text stringlengths 213 24.6k | id stringlengths 47 47 | dump stringclasses 1 value | url stringlengths 14 499 | file_path stringlengths 138 138 | language stringclasses 1 value | language_score float64 0.9 1 | token_count int64 51 4.1k | score float64 1.5 5.06 | int_score int64 2 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In this DTOM article I attempt to describe the similarities between parasites found in nature and the Anglo-American elite. I also offer my suggestions for extracting usury from the system, as I believe usury is one of the primary methods used by the parasitical classes. Hope you enjoy reading it.
My definition of a Parasite
It’s important to explain the notion of a parasite from my own perception as I believe viewing the ruling classes as a parasite will allow us to understand their behavior with greater depth, knowledge, and wisdom.
A parasite – such as a tapeworm – is a life form that cannot survive without feeding off the energy obtained from a host body. For example, a tapeworm lies in the gut of a mammal and absorbs the food ingested by the host. The host, almost invariably, will have needed to expend energy to obtain the food either by grazing or through hunting and catching prey.
The tapeworm therefore needs a suitable host i.e. one capable and willing to provide food – a healthy host body. The host body doesn’t need the tapeworm. In fact, the host body would do far better without the tapeworm – as it then wouldn’t have a parasite consuming its energy.
My definition of a parasite is therefore: a body that absorbs the energy of a ‘host’ body.
The modern elite are akin to a parasite, but one much darker than a tapeworm. The elite are more similar to the manipulative parasites found in nature.
Parasitical life-forms that can control the behaviour of their host occur quite frequently around the world and throughout the ages. Certain fungi – Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, -can manipulate ants to climb-up plants, anchor onto a leaf, and then proceed to consume the ant’s brain before exploding and spreading spores onto other ants beneath the plant: thus commencing it – the fungi’s – life-cycle once again.
Another parasite – the gordian worm – is able to create perceptual illusions such as ‘no water’, when in fact there is a big pond resulting in the host drowning-to-death.
Other illusions include the manipulation of the senses to make the scent of a predator appear desirable; akin to a human-being having an attraction towards the smell of wolves and lions. The Pomphorhynchus laevis appears to be utilize this trick.
Such parasites use biological routes to manipulate their host’s behaviour, and the contemporary global elite also use pharmaceutical drugs in a similar manner.
The parasitical classes have utilized intoxicating substances as a method-of-control for a long time. From encouraging alcohol use in both present and bygone times to having a significant influence upon modern illegal drug trafficking, it certainly appears that the parasites love to warp and manipulate our conscious thought and perceptions – so long as there’s some type of profit involved.
Other biological controls they employ include prescription drugs peddled by their petro-drug cartels, and additives put into our food and water supplies.
To combat these biological attacks on the senses we must embrace natural remedies for ailments, and reject any drug-derivatives we encounter on the street. Humanity has always enjoyed becoming intoxicated, but we must look for natural home-made alternatives and not those packaged by the parasitical classes. Consuming their intoxicants merely allows ‘them’ – a parasite – to grow, and we must all learn to starve-the-beast at every angle possible. This also includes monitoring their other tool – behavioural-manipulation.
Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century a variety of controversial experiments were conducted both openly and in a covert manner. The elite, through funding their puppet researchers, developed many behavioural strategies to control their host – us – and used the information from theories such as classical and operant conditioning to keep us running-on-the-mouse-wheel to ensure they could hitch-a-ride and parasite upon the fruits-of-our-labor.
Operant conditioning examines the notion of rewards/reinforcements and punishments. Through usury, the parasitical class have encouraged our behaviour by rewarding those that play their game, and punishing those that choose not to.
To combat the parasitical class’ behavioural methods, you must be conscious of your behaviour. Do your actions or inactions contribute in some manner towards feeding-the-beast, and if so, how can you embrace behavioural change within yourself, and start to cull the parasites rife within our society?
Stop running-on-the-mouse-wheel, and reject the scraps thrown to you by the parasitical class and recognise their ‘rewards’ for what they primarily are – an illusion.
To combat the reward/reinforcement aspect of operant conditioning we could simply embrace the hunger for a return to real money.
Another primary form of manipulation implemented by the Anglo-American elite is the adjustment of societal norms and expectations. This is such a large topic that I cannot do full justice to it here, and suggest you watch, or re-watch, Chris’ academy work regarding psychological control. It’s sufficient to comment here that your social clock is engineered, and the things you desire are often implanted at a subliminal level by indoctrinated state teachers and media presstitutes.
The return to money
Illusory currency has been around for such a long time that the parasitical class have become totally dependent upon it. They’ve been able to do this as the common man has, for far too long, been tricked by hocus-pocus that pieces of paper and binary codes stored on a hard disk are actual assets.
Unfortunately for the parasitical class, the host – us – is evolving and developing numerous resistance ‘cells’ that are currently cornering the elite and exposing them at an ever-growing rate.
The DTOM website is one of many that advocate exchanging fiat currency into silver bullion whilst the opportunity to do so still exists. Unlike many other forums and blogs, however, here at DTOM we have folk none too keen to wait for a knight in shining armour to come and rescue us. The focus isn’t merely making a profit, either: The DTOM community examine ways and means to ‘leave the debt farm’ in as smooth-a-manner as possible.
Silver is indeed money, but do you really believe that having bars and one ounce coins is a sufficient way to run an economy? What if all two participants in the economy wish to do is have a medium-of-exchange for apples and potatoes?
An economy that utilises monetary metal as a currency is often hindered by the mindset of the wealthier members of that society. Coins are usually created by those with the wealth, and as such the base-metal coins and smaller silver coins were rarely around in sufficient quantities for those lower down on the wealth scale.
Through my own research I came to the conclusion that the last decent monarch my country had was Queen Elizabeth the first. Unlike her demented contemporary namesake, Queen Elizabeth the first defended the English against foreign taxation, and also minted more small coins that any monarch before her time.
A healthy economy will include many levels, and this can only be facilitated when the coins in play can account for all potential purchases: from a single red apple, to a fancy grand palace.
Gold and silver are not appropriate coins for small purchases whilst bronze/copper coins are not suitable for expensive purchases. Lizzie the first – or at least her advisors – knew full well that a healthy economy must include everyone; from the lowest paid to the savvy entrepreneurs. She therefore introduced bronze, silver, and gold coins en masse throughout her reign.
Money and the elite
There isn’t a method to correctly assess the amount of money held by the Anglo-American elite. It would appear they have virtually no silver after selling it cheaply for many decades, and the US treasury reports to hold none at all. In bygone times, nearly every government would have held silver for coinage and security, but nowadays the landscape is very different.
The people have the silver, not the elite.
It is perhaps a different story with gold. The central banks of the world have been net buyers for two years now, after being net sellers for many decades. There are many gold-bugs amongst the people, and this trend will grow exponentially.
Do the people have more gold than the Anglo-American elite? I’m not certain, but as the elite probably have far less gold than they state, and they have virtually no silver, the people have the money as of 2012.
The Anglo-American elite believe they can introduce SDR’s connected to the national and regional currencies of today. They gambled with their money on persuading the world to accept their global debt-based currency.
Will you accept it?
Will humanity accept it?
I personally doubt it. In fact, I foresee a 1340’s style collapse and the Rothschild’s of the world will be hunted down by those that perceive that some crimes simply cannot go unpunished.
Most of us, however, should and must simply walk away.
At the beginning of this article I mention the parasite commonly known as a tapeworm. Imagine discovering this tapeworm today, what would you do? Would you proceed to take a sharp knife and cut-out the worm, or would you consume a substance known to poison it? Obviously you would extract the parasite using the method known to have the least detrimental effect to yourself – or at least I would hope you would choose this option.
The elite use many methods to parasite off our energy, but their main weapon – in my most humble opinion – is the process known as usury. The Rothschild bloodline have practiced usury on both gold and fiat currency. Through this process they’ve manipulated governments, businesses, education, and ultimately most of humanity.
We therefore need to extract usury from the ‘system’.
We also, and more importantly, need to use a medium of exchange they cannot control; namely silver. However, as stated, the current quantity of silver is not sufficient in most places, and, even more importantly, the silver is stored in bars and one ounce coins.
A crown is a British coin weighing in at 28.48 grams – smaller than a troy ounce. Such coins were never popular amongst the people as they were considered too bulky and cumbersome. It will be a similar story for the one ounce coins today. They are bullion, but not a very good currency.
Constitutional Silver, is a currency system from a bygone time, and could certainly be incorporated alongside silver bullion. However, I still believe this would be insufficient for every possible trade, and would urge people to consider the semi-precious metal monetary systems such as the nickel dollar.
In the UK, we could use the 1920-1946 50% silver coins alongside copper sterling.
The world is full of parasites. Some parasites simply absorb energy from the host, whilst more malevolent ones actually control the behaviour of the host; often resulting in the host’s demise.
The Anglo-American elite – the Rothschild’s, the Windsor’s, and the Rockefella’s are a form of parasite that absorbs our energy: mainly through a process known as usury.
To extract one of their main routes, we must establish usury-free monetary systems, and such systems should – nay, MUST – include all the coins – bronze, silver, and gold.
The monetary systems we establish should incorporate many smallish coins of various metals. An economy functions far better in this manner. | <urn:uuid:74e3c845-6114-4158-811a-3e20bcaee96b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dont-tread-on.me/?p=13201 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955059 | 2,447 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Environment and the Australian Identity
Australia is a country where everyone can afford a bag of prawns as well as a bottle of wine and can then get to a pristine beach to watch the sun go down. At times, the wine may be substituted with a six pack of beer, the prawns with a fishing rod and the beach with a river. In fact, there are thousands of different ways that Australians access the landscape in ways that heighten an appreciation for the natural world around them.
The widespread ability to access the landscape is a lifestyle opportunity that is relatively unique to Australia. For Europeans, it is difficult to access the landscape because the most desirable landscapes are locked up in private hands. For Americans, it is difficult because huge population densities necessitate heavy regulation, fees, and corporatisation of the environment. For Asians, it is difficult because pollution has resulted in much of the landscape being undesirable to access. For Africans, endemic violence, bilharzia, lions and malaria means that accessing the landscape is weighed down with a serious threat to life.
The ease of accessing the landscape has a significant effect on a variety of aspects of the Australian psyche. One is an erosion of socially constructed aspects of prestige. Australians enjoying the sensual delights on the beach or aside a river quickly realise that some of the urban avenues to prestige and satisfaction, such as brands, make up and the latest IKEA table, become somewhat unimportant. As a result, Australia is a country where it is relatively easy to be poor and still enjoy a great life. A second effect is an erosion of formality. When camping out bush, whether a coffee is stirred using a silver spoon or stick is irrelevant when compared to the coffee's taste or the view on show. Likewise, whether shoes match the trousers is irrelevant when compared to whether the shoes will hold together on a mountain trek.
Accessing the landscape has also had an influence on Australian art. Because the landscape is both harsh and beautiful, it has had a way of dividing people into different spectrums. As was eloquently stated by Marcus Clarke in 1896:
Down on His Luck
After being intimidated by the landscape, many poets, filmakers, novelists and visual artists have used it as a kind of metaphor of the mental wasteland that they consider Australia to be. For example, A.D Hope wrote:
"They call her a young
country, but they lie:
Without songs, architecture, history:
her monotonous tribes from Cairns to Perth.
her five cities, like five teeming sores,
Others have used the landscape as a metaphor of the resilience, strength and durability that they feel Australians to be. For example, in his classic poem, the Man from Snowy River, Banjo Patterson personified a hero by associating him with the bush. In his own words,
still so slight and weedy, one would doubt his power to stay,
hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusko's side,
Likewise, Dorothea Mackellar felt that the harshness of the landscape actually helped her appreciate it more:
Core of my heart, my country!
of my heart, my country!
An opal-hearted country,
As well as dividing Australians due to its harshness, the landscape has been divisive because of the freedom it affords. When disconnected from civilisation, Australians can respond to the isolation by running around naked or doing some other kind of activity that is far beyond the conventions that are acceptable in the city. In the days of the penal colony, this made the bush a refuge for convicts, larrikins and all those who felt repressed by British civic life. Because most of the urban population felt repressed, the bushrangers became heroes and the men of the bush were held up as the prototypical Australian.
As well as appealing to the local population, the freedom of the bush also appealed to those from abroad. In the words of English author D.H Lawrence,
On the flip side, the lack of comfort that clear rules and a strong police presence provides has a way of making some Australians feel uncomfortable and downright scared. This fear has been exploited in movies such as Mad Max, Wolf Creek and Wake in Fright, which have created nightmarish visions of worlds where individuals are not afforded the protection of a social order protected by authority figures.
Mad Max 2 - Introduction
Perhaps the different attitudes to rules and restriction also explains why many of Australia’s penal colony values have survived in government environmental policy today. Specifically, Australian government environmental policy involves locking up the environment and then manning the "prison" with "wardens" that kill cats, dogs, pigs and punish the "bogan" Australians that want to engage with it. There is no science in the policy. At a basic level, poisoning a feral cat in the local reserve is not going to stop more migrating from the other 7.69 million square kilometres where they maintain a presence. Even when government funding allows the poisoning to occur on massive scales, the outcomes are often worse than if humans had not interfered at all.
Rather than be anchored in science, the policy reflects the psychology of people who don't see themselves as belonging the ecosystem around them much like a warden feels he doesn't belong to the prison he governs. It is a psychology of a people who respond to the sense of intimidation they feel in a landscape without rules by trying to impose some in a way that makes them feel they have control. It is the morality of humans sold under the lie of science.
At the other extreme is the connective approach that is typified with the words of Tom Dystra who wrote,
Dystra was referring to historic farming practices that likewise saw farmers eradicate native flora and fauna as a way of exerting mastery and control. Even though he was referring to farming, his words could equally be applied to government policy today. On the positive side, there is a growing sense that good policy works with the land rather than tries to dominate over it or disconnects humans from it. Such an approach has been assimilated by many Australians who engage with the landscape in ways other than from behind a fenced off enclosure. Additionally, it has been assimilated by Professor Chris Johnson, from James Cook University, who has realised the problems of trying to recreate 1788 ecosystems managed by someone with a prison warden mentality. Johnson has argued in favour of reintroducing dingos, quolls and the devils to the various mainland ecosystems that humans have eradicated them from. As native predators replace the feral predators, or reduce their numbers, native prey is able to rebound. It is a management policy that reduces the element of human mastery over the ecosystem without trying to eliminate humans completely. Professor Johnson has some interesting research backing up his proposal. He has found that in places where dingoes are rare or absent, and foxes and cats are abundant, 50 per cent of ground-living mammals have vanished. Where dingoes remain abundant, the rate of local disappearance is 10 per cent or less.
As well as affecting Australians by allowing them to appreciate its beauty, the Australian environment has influenced Australians by exposing them to the harshness of floods, droughts and bushfires. Those who are able to endure the hardships have their resilience strengthened. In addition, communities come together in the difficult times to strength human bonds of kinship, mateship and civic pride. According to an editorial in the Australian newspaper:
Photo taken in 2007, four years after the 2003 ACT firestorm. Eucalyptus trees use weakness in the ecosystem as the opportune time to push for individual dominance. | <urn:uuid:90cc6389-6ce9-4326-8747-540c45ea7d0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.convictcreations.com/research/environment.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964817 | 1,567 | 2.953125 | 3 |
5a Look carefully
at the poster. What sorts of people would be able to go on the tours shown?
5b What changes
do you think have happened to Thomas Cook's business since 1841? See if
you can find at least three. You might want to read introduction text
5c How important
were the railways for Thomas Cook's business? | <urn:uuid:88d98ba7-12c7-4ab3-9131-6dc8e4da8644> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/victorianbritain/happy/source5.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961353 | 75 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Four days into his survey of the tsunami-ravaged Bay of Bengal shoreline, Secretary of State Colin Powell (search) on Wednesday still seemed in a state of shock and grief at the devastation he was seeing.
"I've been in war, and I've been through a number of hurricanes, tornadoes and other relief operations, but I have never seen anything like this," said the retired Army general after a 30-minute helicopter tour over a muddy landscape dotted with crumpled houses and toppled palm trees.
His trip continued as the State Department released new American casualty numbers, concluding that 20 more Americans who were missing after the tsunami are presumed dead, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.
Added to the 16 Americans confirmed dead by the State Department — eight in Sri Lanka and eight in Thailand — the 20 missing and presumed dead bring the total U.S. death toll to 36. Of those 20, 19 were in Thailand and one was in Sri Lanka, officials told FOX.
The State Department is still working on thousands of cases of Americans who remain "unaccounted for."
President Bush's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (search), was also touring the Indonesian island of Sumatra, hit Dec. 26 first by a massive earthquake then by the ensuing wave.
The governor has had extensive experience handling natural disasters, most recently a series of powerful hurricanes.
"The relief efforts will subside — it's going to take a while, but it will subside," Jeb Bush told FOX News in an interview. "The recovery effort will take a long-term commitment."
He told FOX News he "started saying the rosary" when he saw one area particularly hard hit by the tsunami.
From an altitude of a few hundred feet, not a standing tree or building was visible along large swaths of coastline. City block after city block had been swept clean. A large ship lay on its side, half submerged in water and mud.
Hills rising beyond the shore showed a stark high-water mark — barren brown land scoured clean below, and then a distinct line with verdant green growth above.
"I cannot begin to imagine the horror that went through the families and all of the people who heard this noise coming and then had their lives snuffed out by this wave," said Powell. "The power of the wave to destroy bridges, to destroy factories, to destroy homes, to destroy crops, to destroy everything in its path is amazing. "
Before embarking on his early-afternoon helicopter tour, Powell said U.S. money and military assistance to Indonesia, where nearly 100,000 people died, may lessen anti-American sentiment in the Islamic world.
"I hope that as a result of our efforts, as a result of our helicopter pilots being seen by the citizens of Indonesia helping them, that value system of ours will be reinforced," Powell said.
The United States bankrolls humanitarian relief in part "because we believe it is in the best interest of those countries and it's in our best interest," Powell said. "It dries up those pools of dissatisfaction that might give rise to terrorist activity."
"It turns out that the majority of those nations affected were Muslim nations," Powell said. "We'd be doing it regardless of religion, but I think it does give the Muslim world and the rest of the world ... an opportunity to see American generosity, American values in action."
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country with 238 million people, had the largest loss of life in the disaster that struck 12 countries around the Indian Ocean. Indonesia is a fledgling democracy and an ally in the Bush administration's war on terrorism, but suspicion of Americans runs deep here.
Islamic militants are blamed for three large bombings in the past two years, including one that killed 12 in the Jakarta hotel where Powell's entourage is staying during a tour of tsunami damage.
Other majority Muslim countries affected include Malaysia, the Maldives, Bangladesh and Somalia, all of which suffered far fewer casualties than Indonesia.
Sri Lanka, with an estimated 30,000 dead, is predominantly Buddhist, as is Thailand, with an estimated 5,000 dead. India, with about 9,500 dead, is mainly Hindu.
The total death toll has reached 140,000 and is expected to go higher.
Before touring the Banda Aceh (search) region of western Sumatra, Powell and his delegation met with Indonesia's foreign minister and inspected American and international relief efforts in Phuket, Thailand, where thousands died in shattered beach resorts popular with Western tourists.
Powell and the governor briefed President Bush by phone after the initial phase of their trip, informing him that the governments of India, Sri Lanka and Thailand appeared to have a "strong capacity" to manage tsunami relief, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said in Washington.
However, Powell told the president that the situation was very different in Indonesia.
The province of Aceh and the rest of the western coast of Sumatra took a double hit from the 9.0 undersea earthquake and the huge tsunami it spawned.
Sixteen Americans were confirmed dead in Thailand and Sri Lanka, and an unknown number are missing.
Although the State Department has a list of 4,000 or more Americans who are unaccounted for, officials do not believe that anywhere near that number have died. Many on the list are simply out of touch with family, or may have never been in the affected region, officials said.
Powell will represent the United States at a conference of donor nations and affected countries Thursday.
In Washington, as the new Congress convened, legislators announced plans to introduce a bill that would allow Americans to claim 2004 tax deductions for tsunami-relief donations made through Jan. 31, 2005.
FOX News' Greg Palkot, Catherine Donaldson-Evans, Teri Schultz and The Associated Press contributed to this report. | <urn:uuid:f7f823ce-72fd-4ace-bb0e-a4d772d84e7b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,143348,00.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968349 | 1,211 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Monday - Friday
Uncover Your Exercise Potential
Ayurveda and Exercise
Marla prided herself on her rigorous routine, running five miles daily. When she reached her early thirties she started to feel exhausted, couldn't sleep at night, and discovered that her skin was showing signs of aging.
Marla was exercising too much for her health. After consulting an ayurvedic physician, she started an exercise program that was more in line with her Vata body type. Today she sleeps through the night and has recovered her stamina, strength, and youthful skin.
Exercise has been an important part of the ayurvedic routine for thousands of years before it became a modern fad. Exercise gets rid of heaviness and stiffness of the body because it burns ama (digestive impurities) and creates more flexibility, lightness, smoothness and easiness.
benefits include enhanced firmness, endurance, and ability to
do work. It pacifies all three doshas and creates balance when
suitable for the body type and season. It enhances the digestion,
and if done properly, it dissolves impurities in the tissues.
Exercise enhances immunity and capacity for food. It banishes
fatigue, stops early aging, and retards weight gain.
Vata types need less exercise, so lighter activities such as walking are best. Pitta types need moderate amounts, swimming and skiing, for example, and Kapha types need more intense exercise, such as jogging and aerobics, in order to stay in balance. The seasons follow another pattern: if you want to increase your exercise, winter and spring are the best times. In hot weather, you need to decrease exertion and stay out of the hot sun. As for age, children have more capacity for exercise and older people need less, although daily exercise is essential at any age.
How do you know if you're doing the right amount of exercise? As long as you feel energized and blissful, you are not going beyond what your physiology can sustain. If you feel strained and exhausted, you're doing too much. You can continue to exercise until you notice one of the following two signs of overexertion:
If you're not exerting enough, you can exercise for a longer period or with more intensity. You could start with a walk, but each day you could increase the intensity of exercise (by walking faster). Or you could walk for a longer time (increasing the duration). Start out slowly and gradually increase the intensity and time. Stop when you note signs of overexertion.
asanas are the ideal form of exercise for all body types and ages,
because they balance the three doshas, tone the muscles, and rejuvenate
all the organs in the body. Pranayam, or breathing exercises,
are also good for restoring balance to mind and body. You can
take a course at a Maharishi Vedic Center to find out how to do
Exercise every day, as part of your regular daily routine. If possible, exercise in the morning before 10:00, as your body has more strength, stamina, and coordination during the Kapha time of day. Exercising at this time also energizes you, preparing you for the day ahead. Exercising in the late evening or towards bedtime is not recommended, as it can elevate body temperatures and disrupt sleep rhythms. A light walk in the evening is fine. Also avoid exercise from 10a.m. to 2p.m., the Pitta time of day when the digestive fires are burning high and it is time to eat the main meal of the day.
It's not a good idea to exercise on a full stomach, nor is it good to exert yourself if your stomach is empty. Wait about two hours after a full meal. Have a light snack of fruit juice, a cooked apple, or some kind of soupy, warming food before exercising and eat your full breakfast afterwards.
The Council of Maharishi Ayurveda Physicians recommends an abhyanga (ayurvedic oil massage) before exercise, which is another reason why it works well to exercise in the morning, after your morning massage. This will tone the muscles, get the blood circulating and prevent injury or strain.
Be careful not to use channel-clogging oils. Rejuvenation Oil for Men or Rejuvenation Oil for Women is ideal, because it contains herbs that penetrate the skin, clear the channels and rejuvenate the cells. A healthy massage oil enhances circulation and endurance all by itself.
These articles provide a great resource from The Council of Maharishi Ayurveda Physicians on the knowledge, practices, products, and applications of Maharishi Ayurveda. | <urn:uuid:3f513600-8ee2-44b5-afe9-6660c2e9d07b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mapi.com/ayurveda_health_care/newsletters/ayurveda_exercise.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954979 | 979 | 2.1875 | 2 |
This page is best viewed with a standards-compliant browser such as Firefox, Opera or Safari.
Corrosion can be defined as the deterioration of materials by chemical processes. Of these, the most important by far is electrochemical corrosion of metals, in which the oxidation process M → M+ + e– is facilitated by the presence of a suitable electron acceptor, sometimes referred to in corrosion science as a depolarizer.
In a sense, corrosion can be viewed as the spontaneous return of metals to their ores; the huge quantities of energy that were consumed in mining, refining, and manufacturing metals into useful objects is dissipated by a variety of different routes.
The economic aspects of corrosion are far greater than most people realize; according to a 2001 report, the cost of corrosion in the U.S. alone was $276 billion per year. Of this, about $121 billion was spent to control corrosion, leaving the difference of $155 billion as the net loss to the economy. Utilities, especially drinking water and sewer systems, suffer the largest economic impact, with motor vehicles and transportation being a close second.
The special characteristic of most corrosion processes is that the oxidation and reduction steps occur at separate locations on the metal. This is possible because metals are conductive, so the electrons can flow through the metal from the anodic to the cathodic regions. The presence of water is necessary in order to transport ions to and from the metal, but a thin film of adsorbed moisture can be sufficient.
A corrosion system can be regarded as a short-circuited electrochemical cell in which the anodic process is something like
Fe(s) → Fe2+(aq) + 2 e–
and the cathodic steps can be any of
O2 + 2 H2O + 4e– → 4 OH–
H+ + e– → ½ H2(g)
M2+ + 2 e– → M(s)
where M is a metal.
Electrochemical corrosion of iron
Corrosion often begins at a location (1) where the metal is under stress (at a bend or weld) or is isolated from the air (where two pieces of metal are joined or under a loosely-adhering paint film.) The metal ions dissolve in the moisture film and the electrons migrate to another location (2) where they are taken up by a depolarizer. Oxygen is the most common depolarizer; the resulting hydroxide ions react with the Fe2+ to form the mixture of hydrous iron oxides known as rust.
Which parts of the metal serve as anodes and cathodes can depend on many factors, as can be seen from the irregular corrosion patterns that are commonly observed. Atoms in regions that have undergone stress, as might be produced by forming or machining, often tend to have higher free energies, and thus tend to become anodic.
Schematic diagram of corrosion cells on iron [link]
If one part of a metallic object is protected from the atmosphere so that there is insufficient O2 to build or maintain the oxide film, this "protected" region will often be the site at which corrosion is most active. The fact that such sites are usually hidden from view accounts for much of the difficulty in detecting and controlling corrosion.
Most metals are covered with a thin oxide film which inhibits anodic dissolution. When corrosion does occur, it sometimes hollows out a narrow hole or pit in the metal. The bottoms of these pits tend to be deprived of oxygen, thus promoting further growth of the pit into the metal.
In contrast to anodic sites, which tend to be localized to specific regions of the surface, the cathodic part of the process can occur almost anywhere. Because metallic oxides are usually semiconductors, most oxide coatings do not inhibit the flow of electrons to the surface, so almost any region that is exposed to O2 or to some other electron acceptor can act as a cathode.
The tendency of oxygen-deprived locations to become anodic is the cause of many commonly-observed patterns of corrosion
Anyone who has owned an older car has seen corrosion occur at joints between body parts and under paint films. You will also have noticed that once corrosion starts, it tends to feed on itself. One reason for this is that one of the products of the O2 reduction reaction is hydroxide ion. The high pH produced in these cathodic regions tends to destroy the protective oxide film, and may even soften or weaken paint films, so that these sites can become anodic. The greater supply of electrons promotes more intense cathodic action, which spawns even more anodic sites, and so on.
A very common cause of corrosion is having two dissimilar metals in contact, as might occur near a fastener or at a weld joint. Moisture collects at the junction point, acting as an electrolyte and forming a cell in which the two metals serve as electrodes. Moisture and conductive salts on the outside surfaces provide an external conductive path, effectively short-circuiting the cell and producing very rapid corrosion; this is why cars rust out so quickly in places where salt is placed on roads to melt ice.
Dissimilar-metal corrosion can occur even if the two metals are not initially in direct contact. For example, in homes where copper tubing is used for plumbing, there is always a small amount of dissolved Cu2+ in the water. When this water encounters steel piping or a chrome-plated bathroom sink drain, the more-noble copper will plate out on the other metal, producing a new metals-in-contact corrosion cell. In the case of chrome bathroom sink fittings, this leads to the formation of Cr3+ salts which precipitate as greenish stains.
Since both the cathodic and anodic steps must take place for corrosion to occur, prevention of either one will stop corrosion. The most obvious strategy is to stop both processes by coating the object with a paint or other protective coating. Even if this is done, there are likely to be places where the coating is broken or does not penetrate, particularly if there are holes or screw threads.
A more sophisticated approach is to apply a slight negative charge to the metal, thus making it more difficult for the reaction M → M2+ + 2 e– to take place.
One way of supplying this negative charge is to apply a coating of a more active metal. Thus a very common way of protecting steel from corrosion is to coat it with a thin layer of zinc; this process is known as galvanizing.The zinc coating, being less noble than iron, tends to corrode selectively. Dissolution of this sacrificial coating leaves behind electrons which concentrate in the iron, making it cathodic and thus inhibiting its dissolution.
The effect of plating iron with a less active metal provides an interesting contrast. The common tin-plated can (on the right) is a good example. As long as the tin coating remains intact, all is well, but exposure of even a tiny part of the underlying iron to the moist atmosphere initiates corrosion. The electrons released from the iron flow into the tin, making the iron more anodic so now the tin is actively promoting corrosion of the iron! You have probably observed how tin cans disintegrate very rapidly when left outdoors.
A more sophisticated strategy is to maintain a continual negative electrical charge on a metal, so that its dissolution as positive ions is inhibited. Since the entire surface is forced into the cathodic condition, this method is known as cathodic protection. The source of electrons can be an external direct current power supply (commonly used to protect oil pipelines and other buried structures), or it can be the corrosion of another, more active metal such as a piece of zinc or aluminum buried in the ground nearby, as is shown in the illustration of the buried propane storage tank below.
Corrosion of a nail
The nails are immersed in agar which forms a moist solid gel. The agar also contains phenolphthalein and hexacyanoiron(III) Fe(CN6)– which forms a deep blue color ("prussian blue") in the presence of Fe2+. The blue colors are clearly associated with those parts of the nail that have been stressed, thus faciliting the anodic release of Fe2+ from the metal. The the pink color shows the cathodic regions that have been made alkaline by the reaction
O2 + 2 H2O + 4e– → 4 OH–
This clearly shows the separation between the anodic and cathodic processes in corrosion.
[Illustration from U of West Indies: link]
Water distribution main
If you live in the older part of a city where the mains are 50-100 years old, the water you drink may well have passed through a pipe in this condition! Severe corrosion like this is more common in areas where the water is acidic. Such water comes from mountain snowmelt and runoff, and usually acquires its acidity from dissolved atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Waters from rivers, lakes, and especially groundwaters from wells have usually been in sufficiently long contact with carbonate-containing sediments to have been neutralized. Water-works administrators like to make the water slightly alkaline and slightly supersaturated in calcium carbonate in order to maintain a thin coating of solid carbonate on the interior of the pipe which acts to protect it from corrosion.
Corrosion of reinforcing bars in concrete
All large concrete structures contain steel reinforcing bars ("rebars") that help ensure structural integrity under varying load conditions and especially during earthquakes. Intrusion of water, even in the form of fog or mists, can lead to serious corrosion damage, as seen in this picture of this column which supports a highway overpass.
Corrosion at metallic joints
The picture shows two steel structural members joined by cast iron flanges which have been bolted together. For some reason, one of the pieces has become more anodic than the other, leading to extensive corrosion of the upper part.
This gas pipe was buried in a red soil that contained iron pyrites (FeS.) The bacterium thiobacillus ferrooxidans derives its energy by oxidizing Fe2+ to the more soluble Fe3+, transferring the electrons to O2. It also oxidizes the sulfur, producing sulfuric acid. The resulting chemical cocktail has eaten a hole into the pipe.
|These galvanized bolts were used to join wooden beams together. Subsequent movement of the beams due to varying load conditions abraded the zinc coating. A lack of oxygen near the centers of the bolts also likely contributed to the corrosion by preventing the formation of a protective oxide film.||
Make sure you thoroughly understand the following essential ideas which have been presented above. It is especially imortant that you know the precise meanings of all the highlighted terms in the context of this topic.
An overview of the different forms of corrosion (with photos) | <urn:uuid:3d24d52b-2799-4383-bfbf-08e06b10fb4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chem1.com/acad/webtext/elchem/ec7.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950051 | 2,255 | 3.640625 | 4 |
Betwixt and Between.
by Kristy Campbell
I’d like to extend a virtual handshake to Mommy Tracked readers. I’m Kristy Campbell and if you have kids from 8-18, I’m your new best friend. I have five children from age 1 to age 17. If I've survived the madness – certainly so can you.
Many parents fear the pre-teen and teenage years -- and for good reason. The issues and stresses that arise during this period can be so overwhelming that it may seem like a better bet to close your eyes and just hope for the best. If you are brave enough to raise your head from the sand, perhaps together we can explore some ideas for raising perfectly imperfect tweens and teens.
Raising relatively happy, fairly well adjusted teens and young adults starts in the tween years. Tweens are defined by child development specialists and marketers as being ages 8-12. Some trend researchers are starting to talk about the pre-tween years being ages 6-8. Yep. The groundwork starts now. Sex talks. Crushes. Thongs. Eating disorders. Drugs. Ages 6-8. Seriously.
Here’s a quick quiz to see help you identify the species in case there is one lurking in your home.
- Have you had a request for a cell phone or email account or iPod from your child?
- Have you said no only to hear a door slam a few seconds later?
- Do you find yourself repeating directives only to hear stony silence in return?
- Does your child answer your questions with responses like “uh duh!” or give you that “you’re so lame” look?
- Have you added these words to your vocabulary: Wii, DS, Playstation?
- Is the “is your homework done” question a part of your nightly routine?
- Has your daughter passed into a strictly anti-princess phase?
- Are you wondering what the perfect age is to allow ear piercing?
Don’t be scared. I can help. My goal is to talk straight about the tough stuff. | <urn:uuid:1c67366a-4a51-45aa-92e4-5a616b63afae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mommytracked.com/features/one_teen_at_a_time/meet_kristy_campbell?page=0%252C1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936443 | 446 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Wed September 19, 2012
U.S. Explodes Atomic Bombs Near Beers To See If They Are Safe To Drink
Originally published on Wed September 19, 2012 4:34 pm
So you're minding your own business when all of a sudden, a nuclear bomb goes off, there's a shock wave, fires all around, general destruction and you, having somehow survived, need a drink. What can you do? There is no running water, not where you are. But there is a convenience store. It's been crushed by the shock wave, but there are still bottles of beer, Coke and diet soda intact on the floor.
So you wonder: Can I grab one of those beers and gulp it down? Or is it too radioactive? And what about taste? If I drink it, will it taste OK?
This could happen, no? Not to everybody, but let's say it happens to you. Have you been wondering what to do?
Well, wonder no longer.
Thanks to my friend, science historian Alex Wellerstein, we are now in possession of a 1957 U.S. government study called "The Effect of Nuclear Explosions on Commercially Packaged Beverages," which addresses this very question: After the bomb, can I drink the beer?
Written by three executives from Can Manufacturers Institute and the Glass Container Manufacturers Institute for the Federal Civil Defense Administration, the study says that after placing cans and bottles of soda and beer next to an actual atomic explosion, after measuring subsequent radioactivity and after actual taste tests, go ahead: Grab that can, pop it open and drink away.
"These beverages could be used as potable water sources for immediate emergency purposes as soon as the storage area is safe to enter after a nuclear explosion."
If you can make it to the store, you can drink. How do they know this?
Well, in 1956, the Atomic Energy Commission exploded two bombs, one "with an energy release equivalent to 20 kilotons of TNT," the other 30 kilotons, at a test site in Nevada. Bottles and cans were carefully placed various distances from ground zero. Notice, on this list, some of them are "returnable."
The closest containers were placed "less than a quarter-mile away," says Alex, "a mere 1,056 feet," the outliers a couple of miles off. Some were buried, some left in batches, others were placed side by side. These images, copied from bad photocopies, are in the report. The cans, as you can see, survived.
Lots of bottles survived, too. Some were shattered by flying debris, fell off shelves, or got crushed by collapsing materials, but a surprising number stayed intact.
Will the beer be radioactive?
As for radiation, they checked, and found that bottles closest to ground zero were indeed radioactive, but only mildly so. Exposure, the authors say, "did not carry over to the contents." The sodas and beer were "well within the permissible limits for emergency use," which means, says Alex, "It won't hurt you in the short term."
Will it taste good?
But what about taste? Post-bomb beer might not poison you, but will it keep its flavor?
The report says, "Immediate taste tests [gotta wonder who got that job] indicated that the beverages, both beer and soft drinks, were still of commercial quality, although there was evidence of a slight flavor change in some of the products exposed at 1,270 feet from Ground Zero." The most blasted beers were "definitely off."
The first tasters then passed samples to selected laboratories for further testing, and this time the contents were rated "acceptable." So here's your government's considered advice: Should you find yourself near an atomic blast and run short of potable water, you can chug a Coke or a beer, but don't expect it to taste great.
What's the lesson here?
There's a second lesson here, Alex thinks. Because beverages in bottles and cans keep you safely hydrated in dire emergencies, it makes sense to keep a six-pack or two or three (or four), in the basement, just in case. What if there's no lootable convenience store conveniently close by?
"For me, the takeaway here is that the next time you find yourself stocking up on beer, remember, it's not just for the long weekend," he says. "It might be for the end of days." | <urn:uuid:5b5ebd9e-9aae-4aed-95cf-bd4d1fb15adc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wmra.org/post/us-explodes-atomic-bombs-near-beers-see-if-they-are-safe-drink | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9689 | 928 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Tropical Cyclone Garry is in a good environment to intensify and satellite imagery from NOAA's GOES-15 satellite helped confirm that the storm has become more organized.
NOAA's GOES-15 satellite captured an infrared image of Tropical Storm Garry when it was located about 330 nautical miles (379.8 miles/ 611.2 km) east of Pago Pago, American Samoa. The image, created by the NASA GOES Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., was taken Jan. 24 at 1500 UTC (10 a.m. EST). The image showed a bright white circle of clouds that indicate strong thunderstorms were wrapping around the center of circulation as Garry continues to intensify. The latest bulletin from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that microwave satellite imagery confirmed deep convection wrapping almost entirely around Garry's well-defined low level circulation center.
NOAA's GOES-15 satellite is in a fixed orbit over the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and the West Coast and 22,300 miles above the equator. GOES-15 provides a good view of what is happening in U.S. west and in the Pacific Ocean.
On Jan. 24 at 0900 UTC, Garry's maximum sustained winds had increased to 60 knots (69 mph/111.1 kph). Garry's tropical-storm-force winds extend about 55 nautical miles (63.3 miles/102 km) from the center, making it a compact tropical cyclone. It was centered near 14.0 south latitude and 164.9 west longitude and moving to the southeast at 11 knots (12.6 mph/20.3 kph).
Forecasters at JTWC expect that Garry will continue moving southeast and is expected to pass far south of French Polynesia. Garry is expected to briefly reach cyclone (hurricane) strength before wind shear weakens and dissipates the storm.
Explore further: NASA eyes Typhoon Prapiroon intensifying | <urn:uuid:db9c01c2-bc81-491f-ae27-0864342d527e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://phys.org/news/2013-01-nasa-tropical-cyclone-garry.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912935 | 405 | 2.453125 | 2 |
From the mountains of Guatemala, the foro social de las Americas has uplifted the voices of resilience of the peoples. Despite decades of war and violent oppression, it is images of growth and red carnations that decorate the streets and walls. It was the military that would destroy the harvest in order to ‘starve out’ the resistance. But the plants, like the movement, grow back stronger. The names and lives of the many martyrs of the struggle are very alive in the people’s memory. It is with this energy and spirit that we have encountered the local struggles as thousands of folks across the hemisphere have converged in Guatemala city. This lives in the backdrop of the failure of the capitalist finance system, as grassroots organizations are converging for a week of exchange, dialogue and movement building.
Being in this country with the leadership of the social movements, it is immediately present the realities of the militarization of a county. The strong resistance despite the legacy of war and current systematic violence, assassination and disappearance leave a profound sense of humility. Whether is excuse is fighting ‘guerrilleros’ or ‘drug-traffickers’ or ‘terrorists,’ the military after 30 years of internal wars is building power against the people (with the backing of the US). The domestic military acts an army of occupation. In many cases, this forum represents one of the first times movements have linked together again after all the massive repression.
In the face of all this, an indigenous Mayan woman spoke to their community’s struggle the displaced a military base and transformed the space into an autonomous university. The strength and leadership of indigenous Guatemalan women is a strong inspiring force throughout this space as they take their struggle to the next level.
As SWU presented the history and the struggles we face on the US-Mexico border and shared our experiences with many other participants, we also connected with the front of the local struggle fighting the construction of the US’s first ‘line of defense’ – a wall of death on the border between Mexico and Guatemala, bring again hypermilitarization of the indigenous regions of resistance in the country. In addition as we are consuming natural resources at an alarming rate, there is a global race for extraction and environmental exploitation. In our communities at home, there face increasing pressure for mining and energy development we were able to dialogue with indigenous Guatemala coalition, CONIC, resisting the massive mining industry that are stealing the local resources for the consumption in the North and leaving the legacy of contamination, disease and death in its path. But the consciousness and resistance is rising. | <urn:uuid:266ac050-b1ff-467d-a67c-a90564ffe66a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.swunion.org/2008/10/el-grito-hasta-el-cielo.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949781 | 537 | 2.40625 | 2 |
Reaching Out with New Media
A study released this month by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) found that people who engage with the arts through various digital media are three times more likely (59% over 21%) to attend live arts performances, and do so twice as often (6 events per year over 3) as non-media participants. Titled Audience 2.0: How Technology Influences Arts Participation, the survey concluded that "media-based arts participation appears to encourage - rather than replace - live arts attendance."
in its entirety online for the first time this year, outlines several examples of how arts organizations are reaching out to audiences with online media initiatives. The New York Public Library, KQED Public Media and the Smithsonian Institution are just a few of the groups providing arts media online via services like YouTube and iTunes U.The report, which can be viewed
St. Louis-based television network Higher Education Learning Channel takes its offerings to the next level, providing iPhone and iPad apps for new audiences to engage with videos and sound recordings of local performances.
"We are faced with the Internet, social media, and other new technologies, and I believe the arts field must embrace them and integrate them into our work," said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman.
But the reach of new media in the arts doesn't end once organizations attract audience members to their venues; many performing arts productions are integrating technology and interactive media into the actual performances. Last summer, the National Symphony introduced real-time program notes that were delivered to the audience via Twitter.
Composers have even begun to write music that specifically calls for the use of computers and technology during performance. Computer programs that allow for the live processing of sounds created from the actions of the performer have widely expanded the possibilities of sound creation beyond the normal realm of instrumentation. Other programs can produce rich visualizations based on live sound inputs, creating unique artistic experiences with each performance.
Other music composers, like Eric Whitacre, have gone as far as to use social media to create virtual crowdsourced performances of their music. For his choir works "Sleep" and "Lux Aurumque," Whitacre released a video of himself conducting each piece so that users could record the various tracks (soprano, alto, bass, etc) and submit them. Whitacre then synced them together to create "virtual choir" performances which were then published on YouTube.
It's terrific for a music lover like myself to see social media and technology used in these unique ways to increase awareness for the arts among new audiences. These last several examples only focused on music, but there are many other ways new media is being used in theater, dance and other live arts.
Photo by Flickr user DeusXFlorida. | <urn:uuid:9750db3b-6f5e-4a33-a21d-4714423e69ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://readwrite.com/2010/06/30/how_digital_media_is_attracting_new_arts_audiences | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950636 | 566 | 1.960938 | 2 |
Naming the Ruby Mountains
It was November 5,1845. Explorer John C. Fremont split his party into two groups at Mound Springs in Independence Valley. The largest, led by Joe Walker, was given the job of finding the Humboldt River's headwaters and following the stream to the Humboldt Sink. The smaller band of ten, led by Fremont and Kit Carson, skirted the south end of Spruce Mountain and headed west to present Ruby Valley. From there the party trekked over Harrison pass to the Humboldt River. Fremont named the high range of mountains and river after Baron Friedrich Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859). The Baron, a German naturalist, traveler and statesman, never saw the mountains and river named for him. He would have been mightily impressed by the mountains and very disappointed at the puny little river.
Fremont gave the name Humboldt to the beautiful mountain range but it didn't stick.
In September, 1854, Lt. Colonel E.J. Steptoe sent an Army detachment west from Salt Lake City to look for a new route across the western desert for his troops the next year. Brothers Oliver and Clark Huntington guided them. During a noon stop, a teamster named Davis took some time to do what a lot of people did in those days. Looking for gold, he panned a nearby stream. He found several garnets and misnamed them rubies thinking they were precious gems. The name stuck.
Places named Ruby multiplied over the following decades: Ruby Valley, Ruby Mountains, Fort Ruby, Ruby Dome (tallest peak in the range), Ruby Lake, Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Ruby Marsh, Ruby Valley Pony Express Station, Ruby Range, Ruby City, Ruby City Creek, Ruby Crest National Recreation Trail, Ruby Mountains Wilderness, Ruby Siding, Ruby Valley Indian Reservation, Ruby Hill, and Ruby Wash. There may be others not listed in the references below but there are a lot places named Ruby in northeast Nevada.
The author received an email several months ago wondering if the name had come from the beautiful ruby-colored sunsets that nicely color the Ruby Mountains. Very nice thought. Those sunsets are outstanding but did not give the name to the range.
Sources: Nevada Places Names, A Geographical Dictionary, Helen S. Carlson, 1874, University of Nevada Press, Reno; Nevada's Northeast Frontier, Edna B. Patterson, Louise A. Ulph Beebe, Victor Goodwin, 1969, Western Printing and Publishing Company, 1991reprint and additions, University of Nevada Press, Reno; Pioneer Nevada, 1951, Harolds Club, Reno; Nevada Atlas and Gazetteer, 1996, DeLorme, Freeport, Maine; and Nevada Map Atlas, 16th Edition, revised 2005, Nevada Department of Transportation, Carson City.
Photographs by the author.
©Copyright 2008 by Howard Hickson. | <urn:uuid:474c1bf5-d262-40e0-8609-cad175d4a2dc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gbcnv.edu/howh/Ruby%20Mountains.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936466 | 609 | 3.390625 | 3 |
House Bill 4048 History
H. B. 4048
(By Delegates Fleischauer, Marshall, Manchin,
Burdiss, Caputo, Fragale, DeLong,
Webster, Hamilton and D. Polling)
[Introduced January 15, 2008; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §21-3-22, relating to
providing that all employees have the right to review and copy
the contents of their personnel file.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §21-3-22, to read as
ARTICLE 3. SAFETY AND WELFARE OF EMPLOYEES.
§21-3-22. Right of employees to inspect and copy personnel file;
frequency of inspection; employer's right to retain
personnel files on employer's premises.
(a) "Personnel file," as used in this section, means papers,
documents and reports pertaining to a particular employee which are
used or have been used by an employer to determine such employee's
eligibility for employment, promotion, additional compensation, transfer, termination, disciplinary or other adverse personnel
action including employee evaluations or reports relating to such
employee's character, credit and work habits. "Personnel file"
does not mean stock option or management bonus plan records,
materials which are used by the employer to plan for future
operations, security files, information such as test information,
the disclosure of which would invalidate the test, or documents
which are being developed or prepared for use in civil, criminal or
(b) "Security files," as used in this section, means
memoranda, documents or collections of information relating to
investigations of losses, misconduct or suspected crimes and
investigative information maintained pursuant to government
requirements, provided such memoranda, documents or information are
not used to determine an employee's eligibility for employment,
promotion, additional compensation, transfer, termination,
disciplinary or other adverse personnel action.
(c) Every employee, whether public or private, has the right
to inspect his or her personnel file, if the file exists.
Inspection shall take place during regular business hours at a
location at or reasonably near the employee's place of employment.
(d) Each employer shall, within a reasonable time after
receipt of a written request from an employee, provide the employee
with a copy of all or any requested portion of his or her personnel file, provided the request reasonably identifies the materials to
be copied. The employer may charge a fee of ten cents per page for
copying the file or any part of the file: Provided, That an
employer may not be required to provide a copy of an employee's
personnel file more than two times in a calendar year, unless the
employee requesting the personnel file has been terminated
involuntary. In that circumstance, upon written request of the
employee after notice of the involuntary termination, the employer
will provide another opportunity to review or request a copy of the
(e) The provisions of this section may not be construed to
permit an employee to remove the original of his or her personnel
file or any part of the file from the employer's premises or where
it is made available for inspection. Each employer retains the
right to protect his or her files from loss, damage or alteration
to ensure their integrity. Each employer may require that
inspection of any personnel file take place in the presence of a
The purpose of this bill is to give all employees the
right to review and copy their respective personnel files.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs have been | <urn:uuid:6de1ca1e-db2d-485c-9e26-3143150cd0a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.legis.state.wv.us/bill_status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4048%20intr.htm&yr=2008&sesstype=RS&i=4048 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915127 | 825 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Paint the House
- Bucket of water
- Painter's cap
- Give your child a clean paintbrush, a bucket full of water, and a painter's cap and let her paint the outside of the house, the car, or the sidewalk.
- Not only will your child feel proud of doing grown-up stuff, she will actually do something useful in the process, and get fresh air and exercise in addition.
- If your child is old enough to think that painting with water is silly, put some soap into the water and tell her she is washing the house. (In this case, you may not want her to wash the car; it could result in soap streaks.)
Copyright © 1998 by Patricia Kuffner. Excerpted from The Preschooler's Busy Book with permission of its publisher, Meadowbrook Press.
To order this book visit Meadowbrook Press. | <urn:uuid:b9933136-9e7a-44f5-ac29-87dc566fc994> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://fun.familyeducation.com/play/35573.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9617 | 183 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Imagine that we had a white president in office and that we were talking about civil rights for blacks and not civil rights for gays and lesbians.
Imagine that that president was dragged kicking and screaming into the public arena to make a statement about how he felt about the issue of civil rights for blacks.
Imagine that that president said that he personally was in favor of equal civil rights for blacks but that he still supported the concept of states deciding the issue on their own.
How many of the liberals jumping up and down today claiming what a savior Obama is would be elated about what the other president did? Not very many, and the situation is analogous. We have a heterosexual president saying he favors equal rights (in this case, the right to marry) for gays and lesbians but that he supports the concept of states deciding the issue on their own.
If Obama really thought that gays and lesbians had the right to marry, he would not have said that states should decide the issue because that means that gays and lesbians do not have the right to marry. If Obama really thought that gays and lesbians had the right to marry, he would have said so and then added that he looks forward to the day when that is the law of the land.
We should recall that, in 1967, the Supreme Court stated that no state could prohibit inter-racial marriages because "marriage is one of the basic civil rights "of human beings.
Before too long, the Supreme Court will once again be asked to rule on the issue of "non-traditional" marriage, this time between members of the same sex. What will Obama's view be then? | <urn:uuid:1ffe0549-6e18-4544-ad48-cea16ef87484> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/may/16/letters-to-the-editor-should-liberals-cheer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98395 | 329 | 2.015625 | 2 |
Volume 9, Issue 2 (March 1981)
Quenching, Tempering, and Aging Chromium-Molybdenum-Vanadium Cast Steels
The usual specifications for Cr-Mo-V steel castings fix modest levels of yield strength (350 to 450 MPa) in the hope of obtaining acceptable toughness. But this optimism sometimes leads to disappointment when only the components themselves are considered and not the attached parts. Tests carried out on Cr-Mo steel casings that have 100 000 h or more of service life show that, if toughness is sufficiently high in the as-received condition, and if certain precautions are taken into account at start-up, one may accept service embrittlement and even allow casings that reveal cracks caused by creep or thermal fatigue to remain in service. The aim of the work discussed in this paper has been to compare different grades of Cr-Mo steel distinguished in particular by chromium and nickel contents. Two subjects have been dealt with: the influence of the chemical composition on the optimal conditions of hardening and tempering and the preliminary study of age embrittlement (evaluated by the translation of Charpy V-notch and ductile fracture toughness transition curves). | <urn:uuid:f6439764-d0bb-4808-8ddc-60d07eed68cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.astm.org/DIGITAL_LIBRARY/JOURNALS/TESTEVAL/PAGES/JTE11648J.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915312 | 244 | 2.203125 | 2 |
‘Move together,’ president saysWASHINGTON — Pleading for unity in a newly divided government, President Barack Obama implored Democratic and Republican lawmakers to rally behind his vision of economic revival for an anxious nation, declaring in his State of the Union address Tuesday night: “We will move forward together or not at all.”
By: Ben Feller, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Pleading for unity in a newly divided government, President Barack Obama implored Democratic and Republican lawmakers to rally behind his vision of economic revival for an anxious nation, declaring in his State of the Union address Tuesday night: “We will move forward together or not at all.”
The president unveiled an agenda of carefully balanced political goals: a burst of spending on education, research, technology and transportation to make the nation more competitive, alongside pledges, in the strongest terms of his presidency, to cut the deficit and smack down spending deemed wasteful to America. Yet he never explained how he’d pull that off or what specifically would be cut.
Obama spoke to a television audience in the millions and a Congress sobered by the assassination attempt against one if its own members, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Her seat sat empty, and many lawmakers of competing parties sat together in a show of support and civility. Yet differences were still evident, as when Democrats stood to applaud his comments on health care and tax cuts while Republicans next to them sat mute.
In his best chance of the year to connect with the country, Obama devoted most of his hour-long prime-time address to the economy, the issue that dominates concern in a nation still reeling from a monster recession — and the one that will shape his own political fortunes in the 2012 election.
Eager to show some budget toughness, Obama pledged to veto any bill with earmarks, the term used for lawmakers’ pet projects. House Speaker John Boehner and other Republicans applauded. But Obama’s promise drew a rebuke from his own party even before he spoke, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the president had enough power and that plans to ban earmarks were “a lot of pretty talk.”
Obama’s proposals Tuesday night ranged across the scope of government: cutting the corporate tax, providing wireless services for almost the whole nation, consolidating government agencies and freezing most discretionary federal spending for the next five years. In the overarching theme of his speech, the president told the lawmakers: “The future is ours to win.”
In essence, Obama reset his agenda as he heads toward a re-election bid with less clout and limited time before the campaign consumes more attention.
Yet Republicans have dismissed his “investment” proposals as merely new spending. Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, giving the GOP’s response, said the nation was at “a tipping point” leading to a dire future if federal deficits aren’t trimmed. The Senate’s Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the president had gotten the message from the November midterm elections and “changed the tone and the rhetoric from the first two years.” | <urn:uuid:27945599-e73f-4bde-be4a-a3c58dda68d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/49573/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969722 | 649 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Without question, policies at the local, state, and federal government levels impact, intentionally or unintentionally, the development and well-being of children, youth, and families.
Because legislators and other policymakers can’t be experts on every issue affecting their constituents, the Children, Youth and Family Consortium (CYFC) seeks to provide legislators with the knowledge and skills needed to make fully informed decisions based in scholarly research and in neutral, non-partisan settings. In so doing, CYFC aims to maximize the positive impact of policies on children, youth and families in Minnesota without advocating for particular policies or positions.
CYFC’s policy program is led and organized by Sara Benning and Sara Langworthy. To contact CYFC with your policy-related questions, call 612.626.0715 or 612.625.7899. | <urn:uuid:54af7124-6f97-41a0-8003-ea708c00bb53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cyfc.umn.edu/policy/poli_overview.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913662 | 173 | 1.632813 | 2 |
| || |
Discussion: your questions and comments: 5 to date... add your own
1. Food in the life of Dona Gracia
Click and type in a question or comment
Q. Did Dona Gracia keep kosher?
A. This is a question that keeps coming up. Certainly there is evidence that she probably kept kosher as much as possible. We have reports from at least one servant during interrogations in Antwerp that the family resisted eating any meat brought home from the market, unless it had been butchered by one of their own men, who no doubt knew the techniques of Jewish ritual slaughter.
This servant, Marie, even gave the name of the man who did the slaughtering – one Robyn Pinto. This gives her statement a ring of authenticity, since the Pintos were either related or very close to the Nasi-Mendes clan.
On another occasion in Venice, we are told that a close friend and servant of Dona Gracia’s sister, Brianda, would slip into the nearby Jewish ghetto to purchase meat for his own use– a highly dangerous idea since Brianda had always argued in public that she had become a sincere Catholic.
And thus, she should have only employed sincere Catholics in her household. The implication is that the servant may well have been purchasing this meat for her table as well.
Q. What kind of food did her family eat?
A. Probably similar to the Portuguese cuisine of the period, with overtones from the Jewish cuisine of Medieval Spain, since this was where the family had originated. Underscoring this is that we do know that Dona Gracia moved around with a tight circle of converso servants from the same heritage.
There is a wonderful cookbook called “A Drizzle of Honey” by David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson. It consists of recipes taken from Inquisition testimony, with the stories of the accused on a facing page. It lists a marvelous cornucopia of meat, poultry and vegetable dishes favored by converted Jews in Spain and Portugal of that era – at least the ones that had been apprehended for heresy to prove their backsliding.
Their cooking, of course, had to be done with olive oil rather than the pork fat which was otherwise used widely in the region. Some dishes had a really strong Jewish “identity;” sort of like rye bread and bagels do today. Among those would have been eggplant dishes prepared in a myriad of ways.
Another would have been adafina, a stew normally made with pork, but one where they typically substituted chicken or other fowl to keep it kosher. It was often described as their Sabbath Stew as it was kept warm in embers overnight, ready for a Saturday meal – a time when Jewish law prohibited the kindling of fire and thus the heating of food.
We'd love to include your thoughts or information.
2. Translating a French Novel
Sent to us by Marion Lignana Rosenberg: firstname.lastname@example.org
In July 1997, when I was at the Avignon Festival on a trip sponsored by the French Institute Alliance Française of New York, I knew nothing of Doña Gracia Nasi, conversos, or the Alhambra Decree. I did, however, know the critical writings of Catherine Clément, in particular Opera, or the Undoing of Women, a magnificent screed that shaped my thinking about opera and inspired me to begin writing about it myself.
One afternoon I was browsing the bouquinistes when a book by Clément caught my eye. I was surprised to find that it was a novel, because like many Anglophone readers, I had been familiar with Clément only as a theorist. (She has in fact written more than twenty novels, including 2010’s award-winning Dix mille guitares.) The cover image was a detail from the Rembrandt painting known as “The Jewish Bride.” I noticed that La Señora took place in the 1500s and that some scenes were set in Ferrara. Since my academic specialty is the poetry of Ariosto and Tasso, who served as court poets in sixteenth-century Ferrara, this information alone made La Señora irresistible to me.
I purchased La Señora, began reading it back at my hostel, and didn’t set it down again until I had turned the last page. For many reasons, the novel’s power overwhelmed me. Among them was the pleasure of secrets unveiled: here was a novel about Jews keeping their faith in secret; about an unspoken passion that burned for decades; about a righteous and heroic woman whose name had been lost to history as I knew it.
The stakes in La Señora are staggeringly high. The novel unfolds against a backdrop of all-too-real horrors and tells of equally real acts of goodness and courage. The outrage of the forced conversions, expulsions, extortion, and violence inflicted upon the Nasis and other Jews is brought dramatically to life. I still weep over the burnings and torture carried out by fiends who profess a love that “is kind” and “rejoiceth not in iniquity.” At the same time, Doña Gracia’s valiant exodus to freedom in the Ottoman Empire, her rescue of Jews from the Inquisition, and her patronage of Jewish learning offer hope and a model of resistance. Clément’s prose is elegant and sensual and her feeling for place superb: Ferrara’s still, dusty streets under a scorching summer sun; the soft, rosy light of Venice; and the peculiar beauties of Lisbon, Antwerp, Istanbul, and the many other places through which Doña Gracia and her family travelled.
And, yes, I was also caught up in the tale of forbidden love that pulses through La Señora, of desire that is “always present because always overcome” (to borrow a phrase from Lampedusa’s The Leopard). Thanks to a note in The Woman Who Defied Kings, I recently learned that a tantalizing wisp of evidence exists suggesting that this love may have some basis in historical fact. (If you want to know more about this aspect of La Señora, I invite you to purchase the novel when it comes out!)
When I returned to New York, I confirmed that La Señora had not been translated into English. Working initially with the French Publishers’ Agency, I translated two chapters and pitched La Señora to several dozen publishers over the next few years, scoring two near-misses. It was not until 2011 that I was able to take advantage of a spell of unemployment to complete the translation as a labor of love. (Indeed, I wondered whether I hadn’t received the gift of time for this very purpose.) After hearing me read a selection from my translation, my future agent introduced herself.
I now have a complete, 150,000-word manuscript and an agent. Naturally, I devoured The Woman Who Defied Kings when it appeared, and I also keep up with works of fiction about crypto-Jews: Richard Zimler’s The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon and Mitchell James Kaplan’s By Fire, By Water are two that I especially admire. Over the years, a number of English-language readers who would like to be able to read La Señora have contacted me to ask when my translation will be published. With any luck, I will have good news for them soon.
There is so much more I could tell you—for example, how I took the name “Chana Yosefa” (inspired in part by La Señora) when I became a Jew by choice—but that is a story for another time. As for Catherine Clément’s unforgettable and beautifully drawn characters, her use of kabbalistic motifs in La Señora, and how the “facts” of her work of imagination stack up against the latest research (especially the Brooks biography), I see no reason to deprive readers of the pleasure of discovering and debating these matters for themselves when La Señora appears.
I would love to hear your comments. Please post.
3. Pictures at an Exhibition, Madrid
Sent in by Andrée Aelion Brooks: email@example.com
I just got back this afternoon from a visit to the Prado Museum in Madrid where, among its fantastic paintings, I found myself entering a room where it seemed that on the walls all around me were old friends from my Dona Gracia research days. And suddenly those paintings felt like I was encountering real people with secrets I now knew!
In Room 56 there was Catherine of Hapsburg, wife of John III of Portugal -- the Queen who should have raised Dona Gracia´s infant daughter had DG allowed her to do so. Thank goodness she didn´t. Peering past the exquisite black velvet dress trimmed with gold, was a plump, double-chinned woman who could only charitably be called ¨plain.¨ She seemed dour and devoid of emotion -- decidedly watery blue blood flowing in her veins. Still, I wanted to speak to her and we did have a sort of a ¨chat.¨
And she did look like she knew well how to play the royal power game and what was expected of her. After all, she once wrote a personal letter to her brother, Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor up in Flanders, pleading with him to let Diogo Mendes, Dona Gracia´s brother in law, go free after Diogo had been jailed for supposed heresy and aiding the Turks. But this was only because the pair wanted Diogo´s money and tying him up in jail also tied up his money. So take that haughty look off your face, Catherine, I now know your game!
Next to Catherine, on her right, was a portrait of Mary Tudor who may have met Dona Gracia in England. Mary also was unbelievably plain, uneasy and stiff. Her clothes were as plain as her face, oddly enough. Not someone you would want to meet, except if you had no choice.
Maybe I was a bit biased, but next to her was a portrait of an unnamed young ¨Lady with Gold Chains¨ from the same era. Her eyes and face were so full-blooded that -- pardon my imagination - she looked very Jewish. Could this have been Ana? or the niece from the medal?
Indeed, she was so different that it occurred to me that one day we might discover that the members of the House of Mendes have their anonymous portraits hanging in museums and private collections all over the place without anyone knowing who they are. So I would like to put out a call to any gallery, museum or private collector; if you have a portrait from the mid 16th century with any of the family names -- Mendes, Nasi, Micas, de Luna and so forth, please let us know. We will offer a full list of names in a coming post.
Upstairs in Room 27 was Titian´s famous portrait of Charles V on a horse - the quintessential Charles, determined, regal, cunning and painted just after his victory at Muhlberg. Not a mention, of course, about who he tried to strong-arm into giving him the cash to pay for his endless battles. Okay, Charles, I now know the real story!!! Okay, Charles. Get off your high horse (literally). You don't have to show up with that supersized codpiece (stuffed, I am sure).
And over in Room 49 was Raphael´s famous ¨Portrait of a Cardinal¨ who could well have been one of those righteous Vatican cardinals that the family bribed for so many years to keep the Inquisition from coming to Portugal. It was painted a little earlier, but the young man could have well been in his middle years by the time the Mendes came along with their lobbyist, Duarte da Paz. The cardinal´s right hand is not in the picture, symbolic of his hot hand for cash?
It was all a little much - as though they had suddenly come to life before my eyes and had to answer for their nefarious deeds.
More another time...
4. All the news from Istanbul!
Sent to us by Aaron Nommaz: firstname.lastname@example.org
Some time ago, I set out to write a book on Dona Gracia in Turkish, as there is none, to serve as a monument and encourage future Turkish writers that would be interested in her. My aim was to dig into the Ottoman archives and get some more information about her.
But, as you might know, it is a difficult task for local academicians, let alone for an engineer-businessman like myself. The director of the Dolmabahçe Palace, who has been the assistant of Halil Inalcik for the past 17 years, is helping me. And I have two master's degree students of history digging. But so far I am not satisfied with the progress. Since the family had no official status, apart from The Naxos title, there is little written in govermental chronicals.
Presently there is a very popular TV series in Turkey about the “great 100 years” of the empire with Suleyman the Magnificient and Roxelana as main characters. We are looking if we could insert an episode with Dona Gracia to awaken more interest in her.
I am also working with the Portuguese Embassador to see if we can set up an exhibition that would travel her world, starting in Lisbon ending in Tiberias. We had several meetings with the Portuguese and Turkish ministers of culture and both expressed interest in the subject. There is interest in turning the empty La Sinyora synagogue in Haskoy, Istanbul, into a Dona Gracia museum. We need ideas and material to develop this.
As I finish my book I find that Brooks' biography, as well as Roth’s, has served as an invaluable guide. Andree Brooks seems to have said all there is to say; but I also made an effort as an Ottoman Jew of Portuguese origin to inrease awareness in the local Jewish community as well as a broader circle. And I intend to work a few days in the Bibliothéque Nationale in Paris and perhaps do some research in Venice, if I can find the time. Thats all for now.... Aaron Nommaz, honorary consul of Portugal in Istanbul.
5. Blood really can really be thicker than water.
Sent to us by Sonya A. Loya: email@example.com
Growing up in a Spanish Catholic family, never feeling like the shoe fit, I left the church when I was 18 and Christianity all together at 36. After life long drawn to Judaism, and practicing on my own for eight years, my father announced to me that he had known since he was six that he was a Jew. This news came after several years of telling my parents that I thought we were Spanish Jews.
My formal conversion took place a year later with Rabbi Leon of Congregation B'nai Zion, in El Paso, Tx. This led yet on another journey - working with others like me and discovering we had the same dreams. Working with those other B'nai Anousim led to conferences, a learning center and finally having us all go on a trip to Israel this past summer.
At our visit to the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv, I discovered information on the Loya name. There were 3 Loya rabbis from 15th-19th centuries listed in their Moroccan data bank. I also discovered 15 Loya families listed in the Tel Aviv, phone book.
Our second day was spent in Tiberias, we visited the Dona Gracia Museum. The group had a great time dressing up in period clothing and touring the museum. We even learned, later on, that there was once an ancient Loya synagogue in Tiberias, which had been so beloved by Dona Gracia. As someone who also started out living life as a Catholic, Dona Gracia had become my heroine. May her memory be for a blessing! | <urn:uuid:1ac8b0cf-549a-4984-9991-4f2b5adb684d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.donagraciaproject.org/disc.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976312 | 3,401 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, Pete had seemed to marvel his family and friends with his basketball ability since he was young. His father Press Maravich, former player turned coach, showed Pete the fundamentals starting at age 7. Pete would spend hours practicing ball control tricks, passes, head fakes, and long range shots. He decided on the guard position, the only position he would ever play.
He attended three high schools as a teen: Daniel High School in Clemson, South Carolina, Needham Broughton in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Edward Military Institute in Salemburg, North Carolina. During his years at those schools, he wowed college scouts with his ability to play his favorite sport. And so, in 1966, Pete decided to attend Louisiana State University, where his father was head basketball coach. This is where he, along with his trademark floppy gray socks, became legendary.
He scored a record 3,667 points for his career at LSU, which lasted from 1967-1970, and averaged 44.2 points per game for his career, also a record. His records are even more remarkable for two reasons: First, in Maravich's time, freshmen were ineligible for varsity sports - meaning that he only had three years to compile his career point totals instead of the four years today's college players have. Second, he played more than 15 years before the NCAA instituted the three-point field goal. Many of his outside shots would be three-pointers today.
Maravich was named The Sporting News' player of the year in 1970. He scored a personal record of 69 points versus Alabama during a game that year, and garnered numerous other awards and college records. He graduated from LSU in 1970, but the respect he garnered among many of Louisiana's basketball fans would bring him back to that state soon.
In November of 1970, Maravich started his NBA career with the Atlanta Hawks. After four years there, he was back in Louisiana upon being traded to the New Orleans Jazz. Many say that he had his best years in the NBA as a player while in New Orleans. In the 1979-80 season the Jazz became the Utah Jazz, and Maravich was soon traded to the Boston Celtics, where he played for one season alongside Larry Bird before retiring.
In 1982 Pete Maravich "found religion" and became a motivational speaker, incorporating Christian faith into his message. He enjoyed the life of a retired basketball player.
On January 5, 1988, while playing a pickup basketball game with a group that included Focus on the Family head James Dobson (Maravich was scheduled to appear on Dobson's radio show later that day), he collapsed and died of a heart attack at the age of only 40. An autopsy revealed that his death was due to a previously undiagnosed congenital heart defect; he had been born with only one coronary artery instead of the normal two. After Maravich's death, Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer signed a proclamation officially naming the LSU home court the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Maravich was a 24.2 points per game scorer in his NBA career, scoring 15,948 points in 658 games. He scored 68 points in one game versus the New York Knicks and shares the record for most free throws made in a quarter with 14. He was a 5-time All-Star, and led the league in points in 1977 when he scored 31.1 points a game. In 1996, he was named one of the 50 greatest NBA players in history by a panel made up of NBA historians, former players and coaches. His widow and their two sons accepted the honor in his place.
Pistol Pete also came out with Pistol Pete's Homework Basketball video series. The series contains four different videos, one on passing, ball-handling, shooting, and dribbling. The videos are meant for people of all ages who want to learn the great skills and drills that made him one of the best basketball players of all time.
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details | <urn:uuid:0e12be06-6ade-4b92-8401-96bdbe8a49de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/science_fair_projects_encyclopedia/Pete_Maravich | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987484 | 856 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Start / Menu > Historical Photos
1932 Baird Electronic Cinema Concept (UK)
By 1932, Barid had moved from lamps to spinning mirrors. In a highly promoted public demonstration, Baird transmitted a horse race from Epsom Downs 25 miles to the Metropole Cinema in Victoria. Image size was 10 feet by 8 feet and rear-projected onto a translucent screen. The projector used a drum of 30 mirrors spinning at 750 rpm. Three channels (not RGB) were used to transmit the monochrome image. The reports were that the images were very blurred and flickered but it was possible to see the horses and jockeys.
©Copyright 2003-2011 . All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:2cc4a4ce-75ac-4e9a-b6f1-f9ce7962a8c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dcinematoday.com/dc/gallery.aspx?index=5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963938 | 141 | 2.625 | 3 |
Watching your toddler play and learn about the world around them should be a happy time for any mother. But Rosetta couldn’t enjoy watching her 14 month old son, Joseph, grow up because she lived with the constant fear of him contracting malaria - a disease that’s already taken the lives of two of her children.
Kids under the age of five are most at risk of dying from malaria - and both of Rosetta’s children were the same age as Joseph when they caught the killer disease.
Sam was treated in hospital when he first got very sick, but the disease flared up again shortly after, and his body was just too weak to pull through.
A year later, Rosetta rushed her daughter Lillian to hospital. But tragically, it was too late – Lillian also lost her life.
Rosetta was devastated and felt utterly powerless – she simply couldn’t stop the mosquitoes, that carry the disease, from biting her children as they slept.
But, thankfully, that’s not the end of the story.
Last year, five of the brave celebrities who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Comic Relief went to Uganda to hand out half a million mosquito nets. And Rosetta was one of the first to receive enough life-saving nets to protect her entire family.
By getting the nets, and information on how best to use them - mums, dads and their kids, like Rosetta and her family, have a fighting chance against this deadly disease.
“After receiving mosquito nets distributed by Comic Relief, Rosetta’s entire family now has a fighting chance against deadly malaria in Uganda.” | <urn:uuid:0dd46419-1867-4243-a81e-2da6a31d716a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.comicrelief.com/how-we-help/the-difference-we-have-made/personal-stories/rosetta?quicktabs_6=6&quicktabs_7=0&quicktabs_5=5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977442 | 344 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Assad’s Address Made It Clear That He Is An Enemy Of Peace & Will Continue To Plunge Syria Further Into Violence, Says Ros-Lehtinen
(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), former Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and now serving as Chairman of the Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee, made the following statement regarding Sunday’s address by Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad:
“Assad has made it clear that a peace plan to bring an end to the conflict that has cost tens of thousands of lives and forced countless more innocents to flee Syria is not an option he is willing to consider. Assad’s destructive rhetoric denouncing the opposition as ‘enemies of God and puppets of the West’ will not further any hope for peace but only plunge Syria further into the depths of this conflict.
“His attempts to maintain his regime’s iron grip on power by mercilessly targeting civilians and bombing population centers will only further the despair and suffering of the Syrian people. Any actions by the Obama Administration regarding Syria, however, must be taken cautiously. The recent designation of a Syrian rebel group as a terrorist organization with ties to al-Qaeda by the Administration means the U.S. must take the necessary precautions to conduct proper oversight and due diligence regarding this delicate situation.
“In order to end the ruthless killing and destruction, Assad must step down. The U.S. and responsible nations should advocate for a peaceful democratic transition in Syria to promote stability in the Middle East and support our ally Israel as she faces a growing threat of extremist elements stemming from this conflict. As recent experience has shown, we must not replace one dictator with another nor create a situation that will only further destabilize an already inflamed region.” | <urn:uuid:eb03866e-71f5-4378-879d-16ba2ff04f49> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ros-lehtinen.house.gov/press-release/assad%E2%80%99s-address-made-it-clear-he-enemy-peace-will-continue-plunge-syria-further | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938918 | 375 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
News & Music Contributors
State Budget Crisis
Gregoire: eliminate state's Basic Health program for poor
Eliminating the state's health insurance program for the poor is on Governor Chris Gregoire's list of proposed budget cuts. Her proposal also includes cuts to education programs benefiting gifted children and financial help for revenue-poor school districts.
Gregoire laid out her ideas in a letter sent Tuesday to Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown (D-Spokane).
The state is facing a projected $6 billion shortfall in the 2011-13 budget. But it also must slash $400 million from the current budget, which ends in June, due to reduced tax collections. Dismantling Basic Health would recoup almost $34 million dollars. The program covers roughly 100,000 people in Washington.
Advocates for the program have said getting rid of Basic Health will cost the state money in the long run with more uninsured seeking care in hospital emergency rooms. When cuts were proposed earlier this year, Carlos Olivares of the Yakima Farm Workers Clinic told the Yakima Herald-Republic:
"Basic Health is targeted to hard-working people. It would be criminal to yank it from them," said Olivares.
The governor is expected to call a special legislative session in December to deal with the budget crisis. In Gregoire's letter, she called for urgency, according to the Seattle PI.com:
Gregoire said "another round of across-the-board cuts will not get it done. ... We need to make sustainable policy and budget decisions that are reflective of current revenue. ... There are only seven months left in the biennium, and delay will result in deeper cuts and additional harm. Frankly, we have run out of time."
The PI.com's Chris Grygiel writes the proposal includes these cuts:
- Delay financial aid funding to 2012 for State Need college grants, saving $76 million.
- Eliminate the Basic Health Program on Feb. 1, saving $33.7 million
- Eliminate state funding for more resources for grades K-4 on Sept. 1, saving $81.5 million.
- Reduce the levy equalization -- by which poorer school districts receive additional funds -- by 6.3 percent, saving $18 million.
- Eliminate the state-only food assistance program on Feb. 1, saving $9.6 million.
- Eliminate the highly capable student funds for next year, saving $7 million.
After the latest sobering state revenue forecast was announced last week, Gregoire made it clear in a press statement that clear unpopular proposals were the next step:
All options are on the table, but to reach the savings we need, significant choices will need to be made.
Prior to the latest revenue forecasts, some Republican lawmakers had called for Gregoire to convene a session dedicated to the budget. In a Vancouver Columbian article in September, Clark County lawmaker Sen. Joe Zarelli (R-Ridgefield) said calling a session made sense to him at the time:
“We can make policy and structural changes that would focus the available revenue on the most essential services, and leave enough in reserve to get the state through June, when the biennium ends,” Zarelli said in a statement. “We can also adopt reforms that would help when it’s time to write the 2011-13 budget.”
In response, Rep. Jim Moeller (D-Vancouver) said the request was political grandstanding, and charged the Republicans with not having a budget plan to put out for review. | <urn:uuid:10f56197-32fe-4783-add3-a30247543a99> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kplu.org/post/gregoire-eliminate-states-basic-health-program-poor | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948218 | 751 | 1.703125 | 2 |
The imposition of the automatic spending cuts (the sequester) is now less than a month away, and there are few signs of compromise between the Administration and Congress.
If there is no deal to avoid the sequester, farm program spending would be cut. But how much and where are still unclear.
USDA would have to cut nearly $2.47 billion over the last six months of the fiscal year. A report from the Office of Management and Budget released last fall shows cuts in mandatory spending would total about $469 million this fiscal year, with a significant part of that coming out of direct payments.
There would be $289 million cut from conservation programs, but USDA would honor in-force contracts, such as the Conservation Reserve Program. School lunches and the food stamp programs would be exempt from the cuts, but funding for the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC) would fall by $543 million.
Almost all USDA programs would see some cuts in funding.
U.S. debt will continue rising over the next ten years even as the economy recovers and unemployment falls, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In the annual forecast the CBO says the debt will be equal to 77 percent of GDP by 2023, compared to the 40-year average of 39 percent.
The amount of money the government has to pay for interest alone on the national debt will more than double over the next decade.
(The CBO baseline uses assumptions that current laws remain in place for the 10-year forecast horizon.)
The CBO also released their baseline for agriculture for the next decade.
The forecast is based on a continuation of current ag policy and Congress uses the baseline to estimate changes in program costs under alternative provisions. The baseline shows spending on commodity programs up 15 percent in fiscal 2013. CCC program costs hold about steady through the 10-year forecast period, but conservation program costs rise by about 35 percent.
Crop insurance program costs hold steady at between $8 billion and $9 billion per year. CBO’s corn acreage forecast for 2013 is 97 million acres, down 200,000 each for corn and soybeans, 1.3 million for wheat, respectively.
A bill that would eliminate a permit requirement for applications of pesticides has been introduced by Senators Mike Johanns, R-Neb., and Pat Roberts, R-Kan. A 2009 Court of Appeals ruling required the pesticide applications to be by permit only under the Clean Water Act.
The system is called the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The system requires approximately 35,000 pesticide applicators to get permits covering about 500,000 applications per year. | <urn:uuid:d2a68a73-861d-4cde-913d-5125d15cbb66> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/DC-Watch-Cuts-loom-for-nearly-all-USDA-programs-190433061.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947365 | 547 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Search our Archives:
» Opinion & Society
To Shine and Reflect
By Michael Chessen
The reading of Bo formally introduces the commandments or
We need to here stress the term "formally" because whereas the book of
Genesis does not codify halacha, it does provide us with much
exemplary "halicha", showing us how to best navigate life's path in the
service of the interests of both man and God.
It is most interesting to note however, that when the Torah finally
begins to present detailed commandments, it does not do so in a strictly
legalistic context, but rather in the very midst of one of the Torah's
compelling narratives, namely the Exodus from Egypt.
While the rational behind the commandments is not always given to
limitations of human understanding, explanation of the commandments
involving the celebration of Passover is perhaps a bit more accessible
our reasoning faculties by virtue of their placement in the context of
narrative of the events of the Exodus. Indeed, the very nature of our
Passover Seder is one which invites one's mouth to talk(peh-sach) at
length in speculation of the significance of the Passover commandments,
whose observance demonstrates that our liberation was not to be merely
"free", but to disseminate holiness among the nations as servants of
It is the sanctification of the new moon, however, as the Torah's
first codified commandment, that seems to steal our reading's spotlight.
This is not merely because of "firstness", but because the moon is both
functionally and symbolically linked to the essence of the Jewish people
the only source of light in the blackness of night(and the appearance of
the commandments in turn began to spiritually illuminate the darkness of
Egyptian bondage). In addition, while the Egyptians were plunged into
darkness only because of the absence of light, "all the children of
had light in their dwellings"(Exodus 10:23). While Egypt's worship of
sun made for an "all or nothing" proposition, a choice between the
of the civilized world and utter desolation, the Jewish people's newly
received commandment to search for and sanctify that initial sliver of
light in the darkness led them to merit genuine illumination.
Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom!
Please let us know if you see something unsavory on the Google Ads and we will have them removed. Email us with the offensive URL (www.something.com) | <urn:uuid:607a956e-1823-48c9-857e-abd844204700> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jewishmag.co.il/parsha/oldparshas/bo.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91601 | 531 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Most certificates will only secure one single domain name or sub domain. If you need to secure multiple sub domains, you should buy a
wildcard certificate or UC Certificate. 1. How many domain names do you need to secure?
I need to secure one domain name or network name
For example www.mydomain.com or mail.mydomain.com or webserver01 or 192.0.0.1
I need to secure several sub-domains on one domain with a wildcard
For example mail.mydomain.com, www.mydomain.com, secure.mydomain.com, etc. all with one certificate.
I need to secure several different domain names or internal names
For example mail.mydomain.com, www.anotherdomain.com, autodiscover.mydomain.com, servername01, etc. all with one UC certificate.
Different types of certificates can give customers a greater sense of security but they can also cost a lot more. There are essentially three types: EV, High Assurance, and Low Assurance. To buy the best SSL certificate for your needs,
learn more about these different types. 2. How important is gaining your customers' trust?
I need my organization name displayed on the certificate.
These types of certificates usually take a few hours to a few days to receive. They also require your business or organization to be validated and ownership of the domain name to be verified.
I need the "green address bar" provided by EV certificates.
These types of certificates usually take several days to a few weeks to receive. They require extensive business or organization validation and ownership of the domain name to be verified.
I just need it to be secure with no warning messages.
These types of certificates are usually issued immediately or within a few minutes. The provider usually only verifies that you own the domain name and, therefore, your organization name is not displayed on the certificate.
3. What is your price range per year?
All the certificates in the search are for web server encryption/authentication. Look at our
code signing certificates and email certificates pages if you are looking for those specific certificates. The SSL Certificate Wizard is made to help you compare SSL certificate so you can buy SSL Certificates with confidence. If you have any questions or corrections to the data on this site, please contact us. | <urn:uuid:1d8ea72f-e5bf-49d1-8504-609f0287d343> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sslshopper.com/ssl-certificate-wizard.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910839 | 489 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Can Obama Lose?
The answer is yes; but just a bit.
Though it is still possible Obama could lose, you’re much better off being an Obama fan today than being a McCain. Right now, four days before the U.S. election, the polls show Obama up by 6% nationally – based on the RCP average of polls. Currently Obama has 353 electoral votes – again based on the RCP averages of individual state polls. If we use only the most recent polls (which may or may not indicate the beginning of a trend) Obama’s electoral votes rise to 392. (270 electoral votes are needed to win.) The only way McCain can win is by the “perfect” – from his point of view - confluence of a number of factors.
How could that happen?
Well one way is, that with four days to go, he continues to eat away at Obama’s lead. If you look at the chart above you can see that from October 26 to October 30, Obama’s lead in the projected national vote dropped from 8% to 5.9%. That’s a 2.1% drop in just 4 days! If McCain can do the same in the next 4 days, Obama’s lead would be only 3.9% on election day: close but no cigar.
But the margin of error in most national polls is 2.5 – 3.5%. So if McCain can continue his effective momentum of the most of past week; and if the polls are at their maximum error; and if all that error was in Obama’s favour, then McCain can achieve a tie – or close to it – in the national vote. (Technically he would still lose by 0.5% - but that is truly too close.) That’s a lot of IFs. What’s more, from yesterday – Oct 30 – to today – Oct 31 – Obama went up 0.1% in the polls. So it would appear that the momentum McCain generated earlier in the week, with his focus on taxes, has stalled: either just slowed a bit or he has milked that issue for all it was worth.
Another way Obama could lose is if all the "undecideds" break for McCain – rather than splitting more or less evenly, or just staying home 'cause they are too undecided to bother to vote.
In this scenario Obama loses all the races where he has less then 50% today. On the national level, as of today, the RCP average of polls shows Obama with 49.9% and McCain with 43.9% of decided voters. So, if ALL the undecided voters vote; and if ALL of them decide for McCain, then McCain wins the election by 50.1% to 49.9%! But that’s only in the overall popular vote. And as we learned in 2000, American elections are not won by the overall popular vote, but by the electoral college and in the state by state contests.
So how does this “undecideds to McCain” scenario play out on state by state level?
As we see in the chart above, as of Oct 31, Obama is leading in states with 353 electoral votes, based on RCP averages of polls. But if he has less than 50% of the vote in enough states with enough electoral votes, and if all the undecided vote, and they all vote for McCain, Obama would lose 84 electoral votes, and thus lose the election.
Is that the case? Here is a list of states where Obama is leading but where, as of today, he has less then 50% of the decided vote.
State EV Obama McCain
--------------- -- ----- -------
Florida 27 48.5 45
North Carolina 15 48.9 46.3
Ohio 20 49.2 43.4
So if all the undecides in those states break for McCain, he picks up 62 electoral votes; but Obama still wins the election: 291 electoral votes to 247.
But again, the state polls have a margin of error. So maybe 50% for Obama is not REALLY 50% fro Obama. To be completely comfortable, and totally immune to the “all undecideds vote McCain” scenario, Obama needs 53.5% in any given state. If we apply this threshold the following states now come into play.
State EV Obama McCain
--------------- -- ----- -------
Nevada 5 50.3 43.3
New Mexico 5 50.3 43
Colorado 9 50.8 44.3
Virginia 13 51 44.5
Pennsylvania 21 52.3 43
Iowa 7 52.5 41.5
New Hampshire 4 52.8 40.5
Wisconsin 10 53 41.3
Minnesota 10 53 40
Oregon 7 53 37.8
If McCain can pick off the closest 4 of these races, or if he can pick off Pennsylvania and one other, he will in fact win the election.
But that would require all the stars aligning just right. ALL (and we are talking 95% or more here) of the undecides would have to decide to vote and to vote for McCain, and the polls would have to wrong pretty much at the maximum end of their margin of error, and all of that error would have had to be in Obama’s favour.
Is there any other way Obama can lose? Yes: low turnout. All the polls are based on a model of likely voters. And all agree that first time voters are more heavily tilted to Obama. All have assumed some of these first time voters will vote (and in fact one of the major differences in the poll results is based on how many of these first time voters they assume will actually vote.) If first time voters significantly under perform the pollster’s assumptions, and if some of the other scenarios described above come just partly true, Obama could still lose. But most news stories indicate that new voters will out perform the pollster assumptions – and by a lot.
So any way you look at it, a McCain victory, while still possible, is a long shot.
If you are still worried (or God forbid – hopeful) than here are a few early signs you can look for on Nov 4th.
1. Voter turn-out. High turn-out works to Obama’s favour. Low turn-out should make Obama supporters start to worry a bit
2. Florida. Obama is currently leading in Florida by 48.5 to 45. That’s a 2.5% lead. If McCain wins this state, Obama fans should up their worry level to yellow: caution is called for.
3. Virginia. Obama is currently leading in Virginia 51 to 44.5. That’s a 5.5% lead. If Obama takes Virginia by anything less than 2.5% Obama fans should increase their worry level to yellow. If McCain wins Virginia, then Obama fans should start chewing their nails: we are into threat level orange!
4. Pennsylvania. Obama is currently leading by 8.5%. If McCain makes this close, go to code orange. If McCain pulls off an upset and wins Pennsylvania, go to threat level red! It will be along and nerve wracking night.
Myself? I don’t anticipate Obama losing. But that won’t stop me from following the results obsessively on election night, and worrying at the first sign of “trouble.” Obama might not be perfect (far from it in my opinion) but the election campaign has convinced me that a McCain victory would be pretty damn bad. If nothing else for what it says about Americans' judgment. | <urn:uuid:cf6b63c4-3cf5-4ca4-bccd-51a4974e32e8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.syds-blog.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959471 | 1,580 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Wounded U.S. Soldiers Shocked at Iraqi Resistance
Thursday 27 March 2003
For them, the war is over. A few U.S. soldiers were half the way home on Thursday, bearing wounds inflicted by Iraqis they thought they were liberating.
Two army soldiers and one marine recounted to journalists how they came under fire at the weekend from Iraqi troops in civilian dress at the city of Nassiriya, scene of some of the fiercest fighting to date.
"We were very surprised. We were told when we were going through Nassiriya that we would see little to no resistance," Marine Lance Corporal Joshua Menard told a news conference at the U.S. military's medical facilities at Landstuhl, Germany.
A group of Iraqis in civilian clothes opened fire on Menard as he and six other marines approached them on a bridge near Nassiriya on Sunday, he said.
"We were more prepared for what happened in the Gulf War when they turned over and surrendered most of the time... They weren't rolling over like we thought they would," Menard, 21, from Houston, Texas, said, with his left hand bandaged.
Beside him, in hospital robes, sat Army Staff Sergeant Jamie Villafane and Sergeant Charles Horganof the First Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment. They told of being hurled out of their Humvee jeep by an Iraqi missile in a separate attack.
"The amount of resistance, some of it I don't understand. I mean we're there to help them to get them out of the regime. But you have to understand they are being threatened to fight against us," said Villafane, 31, from Long Island, New York, his heavily bandaged left arm resting on a pillow.
JUST LIKE THE MOVIES
Villafane said his battalion had been briefed that Iraqi soldiers might disguise themselves in civilian clothes, but he was still surprised when it happened.
"It was a shock that they would actually do that given the treatment we try to give them. We try to treat them fairly... I guess they have to do whatever they have to," Villafane said.
Horgan, 21, from Helena, Montana, said he was less surprised to see Iraqi troops fighting back.
Horgan, whose right leg and foot were ripped open when he was blown from his gunning position, described seeing an incoming missile and barely having time to warn his colleagues before it struck.
"It was just like in the movies. I thought 'Oh my God, I'm going to die'," he said, adding he feared as he was thrown to the ground that he might lose his legs.
"I looked down and saw I had my legs. I was pretty relieved about that."
The three wounded men said they felt a sense of guilt at leaving friends behind in Iraq.
"I'm relieved that I'm out of that sort of thing. I'm also kind of sad that I'm not with the guys who protected me," Horgan told reporters.
All three will head for the United States for further treatment, Horgan needing extensive physiotherapy if he is to walk again.
Villafane said that before the war he had already had thoughts about ending his term in the military, after 12 years of service.
"I made a decision before this actually started with my family that I was going to get out... This kind of just put the icing on the cake," he said.
Horgan said his thoughts were more on recovering.
"Nobody can be shot and say 'Wow, I really want to go back out there. That was great'," he said.
The three also said they hoped any anti-war sentiment at home would not turn into acrimony against soldiers.
"You may be against the war, but don't be against the soldiers there who are fighting it. I joined to serve my country but when I was there I was fighting to protect my friends," Horgan said.
Landstuhl, America's largest military hospital outside the United States, is currently treating 72 patients from "Operation Iraqi Freedom," 24 of them wounded in combat. Five are in intensive care. The hospital is expanding to 320 beds, doubling its normal capacity.
Families of Ft. Bliss Soldiers Begin Asking Hard Questions
by Scott Gold and Tom Gorman
Los Angeles Times
Thursday 27 March 2003
FT. BLISS, Texas -- Jamaal R. Addison, 22, a straight-A student who joined the Army days after graduating from high school to secure a future for his infant son, is dead.
And for what? That's what Addison's relatives wanted to know late Wednesday as they struggled to absorb the Pentagon's confirmation that the Army specialist had been killed in battle.
In all, military officials said Wednesday, 15 Ft. Bliss soldiers from the 507th Maintenance Company had been captured or killed by Iraqi forces.
The numbers seem to rise each day, and tough questions are percolating at this west Texas military base.
"We just found out. My mind is just messed up right now," said Rodney Fisher, 23, an Amityville, N.Y., resident who went to high school with Addison and later became his stepbrother when his mother married Addison's father.
"I never thought there was a reason to go to war in the first place. This sure as hell doesn't make it any better. This was a good man. He didn't deserve this. This whole thing is nonsense."
Last weekend, about three dozen soldiers from the 507th -- cooks, welders, drivers and mechanics who provided support to a Patriot missile battalion and did not expect to see combat -- were trying to connect with an infantry division in southern Iraq. Near Nasiriyah, the site of some of the fiercest firefights so far, the group apparently made a wrong turn, military officials have said.
They were ambushed by Iraqi troops. U.S. Marines were able to rescue more than half of them. The military has confirmed that two were killed, eight are missing and five -- soldiers whose images were captured on video by Iraqi fighters and broadcast across the globe -- are prisoners of war.
The identities of six more of the soldiers were confirmed Wednesday. Those classified as missing include Master Sgt. Robert J. Dowdy, 38, of Cleveland; Pvt. Ruben Estrella-Soto, 18, of El Paso; Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Villareal Mata, 35, of El Paso; and Sgt. Donald Ralph Walters, 33, of Salem, Ore.
Killed were Addison of Roswell, Ga., and Army Pfc. Howard Johnson II, 21, of Mobile, Ala.
"Our mission is to nurture the living, care for the wounded and honor the dead," Ft. Bliss chaplain Fred Hudson said in an interview Wednesday evening. "And at this phase, we are honoring the dead."
Hudson said families connected to Ft. Bliss suddenly have a host of questions for military officials, depending on the circumstances their relative is in. Families of the dead typically have questions about legal, financial and emotional concerns. Families of the wounded want to know when they can be reunited. Families of POWs want to know what kind of conditions their loved ones are being kept in.
"The families who are really hurting are the families whose loved ones' whereabouts are unknown," Hudson said.
"That's a horrible situation. You are waiting any day for the worst. That's a very difficult and very sobering thing to deal with."
One of those families is that of Walters, a decontamination specialist.
"After the military came to the door last night and told us, officially, that he's listed as MIA, it really hit," Walters' father, Norman, said Wednesday.
"I was stunned. It's like it's not real. I couldn't comprehend it. Today is bad. I'm really feeling down. I was shaving this morning and all of a sudden, I was crying."
Norman Walters was in the Air Force for 20 years, and Donald liked the discipline and the military environment while growing up in Colorado. Donald joined the Army in 1988, served in the Persian Gulf War in 1991, joined the reserves and then reenlisted in the Army about a year ago. He and his wife, Stacie, have a 9-month-old daughter named Amber.
"About a week ago, we talked to him by phone," Norman Walters said. "He was notifying us that he was going to be going in very shortly. He was nervous about it, but he wanted to get in there. He was anxious to get in there and get it over with so he could come home."
Although the media have sought to report on the families of the captured and slain, military personnel asked reporters Wednesday to respect the families' privacy. In a statement, Ft. Bliss officials cautioned that statements from the families "could be used to coerce and manipulate soldiers who are being held prisoners of war."
The message appeared to carry weight with some, including the family of Dowdy, the master sergeant who is two years away from retirement. "I've been instructed by the military not to talk about my brother," Jack Dowdy said from his home in Hawaii. "Anything we give can be used by the Iraqis against him."
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.)
All republished content that appears on Truthout has been obtained by permission or license. | <urn:uuid:28fc9017-92dc-4e98-977b-cdefa7d032a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archive.truthout.org/article/wounded-us-soldiers-shocked-iraqi-resistance | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988964 | 1,993 | 1.546875 | 2 |
- Around 23% of women who were pregnant/breastfeeding in 2001 were smokers. For all women aged 20-39, around 26% of women aged smoke regularly (daily or weekly).
- In Australia round 58,000 babies are born to mothers who smoked throughout their pregnancy.
For 11% of women, being pregnant or wanting to start a family is a factor that motivates them to change their smoking behavior.
While a substantial number of women continue to smoke during pregnancy, many reduce the number of cigarette they smoke or attempt to quit once they find out they are pregnant.
Approximately 20-30% of women who were smokers quit when they find out they are pregnant, the majority quit within the first three months of pregnancy. They quit because they are concerned about the health of the baby, and secondly their health. Some women may quit as they prepare to become pregnant and many others quit as soon as they learn that they are pregnant.
There is strong evidence that women return to smoking once the baby is born. Usually they stop for around five to seven months. Half of all pregnant women who quit go back to smoking within six months of the baby being born, and approximately 70% return to smoking once the baby is a year old.
How do the chemicals in cigarette smoke affect babies?
Nicotine and carbon monoxide are the main chemicals that cause problems during pregnancy. Carbon monoxide is attracted to elements in the baby's blood even more so than the blood of the mother, this significantly reduces the ability of the foetus to carry oxygen. The oxygen carried by the baby's blood is bound more tightly to the red blood cells, which means that less oxygen is released into the baby's tissues.
A number of chemicals in tobacco smoke that cross the placenta are known carcinogens.
Nicotine also crosses the placenta raising foetal blood pressure and affects the baby's ability to practice breathing movements. Nicotine is also found in the breast milk of women who smoke and breastfeed.
Women who smoke during pregnancy are:
- Twice as likely than nonsmokers to have a baby which is of low birth weight – low birth weight is an important risk factor for health problems in newborn babies, including still birth and complications in infancy. They are lighter because they do not develop fully.
- More than twice as likely to have a baby whose growth has been retarded as a result of smoking, this means the baby is born when it is not fully developed.
- One third more likely to have a baby that is born prematurely.
- Nearly three times more likely to have a baby that dies from SIDS.
- An increased risk of miscarriage, the risk is increased by one third.
- An increased risk of stillbirth, the risk is increased by one third.
Smoking during pregnancy accounts for:
- 11% of all ectopic pregnancies (where the pregnancy occurs in the fallopian tube and results in miscarriage)
- 9% of all miscarriages (spontaneous abortions)
The risk of miscarriage increases with the number of cigarettes smoked and the age the mother commenced smoking.
- 15% of all antepartum hemorrhage (bleeding from the vagina 24 weeks to up until birth)
- 21% of all premature rupture of the membranes (early breaking of the waters)
- 23% of all low birth weight babies (low birth weight means under 2,500 gms)
- 9% of stillbirths
- 34% of all SIDS deaths
Impact on hospitals of smoking during pregnancy in Australia, 1992
||Hospital bed days
|Premature breaking of waters
Holman et al 1995
Pregnancy and quitting
Women who quit smoking before pregnancy reduce the risk of:
- Delay in becoming pregnant - rates of conception in ex-smokers is similar to those who have never smoked
- Infertility - ex-smokers appear to have little excess risk of fertility.
Women who quit during pregnancy reduce the risk of:
- Premature breaking of the waters around the baby
- Delivery before the due date
- Low birth weight
- Stillbirth and death in the month after birth
Quitting at any time during the pregnancy improves the health outcomes for both the mother and the baby.
Passive smoking, babies and children
Babies exposed to tobacco smoke are more likely to:
- die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS or cot death)
- have serious chest illnesses such as pneumonia, croup, bronchitis and bronchiolitis
- be admitted to hospital.
The more smoke the child is exposed to, the more likely it is that it will suffer health problems due to passive smoking.
Children exposed to tobacco smoke are more likely to:
- suffer from asthma
- have worsened symptoms and more asthma attacks if they already have asthma
- contract 'glue ear' (otitis media), an infection and swelling of the ear, which is the most common cause of hearing loss and surgery in children
- be infected with meningococcal disease, which can sometimes cause death, mental disability, hearing loss or loss of a limb
- have slightly poorer lung function and development, so they cannot breath as hard or with as much breath compared to children of non-smokers
- have lung complications if they undergo surgery under anaesthesia
- miss school due to illness
- snore, have sore throats, wheeze and cough, more often.
Prolonged exposure to other people's cigarette smoke can cause lung cancer and heart disease in adults. The processes causing these diseases can start in childhood.
Health cost of smoking during pregnancy
A recent study examined the costs conferred by involuntary smoking, which mainly occurs in the young. The report, which examined costs in 1998/99, includes the cost of diseases caused by smoking during pregnancy and exposure of babies, children and young people under the age of 15 to tobacco smoke.
Involuntary smoking in those under the age of 15 is estimated to total 103 deaths, account for 75,311 bed days and cost hospitals $43 million.
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2003 (AIHW) Statistics on drug use in Australia 2002. AIHW cat no PHE 43. Canberra: AIHW (Drug Statistics Series no 12).Australian Bureau of Statistic. Australian Demographic Statistics, Cat No 3101.0, ABS, Canberra, 1999.
- Australian Bureau of Statistic. Australian Demographic Statistics, Cat No 3101.0, ABS, Canberra, 1999.
- London W, Whelan E, Case A (eds). Cigarettes: What the Warning Label Doesn't Tell You. American Council on Science and Health.
- Winstanley M, Woodward S, Walker N. Tobacco in Australia – Facts and Issues. Victorian Smoking and Health Program, Melbourne, 1995.
- English D, Holman DCH, Milne E, Winter MG, Hulse GK, Codde JP, Bower CI, Corti B, de Klerk N, Knuiman W, Kurinczuk JJ. Lewin GH, Ryan GA. The quantification of drug caused morbidity and mortality in Australia, 1995 edition. Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health, Canberra, 1995.
- International Agency for Research in Cancer. Tobacco smoke and involuntary smoking. Summary of data reported and evaluation. The evaluation of carcinogenic risk of chemicals to humans. Volume 83. IARC, 2002.http://monographs.iarc.fr/htdocs/monographs/vol83/02-involuntary.html accessed 24/7/02.
- Gidding S, Morgan W, Perry C, Isabel-Jones J, Bricker T. Active and passive tobacco exposure: a serious pediatric health problem. A statement from the Committee on Atherosclerosis and Hypertension in Children, Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young, American Heart Association. Circulation 1994;90(5):2581-90. Review.
- Rosenstein NE, Perkins BA, Stephens DS, Popovic T, Hughes JM. Meningococcal disease. N Engl J Med. 2001 May 3;344(18):1378-88. Review.
- National Cancer Institute. Health effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke: a report of the California Environmental Protection Agency. Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 10. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, NIH Pub No 99-4645, 1999.
- Rodrigo C. The effects of cigarette smoking on anesthesia. Anesth Prog. 2000 Winter;47(4):143-50. Review.
- Royal College of Physicians of London. Smoking and the young. A report of a working party of the Royal College of Physicians. London: Royal College of Physicians of London, 1992.
- Collins D, Lapsley H. Counting the cost: estimates of the social costs of drug abuse in Australia in 1998-99. Monograph Series No 49. National Drug Strategy. Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, Canberra 2002. | <urn:uuid:012a85c7-d8f4-47b4-adf6-4c18db46cb0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.quit.org.au/resource-centre/media/media-backgrounders/motherhood-smoking.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936426 | 1,889 | 3.296875 | 3 |
|Regulations & Standards|
Lessons and results from the Public Consultation document.
The European Directive 98/79/EC on in vitro diagnostic medical devices, or IVD Directive (IVDD), became operational in June 2000.1 It provides Europe with one single regulation for in vitro diagnostics (IVD). Devices receiving the CE mark after one successful conformity assessment procedure can be introduced into the member states of the European Union and the European Free Trade Association, and two countries with which mutual recognition agreements have been established (Switzerland and Turkey)—32 European countries in all.
More than 10 years of implementation also revealed weaknesses in the IVDD. For example, there is a consensus that its classification system is inadequate. Furthermore, scientific and technological evolutions, as well as new business trends in the IVD field—for example, the emergence of companies offering IVD testing as a service—created situations that are not effectively foreseen in the IVDD. A revision of the IVDD is needed to eliminate the weaknesses of the current version and to provide a regulatory framework within which issues arising from both technological progress and new business trends can be addressed.
The Public Consultation and Beyond
In June 2010, the European Commission published the Public Consultation document, inviting comments from stakeholders on 19 questions.2 These questions were organized in the following sections and subsections:
2. Conformity assessment procedure
3.1. Specific exemption for “in-house tests”
3.2. Genetic tests
3.3. Diagnostic services
3.4. Point-of-care/near-patient in vitro diagnostic medical devices
4. Clinical evidence
4.1. Clinical validity
4.2. Clinical utility
5.1. “Conditional CE marking”
5.2. Companion diagnostics
This list already indicates which areas are candidates for change or for inclusion in the IVDD. However, this does not mean that they will change or be included. And provided they do, it is still uncertain how they will change or appear in the directive.
The Public Consultation also focuses on technical issues and on subjects that are specific for IVD. However, in parallel, the recast of all European medical device directives is being prepared. Within that context, possible amendments of horizontal aspects, such as designation and monitoring of notified bodies, vigilance, market surveillance, and the need for further centralization are discussed. Any amendments resulting from that work will also be integrated into the IVDD. Therefore, the changes in the IVDD will not be limited to the subjects raised in the Public Consultation.
In February 2011, the results of the stakeholders’ feedback were published.3 The European Commission received 183 responses: 69 from users (clinical laboratory associations, medical associations, hospitals and healthcare professionals), 44 from associations and laboratories active in the field of genetics, 32 from manufacturers and industry associations, 17 from competent authorities, and 13 from notified bodies. Although the European Commission will not necessarily follow the recommendations of the stakeholders, the results may help in predicting which way the IVDD will evolve on certain subjects. It should be clear, though, that at this point in time, predictions are still speculative with varying degrees of uncertainty.
While waiting for the publication of a draft revised IVDD, expected at the beginning of 2012, the Public Consultation document and the stakeholders’ feedback can help proactive manufacturers prepare for what may come.
Classification: Likely Adoption of GHTF Classification or Similar
It is generally recognized that the current Annex II of the IVDD, listing “high risk” devices, is inadequate. The list was composed in the mid-1990s and did not take scientific and technological evolution into account. Furthermore, it is static and therefore would require regular updating—which in practice never happened. Therefore, it is not a surprise that the idea of moving to a risk-based classification is almost universally accepted by the responding stakeholders.
|Table I. Overview of IVD classes according to the GHTF format, and notified body involvement in corresponding conformity assessment procedures. Note: The GHTF documents do not explicitly address notified bodies; rather, they reference regulatory authorities or conformity assessment bodies. In the European context and for the activities referred to, these correspond to notified bodies.|
In 2008, the Global Harmonization Task Force (GHTF) published a risk-based classification system (see Table I).4 In the meantime, the GHTF classification has been adopted by other countries, such as Australia. The European regulators clearly consider this classification a good model. Its adoption by Europe would be another step forward toward the international harmonization of regulations, at least on this point.
Assuming that the implementation of the GHTF model would go together with the implementation of the corresponding GHTF conformity assessment procedures or equivalent, a lot more IVDs will be in classes involving notified bodies.5 Many manufacturers, who now only have non-Annex II IVD for professional use and therefore could sign the declaration of conformity without obtaining notified body certification, will be subject to notified body intervention. This is an important difference, even if this intervention will be limited to quality system certification and will not involve premarket review of the technical documentation, as will likely be the case for Class B devices.
Manufacturers should determine the classes of their IVDs according to the GHTF model and check if any of them would become subject to notified body review. Although the EU may eventually decide not to adopt the GHTF model completely as it is, one may expect that any deviations will be relatively minor. Therefore, knowing a product’s GHTF device class and its corresponding conformity assessment procedure may tell a manufacturer whether it will have to prepare for increased regulatory scrutiny.
Conformity Assessment Procedure
Seventy-five percent of the respondents to the Public Consultation stated that there is a need to amend the current conformity assessment procedures. A majority found that Annex VI (EC Verification) should be deleted or limited to specific products, such as instruments. A large majority (88%) agreed that a quality management system, controlled by a third party, should be put in place by manufacturers of IVDs in classes B, C, and D of the GHTF model. A large majority (93%) also found that the Common Technical Specifications should be maintained, at least for IVDs used in blood transfusion and Class D tests. Also, batch-release verification by a notified body was considered necessary by most respondents (83%), but there was no agreement on how this verification should be performed in practice.
Based on this information, it looks rather unlikely that there will be major changes to the concepts of Common Technical Specifications, of batch verification by notified bodies, and of quality system certification for all but the lowest class of IVDs.
Self-testing devices currently have their own conformity assessment procedure, requiring a design-examination certificate issued by a notified body, but not a quality system certificate. If the GHTF model for classification and conformity assessment is followed, self-testing devices will no longer represent a class on their own and will become subject to conformity assessment procedures that include a quality system audit by a notified body. If so, this would have a significant impact on, for example, many small Own Brand Labelers of self-tests.
Scope: In-House Testing and Diagnostic Services
In the current IVDD, in-house testing (“home brew”) is excluded from the scope, if the “devices are manufactured and used only within the same health institution and on the premises in the immediate vicinity without having been transferred to another legal entity.” This is often misinterpreted by companies offering diagnostic services, from within the EU or from outside. They often erroneously conclude that their in-house testing activities are also exempt from CE-marking. However, preamble 11 and article 9(13) of the IVDD clearly bring commercial IVD testing within the directive’s scope.
One may expect that the revised IVDD will clarify which in-house testing is exempt from the directive and which is not. The Public Consultation document suggests that the European regulators also are considering restricting the exemption to certain types of in-house testing, e.g., tests for rare diseases or tests in lower GHTF classes. The obligation for the testing laboratory to have an accredited quality system—in accordance with ISO15189, for example—or for the tests themselves to meet the directive’s essential and/or other requirements are other options that may be considered.
In addition to emphasizing or clarifying that diagnostic services are subject to the IVDD, specific requirements may be defined. These include requirements related to advertising and the provision of information to patients and users, especially when these companies directly advertise and communicate results to users.
It will be interesting to see how the revised IVDD will address the fact that increasing numbers of tests are offered, sometimes directly to the consumers, without the tests ever being physically placed on the market, and whether any such measures can be effectively enforced on companies that are not located within the EU but nevertheless offer their services to European consumers. The inclusion of offering a test for an EU citizen while he or she is within the EU into the definition of “placing a product on the market” is an option.
Scope: Genetic Tests
Genetic tests that have a medical purpose are already covered by the current version of the IVDD. However, the medical purpose of a genetic test is not always clear, such as with predictive tests and lifestyle tests.
The European Commission clearly intends to clarify the situation, and the Public Consultation primarily asked how this could be achieved. Moreover, there might be additional requirements or restrictions, especially for direct-to-consumer genetic tests. This idea was supported by 86% of the respondents.
Scope: Point-of-Care Tests
The current version of the IVDD has no specific requirement for point-of-care tests. One can argue that these are not necessary since manufacturers have to take the intended use of the device into account in design, risk management, labeling, etc. Nevertheless, more explicit requirements may improve the safety and effectiveness of these assays. Two-thirds of the respondents agreed with this and suggested, for example, that the manufacturers of these devices should demonstrate that the performance characteristics and the clinical validity are the same in the point-of-care setting as in a professional laboratory. The instructions for use should also be suitable for lay-persons to carry out the test and to correctly interpret the results, including an explanation of the meaning of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity as well as of the meaning of positive and negative predictive values.
Whereas many of these suggestions seem to be justified, other suggestions are less realistic, such as the proposal to make the users of these tests subject to quality management system requirements. These might comprise external quality evaluation schemes and other measures intended to improve the reliability of the test results, but would be more difficult to implement in many point-of-care settings.
It is difficult to predict whether the revised IVDD will contain specific requirements for point-of-care testing or whether the current indirect approach will be maintained.
Clinical Evidence, Validity, and Utility
Within the current European regulatory context, there is little emphasis on clinical evidence. It is hardly mentioned in the IVDD. In practice, there is much more focus on analytical performance than on clinical evidence. European intended-use statements and performance characteristics are often expressed in analytical terms. Conformity assessment procedures, with or without a notified body, can be done with relatively little attention to the clinical validity of the test results. This is probably one of the major differences between the European and U.S. regulatory systems.
A large majority of respondents (88%) would like to see a clarification of the requirements for clinical evidence. A somewhat smaller majority (81%) would also like to see additional requirements for demonstrating clinical validity, including at least the demonstration of negative and positive predictive values. In contrast to competent authorities, notified bodies, and users, manufacturers are less supportive of this idea. The current approach, involving a relatively simple retrospective evaluation to establish the analytical performance characteristics of an IVD, will usually not allow establishing negative and positive predictive values since the tested sample populations do not usually reflect the expected prevalence of the tested disease or disease marker.
The idea of introducing requirements for clinical utility was only endorsed by one-third of the respondents. For the purpose of the public consultation document, clinical utility was defined as the demonstration of the potential usefulness and added value to patient management decision-making, but without considering health economics, reimbursement, or cost/benefit analysis. Stakeholders argued that the clinical utility should be assessed by the user in his specific context of use. In the case of novel markers, it cannot always be determined. Therefore, demonstrating clinical utility should not be part of a premarket assessment process.
The revised IVDD will likely clarify that an IVD assay must have the performance characteristics required to fulfill a clinical purpose. Moreover, requirements may be added on how to demonstrate clinical validity, possibly proportionately with the risk level of the test. The introduction of requirements to show clinical utility is less probable.
Conditional CE Marking
“Conditional CE marking,” i.e., the making available of IVDs without proper conformity assessment procedure for a limited period of time, might be useful in emergency cases (pandemics) or for creating timely access to tests for unmet medical needs. Such European-wide conditional CE marking could replace or complement the existing provisions for individual member states to allow tests without CE marks in emergency situations.
About three-quarters of the respondents thought that conditional CE marking would be useful, although there were questions about who would decide about such conditional CE marking and concerns that it might lead to the marketing of low-quality products. A majority of competent authorities prefer to keep the current system with the decision at the member-state level. Although it is recognized that the requirement for a full conformity assessment may be counterproductive in emergency cases and for tests for rare diseases, it is uncertain if and how the revised IVDD will contain new elements to address this.
Most IVDs that are used as companion diagnostics are not listed in Annex II of the current IVDD and are therefore self-certified by the manufacturer. The respondents to the public consultation almost unanimously underlined that companion diagnostics should remain subject to the IVDD and should also become subject to notified body review. Since companion diagnostics are in Class C of the GHTF model, the implementation of that model would bring them under notified body review.
For these products, some respondents expressed the requirement for demonstrating the clinical utility of the combination of the IVD and the medicinal product in the context of both the CE marking of the IVD and the marketing authorization of the medicinal product.
Manufacturers active in this field may also be interested in a recent paper on the codevelopment of pharmacogenomic biomarkers and assays in the context of drug development, published by the European Medicines Agency.6
In the revised IVDD, companion diagnostics will probably be put in a class that is subject to notified body review. It is unclear whether there will be specific requirements and whether there will be a common viewpoint between the regulators in charge of devices and those responsible for medicinal products.
Since the revised IVDD will not only include changes on the subjects treated in the Public Consultation, but also those from the recast of all the medical device directives, there is still a long way to go between now and the actual implementation of a revised IVDD. A draft is planned for the beginning of 2012. Then the text will have to go through a possibly lengthy approval cycle. After publication, the member states are given time to transpose the directive into their own legislation. The implementation date will then follow after that, probably not before the start of 2015.
Based on the Public Consultation document and its responses and also taking the possible changes from the general recast into consideration, it is safe to predict that the revised IVDD will have a significant impact on many IVD manufacturers. The European regulators’ intention to increase safety will inevitably result in greater efforts and costs. Manufacturers should closely follow the subsequent steps in the legislative process and begin now to integrate the most likely changes into their regulatory strategies.
1. Directive 98/79/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 1998 on in vitro diagnostic medical devices. Official Journal of the European Communities. L331/1 – L331/37. December 12, 1998.
2. Revision of Directive 98/79/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 1998 on in vitro diagnostic medical devices. Public Consultation. European Commission, Health and Consumers Directorate-General, June 2010.
3. Revision of Directive 98/79/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 1998 on in vitro diagnostic medical devices. Summary of responses to the Public Consultation. European Commission, Health and Consumers Directorate-General, February 2011.
4. Principles of In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) Medical Devices Classification. GHTF/SG1/N045:2008. Global Harmonization Task Force. 19 Feb 2008.
5. Principles of Conformity Assessment for In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) Medical Devices. GHTF/SG1/N046:2008. Global Harmonization Task Force. July 31, 2008.
6. Reflection paper on co-development of pharmacogenomic biomarkers and assays in the context of drug development. EMA/CHMP/641298/2008 (draft). European Medicines Agency. June 2010.
Dirk Stynen, PhD, is president and principal consultant at Qarad BVBA (Belgium). He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:678d0aa4-4612-4259-9590-cc0acd9a5c97> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ivdtechnology.com/article/revision-europe%E2%80%99s-ivd-directive-9879ec?quicktabs_3=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942553 | 3,672 | 2.328125 | 2 |
Netanyahu’s government has greeted Palestinians’ Arab Spring protests with bullets. Leslie H. Gelb on the dangers of an Israeli overreaction.
The Arab Spring has come crashing onto Israel’s doorstep. It was bound to happen. Eventually, Palestinians unhappy with their lot would take inspiration from their rebelling Arab brethren throughout the region and turn against Israel, their nemesis. Equally inevitable, Israel is responding, fearfully, with bullets. Arab dictators in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and elsewhere can get away with force against their protesters. Those dictators can even keep killing until their rebels’ voices are silenced. But for a true democracy like Israel, a country all too familiar with history’s tragedies, shooting unarmed people never sits well and cannot be the answer.
Despite the perils of force, however, extending the olive branch is not the answer either. Offers of conciliation or negotiation would only incite the Palestinian protesters to greater demands and perhaps greater violence themselves. By all previous reckoning, they would interpret Israel’s out-stretched hand as a sign of weakness. Besides, Israel was defending its borders. And those borders with Lebanon, Syria, and others are every bit as “established” as Poland’s now incorporating big chunks of Prussia or France possessing Alsace-Lorraine. These European borders are the product of conquest, just like Israel’s. Further, it would be folly to forget what Israelis can never remove from their minds: the Palestinians crushing against the borders don’t really want to negotiate with Israel; their goal is to destroy the state of Israel.
Thus, it was not surprising that the Palestinian border protests erupted last Sunday on the anniversary of Israel’s founding in 1948. The Palestinians crashed across fences and other barricades on four fronts: Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank. The numbers varied from a hundred or so on the Golan Heights plateau captured by Israel in 1967 to hundreds elsewhere. The moves were obviously coordinated. Hezbollah clearly helped the Palestinians get to the Lebanon/Israeli border, and protesters could not have approached the Golan Heights without the approval of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Estimates put the death toll around 12, with 300 injured. It appears that Israeli troops tried nonlethal measures before resorting to live ammunition as people broke through the lines.
Israeli leaders are not so foolish as to believe they’ve seen the last of these border rushes. Assad may well have incited his Palestinian refugees in order to divert attention from his troops killing Syrians. Or he may be warning Washington and Israel to not oppose his internal brutality too strenuously—for, after all, he keeps the peace with Israel. He might be trying to suggest that the West has more to fear from Syrian rebels than from Damascus itself. And he may well be right. As for Hezbollah, it never worries about tweaking Israel, especially if the costs are measured only in Palestinian lives.
As long as Israel doesn’t kill Palestinians in sizeable numbers, Washington will stay its critical hand. Thus far, the White House has expressed solidarity with Israel’s right to defend its borders and sympathy with Palestinian victims. When President Obama stands before the cameras at the State Department on Thursday, he will unload his first major Mideast speech since the Arab Spring began almost three months ago. In it, he is not expected to go beyond the usual rhetoric urging peace upon Israel and Palestine. Administration officials say the president knows that neither side is ready for concessions, and the White House will not buck this reality once again. If Obama breaks any appreciable new ground in his speech, it will be to shower pails full of sympathy on Arab demonstrators for freedom and democracy. This time, he will make perfectly clear that his heart is with the Arab people. But his subsequent actions will remain case by case and circumspect.
For a true democracy like Israel, a country all too familiar with history’s tragedies, shooting unarmed people never sits well and cannot be the answer.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel will deliver his own Mideast speech on May 24 before a special joint session of Congress. He, too, will protest sympathy with Arabs who fight for democracy. But he will also make plain that it's got to be "real" democracy guaranteed by law, civil institutions, and checks and balances on power. (Obama might say as much as well.) Of course, Netanyahu and Obama will rehearse the Iran menace, perhaps in considerable detail. Finally, Netanyahu's people are still trying to get him to present something dramatic on the peace front, but that remains very much up in the air.
Meantime, Israel has to take great care to protect its borders with an absolute minimum of force. The Arab Spring may lose its bounce in the sweltering summer, under a hail of Arab bullets, or under the prospect of those bullets. Jerusalem has to make sure that Arab democrats are not distracted by Israel and stay focused on their own countries. Israelis don’t want them to turn their populist wrath on Israel. That would not be good for either Israel or the United States.
Leslie H. Gelb, a former New York Times columnist and senior government official, is author of Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy (HarperCollins 2009), a book that shows how to think about and use power in the 21st century. He is president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. | <urn:uuid:ed8bbd7e-e1ad-4e16-9e38-ae7c0a8c2ed3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/05/16/israels-dilemma-in-policing-the-palestinian-border-protests.print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962426 | 1,121 | 1.6875 | 2 |
The recently concluded premier international conference of human-computer interaction in Vancouver, BC called CHI 2011 showcased different innovations that focused on leveraging our diversity and connecting people, cultures, technologies, experiences, and ideas – one of which is ZeroTouch, a unique optical multi-touch sensing technology.
Created by Texas A&M University’s Interface Ecology Lab, ZeroTouch is new type of optical muti-touch sensor that provides zero-force, zero-thickness, completely transparent multi-touch sensing. It has the ability to track more than 20 simultaneous touch points, the use of a stylus or other objects.
ZeroTouch is a like an empty picture frame mounted with hundreds of modulated infrared sensors and several LED sensors similar to what television remote controls use.
These sensors are activated one at a time during scanning sequence, creating a series of light beams that are interrupted by touches or objects inside the sensor.
This means that whatever blocks or intersects the crisscross of light beams inside the frame would mean a touch. As such, it can also function even with the use of hands and gestures in open air scenarios.
When compared to capacitive sensors of Apple's iPhone and iPad, interaction via ZeroTouch requires no pushing by the hand and fingers, therefore greatly reducing muscle fatigue. On the other hand, new forms of more precise, free air interaction are also enabled as compared to Microsoft's Kinect.
To showcase the unique capabilities of this new natural user interface sensing modality, ZeroTouch was demoed using three applications namely intangibleCanvas, Hand + Pen in Hand Command, and ArtPiles.
The intangibleCanvas application made use of ZeroTouch’s free-air interactive input modality, allowing users to reach through the sensor and paint on a projected screen.
Being a multi-touch and stylus enabled real-time strategy game, the Hand + Pen in Hand Command application combined the use of pen and touch to show a completely new way of interacting with games.
ArtPiles is a new curatorial tool for museums and art galleries. With the use of ZeroTouch’s combination of pen and multi-touch interaction, curators are able to do new visual and semantic manipulations of art collections.
Whether used in supersized televisions, mounted on a desktop, overtop of a computer screen or hanged in the air, ZeroTouch magically turns any surface into a touchscreen. By pairing it with platform applications such as in iPhone, a presenter is able to change the thickness and color of the marker, as well as zoom in and out pictures by the usual dragging and pinching with the fingers.
A human-sized ZeroTouch big enough for someone to walk through is already being thought of, which could possibly be able to detect movements in three-dimensional space.
The technology used in ZeroTouch offers exciting new opportunities for multi-touch and gestural interfaces. This invention can be very useful for public exhibits and presentations where interaction from users is needed, as it provides good spatial resolution, fast response time, and zero-touch activation, with the use of either fingers or stylus.
This article is my sixteenth contribution to Manila Bulletin -- one of Philippines' leading broadsheets -- published on May 23, 2011 (Monday) in the TechNews Section. You can view the PDF version here.
Photo and Video Sources: EcologyLab | <urn:uuid:d302294e-ca62-4916-a5fa-f474276a2ac9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.glennong.com/2011/05/zerotouch-turns-any-surface-touchable.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921498 | 686 | 2.625 | 3 |
A donation from Tyler business owners is helping the East Texas Food Bank to expand a child nutrition program for Tyler ISD students.
Any donations made by the community for the program will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Lujans.
The program provides backpacks filled with nutritious and ready-to-eat food such as granola bars, fruit, juices and peanut butter, among other items.
Children at risk for hunger receive a filled backpack on Friday to take home and bring it back empty to be refilled for the next weekend.
With the support of the Lujans, who made an initial $150,000 donation, and other donors, the food bank will expand its backpack program this year to all 18 TISD elementary schools and serve more than 1,300 children. That’s up from 1,000 TISD children last year.
The expansion of the program is part of a five-year plan.
Food Bank executive director Dennis Cullinane said that in 2009, the food bank had a vision to create a hunger-free school district and to offer the backpack program at all TISD schools.
Now in the third year of that plan, the food bank will reach its goal of operating at all schools, but has no plans of stopping there.
Cullinane said by working with the campus leadership at each school, they hope to grow those programs and ultimately reach 1,700 TISD kids.
The total projected cost of the five-year expansion is about $1 million, according to the news release. The food bank has raised about 70 percent of that.
He said in order to sustain that growth, the food bank will need continual donors.
“We’re at the tipping point, and we hope that you will become loyal supporters,” Cullinane said.
District and campus officials said programs like this are necessary if the district is to address the whole child.
“As a school district, we are responsible for providing the best education possible for students,” TISD interim superintendent Gary Mooring said. “And with your help we make it possible.”
Douglas Elementary School Principal Christy Roach said more than 20 percent of the school’s 723 students participate in the program.
Teachers nominate students they think are in need of the program and if that student has siblings, all their siblings take part.
“It’s not just about educating the child,” she said. “It’s about really providing for the whole child.”
In East Texas, 73,000 children qualify for free and reduced-price school meal programs, according to the food bank.
The East Texas Food Bank’s backpack program operates at more than 100 locations across East Texas, providing weekend meals to about 4,500 children, according to information from the food bank.
The Lujans said the backpack program is something they are passionate about.
Lujan, a former teacher, said he remembers watching children eagerly head to the cafeteria for meals, some a little more anxious than others.
Now that he and his wife have the opportunity to give back, they have chosen this cause as one of those ways.
“It’s an honor and a privilege for us to be able to give to the backpack program,” he said.
Mentoring Minds CEO Robert Bush, a former East Texas Food Bank executive director, urged the community to give back.
“We know as educators that children can’t learn with an empty stomach,” he said. “I would challenge everybody to do their part.” | <urn:uuid:d8df4854-38ba-4fec-8c6c-c4a4d7f08aa7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20121012/NEWS08/121019931/0/SPORTS0522 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963567 | 761 | 1.632813 | 2 |
by Scott Sharkey, 02.29.2008
he increasingly swollen character roster of the Smash Brothers games can represent a minefield of obscurity for the casual player. To alleviate this bafflement and maybe even impart a few little-known facts to gaming veterans we've tapped our resident expert on classic gaming and Japanese culture (myself) to plumb the depths of the Smash Bros. backstory and deliver the world's most comprehensive, unassailable guide. Just remember who to thank when you've impressed all your friends with your newfound depth of knowledge.
Origin: Smash Bros. (1987)
The titular protagonists of the Smash Bros. series first appeared twenty years ago, and while the series' gameplay has evolved since then the characters themselves have changed very little. Since the very beginning Smash Brothers has told a simple story: One of a pair of cherubic boys in snowsuits happily crushing anyone and anything that gets in their way.
Very little has ever been explained about the enigmatic brothers, and it's been stated that their blank-slate status has been preserved so as to more easily allow kids to identify with the characters.
The only real fragment of information that has been volunteered is in regard to the choice of pink for the second brother, which causes many players to mistake him for female. According to once-and-future Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, "We wanted to make children fight each other over who would have to be the gay one."
When pressed for details regarding why the characters do battle in uncomfortable looking snowsuits Mr. Yamauchi is rumored to have forced the offending journalists at gunpoint to blind themselves with their own traitorous pens.
Origin: Legend of Zelda (1908)
The protagonist of Nintendo's underappreciated "Legend of Zelda" series, Zelda (known as "Rinku" in her native Japan) is a young elfin girl who was raised by fairies. She fights for the preservation of the land of Hyrule against the dark forces of her father, Ganon. Much of the subtlety and nuance of her story was lost in translation in 1988, when mature themes and symbolism were less welcome in America. Her quest for phallic empowerment through the acquisition of the "Master Sword", the resolution of her electra complex, and even her gender were completely glossed over in the US release of the original game. Certain gameplay elements, like the entrapment of her fairy mothers in jars and her health restoration upon their release would have made more sense in this context, but series creator Shigeru Miyamoto has frequently stressed that such depth of symbolism would only confuse the "bakka gaijins."
In Smash Brothers Brawl:
Zelda appears armed with her trademark Master Sword, as well as a brace of fairy bottles that will have to be depleted before she can be beaten. This more than makes up for her complete inability to jump. Additionally, an alternate Zelda costume may be unlocked allowing her to appear in full princess garb as she was seen at the end of Zelda no Densetsu: Twilight Princess. In this form she actually possesses no attacks whatsoever. This seems to be an easter egg included solely as a misogynistic joke and may be cut from the American release.
The original "Legend of Zelda" was conceived as a fantasy retelling of the young adult coming-of-age novel, The Pigman by Paul Zindel.
* Character only available in Xbox 360 version
Origin: The Will to Power (1986)
Once the handsome ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, King Gamera's nemesis and former gardener Mr. Moustache absconded with his girlfriend and left him trapped in the shape of a prehistoric turtle. King Gamera struggled to hold on to his fading humanity even as he battled the minions of Mr. Moustache to regain his love and his kingdom.
The game's ending was memorably bittersweet: Though successful in destroying Mr. Moustache's worldly evil and freeing both his lover and his kingdom, King Gamera was unable to regain his humanity or return to his former life. As the sun set he walked sadly into the sea.
In Smash Brothers Brawl:
King represents a nearly unstoppable force in Smash Brothers, though his raw power is tempered by his human heart. In the face of too much destruction he will become momentarily incapacitated by feelings of self-doubt, which is the best time for an opponent to counterattack.
Trivia: King Gamera is very large, measuring at least five Dennis Hoppers in length.
Origin: Splinter Cell: The Secret War (1992)
Samuel Leo Fisher is a veteran of the U.S. Navy's SEAL Team 10 and a subject of the NSA's Third Echelon "Splinter Cell" experiment. Injected with the cells of history's greatest warriors, Sam has superhuman strength and senses, as well as a complete indifference to human life, including his own.
In Smash Brothers Brawl:
Sam stands out among Smash's usual cast of cartoon Italians and anthropomorphic space cats as possibly the only remotely normal human character. He is also the only character to bleed realistically when harmed, or employ actually-useful weapons like handguns instead of banana-shaped boomerangs. This makes him simultaneously the most lethal and vulnerable combatant in the game's lineup. Additionally, due to advanced realistic muscular and skeletal modeling, he is the only character that can snap his own neck by jumping too hard.
Trivia: According to Wikipedia, Sam is 5 feet 10 inches tall (178 cm), weighs 170 pounds, has green eyes, and JASONB1B IS A HOMO.
NEXT PAGE >> | <urn:uuid:2c362e53-d433-4700-925a-0ed32955543e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.1up.com/features/smash-bros-secrets | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96711 | 1,165 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Articles tagged with: EU
In a world as complex and intricate as our own many tragedies are lost in the endless torrent of catastrophes. One of the greatest tragedies of the modern age is currently beginning to show its face. In the Pacific Ocean there is a current known as the “North Pacific Gyre”. This current is circular and such that it allows anything inanimate to become stuck in its massive area. Uncertain at the beginning of the 21st century, scientists slowly began to work on uncovering this slumbering giant. What we now know is that the current definitively traps the majority of plastic waste consumed from Asia to Central America. | <urn:uuid:b348beaf-1ec6-4c8a-a418-f09cae78fae2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mauiganic.com/maui_environment/eu/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961991 | 134 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Autonnic Research Ltd. - PRODUCT NEWS
Autonnic's new sensors for engine lever controls
Autonnic, world leaders in fluxgate technology, is launching the first of a new range of waterproof, non-contact interaction devices - the A3300 Lever Control module.
A major requirement of the marine world is that conducting, corrosive seawater must not encounter electronic circuits. Yet controls, switches and buttons must be placed where a wet mariner can reach and touch them.
Having developed and patented some unusual aspects of fluxgates, Autonnic has applied the latest version of its 3-axis fluxgate technology to the solution of this interface problem. Autonnic's solution is magnetic and therefore non-contact which solves the problem of how to keep the sea out of the electronics behind knobs, levers and buttons.
First of the series to launch is the A3300 set of OEM modules to provide the basis of non-contact engine lever controls for either one or two engines.
Originally based on cables, lever controls are the electrical means to communicate between the bridge and engine room. Fundamental to the operation is a method to convert a hand movement into an electrical signal. While a potentiometer is often used it has a number of disadvantages and Autonnic's challenge has been to solve these while remaining cost-effective.
Firstly, potentiometers are not non-contact. The electrical part is mechanically connected and a rotary seal is therefore needed to keep the water out.
Secondly, potentiometers use sliding parts which wear and give rise to electrical noise which could lead to unreliable operation.
And thirdly, the potentiometer is itself a mechanical turning part and its own movement has to be rigidly accommodated within the final lever product design.
Autonnic's solution is, naturally, based in its inherently low-cost magnetic technology. At its simplest we apply a magnet on a lever externally and a sealed internal fluxgate will indicate to what angle the lever has been turned. But for adjacent controls, such as a twin engine lever control, something else has to be put in place; Autonnic's Switched Magnet Technology. (STM)
By using asymmetric passive cores on the lever shafts a common fluxgate can be shared between the two keeping all the advantages. Because SMT is a Vector Magnetic method it means that the background field is always being removed from the reading leaving it unaffected by stray magnetic fields.
And finally for the highest precision applications - higher even than lever controls - Autonnic can replace the passive cores with excited symmetric cores so that the movement of one shaft does not distort the field due to the other in even the slightest way so that cross-talk is completely eliminated.
Simple Magnet Autonnic'sSwitched Core Magnet Autonnic's Interaction-free Switched Magnet
WATERPROOFTHROUGH-BARRIERNON-CONTACT v v v
CLOSE TOGETHERSHARED RESOURCES v v
NOT AFFECTED BY EXTERNAL MAGNETIC FIELDS v v
ZERO MUTUAL INTERACTION v
Autonnic Research Ltd is a world market leader in the design and manufacture of fluxgates for navigation systems to the marine and robotic markets. This reputation has been built on its continuous worldwide supply of fluxgate sensors and its unrivalled understanding of the technology, a highly experienced workforce and a commitment to quality, reliability and engineering support for marine autopilot and robotic guidance systems.
Autonnic create modules based on its magnetometer components by adding software and hardware to produce compass modules, wind speed and direction units, inclinometers and 2 axis sensors for archeology and sonar buoys. Autonnic has developed these new application modules under the name of Fluxgate World. Fluxgate World modules build on the in-house expertise of the basic fluxgate components by adding electronics, software, design integration and industrial design and has resulted in a range of products available for incorporation into a wide variety of sensing and measurement applications.
Autonnic continues to patent fluxgate devices and variants to lead to new, reliable and robust sensor and measurement components and modules.
For sales and technical information contact:-
Annick Collins - Sales and Design Manager
Autonnic Research Ltd
Essex CM9 8SE UK
tel +44-162-186 9460
fax +44-162-186 8815
Home - Website - Search - Suppliers - Links - New Products - Catalogues - Magazines
Problem Page - Applications - How they work - Tech Tips - Training - Events - Jobs
Why not submit your Application Story ...
Contact Mike Coope - Tel: +44(0) 1902-700973 or Email: email@example.com | <urn:uuid:5674f65d-d334-4857-be72-b7f42b885a34> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sensorland.com/PRPages/Autonnic003.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900895 | 986 | 1.6875 | 2 |
- James van der Walt
- South Africa
Social Entrepreneur, Ugesi Gold
I have an ethical question. Is it wrong to use placebos?
I'm starting a rural business. Most of these people are very poor and even cynical about their situation. Now I have a plan to start businesses and learning but I first have to get past the mind set. If I were to offer a placebo pill that helps with "your finances and success" would that be wrong?
The idea is that with the business plans I want people to think that they CAN do this. To fight the ideas of "That this is too complicated or that it's just going to fail anyway". Placebo works on the mind but it's power lies in deceit or believe (maybe even faith). So is it wrong to tell people that this pill will help them get out of this bad situation (together with the community projects I have in mind)
Closing Statement from James van der Walt
Thank you all for a very good discussion to get a clearer view of what a placebo means. Also thank you Sietse Sterrenburg for the article you posted. I think it shows clearly what this discussion was about.
So in conclusion. A placebo is a trick to make your mind think you are being healed which then enables your to heal naturally. But this effect is based in deceit which is not ethical. It is much better to train people to use the power of their mind to get the same effect. The placebo has nothing to do with you getting better after all. Rather embrace the truth and enable people to help themselves. | <urn:uuid:86cc78b5-fbb2-4ace-99ee-09848b89266a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ted.com/conversations/6494/i_have_an_ethical_question_is.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967653 | 327 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Concerns are arising in the industry that shortcuts will be taken during the countdown to the 5 May ban on raw ore exports leading to a greater chances of liquefaction and loss of ships. Indonesia is a supplier of ore to China and in 2010 three vessels capsized and sank in less than a month with loss of all on board.
Pressure is on to load as much ore as possible before the deadline, which was advanced from 2014. Inevitably that means more pressure on masters and surveyors and a greater temptation to issue fraudulent documents regarding moisture in cargo. While responsible P&I clubs take steps to ensure that their surveyors do a professional job, others have a questionable reputation.
Because water does not compress it can act as a lubricant between finely divided particles. Heavy weather can cause a ‘wet’ cargo to act like a fluid, flowing to one side of the hold then locking in place, a process that can be repeated. The result is, all too often, a unrecoverable, increasing list, one which can capsize a vessel in mere minutes.
Even in these days of electronics, AIS and EPIRBS, the only evidence of liquefaction is often the disappearance of the vessel with its crew. The speed of the capsize may leave little time for distress calls, shipping routes between Indonesia and China are often ‘AIS blind’ with few land-based receivers online, and EPIRBS may become trapped with the capsize of the ship or may not be deployed in time.
In the recent case of the Vinalines Queen it appears that the master ordered all non-essential crew to lifeboats as he ran for shore with a fatally listing vessel. There does not appear to have been time to launch the lifeboats. All except one seafarer were lost.
There have been a number of calls with liquified cargo but, as an article in the April issue of Professional Mariner by David Tyler notes, these are rarely reported or investigated. On 10 September 2009, Vinalines Mighty, was forced to return to return to the port of Paradip, India, after loading iron ore fines at the port and developing a list while underway.
Liquefaction of iron ore fines was implicated in the sinking of MV Black Rose in September 2009 with the death of the ship’s chief engineer as he desperately tried to save the vessel. MV Asian Forest, which sank in July 2009 off Mangalore and remains off the Indian coast, was another victim of the same phenomenon.
While there are recommendations to use the so-called ‘can test’, it is not necessarily reliable and masters and chief officers do not usually have the scientific expertise or equipment, to assess moisture levels independently.
P&I clubs and industry organisations such as Intercargo have been expressing concern regarding liquefaction for the past few years. However, Indonesia’s decision in February this year to advance its ban on raw ore exports to 5 May has added an extra layer of concern.
While most cases of liquefaction occur after the Pacific rainy season in the last quarter of the year, poorly stored ore stocks can retain high moisture, and the typhoon/hurricane season begins in May, increasing the chance of vessels running into bad weather which encourages liquefaction.
Meanwhile, new IMO amendment on the carriage of hazardous cargo are in the works but will not enter into force until 2015, leaving a three year gap between compliance and safety. | <urn:uuid:b4c0e958-fed0-4ac4-b9cc-e5de148e2bcb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://maritimeaccident.org/2012/04/will-indonesia-ore-ban-sink-ships/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963482 | 712 | 2.03125 | 2 |
The Coachhornsclick on image for coachhorn fanfare (223 kb wav)
or here for a short mp3
Iowa State University owns 16 straight valve-less trumpets which are, perhaps, modeled after the long trumpets blown by angels pictured in Michelangelo's 1536-1541 The Last Judgement behind the altar on the west wall of the Sistine Chapel.
These instruments, made by Conn, were purchased in sets of four per case from four different institutions in the 1930's for use with the Iowa State College Marching Band. They are said to be the entire set of coachhorns made by the Conn factory. The row of red-uniformed men playing fanfares while leading the marching band was an impressive image remembered by the alumni of the era.
Musica Antiqua uses one set of coachhorns (playing three and retaining one for a spare) for announcing important events at Renaissance Fairs and for introducing each delicacy of the Madrigal Dinner. Persons seated at the head table even have been known to call for a fanfare to introduce a favorite guest or dancer.
The coachhorns are pitched in B flat, and except for two which have been modified with a sliding leadpipe for tuning purposes, are still in their original condition. The bell sections are formed of red brass, and surprisingly, the leadpipes accept cornet rather than trumpet mouthpieces.
back to Antiqua Performers | <urn:uuid:e004af7d-928c-40b8-b24d-5d137f30eedd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://music.iastate.edu/antiqua/coachorn.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963337 | 296 | 1.867188 | 2 |
As of late, I’ve been reading the proof due to Laumon of the Weil conjectures (a simplification of Deligne’s second proof) via the Fourier-Deligne transform. This is quite interesting, and I’d like to start a series of posts on it soon, based on the notes I’ve been taking. I don’t currently have the time to edit the notes, so I’ll devote this post to a curious fact I learned today.
One of the first results one proves when studying the classical fundamental group in topology is that the fundamental group of a topological group is abelian. As I learned today, the analogous result for the etale fundamental group fails.
Let be a smooth group scheme, defined over a finite field of size , and let be the base-change to the algebraic closure. Then there is the Lang map sending , for the Frobenius.
It is a theorem (of Lang) that this map is a surjective map. It is also finite, since the fiber over the identity is finite (the -rational points), and a morphism of homogeneous spaces for an algebraic group with finite fibers is finite. (Quick but probably unnecessarily non-elementary proof: a morphism of reduced homogeneous spaces over a smooth group scheme is faithfully flat, by generic flatness and a translation argument. As a result, it’s a quotient map. Since the fibers are finite, one can check that the map is closed by a similar translation argument. Then, proper plus finite fibers implies finite by Zariski’s Main Theorem.)
Also, the Frobenius induces the zero map on the tangent spaces. As a result, , the Lang morphism, is smooth as the morphism on tangent spaces is a bijection. So, since the fibers are finite, we have an etale cover!
The claim is that it is a Galois cover, and the automorphism group is : indeed, the right translations by the -rational points are automorphisms of the cover. Since this is the right number of translations for the degree of the cover, we have indeed a Galois cover with the appropriate Galois group. But, in general, this Galois group won’t be abelian. So the fundamental group, which surjects onto every Galois group, can’t be abelian either.
I initially tried to prove the false result by the Eckmann-Hilton argument (until I was told about this counterexample), but it seems not to be correct: perhaps the problem is that the etale fundamental group doesn’t commute with products! (It does for proper schemes over an algebraically closed field, but this is very nontrivial.) | <urn:uuid:d3eb6aab-f3f0-40a7-815f-868b5d3bfe04> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://amathew.wordpress.com/tag/etale-fundamental-group/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916541 | 587 | 1.898438 | 2 |
May 9, 2011 Astronomers from the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland have found that a recently discovered asteroid has been following Earth in its motion around the Sun for at least the past 250,000 years, and may be intimately related to the origin of our planet.
Their work appears in a paper in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The asteroid first caught the eye of the scientists, Apostolos "Tolis" Christou and David Asher, two months after it was found by the WISE infrared survey satellite, launched in 2009 by the United States. "Its average distance from the Sun is identical to that of the Earth," says Dr Christou, "but what really impressed me at the time was how Earth-like its orbit was." Most near-Earth Asteroids -- NEAs for short -- have very eccentric, or egg-shaped, orbits that take the asteroid right through the inner solar system. But the new object, designated 2010 SO16, is different. Its orbit is almost circular so that it cannot come close to any other planet in the solar system except Earth.
The researchers set out to investigate how stable this orbit is and how long the asteroid has occupied it. To do that, they first had to take into account the current uncertainty in the asteroid's orbit. "Not knowing precisely the location of a newly-discovered NEA is quite common," explained Dr Asher. "The only way to eliminate the uncertainty is to keep tracking the asteroid for as long as possible, usually months or years." But the two scientists overcame that problem by creating virtual "clones" of the asteroid for every possible orbit that it could conceivably occupy. They then simulated the evolution of these clones under the gravity of the Sun and the planets for two million years into the past and in the future.
They found that all the clones remained in a so-called "horseshoe" state with respect to Earth. In this configuration, an object mimics very closely the orbital motion of our planet around the Sun, but as seen from Earth it appears to slowly trace out a horseshoe shape in space. Asteroid 2010 SO16 takes 175 years to make the trip from one end of the horseshoe to the other. So while on the one hand its orbit is remarkably similar to Earth's, in fact "this asteroid is terraphobic," explains Tolis. "It keeps well away from the Earth. So well, in fact, that it has likely been in this orbit for several hundred thousand years, never coming closer to our planet than 50 times the distance to the Moon." This is where it is now, near the end of the horseshoe trailing Earth.
Currently, three other horseshoe companions of Earth are known to exist but, unlike 2010 SO16, these linger for a few thousand years at most before moving on to different orbits. Also, with an estimated diameter of 200-400 metres, 2010 SO16 is by far the largest of Earth's horseshoe asteroids. The team have already used the Las Cumbres Observatory's Faulkes Telescope in an ongoing campaign to track the object and refine its orbit further. "It is not that difficult to spot with a medium-sized professional telescope," says Dr Asher. "It will remain as an evening object in Earth's skies for many years to come."
Ultimately, Christou and Asher would like to know where it came from, and they have already thought of several possibilities. It could be an ordinary asteroid coming from the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter. In that case, the random gravitational pull of the different planets would be responsible for its present orbit; something that Tolis and David think is an unlikely proposition. It could also be a piece of the Moon that escaped the gravity of Earth-Moon system and went into an independent orbit around the Sun. However, the very stability of its orbit means that there is currently no way to transport it from the Moon to where it is now. Finally, 2010 SO16 could represent leakage from a population of objects near the so-called triangular equilibrium points 60 degrees ahead of and behind Earth in its orbit. Such a population has been postulated in the past but never observed as such objects are always near the Sun in the sky. If they do exist, they may represent relic material from the formation of Earth, Moon and the other inner planets 4.5 billion years ago.
For the time being, the astronomers would like to see the physical properties of the object studied from the ground, especially its colour. "Colour, a measure of an asteroid's reflectivity across the electromagnetic spectrum, can tell you a lot about its origin," they explain. "With this information we can start testing possible origin scenarios with hard data. If it proves to be unique in some way, it may be worth sending a probe to study it up close, and perhaps bring back a sample for laboratory scrutiny."
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
- A. A. Christou and D. J. Asher. A long-lived horseshoe companion to the Earth. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2011; (accepted) [link]
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead. | <urn:uuid:4823e5ae-1f1d-4b53-820a-5df253df85c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110406132024.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963557 | 1,098 | 3.765625 | 4 |
Large companies are accelerating their use of offshore outsourcing and as many as a quarter of IT jobs at Global 1000 firms may be moved offshore by 2010, according to The Hackett Group, a Miami-based consulting firm whose clients include many multinational firms.
According to its research, these large firms -- companies with revenues of at least US$5 billion -- will move about 350,000 corporate jobs offshore over the next two years. Over half of those jobs will be in IT, with the remainder in finance, human resources and procurement.
Just two months ago some analysts said the credit crisis has failed to boost the outsourcing market.
The data "is a confirmation of a mega-trend" similar to what happened in the manufacturing sector several decades ago, said Michel Janssen, Hackett's chief research officer. And while 25 per cent of the IT jobs may head overseas in the next two years, over the longer term that figure could hit 60 per cent. In some firms, it could reach 80 per cent.
An earlier study that looked at the impact of offshore outsourcing on IT, based on data collected from 10,000 people, estimated that as many 8 per cent of all IT workers have been affected by offshore outsourcing.
The Hackett Group surveyed 200 firms in October, 40 per cent of which have headquarters in the U.S. with a similar per centage in Europe. The IT headcount in each of these companies is about 1,600.
The road to better outsourcing
This big shift in jobs to low-cost offshore locations may be accelerating, in part, because companies are more experienced -- and comfortable -- with offshoring and have developed standardized practices, according to Erik Dorr, Hackett's senior IT research director. The survey was completed in October and he is uncertain how economic conditions influenced responses.
"What is clear, though is they are certainly not slowing (offshoring) as a result of economic crisis," said Dorr. "If anything, they are going to be more aggressive."
More from ITWorld Canada | <urn:uuid:3dd7b649-3270-49ed-9d3c-21dabf2e6a28> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/one-in-four-it-jobs-moving-offshore/108474 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971127 | 417 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Updated 3:17 p.m. - Democrats looking to sustain public pressure for new gun laws in the wake of the Newtown shootings clashed Wednesday with Republicans and the National Rifle Association over universal background checks, a far less dramatic proposed change than an assault weapons ban or limits on high capacity magazines.
"My problem with background checks is you're never going to get criminals to go through universal background checks," Wayne LaPierre, CEO and chief lobbyist for the NRA, said at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence, the first since President Barack Obama laid out new measures to curb gun crime. "None of it makes any sense in the real world."
The obvious drama in the packed hearing room lasted over four hours, with passions running well beyond the normal staid congressional panel. The emotion was heightened by the presence of some major iconic figures in the battle over whether – and how – to tighten federal regulation of firearms.
LaPierre sat at the opposite end of the witness table from Mark Kelly, the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Critically wounded at a shooting in Tucson in 2011, Giffords opened the hearing with a dramatic plea, haltingly asking Congress to "do something to prevent gun violence."
Susan Walsh / AP
Mark Kelly, husband of former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords; David Kopel, law professor at Strum College in Denver; Baltimore Police Chief James Johnson; Gayle Trotter, senior fellow with the Independent Women's Forum; and National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre, are sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, prior to testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence.
"My wife would not have been sitting here today if we had stronger background checks," Kelly told the committee later in the hearing.
Under current law, people can buy guns through a private seller without getting a background check. It's commonly referred to as the "gun show loophole." The Obama administration's proposal to close this loophole by requiring background checks for all sales of firearms dominated much of Wednesday's hearing.
Related: Giffords 'Too many children are dying … you must act'
The exchanges at the hearing illustrated the sharp political divide over changing the nation's gun laws – and the difficulty in enacting any of the more dramatic new measures included in the package the White House is pushing, which includes an assault weapons ban and limits on high capacity magazines.
"The deaths in Newtown should not be used to put forward every gun control measure that has been floating around for years," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the committee's ranking member.
"Emotion often leads to bad policies," said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who called the 1994 assault weapons ban a "singularly ineffective piece of legislation."
Gabrielle Giffords' husband, retired astronaut and Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that he and his wife are still gun owners and value the second amendment, but stresses that the right to own a firearm demands responsibility and urges lawmakers to revise existing gun control legislation.
Even Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from rural Vermont, did not explicitly endorse the assault weapons ban that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced last week. But he did call for background checks, sharply challenging LaPierre on the subject.
The NRA's position on background checks is a switch from the organization's position 14 years ago. "We think it's reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show. No loopholes anywhere for anyone," LaPierre told a congressional panel in 1999.
A place where there was some common ground: gun trafficking.
“We may be able to work together to prevent straw purchasers from trafficking in guns,” Grassley said, a sentiment echoed by others on the panel.
The obvious legislative hurdles -- on display Wednesday -- help explain why Democrats are relying on a campaign-like strategy and a series of public events to try to ratchet up public demand for stricter regulations on firearms. Giffords' story makes her a compelling public advocate.
"Too many children are dying," she said Wednesday, breaking up the syllables during her testimony.
"It will be hard, but the time is now," said Giffords, who has embarked on an arduous recovery since she was shot in the head, affecting her speech. "You. Must. Act. Be bold. Be courageous. Americans are counting on you."
She walked into Wednesday's hearing, her husband holding her hand and carefully guiding her to her seat in front of the Senate panel.
She spoke for just over a minute; her husband helped her back out of the room.
"Gabby's gift for speech is a distant memory," Kelly said later. "She struggles to walk, and she is partially blind. Her right arm is completely paralyzed."
With help from her husband, Mark Kelly, Gabrielle Giffords, the former congresswoman who was shot and left handicapped after a gunman opened fire at an event in Tucson, Ariz. speaks at a Senate hearing on gun control.
In trying to counter the emotional testimony, Republicans repeatedly praised Giffords’ perseverance and focused on trying to raise doubts about whether the measures Democrats had proposed to combat gun violence would work. They insisted current gun laws aren't being prosecuted effectively.
“This discussion, I sit here and listen to it, and my reaction is how little it has to do with the problem of keeping our kids safe and how much it has to do with the decadelong, two decadelong, gun ban agenda when we don’t even enforce the laws on the books,” LaPierre said.
Wednesday's hearings were the first in a planned series of sessions on gun laws. Leahy said Wednesday that he plans to begin the process of crafting a gun package in his committee next month. With Obama and Vice President Joe Biden publicly making the case for new laws, gun control advocates expect any action to begin in the Senate; the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has shown little appetite for taking up the issue.
In the wake of Newtown, a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed that 56 percent of Americans believe gun laws should be more strict. The survey showed just 7 percent believe gun restrictions should be less strict.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday that he planned to bring gun legislation to the Senate floor -- though with an open process that could allow senators to make changes. Such a process would likely make it harder to pass the bill.
“It’s very clear that there’s going to be a bill brought out of the committee, brought to the Senate floor, and there will be an amendment process there,” Reid said. He added that senators would be allowed to “bring up whatever amendments they want that deal with this issue.” | <urn:uuid:1415ca1c-f86b-4ba2-be59-29662acab2e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/30/16772370-background-checks-take-center-stage-at-fractious-senate-hearing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959114 | 1,423 | 1.640625 | 2 |
A silver lining in the dark cloud of the deficit reduction supercommittee's failure is that it gives Americans another chance to do the right thing to control health care costs. To save money, we must move beyond administrative fiat and put patients first.
The problem is illustrated by the "sustainable growth rate" legislation to control physician payments by Medicare. The sustainable growth rate has been repeatedly countermanded by Congress, an issue that might have been addressed by the supercommittee. As a doctor, I can tell you that most practicing physicians in the country are now fixed on it with laser-like intensity. Lacking any solution, the clock is ticking. Doctors' Medicare payments will be cut severely on Jan. 1 if nothing is done. The problem is the context in which health care costs are addressed.
Some years back, Tom Scully, a previous administrator of Baltimore-based Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was reported in The Wall Street Journal to have likened cutting Medicare costs to the carnival Whac-a-Mole game: "When spending shoots up, you whack it down." I hope Mr. Scully's statement was made in jest. Indiscriminate cuts are not the answer. Two separate studies, from the University of North Carolina in 1985 and University of York in 2006, showed that the response to decreased reimbursement for a procedure may be to increase the number of procedures done, which can cost more because of the additional use of resources: facilities, medicines and personnel. Such accounting solutions also ignore the patients.
Instead, the U.S. can decrease health care costs by focusing on the quality of care that doctors provide. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has just reported that the U.S. annually spends $3,000 more on health care per person than even the richest other countries — a total of $900 billion more — and U.S. health statistics are, to say the least, not correspondingly better. We can save many billions of dollars on health care not by rationing but by restraining costs that are not helping patients.
Where are the savings from concentrating on quality? Start with the well-known issue of overutilization: performing tests and treatments that are not indicated, even if insurance will pay for them and the patient wants them. Such practices expose patients to needless risk. Dr. Elliott Fisher of The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care estimates that "perhaps a third of medical spending is now devoted to services that don't appear to improve health or quality of care." Applying that to the $800 billion annual budget for Medicare and Medicaid yields a conservative estimate of savings from controlling overutilization of more than $200 billion. The rest of health care, obtained through private coverage, should yield an additional similar amount. And then there is underutilization: Noncompliance with medical regimens, largely correctable by systems improvements in delivery of care, is costing us $170 billion a year, as reported by Dr. Pauline Chen last year in The New York Times. For estimation purposes, we can lump these excess costs of more than $400 billion together, since it is all money out of the taxpayers' pockets, one way or another.
Contrast that with the sustainable growth rate. It's simple: Legislation in 1997 specified small annual adjustments for physician reimbursements. But the Medicare budget began to exceed projections, and the law required Medicare payment cuts. With physician lobbying, the cuts were always blocked by Congress. To comply, Medicare now has to cut payments by 27 percent. And all of this is over a relatively small budget item. The sustainable growth rate law pertains to only 13 percent of Medicare expenditures, so making this draconian cut would only yield about $16 billion, whereas the U.S. spends $2.5 trillion on health care annually.
In both the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development report and the sustainable growth rate statistics, the excess is predominantly in outpatient elective surgery and expensive diagnostic tests, both of which are ripe for overutilization. So Congress can address those rather than cutting the income of the beleaguered family doctor.
Why haven't these solutions been discussed more openly? Special interests fear loss of income. Before passage of the Affordable Care Act, they had eight lobbyists for every man and woman in Congress. But something must be done. Improving quality is not a mystery. It might be easier to accomplish than our frustrated representatives are leading us to believe. Once we establish that better health for every American is our primary goal, Congress and the administration can focus on the quality measures needed to accomplish it while cutting costs in the bargain.
Dr. James Burdick is professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He had a career as a transplant surgeon and served in the Department of Health and Human Services as director of the Division of Transplantation, and is writing a book detailing his doctors' plan for health reform. His email is email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:b09e8aab-d7b2-4045-bf00-d0fdc61d6f23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-12-21/news/bs-ed-health-care-20111221_1_health-care-sustainable-growth-rate-medicare-payments | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959507 | 1,011 | 1.804688 | 2 |
The latest student presentation to the Pearl River board of education once again focused on music.
Last month, it was Lincoln Ave. Elementary School students with their Orff instruments.
Tuesday night, a group of Evans Park Elementary School students took their turn, playing their recorders and explaining how the lessons they learn with them extend into other instruments as part of the board of education meeting at the district administration building.
Music teacher Glyn Nixon explained that the PTA buys every student their own recorder for use in general music classes. She led the students through a variety of tunes, from simple ones with one note to those that are more complex.
"Each has their own and they do not share. It's like a toothbrush," Nixon said.
She said all students start playing on the recorders in third grade, but it was more experienced fourth graders at Tuesday's meeting.
Check back with Patch for more from Tuesday's meeting, which also included a discussion of the size of the district administration. | <urn:uuid:a57601b7-cecf-4bd5-aee6-21c5b2caf17d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pearlriver.patch.com/groups/schools/p/evans-park-students-share-music-lessons-with-pearl-ri08c34c087f | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98108 | 204 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Business Week: Open Season On Big Oil: An angry public wants quick relief from high prices. Here's why none is in sight: “Even promising projects are becoming harder to pull off -- a reality underlined this summer when Royal Dutch/Shell estimated that its Sakhalin II gas project in Russia would wind up costing $20 billion, double earlier forecasts.”: Monday 19 Sept 2005
John Browne, the chief executive of BP PLC (BP), the largest producer of oil and gas in the U.S., is already spending $14.5 billion this year on exploration and production and other capital projects, and he would like to do even more. "Could we expand our investment upstream?" he says in an interview in his office overlooking London's St. James's Square. "The answer is we have plenty of opportunities to do that. But we can't find the rigs, the service contracting, all the things we need to get it done."
For instance, Browne wants to rapidly expand BP's Rocky Mountain gas project in Wamsutter, Wyo. But BP can't find enough drilling rigs for hire, so it's having new ones built. That, however, will take about a year. Browne and other top oil executives are in an awkward position: They're feeling beleaguered even as they head toward record profits this year -- some $118 billion for the 10 of the largest companies, according to A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. (AGE ). Even while the companies' costs are soaring as they scramble to secure more oil and gas, politicians from Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) to French Finance Minister Thierry Breton are taking aim at them in response to consumers' growing fury over skyrocketing prices at the pump. France's Breton threatened a windfall-profit tax if oil companies don't immediately cut prices of refined products whenever the price of crude goes down. In Washington, pols -- mostly Democrats no longer in power -- are proposing excess-profit taxes and higher subsidies for renewable fuels. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi also wants to give the Federal Trade Commission authority to prosecute oil companies for price gouging. "The fact that oil companies are enjoying record profits when consumers are paying record high prices does not sit well with people," says Tyson Slocum, research director of the pro-consumer group Public Citizen.
What can Big Oil do to defuse the anger? The best possible course of action is to pump more oil, refine more gasoline, and bring prices down to levels that won't spook investors and markets. But the best solution is not the likeliest: There's no way the oil majors can flood the markets, for the simple reason that it takes years to find the oil, build the refineries, and construct the pipelines that will turn a shortage into a surplus. The spending is now surging. But no quick relief is in sight, as new players like China drive up demand and a dearth of refineries globally sends gasoline prices skyrocketing.
How did this happen? A mix of missteps -- and a series of events beyond even the control of the oil giants. In some respects the oil companies have made their own bed. In the late 1990s, as prices sank to a low of close to $10 per barrel, they played to Wall Street, slashing veteran exploration and production staffers and gobbling each other up through acquisitions, often instead of drilling for new oil.
All this has led to a lean industry that has delivered strong financial results, but roller-coaster pricing for consumers. It is the penny-pinching of the past that has led to a shrunken drilling and refinery sector. Skilled workers are no longer around to make the steel that goes into building new rigs, man them, and more.
"The industry has not been an attractive place for people to work," says Browne. With demand surging, this dearth of equipment and talent has led to a doubling of day rates for drilling rigs in the past 18 months -- to $200,000 for sizable offshore rigs and as much as $400,000 for jumbos. Managing the industry for quarterly results has been less than ideal for an oil-thirsty world.
Meanwhile, the majors failed to anticipate the surge in global demand that has overtaken the industry. For much of the recent past, demand grew only 1.5% a year -- until 2004, when it jumped almost 4%. Even early last year demand forecasts from energy watchers were pessimistic. With predictions way off, the industry didn't prepare for the explosion in consumption. "The reason why these problems are hitting us now is that we have exhausted the spare capacity that kept us going for 20 years," says Jeffrey R. Currie, a Goldman, Sachs & Co. (GS ) analyst in London. "We need to tap new capital for greenfield projects in more hostile political and geological environments."
Executives need to make multibillion investment decisions without knowing whether oil prices are going to keep rising or plunge to the $20 range that prevailed through the 1990s and inched up gradually until 2004. Now companies are slowly increasing their pricing assumptions. Browne says BP figures prices will remain around $40 per barrel for the next five years. But the industry's leaders, who rose up the ranks in the relatively lean times of the '90s, are still being conservative -- some think obstinately so. No oil executive will cut a deal for five years out assuming that today's spot price of $65 will prevail.
A SAUDI GLUT?
Despite the risks, oil companies have boosted exploration substantially. Norwalk (Conn.)-based consultants John S. Herold Inc. report that 200 oil companies have roughly doubled exploration spending to a combined $180 billion for this year. "They're certainly spending a lot more. Whether or not they are spending enough, that's up for some debate," says research director Nicholas Cacchione.
But while they explore more for oil, the oil is harder to find. Companies are being forced to replace their depleted sources of oil and gas in the West with new supplies in politically and geologically more challenging areas, from Russia to the deep water off West Africa. "The companies are making more money, but they have more risks," says J. Robinson West, chairman of Washington-based consultants PFC Energy.
Adding to the tension, the rate at which reserves are replaced is falling, and the production of four of the top five companies -- ExxonMobil (XOM ), Total (TOT ), Chevron (CVX ), and Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD ) -- declined in the first half of 2005 vs. a year earlier, according to PFC Energy. The major oil companies have lost clout to host governments such as Saudi Arabia and Iran and their national oil companies, which now control 78% of global reserves.
Another uncertainty is the size of reserves in Persian Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia. While much has been made about the prospect of the Saudis running out of oil, Currie says the more nightmarish scenario for the oil industry is that the Saudis, who have hired some 70 international drilling rigs for a 2.5 million barrel-per-day expansion -- a boost the size of a key producer like Kuwait -- will turn out to have plenty of crude, eventually driving prices down.
Even promising projects are becoming harder to pull off -- a reality underlined this summer when Royal Dutch/Shell estimated that its Sakhalin II gas project in Russia would wind up costing $20 billion, double earlier forecasts. "The projects are in a variety of political environments," says Peter J. Robertson, vice-chairman of Chevron. "And they are technically more complex."
As a result, companies aren't getting as big a return on the money they do spend. The cost of finding new reserves has soared from $4.94 a barrel in 2000 to $8.61 today as prices for everything from rigs to steel pipe have jumped. For each dollar of price above $25 a barrel, Russia now takes 89 cents in taxes, up from 68 cents per dollar per barrel in 2003. Companies say these levies deter costly, risky investments.
BIG PLANS IN TEXAS
For similar reasons, oil companies are also leery of investing in refining. No new refineries have been built in the U.S. since 1976, because of a combination of regulatory hurdles and local opposition. And the majors still see refining as a poor business, although profits on refining are now very lucrative at $20 per barrel, vs. under $5 per barrel as recently as the fourth quarter of 2004. That's why Arizona Clean Fuels, a startup that is looking to build a new $3 billion refinery in remote Yuma, Ariz., still hasn't lined up financing after 10 years of making plans and seeking permits. "The fundamental problem has always been economics," says CEO Glenn McGinnis.
That may be starting to change. Motiva Enterprises LLC, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell Group and Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company, is considering long-term capacity additions at its three Gulf Coast refineries, according to spokesperson Stan Mays. This development could be huge, says Edward Murphy, group director for refining and marketing at the American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group. "I think we're past the point of asking 'What do we need to do to see more expansion?' The incentives are there right now."
That's encouraging. But such projects take years to come to fruition -- one reason the current tight situation in the markets is likely to be with us for some time, and why frustration and anger with Big Oil will be a constant theme in politics around the world.
Click here to return to ShellNews.net HOME PAGE | <urn:uuid:87955971-c19b-4983-9f3f-c5a11a40549b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shell2004.com/week38/business_weekweek38openseaon19sept05.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963494 | 2,004 | 1.75 | 2 |
Disunion follows the Civil War as it unfolded.
“I, a peaceable, law abiding citizen, pursuing my legitimate business at Paducah, Kentucky, where I have been a resident for nearly four years, have been driven from my home, my business, and all that is dear to me, at the short notice of twenty-four hours; not for any crime committed, but simply because I was born of Jewish parents,” said a young merchant named Cesar Kaskel to reporters in late December 1862. The accompanying headline disclosed why Kaskel was so abruptly ordered out. It read: “Expulsion of Jews from General Grant’s Department.”
The order, known as General Orders No. 11, expelled Jews from the territory under Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s command — which stretched from Northern Mississippi to Cairo, Illinois and from the Mississippi River to the Tennessee River. It was issued on Dec. 17, 1862, and came directly from Grant’s headquarters in Holly Springs, Miss. It read:
The Jews, as a class violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department and also department orders, are hereby expelled from the department within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order.
Post commanders will see that all of this class of people be furnished passes and required to leave, and any one returning after such notification will be arrested and held in confinement until an opportunity occurs of sending them out as prisoners, unless furnished with permit from headquarters.
No passes will be given these people to visit headquarters for the purpose of making personal application for trade permits.
By order of Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant
JNO. A. RAWLINS, Assistant Adjutant-General
For months, Grant had been worried about cotton speculators and smugglers in the area under his command. His department seethed with blockade runners who traded “upon the miseries of the country.” Canny traders could turn $100 into $2,000 by smuggling Southern cotton to Northern ports and quinine, bacon and finished goods in the other direction. If he could just put a stop to the smuggling, Grant thought, he could put real economic pressure on the South and the terrible war would end sooner.
Such trade was, of course, illegal, and some of the smugglers that Grant’s men caught were Jews. America’s Jewish population had ballooned from about 15,000 in 1840 to some 150,000 in 1860, mostly immigrants from Central Europe. Large numbers of those immigrants became peddlers and merchants, marked by their European accents and foreign ways. Some of them, during the war, peddled contraband.
Lots of non-Jews, including many soldiers, likewise pursued fast money by trading in illicit goods. Assistant Secretary of War Charles A. Dana (who himself secretly speculated in cotton) reported in early 1863 that “every colonel, captain of quartermaster is in secret partnership with some operator in cotton; every soldier dreams of adding a bale of cotton to his monthly pay.” In Memphis, the leading city in Grant’s territory, “the amount of plunder & bribery” was “beyond all calculation,” according to Dana. “Honesty is the exception and peculation” — that is, embezzlement — “the rule.”
Nevertheless, in the eyes of Grant and of many other Americans, all smugglers and speculators and traders were Jews, whether they were actually Jewish or not — just as Southerners dubbed all Northerners “Yankees,” whether or not they hailed from New England. Grant wanted as few of them as possible in the area under his command.
In July 1862, Grant ordered the commander of the District of the Mississippi to “examine all baggage of all speculators coming South,” and to turn back those who were carrying gold. “Jews,” he admonished, “should receive special attention.” In August, a soldier newspaper quoted Grant as calling Jews “a nuisance” that he had plans to “abate.” On Nov. 9, as he prepared to move South in preparation for the decisive battle at Vicksburg, Grant tightened his regulations against Jews: “Refuse all permits to come south of Jackson for the present,” he ordered. “The Isrealites especially should be kept out.” The very next day he strengthened that order: “no Jews are to be permitted to travel on the Rail Road southward from any point. . . they are such an intolerable nuisance that the Department must be purged” of them. Writing in early December to Gen. William T. Sherman, whose quartermaster had created problems by selling cotton “to a Jew by the name of Haas,” Grant explained that “in consequence of the total disregard and evasion of orders by the Jews my policy is to exclude them so far as practicable from the Dept.”
But until Dec. 17, Grant had not gone so far as to expel Jews from his department. Indeed, when Col. John Van Deusen Du Bois on Dec. 8 angrily ordered “all Cotton-Speculators, Jews and other Vagrants having no honest means of support, except trading upon the miseries of their Country” to leave Holly Springs, and gave them “twenty-four hours or they will be sent to duty in the trenches,” Grant insisted that the Draconian order be rescinded. “Instructions from Washington,” he reminded Du Bois, “are to encourage getting Cotton out of the country.” Notwithstanding his private opinions and actions, Grant understood that he still had publicly to uphold official government policy, which permitted those loyal to the Union to trade in cotton.
All that changed on Dec. 17. Grant, according to multiple sources, received a visit that day from his 68-year-old father, Jesse R. Grant, accompanied by members the prominent Mack family of Cincinnati, significant Jewish clothing manufacturers. Harman, Henry and Simon Mack, as part of an ingenious scheme, had formed a secret partnership with the elder Grant. In return for 25 percent of their profits, he agreed to accompany them to his son’s Mississippi headquarters, act as their agent to “procure a permit for them to purchase cotton” and help them secure the means to transport that cotton to New York.
According to the journalist Sylvanus Cadwallader, a witness, General Grant waxed indignant at his father’s crass attempt to profit from his son’s military status, and raged at the Jewish traders who “entrapped his old father into such an unworthy undertaking.” He refused to provide the permit, sent the Macks homeward “on the first train for the north” and, in high dudgeon, immediately issued the order expelling “Jews as a class” from his territory.
Fortunately for the thousands of Jews who lived in the territory under his command, Grant was soon distracted. Less than 72 hours after his order was issued, his forces at Holly Springs were raided by 3,500 Confederate troops. Simultaneous raids to the north inflicted significant damage to Grant’s lines and tore up 50 miles of railroad and telegraph lines. Communications to and from Grant’s headquarters were disrupted for weeks. As a result, news of Grant’s order spread slowly, sparing many Jews who might otherwise have been banished.
To be sure, some Jewish traders in the vicinity of Grant’s army were treated roughly. A “Mr. Silberman” from Chicago, temporarily in Holly Springs, was reportedly imprisoned for 12 hours for the “crime” of seeking to telegraph General Grant to find out if the expulsion order he received was genuine. An unnamed young Jewish trader and his fiancée, traveling through Grant’s department on their way east, described in The Jewish Record how they were detained, forbidden to change out of wet clothes, robbed of their horses and buggy and verbally abused, and also had one of their trunks burned and their pockets picked in the wake of the order. Their expulsion, if not their mistreatment, was explained by Brig. Gen. James Tuttle, commander of the Union garrison in Cairo, Ill., with the utmost simplicity: “you are Jews, and … neither a benefit to the Union or Confederacy.”
But it was only when Grant’s order reached Paducah, Ken., 11 days after it was issued, that a whole community of Jews found itself expelled. On Dec. 28, Paducah’s provost marshal, L.J. Waddell, sent Cesar Kaskel and every other Jew in the city an official notice ordering them to leave within 24 hours. Women and children were expelled, too, and in the confusion – so it was recalled years later – one baby was almost forgotten, and two dying women had to be left behind in the care of neighbors. (The historian John E.L. Robertson of Paducah recounts, somewhat dubiously, that citizens of his city hid some Jews to prevent their being sent away. “One soldier,” he reports, “is said to have knocked on the door of a Jew and demanded, ‘What are you?’ The resident of the house answered truthfully, ‘Tailor.’ To which the not-too-bright soldier replied, ‘Sorry to bother you, Mr. Taylor, but I’m looking for Jews.’”)
As they prepared to leave their homes, Kaskel and several other Jews sent a telegram to President Abraham Lincoln describing their plight and pronouncing themselves “greatly insulted and outraged by this inhuman order, the carrying out of which would be the grossest violation of the Constitution, and our rights as good citizens under it.”
Lincoln, in all likelihood, never saw that telegram, as he was busy preparing to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. The irony of his freeing the slaves while Grant was expelling the Jews was not lost on some contemporaries. The Memphis Daily Bulletin published the two documents one above the other. The juxtaposition of these events also shaped the responses of several Jewish leaders to Grant’s order. They feared that Jews would replace blacks as the nation’s stigmatized minority.
Fearing the worst, Kaskel wasted no time. “On my way to Washington, in order to get this most outrageous and inhuman order of Major General Grant countermanded,” he announced to reporters. He begged the journalists to whom he told his story “to lend the powerful aid of the press to the suffering cause of outraged humanity” and “to blot out as quick as possible this stain on our national honor.”
Arriving in the nation’s capital just as the Jewish Sabbath was concluding on Jan. 3, Kaskel called at once upon Cincinnati’s departing Republican congressman, John Addison Gurley, who enjoyed ready access to the White House. Together, they immediately went over to see President Lincoln.
Lincoln turned out to have no knowledge whatsoever of the order, for it had not reached Washington. According to an oft-quoted report, he resorted to biblical imagery in his interview with Kaskel, a reminder of how immersed he was in the Bible and how, like many 19th-century Americans, he linked Jews to Ancient Israel, and America to the Promised Land.
“And so,” Lincoln is said to have drawled, “the children of Israel were driven from the happy land of Canaan?”
“Yes,” Kaskel responded, “and that is why we have come unto Father Abraham’s bosom, asking protection.”
“And this protection,” Lincoln declared, “they shall have at once.”
Even if no such conversation actually took place, Lincoln did instantly instruct the general-in-chief of the Army, Henry Halleck, to countermand General Orders No. 11. Halleck seems to have had his doubts as to whether the order Kaskel has showed him was genuine, so in writing to Grant, he chose his words carefully. “If such an order has been issued,” his telegram read, “it will be immediately revoked.” Two days later, several urgent telegrams went out from Grant’s headquarters in obedience to that demand: “By direction of the General in Chief of the Army at Washington,” they read, “the General Order from these Head Quarters expelling Jews from this Department is hereby revoked.”
In a follow-up meeting with Jewish leaders, Lincoln reaffirmed that he knew “of no distinction between Jew and Gentile.” “To condemn a class,” he emphatically declared, “is, to say the least, to wrong the good with the bad. I do not like to hear a class or nationality condemned on account of a few sinners.”
The revocation of Grant’s order by no means ended the controversy. Democrats in Congress sought, unsuccessfully, to censure Grant. The New York Times called upon its readers to remember that “All swindlers are not Jews. All Jews are not swindlers.” Most of all, Jews discussed the matter among themselves, seeking to understand how, even in wartime, such an order could have been issued at all.
Grant himself never defended General Orders No. 11 and later omitted the episode from his “Personal Memoir.” According to his son, Frederick, who assisted his father with those memoirs, the omission was deliberate. “That was a matter long past and best not referred to,” he quoted his father as telling him. Julia, Grant’s wife, proved far less circumspect. In her memoirs, she characterized General Orders No. 11 as nothing less than “obnoxious.” The general, she recalled, felt that the severe reprimand he received for the order was deserved, for “he had no right to make an order against any special sect.”
Had Grant himself expressed such sentiments in the wake of the order’s revocation, his run for the presidency, in 1868, might not have proved so contentious. As it was, General Orders No. 11 became an important election year issue. For the first time, a controversy involving Jews stood front and center in a presidential campaign.
Grant’s opponents insisted that a man who could expel “Jews as a class” for his war zone was unfit to be president. His supporters insisted that Grant was “steadfast” in his “adherence to the principles of American liberty and religious toleration,” and that General Orders No. 11 was “directed simply against evil designing persons whose religion was in no way material to the issue.”
When the votes were finally tallied, Grant emerged the winner by more than 300,000 votes and a healthy 134-electoral-vote margin. The Jewish vote, whose size pundits at the time greatly exaggerated, scarcely made much difference.
With the election behind him, so nobody could accuse him of pandering for votes, Grant released an unprecedented letter that told his supporters and nervous Jews just what they wanted to hear from the president-elect: “I have no prejudice against sect or race, but want each individual to be judged by his own merit. Order No. 11 does not sustain this statement, I admit, but then I do not sustain that order.”
During his eight-year presidency, Grant went out of his way to prove just how unprejudiced he had become. He appointed more Jews to public office than all previous presidents combined, became the first president to attend a synagogue dedication and actively intervened on behalf of persecuted Jews in Russia and Romania. After he left office, he maintained friendships with many Jews, became the first president to visit the land of Israel and, in 1881, placed his name atop a call for a public meeting of protest when anti-Jewish violence broke out in Russia. One senses that whenever he interacted with Jews, and especially when he saw them persecuted, embarrassing memories of General Orders No. 11 flooded into Grant’s mind.
As for Cesar Kaskel, he returned to Paducah after General Orders No. 11 was countermanded. He subsequently moved to New York, where he established an upscale clothing store at Broadway and Bleecker Street. In later years, he regaled customers with the story of his Civil War expulsion and its aftermath. He particularly recalled his vigorous and definitive response to the post commander who demanded to know by whose order he had returned to Paducah so soon after Grant had expelled him. It was, he replied, “by order of the president of the United States.”
Sources: Jonathan D. Sarna, “When General Grant Expelled the Jews”; newspaper clipping, SC-4218, American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati; Bertram W. Korn, “American Jewry and the Civil War”; John Y. Simon, ed., The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant; John Y. Simon, “That Obnoxious Oder” and Stephen V. Ash, “Civil War Exodus: The Jews and Grant’s General Order No. 11,” in Jonathan D. Sarna and Adam Mendelsohn (eds.) “Jews and the Civil War.”
Jonathan D. Sarna is the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History and chairman of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis University. He is also the chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History. His many books include “When General Grant Expelled the Jews” and “American Judaism: A History.” | <urn:uuid:6b9cc446-f9fd-4cca-a0b9-82c8954d127e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/general-grants-infamous-order/?ref=fugitiveslaves | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977808 | 3,753 | 3.28125 | 3 |
As the number of cellular telephone towers doubles across the country, providers are trying to get creative fitting them into existing communities. In Montana and in many scenic areas, blocking mountain views is particularly controversial, while at the same time those mountains limit cell phone reception. The Bozeman Chronicle provides some background on ways cell towers have been disguised, coverage vs. capacity issues, and how the city and county zoning treats towers:
"Under federal law, cities can't ban cell towers.
Further, cities must have provisions to allow towers in residential neighborhoods, on historic landmarks and on environmental sites - anywhere someone might need to make a call in an emergency."
Thanks to JC Shepard | <urn:uuid:52fe423c-1907-42ee-968b-5d7931addc42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.planetizen.com/node/51194 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951598 | 135 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Food Quality: An Issue As Important As Safety
by George Kent
Food safety is important, but it is not the only consideration when choosing foods.
For example, for people in the U.S., the aversion to dog meat and horse meat is more a cultural matter than a safety issue. For Jews and Muslims, the aversion to pork might have begun as a safety issue historically, but now it is more a religious and cultural matter. Some people shun genetically modified foods because they fear such foods would be unsafe to eat, and some shun them for other reasons, such as their environmental or economic impacts. Some people prefer eggs from free range chickens not because it makes a big difference in the quality of the eggs, but because of their concerns about animal cruelty. Foie gras was banned in California because of concerns about animal cruelty, not food safety. Pink slime may be viewed as disgusting even if it is safe to eat. Some people might wish to avoid certain foods because they are farmed or manufactured in ways that harm the environment. No one has argued that whale meat or turtle meat is unsafe. Shark fin soup is not unsafe. Products might be shunned because they are produced under onerous conditions for workers. Some people think particular foods should be controlled because they increase the likelihood of becoming overweight.
Snack manufacturers argue that there are no bad foods, only bad diets. What should regulatory agencies do about that, especially when many people do have bad diets?
A clear distinction should be drawn between unsafe products and unsafe practices. If infants are fed with tea or cola, perhaps along with breast milk or infant formula, they might not get sick immediately, but they may experience health consequences in the future. What about the case in which, to save money, one grandmother diluted the infant formula by half, because, she said, the baby wouldn’t know the difference? Here it is not the products but the practices that are unsafe. Where does one draw the line between safety concerns in the traditional sense, i.e. pathogen contamination, and other food-related concerns?
Agencies with responsibilities for food regulation should be explicit about what is within the scope of their work, and what is excluded. They should explain how they do their work, and be plain about its limitations. This is important because non-specialists don’t make sharp distinctions between questions such as “is it safe for you?” and “is it good for you?” Many people take approval of a product by an official-sounding agency as an endorsement of that product. The manufacturers take advantage of this. They know that if they claim something has been approved by an agency, many customers will think that means it is good for you, or has other virtues. On close examination we might see that approval is actually based on little more than the manufacturers submitting the proper forms, with the agency making no independent assessment of any kind.
If the national food regulatory agency’s mandate is to look only at safety in the narrow sense of worrying about immediate harm to users, which agencies would attend to other considerations that might be important?
To illustrate, there is good evidence that long chain fatty acids in the diets of pregnant women and infants affect the child’s development, not only physically but also intellectually. Ocean fish and beef from grass-fed cows have good fatty acids in them. However, some industrially produced meats – cultured fish fed mainly with grains and cows fed with grains rather than grass – are not as rich in these crucial fatty acids. How should factors that affect consumers’ long-term intellectual development be addressed? Which government food agencies should look after them?
If infant formula manufacturers make bogus claims that synthetic fatty acids added to infant formula make important contributions to infants’ development, who will call on them to account for these claims? If these are not safety issues, what should we name them? | <urn:uuid:27ea5bae-26cd-4cf4-b533-496fbf4d667e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://familysurvivalprotocol.com/2012/07/18/if-infant-formula-manufacturers-make-bogus-claim-who-will-call-on-them-to-account-for-these-claims-if-these-are-not-safety-issues-what-should-we-name-them/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973969 | 796 | 3.15625 | 3 |
AUSTIN -- This year marks the 40th anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Saturday anti-abortion Texans marched down Congress Ave. to the State Capitol to fight the 40-year-old ruling.
A number of speakers and politicians spoke at the annual Texas Rally for Life event ,including Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, Attorney General Greg Abbott and Governor Rick Perry.
"At rallies like these I feel confident that we will someday make abortion a thing of the past," Perry told the crowd.
The protesters say even after 40 years, they are not giving up their fight against abortion.
"As women it's our job to be protective of children, as moms and future moms," says protester Celia Delmau.
"We believe everyone has their own legal right to safe access to health care including access to safe, legal abortion," Blake Rocap with Naral Pro-Choice Texas told KVUE this week. "It's not the government's role to interfere with that health care."
The governor also remarked that this was the biggest turn out he has seen at this rally.
During the last legislative session, lawmakers passed the Sonogram Bill, which requires women in Texas to have an ultrasound before they get an abortion. Saturday, Governor Perry said he will continue to put similar measures into place until abortion is illegal altogether. | <urn:uuid:7c487308-17ea-45aa-b82a-5b0c2a065140> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kvue.com/video/featured-videos/Thousands-march-in-pro-life-rally-headlined-by-Governor-Rick-Perry-188501381.html?ref=next | 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 | 0.970052 | 278 | 1.523438 | 2 |
The Da Vinci Notebooks at sacred-texts.com
On the colour of the atmosphere (300-307).I say that the blueness we see in the atmosphere is not intrinsic colour, but is caused by warm vapour evaporated in minute and insensible atoms on which the solar rays fall, rendering them luminous against the infinite darkness of the fiery sphere which lies beyond and includes it. And this may be seen, as I saw it by any one going up 130 Monboso, a peak of the Alps which divide France from Italy. The base of this mountain gives birth to the four rivers which flow in four different directions through the whole of Europe. And no mountain has its base at so great a height as this, which lifts itself almost above the clouds; and snow seldom falls there, but only hail in the summer, when the clouds are highest. And this hail lies [unmelted] there, so that if it were not for the absorption of the rising and falling clouds, which does not happen twice in an age, an enormous mass of ice would
be piled up there by the hail, and in the middle of July I found it very considerable. There I saw above me the dark sky, and the sun as it fell on the mountain was far brighter here than in the plains below, because a smaller extent of atmosphere lay between the summit of the mountain and the sun. Again as an illustration of the colour of the atmosphere I will mention the smoke of old and dry wood, which, as it comes out of a chimney, appears to turn very blue, when seen between the eye and the dark distance. But as it rises, and comes between the eye and the bright atmosphere, it at once shows of an ashy grey colour; and this happens because it no longer has darkness beyond it, but this bright and luminous space. If the smoke is from young, green wood, it will not appear blue, because, not being transparent and being full of superabundant moisture, it has the effect of condensed clouds which take distinct lights and shadows like a solid body. The same occurs with the atmosphere, which, when overcharged with moisture appears white, and the small amount of heated moisture makes it dark, of a dark blue colour; and this will suffice us so far as concerns the colour of the atmosphere; though it might be added that, if this transparent blue were the natural colour of the atmosphere, it would follow that wherever a larger mass air intervened between the eye and the element of fire, the azure colour would be more intense; as we see in blue glass and in sapphires, which are darker in proportion as they are larger. But the atmosphere in such circumstances behaves in an opposite manner, inasmuch as where a greater quantity of it lies between the eye and the sphere of fire, it is seen much whiter. This occurs towards the horizon. And the less the extent of atmosphere between the eye and the sphere of fire, the deeper is the blue colour, as may be seen even on low plains. Hence it follows, as I say, that the atmosphere assumes this azure hue by reason of the particles of moisture which catch the rays of the sun. Again, we may note the difference in particles of dust, or particles of smoke, in the sun beams admitted through holes into a dark chamber, when the former will look ash grey
and the thin smoke will appear of a most beautiful blue; and it may be seen again in in the dark shadows of distant mountains when the air between the eye and those shadows will look very blue, though the brightest parts of those mountains will not differ much from their true colour. But if any one wishes for a final proof let him paint a board with various colours, among them an intense black; and over all let him lay a very thin and transparent [coating of] white. He will then see that this transparent white will nowhere show a more beautiful blue than over the black--but it must be very thin and finely ground.
161:130 5: With regard to the place spoken of as M'oboso (compare No. 301 line 20) its identity will be discussed under Leonardo's Topographical notes in Vol. II.
163:131 7: reta here has the sense of malanno. | <urn:uuid:2c1cb4fc-ede9-42f5-a04b-97b924f5d31f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sacred-texts.com/aor/dv/0300.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960335 | 880 | 3.171875 | 3 |
GE returning to roots as industrial company
NEW YORK General Electric Co.’s transformation into a more simple industrial company seems to be helping its bottom line.
The top line, though, is lagging slightly.
GE’s net income rose 49 percent in the third quarter to $3.49 billion, or 33 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, GE earned 36 cents per share, in line with analysts’ expectations and up 13 percent from a year earlier.
Revenue rose $1 billion, or 3 percent, to $36.35 billion. But analysts were looking for revenue of $36.95 billion and GE shares fell 2.8 percent in afternoon trading.
GE, based in Fairfield, Conn., has returned to its roots an industrial company. It manufactures such products as jet engines and refrigerators and provides equipment and services to a growing roster of energy companies.
Revenue from GE’s industrial division is now more than double that of its financial businesses. During the financial crisis, investors worried that its enormous banking arm, GE Capital, would fail. GE said today its efforts to reduce assets in GE Capital, a move applauded by investors, is ahead of schedule.
As a result, GE lowered its revenue forecast. GE Capital’s revenue will fall 10 percent this year, instead of 5 percent. Revenue for all of GE is now expected to rise 3 percent for the year — to $151 billion — instead of 5 percent.
Push in energy sector
The energy sector has been a big part of GE’s industrial push. GE has spent $11 billion buying companies such as those that help oil and gas companies find and produce fossil fuels, and manufacturers that make engines and turbines to burn those fuels.
It said today that its energy investments are performing well and will generate strong growth in the fourth quarter and next year. Energy infrastructure profits rose 13 percent in the third quarter.
These companies are taking advantage of a boom in drilling for oil and natural gas in North America and elsewhere. GE is helping drillers produce and deliver oil from offshore deepwater formations and from onshore shale formations. It’s also seeing strong orders for equipment needed to liquefy natural gas to transport it around the world. And GE is rolling out new turbines of various sizes to help utilities generate electricity efficiently as they rely more on natural gas.
“You’ve got to feel great about oil and gas,” said Keith Sherin, GE’s chief financial officer.
Revenue from the company’s industrial divisions rose 8 percent in the third quarter and is up 10 percent so far this year.
Nicholas Heymann, an analyst at William Blair & Company, is encouraged that most of GE’s divisions are showing strong growth even in a weak global economy. He called it GE’s “best quarter in four or five years.”
One soft spot is GE’s wind turbine business. Orders for new equipment and services fell 5 percent from last year, mainly because wind turbine orders have fallen dramatically. That’s because a key U.S. federal subsidy for wind power is scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
CEO Jeff Immelt said today that GE is assuming “no market” in the U.S. for wind turbines next year without the subsidy. He expects wind revenue to fall 40 percent next year and cost the company 3 cents per share in earnings.
Excluding the drop in wind turbine orders, the company’s industrial orders were up 4 percent.
GE’s size and global scope gives it a unique perspective on economic growth around the world. Today, Immelt said the U.S. economic recovery is slow, and being held back by political and fiscal uncertainty. The European economy continues to struggle. The CEO described growth in Asia and other resource-rich regions as “slower but stable.”
Still, GE predicts that orders will grow by at least 10 percent in 7 of 9 geographic areas.
Immelt said China, Russia, Latin America and the Middle East will have “decent” opportunities for the rest of this year and next year.
“Europe is going to be a grind,” he said.
Immelt sees pockets of weakness and strength in the global picture for next year. The one major variable, he said, is the so-called fiscal cliff looming in the U.S. — the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that will kick in at the beginning of next year unless Congress can agree on a new budget plan. He expects the standoff to get resolved “somehow.”
The relatively weak global economy is forcing GE to cut back, though, to protect profits. The company said it is on track to cut $2.8 billion this year as part of its “simplification” efforts.
This is helping profit margins. GE’s operating profit margin grew to 14.4 percent from 13.7 percent in the third quarter.
GE earned 22 cents in the year-earlier quarter. During that period the company repaid $3 billion to Warren Buffett’s Berskshire Hathaway for its investment in GE during the depths of the financial crisis. | <urn:uuid:441cbddf-7b60-4f79-86c9-55713f541bad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2012/oct/19/general-electric-returning-roots-industrial-compan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951573 | 1,085 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Helping Yourself When Someone You Love is Dying
Most of us think of “grief” as something we experience only after the death of someone close to us. But grieving can begin long before the final loss occurs, for you as well as your loved one. In its purest definition, grief is the reaction to loss.
Although they may be almost imperceptible, a number of losses often occur in the course of a terminal illness, such as loss of one’s identity as a productive person, loss of physical strength, loss of independence or loss of the ability to communicate. As the person who is ill grieves these losses, those close to him or her may feel a parallel series of losses. Reaction to these losses is called anticipatory grief, a term commonly associated with slow and expected deaths.
Because the best understood form of grief occurs after death, many people will not understand what you are experiencing during the worst moments of anticipatory grief. Few people in our society are geared to offer support to family members before a death occurs. Anticipatory grief, though, is a normal and healthy response to loss.
A woman whose husband suffers from Alzheimer’s disease may grieve the loss-in-process of his ability to provide support and companionship. She may also grieve losses yet to come, such as the further deterioration of his health and the unfulfilled dreams they shared.
In spite of these painful aspects, however, love and attachment during this time can still exist. One can grieve and love at the same time. While loss generates grief, love reaffirms the value of attachments that still survive. Even though he grieves his lost vocational role, a man dying of cancer may still cherish the time he has left to share with his family.
The woman who grieves the impact of her husband’s Alzheimer’s disease may still find comfort in his physical presence and determine to do everything she can to love and care for him until he dies.
What You Can Do
When it is clear that physicians cannot save the life of a terminally ill person, we often hear: “There is nothing more that we can do.” While that may be true in the healing sense, caregivers can still work to minimize the sources of distress. You can seek medical assistance to manage pain and provide tender, loving care – tucking your loved one in bed, fluffing a pillow or feeding him a cup of soup. Anyone who is willing to be helpful can simply offer his or her presence, reducing the sense of isolation and abandonment that affects so many ill and dying people.
Helping Them Cope
Professional grief counselors have identified four ways we can help the terminally ill cope.
They involve the most basic dimensions of life:
Good physical care is often fundamental to coping with a life-threatening or terminal illness. Caregivers who help an ailing loved one get comfortable in bed, help them get to the bathroom or drink and eat are providing care in its best and most basic sense.
Personal security is often a high priority for people who are aware of their declining mental faculties. Alert individuals may need reinforcement of their autonomy by being involved in decisions about their own care, such as where they will live. Even smaller, more symbolic decisions such as choosing what to wear or eat can be important.
As their energy diminishes, individuals facing death may have to decide which relationships they wish to sustain and which to loosen gently. A dying person might wish to deal with legalities for the protection of her estate or to simplify survivors’ tasks. One may also participate in his/her own funeral arrangements or the settlement of other affairs. Doing so can help maintain a sense of control.
People nearing the end of life often wish to identify a sense of meaning in their lives. At this time, developing or reaffirming religious values or philosophical convictions can be very important.
Caring for the Caregivers
Good end-of-life care must include both the ill person and family members. Each of you is a feeling person who deserves support and assistance in meeting your own needs at this difficult time. Immediate family members and close friends must be given the opportunity to take part in the caregiving, since the desire to be helpful is almost always among their needs. While specific roles may vary for each person, the fact that they are doing something lets them feel they are contributing and can help them avoid feelings of guilt after the death occurs.
Most importantly, at-home caregivers must avoid becoming overburdened. If you do, you will be unable to take care of your loved one or yourself. The role at-home caregivers assume in the caring process should be appropriate for them and within the limits of their resources. Professionals and other external care providers can help family members identify and fulfill more difficult roles. The aim should be to do all that we can – not more than we can – to take care of those we love.
The knowledge of approaching death provides a rare opportunity to express your true feelings for one who has been important in your life. It’s a time when you can say thank you; I love you; forgive me as I forgive you; and goodbye. Grief and sadness are not eliminated, but they can be faced without complications in the knowledge that you did whatever you could for someone you loved.
About the Author
Charles A. Corr, Ph.D., is Professor emeritus, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and former Chairperson (1989-1993) of the International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement. Dr. Corr’s professional publications include 22 books and more than 80 articles and chapters on a wide variety of death-related topics. | <urn:uuid:b2afbeea-d6f4-4e44-8467-c6639c93f3ac> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-us/library/article/name/gml-when-someone-you-love-is-dying | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963797 | 1,180 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Becoming the Bawse: Eight-Part History of Rick Ross, From Street Rapper to Maybach Mogul
The Teflon Don
Ross's fourth studio record, Teflon Don, was released in the summer of 2010, and it quickly became one of the year's most critically acclaimed rap albums.
While Rolling Stone gave it three-and-a-half stars, the New York Times claimed that Teflon Don "establishes him as one of rap's most potent and creative forces" and Pitchfork named it one of the 50 best albums of 2010.
Ross's crossover appeal was obvious. And soon, everyone from hipsters to straight gangtas were downloading the Maybach Music capo's mixtapes. So began the year of the Don.
Man of the Year
Clad in a black tuxedo, dark sunglasses, and a pinky ring the size of a Mini Cooper, Rick Ross appeared on the cover of The Source's December 2010 issue. He was the mag's "Man of the Year."
Ross was humbled. "It's unexplainable," he said. "For me to commit my life and chase this dream for over a decade without making a penny, it's no way to explain when you finally seeing the fruits of your labor."
The following year, Ross turned the spotlight onto his crew. | <urn:uuid:3fe4f1ce-a5bd-4284-ba68-d68ee72bfb05> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2012/11/the_evolution_of_rick_ross_nee.php?page=5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970297 | 281 | 1.734375 | 2 |
- Opening and Closing Prayer
- Meditation Groups
- School of Meditation
- Christian Meditation as an 11th Step Practice
- Meditation in Prison
- The Community
- The Community
- WCCM Constitution
- The WCCM Logo
- National Communities
- Inter-Religious Dialogue
- Young Meditators
- Laurence Freeman OSB
- Guiding Board
- International Office
- Meditation Groups
- John Main Center at Georgetown University
- Peace & Justice
- The School
- John Main
- Online Shop
Weekly Teachings 8/1/2012
Meditation groups: communities of faith
It has been said that in each age God raises up prophets and teachers to ensure His work is carried on. John Main is certainly regarded as one of these great spiritual teachers of the 20th century. But he was also in a real sense a prophet.
John Main had a deep insight and prophetic vision that his teaching on silence and stillness in prayer would be primarily handed down in small groups. It was his hope that this teaching and practice would be shared in an organic way through support groups of men and women meeting on a weekly basis in homes, churches, schools and work places. He had a profound understanding of the ancient tradition of Christians gathering together to pray.
Laurence Freeman has pointed out: ‘John Main saw this modern development of contemplation as originating in the communities of faith and the liturgy at the heart of the early church. These early Christians also gathered in small groups in one another's houses. This coming together in prayer formed the "koinonia", or the social interaction and communion, that was the distinguishing mark and power of the early church. These small groups met to pray and offer support and encouragement to each other in their common faith.’
There is no doubt that the teaching of spirituality is historically rooted in the tradition of the small group. The Israelites were divided up into small tribes and close family units, particularly during their sojourn in the wilderness. Jesus chose a small group of twelve to form the heart of his ministry. Throughout the last 2,000 years small groups of men and women have banded together in the monastic life to live in community and support each other on the spiritual journey. It seems only natural that people who are praying contemplatively in the 21st century should also come together in groups to support each other on their common pilgrimage.
Small Christian Meditation groups have a great advantage in adapting to their environment. They require virtually no resources, other than the time their members devote to the group each week. The small group provides a sense of community for people who feel the loss and breakdown of neighbourhoods and personal family ties.
The need for encouragement, support and sharing are additional reasons for joining a group. We all need the affirmation of others and thus our faith can be strengthened through the bonds of love, caring and fellowship that develop in the small group. Basic spiritual and human values are shared in a group setting and subsequent friendships develop.
This is the foremost reason for getting together once a week. It is as if meditators instinctively realize that this is a journey that is difficult to make alone; it is a journey that is so much easier if we make it with others. It is true that no one else can meditate for us, that we meditate by ourselves each day, but at the same time, we realize that we need the support of others if we are to persevere on this journey.
For further help with setting up and leading groups, please look at the ‘Christian Meditation Groups’ Website in English, Spanish and French, based on the book ‘A Pearl of Great Price’ by Laurence Freeman | <urn:uuid:8a8e5f05-2cde-495d-adb3-7b49f20cd9a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://meditatio@wccm.org/content/weekly-teachings-812012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96022 | 759 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Wireless solutions bring to healthcare providers new high-tech possibilities for wireless connectivity across medical devices and mobile networks. These connectivity possibilities help grow the wireless medical market; a market growth which has accelerated even further with the introduction of smart mobile devices.
With the expansion of the wireless medical market, connectBlue is increasing its medical focus. With the aim to better serve new and existing customers, connectBlue has strengthened its business development and sales organization by hiring wireless medical expert Bill Saltzstein in Seattle, USA. “The opportunity to extend medical care out of the traditional environments enabled by wireless technology has just begun to realize its potential and I believe that we are in a unique position to deliver that technology to medical device companies worldwide”, says Saltzstein.
“The possibilities in the medical field are great. You can cut the serial cable and replace it with a wireless connection and achieve substantial cost-savings. And you can use your smart phone as a reliable and robust operator’s panel controlling and transmitting vital data. And much more.” says Rolf Nilsson, CEO of connectBlue. “However, we have seen that many potential customers in the medical field have been hesitant to fully utilize the possibilities of wireless since they need a wireless medical solution that is fail-proof 24-7.”
What Nilsson is referring to is the need for a wireless provider that not only provides new and innovative solutions, but that also can provide the track-record of proven and reliable products. Such a provider is found in connectBlue that has supplied wireless technology products into the healthcare markets ever since 2003 when FDA cleared the first Bluetooth enabled device that included the connectBlue device.
The connectBlue cornerstone strategy is to provide market leading wireless modules and ready-to-use products based on Wireless LAN (WLAN), Bluetooth and IEEE 802.15.4/Zigbee with compatibility over the time and across technologies. All connectBlue products are radio approved in Europe, the US, and Canada (and partly Japan) as well as certified for use in health, safety and medical electrical equipment. connectBlue has provided these wireless solutions to many medical companies including Dräger Medical, Fasstech, GE-Medical, Laborie Medical, Medtronics, Norwegian Centre for Telemedicine, Nuvon, Stryker Endoscopy, Thomson Nielsen / Best Medical, Xsensor, ZOLL Medical, and Össur.
connectBlue provides a wide range of ready-to-embed wireless modules and ready-to-use products that utilize wireless technologies Wireless LAN (WLAN), Bluetooth and IEEE 802-15-4/ZigBee. The products are built to function reliably in the harshest of conditions 24-7.
The connectBlue word mark and logo are owned by connectBlue AB.
For Further Information
# # #
Score Electronics is the distribution solution for component users and suppliers of all sizes. With vast experience as a component distributor and supplier, Score Electronics adds significant value to the industrial, consumer, and EMS supply chains. | <urn:uuid:e0d015a8-4cac-48fe-914e-76b04c3f9e37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prlog.org/11756474-connectblue-increases-focus-in-the-wireless-medical-market.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00071-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929512 | 625 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Moscow: The Christie's auction house said Wednesday it had sold Andy Warhol's limited edition print of Vladimir Lenin, the father of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, for over $202,000.
According to The Times, the print was previously owned by self-exiled Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky. The paper said, citing "sources familiar with the oligarch's affairs", that the artwork was auctioned "to pay off creditors and legal bills".
The portrait, dated 1987 and headlined "Red Lenin", was sold well above its pre-sale estimate of $45,000 - $75,500. It was described by Christie's as a "screen print in colours", which is "in excellent condition".
In August 2012, Berezovsky lost a legal battle against Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich. The 65-year-old tycoon sought about $4.7 billion in damages, accusing his former business partner of intimidating him into selling shares in Russian oil giant Sibneft below their true value.
In July 2011, Berezovsky's ex-wife, 53-year-old Galina Besharova, won a divorce settlement which the British media described as the English legal system's largest ever divorce payout, rumoured to be worth up to 220 million British pounds (over $330 million). | <urn:uuid:e23ab530-f1dc-484c-97aa-35a6bfae2a82> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indiatimes.com/lifestyle/art-and-culture/rare-lenin-print-sold-for-over-$200000-67630.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976394 | 269 | 1.796875 | 2 |
With the completion of my basement (which included a dedicated HT room) almost three years ago, I have been experimenting with acoustical treatment methods. I started with furniture, progressed to DIY fiberglass wall panels and have ended with constructing DIY “tube traps”. This is a quick note on my results to date.
I now have seven tube traps for my room in various states of completion. The traps were constructed using the Jon Risch method. This project was broken into several phases and has taken over two years to reach this stage due to having a one-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son.
The first phase consisted of constructing three 16” diameter x 48” tall tube traps. These were placed in three corners of the room. The forth corner has a fireplace so a larger trap was not constructed. The improvement in acoustics for this trial was encouraging enough to continue with a phase two of the project.
Phase two saw the construction of three 13” x 60” and one 13” x 72” tube traps. Two 60” tall traps are placed against the side walls one third of the distance from the front wall, also in the path of the side wall first reflection point. One 60” tall trap was placed against the left side wall one third of the distance from the rear wall (no corresponding trap was placed along the right wall as this is the start of the fireplace). The 72” tall trap was placed in the right rear corner with the fireplace.
The acoustic improvements achieved at this point are breath taking and have surpassed all expectations. I can now hear additional details in recordings I did not know were present. The dynamic range of the room/system has significantly increased. The soundstage is deeper, it now envelops you and the spatial detail has greatly improved.
At this point, I will now complete construction of the 13” diameter traps. The three 16” diameter traps will be rebuilt into two 16” x 72” traps for the front corners. I am also envisioning a phase three that will see the construction of several traps that can be used around the fireplace. The traps will be built using “pipe insulation” as per the Jon Gale method as it is called. These will be smaller in diameter as well as portable so they can be stored when not required (fire place on in winter).
With the experimentation I have completed, I can not stress the importance of treating the acoustical environment. I now realize that the room is just as, and quite possibly, more important than the reproduction system.
If anyone is interested, further information on tube traps can be found at the ASC web site. There are many documents describing the theory, benefits and placement.
Till next tweak. | <urn:uuid:8aa172de-3dbe-48fa-83fc-c77386007661> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?23371-DIY-Tube-Traps | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971661 | 573 | 1.53125 | 2 |
(CNN) - President Barack Obama will spell out his ideas for health insurance in a speech to Congress this week, his spokesman said Sunday without revealing any details.
"People will leave that speech knowing where he stands," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on the ABC program "This Week."
Asked if Obama would veto a final bill that lacks a public insurance option favored by Democrats but fiercely opposed by Republicans, Gibbs avoided a direct answer.
"We're not going to prejudge what the process will be when we sign it, as the president expects to do this year," he said, later adding: "I doubt we're going to get into veto threats" in Wednesday's speech.
The speech is considered Obama's opportunity to re-frame the health-care debate to try to reverse increasing public concerns over Democratic proposals.
Gibbs repeated Obama's support for a public health insurance option, which has become the most contentious issue in proposed legislation so far.
"The president believes it is a valuable tool to provide choice in competition," Gibbs said.
On the same program, a Democratic congresswoman said Republicans have no intention of supporting a health-care bill and only want to use the issue to damage Obama politically.
Rep. Maxine Waters of California said Democrats must push for the bill they want because Republicans don't want any bill to pass.
"Where's your bill? What have you come up with? What are you offering as an alternative?" Waters asked Republican Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, another guest on the show. "It's bigger than health care. It's about President Obama, and the Republicans have decided to use this by which to bring him down."
Pence denied Waters' accusation, saying Republicans seek a less comprehensive and more affordable bill than the Democratic proposals currently in the House and Senate.
Americans are concerned about Obama's policies to expand government and increase spending, Pence said, adding that the Democratic health-care proposals will bring a government takeover of health care.
Asked to explain how, he said companies that currently provide health-care coverage as a benefit for workers would choose drop that coverage and pay a fine, shifting most people to the public insurance option.
"In this economy, there's no small business or large business worth its salt that isn't going to take a hard look at sending all of their employees to the federal government for their health insurance the minute a public option is available," Pence said.
In response, former House Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a Democrat also appearing on the show, denied that a public option would have a competitive advantage to drive private insurers out of the market.
"Congressman Pence's prediction, I think, is really baseless," Daschle said.
Updated: 6:05 p.m. | <urn:uuid:f6467c10-34dc-4d3a-9500-a328b98f90bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/06/gibbs-in-speech-obama-will-spell-out-ideas-for-health-care-bill/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976742 | 567 | 1.5 | 2 |
“When I talk to people who have not been [here], they talk about it as a war zone, with tanks rolling down the street,” says Alessio Polastri, an Italian business consultant who recently uprooted to Rangoon, Burma’s largest city and commercial center. “They should come.”
They—foreign investors, that is—are coming to Burma, and fast. In the lobbies of Rangoon’s few business hotels, Western investors in suits are gathering with local businessmen in traditional sarongs to discuss joint ventures, land-lease terms, and profit repatriation rules. For decades, Burma—which is also known as Myanmar—was distinguished for its ruling junta’s imprisonment and torture of political dissidents, execution of protesters, violent campaigns against ethnic minorities, and other abuses that made the country a byword for bloody dictatorship. Today, after little more than a year of democratic reform, the dominant description of Burma has changed in many circles from basket-case pariah to promising frontier economy. The Southeast Asian country is being touted as one of the world’s last virgin markets—tantalizingly rich in natural resources like teak, oil, and gold—with a location between India and China that ensures access to enormous markets.
“Myanmar is a gold mine, any way you look at it,” Craig Steffensen, the Asian Development Bank’s country manager for Burma and Thailand, told Reuters in an interview earlier this year. “There’s no flight to, or hotel in, Myanmar that isn’t booked by business people looking at opportunities there to get involved in tourism, banking, telecommunications, and construction.”
Delegations from American companies such as Chevron, Coca Cola, Procter & Gamble, Google, and General Electric have visited Rangoon in recent months, and investors are being courted through a slew of symposiums with hopeful presentations by government officials.
But the scene outside the carpeted conference halls of Rangoon’s top hotels is unlikely to conform easily to slide show predictions. Thu Gyi, a taxi driver in his 40s, says his car should give people unfamiliar with Burma a good sense of where the country stands. A typical vessel for most of the city’s cabbies, it’s a three-decades-old sedan that, with much of its wiring exposed and metallic body rusted away, appears like something out of Mad Max. When he drives, his hands remain clenched in vigilant anticipation of Rangoon’s abundant potholes. Laborers, including teenage girls, working at a construction site near Thu Gyu’s taxi stand sustain themselves by incessantly chewing betel nut, a stimulant that suppresses hunger, so that they can save most of their $2 daily wage to bring home to their families. The street vendor who serves the workers their meek midday meal of rice and soup has a habit of shuffling broken tiles to cover the sewer veins below her stall in order to block whatever exposed section is most unsightly on that given day.
Gallery: The Other Burma
Foreign investors keen to participate in Burma’s economic takeoff, therefore, may be in for a hard landing once certain realities on the ground sink in. Dismal infrastructure and logistics come with the territory of a country ranked second-poorest in Asia, worsted only by war-torn Afghanistan. Though cellphones and new cars are becoming less of a rarity, more fundamental obstacles remain: only a quarter of the population has access to electricity and many rural roads are in such disrepair that they become impassible during the long season of rain.
A half-century of military rule drove an economy that was once one of Asia’s most promising into severe dysfunction and stagnation. After a group of hardline generals grabbed power in a coup in 1962, they implemented “The Burmese Way to Socialism,” an idiosyncratic version of Soviet-style central planning that nationalized industries and isolated the economy. The Army assumed control of all economic policymaking. The wisdom driving their decisions was nakedly displayed in 1987 when, without warning, the junta demonetized certain bank notes on the advice of an astrologer. Overnight, much of the population’s personal savings, typically stored at home in cash, were wiped out. Because of corruption, profligate military spending, and anemic GDP, public finances became so drained that the junta regularly press-ganged millions of people to work on infrastructure projects without pay. By the time the junta reopened Burma’s economy at the end of the 1980s, Western countries would soon impose sanctions because of human-rights abuses.
It is on the back of this bleak history that Burma has begun a drastic reform process. In early 2011, the ruling Army handed over power to a semi-civilian government, which subsequently released hundreds of prisoners of conscience, and ended the house arrest of the Nobel Prize-winning opposition leader, Aung Sun Suu Kyi; it pursued ceasefires with autonomy-seeking ethnic-minority armies along the border regions; and it eased draconian restrictions on political association, civil society, and the press. It has also made diplomatic overtures to the U.S. and the United Nations, both of which it previously shunned, and this year the junta allowed Suu Kyi and members of her once-banned party to run in elections (she now holds a seat in Parliament). These developments—and the promise of more—prompted Western countries to resume diplomatic relations with Burma and suspend most sanctions.
There are concerns about Burma’s ability to live up to its new, lofty billing. “It’s happening very suddenly. We don’t have the capacity to handle all of these swift changes,” says Maung Maung Lay, vice president of Burma’s main chamber of commerce, which this year has hosted delegations from the U.S., Britain, Australia, France, and other Western countries. “Myanmar will be overwhelmed.” He worries that the state of Burma’s human resources will be laid bare: in increasing numbers since the 1980s, university graduates fled the country to escape dire job prospects and the junta’s wrath. “We’re late by 50 years,” says Than Lwin, the vice president of Burma’s largest bank, Kanbawza. “What we need is technology, expertise, infrastructure. In fact, we need everything.” He says his bank is trying to catch up fast, by hiring an international IT firm to upgrade its logistics. He acknowledges, however, that large, cumbersome government institutions are less tractable. Case in point: even the Central Bank is directed and staffed mostly by former Army officials with little or no training in economics or finance.
Though it will necessarily be slow to shake off 50 years of economic inertia, the government has succeeded in softening the hard edges of Burma’s image rather rapidly. President Thein Sein and his cabinet have put forth a humbler and more sensitive image than their predecessors, presenting themselves as willing to acknowledge (to an extent) past wrongs and accept input for plans for the future. This tactic has shown signs of success. Not long ago, says Ken Tun, the CEO of oil contractor Parami Energy Group, his attempts to network internationally were met coldly. “When I said, ‘I’m from Myanmar and I want to do joint ventures with you,’ no one would look at me.” Today, he says, dozens of U.S. and European firms, confident of Burma’s new stewardship, are ringing him to discuss partnerships.
Under the junta, two dozen or so families came to monopolize Burma’s economy, receiving exclusive rights to lucrative projects—usually in resource extraction—in exchange for kickbacks and loyalty. According to Transparency International, only North Korea and Somalia are perceived as more corrupt than Burma. Today those who displayed less enthusiasm for intimate partnerships with the junta are keen to distinguish themselves. A secretary for the Burmese business tycoon Michael Moe Myint took the unusual measure of including a leaked U.S.-government cable about Moe Myint as a part of a pre-interview briefer: despite emerging as one of the biggest players in Burma’s oil industry, the cable said, Moe Myint is “perhaps the most legitimate” of the country’s businessmen. It went on to say that Moe Myint repeatedly declined to engage in corrupt quid-pro-quo arrangements with the junta.
Moe Myint says that Thein Sein is sending a strong message to politicians and businessmen who resist reforms: ‘If you’re not going to change, we’re going to leave you behind.’ Speaking in his office, Moe Myint—who studied and worked briefly in the U.S. and speaks English with an American drawl—keeps CNN playing in the background on a flat-screen TV. “I don’t think it’s a trial period. I think the majority in the government thinks there needs to be change. In my opinion, there’s no turning back.” Those whose businesses relied on under-the-table deals “are quite nervous” now, he says.
Indeed, when the U.S. suspended sanctions in May, it kept them in place against the Army-owned conglomerates Myanmar Economic Corporation and the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and a number of their crony tycoons. The U.S. wanted the benefits of economic engagement to “flow to a broad-based group of people and not just a very few,” said Hillary Clinton during her visit to Burma last year—the first by an American secretary of state in more than 50 years.
Clinton’s emphasis on democratizing Burma’s economy wasn’t just about reducing poverty. Analysts say political reform will remain stunted unless the economy improves—and equitably—which is why the influence of foreign investment in Burma is particularly important.
This is where Sean Turnell, an Australian economist whose research focuses on Burma, worries that today’s “initial bout of optimism” will fade. A desire to mend and modernize the country’s moribund economy was among the leading motivations behind the junta’s power handover (escaping China’s clutches and avoiding their own volatile revolutionary “spring” are other oft-cited factors). But the Army and their cronies remain gatekeepers to many of the country’s most lucrative sectors, and, Turnell says, it will be decades before their economic privileges are substantially weakened. In the meantime, he worries that the transition away from dictatorship will lead not to democracy but oligarchy, with the Army—for which a quarter of the Parliament’s seats are reserved—and their close associates continuing to dominate the country economically and pushing back against encroachments on their profit-making turfs.
Suu Kyi has also expressed concerns that the anticipated influx of investment will flow into the wrong hands. Speaking at an economic forum in Bangkok in June, she cautioned investors against “reckless optimism” at this early stage of the reform. “Would-be investors in Burma, please be warned. Even the best investment laws would be of no use whatsoever if there are no courts that are clean enough and independent enough to be able to administer those laws justly.” In particular, Suu Kyi has appealed to foreign firms not to partner with the state-owned energy conglomerate Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise—which is fair game for international investment despite its track record of funneling money into the hands of the Army and its cronies—until its adopts a credible measure of transparency.
According to one foreign business consultant in Rangoon, concerns from international companies about Burma’s human-rights record are “collapsing very quickly. The issues now are procedural.” But reports of state violence against Muslim Rohingyas suggest oppressive measures are still in force. According to Human Rights Watch, security forces perpetrated murder and rape against civilians from this ethnic minority group in June. Thein Sein has been firm in resisting international calls for the Rohingyas’ rights to be respected; the solution, he said, was for the group to be resettled outside of Burma.
“Of course there will be headwinds and turbulence but we will overcome them,” says Maung Maung Lay of the Chamber of Commerce. A trite prediction? Perhaps not in Burma, a country that was long considered beyond the brink. And yet, on the verge of reaching its 50th consecutive year of military rule, it instead became the site of relatively peaceful and fair democratic elections. Burma has already shown the difference a year can make. And today change is predicted in even faster increments: “If you come back in six months,” the banker Than Lwin says, while overlooking Rangoon’s skyline from his high-rise office that dwarfs its neighboring structures, “it will really have changed.”
Brendan Brady has reported from Asia and the Pacific on politics, business, human rights, religion, and the environment. | <urn:uuid:cea9078d-7e36-4796-80ba-80920bcfecf0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/09/16/boom-days-in-burma.html | 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 | 0.960835 | 2,796 | 1.90625 | 2 |
This is a great guest post from Mitch of Home Fitness Manual. Thanks Mitch!
Do you really have to plan your whole life around exercise?
For most people trying to get in shape centers around heading out to the gym and spending 1-2 hours at a time to get their “dream” body.
If you’re doing this everyday, it’s no wonder why exercise feels like a chore…because it’s treated just like one. The real secret to getting a fitter body is simply through Consistency.
The best way to stick to your workout plan is by making exercise a habit. To help you get started, I have five tips that I feel will get working out on a regular basis while not letting exercise consume your life.
1. Let Your Energy Guide You: This is easily one of the more practical tips I feel I’ve come across to help me stick to my daily routines. The premise is pretty simple – Only workout when you can be the most engaged with a routine.
If there’s a certain time of day when you regularly run out of steam, note that this is NOT when you’ll be wanting to pencil in some exercise time. Even if someone has the most hectic schedule ever, you don’t want to allow yourself to give into some couch and TV time instead of heading out for a run, or lifting some weights.
But what are you supposed to do if the most convenient part of your day is when you’re the most haggard?
I know the lure is there. But sometimes sacrifices (if you think of them as that) need to be made for the things you want. For a healthier and fitter body there’s almost certainly a trade off that needs to be made somewhere down the line. Typically, what this means is you’ll be scheduling a workout in place of something else that normally would vie for your attention. What you decide your workouts will take priority over is all up to you, though.
2. Know Your Goals: When we’re inspired to live and eat healthier no goal will ever seem out of reach. However, there is a very big difference between having long-term goals and short-term goals.
Losing 5-10 pounds in a month or two is doable. This usually falls in line with a long-term goal of having a leaner body. The good thing about this kind of time frame is it’s a realistic one.
Shedding body fat is a slow go most of the time. Luckily, there are ways to speed up the process with the right know-how . However, it’ll take time to drop down to a target weight without killing yourself by scrambling to make make it happen in a hurry.
Now, losing 5-10 pounds in a week or two, um, yeah…that’s not feasible, nor healthy. I feel losing body fat is a more important task than simple aiming to losing “weight”.
When the alarm clock goes off each morning our goals short-term and long-term should play off of each other. Getting stronger muscles means putting the body under a certain amount of tension in a certain way. Getting a leaner physique means eating cleaner and sweating more. But these changes happen over time. They can’t be squeezed into a single weekend with the hope of getting the results you want.
3. Be a “Little” Selfish: I know a lot of people will find this idea a little hard to grasp. Yet, it doesn’t have to be all one-sided. An example I want to share with you is a friend of mine purposefully schedules a workout on Saturday mornings. She already regularly works out during the week. However, she always feels rushed most of the time to get on with the rest of her day. So, one day she decided her family could do without her for at least a couple of hours on the weekend.
At first it was a rough transition. Her husband and kids grumbled when “Mom” headed off to the gym because they were stuck at home with nothing to do. They didn’t have school or work to distract them, and when “Mom” got back they whined about how bored they were the whole time.
But my friend stuck to her guns. And, eventually, her time away became a welcomed habit for all members of the household. Dad and sons started enjoying their “Guy” time, while Mom got the “Me” time she needed.
The goal of being a little selfish isn’t so much to say it’s all or nothing, but to make other’s realize you need your time just as much as they need theirs.
4. Keep Motivated: I like to think of Motivation like being a glass of water. You’ll find there are times when it’s full to the top, or sometimes when it’s almost down to the last drop.
If you find you need a little bit of help in keeping your glass full every now and then there are ways to help keep yourself motivated to exercise . My favorite method is using photos of who I recognize as great examples of what fit looks like (to me) on film or in magazines.
It’s natural to be inspired by the hard work someone else has put into their physique. So, if you want to look like such-and-such celebrity…go for it! Clip a picture of them and stick it on your fridge. Use it as a way to remind yourself what you’re after.
Understand, though, you’re using their image as a guide to help better yourself. Don’t get frustrated if you can’t come away with the exact shape and tone of their legs, or if your abs simply aren’t structured like theirs. You are you. Enjoy what you achieve because no one can ever take that away from you.
5. Share Your Goals With Others: Placing a bit of accountability on oneself is a great way to up the ante on your fitness future.
The first people who come to mind are probably going to be your family and co-workers. This is great if you have that kind of relationship with them. But, I actually feel it’s better to clue in your closest friends first. They’re usually the people who are the most supportive to all of your endeavors…and that’s what you need the most to keep moving strong.
When you’ve started to nail down a method that keeps your training consistent you’ll be less-likely to come across any “haters” who’ll say it’ll be too hard and you’ll never be able to do it. Once you’ve figured out how to keep with your routines it’ll feel great to say, “I already have…what about you?”
Lastly, I know there are certainly other ideas you can use to help make your workout routines happen like clockwork. But by applying these five tips you’ll build the right kind of understanding to keep yourself on track with the workouts you schedule.
What other ways do you use to stick to your workout plan?
Mitch Wright is a fit dad who’s goal is to inspire his daughters to live a healthy lifestyle. He runs the blog Home Fitness Manual , where he interviews†expert trainers and respected authors to prove you donít need a gym membership to get in great shape. | <urn:uuid:3e559bab-878a-48aa-b62c-5023c88deae9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wellsphere.com/fitness-for-moms-article/tips-to-stick-to-your-workout-plan/1865600 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963129 | 1,584 | 1.539063 | 2 |
University of Kentucky Hospital, Chandler Medical Center
Policy Number: HP03-01
FIRST ISSUED: 2/84; CURRENT AS OF: 12/06
SUBJECT: Hospital Employee Health Program
SEE ALSO: Hospital policies HP03-03, Hepatitis B Immunization; HP03-07, Control of Varicella; HP03-17; Monitoring Exposure to Transmissible Agents; HP03-19, Management of Employees with Communicable Diseases; HP10-33, Reportable Occurrences;
HP09-25, UK Worker's Care
Information and instructions
The University of Kentucky Hospital Employee Health Program is designed to provide a means of protection for patients and employees against Hospital acquired and/or work-related infections or injuries. This protection is to be accomplished by initial and periodic screening of employees, taking into consideration the degree of exposure to certain conditions and to specific hazards related to their job. This screening is not intended to be a substitute for services provided by the employee's private physician. The Employee Health Program is to serve as a focal point for the collection of information and disposition of employee job-related health problems.
The objective of the program is to protect both patients and employees from illnesses that could be transmitted while on the job. Consequently, all individuals who are employed by or volunteer in the Hospital are required to participate in the Employee Health Program. The Employee Health Program is also established to meet the requirements of the Kentucky Cabinet for Human Resources regarding tuberculosis screening for all Hospital employees and the requirements of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens regulations as well as other state and national recommendations for the protection of health care workers.
Note: Any non-Hospital employee or person who provides patient care-related services must also meet these Employee Health requirements. It is the responsibility of the non-Hospital employee's employer or agency to ensure that requirements are met.
The extent of participation for individuals or groups will be defined by Employee Health in consultation with Hospital Administration. The following individuals will be covered under the program:
- All Hospital employees
- House staff
- Contract staff
- Other employees, including autopsy room staff and employees with joint appointments
- Employee Health screening on initial appointment and periodic re-screening will be the responsibility of the Employee Health Program.
- Except under special circumstances, which must be cleared by the medical or nursing director for Employee Health, employees must be screened within the first week of employment.
- Responsibility for ensuring that all employees are seen in Employee Health on a timely basis lies with the service director.
1. Health questionnaire
Each new employee will complete a health questionnaire to assist Employee Health personnel in providing appropriate care.
2. Mantoux Tuberculin Skin test
As a condition of employment, each new employee will be given a two-step Mantoux tuberculin skin test in the manner recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. In some circumstances, the new employee may be required to participate in other health screening (e.g., chest x-ray for skin test-positive new employees who have not had a recent chest x-ray). The employee must return to Employee Health to have the skin test read.
3. Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) status
As a condition of employment, new Hospital employees born in or after 1957, who are scheduled to have patient contact, upon employment, must provide evidence of two MMRs, or documentation of physician-diagnosed measles, mumps, and rubella, or laboratory evidence of measles, mumps, or rubella immunity. If the employee cannot provide this evidence, they will receive one MMR at the time of employment and will be re-vaccinated at no less than one month later. Employees who have documentation of one MMR who were born in or after 1957 will receive one dose of MMR upon employment. Employees born before 1957 do not need to show immunity to measles, mumps, or rubella.
The MMR is not to be given to pregnant women or to women who are planning to be pregnant within one month. It is not to be given to persons who have had an anaphylactic reaction to eggs. It should not be given for three months after immune globulin has been administered. Routine titers are not performed.
Currently employed patient-contact personnel born in or after 1957 will receive an MMR or will provide proof of immunity at their next annual employee health screening following institution of this policy. Currently employed persons who have proof of one MMR will receive one dose of MMR at their next annual employee health screening. Currently employed persons who have no proof of vaccine or proof of immunity will receive one dose of vaccine at screening plus one dose one month later. No titers will be drawn. The MMR vaccine is a one time requirement for all employees born during/after 1957. Currently employed personnel born before 1957 do not need to show immunity to measles, mumps, or rubella.
For those women of child bearing age who are uncertain of their immunity to rubella or rubeola and wish to receive the vaccine, but do not have patient contact, the vaccine will be given at their request as an employee benefit. The proof of immunity to rubella and rubeola or MMR vaccination is a requirement for patient contact personnel only. Each employee receiving the MMR will sign an informed consent which becomes a part of the permanent record.
4. Hepatitis B (HBV) vaccine
Within 10 days of employment, all employees identified as having potential for occupational exposure will be offered the HBV vaccine; the vaccine is offered at no cost to all Hospital employees. All employees must sign a declination form, which will be provided and kept by the employee's supervisor, if they choose not to receive the HBV.
All employees completing the hepatitis B vaccination series will be required to have a titer drawn within two months after the last injection is received. Employees with positive titers are considered to be protected from hepatitis B. Employees with negative titers will repeat the vaccination series. Another titer will be performed within two months after the second vaccination series to determine if the employee is protected from hepatitis B. Failure to demonstrate a positive titer at this point will result in a medical consultation with the medical director of Employee Health.
5. Varicella (see Hospital policy HP03-07, Control of Varicella)
The Hospital requires that all health care workers who have 30 consecutive minutes or more per month of direct patient care contact to demonstrate immunity to varicella either by history of the disease, demonstrated antibody titer, or varicella vaccine (completed series of two injections, one month apart).
Employee Health will determine and record the employee's history of immunity to varicella-zoster virus at the initial employee health screening, and provide that information to the service director.
The service director will make any necessary decisions about job reassignments necessary due to lack of varicella immunity for all Hospital employees and volunteers, residents, physicians, and faculty.
Routine HIV testing is not offered by Employee Health to employees. Testing is performed as a result of occupational blood-borne pathogen exposure, which is a worker's compensation injury.
7. Post-occupational exposure prophylaxis for HIV and Hepatitis B
These will be provided under the supervision of the medical director for Employee Health through UK Worker's Care.
8. Quadrivalent Meningococcal vaccine
All microbiology lab staff will be offered the quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine.
After these initial screenings, the supervisor will provide a letter of need to the employee, which the employee will submit to Employee Health at the time of vaccination. There are no current recommendations for revaccination.
Annual screening and follow-up
As required by 902 KAR 20:016, all Hospital employees must have a tuberculin skin test at least annually on or before the anniversary date of the last skin test. This is a condition of employment. Tests will be administered and read by Employee Health personnel only. Employees who are designated as high-risk for tuberculosis exposure may be required to have skin testing on a more frequent basis.
An employee who is found to be a new tuberculin skin test reactor will be referred to the medical director of Employee Health and will have a chest x-ray ordered at the time of skin test reaction. If there is no clinical evidence of disease and the x-ray is negative, the employee will be offered Isoniazid (INH), unless contraindicated. If the employee elects to take INH, they will be monitored monthly by Employee Health. A symptoms list will be provided to each reactor. The employee will complete a symptoms questionnaire on an annual basis on or before the due date (or more often in some designated high-risk areas) and will be urged to report any of these symptoms to Employee Health at the time of occurrence.
Employees who have had prior BCG vaccination will be skin-tested using the Mantoux method unless a recent significant reaction can be documented. The result of the skin test in persons who have had previous BCG vaccination will be interpreted and acted upon in the same manner as those in personnel who have not been vaccinated.
Exposure to a patient with known tuberculosis for whom precautions were not used constitutes a workers' compensation injury. The employee and/or supervisor must contact UK Workers' Care to report the exposure. Personnel will then be screened by Employee Health at the time of exposure and at 12 weeks post-exposure. Skin test conversion related to exposure will be handled in the same manner as other tuberculin skin test conversions and constitutes a worker's compensation injury. Chest x-rays may be ordered on skin test positive employees after exposure at the direction of the medical director of Employee Health.
Responsibility for fulfilling employee health requirements
It is the responsibility of each department to notify employees of the due date for annual employee screening. A list of all employees with their due dates for Employee Health examination will be provided to the service director monthly.
Employees overdue for testing will be suspended from work without pay until the employee has completed the TB skin test or other Employee Health requirements; if the employee fails to have the TB skin test or other required tests completed within ten days after suspension the employee will be terminated. The tuberculin skin test is not considered complete until it has been read by Employee Health personnel.
All employees will be given a verification slip by Employee Health stating that the required activity has been completed. The employee will give this verification slip to their supervisor, to be filed in the employee's personnel file. The supervisor should maintain copies of the last three years of the verification slips in the employee's file.
Medical support of Employee Health will be provided by University Health Services.
Injuries sustained while on the job will be treated as any UK Worker's Care injury. Care will be covered by UK Worker's Care or by the employee as deemed appropriate. Care for UK Worker's Care injuries is not to be the responsibility of Employee Health (see Hospital policy HP09-25, Worker's Care).
Employees who have patient care responsibilities and have signs or symptoms of a transmissible disease must report to their supervisor. Employees may be reassigned, restricted, or excluded from work. The department representative may consult with Employee Health for a final determination regarding work restrictions.
An employee who has health considerations (i.e., pregnancy, immune deficiency) that may result in increased vulnerability to infection should notify their supervisor who may consult with Employee Health. The employee will be counseled regarding work-related risks and may have work restricted or assignment changed as deemed necessary.
The director of University Health Service, in conjunction with all Hospital service area directors, is responsible for administration of the provisions of this policy. The Employee Health Advisory Committee has oversight responsibility for the Employee Health Program.
- Approved by Karen Stefaniak, Chief Nursing Officer
- Approved by Richard Lofgren, M.D., Chief Medical Officer
- Authorized by Murray B. Clark, Jr., Associate VP for MC Operations | <urn:uuid:d2e3efc1-6d2e-4f82-9caf-3896525bb4ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/open.aspx?id=4004 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946105 | 2,471 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Today was a very short day. We only had this one seminar, and that was it. Several people didn't show up. I really think we should have had this seminar tacked on yesterday afternoon, and then we could have had all of today off too.
Technically we are not into the kidneys yet, but we will be as of the beginning of December. This seminar was about the integration of the neural, renal, and cardiovascular systems in scenarios where fluid and salts in the body must be balanced. The reading was about experiments done on dogs here at Case several decades ago. Basically, the researchers used clamps to make the renal arteries narrower and block the flow of blood. This causes the kidneys to "think" that the body is hemorrhaging, and they respond by synthesizing hormones that lead to constriction of the arteries and a rise in blood pressure. Of course, these responses only make things worse. But as another speaker pointed out earlier in the week, our bodies didn't evolve to deal with being elderly and having cardiovascular disease. We would have been a lot likelier to have had to deal with massive losses of blood due to illness or injury.
Ok, I hope you readers have a great Thanksgiving, and I'll be back on Monday. We have class bright and early at 8 AM as usual. But the good news is that we are getting Friday off this week, and we do not have any homework (SAQs or CAPPs) either. :-) | <urn:uuid:8692bae7-acf0-4ed4-95d8-e35f6f518403> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cclcmstudent.blogspot.com/2006/11/kidney-and-blood-pressure-seminar.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987787 | 299 | 1.625 | 2 |
In the woods there is a mansion. it's occupied by a group of teens. but these teenagers arent normal. they dont make much contact with the outside world, and when they do they're mostly silent and seem suspicious of everyone. and there's one part that no one knows: they arent exactly human.
The mansion is populated by many teens: vampires, ghosts, werewolves, even the occasional human with a power. And that's just scratching the surface of the inhabitants of the mansion. They all coexist peacefully in the mansion.
the humans, however, are becoming suspicious. each month a human goes to check out the mansion, and the teens must protect the secrets of the mansion. and each month, the humans a5e more and more determined to find out what is so peculiar about those teens.
what the mansion looks like:
except with more trees, and it's gray
the dining room:
(the reason i posted pictures was because i wanted you guys to know kinda what it was like inside and outside.)
-you can make up to three characters
-ask me if you want to make a human with a power
-you can be either a regular human or one of the people who live in the mansion
-use proper spelling and grammar please
-dont start without me.
Power: (only if a human)
What does your room look like?: (i really dunno why i put this one, it's optional.) | <urn:uuid:aee317cb-ece2-4e1e-9223-277f431cf46b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kidzworld.com/forums/fantasy/t/965376-stranger-things-rp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948947 | 302 | 1.960938 | 2 |
The former Massachusetts governor said only he can work with Congress to keep any of that from happening.
"He's ignored them, he's attacked them, he's blamed them," Romney said about President Barack Obama and Congress. "The debt ceiling will come up again, and shutdown and default will be threatened, chilling the economy."
Romney, who has struck an increasingly bipartisan tone in recent weeks, used Friday's address to help crystalize what he says would be the real-world impact of Obama's continued inability to break the political gridlock in Washington.
Indeed, whoever is elected immediately will face the so-called "fiscal cliff" - a combination of tax increases and domestic and military spending cuts set to take effect in the new year unless Congress and the White House agree on a plan to stop it.
Romney said the choice voters face Tuesday boils down to one simple question. "Do you want more of the same or do you want real change?" he told hundreds of supporters packed into a cement-floored Wisconsin warehouse.
Romney's speech followed the Labor Department's final jobs report before the election. Released Friday, it showed that U.S. employers added 171,000 jobs in October and that hiring was stronger in September and August than first thought. The unemployment rate inched up to 7.9 percent, from 7.8 percent in September, because more people started looking for work.
The report sketched a picture of a job market that is gradually gaining momentum after nearly stalling in the spring. More jobs were created than predicted, and the higher rate means more people are returning to labor force since the government only counts people as unemployed if they are actively searching for work.
In a statement issued before arriving in Wisconsin, the home state of GOP running mate Rep. Paul Ryan, Romney said the new unemployment report was a "sad reminder that the economy is at a virtual standstill."
While polls have shown the economy is the top concern of most voters, Romney's advisers don't believe the new jobs number will have any impact on the election. They said the report was likely a wash - with a slight uptick in unemployment and stronger-than-expected job growth.
The campaign says government reports mean less to people than their own personal experiences. More than 23 million people are still without a job or looking for one.
In the speech, Romney asked people to vote for "real change" if they are "tired of being tired."
"I won't waste any time complaining about my predecessor. I won't spend my effort trying to pass partisan legislation unrelated to economic growth," he said, both of them references to Obama blaming his Republican predecessor for the state of the economy and for spending a year pushing the health care law through Congress.
"From Day One, I will go to work to help Americans get back to work," Romney said.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) | <urn:uuid:baa46685-b63b-40e5-a212-3e0e5f80b292> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.9news.com/news/article/297479/139/Mitt-Romney-warns-against-re-electing-President-Barack-Obama | 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 | 0.973799 | 596 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Shortly before World War I, strange accidents begin occurring in a town somewhere in northern Germany, and the residents are at a loss to explain them. Who strung a wire across the road causing the local doctor to fall from his horse? Who bound and beat up the baron’s son? Who practically blinded someone’s child? Questions abound and neither the villagers nor the Protestant pastor have any answers. The people here live hand-to-mouth, the majority in the service of the manor, and all of them lead orderly lives – at least that’s what they believe. The pastor carefully sees to the raising of his seven children: his authoritarian system of praise and punishment is firmly grounded in logic, and he treats his parishioners with equal rigor. On the outside, the other families seem just as well ordered, and yet these strange incidents stir the feeling that they are manifestations of envy, revenge, or even some incomprehensible effort to punish someone. Michael Haneke is a master at creating a near horror-like atmosphere of anxiety, and although this time around he doesn’t make the viewer a direct witness to violence and cruelty, his near-perfect black-and-white film evokes claustrophobic feelings of uneasiness and indeterminate fear. | <urn:uuid:953e8a55-5a7e-4cb7-a453-3c97a0ccc178> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.filmitalia.org/film.asp?lang=ing&documentID=52230 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963308 | 263 | 1.695313 | 2 |
|About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us|
Fashions come and go. One year it's bell-bottoms that are cool, another time it might be torn jeans. What is hip for one age is passé for another. The same goes for words. Yesterday's street slang becomes respectable today, suitable for office memos and academic theses. Words once in everyday use may be labeled archaic a few hundred years later.
As I see it, there's no reason to despatch any word to the attic of time. Each word on our verbal palette -- whether new or old -- helps us bring out a nuance in conversation and in writing.
The words featured here this week are considered archaic but are still in good shape. They're old but have not yet retired from the language. They still faithfully report for duty, as shown by some of the examples from newspapers.
garboil (GAHR-boil) noun
[Via French and Italian from Latin bullire (to boil).]
Today's word in Visual Thesaurus.
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)
"'That was some garboil in the woods', [Julius Winsome] announces
to one increasingly confused victim."
I am no more lonely than a single mullein or dandelion in a pasture, or a bean leaf, or sorrel, or a horse-fly, or a bumblebee. I am no more lonely than the Mill Brook, or a weathercock, or the north star, or the south wind, or an April shower, or a January thaw, or the first spider in a new house. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862)
Contribute | Advertise
© 2013 Wordsmith | <urn:uuid:3e1745cc-c173-4c7d-9f10-7e6cddeb34d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wordsmith.org/words/garboil.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908733 | 376 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The AAAI Feigenbaum Prize
March 15: Nominations Due
The AAAI Feigenbaum Prize is awarded biennially to recognize and encourage outstanding Artificial Intelligence research advances that are made by using experimental methods of computer science. The "laboratories" for the experimental work are real-world domains, and the power of the research results are demonstrated in those domains. The Feigenbaum Prize may be given for a sustained record of high-impact seminal contributions to experimental AI research; or it may be given to reward singular remarkable innovation and achievement in experimental AI research. The prize is $10,000 and is provided by the Feigenbaum Nii Foundation and administered by AAAI.
Edward Feigenbaum is a Kumagai Professor of Computer Science Emeritus at Stanford University. Feigenbaum earned his Ph.D at Carnegie Mellon University from 1956–1959. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was a pioneer in AI research as experimental computer science, and in the applications of AI research. In 1986, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and in 1995, he received computer science's highest research honor — The ACM Turing Award. Feigenbaum was the second president of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, serving from 1980–1981, and was elected to AAAI Fellowship in 1990. The first Feigenbaum Prize was awarded in 2011 in conjunction with the Twenty-Fifth Annual AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-11), held August 7–11, in San Francisco, California.
Nominations for the 2013 Feigenbaum Prize, to be awarded in conjunction with the Twenty-Seventh Annual AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-13) in Bellevue, Washington, are now being accepted. Please complete the nomination form (PDF format) (DOC format) and submit it to firstname.lastname@example.org no later than March 15, 2013. All nominations must be accompanied by at least one letter of support, which can also be submitted to email@example.com by email attachment (PDF only), faxed to 1-650-321-4457, or mailed to the Feigenbaum Prize
Unsuccessful nominations that are not explicitly withdrawn by the nominator will be automatically reconsidered for one additional cycle of review. Nominations will be reviewed for a third cylce with the submission of updated nomination materials. If after three reviews, a nomination is still unsuccessful, a waiting period of one full review cycle must be observed before the nomination is submitted again.
- Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
2275 East Bayshore Road
Palo Alto, California 94303
- Sebastian Thrun (Stanford University) and William A. "Red" Whittaker (Carnegie Mellon University)
For their influential contributions to artificial intelligence via achievements in autonomous vehicle research, including experimental efforts and research leadership of teams addressing challenges with the fielding of robotic systems in the open world. | <urn:uuid:8ab9ae03-0f0a-4b12-8f79-4cb769dbe9c3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://aaai.org/Awards/feigenbaum.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943994 | 606 | 1.84375 | 2 |
I should really be posting about some important plans for the Mozilla build system that I nailed down during the Firefox summit. But I don’t have time to give that a proper post, so instead I’m going to discuss one of the amazing things I’ve learned about the Mozilla build system over the past few days. Look at this snippet from rules.mk. I’ve been the nominal owner of this code for almost two years, but didn’t really understand it until this week. This little piece of code is one of the things that makes our build system really great and horrible at the same time:
- Whenever people remove or alter the location of header files, this code keeps all the depend builds from going red.
- It causes us to call stat() an extra 10,000+ times per depend build. Probably a lot more than that, actually, but I didn’t instrument it.
We do an end-run around the normal dependency checks done by GNU make: the mddepend.pl script stats and calculates the compiler-generated dependencies in advance. If the dependency is missing or new, it adds a FORCE dependency on the object file. Unfortunately, we do this calculation on each build pass: once for export, once for libs, once for tools, and perhaps another time for check. This causes us to check dependencies many many more times than we actually need to.
What we really want to implement is an “optional dependency”: a directive that if a header has been updated, we should rebuild the object; but if the header doesn’t exist any more, we shouldn’t try to build it (because we don’t have any rules to generate such headers which were removed or relocated intentionally). This is probably not something I’m going to fix any time soon. But I may find time to write it up in detail to propose it as a feature for gmake 3.82. | <urn:uuid:5bf114f8-8623-41f0-a134-1c5ccc20af6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://benjamin.smedbergs.us/blog/2006-11-22/depths-of-the-mozilla-build-system/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931079 | 406 | 1.570313 | 2 |
A host of environmental pressures are exacerbated by global warming, scientists say, ranging from more weeds and pests to reduced winter chill periods. That could threaten the viability of berry production generally, while all but wiping out cranberry and Concord grape production in the region's southernmost states. The report warns that as temperatures rise and growing seasons lengthen, the minimum chilling requirement needed for fruiting buds to mature may not be met, causing a precipitous drop in fruit yield as far north as Massachusetts.
Peter Beaton, a third-generation cranberry grower here in Wareham, Mass., near the Cape Cod Canal, has seen growing effects from what he concludes is a warming climate since the 1970s.
"Quite often, when you would get into late October or the first of November, there would be an inch or two of ice on the bogs when it was time to harvest the cranberries. And that was not a rare occurrence – that was a common occurrence," says Mr. Beaton, outgoing president of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association (CCCGA). He can't recall a time once during the past 10 years when the cranberry harvest was delayed because of ice. The CCCGA, founded in 1888, represents 87 percent of the cranberry growers in Massachusetts.
Cranberry growers can flood bogs to shield their crop from winter frosts and summer heat, thereby protecting the cranberries from temperature extremes. Other berry growers cannot resort to such tactics, as most berries cannot survive submerged for very long.
A sharp frost in late April 2007 ravaged grape and blueberry blossoms that had emerged during an unusually warm period, killing up to 90 percent of the blossoms from Missouri to Alabama and the Carolinas. This type of stop-and-go winter is exactly what people in New England's lucrative berry industry are concerned will become more frequent.
Some researchers are less concerned about temperatures being cold enough to mature fruit than they are with erratic weather patterns brought on by climate change. More frequent droughts and floods, as well as salt-water incursion from hurricanes and rising sea levels pose serious risks. | <urn:uuid:6ee17d23-d8f8-4c7b-b440-dca81174bc7c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.csmonitor.com/2007/1121/p13s01-wogi.html/(page)/2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970013 | 434 | 3.484375 | 3 |
|Version 3 (modified by Gubaer, 4 years ago) (diff)|
You should run File->Update selection if you want to refresh the data in the current selection with the data the server currently holds. JOSM won't overwrite the local data, but it may detect, that current object versions from the server collide with objects you are working with locally. In this case, JOSM will create conflicts. You will have to resolve them after the update is finished. Your local edits aren't lost.
This action is disabled unless the current selection isn't empty. | <urn:uuid:6950f1f7-96a5-4381-a21d-29c2e02cbed2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://josm.openstreetmap.de/wiki/Help/Action/UpdateSelection?version=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952953 | 118 | 1.664063 | 2 |
I. LIFE OF SAINT MAEL
Mael, a scion of a royal family of Cambria, was sent in his ninth year to the Abbey of Yvern so that he might there study both sacred and profane learning. At the age of fourteen he renounced his patrimony and took a vow to serve the Lord. His time was divided, according to the rule, between the singing of hymns, the study of grammar, and the meditation of eternal truths.
A celestial perfume soon disclosed the virtues of the monk throughout the cloister, and when the blessed Gal, the Abbot of Yvern, departed from this world into the next, young Mael succeeded him in the government of the monastery. He established therein a school, an infirmary, a guest-house, a forge, work-shops of all kinds, and sheds for building ships, and he compelled the monks to till the lands in the neighbourhood. With his own hands he cultivated the garden of the Abbey, he worked in metals, he instructed the novices, and his life was gently gliding along like a stream that reflects the heaven and fertilizes the fields.
At the close of the day this servant of God was accustomed to seat himself on the cliff, in the place that is to-day still called St. Mael’s chair. At his feet the rocks bristling with green seaweed and tawny wrack seemed like black dragons as they faced the foam of the waves with their monstrous breasts. He watched the sun descending into the ocean like a red Host whose glorious blood gave a purple tone to the clouds and to the summits of the waves. And the holy man saw in this the image of the mystery of the Cross, by which the divine blood has clothed the earth with a royal purple. In the offing a line of dark blue marked the shores of the island of Gad, where St. Bridget, who had been given the veil by St. Malo, ruled over a convent of women.
Now Bridget, knowing the merits of the venerable Mael, begged from him some work of his hands as a rich present. Mael cast a hand-bell of bronze for her and, when it was finished, he blessed it and threw it into the sea. And the bell went ringing towards the coast of Gad, where St. Bridget, warned by the sound of the bell upon the waves, received it piously, and carried it in solemn procession with singing of psalms into the chapel of the convent.
Thus the holy Mael advanced from virtue to virtue. He had already passed through two-thirds of the way of life, and he hoped peacefully to reach his terrestrial end in the midst of his spiritual brethren, when he knew by a certain sign that the Divine wisdom had decided otherwise, and that the Lord was calling him to less peaceful but not less meritorious labours.
One day as he walked in meditation to the furthest point of a tranquil beach, for which rocks jutting out into the sea formed a rugged dam, he saw a trough of stone which floated like a boat upon the waters. | <urn:uuid:3afc48cd-a9b2-4c2d-a282-0c1c756b7da6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/1930/1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980361 | 648 | 2.375 | 2 |
- Subscribe TodayGet a Free Book of Lists
Send this story to a friend
A letter from Gov. Rick Perry: Success in Texas is no accident
- Rick Perry, Governor
There are those who seem to believe Texas’ success over the past decade is some sort of divine gift, as natural to the state as Big Bend Park or the sand on the seashore.
The thinking is, if we just hang out our shingle, businesses will thrive and people will find jobs.
We take that kind of confidence as a compliment because it means people are coming to expect things to be better in Texas than in other places around the country. The truth, however, is a bit more complicated.
Texas is successful because we’ve made a commitment to sound, conservative fiscal policies, which in turn have helped cultivate an employer-friendly climate that helps businesses take root and grow, and ultimately gives workers more jobs to choose from.
For the record, I’m not the only one talking about Texas.
For example, fDi Magazine, which looks at foreign direct investment, recently honored Texas with its 2012 Governor’s Award for being the most successful state in the union at attracting investment, and that publication is far from alone in its praise of the Lone Star State.
Chief Executive Magazine has named Texas the country’s “Best State for Business” for an eighth consecutive year — and we’re committed to making it nine in a row next year. Our economy has also received the accolades of USA Today, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Site Selection Magazine.
We’ve led the nation in exports for a full decade and have added more than 222,000 private-sector jobs over the past year (dating from July 2011-July 2012), reflecting two solid years of job growth during a time when some states were shedding jobs.
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
- Most popular
- Sneak peek at Exxon Mobil's new campus
- MetroNational releases more details of mixed-use Gateway Memorial City project — Slideshow
- Super Bowl headed back to Houston
- $81M renovation plans for JW Marriott downtown unveiled
- Food truck industry, mobile businesses celebrated at festival in Houston — Slideshow
- DePinho: M.D. Anderson to freeze wages, curb construction
- Heights: Out with the old, in with the retail
- The B Side: Kinder Morgan not into corporate perks, president says
- Rudyard's British Pub owner to open new venue
- On a diet? New restaurant's menu features items 475 calories or less
- Audience Development Account Executive Houston Business Journal | Houston, TX
- General Manager Houston ShipChannel Security District | Houston, TX
- Business Development Partner Corporate Management Group, LLC | Local Opportunity
- Controller Dimension Energy Services | Sugar Land, TX
- Banking Operations Consultants JMFA Executive Search Group | Houston, TX | <urn:uuid:99aab338-da37-4ffb-baea-2c5e917c182a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/print-edition/2012/10/26/a-letter-from-gov-rick-perry-success.html?ana=officedepot | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924231 | 647 | 1.5 | 2 |
Is Wikileaks Secure?
And beyond the law?
8:25 AM, Jun 15, 2010 • By GABRIEL SCHOENFELD
Is there nothing we can do about Wikileaks? Is it really a website where anyone can post any U.S. government secret no matter how injurious it is to American security?
Wikileaks is much in the news because of the young Army intelligence officer accused of providing it with a massive trove of diplomatic cables and sensitive military videos. The website’s organizers boast that it “combines the protection and anonymity of cutting-edge cryptographic technologies with the comfortable presentation style of Wikipedia.” They convey an assumption that its servers are beyond the reach of law enforcement, and that those who post to it cannot be tracked down.
But the history of warfare—including information warfare—teaches that every measure elicits a countermeasure. An interesting and highly relevant detail emerges from the indictment of Thomas Drake, the senior National Security Agency employee recently charged under the Espionage Act for passing classified information to the Baltimore Sun.
To communicate covertly with the Sun reporter, Drake opened up a Hushmail account and she apparently did the same. Hushmail is a web service that, as it advertises itself, “looks and feels just like any other web-mail site, but adds strong encryption to your emails to protect your secrets from prying eyes.”
Yet when the prying eyes are federal investigators, it turns out that Hushmail is not quite so secure. The indictment of Drake makes plain that the feds pierced Hushmail’s encryption either via technological or legal means, noting, among other things, that “defendant DRAKE scanned and emailed Reporter A electronic copies of certain classified and unclassified documents.”
Wikileaks makes claims about its inviolability that are strikingly like those made by Hushmail. Whether it can be pierced by technological means is unknown. But warfare is not a static thing. Even “cutting-edge cryptographic technologies” may not cut it when facing the huge decryption resources of powerful states.
Gabriel Schoenfeld is the author of Necessary Secrets: National Security, the Media, and the Rule of Law. | <urn:uuid:cc6f99c7-a943-4708-961c-d19076c23bdc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/wikileaks-secure?nopager=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925896 | 462 | 2.1875 | 2 |
One of the things which many of the independent studies on gambling seem to agree on is that the more privatized gambling is and the larger scale and less regulated it is, the more it benefits local and state economies. Very limited gambling initiatives like just allowing parimutuel wagering at racetracks or just allowing slot machines at limited locations are much less likely to be economically successful and more likely to be crushed by regulation and expensive overhead. The lesson from these studies seems to be that if you want gambling to succeed and produce real benefits you need to go into it in a very big way. It needs to become a self-sustaining industry with real potential to attract an influx of tourists on a large scale.
Ultimately, whether you believe the emotional arguments of opponents, or the propaganda of out of state gambling interests, or the data of the competing studies, or the stories of successes from other states, one fact remains very clear. With so many different opinions and so many conflicting interests, the rational response is to let the people of Texas decide. They are the ones who go to neighboring states to gamble now. They are the ones who will pay the costs and reap the benefits of legalized gambling if it comes to our state. They deserve a chance to vote on the issue and advocates on both sides deserve a chance to educate them and win their support. Obstructionist legislators bought off by special interests should step aside and let the issue be put on the ballot. | <urn:uuid:73d25828-fbe9-48e5-aeca-666972412ac5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/gambling-issue-a-target-of-disinformation/page-3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966398 | 296 | 1.507813 | 2 |
The United States is the world’s biggest economy and the leading exporter of wheat, corn, beef and many other commodities. It also has the most unequal wealth distribution of all major developed countries. Economic woes in the U.S. have led to one in seven Americans to rely on food assistance.
Americans living longer but still falling behind other nations
Americans are living longer than ever before, but compared with the healthiest nations in the world, their life expectancy is shorter and falling behind.
The average American man in 2007 could expect to live 75.6 years, and a woman 80.8 years, according to research released today by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. But between 2000 and 2007, more than 80 percent of counties in the United States fell in standing against the “international frontier,” the average of the 10 nations with the best life expectancy in the world.
The United States ranked 37th in the world for life expectancy in 2007. Throughout the country, women fared worse than men, and blacks could expect to live the shortest lives. The study, published in the journal Population Health Metrics, attributes the gap between the U.S. and other nations to preventable risk factors – namely tobacco use, obesity and high blood pressure. More … | <urn:uuid:3f595159-1b04-4270-8d50-7e98c591fc98> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://centerforinvestigativereporting.tumblr.com/tagged/United-States | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941304 | 266 | 2.84375 | 3 |
MANCHESTER, N.H.--(FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology, today announced that Microsoft Corporation’s award-winning Kinect for Xbox 360 will be a part of the standard robotics Kit of Parts (KoP) for the 2012 FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC®) season. The addition of Kinect for Xbox 360 will allow the competitors to “be the robot,” using a natural user interface to control and interact with their robots with gestures, without the need to use a joystick, game controller, or other input device.)--
“This is an exciting time for FIRST teams”
An estimated 60,000 high-school students will benefit from new technology in the annual robotics competition thanks to Microsoft’s donation of 2,500 Kinect sensors to the 2012 FIRST robotics game. The new sensor, which will be beta tested with robots built by FIRST students this fall, includes a depth camera and both video and audio sensors to capture video data in 3D.
In the 2012 FIRST Robotics Competition, teams will be able to control robots via Kinect. They will be able to either program their robots to respond to their own custom gestures made by their human teammates, or use default code and gestures. The added ability for teams to customize the application of the Kinect sensor data is a valuable enhancement to the FRC experience.
The FIRST Robotics Competition is a unique ‘varsity Sport for the Mind™’ designed to help young people discover the interesting and rewarding aspects of engineering and research, while challenging teams and their mentors to solve problems in a six-week timeframe using a standard Kit of Parts and a common set of rules.
“This is an awesome capability to incorporate into a robot,” said Bill Miller, Director of FIRST Robotics Competition. "By working with Microsoft, we are able to provide FRC students with an additional high-level sensor capability, adding to the options for our students’ strategy on the field as well as delivering a unique robotics experience. This experience will take the competition to a new level, while also helping equip students with the skills and tools to innovate in the 21st century.”
"This is an exciting time for FIRST teams," said Tony Hey, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Research. "By putting the amazing capabilities of the Kinect sensor in students’ hands, FIRST is able to provide a compelling and powerful new technology for the teams. With so many students already familiar with Kinect for Xbox 360 at home, in school, and lately even on their PCs via the Kinect for Windows SDK beta, I’m sure it will be a popular choice."
During the 2011 season, 2,072 FRC teams totaling 51,800 students competed at 59 events in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. Participants are eligible to apply for nearly $15 million in scholarships at more than 140 colleges and universities.
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500 companies and close to $15 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC®) and FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC®) for high-school students, FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) for 9 to 14-year-olds, (9 to 16-year-olds outside the U.S.,Canada, and Mexico) and Junior FIRST® LEGO® League (Jr.FLL®) for 6 to 9-year-olds. Gracious Professionalism™ is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org. | <urn:uuid:cd9440cd-894e-4059-9404-aface2f35600> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20111007005793&div=-115758197 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94009 | 857 | 1.648438 | 2 |
The central bank also said violent unrest in the mining sector, in particular fallout from the police shooting of 34 striking miners at a platinum mine last month, might cause economic growth to slump in the third quarter.
In its latest Quarterly Bulletin, reporting on the second quarter, the bank said the current account gap widened to R200-billion or 6.4% of GDP from 4.9 percent in the first quarter, while spending on government wages pushed gross domestic expenditure to 4.7%.
"With South Africa's terms of trade also registering a modest further deterioration, the deficit on the current account widened to 6.4% of GDP," the central bank report said.
Economists had expected a deficit of only 4.7% because of increased portfolio inflows into emerging markets, and South Africa specifically.
Africa's biggest economy is due to join the prestigious Citi World Government Bond Index (WGBI) on October 1 and foreigners have flooded into the local bond market in anticipation of the inclusion, which will force index-tracking investors to increase their holdings of local debt.
Local investment houses have reported increased business since the Citigroup announcement in April, while bond yields have continually tested record lows.
The increased bond inflows resulted in a financial account surplus in the quarter, the bank said, although analysts said this could not last forever, suggesting the rand was vulnerable if global appetite for emerging market assets switched.
"This is an unsustainable current account deficit," said Kevin Lings, chief economist at Stanlib.
"What is bailing us out is our inclusion in the Global Bond Index, which has resulted in the massive inflows into our bond market. We will still end up with a record inflow into the bond market and that is what is helping us to finance this."
The rand eased after the data, hitting 8.2225 at 0915 GMT from 8.21 moments before the release.
Although economists agree that the deficit will be comfortably funded by foreign portfolio inflows, a further deterioration in the current account could make it unsustainable.
The central bank surprised the market by reducing rates for the first time in 20 months in July, putting the repo rate at which it lends to commercial banks at a 40-year low of 5%.
However, a jump in household and government spending in the second quarter caused some economists to wonder whether this decision would be reversed shortly.
"When you look at the driver of it, it is very clearly household and government debt which is expanding at a time when South Africa's production is under massive pressure," said George Glynos, managing director at ETM.
"It raises questions about the wisdom of having cut rates and raises the prospect of rand and price volatility."
The bank also said that growth in the third quarter might cause a drop in overall output because of a surprisingly strong showing in the previous three months by the volatile mining sector, which accounts of 6 percent of output.
Mining grew by 31.2% from a 16.8% contraction in the first quarter, helping put GDP growth to 3.2%.
"The interpretation of GDP has to look at the base effect of mining, and that the non-primary sector of the economy has slowed down. The boost we got from mining may come to haunt us in the next quarter," said Rashad Cassim, the bank's head of research.
Mining dragged on growth in the first quarter after strikes led to a shutdown at a large Impala Platinum mine. Another platinum mine, owned by London-headquartered Lonmin, has been hit by a similar shutdown for the past month.
The bank cut its 2012 GDP forecast in July to 2.7 percent from 2.9 percent, while the finance minister has said he will cut his own forecast to below 2.7 percent in October. – Reuters | <urn:uuid:94711bac-0adf-4206-86b4-f664aaa6905f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://margotbworldnews.com/News/Sep/Sep11/So.Africa.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96594 | 779 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Earth Day 2012: Environmental Movement at a Crossroads
Photo Credit: Cornelia Kopp
Stay up to date with the latest headlines via email.
This Sunday marks the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day. I was privileged to be legislative director for Senator Gaylord Nelson, who had the vision in 1970 for Earth Day’s “national teach-in on the environment,” and who helped make that vision a reality. Over the past four decades, I have witnessed and cheered the growth and development of the modern environmental movement. Yet, even as the achievements of the movement are honored, we should also be honest: viewed with any serious attention to long and deep trends, the environment is in serious and ever-growing danger.
This is in no way to minimize the successes of the movement. There have been significant gains in connection with air quality, the incidence of lead, and water pollution, to name three issues that were the subjects of an explosion of public concern around the time of the original Earth Day. Between 1970 and 2010, concentrations of six principal air pollutants declined by almost 71 percent; and in just the first 20 years of the Clean Air Act, an estimated 200,000 premature deaths and 700,000 cases of chronic bronchitis were prevented. The percentage of children with elevated blood-lead levels dropped from 88 percent in the 1970s to just 4.4 percent in the mid-'90s. Similarly, lead air pollution decreased 98 percent by 2000. Prior to 1972, industrial waste and sewage had made approximately two-thirds of waterways unsafe for recreation and fishing use. Three decades later, in 2004, 53 percent of assessed river miles and 70 percent of bay and estuarine square miles were safe for recreation and fishing.
It is important, however, to distinguish these significant but relatively isolated “legacy” achievements of policies enacted in earlier, more progressive times from the more recent, worsening trends of environmental degradation in many other areas. The examples are numerous.
While the rate at which natural wetlands are being destroyed has slowed, the United States lost more than 500,000 additional acres of such vital areas between 1998 and 2004 alone. In 2007, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) concluded that “water quality improvement reached a plateau about a decade ago,” and that there had been a recent “upward trend for beach closings, red tides, dead zones, droughts, flooding, coral reef damage, nutrient pollution, and sewage pollution.” Given current trends, the EPA has “projected that sewage pollution will be as high in 2025 as it was in 1968, that is, before the passage of the Clean Water Act.”
Fish consumption warning advisories increased from 899 nationwide in 1993 to 4,598 in 2010. Toxic chemicals, species loss, landfill waste, deteriorating freshwater supplies—the list seems endless. Around 154 million Americans, about half of the nation, currently live in areas that suffer from ambient ozone and/or particulate levels that are often too dangerous to breathe, resulting in 50,000 or more premature deaths per year.
These dynamics—to say nothing of the complete failure to address climate change—are disheartening. They demonstrate that the capacity of the environmental movement to protect the environment through regulations and traditional political strategies is diminishing with each passing year. The problem is not a lack of effort or interest. The problem, first, is that attempts to significantly reverse ongoing social, economic and environmental decay have regularly been stymied by corporate opposition and our stalemated national political system.
At a more fundamental level, the economic system is committed to and intertwined with endless growth—growth in the use of resources (many of them non-renewable); growth in the use of low-cost labor; growth in the number of products produced; growth of shareholder profits; and, inevitably, growth in pollution and carbon emissions.
Put another way, the challenge is systemic, not simply political in the usual sense of the term. Ultimately, unless we begin to change the system, the politics and economics that produce the long trends of decay will continue. Nor is the problem abstract: Local communities feel the full effects of pollution and climate change, as well as the massive social and environmental costs of corporate outsourcing of jobs. Unless a more fundamental economic strategy can be developed, the pain—and decay—will continue.
The environmental movement, and indeed the progressive movement as a whole, is at a critical crossroads. Defending past accomplishments and continuing to strive for stronger environmental laws and regulations are obviously important and necessary. However, the challenge now is greater. As James Gustave Speth, a leading environmentalist and former adviser to two presidents puts it: “For the most part, we have worked within this current system of political economy, but working within the system will not succeed in the end when what is needed is transformative change in the system itself.”
What Speth and countless others have come to realize is that the world simply cannot wait for the increasingly remote possibility that somehow “business as usual” will generate a politics that can alter the deteriorating trends. A new economic system of environmental stewardship must be built from the ground up, community by community, state by state, region by region in the coming period.
Just such a “new economy” movement is, in fact, quietly building up momentum just beneath the surface of media attention—paradoxically, in large part because the failure of national and international strategies produces more and more economic and ecological devastation. Citizens in all parts of the country have been taking the lead in constructing new economic models and institutions that not only promote democratized economic opportunity, but also, ecological sustainability.
Austin, Texas, for instance, has embarked on an ambitious project to make the city carbon neutral by 2020, with the large, local, publicly owned utility taking a lead role. In Edmonds, Washington, community residents, the city government, and a Seattle-based company have come together to form Edmonds Community Solar Cooperative—the first citizen-owned solar cooperative in the state, and an innovative model of government, business and resident collaboration in support of environmental and economic goals. “B Corporations” designed to permit and facilitate investment in socially and environmentally important practices have been authorized by legislatures in Maryland and several other states.
On a larger scale, such efforts as the groundbreaking network of linked worker cooperatives in Cleveland are designed not only to build economic wealth and community ownership in low-income neighborhoods, but also to be ecologically sustainable. The industrial-scale, worker-owned laundry cooperative operates out of a LEED Gold-certified building and uses and heats one fourth as much water per pound of laundry as its traditional counterpart. The large-scale solar and greenhouse cooperatives are similarly environmentally oriented as a matter of principle.
These are only a few of literally thousands of new efforts developing beneath the surface of public attention. There is certainly every reason to continue the fight for stronger regulations and policies to address specific problems (like hydraulic fracturing and the Keystone XL pipeline). But unless we face up to the hard truth that our traditional regulatory strategies are no longer working, we won’t be celebrating the hopes of Earth Day much longer. The task going forward cannot simply be to reform and regulate the system: we must roll up our sleeves for the long struggle to change it. | <urn:uuid:99dda79d-d877-472b-b9c2-9a8d1ca98059> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alternet.org/story/155083/earth_day_2012%3A_environmental_movement_at_a_crossroads | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954282 | 1,506 | 2.890625 | 3 |
John Van de Walle’s student-centred approach? Marilyn Burns’ insight into how children learn math? The rationale in the WNCP curriculum? The beliefs of the BCAMT? Gates would dismiss them all.
More importantly to me, he would dismiss the successes that Surrey teachers and students experience when teachers let go and give students a chance to do the math. “Letting go” does not mean students are left to discover the Pythagorean Theorem on their own. The role of the constructivist teacher is to get students mentally ready to work on a task, listen, provide hints, and facilitate discussion.
Instead, Gates supports the Khan Academy and the flipped classroom model. In this model, students watch a video at home so that they can get one-on-one homework help at school. Sometimes, flipping proponents claim that this model frees the teacher up to have students do real problem solving. With all the press that the flipped classroom is getting, there is surprisingly little anecdotal evidence of this actually happening.
Gates, Khan, and others have missed the point. Problem solving isn’t something you do after you have learned a concept. That’s practice. Students should solve problems not to apply but to learn new mathematics. The flipped classroom model removes teachers from the most important part of teaching – the introduction of new concepts.
Suppose the proverbial teacher across the hall doesn’t buy in to “all that constructivist stuff” and is considering flipping his or her classroom. Here are three questions that I would ask:
1. Does teaching = telling? (See how I made that a math question?)
I understand if the general public views teaching as simply delivering content, it’s probably what they experienced as learners. Teaching, like real estate, is one of those careers that everyone thinks they can do. I guess I expect my fellow educators to know better. I thought we no longer viewed children as empty vessels to be filled with knowledge. I thought we were moving away from seeing curriculum as topics to “get through.” I thought we were moving towards an emphasis on the mathematical processes. Earning badges online seems like a giant step backwards to me.
2. When you are explaining a new concept, is the interaction between you and your students important?
I have a confession to make. For most of my career, I have used a teacher-centred approach. Still, even in this traditional lecture format, students were given opportunities to ask me clarifying questions or check their understanding with a neighbour. I was able to pick up on subtle non-verbal cues and adapt my lesson on the fly. Throughout my career, all of my attempts to improve my teaching have me moving towards a more student-centred approach, not searching for a more efficient way to deliver a lecture.
3. How does replacing a one-size-fits-all lecture with a one-size-fits-all video meet the needs of all of your students?
Flipping proponents exclaim, “Kids can pause and rewind videos! They can watch them over and over again!” Yeah. But it’s still the same video. This reminds me of the time I was lost in Naples. I asked a local for directions to the train station. He patiently repeated, in Italian, the directions to me several times. I was still lost. Last year, Dr. Marian Small spoke with almost 100 secondary math teachers from Surrey about differentiating instruction. Surrey teachers are beginning to use her two core strategies: open questions and parallel tasks. The ultimate goal of differentiation is to meet the varied learning needs of all students, not to have students complete a series of videos at their own pace.
My final objection to the flipped model is that it is being held up as revolutionary. Assigning a video lecture for homework, and then working on 1 to 49 odd in class instead of watching a lecture in class, and then working on 1 to 49 odd for homework should not be considered a revolution in math education. (If this flip did result in higher scores on standardized tests, does it matter?) We know that real change is difficult. Flipping a classroom isn’t – all that is needed is a tablet PC.
I would like to redefine what flipping a classroom means. My idea of a flipped classroom would be one in which students, not the teacher, are doing the math. Instead of teacher-created videos, the tools of my flipped classroom would be chart paper, felt markers, and sticky notes.
Technology will also play a role. In Surrey, secondary science/math teacher Blair Miller uses video, in the style of Dan Meyer, to ask engaging questions. His students use Vernier Video Physics, an iPad app, to analyze functions. His students interact with dynamic applets that he has created using GeoGebra.
These are effective uses of technology. This is a revolution that I can get behind.
Special thanks to Numeracy Helping Teacher Chris Hunter for this post. You can visit his blog at http://reflectionsinthewhy.wordpress.com/ or reach him at @chrisHunter36.
Want to learn more? Chris recommends the following:
• The Wrath Against Khan: Why Some Educators Are Questioning Khan Academy by Audrey Watters
• Khan Academy and the Mythical Math Cure by Sylvia Martinez
• Khan Academy: My Final Remarks by Frank Noschese
• Khan Academy Does Not Constitute an Education Revolution, but I’ll Tell You What Does by Steve Miranda
• Khan Academy Is Not the Progressive Model You Are Looking For by Tom Barrett
• It’s a Video Library, Not a Revolution by Diana Senechal
• Content Delivered, Captain. Full Speed Ahead by SD36 Helping Teacher Amy Newman | <urn:uuid:192ae383-6064-4d07-bb35-d81d52382857> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://innovativelearningdesigns.ca/wordpress/?tag=johan-van-de-walle | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954477 | 1,198 | 2.90625 | 3 |
This work is the sequel to the Spanisches Liederspiel Op 74. By his own admission (letter to Kistner, 30 April 1849) Schumann had found the rejected items from that cycle (Nos 5 and 9 of the Spanisches Liederspiel) ‘charming’. The existence of two such stray pieces would have been an incentive to find another framework for them; and of course there were further poems from the Volkslieder und Romanzen der Spanier which had caught his eye. Thus songs that had been composed in March 1849 were supplemented by music composed in November of the same year. In what he termed ‘a cycle for one and more voices’ he was proud of himself for having found a new vehicle for vocal music, a small riposte to the overweening experiments of Wagner which threatened to engulf the world of music as Schumann knew it. The political upheavals of 1848 were a watershed which showed that a conservative position alone was insufficient to safeguard the values of the past. Schumann was sympathetic to the rhetoric of the left, but he was a conservative in other ways. For much of his maturity Schumann aimed to counter Wagnerian developments with new ideas of his own, even if they were modest by comparison: one thinks of the Scenen aus Goethe’s Faust – a work acknowledged at last as truly innovative – which proposes an alternative to opera. The three Liederspiele of 1849 (the Rückert Minnespiel was the other) attempt to promote a new order in song-recital terms. It is fun to think of them as a sort of democratic singers’ co-operative, chamber-music works which call on singers to forget their star status in the interests of their colleagues. Another new touch in this cycle (a modification of the format for Op 74) was to take away a single pianist’s possession of the keyboard; even this now had to be shared with someone else as a piano duet. A version for solo accompaniment was published only in 1860.
The Spanische Liebeslieder is essentially a work in G minor (six out of ten numbers) with episodes in the relative major (two items in B flat major), the submediant (E flat major) and a large central panel in the dominant (the Romanze in D major) which acts as a pivotal point between the two halves of the cycle and ushers in the dance in G minor which introduces Part Two. Op 138 is more even-handed than Op 74 in terms of allocations of songs to individual singers: the soprano, alto [recte mezzo soprano] and bass [recte baritone] each have a solo; the two tenor soli are shorter and written as if mirror-image halves of a single song; there is a duet each for the women and the men, and one concluding quartet. The tonal scheme and the casting makes the Spanisches Liebeslieder a neater and more consciously constructed cycle than the earlier Spanisches Liederspiel.
from notes by Graham Johnson © 2002 | <urn:uuid:ce014e9e-3f90-4078-8440-2fa873c3942b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/tw.asp?w=W3132&t=GBAJY0210623&al=CDS44441/50&vw=dc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969607 | 655 | 2.265625 | 2 |
We all know that reusable grocery bags are better for the environment. Super-savers also know that many grocery stores now give discounts on your total bill when you bring your own. But did you know that, in addition to lugging home your groceries, you may also be carrying loads of dangerous bacteria? Don’t worry: it’s easy to fix that problem and keep your bags, and your family, in good health.
Researchers from the University of Arizona and Loma Linda conducted a survey outside of a grocery store and discovered that most (97%) of shoppers don’t regularly wash their reusable grocery bags. To make matters worse, when they tested 84 bags they discovered coliform bacteria in more than half of them, many in levels too high to count.
Now, think about all the things a bag touches as it travels through the store and home: the seat in the front of the grocery cart (you know, where your put your purse or your kid?), the trunk of your car, your kitchen floor, the kitchen counter where you’re going to make dinner. Ew, right? And what about how your hands came in contact with those bags, then your keys, your eyes, your sunglasses, your doorknob (that everyone else in your family will be touching), your refrigerator handle, your sink faucet… Oh, boy!
Part of the problem is that many people don’t keep separate bags for meat, produce and other household items. Many people also just toss packages of fresh meat in their cart, without putting it into a plastic bag to catch any dripping juices. (We’re trying to cut down on plastic bag use after all, right?) That’s all fine for this trip, but on the next one you may be putting your cantaloupe in the bag that previously carried oozing raw chicken. Now it goes on your counter, then you cut through it and, by doing so, drag those germs right through the fruit you’re about to eat.
So what’s the solution?
Don’t buy bags that can’t be washed. Unfortunately, many grocery stores sell cheap bags with plastic insert bottoms that are too flimsy to toss in the washing machine. If you can’t part with yours, you’ll need to hand wash them in a sink full of hot, soapy water with 1/4 cup bleach.
Consider color-coded bags that can be used for separate purposes. I use blue bags for household items, green for produce, and yellow for meat but you can always come up with your own method.
Wash them! If they’re sturdy enough, pop your bags in the washer and use the highest possible setting. Along with detergent, add 2 cups of straight white vinegar (5% acidity). Between the vinegar’s anti-bacterial properties and the heat of the wash and dry cycles, you’ll kill most of the bacteria without harming your bags.
As for how often to wash reusable grocery bags? I try to do mine weekly, but don’t always remember to do so. That’s why I like having them color-coded, too, so today’s lettuce never rides home on top of Monday’s turkey juice.
Do you use reusable grocery bags? If so, what other methods do you use to keep them clean and in good shape?
(I’m happy to have linked to these great link parties, so visit them!) | <urn:uuid:267edb85-7f7e-420e-92f9-b8af593782fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://housewifehowtos.com/clean/how-to-clean-reusable-grocery-bags/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94006 | 733 | 2.484375 | 2 |
Wisconsin is one of 23 states being rewarded by the federal government for providing healthcare to low income kids. The state is receiving what could amount to a $32 million dollar bonus.
Advocacy groups are calling on the governor to use the bonus money to shore up BadgerCare and Medicaid. The state may release a report on its intentions for the money by the end of the year.
The Children's Health Insurance Program is known as "CHIP" for short. It's an extension of Medicaid where kids whose families have incomes above the poverty line, but still have trouble affording medical care.
Wisconsin has enrolled 87 percent of eligible children, one percent above the national average.
It also has met the minimum of five out of eight standards to receive the performance bonus award. That's according to Cindy Mann who directs the program at the federal level. She says Wisconsin is among the states that have streamlined the application and renewal processes, "Meaning that they're looking at the data available to see how many children they can renew automatically based on data available to the state rather than going to the family and asking for more paperwork when in fact that information is already available."
Besides simplifying the system, Mann says states also had to prove the enrolled kids are being cared for. In Wisconsin, she says 461,000 children are enrolled, "So it's not enough to have simplified the program the way in which a state must going about doing this is to actually show results. And these performance bonuses are about results."
Mann doesn't expect too many changes to CHIP with the pending implementation of the Affordable Care Act, if anything she says more children may become eligible. | <urn:uuid:4991bdf1-1a60-4427-8197-e44d91ccbc69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wpr.org/news/display_headline_story.cfm?storyid=46997 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975822 | 339 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Mount Kenya Climbing
Mount Kenya national park stretches across the equator, 193 km North-East of Nairobi and 480 km from the Kenya coast and covers an area of 580Sq. Kms. Altitude: 1,600-5,199m At 5199m high, it is Africa's second highest mountain, with gleaming and eroded snow-capped peaks, which can be seen for miles. It is a broad, large symmetrical volcano cone whose diameter at the base is about 12 km, dating between 2 to 3 million years ago. There are three peaks; Mbatian, 5,199m, Nelion 5,188m and point Lenana. Most visitors are able to reach the more accessible Point Lenana at 4,985 m and many visitors enjoy simple high altitude walks. Points Mbatian and Nelion requires are only climbed by technical climbers only. Accomodation while trekking is in huts, and Tents (campsites).
Wildlife below the Park boundary include elephant, buffalo, antelope, and the rare bongo, also found in the nearby Aberdares national park. Mount Kenya can be climbed anytime of the year though the best times for visiting Mount Kenya and the National Park are December to February and July, August through to late October, when there are no rains. The magnificent views over the surrounding country from point Lenana and other high points around the main peaks and trekking on this mountain is a priority among tourists. The forest surrounding the mountain support a large variety of wildlife such as elephant, buffalo, monkey, antelope, lion, zebra, eland, rock hyrax, giant forest hogs, leopard, mole-rat, and various species of birds such as eagle, vulture, and sunbird among others.
Access to Mount Kenya National Park is by three routes: the Naro Moru Route; the Chogoria Route; and the Sirimon Route.
The Naro Moru route is from the western slopes of the mountain, beginning in the small town of Naro Moru, 206 km from Nairobi and it is quite steep.
The Chogoria route begins near the small town Chogoria, 2 km to the west of the Embu - Meru road, about 150 km north of Nairobi. From Chogoria town, to the forest gate is 6km and further to the park gate is 23 Km. The thick forest on the route to the Park gate is home to antelope and elephants, making this approach to the Park interesting for game enthusiasts.
Sirimon route begins near the small town of Timau on the Nanyuki - Isiolo road North of the mountain. The road to the Park gate leaves the main road 1 km from the bridge over the Sirimon River. This access point to the park is less used because of its rough and hilly terrain.
We have qualified porters who have wealthy of experience with Mt Kenya Trek for more than five years each. They have good communication skills and first aide handling. Friendly and dedicated team. Our porters are participants in Mt Kenya clean up Campaign every year
Our guides are qualified with long experience in treks and climbs graduating from outdoor leadership school and Kenya wildlife Service and have participated in Mountain rescue operations and are members to Mt Kenya Guides.
ABAM-001: 5 DAYS MT. KENYA NARO MORU OUT CHOGORIA
Day 1: Nairobi/Mt Kenya
Depart Nairobi in the morning arriving Naromoru in time for lunch. After lunch you proceed to Mt Kenya Youth Hostel for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Met Station
After breakfast, proceed to Naromoru Park Gate and start hiking to Met Station (3300m). The hiking takes about 3 hrs. Dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Mackinders Camp
Depart Met Station after breakfast and proceed to Teleki Valley arriving Mackinders Camp (4300m) early evening. Picnic lunch enroute. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Austrian Camp
Depart at 10:00 am after breakfast ascending along a steep screw to Austrian Hut (4700m). Covering this distance takes about 3 hrs. Dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Point Lenana-Chogoria
Departing at 5:30 am, proceed through Lewis Glacier to Point Lenana(4985m) arriving approx. 6:30 am in the morning. After the sunrise, descend down to Mintos Hut for full breakfast. Later descend along the famous Gorges Valley to Chogoria campsite. Dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Chogoria- Nairobi
After breakfast, set on morning journey to chogoria (32km).4WD vehicles are provided but during the bad weather, climbers have to walk some distance as vehicles may not reach the bandas. From Chogoria transport is provided back to Nairobi, arriving late afternoon. | <urn:uuid:521ec562-27db-4dfd-951b-9223c1d1d1bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hirolasafaris.com/tours-a-safaris/climbing-safaris/5-days-mt-kenya-climbing.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931723 | 1,025 | 2.53125 | 3 |
By Frederick Sparks
OK, the title may be a tad hyperbolic, but in 2011, we have seen increased media coverage of black nonbelievers.
Sikivu Hutchinson’s must-read Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics and the Values War was published in February, garnering rave reviews and enhancing the demand for the author as a speaker on the topics of race, feminism, sexual orientation, and politics as brought to bear on the secular movement.
In July, long time black publication Ebony magazine featured a piece by Alix Jules, director of the Fellowship of Freethought in Dallas, TX. Jules emphasized that freethought involves taking full accountability for one’s life.
But the last few weeks saw a rush of articles, starting with a New York Times piece on black nonbelievers in late November. Following the Times article, The Root, an African American focused online magazine conceived by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates and Facebook chairman Donald Graham, commenced a series (to the chagrin of some of their regular readers) on black atheists. And finally, CNN’s religion blog posted a radio interview and accompanying write-up concerning the experience of Black atheists in the American south.
The exposure, incremental though it may be, has an impact. The Black Atheist Facebook group (discussed in the NY Times article) has seen a 25% increase in membership over the past few weeks. And as I noted in a previous post, fictional depictions of black atheists help to normalize the experience of black nonbelievers . It follows that the presentation of real life black atheist experience is even more useful.
But none of this exposure would have taken place without the hard work of many people over the past several years. A well deserved thanks goes to the local group organizers, writers, lecturers, online group organizers and administrators, and others who provide a space for black atheists to connect, share ideas and be active. Let’s keep it going! | <urn:uuid:f4bd3ebb-5df6-447b-863b-ff3d5ded0ad0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freethoughtblogs.com/blackskeptics/2011/12/10/2011-year-of-the-black-atheists/?ak_action=force_mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9333 | 409 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Japan on Thursday logged a record trade deficit for 2012 as exports were hit by a bitter diplomatic spat with its biggest market China and plunging demand in debt-wracked Europe.
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso speaks at a press conference in Tokyo, on Janaury 15, 2013. Japan logged a $7.2 billion trade deficit in December, bringing the total trade gap to a record $78 billion for 2012, official data showed on Thursday.
The gloomy numbers spell more bad news for the world's third-largest economy as it struggles to cement a recovery after the 2011 quake-tsunami -- the worst nuclear crisis in a generation -- and the impact of an export-sapping strong yen.
This article is older than 60 days, which we reserve for our premium members only.You can subscribe to our premium member subscription, here. | <urn:uuid:411d69e5-891d-4c7c-9b12-f21c67931830> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/332410/japan-logs-record-trade-deficit-in-2012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934272 | 173 | 1.515625 | 2 |
The School Law blog reports:
A federal appeals court has rejected a constitutional challenge to a federal law that restricts, and in some cases bars, students with drug convictions from participation in federal college aid programs.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, in St. Louis, ruled in Students for Sensible Drug Policy Foundation v. Spellings that the controversial sanctions do not violate the double-jeopardy clause of the 5th Amendment.
The student group argued that the primary purpose of the law is deterrence of criminal action, so the secondary sanction on those convicted of drug crimes is form of double jeopardy.
But the court noted that, under the law, a student may restore his or her eligibility for federal student aid by completing a drug-rehabilitation program.
"And the section was enacted as part of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, which were primarily designed to increase access to college and make it more affordable," the court said.
Education Week reported in this 2001 story that the Bush administration was taking a strict approach to the law, requiring all applicants for federal student aid to answer a question on aid forms about whether they have ever been convicted of the covered drug offenses. | <urn:uuid:f4a91afd-042a-440d-a0cc-4bbe0f83bf53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mondoglobo.wftk.org/blog/qa/2008/05/federal-appeals-court-says-ok.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969063 | 252 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Glenn Adamson’s anthology, The Craft Reader, is a behemoth. Though filled with a variety of opinions and time periods, it is thoughtfully assembled and includes excerpts which affirm and contrast each other.
Two excerpts from the section of The Craft Reader entitled Craft in Action, Tanya Harrod’s alternate art history, written in 2002, and Lucy Lippard’s treatise on hobby art, written in 1978, go together quite fittingly as critiques of institutions and structural hierarchies of art and craft. Because this excerpt is a condensation of a longer book, I will focus on a few key points of her text. Harrod’s critique is centred on the presentation of art history, what is included and excluded. She suggests that when crafts are included they become a large part of artists’ ouvres and show the whole picture of connections and ideas. Many artists have “crossed the boundaries” into the craft world, making functional pottery, designing and making home decor items in the tradition of William Morris, but their retrospectives exclude this work. One modern redux of a 1910 exhibition at the Tate actually left out ceramic works from the original exhibition, making no mention of them whatsoever. The Tate’s mandate excludes craft, leaving it to institutions that would display craft historically, rather than in a fine art context(Harrod 513). Harrod specifically mentions the use of ceramics by Matisse and Derain, which helped them discover aesthetics they would not have known to use in their painted work. Gaugin, Picasso, and others made pottery as well. By the 1950s, artists’ forays into craft were theoretically derailed by the writings of Clement Greenberg, who suggested that painting was the more noble profession and “rarely goes with furniture”(Harrod 514). Many modernist women, such as Margaret Trahern and Frances Richard, trained as painters but ventured into craft (stained glass and embroidery, respectively), as the field was more welcoming to women. Because their works were made out of “inappropriate and highly specific materials” domestic and made by women, they were largely ignored(Harrod 518).
Lippard comes at the heirarchy slightly differently. Here she discusses hobby craft books, which often include instructions for making things from recycled objects, as well as easy materials for a housewife to obtain – bottlecaps, flowers made from feathers or dried plants, for example(Lippard 484). Different types of hobby craft appeal to different demographics, based on the concept of “good taste” and class structures. These activities are appropriate for their positions as housewives and supporters of their husbands and families as unobtrusive activities. Lippard argues that these instructional leaflets and books appeal to women because they are already marginalized by the art world on basis of quality and derivitiveness, even though many high art objects meeting these criteria can be found in galleries. Lippard argues that these particularly affect women’s art,” and adds that when a man tries a hobby craft, it is often elevated to “high” art or craft(Lippard 486). Though written in 1977, Lippard’s essay does not feel dated1. Perhaps this is due to the unwavering definitions of art practices and art institutions’ desire that the hierarchies within them remain. This is unfortunate, but is worth questioning and fighting against2.
Lippard and Harrod together might suggest that the boundaries between art and craft are largely manufactured and discriminate based on gender and class. Hierarchies of art and craft remain because they benefit the privileged few who run institutions and the artists who fit neatly into the categories within them. Harrod’s essay was slightly difficult to read, being that it was condensed from a larger piece of writing. It would have also been more interesting to read about the woman modernists using craft techniques, but it was subsumed by discussion of the old masters, which almost read as an attempt at proof of hierarchies in which old masters were not even exempt.
1Though hobby books like “Feather Flowers and Arrangements” could be replaced in a rewrite with Pinterest and its endless links to tutorials.
2For a slight update on Lippard’s opinions, this interview with Joe Lewis of Fibre Quarterly is quite informative.
Harrod, Tanya. “House-Trained Objects: Notes Towards Writing an Alternative History of Modern Art.” The Craft Reader. Ed. Glenn Adamson. Oxford: Berg, 2010. 512-524. Print.
Lippard, Lucy. “Making Something From Nothing (Toward a Definition of Women’s “Hobby Art”.” The Craft Reader. Ed. Glenn Adamson. Oxford: Berg, 2010. 483-490. Print.
I have been feeling stuck. So stuck. To make matters worse, my anxious mind is going a mile a minute trying to justify my feelings. It’s an automatic machine that way. It likes to sour things. I have had an amazing response on Tumblr to my work since my interview with Poesie Grenadine. It’s heartening and wonderful. But my mind wonders, why does it seem that people can relate to this body of work but not anything I have made since?1 I made that stuff two years ago, and haven’t stopped making stuff. Paranoia sets in. What if I will never make anything that people can relate to ever again? Am I the proverbial one hit wonder?
Is it consistency? I have been working so hard on that, but sometimes I just can’t force myself. I get terrified that I’ll never be able to make anything else ever again. I’m afraid to be consistent because maybe I’m consistently making something bad. Then I wondered, what do they (viewers, professors, etc) want from me? That is the opposite of a helpful question. A more helpful one, which I will get back to, is what would I be making if I wasn’t in grad school right now?
Sometimes when I get desperate, I look things up on google, even though this technique always brings useless ehow articles on “How to be an artist” or “How to get over artist’s block”(Step 1. Paint! Oh dear.) This time, though, I found this wonderful post on Friendly Anarchist: Artist’s Consistency versus Kicking Ass: On Avoiding a Consistent Body of Work. Here’s the quote that got me:
Of course, the reasons for ignoring the critics are the same as they were before the internet: Trying to be consistent all the time can be to your creativity what’s a tin of bug spray to a cockroach. Fatally killing deadly lethal, that is. Photographer Guy Tal describes the implications of accommodating to the critic’s requirements on his weblog: “A sad consequence of […] narrow-minded criticism is that many would-be multi-talented artists end up crippling their own creative avenues under the dictum that they need “more focus”.”
No wonder I feel stuck! I am trying so hard to please everyone but me, and that freezes my practice, because I don’t want to “waste my time” making something that won’t be successful. That’s when I took the reigns again, told my brain where to go (I do this sometimes, talk to it like it’s some schoolyard bully) and ran into my studio. After glueing some things to other things and doodling a bit, I got back to that question. What would I be making if I wasn’t in grad school? Probably wall-based stitched works, which are what I really enjoy making. So, I decided to make something I’ve always wanted to make, bunting. I don’t care that other people have made bunting. I don’t care if it will please anyone. Whenever a question comes up, I tell my brain where to go. Better to make lots of stuff and pare it down later than to overthink it and make one thing that you’re hoping so hard that people like. Screw that. So I got cutting. 52 triangles later, I was able to start stitching.
This is perfect because my routine lately is readings punctuated by naps or mindless tv. I can do this while I’m watching a movie or something, and I’m so used to having something to do with my hands, that it’s felt weird to just sit down. I don’t want to spoil the text yet, since I’ve just stated the lettering.
Ironically, I’m pretty sure what I end up making when I’m less worried about consistency is more consistent than otherwise.
1 I know this isn’t quite true, but my mind likes to exaggerate when it wants me to feel bad.
I mainly wanted to get it to take a picture of the thing I actually want to take a picture of, since I cheaped out and bought the more finicky Cool shade film. I didn’t have batteries for the flash, and realized quickly that it resulted in too long of an exposure, so the second two photos are braced on the fridge and stove. It’s rainy and dark and the kitchen was the brightest room at the time.
This was a short little experiment that made me feel a little better in the studio department, even though this project will probably be ongoing over the course of a year or longer. I’ve been doing so much reading and writing for my summer elective and thesis proposal that I’m feeling behind with my actual work. Talking about what I am going to make without knowing when I’ll get to is frustrating.
Meyer and Schapiro list fourteen possible criteria for a femmage, seven of which must be present for an object to earn the ‘femmage’ label. 1. The work is by a woman; 2. Saving and collecting are important elements; 3. Recycled scraps are fundamental to the process; 4. The theme has a woman-life context; 5. There is covert imagery; 6. An audience of intimates is addressed; 7. An event is commemorated; 8. The work has a diarist’s point of view; 9. Drawing and/or handwriting are sewn in; 10. Silhouetted images are fixed on other material; 11. Identifiable images form a narrative sequence; 12. Abstract forms produce a pattern; 13. Photographs or other printed matter are included; 14. It is both practical and visually pleasing.
I think this might be my missing piece.
Edited to add: here’s the original Femmage article, scanned by some lovely internet person.
There is nothing like nice glossy prints of your name to make you feel more important.
Alright, now back to work.
Background: I need to do 500 word responses for my summer elective, and I thought, why not make them blog posts? So here they are. Feel free to post a comment!
The two papers I’m discussing are Rosalind Krauss’ Sculpture in the Expanded Field and Eric Scollon’s Craft in the Expanded Field.
1.The Expanded Field
Craft in the Expanded Field is an article by Eric Scollon, loosely based on Rosalind Krauss’ 1979 essay, Sculpture in the Expanded Field. Scollon writes this during a similar “identity crisis” as the one sculpture was enduring when Krauss wrote her seminal paper. Too many things have been labeled “craft”, he says, and new definitions are needed.
Scollon uses a similar diagram as Krauss, replacing the continuum of Landscape and Architecture with Function and Mimesis. I’m not sure how I feel about these diagrams being used to simplify things, as they are a bit confusing to look at, but I do like the idea of Craft (big “C” craft, fine craft, conceptual craft, whatever you want to call it) as existing somewhere in this space between function and representation. Krauss discusses that definition as being an inherent negative; not one thing and not the other, and ameliorates that by making more definitions, but I’m not sure how necessary they are. Krauss expands her field to include marked sites, site construction, axiomatic structures and sculpture. Scollon’s terms include craft, pottery, axiomatic vessel and sculpture. Scollon says it would be simple to replace some of the terms with relevant ones from other media, but I’m not sure. What would I use to separate textiles into a graph, for example? Functional to mimetic? Could there be an axiomatic textile? A work that references an already existing form but isn’t necessarily functional? Maybe most two-dimensional textile works would fall there.
I am more interested in the key attributes that make craft craft, at least according to Scollon. I think this makes a better way to define it than the charts. He explains that whereas craft used to mean made skillfully by hand, it doesn’t necessarily mean that anymore, as people no longer have the time to commit to lifelong training. Scollon argues that it now signifies an activity apart from industry, allowing the hand to be revealed. So I would say that this is a category of “the hand”, or a reference to the hand.
“In fusing the mimetic and the functional, craft objects can exist in the conceptual space of art, while remaining physical facts of the everyday that we can use and interact with. This reframing of the term honours the functional history of the material, while acknowledging the new ways in which the term “craft” is being applied in a contemporary arts context.”
So if the object isn’t functional, it references a functional history. Scollon here references Miriam Schapiro’s Femmage works, paintings that reference textile patterns. They might not technically be craft objects, but they include references to the material, the functional history, and the hand, at least in the traditional process that would be used for that material.
Scollon’s other point is the way that craft can actually be functional but also be conceptual, as in pottery by Ehren Tool; cups that are printed with images of war and pop culture, given away to gallery visitors, reminding them of what they represent on every use. Craft is often described in a purely functional way, but this possibility for concept I think is very under-mentioned. Craft has such a rich history and it’s a very interesting place to explore. Maybe this could be described as an artistic practice rooted in craft.
So the key components of Craft:
- The Hand (or reference to the hand/process)
- The functional history of the material
- Conceptual possibilities that can include function
I am way over the wordcount here, so I’m just going to end with what I think is the most successful part of Scollon’s essay, which is the questions he ends with:
““Is this art?”
Once we move beyond that, by positioning a work within the expanded field, we can address more profound questions, such as: What do people expect from their aesthetic experiences? What does the kind of work we value tell us about our society and our culture? And as we begin to note the relational and social nature of crafted objects, we can consider: What are the implications of aestheticizing the social or trying to socialize in the space of aesthetics? Answering this set of questions will help us better understand how and why these ideas can apply to an engaging art practice.”
So I made quite few posts leading up to the completion of my smocked blanket piece, but then didn’t post any photos of its final form. Oops! I don’t really know what it is. This is my first time smocking, albeit in a very nontraditional way, and it didn’t really turn out how I expected it. I guess I’m putting all this work into something and then tossing it aside. At least for now.
The idea was that it would stretch to cover the body, as an emergency hiding place, but it is just so narrow and does not stretch. I ended up making these drawings which show the intended and unintended results(I think I posted this image earlier, but I don’t have the drawings here at home, so this will have to do.)
During critique, my committee discussed how it should be animated in some way, either by a performance or some kind of mechanical structure. I don’t like either of those ideas, but don’t have any solutions.
What a relief! And this quilt will be mine, oh yes. Of course, I’m also terrified that I won’t be excited about it anymore by the time it arrives. I’m so fickle. (via 1930′s QUILT- Grandma’s Dream–Pastel Colors/White-71×80-CUTTTER BARGAIN | eBay.) | <urn:uuid:afbef10d-519c-457c-bed8-2057cb3e484b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lindsayjoy.ca/author/admin/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956225 | 3,670 | 2.34375 | 2 |
Hi guys, first of all, this isn't an assignment or anything. I know people here are irritable when it comes to help with assignments. This is just something I want to try out for sharpening my skills.
I wanted to know if it is possible to do a word search with C when my knowledge is limited to arrays, multidimensional arrays, strings, arrays of strings and dynamic memory allocation (dynamic multidimensional arrays).
The program I had in mind is, the main function would create an array of strings, and then it would call a search function. The search function would search vertically, horizontally and diagonally through the supplied array and see if a specific word is found.
If someone has some ideas on how to do this, could you give me a general idea on how to get started? I'm having writers block here. Thanks | <urn:uuid:cfeb3442-9b32-4161-9c2a-19626e050697> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cboard.cprogramming.com/c-programming/131668-word-search-using-c.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955555 | 177 | 2.1875 | 2 |
I interviewed popular "Mom Blogger" Jessica Gotlieb, who shared her strong opinions about the YouTube controversy with musical performer Evan Emory and others who behave irresponsibly with online video, and appear to be rewarded for it. Jessica also talks about why parents and communities must get much more involved with digital culture and serve as mentors to the younger generation, if we're to have positive and lasting social change.
For a good number months now, I've been closely following the debate between friends & foes of Evan Emory.
- On one side are the "friends”: Evan's supporters and sympathizers (if not necessarily for Evan himself, then perhaps for the larger societal issues they believe he represents), which has garnered him thousands of "fans" on his multiple Facebook pages.
- On the other side of the debate are the "foes”: Those who consider Evan to be undeserving of the attention he has received from his YouTube video; and also see him as continuing to exploiting that attention for his own career.
Do We Now Need To Talk About Online Video "Taboos?”
The stronger advocates on both sides have made some rather passionate and well-thought arguments when they manage to stick to the issues like free speech versus rights of publicity, and exploiting children. However as the local media websites and social media hangouts has been evident of, many of the posts have been socially irresponsible to a certain level, which seems to compound with the ability to use pseudonyms and hiding one's true identity from the public.
Nevertheless, I made the choice to do my own extended coverage on this story because I believe we still need to have a responsible dialogue around these questions which I think will play an increasingly important part in our society:
- How does the rapid pace of technology and digital culture make us re-assess what is socially irresponsible to do with online media, and to what degree?
- How can we best educate people about their rights and responsibilities with technology (including with online video), and foster a sense of respect for other individuals and communities – both locally and abroad?
Why Even Good People do "Bad" Videos…
From my own long-time experience as an online video professional and enthusiast, I do find that online video is the most common place for where people like to be creative with challenging social taboos, and quickly reach a responsive audience.
I believe with Evan Emory's own case, there is a more specific debate to be had, which is: What is a reasonable level of moral outrage (and punishment) for misappropriating other people's kids with 'adult' content in videos shared online for laughs and creative enjoyment?
Certainly, one of the biggest taboos in our culture is featuring children in inappropriately "adult" situations of a sexual nature, either implied or real. So why do people tackle this big challenge, when there is so much to risk? Because as many of us already know, online video gives one the hope of a big payoff – lots of attention with the potential to go viral, a reputation for being considered edgy and creative by your peers, and maybe even some enterprising opportunities to come from it. But what many digital natives don't seem to realize is how serious the consequences can be. Fail, and you are more likely fail really, really big.
Mixed Messages: Moral Outrage & Rewarding "Bad Videos”
Plus I do think that there is another important point that's been overlooked: The younger generation thinks the older generation are being hypocrites. When you see examples like Tosh.0, Reno 911, and even HBO's critically acclaimed True Blood (where they had their own simulated porn scene involving kids), it's impossible for many of them to stomach criminal charges of child pornography for those submitting a similar-style video on YouTube – which is just what Evan Emory did. After all, if it's really child porn like his town's local prosecutor's office claimed, then it shouldn't matter whether or not parents had to give their consent for it to be OK, should it?
It seems as though the quickest way to get noticed by the public these days is to behave badly. Such behavior oftentimes leads to YouTube and television exposure including one's own TV show or folk hero status. The big question is, why does society reward bad behavior? Does each of us secretly wish we could do the same thing and have such public exposure? " – Steven Mintz, EthicsSage.com
What's gotten a lot of parents angry with Evan Emory, is in their minds, thanks now to YouTube and shows like Tosh.0, the younger generation has been shown that even if you do get punished, you can still have a payoff. With Evan, that's unquestionably led to lots of local media attention, including multiple local radio show visits, local newspaper coverage of his upcoming performance and live variety show, and a club promoter who's advertising the event with a still frame from the "criminal" video. (I myself have been accused by the Muskegon County's prosecutor's office as contributing to the "bad" media attention, although I will argue that I do my best to keep the coverage and arguments balanced.)
Fighting Stereotypes of Digital Culture and Online Video
As I mentioned, many of the stronger attacks I've seen made against Evan Emory are not done with any sense of social responsibility themselves. Most often they are done anonymously, immaturely, and sometimes downright maliciously towards anyone with a difference of opinion. And that I believe just gives fuel to the other side; who can lump in and dismiss these people as completely out-of-touch with digital technology and Internet culture, and the natives who occupy it.
Well, I've interviewed one such person who defeats such a stereotype. Jessica Gotlieb, is popular professional "mom blogger" with nearly 20,000 twitter followers, and who's very actively involved in social media. She also does her own video clips on her blog, and does a weekly video series for mothers at Momversation.com.
I will say right off the bat that Jessica is certainly no fan of Evan Emory's. In fact, she has been very outspoken with me about the news of Evan Emory performing again, after being released from jail and convicted of a felony charge for his YouTube video involving 1st-grade kids in a school classroom.
How outspoken? Well, take for example Jessica's initial response, sent to me via email after she followed my own coverage of the story.… (Language warning!):
"Ummm yeah. Jail. fuck him.. He's not a kid, he's 21 and if I was one of the parents (who's kids were featured in the video) he'd be on a chain gang.
I'm watching [Evan's] "apology" video. I'm seething… he knows how to look at a camera and be sincere to sell tickets... just not to say sorry?
Once again, NOT A KID JUST A FUCK UP. But hey, that's why I'm a mom not a judge.”
Such unbridled mom-rage! I thought I may have finally found someone who could identify with the anger expressed by the parents in Evan's community; and who could also address the issue as both a parent and a "social video professional;" and hopefully, be more likely to be listened to by Evan's supporters and others, who might think that that doing the type of video that he did is either harmless, or not nearly as harmless as others have made it out to be.
A "Momversation" With Jessica Gotlieb on Controversial Social Video with Kids
Jessica, speaking as both a social media professional and as a mom, what concerns do you have with how some online video creators are featuring children in their videos without the parents' full knowledge of the intentions of the video creator, like was the case with Evan Emory's controversial YouTube video?
Well… first off, I'm not speaking as a lawyer. I'm a mom. Look, Evan – he's supposed to be a nice guy, right? But I can tell you if those were my kids (in Evan Emory's video on YouTube), then jail would have been the safest place for him, without a doubt… The reality is that he did a terrible thing. He did the wrong thing… Our children are so precious to us.
Here's what I try to explain to people the way that I see the kids… Moms don't care about anybody as much as they will care about children. Once you're a parent, you cannot see the world any way except for as a parent. Because we hold childhood so safely is why we have these laws with outrageous penalties – as well they should be for people who breach the trust of childhood for sex offenders, for child abusers. They don't fare well in the system because as a society we understand that they are the people that we want to punish. We want them off the street and we don't want them to have access to our children, ever. So keeping that in mind… understanding that parents will never forgive you if you breach the trust when we give you access to our children. We will never help him. It's never funny and it is never forgivable.
Especially when it's your own children featured in someone else's video like that?
Even when it's somebody else's (kids). I mean, I look at [Evan's] video and I'm like yeah, you know what? I'm glad that he's paying a good stiff penalty, I really am. Now I think that 20 years in jail would have been excessive, but what he did was he created a video that made it really okay to do terrible, terrible things to kids. We don't support sex and kids. That's the reality.
It's not about bringing people into a feeling of discomfort. I understand that some people are like, to be funny you have to be a little uncomfortable. But that wasn't a little uncomfortable – that was foul, it was vile! A pedophile would love that. The idea of little kids getting, ahh!! You know, finger in the butt. Not cute, not funny.
Again, it's a terrible breach of the trust of an entire community; he proved to an entire community that he is not to be trusted.
So do you think with individuals like Evan Emory doing this kind of online video – call them genY's, millennials, "digital natives," or whatever – how much of it do you think is about being indifferent to others, versus just being really naïve about the emotional harm they may cause parents over stuff like this?
Well, I'm a digital native myself. Now I'm older than folks who consider themselves to be that; but understand that I don't remember living in a house without a computer, either. I was on the Internet before it had a name. But being digital native doesn't excuse you from learning and accepting responsibility for your own mistakes. I've made my own mistakes, but the problem now is that any mistakes you make online are going to be much more public; and so you really, really have to be more aware. And, you just have to work that much harder because the world can see your mistakes.
And those online mistakes will forever be a part of your permanent record.
It is part of your permanent record. You have to be able to stand behind everything you do [online], and you have to be prepared to pay the price. Sometimes the price will be monetary and sometimes the price will be legal. So be sure about what you're showing and what you're saying. I don't even care frankly if you're 13 years old. If you're 13 years old and you're jumping into YouTube and you're jumping into blogging, you're jumping into an adult space. So get help from an adult because you will be held responsible.
So what is it going to take for people to be in the roles of mentors? Shouldn't parents get more involved? Do we need this type of education over "digital citizenship" in the schools? For example, do we need somebody teaching about how to use social media as part of the curriculum? Do we also need this available more in actual social services, because that's where it seems to really culminate into serious problems?
I gotta say, the parents have to jump in here. I know that parents don't want to and they're like, I don't get it and stuff, but the reality is that they have to. There's a computer lady that comes to my kids school every year; and she comes and talks to them about cyber bullying and Facebook, and blah blah, blah – but that's only for a single day, and the teachers themselves don't really get it. (They're not training the teachers on it, who are there throughout the entire school year with the kids.)
So yeah, it's up to us to do more as a community. There needs to be websites by adults who are willing to mentor that can keep kids out of trouble. Things like [Evan Emory's case] need to be held up for kids and others to see.
I think we need to point out that Evan is now 22 years old, an adult himself. He did his video when he was 21, albeit as a "young adult." But what I'm guessing is that he many not have had these types of social programs when he was growing up and in school, and maybe not at home, either?
So perhaps what I'm getting at is, perhaps a community, shouldn't we also be better about acknowledging contrition, and offering ways for redemption? In other words, shouldn't part of the education be about showcasing when people like Evan are trying to make amends with their community, and try harder to understand what they do as not something entirely devious?
I will say for the most part of what goes on online, it's benign and you can be a jerk. I certainly have been a jerk and it's not really that big of a deal. But we do have lines; and if people cross those lines repeatedly, they will pay consequences. So we all need to have more mindfulness (of what we post online).
And of what those lines are, why they are there, and being able to have open and honest discussions about them? But I think where most of us can already agree on is, don't do anything online that you can't be willing to be fully transparent about, and publicly. Also, don't even do anything in private online that you can't defend in public.
Remember that when you're online you're basically out in public. You don't say something that you wouldn't say standing in the middle of the mall with a megaphone, you know? If you wouldn't stand in the middle of the mall in your underwear, then don't put a picture of yourself in your underwear on the Internet.
About Jessica Gotlieb, Mom Blogger and Video Enthusiast
Jessica Gottlieb is a happily married Mom Blogger in Los Angeles. She has operated businesses in the digital space since the birth of her firstborn 12 years ago. She has found that women connect easily and kindly online, and that community building is simple, and formulaic, but seldom easy.
Jessica enjoys connecting women. Jessica's only agenda is to leave the world a little bit better than she found it, and perhaps a little cleaner too. (Although she has her profane moments! ;) In addition toher own site at JessicaGottlieb.com, she is a featured panelist at Momversation.
Jessica is often featured on Dr. Phil as a mom, and has been quoted in national parenting magazines, Ms., NPR and occasionally at AdAge. Nielson dubbed her "Power Mom" two years in a row, Forbes has put her on lists of women to watch, and the mom blogging community has similarly given her accolades. Most recently she was a guest on Fox and Friends and in a featured segment on the Daily Show with John Stewart. | <urn:uuid:689b40df-028b-4973-9719-5765bcee8171> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reelseo.com/youtube-criminals-outrage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980649 | 3,310 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The United States Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide whether Arizona’s immigration law, SB 1070, violates the U.S. Constitution and interferes with federal law.
Among the provisions being challenged is one that requires Arizona’s police officers to question people they stop about their immigration status. Critics of the bill say that the law leads to racial profiling. Proponents of the bill argue that Arizona is acting to protect its citizens due to the inability of the federal government to do its job curbing illegal immigration.
The Arizona law will be the second high-profile dispute the high court will confront in the Spring of 2012. They have previously stated they will rule on President Obama’s health-care overhaul, his signature piece of legislation.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s consideration of these two hot button issues will create a fire storm leading into the 2012 election making illegal immigration and healthcare the central issues. An election in which the economy should be the main focus.
Latino voters will be thrown into the middle of these discussions and will likely become more motivated to vote. The tone of the immigration debate and how the candidates deal with both issues will significantly impact voter enthusiasm and voter turn out.
The Supreme Court justices themselves will also become a major issue in the 2012 election, as the next President will likely make at least one Supreme Court appointment, given that four of the nine justices are in their 70s.
The Washington Post takes a look at the role of the U.S. Supreme Court cases will have on the election and why it is a major gamble for the Obama White House. In addition to taking up health care and the Arizona immigration law, the court will a review a contentious redistricting situation in Texas. | <urn:uuid:a6909cb6-ad7a-4768-9e1a-ed1f9584e32f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bettinainclan.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/supreme-court-to-hear-arizona-immigration-law-sets-stage-for-2012-election/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962976 | 355 | 1.867188 | 2 |
A new study published Thursday dispels the notion that reef sharks simply swim too far and wide to benefit from marine protected areas. While some shark species do, in fact, swim thousands of miles outside protected areas, other species that focus on reefs do benefit.
They call it "the chum cam." And, for the first time, it's showing that protecting areas of the ocean works not just for fish but for sharks too.
The Stony Brook University study, published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS 1, dispels the notion that reef sharks simply swim too far and wide to benefit from marine protected areas. While some shark species do, in fact, swim thousands of miles outside protected areas, other species that focus on reefs do benefit.
"This could be extrapolated to other species" of sharks, says Demian Chapman, co-author of the study. His team installed the underwater camera that was aimed at a cage full of fish parts to attract sharks to a concentrated area inside a protected area off Belize. Then they moved the "chum cam" to a similar reef area far outside the protected area and found vastly fewer sharks. Indeed, the ecosystem in unprotected areas had essentially collapsed, with fewer sharks, fish and most everything else.
The visual study comes at a time when scientists estimate 70 million sharks are killed each year globally, largely for their fins for soup.
"I believe that the public has really in the last few years have really become aware about the plight of sharks," Chapman says. "I like to say sharks have become the new whales. I think that’s a very true statement. What our study shows is that, in some cases, protecting an area is as good a protecting the sharks within it."
Scientists say we would have more sharks and fish for fishermen to catch and consumers to eat if we protected 20 percent of the sea. Florida protects a fraction of that.
The other way to protect sharks is to ban shark finning, as Florida and other states and nations have. But some conservation groups – including Oceana – want Florida to go a step further and ban the sale, trade or possession of shark fins in any manner, including soup.
Legislation was introduced last year in Tallahassee but did not reach a vote. Oceana is more hopeful this year and is seeking similar legislation up the Eastern seaboard.
When the ocean's top predator declines, the impact cascades downward – reducing the number of lobsters, for example.
Chapman says "people in Florida may be moving in that direction, where they just don’t want any trade in sharks whatsoever." | <urn:uuid:355a7f65-dba8-468e-b585-113920abe385> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Chum-Cam-Study-Shows-Protecting-Areas-of-Ocean-a-Plus-for-Fish-and-Sharks-142014373.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953129 | 543 | 3.546875 | 4 |
Vibration and Dynamics were among the disciplines on which the company was founded. We are proud to continue offering the highest levels of service and quality in both these areas.
Vibration and Dynamics are subsets of the broader field of acoustics, is a branch of physics involving the study of sound - mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids.
The sources of sound and vibration include rail transport, road traffic, excavation and construction equipment, mining blasting and explosives, wind and earthquakes. In general, we study the motions and dynamic forces on humans, building structures, and machinery. By quantifying the motion (e.g. in terms of frequency and amplitude), we can assess the potential impact of vibration on human comfort and the likelihood of damage to structures and machines. Vibration analysis can also be used as a diagnostic tool to identify and replace malfunctioning components of machinery or to isolate and rectify the source of excessive noise emissions.
The study of acoustics and vibration directly influences land use planning, building location and design, transportation systems, mine and quarry operations, industrial processes and major infrastructure construction methods. Heggies has extensive experience in all of these areas.
We have also conducted numerous specialised mechanical vibration analysis projects, including fatigue and failure investigation, hand-arm vibration and whole body vibration (ride quality) as well a wide range of projects involving road, rail and aircraft transport, shipping, and wind engineering. Our skills in finite element modelling, experimental modal analysis and multi-channel vibration monitoring allow us to provide the full range of services to our clients.
Heggies experience has a long history of involvement in mine and quarry noise, industrial noise and demolition and construction noise projects. This strong technical background is supported by our excellent reputation in presenting information during the planning and approvals process, as well as for community consultation and expert witness tasks.
- Planning and Approvals
- Railways and Road Traffic
- Excavation and Construction
- Whole Body Vibration and Ride Quality
- Hand-Arm Vibration and Personal Exposure
- Fatigue and Failure Investigations
- Mining Blasting and Explosives
- Controlled Excavation Blasting
- Machinery Vibration Analysis
- Wind and Earthquakes
- Finite Element Modelling
- Experimental Modal Analysis
This is not an exhaustive list of our areas of expertise in the field of Acoustics. If you would like to find out more about the services we offer in this area, please contact us here. | <urn:uuid:5716cdcc-3bbe-44a7-8c89-bdcb7aef71a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.heggies.com.au/site/AcousticsVibration/StructuralDynamics.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931302 | 511 | 2.3125 | 2 |
This study analyzes the internationalization strategies and the financial management practices of seven Spanish companies with the largest volume of investments in Latin America. The companies selected for an in-depth analysis represent approximately 80 percent of the total Spanish foreign investments during the period of analysis. Their investments have taken place mainly in service sectors such as banking, energy, and telecommunications. The study identifies the market conditions and the corporate strategies that have allowed these Spanish companies to successfully initiate and expand business activities into Latin America. The findings suggest Spanish investors have strengthened their global competitiveness and have accomplished greater financial results.
This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the corporate internationalization strategies and financial management practices implemented by seven Spanish companies to initiate and expand operations into Latin America. Such practices include strategies for domestic or international financing, international capital budgeting and risk management for exposures such as foreign exchange risk, credit risk, institutional and country risks. All companies analyzed in this study had limited international experience before engaging in foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Latin America. Therefore, this study provides insights on the formation of Spanish multinational enterprises (MNEs).
Previous studies of corporate internationalization strategies suggest that the analysis of success factors should be centered on the capacity of companies to exploit their knowledge and capabilities in new markets more than on factors such as their operational cost and/or efficiency (Dunning, 1977; Johansson and Vahlme, 1977; Caves, 1982, 1985; and Madhock, 1998). In fact, when companies expand into international markets they strategically use their knowledge and capabilities in the development of those new markets. The understanding of successful internationalization strategies is of interest to researchers and corporate executives alike.
This study begins by analyzing the universe of Spanish foreign direct investments into Latin America. We utilize Spanish investors' records obtained from Standard & Poor's Research Insight. Subsequently, to analyze corporate internationalization strategies and financial management practices we collect primary data through personal interviews with financial executives of the Spanish companies with the largest volume of foreign direct investments in Latin America. In effect, seven Spanish companies were selected for an in-depth analysis. These companies represent approximately 80 percent of the total Spanish foreign investments during the period of analysis.
This study identifies the antecedents and factors that explain the internationalization of premier Spanish companies in Latin America. Evaluating the competitive advantages, risk factors, and management practices associated with such Spanish investments in Latin America, the study analyzes the seven Spanish companies' strategies associated with corporate decision-making in areas such as financing and investment.
The results suggest that the selected Spanish companies with foreign direct investments in Latin America have been successful. The survey respondents indicate that their investments have strengthened their global competitiveness and have generated the expected financial results. Nevertheless, as the 1999 crisis in Argentina occurred, it became evident that economic volatility, political instability, institutional fragility and consequently, a high level of uncertainty within these emerging economies, have conditioned the investment strategies forcing the Spanish companies under study to periodically adjust their financial practices (Cardoza et al., 2007; Fornes and Cardoza, 2008).
The following sections of this study present a theoretical background regarding the internationalization of corporations, a synthesis of economic development and foreign direct investment in Latin America, a description of the research methodology, a discussion of results and finally some concluding remarks.
2. Theoretical Framework for the Internationalization of Corporations
In his seminal work on internationalization, Hymer (1960) defines, for the first time, the term of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as the financial operation that does not entail the change of the proprietor of the transferred goods and that goes accompanied with technology flows and know-how. This author introduces in addition the concepts of ownership advantages and internalization that later are retaken in the internationalization theories (Dunning, 1992). Particularly, the theory of internalization proposes that companies internalize value-generating operations beyond their country borders based on the strategic advantages anticipated for their growth (Buckley and Casson, 1976; Helpman, 1984). These processes are materialized through the FDI and they contribute to the creation of value for the company if the benefits of using its intangible assets in a foreign market are greater than the costs of opening, coordinating and operating a branch (Mork and Yeung, 1992; Dunning, 1992).
Another theoretical framework used to explain internationalization processes, particularly in the selection of the entry mode to a new market, is the transaction cost1 theory (Coase, 1937; Williamson, 1985). According to this theory, the decision to enter into a foreign market entails acquisition costs, costs of the necessary information and resources as well as the costs of managing uncertainty and distrust. On the other hand, the resource-based view of the firm (Wernerfelt, 1984; Barney, 1991) approaches the relationship between the tangible and intangible2 resources, the strategy and the company results. This theory has been used in the internationalization studies (Buckley and Casson, 1976; Dunning, 1988, 1993) which suggests that building competitive advantages depends mainly on getting or developing high-value-added resources that are difficult to imitate. The acquisition of these resources can be achieved through international alliances, mergers and acquisitions, or by FDIs.
Nevertheless, agency theory suggests that the lack of trust between parties explains the determination of contracts in internationalization processes through strategies such as alliances, acquisitions, or mergers (Bergen, Dutta, and Walker, 1992). The lack of confidence and the uncertainty present in all internationalization processes are derived from the fact that the parties involved in an international transaction are primarily motivated by their own interests and are ready to assume different risks.
The eclectic theory provides another conceptual development for internationalization processes. In particular, this theory as proposed by Dunning (1988) focuses on the selection of mode of entry into a new market. This theory merges the approaches proposed in the theories of resources and capacities, internalization, and transaction costs and suggests that the success of internationalization depends on creating and taking advantage of ownership, location and internalization3.
Finally, the Uppsala model (Johanson and Vahlme, 1977, 1990) suggests that due to the risks associated with internationalization processes, corporate executives have the tendency to focus their internationalization efforts initially in "psychologically" closer markets. They may be more comfortable because they better understand the culture, or simply because they have greater knowledge and experience in these markets.
3. Economic Development and Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in Latin America
Latin American countries have sought external savings to finance their industrialization process, which allows them to obtain greater levels of economic development. In fact, the low level of local savings in Latin American countries represents one of the major obstacles for economic development in the region. The problem is circular: the savings … | <urn:uuid:c06d6ee8-199f-469d-8603-19e7c5e084cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-221205245/spanish-foreign-direct-investments-in-latin-america | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939275 | 1,389 | 1.851563 | 2 |
So far, we've examined enhancements and features added to NetBeans 6 mainly for the code editor and tools support. There are numerous important enhancements made throughout the rest of NetBeans that are worth reviewing.
NetBeans Project Improvements
For instance, NetBeans project support has been greatly enhanced with the ability to maintain multiple configurations per project. Each configuration is easily selectable via a drop-down combobox on the main toolbar for convenience (see Figure 9). With this feature, you can easily create multiple runtime configurations, such as those that stress your application in different ways, take different command-line parameters, and so on. Having the ability to define a default configuration, and quickly switch between others, will prove to be a valuable addition.
Other project-related improvements include the ability to create project groups, regardless of dependencies. With NetBeans 6, you can group projects any way you please.
NetBeans Local History
The addition of a local history of source code changes is significant, in my opinion. Although NetBeans supports many different source-code control systems, such as CVS, Subversion, and others like Perforce that provide appropriate plug-ins, there is a common usage scenario that these systems dont address well. In my experience, most development organizations maintain a "don't-break-the-build" policy where the rule is to never check code back into the main repository unless it compiles and has been unit tested. There is good reason for this: most organizations perform regular (sometimes daily) builds to deploy and test.
However, the problem with this approach is that some developers end up with code modules checked out for days or longer as they implement and unit test their new code. Since they're not checking in their code (for good reason) they run the risk of losing the code, or losing changes, through something as simple as a file overwrite. They also lose the ability to look back in time at previous local changes. NetBeans 6 provides a solution to this -- Local History.
As you make changes to a file and save them, NetBeans tracks them and creates a revision history complete with deltas maintained by date and time. Under the NetBeans main Versioning menu is a new choice called Local History. When chosen, a history list view is displayed for the selected file along with the differences between the current state of the file, and the revision of the file chosen in the list (see Figure 10).
While this feature doesn't replace the need for a full-featured source-code control system such as Subversion, it does fill in the void left when you make changes locally over the course of a number of days (by default, seven days worth of changes).
Easy JavaDoc Creation
JavaDocs can be created for you, as you type, or by hitting CTRL-Enter on a line of code. You can also generate JavaDocs for a complete class simply by selecting the Generate JavaDoc for
The resulting JavaDoc is clean and professional looking, and is a snap to generate. You no longer have any excuses not to include full JavaDocs with your code!
Web Services and Database Support
NetBeans 6 includes support for JSR 311, which standardizes REST-based web service development and deployment. A fully compliant JSR 311 plug-in is available to help you build lighter-weight, REST-based web services with Java and XML. Also included is a graphical SOAP-based web service designer tool.
Another requested feature addressed in this release is the addition of GUI-based database query designer. Remember Microsoft Access? Although the database itself wasn't perfect, its graphical query designer made database development and relationship mapping a snap. NetBeans 6 brings the power of the query design GUI to enterprise database development.
With this release, NetBeans 6 is now in parity with Java Studio Creator in terms of Java UI and Ajax development. In fact, you can expect to see more of a convergence of NetBeans with Studio Creator and Studio Enterprise in the future. Even Sun Studio, Sun's C/C++/Fortran development IDE and toolset, uses the NetBeans IDE for its development environment, and will reuse the NetBeans installation options when you install it.
This level of integration across all of Sun's development tools and IDEs is unprecedented. When you combine the tool and language support, the license offerings (CDDL, and GPL v2 plus the CLASSPATH exception), the supported operating systems (Solaris, Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows), and other available developer applications (such as OpenSolaris, MySQL, and PostgreSQL), Sun offers the largest degree of choice and flexibility for all types of development when compared with competing offerings. | <urn:uuid:09fb9042-1704-42f8-bd92-17b2155d6d92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drdobbs.com/architecture-and-design/netbeans-60-a-first-look/205918099?pgno=4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921193 | 978 | 1.617188 | 2 |
President Obama Signs New Directive to Strengthen our Work to Advance Gender Equality Worldwide
January 30, 2013
10:50 PM EDT
President Obama knows that promoting gender equality and empowering women and girls at home and abroad is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do, as Secretary Clinton has famously said. A growing body of evidence — and our own experience — shows us that families, communities and countries are more prosperous and secure when, as President Obama said this month, “you unleash the power of everyone, not just some”. That’s why we’ve taken steps to achieve that simple and profound goal, from establishing the White House Council on Women and Girls, to launching a multilateral initiative to expand women’s political and economic participation, to developing a new strategy to prevent and respond to violence against women, to implementing a national action plan to promote the inclusion of women in conflict resolution and peace processes, to focusing on women and girls for greater impact in our global health and food security initiatives.
And Secretary Clinton’s leadership in integrating the advancement of women and girls into U.S. foreign policy has been indispensable. With the tireless assistance of our first-ever Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues, Melanne Verveer, she has elevated these issues in our diplomacy and ensured progress for women and societies for generations to come.
Today, President Obama took a critical step to institutionalize all these efforts by signing a Presidential Memorandum to strengthen and expand U.S. government capacity and coordination across all agencies to better promote gender equality and empower women and girls. In the Memorandum, President Obama reaffirmed that “promoting gender equality and advancing the status of all women and girls around the world remains one of the greatest unmet challenges of our time, and one that is vital to achieving our overall foreign policy objectives.”
President Obama recognizes that in order to translate our commitment into impact we need dedicated professionals with the expertise and stature to lead our efforts and hold us accountable, which is why the Memorandum directs the Secretary of State to designate an Ambassador at Large reporting directly to the Secretary to head the office of Global Women’s Issues.
Secretary-designate Kerry is equally committed to ensuring the continued elevation of these issues at State. He welcomed today’s news, saying, “In the Senate I've made promoting the rights of women and girls a priority, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because societies that empower the talents of their entire populations are more stable and more prosperous. It's why we created a sub-committee in the Foreign Relations Committee to specialize on these issues and give it the attention it deserves. Last week at my confirmation hearing, I spoke with Sen. Boxer about the importance of maintaining the momentum Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Melanne Verveer have built through their innovative office and laser-like focus. I applaud the President for institutionalizing these efforts and ensuring these issues continue to receive the high-level attention they deserve at the State Department, at USAID, and across the U.S. government.”
President Obama’s Memorandum also affirms the critical linkages between gender equality and our broader development goals, and ensures that the Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will continue to play a prominent role in advising the USAID Administrator on key priorities for U.S. development assistance. Finally, the Memorandum establishes an interagency working group on international gender issues, chaired by the National Security Advisor, which will provide strategic guidance, promote government-wide coordination, and spur new action across agencies from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to Peace Corps to the Department of Health and Human Services.
As we move forward, we are grateful for the continued leadership and unwavering commitment of champions in Congress and so many advocates inside and outside governments the world over who are advancing a future in which the dreams of our daughters and sons are equally within reach. Together, building on decades-long movements for equality, we have made tremendous strides over the last four years. And as long as women and girls continue to suffer violence daily, are barred from owning land or running for office, are kept from schools and vital health services, and are unable to access credit and skills to run businesses and earn a living, our work will continue with increasing urgency.
Valerie Jarrett is a Senior Advisor to the President and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls.
Samantha Power is the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at the National Security Council. | <urn:uuid:c720a357-bf84-45fa-b2ba-d3f63ae9e1a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/01/30/president-obama-signs-new-directive-strengthen-our-work-advance-gender-equality-worl | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945718 | 964 | 1.851563 | 2 |
by Seattle Jon (bio)
Wallace Stegner was an American historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist, often called "The Dean of Western Writers." He was also a fervent Mormon booster, writing two affectionate books (Mormon Country
and The Gathering of Zion) about the Mormons, primarily inspired by the friendship he experienced as a non-Mormon growing up in Salt Lake City. The quotes below are from The Big Rock Candy Mountain, a book I recently started and finished on the beaches of Mexico.
"People, he had said, were always being looked at as points, and they ought to be looked at as lines. There weren't any points, it was false to assume that a person ever was anything. He was always becoming something, always changing, always continuous and moving, like the wiggly line on a machine used to measure earthquake shocks. He was always what he was in the beginning, but never quite exactly what he was; he moved along a line dictated by his heritage and his environment, but he was subject to every sort of variation within the narrow limits of his capabilities."
"I suppose that the understanding of any person is an exercise in genealogy. A man is not a static organism to be taken apart and analyzed and classified. A man is movement, motion, a continuum. There is no beginning to him. He runs through his ancestors, and the only beginning is the primal beginning of the single cell in the slime. The proper study of mankind is man, but man is an endless curve on the eternal graph paper, and who can see the whole curve?" | <urn:uuid:228345ff-0b53-4f45-b8bc-1f3b87dfd10e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.modernmormonmen.com/2012/04/mmm-quotes-7-big-rock-candy-mountain.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989351 | 331 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Shortly after the Second World War, the Newberry began collecting European military history. When the noted Renaissance historian Hans Baron joined the Newberry staff in 1951, he was charged with evaluating these collections and expanding them, of particular interest were matters of military tactics and military architecture. In early modern Europe, military architecture stood at the crossroads of several disciplines. The hard science of mathematics was essential to creating defensive works that could hold out against powerful siege machinery. This exhibit outlines the connections between politics and mathematics, as well as the campaigns of Louis XIV in maps, plans and images.
The exhibition was on view at the Newberry from August 13 to October 29, 2011. | <urn:uuid:3802d94d-685b-4706-85d6-81dd80198e1a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newberry.org/ballistics-and-politics-military-architecture-books-newberry-0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982269 | 134 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Accredited colleges and universities located in Hawaii educate students from around the world. Because of the gorgeous landscapes, attending a postsecondary school in Hawaii may be an experience college students don’t soon forget. As the cost of living on the islands can be expensive, students are encouraged to apply for scholarships, grants, fellowships and other forms of financial aid before relocating to the state to earn undergraduate and/or graduate degrees. Some of Hawaii’s major accredited colleges and universities, offering two and/or four-year degrees include:
Hawaii is the 50th state, joining the statehood on August 21, 1959. Its capital city is Honolulu, location of famous white sandy beaches. Nicknamed the “Aloha State” and comprised of eight islands, Hawaii is a metropolis of culture, taste and exploration. Surfers and business leaders alike can enjoy visiting, living on and attending top accredited colleges and universities in Hawaii. The state’s eight islands are Hawaii, also referred to as the “Big Island,” Maui, Oahu (where Honolulu is located), Lanai, Kauai, Niihau, Kahoolawe and Molokai. Besides English, Polynesian languages are spoken on Hawaii’s islands. Several United States military bases are located on the islands, particularly Oahu. Travel to and from the islands is relatively easy using small commuter airplanes or larger aircraft at the Honolulu International Airport and other smaller, local airports. Amongst one of the most heavily visited states in America, Hawaii’s islands are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. The state is known for its delicious, authentic food dishes, moderate climate, breathtaking landscapes, tourism, military history, volcanoes and retail industries.
For-profit colleges and universities also offer two and four-year undergraduate and graduate degrees in Hawaii. Some of the postsecondary schools like Argosy University and Remington College have local campuses in Hawaii, while other for-profit colleges and universities focus on providing distance learning programs to college students in Hawaii. College students looking to enroll in for-profit colleges in Hawaii can visit:
Hawaii has been viewed by many people as one of the most beautiful places on earth. Its shores and beaches alone offer enough activities to keep college and university students busy for hours. However, students can also enjoy attending collegiate athletic events that teams like the University of Hawaii Wahine and Warriors compete in. Furthermore, California is a short airplane flight from the island of Oahu, giving college students the chance to attend sporting events in major cities like Los Angeles where teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Sparks compete.
Furthermore and after they graduate from Hawaii colleges and universities, students can apply for jobs with the state’s major employers, amongst which include:
Participating in internships and work/study programs while attending colleges and universities is an effective step Hawaii college students can take to connect with prospective hiring managers who work for major employers and other public and privately owned organizations in the state. College students can also increase their chances of getting hired by attending career fairs while they’re in college. | <urn:uuid:ef94aaed-3853-4a3e-8ec8-81734a775ea4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.college.com/states/hawaii/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956654 | 638 | 1.976563 | 2 |