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Can smallpox be cultured from the cells of a cadaver of a person who died
of the disease? In general, what happens to a pathogen locked within the cells of a
deceased host? Does the pathogen always die with the host, or can it retain viability
for hours/days/decades after the host has died?
There is little threat of a smallpox epidemic in the future, as we have fairly
successfully eradicated it from the face of the earth. As far as viability in the dead
body of a host, the viral particle can remain viable for a certain amount of time, but
with the burial of the body, the virus cannot spread, and in time deteriorates from
natural decay. Since it has been many years since a smallpox outbreak, digging up
the corpse of a victim poses little threat to anyone.
Click here to return to the Biology Archives
Update: June 2012 | <urn:uuid:c756bccf-2889-4bcf-943a-b1f0643bd321> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/bio99/bio99377.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943095 | 193 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Monday, September 19, 2011
Monday Rule: One Word Identifiers
From now on, every group can be called whatever they want, so long as it is only one word. No more “Roman Catholics.” It’s just “Catholics.” No more “African-Americans,” so guilty feeling liberals have to call them “black” like everyone else. The one I am having trouble with is “little people.” I feel like all the one-word options are kind of inaccurate or offensive. I guess since “black” is an adjective and gets added to “black people,” then “little” is one word and should count. And speaking of “black people,” the NAACP is now the NAABP. “Colored” just sounds racist. Besides, everyone knows black isn’t a color.
Series: Monday Rule | <urn:uuid:1ed442ed-7dc2-415a-aafc-43fe9bbed57a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://anythingbuttheist.blogspot.com/2011/09/monday-rule-one-word-identifiers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962361 | 197 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Written By Romy Teruel
The Philippines as a country in the pathway of typhoons is filled with experiences on what typhoons can do to inflict damage along their path. We have seen billboards blown away and dropped on houses, cars, and buildings; agricultural farms reduced to wasteland; irrigation canals transformed to raging rivers; roads and bridges upturned like sticks and heaps of rubble; mountain sides collapse into mud; the seas spurning mountain-size killer waves. Every time we are left with millions of pesos worth in damages and grieving families.
Every time we also resolve to learn from our lessons. When passenger vessel Dona Paz collided with a cargo ship and sunk with more than a thousand passengers a few years ago, government came up with all safety nets to prevent similar occurrence in the future. For all these years however, we seem to have not learned our lessons.
Typhoon Frank that recently struck the country is proof again that we have thrown to the wind all the precautions and the safety nets that government has formulated to prevent serious damage to lives and property. Considering the strength of typhoon Frank, damage to property was inevitable, but the loss of lives that it has caused could have definitely been avoided or prevented.
The sinking of the Princess of the Stars of Sulpicio Lines during the height of typhoon Frank in Romblon was a tragic incident that could have been avoided. Too much disregard for government warning and miscalculation and misjudgement of the capabilities of the vessel were to me the reason why hundreds of passengers who went down with the ship and died are now rotting inside the capsized structure.
Was it greed for profit that made Sulpicio Management, owners of the ill-fated vessel, pushed them to sail despite information about the strength of the typhoon? Even with the plot of the typhoon path not directly hitting the voyage path of the Princess of the Stars, the variance was very short. Sulpicio Lines had experienced not just one or two mishaps already. The weather bulletin should have put the plug to the scheduled voyage even if the vessel’s tonnage is estimated to withstand the typhoons winds.
In the investigation it was found out that the Princess of the Stars did not even have facilities to directly monitor weather updates. That too should have been enough to cancel the voyage.
The Coast Guard cannot feign innocence too. Even if the rules allowed the Princess of the Stars to sail at such weather condition, the same could have been disapproved given the details of the typhoon. Discretion is the better part of valor, as the old cliché goes. This is true in the past as it is today.
The Typhoon Frank tragedy should also serve once more to the travelling public to put the urgency to the back seat in situations like that. Safety should always dictate our decisions over the importance of the travel if the conditions surrounding the travel will put us to great risk of danger.
The Typhoon Frank tragedy is one more lesson learned and but just like the others, it will be forgotten until the next tragedy.
NOTE. Perhaps it’s time that Mayor Dan Neri Lim should consider firing his city engineer. For months city roads have not been maintained. Pot holes are getting bigger every day in main thoroughfares. Does the city engineer ever inspect the condition of the city roads? Does he ever render reports on the status of the city roads to the Mayor? Methinks no. So how about it Boss? | <urn:uuid:30235344-66bb-41d8-a871-ffd7805c448a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=13716.0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965429 | 709 | 2.546875 | 3 |
On this page: "My Bookshelf" and social history resources, genealogy links and online maps
(* for recommended books)
*A History of Everyday Things in England — Lots of fun details and pictures. Organized rather randomly by century.
English Social History (green book) — No pictures, rather boring.
The two skinny books are touristy history of Tudor times. Lots of photos, but too early for my century of interest.
-William Penn's My Irish Journal (acquired this year; haven't read it yet)
*The Quakers of Mountmellick (museum store) — Good resource for history and genealogy in County Offaly
*Quaker Homespuns —short stories, simple fiction set in the same era and location as my novel, written by an Irish Quaker historian
*A History of Ireland in 250 Episodes (free shipping) — This book makes learning Irish history fun! Roughly chronological, with short-story length anecdotes (based on a radio show?)
A Timeline of Irish History (free shipping) - Nice color pictures and/ but only lists the big events (ie. wars or famous people).
Pamphlets and booklets that I picked up in Ireland, from the Moate Cemetery to a map with local flowers on it.
(Scottish research books)
Fodor's See It Ireland — Nice color photos with brief, basic history.
*(Not on the shelf, because it's bedside reading these days) Irish Life in the Seventeenth Century by Edward MacLysaght
More Social History
Here's a 1788 essay (eBook) about historical Irish dress, armour and weapons.
Irish Historical Textiles — a blog about authentic Irish clothing
The National Archives of Ireland and their new Genealogy page with tithe applotment books and soldiers' wills. Download their pdf guide to Family History Research on this page.
The National Library of Ireland
The Public Records Office (Northern Ireland)
Peter J. Clarke has compiled a great list of free Irish Genealogy eBooks.
The Ireland Genealogy Project, with resources by county.
Links to many sites at Irish Genealogy Sleuth
Beginners' tips and links for Irish genealogy at The Armchair Genealogist
Watch this site for future resources: new Irish history library in Arizona, the McClelland Irish Library
Tracing Your Irish Ancestors by John Grenham, Fourth Edition —This is on my wish list! The fourth edition came out in the spring and then promptly disappeared from all the major sites. There are some on the small-vendor market at various prices (thus the link).
During my 2009 trip to Ireland, the Librarian at the National Library of Ireland referred to Grenham's third edition frequently. Yes, I meant that capital L — other employees kept directing me to "the Librarian," a woman with her own desk off of the grand reading room, who seemed to have all the answers (many of them from this well worn book).
The Grand Juries of the County of Westmeath (free pdf) — Volume II is full of surname histories
Annals of Westmeath, Ancient and Modern by James Woods (free pdf) — Lots of history, no index
Irish Ordnance Survey maps — click "Explore Map" at the top to zoom in on an area. You can choose "Historical" on the right side to switch from modern street maps to old maps. | <urn:uuid:1e72c4b9-1f40-44ce-b6d6-59ca6996a136> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.elizabethsaunders.blogspot.com/p/irish-history.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903846 | 717 | 2.234375 | 2 |
The uniquely talented Raymond Kopa was blazing a trail for French football long before the likes of Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane came on the scene.
Standing only 5’6, Kopa made up for a relative lack of stature with some prodigious dribbling skills, and played an instrumental role in three of Real Madrid’s first five victorious campaigns in Europe.
Yet the pinnacle of his career arguably came at the 1958 FIFA World Cup Sweden, where he was recognised as the player of the tournament, a not inconsiderable achievement given the goalscoring feats of team-mate Just Fontaine and the exploits of an emerging teenager by the name of Pele.
Born in the northern French town of Nœux-les-Mines to Polish immigrants, Raymond Kopaszewski – to give him his real name – endured a tough upbringing. He honed his gritty determination and will to win in his teenage years when he earned his keep by pushing coal-laden wagons in a mine.
It was the loss of a finger in an accident that prompted him to pursue a career in football, a sport he had already showed a considerable talent for from the age of ten.
From coaldust to stardust
In May 1949 he took part in the Young Footballer Competition, a national event open to budding professionals and followed closely by the country’s foremost coaches. Finishing second overall, he signed a contract with Angers shortly afterwards.
His career would take off two years later when he bumped into Albert Batteux, the legendary Stade de Reims coach, at a friendly match. “He had a gift for assessing players’ abilities and fielding them in the right positions,” said Kopa. “Without him, a lot of players would never have been able to express their skills, starting with me.”
To make the most of his prodigy’s close dribbling skills, which were aided by a low centre of gravity, Batteux deployed Kopa just behind the strikers in a withdrawn No10 role that marked a departure from the conventions of the time.
“I absolutely loved dribbling,” commented Kopa. “Some people told me off for it, saying that I held on to the ball for too long and that I slowed the game down. My coaches always insisted that I stick to my style of play, though.”
Those bewildering dribbles invariably ended with pinpoint passes to well-placed team-mates, who made the most of Kopa’s gift for slowing the game down to find space for themselves or make a run.
After joining Reims in 1951, Kopa quickly became the orchestrator-in-chief of a brilliant team that took the French championship by storm and lost in a seven-goal thriller to Real Madrid in the first European Champion Clubs’ Cup final in 1956.
Within a few weeks of that memorable encounter, Kopa caused a sensation by agreeing terms with the newly crowned European champions. “I was the first French player to leave the country,” he later recalled. “At the time a lot of people saw me as a traitor. It was just my misfortune to be a pioneer.”
It was during his time in Madrid that he acquired the nickname of Napoleon, teaming up with two living legends in Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas to conquer Europe and forge his own glittering reputation.
“They were three fantastic years,” said the fabled Frenchman. “For three whole seasons we won the lot. We were also voted the team of the century by the fans in 2000, the club’s centenary year. There was an incredible atmosphere whenever we played, with 125,000 fans shaking their white handkerchiefs. We didn’t have any sponsors and there were no games on TV, so we had to play friendly matches across the world to keep the club going. They really were different times back then. I won three consecutive European Cups with Real, and in three years we only lost one home match in all competitions.”
The king of Sweden
Along with five other new boys – Cesar Ruminski, Lazare Gianessi, Armand Penverne, Thadee Cisowki and Joseph Ujlaki – Kopa made his France debut in a 3-1 defeat of Germany on 5 October 1952. This new generation would propel the French into the international elite, with the peerless Kopa playing an integral part in that process over the next ten years.
Though the 1954 FIFA World Cup Switzerland came too early for France’s young bucks, who departed the competition at the end of the first round, they were more than ready when the world’s finest came together again four years later.
“That tournament prepared the ground for the 1958 World Cup,” explained Kopa. “Nobody was expecting us to do well in Sweden, but we started off with a 7-3 victory over Paraguay, who were regarded as one of the three teams tipped to win the competition. After losing to Yugoslavia and defeating Scotland, we beat Northern Ireland before coming up against Brazil in the semi-finals, where a new boy called Pele scored a hat-trick in a 5-2 win.
“We were the two strongest teams at the time,” he continued. “And the reason they won so easily was because our captain Robert Jonquet got injured and we had to play with ten men (substitutes not being allowed at the time).”
Les Bleus claimed some consolation in their final game of the competition, when a scintillating attacking display by Kopa inspired them to a 6-3 defeat of Germany in the match for third place. Kopa’s finest hour in blue actually came three years earlier, in a friendly against Spain in Madrid in March 1955, the French wizard astounding the 125,000 crowd with an amazing display.
He made what was to be his final appearance for his country in a 3-2 defeat to Hungary at the Stade Colombes in November 1962. Stationed in an unfamiliar position on the right flank, a disgruntled Kopa was unable to exhibit his usual flair, subsequently falling out with national coaches Henri Guerin and George Verriest before deciding to end his international career.
His club career continued for some time after. Returning to Reims following his three seasons in Madrid, he won his fourth and last league title with them in 1962. Powerless to prevent them dropping out of the top flight two seasons later, he finally announced his retirement from the professional game on 11 June 1967.
A keen amateur player up until the ripe old age of 70, he has maintained close contact with the football world, and also found time to launch a sports apparel brand and appear on radio and TV as an expert summariser. A resident of Corsica since 2000, he sees his former team-mates on a frequent basis, no one more so than former sidekick Just Fontaine. Having now turned 80, he has no regrets about the path he took: “Football changed my life. Leaving my job in the mine for the stadiums made a man of me.”
Date of birth: 13 October 1931
Place of birth: Noeux-les-Mines
Position: Attacking midfielder
Clubs: SCO Angers (1949-51), Stade de Reims (1951-56), Real Madrid (1956-59), Stade de Reims (1959-67)
National team: 45 appearances (18 goals)
* 2 participations à la Coupe du Monde de la FIFA (1954, 1958)
* 3 Coupes d'Europe des Clubs Champions (Ligue des champions de l'UEFA) (1957, 1958, 1959)
* 2 Coupes Latine (1953, 1957)
* 4 Championnats de France (1953, 1955, 1960, 1962)
* 3 Championnats d'Espagne (1957, 1958)
* 1 Trophée des Champions (1955)
Together with Fontaine, Kopa would help found the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) and bring in fixed-time contracts. Up until the late 1960s players in France belonged to their clubs for life.
On 29 August 1973, some six years after his retirement, Kopa scored a hat-trick for Paris Saint-Germain in a pre-season warm-up match against Saumur. Though PSG were at the time coached by his friend Just Fontaine, the 42-year-old Kopa politely declined their offer of a place in the team.
Struck by his mastery of the ball and his small stature, the English journalist Desmond Hackett called Kopa “the Napoleon of football” after watching him in action against Spain.
Raymond Kopa twice featured in international representative teams. In 1955 he played for the Europe side that beat England 4-1, and in 1963 he lined up against the English once more, this time for a Rest of the World XI.
Kopa featured in the top three of the Ballon d’Or for four years in a row, coming third in 1956 and 1957, pipping Alfredo Di Stefano to the prize in 1958, and taking second in 1959. | <urn:uuid:fda9860f-d30b-480c-92b1-d90e7392f513> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/players/player=174677/index.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 | 0.974441 | 1,950 | 1.632813 | 2 |
When a relationship ends badly, every racy photo or text you shared with your ex becomes a potential security problem.
All your private information, shared as a sign of love and trust, is suddenly vulnerable. A vengeful ex-lover could leak it online, use your passwords to cyberstalk you or exact other forms of digital revenge.
Scorned lovers are nothing new, nor are regrets, in the harsh light of a dissolving relationship, about exposing too much of yourself to someone. But in the mobile age, it's easier to share intimate pieces of information like photos and videos, as well as equally sensitive information such as e-mail passwords, banking logins, health insurance identification and Social Security numbers.
This Valentine's Day, 36% of Americans say they plan to share a salacious photo with their partner over text message, e-mail or social network, according to a new romance-themed survey from security company McAfee. According to the study, one in 10 exes has threatened to post a revealing photo of a former partner online, and 60% of those people have followed through with it.
What's more worrying is the increasingly common practice of cyberstalking significant others, current and former. More than 50% of people shared their passwords with a partner, the survey found.
"Sharing passwords is seen as a sign of love and devotion, a sign of commitment," said Robert Siciliano, McAfee's online security expert. "When the relationship goes south, change those passwords right away."
More than 56% of people snooped on their partner's social media pages and bank accounts, and 48.8% looked at their e-mails.
The cyberstalking habit extends beyond just current paramours.
Respondents also admitted to checking up on their exes, as well as their current partners' exes, on sites like Facebook and Twitter. The survey found that men are more likely than women to surreptitiously check their partner's personal accounts and to check on exes on social media.
"Be very careful," said Erika Holiday, a clinical psychologist who specializes in relationship issues and grief and loss. She recommends holding off on sharing that personal information, which can seem like a great idea in the early euphoric stages of a new love. | <urn:uuid:5c115a50-e08b-42cc-af51-48f45981f454> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wcvb.com/news/money/technology/Protect-personal-photos-in-case-of-a-breakup/-/9848656/18401802/-/edbdmfz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961272 | 474 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Daisie married John Putnam Helyar in August, 1912. Together they had two daughters (Margery and Ruth) and three sons (John, Richard, and Marshall). Her son Marshall died in 1944 while serving in WWII. Two years later, in 1946, Daisie became the first librarian of the Branch Library in West Brattleboro, Vermont, which functioned as part of the Academy School in that town.
The West Brattleboro Branch Library straddled two roles – school library and public library – as it attempted to serve local patrons while still educating the children of the school. It was an unusual setup, intended in part to give taxpayers more money for their dollar: why have two libraries in a community when you could have just one? In any case, Daisie’s patrons were both children and adults. She remained librarian until 1965, when she was nearly eighty years old.
As librarian in West Brattleboro, Daisie must have summoned some of the skills she originally used thirty years earlier at the library of the North Bennet Street Industrial School. She instructed students on library use and research, welcoming different grade levels into the library at different times of day to work on projects for their classes. At first, facilities were not luxurious: the library was located in the basement of the school, and Daisie’s son Richard recalled that it often smelled of kerosene and tomato soup, because hot lunch was prepared nearby. Daisie remained librarian when the school and library moved to better facilities several years later.
Eunice Harrison, a colleague, remembered Daisie as follows:
“She was a person that not only knew her business, but loved books and authors and was a great, in depth, reader of all kinds of things. On her fingertips she could have exactly what you wanted. She was really wonderful and I had gotten to be a very good friend of hers through the years. When I went to the West Brattleboro library, it was like no other library. It was a combination of school and library, school and public library. And it worked very much that way.”
Daisie would often take whole bags of books home at the end of the day, in part because she was a voracious reader and in part because she wanted to be able to recommend books to library patrons. Her love of books led Daisie to befriend New England authors May Sarton and Tasha Tudor, who once tried to give the Helyar family a cat. Calista Kristensen, the West Brattleboro Branch’s head librarian after Daisie retired, remembered bringing Bock beer (a type of very strong lager) to Daisie’s house in the spring, and drinking together on Daisie’s porch.
The West Brattleboro Branch Library often faced funding shortages, and was eventually incorporated into the regional library system. Daisie’s husband John died in 1956. She lived until 1976, when she died at 88. In her obituary, it is suggested that in lieu of flowers, “contributions in Mrs. Helyar’s memory may be made to West Brattleboro Library.”
Obituaries: Mrs. John P. Helyar (1976, October 29). Brattleboro Reformer. Courtesy of Brooks Memorial Library, Brattleboro, Vermont.
West Brattleboro Branch Library: oral history. Interviews with Margaret and Richard Helyar, Katherine Geehr, Calista Kristensen, and Eunice Harrison. Interviewed by Christina Gibbos and Helene Henry. Transcript courtesy of Brooks Memorial Library, Brattleboro, Vermont. | <urn:uuid:f354ad77-f257-4236-af38-327343ee6f0f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gslis.simmons.edu/daisie/exhibits/show/aboutdaisie/bio/west-brattleboro | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97179 | 773 | 1.726563 | 2 |
The year 2001 marked Valdez's centennial. On July 1, 1901, Valdez residents voted to incorporate and form an official City government.
How did that vote compare to municipal votes today? For one, there were stricter requirements for who could vote. Voters had to be male, older than 21, a resident of Alaska for one year, a resident of Valdez for 6 months, and had to be an "owner of substantial property".
Some of these requirements were difficult to meet for many people who felt they had a stake in Valdez's future. Women, those who were younger than 21, and new residents were prohibited from casting a vote.
One requirement - that of being an owner of substantial property -- was more vague than the other requirements and industrious voters found a way to get around it. One piece of land in Valdez changed hands several times during the three hours that the polls were open.
Fifty-nine votes were cast. The outcome was unanimous for incorporation. Seven men were elected to the City Council and they set about organizing the City government. The first ordinance they passed created the Office of the City attorney. The second established a 1% property tax. The third set a poll tax of $2. And the fourth established a license tax for dogs of $2.
Today, Valdez voting requirements are easier to meet - voters are only required to be 18 years old, be a US citizen, and have been a resident of Alaska and Valdez for 30 days. And, the City Council has adopted hundreds of ordinances to create the Valdez Municipal City Code as it exists today!
The information for this fact sheet was compiled by the Valdez Museum and is based on materials from the Valdez Museum's historical collections. | <urn:uuid:c3be14c2-a0d6-452f-beec-f14d41c37046> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.valdezmuseum.org/index.cfm?section=history&page=Fact-Sheets-and-Articles&viewpost=2&ContentId=438 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9844 | 356 | 3.125 | 3 |
Homesteading, Organic Gardening, How to Farm, Preparedness, Self-Reliance
Wild Wanderings Blog – March 29, 2012
This week and my next several articles will focus on the acquisition of food in the wilds. Remember food is last on our list of Survival priorities, but with a little bit of knowledge there is no reason for anyone to go hungry…EVER!! Let’s focus on plants first…shall we? For the second straight year the local paper has run a front page story, stating that western North Carolina is experiencing a food crisis. People simply can’t afford quality food. Personally, I find this laughable! All they have to do, in most cases, is walk into their front yards and collect it. Throughout most of the year, wild food (plants) is not just abundant, but highly nutritious…and…FREE!! What a concept! (insert smirk here:)
I know we’ve been talking about wilderness survival / living for the past several weeks, but your database of knowledge starts at home! Studying about wild plants has become much easier these days. I grew up with several field guides (which I still use of course) which helped me gain the confidence to not just identify potential plants for food and medicine, but utilize them! Today, with the internet at our fingertips, knowledge can be gleaned and re-inforced with a few strokes of your keyboard. There are plant clubs in most of your communities, co-ops and several groups on social media outlets like Facebook that can help jump start or enhance your Nature studies. The only real questions are…”How bad do you want it?”… “Are you willing to do the work?”
Being lost in the wilderness is the LAST place you want to begin learning about such things. Yes, nature does provide everything we need, but if you can’t recognize the resources and know what to do with them…you’re in deep trouble! The wilds offer no safety for the disconnected or uninformed. Knowledge is the real wisdom here and only experience can provide REAL security. I have over 20 years of experience and I still practice my skills and learn new ones continually. If this is something that interests you?... “Get busy!”
If you’ve been following my Blogs, you know that we can go without food for at least 3 weeks. Obviously, given a choice we wouldn’t choose that. Luckily, we don’t have to! There are four main sources of food (plants) that are found in almost every environment. We’ll call them “The Big Four.” They are Pine, Oak, Cattails and Grasses! Most people with even the most basic education can identify these. All of these could potentially save your life by providing you with valuable nutrients in a time of need.
Members of the Pinaceae family include… cedar, pine, fir, spruce, larch and hemlock. Most can at least identify evergreens easily. Not necessarily the species, but as an evergreen. The green needles on these trees contain significant levels of vitamin C and should be utilized whenever possible. Don’t eat them, but rather chew them and drink the juices spitting out the leftovers. Your body will assimilate the vitamin C quite well this way. I will say that it IS an acquired taste, to say the least! A tea can also be made by steeping the needles in hot water for 10-20 minutes. Remember to steep and not boil as boiling will destroy the vitamin C we seek.
The inner bark of these trees is considered to be a Survival food. I was once told that the inner bark could be sliced into long strips and cooked like pasta! Trust me…if you like spaghetti you won’t consider this remotely similar. Frankly, it’s terrible:)) While it does have nutrients, I’ve found it to be quite disagreeable. Purely a survival chew (raw) in my opinion. On a Historical note…the inner bark of pine was widely used as bandaging during the civil and revolutionary wars. Lastly, many of us have heard of pine nuts and have enjoyed them in dishes like pesto and salads. The natural oils that wild pine nuts provide are quite healthy, but realistically only Pinion, Colter and Digger pines produce nuts of any size to be of much use to us (all Western species). Honestly, I’ve only eaten those of Pinion pine.
Oak is next on our list and, in my opinion, is one of our most widely ignored sources of nutritious wild food. Its Historic use by native peoples is extraordinary. Next week I’ll speak of it extensively and in great detail. Until then… I welcome your thoughts and input. Please consider joining a group I started called “Traditional / Primitive Living Skills” and I do encourage you to ask questions and contribute.
Richard Cleveland lives in Asheville, NC. He is the founder and director of Earth School. A self-trained Naturalist, fishing and nature guide, he has taught traditional native skills to thousands of people, of all ages. For info about his programs visit www.LoveTheEarth.com
Make a comment! | <urn:uuid:623ba879-6e16-482b-bcd3-e762ffbc5167> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.farm-dreams.com/profiles/blogs/the-realities-of-wilderness-survival-part-6-wild-food-yay | 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 | 0.954874 | 1,098 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Hogs Get Slaughtered at the Supreme Court
Vanderbilt University - Law School
February 9, 2012
Supreme Court Review, 2011
Vanderbilt Public Law Research Paper No. 12-6
Class action plaintiffs lost two major five-to-four cases last Term, with potentially significant consequences for future class litigation: AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion and Wal-Mart v. Dukes. The tragedy is that the impact of each of these cases might have been avoided had the plaintiffs’ lawyers, the lower courts, and the dissenting Justices not overreached. In this Article, I argue that those on the losing side insisted on broad and untenable positions and thereby set themselves up for an equally broad defeat; they got greedy and suffered the inevitable consequences. Unfortunately, the consequences will redound to the detriment of many other potential litigants. And these two cases are not isolated tragedies; they provide a window into a larger problem of Rule 23. When plaintiffs’ lawyers chart a course for future litigants, they may be tempted to frame issues broadly for the “big win” – with disastrous consequences. I suggest that it is up to the courts, and especially to those judges most sympathetic to the interests of class-action plaintiffs, to avoid the costs of lawyers’ overreaching. That is exactly what the dissenting Justices (and the judges below) failed to do in these cases.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 38
Keywords: arbitration, clas action, Wal-Mart, Concepcion, common question, unconscionability, Supreme CourtAccepted Paper Series
Date posted: February 10, 2012 ; Last revised: July 4, 2012
© 2013 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This page was processed by apollo6 in 0.516 seconds | <urn:uuid:0512153f-1b3e-416e-82d4-2bd4a73847ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2002009&rec=1&srcabs=1924365 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916726 | 377 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Children and cats alike have enjoyed the unexplainable fun of a cardboard box. Cardboard was first invented in the 1600s by the Chinese, presumably because they got bored of playing with gunpowder hundreds of years before the rest of the world. The cardboard box first came around in 1817, by the English.
Initially, cardboard was used for the lining in men’s hats, and later to cushion glassware. By 1879, the first efficient cardboard box would come around. Gradually, they would replace wooden crates in numerous ways. Then children learned of cardboard’s usefulness for playing. Because the cardboard box has become an infinite gateway to the imagination, it earned its place in the Toy Hall of Fame in 2005. | <urn:uuid:d2a6a284-28f2-4e6f-97c7-2a2d79e87031> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.givesmehope.com/users/favorites-202/12 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969697 | 149 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Anthropology is the study (logos) of humans (anthropos). through all time and space. The discipline considers our struggle to adapt to and survive in the natural and social environments and to improve our lot in the face of perpetual change. Anthropologists teach how cultures evolve and the role of individuals and groups in the invention and perpetuation of cultural beliefs, behaviors, symbols, and systems. Anthropologists have accumulated in-depth knowledge of hundreds of cultures and use this to understand better our own cultural beliefs, actions, and institutions, as well as those of people from other cultures. As the science of cultures, anthropology brings a powerful perspective to bear in understanding the emerging global order. Cross-cultural and evolutionary insights and knowledge help us envision how we can incorporate vast human diversity into a unified world order of peace, prosperity, justice, and opportunity.
The aim of anthropology is to understand the diversity of humans. For 100 years we have studied the cultures of the world, teaching people how to see themselves more clearly through the eyes of those who are different from themselves and how to work with the underlying humanity that unifies all cultural differences.
Diversity of Learners: Through academic programs offered on and off campus, it educates diverse, talented, traditional and nontraditional students who will supply knowledge, skills, and intellectual leadership in both the private and public sectors. | <urn:uuid:73973b2d-064a-4a8a-9d41-54c69e0331d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/artscience/anthro/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931121 | 276 | 3.375 | 3 |
Bitcoin - Environmental Impact, and Introduction To Pool Mining
This video is Jörn Loviscach’s talk on Bitcoin mining given at a workshop in September during the Gesellschaft für Informatik 2012 conference. He describes the environmental impact of Bitcoin.
His numbers do show how CPU mining is roughly an order of magnitude less efficient than GPU mining. He confirms how GPU mining too is rougly an order of magnitude less efficient than the technology for FPGA mining. Presumably because there is no ASIC hardware shipping yet his analysis didn’t consider ASIC mining but ASIC hardware too is likely somewhere in the range of being an order of magnitude more efficient than its FPGA predecessor.
The challenge that Mr. Loviscach didn’t quantify was the ratio of current mining that is performed by each type of technology. Without being able to estimate that ratio, any estimates about any electrical consumption can vary (by over-estimating consumption) nearly 10X from the actual consumption.
For some of today’s miners, including many of the larger ones, nearly 100% of all hashing is performed on the more-efficient FPGA hardware. However many of those mining who pay little for electricity have been adding GPU capacity, especially since they can absorb the used GPU castoffs at a lower purchase price. The plurality of miners are individuals running a GPU or two on an existing computer and most haven’t yet switched over to FPGA, though when ASICs start shipping that hardware may obsolete their GPUs in an instant.
An educated guess might come up with a ratio of nearly two-thirds of mining is still done with GPUs (though a small amount of that includes CPU mining yet, including that performed by botnets) and FPGAs are responsible for the remaining third of mining today. Thus the power consumption results provided are possibly 30% too high, and half a year from now total power consumption for the entire network may drop well below current levels thanks to the one-two punch of the block reward subsidy drop plus initial ASIC shipments that could force nearly every GPU into retirement.
There was another point made in the talk that needs clarification. Mining activity is nearly the same no matter how many Bitcoin transactions are made. So more transactions do not require additional mining and thus no noticeable difference in electrical consumption. Calculating the energy cost today on a per-transaction basis and then extrapolating that out to cover all transactions produced for all commerce simply results in some ridiculous total power consumption number that has no bearing with how the technology works. It is like calculating the cost of electricity per passenger for a subway trip at midnight (which transports a total of nine passengers) and then use that result (e.g. $25 worth of electricity per-passenger) to calculate how much power the subway would consume during rush hour when the same subway is packed with several hundred passengers. It just doesn’t work that way.
Length: 24 minutes.
Previous Posts - Twitter: @BitcoinMiner | <urn:uuid:c3af280e-1a2a-436e-9f0a-b7d70cbafb6f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bitcoinminer.com/post/34573873305/loviscach-mining-impact | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95375 | 614 | 2.5625 | 3 |
William Henry HastieU.S. government official; civil rights advocate
Born: November 17, 1904
Birthplace: Knoxville, Tennessee
Hastie received a BA from Amherst, where he finished first in his class, and then received a law degree (1930) from Harvard, becoming the second African American to serve on the Harvard Law Review. He then taught at Howard University Law School, where he worked with his friend, Charles Hamilton Houston, and his student, Thurgood Marshall, among others, to develop legal challenges to segregation. In private practice, as part of the law firm Houston, Houston, and Hastie, he argued a number of civil rights cases.
In 1933, Hastie was appointed Assistant Solicitor in the Department of the Interior by President Franklin Roosevelt, and in 1937 Roosevelt appointed him judge of the Federal District Court in the Virgin Islands, making him the country's first African-American federal magistrate. He left that position in 1939 to become Dean of Howard Law School. In 1941 Hastie became an aide to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, and worked to reform the military's segregationist policies. But Hastie resigned from that position in 1943 to protest the military's entrenched “reactionary policies and discriminatory practices.” That year he was awarded the Springarn Medal “for his distinguished career as jurist and as an uncompromising champion of equal justice.”
In 1946, Hastie became the first African-American governor of the Virgin Islands, and in 1949 President Truman appointed him judge of the Third United States Circuit Court of Appeals, making him the first African American to be appointed as a federal circuit judge.Died: April 14, 1976
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
More on William Henry Hastie from Infoplease: | <urn:uuid:bb6743d4-cf51-4e52-8300-83f1339075bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0930419.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971756 | 379 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Attending an international conference on telecommunication as a speaker, I got a bagpack as a souvenir. Everything was okay but its zippers. They were faulty as one of them shown in `01 - The Faulty Zipper.jpg'. I really should have checked its zippers when I received the bag. Anyway, with some patience I always succeeded in closing the zippers. But, they were really annoying just like when you use proprietary software. You just cannot modify them to make your life easier, and they are demanding more and more control to be taken away from you (e.g., Windows Defender and Genuine Advantage). After six months, a hacker came telling me how I should fix those faulty zippers.
It was my mom. First, return the slider to its original position and get the tool as shown in `02 - The Tool.jpg'. Next, crimp both the left and right butts of the slider as shown in `03 - Fixing The Left Butt.jpg' and `04 - Fixing The Right Butt.jpg' before you can get it right as shown in `05 - It is Fixed.jpg'. Don't crimp both of them with all your might at one time. Instead crimp both of them with some power and try to zip the zipper. If it is still faulty, crimp both of them again a bit harder and try again. If you crimp them too hard, you will require more power to zip the zipper. In case you crimp both of them too hard, just insert the points of the tool in a closed position into the slider and open the points so that the slider's grip on the zipper can be loosen.
When I asked my mom from where she learned the fix, she said that she observed how a zipper worked and fiddled with it a bit before coming up with the fix. Wonderful! After that, out of curiosity I googled for "faulty zipper" that led me to google for "fix faulty zipper" that returned this very consise page: http://www.ehow.com/how_2099903_repair-zippers.html. Next, based on some results there, I googled for "fix zipper separate" that returned this good page: http://tailoring.suite101.com/article.cfm/zipper_repair. Well, I should have googled for those keywords when I received the bag and spotted the problem. But, I think I was born in a generation where search engine is not included in one of your problem-solving tools. Surely I have to include search engine in my problem-solving tools now.
|01 - The Faulty Zipper.jpg||301.15 KB|
|02 - The Tool.jpg||139.96 KB|
|03 - Fixing The Left Butt.jpg||97.05 KB|
|04 - Fixing The Right Butt.jpg||110.21 KB|
|05 - It is Fixed.jpg||159.3 KB| | <urn:uuid:7b9cc260-fe69-4e3e-905c-50d239401558> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kerneltrap.org/node/17158 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962734 | 629 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Google is reportedly facing antitrust allegations over restricted access to smartphone patents the company owns.
According to an article published by Bloomberg, a "majority" of the FTC's five commissioners may recommend a lawsuit against Google sometime after the presidential election on November 6. Apparently, there are mounting concerns that Google is using patents it acquired with the purchase of Motorola to block the import of products made by Apple and Microsoft.
While the FTC declined to comment on the report, Google spokeswoman Niki Fenwick stated that Google takes its "commitments to license on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms very seriously" and would be willing to answer "any questions". It appears that the U.S. government may be cracking on an industry that is currently focused on using lawsuits as a critical measure to compete in the U.S. market place. Bloomberg noted that the Department of Justice will be investigating Samsung's claims of industry-standard patent claims, while the FTC zeroes in on Google's Motorola Mobility unit.
Google is currently estimated to hold about 75 percent of the smartphone platform market. | <urn:uuid:200e211a-4d8f-4257-91d1-c711b4a94cec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tomshardware.com/news/google-antitrust-lawsuit-apple-microsoft,18890.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955877 | 219 | 1.75 | 2 |
Logically speaking, there are only so many questions one can ask about the knuckleball. Illogically speaking, there are trillions.
How does the knuckleball work? How do you hold the knuckleball? Do you know where the knuckleball is going? Who's the Zen master of the knuckleball? Since you hold a knuckleball with your fingertips, why isn't it called the fingertipball? Does the knuckleball have rotation? Does the knuckleball have feelings? Why did the knuckleball cross the road?
Meet Lance Niekro. He is the 21-year-old son of knuckleballer Joe Niekro (and a nephew of Hall of Fame knuckleballer Phil Niekro). He is clean-cut, polite and polished, but he is also excruciatingly tired of answering questions concerning the knuckleball. So to make this easier and get the obvious questions out of the way:
Does Lance Niekro throw a knuckleball?
Is it good?
Yup. "I believe that if Lance focused just on being a knuckleball pitcher," says Chuck Anderson, the baseball coach at Florida Southern, where Niekro is a redshirt sophomore, "he'd stand a very good shot of going far in professional baseball."
How did he learn the knuckleball?
"When I was young, my dad taught it to me," says Lance. "I've messed around with it on my own since then."
How often does he use it in games? | <urn:uuid:56496268-1d84-4a8d-a444-78e13c90d340> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1018949/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966649 | 326 | 1.625 | 2 |
Balmori Associates create a temporary urban garden in the heart of Bilbao
Diana Balmori and her landscape and urban design practice Balmori Associates were invited to propose a temporary urban garden as part of the second edition of the International Garden Competition of Bilbao, Spain - Bilbao Jardín. The Garden that Climbs the Stairs is composed of running and undulating lines of different textures and colours. Its lush planting cascades down as though the garden was flowing or melting, bleeding the colours into each other. In one gesture, it narrates a story of landscape taking over and expanding over the Public Space and Architecture, therefore transforming the way that the stairs and the space is perceived and read by the user. The lines of movement are traced in curves of varying heights and lengths. Each band lifts the garden up to engage the senses. Native plantings drift through the bands, energetically expanding over the walls that constrain them. The plantings explode into a seasonal show of light, colour and scent, inviting passersby to pause and relax in the garden. The stairs are transformed into seating- a theatre from which to watch the life of the city.
It is a garden of contrasts: the contrast between native and exotic plants, between the red flowers and the green grass, between the green grass and the grey paving. In form, the garden engages the horizontal plaza with the rising vertical plane of the steps and the upright gesture of Eduardo Chillida's sculpture. Like the famous Spanish Steps in Rome, the garden is not only designed for visitors to ascend and descend, but for them to linger, and just be. | <urn:uuid:6365abcf-b7ce-4b52-90a5-6bdcb114a7e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=17313&q=balmori | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940799 | 334 | 1.6875 | 2 |
As always, you need to choose the right tool for the right job, and that means knowing what the tools can and can't do.
is an advanced text processing
language. If you do a lot of work extracting, editing, and reformatting text data from files or commands, then it will pay to learn how to use it. If, for example, you find yourself often chaining together strings of cut
, then they can generally be replaced with a single awk
command. Stand-alone awk
scripts can also often be used instead of combined shell+command scripts for text processing jobs (and will generally be more efficient in such cases).
But what awk isn't
, is a general scripting tool. It won't replace the shell for things like file renaming or system maintenance. Although it does have a built-in ability to execute external commands, it's really more of a support feature for the main task of text processing, and isn't designed for general use.
So by all means do learn how to use awk
. But don't think you need to dive deeply into it all at once. I suggest first taking enough time to learn what
it can do, without worrying much about learning how
to do it. Then you can decide how much time to put into studying it in detail. But in the end it's just another system tool, and the more familiar you are with it the more you'll be able to do with it.
Here are a few useful awk references:
The first one is probably the best for getting an overall view of the command.
BTW, another benefit of studying things like this is that the concepts you learn in one language very often translate over and help you in learning others as well. Much of awk
syntax comes from C
, which has also influenced many other languages and commands. I believe that learning awk
has also improved my scripting ability in general. | <urn:uuid:99711d5a-2f0e-4e3a-b35a-3face18ba049> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-newbie-8/will-awk-be-able-to-handle-all-my-requirements-4175436234/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955137 | 401 | 2.015625 | 2 |
How Free Trade Hurts
Fewer and fewer Americans support our government's trade policy. They see a shrinking middle class, lost jobs and exploding trade deficits.
Yet supporters of free trade continue to push for more of the same -- more job-killing trade agreements, greater tax breaks for large corporations that export jobs and larger government incentives for outsourcing.
Last month voters around the country said they want something very different. They voted for candidates who stood up for the middle class and who spoke out for fair trade. They did so because they understand what's at stake.
Over the past 100 years, Americans have built a thriving middle class. It's the envy of the world, and it didn't come easily.
At the turn of the 20th century, child labor was common; working conditions were often abysmal; there were no enforced workplace health, safety or environmental requirements; no unemployment insurance; and no workers' compensation. Workers were attacked and killed for the sole reason that they wanted to form a union; there was no 40-hour week, minimum wage, job security, overtime pay or virtually any other limit on the exploitation of employees.
America was split dramatically between the haves and have-nots. It was a harsh work world for many: nasty, brutish and, too often, short.
Worker activism, new laws and court decisions changed all that during the past century. As they did, a middle class grew and thrived. By mid-century, it became the engine that drove an ever-expanding economy in which benefits were shared by tens of millions of Americans. The American Dream of a secure, well-paid job with benefits, a nice house and a high-quality public education seemed within reach of everyone who worked hard and played by the rules.
That is what's at stake when we talk about trade policy: America's middle class and the American Dream.
The new mobility of capital and technology, coupled with the revolution in information technology, makes production of goods possible throughout much of the world. But much of the world at the beginning of the 21st century looks a lot like the United States did 100 years ago: Workers are grossly underpaid, exploited and abused, and they have virtually no rights. Many, including children, work 10, 12, 14 hours a day, six or seven days a week, for only a few dollars a day.
The result has been a global race to the bottom as corporations troll the world for the cheapest labor, the fewest health, safety and environmental regulations, and the governments most unfriendly to labor rights. U.S. trade agreements paved the way for this race: While rejecting protections for workers or the environment, they protected investors and corporate interests.
The results of such trade agreements are skyrocketing trade deficits -- more than $800 billion this year alone -- and downward pressure on income and benefits for American workers. Why? Because these agreements enable countries to ship what their low-wage workers produce to the United States while blocking many U.S. products from entering their countries.
Equally important, by enabling this kind of trade, the agreements force U.S. workers to accept cuts in their pay and benefits so their employers can compete with low-wage foreign producers. And those workers are the lucky ones. Millions of others have lost their jobs as corporations moved overseas to build the same products with cheap foreign labor. It is no coincidence that salaries and wages today are the lowest percentage of gross domestic product since the government began keeping track of this in 1947.
It took a century to build a thriving middle class and economic security here in America. We need to protect that for which we have sacrificed.
We must insist that all trade agreements have labor, environmental and other protections so that American workers can compete on a level playing field. Trade agreements must also be reciprocal. The American market is the most desirable in the world. Every country wants access to it. That gives us a great deal of leverage, if only we'd use it. Barriers to U.S. products overseas should not be tolerated.
Free-trade agreements have protected drug companies, international investors and Hollywood films, yet failed to protect our communities, our workers and our environment.
We believe there is a better way. Fair trade is not the enemy of more trade. It's how we expand international trade without reversing U.S. economic progress.
Byron Dorgan is a Democratic senator from North Dakota. Rep. Sherrod Brown is a Democratic senator-elect from Ohio. | <urn:uuid:cf933ddb-4e7a-4aa8-b58d-12df1453591b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/22/AR2006122201020.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969155 | 925 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Ecuador's Galapagos islands should make a full recovery from the oil spill that tarnished its sandy shores, a sign of hope for the hundreds of unique species there that inspired British naturalist Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, scientists said.
With ecologists scouring the archipelago's surface for animals affected by the 160,000 gallon spill, the question remained as to what would happen to thousands of ocean critters that form the basis of Galapagos' ecosystem, nourishing the sea lions, iguanas and blue-footed boobies that have made the Ecuadorean islands famous worldwide.
Several local ecologists have expressed concern that remnants of spilled bunker, a thick fuel used by some tour boats
, will poison organisms that feed off the Pacific Ocean floor and serve as the basis for the ecosystem's food chain.
But most biologists and ocean scientists consulted by Reuters said that was unlikely to occur because nature's resilience should enable Galapagos to fully recover.
"I would not worry about what the oil is going to do to plankton or other organisms eating plankton and toxins working their way up the food chain," said Larry Bender, professor of marine biology at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami.
Bender, who studies phytoplankton, explained that the organisms that form the basis of the ecosystem's food chain have such short life spans, of about 24 hours, that few would be affected and ingested by fish before they died.
After cargo vessel "Jessica" ran aground on Jan. 16 half a mile from Galapagos' capital and spilled diesel and bunker into the park's pristine ocean a few days later. Environmentalists around the world were outraged, fearing mass deaths of birds and sea lions that live on the water's edge. Two dead birds and a few dozen oily pelicans and sea lions are the toll so far of the spill.
Westward winds and ocean currents have carried the oily film away from the bay cradling Galapagos' capital, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, some 600 miles west of Ecuador's mainland, broadening but lessening the overall impact.
Mary Wilcox Silver, ocean scientist at the University of California at Santa Cruz, said benthic contamination -- the pollution of animals living off the ocean floor -- is a valid concern, but the archipelago will benefit from strong currents that will help break up the toxins.
"The waters of Galapagos are washed by a major current system, which are delivering new waters, so the residence time of contaminated water is not a big issue," she said.
Likewise, most of the spilled diesel, a volatile, processed fuel, has already evaporated under the hot equatorial sun, according to technicians working on the clean-up.
The bunker is more difficult to clean, sticking to rocky coasts and the fur and feathers of some 50 animals, but is too thick to pass through marine organisms' skin and contaminate them, said Ron Tjeerdema, professor of environmental toxicology at the University of California at Davis.
"It (the bunker) will break up into smaller globules mixed with salt and sand and debris and will sink to the bottom and degrade over time via bacteria," said Tjeerdema, explaining that tropical waters would speed up the breakdown of toxins, in contrast with the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill of millions of gallons of crude in Alaska, whose waters are much colder.
While ecologists from around the world are pushing for stricter shipping and environmental regulations in Galapagos to prevent another accident from damaging the islands, and strict vigilance of mid-range spill impacts in the coming months, for the moment it seems they can breathe a sigh of relief.
"The worst is already passing. There will be local effects, but it is not going to destroy a species, nor are the islands going to sink," said Gunther Reck, a former director of the Charles Darwin Research Foundation in Galapagos, now an ecology professor at Ecuador's San Francisco University.
But, he cautioned, "the more people that live in Galapagos, the greater the probability of an accident in the future. And things are not always going to turn out this lucky." - (Reuters) | <urn:uuid:90f618ab-1910-44ea-af1e-7daebe16b564> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marinelink.com/news/article/galapagos-to-make-recovery/318880.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94382 | 873 | 3.0625 | 3 |
North American Network Operators Group|
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Re: One-element vs two-element design
Eric Kuhnke wrote:
Most, if not all, redundant systems have a single instance of synchronization protocol.
One significant vendor of packet forwarding gear was known for hanging the secondary
RP almost every time when the primary failed. The hang was usually associated with
chatter failing with the failed card :-) | <urn:uuid:a5d437bd-c28b-4429-a129-8e75d9a92b95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nanog.org/mailinglist/mailarchives/old_archive/2004-01/msg00447.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921106 | 98 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Press ReleaseView print version
American Indian Artifacts Museum Coming Soon to Cheaha State Park
August 22, 2011
Cheaha State Park will soon have a new attraction, the Walter Farr Indian Artifacts Museum. The collection, donated by Walter Farr from Lineville, Ala., will go on display with a grand opening on September 24, at 11 a.m., the same day as the park’s mountain festival and chili cook off. The collection contains hundreds of pieces including arrowheads, stone tools and musical instruments, which are currently being cataloged and tagged for display in the former Cheaha superintendent’s office.
A lifelong educator, Farr taught in the Alabama public school system for several years before becoming the Dean of Students at Southern Union Community College in Opelika. In addition to his education career, Farr served as the president of the Rebel State Archeological Society and was the founder of the Hillabee Archeological Society. Collecting Indian Relics has been Farr’s hobby since he was 9 years old when he found his first arrowhead on his grandfather’s farm near Delta, Ala.
Farr’s collection has been on display in several venues and Indian artifact shows throughout the years. “When he offered to donate his collection to the park we jumped at the chance to put it on display,” said Tammy Power, Cheaha Lodge Manager. “We are thankful to Mr. Farr for the donation. It is an honor to be able to share this fascinating collection with park visitors.”
When it opens later next month, the museum will be available for tours by park guests, home school groups, school field trips and other special tours. Museum hours will vary and tours must be booked ahead of time. The entrance fee is $2 per person. No charge for children age 6 and under. Cheaha is currently in need of volunteers to help staff the museum. For more information about the collection, volunteer opportunities, or to schedule a tour, email the park at firstname.lastname@example.org.
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through five divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. To learn more about ADCNR, visit www.outdooralabama.com . | <urn:uuid:c9f089ea-8995-4593-911d-80c1b65d644f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://Lakepoint.Marina@dcnr.alabama.gov/news/release.cfm?ID=951 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952834 | 493 | 1.5625 | 2 |
The company announced last week that the project to add two nuclear reactors to the generating plant near Waynesboro was $737 million over the $6.11 billion budget. That news came after the initial hearing on House Bill 267 in the Utilities Subcommittee.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jeff Chapman, R-Brunswick, said he thought his bill was ahead of the issue because he didn’t expect to the company to disclose it was over budget by hundreds of millions of dollars until next year.
Chapman said allowing the company to make its usual 11 percent rate of return on the overruns gives it reason to be wasteful.
“Georgia Power has a serious incentive to pull as many dollars out of ratepayers’ pockets as possible because they have shareholders,” he said.
Company officials countered that passage of the bill would trigger higher electricity prices because otherwise investors would find Georgia Power unattractive if Plant Vogtle is too risky. The Public Service Commission can rule the company can’t charge its customers for any expenses it considers “clearly imprudent,” but investors have accepted that much risk as a way to protect the public, according to Georgia Power attorney Kevin Greene.
But, he said, investors still expect to get an 11 percent return on any expenses added to the budget for safety reasons, such as increased training demands and heightened cyber-security requirements, and that changing the expected profit now would spook them.
“If you tell investors they can’t get that, it will send shockwaves throughout Wall Street,” he said. “… We’re going to have to raise our prices somewhere else to be able to interest these investors.”
The bill had the support of a diverse group that included liberal-leaning consumer-advocacy groups like Georgia Watch and ultra conservatives like Tea Party Patriots. | <urn:uuid:7acf2ab5-16f8-4a06-9371-a2bbb87ac5a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rn-t.com/bookmark/21882174 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966195 | 389 | 1.59375 | 2 |
AMERICAN MOSAIC #814 - John PhillipsBy Nancy Steinbach
American singer and songwriter John Phillips died last month. He is best known as a member of the popular Nineteen-Sixties singing group "The Mamas and the Papas." Shirley Griffith has more.
John Phillips was singing with a folk group in New York City in the Nineteen-Sixties. He and his wife Michelle formed The Mamas and the Papas with two friends, Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot. They moved to California in Nineteen-Sixty-Five.
The group recorded songs John Phillips had written. Their first big hit was one he wrote after walking through New York on a snowy day.It is "California Dreamin'."
((CUT 1: CALIFORNIA DREAMIN')
The Mamas and the Papas had other hit records. They performed all over the world. The group won a Grammy award in Nineteen-Sixty-Six for another song John Phillips wrote, "Monday, Monday."
((CUT 2: MONDAY, MONDAY))
The Mamas and the Papas broke up in Nineteen-Sixty-Eight. John and Michelle Phillips ended their marriage. He wrote songs for other performers. John Phillips had problems with alcohol and drugs and talked publicly about them. He was arrested for illegal drug use in Nineteen-Eighty. He suffered health problems, including a liver transplant operation in Nineteen-Ninety-Two. John Phillips continued to write and record music. He completed a new album just before he died.
We leave you now with another hit song written by John Phillips and recorded by the Mamas and the Papas, "I Saw Her Again." | <urn:uuid:97f251f8-9c76-4e54-aa15-b680980281d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.manythings.org/voa/0/10331.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977054 | 358 | 1.914063 | 2 |
STRATEGIES FOR PREDICTING AND CONTROLLING PM10 EMISSIONS FROM AGRICULTURAL SOILS WITHIN THE COLUMBIA PLATEAU
Location: Land Management and Water Conservation Research
Title: SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF SOIL AND PM10 LOSS IN WEPS USING LHS-OAT METHOD
Submitted to: Transactions of the ASAE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: June 2, 2005
Publication Date: July 1, 2005
Citation: Feng, G., Sharratt, B.S. 2005. Sensitivity Analysis of Soil and PM10 Loss in WEPS using LHS-OAT Method. Transactions of the ASAE.
Interpretive Summary: The Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS) has been developed by the USDA-ARS for the specific application of simulating wind erosion processes from agricultural lands. Although WEPS simulates both the loss of soil and PM10 (particulates <10 microns in diameter that cause air pollution) from agricultural fields, WEPS requires knowledge about 30 or more soil and crop characteristics which are often difficult to measure in the field. Knowing the relative importance of these soil and crop characteristics can help the user in determining which characteristics should be measured with the greatest accuracy in the field to obtain reliable predictions. We found that crop residue cover, soil water content, ridge height, volume of rocks in the soil, soil crust cover, soil aggregate and crust stability, and surface random roughness are the most important soil and crop characteristics affecting erosion processes. On the contrary, bulk density, silt content, and soil aggregate and crust density were the least important soil characteristics affecting erosion. Our results suggest that farmers who use practices which retain residue on the soil surface, conserve soil water, and promote aggregation can effectively reduce soil loss and PM10 emissions from agricultural soils. In addition, reliable estimates of erosion using WEPS (USDA-NRCS field personnel will use WEPS in the near future to determine eligibility of lands for federal farm programs) will hinge upon creating databases with accurate information regarding crop residue cover, soil water content, soil crusting, and soil aggregation.
Wind erosion prediction system (WEPS) was developed for the specific application of simulating erosion processes from agricultural lands. WEPS is a physically-based model, with a moderate to large number of input parameters. Knowledge about model sensitivity is essential to both model developer and user in ascertaining those parameters most influential to modeled object functions. A combined method of Latin-Hypercube Sampling (LHS) and One-factor-At-a-Time (OAT) was used to assess the sensitivity of parameters in the WEPS erosion submodel in simulating total soil loss, creep/saltation, suspension and PM10 emission. The range of parameters considered in this analysis were obtained from the WEPS Users Manual and determined for the Columbia Plateau region of the United States. Overall, the analysis indicated that the model was most sensitive to changes in biomass flat cover, near-surface soil water content, ridge height, wind speed, rock volume, soil wilting-point water content, field length and width, crust cover, aggregate and crust stability, and random roughness. The model was least sensitive to changes in bulk density, silt content, aggregate and crust density.. For the Columbia Plateau, erosion processes were more sensitive to surface soil water content and random roughness in spring than in autumn and more sensitive to residue cover and aggregate mean diameter in autumn than in spring. This sensitivity analysis suggests that residue management, surface soil moisture conservation, aggregation, and field size can effectively influence soil loss and PM10 emission | <urn:uuid:de5342af-91e5-4271-9f51-6cc3a92f185e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=178882 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915487 | 767 | 2.609375 | 3 |
They’re gonna wipe out college!
Well, everything but the elite universities. Courses are gonna be online, you’re going to be able to learn from the best professors on the planet. So, unless you’re a star, you’re HISTORY!
How did this happen?
Let’s see… College has been a rip-off for eons. Overpriced, with lame courses all in the pursuit of a degree that no one examines or really challenges. But now employers are gonna ask, did you take Calculus from Professor X? Psychology from Professor R?
Everything I learned in college happened outside the classroom. Throw a couple of thousand talented kids in the middle of nowhere and it’s the Lord of the Flies. I barely escaped from Middlebury intact. But college was cheaper then. Before all the universities had to build new plants, pay heftier salaries and beef up the administration. Kind of like all those record companies built CD plants and changed the price of an album from under $10 to nearly $20. Worked for a while, then it all CRASHED!
Don’t you get it? The Internet is creating an elite. And if you’re a member of the tribe, riches rain down upon you. If you’re not, good luck!
Are you really gonna take a music business course from a never been in the middle of nowhere when Jimmy Iovine or Dr. Luke can teach you everything online for a fraction of the price?
OF COURSE NOT!
You’re no longer limited to the professors at your college, the world is your oyster, pick from the best!
Used to be you could thrive as a regional act. Your audience was starved for talent. But mediocre has no audience in the arts today. With great a click away. And we can debate all day what’s great, whether it be the top-selling Top Forty acts or Alabama Shakes… But have you noticed, there’s only one Alabama Shakes? Used to be every market had an act like this. We knew who they were. But now only the best gets traction.
There’s only one winner.
There’s one iTunes Store.
There will be one subscription music service.
Because that’s the one where everybody will be, where all your friends are. Everybody will decide and that will be it. Second place will be like “Glengarry Glen Ross,” you’ll lose your job and go bankrupt.
Yup, college courses are moving online. The whole education sphere is being disrupted, just like music. Anybody trying to fight the tide is gonna be plowed under. Adjust, or get out of the game. | <urn:uuid:63b11a29-5d42-4edc-863b-4288b32bf1a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2013/01/13/more-winners-and-losers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926105 | 580 | 1.820313 | 2 |
On Remembrance Day, we commemorate the signing of the armistice between the Allies and Germany and the end of the First World War. As we pay our respects to those who sacrificed for their country, we are reminded of the importance of not forgetting those who gave so much and preserving their stories for future generations.
Ancestry.com.au has a significant collection of UK records pertaining to those who fought and died in World War One. These records are a valuable tool for anyone researching their military ancestors, and can provide rich details about those who served their countries.
The British Army World War One Service Records 1914-1920 detail the full military careers of more than two million soldiers who served during World War One.
Service records contain a variety of information concerning all aspects of the army careers of those who completed their duty or were either killed in action or executed, including the soldier’s name, date and place of birth, address, next-of-kin, former occupation, marital status, medical records, service history, regiment number, locations of service and discharge papers.
Each service record contains an average of 16 pages of personal information; however they can contain as many as 60 pages.
The British Army World War One Service Records 1914-1920 complement the British Army World War One Pension Records 1914-1920 which contain 9.7 million pages of personal information relating to almost one million discharged soldiers who, having sacrificed their own wellbeing for the war effort, suffered disabling sickness or injuries for which a pension was subsequently granted.
Together, the service and pension records form the definitive source of information in existence on more than three million ordinary soldiers who fought in the British Army during World War One.
Among the surviving service records are those of a number of both famous and ordinary, brave soldiers, including:
* Basil Rathbone – the British actor best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Homes in 14 movies between 1939 and 1946 enlisted in the London Scottish Regiment in 1916. The discharge papers within his service record describe his eyes and hair as ‘dark’ and his complexion as ‘fresh’
* Noel Pierce Coward – the flamboyant English playwright, director and actor was drafted for military duty in 1918. His service record details a head injury that saw him obtain an honourable discharge with a ‘30 per cent degree of disablement’ – enough to receive a pension
* George Peachment – George’s service record reveals he was awarded the Victoria Cross – an accolade he received for his bravery in saving the life of an officer near Hulluch, France, where he was later killed in action. His record also features a letter from his mother requesting his personal effects after his death and a journalist requesting a photograph of him
* Henry Mays – Henry’s service record contains a letter from his sister revealing that he enrolled under a false name to avoid being traced by his mother. This solved a family mystery that had spanned 90 years (further details and interview available)
The service records are in addition to our extensive British military collection, which includes the World War One Medal Rolls Index Cards 1914-1922, detailing medal entitlements for more than 5.5 million soldiers, and the British Army Prisoners of War, 1939-1945, detailing more than 100,000 World War Two British POWs.
Lest we forget.
Commenting is now closed, and there were no comments on this article. | <urn:uuid:0658533f-96b3-4a7d-83f6-74562d5eb19e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.ancestry.com/au/2010/11/11/at-the-11th-hour-of-the-11th-day-of-the-11th-month-we-will-remember-them/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971419 | 702 | 2.5 | 2 |
My daughter Sophia is 10. She's taking after her grandmother with her artistic skills. And I love seeing how she progresses. This image above was a drawing she did of our sitting room - fireplace, photos and vases on the mantle. An excellent rendition I believe. Anyway, I told her if she kept up doing her drawing that I would devote a blog post to her on a regular basis.
We watch a lot of Disney movies together on Friday and Saturday nights when my husband is at work at the pub - he works at The Half Barrel here in Nenagh. This is what she drew after watching Avalon High on Disney a few weeks ago.
And her drawing notebook started with this charming "fashion" drawing - notice that the dress should be made of red wool and trimmed in yellow fabric.
And this I believe is Sophia jumping on her trampoline with my mother's marmalade cat name "Rumble".
This is her drawing of one of the wooden Nutcrackers we had on our mantle at Christmas time.
I thought it was appropriate to do this post now because this past Tuesday, The Irish Times had a great supplement talking about Art in the Classroom. Art is so important for all of us - we should partake in it, go and see art exhibitions and meet artist - you know I love doing that! We are pretty excited in this household that Tutankhamen has come to the RDS in Dublin - we'll definitely be booking tickets to see that - huge fans of Egyptian art in this house.
If you didn't see the supplement, see if you can find a copy - of course the Year of the Craft 2011 plays a big part and the National Craft Gallery in Kilkenny has an exhibit on now called Jerwood Contemporary Makers which runs until March 10th.
There's a great description about what is craft? "Craft is about creating interesting unique objects for everyday use or display using glass, metal, clay, wood, textiles or a combination of materials. Craft can also be about how we make these objects, either traditionally by hand or using new technologies and materials....A crafts person can work as a furniture maker, basket maker, wood turner, ceramicist, potter, weaver, leather worker, candle maker, fashion designer, textile artist, blacksmith or jeweller.....
Craft is creating objects of great beauty and design, with great skill using your imagination and having great fun."
What a wonderful description don't you think? I'd like to be a crafts person in this sense but my craft is this blog - finding interesting things to talk about that I enjoy and hopefully you all enjoy too.
Don't forget - if you are a crafts person or know a wonderful craftsperson - please let me know - I'd be more than happy to blog about your work in my "Love Irish Crafts" blog campaign.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone. | <urn:uuid:949453de-4789-4417-9e14-2b7008443025> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nenaghgal.blogspot.com/2011/02/saturday-with-sophia-my-daughters.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9643 | 594 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Brookhouse is a co-educational day and boarding school for students aged 2-19, offering an adapted form of the British National Curriculum to Kenyan and international students. The school strives to develop each student's intellectual, emotional, physical and social growth to their full potential.
At Brookhouse we believe that by adopting clearly defined expectations, we will provide the students with the security necessary to achieve their potential within a relaxed but academically rigorous environment.
As a Round Square School Brookhouse believes in:
-Clear expectations in relation to academic performance and standards of behaviour
-Providing the opportunity for our students to learn the skills necessary to further their education and to function successfully in the modern world
-Positive reinforcement which will provide students with the confidence and self-esteem necessary to succeed
-Stimulating intellectual curiosity and a desire to learn
-Fostering tolerance, awareness and respect for others without regard to race, religion, nationality or gender
-Inspiring students to set goals which reflect the utmost of their capabilities
-A curriculum that ensures the holistic educational development of each child
-Parents being active partners in learning through ongoing communication with the school
-Instilling in students an awareness of the environment and the need to preserve it
-Fostering within each child a desire to take responsibility for self-motivation, self-direction, self-discipline and a positive self-image.
Brookhouse is located in a pleasant, leafy environment about 10 kilometres to the south-west of Nairobi city centre.
The school is next to Nairobi National Park. Access from the city is via Langata Road, turning left into Magadi Road. The school is a hundred meters along Magadi Road on the right. The preparatory and secondary schools are separated by playing fields. The swimming pool, gym and indoor sports centre for tennis and basketball are in the southeast corner of the campus. Irrigated playing fields provide a year round playing surface for soccer, rugby, netball, cricket and field hockey. The secondary school is built around three sides of a landscaped quad, where students often study in the shade of mature jacaranda trees. The building complex is a modern two-storey construction with balconies overlooking the quad. Classrooms are purpose-built, with all the facilities one would expect in any major international school, including science and computing laboratories, fine art and music studios, libraries and a state-of-the art performance auditorium. The preparatory school is a delightful “castle” style building with a courtyard adventureland designed to stimulate every child's imagination and desire to learn. The landscaped quad provides play areas that reflect various ecosystems of Kenya. Brookhouse is in a quiet location, conducive to learning and a safe place for our boarders to live. | <urn:uuid:4c29b2e2-6094-452f-8efa-d7bb07e99590> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.brookhouse.ac.ke/About.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950925 | 575 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Karen enhances southwest monsoon, continues to bring rains-A A +A
Saturday, September 15, 2012
MANILA -- Luzon and Visayas will experience rains as Typhoon Karen (international codename: Sanba) continued to enhance the southwest monsoon, said the state weather bureau on Friday.
The typhoon, estimated at 720 kilometers east of Basco, Batanes as of 11 p.m. Friday, packed maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 220 kph, said the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
Pagasa has not raised any storm signal as Karen is too far to directly affect the country, said forecaster Aldczar Aurelio.
But he said that Karen, although not expected to make a landfall in any part of the country, will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon that will bring occasional moderate to heavy rains over Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Bicol Region, Calabarzon, and Mimaropa.
Pagasa warned residents in these areas to be alert against possible flashfloods and landslides.
The weather bureau said Karen’s estimated rainfall amount is from 15 to 30 mm per hour within its 550 kilometers diameter. This rainfall amount is considered intense.
Also, while Karen is moving northward over the Philippine Sea, the Visayas and Northern Luzon will be cloudy with scattered light to moderate rains, while Mindanao will have partly cloudy skies with isolated rains or thunderstorms in the evening, the weather bureau added.
Pagasa said Metro Manila will be cloudy with occasionally moderate to heavy rains and thunderstorms. Manila Bay will be moderate to rough.
Moderate to strong winds from the northeast to northwest will prevail over Northern Luzon while the rest of the country will experience southwesterly wind.
The coastal waters throughout the archipelago will be moderate to rough.
Fishing boats and other small sea crafts are advised not to venture out over the northern and eastern seaboards of Northern Luzon, eastern seaboard of Central Luzon, seaboards of Southern Luzon, and over the eastern seaboard of Visayas due to big waves generated by Karen.
As of 11 p.m. Friday, the typhoon is moving north at 15 kph and will traverse the east Philippine Sea on its way to southern Japan, said Pagasa. It is expected to leave the Philippine territory by Saturday evening or Sunday morning. (PNA/Sunnex) | <urn:uuid:70fe3b69-f898-4326-b0fc-62f2510b737a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2012/09/15/karen-enhances-southwest-monsoon-continues-bring-rains-242900 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923783 | 528 | 1.65625 | 2 |
||This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2007)|
Knight Ridder (pron.: //) was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers sold. Its headquarters were located in San Jose, California.
The corporate ancestors of Knight Ridder were Knight Newspapers, Inc. and Ridder Publications, Inc. The first company was founded by John S. Knight upon inheriting control of The Akron Beacon Journal from his father, Charles Landon Knight, in 1933; the second company was founded by Herman Ridder when he acquired the New Yorker Staats-Zeitung, a German language newspaper, in 1892. As anti-German sentiment increased between the two world wars, Ridder successfully transitioned into English language publishing by acquiring the Journal of Commerce in 1926.
Both companies went public in 1969 and merged in 1974. For a brief time, the combined company was the largest newspaper publisher in the United States.
At its peak
Knight Ridder had a long history of innovation in technology. It was the first newspaper publisher to experiment with videotex when it launched its Viewtron system in 1982. After investing six years of research and $50 million dollars into the service, Knight Ridder shut down Viewtron in 1986 when the service's interactivity features proved more popular than news delivery.
In 1997 it bought four newspapers from The Walt Disney Company formerly owned by Capital Cities Communications after Disney's purchase of Cap Cities mainly for the ABC television network (the Kansas City Star, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Belleville News-Democrat and (Wilkes-Barre) Times Leader) for $1.65 billion. It was, at the time, the most expensive newspaper acquisition in the history of the newspaper business.
For most of its existence, the company was based in Miami, with headquarters on the top floor of the Miami Herald building. In 1998, Knight Ridder relocated its headquarters from Miami to San Jose, Calif.; there, that city's Mercury News—the first daily newspaper to regularly publish its full content online—was booming along with the rest of Silicon Valley. The internet division had been established there three years earlier. The company rented several floors in a downtown high-rise as its new corporate base.
In November 2005, the company announced plans for "strategic initiatives," which involved the possible sale of the company. This came after three major institutional shareholders publicly urged management to put the company up for sale. At the time, the company had a higher profit margin than many Fortune 500 companies, including ExxonMobil.
Purchase by McClatchy
On March 13, 2006, The McClatchy Company announced its agreement to purchase Knight Ridder for a purchase price of $6.5 billion in cash, stock and debt. The deal gave McClatchy 32 daily newspapers in 29 markets, with a total circulation of 3.3 million. However, for various reasons, McClatchy decided to immediately resell twelve of these papers.
On April 26, 2006, McClatchy announced it was selling the San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, Monterey Herald, and St. Paul Pioneer Press to MediaNews Group (with backing from the Hearst Corporation) for $1 billion.
List of newspapers
Daily newspapers owned by Knight Ridder and its predecessors included:
Knight Ridder-owned companies
A list of companies that were at one time or another owned by Knight Ridder:
- Vu/Text - 1982-1996. Merged with PressLink to become MediaStream.
- PressLink - ??-1996. Merged with Vu/Text to become MediaStream.
- MediaStream - 1996-2001. Acquired by NewsBank
- DataStar - Acquired from Radio Schweiz Ltd., merged with Dialog to form Knight Ridder Information
- Dialog (online database) - Merged with DataStar to form Knight Ridder Information
- Knight Ridder Information - ??-1997, Acquired by MAID, later by Thomson
- Knight Ridder Financial Inc - 1985 Buys MoneyCentre and renames it KRFI?? -1996, Acquired by Global Financial trading as Bridge Data
- RealCities Network - 2004-2006 RealCities was a portal/hub website for Knight-Ridder group. It was absorbed with The McClatchy Company into McClatchy Interactive and sold to Chicago-based Centro in 2008.
Knight Ridder-owned television stations
In 1954, Ridder Newspapers launched WDSM-TV in Superior, Wisconsin, serving the Duluth, Minnesota market. Initially a CBS affiliate, it switched to its present NBC affiliation a year and a half after the station's launch. It was spun off after Ridder's merger with Knight Newspapers, Inc.
In 1977, Knight Ridder entered broadcasting with the acquisition of Poole Broadcasting, which consisted of WJRT-TV in Flint, Michigan, WTEN in Albany, New York and its satellite WCDC in Adams, Massachusetts, and WPRI-TV in Providence, Rhode Island. Immediately after the acquisition of these stations was finalized, Knight Ridder cut a corporate affiliation deal with ABC, switching then-CBS affiliates WTEN/WCDC and WPRI (the latter of which eventually rejoined CBS) to ABC (WJRT was already affiliated with ABC when the affiliation deal was made). Knight Ridder would acquire several television stations in medium-sized markets during the 1980s, including three stations owned by The Detroit News which the Gannett Company (which purchased the newspaper in 1986) could not keep due to Federal Communications Commission regulations on media cross-ownership and/or television duopolies then in effect. (Interestingly, none of Knight Ridder's later acquisitions changed their network affiliations under Knight Ridder ownership; for example, then-NBC affiliate WALA-TV in Mobile, Alabama remained an NBC affiliate when it was owned by Knight Ridder and would switch to Fox several years after Knight Ridder sold the station.) In early 1989, Knight Ridder announced its exit from broadcasting, selling all of its stations to separate buyers; the sales were finalized in the summer and early fall of that year.
|Current DMA#||Market||Station||Years Owned||Current Affiliation/Owner|
|17.||Miami, Florida||WCKT 7
|1956-62 **||Fox affiliate owned by Sunbeam Television|
|29.||Nashville, Tennessee||WKRN-TV 2||1983-89||ABC affiliate owned by New Young Broadcasting
(operated by Gray Television)
|43.||Norfolk, Virginia||WTKR 3||1981-89||CBS affiliate owned by Local TV|
|45.||Oklahoma City, Oklahoma||KTVY 4
|1986-89||NBC affiliate owned by Local TV|
|53.||Providence, Rhode Island||WPRI-TV 12||1977-89||CBS affiliate owned by LIN Television|
|58.||Albany, New York||WTEN 10||1977-89||ABC affiliate owned by New Young Broadcasting
(operated by Gray Television)
|Adams, Massachusetts||WCDC 19
(satellite of WTEN)
|1977-89||ABC affiliate owned by New Young Broadcasting
(operated by Gray Television)
|60.||Mobile, Alabama - Pensacola, Florida||WALA-TV 10||1986-89||Fox affiliate owned by LIN Television|
|67.||Tucson, Arizona||KOLD-TV 13||1986-89||CBS affiliate owned by Raycom Media|
|69.||Flint, Michigan||WJRT-TV 12||1977-89||ABC affiliate owned by SJL Broadcasting|
|138.||Superior, Wisconsin - Duluth, Minnesota||WDSM-TV 6
|1954-74 ++||NBC affiliate owned by Granite Broadcasting|
- **This station was co-owned by Knight Newspapers and Cox Newspapers, long before Knight's merger with Ridder Publications.
- ++This station was owned by Ridder Publications until the merger between Ridder and Knight forced its divestiture.
- "Ridder" is Dutch for "Knight."
- Contrary to popular belief, the company had nothing to do with the television series Knight Rider.
- "Where We Are." Knight Ridder. April 28, 2005. Retrieved on August 28, 2012. "Knight Ridder 50 W. San Fernando St. San Jose, CA 95113" and "Knight Ridder Digital 35 South Market Street San Jose, CA 95113-2302"
- "Viewtron Remembered Roundtable".
Media related to Knight Ridder at Wikimedia Commons | <urn:uuid:901cc3e6-e5a7-4298-82e8-28d7279c6007> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Ridder | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950548 | 1,830 | 2 | 2 |
After a rising sophomore who reportedly carried meningococcal meningitis died Saturday, health officials said the disease poses “no increased risk” to either the Cornell community or Tompkins County residents, according to a statement released by the University Monday.
Krista Depew ’15 died early Saturday morning of the disease, according to several accounts. On Sunday, Gannett Health Services posted a statement on its website warning students of the dangers of meningitis.
“Specifically, we want people to know the signs and symptoms and the importance of seeking medical care as soon as possible when those symptoms arise,” said Sharon Dittman, associate director for community relations for Gannett.
Although Cornell is not at any greater risk for meningitis now –– according to reports from health officials from New York State, as well as from Tompkins and Washington Counties –– Dittman still emphasized the importance of informing the public about the disease.
“We want the Cornell community to learn about meningococcal disease,” she said. “It is a very rare disease, but we are reminded this week just how serious it is.”
Dittman said Gannett intends to reach out to individuals who were close to Depew at the time of her death.
“Whether they were emotionally close, such as her friends and sorority sisters, or physically close, such as people in her residence hall, we want them to have information about resources available to answer their questions and provide support,” Dittman said. “We are advising individuals who have specific concerns related to their health to talk with a health care provider.”
Theresa Lyczko, public information officer for the Tompkins County Health Department, said the she could not speak specifically to Depew’s illness and death, but that the TCHD “always recommends vaccination when possible.”
According to the American College Health Association, 70 to 80 percent of cases of meningitis are caused by “potentially vaccine-preventable strains” in people between the ages of 15 and 24. However, Depew, who had been vaccinated against meningitis, still contracted the disease.
“It is true that this vaccination does not prevent all cases of meningococcal disease,” Dittman said. “But it is highly effective against four of the five most common strains of [meningitis].”
It is unknown which strain Depew was carrying, according to Dittman, who said this information is “personal … [and] will be determined by the hospital that treated her.”
Dittman said it is important for people to identify symptoms of meningitis while it is still possible to treat the illness.
“Any time a person who has been sick with an upper respiratory infection like a cold or flu-like illness suddenly develops much more serious symptoms –– such as high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, rash, nausea, vomiting, fatigue or confusion–– they should seek immediate medical attention,” Dittman said.
Dittman also emphasized that Gannett hopes to raise awareness of preventative measures against the disease.
“We … want [people] to know the measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of getting meningococcal disease, including vaccination and good hygiene,” she said. | <urn:uuid:b30f58e9-84df-4b07-a7a7-daf6f428863d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cornellsun.com/print/51939 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971419 | 713 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Mr Peter Zinck, Fiji
The South Pacific Islands comprise 14 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Fiji. The total population is around 26 million, of whom 20 million are in Australia and New Zealand and 4 million in Papua New Guinea. The remaining 2 million are divided among the other 11 countries.
The regulatory authorities of these small import-oriented countries face many challenges, particularly where gross domestic product is low. Drug budgets are limited, purchasing power is small and it is difficult to source products that are of good quality, reliable and from credible suppliers. Furthermore, because human resources are limited, administrative processes and systems, technical capacity and quality control measures are generally inadequate.
Because of these limitations, DRAs in small Pacific Island nations are exploring the opportunities for regional collaboration in the areas of sharing relevant regulatory information, drug registration, pharmacovigilance and GMP inspection in the hope of strengthening their regulatory capacity. Like New Zealand, which has a strategic alliance with Australia, the small Pacific Island nations are looking for potential twinning arrangements with key regulatory authorities in the region. | <urn:uuid:c4fb4fea-a946-4ec3-aec4-3dbd0bf1a373> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js4923e/18.6.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932871 | 228 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Do you ever feel like you spend your days sorting Lincoln Logs, Legos, Play Mobiles, train tracks, doll shoes, Wedgits, markers, crayons, wooden beads, Matchbox car wheels, Mr. Potato Head ears, Tangoes triangles… Yesterday, I spent three hours putting little pieces into bins, boxes, baskets, and drawers–a task that made me terribly grouchy.
I have spent serious money at the Container Store. I purchased plastic boxes so toys of a certain theme–puppets, cars, dolls–have their own home. I placed the containers up high, so the kids must request them. I introduced the rule “You can’t take out a new toy until you put that one away.” But still toys are strewn throughout our tiny condo. If I walk from my desk to the kitchen for a glass of water, I wade through a sea of plastic crap. And do you know how much it hurts when you accidentally step on a Lego piece with a bare foot? Ouch!
We’re not even one of those families with piles and piles of toys. In fact, I almost never ever buy toys because I believe kids don’t need a lot of stuff. (I’m more likely to buy one really nice toy that’s going to last a long time–like an American Girl doll.) But somehow we accumulate all of this junk. Birthday parties, grandparents, friends, neighbors, my husband–they’re the culprits!
Just yesterday my husband and the kids were walking down our street and a neighbor emerges from his garage holding two puzzles. “These were my grandkids and they’re now grown so I want you to have them.”
Paris comes home and excitedly shows me her new 3-D Eiffel Tower puzzle with something like 5,000 pieces. Dante opens his dinosaur puzzle and 1,000 pieces fall onto the floor. (My kids are 3 and 5; they can’t do these puzzles!)
“Wonderful,” I say, but I’m really thinking “Get those things out of my house! I don’t want to pick them up!”
What tricks do you have for keeping your kids’ toys organized? | <urn:uuid:ad651408-7a1b-4d16-9f1a-031ca3e6f02e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.sfgate.com/sfmoms/2008/07/22/help-im-drowning-in-toys/?gta=commentlistpos | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949334 | 481 | 1.648438 | 2 |
- Google I/O 2013's Coolest Products and Services
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Network World - IT professionals are scrambling to get trained and certified in what's expected to be the hottest new high-tech skill for 2012: Hadoop.
Apache Hadoop is open source data management software for analyzing large volumes of structured and unstructured data in a distributed manner. It is used by such popular Web sites as Yahoo, Facebook, LinkedIn and eBay.
Hadoop is gaining popularity as U.S. corporations in all vertical industries -- financial services, utilities, media, retail, energy and pharmaceuticals -- embrace the concept of "big data,'' which refers to the analysis of huge volumes of real-time data to identify trends and increase profitability.
Several training courses and certification programs are available for IT professionals interested in Hadoop development and administration. Big-picture courses about Hadoop and the broader area of "big data" are also available for IT executives such as CIOs and CTOs.
Cloudera has been offering Hadoop training for three years as a complement to its enterprise-class Hadoop software. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company offers six Hadoop-related courses aimed at four different audiences: programmers, data base analysts, system administrators and IT managers.
"Companies are struggling to hire Hadoop talent," says Sarah Sproehnle, director of educational services at Cloudera. "We've been doing Hadoop for awhile. We've put all of the best practices into our training so we can get people really quickly up to speed."
Cloudera's Hadoop courses are four days long, feature instructor-led training and lab work, and cost around $2,000. Cloudera provides a certification to IT professionals who complete the course.
"Our certification is quite popular," Sproehnle says. "Some of the industries that are adopting Hadoop ... want assurances that the people who are going to manage their petabytes of data are reliable. But if they've taken our courses and passed our certification, that's proof. We've seen people bragging about our certifications in online posts, and we've seen job postings looking for our certifications."
Demand for Cloudera's Hadoop classes has risen dramatically in the last few months, with the number of people being trained in the first quarter of 2012 expected to be four times greater than during the first quarter of 2011.
In fact, Cloudera's training courses were sold out at the third annual Hadoop World Conference in New York City last November. Nearly 2,000 people attended the conference.
"Over 10,000 people have come through our Hadoop curriculum in three years. But by the end of 2012, we will train another 10,000 people," Sproehnle says. "People are coming out of the woodwork to take our courses."
Charles Zedlewski, vice president of product at Cloudera, adds that the type of IT professionals taking Cloudera's Hadoop courses has changed.
"In 2011, we saw our audience flip. We went from 70% of our customers being Web companies and 30% being enterprise to 75% being traditional enterprise and 25% being Web companies," he explains. "Hadoop has become a very big thing for industry." | <urn:uuid:8f1a907f-15b2-4045-bcf6-c063b3c695ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/030612-hadoop-certification-256940.html?hpg1=bn | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958425 | 726 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Environmentally Challenged: By Brian Troutman
So I got an email about the EPA's new Greenhouse gas database and decided to check it out. Problem is -- I have no idea what any of it means.
The data shared, all from 2010, represents greenhouse gas emission in metric tons. In press a release issued on January 11, the EPA said the data "provides a critical tool for businesses and other innovators to find cost and fuel-saving efficiencies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and foster technologies to protect public health and the environment."
But how much is too much?
I asked this question of the EPA on Sunday and as I type, I have not gotten a response. Obviously, no matter what you do, you will probably always have some sort of emission. What's safe? What companies are running dangerously high? How much is too much?
For example, the Cross Generating Station in Pineville, S.C., according to the EPA's data, had more greenhouse gas emissions in 2010 than any other location in the state -- 14,625,200 metric tons. But is this expected based on the service the power generating station provides? If they should be lower, where should they be.
I am not taking sides in the global warming debate, but I do believe that all the gas released into the air can't be a good thing. I know there is a give and take. For example, more bears in the woods means more bear poop. So obviously, the demand for more products that a company produces will mean more waste.
That being said, I'm not sure it is fair for the EPA to release such data without also making public what companies are in need of drastically making change.
If you have answers to any of my questions above, please leave them in the comment section below. If I get a response from the EPA, I will be sure to publish as soon as possible.
* Environmentally Challenged is the blog of ABC News 4 New Media Manager Brian Troutman. It is op-ed in nature and provides Troutman's thoughts on the environment, environmental issues and conservation. If you would like to reach Troutman, you can do so by email at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:3ca5265e-b802-4d8a-a3d4-7f8600951c8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abcnews4.com/story/16627045/epa-should-include | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957135 | 462 | 2.5625 | 3 |
An upset for the Syriza party on Sunday in Greece cooled Wall Street expectations headed into the new week. The New Democratic Party of Greece barely overcame the leftist Syriza party to first place in Sunday's elections, as the New Democratic Party leader Antonio Samaras reaffirmed to his constituency the commitment Athens had to stick to in accordance with its international lenders. The New Democratic Party leader argued during the elections that a "Syriza-led government would inevitably cause funding to be cut off for Greece as a massive run on banks would ensue and force Greece out of the eurozone."
The Syriza party in Greece is said to continue to call out the New Democratic Party's bluff on a euro-exit, as a breakup of the euro bloc is not conventional as reflected in current state affairs. The euro area international trade is at a surplus of 5.2bn euros for Q1 2012. The first estimate for the April 2012 extra-EU27 trade in goods balance was a 12.0 bn euro deficit, compared with -17.2 bn in April 2011. In March 2012, the balance was -7.3 bn, compared with -13.1 bn in March 2011. EU27 exports year-over-year to most of its major partners grew in January-March 2012 compared with January-March 2011. So then why would pro-austerity measures dominate in Greece (as part of the European Union) over arguing the pro-growth point of view for further stimulus and sustainability in an overall growing European Union? If Greece leaves the European Union, this chain of events would inevitably lead to a potential breakup of the euro bloc due in part to a larger trade deficit from these actions.
Outside bond investors continue to pile into Greece, as well as other failing European Union countries like Spain, and Italy, to buyout government debt at a discount. Sovereign debt and financial-market debt are solely interconnected on macroeconomic factors for contributing to gross domestic product. Demand is still very high for Greek sovereign bonds as bid-to-cover on weekly government issuance is still on the rise. Everyone in Greece bought the NDP bluff, as Spain just sold 3.04 billion euros ($3.8 billion) of government bills, exceeding a target of a 3 billion cash raise for the government as demand for Spain's 12-month bills was 2.16 times the amount offered. The longer-term problem for Greece still lies in the government keeping to all its commitments and keeping debt-to-GDP at a minimum. Government is the biggest spender and contributor to GDP in Greece and accounts for the majority of growth in Greece at the moment. With an EU current account surplus and short-term stimulus from outside bond investors working for Greece at the moment, why do voters continue to rally behind pro-austerity governments across Europe? Fact: If a government spends on its infrastructure, as the biggest contributor to GDP longer-term, return on said investments will sponsor growth for the nation. Governments are predicted to spend more in any economic expansion.
A coalition government is now being formulated in Greece and is set to hit center stage as early as Wednesday, June 20th. The Wall Street Journal has reported, the combined forces of the socialist and of the small democratic left parties will hold 179 seats out of 300 seats in the new coalition. The new government plans to ask other eurozone countries for an extra two years to meet fiscal targets within Greece as all parties within the new coalition have agree that there should be no further cuts in pensions and salaries. This new government is also said to try more to ease some burden off over-indebted households. At the moment, Greece is still spending 1.379 euros abroad for every 1.000 euros earned abroad. That is a 38% excess of spending over income. Current account improvements have gained traction in Greece as the current account deficit declined 35% during the Jan 2012 - Mar 2012 period. Had Greece followed Mr. Tsipras' recommendation not to pay interest to foreigners, the current account deficit would have been reduced by half of the amount stated above.
Investors, in the end, will continue to buy sovereign debt from Greece as well as Spain at discounted prices and will continue to seek out secure Alpha returns for their investment portfolios. Investors will not run for the hills as said by the New Democratic Party leader Antonio Samaras, no matter what party is in power and regardless of political stripe. Greek elections and the New Democratic Party are caught single-handedly in this instance playing fear tactics against the investor community. There is just no changing the facts.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. | <urn:uuid:41391e68-ca19-41d4-adc4-3108fcc9e18d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seekingalpha.com/article/677831-greek-elections-and-the-new-democratic-party-playing-fear-tactics | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965379 | 949 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Just So You Know
Just in case Lex happens to miss it, I thought it was only right to let you know.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission dismissed a hate speech complaint against Maclean’s magazine on Friday in a decision the complainants blamed on “inappropriate political pressure.”
Just to be clear, that would be the complaint claiming that an article written by Mark Steyn, entitled “The Future Belongs to Islam”, made a number of statements and assertions that were likely to expose Muslims to hatred or contempt.
So, in other words, the system can and does work, as I’ve said before.
For those interested, you can find the Commission’s entire decision here, courtesy of MacLeans. As best as I can tell, a decision has not yet been rendered in the British Columbia case. You know, the one that was live blogged. So for that, we wait.
Funny, though, I almost think I know that many will be disappointed in the result, despite protesting otherwise. The last thing in the world they want to do is admit that the human rights system can and usually does often work properly. No, they want the worst possible, most outrageous, decisions. To prove their supposed point and have more ammunition in their fight to scrap the entire system. Because, just as many might argue that the Islamers complainants in the Steyn/MacLean’s complaint had their own agenda, so too do they.Â
And if you don’t believe me, try googling the name “Steyn” in the blogosphere today.
Which is why I think that perhaps something else good has come out of this controversy. Apparently an independent review of the Commission’s approach to hate speech on the Internet has been launched by the Commission’s chief commissioner, Jennifer Lynch.
And I actually think that is a very good thing:
And so the debate Elmasry sparked has become less about media attitudes toward Islam and more about the balance between free speech and hate speech, and whether Canada’s federal and provincial human rights commissions can rightly weigh it.
The last time Canada’s human rights hate speech law was examined in depth was before the advent of the Internet, in a 1990 Supreme Court of Canada decision about the operator of a neo-Nazi phone-line. In that case, the prohibition on messages that are “likely to expose” identifiable groups to hatred or contempt was judged to be a reasonable limit on the Charter guarantee of freedom of expression. But the extension of the law from telephone lines to the Internet in 2001 has resulted in a whole new ballgame.
So, let’s give it a look, says I. Give it a tweak here and there. Even overhaul the entire system if need be. So that it continues to work as advertised. Namely, to protect the rights of all Canadians not to be discriminated against on the enumerated grounds.
But those with a problem with even the concept that the government should have a role to play in protecting individuals from being discriminated against must realize that that is part and parcel of what makes us Canadian. It’s a choice we have made. No, perhaps not one that all Canadians agree with, but one that, I beleive, the majority of us still do. Which would kind of resemble a democracy, no?
Oh yeah, about that “inappropriate political pressure” comment …
Faisal Joseph, lawyer for the CIC, said the dismissal was predictable, given the political climate and the campaign against the commissions themselves.
“We are not surprised at the decision in light of the inappropriate political pressure that has been brought to bear on the commission and that has prompted the commission to set up an internal review of its procedures under (the hate speech section of the Human Rights Act),” he said.
Well, I guess that’s not surprising, I suppose. After all, they always say the best defence is a good offence. | <urn:uuid:6f390b25-775c-440f-b611-5c27737e53d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.neptunuslex.com/Wiki/2008/06/30/just-so-you-know/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972282 | 841 | 1.898438 | 2 |
It was a sweet Saturday afternoon, a few moments respite from everyone's busy holiday schedule. Children, dressed in their Sunday best, had the chance to bask in the glow of their artistic efforts and to chat with the man who had inspired them.
And given the tragic events of last Friday in Connecticut, the conversation between Rick Allen and a group of youthful art students seems all the more poignant.
And it proved once again what we all already knew. That children, with their tender hearts and innocent selves, often are so eager to help someone in need.
Art teacher Becky Lee began her most recent term by telling her students about Allen.
Allen is a friend of hers who had lost his arm in an explosion at the home he shares with his wife, Observer photographer Cindy Burnham.
Lee's students got busy putting colorful pencils to blank sketchbooks.
The result is "Give a Helping Hand,'' the 17th annual exhibition of the work of Lee's students. Currently hanging in the lobby of the Cape Fear Regional Theatre, the exhibit is a magical tribute to the children's creative inspiration.
On Dec. 8, the day before the exhibit officially opened, the students had the chance to meet Rick Allen, a man who has steadfastly refused to let a traumatic experience wipe the smile off his perpetually smiling face.
In January of 2011, professional videographer and avid scuba diver Rick Allen bumped into an aluminum oxygen tank in his garage, causing an explosion that blew apart the room.
He suffered burns over 20 percent of his body. His left hand was severed, and doctors amputated that arm below the elbow. Allen was in the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center until April that year.
Months later, Allen was fitted with the special prosthetic that has allowed him to renew his love of saltwater diving. The prosthetic is made of titanium and other metals and has a claw for a hand.
It looks pretty fascinating to most everyone, but especially to a 10-year-old.
"One of the good things about this,'' Allen was saying, showing off his prosthetic arm to a spellbound audience of youngsters and their parents, "is that I can pick up really hot things.''
Lee had the idea to make this year's show a fundraiser for Allen. Each student was charged with drawing an interpretation of their own hand.
There were anatomically correct hands, complete with every single phalange and metacarpal, and then were colorful hands that featured swirls and stars and tiny bunnies.
"I used all the colors in my box,'' said 10-year-old Mary Grace Teachey.
At least two of the hands were a tribute to Allen's love of the ocean. Morgan Winters, for instance, said she knew right away she wanted to incorporate a seascape. Her hand included a mermaid and an orca whale.
In October 2011, hundreds of friends gathered for a fundraiser to help defray Allen's medical costs and to help with his prosthetic arm.
Lee figures others may not be as fortunate. She said she'd like to find a way to expand the reach of her students' art to perhaps reach out to wounded warriors who have lost limbs in service to their country. Who knows, there may be other causes that will benefit.
"Give A Helping Hand,'' Lee figures, and the caring hearts of children, could have a national impact.
"These kids,'' Lee said, "want to give back to their community.''
Community news editor Kim Hasty can be reached at email@example.com or 486-3591. | <urn:uuid:39c79def-4b72-4ede-8483-bc2dc11bbc05> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2012/12/17/1224287?sac=fo.columns | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979878 | 751 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Heather mentioned on Saturday that October is Non-GMO month and she has pledged to not eat GMOs (or processed foods) for the whole month. Good luck to you, Heather!
The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is participating in Non-GMO month too, of course. It had a great intro to the month, that first starts with some highlights (and lowlights) of the year so far and then predicts how October is going to change things up. Here’s its “special alert” on Non-GMO month:
- The year Monsanto added sweetcorn, sugar beets and alfalfa to the list of GMO crops that already included field corn, cotton, canola, soy, and papaya – without regulations to protect organic farmers from contamination and no labels to respect consumers’ right to know.
- The year Monsanto couldn’t hide its failure any longer, as its GMO crops toppled over and were strangled in the fields, attacked by the very insects and weeds they were genetically engineered to resist.
- When the non-GMO movement in the US got reenergized, reorganized and started a new strategy to win!
October 2011 is Non-GMO Month, and we can make it the biggest month of action this issue has ever seen in this country. What can you do to make that happen?
Would you collect a thousand signatures? Would you walk from New York City to the White House? Would you join a Millions Against Monsanto Rally for the Right to Know on World Food Day?
What would you do to win our right to know about genetically engineered food?
NYC to DC – Oct 1-16 - The Right2Know March
Austin, TX – Oct 2 - Rally for Real Food
Nationwide – Oct 15 & 16 - Millions Against Monsanto World Food Day Events
And, I imagine to coincide with the month, Food & Water Watch has just published a report on the false claims, history, and problems of GMOs. The summary of it is that while U.S. agribusiness and policymakers have jumped on GMOs as a solution to the global food crisis, global environmental crises, and a growing population, GMOs have not lived up to their so-called “promise” and come with numerous health, environmental, and ethical concerns.
I’ve written on the fact that GMOs have been linked to organ disruption in 13 scientific studies, and we have written about the concerns of GMOs numerous times here on Eat Drink Better. One of the most important points, in my opinion, is this one by world-leading geneticist David Suzuki:
Because we aren’t certain about the effects of GMOs, we must consider one of the guiding principles in science, the precautionary principle. Under this principle, if a policy or action could harm human health or the environment, we must not proceed until we know for sure what the impact will be. And it is up to those proposing the action or policy to prove that it is not harmful.
But beyond not testing GMOs enough prior to cultivating them on a massive scale, it’s clear that GM crops come with a host of problems and are yet to fulfill their supposed promise in helping increase crop yields and fight global hunger in an environmentally friendly way. In fact, their failures have been a stimulus for the suicides of about a quarter of a million Indian farmers, farmers duped into going GMO by agribusinesses like Monsanto.
Here’s more from Food & Water Watch’s summary of the problems of U.S. GMO policy and GMOs (note that genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are also refered too as genetically engineered, or GE, organisms/crops/food):
… a lack of responsibility, collaboration or organization from three U.S. federal agencies — the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — has put human and environmental health at risk through inadequate review of genetically engineered (GE) foods, a lack of post-market oversight that has led to various cases of unintentional food contamination and to a failure to require labeling of these foods. Organic farming, which does not allow the use of GE, has been shown to be safer and more effective than using modified seed. Moreover, public opinion surveys indicate that people prefer food that has not been manipulated or at least want to know whether food has been modified.
Yes, this is why October is “Non-GMO month” and you should get involved.
Again, the OCA has listed a number of things you can get involved in above. CREDO also has a good petition up right now pushing grocery store CEOs to refuse Monsanto’s new GM sweet corn that you can sign!
And you can download Food & Water Watch’s new GMO report from its site. | <urn:uuid:3476f4fc-05b8-4c40-9b60-5f7412e57c55> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2011/10/03/non-gmo-month-new-report-on-why/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955242 | 1,008 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Jobless rates jumps to 5.5 percent - biggest rise since `86
June 6, 2008
The nation's unemployment rate jumped to 5.5 percent in May - the biggest monthly rise since 1986 - as nervous employers cut 49,000 jobs.
(AP) -– June 6, 2008 -- The nation's unemployment rate jumped to 5.5 percent in May - the biggest monthly rise since 1986 - as nervous employers cut 49,000 jobs.
The latest snapshot of business conditions showed a deeply troubled economy, with dwindling job opportunities in a time of continuing hardship in the housing, credit and financial sectors.
"It was ugly," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research.
With employers worried about a sharp slowdown and their own prospects, they clamped down on hiring in May, said Friday's report from the Labor Department. The unemployment rate soared from 5 percent in April to 5.5 percent in May. That was the biggest one-month jump in the rate since February 1986. The increase left the jobless rate at its highest since October 2004.
The big jump in the unemployment rate surprised economists who were forecasting a tick-up to 5.1 percent. Payroll losses, however, weren't as deep as the 60,000 that analysts were bracing for. Still, job losses in both March and April turned out to be larger than the government previously reported. Employers now have cut payrolls for five straight months.
The 5.5 percent rate is relatively moderate judged by historical standards. Yet, there was no question that employers last month sharply cut jobs in manufacturing, construction, retailing and professional and businesses services. Those losses swamped gains elsewhere, including in the education and health fields, government and leisure and hospitality.
The government said the number of unemployed people grew by 861,000 in May - rising to 8.5 million. The over-the-month jump in unemployment reflected more workers losing their jobs as well as an increase in those coming into the job market - especially younger people - to look for work, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
A year ago, the number of unemployed stood at 6.9 million and the jobless rate was 4.5 percent.
A trio of crises - housing, credit and financial - have rocked the economy. That's caused economic growth to slow to a crawl as businesses and consumers have tightened their belts. Spiraling energy costs are another negative force.
The country's economic problems are a top concern for voters - and thus for President Bush, lawmakers on Capitol Hill and those vying to win the White House this fall.
And, there's been a lot of talk about whether the economy is on the brink of, or fallen into, its first recession since 2001. That determination, made by a panel of academics, is usually made well after the fact.
"For the average American there is not debate that the eocnomy is in a recession," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "That's because their net worth is lower, their purchasing power is lower and it is tough to find a job. If you lose a job, it is tough to get back in," he said.
So far this year, the government said, job losses have totaled 324,000.
Workers with jobs, however, saw modest gains.
Average hourly earnings for jobholders rose to $17.94 in May, up 0.3 percent from the previous month. Economists were forecasting a 0.2 percent gain. Over the last 12 months, wages have grown by 3.5 percent.
With food and energy prices marching upward, paychecks aren't stretching as far. Although tax rebates helped to energize shoppers and give major retailers better sales in May, analysts still believe that anxious consumers will be keeping a close watch on their purchases and their budgets in the months ahead. A weakening job market could make people feel less inclined to spend.
Worried about inflation, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has signaled that the central bank's rate-cutting campaign, which commenced last September to help bolster the economy, is probably over for now.
Fed officials and the Bush administration are hoping that the Fed's powerful doses of rate reductions and the government's $168 billion stimulus package, including tax rebates for people and tax breaks for businesses, will pull the economy out of its deep funk in the second half of this year.
Even if that happens, the unemployment rate is expected to climb to 6 percent or higher early next year. Employers won't want to ramp up hiring until they feel more sure that an economic recovery has strong legs. | <urn:uuid:0239ca28-bc78-43dc-9f23-17628f65d784> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.icsmag.com/articles/print/jobless-rates-jumps-to-5-5-percent-biggest-rise-since-86 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976154 | 951 | 2 | 2 |
It wasn't easy for 59-year-old Margie White to ask her husband, Dick, for a divorce after 37 years of marriage.
"It really was the most courageous thing that I had to do," she said.
The couple met in college and married young. They settled down in a rambling, split-level house in the leafy suburbs of northern Virginia and raised two sons, now grown. But they struggled over the years to communicate and connect, they say, and they slowly grew apart.
When one son and his wife had a child, Margie spent more than eight months living in Pennsylvania helping out with the baby. It was during her time there that she realized how much she preferred living on her own.
"We really did struggle," she said. "We gave it our best shot. We really tried. We were no strangers to marriage counseling, when it came to that, and individual counseling, but there just wasn't the glue to hold it together anymore, for me."
"It was always sort of lurking in the background there," he said. "When Margie put it on the table it just seemed like, OK, yeah, we really should do this, and let's try to do it right."
The Whites' story is part of a larger trend. Even as divorce rates for the general population have stabilized over the past several decades, they are on the rise among baby boomers. Divorce rates among couples over 50 have doubled in the last 20 years, according to a study by Bowling Green State University. In 1990, fewer than one in 10 people who divorced were 50 or older. In 2009, that figure was one in four.
Using data from the federal government's 2009 American Community Survey, the study also looked at the demographics of divorce and found that rates for those over 50 were highest among black couples and lowest among white couples. Hispanics fell in the middle. Older adults who divorced also tended to be less educated than those who remained married.
The authors identified several factors that could explain the rising rates, from longer life spans to the changing marital biographies of many baby boomers. They found the divorce rate for those who were in their second or third marriage was 2.5 times higher than for those in first marriages.
"Increasingly, these are baby boomers. They were the first generation to come of age when we saw the rapid acceleration in premarital cohabitation and divorce rates in the 1970s and the early 1980s," said co-author Susan L. Brown.
She also pointed to boomers' changing ideas about marriage.
"We have high expectations for what constitutes a good marriage today and we're looking for self-fulfillment and individual happiness in our relationships," Brown said. "When you are 60, 65 you retire, (and say) 'Well, I can live another 20, 25 years. Do I want to spend my life with that person? Is she or he making me happy?' And if not, well, divorce is a viable alternative."
Dick White, now 62, said members of his generation are used to getting what they want and that what many boomers want is changing now that they are entering a new phase of life.
"There was a joke that one of the retirement counselors made at a seminar that I went through as part of my retirement planning," he said. "The counselor said that couples will look at each other and say, 'Well, I married you for life, but not for lunch.' That, OK, now you have all day looking at each other, trying to deal with each other. What do we do for lunch? Previously, you kind of went through your business day in your own world and you got together in the evening for family time, children time, relationship time. Now you have deal with each other for all day long, and that's different. And can you do it for another 20 years? Maybe not."
Doing it "right"
While the Whites decided their marriage was over, that didn't mean their relationship was. Dick lives just a few miles away from Margie and still helps out with maintenance at the home they once shared. When Margie was in a minor car accident recently, Dick was the first person she called.
"I feel like it's worked out the best for both of us, because living together didn't work for us at all well," Margie said. "We used to joke about how maybe if we had a duplex maybe we'd get along better. But this is actually better."
Both said part of the reason they have been able to maintain a positive relationship in the six months since their divorce was the way they went about the process. The Whites had a so-called "collaborative divorce." Each had his or her own lawyer, but they used a neutral financial planner and mental health professional to help them get through the process smoothly. Collaborative divorces aim to avoid the traditional adversarial route of most divorces. And while a judge has to sign off on the agreement to make it official, the process is meant to avoid courtroom fights.
"We worked it out. We wrote it down," Dick explained. "The lawyers put the proper language on it, and we sent it to the court. It says, 'We've already decided what we want to do with the rest of our lives. Now please, your honor, sign.'"
Divorce over 50 raises important issues
The rise in newly single boomers like the Whites raises important issues, from loneliness and financial concerns to dealing with failing health in their later years.
"When these folks face health challenges, they are not going to have a spouse at the ready to provide for them," Brown said. "Traditionally in America, that is what we've relied on. The No. 1 caregiver has been the spouse."
The Whites both take precautions now that they are living alone. Margie has a friend she e-mails each morning to let her know she's OK, while Dick religiously carries his cell phone while working around the house in case he falls and gets hurt.
Those concerns aside, both Margie and Dick have taken advantage of their new lives. Margie, who is retired but works part-time as a nanny, is learning about Buddhist meditation, while Dick joined a boat club and now rows several times a week on a nearby reservoir. He also teaches pottery classes near his home. They have begun to wade into the dating world, but aren't necessarily looking to get married again. | <urn:uuid:d0384202-9e77-41f0-86d0-882c21e5e13e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kvia.com/Baby-boomer-divorce-rate-doubles/-/391190/15223108/-/v9lswwz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988765 | 1,344 | 1.78125 | 2 |
The notion that there are no job opportunities in international law is as much a fallacy as the now discredited idea that international law is not really law. Lawyers ignore international law at their peril, for it permeates every conceivable area of legal practice, and offers diverse and interesting career pathways for the law school graduate.
Opportunities in international law are not limited to inter-governmental organizations and high-powered multi-national law firms serving multi-national companies: opportunities can be found in many government departments and agencies, a host of international and domestic non-profit organizations and a range of law firms, practicing in areas from human rights to securities.
This guide will provide information and resources to help aspiring international legal practitioners see the opportunities which exist and find ways to connect with those opportunities.
A database of international law employment opportunities is maintained separately by the International & Comparative Law Program. | <urn:uuid:e67434d7-80d4-4980-9a07-abbc08f19b77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.law.umaryland.edu/programs/international/career/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945947 | 176 | 1.671875 | 2 |
By Alan Sorensen
ROCKY BOY It's nearly 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8, and there isn't an empty parking spot available anywhere near the natural resources building on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation. The annual powwow ended Sunday and Monday was a tribal holiday, except for the Chippewa Cree Tribe's fire dispatchers and firefighters.
Supervising Dispatcher Gerald Small worked through the weekend and is looking forward to his days off Wednesday and Thursday. But even then, he can't travel far from his home and his phone. Even at the end of long days manning the phones at the Tribal Forestry Office, he spends his evenings and nights near his home phone in case of an emergency call for more crews.
"I don't get a chance to get out of the office to go anywhere and I have to stay by the phone at the house," Small said.
Small has taught elementary school at Rocky Boy for 23 years. He's been part of the fire department for 17 years. In a matter of days, his work schedule will become nearly inhuman.
That's because with the start of the school year, he'll be driving school bus mornings and afternoons, teaching all day and remaining at the forestry office till about midnight every night. And he still has to stay close to the phone when he gets home.
But that's a price he's been willing to pay over the years, even as he was raising seven children. It's a price that a lot of tribal members have been willing to pay over the years, a price that on the fire line can even be one's life.
As of Aug. 8, Rocky Boy had 242 firefighters listed and a handful more who were about to take training. The other six reservations across Montana provide the National Forest Service with firefighters, too.
Different types of crews include logistics, supplies, communications and base camp management, catering, services, shower service. There's also expanded dispatch in which dispatchers handle operations covering multiple fires. Expanded dispatch covers overhead, crews, equipment and supplies.
Rocky Boy has had six 20-man crews on the fire lines around the West for most of the summer. They answered their first call in April in Michigan and have been to Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico. With the exception of one crew that was in Idaho last week, all of Rocky Boy's firefighters were on fire lines in Montana.
Small said each crew consists of a crew rep and a crew boss and that he tries to send one woman firefighter out with each crew. Besides the fire crews, Rocky Boy had five 3-man engine crews out on Aug. 8 and one 10-man camp crew.
Robert "Sonny" Belcourt, director of Rocky Boy's Natural Resources Department, said the firefighters are 16-day rotations. "One day out, one day back, 14 actual days on the fire, with two to three days between," he said. "Because of the fire season, (turn around time) is going much faster than that."
There was something other than smoke in the air at the Rocky Boy Fire Department on Aug. 8. The parking lot is full of cars because word has gotten out that one of the 20-man crews is coming home. Whether they'll be home for a day, two days or just hours, no one knows for sure. But it soon becomes obvious as a Rocky Boy School bus approaches that there is a homecoming at hand.
While wives, sisters, brothers, cousins sit quietly by, their loved ones jump out the back or walk down the steps of the bus with their gear in tow.
They go through their duffel bags on the ground before heading up to the garage to check in and weigh in. Nearly every one of the firefighters has lost weight, generally between 5 and 10 pounds during their two weeks in the field. "Can barely hold my pants up," one called out as he stepped off the scale.
Then its time to take their personal gear and head for the parking lot and a ride home.
Samuel Caplette is among those who heads to his car, wife, Rhonda, and 7-year-old son, Austin, before checking in at the garage. Austin helps him separate out his personal gear before checking out at the garage.
This was Caplette's sixth tour on the fire lines this summer. He expected to be home no more than a couple of days and then be called back out.
Asked how he felt about his father being home, Austin said, "Good." Asked if he would let his father go back out to fight more fires, he replied, "Probably not."
Rhonda said she was excited to have Samuel home, even for a few days, but didn't begrudge his work.
"I'm glad he's out there helping," she said.
For his part, Caplette said the hardest part of fighting fires was "leaving home." This summer, he's been away from home for about 90 days, the better part of three months.
"At 35, I can still handle the hills pretty good," he said. "I don't know about 36, though."
Ask about his most recent trip, firefighting in Canyon Ferry, Caplette said, "Everybody did good."
"We've got all qualified firefighters here pretty much put it out," he said. "We'll do the same thing in a couple of days."
Penny Parker was waiting to take her brother-in-law home. Her mother, Shirley Descharme, left for the fire lines with her camp crew over powwow weekend.
"My whole family's out there," Parker said. "There's just me and my sister at home. My brother and sister are out there, still."
Crew boss John Gardipee was in the dispatch center when the crew arrived. "I got back last Monday," he said. "I'm scheduled to go out with the next call."
Gardipee said that firefighters go by bus to Great Falls and then fly out to out-of-state fires. If the fires are in state like this year, the firefighters are bused. His last fire trip was out of state.
"We flew to Boise and they bused us to Idaho City, hit one fire there, buses us back to Boise, spent one night there and then they bused us to Utah and we fought fires there."
The hardest part of being a crew boss is keeping his firefighters motivated, Gardipee said. It's a problem he doesn't have.
"I get an adrenaline rush, myself," he said.
Few people who have held down the same job for 10 years he's been a crew boss the last three can say the same.
William Lodgepole is the fire management officer at Rocky Boy. He's been in the business of putting out wildfires for 37 years. Nowadays during the fire season, he puts in around-the-clock shifts at the fire station. He also stays ready to fight any fires that might erupt on the reservation.
The Chippewa Cree Tribe of Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation is a self-governance tribe. That means all agencies on the reservation are overseen by the Tribal Business Committee and operated by tribal members.
Chippewa Cree Natural Resources oversees Tribe's Forestry Department which operates the fire department. There are no federal bureaucrats looking over the tribal members' shoulders; they are in charge.
The only drawback is payday.
"We send our time keeping to Browning and Fort Belknap because we don't have a federal pay team," Belcourt said.
Staff who see to the mountains of paper work that flows through the Rocky Boy forestry office are Dawn Gamble, Brenda St. Pierre and Dorene Tendoy.
Other key leaders in the fire department are: Mike LaMere, crew rep, crew boss, strike team leader for engines or crews; Maynard Limberhand, human resources specialist, interagency resource rep; Brian Moline, crew rep; Wanda Parker, EMT; Harriet Standing Rock, human resources specialist and IARR; Lana Turner, equipment time reporter, personnel time reporter, expanded dispatch reporter, time unit leader, expanded dispatch support dispatcher.; Harold Watson, crew rep.
"We need (Watson's) expertise if we have a fire on the reservation," Small said.
Rocky Boy was under an extreme fire condition alert during powwow, but that was reduced to serious as the last of the campers departed. | <urn:uuid:6993f774-c044-4bd4-adf3-3a959c184927> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.havredailynews.com/cms/news/story-82941.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979018 | 1,762 | 1.75 | 2 |
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A pattern of parallel blastholes is drilled into the rock face at the end of the drift. The diameter of these holes ranges from 38 to 64 mm (1.5 to 2.5 inches), but in general one or more larger-diameter uncharged holes are also drilled as part of the initial opening. These latter serve as free surface for the other holes to break as well as expansion room for rock broken by the blast.
Where strata are hard, drilling and blasting are necessary. Blastholes are generally drilled from the surface, are vertical, and vary in diameter from 25 to 100 centimetres. In some mines, horizontal holes are drilled into the overburden with the drill sitting on the coal surface. The holes are charged with explosives that are based on a mix of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO) in dry mix,...
What made you want to look up "blasthole"? Please share what surprised you most... | <urn:uuid:4f981cec-6464-446d-bfd9-ee8c5ff35f71> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/69045/blasthole | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952591 | 235 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s promise not only to expand the money supply by buying more mortgage-backed securities but to continue doing so until he sees “ongoing sustained improvement in the labor market” has sparked numerous warnings of unintended consequences as a result. The Federal Open Market Committee said on September 13:
If the outlook for the labor market does not improve substantially, the committee will continue its purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities, undertake additional asset purchases, and employ its other policy tools as appropriate until such improvement is achieved in a context of price stability.
One of the people who is most nervous about the Fed’s plan to continue to print until the recovery begins in earnest is Martin Feldstein, former chairman of President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisors. Writing in The Financial Times newspaper, Feldstein called Bernanke’s idea a “dangerous” strategy which could lead to high inflation and asset bubbles while waiting for that recovery to begin.
A chart from the Federal Reserve showing just how much new paper money the Federal Reserve has already pumped into the economy in its attempt to jump-start it is unnerving. As recently as 1990, the Fed’s balance sheet was a monstrous $350 billion. Currently it is $2.6 trillion, more than a seven-fold increase. Even children know that when the supply of something increases, each piece is worth less.
At present, however, that new money is residing on the balance sheets of the Fed’s member banks rather than being spun out into the economy. For the moment, that is. Another chart from the Fed shows just how unwilling banks are to lend, and borrowers to borrow, the new money. Turnover of money in the economy before the Great Recession averaged 1.6 (meaning that one dollar in the economy was “turned over” or spent about one-and-a-half times every year). That ratio dropped to a low of 0.7 during the current recession and is still less than 1.0, enough to keep inflation fires under control, for the moment.
Unfortunately, the “trigger” that will ignite spending the new money is obscure. Harry Figgie, in his blockbuster book Bankruptcy 1995, said three things had to be in place before the average citizen finally figured out that it was better to spend his cash rather than hoard it:
1. The federal government can no longer collect enough tax revenue to service its debt.
2. The Federal Reserve begins to buy substantial amounts of the government’s debt.
3. Congress and the administration, while they talk a good game, avoid taking the bold actions needed to bring down the deficit.
One can see that it’s just a matter of time before all three of these conditions are met. No wonder Feldstein is nervous.
In addition, Feldstein is nervous about an “asset bubble” as a result of the continuing Fed actions. Looking around, the most apparent bubble is in the price of bonds, especially long or long-maturity 30-year bonds. As interest rates have dropped from the early 1980s to the present, bond values have jumped. Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business warned back in March that the end of the 30-year bull market in bond prices is over.
As their article acknowledged, "A basket of stocks would have returned a mere 19% from the start of 2000 through 2011, for example, while a basket of bonds would have returned about 113%...."
But now that interest rates have reached historic lows, the only direction from here is up. As Wharton points out, for every one percent rise in interest rates the holder of a 30-year bond will lose 10 percent of his value, and acknowledges that “bonds — and bond funds — are riskier than they have been in recent decades.”
Waiting for the economy to improve before turning off the printing presses is likely to take a very long time. The August numbers on the economy were disheartening for those waiting for such an improvement: U.S. durable goods production fell for the third month in a row, astonishing economists who had predicted much better numbers. GDP continues to slow, and companies such as Caterpillar, the world’s biggest construction and mining equipment manufacturer, cut its earnings outlook because of the continuing slowdown in the world economy.
And jobs? The 96,000 jobs added last month not only were significantly fewer than economists had predicted, they were far below the number necessary to absorb new entrants into the workforce, forcing many people to withdraw altogether from even looking for work. The unemployment rate has remained above eight percent for 43 months, the longest period since records began in 1948, and it would be over nine percent if the workforce itself hadn’t shrunk due to discouraged job seekers giving up.
But the Fed is determined to continue to do the only thing it knows how to do: expand the money supply, buy up additional securities, put newly created money into the hands of its member banks, and hope. Hope that someday, somehow, miraculously, consumers will start to spend again.
It’s a forlorn hope, and likely to be a long wait. In the meantime, the Fed continues to play with fire.
Photo of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke: AP Images | <urn:uuid:281550e1-6165-4b19-bffb-332756bc1d4b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/commentary/item/13025-the-fed-is-playing-with-fire | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968745 | 1,102 | 2.375 | 2 |
An earlier version of a bar chart about mega-commuters incorrectly reported the percentage of such commuters in the San Francisco, Peninsula and East Bay region. 2.06 percent of full-time workers in the region are mega-commuters.
Think your commute stinks? Try being one of the Bay Area's "mega-commuters" -- a new Census demographic that defines the worst of the worst commutes: workers who spend at least 90 minutes plus 50 miles to get to the office in the morning.
And the Bay Area, with its sprawling suburbs and nasty traffic, has a higher percentage of these road warriors than any other major metro area in the country, according to a
About 2 percent of full-time workers living from Walnut Creek to San Rafael to San Jose -- and 4 percent of people who work in the area -- are classified as mega-commuters, compared with the national average of less than 1 percent. In other words, a Bay Area worker is four times more likely than the average American worker to be a mega-commuter, a sobering fact that officials say isn't likely to change anytime soon.
Experts say it's understandable that the Bay Area would lead the pack in the new category: High housing prices in urban centers, freeway expansions to outer suburbs and rural areas, and bumper-to-bumper traffic all make the area a hot spot for commutes that are
But people like Craig VonDemfange help make the Bay Area the mega-commuter capital. The finance director spends more than three hours and 110 miles a day commuting between his home in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose and his job at an Internet company in downtown San Francisco. He prefers the suburbs for his family life in his native San Jose, but he couldn't pass up a job in the city that proved to be better than anything he could find in Silicon Valley.
"I know a lot of people who are doing it, and as crazy as we are, it seems to keep growing more than anything," said VonDemfange, 43, who sometimes arrives home after his young daughter has gone to bed. Asked what he thought of being labeled a mega-commuter, he laughed and said: "That sounds about right."
Then there are the people who don't want to break the bank to live here, like Trung Nghiem, who grew up in San Jose and works as a software project manager in Santa Clara. But he moved his family to Manteca largely because he could find a bigger house for cheaper there.
"On weekdays you get home, and the day's already done. It can take a toll -- I'll be honest," said Nghiem, 41, who spends about three hours a day commuting. "But I sacrifice it for my kids; I put them first. You got to do what you got to do to make ends meet."
Only about 587,000 people in the country meet the mega-commuting standard, which Census statisticians defined for the first time by analyzing five years worth of data for full-time workers' responses to Census surveys through 2010.
Across the United States, mega-commuters on average spend two hours to traverse 166 miles just for the lighter morning commute -- about five times the national average -- and about half ofthem leave their homes before 6 a.m. Mega-commuters are more likely than others to take trains or carpools to work, but more than two-thirds of them drive alone.
The mega-commuters are mostly men who own three- or four-bedroom homes, are married to women who don't work, have kids and earn more money than the average person.
Melanie Rapino, a statistician at the Census Bureau who co-authored the report, cautioned that the top metro areas are all close in her rankings since there are so few mega-commuters. The Census region that includes San Francisco, the Peninsula and the East Bay ranks No. 1 with 2.06 percent of residents being mega-commuters, while the South Bay is No. 2 at 1.9 percent, tied with New York and northern New Jersey.
For the other 95-plus percent of us who aren't mega-commuters, Bay Area commute times actually aren't that bad -- relatively speaking. The report clocks the average one-way commute time in 2011 at 24.7 minutes in Santa Clara County, 27.8 minutes in Oakland and 29.6 minutes in San Francisco, compared with the national average of 25.5 minutes.
But the Bay Area's mega-commuting title may not end anytime soon since complex issues such as land use can take decades to change.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is set later this year to approve a Bay Area housing and transportation plan that would encourage cities to allow more development near jobs and popular transit hubs. It's part of a broader effort by cities across California to meet new state goals to reduce greenhouse gases.
"That's not going to bring that percentage of mega-commuters to zero, but maybe it brings it down closer to the national average," said commission spokesman John Goodwin.
Gabriel Metcalf, executive director of the Bay Area urban policy nonprofit San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, or SPUR, called the planning efforts a "major opportunity" to reverse the sprawl trend: "Ultimately we have the power to change this by making different decisions at the local level to embrace smart growth."
Contact Mike Rosenberg at 408-920-5705. Follow him at Twitter.com/rosenbergmerc. | <urn:uuid:75e1cb2d-3ae3-43f1-91e4-de5140c41469> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_22717273/bay-area-tops-new-mega-commuter-census-list | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959503 | 1,138 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Cleantech had a record year in drawing in venture capital in 2010, with $7.8 billion invested globally, according to a new report from the Cleantech Group. The last half of 2010 saw two consecutive quarters of declines, however.
Overall, global investing totals saw a 28 percent increase compared to 2009, making it the highest year for investment after 2008 ($8.8 billion). The drawback in the last half of 2010 seems to reflect some skepticism among venture capitalists on capital-intensive investments that are risky and can take years to bear fruit. Instead, investors are looking more towards capital investments like energy efficiency. One company that has done well in that space is Opower, which recently raised $50 million in a round led by Accel and Kleiner Perkins.
Venture investment in the fourth quarter of last year totaled $1.61 billion, down by 17 percent from the third quarter ($1.95 billion), marking the second consecutive quarterly decline in investing in cleantech. There were 180 deals, the same number as in the third quarter. In November, the Cleantech Group found that VC dollars flowing into cleantech in the third quarter of last year went down 30 percent compared to the previous quarter.
An Ernst & Young report last year found that U.S. venture capital dollars in the third quarter were half of what was invested in the third quarter of 2009, reflecting a 22 percent decrease in deals in an overall $575.6 million in 53 financing rounds.
“Venture funds are still in a cautious place” as they continue to try to raise money for their own funds, said Sheerez Haji, CEO of Cleantech Group. That makes it hard for early-stage startups, as investors look for later-stage companies where “the technology risk has been taken care of,” he said.
In fact, one of the capital-intensive investments and success stories of last year is a good showcase of how pricey projects must draw from funding sources beyond venture capital. That’s BrightSource Energy, the company behind a massive 392-megawatt Ivanpah solar thermal plant in California’s Mojave Desert, recipient of a $1.4 billion Department of Energy loan guarantee and said to be preparing an IPO this year.
The company raised cash from traditional venture capital funds like Draper Fisher Jurveston and VantagePoint, but also corporations like Chevron, BP and Google. It also got funding from California teacher’s retirement system fund Calstrs and infrastructure company Alstrom.
Overall, venture capital in North America totaled nearly 70 percent of all the venture capital invested globally in 2010, with dollars invested surging 45 percent to a total $5.28 billion. Big deals included solar manufacturer Solyndra’s $175 million raised in the wake of a pulled IPO, $350 million raised by electric vehicle infrastructure startup Better Place, $150 million raised by BrightSource Energy, $110 million raised by Abound Solar and $165 million raised by Switzerland’s smart meter company Landis + Gyr.
IPOs had a record year as well, with eight of the 10 top IPOs in China worth a combined $10 billion. The country is emerging as a huge energy market with lots of opportunity for cleantech companies. It has pledged over $7 billion to smart grid alone and continues to subsidize solar panel manufacturers that have undercut global competition in price. The top IPO of the year was the $3.6 billion offering in Madrid by the renewable energy unit of Italian utility Enel Green Power, the renewable energy unit of Italian utility Enel.
Cleantech Group analysts are bullish on the cleantech IPO market for 2011, saying this could be the year much-speculated Silver Spring Networks goes public. Car sharing startup Zipcar has also filed to go public.
The smart grid market continues to be strong as utilities look to invest in the segment and with huge market opportunity in China.
“These will be huge monster markets with plenty of room for startups and big companies like GE and Siemens and Schneider Electric,” Haji said.
The most active cleantech venture capital investors of last year, according to the report, were:
Chrysalix Energy Venture (16 rounds)
Draper Fisher Jurvetson (16 rounds)
Carbon Trust Investment Partners (12 rounds)
Element Partners (12 rounds)
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (12 rounds)
[Top image via Flickr/davedehetre] | <urn:uuid:48f6f048-d60b-42fb-84b7-e7cc729dab77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://venturebeat.com/2011/01/07/record-7-8-billion-year-for-cleantech-venture-capital-in-2010-with-declines-in-second-half/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951888 | 935 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Here's some less than shocking news: Cigarette smokers who give up the habit gain an average of 10 pounds in the year following quitting.
Surprised? Probably not, especially if you're a reformed smoker. Physician's First Watch reported the results from a meta-analysis in BMJ.
According to their research, the smokers studied gained about two pounds per month for the first three months. The weight gain then slowed until one year had passed, and overall, smokers reportedly gained an average of 9-11 pounds.
So what's worse? Smoking or gaining weight? All reports and research point to smoking as the harbinger of doom.
Jennifer Mulson is the managing editor of Marmapoints, and a yoga teacher at CorePower Yoga in Colorado Springs. | <urn:uuid:740fc694-0f25-46ad-a8be-4ab40710998f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marmapoints.org/happenings/yoga-and-wellness-news/390-let-go-of-the-ciggie | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960698 | 158 | 2.03125 | 2 |
William AberhartArticle Free Pass
Trained as a teacher, Aberhart was a high-school principal and Protestant lay preacher in Calgary, Alta. (1910–35). Beginning in the mid-1920s he became widely known as a radio evangelist, earning the sobriquet “Bible Bill.” In 1927 he founded the Calgary Prophetic Bible Institute and in 1932 employed his evangelical rhetoric in promoting the unorthodox Social Credit monetary-reform and political theories of the British economist C.H. Douglas.
In order to solve economic problems and to build a new society, Aberhart proposed to issue dividends (social credit) to each person, based on the real wealth of the province. After the 1935 provincial election in which the Social Credit Party candidates won 56 of the 63 assembly seats, he became premier and minister of education, and he determined to make Alberta an example of the Social Credit system. The necessary enabling legislation, however, was declared unconstitutional and was disallowed by the federal government. Aberhart nonetheless continued in office, directing Alberta’s economy along orthodox financial lines, until his death.
What made you want to look up "William Aberhart"? Please share what surprised you most... | <urn:uuid:2257977a-417f-4235-ba29-dc4a31a4081b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1175/William-Aberhart | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96459 | 247 | 2.515625 | 3 |
This essay draws lessons for great-power grand strategy from the history of Great Britain and its effort to manage the hegemonic power transitions that spawned World War I and World War II. It focuses on two main issues. The first is the diplomacy of managing power transitions. At the turn of the twentieth century, Britain faced a rapidly changing strategic landscape. London had to deal with the simultaneous rise of three major powers – the United States, Germany, and Japan. The Boer uprising in South Africa meanwhile added to the difficulty of sustaining imperial commitments with limited resources. The essay examines what went right and what went wrong as Britain struggled to adjust its grand strategy to a rapidly changing strategic landscape. With the United States, Britain practiced a deft diplomacy that succeeded in replacing enmity with amity. With Japan, Britain struck an alliance that constrained Japanese ambition and protected British positions in the Pacific – but that then lapsed after two decades. As for its relationship with Germany, Britain adjusted with impressive alacrity to the growing size of the German battle fleet and its impact on the balance of power in Europe. Nonetheless, Britain was unable to convince Germany to rein in its ambition and soon found itself enmeshed in a great-power war.1
The analysis in this essay underscores the central role played by strategic restraint in facilitating rapprochement between Britain and the United States. Britain’s readiness to engage the United States and accommodate its rise cleared the way for a peaceful transition of power. However, the essay also underscores the difficulties inherent in averting conflict during power transitions. Britain pursued rapprochement with Japan, and the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was successfully tested during World War I. But the coupling ended soon thereafter – and Britain and Japan found themselves at war two decades later. Engagement failed to avert war in the long run. And with Germany, Britain revamped its grand strategy in response to Germany’s naval buildup, relying on a combination of fleet redistribution, naval building, and diplomacy to deter Germany. London was nevertheless unable to convince Germany to give up its bid for hegemony in Europe. A strategy of deterrence led to a mounting naval race, which triggered hegemonic war.
To read the rest of this essay click here. | <urn:uuid:344e6336-e9e4-4c01-8434-d8809369d36d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://asp.newamerica.net/publications/policy/grand_strategy_and_power_transitions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95638 | 451 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Morning Jay: Shake It Off, Conservatives!
6:00 AM, Nov 9, 2012 • By JAY COST
Taft-Hartley is the quintessential example. In fact, it is the keystone of the modern conservative movement, even though most Republicans today know very little about it. Taft-Hartley is why, when asked who the greatest conservative leader of the 20th century is, I always list Robert Taft in front of Ronald Reagan – Reagan’s TEFRA would never have happened without Taft-Hartley.
The important context here is the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which could very easily have been subtitled “The Permanent Democratic Majority Act.” It gave organized labor sweeping powers to reform work relations in the North, which in turn seemed to make it impossible for conservatives ever to win another election. Labor unions forged a permanent alliance with the liberals in the Democratic party, and Northern Republicans in historically conservative bastions were forced to shift left or be booted from office. But the right found its opening in 1946, and made full use of it. Taft-Hartley dramatically curtailed the power of organized labor, and there would not be a modern conservative movement were it not for that foundational piece of legislation.
Thinking about the present day, if conservatives are right and what Walter Russell Mead has called the “blue state model” is indeed collapsing, then the GOP might not be that far away from another moment. At the least, the fact that it did not come in 2012 does not mean it is not coming.
And conservatives should be ready for it. For starters, they should ignore the triumphalists on the left espousing a permanent shift leftward. Nonsense! Yes, conservatives must do a better job of reaching out to Hispanics, but some perspective is necessary. The incumbent president is set to take in millions of fewer votes than he won in 2008. He limped across the finish line by dint of vicious demagoguery, which lowered turnout among white voters who have voted Republican in the past. Put simply, the GOP is still very much in this ballgame.
Instead, conservative should make a serious study of the leaders who made full uses of the moments when they were handed to them. On the right, these men were Bob Taft, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush. On the left, they were Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Barack Obama. Conservatives should ask themselves: what qualities did these leaders have in common? That will help them find the best standard bearer to guide the GOP and the conservative movement when the next moment comes.
I don’t know when that will be, but I do know that the left is wrong: The trajectory of American history is not an inevitable leftward drift. So buck up, conservatives!
Jay Cost is a staff writer for THE WEEKLY STANDARD and the author of Spoiled Rotten: How the Politics of Patronage Corrupted the Once Noble Democratic Party and Now Threatens the American Republic, available now wherever books are sold. | <urn:uuid:7e28043a-52f6-49b4-9439-920e32ed93cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/morning-jay-shake-it-conservatives_662109.html?page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960776 | 629 | 1.914063 | 2 |
The entry in 'The Statistical Account of Scotland' provides us with an insight into the provision of schooling in late 18thC Stornoway. I have elected to make my comments within the extracts from the original document.
There are two well-frequented schools in the town, provided with able teachers, good accommodation, and good salaries. The one is parochial, and the other is supported by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge.
It is perhaps worth noting that the population of 6-14 year-olds in the whole Parish at this time was only 288 children yet those parents who could afford the fees had a choice of school.
The yearly salary of the parochial school is L. 40, of which the master has L. 25, and his assistant L. 15.
At first sight this differential might appear surprisingly small, with the Master having 62.5% of the salary and the Assistant 37.5%, but to it must be added:
The master has, together with the emoluments of his school, a dwelling-house and garden rent-free, and some land,from the proprietor.
Rents in Stornoway were considerably above those on the mainland, reflecting the large additional building costs in a town to which all construction materials, 'including stone', were imported.
The fees are, per quarter,
for English and writing, 2 s. 6d.;
for arithmetic and English, 3 s.;
for Latin, writing, arithmetic together, 4 s.;
for a course of geography, 10 s. 6d.;
for navigation, L. 1, 1s.;
and for each set of book keeping, 10 s. 6 d.
It is wonderful to have an insight into the curriculum on offer to the 18thC scholar but even more so to see the relative cost of each course and this is more clearly shown by conversion to modern currency:
English and Writing 12.5p
Arithmetic and English 15p
Latin, Writing, Arithmetic 20p
Book-keeping per set 52.5p
That 'Navigation' should appear as an option is not too surprising in Stornoway but I wonder how many boys were fortunate enough to be able to study it at such huge expense, about one months pay for a labourer to pay for 3 months education.
The number of scholars is 40.
More on this later.
The Society schoolmaster's dwelling-house and school-house are lately built with stone and lime, and covered with slate at Seaforth's expense.
'Seaforth' being the owner of Lewis at the time of the construction.
The salary is L..17 to the master, and L. 8 to his assistant
These total salaries are 62.5% of those in the Parochial School, and are split 68% to 32% between Master and Assistant which is slightly more in favour of this Master than his opposite number, but without the benefit of a house and land.
The quarter-fees are,
for reading, is. 6 d.;
writing, 2 s.;
arithmetic, 2 s. 6 d.;
book-keeping, 5 s.;
mensuration, 5s. ;
navigation, 10 s.
The order of magnitude between these fees and those of the Parochial School speak for themselves and probably go a long way to explain why -
The number of scholars is 129.
More than three times as many children at the Society School!
Besides these, there is a spinning-school established by the Society; the accommodation consisting of a garden and a slated house, with L. 6 salary granted by Seaforth, and L. 4 salary from the Society, to the mistress.
An interesting partnership between the two bodies responsible for the two schools to provide a 'vocational' education for the girls and this final extract tells us why it was deemed necessary:
To this school, and two others of the fame kind, erected in this parish, but now laid aside for want of the requisite number of scholars, Mrs Mackenzie of Seaforth, a lady eminently distinguished
for great humanity and charity, gave much countenance and encouragement, by distributing liberal premiums among the scholars and mistresses, and by personally visiting them, and taking particular cognisance of their proficiency and several performances in spinning and knitting of stockings, thereby inciting them to emulation and diligence. She has now the satisfaction to find, that by her kind interposition and benevolent exertions to introduce and promote spinning of yarn in this island, many poor girls have been rescued from habits of idleness and vice, and trained to industry and virtue.
I am delighted to learn of these 'rescues' but more intrigued to know what and where were the 'two others of the same kind, erected in this parish, but now laid aside...' and why they lacked sufficient young ladies to render them viable?
I somehow doubt that the alleged 'idleness and vice' were responsible...
Fàilte! (Welcome!)This blog is the result of my ongoing research into the people, places and events that have shaped the Western Isles of Scotland and, in particular, the 'Siamese-twins' of Harris and Lewis.
My interest stems from the fact that my Grandfather was a Stornowegian and, until about four years ago, that was the sum total of my knowledge, both of him and of the land of his birth.
I cannot guarantee the accuracy of everything that I have written (not least because parts are, perhaps, pioneering) but I have done my best to check for any errors.
My family mainly lived along the shore of the Sound of Harris, from An-t-Ob and Srannda to Roghadal, but one family 'moved' to Direcleit in the Baighs...
©Copyright 2011 Peter Kerr All rights reserved | <urn:uuid:5af70237-5880-438f-9f6a-c31431bd4810> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://direcleit.blogspot.com/2010/05/education-in-stornoway-in1797.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964045 | 1,217 | 2.4375 | 2 |
Having been closed since August for a major storage project, the Edward-Dean Museum & Gardens in Cherry Valley will reopen Sunday, Dec. 9, with a new exhibit, “Illumination: Religious Symbolism in Art.”
A press release from the museum says the exhibit highlights the museum’s rare book collection, including a 15th century French illuminated manuscript leaf from “The Book of Hours,” a popular devotional book in the Middle Ages. Museum-goers will also find paintings, sculptures and religious aides for personal prayer.
The exhibit will open from 2-4 p.m., during which curator Maggie Wetherbee will speak about the special exhibition, which will be on display through Feb. 10.
Behind the scenes, the museum was closed for installation of new storage equipment. All of the artifacts in storage had to be removed and stored elsewhere on site. The new storage equipment was then installed in the bowels of the museum.
Wetherbee is now putting the pieces back, cataloguing everything in the process.
The equipment the museum purchased comes from Space Saver, a company that specializes in storage solutions for museums. Weatherbee said the J. Paul Getty Museum is having this equipment installed and that it’s exciting for a small museum such as Edward-Dean to have storage equipment of this caliber.
The museum bought $100,000 in storage equipment with proceeds from a fundraising gala. The Friends of the Edward-Dean Museum bought the necessary conservation materials, such as acid-free tissue for packing.
“Everyone has pitched in for this project,” Wetherbee said.
The equipment includes specialized racking for furniture, more racking for textiles, shelving along the back wall and mobile racking for anything that can be hung, such as paintings. The mobile racks are on tracks, making it easier for Wetherbee to find something.
Wetherbee said the reason for the storage equipment is to ensure the preservation of the museum’s collection, most of which dates from the 16th to 18th centuries. Artifacts can be damaged if not stored properly.
“This way we can take care of what we have,” Weatherbee said.
The Edward-Dean Museum is at 9401 Oak Glen Road. Admission is $5 for adults, while children ages 12 and under are admitted for free. For more information, call 951-845-2626 or go to www.edward-deanmuseum.org.
Edward-Dean Museum & Gardens
ADDRESS: 9401 Oak Glen Road, Cherry Valley
HOURS: 10 a.m. — 5 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
ADMISSION: $5 for adults; children ages 12 and under admitted for free
INFORMATION: 951-845-2626, www.edward-deanmuseum.org | <urn:uuid:7c9348ea-6aa6-4d10-b10c-531c7ece0685> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/the-pass/the-pass-headlinesindex/20121207-cherry-valley-edward-dean-to-re-open.ece | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946207 | 600 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Net-N-Dude Glacier 4500C Arctic Cap Celeron Coolerby Anand Lal Shimpi on March 10, 1999 9:53 PM EST
- Posted in
Before the days of the Food & Drug Administration and before the days of extreme governmental regulation of the products that would make it to the market in the US it was almost encouraged to market your own "cure-all" get rich quick products to take advantage of the "ignorant" consumer. In the early 1900's products ranging from pills that would cure cancer to drinks that would make you smarter found their way into the hands of the uninformed consumer. This has unfortunately been the case with most CPU cooler manufacturers in recent times, with the general trend of thought being that the more fans present on a heatsink, the higher you can push the limits of your processor. While this can be called a notably simplified rule of thumb for cooling, it is far from the truth, and unfortunately, many unsuspecting buyers are falling for it.
The introduction of Intel's Celeron processor in 1998 brought new meaning to the word "overclocking." While the relatively small overclocking market nearly fainted at the sight of the original 266MHz Celeron processors running at 400MHz+, the even more popular Celeron 300A running at 450MHz captured more attention than any single x86 processor among those that were interested in harnessing the power of the overclocking wonder-chip. But as the old axiom has come to show us all time and time again, what goes up must come down. In this case, the once almost guaranteed overclockable Celeron 300A processors are growing scarce in the market and are quickly being replaced by the relatively untouchable 366 and 400MHz processors which seem to max out at around the 450MHz mark.
With the difficulty of finding Celeron 300As that overclock to 450MHz any more, most online vendors have turned to testing their own Celeron 300As at 450MHz and selling overclocked 450MHz bundles at a premium price, while still keeping the cost lower than that of a Pentium II 450. After a few more weeks of shortages, those 450MHz combos began to die out, and users turned to other, more unorthodox methods of getting the most bang for their buck at 450MHz from a sub $80 processor. Most CPU cooler manufacturers quickly picked up on the vulnerability of users that would do anything to hit that 450MHz mark with their Celeron 300A processors, and thus the race for the most obnoxiously large Celeron cooling heatsink/fan combo had begun.
The Net-N-Dude Glacier 4500C & Arctic Cap Combo
Net-N-Dude, one of the pioneers of the multiple fan Celeron cooling solution, released their Glacier 4500C product a while back. The Glacier 4500C features triple 4500 RPM cooling fans, and a full sized heatsink that fits over the entire SEPP Celeron card. Since the only part of the Celeron generating heat is the processor itself, the large heatsink allows for the heat generated by the processor to be quickly spread out and removed via the three 4500RPM fans. The fans then take in cool air from the case and use it to funnel the rising heat off of the heatsink. The problem with this design was the fact that although the top of the processor was being cooled quite effectively, the processor still generated enough heat to cause instability and therefore another method of heat removal was necessary. | <urn:uuid:dcd65a7e-6c38-4f06-84e7-99fbd0df0464> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://anandtech.com/show/263 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953186 | 721 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Freda formed as a tropical storm over the southern Pacific Ocean on December 28, 2012, and strengthened into a cyclone the next day, Unisys Weather Reported. On December 31, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Freda was located roughly 465 nautical miles (860 kilometers) northwest of Noumea, New Caledonia. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 105 knots (195 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 130 knots (240 kilometers per hour).
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on December 30 as Freda’s eye hovered over the ocean off the northwestern tip of New Caledonia. Storm clouds extended over New Caledonia and Vanuatu.
The JTWC forecast map issued on December 31 showed the storm continuing its southward movement before turning toward the southeast. Wind speeds were expected to decrease over the next 72 hours.
- Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Accessed December 31, 2012.
Unisys Weather. (2012, December 31) Freda Tracking Information. Accessed December 31, 2012.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Michon Scott.
- Terra - MODIS | <urn:uuid:da76c304-ca12-474e-a4a6-ec33f1e92cf1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=80049 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921883 | 276 | 2.859375 | 3 |
The functional impact of mental imagery on conscious perception
Deposited by:Joel Pearson
Date of Issue:2008
Journal/Publication Title:Current Biology
Number of Pages:5
Abstract:Mental imagery has been proposed to contribute to a variety of high-level cognitive functions, including memory encoding and retrieval, navigation and spatial planning, and even social communication and language comprehension [1-5]. However, it is debated whether mental imagery relies on the same sensory representations as perception [1, 6-10], and if so, what functional consequences such an overlap might have on perception itself. We report novel evidence that single instances of imagery can have a pronounced facilitatory influence on subsequent conscious perception. Either seeing or imagining a specific pattern could strongly bias which of two competing stimuli reach awareness during binocular rivalry. Effects of imagery and perception were location- and orientation-specific, accumulated in strength over time, and survived an intervening visual task lasting several seconds prior to presentation of the rivalry display. Interestingly, effects of imagery differed from those of feature-based attention. The results demonstrate that imagery, in the absence of any incoming visual signals, leads to the formation of a short-term sensory trace that can bias future perception, suggesting a means by which high-level processes that support imagination and memory retrieval may shape low-level sensory representations. | <urn:uuid:84d1c008-86e2-48a3-8dfb-1918c866ddc1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theassc.org/documents/the_functional_impact_of_mental_imagery_on_conscious_perception | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901116 | 270 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Off-again, on-again students in a dozen states who have some postsecondary educational experience but no degree may soon be able to turn to a regional group for help in figuring out what they need to do to get a diploma in their hands.
The Midwestern Higher Education Compact has begun work on the Credential Repository for Education, Skills and Training (Midwest-CREST), a virtual bank for students to collect the credits they’ve earned from multiple colleges and universities, and then plot a clear path toward a degree. Students might turn to the repository already knowing where they want to enroll or to be recruited based on how their accomplishments fit with an institution’s degree requirements. Colleges and universities might be able to formulate a “bid” to help a student finish his or her degree, laying out the curriculum and costs associated with fulfilling graduation requirements.
“There are so many people out there with some college and no degree,” said Larry A. Isaak, MHEC’s president. “This would be a one-stop shop for institutions to view what people have and how that fits in with the institution’s requirements for degrees, whether the student’s already decided to enroll or hasn’t even considered that college or university."
The credit bank reflects the idea that one way for the United States to grow the proportion of the population with a college degree is to focus on getting people who have dropped out get back on track toward graduation.
Midwest-CREST is still in its early stages, Isaak said, and will go through at least a year of research and planning to formulate a system that functions for its 12 members -- Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The process will be complicated, with so many institutional and state variations, as well as countless determinations to be made about how to document and credit job training and work experience. Policy groups including the Brookings Institution’s Great Lakes Economic Initiative and Kansas State University’s Institute for Academic Alliances will contribute to those efforts. The latter will “set up an infrastructure, the legal agreements that have to be put in place, the policies and procedure for day to day activities to make it all work,” said Dawn Anderson, a project coordinator there.
The project will in part be funded by MHEC, but has also secured financial and symbolic support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It has awarded the compact $100,000 to explore the possibility of creating the repository.
Marie Groark, a Gates spokeswoman, said the foundation -- which has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in college completion initiatives for traditional-age students -- chose to back the effort because it would work “to build a system that doesn’t penalize people for their choices but helps to facilitate their progress to help them get through to earn a degree.”
Midwest-CREST, she said, is the first credit bank Gates has funded but is an idea that makes perfect sense in an era in which “most kids don’t just start at one school and finish there in four years or two years.” They may not finish at all and may not be considered “kids” by the time they accumulate enough credits to earn a degree.
Isaak said that since announcing the Gates grant earlier this month, he has heard from several member institutions and philanthropic groups interested in playing a role in creating Midwest-CREST. “There’s a real need to increase the number of people in this country who have a postsecondary certificate or degree,” he said. “Foundations and institutions understand that there are all these people out there with some work already done toward those goals.”
Linda L. Baer, senior vice chancellor for academic/student affairs for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, is one administrator who’s expressed interest. Her system has been working with the University of Minnesota system, as well as public institutions in North Dakota, to determine “how we might coordinate better” to help students finish degrees they might begin at one institution and want to complete at another.
She said her system wants to “see where this opportunity might go.” If it “can help workers gain more certificates or competencies so that they can get into the workforce sooner or improve our employers’ productivity, we’re all in favor of that.”
Technical degrees might be a logical place for the collaboration to begin, she said, because “many industries have standard competencies they expect of all workers across the country.” The degree requirements for auto mechanics or nursing vary from institution to institution and from state to state, but may not be as dramatic as the departmental and institutional differences in the requirements toward a bachelor of arts degree.
Institutions, Isaak said, will have the ultimate authority "to decide whether to accept the credit, to define their own graduation requirements and so forth." But his hope is that institutions will figure out creative ways to educate and credential students. "This is an opportunity to take credits, put them all in one place, then see what is possible for a students and what they need to do to get a degree." | <urn:uuid:e3a384cb-a772-4a1b-8d41-d6860162818d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.insidehighered.com/print/news/2009/11/24/credit?width=775&height=500&iframe=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964108 | 1,096 | 2.078125 | 2 |
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The Dance of Deception
Pretending and Truth-Telling in Women's Lives
When The Dance of Deceptionwas published, Lerner discovered that women were not eager to identify with the subject. "Well, I don't do deception" was a common resonse.
We all "do deception", often with the intention to protect ourselves and the relationships we depend on. The Dance of Deceptionunravels the ways (and whys) that women show the false and hide the real -- even to our own selves. We see how relationships are affected by lying and faking, by silence and pretending and by brave -- but misguided -- efforts to tell the truth.
Truth-telling is at the heart of what is most central in women's lives. It is at the foundation of authenticity and creativity, intimacy and joy. Yet in the name of "honesty", we can bludgeon each other. We can approach a difficult issue with such a poor sense of timing and tact that we can actually shut down the lines of communication rather than widening the path of truth-telling.
Sometimes Lerner's advice takes a surprising turn -- for example, when she asks us to engage in a bold act of pretending in order to discover something "more real"; or when she tells us not to parachute down on our family to bring up a "hot issue" without laying the necessary groundwork first.
Whether the subject is affairs, family secrets, sexual faking or the challenge of "being oneself", Lerner helps us to discover, speak and live our own truths.
272 pages; ISBN 9780061194368
More from this author
It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken 2005 US$ 10.99 290 pages
Why Men Love Bitches 2008 US$ 15.95 | <urn:uuid:88f8e308-7dc8-42b4-a47b-f3fcc7dd6c4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ebooks.com/268409/the-dance-of-deception/lerner-harriet/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915994 | 391 | 1.726563 | 2 |
St. Ann has been using the STAR Reading program for three years to assess students’ reading progress. Students in grades 1-8 take computerized tests on a regular basis. These tests generate information that can be sent to the parents. Teachers use the information to choose appropriate skill level books from our leveled library. There are over 900 books in the leveled library which is located in the Resource Room.
In addition to the leveled library, the Resource Room has hands-on activities and materials for teachers to use in the areas of Social Studies, Science, Math and Reading. | <urn:uuid:3725c5c5-34d1-4ada-a604-81d19c67b80b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sacs-stl.org/academics/star-reading-leveled-library | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935822 | 115 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Workers’ Compensation coverage applies to bodily injury and diseases arising out of and in the course of employment. Any bodily injury must be accidental, and the term includes death resulting from the accident. Only occupational diseases, which are unique to the occupation, are covered.
Workers’ Compensation provides for the payment of four types of benefits:
- Medical benefits
- Income benefits
- Death benefits
- Rehabilitation benefits
A representative can provide you with complete details on Workers’ Compensation Insurance and recommend cost-effective ways to control expenses through safety engineering and claim services.
Protects the employer for claims that fall outside requirements of state laws including claims by employees who reject statutory benefits and by exempt employees. | <urn:uuid:80d72adf-6abc-41b5-9e69-e46f877fe9de> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gemins.com/workers-compensation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943489 | 144 | 1.921875 | 2 |
The Government's plan to dump 5,800 tonnes of radioactive waste at Kemps Creek is on public exhibition. Now is your chance to have your say.
To make a submission, simply open the attached document, add your details and send back to us at firstname.lastname@example.org. We will lodge it for you.
If you'd like to make your own submission, please feel free to send something on to the address on the top of our submission
All candidates contesting the Penrith City Council elections have been asked to sign a pledge to oppose the dumping of radioactive waste at Kemps Creek.
All candidates that sign the pledge will have their pledges available for viewing on this website here.
At the 2011 State Election Barry O'Farrell and his Liberals told us they would not allow the dumping of radioactive waste from Sydney's North Shore in Western Sydney at Kemps Creek.
On Friday 14 October 2011 the O'Farrell Government revealed that they had intended to send this waste out of their heartland to Western Sydney the whole time.
The NSW Liberals told us they wouldn't dump this material in Western Sydney to get our votes. Now they've revealed it was their plan all along to dump it in our backyard.
They said they would make NSW Number 1 again and they treat Western Sydney like we are second class. | <urn:uuid:11af7cd3-e97a-46f3-8875-d145e3fb9142> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nodumping.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964513 | 280 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Day 1: Arrival in Saigon (D). Transfer via: International flight – your arrangement. Welcome up on arrival in Saigon, then we will transfer to hotel. Relax. In the evening, we enjoy our welcome dinner on Saigon River Cruise.
Day 2: Saigon city tour & Saigon Zoo – Botanical Garden (B). Site visited: Reunification Palace, War Remnant museum, Post office, Cathedral, Saigon Zoo. We depart our hotel for the Reunification Palace, the former Presidential Palace for the president of the South of Vietnam. After that we will visit War Remnant Museum, where you can see countless artifacts, photographs and pictures documenting about the second Indochina war. Before our lunch we stop at Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Post office to get our good shots for our memory of the biggest city in Vietnam. Our delicious lunch will be served at a nice restaurant in the central city.
In the afternoon, we will enjoy our time at Saigon Zoo to see vegetation and animals. There are approximately 130 animal species which were being brought up at Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens (SGZBG) now. Animal species belong to 3 Classes; Reptiles, Mammals and Birds. Reptiles includes 17 species belong to 3 Orders (Squamate, Testudinate and Crocodile Order). Mammals includes 55 species belong to 7 Orders (Carnivore, Rodent, Squamate, Round hoof, Odd hoof, Trunk, Primate Order). Birds includes 57 species belong to 10 Orders (Ostrich, Hawk, Sparrow, Parrot, Chicken, Crane, Kingfisher, Stork, Pelican and Duck – goose Order).
Most animals are listed above belong to Vietnam. Worthy of note, more 2/3 of total of animal species were listed in the data redbook of Vietnam and the World. Some valuable and rare animals are scientific value such as Asian Tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti), Leopard (Panthera pardus), Golden Cat (Catopuma temmincki), Yellow - cheecked Gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae), Eld’s Deer (Cervus eldi tamin), Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Otter (Lutra perspicillata), Eastern Sarus Crane (Grus antigone).
Day 3: Saigon – Cu Chi Tunnel (B). In the morning we will leave Saigon for the Cu Chi tunnels, otherwise known as the "Iron Triangle" or "Iron Land". On our way there we will drive through pleasant countryside; rubber plantations and rice paddies. Before entering the tunnels, we will see a short introductory video showing how they were constructed, followed by an exploration of the maze of tunnels, some of which have been widened to allow tourist access. Also on display are various mantraps and the remains of an American tank as well as numerous bomb craters made by 500lb bombs dropped by B52 bombers. After that, we transfer back to Ho Chi Minh City. In the afternoon, we are free to visit local market, like Ben Thanh or Cho Lon…
Day 4: Saigon – Mekong Delta (home-stay) (B, L, D). This morning we will be met in the lobby of hotel in Ho Chi Minh City by our local guide. We will leave for the Mekong Delta at around 08:00AM. Driving through the Delta to Cai Be Floating Market we then board our riverboat for a cruise along the endless waterways of the mighty Mekong. We will stop, visiting brick pottery kilns, and a floating fish farm. Afterwards we will board a small restaurant serving the local delicacies of the river. Later, we will arrive at the lush orchards of the house in which we will spend the night in a home stay with a local family. Overnight in Vinh Long.
Day 5: Mekong Delta – Saigon (B, L). Joining with local people to buy special fruits or other souvenirs. Afterwards, we will continue our boat trip along the maze of waterways and canals through An Binh Island. We will stop at an old southern house with a bonsai garden and visit some local cottage industries which produce candy as well as rice cakes. Following our cruise, we will return to the Pier and transfer to our awaiting vehicle to return to Ho Chi Minh City. Lunch will be at My Tho City and our trip will finish in Ho Chi Minh City at around 05:00PM.
Day 6: Saigon – fly to Nha Trang – Vinpearl Land (B, D). Transfer via: Domestic flight by Vietnam Airlines. Today we take a short domestic flight to Beach city of Nha Trang. After 1 hour flight, we arrive at Nha Trang. Welcome up on arrival, then transfer to Vinpearl land wharf where we will check in and ride cable car or speed boat to the island. Relax at beach or swimming pool.
Day 7: Vinpearl land with Amusement Park (B, L, D). Free entrance fees for all items in the Park, we have time to experience with indoors or out door game, Vinpearl Water Park, Vinpearl Underwater World.
Day 8: Nha Trang – Thap Ba Hot Spring bathing and mud spa tour (B, L, D). This tour is designed as an eco/healthy tour. First exercise ourself by van or biking (upon request & subject to availability) from our hotel to Thap Ba Hot Spring center via beach side road. Relax and gain our health in Mud bathing and Minerals Springs swimming. After that, visit the Cham Po Nagar Temples nearby. Coming back to our hotel through Nha Trang street to observe local Nha Trang life.
Day 9: Nha Trang – Fly to Danang, Hoi An (B). Transfer via: Domestic flight by Vietnam Airlines. Today we transfer back to Cam Ranh airport for our flight to Danang. Arriving in Danang, we transfer to Hoi An. Relaxing in Hoi An.
Day 10: Hoi An city tour & Cooking class (B, L). NO FLUORESCENT LIGHTS. NO MOTORCYCLES. NO TELEVISION. ON THE 15TH DAY OF EACH LUNAR MONTH, THE RIVERSIDE TOWN OF HOI AN GIVES MODERN LIFE THE NIGHT OFF. Hoi An has a distinct Chinese atmosphere with low, tile-roofed houses and narrow streets; the original structure of some of these streets still remains almost intact. All the houses were made of rare wood, decorated with lacquered boards and panels engraved with Chinese characters. Pillars were also carved with ornamental designs. We enjoy a morning walking tour around the ancient city to visit Chua Ong Pagoda, Chinese Assembly Halls, the 200 - year old Tam Ky ancestral house, and the Japanese Bridge. In the afternoon, we will join a special cooking class. At 3.30pm - Pickup at our hotel.
After a short drive through the local countryside we arrive at Tra Que Village , and the home of your host, Mr Tuan. A welcome drink of freshly picked fruits is waiting, before we take a walk around the village and learn about the history and customs of this charming village. We walk through the market gardens where hundreds of local farmers work their fields using the traditional methods of hundreds of years ago - no electrical machinery here.
We return to the home of Mr Tuan, and this is where the real fun begins. Everyone is given a farming instruments, and we set about joining the farmers in preparing the land for sewing. Our guide describes the traditional farming methods while we help fertilize the garden using seaweed from the local river, and then water it using huge tin cans strapped to our back. Time is then spent picking vegetables and herbs, and learning how to wrap them to prevent damage.
Many of the local herbs are used by the farmers for traditional village medicines - this includes the herbal pillow, which helps relax your body and mind, ready for a good night's sleep. It's now time to try are hands at making the village speciality named “Tam Huu” spring rolls - using the local herbs and vegetables we have just picked or Xeo Cake ( Banh Xeo). We then sit down and enjoy a lovely local meal. Menu - Tam Huu, Family's spring rolls, Banh Xeo, Vietnamese dishes (Fish, Soup, vegetables, Rice) & Fruit Salad 6.30pm - Transfer back to Hoi An.
Day 11: Hoi An – Da Nang – Fly to Hanoi (B). Transfer via: Domestic flight by Vietnam Airlines. Free at Hoi An in the morning, in the afternoon, we transfer back to Da Nang for our flight to Hanoi. Arriving in Hanoi, we transfer to hotel for our relax. Overnight in Hanoi.
Day 12: Hanoi – City tour (B, L). After breakfast we visit the Ho Chi Minh Complex, including Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, His House on the Stilt, and the outside of the Presidential Palace. After that we walk along evergreen street in old French quarter get to Vietnam people army museum, to understand more about wars resistance to defend the nation, Cha Ca specialty for lunch, following is Hanoi Hilton (the old prison where the American pilots were detained) and then we visit Ethnology Museum. This evening we are going to have special hot pot (the steam-boat pot) for dinner.
Day 13: Hanoi – Halong Bay (Overnight on junk) (B, L, D). After breakfast at hotel, we will be met then transfer to Halong city where we will check in Luxury Paradise Cruise. Welcome drink of cocktail while having a briefing, safety instructions. We then set sail and to explore Halong Bay. Our Asian Buffet lunch will be severed from 13.00 – 14.30 as the vessel sails to Halong Bay passing numerous of limestone islands and islets like: the Cocks fighting islets, the Elephant leg islet, the Castle islet…and the TITOP Island.
In the afternoon, we have chance to explore the most famous grotto of Luon Cave (Hallow cave) in the entire Halong Bay by local rowing boat or enjoy kayaking on the tranquil Halong Bay or discover the most amazing cave of Sung Sot cave. We also visit Cua Van floating village to experience the daily life of local people – Optional: Kayaking. Late afternoon, we enjoy the open-air cooking demonstration on the sundeck (weather permitting) to learn how to cook Vietnamese cuisine while the cruise moving to Pearl Farm area. At dawn we may try some drink at the open-air cocktail bar located on sundeck. A delicious five course set-dinner will be served at around 7PM.
Day 14: Halong Bay - Hanoi (B). Sunrise on this seclude Bay will be a wonderful experience; we then have chance for a Tai Chi Lesson at 06:45 on the sundeck. We then can enjoy our Continental Buffet Breakfast from 07.00 – 09.00. During Breakfast the cruise keep moving to explore other area in Halong Bay. At around 07.45 we arrive at Ti Top Island where we can enjoy the Ti Top Beach or get up to the top of the island for a fabulous bird eyes view of Halong Bay. We have option of: swimming or kayaking activities (subject to weather permission).
At 08.30 we depart Ti Top Island to continue cruise through Halong Bay. We check out our cabin at 09.30 & our settle bills – Luggage collection. At 10.30, we will disembark the Warf at Tuan Chau Island. We will be transfer from the Cruise.We then transfer to our vehicles to go back to Hanoi. Trip concluded at the hotel in Hanoi.
Day 15: Hanoi – Departure (B). Transfer via: International flight – your arrangement. Today we are free at leisure for last minute shopping then transfer to the airport for our flight to home. Trip ends.
Prices vary depending on level of accommodation, group size and dates of travel. Contact us to customize a vacation itinerary and price to meet your needs and budget.
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Note: If unavailable, leave a voicemail for the supplier to call you back. | <urn:uuid:15744562-b917-4d81-b1e6-47564ce34cc6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infohub.com/vacation_packages/32122.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903664 | 2,679 | 1.59375 | 2 |
May 4, 2012
President Barack Obama has proposed easing export controls on firearms in an effort to help American manufacturers boost their sales. But officials within the administration have objected to the controversial plan, which some say could result in another “Fast and Furious” mess, or worse.
Obama wants to relax restrictions on the sale of American-made guns to make them more competitive on international markets. According to figures provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), U.S. manufacturers exported 242,000 firearms in 2010. The proposed the rule would allow sales of semi-automatic firearms of up to .50 caliber to 36 countries considered to be “trusted parties.”
Officials in the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice strongly disagree with the idea of making U.S. weapons more available overseas. These opponents say the plan could lead to assault rifles and other guns falling into the wrong hands, including drug cartels and terrorists.
The controversy comes in the wake of the “Fast and Furious” scandal, in which federal agents were blasted for allowing drug smugglers to buy about 2,000 firearms from U.S. sellers, all in the name of supposedly tracking down cartel members.
The push for expanded exports also comes as U.S. imports of firearms grew to 3.2 million last year.
This article was posted: Friday, May 4, 2012 at 11:15 am | <urn:uuid:6bb2ee97-965c-4c2e-a520-f3519d99eb30> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infowars.com/obama-considers-making-it-easier-to-sell-firearms-abroad/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959087 | 294 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Carter sees worthy cause in fighting eye disease in Africa
October 23, 1999
ATLANTA (CNN) -- Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn are lending their clout to an African public health campaign designed to control a blinding eye disease called trachoma.
Trachoma, a highly contagious bacterial infection of the upper eyelid, affects 146 million people worldwide. Six million people are sightless because of the disease.
The trachoma bacterium causes the eyelid to turn inward. As a result, the eyelashes scratch the cornea, causing blindness. Children living in poverty are especially vulnerable.
"There's a fairly painful procedure of plucking out all the child's eyelashes...and treatment beyond that to prevent a recurrence of the illness," said Jimmy Carter. Carter has spearheaded several programs in Africa to fight debilitating, but largely unpublicized, diseases such as guinea worm and river blindness.
Antibiotics can kill the trachoma bacteria, but simple hygiene can control the disease. The Carters are working with health officials to explain to villagers in Mali and other African countries that they can prevent trachoma by washing their hands more frequently with clean water.
After starting in Mali, the Carters' trachoma eradication program moves into Ghana, Niger and Nigeria.
"It's emotional to see the appreciation and the dedication that these African people have when they learn what they can do themselves to correct an ancient problem that may have been there 10,000 years or more," said Carter.
The former president recently returned from Africa and plans another trip next month.
See related sites about Africa
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Read our privacy guidelines. | <urn:uuid:f4c61537-260f-4a9d-bb12-2307ffa9a0cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/africa/9910/23/carter.trachoma/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943433 | 372 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Seaweed for Plants
By: Robert Kourik
Long ago, gardeners who lived near the ocean learned that seaweed was good for their plants. Exactly how it works is difficult to pin down, but scientists have found in seaweeds a veritable soup of plant-growth stimulants, vitamins, chelating agents, trace minerals, enzymes, and amino acids, all of which influence the growth of plants in different ways.
Robert Parnes in his classic Organic & Inorganic Fertilizers (Woods End Agricultural Institute, 1986; $40) says, "Perhaps the most important merit of seaweed is its content of assimilable organic materials, in particular the growth hormones."
Seaweeds contain small amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. On a dry-weight basis, seaweeds contain up to 1.2 percent nitrogen, 0.2 to 1.3 percent phosphorus, and 2.8 to 10 percent potassium.
Several university studies have shown that seaweed can produce dramatic results in plants: geraniums produced more flowers per plant; grapes were sweeter; gladiolus corms grew larger; and cucumber yields increased 40 percent and the fruits suffered less often from softening and rotting. Improved yields after seaweed treatments were measured in potatoes, sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, apples, strawberries, okra, and oranges. Better frost tolerance, increased seed germination, and greater capacity to absorb trace elements were other documented benefits for plants.
Seaweed for Gardeners
When gardeners talk about using seaweed on their plants, they are usually referring to a brown algae, specifically the one known as knotweed or rockweed (Ascophyllum nodosum). It's common off the coast of Norway but also grows along the American coast from northern Maine to Canada and throughout northern seas. The seaweed industry had an early start in Norway where seaweed supply was abundant, hence the "Norway" on the labels of many seaweed products.
The seaweed product that's been around longest (40 years) is Maxicrop. It is normally sold as a concentrated dry powder that you mix with water and apply to plants as a spray. But it is also available as a liquid concentrate, as are most other seaweeds.
Most liquid seaweed fertilizers are extractions manufactured by hydrolysis, and most of the basic research done with seaweeds (by T. L. Senn, formerly of Clemson University) used this form. You might read about liquid seaweed products that are "cold-pressed" or "enzymatically digested", but little research exists regarding these materials. Seaweed is also available as a dry meal intended for adding to soil. Liquid concentrates cost more than the powders, but they are much easier to mix with water.
Another seaweed fertilizer is derived from California bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana). It is offered only by Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, whose catalog claims this fertilizer is more potent than ascophyllum-based products, but I haven't seen any research to back up such claims. | <urn:uuid:33ee01ba-47ae-435c-bc01-5b4f3bf9c5c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.garden.org/articles/articles.php?q=show&id=379 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963993 | 644 | 3.390625 | 3 |
One and a half month after the ugly Bersih 3.0 rally, a small group is still occupying Dataran Merdeka, a sign that Ambiga & Gang are still represented in their ongoing open 'war' against the King, the government and the people.
Notwithstanding its effect on social harmony and stability, their ultimate objective to stage a coup before the next general election is expected to take a new devastating turn - by turning Merdeka Square into another Tiananmen.
The April 28 rally failed to run down the government but they were very successful in inflicting heavy losses to the country's image as the most safest nation in Asean.
No, they don't want that. Being a safe country does not bring any good if Pakatan Rakyat fails to conquer Putrajaya in the next national poll. By hook or by crook, they must win and in ensuring that, it doesn't matter if the whole country plunges into bloodshed.
Not only that they were inspired by Tahrir Square revolts. Tiananmen Square looks more practical in the sense that whatever happens, the government should take all the blame.
The Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, also known as the June 4th Revolution in Beijing, were a series of popular demonstrations which begun on April 15 of the same year. It started on a small scale before erupted into a 'mini war' between protesters (most of them were students) with the security forces.
In the end, at least 2,500 were killed while 10,000 more injured, making it among the most bloodiest protest the world had ever observed.
Reasons for the protests were high inflation and jobless rates, corruption and the waning of Communism around the world, particularly in eastern Europe They demanded for an open and free market system and a democratic reform for the whole of China.
They also called for continued economic reform, freedom of the Press, accountability from officials and political liberalisation. At the height of the protests, almost a million people converged at the Square, chanting anti-government slogans, disrupting traffic and provoking the security forces.
Across China, similar protest took place in Shanghai, Wuhan, Xian and Changsha which saw some protesters began looting and rioting. That was when the army and the police had to intervene to disperse them. Unfortunately, they had chosen to collide with the security personnel.
Exactly this is the modus operandi of Bersih 3.0. The only thing that differs them with Tiananmen is Ambiga and Gang are demanding for a more 'clean and transparent' electoral system. They are more concern to install someone as a prime minister rather than working closely with the government in keeping inflation at bay and creating more job opportunity for the rakyat.
However, will Pakatan Rakyat participate in the national poll when their objective to change the government was not met? Furthermore, they will continuously criticise the integrity of the electoral system, and this opens a big suggestion - that they will do anything to disrupt the next national poll.
And now that they already have some representatives to occupy Dataran Merdeka, its is believed more will join them when Prime Minister dissolves the Parliament and announces the general elections' date.
It wont be a surprise if Dataran erupts with gunfire during the election campaign. The police too have limitations in carrying out their duty. Worse still, there are words that should such an event takes place, the army might step in.
Its all about winning the general election and power. Let the whole nation loses everything as long as their ambition is attained.
They have not seen the riots and ugly protests in Warsaw, Poland in 1985 when Solidarity Movement led by Lech Walesa took to the streets. They have not observed how students protest in Pusan, South Korea in 1991 claimed hundreds of life and how Tiananmen opened the floodgate to hell.
But I was there, except for Tiananmen where I arrived a week later.
You cannot buy democracy. It is determined by the people, our rakyat. To takeover the government, one must try win the general election. If you don't trust the election system, skip from contesting until you are satisfied with its conduct.
No. What you lead does not represent the masses and their voice. You are doing all this for the sake of making troubles... and for the politics of one single person! | <urn:uuid:d5b82d34-232c-48f0-b00a-a5b35ab13e4b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://justread-whatever.blogspot.jp/2012/06/dataran-merdeka-another-tiananmen-soon.html?showComment=1339643921392 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975553 | 910 | 1.773438 | 2 |
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C. Cesarsky (CEA)
The European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) was launched in November 1995 and operated successfully until April 1998. With much enhanced capabilities in imaging, photometry and spectroscopy, ISO solved many of the riddles left by its predecessor, IRAS. Main themes are: the nature of the mid infrared insterstellar emission, the physical processes in gas and dust in various environments, the formation of stars and of protoplanetary disks, the energy sources of Ultra Luminous Infrared Galaxies, and dust enshrouded star formation in the distant universe. In turn, ISO leaves open riddles for its successors, such as SIRTF and FIRST, to solve. | <urn:uuid:07ede2e8-9ec8-4c19-9a59-a79f5f62b390> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://aas.org/archives/BAAS/v31n5/aas195/738.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929098 | 161 | 2.71875 | 3 |
The Full List
- Broad commodity indexes and baskets are available via ETFs (GCC, GSG, DBC) and ETNs (UCI, GSC, DJP, GSP). There's also a leveraged broad commodity ETF (UCD), a leveraged broad commodity ETN (DYY), and a double-short broad commodity ETF (CMD) and ETN (DEE).
- Agricultural commodities include cocoa (NIB), coffee (JO), cotton (BAL) and sugar (SGG) -- all ETNs. Agriculatural commodity baskets cover livestock (UBC, COW), grains (JJG, GRU), softs -- ie. coffee, cotton and sugar -- (JJS), biofuels (FUE) and food (FUD). Broader agricultural indexes are also available via ETF (DBA) or ETN (UAG, JJA, RJA). Don't confuse agricultural commodity ETFs/ETNs with ETFs which track the stocks of companies in the agricultural commodity business (CUT, MOO).
- Industrial commodities include aluminum (JJU), copper (JJC), lead (LD), nickel (JJN) and tin (JJT) -- all ETNs. Industrial metals baskets are also available via ETF (DBB) and ETF (UBM, JJM, RJZ). As with agriculture, ETFs are available which track the stocks of companies in the industrial commodities business (PKOL, KOL, SLX, HAP).
- Oil is available as a simple long (USO, USL, OIL, DBO, OLO), leveraged long (UCO), short (SZO, DNO) and double short (DTO, SCO). There are also simple long ETFs for heating oil (UHN) and gasoline (UGA). Natural gas is available as an ETF (UNL, UNG) or ETN (GAZ). Energy commodity baskets are available as an ETF (DBE) or ETN (UBN, RJN, JJE).
- Precious metals are available in a basket (DBP) or as individual metals. Gold is available as a simple long (GLD, IAU, SGOL, DGL, UBG), leveraged long (DGP, UGL), short (DGZ) and double short (DZZ, GLL) position. Silver, too, is available as a simple long (SLV, SIVR, DBS, USFV), leveraged long (AGQ) and double short (ZSL) position. Platinum comes as a simple long (PPLT, PTM, PGM) and short (PTD). Palladium comes only as a simple long (PALL). Like the other commodities, you can buy ETFs containing gold and silver related stocks -- the major gold miners (GDX), junior gold miners (GDXJ), silver miners (SIL) and mixed miners (PSAU).
What Are They?
- Commodity ETFs (exchange traded funds) attempt to track the price of a single commodity, such as gold or oil, or a basket of commodities by holding the actual commodity in storage, or by purchasing futures contracts. Because futures provide leverage (more exposure than the actual cash invested), ETFs that use futures contracts have uninvested cash, which they usually park in interest-bearing government bonds. The interest on the bonds is used to cover the expenses of the ETF and to pay dividends to the holders.
- Commodity ETNs (exchange traded notes) are non-interest paying debt instruments whose price fluctuates (by contractual commitment) with an underlying commodities index. Because they are debt obligations, ETNs are subject to the solvency of the issuer.
- Commodities-related ETFs generally track the producers of commodities, such as mining companies. While the financial performance of those companies -- and thus their stocks -- may be highly leveraged to the underlying commodity, other factors can impact the profitability of production. The ETFs, therefore, may not reflect the performance of the underlying commodity. For example, gold miners are highly leveraged to the discovery of gold deposits, exchange rates and their relationships with the countries where gold deposits are found.
Why & How To Use Them
- Commodities are a separate asset class from stocks and bonds, so they provide extra diversification in a portfolio.
- The case for commodities: The industrialization of the China and India and the integration of Russia and Eastern Europe into the global economy are boosting demand for commodities, driving up prices. Many people believe that this will result in a long term uptrend ("super cycle") in commodity prices.
- The case against commodities: In contrast to stocks and bonds, commodities are not income generating. So ownership of commodities, including via ETFs or ETNs, is a pure bet on prices, ie. supply and demand. And the expenses charged by the ETF and ETN providers and in the cost of storing hard assets or trading futures eat away at the underlying value of the fund.
- Commodity ETFs and ETNs can also be used as a hedge. For example, if you consume a large amount of gasoline and heating fuel and are concerned about the impact on your income of a rise in oil and gas prices, buying an oil and gas ETF can help offset your exposure.
What to Look Out For
- Commodities ETFs that use futures have diverged significantly from the price of the hard commodities themselves. ETNs, in contrast, track the price of the commodity closely. See the articles in the Further Reading section below.
- There are dramatic differences in structure of these ETFs and ETNs, even for the same commodities, leading to potential differences in performance and tax treatment.
- ETFs and ETNs are treated differently for taxation purposes. Current opinion is that all gains on ETNs held for longer than one year are treated as long-term capital gains, whereas an investor owning a futures-based ETF is taxed on any capital gains on the underlying futures held by the fund using the taxation convention for futures, ie. at a hybrid rate of 60% long-term, 40% short-term each year on all gains, even if the investor doesn't sell the fund. (Check this carefully with your accountant.)
- You can track commodity performance on Seeking Alpha's Commodities Data Dashboard.
- For long term investors considering including a commodity ETF in a diversified portfolio, the value of commodities as a diversifier is addressed by Nik Bienkowski in Commodities Outperform During Equity Market Downturns. Mebane Faber discusses a portfolio including commodities exposure in An Endowment Portfolio From Publicly-Traded Vehicles. For a negative view on the investment case for commodities, see Bill Miller on Oil, Silver, Other Commodities: Don't Buy!.
- The underperformance of futures-based commodity ETFs relative to the actual commodity they are supposed to track, known as tracking error, is discussed in US Oil Fund ETF Fails Investors Consistently (Scott Rothbort). For the case for commodity ETNs over commodity ETFs, see Troubled By ETF Tracking Failures? Try ETNs (Richard Shaw) and Kevin Rich on Commodity ETFs and ETNs (Hard Assets Investor). See also The ETN Market Heats Up With Goldman Launch; More On the Way (Matt Hougan).
- Should you use a broad commodities ETF or a set of ETFs or ETNs that track individual commodities? See Richard Kang's Is Commodity ETF Slicing and Dicing Necessary?.
- For a concise analysis of the different tax issues pertaining to exchange-traded Commodity funds, see Paul Justice's (Morningstar) A Basic Tax Guide for Holders of Commodity ETFs, ETNs and Trusts.
- For further analysis of the broad commodity ETFs, and comparisons between them, see: Commodity ETF Overview (Tim Iacono), A Look at the New GreenHaven Commodity ETF (Hard Assets Investor), Commodity Exposure Via ETFs: A Fund Manager's Process (Keith Lenger), New iShares GSCI Commodity Trust - Key Points To Understand (Market Participant), Commodities ETFs Protect The Little Guy (Tim Iacono), The New Generation of Diversified Commodity Indexes (Rich White), Digging Deeper Into Commodity-Based Funds (Keith Lenger).
This page is part of The Seeking Alpha ETF Selector which sorts ETFs by type, highlights how to use them and what to look out for, and provides links to articles that discuss key issues for investors. | <urn:uuid:1c7cf0b9-7f5d-4af7-831b-3efc4f272d50> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seekingalpha.com/article/30369-a-guide-to-commodity-etfs-and-etns | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900922 | 1,809 | 1.609375 | 2 |
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First, the bad news: The Andromeda galaxy, an agglomeration of 1 trillion stars that is visible to the naked eye, is hurtling through space at 250,000 miles per hour — and it's coming right at us. What's more, NASA astronomers in Baltimore said...
Tags: Space Programs, Science, NASA
This post has been corrected, as indicated below.By taking a fresh look at old data, an international team of astronomers has discovered a possible new super-Earth planet relatively nearby that could potentially hold liquid water, scientists said Wednesday. The research, released by the journal...
CNNThe hunt for planets like our own has come up with a striking discovery: There's a planet about the same size as Earth in the nearby Alpha Centauri system, and it's the closest planet found outside our solar system. "Close," of course, is a relative...
Gart Westerhout, an internationally known radio astronomer who established the astronomy department at the University of Maryland, College Park and was scientific director at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, died Sunday of congestive heart...
CNNThe hunt for planets like our own has come up with a striking discovery: There’s a planet about the same size as Earth in the nearby Alpha Centauri system, and it's the closest planet found outside our solar system. “Close,” of course,...
As the avuncular host of "NOVA ScienceNOW" on PBS, Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of the few astrophysicists who is recognized outside of scientific circles. It's no accident that he has made so many appearances on "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report."...
The exchange was simple and sweet: free “planetary” baked goods — asteroid Rice Krispie treats, deep space cupcakes — for a few signatures. As some of the thousands of visitors to Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Saturday open house...
THE OCTOBER SKY As the weather gets colder many of us will lament the passing of the long summer days, but not all is lost. With shorter stretches of daylight comes more opportunity for the observation of dark, starlit skies. A few bright stars...
Tags: Altair Corporation
With budget cuts looming and no clear flagship mission on the horizon, the Mars program has been looking to rechart its course in the coming years. Sending a spacecraft to the Red Planet to return a sample of rock may be the way to go, according to a...
Tags: Space Programs, Science, NASA, Barack Obama, Los Angeles Times
ATOP MAUNA KEA, Hawaii - If you count from sea level, we were 13,796 feet up, almost as high as Mount Rainier. Plenty high enough. But if you count from the ocean floor? My Big Island tour group was shivering in thin air atop the Earth's highest mountain...
Nov 13, 2012 |Story| Petoskey News
May 31, 2012 |Story| Baltimore Sun
Nov 7, 2012 |Story| Los Angeles Times
Oct 16, 2012 |Story| KSWB-LTV
Oct 17, 2012 |Story| CNN
Oct 17, 2012 |Story| Baltimore Sun
Oct 18, 2012 |Story| CNN
Oct 18, 2012 |Column| Chicago Tribune
Jun 13, 2012 |Story| Pasadena Sun
Oct 1, 2012 |Story| Herald Mail
Sep 26, 2012 |Story| Los Angeles Times
Sep 25, 2012 |Story| McClatchy-Tribune
Original site for Astronomy topic gallery. | <urn:uuid:358cc867-687d-4a58-81cc-e7dcc37d9a25> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mcall.com/topic/science-technology/science/astronomy/13004007.topic?page=7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925937 | 764 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Whether you’re planning to study at a university in the UAE or overseas; or perhaps you’re thinking about emigrating to a country where English is the primary language of communication; maybe you want to boost your CV credentials? Whatever the reason, ITEC’s TOEFL exam preparation courses will set you on the right track to achieve your goals and secure your future.
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is the most popular examination for measuring American English proficiency. It is necessary to get a good TOEFL score to enter a North American college or university. ITEC’s TOEFL iBT and Academic English program is designed to help you achieve that. Our TOEFL course will help you prepare for all four sections of the TOEFL iBT and work on the academic English skills you need to succeed at an English-speaking university.
Like most of our classes, sessions can be held in the morning, afternoon, evening or at your convenience. Class sizes are small and we make every effort to harness a learning environment conducive to your success in the examination. Our instructors have a wealth of experience in delivering the course and our pass rate is well above the local average.
This is a 30 hour intensive course priced at AED 1,950.
Don’t delay your TOEFL test preparation. Take the first step by completing the form below: | <urn:uuid:c7140fce-1fdd-49bd-91bd-d0271cc34619> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.itec.ac/toefl-preparation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937535 | 290 | 1.515625 | 2 |
By N Manoharan
Although India-Sri Lanka relations are presently at an all time high, shooting and harassment of Indian fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy is a potential irritant to these ties. With the Assembly polls in the state of Tamil Nadu around the corner, the issue is expected to get further politicized. There is immense pressure from Tamil Nadu on New Delhi to act decisively.
Although the ‘Eelam War IV’ in Sri Lanka has ended with the defeat of the LTTE, the fishermen issue continues. When the ethnic war was on, the Sri Lankan Navy was focussed on ‘Sea Tigers’ and the movement of LTTE boats around the island. The straying of Indian fishermen was overlooked. After the war, the Sri Lankan Navy is back to its primary task of patrolling the island’s maritime borders. They are now more concerned of a possible return of LTTE cadres, who fled from the island during the height of the conflict in 2009, to revive the conflict all over again. Security concerns still persist in Sri Lanka. Its Navy, therefore, has not let the guard down. Relaxation of fishing restrictions along Sri Lankan coasts has led Sri Lankan fishermen to venture into the sea. Indian fishermen, who thus far enjoyed a monopoly of resource-rich waters, have now got competitors in the form of their Sri Lankan counterparts. At times, this leads to confrontations between the two fishing communities and in turn draws the intervention of either of the two naval forces. Straying also takes place inadvertently due to ignorance of imaginary marine boundaries, engine failure or even due to sudden turbulence at seas. The issue, therefore, is complex.
What is hence urgently required is a comprehensive and humane approach leading to pragmatic solutions. It is surprising that despite the existence of certain practical arrangements to deal with the issue of bonafide fishermen of either side crossing the international maritime boundary line, firings on fishermen continue. The Joint Working Group that met in January 2006 agreed to
(i) Examine the possibility of not arresting straying fishermen within five nautical miles of the maritime boundary on either side;
(ii) Consider releasing the small fishing boats along with the fishermen on humanitarian grounds; and
(iii) Enhance coordination between the two Navies to curb illegal activities.
However, whether this agreement is being followed in letter and spirit is a big question. At the outset, the right to life of fishermen should be respected, followed by the livelihood issue. It should be noted that the use of force against Indian fishermen who cross over, advertently or inadvertently, into another country’s marine borders leading to their death does not happen even at marine boundaries with countries like Pakistan. This happens only at India-Sri Lanka borders. The Sri Lankan Navy, therefore, should take greater care in handling straying Indian fishermen.
To avoid shooting incidents due to ‘mistaken identity’, ‘coordinated patrolling’ between the navies of both countries can be considered. Additionally, developing fish farming extensively in Indian waters would prevent its fishermen from venturing into other waters in search of a ‘big catch’. India can also consider leasing fishing blocks, especially those identified as ‘surplus total available catch’, from Sri Lanka. Through this, Sri Lanka could also earn much required foreign exchange. India also can consider taking on the controversial Katchchativu island on lease. As an additional safety measure, the Indian Navy’s proposal of fitting Global Positioning System (GPS) in every boat should be implemented. GPS provides the fastest and most accurate method for fishermen to navigate, measure speed and determine locations. Costs of installation could be shared by the governments of India and Tamil Nadu, with a token contribution from the concerned fishermen. Apart from training the fishermen of its usage, the local administration should sensitize them on the dos and don’ts in international waters. In addition to respecting the rights of their Sri Lankan counterparts, the Indian fishermen should try and avoid using trawlers and motorboats that damage plankton and in turn make the seabed unfavourable for breeding new fish and prawns. Arranging frequent meetings between fishing communities of both countries could be explored so as to develop a friendlier atmosphere at mid-seas during fishing.
Senior Fellow, CLAWS
email: [email protected] | <urn:uuid:b9059133-b2de-42ce-b920-3c88cc256be7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eurasiareview.com/15022011-fishing-in-troubled-waters-indian-fishermen-and-india-sri-lanka-relations/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949758 | 901 | 2 | 2 |
Release Date: Monday, September 10, 2012
The University of Charleston, School of Pharmacy recently joined AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program national partnership network dedicated to promoting comparative effectiveness research to inpatient and professional communities across the United States. UCSOP is one of 24 pharmacy school partners and the only pharmacy school with national partner status in the state of West Virginia.
The UC School of Pharmacy is one of 24 pharmacy school partners and the only pharmacy school with national partner status in the state of West Virginia. The mission of AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program is to work with researchers, research centers, and academic organizations to produce patient-centered outcomes research and translate findings into useful formats for a variety of audiences, including consumers and clinicians and the communities they live in.
The research that AHRQ provides through the Effective Health Care program assists UC in its mission of preparing pharmacists who will provide comprehensive patient care, advancing the profession through research and advocacy, and serving the community as leaders in rural health care.
AHRQ is the lead Federal agency charged with improving the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. One of 12 agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, AHRQ supports health services research to improve the quality of health care and promote evidence-based decision making.
For more information about AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, visit their website: http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/partners/partnerssignup.htm | <urn:uuid:b187f8a0-4f5f-4987-a0c3-9809a8fd4684> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ucwv.edu/news.aspx?id=3011&ekfxmen_noscript=1&ekfxmensel=e08f60a43_217_220 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932455 | 317 | 1.601563 | 2 |
It's the dwelling place of God the Father
Matthew 6:9 (NIV)
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name
It's a place of treasures that thieves can't steal.
Matthew 6:20 (NIV)
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
It has many rooms
John 14:2 (NIV)
2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
It's an actual place
John 14:2-4 (NIV)
2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.
It's being prepared for us
Compare this to the idea that it's just a "state of being". It's not. It's a place that is being prepared.
John 14:2 (NIV) supports this. Also:
Jesus said in Matthew 25:34 (NIV)
"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."
It's a place of reward
This is in the middle of a parable that Jesus was telling regarding what heaven would be like.
Matthew 25:23 (NIV)
His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
There won't be a need for marriage in heaven
Luke 20:34-36 (NIV)
34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.
It is everlasting/eternal
John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. | <urn:uuid:1ee49a1f-696e-4268-be2f-88181cca7408> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/1027/what-exactly-do-we-know-about-heaven?answertab=oldest | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974411 | 579 | 1.5 | 2 |
Standing stately among her peers this lovely Victorian home, the Marshall Slocum Guest House, resides in the Kay-Catherine area of Newport, Rhode Island’s Bed and Breakfast district. A residential area developed in the 1850s at the beginning of Bellevue Avenue. Marshall and Catherine Slocum built it in 1855 when the estate of Henry Bull VI was settled and the land subdivided and developed. Catherine was a direct descendent of Henry Bull I, one of the founding fathers of Newport. Marshall was a pharmacist from Philadelphia and was also handy in the town being known to have moved several buildings nearby. When the estate was settled, the land was subdivided and the neighboring homes were built in the elegant Victorian style of architecture. One other family owned the home prior to being purchased in 1880 by a commercial developer and then donated to a local church for use as a parsonage. It was used as a home to the clergy for the next 80 years. Because of the limited buying and selling for the house, there has been little structural change from its original design.
Since its inception as a Newport Rhode Island bed and breakfast in 1983 the house has been painted papered, and pampered with all systems updated bringing her to the level of comfort and charm that she now enjoys. Nestled under a glorious copper beech tree of like age she reflects the beauty of a bygone era. The wicker rockers on the front porch beckon to be used.
A short walk from Newport, Rhode Island’s fabled downtown and waterfront attractions and a short drive from the picturesque beaches, our Newport Rhode Island Inn is the perfect place to spend your time during your next visit to New England’s most famous seaside city. Whether you come for the Yacht races, the Jazz concerts, or just to relax at the seashore the Marshall Slocum Guest House is the perfect place to stay. | <urn:uuid:a9d342dc-4180-4fde-b07c-44bacf69e591> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://marshallslocuminn.com/the-inn/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972463 | 394 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Learn the basics of QuickBooks in classes offered through Linn-Benton Community College Business and Employer Services classes.
Guided Tour QuickBooks is a four-hour class designed for those with no previous experience using a computer-based accounting system.
Class will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 25 and Thursday, Sept. 27 from 2 to 3:50 p.m. in the LBCC Forum building, room F-202, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. Cost for this non-credit class is $69.
QuickBooks I class is designed to help you set up an accounting system using QuickBooks 2011. This 10-hour class will meet on Thursdays from 2 to 3:50 p.m. beginning Oct. 4 in the Forum building, room F-202. Cost for this non-credit class is $195.
For more information or to register, contact the LBCC Business Healthcare and Workforce Division at 541-917-4923. | <urn:uuid:ecac27ae-afc9-42bf-bfde-cb8985484dd8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://linnbentoncommunitycollege.blogspot.com/2012/09/lbcc-offers-quickbooks-classes.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919669 | 204 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Reply to comment
A recent study conducted by a team at the University of California, Irvine, found that women living within 1.9 miles of a major roadway in Los Angeles are 128% more at risk of giving birth prematurely.
The same study found that these women were also 33 to 42 percent more likely to develop preeclampsia -- a condition characterized by high blood pressure and can cause doctors to induce premature labor in order to save the mother’s life.
Unfortunately for many mothers-to-be, picking up and moving to avoid the affects of smog are not exactly an option.
For the individuals who are stuck in the big city, doctors recommend the women who live near major freeways close the windows at home, or while driving keep windows closed and use air conditioning to filter the dirty air coming into the car. One of the easier ways is to limit your driving overall and avoid rush-hour times on the roads.
Although these suggestions will help, clearly there is an overlying issue that must be tackled on a greater scale…we have got to keep working to drastically reduce smog in our cities!
Click here for more information. | <urn:uuid:f8524905-fb23-4fa1-90c2-8ae64c0a0940> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://liveearth.org/zh-hant/comment/reply/3799 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959305 | 236 | 1.90625 | 2 |
In a wasteful age, faux simplicity masks our overindulgence.
Not long ago, I was in a newly renovated kitchen in a New York City apartment. The designer had done everything in his power to respect the economy of space, with a flip-top counter and diminutive appliances, but it was the cabinetry that most piqued my interest. To minimize surface clutter, everything was sheathed in lacquered white fiberboard. Even the refrigerator and dishwasher were behind flat cabinet doors.
This clean aesthetic was, in fact, a blatant subversion of the very idea of minimalism—a study in extravagance disguised as pure economy. Twice the amount of surfacing material had been used on the appliances than was needed, and twice the amount of effort would be required to open them every time they were used.
I might have relegated this encounter to the archives of curious design decisions, except that it seemed to say something about the strange place minimalism has found for itself in our culture: Often, now, it is used as a kind of mask for an underlying excess and extravagance.
Few of us will deny that this is a time of consumer excess and that the cycle of bloated consumption and grievous waste is part of our national profile. But as individuals, we are unwilling to cop to our own participation in it. The health of our economy might depend upon our constant consumption of goods, but it’s not an identity we much like. It implicates us in something—not exactly a conspiracy, but at least a kind of collusion between voracious consumer appetite and the marketers who depend upon it. As the writer and conservationist Wendell Berry describes the situation: “It is the fault of an economy that is wasteful from top to bottom—a symbiosis of unlimited greed at the top and a lazy, passive, and self-indulgent consumptiveness at the bottom—and all of us are involved in it.”
Still, most of us prefer to think of ourselves as wanting and needing only the essentials. It’s the divided self of American identity. This is only a guess, but I’d bet that the millions of Americans who carry monthly credit card debt like to think of themselves as self-reliant, able, and sensible, rather than extravagant, imprudent, and impractical. And often, even when we do admit to our excesses, we are quickly corrected. “I’m a drunk when it comes to clothes,” said socialite Nan Kempner, but the public was more inclined to view her as an icon of elegance, a maestra of the organized closet. The title given to the show of her wardrobe at the Metropolitan Museum of Art [in New York] was “American Chic.” She might have considered herself a drunk, but to others, owning 12 lemon-yellow cashmere sweaters is the epitome of high style.
So as substance abusers in the most literal sense, we seem to do what most other addicts do when faced with the obvious: We go into denial. We spin. Often, that spin involves redefining excess as less. And for all the dangers implicit in the cycle of consumption and waste, I would venture to say that the cycle of indulgence and denial is even more dangerous, because it involves a level of self-deception, along with convoluted arguments of justification that allow us to do whatever we want. Take the VivaTerra catalog, which comes from an eco-friendly retailer that donates a dollar per $75 order to the Trust for Public Land. But the friend of mine who gets its catalog has received two in the past month, and wouldn’t it make more sense anyway, she asks, to donate her $225 to the Trust rather than spend that amount on a handbag made from candy wrappers “headed for landfill”?
Ambivalence toward abundance and reinventing excess as less happens at every level of the consumer chain. It’s not just candy-wrapper handbags or minimalist kitchens—consider shoppers who go to warehouse outlets such as BJ’s, Sam’s Club, and Costco, where low prices entice shoppers to buy items sold in bulk, often 3 or 7 or 12 of something when they really require only one. But rather than view their jumbo purchases of shampoo in gallon jugs and shrink-wrapped eight-packs of T-shirts as excessive buying, they define such super-sized purchases as thrifty.
Enoch Palmer, vice president of design at Aveda, agrees with the notion that over-consumption often comes from a desire to do the efficient and economic thing. “If my wife and I see something at Old Navy that looks like it’s really great for our child, then we consider buying it in three sizes. But then you also have to consider having a closet full of stuff you end up not needing.” Bulk shopping, Palmer suggests, is two-sided: While it obviously makes more sense in terms of packaging to buy one large package than eight small ones over the course of a year, if you’re buying lots of stuff you don’t need and are just going to throw it all out, it defeats the original purpose.
In his job, Palmer and his team at Aveda review a list of questions before making design decisions: Do we need it? Can we live without it? Can we borrow, rent, or get it used? Is the project designed to minimize waste? Is it designed to be durable or multifunctional? Such questions apply not only to Aveda’s new projects but to the decisions made in the company’s office planning. When the New York headquarters was refurbished three years ago, for example, the company bought used filing cabinets and office furniture. Aveda’s questions can easily be applied to our individual habits of consumption.
Other companies have started to do their own soul-searching when it comes to paring down, and their choice to do so can derive as much from market forces as from the will to do good. Corporate sustainability consultant Marc Alt, who has been working with Wal-Mart, says that the nation’s largest retailer gives its buyers a bonus when they bring in products with reduced packaging. Sylvania’s CFL bulbs, for example, were once packaged in bulky, oversized blister packs; today, they come in small cardboard boxes. As a result, they are awarded better placement on shelves, which leads to greater sales.
That Wal-Mart—whose very existence is predicated on urging consumers to buy more—is paying closer attention to sustainable packaging brings us, of course, back to the divided self, and mirrors the paradox most of us just tend to live with, if more and more uneasily. But rather than merely chalking it up to one more irony of modern life, perhaps this is one paradox we’ll have to work harder to resolve.
Make less, buy less, use less, throw away less. As Russell Davies, a branding expert (and former global consumer planning director for Nike) writes on his blog, “Once upon a time, packaging wasn’t disposable, it was useful. We didn’t think about recycling biscuit tins, because we kept them, they were useful. And now they’re even more valuable than they were. So I’m wondering if there’s a way of thinking about packaging sustainability that makes it more valuable, not more recyclable. Does that make sense?”
It does. Davies questions whether his own thinking is “horribly simplistic.” It may be. But what is also horribly simplistic is the banal human malady of wanting too much. Which brings us back to Wendell Berry, who once wrote that the greatest obstacle is “the conviction that we cannot change because we are dependent upon what is wrong. But that is the addict’s excuse, and we know that it will not do.” | <urn:uuid:fd64f7b8-ff53-430b-b83a-3235b52c4483> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dcrit.sva.edu/view/readingroom/excess-disguised-as-less/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96924 | 1,663 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Nature “Attenborough’s Life Stories: Life on Camera” at 7 pm
In honor of Sir David Attenborough’s 60th anniversary on television, this three-part miniseries focuses on three fields that David Attenborough feels have been transformed most profoundly: filmmaking, science and the environment. Richly illustrated with the sequences (re-mastered in HD) that Attenborough has spent 60 years capturing, new interviews in which he revisits the content, stories and locations that were featured in his landmark series, and packed with the personal anecdotes of the BBC’s most accomplished raconteur, “Attenborough’s Life Stories” is a singular synopsis of a unique half-century plus. In “Life on Camera,” Sir David Attenborough revisits key places and events in his wildlife filmmaking career, reminisces through his old photos and reflects on memorable wildlife footage, including swimming with dolphins and catching a komodo dragon. Returning to his old haunts in Borneo, he recalls the challenges of filming on a seething pile of guano in a bat cave.
NOVA “Rise of the Drones” at 8 pm
Drones. These unmanned flying robots – some as large as jumbo jets, others as small as birds – do things straight out of science fiction. Much of what it takes to get these robotic airplanes to fly, sense and kill has remained secret. But now, with unprecedented access to drone engineers (including a rare interview with the “Father of the Predator,” Abe Karem) and those who operate drones for the U.S. military, NOVA reveals the amazing technologies that make them so powerful. Discover the cutting-edge technologies that are propelling us toward a new chapter in aviation history.
Life On Fire “Phoenix Temple” at 9 pm
Around the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua, life has struggled for thousands of years to re-emerge from the ashes. Underground, vampire and other bat species have colonized the miles of tunnels created by hot flowing magma. In the crater, parakeets and vultures have made nests on cliffs exposed to toxic gases. On the flanks of this still active mountain, the vegetation has been burnt away by lava flows leaving barren stretches that are recolonized over hundreds of years. At the foot of the volcano, fields, pastures and towns have grown over the oldest lava flows. In this harsh environment, nature struggles to conquer ash and lava before the next eruption erases its efforts … and the phoenix must rise again. | <urn:uuid:b5a4140d-25a6-443c-be93-1f78100aeb00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.klru.org/blog/2013/01/science-night-123/?M=about | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945774 | 539 | 2.03125 | 2 |
Continuing our wandering among the exhibits at The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia, we ran across this photographic reproduction of a 1702 etching of Howland Great Dock near Deptford, England, where ships were built, repaired, and moored.
A continuing search in Papworth came up with a couple of possibilities for the arms of Mr. Howland’s wife. (Do you have any idea how many coats consisting of a chevron between three birds there are in Papworth? Admittedly, there are not many chevrons ermine (white with black tails) and even fewer chevrons ermines (black with white tails), but because Papworth is organized by the different types of birds around the chevron and then by the field tincture under each type of bird, you have read through _all_ of those pages looking for the few chevrons ermine or ermines. And apparently the birds are not, as I first thought they might be, doves, unless the engraver made an error and failed to make the chevron engrailed.)
In any case, the two likeliest possibilities I found were as follows:
Wyke: Argent a chevron ermine between three plovers proper.
Jervis (Petling, co. Leicester): Sable a chevron ermine between three hawks close argent.
I suspect that Wyke is a little more likely than Jervis; no doubt a little genealogical research would let us pin this down more strictly, but that’s a lot of work for a few moments’ curiosity.
A general search on the internet found an entry for Howland Great Dock and noted that the dock was built on land leased from and with monies provided by Elizabeth Howland. (Greenland Dock was built on the site in the 19th Century, and survives to this day.) I suspect that, since the Dock was named after her father, while the shield (a lozenge) is hers, the arms are those of her father impaled with those of her mother.
3 days ago | <urn:uuid:3a63a94a-7b04-4214-8c50-3973105fb0ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.appletonstudios.com/2010/08/more-heraldry-at-mariners-museum.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971627 | 443 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Young Women Speaking the Economy
Welcome to Young Women Speaking the Economy!
It's no secret that the global economic crisis has affected billions of people around the world, but it may come as a surprise that it has affected the young more than anyone (read more here). As the world faces warnings of a "lost generation" of workers, where are the voices, concerns, and ideas of young women in the current economic debate?
You'll find them here, in Young Women Speaking the Economy. This online exhibition--created by 44 young women from Denmark, the United States, Sudan, and the Philippines--asks the question, "What's on your mind at this time of global economic crisis?"
Ways to Explore Young Women Speaking the Economy:
Young Women Speaking the Economy is a project of the International Museum of Women in partnership with the Sudanese Women's Museum and Ahfad University for Women in the Sudan; the Women's Museum and Aarhus University in Denmark; the Ayala Museum and Miriam College in the Philippines; and Mills College in the United States.Major funding for the project is provided by Museums & Community Collaborations Abroad (MCCA), made possible by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the American Association of Museums; and by MetLife Foundation's Museum and Community Connections grant. Additional support comes from the Emma Willard School. | <urn:uuid:3740c3f4-ebce-4fa5-b965-a2bc6062aa8d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.imow.org/economica/projects/project?language=fr&key=105 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931465 | 290 | 2.078125 | 2 |
|Formula weight||18.01528 amu|
|Melting point||273 K (0 °C)|
|Boiling point||373 K (100 °C)|
|Density||1.0 ×103 kg/m3|
|S0gas, 1 bar||188.84 J/mol·K|
|S0liquid, 1 bar||69.95 J/mol·K|
|Skin||Prolonged immersion may cause flaking (desquamation).|
|SI units were used where possible. Unless otherwise stated, standard conditions were used.|
The solid state of water is known as (water) ice; the gaseous state is known as steam. The units of temperature (formerly the degree Celsius and now the Kelvin) are defined in terms of the triple point of water, 273.16 K (0.01 °C) and 611.2 Pa, the temperature and pressure at which solid, liquid, and gaseous water coexist in equilibrium.
Chemists sometimes jokingly refer to water as dihydrogen monoxide or DHMO (see http://www.dhmo.org/ (http://www.dhmo.org/)), the systematic covalent name of this molecule, especially in parodies of chemical research that call for this "lethal chemical" to be banned. The systematic acid name of water is hydroxic acid or hydroxilic acid, although these terms are rarely used.
An important feature of water is its polar nature. The water molecule forms an angle, with hydrogen atoms at the tips and oxygen at the vertex. Since oxygen has a higher electronegativity than hydrogen, the side of the molecule with the oxygen atom has a partial negative charge, relative to the hydrogen side. A molecule with such a charge difference is called a dipole. The charge differences cause water molecules to be attracted to each other (the relatively positive areas being attracted to the relatively negative areas) and to other polar molecules. This attraction is known as hydrogen bonding.
This relatively weak (relative to the covalent bonds within the water molecule itself) attraction results in properties such as a very high boiling point, because a lot of heat energy is necessary to break the hydrogen bonds between molecules, and also a large specific heat capacity.
Also due to hydrogen bonding, water molecules have the peculiar property that their density in the liquid state is higher than in the crystalline (solid) state. The highest density of water occurs in the liquid form at a temperature of 4 °C. This has the effect that the water at the bottom of lakes in winter typically has a temperature of 4 °C, allowing fish to survive. Another consequence is that ice will melt if sufficient pressure is applied.
Water is also a good solvent due to its polarity. When an ionic or polar compound enters water, it is surrounded by water molecules. The relatively small size of water molecules typically allows many water molecules to surround one molecule of solute. The partially negative dipoles of the water are attracted to positively charged components of the solute, and vice versa for the positive dipoles.
In general, ionic and polar substances such as acids, alcohols, and salts are easily soluble in water, and nonpolar substances such as fats and oils are not. Nonpolar molecules stay together in water because it is energetically more favorable for the the water molecules to hydrogen bond to each other than to engage in van der Waals interactions with nonpolar molecules.
An example of an ionic solute is table salt; the sodium chloride, NaCl, separates into Na+ cations and Cl- anions, each being surrounded by water molecules. The ions are then easily transported away from their crystaline latice into solution. An example of a nonionic solute is table sugar. The water dipoles hydrogen bond to the dipolar regions of the sugar molecule and allow it to be carried away into solution.
The strong hydrogen bonds give water a high cohesiveness and, consequently, surface tension. This is evident when small quantities of water are put onto a nonsoluble surface and the water stays together as drops. This feature is important when water is carried through xylem up stems in plants; the strong intermolecular attractions hold the water column together, and prevent tension caused by transpiration pull. Other liquids with lower surface tension would have a higher tendency to "rip", forming vacuum or air pockets and rendering the xylem vessel inoperative.
Pure water is actually an insulator, meaning that it does not conduct electricity well. Because water is such a good solvent, it often has some solute dissolved in it, most frequently salt. If water has such impurities, then it can conduct electricity well.
Water can be split into its constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen, by passing a current through it. This process is called electrolysis. Water molecules naturally disassociate into H+ and OH- ions, which are pulled toward the cathode and anode, respectively. At the cathode, two H+ ions pick up electrons and form H2 gas. At the anode, four OH- ions combine and release O2 gas, molecular water, and four electrons. The gases produced bubble to the surface, where they can be collected.
amphoteric: able to act as an acid or base. Occassionally the term hydroxic acid is used when water acts as an acid in a chemical reaction. At a pH of 7 (neutral), the concentration of hydroxide ions (OH-) is equal to that of the hydronium (H3O+) or hydrogen ions (H+) ions. If the equilibrium is disturbed, the solution becomes acidic (higher concentration of hydronium ions) or basic (higher concentration of hydroxide ions).
Purified water is needed for many industrial applications, as well as for consumption. Humans require water that does not have too much salt or other impurities in it. Common impurities include toxic chemicals or harmful bacteria. Some solutes are acceptable and even desirable for perceived taste enhancement.
Six popular methods for purifying water are:
Water is one of the four classical elements along with fire, earth and air, and was regarded as the ylem, or basic stuff of the universe. Water was considered cold and moist. In the theory of the four bodily humours, water was asssociated with phlegm.
UNESCO's World Water Development Report (WWDR, 2003) from its World Water Assessment Program indicates that in the next 20 years the world is facing an unprecedented lack of drinking water. The quantity of water available to everyone is predicted to decrease by 30%. The causes are contamination, global warming and political problems.
The report indicates large global disparities in the raw volume of available water: from 10 m³ per person per year in Kuwait to 812.121 [m³] in French Guiana. However, richer countries such as Kuwait can more easily cope with low water availability. | <urn:uuid:5c1fc028-a7f6-485b-9714-67dae697d002> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.glasglow.com/e2/wa/Water.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926855 | 1,443 | 3.328125 | 3 |
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Dysarthria is the term for a medical condition that is characterized by impaired speech, the origin of which is considered to be a disorder of the nervous system. As such, the condition is usually accompanied by poor control of muscles in the face and neck due to dysfunction of various cranial and facial nerves. Dysarthria may also involve a number of secondary systems related to speech and articulation, such as the respiratory system. The effects of these disturbances typically produce speech that is labored and lacking in normal pitch and intonation.
There are many factors that can cause dysarthria to occur. Traumatic brain injury, stroke, or brain tumors often damages motor neurons, which are responsible for coordinating signals from various parts of the brain and brain stem to precisely execute muscle movements. Dysarthria may also result from various neurodegenerative disorders, such as Huntington’s disease, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson’s disease. Since this is the case, any sudden onset of impaired speech should be investigated without delay.
Dysarthria assessment is made according to the symptoms observed, which enables the clinician to categorize the condition. The general speech qualities examined are articulation, resonance, phonation, and prosody (rhythm and meter), with each area being impacted differently depending on the location and extent of neuron damage. For example, spastic dysarthria is related to nerve damage along the pyramidal tract, while ataxic dysarthria is caused by cerebellar dysfunction. Flaccid dysarthria is associated with damage to cranial nerves, and hyperkinetic dysarthria is associated with the formation of lesions of the basal ganglia. Hypokinetic dysarthria, on the other hand, is the result of lesions along the substantia nigra, a consequence specific to Parkinson's disease.
Dysarthria treatment is primarily administered by a speech pathologist, who will engage the patient in a variety of exercises to help improve pronunciation and voice inflection. One of the key goals is to slow down the rate of speech in order to be better understood. Pacing speech may be practiced with the aid of a metronome, which cues the patient to pronounce one syllable at a time in sync with instrument’s ticking noise. Some speech therapists employ pacing boards or graduating sticks, which require the patient to tap or touch a designated target each time a syllable is spoken.
A number of compensation techniques may also be explored. For instance, patients who have difficulty making a hard “t” or “d” sound may be encouraged to produce the sound by bringing the flat blade of the tongue to meet the teeth rather that the tip. Some patients may need to overstress the pronunciation of consonants, while others may need to become more aware of the tendency to suddenly erupt into loud speech. Additional therapeutic techniques involve role playing drills and mirroring exercises, followed by the therapist provoking the same response but without any visual or auditory cues.
Speech therapy usually improves overall speech for most patients. However, severe cases may necessitate the use of alternative communication methods, such as sign language. In some cases, surgical intervention may help, such as modification to the pharyngeal flap. In addition, prosthetic devices are available, including obturator and speech bulb implants, or non-invasive devices that either synthesize or digitize speech. | <urn:uuid:3d77bb7d-4e20-4bac-8efa-2f3b19d948c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-dysarthria.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940447 | 709 | 3.734375 | 4 |
In a film that blends paleontological wonders with existential pondering, Cave of Forgotten Dreams asks the question, "What constitutes humanness?" German director Werner Herzog creeps deep into Chauvet Cave in southern France, where researchers say they have found the earliest known cave paintings. The charcoal paintings etched on the curved walls of the cave-some say from 32,000 B.C., others say 10,000 B.C.-look as though someone scratched them there last week.
A landslide sealed the cave thousands of years ago, creating a perfectly preserved time capsule until explorers discovered it in 1994. Only a few scientists are allowed inside, and Herzog labored under a set of strict rules to preserve the cave's delicate environment. He had to use battery-powered cameras and lights that did not give off heat. The film crew was forbidden to step off a 2-foot-wide walkway and could only stay in the cave for a few hours at a time. Despite the logistical difficulties, the film is a cinematic tour de force. Herzog uses light and shadow to create the illusion of a flickering torch on a cave wall, just as the painters would have seen it long ago. The filming elevates 3D to true artistry, giving shape and depth to the curves and contours of the cave wall. The paintings are more fluid and full of life and movement than medieval paintings thousands of years later.
There's a sense that these ancestors were not the hulking, empty-headed cavemen often portrayed but souls with the urge to communicate and represent the wonders of their world. The paleontologists and archaeologists approach the paintings with awe, dreaming about the lives and hopes of the people who created them. "It is," says narrator Herzog, "as if the modern human soul had awakened here." | <urn:uuid:72a11736-441b-4d99-9038-d4d7193aeaaa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.worldmag.com/2011/05/cave_of_forgotten_dreams | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962663 | 367 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Letters like wedges (Latin, cuneus, a wedge). These sort of letters occur in old Persian and Babylonian inscriptions. They are sometimes called Arrow-headed characters, and those found at Babylon are called nail-headed. This species of writing is the most ancient of which we have any knowledge; and was first really deciphered by Grotefend in 1802.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
More on Cuneiform Letters from Infoplease: | <urn:uuid:243af765-ee0a-4641-82a4-d859fbbe8134> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/brewers/cuneiform-letters.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963359 | 111 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Ruble and euro banknotes of different denominations. (RIA Novosti/Igor Samoilov)Russians’ love for cash remains strong, as the amount of ‘live money’ in the country up 11.2% in 2012 – CBR.Last year the amount of cash in circulation in Russia stood at 7,676bln roubles, according to a research by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), compared to 6,903bn roubles in 2011. Russia had the highest growth of cash in the economy, followed by China and the USA. The number of banknotes throughout the world economies has been growing, with ‘live money’ set to remain a favorite means of payment for years to come, says Alekxandr Yurov, director at CBR money circulation department.It’ll take generations to make people completely switch to something alternative like electronic payments, but when that happens it’ll have been another civilization, Yurov added.In Russia, where electronic payments have emerged quite recently, people simply haven’t had enough time to get used to money that can’t be touched. A lack of the necessary infrastructure, such as point of sale terminals adds to the strong favor towards cash, explained the CBR official.“About 17% of Russians who want to pay for their purchases by a card are rejected – simply because shops don’t have such a device,” Yurov concluded.
Read the article: | <urn:uuid:c43bbdd2-5c4b-4e9d-9c18-bd0cddb970ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scenereleases.eu/in-cash-russians-trust/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950912 | 311 | 1.75 | 2 |
Quiz: Chapter 4
|Name: _____________________________||Period: ___________________________|
This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions.
Multiple Choice Questions
Directions: Circle the correct answer.
1. How does Briggs escape being taken in?
a) He jumps out a window.
b) He runs out of the apartment and then backtracks and hides behind the locked door.
c) He locks himself in the bathroom.
d) He hurls himself through the sliding door.
2. How does Lulu distract Stephanie's tail?
a) By sitting on him.
b) By kissing him.
c) By knocking him over the head.
d) By unbuttoning her blouse.
3. Why does Benchy spend the night in his car?
a) Because Stephanie stays at her parents' home that night.
b) He falls asleep on surveillance.
c) He has no place else to stay at the moment.
d) He thinks his car is more comfortable...
This section contains 356 words|
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) | <urn:uuid:c327217d-74db-4a2a-b8a5-9ed7d338b18d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/high-five/quiz7.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910404 | 240 | 1.703125 | 2 |
When you need to quickly pause the music or video you’re playing, it can often be difficult to find the pause button fast enough. If you have a remote control or a multimedia keyboard, things may be a little easier, but wouldn’t it be great if you could simply wave your hand in front of your computer to control media playback. Well, this is exactly what Flutter enables you to do.
Available for both Windows 7 and OS X, this simple free app works in conjunction with you web cam and provides very basic controls in a number of popular media programs. The utility can be used with Spotify, Windows Media Player, VLC, iTunes and QuickTime, and when you want to pause or resume, all you need to do is to hold your hand up in front of your web cam.
There is no complicated setup procedure to run through, everything just works. There is a brief tutorial that will enable you to check that everything is working and run you through a couple of text, but that’s really all there is to it. The great thing is that you can have your music playing in the background while you work and web cam controls will work no matter what application currently has focus.
Should you need to use your web cam for anything else, you can temporarily disable Flutter by double clicking the system tray icon, and re-enabling it is a simple matter of repeating this action. Future versions of the app will expand not only the number of media programs that are supported, but will also add more gestures. When this happens, Flutter is going to become a must-have app. | <urn:uuid:5b3ea8dd-8a16-41fb-842b-0d8094ba4ca4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/downloads/3328556/flutter-0318/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94329 | 331 | 1.546875 | 2 |
During World War II, musicians tried things with harmonies, rhythm, syncopation, and the craftsmanship of music itself. Keeping morale up was critical: the music speaks of hope, of dancing, of forgetting the dangers the world was in. The library has a number of Big Band era and Swing CD’s to check out.
Escapist? Yes, sometimes. Part of the purpose was to forget your cares, much as movies from this era were about love, glamour, and romance. Benny Goodman’s Sing, Sing, Sing has a fast tempo (I DON’T know how Gene Krupa keeps this pace for the full length of the song, which lasts about 7 minutes!) and moves from loud to soft – you think the tune is ending, then it comes back with a vengeance. Then does it again. How can you keep still when you hear to this? Granted, it would be pretty fierce to try to dance to it. Glenn Miller’s In The Mood lends itself much better to dancing, and does some of the same thing with the fake-out ending.
Romantic? Oh, definitely. Some of the songs speak of loved ones far away, recognizing how hard it was to have a family member or beau in the service. How they can’t wait to be together again. How they miss each other. My grandfather had been an M.P. in Guam, and every time he and Grandma heard I’ll Be Home For Christmas (If Only In My Dreams), they’d look at each other. Smile. Remember. It was something they shared, and it brought back powerful memories.
Patriotic? Absolutely. Bing Crosby’s There’ll Be A Hot Time In The Town of Berlin is a blend of harmonies with the Andrews Sisters, and we know and love them for their Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B. Johnny Mercer’s G.I. Jive has fun with the idea of being in the service, but also speaks of the frustrations of someone who is sent far away. One of my personal favorites is Spike Jones and the City Slickers’ Heil, Heil, Right in the Führer’s Face. Some of these pieces also had propaganda cartoons animated by no less than Walt Disney and the Warner Brothers. Often insulting to our enemies of the time, they were played at American moviehouses as part of the war effort.
The recordings are amazing, and for someone like Glenn Miller, who was killed in the war, they’re the only way we have of enjoying the music. But people still love it, and play it.
If you were here for the Topeka Big Band’s concert on December 2, 2011, you got to hear some of this music live, and see the great dancing that goes with Swing. The USO-style dance was inspired by the efforts of volunteers all over the country during World War II – volunteers who fed, supported, danced with, talked to, and listened to, our nation’s soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. The “canteen” is part of the exhibit Call of Duty: Kansans and World War II in the Sabatini Gallery. As part of the exhibit, we set up a World War II era living room, with an original 1941 radio (thanks, Sherryl and Larry Longhofer!) “playing” Swing music. (OK, we cheated: we had a small CD player behind the radio – even though it does still play!) We have some sheet music, too, if you want to learn to play it yourself.
Improving the morale of servicemen and their families was the goal of the USO, a united group of volunteers from many service organizations. Young girls held dances and parties for soldiers, and more mature women served as the senior hostesses. The matrons acted as chaperones for the girls, and also as maternal figures for the soldiers, listening, talking to them, reassuring them, even helping with sewing military insignia onto uniforms, or mending. It is small wonder to me that the emphasis on patriotism and morale building included many musicians traveling to perform for troops overseas.
We were honored to have many veterans in our audience, and visiting the exhibit. At the Swing Dance, we met Charles Sharp, a World War II veteran, who had fought in the Battle of the Bulge in the Army, 9th Armor Division, 16th Field Artillery. Ted Mize, in his Navy uniform, joined us as a host for the dance. Special Collections and Gallery staff dressed in 1940s vintage clothing, and acted as junior hostesses. (I’m not young and hot enough to be a junior hostess anymore, so I was a senior hostess: a chaperone, who protected the reputations of our young girls. I made sure Ted behaved in a gentlemanly fashion – which he did, of course.)
Our thanks to our veterans, who have so bravely served our country. | <urn:uuid:128d249b-c807-4771-8c95-f7f00d396f0c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tscpl.org/books-movies-music/what-do-i-love-about-big-band-music-the-spirit/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976781 | 1,046 | 1.859375 | 2 |
Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology
Studies were performed on spinal neurons from lampreys isolated by an enzymatic/mechanical method using pronase. The effects of 100 µM serotonin (5-HT) on membrane potential oscillations induced by a variety of excitatory amino acids were studied. 5-HT was found to depolarize branched cells (presumptive motoneurons and interneurons) by 2–6 mV without inducing membrane potential oscillations. However, when oscillations were already present because of an excitatory amino acid, 5-HT changed the parameters of these oscillations, increasing the amplitudes of all types of oscillations, increasing the frequency of irregular oscillations, and increasing the duration of the depolarization plateaus accompanied by action potentials. Serotonin modulation of the effects of excitatory amino acids and the electrical activity of cells in the neural locomotor network facilitates motor activity and leads to increases in the contraction of truncal muscles and more intense movements by the animal. The possible mechanisms of receptor coactivation are discussed, along with increases in action potential frequency and changes in the parameters of the locomotor rhythm. | <urn:uuid:4ac092f8-7bb0-43f8-b00d-1f3f2c75eb76> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://epublications.marquette.edu/bio_fac/7/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.920285 | 241 | 2.375 | 2 |
Fair Haven community members woke up early Sunday morning and filled the Fair Haven Fire House for the “Pink Haven” Pancake Breakfast sponsored by Cub Scout Pack #127.
The fire house was brimming with people, all looking forward to enjoying a delicious breakfast while supporting a great cause. The tables were crowded with families and smiles and a true sense of community.
Scouts were working hard all morning, weaving through the crowd while balancing plates stacked with pancakes and breakfast sausages, which were generously donated by Readies’ Fine Foods in Red Bank.
An army of volunteers held down the kitchen, making sure there was never a moment where empty plates longed for pancakes.
An array of baskets filled with great prizes lined the tables for a silent auction. People lined up to buy stacks of raffle tickets in hopes that luck was on their side. The baskets, all of which were donated by members of the community, contained a variety of goodies for kids and adults.
In its 8th year, the annual Pancake Breakfast began as a way for the community to support one of their own. When Fair Haven resident Katy Frissora, whose children were boy scouts, was diagnosed with breast cancer, the community felt compelled to help.
Inspired by Katy’s strength and struggle, the local scouts began the annual Pancake Breakfast to support breast cancer. The breakfast gives the scouts the opportunity to learn not only about community service, but also how important it is to support and care for the women in their lives.
The breakfast is also a great way to show the boys how important it is to raise money and volunteer time for causes aside from their organization. All the money from this fundraiser is donated to breast cancer causes and not to the scouts.
“It gets the boys working hard for women, not for themselves, which is an important lesson,” said Mary Lenskold, a volunteer who helps organize the breakfast each year.
Each year, the proceeds go to long time partner, the Walsh Family Charities, which helps aid in breast cancer research and care. The charity was started by Fair Haven resident Paul Walsh, in honor of his wife Maryellen, a two time breast cancer survivor.
The charity works closely with Dr. Patrick Morgan, who was the former Chief of Breast Surgery at Sloane Kettering Cancer Hospital. The funds raised go to support research and new technology, such as the Breast Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI) machine, a cutting edge scan that allows for early detection.
This year, the scouts also teamed up with Paint the Town Pink, a community wide effort presented by Riverview Medical Center to “raise awareness of the importance of breast cancer prevention, detection and treatment.” The money raised by the breakfast will be split between these two amazing charities.
All money donated to Paint the Town Pink goes to the Pink Fund, which helps underserved and uninsured women afford mammograms. With the average cost of a mammogram ranging from $500-$600, many women, especially in a tough economy, are forced to put off mammograms due to their cost.
“I just tell everyone who came out today, with every pancake you eat, that’s a woman’s life that you saved,” said Stacey Donovan, chairperson of Paint the Town Pink.
This year, the grand total generated from the breakfast was approximately $10, 000. The money will be split among The Walsh Family Charities and The Pink Fund
Paint the Town Pink continues until May 7th, 2011. To see a list of events in your area, please visit http://paintthetownpink.com/ | <urn:uuid:79b2e94a-4cba-4e6e-9af6-f41fc718a5f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rumson.patch.com/articles/pink-haven-pancake-breakfast-raises-10k-for-breast-cancer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972704 | 753 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Where the kids are: on the lookout for new playmates
Socializing your tots isn’t just about sending them to school
by Erica Ehm
A preschooler’s future success is largely dependent on being well socialized
WHEN MY SON was five, he preferred play to work. Educators suggest early childhood development is all about learning through play. They believe a preschooler’s future success is largely dependent on being well socialized. When we were kids, finding friends was easy. The neighborhood streets were filled with kids just hanging out.
Socialization happened naturally. These days our kids live in safe bubbles; they can’t even stand on the front porch without parental patrolling. So this yummy mummy had to go on a playmate prowl for Josh.
The first place I expected to find a friend for my son was at his preschool. However the principal refused to allow a class list to be created, citing privacy concerns for some parents. I was extremely disappointed. With many moms and dads working and drop-off and pickup schedules erratic, catching the parents of my child’s school friends was next to impossible.
Josh had a special girlfriend at this school. With his teacher’s help, I managed to connect with this little girl’s mom and invited her daughter to come play. When she arrived, she was carrying a dozen roses. It was clear her mother was as overjoyed as I was to finally connect with another family outside of school.
My son also attended a French immersion public school. I was thrilled to receive a request for contact information for a class list. I’m sure I was the first mom to sign up. Within a month, a mom of one of the students phoned me to set up a time for our boys to cavort.
The first date her son came to our place. Unfortunately, it ended earlier than expected with our guest in tears, sobbing that he missed his mother. So, we tried again a few weeks later. This time the boys played at his house. When I arrived to pick up Josh, I had to pry him from the arms of his friend who wanted to continue wrestling all night. Social success!
Once I dropped Josh off with his nanny at an indoor play area. When I picked them up, Josh ran to me yelling he had made a new friend. I felt a burst of joy, grabbed a business card and made a 40-yard dash to find the mom of my son’s new pal. I think she was a bit surprised when I ran to her, out of breath, pushing my business card into her hand, saying, “I would LOVE it if we can get our boys together sometime.” Sadly, they were visiting from Barrie but would call if they came into town again.
My son’s social life began to perk up after several pieces fell into place. Two other children his age were attending the same two schools as he was, so I formed a car pool with their moms. This new alliance enabled our kids to bond daily in our minivans and formed a triumvirate of yummy mummies. Within a month, the play dates began. It’s no coincidence that I’m noticing a change in my son. His confidence is growing. He’s showing signs of a sense of humour. He’s even nicer to his little sister! And, most importantly, he’s learning how to be a friend.
Teaching your child to play properly can be hard work, but it’s also very rewarding. One way of connecting your child with like-minded kids is through after-school programs. High-energy boys and girls will love Just Bounce (www.justbounce.ca), the largest trampoline school in Ontario. My son had a blast in semi-private lessons with his car pool buddies.
Coach Jeff, a high level trampoline competitor, was amazing with the kids. With eight trampolines to choose from, they bounced for close to an hour. More impressive was the way Coach Jeff kept the kids howling with laughter as he entertained them with gravity-defying jumps, flips and twists.
And remember, yummy mummies need to play, too! If you’re struggling with a lack of adult stimulation, try inviting other parents to your play dates. While kids romp, moms can talk. It’s like meeting new school friends, once again.
Post City Magazines’ parenting columnist, Erica Ehm is the voice of yummy mummies with her playful website yummymummyclub.ca. After all, mommies need to play, too. | <urn:uuid:d215bf5e-5cc1-49d4-be98-0edfe17b022e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.postcity.com/Post-City-Magazines/August-2009/Where-the-kids-are-on-the-lookout-for-new-playmates/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981691 | 980 | 1.710938 | 2 |
McTaggart-Cowan, H., O'Cathain, A., Tsuchiya, A. and Brazier, J. (2009) A qualitative study exploring the general population's perception of rheumatoid arthritis after being informed about disease adaptation. Discussion Paper. (Unpublished)
Purpose: This study aimed to gain an understanding of what factors induce individuals to alter their opinions about a health condition after being informed about disease adaptation and being given time to reflect and deliberate on this information. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) states are used as an illustration.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 members of the general population. They completed two time trade-off exercises for three RA states and underwent an adaptation exercise (AE) which consisted of listening to recordings of patients discussing how they adapted to RA. Also included was a structured discussion to encourage the participant to reflect on how the patients have adapted. Participants were shown their own health state values, as well as patient values.
Findings: After being informed about disease adaptation and reflecting on the information, participants were more likely to consider adaptation and alter their opinions of RA if they were able to empathise with the patients in the AE. This enabled individuals to feel that they could cope by reflecting on their experience of RA in family and friends, by drawing on others for support if they had RA, and by having a positive attitude towards life.
Conclusions: The results demonstrate that there is a range of reasons for which people change their perceptions about RA; this requires further exploration.
|Item Type:||Monograph (Discussion Paper)|
|Keywords:||health state valuation, qualitative research, quality of life, disease adaptation|
|Academic Units:||The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Economics (Sheffield)
The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Health and Related Research (Sheffield) > Health Economics and Decision Science > HEDS Discussion Paper Series
|Depositing User:||ScHARR / HEDS (Sheffield)|
|Date Deposited:||15 Jun 2010 15:36|
|Last Modified:||08 Feb 2013 17:00|
|Identification Number:||HEDS Discussion Paper 09/02|
Available Versions of this Item
- A qualitative study exploring the general population's perception of rheumatoid arthritis after being informed about disease adaptation. (deposited 15 Jun 2010 15:36) [Currently Displayed]
Actions (login required) | <urn:uuid:b9d7936c-c6b5-4eae-954a-21b6394476c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/10892/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919134 | 536 | 1.96875 | 2 |
These 4 simple tips are tweaks to existing practices that you already know and use. They will improve your consistency and accuracy, the things most pool players would put at the top of their list to improve. If even one of these tips helps you, this will be time very well spent.
Employing a rigid preshot routine will help you master the free throw.
According to the study in the Journal of Sports Sciences based on data from the 2006 NBA playoffs, the players using a preshot routine shot free throw better than those who didn’t by a margin of 17%. Can you imagine if this one change could improve your game by such a large margin? | <urn:uuid:4bc3e642-3235-4da0-a26b-cefd8ef9cc2f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.poolstudent.com/tag/consistency/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96056 | 134 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Decades ago, our parents and grandparents slept on mattresses stuffed with natural materials, such as feathers, natural latex from rubber trees, straw and wool. While modern polyurethane foam may add a certain bounce to our beds, it comes with trade-offs. Specifically, the chemicals used to improve foam performance or to make it flame retardant.
Jackie Cuddy, a 35-year employee of Wallingford’s Bedrooms and More, which sells natural alternatives to polyurethane mattresses, says many customers visit the store after having a bad experience—in particular, with memory foam products. People complain to her about odors, teary eyes and shortness of breath after being exposed to polyurethane products. “Memory foam…is polyurethane foam that’s been tweaked so it’s even more toxic,” she says.
Erika Schreder, science director at Seattle’s nonprofit Washington Toxics Coalition, says the subject of toxics in mattresses is complicated, particularly because most companies don’t disclose what chemicals they might be using in their products, and because they don’t usually make the foam, but purchase it from another manufacturer, who may or may not have treated it with flame retardants.
The subject of toxics in mattresses is complicated, particularly because most companies don’t disclose what chemicals they might be using in their products.
“The safest bet is always natural materials,” says Rachel Koller, a Seattle environmental health consultant and owner of the website Healthy Home Focus. That means mattresses, futons, crib beds and pads that are made with wool and/or natural latex—both of which are naturally flame retardant enough to meet government guidelines—and free of vinyl and toxic flame retardants.
Even if toxics aren’t your first concern, you may be interested in avoiding petroleum products, or might just prefer the feel of more natural materials.
When shopping for natural bedding, it’s easy to go into option overload without a few pointers, as some product labeling is misleading. For example, dozens of synthetic products are labeled “latex,” although only those labeled “botanical natural latex” are guaranteed to come from a tree, and not a chemistry lab. Cuddy suggests asking a few key questions: Do you want certified organic wool or cotton, or can you go with a standard fiber? Will botanical latex suffice, or do you want only that from a certified organic forest, which guarantees that the rubber trees are sustainably managed and harvested? Would you like to support locally owned producers? Those decisions may affect the price of the mattress, if not the quality of your sleep.
Illustration by Joyce Hesselberth
At Bedrooms and More, latex beds start at $699 for a twin. One of the company’s all-botanical latex best-sellers is a mattress made at a company in Tualatin, outside Portland. Layers of naturally flame-retardant wool and organic cotton flank three layers of latex ($1,699 twin, $2,799 king). A less costly bed, the Therapedic, is made from organic cotton and regular wool ($699 twin, $1,299 king). All mattresses at Bedrooms and More meet flame-retardant mattress safety requirements using either a rayon/Dacron pad, flame-retardant wool or cotton with a boric acid wash. No other chemicals are added.
Cuddy says she’s lucky enough to snooze on a mattress from Organic Mattress Inc. (OMI). OMI uses only organic materials and maintains fastidious manufacturing practices at the company’s California headquarters, including an ozone chamber to keep wool and cotton clean, and a no-fragrance policy for its employees. The fire-retardant organic wool is quilted to the mattress, and the mattresses pass more stringent European certifications without added chemicals. OMI mattresses run from $1,299 for a twin to $10,895 for a king.
At Soaring Heart Natural Bed Company on north Queen Anne, mattresses are hand-built on site using three natural materials: latex, organic cotton and eco wool, increasingly from local sources. Soaring Heart’s wool, for instance, comes from small farms in Oregon and Washington. Mattresses range from $980 for the twin-sized Cottonwood, made from organic Dunlop latex surrounded by a thick layer of organic cotton, wool batting and organic cotton ticking, to $3,910 for a California King Madrona, made from latex wrapped with organic cotton ticking and wool batting, and a thick, wool, organic-cotton-wrapped topper. It also sells crib mattresses ($355‒$560) and futons.
Jason Goessl, sales manager at Soaring Heart, says people worry that wool will be hot, but explains that’s probably because many wool items in the United States are actually cut with polyester, even if it isn’t listed on the tag. Not at Soaring Heart. “Polyester reflects body heat right back at you,” he says. “Wool is not hot—it helps regulate your body temperature. It keeps you cool in summer and warm in winter.”
We lose about 1 pint of water, oils and salts each night, and much of that will go into a bed unless it is topped with a mattress pad. A cotton-topped, Gore-Tex-lined mattress pad at Bedrooms and More is $39.95, and a washable wool pad inside cotton is $149 for a queen size. At Soaring Heart, waterproof pads made from organic Northwest wool are $80 for crib size, $140 for twin and $200 for queen.
If the luxury of a natural bed doesn’t give you more restful sleep, at least you can be sleeping on wool while counting sheep.
Bedrooms and More
Wallingford, 300 NE 45th St.
Soaring Heart Natural Bed Company
Queen Anne, 101 Nickerson, Suite 400
Healthy Home Focus
A Seattle resource for nontoxic home issues and products:
Washington Toxics Coalition
A nonprofit that provides information on toxics in home products and what to avoid | <urn:uuid:0f5864a8-16fc-4b54-9456-6d7d24536215> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://seattlemag.com/print/36246 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911338 | 1,321 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Get Your Students Motivated for "The Test"
Don't you just love the book Testing Miss Malarkey? It's always a fun one to read right before those annual standardized tests. There is always such stress behind these tests, so anything that can bring a smile is an accomplishment. I always like to do something special for the kids, whether it's just doing something special the day testing begins or sometimes I will go all out and do something every morning when they come in. Lots of people will leave Smarties on the desks reminding kids how smart they are. I tried to come up with a few different ideas to use this year. Our Georgia State test starts this Monday, so I plan to leave a special message on the kids' desks for them to find each morning when they come in. If you would like to do the same, feel free to download this FREE file. Just click the link below. It is always appreciated if you choose to download something to please help spread the word about my blog. Thanks much!
And while I am in the test taking mode, I thought I would share this with you. :-) It's just a little something I put together to express my opinion.
Share the Sweetness!
Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.
We appreciate you 'liking' us on facebook, tweeting about us, or pinning us on Pinterest. | <urn:uuid:c958882a-8015-4668-9c61-29393220cd0e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.classroomconfections.com/2012/04/test-taking-motivational-messages.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946675 | 288 | 1.632813 | 2 |
|High pressure cylinder.|
This cylinder contains 20 cubic feet of argon under about 2000psi of pressure. Or at least it did when I first got it: I use it to purge sample bottles of air-sensitive element samples before re-closing them, so it's slowly getting used up. When it's empty I'll get it refilled: Argon costs about fifty cents a cubic foot, once you've paid for the cylinder and regulator needed to handle it. Those cost a good bit more, but can be reused indefinitely.
Gases like argon, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and of course acetylene are easily available at any welding supply store. They are all set up to re-fill such cylinders on a routine basis (in fact, it's their main business). Larger cylinders are typically leased to you, but small ones like this you buy outright.
Source: Claudin Welding Supply
Contributor: Theodore Gray
Acquired: 18 February, 2003 | <urn:uuid:f43ce9cd-6f0a-4d77-8add-8b571e82d057> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theodoregray.com/periodicTable/Samples/018.6/index.qtvr.s15.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94795 | 206 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Munich 72 is dedicated to 11 Israeli athletes murdered at the 1972 Olympics
Every four years athletes and audiences from around the globe come together to celebrate and compete in the international sporting event – The Olympics. In 1972, just forty years ago, the Olympic games were unfortunately the target of a terrorist attack in Munich Germany, when Black September, a Palestinian terrorist group, snuck into the Olympic village and kidnapped and killed 11 Israeli Athletes. Later that same year, Operation Wrath of God commenced – a strategic mission that unleashed attacks in retaliation to Black September’s actions and resulted in the death of the terrorists involved in the Munich massacre..
At this year’s Olympic games in London the IOC denied a moment of silence in the opening ceremony for the 11 Israelis that were killed in Germany. The absence of any acknowledgment of the Munich massacre became the source of much discontent in the Jewish community and Jewish American gold medalist Aly Raisman even spoke out against the failure to acknowledge the 11 Israeli victims.
Kosha Dillz, an American Israeli rapper, penned the song “Munich 72″ to not only remember the fallen athletes of Israel, but also illustrate a detailed description of how each terrorist was murdered. “Munich 72″ is intended to call attention to the evil deeds committed so that such an act of hatred may never happen again at an event celebrating world peace and healthy competition. | <urn:uuid:36e4bdbe-9999-44ab-8e92-542079daf43c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sonnybonoho.wordpress.com/2012/08/18/munich-72-kosha-dillz/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950884 | 284 | 2.78125 | 3 |
As a licensed attorney with a practice in trusts, I am almost daily addressing the aspects of trusts and determining whether or not a trust would be beneficial for each individual client. It is my belief that if my clients are seeking a comprehensive understanding of trusts – basic or advanced – then a lot of other people who would appreciate a deeper understanding of trusts and how a trust may be of value for their own particular situation will value a frank explanation and discussion on the subject of trusts. In drafting subsequent trust articles and considering questions a person should ask a legal advisor prior to entering into a Domestic Asset Protection Trust, the editorial team and I discussed this objective and the various uses and implementation of trusts. The editorial team was in agreement that the topic would best be served by starting at the beginning with an introduction article explaining the evolution of DAPT in the United States and the ability to use a DAPT for a person’s income and asset protection.
How did it all begin?
Trusts were first derived under the Statute of Uses in England in1535. Prior to 1535, the legal real property practice was for landlords (landholders) to pay a type of land-royalty fee to the King. As you may know, land in England was fundamentally owned by the King and landlords could buy leaseholds from the King in his capacity of freeholder. These leaseholds could span a period of years exceeding 99 years. Oddly, the real property laws of England and many of its then colonies still use this land ownership of freehold and leasehold. Under King Henry VIII’s reign these payments were exacted from landholders and upon the death of a landholder the King could exact additional fees, like an inheritance tax, from the heir. Landholders began transferring their leaseholds into the name of one individual but for the benefit of another. This transactional party above would be termed the cestui que use and become the person benefiting from the use of the land, but was neither the initial landholder nor the heir of the landholder.
Under this plan, there arose a type of land ownership termed “use”. This idea caught on quickly across the English country side and it was not long before the courts of England recognized this use right allowing the landholder to transfer possession of the land to one individual for use of the land while transferring legal title to another. Transferring title to land to two or more individuals, the landholder was also able to avoid other fees such as marriage fees and other fees associated with the death of a landholder. If the property was held in other persons’ names, a landholder could also avoid losing the property due to debt or felony conviction. By the end of the fifteenth century, almost all of the land in England was owned in use.
Like any government that is dependent upon revenue generation to run its country, England was no different. The King, King Henry VIII at that time, was a very determined monarch and personally pushed through Parliament a special law designed to stop this loss of money for the Realm. This law was termed the Statute of Uses. This legislation terminated the short historic bifurcating of land rights between use and title, as I noted above. This legislation also acted to transfer full title to land automatically to the individual that was using the land as well as a reinstatement of the draconian feudal rule of primogeniture, which held that land should go to the oldest son upon the death of the landowner. Predictable, landholders vigorously abhorred this legislation and after a protracted and focused lobbying by the landholders the King scrapped the legislation. However, just five years later, Parliament enacted the Statute of Wills which gave rights to the landholders to pass property at their own discretion in the form of a written will and testament. Parliament did not rescind the Statute of Uses. Now not only were the landholders appalled but the courts were equally enraged.
Somewhat similar to modern circumstances, landholders began a period of creativity by finding and exploring loopholes in the legislation and the court also responded by using strict construction of the unfavorable legislation by allowing landholders to place property in the title of another individual while simultaneously retaining use of the property for their own use, benefit and profit. It was ultimately the courts that expanded this practice of the landholders into a concept of trust whereby a vehicle labeled a land trust allowed one individual to hold title to the land for the benefit of another individual who may direct the management and use of the land. The courts went on to reason that a trust allows the landholder to have some ability to use the land and that the person who received the transfer of the land performed no labor on the land and had no real function to the land, except to hold title. Thus, this individual became known as the “trustee”. The courts further reasoned that the trust was recognized in the courts of equity, but not in the courts of law. Thus, trusts had no jural ability to be sued or to sue in courts of law. This notion still exists in England as well as the United States.
From 1535 to 2010
This equity v. legal fiction above has presence in today’s world. Traditionally, a litigant cannot file against a trust because the trust lacks any legal recognition in courts of law. This non-existent legal entity status causes the litigant to bring a claim against the trust indirectly by suing the trustee under the trustee’s personal capacity. The trustee may seek some type of reimbursement from the trust after the litigation is concluded for fees and costs and hope the trust will have sufficient assets to meet these reimbursements. Currently, all states of the United States via legislation, with the exception of Mississippi and West Virginia, have modified this traditional law by adopting either the Uniform Trust Code or the Uniform Probate Code, or similar statutes, separating the trust entity from the trustee, severing the liability of the trust from the liability of the trustee, and allowing suit against the trustee in its representative capacity as opposed to its personal capacity.
Modern trust law evolves from state legislation and state case law and allows an individual to protect much more than land ownership and land use. These recent Domestic Asset Protection Trusts, DAPT, are trusts that protect a variety of real and personal, tangible and intangible, assets from creditors, some states also include as a future spouse. APT allows the individuals establishing the trust and funding the trust, settler, to include themselves as a possible beneficiary of the trust; which trusts are also called “self-settled trusts”. DAPT are an excellent estate planning instrument that should not be overlooked, a viable form of real asset protection to shield against attacks of the settler’s future spouse and other creditors with the provision that the DAPT does not violate a particular state’s fraudulent transfer laws. DAPT would have had significant use for our current adultery-minded mega movie and sports stars. DAPT requires no disclosure of the trust structure and no disclosure of what assets a replaced within the trust.
If, for example, a mega-star set up a DAPT in one of the states that permits this type of DAPT before marriage, upon a dissolution of marriage the assets are protected from then on – the adulterer spouse and lesser income earning spouse will not be a part of an equitable distribution. Therefore, public knowledge of these assets are not revealed in court records, and the outcome will be significantly better than an antenuptial agreement which may be public and may ultimately fail in a divorce proceeding.
DAPTs are utilized by individuals, entities, and families as an inherent part of their financial, income and asset lifetime perpetual efforts to bring about a diminishment of fear, uncertainty and doubt over the professional management and preservation of these three types of assets during your life, while assets are in probate or administrations and after death, probate or administration. These fear factors exist with us in our everyday lives. According to Enrichment Journal on the divorce rates in America, the divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41%; the divorce rate in America for second marriage is 60%; the divorce rate in America for third marriage is 73%.
While DAPTs have their place in traditional estate and asset protection planning, they are certainly not the end all to be all. They can be an instrumental tool in a planner’s toolbox. As Tim Berry pointed out in his most recent article that America and Americans are the most litigious society on the planet and anything can happen at anytime. Just a simple innocent act can cause injury or damage which can find its way into our court system and from there a claim against you with subsequent interrogatories asking intrusive personal questions to the plaintiff and the plaintiff attorney can determine how deep your financial pockets are. Proper and legal DAPT planning can help to protect personal assets from legal threats, including threats arising from business, professional and commercial activities; regulatory liability; and personal and family activities. DAPT planning is also necessary even when you have insurance; given the policy narrow coverage scope, exclusions, exceedingly small coverage, premiums increasing each year, insurance companies dropping you without any warning or known reason, and insurance carriers going bankrupt.
This is part one of series on DAPTs. My next article will focus on trustee liability and how to best limit this real financial and legal threat for trustees, financial planners, attorneys, C.P.A.s, and, of course, their client. | <urn:uuid:1b67314e-f62e-446a-b4df-d803909a3625> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.assetprotectionsociety.org/domestic-asset-protection-trusts-in-the-beginning/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959806 | 1,946 | 2.859375 | 3 |