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I love the newsroom, both in real life and the movies. I remember my wire service days, ripping copy line by line from a manual typewriter to get it quickly to the slot man. I spent many exhilarating nights at The New York Times, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal editing breaking stories on deadline. And nothing was crazier than my stint in a tabloid TV newsroom.
An original “one sheet” movie poster of “All the President’s Men’’ hangs in my office. To this day, the final scene in The Washington Post newsroom makes me quiver. With power, authority and trust, a Teletype machine swiftly bangs out, one keystroke at a time: “Nixon Resigns. Gerald Ford to become 38th President at noon today.”
All those glorious newsroom days are gone—forever. The rapid transition to a digital news world challenges every journalistic structure, process and delivery system that served the public interest so well for so long. Bold ideas for news organizations once came from Henry Luce, Bill Paley, and Ted Turner. Today, the once invincible media elite appear paralyzed, left sheepishly to ask, “Who’s going to produce the news if we don’t?”
Well, everyone is—old brands, new brands, Twitter, Flickr, anyone with a digital device.
Media extinction comes slowly. Newspapers and magazines, television and radio news are here for years to come. But innovative, ambitious organizations will emerge with vastly different concepts for lower-cost newsrooms and content generation. They will dramatically redefine long-standing relationships between content creators, the audience—and marketers, too. To engage passionate news consumers, news operations must unite the values and standards of journalism with the dynamics of the Web and the connective power of social media.
News of the moment, contributor perspective, and social media come together on the True/Slant homepage.
Editing Talent, Not Words
, an original content news network, is building the “newsroom of the future.” There are two key components: individually branded content contributors, all linked to one another but really working for themselves, and editors who focus on editing talent, not copy. The result: a news experience and publishing environment shared with the audience that upends both traditional journalism models and more recent digital news experiments.
At its core, the True/Slant news experience is built on knowledge, transparency, authenticity and intimacy. These attributes are vital in a news world that appears split in half: traditional brands on one side, struggling with notions of objectivity and monolithic voice, and upstart digital entrants on the other, careening toward passion-fueled bias in the spirit of openness. True/Slant is honest about its adherence both to truth and slant. It’s a place for diverse multiple viewpoints and for marketers to engage in new ways with passionate news consumers.
It all begins with consumers trying to cope with the flood of news—and confused by whom and what to trust. True/Slant believes consumers want their news created and filtered by credible individuals with topic-specific knowledge. They want a freeflowing news stream, untouched by top-down editorial decision-making. They want a chance to be heard directly alongside those bringing them the news.
Enter the entrepreneurial journalist. These are credible content contributors who provide information, perspective and insight on targeted news topics. At True/Slant, this person can be a journalist, blogger, author, expert or academic, and each is carefully selected by our newsroom’s editors, who discuss ideas and work with them to market their content across the Web using custom-designed “playbooks.” Our newsroom is not a journalism bureaucracy that assigns stories, line edits, copyedits or acts as a gatekeeper. True/Slant editors are facilitators, not gatekeepers. Free to publish information as they see fit, entrepreneurial journalists write for the audience, not the editor. Their flow of content is timely, transparent, expert and passionate.
, a former CNN anchor, brings his aviation and space expertise to his True/Slant audience. F. Paul Wilson
, a best-selling author and physician, examines scientific and health-care myths for his followers. Ryan Sager
, a newspaper columnist, explores neuroscience. Jennifer Kirk
, a former World Junior Champion figure skater, exposes the inner workings of that elite sport.
True/Slant has nearly 200 contributors. Rather than a static employer/worker model, True/Slant contributors can determine the financial arrangement that best suits them. Options include monthly stipends and incentive plans based on audience growth for their content. Some contributors have been granted equity in True/Slant.
In effect, each contributor is a brand of one, with a unique voice, strong perspective, and an audience drawn to what they publish. As the owners of their brand, they can act as CEO, publisher or content creator. It’s their choice. True/Slant holds no exclusivity in what they do. In fact, our model is built on the idea that an entrepreneurial journalist has a multifaceted career. O’Brien writes and produces video for other Web sites; Wilson writes books and treats patients; Sager writes a New York Post column; Kirk is a student at UCLA.
As an entrepreneurial journalist, True/Slant contributor Elie Mystal publishes under his own name and brand. He, along with almost 200 other True/Slant contributors, uses social media to help build an audience around his specific area of expertise.
Creating a Digital Home
On True/Slant, contributors anchor, consolidate and build their digital home. Social media is one of its cornerstones. From this home, they produce original content on True/Slant, but they also promote and link to work they do elsewhere via the easy-to-use self-publishing and social media tools that we provide. They blend their perspective and reporting with content they curate—creating links to online words and video—and with commentary they encourage their audience to produce. And because entrepreneurial journalists need to understand their audience and their business, when they log on to our platform they get important real-time data: unique visitors, page views, blogs and sites pointing to their content, and new user comments.
The True/Slant news user and the contributor form a bond through social media. Contributor content is followed, accepted, rejected and corrected by the audience. Those who write for True/Slant share their daily news consumption with their audience, and they manage conversations and market themselves virally online through Twitter, Facebook, reddit, Digg and ties they have with blogs and Web sites.
On our site, contributor and audience-generated content is commingled, enabling contributors and users to interact within a network—a sort of news democracy—that encourages cross-talk among contributors and readers and participation across contributor communities.
This type of collaborative dialogue opens the door to unique opportunities for advertisers looking for more effective ways to engage with news audiences. Yes, advertisers can buy display advertising on True/Slant, but marketers can also speak with True/Slant consumers through the T/S Ad Slant. With this option, a marketer can publish content to their own page using the same tools as contributors. Clearly labeled as advertising, this content is contextually integrated throughout the site, enabling marketers to participate in news related to them and the social news conversation. All along the way, the integrity of the news process remains intact.
For me, True/Slant is an idea 35 years in the making. I do miss those newsrooms with all the grizzled journalists who loved what they did and who taught me so much. But news can now be so much more than it was. True/Slant brings fresh thinking to an industry that is reeling. I can’t imagine anything more exciting than helping lead the news business into the future.
True/Slant provides a continuous live stream of activity across the network, blending new posts, contributor comments, called-out user comments, and active conversations.
Lewis DVorkin is the founder and CEO of True/Slant. He was a senior vice president at America Online in charge of news, sports and network programming and helped launch TMZ.com. He held top editing positions at The New York Times, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. | <urn:uuid:da7fe46c-452b-45f9-8f37-4d465868c845> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=101890 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93951 | 1,744 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Underwater Mortgage Relief
More homeowners who are underwater on their mortgage should be eligible now to refinance through the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) as a result of changes to the program announced today.
Introduced in 2009, HARP aims to help people who have been unable to refinance because they owe more on their home than it's worth. However, homeowners whose mortgage exceeded 125% of their home's market value were ineligible for the program -- but that's changed. The loan-to-value cap has been lifted.
Other program changes announced October 24 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency include the following:
-- Elimination of certain risk-based fees for borrowers who refinance into shorter-term mortgages
-- Elimination of the need for a new property appraisal when there is a reliable automated valuation model estimate by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
-- Extension of the program until December 31, 2013 (from June 30, 2012)
To be eligible, homeowners must have a mortgage owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (look up your loan) and must be current on their mortgage payments. For more information, see the Federal Housing Finance Agency's HARP fact sheet. | <urn:uuid:1999b2a1-e19e-4cd9-9e6f-75bc7c9ea33b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://kiplinger.com/article/real-estate/T040-C011-S001-underwater-mortgage-relief.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968212 | 242 | 1.757813 | 2 |
IT IS SO MUCH MORE than some cobbled-together anniversary hovel. As a floor plan for endless exploration, it is the Haus That “Maus” Built.
Today, Art Spiegelman delivers “MetaMaus” (Pantheon), a book and DVD package that not only marks the 25th birthday of the cartoonist’s landmark Holocaust tale “Maus”; it also offers a tour of the intellectual architecture and creative framework for what remains one of the world’s great graphic narratives.
Pick any page and gaze. The windows into these stories about the story are to be found at every turn, filling the space with insightful light.
The first volume of “Maus: A Survivor’s Tale,” of course, altered the literary landscape upon its 1986 release (the second volume would land five years later). Suddenly, in a single word, even the oh-so-casual comics fan had a reference to understand the sober storytelling power of the “graphic novel,” of sequential art, in a way that not even the name “Eisner” quite elicited among the non-cognoscenti.
Born of a mere three-page underground comic in 1972, Spiegelman’s 13-year project is threaded through the intertwined narrative of a genetic double-helix: The cartoonist’s father, Vladek, recounts the family’s Holocaust history in interviews with Art, who himself shares stories of his contemporary family life in New York. All this is illustrated through the masks of anthropomorphism, as Nazi cats trap and exterminate the Jewish mice.
In 1992, “Maus” received the Pulitzer Prize and Spiegelman’s fame grew further. The cartoonist approached all his new celebrity with a certain ambivalence — “ ‘Maus’ was my giant cross, something I was both proud of and wished would go away,” he says — but he also knew that creatively, he could throw himself into other projects.
Until last September, that is. About four years after he agreed to do an anniversary book, he says he found himself working seven days a week on “MetaMaus” — aided by English professor and interviewer Hillary Chute — in order to hit his birthday-book deadline.
So just how difficult was it to birth this exhaustive book?
“It was a pretty hard labor,” Spiegelman tells Comic Riffs on Monday. ”I’m still suffering the stretch marks.”
“It was harrowing — even just trying to communicate with our Chinese printers ... ,” continues the cartoonist, while praising the work at Random House. “We kept trying to figure our how things were going wrong, and trying to get them reeled back in was a nightmare. Then someone said it was because it was the Year of the Rabbit. I was told that means many women in China are either pregnant, experiencing morning sickness or are on maternity leave.”
Yet that wasn’t all that pained Spiegelman while delivering this brainchild.
“For the first month or so, I was crying,” Spiegelman, 63, says of returning to the “Maus” hole. “I was devastated by the material — at having to climb back in. ...
“I’m not metaphoring — I was crying, because [revisiting] ‘Maus’ meant having to develop the emotional calluses again to move forward. My skin had gotten smooth again since 1991. ... It was like toughening-up to walk again over the hot coals.”
Spiegelman says he was blind-sided by the degree to which returning to the material — the thousands of sketches and photos and stories — affected him.
“I thought I had assimilated all this in a way,” the author tells Comic Riffs. “But reading about death camps is hard. Looking at your dead parents is hard.”
Plus, says the artist of “Breakdowns” and Wacky Packages and iconic New Yorker covers et al.: “One work dominates what I have done, so ... I really tried to make this worthy of the task. Whatever else, it’s a lot better than just an ‘anniversary book.’ “
CLICK BELOW TO CONTINUE READING
ART SPIEGELMAN: Cartoonist reacts to winning grand prize at Angoulême
Spiegelman says the decision to have the book be definitive was pivotal. “ ‘Because you’re not going to outrun this [project],’ I thought, ‘Turn and look the damned rodent in the eye.’ ”
Another key decision was to include the DVD, which features not only a digital copy of “Maus” but also thousands of “sketches...photos...dream journals...almost nothing redacted,” the artist says.
In the ‘90s, a CD-ROM of “Maus” was made — yet given the high-speed rate of technological change, Spiegelman says, “by the year 2000, it might as well have been written in Aramaic.”
Now, he says, the DVD component gives “a really good look under the hood of ’Maus.’ “
“There will never be a ‘Maus 3,’ “ Spiegelman says. “So with words and pictures ... I tried with rigor to create a new book that has honesty and emotional resonance.” | <urn:uuid:c9d373f6-ec34-4129-9960-746f619829cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/metamaus-maus-creator-art-spiegelman-reveals-emotional-journey-to-todays-25th-anniversary-book/2011/10/03/gIQARhyIKL_blog.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965133 | 1,190 | 1.882813 | 2 |
If you know you're not very fit – and some days you only walk from home to your car to your desk and back – then exercise advice can feel overwhelming.
After all, most of the books and blogs and podcasts about exercise are produced by keep-fit types. Thin, muscular, glowing with good health...
...and kinda annoying.
I know they don't mean to be. They're just sharing what they know and love. But the problem is, if you're a coach potato, it's easy to feel judged. And, it's easy to give up before you've even begun. You don't want to spend hours every week in the gym. You don't want a body like a magazine cover model.
You just want to feel comfortable in your own skin. You want to be able to run for the bus, or walk up stairs without getting breathless. You want to be a bit healthier, and a bit more energetic.
The truth is, you don't need to be a health nut and go all-out in exercising fanatically. It doesn't take much to go from couch potato to reasonable fitness. Here's how:
Start Really Small
The worst thing you can do when starting out is to get over ambitious. You're either going to injure yourself, or get exhausted and give up.
Even a tiny amount of exercise is vastly better than none. You might not be able to jog for half an hour – but perhaps you can run on the spot for five minutes. The thought of going to the gym might be enough to put you off "exercise" – but you could face taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
And yes, these little steps might not get you up to recommended exercise levels (around 30 minutes of moderate exercise, five times a week). But they're a start – and that's what matters.
Try Walking: Easy, Free, Painless
One of the best forms of exercise is incredibly simple: walking.
It's free. It's easy – you don't need any special kit or equipment, just comfortable clothes and shoes. If you have joint problems, you'll need to be careful and perhaps get medical advice – but for most of us, walking is painless.
Can you fit more walking into this week? How about setting a goal to walk for just fifteen minutes each day?
Make Your Daily Routine Work for You
You probably don't have a very active job. Most of us sit at a desk all day at work, and sit on a couch or at a computer when we get home in the evenings. And we tend to drive everywhere, too.
If you're struggling to find the time to exercise, see what activity you can fit into your day. You might be able to cycle to work, or walk part of the distance. Perhaps you can get out of the office for a walk at lunch time, instead of staying at your desk.
Most of us don't want to spend hours each day in the gym. But exercise doesn't have to take up a huge chunk of time. By fitting activity into your day, it becomes almost automatic – rather than something which takes a ton of will-power.
Don't Treat Exercise as a Chore
Some exercise advice focuses on constantly being better, leaner, meaner, relentlessly self-disciplined and pushing yourself harder and harder. And that can be a real turn-off, especially when you're just starting out.
Exercise isn't a job or a chore. It's perfectly OK to enjoy it! If you don't like a particular form of exercise, don't do it; I hate jogging, for instance. Find something which you like, and look for ways to make it even more enjoyable ... like buying headphones so you can listen to your own music in the gym, or playing a game with a friend instead of working out alone.
It's Never Too Late
Even if you've been unfit for years or decades, even if you've already got health problems due to your lack of fitness, it is never too late to change things. Of course, consult your doctor if you know that exercise could be problematic for you – but don't assume that there's nothing you can do.
Don't be put off by exercise nuts. It's perfectly possible to be fit, healthy and happy without spending hours working out. Take small steps. Get started today and, you never know, you might just find you enjoy it. | <urn:uuid:5bccf08f-577e-48bd-9257-a4e1034e8268> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dumblittleman.com/2010/09/how-to-get-fit-when-youre-couch-potato.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972156 | 917 | 1.875 | 2 |
Professor Elliot Engel returns to perform at the Ashe Arts Center 7:30 p.m. Friday March 15 for an evening of humor, literature, and enlightening entertainment.
Engel’s performance will be The Brilliant and Bizarre Bronte Sisters.
The daughters of an Irish clergyman, the Bronte sisters constituted one the of world’s most famous literary families. The Bronte family was very private, and many stories and myths surrounding them only served to make their literary efforts more famous.
Engel puts his twist on the long, somewhat strange lives of the three sisters.
Dr. Engel had published sevens books in both England and the United States. Many of his articles have appeared in national magazines, including Newsweek.
Dr. Engel has written three plays, which have been produced during the last five-years. PBS Television stations around the country aired his mini-lecture series on his favorite author and literary hero, Charles Dickens.
Originally from Indianapolis, Dr. Engel now resides in Raleigh, N.C., where he has taught courses at N.C. State University, University of North Carolina and Duke University. With 260 lectures a year covering over 50 literary topics, Dr. Engel speaks to a wide variety of audiences ranging from 1200 people at town hall meetings to small classrooms of ten eager students.
Dr. Engel’s presentations are fast-paced, fascinating, and full of information. His previous programs on Dickens, Twain, Shakespeare, and The History and Mystery of Wine were standing-room-only crowds.
Reserve your tickets now. Tickets are $12.00 for adults and $5 for students, and are available in advance at the Arts Center or by calling 336.846-ARTS. | <urn:uuid:17e4badd-1ddf-47fa-b92d-17a5d09d0f61> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jeffersonpost.com/view/full_story_myown/21960290/article-Dr--Elliot-Engel-returns-to-Ashe-Arts-Center | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966416 | 356 | 1.625 | 2 |
Haganah ('The Defense') 1936
...the revolt of the Palestinian Arab masses in 1936 made Berlin re-think the implications of their pro-Zionist policies. Intense unrest had been aroused in October 1935 by the discovery of weapons in a cement cargo bound for Tel Aviv, and the situation became feverish in November when Shaykh Izz al-Din al-Qassam, a popular Muslim preacher, took to the hills with a guerrilla band. British troops soon killed him, but his funeral developed into a passionate demonstration. The crisis dragged on for months before it finally exploded on the night of 15 April 1936, when a remnant of Qassam’s band stopped traffic on the Tulkarm road, robbing travellers and killing two Jews. Two Arabs were slain in reprisal the next night. The funeral of the Jews turned into a right-wing Zionist demonstration and the crowd started marching on Arab Jaffa. The police opened fire, four Jews were shot and, again, Arabs were attacked on the streets of Tel Aviv in retaliation. A counter-march soon started for Tel Aviv. The revolt was on. A spontaneous general strike developed and the pressure from below forced the rival cliques within the Arab establishment to unite in an Arab Higher Committee under the leadership of the Mufti. However, the Higher Committee feared that the continuation of the rising would put the peasantry permanently beyond its leaders’ control, and finally prevailed upon the strike committees to call off the protest on 12 October, pending the outcome of a British Royal Commission’s investigation.
Until the Arab revolt, the Nazis’ patronage of Zionism had been warm but scarcely committed, as we have seen. However, with the political turmoil in Palestine and the appointment of the Peel Commission, the WZO saw their chance to persuade the Nazis to make a public commitment to them in Palestine itself. On 8 December 1936 a joint delegation of the Jewish Agency, the highest body of the WZO in Palestine, and the Hitachdut Olei Germania (the German Immigrants Association), went to the Jerusalem office of Doehle, the German Consul-General. The Zionist scholar, David Yisraeli, has related the incident.
They sought through Doehle to persuade the Nazi government to have its Jerusalem representative appear before the Peel Commission, and declare that Germany was interested in an increased immigration to Palestine because of its eagerness to have the Jews emigrate from Germany. The Consul, however, rejected the proposal on the spot. His official reasons were that considerations of increased immigration from Germany would inevitably bring out the matter of the transfer which was detrimental to British exports to Palestine.
Characteristically, the Zionists were more eager to extend their relationship than the Nazis, but Doehle’s rejection of their request did not stop them from further approaches. The outcome of the Peel Commission’s expedition was thought crucial to the Zionist endeavour and it was therefore the Haganah, then the military arm of the Jewish Agency (de facto the Labour Zionist militia), that obtained Berlin’s permission to negotiate directly with the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the Security Service of the SS. A Haganah agent, Feivel Polkes, arrived in Berlin on 26 February 1937 and was assigned Adolf Eichmann as his negotiating partner. Eichmann had been a protege of the pro-Zionist von Mildenstein and, like his mentor, had studied Hebrew, read Herzl and was the SD’s specialist on Zionism. The Eichmann-Polkes conversations were recorded in a report prepared by Eichmann’s superior, Franz-Albert Six, which was found in the SS files captured by the American Army at the end of the Second World War:
Polkes is a national-Zionist He is against all Jews who are opposed to the erection of a Jewish state in Palestine. As a Haganah man he fights against Communism and all aims of Arab-British friendship ... He noted that the Haganah’s goal is to reach, as soon as possible, a Jewish majority in Palestine. Therefore he worked, as this objective required, with or against the British Intelligence Service, the Sureté Generale, with England and Italy ... He declared himself willing to work for Germany in the form of providing intelligence as long as this does not oppose his own political goals. Among other things he would support German foreign policy in the Near East. He would try to find oil sources for the German Reich without affecting British spheres of interest if the German monetary regulations were eased for Jewish emigrants to Palestine.
Six definitely thought that a working alliance with the Haganah would be in the Nazis’ interest. They still needed the latest inside information on the various Jewish boycott groups and on Jewish plots against the lives of prominent Nazis. He was eager to allow the SS to help the Zionists in return.
Pressure can be put on the Reich Representation of Jews in Germany in such a way that those Jews emigrating from Germany go exclusively to Palestine and not go to other countries. Such measures lie entirely in the German interest and is already prepared through measures of the Gestapo. Polkes’ plans to create a Jewish majority in Palestine would be aided at the same time through these measures.
Zionism in the Age of the Dictators
Chapter 8. Palestine – The Arabs, Zionists, British and Nazis
Heinz Höhne in The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS also writes about the proposed SS-Haganah military alliance in the mid-1930s which was considered during this (above) planned visit by Eichmann and entourage in 1937.
Zionist collaboration with fascism/Nazism in the 20th Century has been documented in extensive detail by such historians as Lenni Brenner in 51 Documents: Zionist Collaboration with the Nazis (the quintessential work on this subject) , Zionism in the Age of Dictators (also by Brenner and available online in html format) Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem, Edwin Black's The Transfer Agreement: The Dramatic Story of the Pact Between the Third Reich and Jewish Palestine, Francis R. Nicosia's The Third Reich and the Palestine Question, Rudolf Vrba and Alan Bestic's I Cannot Forgive, and Rafael Medoff's The Deadening Silence: American Jews and the Holocaust.
From Lenni Brenner's 51 Documents : Zionist Collaboration with the Nazis:
Zionist factions competed for the honor of allying to Hitler. By 1940-41, the "Stern Gang," among them Yitzhak Shamir, later Prime Minister of Israel, presented the Nazis with the "Fundamental Features of the Proposal of the National Military Organization in Palestine (Irgun Zvai Leumi) Concerning the Solution of the Jewish Question in Europe and the Participation of the NMO in the War on the Side of Germany."
Mae Brussell's program number 837 (? free sample available online) makes reference to the Haganah assisting Martin Bormann's escape to South America and subsequent liaison via ODESSA networks with Allen Dulles. How much of the current geo-political turmoil was preplanned by Dulles-Bormann-Stern Gang (Shamir/Begin), with Pres. Truman as proto-Bush National Security Act puppet? And what was the real intention behind the formation of the Jewish State by the Zionists? | <urn:uuid:05a78b92-8436-467f-a4bb-14611ee98a95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ce399.typepad.com/weblog/lenni-brenner/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961203 | 1,549 | 2.921875 | 3 |
The New York Times reports today on a study that suggests that alcohol — bicycling under the influence – may play a significant role in cycling deaths:
Some 21 percent of autopsies for New York City bicyclists who died within three hours of their accidents detected alcohol in the body, according to a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene study that examined fatal bicycling accidents in New York City from 1996 to 2005.
“It’s something we have to call attention to,” said Catherine Stayton, director of the health department’s injury epidemiology unit. “To learn this is new for us. We want to get that information out there.”
She said the study raises a lot of more of questions for researchers. “It makes you want to ask a lot more about the circumstances before the crash,” she said. The study also found that alcohol was detected in 6 percent of the drivers involved in bicycle crashes.
The study, which was published in the April issue of Traffic Injury Prevention, extended on research that had been released in a 2006 city report on bicycle accidents [pdf]. The studies drew data from the Police Department, the transportation department, the health department and the medical examiner’s office.
Alcohol may play a particularly interesting role in cycling deaths. I’m speculating here, but it seems to me that a good buzz heightens the thrill of riding and, therefore, encourages the cyclist to ride faster and take more chances than the situation allows. OK, well, I’m not speculating at all. I’m really telling you want a buzz does to me. I started paying very careful attention to drinking and riding after an embarrassing fall a few years ago. | <urn:uuid:4570ff5a-0bd6-41ae-bcbb-1f4bb8fa1d36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://isocrates.us/bike/2009/04/drinking-and-bicycling/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965916 | 357 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Since moving back into the black in 2010, the sustained profitability of North American carriers has been one of the brightest spots for the airline industry.
Amid continued tight capacity discipline, leading North American carriers posted collective profits of over $7 billion in 2011 - though net profits were much lower, in part hit by heavy losses at American Airlines parent AMR. Having striven so hard to reach profitability, there is a determination to retain it, which is evident in their performance so far this year. This was underlined when IATA's eurozone-woes-dominated recent global forecast for 2012 quietly lifted projected North American carrier profits by $500 million.
Costs and capacity remain the focus of carriers in North America. The former is largely a story of fuel and its history as a leading indicator of demand, while the largest airlines continue to maintain bearish attitudes towards the latter as they focus on improving return on invested capital (ROIC).
Fuel is the "largest and most volatile cost" for airlines in the region, notes industry body Airlines for America (A4A). The price of jet fuel has fluctuated from around $120 per barrel at the beginning of January to nearly $140 per barrel in March, before settling to about $110 per barrel at the end of June, according to the organisation's calculations.
This volatility results in varied losses and gains for air carriers. In June, Delta Air Lines predicted it would take an $800 million writedown on its fuel hedges and realise losses of $155 million in the second quarter because of declines in the spot market price of jet fuel.
One way Delta has addressed its fuel bill is through buying the Trainer oil refinery in Pennsylvania from Phillips for $180 million. The Atlanta-based carrier hopes that the refinery deal will result in about $300 million in annual savings once the plant begins operations later this year. However, more than $100 million in upgrades are needed first.
Delta's approach to fuel is innovative, to say the least, and other carriers as well as market analysts are watching closely to see if it will succeed. Others, such as US Airways, have opted instead not to hedge jet fuel and are expected to benefit from the declines in the price of jet fuel in the short- to medium-term. But the downward slide in the price of oil may not be a good thing.
"Historically, large changes in fuel prices have been a strong predictor of economic activity - and underlying demand for air travel," William Greene, senior transportation analyst at Morgan Stanley, said in a recent report. This could mean a decline in passenger demand, which, he says, typically lags behind fuel by three to four quarters. Demand is already slowing. IATA data shows traffic in RPKs increased only fractionally in North America in May, compared with a 1.3% year-on-year increase a month earlier. Traffic is running 1.9% higher for the year to date, but that compares with the 4.1% year-on-year growth seen for the same period in 2011.
But at the same time, IATA notes that carriers in North America have the highest load factors globally, at 83.4%, because of their continued capacity discipline.
Airlines have yet to officially acknowledge a slowdown. In a June investor update, United Airlines reported a 2.1% increase in six-week domestic advance bookings, and Alaska Airlines reported that bookings were up to 3.5% higher through August.
However, one industry analyst notes that continued capacity cuts are a signal to the market that airlines are not expecting good things in the near term.
North America's two largest airlines, Delta and United, plan to shrink capacity by 1% and up to 1.5% respectively this year. Southwest expects to keep capacity flat, while Air Canada and US Airways are predicting modest increases of 1.5% and 1% respectively.
American Airlines has not released its capacity guidance for the year as it moves through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganisation process, but is expected to cut capacity too. These carriers combined carry the vast majority of travellers in the region.
Smaller and low-cost airlines are still planning growth. Allegiant Air, Hawaiian Airlines and Spirit Airlines plan to increase capacity by double digits this year, while Alaska Airlines, JetBlue Airways and WestJet all plan mid-to-high single-digit increases.
However, these increases will have little impact on overall capacity as a result of these carriers' relatively small share of the North American market.
no growth for growth's sake
"Maintaining capacity discipline is a challenge," says Jamie Baker, an analyst at JP Morgan. "US airlines need to make sure they don't succumb to the temptation to grow for growth's sake. The industry can't afford for anyone to fall off the wagon."
Capacity cuts and continued discipline have led to rising airfares, improved margins and higher ROIC at airlines in the region in recent years.
US Airways' continuing pursuit of a merger with American could result in further decreases in the coming years. Details of what a combination of the two airlines would look like have yet to emerge, but it is widely expected that a merger would result in some capacity cuts, as did the mergers of Delta and Northwest Airlines in 2008 and United and Continental Airlines in 2010.
In a recent report, Morgan Stanley estimated that a merger between the airlines could result in a "mid-to-high single-digit" reduction in capacity at the merged entity. Assuming a 9% cut, this would translate into about a 1.6% reduction in overall US passenger traffic, based on 2011 numbers from the US Department of Transportation.
"Consolidation is positive for airline fundamentals in a number of ways," Morgan Stanley's Greene said in the report. He cites more rational fare pricing, labour expenses and capacity trends as being benefits of consolidation.
US Airways expects American to begin discussions on a potential merger following the bankruptcy court judge's ruling on its labour contracts, which is expected in mid-August.
North American carriers are also looking at other ways to address costs and boost returns. Delta received approval from its pilots to implement a dramatic restructuring of its regional fleet that could result in lower costs per passenger in June. Under the plan, it will remove 218 50-seat regional jets, which have some of the highest per passenger costs in the industry, for a total of 125 from its regional fleet by 2015 and will add 70 76-seat regional jets to its contract carrier fleets and 88 117-seat Boeing 717-200s to its mainline operations during the same period.
While this will result in a net increase of 4,716 seats in Delta's combined fleets, the airline hopes that it will result in lower costs per passenger and improved margins.
Other airlines are expected to follow Delta's lead. The tentative agreement that American's pilots will vote on in July would allow the airline to add up to 195 large regional jets - those with 66 to 79 seats - and reduce the number of small regional jets. United is expected to pursue a similar strategy as contracts for 55% of its regional fleet expire during the next five years.
What the focus on cost and capacity boils down to at the region's airlines is ROIC. Alaska has become the industry leader on this metric, reporting an 11.7% ROIC in 2011 and maintaining a company target of average annual returns above 10%. All of the region's carriers are now focused on ROIC, and their respective strategies, which include reducing costs and improving margins, reflect this. | <urn:uuid:066bc69f-a1ef-42ea-9012-125e678c79c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/in-focus-north-american-carriers-keep-cost-and-capacity-grip-374677/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962614 | 1,541 | 1.609375 | 2 |
OPPENHEIM v. BARNES
OPPENHEIM v. BARNES
1943 OK 371
144 P.2d 446
193 Okla. 236
Case Number: 30986
Supreme Court of Oklahoma
¶0 1. APPEAL AND ERROR--TRIAL--Conclusiveness of verdict on conflicting evidence--Instructed verdict properly refused.
Determinations of fact by trial jury evidenced by general verdict will not be disturbed on appeal where from the conflicting evidence and circumstances properly before the jury, reasonable men might differ as to the proper and just conclusion to be reached, and in such case there was no error in refusing an instructed verdict.
2. TAXATION--Motion to dismiss action on notes for nonpayment of intangible tax thereon properly overruled where evidence fairly showed such payment.
In an action on promissory note, when plaintiff alleges same was assessed for taxation and the intangible tax thereon paid and the evidence fairly shows such facts, it is not error to overrule motion to dismiss addressed to that point.
3. TRIAL--Sufficiency of instructions.
When the instructions to the jury fully and fairly present the issues as to cause of action and defense and place no improper burden on either party and do not deprive either party of material rights, they are sufficient and free from error.
Appeal from District Court, Oklahoma County; Clarence Mills, Judge.
Action by E. A. Barnes, revived in the name of his administrator, against Leo Oppenheim on promissory notes. From judgment for plaintiff, the defendant appeals. Affirmed.
Twyford & Smith and Norman J. Futor, all of Oklahoma City, for plaintiff in error.
Frederick J. Hoyt and Edward M. Box, both of Oklahoma City, for defendant in error.
¶1 Plaintiff sought judgment on four promissory notes in the aggregate sum of approximately $5,000. Defendant acknowledged execution, but pleaded payment in full and that three of the notes were executed without consideration. There was jury verdict and judgment for plaintiff for full amount, and defendant appeals.
¶2 Defendant contends that he was entitled to a directed verdict on the evidence offered to support his plea of full payment of the indebtedness and lack of consideration as-to three of the notes. However, upon the fact issue the jury found for plaintiff, and we cannot say the finding is so arbitrary or unsupported by competent evidence as to be set aside on appeal. While defendant had some evidence of payments made, it is apparent that the jury weighed that evidence in connection with competent evidence and circumstances refuting the allegations of payment. Defendant presented a theory and contention that in fact he gave plaintiff three of the notes sued on to take up from plaintiff a former note executed by defendant to another, but that plaintiff's title to defendant's former note was defective and invalid. The burden of proof on that issue, as well as on the issue of payment, rested on defendant. Young v. Garrett, 187 Okla. 595, 105 P. 2d 257; Shidler v. Ross, 189 Okla. 65, 113 P. 2d 603; Central National Bank v. Pyeatt, 97 Okla. 28, 222 P. 533; Clayton State Bank v. Goldesberry, 190 Okla. 560, 125 P. 2d 1005; Burford v. Mitchell, 186 Okla. 465, 98 P. 2d 1098; American National Bank v. Demaras, 167 Okla. 57, 27 P. 2d 828, and Curry v. De Lana, 127 Okla. 70, 259 P. 851. Those issues were directly submitted to the jury by the court's instructions, directing verdict for the defendant if the jury found the fact issue in his favor as to either pleaded defense. From the record we cannot say that defendant established either of such defenses to the extent that the jury was bound to accept defendant's theory, or to the extent that defendant was entitled to an instructed verdict on either theory. On this ground we must affirm. Nelson v. Peterman et al., 119 Okla. 125, 249 P. 333; Oklahoma Railway Co. v. Mount, 155 Okla. 275, 9 P. 2d 11; Bass, Maxwell & Co. v. Independent Gin Co., 140 Okla. 80, 282 P. 635, and Farmers State Bank of Newkirk v. Hess et al., v. 138 Okla. 190, 280 P. 305.
¶3 Defendant next contends that the trial court erred in refusing to dismiss plaintiff's action for plaintiff's failure to prove assessment and payment of intangible taxes on the notes sued upon. 68 O. S. 1941 § 1515. However, it was shown that Mr. Barnes did make an assessment for taxation of various notes and other intangibles which he owned, and from his returns it was fairly ascertainable that he did assess and pay the intangible tax on these notes. That proof was accepted in the trial court as sufficient, and we find no error therein.
¶4 Objections are presented to some of the instructions given the jury. We have examined all the instructions and find that they fairly present the case to the jury, including direct submission to the jury of each ground of defense relied upon by defendant, and there appears no error in the instructions given. Bucktrot v. Partridge, 130 Okla. 122, 265 P. 768.
¶5 The calculation of the aggregate amount due appears to be correct, and finding no reversible error, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
¶6 CORN, C.J., GIBSON, V.C.J., and RILEY, OSBORN, HURST, DAVISON, and ARNOLD, JJ., concur. BAYLESS, J., absent. | <urn:uuid:7574e9ab-3c5c-4aa4-a589-a9aaa792ac2f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://law.justia.com/cases/oklahoma/supreme-court/1943/7421.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946562 | 1,208 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Black Fatalities in Iraq
The percentage of Black fatalities in the Iraq war currently surpasses that of two of the nation’s bloodiest wars. In the Korean war, 3,075 of the dead, or 8.4 percent, were Black, while in the Vietnam conflict, 7,241 of the dead, or 12.4 percent, were Black, according to the U.S. Army Center of Military History. From the onset of the Iraq war on March 19, 2003, through February 26 of this year, 79 Black soldiers have died in Iraq, or 14.3 percent of the 549 combat deaths in this period. Hispanic soldiers accounted for 11.3 percent of the U.S. military dead during this time, according to the Department of Defense. In the early weeks of the war, Blacks died at an even higher rate. A report by the University of Maryland’s Center for Research on Military Organization found that one-fifth of those who died between March 20, 2003, and April 10, 2003, were Black.
Carver Acquires Independence Federal Savings Bank
Carver Bancorp, the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, will acquire Washington, D.C.’s Independence Federal Savings Bank in a $32.6 million transaction. Independence stockholders will receive $21 in cash for each share of common stock. With assets of $750 million, the combined company will be the country’s largest Black-operated community bank. The organization will be headquartered in Harlem and continue to trade on the American Stock Exchange. Carver head Deborah Wright will be president and CEO of the combined financial institution, which will have six branches in New York City and five in the greater Washington, D.C., area.
Rare Link to Slave Trade Found
Historian Rachel Malcolm-Woods found a 19th century cemetery with grave markers that have African symbols etched on their surfaces, a rare link to the nation’s slave-trading past. Malcolm-Woods says the inscriptions, or ideograms, are from the West African Igbo culture and could be the only known examples in the United States. Some of the graves may hold the remains of Africans brought to America for slavery. Malcolm-Woods, a doctoral student in history and art history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, is studying the site within the George Washington National Forest outside of Lexington with a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. The Igbo, who have their own language and believe in ancestor worship, are most common in Nigeria. Malcolm-Woods found 13 headstones and 20 burial impressions. Some stones are stored at a U.S. Forest Service office.
Grants Up to $30,000 for Eligible First-Time Home Buyers at NHS of Jamaica
Neighborhood Housing Services of Jamaica will administer a Purchase Assistance Program for low-income residents in Queens with a $450,000 award from the New York State Housing Trust Fund. The funds will be leveraged with $2,599,996 of private funds through the New York Mortgage Coalition and $35,000 from the NHS Homeownership CASH Loan Program. Additional grants will be made available through the First Home Clubs. Residents who are in the First Home Club can also take advantage of the matching funds savings plan, where participating banks will match every $1 saved by the resident with $3, up to $5,000 over a 10-month period. The $5,000, along with the participant’s savings, will then be used to help underwrite the purchase price of a first home. NHSJ will implement the Purchase Assistance Program through a lottery process. | <urn:uuid:bb55f552-1950-4749-af77-8acb662d3e5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tnj.com/print/566 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949459 | 751 | 2.265625 | 2 |
A few weeks ago I read George G. Hunter's new book "The Recovery of a Contagious Methodist Movement." Part of the Adaptive Leadership Series, it was one of the collection of books released prior to this most recent Methodist General Conference.
During my time at Asbury I never took Dr. Hunter, but I knew he was pretty serious. This little book confirmed that thought.
What stuck out the most to me was this idea, found on pages 41-44. A catalytic Christian movement will begin when "hopeless" people are reached. The category of "hopeless" is defined by any people group outside of the established population of a local church. This is radical outreach because it means incorporating people that are definitely "not like us".
The center of the early Methodist movement involved reaching out past established and churched populations. John Wesley's version of this involved miners, field workers and the folks driving the engine of the industrial revolution in England. In America, it took place among others on the outside. The Methodists were famous for going to the hardest, meanest and most "non-churched" and socially "hopeless" parts of the local population.
NPR has a great article showcasing a community in the Northeast and their gathering at the Maryland Deathfest. In "Portraits of an American Metal Festival", Lars Gotrich showcases a deep community. This is just a glance into a pre-existing people group, with a catalytic number of people. They are already connected, share a common set of sensibilities, issues and beliefs.
I would bet in many communities, similar people groups exist. They will have gathering spots, identifiable leaders and local variation. Here is just one example of a culture outside of the boundaries of most local congregations. I bet they don't know the doxology or the difference between a stole or a vestment.
In each of our communities there are countless sub groups of people that we can quickly identify as "not church people". But if we are truly passionate about the saving and healing grace of Jesus Christ, and his commissioning to create disciples...it would be in our interest to start learning about these new groups of people.
We all want to see our churches grow. But until we learn to look outside our own comfort interests and notions of who is in church, we will not see that growth. Jesus went to the outside and Wesley went to the outside. As Methodists, this journey to the outside is part of our DNA. Let us place ourselves back inside of it and find who might previously have called hopeless. | <urn:uuid:36787484-a4f0-417d-bea8-f4978fa62e8c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://outsideisbetter.typepad.com/outside_is_better_chad_br/mission/ | 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 | 0.974068 | 527 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Good Practice covers a range of topics.
Database Information Security is really about confidentiality, integrity, availability, and authenticity. This means making sure that your data is only exposed to authorised persons, making sure that it's not been tampered with, making sure that you can reliably access the data, and that the data has not been tempered with. Getting all of these consistently right is not easy, especially when third parties are determined to exploit or damage you.
Your PC's need to be protected from all the usual hazards- theft, fire, flood, voltage spikes. You also need to protect them from being physically accessed by unauthorised personnel as it is easy for them to install very small "key loggers" that record your passwords and anything you type into the PC. Once they have done this, it is unlikely to take long to access your data.
Your server is even more vulnerable than desktop PC's in that it is more valuable and contains all your data. Take even greater care to protect it (or them).
Every company with multiple computers risks finding that members of staff are storing work-related data in their own folders. It might be that one person is keeping a spreadsheet of product measurements (eg diameters), and that another keeps a log of product failures and complaints. Both might be working well, but it is very difficult to find how one set of data ties into the other, for example, larger diameters might be less reliable. Eliminating data islands is important.
Your software must meet the needs of your business. There are so many companies using inappropriate or poor quality software. Do someone need to copy data and format it in Excel to get the information you need? How much does that cost- and if they are unavailable, does anyone else know how to do it?
Call us now on 0115-840-5500 to discuss solving your problems quickly & effectively. | <urn:uuid:ab1aaf56-baa0-466e-95be-141e52094d36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.datatechnologies.co.uk/good-practice | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964399 | 384 | 2.625 | 3 |
Truth and Reconciliation in New York
“I turned 75 not long ago,” Larry told me as we walked.
I was astounded, because to my eyes he looked about ten years younger. As we made our way the short five blocks to a meeting with the organization I work for, New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, I had trouble keeping up with his brisk pace. Larry was not just physically fit—he moved like a man on a mission.
Larry White works for the Fortune Society, an organization that provides re-entry services for newly released prison inmates. He traveled 150 miles from New York City to Albany to meet with our organization’s victim/survivor advocate to discuss sentencing issues.
For Larry, issues surrounding crime and punishment are both systemic and intensely personal: Between juvenile hall and state prison, he has spent about 36 years–nearly half his life–behind bars.
“I grew up in this really tough neighborhood in Brooklyn,” he confided. “I still remember one day when I was just a little boy playing in this shabby, cramped back yard behind our apartment. My grandmother, who raised me, tried to brighten up the yard by planting a rose bush. Now it was October and there was just one bloom left on the bush. My grandmother called me over to look at the bright red rose blossom. I was puzzled when I noticed tears in my grandmother’s eyes. ‘Larry,’ she said. ‘This is what they call a late blooming rose. Son, I believe that’s what you’re going to be: a late bloomer.’ Ha! I guess she was right.”
New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty recently expanded its mission to focus on violence prevention after New York abolished the death penalty. NYADP’s victim advocate, Marie Verzulli, who is the sister of a murder victim, now spends her energy working on community organizing for nonviolence and victims’ rights.
As the meeting between the three of us began, I felt some tension in the air. In the aftermath of crime, there are no easy solutions. How do we resolve the tension that exists between our need to protect society and our desire to believe in human redemption? Just as Marie is passionately dedicated to preventing violence, Larry is passionate in his belief that people who have done wrong can change for the better and give back to communities they once harmed.
The Locked Gate: Standing Up for My Brother on Death Row
My brother and I don't always agree, but I defend his innocence, and I'll never walk out on him again.
To their great credit, Larry and Marie were able to listen and share perspectives based on their deeply felt personal experiences of crime and punishment. There’s nothing like a face-to-face meeting to help us appreciate where another person is coming from. While we may be separated by differing life experiences, we are nevertheless linked at a far deeper level in our shared humanity. Soon, I saw wariness and defensiveness turn to appreciation and warmth as Marie and Larry discovered common ground.
Near the end of our meeting, Larry declared: “For the good of both our communities, we have to work together to reduce violence.”
“You’re absolutely right!” Marie agreed.
The meeting between Larry and Marie eventually turned into a series of meetings between Larry’s prisoner support group and Marie’s victims’ group, Family and Friends of Homicide Victims. While some policy differences remain, the spirit of these meetings is always cordial, heartfelt, and hopeful.
Hope comes in recognizing that we all want to be part of a better world. For this goal to be achieved, we must embed the outcome in the process. To heal our interrelated world, the place to start is in relationship.
David Kaczynski wrote this article for YES! Magazine, a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. David is executive director of New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the brother of Theodore Kaczynski (AKA “The Unabomber”)
- More from Beyond Prisons, the Summer 2011 issue of YES! Magazine.
- Just the Facts: It's a Locking-People-Up Problem
The American problem with mass incarceration is less about crime than it is about how—and who—we lock up.
- Connecting Prisons With Nature
Video: Can prisons save money and the environment while changing lives?
That means, we rely on support from our readers.
Independent. Nonprofit. Subscriber-supported. | <urn:uuid:e34cb485-2382-416c-a7d0-2ecba6b01046> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/truth-and-reconciliation-in-new-york?icl=yesemail_wkly20110520&amp;ica=tnKaczynski | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964136 | 976 | 1.992188 | 2 |
The United Nations General Assembly vote last week that overwhelmingly recognized Palestine as a state could serve as a stepping stone to relaunch the long moribund Middle East peace negotiations.
In an attempt to advance the peace negotiations, President Obama emphasized two crucial issues during his first year in office: that the building of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory should stop, and that the basis for peace should be the pre-1967 border (or Green Line), to be modified by mutual agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
With all moderate factions now absent from the two-party Likud-Beitenu coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are precluding the possibility of the two-state solution for peace in the Middle East. Their concept of greatly expanding Israel's borders has been branded as a tragedy for Israel by previous prime ministers, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert.
In addition to rapidly confiscating Palestinian territory for new Israeli settlements, announcing permanent control of Palestinian air space and the Jordan River Valley, requiring acknowledgment by Palestinians of a Jewish state that marginalizes 20% of Israel's population, and blocking reconciliation among the major Palestinian factions, the Netanyahu government has announced the building of several thousand settlement units in an area that cuts the West Bank into two parts and permanently separates East Jerusalem from what would be left.
U.S. policies disregarded
It is good to remember that the 1978 Camp David Accords called for peace between Israel and Egypt and also specified that "the Israeli military government and its civilian administration will be withdrawn" from the West Bank, and that "the agreed basis for a peaceful settlement of the conflict between Israel and its neighbors is U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, in all its parts." Based on this same basic formula, all Arab nations have offered peace to Israel.
The new Netanyahu policy is also counterproductive for the future well-being of Israel in that it might precipitate legal actions by Palestine under its new status as a state. These could include filing a complaint within the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice against Israel for violations of international law, including building settlements in occupied territory, transferring Palestinian prisoners to Israel and the siege of Gaza.
All these developments can best be avoided by strong action of the U.N. Security Council, led by the United States, Egypt and other influential nations to enforce common agreements that have already been approved by Israel within the U.N. and at Camp David.
An equally necessary issue to be resolved is reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, within the context of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Most likely to be orchestrated by Egypt and with full backing of other Arab states, this will require that in a final two-state agreement, all Palestinians and Israelis guarantee the right of Israel and Palestine as safe and secure nations within recognized borders.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has agreed to accept the right of Israel to live in peace alongside a viable and independent Palestinian state. His only proviso is that any such agreement be put to a referendum among the Palestinian people. Despite disagreement from his more militant associates, Meshaal reiterated this commitment during a recent interview with CNN. The combined influence of Egypt and all other Arab states, plus U.N. peacekeepers if necessary, would ensure compliance.
Israel has overwhelming power to retaliate against any rocket attacks from Gaza, but it has become increasingly clear that Hamas in Gaza cannot be defeated without horrible bloodshed among the 1.7 million Palestinians confined in the cramped area, with a tight economic boycott dampening their efforts for economic survival. This would leave Israel ever more isolated in a region where citizen rights are gaining force.
Although the U.S. now has reduced influence among either Israeli or Palestinian leaders, Egypt can be a helpful partner in peace efforts, as demonstrated recently in alleviating the recent crisis in Gaza.
The path to peace in the Middle East has always been difficult, but never impossible.
Former president Jimmy Carter (1977-81) is founder of the non-profit Carter Center, dedicated to advancing peace and health worldwide.
In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors.
Copyright 2013 USATODAY.com
Read the original story: Jimmy Carter: Statehood key to renew peace talks | <urn:uuid:5a96b6fb-ce14-40da-954a-101008f26f88> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/usatoday/article/1746767?odyssey=mod_sectionstories | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95252 | 880 | 2.296875 | 2 |
Health, Science, Environment
Could San Francisco become the next Manhattan?
Photographer Richard Morgenstein has lived in Pacific Heights since the late 1990s. Before that, he lived in Manhattan and enjoyed it. In many ways, Morgenstein is still very New York. He doesn’t have a car. He relies on public transportation to tote his camera bags around. But the new construction soaring above a growing San Francisco doesn’t really make him nostalgic for his former hometown. Rather, he’s inclined to give a Bronx cheer.
“I do think that one of the issues of multiple large buildings is a sort of a Manhattanizaton of San Francisco and a change in the character of say street life, the character of the light of the city, character of walk-ability,” he says. “I look at them as some sort of negative that comes along with the positive of extra housing.”
San Francisco is in transition. According to the Department of Building Inspection, there are 56 major developments in various stages of the approval process, with more than five thousand residential units under construction. That means the city is Manhattanizing, according to Tim Colen, executive director of the San Francisco Housing Coalition.
He says, “We’re very much interested in increased heights and density to add significantly higher levels of housing production in San Francisco and at the same time reducing the influence of private auto use.”
San Francisco’s General Plan calls for construction of more than 30,000 housing units by 2014 with the majority affordable to moderate income earners. A third of that is being built on the city’s Eastern waterfront, from Mission Bay to the south. Other primary targets include mid-Market, and SOMA. The city’s planning department is considering options in every neighborhood.
“San Francisco is fortunate that high-tech is red hot right now, the office market is red hot,” says Colen. “There’s an enormous demand in particular south of Market and eastern part of the city for office space, and as a result rental housing market is in a way going through the roof. Anyone can talk about the insane levels of rent that we’re seeing on housing now, and that gets to the question of building, you know? How do we build housing, and who gets to live here?”
Colen’s easy solution, and the one many developers are going for, is to build up. But that’s easier said than done.
He says, “San Francisco, in spite of everything we might think about it, is really a very conservative city as far as land use goes and is very, very resistant to change and anything that adds new housing a lot of folks get quite upset at.”
Throughout the last decade, more than a dozen neighborhood associations have filed lawsuits against the San Francisco Planning Commission over aspects of their housing plans. The plans called for Smart Growth, around “major transit lines.” The associations didn’t think that should include bus routes. Parking is an issue. There were concerns about infrastructure, like accessing water. Disagreements about how to retain historic character in neighborhoods like Pacific Heights.
“The city was planning on changing the zoning which would have made that entire area have hundred foot plus buildings,” says Greg Scott, president of the Pacific Heights Neighborhood Association. That “would have meant that many of the single-family homes and even some of the smaller apartment buildings would have been demolished to build those much higher buildings. And that whole area would have become like Manhattan.”
But not anymore.
After settlements and environmental impact reports, developers, today, cannot build buildings more than forty feet tall in historically residential parts of Pac Heights and other low-rise neighborhoods, unless they have a permit from the San Francisco planning department. And with active neighborhood associations intent on retaining historic character, those are hard to come by. So San Francisco’s skyline is being reinvented, but only so far, and mostly near downtown; which is one reason why residents like transplanted New Yorker Richard Morgenstein are happy they moved to San Francisco in the first place.
“It’s still not quite like Manhattan,” he says. “I think huge swaths of Manhattan are… there’s so much going on, things are moving so quickly that the pace is very different. And the pace in San Francisco has amplified somewhat or accelerated, it’s not even close to Manhattan though. It’s not even close.”
Which, to him, anyway, is just fine. | <urn:uuid:1b8dc70b-138c-4515-8649-c1d1f06997ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kalw.org/post/could-san-francisco-become-next-manhattan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972772 | 963 | 1.859375 | 2 |
When it comes to immigration in America, a disconcerting truth applies: We’re for it in the past but not so much in the present. Since we are a nation of immigrants and, save for Native Americans, we all have roots elsewhere, this tension never relents. So we revere the grit of our Ellis Island ancestors. But we build fences 30 feet high on the Arizona border. We’re grateful to the parents of Bob Hope, I.M. Pei, and Madeline Albright for bringing them here. But in the first six months of 2011, we deported 46,486 immigrant parents.
Now two descendants of immigrants are running for president. Both say our immigration system is broken. Each has a different fix. Mitt Romney, who is English, Scottish, German, and French, and whose father was born in Mexico, is the great-great grandson of a carpenter from northern England. Miles Romney was among the first Mormons converted abroad and came here in 1841. Barack Obama, who is Kenyan (of the Luo tribe), English, German, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Swiss, and French, and whose father was from Kenya, can trace his ancestry to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1640. “Not Fit For Our Society: Immigration and Nativism in America” (University of California Press, 2010) astutely teases out the perennial contradictions at work here. Former Sacramento Bee columnist Peter Schrag shows how, at any one time, some Americans would’ve been hostile to Romney and Obama’s forebears. Benjamin Franklin, for instance, panicked that there were so many German “Palantine boors” settling in Pennsylvania they’d “Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them.”
The great historian Oscar Handlin once said that the story of America wasn’t grounded in the frontier, as many held, but in immigration. Actually, I’d gin both together. For in order to thrive, our new country needed to people its frontiers — and this required immigrants. Schrag points out that, in the Declaration of Independence, one of Jefferson’s indictments of George III is that he had “endeavored to prevent the population of these States . . . obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners [and] refusing to pass others to encourage their migration.” The irony follows fast; when immigration later surged, Jefferson fretted the country would be “a heterogenous, incoherent, distracted mass.”
It’s easy to point out hypocrisy. But it’s also easy, here in Massachusetts, to be pro-immigration in theory, because it’s low in actuality. Just crunch the numbers: Massachusetts and Arizona are roughly equal in population (about 6.5 million) but Arizona has an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants (a fivefold increase since 1990) and we have about 83,000. Schrag himself admits there are undeniable problems when a developed society (like the United States) borders an undeveloped one (like Mexico). He also cedes that one reason the New Deal and Great Society programs passed was because immigration had been quashed during those years, and thus established Americans weren’t upset by benefits going to allegedly undeserving newcomers.
“Guarding the Golden Door: American Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882” (Hill and Wang, 2004), by Roger Daniels, a consultant to the Ellis Island immigration museum, advances the story. “In the beginning Congress created the Chinese Exclusion Act,” he writes, and from there we learn how that 1882 statute — the first blatantly racist immigration law — led to ever more constrictions. By the 1890s, “persons likely to become a public charge” were being turned back. At first, the “LPC clause” was meant to restrict those physically and mentally unable to care for themselves, but after a while it just meant anybody poor — as in virtually every immigrant.
In 1924, a new law in effect barred Asians and Africans, and favored northern and western Europeans over southern and eastern ones. This de facto ethnic profiling informs “Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America” (Princeton University Press, 2004), winner of the 2005 Frederick Jackson Turner Award. Mae M. Ngai, a history professor at the University of Chicago, chronicles how immigration limits forced us into legal and illegal subsets, and turned our borders into hotbeds. This state of affairs lasted until the Immigration Act of 1965, which “ended the policy of admitting immigrants according to a hierarchy of racial desirability.” There would still be quotas, but they’d be evenly doled out, 20,000 per country per year.
And thus the third world came to America. By the 1980s, four fifths of all legal immigrants arrived from either Asia or Latin America. This Latin American influx, of course, is the main issue in immigration today. It’s all about border states now, California, Texas , and — especially since those two states cracked down — Arizona. “The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona Borderlands” (Beacon Press, 2010) is a sobering account of what happens “when people risk dying in order to live.” Tucson journalist Margaret Regan zeroes in on 14-year-old Josseline, charged with caring for her 10-year-old brother, both trying to reach their mother in Los Angeles. She fell ill and was left to die by her guide and group. To tell her story and hundreds of others, all these desperados dying of exposure and dehydration in the desert, Regan hikes along with the Arizona Border Patrol and the faith-based migrant rescue group No More Deaths. Strong stuff.
Same goes for a modern classic by Ted Conover, a master of experiential journalism, who lived for a year with various hopefuls trying to get to America. In his “Coyotes: A Journey Across Borders With America’s Illegal Migrants” (originally published by Vintage, 1987, reprinted in 2006) he is threatened, arrested, and released several times. As for what happens to the children of those who make it over, that story is beautifully told in Helen Thorpe’s “Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America” (Scribner, 2009).
Thorpe is a journalist married to John Hickenlooper, mayor of Denver when the story unfolds, and now Colorado’s governor. The city had become a flashpoint in the immigration debate as congressman Tom Tancredo ranted for the deportation of all illegal immigrants and accused Hickenlooper of managing a “sanctuary city” for illegals. Meanwhile, these Mexican girls, two of whom are illegal, must make their way in a limbo world where they can’t get above-the-table work, can’t qualify for college financial aid, and can’t visit their families in Mexico.
Even more stories wash ashore in Peter Morton Coan’s “Toward a Better Life: America’s New Immigrants in Their Own Words From Ellis Island to the Present” (Prometheus Books, 2011). Read here about the little Romanian girl off to meet her emigré mother for the first time in New York in 1909, wondering if she’ll look like the Statue of Liberty. Or about Cesar Millan, “The Dog Whisperer,” who slept on the streets of Tijuana, only surviving “because your adrenaline is feeding you” until he could cross.
Where does immigration stand today? There is Obama’s recent endorsement of the DREAM Act, which puts a stay on deportations and gives hope to thousands of children of undocumented immigrants. But, remember,visas still go overwhelmingly only to the educated, the affluent, or those who have spouses or parents in America already. An immigration lawyer in “Toward a Better Life” puts this in dramatic perspective: “If the ancestors of most Americans had tried to immigrate to America under today’s rules their American Dream would have ended at the docks,” he says. “Because they wouldn’t have been able to get on the boat.” | <urn:uuid:af87e73b-95c3-4376-8b85-21dca8d0da4e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2012/08/18/books-about-immigration/SeG4gjH2MGCba8zEuRrfHJ/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951757 | 1,749 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Caregivers and Depression
From: Caregiver Depression Screening Toolkit,
in Partnership with Advocates, Inc. and Tufts Health Plan Foundation)
According to the Family Caregiver Alliance (www.familycaregiver.org) 40-70% of family caregivers have clinically significant symptoms of depression.
Clinical depression is different from "the blues" or passing sadness and is a treatable disease. The following will help you recognize the risk factors and symptoms of depression in caregivers and recognize the factors which impact caregivers in their ability to access support and treatment.
Depression is treatable
Depression can be treated with medications, therapy or a combination of the two. Each caregiver is different and unique with his or her own presentation of depression. By educating ourselves of the risk factors, symptoms of depression and the resources to obtaining help, we can reassure ourselves and other caregivers that we are not alone and there are options available to make their and our situation better.
Risk Factors for Depression
Genetics and Family History
An individual has a higher chance of becoming depressed if he or she has a mother, father or sibling who had suffered from depression.
Females typically suffer from depression at a higher rate than males. Women provide the majority of caregiving. Consequently, caregiving may be considered a "normal" activity for adult women. Therefore, women may be embarrassed about their depressed feelings. They may feel they are not being able to "meet expectations".
Males are generally less likely to admit to depression and more likely to "self-medicate" with alcohol or overwork. The number of male caregivers is increasing and they often do not feel acknowledged or empowered since they are in the minority.
Role/Relationship of Caregiver to Care-Recipient
The type of relationship that exists between the caregiver and care recipient has an impact on which issues are raised.
If the caregiver is a spouse, there is the chance that he or she may lose "the element of reciprocity that is the basis of a marital relationship" (Rose Beeson, D.N. Sc, RN 12/20/10)
An adult child has issues around role reversal when caring for a parent, and might have to balance this care with their own spouse or partner and/or children’s needs.
Someone caring for a disabled child has other issues, especially if he or she is a grandparent and the child is younger than 18 years old.
Many caregivers also make sacrifices, economic and social, in their other roles and relationships (as a spouse, partner, parent, worker, community member) and then feel torn and isolated as a result. Prior conflicts in the relationship can be exaggerated when the relationship changes to a caregiving one.
Witnessing the suffering of a relative or loved one can lead to distress, dread, sadness and depression.
Caregivers and Aging
As longevity increases in the US, caregivers themselves tend to be older "it is more common for older individuals to be a caregiver to an ill or impaired parent" (Lynn Martire, PhD and Rich Schulz, PhD)
A 2004 survey showed that 43% of caregivers are over 50 themselves. "…of those caring for someone aged 65 or older, the average age of the caregiver is 63, with 1/3 of these caregivers in fair to poor health themselves" (Administration on Aging 2004)
Caregiving can be physically demanding and caregivers often ignore their own health issues. Lack of sleep, which is a common problem for caregivers, increases the risk of depression and sleep disturbance. It is both a symptom and a contributing cause of depression.
Caregivers; maybe due to stress, exhaustion and self-neglect; are more likely to get infectious disease and slower to heal; with an increased risk of heart disease, arthritis, diabetes and a greatly increased risk of anxiety and depression. There is also a temptation to self-medicate with alcohol and this exacerbates health and mental health problems in caregivers. (Miller, Mark, MD)
Care-Recipient with Mental Illness or Dementia
Multiple studies show that caregiving for a person with behavioral and/or memory problems increase the rates of depression in the caregiver (Miller, Mark, April, 2010, Aging and Mental Health in Massachusetts).
Thirty to fifty-five percent of Alzheimer’s patients’ caregivers have clinically significant depression (Schultz et. al., 1995, Haley et. al., 1995). Caregiving for someone who may be wandering, agitated or engaging in embarrassing conduct can be more time-consuming and stressful; leaving caregivers with less time and energy for other family members, outlets, and supports.
There is often little financial assistance for in-home elder care. This increases the strain on low-income caregivers who may have to make sacrifices in their own employment to accommodate care requirements of their loved ones.
Women who are caregivers are 2.5 times more likely to live in poverty than non-caregivers
(www. the familycaregiver.org). Forty-four percent live in households under twice the federal poverty level, compared to only a third of non-caregivers (The Commonwealth Fund 2005, APA briefcase)
Cultural and Ethnicity Factors
Research by geriatric psychiatrist Rita Hargrave ,MD (University of California at Davis) shows that African-Americans and Hispanics are "less likely to admit being stressed or depressed by caring for loved ones when asked... but if you evaluate their physical symptoms of depression and stress, you’ll find high levels of both conditions."
Different cultural practices impact feelings about caregiving. There can be conflict in immigrant families, between the cultural expectations of the care recipient and the realities and expectations of American-raised caregivers.
Caregivers who are themselves elderly are also less likely to admit to depression because they were raised not to talk about problems.
Long Distance Caregiving
Even if the caregiver is not living with the care recipient, there are stresses which can lead to depression. There can be guilt, loneliness and the continued demands of monitoring care in a new location. Studies show that depression can persist even after the care recipient is placed in a long term care facility. (National Institute on Aging, June 2007)
The signs and symptoms of depression
Depression red flags include:
• Persistent sadness;
• Persistent fatigue;
• Abandoning or losing interest in hobbies or other pleasurable pastimes;
• Social withdrawal and isolation (reluctance to be with friends, engage in activities, or leave home);
• Change in eating habits resulting in unwanted weight gain or loss;
• Sleep disturbances (difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, oversleeping, or daytime sleepiness
- Loss of self-worth ( self-loathing, nothing you do is good enough);
• Increased use of alcohol or other drugs;
• Unexplained aches and pains which do not respond to treatment;
• Hopelessness or helplessness;
• Increase in anxiety;
• Slowed movement;
• Lack of interest in personal care; and
• Fixation on death; suicidal thoughts or attempts.
BayPath Elder Services, Inc. provides help for caregivers!
If you would like more information on resources for caregivers, please feel free to call:
Stephen E. Corso, MSW, LICSW
Director of Strategic Initiatives
BayPath Elder Services, Inc.
33 Boston Post Road West
Marlborough, MA 01752 | <urn:uuid:bb816027-b771-4042-996f-9cc639b81211> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eldercommunitycare.org/Caregivers-and-Depression.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935321 | 1,548 | 2.671875 | 3 |
New Zealand is a country with a high rate of tectonic activity, such that earthquakes are an ever-present hazard across much of the country. In South Island the most important geological structure is the Alpine Fault, which runs for about 500 km along the west side of the mountain chain before splitting into a series of faults (known as the Marlborough fault system) that cross the northern part of the land mass (image from the University of Otago):
Technically, the fault is a right-lateral strike-slip fault, which allows the Pacific Plate to the east to slip past the Indo-Australian plate to the west. However, the fault also accommodates substantial convergence, meaning that there is a thrusting component that is responsible for the uplift of the Southern Alps. The average rate of slip along the fault is about 30 mm per year, which is relatively quick for such a system.
The most recent earthquake on the Alpine Fault occurred in 1717 AD, and is thought to have generated an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1. Previous large magnitude (M>8) events are known to have occurred on average every 350 years, with known events in about 1100 AD, 1450 AD and 1620 AD. There have been 24 known rupture events in the last 8000 years. This means that the likelihood of a large earthquake on the fault is quite high – the current best estimate is that there is a 30% probability of a large earthquake on the Alpine Fault in the next 50 years.
The fault is often difficult to observe directly as the rate of erosion and deposition in New Zealand means that it is often buried. However, at Hare Mare creek, not far from Franz Josef, the fault is exposed on the side of the valley:
At this location, bedrock (consisting of a hydrothermally altered basal cataclasite overlain by a sequence of fractured mylonites) can be seen thrust over young river gravels.
A field guide to outcrops of the Alpine Fault is available here (NB large PDF file).
Re-blogged from the Earthquakes without Frontiers project blog. | <urn:uuid:caad3e62-e23f-4de6-8192-c5e34375f89e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ihrrblog.org/2012/10/01/great-faults-1-the-alpine-fault-in-new-zealand/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963783 | 435 | 4.4375 | 4 |
Pick and Mix or Annual Loan
A Pick and Mix loan facility of both fiction and
non-fiction is also available. Schools can have the option of
choosing stock themselves from the collection at SLS, or supply a
stock profile to enable an SLS librarian to make the
We can be entirely flexible in how and when you exchange your
Pick and Mix loan.
Please do pick up the telephone and talk to us.
Julie Benkwitz, Manager of ALF at Stourport High School
"We couldn't manage to supply our students with the range of
subjects needed without an annual loan from SLS."
Sally Leeks from Simon de Montfort Middle School in Evesham
reported on her new loan of books:
"We're very pleased with the selection; so pleased, in
fact, that the teachers don't want to part with it! "
Projects can also be requested at other times, when we will
arrange a convenient collection point:
Online learning resources
- School Library
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committed to supporting everyone involved with school libraries,
promoting high quality reading and learning opportunities for
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Aiming to help children, young people and
adults across the UK feel inspired and confident about
- Booktrust - Resources for
Providing a wealth of resources for teachers, parents, librarians
and those who work with young readers.
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We are not responsible for the content of external sites.
This page was last reviewed 12 November 2012 at 11:14.
The page is next due for review 11 May 2014. | <urn:uuid:ca7a1568-728f-4ebe-9ba4-2a7a7ddea891> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://worcestershire.whub.org.uk/cms/library-services/children-and-young-people/schools-library-service/annual-loan.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932156 | 365 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Your doctor may have recommended that you lower your triglyceride levels. While medicine and aerobic exercise are effective in triglyceride lowering, there are also several dietary approaches you can try. If you choose to attempt to lower your triglycerides without resorting to medicines, be sure you talk with your doctor so that you can work together.
Here's Why It Is Important to Decrease Your Triglyceride Levels:
Triglycerides are the form in which most fat exists in food as well as in the body. In addition to consuming triglycerides (in food), our bodies can make triglycerides from carbohydrate. Excess calories (those not used right away by the body's tissues) are converted to triglycerides and transported to fat cells to be stored. These stored triglycerides can be broken down when the body needs energy.
Recent research has linked a high triglyceride level (called hypertriglyceridemia) to an increased risk of heart disease. High and normal triglyceride levels are defined as follows:
- Less than 150 milligrams/deciliter (mg/dl [1.7 mmol/L] = normal
- 150-199 mg/dl (1.7-2.2 mmol/L) = borderline high
- 200-499 mg/dl (2.3-5.6 mmol/L) = high
- 500 mg/dl and above (5.7 mmol/L) = very high
Here's How To Do It:
If your triglyceride level is above 150 mg/dl (1.7 mmol/L), the following steps can help you lower your level to the healthful range:
Eat a Diet Low in Saturated Fat
All heart-healthy diets are low in saturated fat. Saturated fat is found in full-fat dairy products (whole milk, cream, butter, cheese, ice cream), meats, lard, fried foods, coconut palm, and palm kernel oils. Replace these foods with healthier fats and whole grain carbohydrates.
Eat More Unsaturated Fats
These "healthy" fats include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These fats are found in canola oil, olive oil, nuts, avocados, olives, and fatty fish. Fatty fish (eg, mackerel, trout, albacore tuna, salmon) are especially good choices because they are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. These fats are good for your heart and may help prevent other chronic conditions, as well. Research has shown that eaten regularly, they can reduce your triglyceride level.
Some ideas for replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat include the following:
- Choose fish over beef when dining out.
- At the barbecue, go for grilled tuna steak instead of a hamburger or hot dog.
- Put lox (smoked salmon) on your bagel instead of butter.
- Cook with olive oil instead of butter.
- Put slices of avocado in your sandwich instead of cheese.
- Snack on nuts and dried fruit instead of potato chips.
Cut Down on Simple Carbohydrates (Sugar)
While it is important to reduce saturated fat, do not overly restrict total fat (aim for less than 25–35% of total calories from fat). Excess carbohydrate can actually raise your triglycerides, while lowering HDL cholesterol, which is the "good" kind of cholesterol. This is why the recommendation is to replace saturated fat with healthier unsaturated fat. Also, limit sugary foods such as candy, soda, and sweets. Choose whole grain carbohydrates, such as whole wheat bread and brown rice.
Lose Excess Weight
Often losing as little as a 5-10 pounds can help lower your triglyceride level. To lose weight, cut down on excess calories from all sources, not just fat. Combine this decreased intake with a regular exercise program to increase your calorie expenditure.
Limit Alcohol Intake
Alcohol may contribute to high triglyceride levels. Talk to your doctor about what an appropriate amount of alcohol is for you.
The American Heart Association recommends being physically active for 30 minutes on most days of the week. If you are not physically active already, you can start with 10 minutes of moderate activity like walking, swimming, or yoga, and gradually increase your activity. Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program.
- Reviewer: Brian Randall, MD
- Review Date: 05/2012 -
- Update Date: 05/30/2012 - | <urn:uuid:efe29caf-9579-4ec7-90ec-9c1a27f4efa9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://doctors-hospital.net/your-health/?/2010812605/Decreasing-Your-Triglycerides-Through-Dietary-Changes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910286 | 917 | 2.96875 | 3 |
End the Fed? David Korten Responds
Wednesday, November 9, was Occupy Wall Street Federal Reserve Awareness Day. The day’s events included an interview with David Korten for occupywallst.org and occupiedwallstjournal.com by Harrison Schultz, an occupy organizer. This blog provides a context for the interview.
Listen to the interview
I don’t normally agree with Congressman Ron Paul, but his claim on MSNBC in December 2009 that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is more powerful than President Obama has substantial merit. As Paul went on to explain “He [Bernanke] can create a trillion dollars in secret without any monitoring of the Congress.”
We now know that Paul understated Bernanke’s power by $15 trillion.
The Dodd-Frank financial reform bill signed into law by President Obama on July 21, 2010 included a mandate for a one-time Government Accountability Office audit of the emergency lending facility the U.S. Federal Reserve established in response to the 2008 Wall Street financial crash. The audit revealed that the Fed had secretly made $16 trillion in financial commitments to a long list of the world’s largest financial institutions and corporations, many based in other countries. It was all done entirely in secret, at the Fed’s own discretion, and based on nothing more than computer key strokes.
No Congressional authorization was required. Nor was the Fed required even to inform Congress, the administration, or the public.
Now that is real power, beyond the wildest dreams of any U.S. president—and totally contrary to the basic principles of democracy or a market economy.
To put $16 trillion in perspective, we can compare it to the U.S. GDP ($14 trillion), the total U.S. debt accumulated over our 200+ year history ($14.5 trillion), the federal budget ($3.5 trillion), or the amount the Congressional Supercommittee is charged with eliminating from the federal deficit ($1.5 trillion).
The U.S. Federal Reserve System [the Fed’s primary functions are carried out by a system of 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks] is a study in obfuscation. It appears in the organization chart of the U.S. government and presents itself to the world as an independent government body, but its highly complex governance structure assures its operations are in fact controlled by the big banks whose interests it faithfully serves. It piously reports that its accounts are subject to extensive internal and external audit, but only the special one-time audit ordered by the U.S. Congress in the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill signed into law by President Obama on July 21, 2010 under vigorous Fed protest revealed the amount and the beneficiaries of its $16 trillion post-crash handouts.
There are angry calls from both left and right to shut down the Fed. The anger is justified. The call to shut it down, however, ignores the reality that a national money/banking system requires oversight and management by a central bank or its institutional equivalent. The choices center on that institution’s degree of transparency, to whom it will be accountable, and what its priorities will be.
The Federal Reserve System under Allan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke has used its power to maximize Wall Street profits by suppressing wages, inflating financial bubbles, facilitating predatory financial games that should be illegal, and bailing out the losers—all behind a veil of strict secrecy. It can and should be restructured to be transparent and publicly accountable for using its power to support full employment and maintain stable asset valuations.
The Fed needs to be entirely restructured as one element of a needed restructuring of our entire system of money/banking/finance to create a system of community rooted and accountable financial institutions that function as well-regulated public utilities to fund productive investment and home ownership.
David Korten is board chair of YES! Magazine and the author of Agenda for a New Economy, TheGreat Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, and the international bestseller When Corporations Rule the World. He is co-chair of the New Economy Working Group, and a founding board member of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies.
- Click here for YES! Magazine's ongoing coverage of Occupy Wall Street.
- How You Can Get Started Building a New Economy
Change the story; create a new reality; change the rules. David Korten’s threefold strategy for change.
- How to Liberate America
How is it that our nation is awash in money, but too broke to provide jobs and services? David Korten introduces a landmark new report, “How to Liberate America from Wall Street Rule.”
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Independent. Nonprofit. Subscriber-supported. | <urn:uuid:2a3799e1-6e37-4bff-813c-291dbb67eceb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yesmagazine.org/blogs/david-korten/now-that-is-real-power?icl=yesemail_wkly20111125&ica=mrKorten | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936795 | 989 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Green Chimneys, the nonprofit based in Brewster, NY, strives to educate and heal its visitors and students through animal therapy and nature activities. Get the scoop on its family programs and fun festivals, including the popular Birds of Prey day.
In 1947, the Ross family purchased what was known as the Dell-Howe Farm in the town of Patterson. Along with 75 acres, the family inherited a local landmark known to area residents as “the farm with the green chimneys.” A hired hand in charge of painting the chimneys had chosen the emerald hue on a whim, but the farm’s former owner had decided to embrace it, insisting that the novel color made the farm easier to find and even increased business. The Rosses loved the story so much that they decided to keep the name Green Chimneys, and to this day the farm’s chimney bricks are painted the same shade of green.
Now stretching more than 160 acres, Green Chimneys has evolved into a multi-service nonprofit organization recognized as a worldwide leader in animal-assisted therapy and activities that encompasses a farm as well as a residential treatment center for children and a special needs school.
Green Chimneys Farm and Wildlife Center is home to nearly 300 animals and birds and houses several barns and stables, riding rings, trails, a greenhouse, and a children’s garden. It offers educational and recreational activities for families, a nature-based summer camp for kids, and public swim and learn-to-swim programs in its indoor pool. Free self-guided tours of the farm are offered Saturdays and Sundays (10am-3pm), and group tours are available by appointment (Tuesday-Thursday and Saturday). Green Chimney also hosts family events and programs at its second location, the Clearpool Education Center, a 350-acre nature wonderland in Carmel.
“With Wings and a Prayer,” Green Chimneys’ 20th annual Birds of Prey festival, is scheduled for June 3 (11am-4pm). The day is packed with activities for kids, including pony and hay rides, and tours of the farm.
Special guests are a big draw and fan favorite, and in the past have included luminaries such as Jim Fowler of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom fame and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., environmental lawyer and ecologist (both returning in 2012) and renowned primatologist Jane Goodall.
Other highlights of the day include free-flying raptors, live animal demonstrations (including a regal white wolf named Atka who visits from the Wolf Conservation Center, in South Salem), and a ceremonial release of a rehabilitated bird. Admission for the event: $15; $5 seniors and children ages 3-11; free children 2 and younger; $35 family pass. Metro-North travelers can receive 20 percent off ticket prices and catch a free shuttle bus from the train station to the event.
Earth Day, held at the Clearpool location in April, allows families to explore a 350-acre model forest, listen to live music, meet environmental experts, and join a wide range of environmental activities. In May, when spring is in full swing, the farm hosts Little Folks Farm Days, a weekend-long festival designed specifically with kids (preschoolers to third-graders) in mind that includes face painting, hay and pony rides, arts and crafts, games, and live shows featuring a magician and reptile expert. The annual Fall Harvest Festival in September is filled with seasonal activities like the Pumpkin Roll, pumpkin decorating, hay and pony rides, a hay maze, arts and crafts, wildlife demonstrations, and other live animal events that the whole family can enjoy.
Groups of five or more should make reservations a few months in advance for the Farm & Wildlife Tours, which include a barn tour, pony and hay rides (pony rides for kids older than 10 only), and an optional tour of the Wildlife Center.
Address: Green Chimneys: 400 Doansburg Road, Brewster
Clearpool Education Center: 33 Clearpool Road, Carmel
Hours: The farm hosts public events and tours from mid April through mid November
For more information: 845-279-2995 (x383 for group reservations) or greenchimneys.org | <urn:uuid:8ac05027-49bc-4772-9e8d-b990c8b23610> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nymetroparents.com/article/Green-Chimneys-Nature-Programs-and-Fun-Festivals | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955112 | 881 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Characteristics of Parkinson's Disease Associated With the LRRK-2 Gene Mutation
This study will identify symptoms and other characteristics of Parkinson's disease that may be associated with changes in a gene called leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2). Changes in this gene have been found in patients with and without a family history of Parkinson's disease. This study will examine people with Parkinson's disease to try to identify how symptoms develop over time. First-degree relatives of patients will also be studied.
People 18 years of age or older with Parkinson's disease or people who have a first-degree relative with Parkinson's disease may be eligible for this study.
Participants visit the NIH Clinical Center every other year for 10 years for some or all of the procedures listed below. Each visit requires 3-4 days of testing, which may be done on an inpatient or outpatient basis. Telephone interviews are conducted during the alternate years.
- History and physical examination.
- Smell testing: Subjects are asked to identify 40 different scents.
- Sensory testing: Objects with grooves and ridges are touched to subjects' fingertips. With their eyes closed, the subjects are asked to say which way the grooves and ridges run on the objects.
- Neuropsychological evaluation: Subjects are asked about their memory and thinking and may be asked to complete some pen and paper tests.
- Psychiatric evaluation: Subjects are asked about psychiatric symptoms, including anxiety and depression.
- Blood drawing: Blood is drawn through a needle in the arm.
- Magnetic imaging resonance (MRI) scans of the brain: MRI uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to obtain images of body organs and tissues. During the test, subjects lie on a table that can slide in and out of the MRI scanner (a metal cylinder surrounded by a strong magnetic field). The procedure lasts about 30 minutes, during which the subjects may be asked to lie still for up to 5 minutes at a time.
- Transcranial sonography (TCS): TCS uses sound waves to obtain images of the brain. Subjects lie on their back and an ultrasound device is moved around the scalp.
- Sleep study (1-2 night hospital admission): Subjects' brain waves are recorded during sleep using electroencephalography (EEG). Their breathing rate, pulse and oxygen level are also monitored.
- Questionnaire: Subjects complete several questionnaires designed to obtain information on symptoms or traits that have been reported to be associated with Parkinson's disease.
|Study Design:||Time Perspective: Prospective|
|Official Title:||Expanding the Phenotype of the LRRK-2 Mutation in Individuals With History of Parkinson's Disease and Their Relatives: a Prospective Study|
|Study Start Date:||April 2007|
Parkinson's disease is a common neurological condition that was originally thought to develop from environmental factors. More recently, genetic factors have been implicated. In this study, we are interested in studying the phenotypic presentation of patients with Parkinson's disease due to a specific defect in a gene called the Leucine rich repeat kinase 2 gene (LRRK2) found in some patients with Parkinson's disease. In addition, we plan to study family members whose genetic status is unknown to develop a pre-clinical description of Parkinson's disease progression.
- To develop a pre-clinical description in first-degree family members of patients with Parkinson's disease who have the LRRK2 mutation. The first-degree relative may or may not carry the LRRK2 mutation.
- To phenotypically characterize Parkinson's disease patients who have the LRRK2 mutation.
200 adult subjects including:
- Patients with a diagnosis of PD due to LRRK2 mutation
- First degree family members of patients with PD who have the LRRK2 mutation.
This will be a longitudinal prospective natural history study.
- Pre-clinical signs of disease in first degree relatives of Parkinson's disease patients who have the LRRK2 mutation.
- Characterization of a pre-clinical phenotype in first degree relatives of LRRK2 positive Parkinson's disease patients.
- Progression of Parkinson's disease patients who have the LRRK2 mutation.
- Genotypic characterization of first-degree relatives
- RNA expression profile determination comparing mutation carriers to non-mutation carriers in search for early biomarkers
|Contact: Mae Brooks||(301) email@example.com|
|Contact: Grisel J Lopez, M.D.||(301) firstname.lastname@example.org|
|United States, Maryland|
|National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike||Recruiting|
|Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892|
|Contact: For more information at the NIH Clinical Center contact Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office (PRPL) 800-411-1222 ext TTY8664111010 email@example.com|
|Principal Investigator:||Grisel J Lopez, M.D.||National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)| | <urn:uuid:02f93ac4-af38-44d1-bfe1-9e70da85ebd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00467090?term=07-N-0137&rank=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901636 | 1,081 | 3 | 3 |
The selection of the jurors who will consider the evidence and vote on the defendant’s guilt in a Michigan drunk driving or drugged driving case is a critical component of an effective DUI trial strategy.
An OUIL jury will be told more than once by the judge that they are to base a verdict only on the evidence presented in court during the trial. For example, jurors are typically instructed not to research any issue in the trial on the web, and not to visit the scene of the offense. Yet many Michigan citizens who are summoned for jury duty walk into the courtroom with a clear bias against a defendant who is charged with driving while intoxicated or impaired by alcohol or drugs.
Potential jurors are repeatedly exposed to messages that not only warn of the dangers of driving drunk, but also demonize drinking any amount of alcohol and then getting behind the wheel, such as: “you drink, you drive, you lose”; “stay alive, don’t drink and drive”; “drink and drive in Michigan and our officers will show you some new bars”.
These and other similar slogans have become generally accepted as basic truths, and they typically have broad support among the people who will ultimately decide whether a defendant goes to jail or loses their driving license.
In recognition of this fact, jury selection in a DWI trial may be viewed more realistically as an opportunity to dismiss the people who are obviously biased and to discover which remaining potential jurors would be least open to give the accused a fair trial. Experienced defense attorneys remind the potential jurors that criminal defendants, even in alcohol and drug cases, are entitled to begin their court trial with the presumption of innocence. Both the Michigan and the Federal Constitution require that presumption of innocence (for whatever value that may, or may not, have to potential jurors.)
Before the individual potential jurors are questioned in the jury box by the court and the defense lawyers, they are administered an oath by the court swearing or affirming they will answer the questions posed to them in the selection process truthfully.
Jurors can be challenged for cause, which is generally interpreted as bias (I think all drunk drivers should go to jail) or conflict of interest (one of the lawyers is related, or a close friend, to one of the jurors). If cause is established it is grounds for the juror to be dismissed. There is no limit to the number of jurors who can be dismissed on this basis, because a defendant has a right to a fair trial, and one of the basic parts of a fair trial is an impartial jury.
Both parties are provided a certain number of jurors they are allowed to dismiss for no reason whatsoever, which are called peremptory challenges.
The general rationale regarding juror selection is that the parties in a case are best able to determine what jurors may be subject to a challenge for cause, based on their detailed knowledge of the case. While judges typically ask potential jurors a series of basic questions, not surprisingly the responses will focus on giving judges the “right” answer.
Many judges, however, will allow the attorneys to ask additional questions, which can at times delve into personal, intimate and/or embarrassing issues that people naturally avoid whenever possible. A skillful OUIL defense attorney must have the ability to elicit information in such a manner as to establish a rapport and trust which will increase the likelihood of candid answers from people who have already demonstrated an ability to underemphasize their personal viewpoints.
Attorney-conducted questioning enables an experienced drunk driving attorney to frame questions based on responses to prior questions and allows observation of the jurors’ reactions to these questions. Through these carefully crafted questions, answers, and observations, defense counsel can more accurately determine whether actual bias exists in the minds of the prospective jurors and exercise both challenges for cause and peremptory challenges in a rational and informed fashion, in consultation with the client.
Because determining whether a juror is biased is difficult, the questions asked of prospective jurors must be probing enough to allow the parties’ attorneys to make meaningful decisions regarding challenges for cause and peremptory challenges.
In an OWI case, few people are ambivalent about drunk driving but many people are reluctant to publicly reveal their true positions. Juror self-assessment of bias is inherently untrustworthy, and the questions from the attorneys are often necessary to reveal bias that is not initially apparent.
Questions may be phrased in terms that encompass others besides the jurors themselves- for example, “have you, a family member or a close friend ever….” This can be important because people are often influenced by family or friends who have experienced difficulties they have not.
Inquiry should be made as to whether or not jurors personally know the judge, court personnel, police officers or other witnesses involved, as well as the attorneys trying the case and even other attorneys in the office of the Prosecuting Attorney.
People who are or know police or corrections officers will often be conservative and law-abiding and have disdain for others who break the rules (laws). Also, many in law enforcement have a “them versus us” point of view, which can cause them to view events with rigidity and in black-and-white terms. If the potential issue is the adequacy of an investigation by a police officer, such a juror can be extremely close-minded and unwilling to consider the defense perspective. It is not uncommon for criminal defense attorneys in Michigan to see a “holier than thou” attitude from police officers.
Additionally, many jurors view law enforcement, state troopers, police officers and deputy sheriffs as inherently more believable than a “civilian” witness, and they find the cross-examination of defense counsel, especially if conducted in an aggressive manner, to be offensive. This bias remains even after the jury is instructed by the judge to look at the testimony from police officers exactly as they look at testimony from all other witnesses.
Nearly everyone has an operator’s license and drives a vehicle, while the majority of persons drink alcohol of some type at least occasionally. It is a good idea to know who doesn’t drive, and if so, why not, and it is essential to make a determination as to who does not drink alcohol so that follow-up questions can be asked. Some families have members who are substance abusers that have caused themselves or a relative great pain and hardship, and such people are quite set against any alcohol consumption.
Many people know someone who has been a victim of a crime, even if they have not personally. In these circumstances, the Michigan criminal justice system can be seen as either friend or foe- that is, as being helpful in obtaining redress and seeing justice done, or as letting the guilty go free on a perceived “technicality.”
Many people have been involved in vehicular accidents, some involving intoxicated drivers. It is not unusual for a number of potential jurors to either have family members or a close friend who was seriously injured, or even killed, in an accident involving a drunk driver. It would be completely understandable for such a person to be bitter or angry about such misfortune, and to want to see “justice” done by punishing the defendant, who is alleged to be a drunk driver.
While most jurors would prefer to hear a defendant’s version of events, many of them are, surprisingly, willing to acknowledge the Constitutional right to remain silent. These jurors will accept the fact that this information will not become part of the evidence at trial, in part due to notions of fairness, as between a government with seemingly infinite resources and a defendant with limited resources. Despite all of the talk about a fair trial, experienced criminal defense lawyers know that the playing field is almost never level.
Jurors should be questioned as to their feelings and beliefs about all important issues in the defense that is being presented, such as the conduct of “sobriety” tasks routinely administered on the roadside and the reliability and protocol of breath or blood chemical tests the prosecutor will seek to introduce. Will guilt be established to a juror’s satisfaction if a chemical test result over the legal limit is introduced, without more? Can a particular juror be made to understand the many possible errors that can exist with the chemical or breath testing of a defendant? Or is the juror too close minded to even take a meaningful look at the flaws in the testing?
Most importantly, is the potential juror willing and able to keep an open mind throughout the presentation of all the evidence? The prosecutor, who has only the burden of proof, in every criminal trial in Michigan, presents evidence first. The initial information provided to the jury is about the defendant on the date of arrest and will include his or her alleged improper driving, speech difficulty, poor balance and inability to follow simple instructions from the arresting officer,. Testimony will also usually include chemical test results said to be above the legal limit of 0.08 grams or more per 100 milliliters of blood, per 210 liters of breath, or per 67 milliliters of urine.
Will each juror listen to any evidence of improper driving, for example, without concluding such operation is necessarily due to alcohol consumption? Has that juror ever driven poorly themselves (most likely) and, if so, was it due to intoxication or poor judgment (often the latter) or simply being distracted? Poor performance of “sobriety” tasks will be argued as reliable evidence of impairment, until the jury sees the officer have difficulty performing the tame tasks in the courtroom or they attempt to perform the same task in the jury room.
Similarly, is a juror willing to consider deficiencies in any chemical test results that were offered as evidence of intoxication that are derived from a laboratory that may not be properly certified or that are conducted by poorly-trained lab personnel using equipment that may be defective or improperly calibrated?
In summary, jury selection in a Michigan OWI case is an important tool for a competent and experienced OWI defense attorney to use to “level the playing field,” discover and minimize biased potential jurors and increase the likelihood of a not guilty verdict at trial.
No related posts. | <urn:uuid:168805e2-47ed-4d12-98c2-55bfb6834ffe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.michiganouidefense.com/blog/the-importance-of-jury-selection-in-a-drunk-driving-or-operating-while-intoxicated-owi-trial/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965794 | 2,092 | 1.929688 | 2 |
The Tampa Bay area poses a unique challenge for mass transportation. We'll take a look at the reasons we're behind other metropolitan areas our size and what community leaders are doing to increase our transportation options. You'll also see why having better transportation options makes for a better economy. And we'll hear from one man who has turned his commute to work into a way of life for his whole family. Also: For years, Floridians have heard that the solution to our traffic woes is rail: commuter rail, high-speed rail, light rail. In the Bay area, creation of a regional transit master plan is underway and Tampa's mayor is pushing for light rail in the city. We'll talk to people from Miami and Salt Lake City to find out how they created their rail systems and what they've learned from operating them.
Gabriel and Lesley Tinnaro of St. Petersburg live their lives as most people do. They work for a living while raising a family. They pay bills and go to the store just like everyone else does. Three years ago, though, Gabriel made a change he now says he's really benefitted from - by denying himself the typical convenience most of us take for granted: driving to work. He doesn't focus on what he's missing, though - he's focusing on what he's gained. Producer Larry Elliston brings us Gabriel's journey in this week's feature for Florida Stories. | <urn:uuid:04593d38-e56a-41e0-bb14-dbcf2eb91ece> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wusf.usf.edu/node?page=1365 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98224 | 287 | 1.585938 | 2 |
SEC. 1. PURPOSE AND POLICY OF UNITED STATES (46 App. U.S.C. 861 (2002).
It is necessary for the national defense and for the proper growth of its foreign and domestic commerce that the United States shall have a merchant marine of the best equipped and most suitable types of vessels sufficient to carry the greater portion of its commerce and serve as a naval or military auxiliary in time of war or national emergency, ultimately to be owned and operated privately by citizens of the United States; and it is declared to be the policy of the United States to do whatever may be necessary to develop and encourage the maintenance of such a merchant marine, and, in so far as may not be inconsistent with the express provisions of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall, in the disposition of vessels and shipping property as hereinafter provided, in the making of rules and regulations, and in the administration of the shipping laws keep always in view this purpose and object as the primary end to be attained.
PURCHASE ALLOWANCE IN SALE OF VESSELS FOR COST OF PUTTING VESSELS IN CLASS (46 App. U.S.C. 864a (2002).
2 Hereafter the Secretary of Transportation may make allowances to purchasers of vessels for cost of putting such vessels in class, such allowances to be determined on the basis of competitive bids, without regard to the provisions of the last paragraph of section 3(d) of the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946.
ELEMENTS CONSIDERED IN SALE OF VESSELS IN DETERMINATION OF SELLING PRICE (46 App. U.S.C. 864b (2002)).
3 Hereafter, no sale of a vessel by the Maritime Administration of the Department of Transportation shall be completed until its ballast and equipment shall have been inventoried and their value taken into consideration by the Maritime Administration in determining the selling price.
SEC. 6. SALE TO ALIENS (46 App. U.S.C. 865 (2002).
The Secretary of Transportation is authorized and empowered to sell to aliens, at such prices and on such terms and conditions as he may determine, not inconsistent with the provisions of section 5 (except that completion of the payment of the purchase price and interest shall not be deferred more than ten years after the making of the contract of sale), such vessels as he shall, after careful investigation, deem unnecessary to the promotion and maintenance of an efficient American merchant marine; but no such sale shall be made unless the Secretary of Transportation, after diligent effort, has been unable to sell, in accordance with the terms and conditions of section 5, such vessels to persons citizens of the United States, and has determined to make such sale; and he shall make as a part of his records a full statement of its reasons for making such sale. Deferred payments of purchase price of vessels under this section shall bear interest at the rate of not less than 5 per centum per annum, payable semiannually.
SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF STEAMSHIP LINES BETWEEN PORTS OF UNITED STATES; INVESTIGATION AND DETERMINATION; SALE OR CHARTER OF VESSELS; PREFERENCE IN SALES OR CHARTERS; CONTINUED OPERATION OF LINES; ADDITIONAL LINES; RATES AND CHARGES (46 App. U.S.C. 866 (2002).
The Secretary of Transportation is authorized and directed to investigate and determine as promptly as possible after the enactment of this Act and from time to time thereafter what steamship lines should be established and put in operation from ports in the United States or any Territory, District, or possession thereof to such world and domestic markets as in his judgment are desirable for the promotion, development, expansion, and maintenance of the foreign and coastwise trade of the United States and an adequate postal service, and to determine the type, size, speed, and other requirements of the vessels to be employed upon such lines and the frequency and regularity of their sailings, with a view to furnishing adequate, regular, certain, and permanent service. The Secretary of Transportation is authorized to sell, and if a satisfactory sale cannot be made, to charter such of the vessels referred to in section 4 of this Act or otherwise acquired by the Secretary of Transportation, as will meet these requirements to responsible persons who are citizens of the United States who agree to establish and maintain such lines upon such terms of payment and other conditions as the Secretary of Transportation may deem just and necessary to secure and maintain the service desired; and if any such steamship line is deemed desirable and necessary, and if no such citizen can be secured to supply such service by the purchase or charter of vessels on terms satisfactory to the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Transportation shall operate vessels on such line until the business is developed so that such vessels may be sold on satisfactory terms and the service maintained, or unless it shall appear within a reasonable time that such line cannot be made self-sustaining: Provided, That preference in the sale or assignment of vessels for operation on such steamship lines shall be given to persons who are citizens of the United States who have the support, financial and otherwise, of the domestic communities primarily interested in such lines if the Secretary of Transportation is satisfied of the ability of such persons to maintain the service desired and proposed to be maintained, or to persons who are citizens of the United States who may then be maintaining a service from the port of the United States to or in the general direction of the world-market port to which the Secretary of Transportation has determined that such service should be established: Provided further, That where steamship lines and regular service have been established and are being maintained by ships of the board at the time of the enactment of this Act, such lines and service shall be maintained by the board until, in the opinion of the board, the maintenance thereof is unbusinesslike and against the public interests: And provided further, That whenever the Secretary of Transportation shall determine, as provided in this Act, that trade conditions warrant the establishment of a service or additional service under Government administration where a service is already being given by persons, citizens of the United States, the rates and charges for such Government service shall not be less than the cost thereof, including a proper interest and depreciation charge on the value of Government vessels and equipment employed therein.
SEC. 8. INVESTIGATION OF PORT, TERMINAL, AND WAREHOUSE FACILITIES (46 App. U.S.C. 867 (2002).
It shall be the duty of the Secretary of Transportation, in cooperation with the Secretary of War, with the object of promoting, encouraging, and developing ports and transportation facilities in connection with water commerce over which he has jurisdiction, to investigate territorial regions and zones tributary to such ports, taking into consideration the economies of transportation by rail, water, and highway and the natural direction of the flow of commerce; toinvestigate the causes of the congestion of commerce at ports and the remedies applicable thereto; to investigate the subject of water terminals, including the necessary docks, warehouses, apparatus, equipment, and appliances in connection therewith, with a view to devising and suggesting the types most appropriate for different locations and for the most expeditious and economical transfer or interchange of passengers or property between carriers by water and carriers by rail; to advise with communities regarding the appropriate location and plan of construction of wharves, piers, and water terminals; to investigate the practicability and advantages of harbor, river, and port improvements in connection with foreign and coastwise trade; and to investigate any other matter that may tend to promote and encourage the use by vessels of ports adequate to care for the freight which would naturally pass through such ports: Provided, That if after such investigation the Secretary of Transportation shall be of the opinion that rates, charges, rules, or regulations of common carriers by rail subject to the jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board are detrimental to the declared object of this section, or that new rates, charges, rules, or regulations, new or additional port terminal facilities, or affirmative action on the part of such common carriers by rail is necessary to promote the objects of this section, the Secretary of Transportation may submit his findings to the Surface Transportation Board for such action as such Board may consider proper under existing law.
SEC. 9. VESSELS SOLD UNDER DEFERRED PAYMENT PLAN; INSURANCE (46 App. U.S.C. 868 (2002).
If the terms and conditions of any sale of a vessel made under the provisions of this Act include deferred payments of the purchase price, the Secretary of Transportation shall require, as part of such terms and conditions, that the purchaser of the vessel shall keep the same insured (a) against loss or damage by fire, and against marine risks and disasters, and war and other risks if the Secretary of Tran That no vessel which has acquired the lawful right to engage in the coastwise trade, by virtue of having been built in or documented under the laws of the United States, and which has later been rebuilt, shall have the right thereafter to engage in the coastwise trade, unless the entire rebuilding, including the construction of any major components of the hull or superstructure of the vessel, is effected within the United States | <urn:uuid:8ee746d8-4e31-417d-8a8d-cc54d1e3a996> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.metaltrades.org/?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=181344&page=Shipbuilding | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952982 | 1,919 | 1.617188 | 2 |
With the much-trumpeted Nato Summit in Chicago coming to an end, it is time to tally the scorecard for the major participants. This being an election year, the Summit had a domestic agenda apart from its foreign policy objectives. US President Barack Obama was largely successful in reassuring his unhappy voters that his promise to disengage militarily from Afghanistan was “irreversible”. Earlier, he had secured a major victory, convincing Afghan President Hamid Karzai to agree to their bilateral strategic agreement that will provide the US with the legal framework to retain control over Afghanistan’s many military facilities.
Other Nato countries can also congratulate themselves for getting the alliance’s formal approval for the departure deadline, which was important in quelling growing unrest among large sections of the American populace.
President Karzai, too, has good reasons to feel satisfied. He was not only the summit’s sought after star, but one whose role in the endgame was highlighted. This has given rise to speculation that he may seek exemption from the constitutional ban on a third term, offering his candidacy as the only politician enjoying domestic consensus as well as foreign acceptability.
It was, however, Pakistan which was the lone man out, especially after failing to honour signals from the US, indicating their readiness for the supply routes through Afghanistan to be reopened, which in fact helped Pakistan receive a last-minute invitation. Earlier, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar had acknowledged that notwithstanding her earlier rhetorical flourishes emphasising national honour and dignity, it had now dawned on her that Pakistan could not afford to annoy the Nato! Consequently, President Asif Ali Zardari had to suffer the indignity of Secretary General Rasmussen declining to meet him on the plea of scheduling problems, while President Obama rejected the request for a formal call.
The summit in Chicago did confirm that neither the US nor the Nato are interested in building a democratic state any longer, satisfied instead with what they call “Afghanistan is good enough”. President Obama admitted that there is never going to be a “point when we can say that this is perfect … it may sometimes be a messy process”, while his National Security Council chief Tom Donilon alluded to the limited nature of US strategy, when confirming that the US now aimed to ensure that al Qaeda and associated groups “cannot have safe havens unimpeded”. With the US goalposts having been lowered, it was no surprise that the summit failed to outline a post-withdrawal political strategy for Afghanistan. Nor did anyone ask as to what happens when the country is threatened by civil war, with the Taliban appearing to have lost interest in the reconciliation process, thanks to the Pentagon’s intransigence. Most likely, Nato will pursue a ‘Fortress Kabul’ strategy, while holding Pakistan responsible for the inevitable mess in that country. Both President Obama and Secretary General Rasmussen made obvious their worries on this score, with the latter pointing out that “there can be no drawdown of troops from Afghanistan without Pakistan’s help”, while President Obama was harsher, remarking: “the US did not want Pakistan to be consumed by its own extremists”.
In retrospect, it would appear that our eagerness to be present in Chicago without having first carried out necessary homework was a mistake. Confusion reigns supreme, with Pakistan claiming that the issue of supply routes lies with parliament, though demanding a much higher fee, prompting Defence Secretary Leon Panetta to reject it as “gouging”. The US says it wants to rebuild relations but instead of resolving issues, it has added to the ‘charge sheet’ against Pakistan, calling Dr Shakil Afridi’s imprisonment “unwarranted”. Both countries appear to have lost their ingenuity and imagination, frozen in mutual recriminations, while oblivious to the looming dangers in post-2014 Afghanistan, with its ill-trained and tribally fractured army incapable of ensuring peace in the country. The consequences of this are likely to be bad for everyone, but primarily so for Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 30th, 2012.
More in OpinionAnother glimpse at Howrah Bridge? | <urn:uuid:90773204-8d3e-4b60-a36a-97174ccafc5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tribune.com.pk/story/385776/chicagos-scorecard/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969805 | 866 | 1.609375 | 2 |
The worst thing that could happen to any community or sect within our broader society is for it to be classed as one that gives priority to sectarian loyalty over national commitment. The honourable Alawite sect is facing this grave crisis, and it finds itself in an extremely unenviable position, particularly in light of the presence of a minority regime that continues to commit bloody massacres against its own people in its endeavour to establish a sectarian state. Lebanon’s Shiite community are facing the same crisis as they fight against their own conscience regarding their position on the situation in Syria, particularly with regards to its cast-iron security obligations in terms of weapons, finance and blood.
As history shows, nations endure, whilst sects fall into oblivion, migrate away from the region or are physically liquidated!
The Lebanese Druze, led by Walid Jumblatt, are also facing this same crisis; however regardless of your personal view of “Walid Bek”, he has managed to utilize a pragmatic policy to preserve the sect’s interests within the social fabric of the country. Lebanon’s Maronite community faced this same crisis, and they found themselves divided between backing the Arab Nationalist role, represented by bias towards Syria, or the Phoenician role, represented by mother France. This division remained in place until Pope John Paul II issued a papal bull calling on Lebanon’s Christians to accept and co-exist with the country’s Arab identity. The Kurdish community, in Syria, Turkey and Iraq, are also facing this same crisis, and they have decided that their harsh national experience in the above-mentioned countries can only be solved by the establishment of a strong Kurdish homeland that can bring together the Kurdish Diaspora and preserve the Kurdish national identity.
However the Kurdish state project is facing a number of difficult challenges. Firstly, there is the issue of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which exists as a Kurdish region, but needs to be officially declared as an [independent] state. The second issue relates to Syria, particularly the developing military struggle that is taking place in the country. This is not to mention Turkey’s stubborn political stance which strongly rejects the establishment of any Kurdish homeland that incorporates the Syrian and Turkish Kurdish communities.
What is happening now in the Arab world is that we are seeing minorities and communities contemplating the difficult choice between remaining within their existing multicultural states or resorting to the projects that are being strongly put forward today by some sectors, namely the project to secede and establish independent states in order to satisfy the rights of these minorities.
In summary, this is the hard choice between “unity” and “separation”. That is the question, and it is an extremely tough one!
Anybody who has observed the output of US think-tanks and policy institutes since the 1980s will no doubt be aware that they have long promoted the idea of multiple regional states as the best way to meet the requirements and demands of such minorities and sects, particularly after successive regional states have failed in this regard. Here we will see that this list includes Egypt’s Coptic and Nubian communities, the Berber community in Morocco, the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds in Iraq, Yemen’s Huthi rebels, the Nubian people of Sudan, Lebanon’s Druze community, the Tuareg people of Algeria and Libya and Bahrain’s Shiite community, not to mention Somalia, which appears to be headed towards even greater fragmentation and division! Certainly all of the above sects and communities are examining the trade-off between remaining within their current states, or responding to potentially risky and dangerous calls for secession and independence.
We must have the courage to acknowledge that the majority of national state projects have dealt with religious, ethnic and tribal minorities with some form of racism and inequality, and today it seems that it is time to pay the piper! | <urn:uuid:ed3dcebd-e02a-4d8a-afb3-f260883743c0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yemenfox.net/articles.php?lang=english&id=717 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962278 | 804 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Kate Hinds is an Associate Producer for WNYC News. She also reports for WNYC and Transportation Nation, a public radio reporting project that combines the work of multiple newsrooms to provide coverage of how we build, rebuild and get around the nation.
Fare Beaters Cost City $100M Annually: MTA
Monday, June 25, 2012 - 05:43 PM
Fare beaters cost New York City $100 million a year – and it’s worse on buses than on subways, MTA officials say.
MTA head Joe Lhota said he met last month with NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly, who said the police are stepping up enforcement and spot checks on buses.
“This new effort has just started,” Lhota said, “and I think we’ll see the fruit of this relatively soon.”
As of Tuesday, police have made 1,228 “theft of service” arrests on city buses this year. That’s up 72 percent compared to the same period last year.
Thomas Prendergast, the president of New York City Transit, said he was a former bus operator in Chicago, and called it “one of the most difficult jobs.”
“If you want to work midnight to eight, by yourself on a bus, and challenge somebody for a fare … versus sitting in a booth and calling someone if someone doesn’t pay a fare — it’s a very, very complicated issue,” he said.
And it’s not a financially insignificant one: In 2010, the MTA cut 38 bus lines — and reduced service on 76 more — to save $93 million a year.
“Every dollar we can save from fare evasion is a dollar we can spend for other things,” he said. | <urn:uuid:54cc390d-1e49-4965-b762-3b6f670b5891> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2012/jun/25/fare-evasion-costs-city-100-million-annually/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952779 | 381 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Trees Columbus has been in the community for over ten years, promoting the importance of trees.
All you have to do is drop it off. Then your Christmas tree is thrown into the chipper and turned into mulch.
Reagan Parrish loves animals, she has 15. “A turtle named Einstein, a lot of fish,” said Parrish.
A local magazine makes a small change with a big payoff.
A group of students at columbus tech are doing their part to help the environment: they're going green.
A SagamoreHill Broadcasting Station | <urn:uuid:f9f21be2-32e8-44c3-9506-02aa84279881> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mycommunitygreen.com/wltz/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976333 | 121 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Im a Science teacher in a foreign country working in a christian school. Sounds great ay? Its not. Im surrounded by uneducated bible bashers who know nothing about Christianity. And thats the teachers! In fact the kids are actually smarter because they haven't had too much of it drilled into them yet, and they are lucky enough to have a free thinking teacher like me to advise them to see through the BS. But I have to tread carefully.
I just wondered how you guys would tackle this issue of Intelligent design vs evolution. My kids are only 10 years old so its not like im going into hardcore. Just the basics. Thanks.
That makes you the original crocoduck.
I get that a lot - well, at least the crock o' part --
Get Richard Dawkins - Magic of Reality.
A little bit much for 10 year olds. I just downloaded the iPad version for my nine year old and it was a bit much for her but I know over the next few years we can read it together.
Good Luck. Thank the universe for teachers like you.
in a foreign country
I assume foreign means foreign to the USA?
how you guys would tackle this issue of Intelligent design vs evolution. My kids are only 10 years old
To start with, I think 10 years old might be a bit young to bring up evolution. I remember learning about it in grade 8 or 9 at 13 or 14 years old and I didn't really get it until years later. What is the curriculum? If evolution isn't on it, it might be better to wait and just develop their scientific minds in the meantime.
Bringing up ID in a science classroom is exactly what the creationists want. I wouldn't bother bringing it up at all unless specifically asked and even then explain why it is not a valid theory. When using "evidence", try to make sure you use photographs for evolution, not diagrams, definitely not illustrations. Illustrations are what you typically find in children's bible studies books (you will most likely have to resort to these illustrations when talking about ID).
Creationism is someone deciding when your turn is
Evolution is reaching into the hat and making a random drawing.
Evolution doesn't play favorites, creationism does.
Hi Rich. The I.D. defenders are heavy handed with young minds. Video (my page). Would a few prints of this help? It has been posted here a few times.
After a year of anthropology, years ago, I still wonder about details, but I think it is a good gamble on Darwinism.
It is a lot to understand and get your mind around, are young children even capable of getting it without resorting to wrote memorization or indoctrination? I think children this young, could be exposed to the ideas, but out of intellectual honesty we should not demand so much of them. I think we need to help children 'grow into' the vastness of the world around them, and not force them into one model too soon.
As a Big Brother, I worked with a young boy(8 years old) who came from a very religious family. We took field trips to a local fossil deposit, the Oregon coast to look at the sand stone clips and look for fossils, and even made sure he had the experience to ride an elephant at a circus. He was full of ideas, questions, and 'solutions' from his religious upbringing.
At the fossil deposit, I showed him the layers of shells and emthy layers.What happened here? He said that is was because of the 'flood', but what about all these other layers? Were they other 'floods'? What about the Dentalium shells in a thin layer, these still exist in the ocean. Were they on the Ark to be saved?
He suggested that the dinosours died in the flood also, but I brought up other ways animals could die (this was before the Alvarez model became public).
I think the world around him became much more vast and mysterious and helped him to ask different questions.
I lost touch with this young boy, after two years. Children Services moved him around 5 times over this period, and my life was turning to crap after a divorce, time to move on. I do hope something positive came from it..;o(.
I think the best we can hope for James, is to give them the tools to think analytically, and hope they'll take those back into their religious homes with them.
"Gods are fragile things; they may be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense."
-- Chapman Cohen --
"God is an ever-receding pocket of scientific ignorance, that gets smaller and smaller as time goes on."
-- Neil Degrasse Tyson -- | <urn:uuid:c170ea58-2d5a-4c9e-84a8-9a57418e55be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thinkatheist.com/forum/topics/teaching-the-difference-between-evolution-and-intelligent-design?commentId=1982180%3AComment%3A1136997 | 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 | 0.973616 | 985 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Carbon High School honors its 2010 Sterling Scholars
This year, 11 Carbon High students were chosen as their school's Sterling Scholars( a term first coined by the Deseret News). These pupils were exemplary in various intellectual pursits.
These students were then judged in Southeastern Utah Regional competition. Local pupils were up against a dozen high schools in the southeaster part of Utah in categories such as science, english, business, speech, music, drama and math, among others.
There were two winners and nine runners-up from Carbon High.
The winners in regional competition were Megan Jayme and Kelcee Gilson.
Megan Jayme - English
The winner was an editor for published author LuAnn Staheli's novel Tides across the Sea. She also received the Editor's Choice Award for a poem she published in 2006.
She is the front page editor for her school's newspaper and has had two of her poems published in the local newspaper, the Sun Advocate.
This young woman has organized several humanitarian service projects including making picture books for third world countries and organizing a charity banquet that raised $2,000 for the Cerebral Palsy Foundation.
She also volunteered over the summer at a school for handicapped children, helping them with English and life skills.
The winner was selected as one of four students from her school district whose English skills were high enough to grade younger student's papers.
She currently works tutoring a young girl with cerebral palsy and is the daughter of Mike and Emily Jayme.
She won a $10,000 tuition to go towards the four-year university of her choice.
Kelcee Gilson - Business and Marketing
The winner has been actively involved in FBLA throughout high school. She has held various offices in FBLA including Sophomore Representative, Historian, President, and Utah State Eastern Region Vice President.
She placed first at the Eastern Region Competition in Future Business Leader, Job Interview, and Economics, and second in Banking and Financial Systems.
Her annual chapter report took fifth at state. The same year she went on to nationals in Anaheim, California.
She also has participated in state and national FBLA leadership conferences. The highlight of her 2009 summer was Business Week at Utah State. Her company did very well, and she won first place at the business bowl.
This young lady puts her business skills to work through her internship at Intermountain Electronics. She will be competing in FBLA Partnership with Business this spring and hopes to go to nationals one last time.
She has thoroughly enjoyed all of her volunteer work from teaching a religious education class to dancing with the students at the Castle Valley Prom.
Ranking sixth in her class, she has excelled in rigorous high school and college classes. She also holds the positions of Senior Class President, and National Honor Society President.
She is the daughter of Josh and DeAnn Gilson. She also won a $10,000 tuition and plans to attend Westminister College in the Salt Lake City area.
The runners-up are as follows:
Brian Powell - Speech and Drama
Powell has participated in Debate and Drama for the past four years. His original Oratories have placed first at National qualifying tournaments and locally run tournaments.
He has competed at national tournaments in Appleton, Wisconsin, Albany, New York, and in Birmingham, Alabama. The Winner has also placed first in Duo at the Riverton Silver Splash Tournament.
The winner is the senior editor of his schools yearbook, and has also received first in region science fair. He is the Debate Captain of his high school. The winner has also served with his local community theatre doing lighting, stage managing, and working backstage. He has participated in his schools theatre department taking on lead roles such as Creon in Antigone and Sir Lawrence Wargrave in And then there were None.
He has also done extremely well at region and state drama competitions. Receiving straight superiors two years in a row at state in contemporary scenes and humorous monologues. The winner is also educated in playing the piano and has competed at local piano festivals. Brian is the son of James and Debbie Powell.
Shaylee Donathan - Math
Donathan is a young girl who has excelled in all of her math classes she has taken throughout her high school career.
She has aced Geometry, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Pre-calculus, AP Calculus and College Algebra 1050.
This young lady enjoys challenging herself by setting high goals and achieving them. Not only does she have impeccable academics, she holds the position of Senior Class Vice-president and numerous leadership positions in other clubs.
She has dedicated herself to the sport of volleyball for the past six years while participating in National Honor Society, FBLA, A cappella choir, Academic Leadership Club, Friends of Rachel, High School Rodeo and concurrent enrollment. She tutors math at all levels, along with Spanish and chemistry.
This year, she wrote a math test for her school and awarded prizes to the highest scoring students.
She loves helping others; she takes any opportunity available to participate in community service. Her service ranges from helping young kids build crafts to remodeling a house for a family in need.
Ranked No. 1 in her class, she is the daughter of Mark and Chasity Donathan.
Samantha Olson - General Carbon High School
Olson has participated in National Honor Society for the last three years and currently holds the office of vice president. She also currently holds the office of Secretary in FBLA which she has been a active member for the last three years.
She has held an office in Student government throughout all of her high school career. She has helped organize a leadership's conference for all elementary schools in Carbon School District.
She has a passion for helping others and volunteering around the community, and putting her heart into everything she does. She has also helped direct a district wide writing contest.
While she also has a great love for all sports especially volleyball which she she has played for the last six years and feels sports bring out the leaders in all of us.
She has attended many camps and leaderships conferences in which she has gained skills that she will be able to use to help her in everything she does throughout her life. She is the daughter of Darin and Judy Olson.
Preston Grant - Music
Grant has been a part of the Carbon High School Drumline and Marching Band, as the snare captain for the last four years.
He has been a part of the Carbon High Band program for three years, including Jazz Band.
He has participated in the CEU Wind symphony for four semesters as well as two Messiah performances as a timpanist. He has strengthened his musical talents by participating in five different honor bands.
As a senior, he has been a participant of the A Capella and Vocal Jazz choirs, performing for the community. He has participated in three years of Band festivals, receiving a superior and two excellent ratings, along with two superiors for Solo and Ensemble twice.
He has composed three percussion solos, an arrangement for marching band, and three drumline cadences. He has attended the DCI Drum Camp at Weber State. He is also the 2009 treasurer for National Honor Society and has shown his desire to serve through numerous service projects throughout the community. The winner has also received his Eagle Scout rank for boy scouts.
Next year, he has the opportunity to perform as a marching snare drummer for a mass band performance during the half time of the Sugar Bowl. The winner, son of Wendy and Carter Grant, is Preston Grant.
Michael Larson - Visual Arts
This year's visual arts runner-up has been an artist his entire life. His enthusiasm for art is due to expression his thoughts and observations of the world that he loves.
His art has been recognized by the College of Eastern Utah and his own high school. Along with being a promising artist, he has done well in academics while taking AP Calculus and AP English classes.
Helping the homeless and community volunteering has been only a part of the public service that this artist has contributed.
He has also been actively involved in the education of young artists. While being a positive role model, he has taught many young students about classical art along with his passion for graphic art.
He has done other volunteer work for schools including a large painting for students and improving school safety conditions.
He is a strong believer of the Rachel's Challenge program, spreading friendship and acceptance through his community. He also plays important leadership roles in FBLA and Carbon Students against Destructive Decisions.
From Carbon High School, the winner is Michael Larson, son of Lynn and Rebecca Larson.
Jordan Hussey - Trade and Technical
Hussey, an avid member and the sentinel in his high school's FFA chapter, plans and participates in many agricultural and technological activities around the community.
This individual placed first his sophomore year in the regional science fair in the mathematics division as well as taking the first place U.S. Metric Association Award. This young man spent a week furthering his engineering skills testing wing designs in a wind tunnel and soaring over the Utah State University campus in a DA-40 Diamond Star single engine aircraft. He spends his summers engineering parts for his car and families rock crawlers.
He enjoys working on his motorcycle and four wheeler just as much as loves riding them across the vast Castle Country landscape.
He is the son of Robin and Dixon Hussey.
Kathryn Penry - Social Science
Penry has participated in student government the past two years. She has participated in social science events such as debate and attended Girl's State, where she held various leadership positions including: county delegate, a member of the state platform committee and Chair County Commissioner.
At her school she is currently senior class secretary, cheer captain, a member of the seminary council, and FCCLA vice president.
She has been enrolled in many social science classes throughout high school, including: US history II, Economics, World Civilization and U.S. government.
Also she has been involved in many honor classes such as acappella choir, journalism and A.P. Language classes.
She has been on the honor roll all through high school and is ranked in the top ten percent in her class.
She has had a big impact on her community, participating in many service projects such as helping families in need and regularly volunteering at Castle Valley Center, the local special needs school in Carbon County.
She is the daughter of Allen Penry and Brenna Penry.
Sydney Van Dyke - Science
Van Dyke, as president of the Chemistry Club at her high school, has organized and participated in chemistry demonstrations for elementary school and college students.
This individual earned a 34 on the ACT, a five on the AP Biology test, and, as a junior, she received third place in the Superintendent's Math Competition, defeating all but two seniors in her district. Her Science Fair projects, in 2006 and 2008, dealing with surface chemistry as it applies to carpet cleaning, earned first place awards at both district and regional science fair. This young lady participated in the Advanced Biotechnology Summer Academy at Utah State University, spending a week working in the labs with professors, learning hands-on about the procedures and principles of modern science, and eating Aggie Ice Cream.
She was an intern and Earth Team Volunteer at the National Resources Conservation Service area office and volunteered at Camp Invention, a summer program that teaches elementary school students important science and engineering concepts. She is the daughter of Kerry and Sherene Van Dyke.
Emily Branch - Family and Consumer Sciences
Branch has been an active participant in FCCLA since she was in eighth grade and has competed and placed at State competition every year. She has attended and graduated from numerous leadership courses held across the nation ranging from Nashville, Tennessee to Washington D.C. She has earned stars from the USA leadership (Ultimate State Officer Academy) for the Officership, Capitol Leadership and the Maximum Leadership phases.
She has participated in Pro-Start for the last two years and various FACS classes throughout high school.
She has worked with the Carbon County Healthy Families Coalition for the last two years to arrange numerous family based organizations and motivational speakers Ben Glenn and Richard Paul Evans to come to her community.
She has participated and been awarded in the Be Part of It, Power of One, and Families First campaigns. The winner has served as the FCCLA President, Historian, and Vice President of Special Programs at a chapter level, and the V.P of History as a state officer. She is the daughter of Dennis and Lisa Branch. | <urn:uuid:803997dd-02fd-4c1b-821e-907f2026a2bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sunadvocate.com/index.php?tier=1&article_id=18080&poll=269&vote=results | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982999 | 2,624 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Nick Seddon's intriguing description of the innovative cataract surgery being delivered by SalaUna in Mexico is the latest radical healthcare model from a low or middle income country to be held up as an example to the NHS.
In India, Aravind Eye Care and the cardiac surgery offered by Narayana Hrudayalaya in Bangalore have been recognised as similarly mould breaking. They have in common a desire to extend healthcare to uninsured and low-income patients by driving down the cost of treatment, and have developed new methods of delivery characterised by high volumes and novel uses of staff.
This has sometimes meant taking on the vested interests of the medical profession, and Seddon's description of SalaUna suggests that power lies with the managers of the business, who use contracts, incentives, data and dismissal as tools to shape the behaviour of clinicians.
Faced with examples of this kind, it is very easy to follow Seddon's logic: the NHS suffers from inertia, which is undeniable in some areas. And it would follow that bringing in new entrants to the market and giving them autonomy over staff terms and conditions will banish this inertia and innovation will flow.
But two observations can be made here. The first is that the NHS has already hosted some experiments with private sector companies developing and refining high-volume surgical procedures. Independent sector treatment centres, which have steadily grown in number since Labour introduced them in 2003, have proved popular with patients, as their increasing volumes of surgery have shown.
They have produced some different ways of working; in some cases, managers have been able to run a tighter ship with their clinicians than has been possible in the NHS. But as a whole, they have yet to demonstrate that they are much more efficient or high quality than their NHS counterparts.
The second observation is that there may only be a limited number of discrete, surgical procedures that lend themselves to this sort of innovation.
Most hospital care is complex and there can be considerable ambiguity about the right course of treatment. In the US, Atul Gawande recently explored whether large, chain-style ownership of hospitals and physician groups might lead to a greater evidence-based standardisation of treatment procedures and drive out some of the over-utilisation that has proved so costly for the US health care system.
The example of the US should serve as a counterweight to those who argue that new entrants will always lead to innovation.
In the US, benevolent innovation by the private sector (be it for profit or not for profit) to improve quality and reduce costs is still very rare when compared with the relentless drive of hospitals and physicians to make money and expand, regardless of underlying health care needs or the reality of limited family, employer or state budgets. So much so, that the government is now taking a leading role in enabling and spreading innovation with its Medicare and Medicaid Innovation centre.
Many are watching with interest to see if any of the good ideas that are emerging can be scaled up across hospital and physician groups across the US. But it is worth noting that the private sector can also suffer from considerable inertia when faced with the need to contain costs. | <urn:uuid:83afd32d-3d1a-4f7f-b11a-78e4dc830ec5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.guardian.co.uk/public-leaders-network/blog/2012/aug/09/nhs-private-sector-inertia-healthcare | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969742 | 640 | 1.757813 | 2 |
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Is Agriculture Ready to Feed 9 billion?
New farm crop technology is needed to stay ahead of demand.
Published: Jul 20, 2012
Note: The following item was written by Stan Howell, vice president, North America, Dow AgroSciences, and it offers his take on the challenges ahead.
One of my earliest memories is walking fields with a hoe as a nine year old boy, chopping weeds out of beans on my family's Indiana farm. It was hard work but had its advantages. It convinced me there surely had to be a better way to get rid of those weeds.
And in time there was. Even back then, modern herbicides were making farming more productive and less labor intensive. Then glyphosate-tolerant crops took things to a whole new level offering more economical weed control, fewer applications, less cultivation and significant environmental benefits.
My father was a real stickler about weed control and also about being a good neighbor. He didn't want herbicides drifting onto our neighbor's property. So when glyphosate-tolerant crops first came out, he put buffer strips around our fields that year. Turned out, we didn't need them, but he wanted to make sure there wouldn't be a problem.
Glyphosate was certainly a miracle product. But when glyphosate-tolerant crops first came out there was plenty of opposition. And that's no surprise. Breakthroughs in crop technology usually face some resistance at first.
When the first cast-iron plow was patented in 1797, people wouldn't buy it. They were afraid an iron plow would "poison" the soil and foster growth of weeds. Eventually, people sort out what's true, based on personal experience.
Today, agriculture stands at another crossroads. Overreliance on glyphosate has led to weed resistance, and a few critics now say herbicide-tolerant crops were a mistake. While it's true agriculture has learned a hard lesson from overreliance on a single tool, as someone who walked hours of beans as a boy I for one do not want to go back. And odds are, neither do you.
(Where would this country even find the labor to do all the work these earlier forms of agriculture required?)
New crop technology is urgently needed.
Last year, our planet's population reached seven billion people. By mid-century, there will be two billion more. Dietary shifts from rice and black beans in emerging nations to added animal protein are creating still further stress on the biosphere.
Meeting these increased dietary requirements is not just a moral imperative. Food security is a serious concern for stable international relations, even today. And this food security challenge must be met with essentially the same land now in production, unless we subject more limited, remaining habitat to the plow.
The farming I knew as a boy could not support our current population. Nor will the needs of tomorrow be met with today's practices: not without new technologies, some of which have not yet even been contemplated. Little did I know as a boy wondering about better ways to manage weeds that our world's future might one day hinge on how well we answered that question.
There will always be initial opposition to new crop technologies. But I am a great believer in pooled ingenuity and the ability of reasonable people to work together and constructively resolve their differences. In my lifetime alone, our nation's farmers have learned to produce 260 percent more food, with fewer farm inputs.
Do we have the resolve and the resourcefulness to do it again? I believe we do. But then again, we're going to have to.
Tomorrow is coming. And sooner than we think.
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Althea Denkins was driving from her home in Kelly, North Carolina, on her way to work in Wilmington when she heard BLACK ENTERPRISE Editor-in-Chief Alfred A. Edmond Jr. on the Doug Banks Morning Show. “He was talking about how to live with the money you have,” recalls Denkins, who called 1-877-WEALTHY for a Wealth Building Kit soon after the radio program ended. “Before, you would say [of me], ‘She is very frivolous with her money.’ But after I listened to Alfred and started getting the magazine, I had to say to myself, ‘I’m not building any wealth here. I’m living paycheck to paycheck,’” says Denkins, who now lives faithfully by the principles of the Declaration of Financial Empowerment.
Denkins, 27, is just one of the 94,000-plus people who have received the DOFE principles in the Wealth Building Kit over the last five years. In addition to publishing the principles in the magazine every month, BE conducts wealth-building seminars where editors discuss the DOFE principles and ways to incorporate them into one’s life. On this fifth anniversary, BE celebrates some of the people who have been empowered by the magazine’s wealth-building initiative and changed their attitude toward money management.
A former Limited clothing store employee, Denkins shopped as a regular pastime. “Don’t let me find a sale. I viewed that as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says Denkins. Less than a year ago, the University of North Carolina graduate got a full-time job as a data analyst at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington. She had moved back home with her parents in Kelly a year prior. “When I first moved in with my parents, I really thought I had it made,” says the mother of a 2-year-old named Sterling. Denkins’ retired parents don’t charge her rent and they babysit Sterling free of charge while she works. “With one paycheck, I could set aside money for my car payment and other bills. The other paychecks were mine,” says Denkins. And with that disposable income, she would eat out a lot, treat her nieces to the movies, and buy brand-name boots and clothing for herself and her son. “Now I ask myself, ‘Does he really need those Timberlands?’ He is much happier with those Blues Clues cheap shoes. That was just pure ignorance to spend money like that,” realizes Denkins, who now writes down her financial goals and carries her DOFE principles reference card in her wallet.
“The Wealth Building Kit has made me take an honest look at my finances and make necessary changes in my spending habits,” says Denkins. “For about a month, I would sit down and write every dime I spent, and I realized that all of my money was going to food and clothes.” With the kit as a guide, Denkins stopped all unnecessary shopping and is now focusing on DOFE principle No. 1: to use homeownership to build wealth, and DOFE principle No. 6: to be proactive and knowledgeable about investing, money management, and consumer issues. She contributes 5% | <urn:uuid:f04049ab-5177-4dca-aabf-4d424abcf584> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blackenterprise.com/mag/heres-to-five-years-of-dofe/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974635 | 701 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Artificial Intelligence Scans for Mutations.
Tiny organisms, such as C. elegans, form the backbone of much biological research. Until now, scientists interested in spotting mutations among these tiny creatures had to resort to microscopic examination, which is time consuming and inaccurate. Now a new artificial intelligence programs pioneered by scientists at Georgia Tech uses sophisticated imaging to scan thousands of minute organisms. The program is able to detect minute differences in an organism’s physical form that indicates a mutation. In fact, the AI is so sophisticated that once running, it can predict mutant forms by itself.
More at Red Orbit.
Targeting Tumors with Nanoparticles.
New research from the National Cancer Institute has developed a test tube proof of concept prototype for fitting nanoparticles with virus-like targeted chemotherapy. Just as a virus can attack a cell by using a chemical key to unlock its surface receptors, these artificially created nanoparticles use a similar system — they can self-assemble and then enter a tumor cell by means of a specially engineered chemical key. Once inside, they can deliver a chemotherapeutic payload to kill the cell. The next step in this groundbreaking research is to set loose the charged nanoparticles into animal tumor cells.
More at Nature News Blog.
Finally: Why Dogs Chase Their Tails.
Researchers from the University of Helsinki may be on the trail to the answer to an age-old question: why do dogs chase their tails? It turns out that the answer is more depressing than charming. Tail chasing is the dog equivalent of human obsessive compulsive disorder. Just as some people cannot stop obsessively washing their hands, dogs who exhibit high levels of tail chasing are not able to refrain from this activity. The disorder is to some extent breed specific, with german shepherds and bull terriers among the most afflicted breeds. On a somewhat brighter note, vitamin supplements seem to be associated with a diminishment of the behavior.
More at Red Orbit.
Detective Blood Cells.
An astonishingly ingenious idea might soon turn red blood cells into non-invasive chemical detectors. The process involves filling red blood cell with a fluorescent chemical by allowing the red blood cells to swell up, opening their pores to receive the fluorescent additive. The blood cells would then be resealed and reintroduced into the patient. Next, the researchers take advantage of the fact that near-infrared light can penetrate the skin and in doing so, will cause the fluorescent material in the blood cells to glow. That glow can be picked up by a special monitor and can be used to interpret what chemical changes have occurred in the blood cells since they were reintroduced into the patient.
More at Nature News Blog.
An Insect with Plant-like Traits.
Sopping up and using the sun’s radiated energy through photosynthesis is a skill that most plants share. Why can’t animals do the same thing? Well, in fact some do. Some years ago the green sea slug was discovered to produce chlorophyll and put it to the same use as plants. Now, another member of the animal kingdom, the pea aphid, appears to have adopted the same ability. When exposed to sunlight, the pea aphid produces a critical chemical (adenosine triphosphate or ATP) which is used for cell energy, just like green plants. They can also produce an antioxidant pigment, just like plants do. Scientists believe that the aphids acquired the necessary genes to accomplish these feats by swapping genes with fungi, with which they have had a long association.
More at Live Science.
House Cats Cleared of Human Cancer Risk.
Fluffy has reason to rejoice if University of Oxford epidemiologist Vicky Benson is correct. Her recent analysis of a huge pool of data contradicts earlier suggestions that a particular parasite found in mice, T. gondii, which is known to contribute to brain cancer in humans, might be transmissible to people by their house cats. T. gondi reproduces inside a cat’s gut. Remarkably, its chances of getting inside a cat’s gut are increased if it alters mice neurochemistry in such a way as to decrease their normal fear of the scent of cats. However, despite premature newspaper speculation, the cancer-causing parasite is not easily transmissible from cats to people. Indeed, several food sources pose a much higher risk of infection for people than do their cats.
More at Live Science.
Elephants’ Low Frequency Vocalizations Resemble Singing More than Purring.
An elephant’s vocal “folds” are eight times as long as those of humans. That means they produce sound frequencies too low for humans to hear. These ultra-low frequency sounds can travel as far as 10 kilometers — over six miles. It also turns out that elephants produce these sounds not by quick muscle contractions similar to a cat’s purring, but by blowing air through their vocal tracts in the same manner that people sing or hum.
More at Science News.
Tigers “Protected” from Tourism?
In the Indian town of Sawai Madhopur, tigers are not just an attraction, they are its primary industry. However, a temporary ban on tiger tourism by India’s supreme court has put that industry on hold. The court has found that unregulated tiger tourism is a threat to the tigers. But locals and many tiger experts disagree. They contend that it is tourism and the people who depend upon it who protect the tigers and deter poachers. Of course, economic realities can cloud judgments and it can only be hoped that ultimately the prevailing argument will end up protecting India’s tigers, which represent one half of the world-wide tiger population.
More at Global Animal.
U.S. Corn and Kenyan Maize Face Different But Serious Troubles.
Much has been said about the disastrous mid-western drought that has crushed the yield of corn in the United States this year. But Kenya is facing a different but equally serious problem with its maize crops. Two viruses are causing what is known as maize lethal necrosis. The result is that up to 80% of the maize crops in some parts of Kenya have wilted and died. Kenya has encouraged farmers to destroy what is left of their infected fields and plant alternative crops. Combined with the U.S. corn losses, a drastic increase in grain prices is the one thing that will be certain.
More at Scientific American.
Butterfly Club’s Records a Scientific Resource.
The Massachusetts Butterfly Club’s members have taken pains to document butterfly sightings in Massachusetts on over 20,000 sighting expeditions over the past 19 years. It turns out that those amatuer records are an invaluable resource for scientists studying climate change. By analyzing the club’s meticulous sightings, scientists have uncovered a pattern of movement among certain species of butterflies, each of which require especially narrow climate conditions. The results of the analysis confirm that the climate has been steadily warming and that this is reflected in the species of butterflies that have migrated to and from Massachusetts.
More at Smithsonian.com.
“The Dirt: This Week in Nature” curated and written by Robert Raciti.
|« Previous Post||Next Post »| | <urn:uuid:d0138b17-941a-47cf-a303-4687ce84e2ff> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/inside-nature/the-dirt-this-week-in-nature-august-18-24/7765/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945045 | 1,496 | 3.59375 | 4 |
As the East Coast continues its painful recovery from the wrath of Sandy, some commentators have used the opportunity to put forth their pet theories about climate change. Along those lines, I found BBC Science Editor David Shukman’s commentary on the link between global warming and Sandy to be a refreshng break from shouting on both sides of the issue.
Shukman, whom I would not put into the “denialist” camp on climate change, says that we are all still learning about the link between changes in surface temperature and tropical storms, and as such we need to keep the discussion fact-based. Responding to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg‘s comments on the storm, he noted:
The question is one of risk, not of certainty – the risk that the continuing rise in greenhouse gases from human activities may exacerbate extreme weather.
To go further, as many environmental campaigners would like to – to suggest that the violence of Hurricane Sandy is the result of global warming – is to strain what scientists themselves are able to conclude.
When we have debates about climate change and man’s relationship to it, the two concepts we have to focus on are a) what are the scientifically provable (or likely) facts; and b) what are the realistic and worst-case risks we face? Based on rational, science-based answers to those questions (as opposed to wishful thinking or science fiction), we can craft the policies most likely to mitigate the risks.
I am not yet ready to buy the most gloomy predictions of impending doom (and I’m still buying coastal property), but I have always believed in using the precautionary principle when it comes to matters of national security: give the guy with the scary story the benefit of the doubt and make reasonable, extendable, cost-effective preparations for the worst case.
If, for example, we decide that there is a risk that our dependency on fossil fuels is causing global warming, do we as a nation lose anything by directing university research at the development of alternatives (which, by the way, need a lot of development? Are there not compelling economic and national security reasons for reducing our dependence on a non-renewable resource?
And are there not sufficient public health benefits to reduced fossil-fuel emissions to provide us an incentive to pursue that policy? What about the economic benefits of raising the energy efficiency of businesses, buildings, and households? Can we honestly say that growing more green plants, even if ostensibly to “lock up” carbon, has no other benefits to mankind?
We need to driven by wisdom in this debate, not by fear, nor by greed, nor by inertia. Shukman injects the debate with some wisdom.
- Climate change taken seriously by insurance industry, study says. (latimes.com)
- Climate change poll: 4 out of 5 Americans see global warming as serious problem (oregonlive.com)
- Extreme weather more persuasive on climate change than scientists (guardian.co.uk)
- Tubb: Superstorm Sandy is not proof of global warming (newsday.com)
- Climate Change Made Sandy Worse. Period. (motherjones.com) | <urn:uuid:0475ad67-df42-40e3-af7c-bf10af6fea74> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pacificbullmoose.com/2012/12/17/was-superstorm-sandy-the-result-of-climate-change/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953184 | 656 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Hundreds Gather In Palatine to Mourn Sikh Victims
A prayer sermon and peaceful candlelight vigil was held Monday evening at the Sikh Religious Society of Palatine to remember the six Sikh members who were shot and killed at a temple in Oak Creek, WI.
When asking members of the Sikh community what defines their religion and belief, one word prevails above all: peaceful.
Dr. Balwant Singh Hansra, the former president of the Palatine Gurdwara, wants people to know that Wade Michael Page, a U.S. Army veteran who was the shooter in Oak Creek, WI., misunderstood who Sikhs are.
"I want the community to know that some crazy person, a misguided person, misunderstood us and unnecessarily he went in and started shooting without knowing who we are. We are peace-loving people, we believe in one God, just like whoever he was."
Parminder Mann, 31, of Algonquin, spoke to those who attended the candlelight vigil.
"This is one person out of tens of millions," Mann said. "These kinds of events [vigils] help you cope, let us know that we're all together. [It] doesn't matter what we look like or dress like."
During his speech, Mann thanked the police officers for risking their lives for fellow Americans.
"We are proud to be Americans," he said. "We are proud of the law enforcement agencies who laid down their lives to protect fellow Americans. They did not arrive at the Gurdwara and did not judge who are these people we are protecting, who are these people with turbans."
Amrita Kaur, a 24-year-old from Chicago, said the event was "tragic."
"When you hear that, your heart sinks," Kaur said. "We don't know what the motive is, but based off of history it could be from a lack of understanding. Everyone needs to stop viewing people as others. We practice different religions but we are still a community."
Hansra, the former president, urged the community members at the vigil to remain open-minded.
"We became anxious, but at the same time, we cannot close our doors because our principles say we have to be open," Hansra said. "This is a dilemma, we can't be cutting down our principles — we have to be vigilant ."
The Sikh communinity kept the sermon and vigil open to people of all faiths, Hansra said, in an effort to educate.
"We want the community to pray for us, pray for the souls," Hansra said. "Try to connect, be neighborly, be understanding, because without understanding, there's nothing." | <urn:uuid:dfa9a387-8f0b-4733-9a84-115f3c006bf8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lakeforest.patch.com/articles/hundreds-gather-in-palatine-to-mourn-sikh-victims | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976943 | 562 | 1.695313 | 2 |
With the election of a new pope, people are already speculating at what direction the Church is headed in the next few years. As a member of the Jesuit Society, which is well known for its educational institutions and its advocacy on social justice issues, Pope Francis has a strong intellectual and pastoral background. He has taken a strong conservative position on many social issues in the past and many are wondering just how that is going to translate during his Papacy.
Today, we talked to Reverend August Koeune about Pope Francis and what he thinks his election means to the church. Watch the video above. | <urn:uuid:4efc2a25-9c63-46b2-af8b-8f2fcaa4ada2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kgwn.tv/story/21646982/local-priest-talks-about-new-pope | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990661 | 120 | 1.742188 | 2 |
In less than one week ... Division of Forestry Firefighters have battled dozens of fires in Southeastern Kentucky alone.
Thousands of acres have already burned.
Brandon Howard works for the Kentucky Division of Forestry.
He says this is not your typical spring season for fires.
Once the blazes are gone, they come back.
"The winds picked up and it blew the embers across the control lines... then it started fire there. So we had to put another control line up. This is happening very often in our district with the winds and the temperatures the way they are," said Howard.
Officials say conditions are perfect for flames start up again even after they put out a fire.
Several counties in the Cumberland Valley Region are under a burning ban.
"That's created a situation that makes woods very flamable. It puts all of our fire fighters on the line," said Michael Silliman with Kentucky Division of Forestry.
Forestry leaders say the majority of fires are arson.
If folks are caught officials say there are serious consequence.
If you have a tip for officials concerning a fire you can call the arson tip hotline at 1 800-ARSON.
Enter your number for a chance to win great prizes!
Message and data rates may apply | <urn:uuid:7c8aaf78-6461-4296-9c03-0ccd04295f6f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wkyt.com/wymt/home/headlines/90132357.html?site=mobile | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952032 | 260 | 2.34375 | 2 |
1274. Samuel R. RIDDLE Sr.
(8) was born on 10 Oct 1838 in Warren
County, New Jersey.(6666) He died on
28 Nov 1875 in LeRoy, Illinois.(6667)
He was married to Martha CONLEY in Feb 1862.
(6668) They were married by Reverend Chase. Raymond Edwin Bowlby's
book only mentions three children, Georgia
Bell, Ella, and Frank. Lauri Gray-Stowesand identified Samuel R. Jr.
and William H. These two children seem unlikely to be this Samuel
Riddle's, as Raymond notes Eva Grizzelle writing in which she states:
"Samuel was one of the most kindly and respected of all the family. He
died comparatively young in life and that was regretted...He
lived...on part of our farm, and his life was one of struggle against
tuberculosis under which he went down. His wife 'Aunt Mart' was
equally loved." Martha CONLEY
(7)(8) was born on 12 Oct 1844.
(6669) She died on 14 May 1909.
(6670) She was also known as "Aunt Mart".
(6671) Samuel R. RIDDLE Sr. and Martha CONLEY had the following children:
Georgia Bell RIDDLE.
(8) was born on 1 Mar 1865.(6672)
She died about 1870.(6673)
Samuel R. RIDDLE Jr..
William H. RIDDLE (Private). | <urn:uuid:de178f0d-9abe-4e46-87d2-b5d96adcf6a1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bowlbyfamily.org/ancestor/d206.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979065 | 333 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Society for Rehabilitation
The Society for Rehabilitation is a nonprofit charity that offers physical, occupational and speech therapy to the physically disabled. It accepts Medicaid and other hospitalization plans. Its executive director is Richard Kessler. It is housed at the Northern Mentor Centenary United Methodist Church, though it is not directly related to the church.
- Handicap Accessible: Yes | <urn:uuid:74592272-4d91-49be-a7a5-17e770e533f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mentor.patch.com/listings/society-for-rehabilitation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901227 | 77 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Professor's patent uses moody tweets as indicators of what could happen financially or socioeconomically.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Millions of your 140-character tweets -- that mindless drivel and those snippets of wisdom -- have already predicted the bobbing of the stock market.
Soon they could divine the onset of the flu or the movement of politics.
Since his 2010 research article set people atwitter, Indiana University researcher Johan Bollen has broadened his formula for gauging society's mood based on Twitter or Facebook posts. This week he won a patent for what many have dubbed "the Twitter predictor."
What you ate for breakfast? Your favorite sports team's big win? That funny thing your cubicle neighbor just said? Crank it all through a formula and the tweets can hint at society's collective mood of the moment, based on certain words about how you feel.
"Public sentiment is a pretty ghostly concept," said Bollen, an associate professor of informatics. "You're trying to quantify something that maybe people feel isn't inherently qualitative."
Other researchers have examined tweets to determine how happy people are in different cities or states. Marketers have looked at tweets to understand whether people like their products.
What Bollen found is that these moody tweets can be used to peer into the near-future, as indicators of what could happen socioeconomically or financially.
The first test tied tweets to the Dow Jones industrial average. Bollen's research with doctoral student Huino Mao claimed close to 90 percent accuracy in predicting the stock's short-term changes. When people seemed calm, the Dow went up. When they became anxious, it sank.
The recent patent brings his startup, Guidewave Consulting, closer to selling the invention for wider use. IU's Research and Technology Corp., a Guidewave shareholder, can collect royalties from sales.
But not everyone buys into it.
"I'm still somewhat skeptical," said Mark Foster, chief investment officer for Kirr Marbach & Co. in Columbus, Ind. "The short term is sort of a random event."
"It could be a coincidence," said Bill Wendling, chief investment officer for Indianapolis-based Bedel Financial Consulting. "In real live testing with actual money, it'll take a couple of years to find out whether it's a valid option or not."
Both investment experts say the invention is better geared toward day trading or hedge funds, as opposed to longer-term investments.
Bollen said two hedge funds have tested the Twitter predictor. He acknowledges a risk but uses this analogy: "If you're a farmer, we're not telling you how to grow corn. We're telling you what the weather will be like."
The next step is to steer the data analysis to examine what drives certain feelings. It's easy to see when people aren't happy, Bollen said, "but the big challenge is to explain why."
Contributing: Cathy Knapp, The Indianapolis Star | <urn:uuid:53d916a8-6283-4dd1-b7ac-234811654fdc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/02/20/stock-market-twitter-predictor/1934297/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950804 | 609 | 2.234375 | 2 |
The challenge today is designing the facilities in a way that the technology is easily accessible, and not in the way of something that might need to be done to the physical infrastructure of the building in the future, explains Massey.
“There are a couple of very technology-intensive areas like ticketing halls and security checkpoints where everything needs an IP (internet protocol) address — it needs to be an adaptable network that you can get to and manage,” he comments.
“Particularly in the ticketing halls, there are certain layouts of equipment that you can reasonably expect in many facilities. We try to create right-of-ways beneath the floor that correspond to those equipment ‘zones’.
“The biggest thing we have found we can do with regard to IT is try to be as preemptive as we can about defining the logical locations for future needs, and then reserving those spaces.”
Defining Space; Wayfinding
The ticketing halls are getting to be a third of the size they used to be, relates Massey. “Probably within the next ten years I would think the ticketing hall size will reach equilibrium where it has become right-sized and where the baggage function will be the area’s primary function.”
The security checkpoint is one of the most difficult parts of the building to deal with, says Massey. “The best practices that we’ve found is to provide flexible infrastructure below the floor — you have to be able to get to the floor below the checkpoint so it is easier to run cable and move outlets as the equipment layouts change,” he adds.
“Another trend at the checkpoint is to put ‘soft’ space on either side. By soft space, I mean offices or elements that can be relocated and moved around in case the checkpoint needs to be expanded.”
The intuitive wayfinding concept is an architectural idea, explains Massey. “Particularly, it is related to the departures process, and it goes to the level of service.
“What you want the building to do is make the departures process for a passenger as simple and stress-free as possible ... that is done by creating space and utilizing art — telling people what to do next with the intelligent use of light and volume.
“Tall ceilings, bright lights, and clear views in the direction we want people to go; that’s the basic premise of intuitive wayfinding.”
Most everything is post-security these days, except in places where there are larger meet and greet markets, says Massey.
He remarks, “Concessions are getting more and more important; concessions planners are telling us they need more space. The airport is using the concessions program as part of the branding of the airport and its region; we are doing a lot to integrate local flavor into the facility with regard to the retail and concession vendors.”
Corgan has many LEED-accredited professionals in the practice, says Massey. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a system meant to get designers and owners thinking sustainably, he continues.
“Many of the terminal projects have been certified LEED-Silver; that seems to be the appropriate level for airports that utilize LEED guidance,” comments Massey.
“We spend a lot of time analyzing the passenger population over time so we can determine the heat load, and right-size all of the systems in order to optimize the energy-saving potential of the building’s various operational systems.”
Looking for opportunistic innovation with regard to sustainability has paid off for Corgan, explains Massey. For example, the company reused Redwood from an old bridge for the Sacramento project.
In Dallas, Corgan found a natural underground spring — an ongoing problem for the airport with regard to keeping the basement dry. “We saw it as an opportunity,” says Massey. “We captured the water and used it for the building’s cooling systems.
“We like looking for unique aspects of different projects, and capitalizing on them in a sustainable way.”
With regard to building materials in general, “In recent years, we have gone away from the exposed steel structures in big spaces; it has gotten expensive in the past several years,” says Massey. | <urn:uuid:9a65b257-dfba-4e3d-8d2c-ab29c3fd1bf8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aviationpros.com/article/10710596/trends-in-facility-design?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944114 | 908 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Summer-like heat waves throughout the past three months have made it the warmest meteorological spring on record at BWI Marshall Airport. A stubborn rainfall deficit made it the sixth-driest spring on record, to boot.
Unseasonably hot temperatures struck each month, with high temperatures of 81 in March, 90 in April and 93 in May. Normal highs are in the 50s in March, 60s in April and 70s in May. Compound those anomalies, and the spring warmth record isn't a surprise.
This, of course, follows the sixth-mildest winter on record.
Altogether, the warmth this year has gotten the allergy season off to an early start, contributed to massive algae blooms and fish kills in the Chesapeake Bay, and encouraged earlier-than-normal plant and crop growth.
The average temperature this meteorological spring, from March 1 to May 31, was 59.3 degrees, just narrowly edging the previous record set in 1945. Many of the single-day high temperature records with which we flirted this spring were set that year. But those records were safe -- a 90-degree high April 16 tied a record from 2002, but otherwise, highs weren't extreme.
Here are the rankings for the warmest springs on record at BWI, and their average temperatures:
- 2012: 59.3
- 1945: 59.1
- 1921: 58.8
- 1942: 58.3
- 1977: 58.2
- 1946: 58.1
- 1991: 57.7
- 2010: 57.7
- 1871: 57.3
- 1929: 57.3
The rain gauge at BWI totaled 5.74 inches this spring, more than 5 inches below the typical 11 inches for the season. It was the driest spring since 2006, when 5.05 inches of rain fell. | <urn:uuid:b84d0d10-4ce3-4885-af97-cb91967846b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/weather-blog/bal-warmest-spring-on-record-20120531,0,6000525.story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93935 | 388 | 2.5 | 2 |
The saying 'things will seem different in the morning', rings true as a new study suggests that simply by having a good night's sleep you can decrease the emotional intensity of unpleasant or traumatic experiences.
Researchers from UC Berkeley have found clinical evidence, outlined in the study published in the journal Current Biology suggesting that there is a connection between sleep and affective brain function.
They found that nearly all mood disorders and emotional experiences are processed during sleep to help take the edge off painful memories. They are displayed as sleep abnormalities, commonly involving rapid-eye movement (REM) during the dream phase of sleep where certain stress indicators in the brain are shut down, making the emotional experience more manageable.
"During REM sleep, memories are being reactivated, put in perspective and connected and integrated, but in a state where stress neurochemicals are beneficially suppressed," said Els van der Helm, a doctoral student in psychology at UC Berkeley and lead author of the study.
A typical healthy person spends 20 percent of their sleeping hours in REM, where the troubles from the day are processed reducing next-day subjective emotionality. Building on this evidence the study followed the emotional function of REM sleep, for people with disrupted sleep patterns, including people with mood disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"The dream stage of sleep, based on its unique neurochemical composition, provides us with a form of overnight therapy, a soothing balm that removes the sharp edges from the prior day's emotional experiences," said Matthew Walker, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at UC Berkeley and senior author of the study.
For people with PTSD, Walker said, this overnight therapy may not be working effectively, so when a "flashback is triggered by, say, a car backfiring, they relive the whole visceral experience once again because the emotion has not been properly stripped away from the memory during sleep."
View gallery: Tips for a good night's sleep
The study was conducted using MRI technology to scan the brain activity of 35 healthy adults. They were each shown 150 disturbing, emotional images, twice and 12 hours apart.
Half of the group was shown the images in the morning and again in the evening, before they had the chance to sleep, the second group was shown the images in the evening and had a full night's sleep before being shown the images again for the second time.
The group that had a chance to sleep between viewing the images had a significant decrease brain activity and reactivity in the part of the brain that processes emotions called the amygdala. This indicates that the prefrontal cortex is able to regain control of the participants' emotional reactions, allowing the brain to be more 'rational'.
Walker said he started to investigate the possible beneficial effects of REM sleep on PTSD patients when a physician at a US Department of Veterans Affairs hospital told him of a blood pressure drug that was inadvertently preventing reoccurring nightmares in PTSD patients. "It may also unlock new treatment avenues regarding sleep and mental illness," he said.
So how much sleep is enough to become rational? The University of South Australia's Dr Sarah Jay recommends seven to eight hours sleep per night for adults to be able to reach the deep sleep of REM.
Do you get this much sleep per night?
View gallery: Five foods that help you sleep | <urn:uuid:bd653358-43fa-44ed-af69-ede381a22479> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://health.ninemsn.com.au/healthnews/8379146/deep-sleep-takes-the-edge-of-trauma | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959469 | 672 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Re: How safe for firewall rule using 127.0.0.0/8
From: Moe Trin (ibuprofin_at_painkiller.example.tld)
Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2005 14:57:24 -0500
In the Usenet newsgroup comp.security.firewalls, in article
<9jU7f.email@example.com!nnrp1.uunet.ca>, Somebody. wrote:
>"Moe Trin" <firstname.lastname@example.org> wrote
>> At work, the solution is quite simple - no VPNs period. I know what
>> my "normal" network traffic looks like, and when I see something out
>> of the ordinary, I investigate.
> For this example, your "no vpns policy" would have to include blocking
> 443. Are you prepared to do that?
No, we have written policy in place - the results of violating it are
well known to the users and harsh. We don't have a problem with this, as
our users are not stupid. But let me point you back at the last sentence
above - and tell you to use a packet sniffer (any - even something like
ethereal) and notice the difference between Alice checking her bank
balance (which is prohibited here, but less likely to trigger disiplinary
action), and Bob using a tunnel for surfing pr0n or mailing the company
secrets to a competitor.
>nothing on the network core or permiter can detect/stop this activity in
>any useful way. It looks like very ordinary https traffic.
Then perhaps you need experience and more training.
>All it takes is a single click "OK" and a few prompts that most people are
>used to sailing through.
Train your users. See that your users are not operating as a privileged
user - if you can't get their applications to run without needing that,
get someone who can. Do not use known broken applications because they are
included in the desktop or what-ever, and it's the only thing your users
are capable of running. (Back in the early 1980s, my wife was using a
spread-sheet as a word processor, database tool, and who knows what else in
addition to it's primary use as a spread-sheet, because that was the only
thing her company thought to buy - but then, it was one of 2 PCs in a 40
person accounting department. Let me assure you that things changed over
time when they started noting massive productivity gains, even given that
an IBM PC-XT was a _substantial_ chunk of coin at the time.)
>Lots of people can be tricked into installing that, very easily,
>thinking it's something else. I agree, untrained users, etc etc.
Why are your users visiting such sites? It is required as part of their
job? (If so, I'd start by asking to disqualify those vendors.)
It just so happens that the most frequently used vector to date is that of
user stupidity (why is it that we laugh at the cartoon animal who falls for
the "stand here and press this button" gag, but so many of us seem content
to "click here and be amazed"?) (Alun Jones in c.s.f)
[Remember that one Alun?]
Social Engineering - Because there is no patch for human stupidity.
Uncrackable computers are already available. It's uncrackable users that
are in short supply.
Really - training makes a HUGE difference.
>So you have this user that installs something he shouldn't -- how
>often does that happen? Pretty often.
Very infrequently - for six reasons.
1. We've trained our users.
2. Corporate policy prohibits personal use of company computers, and not
many business sites are so stupid as pull stunts.
3. We're not running windoze, never mind Outlook or Internet Exploiter.
4. Our users use an appropriate tool other than some crappy browser because
it's they only piece of software they can (sorta) use.
5. Our users do not have root (admin) privileges.
6. Our user home directories are network mounted from a file server, and
most are mounted 'noexec' meaning you can't even create a shell script
(the *nix equivalent of a batch file) - never mind install shit.
>I'm thinking, if you block most of 127.0.0.0/8 except for those addresses
>that are absolutely required, you would stop these programs since they
>use an address within that cloud as their local adaptor.
127.0.0.0/8 means "this computer" - many O/S don't differentiate between
IP addresses within that range. In _most_ cases, that address is yourself,
and if you don't trust yourself, there's not a whole lot anyone can do.
>From a network standpoint - the answer is relatively easy - filtering
on the routers between subnets and at your perimeter. No packet passes
our routers unless the addresses make sense - if it's coming from "this"
network, the packet has a source address from this network, or alarms go
off. Packets coming in to "this" network don't have a source address that
claim to be "this" network or they are dropped and alarms go off. The
127.0.0.0/8 fits that last rule too.
>So we're left with the question, does 'unblocking' all of 127.0.0.0/8
>open up any more exposures, and I'm thinking that yes, it does, to
>garden-variety SSL VPN clients.
Unblocking 127.0.0.0 through 127.255.255.255 on the loopback isn't going
to make a bit of difference. 127.0.0.0/8 should never be seen in OR out
on a network interface - copper, fiber, or wireless. Some may want to
block specific ports or protocols on the loopback - if you don't trust
your users AND THEY DON'T HAVE THE PRIVILEGES TO REMOVE YOUR BLOCK, that
may serve some useful purpose. On the other hand, if they have those
privileges, it doesn't make a bit of difference what you do. | <urn:uuid:fc2f3bd2-7565-43ce-b752-0fd097b879ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.derkeiler.com/Newsgroups/comp.security.firewalls/2005-10/0897.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939282 | 1,386 | 1.570313 | 2 |
My first English Literature book at college was a poetry collection. One of the poems was Matthew Arnold's "Balder Dead". We never read or studied the poem but the name by itself was cause for considerable hilarity. In fact, anything to do with baldness was a joke and "rude" jokes about bald men were commonplace, including the nickname given to a former principal, Brother Macarthan, whose fringed dome invited obscene comments and a nickname of a phallic nature based primarily on its resemblance to the rostral part of the masculine member of the species Gallus domesticus. I marvel at those who shave their heads every day and figure if I had to do that I would be Thor indeed.
From Balder Dead and my youthful vanity to balder dread in my university days where I kept my thinning locks long and compensated with a huge Mexican moustache, and now bald or dead as I race towards my three-score and ten. Even the glut of Halloween horror movies no longer scare me. The more hair-raising they are the less the effect on me and my scalp. I can look at Captain Jean Luc-Picard as he commands my attention in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and smile knowingly. Patrick Stewart, the actor who plays Picard, inherited alopecia and had completely lost his hair by the age of 19. When Stewart got the role of Picard, his 15-year-old daughter suggested a new tagline for the show: "To baldly go where no man has gone before."
Now there is a way out. The long and short of it is there is new research which suggests that clinging to the little bits of greying hair and combing it over the big bald spot in the centre might not be the best course. You no longer have to make the hollow boast that "don't mind there is a hole in the roof, the fire inside still blazes brilliantly." It is no Grecian formula that can bankrupt you with implants, weaves, rugs and Rogaine. The findings can be condensed into three words — shave your head.
A rash of newspaper reports gave us the heads-up. Men with shaved heads are perceived to be more masculine, dominant and, in some cases, to have greater leadership potential than those with longer locks or with thinning hair, according to a recent study out of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. The Wall Street Journal, one of the many newspapers throughout the world which carried the story, used the teaser, "Up for a promotion? If you're a man, you might want to get out the clippers" and revealed, "Wharton management lecturer Albert Mannes conducted three experiments to test people's perceptions of men with shaved heads. In one of the experiments, he showed 344 subjects photos of the same men in two versions: one showing the man with hair and the other showing him with his hair digitally removed, so his head appears shaved.
In all three tests, the subjects reported finding the men with shaved heads as more dominant than their hirsute counterparts. In one test, men with shorn heads were even perceived as an inch taller and about 13 per cent stronger than those with fuller manes.
The study found that men with thinning hair were viewed as the least attractive and powerful of the bunch, a finding that is consistent with other studies showing that people perceive men with typical male-pattern baldness—which affects roughly 35 million Americans—as older and less attractive. For those men, the solution could be as cheap and simple as a shave. According to Wharton's Dr Mannes — who says he was inspired to conduct the research after noticing that people treated him more deferentially when he shaved off his own thinning hair—head shavers may seem powerful because the look is associated with hyper-masculine images, such as the military, professional athletes and Hollywood action heroes like Bruce Willis.
According to the other media reports, another possibility is that men who shave their heads are going against the norm of a society that places so much value on beauty, of which hair is a large part. Dr Mannes told ABC News, "It takes a lot of confidence to go the route of baldness, so we think they must be really self-confident." He also pointed out this could be a largely American phenomenon, noting that in England, shaved heads are more closely associated with skinheads and violence. "I'm not recommending that men with thick full heads of hair shave their heads, because even if they gain in terms of dominance, they lose in terms of attractiveness," Mannes said. "But if you're balding, you might want to just finish what Mother Nature started and take it all off. You might be surprised by the positive effects."
Carol Keating, a social psychologist, provides some consolation for people like me who suffer from male-pattern-baldness. She says that looking older can be helpful in the workplace in the way that older, silverback gorillas are "typically the powerful actors in their social groups" in the wild. I figure that the way I look now only Diane Fossey would go ape over me so I might as well throw myself from the Empire State Building. I might be luckier than King Kong. I can either have a close shave and or, as I'm not completely bald, end up with a hairline fracture.
• Tony Deyal was last seen asking what's the difference between a
gorilla, an orphan, a prince and Bruce Willis? A gorilla has a hairy parent, an orphan has nary a parent, a prince is an heir apparent, and Willis has no hair apparent. | <urn:uuid:c3d2b5d5-9f69-4a8d-85a3-a59fd858b16e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trinidadexpress.com/commentaries/Having_a_bald-176056921.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978234 | 1,164 | 1.765625 | 2 |
A top fashion model and exiled Burundian princess has announced she is running for president back home.
The princess is not known for her modelling work back home
Esther Kamatari, who has spent much of her life modelling on Parisian catwalks, says she wants to restore the monarchy to heal ethnic divisions.
Burundi's last king was killed in 1972 and the country was locked in a brutal civil war for much of the last decade.
Under a South African-brokered peace deal elections are due to be held next month, but no date has yet been set.
Ms Kamatari's Abahuza party, whose name means bringing people together, officially registered on Monday and subsequently chose the princess as its presidential candidate.
Father of the people
Ms Kamatari fled Burundi in 1970 after members of the royal family were killed.
Burundi's post-independence history has been dominated by tensions between the Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority.
According to the princess, Burundi's problems only started after the king's assassination.
"Burundi was a kingdom for 500 years... Burundi was peaceful at that time. The king was the father of the whole people," she told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
The princess would like a referendum to be held so people can choose if they want a monarchy or republic.
"If we return to a monarchy... maybe it's possible to find peace."
Not known for her modelling work back home, it is her royal status and humanitarian work that will win her votes, she said.
"Poor people will vote for me, maybe not the intellectuals," she said.
Living most of the time in Paris, the princess says she will return to Burundi when campaigning officially starts. | <urn:uuid:4cf969bb-060f-4ed9-a9df-aaa42134c536> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3688238.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979023 | 368 | 1.640625 | 2 |
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Top-flight soccer players dissatisfied with physique
09 February 2009
Body composition, anthropometrical dimensions and morphological characteristics play a key role in the success of soccer players. The objective of the new study was to evaluate the body composition and body image of a group of top-flight soccer players and compare the results with those of a group of university students used as control subjects.
Marta Arroyo, lead author of the study and researcher at the University of the Basque Country explained to SINC that "the initial hypothesis was that athletes in general and, in this case, soccer players, have a better perception and are more satisfied with their body image than young men their age with similar weights who do not play sports professionally".
Researches did not find significant differences in body image satisfaction between the soccer players and the control subjects. However, "the university students perceived their image much more precisely than the soccer players", said Arroyo.
The body composition study revealed that soccer players had more muscle mass and less fat than the control subjects; that is, they were thinner and more defined than the volunteer group. It is important to note that the professional soccer players are required to check these parameters periodically.
"While the control subjects tended to want a more muscular body with the same amount of fat or less than they had, the soccer players expressed that they wanted more muscle mass, but also more body fat", the researcher told SINC.
The soccer players' ideal image was more like that of the rest of the young men their age. "This shows that what is considered ideal from the point of view of sports is not the same as what is considered an ideal image from the social point of view", she added.
A total of 56 individuals took part in the study; half of them were soccer players and half university students. The soccer players who participated in the study play in the Junior Honor Division, 3rd Division and 2nd Division B in the Spanish league. "Currently, some of them have played with Real Sociedad's top team, while others play on 2nd division teams", said Arroyo.
To assess body image, the researchers used a computer program that showed participants real silhouettes on which they could modify several parameters, such as muscle mass or body fat. The soccer players and the control subjects used this technique to select the image with which they identified and the one they would like to have; their ideal.
The experts expect the results to be useful to all people who work in the field of sport nutrition and in areas related to psychology. "Although body composition is very important in the selection of soccer players, aspects related to satisfaction and body image are becoming more and more important", the researcher concludes. | <urn:uuid:47d19209-1e14-4c36-a8bd-99b7c8ea1cd2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=55086&CultureCode=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974693 | 560 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Joined: 25 Nov 2005 Posts: 2183 Location: Lincolnshire, England
Posted: Mon 08 Feb 2010, 12:37 Post subject:
[Idea]Gui to add netboot capability from an ISO Subject description: Nice project for somebody...
Ive had an idea for another way to boot puppy Linux, another fancy trick that puppy can do to impress new Linux users...Puppy linux prides itself on how many different ways it can be started up!
It should be possible to create a script with a gui to select an ISO file, and make that ISO boot over a standard network. The script would mount the ISO file, and merge some of the files in it, then offer the merged initrd.gz, plus the vmlinuz out via a netboot server (already created!) Ive got no use for such a utility (or the programming ability to make it), but I know where the tools/information is that would be needed.
The commands needed by the script to create a netboot image after the ISO has been selected and mounted
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You can download files in this forum | <urn:uuid:f4c40b97-3381-4db0-88a0-4c4203cd7276> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=52324 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909986 | 275 | 1.585938 | 2 |
The White Blackbird: A Life of the Painter Margarett Sargent by Her Granddaughter
by Honor Moore
Viking, 372 pp., $29.95
In 1986, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston mounted an exhibition called “The Bostonians: Painters of an Elegant Age, 1870-1930.” It collected formal portraits, landscapes, and still lifes by the renowned painters of the Boston School: Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, William Paxton, Edmund Tarbell, and the prince of the portraitists, John Singer Sargent. Many were members of the Boston Art Club, painters who lived on Marlborough Street and had studios on Beacon or Boylston Streets. Their works are by, for, and about Boston society. There are enough silks and feathered hats in their pictures to open a shop, enough chinoiseries to fill a museum, enough flowers to hold a funeral. They are pleasing paintings, to be sure, inspired mostly by the Impressionists, but their emphasis on interior scenes—drawing rooms, breakfast rooms, bedrooms—and closed-in, snow-covered city streets tends to suggest something of the character of nineteenth-century Boston, its cozy gentility, moral superiority, intellectual stuffiness, and suffocating boredom. Although the exhibition included works by a number of women, it did not include those of one of the most celebrated women painters in Boston at that time, John Singer Sargent’s fourth cousin, Margarett Sargent.
Margarett Sargent was not of the Boston School. In both her life and her paintings, Sargent tried to break free of the actual and artistic Boston. For the first half of her life, she was unusually successful at escaping the constraints of her place in society. An extraordinary beauty and the debutante of her day, Sargent put off marrying long enough to complete an artistic education that would make her a promising modernist. She apprenticed herself to George Luks, a leftist painter and amateur boxer whose realist works earned him a place among “the Eight” who broke with Impressionism and introduced a reluctant National Academy of Design to the European avant-garde in the famous Armory Show of 1913. Under his tutelage, Sargent began painting works inspired by Matisse’s expressionism and the Fauves’ use of hot, acid colors. She contributed to more than thirty exhibitions in New York, Boston, and Chicago; nine shows were devoted solely to her work. But then in her early forties, at the height of her career, Margarett Sargent stopped painting. Honor Moore, Sargent’s granddaughter, has painstakingly reconstructed her grandmother’s largely forgotten life by way of asking why.
Margarett was born on August 31, 1892, the sixth child of Jenny Hunnewell Sargent and Frank Sargent, in Wareham, Massachusetts, at the family’s seaside house. Margarett seems to have always rebelled against family expectations, first as a demanding, sickly toddler, and later as a tomboy with a sharp tongue. She particularly vexed her mother, who was prone to be overwhelmed by her six children and the burden of moving seasonally between three separate households in Wellesley, Boston, and Wareham.
A disobedient and dilatory student, Margarett was eventually expelled from a day school in Boston and sent, at sixteen, to Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, Connecticut, where she began to … | <urn:uuid:d274672b-12e5-4d53-9317-b375f885f745> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1996/oct/03/mortal-longings/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967966 | 747 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Many dogs have the unhealthy habit of gulping down their food or water quickly.
Because they swallow excess air along with their food and water or swallow everything without much chewing , this quick eating or drinking can lead to several problems like: indigestion, vomiting or a bloat which can be life-threatening.
To resolve these problems Savic has designed the Slow Down feeding/drinking bowls. These bowls have an integrated elevation which will force your dog to eat or drink at a slower pace. The dog has to eat or drink around the obstacles. The eating or drinking time can increase by up to 50 %. In this way he will take less excess air, produce more saliva and have to chew more, leading to an improved digestion and reducing the risk of a bloat. | <urn:uuid:82565bc1-5dea-410a-be69-f9328ec35ade> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.savic.be/blog/let-your-dog-eat-slower-pace | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960094 | 159 | 2.015625 | 2 |
As PFAWF has previously noted on Court Watch, the Supreme Court this term will be hearing an important case challenging the constitutionality of Indiana's restrictive voter ID law, which unnecessarily burdens the rights of eligible voters, particularly minorities, the elderly, students, women, and the poor, without justification. On November 13, PFAWF joined other civil rights organizations in filing an amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court in support of those challenging this law.
Specifically, our brief, which can be found here, explains that the only type of alleged fraud that is addressed by restrictive photo ID laws such as Indiana's — voter impersonation fraud at the polls — is virtually non-existent. Meanwhile, while these laws purport to address a problem that does not really exist, they disenfranchise millions of voters nationwide who do not have one of the handful of types of government-issued photo ID; moreover, those most likely to be disenfranchised are those who have been traditionally most marginalized by our democratic process.
The Court is expected to hear oral argument in the case early in 2008, with a decision likely by the end of June. | <urn:uuid:808380b7-1dd0-48d5-96fa-30e9b27b81f3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.pfaw.org/content/pfawf-files-amicus-brief-indiana-voter-id-case | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961057 | 228 | 1.679688 | 2 |
HITTING kids just isn't a good way to teach them how to behave.
In 1978, when I first started my speaking business, the idea that disciplinary tactics should not include physical punishment was almost revolutionary. But I felt that it was neither a necessary nor an effective way to discipline children.
But today, increasingly we know and believe that we do not need to physically hurt children in order for them to learn right from wrong. Today's parents have a host of skills and resources to help them raise children without using violence. The idea of hitting kids reflects an attitude toward children that no longer exists. The research is in. It shows that the risks of physical and psychological harm are definite. We now accept that children are not chattels; they are human beings who possess all of the basic human rights including freedom from physical harm.
But, there are still questions that I hear about the topic. So, let's address them. There are many who express the belief that spanking is not hitting.
All I can answer to that is that any time an open hand moves with speed toward a body part, that is a slap or a whack. The fact that the body part is the bottom of a child is irrelevant.
Hitting is hitting no matter what other names we give it, and if we believe that violence is never an answer, we won't hit our children.
What about the criminalization of well-meaning parents who hit a child? Section 43 of the criminal code states that "every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward a pupil or child, as the case may be, who is under his care, if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances."
In my view this section is unnecessary to our criminal law because it exists simply to justify the physical punishment of children. For some parents it offers permission to hit kids.
Although banning spanking would mean that hitting children would fall in the same category as hitting adults and would therefore be an offence under the criminal code, it would rarely be prosecuted.
Prosecution is only appropriate where it is in the public interest. Prosecutors have that discretion in deciding whether an offence should be prosecuted. In the case of the spanking of children, guidelines could require parenting education, parent support and guidance or a simple reminder that hitting children isn't permitted in Canada.
Think about a situation in which a couple is in a major argument and one slaps the other. It's not particularly serious and is a result of the heat of the moment. There is likely not going to be a charge of assault placed on the perpetrator.
What about using force to keep a child from harm? Would it be illegal to grab a toddler who is about to run onto the road? How about wrangling a preschooler into a car seat? Or taking the hand of a child to remove them from a classroom when they are disruptive?
Consent to reasonable force can be either express or implied. It is express when, for example, written consent is given for a medical operation. It is implied when the person against whom the force is used would have consented, if competent to do so.
The common law has long recognized that parents and teachers may have to use reasonable force to remove a child from harm, put an unwilling child to bed, in a car seat, or on a school bus.
These are common, child-caring actions for which the law implies consent on the part of the child. They are entirely different from hitting a child for correction and do not constitute an assault.
Over the years, the courts have adjusted the law to reduce the ways in which parents can hit their children. They can no longer use switches, paddles or belts, but only hit with an open hand. You can no longer hit a child on his head. And children under the age of two or over 12 are not to be hit.
Why won't Canada join the more than 30 countries that have in one way or another stated that their children will not be physically harmed in the name of child discipline?
Our children deserve the best we can offer. Positive discipline which never includes causing them physical pain but does teach them right from wrong will prepare them to become capable adults.
. . .
There is more information on physical punishment and the research at repeal43. org and at cheo.on.ca/en/ physicalpunishment.
Kathy Lynn is a professional speaker and author. | <urn:uuid:0e429069-9534-418c-ade4-77eb4f9384b3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nsnews.com/life/Spare%20raise%20child/7794721/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965794 | 923 | 1.90625 | 2 |
In Syria, over the past nine months, agents of President Bashar al-Assad’s security apparatus have killed more than five thousand citizens, according to the United Nations. That’s an average of about twenty citizens a day since March, when peaceful demonstrators took to the streets to protest the Assad family’s forty-year dictatorship and the slaughter began. Videos uploaded to the Internet at the time showed throngs of defenseless men, women, and children, many of them waving olive branches, scattered by gunfire. Some videos showed Assad’s men (there are seventeen distinct security forces at his service) hunting down stragglers; other videos showed fallen bodies, bleeding and dead; and later, when people gathered to bury those bodies, there were more videos, of Assad’s forces opening fire on the funerals. There is no independent press in Syria, and foreign reporters are rarely allowed in, but as the protests and the crackdown continued through the summer and fall, the videos kept coming, denying the state the power it gets from invisibility. Shot on cell phones, the clips convey the terrifying pandemonium in the streets and linger insistently on its aftermath: a relentless array of cadavers—heads and torsos punctured, ripped, smashed, and spilling—memorialized in forensic close-up.
So the whole world watched, and the whole world knew. The gore made the protestors’ case against Assad so unambiguous that in November the Arab League, which had always defended him, suspended Syria from membership, imposed economic sanctions against the regime, and demanded that he end the crackdown. When Assad went right on killing, the League threatened to take its case against him to the U.N. Security Council, unless he agreed to withdraw all armed forces from cities and towns, to release all political prisoners, to allow peaceful protest to proceed unhindered, to grant the international press free and full access to the country, and to accept an observer mission to monitor his compliance with these conditions.
But Assad’s word is meaningless. In anticipation of the Arab League monitors’ arrival this week, the death toll in Syria increased sharply, as his tanks rolled through restive cities and towns, bombarding residential neighborhoods. There were reports of air strikes, too. Hundreds are believed to have been killed in the past fortnight—the bloodiest days since the strife began—and many more were wounded, or imprisoned, or both (torture and rape are standard operating procedure in Assad’s reign of terror). In a rare report from the Syrian frontlines, a reporter from Der Speigel described the scene in Homs, the country’s most embattled city, writing that government snipers were hunting civilians indiscriminately in broad daylight.
On Monday, the day before the Arab League monitoring team finally began its mission, more than thirty Syrians were reported killed by government forces, roughly half of them in Homs. But on Tuesday, when the first handful of monitors visited the city, the military had withdrawn most of its tanks from the streets—and after a quick look around, the mission leader, General Mustafa Dabi of Sudan, declared it “a very good day.”
This seemed a peculiar choice of words, since video clips, shot by locals, showed Dabi and his team attempting to have conversations that are drowned out by the sound of gunfire as government forces shot at demonstrators, killing a half dozen of them, according to multiple reports. But then, Dabi himself seems a peculiar choice to lead the Arab League mission, since he has spent his working life as an enforcer for the Sudanese dictator, President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted by the international criminal court for crimes against humanity in Darfur. In fact, Dabi was Bashir’s military intelligence chief, and in that capacity he was responsible for establishing the janjaweed militias, which perpetrated many of the worst atrocities in Darfur. Assad could hardly have invented a man he’d rather have policing his crimes. On Wednesday, Dabi elaborated on his first impression of Homs: “Some places looked a bit of mess, but there was nothing frightening,” he told Reuters. “The situation seemed reassuring so far.”
It would make little sense for Dabi to attack and alienate the Assad regime from the get-go, but his words enraged anti-government activists, who have feared all along that the monitoring mission would be a farce, serving only as window-dressing on Assad’s campaign to crush the opposition. After all, if Assad were to abide fully by his agreement with the Arab League, he would effectively surrender control over large, and largely rebellious, swathes of the country. That is something nobody can imagine him accepting, and so far he has met none of the agreed-upon conditions. On the contrary, he has shown every indication that he will seek to give the monitors the run-around, and co-opt them as best he can.
Of course, it’s not in the Arab League’s interest to be abused and made to look ridiculous; and some of its most powerful members—the kings of Saudi Arabia and Jordan, for instance—have made it clear that they regard Assad as having forfeited any legitimacy by killing so many of his people. But such expressions of principle by the Arab old-guard are highly opportunistic. Saudi Arabia, for instance, was happy to help the regime in Bahrain with the violent suppression of protestors, because the Saudis regarded those protestors as representatives of Iranian-backed Shiite power. In Syria, it is Assad who is close to Iran, and the opposition is predominantly Sunni. Similarly, Syria’s powerful northern neighbor, Turkey, wants Assad gone, and is keen to insure that whoever replaces him will not be beholden to Tehran.
The political question for the Arab League, then, is not simply how to ease Assad out, but to consider who or what might take his place. The Syrian opposition as yet lacks unity, and the breadth of its popular support is uncertain.
The fear of a protracted and devastating Syrian civil war that could engulf and destabilize the entire region is acutely felt, particularly with the looming prospect of an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran (and Iran’s proxy forces, Hezbollah and Hamas). That’s hardly a reason to shore up Assad, or send in General Dabi to tell everyone “Nothing to see here!” while the dictator massacres his people. But it does mean that, despite the bite of economic sanctions and the sting of diplomatic isolation—Russia and Iran are the only significant powers that still stand up for him—Assad still has to be reckoned with as a stabilizing figure.
On Tuesday, as Dabi’s team began its mission, the State Department issued a statement that began: “We condemn the Syrian military’s escalation of violence in Homs, Daraa and other cities prior to the deployment of the Arab League monitors.” The statement concluded: “If the Syrian regime continues to resist and disregard Arab League efforts, the international community will consider other means to protect Syrian civilians.” But what does that threat mean? Surely nobody in Washington is proposing to fly against Assad, as we flew against Qaddafi.
Early this year, when the U.N. Security Council came together to authorize the military action to prevent “by all necessary means” the Qaddafi regime from slaughtering Libyans, supporters of the resolution spoke of it as a watershed moment, when the principles of humanitarian intervention—or the doctrine known as R.2.P. (the responsibility to protect)—had, after decades of minor advances and major setbacks, found their fullest formal expression in international law. Even Russia and China were on board, and—most importantly—the Arab League had given the resolution the nod, which was taken as the ultimate stamp of legitimacy to a war waged in an Arab land by Western powers. But within a few days, it was clear that the war in Libya was not simply a humanitarian protection operation, but an investment in a civil war that could only end with regime change, and with that the Arab League disavowed the operation, and the Russians and Chinese, too, let it be known that they had not signed up for such an adventure.
So, for all the high-blown rhetoric of epoch-defining principle and precedent that followed the passage of the Libya resolution at the Security Council, it’s now clear that Libya was a one-off. Rather than making it more likely that the international community would again draw together so completely to protect people from death at the hands of their dictator, the inevitable mission creep of the Libyan operation has made it less likely. War is, as it always was, not a humanitarian but a political undertaking. Qadaffi was uniquely reviled, and uniquely disposable, and disposing of him was the easy part of the revolution (as it was with Mubarak in Egypt). With Assad it’s trickier—and the Syrian people remain hostages of that trickiness. | <urn:uuid:3a56254f-e4c1-42e9-a7e1-a87702826b6d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2011/12/the-arab-winter.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973803 | 1,868 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Stories behind new columns on Torquay's seafront
By ExeCellent | Thursday, September 20, 2012, 13:29
THREE NEW columns have emerged on Torquay's seafront, next to the English Riviera Wheel. What are they and what do they mean?
The new columns on Torquay seafront
They are "interpretation" pieces, telling the stories of Buffalo Bill, Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling and HH The Princess Louise. According to Torbay Council, which funded the works, the "well-known characters" have, in the past, "all been inspired by the beauty and views around Torbay".
"Those visiting the area will find out more about Buffalo Bill's visit to the Bay in 1904 and how he referred to it as the 'prettiest place I have ever seen in my life'," says a council spokesperson. Elizabeth Barrett-Brownings's connection to the Bay – following a horse riding accident – is also highlighted.
Many of the stories on the columns have been taken from the Torbay Connected website, which allows people to access the Bay's history and also to add their own stories, myths and content.
In addition, a second interpretation piece has been located nearer to Beacon Quay. It tells the story of the Barking Furnace, which was used by fisherman to treat their nets with bark preservative.
"Both pieces reveal our rich heritage to residents and visitors and how many famous people have been inspired by our lovely Bay," said Cllr Dave Butt, Executive Lead for Arts and Culture. "The columns create a focal point, next to the English Riviera Wheel, providing an opportunity for people to gather and talk about our fascinating history, while the Barking Furnace information is appropriately located nearer to the harbour, celebrating the role it played in our fishing heritage."
The funding for both projects came from Torbay Council's capital fund for works to Princess Parade and Victoria Parade. The columns have been designed so they can be moved around the Bay during the next year. | <urn:uuid:0b9efb71-e015-47c1-83f2-bdba57770082> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.paigntonpeople.co.uk/Stories-new-columns-Torquay-s-seafront/story-16948777-detail/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962458 | 421 | 1.890625 | 2 |
Here’s a nice infographic from the folks at Business MBA. If you follow Google closely, you would probably be aware of some of the facts. However, if you don’t, you will certainly find the info here to be quite informative.
You may be seeing this Doodle when you visit Google.com today (12-Dec-2011). It’s just Google paying its respect for the man who co-invented the Integrated Circuit (IC). An MIT graduate, Robert Noyce was also the co-founder of the world’s largest chip-maker, Intel (along with Gordon Moore).
Google introduces Currents, an app for the Android and iOS platform that will allow users to read various contents from AllThingsD, PBS, Huffington Post, Fast Company, Google RSS feeds and more, with a magazine-like look and feel. So, is it a competitor for Flipboard? Well, we will soon know.
It is no wonder that Android is the most popular smartphone OS at this time. That’s not it. It has an equally popular app market. Google also revealed that the Android Market has reached 10 billion downloads as well!
Voice Search by Google makes matter simple by allowing you to ‘say’ and search instead of ‘type’ and search! Oh yes, you can now speak the words you want to search and let Google do the rest for you.
The search engine giant has a new mantra, for all of us. “Make your phone your wallet!”. Along with the fellow app, ‘Google Offers‘, the ‘Google Wallet‘ app will soon allow any user to just use the cellphone as a prepaid as well as a credit card, that will be supported by hundreds of thousands of merchants.
Get ready to witness the 1st online science fair! Google asks students from ages 13 to 18 to submit their ideas and propositions for the 2011 Google Science Fair and win some really good prizes for their effort.
Although discussions and events about Android 3.0, a.k.a.Honeycomb, isn’t something new, the “statue makers” for Google finally delivered the Honeycomb structure at the company HQ. There is a giant bee, as well as our old friend Android (the robot), both being a part of the huge honeycomb. | <urn:uuid:7f8e5c17-f2d1-44e5-9ef9-ce9bbd5fc97a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.livbit.com/article/category/google/page/3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949595 | 491 | 2.109375 | 2 |
InstantLabs Medical Diagnostics Corp
. is entering the animal health/veterinary medicine field next year, with plans to develop a variety of tests for the detection and diagnosis of dangerous pathogens in animals.
CEO Steven Guterman says the tests will be based on its general purpose molecular diagnostic test kits, which can be refined for different markets. Located at the University of Maryland BioPark, InstantLabs commercialized its first test kit this year for the food safety market and currently is developing a test kit for the human health/hospital market.
“Our goal is to change the way people do food testing," Guterman says. "We spent a lot of time building a device with the power of molecular testing that is small, affordable and easy to use.”
Food companies typically send samples to an outside laboratory for testing, a process that can take three to five days for results. InstantLab’s test, for both extraction and identification, can be done on-site, with test results within 12 to 24 hours.
Customers include poultry processors, fish farmers and nutritional companies that use the kits to detect different and dangerous bacteria like salmonella, listeria and e-coli.
The food safety kits were first sold commercially in spring of 2012. So far, more than a dozen have been sold, half in the US and half overseas. By early 2013, the company will also have a test for the bacteria Vibrio.
In human health/hospitals, InstantLab is developing a test kit for MSRA, an antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus infection. It received a $100,000 award from the Maryland Industrial Partnerships to develop a test kit for the detection of MSRA.
The company is working with Jennifer Johnson, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, on the test. It should be ready by the end of 2013, after which the company will begin human trials and seek US Food and Drug Administration approval.
InstantLabs was formed in 2008. In 2010, it moved to the University of Maryland BioPark in order to grow internally and have its own laboratory. In 2011, it moved to a larger space in the BioPark, doubling the size of its office.
The company has five employees in Maryland. Guterman says it is looking to hire a senior molecular biologist in 2013 for its entry into the veterinary field.
Source: Steven Guterman, InstantLabs Medical Diagnostics Corp.
Writer: Barbara Pash | <urn:uuid:d15915f8-2efc-4e64-84bb-72738828a439> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bmoremedia.com/innovationnews/baltimorelifescience121112.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948088 | 512 | 2.15625 | 2 |
These are the largest sources of refugees arriving in Syracuse in 2008:
Source: Syracuse school district's Refugee Family Program
Syracuse, NY -- Most mornings, a long line of refugees waits outside an office at Catholic Charities on Syracuse's North Side.
They come looking, hoping, for job leads. They hear advice and fill out application after application after application.
Recently, six refugees -- five with bachelor's degrees -- shared three computers, filling out forms for food service and housekeeping jobs at a local hospital.
But the nearly 1,000 refugees who moved here last year are finding there just aren't many jobs. Half, at least, can't find work.
"I filled out applications, but the economic situation is very difficult," said Bhim Basnet, 24, who settled here in January after living 18 years in a refugee camp in Nepal. He has a bachelor's degree and taught English in the camp; he's applying for menial jobs, but even those are not available.
Two years ago, Catholic Charities and the two other refugee resettlement agencies had no problem placing 90 percent of their clients in jobs within the first three months of their arrival. In the past six months, officials said, only about 50 percent of refugees have found work.
Before the economic recession took hold, the agencies often received several calls a week from employers eager to hire refugees. Many found work at local factories.
"In the past, they would call and say, 'I need two or three people.' Now, I have to call," said Jasenko Mondom, a job developer at the Syracuse school district's Refugee Family Program on Park Street. "We've never had a time that Stickley didn't call with openings."
But many factories have closed, cut jobs or reduced hours. Refugees -- like other Central New Yorkers -- have been laid off at Advanced D.C. Motors, PPC, Burnett Process, New Process Gear, Kilian Manufacturing Corp., New York Bakery and Marquardt Switches in Cazenovia.
Now more than ever, refugees are losing job opportunities to American workers who speak English, have more experience and will take any job in this bad economy, Mondom said.
And for the first time, officials said, agencies are helping refugees who have been laid off from their jobs apply for unemployment benefits.
Got a job, but lost it
Dhargam Ali Alsaadi, a construction engineer who settled here in February 2008, didn't work long enough to qualify for unemployment.
Alsaadi, 29, fled his native Iraq because he was threatened for working for an international company hired by the U.S. Air Force to build a camp for the Iraqi military.
In September, he was laid off from Pella Windows & Doors, in DeWitt, after working three months. Alsaadi settled here with his wife, Rusul Rasheed, and their now 16-month-old daughter, Yusir. In February, they had another daughter, Diaa.
Alsaadi said he has filled out more than 25 applications and contacts employment and refugee agencies every day.
"I fill many applications, but now nothing," he said.
What do refugees get?
Refugees arrive in the United States with a one-time grant from the U.S. State Department of about $450 per person.
For the first three months, the federal government covers housing, food, utilities and other living expenses.
Refugees are required to have worked at least six weeks by the time they've been here for 180 days. Agencies are funded based on their ability to put 75 percent of the refugees working within 180 days.
Hser Hso, 36, a Burmese refugee, has been looking for work since she was laid off Jan. 30. For 2½ years, she worked for a local company making motor parts for golf carts.
Her husband works at Stickley, but it's hard to pay the bills on one income, Hso said. The couple lives on the city's North Side with their two children, John, 9, and Ba, 4½.
"I worry about the bills," she said. "The bills keep piling up, so, I hurry to find job."
Maria Shanchez and her husband, Adel Lago, were both laid off in October. The couple have worked since they settled here from Cuba in 2005.
Shanchez, 48, worked at B&B Lumber Co. for nearly three years. Lago, 46, worked at DeWitt's All-State Stamping Corp. for 15 months.
They receive $175 in food stamps and a combined $335 in unemployment insurance, but they are eager to return to work because the unemployment and food stamps are not enough to support their family -- sons, Juan, 6 and Dayron Reyes, 15.
In December, Sanchez's daughter, Mireya Reyes, 24, moved back in with them after she lost her job at New York Bakery in December.
The couple have put on hold the $50 they sent to relatives in Cuba every week.
"It's a difficult situation," Sanchez said in Spanish. "We left Cuba because of the economic problems and to find better life for my children. If we don't find job, it's going to be bad for us."
Mireya Reyes is taking English classes at Onondaga Community College. She has filled out 25 job applications, but so far she has received no job offers. Her parents are helping her pay her car insurance.
"The situation is bad," she said. "Some places told me to wait until the summer."
More refugees, fewer jobs
Agency officials say they've never had this much difficulty putting the majority of new refugees to work within the first four months after their arrival.
Last year, Interfaith Works' Center for New Americans settled 396 refugees and Catholic Charities settled 527. The majority of the refugees came from Bhutan, Liberia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Burma and Congo.
The Refugee Family Program often placed 30 refugees a month in jobs, Mondom said. In four months -- December, January and February and March -- they've placed only 46 in jobs, he said.
Of the 54 refugees the Center for New Americans tried to place in jobs over the last six months, 24 found full-time work and seven others landed part-time jobs, said Hope Wallis, director of the agency run by Interfaith Works. But some were laid off, she said.
Catholic Charities tried to put 200 refugees to work, but only 100 landed jobs within four months, said Felicia Castricone, director of Northside CYO, the agency that runs the refugee program at 527 N. Salina St.
Catholic Charities helped Megh Powdyal, 28, find a landscaping job that runs from April through October.
Powdyal, a Bhutanese refugee who has a bachelor's degree in math, settled in Syracuse in November with his wife and their 11-month-old baby.
"It's quite difficult to get a job and everyone says it's due to the economy," he said. "I'm trying to get any kind of job."
When their federal funding for housing and other living expenses runs out, refugees can apply for welfare just like low-income Americans.
The number of refugees receiving food stamps, cash assistance and Medicaid in Onondaga County surged 20 percent, from 3,995 in March 2008 to 4,799 in March 2009, according to the county's Department of Social Services.
Typically, most refugees only came in for food stamps or Medicaid, but this is the first time the department has seen an increase in cash assistance for refugees, said Ava Kerznowski, income maintenance supervisor at DSS.
"We always knew that the refugee population would come in for a short time because they would take any kind of job," she said. "I'm pretty sure it's because of the economy."
Looking at different jobs
With the loss of manufacturing jobs, refugee agencies are looking at other areas in the economy -- seasonal agricultural jobs, retail, health care and housekeeping, as well as enrolling refugees in job-training programs.
"We're pursuing every lead we can find," said Castricone, the Northside CYO director. "We haven't looked at retail jobs before. Now we have Bhutanese refugees who speak English -- they can work in restaurants."
The refugee center on Park Street enrolled four Bhutanese refugees in the certified nursing assistant program at James Square Nursing Home and Iroquis Nursing Home, Mondom said. They earn $7.50 an hour while undergoing six weeks of training. They will be hired after passing a certification test.
Two have been hired and two others are in training, he said. Many of the Bhutanese refugees have good English skills, high school diplomas and worked in Nepal, he said.
Chandra Subedi, 24, is one of them. Subedi now works at the Iroquis Nursing Home.
Subedi came to Syracuse last May from the refugee camp in Nepal where she lived for 18 years with her parents, grandmother and five siblings. She and her older sister, Tulassa , are the only ones working. Tulassa Subedi works at a tile factory and their parents are taking English classes and looking for work.
"In the camp, we're passing a miserable life," she said. "We faced many difficulties. We thought that America is well-developed country, and we'll spend our life there and make our future bright."
Some refugees are enrolled at the Northside Green Train, a new initiative developed by the Northside Collaborative to offer basic construction and weatherization training for neighborhood residents.
Ndeze Mahirwe Dina, 25, one of the program's participants, is eager to work because she wants to support her parents in the Congo. Dina settled here seven months ago with her brother, Emmanuel Irankunda, his wife and the couple's four children. Irankunda is also in the green program.
"No one in the family is working," said Dina, who fled the Congo in 2001 and lived in a refugee camp in Uganda before finding a home in Syracuse. "You feel discouraged sometimes. You don't feel better because you came here hoping that you will find job. I left my parents. If I get a job, I'll be able to help them."
--Maureen Sieh can be reached at email@example.com or 470-2159. | <urn:uuid:f3f85592-0b1c-4e88-8414-6d8b423baf15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.syracuse.com/metrovoices/2009/04/refugees_are_finding_fewer_job.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976728 | 2,193 | 1.8125 | 2 |
October 17, 2011 1 Comment
In the wake of the publicity for the upcoming Mission Impossible 4, I thought it would be relevant to do an analysis of Mission Impossible III. Part III starred Philip Seymour Hoffman as Owen Davian, an international black market arms and weapons dealer. Spy and espionage films are often the best forms of fiction that function as windows into real plots and intrigues, and Mission Impossible is no different.
In fact, Tom Cruise’s central character, Ethan Hunt, is based on spy mastermind, E. Howard Hunt. Hunt confessed a few years ago to being involved in the JFK assassination, laying the blame at the door of LBJ. The “Cigarette-Smoking Man” of X-Files fame also appears to be loosely based on E. Howard Hunt: both are involved in high-level assassination plots, including the assassination of JFK and MLK in the X-Files episode “Musings of a Cigarette Smiking Man.” Both are known for authoring novels under pseudonyms, too.
In Mission Impossible III, however, Hunt is in his usual role of heroic super-agent. Davian has kidnapped one of Hunt’s trainees, and injected her with a detonatable microchip, and upon rescue the chip detonates. She warns Hunt of the “invisible man” and that the overall plan is an “inside job.” Where have we heard that terminology before? The plot then indicts the Vatican in dealing with Davian, and the IMF team has to infiltrate the See to kidnap Davian to keep him from obtaining the “rabbit’s foot,” which is said to be an anti-matter sort of compound, later identified as “anti-God,” which bring to mind the Angels & Demons plot of Dan Brown. Read more of this post | <urn:uuid:87b58395-231a-4c5d-a56f-3e78ae4581a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jaysanalysis.com/tag/underground-bases/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961739 | 384 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Spiritual Food for a Hungry World
by Evangelist Billy Sunday
"I tell you that the curse of God Almighty is on the saloon." —Billy Sunday
"They need not depart; give ye them to eat" (Matthew 14:16).
Some folks do not believe in miracles. I do. A denial of miracles is a denial of the virgin birth of Jesus. The Christian religion stands or falls on the virgin birth of Christ. God created Adam and Eve without human agencies. He could and did create Jesus supernaturally. I place no limit on what God can do. If you begin to limit God, then there is no God.
I read of a preacher who said that the miracles of the Bible were more of a hindrance than a help. Then he proceeded to spout his insane blasphemy. He imagined Jesus talking to the five thousand and, like many speakers, overrunning his time limit. The disciples, seeing night coming, said: "Master, you have talked this crowd out of their supper and there is nothing to eat in this desert place; dismiss them so they can go into the towns and country and get food."
He imagined Jesus saying: "We have some lunch, haven't we?"
"Yes, but not enough to feed this crowd."
"Well, let's divide it up and see." So, Jesus proceeds to divide his lunch with the hungry crowd.
An old Jew, seeing Jesus busy, asked, "What's he doing?" "Dividing his lunch." "Huh," grunts this old knocker, "He is the first preacher I've ever seen who practices what he preaches." Shamed by the example of Jesus, this old tight-wad brought out his lunch basket and began to divide. Others caught the spirit and followed suit and in this way the five thousand were fed. This heretic of a so-called preacher thought such an occurrence more reasonable than the Bible account. Every attempt to explain the miracles by natural laws gets the explainer into great difficulty and shows him up as ridiculous.
I wish to draw some practical lessons from this miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand. The world is hungry. Jesus stood face to face with the problem of physical hunger just as we, in our day face, the problem of hunger, not only physical but spiritual.
If one were to believe all the magnificent articles in current and religious literature, one would think the world is disgusted and indifferent to the religion of Jesus Christ. I believe exactly the opposite is true. In no century since the morning stars sang together has there been more real hunger for genuine religion than this. And yet, many a preacher, instead of trying to feed this spiritual hunger, is giving some book review, staking a claim out on Jupiter or talking evolution, trying to prove we came from a monkey with his prehensile tail wrapped around a limb shying coconuts at his neighbor across the alley.
The world is not disgusted with religion, but is disgusted with the worldliness, rituals, ceremonies and non-essentials in which we have lost religion.
There are some kinds of religion the world is not hungry for a religion of formal observances. In Isaiah, first chapter, the Lord says:
"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices? I am full of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts. Incense is an abomination unto me; your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth. When you make prayers, I will not hear them. Your hands are full of blood. Put away the evil of your doings; cease to do evil, learn to do well."
Their formalism didn't make a hit with the Lord. He saw through their smoke screen. Religion does not consist in doing a lot of special things, even if branded as religious, but in doing everything in a special way as the Lord directs. Whenever the church makes its observances and forms the end, instead of the means to the end, the world will turn its back on it.
Praying is not an act of devotion-reading - the Bible is not an act of devotion - going to church is not an act of devotion - partaking of the communion is not an act of devotion; these are aids to devotion. The actual religion lies not in prayer, reading the Bible, church attendance, but in the quality of life which these observances create in you. If the doing of these things does not change your life, then it profits you nothing to have them done. Thousands forget religion and allow the forms of religion to take the place of religion. They are substituting religiousness for righteousness. Jesus alone can save the world, but Jesus can't save the world alone. He needs our help.
The world is not hungry for a religion of theory. There was a time when people were interested intensely in fine-spun theological theories. You could announce a debate on the forms of baptism and pack the house with the S. R. O. sign hanging out. That day has passed; a debate on baptism or predestination would not draw a corporal's guard. The average man has not lost interest in the vital truths connected with these topics, but he has lost interest in the type of religion that spends its energy in argument, word battles, and wind jamming. Religion should relate to life and conduct as well as theory.
There has never been a time in my memory when religion has been so reduced to forms and ritual as today. In the mind of Jesus, religion was not to build up the church, but the church was to build up religion. Religion was not the end but the means to the end. Jesus was so far removed from the formalism and traditions, taught by the priests instead of teaching the commands of God, that he was constantly at cross-purposes with them. A church of make-believers will soon beget a generation of non-believers.
The church in endeavoring to serve God and Mammon is growing cross-eyed, losing her power to know good from evil. Jesus dealt with fundamentals; his quietest talk had a torpedo effect on his hearers. Some sermons, instead of being a bugle call to service, are showers of spiritual cocaine.
I am satisfied that there has never been a time when it is harder to live a consistent Christian life than now. I believe the conflict between God and the Devil, right and wrong, was never hotter. The allurements of sin have never been more fascinating. I do not believe there ever was a time, since Adam and Eve were turned out of Eden, when traps and pitfalls were more numerous and dangerous than today.
The world is not hungry for a religion of social service without Christ. I will go with you in any and all movements for the good of humanity providing you give Jesus Christ his rightful place. You cannot bathe anybody into the kingdom of God. You cannot change their hearts by changing their sanitation. It is an entirely good and Christian act to give a down-and-outer a bath, bed and a job. It is a Christian act to maintain schools and universities, but the road into the kingdom of God is not by the bath tub, the university, social service, or gymnasium, but by the blood-red road of the cross of Jesus Christ.
The Bible declares that human nature is radically bad and the power to uplift and change is external; that power is not in any man, woman or system, but by repentance and faith in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. The church is the one institution divinely authorized to feed the spiritual hunger of this old sin-cursed world.
You will notice that Jesus did not feed the multitude. He created the food and asked his disciples to distribute it. Jesus was the chef, not the waiter at this banquet. Jesus created salvation, the only food that will feed the spiritual hunger of the world; the task of distributing the food is in the hands of his human followers.
For every two nominal Christians, there are three who are not even nominal. Out of every two church members, one is a spiritual liability; four out of five with their names on our church records are doing nothing to bring the world to Jesus. There are twenty million young men in this country between the ages of sixteen and thirty . Nineteen million are not members of any church; nine million attend church occasionally; ten million never darken a church door.
Seventy-four per cent of our criminals are young men under twenty-one years of age. In the past twenty-five years the age of prostitutes has fallen from twenty-six years of age to seventeen years of age. Five hundred girls fifteen years old and under were divorced or widowed last year. Juvenile crime increased in one year from thirty-two per cent to a hundred and thirty-eight per cent.
There are many institutions that enter into competition with the church in preaching certain phases of religion, but not in preaching religion itself. Associate charities preach charity sometimes with stronger emphasis than the church. Some organizations talk about justice and square-dealing with more vehemence than the church. Some individuals thunder against vice and crime more than the pulpit. Many institutions and organizations preach one or more phases of religion, but it is to the church humanity must ever turn for the last word on salvation and eternal destiny.
People are dissatisfied with philosophy, science, new thought - all these amount to nothing when you have a dead child in the house. These do not solace the troubles and woes of the world. They will tell you that, when they were sick and the door of the future was opening in their face, the only comfort they could find was in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christianity is the only sympathetic religion that ever came into the world, for it is the only religion that ever came from God.
Take your scientific consolation into a room where a mother has lost her child. Try your doctrine of the survival of the fittest with that broken-hearted woman. Tell her that the child that died was not as fit to live as the one left alive. Where does that scientific junk lift the burden from her heart? Go to some dying man and tell him to pluck up courage for the future. Try your philosophy on him; tell him to be confident in the great to be and the everlasting what is it. Go to that widow and tell her it was a geological necessity for her husband to croak. Tell her that in fifty milion years we will all be scientific mummies on a shelf - petrified specimens of an extinct race. What does all this stuff get her? After you have gotten through with your science, philosophy, psychology, eugenics, social service, sociology, evolution, protoplasms, and fortuitous concurrence of atoms, if she isn't bug-house, I will take the Bible and read God's promise, and pray - and her tears will be dried and her soul flooded with calmness like a California sunset.
Is the church drawing the hungry world to its tables? There is no dodging or blinking or pussy-footing the fact that in drawing the hungry world to her tables, the church is facing a crisis. That there is a chasm between the church and the masses no one denies. If the gain of the church on the population is represented by eighty during the past thirty years, during the last twenty years it is represented by four, and during the past ten years it is represented by zero. The birth rate is going on a limited express while the "new birth" rate is going by way of freight.
Need the world turn to other tables than those of the church for spiritual food? Jesus said, "They need not depart; give ye them to eat." The church has the power and the food with which to feed the hungry Iworld. It can feed the spiritual hunger of the world by doing what Jesus did when he fed the five thousand.
By a wise use of what it has on hand with the blessing of God upon it...
What has the church on hand with which to feed the hungry world!
It has two things:
A set of principles which if put into practice in the life of the individual and society and business and politics will solve every difficulty and problem of city, state, nation, and the world. There is no safer or saner method to settle all the world's problems than by the Sermon on the Mount. These principles are truth, justice, and purity. It has a person who has the power to create and make powerful these principles in the lives of men and women and that person is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Many skeptics have said, "Bill, if you will only preach the principles of Christianity instead of the Person, we will find no fault with you." Nothing doing, old top! Wherever a preacher or a church preaches a set of principles without the person Jesus Christ, that ministry, that church becomes sterile and powerless.
Truth is never powerful unless wrapped up in a person. I take truth and wrap it up in Christ and say, "Take it!" You say, "Give me truth but no Christ." Then you will be lost. You are not saved by truth but by the person Jesus Christ. Why take truth and reject Christ when it's Christ that inspires truth?
I take justice and wrap Christ up with it and say, "Here, take it." You say, "I will take justice. I deal squarely in business, pay my debts, give labor a square deal; I take justice but not your Christ." You are lost. Why take justice and cast Christ away when it is Christ that inspires justice.
I take purity and wrap it up with Jesus and say, "Here, take this." You say, "I will take the principle purity but not the person Jesus Christ." Then you are lost, for it is Christ that saves, not the principle of purity. "One thing thou lackest," the person Jesus.
Other religions have preached good things, but they have no Savior who can take these things and implant them in the human heart and make them grow. All other religions are built around principles, but the Christian religion is built around a person Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior. Every other religion on earth is a religion you must keep, but the Christian religion saves you, keeps you, and presents you faultless before his throne.
Oh, Christians! Have you any scars to show that you have fought in this conflict with the devil? When a war is over, heroes have scars to show; one rolls back his sleeve and shows a gunshot wound; another pulls down his collar and shows a wound on the neck; another says, "I never had use of that leg since Gettysburg"; another says, "I was wounded and gassed at the Marne in France." Christ has scars to show - scars on his brow, on his hands, on his feet, and when he pulls aside his robes of royalty, there will be seen the scar on his side.
When the Scottish chieftains wanted to raise an army, they would make a wooden cross, set it on fire and carry it through the mountains and the highlands among the people and wave the cross of flame and the people would gather beneath the standard and fight for Scotland. I come out with the cross of the son of God - it is a flaming cross, flaming with suffering, flaming with triumph, flaming with victory, flaming with glory, flaming with salvation for a lost world!
"I've stood for more sneers and scoffs and insults and had my life threatened from one end of the land to the other by this God-forsaken gang of thugs and cutthroats because I have come out uncompromisingly against them." —Billy Sunday
Billy Sunday (1862-1935)
Beer is for fools!!!
More Sermons by Billy Sunday
Watch Billy Sunday preach! (Window's Media)
Hear Billy Sunday's "Booze Kills!" (MP3)
Hear Billy Sunday on Prohibition (MP3)
The Salvation of a Nation (by Pastor Jack Hyles)
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The Supreme Court busted open the Pandora’s box of campaign spending last summer when they proclaimed corporations’ first amendment rights were being infringed upon by laws that limited their political spending.
That ruling in the Citizens United case resulted in the most expensive elections in U.S.history. An estimated $6 billion was spent in 2012.
Tuesday, the court unlocked the possibility for Pandora II by agreeing to hear a case challenging the overall limits to campaign contributions.
This case was filed by Alabama resident Shaun McCutcheon and the Republican National Committee. McCutcheon, who owns Coalmont Electrical Development in Tuscaloosa County (among several businesses), said he contributed to 16 candidates in federal elections, but wanted to contribute to 12 more. He also wants to fork over $25,000 apiece to three Republican Party committees.
That would put him over the current two-year limits of $46,200 for contributions to candidates and $70,800 for contributions to groups.
A three-judge panel ruled against McCutcheon in September, pointing out that without those two-year constraints, a person such as McCutcheon could conceivably contribute up to $3.5 million to candidates and committees over two years.
Although it’s not as if he can’t already contribute that kind of money. He could do it now through third-party political action committees. Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson found a way to spend an estimated $150 million in 2012. But a high court ruling in McCutcheon’s favor (and the RNC), would effectively kill any campaign limits.
McCutcheon, The New York Times reported, believes the current limits “were unjustified and too low.”
Too low — $117,000 in campaign giveaways?
If only we all had that problem. | <urn:uuid:21bd5f14-38ea-4a63-b16d-49b218c9a59b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/tag/campaign-finance-limits/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962149 | 374 | 1.75 | 2 |
Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking website that would become known as Facebook, but is later sued by two brothers who claimed he stole their idea, and the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.
Herzog's film is based upon the true and mysterious story of Kaspar Hauser, a young man who suddenly appeared in Nuremberg in 1828, barely able to speak or walk, and bearing a strange note;... See full summary »
The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 15 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
The story of Oscar Wilde, genius, poet, playwright and the First Modern Man. The self-realization of his homosexuality caused Wilde enormous torment as he juggled marriage, fatherhood and ... See full summary »
Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Biopic of Malcolm X, the famous African American leader. Born Malcolm Little, his father (a minister) was killed by the Ku Klux Klan. Malcolm became a gangster, and while in jail discovered the Nation of Islam writings of Elijah Muhammad. He preaches the teachings when let out of jail, but later on goes on a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca, there he converts to the original Islamic religion and becomes a Sunni Muslim. He changes his name to El-Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz and stops his anti-white teachings, as he realizes the error of his mistakes. He is later on assassinated and dies a Muslim martyr. Written by
Scenes of the Kennedy assassination are taken from JFK. Vincent D'Onofrio is credited as playing Bill Newman in the footage taken from JFK. The stand-ins who played the Kennedys and the Connallys in JFK are also credited in this film. See more »
The phone that Malcolm uses in his hotel room appears to be the correct vintage - except for the modular plug connecting the handset to the base. See more »
In the name of Allah the merciful, all praises due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. The one God to whom praise is due forever. The one who came to us in the person of Master Fard Muhammad and raised up the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Amen.
How do you feel?
Who do we want to hear?
Are we gonna bring him on? Yes, we gonna bring him on. Well let us hear from our minister, Minister Malcolm X. Let us bring him on with a round of ...
See more »
There is a seperate special thanks after the normal one that says: "Thank Allah for Bill Cosby, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Oprah Winfrey, Tracy Chapman, Prince, Janet Jackson, and Peggy Cooper-Carfritz." This is because they aided Spike Lee in raising money to finish the film when the production ran into financial trouble. See more »
Spike Lee struggled mightily to get 'Malcolm X' made, financially and artistically. But when all was said and done, he produced an epic blockbuster and a definite treatment of the man's life.
There's great differences between the two as well, but to me Lee has many things in common with Oliver Stone. Both of them seem to have been born to make films. Both of them are uncompromising in bringing their artistic (and moral) vision to the screen, and neither will try to seduce the public by catering to their tastes. Both present their own interpretation of facts without apology. (For example, from what I've read it's not certain that Malcolm's father was actually killed by Klansmen. But Lee isn't in the same league as Stone when it comes to playing fast and loose with the "truth.") Stone even ends his movie 'Nixon' in a similar way to 'Malcolm X,' with footage of real-life figures blended in, though I'm not accusing Stone of imitation.
This movie has an epic sweep and scope and as a director Lee is up to the challenge. He is served well by being able to direct in several styles, one of which is almost cartoonish: witness the scene where Malcolm (Denzel Washington) and Shorty (played by Lee himself) go stepping out at the Roseland Ballroom, resplendent in their zoot suits. Some comic relief is welcome at times because otherwise the serious, heavy message of the picture might be overwhelming. For instance, the movie opens with a full-screen shot of an American flag while we hear a voice-over of one of Malcolm's most rousing, or inflammatory speeches, depending on how you look at it ("I accuse the white man of being the greatest murderer on the planet!") The flag begins to burn and eventually forms a flaming 'X' as the fiery rhetoric continues. But if you haven't been scared away, the next scene shows the young man Malcolm Little in a funny situation, having his hair straightened by a concoction that threatens to burn off his scalp.
Denzel Washington has won beaucoups of rightly-deserved accolades for his amazing performance in the title role. If you've ever heard or seen Malcolm X's speaking, you will be astounded at the similarities in tone and cadence. The illusion is so real one may not recognize that real archival footage of Malcolm is used late in the film. But this is not a case of style over substance here. Between Washington's talent and Lee's directing and screenwriting, an unforgettable character emerges. The film boasts other fine performances by Al Freeman, Jr. (especially good as Elijah Muhammad, a controversial figure in society, and eventually to Malcolm himself), Delroy Lindo, Albert Hall, Kate Vernon, Ernest Thomas and many others in its large cast.
It's clear that Lee doesn't care for the Motion Picture Academy and they don't particularly care for him. But the snubbing he and his picture got at Oscar time would be comparable to Richard Attenborough and 'Ghandi' not being nominated the year that film was made. Ordinarily, one would think this film is the kind of production Hollywood loves to honor. But Academy Award nominations or not, the film 'Malcolm X' is like the man himself: impossible to ignore.
66 of 86 people found this review helpful.
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The "ORC Cycle": a Novel Pathway for Regulating Eukaryotic DNA Replication
In year 2000, we reported the first clear evidence that “origin replication complex” (ORC) activity in mammalian cells is regulated by cell cycle changes in the affinity of the Orc1 subunit for chromatin (1,2). subsequence reports from other labs as well as our own have since confirmed this concept and extended it to show that mammalian Orc1 is selectively ubiquitinated and phosphorylated during the S to M-phase transition, while ORC subunits 2 to 5, which comprise a stable core complex (3,4), remain tightly bound to chromatin throughout cell division (Fig. 4).
Figure 3. The ORC cycle in yeast cells and frog eggs.
Yeast: ORC (six gray cylinders) remains bound to replication origins throughout the cell cycle, but ORC is phosphorylated (-P) during the S to M periods, and this phosphorylation inhibits its ability to assemble a pre-RC.
Xenopus laevis egg extract: ORC binds to sperm chromatin, but the affinity of ORC for chromatin is reduced (red boxes) following pre-RC assembly. ORC is phosphorylated by Cdk1/cyclin A during G2/M and released from chromatin. If somatic cell chromatin is incubated in the extract instead of sperm chromatin, then ORC is released spontaneously from chromatin following pre-RC assembly. Xic1, a Cdk specific inhibitor, is present prior to S-phase, and presumably inhibits the ORC associated Cdk1/cyclin A activity, thereby allowing ORC to bind to chromatin. Xic1 is degraded following pre-RC assembly.
Figure 4. The ORC cycle in fly embryos and mammalian cells 15.
Fly Embryos: ORC subunits 2 to 6 (grey cylinders) remain bound to chromatin throughout the cell cycle, but Orc1 (red cylinder) is selectively ubiquitinated during mitosis by the APC/Fzr system and degraded. Orc1 reappears bound to chromatin in late G1-phase cells 16.
Mammals: ORC subunits 2 to 6 remain bound to chromatin throughout the cell cycle, but Orc1 is selectively detached when DNA synthesis begins. Orc1 is then monoubiquitinatedin some cells, but polyubiquitinated and degraded in others. In mitotic cells, Orc1 is hyperphosphorylated by its association with Cdk1/cyclin A, then dephosphorylated and bound to chromatin during the M to G1
When is Orc1 bound tightly to chromatin In mammalian cells? Hamster cells contain specific DNA replication origins between the DHFR and 2BE2121 genes (Fig. 2A). The ability of cells to initiate replication preferentially at these sites by incubating nuclei in a Xenopus egg extract first appears during early G1-phase of the hamster cell division cycle 5. Pior to this “origin decision point”, it initiation of DNA replication under these conditions occurs randomly along the genome. We found that the random initiation events were due to initiation events carried out by Xenopus ORC proteins present in the extract and that site-specific initiation events were carried out by hamster ORC proteins that had initiated pre-RC assembly in vivo before the nuclei had been isolated 2. Thus, hamster ORC activity was absent during mitosis and early G1 phase, and reappeared as cells progressed through G1 phase.
Surprisingly, hamster Orc1 and Orc2 proteins were present in nuclei at equivalent concentrations throughout the cell cycle. However, only Orc2 was stably bound to chromatin. Orc1 and Mcm3 were easily eluted from chromatin during mitosis and early G1 phase, but became stably bound during mid-G1 phase, concomitant with the appearance of the origin decision point (i.e. assembly of a functional pre-replication complex at ori -b). Therefore, we concluded that the affinity of Orc1 for ORC/chromatin sites is cell cycle dependent. The net result is that the assembly of pre-RCs at specific sites is delayed until mitosis is completed and a nuclear membrane is assembled 1.
When does Orc1 disengage from ORC/chromatin sites? We discovered that Orc1 could be selectively eluted from chromatin as hamster cells entered S–phase 6 , and a similar observation was reported for human cells 7. Furthermore, we observed that some of the CgOrc1 that was released from chromatin during S-phase was mono-ubiquitinated. During the M to G1 transition, Ub-Orc1 was essentially absent and non-ubiquitinated Orc1 rebound to chromatin. Polyubiquitination and degradation of Orc1 was only observed in vitro under conditions that permeabilized nuclei. In contrast, Orc2 remained tightly bound to chromatin throughout the cell cycle and was not a substrate for ubiquitination either in vivo or in vitro. Since the concentration of Orc1 remained constant throughout the cell cycle, and its half-life in vivo is the same as that of Orc2, we concluded that mono- ubiquitination of non-chromatin bound Orc1 presumably facilitates inactivation of ORC by sequestering Orc1 during S-phase rather than by selectively degrading Orc1 . In contrast, studies in human cells revealed that Orc1 was selectively polyubiquitinated and degraded during S–phase 8, 9 . Thus, ORC activity in mammalian cells is regulated during each cell cycle through selective inactivation of the Orc1 subunit.
What prevents non-ubiquitinated Orc1 from rebinding to ORC/chromatin sites during mitosis? We discovered that Orc1 is selectively associated with Cdk1(Cdc2)/cyclin A during the G2/M-phase of the hamster cell cycle 10 . This association accounted for the appearance in M-phase cells of hyperphosphorylated Orc1 that was subsequently dephosphorylated during the M to G1 transition. Rebinding of either hamster or human 8 Orc1 to chromatin follows the same time course as degradation of cyclin B, suggesting that exiting mitosis triggers Orc1 binding to chromatin. In fact, inhibition of Cdk activity in M-phase cells resulted in rapid binding of Orc1 to chromatin. We conclude that the same cyclin-dependent protein kinase that initiates mitosis in mammalian cells concomitantly inhibits assembly of functional ORC-chromatin sites. Presumably the same mechanism exists in human cells where Cdk1/cyclin A prevents any residual or nascent Orc1 from prematurely binding to chromatin.
What triggers the release of Orc1? To address this question, we isolated chromatin from metaphase hamster cells and incubated it in Xenopus egg extract to initiate DNA replication 11. Since hamster metaphase chromatin, like sperm chromatin, lacked ORC activity of its own, DNA replication was dependent on XlORC in the egg extract. We found that Xenopus laevis ORC rapidly bound to hamster somatic chromatin in a Cdc6 dependent manner, and was then released spontaneously into the reaction mixture, concomitant with initiation of DNA replication. Once pre-RCs were assembled either in vitro or in vivo, further binding of XlORC was inhibited. Neither binding nor release of XlORC was affected by inhibitors of either cyclin-dependent protein kinase activity or DNA synthesis. In contrast, inhibition of pre-RC assembly, either by addition of geminin or by depletion of XlMcm proteins, augmented ORC binding by inhibiting ORC release. These results demonstrated a programmed release of the entire XlORC from somatic cell chromatin following pre-RC assembly. Analogous results were observed using Xenopus sperm chromatin as the substrate, except that when sperm chromatin replicates in a Xenopus egg extract, the affinity of XlORC for chromatin becomes salt-labile following pre-RC assembly 11, 12 and then appears to be released during G2/M-phase as a result of hyperphosphorylation by Cdk1/cyclin A 13. Thus, the affinity of XlORC for chromatin depends on at least three factors: pre-RC assembly, chromatin structure, and the action of Cdk1/cyclin A (Fig. 3). The activity of Cdk1/cyclin A that is associated with XlORC may be regulated by Xic1, a member of the p21(Cip1)/p27(Kip1) family of Cdk–specific inhibitors. Xic1 appears during the M to G1 transition and is degraded during S-phase 14.
Does the "ORC cycle" exist in other eukaryotes? Various manifestations of this "ORC cycle" have since been discovered in yeast, frogs, and flies [Figs. 3, 4; 15, 16 ]. ORC subunits in yeast (both S. cerevisiae and S. pombe) undergo cell cycle dependent phosphorylation that contributes to preventing reinitiation of DNA replication before cell division is finished 17, 18, 19. Orc2 and Orc6 are phosphorylated by Cdk1(Cdc28)/cyclin B during the S to M transition, and then dephosphorylated during early G1-phase when pre-RC assembly occurs. In S. pombe, Cdk1(Cdc2)/cyclin B associates with replication origins during S-phase and remains there during G2 and early M-phases. In Xenopus eggs, the entire ORC complex becomes disengaged from chromatin during S-phase, phosphorylated during G2/M and then rebound stably to chromatin during the subsequent G1-phase. In Drosophila embryos, Orc1 is selectively ubiquitinated by the APC/Fzr system during mitosis, degraded as cells exit mitosis, and then resynthesized and bound to chromatin during late G1-phase 16. Thus, there is a universal control point in eukaryotic cell division cycles: the same cyclin dependent protein kinase that regulates the onset of mitosis (Cdk1), also prevents premature assembly of functional ORC/chromatin sites until mitosis is complete and a nuclear membrane is present.
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Catherine Muller’s specificity is to reproduce what she can see in Nature, using only fresh and finely-arranged elements so as to turn her work into a little jewel. According to her, Mother Nature is varied enough so that you don’t need to use any artifice.
This is how the floral teacher works with flowers during the lessons at the Flower School Catherine Muller in Paris. Each flower means something specific and has its own profile: everyone should find out how to interpret it at its true value.
Catherine Muller likes big armfuls of freshly cut flowers from which emanates a wonderful perfume of cut herbs : she will let them take place naturally in the vase.
« Mother Nature does things much better than we can do ». | <urn:uuid:78ed211c-12cd-4ed5-a38d-5e7088f8842f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.catherine-muller.fr/ko/ | 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 | 0.946964 | 156 | 1.875 | 2 |
E. Cobham Brewer 18101897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Tiburce (3 syl.) or Tiburce (2 syl.).
Brother of Valinian, converted by the teaching of St. Cecilia, his sister-in-law, and baptised by Pope Urban. Being brought before Almachius the prefect, and commanded to worship the image of Jupiter, both the brothers refused, and were decapitated. (Chaucer: Secounde Nonnes Tale.) | <urn:uuid:be7b5905-5f5f-4f5a-a186-25616db00ea5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bartleby.com/81/16500.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925215 | 109 | 2.171875 | 2 |
How to make the single color in a photography to be color and other parts changed to B&W?. Don't know exactly the name of the effect, to be more clear in the following photo I want the green part ...
What is the difference between using colored filters and converting color photos to black and white programmatically?
Does it make sense to use filters for black and white photography, as opposed to using software to convert photos? As I understand it, photos that have been made in a natural way (using filters) are ...
Could someone explain the difference in using colored filters for black and white photos? What is the best practice using these filters for portraits, landscapes, macro? For different types of ...
Okay, so I know that using a color filter can have some desirable effects, for instance, if you use a certain color filter, it will diminish the effects of any skin problems a person has. What color ... | <urn:uuid:c7dd98a6-4179-4890-99a4-efb0dc0739d4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/black-and-white+color-filters | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918458 | 189 | 1.828125 | 2 |
For reasons that can best be described as "obsessive compulsive", I've decided to port CLU to Parrot.
What is CLU?
An early sorta-OO language. It appeared in the late 70s, and was used as a teaching langauge in the early and mid 80s. It has "clusters", which are a set of operations that can be performed on an opaque data abstraction. (Like a class, but no inheritance, and slightly awkward syntax.)
A language with some interesting features. Parameterized types; parameterized procedures; iterators; parameterized iterators; exceptions.
It's a language I learned to program in once, so therefore it can never be allowed to die.
Why port to Parrot?
Clusters and exceptions will test bits of Parrot not heavily stressed yet.
While CLU iterators don't have to be implemented with coroutines, they can be. So that gets tested too.
It's strongly-typed, and Parrot should have at least one B&D language.
I never bothered taking the compiler course, so this is my chance to use the Dragon book in anger.
I get to play with Parse::RecDescent and Parrot.
Things I have:
A Perl6 grammar that looks like it might parse CLU. Useless until Perl6::Rules gets released.
A Parse::RecDescent grammar that parses the bits of CLU I've fed into it so far.
The outline of the parsetree cleanup code.
Vague ideas of how I'm going to do code emission. (I'm going to target IMCC.)
Things I need:
A set of parsing tests.
Finish the AST cleanup code.
Write the code generation.
Do I understand the current state of the calling conventions?
How is linking supposed to happen?
How out-of-date is Perl 6 Essentials already?
Implement the builtin types and the standard library (or at least enough of streams to print). | <urn:uuid:16da8436-7ca8-49fb-a035-d03314c78bed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://use.perl.org/use.perl.org/_kag/journal/13609.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929123 | 428 | 1.625 | 2 |
Mark Silk of Spiritual Politics says we may not know enough yet to make moral sense of the conflict between various Catholic social service agencies and the government of states in which same-sex marriage is legal:
So the Archdiocese of Washington has gotten out of the foster care/adoption business, for which they've been receiving $2 million annually from the public purse. D.C.'s new same-sex marriage law requires all married couples to be treated equally, and because the Catholic church regards same-sex marriage as a crime against nature, it won't be involved in placing and supervising children in homes where the two adults have been joined in such. In its press release, the Archdiocese says, "Shame on the City for kicking a fine service provider to the curb." No, the provider's spiritual bosses just decided they couldn't render unto Caesar in this case.
Washington is following the lead of Boston and San Francisco, which also folded up their foster care operations rather than treat all unions equally. But so far as I can tell, this has not happened in Connecticut--and there's also Vermont, New Hampshire, and Iowa to look into. The reporting on this story has been woefully inadequate. When the issue is raised at all, it is simply waved away with the vague assertion that the D.C. statute is in some unspecified way more prescriptive than the law in other same-sex marriage jurisdictions.
Be that as it may, foster care is more the symbolic than the real issue. Other foster care agencies can readily take over from Catholic Charities--as is happening in Washington--while CC continues to do the rest of its social service work. The real issue is the applicability of the law to CC employees. How does it affect benefits packages provided to employees who may be in same-sex marriages?
Another question perhaps worth raising: when is a "religious objection" not really a religious objection, but a political one? Catholic teaching does not recognize re-marriage after divorce without an annulment. Like same-sex couples, the heterosexual couples involved in such relationships are engaging in sex outside of what the church recognizes marriage. Yet the church willingly provides services and benefits to those couples. Why? There is no hierarchy of sinfulness in Catholic theology regarding sex outside of marriage. So why treat gay and lesbian couples differently that twice or thrice married heterosexual couples?
The church is entitled to object to same-sex marriage on whatever grounds it chooses. The rest of us are entitled to point out that the double standard it has constructed on this issue has no basis in its own theology. | <urn:uuid:f54d706d-898f-4e63-89b7-49039792b883> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/other_churches/catholic_archdiocese_gets_out.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970935 | 531 | 1.6875 | 2 |
|Page (1) of 1 - 09/04/12||email article||print page|
Lost Pines Region to Host Second Annual Christmas Bird Count at Austin Area Resort(September 04, 2012)
AUSTIN / BASTROP, TEXAS (PRWEB) September 04, 2012
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa, LCRAs McKinney Roughs Nature Park and Bastrop County Audubon Society are partnering to host the Second Annual Lost Pines Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, Dec. 29, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Started by the National Audubon Society, The Lost Pines Christmas Bird Count is the longest running citizen science survey in the world. It is a tradition that dates back to 1900, and it is held across the Americas each year from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5. The 2012-2013 count marks the 113th year of the event, for which tens of thousands of volunteers and birders will brave winter weather to add a new layer to more than a centurys worth of data.
"The Christmas Bird Count is a great tradition, and we believe that having a count for the Lost Pines Region gives birders, travelers, locals and guests a unique opportunity to enjoy and experience the natural beauty of the area, inclusive of Bastrop County, McKinney Roughs and Hyatt Lost Pines," said Steve Dewire, general manager of Hyatt Lost Pines.
At last year's inaugural Lost Pines Christmas Bird Count, participants caught sight of 112 species of birds inside the Lost Pines circle. Birders will use last year's number as a benchmark for 2012 and the years to come, taking note of the new and different species that make their way into the region as vegetation continues to fill in and evolve following the 2011 Central Texas wildfires.
Participants in the Second Annual Lost Pines Christmas Bird Count will launch their birding adventure from Hyatt Lost Pines on Saturday, Dec. 29. Options for participation include all-day land, morning land, morning river and all-ages-friendly Bird Count 101 excursions that explore various sections of the Lost Pines circle, which stretches 15 miles in diameter.
In addition to the wildlife census itself, participants may take part in workshops and activities throughout the weekend, most of which are complimentary. The activities lineup for Dec. 28 and 29 will feature a bird-calling workshop, a birds of prey demonstration, a hummingbird facts and folklore workshop, a night owls outing and a nature journaling program with local artist, author and naturalist Margie Crisp. On Friday evening, Dec. 28 the evening before the count there will also be a special Feed the Birders dinner, showcasing presentations by Crisp and Glenn Olsen, a Houston-based Texas Master Naturalist, Rice University instructor, expert birder and photographer, and the founder of GO Birding Ecotours.
The Lost Pines Christmas Bird Count is one of approximately 50 counts taking place in the Lone Star State this season. More than 630 species of birds have been seen across Texas, including the whooping crane, golden-cheeked warbler and black-capped vireo. About 250 of those species make their home in the Lost Pines Region.
To register for the 2012 Lost Pines Christmas Bird Count and sign up for supplementary activities, visit http://www.VisitLostPines.com.
In honor of the count, Hyatt Regency Lost Pines has created a room block for fans of feathered friends. A special rate is available on Thursday, Dec. 27 and Friday, Dec. 28 and can be booked online and by phone. Rates start from $139 per night (plus tax and resort fee). To book the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Christmas Bird Count rate (Special Offer Code: BIRDS), call 512-308-4757 or visit http://www.lostpines.hyatt.com.
About Hyatt Regency Lost Pines
Situated along the banks of the Lower Colorado River just outside of Austin, Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa offers a luxurious wilderness escape on 405 acres of diverse Texas terrain. This resort destination features 491 guest rooms, more than 60,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and over 230,000 square feet of outdoor function space with a pavilion and amphitheater. Additional amenities include the 18-hole Audubon-International-sanctioned Wolfdancer Golf Club, Spa Django and Renegade Trailhead equestrian facility. Beyond golf, spa and riding, guests will enjoy exploring the adjoining 1,100-acre McKinney Roughs Nature Park; kayaking and rafting on the Colorado River; hiking and birding along 18 miles of trails; floating down the Crooked River; roasting s'mores at one of the outdoor fire pits, as well as a dynamic lineup of recreational activities. Hyatt Regency Lost Pines showcases live music on a weekly basis and boasts a total of nine year-round and seasonal dining options with everything from a light snack or beverage to a fine dining experience.
About the Christmas Bird Count
The Audubon Societys Christmas Bird Count is the longest running Citizen Science survey in the world, taking place each year from December 14 to January 5. The first Christmas Bird Count was held in 1900 when bird enthusiasts realized the annual Christmas "side hunt" could be threatening the survival of various bird species across the Americas. Ornithologist Frank Chapman, an early officer of the then budding Audubon Society, led the charge to establish a new tradition - creating a census to replace the hunt. On Dec. 25, 1900, Chapman and 27 other birders were responsible for 25 counts stretching from Toronto, Ontario to Pacific Grove, California, during which they tallied sightings of about 90 species of birds. Today, the Christmas Bird Count is the longest running wildlife census, helping to assess the health of bird populations and serving as a guide for conservation efforts throughout the Americas.
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/hyattregency/lostpines/prweb9858469.htm.
Related Keywords:furnishings and furniture, family, family planning, hotel and accommodation, lifestyle and leisure, lifestyle (house and home), fishing industry, food, cinema industry, radio industry, television industry, music industry, process industry, food, food safety, food, beverage, food, food safety, lifestyle and leisure, lifestyle (house and home), economy, business and finance, financial and business service, business enterprises, business (general), travel and commuting, fishing industry, cinema industry, radio industry, television industry, music industry, process industry, tourism and leisure, lifestyle and leisure, , tourism and leisure, lifestyle and leisure, tourism, travel and commuting, lifestyle (house and home) | <urn:uuid:c49be2b7-5758-445e-ba92-c88932e66955> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.digitalproducer.com/article/Lost-Pines-Region-to-Host-Second-Annual-Christmas-Bird-Count-at-Austin-Area-Resort-2174715 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910132 | 1,413 | 1.835938 | 2 |
By now everyone is familiar with the case U.S. vs. Microsoft. What is all this about? According to my two articles, Microsoft, the world's leading software company, is being sued by the Justice Department joined by 19 states.
As we all know, Microsoft dominates the personal computer's operating system. Almost every computer in schools, libraries, offices, and home is equipped with either Windows 3.X, Windows 95, or 98. As far as browsing the web, there are three major browsers: AOL, Netscape and Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
When Windows 98 came out, it already had Microsoft's Internet Explorer installed, compared to Netscape which users had to pay $50 for the program before being acquired by America Online.
Basically Microsoft is being sued for having an illegal monopoly over personal computer's operating system and repeatedly quashed competition to preserve its market domination. After the findings, Government lawyers said they would consider proposals to break up the company.
In Microsoft's defense, citing a 1990 ruling from the 4th circuit appeals court, Microsoft claims that "a desire to increase market share or even drive a competitor out of business through rigorous competition on the merits is not sufficient" to prove it intended to establish an illegal monopoly.
An important point in Microsoft's argument is the copyright law. According to Microsoft, it has a right to "prohibit unauthorized modification" of Windows and bar computer markers from removing icons or Internet Explorer.
Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said in a statement, "Both consumers and the industry would benefit from a fair resolution of this case. The current mediation provides both parties a unique opportunity to resolve this dispute in a way that strikes a balance between the importance of our antitrust laws and innovation." Leading the lawmakers believes it would be best if both sides reach an out of court... | <urn:uuid:922a97ca-5145-46fa-87fe-f90e8d674935> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/212.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943606 | 369 | 2.625 | 3 |
Friday, January 25, 2013
By NICK WILL
Dispatch Staff Writer
ONEIDA — Holy Cross students may have gotten the day off of school on Friday, but they weren’t just sitting at home. They are using their day off to voice their beliefs.
Holy Cross Academy embarked on a journey to Washington D.C. to participate in the 40th March for Life protesting abortion. The march also marks the 40 anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that effectively legalized abortion in the United States.
The March for Life left the national Mall on 9th and 7th streets and marched up Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court Building.
“This is a peaceful protest to stand up for unborn babies,” said Holy Cross Principal Teri Maciag.
This is the fourth year the school has participated in the March for Life. Funding for the trip came from a $5,000 grant given to the school by the Good News Foundation in Utica.
“I think it’s important for students to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves,” Maciag said. “They get the opportunity to walk with thousands of people that share the same beliefs as them and it helps show them that [abortion] really is a human concern.” | <urn:uuid:e93be43a-4593-4cf4-be5d-c44c579b77a4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oneidadispatch.com/articles/2013/01/26/news/doc510339c85291e441098376.prt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959294 | 273 | 1.9375 | 2 |
Legal Featured Article
April 08, 2011
Judge Overturns $625 Million Award against Apple
By Ed Silverstein, TMCnet Contributor
Apple (News - Alert) has scored a major legal victory after a federal judge this week overturned a $625 million award that a jury had given to a company founded by a Yale professor for patent infringement. But the professor promises a “fight.”
Judge Leonard Davis found that a Texas jury made a mistake when it concluded Apple had improperly used technology owned by Mirror Worlds.
In its case, Mirror Worlds alleged that the Spotlight, Cover Flow and Time Machine features on Apple computers were from its “own patented software for archiving and displaying documents,” according to a report from Reuters.
In 2010, the jury awarded Mirror World $208.5 million for each of the patents, which worked out to $625.5 million. Apple filed an appeal, and Davis reviewed the evidence.
"No matter how attractive a party paints the facade of its case, it is worthless without the requisite foundational support. It is the court's job to inspect that foundation, and where it has not been properly laid under the law, to set aside the verdict to protect the reliability of our jury system,” Davis ruled, according to media reports. "Mirror Worlds may have painted an appealing picture for the jury, but it failed to lay a solid foundation sufficient to support important elements it was required to establish under the law.”
Overturning a verdict in such as case, and giving the plaintiff no award at all, was “unusual,” according to Southern Methodist University law professor Bill Dorsaneo.
"It's relatively unusual to set aside a verdict to zero," Dorsaneo told the Tyler Morning Telegraph in a story that was carried on TMCnet.
Mirror Worlds was co-founded by Yale computer science professor David Gelernter.
“Of course we’re disappointed at the judge’s ruling, given the verdict of the jury finding not only infringement but deliberate infringement,” Gelernter said in an e-mail sent to the Yale Daily News on Thursday afternoon, and he adds the company intends to dispute the ruling.
“We’ve just begun to fight,” Gelernter told the Yale Daily News. “We will be vindicated.”
Gelernter is perhaps best known for injuries he suffered in 1993 from a mail bomb sent by Theodore Kaczynski, often referred to as "the Unabomber.”
Ed Silverstein is a TMCnet contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Janice McDuffee
LATEST LEGAL NEWS | <urn:uuid:5f61ea08-aef0-40e4-9921-11ce4999e364> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://legal.tmcnet.com/topics/legal/articles/162412-judge-overturns-625-million-award-against-apple.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958635 | 572 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Research about war veterans has shown that they suffer from more physical and mental health problems than the general United States population (Singh et al, 2005). Even more health problems have been reported by veterans living in rural areas, as opposed to urban populations (Weeks et al., 2004; Weeks, Wallace, Wang, Lee, & Kazis, 2006). As the Vietnam veteran population is aging, and soon entering later life, researchers are examining the daily health need of these veterans.
The current study will be looking at health in Vietnam era veterans and their civilian counterparts. Variables that will be examined in relation to their health are: individual factors, marital interactions, family and social support, as well as rural and urban settings. | <urn:uuid:616ff29c-8fbb-4605-a0a0-bfcbe490b8e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/IR/id/842/rec/7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956457 | 146 | 2.65625 | 3 |
529 College Savings Plans
529 plans, also known as Qualified Tuition Plans, are a great way to save for college. We've written this guide to answer some common questions associated with the plan, and give you information so you can make a college education an affordable choice for you or your child.
What is a 529 Plan?
529 plans are tax-advantaged savings programs that help families save for future college costs. They are typically operated by states or educational institutions, depending on your plan type.
Types of 529 Plans
There are two types of 529 plans: prepaid tuition plans and college savings plans. Every state offers at least one of these types of plans, or is developing one. Some states offer both, and many of these plans are open to non-residents.
Prepaid Tuition Plans
Prepaid tuition plans allow participants to lock in today's tuition rates at any of a state's eligible public colleges or universities so that they don't have to worry about future tuition increases.
- Almost anyone can contribute (such as grandparents, out-of-state family, or friends)
- Locks lower tuition rates for public and private schools
- Not subject to federal (and in some cases, state) taxes when used on qualified expenses
- Guaranteed by the state
- Restrict a student's school options
- Counts as a parental asset for financial aid (unlike savings plans). Parental assets are assessed at about 5.6% when determining a family's Epected Family Contribution.
- Covers only tuition and mandatory fees. Some plans do allow for a room and board option, but this will cost extra.
College Savings Plans
With college savings plans, students of all ages can save for all college costs, including tuition, fees, room, board, textbooks, and computers. Similar to retirement accounts, savings plans typically consist of mutual funds, which determine your plan's earnings.
- Not limited to in-state schools or residents
- Covers most qualified education expenses at eligible colleges, universities, and other post-secondary institutions.
- Contribution limits can vary and maximum and minimum contributions limits are set by most plans. To increase the amount of contributions you can make, you can open a second college savings plan in another state.
- A number of investment options are available for most plans. You can invest in various portfolios of mutual funds that are both age-based and non-age-based.
- Risk- Investing in college savings plans does come with some risk. Unlike prepaid tuition plans, they don't lock in tuition prices. Nor does the state back or guarantee the investments. With most college savings plan investment options, there's a risk of losing money, or it may not grow enough to pay for college.
- Fees, Charges, and Expenses- All 529 plans have various fees and expenses. Like mutual funds, some college savings plans have different classes. Often referred to as Class A, B, or C shares, units or fee structures, each class has different fees and expenses. You can look at the offering document to see if a particular college savings plan offers more than one class.
Common Features of Prepaid Tuition and College Savings Plans
Federal Tax Advantages
529 plans are one of the few available tax-advantaged college savings options. Earnings and withdrawals are both tax-free for qualified education expenses.
According to the Internal Revenue Service, the yearly contribution limit is equal to the amount necessary to provide for the education costs of the beneficiary. On a 529 plan, any contributions and additional gifts that exceed $13,000 in a year may have gift-tax consequences.
State Tax Advantages
State tax treatment of 529 plans varies from state to state. In over 20 states, contributions are tax deductible if you're a resident of the state sponsoring the 529 plan. For example, in Missouri, up to $8,000 in contributions to the state's 529 plan can be deducted from Missouri state taxable income per year. Many states don't tax earnings or qualified withdrawals from 529 plans. To get this tax exemption, you may have to live in that state and choose its 529 plan.
529 plans allow the account owner to maintain control over the assets in a 529 plan for the life of the account. You can change beneficiaries to another "family member" of the original beneficiary. Thus, if your child gets a scholarship or decides not to go to college, you can name another beneficiary, even yourself. Some 529 plans, especially prepaid tuition plans, may limit or restrict your ability to change beneficiaries.
The assets of one 529 plan can be transferred tax-free to the beneficiary of another 529 plan, as long as the new beneficiary is a family member. Family members include, but are not limited to, the beneficiary's spouse, son, daughter, grandchild, first cousins, niece, and nephew.
The assets of one 529 plan also can be transferred tax-free to another 529 plan for the same beneficiary. However, only one transfer of this type is allowed within any 12-month period. There also may be state tax implications when you transfer from one 529 plan to another. You may want to consult with your tax advisor before you make a transfer.
Withdrawals for Non-College Related Expenses
If your child decides not to go to college or you over-fund a 529 plan, you may pay a penalty in addition to any taxes you owe on any earnings. If you withdraw money from a 529 plan that's not used for qualified education expenses, you may be required to pay income tax and an additional 10% penalty on earnings.
There are a number of exceptions to this penalty. The penalty may be waived if your child gets a scholarship or is disabled. You also can avoid taxes and penalties by transferring the 529 plan to another beneficiary that will use the funds for qualified education expenses. Furthermore, you can use our College Savings Calculator to estimate the amount you need to save so that you don't over-fund a 529 plan.
For More Information
Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS has information on college savings options discussed here. Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Higher Education is a good place to start. It discusses 529 plans, ESAs, savings bonds, and tax credits and deductions for higher education expenses. You can find other information on their website, www.irs.gov. You also can call the IRS toll-free at 800-829-3676 to order publications.
College Savings Network. The National Association of State Treasurers' College Savings Plans Network website, www.collegesavings.org, provides information on 529 plans. Their site provides links to state 529 plan websites, information on state tax treatment, and other useful information. Bureau of Public Debt. The Bureau of Public Debt's Saving Bonds website provides everything from educational information to calculators to a direct purchase program for savings bonds.
529 Plans Sponsors. Most 529 plans allow you to directly invest through them. They provide you with offering circulars, applications, as well as a wealth of information on saving for college. Many brokers, financial advisers, and mutual funds firms work with one or more 529 plan sponsors and have information and materials on the plans. Most of these firms provide information on setting up ESAs and Custodial Accounts. Many firms also have websites that offer information on college savings options. | <urn:uuid:850812d6-468c-4075-bc3d-7b78856e771a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.studentloannetwork.com/financial-aid-101/529.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942194 | 1,508 | 2.28125 | 2 |
So what was made of this surprisingly high profile case? Sir Richard Owen treated the questionable illustration like a photograph and concluded that the head shape and reference to a mane indicated a mammal and proposed that it was a Southern Elephant Seal (Miroungna leonina)*. Cryptozoologists often take reported sizes far too seriously and it would not be surprising for even experienced mariners to inflate an unfamiliar 5-6 m pinniped into a ~18 m monster taking the wake and lack of scale into account. Owen's case runs into trouble since male elephant seals are typically on rookeries at that time of the year, they lack any remotely mane-like structure**, their profile should be instantly recognizable***, they most certainly do not have a stiff body as Owen claims, the reported locomotion sounds very unlikely for a phocid, and the captain of the Daedalus reaffirmed that the head he saw was flat****. Since there aren't many other large animals in the area which can swim with their heads above water, Owen was right to consider elephant seals as a candidate for the Daedalus sighting; however the lack of other candidates considered, his adamant support despite numerous confounding factors, and the fact that he apparently recently saw a juvenile in captivity leads me to think that this was a mild case of Phylogenetic Roulette.
* Despite the fact that he proposes Phoca proboscidea, Phoca leonina, and "Anson's sea lion" as candidates, these all appear to be synonyms for M. leonina (King and Bryden 1992). His letter can be read here, page 280 or so.
**If the animal was in poor condition, its protruding spine could theoretically form a "crest" of sorts. Owen implied that his hypothetical elephant seal was in poor condition because he erroneously thought they couldn't spend more than a day at sea - they can stay at sea for months.
*** This could be hand-waved if the hypothetical seal was immature. The reported overbite could possibly be taken as evidence for a developing proboscis.
**** Heuvelmans gives the illustrations more credibility and concludes that the animal may have been an unknown species of plesiosaur-like pinniped. Despite claiming the opposite, Heuvelmans could be a painfully biased pigeonholer.
While Owen had at least some reasoning for selecting an elephant seal as a candidate, Heuvelmans mentions a severe case of Phylogenetic Roulette: one anonymous correspondent suggested the eel-like fishes (or highly derived true eels) Saccopharynx flagellum or "Ophiognathus" ampullaceus (now Saccopharynx ampullaceus) as candidates. Heuvelmans summarizes this very well:
This lands squarely on the non sequitur side of the spectrum. Of all the lineages of elongated or serpentine oceanic organisms, what could possibly set gulper eels apart from the hundreds of other candidates? It boggles the mind how fish with morphology so completely at odds with what was reported could even be selected as candidates, yet this happens all the time in cryptozoology.
[the] suggestion... might seem very learned to the common reader until he discovers that these impressive Latin names refer to two closely related abyssal fish, eel-like in shape, but with vast mouths capable of swallowing four times their own weight, and never, so far as we know, exceeding 6 feet in length. The suggestions must have come from an amateur impressed by the strangeness of these fish rather than an experienced zoologist, for they could never be mistaken for the Daedalus sea-serpent.
Daedalus cryptid - giant squid! A cryptid in Lake Champlain - derived Tanystropheus! A carcass from the stomach of a sperm whale - extant Sauropterygian! Raccoon carcass - sea turtle without a shell (sic)! Who knows how many thousands of half-baked identifications have been proposed on cryptozoology forums - is there some wheel of big, bizarre animals that these people spin whenever a report or ambiguous carcass crops up? Making an identification from the general shape of a reported cryptid is far from scientific - you need specific morphological characters like those kindly put up on the Palaeos page to establish an objective case. Phylogenetic Roulette probably stems in part from our brains being hardwired to see patterns and answers with limited data; while this can be useful in real life things can be much more ambiguous, there are few easy answers. I'd hold up Paxton et al. (2005) as an objective and ideal analysis of a purported cryptid report, hopefully more like it will follow.
There is no way to stop quackery and most dumb suggestions, but if done properly I'd say cryptozoology does show some promise.
Heuvelmans, Bernard. 1968. In the Wake of the Sea-Serpents. Hill and Wang, New York.
King, J. K. and Bryden, M. M. 1992. Mirounga leonina. Mammalian Species 391, 1-8
Paxton, C. G. M. et al. 2005. Cetaceans, sex and sea serpents: an analysis of the Egede accounts of a “most dreadful monster” seen off the coast of Greenland in 1734. Archives of natural history 32, 1-9 | <urn:uuid:ed2a12f7-ca8a-4a54-a516-12a7d81090b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cameronmccormick.blogspot.com/2009/04/phylogenetic-roulette-for-identifying.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952066 | 1,136 | 2.75 | 3 |
Police Force Act
(Original Enactment: Ordinance 32 of 1958)
REVISED EDITION 1985
(30th March 1987)
An Act relating to the Singapore Police Force and to provide for the establishment, organisation, discipline, powers and duties of the police force and for matters incidental thereto.
[29th May 1959]
2. In this Act unless the context otherwise requires —
“arm” includes firearm;
“Auxiliary Police Force” means any force created under the provisions of Part IX;
“auxiliary police officer” means a person appointed as such under the provisions of Part IX;
“commanding officer” or “officer commanding” means the Deputy Commissioner of Police, a senior assistant commissioner of police, an assistant commissioner of police, the commandant of the Police Training School, and any police officer lawfully acting in any of these appointments;
“Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Police;
“constable” means a police officer below the rank of lance corporal;
“Deputy Commissioner” means the Deputy Commissioner of Police;
“gazetted officer” means a police officer of any rank from and including the Commissioner down to and including a probationary assistant superintendent;
“inspector” means an inspector of police of whatever grade from and including a chief inspector down to and including a cadet inspector;
“Police Force” means the Singapore Police Force, established by this Act and called the Polis Repablik Singapura;
“police officer” means any member of the Police Force and includes a temporary constable;
“Police Regulations” means regulations made under section 54;
“national serviceman” means a person who has been directed to present himself for enlistment in the Police Force under the provisions of any written law for the time being in force relating to national service or enlistment;
“special police officer” means a member of the Special Constabulary constituted under Part VIII;
“subordinate officer” means a police officer of any rank from and including a sub-inspector down to and including a constable.
3. The Commissioner shall be responsible to the Minister for the supreme command, direction and administration of the Police Force, and of any persons appointed or engaged for police duties under the provisions of this Act.
—(1) Any act or thing which may be done, ordered or performed by the Commissioner under this or any other written law may, subject to the orders and directions of the Commissioner, be done, ordered or performed by the Deputy Commissioner, a senior assistant commissioner of police, or an assistant commissioner of police.
(2) In the absence or incapacity of the Deputy Commissioner, the Commissioner may authorise any gazetted officer to exercise the powers conferred and perform the duties imposed by any written law on the Deputy Commissioner.
5. All powers granted to and duties imposed by any written law on any police officer shall be exercised or performed in accordance with Police Regulations, Police General Orders, Force Orders and Standing Orders made under this Act.
6. All police officers shall be bound to serve in any part of Singapore or in the service of the Government of Singapore on board any vessel or aircraft, or to proceed to and serve in Malaysia as provided in Part IV, or to proceed to any place outside Singapore as required for the purposes of section 38(p). | <urn:uuid:33e1732f-a7af-443b-9e9a-035354a0b916> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=DocId%3A%221e1ccfed-946d-4111-8944-458636c1b8c0%22%20Status%3Ainforce%20Depth%3A0%20ValidTime%3A19870330000000%20TransactionTime%3A20120512000000;rec=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94807 | 722 | 2.25 | 2 |
Land-mines, explosive remnants of war is a controversial topic for many Governments, including Vietnam, a daily threat to many people. To overcome the contamination of remnants of war has been implemented by the Vietnamese engineering soldiers.
According to the report from the State Steering Committee of the National Action Program to prevent and recover the effect of bomb and mines after the war, the number of bombs, mines, ammunition used by the United States in Vietnam were over 15.530 million tons (about 7.8 million tons dropped by aircraft and 7.5 million tons used on the ground), more than 3.9 times higher than World War II, more than 12 times higher than the Korean War.
There are about 350 to 800 thousand tons of weapons and bombs left over, including all kinds of bombs, cluster bombs, b bombs regularly, missiles, mines, first artillery, mortars and other ordnance.
Preliminary investigation of Technology Center for Bomb and Mine Disposal (Army engineers), land area still contaminated by mine and bomb in Vietnam is about 6.6 million ha (almost 20% of total area).
With such huge volumes, Vietnam still take many decades at a cost of hundreds of new trillion to overcome the contamination of explosive remnants after war. | <urn:uuid:21c4e838-a01c-4200-8767-aaf1940187fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11035565-over-15530-million-tons-of-bombs-and-mines-had-been-dropped-in-vietnam-war | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00069-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951145 | 254 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Male vs Female Emotions
Male and female complete the species of human beings and ostensibly, there are differences between them that can be seen from a distance. It is these physical differences such as breasts in females, and hair on the face and body in males that work as magnetic attraction between them. However, there are also emotional differences that are reflected in their thinking and overall behavior. As people remain confused about these differences, women and men often complaint that the other can never understand them. Let us take a closer look and try to find these differences.
The first reason for emotional differences between men and women is because of subtle differences in brain functioning. Scientists have proved that these differences pertain to how men and women process information, language, emotions etc. It is these differences that decide why there are so many more male mathematicians, mechanical engineers, pilots, and racing car drivers than females. And why women are seen more in the role of teachers, banking positions, customer relation officers. Women are adept at language and words, and this makes them more suited to be placed in offices to deal with customers.
There are two hemispheres in human brain. Left hemisphere deals with logical reasoning while the right hemisphere governs our emotions and personal relations. It is not that these hemispheres work in isolation. Both are connected through nerve fibers to exchange information. However, whether a girl or a boy, our school teaching is such that, more emphasis is laid on language skills drawing from the left hemisphere, and thus right hemisphere develops much slower. However, in case of boys, secretion of testosterone damages some connections between left and right brain hemispheres making them less emotional and more rational thinking than girls.
It is not that men are without emotions, but they handle them differently than females. They try to keep their emotions inside unlike women who like to talk about their emotions. In fact, men hate it when they are asked to reveal their innermost thoughts. However, there can be exceptions and, this is only a generalization. The truth lies somewhere in between. When men stop communicating, women feel they are upset and ask them what they are thinking. This is because women become quiet when they are hurt. Women feel that men hide themselves behind emotions and do not reveal their true self.
To be sure; men’s emotions lead them to act, while arousal of emotions leads most women to talk. Evolution had taught men to calm down when hit by anger or emotions as they had to hunt animals. They learnt to put a lid on their emotions and, in the process of thousands of years, not showing emotions has become almost natural for men. If men do not calm down, their emotions can make their blood pressure shoot up, and they could get a heart attack. Thus, men try to escape from situations arousing them emotionally. Men prefer to talk about practical solutions than how they feel, and even when they offer advice, it is to reaffirm her feelings and to assuage them. | <urn:uuid:0bb0f095-3952-467f-a0d2-5762ab183e46> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-male-and-vs-female-emotions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980377 | 605 | 3.171875 | 3 |
To have your class, workshop or presentation included in this free listing, email its title, instructor, location, dates, start/end times, cost and brief description to firstname.lastname@example.org. Due to the volume of submissions, items will be listed as close as possible to their start date; if a deadline to enroll is included, the event will be listed on the Sunday before deadline. High-res digital photos, depending on quality, are used if space permits. Submissions are subject to revision and rewriting, inclusion is not guaranteed and publication does not mean programs are endorsed by The Maui News.
* Art classes. The Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center, 2841 Baldwin Ave., is offering the following classes. For details or to register, call 572-6560 or visit huinoeau.com.
** "Jewelry for Teens: Teen Wax Casting" with Julie Matheis will be from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through April 1. Teens will use traditional wax carving tools, discover the proper way to set up designs with sprues, and invest them in fine jeweler's plaster. Cost is $110 ($137 nonmember) plus supply fee: $25.
** "Jewelry with Shells" with Julie Matheis will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Mondays through March 18. Learn to use the jeweler's saw, torch and hammer to design jewelry using your favorite seashells. Cost is $135 ($169 nonmember) plus supply and lab fee: $20.
** "Beginning Jewelry" with Luana Coonen will be from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mondays through April 3. This class teaches fundamental fabrication techniques using wire and sheet metals. Cost is $195 ($244 nonmember) plus supply and lab fee: $45.
** "Beginner's Guide to DSLR Camera Navigation & Composition" with Aubrey Hord will be from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. This workshop covers the basics of how to navigate your camera and how to get started on shooting with the manual setting. Cost is $80 ($100 nonmember) plus lab fee: $5 and supply list.
** "Advanced Independent Fine Jewelry Studies" with David Welty will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays through April 3. This course is designed for serious, focused, goal-oriented students seeking professional career instruction in fine jewelry creation and production. Cost is $350 ($438 nonmember) plus supply and lab fee: $150.
* EdVenture classes. The University of Hawaii Maui College is offering the following classes. For information or to register, call 984-3231.
** "Pen & Ink" with Iris Sandkuhler will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday. Learn traditional techniques/concepts that include: hatching, cross hatching, stippling, mapping, positive/negative space relationship and visual weight. Cost is $99 plus supply list.
** "Taoist Longevity Breathing" with Kurt Miyajima will be from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Saturdays through April 13. Learn how to use the breath to literally move everything inside the abdominal cavity to massage all the internal organs. Cost is $89.
** "Learn to Knit" with Francine M. Fernandez will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Learn the basic knitting stitches to get you started. Tools and supplies are provided. Cost is $94.
** "Improv Comedy Fun" with Dan Weisman will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturdays through March 23. Learn the fun-damentals behind successful improv comedy. Play hilarious improv games with accompanying musical backgrounds. Cost is $89.
* Tai chi classes. John Rivera and Jan Osterneck will teach beginner "Tai Chi Chuan" courses from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays for ten weeks, Upcountry. Beginner T'ai Chi Ch'uan is excellent for improving concentration, strengthening the mind / body connection, and enhancing health and well-being. Cost is $100. To register or for more information call 264-1600.
* Gardening classes. Anne Gachuhi of the Home Gardening Support Network will be conducting the following gardening classes. Cost is $15. For more information or to register, call 446-2361, email email@example.com or visit www.homegardeningsupportnetwork.com.
** "Major Diseases of Vegetables" will be from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Wednesday at Bailey House Museum, Wailuku. This session covers the major vegetable diseases and the common vegetables affected, including: tomatoes, cabbages, cucumbers, onions, lettuce and pepper. Participants will learn about the environmental factors necessary for diseases to occur and the control strategies to take including organic methods and IPM (integrated pest management) practices.
** "Garden Bugs and their Control" will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lumeria Maui, Makawao. This session covers the simple ways to identify common garden bugs, their damage symptoms and how to control them.
* Spring break art classes. Barbara Steinberg will teach spring break art classes from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through March 27 at Kihei Community Center. Drawing and water color of native animals and plants. Ages 6-14 are welcome. Cost is $10 week ($15 for last week as it is longer). To register, call 879-0025 or visit www.barbarasteinbergart.com.
* Healing retreat with Jody Soltau Mountain will start on Friday though March 6 at Pahana Farms, Huelo. This workshop renews your life force, healing the past and reconnecting with the spirit within. Cost is $1,900. For more information, contact 575-2294, firstname.lastname@example.org, www.LineageofLight.com.
* Fruit fly management. Maui Master Gardeners at UH-Maui College campus, Building 205, Kahului will hold a free class from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday. Learn to identify and prevent fruit-fly damage, and the areas and crops different flies like best. Bring an empty two-liter plastic bottle for a baited fruit fly trap. To register, call 244-3242, ext. 222. | <urn:uuid:d26ca87f-380a-4778-8d23-78cce19ff192> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/570123.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909008 | 1,389 | 1.679688 | 2 |
"Predicting is hard, especially about the future," quips Vint Cerf -- and he should know.
That's because about 30 years ago, when the now-famous engineer was helping to design the technology that powers the Internet, Cerf decided just how many devices could connect to the network. His answer -- 2 to the 32nd power, or 4.3 billion -- looked awfully big at the time. A few decades later, we now know it's far short.
Accordingly, Google's chief Internet evangelist and one of the few people at the company who looks natural in a suit and tie, is eager for tomorrow's high-profile World IPv6 Launch. The event will usher in a vastly larger Internet as many major powers move permanently to the next-generation Internet Protocol version 6 technology. IPv6 is big enough to give a network address to 340 undecillion devices -- that's 2 to the 128th power, or 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 if you're keeping score.
The change actually began years ago: IPv6 was finished in 1996, IPv6 networks could be constructed since 1999, and any personal computer bought in the last few years can handle IPv6 if configured properly. But because IPv4 was spacious enough for a long time, moving to IPv6 was a potentially expensive hassle that didn't have much immediate payoff. It was only last year, when the pipeline of unused IPv4 addresses started emptying out, that a sense of real urgency gripped the computing industry.
The IPv6 transition will take years as Internet plumbing gradually is updated with the ability transfer packets of IPv6 data from point A to point B. That transfer uses technology that Cerf and colleague Bob Kahn invented in the 1970s. It's called TCP/IP, and it's what wires together the Net's nervous system.
When you download that cat photo from a server, it's the job of the Internet Protocol (IP) to deliver it, broken down into a collection of individual data packets, to your computer. Countless network devices in between examine the IP address of each packet to send them hop by hop toward to your machine so IP can reassembles them into the photo.
Closely paired is Transmission Control Protocol, which takes care of ensuring the packets are successfully delivered over this packet-switching network, requesting missing packets be retransmitted if necessary, and reassembling them into the proper order to reconstitute the original photo. Curious people can read the original paper, A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication (PDF), written before TCP and IP were split into separate technology layers.
Cerf is a somewhat unusual figure in today's Internet development realm. Hotshot young programmers are pushing the limits of Web programming and other novelties, but Cerf, born in 1943, has a much longer history watching the cutting edge advance. He witnessed the arrival of e-mail, e-commerce, and emoticons.
He even looks the part of a father of the Internet, balding but with a neatly trimmed white beard. And he remains an active parent: in the last two weeks, he warned the U.S. House of Representatives about the perils of U.N. regulation of the Internet, revealed Google's plans for new Internet domain names such as .google, was named president of the prestigious Association for Computing Machinery, and in a speech at the Freedom to Connect conference warned that blocking legislative successors to SOPA and PIPA might not be so easy.
Cerf spoke to CNET's Stephen Shankland in recent days in an e-mail conversation -- though for those who appreciate the Internet's newer communication mechanisms, Cerf will hold a Google+ hangout about IPv6 at noon PT today.
What do you think of the World IPv6 Launch event? Where on the spectrum of PR puffery and real engineering work does it lie?
This is not puffery. It is incredibly hard, painstaking work by engineers looking to make sure that every line of code that "knows" an IP address is 32 bits long in a certain format also "knows" that it could also be in IPv6 format, 128 bits long. This is a major accomplishment for ISPs and application providers around the world. The router and edge device providers have mostly done their homework years ago, but the ISPs and app providers are largely just getting there.
Are you surprised that it took as long as it did for people to start moving to IPv6?
Yes. We hoped for much earlier implementation. It would have been so much easier. But people had not run out of IPv4 and NAT boxes [network address translation lets multiple devices share a single IP address] were around (ugh), so the delay is understandable but inexcusable. It is still going to take time to get everyone on board.
Why did you settle on 2^32 for the IPv4 address space? And when exactly did that happen?
Bob Kahn and I estimated that there might be two national-scale packet networks per country and perhaps 128 countries able to build them, so 8 bits sufficed for 256 network identifiers. Twenty-four bits allowed for up to 16 million hosts. At that time, hosts were big, expensive time-sharing systems, so 16 million seemed like a lot. We did consider variable length and 128-bit addressing in 1977 but decided that this would be too much overhead for the relatively low-speed lines (50 kilobits per second). I thought this was still an experiment and that if it worked we would then design a production version. The experiment lasted until 2011, and now we are launching the production IPv6 on June 6.
Ha! So if this is Internet 1.0, when will we have to move to version 2.0? Is there anything else disruptive at the level of IPv6 we'll have to endure, or have we laid a foundation for incremental improvements now?
New GTLDs [generic top-level domains such as .hotel], internationalized domain names, new mobile applications, delay- and disruption-tolerant networking, the interplanetary Internet, the Interstellar mission -- there is still a lot that can happen.
We're outgrowing its limits today, but what would the consequences have been if you'd picked a bigger than 2^32 back in the 1970s?
I think this would not have passed the "red face" test -- too much overhead, and what argument in 1973 or 1977 would have led to agreement that we needed 340 trillion trillion trillion addresses?
Might it have been possible to engineer some better forwards compatibility into IPv4 or better backwards compatibility into IPv6 to make this transition easier?
We might have used an option field in IPv4 to achieve the desired effect, but at the time options were slow to process, and in any case we would have to touch the code in every host to get the option to be processes... Every IPv4 and IPv6 packet can have fields in the packet that are optional -- but that carry additional information (e.g. for security)... We concluded (perhaps wrongly) that if we were going to touch every host anyway we should design an efficient new protocol that could be executed as the mainline code rather than options. IPng (next generation) was debated for a couple of years, I think, then Bob Hinden's proposal became IPv6.
How accurately have you been able to forecast the growth and development of the Internet over the years? What did you think its future looked like during, say, those early days working on TCP/IP, or when you were working on MCI Mail, or when you co-founded the Internet Society, and how closely did reality match your predictions?
I would say that starting about 1988 we could see 100 percent per year growth in the number of hosts on the Internet and nearly that for users. In the last 12 years, the compounded growth rate for users has been 15.5 percent per year. During the "dot-boom" period between 1995 and 2000 we saw extremely high growth in capacity (not necessarily in demand). At the point that Netscape Communications launched its IPO there was dramatic growth in web page creation and use. MCI Mail was launched in September, 1983, just nine months after the Internet was launched on the ARPANET and associated networks. However, it was probably about ten years too early to catch the wave because not too many people had terminals, modems or desktop computers at that point. The Internet Society was started in January 1992, almost 10 years after the Internet was launched and this coincided with the early beginnings of the WWW. Generally, though, it has been hard to make predictions. The growth of mobiles has been dramatic as has the growth of smartphones connected to and making use of the Internet. Predicting is hard, especially about the future :-)
This ITU-T question over Internet governance is interesting. At the House hearing, there wasn't much disagreement that the status quo is preferable for Internet governance. Are there any good technical or governmental reasons that the ITU fans can point to? I recognize you prefer today's mechanism, but is there something technical and not just political at work here?
This is mostly political: countries that want the Internet to be more controllable as to content and application see ITU as a better venue than the multi-stakeholder institutions like ICANN, ISOC, IETF, IGF, etc.
What's your bigger worry right now regarding a hobbled Internet: state censorship or ITU-T oversight?
All of the above. State censorship is the more direct threat.
Is there an idealistic or moral element to the work you do, or is it purely technical? Someone in your position could get very excited about the opportunities to bridge cultural divides, link economies, and build something of a global community.
I have long believed that sharing of information is extremely powerful and that it is a human right to do so. The Internet facilitates that and I am committed to its use for that purpose.
Are there moral reasons to avoid ITU control over the Internet?
Yes, if you don't believe that every government is concerned about human rights and some wish to use the Internet to suppress those rights. ITU itself is not "evil" but it can be used to achieve ends that are inimical to human rights. So can other institutions, but the multi-stakeholder approach makes it harder, in my opinion.
If the ITU members decide they want more control, is that it? Fait accompli, no appeal process, game over?
No. Internet implementation will find its way around censorship, but it may take time and new developments and some brave citizens to achieve the objective.
It seems to me Google is betting in the long run on abundant broadband (and helping to make the vision a reality with Google Fiber). But right now, there's a big trend toward tiered or metered pricing. Do you think the today's data-transfer caps are a short-term blip or the new status quo? The ISPs and carriers have to make money somehow, and they don't generally seem to be finding ways to build higher-level services the way companies like Google or Facebook do.
I think caps are detrimental in the long run. However, I understand a process that might provide for tiered pricing for bandwidth (not total bytes sent but the rate at which they are sent). I think higher-level services and alternative revenue models are the best approach. I wish there had been more facilities-based competition. That is what we are doing in Kansas City -- vertical, facilities-based competition.
Data transfer speeds have generally been improving with Net access, but has latency been lowering? Why is low latency important It looks pretty good for fiber, but fiber is a relative rarity.
Low latency facilitates interactive applications: games, videoconferencing, shared document access, collaboration, etc.
Most of us these days have very asymmetric bandwidth -- much faster download speeds compared to upload speeds. Why does Google think fast upload speeds are important, too? Personally, I see the constraints with videoconferencing, uploading videos and photos, and online backup, but I'd like to hear the broader view.
We create and move increasingly large amounts of data. The Internet of Things is coming with lots of two-way interaction. Shared databases and instrument data-gathering will produce information that needs to be pushed into the Net.
One of the benefits of IPv6 is a more direct architecture that's not obfuscated by the address-sharing of network address translation (NAT). How will that change the Internet? And how seriously should we take security concerns of those who like to have that NAT as a layer of defense?
Machine to machine [communication] will be facilitated by IPv6. Security is important; NAT is not a security measure in any real sense. Strong, end-to-end authentication and encryption are needed. Two-factor passwords also ([which use] one-time passwords).
Namespaces are a notorious problem in computer science. Is the GTLD expansion actually adding value, or is it just making things more complicated and adding new trademark headaches for brand owners? I know Google is getting involved, but is that because Google excited by the possibilities or worried about the consequences of not defending its brand?
We are interested in new ways to use Google brands and new ideas for using GTLDs. The trademark/domain name interaction has always been problematic because trademarks are not unique. I think ICANN has provided strong guidance on sunrise processes to help protect trademark owners and faster dispute resolution mechanisms. I think only a few new TLDs will be notably successful, but I could be wrong.
I find it hard to grasp how long you've been involved -- you've seen the arrival of e-mail, emoticons, BSD Unix, the Web, e-commerce, and now so much streaming media. Do you suffer from future shock, or does it all just look like packets being routed appropriately?
No future shock. It is all unfolding as planned. (:-) From the network level, it's packets all the way down. The innovations are at the edges although the infrastructure is undergoing major change (IPv6, new TLDs [top-level domains such as .nyc or .google], Unicode domain names [that support non-Roman alphabets such as Chinese], OpenFlow [which enables network technology experimentation], mobile application platforms, cloud computing -- time-sharing on steroids....). But it comes in daily spoonfuls, not an avalanche and that makes it fairly absorbable.
What originally got you started in development of the Internet, and when did that happen?
After working at UCLA on the ARPANET project (specifically the Network Measurement Center and the Host-Host Protocol AKA Network Control Program under the leadership of Steve Crocker (now ICANN [Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers] chairman), I joined the Stanford Faculty in Oct 1972. Bob Kahn and I had met while I was at UCLA and he was at Bolt Beranek and Newman. He was a key architecture of the ARPANET Interface Message Processors (IMPs) but joined ARPA about the time I joined Stanford. He had been thinking about open networking and multiple kinds of packet-switched networks. By the time we rendezvoused in the spring of 1973, he was talking about building and connecting mobile packet radio and packet satellite networks with the ARPANET. We had in mind mobile packet voice, packet video, and all the existing ARPANET applications (mostly remote time-sharing, e-mail, and file transfers). We worked through the spring and summer of 1973 and wrote a draft paper that we briefed to the International Network Working Group (INWG, which became IFIP WG 6.1) that I chaired at a meeting at the University of Sussex in September 1973. A revised version of that paper was published in May 1974 in the IEEE Transactions on Communications ("A protocol for packet network intercommunication"). During the calendar year 1974, I led a seminar and working group to refine the Transmission Control Protocol, ending up with a complete (but buggy) specification published as RFC 675: Internet Transmission Control Protocol.
But what piqued your interest? Was there some juicy combination of challenging but attainable, useful but experimental, technical but elegant? I've met a lot of engineers who are motivated by a lot more than just creating something to meet a spec.
ARPANET was a bold experiment in computer communication and I was fascinated by the possibilities. The Internet was even more challenging because of the diversity of networks and computers and operating systems that had to be made interoperable. We knew we were building the basis for a very, very powerful infrastructure.
What do you think of about being called a "father of the Internet"? Who else in your mind merits this parenthood title?
There are many. Bob Kahn started the ARPA Internetting program, so if anyone deserves the title, he does. We worked very closely together and put the first paper together as if there were two hands on one pen (or keyboard). The leaders of the ARPANET project, at DARPA: Larry Roberts; Bob Taylor; Frank Heart, Bob Kahn, Dave Walden, Severo Ornstein, Willy Crowther, Virginia Strazisar, Daniel Burchfiel, Ray Tomlinson, Bill Plummer and a bunch more at BBN; Len Kleinrock, Steve Crocker, Bob Braden, Jon Postel at UCLA; at MIT, David Clark, David Reed, Noel Chiappa; at USC-ISI, Dan Lynch (later Postel and Braden moved there from UCLA); there are many others in other countries who pioneered implementations of TCP/IP especially at University College London led by Peter Kirstein and at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment led by Paal Spilling and Yngvar Lund. In addition, there were my graduate students, especially Carl Sunshine, Yogen Dalal (whose names are on RFC 675), Richard Karp, Judy Estrin, Ron Crane, James Mathis, Darryl Rubin; visitors: Kuninobu Tanno, Gerard LeLann, Dag Belsnes; Xerox PARC, Bob Metcalfe, John Shoch among others. I am sure this list is incomplete.
Yes, there's an endless number of giants on whose shoulders one must stand. You don't seem a particularly ego-mad person trying to claim undue influence, but where would you rank yourself in that list?
Well, Bob Kahn and I really did design TCP (later TCP/IP), and both of us ran the Internet research program while at ARPA [the U.S. Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, later the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA]. I am a founder of the Internet Society and its first president; I was chairman of ICANN for seven years and on the board for eitght; I was on the IAB [Internet Architecture Board for years and its chair for a time; I have continued to support the growth of the Internet while at CNRI [Corporation for National Research Initiatives], MCI [a telecommunications company where he led development of the MCI Mail Internet e-mail service], at ARPA, and now at Google. So I guess Bob and I belong fairly close to the origins from the ARPANET to the present.
Roughly how many of those folks are still active?
All who have not passed on are still very active. Pretty amazing, huh? | <urn:uuid:8a37e065-b6b1-4759-802e-6c2b3ed995bf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57447207-93/internet-co-creator-vint-cerf-welcomes-ipv6-elbow-room-q-a/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960634 | 4,054 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Biographical entry Gibson, Charles Mends (1808 - 1874)
MRCS Jan 27th 1832; FRCS Aug 12th 1852; LSA 1831.
- 23 April 1808
- 13 January 1874
Amélie-les-Bains, Pyrenées Orientales, France
- General surgeon
Born at Plymouth on April 23rd, 1808, studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and was for twenty years Resident Medical Superintendent of the Bethel Hospital for Lunatics at Norwich. In this post he had opportunities for gaining the reputation of being a skilful operator and successful lithotomist. Owing to failure of health he retired in favour of his nephew. He was popular on account of his geniality. He was for many years Director of the Norwich Union Life Office, and a Trustee of the Norwich Charities. He resided in Bethel Street, Norwich, and died after a severe attack of haemoptysis at Amélie-les-Bains, Pyrenées Orientales, on Jan 13th, 1874.
The Royal College of Surgeons of England
Created: 8 February 2012 | <urn:uuid:a623d9de-9d06-433e-8ecd-c28c8421d482> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/biogs/E001979b.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960269 | 245 | 1.828125 | 2 |
More rain is forecast for tonight and Friday — but nothing like the downpours that have turned rivers into torrents and fields into lakes.
As residents of flood-threatened cities and towns nationwide held their breath, an Environment Agency spokesman said: “We appear to have reached the high-water mark.”
But localised flooding could still be a problem as rivers across the Midlands, South and West are close to bursting their banks.
Dozens of swans glided along streets yesterday after the Severn overflowed in Worcester.
Water levels around Tewkesbury, Gloucs — where 1,800 homes were swamped in 2007 — were expected to rise another six inches. But flood defences were holding.
There were still 33 flood warnings in force — 14 in the South West — and 132 lesser alerts.
Roads in low-lying areas of Oxfordshire and Berkshire could be submerged as flood water surges downstream in the Thames.
A stranded school minibus with 14 children on board had to be winched out of floodwater by a farmer at Peterchurch, Herefordshire. The Met Office forecast 0.4in (10mm) of rain tonight.
But an Environment Agency spokesman said: “The forecast risk of flooding across England and Wales for Thursday is very low.”
Hosepipe bans will remain in place despite the wettest April on record with more than twice the normal rainfall.
Thames Water said: “One wet month is not enough to get us out of this drought.”
The man swept to his death with his dog in a flooded river was named yesterday as Jonathan Gammon, a 52-year-old judge.
He was a passenger in a Toyota Yaris negotiating a ford at Headley, Hants, when the current caught it and swept it 100 yards downstream.
He was trapped but his wife Priscilla, 55, escaped. Judge Gammon, of Teddington, Middlesex, sat on mental health tribunals and colleagues yesterday described him as “very well respected and popular”.
Youths who risked their lives by stripping to their boxer shorts and leaping into the swollen River Tone from a bridge in Taunton, Somerset, were condemned by the fire and rescue service yesterday.
- ANIMAL charity the Blue Cross urged Brits to think ahead if they are at risk of flooding — moving outdoor pets indoors, possibly upstairs, or taking them to stay with people outside the risk zone. But it added: “Never put your own life in danger to save an animal.”
- THE brains behind the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant said there was “no way” it will be cancelled due to the rain — and the Windsor Castle grounds were “in pretty good shape” for the spectacular, featuring Susan Boyle.
- THIS weekend’s big charity boating festival on the River Nene in Northampton — which was first threatened by the drought — was yesterday postponed for the first time in 15 years... because there is too much water.
FLOODING has been a fact of life in Tewkesbury for centuries.
It stands where major rivers — the Severn and Avon — meet.
The 12th century abbey “floating” on dry land, seen around the world, is just one image from decades of deluge, below. | <urn:uuid:1e87bac5-27b0-4908-bb41-646cfd820ad9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ghanapolitics.net/thesun/a-floody-nightmare-for-britain-but-worst-could-be-over.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975537 | 704 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Lemonade Stand is a classic game that teaches the basics about how supply and demand affect business.
Escape from Knab is an educational simulation which takes participants through a series of financial decision- making experiences in the fun and entertaining setting of the fictitious planet, Knab where visitors discover the results of their actions and decisions.
A fun place for students to learn about money and banking.
BAM is a site full of activities for students on the subjects of mental and physical health, as well as illness and nutrition.
You can find recipes, tips, and feature articles on this interactive site.
FabricLink offers tips on fabric care and laundering, discussions of retail and fashion trends, information on what various fibers have to offer, and much more. If it concerns fabric, it's here!
Explore the world of nutrition. Includes interactive games, recipes, information, and much more.
Great website for students! Focuses on various aspects of health, including emotions, nutrition, diseases, and much more.
Website for students to discuss common techniques advertisers use and how not to get "hypnotized" by ads.
Fun game that shows students financial planning and other financial activities.
Interactive site that allows kids to join the "clubhouse" and learn about saving money and wise consumption.
Learn all about savings bonds from the U.S. Government. Includes information on practical finances.
Learn how and where money is made and play a number of different games, from the Department of Treasury.
List of many different types of games kids play and variations to those games.
Health Canada has some fun and helpful resources just for students. Some of these topics may be seem serious, but it's important to know how these issues will affect your health.
GoAnimal games are "designed to be primal, practical and above all, playful."
This site opens the door to a healthy heart. Includes recipes, games, quizzes, and more related to healthy eating.
From the Dole Food Company, this site is geared for students interested in learning about fruits and vegetables. Includes interactive activities and games.
Entertaining, informational, and interactive site about apple juice and other apple products. Check out the apple juice recipes!
From the CPSC, this site teaches students about how to use sports equipment correctly.
This site teaches students how to be prepared for disasters and prevent disaster damage.
Through an interactive website, learn proper food safety and how to fight bacteria. Includes games, music videos, and much more!
From the EPA, learn about recycling and have fun doing it! Includes games, activities, facts, and graphics.
From the NHTSA, this site teaches students about traffic safety and general accident prevention. Includes games and interractive activities.
This is an interactive website designed to educate children about the environment -- the air, water and land.
This colorful interactive website for students links to information and resources related to the services of the Social Security Administration.
This website explores the concept of globalization and its impact on our world.
Economics web site created by Dr. Gary Clayton at Northern Kentucky University
This website contains online games and simulations to help you learn about credit management, buying a car, paying for college, budgeting, saving, and investing
This website provides a fun and interactive way to learn about earning, saving, spending, investing, and borrowing
This interactive, web-based program will help you become a literate, savvy consumer. Consumer Jungle explores topics such as credit cards, transportation, living on your own, personal finances, telecommunications, and e-commerce fraud | <urn:uuid:59d92671-cb01-4774-b928-448ee9af7c45> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.giftedsources.com/practical.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937567 | 738 | 2.71875 | 3 |
We all know that outdated network software is security hazard. The solution: hard-wired expiration codes that self-destruct an old program when it's past its prime.
If network daemons such as rpc.statd were renewed on a yearly basis, crackers could stop wasting our time with these outdated attacks.
It's a blessing, of course, because it's what separates software from automobiles, houses, electron microscopes, and other marvels of engineering: no wind and rain to make code rust, and software has no moving parts to wear out.
But it's a curse because its perpetual readiness frequently entombs the user in an ages-old software package. If nothing else, the whole Y2K bug experience reminds us how long code lives when left unchecked.
Which is why I think it's time we consider what may seem on the surface a radical idea: building time codes into all open source networking and security software that causes it to "expire" like a Blade Runner replicant when it reaches a certain age.
This idea has been used before, but primarily in software licensed on an annual basis, or shareware that expires after a given time period has passed. Appropriating it for open source software would solve a number of security and reliability problems.
One of the big problems with open source software is that, without a base of registered users, it's difficult to ensure that users have actually patched their software for the latest security holes. Unlike Novell, who can find all licensed users of their server products and impress upon them the importance of a security patch, you can't even tell who's running any particular open source package.
The lag between discovery of a serious hole and the time that script kiddies can use an automated exploit to root systems is sometimes substantial: in the case of one bug, the rpc.statd format string vulnerability, the lag was two to three months.
While it is unlikely that an exploited package will expire in precisely this time period, the rpc.statd hole is still being exploited on the Internet today, more than a year and a half after the hole was first exploited. My home systems are typically probed for this vulnerability at least once a week, and sometimes several times a day. As I write this, it's been less than twenty-five hours since the last attempt.
Crackers wouldn't still be attempting to exploit the hole if systems weren't still finding vulnerable systems. But if network daemons such as rpc.statd were "renewed" on a yearly basis, crackers could stop wasting network bandwidth and security professionals' time with these outdated attacks.
Interoperability is another critical issue that would be well-served by expiring old software. Code simplicity could be enhanced by requiring a much more limited degree of backwards compatibility than is typical today.
To illustrate this, I have a user whose tools of choice are PGP 2.6.3i and Commercial SSH 2.3, because he feels that these have the best interoperability with other tools.
In the case of PGP, most users of other PGP versions can read his messages. However, rare is the conversation where this user fails to complain about his inability to read other peoples' PGP messages --- because the packet formats used by PGP 7.x and Gnu Privacy Guard differ substantially from those used by the older versions of this software.
In the case of SSH, the installed base for OpenSSH has increased so enormously that he faces persistent difficulties interoperating between his version of SSH and those typically encountered in the field.
My feeling is that this user should take on the one-time difficulty of replacing his keys if necessary to help the cause of compatibility. An expiration date would make that happen.
Open source being what it is, nothing can stop dedicated users from removing the expiration code from their packages. In the case of stalled development, this may even be necessary, and it can serve as a safety valve to help offset the dangers of software expiration. This makes it fundamentally different than licensing schemes that permit automated remote disabling of software packages.
With software patching in its current state, this might sound like the System Administrators Full Employment Act of 2002. But surely if this scheme was widely adopted, software update techniques would improve quite quickly. Imagine Debian's apt-get tool, but with automated verification of GPG signatures on the packages.
One downside of the software expiration scheme is that it would discourage mature and responsible software development techniques: developers' attitudes might always be, "I'll fix that in the next release."
Then again, maybe things wouldn't be so different.
'Don't Call Me Jon Boy': Lasser responds to CISSP criticism | <urn:uuid:ab2f5dcf-c60c-4c4b-bd5b-5c00570bb3b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/72 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959818 | 969 | 2.15625 | 2 |
THE carbon tax has boosted the cost of living scarcely at all. Despite dire talk of an ''almost unimaginable'' increase (Tony Abbott) and $100 for a Sunday roast (Barnaby Joyce) the first official consumer price figures show a far lower impact than predicted by the Treasury.
Last July, Treasury said the tax would push up the consumer price index 0.70 percentage points, adding $9.90 per week to average household costs. In return, households were given compensation averaging $10.10 per week.
But 0.70 percentage points looks like being an overestimate. Inflation figures for the September quarter - the one that encompasses almost all of the electricity and gas price rises - show them adding 0.44 points to the CPI. It's a big figure, but not that much bigger than the usual September quarter slug.
Melbourne households have endured a 13.6 per cent increase in electricity prices - unwelcome but well short of previous September quarter jumps of 19 per cent and 21 per cent.
Nationwide, electricity and gas price rises have added 0.25 and 0.33 points to the consumer price index in the past two September quarters. Treasury expected the gas and electricity price hikes to account for only half of the 0.70 boost, the rest being accounted for by businesses that passed them on.
But Commonwealth Bank senior economist Michael Blythe makes the point that if the electricity and gas impact is about half what was expected, it is likely the total impact will be, too.
''It is looking as if the Treasury's figure will be an overestimate rather than an underestimate,'' he said.
The total consumer price index increased 2 per cent in the year to September, a figure right at the bottom of the Reserve Bank's 2-3 per cent target band, giving its board room to cut interest rates again at its next meeting on Melbourne Cup Tuesday. Futures markets were last night pricing in a 60 per cent chance of a rate cut. | <urn:uuid:566c2a45-98f9-455e-be15-ab2c9dd6bc2c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/420380/cost-of-carbon-tax-less-than-estimated/?cs=7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95018 | 400 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter continue to lead, but Google’s bid to reverse its curse has got everyone interested.
With 60 per cent of India’s online audience logging on to social networks, according to online audience measurement and analytics platform ViziSense, the introduction of Google’s latest social networking site, Google+, has made Facebook and Orkut users sit up and take notice.
With hundreds of Facebook users from India already on Google+, which has allowed select numbers of users from around the globe to test the site and is in a beta testing phase, the initial user reactions seem encouraging.
Google+ is the search engine giant’s latest attempt to carve its place into the people-centric territory, where Facebook has a 54 per cent reach among the 100 million internet audience in India. Twitter enjoys a four per cent market share
“When Google launched Gmail seven years ago, people went crazy to get an invitation from peers. In every blog and every forum, people were requesting an invitation. Now, the same is happening with Google+. It’s natural for people to get attracted to it, as it’s open only to a select few. It’s becoming like status: Hey, I have a G+ account. Some are even selling G+ invites on eBay for $0.99,” says Dhiraj Kapasi, a software tester in New Jersey, who joined Google+ last week.
Mahesh Murthy, the founder of pay-for-performance digital marketing firm Pinstorm, has also moved on to Google+ and claims he spends more time on it than on Facebook. “This is because it offers a huge benefit over Facebook, where everything you say is to everybody. On Google+, it’s easier to build groups or circles of different people, say family, colleagues, alumni and such, and only share content with the group you want to share it with,” says 45-year Murthy, also a co-founder of VC fund Seedfund. Murthy has 5,000 friends on Facebook. “Facebook neither lets me grow that number nor lets me take their details elsewhere so that I can create a group with my own friends. This is stupid,” he says. That’s where Google+ scores: It puts no limit on the number of friends a user can have.
Google’s earliest attempt at social networking, Orkut, boasted 80 per cent of India’s internet market just four years before. The site, which receives 35 per cent of its traffic from India, continues to roll out features like integration of Google maps for small business owners and a ‘like’ feature for posting reactions to friends’ stories.
Alok Kejriwal, a 42-year internet entrepreneur, recalls Orkut as his first social media website. “I liked the fact that I could see who had visited my Orkut profile page. It was a nice voyeuristic experience, but I moved away when the site became sleazy and tacky,” he says. With Kejriwal’s business thriving on social media, he says he hires, seeks ideas, gets feedback, and even ‘friendsources’ work to his 10,000 contacts across social sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Social media is no longer just a medium to chat with friends. Users like Kejriwal also bank on these sites to complement their professional needs. That’s another area where Google+, dubbed a project by the company rather than a product, hopes to score.
Google+ is a loosely stitched-together-version of existing Google services like Picasa, blogger and some influenced by Facebook. For instance, Google+’s Stream is Facebook’s News Feed, and the +1 button is an open imitation of the Facebook Like button. What Google offers that Facebook doesn’t is features like Sparks, a special-interest search engine that helps you find stuff on the web to share with your pals, with topics ranging from recipes to robotics. It also builds in a fundamental principle of Twitter that allows a member to follow others without seeking their permission, and it’s a unidirectional action that doesn’t require them to follow you back.
But Google has to impress users like Hareesh Tibrewala, a serial entrepreneur and social media evangelist, who has joined the list of Google+ users. “I am a little skeptical about Google, as it has made many false starts earlier in social media and has pretty much not got anywhere. Unlike any other technology where features are an important driver, here, the driver will be the network. If lots of my friends move to Google+ and life starts manifesting on this site, then I, too, will spend more time on Google+,” he says.
Google also has a tough task to impress the 30 million Facebook users in India to try its project. According to ViziSense, an average user spends about 15 minutes per visit on Facebook, but that might change with young users like 23-year Arjun Tomar, a VFX artist. Tomar claims, “You cannot be loyal to a social media website. Being sociable comes with a huge desire to abandon the tried and tested and trying the new and exciting. And, with Google’s extremely clever marketing ploy, more and more people are lining up to join the + bandwagon.” He says he was on Facebook long before it was accessible to the general public. “Being a student of Georgia Institute of Technology, I was one of the people who used Facebook when it was meant exclusively for college students and that’s what attracted me most to it, the exclusivity. As everyone came on board, it just lost its appeal to me,” he reasons.
If it wasn’t for users like 27-year Abhishek Shroff, a business development executive with Educomp, who swears by the need to be connected with his friends on Facebook, founder Mark Zuckerberg would have been a restless man today. Shroff, who continues to use Orkut albeit just once a month, prefers to spend his time on Facebook. “I don’t see anything that Google+ offers that Facebook doesn’t already,” he feels.
With inputs from Shibangi Das | <urn:uuid:55a8e565-6142-4a13-a847-cfe1a187a1b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.business-standard.com/article/technology/users-give-google-the-big-thumbs-up-111071100012_1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955914 | 1,318 | 1.515625 | 2 |
By now, you’ve probably seen lots of news headlines talking about the proposed updated Tier 3 standards.
Tier 3 is the shorthand term for national vehicle emissions and fuel standards that will help us make big strides towards cleaner, healthier air. They are designed to reduce the soot, smog and other types of dangerous pollution that come from the tailpipes of our cars and trucks.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just announced the proposed standards to enthusiastic responses from everyone from health advocates to automakers (including EDF, of course).
What exactly are the Tier 3 standards, and why are they so important? Here are answers to some common questions:
What’s the story behind the Tier 3 standards?
Cars and trucks are one of the biggest sources of air pollution in America. For years, EPA has been looking for ways to reduce the pollution associated with those motor vehicles.
In 2000, they created standards that would attack the air pollution problem at two of its sources at the same time – by reducing impurities in gasoline, so what you put into your car is cleaner, and by improving cars’ emission systems, so what comes out of your car is cleaner.
They called these standards Tier 2.
Now, EPA is proposing to update the standards. The new, improved version – called Tier 3 – will keep the proven approach of treating vehicles and fuels as an integrated system.
Starting in 2017, the new proposal would strengthen the earlier standards in order to reduce the pollutants from both gasoline and auto emissions standards in the most cost-efficient ways possible.
The proposed Tier 3 standards are also designed to work in harmony with America’ new clean car standards, which will improve fleet-wide fuel efficiency in new cars to 54.5 miles per gallon by the year 2025, and with California’s state standards, which are already stricter than the national average.
How exactly would the Tier 3 standards work?
Cars and light trucks are the second largest emitters of oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds in the U.S. Those are the primary pollutants that form ozone.
According to EPA, the proposed Tier 3 standards would slash the level of those pollutants by 80 percent.
The proposed Tier 3 standards would also establish a 70 percent tighter particulate matter standard. Particulate matter, more commonly known as soot, is one of the most dangerous types of air pollution. It has been linked to asthma attacks, bronchitis, heart attacks and other types of heart and lung diseases.
The proposed Tier 3 standards would reduce other noxious types of air pollution as well, including carbon monoxide, benzene and butadiene. They would reduce fuel vapor emissions to near zero.
At the same time, the proposed Tier 3 standards would reduce the amount of sulfur in gasoline by more than 60 percent, to no more than 10 parts per million of sulfur on an annual average basis by 2017.
Lower sulfur levels in gasoline will allow vehicles to run more efficiently.
It also means we’ll see immediate benefits once the proposed standards go into effect in the year 2017. That’s because older cars that are already on our roads will emit less tailpipe pollution –right away — thanks to the cleaner gasoline. (The cleaner emissions systems will be built into new cars, and we’ll see those additional benefits emerge more gradually as Americans buy those cars to replace their old ones).
What are the benefits of Tier 3?
Tier 3 would be good for public health and for the economy
By the year 2030, EPA estimates that Tier 3 would:
- Prevent up to 2,400 premature deaths every year
- Prevent 3,200 hospital admissions and asthma-related emergency room visits every year
- Prevent tens of thousands of cases of respiratory illnesses in children every year
EPA also estimates that by 2030, Tier 3 would prevent 1.8 million lost school or work days each year, and would provide total health-related benefits worth up to $23 billion per year.
How much will Tier 3 cost?
We can reduce tailpipe pollution and provide healthier, longer lives for millions of Americans for less than a penny per gallon of gas.
How will America’s gasoline standard compare to other countries?
The proposed Tier 3 standards for sulfur levels in gasoline are similar to levels that are already required – and being achieved – in Europe, Japan, South Korea, and several other countries (as well as California, here in the U.S.).
Do businesses support Tier 3?
Many businesses do support updating the standards, including automakers and the emissions control industry.
Tier 3 would provide greater regulatory certainty for automakers; a national standard means the auto industry can build a car that can be sold anywhere in the country.
On the day the proposed standards were announced, Michael Stanton, president and CEO of the Association of Global Automakers said:
We have been anxiously awaiting this rulemaking because it is good for the environment and will help harmonize the federal and California programs for both vehicles and fuel … With 15 million new vehicle sales a year, automakers need predictable national fuel quality at the retail pump. Ultra-low sulfur gasoline is already available in California, Europe, and Japan and will enable automakers to use a broader range of technologies to meet the significant environmental challenges facing the industry.
Gloria Bergquist, Spokeswoman for Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said:
This is a big step forward for this country to catch up to the clean fuels available in other industrialized nations. Automakers have already reduced vehicle emissions by 99 percent, and we’re working to go further while also delivering high quality, affordable vehicles to our customers.
And the United Auto Workers said:
This is one of the most cost-effective ways for us to get cleaner and healthier air while strengthening our domestic auto sector and creating thousands of new jobs … The proposed rule is a win for our economy and a win for public health.
Who else supports Tier 3?
Even before EPA unveiled its proposal, state and local officials, national recreation groups, health groups and the public – as well as the automakers and the emissions control industry — all announced their support for updating the standards.
EPA has compiled a list of what all those supporters are saying. It’s a very long list. You can read it here.
What happens next?
EPA will hold two public hearings about the proposed Tier 3 standards, the first on April 24th in Philadelphia and the second on April 29th in Chicago.
EDF will be sending experts to testify at both those hearings, and we’ll report back from them. EPA will also begin accepting public comments soon.
Where can I learn more?
Check out EPA’s website. And check back here for updates. | <urn:uuid:00b7ce73-fb18-45f1-83a4-7eca0fa254fb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/category/vehicles-and-tailpipe-emissions/automobiles-fuels/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951404 | 1,393 | 3.359375 | 3 |
However tragic the story of what Pope Benedict XVI might have known, and when he might have known it, the fact is that the current pope has a GREAT face for caricature! Also, his personality and, thus far, his papacy, are a blessing for editorial cartoonists the world over. Regardless of religious persuasion, or lack thereof.
As a member of the ruthless news media that a Vatican spokesman recently described as persecuting Pope Benedict and the Catholic priesthood like the Nazis persecuted the Jews, I, for one, admit to piling on. Pope Benedict, you see, is just too tempting a target.
For starters, Benedict XVI looks like a ghoul! There, I said it. It’s a nasty observation to make, and not entirely accurate. But the current pope looks as though he’d fit as snugly in Dracula’s cape as in his own papal vestments. The Pope as Nosferatu, but with a dense thatch of white hair! And Benedict’s eyes — always the secret to caricature — are deep-set but fiery, framed by a prominent brow above, and wrinkly, brown tea bags of flesh below.
Benedict XVI does not resemble other popes of the modern era. His smile seems a bit creepy, even fiendish, rather than benign. He looks neither stoic nor heroic like his immediate predecessor, John Paul II. Rather, Benedict, though 82-years-old, appears intense and intellectually sharp as a tack, ready to pounce on his philosophical adversaries.
And, again, there’s that shock of white hair. Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI were mostly bald. Pius XII, John Paul I ( the “smiling pope,” who reigned for a mere 33 days) and John Paul II had thinning hair. Baldness or thinning hair are something I associate with popes, the papal caps fitting neatly against their skulls. But Benedict surely needs a pin to keep his beanie, or zucchetto, in place. His hair, though dense, is fine and silky — almost akin to egret feathers on the sides of his head.
…Yet poking out from that hair are ears placed low on his head. They protrude noticeably, and end in a pointy tip. “God’s Rottweiler,” the pope’s nickname when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, seems apt. Though quick to flash a smile, he could be mistaken for snarling. One can imagine Pope Benedict, in times of crisis for the Roman Catholic church, like today, howling in frustration at the moon!
Finally, there are Pope Benedict’s shoes. His entire wardrobe is ornate, even by papal standards, but the bright red slippers, gleaming like fine rubies, all add to the endearing notion that Benedict is not exactly the “people’s pope.”
Of course, not a word I’ve written here is the least bit fair, and I may burn in Hell for this column. But my point is about appearances, not politics or theology. In fact, when Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States, in 2008, I was moved by his personal, heartfelt apologies made directly to victims of the pedophile scandals in the Boston archdiocese and elsewhere. At the time, his words of comfort seemed more powerful and salutary than all the monetary settlements that have been awarded by courts before or since. Now, however, as new revelations come to light regarding Benedict’s own actions, or inaction, regarding pedophile priests during his long tenure as archbishop and cardinal around Munich, Germany, serve only to portray the man in caricature — at its most grotesque.
In that regard, Pope Benedict has given editorial cartoonists ample opportunity to engage in sins of commission. Forgive us, Lord, for we know not what we do! Mostly.
Well, thanks for stopping by. If you’d like to see more samples of my work, please click here. | <urn:uuid:3235030e-1689-49f5-be51-56bda8dce5d7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cagle.com/tag/nixon/page/8/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971966 | 840 | 2.34375 | 2 |
While the growing popularity of broadband Internet services and elevated concerns with securing Wireless LANs (WLANs) have become major concerns for network administrators today, Secure Shell (SSH) Protocol tunneling has proven to be a secure and effective solution for addressing various needs and concerns of both network users and administrators. Making the transition from traditional dialup remote access to a broadband solution can bring along with it some roadblocks when trying to preserve functions and security. WLANs can be difficult to secure in the enterprise, mainly because of the various client types that must connect to the network. SSH tunneling can help alleviate both of these issues.
SSH tunneling, also known as SSH port forwarding, is the process of forwarding selected TCP ports through an authenticated and encrypted tunnel. These tunnels can be constrained to within two points of the company's enterprise network, or it can originate on a small office or home office (SOHO) computer on a given provider's network, and transit the Internet to a server on the enterprise network. Some practical uses for SSH tunneling are outlined in this article.
A Look Back at Traditional Remote Access
Remote access is the method of connecting from a SOHO computer that resides on a remote foreign network, or has no permanent network connection, to the enterprise network or central office. Usually this involves traversing the Internet. This can be for the purpose of telecommuting, providing on-call support from home, checking e-mail while away from the office, or for the old-fashioned workaholic who must work from home. Remote access used to involve simply accessing a network through an analog phone line or possibly ISDN. In either case, the user was authenticated by an access server that resides on the enterprise network and given authorization to certain resources.
When connected to the access server, users had the feel of being connected to their company's enterprise network. They were free to browse internal Web pages and access various Windows domain resources. They could connect to the network neighborhood and transfer files to and from the work computer. They could connect directly to internal UNIX servers with SSH and use a local X-server application to access UNIX applications from the SOHO.
PC remote-control applications such as VNC, etc. could be used to access files and applications that reside on a host computer on the enterprise network without extensive configuration on the home PC. In addition to the ease of configuration for the administrator or user, fewer applications need to be installed on the home computer to accomplish work tasks from home. This approach saves software licenses in addition to valuable company resources.
Most network administrators cannot let PC configuration consume a great deal of their time because they are busy enough as it is. From a function standpoint, users felt like they were working from their office at work. It was too slow though, so it did not really matter. Then broadband services were introduced, and they offer high bandwidth, but getting the same functions is a bit more challenging. Users benefit from the extra added bandwidth, but of course the administrator has to make sure that everything works as if nothing ever changed.
Broadband Services Emerge
Many users are now migrating from their traditional dialup connections for Internet access to a technology that offers more bandwidth such as cable or DSL. Broadband wireless services are now emerging in some areas as well. These services may even be cheaper than what the company or individual was previously paying for ISDN service, and it is "always on." Most users are no longer dialing a company access server to access the resources that are vital to their job. They are now permanently connected to a foreign provider's network, and often the only choice for secure remote access to the enterprise is through a VPN. Strict policies, however, may need to be enforced on the remote SOHO computer for it to be a comfortable solution for security administrators to implement.
For those organizations without the time, money, or manpower to implement and support VPN, Linux login servers can be opened up to the Internet to authenticate users that employ SSH to access the enterprise network from these remote networks. These servers are no more than relay points to access internal systems. They should be placed in the DMZ or on a "screened" network protected by a firewall. The other internal systems are not directly accessible from the remote networks. In cases where remote access is considered a valuable resource to the organization, more than one of these servers should be implemented for load sharing and redundancy.
However, certain functions are lost. Initiating an application from a UNIX computer and displaying it to your SOHO computer with a local X server has been proven to be slow and inadequate from some remote networks. In addition, internal domain PCs and network shares are no longer accessible through the network neighborhood, and file transfer is not available without an additional secure, standalone application. The remote-control applications that access the internal PC will no longer work without opening holes in the firewall. There is a simple solution to all this that is free, secure, and effective: SSH tunneling.
Securing Broadband Remote Access
The functions described in this section can be achieved with any SSH client capable of tunneling, any Web browser that supports HTTP and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) proxies, and any PC remote-control application. The first step is always to connect to the remote login server that has been made accessible to the SOHO user. When connected to this login server, the user can use SSH to access any other internal machine, or take advantage of SSH port forwarding to accomplish their other tasks.
A proxy server may already be configured on your enterprise network. This server is configured to accept connection requests for Web pages and allow the clients to view them with little network overhead. The SSH client on the SOHO computer is configured to forward the specified local source HTTP port (such as 8080) to port 80 on the remote destination HTTP proxy server. It can also be configured to forward the specified local source SSL port (such as 4433) to port 443 on the remote destination SSL proxy server.
The browser on the client machine is configured to use the HTTP or SSL proxy server localhost on the specified local port(s). When the browser attempts to download a page, the SSH client forwards the request to the specified remote proxy server on your enterprise network through the established tunnel. Internal Web pages that would normally be available only on the enterprise local intranet are available without latency and without compromising security.
The same concept can be followed for tunneling PC remote-control application data through SSH. The remote-control host service is not changed, and it is waiting for a connection attempt from a remote computer as it normally would. A new remote-control connection is configured on the SOHO computer pointing to localhost. Using any additional encryption offered by the remote-control application is possible, but not necessary. Additional encryption will add latency, and SSH provides strong encryption itself with Triple Digital Encryption Standard (3DES), Blowfish, etc. The SSH client is configured to forward the local source ports used for the remote-control data (that is, port 3389 for RDP) to destination ports on the host computer on the enterprise network.
Once again, all the functions that the user had when dialing up the enterprise network directly are now available. With SSH, an additional layer of security is provided. Because the desktop of the internal computer is available on the SOHO computer's desktop, users have access to all applications, files, and network resources that they would if they were physically working from their office at work. No additional software applications need to be installed on the office computer to satisfy requirements of working from home, and minimal software needs to be installed on the users' personal home computers. Some of these remotecontrol applications also provide a file transfer tool that can be used to transfer or synchronize files between the two PCs.
SSH Tunneling for WLAN Security
Securing WLANs has become a monumental problem today for most network administrators. Many organizations are resorting to proprietary solutions or are simply avoiding the implementation of WLANs entirely. An entire article could be dedicated to the importance of securing wireless and the details of accomplishing such a feat.
In addition to the uses described in the previous sections, SSH tunneling can also be used to supplement or replace weaker, more vulnerable encryption found in other network applications. Consider Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption, for example.
Although other alternatives such as Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) are available, most WLANs have been implemented with either no encryption or with static WEP only. Static WEP has been highly criticized because of vulnerabilities in the protocol that have been discovered and widely documented. Even when implemented at the 128-bit level, there are tools circulating the Internet that exploit a well-known vulnerability that allows a hacker to crack WEP keys. Even with a WPA solution in place, there will be clients that support only static WEP. These traditional clients can be secured in the meantime by restricting network access with an Access Control List (ACL) and tunneling insecure protocols through SSH. Once again, the same functions can be achieved with a VPN solution, but some organizations have neither the money nor resources to implement it.
In conclusion, SSH tunneling can be used well beyond the scope of the methods explained this article. The particular uses outlined in the previous sections have been practical in my experience and have been very successful implementations. When users decide to change to a provider that offers broadband, I have found that simply providing a procedure for configuring tunneling has been successful for getting them operational from home.
SSH tunneling should be of interest to any organization that wishes to allow its users secure access to all the resources that they may need to accomplish their job functions—especially from a remote location. While exploring possibilities to make a particular application or protocol secure, always consider SSH tunneling an option. SSH provides authentication and encryption that has been proven to be effective for any application.
Securing Remote Access to Internal PCs, Web Pages, etc.
The following is a short example procedure for configuring tunneling for this specific function. It does not include detailed instructions for configuring specific applications, but it outlines the important steps that must be followed in order for it to work properly.
|Any SSH client that supports tunneling can be used. You can download the PuTTY SSH client (putty.exe) from: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html|
|Make sure that you select port 22 (SSH). (See Figure 1.)|
Figure 1: PuTTY Configuration Screen — Sessions
|Choose your preferred encryption cipher; enable compression and X forwarding if desirable. Click "tunnels" in the tree menu. Add the local source port(s) and the remote destination port(s) for the ports that you would like to forward through the tunnel. (See Figure 2.)|
Figure 2: PuTTY Configuration Screen —Tunnels
|Make sure that the LAN settings in your Web browser are configured to use the HTTP/SSL proxy server localhost on the local port that you specified.|
|Make sure that your remote-control connection is pointing to the computer "LOCALHOST." If you have trouble connecting, make sure that the host service is running on the host PC.|
For Further Reading
The SSH (Secure Shell) Remote Login Protocol, SSH-1 Specification, T. Ylonen, November 1995.
SSH-2 Specifications IETF Secure Shell working group, June 2003.
O'Reilly Network Using SSH Tunneling: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/wireless/2001/02/23/wep.html
SSH Tunneling: http://www.ccs.neu.edu/groups/systems/howto/howtosshtunnel.html
SSH Tunnel Tiny HOWTO: http://www.frozenblue.net/tools/howtos/?v=sshtunnel
Secure Email Through SSH Tunneling: http://www.slac.com/~mpilone/projects/kde/kmailssh/
Mac OS X SSH Tunneling: http://info-center.ccit.arizona.edu/~consult/macxtunnel.html
PuTTY Links: http://cdot.senecac.on.ca/software/putty/links.html
William Stallings, "SSL: Foundation for Web Security," The Internet Protocol Journal, Volume 1, No. 1, June 1998.
RONNIE ANGELLO, CCNP, CQS-CWLANSS, CCNA, holds an A.A.S. Degree in Information Systems Technology (Specialization in Operating Systems and Network Operations) and is currently completing degree requirements for the Bachelor of Science Degree in Information Science (Concentration in Networking and Communications) at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va. He recently passed the CCIE Routing and Switching Qualification Exam and is preparing for the CCIE Lab Exam. Email: email@example.com | <urn:uuid:486c818e-f4f3-43e3-a7a7-0bcb3a5ab5d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac123/ac147/archived_issues/ipj_8-3/ssh.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92195 | 2,720 | 2.625 | 3 |
Probability Key Definitions Help
Probability Key Definitions—Event Versus Outcome
Here are definitions of some common terms that will help us understand what we are talking about when we refer to probability.
Event Versus Outcome
The terms event and outcome are easily confused. An event is a single occurrence or trial in the course of an experiment. An outcome is the result of an event.
If you toss a coin 100 times, there are 100 separate events. Each event is a single toss of the coin. If you throw a pair of dice simultaneously 50 times, each act of throwing the pair is an event, so there are 50 events.
Suppose, in the process of tossing coins, you assign ''heads'' a value of 1 and ''tails'' a value of 0. Then when you toss a coin and it comes up ''heads,'' you can say that the outcome of that event is 1. If you throw a pair of dice and get a sum total of 7, then the outcome of that event is 7.
The outcome of an event depends on the nature of the hardware and processes involved in the experiment. The use of a pair of ''weighted'' dice produces different outcomes, for an identical set of events, than a pair of ''unweighted'' dice. The outcome of an event also depends on how the event is defined. There is a difference between saying that the sum is 7 in a toss of two dice, as compared with saying that one of the dice comes up 2 while the other one comes up 5.
A sample space is the set of all possible outcomes in the course of an experiment. Even if the number of events is small, a sample space can be large.
If you toss a coin four times, there are 16 possible outcomes. These are listed in Table 3-1, where ''heads'' = 1 and ''tails'' = 0. (If the coin happens to land on its edge, you disregard that result and toss it again.)
If a pair of dice, one red and one blue, is tossed once, there are 36 possible outcomes in the sample space, as shown in Table 3-2. The outcomes are denoted as ordered pairs, with the face-number of the red die listed first and the face-number of the blue die listed second.
Let x be a discrete random variable that can attain n possible values, all equally likely. Suppose an outcome H results from exactly m different values of x, where m ≤ n. Then the mathematical probability pmath(H) that outcome H will result from any given value of x is given by the following formula:
- pmath(H) = m/n
Expressed as a percentage, the probability p%(H) is:
- pmath%(H) = 100m/n
If we toss an ''unweighted'' die once, each of the six faces is as likely to turn up as each of the others. That is, we are as likely to see 1 as we are to see 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. In this case, there are six possible values, so n = 6. The mathematical probability of any particular face turning up (m = 1) is equal to pmath(H) = 1/6. To calculate the mathematical probability of either of any two different faces turning up (say 3 or 5), we set m = 2; therefore pmath(H) = 2/6 =1/3. If we want to know the mathematical probability that any one of the six faces will turn up, we set m = 6, so the formula gives us pmath(H) = 6/6 = 1. The respective percentages pmath%(H) in these cases are 16.67% (approximately), 33.33% (approximately), and 100% (exactly).
Mathematical probabilities can only exist within the range 0 to 1 (or 0% to 100%) inclusive. The following formulas describe this constraint:
- 0 ≤ pmath(H) ≤ 1
- 0% ≤ pmath%(H) ≤ 100%
We can never have a mathematical probability of 2, or –45%, or –6, or 556%. When you give this some thought, it is obvious. There is no way for something to happen less often than never. It's also impossible for something to happen more often than all the time.
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- Steps in the IEP Process | <urn:uuid:ef322029-1515-4cbc-b26c-c71fbd751d58> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.education.com/study-help/article/key-definitions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927634 | 1,019 | 4.75 | 5 |
Syracuse, NY -- Two Syracuse business partners have launched a car-sharing organization with plans to put at least 10 cars on city streets by late fall for people to rent by the hour.
CuseCar, a nonprofit corporation, was formed to give people the convenience of using a vehicle occasionally without the cost of owning it, said founders Vita DeMarchi and Eckardt C. "Chris" Beck.
Similar car-sharing operations have popped up in at least 20 American cities, including Ithaca, fueled by environmental concerns and increasing worries about the cost of gas.
Ithaca's experience has been encouraging. After starting up with 50 members just two months ago, the nonprofit Ithaca Carshare now has more than 200 members and is likely to add to its fleet of seven vehicles soon, said Jennifer Dotson, executive director.
"It's been really quite successful," Dotson said.
Car sharing is designed to complement public transportation and urban lifestyles by giving residents easy access to a vehicle when they need one. The overall effect is to reduce dependence on automobiles, thus lowering air emissions, fuel consumption, urban sprawl and wear and tear on roads, DeMarchi said.
The concept fits well with Syracuse's effort to brand itself as a home for green business, she said.
"Syracuse is the Emerald City. It's the green city. CuseCar has to work here," DeMarchi said.
CuseCar has not established its rates yet. Ithaca Carshare's rates are $7.95 an hour and 20 cents a mile with a $50 annual membership, or $4.95 an hour and 20 cents a mile with a $200 membership. The rates include gas.
Here's how car sharing works: Members pay an annual fee and receive an identification card or fob. After reserving a car online or by phone, they use the identification card to access the car. There is no paperwork to fill out.
CuseCar likely will park its cars at various locations in central Syracuse, Beck said. DeMarchi and Beck are working with an advisory committee to identify locations. The committee includes representatives from the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, the Metropolitan Development Association, the Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council and other organizations.
CuseCar also wants to hear from people who are interested in using the service. The organization plans to launch a Web site later this week at www.cusecar.com, where potential users can express interest or voice opinions. Interested residents also can call 475-3700, ext. 34, for more information.
DeMarchi and Beck are managing partners of Synapse Partners LLC and two associated companies headquartered in Syracuse. The companies provide risk management, insurance and property management services for environmental and renewable energy businesses and projects.
With a third founding member, Utica lawyer Richard Pertz, Beck and DeMarchi started CuseCar to benefit the community, they said. They hope to secure government funding for the organization, but are committed to launching CuseCar with or without it, DeMarchi said.
"Chris and I decided to just make it happen," she said.
They plan to hire an executive director and establish an office for the organization soon, Beck said. | <urn:uuid:11492cdb-f2ec-4523-839c-9ad1d51dbf7a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/carsharing_club_plans_to_launc.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969543 | 677 | 1.742188 | 2 |
What is Self-esteem?
Self-esteem is the value you have of yourself and your sense of self-worth It’s when you have a healthy self image and hold yourself in high regard without thinking you’re better than or more worthy than other people.
Good self-esteem is honestly accessing your strengths and weaknesses and honoring and respecting yourself regardless of the outcome of your appraisal. Low self-esteem is focusing only on your weaknesses and not appreciating your good qualities and feeling you’re not worthy of self-respect. It’s allowing external influences to have a negative effect on your thinking and actions.
The Nature of Self-esteem
How you feel about yourself is transmitted to others in subtle ways and tells them how you expect to be treated. When your opinion of yourself is low, you will not treat yourself any better than others. You make bad decisions that have far-reaching consequences.
How to Build Confidence and a Healthy Self-Esteem
Self-confidence is one of the most important aspects of self-esteem. People with low self-esteem wonder how to build confidence and how to achieve the changes that will bring the freedom of living in their truth. The first step to gaining confidence is by being more aware on a conscious level of the things you do and say on a daily basis. Here are some important qualities in how to gain confidence in your daily life:
Appreciating your own individuality and what makes you unique is what gives you a strong self-image. It’s having a sense of your own distinctive qualities from that of friends, family and society.
When you live within integrity, you’re living according to your values. An important part of self-esteem is matching your words with your actions. People who compromise their values and don’t honor what they believe at their core - jeopardize their self-esteem and live with insecurity. Most of the time the reason people contradict their own integrity is for financial gain, power, status or simply acceptance.
Personal power is not about conquering other people. It’s about moving beyond your own perceived limitations, “hot buttons” and stale habits so that you can finally be in control of yourself. And being in control of yourself is what gives you the power to positively influence others.
Overcoming insecurity allows you to take calculated risks in work and life. Learning to persevere despite the possibility of failure allows you to accomplish your goals because your self-esteem no longer hinges on the success or failure of one decision or one endeavor.
Moving past the idea that you’re never good enough and speaking to yourself with positive self-talk is one of the most powerful and most difficult acts you can accomplish. Oftentimes, people with extreme low self-esteem have been abused as children, either emotionally or physically, and negative self-talk and self-criticism is reflective of the victims’ damaged attitude toward themselves and the world. Changing the constant disapproving tape in your head is life changing.
Having self-respect is honoring yourself and it’s impossible to have respect for others until you first respect yourself. Often your own lack of respect manifests in behaviors that have negative consequences. Cultivate relationships with people who like and accept you for who you are and beware of those who put you down. Don’t waste your time or energy with people who will mentally and emotionally drag you down.
People with a healthy self-esteem also have healthy relationships. Good supportive relationships are built on respect and trust. We choose partners who treat us like we think we deserve to be treated – good or bad. When our relationships, including business partners and co-workers, friends, family and romantic partners are formed in accordance with our values – we build a strong foundation for them to thrive. Actively working on your self-esteem also sets a good example for your children.
Self-esteem is the basis for success in business and personal relationships. Achievement is accomplished when all of these qualities are active and strong.
Getting Help Overcoming Insecurity and Building Self-Esteem Understanding all of these qualities is the awareness you need to build confidence and have a good opinion of yourself. You can unlearn the negative habitual thinking and behavior that is responsible for ingraining low self-esteem in you. A caring professional counselor can help. Reach out to a therapist who is skilled and experienced in helping with self-esteem issues. | <urn:uuid:21304fea-c647-4b4d-9297-4b26610ae8b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://montvillecounseling.com/psychotherapy/self-esteem-building-confidence-counseling.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958858 | 909 | 3.0625 | 3 |
leaves, and how on earth to do them! You cannot possibly paint them all, but it has to somehow look as if you have. I am lucky to have the staggeringly brilliant illustrator Virginia Lee as a neighbour and friend, and I must say I would be very happy to be able to paint trees just half as well as she can! I have looked at many different artists' trees, the great Russian turn of the century illustrator Ivan Bilibin for example, who managed to achieve incredible leaved trees with just flat areas of colour, drawing no doubt on his experience as a stage set designer. For these trees I ended up taking inspiration from Samuel Palmer's Early Morning (1825), and for reminding me of Samuel Palmer's wonderful bucolic work I have my dear friend the wonderful artist of paint and felt and melancholic toys Gretel Parker to thank!
THIS BLUE PENCIL that has been sharpened regularly during my hard working spring, sprung once from the branches of a tree, as I was reminded here when my knife met a little knot in the wood. Here in the village we had weekend Mayday celebrations: a fair where I and others sold wares; morrises and maypoles were danced and daffodils yellowed all the shop windows. A little drizzle came in its English way to the fair too. And the maypole ribbons in my brain are still spinning. All the colours of things I have to get done are merging in a mad spiral of panic. Inside my head there are little girls and boys spinning in their beginning-of-summer costumes and their giggles have tumbled out onto my drawing board.
Littl'uns amongst trees has been a theme of recently completed commissions.. and I thought I would show you a couple.
First of all a little watercolour a bit like a gentle nursery rhyme. In it Rue and Noah, two little yellow-haired boys-of-the-woods run through the trees hand in hand. The painting was commissioned by their mum Helen for their dad Jim on his birthday. And a lovely family they are too. The words either side of the illustration are Rue's. He has been singing his own version of a couple of nursery rhymes that don't quite match but which his ma thought would be lovely in the picture.
So there they run. In pencil and watercolour.... Here for you are some of the pencil drawing stages and the painted thing in its completion. I had photos of the boys to work from, but as is usual for me with commissions like this, I like to try to make portrait-ish sorts of images, but they are translated into my world somehow, rather than being slavish copies.
A light spring breeze has blown over this. It is gentler in tone and more playful than my work often can be. Less heavy. I don't know why.
This next painting was to be the biggest watercolour I had ever painted, and so I had to order in paper specially, from the excellent Paper People in Devon.
A lady called Margaret had once bought a print from me in Scotland and wanted to celebrate the first birthday of her baby daughter Anja by placing her inside my painting. She asked for something almost filling an A1 sheet of paper, a horse chestnut tree, in which baby Anja was to sleep, curled inside a conker shell, and gathered all around she asked for woodland animals and fairy folk.
Now I must add a note here about 'fairies'.. though I fear it should take a longer paragraph than I have time to write just now. Many folk assume that my work is fairy-ish. But it isn't. You'll not find a gossamer wing, no matter how hard you look, in any of my paintings! Old wise folk, gnarled gnomes, riddles and stories of strange-goings-on are much more my cup of tea. I find there is far too much pink and glitter, too much superficial fairy (or indeed faery) fancy about these days. You must understand I do feel my work is rooted in an old magic, in stories of oddness, the wild creatures and disappearances, the other realms in the fairytales. But so much nowadays isn't that, and consequently I deliberately avoid wings and all their insubstantial fluff. Perhaps it is a dislike for the flimsy fakery I feel in the depiction of many fairies. I feel they need to be wilder, earthier and more unnerving. And this is pretty much the sort of thing I told Margaret when she asked for fairies. I said well I'll paint woodland folk, I'll paint little men with knobbly noses and funny little hats. That sort of thing. Just not fairies. You see to me these strange little people are indeed people.. the odd ones, the marginal ones, the ones who are not noticed or noticed for the wrong reasons. They are my fairies.
I hope that makes sense? Margaret understood and let me set to work depicting a gathering of these little folk.
It took yonks longer than I had planned... weeks and weeks. And I found it overwhelming at times. I sent Margaret a very rough sketch, as she asked for one, but usually I do much of my workings out in the final piece, it seems to suit me better. Gradually the painting took shape. Little folk appeared in corners and branches offering baby sleeping Anja conkers as gifts. And amongst the roots and branches sat fox and badger and squirrel, owl and mouse and hedgehog.
Anja is watched over from above by sun and moon and a kind yellow bird. It is an honour to make an artwork for one so young. I hope Anja grows up with fond memories of the strange little people who brought her horse chestnuts on her first birthday. I hope she remembers them and is kind to them.
Anja in the Horse Chestnut - print available here
(do click on the images to enlarge and see them all in detail)
This large creation was posted off just in time for baby Anja's Mayday first birthday and I have the astonishingly talented illustrator David Wyatt to thank for the use of his large scanner! Without which I wouldn't be able to show you this in such good quality. David's rather brilliant at doing trees too, and goblins :)
And to complete the forest tale, I bring you photographs from a trip I took a few weeks back with friends Miriam and Damien and their own dear babes in the woods... to Wistman's Wood, the most incredible mossy wonderland of trees I have ever seen. Truly I understood then where all the tales of being pisky-led had come from.
You approach the little forest from across moorland, eventually half noticing in the distance a grey patch of shrubbery... can you see it? Far off where those two hills meet....
That is Wistman's Wood believe it or not. It looks like nothing more than a clump of dry gorse or low shrubs until you get close and step inside. When you do, your whole world turns green.
Green hairy moss covers everything: the granite boulders and tree trunks gnarled as a fairytale. It isn't big these days Wistman's Wood. Centuries ago it covered miles of moorland.
And it was easy to become lost inside.
Now this enchanting copse of stunted and gnarled ancient English oak trees is small enough that you can see beyond it to the moor and river, giving an eerie sense of I'm not sure what.
There are many legends and tales about this Wood. It is an unusual and enigmatic place. I am told that a particular moss grows only here and two other places in Europe. You can read in depth folklore about the wood here. Of particular interest to me is the supposed origin of the name. Wistman's Wood is derived they say from Wisht-Man's Wood, this refers to the Devonshire word Wisht meaning pixie-led or haunted. Others relate it to wissen, the Saxon / German to know. "From the same etymon comes also wise: ‘sapient; judging rightly; having much knowledge' Thus Wissman’s or Wistman’s Wood signifies Silva Sapientium, ‘the wood of wisemen.’"
Whatever it means it was a wonderful place to experience. The trees themselves look like wise men. I shall return there when the weather warms with my pencil and sketchbook on a quiet day, and perhaps I shall come back to show what I drew...
That's the wood, and so to the babe...
I have just enjoyed a happy weekend with my brother Jan and his lovely Maria who came to visit me here in Dartmoor and enjoy the May celebrations. With them came a kicking seven month old bump, my first niece or nephew who will make its little self known in July, and begin wandering in the mossy forest of this world ♥ | <urn:uuid:ba2d6730-b20f-40f4-89a8-c9608eff721c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://intothehermitage.blogspot.com/2010/05/babes-in-wood.html?showComment=1272931863279 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97619 | 1,880 | 1.625 | 2 |
The Third Battle of Ypres, an overview, 31 July - 10 November 1917
'Third Ypres' represented the major British offensive on the Western Front in 1917. Two ambitious goals lay behind the enterprise: the capture of Roulers, a vital railway centre, key to German dispositions in Flanders, and the clearance of the Belgian coast. These objectives first necessitated the occupation of the enclosing German-held ridges which dominated Ypres.
The success at Messines Ridge in June marked the opening of the campaign but a near seven week delay ensued before Gough's Fifth Army was ready for the main attack. On 31 July, after a fortnight's intense bombardment of German positions, nine British Divisions assaulted the northern and eastern ridges on a 13,700 yard front; good progress was made (especially across Pilckem Ridge) but by late afternoon rain set in and German counter-attacks regained much ground. Ceaseless rain in the following days turned the shell-cratered ground into a quagmire, severely impeding subsequent British attacks; by the end of August, despite heavy casualties, little progress had been made.
Control of operations passed to Plumer and a pause in fighting (coinciding with better weather) was sanctioned to allow preparations to secure the Gheluvelt Plateau: three successful set-piece battles of late September and early October raised hopes of breakthrough but the return of torrential early autumn rains greatly hindered further efforts. Ordered to continue, the final actions were fought in indescribable conditions on a near impassable battlefield. Canadian infantry struggled through to occupy Passchendaele on 6 November and offensive operations were called off four days later. In over 100 days of fighting no strategic breakthrough was achieved; a five miles advance left the British in occupation of an enlarged and highly vulnerable salient, at a cost of an estimated 250,000 casualties. The history of the campaign remains steeped in controversy.
Campaign map Army structure Terminology | <urn:uuid:cc0bbb4d-b1bb-4b4b-bc50-8c74c6de8cfe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cwgc.org/ypres/content.asp?menuid=36&submenuid=38&id=38&menuname=Third%20Ypres&menu=sub | 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 | 0.960358 | 406 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Course Descriptions | Curriculum Map | Worksheet | Factsheet
Through the BBA Option in Marketing, students gain a basic understanding of market structures and processes and develop an ability to analyze and deal with marketing problems. The BBA with an option in marketing is designed to prepare students for professional positions in a variety of fields including advertising and promotion, sales, retail management, market research, international marketing, and the marketing of services. The marketing discipline encompasses the analysis, planning, implementation, and control of programs required to satisfy customer needs both in profit and non-profit sectors. Marketing introduces students to marketing principles and practices, and the development of marketing programs that enable firms and organizations to thrive domestically and internationally. Managerial decisions in the areas of customer analysis, product development and management, pricing, promotion, and channels of distribution constitute the core of the marketing curriculum.
Undergraduate Program Objectives:
Students completing the undergraduate program should be able to:
- Demonstrate ability to analyze and deal with marketing problems.
- Demonstrate understanding of marketing principles and practices.
- Demonstrate interpersonal, team, and leadership skills necessary to function in multicultural business and marketing settings.
- Apply marketing functions as they relate to products and services.
- Develop the ability to participate in business and marketing transactions in both domestic and international markets.
- The ability to engage in planning and implementation of the sales process.
- The ability to conduct market research, including the collection and analysis of data.
- The ability to apply marketing principles and practices in a policy making environment.
- Active student chapter of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)
- Active student chapter of Phi Beta Lambda | <urn:uuid:6b545963-445d-4492-a730-13b89f93396d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.moreheadstate.edu/mmr/index.aspx?id=4852 | 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 | 0.908642 | 341 | 2.1875 | 2 |
The filmmakers have spent the past three years traveling to some of the world's most violent locales in order to make this documentary on Somali piracy, Stolen Seas. Utilizing exclusive interviews and unparalleled access to real pirates, hostages, hostages' relatives, ship-owners, pirate negotiators and experts on piracy and international policy, Stolen Seas presents a chilling exploration of the Somali pirate phenomenon.
The film throws the viewer, through audio recordings and found video, right into the middle of the real-life hostage negotiation of a Danish shipping vessel, the CEC Future. As the haggling between the ship's stoic owner Per Gullestrup, and the pirate's loquacious negotiator, Ishmael Ali, drags on for 70 days, these two adversaries' relationship takes an unexpected turn and an unlikely friendship is born.
Stolen Seas is an eye opening refutation of preconceived ideas on how or why piracy has become the world's most frightening multi-million dollar growth industry.
Stolen Seas is directed by Thymaya Payne. | <urn:uuid:802d386a-fe15-41b0-9bfd-fa2b19b0e7f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stolenseas.com/about.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905803 | 214 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Project Noah is a tool to explore and document wildlife and a platform to harness the power of citizen scientists everywhere.
Salticus species are typically marked with a black and white pattern, with some featuring transverse stripes, often gaining them the popular name "zebra spiders".
This one was on the Senna tree, a host plant for Sulphur butterflies.
Lat: 33.15, Long: -97.02
Spotted on Jun 13, 2012 Submitted on Jun 16, 2012 | <urn:uuid:0cfd16dd-ddfe-4af5-acf8-95150a967210> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/11419722 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91467 | 101 | 2.71875 | 3 |