October 25, 1909. She graduated from University High School, Iowa City, in 1928. Stevens received a B.A. in Home Economics and a certificate of education with high distinction from the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa) in 1932. She also received an M.A. in Nutrition from the State University of Iowa in January 1934.
After teaching one term at Emporia State Teacher's College in Emporia, Kansas, Stevens moved to Chicago. She held a variety of supervisory positions in the dietary department of the University of Chicago Clinics between July 1934 and November 1938. Seeking a change of pace, she took charge of the main kitchen of the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) in Richmond, Virginia. With the outbreak of war in late 1941, her best workers "soon found out they could get paid more by the Army than they were paid by MCV!" Once she heard from other dieticians that "working conditions [in the Army] were a snap," she enlisted immediately.
Stevens joined the United States Army as a 2nd Lieutenant and served as a Medical Hospital Dietician at Camp Gordon, Georgia from March 1942 to February 1945. In October 1943, she was promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant- Head Medical Hospital Dietician. She served overseas between March 1945 and December 1945, working at a camp hospital in Great Britain for a time. She received an honorable discharge in January 1946.
On return to civilian life, she spent the summer of 1946 taking dietetics coursework at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She then accepted the post of Senior Nutritionist with the New York Department of Health, a job she held from 1946 to 1951. She returned to the University of Iowa in 1951 and taught in the Home Economics Department from 1951 to 1974. During that time, she taught or assisted in the teaching of a wide range of nutrition and child-care courses. Her approach to teaching was pragmatic and applied, in keeping with her considerable practical experience. She continued her education at the University of Iowa, working closely with Dr. Margaret Ohlson of the Dietetics Department of the University Hospital. Stevens also produced a number of distinguished publications. In 1961, she won honorable mention in the Lydia J. Roberts Essay Award Competition, one of the highest honors bestowed by the American Dietetics Association. Her final major publication, Fixing and Eating (1974), showed children how to prepare easy, nutritious recipes. She was a member of the American Dietetic Association, the American Home Economics Association, and Phi Beta Kappa.
Although she retired in 1974, Stevens continued to take an active interest in the University. She actively opposed the targeting of "historically female" departments by the University Steering Committee in 1991. She also endowed the Stevens Memorial Scholarship, awarded annually by Phi Beta Kappa in memory of her parents, thereby encouraging academic excellence.
Access: The papers are open for research.
Use: Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to The University of Iowa.
Acquisition: The papers (donor no. 520) were donated by Harriet A. Stevens in 1998.
Preferred Citation: Harriet Adeline Stevens papers, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.
|Repository:||Iowa Women's Archives|
|Address:||100 Main Library |
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, IA 52242
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Series 3: WORLD WAR II ARMY SERVICE
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Series 5: PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
Series 6: PHI BETA KAPPA
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Issued in 1831, The Chameleon was the first student newspaper at the University of Virginia. Neither the Board of Visitors nor faculty members were receptive to the idea of a student-run newspaper, fearing that it would "impede the performance of duty and the purposes of a liberal education."
When it was first anonymously published in 1920, Ye Yellow Journal created a stir among the faculty and administration for its satirical approach regarding prominent members of the University community and was denounced by some students as being "inconsistent with the ideals and traditions of the University of Virginia." Shortly after its discontinuation in 1934, the University's Administrative Council set forth an order forbidding "the publication or sale of any anonymous paper, and [we] desire to record our unanimous condemnation of the recent number of the Yellow Journal as scurrilous and indecent in the extreme." | <urn:uuid:2e529501-e1c4-445e-b274-00ea9d009597> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://explore.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/show/hoos/traditions/student-newspapers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952987 | 228 | 2.625 | 3 |
This article lists the various minor fictional characters who appear in The Great War trilogy, a sub-series of the Southern Victory series. These characters are identified by name, but play at best a peripheral role in the series. Most were simply mentioned or had a very brief, unimportant speaking role that did not impact the plot, and never appeared again.
Agamemnon was a former hired hand on a plantation owned by Jubal Marberry. Following the Red Rebellion and the establishment of the Congaree Socialist Republic, he served on the revolutionary tribunal that executed his former boss in 1915.
(American Front, WiH)
Agrippa was a Negro employee at the Sloss Steel Foundry at the beginning of the Great War. He and Vespasian worked the night shift in the same positions held by Jefferson Pinkard and Bedford Cunningham during the day. He'd been born before manumission; he was in his thirties when Pinkard first met him.
Agrippa and Vespasian arranged to have Vespasian's cousin Pericles work with Pinkard after Cunningham was called to service in 1915. Unfortunately, Pericles was a Red, and was taken into custody. Months later, Agrippa informed Pinkard that Pericles had been executed for sedition.
Ajax was a small boy whose parents worked for Anne Colleton on the Marshlands plantation. When former butler Scipio returned following Colleton's summons, Ajax was dispatched to notify Colleton that Scipio had returned.
Milo Axelrod (d. 1914) was a druggist in Richmond, Virginia. As the Great War began, he found one of his employees, Reggie Bartlett, attending a demonstration at Capitol Square when Bartlett was supposed to be minding the store and fired Bartlett. He was conscripted into the Army shortly thereafter, and stopped a bullet with his face in the Maryland front.
Ralph Briggs was a C.S. Navy officer during the Great War. He commanded a submersible until 1915, when he and his ship were captured by the United States using a Q-boat, and sent to a prison camp in West Virginia. After a period of captivity, Briggs met Reggie Bartlett. Briggs and Bartlett struck up a friendship, and eventually, the two escaped together and reached the C.S. in 1916. He was given command of another submersible which was captured by the USS Ericsson before the year was out. He scuttled his ship and was taken prisoner again. Upon learning he had escaped prison once, the US sailors wanted to murder him, though George Enos, who was present when he was captured the first time, spoke up on his behalf and he was taken prisoner again. Roger Kimball often directed scornful remarks at his ill-fated friend's expense.
Butcher and the rest of the crew were captured by the Confederate ship Swamp Fox a few months into the war. After some time in the Confederate camps, Butcher and the crew were returned to the United States as part of a prisoner exchange. The crew of the Ripple were taken home on a Spanish vessel.
Charlie Fixico was a chief of the Creek Nation in Sequoyah during the Great War. He eloquently pleaded for Confederate cavalry officer Hiram Lincoln to stay with his men and fight off the US advance on Okmulgee. Lincoln didn't want to dig in, but Fixico created such a scene that Lincoln and his men felt that honor demanded that they stay.
The Confederates and the Creek were able to fight off the advance, and save Okmulgee. However, Fixico was not content long to simply leave things at that. He ordered an attack on US positions around Beggs with the goal of taking back the oil fields. Although Lincoln tried to convince him of the futility of the offensive, Fixico insisted, sending many of his men and the Confederates to their deaths.
Max Fleischmann (d. ca. 1918) was a kosher butcher from New York City's tenth ward. His shop was located on Centre Market Place and, although he was a Democrat who voted for Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, he rented the upper level of his shop to the Socialist Party and Herman Bruck. Flora Hamburger was one of the Socialists who worked out of this space prior to her election to Congress. He felt a certain affection for her, after she helped drive off some members of the Soldiers' Circle who harassed Fleischmann. He provided food for the party on election nights. He even bragged that he'd vote for her when she stood for election in 1918.
Alfred Forbes was an art afficionado from Charleston, South Carolina. In 1914, he attended an exhibition of post-impressionist European art at Marshlands Plantation. He was interested in the works of Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, and Georges Braque. He was also openly scornful of American and German culture, and regretted that the leading Central Powers nations were too formidable to be laughed off. He and Anne Colleton, sponsor of the exhibition, commiserated on the recent defeat the United States Navy had dealt the Royal Navy in the Sandwich Islands.
Otherwise, Forbes attempted to attract Colleton to himself sexually by a pseudo-intellectual expansion on a theme of contrasts. For her part, Colleton found Forbes to be a dandy (though of course she would not be so rude as to say so), wondered how he had managed to evade military service at the outset of the Great War, and, though she did concede that he was a good-looking man, easily resisted his charms. Forbes eventually gave up his attempts at seduction and moved on to other pursuits.
Colonel Gilbert was an officer on the United States General Staff. When the offensive against the Mormon Uprising in 1916 proved particularly bloody because of the Mormons' use of landmines, Gilbert was openly contemptuous of the strategist behind the plan, Major Irving Morrell.
Clem Goebel was a citizen of Covington, Kentucky when it was a part of the Confederate States. He was involved in wholesale goods, and mourned the costs the Great War would impose on his business. He considered leaving Covington before the war started, on advice from his cousin Morton, and warned Cincinnatus to do the same, heedless of the limitations Cincinnatus lived under as a black man. While Goebel didn't help Cincinnatus load merchandise into his truck, he did give him a Dr Hopper.
Griselda was a maid who worked for Anne Colleton at the Marshlands estate. According to Scipio who managed the household staff, she was fairly lazy and wasn't above playing practical jokes on the butler. After a rebuke, he decided to have her fired to which she retorted that she was going to get a job in a factory which would pay better than Colleton ever would. Cherry asked Scipio if she could come out from the fields and take her place to which he agreed. She was then able to use her position to keep Jacob Colleton distracted whilst the Red Rebellion fermented on the plantation.
Heintzelman was a US soldier during the Great War. He was stationed in Kentucky in 1916. He and his comrade Vasilievsky followed Murray's lead and refused to work with Cincinnatus Driver, arguing that he was doing "white man's work" by driving. Their superior, Lt. Straubing, directly ordered them to work and threatened them with court-martial, before storming from the warehouse. Heintzelman and his colleagues thought that they'd bluffed their superior, but instead he returned with MPs and ordered all three arrested for insubordination.
Virgil Hobson delivered the Charleston Mercury, a newspaper read by Anne Colleton. He carried this particular newspaper, as well as a crop of others, by mule to the Marshlands estate. He was an alcoholic, and it fell to Scipio to deal with him part of the butler's household duties.
Roger Hodges (d. 1914) was a West Virginian who served with Chester Martin at the beginning of the Great War. He was killed in action against the Confederates at Catawba Mountain early in the war after he got caught up in a trip wire and was riddled by bullets.
Jerome Hotchkiss (d. 1915) was a Major in Confederate States Army. At some point he lost his left hand and it was replaced with a hook. He was assigned to fight the Red Rebellion in 1915 and attempted to put down the nascent Congaree Socialist Republic. When plantation owner Anne Colleton attempted to return to Marshlands, he turned her away, confiscating her car in the name of the CSA. He also parleyed with Scipio over a prisoner exchange.
During the death throes of the Republic, an escaping Scipio, who had found a chicken in the swamps, ran into Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss demanded that Scipio turn the chicken over to him. Scipio agreed, but then Hotchkiss recognized Scipio as the man he parleyed with months earlier. Before Hotchkiss could draw his firearm, Scipio brained him with a rock, knocking him to the ground and then proceeded to beat him over the head repeatedly until Hotchkiss was dead.
Jake Hoyland was a first lieutenant under Captain Irving Morrell's command in Sonora at the beginning of the Great War. Hoyland was born and raised in Michigan. Morrell didn't think much of Hoyland, figuring that he might one day make captain, but no higher. In the ambush outside Imuris, Hoyland covered Morrell's left flank.
Island (d. 1915) was a Negro resident of the Confederate States. He was part of the socialist conspiracy at the Colletons' Marshlands plantation, along with Cassius, Cherry and the reluctant Scipio. When the rebellion began in 1915, Island attempted to kill, but was instead killed by, the crippled Jacob Colleton.
Jonah was a black worker from Marshlands. In the early days of the Great War, he fled the plantation owned by Anne Colleton for Columbia to get a job in one of the factories since white manpower was in short supply. While on the plantation, he was linked to another worker named Letitia, who left with him.
Note: This person is not related to Ferdinand Koenig.
Pierre Lapin (d 1914) was a Quebecois lieutenant in the Canadian Army during the Great War. Lapin set up a strongpoint on Arthur McGregor's farm to resist the United States Army's march on Rosenfeld, Manitoba at the beginning of the war. Lapin and all his men were killed when the strongpoint was destroyed by US forces.
Letitia was a black worker from Marshlands. In the early days of the Great War, she fled the plantation owned by Anne Colleton for Columbia to get a job in one of the textile plants since white manpower was in short supply. While on the plantation, she was linked to another hand named Jonah. He left Marshlands with her.
Morton P. LewisEdit
Governor MacFarlane was Governor of New York during the Great War. A staunch Democrat, MacFarlane appointed his friend Daniel Miller to represent New York City's heavily Socialist Lower East Side in the United States House of Representatives following the sudden death of Myron Zuckerman in 1916.
Jubal Marberry (d. 1915) was an aged plantation owner who was captured by members of the Congaree Socialist Republic and tried as an "exploiter of the proletariat". Following a very brief trial in a kangaroo court, Cassius, Cherry, Scipio and Marberry's former plantation hand Agamemnon found Marberry guilty, and ordered his execution. Before his execution, he informed the tribunal that whatever they did to him, they would be "hung higher than Haman" when caught. Marberry himself was shot to death.
Daniel Miller was an obscure New York City lawyer and Democrat when his friend, Governor MacFarlane, appointed him to serve the late Myron Zuckerman's unexpired Congressional term in the United States House of Representatives in 1916. He was soundly defeated by Socialist candidate Flora Hamburger in a general election later that year.
Murray was US soldier during the Great War. He was stationed in Kentucky in 1916. He and his comrades Vasilievsky and Heintzelman refused to work with Cincinnatus Driver, arguing that he was doing "white man's work" by driving. Their superior, Lt. Straubing, directly ordered them to work and threatened them with court-martial, before storming from the warehouse. Murray and his colleagues thought that they'd bluffed their superior, but instead he returned with MPs and ordered all three arrested for insubordination.
Dom Pedro IV of BrazilEdit
Dom Pedro IV was the Emperor of Brazil during the Great War. Through most of the war, he kept his country neutral, although both sides actively courted him. In 1917, when it was clear that the Central Powers had the upper-hand, Dom Pedro declared war on the Entente. Brazil's entry into the war bottled-up Argentina, and cut off a valuable supply line to Britain.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pgs. 17-18, pb.
- ↑ American Front, pg. 254, pb.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 317.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pg. 57.
- ↑ American Front, pg. 422.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pg. 57.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pg. 491.
- ↑ American Front, pg. 58-62.
- ↑ American Front, pg. 35
- ↑ Blood and Iron, pg. 17, pb.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pgs. 180.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 180-184.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 251-256.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 533-534.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 591.
- ↑ American Front, pgs. 9-14.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 116-119.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 307-310.
- ↑ The Center Cannot Hold, pgs. 345-347.
- ↑ American Front, pgs. 272-275./
- ↑ Ibid. pg. 275.
- ↑ Ibid. pgs. 532-533.
- ↑ American Front, pg. 29-31.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 185.
- ↑ Blood and Iron, pg. 121-22.
- ↑ The Center Cannot Hold, pg. 161.
- ↑ American Front, pgs. 69-71.
- ↑ American Front, pg. 61.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pgs. 109-111.
- ↑ American Front, pgs. 22-24.
- ↑ American Front, pg. 22.
- ↑ American Front, pg. 336.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 441-444.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pgs. 480-482.
- ↑ American Front, pgs. 326.
- ↑ American Front, pgs. 80-83.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pgs. 10-11.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 20-21.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 491-495.
- ↑ American Front, pgs. 60-62.
- ↑ American Front, pgs. 71-79.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 561.
- ↑ American Front, pg. 76-77.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pgs. 197-201.
- ↑ American Front, pg. 61.
- ↑ American Front, pg. 43-44.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 47.
- ↑ Ibid. pg.
- ↑ American Front, pgs. 76-77.
- ↑ Breakthroughs, pgs. 427-428.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pg. 164.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pgs. 17-18.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pgs. 431-435.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 515-519, 583-586.
- ↑ Walk in Hell, pgs. 480-482.
- ↑ Breakthroughs, pg. 267.
- ↑ Ibid., pgs. 427-429.
- ↑ Ibid., pg. 539. | <urn:uuid:fa74c4e2-7e3d-4c66-bcdc-9dfeb0989687> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://turtledove.wikia.com/wiki/Agrippa_(Southern_Victory) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971993 | 3,466 | 2.078125 | 2 |
The California Geological Survey studies earthquakes to help Californians plan and build earthquake resistant communities. We record the strong ground motion from earthquakes, study the distribution of historic earthquakes and evaluate faults that are the source of earthquakes. We combine that information to prepare maps showing the potential for ground shaking, fault rupture, liquefaction and seismically induced landsliding.
Maps of recent earthquakes and Shakemaps of the intensity of earthquake shaking are available from CISN (California Integrated Seismic Network), a cooperative project of CGS, USGS, CalEMA, Caltech and UC Berkeley.
Studies of historic earthquakes provide basic background for projecting future seismic hazards and losses. Search for more information on historical earthquakes. A map of historic earthquakes of greater than Magnitude 5.5 and earthquake catalogs. Lists of significant California earthquakes and earthquake anniversaries are available here.
Faults are planes of weakness in the earth’s crust where one side has moved relative to the other. They are recognized and mapped by sheared and displaced rock units and by the distinctive landforms created by repeated rupture of the earth’s surface. Descriptions of significant active faults are included in the USGS Quaternary fault and fold database. Digital maps of Quaternary faults are available for download from CGS. Faults that represent a hazard of surface rupture are included in Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zones. Click here to view the new 2010 Fault Activity Map of California.
Earthquake probabilities are calculated by projecting earthquake rates based on earthquake history and fault slip rates. The result is expressed as the probability that an earthquake of a specified magnitude will occur on a fault or within an area. The Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast, by the 2007 Working Group on California Earthquakes, gives the first statewide estimate of earthquake probabilities for the next 30 years.
Earthquake shaking hazards are calculated considering earthquake magnitudes and rates, the decrease in earthquake shaking with distance, and amplification of shaking by soils. The result is expressed as the level of ground shaking (as a percentage of gravity) that on average occurs every 500 years. These calculations for California are part of a cooperative project between USGS and CGS, and are part of the National Seismic Hazard Maps.
The effects of potential earthquakes are described by statewide earthquake loss estimation and planning scenarios. An earthquake planning scenario is a description of a hypothetical earthquake, including projected ground shaking, damage, social disruption and economic losses. The long term effects of possible earthquakes also can be estimated and described as annualized losses: the average loss or casualties per year. Earthquake loss estimation and planning scenarios provide useful information in preparing emergency response plans, developing earthquake hazard mitigation strategies, and evaluating the nature and scope of response and recovery efforts prior to the earthquakes.
The Seismic Hazard Zonation Program maps existing landslides, and designates landslide zones of required investigation that identify areas where a site-specific hazard study and report with recommended countermeasures must be completed before a work permit is approved to construct buildings.
The California Strong Motion Instrumentation Program (CSMIP) records the strong shaking of the ground and in structures during earthquakes throughout California. The measured ground strong shaking is used immediately after an event to assist in emergency response by agencies like CalEMA. Structural measurements are studied after events to analyze the performance of structures, with the goal of mitigating future earthquake impacts through improved building codes for safer, more earthquake resistant structures. | <urn:uuid:ecf0e734-ef12-470a-9d98-dece4530770a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.consrv.ca.gov/cgs/geologic_hazards/earthquakes/Pages/index.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935068 | 698 | 3.671875 | 4 |
Her images are painted and drawn on handmade paper using watercolor, graphite, wax and coal dust. Prominent among subject matter are China’s ancient history of pottery reflected in the shape of its porcelain, the Cheat River basin through its mapped and aerial imagery, and the science and chemistry through its shapes of laboratory vessels. McClintock also draws with a burning tool, burning the images directly on the paper.
McClintock moved to a farm in Tucker County nine years ago from lower Manhattan. Her work continues to be influenced by West Virginia’s landscape and mercurial weather.
Many of McClintock’s pieces can be found in private and public collections like the museum at the West Virginia Division of Culture and History; however, the majority of her works can be found in collections owned by corporations throughout the state.
McClintock’s work will be on display in the MountainMade Artisan Gallery on Douglas Road in Thomas until January 2008. The gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To learn more about artists’ workshops and exhibits at MountainMade, visit www.mountainmade.com or call Gary Carr at 463-3355 extension 114. | <urn:uuid:0ba1c661-421f-4661-a22a-fac0929e5ec6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theintermountain.com/page/content.detail/id/502215/MountainMade-Foundation-Opens-December-Exhibit.html?nav=5008 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936857 | 258 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Lincoln-Douglas Alton Debate
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Stephen A. Douglas, the incumbent senator, and Abraham Lincoln, a former congressman and current attorney, met for the last in a series of seven debates for the right to represent Illinois in the Senate. They debated the .. Read More
Stephen A. Douglas, the incumbent senator, and Abraham Lincoln, a former congressman and current attorney, met for the last in a series of seven debates for the right to represent Illinois in the Senate. They debated the issues of the day before an outdoor crowd in Alton, Illinois. Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Douglas examined their own and each other’s positions on several issues, including states' rights and the institution of slavery. They also argued over whether the essence of their debates and the national discourse at the time was the extension of slavery or the preservation of states' rights. This seventh and last debate was significant for several reasons. It provides a good summary of the various issues since it was the last chance for both men to espouse their views in joint session. The two men also used different methods in this last debate. Abraham Lincoln tried to use the lack of constitutional references to slavery to show that the framers intended it to ultimately die out. He also argued a contradiction between popular sovereignty (if the people of a territory did not want slavery) and the supposed constitutional right to hold slaves in the Dred Scott decision. On the other hand, Stephen A. Douglas stood by his emphasis on the importance of states' rights and obeying the constitution as he interpreted it. Finally, this last debate seems more philosophical and less personal than the Quincy debate just two days earlier because their ideas had crystallized over the six previous encounters and because both men seem to have sensed the importance of stating their case to posterity as well as to the Alton crowd. This was the last of seven re-enactments of the Lincoln-Douglas senatorial debates in 1858. This debate occurred on October 15, 1858 from 2:00 pm to to 5:00 pm. Mr. Douglas spoke for an hour, Mr. Lincoln for an hour and a half, and Mr. Douglas replied for another half hour. Approximately 5,000 people witnessed the event. In the 1994 re-enactment, the following people portrayed the characters: Mayor Towse (Mayor Metcalf), Steven Potter (H.W. Billings), Donald Lowery (Stephen A. Douglas), Scott Mandrell (Abraham Lincoln). | <urn:uuid:84971096-04e9-4cd4-b2d2-37092ff52208> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Alton | 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 | 0.965535 | 513 | 3.109375 | 3 |
What does it feel like for a writer to leave everything behind and to go on living and working in a different country, a different culture and a different language? This was the main topic of a debate between Kader Abdolah (the Netherlands), Shahrnush Parsipur (United States), Sudabeh Mohafez (Germany) and Esma’il Khoi (United Kingdom) during the International Literature Festival Amsterdam held on 25 April 2008.
To the audience that took up half the seats in the auditorium of the Amsterdam Public Library, it was clear that only Kader Abdolah had found his way in his new homeland, having mastered the Dutch language and culture. Abdolah's success must be music to the ears of the other three writers. During the debate, the difficulties they experience in their struggle to write successfully in a new language were clearly evident.
Parsipur has lived in the United States for a number of years but still feels like a stranger because she does not sufficiently understand the language and society. "Preferably, I write in Farsi, but for how long? Because language is constantly changing, some day I will also lose touch with my own native language." Khoi understands what his colleague means to a certain extent. It is also hard for him to understand the stiff-upper-lip mentality of the British. But he has mastered the language and advocates the advantages of being bilingual. Because they write from a double perspective, refugee writers are both initiates and outsiders, enabling them to be both critical and analytical.
Mohafez, who is half German, is struggling with a different problem. "I write about everyday things that happen in German society. But when people hear my name, they expect me to be an exotic foreigner and are surprised that I don't write fairy tales about Arabian knights."
And Abdolah? He kept to himself during the discussion, allowing his colleagues to take the stage. The only thing he wanted to say is that after three failed attempts to continue on from the Netherlands to the United States, it reminded him of a Persian saying: "if you fail at something for the third time, use a different language". He did, resulting in fifteen books in Dutch.
The International Literature Festival Amsterdam was part of the opening week of Amsterdam World Book Capital 2008-2009. | <urn:uuid:e8b63d9c-949b-440d-824f-e7d0692476fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.powerofculture.nl/en/current/2008/May/international_literature_festival | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977632 | 478 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Saitama gov't may file suit over contaminated water from Tone River
The Saitama prefectural government is considering filing a damages suit for damages caused by the contamination of water in the Tone River by formaldehyde contamination from a water purification plant last month.
The water supply to tens of thousands of households in Saitama and Chiba prefectures was cut off for two days after local checks found it was contaminated with the cancer-causing chemical. More than 210,000 households were affected.
Saitama Gov Kiyoshi Ueda said he will discuss the issue with hie legal advisers and Chiba prefectural officials, TBS reported Tuesday.
Formaldehyde is a colorless chemical with a pungent odor, classified as a human carcinogen by the Lyon-based International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Chiba stopped taking water from a branch of the Tone River after detecting elevated levels of formaldehyde.
The worst reading was seen in Saitama, which temporarily stopped taking water at a filtration plant that on Friday detected contamination of 0.200 milligrams of formaldehyde per liter, more than two times the 0.080 milligram national limit. | <urn:uuid:40d51c7d-78c5-4e7b-ac39-9e0047da5003> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/saitama-govt-may-file-suit-over-contaminated-water-from-tone-river/comments/popular/id/2449776 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942161 | 247 | 2.265625 | 2 |
You know it’s time for your business to upgrade to a database when:
- Spreadsheets aren’t enough to organize the growing amounts of electronic data anymore, it’s hurting business and clients are screaming for change.
- The advantages of replacing stand-alone programs outweigh the time and expense of switching to something new.
- In this age of hackers, viruses and identity theft, it’s not safe for people to keep valuable information on desktop or laptop computers.
No matter what the reason, even the smallest business can benefit from upgrading to a database to centrally collect and manage vital company information, according to analyst and industry experts. First introduced in the 1970s, relational databases consolidate and store information in tables that can be shuffled and reshuffled myriad ways, helping companies better track diverse data such as sales transactions, inventory and customer profiles.
Plethora of products
Today, small businesses have a wealth of database types and vendors to choose from, including:
- Low-cost solutions like Microsoft Access, part of the Office product suite, or Filemaker Pro from Filemaker.
- Open source products like MySQL or the Base database fromOpenOffice.org.
- Software-as-a-service offerings such as InternetOffice.biz.
- Entry-level enterprise database software from industry leaders such as Oracle, Sybase and Microsoft
But don’t put the cart before the horse. The first step in a database upgrade isn’t picking the software. It’s deciding what you’re going to use it for, who’ll be using it, and how far it has to scale as your company grows, says Noel Yuhanna, a database analyst at Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass. Once you’ve created the database and know what needs to be moved, automated tools can easily transfer data from existing spreadsheets and other files to the new system, Yuhanna says.
With identify theft and other computer-related crimes on the rise, security is another reason companies switch to centralized databases, Yuhanna says. “If someone were to remove files from your desktop or laptop, you might not know about it. Anybody can change a figure and you wouldn’t know it. In a database, you can track that.”
Who’s in charge
Deciding what you need a database to do might be a group effort, but the job of putting a plan into action typically falls to a select few. At small companies, that might be the most tech savvy person on staff, or a consultant who’s hired for a month or two to get things running and train the staff. Mid-sized companies might need one or two IT people to maintain associated hardware and software, according to Greg Nelson a former software company owner and currently chairman of the Naples, Fla., chapter of SCORE, the small-business advisory group.
Costs will vary accordingly, Nelson says. For a small company using Microsoft Access to create a database for 10 people, the costs would be nominal. But a database with 500 users and roll-back capabilities that minimize lost data in the event of a power failure could be $25,000 in software alone, he says.
However, any forward-looking company shouldn’t think twice about putting a properly constructed database in place, Nelson says. “Having the right information available at the right time,” he says, “can certainly make the difference between success and failure.” | <urn:uuid:f8015cc9-cb88-42e1-9a17-5bbb6c20a77b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://technology.inc.com/2007/11/01/upgrading-to-a-database/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92341 | 726 | 1.53125 | 2 |
'River Heroes' Honored by Alabama Rivers Alliance
On March 20, the Alabama Rivers Alliance presented River Heroes awards to Reverend Mark Johnston and Dr. Bryan Burgess, pictured above. Cindy Lowry, Executive Director for ARA, presented the awards "in recognition of lifetime achievement." Rev. Johnston and Dr. Burgess have provided environmental education to more than 120,000 Alabama youth.
Burgess, a farmer and former professor of earth sciences at Jacksonville State University, served for four years as conservation chair of the Sierra Club's Alabama Chapter. After getting certified in water-quality monitoring by Alabama Water Watch, he brought the Club's Water Sentinels Program to Alabama and was co-leader for six years. The program has provided environmental training to more than 30,000 school kids and placed water monitoring kits in schools and county offices throughout the state.
Johnston, below, an avid fisherman "since I could walk," is the Executive Director of Camp McDowell, an Episcopal camp and conference center in Nauvoo, Alabama. In 1991 he founded the McDowell Environmental Center, now directed by his wife, Maggie. To date, more than 80,000 students have attended the residential environmental education program.
"Mark and I share a common goal," says Burgess, "to provide training for youth and to equip them for making informed decisions about their environment. We're now seeing the results at the polls as the youth are advancing to voting age." He and Maggie Johnston jointly established a watershed training program for Alabama public school teachers at Camp McDowell. Participants in a 2007 training are pictured below.
In 1999, Burgess and his wife Leslie co-founded Friends of Rural Alabama, which has been instrumental in closing three hog factories and levying heavy fines on another. With grants he obtained from the EPA, Burgess helped develop an aerial photography and satellite imaging system that mapped factory farm operations in Alabama. By overlaying his results onto the state Department of Environmental Management's map of impaired waters, he identified many more pollution sources than appeared on the state's Web site.
Burgess obtained additional EPA funding to map potential nutrient sources in 16 states and built a Geographic Information System for each state to show this mapping. Then, with funding he secured from the World Wildlife Fund and Norcross Wildlife Fund, he set up computer networks to host the systems, made them available to 20 conservation organizations in 16 states, and trained more than 60 conservation groups on how to use the system to assist with their clean water campaigns.
Reverend Johnston, a carpenter by training, was named Alabama's Outstanding Young Religious Leader in 1981 after he helped build a rural church whose membership and community involvement then grew dramatically. An Alabama Volunteer of the Year award followed for his work with retarded citizens, and in 1985 he started the West Alabama Food Bank, which gives away more than 1 million pounds of food a year.
Johnston became an environmental activist to combat illegal mining practices. "Strip mining was harming the watershed where I lived," he says, "but when I tried to do something about it I was lied to by miners and members of state agencies, my life was threatened, and powerful people tried to get my bishop to rein me in." But he persevered, and for eight years in the 1990s he led the fight to restore wetlands and water quality, protect 226 acres of national forest lands, and compel mining companies to address problems with their operations.
In 2002, concerned that the Department of Environmental Management had "broken its trust" with citizens, Johnston instigated the ADEM Reform Coalition and served as its co-chair for many years. (Burgess was also instrumental in ARC's founding.) A former President of the Alabama Rivers Alliance, Johnston helped stop illegal dumping of toxic waste in a local surface mine and halt pollution of Clear Creek, near his home, by a garment dye company.
Johnston, pictured below on Wyoming's Snake River, says he can stand up in a canoe going through a set of rapids steering with one hand while hanging on to a fishing rod with a big fish on the line.
Top photo, teacher training photo, and Bryan Burgess photos by Leslie Burgess. Mark Johnston photos by Maggie Wade Johnston. | <urn:uuid:c935e842-7ee6-4fcd-b261-2c41bfba365a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sierraclub.typepad.com/scrapbook/2009/04/river-heroes-honored-by-alabama-rivers-alliance.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971078 | 851 | 1.851563 | 2 |
2013-02-06 14:24:20 -
NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 02/06/13 -- A recently proposal from the Federal Communications Commission to provide the U.S. public free access to WiFi could become a major obstacle for the $178 billion wireless industry. "For a casual user of the Web, perhaps this could replace carrier service," said Medley Global Advisors analyst, Jeffrey Silva. "Because it is more plentiful and there is no price tag, it could have a real appeal to some people." Five Star Equities examines the outlook for companies in the Telecom Industry and provides equity research on Frontier Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: FTR) and Windstream Corp. (NASDAQ: WIN).
Access to the full company reports can be found at:
www.FiveStarEquities.com/FTR : ctt.marketwire.com/?release=982555&id=2579221&type=1& ..
www.FiveStarEquities.com/WIN : ctt.marketwire.com/?release=982555&id=2579224&type=1& ..
The Washington Post has recently reported that the FCC has proposed the idea of creating super WiFi networks around the U.S., which would allow the public to make cellphone calls or surf the Internet free of charge. The FCC's plan has been in discussion for years but gained traction after endorsements from Google and Microsoft. The companies believe that easy access to free public WiFi would spur "millions of devices that will compose the coming Internet of things". If approved, it would still take several years before the FCC's proposal would be in full effect.
Five Star Equities releases regular market updates on the Telecom Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us free at www.FiveStarEquities.com : ctt.marketwire.com/?release=982555&id=2579227&type=1& ..
and get exclusive access to our numerous stock reports and industry newsletters.
At September 30, 2012, Frontier had approximately 2,932,200 residential customers and 291,400 business customers. During the third quarter the company saw a 1.9 percent sequential increase in average monthly customer revenue. Frontier is scheduled to release its results for the fourth quarter on Thursday, February 21st.
Windstream has more than $6 billion in annual revenues and is listed on the S&P 500 index. The company reported total revenues and sales of $1.55 billion in the third quarter. The $15 million increase when compared to the second quarter of 2012 was the largest sequential increase to date. Windstream is scheduled to release its results for the fourth quarter of 2012 on Tuesday, February 19th.
Five Star Equities provides Market Research focused on equities that offer growth opportunities, value, and strong potential return. We strive to provide the most up-to-date market activities. We constantly create research reports and newsletters for our members. Five Star Equities has not been compensated by any of the above-mentioned companies. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at:
www.FiveStarEquities.com/disclaimer : ctt.marketwire.com/?release=982555&id=2579230&type=1& ..
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Add to Newsvine : www.newsvine.com/_tools/seed&save?u= www2.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=982555 | <urn:uuid:9b64af8a-dda4-417c-9b6e-af1c69989865> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pr-inside.com/federal-communications-commission-proposes-r3577026.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922901 | 857 | 1.585938 | 2 |
In simple cases, if you use Heroku, application deployment process can be as easy as one shell command. But Heroku does not provide enough scaling and flexibility for more advanced scenarios or more serious load.
If you need to test something and then be able to expand to thousands of requests per second, EC2 from Amazon Web Services is definitely the way to go. It provides you with a virtual system which is totally under your control. You can add additional storage, move storage between servers and increase CPU/memory in almost real-time.
The downside, though, is that you have to setup the whole application infrastructure by yourself: from frontend servers to deployment scripts to security customizations. There is no preferable way of doing one thing or another, so here I’m offering what worked perfectly for me, and what I was not able to find while surfing the Internet for solutions.
But sometimes you want to run your app with a set of different programming languages, frameworks, and databases. This is something that a typical PaaS provider can’t offer, so you need a general-purpose hosting.
V8 Benchmark Suite – version 7
Laptop’s config: Core i7-2720QM, 12 Gb of RAM
In the previous post we looked into creating AJAX-based progress indicator. But how do we supposed to tell the user if something goes wrong? Like a problem with backend connection, or database overload.
Here I will show you how to handle errors and display them easily in a fancy manner. | <urn:uuid:5d437128-bfa8-4175-88e1-9a6438dadcf1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://vasil-y.com/ | 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 | 0.910913 | 318 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Presenter: Medard Gabel
Length: 45 minutes - 1 hour
Availability: By Request
Audience: Grades 8-12; Adults
About the Program:
Since 1950, life expectancy in the world is up nearly 40%; death and birth rates are down 40%; the number of immunized children is up 1400% (basic immunization has saved over 20 million children from all preventable lethal diseases since 1980); smallpox has been eradicated; polio has been reduced by 99%; measles have been reduced by 90%; access to safe drinking water is up 173% since 1970; hunger has been reduced from 25% of the world's population in 1970 to 14% today; literacy levels are up over 100% since the 1950s. These are just a few of the positive trends impacting our world (and that escape most people's notice) that will be covered in this program that puts all the "bad news" we hear about everyday in a positive and life enhancing context.
Medard Gabel has designed and delivered exciting, involving and interactive programs around the world for GM, IBM, Motorola and over thirty other Fortune 100 companies, as well as the UN, World Bank, U.S. Congress and other governments. He is the author of six highly praised books on global affairs, energy, food, and corporate enterprise. Mr. Gabel is CEO of BigPictureSmallWorld, a company that develops and delivers high impact educational programs on critical topics for event planners, corporations and organizations around the world. His other company, BigPicture Consulting, helps corporations meet real world needs in emerging markets in profitable ways.
To Book this, or any GEM program, please email firstname.lastname@example.org or call 215-248-1150 | <urn:uuid:016f090f-b371-4069-b3b6-186f67aaa6ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gem-ngo.org/Global-Good-News.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940547 | 357 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Issues Air Max Handling Stress? Consider These Tips!
One of the worst pieces about stress is that it can arrive in Air Max many forms and arrive at any moment. Just if you consider things are moving nicely, you may get into an unsatisfactory circumstance and pressure will piggyback in on it. If you have troubles with anxiety, these pointers might be able to help you get free of it.An incredible suggestion which can help you lessen stress is to shower area and do as much as it is possible to the evening before you go to work. Performing all of these issues will help you to prepare yourself every morning and you also won't ought to rush a whole lot.If you feel such as you are chronically stressed out or annoyed than you should think about presenting Air Max Pas Cher exercising into your program. Lots of people recommend jogging for pressure comfort but any type of heavy exercise will assist you to free of charge your brain and will also increase your fitness level at the same time!Make it a behavior to amount whatever is worrying yourself on a size from one to ten. One as a really small matter although 15 being a key anxiety breakdown. Typically, you will find the pressures you have at hand will slip from the lower end in the array. This really is a wonderful way to place your demanding situations into point of view.Avoid alcohol and cigarette smoking as methods for dealing with tension. They might seem to be to aid in a quick-word situation, but you manage a actual likelihood of creating a critical long-term health issue which will be significantly Nike Pas Cher a whole lot worse than the pressure you might be presently going through. Getting hooked, or even a rise in health concerns will elevate your stress levels even better. Preferable to steer clear of alcoholic beverages and nicotine together.Whenever you get yourself inside a higher-tension scenario, consider serious breaths to relax your self lower. This helps through giving you some more instances to assess the problem. Deep breathing also provides more oxygen in your blood, which instantly helps you to quiet your system.Go on a warm bathroom with lavender oils. Lavender has soothing properties, both in its odor and whenever straight in contact with painful muscles. Washing in a warm bathroom with lavender oils will allow you serious amounts of your self Air Max Pas Cher inside the tepid to warm water, which features its own calming results too.Video games are an easy way for individuals to lower their tension by actively playing out their hostility through an avatar. They are not just for young children any more as well as a very good very competitive activity might be just what you need to be able to get rid of your higher levels of poor stress.Stress could have a really bad impact our digestive system solutions. Based on the personal, tension may well cause diarrhea or perhaps constipation. When our digestive system isn't in working order, this only adds to our tension, along with the Air Max effect can be a never-concluding vicious group. When you are experiencing troubles such as these don't ignore the truth that stress might be the source.Pressure has a propensity to show up once you the very least count on it and many undoubtedly when you find yourself planning on it. It's hilarious that way pressure just likes to turn up time period. You can manage your daily life, although, and overcome all those stressful feelings utilizing the tips you've study inside the above article.For additional information, please look at Followed below Expert articles.Alleviate Air Max Your Worries With One Of These TipsProperly Air Max Working with With Your Life's Stresses | <urn:uuid:c953fb57-a4ec-4a99-b5a1-b7288f5d9fe2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://funfunfunfest.com/users/UU1PPMVk/blogs/4279043 | 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 | 0.960333 | 731 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Issachar had four sons: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.
Tola had six sons: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel. They were heads of families of the clan of Tola and were famous soldiers. At the time of King David their descendants numbered 22,600.
Uzzi had one son, Izrahiah. Izrahiah and his four sons, Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, were all heads of families.
They had so many wives and children that their descendants were able to provide 36,000 men for military duty.
The official records of all the families of the tribe of Issachar listed 87,000 men eligible for military duty.
Benjamin had three sons: Bela, Becher, and Jediael.
Bela had five sons: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri. They were heads of families in the clan and were all famous soldiers. Their descendants included 22,034 men eligible for military duty.
Becher had nine sons: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth.
The official record of their descendants by families listed 20,200 men eligible for military duty.
Jediael had one son, Bilhan, and Bilhan had seven sons: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar.
They were heads of families in the clan and were all famous soldiers. Their descendants included 17,200 men eligible for military duty.
Shuppim and Huppim also belonged to this tribe. Dan had one son, Hushim.
Naphtali had four sons: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum. (They were descendants of Bilhah. )
By his Aramean concubine, Manasseh had two sons, Asriel and Machir. Machir was the father of Gilead.
Machir found a wife for Huppim and one for Shuppim. His sister's name was Maacah. Machir's second son was Zelophehad, and he had only daughters.
Maacah, Machir's wife, gave birth to two sons, whom they named Peresh and Sheresh. Peresh had two sons, Ulam and Rakem,
and Ulam had a son named Bedan. These are all descendants of Gilead, the son of Machir and grandson of Manasseh.
Gilead's sister Hammolecheth had three sons: Ishod, Abiezer, and Mahlah
(Shemida had four sons: Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.)
These are the descendants of Ephraim from generation to generation: Shuthelah, Bered, Tahath, Eleadah, Tahath,
Zabad, Shuthelah. Ephraim had two other sons besides Shuthelah: Ezer and Elead, who were killed when they tried to steal the livestock belonging to the native inhabitants of Gath.
Their father Ephraim mourned for them for many days, and his relatives came to comfort him.
Then he had intercourse with his wife again, and she became pregnant and had a son. They named him Beriah, because of the trouble that had come to their family.
Ephraim had a daughter named Sheerah. She built the towns of Upper and Lower Beth Horon, and Uzzen Sheerah.
Ephraim also had a son named Rephah, whose descendants were as follows: Resheph, Telah, Tahan,
Ladan, Ammihud, Elishama,
The territory which they took and settled included Bethel and the towns around it, as far east as Naaran and as far west as Gezer and the towns around it. It also included the cities of Shechem and Ayyah, and the towns around them.
The descendants of Manasseh controlled the cities of Beth Shan, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor, and the towns around them. All these are the places where the descendants of Joseph son of Jacob lived.
These are the descendants of Asher. He had four sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah; and one daughter, Serah.
Beriah had two sons, Heber and Malchiel. (Malchiel founded the city of Birzaith.)
Heber had three sons: Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham; and one daughter, Shua.
Japhlet also had three sons: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath.
His brother Shomer had three sons: Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram.
His brother Hotham had four sons: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.
The descendants of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah,
Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera.
The descendants of Jether were Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara,
and the descendants of Ulla were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia.
All of these were descendants of Asher. They were heads of families, famous fighting men, outstanding leaders. Asher's descendants included 26,000 men eligible for military duty.
Benjamin had five sons. In order of age they were Bela, Ashbel, Aharah,
Nohah, and Rapha.
The descendants of Bela were Addar, Gera, Abihud,
Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah,
Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram.
The descendants of Ehud were Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera. They were heads of families that lived in Geba, but which were forced out and went to live in Manahath. Gera, the father of Uzza and Ahihud, led them in this move.
Shaharaim divorced two wives, Hushim and Baara. Later, when he lived in the country of Moab, he married Hodesh and had seven sons: Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam,
Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. His sons all became heads of families.
He also had two sons by Hushim: Abitub and Elpaal.
Elpaal had three sons: Eber, Misham, and Shemed. It was Shemed who built the cities of Ono and Lod and the surrounding villages.
Beriah and Shema were heads of families that settled in the city of Aijalon and drove out the people who lived in the city of Gath.
Beriah's descendants included Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth,
Zebadiah, Arad, Eder,
Michael, Ishpah, and Joha.
Elpaal's descendants included Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber,
Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab.
Shimei's descendants included Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi,
Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel,
Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath.
Shashak's descendants included Ishpan, Eber, Eliel,
Abdon, Zichri, Hanan,
Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah,
Iphdeiah, and Penuel.
Jeroham's descendants included Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah,
Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri.
These were the ancestral heads of families and their principal descendants who lived in Jerusalem.
Jeiel founded the city of Gibeon and settled there. His wife was named Maacah,
and his oldest son, Abdon. His other sons were Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab,
Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah,
and Mikloth, the father of Shimeah. Their descendants lived in Jerusalem near other families of their clan.
Ner was the father of Kish, and Kish was the father of King Saul. Saul had four sons: Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.
Jonathan was the father of Meribbaal, who was the father of Micah.
Micah had four sons: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Jehoaddah, who was the father of three sons: Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri was the father of Moza,
Moza the father of Binea, Binea of Raphah, Raphah of Eleasah, and Eleasah of Azel.
Azel had six sons: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan.
Azel's brother Eshek had three sons: Ulam, Jeush, and Eliphelet.
Ulam's sons were outstanding soldiers and archers. He had a hundred and fifty sons and grandsons in all. All those named above were members of the tribe of Benjamin. | <urn:uuid:174718c5-6378-458e-9091-16b15c9b831e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biblestudytools.com/gnt/1-chronicles/passage.aspx?q=1+chronicles+7;1+chronicles+8 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979788 | 2,057 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Using XML To Supercharge Website Performance
How XML Increases Performance
The use of XML can boost performance many ways, including:
- Content is local to the web server, therefore decreasing network traffic.
- Less load on the data tier since your database is queried every minute, or even once a day–rather than, for example, 50 times a minute. (Creation of static content is usually done hourly or nightly.)
- Your HTML will be created and displayed faster because your application won’t have to query the database and transfer the data over the network over and over again.
You don’t have to port your entire site to an XML solution to gain the advantages of using XML. In most cases, just using XML in selective areas of your website can generate huge performance boosts.
In this article we are going to look at a real-world example of using XML to boost performance. If you want to follow along with the examples, you will need the following. If you just want to read along, and not perform the exercises, that is good too.
- SQL Server 7.0 (example uses pubs database)
- XML Creator Object (provided with download found later on this page)
- MS XML 3.0 (free from Microsoft)
- ADO 2.6 (free from Microsoft)
Recognizing Areas That Will Produce Huge Performance Increases
Before implementing XML, you will need to identify which areas of your site will give you the greatest performance increases by using XML. You will want to find out which queries are being executed most frequently. Once you find out which queries are being executed the most, you will then have to verify that it makes sense to use XML in those areas.
For example, let’s use SQL Server Profiler, a utility that ships with SQL Server and allows us to trace the various events that occur between your ASP application and SQL Server. Using this utility we can create a trace to run for 15 or 30 minutes and see which stored procedures were executed the most in that time frame. If you are unfamiliar with Profiler, please refer to the article entitled SQL Server 2000 Performance Tuning Tools.
After running the trace, let’s say we have discovered that a stored procedure named “Categories_Get” has been executed 40 times within 15 minutes! After further inspection, we discover that the reason this stored procedure is being executed so much is because it returns a listing of categories. We just happen to have an e-commerce store, and on every single page we have a navigation bar that links to the various categories of our store. Not surprisingly, this is the stored procedure that returns the listing of categories and their associated ID’s. This is a perfect example of where XML can deliver big performance increases.
Implementing XML Into Your Existing Applications Based On the Example Above
Implementing XML will consist of the following steps:
1. Install necessary components.
2. Run the Install Script.
3. Configure the Job.
4. Create an XSL Document Template based on an XML Document.
5. Add an include file containing XML functions to your ASP page, remove your old code, add one line of code–and you’re finished!
Step 1: Install Necessary Components
In order for the XML Creator component to function properly, you will need install ADO 2.6 and MS XML 3.0, assuming you have not done so already. Both are provided free from Microsoft.
Next, you will need to download a component, which will take a recordset and create an XML document. I created the component using Visual Basic and it references ADO 2.6 and MS XML 3.0; therefore, you should not have to worry about memory leaks if you use this component.
Once you have downloaded the XML Creator component, you will have to register the component on the machine that has SQL Server on it. For this article, we are going to use SQL Server as the scheduler. We will create a new job that will execute a stored procedure at certain intervals. That stored procedure will then a) create the component and b) call a method with a connection string, stored procedure, and a path to save the XML document. Therefore, we will have to install the components on a machine that has SQL Server, although, it does not have to be your production machine. You could implement this solution in numerous ways; however, for this article, I will show you how to use SQL Server to accomplish the task at hand, with all code provided.
To register the XML Creator component, open a DOS command prompt, navigate to the directory where xml_create.dll is located, and run:
Pages: 1 2 | <urn:uuid:40e5b5c4-a3f3-496f-a13c-41fa913ae64e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sql-server-performance.com/2001/xml-increase-performance/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911103 | 977 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Every negative thought is one more step to failure
It seems today so many people are expressing themselves with negative thought. If you’re not seeing someone talking about murder and mayhem on the news, then you are reading a friends post on Facebook as they say FML over a messed up cup of coffee. I have to ask myself, do these people just like to be negative energy? I have to say I don't think so. I would say that most people today don't know how to express themselves in a positive way. They don't have the tools to live a life they want, never realizing that everything they say, do, and are exposed to have a direct effect on their quality of life.
I used to be a negative person. I blamed everyone and everything for my lot in life. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't have some sort of negative thought cross my mind. I wasn't a non-functioning totally depressed person, in fact I was highly functioning. But I wasn't happy. I was like a lot of people these days; I was asleep at the wheel. I didn't realize that I was feeding on the negativity that I saw every day and recycling it back to the people around me, creating a one legged ass kicking contest of negativity. The relationship I was in was negative, a lot of my friend's online were negative, and my coworkers were negative. I would walk around thinking why is everyone so negative, never realizing it was me creating that negativity in my surroundings. I was a totally depressed person.
Things did not turn around for me until I decided to stop listening to the negativity. I realized I could be happy. All I had to do was choose to be. Being happy is a pretty simple thing. You just choose to be happy. Just as you choose negativity in your life, you can choose positivity.  Have you ever been around a truly happy person? The energy that that person puts off makes you happy. The same is true for a person who exudes negativity. We have all been exposed to a family member, coworker, or Facebook friend’s post that is filled with negativity. How do they make you feel? Do you want to be around them for long lengths of time? I would think not. Now look at that person with all the negative thought. Are they a productive person? Are they happy? Sometimes you don't even know that person is bringing you down until you take a step back and think about what they are saying. You have to fortify yourself against these people and there thought and not be caught up in their negative energy. Remember you control what goes into your subconscious. Words and actions produce very powerful emotions. If you learn to control your own emotions, other peoples won't make a difference in your happiness.
Since I choose to be happy, I have since gotten out of the bad relationship, and moved on to a happy one. I have published a short book on Amazon (Inspiration for the struggling writer) which helps not just writers, but anyone get over fear and negative thought. My life is full of new and wonderful things because I am not bogged down with negative energy. Even when things are not going the way I planned I am still happy. Do have things in my life that are negative? Yes! But now I know how to deal with them. All I do is choose happiness
There were many resources and books I read that hit home for me. Here is a list of some of them.
Inspiration for the struggling writer: Of course I have to put my own book in the list. It is something I am proud of, and I hope it can be helpful to you.
The power of your subconscious mind: Your subconscious doesn't know what is real or not. What ever you put into it will come to pass. Put good stuff in it.
Don't sweat the small stuff: Every problem in life becomes small over time.
Unlimited power: You have a store house of power in you. Learn how to use it. | <urn:uuid:9c8e9598-c64c-486c-abc6-f419e8148d71> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mnreaders.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981854569 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986102 | 841 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Thursday, April 14, 2011
What: Time Magazine covers a story about a controversial pastor promoting the view that everyone who has ever lived has an opportunity to live in heaven.
Quotes: "He suggests that the redemptive work of Jesus may be universal — meaning that, as his book's subtitle puts it, "every person who ever lived" could have a place in heaven, whatever that turns out to be."
"So is it heaven for Christians who say they are Christians and hell for everybody else? What about babies, or people who die without ever hearing the Gospel through no fault of their own? (As Bell puts it, "What if the missionary got a flat tire?")"
Reaction: Actually, the pastor and his book ultimately take the view that not only does everyone have the opportunity to get to heaven, but indeed, everyone will get to heaven eventually regardless of what they do, which is not in line with church doctrine and borders on the "eat, drink, and be merry" mentality. Still, the original premise--that Jesus' atonement is universal and that even those who die without acknowledging Jesus as their savior can make it to the same place--is a good one. And all in all, there are some great quotes in the article.
Posted by Bob at 11:01 AM | <urn:uuid:2a88ac70-ec65-4759-b522-e37ae7cf7635> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://themormonsarecoming.blogspot.com/2011/04/some-evangelicals-starting-to-believe.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973608 | 268 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Four people died when a double-decker Megabus traveling from Philadelphia to Syracuse slammed into a low railroad bridge that crosses Onondaga Lake Parkway in Salina early Saturday morning.
The fatal crash prompted many syracuse.com users to offer a flurry of suggestions on how to prevent future accidents involving vehicles that are too tall to fit under it: lower the road, raise the bridge and install a chain, sign or breakaway bar at the same height as the bridge to warn drivers before they reach it.
But syracuse.com user peter.vanderhaden had this to say:
"Hate to tell you, the breakaway bars won't work. They had them on the parkway back in the mid-80's and trucks still hit the bridge. The problem is stupid drivers. Commercial drivers need to know the height of their vehicles and know how to do some basic math; that's the only way they'll stop hitting the bridge. (Also obeying the NO TRUCKS signs would help.)" | <urn:uuid:7ba70ece-2ba7-4f03-aeea-7de1a50585f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/your_comments_breakaway_bars_w.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957956 | 209 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Ever wonder how much of the American carbon footprint is caused by the American health care system? In a research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, U of Chicago researchers estimate for the first time. The result: a surprising 8 percent, or nearly a tenth of the country’s bindmogglingly fat CO2 emissions.
Interestingly, health care accounts for 16 percent of US gross domestic product. So are health care costs way out of whack? Or is the health care business unusually light on the C02?
Not hard to guess that one.
The biggest wastrel? Hospitals, with their high energy demands for temperature control, ventilation, and lighting.
Second biggest wastrel? The pharmaceutical industry, with its high energy costs of manufacturing and researching drugs, combined with high transportation costs for drug distribution.
Fixes? The authors suggest that hospitals create recycling programs (they don't have those already?) and buy goods and services from environmentally friendly suppliers.
As an example, the U of Chicago Medical Center's sustainability program created a plastic recycling program diverting more than 500 pounds of waste a day from landfills and mandating that 90 percent of cleaning supplies have Green Seal certification. These measures reduced waste costs from $55,000 to $35,000 a month. Apparently green is good for the medical greenback.
The Brits are assessing their health care footprint too. James Black blogging at Health and Environment says that Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) is Europe’s largest public sector contributor of CO2 emissions and accounts for a quarter of the UK’s total carbon footprint. He suggests this triage:
The average face to face staff meeting costs the NHS $415, and 82% of those attending meetings typically claim around $67 each in expenses. One meeting costs the Earth an average of 47kg of CO2. The NHS estimates that if just half of its management and frontline staff were to use video conferencing, 219,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions could be saved every year.
(Not that technological cures are carbonless.)
Jeannette Chung, lead author of the JAMA research letter, diagnoses the American system when she says:
"In this country, the primary focus is on issues surrounding patient safety, health care quality, and cost containment at this current point in time. The health care sector, in general, may be a bit slower than other sectors to put this [emissions] on their radar screen. But given the focus on health care policy and environmental policy, it might be interesting—if not wise—to start accounting for environmental externalities in health care.
Rx: Get wise. Fast.
Also, play more, get healthier. | <urn:uuid:b1ed61e7-8dc9-404c-99e0-91d477748842> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2009/11?page=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938884 | 561 | 2.875 | 3 |
In Unix, where can I get information on differences between the various shells?
For information about various Unix shells, see UNIX shell differences and how to change your shell. This text is a portion of the Unix FAQ, and contains information about the history of Unix shells, their differences, a comparison table of features, and instructions about how to change your current shell.
At Indiana University, for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems support, see At IU, how do I get support for Linux or Unix?
Last modified on October 03, 2012. | <urn:uuid:c9341589-4aac-4e5f-9b62-1596edc7a123> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kb.iu.edu/data/abdz.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904566 | 113 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treatment depends very much on the individual patient. There is a vast array of choices of tried and true treatments, and novel new therapies. And the list grows every year.
Of course having so many treatment choices can make this just that much more confusing for the patient who is trying to figure out what is the best choice to make. Perhaps the most important point to remember is that in most cases there are several equally effective treatments that can be used, and it is up to the patient and their doctor to choose the one they are both most comfortable with. A second opinion is highly likely to yield different suggestions, but don't let that scare you. It is quite common.
The treatment your doctor recommends will only be made after a careful examination of all your tests. Early stage disease may be successfully treated with radiation therapy alone. Most patients do not present at early stage though, so single agent chemotherapy or combination chemotherapy is more common. Patients with large tumours will often have chemotherapy and radiation to the large tumour.
The United States National Comprehensive Cancer Network publishes a Clinical Practice Guidelines document which outlines the treatment decision tree that represents their expert opinion on how to treat NHL. This should give most people a good idea of what to expect from their own medical team.
Click on the links on the left menu for information about the various treatment options.
No patient should overlook the option of participating in a clinical trial. These are an important choice for all cancer patients. Not only do you have the opportunity to receive treatment that may be more effective than those currently available, but you also contribute to the future of other cancer patients by letting researchers learn from your experience.
Virtually all clinical trials test a new treatment against the best existing treatment to see if they can improve upon the existing treatment. Placebo's are never used when testing cancer treatments. Placebo's might be used when conducting a trial that does not affect the potential life or death of the patients. For example a placebo could be used, versus a new drug to control nausea, vomiting, or other cancer treatment side effects.
There are a number of questions you must consider carefully before participating in any clinical trial.
- What are the goals of the trial?
- What phase trial is it?
- What results have been achieved so far?
- What are the costs to the patient if any?
- What ratio of patients get the new treatment and the control treatment?
- Will I know whether I get the trial treatment or the control treatment?
- Is it a blind or double blind trial?
- If I do not respond during the trial what options to I have for further treatment?
- If I am in the control group and don't get the trial drug, and I fail to respond do I have the option to exit the trial but still get the trial drug?
To find a clinical trial near you just go to our Clinical trials page by clicking on the Clinical Trials Search link on the left. | <urn:uuid:608aca95-8517-4e87-a748-7754a8c80837> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nhlcyberfamily.org/treatments.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950618 | 612 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Published November 14, 2011
With Black Friday just around the corner, the year-end maelstrom of holiday shopping madness is about to kick off. The latest Spending and Saving Tracker survey by American Express indicates shoppers are still smarting from the housing bust and recession (which we’ve been told is “officially” over, but try to convince the 14 million Americans looking for work). None the less, this shopping season could mark a watershed moment: Instead of heading to the mall with a family member or best friend, more of us will be taking along a potentially more useful companion, our smartphone.
This year’s holiday shopper can perhaps best be described as cyber savvy and determined to not over pay. The survey shows
While 13% of respondents say they’ll turn to it to search for gift ideas, roughly 20% intend to use a smartphone to scan bar codes, download coupons, compare prices and find out where they might get a better deal. This is especially true of what American Express calls “Young Professionals”, college-educated consumers under age 30 and earn at least $50,000 annually. Sixty-three percent of those who fall into this category- three times more than the general population- will use their phone to shop this year.
For equipped phones, the comparison shopping may work like this: You simply download one of several free barcode scanning applications, and when you’re standing in front of the item you’re interested in, take a picture of the barcode with your smartphone. You’ll find out within seconds what other retailers (online and brick and mortar) carry the itam and at what price.
"For example,” says American Express spokeswoman Melanie Backs, “If you’re in Bed, Bath & Beyond, [you might learn that] that at Amazon.com you can get it 15% cheaper and they’re offering free shipping.”
Although young professionals are the alpha dogs when it come to using technology, half of us plan to let our fingers do the walking – and shopping- through cyberspace. Smartphones are just the newest weapon in the bargain hunter’s arsenal. Online purchases continue to explode and evolve. According to American Express, the second-largest group that will use the internet for holiday shopping are “Affluents”- those with a household income of $100,000 or more.
Americans love a bargain. And we’re prepared to forsake family and sleep to score one. If you thought the mall was packed last year during the weekend after Thanksgiving, brace yourself: Turnout at brick-and-mortar stores is expected to be a third higher this year. According to Bank, 42% of holiday shoppers will to hit the mall on Black Friday. What’s more, 2 out 5 plan to start between midnight and 4 a.m.!
But even devoted mall rats have been won over by the ease of both researching and purchasing items online. More than 60% of consumers expect to split their purchases 50-50 between brick-and-mortar and online retailers, according to the Amex survey. Those who say all purchases will be made in person are now the minority (34%).
For those of you holding out for “Cyber Monday” deals, be prepared for patience. The forecast calls for a 75% increase in internet traffic compared to last year. Don’t be surprised if processing at popular websites slows noticeably.
The good news for retailers this holiday season is that although consumers are extremely cost conscious, we’re expecting to spend slightly more. “Holiday budgets got a 17% bump,” says Backs. On average, the American Express survey found that Americans plan to dish out $831 for presents, a $121 increase of what we spent last year. We’re most likely to use this to buy: 1) gift cards (58%), 2) clothing and accessories (48%), and 3) toys and games (43%).
Still, the survey shows that, as Backs puts it, “strategic spending is here to stay.” We’re not abandoning the money-saving habits we’ve adopted in recent years. More than a third of us say we have set a budget and half plan to stick to it no matter what. The survey shows that if, for budget reasons, someone has to get cut from the holiday gift list, it’s more likely to be a distant relative than a friend.
“Second cousins, watch out,” warns Backs.
1. If you relate to this phrase I know how old you are!
Ms. Buckner is a Retirement and Financial Planning Specialist and an instructor in Franklin Templeton Investments' global Academy. The views expressed in this article are only those of Ms. Buckner or the individual commentator identified therein, and are not necessarily the views of Franklin Templeton Investments, which has not reviewed, and is not responsible for, the content.
If you have a question for Gail Buckner and the Your $ Matters column, send them to: firstname.lastname@example.org, along with your name and phone number. | <urn:uuid:9714920d-e717-4934-9228-5109cd278639> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/11/14/bargain-shoppers-new-best-friend-their-smartphone/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934675 | 1,083 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Established in the 8th century on the slopes of Mount Toham, the Seokguram Grotto contains a monumental statue of the Buddha looking at the sea in the bhumisparsha mudra position. With the surrounding portrayals of gods, Bodhisattvas and disciples, all realistically and delicately sculpted in high and low relief, it is considered a masterpiece of Buddhist art in the Far East. The Temple of Bulguksa (built in 774) and the Seokguram Grotto form a religious architectural complex of exceptional significance.
© OUR PLACE The World Heritage Collection
Outstanding Universal Value
Established in the 8th century under the Silla Dynasty, on the slopes of Mount Tohamsan, Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple form a religious architectural complex of exceptional significance. Prime Minister Kim Dae-seong initiated and supervised the construction of the temple and the grotto, the former built in memory of his parents in his present life and the latter in memory of his parents from a previous life.
Seokguram is an artificial grotto constructed of granite that comprises an antechamber, a corridor and a main rotunda. It enshrines a monumental statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha looking out to sea with his left hand in dhyana mudra, the mudra of concentration, and his right hand in bhumisparsa mudra, the earth-touching mudra position. Together with the portrayals of devas, bodhisattvas and disciples, sculpted in high and low relief on the surrounding walls, the statues are considered to be a masterpiece of East Asian Buddhist art. The domed ceiling of the rotunda and the entrance corridor employed an innovative construction technique that involved the use of more than 360 stone slabs.
Bulguksa is a Buddhist temple complex that comprises a series of wooden buildings on raised stone terraces. The grounds of Bulguksa are divided into three areas – Birojeon (the Vairocana Buddha Hall), Daeungjeon (the Hall of Great Enlightenment) and Geungnakjeon (the Hall of Supreme Bliss). These areas and the stone terraces were designed to represent the land of Buddha. The stone terraces, bridges and the two pagodas – Seokgatap (Pagoda of Sakyamuni) and Dabotap (Pagoda of Bountiful Treasures) – facing the Daeungjeon attest to the fine masonry work of the Silla.
Criterion (i): The Seokguram Grotto, with its statue of Buddha surrounded by Bodhisattvas, the Ten Disciples, Eight Divine Guardians, two Devas, and two Vajrapanis all carved from white granite, is a masterpiece of East Asian Buddhist Art.
Criterion (iv): The Seokguram Grotto, with its artificial cave and stone sculptures, and the associated Bulguksa temple with its wooden architecture and stone terraces, is an outstanding example of Buddhist religious architecture that flourished in Gyeongju, capital of the Silla Kingdom in the 8th century, as a material expression of Buddhist belief.
Seokguram Grotto portrays the enlightenment of Buddha and Bulguksa Temple represents the Buddhist utopia taking its form in the terrestrial world. The two sites are closely linked physically, historically and culturally and all of their key components are included within the boundaries of the property.
The most significant threats facing Seokguram Grotto are moisture and condensation, which cause the growth of mould, mildew and moss. Weather damage to the stone sculptures is another threat. The construction of a concrete dome between 1913 and 1915 resulted in humidity build-up and moisture infiltration. A second concrete dome was placed over the existing dome in the 1960s, to create a 1.2 m air space between them, control and adjust airflow, reduce the formation of mildew and prevent further climatic damage. A wooden antechamber was also added and the interior of the grotto was sealed off by a wall of glass to protect it from visitors and changes in temperature.
The 1913-15 alterations to the grotto’s original structure and subsequent modifications to address the problems caused by it require further study. Temperature and humidity control, and water ingress are carefully monitored and managed, and mitigation measures implemented as required.
The main threats to the masonry components of Bulguksa Temple are acid rain, pollution, salty fogs originating from the East Sea and moss on the surface of masonry. These threats are continuously monitored and studied.
Fire is the greatest threat to the integrity of the wooden buildings of the Bulguksa Temple, calling for systems for prevention and monitoring at the site.
The main statue of the Buddha and most of the stone sculptures has preserved their original form. As a result of the partial collapse of the rotunda ceiling, the entire grotto was dismantled and rebuilt, and covered with a concrete dome between 1913 and 1915. A second concrete dome was added in the 1960s. These dramatic measures have diminished the authenticity of the form of grotto, and to a lesser extent its materials, although they were acceptable in their time and in the face of serious deterioration. There have been no changes to the function and size of the grotto.
The masonry structures within Bulguksa have maintained their original form, having undergone only partial repair. The wooden buildings have been repaired and restored several times since the 16th century. All restoration work and repairs have been based on historical research and have employed traditional materials and techniques.
Protection and management requirements
Seokguram Grotto has been designated as National Treasure and- Bulguksa Temple has been designated as a Historic Site under the Cultural Heritage Protection Act. Any alterations to the existing form of the site require authorization. They are included within the boundaries of Gyeongju National Park, in which there are restrictions on new construction. A Historic Cultural Environment Protection Area that extends 500 meters from the boundary of the site has also been established, in which all construction work must be pre-approved.
At the national level, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) is responsible for establishing and enforcing policies for the protection of the property and buffer zone, allocating financial resources for conservation. Gyeongju City is directly responsible for overseeing the conservation and management of the property, in collaboration with the Korea National Park Service, whilst Bulguksa Temple is responsible for the day-to-day management. Regular day-to-day monitoring is conducted and in-depth professional monitoring is conducted on a 3 to 4 year basis.
Conservation work is conducted by Cultural Heritage Conservation Specialists who have passed the National Certification Exams in their individual fields of expertise. A ventilation fan in Seokguram Grotto, whose vibration posing a risk, has been removed, and the number of visitors is properly controlled. Within Bulguksa Temple, acidic rain, pollution, salty fogs originating from the East Sea and moss on the surface of the stone are carefully monitored and methods to relieve the problems are being continuously studied. To protect the wooden structures of the temple from fire, an overall Fire Risk Prevention System has been implemented for Bulguksa and CCTVs installed in various points in the temple.
Construction of Seokguram Grotto, located on the south-eastern slope of Mount Toham, facing the East Sea, began in AD 751, the 10th year of the reign of Silla King Gyeongdeok, by the Prime Minister KIM Daeseong, and completed in 774, the 10th year of the reign of King Hyegong. It is recorded that it was originally known as Seokbulsa Temple. It is built from granite and features 39 Buddhist engravings on the main wall and the principal sculpture of the Buddha in the centre.
The grotto consists of an antechamber, a corridor, and a main rotunda. The Eight Guardian Deities are carved in relief on the walls of the rectangular antechamber, four on either side. Two figures of Vajradhara stand on either side of the entrance to the corridor leading from the antechamber to the main rotunda. The Four Guardian Kings are carved in pairs on either side of the narrowed part of the corridor. There are two octagonal stone pillars, one on either side of the entrance to the main rotunda, where the main Buddha stands slightly off-centre. The walls to the left and right of the entrance are covered with relief images of two Devas, two Bodhisattvas and the Ten Disciples. In the middle of the wall behind the main Buddha there is an exquisite wall carving of an eleven-faced Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
The stones beneath each carved figure on the walls of the antechamber and the main rotunda are also carved. At the time of construction there was a marble stupa in front of the Avalokitesvara, but it was removed during the Japanese colonial period. A large circular lotus flower is set in the wall above the Avalokitesvara behind the main Buddha, creating the illusion of a halo for the Buddha when seen from the front. There are 10 niches lining the upper wall on either side of this lotus flower: originally each contained images of Bodhisattvas or Buddhist devotees, but two are now missing. The vaulted ceiling is made from dressed stones that meet in another carved lotus flower at the top of the main hall.
The main Sakyamuni Buddha figure is 3.45 m high, and set on a lotus flower-shaped pedestal. The hair is tightly curled and there is a distinct usnisa, the protuberance on the top of the head symbolizing Supreme Wisdom. Beneath the broad forehead the eyebrows are shaped like crescent moons and the half-closed eyes gaze towards the East Sea. The Buddha's robe is slung over the right shoulder; the details of the robe covering the left arm and chest are realistically depicted. The Buddha is portrayed cross-legged with the hands in the bhumisparsha mudra position, the gesture with which the historical Buddha summoned the Earth as witness to his realization of Enlightenment. All the other figures - Vajradharas, Guardian Kings, Devas, Bodhisattvas, Disciples and Guardian Deities - are elaborately carved with great attention to naturalistic detailing.
The main Buddha of Seokguram is a masterpiece that perfectly depicts the moment Sakyamuni attained enlightenment, and Bulguksa Temple is an ambitious architectural work through which Silla revealed the world of Buddhism to the terrestrial world. Built at the same time Seokguram was constructed, the construction of Bulguksa Temple was also initiated and supervised by Prime Minister Kim Dae-seong. With deep filial piety, Kim Dae-seong built Bulguksa Temple in memory of his parents in the present life and the cave temple of Seokguram for his parents of the previous life.
The realization of Buddha Land in the mundance world was a long-cherished dream in Silla, and the people of Silla believed that their kingdom was this very land. Even the name, Bulguksa, indicates the great meaning it had to the people of Silla. It literally means Temple of Buddha Land. In other words, Bulguksa is a terrestrial paradise of the land of Buddha.
The grounds of Bulguksa were seen as a utopia of Buddhism itself in the mundance world, and are divided into three areas with wooden buildings on raised stone terraces. They are Birojeon (Vairocana Buddha Hall), Daeungjeon (Hall of Great Enlightenment) and Geungnakjeon (Hall of Supreme Bliss).
They represent the terrestrial and the two celestial abodes: The Pure Land of Buddhism, that is, the terrestrial of Vairocana Buddha; the paradise of Amitabha Buddha; and the World of Endurance of Sakyamuni.
Birojeon, Geungnakjeon and Daeungjeon and areas on stone terraces are posed as the land of Buddha; the lower areas below these terraces are the mundance world. These two worlds are connected by two beautiful bridges known as Cheongun/ Baegun (Bridge of Blue Clouds/ Bridge of White Clouds), and Yeonhwa/ Chilbo (Bridge of Lotus Flowers/ Bridge of Seven Treasures). The stone terraces and bridges, Seokgatap (Pagoda of Sakyamuni), and Dabotap (Pagoda of Bountiful Treasures) in front of the Daeungjeon attest the fine masonry of Silla. Like Seokguram, Bulguksa is built of granite, which is very hard and difficult to fashion. It is said that there originally was a lotus pond called Gupumyeonji, which was fed by waters from Mt. Toham. Although the pond no longer exists, traces of the water channel from Mt. Toham remain on the stone terrace.
During the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592, Bulguksa suffered extensive damage. The wooden buildings were all destroyed by fire, but the stone terraces and stairs, stone pagodas, lanterns, and gilt bronze statues of Buddha survived. The buildings were later partially restored and Bulguksa as we see today is a modern restoration done from 1969 to 1973. At this time, the site of Bulguksa Temple was excavated and studied, before construction began. However the complex is not nearly of such great scale as during the Silla period.
In the main courtyard in front of Daeungjeon, the center of Bulguksa, are two pagodas, Dabotap and Seokgatap, standing on an east-west axis. Since the Unified Silla period, it was standard practice to erect a pair of pagodas of the same appearance in front of the main building of a temple, but in this case each of these pagodas are different.
The two pagodas reflect a story in the Lotus sutra. When Sakyamuni was giving sermons on Vulture Peak, the Pagoda of Bountiful Treasures rose from the ground, and Dabo, a Buddha who had already achieved enlightenment, appeared riding the Pagoda to attest to the validity of Sakyamuni's sermons. Dabo and Sakyamuni then sat side-by-side within the tower. Dabotap represents the Dabo Buddha, and the other represents Sakyamuni.
Also noteworthy is Mugu jeonggwang dae darani-gyeong (Great Dharani Sutra of Immaculate and Pure Light) in a paper scroll 6.7 centimeters wide and 6.2 meters long. It was discovered in the second level of Seokgatap in 1966. Dated to the 8th century, this is the oldest known sutra printed from carved wooden blocks in the world. Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC
Construction of Sokkuram Grotto began in AD 751, the tenth year of the reign of Shilla King Kyongdyok, by Kim the Prime Minister, Tae-song and completed in 774, the tenth year of the reign of King Hyegong. lt is recorded that it was originally known as Sokbulsa Temple. There are no subsequent documentary references until the mid Choson period, when it is recorded that it was restored in 1703 and again in 1758. Source: Advisory Body Evaluation | <urn:uuid:a7f2959d-408c-45ef-8926-d1fbd3ec5edf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/736 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947686 | 3,269 | 3.21875 | 3 |
WASHINGTONMost readers of this column have never heard of Puno; quite a few have heard of Guantanamo Bay. Puno, a poor region in southeastern Peru, could become an economic powerhouse and stem the politics of resentment that is invading the Andesif the government would allow a real free-enterprise zone to be established. Likewise, Guantanamo could erode Cuba's communism in the way West Berlin eroded East Berlin's communism if the U.S. authorities gave Cubans an opportunity to turn the controversial naval base into a new economic Hong Kong.
The Andean region, where authoritarian populism is ripe, needs a quick economic success story. Social resentment has already produced two Andean presidentsVenezuelas Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Moralesand came within an inch of producing a third one, Ollanta Humala in Peru. The way to erode these movements that play the ethnic and the ideological card against globalization is to permit free enterprise.
Puno is 60 times bigger than Hong Kong. Unlike the rocky Chinese territory, it has agriculture, livestock, silver, copper, the highest navigable lake in the world and a mythology going back to the origin of the Incas. Peru's successive regimes have kept that region poor by using political tools to prevent local entrepreneurship from flourishing. Today, 80 percent of the population is impoverished. Puno would be even poorer were it not for 20,000 people who smuggle products from neighboring Bolivia and resell them across the country.
Thousands of Punenos have been asking for a tax-free environment in which to produce and trade goods and services under clear property rules. Mainstream opinion in Lima has long opposed this on technical grounds. The only valid argument for opposing it would be to say that the whole of the country rather than just one region should be turned into an enterprise paradise. But that is not what critics object to.
Forgetting that the Peruvian economy is already a patchwork of tax exemptions, they say it is unfair to favor some people at the expense of others, thereby creating a fiscal imbalance. Despite the obvious failure of the authorities to stem smuggling in a country where this centuries-old activity amounts to more than $1.2 billion a year, they say it will mean unfair competition. Citing the insufficient wealth generated by trade zones established in the 1990s under the name of Ceticos that were limited to exporting companies and therefore missed the point of free enterprise, they disparage Punos aspirations.
President Alan Garcia, who took office last month, says he supports plans for Punos free-enterprise zone. If he truly does, he should go beyond the law that was passed by Congress and his recent decree expanding its purview. The law frees industrial and agricultural activities, but keeps many commercial restrictions that affect small businesses and current smugglers of consumer products and other goods from Bolivia. If special interests elsewhere in the nation are affected by free commerce in Puno, then that is a great argument to get rid of commercial barriers the way the Baltic country of Estonia did in 1992which touched off an economic boom.
Guantanamo is another interesting prospect. Located in southeastern Cuba, it is about two-thirds the territory of Washington, D.C., and has a better infrastructure than Cuba, including its port and its airport. But its use as a prison for the indefinite detention of terror suspects provides a rich target for critics of the U.S. It was leased by the U.S. at a time when Washington called the political shots in the island, and has served successively as a fueling station, a military nerve center, a refugee camp, and a prison, but never as something that could have pulled the rug under the feet of Cuba's totalitarian regime: a prosperous free-enterprise zone.
The U.S. should remember what a colossal effect West Berlin had on the other side of the Brandenburg Gate and what a damning example Hong Kong constituted for China before the British handover. Two million Cubans in the United States have accumulated twice as much wealth as the 11 million Cubans on the island by starting thousands of businesses over the years. (At the end of the 1990s, Hispanic Business magazine estimated that Cuban companies in the U.S. generated $25 billion; more recent figures are not available, it must be much higher today.) If Cubans had been allowed to turn Guantanamo into a prosperous capitalist zone, they would have been 10 times more successful than they have been at combating Castro from Miami and Madrid.
Puno and Guantanamo could become the Hong Kongs of the Western Hemisphere in little time. Just let them.
Alvaro Vargas Llosa
Alvaro Vargas Llosa is Senior Fellow of The Center on Global Prosperity at The Independent Institute. He is a native of Peru and received his B.S.C. in international history from the London School of Economics. His weekly column is syndicated worldwide by the Washington Post Writers Group, and his Independent Institute books include Lessons From the Poor: Triumph of the Entrepreneurial Spirit, The Che Guevara Myth and the Future of Liberty, and Liberty for Latin America.
Full Biography and Recent Publications
(c) 2006, The Washington Post Writers Group
For reprint permission, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:45081174-e9b4-4fe4-afe2-c8accbebca42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1786 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957585 | 1,076 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Rok Češnovar (2010) Seam Carving on graphics processing units with CUDA architecture. EngD thesis.
The purpose of this thesis is to present the computational performances of graphical processing units with CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) architecture on the Seam Carving algorithm. We want to show if implementing this algorithm on graphical processing units (GPUs) is effective. We also want to show some ways of optimizing the algorithm,the results of doing so, and what are the performance differences if we change the complexity of a part of the algorithm. Seam Carving algorithm is a content-aware image resizing algorithm. With this algorithm, resizing is done with removing the optimal seam. An optimal seam is path through the picture that carries the least information. We determine that the success of this algorithm depends on a lot of factors: the number of objects in the picture, the size of monotonous background and the energy function. CUDA is an open parallel architecture, developed in the year 2007 by the nVIDIA corporation. Besides their main function, which is the display of graphics, GPUs that support CUDA, can also be used for general purpose computation. The biggest advantage of running an algorithm on a CUDA GPU is the use of the massive parallelism. If an algorithm can be made parallel, the use of GPUs significantly improves the performance and reduces the load of the central processing units (CPUs): We determine that implementing the Seam Carving algorithm on GPUs is effective from certain picture sizes on. The latter is true for both increasing and reducing the size of the picture. But the rate of the speed-up is not the same in both cases. We also determine that in order to optimize the performance of this algorithm we need to do the following: use the shared memory with caching and determine the optimal block size. With the use of shared memory we can access our data faster. Beside that it also enables us to remove a significant amount of branches
Actions (login required) | <urn:uuid:d5b9b5c7-65a2-424b-9231-6c12f2d113d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eprints.fri.uni-lj.si/1254/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912255 | 410 | 2.140625 | 2 |
The HeinOnline U.S. Presidential Library includes such titles as Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Public Papers of the Presidents, CFR Title 3 (Presidents), Daily and Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, and other documents related to U.S. Presidents.
The collection of the above primary sources alone makes this a good source for presidential documents; however, it is the additional presidential documents, speeches, selected hearings & reports, links to outside sources and more that make this a very good starting point for research on U.S. Presidents.
The link to HeinOnline is on the front page of the Law Library's website.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat
Above the Law - A Legal Tabloid - News, Gossip, and Colorful Commentary on Law Firms and the Legal Profession | <urn:uuid:9a739ee7-2f2e-4183-b37c-0c1bcfeb3022> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://deanelawlibrary.blogspot.com/2012/02/heinonline-us-presidential-library.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904403 | 165 | 1.640625 | 2 |
By Kyle W. Morrison, senior associate editor
For people curious about what occupational safety and health enforcement will look like during President Barack Obama’s second term, his first term may offer a clue.
During the first Obama administration, OSHA was noted for increased enforcement activities and higher penalties, but also slower-than-hoped issuance of new regulations. This is unlikely to change, some experts suggest.
“We’re likely, for a while, to see a continuation of the enforcement initiatives, but probably not much new in the way of standards and regulations,” said Frank White, global director for Mercer ORC HSE Services in Washington, after Obama’s Nov. 6 re-election. White attributes this approach to high unemployment figures as well as the perception – accurate or not – that additional regulations could adversely affect job creation or the economy.
However, several rules could be ready to move forward, according to Jackson Lewis LLP attorney and former OSHA lawyer Brad Hammock. “They’ve done a lot of background legwork on a number of different rules,” Hammock said. “A lot of that stuff is ‘on the shelf,’ so it can be easily put forward.”
The rules include an update to the Crystalline Silica Standard, which has been under review by the White House for nearly two years, and the Injury and Illness Prevention Program Standard.
Although these rules or others may not be finalized in the next four years, Hammock said the headwinds that slowed the rulemaking process during Obama’s first term – a troubled economy and risk of political backlash – have lessened due to an improving economic outlook.
Such reasoning gives AFL-CIO Director of Safety and Health Peg Seminario hope that the rulemaking process will pick back up. “There’s been essentially a regulatory pause that’s taken place. With election mode over, we expect these rulemakings will move forward,” she said.
Seminario pointed out that OSHA under previous administrations – including those of Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush – was capable of issuing regulations expediently. Hammock noted that in more recent years, the agency has not been successful at managing multiple major rulemaking initiatives. And White suggested the agency may take a more targeted approach by focusing on one rulemaking at a time, leading to slow – but steady – movement on the standards-development front.
This presents a conundrum: If OSHA were to focus on one standard, the result could be similar to that of the unpopular, ill-fated Ergonomics Standard of the early 2000s. However, attempting multiple standards at once is challenging and slow.
It will be a difficult balance for the agency, said White, who added that OSHA could be well-suited to work collaboratively with labor and industry on some of the major initiatives, including I2P2 and permissible exposure limits.
On the Hill
Hopes that the election might bring legislative changes to OSHA – whether by strengthening or weakening the agency’s enforcement powers – were likewise dashed following the results of the House and Senate races. Although billions of dollars were spent during this election, the makeup of Congress next year will be the same as this year: Democrats controlling the Senate and White House, and Republicans controlling the House.
Given the toxic environment on Capitol Hill during the past two years, it will be difficult – but not impossible – to move forward on legislative changes, according to Seminario, who said progress would depend on the “tone” and whether members of Congress are interested in dialogue.
Still, with all the other priorities facing Washington these days – such as the national deficit and impending “fiscal cliff” – occupational safety and health will not be a priority, White claims.
“I think the chances of any legislative initiatives relating to safety and health are slim to none,” he said. “It’s just not going to be on anybody’s radar screen, and it’s certainly not going to be feasible in a divided Congress.”
The opinions expressed in “Washington Update” do not necessarily reflect those of the National Safety Council or affiliated local Chapters. | <urn:uuid:7ded6c81-f529-4bf7-8697-410d94bddcab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nsc.org/safetyhealth/Pages/Washington-Update-Obama%E2%80%99s-second-term-Staying-the-course.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963191 | 885 | 1.609375 | 2 |
How Does South Carolina Work Its GOP Crystal Ball?
Saturday's South Carolina Republican primary may be the last good chance for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's challengers to stop his march to the nomination. Every election year since 1980, the winner of South Carolina's Republican primary has gone on to win the nomination.
The state's Republicans do seem to have an unerring ability to pick the eventual Republican nominee, and one reason is pretty simple. South Carolina is a red state — a deep dyed red state — with more Republican voters than Iowa and New Hampshire combined. By definition, it's more representative of Republican preferences than the other early primary states.
"We've got Iowa, New Hampshire and Florida, all voted for Barack Obama in 2008," says Dave Woodard, a Clemson University professor and former Republican consultant. "South Carolina hasn't voted for a Democrat since 1976. We're a red state, we're a base Southern state, we're more in the base, really, under the bell curve, of what mainline Republicans are than some of those, shall we say, 'different' states."
South Carolina Republicans don't have an activist culture or as many single-issue voters as those "different" states. That's one reason moderate Republicans have done well there, despite the state's large number of conservative and evangelical voters.
South Carolina Republicans have a history of not only picking the eventual winner but also of choosing the candidate who came in second nationally the last time. Think John McCain or George H.W. Bush or Bob Dole — or maybe Romney, who lost the GOP nomination to Sen. McCain in 2008.
"Republicans generally, and Southerners specifically, are hierarchical," Republican strategist Ed Rogers says. "We appreciate someone coming up through the ranks. I worked for a long time for [one-time Republican National Committee chair] Lee Atwater. South Carolina, for all its reputation for rough politics, has actually showed a lot of maturity, and a lot of seriousness in who they end up electing."
McCain's victory in South Carolina in 2008 is a model Romney would like to follow. McCain won with 33 percent of the vote because former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee split the conservative vote. The same dynamic could still work for Romney this year, says South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint.
"What happens a lot, and it happened in the last presidential primary, could happen here, is that conservatives divide their vote among a number of conservative candidates, and sometimes the more moderate establishment candidate wins. That's not altogether bad," DeMint says.
Bad or good, the split vote is why moderate, establishment Republicans, like Romney, have in the past been able to win this deep red state with so many populists and religious conservatives.
But this year might be different, if conservatives in South Carolina can finally unite behind one candidate. Texas Gov. Rick Perry dropped out of the race Thursday and endorsed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has been surging in the polls.
But former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul are still in the race, competing with Gingrich for the same pool of conservative voters.
South Carolina's Republicans pride themselves on picking a winner every time. This year, we'll find out if that historical pattern is a predictor or merely a precedent. | <urn:uuid:af822502-44bc-444c-bf1d-a0dd467cdbd3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wcbe.org/post/how-does-south-carolina-work-its-gop-crystal-ball | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95366 | 681 | 1.796875 | 2 |
South African Museum, Cape Town
The oldest museum in sub-Saharan Africa, the South African Museum (SAM) has been adding to their collections for nearly 200 years and was established in 1825.
Collections here range from fossils to insects and fish found as recently as a week ago; there are Stone Age tools, over 120 000 years old, side by side with displays of traditional clothes from last century. The South African Museum offers a diverse range of exhibitions and visitors have not failed to leave the Museum without a better understanding of the earth and its biological and cultural diversity - both past and present. It lies in Company Gardens, at the opposite end to the Houses of Parliament, with its entrance on Queen Victoria Street.
The South African Museum also traces the material cultural heritage of our indigenous populations back to their earliest origins, and the research collections are studied by scientists and students world-wide. The South African Museum is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Cape Town and over 400 000 people visit the museum each year.
Accommodation nearbyRelated Links
Attractions / Activities nearby
Company Gardens is a large public park and botanical garden set in the heart of Cape Town, home to a rose garden, Japanese garden, fish pond and aviary. Roaming Company Gardens, past the back of Parliament and Tuynhuys, the President’s official residence when in the mother city, is part of every visitor’s ... more information
The city of Cape Town, despite not being the capital of South Africa, is home to South Africa’s Parliament - Cape Town is the legislative capital, whilst the seat of government is in Pretoria, the administrative capital - which is one of the biggest draw cards to the city under the mountain. Lying in the ... more information
Lying in the Company Gardens, opposite the South African Museum on Government Avenue, the South African National Gallery houses some of the most beautiful collections of South African, African, British, French, Dutch and Flemish art in South Africa. The South African National Gallery’s permanent ... more information
Tuynhuys, the office of the state President and closed to the public, witnessed one of the most important turning points in South African history when FW de Klerk announced from its steps, on 18 March 1992, that South Africa had ‘closed the book on apartheid’. This beautiful building, built originally in 1700 as ... more information | <urn:uuid:5e171e35-50f7-4b58-8d92-65dbb8ac292c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sa-venues.com/attractionswc/south-african-museum.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952635 | 495 | 2.46875 | 2 |
MST Continus tablets are opioid based tablets with main ingredient - morphine. These tablets contain "slow-release morphine" and they are easy to inject intravenously.
They are commonly used to menage chronic pain,but they are lately commonly also used for heroin-addicts on maintenance.
Slow-release morphine is NATURAL derive of opium , which makes him MUCH more LESS toxic than Methadone which is pure lab-work medicine - synthetic opioid drug .
When someone asks for "MST Contin" , they actually asking for STRONG morphine based medicine ,which commonly comes in tablets or capsules.Mostly, "MST" is used in exception of heroin...sometimes ,and by words of others , "MST" is PURE and gives better "rush" than heroin ( street heroin - NOT medical heroin which is actually diacethyl-morphine).
It's commonly used when heroin dealer DON'T WANT or DO NOT HAVE "ANY OF" HEROIN , than it comes to taking "legal drugs" which are actually prescribed for some another person - but somehow it comes to "user" that needs to be "covered" until he(she) get's a hit of heroin. | <urn:uuid:2dba0182-c3e3-4550-a36d-58a20278ac8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=MST%20Contin&defid=5827570 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948614 | 247 | 1.6875 | 2 |
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£300k vote on Brighton and Hove council tax still possible
City hall bosses have refused to rule out a referendum on council tax which would cost taxpayers £300,000.
The Government revealed earlier this week it was going to offer a cash incentive to local authorities across the country to freeze council tax for the next financial year.
This is at odds with Brighton and Hove City Council’s proposal to increase the rates by 3.5% from April 2013, which was revealed by The Argus earlier this year.
Council leader Jason Kitcat said the authority had yet to make a decision on what it would do, adding it will wait for the full details which may not be clear until the Chancellor’s autumn statement in December.
Coun Kitcat said: “What we do know so far is that the cuts will be even harsher next year than previously suggested.
“Once the details are clear I will be discussing the options with my group and the other group leaders to seek consensus on how we will proceed with council tax.
“We are in a situation where despite their claims to localism, the Government is each year making it harder for local politicians to make their own choices about the appropriate levels of local tax.
“The referendum measures are completely untested and would cost about £300,000 to run in our city. One wonders whether Eric Pickles really ever intended for it to be used.”
Exact details about the Government’s plan for 2013/14 are expected to be announced by the Department for Communities and Local Government in the coming weeks.
It is expected that those councils which freeze rates will receive a one-off payment from Whitehall worth a 1% rise in council tax.
Those local authorities that wish to increase council tax by more than 2% will have to hold a referendum.
Last year the Green council was the first in the country to announce it wanted to increase council tax by 3.5%.
However, opposition parties united to outvote the Greens to freeze the rates for the current year and accept a Government grant worth about £2 million.
Conservative councillor Geoffrey Theobald said: “I call on both the Green and Labour groups to get off the fence and join us in delivering a council tax freeze to help hard-pressed residents.”
Labour finance councillor Les Hamilton said: “Until we know what’s going to happen we will not come to any decision.
“I certainly do not think we will be going for a 3.5% rise. My guess is that that it will be a freeze or a 2% rise.” | <urn:uuid:48f9696a-12db-4510-a4e4-1c548c404cc7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/9984195.__300k_vote_on_Brighton_and_Hove_council_tax_still_possible/ | 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 | 0.963333 | 568 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Part of becoming a successful university student is learning the institution's language, rules and culture, which can initially be confusing.
Below are terms that new students often misuse:
Apply vs. Enrol/Register
Apply: fill out an application and pay an application fee.
Enrol/Register: after you are accepted to your program, you will enrol/register in your classes.
Course vs. Program
A course is an individual class.
A program is made up of many classes, which you need to successfully complete in order to graduate.
Certificate: a one-year program
Diploma: a two-year program
Applied Degree: a four-year program, three years of theory and one year of workplace learning
Bachelor’s/Baccalaureate Degree: a four-year program
Advisor vs. Counsellor
Advisor: an individual who helps support your success as a student and provides information to help clarify admission, registration, graduation, financial, university policy and career questions. Most advisors see both prospective and current students.
Counsellor: an individual trained to provide personal/educational/career counselling. Counsellors have, minimally, a Masters Degree in Psychology/Social Work/Educational Psychology. At MacEwan University, counsellors work in the Student Life Office and are available by appointment for current students only.
A course/subject you need to complete before taking a subsequent course. E.g., Biology 30 is a pre-requisite for Biology 107. Course pre-requisites are listed in Grant MacEwan University's Calendar.
Someone who shows interest in becoming a MacEwan University student.
A person who has applied to a MacEwan University program.
A student who has met program admission requirements and who has accepted MacEwan University’s offer of admission.
A student who has been accepted to a MacEwan University program and is registered in classes.
Grade Point Average (GPA)
When you finish a class, you receive a letter grade on your transcript that is converted to a point value on the 4.0 grading system. Your GPA is a permanent record.Your GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of grade points achieved by the total number of attempted credits.
Admission Grade Point Average (AGPA)
Your AGPA is normally calculated on your most recent 24 post-secondary credits. This applies to the previous post-secondary admissions category.
You must maintain a 2.0/4.0 in order to remain a student in good standing.
As a MacEwan University student, you have the right to be treated fairly and to access a safe learning environment. You also have responsibilities to support this learning for yourself and others. | <urn:uuid:676715e3-4c07-4d01-8816-a3bcf215fc1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://macewan.ca/wcm/StudentServices/Advising/WhatYouNeedToDo/LearnMacEwanLingo/index.htm | 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 | 0.933078 | 567 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Evaluating and combining digital video shot boundary detection algorithms
Browne, Paul and Smeaton, Alan F. and Murphy, Noel and O'Connor, Noel E. and Marlow, Seán and Berrut, Catherine (2000) Evaluating and combining digital video shot boundary detection algorithms. In: IMVIP 2000 - Irish Machine Vision and Image Processing Conference, 31 August - 2 September 2000, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Full text available as:
The development of standards for video encoding coupled with the increased power of computing mean that content-based manipulation of digital video information is now feasible. Shots are a basic structural building block of digital video and the boundaries between shots need to be determined automatically to allow for content-based manipulation. A shot can be thought of as continuous images from one camera at a time. In this paper we examine a variety of automatic techniques for shot boundary detection that we have implemented and evaluated on a baseline of 720,000 frames (8 hours) of broadcast television. This extends our previous work on evaluating a single technique based on comparing colour histograms. A description of each of our three methods currently working is given along with how they
are evaluated. It is found that although the different methods have about the same order of magnitude in terms of effectiveness, different shot boundaries are detected by the different methods. We then look at combining the three shot boundary detection methods to produce one output result and the benefits in accuracy and performance that this brought to our system. Each of the methods were changed from using
a static threshold value for three unconnected methods to one using three dynamic threshold values for one connected method. In a final summing up we look at the future directions for this work.
Archive Staff Only: edit this record | <urn:uuid:19fbb9da-34c7-4b6f-9f18-bbab508fc272> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://doras.dcu.ie/336/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913576 | 356 | 1.710938 | 2 |
In Turkey, in early October, a stray artillery shell flew across the Syrian border and killed four civilians in the quiet town of Akcakale. Turkey decided it had to fight back, launching missiles at Syrian forces that were fighting rebels along the border nearby. Since then, the exchanges have continued at a regular pace—Turkey fired on Syria again on Monday after another errant shell smashed a power line in the Turkish border province of Hatay.
By mid-month, tensions from the Syrian conflict had boiled into Lebanon, where a car bomb ripped through central Beirut, destroying a city block and assassinating a top intelligence official who had been investigating allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. After the attack, violence flared as angry mobs protested against the Hizbullah-led government, denouncing it as a Syrian pawn.
In Jordan, meanwhile, U.S. special forces have been welcomed to help prepare the country’s military for the potential spread of Syria’s trouble across its border—and a skirmish last week between Jordanian forces and a group of jihadist fighters traveling to join the rebellion showed how unexpectedly that the trouble can come.
Each new incident has stoked long-running fears that the war in Syria will eventually draw its neighbors in. Now, those fears are turning increasingly to Iraq, whose own bloody history is often held up to Syria as a cautionary tale. Recent reports have suggested that the demons from Iraq’s past are surfacing across its northwestern border in Syria, where Iraqi Shiite and Sunni fighters are continuing their sectarian fight. On Sunday, the New York Times reported that Iraq’s Shiite militiamen are joining Syria's war as unofficial allies of Assad, while their Sunni enemies have flocked to join the rebel cause.
Inside Iraq, meanwhile, continued bombings have left many Iraqis feeling like the country’s own religious fault lines are becoming more volatile—and that the conflict in Syria may be at least partly to blame.
For months, Syria’s rebels have been saying that Assad’s troops are being aided by Iraq’s powerful Shiite militants, who came to dominate official and unofficial corridors of power in their country as the U.S. began its drawdown. In interviews with the Daily Beast, everyone from rank-and-file fighters to the generals at the head of the main rebel military council have made this claim.
Each new incident has stoked long-running fears that the war in Syria will eventually draw its neighbors in.
They fear that the foreign fighters are working to bolster a government backed primarily by Syria’s Alawite minority, an off-shoot of Shiite Islam that makes up Assad’s power base. Assad has become increasingly reliant on that base—and their fear of the country’s Sunni majority, which makes up the bulk of the armed opposition—as his fight against the rebels grinds violently along. Activist groups estimate that at least 30,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far, many at the hands of government war planes and artillery shells.
The Syrian opposition has stressed from that start that it welcomes all Syrians to its cause—and that the country’s minorities, which also include sizeable numbers of Christians, Kurds and Druze, would be protected after Assad’s government falls. But as the war drags on, and the rebels have found their calls for Western military assistance ignored, they have turned increasingly to backing from Sunni fundamentalists in the form of soldiers and, reportedly, weapons and cash. In an interview this summer, Iraq’s Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, told the Daily Beast that remnants of al-Qaeda—the Sunni terrorist group that views the Shiites as enemies—were even traveling from Iraq to Syria to wage jihad against the Assad government.
The Turkish city of Antakya, which sits just 12 miles from the border with Syria, is often abuzz with rumors of foreign Sunni fighters who have stopped there on their way to being smuggled into Syria. One self-described “mujahedeen,” meeting for coffee in the café of a four-star hotel in the center of town, had a Tunisian passport and spoke Arabic with a Maghreb accent. He painted his decision to fight in Syria as the next step in a line of armed struggles, including the conflicts in Chechnya and Libya, in which his religious beliefs had led him to take part. “God led me to this,” he said.
With its strategically central location—wedged between Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea—sectarian divide and long history of influence in the affairs of its neighbors, Syria’s conflict was viewed as a potential regional flashpoint from the start. The revolution began as a pro-democracy protest movement in March 2011 that drew inspiration from the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. But unlike in those countries, where dictators were quickly swept aside or hunted down, Syria’s struggle has spiraled into a brutal war, with violence mounting by the day. With no clear end in sight, many observers believe that the conflict in Syria will begin to look increasingly like a regional one. "We have expected other countries to get drawn in," says Firas Abi Ali, the deputy head of Exclusive Analysis, a risk-consultancy firm in London. "The question is, to what extent."
Abi Ali says civil war could erupt in Lebanon if the Syrian conflict drags on another year, while in Iraq, the number of sectarian bombings will likely rise.
The bombing in Lebanon—which many, including members of the Lebanese government, have blamed on agents of Assad—and the influx of foreign fighters into Syria provides a window into how the Syrian conflict is likely to spread. Instead of inspiring war between countries, Abi Ali says, the situation is more likely to devolve into a “blurring of the lines of the Syrian conflict and where the Syrian conflict ends.”
In Turkey, for example, despite loud warnings and heavy retaliation every time a Syrian shell lands across its border, few analysts expect the country to go to war with Syria without a mandate from the United Nations, where the Security Council remains bitterly divided over the prospect of military action in Syria.
Instead, Turkey has openly played host to the rebellion, allowing the opposition Syrian National Council to make its headquarters in Istanbul while the official military brass of the rebel Free Syrian Army base themselves in a refugee camp near Antakya. Reports have also surfaced that Turkey has been quietly supplying the rebels with intelligence and even arms, though there has been no official acknowledgement from Turkey or undeniable proof. "I wouldn't be surprised if arms are coming through Turkey, but that doesn't mean that the government is providing them," one Turkish official told The Daily Beast, in a guarded analysis of the situation.
Gulf states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, have been alleged to be funneling weapons and cash to the rebels, though both countries have officially denied this as well.
At the same time, it is widely believed that Iran is playing an active role in helping to prop up Assad’s government, and U.S. officials have said that members of Iran’s infamous Revolutionary Guards corps were among a group of so-called pilgrims captured by opposition forces this summer. (They remain in rebel custody.) And Hizbullah—the Lebanese Shiite militia group and political party that is a long-time ally of Damascus and Tehran—has been vocal in its support of Assad while denying that it is providing his government with military help, even as it schedules burials for so-called martyrs who have died recently inside Syria.
In Iraq, the government’s position on Syria remains hard to gauge. On Monday, in the second such incident this month, officials made headlines for forcing an Iranian plane flying over Iraq’s airspace to land for inspections before it proceeded to Syria. The Iraqis said they wanted to verify that the aircraft was not carrying weapons bound for the Assad government—the search apparently came up empty—in a move that seemed designed to ease U.S. concerns that Iraq was letting Iran use its airspace to fly weapons to Syria. The Iraqi government, and particularly Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, have been accused in the past of being too close to Iran.
Some analysts think Maliki may be wary of a potential rebel victory in Syria’s war. “The Iranians are spinning a very aggressive narrative about what the implications of a Sunni in Damascus will be for Shiites generally, and for Iraq specifically,” says John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington. “And I think it’s gaining traction with Maliki.”
But no matter where Maliki might stand on the issue, Hannah notes, the Iraqi government, like others in the region, is unlikely to wade into the dangerous conflict in Syria in any official way. “I think that this is going to stay in the shadows,” he says. | <urn:uuid:cf4f4638-b9ec-4b35-a170-4408c68d9313> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/01/syria-conflict-contagious-in-the-region.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971935 | 1,860 | 2.078125 | 2 |
The Sugaran Tour is a caravan of multimedia stories performed and presented by artist-activists YaliniDream, Nandini Nessa, Bushra Rehman, and Amita Swadhin.
"Sugaran" is the Marathi word for a weaver bird hailing from lands throughout South Asia. These birds are both clever, weaving nests specifically shaped to defy predators, and resilient. They survived human captivity for generations by learning to appear docile and perform tricks.
Like their namesake, the artists of The Sugaran Tour trace their ancestry to Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and have resiliently survived multiple oppressions - racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, classism, Islamophobia - by weaving new conditions in which they can thrive. Through their fiction, poetry, testimonial performance, filmmaking, theatrical work, and dance, they have stitched bits of discarded and buried histories from the Northwest Frontier to the Western Ghats to the Aruvi Ara together with lessons learned in the concrete jungle of NYC, birthing selves and breaking cycles as they weave.
Bring these gifted storytellers to your community and/or campus and bear witness to their tales of laughter, grief, healing and transformation.
Join our Facebook Fan Page: | <urn:uuid:61e39448-2903-4fb2-82b3-44473b2d5a8f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thesugarantour.tumblr.com/post/10227439469/chrono | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943618 | 258 | 1.9375 | 2 |
FORT COLLINS — A state-of-the art Equine Reproduction Laboratory under construction will hopefully regain the trust of horse owners who lost thousands of dollars in genetic material from mares and stallions in a fire that claimed the last facility.
"If you lose something that valuable, it often cannot be replaced," said Thomas Hansen, a professor of biomedical sciences who serves as lab director. "These are big issues that will take some time for us to work through.
"But we are trying to be as straightforward as we can with our clients, and many are happy to come back to us," he added. "And hopefully others will come back as well."
Construction started this month on the new lab, which will be 12,200 square feet and double the size of the old building. It will house, in one location, laboratories and teaching facilities lost in the July 26, 2011, blaze.
A variety of disciplines will have a home in the new facility, aimed at diagnosing, treating and managing reproductive problems in mares and stallions, Hansen said.
"We're also excited it will include molecular biology and microbiology laboratories, which facilitate state-of-the-art diagnostics on site," he said.
Last year's fire wiped out research equipment and material designed to produce new technology to preserve the bloodlines of prized horses from the United States and abroad.
Also damaged was the confidence of many horse owners that the lab would preserve their animals' genetic material they handed over for safekeeping.
The fire cost Wellington's Charlie Cox between $30,000 and $60,000 after it destroyed samples of his stallion's frozen semen stored at the lab.
"I remain hopeful the university and its insurance will do the right thing to take care of their clients," said Cox, who is in talks with CSU about a possible settlement over his losses. Other horse owners have put CSU on notice, and they may file lawsuits against the university for not properly protecting semen and embryos.
The new lab will cost about $5 million, with insurance covering some of the costs. CSU hopes fundraising will cover the rest.
Officials say the investment is worth it. For 30 years, researchers at the equine lab have developed human and animal reproductive techniques used today.
That includes semen freezing and cooling, embryo transfer and other advanced reproductive procedures, CSU said.
Since the fire, client services, teaching and research have continued in other buildings on the grounds. More than 120 students work at the lab weekly while 500 client horses are examined every year.
"Most of the horses are from the United States, but we get many from overseas," Hansen said. "They know their horses will get the finest care here."
An exact cause of the blaze has never been determined, but authorities ruled out any criminal activity.
The new building is scheduled to be completed by March 2013 and just in time for the main breeding season.
Karen Laden lost about $33,000 in frozen semen from her stallion in last year's fire but won't hesitate in returning to the CSU lab.
"The bottom line is it was an accident," Laden said. "You signed a contract saying you needed to provide the insurance to cover any losses, and CSU is not to be held liable if anything happens.
"I just don't believe CSU should be held liable for what happened," Laden added.
Cox, who owns Parnell's Irish Cobs, said he has no hard feelings toward the staff at the laboratory. In fact, he may return with more genetic material to store there.
"I think they are trying very, very hard to do the right thing for their clients," said Cox. "And if they get their facility up and running on time, clients like myself could return." | <urn:uuid:e5460002-e5ad-48da-8139-f5ecb10d4f75> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_21188316/csus-new-equine-lab-aims-rebuild-technology-and?source=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975602 | 783 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Air Force ROTC is a training program designed to prepare college students for leadership roles in the United States Air Force. Offered at colleges and universities across the United States, AFROTC teaches students about leadership, management, public speaking, the history of air power, the role of the military in today’s society, and many other subjects. Students enrolled in AFROTC take academic classes designed to teach the fundamentals of being an Air Force Officer.
Students also participate in Leadership Laboratory (Lead Lab) to give them hands on skills needed to succeed as an Air Force Officer. Lead Lab is run by cadets who set up the lesson plans, prepare the briefings, and execute the curriculum, with our staff to aid them along the way.
To begin your AFROTC experience at Detachment 590, contact our Unit Admissions Officer, Capt Steven Duckers, at (919) 962-2074 or firstname.lastname@example.org. You may also stop by and see him Monday through Friday 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM (year-round except on holidays) in Room 118 in the ROTC Armory, located at 221 South Columbia Street . Visit www.afrotc.com to obtain information and answers for frequently asked questions. | <urn:uuid:78670a80-23e4-4bda-9d25-83416460ab6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://afrotc.unc.edu/air-force-rotc-quick-facts/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959986 | 262 | 1.695313 | 2 |
With temperatures expected to dip into the single digits this weekend, the water department is warning residents how to prevent their pipes from bursting.
When temperatures dip below 32 degrees, pipes in your home can easily freeze , causing them to burst and flood.
Ace Hardware Manager, Ryan Lindner, said "When there's a lot of water present and temperatures drop, that's when you want to make sure to prevent the ice from building up. That's where the problems occur."
Beginning Sunday night into Monday morning, temperatures are expected to dip below zero, putting residents and their homes at a greater risk.
But there are several precautions you can take to prevent your pipes from bursting. First, keep the temperature in your home above 40 degrees.
Green Bay Water Utility General Manager, Nancy Quirk, recommends, "Open your faucets to a light trickle so there is water continuing to move through the pipes. If it's stagnant the water will freeze and if you have the water moving it will prevent that from freezing."
"If you keep a spot warm it's going to go out through the whole pipe as long as you keep a big enough area warm on that pipe," said Lindner.
Residents living in mobile homes are more susceptible to burst pipes because the pipes are located outside the home. So it's important to keep them heated and well insulated.
If your pipes do burst and cause flooding, turn off the water main and be sure to steer clear of electrical items.
Fire Marshal Lieutenant, Karl Linsmeier, warns "Water is a conductor of electricity so if water is spraying on your fuse box, or your breaker box, that's for the professionals to disconnect the electricity."
But there are warning signs residents should watch out for before a pipe bursts.
"You're losing pressure in the water, you're using the flow in your faucets, and you feel your fixtures are really cold," said Quirk.
If you have a burst pipe call Green Bay Water Utility at (920) 448-3480
For more tips to prevent pipes from bursting click here | <urn:uuid:91e93ddf-b100-4d6a-b17f-f3093e11cbd4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wearegreenbay.com/1fulltext-news/?nxd_id=174492 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952795 | 425 | 2.296875 | 2 |
With more and more people heading into Utah's high country, the chances of encountering ticks and the diseases associated with the insects mount.
Ticks carry a number of diseases, with the two most well known being Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease. The propensity for ticks to carry diseases was first noticed by scientists toward the end of the 19th century and by the end of the last century, several diseases were recognized as being passed on by ticks. Some diseases are regional in nature, others are widespread, literally throughout the world..
The report of cases connected to tick born diseases increases dramatically during the early spring and continues into mid-summer.
In the mountains, tick activity reaches at its peak during late June.
Ticks are most common in the mountains where they tend to concentrate on sunny southern slopes and in areas with grass and low brush vegetation. However, the insects also can live in the valleys, including the Carbon County area.
There are many misconceptions about how ticks can latch onto people. Some people believe that the ticks live in trees and drop onto passersby. But generally, insects stay on the ground and when someone or an animal walks by, they latch on to the host and immediately begin to look for a place where they can dig into the skin.
Most experts say that the best way to avoid getting tick born diseases is to wear light clothing so that ticks can be easily spotted.
It is also a good idea to wear some type of insect repellent particularly on the legs and ankles when walking through underbrush or mountain grasses. But because of the insects' ability to latch on quickly, probably the best way to avoid having a tick burrow in is to conduct regular checks.
When hiking or walking through areas where ticks might exist travelers should do a complete inspection of each other head to toe every couple of hours.
One of the most likely places ticks will embed is in the hair just above the neck. They also seem to like areas around joints and private parts of the body.
Frequent checks are important because it generally takes a tick about an hour to find a place to embed once the insect has latched onto the host. After the insect has embedded, it takes about 24 hours of feeding before the tick can begin to pass on an illness.Quick discovery and removal of ticks is of the utmost importance.
During the year,s various people have come up with ways to pull ticks out or have them back out of the skin if they become embedded.
People have used oil, ammonia, fingernail polish or even the heat from a match to get ticks out from under the skin. However, the methods can cause the insects to regurgitate into the wound, creating a higher risk of disease transmission.
"The fact is that folklore about how to remove ticks generally doesn't work well," notes Terri Wright of the Southeastern Utah Health District. "People use something like that and it works once and they tell others about it. Then it becomes a practice."
Experts indicate that ticks secrete a type of glue when feeding and that is why it is not easy to remove the insects.
Most experts explain that grabbing the tick with a fine pair of tweezers and pulling straight out with a rolling motion is the best way to remove the insects. The glue secreted by the insects will cause a resistance, but the ticks will come out.
Carbon County residents should never bend, tear or jerk at the embedded ticks.
"One of the things we tell people is that, if a tick bites them and they remove it, they should write down the date it occurred," points out Wright. "That way, if they do start to get sick, they can compare the date with the onset of the illness."
There are a several places on the human body where, if the ticks dig in, the victim should immediately consult a doctor. The areas include the ear canal or other sensitive parts of the anatomy.
Diseases transmitted by the ticks are called ricketssial illnesses. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is caused by a species of bacteria called rickettsia rickettsii.
The disease was recognized by scientists in 1896 in the Snake River Valley in Idaho.
At first, the Rocky Mountain spotted fever was called "black measles" because of the rash that appears with the onset of the disease.
Eventually, Rocky Mountain spotted fever was recognized as a disease occurring throughout the United States and a great deal of research was put into dealing with the tick-related illness.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever is often misdiagnosed in its early stages. It begins with a fever, headache and aching muscles. Some people think they have the flu. Then the rash appears on the patient.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be fatal if not diagnosed properly and treated. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control 3 to 5 percent of the people who contact the disease die from the illness even with the medical advances.
As late as the 1940s, in the neighborhood of 30 percent of the individuals infected with Rock Mountain spotted fever passed away as a result of the disease.
Lyme disease as a malady was found much later. It was named in 1977 from an outbreak among children in a town named Lyme, Connecticut.
In 2002, more than 23,000 infections were reported in the country, all caused by the bite of deer ticks. While the disease does exist in the western United States, most cases occur in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic states.
Another less dangerous disease that is common to the Castle Valley area is Colorado tick fever. The disease shows up as a viral malady that occurs three to five days after a tick bite
The symptoms of Colorado tick fever include fever, chills, a severe headache, muscle pain and heavy fatigue. Most people spend a week being sick with one day in the middle feeling pretty good. As of yet there is no real treatment for this disease.
Since all these maladies seem to start a lot like the flu sometimes people wait until too late to get them diagnosed. Wright has some advice for those who may experience symptoms.
"I like to tell people if it hits hard and fast, and it occurs during a season when flu is prevalent (the spring or summer) and they have been bit by a tick or have removed one, they should consult a physician." | <urn:uuid:a4f7f6da-3f98-4238-8893-2083cc64e2ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sunadvocate.com/print.php?tier=1&article_id=5124 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971996 | 1,298 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Moderated by Tom Sabulis
The sales tax for transportation improvements was defeated and governments are parsing ways to slice their budgets, but agencies and municipalities across metro Atlanta are focusing on smaller fixes to keep traffic flowing. Traffic signal synchronization is one way. Today, I write about ways both the state and some cities are working to upgrade the technology that can ease our gridlock close to home, and a GDOT leader explains a new grant program designed to expedite money to locals for traffic relief.
Commenting is open below Todd Long’s column.
By Tom Sabulis
A frequent comment lobbed over the transom during this summer’s transportation tax debate went something like this: We don’t need more roads or rail to zap gridlock. Just synchronize the traffic lights!
Some made the suggestion sound like it was simply a matter of flipping a switch — a cost-free panacea to our traffic woes, a no-brainer so easy that managed to escape all those graduate-degree engineers at the Georgia Department of Transportation.
For me, it was not something I ever thought about, for one reason: After 21 years of driving in this city, I assumed our traffic signals already were synced — wired to make me stop at every intersection, even at midnight.
It’s been my experience that you rarely find a choreographed succession of green lights in this town, fluidly sending you down the road in almost martial fashion, providing a sense of unimpeded progression, like some traffic montage in a Philip Glass movie. Sure, it may happen on some arterial somewhere but — like discovering a turn lane on Peachtree Street — it’s not going to happen very often.
There is a homegrown reason for our traffic light challenge: Atlanta does not have standard intersection spacing like cities built on grid patterns. “If every intersection has a half-mile in between traffic signals, you can make better timing plans because you can progress the traffic in both directions,” said Grant Waldrop, Regional Traffic Operations Manager for GDOT. “We don’t have that. We have irregular spacing.”
Modern signal light maintenance can keep traffic moving, but it requires vigilant monitoring and costs thousands in manpower hours each month. The bill is much more for the latest technology, up to $150,000 to completely rebuild an intersection’s signal system. As Richard Mendoza, commissioner of Atlanta’s Department of Public Works, told the AJC in July, much of Atlanta’s traffic infrastructure uses 1990s technology: i.e., copper wires unable to carry digital signals and servers that can’t transmit much data. To upgrade the system using fiber-optic cable, he said, will cost about $40 million.
Newer cities have laser-beamed their focus on traffic flow. Sandy Springs has been upgrading its signals since it incorporated as a city in 2005. City Manager John McDonough said that 97 of the city’s roughly 120 signals are now connected through fiber-optic and computer programming. Sandy Springs also has 41 CCTV cameras monitoring intersections, which helps prevent sending workers into the field to fix a problem.
GDOT helps Atlanta and others maintain traffic signals through its Regional Traffic Operations Program, which has upgraded about 500 intersections in the city. Antiquated detection systems are the chief culprit at many intersections, where wiring that relays information about cars stopped at the light has worn out or is malfunctioning.
“It’s very difficult to have a good intersection timing if you don’t have detection so you know where the vehicles are at the intersection,” Waldrop said. “We need those systems to operate correctly. We also need remote communications so we can do things like keep the time clocks at the intersections set correctly. Then we can change plans remotely if we need to.”
One thing not fixed remotely are the blinking lights that tie up intersections when storms knock out power. “For safety reasons, we do not take intersections out of flash remotely,” Waldrop said. “We want to visit that intersection and make sure. We don’t want to reset an intersection only to have it go right back into flash. You don’t want that kind of confusion at an intersection.”
GDOT would also like to install more battery backup systems on the major corridors it monitors so that traffic signals keep working when the electricity goes out. Some are deployed in Atlanta, but they’re expensive, too – about $8,000 per intersection.
It’s a constant battle to move forward, and Waldrop knows public perception is tough to change.
“People don’t recognize when they’ve been through a well-timed system,” he said. “They notice it when they stop and they don’t think they should have to stop, not the part where they didn’t have to stop as long, or when they have gone through the last three lights without stopping.”
Wait a minute… three lights in a row without stopping? That happens?
By Todd Long
There are some 20,000 miles of federal and state highways in Georgia – the interstate system and major roads that link our cities one to the other. carry our commuters to and from employment centers and give structure to our thriving logistics industry and interstate commerce.
There are another 100,000 or so miles of city streets and county roads – veritable appendages of daily life.
The former are the responsibility of the Georgia Department of Transportation; the latter of their respective county or city governments. Both are hugely expensive to grow and maintain.
And while there’s never enough money to go around, the department historically has assisted local governments in funding their work.
Faced now with new legislative mandates and a stubborn economy, Georgia DOT has developed a streamlined, user-friendly program to get grant monies to cities and counties faster and simpler than ever before. The Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) program began two years ago as a consolidation of previous department local assistance programs. New matching-fund requirements resulting from the July transportation referendum vote prompted us to retool LMIG – to recast it so it best helps cities and counties help themselves.
We are in the process of providing the state’s roughly 700 cities and counties information on the “new” LMIG program and Fiscal 2013 application packets. With approximately $110 million at stake, we expect most cities and counties to apply. The grants will range from around a thousand dollars to four million dollars, based on the population and number of roadway miles in the city or county.
The General Assembly, in adopting The Transportation Investment Act (TIA) and its statewide sales tax referendum held this past July 31, stipulated that local governments in districts of the state where the referendum passed would have to provide a 10 percent local match to receive their LMIG grants; those in districts where it failed, a 30 percent match. Some wonder if that is fair to local governments, especially those where TIA failed.
It is. In reality, cities and counties always contributed to DOT assistance programs. For resurfacings, they always had to patch and prepare roadways before the state could put down new pavement. On new construction projects, local governments always were responsible for any preliminary engineering and needed right-of-way purchases and they always provided most of the project’s funding. So there is no new burden.
Actually, local governments stand to benefit more than ever from a revitalized LMIG program: the $110 million dedicated to LMIG this fiscal year is tens of millions more than in previous years and we’ll now give local governments their total grants in upfront single payments, instead of as work is completed.
This will give them flexibility to decide which projects to build and to begin work sooner. As it should be, cities and counties will control their funds, their schedules and their projects. | <urn:uuid:7188a400-671b-4ad2-bb28-ec680c2a3bbe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-forward/2012/10/01/synchronize-those-traffic-signals/?cp=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957324 | 1,649 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Workshop on starting food co-ops links farms to local consumers
The first in a series of workshops that will focus on “Food Hubs and Co-ops: How local family farms can feed our communities” will be offered April 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Highland Community College’s Klinefelter Barn, 1774 230th St., Hiawatha, Kan.The workshop will provide people who grow and...
Nebraska City News-Press - Nebraska City, NE
Updated Mar. 21, 2013 @ 9:36 am
Updated Mar. 21, 2013 @ 9:36 am
» Social News
The first in a series of workshops that will focus on “Food Hubs and Co-ops: How local family farms can feed our communities” will be offered April 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Highland Community College’s Klinefelter Barn, 1774 230th St., Hiawatha, Kan.
The workshop will provide people who grow and enjoy locally produced food with information on how to form partnerships and food cooperatives.
“This workshop was instantly popular, and we realized we needed to develop separate workshops for the food hub and food co-op topics,” said Mary Howell, Kansas Farmers Union membership specialist.
Part One of the series, “How to Start an Online Food Cooperative” will be held on Saturday, April 6. A second workshop exploring “Organization of Food Hubs” will be announce shortly.
In 2003, the Oklahoma Food Co-op modeled a unique approach to connect local consumers and producers. Its approach was to bring consumers and producers together as owners of a cooperative.
Through the cooperative, they created an online marketplace where local products could be ordered and distributed. Together, the consumers and producers shared the costs and risks, as well as the benefits, of establishing a new community food system.
Since its launch, at least 16 others have started similar operations using the Oklahoma Food Co-op as a model to organize their operations.
“This workshop is for anyone involving in local food production, marketing or consumption. Plan to attend the workshop…The room will be full of experts!” said Howell.
Nationally known speakers will participate, sharing the success stories from their regions.
Confirmed presenters include: Kim Barker, producer and founding board member of the Oklahoma Food Cooperative; Darryl L. Birkenfeld, Ogallala Commons director; Chris Schmidt and Chris Sramek, High Plains Food Co-op founding board members; and Bob Mailander, former director of the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Development Center.
Also on the schedule are Vincent Amanor-Boadu, associate professor of agribusiness economics and management at Kansas State University, and Dan Nagengast of Lawrence, farmer and former tomato processing co-op board member.
A break out session will allow individual discussion and Q & A with presenters. The Glacial Hills Food Center, operated by Glacial Hills RC&D, will be highlighted. Producers can rent the Food Center’s commercial kitchen for food processing. Jeff Downing, Midwest Regional Agency general manager, will cover general and product liability insurance for direct market farms. The Brown County Healthy Foods Coalition will provide an update on its Postage Stamp Production Project.
A chuck wagon lunch and refreshments will be served, and a registration fee of $25 will be charged to cover expenses, food and handouts.
Sponsoring organizations are Kansas Farmers Union, Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (KS-SARE), Glacial Hills RC&D, Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops (KSCAAC), Kansas Rural Center, Brown County Healthy Foods Coalition, Glacial Hills Food Center and Highland Community College. | <urn:uuid:e16761b7-3c62-48ac-a03b-1bafb48a5f16> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ncnewspress.com/article/20130321/NEWS/130329985/0/Books | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933894 | 793 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Almost three quarters of Ugandan teenagers aged between 15 and 19 years are engaging in higher risk sex with minimal condom use, the new HIV/AIDS report has revealed.
This means that about 2.6 million (71%) of the 3.6 million teenagers in this age bracket have risky sex. However, less than half of them use condoms.
The revelation is contained in the Uganda AIDS Indicator Survey (UAIS) 2011 report, which was launched this week by the Ministry of Health.
The report defines higher risk sex as sex with a non-marital or non-cohabiting partner.
The survey was conducted by the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Bureau of Statistics with support of several American and European development organisations as well as the World Health Orgnanisation (WHO).
In the survey, a representative sample of 12,153 female and 9,588 male, aged between 15 and 59 years, in selected households were interviewed across the country. Of this number, 2,089 were in the 15-19 age bracket.
The prevalence of higher risk sex is greater among teenagers and singles than the married and divorced. Risky sexual behaviour is also more common in teenage boys than girls.
Some 92.6% of boys aged between 15 and 19 engage in higher risk sex, yet only 31.5% reported using condoms during their last sexual intercourse.
On the other hand, 49.2% of teenage girls engage in higher risk sex with only 33.8% using condoms.
The report also reveals increasing cross-generational sex, which is more prevalent among uneducated girls and decreases as the educational level increases.
In youth (20-24 years), the report says premarital sex is more common in urban areas and among those with higher levels of education.
Medics and anti-HIV activists yesterday attributed the poignant situation in teenagers to parental negligence as well as widespread pornography.
Molly Businge, who heads Kawaala Health Centre III in Rubaga division, revealed that between six to seven out of 10 adolescents who visit the clinic have sexually transmitted diseases.
"Children, even those in rural areas, almost have unlimited access to video halls where they watch pornographic movies. After watching the movies, they always want to try out what they have seen," explained Regina Ssali-Mugabi, the nurse in charge of the HIV clinic at Kisugu Health Centre III in Makindye.
Mugabi also blamed wealthy parents for availing teenagers with huge sums of pocket money, which they eventually use to seduce girls into sex.
In the survey, about two-thirds of adults (18-49) supported the idea of teaching children aged between 12 and 14 years about using a condom to avoid HIV.
"Over 94% of women and men agree that children should be taught to wait until marriage to have sex," says the report. | <urn:uuid:b04d3d94-359b-49ff-bc26-5e3c3cda24c4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aegis.org/DisplayContent/?SectionID=375628 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968313 | 590 | 1.898438 | 2 |
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is in the process of implementing a country-wide rebanding agreement with Sprint Nextel to change radio frequencies for 911 systems, and Plymouth Township is scrambling to cover the costs.
At the June 6 Plymouth Township Council meeting, Joseph Lawrence cited the incredible growth of cell phone use as the cause for the FCC’s mandate to change bandwidth. Since the 1990s, cell phone companies have increasingly dominated the radio spectrum, causing interference with frequencies used by emergency services.
According to the FCC’s website, “To address a growing problem of harmful interference to 800 megahertz (MHz) public safety communication systems caused by high-density commercial wireless systems, the Commission in July 2004 adopted a comprehensive plan to reconfigure the band. This plan is designed to protect the lives of first responders and other emergency personnel, and is a top priority of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.”
Rebanding and channel swaps have been ongoing since 2005.
Depending on where you live, rebanding may have already occurred or will happen some time in the near future, as the timeline has been delayed several times.
Police Chief Lawrence said they “will have to buy new radios due to the rebanding required by the FCC.”
“It’s a 15 year old system that was supposed to last 10 years,” he said. “We have no choice.”
Rebanding, which would improve emergency communications, will take approximately three to four years to be implemented. A big part of that time frame includes the funding, because changing the bandwidths also requires retuning communication towers and updating technology.
The council unanimously agreed that the rebanding needs to be done and that the technology needs to be updated. However, “Only Sprint Nextel offers the necessary technology, so we are forced to buy their expensive equipment,” said one council member.
During the 1980s and 90s, Nextel (now Sprint Nextel) created a nation-wide network by buying up thousands of individual licenses for frequencies within the 800 MHz range.
According to Chief Lawrence, Sprint Nextel will charge $850 per radio per year, with a total cost of $60 million for this upgrade. “They have pigeonholed us,” said another council member.
Production of the widely used Motorola Centracom Gold Elite dispatch consoles will cease this year, and the Motorola SmartZone 4.1 system will soon be obsolete, with technical support expected to discontinue by the end of 2012, according to a report done by ACM Telecom, a telephone communications company in Philadelphia.
It is yet to be determined when emergency radios currently being used by police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel would begin getting rebanded, and how it’s going to be funded.
Chief Lawrence proposed a couple cost-sharing options.
“The county’s getting loans at a 4 percent interest rate,” he said, “and we can get Homeland Security grants.”
According to FEMA, there’s $526 million available in Fiscal Year 2011 for State Homeland Security grants. Homeland Security Grants are a primary funding mechanism for building and sustaining national preparedness capabilities. These grants fund a range of preparedness activities, including planning, organization, equipment purchase, training, exercises, management and administration. | <urn:uuid:4ea9064f-aff5-4991-a33b-753b2cb77d0d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://plymouthwhitemarsh.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/new-technology-could-bring-new-cost-to-plymouth | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950299 | 688 | 2.359375 | 2 |
I have taken an interest in dictators a while ago, especially communist dictators and the Cold War in general. As I read through the articles throughout time about these individuals, it came to me that not a single one of them was to be considered a politician who followed the universal conventions regarding human rights, or simply, decency. I can start mentioning a long list of dictators on which I gained information, and why they're not very decent people or leaders, but this strikes to me as irrelevant. Note:
I'm interested in those actually in power, not obscure party members who had different feelings or opinions or politicians who didn't have much to say.
I don't know all the ins and outs on all communist dictators, as I haven't had the time to get to those. Therefore, I ask this question. I'm actually interested in a "good" communist, at least someone who didn't grossly violate basic rights of people and who didn't slaughter political opponents (hypothetical exception: in case of a revolution against the ruling order, if that ruling order is violating human/general rights/abusing power/corrupt/etc).
I consider someone decent when he or she didn't violate human rights, allowed reasonable freedom (of opinion), took a sincere heart in the well-being of his/her people, and so on.
From what I've read, only Ho Chi Minh came across as decent at first, but reading more made me realize his crimes were moderate compared to some others, but still he installed a repressive regime, even though he disagreed with excesses. Can anyone please give me an example of a communist in power who applies to my definition of a decent person or leader? | <urn:uuid:fef13176-a578-4f8d-8504-1cb120b544e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://history.stackexchange.com/questions/1324/are-there-any-communist-leaders-without-a-record-of-acts-we-consider-as-a-crime | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979828 | 345 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Warhead wrote:The government also used to tell us that in the event of surviving a nuclear attack you should take the inside doors off there hinges and lean them up against a wall under the stairs. Then fill bin bags with bedding and pack it around the doors in order to protect you from the effects of nuclear fallout...
Radiation obviously wasn't as deadly back in the old days.
I live just within the 15 mile zone of a power plant, so pretty much if there's a meltdown, I'm dead. Woo!
CompulsiveCatfish wrote:OneEye589 wrote:I live just within the 15 mile zone of a power plant, so pretty much if there's a meltdown, I'm dead. Woo!
Not exactly. There would be a series of events leading up to the loss of the reactor core and any number of those events would trigger a site-area or general emergency. This in turn would involve state and local officials evaluating the situation and deciding on evacuation or shelter-in-place options.
OneEye589 wrote:I think Warhead enjoys mothers more.
And I don't know much about nuclear power plants. I just know that I can see it from my house and that a meltdown would be bad.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest | <urn:uuid:f024b81b-edb9-4db4-aa5e-e5af546fe267> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brikwars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=95609 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966228 | 265 | 2.046875 | 2 |
With Hurricane Sandy expected to hit Connecticut in some way early next week, Connecticut Light & Power is starting to prepare for the storm—and the utility says you can prepare, too.
"Customers can prepare by assembling a storm kit and making arrangements to look out for their families, friends and neighbors," the utility said in a news release.
The utility is revving up its emergency response plan, opening its Emergency Response Center and making preparations for restoring power if the storm damages lines, poles or other equipment.
"We’re closely monitoring weather forecasts and preparing for high winds and heavy rain that can devastate the electric system and cause power outages,” said Bill Quinlan, CL&P senior vice president ofemergency preparedness. "The past year has been all about improving storm response, and we stand ready to respond as quickly and safely as possible. While we hope for the best, we all need to prepare for the worst.”
The utiity was strongly criticized after hurricanes last year, including the freak Halloween 2011 snow storm that left power lines down and electricity out for an extended period in Darien and elsewhere.
"CL&P will continue to be in close contact with town, state, and emergency management officials over the next few days to make sure all of our efforts are coordinated for a community-wide response," the utility announced in a news release.
What you can do
The utility suggests that customers with critical medical needs that depend on electricity be prepared to switch to a backup source of energy or be prepared to move to a more electricity-secure spot if necessary.
Here's a quick preparedness list suggested by the utility. The list runs through what's on the CL&P "Shopping for a Storm Kit" video attached to this article:
- Flashlights with spare batteries
- A battery-operated radio or TV
- First-aid kit and medications
- Canned, freeze-dried or dehydrated foods
- A manual can opener
- Bottled water
- Baby or pet supplies (if needed)
- Important phone numbers | <urn:uuid:67a78b73-30f1-4f50-95ff-df56703372f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://weston-ct.patch.com/groups/editors-picks/p/clp-says-its-preparing-for-sandy-you-can-too | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941393 | 429 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Whole Foods shuts down Del Monte Center recycling station; city cries foul.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
The recycling buyback station behind the Whole Foods in Monterey’s Del Monte Center is gone, to the delight of mall execs and dismay of city staff.
Before the closure, people could weigh their recyclables at the station and collect the California Redemption Value. But in early November, Whole Foods closed the station with support from mall managers who viewed it as a magnet for the homeless.
State law requires grocery stores selling recyclable beverages and grossing more than $2 million per year to have a recycling station within a half-mile radius, according to Mark Oldfield, spokesman for the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.
Affected retailers within an unserved “convenience zone” can pay $100 per day until a recycling station is established, pay the CRV in-store or apply for an exemption, Oldfield says. In a deal with CalRecycle, he says, Whole Foods has been paying the daily fee since October.
But the city of Monterey isn’t happy about it. On Nov. 30, Deputy City Manager Hans Uslar sent CalRecycle a letter arguing Whole Foods should not have been allowed to close the station, especially without the city’s involvement. He urges CalRecycle to reconsider and give the city a voice in the process.
Uslar tells the Weekly the closure came as a surprise. “We think it’s a good idea to have a station [there],” he says. “Our interest is to keep this stuff out of the landfill.”
The only recycling stations left in Monterey are one at the Nob Hill grocery store on Lighthouse Avenue and another next to the fire station downtown, Uslar says. Only the Nob Hill station offers the CRV buyback.
Whole Foods would not comment other than an emailed statement via a spokesperson confirming the recycling center has been removed and the store is reviewing its options.
But Del Monte Center General Manager Jill Vivanco is thrilled Whole Foods took action. “The recycling center has been a problem since the day it was set there,” she says. “[It] just exacerbated the homeless population.”
The city’s Don Dahvee Park, which abuts the Whole Foods border along Munras Avenue and Soledad Drive, is a popular homeless encampment. Vivanco says the population presented problems with theft, loitering and patron harassment. She and Whole Foods managers unsuccessfully pressured the city several years ago to move the buyback station somewhere else.
The station generated about 16,000 pounds of recyclables per month, according to Monterey City Disposal Operations Manager Tom Parola. But his staff couldn’t meet mall requests to keep the homeless away, he adds: “They’re citizens of the United States. They have a right to be at a park.”
He says Vivanco contacted him Nov. 1 and asked for the recycling station to be removed, per Whole Foods’ arrangement. He promptly shut down the station and laid off its one employee.
Despite the city’s protests, Oldfield says, CalRecycle can’t force Whole Foods to keep the station open: “There’s really not much we can do.”
CalRecycle will work with the city in an effort to open a new station nearby, he adds. Meanwhile, the 12 affected retailers (including Trader Joe’s) will be noticed they’re in an unserved convenience zone, invited to submit public comments and given a grace period.
If CalRecycle doesn’t grant an exemption and a new station isn’t established, Oldfield says, the retailers will have to redeem the CRV in-store or pay the $100 daily fee starting in June. | <urn:uuid:dd4cbda5-e3e3-4a0c-aebe-6b701d82c1e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/2012/dec/13/buyback-blowup/?templates=desktop | 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 | 0.94619 | 819 | 1.71875 | 2 |
New figures show Bexar County residents used 328 gallons of gasoline last year, according to numbers released by the Sierra Club on Monday.
That put the county 10th on a national gas consumption list of all counties in the United States.
In total, residents used about 683 million gallons. That number trails only Tarrant, Harris, and Dallas counties in Texas.
The numbers come as gas prices ticked down over the weekend in San Antonio, falling to an average of $3.51 per gallon, according to website SanAntonioGasPrices.com.
That’s down from $3.55 a few days ago.
Residents at local gas stations were not surprised by Bexar County’s gas use.
“This city is growing, and the traffic is doing nothing but going up,” said Tim Pawlik, a local mechanic.
Others said people have to drive more in the county because public transportation does not go everywhere.
“I have to go to school on the other side of town,” said Danny Hewtty, at a downtown gas station. “I have to drive a lot.” | <urn:uuid:2a62cf01-1e78-44e8-a715-ea24b6bd9572> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ksat.com/news/Bexar-County-10th-on-national-gas-consumption-list/-/478452/16808088/-/kbi6exz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946673 | 242 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Thought i'd tell you about my new book, "Beginning Arduino" that is now available:-
The book is desined to take absolute beginners in both electronics and programming through a total of 50 projetcs, learning as you go, until by Project 50 you are proficient at using the Arduino.
You will learn such things as:-
* Controling motors and servos
* LCD Displays
* Ethernet shield usage
* sending data to Pachube
* Scrolling text on LED displays
* Touch screens
* Reading and writing to SD cards
* Making a line following robot
...and so on. The style of the book is easy going, with the reader diving right into projects from the start and not learning theory first. The best way to learn, in my opinion, is to get stuck in and learn as you go along.
The book is full of colour diagrams showing breadboard circuit diagrams using Fritzing and full code for each project is included. The chapter then explains in easy to follow, step by step procedures, how both the electronics and the code works so you get a full understanding of how to use the Arduino, how to program it and how to use components with it. Each project builds on the knowledge of previous projects.
This is the book I wish I had when I first started in Arduino development. It's available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all good bookshops. | <urn:uuid:936d9151-abc8-4774-91ff-b7d7cb7dfa5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=50214.msg363078 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918711 | 293 | 2.359375 | 2 |
ALAN TURING JAHR 2012
TCAC Germany Subcommittee
Science has been a powerful link between the UK and Germany,
sometimes taking the form of rivalry (most famously, Leibniz and Newton),
sometimes more supportive (as with Dirac and Heisenberg).
With Alan Turing the link was a peculiarly strong one,
played out daily in the confines of wartime Bletchley Park;
through the key independent roles of Turing and Zuse in the history of the
computer; and even personally through Turing's meetings with German
emigré Dietrich Prinz (educated at Berlin University, where his
teachers included Planck and Einstein), and their common interest in the
programming of early computers to play chess.
The Turing centenary is a genuinely international celebration
of the science associated with Turing and his contemporaries,
TCAC Germny Subcommittee aims to liaise with the Alan Turing Jahr
Coordinating Committee and more widely publicise its
2012 activities. The TCAC Germany subcommittee
will be informal and inclusive, and will creatively
complement the work of the ATJ organisers. | <urn:uuid:78219d91-df4f-4d80-8a73-eb9b547bc35e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mathcomp.leeds.ac.uk/turing2012/give-page.php?402 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930111 | 233 | 2.25 | 2 |
LETTER: Native American nations deserve advantages
To The Editor:
To reply to the letter, “Some Americans treated differently.”
The problem with what he said is this. The Indian nations were here before anyone else; they didn’t ask to be put on the reservations.
The government ordered them there, rationed their food, clothes, made unbelievable rules. So as for playing by the rules, that’s unjust, unfair to our native Indians.
And for property, the Turning Stone is one of New York’s strongest for jobs, events and prosperity to New York state. So no, the native Indians do support our state, they do have rights because of them being Native Americans.
Oh another thing I might add, for all the poorer people out there, the rich get richer. There’s no room for the lower class here.
As for the we the people, the native Indians deserve respect, and just as much and more so because they are real Americans.
I know a few native Indians who are more kind, more honorable, and honest, than many of our so-called real Americans.
God bless New York.
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Editor Kurt Wanfried shares his view of the news in Madison County and Southern Oneida County.
Sports stories from Central New York and beyond.
Mary Messere, the former Madison County historian, describes herself as historian/writer/photographer who loves music, history, making videos, poetry, art and travel. Her entertaining blog covers all that and more. | <urn:uuid:153ed804-c251-435e-80bd-c895e60470e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oneidadispatch.com/articles/2012/11/05/opinion/doc50980f6d7a530053437757.txt?viewmode=fullstory | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904194 | 694 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Following an initiative taken in 1991 by the then Vice-Chancellor Sir Michael Thompson and the Registrar David Holmes, a survey was made of the miscellaneous groups of pictures, sculpture, artefacts, and ceremonial objects that were to be found in and around the University.
Sue Armitage led the survey, working with the photographer Ron Swift, and the unexpected new knowledge they gained galvanised the University into appointing a part time curator to begin the task of cataloguing, organising and assessing these newly identified collections, and any others which might later emerge.
In the subsequent seventeen years the University Collections (renamed in 2008 the University Research and Cultural Collections) has developed through the incorporation of the Danford Collection of West African Art and Artefacts, the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity Museum, the Historic Physics Instruments, the Medical Collection, as well as the Fine Art Collection (including outdoor sculpture), the University Ceremonial Silver Collection and the University Portraits.
Since the mid-1990s a programme of redisplay has continued in line with historical precedent. When the University moved to Edgbaston in 1900 the new buildings incorporated eight separate museums attached to departments to aid teaching, and this practice was used as a model for the 1990s. The Danford and Archaeology Collections were the first to be given museum-quality display cases in their departments, thus drawing collections and teaching tightly together so that staff and students would be constantly aware of the presence in their departments of their historic objects, and of their teaching value.
The University’s art collections grew from the 1960s through the dedication of a small number of determined academics including Professors Janusz Kolbuszewski and Anthony Lewis, Angus Skene and Kenneth Garlick. Together they laid the foundations of the collections with commissions and acquisitions of work by artists including William Gear, Barbara Hepworth and Peter Lanyon. Their example encouraged the University to continue to foster the art collections from the 1990s, adding works by Sonia Lawson RA, Julian Meredith, Nicholas Pope, John Walker, Austin Wright and others. Perhaps the most generous recent gift was the sets of prints and the bequest of plasters by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi RA. | <urn:uuid:d7a552e3-e74b-491f-9ab0-0a3c80980fd3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/rcc/about/history.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956992 | 447 | 2 | 2 |
A DUTCH MONARCH CAN JUST UP AND QUIT?
Absolutely. Unlike in Britain, where Queen Elizabeth holds religious titles and seems to see it as her duty to rule until she is no longer able, the Dutch monarch is more or less a government job—only hereditary. The queen or king is the head of state and falls under the purview of the prime minister. Queen Beatrix is turning 75, and she's been in office for 33 years. There's really nothing in the way of her stepping down to enjoy her immense personal wealth and her hobbies, which include skiing and horseback riding.
WILL SHE BE MISSED?
There are a few republicans who want the monarchy abolished. But the large majority of Dutch—probably even most republicans—like the queen and think she has handled her role with grace and dedication. She has been part of Dutch lives for a generation, through national tragedies and triumphs. In casual conversation, people refer to her simply as "Bea." As former Prime Minister Wim Kok put it, when he heard the news she was stepping down: "I got goose bumps. You know it's coming, but still, it's the end of an era." Beatrix's abdication speech drew 7 million viewers out
WHO'S THE NEW KING?
That would be the current Prince of Orange, Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand—and those are just his first names. He's more commonly referred to as Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. The Dutch informally call him "Wim-Lex," which is a step up from "Prince Pilsner," the nickname the tabloids gave him during his boozy university days.
Willem-Alexander's image improved as he became a family man with three young daughters and developed a career as a diplomat and water management expert. The prince's wife, Argentine investment banker Maxima Zorreguieta, is probably more popular than he is.
In line with the professional attitude of the Dutch monarchy, Willem-Alexander has served on various international water management boards, while soon-to-be Queen Maxima has been involved in promoting microfinance projects in developing countries.
WHAT'S HE GOT THAT I HAVEN'T GOT?
Apart from the wealth and titles he inherited by accident of birth, Willem-Alexander can: pilot jet planes, skate a 200-kilometer marathon along frozen canals in sub-zero weather conditions, and run the New York City marathon. The 45-year-old has chaired a U.N. advisory panel on water and sanitation, and been a member of the International Olympic Committee—a job he regretfully quit Tuesday because it could conflict with his kingly duties.
SO WHAT ARE THE BEST DUTCH ROYAL SCANDALS? WHAT DO THE TABLOIDS SAY?
Beatrix's father, Prince Bernhard, had his share. German-born, he served the Allies well in World War II, flying combat missions. Later in life, he had extramarital affairs and got tangled up in bribery accusations.
YOU'RE TELLING ME YOU'VE GOT NOTHING ON BEATRIX OR WILLEM-ALEXANDER?
Well, nothing directly on Beatrix. Willem-Alexander once crashed a car. And he was criticized by some for running onto the field and celebrating along with the Dutch women's hockey team after they won the bronze medal at the Olympics in Atlanta, although others saw that as a good thing.
But the most serious scandals they faced arose from their marriages. That's not because the character of any spouse was in question, but rather because of his or her family background.
Beatrix's marriage to her husband Prince Claus was initially resisted by the Dutch public, with many residents upset about his service with the Nazi army in World War II and membership in the Hitler Youth. He served in Italy near the end of the fighting and was quickly taken prisoner. As royal consort, he eventually became popular for his quiet, modest and honest nature.
Princess Maxima's father, meanwhile, was Agriculture Minister in Argentina in the murderous Videla regime of the late 1970s. Out of diplomatic considerations, her family won't be attending when she is sworn in as queen and Willem-Alexander is inaugurated as king on April 30.
"SWORN IN"? "INAUGURATED"? I THINK THE WORD YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IS "CROWNED."
Nope. Willem-Alexander won't be getting a crown placed on his head, or become overlord of all Dutch people. This goes back to the difference between the Dutch and British royal houses. The Dutch monarchy is not just more modern in viewing the kingship as more of a profession than a perhaps divinely ordained role, it's literally more modern. It was founded after the American Revolutionary War, and, more importantly in European terms, after the French Revolution. Dutch monarchs are inaugurated at a meeting of the upper and lower houses of the Dutch Parliament, where they promise to serve and uphold the country's constitution.
As a commoner, you are still supposed to address the monarch as "your highness," though, if you happen to bump into him or her at a cocktail party. It's protocol.
WILL THERE BE A PARTY TO USHER IN THE CHANGES? AND WHO GETS TO GO?
Most definitely. And everyone.
April 30, Queen's Day, rivals New Year's Eve as the biggest bash of the year in the Netherlands. There hasn't been a king on the Dutch throne in more than 100 years, but this year's celebration will probably be the last Queen's Day until one of Willem-Alexander's daughters—presumably the oldest, Catharina-Amalia—someday replaces him.
But next year there will be a King's Day at around the same time.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said Queen Beatrix doesn't think it's appropriate that she receive a big going-away gift or that an excessive amount of money be spent on the celebration, given that the Dutch economy is in a weak patch. But—this party being held in Amsterdam, which has a reputation to uphold—he said it wouldn't be a sober affair either, where all they serve is "a little glass of fruit juice." | <urn:uuid:9182325e-2ed5-4cd2-8ef4-2d166491801a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ldnews.com/entertainment/ci_22472594/dutch-monarchy-mdash-some-facts-and-quirks | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977728 | 1,312 | 1.90625 | 2 |
Report: 1 in 3 Illinoisans lives in or near poverty level
Updated: January 16, 2013 9:34AM
A staggering one out of three Illinoisans today lives in or near poverty — the peak of a continued climb over three decades, a new study finds.
It means one in five Illinois children are living in poverty, according to the study released Wednesday by the Social IMPACT Research Center of Chicago’s Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights.
The forces behind this rising poverty in a post-recession economy go beyond unemployment, according to the study, which traces it also to an inadequate living wage and lack of access to education, housing, health care and assets.
“Illinois’ 33%: Report on Illinois Poverty,” is based on 2011 U.S. Census Bureau data. It declares a crisis sparing no community in Illinois, and only worsening under budget cuts to government programs and policies that alleviate poverty.
The 33 percent figure is up from 25 percent of Illinoisans who lived in or near poverty in 2000. In 1990, it was 27 percent; in 1980, 26 percent.
“We wanted to get a handle on how people are recovering post-recession and to understand how things like our state’s budget crisis are filtering down into communities,” said report author Amy Rynell, director of the research center.
“What we learned was extraordinarily disturbing.”
The study found that almost half of Chicago’s population is living in or near poverty.
In suburban Cook and Kane counties, it’s nearly a third; in DuPage, McHenry and Will counties, one out of five people, and in Lake County, one out of four. | <urn:uuid:0e83143e-f24d-4586-80e9-cbd477131189> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://northbrook.suntimes.com/news/17610318-418/report-1-in-3-illinoisans-lives-in-or-near-poverty-level.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945331 | 358 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Henry David Thoreau's Beautiful GPS
When it comes to inspirational quotes and verbal kicks in the seat of the pants, Henry David Thoreau is one of the best. I thought he’d be perfect for today’s quote of the day.
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. - Henry David Thoreau
A little tip about inspirational and motivational quotes. When you find one that strikes a chord with you.. right where the chord needs to be struck… write it down and put it in plain sight. It’s a funny thing about quotes – sometimes one that sets a fire beneath us does zip for then next person. Someone once told me a quote that had changed their life. I can’t even remember what it was, per se, but it was a Chinese proverb – that much I remember. I also remember them looking at my face, waiting for my light bulb reaction.
Not so much as a flicker.
I just thought, “Seriously? That set you on fire?”
I have several quotes written on index cards hanging on the cork board above my computer in my home office. One, by Lady Maya Angelou always spurs me on: “Nothing will work unless you do.” I’m not sure why, but these words always flip a switch for me.
Browse through the motivational quotes on Self Help Daily and find the ones that flip your switch – then print them onto index cards and place them accordingly. After all, like light switches in a room, our emotional switches need to be flipped on daily… otherwise we’ll be sitting in the dark looking like perfect fools. | <urn:uuid:c5764be3-7395-450c-b095-b964b317d52f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.selfhelpdaily.com/follow-your-dreams-quote/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947496 | 353 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Every 10 years, Alaskans decide whether to take a serious look at the Alaska Constitution and consider fundamental changes to our basic of self-governance.
It's a good question to ask once a decade. Our constitution isn't writ in stone. Fifty-five Alaskans of good will wrote it in Fairbanks in the mid-50s. They didn't bring it down from the mountain.
But the fact that Alaskans have seen fit never to call a new convention testifies to the quality of their work.
That work has been interpreted and challenged; we've voted to amend our founding document 28 times since statehood in 1959; we've rejected a dozen amendments. Alaskans have used the amendment process to create the Permanent Fund, ban gender discrimination, define the individual right to own firearms and limit the regular legislative session to 90 days. The amendment process is painstaking -- three fourths of the Legislature must vote to put amendments before the voters -- but has sufficed to respond to changing times and questions that the founders of 1955-56 couldn't have foreseen.
That still suffices.
Former attorney general John Havelock, who writes a column for these pages, has called for such a convention. He's argued for a unicameral legislature, tighter controls on corporate money in politics, a nonpartisan method for apportioning election districts. His arguments are worthy of debate, but don't rise to the level of needing to reconvene on the fundamentals. We'll take the view of another elder statesman, Vic Fischer, one of the delegates to state constitutional convention, that he expressed in September on APRN's "Talk of Alaska."
Fischer said we live in a divisive time, our politics given to extremes and the spirit of compromise viewed with contempt. Spike that brew with lobbyists and the power of special interests, and a constitutional convention begins to look like a good venue for bad ideas.
Yet fear of extremes or the current divisiveness isn't our primary motive for opposing a convention. It's more a matter of pride and the test of time.
The Alaska Constitution reaffirms the bedrock rights espoused by the nation's founders, provides a clear, deliberate amendment process and remains a solid guide to the balance between our individual liberties and our corresponding obligations to the people and the state. Those are qualities that will outlast ideological fashion -- or greed and selfishness cloaked in ideology.
In short, the Alaska Constitution works. We should never take it for granted; that's why the same founders who did such good work included a 10-year reopener. This time, the answer is again no. Alaskans can give it a fresh look in 10 years.
BOTTOM LINE: No need for Alaska to call a constitutional convention. | <urn:uuid:0dbd9aae-9d6e-430b-be32-02b259545236> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adn.com/2012/10/23/2669934/our-view-vote-no-on-alaska-constitutional.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951354 | 567 | 1.570313 | 2 |
DALLAS - From princesses to wenches to squires and knights on horseback, Medieval Times in Dallas wants to fill a lot of distinctive jobs.
Thursday morning, News 8 got a chance to look behind the scenes at the popular dinner and jousting tournament arena.
On Friday, Medieval Times will be holding a casting faire to fill various openings. Of course, the most popular job is the knight. News 8 learned it takes a lot of dedication, working your way up from the role of squire to, hopefully, the role of knight. Only one in 10 squires master their skills enough to become a knight.
"To do our job day in and day out, it's like going and playing football every day,” said Stephen Agers, a Medieval Times knight for almost two decades. “And on top of that, going to practice every day. And then you have to come in and work with animals every day. So, it takes a lot of dedication to keep yourself in shape, and to drive yourself and push yourself to be able to come and perform every day."
The Casting Faire will be Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Medieval Times Castle in Dallas. Other positions include princesses, trumpeters, food servers, gift shop sales, maintenance, kitchen, cash control, stables and bar. | <urn:uuid:dbaf5511-71b5-4482-8652-8e8f9c08418b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wfaa.com/video/featured-videos/Instant-Live-8-Medieval-Times-Now-Hiring-160679915.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951041 | 283 | 1.53125 | 2 |
So even with the dancing girls, you’re not interested enough to read a whole story on public pension plans. We understand. You just want to know if these things are really the ticking time bomb (or your clichéd-alarming-metaphor of choice) they are made out to be. The answer is ... it’s hard to say!
How much a Defined Benefits pension costs an employer from year to year depends on a whole bunch of variables, including but not limited to: A.) what kind of returns the pension fund gets from its investments; B.) how many people actually retire as soon they’re eligible; and C.) how long those people live. If employees keep working for five or 10 years after they reach full retirement benefits, the employer’s long-term liability drops. And if they fall over dead the day after they retire, that saves the employer money, too. (One of the daily duties at the city Pension Board is scrolling through the obituaries for names of retirees. Families sometimes forget to tell the city to stop sending checks. And just so you know, if and when the city discovers this, it will ask for its money back.)
Actuaries have to mince and chop all those things and feed them through a bunch of formulas to figure out how much money to set aside each year. But here’s the catch: When something unexpected happens—like, say, a global economic meltdown—all of that figuring comes up short. If the stock market falls off a cliff, suddenly the pension fund has less money in it than it was supposed to, and the employer has to put more in. Inconveniently, this tends to happen at times when revenues like sales and property taxes also take a dive. Which means that a city or county with Defined Benefits plans suddenly has to put a whole lot more money into its pensions at the same time it’s actually getting less money coming in.
This is the kind of thing that gives actuaries the heebie-jeebies. And it is exactly what has happened with the city of Knoxville’s plans over the last few years. For example, for its police and fire plan, the city this fiscal year is having to contribute the equivalent of 22 percent of those employees’ salaries. (“Historically, that’s just off the charts,” says Mike Cherry, executive director of the city’s Pension Board.)
So all of these estimates of the city and county’s obligations over the next decade or two are just that, estimates, and in fact you could do new calculations every day because the pension funds go up and down with the market. If we ever get fully recovered from the disaster of the past several years and find some new bubble to inflate, the year-to-year numbers could look a lot better. But you can see why an employer would prefer a nice, flat Defined Contributions plan where they merely match 6 percent of salary, no matter what insane thing is happening on Wall Street. | <urn:uuid:0e631c62-cbc8-4621-88e1-3424898c2642> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.metropulse.com/news/2011/jul/13/why-employers-hate-defined-benefits-pension-plans/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95502 | 631 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Hieronder een artikel over het fenomeen ‘typografie’, een algemene inleiding over bepaalde begrippen, termen inclusief een korte uitleg.
Typography is a subtle craft, in which the smallest mistake can appear as a glaring error even to the untrained eye. Unlike the spoken word, which quickly passes and is forgotten, printed type has the potential to survive for hundreds of years.
The adoption of good habits and a healthy respect for type characters and fonts is a good starting point for anyone wishing to practice graphic design.
Definition ty·po·graph·y (noun)
“The selection and arrangement of typefaces, sizes, and spacing on a printed publication or web page. Typography has a major impact on the overall look and image of your page and its overall quality.”
Anatomy of letter forms
In order to discuss typography, it helps to understand the anatomy of letter forms.
- The ascender line is the imaginary line which determines the height of ascenders.
- The base line is the imaginary line on which all characters rest. Descenders hang below the base line.
- The ascender height is the x-height plus the height of the ascending stroke. It the distance between the base line and the ascender line.
- The cap height is the height of capital letters. It is the distance bewteen the base line and the cap line.
- The descender is the stroke of a letter which dips below the base line, as in the letters g and j.
- The ascender is the stroke of a letter which rises above the mean line, as in the letters d, f and k.
- The x-height is the distance between the flat top and bottom of a lower case letter which has no ascender or descender, such as x. It is the distance between the base line and the mean line. The curved tops and bottoms of the p, o, and g extend beyond these lines so that they appear visually to fit the x-height.
- The cap line is the imaginary line which determines the height of capital letters.
- The mean line is the imaginary line which determines the height of lowercase letters. Ascenders rise above the mean line.
- The descender line is the imaginary line which defines the bottom reach of descenders.
Glossary of Typographic Terms
In typography, a typeface is a set of one or more fonts, in one or more sizes, designed with stylistic unity, each comprising a coordinated set of glyphs. For example: 8-point Caslon Italic is one font, and 10-point Caslon Italic is another. Historically, fonts came in specific sizes determining the size of characters, and in quantities of sorts or number of each letter provided.
A typeface usually comprises an alphabet of letters, numerals, and punctuation marks; it may also include ideograms and symbols, or consist entirely of them, for example, mathematical or map-making symbols.
The term typeface is frequently conflated with font; the two terms had more clearly differentiated meanings before the advent of desktop publishing.
The distinction between font and typeface is that a font designates a specific member of a type family such as roman, boldface, or italic type, while typeface designates a consistent visual appearance or style which can be a “family” or related set of fonts. For example, a given typeface such as Arial may include roman, bold, and italic fonts.
A collection of glyphs, generally with at least one glyph associated with each character in the font’s character set, often with an encoding. A font contains much of the information needed to turn a sequence of bytes into a set of pictures representing the characters specified by those bytes. In traditional typesetting a font was a collection of little blocks of metal each with a graven image of a letter on it. Traditionally there was a different font for each point-size.
A glyph is an image, often associated with one or several characters. So the glyph used to draw “f” is associated with the character f, while the glyph for the “fi” ligature is associated with both f and i. In simple latin fonts the association is often one to one (there is exactly one glyph for each character), while in more complex fonts or scripts there may be several glyphs per character (In renaissance printing the letter “s” had two glyphs associated with it, one, the long-s, was used initially and medially, the other, the short-s, was used only at the end of words). And in the ligatures one glyph is associated with two or more characters.
When the default spacing between two glyphs is inappropriate the font may include extra information to indicate that when a given glyph (say “T”) is followed by another glyph (say “o”) then the advance width of the “T” should be adjusted by a certain amount to make for a more pleasing display.
In the days of metal type, metal actually had to be shaved off the slug of type to provide a snugger fit.
A single glyph which is composed of two adjacent glyphs. A common example in the latin script is the “fi” ligature which has a nicer feel to it than the sequence.
There are various conventional variants of a font. In probably any writing system the thickness of the stems of the glyphs may be varied, this is called the weight of a font. Common weights are normal and bold. In LGC alphabets an italic (or oblique) style has arisen and is used for emphasis. Fonts are often compressed into a condensed style, or expanded out into an extended style. Various other styles are in occasional use: underline, overstrike, outline, shadow.
Types of typefaces
Typographers have developed a comprehensive vocabulary for describing the many aspects of typefaces and typography. Some vocabulary applies only to a subset of all scripts. Serifs, for example, are a purely decorative characteristic of typefaces used for European scripts, whereas the glyphs used in Arabic or East Asian scripts have characteristics (such as stroke width) that may be similar in some respects but cannot reasonably be called serifs and may not be purely decorative.
A typeface that is straight with no serifs or small extensions on letters; generally used for headers.
e.g. Helvetica, Futura, Calibri, Corbel
1. The fine line that extends from the top and bottom of letters making them easier to read, used for the body text of a book.
2. A style of typeface which has serifs.
e.g. Bodoni, Georgia, Cambria, Garamond, Minion
Antique typefaces have a long history and can be used to evoke a period feel.
Decorative typefaces include highly decorated and really eccentric fonts, often with very specific uses and rarely appropriate for more than three words at a time.
Script typefaces, which resemble handwriting, can be subdivided into traditional scripts that look as though they were produced by a quill pen and those that mimic modern styles of handwriting.
Symbol typefaces are composed of graphic icons to provide embellishments to text. These are sometimes created to complement a specific font.
Typografie kan juist een bepaalde kracht of sfeer neerzetten, eigenlijk is de beste toepassing van typografie dat deze niet opvalt en helemaal samenvalt met alle andere grafische elementen eromheen. | <urn:uuid:0343a820-9f5a-4225-87f6-e981a306636b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gonzoblog.nl/2009/06/14/anatomy-in-typography/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904324 | 1,638 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Emerald Homepage Census Records Civil Records Other Towns Maps
Portadown is approx 8 miles north of Armagh City. It is in the Baronies of ONeilland West and East. Portadown has 2 parishes in it's boundaries. They are, Drumcree and Seagoe.
The name Portadown derives from the Irish name "Port an Dunain", which means "Landing place (port) of the little fort". This name was taken from the ancient castle that was in that area and belonged to the Clan of McCann or McCane. This castle was strategically important as it commanded the pass of the river Bann. The McCann's were a branch of the O'Neill family.
The adjoining lands were under the name of the manor of Ballyoran and during the Irish Plantation these land's were granted to William Powell, and later to Prudence Obins and Michael Obins. On this land the Obins' built a large Elizabethan style manor house as well as 14 houses which 14 English families settled.
In 1629 Michael Obins died and during an inquisition that year, he was described as living at Ballywarren (Ballyoran) alias Portadown. This was the first record of the name 'Portadown'. John Obins (Michael's son) secured a patent for fairs and markets at Portadown in 1631.
During the Irish Rebellion of 1641-42, it is said that between 100 to 200 protestants from Armagh, Kilmore and Loughgall were marched to Portadown by Manus O'Kane. On arriving O'Kane handed the prisoners to captain Toole McCann, who was the Irish leader and who controlled the town.. The prisoners were then forced into the river Bann and shot or stabbed or stoned. In 1646 around 600 Irish troops, on instruction of Owen Roe O'Neill, descended into the town. The troops burnt Obins castle to the ground as well as other houses.
By 1657 it seems the the town was back in control of the Obins'. In Cromwell's Inquisition the town was described as been fit for a school. In the early 18th century Portadown was described as being a " pretty village". It was also noted at this time that Portadown was unbridged and anyone arriving from Belfast or Lurgan and traveling to Armagh had to cross the river Bann by ferry.
In 1762 Michael Obins was given permission from the Irish House of Commons to set up a linen market in Portadown. This linen market was in fact the foundation for the area's major industry. Obins and George Woodhouse established a general market in 1780. By the middle of the 19th century Portadown was exporting major quantities of grain, hay and straw to the other counties in Ulster as well as Scotland and England.
The Methodists were the first people to build a church in Portadown in 1803. The next church built was by the Presbyterians in 1822, followed by the Church of Ireland in 1826 and the Roman Catholics in 1835.
During the Great Famine of 1845-51, Portadown was affected as much as any other Ulster town. Many folk who were left destitute by the famine went to Lurgan Workhouse, which was 6 miles away. In the minute book of Portadown Market Company, the local inspector reported to the committee that sheds were occupied for making soup. The yard was filled with people and these people at the soup kitchen were a very great annoyance to the market.
Newry canal was constructed in 13 years from 1729 to 1742. The canal was 18 miles long and consisted of 13 locks. This canal had helped Portadown to become a center of business and communication. Along with Lurgan, Portadown had a monopoly of the manufacture of the fine linen known as the 'Cambric Trade' By the end of the 19th century Portadown had at 7 large weaving factories. These were Watson Armstrong of Watson Street; Tavanagh Weaving Co and Portadown Weaving Co were situated on the Armagh Road. Hamilton Robb of Goban Street. There was also Spence Bryson & Co ltd of Portmore Street and Meadow Lane; Castleisland Linen Co. And finally Achesons Ltd of Garvaghy Road. All well as these 7 factories there were another 4 situated outside the town. Portadown also became a very important railway junction for the entire North. The first railway line reached Portadown in September 1842. Within a short time after that Portadown was the main junction that linked the Great Northern Railway to Dublin, Belfast, Derry and Armagh
Click the Thumbnails below for full sized maps and photos (more photos to come!!)
Street Map of Portadown.
Drumcree Church of Ireland Church, Portadown. (Photo taken on May 7th, 2000)
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From TomDispatch: The Pentagon’s Afghan basing plans for prisons, drones, and black ops
By Nick Turse | February 13, 2012
In late December, the lot was just a big blank: a few burgundy metal shipping containers sitting in an expanse of crushed eggshell-colored gravel inside a razor-wire-topped fence. The American military in Afghanistan doesn’t want to talk about it, but one day soon, it will be a new hub for the American drone war in the Greater Middle East.
Next year, that empty lot will be a two-story concrete intelligence facility for America’s drone war, brightly lit and filled with powerful computers kept in climate-controlled comfort in a country where most of the population has no access to electricity. It will boast almost 7,000 square feet of offices, briefing and conference rooms, and a large “processing, exploitation, and dissemination” operations center — and, of course, it will be built with American tax dollars.
Nor is it an anomaly. Despite all the talk of drawdowns and withdrawals, there has been a years-long building boom in Afghanistan that shows little sign of abating. In early 2010, the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had nearly 400 bases in Afghanistan. Today, Lieutenant Lauren Rago of ISAF public affairs tells TomDispatch, the number tops 450.
The hush-hush, high-tech, super-secure facility at the massive air base in Kandahar is just one of many building projects the U.S. military currently has planned or underway in Afghanistan. While some U.S. bases are indeed closing up shop or being transferred to the Afghan government, and there’s talk of combat operations slowing or ending next year, as well as a withdrawal of American combat forces from Afghanistan by 2014, the U.S. military is still preparing for a much longer haul at mega-bases like Kandahar and Bagram airfields. The same is true even of some smaller camps, forward operating bases (FOBs), and combat outposts (COPs) scattered through the country’s backlands. “Bagram is going through a significant transition during the next year to two years,” Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Gerdes of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Bagram Office recently told Freedom Builder, a Corps of Engineers publication. “We’re transitioning… into a long-term, five-year, 10-year vision for the base.”
Whether the U.S. military will still be in Afghanistan in five or 10 years remains to be seen, but steps are currently being taken to make that possible. U.S. military publications, plans and schematics, contracting documents, and other official data examined by TomDispatch catalog hundreds of construction projects worth billions of dollars slated to begin, continue, or conclude in 2012.
While many of these efforts are geared toward structures for Afghan forces or civilian institutions, a considerable number involve U.S. facilities, some of the most significant being dedicated to the ascendant forms of American warfare: drone operations and missions by elite special operations units. The available plans for most of these projects suggest durability. “The structures that are going in are concrete and mortar, rather than plywood and tent skins,” says Gerdes. As of last December, his office was involved in 30 Afghan construction projects for U.S. or international coalition partners worth almost $427 million.
The Big Base Build-Up
Recently, the New York Times reported that President Obama is likely to approve a plan to shift much of the U.S. effort in Afghanistan to special operations forces. These elite troops would then conduct kill/capture missions and train local troops well beyond 2014. Recent building efforts in the country bear this out.
A major project at Bagram Air Base, for instance, involves the construction of a special operations forces complex, a clandestine base within a base that will afford America’s black ops troops secrecy and near-absolute autonomy from other U.S. and coalition forces. Begun in 2010, the $29 million project is slated to be completed this May and join roughly 90 locations around the country where troops from Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan have been stationed.
Elsewhere on Bagram, tens of millions of dollars are being spent on projects that are less sexy but no less integral to the war effort, like paving dirt roads and upgrading drainage systems on the mega-base. In January, the U.S. military awarded a $7 million contract to a Turkish construction company to build a 24,000-square-foot command-and-control facility. Plans are also in the works for a new operations center to support tactical fighter jet missions, a new flight-line fire station, as well as more lighting and other improvements to support the American air war.
Last month, Afghan President Hamid Karzai ordered that the U.S.-run prison at Bagram be transferred to Afghan control. By the end of January, the U.S. had issued a $36 million contract for the construction, within a year, of a new prison on the base. While details are sparse, plans for the detention center indicate a thoroughly modern, high-security facility complete with guard towers, advanced surveillance systems, administrative facilities, and the capacity to house about 2,000 prisoners.
At Kandahar Air Field, that new intelligence facility for the drone war will be joined by a similarly-sized structure devoted to administrative operations and maintenance tasks associated with robotic aerial missions. It will be able to accommodate as many as 180 personnel at a time. With an estimated combined price tag of up to $5 million, both buildings will be integral to Air Force and possibly CIA operations involving both the MQ-1 Predator drone and its more advanced and more heavily-armed progeny, the MQ-9 Reaper.
The military is keeping information about these drone facilities under extraordinarily tight wraps. They refused to answer questions about whether, for instance, the construction of these new centers for robotic warfare are in any way related to the loss of Shamsi Air Base in neighboring Pakistan as a drone operations center, or if they signal efforts to increase the tempo of drone missions in the years ahead. The International Joint Command’s chief of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations, aware that such questions were to be posed, backed out of a planned interview with TomDispatch.
“Unfortunately our ISR chief here in the International Joint Command is going to be unable to address your questions,” Lieutenant Ryan Welsh of ISAF Joint Command Media Outreach explained by email just days before the scheduled interview. He also made it clear that any question involving drone operations in Pakistan was off limits. “The issues that you raise are outside the scope under which the IJC operates, therefore we are unable to facilitate this interview request.”
Whether the construction at Kandahar is designed to free up facilities elsewhere for CIA drone operations across the border in Pakistan or is related only to missions within Afghanistan, it strongly suggests a ramping up of unmanned operations. It is, however, just one facet of the ongoing construction at the air field. This month, a $26 million project to build 11 new structures devoted to tactical vehicle maintenance at Kandahar is scheduled for completion. With two large buildings for upkeep and repairs, one devoted strictly to fixing tires, another to painting vehicles, as well as an industrial-sized car wash, and administrative and storage facilities, the big base’s building boom shows no sign of flickering out.
Construction and Reconstruction
This year, at Herat Air Base in the province of the same name bordering Turkmenistan and Iran, the U.S. is slated to begin a multimillion-dollar project to enhance its special forces’ air operations. Plans are in the works to expand apron space — where aircraft can be parked, serviced, and loaded or unloaded — for helicopters and airplanes, as well as to build new taxiways and aircraft shelters.
That project is just one of nearly 130, cumulatively valued at about $1.5 billion, slated to be carried out in Herat, Helmand, and Kandahar provinces this year, according to Army Corps of Engineers documents examined by TomDispatch. These also include efforts at Camp Tombstone and Camp Dwyer, both in Helmand Province as well as Kandahar’s FOB Hadrian and FOB Wilson. The U.S. military also recently awarded a contract for more air field apron space at a base in Kunduz, a new secure entrance and new roads for FOB Delaram II, and new utilities and roads at FOB Shank, while the Marines recently built a new chapel at Camp Bastion.
Seven years ago, Forward Operating Base Sweeney, located a mile up in a mountain range in Zabul Province, was a well-outfitted, if remote, American base. After U.S. troops abandoned it, however, the base fell into disrepair. Last month, American troops returned in force and began rebuilding the outpost, constructing everything from new troop housing to a new storage facility. “We built a lot of buildings, we put up a lot of tents, we filled a lot of sandbags, and we increased our force protection significantly,” Captain Joe Mickley, commanding officer of the soldiers taking up residence at the base, told a military reporter.
Decommission and Deconstruction
Hesco barriers are, in essence, big bags of dirt. Up to seven feet tall, made of canvas and heavy gauge wire mesh, they form protective walls around U.S. outposts all over Afghanistan. They’ll take the worst of sniper rounds, rifle-propelled grenades, even mortar shells, but one thing can absolutely wreck them — the Marines’ 9th Engineer Support Battalion.
At the beginning of December, the 9th Engineers were building bases and filling up Hescos in Helmand Province. By the end of the month, they were tearing others down.
Wielding pickaxes, shovels, bolt-cutters, powerful rescue saws, and front-end loaders, they have begun “demilitarizing” bases, cutting countless Hescos — which cost $700 or more a pop — into heaps of jagged scrap metal and bulldozing berms in advance of the announced American withdrawal from Afghanistan. At Firebase Saenz, for example, Marines were bathed in a sea of crimson sparks as they sawed their way through the metal mesh and let the dirt spill out, leaving a country already haunted by the ghosts of British and Russian bases with yet another defunct foreign outpost. After Saenz, it was on to another patrol base slated for destruction.
Not all rural outposts are being torn down, however. Some are being handed over to the Afghan Army or police. And new facilities are now being built for the indigenous forces at an increasing rate. “If current projections remain accurate, we will award 18 contracts in February,” Bonnie Perry, the head of contracting for the Army Corps of Engineers’ Afghanistan Engineering District-South, told military reporter Karla Marshall. “Next quarter we expect that awards will remain high, with the largest number of contract awards occurring in May.” One of the projects underway is a large base near Herat, which will include barracks, dining facilities, office space, and other amenities for Afghan commandos.
Tell Me How This Ends
No one should be surprised that the U.S. military is building up and tearing down bases at the same time, nor that much of the new construction is going on at mega-bases, while small outposts in the countryside are being abandoned. This is exactly what you would expect of an occupation force looking to scale back its “footprint” and end major combat operations while maintaining an on-going presence in Afghanistan. Given the U.S. military’s projected retreat to its giant bases and an increased reliance on kill/capture black-ops as well as unmanned air missions, it’s also no surprise that its signature projects for 2012 include a new special operations forces compound, clandestine drone facilities, and a brand new military prison.
There’s little doubt Bagram Air Base will exist in five or 10 years. Just who will be occupying it is, however, less clear. After all, in Iraq, the Obama administration negotiated for some way to station a significant military force — 10,000 or more troops — there beyond a withdrawal date that had been set in stone for years. While a token number of U.S. troops and a highly militarized State Department contingent remain there, the Iraqi government largely thwarted the American efforts — and now, even the State Department presence is being halved.
It’s less likely this will be the case in Afghanistan, but it remains possible. Still, it’s clear that the military is building in that country as if an enduring American presence were a given. Whatever the outcome, vestiges of the current base-building boom will endure and become part of America’s Afghan legacy.
On Bagram’s grounds stands a distinctive structure called the “Crow’s Nest.” It’s an old control tower built by the Soviets to coordinate their military operations in Afghanistan. That foreign force left the country in 1989. The Soviet Union itself departed from the planet less than three years later. The tower remains.
America’s new prison in Bagram will undoubtedly remain, too. Just who the jailers will be and who will be locked inside five years or 10 years from now is, of course, unknown. But given the history — marked by torture and deaths — of the appalling treatment of inmates at Bagram and, more generally, of the brutality toward prisoners by all parties to the conflict over the years, in no scenario are the results likely to be pretty.
Nick Turse is the associate editor of TomDispatch.com. An award-winning journalist, his work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Nation, and regularly at TomDispatch. This article is the sixth in his new series on the changing face of American empire, which is being underwritten by Lannan Foundation. You can follow him on Twitter @NickTurse, on Tumblr, and on Facebook.
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DEFORESTATION STORMS, France. Europe. Champagne Ardenne, Haut Marne, winter snow and frost. After hurricane force winds uprooted millions of trees across Europe. Dry weather followed by heavy rain made the roots vulnerable. Winds of 100-200kmh swept through the land causing havoc. Hundreds of millions of trees were knocked down. Hundreds of millions of tons of wood swamped timberyards. | <urn:uuid:e7f5ad99-2d1b-4c4f-808c-a8bfed2d97e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nigeldickinson.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Forests-after-the-Great-Storm/G0000UP9UGrCzHus/I0000TYyxYTzVJSk/C0000NerJV1V232c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909184 | 86 | 2.328125 | 2 |
by Pamela Young, Published March 16, 2009
YPSILANTI — Bettye Collier-Thomas, noted author and historian, will be the keynote speaker for Women’s History Month at Eastern Michigan University Wednesday, March 18, 7 p.m. 202 Porter. Collier-Thomas will present, “The Nexus: Women, Religion, Race and Civil Rights.”
The event is free and open to the public.
A history professor at Temple University, Collier-Thomas is currently a resident fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, and an Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer for 2008-2011.
Collier-Thomas challenges conventional approaches to the history of the Civil Rights movement. By stretching historical parameters, she will document how African American women were engaged in organized struggles for civil rights before 1954.
She’ll also focus on the interracial movement of the 1940s, where religion facilitated the civil rights activism of black and white women, and the limits of strategies employed by religious groups in advancing the struggle for racial justice and equality.
An author and editor of numerous books on African American women and politics, she is currently working on a book about black women and politics.
Her latest book, “Jesus, Jobs and Justice: The History of African American Women and Religion,” will be published by Alfred Knopf in March 2010. Previous works include “Daughters of Thunder: Black Women Preachers and Their Sermons, 1850-1979,” “My Soul is a Witness: A Chronology of the Civil Rights Era, 1954-1964,” and the award-winning “Sisters in the Struggle: African American Women in the Civil Rights-Black Power Movement.”
Collier-Thomas founded and served as the first executive director of the Bethune Museum and Archives in Washington, D.C., the nation’s first institution to focus solely on black women’s history. Now part of the Park Service, the National Historic Site honors Mary McLeod Bethune, a noted African American educator who headed a division of the National Youth Administration under President Franklin Roosevelt.
A recipient of numerous awards, Collier-Thomas has held fellowships at the National Humanities Center and Princeton University.
For more information, call 734.487.1177. Additional Women’s History Month activities are at http://www.emich.edu/wstudies/whmonth.html#tech | <urn:uuid:4384bcda-d529-4bd3-9378-5f86596fa0ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.emich.edu/univcomm/releases/release.php?id=1245352741 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913849 | 512 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Approximately 80% to 85% of the value of a company lies in its intellectual assets. One sub-group of these assets - intellectual property - is well recognised, but other intellectual assets can be more difficult to identify. These are often classed as, for example, “know-how”, “human capital” or “customer capital”. The corporate sector is beginning to appreciate that these other intellectual assets have potential value, although not always in dollar terms, and is embarking on ways to identify and capture them.
But what about Australian universities and research institutions – are they keeping up to date with these trends, and what role do intellectual assets play in knowledge transfer?
Using core IP metrics, including invention disclosures, patent filings and licensing income, as a gauge, the answer is a qualified yes.
Academic research outcomes
Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia Inc (KCA) - the peak body representing organisations and individuals associated with knowledge transfer from public organisations, and the Australian equivalent of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) - has previously reported that between 2000 and 2007 there was a compound annual growth in invention disclosures of around 8%; although the most recent Commercialisation Metrics Survey 2010 (released in February 2012) indicated that from 2008 to 2010 the number of invention disclosures and patent applications filed had plateaued to some extent (Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia Inc, Commercialisation Metrics Survey Report 2012, February 2012).
Research collaboration and contract and consultancy revenues have continued to grow over the past eight years, and it is in these areas of knowledge transfer that the less recognised intellectual assets can provide additional leverage in negotiating a research collaboration. Indeed, KCA recognised one of the key elements of intellectual assets when it stated that:
“Universities and other public funded research agencies contain a great pool of human capital that industry and government can tap into to help them adjust to a rapidly shifting world environment and stay competitive and relevant.”
But are Australian universities and research institutions effectively and consistently recognising, identifying and capturing these other intellectual assets?
Metrics for measuring commercial success of intellectual assets
If intellectual assets were managed more effectively, what would be the outcome? It could be argued that there might be:
- An increase in captured opportunities, which could lead to subsequent licence revenues and additional research funding (the virtuous cycle).
- Improved knowledge transfer.
- An appreciation of the role which the technology transfer office plays in this, both within and outside of an institution.
While increasing income from knowledge transfer is a clear benefit for publicly funded research institutions and an accepted metric for success, funding bodies (and government departments) are beginning to question what the other metrics of success are.
At the recent KCA Annual Conference 2011, Robin Rasor, president of AUTM and director of licensing at the University of Michigan, presented some ideas on what these new metrics might include (Robin Rasor, "University Economic Development and Tech Commercialisation: Changes in University Strategies", presented at the KCA Annual Conference 2011, "Innovation through Collaboration", 9th to 11th November 2011, Auckland, New Zealand). She listed five broad headings as possible areas for future metrics evaluation in an academic environment:
- Tracking business performance data from companies that utilise institutional intellectual property (measured through employment growth, taxation outcomes and markets accessed).
- Faculty consulting.
- Alumni employment paths.
- University investments in tech transfer/commercialisation.
- Impact on industry of university research, and technical or technological assistance (a social outcome).
Growing investment in the virtuous cycle
These "new" metrics are difficult to measure, but arguably represent a fuller picture of successful knowledge transfer. It will be readily appreciated that the less tangible intellectual assets fall within these areas.
If these new metrics are measured and provide an indication of positive outcomes for knowledge transfer, the data can be used to promote and justify the importance of investing in and commercialising research outcomes, both internally and externally to funding bodies, investors and the public (who, after all, provide the funding through taxation).
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