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South Sudan: aid reaches thousands of refugees in Maban county
15-11-2012 Operational Update
Thousands of families have fled ongoing fighting in Sudan and are now sheltering in camps in Maban County, in South Sudan's Upper Nile state. The ICRC has distributed aid to 80,000 refugees and is working to improve access to clean water.
Water and aid
The ICRC launched a project in September to strengthen the existing water distribution network in Yusuf Batil refugee camp, one of four camps in Maban county, close to the Sudanese border, and the worst hit by water shortages. Some 37,000 people have found refuge in Yusuf Batil. The ICRC is installing piping, storage tanks, tap stands and pumps, especially on the camp's peripheries where water is least available.
"People are not getting enough clean water in the camp. Hygiene suffers as a result and this has contributed to the spread of diseases such as diarrhoea," said Adrian Zimmermann, who is in charge of ICRC assistance programmes in South Sudan. "Together with other humanitarian organizations we are working to increase water supply and we are also putting tap stands closer to communities to stop people having to walk so far for water."
In Jamam refugee camp, also in Maban county, the ICRC has now completed installing a 15-kilometre water distribution pipeline to help maintain a regular supply to the refugees there. Jamam is a natural transit point for the flow of newly arrived refugees, which has largely subsided since the last major influx in May and June. "Those strong enough to have made the journey from Sudan in recent weeks and months waded through waist-high muddy water to get there," explained Mr Zimmermann. "However, now the dry season is upon us, it will be easier for people to move. There is a real possibility more refugees reach the camps."
In all four refugee camps in Maban country, jerrycans, buckets, soap and washing basins were also provided in an effort to improve hygiene practices. "We are trying to ensure that families collect and store water safely," said Mr Zimmermann.
In addition, the ICRC has distributed household items to the most needy families in the four camps. A total of 80,000 refugees received additional clothing, tarpaulin, blankets, mosquito nets and sleeping mats to protect against the elements and help prevent malaria and respiratory infections.
Restoring contact between family members
Many refugees in Maban county left family members behind as they fled fighting. Together with the South Sudan Red Cross, the ICRC has helped over 1,300 people get back in touch with their relatives since the beginning of 2012 by giving them the opportunity to make phone calls. "These calls are often their first contact with family since leaving home," said Marc Thorens, ICRC delegate for the Upper Nile area. "It's a voice at the end of the line with the news they're still alive."
In addition, this week the ICRC reunited two unaccompanied children in Congo with their families in South Sudan, while eight unaccompanied children in South Sudan travelled to Congo to be reunited with their families. All the children were separated from their loved ones after having fled their villages during an attack by an armed group.
With ICRC support, the South Sudan Red Cross has recently expanded its family tracing services department. Dedicated staff are now in place in branches across the country, and work closely with a network of Red Cross volunteers to locate people who have lost contact with their relatives and try to put them back in touch. There is vast need for family tracing services in the country, with many South Sudanese remaining in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, in camps in western Ethiopia and a large diaspora in other parts of the world.
Law of armed conflict training for army legal advisers
At the end of October, the ICRC held the first-ever course on the law of armed conflict for the South Sudan army's legal advisers. South Sudan is the latest nation to have signed up to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and the army has a key role in ensuring the country meets its commitments to protect and respect civilians, the wounded and detainees.
Closing the one-week course, Lieutenant-General Ayuen Alier Jongroor, the army's deputy chief of staff for training, insisted on the importance of the legal advisers in guiding commanders during military operations. "As the army transforms into a more professional force, this course demonstrates our commitment to ensuring these rules become second nature to our fighting units. The law of armed conflict underpins all our operations," said Lt-Gen. Ayuen, who recently attended a high-level international workshop on rules governing military operations in Kuala Lumpur, organized by the ICRC and the Malaysian Armed Forces.
For Video B-Roll broadcasters, rights free:
TV news footage "Refugees struggle in South Sudan camps" transmitted from 15 November on Eurovision News and on www.icrcvideonewsroom.org
For further information, please contact:
Ewan Watson, ICRC Juba, tel: +211 912 178 946
Jean-Yves Clémenzo, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 22 71 or +41 79 217 32 17 | <urn:uuid:d5123b7b-76ac-456b-b05e-73a39685bd05> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/update/2012/11-15-south-sudan-refugees.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962382 | 1,082 | 2.078125 | 2 |
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Feature Articles : Jul 1, 2010 ( )
Biological Scaffolds for ReGen Medicine
Generating Functional Tissue Constructs that Avoid Immunogenicity Remains Elusive but Not for Long
Biological scaffolding, either alone or in combination with cells for tissue regeneration, has the potential to revolutionize the repair of injured tissues and to replace tissues lost through disease and injury. Requirements for scaffolding include biocompatibility, hemocompatability, and the use of nontoxic materials that are durable, functional, and able to support cell growth. In addition, repair or replacement cells or tissues should not provoke immune reactions in the host.
Bioscaffolding materials may originate from multiple animal, tissue, and cell sources, as well as from synthetic polymers. While many types of matrices have been successfully applied in the clinic, fundamental questions remain about how to combine and manipulate cells with scaffolding to generate functional tissue constructs that avoid immunogenicity.
At McGowan Institute’s “Symposium on Biologic Scaffolds for Regenerative Medicine” held recently in Boulder, CO, academic and industry scientists discussed topics ranging from peptide-based scaffolds for nerve tissue to tissue engineering via self assembly.
Approaches to scaffolding technology that were discussed at the meeting ranged in complexity from tissue repair products consisting of bovine type 1 collagen knee implants to the highly complex such as the use of whole acellular lung matrix (ACM) to support the development of engineered lung tissue from embryonic stem cells.
John Dichiara, svp of clinical and regulatory affairs at ReGen Biologics, discussed the clinical performance of ReGen’s collagen surgical mesh scaffold used for the reinforcement and repair of medial meniscus injuries. ReGen’s Menaflex device, cleared for marketing in the U.S. in 2008, was approved in the EU for use in repair of the medial meniscus in 2000 and the lateral meniscus in 2006. To date, more than 3,000 devices have reportedly been distributed.
Menaflex consists of chemically crosslinked, porous type 1 collagen sourced from bovine achilles tendons. The device is anatomically shaped like a human meniscus and is intended, when sutured to the meniscus rim, to act as a tissue scaffold and fill the void left after meniscus loss. The device provides a scaffold for meniscus-like fibrochondrocytic matrix production and the newly formed tissue integrates into the host meniscal rim.
Recent study results showed statistically significant improvement in pain, function, self-assessment, and activity levels from baseline at a mean of five years with Menaflex as opposed to partial meniscectomy. Although these results were not statistically superior to partial meniscectomy which is one of the most successful orthopedic surgical procedures, Menaflex patients, DiChiara said, had the additional benefit of approximately 70% more tissue within the meniscus to potentially protect the articular surfaces from degradation.
Tissue engineers working at the laboratory for stem cells and tissue engineering at Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering are applying a biomimetic approach to developing tissue replacements. Donald O. Freytes, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow working in the laboratory of Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia, described the use of decellularized matrices for myocardium and bone replacement.
Dr. Freytes explained that bone reconstructions, such as craniofacial reconstruction, often involve “autologous tissue grafting, a method limited by harvesting difficulties, donor site morbidity, and the clinicians’ ability to contour delicate 3-D shapes.” The availability of personalized bone grafts engineered from the patient’s own stem cells, he said “would revolutionize the way we currently treat defects.”
For their bone reconstruction model, the scientists generated anatomically shaped scaffolds in the exact shape of the human temperomandibular joint (TMJ) bone from decellularized trabecular bone using digitized clinical images, seeded with human mesenchymal stem cells, and cultured with interstitial flow of culture medium.
A bioreactor with an anatomical culture chamber was designed for controllable perfusion throughout the engineered construct in collaboration with Warren L. Grayson, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Within five weeks of cultivation, the TMJ grafts contained fully viable cells at a physiologic density, forming confluent layers of lamellar bone, mineralized matrix, and osteoids.
“We take knees from cows and drill into them and get a piece of the trabecular bone on the order of millimeters in size. The bone is then decellularized in a way that minimizes the damage to the native extracellular matrix (ECM). The idea was that we could provide native signals (such as stiffness and bioactive factors) that cells would see in vivo at their normal anatomical location. In this case we were injecting mesenchymal stem cells. In a bone-like environment, the cells would be driven to differentiate into bone-like cells.”
Joan E. Nichols, Ph.D., associate professor in the departments of internal medicine and microbiology and immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), discussed her lab’s work on the use of whole acellular (AC) lung as a matrix to support development of engineered lung tissue from murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs).
Dr. Nichols explained that the design of biomaterials that can guide stem cell behavior and facilitate lung lineage choice, as well as allow seamless integration of the engineered lung tissue into living lung tissue, will require both the development of decellularized matrices, as well as an understanding of the impact of the unique lung ECM on cell behavior and function.
Thus far, she said, attempts to develop lung tissue equivalents have used relatively simple matrices not designed to meet requirements for lung in terms of matrix composition, elasticity, or porosity. Dr. Nichols and her research partner, Joaquin Cortiella, M.D., professor in the department of anesthesiology at UTMB, have used ACM populated with mESCs to build a potentially more robust lung tissue equivalent.
Dr. Nichols explained that the ECM of any tissue supports the architecture and structure of the tissue and plays a role in development, growth, physiology, and response to injury. For matrix selection for lung tissue development, she noted that the biocompatibility, elasticity, and the adsorption kinetics of the material used are particularly important.
“Biomaterials designed for use as a matrix for regenerative medicine purposes fail to replicate the complexity of the ECM that is found in the natural lung. So the best overall choice for a matrix to support growth of lung tissue may be the natural decellularized lung itself. In our studies, we found that AC lung promoted better ESC survival, attachment to the matrix, and lung-specific differentiation.”
AC natural lung allowed, she added, for better retention of cells with more differentiation of mESCs into epithelial and endothelial lineages than was seen for synthetic matrices evaluated. “In constructs formed from mESCs and whole AC lung we saw indications of differentiating ESC organized into 3-D structures reminiscent of complex lung tissue.”
In the initial part of their study, the scientists compared growth and differentiation of mESCs to growth on AC rat lung, Matrigel, Gelfoam, and a type I collagen matrix. In the AC-cultured mESCs, the investigators saw that significantly more of the cells were viable and had differentiated into cells found in the lung.
The investigators also reported evidence of site-specific differentiation in the trachea and distal lung. “For example, type II pneumocytes found in the distal lung formed hollow alveolar–like cysts lined by a monolayer of epithelial cells, which produced both pro-SPC, the nonsecreted form of surfactant protein C, as well as production of surfactant protein A.”
With respect to immunogenicity, Dr. Nichols said that preliminary in vitro data suggests that the matrix is nonimmunogenic and that little activation of immune cells cultured in contact with AC lung/trachea matrix derived from normal tissues occurs. “Little to no response in these types of studies suggests that rejection may not be a problem.”
“We are just beginning to understand how we can use this novel matrix material. I think that clinical applications of the matrix itself could be developed for clinical use in five to seven years. AC trachea has already been used in a clinical application in Italy, which is a good first step.”
Todd McAllister, Ph.D., president and CEO of Cytograft Tissue Engineering, discussed the company’s technology for building vascular grafts using autologous cells. He said that Cytograft’s technology, called tissue engineering by self assembly (TESA), produces versatile tissues with high mechanical strength that are free of synthetic scaffolding or exogenous biomaterials, thereby avoiding the risk of immunologic responses or rejection.
In 2007, the company reported clinical results using its Lifeline™ graft in kidney dialysis patients in whom conventional hemodialysis access shunts had failed. Conventionally, such arteriovenous (AV) shunts are made by creating a “short circuit” between an artery and a vein to accelerate blood flow in order to shorten hemodialysis times. These conduits, Dr. McAllister said, must withstand extraordinarily high flow rates and are punctured six times weekly during the hemodialysis sessions.
Ideally, this short circuit can be created using the patient’s own tissue by connecting a vein directly to an artery. Over time, however, the shunts fail, necessitating the use of synthetic materials such as Gortex or chemically modified animal veins to re-create the shunt. The synthetic grafts demonstrate significantly higher failure rates than native tissue.
“Despite the relatively low number of hemodialysis patients in the U.S., maintenance of hemodialysis access grafts absorbs more than 1 percent of Medicare’s entire budget, making AV access a multibillion dollar problem.”
As reported in The Lancet, Dr. McAllister and his colleagues implanted Lifeline grafts in 10 patients with end-stage renal disease who had been receiving hemodialysis through an access graft that had a high probability of failure, and who had experienced at least one previous access failure. Completely autologous tissue-engineered vascular grafts were grown in culture supplemented with bovine serum, implanted as arteriovenous shunts, and assessed for both mechanical stability during the safety phase and effectiveness after hemodialysis.
The grafts are created using fibroblasts removed from individual patient’s skin, which are then grown in tissue culture to produce a sheet composed of the cells and proteins such as collagen and elastin produced by the cells. The sheet is then rolled up into a multilaminate roll and allowed to fuse into a uniform tissue. The inner layers are then air dried and a second living sheet is wrapped around the outside. Decellularization of the inner layers prevents migration of any cells into the interior lumen of the vessel. The patient’s own endothelial cells are then added to the inside of the nascent vessel to prevent the vessel from clotting.
In the clinical trial, three grafts failed within the safety phase, consistent the company said, with expected failure rates in this high-risk population. One patient was withdrawn from the study due to unrelated gastrointestinal bleeding that occurred immediately prior to implantation and another patient died of unrelated causes during the study safety period. The five remaining patients had grafts that continued to function for hemodialysis 6 to 20 months following implantation and a total of 68 patient-months of patency. Of note, Dr. McAllister said, is that the complication rate for these surviving grafts was significantly lower compared to the standard of care.
Overall, primary patency was maintained in seven of the remaining nine patients, one month after implantation and in five of the remaining eight patients, six months after implantation.
Patricia F. Dimond, Ph.D. (firstname.lastname@example.org), is a life science consultant.
© 2012 Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, All Rights Reserved | <urn:uuid:7c9059eb-8e53-4d70-8057-f3e45c0c6dbf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.genengnews.com/keywordsandtools/print/1/19712/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945562 | 2,661 | 2.203125 | 2 |
July 17th, 2012
05:26 PM GMT
Editor’s note: Outlook is CNN's in-depth look at business climates around the world. To August 12, 2012, we’re focusing on Singapore.
Singapore (CNN) – Singapore may rock when economic crises hit Europe or the U.S., but it is well placed to come through turbulent times, Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS bank, told Richard Quest.
“Singapore gets buffeted quite widely,” he said, as its economy is closely correlated with the fortunes of the U.S., Europe and, to a degree, China.
The CEO of the Singapore-based bank since 2009, Gupta believes that the way the Singaporean government guides industry makes the city state more resilient than many.
“You try and build resiliency so that the ups and downs, while they are sharp on an average cycle, keep Singapore progressing well,” he said.
“The way the Singapore government does it is not by fear; it’s not a Soviet-style way of command control. The Singapore model uses market forces…to encourage industry to march to a particular rhythm.”
As a 30-year veteran of the banking industry Gupta thinks that perhaps Singapore’s approach could be a guide for others during unpredictable times.
“The last five years have taught us that every economy in the world needs to use some degree of market leavers and not just leave everything to market forces.”
CNN’s Outlook series often carries sponsorship originating from the countries we feature. However CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reporting.
From around the web | <urn:uuid:c5b56adf-2ec8-4ba6-8dda-ad6a0443bde8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/17/riding-out-tough-times-the-singapore-way/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fedition_business360+%28Blog%3A+Business+360%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945831 | 350 | 1.578125 | 2 |
1787 - Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre was born in Cormeilles-en-Parisis, France on the 18th of November.
1822 - Became a celebrated designer for the theater and later came to invent the Diorama, which opened in Paris.
1825 - He was a successful commercial artist in Paris.
1829 - Signed up a partnership with Niepce on the 4th of January.
1833 - He continued to experiment when Niepce died.
1835 - He put an exposed plate in his chemical cupboard and found that the latent image had developed.
1839 - Announced the latest perfection of the Daguerreotype with the French Academy of Sciences announcing the process on the 9th of January. The French Government announced the invention was a gift "Free to the World" on the 19th of August.
1851 - He died in Bry-sur-Marne, France on the 10th of July.
This page is copyright © s9.com | <urn:uuid:58ca57dd-5ff4-4c2b-8abd-49e5a4307269> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.s9.com/Biography/Print/Daguerre-Louis-Jacques-Mande | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976462 | 217 | 2.484375 | 2 |
Data tool shows where children repeat grades or drop out
The number of children enrolled in primary school has risen beyond 90 percent, but the latest UNESCO data reveals that millions are failing to complete school or are dropping out. In 2010, about 32 million primary pupils repeated a grade, and more than 31 million left school and may never return.
Where are the challenges most acute? To what extent are children slipping through the cracks? These questions can be answered at a glance thanks to an online interactive tool that allows users to explore the latest findings on primary grade repetition and early school leaving.
Using data from the 2012 edition of the Global Education Digest, published by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), the tool gives users a chance to explore, with maps and charts, disaggregated by gender, the challenges children face completing primary school at the global, regional and country levels.
Available in English, French and Spanish, the tool presents the most relevant data for those concerned with the millions of children who are falling through the gaps in education systems. | <urn:uuid:1b0a2215-f93a-4ea9-809d-3bac710e343e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/data_tool_shows_where_children_repeat_grades_or_drop_out/back/18256/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927098 | 210 | 3.1875 | 3 |
By Anton D. Nagy | December 28, 2011 2:45 AM
The ongoing legal war between Apple and Samsung (and maybe other OEMs too) is probably going to be a bit more interesting now that Cupertino has managed to secure an important iPhone patent.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted Apple a patent for the “core iPhone multi-touch”. When Cupertino first introduced the iPhone in 2007, multi-touch was just one of the approximately 200 innovations Apple filed patents for. Without going deep into technical explanations related to the way multi-touch works, it is definitely described as “sensing a plurality of events occurring simultaneously or nearly simultaneously on an event-sensing panel”.
The above patent could very well be used by Apple in lawsuits as Android-powered phones and even Windows Phones are using multi-touch as core operations. The question is whether Apple is willing to throw in the ace being known that Google, Motorola, Microsoft and others are probably also holding key patents of their own that could be held against Apple. One thing is definitely worth noting: multi-touch on smartphones became mainstre4am after Apple introduced it with the iPhone in 2007. | <urn:uuid:1a0eceae-cce7-418d-aa1a-7d4f7c433ae6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pocketnow.com/iphone/apple-granted-important-iphone-multi-touch-patent | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968786 | 250 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Taking a sewing class
Stephanie Daga | Date posted: September 16th, 2011
I’m having lots of fun learning to sew on my own. I can be as creative as I want, no judgment. I can also make as many mistakes as I want, also no judgment. That said, I’m pretty sure I’m hitting the point where I can learn more, but not on my own. It’s time to take a sewing class. The only thing is that sewing classes intimidate me. What if I work too slow? What if I work too fast? What if I don’t know what the heck my teacher is talking about?
If you have been sewing on your own for some time now but are looking to expand your skill set, it might be time to take a sewing class. Committing to a sewing class requires a lot of research, planning, and dedication, which sounds daunting, but the end result is bigger and better sewing projects. What a payoff!
Here are some tips on picking up a class and succeeding.
1. Be honest about your current level of sewing experience. Even if you know how to thread a machine and use it, it might not mean you can skip beginner-level sewing courses just yet. There is so much more than a basic straight stitch and back stitch to get you to intermediate level. Being honest about what you know and do not know will help you keep up with a sewing class in the long run.
2. Read up on the courses you are interested in, and then review their prerequisites. Learning to sew can be expensive, I get that. Carefully picking a set of sewing courses will allow you to stay on track, keep you focused, and within budget. Just make sure that you’ve completed all of the prerequisite courses. That way you can be sure you are ready and have the foundation you need for your sewing classes, or you may find yourself over your head.
3. Be dedicated. Once you know which sewing class you want to take, choose a day and time that you know works with your schedule. Nothing sets you back more than missing a sewing class. Be at your class each week and if you really can’t make a class, be sure to follow up with your instructor, get the notes and ask about options for a makeup sewing class, even if you have to pay for a lesson to get you caught up.
4. Be a responsible, A+ student! Do your homework before each sewing class. Whether you are instructed to cut something or trace another thing, get it done. Being ready and prepared for each class ensures you stay on track, and you won’t hold up the rest of your sewing class.
5. Don’t be a know-it-all. Sure, maybe you do know your stuff and taking a sewing class is just a way to get out of a rut. That’s fine. But don’t get ahead of the sewing class game plan unless your instructor says it’s okay. In addition, don’t do a step differently just because you have done it differently before and it works for you. You’d be surprised at what you can learn if you take the approach of “playing dumb” and looking at sewing from a novice standpoint.
Follow the steps above and you will enjoy your sewing classes, guaranteed!
I'm the Managing Director behind the scenes at TSS; I plan events, workshops, and overall bring in the fun.... | <urn:uuid:8da6b120-af29-48b6-b6c5-584ca5b0151f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lovesewing.com/magazine/taking-sewing-class/3412/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948494 | 733 | 1.617188 | 2 |
In those instantaneous seconds from clicking on the link to arriving at the home page of Crosby's blog, I had already thought up varying ideas on what the blog would look like ("messy"), what the layout would be (pictures/images of colored pencils and crayons), and the content (arts & crafts and DIY projects, duh. Hello Pinterest!) At first I thought his website was going to be more of this:
(Probably the coolest thing I've ever seen on Pinterest!)
NOPE! (But, I was right about the design and layout with images of "messy" school supplies though!)
And what I found was even better! After scrolling down on his blog I noticed one post that grabbed my attention, mostly because of the images with computers and kids! Crosby had collaborated (via technology) with teachers from other classrooms in other states using Skype! He also had his students write blogs almost every day as well as create a wiki page after a trip to the local animal park! The wiki includes student researched information about animals in a lesson and a video on how to "design" your own animal! Another cool way the students used technology in the classroom was when they had a guest speaker: Grace Corrigan (the mother of Christa McAuliffe aka the "Teacher in Space" who tragically died when the Challenger space shuttle exploded during launch). Crosby set up Skype to include classrooms in Virginia and New York so the students there could take part and ask questions! Very neat!
Even though it may not be a feat as "tremendous" as the ones listed above, Crosby used Skype in a way that I know I will implement in my classroom one day. Crosby set up Skype to include a sick classmate. *tear!* It may not seem very "technological" or advanced, but that's not the point here, the point is that sometimes kids can't come to school, be it sickness, or suspension, or some other reason. And it's not their fault they miss out on education from the classroom. There's already enough pressure from administrators, parents, and state standards, on teachers today. So why not? Why wouldn't you want to include an "absent" student through the use of Skype?
Link to Brian Crosby's "Learning is Messy" Blog | <urn:uuid:b73108da-17ba-48e2-a246-339787634c52> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thoughtsbymeesh.blogspot.com/2012/08/edubloggers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976393 | 471 | 2.109375 | 2 |
No Place to Hide
Portable radar devices see through walls and report what's inside
It's one of the classic movie plots: the bad guys--foiled in their attempt to grab piles of cash or some priceless artifact and make a speedy getaway--have taken hostages. The police hatch a plan to covertly enter the building and capture the criminals, and the hero almost always chooses just the right air duct that will let him spy on the captors before he springs into action. But in real life, where such heroic gambits are often deemed too risky, researchers have been working on radar that can "see" through walls, so police can know where hostages are congregated or soldiers can tell where the enemy is lying in wait. Two devices that meet demanding criteria are on the market, and one has been adapted for use by the U.S. military in Iraq.
Some conventional radar can penetrate walls, but it cannot distinguish objects just ahead, it emits far too much power to be safe for operators, and it requires equipment about the size of a lab bench. Advances in digital signal processors and microwave integrated circuits have made it possible to fit a complete microwave system in a box the size of two encyclopedia volumes. Now, through-the-wall radar devices that are lightweight, portable, and able to focus up to 20 or 30 meters ahead are available to municipalities and law enforcement agencies. Two such devices are RadarVision, built by Time Domain Corp., of Huntsville, Ala., and the Prism 100, from Cambridge Consultants Ltd., in Cambridge, England. Both rely on ultrawideband, a fairly new technology known mainly as a promising high-speed, low-power radio communications transmission technique.
A change in software can turn an ultrawideband radio, whose pulses of RF energy normally carry data, into an ultrawideband radar. Though these new portable radars are based on each firm's own flavor of ultrawideband technology, they are quite similar. Both devices can detect the presence of inanimate objects through the wall, but only motion (in the form of a moving blob of color on their built-in color screens) is shown to the user. The devices are so sensitive that even if someone on the other side of the wall is sitting still, the machines can detect the rise and fall of the person's chest with each breath.
The radars transmit millions of very short pulses. What they see through a wall is related to the timing of the return pulses. RadarVision generates 10 million 300- to 500-picosecond-long pulses every second--each one at well below 100 microwatts. Its receiver knows to within a few picoseconds when any one of the pulses will return and will switch on only for a brief sampling window, after which it shuts off again. This feature greatly improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the return signal and reduces the radar's power consumption.
Either device can run for a couple of hours on a single battery charge. Each also has the added benefit of making it difficult for the bad guys to know they are being monitored, because signal detection devices can't distinguish the devices' low-power transmissions from background noise.
On return, the pulses are picked up by a linear array of antennas. The time of arrival for each return pulse is measured at each antenna, providing an accurate determination of where the moving object is with respect to the machine's field of view. The radar systems look for changes in the range and angle at which successive pulses strike an object on the other side of the wall.
If, say, Pulse 1 comes back revealing that there is an object at range x and angle y, a difference in range or angle for Pulse 2 is registered as movement. An onscreen representation of that is shown to the user. Whenever there is no difference between the latest pulse return and the one preceding it, which is the case for pulses that bounce off inanimate objects, the system disregards those objects and omits them from the display.
What the user sees is a plain view of what lies on the other side of the wall, but seen onscreen from above [see illustration, " Looking Over"]. An optional mode shows the space on the other side of the wall the way it would appear from the side. This option allows an experienced operator to distinguish between tall and short objects, such as an adult and a small child or pet.
To get around spectrum interference rules and to make the radar even more immune to detection, the pulses, which are spread across frequencies ranging from 1 to 5 gigahertz, are pseudorandomly dithered in time. Dithering requires a time code that determines the position of the pulse within a time window. This ensures that the signal is like noise: it is evenly distributed in the frequency domain and thus presents only a tiny amount of energy in any frequency band.
For Soldier Vision, a version of RadarVision commissioned by the U.S. Army for overseas deployment, there is a boost mode that ups the transmit power of the pulses, making movement easier to detect. Prism 200, scheduled for release in early 2006, operates at higher power as well.
Meanwhile, other devices said to be better suited to scanning disaster sites are being put through their paces. These include Radar Flashlight, developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, which relies on Doppler shifts in return pulses to detect motion. | <urn:uuid:dea663e5-9a5f-41f4-8c4e-b6f6f079ebeb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/devices/no-place-to-hide | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940531 | 1,109 | 2.5625 | 3 |
I know of a few ways to thicken sauces and the like:
- Egg (protein)
- Flour (protein / starch)
- Starch (cornstarch etc)
- Reduction (reducing watery component)
Are these the only common ones, or what else should a cook keep in his repetoire?
Major ways of thickening a sauce -- or, for that matter, some other liquid:
Note that some of the examples of one category can also fit into another.
What you listed are definitely the most common ways to thicken a sauce and most chefs stick to these basics.
However there ways I can think of to thicken sauce that you haven't mentioned. | <urn:uuid:5b90efc2-cd36-477a-afd0-7bec913449fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/20334/what-are-the-most-common-different-ways-to-thicken-sauces-and-gravies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958527 | 146 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Community-based Restoration Matching Grants Program (Deadline: April 1)
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are pleased to request proposals for their restoration matching grants program. This program is part of a national cooperative agreement between TNC‟s Global Marine Team and the Community-based Restoration Program of the NOAA Restoration Center. The objectives of TNC and NOAA‟s Community-based Restoration Program (CRP) are to bring together interested groups, public, private, tribal and non-profit organizations to implement habitat restoration projects to benefit NOAA trust resources (anadromous, estuarine, and marine species and their habitats). This innovative program recognizes the significant role that partnerships can play in making habitat restoration happen within communities, and acknowledges that habitat restoration is often best implemented through technical and monetary support provided at a community level. For more information visit: http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/restoration/programs/crp.html and http://www.nature.org/initiatives/marine/strategies/community.html.
Sea Grant, DMF Sponsor Marine Fisheries Management Fellowship (Deadline: April 20)
North Carolina Sea Grant is accepting applications until April 20, 2011 for a fellowship opportunity for students nearing completion of an advanced degree program in natural resources or marine sciences. The one-year N.C. Marine Fisheries Management Fellowship is open to graduate or post-graduate students at southeastern universities and colleges from Maryland to Texas. The selected fellow will be placed with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) and North Carolina State University's Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, beginning summer 2011. Both facilities are in Morehead City, centrally located on North Carolina's "Crystal Coast," overlooking Bogue Sound. The fellow will address research questions associated with anadromous fishes in Albemarle Sound. Recommendations from the fellow's research will help the DMF assess and manage North Carolina's marine fisheries. "Our future success in resolving complex issues in marine fisheries will depend on training and preparing the best and brightest students for that task," says Michael Voiland, North Carolina Sea Grant executive director. Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m., April 20, 2011. Details: http://www.ncseagrant.org/home/about-ncsg/news-events?task=showArticle&id=912&category=news&limitstart.
2011-12 Learn and Serve America Online Grant Application (Letter of Intent due March 22, Application due April 15, 2011)
The Louisiana Serve Commission in the Office of Lieutenant Governor has released the 2011-12 Learn and Serve America grant application. This grant provides funding for service-learning programs to be implemented in K-12 public schools. Funding is provided by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS); all grant awards are contingent upon receipt of CNCS funds. This is a cost reimbursement federal grant that requires a dollar-for-dollar match which can be generated through cash or in-kind contributions of services, goods, or materials. Eligible applicants are K-12 public school teachers, schools, or school districts, nonprofit organizations that have been in existence for over one year, have experience in working with at-risk youth, and can provide projects for the student participants. The nonprofit will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with their identified public schools and work closely with the public school teacher(s) to ensure state standards, benchmarks, and GLEs are met. The Learn and Serve grant application guidelines and application can be found at www.crt.state.la.us/laserve/las. The Commission requests that potential applicants submit a Letter of Intent to Apply to Denise Dowell, Learn and Serve program officer, via e-mail (email@example.com) by 4:00 pm on March 22, 2011. The Commission will require potential applicants to participate in one of the technical assistance webinars to be conducted on March 29 and 30. Webinar details will be forwarded to those submitting a Letter of Intent to Apply. All other interested applicants must contact Denise Dowell for details. The grant application must be submitted electronically to the Louisiana Serve Commission for receipt by 4:00 pm on April 15, 2011.
Individual Programs (Teacher or School): Programs in years 1-3 years of funding from Learn and Serve qualify for up to $5,000.
Continuing Programs: Learn and Serve funded programs in years 4-6 qualify for up to $7,000.
Leadership Programs: Learn and Serve funded programs in existence for 7+ years that have reached and maintained expected program outcomes and demonstrated excellence in program design, evaluation, and partnership development qualify for up to $12,000.
A public school district submitting a grant application identifying two or more schools where service-learning programs will be implemented will be considered for a district grant. A district program is eligible for up to $50,000 in funding.
Non-profit/K-12 Public School Partnership
The public or private nonprofit entity is the eligible applicant when they have been in existence for at least one year, have demonstrated expertise in working with at-risk youth, and can make projects available for student participants in the service-learning program. This applicant is eligible for up to $25,000.
FishAmerica Foundation - NOAA CRP FY11 RFP available (Deadline: May 16)
FishAmerica Foundation and the NOAA Restoration Center announces the release of the FY11 RFP for Community-based Restoration Program to fund local efforts to accomplish meaningful on-the-ground restoration of marine, estuarine and riparian habitats, including salt marshes, seagrass beds, mangrove forests, and freshwater habitats important to anadromous fish species (fish that migrate to and from the sea). Emphasis is on using a hands-on, grassroots approach to restore fisheries habitat across coastal America, the Great Lakes region, and the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Up to $1milllion is available nationwide under this solicitation for projects ranging from $10-75K for projects. Proposals are Due May 16th. Details are available on http://www.fishamerica.org/grants/
$30,000 NSF CAREER-sponsored fellowship (Deadline: May 28)
The Master of Natural Sciences degree (MNS), administered through the Graduate School in conjunction with the College of Science. The degree program allows crossover into allied fields. For instance, a teacher seeking an advanced degree can tailor course work to obtain secondary certification in more than one area, or an employee of a public agency can broadly enhance his or her knowledge and skills. This program can be completed in three summers, but classes can be taken in the evening during the year as well. This specific three-year fellowship ($10,000 per year) will support three teachers between 2011 and 2016. The project is funded by grant #NSF-ANT-1048343 ("CAREER: Deciphering Antarctic Climate Variability during the Temperate/Polar Transition and Improving Climate Change Literacy in Louisiana through a Companion Outreach Program) awarded to Dr. Sophie Warny at LSU. LSU agrees to waive the tuition fee for the three teachers who will be selected for this program. Each teacher selected for this project will write a master’s thesis that will focus on mapping data about fossils of plants and pollen from Antarctica. While doing their thesis, the teacher will learn about topics such as plant evolution through time, paleontology, climate change, Antarctica, GIS mapping, and geological time scale. Applicants should have an undergraduate degree in geology or biology, or significant coursework in one of these areas. They need to be currently certified and teaching biology in a Louisiana school. They need to sign a contract stipulating that they will continue to teach biology or geology in a school for three years following completion of the degree. For more information, contact Dr. Sophie Warny at firstname.lastname@example.org or visit http://science.lsu.edu/MasterNatProgram.htm
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Environmental Education (Deadline: May 2, 2011)
Environmental Education Regional Grants -- Solicitation Notice for 2011
RFP NUMBER: EPA-EE-11-02
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA): 66.951
The purpose of the Environmental Education Regional Grant Program is to increase public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues and provide the skills that participants in its funded projects need to make informed environmental decisions and take responsible actions toward the environment. Applications must be postmarked or submitted electronically via grants.gov by May 2, 2011, 11:59pm in order to be considered for funding. See Section IV(D) for more details about the deadline. The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is approximately $1,943,000 nationwide (approximately $194,300 per Region). EPA expects to award a minimum of 2 grants per Region for an expected minimum of 20 grants nationwide; the minimum award amount is $15,000 and the maximum is $100,000, subject to the availability of funds, the quality and quantity of applications received, and other applicable considerations. Applicants must demonstrate how they will provide non-federal matching funds of at least 25% of the total cost of the project. Applications should plan for projects to start no earlier than September 1, 2011. To begin the proposal process under this grant announcement, go to http://www.grants.gov and click on the “Apply for Grants” tab on the left side of the page. Then click on “Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package” to download the compatible Adobe viewer and obtain the application package.
Environmental Impact and Mitigation of Oil Spills (Deadline: June 22)
Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-G2011-STAR-F1
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66.509
Eligibility Contact: James Gentry (email@example.com); phone: 703-347-8093
Electronic Submissions: Ron Josephson (firstname.lastname@example.org); phone: 703-308-0442
Technical Contact: Mitch Lasat (email@example.com); phone: 703-347-8099
As part of the federal government’s response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a $2 million Congressional appropriation for a grant or grants for “a study on the potential human and environmental risks and impacts of the release of crude oil and the application of dispersants, surface washing agents, bioremediation agents, and other mitigation measures listed in the National Contingency Plan Product List (40 C.F.R. Part 300 Subpart J).” To implement this appropriation through its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grant program, EPA is seeking applications proposing to develop a research program, including an effective community outreach program component, to mitigate the impact of oil spills. The research program must address one or more of the following topics: (1) development of cost-effective innovative technologies to mitigate the impact of oil spills; (2) development of effective oil dispersants, surface washing agents, bioremediation agents, and other mitigation measures (“dispersants/agents/measures”) with low environmental impact; and (3) investigation of the effects of oil spills and application of dispersants/agents/measures on the environment. Applicants must also submit a community outreach program plan, the objective of which is to help impacted Gulf Coast communities effectively participate in the study and use its results. To achieve this objective, the applicant should work collaboratively with affected communities to identify significant risks posed by oil spills to human health and the environment, obtain their input in the design of a study to help the communities address these challenges, and provide technical assistance to them so that they can use the results of the study. For more details, visit: http://epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2011/2011_star_oilspill.html | <urn:uuid:8d02910f-7643-43df-b681-c72db49f1db1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/print/33848 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915215 | 2,531 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Cancer is the overall umbrella term for many diseases which all share at least one common characteristic –all cancers evolve from abnormal cells undergoing unregulated growth. Sometimes the additional cells form a solid mass or tumor which may be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors can be removed and may not grow back. Malignant tumors may be removed but may return through metastasized cancer cells already separated from the original tumor site. Cancer cells are often capable of spreading, metastasizing or invading other tissues commonly through blood or lymph systems1,2 Cancers can arise from virtually any tissue and most cancers are named for the original cell type or tissue in which it was first detected. There are over 100 types of cancer already identified some more prevalent in males vs. females in addition to cancers of gender-specific organs.
There are various ways in which a cancer cell originates from a normal cell, but it is thought that the abnormal cell arises from a DNA change or genetic mutation leading to abnormal cell growth or abnormal cell division due to changes in DNA binding proteins, enzymes, transcription factors, receptors, or other families of molecules. Because of the many pathways and their interdependence in maintenance of healthy cell growth, there are many probes and molecules which are explored and utilized alone or in combinations to predict a cell’s normalcy or abnormalcy. Cancer research involves studies of virtually all types of cells and their functions and phenotypes through numerous platforms and applications including Flow Cytometry, Immunhistochemistry, Western Blotting and Microscopy.
IMGENEX Corporation provides a leading portfolio for Cancer Research with exceptional products such as IHC Validated antibodies for Immunohistochemistry, Tissue Microarrays, Tumor Markers, Transcription Factors, Epigenetic Markers and other Cancer Antibodies. Virtually all areas or molecules of interest for cancer biology research can be found and cross-referenced in the specific IMGENEX product links below. | <urn:uuid:29aed344-e132-4915-927c-7750712bb987> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.imgenex.com/cancer_related.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931122 | 396 | 3 | 3 |
For a fairly small nation, the DPRK, otherwise known as North Korea, attracts more than its share of headlines. Many of the stories are important: such as the death of leader Kim Jong-il and the ascension of his son Kim Jong-un last December, the periodic unprovoked hostility against its southern neighbour, reports of starvation and deprivation, and concerns about its nuclear-weapons capability and rocket programme.
Then there are reports that are just plain farcical, such as this weekend's "reconfirmation" by North Korean archaeologists of the burial site of the unicorn ridden by King Dongmyeong, founder of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo which flourished between 37BC and 668AD. (How did they know it was a unicorn's lair? Because there was a nearby sign that said "Unicorn Lair".)
Of course, there was a political purpose behind it all, because its location in Pyongyang can be said to confirm, or "reconfirm", the North Korean capital's claim to being the ancient centre of all Korea.
But unicorns? One can only imagine what North Koreans think when they're taken for such a ride. | <urn:uuid:7afb0adb-3d4b-485e-be26-5467bd66936c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/editorial/a-unicorn-tale | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974328 | 240 | 2.5 | 2 |
The physics laboratories include two labs dedicated to experimental optics, as well as labs where research is conducted on modern physics and theoretical physics projects.
In the optics laboratory, students conduct experiments on topics including:
The laser laboratory includes equipment that can be found in professional industrial and research laboratories. In this lab, students have access to automated data acquisition, lock-in amplifiers, higher-power lasers, spectrum analyzers and other equipment and components. Experiments are designed to address current issues in optical science, and students learn how to conduct experiments, use research equipment, collect and analyze data, and present results.
The research lab is dedicated to work on modern and theoretical physics projects. For example:
Senior-level students do more advanced experiments such as studying superconductivity using a SQUID. Associated with the lab is a student machine shop (with a Sawzall, drill press, metal lathe and more), a photographic darkroom and a well-equipped electronics lab that students can use for both school and personal projects. | <urn:uuid:b318e175-3a10-4201-9d00-295b79ede449> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.manhattan.edu/academics/science/physics/physics-facilities | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945311 | 207 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Classification and Regression Trees
Published January 1st 1984 by Chapman and Hall/CRC – 368 pages
The methodology used to construct tree structured rules is the focus of this monograph. Unlike many other statistical procedures, which moved from pencil and paper to calculators, this text's use of trees was unthinkable before computers. Both the practical and theoretical sides have been developed in the authors' study of tree methods. Classification and Regression Trees reflects these two sides, covering the use of trees as a data analysis method, and in a more mathematical framework, proving some of their fundamental properties.
Background. Introduction to Tree Classification. Right Sized Trees and Honest Estimates. Splitting Rules. Strengthening and Interpreting. Medical Diagnosis and Prognosis. Mass Spectra Classification. Regression Trees. Bayes Rules and Partitions. Optimal Pruning. Construction of Trees from a Learning Sample. Consistency. Bibliography. Notation Index. Subject Index. | <urn:uuid:55b508d1-2a9e-4333-8771-8dd272dc6a69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.psypress.com/books/details/9780412048418/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908053 | 198 | 2.609375 | 3 |
However, not every state has a minimum wage. In fact, in Alabama and four other states (Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee), if an employee isn’t covered under the federal minimum wage, employers can legally pay that worker as little as $1.00 per hour. That’s assuming, of course, that a company could find an employer willing to work for so little. This is because those states have no minimum wage law.
Because of this recent increase, Georgia employers and employers across the country must update their labor law posters. The law requires that whenever a change is made in any labor law, state of federal, companies must display the updates posters in a place where all employees have easy access. Failure to display these posters can result in fines and penalties.
However, even in those states, employees who are eligible for the federal minimum wage must be paid $7.25 per hour. The federal minimum recently increased by 70 cents from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour as part of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007. That Act provided 3 increases in the federal minimum wage over three years. These 70 cent increases took place on July 24 in 2007, in 2008 and in 2009.
Federal minimum wages are set by the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938). The FLSA applies to all businesses with at least $500,000 in annual revenue and to employers engaged in interstate commerce. FLSA can also apply to individual (more…)
The accused 43-year-old man is a Forsyth County Sheriff’s Deputy. His 42-year-old wife and 72-year old father have all been charged by a federal grand jury. The charges include human trafficking, witness tampering, making false statements and harboring an alien, according to US Attorney David Nahmias.
Prosecutors contend that the Georgia couple hired a nanny from India in early 2003. Once the woman was in this country, they stopped paying her and threatened to lock her up if she quit working for them. They held her for 18 months. The woman, alone and unable to contact friends and family in India, apparently believed the couple because of the man’s position as a Deputy and his father’s status as a former judge.
An aerospace defense contractor based in Broomfield, Colorado was ordered to pay almost $1 million in back wages to 904 employees in four states plus the District of Columbia.
The U.S. Department of Labor charges that Ball Aerospace and Technologies, Inc. failed to pay $976,327 in overtime to employees in Colorado, New Mexico, Ohio, Georgia and Washington D.C.
According to sources, an investigation showed that once senior technicians reached the maximum hourly rate, they were arbitrarily and unlawfully changed to salaried-exempt status. The change in pay rate did not include a significant increase in responsibilities. Under federal law, in order to be exempt from overtime pay, employees must have decision-making powers, significant administrative duties or they must supervise three or more people. None of those conditions were met for the 111 technicians in question, so they are due $383, 235 in unpaid overtime.
In addition, all employees were routinely required to work through their lunch periods without any pay. Even if they were not able to take a lunch break, an hour was deducted from their time cards every work day. This violation resulted in payments of $593,092 to 793 employees.
Ball agreed to keep more accurate payroll records in the future, in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA, and to pay all required wages to employees in the future.
In late July, the U.S. Department of Labor forced Desert Plastering, Inc., a Las Vegas Nevada firm, to pay nearly $1.2 million in back pay to 1060 employees. The feds found that Desert Plastering had not paid required overtime to lathers, finishers, plasterers and estimators who worked up to 58 hours per week.
In early July, the U.S. Department of Labor forced 107 subcontractors of KBR, Inc. of Virginia to pay some $1.5 million in back wages and benefits for up to 2,600 workers who participated in the Hurricane Katrina recovery project. The construction workers were involved in repairs to the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport Mississippi or the Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. The U.S. Department of Labor is still searching for some of the workers involved in that case. Anyone who believes that they are owed back wages for these projects can contact the nearest U.S. Department of Labor office. The average payment per worker in that case was $616.
Earlier this year, under a voluntary agreement to prevent a federal suit, Wal-Mart, Inc. agreed to pay $33 million in unpaid overtime wages to 86,680 employees throughout the nation. An internal audit revealed that the company had incorrectly classified some employees as “salary-exempt” when in fact they were entitled to overtime pay. In other cases, the company admitted that it had based overtime pay on the employee’s base hourly rate, not including incentives and bonuses in the employee’s average rate as required by law.
The Fair Labor Standard Act requires that most U.S. employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage, which is currently $5.85 per hour. The FLSA also mandates that employees must be paid 1.5 times their usual hourly rate for each hour over 40 in a single work week.
Many employers mistakenly believe that any worker paid by salary is exempt from overtime. The FLSA does provide a number of exemptions to the overtime law for bona fide executive, administrative, professional and outside sales jobs. In general, employees must meet job duty and salary tests, to be exempt from overtime.
The U. S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division collected more than $171 in back wages for some 246,000 employees in 2006. Thos wages were a result of 31,987 “compliance actions” in 2006.
The bottom line in the Peach State is that the minimum wage there will not be changing any time soon from its current rate of $5.15 per hour, at least not until the next legislative session next year. However, the federal minimum wage could change, and that would change the landscape for employers for sure in the state of Georgia.
The legislative bodies in the state could then decide to increase the state minimum wage to keep pace with the federal minimum wage. Even if the lawmakers don’t take that step, many employers in Georgia will still have to pay the new federal minimum wage if and when that bill gets out of Congress in Washington DC and the President signs it.
That would be the case for large interstate employers in Georgia. The exact cut off—at what point employers become liable for the federal laws on overtime and minimum wage found in the Fair Labor Standards Act—are $500,000 in annual revenue for a business, or whether or not that business has operations or facilities in more than one state. In either case, the employer then would have to pay the higher federal minimum wage if and when it gets passed.
There are also certain other classes of employers that also have to follow the Fair Labor Standards Act, such as hospitals, schools, and other such types of employers. They would all have to pay the higher federal minimum wage too, instead of the lower Georgia minimum wage.
For the time being, the Georgia minimum wage is the same as the federal minimum wage, so this is not an issue. And you Georgia employers do not yet have to worry about tracking down an updated federal minimum wage poster or a new Georgia minimum wage poster. But stay tuned.
The minimum wage situation in Georgia has not changed lately, but according to my sources, it could be changing in the near future. The so called Working Families Caucus in the state’s General Assembly—a group of lawmakers who say they are dedicated to getting laws passed that support working families and their members—has backed a minimum wage bill in the state.
The caucus has about 20 members to it, all Democrat, so they don’t have enough votes to get a bill passed on its own, and it is only recently that the caucus went from being an unofficial group in the Georgia assembly to being a full fledge caucus with its own rules and such.
One of the first bills that the caucus decided to get behind was this minimum wage bill I was telling you about, called SB 13. It would have raised the Georgia minimum wage from $5.15 per hour, its current level, to $7.25 per hour, by the start of the year 2008. the bill would also have made it so that the Georgia minimum wage would have increased every year after that based on what the rate of inflation would be.
The bill would have also made it so that more employees in the state of Georgia would be eligible for the minimum wage, by making fewer classes of employees in the state exempt from receiving the minimum wage. All of this support went down in Feb., last month. The caucus had held a rally to get support for the new minimum wage, but the bill still did not get out of the committee stage in the Georgia General Assembly.
The caucus has said that they will try to find another way to get the minimum wage changed in Georgia, such as trying to get the bill passed again next year. | <urn:uuid:7cf96245-63ae-4ec2-9580-b49420b78930> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.laborlawcenter.com/category/employment-laws/georgia-5/wage-and-hour-11/minimum-wage-11/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972829 | 1,945 | 2.078125 | 2 |
The process of leading children from birth to adulthood is a long and complicated journey. Sometimes just civilizing a toddler enough to get him to preschool seems like moving a mountain. But are we really working with a blank slate? Research in infancy seems to point to a naturally-occurring knowledge of what's good and what's bad, even when the child is too young to guide his own behavior accordingly.
Infant morality studies are so new that the field’s grand dame is 29-year-old J. Kiley Hamlin, who was a graduate student at the Yale lab in the mid-2000s. She was spinning her wheels for a thesis project when she stumbled on animated presentations that one of her predecessors had made, in which a “climber” (say, a red circle with goggle eyes) attempted to mount a hill, and a “helper” (a triangle in some trials) assisted him, or a “hinderer” (a square) knocked him down. Previous infant research had focused on other aspects of the interaction, but Hamlin wondered if a baby observing the climber’s plight would prefer one interfering character over another.
“As adults, we like the helper and don’t like the hinderer,” says Hamlin, now an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia. “We didn’t think babies would do that too. It was just like, ‘Let’s give it a try because Kiley’s a first-year graduate student and she doesn’t know what she’s doing.’”
Wynn and her husband, the psychologist Paul Bloom, collaborated on much of Hamlin’s research, and Wynn remembers being a bit more optimistic: “Do babies have attitudes, render judgments? I just found that to be a very intuitively gripping question,” she says. “If we tend to think of babies being born and developing attitudes in the world as a result of their own experiences, then babies shouldn’t be responding [to the scenarios]. But maybe we are built to identify in the world that some things are good and some things are not, and some helpful and positive social interaction is to be approved of and admired.”
In fact, 6- and 10-month-old babies did seem to have strong natural opinions about the climbing scenarios: They passionately preferred the helper to the hinderer, as assessed by the amount of time they spent looking at the characters. This result “was totally surreal,” Hamlin says—so revolutionary that the researchers themselves didn’t quite trust it. They designed additional experiments with plush animal puppets helping and hindering each other; at the end babies got the chance to reach for the puppet of their choice. “Basically every single baby chose the nice puppet,” Hamlin remembers.
The same experiment on even younger babies showed that their gaze lingered longer on the "helpers," too. But that's just the beginning of the research going on with infants, and even on that oxymoron called "toddler altruism," that you'll see in a fascinating article at Smithsonian magazine. Link
(Image credit: Jill Greenberg) | <urn:uuid:e5ff6ce8-3036-4a6b-83ef-cc745e30f3fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.neatorama.com/neatobambino/2013/01/14/Are-Babies-Born-Good/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974215 | 679 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Bulgaria Rebuffs Israel, Won’t Commit to Voting Against PA State
Bulgaria, usually considered an ally of Israel, rebuffed it on Thursday when it would not commit to voting against the planned unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state.
AFP reported that Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who was widely expected to back Israel, remained noncommittal after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
The report quoted Borisov as saying during a joint press conference with Netanyahu, “You will see when the vote comes,” when asked how Bulgaria would vote on the bid for a Palestinian state at the UN’s General Assembly in September.
He added that “there’s still time,” noting the PA had not yet tabled its statehood bid, and would only say Bulgaria was still “conducting final talks within the EU on our position.”
“We have always favored peace talks and understanding,” Borisov was quoted as saying. “Our categorical stance is that all sides should go back to the negotiating table to reach the necessary agreements for establishing peace. This will also be our position in the UN.”
Earlier, said the report, Netanyahu praised the “spirit of great familiarity and friendship” between Borisov and himself and the historical bond between their two countries.
Bulgaria is known for having refused to surrender the 50,000 Jews who were living in the country to the Nazi army during World War II, despite heavy pressure from Adolf Hitler. King Boris III of Bulgaria received a posthumous award for this last year.
The visits and bilateral meetings between Bulgaria and Israel have increased greatly over the past two years. Ten years ago, the two countries signed a free trade agreement.
But Bulgaria has also come under fire for its stance during World War II. While the country refused to hand Bulgaria’s Jews to Hitler’s army, it did allow the deportation of Jews from Thrace and Macedonia, which at that time were under Bulgarian rule.
Bulgaria has traditionally not spoken about this part of its history, and members of the Sephardic Jewish community have called on its government to reveal the truth of Bulgaria’s interaction with the Jews during the Holocaust.
Netanyahu’s visit to Bulgaria is part of a tour the Prime Minister has been making around European capitals to drum up support against the PA’s bid. On Wednesday, Netanyahu visited Romania, where Prime Minister Emil Boc said his country opposes the bid. | <urn:uuid:4b64b818-957e-463e-99d6-ab36254776b0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/145535 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97452 | 523 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The picture, taken by Charlies C Ebbets in 1932 and called “Lunch Atop A Skyscraper,” is world-famous.
The Galway Advertiser reports that two of the men have been identified as Galway natives.
At the extreme left and extreme right of the photo are Matty O’Shaughnessy and Patrick (Sonny) Glynn, who were both from Shanaglish, near Gort in the south of the county.
A new documentary, “Lon sa Speir” or “Lunch in the Sky,” tracing the lives of the men along with Native American John Charles Cook/Akwesasne, a Mohawk (pictured sitting fourth from the left),will have its world premiere shown at the Galway Film Fleadh or festival this weekend.
The photo shows the 11 workers having a lunch break on the 69th floor of the RCA Building (now the GE Building) in New York, during the final months of construction.
Most of the men have now been identified by family members. The man sitting fourth from the right is Francis Michael Rafferty and to his right is his lifelong best friend, Stretch Donahue. On the same day, Ebbets took another photo of the same workers called “Men Asleep on a Girder,” which shows the same workers asleep on the beam.
As part of the celebration, an attempt to recreate the iconic picture will take place.
The new film in Gaelic and English is narrated by actress Fionnula Flanagan, and directed by Eamonn Ó Cualáin, and “reveals the remarkable story behind the iconic image. For much of its 80 year history, the identity of the photographer and the workers remained a mystery, but over the last few years, their names and stories have begun to emerge.”
Sónta Company, which made the documentary, is attempting to recreate the photogrpah in Eyre Square in Galway this weekend.
To mark the world premiere of Lón sa Spéir at the fleadh and Galway’s connection with the workers on the beam, Sónta company, with the support of Coen Steel, will attempt to recreate the famous picture in Eyre Square, on Tuesday July 10 between 12.30pm and 2pm.
The film-makers are seeking 11 men or women to participate in the recreating of this photograph from construction workers, actors, students, or “anyone that feels that they can fill the part”.
Those wishing to take their place on the beam for the Galway version of the image should contact Sónta directly at 095 - 33933 or at firstname.lastname@example.org
For tickets, contact the film screening at the Town Hall by calling 091 - 569777. Lón sa Spéir will also be shown on TG4 in September. | <urn:uuid:9fad3b29-6a8a-4d4e-853b-b1928a1b311e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Famous--Irish-American-photograph-to-be-recreated-in-Galway-for-new-film-161546045.html?mob-ua=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95676 | 619 | 1.875 | 2 |
by Anai Rhoads
AnaiRhoads.org -- There has been a battle going on for
decades over whether or not to diminish certain animal
populations through hunting. Whether they are vaunting birth
control methods, snares or traps, or the direct shooting of
free-living animals, governments and pro-hunting groups attempt
to push aside the obvious problem: human encroachment.
The human population has doubled since the 1970s, and this
influx of bodies has led to more homes, malls and highways being
constructed on land where animals once lived. This encroachment
has pushed, isolated, and even starved animals as they try to
compete for space and food.
A prime example would be the situation taking place at
Pennsylvania's Valley Forge National Historical Park, where, as
Friends of Animals (FoA) reports, the federal government wants
to bring sharpshooters to kill White-tailed deer. Under a hefty
federal proposal, nearly 80 percent of an estimated 1,023, deer
will be killed. As the deer raise their young, more are to be
shot, so park officials intend to kill some 1,300 deer over the
next four years. It all boils down to the officials wanting to
shoot these deer for the next four winter seasons, beginning
this season, until they have reached their quota -- or see
forest regeneration. This is said to be no easy trick when the
state keeps widening roadways, such as the nearby Pennsylvania
What prompted the call for violence in this oasis in the
middle of suburban sprawl? Wealthy residents from the
northeastern Chester and southwestern Montgomery counties
complained that the deer were roaming into their gardens and
feeding on their ornamental plants and shrubs. This sparked an
interest in introducing hunting of these animals along the
five-mile stretch of the park. Regular hunting isn't easy to
bring in, however, under rules that govern the national park; so
they are talking about bringing in people hired through the
federal agriculture department to do the job. This way, the
government frames their intrusions as management rather than
Native forest plants are the red herring in this issue. We
humans cannot justify taking over an area that is home to these
animals. We simply cannot keep building where animals are
confined ever further, then shift the blame onto them.
The deer of Valley Forge have reduced their numbers on their
own accord over the past five years. Even where deer are
numerous, it's an odd argument that insists humans need to be
predators while all along we're treating the real predators as
nuisance animals. Predators are vital to sustaining an
ecological environment. For example, the war on the coyotes in
Pennsylvania, where they can be hunted down all year, has
shifted the natural order. In addition to bringing in the
weapons, the National Park Service seeks to implement a
contraception program, which may lead to the collapse of what's
left of the park's White-tailed deer population.
The agency claims its birth control plan would help prevent
the deer from over-populating. Yet putting White-tailed deer -
or any wild animal - on birth control is an ethically
questionable interference with the animals' own natures. Lack of
access to food and water, or even moderate stress, can throw an
animal's fertility cycle into a condition called anovulation,
where ovulation ceases until the right conditions are met. There
are other animals with this same capability, including humans.
Generally, animals breed according to what their environment
allows, and don’t need humans to interfere with their fertility.
The perpetually shy White-tailed deer usually come into heat
in November for a short 24-hour period. If conception hasn't
taken place, a doe will go into heat again 28 days later. Mating
occurs only from October to December - which means the
sharp-shooters will be killing pregnant deer, in addition to
others, for years. The contraception is to take place in later
years, according to the plan, if the officials find a substance
with which they are comfortable.
The National Park Service has written out four basic
alternatives to deal with the White-tailed deer in Valley Forge,
Alternative A - Involves taking no action. This includes no
lethal force and no contraception to minimize the population.
Biologists will continue to test for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
when a deceased deer is discovered. Alternative A is the most
favored by FoA, because it eliminates the unnatural domination
over these animals.
Alternative B - This alternative would introduce a
combination of control activities, involving contraception and
Alternative C - Per square mile, 31-35 deer would be killed
or captured and adjustments would be made based on forest
Alternative D - The Park Service is in favor this
alternative, where sharpshooting and possibly contraception
would be used. In addition, "active lethal surveillance for CWD"
has been added. This means some deer will be killed and tested
for Chronic Wasting Disease, despite no known cases of this
disease in the state. The park officials are essentially using
CWD as an excuse based on positive cases seen in New York and
A Pattern of Control
This issue is also going on in Washington D.C.'s Rock Creek
Park where the Park Service has laid out a plan that mirrors
that of Valley Forge, further suggesting that the stated reasons
behind the removal of these deer were result-oriented, and not
genuine, location-specific answers.
These proposed killings are sponsored solely by your tax
dollars. The recurring annual costs for sharpshooting the deer
will range from $112,363 to $176,817. For the birth control
plan, it will cost the taxpayer anywhere from $108,363 to
$194,517 annually. In contrast, Alternative A -- maintaining a
perfectly acceptable status quo in the park -- could range from
$14,828 to $32,567 depending on any positive CWD results. As
there are no known cases in the state, the actual cost increase
over what we pay now is likely to be zero. One has to question
if the tax burden the government is proposing makes any sense.
In addition, the opportunities for human-to-human accidents
will greatly increase when these sharpshooters are let loose.
There are a number of homes in close proximity to this area, and
there are numerous busy roadways winding through the park.
Children might witness these cruel acts as well.
In short, if residents don't want the deer to inhabit their
space, then they need to stop invading theirs. Killing and
"maintaining" a population of deer to satisfy the whims and
wants of a few resident complainers is unacceptable.
What You Can Do
Contact your local representatives both in Washington, D.C.
and Pennsylvania and express your concerns regarding these
actions against the White-tailed deer. Send a copy of what you
write to Friends of Animals' legal director, Lee Hall, at
The Honorable Arlen Specter
United States Senate
711 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-3802
DC Phone: (202) 224-4254
Fax: (202) 228-1229
The Honorable Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senate
393 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510-3804
DC Phone (202) 224-6324
Fax: (202) 228-0604
Valley Forge National Historical Park
Kristina Heister, Natural Resource Manager
(610)783-0252 or firstname.lastname@example.org
Valley Forge National Historical Park Fax: (610)783-1060
Governor Edward G. Rendell
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120
Phone: (717) 787-2500
Fax: (717) 772-8284
Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C.
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D - At Large)
DC Phone: (202) 225-8050
Fax: (202) 225-3002
Executive Office of the Mayor, Mayor Fenty
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 316
Washington, DC 20004
Contact Form or dial 311.
Superintendent Rock Creek Park
3545 Williamsburg Lane, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008
Headquarters: (202) 895-6000
Copyright © 2009 AnaiRhoads.org - republished by permission.
Thank you for everything you do for animals! | <urn:uuid:52df94dc-6713-4e3e-a581-3711610ff897> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.all-creatures.org/alert/alert-20091009.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916159 | 1,859 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Fri 14/7/1434 - 24/5/2013
About the Site
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Introduction to Islam
How can a seeker of knowledge make a schedule to organise his time?.
After becoming Muslim, should she ask those who were her friends in the past to remove pictures of her that they have on Facebook?.
Announcing wedding invitations in the mosque.
Does carrying a child on whom there is some najaasah (impurity) render the prayer and wudoo’ invalid?.
If someone loses his wudoo’ whilst praying and goes and does wudoo’, can he resume his prayer from where he left off or should he start all over again?.
Is there a specific age at which animals may be slaughtered?.
He does not have any children and he wants to give his wealth to his wife and his brother’s daughter and donate the rest to charity.
The wisdom behind the Prophet’s marrying more than four wives.
Is it permissible to buy the house that was bequeathed to some of the heirs and not others without their consent?.
Wife's Prayers When Visiting Husband Living in Another State.
Principles of Fiqh
Jurisprudence and Islamic Rulings
Acts of Worship
Sifat al-Hajj wa’l-‘Umrah (Description of Hajj and ‘Umrah)
versaDoing ‘Umrah (lesser pilgrimage) on One’s Own Behalf and Hajj on Another’s or Vice Versa.
Ruling on stoning the Jamaraat with a piece of concrete.
Can the pilgrim in ihram rest in the hotel before doing ‘Umrah?.
If he has women with him, can he trot and jog (in tawaaf and saa‘i)?.
He broke his wudoo’ during tawaaf and completed that circuit, then he did wudoo’.
Extending the time limit for standing in ‘Arafah until dawn on the Day of Sacrifice.
He entered ihram and did not stipulate that he would exit ihram if something prevented him from continuing, then he was prevented from entering Makkah and he went back to his country.
If he did ‘Umrah so that he could do Hajj tamattu‘, and he did ‘Umrah several times before Hajj, does he have to offer more than one sacrifice?.
The evidence for the ritual of stoning the Jamaraat during Hajj.
Evidence for the ritual of stoning the Jamaraat during Hajj.
Brief description of Hajj for oneself and on behalf of another, and the kinds of Hajj .
What is the evidence that it is obligatory to stay overnight in Muzdalifah?.
There is no specific supplication (du‘aa’) for each circuit of tawaaf or lap of saa‘i.
One who does saa‘i on the second or third floor does not have to go around the dome of as-Safa and the dome of al-Marwah.
It is not prescribed to utter the intention for Hajj or for ‘Umrah.
It is not permissible to change ihram from tamattu‘ to ifraad.
There is nothing wrong with slaughtering the hadiy in Muzdalifah.
He did saa’i for ‘Umrah before tawaaf.
He did tawaaf in the courtyard of the mosque and completed his tawaaf on the upper level.
He did the farewell tawaaf at night but was not able to leave Makkah until the following morning.
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All Rights Reserved for IslamQA© 1997-2013 : 129.83 | <urn:uuid:413f9b67-723e-4b81-9385-02cc667e2c64> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://islam-qa.com/en/cat/479 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93645 | 840 | 1.6875 | 2 |
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France joined Russia in condemning the Pentagon's plans to install missile defence bases in central Europe yesterday and backed President Dmitri Medvedev's previously ignored calls for a new pan-European security pact.
Both presidents concluded a Russia-EU summit, in Nice in the south of France, with an agreement to convene a major international conference next summer at which the Americans, Russians and the 27 countries of the EU should come up with a blueprint for new post-cold war "security architecture" in Europe.
The call for such a pact has been Medvedev's central foreign policy message since he succeeded Vladimir Putin as president earlier this year. Medvedev has called for the new deal in several keynote speeches but has been snubbed by western leaders until Sarkozy delivered a characteristic surprise yesterday, appearing to hijack the subject.
Sarkozy said: "We could meet in mid-2009 to lay the foundations of what could possibly be a future pan-European security system."
The Russians see such a deal as a way of halting Nato enlargement and stopping the controversial US missile defence projects in Poland and the Czech Republic. While western European leaders are lukewarm about the Pentagon project and president-elect Barack Obama has yet to reveal his policies, Sarkozy went further yesterday, branding the project a setback for European security.
"Deployment of a missile defence system would bring nothing to security in Europe. It would complicate things," said the French leader, who currently chairs the EU. As he attacked the plan, Czech and Polish ministers met in Prague to affirm their support for the installations and send a signal to the Obama administration, pleading for it to go ahead.
"I'm 100 per cent sure that Obama won't kill missile defence," Alexandr Vondra, the Czech deputy prime minister, told the Guardian. "The European pillar of missile defence is in the interests of everyone who wants to keep Nato strong."
The French alignment with Russian aims will upset pro-US leaders in western and eastern Europe, but will enjoy support in Germany and Italy, which are eager to draw Russia in as a partner despite the recent invasion of Georgia.
Yesterday's summit ordered the resumptions of negotiations on a new strategic pact governing relations between Russia and Europe - talks that the EU called off in protest at Russia's invasion of Georgia in August.
In September the Europeans set Moscow an ultimatum for re-opening the talks, demanding that Russian troop positions and numbers be returned to the pre-conflict levels. Russia has ignored the European terms. But yesterday's summit glossed over that.
"It's as if the military intervention in Georgia never happened. The EU is sending a dangerous signal of weakness," said David Clark, chair of the Russia Foundation, who was an adviser to the former British foreign secretary Robin Cook. | <urn:uuid:77f7d7fc-58a4-47d0-852a-e20a841a079c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/15/nicolas-sarkozy-russia-european-security | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961426 | 577 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Microsoft and Apple updated their operating systems, Microsoft with Windows 7 and Apple with Snow Leopard. Windows 7 is less prone to crashing than the version it replaced, more refined, with additional features but fewer annoyances. Snow Leopard boots up faster than its predecessor, loads Web pages more quickly, and eats up less hard-drive space. Below, we'll help you to decide whether to upgrade.
Meanwhile, there's plenty of lean, mean, and green in new computers, be they Mac OS- or Windows based. You'll find space-saving profiles, more powerful and efficient chips, and environmentally friendly designs. The best computers are also security conscious, offering features designed to keep your machine and your data out of harm's reach.
Many desktop computers are still boxy and bulky but you can also choose from among slimmer models. Most major brands also offer all-in-ones, which integrate the parts of a computer into the display rather than in a separate tower.
Smaller, more efficient laptops are also available. Netbooks have 10-to-12-inch displays and weigh about 2 to 3 pounds. They aim to be your second computer, the one you use to surf the Web and check e-mail while traveling, or a child's first system. But their small size imposes tradeoffs.
Apple's introduction of the iPad has ignited interest in highly portable tablet computers with a user interface that's simpler and more intuitive than that of a conventional personal computer.
When you shop, watch out for "great deals" that may not be so great. Before you buy a bargain PC at a rock-bottom price, take a closer look, because some computer manufacturers are replacing dual-core processors with single-core Celeron and Sempron processors to reduce costs. Others are using less-powerful Atom processors in systems that otherwise look like full-blown laptops and desktops. The result, our tests show, is more sluggish performance when you try to surf media-rich websites, watch videos, or play 3D games.
The bottom line when shopping: If you're looking for a primary PC for general-purpose computing, avoid computers with single-core processors, such as some Atoms and Celerons. Also make sure you get more than 1GB of memory. Of course, if all you need is a low-cost netbook for general Web surfing and e-mail, with perhaps some word processing thrown into the mix, then an Atom-based netbook with a gigabyte or two of memory and at least a 160GB hard drive should serve you well.
Do you need a new PC?
If your old computer is sluggish, it might be time for a new PC. First try these steps to beef up its performance: Delete programs you no longer use. If that isn't enough, and the computer is no more than four years old, add 1 GB of memory. Adding memory is an inexpensive and easy way to upgrade your computer.
If you're running out of space on the hard drive, burn your old music, photos, and videos onto a CD or DVD and delete them off your hard drive. To gain a lot more storage space, consider adding a hard drive. (An external hard drive is one of the easiest computer upgrades that even a computer novice can perform.)
Once you've cleared all your old files and moved any files to an external hard drive, run the Disk Defragmenter that's bundled with Windows. That will help your hard drive access files faster.
If none of that works, and the computer is more than four years old, it's probably time to replace it. Be sure to recycle your old computer, but don't forget to wipe your hard drive first. We recommend Eraser, available free at http://www.heidi.ie/eraser, for Windows-based computers. Apple computers have an erase feature built in.
Windows or Macintosh?
Windows 7 is the latest iteration of Microsoft's operating system. It costs from $120 to $200 off the shelf. Eligible college students can grab an upgrade for $30 at www.theultimatesteal.com.
An Apple computer running Mac OS X is a fine alternative to Windows. Apple computers can also run Windows, but you have to purchase and install it yourself. The latest version is Snow Leopard; current Apple users can upgrade for $30. If you bought a new Mac after June 2009, you can upgrade for $10.
Should you upgrade to Windows 7?
Before you make any decisions, you should check your computer's compatibility, and that of your peripherals, with Microsoft's Upgrade Adviser.
Then, find the description of your situation below and proceed accordingly:
You're happy with your current system and OS.
Save your money, at least for now. Sure, Windows 7 has some new interface tweaks that we think are pretty cool. But any time you upgrade, there's a potential for unpredictable problems. So why mess with success? Meanwhile, always download any critical Windows updates. Make sure you're using the latest version of your browser. And if you don't have any security software running, install a free antivirus program. We recommend Avira AntiVir. Alternatively, Microsoft just released its free antivirus/antispyware software, Microsoft Security Essentials.
You're a Vista user frustrated with its performance and other shortcomings.
Get the upgrade if your system is compatible. Windows 7 is more stable than Vista and it's got a good number of ease-of-use enhancements. And as a bonus, you'll get a grip on those frustrating User Account Controls, because Windows 7 provides options for different levels of settings.
You recently bought a new computer and qualify for a free upgrade.
Get your upgrade. Most computer manufacturers are offering free Windows 7 upgrades to those who bought Vista-based computers from late June through January 2010. Be sure to register for the upgrade, and keep in mind that you might have to pay shipping and other costs to have the software sent to you. But also keep in mind that the Windows 7 upgrade option does not apply to Vista Basic-based computers.
You're an XP user.
If your computer is no more than four years old and running Windows XP, and you want to upgrade to Windows 7, run the upgrade adviser. If you're cleared for Windows 7, you can upgrade, but you'll first have to either upgrade to Vista temporarily to allow the Windows 7 upgrade or you'll have to backup and then erase the contents of your hard drive before moving to Windows 7.
Copyright © 2006-2012 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. No reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission. | <urn:uuid:a6a64a50-361d-46d0-ac2d-2ef5a0519629> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pricegrabber.com/guides/shopping-buying/ut=1714c4b355ede73b/28965-34/Computers-Getting+started | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942432 | 1,368 | 2.125 | 2 |
Michael Ciuffo of Ch00ftech built this tiny persistence-of-vision display, based on an Attiny24, to fit on his skateboard’s 72mm wheels.
One of the benefits of doing a display on a longboard as opposed to a bike is that during regular use, a longboard wheel rotates many more times per second than a bike wheel. This means that it’s much easier to attain a high enough refresh rate to achieve persistence of vision. Instead of using the four arrays of LEDs like in the MonkeyElectric display which effectively refresh the image four times per rotation, I would only need one array of LEDs to refresh it once per rotation.
[via Embedded Projects] | <urn:uuid:b1c3cd7c-12e7-44ec-b1a3-d41b950cce9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.makezine.com/2012/11/20/longboard-pov/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939608 | 147 | 1.9375 | 2 |
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only.
“Arbor eram vilis quondam sed viva tacebam / Nunc bene si tangor mortua dulce son” counts as one of the most lovely and lengthy of the Latin mottos used to decorate the inside of the lids of seventeenth-century Flemish harpsichords. It translates: “I was once an ordinary tree, although living I was silent; now, though dead, if I am well played, I sound sweetly.”
The same defense of the human improvement on nature could well adorn the largest and oldest of the keyboard instruments—the organ—though with the crucial addition, somewhere amongst the branches and thorns of the Latin syntax, of chalicitis (ore) or perhaps metallum used to make the pipes that actually produce the sound. These gleaming columns are the first to catch the attention of the eye. Most organs have wooden pipes, too, though they are out of side behind the shining façade; the pipes of a few celebrated organs—most famously that from the early seventeenth century in Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark—are made exclusively of wood.
Yet aside from the pipes themselves, wood elsewhere in the instrument is arguably just as crucial to the instrument’s sound production. The case, on which mottos are indeed sometimes written in guilded letters, is the outwardly most elaborate of the wooden elements of an organ and it is often ornamented with moldings, florettes, spires, and statues.
For the sound, be it sweet or fierce, the interior wood is more important. The pipes sit on what are called windchests, historically made of oak. These windchests have interior channels that keep the air that is intended for one set of pipes from activating another adjacent set. Running perpendicular to these grooves are sliding boards with holes in them connected by wooden shafts to a stop knob at the console. When pulled out, this knob causes the holes to line up with those drilled in the top of the chest on which the pipes rest. Pull out all the stops, as they say, and all the holes line up. When J. S. Bach tested organs he did just this and then played music that demanded massive amounts of wind. In this way Bach made sure that “lungs of the organ” were robust.
Feeding the all-important windchests were wooden ducts that conveyed the wind produced by humans pumping several large bellows, themselves made out of wood and leather. Finally, there is the key action, essentially a form of remote control already perfected in the 14th century, and one that allowed the movements of the organist’s fingers and feet at the keyboards and pedal to be conveyed to a valve at the bottom of the windchests. When depressed these keys would instantaneously send air racing into a given channel, up into the pipe and to sounding life. Indeed, the organ has often been described by music theorists as if it were a living organism: its wind systems are lungs; the pipes themselves are given the human attributes of toes, feet, and mouth.
While the wood may have appeared dead to the motto makers of seventeenth-century Antwerp, the substance continues to breathe: it has cells and capillaries that are constantly reacting to changes in the air. The health of the wood and therefore the lungs of the organ depends on humidity. Like humans, the wood becomes parched if it is dry and saturated if it is wet, often quite quickly finding what experts call its equilibrium moisture content. In arid climes the wood can crack, in tropical ones become swollen and damp.
Even before the age of superstorms, Upstate New York was a region of climatic extremes. Summers were sultry and Winters arctic, the air either thick with moisture (towards 90%) or almost completely depleted of it (down to 20%). Human skin cracks, and the lines of age add decades to the human face in winter, only partially to be shed by the natural Botox of Summer. Imagine the ravages done by such variation to the mighty organ, unable to burst its shackle to its framing architecture of church, chapel, or concert hall and take the next flight to La Jolla for a regenerative week at the spa.
The first published book about organ design, construction, and maintenance, Arnolt Schlick’s Spiegel der Orglmacher und Organisten (Mirror of Organ Builders and Organists), 1511, registered the threat of rats, leaking roofs, and direct sunlight streaming through windows to the condition of an organ. But from the banks of the Rhine to the shores of the North Sea, the humidity in the heartland of the organ was temperate and welcoming. The thick stone walls of churches and castles further moderated changes in the weather: these chapels were—and still are—bracingly cold in winter, cool in summer, and never too dry. This in turns encourages the most environmentally conscientious and economically efficient approach to climate control: wear a sweater.
The same buffering effect is not to be enjoyed in many of the wooden churches put up by the colonists to New England and New York, nor for the later Americans who often favored the cheap and cheerful over the earnest and costly. As for sealing buildings from the ravages of humidity—the current rage for “green” building rarely extends to cash-strapped churches, nor to many a heavily debt-ridden institution of higher learning.
Smack-dab in the middle of New York State, Cornell University is a good example of the climatic travails faced by organs. There are four organs on the campus, ranging from the small to the grand. Consider first one of the former: a Neapolitan instrument acquired at auction a dozen years ago in San Francisco. The organ was built in 1746 in Italy and lingered in a state of benign neglect in the soothing Mediterranean air for more than two centuries, before it was acquired by a collector in Berkeley California in the 1980s. It enjoyed the moist Bay Area climate for some twenty years before being rudely displaced to Cornell’s leaking nineteenth-century chapel. The arctic blasts ripping through the place in winter were combatted by cranking the ancient radiators up so high that I once cooked a baked potato in aluminum foil on one of them during a long mid-winter practice session. These radiators suck what little moisture there is out of the air, sending humidity levels to dangerously low, wood-cracking levels. The poor Italian yearned for his homeland, clearly missing his native stone church and gentle breezes off the Bay of Naples. The windchest complained with errant squeaks and pipes sounding out of turn—a phenomenon that organ builders call ciphering. This emigrant’s life was a hard one. Eventually we installed an interior system of humidifying bars like those used to protect piano soundboards; these add moisture or extract it depending on the demands of season. The Italian’s lungs were assuaged, but the rest of the case continues to register its displeasure by occasionally shedding bits of paint and allowing its seams to widen slightly here and there.
The big swings in humidity inherent in seasonal shifts are increasingly aggravated by the extreme shifts from one day to the next. Here in New York, last week’s subzero temperatures and searing dryness were overwhelmed this week by sixty degree weather and torrential rains.
Another, smaller chapel on campus built in the 1950s is more porous. By then the style had moved on from Victorian brick to Campus Gothic. From the outside this building looks as solid as the European churches that inspired it. But the stones are not more than merely a thin layer of facing attached to a steel frame. Wind whistles through the window casings, and the uninsulated walls—a bit of stone on the outside and plaster on the inside welcome the elements inside like polite hosts. One of the great organs of the world, the instrument that occupies that chapel’s balcony is a synthesis of two of the greatest examples of the north European organ art from around 1700. The organ was dedicated in 2011, and no more beautiful an oaken case has been made in our time, nor has such a case framed a more lovely array of pipes, both metal and wooden. The wind generated by four large bellows in the chapel’s tower is conducted along the back wall of the gallery through wooden trunks and into the windchests. The instrument’s exterior beauty is paralleled by superb interior workings.
Today it’s 61 degrees with 80% humidity; by the day-after-tomorrow the forecast calls for a high of 25 degrees and humidity in the twenties. Through this winter of wild weather swings and into the tropical summer ahead, the organ will continue to sing sweetly if played well. But there are many more years to come … | <urn:uuid:52673602-acbc-4652-bb45-385e00bbd718> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/02/01/humid-organs/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95977 | 1,859 | 3.015625 | 3 |
The adventures of Ariel and her friends at the age of fourteen. From her first known trouble with Ursula to her collection of human objects, the show illustrates the princess's journey as she finishes growing up. It also introduced new characters such as Ariel's merboy friend (an orphan named Urchin who her family all saw as a little brother), the snobbish merteen called Pearl, the mobster lobster, Evil Manta, Sebastian's family, and an orca Ariel titled Spot. Written by
The opening theme to the show is a combination of the songs "Part of Your World", "Under the Sea", and "Kiss the Girl". The overture for the upcoming stage musical of The Little Mermaid will be similar to this. See more »
"The Little Mermaid" is a magical tale. A healthy story to the child's spirit. Many have seen it but the new generation must see it. It's a magical story that fills the children's soul with fantasy and creativity. I think all children should see it at a young age. This Disney classic will win the heart your son/daughter/niece/nephew etc. I really encourage families to see it. Think of it as chicken soup for the children's soul. If you've ever heard of those books. It's a classic that you will never forget. A Magical tale that will light up you Shields face(s) I hope that this movie will make you children happy and joyful to the bone. Enjoy.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you? | <urn:uuid:b69945f9-5ada-4ef5-87b0-b699ff66e2e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103477/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957513 | 321 | 1.601563 | 2 |
It’s been almost thirty years since Argentina and the United Kingdom went to war over the Falklands Islands (or Islas Malvinas, as Argentina continues to call them). Despite decades of peace, history sadly seems on the verge of repeating itself.
Not exactly, though the similarities are striking. Just as last time, the average Argentine and UK citizens are getting along just fine, and there have been no reports of British tourists having any problems whatsoever in Argentina. In fact, Mirror UK travel experts forecast that Argentina, among other inexpensive destinations might attract more British tourists than other places this year.
Despite the personal good will, things seem to be heating up between the governments of both nationals, with Argentine President Kirshner criticizing Duke William of Cambridge’s posting in the Falklands as “provocative,” and British Prime Minister David Cameron accusing Argentina of colonialism. While both sides cite all sorts of historic, legal, and political reasons for their positions, the real issue is oil, vast quantities of which were recently discovered in the waters around the islands
What does this mean for you, the average tourist? Hopefully, not much, but this tiff is unfortunately beginning to spill over into the real world. Mercosur countries—Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, as well as traditionally conservative Chile—recently banned boats flying the flag of the Falklands from entering their ports. Sea captains and port officials rolled their eyes, and efficiently sidestepped the new regulations by displaying, and accepting, the British flag instead.
Things were sailing along smoothly until last week, when a few dozen protesters (disingenuously characterized as a frenzied mob by less reputable British rags) burned the Union Jack outside the British Embassy in Buenos Aires. Shortly afterward, Port Stanley refused to allow a Princess Cruise ship dock for “medical reasons,” though many political pundits are interpreting this as still more sabre rattling.
We don’t have a crystal ball here at Viator, and even the experts are unsure about what will happen next. However, if you’re planning to visit the Falklands, or are a British citizen hoping to take in beautiful Buenos Aires any time soon, please keep an eye on the political situation before heading out. Currently, there are no travel warnings in place for travelers to either region, so don’t cancel your plans! But it’s easy to stay alert and in touch. | <urn:uuid:ffdcf912-5e83-44ca-87bf-72b7edd166d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thingstodo.viator.com/argentina/sabre-rattling-between-argentina-and-the-uk-may-affect-tourism/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958527 | 503 | 2.046875 | 2 |
One Question, Three Different Answers
Three times in the book of Acts, Luke the physician recorded non-Christians asking what they needed to do to be saved, and three times a different answer was given. The heathen jailor from Philippi asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?,” and was told: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (16:30-31). The Jews on Pentecost asked the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?,” and were instructed to “repent and be baptized” (2:37-38). A few years later, Saul (later called Paul—Acts 13:9) asked Jesus, Who appeared to Saul on his way to Damascus, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (9:6; 22:10). After being told to go into Damascus to find out what he “must do” to be saved, Ananias, the Lord’s servant, commanded Saul to “[a]rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (22:16). The question that many ask is: “Why are three different answers given to the same question?” Are these answers contradictory, or is there a logical explanation for their differences?
The reason that three different answers were given to the question of salvation is because on each occasion the questioners were at different “locations” on the road to salvation. The rationality of such answers can be illustrated by considering what a person is told in reference to his physical distance from a certain city. If a friend calls me to ask how far it is from his house in Jackson, Tennessee to my parents’ house in Neosho, Missouri, I would inform him that he is 475 miles from Neosho. If he calls me back the next day, notifying me that he is now in Little Rock, Arkansas, and asks about the distance to Neosho, I would give him a different answer. He now would be 260 miles from Neosho. If, later that evening, he called me one last time and asked how far Fort Smith is from Neosho, again I would give him a different answer—130 miles. No rational person would accuse me of contradicting myself, since each question was asked from a different reference point. Three different answers were given, but all three were correct. Likewise, the New Testament records three different answers given to the question, “What must I do to be saved,” because the sinners who asked these questions were at different places of understanding on the road to salvation.
The Philippian jailor was commanded to believe in Christ, because he had not yet heard and believed the saving message of Jesus (Acts 16:31-32; Romans 10:17). It would have been pointless for Paul and Silas to command the jailor to repent and/or be baptized when he had not yet even heard the Gospel. If today, a Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist, asked a Christian the same question the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas, the same answer would need to be given. Before ever teaching a Muslim about the essentiality of repentance and baptism, he first must express belief in Jesus as the Son of God. If this step (i.e., believing) is never taken on the road to salvation, the other steps are meaningless. [NOTE: The Bible reveals that after Paul and Silas “spoke the word of the Lord” to the jailor and his household, they believed and “immediately” were baptized (Acts 16:33). By implication, Paul and Silas must have taught the jailor and his family about the essentiality of baptism after stressing the need to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. Acts 8:35-36,38). Question: If water baptism has nothing to do with salvation, then why were the jailor and his household immersed in water not long after midnight (cf. Acts 16:25,33)?]
The Jews on Pentecost had already heard Peter’s sermon when they asked their question about salvation (Acts 2:37). Peter knew that they already believed, and that such belief came from hearing the message he preached (cf. Romans 10:17). The Jews had passed the point of belief (being “pricked in their heart”), and were told to “repent and be baptized” in order to obtain salvation (cf. Mark 16:16).
Still, someone might wonder why Ananias told Saul neither to believe nor repent when he informed him about how to have his sins washed away. The reason: Saul already was a penitent believer in Christ by the time he came in contact with Ananias. Saul did not need to be told to believe or repent, since he had already done so. He knew the Lord existed, having spoken directly with Him on the road to Damascus, and he expressed a penitent attitude by praying to God and fasting for three days (Acts 9:9,11). At this point, Saul lacked only one thing: he needed to be baptized (Acts 22:16).
The reason these sinners were told three different things regarding salvation was because they were at different starting points when given the various answers. It is as if the jailor were in Jackson, Tennessee, the Jews on Pentecost in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Saul in Fort Smith. All wanted to go to the same place, but were at different starting points when they asked the question, “What must I do to be saved?” The unbeliever was told to believe. The believers were told to repent. And the penitent believer was told to be baptized. The three statements may be different, but they are not contradictory. For a person to become a child of God, he or she must do all three (see John 8:24; Luke 13:3,5; Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16). | <urn:uuid:f6cc1c59-e3f9-4684-a58c-a9a2465130a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.apologeticspress.com/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=646&topic=379 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981511 | 1,279 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Council’s recycling rates rocket
Recycling levels in council offices across Oxfordshire have soared over the past couple of years thanks to a range of new initiatives designed to make the sites greener. District councils are now recycling 65% of the waste from their own buildings compared to 46% three years ago and have reduced overall levels of waste by over 40%.
The Environmental Information Exchange at Oxford Brookes University was invited by Oxfordshire Waste Partnership (OWP) to see how district council waste performance stacks up.
Project director on the Oxford Brookes University programme Michael Esvelt oversaw the recent waste audits that showed these huge improvements. He was delighted with the findings: “We naturally expected district councils to have high levels of recycling, but these current findings put their offices in the top quarter of all business we survey” said Michael. “It’s great to see these advancements brought about through updated recycling schemes, being more efficient over use of resources and printing double sided: simple activities that will save councils money too!”
Lorraine Lindsay-Gale chairs OWP and is also very pleased with the results. She says: “It’s really important that council staff lead by example when it comes to recycling and green initiatives and these latest results show that we are. There’s still progress to be made, but we’re improving all the time and aim to be even more sustainable over the coming years." | <urn:uuid:02070848-ac97-4ba9-92dd-67409bae8629> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oxfordshirewaste.gov.uk/wps/wcm/connect/occ/OWP/Home/News/OWP+-+News+-+11+August+2011+-+Councils+recycling+rates+rocket | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953047 | 296 | 2.25 | 2 |
01-27-2011, 03:45 PM
Hello, new to the site and having some heat pump issues. I live in TN and have a heat pump with backup electric heat strips. Over the summer my thermostats were replaced by my local HVAC tech. Air conditioning worked great all summer. Since its gotten cold, the heat doesn't seem to work properly. The thermostats were rechecked by the same company and confirmed to be installed correctly. My issue is that the regular heat pump heat doesn't seem to ever increase the temperature in the house. The air blowing isn't cold like AC, it just isn't that warm either. When the heat strips come on, the air is very hot and warms the house very quickly. I know when it is really cold this is the desired result, but the heat strips come on (after running the heat pump alone for a bit) even when the temperature outside is in the 40s. I can set the thermostats to never turn on the heat strips, and then the heat pump runs forever without ever increasing the temperature in the house. Is there something that would cause the heat pump to not heat properly? My latest electric bill was $600, and I am sure it is from running the heat strips so much. Any info would be greatly appreciated. | <urn:uuid:378fa37a-b675-4e22-8eae-d5aeff4c6cf3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hvac-talk.com/vbb/archive/index.php/t-741711.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973694 | 270 | 1.757813 | 2 |
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This is wrong, wrong, wrong. How many times do we have to educate SELinux users on this?
In case you forgot, here's 8 videos for you to watch:
Or take it straight from the horse's mouth:
In the real world, attackers aren't interested in deleting your home directory. They sure are interested in launching kernel exploits though.
Posted Oct 20, 2009 19:48 UTC (Tue) by nix (subscriber, #2304)
Posted Oct 20, 2009 20:18 UTC (Tue) by njs (guest, #40338)
I am already familiar with all internet traditions everything you're trying to tell me -- patronizing, much?
But fyi, if I didn't already know what you were trying to say, I'd never get it from your post. I said SELinux is intended to lock down programs, and you just respond "wrong, wrong, wrong" and bemoan your sad fate where idiots like me keep saying things that... well, are true, actually, SELinux *is* designed for locking down programs. It is, of course, very important that it does not and can not guarantee effectiveness (despite all those fancy formal models), and also doesn't address the most important modern desktop threat models, but you didn't actually *say* that.
I think it's absolutely a good thing to open people's eyes to a more nuanced view of security, involving actual discussion of threat models, mitigation versus provably secure, reality-based estimates of exposure, all that good stuff. But your posts seem more interested in showing how terribly ill-used you are than in making the world a better place and frankly, dude, I think grsec's goals are awesome and I still don't care about your personal feelings. Esp. when you're so willing to sacrifice nuance and accuracy (SELinux *has* mitigated attacks, for all its imperfections) on the altar of axe-grinding.
Posted Oct 20, 2009 23:58 UTC (Tue) by spender (subscriber, #23067)
Let's break it down, since you didn't grasp my post apparently:
"making it so your firefox *can't* delete your home directory, even if someone tricks it into loading a bunch of arbitrary code from the web and executing it."
You said that what I quoted from you was "true" -- in what world?
If what you said was true, then an attacker *can't* (your emphasis) choose a kernel exploit as his/her arbitrary code to execute within the context of firefox (the recent perf_counter vuln is a perfect example of one that would work flawlessly), allowing the attacker to change UID to 0, disable SELinux, drop a shell, and then delete your home directory. Is that what you're saying? That that's impossible? Asterisks around "can't" suggests emphasis, and in this case, certitude. I would suggest wrapping it in quotes, or not using the word at all.
I'm really not understanding this: you say something explicitly that is absolutely wrong, I quote your exact sentence and point it out, then you not only insult my understanding of the subject, but claim that what you said was true. Please explain this to me, because clearly I'm in need of education.
Either you're not familiar at all with what I'm trying to tell you, or you don't know the answer to my initial two questions.
Posted Oct 20, 2009 23:59 UTC (Tue) by spender (subscriber, #23067)
Posted Oct 21, 2009 4:11 UTC (Wed) by njs (guest, #40338)
We both know perfectly well that what I described is a design goal for SELinux -- and that's true quite independently of whether this is a useful goal, and whether or not SELinux actually accomplishes it.
Now, absolutely, I was a bit lazy -- I could, maybe should, have gone further and pointed out that SELinux was far from a panacea. Arguably people are so commonly confused about what to expect from "security" code that we have a responsibility not to mislead them further, even by omission. And if you'd called me on that, then I'd have agreed and we'd go on our way, having made the world a slightly better place.
Calling me "wrong, wrong, wrong" and assuming that if I didn't bring up this tangential point then I must be completely ignorant -- that's a little different!
Yes, I really have read your posts here before and understand what you're saying. What I'm trying to say is that 1) I basically *agree* with all the factual/technical content you're trying to get out there; if anything, I'm on your side, but 2) you argue in such grating ways, mixing some excellent points with so much dishonest rhetoric, irrelevant grudges, and derailing of other discussions onto your hobbyhorses, that I'd rather not engage with you myself, and have perfect sympathy for kernel developers who ignore you.
The end result looks almost like a loop where you rant and rave about how no-one listens to you, everyone else goes "uh, maybe he has some points but I'm not sticking around to find out", and then this proves that no-one listens to you and confirms your misunderstood genius cred. If that works for you, great, but leave me out of it. We've all been misunderstood -- heck, Linus slanders some of my work on a pretty regular basis -- but if our goal is to actually accomplish stuff then we just ignore it and do our best make progress anyway with the hand we're dealt. (The irony is that doing this is what *actually* convinces bystanders that we're awesome, in a way that explaining how those idiots don't appreciate our work does not.)
Posted Oct 21, 2009 6:04 UTC (Wed) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313)
Posted Oct 22, 2009 0:05 UTC (Thu) by nix (subscriber, #2304)
Posted Oct 22, 2009 1:44 UTC (Thu) by njs (guest, #40338)
And was online as recently as February:
Though I'm getting "no route to host" right now -- perhaps because it is getting warm again in Australia :-) (see last link)
Posted Oct 21, 2009 13:21 UTC (Wed) by spender (subscriber, #23067)
SELinux in general improves security by reducing attack surface.
SELinux (with proper policy) prevents applications from shooting themselves in the foot.
SELinux can increase required exploit complexity.
All of these statements I have no problem with.
Here's the root password to my SELinux-protected machine, you can't compromise it.
SELinux can guarantee firefox can't delete your home directory, even in the presence of a skilled attacker.
First two panels of the following: http://grsecurity.net/~spender/mac_security_sesamestreet.jpg (from http://magazine.redhat.com/2007/05/04/whats-new-in-selinu...)
that I take issue with, and will continue to point out when I see it. I wrote a section of our Wiki (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Grsecurity/The_RBAC_System#L...) that puts the information up front (it's the first thing after describing what the RBAC system is) that we plan to update soon with more of a historical lesson of the environment from which access control systems and models originated, how the problem being solved at the time was curbing the problem of careless (specifically, not malicious -- they were considered trusted) administrators.
It was about people control, not program control. Modern day threats like determined/skilled/funded attackers or even modern networking weren't even part of the picture. Any time networking was discussed, it involved private, trusted networks where all machines involved were protected under the same security model. Clearly the Internet is not such a network.
So what you see from people who drink the kool-aid of these old security models and concepts is erroneous extrapolation to a modern environment that these things they hold in such high regard weren't even designed for. It's this kind of misguided illusion that I've been trying to inject doses of reality in for some years now.
As for actually accomplishing stuff, we spend a lot more time doing it than we do talking about it (for instance, I only recently wrote a list of what we developed over the past couple months: http://grsecurity.net/news.php#develup) but that doesn't have anything to do with the original discussion.
Types of attack
Posted Oct 22, 2009 8:49 UTC (Thu) by Cato (subscriber, #7643)
These show that home directories are of interest to malware writers, quite apart from scanning for passwords, financial information, etc. There is no reason why these attacks could not hit Linux, particularly through cross-platform browser/Flash exploits.
Blanket statements on the intentions of attackers aren't very useful - there are many sorts of attackers out there.
Copyright © 2013, Eklektix, Inc.
Comments and public postings are copyrighted by their creators.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds | <urn:uuid:7a6b6367-7c38-46e4-9423-5094a84e5224> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lwn.net/Articles/357694/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958539 | 2,065 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Hib of Midlothian FC
From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
They lived near Edinburgh in the sordid Leith ghetto called Soweto and for over 30 years had bred to such an extent that their ringworm-infested 'bairns' had over-run all the schools in Leith. Norton Park School had a roll-call of over 20,000 bare-bum street urchins and basic lessons were provided in makeshift corrugated steel huts on Leith Links by the Little Sisters of the Poor. This was later to become Leith Academy - unfortunately there are no famous former pupils of theers apart from John Leslie the serial school who have achieved anything in life of interest to read and former Blue Peter presenter.
However they were not welcome up town with their bairns, jam-pieces and nae shoes ... nor in the lush East Meadow lands to watch the local football giants Hearts FC and after receiving regular 'doings' by the predominantly protestant Hearts supporters the local Leith Parish self-appointed high heid yin - Father Ignacious O'Flaherty - decided it was time to start a Gaelic Football team called Hibernians to keep the menfolk off the pocheen and to give them some pride in their community. He also started aerobics classes for the fallen catholic women of the night and regularly took the classes himself in his Y-backs at Leith Town Hall on Tuesday mornings.
Hundreds of football hopefuls turned up for Father O'Flaherty's trials in Pilrig Park and it seemed like the entire priesthood had come along to cheer on the boys too. After a few weeks local Tesco nightshift chargehand Eddie Burntool was appointed manager and finally 30 young players were selected by the onlooking priesthood judges for grooming into becoming their players. The first board of directors could be heard chanting "cum on you hibs" at home matches and the players were given green knitted sleeveless pullovers which would see them through the next 15 years until the team was disbanded.
First Derby Match
The first Edinburgh Derby was arranged soon after and the Hearts team jogged on to the pitch in the Meadows that sunny Saturday afternoon to the delight of their 10,000 supporters clad in their traditional maroon, white & blue - waving Union Flags - who sang along to "God Save The King" and another favourite at the time "Hello, Hello" written specially for the Hearts by Sir Walter Scott, the bus convener for the Borders Jambos Supporters Club who also penned their name - The Heart of Midlothian. Their captain King Willie Bauld and his team including Drew Busby, Willie Gibson and John Colquhoun entertained the crowd with their breathtaking keepie-uppie skills as wee Johnnie Hamilton warmed up by breaking the Scottish all-comers 100 yards sprint record down the touchline. Johnnie was later to win the famous Powderhall Sprint for the next 21 years wearing a balaclava and under assumed names such as Pilmar Smith, Bert Logan and George McNeill.
The Hibernians changing tent remained closed with sounds of argy-bargy general man loving inside. Mr Burntool had failed to explain to his team of (not too bright) 'Trainspotting, Aids-ridden b***ards' Irish tykes that they had to leave their hurling sticks behind and that they could only KICK the ball in the Scottish game. Finally they agreed to the take-on and emerged from their tent in their sleeveless green pullovers to cheers from almost 250 of their friends(junkies) & family(junkies) who had made the horse & cart trip up from Leith.
The game kicked off five minutes late and the famous Jam Tarts were 8-0 up at half-time, finally roasting the Leith team 23-0. The Hearts were to go on to an undefeated 222 in a row against their local rivals.
Hibernians Struggle On
Over the next few years Hibernian got shitter and shitter struggled to win anything on until signing an English centre forward called Joe Wanker. Their fortunes changed for the better when the prolific goalscorer was joined by Tommy Younger in goals, Micky Weir - a deaf & dumb local boy who worked in the Leith rental business and Willie Ormond, a wily wee winger from the Pans. Their support had increased ten-fold to nearly 2,500 when it all came crashing down.
Hibernians Go Out Of Business
After the final match of the season the Hibernians treasurer, Father O'Petrie was locked in his candlelit howf counting the days takings. It had been the Hibernians biggest game of the season and once he had counted all the lemonade bottles and jam jars - which they accepted for entrance money - he sent a wee lad called Tommy down to the Dukes Heid with four barrows loaded with glass bottles.
Wee Tommy ran back to the howf with the money (less some he snaffled for a fish supper) just as Father O'Petrie was locking up. Tommy emptied the money he got for the bottles into Father O'Petrie's big brown bag and he disappeared into the dim gas-lit Great Junction Street and was never seen again. Apparently, it later emerged that Father O'Petrie had absconded to Canada with all the money, wages and postage stamps.
The Hibernians were re-formed a few years later as Hib of Midlothian and under the guidance of dream-team management duo Chic Murray & Frankie Vaughan, they somehow won the Scottish Cup in 1902 amid turmoil when it emerged that 'favours' and 'backhanders' had ensured a Hibs win. Frankie Vaughan later wrote a No 1 hit about that clandestine episode - "There's An Old Piano And It's Playing Hot Behind The Green Door" where he kicked his own height during live performances on TOTP.
The dodgy 'success' was to be short-lived and for the next century Hib of Midlothian FC could only dream of that heady day in 1902 and the last time they lifted the Scottish Cup. On their return from Hampden they boarded a horse & cart at the Maybury to parade the Cup along Princes Street, but the driver was a Jambo and he sped along at 60mph, finally swinging doon Leith Street at the Wellington statue and the whole team (with Cup) fell aff the cairt and had to walk back to Fester Road in the rain.
They discovered later that one of the onlookers was a sneaky wee pickpocket - and the wee ginger cleptomaniac hibs fan called Gordon from Ainslie Park had dipped the players pockets and made off with their medals and wallets. He was later discovered in Aberdeen.
Nothing was heard of Hib of Midlothian for the next 70-odd years until they won a league cup. They had employed a well-known hypnotist and raving Edinburgh poofter Robert Halpern to assist their manager to sign players like Jimmy O'Pork, Alec Crapley, Alan Sneddon, Jack Mehoff, Arthur Duncan, Tony Biggins and Dodgy Tash McArthur - the goalie with the big gloves. It worked but when Halpern suddenly snuffed it the players were left in a footballing timewarp whenever somebody snapped their finger. Realising this, Dixie Deans snapped away during a Cup Final and the Hibs were humiliated at Hampden by Celtic - going down by a record score - the first of many Hampden Humiliations they were to experience over the next 30 years.
In an everlasting episode of football mediocrity for Hibs since those long forgotten days in the early 1970s when the famous Bay City Rollers were regulars at Hibs games, the only other highlight for hibees was a couple of non-entities (believed to be Tommy Burns's love-child twins) who reached no 95 in the hit parade with a couple of songs "Some Shite On Leith" and "I'm On My Way From Happiness To Misery" written and recorded by the two hibees fannies, one half-deaf and one half-blind.
Other famous hibees (the name for their supporters) are former TV presenter John Lesbian and his wee brother and ex-Kays catalogue model Grant Stoat, best remembered as that hairy, peely-wally, smarmy amateur presenter on the worst ever football programme of all time - Sportscot.
And that wee boy Tommy who had taken the empties down to the Dukes Heid all those years before in his barrie became a millionaire selling car tyres.
|Celtic · Rangers · Heart of Midlothian · Aberdeen FC · Inverness · Livingston · Bathgate · Norway · Falkirk FC · Hibs · AC Milan · Scotland · Yer Da · Dunfermline · Ayr United · Texas Rangers · Manchester United| | <urn:uuid:33393bf2-6060-4e7f-9558-c3c0ecd0bfba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Hib_of_Midlothian_FC?oldid=5266114 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974891 | 1,883 | 1.53125 | 2 |
A chest X-ray is also more accurately known as a chest radiograph or a chest film. Your doctor will likely just write the letters CXR on the request form.
What is a chest X-ray?
A chest X-ray is the most frequently performed radiological examination. Images are created of the heart, lungs, bones and vessels of the chest. As with all other X-ray examinations, a beam of ionising radiation is projected through the body in order to capture an image on special radiographic film placed on the opposite side of the patient. Newer digital X-ray machines have done away with film and the image is captured on electronic "flat panel detectors".
What are the common uses of a chest X-ray
A chest X-ray is an extremely common examination and there are innumerable indications. It is most frequently used in the investigation of respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing or after injuries to the chest. Chest X-rays are often part of medical screening procedures and may be requested without any symptoms being present. Common diseases that are detected and followed up using a chest X-ray are: pneumonia, emphysema, lung cancer, aortic aneurysms and heart failure.
How should I prepare?
No special preparation is required. You will usually be given a hospital gown to wear and be asked to remove any clothing and jewellery that may interfere with the X-ray beam.
How is the procedure performed?
Standard chest X-rays involve taking two views while standing, one from the back and from the side. The chest is held against the film holder and the beam is projected from behind or from the side depending on the view. The radiographer will ask you to place your hands on your hips and hold a deep breath while the X-ray is taken. It is a completely painless procedure and you will not be at all aware of the film being taken apart from the beep from the X-ray machine.
The film is then developed which should not take longer than 10 to 15 minutes. Digital images are available immediately and just need to be printed. Patients that are too ill to be moved can have the X-ray taken while lying in bed. In this case the beam is from the front with the film placed underneath the patient.
What are the risks of a chest X-ray
It is important to be aware that all X-ray examinations use ionising radiation with its associated risks. A chest X-ray however results in an extremely low radiation exposure and the benefit of an appropriately requested chest X-ray greatly outweighs the risks. X-ray examinations should be avoided in pregnancy unless absolutely indicated due to the increased risk of birth defects caused by radiation. Your doctor should discuss the pros and cons or possible other options were you to be pregnant. The foetus can also be shielded from the radiation if a chest X-ray should be absolutely necessary.
What are the limitations of a chest X-ray?
A chest X-ray is a very useful investigation in the hands of a skilled clinician or radiologist and is more than adequate in the vast majority of patients. Despite this, it gives poor detail of the soft tissues and vessels in the chest and further investigations may be necessary depending on the information required. CT scans provide very high quality images of all structures in the chest at the expense of high radiation doses and higher cost. Echocardiography and MRI is sometimes used to further investigate the heart. Although ionising radiation is not used in these modalities they are time consuming and in the case of MRI very expensive. | <urn:uuid:c1e5e9d1-131a-4a71-86e2-88c4388ecb28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.health24.com/Medical/Tests-and-procedures/X-ray-chest-Client-20120721 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95962 | 741 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Q: My older large-breed dog is having trouble climbing and descending stairs. He has good days and bad days. What’s causing this?
A: Any time there’s a major change in a dog’s willingness to do a previously routine activity like going up or down steps, we’d want to check for physical changes. Your dog could be in some pain, or may feel insecure on stairs. Many older dogs develop arthritis. And some breeds (like Labs and golden retrievers) are particularly susceptible to other joint conditions, such as hip dysplasia. In addition, vision changes could be making it tough for your dog to see the steps. That would certainly cause hesitation in a pet that used to bound happily up and down stairs.
The first step, so to speak, is to have your veterinarian do a complete geriatric exam to see what’s going on. Vets usually try a combination of moderate exercise, weight control and anti-inflammatory medication, as well as acupuncture, and in some cases laser therapy, chiropractic manipulation and swim therapy to manage arthritis and other joint conditions. Nutritional therapy is also advocated, namely adding omega 3 fatty acids and glucosamine to the diet. Too little exercise can cause an arthritic animal to become stiff and sore, but too much can worsen pain. And dogs won’t always tell you they’re hurting; sometimes an arthritic dog will still run after that favorite tennis ball, even though strenuous exercise may no longer be the best thing for him. It’s up to us humans to figure out what our older dogs can still do safely and modify routines accordingly.
Weight control is important -- excess weight places extra stress on those creaky old joints, accelerating any degeneration. If your dog is overweight, your vet can help you implement a suitable weight loss program, including specific guidance on exercise and diet.
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If exercise and weight control aren’t enough, your vet may prescribe anti-inflammatory medication until the acute inflammation has subsided, usually in a few days. Physical therapy, swim therapy and acupuncture might also be helpful in pain management.
Vision changes are a whole other issue, since they usually develop with age and there’s really no treatment. Depending on the level of vision loss, behavioral training may help. Our colleague Howard Weinstein at Day-One Dog Training (www.dayonedogtraining.com) says clicker training can be useful in some cases.
“The idea is to approach going up or down steps as a game. Clicker training enables you to break a complex multi-step activity -- going up or down a whole flight of stairs -- into something you do literally one step at a time,” Howard explains. “If possible, start on a short staircase, and going up is probably less scary for a vision-impaired dog than going down. Use irresistible treats, and try coaxing your dog into putting one paw up or down to the first step. As soon as he does, give him a click and a treat reward. If your dog’s interest in getting the click and the treat overrides his nervousness about that single step, you may be able to build from there. But be patient, and don’t ever force your dog to do something he refuses to do. If he falls, he may get hurt and he’ll end up even more terrified of stairs.”
And ask yourself if your steps are slippery to a dog’s feet. That would include wood, vinyl or tile stairs indoors and almost any deck steps outdoors. If lack of traction is part of the problem, you can look into adding a nonskid surface to those steps, or use a different, more secure set of stairs, if possible. | <urn:uuid:c368cd00-e3f0-4b75-86d2-f478d50b1326> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mcall.com/topic/bs-exho-my-dog-is-having-trouble-climbing-and-descending-stairs-whats-causing-this-20120406,0,3197861.story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940658 | 808 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Alan W Watts
I find that the sensation of myself as an ego inside a bag of skin is really a hallucination. What we really are is, first of all, the whole of our body. And although our bodies are bounded with skin, and we can differentiate between outside and inside, they cannot exist except in a certain kind of natural environment. Obviously a body requires air, and the air must be within a certain temperature range. The body also requires certain kinds of nutrition. So in order to occur the body must be on a mild and nutritive planet with just enough oxygen in the atmosphere spinning regularly around in a harmonious and rhythmical way near a certain kind of warm star.
That arrangement is just as essential to the existence of my body as my heart, my lungs, and my brain. So to describe myself in a scientific way, I must also describe my surroundings, which is a clumsy way getting around to the realization that you are the entire universe. However we do not normally feel that way because we have constructed in thought an abstract idea of our self.
Friends and Friendship | <urn:uuid:f5a01136-f85e-4ebe-8c75-57f9b29167d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iwise.com/tzsFN | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96151 | 221 | 1.539063 | 2 |
MRSA AND THE WORKPLACE
Staphylococcus aureus, often referred to simply as “staph,” is a type of bacteria commonly carried on the skin or in the nose of healthy people. Sometimes, staph can cause an infection. Staph bacteria are one of the most common causes of skin infections in the United States. Most of these skin infections are minor (such as pustules and boils) and can be treated without antibiotics. However, staph bacteria also can cause serious infections (such as surgical wound infections, bloodstream infections, and pneumonia).
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) refers to types of staph that are resistant to a type of antibiotic methicillin. MRSA is often resistant to other antibiotics, as well. While 25% to 30% of the population is colonized with staph (meaning that bacteria are present, but not causing an infection with staph), approximately 1% is colonized with MRSA.
Staph infections, including MRSA, occur most frequently among persons in hospitals and healthcare facilities (such as nursing homes and dialysis centers) who have weakened immune systems. These healthcare-associated staph infections include surgical wound infections, urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections, and pneumonia.
Staph and MRSA can also cause illness in persons outside of hospitals and healthcare facilities. MRSA infections that are acquired by persons who have not been recently (within the past year) hospitalized or had a medical procedure (such as dialysis, surgery, catheters) are known as community-associated MRSA infections. Staph or MRSA infections in the community are usually manifested as skin infections that look like pimples or boils and occur in otherwise healthy people.
FAQs for the Workplace
NOTE: This information is provided for general workplaces, not healthcare facilities. Healthcare workers should refer to information found at the following links: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa.html and http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa.html.
Can I get MRSA from someone at work?
MRSA is transmitted most frequently by direct skin-to-skin contact or contact with shared items or surfaces that have come into contact with someone else's infection (e.g., towels, used bandages).
MRSA skin infections can occur anywhere. However, some settings have factors that make it easier for MRSA to be transmitted. These factors, referred to as the 5 C's, are as follows: Crowding, frequent skin-to-skin Contact, Compromised skin (i.e., cuts or abrasions), Contaminated items and surfaces, and lack of Cleanliness. Locations where the 5 C's are common include schools, dormitories, military barracks, households, correctional facilities, and daycare centers.
If I have MRSA, can I go to work?
Unless directed by a healthcare provider, workers with MRSA infections should not be routinely excluded from going to work.
Exclusion from work should be reserved for those with wound drainage (“pus”) that cannot be covered and contained with a clean, dry bandage and for those who cannot maintain good hygiene practices.
Workers with active infections should be excluded from activities where skin-to-skin contact with the affected skin area is likely to occur until their infections are healed.
What should I do if I think I have a staph or MRSA infection?
See your healthcare provider and follow your healthcare provider's advice about returning to work.
If I have staph, or a MRSA skin infection, what can I do to prevent the spread of MRSA at work and at home?
You can prevent spreading staph or MRSA skin infections to others by following these steps:
- Cover your wound. Keep areas of the skin affected by MRSA covered. Keep wounds that are draining or have pus covered with clean, dry bandages. Follow your healthcare provider's instructions on proper care of the wound. Pus from infected wounds can contain staph and MRSA, so keeping the infection covered will help prevent the spread to others. Bandages or tape can be discarded with the regular trash.
- Clean your hands. You, your family, and others in close contact should wash their hands frequently with soap and warm water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, especially after changing the bandage or touching the infected wound.
- Do not share personal items. Avoid sharing personal items such as uniforms, personal protective equipment, clothing, towels, washcloths or razors that may have had contact with the infected wound or bandage.
- Talk to your doctor. Tell any healthcare providers who treat you that you have or had a staph or MRSA skin infection.
What should I do if I suspect that my uniform, clothing, personal protective equipment or workstation has become contaminated with MRSA?
Wash uniforms, clothing, sheets and towels that become soiled with water and laundry detergent. Drying clothes in a hot dryer, rather than air-drying, also helps kill bacteria in clothes. Use a dryer to dry clothes completely.
Cleaning contaminated equipment and surfaces with detergent-based cleaners or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered disinfectants is effective at removing MRSA from the environment. Because cleaners and disinfectants can be irritating and exposure has been associated with health problems such as asthma, it is important to read the instruction labels on all cleaners to make sure they are used safely and appropriately. Where disinfection is concerned, more is not necessarily better. Additional information on appropriate use of cleaners and disinfectants can be found in the Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) 10 Step Guide to Green Cleaning Implementation (http://www.h2e-online.org/docs/h2e10stepgreenclean-r5.pdf [PDF-370 KB]). Environmental cleaners and disinfectants should not be used to treat infections. The EPA provides a list of EPA-registered products effective against MRSA: http://epa.gov/oppad001/chemregindex.htm.
What can my boss (employers) do to prevent the spread of staph or MRSA at the workplace?
- Place importance on worker safety and health protection in the workplace
- Ensure the availability of adequate facilities and supplies that encourage workers to practice good hygiene
- Ensure that routine housekeeping in the workplace is followed
- Ensure that contaminated equipment and surfaces are cleaned with detergent-based cleaners or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered disinfectants
Other FAQs About MRSA
Signs and Symptoms
What does a staph or MRSA infection look like?
Staph bacteria, including MRSA, can cause skin infections that may look like a pimple or boil and can be red, swollen, painful, or have pus or other drainage. More serious infections may cause pneumonia, bloodstream infections, or surgical wound infections.
How can I prevent staph or MRSA skin infections?
Practice good hygiene:
- Keep your hands clean by washing thoroughly with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage until healed.
- Avoid contact with other people's wounds or bandages.
- Avoid sharing personal items such as uniforms and personal protective equipment.
Are staph and MRSA infections treatable?
Yes. Many staph skin infections may be treated by draining the abscess or boil and may not require antibiotics. Drainage of skin boils or abscesses should only be done by a healthcare provider.
However, some staph and MRSA infections are treated with antibiotics. If you are given an antibiotic, take all of the doses, even if the infection is getting better, unless your doctor tells you to stop taking it. Do not share antibiotics with other people or save unfinished antibiotics to use at another time.
If after visiting your healthcare provider the infection is not getting better after a few days, contact them again. If other people you know or live with get the same infection tell them to go to their healthcare provider.
NIOSH has created 14 easy-to-read publications on how to stop the spread of MRSA in correctional facilities. The title of each publication indicates the target audience. Conditions at correctional facilities can be conducive to the spread of MRSA, and several outbreaks have been reported. The materials cover a number of topics, including basic facts about MRSA, what to do if you have a skin infection, hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, environmental sanitation, laundry, and not sharing personal items.
Washing Your Hands Stops MRSA (Inmates)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-113 (January 2013)
En Español http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/niosh/docs/2013-113_sp/
Washing Your Hands Stops MRSA (Correctional Staff)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-114 (January 2013)
Use Hand Sanitizer, Bottle (Correctional Staff)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-115 (January 2013)
Use Hand Sanitizer, Wall-Mounted Dispenser (Correctional Staff)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-116 (January 2013)
What is MRSA? (Correctional Officers)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-117 (January 2013)
What is MRSA? (Inmates)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-118 (January 2013)
En Español http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/niosh/docs/2013-118_sp/
What is MRSA? (Correctional Staff)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-119 (January 2013)
Managers: Protect Correctional Staff from MRSA
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-120 (January 2013)
Managers’ Checklist for Protecting Correctional Staff from MRSA
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-121 (January 2013)
Handle Laundry Safely (Correctional Facilities)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-122 (January 2013)
Use Personal Protective Equipment (Correctional Staff)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-123 (January 2013)
MRSA Can Live on High-Touch Surfaces (Correctional Facilities)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-124 (January 2013)
Sharing Personal Items Can Spread MRSA (Correctional Staff)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-125 (January 2013)
If You Have a MRSA Infection (Correctional Staff)
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-126 (January 2013)
MRSA and the Workplace
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2013-112 (January 2013)
This two-page factsheet summarizes information about MRSA and the workplace.
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
TTY: (888) 232-6348
- New Hours of Operation
- Contact CDC-INFO | <urn:uuid:3b826a60-61c4-4442-ac26-3f277ff71a28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/mrsa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926279 | 2,365 | 3.5625 | 4 |
Measurement of early-age temperature rises in concrete made with blended cements
Dhir, R. K., Zheng, L. and Paine, K. A., 2008. Measurement of early-age temperature rises in concrete made with blended cements. Magazine of Concrete Research, 60 (2), pp. 109-118.
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The advisability of controlling the temperature rise and fall in concrete at early age is well recognised as one of the factors preserving long-term performance and durability of structures. Of particular importance in design of water-retaining and massive concrete structures is T1, the difference between peak temperature of the section and mean ambient temperature. In previous studies, a cement hydration model was developed in order to predict T1 for concrete made with low heat (LH) and very low heat (VLH) special cements. To test this model, a study was carried out to measure the early-age temperature rises for concrete elements containing blended cements, meeting the requirements for the LH and VLH classes. The effects of cement heat class, cement content, formwork type and section thickness on the temperature rise were evaluated for both cement types. Verification of the established models was evaluated by comparing measured temperature rises with those predicted. It was found that the model proposed in previous studies gave satisfactory prediction of T1 values.
|Creators||Dhir, R. K., Zheng, L. and Paine, K. A.|
|Departments||Faculty of Engineering & Design > Architecture & Civil Engineering|
|Research Centres||BRE Centre in Innovative Construction Materials|
Actions (login required) | <urn:uuid:bf2a10df-5c61-45e6-af23-f3437dc6415f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://opus.bath.ac.uk/12963/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91215 | 375 | 2.53125 | 3 |
A young couple moves into what they think is going to be their dream cottage in the countryside. When the local wildlife starts to invade their land, the couple soon realizes that every Garden of Eden has at least one unsavory character. A work of short fiction from our Nibs literary line.
“You want to take a shotgun to them birds.”
I can see him now, that sour old man in the village shop and hear his words to this very day.
Maggies Plot—the country cottage that was to be so idyllic—but now all I can feel is a chill at the thought of that seemingly peaceful country setting.
The house had been empty for months when Paul and I bought it from Margaret James, its thin-faced tight-lipped previous owner. We were excited at the prospect of living in the country; I had given up a high-pressure job, and was hoping that in a quiet and restful environment, I would get pregnant. I didn’t mind the fact that Paul still worked long hours; I was sure I was going to enjoy my new home too much to miss him.
The grass had grown long in the garden, and the local wildlife took time to adjust to two new humans. However, since the families of birds seemed to be my only visitors, I welcomed them with enthusiasm. Sometimes I would hear a knocking sound and turn to see a robin angrily darting at its reflection in the newly glazed uncurtained window. It would learn, I thought, that there were friends here now.
On the perimeter of the garden, three of a variety of birds, which proudly displayed their magnificent scarlet fronts, hung like roses in the branches of the trees, and high up, above the remains of a matted nest, I could see the black and white flashes of long tail and feathers. I, who had known only sparrow, pigeon and robin, from my original home, found these unknown birds fascinating.
On my first visit to Tom Harkness’s village store, I bought a packet of wild bird-seed and a children’s book, showing garden birds in colourful and accurate detail. The least I could do, as hostess, was know the names of my guests.
Flicking through, and keen to have some country small talk to volunteer, I told old Tom, “We have some beautiful bullfinches in our garden!”
“You want to take a shotgun to them!” he said, scowling “They’ll have all your fruit buds off the trees. Terrible pest, they are!”
Miserable old devil, I thought to myself. There was room for all of us at Maggies Plot. | <urn:uuid:82a70a59-c6f1-4d81-aa33-3e6aef46d48e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookStore/pubs_product_book_info/untreed-reads-c-90/maggies-plot-p-4503 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982743 | 573 | 1.53125 | 2 |
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By late 2008, the United States was in the midst of its most severe economic recession since the 1930s, brought on by a collapse in real estate prices and exacerbated by the failure of many large banks and financial institutions. Heeding calls from economists, Congress and the Obama administration passed an historic law in early 2009 to stimulate the economy with $862 billion in new spending and tax cuts.
This law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), included nearly $100 billion in one-time funding for new and existing education programs, an historic sum given that annual appropriations for federal education programs at the time were approximately $60 billion. The largest single education program included in the law was the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, a new $48.6 billion program that provided direct grant aid to state governments in fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011. The program was designed to help states maintain support for both public K-12 and higher education funding that they might have otherwise cut in response to budget shortfalls brought on by the economic downturn.
Now that fiscal year 2011 has ended, we can better understand how public institutions of higher education actually used the State Fiscal Stabilization Funds. This report examines how eight states and their public institutions of higher education used the funds to support higher education and what will happen to these institutions' budgets in fiscal year 2012 when the funds are no longer available. It uses information collected directly from state higher education offices and institutions of higher education to determine how states distributed the funds and how institutions actually used them.
The report draws general conclusions about how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act may have affected state spending on higher education. This paper includes:
- Background information on the design and implementation of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund;
- An analysis of trends in how states distributed, managed, and used their SFSF monies to support higher education; and
- In-depth case studies on eight states (Colorado, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wyoming) exploring how they used SFSF monies to support higher education and what will happen to their budgets now that the funds are gone.
This paper is the third in a three-part series examining these trends. Click here to read the first paper in the series, and here to read the second paper. | <urn:uuid:7ffc1db5-c4c1-41d7-b6b4-4c136e7fdcb3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newamerica.net/publications/policy/the_state_fiscal_stabilization_fund_and_higher_education_spending_0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953875 | 485 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Preparation of Teachers of Visually Impaired Students via Distance Education: Perceptions of Teachers
This study examined the perceptions of 12 students or graduates of a distance education training program in teaching students with visual impairments. Participants in the study discussed their experiences with courses delivered via interactive video, over the Internet, and by live instructors.
In recent years, distance education delivery systems have been used to prepare teachers in the field of visual impairment (blindness and low vision). The implementation of such programs has stemmed from two factors: the shortage of teachers of students with visual impairments (Head and Bishop, 1992) and the limited accessibility of preparation programs for these teachers. Distance education includes such instructional approaches as outreach or extension courses offered by universities in off-campus settings, videotaped or interactive video lectures, and use of the Internet (Corn and Erin, 1996; Head and Bishop, 1992; Silberman, Corn, and Sowell, 1996; Visually Impaired Preparation Program, 1998).
Although distance education programs have become an important means of training new teachers of students with visual impairments, little research has been conducted to evaluate these programs. The purpose of the study presented here was to examine the perspectives of individuals who were trained in these programs in Texas.
The 12 participants selected for this study had either completed their training program or were still taking courses via a distance education program to obtain certification to teach students with visual impairments. An effort was made to find a sample that was diverse in age, race, teaching background, and experience. The participants ranged from teachers with several years of experience teaching students with visual impairments to those who had completed only six hours of course work. All were certified teachers with experience in another field prior to training.
The data were gathered primarily by telephone because of the widely dispersed geographic locations of the participants and the convenience of telephone conferencing. The interview questions were unstructured and open ended. The data were analyzed using the constant comparative method developed by Glaser (1978) and outlined by Bogdan and Biklen (1998) and an inductive analytic approach (Erlandson, Harris, Skipper, and Allen, 1993). The computer software program QSR NvivoData (Richards and Richards, 1999) was used to facilitate the analysis.
The quality of instruction and use of technology emerged as dominant themes of the participants' perceptions. Discussions of the classroom learning experience included participants' reflections on instruction delivered over interactive video lines and the Internet and in classes with live instructors that met at off-campus locations. Specifically, the advantages and disadvantages of using interactive video, courses offered via the Internet, and e-mail were discussed.
Ten of the 12 participants had received some or all their training from the Visually Impaired Preparation Program (VIP Program), a set of courses taught primarily via interactive video. They told of technical problems that interfered with the delivery of course content. They also cited other problems they experienced with the instructional technology: difficulty paying attention in class, distractions of other class members, student presentations that were too distant from the camera and lengthy, and difficulty understanding the instructor's expectations for assignments. In spite of these problems, the participants recognized that interactive video was a viable method of training a large number of new teachers of students with visual impairments for certification statewide. Those who knew of the critical need for additional personnel in their field expressed support for interactive video as an instructional medium.
Internet courses and supporting web sites
Some courses were offered only over the Internet in the VIP Program; others were taught in an interactive video format one time and as an Internet course another time. The participants discussed the following problems with the Internet courses: the lack of contact with the instructor, amount and length of assignments, difficulty maintaining progress in self-paced learning, dislike of working in isolation, and difficulty relating textbook descriptions to classroom experience. Marla's description of her experience with the Internet courses was representative:
We picked our projects and then we wrote a contract with the professor via the Internet on what projects we'd do . But it was really, really difficult because we truly had no contact with the professor.
The participants also cited technical difficulties with the supporting web site and e-mail of supplemental materials. Some information was saved in formats that they could not access, so that they often had to obtain help from spouses or others outside the program. Lyla, who was blind, had considerable difficulty with online readings containing Adobe Acrobat files:
For instance on the things that I had to scan, they were on the computer, but they were not scanned into the computer as text; they were scanned in as pictures . I had to print it out because I didn't know what was on the pages. I had to print the pages out [and] then scan it back in and then let the scanner read whereas if it had been scanned in as text, then I could have just read it off the screen.
The participants who praised the Internet courses typically cited the convenience of self-paced instruction as an advantage. Some participants who took courses over the Internet said they appreciated being able to do the long hours of braille practice at home, not having to sit through class meetings, having instructors who used the medium well, and not having to travel to take a course.
Communication with the instructor
There was considerable discussion by the participants about the difficulty of communicating with the instructor and gaining access to information related to the course. Those who had live instruction cited the ease of communication as an advantage. Barriers to communication that distance learning presented and the instructors' failure to respond to e-mail messages or to give feedback on assignments were cited time and again by the participants as sources of frustration, confusion, and concern. The participants told of such experiences as not knowing when classes would meet, feeling intimidated by the camera, and not having adequate time to ask questions.
Advantages of distance learning
In spite of the challenges, most of the participants said that distance learning was convenient and accessible, and many stated that they would not have been able to earn certification without the distance learning program. Some of the benefits that the participants mentioned were geographic accessibility, convenience, networking with others in the field, the enthusiasm for the new field of visual impairment expressed by their classmates and instructors, and the high quality of instruction as the programs' strengths. Several participants recognized that having access to a variety of instructors from different universities was another significant strength.
Conclusions and recommendations
This study was limited by the number of participants and the use of telephone instead of face-to-face interviews. In addition, although the data represented the participants' perceptions of the distance education program in which they participated, their perceptions may not be an accurate reflection of the components and conditions of the training program.
The findings indicate that the participants had a strong preference for interaction and communication with the instructor and other students. Although the quality of some of the courses was not always satisfactory to some participants, they expressed an overall satisfaction with the program. In most cases, the geographic accessibility of the courses provided by the distance education programs outweighed any negative aspects.
The participants' perceptions of the Internet courses confirmed Kowch and Schwier's (1997) critique of distance education. The participants stated that web-based courses too often imitate print-based correspondence courses and consist of lists of assignments that direct students to read material and extract information, instead of challenging students to construct their own understanding. Their descriptions suggest that the full multimedia, interactive nature of the Internet was not used by the VIP Program.
The participants' critiques of their experiences with distance education indicate there are critical elements that should be included in distance education teacher preparation programs. First, opportunities for communication, interaction, and support between the students and instructors should be provided. For example, the role of the instructor should be redefined as a facilitator, coach, organizer, and manager. Therefore, instructors should organize activities and projects to promote problem solving, critical thinking, human relations, and learning how to learn and build in time to communicate with students.
Second, to achieve better communication and interaction, the program should include a program facilitator who helps the instructors construct interactive learning communities, listens to and addresses complaints, answers questions from the students about the course content, provides assistance with technology problems, and follows the progress of the quality of instruction from course to course. Finally, distance education can be a viable method for preparing teachers; however, it should not be assumed that such programs duplicate the educational experience that traditional preparation programs offer.
Bogdan, R. C., and Biklen, S. K. (1998). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Corn, A. L., and Erin, J. N. (1996). A collaborative model for the preparation of teachers for students with visual impairments. Teacher Education and Special Education, 19, 59-70.
Dudgeon, C. (1995). Creating and sustaining learning communities. In C. Dudgeon, T. M. Sullivan, and G. K. Wolfson (contributors), Creating and sustaining learning communities (PHSE Scholars Program essays, pp. 3-12). Fort Lauderdale, FL: (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 386118)
Erlandson, D. A., Harris, E. L., Skipper, B. L., and Allen, S. D. (1993). Doing naturalistic inquiry: A guide to methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Glaser, B. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity: Advances in the methodology of grounded theory. Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
Head, D. N., and Bishop, V. E. (1992). Current practices in the preparation of teachers for children with visual impairment and blindness. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 86, 241-245.
Kowch, E., and Schwier, R. (1997). Building learning communities with technology (Report No. IR 018306). Paper presented at the National Congress on Rural Education, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 405857)
Richards, T. J., and Richards, L. (1999). QSR Nvivo [Computer software]. Melbourne, Australia: Qualitative Solutions and Research.
Silberman, R. L., Corn, A. L., and Sowell, V. M. (1996). Teacher educators and the future of personnel preparation programs for serving students with visual impairments. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 90, 115-124.
Visually Impaired Preparation Program. (1998, September). VIP Program News [Online]. Available: http://www.tsbvi.edu/pds/vipseptnews.htm
Holly Cooper, Ph.D., assistive technology outreach teacher, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 1100 West 45th Street, Austin, TX 78756-3494; e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org. Charlotte Hendrick Keefe, Ed.D., professor, Department of Early Childhood and Special Education, Texas Woman's University, P.O. Box 425769, Denton, TX 76204-5769; e-mail: email@example.com.
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This is a Cactus that people cook and eat. I do not know the exact name of this cactus if anyone has any info on this species let me know.
I had bulk amount of these seeds from my plants last year, So i just started planting them everywhere. These plants are great they will grow almost anywhere in any soil. As long as they can get water and the sun isn’t to intense for the leaves they will grow well. Subscribe to my videos [...]
This is one of 2 Salvia Divinorum plants I received in the mail from a friends. She isn’t looking to good because she wasn’t growing till i put her outside. I used to have 200+ Salvia Divinorum plants before i moved to Texas. I hope this one gets bigger soon so i can start taking [...]
Hello, My Readers This is a list of known plants that I have found in the wild. I compiled this list from plants that I suspected medicinal or with other properties for everyone to have. The way I have compiled this list is simple really. Every time I would journey into field or woods, I [...]
Mushrooms in Texas? Yes, it’s true. One of the best-kept secrets in the Lone Star state is that mushrooms can be found in almost every region. Thousands of species of mushrooms flourish in Texas from the desert and semiarid regions of West Texas to the moist and acid soils of East Texas, where species that [...] | <urn:uuid:496e183c-9813-42d8-9b9e-30b078f3bbee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.salviadivinorumblog.com/?tag=texas | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958279 | 304 | 1.882813 | 2 |
Visit this link for foreign translations.
The Parable of the Two Sons can be found in Matthew 21:28-32. The basic story is of a man with two sons who told them to go work in the vineyard. The first son refused, but later obeyed and went. The second son initially expressed obedience, but actually disobeyed and refused to work in the vineyard. The son who ultimately did the will of his father was the first son because he eventually obeyed. Jesus then likens the first son to tax collectors and prostitutes—the outcasts of Jewish society—because they believed John the Baptist and accepted “the way of righteousness” (v. 32), in spite of their initial disobedience to the Law.
The key interpretive point in understanding the Parable of the Two Sons comes in defining to whom Jesus is speaking. For that we need to look at the overall context of this passage. Matthew chapter 21 begins with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The whole point of Matthew’s gospel is to show Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. The crowd responds by shouting Hosannas and praises to the King. The King’s first act upon entering Jerusalem is to cleanse the temple (21:12-17). Afterwards, we see Jesus cursing a fig tree (21:18-22). This account may seem an isolated story, but Jesus was making a strong symbolic point. The fig tree is often symbolic of Israel (cf. Hosea 9:10; Joel 1:7). The fact that the fig tree had leaves but no fruit is symbolic of Israel’s religious activity—i.e., all the trappings of spirituality, but no substance. Israel may have had the leaves of activity, but not the fruit of repentance and obedience to God, which is why Jesus tells them the prostitutes and tax collectors will enter the kingdom ahead of them (v. 31).
In Matthew 21:23-27; the religious authorities—the chief priests and elders—question Jesus’ authority. Who is this Jesus who comes into Jerusalem receiving the praises of the masses and drives the moneychangers out of the temple? The stage is set for the showdown. It is in this context that Jesus tells three parables—the Two Sons, the Tenants, and the Wedding Feast. Each of these parables is told to the Jewish religious leaders, each illustrates their rejection of Jesus, and each pronounces judgment on Israel for their rejection of their Messiah. In the Parable of the Two Sons, the leaders of Israel are the second son who claimed obedience, but did not do the will of the father.
Recommended Resource: Parables of Jesus by James Montgomery Boice. | <urn:uuid:94ee69f5-b15e-4196-9343-f19ec7a6e0fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://brakeman1.com/2012/05/25/what-is-the-meaning-of-the-parable-of-the-two-sons/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954602 | 555 | 3.328125 | 3 |
It is no longer remarkable that an African-American man is the president of the United States. In choosing whether to re-elect him to a second term, we trust that the vast majority of Americans judged President Obama not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character and the successes and failures of his presidency thus far. A majority found him worthy to remain.
How appropriate then, on this Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, to recognize that while this is not a post-racial America, it is a nation that has fundamentally changed because of this president's election and re-election. Overcoming future barriers will not be as formidable.
As for the speech, we expect to hear a return to the optimism that was sorely tested by four years of fiercely partisan political battles. After witnessing the continuing post-election bickering over the fiscal cliff, the citizenry yearns for some signal that things can change, that it does not have to be more of the same.
In a second term, the administration will have the opportunity to implement the universal health care plan. Recent statements from important Republican leaders suggest an immigration reform policy, with a path to citizenship for those 12 million undocumented immigrants now living as contributing members of our society, will be attainable in a second term. Even on the contentious issue of gun control, consensus appears possible on universal background checks and steps to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally unstable.
While inaugural addresses are not traditionally the time for introducing the nitty-gritty of policy proposals, we would welcome President Obama's sending of a strong message to Republicans and, most appropriately, to all Americans that he stands prepared to make the tough choices to reduce the deficit through a balanced approach of tax reform and spending reductions.
To the world, President Obama must signal that while America does not seek war, it does not fear engagement, remains committed to the fight against terrorism, and will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran.
President Obama has an oratory gift for rising to these occasions. America loves fresh starts and new beginnings. This is the president's. | <urn:uuid:0b681082-4d86-4486-a4d3-c174f47f9a12> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theday.com/article/20130121/OP01/301219991 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95491 | 429 | 2.140625 | 2 |
GCP/BGD/025/BEL - GCP/BGD/028/DEN [GCP Projects list]
|Donors||Government of Belgium and Government of Denmark|
These projects, complementary to each other, are being supported by trust funds of the Belgium and the Danish Governments and cover the most common vegetable crops grown in Bangladesh (bottle gourd, bitter gourd, beans, peas, okra, onion, amaranth, tomato, Chinese radish, among others) with the objective of promoting the development of the private seed industry, strengthen BARI and BADC basic/foundation seed production activities, stimulate the participation of NGOs and farmers' groups to develop efficient market-oriented vegetable production, and train national staff, seed farmers and entrepreneurs on modern seed technology.
The long term objectives of these projects are to expand the production of high quality vegetable seed to cover at least 25% of the national area under improved seeds, and, as a final achievement, to contribute to benefit the nutrition and health of the Bengali population. About 75% of the population diet is deficient in protein and 80-90% of the people suffer from deficiency of vitamin and micro-nutrients. Due to Vitamin A deficiency about 30,000 children go blind every year. The nutritional implications are worse in pregnant and women feeding babies. The problem is not only for the availability of nutritive foods at affordable prices but it is more severe for the accessibility to food as 60% population in Bangladesh is living below poverty line. With a view to improve income and nutrition of the people, the Government of Bangladesh included in its plans the objective to increase the production and consumption of vegetables.
Activities in Improving Seed Security
As quality seed is the key factor to increase the yield of vegetable production, the Government of Bangladesh requested FAO to provide assistance to strengthen their National Vegetable Seed Programme. FAO with the financial assistance from DANIDA (Danish Government) started activities in 1986 under the project "Strengthening of the National Vegetable Seed Programme". In the first three years the project identified constraints and trained manpower to overcome the constraints. Seed production on a small scale was taken up on the Government farms. In the Second phase which lasted three years 1990-1993 through a joint funding with Belgium Government and DANIDA, upstream activity such as identifying suitable varieties, breeder and foundation seed production and transfer of technology Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) in addition to Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) was included in the project support. The project created required physical facilities and trained manpower in these institutions. The private sector, which supplies seeds, and the farmers were involved mainly to create awareness of quality seed.
Private Sector Participation in Seed Security
In 1993, when a new national seed policy as part of the free market policy of the Government was declared, the project started involving the private sector into a quality seed production programme. As the seed supplied by the private sector was of poor quality, the projects motivated the sector to undertake quality assured seed production through "contract farmers". Support to this undertaking promptly came also from the public sector (BADC and BARI).
To increase the demand of quality assured seed, massive field demonstrations in small private farms were organized country-wide and, through them, modern methods of vegetable cultivation were also shown.
These efforts generated a market for quality seed. Within four years (1992-96) the private sector production and marketing of quality seed increased from nil to 100 tonnes which is about 10% of the whole private seed production. This programme is increasing fast utilizing the linkages established by the project. It is foreseen that in the next four to five years at least 1500 tonnes of quality vegetable seed equivalent to 50% of the total seed production in the country, will be made available by the private sector.
The increase in the yield of vegetable from the use of good quality seed can be estimated in three tonnes per hectare. Per capita availability of vegetables from the same area may increase by 50% over the present consumption level. In addition, these activities are generating employment in the rural areas both for seed production as well as vegetable growing, harvesting, packaging and handling. Based on the results achieved, even foreign companies have started considering attractive the potential for vegetable seed production in Bangladesh. Recently, one multinational seed company started its activities in vegetable seed research and production for export. Cost effective ample human resources available in the rural areas thus would be gainfully employed through this high labour intensive activity.
For further information please contact Mr. C.H. Rosell, Senior Officer, AGPS. | <urn:uuid:6d6bab63-2852-4a5d-af89-e0fc270f4767> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-00---off-0fi1998--00-0----0-10-0---0---0direct-10---4-------0-0l--11-en-50---20-preferences---00-0-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-10-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&c=fi1998&cl=CL1.1&d=HASH01abf15842b3ea6a99be0ec5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941028 | 937 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Proposed town excites investors
Project may face environmental opposition
Robert Remington, Calgary Herald
Published: Sunday, November 12, 2006
Without a survey stake yet in the ground, interested buyers are already clamouring for building lots in a proposed new town at the gateway to the mountains west of Calgary.
"I've probably had a dozen calls from people asking if they could give me a down payment, but I've had to tell them we don't even have approval," says developer John Third.
The proposed town, on lands adjacent to the abandoned TransAlta company hamlet of Seebe, is set on cliffs above the Bow River with views of Mount Yamnuska and the Bow Valley.
The town, seen by some as a rare chance to create a model community from the ground up, is expected to get first reading by the Municipal District of Bighorn next month.
"We have a unique opportunity to do it right," says Dene Cooper, a bird-watching enthusiast, author and reeve of the M.D.
Among the benefits that could come from the new development is a much-needed regional waste-treatment facility serving the proposed new town, Exshaw, Lac Des Arcs, Dead Man's Flats, Morley and Bow Valley Provincial Park. The park currently trucks its waste to a facility in Kananaskis.
"We're unburdened by the decisions of previous councils," says Paul Ryan, a councillor with little tolerance for advocacy groups.
"Make sure your spam filters are working. The three-toed salamanders and the two-faced environmentalists are going to be e-mailing you," he told colleagues at a council meeting last week.
Environmentalists would prefer to see the site, known as the Horseshoe Lands, remain untouched, connecting the area to Bow Valley Provincial Park with public access.
But Cooper is convinced environmental connectivity can be preserved. Steep banks provide little human access to the river. Wildlife movement from the Bow Valley to Kananaskis occurs mostly through nearby Bow Valley Provincial Park, which is home to a sizeable elk herd.
The Horseshoe land is not good wildlife habitat, argues Third, manager of marketing and public relations for Moondance Land Company, developers of the site with the Stoney Nakoda First Nation.
The land is blocked by the Kananaskis River to the west, the steep banks of the Bow on the north, and the railway and highway to the south.
The area has little aspen, willow or other similar food sources for deer and elk, which in turn attract wolves and cougars, he said.
A provincial moratorium on water licences prevents the developers from drawing water from the Bow River.
That problem, too, appears to be overcome with a successful well the M.D. recently drilled at Exshaw that taps into an underground river with extremely high water flows.
"Think of it as an ancient Bow River 700 feet underground," Cooper said.
TransAlta sold the 218 hectares adjacent to Seebe to Moondance and the Stoney Nakoda for $11 million in 2003.
They are currently in negotiations to purchase the abandoned hamlet itself, which formerly housed company workers for the nearby dam at the junction of the Kananaskis and Bow rivers.
The proposed town would accommodate a minimum of 5,000 people but could go as high as 6,500, depending on density to be determined by the M.D.
There is provision for a commercial and light industrial section that could provide warehouse and storage space for suppliers serving the hotel industry in the Bow Valley and Kananaskis.
"I see this as being a win-win situation for a lot of people," Third said.
The picturesque setting has been featured in movies such as Brokeback Mountain, where the main characters, two cowboy lovers, jump naked from a cliff into the Bow River.
A German film company is currently shooting a movie on the north side of the river across from the proposed development.
The scenery of the area is also a favourite backdrop for car commercials, as Cooper discovered recently while bird-watching in Bow Valley Provincial Park.
He was approached by security for an automaker, who thought he was engaged in industrial espionage, capturing photos of an as-yet-unveiled new model cars.
"They covered the cars up right away and came over to us. They meant business," Cooper said.
"Once they knew who we were and what we were doing, they let us watch. But we had to put our cameras away."
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Rebel Advance Picks Up Speed
Western Intervention in Libya Enters New Phase
By Matthias Gebauer in Benghazi
The conflict in Libya appears to be entering a new phase. On Sunday, the international coalition led by the United States, France and the United Kingdom bombed military targets in Sirte for the first time.
The city of about 130,000 is in the hands of rebels, a rebel spokesman said on Monday. Whether the rebels have really occupied Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown, remained unclear on Monday. Several commanders reported to SPIEGEL ONLINE over the telephone that they had reached the outer gates of the city and positioned their troops. Until now they have not clashed with Gaddafi's units, they said, but the situation could change at any time. On Sunday evening, a prominent member of the resistance said Sirte would be attacked on Tuesday.
Back in Benghazi, rebels had already celebrated reaching the symbolic and strategically important city of Sirte. At 5 a.m. on Monday, columns drove through the city and shot rounds, including from heavy weapons, into the air for over half an hour. Anti-aircraft guns were fired at several intersections.
Earlier, the rebels fighting against the hated dictator Moammar Gadhafi had been able to march hundreds of miles with little resistance to Ben Jawad, one of the key oil facilities in the desert state.
Sirte, on the Mediterranean Coast about halfway between Tripoli and Benghazi, is Gadhafi's birthplace. The city is considered one of the despot's strongholds, but also has strategic importance as one of the last bastions of the ailing ruler against the advance of the rebels on the capital Tripoli.
With the bombings of Sirte, the international intervention has entered a new phase. There have been no clashes in the city until now between rebels and Gadhafi units, or even political protests. The fact that the coalition has effectively cleared the way for the rebels -- still a ragtag guerrilla force without political leadership -- to proceed westward marks a new quality in the mission.
So far, the allies had carried out strikes on pro-Gadhafi units in order to prevent the regime from attacking the civilian population -- and thus largely kept to UN Resolution 1973. Now the West's combat operations appear to be increasingly turning into active support of the rebels, in a bid to overthrow Gadhafi. The rebels openly acknowledge that recapturing territory which had been seized by loyalist forces would have been impossible without the coalition air strikes.
Even before the bombing, the rebels had announced their intention to march to Sirte. A prominent member of the political movement told SPIEGEL ONLINE on Sunday evening that, during their push to Ben Jawad, rebels had captured heavy weapons left behind by fleeing pro-Gadhafi troops, including tanks, howitzers and rocket launchers. Dozens of prisoners, including African mercenaries, had been taken to Benghazi, the man said.
On Sunday afternoon, trucks were repeatedly seen on the road heading toward Benghazi carrying damaged tanks which would presumably be repaired in the city.
Rebels Meeting Less Resistance
The supply of new fighters against the regime seems unstoppable. After receiving hurried training in camps in Benghazi, more and more men -- many of them still teenagers -- are rushing to the front. The rebel army, which is now advancing further and further to the west while meeting less and less resistance, is now thought to comprise several thousand fighters.
The rebels appear to be better coordinated and thinking more strategically as a result of the combat experience gained in the past weeks. Their advance gained surprising speed over the weekend as a result of the coalition air strikes.
It's becoming increasingly clear that there is at least a rough coordination between the so-called "coalition of the willing" of the Western allies and the rebels' military leadership. During the battle for Ajdabiya on Saturday, rebel commanders on the ground had an idea of when the jet fighters would attack the last positions of Gaddafi's units. Only minutes after the air strikes, they moved with their jeeps into the city, which had been surrounded by the regime's army for days.
Gadhafi Holed Up in Tripoli
About a week after the start of air attacks, Moammar Gadhafi's position is looking weaker than ever. The rebels now control Brega and Ras Lanuf, the two most important oil towns on the Mediterranean coast.
In Sirte, the insurgents are now in the middle of western Libya, the home region of the clan of the brutal dictator. From Sirte it is about 500 kilometers (310 miles) to Tripoli, which could become the scene of a bloody battle to decide the future of Libya.
There are signs that Gadhafi is holing himself up in Tripoli. Reuters reported that large army trucks have been leaving Misratah, headed for the capital. The coalition bombed a huge ammunition depot belonging to Gaddafi's army near the city on Sunday. Both sides claim to have control of Misratah, but it is impossible to confirm this either way.
Whether the allies should support the rebels or not will be a topic for discussion in the coming days. On Sunday, NATO officially took over command of the whole military operation. The alliance, which is known for its long decision-making processes, had initially only taken charge of enforcing the no-fly zone, but will now also enforce the UN resolution authorizing the protection of civilians. It is likely that it will be harder to get NATO to approve active support for the rebels, whose exact nature and aims are still unclear, than it was within the previous coalition of France, the US and Britain.
The rebels, for their part, appear to care little about the ongoing discussions among the Western powers. In addition to their ubiquitous flag of the new Libya, the French tricolor is an increasingly common sight on the fighters' jeeps. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, they declare loudly, is their only real friend abroad.
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2011
All Rights Reserved
Reproduction only allowed with the permission of SPIEGELnet GmbH | <urn:uuid:3f53eeab-e900-4b19-a3da-0ce17883d176> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://markganzersblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/libya-related-articles-background_1477.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964719 | 1,245 | 1.585938 | 2 |
- With Mayo Clinic physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist
Edward R. Laskowski, M.D.read biographyclose window
Edward R. Laskowski, M.D.Edward R. Laskowski, M.D.
Dr. Edward Laskowski is certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, including subspecialty certification in sports medicine, and is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. He is co-director of the Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine Center and a professor at College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic.
He has been on the staff of Mayo Clinic since 1990 and specializes in sports medicine, fitness, strength training and stability training. He works with a multidisciplinary team of physical medicine, rehabilitation and orthopedic specialists, physical therapists, and sports psychologists.
Dr. Laskowski is an elite-level skier and an avid hiker, cyclist and climber. He approaches sports medicine from the perspective of a physician and an athlete.
In 2006, President George W. Bush appointed Dr. Laskowski to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and he has received a Distinguished Service Award from the Department of Health and Human Services for his contribution to the Council.
Dr. Laskowski was a member of the medical staff of the Olympic Polyclinic at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and has provided medical coverage for the Chicago Marathon. He serves as a consulting physician to the National Hockey League Players' Association and is a featured lecturer at the American College of Sports Medicine's Team Physician Course.
Dr. Laskowski, a Cary, Ill., native, has contributed to Mayo Clinic's CD-ROM on sports, health and fitness, a website guide to self-care, and hundreds of Mayo Clinic articles and booklets in print and online. He is a contributing editor to the "Mayo Clinic Fitness for EveryBody" book, and he has presented lectures throughout the world on health, fitness and sports medicine topics. His teaching expertise has been recognized by his election to the Teacher of the Year Hall of Fame at Mayo Clinic.
"There are many myths and misconceptions about exercise and fitness in general, and also many traditions that don't stand up to scientific scrutiny," he says. "My goal is to provide the most up-to-date and accurate information on sports medicine and fitness topics in a way that you can practically incorporate into your life."
- Foot swelling during air travel: A concern?
- Hand swelling during exercise: A concern?
Hand swelling during exercise: A concern?
What causes hand swelling during exercise? I walk several times a week, and my fingers get puffy to the point that I can't get my rings off.
from Edward R. Laskowski, M.D.
Hand swelling during exercise is a fairly common problem. The cause isn't completely clear, but hand swelling appears to be a result of the way your body and blood vessels respond to the increased energy demands of your muscles during exercise.
Exercise increases blood flow to your heart and lungs, as well as to the muscles you're working. This reduces blood flow to your hands, making them cooler. In turn, the blood vessels in your hands may overreact by opening wider — which could lead to hand swelling.
As you continue to exercise, your muscles generate heat that makes your system push blood to the vessels closest to the surface of your body, to dissipate heat. This response triggers perspiration and may also contribute to hand swelling.
In rare instances, endurance athletes develop hyponatremia (hi-poe-nuh-TREE-me-uh) — an abnormally low level of sodium concentration. Swollen fingers and hands may be a sign of hyponatremia, but other signs, such as confusion and vomiting, are more prominent than is swelling. Drinking too much water, particularly during a marathon or similar long, strenuous event, may cause your body's sodium to become so diluted that you become hyponatremic. Hyponatremia requires immediate medical attention.
There's no proven way to prevent or reduce most exercise-related hand swelling. Before you exercise, you may want to remove your rings and loosen your watchband. During exercise, it may help to do occasional forward and backward arm circles. You might also stretch your fingers and then make fists several times during exercise.Next question
Foot swelling during air travel: A concern?
- Garrett WE, et al. Exercise and Sport Science. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2000:110.
- Birrer RB, et al. Sports Medicine for the Primary Care Physician. 3rd ed. New York, N.Y.: CRC Press; 2004:56.
- Rakel RE. Textbook of Family Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191205553-4/0/1481/0.html#. Accessed Dec. 12, 2012.
- Laskowski ER (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 12, 2012.
- McArdle WD, et al. Exercise Physiology. 7th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2010:333. | <urn:uuid:eac206cc-3b8c-40f6-9fb7-7d42c7f19808> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hand-swelling/AN01403/rss=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940934 | 1,106 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Thanksgiving is right around the corner. For most people, that means time with friends, family, and food. Indeed, it’s easy to overindulge when presented with endless arrays of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, eggnog, and more. But you don’t need to completely nix your healthy lifestyle plans. Here, take some tips from Brooke Capshaw, spa director at Aqua Star Spa at The Beverly Hilton (Beverly Hills, CA), who provides you with some ideas for enjoying the holiday without completely destroying your diet.
- Don’t skip meals. This backfires because you come to the next meal over hungry and eat more than intended.
- Fill up on lower calorie, nutrient dense foods such as fruits, veggies, popcorn, and lean cold cuts on whole grain bread.
- Make just one trip to the party buffet.
- Use a plate for even the smallest snack–you’ll eat less.
- Get outside!
- Beware of liquid calories-eggnog, beer soda, and wine. They go down so easy and often do not add much nutrition to your intake.
- Write a list of things to do other than to eat (such as take a walk, call a friend or do some dreaded cleaning)
- Be realistic: trying to lose weight during the holidays is a silly idea!
- When you arrive at a party, avoid rushing to the food. Greet people you know, conversation is calorie-free!
- Forget the all-or-nothing mindset. Depriving yourself of special holiday foods or feeling guilty when you do enjoy them isn’t a healthful eating strategy.
What are you doing to stay healthy this Thanksgiving and beyond? Share you comments here, and help us spread some healthy holiday cheer. | <urn:uuid:2a3fe202-868a-4592-8cc3-ed2500a67abf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.americanspamag.com/2010/11/healthy-turkey-day-tips-from-aqua-star-spa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92242 | 376 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Machines may move in straight lines but human beings and above all artists rarely do. Their inbetweens are very often placed along a path that describe curves or arcs. Our exhibition will depict Gunter Damisch's artistic evolution. In addition, it will provide a glimpse into the past, present and even the possible future. The inbetweens - the works from the past evolve smoothly into new ideas and concepts to complement and enhance them. | <urn:uuid:067a3d6c-f1ee-49b7-9528-3aee26ddd2f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://artfacts.net/en/exhibition/gunter-damisch--the-inbetweens-303489/overview.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959764 | 90 | 1.726563 | 2 |
LAKE OF THE WOODS, ONTARIO CANADA
Welcome to one of the most dramatic, mysterious and surprising lakes in the world – Lake of the Woods. From the deep clear water and rugged landscape of the Canadian shield at its north end, to the inviting woods, shallow water and sandy bottom at its south end, nature has worked wonders here to create a year-round natural paradise for vacationers and outdoor enthusiasts.
Lake of the Woods and the surrounding areas comprise one of the natural wonders of North America. With over 14,000 islands and more than 105,000 kilometers (65,000 miles) of shoreline – more shoreline than Lake Superior, the waterways of the lake and the surrounding wilderness offer anglers & hunters an endless variety of opportunities to experience the wonder of the region.
COMMUNITIES ON THE SHORES OF LAKE OF THE WOODS
For those who have traveled in the rugged and beautiful country that surrounds the Lake of the Woods, the City of Kenora can come as quite a surprise. Nestled in a glorious sweep on the north shore of the Lake of the Woods, Kenora is a vibrant slice of city life, culture, and bustle that [...]
The shorelines and islands surrounding our community are largely undeveloped. Travellers can marvel at much of the same scenery that the first explorers saw when they discovered this island-studded gem in the centre of the continent. Local rock paintings depict the life of the area’s earliest inhabitants. Nestled on the south-eastern shore of Lake of [...]
Situated approximately 60 miles north of the border towns of International Falls, Minnesota and Fort Frances, Ontario, Nestor Falls is in the midst of literally dozens of lakes on a picturesque corridor of pre-Cambrian granite and magnificent conifers offering some of the most diverse angling opportunities to be found in mid North America. These lakes [...]
With its clear pristine waters sparkling in the tranquil glow of the sunset, the eastern glacier carved shores of Lake of the Woods invites you into the warm magical community of Sioux Narrows. Rich in history, the town centre is the site of a legendary Indian battle between the invading Sioux and the local Cree [...] | <urn:uuid:2b3d064d-fdce-475b-9cb1-de05aa5c6fa6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lakeofthewoods.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922049 | 456 | 1.75 | 2 |
Local Kombucha Makers Actually Benefit from Ban
Three months later, the kombucha-labeling crisis hit. Responding to concerns that the alcohol level of the fermented tea had surpassed 0.5 percent, which would require the drink to be regulated as an alcoholic beverage, many stores ― most notably, Whole Foods ― pulled all kombucha from their shelves. All that momentum: gone.
Rana Chang, co-owner of San Francisco-based House Kombucha, concurs. Chang and Asad Modarai founded House in September 2009, graduating from a stand at the now-defunct Metreon farmers' market to selling reusable 16-ounce bottles at two dozen local markets. House was too small, in fact, to feel the effects of the recall. "Rainbow stopped placing new orders for a while," Rana said. "But not even a week. We tested our product, we stand behind it, that's good enough."
Instead, House has doubled production since June. Chang had anticipated that sales would hit that target thanks to warmer weather, but the disappearance of Synergy helped, too. "There are a lot of people trying [our product] who wouldn't have seen it because Synergy took up so much shelf space," she says.
Whether or not local kombucha producers see alcohol-level issue as a boon or bust depends on how much they sold through Whole Foods. Lev Kilun of Lev's Original Kombucha, who operates out of Treasure Island, lost 30 accounts when Whole Foods pulled his product from their shelves. He's back in Andronico's, and some accounts have grown, but he still hasn't returned to Whole Foods. The grocery chain is waiting for him to prove that his product is below 0.5 percent alcohol by volume or lower, and he's trying to figure out how to do that. "We always were at that [0.5 percent] range," Kilun says. "We small producers don't have the tools to verify whether it contains 0.5 percent or 0.55 percent. Now we have lab working with us in Saint Helena, and are sending every batch to the lab to test overnight." He's not worried about the cost of the extra testing, but more about the logistics of tweaking his formula in just the right way. "It costs me in gray hairs," he jokes.
After a three-week break, Vibranz was able to demonstrate its low alcohol levels to Whole Foods. "My partners are former wine makers and sparkling-juice makers," Taylor says. "So they were quite aware of watching the fermentation." With no competition from the best-known brand to slow them down, Taylor estimates the growth as 400 percent in just two months. "We have a fabulous product," she says. "All we needed was for the market to give us a try." | <urn:uuid:f3e73aaa-d700-49ad-b8f5-1ff20dd2b8d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2010/08/local_kombucha_brands_benefit.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986235 | 587 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Next week the Terrafugia Transition"the first practical street-legal airplane to the world," Terrafugia chief operating officer Anna Mracek Dietrich sayswill be on static display at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS). The company promises wing-folding demonstrations and videos of the Transition on test flights.
The four-wheel carbon-fiber airplane's wings stow and deploy electrically. The Transition is able to reach 62 mph on the road, with its rear wheels driven by a horizontally opposed four-cylinder Rotax 100-hp engine. The price is expected to be about $230,000. The name Terrafugia is Latin for "escape the earth," the company says, and 100 customers have already placed $10,000 deposits for production versions. As we reported last year, Terrafugia has cleared some of the many hurdles involved in certifying a flying car, so perhaps those early adopters will actually get one. | <urn:uuid:7b58d667-c908-4e9c-bad4-1907b4969b4f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/aviation/diy-flying/top-10-attempts-to-build-a-flying-car-11 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946111 | 199 | 1.507813 | 2 |
I know it’s been a while since I posted last. I’ve been doing research into gluten in beauty products. What I have found is conclusively inconclusive, but I will share with you what I’ve found so far.
When you are first diagnosed with celiac disease, you think that gluten is only found in the food that you were eating. Not so. Gluten is found in many things other than food, like toothpaste, although the major brands lke Crest and Colgate do not contain it. Body wash, body lotion, hair care products, make up, almost everything you come in contact with.
Lipstick, and possibly chapstick. Since they are used on the lips should be a concern. Since I’ve used chapstick for a very long time, never really thinking about it, I called the chapstick contact number to see if chapstick has gluten in it. I mean why would it? Right? The answer I received in my opinion was a complete run around.
I asked this exact question, “I have celiac disease, which is an intolerance to gluten, so I cannot eat any products with wheat, rye, or barley in it. Does chapstick contain any of those grains.” What I was told, “We do not put gluten in the end product.” HUH? Okay but is it in any of the ingredients that make up the end product. Again I got we do not put gluten in the end product. I guess I’ll be finding a new product to use instead of chapstick.
Now onto what if it is body lotion or makeup that is not going anywhere where you might ingest it? This is where it gets inconclusive.
In her book The G Free Diet, Elisabeth Hasselbeck says that she can’t have any hair care products, body washes, lotions, or anything that she comes in contact with have any type of gluten in it.
However, Dr. Michael Picco at the Mayo Clinic says, “Gluten containing products and cosmetics aren’t a problem unless you accidentally swallow them.”
“If you use a cosmetic or skin care product that contains gluten and you develop a skin reaction, see your doctor or dermatologist to identify the cause. It is possible to have an allergy to wheat or another grain that could cause a skin reaction.”
To read Dr. Picco’s full article click here.
That is pretty much what I am finding all over. Celiac Disease is an intolerance to ingested gluten, but there are some people that can’t use skin products that have gluten in them.
So it seems the best advice to follow is Dr. Picco’s. If you use a product and have a reaction see your doctor to find out why. | <urn:uuid:5490abd2-0b30-4808-a403-f559ffe81bdd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://easyglutenfreeliving.com/2010/01/celiac-disease-and-beauty-products/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972533 | 595 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Two years ago when Google switched to Hanyu Pinyin in its maps of Taiwan, it did a poor job … despite the welcome use of tone marks.
Here are some of the problems I noted at the time:
- The Hanyu Pinyin is given as Bro Ken Syl La Bles. (Terrible! Also, this is a new style for Google Maps. Street names in Tongyong were styled properly: e.g., Minsheng, not Min Sheng.)
- The names of MRT stations remain incorrectly presented. For example, what is referred to in all MRT stations and on all MRT maps as “NTU Hospital” is instead referred to in broken Pinyin as “Tái Dà Y? Yuàn” (in proper Pinyin this would be Tái-Dà Y?yuàn); and “Xindian City Hall” (or “Office” — bleah) is marked as X?n Diàn Shì G?ng Su? (in proper Pinyin: “X?ndiàn Shìg?ngsu?” or perhaps “X?ndiàn Shì G?ngsu?“). Most but not all MRT stations were already this incorrect way (in Hanyu Pinyin rather than Tongyong) in Google Maps.
- Errors in romanization point to sloppy conversions. For example, an MRT station in Banqiao is labeled X?n Bù rather than as X?np?. (? is one of those many Chinese characters with multiple Mandarin pronunciations.)
- Tongyong Pinyin is still used in the names of most cities and townships (e.g., Banciao, not Banqiao).
I’m pleased to report that Google Maps has recently made substantial improvements.
First, and of fundamental importance, word parsing has finally been implemented for the most part. No more Bro Ken Syl La Bles. Hallelujah!
Here’s what this section of a map of Tainan looked like two years ago:
Oddly, “Jiànx?ng Jr High School” has been changed to “Tainan Municipal Chien-Shing Jr High School Library” — which is wordy, misleading (library?), and in bastardized Wade-Giles (misspelled bastardized Wade-Giles, at that). And “Girl High School” still hasn’t been corrected to “Girls’ High School”. (We’ll also see that problem in the maps for Taipei.)
But for the most part things are much better, including — at last! — a correct apostrophe: Y?u’ài St.
As these examples from Taipei show, the apostrophe isn’t just a one-off. Someone finally got this right.
Rén’ài, not Renai.
Cháng’?n, not Changan.
Second, MRT station names have been fixed … mostly. Most all MRT station names are now in the mixture of romanization and English that Taipei uses, with Google Maps also unfortunately following even the incorrect ones. A lot of this was fixed long ago. The stops along the relatively new Luzhou line, however, are all written wrong, as one long string of Pinyin.
To match the style used for other stations, this should be MRT Songjiang Nanjing, not Jieyunsongjiangnanjing.
Third, misreadings of poyinzi (pòy?nzì/???) have largely been corrected.
Chéngd?, not Chéng D?u.
Like I said: have largely been corrected. Here we have the correct Chéngd? and Chóngqìng (rather than the previous maps’ Chéng D?u and Zhòng Qìng) but also the incorrect Houbu instead of the correct Houpu.
But at least the major ones are correct.
Unfortunately, the fourth point I raised two years ago (Tongyong Pinyin instead of Hanyu Pinyin at the district and city levels) has still not been addressed. So Google is still providing Tongyong Pinyin rather than the official Hanyu Pinyin at some levels. Most of the names in this map, for example, are distinctly in Tongyong Pinyin (e.g., Lujhou, Sinjhuang, and Banciao, rather than Luzhou, Xinzhuang, and Banqiao).
Google did go in and change the labels on some places from city to district when Taiwan revised their names; but, oddly enough, the company didn’t fix the romanization at the same time. But with any luck we won’t have to wait so long before Google finally takes care of that too.
Or perhaps we’ll have a new president who will revive Tongyong Pinyin and Google will throw out all its good work. | <urn:uuid:840ea456-2c96-4961-977e-c6400a8bf03f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pinyin.info/news/2011/google-improves-its-maps-of-taiwan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933302 | 1,101 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Coldwell Banker® Helps you Learn More About Glencoe, Ohio Real Estate
Glencoe, Ohio is located in Belmont County. Glencoe has a population of 315 and has shown 7.1% growth since 2000. Of the 124 households in Glencoe, 75.5% are owned, 13.7% are rented and 11% are not currently occupied. The median age of homes in Glencoe is 31 years and 38.0% of the homes have been occupied by the same residents for more than 5 years.
Learn more about Glencoe, Ohio real estate at coldwellbanker.com. | <urn:uuid:359923ab-64de-4836-856b-4115f42838d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bestplaces.coldwellbanker.com/best-places-to-live/oh/Glencoe-PL3930352.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97013 | 127 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Today it happens it is the same
to be decent or a traitor!
To be an ignorant, a genius, a pickpocket,
a generous person or a swindler!
All is the same! Nothing is better!
They are the same, an idiot ass
and a great professor!
There are no failing grades or merit valuations,
the immoral have caught up with us.
If one lives in a pose
and another, in his ambition, steals,
it’s the same if it’s a priest,
a mattress maker, a king of clubs,
a cad or a tramp.
Politicians no longer dictate policy, they take orders;
they no longer take soundings –
and if they do, such soundings are suppressed when ‘off-message’.
Public servants see us as working for them in general,
and their pensions in particular.
Lawyers no longer provide equality before the law to the poor,
they protect the rich from the consequences of equality before the law.
Bankers no longer finance capitalism,
they starve entrepreneurs and underwrite monopolism.
GPs don’t have a calling any more,
they have a business model and some targets.
Policemen only rarely solve crimes:
their new job (as they see it) is being a cross
between an amateur social worker and a tax collector.
Teachers see themselves as promoters of socio-political conformity
rather than individual responsibility and unconventionality.
The Foreign Office sees itself
not as the vanguard of British interests and values,
but the seeker after a quiet life.
Judges no longer protect human rights,
they defend the cynical exploitation of human rights legislation.
Climate change debaters no longer see themselves as seeking the truth,
they see their job as trashing the other side.
Parents more often see their children as a conduit for their own egos,
rather than small bundles of indiscipline and appetite who need to be socialised.
Mr. Ward alludes and vehemently condemns the deep intellectual relaxation (i.e., STUPIDITY) of the XXI Century.
- Tangos are deeply philosophical – no matter the idiom (paulmarsic.wordpress.com)
- Foreign Office Alters Tokyo Advice (confused.com) | <urn:uuid:4f0cd0c7-7aec-4b5f-acdc-04ee2dcb205b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://paulmarsic.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/tangos-are-deeply-philosophical-no-matter-the-idiom/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903491 | 490 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Eating too much salt and too little potassium is not only bad for your health, it may significantly increase the risk of premature death, according to a study by the U.S. Centers for disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For the study, researchers tracked the eating habits of more than 12,000 people for 15 years. The goal was to better understand the long-term health effects of sodium and potassium intake.
Study Reveals the Importance of
A Balanced Sodium-Potassium Ratio
At the outset of the survey, none of the participants followed a low-sodium diet and no one had a history of heart problems or stroke. By the end, 2,270 had died, including 1,268 from cardiovascular disease. Using death certificates, the research team looked at each cause of death.
Those who died from heart attack typically ate a diet high in sodium and low in potassium, according to Dr. Elena Kuklina, one of the lead scientists involved the study.
“[These people] had a 50 percent increased risk of death from any cause, and about twice the risk of death – or a 200 percent increase – from heart attack,” she said.
These findings stand in sharp contrast to another recently published report that saw no evidence that reducing salt consumption lowers the risk of heart disease.
Dr. Kuklina agrees that eating less salt alone may not make all the difference, but that the amount of potassium in one’s diet also plays a role. Potassium counteracts the effects of salt, she said. “If sodium increases your blood pressure, potassium decreases it. If sodium retains water, potassium helps you get rid of it. We need to strive to do both – decrease sodium intake and increase potassium intake.” That is why the CDC researchers focused on the sodium-potassium ratio, hoping to better understand the effects of both nutrients on one another and, subsequently, to shed more light on the causes of cardiovascular disease.
Not everyone agrees with their findings, though. Morton Satin, vice president of science and research for the Salt Institute, a trade association for salt companies, said the CDC report is “highly flawed and reveals more of this dogmatic anti-salt agenda.” In his view, “the public should ignore this study and focus on eating more salads, vegetables and fruits. If people do that, the sodium will take care of itself.”
Not so, said Dr. Robert Briss, director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the CDC. He estimates that 90 percent of Americans consume more sodium than they should, which is detrimental for their blood pressure. “Most of that sodium is not related to the salt shaker but is in foods and especially processed and restaurant foods. Consumers, even motivated ones, don’t have as much choice as they could,” he said.
The Dietary Guidelines by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommend a maximum sodium intake of 2,300 milligrams per day and 1,500 milligrams or less for people with known heart disease or hypertension. The participants in the CDC study with the highest sodium intake had about 5,000 milligrams per day; those at the low end had 2,176 milligrams. The USDA recommendation for potassium is 4,700 milligrams a day. Those in the study who consumed the most had 4,069 milligrams; those who ate the least had about 1,800 milligrams.
Most health experts agree that Americans should cut back on salt, regardless of the amounts of potassium they get. Potassium may neutralize some of the heart-damaging effects of salt, but consistently high sodium intake still increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, said Dr. Kuklina. No one should go over the recommended limit of 2,300 milligrams, which roughly equals a teaspoon of salt. But only one in 10 Americans meets that goal.
Exactly how salt and potassium interact with one another is not yet fully understood. People should not think they are protected against the effects of high levels of sodium in their food simply by adding more fruits and vegetables or by taking supplements. Healthy eating requires both: Increasing the good as well as eliminating the bad.
Some fruits rich in potassium
Apricots, avocados, bananas, cantaloupes, mangos, oranges, papayas, pears, strawberries
Some vegetables rich in potassium
Bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflowers, chards, crimini mushrooms, cucumbers, eggplants, garlic, lettuce, lima beans, onions, parsley, potatoes, spinach, squash, tomatoes | <urn:uuid:cfe0c989-ae1d-4cb1-a4dc-6c2e4b390731> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.timigustafson.com/2011/too-much-salt-and-too-little-potassium-makes-for-a-deadly-combo/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945694 | 978 | 2.84375 | 3 |
You’re looking to make the right moves for better health. Perhaps, you’ve made changes in the foods you eat daily. However, are you still confused about the role of vitamins and supplements in your health plan? Not sure what to take?
Dr. Michael Murray, is a naturopathic physician, with strong experience in natural medicine. He suggests a supplement foundation consisting of:
- A high potency multivitamin with minerals;
- Greens products, such as spirulina and wheat grass; and
- Fish oil, with omega-3 fatty acids of DHA and EPA.
Take a look at this short video, featuring an interview of Dr. Murray. The video is courtesy of ihealthtube.com:
The Bottom Line: Dr. Murray offers a great perspective on the role of dietary supplements in your health plan. His suggestions probably aren’t meant to b | <urn:uuid:66dc2818-2ad7-4008-bdd6-73c9179513a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://boomerwellness-tips.com/tag/minerals/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936457 | 185 | 1.867188 | 2 |
- Free-range meat is currently short on definitions and standards, but there are a few labels you can look for to get the best guarantee you’re getting what you’re paying for.
- The Humane Society International’s new Humane Choice label will be worth looking for when it becomes available in mid 2007.
Free-range can mean a variety of things — the only common bottom line is that, as for all meat production, the general welfare requirements under state-based animal welfare acts and codes must be met. Free-range animals, just by dictionary definition, shouldn’t be closely confined and will have some sort of outside access, but it doesn’t necessarily guarantee animals an old-MacDonald-like experience of wandering through a farmyard of green grass and shady trees.
There are labelling schemes you can look for that give the best guarantee currently available that you’re getting what you probably think you’re paying for.
Please note: this information was current as of March 2007 but is still a useful guide today.
Some industry groups have good schemes that certify the meat was produced to certain free-range standards and codes of practice; others just leave it to individual farmers (see the sections on individual meats: pigs, cows & sheep, chickens).
- Some industry schemes are audited from outside the particular industry.
- Others schemes are audited by auditors within the industry but outside the particular farm.
- There are no government audits of any meat industry free-range standards.
The Australian arm of Humane Society International (HSI) recently launched its own Humane Choice labelling scheme. It says this was done in response to the many enquiries it receives from the public, asking which meats to buy. Up to now, HSI has recommended people buy certified organic meat. But it says its new standards go further and they’re certified by one of the same government-checked schemes that certify organic produce (NASAA — National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia)
Not all animal welfare groups are equally happy to endorse free-range or any other kind of meat. Many argue that the only way to truly protect animals is to become vegetarian or vegan. This isn’t something everyone’s prepared to embrace, and the pros and cons of various animal-raising systems are beyond the scope of this article.
How much does it cost?
A CHOICE snapshot of prices in Sydney supermarkets suggests buying accredited free-range poultry costs a few dollars per kilo more — about 20% extra. Certified organic meat can cost as much as twice the price of the conventional alternative.
In addition to specific branded products, both the big supermarkets have their own-brand free-range and organic meats.
- Coles has YOU’LL LOVE COLES Free Range chicken, accredited by FREPA, and YOU’LL LOVE COLES Organic beef and sausages, certified by Safe Food Queensland (SFQ).
- Woolworths has WOOLWORTHS Organic (beef, lamb, pork and poultry), which it says are certified by one of the national accreditation bodies. WOOLWORTHS Free Range poultry is accredited by FREPA. | <urn:uuid:2c76a3b6-9a66-4e42-9928-216d518bb9ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/food-and-health/labelling-and-advertising/sustainability/free-range-meat.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943149 | 659 | 2.3125 | 2 |
I've found some critters (not the cats) crawling around in some of my grains. Internet research convinces me that they are Sawthoothed Grain Beetles, Oryzaephilus surinamensis. The infestations are small and confined to the plastic canisters holding the grains. I've found them in some of my bulk soft wheat and my bulk barley; also some mixed grains using the wheat and the barley.
I'm pleased that the first site I found was http://www.ellenskitchen.com/pantry/storage1.html . The other sites I looked at had me going through a procedure almost as extensive as when I had a flea infestation. But I don't store my grains in cardboard boxes, so the beetles didn't stray far.
Upon finding them, I spent time trying to sort them out from the grains. I knew that I would eventually be cooking the grains in whatever form, so I wasn't overly concerned. Ellen's Kitchen points out, "Insect eggs and worms are the reason traditional vegan societies did not get vitamin B-12 deficiencies! With improved storage techniques, deficiencies DO develop and this nutrient has had to be supplemented." It also say, "If all else fails, remember black sesame seed, poppyseeds and raisin bits cover a multitude of intrusions (a little cook's joke)."
I made benne wafers a few weeks ago for an event and used some of the soft wheat ground into pastry flour. Some of the gentlemen thought there was an exotic flavor to them. It was probably the toasted sesame seeds, but they were happy when I told them there might be some bugs in it.
I have not seen any threads discussing these insects. Have others had infestations in their granaries? What have you done? | <urn:uuid:89c61547-608c-4814-885a-948c4441ae56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thefreshloaf.com/print/3992 | 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 | 0.977157 | 374 | 1.921875 | 2 |
“… a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany … and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama“
Barack Obama Lebanon, New Hampshire. January 7, 2008, blatantly applying Ericksonian conversational hypnosis to win over souls.[pages 28,29]
The next letter was passed on to me by an American friend. It strongly urges people to reconsider regarding Obama as some kind of messianic savior who promises to
things around if he becomes president. I have supplied the text with relevant references and material (Obamania Memorabilia) so as to stress the urgency of the message.
“He alone, who owns the youth, gains the Future!”
– Adolf Hitler, speech at the Reichsparteitag, 1935
Lori Kalner is a holocaust survivor whose true story is told in Bodie Thoene’s Zion Covenant book series. If you think this election doesn’t matter, read this and then think again.
Last night, I found that the original YouTube of the children singing for Obama has been made private, but I found it online, and I have downloaded it.
HYMN TO HITLER
Posted by: Lori Kalner on Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Hymn to Hitler
In Germany, when Hitler came to power, it was a time of terrible financial depression. Money was worth nothing. In Germany people lost homes and jobs, just like in the American Depression in the 1930s, which we have read about in Thoene’s Shiloh books.
In those days, in my homeland, Adolph Hitler was elected to power by promising “Change.”
He blamed the “Zionists” around the world for all our problems. He told everyone it was greedy Zionist Bankers who had caused every problem we had. He promised when he was leader, the greedy Zionist bankers would be punished. The Zionists, he promised, would be wiped off the face of the earth.
So Hitler was elected to power by only 1/3 the popular vote. A coalition of other political parties in parliament made him supreme leader. Then, when he was leader, he disgraced and expelled everyone in parliament who did not go along with him.
Yes. Change came to my homeland as the new leader promised it would.
The teachers in German schools began to teach the children to sing songs in praise of Hitler. This was the beginning of the Hitler Youth movement. It began with praise of the Fuhrer’s programs on the lips of innocent children. Hymns in praise of Hitler and his programs were being sung in the schoolrooms and in the play yard. Little girls and boys joined hands and sang these songs as they walked home from school.
My brother came home and told Papa what was happening at school. The political hymns of children proclaimed Change was coming to our homeland and the Fuhrer was a leader we could trust.
I will never forget my father’s face. Grief and fear. He knew that the best propaganda of the Nazis was song on the lips of little children.
That evening before he said grace at the dinner table, he placed his hands upon the heads of my brothers and me and prayed the Living Word upon us from Jeremiah 1:4-5.
‘Now the Word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the
womb I knew you,
and before you were born I
I appointed you a prophet to
Soon the children’s songs praising the Fuhrer were heard everywhere on the streets and over the radio. “With our Fuhrer to lead us, we can do it! We can change the world!”
Soon after that Papa, a pastor, was turned away from visiting elderly parishioners in hospitals. The people he had come to bring comfort of God’s Word, were “no longer there.”
Where had they vanished to while under nationalized health care? It became an open secret. The elderly and sick began to disappear from hospitals feet first as “mercy killing” became the policy. Children with disabilities and those who had Down syndrome were euthanized.
People whispered, “Maybe it is better for them now. Put them out of misery. They are no longer suffering. And, of course, their death is better for the treasury of our nation. Our taxes no longer must be spent to care for such a burden.”
And so murder was called mercy.
The government took over private business. Industry and health care were “nationalized.” (NA-ZI means National Socialist Party) The businesses of all Jews were seized. (Perhaps you remember our story in Berlin on Krystalnacht in the book Munich Signature)
The world and God’s word were turned upside down. Hitler promised the people economic Change?
Not change. It was, rather, Lucifer’s very ancient Delusion leading to Destruction.
What began with the propaganda of children singing a catchy tune ended in the deaths of millions of children. The reality of what came upon us is so horrible that you in this present generation cannot imagine it.
Our suffering is too great to ever tell in a book or show in a black and white newsreel.
When I spoke to Bodie about some of these things, she wept and said she could not bear to write them. Perhaps one day she will, but I asked her, “who could bear to read our suffering?”
Yet with my last breaths I warn every Christian and Jew now in the name of the Lord,
Unless your course of the church in America is spiritually changed now, returning to the Lord, there are new horrors yet to come.
I trembled last night when I heard the voices of American children raised in song, praising the name of Obama, the charismatic fellow who claims he is the American Messiah.
Yet I have heard what this man Obama says about abortion and the “mercy killing” of tiny babies who are not wanted.
There are so few of us left to warn you.
I have heard that there are 69 million Catholics in America and 70 million Evangelical Christians.
Where are your voices? Where is your outrage? Where is passion and your vote?
Do you vote based on an abortionist’s empty promises and economics? Or do you vote according to the Bible?
Thus says the Lord about every living child still in the womb.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you.”
I have experienced the signs of the politics of Death in my youth.
I see them again now.
Christians! Unless you stand up now, you will lose your freedom of religion.
In America priests and preachers have already lost their freedom to speak openly from their pulpits of moral danger in political candidates. They cannot legally instruct you of which candidate holds fast to the precepts of scripture! American law forbids this freedom of speech to conservative pastors or they will lose their “tax exempt” status.
And yet I have heard the words of Obama’s pastor Damning America! I have heard the words of Obama damning and mocking all of you in small towns because you “Cling to your religion.”
But I am a woman whose name is unknown. My life is recorded as a work of fiction. I have no fear of reprisal when I speak truth to you from the pages of a book. (Though the Zion Covenant books are mocked and condemned by the Left in America.)
I am an old woman and will soon go to be with my Lord. I have no fear for myself, but for all of you and for your children, I tremble.
The sad fact of politicians seeking to win over children is beyond all acceptable ethical standards. Children are naive, easily indoctrinated, full of zeal, and have all the will in the world to try and prove themselves to whatever worthy cause presented to themselves. In other words, they are simply too vulnerable to resist exploitation and manipulation. In Nazi Germany, the Hitler Youth, especially during the final stages of the war were incredibly loyal to Hitler and ferocious and extremely committed young soldiers, de facto psychopaths in short. Frankly it boggles my mind that some people are still too blind to see that history is about to repeat itself in the US of A.
Wake up folks before it is too late!
- Re: Sing for Change Obama (German children singing for their fuehrer)
- Hitler youth camp
- Cult Of Obama – Missouri Youths’ Militaristic Obama Chant
- Hail Obama! Ode of the Obama Youth!
The Obamania Memorabilia series:
“Something is happening of historic proportions”
Barack Obama Using Covert Hypnosis In His Speeches
Holocaust Survivor Warns of Obama Becoming the Next Hitler
Obama Not US Citizen? Berg v. Obama dismissed – Berg appealing to U. S. Supreme Court
Obamas Fainting Women Travelling Circus Act
Protect Democracy by Exposing Obama’s Hypnotic Deception | <urn:uuid:a7d04878-720f-4d35-8fa7-8fa597b87f28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://1phil4everyill.wordpress.com/tag/lori-kalner/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971783 | 1,939 | 1.828125 | 2 |
About Tennessee Tech Police
The University Police Department comes under the charge of the Vice President for Business and Fiscal Affairs. Non-commissioned and commissioned officers staff the department. All commissioned officers are armed with service weapons and have COMPLETE ARREST AUTHORITY in accordance with TCA-49-7-118 and Tennessee Peace Officer authorizations established by the Tennessee Code Annotated.
The Police Department has developed programs and services to inform and protect the community. These programs are offered by request by calling 931-372-3234.
Tennessee Tech Police Authority
Tennessee Tech officers have the same authority as that of municipal law enforcement officers while on property owned by Tennessee Tech, on adjacent public streets and sidewalks, and in nearby neighborhoods. TTU officers have direct radio communications with the city police, fire department, and ambulance services to facilitate rapid response in any emergency situation.
University Police are the only personnel authorized to carry or maintain firearms on campus or any university-controlled property or facility. Students are given additional information concerning security policies in a student handbook and this information is also made available on request in accordance with TCA 317, May 8, 1989, "College and University Security Information Act." All information pertaining to security policies and procedures are updated annually. Changes that may affect students or employees are reported through university news media, student handbooks, radio, newspapers and by personal interview or letter.
The Police Department includes a staff of 20 people. All TTU's commissioned officers have completed officer training at a state-certified police academy. Those officers are required to attend annual in-service, as well as on-the-job training. The Department also employs non-academy trained officers for security-related functions.
The TTU Police Department consists of the following:
- 14 Certified Police Officers
- 1 Technical Clerk
- 1 Secretary
- 4 Dispatchers | <urn:uuid:dcc41bd8-78f7-456e-954b-03331deb9447> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tntech.edu/police/about/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953156 | 385 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Posted: Feb 29, 2012 12:25 PM
Updated: Feb 29, 2012 12:25 PM
(NBC) - Deadly asthma attacks are something to be aware of, even if you think you're only an allergy sufferer, especially this year.
Unfortunately, right now is that perfect combination of the end of winter cold season and the beginning of spring allergy season.
"I grew up with a brother who had asthma, and this was not in today's day and age where we had the medications we have now," said Dr. Bryn Salt, an Allergist and Immunologist at Sharp Rees-Stealy. "Every family vacation, every time the weather changed, it seemed like we were always in the emergency room."
"The flu season has just begun in this past month, we're seeing a lot of colds, a lot of pneumonia, sinusitis," Salt added.
"There are exposure to viral infections, so at this time of year, we get a lot of viruses," Dr. Julian Lichter said. He's a pulmonologist at Scripps Mercy Hospital.
Richter said triggers include aspirin and your own pets.
Another trigger is exercise induced asthma, which he said is the cause of 60 U.S. deaths, in an eight year period.
As for prevention: beware of "long-acting" medications - believe it or not, they can cause quick-onset asthma attacks.
"So the inflammation gets worse and worse and worse, and then suddenly, bam, you have a severe asthma attack, and you're wondering why, because I didn't feel the symptoms, but the symptoms may have been masked," Lichter said.
With allergy season in full-swing for some of you, doctors say it's critical to get on an allergy or asthma medication if you need it.
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Complete feeds of all KVOA.com stories | <urn:uuid:7b91c044-6854-4f73-b5ea-84e692e49560> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kvoa.com/news/seasonal-allergies-troublesome-for-those-with-asthma/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956642 | 540 | 1.609375 | 2 |
"COME SEE US: Tourism in Iowa continues to grow steadily, with almost 30 million people visiting state tourism destinations last year. The $258 million the industry generated for state and local governments in 2005 was up 3.2 percent from the year before, and overall Iowa tourism revenues were up 7 percent. Travel and tourism combined generated $5.4 billion in Iowa in 2005, according to the Iowa Tourism Office."
Here are the questions those numbers raise in my mind:
1. Was that really "30 million people" or an unknown number of people who made 30 million visits? There's a big difference.
2. How does the Iowa Tourism Office define "tourism" and "tourists"? How many of those people (or those visits) were from out-of-state and how many from Iowa? I have nothing against Iowans getting to know their state's attractions. But it's not what I think of as "tourism" -- in the economic sense that states with beaches or mountains bring tourist dollars into the state that, but for those attractions would not be there. When Iowans spend their discretionary vacation dollars in Iowa it avoids the dollar drain of their spending them out-of-state. But it's not bringing anything into the state that wasn't here already (and wouldn't have been spent here on something else anyway).
3. How does it define "travel" (as in "travel and tourism combined generated $5.4 billion")? Does that include every city bus fare we pay, and every gallon of gas we buy?
I have nothing against the "tourism industry." And when it comes to Iowa's economic development every little bit helps. But, as I've written elsewhere, I think it's a mistake to think that tourism will ever bring to Iowa the dollars that we can better generate by playing to our strengths. See Nicholas Johnson, "Iowa: A Great Place to Live But I Wouldn't Want to Visit There," October 15, 2006.
_______________Technorati tags: TIF, TIFs, taxes, economic development, corporate welfare. | <urn:uuid:84608512-5d84-4756-8226-ff596b424d2e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fromdc2iowa.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97596 | 433 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Boise to Calgary distance, location, road map and direction
Boise is located in USA
at the longitude of -116.24 and latitude of 43.61. Calgary is located in Canada
at the longitude of -114.06 and latitude of 51.05 .
Distance between Boise and Calgary
The total straight line distance between Boise and Calgary is 843 KM
(kilometers) and 138.27 meters. The miles based distance from Boise to Calgary is 523.9
miles. This is a straight line distance and so most of the time the actual travel distance between Boise and Calgary may be higher or vary due to curvature of the road .
Time Difference between Boise and Calgary
Boise universal time is -7.7493333333333 Coordinated Universal Time(UTC) and Calgary universal time is -7.604 UTC. The time difference between Boise and Calgary is -0.14533333333333 decimal hours
Boise and Calgary time calculation is based on UTC time of the particular city. It may vary from country standard time , local time etc.
Boise To Calgary travel time
Boise is located around 843 KM away from Calgary so if you travel at the consistant speed of 50 KM per hour you can reach Calgary in 16.86 hours. Your Calgary travel time may vary due to your bus speed, train speed or depending upon the vehicle you use.
Boise To Calgary road map
Boise is located nearly south
side to Calgary. The given south direction from Boise is only approximate. The given google map shows the direction in which the blue color line indicates road connectivity to Calgary . In the travel map towards Calgary you may find enroute hotels, tourist spots, picnic spots, petrol pumps and various religious places. The given google map is not comfortable to view all the places as per your expectation then to view street maps, local places see our detailed map here.
Boise To Calgary driving direction
The following diriving direction guides you to reach Calgary from Boise. Our straight line distance may vary from google distance.
Travel Distance from Boise
This website gives the travel information and distance for all the cities in the globe. For example if you have any queries like what is the distance between Chennai and Bangalore ? and How far is Chennai from Bangalore? It will answer those queires aslo. Some popular travel routes and their links are given here :- distance between Boise and Ely
, distance between Boise and Emmett
, distance between Boise and Eugene
, distance between Boise and Grand Canyon
, distance between Boise and Grangeville
Travelers and visitors are welcome to write more travel information about Boise and Calgary.
- It can be your previous travel experience between Boise and Calgary.
- Available transport routes to reach Calgary like train routes, bus routes, air routes and cruise routes.
- Tourist places or any other important places on the routes between Boise and Calgary.
- Hotels, restaurant information on the way to Calgary.
- Photos related to Boise and Calgary or en route.
- Travel queries and other relavent information related to this page. | <urn:uuid:8c210a59-9d2e-4bca-8c31-77460e68c9ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://distancebetween2.com/boise/calgary | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905182 | 640 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Printer ink is one of the most highly sought-after products not only in America, but across the world. In a wavering economy, the ink and toner business has been consistently growing. Big companies are battling for your attention and they are lowering the price tags to earn you as a customer. If you search on the internet, you will find numerous third party vendors as well as original manufacturers, such as HP or Xerox.
What is the difference between an ink cartridge and solid ink? Are they interchangeable? The answer is no, they are not. A cartridge is full of liquid or powder ink that is ejected onto the page via nozzles. Once the tank is empty, it can be recycled and remanufactured. The ink cartridges can get messy, especially if there is a leak.
Solid ink, however, is just a solid piece of ink, similar to a crayon, which is taken out of the package and inserted directly into slots within the unit. These sticks are heated up and ultimately melted onto a printhead and drum that applies it to the paper. Xerox is one of the few companies that use solid ink.
So what is the best way for a first time user to find exactly what they are looking for? Let’s say you are in need of ink for a Brother inkjet printer- use your choice of search engine to do some hunting. Typing in Brother ink, or Brother inkjet ink is not specific enough. To ensure you get the right ink cartridges, you will need use your specific model number.
Ink and toner cartridges are also available at local retail stores and depots. This option provides more of an instant gratification, yet for any lesser known or obscure model the local supply store will not have what you need on hand. Online warehouses have just about everything, and usually ship quickly and affordably. Remember, though, that it is super important to participate in ink and toner recycling. It can save people money, and save the world from having more trash laying around that could be reused. | <urn:uuid:1311c0ab-d439-4cee-9472-3b29e9f90b40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://toner.inktechnologies.com/explore-your-ink-options/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961694 | 421 | 1.953125 | 2 |
Illustration by Michael Freimuth and Kyle PoffMany people, including me and, um, Al Gore, have recommended Paul Krugman’s primer on climate economics. It’s a top-notch introduction and a welcome antidote to the ignorance and hysteria that characterize most media coverage of climate policy. Read it!
In describing environmental economics, however, Krugman simply passes along many of its flaws. Economist James Barrett identified a few of them. I want to echo and reinforce one of the points he made.
“Not that bad” ain’t good
The great sin of conventional economics is the assumption of rationality. According to rational choice theory, individuals act to maximize their self-interest; ergo, markets based on free exchange of goods and services will yield maximally efficient distribution of resources. A free market is, in German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz’s terms, the best of all possible worlds. Most of what economists miss about energy can be traced to to the lingering effect of this assumption.
Now, every time I bring this up, people come out of the woodwork to tell me I’m constructing a caricature, and everybody knows about market failures. Which is ironic, since the people who bitch about rational choice theory more than anyone I know are economists. (Again: see James Barrett. Or anything Dean Baker‘s ever written. Or the entire field of behavioral economics.) What they tell me is that the most common macroeconomic models still rest on the assumption of rational choice; that the most influential names in the field still work with the assumption; that new approaches are still marginal and viewed with skepticism by modelers; and that laypeople’s understanding of economics is heavily colored by it.
Anyway, the assumptions of rational choice theory are the only way to explain something like this — and that’s one of a dozen articles I could cite. They are the only way to explain the results of the economic models used by the CBO to score climate legislation. They’re the only way to explain the conventional wisdom in D.C. that climate legislation is all about costs. After all, as Barrett says, “with everyone constantly and correctly optimizing their behavior, there is nothing the government can do to make us any better off.”
Lamentably, Krugman’s article reenforces that conventional wisdom. He concludes that pricing carbon is the Ultimate Climate Policy (maaaybe we can tack on a few performance standards for coal plants). According to mainstream economic modeling, a carbon price will inhibit GDP growth. Krugman’s cri de couer is as follows: “Restricting emissions would slow economic growth — but not by much.” Freeeeeedooooom!
“Not as bad as you might have worried” may be a convincing argument to pointy-headed intellectuals, but it hasn’t exactly gotten the public fired up. To boot, it’s almost certainly incorrect. Krugman simply ignores the panoply of policies proven to boost economic productivity and reduce emissions.
They exist! Long ago, in the Dark Ages (1997), over 2,500 economists, including nine Nobel Laureates, endorsed “The Economists’ Statement on Climate Change.” The second of three propositions in that statement was:
2. Economic studies have found that there are many potential policies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions for which the total benefits outweigh the total costs. For the United States in particular, sound economic analysis shows that there are policy options that would slow climate change without harming American living standards, and these measures may in fact improve U.S. productivity in the longer run. [Emphasis mine.]
One of the original drafters of the statement? A future Laureate and MIT professor by the name of Paul Krugman. If he believes there are policies that reduce emissions and improve productivity — surely good news — why didn’t he discuss them in his piece?
Our fallen world
There are two ways of going after the rational choice assumption.
One is to say that even in ideal market conditions — low barriers to entrance and exit, perfect information, and the rest — human beings are “predictably irrational.” We undervalue gains relative to losses; undervalue future utility relative to present utility; misunderstand large dollar amounts and long time spans. Even in ideal markets, there’s a place for public policy to correct maladaptive features of human cognition. I think that argument — a staple of behavioral economics — is legit, and winnable.
But my objection to Krugman’s take on climate economics is even more basic. To see what I mean, consider this passage:
If there’s a single central insight in economics, it’s this: There are mutual gains from transactions between consenting adults. … Free markets are “efficient” — which, in economics-speak as opposed to plain English, means that nobody can be made better off without making someone else worse off.
But what if a deal between consenting adults imposes costs on people who are not part of the exchange? What if you manufacture a widget and I buy it, to our mutual benefit, but the process of producing that widget involves dumping toxic sludge into other people’s drinking water? When there are “negative externalities” — costs that economic actors impose on others without paying a price for their actions — any presumption that the market economy, left to its own devices, will do the right thing goes out the window. So what should we do? Environmental economics is all about answering that question.
Perhaps inadvertently, Krugman reveals how environmental economists seem to think of their work. Assume a free market filled with exchanges among “consenting adults.” Then introduce a negative externality — say, CO2 emissions. What’s the proper response? Viewed in that light, obviously the right response is to put a price on the externality. Done! That’s why the environmental economist’s approach to climate policy always seems to be: price carbon and get out of the way.
But … and this is a gargantuan but (quit snickering) … why would you assume a free market? Are there free markets in energy anywhere in the world? If so I’m not familiar with them. Everyone involved in energy markets is always and already operating within a skein of existing market distortions. We live in a fallen world.
More mechanics, less theory
Start with the fact that U.S. electrical utilities are a nightmare of overlapping regulations and jurisdictions, some deregulated, some semi-regulated, some regulated monopolies. Or start with the fact that the global oil market is dominated by state-owned enterprises. Or start with the fact that governments, particularly militaries, are among the largest purchasers of energy. Right on down the line, you find “free” markets distorted by overlapping local, state, and federal regulations, tax breaks, political favoritism, and public infrastructure choices. Very often existing distortions serve the interests of incumbents. (See, e.g., Matt Yglesias on “Mandatory Sprawl.”)
However people in energy markets may behave inside this web of constraints, distortions, and politicizations, it’s not going to be well-captured by models based on rational choices within perfect markets. Yes, economists can tell us how a free market will react to a cap-and-trade system. But can they tell us how the network of regulated monopoly utilities in the South will respond to it? That’s what I want to know!
What we need from economics is fewer theorists and more mechanics, people who understand how energy markets actually work and can offer informed counsel about how to make them work better. I want economically credible strategies that can help us get from here, our fallen, compromised, dirty world, to there, a freer, more sustainable world.
For instance, I’d love for an economist who understands the U.S. utility market, its structure and political history, to model the benefits of various utility reforms. I’d love for more economists to wake up to the vast, untapped potential for efficiency in commercial and industrial buildings, and model how various policies might realize that potential. More broadly, I’d like more economists to question the imperative for growth and start thinking about different models of prosperity. I’d like more economists to incorporate research on human happiness and welfare, to model changes the aren’t captured by GDP. And so on.
There are economists out there doing all this stuff, but theirs are not the voices that find their way into media and public discussion. Whatever may be going on in academia, in popular culture an extremely crude, reactionary sort of economic folk wisdom continues to dominate. Environmental economists could do more to challenge that folk wisdom, but often they’re too busy trying to prove that they are Very Serious Economists and not DFHs. Me, I’m ready for some hippie economics. | <urn:uuid:e87468d3-1383-4a58-9390-9d9bf9d9ab6d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://grist.org/article/2010-04-13-hey-paul-krugman-how-about-less-econ-theory-more-econ-mechanics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945822 | 1,879 | 1.757813 | 2 |
CERF Quarterly Update 3rd Quarter 2012
Responding to the Crisis in Syria
Instability and conflict in Syria continue to affect hundreds of thousands of people. An estimated one million Syrians have been internally displaced, while the overall total affected population is estimated at up to 2.5 million.
CERF has responded to the crisis with a total of US$30 million in 2012 – most recently with $16 million to FAO, UNICEF, UNRWA, UNHCR, WFP, UNFPA, IOM and WHO to enable a scaled-up response through provision of life-saving assistance in the areas of shelter, food, health, education, livelihoods, agriculture and water and sanitation. In 2012, $9 million has also been allocated to neighbouring countries affected by the conflict.
New CERF Advisory Group Members
The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced seven new members for the CERF Advisory Group. More than 30 nominations were received. The nominations were reviewed with a view to gender balance, broad geographic representation, and a healthy donor and recipient balance.
The new members are Ms. Catherine Walker (Australia), Mr. Wenliang Yao (China), Ms. Nancy Butijer (Croatia), Mr. Mathewos Hunde (Ethiopia), Ms. Yuka Osa (Japan), Ms. Susan Eckey (Norway) and Ms. Susanna Moorehead (UK). The new members will participate in the next Advisory Group meeting in Geneva on 30 and 31 October.
To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit http://unocha.org/. | <urn:uuid:23f34674-4385-4923-a401-3018591e9363> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reliefweb.int/report/world/cerf-quarterly-update-3rd-quarter-2012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949526 | 336 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Research Centre >
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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
|Title: ||Luminescence profiling of postglacial eolian dunes in central and northern Alberta using a portable OSL reader|
|Authors: ||Munyikwa, Ken|
|Keywords: ||Luminescence dating|
Portable OSL reader
|Issue Date: ||2-Nov-2011 |
|Series/Report no.: ||92.927.G1300;|
|Abstract: ||Regular luminescence dating is a lengthy procedure that entails elaborate sample preparation as well as multiple measurements to arrive at an age of a given sample. In practice, not all samples that may appear datable in the field actually yield useful information in the lab. Consequently, because sample luminescence measurement is only carried out near the end of the dating procedure, a significant amount of time and resources could be expended on samples that ultimately produce no useful data. A technique that can be used to discriminate between samples that could potentially yield useful information and those that would not is luminescence profiling (Bishop et al., 2006; Burbidge et al., 2007; Sanderson and Murphy, 2010). Luminescence profiling does not necessarily provide an absolute age. Instead, it enables one to construct a profile that shows a variation of the luminescence signal with depth. The luminescence signal is dependent on variables such as the burial age and luminescence sensitivity of the sediment, as well as the local dose rates and level of bleaching experienced prior to burial. Where the burial age is the main variable, the luminescence profile could be seen as a proxy for the chronostratigraphy and it enables one to identify changes such as significant age differences between successive strata within a given section, or age variations across erosional contacts. Luminescence profiling measurements can be carried out rapidly in the lab or in the field using a portable OSL reader. Analysis can be done on bulk samples, negating the need to perform time consuming mineralogical separations. In this study, a portable OSL reader is employed to construct luminescence profiles of postglacial eolian dunes from selected sites in central and northern Alberta. In places, the dunes are underlain by glaciofluvial sands but it is often difficult to distinguish between the eolian deposits and the glaciofluvial sediments based on their physical appearances alone. Results from the study show that luminescence profiling can differentiate between the two types of deposits because of differences in their depositional ages and this enables the demarcation of the bases of the dunes. The identification of the dune bottom permits appropriately targeted sample collection for regular luminescence dating in order to constrain the timing of the initiation of eolian deposition in the region. Luminescence profiling is also used in this study to identify depositional breaks of extended duration within the eolian sequences.
Session: Quaternary Paleoenvironments|
|Description: ||My oral presentation at GEOHYDRO-2011 was at 11:00 am (Tues, Aug 30, 2011) in the session Quaternary Geology, Paleoenvironments and Geomorphology. After my power point presentation (30 slides) the floor was opened for questions. Colleagues who are doing similar geochronological dating work in Canada asked questions which essentially wanted to know about our methodological approaches and how they related to protocols they were using in their labs. In particular they wanted to know about the following:
• what methods we use to normalize our samples (weight or irradiation)
• what sources we use for irradiating our samples
• if we have problems with signal contamination from feldspar when using post –IR blue-OSL stimulation with the portable OSL reader on bulk samples
These were very constructive questions and, following my responses, I got some very interesting feedback. We will incorporate some of this feedback as we proceed with our research.
Later during the conference I also had the opportunity to talk at great length with colleagues from the University of Quebec at Montreal who also have a luminescence dating lab. The exchanges we had where educative and we plan to continue with the interaction in future.|
|Appears in Collections:||Academic and Professional Development Fund Report 2011-2012|
Items in AUSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. | <urn:uuid:3f14f4f8-4a7f-45da-a567-cd4b21bd199e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/3125 | 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 | 0.91856 | 951 | 2 | 2 |
"Bringing the cruise ship industry to Moloka`i will affect the island on every level: ecological, social, cultural, and economic," said Earthjustice attorney Isaac Moriwake. "The law requires the state and cruise industry to provide the people of Moloka`i a public forum to identify and address all these impacts. This must be done ahead of time, not after-the-fact."
Hui members are concerned about the impacts of gigantic cruise ships anchoring and operating in the marine environment of Moloka`i's south shore, which features one of the largest barrier reefs in the nation and the most concentrated collections of loko i`a (Hawaiian fishponds) in the state. These natural and cultural resources support various public and commercial uses, including subsistence activities, which a 1994 study commissioned by the state Governor found supplies 28% of the food of Moloka`i residents, and 38% of the food for Native Hawaiians.
Hui members are also troubled about the effects of thousands of visitors flooding the tiny town Kaunakakai and other areas throughout the island. Moloka`i has a total population of about 7,000, and is renown for its traditional rural and Native Hawaiian culture that has earned it the nickname, "The Last Hawaiian Island."
"We want to know what kinds of substances will be going into the nearshore waters where our community members gather and fish to provide food for our families and sustain our culture," Hui member Walter Ritte, Jr. remarked. "We want to know how a town with no stoplights and one public restroom is going to handle thousands of visitors all at once. No one has given us any answers, or even an opportunity to ask the questions."
Several cruise ships owned by Holland America Line and Princess Cruise Lines are planning at least eight visits to Moloka`i through 2004. The ships intend to call at the small boat harbor of Kaunakakai, Molokai, located in the central part of the island's south shore. The first ship to scheduled to arrive is Holland America Line's ms Statendam. The ms Statendam will anchor offshore, and tenders will ferry passengers to and from Kaunakakai Harbor. Various onshore activities have been arranged around the island during the ship's day-long visit.
Because the cruise ship visits to Moloka`i will involve use of state lands in anchoring the ship and embarking and disembarking passengers, they fall under the Hawai'i Environmental Policy Act ("HEPA"), which requires the responsible state agencies and private parties to undertake an environmental review process that includes early consultation with citizen groups, as well as preparation and circulation of documents assessing the impacts of the proposed action. The ship visits are also subject to article XII, section 7 of the Hawai'i Constitution, which requires the state to consider specifically the impact of its actions on the traditionally and customarily exercised rights of Native Hawaiians.
DOT and DLNR, however, have not complied with these requirements in approving the visits to Kaunakakai. Their discussions with the cruise ships have instead focused on technical issues such as logistics, safety, and port fees.
"In all the planning of the visits, no one has bothered to ask the people of Moloka`i what we think," said Office of Hawaiian Affairs Trustee and Hui member Colette Machado. "We have been told that the ships are coming 'like it or not.' That's not right as a matter of common courtesy, let alone the law."
Cruise ships like the ms Statendam produce massive volumes of wastes, including sewage, nonsewage wastewater or gray water, ballast water, oily bilge water, air pollution, solid waste, and hazardous waste, each of which may harm sensitive marine ecosystems like Molokai's through the addition of harmful pathogens and chemicals or introduction of alien species. The lack of effective legal controls on ship pollution and the less-than-stellar industry environmental compliance record offer little to ease concerns.
The cruise industry may also alter the social fabric of small rural communities like Moloka`i. Many small islands and towns in Alaska and the Caribbean are finding their local lifestyle, culture, and economy crowded out by foreign businesses and visitors. This is particularly disconcerting for the Moloka`i community, whose Community Plan calls for "agriculture as the primary economic activity" and tourism expansion "to the extent that it does not infringe upon the traditional, social, economic, and environmental qualities of the island."
"The cruise industry is planning to expand not only to Moloka`i, but throughout the entire state," Moriwake said. "Given the industry's troubled past, we believe that the people of this state deserve a hard look at all the potential costs and benefits. To date, no one has done this analysis. It needs to happen, starting with Moloka`i." | <urn:uuid:20dd629d-b3d7-446c-b1b4-2ff5138d2ee7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2002/moloka-i-citizens-sue-for-environmental-review-of-cruise-ship-visits | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952268 | 1,008 | 2.265625 | 2 |
A monastic superior. In the Rule of St. Benedict the term prior occurs several times, but does does not signify any particular superior; it is indiscriminately applied to any superior, be he abbot, provost, dean, etc. In other old monastic rules the term is used in the same generic sense. With the Cluniac reform the term prior received a specific meaning; it supplanted the provost ( praepositus ) of the Rule of St. Benedict. In the congregation of Hirschau, which arose in Germany in the eleventh century, the term prior was also substituted for provost, and the example of the Cluniac and Hirschau congregations was gradually followed by all Benedictine monasteries, as well as by the Camaldolese, Vallombrosians, Cistercians, and other offshoots of the Benedictine Order. In the Benedictine Order and its branches, in the Premonstratensian Order, and in the military orders there are two kinds of priors, -- the claustral prior ( prior claustralis ) and the conventual prior ( prior conventualis ). The claustral prior, in a few monasteries called dean, holds the first place after the abbot (or grand-master in military orders ), whom he assists in the government of the monastery and whose place he supplies in his absence. He has no ordinary jurisdiction by virtue of his office, since he performs the duties of his office entirely according to the will and under the direction of the abbot. His jurisdiction is, therefore, a delegated one and extends just as far as the abbot desires, or the constitutions of the congregation prescribe. He is appointed by the abbot, generally after a consultation with the capitulars of the monastery, and may be removed by him at any time. In many monasteries, especially larger ones, the claustral prior is assisted by a subprior, who holds the third place in the monastery. In former times there were in larger monasteries, besides the prior and the subprior, also a third, fourth, and sometimes even a fifth prior. Each of these was called circa (or circator ), because it was his duty to make the rounds of the monastery to see whether anything was amiss and whether the brethren were intent on the work allotted to them respectively. He had no authority to correct or punish the brethren, but was to report to the claustral prior whatever he found amiss or contrary to the rules.
The conventual prior is the independent superior of a monastery that has no abbot ; he rules in temporals and spirituals just like an abbot. Ordinarily he is elected by the chapter of his monastery and holds his office for life, though in former times he was often elected for a specified period of time. He may be assisted by a subprior, whose office is similar to that of the claustral prior in an abbey. In the Congregation of Cluny and others of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries there was also a greater prior ( prior major ) who preceded the claustral prior in dignity and, besides assisting the abbot in the government of the monastery, had some delegated jurisdiction over external dependencies of the abbey. The appellation of simple, or obedientiary prior ( prior simplex or prior obedientiarius ) is often applied to the superior of a monastic establishment which is a dependency of an abbey. He is an obedientiary of the abbot, is appointed by him, and may be removed by him at any time.
The Augustinian Hermits, Carmelites, Servites, and Brothers of Mercy have three kinds of priors — the conventual prior, the provincial prior, and the prior general. The conventual prior is the first superior over a monastery. He is generally elected by the chapter of the monastery for a specified time, and his election requires the approbation of the provincial prior. The provincial prior is the superior over a number of monasteries that are united into a province. He is generally elected for a specified time by the conventual priors and delegates from the various monasteries of the province, and his election requires the approbation of the prior general. The prior general is the superior over the whole order; he is elected in the general chapter for a specified time and resides in Rome. The Dominicans also have conventual and provincial priors, but the superior of the whole order is not called prior general, but master general. The Carthusians have conventual priors and a prior general, but no provincial priors. Their prior general is the only superior of an order who does not reside in Rome. Before their suppression in France the prior of the Grande Chartreuse was always prior general, an office now filled by the prior of Farneta near Lucca in Italy. In all these orders the second superior of a monastery is called subprior and his office is similar to that of the claustral prior in the Benedictine Order.
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Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online | <urn:uuid:0210b381-0cfc-4203-ab6a-a3ae616a1951> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=9638 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961467 | 1,434 | 2.96875 | 3 |
The results of a yearlong joint investigation of the American autopsy system by ProPublica, Frontline and NPR show that problems in the death investigation system throughout the country have led to innocent people being sent to prison, “allowed the guilty to go free and left some cases so muddled that prosecutors could do nothing.” When autopsies aren’t done, diagnostic errors go undetected and opportunities to learn more about medicine are lost.
One story of patient rights and legal wrangling sports the remarkable headline “Why Can’t Linda Carswell Get Her Husband’s Heart Back?” It hinges, among other things, on the simple fact that “Even though the Institute of Medicine has reported that medication errors affect an estimated 1.5 million patients per year, it is not typical to conduct toxicology tests as part of clinical autopsies. They are routine in forensic autopsies.”
Another piece takes a broader view, exploring the reasons behind and consequences of the fact that autopsies are performed on only about one in 20 patients who die in hospitals when, 50 years ago, the rate was one in two.
Hospitals aren’t required to perform autopsies – the Joint Commission hasn’t included autopsy rates in its accreditation process since 1971 – and neither Medicare nor private insurers reimburse hospitals for the procedures, which Allen found cost about $1,275 each. The implications of these financial disincentives, combined with related factors such as some physicians’ confidence that new diagnostic tools such as MRIs and CT scans provide such accurate results that they obviate the need for postmortem work, are far-reaching.
Diagnostic errors, which studies show are common, go undiscovered, allowing physicians to practice on other patients with a false sense of security. Opportunities are lost to learn about the effectiveness of medical treatments and the progression of diseases. Inaccurate information winds up on death certificates, undermining the reliability of crucial health statistics.
A 2002 review of academic studies by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that when patients were autopsied, major errors related to the principle diagnosis or underlying cause of death were found in one of four cases. In one of 10 cases, the error appeared severe enough to have led to the patient’s death.
Other stories in the project report that suspicious deaths of the elderly are rarely investigated and that the deaths of children “pose special technical challenges for forensic pathologists.” | <urn:uuid:a2555181-eee0-4ca7-9197-df4f0ce6374d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://healthjournalism.org/blog/tag/marshall-allen/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941871 | 514 | 2.34375 | 2 |
For members of the Barnstable Town Council, the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm project could possibly be less of an issue if they had a say in its creation.
“We’re here because we feel we’re being left out of this project,” council President Janet Joakim told federal officers at the March 10 Minerals Management Service public hearing in Yarmouth.
Barnstable Councilor Ann Canedy echoed the sentiment. “I feel our local government has not had a chair at the table,” she said.
Joakim’s main concern was if an emergency occurs, Barnstable and other abutting towns would be expected to respond first. Though she said the town would be willing to respond, its resources are currently insufficient for the job.
“We haven’t got the equipment, we haven’t got the training and we haven’t got the money,” she said.
Osterville Councilor James Crocker said that the MMS had never questioned the impact an emergency at the site might have on Barnstable or other Cape towns. Crocker is a prudential committee member for the Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire District and serves on its emergency services committee.
If something occurred, he said, “we have no protection.”
Joakim said that the Town of Barnstable would be willing to work with other towns and had already spoken with selectmen from Yarmouth about the issue. However, she said, first the MMS needs to look at the problem.
“This is an experiment,” she said. “We don’t know what it’s gonna do.”
The Town of Barnstable is on record as against the project in its proposed location.
Published Date: 3/14/08 | <urn:uuid:024ba333-a1b4-4eb3-82cc-b0c6fa2047e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/home2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14541 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970633 | 390 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Of late there has been a flurry of activity from senior members of Sinn Fein around the issue (or issues) of an all Ireland referendum and a border poll. Now these two issues and the underlying concepts that they represent, are completely different from each other and in the context of a Nation forcibly divided by a foreign power, mean two completely different things.
Not surprisingly the two proposers of these two different concepts are based in different sides of this partitioned island and are undoubtedly attempting, “to speak out of both sides of their mouths at the same time”. One is the TD for county Louth, Gerry Adams, and the other is Sinn Fein’s chair Declan Kearney. For Adams the way in which the ‘peace process’ in Ireland can be moved forward is by means of an all Ireland referendum and for Kearney what is needed is a border poll.
At this point the reader may well be asking him/herself why two senior members of the same political party are using two entirely different concepts as if the terms were interchangeable, unless there was some line of continuity. To resolve this mystery let us take a moment to define the two concepts and look at their points of difference and their points of similarity, if there are any.
An all Ireland referendum, and indeed a referendum within any nation, would entail the citizens of a whole nation being asked to vote on an issue of national importance at the same time and within the same framework. Hence, on the issue of the constitutional re-unification of the nation of Ireland, a single question to that effect would be put to the entire nation of Ireland on the same day and every Irish citizen would be entitled to cast a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ vote, depending on their preference.
A border poll, on the other hand, would mean that an Irish citizen would have to accept that the forcible division of Ireland was a legal and a constitutional act and only citizens on one side or the other would be entitled to cast a vote on their constitutional position. Of course the vote on one side would have no legal or constitutional standing in the other side. In short a border poll under-scores the forcible division of the Irish nation in line with the artificial partitioning of the Irish nation by the British under the threat of, “immediate and terrible war”.
So, Adams and Kearney are putting forward two completely different things and almost sound as if they were from two different political parties!? However, as always the devil is in the detail and whilst Adams trumps Kearney in terms of seniority within Sinn Fein, Kearney actually represents the position of Sinn Fein –as negotiated by Adams within the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) – more accurately than Adams.
Under schedule 1 of the GFA, Adams and the leadership of Sinn Fein signed up to the undertaking that, ‘the future constitutional position of the northern state would be decided by only the northern state and subject to the triple lock enshrining the Unionist and British vetoes’. In short Sinn Fein agreed that only once the Unionists and the British agreed, could a border poll be held and that it would only be binding if the British government decided that they agreed with the result.
The nett result of this is, that due to the ‘agreement’ that Adams signed up to, the framework for an all Ireland referendum does not exist within the terms of reference of the GFA. Indeed, even the limited and unconstitutional entity of a border poll is not within Kearney’s remit to gift unless one accepts that the GFA is an unconstitutional and hence illegal agreement. Of course all of the above is only relevant if either Adams and/or Kearney are sincere in what they are saying and are not simply making politics around an issue that neither of them believes in or cares about.
Unfortunately I fear it is the latter, if it were to be the former then I would expect both politicians would be saying the same thing and more importantly I would expect that the senior Sinn Fein member in the northern assembly, Martin Mc Guinness, would be calling for a re-negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement on the basis that the existing agreement was unconstitutional and illegal.
But hold on a moment, would that not make him a ‘dissident’? Or more accurately would it not make him a Republican and allow him and his party to put forward the clear cut Republican position that, no one section of the Irish nation should be allowed to hold a veto over the entire nation (much less a foreign power) and only when the Irish people as a whole are allowed to decide on their future can Ireland be described as a Democracy.
For us the case for an all Ireland referendum is irrefutable, Ireland is a single nation divided by a military power and who maintain their presence by the use of force of arms. This contravenes not only natural law but also international laws that protect the rights of small nations to exist within a democratic framework. Why should politicians on this island be so afraid to allow the people of the nation to exercise their democratic right to decide upon their own futures and why should a political party that claims to be Republican, such as Sinn Fein, feel the need to say contradictory things by ‘speaking out of both sides of their mouths at the same time’. The case for ‘One Ireland One Vote’ is a stand alone case, it should not be confused or obscured by playing party politics with it. | <urn:uuid:55f9a938-4645-4521-81cc-94019df1b18d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ir-news.net/2013/03/the-case-for-an-all-ireland-referendum-or-a-border-poll/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97099 | 1,129 | 2.1875 | 2 |
This report is a product of a network to network collaboration among groups involved with the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment and the Ontario Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance (CPCHE and OCDPA) to provide a baseline for further collaboration. The central focus is a scoping review of evidence for associations between early life environmental exposures and the later development of several of the most common chronic diseases. Part One provides context about chronic disease and care in Canada’s aging population, the reality of the multiple determinants of health, the primacy of the social determinants of health, the considerable breadth of environmental influences on health, the importance or early child development to lifelong health and the scope and complexity of multiple inter-relationships among all these health determinants. Part Two introduces the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) concept and the related and expanding field of epigenetics. It also discusses key issues that arise in evaluating evidence in complex environmental health issues. | <urn:uuid:505af6b3-d73b-4a94-abd3-cd33cd4229f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://zunia.org/post/early-exposures-to-hazardous-chemicalspollution-and-associations-with-chronic-disease/?no_cache=1&cHash=f3db75413e55d949acdcf6c3daad48a9 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930313 | 197 | 2.21875 | 2 |
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Each card has a number of physical connections determining the number of cards that can be coupled. The CrossFire and SLI solutions are pretty much identical in this aspect.
While the current Nvidia drivers allow for SLI to work without the bridge connector, this puts some additional stress on the PCIe bus. If the cards have one connection each, two cards can be connected. If they have two, three or four cards can be teamed up using a three-way bridge connector or a four-way bridge connector.
The advantages of connecting cards with bridges have to be considered separately for AMD and Nvidia. You could easily leave the bridge connector off when using mainstream graphics cards, since the PCI Express bus is quick enough for the data traveling over it. This is only an option for certain AMD-based configurations, from a pair of Radeon HD 4650s down to two Radeon HD 4350s. Dip down into the Radeon HD 3000-series or up to Radeon HD 4670s, and you'll need to use bridge connectors.
If the graphics card has two CrossFire bridge connections, it doesn't matter if you use the left or the right one. Nor are there any advantages to using multiple bridge connectors between the cards just because you can. One is enough to synchronize the data stream and make the driver recognize the CrossFire configuration. | <urn:uuid:bba460db-1ea9-4bc0-8a7e-57c7b999fa76> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-crossfire-nvidia-sli-multi-gpu,2678-4.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928276 | 281 | 1.976563 | 2 |
03/05/13 - Tuesday's Topical Currents is with journalist T.D. Allman. His latest work is a ten-year project to create FINDING FLORIDA: The True History of the Sunshine State. The 500-year recorded history of the Sunshine State is rife with myths and outright deceit. Ponce de Leon did not “discover” Florida, nor did he search for a “Fountain of Youth.” He sought gold . . . but there wasn’t any. The revered Seminole figure, Osceola, was actually a mostly white man, named William Powell. Allman says Florida’s legacy is mostly “sugar-coated.” That’s Topical Currents Tuesday at 1pm, rebroadcast at 7pm on WLRN-HD2.
A Sandhill Crane flies in at sunset to roost for the night in the wetlands of the Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge in Colorado. Migrating along the same route they've followed for thousands of years, about 25,000 Greater Sandhill Cranes pass through the San Luis Valley in late winter every year.
Originally published on Thu January 24, 2013 5:50 pm
Early in November, a tortoiseshell cat named Holly jumped out of her human family's RV in Daytona Beach, Florida, and ran off. After a fruitless search, the husband and wife returned home to West Palm Beach without their cat.
Holly showed up back in West Palm Beach, only a mile from her house, on New Year's Eve. Because she had been micro-chipped, the family, two surprised and grateful humans and one bedraggled cat, were readily reunited.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a Florida man's floating home was a house, not a boat, and that therefore, the city marina where he kept it docked could not seize the structure under federal maritime law. The case could affect thousands of houseboat owners nationwide.
In an election year and a redistricting year, you might have expected this. The biggest stories of 2012 ended up being an election and redistricting.
A third ongoing story also pervaded the year's news: The economy continued its long, slow rise from the ashes of the recession, and by year's end the rebound – while facing the possible stomach-punch of a fiscal cliff setback – appeared to be solid.
Originally published on Sun November 11, 2012 11:16 am
Paging Jeb Bush.
Your party needs you.
In the aftermath of Tuesday's election losses, Republicans have been scrambling to formulate a fix for what went wrong.
A big part of that calculation involves repairing relations with Hispanics, the fast-growing electoral power base that rejected Republican Mitt Romney's "self deportation" immigration solution and voted for President Obama in numbers that exceeded 70 percent.
This is actually the last statewide and local jobs report we'll receive before Election Day on November 6th.The unemployment rate is down in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach Counties and statewide, but not for the same reasons. | <urn:uuid:0142d038-b365-4359-acc0-05553deba765> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.wlrn.org/term/florida | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957793 | 645 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Next month marks the official opening of the Aurlandsfjellet Tourist Route; a scenic mountain road that begins at a wooden viewing platform perched 650 metres above Norways's longest and deepest fjord (+ slideshow).
The 30-mile road is a popular detour for travellers and winds across the Aurlandsfjellet mountain plateau from one branch of the Sognefjord to another.
Architect Lars Berge later added a toilet stop within a tilted concrete cube, as well as a winding concrete pathway and bench offering views from the north-eastern end of the plateau.
Most recently this path has been extended to lead into a cave, where artist Mark Dion has placed a sleeping model bear on top of a pile of human junk to question whether it is man or animal that reigns over civilization.
Aurlandsfjellet Tourist Route is one of 18 national tourist routes in Norway and will be officially opened on 7 September.
Stops on some of the other tourist routes that we’ve written about include cantilevered viewing platforms, public toilets in a rusty steel cabin and a memorial commemorating suspected witches by Peter Zumthor. | <urn:uuid:b50bcacc-2ad9-4b5f-be1a-9bd1215e049a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dezeen.com/2012/08/11/slideshow-feature-aurlandsfjellet-tourist-route/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dezeen+%28Dezeenfeed%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939129 | 243 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Rear Adm. (Sel.) Craig E. Bone, USCG, chief of staff, 14th Coast Guard District, elaborates on the diverse challenges facing his service.Rear Adm. (Sel.) Craig E. Bone, USCG, chief of staff, 14th Coast Guard District, elaborates on the diverse challenges facing his service.Warfighting across half the globe requires partners that interoperate.
Future warfighting in the Asia-Pacific region likely will involve multinational coalitions of U.S. allies that already face difficulties operating together in a network-centric environment. New technologies may hold the key to achieving interoperability goals, but they also threaten to exacerbate the problem as the United States deploys systems faster than allies can keep up with them. And, lurking over all of these concerns is the need for multilevel security throughout the coalition environment.
|Vice Adm. Gary Roughead, USN, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), gives the opening address at TechNet Asia-Pacific 2004.|
Attendees at the leadoff event heard a candid assessment of the war on terrorism and its ramifications for future military operations from the deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM). Vice Adm. Gary Roughead, USN, declared that the war on terrorism remains a top priority and noted that terrorists are using information technologies such as cellular telephones to relay messages in their war on the Free World. To win, the United States must be able to communicate and actively share information with its coalition allies.
A key to prevailing in this war will be to anticipate threats and prepare for them rather than react to them, Adm. Roughead stated. This will require the best information technology possible. “Show us the art of the possible with technology and innovative thinking,” the admiral challenged the audience.
Adm. Roughead turned more than a few heads when he declared that the term command, control, communications and computers (C4) was “obsolete.” Instead, the concept should be broken down into “C2 [command and control] plus C2 [communications and computers] plus I [intelligence].” He explained that the first C2 involves organization and structure, which must drive the second C2, which concerns systems. Stovepipes are a problem when it comes to connecting the two C2s, he added.
|Lt. Gen. John M. Brown III, USA, commander, U.S. Army Pacific, describes the Army’s activities in that vast region in his breakfast address.|
For 34 years, the U.S. Army has not been as involved in continuous combat as it is today, noted Tuesday’s breakfast speaker. Lt. Gen. John M. Brown III, USA, commanding general, U.S. Army Pacific, began that day’s events by observing that these continuous operations represent the first protracted combat for the all-volunteer Army. In addition to the ongoing operations in Southwest Asia, the Asia-Pacific theater possesses a variety of threats ranging from piracy to terrorism and border disputes that threaten to erupt into broader conflicts.
Gen. Brown described how the U.S. Army Pacific is engaged with allies and former adversaries in a variety of activities designed to maintain and promote peace in that vast region. These engagements include medical endeavors with Vietnam, with which the United States did not even have diplomatic relations until only a few years ago. India and Japan are committed to staying engaged with the United States, and the general emphasized that these regional engagements should not be ignored just because U.S. forces are in conflict elsewhere.
|Rear Adm. John J. Donnelly, USN, deputy commander and chief of staff, U.S. Pacific Fleet, tells a packed luncheon audience about the importance of coalition operations in the Asia-Pacific region.|
Because of the breadth of the Asia-Pacific theater, the U.S. Army Pacific must be expeditionary. Gen. Brown stated that it is moving toward that capability through the Army’s new modularity transformation. The new units of action will arrive in theater ready to fight under any command and control. “That’s expeditionary, and it’s within our grasp,” he said.
The network-centric environment around which force transformation is built will move information assurance to the top of the menu. The Army is “only in the infancy of the challenges we will have to face here,” the general declared. No longer will information assurance be the responsibility of signal officers, he added. Now, it is the commander’s responsibility.
Tuesday’s luncheon speaker focused on the aspects of coalition warfare particular to the Asia-Pacific region. Rear Adm. John J. Donnelly, USN, deputy commander and chief of staff, U.S. Pacific Fleet, told an overflow audience that coalition warfare is an increasingly important aspect of the Pacific Fleet. He cited several examples of activities and technologies that are bringing that capability to the fore, especially in the expeditionary arena.
|Rear Adm. (Sel.) Craig E. Bone, USCG, chief of staff, 14th Coast Guard District, elaborates on the diverse challenges facing his service.|
A common operational picture synchronization tool allows the combatant commander to manage from a common operational picture shared by fellow commanders and the joint task force. Last year, a roll-on/roll-off communications package aboard an Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft gave personnel aboard the aircraft the use of two 64-kilobit integrated services digital network (ISDN) channels while in flight.
Adm. Donnelly cited the Centrixs system as an important contributor to improved coalition interoperability at the Secret level. The Centrixs-J system has a built-in Japanese language translator that enabled Japan’s minister of defense to communicate from his headquarters to a ship at sea.
Addressing the need for a maritime equivalent of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, Adm. Donnelly called for the same situational awareness that exists in the air. Regional maritime security systems can help tie countries together for tracking ships across the seas.
|Lt. Gen. Wallace C. Gregson, USMC, commander, Marine Forces Pacific, explains how both political concerns and technological influences play key roles in the war on terrorism.|
“You don’t start a football game by giving the other team the ball on your goal line with four shots to score,” he analogized. That pre-9/11 approach must be replaced by one that begins port security thousands of miles from U.S. shores. And, the key to that is to have a common operational picture with the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Defense Department and the law enforcement community.
That is being achieved currently to some degree, but Adm. Bone called for a collective picture of shipping as a foundation of an effective layered maritime defense. Data from elements such as satellites, sensors and other tactical assets must be combined with local input. The challenge, he offered, is to bring this information together, especially with legacy systems playing essential roles.
Industry holds the key to achieving this goal, the admiral declared. The private sector can offer the ways and means to implement these ideas. And, it has the ear of Congress, which will play a role in enabling the development of this maritime awareness system.
|Lt. Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., USAF, vice commander, Pacific Air Forces, discusses some of the needs for coalition integration.|
Gen. Gregson noted that the Free World is fighting a war that has been enabled by computer and communications technologies. Not only have allied forces relied on advanced information technologies, so too have terrorist adversaries. Fighting these terrorists will require more than just technology-driven activities, the general offered. The art of warfare has changed to the point where it now is much more akin to violent politics waged on the most vulnerable for shock effect.
The terrorist threat did not develop overnight or because of just one man. Terrorists set up madrassas—religious schools—along with medical care facilities and the charities to fund them. Emphasizing that a terrorist is recruited by an organization, not by a person, the general noted that the average terrorist recruit is a teenager or young adult, often a second son who cannot inherit his father’s mantle, who tends to be immature and has no girlfriend nor career prospect. People at his mosque may see that he is anxious and depressed, so they recruit him as a suicide murderer.
The United States and its allies must take steps to prevent the conditions that provide a fertile recruiting ground for these disaffected youth, the general posited. “We have a distinct interest in any area of the world that descends into chaos and where the writ of government does not run,” he stated.
Allied forces must go after the enemy at its most vulnerable point—these agovernmental base areas. Activities must be aimed at helping governments reassert their authority over these base areas. Coalition operations must be a team sport with allies, friends, coalitions of the willing and friends from a trouble spot, Gen. Gregson continued.
|AFCEA International President and Chief Executive Officer Vice Adm. Herbert A. Browne, USN (Ret.) (l), assists Frank Carvalho (2nd from l), an original member of the AFCEA Hawaii Chapter, cut the ribbon opening the exhibit area of TechNet Asia-Pacific 2004. Also assisting are Chapter President Nora Feuerstein and AFCEA Chairman of the Board Eugene C. Renzi, president, Defense Systems Group, ManTech.|
Lt. Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., USAF, vice commander, Pacific Air Forces, also emphasized the importance of coalition integration. Speaking at the Wednesday luncheon, Gen. Renuart related how experts 10 years ago believed that Korea would be the major conflict facing U.S. forces. Now, challenges are broader and less symmetrical. “The enemy hasn’t signed up for the law of land conflict,” the general stated.
U.S. forces must continue to pay attention to Korea, but they also must focus on China and Taiwan. More than 60 percent of the world’s oil passes through a maritime region that also is known for piracy and drug trafficking. This diversity of challenges brings with it the need for integrating the diversity of action into operations, including coalition participation.
Saying that the United States will be fighting in coalitions for the foreseeable future, Gen. Renuart cited the need for integrating the diverse players in the region into a coalition, and particularly into the U.S. C2 capability. When this is achieved, an important element would be to ensure a high level of confidence in the information given to coalition leaders.
|Panel moderator Renzi (r) leads panelists (2nd from r to l) Brig. Gen. John R. Thomas, USMC; Lou Addeo, AT&T; Col. Kevin Jordan, USMC, PACOM; and Brig. Gen. Dennis L. Via, USA, DISA, in a discussion of command, control, communications and computer requirements for combatant commanders in coalition warfare.|
Information must flow from planners and commanders and controllers to forces in battle, and that mandates more efficient use of bandwidth. The general called for conservation of bandwidth without large investments, and this will require better use of existing systems. Gen. Renuart noted that the Pacific Air Forces are 18 months to two years away from having a network-centric air operations center. Classification filters are a major challenge, and implementing Link-16 is a funding challenge, he added.
The event’s first panel tackled the topic of C4 requirements for combatant commanders in coalition warfare. Panel moderator Eugene C. Renzi, president, Defense Systems Group, ManTech, and chairman of the AFCEA International Board of Directors, led the discussion by emphasizing that homeland security itself is coalition warfare. In the United States alone, more than 50 different department heads need the communications necessary to get the job done. That requirement extends down to the person in the field for whom communications are vital to perform his or her duties.
|Ainslie Mackovjak of PACOM (r) discusses multinational C4ISR interoperability with panelists (l to r) Cmdr. Kevin Stenstrom, USN, PACOM; Michael J. Maxwell, Maritime Forces Pacific, Canada Department of National Defence; and moderator Capt. James Fordice, USN, PACOM.|
For coalition operations, each member must be part of the Global Information Grid (GIG), the general offered. In addition, he warned that the United States is not making the necessary information technology investments in the coalition arena. Issues that need to be dealt with for combined operations include shared plans and processes; shared battlespace perspectives, as achieving a common operational picture is especially tough for coalitions; and more efficient information security—“permission given, access granted.”
Lou Addeo, president of AT&T Government Solutions, noted that while interoperability might enable connectivity, the performance of that connectivity may be insufficient. Comparing how his company has structured its network, he called for layering communications assets as a key element of convergence. The Defense Department can transform through convergence in the same manner practiced by commercial telecommunications companies. However, that defense convergence must be built-in, Addeo said. The department should adopt commercial practices and models to adapt its networks into a convergence model.
As networks continue to expand, their complexity makes it more difficult for planners to implement them down to lower levels, stated Col. Kevin Jordan, USMC, PACOM J-63. He warned that the military is “betting our lives” on architectures with no overall plan nor overriding purpose. In fact, the biggest threat to the network may be a nonintrusive assault that simply causes the network to collapse of its own weight. He called for training to banish complexities and chance, and added that setting up networks weeks in advance ensures success. “Chance is the blade by which nature mows down inefficiency,” he analogized. “War is natural selection on steroids.”
|Participants at the panel discussing support to the coalition warfighter (l to r) Col. Gil Griffin, USA, DISA-Pacific; Capt. Dean Kiyohara, USN, U.S. Pacific Fleet; Col. Greg Brundidge, USAF, Pacific Air Forces; and moderator Brig. Gen. Randy Strong, USA, PACOM, listen to a presentation by Col. Bill Febuary (standing), USMC, Marine Forces Pacific.|
During a lively question-and-answer session with the audience, Maj. Gen. David Bryan, USA (Ret.), former PACOM J-6 and former vice director of DISA, weighed in with his views on information technology acquisition. He warned that the military is “stuck in the Cold War” with functionally stovepiped requests for proposals and requests for information. “We need to gang up on the acquisition policy and process czars,” he said.
The event’s second panel covered multinational C4ISR interoperability, and it was moderated by Capt. James Fordice, USN, chief, strategy and integration division, PACOM J-62. Capt. Fordice described the need for information technology interoperability standards such as those employed by NATO for procedures. He also called for the creation of an interoperability guide for use by C4 planners. The captain noted that in some instances the United States’ systems can interoperate with Japanese and Korean equipment, but interoperability between Korea’s and Japan’s systems is not always possible.
Capt. Fordice cited the multinational combined interoperability program, which also was the topic of discussion by Cmdr. Kevin Stenstrom, USN, chief of the combined interoperability coordination branch at PACOM. Nations participating in PACOM’s efforts include Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Korea. The C4I interoperability effort includes standards integration, configuration management, combined interoperability testing, and review of exercises and operations. The captain added that C2 interoperability boards work with each country to make certain that they implement standards that will ensure interoperability with U.S. systems.
|Gen. Strong (l) and Adm. Browne (c) are assisted by a volunteer as they lay a wreath in honor of U.S. veterans during the official Veterans Day commemoration service at the National Military Cemetery of the Pacific in the Punchbowl on Oahu.|
The Canadian perspective was offered by Michael J. Maxwell, deputy N-6, Maritime Forces Pacific, Canadian Department of National Defence. Maxwell related how Canada and its allies are scrambling to keep up with interoperability in network-centric operations. Canada is participating in joint exercises, research and development, and technology demonstrations and evaluations, but work remains in getting operators out to the field to view new technologies. Among the challenges are allied synchronization with national products and information assurance and information security.
Supporting the coalition warfighter was the topic of the event’s final panel, and this panel was moderated by Brig. Gen. Randy Strong, USA, director for command, control, communications and computer systems, J-6, PACOM. Gen. Strong opened the panel with a candid assessment of coalition networks—“We don’t do them well, and we don’t have [a clear view] of where we want to go.” Gen. Strong offered that one reason that coalition networking is not going well is that the networks are too separate. “We want one guy at a desk to have access to everything, not a separate network for each domain,” he said, adding that one possible solution might be a thin-client coalition information technology architecture.
Col. Greg Brundidge, USAF, Pacific Air Forces, stated that coalition networks must be accepted as part of the GIG. Air operations depend on having highly effective C4ISR, and there has been considerable system proliferation in this arena. “We can get decision-quality information” to the warfighter, the colonel noted, but while external coalition partners can be added to the recipients list, the information flows only in one direction. He called for industry to research an infostructure solution that fulfills coalition network requirements.
Capt. Dean Kiyohara, USN, U.S. Pacific Fleet N-6, described how the fleet conducts more than 135 exercises each year with many nations. He added that the Centrixs system is important especially for the flexibility it provides. Describing it as the key enabler for coalition network-centricity, Capt. Kiyohara said that Centrixs is a network infrastructure with core services that is a good start to a true network-centric environment.
Centrixs also was a discussion topic of Col. Gil Griffin’s, USA, commander, DISA-Pacific. Col. Griffin expanded on some of the activities that DISA-Pacific is working on to bring Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand into Asia-Pacific network-centric operations. Some of these projects seek to expand current capabilities, while others are exploring entirely new concepts.
Photography by Robert K. Ackerman and Estelle Ishimaru. | <urn:uuid:e4a0e207-1b6b-461d-880d-8ce2808297a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.afcea.org/content/?q=node/618 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944019 | 4,063 | 1.554688 | 2 |
More voters are using the method, but the ballots are less likely to be counted.
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. - On the morning of the August primary, the local elections board met to decide which absentee ballots to count. It was not an easy job.
The board tossed out some ballots because they arrived without the signature required on the outside of the return envelope. It rejected one that said "see inside" where the signature should have been. And it debated what to do with ballots in which the signature on the envelope did not quite match the one in the county's files.
"This 'r' is not like that 'r,'" Judge Augustus Aikens Jr. said, suggesting that a ballot should be rejected.
Ion Sancho, the elections supervisor here, disagreed. "This 'k' is like that 'k,'" he replied, and he persuaded his colleagues to count the vote.
Scenes like this will play out in many elections next month, because Florida and other states are swiftly moving from voting at a polling place toward voting by mail. In the last general election in Florida, in 2010, 23 percent of voters cast absentee ballots, up from 15 percent in the midterm election four years before. Nationwide, the use of absentee ballots and other forms of voting by mail has more than tripled since 1980 and now accounts for almost 20 percent of all votes.
Yet votes cast by mail are less likely to be counted, more likely to be compromised and more likely to be contested than those cast in a voting booth, statistics show. Election officials reject almost 2 percent of ballots cast by mail, double the rate for in-person voting.
"The more people you force to vote by mail," Sancho said, "the more invalid ballots you will generate."
Election experts say the challenges created by mailed ballots could well affect outcomes this fall and beyond. If the contests next month are close enough to be within what election lawyers call the margin of litigation, the grounds on which they will be fought will not be hanging chads but ballots cast away from the voting booth.
In 2008, 18 percent of the votes in the nine states likely to decide this year's presidential election were cast by mail. That number will almost certainly rise this year, and voters in two-thirds of the states have already begun casting absentee ballots. In four Western states, voting by mail is the exclusive or dominant way to cast a ballot.
The trend will probably result in more uncounted votes, and it increases the potential for fraud. While fraud in voting by mail is far less common than innocent errors, it is vastly more prevalent than the in-person voting fraud that has attracted far more attention, election administrators say.
'To have one's vote counted'
The flaws of absentee voting raise questions about the most elementary promises of democracy.
"The right to have one's vote counted is as important as the act of voting itself," Justice Paul Anderson of the Minnesota Supreme Court wrote while considering disputed absentee ballots in the close 2008 Senate election between Al Franken and Norm Coleman.
Voting by mail is now common enough and problematic enough that election experts say there have been multiple elections in which no one can say with confidence which candidate was the deserved winner. The list includes the 2000 presidential election, in which problems with absentee ballots in Florida were a little-noticed footnote to other issues.
In the last presidential election, 35.5 million voters requested absentee ballots, but only 27.9 million absentee votes were counted, said a study by Charles Stewart III, a political scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He calculated that 3.9 million ballots requested by voters never reached them; that another 2.9 million ballots received by voters did not make it back to election officials; and that election officials rejected 800,000 ballots. That suggests an overall failure rate of as much as 21 percent.
Cheaper and easier
Some voters presumably decided not to vote after receiving ballots, but Stewart said many others most likely tried to vote and were thwarted.
"If 20 percent, or even 10 percent, of voters who stood in line on Election Day were turned away," he wrote in the study published in the Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, "there would be national outrage."
The list of very close elections includes the 2008 Senate race in Minnesota, in which Franken's victory over Coleman, the Republican incumbent, helped give Democrats the 60 votes in the Senate needed to pass President Obama's health care bill. Franken won by 312 votes, while state officials rejected 12,000 absentee ballots. Recent primary elections in New York involving Republican state senators who had voted to allow same-sex marriage also hinged on absentee ballots.
There are, of course, significant advantages to voting by mail. It makes life easier for the harried, the disabled and the elderly. It is cheaper to administer, makes for shorter lines on election days and allows voters more time to think about ballots that list many races. By mailing ballots, those away from home can vote.
Still, voting in person is more reliable, particularly since election administrators made improvements to voting equipment after the 2000 presidential election.
There is a bipartisan consensus that voting by mail, whatever its effects, is more easily abused than other forms. In a 2005 report signed by President Jimmy Carter and James Baker, who served as secretary of state under the first President George Bush, the Commission on Federal Election Reform concluded, "Absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud."
On the most basic level, absentee voting replaces the oversight that exists at polling places with something akin to an honor system. "Absentee voting is to voting in person," Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit has written, "as a take-home exam is to a proctored one."
But it is certainly possible to improve the process and reduce the error rate. In Leon County, Fla., the rejection rate for absentee ballots is less than 1 percent. The instructions provided to voters are clear, and the outer envelope is a model of graphic design, with a large signature box at its center.
The envelope requires only standard postage, and Sancho has made arrangements with the post office to pay for ballots that arrive without stamps.
Still, he would prefer that voters visit a polling place on Election Day or beforehand so that errors and misunderstandings can be corrected and the potential for fraud minimized.
Election law experts say that pulling off in-person voter fraud on a scale large enough to swing an election, with scores if not hundreds of people committing a felony in public by pretending to be someone else, is hard to imagine, to say nothing of exceptionally risky.
There are much simpler and more effective alternatives to commit fraud on such a scale, said Heather Gerken, a law professor at Yale.
"You could steal some absentee ballots or stuff a ballot box or bribe an election administrator or fiddle with an electronic voting machine," she said. That explains, she said, "why all the evidence of stolen elections involves absentee ballots and the like." | <urn:uuid:393b4b24-b608-4031-a866-091fbf8da09f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.startribune.com/politics/172979521.html?page=all&prepage=2&c=y | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96809 | 1,447 | 2.546875 | 3 |
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Detailed guidance for individuals and organisations giving written or oral evidence to House of Commons Select Committees.
This short film explains the role and impact of select committees of the House of Commons, their membership, how they conduct inquiries, what it's like to be a witness and how you can get involved. | <urn:uuid:61a06204-3494-406e-bd9d-74f1918914d3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-innovation-and-skills/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942942 | 189 | 1.671875 | 2 |
People who know a bit about the history of U.S. presidential politics are familiar with some of the third-party candidates that have made bids for the office of President: Ross Perot, Ralph Nader, William Wirt.
William Wirt? That's right. Wirt is actually the first name in a long line of third-party candidates for U.S. President. Now that the 2008 major-party conventions are behind us, it seems like a good time to take a brief look at the introduction of the first third-party candidate in a U.S. presidential election, as well as the first nominating convention for a political party in the U.S.
Cast your mind back to the late 1820s and early 1830s...
The Anti-Masonic Party (yes, that was its official name) had its roots in a moral crusade in upstate New York, which was the direct result of the so-called Morgan Affair. In September 1826, William Morgan, who was planning to print an exposé on Masonic rituals, was believed to have been kidnapped and murdered by Freemasons supposedly intent on making sure that Morgan did not reveal any Masonic secrets. (Morgan's book, Illustrations of Masonry, by One of the Fraternity Who Has Devoted Thirty Years to the Subject, was published shortly after his death.)
The Morgan murder was never solved and although some men were tried and convicted, the investigation dragged on for a few years with no satisfying conclusion. Many non-Masons began to fear that there was a great Masonic conspiracy to cover up the murder of Morgan and to let the alleged murderers - all supposedly Freemasons - off the hook. This incident occurred at a time when hostility toward Freemasonry and other secret societies was starting to rise to the surface, in part due to the effects of the religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening. Although there are many reasons why anti-Masons perceived Freemasonry as a threat, and why the Anti-Masonic Party took shape when it did, William Preston Vaughn sums it up well when he writes:
"Morgan's abduction and probable murder occurred at a crucial time in New York state politics. The Adams-Clay party was in a rapid state of decline, and [Dewitt] Clinton had affiliated with the Jacksonians, leaving many of his followers in a quandary, for most of them could hardly follow Clinton into a party controlled on the state level by Van Buren and the hated Regency. Conditions were ripe for creation of a new organization that would submerge factional differences and would unite voters behind a platform pledged to defend democracy and equality before the law. It was no accident that this party evolved in January 1827 from a series of local conventions that met while the first trial of Morgan's kidnappers was taking place."
The first national nominating convention held by the Anti-Masonic Party - in fact, by any political party in the United States up until that point - was held on September 11, 1830. The date was a resonant one: it was the four-year anniversary of the abduction of William Morgan. Although much took place at the first convention, it was not until the second convention, in 1831, that a candidate was nominated for the party. That candidate was William Wirt, who had served as U.S. Attorney General from 1817 until 1829.
Wirt was a reluctant candidate. When first offered the nomination he declined, but was eventually convinced to run for the party. Curiously, Wirt himself had been a Freemason thirty years before. Instead of harboring any grudges toward Freemasonry, Wirt appears to have been, instead, simply not very interested in it. In his letter accepting the nomination from the Anti-Masonic Party, he admits that he had been initiated in a lodge, but that he had never taken the Master Mason degree. In this same acceptance letter he wrote that his lack of interest in Freemasonry in not attaining the Master Mason degree "proceeded from no suspicion on my part that there was anything criminal in the institution, or anything that placed its members in the slightest degree in collision with their allegience to their country and its laws."
Wirt even gave the Anti-Masonic Party a way out, stating that if, after reading his views they wanted give the nomination to someone else, then he would "retire from [the nomination] with far more pleasure than I should accept it." (You can read the entirety of Wirt's acceptance letter here.) Even after accepting the nomination, Wirt tried to get out of it. Between October 1831 and February 1832, he tried to withdraw from the nomination, but was unsuccessful. Despite all of this, in the general election held in the autumn of 1832, Wirt still managed to get seven electoral votes and carry Vermont, a state that, as we noted in earlier post, was a particular hotbed of anti-Masonry at the time.
In our collection, we have several books, pamphlets, proceedings, and newspapers that were published during the late 1820s and through the 1830s, and serve to document a time when anti-Masonry was at its height. We'll be addressing more of those items in the future. Below we've listed some of the Proceedings of various Anti-Masonic Party conventions that are in our collections. As you can see, there were many state conventions that took place before the national convention first met in September 1830. And if you're interested in learning more about the Anti-Masonic Party and its candidate, William Wirt, a great overview is the only full-length book on the subject, which we list first, before a selection of various proceedings:
Vaughn, William Preston. The Antimasonic Party in the United States, 1826-1843. Louisville, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1983.
Call number: 19.2 .V371 1983
The Proceedings of the United States Anti-Masonic Convention, held at Philadelphia, September 11, 1830 : Embracing the Journal of Proceedings, the Reports, the Debates, and the Address to the People. Philadelphia: I. P. Trimble; New York: Skinner and Dewey, 1830
Call number: RARE 19.61 .U58 1830 [You can find a digitized version here.]
An Abstract of the Proceedings of the Antimasonic State Convention of Massachusetts, held in Faneuil Hall, Boston, Dec. 30 and 31, 1829, and Jan. 1, 1830. Boston : John Marsh, 1830.
Call number: RARE 19 .M414 A631 1830
Proceedings and Address of the Pennsylvania Anti-Masonick State Convention, held at the Court House in Harrisburgh, June 25 and 26, 1829. New-Port, R.I. : Printed by Allen and Folsom, 1829.
Call number: RARE 19.2 .A631 1829
Proceedings of the Antimasonic Convention for the State of New York : Held at Utica, August 11, 1830 : with the Address and Resolutions. Utica, N.Y. : William Williams, 1830.
Call number: RARE 19 .N567 A631 1830 | <urn:uuid:a2e5710e-b5b0-4cd8-9df7-f94ca945ee99> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_and_archives/william_wirt/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978858 | 1,498 | 2.40625 | 2 |
No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change
The Science, the Solutions, the Way Forward
Just as the need for action on climate change becomes more urgent and overwhelming, the campaign to deny that humans are causing it has gained more traction. This completely new book meets the skeptics head on, offering a guide to the science, an insight into the politics of climate justice and a clear sense of the way forward.
This is an ideal offering for students, academics and anyone interested in the growing issue of society's impact on climate change and how to make climate justice a reality. | <urn:uuid:3be60956-0b09-4839-983c-8f8ad5fbb209> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.btlbooks.com/bookinfo.php?index=221 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940236 | 115 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Chicken Rice Porridge
If chicken soup is “Jewish penicillin” then Chicken Rice Porridge could be described as “Asian penicillin.” This dish of rice that’s simmered until it begins to dissolve in a flavorful broth with chunks of chicken could not be more comforting, making it a favorite of children and adults alike.
Porridges like this one are popular in many Asian cultures. The combination is called Congee in China, Okayu in Japan, Juk in Korea, Lúgao in the Philippines and Cháo in Vietnam. Variations abound and often include other meats and seafood, such as shredded salted duck or oysters, in place of the chicken. It is common to poach a few eggs in the porridge just before serving.
If your porridge seems too thick, simply thin it with a little more water or chicken broth.
Bring the rice, water and broth to a boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 40 minutes or until the rice is soft. While the rice simmers, marinate the chicken in the lime juice and salt for 5 minutes. When the rice is done, add the marinated chicken, white pepper, fish sauce and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve, garnished with the green onions and cilantro.
- 1 1/2 cups short or medium grain white rice, rinsed and drained
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 green onions, finely chopped, for garnish
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped, for garnish
Makes 6 servings. | <urn:uuid:d6c72a2f-821a-4689-9460-94eccee6970a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vikingrange.com/consumer/products/print_friendly/product_print.jsp?id=prod7510217 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911288 | 399 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Saint Elizabeth Parish
||This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2009)|
|Capital town||Black River|
|Other Towns||Santa Cruz, Malvern, Junction,
Balaclava, Prospect, Southfield
|Area||1212.4 square km
(468.1 square miles)
|Rank||Jamaica's second largest parish (see below)|
|Population||148,000 in 2001|
Bauxine Mining Manufacturing
St. Elizabeth, one of Jamaica's largest parishes, is located in the southwest of the island, in the county of Cornwall. Its capital, Black River, is located at the mouth of the Black River, the longest on the island.
Saint Elizabeth originally included most of the south-west part of the island, but in 1703 Westmoreland was taken from it and in 1814 a part of Manchester. The resulting areas were named after the wife of Sir Thomas Modyford, the first English Governor of Jamaica.
There are also traces of Taíno/Arawaks existence in the parish, as well as Spanish settlements. After 1655, when the English settled on the island, they concentrated on planting sugar cane. Today, buildings with 'Spanish wall' (masonry of limestone sand and stone between wooden frames) can still be seen in some areas.
St Elizabeth became a prosperous parish and Black River an important seaport. In addition to shipping sugar and molasses, Black River became the centre of the logging trade. Large quantities of logwood were exported to Europe to make a Prussian-blue dye which was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Electric power was first introduced in Jamaica in a house called Waterloo in Black River in 1893.
The parish is located latitude 18°15'N, and longitude 77°56'W; to the west of Manchester, the east of Westmoreland, and to the south of St. James and Trelawny. It covers an area of 1212.4 km², making it Jamaica's second-largest parish, behind Saint Ann's 1212.6 km². The parish is divided into four electoral districts (constituencies), that is North-East, North-West, South-East and South-West.
The northern and northeastern parts of the parish are mountainous. There are three mountain ranges —the Nassau Mountains to the north-east, the Lacovia Mountains to the west of the Nassau Mountains, and the Santa Cruz Mountains which, running south, divide the wide plain to end in a precipitous drop of 1,600 feet (490 m) at Lovers' Leap. The central and southern sections form an extensive plain divided by the Santa Cruz Mountains. A large part of the lowlands is covered by morass, but it still provides grazing land for horses and mules.
The main river in the parish is the Black River, and measuring 53.4 kilometres (33.2 mi), it is one of the longest rivers in Jamaica. It is navigable for about 40 kilometres (25 mi), and is supported by many tributaries including Y.S., Broad, Grass and Horse Savannah. The river has its source in the mountains of Manchester where it rises and flows west as the border between Manchester and Trelawny then goes underground. It reappears briefly in several surrounding towns, but reemerges near Balaclava and tumbles down gorges to the plain known as the Savannah, through the Great Morass and to the sea at Black River, the capital of the parish.
The geology of the parish is primarily alluvial plains to the south, and karstic limestone to the north. The karstic zones are known to contain over 130 caves (Jamaica Cave Register as of 2007 - from Fincham and JCO). These include Mexico Cave and Wallingford River Cave, near Balaclava, which are two associated sections of a major underground river that has its source in south Trelawny, as well as Yardley Chase Caves near the foot of Lovers' Leap, and Peru Cave, near Goshen, which has stalactites and stalagmites. Mineral deposits include bauxite, antimony, white limestone, clay, peat and silica sand which is used to manufacture glass.
The parish had an estimated population of 148,000 in 2001, 4000 of which live in the capital town. The distinct feature of this parish is that numerous ethnic groups can be found there; St Elizabeth probably has the greatest racial mixture in Jamaica. St. Elizabeth provides the best testimony of the Jamaican motto – “Out of many, one people”. A distinct feature of this parish is the interesting racial or ethnic heritage of its inhabitants. The Meskito (corrupted to ‘Mosquito’) Indians brought to Jamaica to help capture the Maroons, were allowed to settle in southern St. Elizabeth in return for their assistance given land grants in this parish. The parish of St. Elizabeth can lay claim to Maroon, Dutch, Spanish, Indian, mulatto and white inhabitants from the 17th century onwards, with the result that there are those who feel that more people of mixed ancestry can be found here than in any other part of the island.
In the 19th century Irish, Spanish, Portuguese, Scots Germans Chinese and East Indians migrated to Saint Elizabeth, and this accounts for pockets of distinct racial mixtures in the parish including Mulatto and Creole notably found in the southeast.
The parish has been a major producer of bauxite since the 1960s. Port Kaiser, near a town called Alligator Pond, has a leading deep-water pier for bauxite export. The Alpart alumina refinery was constructed in the 1960s at Nain and produces nearly 2 million tonnes of alumina annually for export. The replacement cost of building the refinery is approximately $2 billion.
There are other alumina refineries close to the nearby town of Mandeville.
Apart from bauxite mining, the parish also produces a large quantity of Jamaica's sugar; there are two sugar factories in the parish. Fishing is a major industry in the parish, as is tomato canning; a plant is at Bull Savannah. The parish also cultivates crops such as cassava, corn, peas, beans, pimento, ginger, tobacco, tomato, rice sweet potatoes and coffee. As a result of the fertile soil that provide for grazing fields, pastoralism is possible. Livestock include goats, sheep, hogs, and cattle, horses.
Since the 1990s, the parish has become a significant tourist destination, with most visitors going to the Treasure Beach area. The Appleton rum distillery, near Cockpit Country in the north of the parish, is also a tourist destination. Ecological tourism along the Black and YS rivers, and in the Great Morass has been developed in recent years.
- St. Elizabeth Technical High School in Santa Cruz
- Munro College and Hampton School, both located in the hills of Malvern, boys and girls schools respectively.
- Black River High
- Balaclava Basic School
- Balaclava Primary
- Balaclava High
- Maggotty High
- Lacovia High School in Lacovia
- Bethlehem Moravian College
- Lewisville High School in Newmarket
- Black River Primary and Infant School in Black River
- B.B. Coke High School in Junction
- Font Hill Beach
- Galleon, Crane
- Fort Charles
- Calabash Bay
- Great Bay
- Billy's Bay
- Frenchman's Bay
- Treasure Beach
- Blue Fields Beach
Towns and Villages
- Accompong, a Maroon village, located in the Cockpit Country in the north of the parish
- Black River
- Breadnut Walk
- Gayle Town
- Lacovia, on the Black River
- Rose Hall
- [Bull Savannah]
- Santa Cruz
- St. Pauls
- Try All
- Brighton, Jamaica
- Middlequarters, Jamaica
- Hounslow, Jamaica
- Bigwoods, Jamaica
- Newell, Jamaica
St. Elizabeth has approximately 44 caves:
Other Places of Interest
- Lover's Leap is a cliff plunging several hundred metres into the sea, with an attached romantic legend of two young slaves jumping to their death rather than live apart. There is a lighthouse here too.
- Y.S. Falls is a famous falls in Jamaica, similar to Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios, St. Ann.
- Bamboo Avenue - was developed in the 17th century when local landowners planted bamboo on both sides of the road to provide shade during their travels.
See also
- The title of largest parish in Jamaica has caused some confusion. The parishes of St. Catherine, Saint Elizabeth or St. Ann are usually ranked as the largest, depending on the source. The Gleaner, one of the nations most reputable newspapers, lists St. Catherine as the largest with an area of 1,260 sq km, St. Ann as the second largest with 1200 sq km, and St. Elizabeth third with 1,185 km² (Geography and History of Jamaica. The Jamaica Gleaner. Accessed 09-04-2009). However, The Jamaica Library Service database ranks St Ann the largest with an area of 1212.6 km² (Saint Ann. Jamaica Library Services. Accessed 09-04-2009), St. Elizabeth second with 1212.4 km² (St. Elizabeth. Jamaica Library Services. Accessed 09-04-2009), and St. Catherine third with 1192.4 km² (Saint Catherine. Jamaica Library Services. Accessed 09-04-2009).
- Saint Elizabeth. Jamaica Library Services. Accessed 09-04-2009
- Lover's Leap: Based on the Jamaican Legend, Horane Smith, Minerva Press (June 1, 1999), ISBN 0-7541-0589-X
- Parish Information
- Statistical Institute of Jamaica
- Political Geography of Jamaica
- Mexico Cave - JCO Report
- Parishes of Jamaica | <urn:uuid:675e9877-5a47-4b07-afd6-ecd802a89952> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Elizabeth_Parish,_Jamaica | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940538 | 2,104 | 2.65625 | 3 |
To be honest, I don’t think I am curious and wanting to learn new thing. I always stick to the thing I like. Whenever we learn new thing, it’s hard to like it and learn it. Plus, when the person/thing that I really liked and cared about goes off or gets lost, it effects me big time. So, what I should do is to be OPEN-MINDED and try to learn new thing and not to cling to one particular people/thing. And right now, personally, I think I am start to become open-minded since I start to want to meet new students to feel them welcome to Y.I.S. and start to be curious about other ways to make an art journal (I am making my own personal art journal because I found it to be very fun and use my artistic skills to make my journal). Although, I think I could still be better in being open-minded.
WE SHALL BE HONEST IN OUR DEALINGS
I tend to avoid the troubles and consequences when I do something wrong. And making excuses- that is what I do. But, at same time, I know that it’s not right answer. I always keep on reminding myself, “I gotta be honest, I gotta be honest. I have to admit that I did this.” But, when the actual thing happen, I always think, “What was I saying before!? I don’t wanna be involved in this trouble. I will go around this.” or ”I did nothing wrong. I am right! Why don’t you understand? You are the wrong one!” Truth is, most of the problem and consequences are because I say something without thinking. And I know that I am doing it and I understand that it’s not a polite thing to say, but I don’t admit it. So, I think I should be honest with my stuff. | <urn:uuid:ca80d263-60cb-4379-8e8d-b97a944a4e64> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.yis.ac.jp/17lawrencek/2012/03/06/my-goals/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95872 | 408 | 1.710938 | 2 |
In his September 1, 2011 column “Gay and Christian,” Russell Saltzman addressed my article in the New Oxford Review, in which I sketched a brief history of homosexual politics over the past two and a half millennia as a background for understanding the present controversy. I wrote that: “It is an uncomfortable fact that for a long time a campaign of hatred and persecution has been waged against those who experience same-sex attractions.” Saltzman takes issue with what he imagines to be an argument against the authority of St. Paul’s theological views on the morality of homosexuality. He interprets my argument as proposing that: “The contemporary gay experience [is] non-exploitative, mutually enriching, and increasingly monogamous [and] ought to be accepted as a normal alternative.”
That is not my argument at all. There are two basic elements to the Christian response to homosexuality: the theological, and the pastoral. I have absolutely no disagreement with the theological argument that was put forward by St. Paul. What I was trying to explain is the harsh pastoral tone so often taken in early and medieval writings on the subject of homosexuality.
While it seems obvious to me that we can’t simply throw out the moral teaching on homosexuality without completely unraveling the fabric of Christian sexual teaching, it seems equally obvious that we can no longer justify the persecution and castration homosexuals have experienced for much of history. In other words, it is necessary to distinguish between the visceral, emotional reactions which ancient writers—including St. Paul—had towards homosexuality, and the theological doctrine which developed out of a holistic Scriptural vision of sex.
This distinction must be made by orthodox Christians, not in order to weaken St. Paul’s teaching on homosexuality, but rather to strengthen it. Let’s look at Romans 1, the most often quoted and detailed examination of homosexuality in the Pauline corpus:
“The anger of God is being revealed from heaven against all the impiety and depravity of men who keep truth imprisoned in their wickedness. For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them since God himself has made it plain. Ever since God created the world his everlasting power and deity—however invisible—have been there for the mind to see in the things he has made. That is why such people are without excuse: they knew God and yet refused to honor him as God or to thank him; instead, they made nonsense out of logic and their empty minds were darkened. The more they called themselves philosophers, the more stupid they grew, until they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a worthless imitation, for the image of mortal man, of birds, of quadrupeds and reptiles. That is why God left them to their filthy enjoyments and the practices with which they dishonor their own bodies, since they have given up divine truth for a life and have worshiped and served creatures instead of the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen! That is why God has abandoned them to degrading passions: why their women have turned from natural intercourse to unnatural practices and why their menfolk have given up natural intercourse to be consumed with passion for each other, men doing shameless things with men and getting an appropriate reward for their perversion. In other words, since they refused to see it was rational to acknowledge God, God has left them to their own irrational ideas and to their monstrous behavior. And so they are steeped in all sorts of depravity, rottenness, greed, and malice, and addicted to envy, murder, wrangling, treachery and spite. Libelers, slanderers, enemies of God, rude, arrogant and boastful, enterprising in sin, rebellious to parents, without brains, honor, love or pity. They know what God’s verdict is: that those who behave like this deserve to die—and yet they do it; and what is worse, encourage others to do the same.” (Rom 1:18-32)
Usually this quotation is trimmed considerably, so that it only includes the direct condemnation of homosexuality. To understand it properly, it’s important to look at it in context, which is why such a large block of text is included here. St. Paul is developing an argument against the kind of philosophies that had arisen within Greco-Roman culture. In ancient Greece, homosexuality was closely tied to the idea of teaching and mentorship. In Sparta, a young man beginning his studies would actually be assigned an older lover as a matter of course—something like the system of old British public schools, except that the pederastic element was openly acknowledged and encouraged. In Plato’s Symposium, Pausanius gives the Athenian view as follows: “[T]hese two customs, one the love of youth, and the other the practice of philosophy and virtue in general, ought to meet in one, and then the beloved may honorably indulge the lover.”
St. Paul is not giving an argument against homosexuality in Romans 1, but rather using homosexuality as an illustrative example in his argument against the idolatries and philosophies of the Greeks (by which he means all pagans, including the Romans to whom he is writing). His argument takes it for granted that the reader knows that homosexuality is “unnatural,” and “shameless,” so he’s not concerned with proving that it is. Rather, he’s using it as part of a rhetorical attack on ancient paganism: the appeal is meant to be emotionally loaded, and is therefore intimately connected with the cultural feelings and prejudices of his audience.
The rhetorical purpose of Romans 1 must be acknowledged in order to understand the sort of language that Paul chooses to use. He refers to “filthy enjoyments,” “degrading passions,” “shameless things,” and “monstrous behaviors”—certainly not the kind of terminology that one would find in a modern Vatican document on the pastoral care of homosexuals. These language choices are clearly reflective of the socio-historical context in which St. Paul wrote, a reality that is underscored by the placement of this passage within an argument about ancient Greek philosophy.
If the emotional phrases are stripped away, what remains is an interesting analysis of homosexuality within the context of idolatry. St. Paul describes a very specific process of moral decline: the Greeks begin by refusing to honor God as God, even though they know that He is the creator of the universe. Having “worshiped and served creatures instead of the creator,” the gentiles proceeded to adopt all sorts of immoral practices, including homosexuality. St. Paul thus perceives homosexuality as a symptom and consequence of idolatry, a clear and visible illustration that worshiping false gods leads to moral disorder.
Although St. Paul’s condemnation of homosexuality comes within the context of a discussion of idolatry, and within a historical context of pederasty and exploitative homosexuality, that does not mean that his censure does not apply to modern homosexual relationships. In the two millennia since Paul wrote, Christian doctrine on sexuality has developed considerably. Modern theology doesn’t rely merely on a simplistic, literal understanding of any single Scriptural author, but rather on a holistic analysis of human sexuality as it is portrayed and understood throughout revelation. This is combined with a robust notion of natural law, as well as the observations of those involved in pastoral practice, to produce the sort of sophisticated understanding of sexuality that one finds in Humanae Vitae or Theology of the Body. Regardless of the cultural context in which St. Paul wrote, it is absolutely clear that homosexuality, either in the ancient or the modern form, is irreconcilable with the underlying logic of Scriptural teaching on sexuality.
So why bother to analyze the cultural context of Romans 1 at all? Isn’t it just an exercise in historical trivia, one that should be widely skirted in order to avoid scandal and confusion? On the contrary, homosexual apologists consistently rely on contextual arguments in order to dismiss St. Paul’s teachings on the subject, and therefore it is necessary to address the social and cultural concerns that inform the text. A modern homosexual trying to approach the Scriptures would, understandably, be put off by St. Paul’s characterization of homosexuality; Paul comes across as possibly hateful and homophobic. If one understands, however, that he was writing to a world which saw exploitative forms of homosexuality as something approaching the norm, the vitriolic tone makes a lot more sense and is easier to forgive.
It is also important for modern Christians to understand that there is a very real difference between homosexuality as it was generally practiced in St. Paul’s time, and homosexuality as it is generally practiced today—not in order that the whole cloth of Christian sexual teaching can be quietly unraveled, but in order to develop a pastoral approach that is appropriate in a modern context. The Vatican has already led the way in this respect, adopting a markedly different tone from the one taken by St. Paul, while still retaining the essential theological aspects of his teaching.
Melinda Selmys is the author of Sexual Authenticity: An Intimate Reflection on Homosexuality and Catholicism (Our Sunday Visitor, 2009). A regular columnist for the National Catholic Register, her articles have appeared in numerous Catholic publications, including This Rock, The Catholic Answer, and Envoy. She writes from Canada, where she and her husband are awaiting the birth of their sixth child.
Russell E. Saltzman, Gay and Christian
Melinda Selmys, Authentic Dialogue Is Possible
Become a fan of First Things on Facebook, subscribe to First Things via RSS, and follow First Things on Twitter. | <urn:uuid:b7669d0e-d85e-4978-88c3-fc6a92d7fdcf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2011/09/the-pastoral-response-to-homosexuality | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961935 | 2,009 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Comprehensive step-by-step instructions are accompanied by detailed illustrations that introduce readers to an extensive range of fabric alteration and embellishment techniques, such as tie-dyeing, block printing, and beading. Crafters will be fully equipped with all the information they need, allowing them the freedom to apply these techniques to any number of fabric projects, from tote bags and clothes to cushion covers, lamp shades, and soft furnishings. Galleries throughout the book feature examples of these techniques, demonstrating how they have been applied to fabric and providing readers with a wealth of inspiration. Divided into three sections, How to Decorate and Embellish Your Fabrics begins with essential information on tools and materials, as well as a comprehensive chapter on pattern design, which covers computer rendered patterns in addition to hand drawn designs. The second section is organized by technique, covering bleaching, dyeing, and printing, as well as more complex embellishing techniques such as embroidery, needlepunching and foil embossing. Each chapter concludes with a practitioner interview, affording an insight into the working practices of contemporary fabric crafters, and providing readers with further inspiration for their own projects. The third section is aimed at keen crafters who want to take their fabric designs to the next level, and offers in-depth advice on important issues such as how aspiring amateurs can best market and sell their own designs. | <urn:uuid:cf5443cb-d373-4612-b2d3-b8193cc7de31> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/books/how-to-decorate-amp-embellish-your-fabrics | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955678 | 285 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Texas Historic Courthouses “Endangered”
Texas courthouses are named on a list of the “11 Most Endangered Historic Places” in the U.S., released by The National Trust for Historic Preservation this morning.
Texas has 244 historic courthouses in the state – that’s the largest collection of county courthouses in the country. About 63 of them have been fully restored, including central Texas’ Williamson and Lee County courthouses, but more than 70 are still in need of serious repairs.
Texas courthouses on the whole were first placed on the list in 1998; the following year, the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program was created by Governor George W. Bush. Since its inception, the program has awarded nearly $247 million to 83 counties for the preservation of their courthouses.
Stan Graves is the director of the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program. He says Texas’ historic courthouses really represent the communities. “I think what’s special about them is that they exhibit an incredible optimism, in the 1890s, of what Texas would become and what their communities would become by building these magnificent buildings that have stood the test of time,” he said.
A courthouse in Karnes County, south of Austin, is one of the courthouses in need of repair. It was built in 1824 and has several structural issues. Sue Butler Carter of the Karnes County Historical Commission says an unsightly 400 square foot addition to the building is part of the problem and needs to be removed. She says the addition “stripped the courthouse of quite a bit of its decoration, so to speak. It made it look – some people thought – more modern, but actually it took away the flavor of the original building.”
The endangered places list included historic U.S. Post Office buildings for the first time. The list also includes the birthplace of Malcolm X in Boston and boxing legend Joe Frazier’s gym in Philadelphia. More than 230 sites have been on the list over its 25 year history – and only a handful of listed sites have been lost. | <urn:uuid:1e47a9b7-b90d-4404-8695-77924b2750a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kut.org/2012/06/texas-historic-courthouses-endangered/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979933 | 440 | 2.90625 | 3 |
“Listen, I'm going to slap on me runners and leg it down to the chipper!”
If you understand this sentence then you’re well on your way to understanding how the Irish use the English language and make a version of it entirely their own.
We were inspired by an article featured in TheJournal.ie recently to put together a list of words that are uniquely Irish. Mores the point, words that the writer (relatively new Irish immigrant in New York) uses regularly and never fails to stump people in New York.
Here’s my pick of the top ten random Irish/English words:
This one seems like Irish logic to me. What do you do when you put on your sports shoes?...You run! Therefore your sneakers shall be known as runners.
Again this seems totally logical to the Irish mind. The hotpress is the airing cupboard where you might store sheets and towel, next to the boiler. So therefore it is a press (cupboard) which is hot.
3. Gum boil/Mouth ulcer
Now, here’s where the office staff start to wince. The American name for this painful little spot on your tongue or gums is a canker sore. We’ve all decided that that sounds far worse that a gum boil so we’re going to stick with the Irish terminology on this one.
To use this in a sentence it would be “Do you know the yoke you use to make coffee." See, it’s simple. The Irish appear to be noun deficient and have many words that can be used to replace nouns. For example “Where did I put that thingamabob."
No, this is not someone who has hurled themselves off a building. It’s simply a sweater, not to be confused by a jumpsuit. Made famous by the Irish song “Where’s my Jumper” by The Sultans of Ping FC.
Mostly frequented after a night of gargle (alcohol), a chipper is a take-away that sells chips (French fries), fish, battered sausages and other fried foods.
Americans call it a sidewalk, but in Ireland it’s called a footpath. This is quite simply a path for your feet.
Not the variety of shoes that go on our feet. A boot is the trunk of your car. The place where your spare tire, groceries and other bulky items go. A common command as an Irish child was to “pop the boot."
In Ireland, a ride usually refers to an attractive person, male or female. It is not when your friend offers you a lift to the shop.
Perhaps referring to taxidermy, when an Irish person says they are ‘stuffed’ it means they have had their fill of food. | <urn:uuid:94ca6b6d-8e9e-4fef-84fb-fd0c8cac7a92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/Top-ten-words-the-Irish-use-that-never-fail-to-confuse-Americans-167418095.html?mob-ua=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961577 | 594 | 2.03125 | 2 |
|Birth name||Morris Louis Bernstein|
November 28, 1912|
|Died||September 7, 1962
|Training||Maryland Institute College of Art|
|Movement||Color Field painting, Abstract Expressionism, Post-painterly abstraction, Washington Color School|
|Influenced by||Helen Frankenthaler, Jackson Pollock|
Morris Louis (born Morris Louis Bernstein, 28 November 1912 – 7 September 1962) was an American painter. During the 1950s he became one of the earliest exponents of Color Field painting. Living in Washington, DC. Louis, along with Kenneth Noland and other Washington painters formed an art movement that is known today as the Washington Color School.
Early life
From 1929 to 1933, he studied at the Maryland Institute of Fine and Applied Arts (now Maryland Institute College of Art) on a scholarship, but left shortly before completing the program. Louis worked at various odd jobs to support himself while painting and in 1935 was president of the Baltimore Artists’ Association. From 1936 to 1940, he lived in New York and worked in the easel division of the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project. During this period, he knew Arshile Gorky, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Jack Tworkov. He also dropped his last name.
Color Field painting
He returned to his native Baltimore in 1940 and taught privately. In 1948, he pioneered the use of Magna paint - a newly developed oil based acrylic paint made for him by his friends, New York City paintmakers Leonard Bocour and Sam Golden. In 1952, Louis moved to Washington, DC.. Living in Washington, D.C., he was somewhat apart from the New York scene and he was working almost in isolation. During the 1950s he and a group of artists that included Kenneth Noland, Gene Davis, Tom Downing, Howard Mehring and Anne Truitt, among others were central to the development of Color Field painting. The basic point about Louis's work and that of other Color Field painters, sometimes known as the Washington Color School in contrast to most of the other new approaches of the late 1950s and early 1960s, is that they greatly simplified the idea of what constitutes the look of a finished painting. They continued in a tradition of painting exemplified by Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, and Ad Reinhardt. Eliminating gestural, compositional drawing in favor of large areas of raw canvas, solid planes of thinned and fluid paint, utilizing an expressive and psychological use of flat, and intense color and allover, repetitive composition. One of Louis's most important series of Color Field paintings were his Unfurleds.
Stain painting
All of these artists were concerned with the classic problems of pictorial space and the flatness of the picture plane. In 1953, Louis and Noland visited Helen Frankenthaler’s New York studio, where they saw and were greatly impressed by her stain paintings especially Mountains and Sea (1952). Upon their return to Washington, Louis and Noland together experimented with various techniques of paint application. Louis characteristically applied extremely diluted, thinned paint to an unprimed, unstretched canvas, allowing it to flow over the inclined surface in effects sometimes suggestive of translucent color veils. The importance of Frankenthaler's example in Louis's development of this technique has been noted. Louis reported that he thought of Frankenthaler as the bridge between Jackson Pollock and the possible. However, even more so than Frankenthaler, Louis eliminated the brush gesture, although his flat, thin pigment is at times modulated in billowing and subtle tones. His Veil Paintings consist of waves of brilliant, curving color-shapes submerged in translucent washes through which separate colors emerge principally at the edges. Although subdued, the resulting color is immensely rich. In another series, the artist used long parallel bands and stripes of pure color arranged side by side in rainbow effects.
The thinned acrylic paint was allowed to stain the canvas, making the pigment at one with the canvas as opposed to ‘on top’. This conformed to Greenburg’s conception of ‘Modernism’ as it made the entire picture plane flat.
Late paintings
Louis destroyed many of his paintings between 1955 and 1957. He resumed work on the Veils in 1958–59. These were followed by Florals and Columns (1960), Unfurleds (1960–61)—in which rivulets of more opaque, intense color flow from both sides of large white fields of raw canvas—and finally the Stripe paintings (1961–62).
Personal life
Morris Louis was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1962 and soon after, died at his home in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1962. The cause of his illness was attributed to prolonged exposure to paint vapours. A memorial exhibition of his work was held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, in 1963. Major Louis exhibitions were also organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1967 and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 1976. In 1986 there was an important retrospective exhibition of his works at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. During 2007-2008 an important retrospective was held by museums in San Diego, at the Museum of Contemporary Art, in Atlanta at the High Museum, and in Washington, DC. at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
See also
- Fenton, Terry. "Morris Louis". sharecom.ca. Retrieved December 8, 2008
- Hopkins, David. After Modern Art: 1945-2000. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), p.29
- Morris Louis bio, http://www.theartstory.org/artist-louis-morris.htm
- "Morris Louis" bio, http://www.artscenecal.com/ArtistsFiles/LouisM/LouisMFile/MLouisBio.html
- Greenberg, Clement. Late Writings, edited by Robert C. Morgan, St. Paul: University of Minnesota Press, 2003.
- The Columbia Encyclopedia
- Kleiner, Fred S.; and Mamiya, Christin J., Gardner's Art Through the Ages (2004). Volume II. Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 0-534-64091-5.
- Schwabsky, Barry. "Irreplaceable Hue - Color Field Painting." Art Forum 1994. Look Smart 20 April 2007.
- Color As Field:American Painting, 1950-1975., retrieved December 7, 2008
- Wilkin, Karen and Belz, Carl. Color As Field:American Painting, 1950-1975. Published: Yale University Press; 1 edition (November 29, 2007). ISBN 0-300-12023-0, ISBN 978-0-300-12023-3
- De Antonio, Emile and Tuchman, Mitchell. Painters Painting A Candid History of The Modern Art Scene, 1940–1970, Abbeville Press 1984, ISBN 0-89659-418-1
- Various authors: Barbara Rose, Gerald Nordland, Walter Hopps, Hardy S. George; Breaking the Mold, Selections from the Washington Gallery of Modern Art, 1961–1968, exhibition catalogue, Oklahoma City Museum of Art 2007, ISBN 0-911919-05-8
- Carmean, E.A. Toward Color and Field, Exhibition Catalogue, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, 1971.
- Carmean, E.A. Helen Frankenthaler A Paintings Retrospective, Exhibition Catalog, Harry N. Abrams in conjunction with The Museum of Modern Art, Fort Worth, ISBN 0-8109-1179-5
- Henning, Edward B. Color & Field, Art International May 1971: 46-50.
- Tucker, Marcia. The Structure of Color, New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC, 1971.
- Michael Fried. Morris Louis, Harry N. Abrams, Library of Congress Number: 79-82872
- Morris Louis at the Museum of Modern Art
- Tate Collection Page
- 2007 Retrospective
- “Morris Louis Now: An American Master Revisited”, September 20, 2007 to January 6, 2008
- Morris Louis - Artist Overview on The Art Story Foundation | <urn:uuid:92a37c8f-2132-4ee7-9bbd-063b678ec2a9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Louis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915622 | 1,753 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Québec, December 5, 2007 – The Government of Québec, the Government of Canada and Makivik Corporation have taken an unprecedented step by signing the agreement-in-principle on the creation of the Nunavik Regional Government. Giving tangible form to Inuit aspirations, the agreement-in-principle marks a move towards the assumption of greater responsibility by the Inuit communities. This agreement-in-principle builds on the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement.
The first step of a broader process, the agreement-in-principle proposes the creation of a new form of public regional government adapted to the needs of Nunavik. This regional government will be headed by an Assembly made up of 21 members, including an executive council composed of five members elected by the population of the entire region. The future institution of Nunavik will hold the jurisdictions and the powers of the three amalgamated organizations: the Kativik Regional Government, the Kativik School Board and the Nunavik Health and Social Services Board. The jurisdictions and powers notably concern the education, health, public security and transportation fields.
“The agreement-in-principle signed today is at the heart of our desire to promote, as never before, the socioeconomic development of the Inuit communities. It aims to build an efficient government institution truly adapted to the needs of Nunavik. First and foremost, it testifies to the continuation of the profound ties of friendship that exist between Québec and the Inuit,” indicated Québec Premier Jean Charest.
“In conjunction with the governments of Canada and of Québec, it is by maximizing our efforts and by pooling our resources that we will be able to more effectively advance the regional priorities of Nunavik and significantly improve the living conditions in our communities. I am confident that together and in the wake of the amalgamation of our public institutions and the creation of a new government, we will succeed in building a better Nunavik for the greater good of our communities and our children,” stated Mr. Pita Aatami, President of Makivik Corporation.
“The Government of Canada has made a commitment to improve the quality of life of the Inuit. We also want to see to it that the Inuit can make their own decisions concerning the preservation and development of their distinctive culture,” indicated the Honourable Chuck Strahl, Federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians. “It will thus be possible to establish a climate that is conducive to economic growth and self-sufficiency, a climate which, in turn, will increase the standard of living and will continue to improve the quality of life of the Inuit of Nunavik.”
Benoît Pelletier, Minister responsible for Aboriginal Affairs, emphasizes that the agreement is a demonstration of the complementarity that henceforth exists in the relations which the Government of Québec maintains with the Inuit and Aboriginal communities. “Québec is today the result of the combined forces of all the peoples who make up the province. Together, we must see to it that our peoples have the necessary tools for their self-fulfillment and participate in the consolidation of our collective identity.”
Finally, it should be emphasized that the future regional institution will respect the authority of the Québec National Assembly and of the Parliament of Canada.
- 30 -
Online as of: December 5, 2007 | <urn:uuid:e4fac98f-7215-48ca-9409-1c8c7233ee37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.qc.ca/actualites/communiques/2007/decembre/2007-12-05-en.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936877 | 724 | 1.96875 | 2 |
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Governance & Leadership
Texts related to the need to learn and understand before taking action, and yet action leads to needing to know more. Also text on why social justice is such a "Jewish" thing to do.
Torah on Life and Leadership
Lessons from Moses
Lessons from Moses on becoming an effective actor for social change. Appropriate for adult learners.
Texts on the Jewish imperative to lead and deal kindly with others, both Jews and non-Jews
A text study on leadership for summer camp.
A discussion for Rabbis about their responsibilites
What is the most effective way to protest? How do we address immoral leadership, objectification of women, etc. assuming collective responsibility?
Considering the relationships between weapons, justice and violence | <urn:uuid:d7372a3c-4546-4b41-aa0b-938fbd0f4891> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.on1foot.org/taxonomy/term/175?page=4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931069 | 167 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Today, there are 50.5 million Hispanics living in the United States, sixteen percent of the total population. In 2000, there were only 35.3 million Hispanics in the country, reflecting a growth of 43 percent; a growth four times the rate of the overall population. Of this population, only 12.9 percent of Hispanics graduate from college, compared to 30.7 percent of white and 17.5 percent of black individuals. With such a large portion of America’s population undereducated, not only Hispanics, but America as a whole, will unquestionably fall behind in economic success and future prosperity. La Plaza’s goal is to progress the Hispanic population by encouraging development through education and by a helping community.
La Plaza is the brainchild of Thinkers Inc., a non-profit organization that was created for the sole purpose of developing disadvantaged minorities through education. Powering La Plaza is Dextro, LLC, a consulting, online training, and IT provider with a customer base made up primarily of Hispanics. Comparable to La Plaza’s goal, Dextro places the advancement of Hispanics as a top priority. La Plaza has also joined forces with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics to create a unique online experience aimed at providing valuable resources and networking opportunities for the Hispanic community.
On October 19, 2010, President Obama signed Executive Order 13555, renewing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. This historic event demonstrated the President’s strong support for the critical role Hispanics play in the overall prosperity of the nation and highlights the Administration’s commitment to expanding education opportunities and improving education outcomes for all students. During this event President Obama said the following regarding the Hispanic community:
“Our country was built on and continues to thrive on its diversity. There is no doubt that the future of the United States is inextricable linked to the future of the Hispanic community.”
With this premise in mind, La Plaza was born. It is La Plaza’s goal to be a one-stop resource for the Hispanic community. La Plaza is a space where friends can catch up, professionals can network, and ideas can be heard. Given its unique connection to the White House, users of La Plaza will have a direct link to top decision makers regarding programs, policies, and new ideas to implement within the United States.
Beyond the White House, La Plaza is a community where thousands of organizations with the goal of Hispanic advancement can share best practices; spread the word regarding initiatives and scholarships; listen to the needs of the community; and serve as a resource for users. La Plaza also allows users to post and find career and volunteer opportunities and provides a wealth of open source training materials to assist in professional advancement. | <urn:uuid:8908c4f7-dabe-4340-a228-ab0d7d14e061> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.laplaza.net/speakup/index.php/pages/aboutus | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944226 | 562 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Europe's top diplomat in Malaysia has been summoned by the foreign ministry to discuss criticisms he made about policies favouring ethnic Malays.
Malaysia has been struggling to attract foreign investment
Thierry Rommel, head of the European Commission delegation in the country, was accused of meddling in Malaysia's internal affairs.
In a speech last week, Mr Rommel said that the policies amounted to discrimination and protectionism.
Malaysian politicians reacted furiously to his remarks.
Mr Rommel described his 45-minute meeting with a senior foreign ministry official as "a useful exchange of views", and he hoped that it had resolved any misunderstanding.
The envoy accused Malaysia last week of denying foreign companies a level playing field - remarks which one government minister labelled "arrogant and extreme".
Mr Rommel called Malaysia's affirmative action policies a deterrent to both investment and free-trade deals - like the one Malaysia hopes to strike with the European Union.
He said that the policies - once intended as a means of reducing poverty amongst Malays by giving them privileges over Malaysians of Chinese and Indian descent - were now an excuse for "significant protectionism".
Correspondents say some foreign companies have complained that rules forcing them to take on ethnic Malays as business partners open the door to corruption.
Malaysian leaders were angry at Mr Rommel's remarks, with Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak saying the comments could be "construed as trying to interfere in the internal administration of the country".
But Mr Rommel insisted over the weekend that this was not his intention.
The veteran leader of Malaysia's parliamentary opposition, Lim Kit Siang, said that the government should justify giving state aid according to race, rather than accusing Mr Rommel of not having the facts right.
Malaysia's continued use of race as a test for business and social welfare has proved an obstacle in trade talks with the US, and is likely to be no less controversial in Europe, the BBC's Jonathan Kent in Kuala Lumpur says. | <urn:uuid:407d008a-dfbf-4813-b5b5-1e37bf2d4b58> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6237328.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970916 | 407 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Global Irrigated Area at Record Levels, But Expansion Slowing
In 2009, the most recent year for which global data are available from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 311 million hectares in the world were equipped for irrigation but only 84 percent of that area was actually being irrigated, according to new research conducted for our Vital Signs Online service. As of 2010, the countries with the largest irrigated areas were India (39 million hectares), China (19 million), and the United States (17 million).
The irrigation sector claims about 70 percent of the freshwater withdrawals worldwide. Irrigation can offer crop yields that are two to four times greater than is possible with rainfed farming, and it currently provides 40 percent of the world’s food from approximately 20 percent of all agricultural land.
Since the late 1970s, irrigation expansion has experienced a marked slowdown. The FAO attributes the decline in investment to the unsatisfactory performances of formal large canal systems, corruption in the construction process, and acknowledgement of the environmental impact of irrigation projects.
The increasing availability of inexpensive individual pumps and well construction methods has led to a shift from public to private investment in irrigation, and from larger to smaller-scale systems. The takeoff in individual groundwater irrigation has been concentrated in India, China, and much of Southeast Asia. The idea of affordable and effective irrigation is attractive to poor farmers worldwide, with rewards of higher outputs and incomes and better diets.
The option is often made even more appealing with offers of government subsidies for energy costs of running groundwater pumps and support prices of irrigated products. In India’s Gujarat state, for example, energy subsidies are structured so that farmers pay a flat rate, no matter how much electricity they use. But with rising numbers of farmers tapping groundwater resources, more and more aquifers are in danger of overuse.
If groundwater resources are overexploited, aquifers will be unable to recharge fast enough to keep pace with water withdrawals. It should be noted that not all aquifers are being pumped at unsustainable levels—in fact, 80 percent of aquifers worldwide could handle additional water withdrawals. One troubling aspect of groundwater withdrawals is that the world’s major agricultural producers (particularly India, China, and the United States) are also the ones responsible for the highest levels of depletion.
Another problem with pumping water from aquifers and redirecting flows for irrigation is the impact on delicate environmental balances. Salinization occurs when water moves past plant roots to the water table due to inefficient irrigation and drainage systems; as the water table rises, it brings salts to the base of plant roots.Plants take in the water, and the salts are left behind, degrading soil quality and therefore the potential for growth.
A potentially better alternative is drip irrigation, a form of micro-irrigation that waters plants slowly and in small amounts either on the soil surface or directly on roots.Using these techniques has the potential to reduce water use by as much as 70 percent while increasing output by 20–90 percent. Within the last two decades, the area irrigated using drip and other micro-irrigation methods has increased 6.4-fold, from 1.6 million hectares to over 10.3 million hectares.
With predictions of a global population exceeding 9 billion by 2050, demand for higher agricultural output will put more strain on already fragile water reserves. Even without the effects of climate change, water withdrawals for irrigation will need to rise by 11 percent in the next three decades to meet crop production demands.Reconciling increasing food demands with decreasing water security requires efficient systems that produce more food with less water and that minimize water waste. Intelligent water management is crucial especially in the face of climate change, which will force the agriculture industry to compete with the environment for water.
Further highlights from the report:
- The share of the area equipped for irrigation that is actually under irrigation ranges from 77 to 87 percent in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and in Oceania, but is only 59 percent in Europe. More reliable rainfall allows farmers in northern and eastern Europe to rely less on existing irrigation infrastructure than is the case in drier or more variable climates.
- Worldwide, the most commonly used irrigation technique is flood irrigation, even though plants often use only about half the amount of water applied in that system.
- India claims the lead in irrigated area worldwide, irrigating almost 2 million hectares of its land using drip and micro-irrigation techniques.
|View the entire report here.||Judith Renner | VITAL SIGNS ONLINE | November 27, 2012|
Homepage image: A man irrigates his field outside the Indian village of Bagh Jap. (National Geographic)
You may also be interested in: | <urn:uuid:c79a67a9-10f5-47b9-a1e1-c3e6a2d82a25> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://skumar@worldwatch.org/node/12115 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944881 | 976 | 3.375 | 3 |
to Olufunsho Ogundipe, an Afrobeat
musician who comes from Nigeria in West Africa. As you listen, try
to answer these questions: Where does Afrobeat come from? What is
the sound like? What exactly is the political message of Afrobeat?
does Afrobeat come from?
It comes from a part of Nigeria, the southern part of Nigeria. It
was a 60's thing influenced by, perhaps, the free jazz movement -
the Americans. The chap who was at the vanguard of this all was Fela
Anikulapo Kuti. He went through different forms of music - basically
starting by playing High-life, which was common to West Africa then.
And then modernising it, evolving it by, I believe, taking different
elements of other forms of contemporary music thenů Putting that together
to form Afrobeat. At its best, Afrobeat would be whopping, exuberant,
big band jazz.
What do Afrobeat records sound like?
Afrobeat is a mixture of different forms of music. When you listen
to an Afrobeat band, the first thing you hear probably would be the
jazz influence. Because a lot of times the harmonies are jazzy. And
also there is a lot of improvisation involved in this music. Also,
you hear the funk. Because funk, as the Americans play it, is actually
West African traditional music. Very repetitive, very groovy. Very
exuberant. The electric piano is at the soul of the music. As well,
you hear echoes of classical music in, perhaps, the way the themes
are structured, the arrangements as they are. Afrobeat really is just
a way of putting together all those influences and mixing them with
traditional African harmonies and rhythm. So, it is very powerful
What is the political message of Afrobeat?
Politics is essential to the genre of Afrobeat. More so because the
founding fathers, that is Fela and his like, were into social criticism
as a way of effecting social change. And you know, you cannot do anything
in isolation. Whatever your art form, it really has to reflect on
the times you live in. If you look at the folk music movement in America,
people like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, they also had a lot of criticism
in their music. I remember, when Fela died, one of the visitors to
his house said, 'Here lies Africa's Bob Dylan'. The music is fiery,
it is confrontational because the times he was living in. If you looked
at all the African countries then, there had been this transition
from the colonial governments to self-determination on the part of
most of the African countries. People were now governing themselves.
Well, Africans found out that self-determination did not mean the
eradication of ills in society. So, that was where the fiery and confrontational
attitude of Afrobeat came out.
Babb talks to Afrobeat fans in Sterns Record Shop/Cafe in Central
once again, this is Colin Babb for the Music Directory. I'm in Sterns
Record Shop and Cafe in Central London. And I'm listening to the very
jazzy rhythms of Afrobeat. This is a place in London where a lot of
people come to talk to each other about different types of African
music including Afrobeat, and there's a good atmosphere. Everybody's
having a good chat with each other... Right, I'm gonna get involved
in everything now. I'm gonna find my way around this place and find
out what people think about Afrobeat...'
you listen to Colin's interviewees, see if you can
spot the key
words and expressions people use to talk about Afrobeat | <urn:uuid:975af3a8-9dc0-440d-8eef-a5bc928aabc0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/music/musicdirectory/afrobeat.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950172 | 819 | 1.90625 | 2 |
The following programs are available from the collections of
the Society and are recorded on CD for computer projection to groups.
- Barns and Farms – a look at local farms and nostalgic
barns that are rapidly disappearing as development expands and farms cease
to be profitable
- Building the Sanitary and Ship Canal – a collection of
photos recording the project by the Sanitary District of Chicago to build
a deep canal for removing waste from Chicago sewage and provide a shipping
canal to the Illinois River.
- CCC and WPA Sites around Lemont that were built in the
1930s as a government – sponsored work program.
- Limestone – the main resource of Lemont for many years
from the digging of the I&M Canal up to about 1920.
- Postcards – from the collection of over 200 postcards
covering early views and up to the present time with scenes of modern
- Quarries and Springs – one of Lemont’s main attractions
and now a recreational area for tourists and residents
- Secret Treasures – natural areas with beauty and religious
places of interest from Lemont’s many religious shrines and churches.
- Evaluating Pre-Columbian Art Murals in Mexico
- Lemont Highlights – a selection of places around Lemont of
interest to tourists.
- The history of Rolls Royce
- The Wright Brothers and the first airplanes. Aviation pioneers of Lemont.
©2006-2013 by Lemont Area Historical Society | <urn:uuid:3a9a89d9-4a07-4842-8748-94079b1f9e6a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lemonthistorical.org/programs.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905534 | 312 | 2.375 | 2 |
Purpose. To determine how a heavy ship floats.
Materials. Two 12-inch (30-cm) square pieces of aluminum foil, 20 paper clips, small bucket, tap water
- Wrap one of the foil squares around 10 paper clips and squeeze the foil into a tight ball.
- Fold the four edges of the second foil square to make a small boat. Place the remaining 10 paper clips in the boat. Spread the clips as evenly as possible.
- Fill the bucket with water.
- Set the foil boat and ball on the surface of the water in the bucket.
The boat floats and the ball sinks.
The ball and boat both have the same weight, but the ball has a smaller volume than does the boat. The weight of water pushed aside by an object equals the force of water pushing upward on the object. The hollow boat has a larger volume than the compressed ball, thus it displaces more water. This results in a more buoyant force on the boat, causing it to float. Ships are very heavy, but they have a large volume, which increases their buoyancy.
This experiment was taken from Janice VanCleave's Science Through the Ages and used by permission of the publisher, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
For more information about buoyancy, check out Janice VanCleave's Play and Find Out About Nature (ages 4-7) and Janice VanCleave's Scientists Through the Ages (ages 8-12).
Why do I feel lighter in a swimming pool?
A: Your sense of feeling lighter is because the water is pushing up on your body.
Before the Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes (c.287-212 B.C.), nobody knew why some things float and others don't. It is said that Archimedes' king gave a silversmith a certain amount of gold to make him a new crown. When the crown was finished, the king asked Archimedes to figure out a way to secretly determine if the crown was made of pure gold or a mix of gold and cheaper metals, as the king suspected. Archimedes was puzzled as to how to do this, until he stepped into a bathtub and observed that his body displaced (pushed out a place) a certain volume (amount of space a material occupies) of water from the tub.
Gold has a specific density, or mass per unit volume. This means that there is a specific amount of gold material in a given volume. Archimedes realized that he could determine the volume of the crown by measuring the volume of water displaced by the crown, and using the volume and the mass of the crown, he could determine its density. It is said that he is so excited about his discovery that he ran named through the street yelling, "Eureka!" (I have found it!). He determined that the density of the crown was not that of pure gold, and the silversmith who made the crown was killed for stealing from the king.
Whether this story is true or not, Archimedes did discover a technique for determining density using water displacement. He also discovered that fluids, such as air or water, apply an upward buoyant force on objects that are partially or totally submerged in the fluids. Such object are said to have buoyancy (the tendency to float when placed in a fluid). The buoyant force is equal to the weight of the fluid that the object displaces. This natural law is called Archimedes' principle.
Whether a material floats or sinks in a fluid doesn't depend on its weight but rather on its density. An object with a density greater than the fluid it is in sinks, while an object with a density less than the fluid floats. This explains why a heavy ship or can float on water. Because the ship is hollow, the weight is spread out and the ship displaces a large volume of water. According to Archimedes' principle, the weight of this displaced water is equal to the buoyancy force pushing up on the ship. If the ship were compressed (pressed together) into a solid block, it would weigh the same but its density would be greater than water and it would sink. The small solid block would displace less water than the large hollow ship and its buoyancy would be less.
When you are in water, your weight (the measure of the force of gravity acting on your body) is pulling you down. But the buoyant force of the water is pushing you up. So you feel lighter. How well you float depends on your body density. The lower your density the more buoyant is your body. You can decrease your body density by taking a big breath of air. This expands your lungs making your volume greater and your density less.
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by Randolph T. Holhut
American Reporter Correspondent
May 26, 2011
THE FORGOTTEN STORY OF HOW THE FALLEN OF WORLD WAR II CAME HOME
DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Fifteen million Americans served in the military during World War II, and about 359,000 Americans died in the war.
Today, when someone dies in Iraq or Afghanistan, their body comes home within a matter of days. During World War II, the dead were buried in temporary cemeteries, most of them near the battlefields where they died.
After the war ended in 1945, the U.S. government embarked on an unprecedented project - to recover as many of the dead as possible and to bring them back to America for reburial.
Every family who lost a service member overseas was given three options: have their loved one's body shipped back to their home towns for burial, have them reburied in one of the 14 permanent military cemeteries that were being set up in the Philippines, Hawaii and in Europe, or have them reburied in a national cemetery in the United States.
All shipping costs were paid for by the government, and each casket received a military escort back to the deceased's hometown.
In the fall of 1947, the first of the transport ships started arriving - to the port of San Francisco for casualties from the Pacific and to the port of New York for European casualties.
The Joseph V. Connolly arrived in New York on the morning of Oct. 26, 1947, containing 6,248 steel caskets containing the remains of those killed in the European theater of operations. On the deck of the Connolly was a solitary flag-draped casket surrounded by an honor guard.
The casket contained the body of an unnamed Medal of Honor winner who died in the Battle of the Bulge, selected to represent the rest of the fallen aboard the Connolly, and the tens of thousands more young men who would be coming home in the months and years ahead.
Shortly before 1 p.m., the casket was carried ashore by pallbearers and placed on a caisson. A procession of 6,000 military personnel, including Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, escorted the body up Fifth Avenue in a solemn parade to Central Park for a memorial service. More than 400,000 New Yorkers lined the streets to watch the sad procession and another 150,000 were at the park for the service.
The next day, the Connolly was moved to the Brooklyn Army Base, where the caskets were unloaded and prepared for shipments to cities and towns all over America.
In the back issues from 1947 and 1948 of my local daily newspaper, the Brattleboro Reformer, you will see the names and faces of the dead who came home, one by one. Every few weeks, a new notice appeared - a reminder of the sacrifices made by so many families in World War II.
Typical of the honors given those returning was what was done for Sgt. Robert C. Brooks of Brattleboro, Vt. He was the first of that town's war dead to return under this program. The 1942 Brattleboro High School graduate enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was a gunner on a B-24. He was killed in a plane crash on the island of Morotal, Netherlands West Indies, on Jan. 10, 1945.
His body arrived by train at Brattleboro's Union Station on Tuesday night, July 6, 1948. A group of fellow veterans escorted his casket up Main Street in a procession to Rodhe's Funeral Home, where they posted an honor guard at his bier. The next day, funeral services were held at the First Baptist Church and Brooks was buried with full military honors in Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery.
This scene was repeated all around Vermont and New Hampshire, and the rest of the nation, as the fallen were returned to their hometowns.
They had a funeral service at the Hinsdale, N.H., town hall for Ensign Channing Rouillard, a Naval pilot who was killed in the South Pacific. He came home on Oct. 30, 1947, and services were held three days later.
The stores in Bellows Falls, Vt., shut down on the morning of Oct. 31, 1947, for the funeral procession of Lt. Edward J. Nachajski of nearby North Walpole, N.H. He was a bomber pilot who was shot down in the South Pacific on Jan. 24, 1944.
Lt. Michael E. Butinsky of South Vernon, Vt., was only in the European Theater of Operations for one month when he was shot down over Poland in December 1944. His grave was found in May 1948 and his body eventually made it home to Vermont.
Pvt. Charles E. Cole of Wilmington, Vt., and Sgt. Alfred G. Tier of West Dummerston, Vt., were both killed in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. Both their bodies returned home in July 1948.
It took more than six years and cost more than $200 million (the equivalent of several billion dollars today) to return the bodies of 233,181 dead American servicemen to their homes and to rebury another 93,000 in overseas military cemeteries. More than 78,000 remain missing in action six decades later.
"The vast reburial program after World War II is all but forgotten today," wrote historian David P. Colley, who detailed the program in his 2004 book, "Safely Rest."
"There is no glory in the saga of the dead, and this operation was not connected to any massive invasion armada or to a victorious battle or campaign where heroes are made. It was conducted for the most part in obscurity, and the men in this huge army of the dead were mute. Today we think of these men, many merely boys, but once a year and not so much as real individuals but as part of the fabric of myth on which the nation is built. We think of them as abstractions and we do not know the details of their return."
But they weren't abstractions. For 359,000 American families, they were sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers who never got the chance to live out their lives.
The memories have dimmed with the passing decades, but for the survivors of those who died in World War II, and in subsequent wars, the pain never completely goes away. As we stop and remember the fallen on this Memorial Day, let us think of these families and their pain.
AR Chief Correspondent Randolph T. Holhut has been a journalist in New England for more than 30 years. He edited "The George Seldes Reader" (Barricade Books). He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:a3800e22-3aad-4dc0-a9dd-e3d232c48cc6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.american-reporter.com/4,663/257.html | 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 | 0.978111 | 1,412 | 2.984375 | 3 |